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Aston Villa are reportedly interested in signing defensive reinforcements ahead of the summer transfer window, as Unai Emery looks to strengthen the depth of his squad.

The Spaniard has taken Villa on a journey not many would have even dreamed of when he took over back in October.

In his short time in the Midlands, the 51-year-old has had an overwhelming influence on the club’s ambitions, leading them towards a potential top-six European finish and committing himself to improving the squad this summer.

With just two games remaining this campaign, Emery will soon turn his full attention to the transfer window, where he has admitted he will aim to add depth to each position, as told by The Athletic.

A host of players have been linked with a move to Villa Park already, with one name emerging from the Premier League this week.

What’s the latest on Kyle Walker-Peters to Aston Villa?

As reported by TEAMtalk, the newly relegated full-back could remain in the top division next season with a move to Aston Villa a possibility.

Sources close to the site have revealed Villa’s interest saying the club are ready to 'make a move' for the 26-year-old.

Any move could be a costly one with the former Spurs ace being valued at £40m last year.

What could Kyle Walker-Peters bring to Aston Villa?

If there is one area that Emery is lacking in his talented squad, it’s at right back.

Despite having the expertise of Ashley Young performing in the position to a consistently high level, the Englishman is closer to the end of his career than his prime and cannot be solely relied on for the future.

The interest in the Southampton man could be an exciting prospect for Villa, who strengthened on the opposite side in January through Alex Moreno, who has been impressive since arriving from Real Betis.

Indeed, the Spaniard has supplied three assists and also registered a team-high 1.2 key passes per game since arriving.

As such, both full-backs enjoy roaming forward on the flanks while maintaining impressive numbers defensively.

As per FBref, Walker-Peters averages 1.65 blocks per 90, ranking him within the top 8% of those in his position in Europe’s top five leagues, while Moreno follows with marginally fewer scoring 1.24 per 90 in the area.

In a tough season that has resulted in the Saints' relegation, the 26-year-old has remained consistent in his personal performance defensively, shown through winning 55% of his ground duels, averaging 4.8 per game as per Sofascore.

Described as an "outstanding talent" by Danny Higginbotham, the Englishman could provide Emery with strength on both defensive flanks and add to the talent that he already has to boost squad depth.

Having increased squad depth is mandatory in any club that wishes to compete in multiple competitions, and will be particularly crucial for Emery should his side secure European football next term.

Subrata Banerjee, the former international umpire, has died at the age of 71 in Kolkata

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2016Subrata Banerjee, the former international umpire, died at the age of 71 in Kolkata. Banerjee officiated in men’s and women’s international matches, as well as in age group tournaments, and stood in a women’s Test match.Banerjee had a 15-year career at the international level, where he officiated in 13 ODIs. He made his international debut in November, 1983, in an ODI between India and West Indies in Baroda. His last international appearance came in May, 1998, in a match between India and Kenya in Gwalior.Banerjee, son of Sunil Banerjee, the former Test umpire, also stood in 64 first-class matches, besides serving as a television umpire in ODIs, and a reserve umpire in a Test between India and England in Mohali in 2001.Banerjee worked as an umpire coach for the BCCI in addition to serving as an umpire’s educator.

Journalist Charles Watts has claimed that Mikel Arteta shouldn't start with the same back four this weekend as he did last time out in the Premier League with Arsenal.

How will Arsenal line up against Wolves?

It's the final match of the season for Gunners as they host Wolves at the Emirates knowing they will finish second in the division whatever the final score.

Their fate was sealed last weekend when they played away at Nottingham Forest, losing 1-0 and thus allowing Manchester City to win the division.

In that game, Arteta opted for an unusual line-up as he played Jakub Kiwior at left-back and Thomas Partey at right-back and moved Ben White into the middle of defence alongside Gabriel Magalhaes – an entirely new back four for Arsenal.

After that plan failed, Watts has warned that it would not go down well with the home fans if the Spaniard was to try and persist with his defensive experiment against Wolves.

Indeed, speaking on his YouTube channel, the journalist explained (12:24): "I'm definitely not expecting us to see the same back four that we saw at Nottingham Forest.

"I'd be really surprised if Mikel Arteta tries that again, especially at home where I don't think it would go down very well indeed.

"So I'm expecting Kieran Tierney to come back in at left-back. And I think Ben White will go back to right-back. I'd be very surprised if he doesn't."

What's the latest Arsenal injury news?

With William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu both out injured, as well as Oleksandr Zinchenko, it's not hard to see why Arteta tried to mix things up recently.

But he should have Tierney available to come in as a more natural left-back against Wolves, which can then allow Kiwior to move centrally and White to go at right-back – which is how the team finished during their last Premier League win away at Newcastle.

With that in mind, it makes more sense to revert to that, though he could also bring in Rob Holding at centre-back potentially ahead of Kiwior – as it might be his last game at the Emirates amid some exit rumours.

However, there are issues further up the field to contend with too.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta said (via football.london): "We had some issues this week. In the last few weeks some players were unable to play.

"With Reiss (Nelson), we had a little with Bukayo (Saka) which has been going for a few weeks and with Leo (Leandro Trossard)."

So it sounds like he may be forced to get creative with some tactical decisions but has the opportunity to at least play a more traditional back four this time around.

As England arrived in Dhaka under heavy security, thoughts began to turn to cricket and for nobody more than England’s uncapped starlet Ben Duckett

Will Macpherson in Dhaka01-Oct-2016The last couple of weeks, according to Ben Duckett, have seen “lots of dinners and celebrating”, to the extent that he has not had a moment to pause for thought about his imminent England debut.That debut seemed closer the moment that England touched down in Bangladesh and, a couple of hours later, the team coach pulled into a Dhaka hotel under the sort of heavy security that will be a daily feature of the tour in response to a terrorist atrocity in the capital three months ago.On Friday, Duckett seems set to replace Alex Hales in the first ODI against Bangladesh. Later in the month, he will battle another newcomer, Haseeb Hameed, for the right to open with Alastair Cook in the two Test matches.The recent celebrations have been for a raft of end of season awards – from his club Northamptonshire, the Cricket Writers’ Club and the PCA, where he did an unprecedented double – but really they have been coming all summer.It was a remarkable season which began with an unbeaten 282 against Sussex (only rain prevented him reaching 300 and he is quick to quip that “I blame the groundsman a bit, but I’ll take the red ink”) and which never let up: two more double-tons would follow, including 220 not out against Sri Lanka A for England Lions. There were another two Championship tons, as well as 163 against Pakistan A, a One-Day Cup century, and a starring role on Northants’ Finals Day fairytale in the NatWest Blast. In all, there were 2,706 reasons to celebrate.”That innings against Sussex was something I didn’t believe I could do in my whole career,” Duckett reflected, “so to start the season off like that against a good attack did give me that belief that I could score big, big hundreds. If you start badly, it can be a tough summer. But I was in good form early on and tried to continue it throughout.”Continue it throughout he did, bookending his season with 208 against Kent in the penultimate game. Now, he has time to consider international cricket.Daunted does not seem to be a word in Duckett’s dictionary. “Being here now tops it off,” he said. “Hopefully people know I’m a relaxed guy, and even if I am worried I’ll tell myself that I’m not. There are a couple of guys resting for this tour and there are available spots, but I’m not expecting anything. I’m on an England tour at the age of 21, I’m very happy, so I’ll take whatever I can get.”Ben Duckett arrives in Bangladesh after a golden summer•Getty ImagesWhen collecting his CWC Young Player of the Year award last week, Duckett drew laughs when he referred to “that little period between 100 and 150″. If it sounds like a witticism, it isn’t – it is a display of Duckett’s insatiable appetite for runs. The smallest of his four Championship tons was 185, and his 1338 red-ball runs were scored at a strike rate of 79.45. That is something that will not change.”That sounded bad,” he smiled, “but a lot of people get 100 and get out, so it’s important to concentrate, get through that period to 150 then the pressure is off, the fielders are all out, and you can just knock it around. That period after reaching 100, bowlers see that as an opportunity as they might nick you off, and I found that if I could get away again, they would start trying to bowl against the other guy.”All Duckett’s achievements this summer – which are outrageous, really, for a cricketer not 22 until halfway through this tour – suggest a player to the manner born. But it really has not been that simple. It is not yet three years since he was banished from an England Under-19 tour he was captaining for poor fitness, while last summer he received a ban for drink-driving.”I definitely haven’t made things easy for myself over the last few years. I have matured and am trying to let the cricket do the talking. These days I make sure I do all the simple things off the field – turning up on time etc. On the field, I’ve just got to keep scoring runs and only positive things will be said.”I was 17, 18, just finishing school going into the world of professional cricket. It was very different for me, I was in a different world from my mates who I was hanging around with, but now I’m head down and focused on cricket.”Northants’ coach David Ripley gave him an opporttunity at the top of the order whilst encouraging him to remain true to his adventurous inclindations. “At times in the past I’ve tried to be a player that I’m not, which is why I haven’t been successful. This year I played with freedom. Rips told me to play my game – at times that won’t come off, but when it does, cash in and that has been the main thing for me this year.”And now he knows his natural game, will he adjust for the top level? Duckett’s not for changing: “If I do get that chance… the way I score runs is playing attackingly so I don’t see why I’d change to be a blocker and bat all day. There will be times that I’ll need to adapt to do that, but generally I’ll play the way I have played to get here.”

Tottenham Hotspur should look to sell Ben Davies this summer, and replace the defender with a new signing, according to Sky Sports pundit Gabby Agbonlahor.

Is Ben Davies leaving Tottenham?

It has recently been reported that Tottenham are willing to listen to offers for Davies in the summer, as they recognise they need a huge overhaul of the core of their side, which performed very poorly during the 2022-23 campaign.

Spurs are likely to cash-in if they receive an offer amounting to £15m in the summer transfer window, but it is unclear whether any clubs are interested in signing the 30-year-old at present, as he has not been linked with a move to any club in particular.

The Welshman has previously indicated that he wants to remain with the Lilywhites, as reported by Football London, but Agbonlahor has recently told Football Insider that he should be sold, owing to his disappointing performances in the 2022-23 campaign. The pundit said:

“I watched him recently and he was so poor on the ball.

“He’s been at the club a long time and he’s still struggling to put in top performances.

“They need a real shuffle of that defence.

“For me, they need two centre-backs and a left-back – because Davies just isn’t good enough any more.

“He’s been fantastic for them, but that doesn’t mean he can keep playing when his form isn’t good enough. I would get rid, say thank you for your service, and upgrade in that position.”

Should Tottenham sell Davies?

The Wales international has been a regular starter for Tottenham this season, but by and large, he has been very disappointing, ranked by SofaScore as just the 13th-best performing player in the Premier League, with an average match rating of 6.81.

Journalist Charlie Eccleshare claimed the defender was "caught out" on multiple occasions in the recent 3-1 loss against Brentford in the Premier League, which ended up playing a part in Spurs failing to qualify for European football of any description.

The former Swansea City man does have his strengths, given that he is versatile enough to play at centre-back, as well as at left-back and left-midfield, while he has recently put in solid performances against Crystal Palace and Leeds United.

However, Davies has not put in those sorts of performances on a regular enough basis, and Tottenham should look to replace him with a younger option this summer, something which Agbonlahor seems to be on board with.

Tottenham Hotspur are keen on signing Leicester City forward Harvey Barnes for new manager Ange Postecoglou, according to reports.

Who could Spurs sign this summer?

Spurs supporters have finally seen their club's long, drawn out manager search come to an end with former Celtic boss Postecoglou set to start work on July 1.

The Australian, fresh off the back of a domestic treble win at Parkhead, is tasked with the almighty challenge of transforming Tottenham into a major force again.

“Ange brings a positive mentality and a fast, attacking style of play," said chairman Daniel Levy upon his appointment."He has a strong track record of developing players and an understanding of the importance of the link from the academy – everything that is important to our Club. We are excited to have Ange join us as we prepare for the season ahead."

Spurs missed out on European football for the 2023/2024 campaign, making the summer transfer market a challenge both financially and in terms of attracting star players.

However, reports suggest that the north Londoners and Levy are still determined to back Postecoglou, with the club ready to rival Newcastle for Leicester City star James Maddison.

According to The Times, however, Maddison isn't the only player being targeted from the King Power Stadium. Indeed, their forward Barnes is also wanted at Spurs, with Levy and co apparently being "keen" to sign him.

As well as the aforementioned duo, Southampton star James Ward-Prowse is another relegated star who is attracting interest.

Who is Harvey Barnes?

The Englishman, who is expected to cost around £40 million this summer, has been revered for his speed and stood out as one of Leicester's star players last season.

As per WhoScored, Barnes finished 2022/2023 as Leicester's top goalscorer in the Premier League with 13 – backing how he could inject some real threat into Tottenham's forward line.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, commenting on the 25-year-old in 2021, even heralded him as an "unbelievable player".

"They do good business, full-back, centre-half, all these things," said Klopp on Leicester at the time."Up front, [Marc] Albrighton, looks like he doesn’t get older, [Jamie] Vardy the same."Barnes is probably one of the biggest talents, I’m not sure if he is respected or appreciated as much as he should be, he is an unbelievable player to be honest, a proper Leicester product."

Given he is likely to want an immediate return to the top flight, ir is reasonable to believe he could also be open to joining Tottenham.

Ben Stokes was elevated to vice-captain for the one-day series in Bangladesh and he took it upon himself to stir England into action when the first match was slipping away

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2016Ben Stokes can inspire with words and deeds. With the opening one-day international in Mirpur quickly running away from England, Stokes took advantage of a break in play to remind his team-mates that they had to fight to the end.That end was a Bangladesh collapse of 6 for 17 in 39 balls, started by Jake Ball’s two wickets in two deliveries, as England went from near defeat to a 21-run victory.Stokes, whose leadership qualities have been admired by Trevor Bayliss since he became coach, was named vice-captain for this series after Jos Buttler’s elevation to the captaincy in place of Eoin Morgan.He has been given the freedom to intervene on the field when he feels it is required, partly because of the workload on Buttler as a wicketkeeper-captain, and took it upon himself to rally the team when the Bangladesh batsmen needed treatment for cramp in brutal conditions.”It’s something I would always do. I felt like the situation needed it to happen,” Stokes said. “I said to Jos about two overs before, rather than hoping the result can go our way and waiting for our wicket before we can all get together, is it worth calling everyone in for a quick two-minute chat?Stokes tries to lift Durham’s mood

Ben Stokes’ rallying calls are not restricted to on the field in Bangladesh. He has been a key figure in lifting the mood back at Durham after their relegation and points deduction following an ECB financial bail-out.
He said the ECB’s intervention had saved Durham from going under and though it’s the players who will suffer most they can also lead the revival.
“The best thing is that we are still a first-class county and it’s looking very unlikely that we will get back into Division One next year, but as soon as the news broke, Colly and myself were trying to be the driving points for everyone. This is what’s happened, let’s deal with it.
“The senior guys have been really good. They said, we’ve been for this long, we’ve grown up together, and obviously it’s a clean slate for Durham, so let’s try to get us back to where we belong.”

“The two guys were in and they were going to win it unless we got them out. A talk like that switches everyone back on rather than thinking ‘oh this game is going to go unless we get a wicket’. After that, everyone went away and thought, right, let’s get two and try to kill the game off.”Stokes is more than happy for the ‘big calls’ to stay with Buttler but believes he has the experience to help make a difference.”Jos is the one who makes the big calls, so you don’t want to be stepping too far out of your box, but if I feel the time is right and it’s needed then I will do it,” he said. “He’s the man in command, so I’m leaving the big calls down to him.””Farby [Paul Farbrace] mentioned to me how much Jos has on his plate as keeper and captain. He gave me the freedom, if I think of something, rather than going to Jos, if I think that it’s necessary then I’ll go and talk it through with the bowler, or if there are any field placings.”The first act of Stokes’ day was to inspire with the bat, compiling his maiden ODI century after striding to crease with England tottering on 63 for 3 in front of a crowd baying for more Bangladesh success. Alongside debutant Ben Duckett he added 153, moving to his century from 98 deliveries to tick off one of his major aims for the year.He has previously spoken about how he believed he had under-delivered with the bat in one-day cricket – although in his earlier days he was shunted around the order to his detriment – and his hundred meant it was twice in two ODIs he had improved his career-best and his last three ODI innings now read 69, 75 and 101.”It’s one of the things that I wanted to do when I got back from injury and was able to play the one-day series against Pakistan, was to put in some more consistent performances and it’s nice to back the words up by going out and doing it.”I said to myself I wanted to try to get this first ODI [century] before 2016 finished and I have managed to do it, but now I have done that I won’t just be happy with one, I want a couple more in the games we have coming up.”

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was in agreement with the club not to overpay for Manuel Ugarte amid the competition from Paris Saint-Germain.

How much are PSG paying Ugarte?

The Blues endured a hugely underwhelming 2022/23 campaign which saw them finish in a disappointing 12th spot of the Premier League table.

But it is apparent Todd Boehly will not allow that to happen again with the American owner already putting plans in place to bring change ahead of next season.

Indeed, Pochettino has already been appointed as the new Chelsea manager and they have been involved in a transfer saga this early in the summer.

However, this was not a transfer saga which ended in Chelsea's favour after they bowed out of the race to sign the Uruguay midfielder, Ugarte, following the competition from the Ligue 1 champions.

Although the west London side had submitted a significant bid for the 22-year-old, they were forced to move away from the negotiations after PSG trumped their financial proposal to the player.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Fabrizio Romano has provided an insight to the discussions behind the scenes at Staford Bridge amid their negotiations with the Sporting CP midfielder.

It is apparent the Blues were keen to strengthen their midfield with the addition of Ugarte, however, Pochettino was not in favour of overpaying for the 22-year-old with PSG offering a reported £2.6m more in annual salary:

"I wanted to tell you something behind the scenes about the situation that Chelsea had regarding Manuel Ugarte."

"I can tell you that Mauricio Pochettino was always involved in the conversation with the Chelsea board. Of course, Pochettino will be into the market this summer together with the board, and also Pochettino when Chelsea told him: 'We are not going to make another bid [for the] player because the idea is not to match Paris Saint-Germain's salary proposal for Ugarte'.

"Also the position of Mauricio Pochettino was like: 'Okay, Ugarte is a great player, but we don't want to enter into any crazy proposal to players, especially'."

Will Chelsea sign Moises Caicedo?

Now the Blues are expected to see N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic depart the club over the coming days, midfield reinforcement will be on the mind for Pochettino.

And with that in mind, it is believed the west London side are eyeing a potential move for the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo.

However, the Blues are not believed to be the only London side keen to potentially bring Caicedo to the capital with Arsenal all credited with interest.

But this is a deal which will not come on the cheap with the 21-year-old having signed a new deal on the south coast following the January transfer window.

As a result, it is suggested the Seagulls will be looking for a fee in the region of £80m – all in – for their midfielder.

The Ecuadorian is believed to be earning in the region of £60k-per-week at Brighton, so if he is to make a big-money move to Stamford Bridge it would be expected his wages will increase significantly like his former teammate, Alexis Mac Allister.

Mitchell Starc may be at high injury risk in the Hobart Test but Australia are expected to play him anyway, with their hopes in the series on the line

Daniel Brettig in Hobart10-Nov-2016Australia have used Mitchell Starc’s imminent selection for the second Test against South Africa in Hobart – in contradiction of medical data indicating he will be at high injury risk – as proof the tail isn’t wagging the dog in terms of selection decisions around the national team.Responding to various strains of criticism about the way the nation’s fast bowlers are managed, the team physio David Beakley, the strength and conditioning coach Aaron Kellett and the doctor Peter Brukner spoke alongside the coach Darren Lehmann about the theories behind fast bowling workload management and how much influence the high performance arm of Cricket Australia, led by Pat Howard, has on selection.Beakley described Starc’s recovery from a serious leg wound to play in Perth as “amazing”, and admitted that CA had stretched their own conventions around fast bowling to allow him to play. Medical staff work back up to six weeks from the start of a Test match to figure out a steady rise in a bowler’s workload to ensure he is ready for the Test, but Starc had only two weeks of bowling before taking part at the WACA Ground.”It’s well known we had two fast bowlers going into that Test who were underdone,” Beakley said. “Starcy played the Shield match about five and a half weeks post his knee injury, which is amazing he got back that quickly. Three weeks immobilised in a knee brace, a couple of weeks bowling preparation under his belt to play in the Shield match.”It’s pretty rare in Test cricket to bowl 50 overs in a Test match and we’ve had two guys do it in this Test match. There’s some pretty good research around that showing you are at increased risk of injury after that. The fact he’s got through that amount of bowling is testament to him and his resilience.”Lehmann stated that despite heightened injury risk associated with Starc’s heavy lifting in Perth, he would be playing in Hobart. That decision follows on from the calculated gamble taken on the fitness of Peter Siddle, who has withdrawn from the second Test squad due to a flare-up of his recently healed back stress fracture.Pacemen can’t afford to bowl within themselves

Among the most widely strewn theories about fast bowlers and injuries is that in the past they were able to operate at a lower “cruising speed” before cranking up at key moments, whereas today’s group must operate at the top of their register all the time.
Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann agreed this had been the case, but said it was difficult now to do that without being remarkably skilful, as Dennis Lillee and Glenn McGrath were. “I think in the past depending on which way the game was going, certainly in county cricket that’s happened, with overseas great fast bowlers,” he said. “State cricket you can’t do it and you can’t do it now in the international cricket because you’re trying to win every game. Whether it be state game or one day game, T20 game, Big Bash game whatever it is, whatever format it is.
“Dennis was one of the greats. He could do most things. Glenn McGrath probably backed off at certain stages in their career. Lillee and McGrath had to change after injury and also change the way they bowled. Glenn McGrath was fast when he was younger. Dennis LIllee was fast, they were proper fast those two. But by the end they become good line and length bowlers and could nibble the ball around.”

“We make the final call at the end when we’re selecting them, but obviously we take all the info into account for that,” Lehmann said. “We’ve just got to make sure we do the best we can. We just try to pick the best side each and every time.”You’re speaking to the bowler first and foremost as well, if the player’s uncomfortable they’ll tell us, tell the medical staff first and then the selectors. That’s how open we are. Both players were really comfortable getting through the Test match, obviously that didn’t happen. That’s not an ideal scenario but we’re all happy to take that risk.”It’s always a challenge. But it’s about knowing your players, speaking to the medical staff and making a call from there. Also it’s what’s the wicket going to do, is it going to rain, will it be a flat wicket, you’ve got to take it all into consideration. If we were going to do that [rest Starc] I wouldn’t have thought he would’ve bowled today.”Lehmann said he was careful in working with the medical staff to ensure that injury minimisation did not preclude players from spending enough time working on their skills. “I would only have a problem if our blokes aren’t bowling and their skill level’s not good enough,” he said.”So that’s the biggest thing, their skill level is very good, obviously missing some high profile players at the moment, but the skill level and making sure our batters get to face our bowlers so they can improve. Obviously they probably need to bowl more now. But skill level is very important for me, so in terms of structuring skill sessions we don’t miss out.”He also underlined a commitment to put the national team ahead of the interests of the states, after criticism that neither Starc nor Josh Hazlewood bowled enough in their lone Sheffield Shield match before the WACA Test. “I totally understand that [criticism], but we need Australia to win though, that’s first and foremost and we don’t get the chance to have a pre-season,” he said. “So we’ve got to find one somewhere, wherever we get it. State medical staff and coaches are great, and they understand.”Beakley, who replaced Alex Kountouris as the team’s prime touring physio last year, explained the rationale behind managing fast bowler workloads. “The notion that bowling workload monitoring is about restricting bowlers from bowling is certainly not the case from our perspective,” he said. “It’s about building up their loads in a smart way so they’re adequately prepared for what they’re going to face in the match. That’s the basis behind it.”How we do that is usually based around some of the evidence that’s come out of research that bowlers are far more likely to get injured through workload spikes. If you double your workload from one week to the next, you’re far more likely to get injured the following week. We know on average they’re going to bowl about 120 balls an innings, about 240 balls a Test match. We work back from that in the preceding weeks to build them up so they’ve got that amount of workload under their belts so they don’t spike too much in a Test.”The body responds to a dose of exercise by increasing the resilience to the structures that are going to be put under load. Whether that’s bone, soft tissues, tendon, ligaments, whatever. This is a process that takes weeks, months or years in some cases to develop. It’s not something where you can say bowl this week so you’re hardened next week for a Shield match, it doesn’t work like that. It takes a minimum of six weeks for that hardening to occur. So we work back through what the bowler’s achieved over the previous four weeks to see what will adequately prepare them for the following week.”Sports science studies in the early 1980s showed that fast bowler injury rates were troublingly high – around 50% in Perth grade cricket. Over the past decade these have been reduced to between 15-25%, peaking in 2011 when one in every four fast bowlers in Australian first-class cricket were injured.Through a greater emphasis on sports science to reduce injury rates, the figure came down to 17% in 2013-14 and 2014-15. Beakley reckoned that had increased somewhat in the past year, though CA figures for 2015-16 aren’t yet available.

With new boss Ange Postecoglou now at the helm to end the club's managerial search, the main focus for Tottenham Hotspur will likely have shifted towards acquiring quality additions in the summer window.

According to 90min, one area that the 57-year-old is keen to strengthen is the centre-back ranks, with the Lilywhites having drawn up a list of targets amid doubts surrounding the futures of the likes of Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez and Clement Lenglet.

Among those who are reportedly being considered by the north London outfit is Manchester United skipper, Harry Maguire, with the Red Devils said to have offered the 30-year-old to potential suitors in order to get him off the books ahead of next season.

A move for the former Leicester City man – who is set to be worth in the region of £40m – may come as something of a surprise amid his recent woes at Old Trafford, with the 6 foot 4 asset having slipped down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag after starting just eight Premier League games in the most recent campaign.

Having also previously been labelled as a "walking disaster" by journalist Samuel Luckhurst amid his dismal form in the previous campaign, the £190k-per-week brute appears to be in need of a fresh start in order to spark a career revival.

Signing for Postecoglou could then be a dream arrangement for Maguire, with the Greek-Aussie having already proven himself capable of rejuvenating the career of a struggling Three Lions star – Joe Hart.

How is Joe Hart getting on at Celtic?

Much like his compatriot, Hart was in something of a rut prior to linking up with Postecoglou at Celtic back in the summer of 2021, having endured a nomadic spell after being cast aside by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City in 2016.

Formerly the number one option for his country and a two-time Premier League winner at the Etihad, the 75-cap goalkeeper ultimately ended up at the likes of Torino, West Ham United and Burnley following his time in Manchester, before being snapped up by Spurs on a free transfer in 2020.

Having ultimately featured just ten times for the north London outfit during the 2020/21 campaign, the Shrewsbury native was informed by new boss Nuno Espirito Santo that he would be surplus to requirements for the following season, having been brutally notified by the Portuguese that he would "not kick a ball" that year.

At arguably the nadir of his career at that stage, Hart has since gone on to flourish in Glasgow in recent seasons, proving a "really great signing" for the Hoops having "transformed himself" under Postecoglou's watch, according to pundit Alex McLeish.

Also lauded as an "unsung hero" for the Old Firm outfit, the veteran stopper has now racked up 104 appearances in all competitions for his current side, playing a vital role in winning five domestic honours over the last two seasons.

The 36-year-old clearly has Postecoglou to thank for his recent resurgence having described the experienced tactician as an "awesome force" and an "unbelievable coach", with that boding well for the impact that the new Tottenham boss could make on changing Maguire's fortunes if a deal was to be made.

For all the latter man's woes, the central defender has still shown glimpses of his quality of late after being hailed as "dominant" by Ten Hag earlier this year, having also been described as a "big player" for his country by international colleague, Kieran Trippier.

That praise would suggest that there is a talented asset in there somewhere, with Postecoglou potentially able to replicate his Hart masterclass by getting Maguire back to his best in a Spurs jersey.