Tottenham Hotspur have made contact over signing a 28-year-old title-winner “in recent days”, with a January bid on the cards as chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange could sign the player for under £10 million.

Ange Postecoglou refuses to rule out Tottenham signings after Johan Lange talks

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou was gifted some much-needed breathing room surrounding his precarious position in the dugout on Sunday when his side ran out convincing 5-0 winners over Southampton at St. Mary’s.

Club president contacts £60m Tottenham ace in "major operation" to sign him

They’re set for “several meetings” over the “difficult deal” ahead of January.

2 ByEmilio Galantini Dec 14, 2024

However, with difficult fixtures still to come and the Lilywhites in the midst of an injury crisis, as they attempt to compete on four fronts, Postecoglou will surely have the looming January window firmly in his thoughts.

The winter transfer market is set to open in just under two weeks, and it represents an opportunity for the north Londoners to bolster numerous key positions.

Tottenham’s next five Premier League games

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Arsenal (Away)

Postecoglou is currently without Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies, Wilson Odobert, Richarlison due to injury, whilst both Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur are currently serving domestic bans (Premier Injuries).

Son Heung-min has picked up a knock as well, with Postecoglou waiting to find out the severity of his problem, while Destiny Udogie was taken off against Southampton as a precautionary measure after he felt tightness.

Postecoglou has refused to rule out the possibility of January deals, after having extensive recruitment meetings with director Lange behind-the-scenes.

“A lot of it will depend on where we are as a squad at that time,” said Postecoglou on the January transfer window late last month.

“Richy will hopefully be back in the New Year and we will just assess where we are squad-wise but certainly, with Johan I’ve already had a number of meetings for a strategy in January.

“I think last year we did a little bit of business which ended up helping us, but nothing concrete now because January is always tricky and it depends on where we are squad-wise.”

Tottenham make contact to sign Botafogo keeper John Victor "in recent days"

Vicario’s long-term injury has prompted some reports linking Spurs with a new shot-stopper at the turn of 2025.

Reports in England have suggested that Tottenham are ready to open talks over signing Botafogo keeper John Victor, with media sources from his homeland now reinforcing the club’s interest.

UOL report that Tottenham have contacted Botafogo over signing Victor “in recent days”, alongside Man United, as the Premier League duo sense an opportunity to reinforce their goalkeeping ranks.

The 28-year-old, who’s won a Brazilian Serie A title, could be signed for under £10 million according to CaughtOffside – who estimated his price tag to be at around £7-8 million earlier this week.

Spurs are “expected to go into the transfer market in January”, according to this report, so a winter move for Victor appears to be firmly on the cards.

Ireland were five runs behind the DLS par score when rain forced an early end to the game

Srinidhi Ramanujam20-Feb-2023India advanced to the semi-final of the Women’s T20 World Cup with a five-run win over Ireland in their final group game, which was affected by rain in Gqeberha. India opener Smriti Mandhana’s 87 guided them to 155 for 6 after Harmanpreet Kaur opted to bat.The match was abandoned due to rain after it was halted at 8.2 overs when Ireland were 54 for 2, five runs behind the DLS par-score of 59. Ireland, thereby, have ended their T20 World Cup campaign with four defeats in as many matches while India, with three victories from four matches, have qualified for the knockouts along with England.Unless England lose to Pakistan in their final league game, India will play Australia in the first semi-final.

Mandhana notches career-best T20I score

Mandhana notched up her best T20I score of 87 in windy conditions, albeit with several missed chances. Along with Shafali Verma, she stitched a 62-run partnership for the opening wicket, but it was not in the smoothest manner. Both Mandhana and Shafali looked to go big in the initial overs, with the latter particularly struggling to middle the ball. Shafali’s stay was cut short by Ireland captain Laura Delany when she was caught at deep square leg for a 29-ball 24.Harmanpreet, who came in at No.3 instead of Jemimah Rodrigues, couldn’t shift gears in testing conditions and eventually fell for 13 off 20 balls when she tried to go against the wind over deep midwicket. Orla Prendergast, the fielder, took an excellent catch to bring Ireland into the game.Mandhana, on the other hand, despite having a scratchy start to her innings – in which she was dropped on 29, 31, 46 and 70 – changed her approach after racing to her 22nd T20I fifty from 40 balls. Getting the timing right while looking to clear the boundary by hitting with the wind worked as she smashed four fours and two sixes in 16 balls after the half-century.Laura Delany celebrates with her teammates after dismissing Shafali Verma•ICC via Getty Images

From 63 for 1 after ten overs, India put on 92 runs in the final ten, with 50 of those runs coming in the last five overs. However, Ireland fought back at the death with five wickets, including two two-wicket overs each from Prendergast and Delany. Like Mandhana, they also tweaked their approach, with change of pace and lengths to exert pressure.Rodrigues, at three-down, chipped in with a quickfire 19 to lift the team to the highest total at St George’s Park for a women’s international game.For Ireland, Delany was their best bowler in terms of wickets, with three scalps for 33 and Prendergast finished with figures of 2 for 22.

Wind, rain and an Ireland chase

Throughout the game, players were tested on their ability to play with and against the wind before the rain took over. Ireland, chasing 156, were under pressure straightaway after losing two wickets in the first over of the innings. The first delivery saw Amy Hunter being run-out when she hesitated to take the second run and Rodrigues, the cover fielder, fired in a throw at the striker’s end to effect an easy dismissal. Four balls later, Renuka Singh bowled Prendergast, Ireland’s top scorer in their previous match against West Indies, out for duck.However, the two early wickets did not derail Gaby Lewis and Delany as the duo started finding boundaries against both pace and spin. Lewis remained unbeaten on 32 off 25 before the rain halted the game.

Jubair Hossain has been Bangladesh’s discovery of the season. But, in a set-up that deems legspin bowling risky business, he has his work cut out

Mohammad Isam01-Jun-2015Bangladesh’s discovery of the season, Jubair Hossain, discovered many things about himself and his surroundings in the last 12 months. For starters, he found out that he can’t fib his way through a conversation with another legspinner.”Yasir Shah took the umpire’s position one day in the Khulna nets where I was bowling,” Jubair tells ESPNcricinfo. “He asked me how I gripped the ball for the legspin. He showed me his mostly seam (up) grip while I have a somewhat cross-seam grip. Then he said that he can’t bowl the googly too well.”I also told him the same thing, that I can’t bowl the googly that well. (Spin bowling coach) Ruwan (Kalpage) had winked at me for fun. But Yasir caught on and said ‘liar, liar’…” Jubair said with a laugh.But it was much more than Yasir’s grip that Jubair picked up in the course of his journey from a net bowler at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in early 2014, to an international cricketer, in the space of five months. He found fame through impressive performances and people wanted to take credit for discovering him. But Jubair also got unwanted attention when the head coach Chandika Hathurusingha and chief selector Faruque Ahmed tussled over his selection in the World Cup team before and after the tournament. Afterwards, Jubair also had a crash course in the intricacies of Bangladesh’s domestic cricket scene.Just last year, he was asked to bowl in the Bangladesh nets after completing his time as an Under-19 cricketer where he turned more than the odd head with his whip of the shoulder that generated appreciable turn. After troubling a few of Bangladesh’s senior batsmen, he impressed the new team management so much that they asked the selectors to include him in the preliminary squad for Bangladesh’s West Indies tour, attracting the attention of Dhaka’s cricketing circles.He narrowly missed selection when they sought a replacement for Sohag Gazi mid-tour, but was nonetheless picked in the Bangladesh A team, for whom he made his first-class and List-A debut against Zimbabwe A in September last year. He picked up 16 wickets in five games; it was enough to earn him a call-up for the senior team’s series against Zimbabwe.His 11 wickets in three Tests came at an average of 29.27, including a five-for in Chittagong. He took four wickets in two ODIs but then was suddenly rested without any explanation like many of the players during that series. In the ensuing two months, he played just one List-A game for Abahani and missed out on the World Cup squad owing to inexperience.He played five first-class games in the domestic competition and was in the Test squad against Pakistan but missed out on playing the second Test, apparently because of a heel injury he sustained on the morning of the game. Currently he is in BCB’s High Performance squad but his Test place remains in jeopardy for want of competitive cricket.Playing for 17-time champion Abahani was perhaps a mistake for Jubair. The title-chasing club didn’t want to risk playing a legspinner, despite his recent international credentials, because legspin and (to a lesser extent) offspin are viewed with apprehension in Bangladesh’s domestic circuit. They stuck to what every Bangladesh domestic team keeps faith on: two left-arm spinners in the bowling attack. They ended third in the points table but Jubair, who played just one game, lost more than his club did.It was his lack of game time in the Dhaka Premier League that largely worked against him when Taijul Islam was preferred to him. The Hathurusingha-Faruque tangle over Jubair’s selection didn’t help matters either. There was the inevitable question among many about the legspinner’s credentials due to his inexperience in the domestic and international game. Hathurusingha, speaking from experience, insisted that a legspinner would be handy in Australian wickets but his wish wasn’t granted.When asked how he felt when all this happened, Jubair was understandably reticent. “I didn’t really know what was going on. I just saw it in the news,” was all he would offer.Jubair’s journey from a net bowler in early 2014 to an international cricketer in the space of five months was remarkable•BCBBut Jubair didn’t stop taking spin lessons. Apart from talking to Yasir, he sought the wisdom of former Pakistan legspinner Mushtaq Ahmed, who was Pakistan’s spin coach, during the April-May tour. He made a note of subtle attitude changes that would help him always think like a legspinner.”I spoke to Mushtaq Ahmed in the team hotel on the day they left the country. He told me, ‘You can’t be fearful’. I told him that I sometimes give away a lot of runs, should I start bowling to check runs? He said, ‘it is the wrong way to think. You will think about getting the batsman out.'”He told me ‘by focusing on cutting out the runs, you will bowl haphazardly. You will bowl in one spot, the batsman will try to hit you for three sixes but he will get out once.’ He also told me to bowl aggressively in the nets, like one does in a match. He told me to appeal when I hit a batsman’s pads. He told me to say it is caught when the batsman says it is going for a six. I wrote them down and now I try to apply them when I bowl in the nets.”And Jubair loves to bowl. He calls it in Bengali, roughly translated to greed, but in this context more a craving for bowling legspin and trying out new deliveries.”From my childhood, I have loved bowling. I used to bowl all day, to whoever turned up in the nets. From morning to evening, I just kept bowling. I didn’t bat much. I bowled and fielded a lot. I have this craving to bowl all day. Whoever is willing to bat against me.”I usually try whatever new delivery I pick up. Right now I am trying something new. It excites me. I am trying to control the flipper in the nets. I have control over the googly,” Jubair said.There are only a few legspinners in Bangladesh who are currently playing professionally, many of whom are hardly given the time, space or opportunity to bloom. Bangladesh cricket, particularly captains, coaches and team officials and financiers, does not always appreciate taking risks and legspin is considered a risky asset.Jubair has to fight his way through these prejudices. He plans to play for a long time, and believes that by staying with senior players, bowling a lot and being patient, he can be more mature as an individual.”It is tough to adjust at this level but I have tried my best. The senior players have helped me. I think my bowling has improved slightly in regards to variation and accuracy. All legspinners need a bit of time. I don’t want to rush things. Maturity comes by playing alongside good players. I think I have matured a bit, but there remains a lot to do,” he said.Jubair understands that he has skipped a few steps in Bangladesh cricket to make it to the senior team. But he believes the more he plays, the better he will become as a legspinner.”I got into the national team from the Under-19s basically. I didn’t go through the High Performance programme so my path could have taken me more time but it didn’t. I have 15-20 years ahead of me.I will try to take full advantage of my chances. I will try to prove myself in the coming years. Truth be told, I would like to play more matches. Matches give you more maturity. I will improve faster as a result,” he said.The reality however is that fairytales in Bangladesh cricket don’t last very long. The other reality Jubair has to face, as a legspinner in Bangladesh, is if he doesn’t deliver results (read: pick up wickets and bowls economically), it won’t be long before he is also consigned to the scrapheap. The HP programme must help him, but as he has pointed out, there is no substitute for a competitive atmosphere. Now that the domestic season is over, how will the BCB handle their best discovery, their first legspinner?

21-May-2016The opening burst ended when Rohit holed out to Shadab Jakati off Dhawal Kulkarni•BCCIDwayne Smith removed Martin Guptill and Krunal Pandya in the fifth over to leave Mumbai on 45 for 3•BCCINitish Rana rose to the occasion and struck his maiden IPL fifty. He added 75 for the fourth wicket with Jos Buttler and scored 70 off 36 balls to put Mumbai back on track•BCCIWith a spot in the playoffs at stake, players of both sides stepped up the intensity•BCCILate strikes by the Lions bowlers stalled Mumbai, who finished on 172 for 8. Dwayne Bravo was the pick of the lot with 2 for 22 off his quota•BCCIAaron Finch was brought back to the opening slot but Vinay Kumar trapped him leg before for a duck, with one that skidded on, on the second ball of Lions’ chase•AFPSuresh Raina rode his luck. First, a slap to mid-on bounced just in front of a diving Krunal Pandya, before Jasprit Bumrah dropped a return catch with Raina on 31•BCCIBrendon McCullum took his time to get his eye in, before unleashing his brutal repertoire of strokes•BCCIA topspinner from Harbhajan Singh ended McCullum’s party as he failed to make contact on the pull and the ball clipped the bail•BCCIRaina made his chances count. The Lions captain added 96 for the second wicket with McCullum and crunched 58 off 36 balls before perishing with 51 needed off 46•BCCIDwayne Smith blasted an unbeaten 37 off 23 balls and shared an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 51 with Ravindra Jadeja to take Lions to a six-wicket win with 13 balls remaining and ensure a top-two finish•BCCIVinay was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers with 2 for 17 in three overs, but it went in vain. However, not all was lost for Mumbai, who can still make it, albeit depending on other results•BCCI

Ederson opened up on his bizarre superstition as he revealed he has been wearing same boxers on matchday for eight years.

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Ederson's bizarre matchday superstitionFollowing the ritual for the last eight yearsMan City face Leicester on WednesdayFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The Brazilian goalkeeper, who has won every major trophy with Manchester City since joining the club in 2017 from Benfica, has opened up on his bizarre superstition as he claimed that he has been wearing the same boxers on every matchday for the last eight seasons.

AdvertisementWHAT EDERSON SAID

Speaking on BBC MOTD, the custodian said, "I have only one superstition. I play every game in the same boxers. Eight years the same boxers." The interviewer then asked: "They must be in, not good shape?" Ederson then replied, "No!" and burst into laughter.

Getty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The 2024-25 campaign has been one of the worst of Ederson's eight-year spell at the Etihad Stadium. The Brazilian has lost the total confidence of manager Pep Guardiola, with backup Stefan Ortega often receiving the nod in some of their bigger games. The 31-year-old has been linked with a move away from the club in the summer as the Cityzens are eyeing a move for FC Porto's Diogo Costa.

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER CITY?

Guardiola's side will be back in action in the Premier League on Wednesday as they host a struggling Leicester City side at Etihad Stadium.

Looking ahead to the 2024 World Cup and standing in as T20I captain for three games against Sri Lanka for now, Hardik Pandya’s message to his young team is clear: “go out there and express [yourself], we’re going to back you to the core.”Hardik takes over captaincy in the absence of regular leader Rohit Sharma, who will take back captaincy for the ODIs. Even though it’s not clear yet who India’s captain at the next T20 World Cup will be, Hardik assessed India’s situation in T20s by saying that there was nothing wrong with their approach in the lead-up to the tournament.India had adopted a new approach in the format when Rohit took over captaincy and Rahul Dravid became the new head coach: they started getting much quicker off the blocks in the powerplay, Rohit himself changed his approach at the top, and most of India’s batters were batting with an intent of scoring faster. Except that in Australia, the bounce and pace was not to India’s liking, and they went back to their old template of setting a base and then building on it.Related

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• Shivam Mavi impresses on debut as India defend 162

• Chance for new-look India to troubleshoot their T20 philosophy

• India begin the new year with a new-look T20I team

• 'Everything came to a standstill' – Mavi on his maiden India call-up

“You see, I think before the [T20] World Cup, I don’t think we did anything wrong,” Hardik said in Mumbai, a day before the series opener against Sri Lanka. “Our template, approach, everything was the same. Yes, in the World Cup, things did not go how we wanted. And I think our approach was not the same – what it was before the World Cup. What we have noticed and told the boys is that just go out there and express [yourself], which they will do. And it’s up to us that how we back them.”What we have said is that we’re going to back you to the core. All the players have that support from my side that I’m going to back them to the core. Who are here, these are the best cricketers in the country, that’s the reason they are here. So, I have to make them believe that, which is a fact as well. For me, it’s important that how can I make them feel that they’re the best of their business. And if I can get that thing done, and can get that confidence in them, then I don’t think that they will have any problem in international cricket. I think they will flourish and have amazing careers ahead.”Hardik echoed Rohit’s words from a year before the 2022 World Cup when he and Dravid had given their players “assurance of going out and expressing” themselves. With the next T20 World Cup only a year and a half away, Hardik did not go into the team’s plans in detail but said there was not much time to experiment for now as there are only six T20Is before IPL 2023.

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“Obviously, the plans are set. We are looking to play in a certain way, which we will,” Hardik said without elaborating. “Before IPL only six games are there, so we don’t have much time to do a lot of things but going forward we will keep creating new plans and see which are the plans which are working for us. And going forward just make sure everyone gets ample opportunities and just that on the right time when needed just see what we need to do.”Being the hosts and 3-0 winners of the last time these two teams played a bilateral T20I series – in early 2022 in India – Hardik implied they had an upper hand in home conditions, and wasn’t looking to settle any kind of score after their loss to eventual champions Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup.”No, we’re not looking to settle anything [after the Asia Cup loss],” Hardik said with a smile. “We want to play good cricket. Yes, we will make them feel like we’re in India, don’t worry about that, I assure and promise you they will feel that they’re playing an international team and that too India in India. So from my boys and my side, we’re going to be clear. We don’t need to go and sledge them, our body language is enough for them to feel a little intimidated which we will do, I promise you.”India will field a new-look squad with Suryakumar Yadav the vice-captain in T20Is, and several senior players either unavailable or rested. Three uncapped players – Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar – also have a chance to make their international debuts.