Durham batter hits final ball over long-on with five required to end Southern Brave’s perfect start

ECB Media13-Aug-2025A last-ball six from Graham Clark saw Northern Superchargers defeat Southern Brave on their home turf in a nail-biting finish.Put into bat, the Brave were soon in all kinds of trouble. Kiwi Jacob Duffy, fresh off the plane from a Test series with Zimbabwe, decimating their power-packed top-order, reducing them to 26 for 3 off 24 balls by dismissing Leus du Plooy, James Vince and Jason Roy.James Coles and the evergreen Laurie Evans rebuilt steadily then violently, putting on 87 in 57 balls to put a defendable total in sight despite spin twins Mitchell Santner and Adil Rashid keeping things in check, the Brave finishing with a middling 139 for 5.Jacob Duffy celebrates an early breakthrough•Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Craig Overton replicated the work of Duffy, taking three relatively inexpensive wickets for the Brave, but Zak Crawley sparkled alongside England team-mate Harry Brook, both of whom scored quickfire 20s.When Chris Jordan pulled up with a groin injury, it felt like a game-changing moment but the Brave rallied, Jofra Archer bowling a brilliant penultimate set, going for just one run and taking two wickets to finish with 2 for 15.The Superchargers needed 10 off the last set, bowled by Tymal Mills. Dots off balls three and four left five needed off the last, at which point Graham Clark hit a back-of-the-hand slower ball over the ropes at deep midwicket to send the away fans into a frenzy.Clark, only playing due to a David Miller niggle, said he felt “euphoric” after sealing the points. “I thought I’d messed it up when I left that wide one and then missed a slot ball, but it’s such a good feeling to get over the line,” he said.”Batting in the middle order role is something I’ve never done before. I’ve spent the last few days with [batting coach] Neil McKenzie trying to improve my power-hitting. We thought it was a really good wicket, where you could play proper shots. Santner really took the pressure off: he’s a quality operator, when he fields, bowls or bats; such a calm character, and hits the ball so cleanly.”

Talat scored 32 in 30 balls and took two wickets in the high-stakes game against SL

Danyal Rasool24-Sep-20252:09

Chopra: Talat holding one end up was important

Pakistan allrounder Hussain Talat launched a passionate defence of his utility to his side with the bat, saying there were “only four or five” players who could play T20 cricket in the middle order. Speaking after guiding his side to victory against Sri Lanka in a game where defeat would have put them on the brink of elimination, he called T20I middle order batting “the hardest of skills”.”We keep saying that if we need a middle order player they need to know how to be both aggressive and have the ability to anchor,” Talat said at the press conference after the game. “But the chances of failure with that kind of cricket are high. Unfortunately, if you don’t perform a few games or series, the media and fans immediately go after you and you’re out of the team suddenly.”I think the middle order is the hardest place to play in T20 cricket because you’re required to play all kinds of cricket. And because it’s difficult, I think you should have more chances in that position. And players who can play in the middle order are very rare in Pakistan, perhaps four or five. And even they don’t want to play there.”Perhaps, given the difficult couple of days he – and the rest of the Pakistan middle order have had, that is understandable. On Sunday, Pakistan’s descent from superiority in their clash against India can be traced almost to the moment Talat walked out to the crease in the 11th over. Until then, Pakistan had sped along at nine an over, but when Saim Ayub was dismissed and Talat was surprisingly sent in to bat, all that changed.Talat, who hadn’t played any games in the UAE in the month Pakistan have been here until that day, looked rusty. He scratched around for 11 balls and scored just 10 as India snatched momentum away from Pakistan. Just 38 came in the seven overs that began when Talat walked out to the crease, the lowest for that period of the game all tournament. India would ultimately cruise to victory, with much of Pakistan’s ire directed at Talat and his fellow middle-order batters. It was, Talat said, why he stays away from social media, but admitted it still affected him.Related

• Abrarcadabra – the four-over spell that left Sri Lanka stupefied

• Nawaz and Talat trump Sri Lanka in nervy chase

• Asalanka: Sri Lanka have to 'get combinations right ahead of the World Cup'

On Tuesday, it was a different story. With a match situation more conducive to his abilities, he found his side floundering rather than flourishing, and anchored the chase to ensure they did not let victory slip from their grasp.”We’d lost so no one was feeling good,: Talat said. “The people wanted us to win, and we did what we could against India, too. But there was no extra pressure before today’s game. There was plenty of criticism which we were trying to avoid and which isn’t good for the team. But it was crucial to win today.”In pursuit of 134, that victory looked almost assured when the opened darted to the perfect start, Pakistan helping themselves to 43 in the first five overs. But a two-wicket sixth over from Maheesh Theekshana triggered a collapse where Pakistan lost four wickets for 13 runs, and Sri Lanka were ascendant.”The pitch was a bit sticky, but improved in the second innings,” Talat said. “We lost a few wickets quickly and that put us under a lot of pressure. And then we were running out of batting pairs which required us to take the game deep.”Sri Lanka tightened the screws further when Dushmantha Chameera cleaned up Mohammad Haris as he slogged wildly, reducing Pakistan to 80 for 5, still 54 runs adrift. With the asking rate under control – at exactly six an over, Talat decided to do something not many in the Pakistan camp talk about much these days – batting circumspectly.”In the group, when we talk about batting, it’s always about playing aggressive. But when I went in, a couple of wickets fell. My gut feeling was the only way to win after that was to take the game deep. When Nawaz hit Hasaranga for two fours, he said he’d go for his shots and for me to anchor. And that worked nicely for both of us.”Pakistan saw off the dangerous Theekshana aware that Wanindu Hasaranga, too, would eventually have to bowl out. But when the allrounder came in for his final two over, he went searching desperately, and that opened up scoring options. Nawaz hit him for two fours in his third when he dropped the ball short, and with the target rushing up to meet them, Talat helped himself to two more in Hasaranga’s last to drive the final nail into Sri Lanka’s coffin. In the end, the runs came in a hurry, with Mohammad Nawaz walloping Chameera for three sixes in five balls as Pakistan cantered to the finish in the 18th over.A win can make all the difference, particularly for Talat who has spent far longer out of the side looking in than most in this group. His recent inclusion into the side has only come after more than four years out in the international wilderness, where he feels people haven’t quite appreciated how hard he’s needed to work to scrap his way back in.”We’re hopeful. We’ve been playing T20 cricket for four months or so now, since Bangladesh came to Pakistan in May. Players are being backed in this group; in the past, players used to play a couple of matches and then be omitted. Now they’re getting an extended run like we see elsewhere in international cricket.”We’re two games away from the trophy, and we believe we can win it.”

Arsenal are in a tug-of-war to sign AFC Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake, according to The Telegraph.

However, the Gunners face a battle to sign the Dutchman, who is wanted by four other Premier League clubs, including Chelsea, who have a £40m buy-back clause inserted into his contract.

The move comes amid some terrible injury news concerning Calum Chambers, who was ruled out for between six to nine months yesterday.

Mikel Arteta’s side are also thought to be chasing the signature of Red Bull Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano.

This is exactly the sort of player who should be earmarked as a signing for the north London outfit. A young player with experience is the type of player who won’t only come in and have an immediate impact due to his experience, but will also have the scope to improve and be able to adjust his game due to his tender age.

Ake is only 24-years-old, so has yet to reach the peak of his career, however, he has amassed more than 130 appearances in the English top-flight so far in his career (via Transfermarkt).

His performances this season show that he has all the traits to work in Arteta’s system at the Emirates Stadium.

With a passing average of just under 90%, Ake shows he has the technical ability to deal with playing out of the back like the Spanish coach has been demanding (via WhoScored).

However, his defensive game is not to be ignored with the Netherlands international having committed fewer fouls and been dribbled past fewer times per game than any Arsenal player.

Ake’s blend of youthfulness and experience makes him the perfect candidate to come in and replace the defensive void left by Chambers. In theory, he wouldn’t need a period of adjustment and he would have the scope to improve in the future, making him a must in the transfer window.

Arsenal fans, what do you make of the potential signing of Ake? Let us know your thoughts!

One of the oldest footballing clichés – ‘the game will be won and lost in midfield’ – may grate on the ears every time overpaid pundits, who seem to know less than you, utter the words as if they are wise with the wisdom of a, well, wise man. Annoying.

A cliché, but it so often rings true. Even more annoying.

The sheer amount of stellar Premier League midfielders over the years is quite simply astounding. Where strikers often take the plaudits in securing a crucial win for their side, cast your mind back to the number of times a huge tie has been won and lost on the performance of your star midfielders.

A funny breed, those who opt to ply their trade in the engine room. There are so many different types it’s almost tempting to see if David Attenborough fancies conducting some sort of study on their differences.

Defensive, holding, deep-lying, wingers, box-to-box, the list is almost endless!

Here’s a look at the FIFTY best midfielders to ever play in the Premier League…

DIMITRI PAYET

PAUL POGBA

GEORGE BOATENG

MOUSA DEMBELE

N’GOLO KANTE

PHILIPPE COUTINHO

NIGEL DE JONG

DELE ALLI

FERNANDINHO

JOE COLE

NICKY BUTT

MESUT OZIL

STEVE MCMANAMAN

JAMIE REDKNAPP

ARJEN ROBBEN

OWEN HARGREAVES

TUGAY

MIKEL ARTETA

GARETH BARRY

DIETMAR HAMANN

JAMES MILNER

DAVID GINOLA

PAUL GASCOIGNE

MICHAEL BALLACK

JAVIER MASCHERANO

ROBERT PIRES

PAUL INCE

EDEN HAZARD

SANTI CAZORLA

MICHAEL ESSIEN

JUAN MATA

LUKA MODRIC

DAVID SILVA

KEVIN DE BRUYNE

JOHN BARNES

MICHAEL CARRICK

EMMANUEL PETIT

DAVID BECKHAM

YAYA TOURE

CLAUDE MAKELELE

GARETH BALE

CESC FABREGAS

XABI ALONSO

FRANK LAMPARD

CRISTIANO RONALDO

STEVEN GERRARD

PAUL SCHOLES

PATRICK VIEIRA

ROY KEANE

RYAN GIGGS

With the January transfer window just around the corner, we at Football FanCast are running the rule over rumoured targets of the Premier League’s top clubs.

Some, such as Liverpool-linked Ilkay Gundogan and reported Manchester United target Romelu Lukaku, are already well known to the Premier League fan base. Others, however, remain somewhat shrouded in mystery – names we’ve seen countless times in the newspapers and online without being given much insight into how good they actually are.

Palermo’s Franco Vazquez is a classic example. In recent months, he’s been linked with Tottenham Hotspur by talkSPORT and Chelsea by The Metro, but having only ever plied his trade in Argentina and Italy (albeit with a short loan spell in La Liga) you’d be quickly forgiven for not knowing too much about the 26-year-old attacking midfielder.

So with a bit of help from our stats-mad mates at Whoscored, we’re going to shed some light on Vazquez’s style of play, strengths, weaknesses and form to try and explain what all the fuss is about.

UNDERRATED?

As Palermo recorded an impressive 11th place finish in the top flight last season after claiming the Serie B title the year prior, it was Franco Vazquez’ attacking accomplice Paulo Dybala who took the lion’s share of the credit. As you can see below, they were one of the most frequent scoring partnerships in the division last term.

Indeed, the 22-year-old earned comparisons with Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi, before being linked with virtually every major club in Europe and eventually moving to Juventus in a £29million deal. He’s performed well for the Old Lady, netting ten times across all competitions already, but the stats suggest Dybala’s suitors may have missed a trick.

As shown above, Whoscored rated Vazquez as the best player in Serie A last season with ten goals, ten assists and eight Man of the Match awards from 37 outings, and he’s continued in a similar vein this year, albeit beaten to top spot by Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain. The fact Palermo are currently 14th in the table makes the 26-year-old’s average rating of 7.64 all the more impressive.

BEST DRIBBLER IN SERIE A

Despite never being the quickest of attackers, partly due to the limited agility of his 6 foot 2 frame, expert dribbling remains Vazquez’s prominent asset. Statistically, he’s the best dribbler in the Italian top flight and one of just two Serie A players to make it into Europe’s top ten – along with Torino’s full-back-come-winger Bruno Peres.

As a consequence – and in no small part due to Italian football’s eternal lust for dirty defending – the Italy international is the most fouled player in Europe this season, drawing a whopping 4.8 per match as shown below.

Needless to say, free kicks are becoming more important than ever in the beautiful game as the quality of delivery increases year upon year. 34 goals from free kicks – either direct or crossed – have been scored already in the Premier League this season.

DEFENSIVELY SOUND

Premier League clubs are often only interested in the more complete players who can defend and attack in equal measure. Vazquez firmly falls into that category; no player across Europe to be fielded regularly as a No.10 or a striker (the 26-year-old’s two main positions) have averaged more successful tackles per match than him this season, as shown above.

Likewise, only Athletic Bilbao’s Raul Garcia has attempted more tackles than him per match throughout Europe. So suitors like Chelsea and Spurs really will be buying a double-edged player, who has the industriousness, tactical awareness and tackling ability to play in deeper positions if necessary.

FLAWS

With perhaps the exception of Lionel Messi, there is no such thing as perfection in football. Every player has their flaws and that goes for Franco Vazquez as well – perhaps shedding some light on why none of Europe’s top clubs came in for him last summer.

We’ve praised the two-cap international’s dribbling ability and tenacity, but they do come with a statistical downside. As you can see above, no player in Serie A has committed more fouls than Vazquez this season and as you can see below, no Serie A player has been dispossessed as many times as him either. He also ranks second for unsuccessful touches.

When factoring in Vazquez’ 80% passing accuracy and 23% shooting accuracy, that’s 22.8 times per match he gives the ball back to the opposition in one way or another.

Manchester City fans in the Tavern will be interested to hear that the club’s Elite Development Squad manager Patrick Vieira is still being groomed to be a future first team manager at the Etihad, according to the Manchester Evening News.

The concept comes after Brian Marwood, the Blues’ Football Administration Officer, claimed that Vieira’s scheduled takeover at sister club New York City FC on 1st January is part of a wider development scheme to prepare the Frenchman to take charge at City once his three-year contract in the MLS expires.

Quoted by The Manchester Evening News, Marwood said:

“It was important that we could find the next development stage for Patrick and it was still part of the group. That opportunity came about in New York. We are really excited, he is really excited by it and I think it is exactly the next step he needs.”

Marwood revealed that the club are keen to see the former Arsenal midfielder as a manager, especially at City, in the future. But he also made it apparent that Vieira needs time to develop as a manager.

“Hopefully, at some point, he’ll come back and manage Manchester City. That’s the ambition for him and that’s the ambition for us. But he has to go through this learning curve. We always felt from day one that he could make a major contribution to the club.”

“The club, at that time, still had a lot of developing to do, a lot of growing up to do and the culture, which is very important to what we are about, needed to be driven by people that had been around winning mentalities, winning culture, humility and trying to have the right values and behaviours.”

And Marwood was full of praise for Vieira, as he believes that he holds all of the required qualities to be a top class manager in the future.

“We felt Patrick epitomised all of those things, so he was very crucial to where we were in that stage in our development. Since he came, he showed that within the dressing room, but we also felt there was a big long-term potential with him. We took him on our journey that saw him for one year working within the business.”

However, with the City Football Group growing as a worldwide brand, having recently sold a 13% stake for £265 million, Marwood also cited the importance of off-field financial and commercial performance of a club, as well as the on-field performance of a team’s players.

“He had lived as a footballer for many years , but probably had not quite grasped or understood the importance of communications, marketing, commercial, legal and all those areas.

“To be fair to him, he immersed himself fully in those 12 months and I think he came away with a different perception of what a football club was about.”

For Manchester City fans in the Tavern it’s a positive step, developing a manager than full understands the club’s vision and desire moving forward- rather than paying big-bucks to get in world class managers with different ideas.

They remain concerned that Arsenal could steal a march on the Frenchman though, given his legendary status in North London.

Would Vieira make a good manager for Manchester City? Let us know in the comments below!

Southampton have had a topsy-turvy season thus far and Ronald Koeman must be considering using the remaining days of this transfer window to add to his squad.

Terence Kongolo, the 21 year old Dutch centre-back, is one player that the Dutch manager should be looking at and, whilst Southampton aren’t in the relegation battle, Koeman needs to make sure that he can fix some of their defensive issues.

In this unpredictable season, the Saints will have hoped for a European charge, but the south coast club will be happy to stay in mid-table mediocrity with the way that their campaign has gone so far.

Aside from their shock thrashing of Arsenal, Southampton have had a very ordinary campaign and will be slightly concerned about their form – despite winning at Old Trafford recently.

Ronald Koeman is likely to attract the interest of big clubs, so Southampton will be hoping to make the most of their manager whilst he is still fully committed to the club.

Here are several reasons why Terence Kongolo is the ideal man for Saints…

Give Ryan a hand

Kongolo has, largely, played as left-back during this campaign. The Dutchman, who is equally adept at centre-back, would be able to cover for Ryan Bertrand at centre-back and has shown himself to be a threat down the left-wing.

Registering over a key pass per game, Kongolo will contribute to the playmaking efforts of Dusan Tadic and James Ward-Prowse.

Bold Fonte

Jose Fonte, who is the stalwart of the Southampton defence, only has a couple of years left at the highest level and Kongolo could be the ideal man to form a long-term central defensive partnership with Virgil van Dijk.

Old head, young shoulders

For a 21-year-old, Kongolo is very composed in possession and rarely loses his focus.

Averaging over 3 tackles per game, Kongolo’s role at left-back has not effected his development as a defender.

Years and years

Kongolo, who turns 22 next month, comfortably has another decade of top quality performances in him.

Defenders, unlike forwards, will often peak around 30 and Southampton could be sure to get the best out of this youngster.

Start at the back..

Any team building for long-term success needs to make sure they have the correct defensive foundations.

Kongolo would be a solid addition to the Saints back line and could build a long-term partnership with Van Dijk. There is no better proof of this point than the strength of the side’s defence when they were in their best form.

Since taking charge of Shrewsbury Town a little over a season and a half ago Micky Mellon and his team have made quite the name for themselves as giant killers. Last season the Shrews beat current Premier League table-toppers Leicester City away from home and then toppled Norwich City, winning themselves a glamour tie with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup. The Shrews were unlucky on the night, losing 2-1 thanks to a last minute own goal from Jermaine Grandison.

And Mellon’s team are looking to go one better this season. Having beat championship opposition in the shape of Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday in the last two rounds, the Shrews now look to take down Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United in the fifth round of this year’s FA Cup tonight.

The Shrews are having a torrid time in the league this season – they have had a torrid time at home and sit just four points clear of the relegation zone with a rather tough run-in lying ahead – so the FA Cup comes as a somewhat welcome distraction for their disgruntled fanbase. The Manchester United tie has provided a rejuvenated sense of optimism around the Meadow, but are any of the fans actually expecting Shrewsbury to be heading to the quarter finals this year?

Glamour ties are a massive opportunity for lower league clubs – the financial returns from the game alone promise to be a huge aid in the future – but are these games merely exhibition and nothing more? Shrewsbury have to take on Colchester shortly after in a tie that is a hell of a lot more important to the club and their league status. Having drawn with Fleetwood Town and narrowly beaten Blackpool the club are in dire need of a victory and another defeat could leave them staring down the barrel of the gun.

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But what about Manchester United? The FA Cup is their only real chance of any success this season and most of their fans will be looking at the game as an easy trip into the quarter-finals – a mistake made far too often by big sides. This year’s FA Cup has been devoid of any of the magic of previous years, with no Premier League side yet to fall to the hands of lower league opposition. It seems like a big ask of Mellon’s men to be the first to buck that trend, but maybe, just maybe, they could make it happen. United are likely to be wary of this and will no doubt field a strong side, one which the Shrews will struggle to handle.

Whatever the outcome, for Shrewsbury Town and their fans, myself included, this is a once in a lifetime kind of game. Progression to this stage of the FA Cup is a rarity in itself, so having the opportunity to take on, what is, arguably, the biggest club in the world today is nothing short of phenomenal.

This article was submitted via our new Write For Us feature. Think you can do better? Submit your own article via the link below, and make sure you follow @FFC_WFU on Twitter for #RealOpinions…

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Gareth Bale is one of the best footballers on the planet at the moment and the Welsh sensation has produced a magnificent individual performance as Real Madrid have fought back against Rayo Vallecano.

Bale, before his Spurs heroics, was a Southampton boy. The Saints academy is one of the most successful in Europe and has an outstanding record for producing truly exceptional players. The Welsh winger was a flying left-back when he made his name at the club in the lower leagues and he is not alone in making a move from Southampton to the big time.

The Real Madrid man has carried his nation to the European Championship, become the most expensive player in the history of the game and begun to prove himself as a talisman for Real Madrid. Despite a plethora of questionable haircuts and regular injuries, Bale is quickly becoming an icon at the Bernabeu.

The Welshman is not alone as a former Saint who has become a star at a massive European clubs… here are FOUR more…

Adam Lallana

Lallana, along with several others, travelled with Southampton from the depths of League One to the top half of the Premier League.

Although the gifted attacking midfielder is now plying his trade alongside Daniel Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho, he was very much made at St Mary’s.

Theo Walcott

When a baby faced Theo Walcott made the move to Arsenal, he was just a fresh young thing whose voice had hardly broken and his game was as raw as it was exciting.

Walcott has not developed as many would hope and it wouldn’t be astonishing if he left the Gunners this summer.

Taken as a ‘wildcard’ to the 2006 World Cup, Walcott – largely due to injury problems – has never made the impact that so many had hoped for at club nor international level.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Oxlade-Chamberlain has had a pretty terrible 2015/16 campaign and there have even been links of a move away for the former Saint.

Since his arrival at Arsenal in 2011, Chamberlain has struggled to nail down a regular starting place and the arrival of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck has just pushed the winger further down the pecking order. The powerful midfielder is still only 22 and, although many have been disappointment with his lack of improvement, there is still hope for him at the elite level of the game.

Luke Shaw

Much like Chamberlain and Walcott, Shaw’s career since his big move has been blighted by injury.

Both seasons at Manchester United have been dominated by serious injuries and he is incredibly unlikely to make the squad for Euro 2016 after breaking his leg in September. The marauding left-back has foolishly been likened to Gareth Bale in the past, but it would take quite a turn around for Shaw to emulate the Real Madrid man.

Manchester United fans will be hoping that 2016/17 can be an injury free season for this full-back, otherwise he risks missing out on his opportunity at Old Trafford.

The Premier League season is finished, but luckily EURO 2016 is just around the corner. Clubs will be busy on the search for new players in the transfer window but each club’s new kits are currently being unveiled to fill the minute gap in between!

The Premier League is home to some of the biggest clubs in the world, but over the past few seasons we have seen some absolutely shocking kits. Liverpool’s away kit from 2013/14 is perhaps the worst kit of all time, but thankfully, the shirts that have already been shown to the public are really quite nice – champions Leicester actually played their title claiming match against Everton in their kit for the upcoming season.

With Premier League players as role models for millions of people around the world and constantly in the spotlight of the media, all the players will be hoping that their kits make them stand out, and not in a bad way!

So here are the best TEN Premier League kits so far for next season…

Arsenal Home

Arsenal revealed their new home kit after pictures were released of new signing Granit Xhaka in the shirt before the club had announced either he had signed, or shown the fans the new shirt! The Puma kit is similar to last season’s, but this time without the collar. There is a line down the middle of the shirt which could represent the split in the Arsenal logo, or the split between the Wenger in – Wenger Out brigades.

Leicester Home

Fans have all been given a glimpse of Leicester’s new kit – the players actually wore the kit on the day that they held the Premier League title. The kit is a darker royal blue and has plenty of gold on. The gold is joined by the golden Premier League badges on the sleeves which all title-winners have on their shirts.

Manchester City Home

As per usual, the City home strip is a basic sky blue, but this year’s outfit is pretty smart. The black edges to the kit give the players an intimidating look and Pep Guardiola will be hoping it is a kit that brings the club lots of success.

Sunderland Home

Sunderland survived in the last few matches of the Premier League season and will be facing the big guns for at least another year. The new Sunderland kit is like previous years, but the players are big fans of the new strip. Jermain Defoe said: “The Sunderland shirt is iconic and instantly recognisable across the world. Every player is tremendously proud to pull on the historic red and white stripes and we love this new shirt.”

Chelsea Home

Chelsea may have had a disastrous campaign but at least the fans and players will be wearing a nice shirt next season! The kit is obviously a dark blue but this year, Adidas have imprinted small Chelsea logos throughout the shirt, perhaps in case the players forget where they are playing as they seemed to this year.

Stoke City Home

Stoke have gone for the smart look this tear. The Potters will be playing with a colour on their strip next term. The kit actually resembles the shirts that Atletico Madrid have been playing in over the past few seasons but it is unlikely that we will see Stoke in a Champions League Final anytime soon.

West Brom Home

Another interesting design here, West Brom have decided to play with no collar but the shirt has buttons at the top. The top lining of the shirt is a brand new feature for the Baggies, there is now sky blue in the strip which makes the kit different to other years.

Liverpool Home

Liverpool unveiled their new home strip to the fans a few weeks ago and the fans and players love it. The kit is a strong, darker red and really stands out. The kit is actually hooped, but the colours blend into the shirt. Liverpool fans will hope to improve on their 8th place finish as well as two cup final defeats in this kit.

Manchester United Away

United fans were getting worried as they hadn’t seen themselves in the gallery so far but no need to fear. The United away kit is perfect this season. A softer material in a royal blue colour, the shirt is both comfy and smart. The kit is a bit like that of Real Madrid a few years ago but perhaps Jose Mourinho will mistake this shirt for a Chelsea one.

Stoke City Away

The only club to make FootballFanCast’s favourite kits with both their home and away kits is the club from the Britannia. Stoke’s sky blue away kit is a throwback to the kits that the club wore thirty-forty years ago but the kit is smart, and Shaqiri and co. will be hoping to break into the European positions in their two new strips next season.