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Mitchell Johnson’s first day of Test cricket in a year was neither brilliant nor disastrous. But importantly, it was encouraging

Brydon Coverdale at the WACA30-Nov-2012At his best, Mitchell Johnson is unplayable. At his worst, he is unwatchable. Australia have seen both versions of Johnson over the years and are generally happy if he provides something in between. That’s what he delivered on the first day at the WACA, where this time he was unflappable. Perhaps it was Ricky Ponting’s retirement that drew the attention away from him. The expectations that weighed him down in the past were gone. He was happy to be Mr In-Between.There was a little bit of tripe, sure, but when you’re Mr In-Between, you accentuate the positives and eliminate the negatives. The positives were some seriously awkward deliveries that worried South Africa’s batsmen. He finished with 2 for 54 and built enough pressure to help his colleagues take wickets at the other end. All in all, Johnson can be content with his return to the baggy green.It was at this ground four years ago that Johnson bowled one of the most venomous spells in recent Test history. In the dying light on the second day against South Africa, he collected 5 for 2 in 20 balls, succeeding with a mixture of his slanting angle, quick bouncers and clever slower balls. He finished the innings with 8 for 61. Anyone expecting to see the same Johnson this time would have been disappointed; anyone with more realistic hopes should have been satisfied.Johnson’s first over showed that he can still make batsmen dance. Graeme Smith, who has twice suffered a broken hand due to Johnson’s zip, was immediately jumpy. His first ball from Johnson was a bouncy warning, his fourth reared up and struck Smith on the fingers, lobbing just short of gully. There was no need for an x-ray on this occasion, but the battle had resumed. The first ball of Johnson’s next over, Smith flashed wildly at a wide ball, hoping to exert some authority. He failed. Shane Watson removed Smith in the next over, but Johnson could share the credit.His first spell was strong; his second provided the reward. The debutant Dean Elgar, who must surely have watched some of Johnson’s fierce past performances against South Africa, thought he could get off the mark and get on top of Johnson by pulling a short ball. Instead, all he could manage was a top edge to Matthew Wade. A late wicket – Dale Steyn, who played on – boosted Johnson’s figures, but the next three balls were wide of off and carved for boundaries by Morne Morkel.That was the Johnson that some Australian fans remembered – a wicket, and a lot of runs conceded. But it was a one-off over in an otherwise encouraging day for Johnson. Aside from hitting Smith on the gloves, he produced a zipping short ball that forced Vernon Philander into the kind of twisted, distorted posture that you could almost imagine was how he woke up on the morning of the Adelaide Test with a sore back. He was struck by the Johnson delivery but it didn’t cost him his wicket.The captain Michael Clarke must have been happy with Johnson’s return. That he has even found his way back to Test cricket is an achievement. When he injured his foot while batting during Australia’s famous victory in Johannesburg last November and was subsequently sidelined for the rest of the summer, it saved John Inverarity’s new selection panel a decision. Ostensibly, Johnson was Australia’s spearhead, but he had become unreliable and at a time of change he looked like following the coach and the selectors out the door.But a promising start to the domestic season for Western Australia earned him another opportunity. He is not expected to lead the attack. If all Australia’s fast men were fit, he could be seventh or eighth in line. But when required, he can play a role. He can intimidate, he can pick up the odd wicket, and he can create the kind of uncertainty in batsmen’s minds that helps his colleagues collect more victims as well.On the first day in Perth, he was outbowled by the younger left-armer Mitchell Starc, whose two early wickets came from good, full-length deliveries that crashed into the stumps, one having been preceded by a bouncer that left Jacques Kallis hesitant. Starc finished with two wickets – he is yet to take more in a Test innings – but he showed plenty of promise. The debutant John Hastings created chances, as did Watson. The spinner Nathan Lyon earned some late rewards.They all played their part, Johnson included. It wasn’t a lead role, but it wasn’t meant to be. That he had 190 Test wickets before today was irrelevant. He was just another bowler bringing to Test cricket what had worked for him at domestic level. He was not unplayable, or at least not often. He was certainly not unwatchable. Today, Johnson was somewhere in the middle. And as the old song goes, you don’t mess with Mr In-Between.

On Wednesday night in Bangalore, an Irish legend was born

Liam Brickhill in Bangalore02-Mar-2011On Wednesday night in Bangalore, an Irish legend was born. For 123 glorious minutes Kevin O’Brien burned more brightly than the floodlights that illuminated the stadium, as an increasingly impassioned crowd cheered each thundering crack off his bat with ever greater fervour. Ireland were floundering at a rudderless 106 for 4 in the 23rd over when he entered the fray, they were at the brink of the most famous victory in their cricketing history when he departed 211 runs later. The crowd rose as one to cheer him off and tearful pride was writ large on the faces of his parents, who had watched every ball from the stands.”I’m still speechless to be honest,” O’Brien said after his breathtaking innings. “There’s two proud people up there in the stands, and there’s probably 4 million proud people back home. It’s a fantastic day, not just for Irish cricket but for any Irish sport. Any time Ireland beat England, it’s massive. All I can say is that it’s a tremendous day and we’re all very proud. It’s going to be a good night and we’ll celebrate as long and as loudly as we can.”That’s a long way the best innings I’ve ever played,” he added. “It even eclipses playing in the back garden with Niall, where hitting out of the garden was out. I think anyone is going to struggle to beat that innings to be honest, and I’ll take a few fines for that. I’ll say that all night, a hundred off fifty balls in a World Cup in front of a billion people under lights against England, it doesn’t get any better.”It was fitting that O’Brien became Ireland’s leading run-scorer in one-day cricket in the course of his innings. His record-breaking century – the fastest in World Cup history – sealed the biggest chase the tournament has ever seen, smashing a record that had stood for 19 years, and helped Ireland soar to their first ever win over England. William Porterfield, Ireland’s captain and the man O’Brien eclipsed on that run-scoring list, was effusive in his praise for what he called “an unbelievable knock”.”There’s not many games where a team will be 111 for 5 with 24 overs gone and chase 320-odd and knock them off with a few balls to spare,” said Porterfield. “It’s an unbelievable knock, it’s the best knock I’ve seen. It’s got to rank as one of the best, if not the best, World Cup knock.”Porterfield was equally enthused about the team’s victory and its place in Irish cricketing history, adding: “I think it’s the biggest win that Irish cricket’s ever had. Obviously there’s the win against Pakistan [in 2007] that put us through the group but in terms of a one-off win it’s the biggest we’ve ever had, and one of the best. It’s the biggest chase in World Cup history and it’s the biggest chase we’ve had in a long time. It’s the best win in Irish cricket’s history for me.”While Ireland had managed to just about keep afloat after the disaster of losing Porterfield to the first ball of the innings, their pursuit of 328 had been drifting into mediocrity before O’Brien strode to the crease. He reached the boundary three times within the first 10 deliveries he faced, displaying remarkable self-belief, and never looked back.”I Just went out and tried to be positive,” he said. “Just back my own ability and if the ball’s there to hit, try and hit it, and hit it as hard as I can. It was obviously a tricky situation, it didn’t help losing the fifth wicket for 111. We were backs-against-the-wall but we took a chance and we got the ball rolling and from there I don’t think England had any answers for us. They didn’t really know what they were up to with their bowling plans and we took advantage of that.”William Porterfield: “There’s not many games where a team will be 111 for 5 with 24 overs gone and chase 320-odd and knock them off with a few balls to spare.”•Getty ImagesPorterfield suggested the turning point came when the Batting Powerplay was taken after the 31st over. The 32nd, bowled by Michael Yardy, was the most expensive of the innings until that point, but there was even more carnage to come. Three overs later O’Brien crashed James Anderson into the night sky and high over the midwicket boundary with scarcely believable force to smash another record, for the biggest six of the tournament, with a 102-metre behemoth. Five overs of fielding restrictions yielded 62 runs and with 99 needed at seven-an-over, for the first time the finish line became visible for Ireland.”It was the turning point,” said Porterfield. “We’ve obviously got plans and strategies before the game, but it’s up to the lads in the middle to make that call [on taking the Powerplay]. They know how they feel out there and what they feel they can do, so I think it was a pretty good decision to take it then.”It was soon after that O’Brien truly began to believe that he could do more than simply bruise English egos, and that victory was actually achievable. “For me, it was probably at about 12 overs to go. We needed 80 or 90 off 12, about seven an over and the wicket out there was extremely flat, the ball was coming onto the bat nicely and it’s a pretty small ground with a quick outfield. You pierce the ball through the infield and it’s either two or four, and it helped that I was hitting the ball pretty cleanly as well.”There was a final twist to the tale, however, and when O’Brien was run out in the 49th over with 11 still needed one might have expected there to be some fluttering hearts in the Ireland camp. But O’Brien insisted that, even then, they felt victory was theirs for the taking.”I knew John-boy [John Mooney] was there and he was hitting the ball extremely cleanly, and then Trent [Johnston] to come in. Trent’s no tailender, he hits a big ball and he’s a fantastic player coming in at No. 8 or 9 for us. I just knew if we didn’t panic it was down to a run a ball, and they weren’t really hitting their straps. They weren’t hitting their yorkers and they were always giving us a four-ball – one an over – so we knew if we just sat on it, kept out the good ball and hit the bad ball that we’d walk to victory.”The win, with five balls to spare, was indeed ultimately a stroll, but Ireland’s reaction was anything but. The Ireland changing room had bristled with increasingly nervous, fidgety energy until the explosion of emotion that came with Mooney’s swat to the midwicket boundary, the players spilling onto the field in joyful delirium.Ireland’s cricketers, with an assortment of shaved, blond, blue and purple heads, brought colour and excitement to match England’s epic against India at the same venue last week. O’Brien stood out more than most with his garish pink and blond mop, and his match-winning century will stand out in similar technicolor in the memories of all who saw it on a legendary night in Bangalore.

Rahul Dravid made a brave decision to employ the second Powerplay in the 29th over. It was a move that could so easily have backfired but as it turned out, it was the masterstroke that swung the game India’s way

George Binoy06-Apr-2006Rahul Dravid has made some curious decisions against England this season – bowling first in the Mumbai Test, and using Gautam Gambhir for one over that cost 13 runs in the second ODI at Faridabad. Today, he made a brave decision to employ the second Powerplay in the 29th over. It was a move that could so easily have backfired but as it turned out, it was the masterstroke that swung the game India’s way.England were 59 for 2 in the tenth over and Kevin Pietersen’s ominous form prompted Dravid to delay the second Powerplay. However, the runs kept coming and England added 50 runs in the next ten overs. Even when Paul Collingwood departed at 117 for 3, Dravid had several boundary riders because big-hitting Andrew Flintoff had joined Pietersen.The overs ticked by and no wickets were forthcoming and Dravid could have waited and waited for a breakthrough. Instead he chose to gamble in the 29th over, when England were 148 for 3, by opting for the Powerplay. Flintoff slogged Harbhajan Singh’s first ball to the long-on boundary and took a single off the next. Pietersen, having used the power-sweep so effectively, tried to repeat the stroke but the extra bounce resulted in a catch to square leg. Flintoff’s wicket soon followed and Ramesh Powar produced a ripping offbreak to make it three wickets for India, and just 40 runs for England, in the ten overs of the second and third Powerplays. The following graphic shows England’s progress between overs 19 and 38, the last ten of which were the final Powerplays.

Mendis’ 73 and Sri Lanka’s death-bowling heroics not enough for comeback win

Madushka Balasuriya08-Apr-2023

Sri Lanka’s death bowling nearly pulled it back from the brink, but New Zealand kept their cool to secure an ultimately comfortable four-wicket win in the third and final T20I in Queenstown and with it a 2-1 series victory.Tim Seifert anchored a successful chase of 183 with his 48-ball 88, which trumped Kusal Mendis’ 73 off 43 earlier in the day, though Seifert might not have imagined how tense the finish would get when he was dismissed with his side needing just 29 from 23 deliveries with seven wickets in hand.Overs 17 to 19 would go for just 19 runs, leaving the hosts needing ten to win off the last over. A six off the first delivery seemed to have settled matters but Sri Lanka would land a team hat-trick off the next three balls, with Lahiru Kumara picking up two wickets and effecting a run out.They might have made it four from four too, but Kumara missed an almost identical run-out chance, allowing New Zealand to steal a bye to the keeper. Rachin Ravindra then struck the winning runs a ball later, as New Zealand breathed a collective sigh of relief. For Sri Lanka, it’s a disappointing end to a tough tour.The turning point: Henry makes amends
Hindsight is often twenty-twenty, but even in the moment, Matt Henry’s three-run final over seemed like it could prove pivotal. The five overs prior had seen Sri Lanka hit 56 runs, and with five wickets in hand and Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka at the crease – both capable of comfortably clearing the ropes – Sri Lanka would have been looking to make a charge at a total near 200. But Henry varied his pace and kept it full and wide to keep the over to singles at most. Having gone wicketless for 32 off his previous three, Henry came through clutch at the death, and New Zealand would eventually win with just a ball to spare.Tim Seifert made a match-winning 88 off 48 balls•AFP/Getty Images

Seifert breaks open the chase
Chad Bowes being dropped in the first over might have been bad for morale and momentum, but Seifert managing to pick up a boundary in nearly every over up until the 17th, in which he was dismissed, was what took Sri Lanka out of the game. His partnerships of 53 and 84 with Bowes and Tom Latham also ensured that even the chaotic loss of wickets at the end wouldn’t derail his side’s chase. Nearly every Sri Lankan bowler went at over 8 an over – Hasaranga ended a dismal tour by his standards with a wicketless four overs for 41 – and Seifert struck at over 170 against all of them barring the always excellent Maheesh Theekshana, who maintained an economy rate of 5.50.Mendis (and Sri Lanka) ride their luck
Sri Lanka got off to their best start of the series with Mendis and Pathum Nissanka putting on a 76-run opening stand. Mendis would go on to top score in a destructive innings that saw six fours and five sixes, but also one fraught with a non-insignificant dose of fortune. While a couple of mistimed hits fell just out of reach of onrushing fielders, it was him being dropped at first slip by Daryll Mitchell that really raised eyebrows. Mendis would be offered a second reprieve later on, this time by Ravindra running along the deep-third boundary. One final bit of luck would come to Kusal Perera’s aid, as he would be excellently caught on the boundary line, only for Mitchell to fail to release the ball on time before trodding on the ropes – even with the aid of super slow-mo, a frame’s evidence might have been enough to uphold the on-field decision of out.New Zealand make their own luckIf Sri Lanka’s innings was bolstered by uncharacteristic let-offs in the field, New Zealand certainly did their part to undo as much of the damage caused by those blips. James Neesham’s quality take in the deep to dismiss Nissanka set the tone, which was followed by a phenomenal direct hit by Adam Milne from the deep to run out Perera. Dasun Shanaka, who had looked dangerous striking two boundaries off his first five deliveries, saw Bowes hold on to a tricky skier, before Asalanka was run out courtesy of another gun throw from the boundary. That last one was part of Henry’s game-changing final over.

Ousmane Dembele has revealed the “dreams” advice he was given by Lionel Messi as the PSG superstar looks to land a Ballon d’Or of his own.

Frenchman moved to Camp Nou in 2017Spent four seasons alongside Argentine GOATHoping to win his own Golden BallFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

France international Dembele is a World Cup and Champions League winner, but he could soon be recognised as the best player on the planet. His exploits in 2024-25 are considered to make him a serious contender to collect a prestigious Golden Ball.

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Such success felt a long way off when experiencing form and fitness issues at Barcelona. The 28-year-old did, however, have the perfect mentor at Camp Nou. Dembele linked up with eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi when joining Barca from Borussia Dortmund in 2017. He was handed a locker next to the Argentine GOAT.

WHAT DEMBELE SAID

Dembele made a point of taking as many lessons as possible from Messi, telling of his experiences in Catalunya: “I had a very good relationship with Messi from the very first day. My locker was right next to his, and he gave a lot of advice to me. He was someone who instinctively knew what you wanted. He told me that I’d have to be serious if I wanted to achieve my dreams – after that, I watched and learned from what he did on the pitch.

“Whether he played as a number 10 or number nine, his positioning was exceptional, the way he seemed to make himself invisible on the pitch. Sometimes you don’t seem to see him for about four or five minutes, then as soon as he gets the ball, he instinctively knows what to do.

“Messi would know when Jordi Alba was going to double up front with him, when he was going to put the ball in. He understands football really well, positions himself very well on the pitch and you know – we all know – what he can do with his feet.”

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Dembele and Messi made 95 appearances together for Barca across four seasons, prior to the latter’s departure for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, and the Frenchman added when asked if he will one day tell his two-year-old daughter about playing alongside the all-time great: “I am already telling her now!”

The RCB head coach was reluctant to talk recruitment for next season, but acknowledged bowling at home will be key

Alagappan Muthu23-May-20242:03

Who is RR’s MVP? And will RCB be happy with their season?

Royal Challengers Bengaluru must focus on building a team that can do well at home when the mega auction comes around according to their head coach Andy Flower in the aftermath of their Eliminator exit against Rajasthan Royals. That means they have to buy “highly skillful bowlers” who will be able to cope with the small boundaries at the M Chinnaswamy stadium.”I think our guys have fought brilliantly over the last 10 weeks to come back from our first half of the tournament was a great effort,” Flower said, “And I certainly would pay tribute to Faf du Plessis for his captaincy and Faf and Virat [Kohli] for the way they’ve led from the front as role models and professional sports people. But also the way they’ve played. They both really been great role models for everyone else and the rest of the boys fought really hard to get us back into the tournament.”Related

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How Hetmyer and Boult helped a Royal plan to tie up loose ends

RCB won six matches in a row to improve their net run-rate to make a dramatic last-minute dash into the playoffs. But they had a poor run in the first half of the season, winning just one out of seven games. Their bowling was one of the biggest concerns, with captain du Plessis then admitting that his side was struggling because their bowlers did not have “as many weapons”. RCB also struggled to convert their high-scoring home venue into a fortress, winning just one out of four games in the first half. But they returned to win the last three games at the venue.”As far as recruitment for next year,” Flower said, “it’s a bit early to talk about that. Quite frankly, I don’t want to talk about that yet. I do think though the Chinnaswamy has some particular qualities that we need to be able to exploit. You certainly need highly skillful bowlers at Chinnaswamy. Simply pace is not going to be the answer there. You need skillful, intelligent bowlers and people that can bowl to really specific plans at Chinnaswamy”And I think we’ve all seen how the power game has affected T20 cricket recently. So on the batting front, you certainly need to recruit batsmen with that sort of power that can keep up that sort of tempo.”T20 leagues vs internationals: ‘A bit of a problem that cricket has at the moment’One batter who did give RCB that kind of tempo was Will Jacks, who helped them in their quest to up their net run-rate enough that they could beat three other teams into the playoffs. However, having got there, RCB did not have access to Jacks because he was called back to England to prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup.”It is a bit of a problem that the cricket world and the cricket calendar has at the moment,” Flower said. “We saw at the Big Bash recently, a lot of the overseas players left before the playoffs and the finals so it really devalued the tournament to a certain extent. You saw in the ILT20 as well, you saw a lot of coming and going with people that had finished in the SA20 and then came in even just for the finals of the ILT20. I think competitions have to be careful about that because the integrity of the competition is really important.”With a World Cup just around the corner, it’s very difficult. I completely understand why England wanted to recall those players. If I were England coach, I think I will be doing the same. So there are conundrums for the game that have to be ironed out. I’m not sure how with the busy-ness of the calendar at the moment. But it is a pity.”Will Jacks really hit his straps with us. He enjoyed the tournament with us and we enjoyed his power at No. 3 obviously. And it was a pity not to have him. But Cameron Green stepped into those shoes really well. [He] did really well for us, batting in a preferred position for him actually. At the moment that’s something I can’t control so we just try to make the best of it.”

For the first time since 2019, global hip-hop icon Drake made his long-awaited return to the Manchester stage, and Cole Palmer did not miss the opportunity to watch him live. The Chelsea forward traced his way to Co-Op Live on Friday night and was accompanied by another celebrity guest, Central Cee.

• Palmer attended Drake's concert in Manchester
• Forward enjoying his break after lifting the CWC trophy
• Will be back for pre-season in August

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Launching the night with his track the Canadian superstar took the stage in a casual blue button-down shirt paired with brown jeans. Before delving into his set, he greeted the packed arena with a shoutout to his most loyal fans: "Where my Day Ones at?" and the audience roared in response, welcoming him back with overwhelming energy, with Palmer and Cee in the crowd.

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  The timing of Drake’s Manchester concert series aligned perfectly with the release of a new joint track with Central Cee titled Which One. Premiered on an episode of Drake’s Iceman streaming series—filmed in various locations around Manchester—the song adds another chapter to their growing collaborative history. And surprisingly, the crowd was treated to a thrilling moment when Drake invited Central Cee on stage for a live rendition of the track. Drake was effusive in his praise for Central Cee and said, "I'm so proud of this guy. He's going around the world, killing it, shutting down every show, record after record."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR PALMER?

  Palmer is soaking in the post-season vibes following his Club World Cup triumph with Chelsea in the United States. However, with Chelsea looking to reassert themselves on the European stage once again next season, with a Champions League return sealed, the England international will be critical to their ambitions. He is expected to return to Cobham for pre-season in the first week of August.

RB Leipzig have sprinted ahead in the race to sign PSV's Johan Bakayoko with the winger left out of his team's training camp as transfer nears.

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• RB Leipzig reached verbal agreement with Bakayoko
• Overtake Leverkusen as winger's preferred destination
• English clubs also keeping tabs on PSV star

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to , Leipzig have reached a verbal agreement with the player's camp. This comes as a huge blow for their Bundesliga competitors, Leverkusen, who looked like they were about to sign the Belgian alongside PSV co-star Malik Tillman. With one year remaining on his PSV contract, the winger is projected to cost around €20 million (£17m/$23m). Leipzig are advancing quickly and want to secure the deal quickly.

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  Leipzig bring a lot more to the table for Bakayoko than their domestic rivals. The Red Bull-owned club are looking to outmanoeuvre Bayer and tempt the Belgian winger with the option of reuniting with his former PSV team-mate Xavi Simons. This could be a huge blow for Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, who have been keeping tabs on the 22-year-old.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Leverkusen were plotting to make a double swoop from PSV, having already signed Tillman until 2030. The winger, who is on the wishlist of many clubs, has had an underwhelming season in the Netherlands last season. This has prompted the winger to switch clubs, as he believes his growth and development has stalled in the Netherlands.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR LEIPZIG?

  Leipzig players are also attracting a lot of interest, with Al-Hilal interested in signing Benjamin Sesko while Bayern Munich could make a bid to sign Simons after their failed pursuit of Florian Wirtz and Nico Williams. Leipzig, who have Jurgen Klopp in position as head of global soccer at Red Bull, could part ways with the Slovenian striker and have put a price tag of €88m (£77m/$104m) on the forward.

Former Arsenal and Chelsea star William Gallas believes Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho will return to the Premier League – but on one condition.

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Mourinho managing FenerbahceSpoken of Premier League returnTipped to go back on one conditionFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Mourinho is currently halfway through his two-year contract at Fenerbahce, and last month he said he expects to stay with the Turkish giants next season. Last October, the Portuguese did say he was "ready" to head back to the English top-flight but only to manage a club "at the bottom". But ex-France international Gallas believes the former Real Madrid boss will only be back on English shores if a post at a title contender becomes available.

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He told Prime Casino: “I can only see him back in England in the Premier League and only see him in the Premier League with a team that is competing for the title. I don’t think he will come back just to manage a team in midtable and at the moment I can’t see a team going for the title that would be a good fit, because of that we may not see him back in the Premier League.”

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Mourinho never tends to stay too long at a football team, something that has been evidenced during spells at Chelsea, Manchester United, Madrid, Inter Milan, Roma, Tottenham, and more. Some believe the 62-year-old, who has never been at a club for more than three years, will get another crack at the Premier League one day but the right opportunity may have to come along to lure him back.

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In May, Mourinho said on his Fenerbahce future: "If you ask me if I'm going to be here next season, I refer to the last [Fenerbahce] president's appearance on TV a couple of weeks ago, where the president said that he wants me to stay and he is counting on me to stay for the next season."

Whether he stays at the Turkish outfit remains to be seen.

Wolverhampton Wanderers must bolster their squad this summer if they are to challenge the top half of the table under Vitor Pereira.

It appears as though the manager has done enough during his short stint to maintain the Old Gold’s Premier League status, for another year at least, but an interesting summer window is on the horizon.

Could the Portuguese boss raid another top-flight club for a player who enjoyed an excellent spell at Molineux between 2017 and 2020? Diogo Jota has been linked with a return.

Wolves' interest in re-signing Jota

According to reports from earlier this week, Wolves are showing interest in bringing back Jota to the club after nearly five years away from the Midlands.

It appears as though Liverpool are looking to cash in on the winger, who has missed 93 matches since joining the Anfield side, and Wolves could be the frontrunners.

A return of 64 goals and 22 assists for the Reds across 174 matches is a more than respectable return by Jota, but Arne Slot is looking to go in a different direction next season.

Pereira, however, has a player in his first-team squad who might be even better than Jota and is certainly worth more than him in the current market…

The Wolves star who's worth more than Jota

There won’t be many supporters who would want to know what position the club would be in if it weren’t for Matheus Cunha’s efforts in front of goal this term. Across 26 Premier League games, Cunha has scored 13 goals while providing four assists for the Old Gold.

The South American forward scores every 165 minutes in the top flight for Wolves, along with registering 3.3 shots, averaging 1.7 key passes and succeeding with 1.9 dribbles each game.

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Add in the fact he has created 12 big chances for Wolves, it becomes clear that Cunha is equally adept at scoring or providing teammates with plenty of opportunities to find the back of the net.

Metric

Cunha

Jota

Goals

13

5

Assists

4

3

Big chances created

12

3

Shots per game

3.3

1.9

Key passes per game

1.7

0.5

Successful dribbles per game

1.9

0.6

Former Man City defender Micah Richards praised Cunha on Match of the Day 2 in November, saying: “His football IQ is absolutely sensational. He’s the one who can unlock the doors. He finds the little pockets of space and makes the right decisions at the right times.

“He’s always scanning where he needs to be and always plays the right pass. He is so key in what Wolves are trying to do. He is the best at everything.”

That importance is shown by his soaring market value. Indeed, Jota is currently worth €45m (£38m), as per Transfermarkt, and Liverpool will be looking for this sort of figure to let him leave Anfield in the summer.

Cunha, on the other hand, is currently valued at €55m (£46m) by Transfermarkt and this value will only keep increasing, especially considering how impressive the Brazilian has been this season for Wolves.

If, and it is a big if, Wolves can keep him for the 2025/26 season, then they have to build a team around the former Atlético Madrid star.

Wolves chiefs have made offer to sign £29m striker this summer for Pereira

Wolves are looking to get ahead of other Premier League teams by making an offer for an exciting striker.

ByBrett Worthington Mar 20, 2025