Barcelona are open to selling Fermin Lopez if a major offer lands, with Liverpool and Bayern Munich keeping tabs on the midfielder.

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Barca open to bids for homegrown starFlick still values him but squad depth growsLiverpool and Bayern monitoring closelyFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Barca have softened their stance on Lopez, signalling they would consider selling the 22-year-old midfielder, but only if a substantial offer is made, according to a recent report from Despite being seen as a key figure under new boss Hansi Flick, Barca’s ongoing financial concerns have forced the club to re-evaluate its priorities. The possible signing of Nico Williams and the new inductee Joan Garcia has increased the pressure to reduce salary load, and Fermín’s name has emerged as a possible casualty.

Meanwhile, clubs like Bayern and Liverpool have reportedly been alerted by the U-turn, as both sides remain keen admirers of the talented Spaniard.

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Although Fermin signed a long-term deal until 2029 with a €500 million (£426m/$545m) release clause, Barcelona are in no position to ignore serious offers. Fermin’s path to regular minutes is increasingly unclear, with Pedri, Gavi, De Jong, and potentially Dani Olmo and Raphinha occupying central roles. Even if he remains in Flick’s plans, they are stacked with midfield options and new signings will demand minutes. The 22-year-old midfielder has expressed his wish to stay, but the Camp Nou side's wage bill must shrink. Selling a promising asset for the right price may now be seen as necessary business.

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Head coach Flick values Fermin’s versatility and attacking presence near the penalty box, and he is currently seen as part of the club’s evolving tactical setup. However, Flick has been told of the financial reality and understands that even non-priority exits might be required. And, with Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal expected to occupy the wings, and Raphinha potentially moving central, opportunities for Fermin in his preferred role may dwindle. The club are also considering new youth promotions to fill midfield depth, further complicating his situation.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR FERMIN LOPEZ?

The Catalans are not actively pushing Fermin out, but they’re bracing for offers. If one of Liverpool or Bayern come in with a good offer and the player is open to the move, a transfer could be fast-tracked and the ball is going to bounce in the bidders’ court. His release clause is a whopping €500 million.

After helping Sunrisers Hyderabad amass 287 for 3 with a 39-ball century and break the IPL record for highest total for the second time this season, opener Travis Head said his side would fancy targeting 300 as their next challenge. He also credited the captain Pat Cummins and head coach Daniel Vettori for pushing the openers to keep being aggressive in the first six overs.”[Our total] needs a three in front of it, does it now?” Head joked, when asked between innings about the benchmarks Sunrisers are setting for themselves, after the first innings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Monday. “It’s proper batting. We’ve wanted to be exciting the whole time, and we’ve wanted to take the game on, and Pat and then Dan have put pressure on the batting line-up to make sure we try and maximise the powerplay and then keep going.”We’ve got guys like [Heinrich] Klaasen, [Abdul] Samad and Nitish [Kumar Reddy, who] didn’t even get a hit today. We’ve got some power through the middle, and we want to keep just putting the foot down as much as we can. We know that’s not always guaranteed, but at the moment I think we’re setting it up really well in each game and getting to the score that we need.”Related

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Sunrisers smashed 22 sixes, the most in IPL history, and Head hit nine of them. Along with Abhishek Sharma, Head helped Sunrisers race away to 76 for 0 in the powerplay while also getting to his fifty. After the game, Head said he was enjoying batting with Abhishek. “We complement each other really well. He’s a young player and pretty fearless. There was a little bit of spin in the powerplay and he was so dominant against them. I’m loving it.”Head was eventually out in the 13th over for a 41-ball 102. His wicket brought zero respite though, as Klaasen pumped a 31-ball 67 from No. 3. Klaasen too was full of praise for his team-mate for setting up the match and making his job easier. “Unbelievable start there from Heady. It’s a special knock that. Puts the bowler under a lot of pressure,” Klaasen told the broadcaster after the game. “[I] came in and wanted to be very sensible and knock it around and make sure he faces majority of the balls. It is difficult to out-hit players like that so when it’s his night, make sure I’m on the other side and wait for a couple of bad balls. And then I should take over when he gets out.”It was nice batting out there, the wicket was nice and good but the tempo was set there upfront. Its nice to have bowlers under pressure when you come in.”

Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers have ventured down a relatively similar path this season and could now fight it out to sign an Ivory Coast international this summer, per a report.

Everton and Wolves both looking forward with optimism

Not so long ago, Everton and Wolves looked certain to be involved in a prolonged relegation dogfight after their respective poor starts to the Premier League campaign.

Gary O’Neil and Sean Dyche were both relieved of their duties, and it is fair to say their replacements have made a world of difference at both Molineux and Goodison Park as the two clubs look forward to next season in the top-flight.

David Moyes has added a tactical flexibility and change of style at Everton, while Vitor Pereira is becoming a heroic figure in the West Midlands due to his infectious desire to improve their fortunes.

For now, the rest of the campaign takes priority for both sides. However, history will reflect fondly on the defining moment either hierarchy decided a change in the dugout was necessary to preserve their league status.

Loyalty goes a long way in football, and it could always be Moyes or Pereira on the chopping block in months to come, but you would struggle to find too many people harbouring scathing criticisms of either manager.

David Moyes’ record since arriving at Everton

Wins

5

Draws

6

Losses

4

Vitor Pereira’s record since arriving at Wolves

Wins

10

Draws

2

Losses

7

Exciting times could be on the horizon for Everton and Wolves, with the former set to enter a new era at Bramley Moore Dock after so much anticipation over their stadium move.

Nevertheless, the pair mentioned may now lock horns in the pursuit of a talented defender to bolster their ranks ahead of the new season.

Everton and Wolves go head to head for Auxerre defender Clement Akpa

According to Foot Mercato, Everton and Wolves are fighting it out to sign Auxerre defender Clement Akpa and it has been made clear that he is almost certain to leave the Ligue 1 outfit this summer. Eintracht Frankfurt, Hoffenheim and Stuttgart are also keen on the 23-year-old, who has registered one assist in 27 appearances across all competitions in 2024/25.

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No talks have taken place as of yet, but there is every chance he will be available for a modest fee due to Auxerre’s need to boost their financial situation. Intriguingly, he could become part of a current of French top-flight defenders set for moves to either England or Germany, which also includes the likes of Everton target Facundo Medina.

Becoming an imposing presence for Auxerre, Akpa has won 114 duels this season. Primarily a centre-back, he has also been used in a berth on the left-hand side of their defence, earning 2 caps for Ivory Coast this year.

Versatility is key for any club with aspirations of staying in the Premier League, so it will be intriguing to see the battle commence between Everton and Wolves to land the France-born defender.

Visitors five down and still 85 from victory after Pennington, Paterson rock top order

ECB Reporters Network19-May-2024

Hampshire’s opportunity to notch a first win of the season is in the balance after a fast-moving third day of their Vitality County Championship match at Trent Bridge left them with still much work to do.Chasing a modest 169 to win, Hampshire ended the day still 85 runs away from their target at 84 for 5 and probably a man short unless Tom Prest can bat with the injured shoulder that has kept him off the field since tea on day one.Nottinghamshire had been bowled out for 209 in their second innings by tea, with veteran quick Kyle Abbott and offspinner Felix Organ taking three wickets each after Joe Clarke and Jack Haynes had made half-centuries.But Hampshire then slumped to 44 for 5 as Dillon Pennington and Dane Paterson led a determined effort with the ball by the home side before Fletcha Middleton and James Fuller saw out the final overs to calm their nerves.Still eight runs behind at 33 for 1 overnight, Nottinghamshire stumbled into early trouble as the pattern of the first two innings repeated itself.Against a ball that was only 15 overs old, they lost wickets in each of Abbott’s opening three overs. Will Young edged to wicketkeeper Ben Brown from a ball that lifted and left him, Ben Slater was pushed back in his crease to be leg before and Tom Moores saw his off stump uprooted by one angled in from wide by the veteran South African seamer.At 44 for 4 – effectively 3 for 4 – Nottinghamshire were in a difficult spot that could have turned worse still had Clarke not been dropped on 17 at 65 for 4. It was Michael Neser at first slip – substitute for the injured Prest – whose hands let him down, a second such error of the match by the Australian and a fifth for Hampshire overall.Clarke punished the mistake by passing fifty for the fourth time this season as he and Haynes added 96 for the fifth wicket before the former was out for 57, gloving a catch to Brown after being tempted by a short delivery from Mohammad Abbas.Haynes completed his half-century from 111 balls, but against the spin combination of Liam Dawson and Organ on a three-day old pitch Nottinghamshire’s hopes of building a substantial lead unravelled.Organ struck the first blow as Haynes was caught at short leg via an inside edge on to pad, picking up a second when Lyndon James, trying to help one round the corner, gave an easy catch to short fine leg.Dawson then claimed two in consecutive overs as Olly Stone’s paddle sweep looped up gently for James Vince to catch running across from slip before Dillon Pennington was trapped leg before. Organ wrapped things up by having Calvin Harrison stumped, leaving Hampshire needing 169 to win.With Nick Gubbins missing the match on paternity leave and Prest unlikely to bat, it was never likely to be a straightforward task against the Nottinghamshire attack, even with 127 overs at their disposal.Knowing the potency of the new ball so far in this contest, Hampshire made no attempt to hurry yet still found themselves two down for 15 inside the first 10 overs, thanks to two superlative catches.Nottinghamshire captain Haseeb Hameed took the first, plucking the ball out of the air one-handed at mid-on as Ali Orr mistimed his shot horribly against Pennington, who picked up his second wicket soon afterwards.This time Harrison produced the athleticism, using every inch of his 6ft 4ins plus a fully extended right arm to grab the ball a good eight feet off the ground. Organ, the man out, had aimed a rather wild slash at a ball wide of off stump but was nonplussed nonetheless that it had not cleared the cordon.It was enough for Nottinghamshire to sense an opportunity and they took full advantage of Hampshire’s frailty.Skipper Vince, on whom much seemed to rest, fell for 6, leg before to a full delivery from Paterson that he was trying to work to leg, Dawson hit James straight into the hands of short cover and Brown lost his off stump to a swinging delivery from Paterson, leaving Hampshire 44 for 5 and facing a fight for survival.

Batting collapses are no longer an aberration for England’s Test team, but on Thursday they were out-Englanded, done in by seam and swing and perhaps their own emphasis on short-form cricket

George Dobell at Lord's25-May-20181:09

A few things had crept into my game – Cook

Some things never change at Lord’s: there’s the slope, the grand old pavilion, the unique hum of the crowd and, just around the corner, another England batting collapse.This one was pretty special. Even by their standards. The first-innings total was their lowest here having won the toss since 1955. And in losing their last five wickets for 16 runs (and their last six for 35), they revived memories of … well, just about every game they play these days.It keeps happening, doesn’t it? England keep getting bowled out cheaply and leaving their bowlers under pressure. The opening partnership is now, statistically speaking, the worst in England’s Test history (of pairs to have batted together a minimum of 10 times) and, after totals of 58 at Auckland, 180 in Sydney, 227 in Adelaide, 195 in Brisbane, 198 and 133 in Nottingham, 158 in Vizag and 101 in Centurion – to name but a few of many – we can hardly dismiss such a score as an aberration. And, these days, there’s no Moeen Ali – or even Chris Woakes – to bail them out.They will remain fragile, too, until they start giving Test cricket the respect it deserves. Sure, the ECB say all the right things about it being their top priority. And sure, everyone involved is keen to do well. But all the evidence – the scheduling, selection, the language – suggests otherwise. All that evidence suggests the white-ball game (and we presume The 100 is to be played with a white ball rather than a rainbow-
coloured decahedron) – offering more money and the chance to ‘engage’ a new audience, as it does – is the priority. That’s not necessarily a bad strategy, but let us not talk falsely and pretend that first-class cricket in England hasn’t been compromised in the race for a few dollars more.So, while we ask players to come into Tests without having played red-ball cricket for many months – Jos Buttler, for example, hasn’t played a first-class game since September and Ben Stokes hasn’t played one since returning from the IPL – and while others are expected to find their form on early-season pitches unsuited to grooming top-quality professionals, days like this will keep happening.But you know that already. We all know that already. It requires to actually act on that knowledge for anything to change.Let’s also give some credit to the Pakistan bowlers. They performed with skill and nous in harnessing the conditions expertly. It remains one of the wonders of cricket that, even shorn of their leading spinner and the chance to play much cricket in their home country, they keep producing fine cricketers who show up England – with their facilities, their salaries, their hubris – for the mediocre Test side they have become.The delivery that bowled Mark Stoneman, for example, (from the skilful Mohammad Abbas) moved up the slope to hit his off stump. Similarly, the ball (from the admirably persistent Faheem Ashraf) that bowled Jonny Bairstow held its line just enough to defeat his somewhat loose drive and take his off stump. And the ball that ended Alastair Cook’s fine innings was another that held its line just enough to defeat the outside edge. All three were victims of terrific bowling.Batting was not easy, either. History may well remember Joe Root’s decision to win the toss as a bit of a stinker – the pitch was green, conditions were overcast and Pakistan admitted they would have bowled first, anyway – but it may not have been quite as bad as it currently seems. His logic was that, after a tough couple of hours, conditions would ease and, with the pitch surprisingly dry under the covering of live grass, it may result in deliveries keeping low as the match progresses into a fourth or fifth day.Whether the match lasts that long remains to be seen. While Cook was keen not to throw his captain under the bus after play, he did admit there was “nip and swing” to deal with. He also reasoned that England were perhaps only 90 or 100 runs short of par and referenced a recent match, on a similar pitch, when he played for Essex against Worcestershire.Getty ImagesEngland are not completely out of this game yet. Pakistan’s batting is brittle, too.But these were classic English conditions. Conditions which most of these players should be familiar with and comfortable in. And conditions which Pakistan have come into and harnessed, to out-England England. It would be like England spinning Pakistan to defeat in the UAE or Lahore.Batsmen will receive good deliveries at the Test level, though. They have to be able to deal with them better than this. The ball that dismissed Dawid Malan, for example, was in a really good area – probing just outside off stump – but it moved little, if at all, and top-order batsmen have to find ways to negate such threats. Stoneman, too, might reflect that the delivery that dismissed him was the third that over to have left him up the slope. It should not have been quite the shock it seems to have been. Joe Root, tied down for 45 minutes in scoring just four, launched himself at a wide one too short for a drive and nicked to the keeper. “We’ve all played a bad shot,” as Cook put it. “He’s still a world-class player.”But perhaps it was the wicket of Buttler that best summed up England’s innings. There was a time when a specialist batsman might have been encouraged to leave the delivery outside off stump in conditions where the ball is swinging and when the team is in trouble.Not any more. The game has changed, we’re told. England have encouraged Buttler to “be positive” and, having accepted he doesn’t have much of a defence, feel that attack is his best method to deal with just about every circumstance. On his day and on true surfaces, it will come off and be spectacular. But there’s a reason why just about every successful Test batsman in history has had to possess a decent defence: and that reason is that, on days like this, it is the only percentage way to play. England’s thinking is too clever by half. The game hasn’t changed that much.Cook, at least, showed his side the way. The man who laid the platform for their win in India in 2012-13 and their win in Australia in 2010-11. The man who has scored more Test runs for this side than anyone in history, who equalled the record for the longest run of consecutive Tests in history. He’ll break it next week, too.He needed this innings. He had reached 40 only once in his 17 most recent Test innings and, in a richer playing age, would be far more uncomfortable in this side.But it is odd that it is Cook – with his record – who is the one that seems out of fashion. It is odd that it is Cook, with his patience and discipline, who seems out of step with modernity. Quite a few of his colleagues could learn plenty from his mindset and method.England may get away with it this week. But they need to confront the fact that their batting is flimsy and has been for some time. They’re doing something – whether it’s the coaching, or schedule, or approach – wrong.Pakistan were good, but are not the only team who have made England look mediocre. India did it. New Zealand did it. Bangladesh did it. And Australia did it brutally. And while there might, on occasions, have been some excuses – England have historically struggled with spin and pace and bounce – here they were undone by swing and seam. Conditions in which they are meant to excel. If they start to struggle at home, there really isn’t anywhere left to hide.

Leeds United is currently the home to various talents who have made their names across Europe before moving to Elland Road over the last couple of seasons.

Brenden Aaronson is just one player who cost big money to secure a move for his signature, costing a fee in the region of £25m during their final season in the Premier League back in 2022/23.

The American has so far failed to demonstrate why the hierarchy forked out such a hefty fee for his signature, struggling to make a real impact under Daniel Farke in recent weeks.

Whilst he scored the opener against Swansea City last weekend, it was only his second goal contribution of the calendar year, struggling to produce any tangible results in their hunt for Championship promotion.

He’s since been unable to match the levels produced by one player who starred in Yorkshire after his own transfer from the Swans multiple years ago.

Pablo Hernandez’s stats for Leeds United

Over the years, Leeds has been the home to countless icons, with Pablo Hernandez undoubtedly cementing himself as a modern-day hero for his heroics at Elland Road.

The Spaniard originally moved on loan from Swansea back in 2016/17, before joining permanently in the January of that campaign after impressing in the first half of the season.

Such a move would be the springboard for his success with the Whites, with Hernandez going on to register 36 goals and 41 assists from 175 outings, helping the club lift the Championship title at the close of the 2019/20 campaign.

He was a pivotal part of Marcelo Bielsa’s side that season, remaining a key member of the squad the following year as the club ended their long wait for Premier League football.

Whilst he left the club back in 2021, current boss Farke already has his own version of the fan-favourite, playing a vital role in their own ambitions of returning to the top flight.

The player who’s become Farke’s own Hernandez at Leeds

The plethora of attacking talent on the books at Leeds has contributed to their phenomenal attacking record, which has seen them score 78 times in the league this season – by far the highest tally in the division.

Joel Piroe has been central to such a record, netting 15 league goals to date, a tally which is the highest within the current first-team squad – producing key goals at various moments.

The Dutchman arrived in a £10m deal from Swansea back in the summer of 2023, following in Hernandez’s footsteps in joining from the Welsh outfit and having an immediate impact in Yorkshire.

The similarities to Hernandez continue, with the 25-year-old also able to feature in the number ten role, as seen in certain matches this season, with the “superb” star, as dubbed by one analyst, key to the club’s recent success.

During his final Championship campaign in Yorkshire, the Spaniard notched a total of 18 combined goals and assists back in 2019/20 – cementing himself as a key member of Bielsa’s squad.

Piroe has already registered a combined 21 contributions with seven matches remaining this campaign, with any hope of securing promotion potentially down to whether he can continue to produce the goods in the final third.

He’s been subject to criticism in recent times, but it’s safe to say the club wouldn’t be in this current position without his goals, certainly playing a key role in their promotion ambitions.

Whilst it’s unclear whether he will be able to cut it in the Premier League, Piroe has a huge job to catapult the side into the top flight between now and the end of the season.

His goals could provide the difference over the next couple of weeks, with the Dutchman able to cement his place in the Whites’ history books should he produce the goods and fire them back to England’s top-division.

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