Newcastle United are battling with several other Premier League clubs the complete the signing of an "outstanding" defender this summer, according to a new transfer claim.

Newcastle eyeing Botman and Lascelles replacements

The Magpies have been hit hard by injuries all season long, with so many of the club's most influential figures missing significant chunks of action. That includes Nick Pope, Kieran Tripper, Dan Burn, Joelinton, Harvey Barnes and Alexander Isak, to name just a few, but two really serious problems have emerged in recent weeks.

Both Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles have cruelly suffered ACL damage, meaning their seasons are over and they will be out for many months, so it is essential that at least one, if not two, centre-backs come in during the summer transfer window.

Crystal Palace ace Marc Guehi is a proven Premier League option who could immediately arrive as a key man, although the Eagles are likely to demand a big fee for his services. Juventus teenager Dean Huijsen is a younger option with a high ceiling, being linked with a move to Newcastle as well. He has made 13 Serie A appearances this season, 12 of which have been during a successful loan spell at Roma.

Versatile Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly has also emerged as a possible target for the Magpies, being able to do a job at both centre-back and left-back. He will be available on a free transfer this summer, assuming he decides not to sign an extension with the Cherries.

Newcastle want to sign "outstanding" player

According to a fresh update from HITC, Newcastle are interested in signing Wolves centre-back Max Kilman this summer, but there could be a big battle to snap him up.

The report says that Chelsea and Aston Villa are also in the mix to acquire his signature, while the Magpies have "scouted Kilman in the first few months of 2024".

Kilkman could be a fantastic signing by Newcastle this summer, coming in as someone who has proven himself as a consistent performer in the Premier League. He has now played 119 times in the competition, while former Wolves captain Conor Coady has heaped praise on him.

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At 26, Kilman is still a relatively young player, and would be viewed as a long-term option for Newcastle, and much like Guehi, he could see this summer as the right time to move to a bigger club and further enhance his reputation.

As Leeds United gear up for one final push towards Premier League promotion after an incredible turnaround in the Championship, transfer expert Graeme Bailey has issued an update on one of Daniel Farke's signings.

Leeds transfer news

The Whites look set to be in for a busy summer with or without Premier League football. Without it, Farke could be forced to watch on as some of his best players head for the Elland Road exit door, with the likes of Crysencio Summerville already being linked with London giants Chelsea after his excellent campaign so far.

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Meanwhile, if they complete their turnaround to earn promotion at the first time of asking, then those at Elland Road will be in a position to welcome some reinforcements, having already been linked with players such as Sean Longstaff from Newcastle United.

The fact is, a lot is dependent on just where Leeds find themselves at the start of next season, with Farke's side currently sitting top of the Championship on goal difference and one point above third-placed Ipswich Town, highlighting how incredibly tight things are in England's second tier.

One decision that is unlikely to be dependent on promotion, however, is the one regarding Connor Roberts. According to Bailey, Leeds are unlikely to turn Roberts' loan deal permanent this summer, with the Welshman set to return to Burnley at the end of the current campaign.

Bailey told Leeds United News: "I don’t see it particularly, especially if Kristensen ends up coming back. I think Roberts has been OK, if he was available for very little, it is a possibility.

"You’ve got squad players but what does Roberts offer that Sam Byram doesn’t, kind of thing. It is a tough one but I don’t see him being a long-term part for Leeds, being honest. I would be surprised if he came in.”

Leeds don't need Roberts despite Farke praise

Whilst it's easy to say that Roberts' Premier League experience would help Leeds next season if they went up, Byram offers that in abundance and more, meaning that he's the player Farke should turn to and not the Burnley loanee.

What's more, the Whites would be wasting vital money on more than the potential transfer fee, with Roberts' reported salary sitting at £26k per-week currently. It may be a difficult decision for Farke to make, however, after singing his praise for Roberts in the early stages of his loan spell.

Farke told Leeds Live: "Connor is just a few weeks with us. He has strength going forward. Mavididi was on fire and we let Connor defend him. I got the feeling Connor is involved in goals and end product or assists. Felt he could help to turn the game. Archie with his right foot on the left could link with Cree. The players delivered on the pitch. Many compliments to Archie, Connor and my whole team.”

Even so, the negatives seem to outweigh the positives and it seems as though the Welshman is set to make his return to Burnley, where he is currently destined to play Championship football.

MatériaMais Notícias

Se a partida entre Santos e Juventude no último sábado (12) não foi necessariamente marcada por muitas emoções, o resultado final de 0 a 0 notoriamente agradou ao técnico da equipe de Caxias do Sul, Marquinhos Santos.

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>Classificação de momento no Campeonato Brasileiro

De acordo com sua análise não apenas do confronto, mas também do contexto da partida disputada na Vila Belmiro, conseguir sair de campo com um ponto é algo que não deve acontecer com muitos adversários do clube paulista no Brasileirão quando atuarem na Baixasa Santista.

Além disso, Marquinhos também frisou que será cada vez mais importante usar a rotatividade do elenco do Ju para suportar a carga de jogos em sequência na temporada de calendário ainda mais apertado do que o habitual:

– Vão ser seis jogos em poucos dias, então vamos precisar do grupo inteiro. Dentro das características individuais, vamos montar a estratégia. Série A é muito desenvolvida em estratégias quando tu briga com um orçamento menor. Mas acredito muito nesse grupo. Sei que estamos atrás de reforços para qualificar e quantificar ainda mais nosso elenco.

– O cenário do Campeonato Brasileiro é esse. Poucas equipes vão tirar pontos do Santos aqui na Vila. O grupo está de parabéns, com um comportamento exemplar, entendendo a necessidade de vir e fazer um jogo competitivo, onde precisaríamos saber sofrer, teríamos uma ou duas bolas – agregou o comandante do Papo.

The offspinner is excited by the potential of forming a twin spin attack at the SCG

Daniel Brettig30-Dec-2019Nathan Lyon has dismissed Shane Warne’s suggestion that he be rested against New Zealand at the SCG to make room for a Mitchell Swepson debut, indicating that he would prefer to bowl in tandem with the Queensland legspinner in Australia’s last Test until a tour of Bangladesh in June.Warne, whose opinions have become ubiquitous from the commentary box, had trained with Swepson during the MCG Test and floated the idea of resting Lyon so that Swepson could play his first Test alongside the pacemen Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson in a match Australia will aim to win to secure a first clean sweep of a summer’s Tests since 2013-14 against England.ALSO READ: Legspinner Mitchell Swepson called up for SCG TestHowever, Lyon gave short shrift to the idea, pointing out that Warne himself had always been loath to give up his spot to any other spin bowlers, notably his longtime offsider Stuart MacGill, who performed ably for Australia whenever the Victorian was unavailable due to injury or a year-long drugs ban for using a prohibited substance in 2003.”Did Warney ever want a rest and give Stuart MacGill a go? I won’t be resting,” Lyon said. “There’s always talk about two spinners, but Mitch has been bowling brilliantly for Queensland. It’s great we’re able to have a very versatile squad for whatever conditions we’re faced with we can come up with a decent side.Firefighters the true heroes – Lyon

Amid the prospect of bushfire smoke affecting the SCG Test, in a summer of high temperatures and treacherous conditions for fires, Nathan Lyon offered some perspective.

“Let’s put this in clarity. We play a game of cricket, there’s people out there unfortunately losing their lives, livelihood and houses,” he said. “A bit of smoke doesn’t worry us. We play a game, the true heroes in the world are the firefighters out there fighting the fires. My hat goes off to them. I’m not really worried about a bit of smoke when I’m bowling off-breaks to be honest. I’ll just leave it there.”

“He’s a great fella to start off with and he gives it a rip which is what I really love to see about all spinners. If we can give it a rip and try and spin the ball, that’s our main focus. I’m a big fan of Mitch, it’s great to see him around the squad. If he gets his chance, fingers crossed we can have a great combination together.”I don’t think it affects my role at all. It’s exciting we potentially have the opportunity to play two spinners but in saying that I haven’t been to the SCG for two months so don’t know what the conditions will be like. The BBL wickets they look like they have been fantastic.”The likes of Michael Beer, Steve O’Keefe, Ashton Agar and Jon Holland have partnered Lyon in the past, with Marnus Labuschagne’s wrist spin providing a more recent spin tandem option for the captain Tim Paine. Lyon said he had been impressed by how Swepson had improved his game, notably the ability to lock down the scoring rate in addition to trying to spin the ball hard and turn it past the bat.”I had some really good chats with him during the week sitting on the boundary and watching him bowl in the nets,” Lyon said. “I actually haven’t seen him bowl in a game for a while. He seems really clear in his plans and we spoke about not changing when he gets the opportunity at the highest level. What’s worked is what has got him to the level, if he gets the opportunity I just said ‘stay strong to yourself, back yourself, what’s worked in state cricket if you give it a long enough chance in international cricket you’ll get some reward’.Mitch Swepson is having a promising season for Queensland•Getty Images”Legspinners bring different opportunities to the game. I really enjoy bowling with another spinner. We get to get through our overs quite quickly and feel like we can build pressure.”Perhaps the best precondition for Swepson to debut at the SCG is the fact that the Australia top order have been functioning strongly all summer, not once giving their bowlers less than 400 to defend, and pushing through occasionally challenging conditions, as was the case on Boxing Day, to forge the first-innings scores that allow the bowlers to be at their best.”It’s amazing. As bowlers we’ve always said if we’re able to get a day off our feet through the game we’ll more than likely take 20 wickets for us,” Lyon said. “Our batters have been absolutely incredible for us off the back of David Warner, Marnus and Steve and now you see Travis Head chipping in this week, which was absolutely exceptional.”Despite the vast margins of victory in four out of four Test so far, which have taken Australia into a clear second place on the World Test Championship table ahead of the inaugural final at Lord’s in 2021, Lyon said that the team was still a long way short of the finished article. In fact, Lyon’s desire for continuous improvement is such that he would not be happy even if Australia do scale the aforementioned summit, where they would be likely to face the league leaders India.”We’ve got a lot of areas to improve but that’s our goal as a team. Our goal together is pretty special, if we keep heading in that right direction and training each and every day to get better, especially in the areas we need to get better as a team, I think the sky’s the limit for this group,” Lyon said. “There’s a good mixture of youth and experience, it’s full of energy and excitement. I’ve always said I’ll never conquer this game of cricket, I don’t think anyone in this room will conquer this game of cricket. I think we can get better in every facet to be honest with you. It will be a hard journey but it’s going to be some great reward at the end of the tunnel.”

Wolves are eyeing a third-time-lucky move for a striker who looks set to be available for a "bargain", with Gary O'Neil on the hunt for more firepower.

Wolves set their sights on new forward

The Molineux side have performed admirably during O'Neil's first full season as Wolves boss, but the summer window represents a chance to build upon that and shore up weak areas of their squad.

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One of the key positions which they want to address is going forward. Sasa Kalajdzic was originally signed to give Wolves that real presence up front, but the Austrian's move hasn't worked out thus far due to a combination of serious injuries and lacklustre form overall.

He's currently out on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt, with O'Neil preferring the likes of Hwang hee-Chan and Matheus Cunha, who've both scored the vast majority of their goals in the top flight this season.

Wolves' top league scorers this season

Player

Goals

Matheus Cunha

11

Hwang Hee-chan

10

Mario Lemina

4

Pablo Sarabia

4

Joao Gomes

2

Wolves are eager to add another attacking outlet who can contribute in the final third, with the Old Gold rumoured to be eyeing Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah among others.

Santos Laguna forward Stephano Carrillo is another forward on Wolves' radar, and it is increasingly likely that he is set for a move away this summer, according to reports in the last few weeks.

Southampton star Che Adams has been linked as well, with TEAMtalk sharing its own update this week.

Wolves eyeing "bargain" Adams for O'Neil

As per the outlet, Wolves are eyeing a "bargain" third-time-lucky move for Adams as the Scotland international nears the end of his contract this summer – coming after they made two previous approaches last summer and in January.

Interestingly, pundit Carlton Palmer has told Football League World that the "terrific" striker would be a "great" signing.

“I think it’s fair to say that Che was disappointed that he wasn’t allowed to leave when they were relegated. He made it clear he didn’t want to leave in January, to a club who may potentially not be in the Premier League next season," said Palmer.

“With Wolves set to stay in the Premier League, it could be a great signing for Wolves. But, I expect Everton, Crystal Palace, and a host of other clubs to be after Adams come the end of the season.

“He has proven he can play in the Premier League, he’s a Scottish international, and I know Wolves are desperate to bring in an out-and-out striker, and that would be a good place for him to go.

“I think O’Neil has done an exceptional job with the current squad, the players like him and everything’s going well. So, I think that could be a good destination but, rest assured, there are a lot of clubs who will be chasing him, and maybe Southampton, if they get promoted, might be able to convince Adams to sign a new contract.”

Tottenham Hotspur have enjoyed comparative success under Ange Postecoglou but will need to hit a rich vein of form heading into the business end of the Premier League campaign – Champions League qualification is on the line.

Last time out, before the international break, the Lilywhites were trounced 3-0 by Fulham at Craven Cottage but have the perfect opportunity to make amends on Saturday, welcoming relegation-threatened Luton Town to north London.

Still fifth-placed and just three points behind Aston Villa in the top four (and with a game in hand), Spurs simply have to secure victory against Rob Edwards' side and will be galvanised by the possible return of Micky van de Ven, who missed out against Fulham due to injury.

Moreover, Richarlison could be in line for his first start since picking up an ankle injury against Wolverhampton Wanderers in February.

Postecoglou has options to defeat a Hatters side that has not claimed a Premier League win in two months, and he might make three changes to set the tone for the final stretch of the campaign.

1 GK – Guglielmo Vicario

Guglielmo Vicario has started every Premier League fixture for Tottenham this season and has been rewarded for his fine efforts with an Italy debut last week.

Spurs' top defenders get much credit for the improvements in the defensive third this season but the shot-stopper has been immense.

2 RB – Pedro Porro

Pedro Porro was guilty of some poor performances last season after joining from Sporting Lisbon in January 2023, but he's now blossoming into a first-class player and has been incredible across a number of areas for Spurs.

Defensively solid, intelligently creative and seamless in his movements, the Spaniard is one of the most important members of the team.

3 CB – Cristian Romero

Perhaps a little overzealous at times, but hey, Cristian Romero is a singular centre-half and he's oh-so impressive in combining aggressiveness and technical quality.

Counterbalanced against the athleticism and speed of Van de Ven, the 2022 World Cup winner will be key is stifling any Luton attacks.

4 CB – Micky van de Ven

There are questions surrounding Van de Ven's return and whether Postecoglou will play the prudent game and keep him away from the starting XI ahead of Tuesday's clash against West Ham United, but he's been training and may well start.

Van de Ven bagged his only Tottenham goal against Luton and has been ridiculously important for the club – he's lost just two times across 18 Premier League appearances, with his teammates falling to defeat across half of the ten fixtures he has missed.

5 LB – Destiny Udogie

Who else? Ben Davies enjoyed a fine international break with Wales and picked up a 9/10 match rating during his nation's penalty defeat against Poland, but Destiny Udogie, aged 21, has been brilliant since arriving in England last summer.

As per FBref, the £75k-per-week speedster ranks among the top 10% of full-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 14% for progressive passes, the top 8% for progressive carries, the top 11% for successful take-ons, the top 18% for tackles and the top 8% for interceptions. Quite the complete skill set.

6 CM – Yves Bissouma

After a terrible 2022/23 campaign, Yves Bissouma has been one of the Premier League's most fearsome defensive midfielders this season, with his ball-winning expertise and crisp distribution marrying into Postecoglou's robust style of play.

His season has been punctuated with suspensions and dips in form, but he will now need to pull it all together as the final few months arrive.

7 CM – Rodrigo Bentancur

Rodrigo Bentancur endured a torrid injury-blighted 2023 but he has been a regular part of the matchday squad since just before the New Year and will be hoping to be fielded from the outset after starting from the bench across Tottenham's past two games.

He's embracing a more expansive style of play this season after being largely used as a deep-lying playmaker under Antonio Conte and offers a nice balance alongside the tough-tackling Bissouma.

8 RW – Dejan Kulusevski

Dejan Kulusevski is not a 20-goal-a-season winger, nor is he a creative phenomenon on the level of, say, Kevin De Bruyne, but the Sweden international is a fantastic player and is one of the most important members of Postecoglou's team, energetic, enterprising and effective.

As per Sofascore, he has scored six goals and provided three assists across 26 Premier League fixtures this season, creating ten big chances, completing 82% of his passes and averaging 2.0 key passes, 1.8 tackles, 4.2 ball recoveries, 1.7 dribbles and 4.3 successful duels per game.

9 AM – James Maddison

Still not quite back to his stunning pre-injury levels, James Maddison remains one of the Premier League's elite playmakers and has been the conduit between midfield and attack, racking up seven assists and averaging 2.5 key passes per game.

It was he who claimed the match-winning assist as his side slenderly won the reverse fixture back in October, and you wouldn't bet against him popping up with another defining moment tomorrow.

10 LW – Heung-min Son

He might be nearing his 32nd birthday but Heung-min Son is very much still a "world-class player", according to Postecoglou.

1.

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool

19

2.

Heung-min Son

Tottenham Hotspur

17

3.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Liverpool

13

4.

Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United

13

5.

Bukayo Saka

Arsenal

13

5.

Martin Odegaard

Arsenal

13

5.

Kieran Trippier

Newcastle United

13

5.

Dwight McNeil

Everton

13

A dynamic forward, Son is hailed for his scoring prowess but he's also one of the most creative and fluid forwards around, so effective as his side's multi-functioning talisman.

The skipper will take Brennan Johnson's place on the left wing, and while the Welshman has been noted for his "frightening pace and directness" by content creator HLTCO, Son offers so much more.

Aston Villa may be flying high in the Premier League and in Europe, but that has not stopped Unai Emery from thinking about the future.

With a Champions League berth up for grabs in the coming weeks, the Spaniard is clearly thinking about bolstering his starting XI ahead of next season as he eyes up a move for a La Liga defender…

Aston Villa in the market for a defender

During the winter transfer window, Villa were showing plenty of interest in Atlético Madrid centre-back Mario Hermoso, who was coming to the end of his contract with the Spanish side.

Fast-forward a few months, however, and it appears as though Emery is serious about securing the defender ahead of 2024/25.

Mario Hermoso's stats this season
Metric	La Liga	Champions League
Accurate passes per game	54.6	65.4
Tackles per game	1.7	0.8
Interceptions per game	1	0.6
Possession lost per game	11.1	13.5
Total duels won per game	4.8	2.6
Via Sofascore

According to reports in Spain, via TEAMtalk, Villa have begun talks to sign Hermoso as they look to significantly bolster their first-team squad. It's stated the player's reps are directly trying to find him a new home from next term.

Securing his signature on a free transfer could be a wise investment by Emery, allowing him to divert funds into other areas of the team. Clement Lenglet will return to Barcelona once his season-long loan deal expires at the end of May and Hermoso could be an ideal replacement for the Frenchman.

Mario Hermoso’s statistics in 2023/24

Lenglet has played just 22 times for the Midlands side in all competitions this season, having to wait until December 22 to make his Premier League bow.

While he has been useful of late due to injuries to the likes of Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa, the defender will return to his parent club in the summer.

Hermoso, on the other hand, has been a regular for Atlético this season, making 36 appearances in all competitions, and has shown his class in La Liga.

Indeed, among his teammates, the 28-year-old currently ranks second for accurate passes per game (54.6) in the Spanish top flight along with ranking first for accurate long balls per game (4.5), fourth for clearances per game (2.9) and sixth for interceptions per game (one), evidently proving how important he is to the side.

The Spaniard was hailed as a “revelation” by football writer Zach Lowy just a few years ago and it is clear that Hermoso has the required attributes to be a success in the Premier League, as he aims to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot Torres.

The 5 foot 11 defender also impresses when compared to his positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues, ranking in the top 4% for progressive passes per 90 (6.16) and in the top 6% for successful take-ons per 90 (0.59), indicating that he would move the ball out from the defence with ease and is not fazed at taking on opposition players as he looks to transition the ball quickly during matches.

These statistics suggest he would be an ideal replacement for Lenglet ahead of next season. If Villa go on to secure qualification for the Champions League, they will have a defender who has made 28 appearances in the competition, which could prove to be all the difference.

New Zealand should have won before the Super Over came into play, he said at the press conference

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2020New Zealand captain Kane Williamson kept his sense of humour after his side went down in yet another Super Over, but said that upon looking back, they should have closed the game out in their regular batting innings. New Zealand needed two off four balls in the last over with their most experienced batsmen in Williamson and Ross Taylor at the crease, before Mohammed Shami dismissed both of them and forced a Super Over.”My opinion we shouldn’t have them…No!” Williamson said in jest about the Super Over. “It is what it is. It’s good fun, isnt’ it? It’s a full house at midnight or whatever time it is. That’s pretty cool. It’s good entertainment. I’m probably not the best person to ask because we came second in the Super Over tonight like a few other times. So yeah, not ideal. But I guess if people enjoyed that to decide the match, then that’s fun.”Super Overs certainly haven’t been our friend, but I think if we’re being brutally honest we would’ve liked to have perhaps got across the line before requiring a win in the Super Over. But I guess if we reflect on the match altogether, it was a brilliant game.”ALSO READ: ‘I thought we were down and out’ – Virat KohliNew Zealand produced a vastly improved performance compared to the second T20I, with a bowling show that made Williamson particularly proud after he had decided to bowl for a change. India flew to 89 in the first nine overs, but made only 90 in the last 11. Having applied the brakes in that manner, Williamson said it was disappointing to end up on the result. It was a reflection of India’s experience as a team in this format, he said.”I think India had a very good first-innings total on that surface and we knew they’d bowl well on it as well because it was taking a bit of turn as well. The guys fought back nicely after the start India got with the bat and then we were able to build partnerships and take the game deep. Yeah, pretty disappointing to be on the wrong side of the result after doing a lot of hard work to get so close but certainly a much improved effort from the first two games.”We’ve seen in the last two as well, even the second one in Auckland, it certainly wasn’t our best performance but it was a tough surface and the T20 format is a game of small margins as we’ve seen this evening. But even throughout the other couple of games as well, the experience that India have, I think, saw them come through in some crunch moments in this game. But it is a game of small margins and we do need to learn from this and use this experience to be a better side.”Williamson also said that New Zealand stitching together partnerships was the biggest positive to come out of the game on a pitch he said was difficult to start on, although he himself knocked off more than half the target. In partnerships of 36, 49, and 41 for the third, fourth, and fifth wickets respectively, Williamson was the dominant scorer. The next highest scorer in the innings was Martin Guptill at the top of the order with 31. But the team was largely non-fussed and happy with the improvement, he said, and the focus was already on Wellington for the fourth T20I on Friday. Provided that the high of this match subsided.”It’s always very tough to get to sleep after such late games, adrenaline’s sort of going regardless of the result,” he said. “But you move on to another game. Yes it was close, and an emotional roller coaster perhaps, certainly as we got so close to the end, but we have to keep moving our focus forward and that’s to Wellington. We know the quality of the Indian side but for us it’s just to keep improving as a group and we did that today and we need to keep demanding that of ourselves moving forward as well.”

Coach believes new captain can rise to the workload of opening and keeping wicket as well

Firdose Moonda09-Feb-2020

Quinton de Kock made a fluent half-century•AFP

Mark Boucher has given Quinton de Kock’s captaincy a thumbs-up after his first series as the permanent ODI skipper, and expects former 50-over and current T20 captain Faf du Plessis to be back for the next series against Australia.De Kock will lead South Africa in three T20s against England next week before Australia visit for three ODIs and three T20s that will end on March 7. Du Plessis and Kagiso Rabada have been given extended rest for the England matches but Boucher expects both to return as South Africa continue to plan for the T20 World Cup and beyond.”Faf is still one of our best T20 players,” Boucher said. “We feel at this point in time he needs a bit of a break away from the game. It’s always good to have a bit of a rest. There is going to be a lot of cricket for them leading up to a World Cup so any opportunity we get to give guys a bit of rest and give other guys opportunities to see what they’re all about. I would like to think against Australia, the rest will be enough and they can come back and play.”De Kock, however, is having entirely the opposite experience and has played in all South Africa’s matches of the summer so far. Since being promoted to ODI captain he also now plays a treble role in leading the side, opening the batting and keeping wicket, something de Kock embraced pre-series and then excelled in, giving Boucher good reason to say he thinks “it is sustainable” for de Kock to have so much to do.”A lot of people questioned [MS] Dhoni when he was captaining India and he had a great captaincy record,” Boucher said. “Quinny enjoys being in the game. Sometimes he sits in the dressing room during Test-match cricket and he gets really irritated because he wants to be doing something all the time. I think he really enjoys it. The off-the-field stuff is the stuff that might get to him a bit. We’re going to have to help him in that regard. But certainly, on the field, he leads well.”De Kock also finished as the leading run-scorer in the series, with a match-winning century in Cape Town and a fifty at the Wanderers and was named player of the series. He was also innovative as captain, most notably when Tabraiz Shamsi was bowling. De Kock kept a slip in place in Cape Town, which resulted in the dismissal of Eoin Morgan and a legslip at Johannesburg, who aided in getting rid of Joe Root, and Boucher was impressed with de Kock’s ability to read the match situation and respond accordingly.ALSO READ: Archer not ‘overbowled’ by England, says Root”We always knew that Quinny has got a very smart cricketing brain. He had a couple of different field placings which I thought were good and he was thinking out of the box,” Boucher said. “Quinny is unique and I think the uniqueness of him can work wonders in a dressing room like this because we’ve got a unique set-up as well.”In a brief post-match television interview, de Kock revealed that not much had changed about his approach or his game plan and that he benefitted from having a group of players who he could consult on the field. That included Rassie van der Dussen, now considered a senior member of the team after just a year in the international game, and Temba Bavuma and Jon-Jon Smuts, both franchise captains on the domestic scene. The collective core of experience and the freshness of young players created a team atmosphere that de Kock enjoyed being part of. “The energy really stood out for me,” de Kock said.Although South Africa were disappointed with their batting performance in Johannesburg and Boucher thought they were “30-40 runs short”, they were satisfied with what the series showed them about their depth. Boucher singled out the performances of 21-year-old quick Lutho Sipamla, who took 1 for 42 in 9.2 overs at the Wanderers, and Bavuma, who was South Africa’s second-highest-scorer, as showing good signs for the future.”I thought Lutho bowled really well today,” Boucher said. “And Temba had a good knock in Cape Town, which was probably deserving of a hundred although you’re going to say he was two [too?] short. [Cue awkward pun laughter] But the way he came in, he dominated from the first ball he faced, which was great to see. He looks the part in that No.3 position. Today he got out lbw, but that happens. He is one of the pluses that I’ve seen in this series.”At the same time, Boucher acknowledged that South Africa still have a lot of work to do before they are ready for the T20 World Cup and will use the Australia series to experiment further.”All the white-ball cricket from now up until the World Cup is giving guys opportunities and seeing what they can do in pressure situations,” he said. “We are trying to look ahead to a World Cup in Australia and we are looking at different options that we’ve got. We will use the next three games against Australia to find some answers and ask some questions.”

أعلن الاتحاد الإسباني لكرة القدم، اليوم الثلاثاء، إجراء تغيير فيما يخص مباريات بطولة كأس السوبر الإسباني، المزمع إقامتها في المملكة العربية السعودية، مطلع العام الجديد.

وتستضيف السعودية منافسات النسخة المقبلة من كأس السوبر الإسباني، في الفترة بين 8 و12 يناير.

وتشارك 4 فرق في تلك البطولة، وهي، ريال مدريد بصفته بطل الدوري الإسباني، والوصيف برشلونة، إلى جانب بطل ووصيف كأس ملك إسبانيا وهما أتلتيك بلباو وريال مايوركا.

اقرأ أيضًا | عن عمر 19 عامًا.. لاعب ريال مدريد يعلن اعتزاله كرة القدم في بيان مؤثر

ويلتقي ريال مدريد مع ريال مايوركا في نصف النهائي، على أن يلتقي برشلونة مع أتلتيك بلباو.

وكان من المفترض أن تُقام مباراة ريال مدريد يوم 8 يناير، على أن يشهد اليوم التالي مباراة برشلونة.

ولكن الاتحاد الإسباني لكرة القدم قرر إجراء تغيير، حيث أصبحت مباراة برشلونة وأتلتيك بلباو يوم الأربعاء 8 يناير، في حين أن لقاء ريال مدريد ومايوركا يوم الخميس 9.