Brighton owner Tony Bloom says it is "entirely false" that he placed bets on his team's matches since he took over the club. Reports emerged that the British billionaire was the anonymous gambler behind winnings of £52 million ($70m), which allegedly included bets on the Seagulls. Now, in a statement on behalf of Bloom, the Premier League club has responded to these "misleading" claims.
Only 9.4 overs of play was possible in the T20I series opener between India and Australia
Andrew McGlashan29-Oct-20251:53
‘Baffling’ – Chopra on Arshdeep’s non-selection in the XI
Rain in Canberra ruined the opening T20I of the five-match series between Australia and India, also cutting short an eye-catching display from captain Suryakumar Yadav who was beginning to rekindle the form he had showed at the IPL earlier this year.Suryakumar and Shubman Gill had carried India to a promising 97 for 1 in the 10th over of a contest already reduced to 18 overs per side by an earlier stoppage when heavier rain came through and eventually forced the call-off shortly before 10pm.Moments before the rain returned, Suryakumar had tucked into Nathan Ellis’ second over with two fours and a six. He had been given a life on 18 when Josh Philippe couldn’t hold onto a tough chance running back from mid-on and was able to pass 20 for just the second time in his last 15 T20I innings – a period which, of course, sandwiches the prolific IPL.Mitchell Marsh had continued his impressive run with the coin, and unsurprisingly, opted to bowl as he had done on all 18 previous occasions in T20Is when he has had the choice.India’s intent was clear from the very start when Abhishek Sharma, facing Australia for the first time, charged at Josh Hazlewood’s opening delivery. Abhishek ended the first over by again using his feet and carved Hazlewood through point.Gill survived a close lbw shout against Ellis on 11, when he was beaten by a back-of-the-hand slower ball, which Australia reviewed and the replays showed it was clipping the top of the bails. However, Abhishek’s powerplay was cut short when he drove a catch to Tim David at mid-off to hand Ellis a wicket on his opening over.
The fifth over brought a terrific mini-contest between Suryakumar and Hazlewood, who is only available for the first two matches of this series before turning his focus to Ashes preparation.The first ball, a bouncer, whistled past Suryakumar as he considered a ramp to deep third, the second was unplayable as it nipped away from back of a length to beat an ambitious drive, but then Suryakumar responded with an audacious flick over deep square leg for six. Two dots followed before Suryakumar ended it by working a single.Gill, meanwhile, had played briskly between the stoppages and shortly before the final stoppage had slog-swept Matt Kuhnemann powerfully over deep midwicket.Despite conditions being a world away from Dubai, India retained the three frontline spinners they used in the Asia Cup final with Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy all finding spots in the XI. Jasprit Bumrah was set to lead the pace attack which also included Harshit Rana. Allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out of the opening three matches as he recovers from quad and neck problems.From a likely first-choice side, Australia were missing Cameron Green (Shield cricket), Glenn Maxwell (available from game three) and Adam Zampa (personal reasons).
A legal settlement has been reached related to the disruptions at the 2024 Copa América final, with organizers and venue operators agreeing to pay $14 million to fans affected by access and safety issues at Hard Rock Stadium. The class action was filed after security problems prevented some ticket holders from entering the venue and created unsafe conditions for others inside.
Getty Images SportSettlement provides compensation for fans
A settlement has reportedly been reached in the class action lawsuit filed by fans following the 2024 Copa América final between Argentina and Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium. The lawsuit cited access and safety issues that left some ticket holders unable to enter the venue and prompted others to leave early. ESPN reported that affected fans are expected to make up the majority of claimants.
CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, Best Security, and South Florida Stadium LLC – the owner and operator of Hard Rock Stadium – were named as defendants. Under the terms of the agreement, the defendants will collectively contribute more than $14 million to a compensation fund for eligible fans, with the final payout dependent on the number of claims submitted.
AdvertisementChaotic scenes at Hard Rock Stadium
The July 14, 2024, final was delayed for roughly 82 minutes after large numbers of ticketless individuals attempted to enter Hard Rock Stadium, prompting a security lockdown and the later reopening of gates to reduce crowding outside the venue. Authorities reported multiple arrests and ejections, and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to numerous medical incidents at the stadium.
As a result of the disruptions, many paying ticket holders were unable to enter or chose to leave early, and those individuals are expected to make up the majority of claims under the settlement.
Getty Images SportLiability, damages and more
Under the settlement terms reviewed by reporters, eligible claimants will fall into two main categories. Fans who were denied entry may seek up to $2,000 each to cover ticket costs, with an additional allowance of up to $300 for travel expenses if the ticket value was below the cap.
A secondary category covers patrons who were denied full access to stadium facilities or services, such as concessions and merchandise, with awards capped at $100 per person. The final total paid out will depend on the volume of claims submitted against the roughly $14 million fund.
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Looking ahead
The settlement outlines how fans affected by the access and safety issues at the 2024 Copa América final can seek compensation. Hard Rock Stadium is also scheduled to host matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup next year.
Shan Masood was gushing in his praise of South Africa’s quicks, but extreme pace is currently off the cards for his side
Danyal Rasool06-Jan-2025If someone told you Pakistan had lost 20 successive Test matches in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were talking about rugby. But after Pakistan slipped to another Test defeat in the watery evening sunshine of Cape Town, they ensured that ignominious statistic had reached a nice round number.There isn’t a single explanation for a run that stretches back to 2013, but it is possible to be more specific when it comes to this particular Test at Newlands, and Shan Masood certainly was. He paid rich tribute to South Africa’s pace bowlers, acknowledging he was impressed they kept their speeds up, despite bowling 176.3 consecutive overs to dismiss Pakistan twice. Pakistan, meanwhile, had no bowler that truly came close to the pace of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, and Kwena Maphaka.”SA bowled really well in both innings,” Masood said. “Their pace was up. That has been a key difference in this series. If you look at our first innings, 132-135 [kph] not carrying to the slips compared to 138-144 when Maphaka was bowling. Those are the balls that beat the batter or hit you on the pads. That is a difference and it is something we want to do in Test cricket as well.”Related
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Six years ago in Cape Town, another Pakistan captain sat in the Newlands press box, and was coruscating about his bowlers’ lack of pace. South Africa had just knocked off a routine fourth innings run chase, and Sarfaraz Ahmed compared his own bowlers unfavourably to South Africa’s.”If you talk about our bowling and their bowling, I think there’s a big difference in the two,” Sarfaraz had said. “The way our bowlers are bowling is not up to the mark in this Test match. If you see our bowlers, they’re bowling 128-129, and the average speed is 130, while their bowlers are bowling at 145. If you are going to bowl with that lack of pace here you won’t get wickets.”I don’t know what’s going on there. Previously it happened, too, when I came here in 2013, the same problem occurred. At the time we had [Mohammad] Irfan, Umar Gul and Tanvir Ahmed. Their pace was down too. I don’t know what’s happening here in Cape Town.”But while those comments may have been intended as a public rebuke to Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Afridi, the variance in pace didn’t come as a surprise to Masood. Pakistan opted against playing their only express seamer – Naseem Shah – in Cape Town under circumstances that are, at best, murky, vaguely citing a back issue and chest congestion. It left Pakistan with a bowling attack of four men who could only really be described as medium fast: Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mir Hamza and Aamer Jamal’s average pace was between 125kph and 132kph, with not a single ball bowled over 140kph.On the second day during the tea break, however, Naseem was on a practice pitch a few strips across from the playing surface, bowling at full pelt – significantly quicker than any of the starting squad, unencumbered by the sorts of fitness issues that ostensibly kept him out. Similarly, Afridi, the other bowler with Test pedigree who could have brought higher pace, was given leave to play the Bangladesh Premier League, despite the PCB insisting national duty took first priority.It remains unclear whether he was dropped or made himself unavailable, but the result remains the same: South Africa had bowlers who ensured their pace remained high, while Pakistan fielded a quartet who physically could not.”The clear difference was the fast bowling where they bowled a lot of overs at decent pace,” Masood said. “We have to look at a lot of other things in our set-up. How to keep the quicks fresh, how to get an extra batter in the squad. Like Aamer Jamal, if we can find another bowler who’s a good bowler and batter. Like South Africa have Marco Jansen. He’s good with the bat and very good with the ball. If we can find a few cricketers like that, it’d be good for our Test make-up as well where we can play that extra spinner.”They were pretty decent with reverse swing, too. Even today, when Maphaka came on before the second new ball, his pace was up. Jansen’s a superb cricketer, Rabada’s one of the greatest bowlers to play the game. On the fast bowling front, in the first Test, they had [Dane] Paterson: a wily customer, clever, skilled and experienced. I thought their fast-bowling department was really good.”It is an unusual position for Pakistan to find themselves in. Having waxed lyrical about the strength and depth of its their pace attack over the years, Pakistan must now contend with the suddenly denuded nature of their Test pace cabinet. While just two months ago, they fielded an electric high pace attack comprising Afridi, Naseem, Mohammad Hasnain and Haris Rauf, they find themselves in a situation where their desire to play Test cricket hovers between varying degrees of reluctance. Rauf pushed that recalcitrance to the extreme when he refused to tour Australia for a three-Test series last year, and briefly lost his central contract, while Hasnain has not played first-class cricket since a county stint in 2022.It makes it tricky to work out what a lost series in South Africa means. Pakistan appear to have shifted away from using pace at home, famously defeating England 2-1 in October with a spin-heavy strategy. When West Indies visit later this month for two Tests, a similar strategy will be followed, with high-pace likely non-existent. It may mean Pakistan have reconciled themselves to opting out of matching countries like South Africa for pace when they show up here, or in Australia.This tour of South Africa could end up being a harbinger of that. It remains to be seen whether such a deal – which with their history and culture may be viewed as almost Faustian – is one their supporters will simply have to resign themselves to.
Newcastle United confidently got back to winning ways against Athletic Club in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Whenever Eddie Howe’s downbeat Magpies have needed a confidence boost, they have relied on Europe’s elite competition so far this season, with three wins from four in the Champions League now, a far cry from their Premier League form, where they have registered only three wins from ten clashes.
The 2-0 victory that was comfortably picked up against Ernesto Valverde’s visitors would have also been a great morale booster for both Dan Burn and Joelinton, with the under-fire pair amongst the goals to steer Howe’s men to another mid-week victory on Europe’s grandest stage.
Burn & Joelinton's Champions League revival
Safe to say, neither player in question were in the good books at St. James’ Park against West Ham United.
Combined, the Blyth-born centre-back and the Brazilian would only win four of their 11 duels at the London Stadium, with Alan Shearer’s comments that the overall team performance against the Hammers was “lethargic” stemming somewhat from the declining duo’s half-hearted showings.
Yet, this time around, Burn certainly got the Shearer seal of approval when he headed home a thumping effort to gift the Toon a 1-0 lead.
On top of getting the ball rolling on Tyneside, the 6-foot-7 warrior would also come away from the 2-0 win with seven duels won and four ball recoveries, with the star his side has relied on over the years to be physical and valiant back at the forefront against the visitors from Bilbao.
Joelinton also looked back to his intimidating best when he fired home the game-clinching second for the Magpies, with the number 7 shaking off any recent signs of decay, too, when winning his own high tally of four duels.
Yet, while it is encouraging that both Newcastle stalwarts put in significantly improved performances, the worry will be that they will just revert to putting in sub-standard displays when the bread and butter of the Premier League returns.
The same is unlikely to be said of their Player of the Season so far.
Newcastle star looks like their Player of the Season already
There are a couple of names that spring to mind to be in the running to be an early contender for Newcastle’s player of the season prize.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Nick Woltemade has instantly hit the ground running with four Premier League goals after a bumper £65m move from Stuttgart. Yet, he was quiet during the 2-0 win, with only one shot on goal and nine accurate passes next to his name.
Sandro Tonali is also very much at the top of the Newcastle list when looking at who has stood out this season, but it was surely expected that the Italian would be classy again this campaign, having once been noted as a possible £100m player for the future on Tyneside.
On the contrary, while Magpies fans would have been excited this summer that more centre-back depth had been sought after, nobody would have quite been anticipating the instant success Malick Thiaw would find in his new location, after leaving AC Milan behind.
Indeed, Thiaw has already been described as an “incredible bit of business” by Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, and for good reason, too, as the £35m spent on his services this summer continues to look like a very wise investment.
In the Premier League this season, the German has looked unfazed by whatever new challenge awaits him, with an 87% pass accuracy, on top of him winning a rock-solid 4.9 duels per game.
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
89
Accurate passes
67/75 (87%)
Successful dribbles
1/1
Interceptions
1
Clearances
6
Blocked shots
2
Ball recoveries
5
Total duels won
10/12
He continued his near faultless start to life in England with yet another composed showing on Wednesday night, with an impressive six clearances and five ball recoveries amassed when doing his defensive basics flawlessly.
Winning ten duels, too, which eclipsed Burn’s own sturdy haul on the night, while registering a high 67 passes, the hope will be that the 6-foot-4 fan favourite only gets better with time, having already made a compelling enough argument to be one of Newcastle’s candidates for Player of the Season, just 13 games into his Tyneside stay.
Thiaw spoke of his desire to be taken to the “next level” under Howe’s guidance when joining in the summer, after a stop-start time in Italy, with the first steps he’s made at St James’ Park showing off a star that’s already bloomed into a guaranteed starter.
Newcastle now hold internal talks to sign Ederson amid Joelinton concerns
The Magpies are looking to upgrade their midfield, as there are now doubts over the Brazil international.
1 ByDominic Lund Nov 5, 2025
Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco is on an incredible heater at the right time.
Seattle demolished the Blue Jays 10-3 in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series Monday, extending their lead to 2-0 as they move two wins away from the World Series. Polanco went 2-for-5 on the night, with a massive three-run home run in the fifth inning that broke a tie at three runs apiece.
The big homer continues a streak of clutch hitting for the 12-year veteran. In Sunday's Game 1, he had two RBI singles. The first gave the Mariners the lead in the sixth and the second added an insurance run in the eighth as Seattle held onto a 3-1 win.
He came up big in the marathon Game 5 of the AL Division Series against the Tigers, hitting the walk-off single that finally ended the game in the 15th inning and sent the M's to their first ALCS since 2001. With Polanco's clutch streak, he became the first player in MLB history to have a go-ahead hit in the fifth inning or later in three consecutive postseason games, according to OptaSTATS.
Over the regular season, Polanco slashed .265/.326/.495 with 26 homers and 78 RBIs. He now has three homers in the postseason after the first two came in Game 2 of the ALDS against Tarik Skubal, which helped lift Seattle to a 3-2 win in their first victory of the series.
The Mariners had just one day off between the wild 15-inning game against Detroit and Game 1 of the ALCS where they had to travel to Toronto. They incredibly grabbed the first two games on the road and now just need to win two of three at home for a trip to the World Series, which would be the franchise's first trip to the Fall Classic.
Polanco signed a one-year, $7.75 million deal to return to Seattle for his second season this year. That contract is paying off in a massive way.
Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso has been backed to manage Liverpool one day but the pundit making the suggestion does not believe Arne Slot's job at Anfield is under threat. The Reds tried to bring the Spaniard to Merseyside after news of Jurgen Klopp's impending exit was announced in 2024. While he stayed at Bayer Leverkusen before joining Madrid this year, an old team-mate of his thinks a Reds return is possible.
Khaleel Ahmed has had two good years across formats and now has his eyes set on the next goal: play Test cricket for India
Himanshu Agrawal27-Aug-2025Khaleel Ahmed first played for India in September 2018, just months before turning 21. Seven years on, with just 11 ODIs and 18 T20Is to his name, there doesn’t seem to be a way back to the national side for him.He had made a brief comeback to international cricket when he played four T20Is across India’s tours of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in July 2024. But that came after nearly five years out, and he hasn’t been picked for India since then.Those five years included missing almost the entire domestic season in 2022-23 because of hernia surgery. Khaleel was back to playing competitive cricket in IPL 2023, and since 2023-24, his numbers across formats in domestic cricket and the IPL, while not outstanding, have been noteworthy. And he has former India left-arm quicks Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan to thank for it.Related
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“I had to start from zero [after surgery], including learning how to walk,” Khaleel told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the Duleep Trophy quarter-final, where he is part of the Central Zone squad to face North East Zone starting Thursday. “Irfan spent a lot of time with me. He showed me how I can keep my seam upright, and also helped me sharpen my skills.”He and Zaheer also advised me on how I could do well in red-ball cricket. I am fortunate and grateful to have had them available whenever I wanted to speak to them.”Sixteen of Khaleel’s 22 first-class matches have come since the 2023-24 domestic season. That includes touring Australia and England with India A, and representing Essex in county cricket. During this time, Khaleel has bagged 49 wickets at an average of 26.40. In the six games before these, he had only 11 wickets at 46.72.
What’s changed? Khaleel says he gave it his all while working on his body and trying to stay fit enough to bowl the long spells, which the format demanded.”I paid a lot of attention to my fitness,” he said. “I also tried to learn some skills – like how to swing the ball late. I was working on ways to be successful. When you play days cricket, there are a lot of little things you need to work on. You need to prepare your body for the test of bowling 20-25 overs in an innings.”Then there are things like managing travel. As a fast bowler, I have to take care of my body every day – like sleeping on time, and recovery. Distractions can happen, but you have to do all these basic things.”Khaleel played two first-class games for Essex before cutting his stint short owing to personal reasons. But he says even the short stay was important for him to have new experiences and learn new lessons. Khaleel learnt about bowling at grounds with uneven dimensions, bowling on flat pitches, and bowling at grounds where the slope played a role. But, more importantly, he learnt a new trick, something that came out of necessity.Khaleel Ahmed played two first-class games for Essex in the county season•Getty Images”We were using the Kookaburra ball in England this season, although, generally, it is the Dukes which is used. The ball stopped swinging after 10-15 overs, and the wicket was flat,” Khaleel said. “So I had to learn bowling the wobble-seam ball, and how to extract a wicket with it. It was important to gain that experience of playing with a different variety of balls.”It is these things which make me feel that I’m ready to go. Every fast bowler knows what it feels like bowling at 140kph. I’m getting that feeling as well, and I’m enjoying it. I have also tried not to miss a game for the last two or three years. So now I have that confidence in my body. It feels so good for a fast bowler if he is continuously playing. For me, how I have been managing my body is a big achievement.”Khaleel’s success and learnings in the last two years, though, aren’t restricted to just first-class cricket. In six IPL seasons from 2018 to 2023, he played 43 games. The most Khaleel played in a single year were his ten games for Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2022.Khaleel Ahmed was CSK’s second-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2025•Associated PressBut since 2024, Khaleel has played 28 matches – 14 each for DC and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who acquired him for INR 4.8 crore – without missing a single one for either team. That is another sign of a body that is learning to put in the hard yards and manage workloads. Khaleel has bowled more than 96 overs in the IPL since 2024, and is among the tournament’s top ten wicket-takers with 32 wickets at an average of 28.93 in this period.Apart from focusing on his fitness, Khaleel, during his two most fruitful IPL seasons, has realised how he needs to think and bowl differently in T20s.”T20 is so much more about tactics,” he said. “The more I’ve bowled, the more I’ve learnt about how much the ball is swinging, and what my angles would be. I’m also learning how the batters are trying to play me.
“I have to serve the country. It’s very easy for people to forget performances in the IPL, but what you do for the country remains with them for a lifetime”
“The bigger the stage, the more fun I have in bowling. I love to do it when no one’s believing [in me]. For instance, my job was to swing the ball upfront in Chennai [this year]. But there was hardly any swing available there. So that’s the challenge: what do I do in that case, even if I have to bowl only two or three overs?”Khaleel looks back at these last two years with a lot of satisfaction: he has delivered on big stages and he has kept himself fit. And he is looking ahead to what beckons instead of looking back on the time and opportunities lost.”I am working with a lot of patience. I am just waiting for my chance,” he said. “I have to serve the country. It’s very easy for people to forget performances in the IPL, but what you do for the country remains with them for a lifetime.”I want to be at the international level. I am giving everything I have for that. I don’t have any time for anything else. This is my focus right now. I have faced tough times mentally. But now I am in a phase where I am feeling experienced. I feel I will do well in life. As a fast bowler, I am feeling a lot more mature. I’m just waiting for opportunities, and I will do it – that’s what is left.”
“Leave the football before the football leaves you.” That was the sentence Jamie Carragher reserved for a certain Manchester United player by the name of Casemiro back in May 2024.
It’s safe to say that the Brazilian, once a football legend, a serial winner at Real Madrid, had seen his powers wane.
He was making countless mistakes, looked like he was running through treacle and was the shadow of a player who had featured on 336 occasions for Madrid.
18 months on and Casemiro looks like a legandary player again. He may not be capable of featuring for a period of 90 minutes but the 2025/26 campaign has arguably been his best since moving to Old Trafford.
The 33-year-old is making a huge impact, notably scoring on three occasions and registering an assist. He’s finally come good in United colours.
However, the fact that he can’t last 90 minutes is the problem. His backup in the shape of Manuel Ugarte continues to struggle.
Why it's time for Ugarte to leave Man Utd
In the summer of 2024, INEOS spent a great deal on bringing the bullish Uruguayan to Old Trafford, as much as £42m.
He was seen as the heir to Casemiro, someone who could fix their lack of energy and tenacity in the middle of the park.
The big Brazilian was floundering and the more minute Ugarte was here to fix the problem. Yet, he has been more of a hindrance, particularly as Casemiro has returned to form.
So far this term, the midfield veteran has only completed one 90 minutes in the Premier League and in a bid to see out the game, Ruben Amorim has usually tried to rely on Ugarte. However, the South American has been anything but reliable.
Arsenal
65
Fulham
53
Burnley
72
Man City
Did not start
Chelsea
45
Brentford
Suspended
Sunderland
85
Liverpool
58
Brighton
70
Nott’m Forest
Was not subbed
Spurs
72
With the 24-year-old out of the team, the Red Devils have scored 15 goals at a rate of twice per 90 and have conceded eight times, once per 90 minutes.
However, with Ugarte in the team, Amorim’s side have scored just four times, 1.3 per 90 minutes and have shipped ten goals, a whopping 3.2 per 90.
The data is clear; United are a poorer side when the big-money midfielder is in the team. While he has come on and helped his teammates to victories over Chelsea, Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton, he has also come on and been a hindrance.
When he entered the action at the weekend in the 2-2 draw with Spurs, it was 1-0 to United at the time. In the 3-1 defeat to Brentford, he came on at 2-1. During the 1-1 draw with Fulham, Amorim’s charges were leading 1-0 when Ugarte was brought off the bench. To make matters worse, he also started the 3-0 loss to rivals Manchester City.
So, why do things go so wrong when he’s on the field? Well, his inability to break up the play and anticipate what happens on the field is a huge issue. That was seen during the draw with Spurs on Saturday when Ugarte simply let Wilson Odobert breeze past him in the build-up to Mathys Tel’s equaliser.
With Kobbie Mainoo on the bench, it does beg the question, why Ugarte? While the Uruguay international is the more traditional holding midfielder, they need more energy and legs when Casemiro heads to the bench. Mainoo would bring that in abundance.
Saying that, the academy graduate isn’t the only Ugarte solution up Amorim’s sleeve. Another future superstar at Carrington is getting ready to make an impact.
Man United's surprise Ugarte replacement
Cutting their losses on the former PSG player would be disastrous from a business point of view but it really does feel as though United need a refresh in midfield.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Casemiro has made great improvements this term but he is not getting any younger and if INEOS are planning to spend big in the future then it must be in a central area.
Players like Brighton superstar Carlos Baleba and Nottingham Forest’s Geordie midfielder, Elliot Anderson, have both been linked with a move. They would be fabulous signings too.
Yet, a ready-made solution could present itself at Carrington. In the form of 19-year-old Sekou Kone, United may well have already signed their dream replacement for Ugarte.
Kone arrived at Man United in the summer of 2024. He was not a marquee arrival, far from it. There was very little fanfare for a teenager who had signed in a £1m deal from Malian side Guidars FC.
An exciting midfield player, the youngster had attracted the attention of United scouts during Mali’s run to the semi-finals of the U17 World Cup in 2023. Since then, he has failed to earn any senior game time under Amorim but he looks like a mighty fine prospect.
Kone featured on 14 occasions for the U21s last season but his prospects of football in 2025/26 have so far been dampened by a fractured eye socket. He has played just one match in the opening exchanges of the ongoing campaign but he is now back in training and first-team training at that. Amorim has already shelved plans of a loan spell, such is the potential in this young midfield player.
So, what’s he all about? Well, a defensive midfielder by trade, he is “uber composed on the ball and so press resistant” in the words of Como scout, Ben Mattinson.
Mattinson continued: “He’s got a tight turn radius and rides challenges well when carrying the ball.” On that evidence, he certainly sounds more promising than Ugarte.
He possesses an exciting ball-winning prowess and has an enormous physical ceiling that Mattinson suggests “is something Manchester United need more of in order for Amorim’s man-to-man press to work effectively.”
On that evidence, it’s hardly a surprise that fellow scout, Antonio Mango, has explained that Kone has “the skillset to be a beast under Amorim.”
This is a player who doesn’t just look capable of ending Ugarte’s career at Old Trafford, but potentially also Casemiro’s.
The spinning pitch in Pune seems like a reaction to the seaming pitch in Bengaluru and its come back to bite them
Deivarayan Muthu25-Oct-20241:37
Manjrekar: Kohli’s perception of length seems to be an issue
Skittled for 46 by fast bowlers in seaming conditions under cloudy skies in Bengaluru.Skittled for 156 by spin on a dry, turning pitch under cloudless skies in Pune.After two collapses in contrasting conditions, India are on the verge of losing their first Test series at home since December 2012, when Alastair Cook’s England toppled them. It feels like a storied era might be coming to an end.Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips, who aren’t specialist spinners in Test cricket, outshone R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. New Zealand also outbatted India in Pune.Related
'Flatline' Mitchell Santner peaks with Kohli's wicket
Santner, Latham give NZ a shot at maiden series win in India
While Ryan ten Doeschate, the assistant coach, dismissed notions that it was a “desperate measure” to prepare a pitch that would help spinners create uncertainty simply by landing the ball on a good length – and bring in the extra offie from outside the squad to exploit it better – it seems like an overreaction to their collapse in Bengaluru. India were looking to take New Zealand’s quicks out of the game and then trust their batters to deal with the spinners but again when one ball turns and another doesn’t – even though they pitched in the exact same spot – batting becomes a lottery. Shubman Gill was lbw to a straight ball soon after seeing one rip past his outside edge. Rishabh Pant was bowled by a short ball that shot low.Perhaps India might look back and wonder if they could have done more to throw Santner and Phillips off their lines and lengths. A lot of batters, especially those visiting the subcontinent, turn to the sweep shot to accomplish this. New Zealand were no different. On the opening day, even though there was a short third, and a square point led to dissuade Devon Conway from playing that shot, he went for it anyway and prospered. Overall, New Zealand scored 87 runs off 67 balls using various varieties of the sweep across both innings. It has cost them just the two wickets.3:12
Why have India’s batters struggled in home Tests?
India had even more reason to try and upset the bowlers because by the time they batted it was difficult to be sure what the ball would do. Would it spin? Would it go straight on? Would it stay low? They tried to answer these questions with a vertical bat. That’s how they’ve had success playing spin. They went to the sweep only 17 times and got 24 runs for the loss of Virat Kohli. Increasingly, they just ended up stuck in the crease, allowing Santner and co. to keep hitting the drier, good-length spots.Morne Morkel, India’s bowling coach, admitted that New Zealand’s attacking approach disrupted their plans. New Zealand had similarly disrupted Sri Lanka’s plans in Galle with their sweeps.”Yeah, I think I must give credit to New Zealand, I think the way they’ve adapted to conditions, the way they’ve blocked out what is in front of them and just played the game has been incredible so far in this series,” Morkel said. “I think definitely in Bangalore and here, playing those sessions, playing those important moments, they’ve done it better than us at the moment, and that’s one of the reasons why they’re on top of this game at the moment as well.”They’re creating pressure with the ball, they’re putting our batters under pressure by sweeping well, reverse-sweeping well, so they’re a team that always plan well and they go into tours and really leave no stone unturned, so I’m not surprised with the way they’re playing at the moment.”Santner, who was rolling out some sweeps during New Zealand’s training session on the eve of the Test, said that they had made a concerted effort to take some calculated risks and attack India’s spinners.”We know how challenging it can be in these conditions,” Santner said. “We’ve seen India squeeze a lot of teams for a long time and I guess it was pleasing with the bat was guys trying to fire some shots and play some sweeps and take on the bowlers because we know on the flip side, as a bowler, if guys are using their feet or going back or sweeping it kind of can upset your length a little bit. You know, in the past we’ve come here and just tried to block it out and, you know, eventually one’s got your name on it.”The collapse on Friday will sting, especially with New Zealand finding ways to score and push their lead up to 301, and there will be serious introspection – both in terms of the options they chose with the bat and the problems they had with the ball. But these events are part of a team’s life cycle.”Every few years there comes a time when key players are not in their prime,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on . “And you can clearly say Rohit Sharma is not in his prime right now so is Virat Kohli. That happened in 2011, when India suffered defeats in England 4-0 and Australia 4-0. There you had many senior players who were on the wane, and they didn’t quite deliver and India suffered. But here there’s been a nice transition. There’s Gill, there’s [Yashasvi] Jaiswal, there’s Sarfaraz [Khan], there’s Rishabh Pant. It’s been a nice transition.”But I guess somewhere in a situation like this, when New Zealand were throwing some really difficult questions at India, experienced players have to be at the forefront and they haven’t quite contributed. Hardly any contributions from Rohit Sharma in the first innings. From Virat Kohli as well and that is somewhere coming into play.”From 2012 to 2024, India were invincible at home. With every series, they kept finding ways to outlast their opponents, seemingly immune to the way good things are supposed to work. Crowds all over the country had gotten used to this. The 20,000 or so in Pune were screaming their heads off as the second wicket fell. Because it wasn’t so much a success for the opposition. It was the intro to their hero. The DJ played Oscar winner AR Rahman’s as Kohli walked out to the middle. But this script wasn’t like the others, and now there is every chance that in the next two days – or maybe even less – a proud and unmatched streak will finally come to an end.