Chelsea have submitted an enquiry regarding a summer deal to sign AC Milan star Mike Maignan, according to reports.

Who is Mike Maignan?

Maignan is a goalkeeper who first arrived at the San Siro Stadium from Lille back in 2021, and despite not initially being Stefano Pioli’s official number one, was a regular feature throughout the 2022/23 season.

In the Serie A, the 27-year-old started 22 matches even though he spent a significant period of time on the sidelines due to sustaining a serious calf injury, and his impressive performances between the sticks when available have caught the eye of Mauricio Pochettino in the Premier League.

Todd Boehly is reportedly entering the market to find a new first-choice shot-stopper with both Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga facing uncertain futures, and if the following update is to be believed, the businessman has used ongoing negotiations to try and secure a deal of his own.

Are Chelsea signing Maignan?

According to 90min, Chelsea have used their conversations with AC Milan over an exit for Ruben Loftus-Cheek to “enquire” about a switch for Maignan. Blues officials are believed to have used the "opportunity” to mention the goalkeeper in discussions, but their “approach” was turned down with “fierce resistance” by the Italian giants, who are “not keen” to part ways with their prized asset.

Stamford Bridge chiefs are “big fans” of their target, but it sounds like he won’t be moving to SW6 anytime soon.

Should Boehly make another move for Maignan?

AC Milan might be adamant in their stance of not wanting to let Maignan leave now, but money talks in football and a sizable offer being tabled could change everything, so Chelsea should definitely consider making a second attempt in the weeks ahead.

The 6 foot 3 “giant”, as lauded by talent scout Jacek Kulig, kept eight clean sheets from 22 Serie A games last season and was recognised for his high standard of performances in the net by receiving one man-of-the-match award.

The Champions League semi-finalist, who pockets £59k-per-week, also made 40 saves from 62 shots on target against so isn’t afraid to come out and prevent the danger and is even strong when it comes to spot kicks, ranking in the 92nd percentile for most penalty saves.

Finally, Maignan has an extremely strong range of dispatching balls with a 99.3% success rate on short length passes and a 98.3% success rate on medium length passes, as per FBRef, so he’s a well-rounded goalkeeper and one that would be a great fit for Pochettino at the Bridge.

Liverpool have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Lazio phenom Sergej Milinkovic-Savic after his value has been slashed with just one year left on his current contract.

What's the latest on Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Liverpool?

According to Italian outlet Calciomercato, the Serbian gem could be available for just €26m (£22m) this summer, amid mounting interest from Reds manager Jurgen Klopp.

James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have all played their final game for Liverpool and will depart Anfield, along with forward Roberto Firmino, at the conclusion of their contracts in a few weeks, and the 28-year-old Lazio star could be an astute addition to replenish the ranks.

Lazio will listen to offers and would rather sell him than allow him to depart for nothing in one year, especially given the Eagles have returned to the Champions League and are one match away from securing second place in Serie A.

Should Liverpool sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic?

Milinkovic-Savic has enjoyed a blistering campaign and ostensibly been the centrepiece of Lazio's seasonal success in returning to the Champions League after a two-year absence – on course for their highest finish since winning the Scudetto in 1999/00.

Indeed, as per Sofascore, the machine has scored nine goals and supplied eight assists from 35 Serie A matches this term, averaging 1.7 shots and 1.2 key passes per match and making 1.6 tackles and 1.3 clearances per game, earning an average rating of 7.16.

He has donned the captain's armband on 14 occasions this season too, and could bring both leadership and attacking quality to Liverpool's centre as Klopp seeks a resurgence to lift his outfit back to the forefront after the summer.

As such, he could be Klopp's own version of Manchester City phenom Ilkay Gundogan, with the first-rate German midfielder among the creme de la creme on a global scale and imperative to the illustrious success of his team, having notably gleaned five Premier League titles and the FA Cup – also in the final of the latter competition again and the Champions League this season.

The 32-year-old actually used to play for Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, where they won two Bundesliga titles and the DFB Pokal together, which bodes well for Milinkovic-Savic, with the Reds' German boss perhaps best fit to unlock the full scope of his skill set on Merseyside.

The £99k-per-week Serb, hailed as a "different beast" by journalist Sacha Pisani, ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for rate of non-penalty goals, the top 8% for rate of assists, the top 12% for touches in the attacking box and the top 2% for aerials won, illustrating his devastating box-crashing prowess as a progressive central force.

Gundogan, comparatively, ranks among the top 5% of positional peers for rate of non-penalty goals, the top 20% for rate of assists and the top 3% for touches in the attacking box, and it's clear to see that both aces are superlative forward-thinking midfielders.

Klopp could unlock a "magic" new dimension – as he was dubbed by teammate Ciro Immobile – with the acquisition of Milinkovic-Savic, and must seek to emulate Pep Guardiola's success with the Citizens by providing his team with a new midfield general to orchestrate a resurgence.

Leicester City are looking for a new permanent manager following their relegation from the Premier League this season, and a former Liverpool legend is among the names of the shortlist.

The Foxes could begin their summer rebuild by appointing former Aston Villa and Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, as per journalist Tom Collomosse.

Will Steven Gerrard become Leicester manager?

Gerrard has been without a club since he was sacked by Villa back in October after less than a year in charge.

The Liverpool native was dismissed after a poor run of form to start the season and was replaced by former Arsenal manager Unai Emery who later helped guide Villa to a place in next season’s Europa Conference League.

The former Reds captain had a successful stint in Scotland and helped guide Rangers to their Scottish title in ten years back in 2021 before his move to Villa Park.

Gerrard is one of a number of names on the shortlist to take over at the King Power Stadium, which includes current interim boss Dean Smith, former Fulham and AFC Bournemouth head coach Scott Parker and current Manchester City assistant coach Enzo Maresca.

Leicester could face competition from fellow-relegated side Leeds, who The Mail claim are also interested in offering Gerrard a role as head coach. Leeds are looking for a new manager following Sam Allardyce’s departure.

Would Steven Gerrard be a good Leicester City manager?

Although the former England midfielder had some success in his time in Glasgow, Leicester fans may be concerned at a lack of experience on the part of the manager could hinder their chances of promotion back to the Premier League.

Gerrard has only held two senior managerial posts.

The Liverpool legend managed the U18 and U19 teams at the club for which he made over 500 league appearances before landing the job at Ibrox.

But the 43-year-old's spell at Villa will be what concerns Leicester fans the most.

Jordan Campbell of The Athletic has described Gerrard’s managerial style as “repetitive' and that 'it leaves fans cold'. Campbell argues that even before his tenure at Rangers ended, there was a 'distinct feeling that things had gone stale.'

Former Premier League manager Neil Warnock told talkSPORT in October:

“I think it’s hard for him to relate to fans at times”.

“I just think sometimes you’ve got to get on board with the fans a little bit more and become almost one of them.”

Comments like these will worry Leicester fans ahead of a managerial appointment of huge significance as the club look to rebound immediately to England’s top division.

Pakistan’s decision to rest Mohammad Amir in Abu Dhabi had been met with mixed reactions. The critics said a break might hamper the 24-year-old fast bowler’s rhythm. But there was also the argument that he was playing international cricket for the first time in five years and had already stacked up 202.3 overs on a long tour of England and 45 more during Pakistan’s first day-night Test in Dubai.Perhaps considering UAE Tests are decided by the batsmen and spinners’ contributions, and with two important series coming up – against New Zealand in November and Australia in December – the Pakistan selectors decided to give Amir some time off. The move seems to have worked.In Sharjah, on the second day of the third Test against West Indies, Amir looked like a man refreshed, picking up two wickets on a slow pitch and also pulling off a spectacular catch to dismiss Darren Bravo. Until that moment, when he ran back from cover, dived after the ball and got hold of it while horizontal with the ground, Amir had not had a single Test catch to his name.

Kraigg Brathwaite on…

What West Indies must do on day three: “We are in a good position. It is key for me and Jason [Holder] to start fresh and build a big partnership, then look to build a really big lead. The aim for me is to really build a big lead. If Jason and I can spend time at the wicket, rotate the strike, hopefully we can get as big a lead as possible.”
On the pitch: “It isn’t spinning sharply at the moment. [But] the pitch is cracking up a bit, and later tomorrow it will probably crack some more and get some spin. If we can go on and get the lead, then build on that, that will be very good for us.”
On his 83-run fifth-wicket stand with Roston Chase, after West Indies were 68 for 4: “Me and Chase went to school together, so we have a good relationship. I said to him to play as straight as possible. Obviously the pitch is low, so it is key we hit straight down the ground, then rotate the strike, and after that we had a good partnership.”

“It was a combined decision between me and the team management to take a rest and that’s fine,” Amir said. “A bowler can be rested from time to time; even Wahab [Riaz] was rested [in Abu Dhabi] and those who replaced us, Rahat Ali and Sohail Khan, did well. We are just developing our combination. I have been playing for a year now and I think fast bowlers should rest whenever there is a chance.”Because you never know, I or Wahab can be injured at any time. It can happen in cricket and you can’t do anything about that. So when you have a strong bench you can rotate the bowlers you have and give the others some chances as well. Our next tours, New Zealand and Australia, are lengthy so all of us need to be match-ready in case you need someone as cover for an unexpected injury.”Since Amir regained the eligibility to play for Pakistan after his involvement in the spot-fixing scandal in 2010, he has claimed 17 Test wickets at an average of 39.41. Those statistics, however, may have to be taken with a pinch of salt considering he had several catches dropped off his bowling in England. While he has not lost any pace, constantly hitting the low- to mid-140s, the swing he was known for is not quite there.”Playing Test cricket after five years is not very easy and I started with a tough England tour. It takes time to regain your rhythm,” Amir said. “But I feel I am getting there and getting my rhythm back gradually. I did face some problems with fitness earlier, which was expected. After five years of being idle, it’s very tough for a fast bowler to immediately be back at his best. It can’t be done overnight, you need to keep on performing. I still have a long career ahead of me and I am working hard to get where I was before skills-wise.”The swing was missing in England but now I have started developing the shape. And I have mostly been playing T20 cricket since coming back, where I bowl with a different arm-action. I was also going wide of the crease earlier but now I have minimised it and worked on my arm-action and its working my way.”Amir was looking forward to doing well in the two Tests in New Zealand – he is part of a 16-man squad that was announced on Monday – and then three more in Australia, including a day-night Test in Brisbane; Pakistan have yet to name a squad for that series.”Going to New Zealand and Australia and performing there, in those conditions, it gives you immense confidence. I have been to both countries earlier and the pitches there help fast bowlers. With the exposure of playing on tracks like these in UAE, you definitely get a lot of confidence to do well there.”Amir was happiest talking about his catch, though, which helped Pakistan get on top of West Indies. “We actually train to develop these kinds of skills with our fielding coach; it is quite a regular thing. That wicket of Bravo was very important as he was the batsman we wanted to get as soon as possible. We created the opportunity and I made the effort to get him out. So it worked well.”Then, with the wickets of Jermaine Blackwood for 23 and Roston Chase for 50, Amir also helped contain West Indies’ fightback as Pakistan ended the second day with a 37-run lead. They still have four more first-innings wickets to take though.

The BCCI fears some of its day-to-day operations will be at a standstill if the Lodha Committee does not reply soon to an email sent by its secretary Ajay Shirke last week, seeking directions from the committee

Nagraj Gollapudi31-Oct-2016The BCCI fears its daily operations might come to a standstill if the Lodha Committee does not respond immediately to an email sent by board secretary Ajay Shirke last week seeking directions from the committee on how to proceed in the wake of the October 21 Supreme Court order.Without the committee’s consent, the BCCI cannot take important decisions that include: signing of the memorandum of understanding with the ECB for the bilateral series starting on November 9, setting a new date for the IPL media rights tender which was postponed last Tuesday, and determining the threshold value for any financial transaction of the board relating to future contracts (the Lodha Committee was asked by the Supreme Court to set the threshold value, and all contracts in excess of that amount would need the committee’s approval).In its interim orders, passed on October 17 and then 21, the court had categorically put clamps on the BCCI releasing any funds to the states unless they submitted an affidavit saying they would adopt all the recommendations of the Lodha Committee. The court had also asked the committee to appoint an auditor, who would oversee all the contracts the BCCI had got into since the July 18 order which made it mandatory for both BCCI and the state associations to subscribe to the committee’s recommendations.Despite the BCCI raising this matter of the email now, it should be aware that the committee had already made it clear last week that the ball is in fact in the board’s court. The committee had written to Shirke on October 24 saying that BCCI president Anurag Thakur needs to give an undertaking “on behalf of the BCCI to unreservedly comply” with the court’s October 21 order. The BCCI had also asked both Shrike and Thakur to meet to the committee within two weeks from the date of the order. The board has been quiet on that front, as to whether Thakur would submit the affidavit and whether he and Shirke will be meeting the committee this week.”We sent the letter detailing a lot of day-to-day stuff we need to do. If you don’t get a clarification quickly the operations can come to a standstill,” a senior BCCI official said. “Since the court has appointed the committee as the custodian, we have asked it to advise us or take the decisions [itself].”The committee had not responded till Monday evening, the official said. No one from the committee was available for a comment. An explanation offered by RM Lodha, the chairman of the committee, in the past was that the court’s orders have never come in the way of all the existing contracts the BCCI has entered into, neither have they disrupted the various match schedules of the board.The BCCI official did not agree with that viewpoint in this instance. He said despite the longstanding courtroom battles, the BCCI’s daily operations were never disrupted till the October 21 court order. “Now when you stop all contracts, then our day-to-day commercial contracts comes to a halt. For everything we have to take reference from them.”According to the official, a pressing concern was the releasing of funds to all the state associations that will be hosting the England series as well as the ongoing the Ranji Trophy and age-group tournaments. England begin their five-Test series in Rajkot on November 9. They will then return post-Christmas for a limited-overs series. In the new year, India play a one-off Test against Bangladesh and a four-Test series against Australian in February-March.”The order says every contract has to be monitored and there has to be an auditor. It also does not allow us to give any hosting fee to any of the states. Now with the England and Australia series coming up, we don’t know what to do. We need the permission for that,” the board official said.The official said another immediate priority for the board is preparing for next year’s IPL. “There are numerous nuts and bolts that need to be kept ready: grounds, taking over stadiums, merchandising, team hotels, airlines, hospitality. These all need contracts. In the absence of an auditor, how do we proceed? And we don’t know what amount we can enter or not.”The BCCI is anxious not just about the present, but also about the future. A handful of important contracts need to be signed in the next year, the board official pointed out.The first is the IPL media rights tender. After that the BCCI has to sort the India title shirt contract, which currently with Star till next March. The official said that contract needs to be finalised by end of December as it would take few months for the new designs and logos, if any, to be printed on the new jerseys. On March 31, the IPL title rights, owned by Vivo currently, will be up for renewal.The official said two other important tenders the BCCI will need to negotiate by mid-next year are the IPL management contract with IMG and the bilateral media rights for international series for the new cycle commencing from 2018. “Each tender takes minimum of three months. So we have five major tenders one after the other. So we need clarification now.”The official said Shirke had listed all these details in the email to the committee. He said without a timetable in place, things could slide. “Doing things last-minute gives BCCI a bad name. The BCCI has very large operations. There are many domestic tournaments taking place simultaneously. Big international series are coming up. IPL is coming up. Your business has to go on, right?”Despite BCCI’s apprehensions, some of the state associations like Saurashtra Cricket Association, Andhra Pradesh Cricket Association and Tamil Nadu Cricket Association have stated they have enough funds to host the Test matches assigned to them by the board. Rajkot and Visakhapatnam will host the first and second Tests of the England series, which will end at Chepauk in Chennai in December.The whole episode concerning the Indian board and the Lodha Committee stems from the IPL 2013 fixing scandal. The court had initially appointed the Lodha Committee to determine appropriate punishments for those involved, and propose changes to the BCCI’s functioning to ensure best practices. In July the court accepted the majority of the committee’s recommendations, covering wide-ranging aspects of Indian cricket at the central and state level, making it binding on the BCCI to implement them. The BCCI has since questioned the benefits of some of these reforms – particularly the “one state, one vote” policy, the age cap on board officials, and the cap and cooling off periods on their terms in office – and missed some deadlines for their implementation, prompting the committee and the court to pursue the matter further.

علق عبد العزيز عبد الشافي لاعب ومدرب الأهلي السابق، على تولي حسام حسن مهمة تدريب منتخب مصر في المرحلة القادمة.

وأعلن الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم عن تولي حسام حسن تدريب منتخب مصر خلفًا للبرتغالي روي فيتوريا، وذلك عقب توديع الفراعنة كأس أمم إفريقيا.

وقال عبد الشافي خلال تصريحات عبر برنامج “بوكس تو بوكس” المذاع على قناة ETC: “عندما نكون في مرحلة ترشيح من الوارد أن تقول رأيك، لكن عندما يتم اتخاذ القرار لا بد أن ندعم ونساند بقوة”.

وأضاف: “كل الفرق الإفريقية أصبحت قوية، ومنتخبات كبيرة خرجت من كأس الأمم الأخيرة، يجب أن نصبر حتى النهاية، كنت أتمنى ألا يتحدث أحد عن أزمة محمد صلاح خلال البطولة”.

وواصل: “مهمة منتخب مصر هي تحدِ كبير لـ حسام وإبراهيم، وهما قادران على ذلك، ويمتلكان خبرات سيستفيدان منها، المطلوب مساندتهما”.

ومن جانب آخر، تطرق للحديث عن زيارة إدارة الأهلي لـ الزمالك، قائلاً: “الود والإحترام عنوان طبيعي للزيارة، نحن نحتاج مثل هذه الزيارات لأن مسؤولي الأندية عليهم واجب مُجتمعي كبير بصرف النظر عن واجبهم مع ناديهم، وهذه الثقافة تنتقل من سلوكياتهم”.

طالع | أحمد سالم يعلق على زيارة الأهلي لمقر الزمالك.. ويؤكد: استخدمنا اللائحة لإسقاط عضوية مرتضى منصور

وعن تعادل الأهلي مع شباب بلوزداد بدوري أبطال إفريقيا، أوضح: “الفريق بعيد عن مستواه، توجد غيابات، لكن لست قلقًا، أرى أن النتيجة جيدة لأن ظروفنا الفنية لم تكن جيدة”.

وكان الأهلي تعادل مع شباب بلوزاد سلبيًا، في المباراة التي أقيمت الجمعة ضمن منافسات الجولة الخامسة من دور المجموعات لـ دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

Leeds United have just been handed a huge boost in their hunt for a new manager, with Andrea Radrizzani looking to make the club as attractive as possible in preparation for a likely sale.

What's the latest Leeds manager news?

French outlet RMC Sport detail OGC Nice's interest in Graham Potter initially, before outlining a host of alternatives.

With a few English clubs vying for his signature, it is expected that the former Chelsea boss would prefer such a move, as Crystal Palace and Leicester City circle.

However, the Whites are another option touted, who could tempt the 48-year-old to Elland Road in an effort to escape the Championship at the first time of asking.

Is Graham Potter better than Marcelo Bielsa?

In snagging this progressive long-term coach, it seems like the Yorkshire club are truly serious about building a brighter and more sustainable future than the one Marcelo Bielsa conjured.

After all, despite the huge success he achieved in returning this club to the Premier League, his methods were what ultimately let him down. Stubbornly standing by a smaller group of players, he forged closer bonds but left himself wide open to an injury crisis.

Around the time of his sacking, he had been without Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips for large parts of the season, yet he retained his aggressive all-action style that was leaking goals for fun.

That year, when they narrowly avoided relegation, his side shipped 79 goals across the 38 games.

Meanwhile, Potter was quietly making a name for himself at Brighton and Hove Albion, spearheading their steady progression that has culminated in their Europa League finish in the most recent campaign.

Whilst Roberto De Zerbi will earn all the plaudits for finishing off the job, it was the Englishman who led them from a side that escaped the drop by just two points the year before his appointment.

His fluid 3-4-2-1 system allowed him to nurture his squad into a group of high-quality and versatile players, all able to play various roles well above their expected levels. This culminated in their highest-ever top-flight finish in his last full season (until this year), and when he left for Stamford Bridge, the Seagulls sat in fourth.

Such were his achievements, even the great Pep Guardiola sought to laud him, noting: "I am a big fan of Graham Potter. From the first time at Swansea, it was a joy to analyse his teams but also a concern when you play them. His players have the courage to play, they all know what to do. The first thing I would tell my players is: 'We have to be at a high level against them.'"

Although De Zerbi has since proven the following statement wrong, it was a testament to his work at progressing a club far smaller than Leeds that journalist Sam Morton spoke so highly of Potter: "It was a shame to see Cucurella and Bissouma leave Brighton but Graham Potter is the only irreplaceable asset at the club, you feel. The man is a genius."

Although he had his struggles in west London, many would argue that he was given particularly unfavourable circumstances with which to work. Perhaps a return to management where he could awake a sleeping giant under Radrizzani, could be the perfect place to rebuild his reputation and surpass Bielsa's legacy by earning promotion and a sustainable future in the top flight.

In the practice match in Fatullah on Tuesday, England will be facing two young pace bowlers in the BCB XI who are such unknown quantities that even the BCB didn’t know one of their names correctly when announcing the 13-man squad

Mohammad Isam03-Oct-2016

In the practice match in Fatullah on Tuesday, England will be facing two young pace bowlers in the BCB XI who are such unknown quantities that even the BCB didn’t know one of their names correctly when announcing the 13-man squad on Saturday.The BCB named one “Md Manik” which turned out to be Ali Ahmmed (whose nickname is Manik). The 20-year-old, 6ft 2in pacer is from Gopalganj, and is a regular at the Shere Bangla National Stadium nets. He caught the eye of Bangladesh’s new bowling coach Courtney Walsh, who suggested him to the national selectors.”This is a very big deal for me,” Ahmmed said. “I have been excited since I heard about it couple of days ago. I have spent four days under Courtney Walsh. He has worked with me about a few things, and I am focusing on those. My main strength is outswing. He told me to use my height. He worked on a mistake I have in my run-up. I have improved quickly so maybe he saw something in me.”Ahmmed made his first-class debut for Dhaka Division in October last year, and has only played two List-A matches for Cricket Coaching School in the Dhaka Premier League.The other rookie, Ebadot Hossain, made his first-class debut this season and has never played in the DPL. He is a volleyball player employed by the Bangladesh Air Force but he was picked in this year’s High Performance squad after impressing scouts in the pace bowlers hunt earlier in 2016.He impressed Aaqib Javed, who came for a week as a fast bowling consultant, during the HP camp in August. After making his first-class debut, he was also picked up by Rajshahi Kings in the BPL draft.He hopes to use this practice match as a platform for better things, though he is having a hard time getting past the excitement of sharing a gym with the Bangladesh players.”I have been trying to get better since the Robi Pacer Hunt,” he said. “I made it to the HP team and then played in the NCL. I now have a chance to bowl against England in the practice game. Hopefully I can do well and catch everyone’s attention. I got to do gym with the national players, which is thrilling for me.”

Wrexham goalkeeper Ben Foster has revealed that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney spent around half a million on a post-season trip to Las Vegas.

How much did Wrexham spend on their Las Vegas party?