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The tournament was originally scheduled to start on March 29 and run till the third week of May

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Mar-2020IPL 2020 has been deferred until April 15 following the global concern over the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) outbreak. ESPNcricinfo understands that if the situation is safe for the IPL to start in mid-April, the new window for the tournament is likely to be April 16 to June 5.The decision to postpone the tournament, which was scheduled to start on March 29, was taken by the BCCI top brass led by its president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah and top management of the IPL in the wake of the advice given by various arms of the Indian government.The IPL sent the communication to all eight franchises on Friday, saying it would meet the owners on Saturday in person in Mumbai to further debrief on the matter.In its statement announcing the decision on Friday afternoon, the BCCI said it was “suspending” the IPL until April 15 as a “precautionary measure” against the coronavirus. “The BCCI is concerned and sensitive about all its stakeholders, and public health in general, and it is taking all necessary steps to ensure that, all people related to IPL including fans have a safe cricketing experience,” the release said. “The BCCI will work closely with the Government of India along with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and all other relevant Central and State Government departments in this regard.”The IPL now joins a host of high-profile sporting events including the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League, the NBA and the ATP Tour to have been affected by COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), a respiratory illness that was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organistion (WHO) this week.With the outbreak rapidly escalating across the globe the Indian government has placed severe travel restrictions for people traveling in as well out of India. With the coronavirus being highly contagious and spread through contact, the government said sporting organisations would need to adhere to Health Ministry’s guidelines to avoid mass gatherings.ESPNcricinfo had earlier reported the possibility of the IPL being a severely restricted tournament – with at least some part of it being played to empty stands – because of the pandemic. While the central sports ministry had said it would not stop sporting events from taking place as long as they adhered strictly to government guidelines discouraging mass gatherings, the external affairs (foreign) ministry had said that its advice was to not go ahead with the tournament at this time, but left the decision to the organisers.In the end the BCCI was left with not much choice and was forced to change its initial stance of business-as usual when Ganguly had said the IPL was on and the board was taking all necessary precautions. However, the pressure on the BCCI was building up as state governments across India including those of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and Delhi on Friday insisting that they would not allow mass gatherings, something an IPL match would easily attract.On the eve of the India-South Africa ODI series opener, on March 11, the BCCI shared its first public statement on the coronavirus saying a list of dos-and-don’ts were distributed to all stakeholders including the players who had been asked not to shake hands or use third-party phones to take selfies during interactions with the fans.Later on Friday, it was confirmed that the final two ODIs of the South Africa series, in Lucknow (March 15) and Kolkata (March 18) would not be played for the same reasons.Before arriving at the decision to defer the tournament, the IPL is understood to have consulted at least some of the franchises for their views. As far as the franchises were concerned they wanted the tournament to go ahead in whatever form even if behind closed doors. One franchise chief executive said an option that was considered, and, which might still be in play if the tournament starts in April, is to allow no spectators during the first few weeks of the tournament and then upon review resume ticket sales.

Mikel Arteta's idea to have pickpockets steal from his Arsenal players has been labelled "weird" by club legend David Seaman.

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• Arteta invited pickpockets to Arsenal dinner
• Tactic used to keep players focused
• Gunners icon Seaman labels it "weird"

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Another of Arteta's unconventional tactics to motivate his Arsenal squad was revaeled when reported that the Spaniard hired pickpockets to steal from his players during a team dinner. The idea was to teach Bukayo Saka and Co. to be alert at all times – but Seaman believes it was a "weird" strategy.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  From using a light bulb in a team-talk to adopting a dog called 'Win', Arteta isn't afraid to go to extreme measures to get his players in the right mindset to succeed. And he's done a fine job in his five years in charge, but without a Premier League title the stories of these methods will continue to attract derision.

• WHAT SEAMAN SAID

  "I don’t get that. That's weird. I don't know what he's trying to do, whether he's trying to open players minds up to what could be going on without you knowing," Seaman said of the unusual ploy, per Betway.

  "I can't work out what the reasoning is behind it, but Mikel does things his own way and you can't argue with it. I remember going to training and seeing massive screens with all these positive messages on them and sometimes music playing. He does all these little things his own way, and it's working."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

  Arteta's latest methods will be put to the test when the Gunners kickstart their 2024-25 campaign by hosting Wolves on Saturday.

Both Sri Lanka and their new coach Mickey Arthur weren’t supposed to be facing the tough questions from the press in Indore on Tuesday night. Zimbabwe had been slated to tour India and Arthur was in line to coach defending champions Central Stags in the ongoing Super Smash T20 competition in New Zealand. But here they are, 0-1 behind.This is Arthur’s first T20I series as Sri Lanka’s coach, and he faces the challenge of overseeing their T20 World Cup plans, which will begin with qualifying for the tournament in Australia later this year. That bit probably became even tougher after Sri Lanka suffered their fourth successive defeat in the shortest format. The margins of those defeats have been particularly alarming – 134 runs, nine wickets, seven wickets and seven wickets again.After Sri Lanka were asked to bat on a flat pitch in Indore, opener Avishka Fernando looked good, especially when he drove or punched on the up. Kusal Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka weren’t as fluent, but every time they backed away and targeted the off side, they looked threatening. Each of the top three made at least 20, but nobody could press on and make it count.Sri Lanka nearly soaked up 50 dots in their innings, which cost them the match, according to Arthur. “We had a couple of our batsmen getting starts, but starts are not good enough,” he said at the post-match press conference. “Somebody needs to get a 60 or 70 or 80 for us, and that is going to be the journey for us. It is quite a young batting unit and if you look at how we average, we average about what we got [142 for 9] tonight.”For us as coaching staff and players we have got some serious work to do in terms of game-plan, match awareness and playing the big moments. I think we had 49 dot balls tonight, which is too many, as the best teams in the world [would] have 25 dot balls. That is something we need to keep working on.”Arthur said that by piling up the dot balls, Sri Lanka applied too much pressure on themselves, which prompted the middle and lower-order batsmen to take multiple risks, which is a bad place to be against a skillful India attack. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s hero in Pakistan, Dasun Shanaka, their finisher, and Isuru Udana, their No.1 allrounder, were all out swinging hard at the ball.Avishka Fernando guides a wide one towards deep point•Associated Press

Legspin-bowling allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga added a semblance of respectability to Sri Lanka’s total by taking the returning Jasprit Bumrah for three fours in a row to close out the innings. However, 142 for 9 was nowhere near enough to challenge India.”It was a lack of awareness of the game that was actually required at that given time,” Arthur said. “And you can see with our players there’s some much flair. They’ve got all the skills, but it’s that ability to rotate the strike [that’s missing]. And if you’re not rotating the strike, that causes you to look and try and play the big shots, which they did and India were good enough to put them under that sort of pressure that causes those type of mistakes.”Arthur, though, is pleased that Sri Lanka have identified a core group and hoped to bring his vast coaching experience to turn things around. He drew confidence from having lifted a Pakistan team that was in similar flux to No. 1 on the ICC T20I rankings. He reckoned that the turnaround might take longer with Sri Lanka and even set his focus towards building a strong pool for the 2021 T20 World Cup in India.”The exciting thing for me though is that there is a very young core group of players and they are very skilled,” Arthur said. “But we need to coach game-plans, match awareness; we need to coach how they can construct innings and that for me is the biggest challenge as a coach. It is kind of like what I stared with in South Africa; it was exactly the same when I was in Pakistan. Pakistan was a team that was ranked No. 9 in T20 cricket and we got Pakistan to win 11 series in a row–we did not play India–and got ourselves to No. 1 in the world. There were good values because we used the sum of our parts. There were guys who could hit [the ball]out of the park but we learned how to play to our strengths. And that is kind of what I see with Sri Lanka.”It is going to be a challenge. We’ve got eight months to that 2020 World Cup – I am thinking even one World Cup further than that–I am thinking [about] coming back here in 2021 when the guys would be a real finished article, but it is going to take a lot of work. In coaching, that is what your biggest challenge it, and that is why you do it. “Arthur’s immediate task is to put the recent heavy defeats behind and help Sri Lanka square the series in Pune on December 10. The tourists will have fond memories of the MCA stadium, having toppled a full-strength India there in 2016. They might have to do without Udana though. The 31-year old did not bowl in Indore after hurting his back while fielding. Arthur said that he was in “hell of a lot of pain” and that the management will consider recalling former captain Angelo Mathews for Sri Lanka’s must-win match in Pune.

Les Bleus have the most talented squad at the Summer Games, as well as the support of an expectant home crowd

Thierry Henry, in typical style, articulated just how much an Olympic gold would mean for France.

"If you don't come to such a tournament for the gold," he told the Olympics website, "there is no point coming."

Of course, this seems a rather obvious sentiment. Henry is one of the best players to ever kick a football, which isn't achieved by having an apathetic attitude towards the sport. Elite athletes tend to care.

Still, Olympic soccer remains a confusing thing – a strangely polarizing tournament given the unquestionable prestige of taking home a gold medal, regardless of the sport. And it seems, for this iteration of the tournament, no one is better positioned to do just that than France.

There are undoubtedly some talented teams to be found, which kicks off in earnest Wednesday. But France, in front of the millions of expectant fans, led by a national legend, and buoyed by the deepest squad in the tournament, really should run away with a medal that might just mean a lot more than the football world might have you believe.

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  The squad

  Kylian Mbappe, we are told, wanted to play for this Olympic team. That would make sense. There is a certain romanticism to it all. The Parisian kid, playing for his country, in his hometown, his team well-positioned – if not favored – to win Olympic gold. The narrative was already written. All Mbappe had to do was just the standard Mbappe things – score a lot of goals.

  There's precedent here, too. Neymar, for example, did it for Brazil in 2016 to great success. But Real Madrid prevented Mbappe from representing his country. And that made a lot of sense. Mbappe is probably exhausted. Madrid want to protect his legs – and his broken nose.

  Still, look beyond Mbappe, and this remains a vastly experienced squad loaded with talent. The star man is Michael Olise, who just made a big-money move to Bayern Munich. But it's not just him, either. France is home to arguably the best wealth of youngsters in world football – and most of them will be on display for Thierry Henry's side at the Olympics. Throw in the veteran presence of captain Alex Lacazette up front, and this looks a formidable team.

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  The star man

  Perhaps most important, France possess the advantage of having a real match-winner to turn to. Olise was never an unknown quantity, but he did improve immensely for Crystal Palace last year. Formerly a mercurial talent who would pop up in moments, the attacking midfielder became a game-changing presence – constantly involved, playing a key part of every sequence.

  And his impact expanded as a result. In just 19 Premier League appearances, he provided 16 goal contributions. The advanced stats are even kinder. He is in the 99th percentile among goals per 90 minutes, 87th in successful take-ons, and 99th in expected assists – an accurate calculator of how effective his final pass was. In other words, Olise, at 22, is looking a lot like an elite attacking midfielder. No other country at this Olympics can boast that.

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  The manager

  Henry's managerial credentials, at a club level, are admittedly mixed. This idea, one of a club legend entering into coaching, is admittedly dicey territory. And Henry made the jump too early. When he took the Monaco job in 2018, he hadn't taken charge of a senior club side. It was a disaster waiting to happen. And it proved as such. Monaco were 19th when Henry was dismissed from his post after just two months – and he could have few complaints.

  His resume has improved since then. A successful stint with Montreal Impact, and solid return to the Belgian national team setup as an assistant bolstered his credentials. He reportedly turned down the opportunity to coach the France women's national team, and was in the mix for the USMNT job in 2022.

  A return to the youth national team scene, with his home country, seemed a shrewd move. And thus far, it's been a successful one. Henry has shepherded a talented group to a handful of promising results. This sense of gravitas seems to connect with a younger generation who know him more from legends cards on FIFA and YouTube clips than watching him tear up the Premier League. He appears to be the right man to get the job done.

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  Home field advantage?

  Global perception of Olympic Men's soccer is admittedly mixed. On the women's side, it means a lot. A lack of age restrictions mean that international sides can take their best players to every tournament. And more broadly, there's a real prestige to it.

  The men's game doesn't share that. It's effectively a youth tournament with U23 restrictions – and the lack of FIFA recognition means that club teams aren't obligated to release their best young talents. The result is a relative sense of apathy towards the pursuit of a gold medal. For home nations, though, it's different. One only has to look at the scenes at the Maracana in 2016 after Brazil won Olympic gold – wild fans, Neymar in tears – to see that this could be truly meaningful for the host nation.

  And although excitement on the ground in France has been measured, with Michel Platini dubbing the tournament "no Olympic sport" the fans lining the streets when Henry carried the torch last week painted a different picture. There's a real unity, which could be vital in the weeks ahead.

Jasprit Bumrah’s injured back might not require surgery “as of now”, according to India bowling coach Bharat Arun. India’s fast bowling spearhead is, however, unlikely to play a part in the remainder of India’s home season, which features limited-overs series against Bangladesh, West Indies and Sri Lanka over the next three months.Earlier in October, Bumrah visited the UK with the National Cricket Academy’s chief physiotherapist Ashish Kaushik, and consulted specialists to treat the back problem. The BCCI hasn’t made public the nature of Bumrah’s problem, except saying in a press release that the injury was “minor”.ALSO READ: ‘Is it Ashwin and Jadeja or Jadeja and Ashwin?'”Fast bowling is an unnatural activity. Despite our best efforts there can be no guarantees. We expect Bumrah to be back sooner than later, hopefully in time for the New Zealand Test series that is our next big challenge,” Arun told the . “As of now, he doesn’t need surgery.”Bumrah’s absence hasn’t affected the performance of India’s fast bowling group, though, with Umesh Yadav stepping up to join Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma to form a solid combine against South Africa in the recent Test series.Arun, who has been working with the bowlers since 2015, was particularly impressed with Umesh’s comeback – he picked up 11 wickets in two Tests, a majority of those a reward for attacking the stumps.”He’s strong and quick and now he is bowling in better channels, making the batsman play around the off stump,” Arun said. “He’s got reverse swing, has a nasty short ball. He and Shami, who is fast, accurate and dangerous, are a potent combination.”Arun also conceded that there might be no immediate end in sight to the battle between R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to be the No. 1 Test spinner. Chances are the team management will go in for a “horses for courses” approach should they have to pick just one of the two.While their performances have been neck-and-neck with the ball, the team management has in the past considered Jadeja’s batting and fielding contributions as a valuable add-on, especially overseas.”He’s among the best spinners in the world, top class, and is approaching 400 Test wickets,” Arun said of Ashwin. “In fact, Ashwin went to England and Australia as our No. 1 spinner and then ran into fitness issues. Ravindra Jadeja grabbed his chance, giving us control with the ball, solidity with the bat and fielding brilliantly.”Away from home, if we have to pick one of the two in the eleven, it will be horses for courses looking at the conditions and the opposition. Then we have Kuldeep Yadav who picked five with his wrist spin in his last Test, in Sydney. We have an embarrassment of riches.”

Newcastle United have been one of the unluckiest sides with injuries so far this season, with Eddie Howe's side often looking thin in key areas with multiple players struggling during key periods.

Players such as Sven Botman, Joelinton and Harvey Barnes have all been absent for large spells this campaign, with boss Howe, having to sometimes resort to youth.

The injuries have subsequently had a hit on the Magpies' league position, with the club sitting in eighth place heading into this weekend's round of fixtures, with European football at St James' Park for a second consecutive season unlikely.

However, the injuries to key players have allowed some younger members of the Newcastle first-team to gain valuable minutes and develop with one player in particular starting to look like the real deal.

How much Lewis Miley cost Newcastle United

Youngster Lewis Miley came through Newcastle's academy, with the boyhood Magpies fan costing the club nothing – which could result in a hefty profit in the years ahead.

He's often featured in a three-man midfield for Howe's side, with the midfielder fitting straight into the side – showing no evidence of his tender age of just 17.

Since his first start against Bournemouth in November, Miley has made 16 consecutive appearances for Howe's side, with the 17-year-old impressing at St James' Park.

The youngster scored his first goal for his boyhood club during the 3-0 victory over Fulham, with Miley rapidly adapting to the physical demands of the Premier League.

The goal against Fulham made the 17-year-old the club's youngest-ever goalscorer in the Premier League, with the youngster cementing himself in Magpies history. He truly is the "unbelievable" player that teammate Sean Longstaff describes him as.

Newcastle United's youngest Premier League goalscorers

1. Lewis Miley

17y 229d

2. James Milner

18y 265d

3. Rolando Aarons

18y 288d

4. Gael Bigirimana

19y 42d

5. Shola Ameobi

19y 84d

Stats via Statbunker

Lewis Miley's market value in 2024

Just four months on from his first-team debut, his market value has skyrocketed to £26m as per CIES Football Observatory, with this just the beginning of Miley's rise to potential stardom. That's an impressive valuation given his tender age and one that according to CIES, surpasses Harvey Barnes, Tino Livramento, Callum Wilson and Nick Pope among others.

Former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer is the latest pundit to heap praise on the 17-year-old, with Shearer saying:

“He just looks natural, he looks very comfortable. Other than looking at his baby looks, if you didn’t know who or what he was you would think he has been around for years, the way he was strutting around the pitch and closing down and the balance he had on the ball. ​​​​​​"

Although it's still very early days for the teenager in terms of his professional career, it certainly does look as though he could be a huge asset for the Magpies in the years to come.

When delving into Miley's stats in the Premier League this season, he excels despite his tender age, with the youngster winning 2.5 tackles per 90 this season, a stat that is better than 30% of midfielders in the Premier League this season.

He also averages four progressive passes received per game, with Miley operating as the furthest forward out of the Magpies' three-man midfield.

The praise for Miley is justified, with the midfielder having the world at his feet. However, the club need to keep developing him and giving him consistent game time in order for him to reach his potential.

MatériaMais Notícias

A Flamengo foi premiado pela plataforma “Play For a Cause” por ter sido o clube de maior engajamento social em 2020. Isso porque o valor arrecadado com os itens doados pelo Fla foi superior aos demais clubes do país. Santos e Corinthians ficaram em segundo e terceiro lugar, respectivamente. A pasta de Responsabilidade Social do clube recebeu o prêmio na Gávea, nesta sexta.

Ao todo, o Flamengo doou 63 itens à plataforma, que geraram 176 mil e 490 reais. Com o valor arrecadado, foram comprados 27.500 quilos de alimentos, impactando a vida de 2.200 famílias.

Ângela Machado, diretora de Responsabilidade Social do Flamengo, comentou:

– Pra nós, esse prêmio é um grande reconhecimento. O reconhecimento de um trabalho social muito sério, sobretudo num momento difícil como esse que estamos vivendo. A gente tem muita convicção no nosso trabalho pela garantia de direitos e nas ações de apoio comunitário, para de alguma forma contribuir com a redução da desigualdade social do país. Então, a gente recebe esse prêmio como um estímulo enorme. A gente sabe que há muito a ser feito ainda, mas estamos muito comprometidos com a nossa missão para minimizar os efeitos da desigualdade para inúmeras famílias no Brasil – acrescentou Camila Nascimento, gerente da pasta.

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André Georges, fundador da plataforma, também falou sobre o prêmio, destacando a participação dos clubes.

– É uma grande felicidade a gente estar aqui hoje entregando esse prêmio. Principalmente, por saber que essa relação foi construída já há algum tempo. Desde o início, quando a gente começou em 2018… Estar aqui agora com esse resultado super bacana mostra sim um engajamento que o Flamengo tem também fora do campo, na área social. E sendo exemplo fora das quatro linhas. Hoje, a gente consegue entregar esse prêmio com a maior felicidade do mundo. E é muito importante que isso se torne exemplo para que outros clubes também adotem a mesma postura e transformem o esporte numa verdadeira ferramenta de transformação social.

This week couldn't have gone any better for the Wolverhampton Wanderers faithful, with their side beating archrivals West Brom 2-0 in the FA Cup.

Only a new signing and a victory over Manchester United on Thursday could make it even better.

Wolves are unbeaten in their last seven games, and the morale is high, but Gary O'Neil is still keen to introduce one new face before the end of deadline day.

Wolves' search for a midfielder

Football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently told GIVEMESPORT that Wolves could move for Jordan James. The journalist stated:

“Atalanta offered something around £5m plus add-ons. They had an agreement with the player but not with the club. This is why Atalanta left the conversation at the beginning of the winter window. So, at the moment, the situation is completely quiet with the Italian side. But there could be an opportunity for Wolves and Crystal Palace in the window's final days.”

However, it will take a bid of around £8.5m for any deal to be considered by Birmingham City, as per football journalist Rudy Galetti earlier this month.

The news comes amid reports that Wolves are set to conclude a deal to sign Mario Lemina's brother, Noha, on loan. With an agreement reached between the clubs, it's now just down to personal terms before the deadline slams shut on Thursday.

How James could fit alongside Joao Gomes

22-year-old Brazilian Joao Gomes has been instrumental at the heart of the Wolves midfield this season, where he has really kicked on since moving to the club in January last year for £15m from Flamengo.

The midfielder has played 18 matches in the Premier League this season, with his performances reportedly gaining the interest of Spurs earlier this month.

Another young midfielder who has shone this season is the aforementioned James of Birmingham City, who has played in 26 matches this season in the Championship. However, he isn't just shining for his club, with the midfielder also cementing himself as a key player for Wales during the recent European Championship qualifiers, where he has been extremely "impressive," as per journalist Josh Bunting.

Nonetheless, the 19-year-old could become the perfect partner for Gomes, and the table below showing his statistics from this season helps justify why. It compares some of James' most important attributes and subsequently how he compares to positional peers in the Championship.

Goals

0.42

Top 3%

Goals/shot

0.26

Top 4%

Tackles won

1.47

Top 20%

Passes blocked

1.47

Top 3%

Interceptions

1.33

Top 26%

Jones ranks among the best midfielders in the second tier for goals scored (6), with his late runs into the box often leading to an opportunity to find the back of the net, which he usually takes according to his goals/shot stat.

This eye for a goal makes him the dream partner for Gomes, whose role is solely to win the ball back and keep it simple when in possession, as highlighted by the fact he ranks in the top 4% of midfielders and 7% for tackles and dribblers challenged in the league. Together, they would cover every aspect of a perfect midfield duo, providing a threat in the final third and defensive security.

Furthermore, O'Neil loves to field a 3-4-3 formation, which would suit James' profile perfectly, as it would give him the freedom to drive forward and be a handful in the final third while also bringing out his defensive capabilities, such as his tackling, interceptions, and ability to block off forward passes.

The Welsh star also stands at 6 foot 2, which allows him to hold his own on the field despite his age. James' skillset and physical profile mean he has the potential to become an elite talent, and a deal for less than £10m could prove to be a steal in years to come.

Carlos Corberan will hope the occasion of the Black Country Derby doesn't get the better of his West Bromwich Albion players, Wolverhampton Wanderers making the short trip to the Hawthorns to play the Baggies in what could be an enthralling FA Cup contest this Sunday.

The Spanish boss will certainly want some form of a reaction from the away defeat to Norwich City last time out in Championship action, the West Midlands side having more of the possession at 60% but having nothing to show for it at full-time in a dire 2-0 defeat.

Corberan could well look to add some quality to the forward positions after such a passive attacking display at Carrow Road, looking at signing this loan player until the end of the season in a surprise move.

If all goes to plan, this exciting loanee could be an upgrade on Grady Diangana who remains out of action for the Baggies owing to the African Cup of Nations taking place.

West Brom looking at attacking recruits

According to a report from Daily Mail journalist Stephen McGowan, Celtic are attempting to offload Liel Abada this month on loan with a whole host of clubs circling for the 22-year-old as a result.

West Brom, Watford and Southampton are all name-checked in the article as second-tier sides casting their eyes in the direction of Abada, with further interest coming from abroad courtesy of Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga.

Falling out of favour this season at Parkhead under Brendan Rodgers, the Baggies could well offer Abada's career a lifeline this January – the Hoops winger a livewire on his day, as has been showcased during his stay in Glasgow to date.

Diangana could well return back from AFCON sweating about his immediate first-team future if this deal is successful, Abada boasting excellent goalscoring statistics in Scotland compared to the unpredictable Congolese forward's recent output in England.

January transfer window: All the deadline day deals from England and Scotland

Stay on top of all the latest transfer deals across the Premier League, EFL and SPFL as the January window closes.

ByCharlie Smith Feb 1, 2024 How Liel Abada compares to Grady Diangana

Last season under the guidance of Ange Postecoglou at Celtic, Abada routinely tore Scottish Premiership defences to shreds.

Scoring ten times and assisting a further five goals as the Hoops strolled to yet another SPFL title triumph, Abada even missed nine big chances during that campaign which could have made his numbers overall even more impressive.

This terrifying form in front of goal led to Postecoglou labelling Abada a "handful" last season after a bright cameo against St. Mirren, the now popular Tottenham Hotspur boss often utilising the attacker as an impact substitute as well as starting him during his decorated time in Scotland.

Comparatively, Diangana last season in the Championship only mustered up four goals and three assists with his powers at the Hawthorns seemingly fading over time since bursting onto the scene in 2019.

Diangana is some way off the heights he managed when originally joining the Baggies on loan, with Corberan potentially wanting to add a figure similar to the Congolese attacker in Abada this window that can take second-tier defences by storm.

With Jed Wallace putting in a second-rate showing playing at right midfield last game – unsuccessful with all of his dribble attempts at Carrow Road on top of winning just two of his 16 duels – the time could well be right for Corberan to bring in a new option for the right flank in the £17k per week Israeli.

Diangana will still play his part for the promotion-chasing Baggies on his return, but with Abada potentially joining, West Brom could have a fresh and exciting attacker to call upon who could cause Championship defences absolute havoc and help the West Midlanders pick up more wins on the board.

The January transfer window has just over a week left to run and Leeds United are yet to make a signing to bolster Daniel Farke's playing squad.

It has been a relatively quiet window for the Whites so far as they have allowed two first-team players to depart and sent Darko Gyabi on loan to Plymouth Argyle.

Djed Spence was sent back to parent club Tottenham Hotspur at the start of the month, five months earlier than expected, and Luke Ayling joined Middlesbrough on loan until the end of the season in search of regular game time.

Leicester

1

27

65

Ipswich

2

27

58

Southampton

3

27

55

Leeds

4

27

51

Leeds are currently vying to land automatic promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, as shown in the table above, and they could improve their chances of being successful by adding more quality to the group before the window slams shut.

Signing a proven Championship performer who has experience winning the division, for example, could give them a boost, which is why emerging links to Burnley's Manuel Benson should be exciting for supporters.

Leeds pushing to land Premier League forward

According to Belgian journalist Sasha Tavolieri, the Whites are 'pushing' to secure a deal to sign the Clarets forward before the end of the window.

The reporter claims that the club are keen on a swoop for the Premier League attacker and will move 'until the end' to bring him to Elland Road this month.

However, there is no mention of whether it would be a permanent transfer for the impressive winger or, instead, a loan with an option to buy in the summer.

Tavolieri adds that Leeds expect Wilfried Gnonto to join Premier League side West Ham United, as they view the move as 'likely', and have identified Benson as his replacement.

The Italy international wanted to move on from the club last summer and went as far as to hand in a transfer request in August 2023 after the Whites turned down four offers from Everton.

Leeds rejected up to £25m from the Toffees and the young forward eventually remained at Elland Road and was integrated back into the first-team squad.

Appearances

21

Starts

Seven

Goals

One

Assists

One

Big chances created

Zero

Key passes per game

0.3

It now remains to be seen how much they value the 20-year-old ace at this month and how much West Ham are willing to pay for his services.

If Leeds do cash in on Gnonto and replace him with Benson, Farke could land a dream partner for Crysencio Summerville on the opposite flank to the Dutch whiz.

Opposition defences could be terrified when they come up against the pair as they are both outstanding Championship operators who can cause constant problems in the final third.

Crysencio Summerville's Championship excellence

The 22-year-old sensation has been in terrific form since the club were relegated from the Premier League and has spearheaded their attack this season.

Summerville has showcased his quality in front of goal with 12 strikes in 24 Championship appearances. No other Leeds player has hit double figures for goals, with Dan James and Joel Piroe both in second place with nine.

In fact, the impressive forward currently ranks within the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers within the division for non-penalty goals (0.52) per 90 this term, despite racking up 0.36 non-penalty Expected Goals per 90.

This shows that he has been one of the best goalscoring wingers in the league and has been efficient with his finishing, as the Leeds star has outperformed his npxG.

Summerville has also been a superb creator for his side with seven assists and 13 'big chances' created for his teammates – second only to Georginio Rutter's nine assists and 18 'big chances' created within the squad.

The sublime whiz ranks within the top 1% of his Championship positional peers for shot-creating actions (6.82) and the top 3% for Expected Assisted Goals (0.37) per 90 respectively.

These statistics show that he is a fantastic scorer and creator of goals from a left wing position, which is what Benson could be for Farke on the right flank.

Benson's Championship track record

The £25k-per-week wizard joined Burnley from Royal Antwerp in the summer of 2022 and enjoyed a terrific debut season in English football.

Vincent Kompany's side romped their way to promotion and won the Championship title in the process, with Benson playing a valuable role in that success.

The left-footed whiz, who was described as a "beautiful" player by journalist Josh Bunting, played in 33 of their 46 matches and caught the eye with his ability to score goals and create high-quality opportunities for his fellow forwards.

Chris Willock

1

Nathan Tella

2

James McAtee

3

Ilias Chair

4

Duncan Watmore

5

Benson racked up 11 goals in those 33 outings, despite only being a starter in 14 games, and ranked within the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the division for non-penalty goals (0.66) per 90.

The Belgian talent, who was only provided with 0.24 npxG per 90, was one of the best attackers in the Championship when it came to scoring from open play at a consistent rate.

He was also an impressive creator for his teammates from the right flank. Benson ranked within the top 4% of his positional peers for both shot-creating actions (4.53) and Expected Assisted Goals (0.25) per 90 for Burnley.

These statistics show that the Clarets magician is a proven Championship performer who has the quality to be one of the best in the division when it comes to scoring goals from open play and creating quality opportunities for his fellow attackers on a regular basis.

Therefore, Farke could land a dream partner for Summerville as the wing duo could terrify opposition full-backs with their immense quality in the final third, which is why this could be a fantastic signing for the Whites if they are able to pull it off.