Newcastle United are believed to be keen on signing an “exciting” player who has already displayed his creativity this season, according to an update from journalist Alan Nixon.

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The Magpies lost 2-1 away to Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, leaving them sitting 12th in the table, but it was a far from disappointing showing from Eddie Howe’s men. Away from the on-pitch action, Newcastle continue to be linked with new signings, following a summer transfer window that seemingly left both Paul Mitchell and Howe dissatisfied with the lack of incomings.

One player who has emerged as a potential option is Barcelona attacker Ferran Torres, who has fallen down the pecking order at the Camp Nou, following the excellent form of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski this season. The Spaniard is seen as a January target and has experience of the Premier League, having played for Manchester City in the past.

Newcastle are also thought to be battling Tottenham for the signing of Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney, with the 22-year-old a talented young player who has started all 12 of his side’s Championship matches in 2024/25 to date, scoring twice for good measure.

Newcastle eyeing move for "exciting" Championship ace

According to Nixon on Patreon [via Football League World], Newcastle are among the clubs interested in signing West Brom youngster Tom Fellows in the January transfer window.

It is claimed that Everton have sent scouts to watch the 21-year-old in action, perhaps suggesting that they are looking the strongest in the race to snap him up currently, but the Magpies are providing competition, along with the likes of Crystal Palace, Southampton and Ipswich Town.

Planning for the long-term future is something that Newcastle constantly have to be thinking about, even though supporters will understandably want big names who are at their peak, too, and Fellows looks like a great option.

The West Brom midfielder has already registered five assists in 10 Championship starts this season, outlining his creativity, while former England international Carlton Palmer has said of him: “He had his breakthrough into the first-team in the last 12 months, and he is an exciting player who is potentially going to have a fantastic future and is going to go up in valuation.”

Fellows has won two caps for England Under-20s in the past, showing that he has been considered a highly-rated young player throughout his career, and he is a footballer who should only go from strength to strength in the coming years.

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West Brom will understandably be desperate to retain the services of a prized asset with a high ceiling, but the lure of the Premier League is great, meaning his head could easily be turned by a move there. Newcastle are the biggest of the clubs being linked with him, hopefully giving them the edge in the battle to acquire his signature.

Crystal Palace had an excellent end to their 2023/24 campaign, finishing tenth in the Premier League, with Oliver Glasner taking over on February 19th, and leading the Eagles on a late charge for the top half, winning six of their final seven Premier League games of the campaign.

On the contrary, this season, Palace are winless in their opening seven games, leaving them on just three points in 18th place. The Eagles have only managed to score five goals in seven games, the second fewest in the division whilst conceding ten times.

Their struggles to create and score chances could have a direct link to the loss of Michael Olise, who left to join Bayern Munich for £50.8m this summer, after making 19 appearances last season, scoring ten goals and providing six assists in 1,278 minutes played for the club.

Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise at Palace

With 16 goals and assists coming from Olise last season, Eberechi Eze also provided a fair wedge, making 31 appearances in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and providing six assists in 2,285 minutes. The England international joined Palace back in 2020 for a fee of around £16m from QPR and has gone from strength to strength since.

Indeed, the 26-year-old is now valued at a whopping £50m by Transfermarkt, similar to the fee Olise was sold for. Both were seen as jewels in the crown for that Palace side and losing one of them has had direct repercussions on their chance creation this season so far.

You can see the sort of numbers Palace have lost between last season and this season, with significant progressive numbers, shot volume, creative passes (key passes and xAG), and shot-creating actions.

Goals

0.43

0.70

Assists

0.24

0.42

xG

0.40

0.39

xAG

0.23

0.41

Progressive Carries

2.98

4.79

Progressive Passes

4.08

5.49

Shots Total

3.56

3.94

Key Passes

2.37

2.54

Shot-Creating Actions

4.82

5.77

Successful Take-Ons

3.03

2.82

Whilst Eze still provides high levels of these metrics, the numbers Olise offered alongside him have clearly been missed. Just look at how many metrics the Frenchman was better in.

It’s just as well they were able to keep not just Eze, but another star player at Selhurst Park. Glasner’s men might well be even worse off without them.

Marc Guehi's rise

One of the biggest positives for Palace this summer was holding onto star defender, Marc Guehi, who was linked with a move away during and after the European Championships in Germany.

Newcastle were the main club that made advances, with Palace turning down multiple bids from the North East club, the most notable being a £65m plus £5m offer.

Guehi was signed from Chelsea by the Eagles back in 2021 for a fee that could reach £20m. He was Patrick Vieira’s third Palace signing and went on to be quite a success at the club. The 24-year-old has made 120 appearances for Palace, scoring six goals and providing two assists in his 10,427 minutes played.

The England international has gone on to captain the side in the absence of club captain, Joel Ward, becoming an ever-present and crucial piece of the Palace puzzle.

Clearly now valued at beyond even £65m, £15m more than Olise was allowed to leave for, and the supposed fee it would take to get Eze out of the club, they have clearly struck gold with this move. It’s certainly one of Steve Parish’s best pieces of investment.

Market Movers

Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?

Following such a successful first season in charge, Gary O’Neil’s Wolverhampton Wanderers side have struggled to get back on track in the current campaign, with those in the Midlands now reportedly eyeing an unbeaten replacement.

O'Neil under pressure at Wolves

Whilst the context of Wolves’ recent struggles is important, the pressure is certainly mounting on O’Neil to turn things around after his side shipped five in a disappointing 5-3 defeat against Brentford last time out. The game that Wolves should have seen as the chance to gain their first victory of the season following an opening run full of the toughest hurdles, the Bees simply brushed them aside in West London.

The fixtures don’t get any easier for O’Neil and his side after the international break, either, with the visit of Manchester City possibly only compiling their misery even further as those off the pitch begin to consider their options.

Of course, patience is key but given that the former Bournemouth boss and his side sit bottom of the Premier League behind all three newly promoted sides may well leave Wolves with no choice but to pull the trigger, especially if they manage to land one replacement.

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According to The Sun, Wolves are now eyeing a move for Jimmy Thelin, who has made an unbeaten start to life in charge of Aberdeen to go head-to-head with Celtic after 13 games in all competitions in Scotland. Earning comparisons with the iconic Sir Alex Ferguson as a result, the Swede may now follow the Scot’s path by completing a move to the Premier League.

In what could begin a managerial merry-go-round, it will be interesting to see just how thin Wolves’ patience is with O’Neil as they seek their first Premier League win of the season.

Thelin has emerged as one to watch for Wolves

Arriving in the summer, Thelin couldn’t have asked for a much better start at Aberdeen, with his side leapfrogging Rangers to match Celtic all the way after seven games in the Scottish Premiership. And whilst longevity is key and his side’s clash against the champions up next will give everyone a clearer idea of just where they stand, Thelin is certainly one to watch.

Still just 46 years old, the Swede represents an option who carries more risk due to his inexperience in Premier League management, but perhaps a risk worth taking from Wolves’ perspective.

If the Midlands club continue to struggle under O’Neil, then hiring a manager whose style of football is firmly based on survival rather than progressing would arguably leave Wolves at a crossroads. Convincing Thelin into a move from Aberdeen could unlock the full potential of the current side, however.

With a run of Manchester City, Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace and Southampton before the November international break, it’s set to be a make-or-break period for O’Neil and his future at the Molineux. City aside, and it would be fair to say that Wolves should be coming out of that run without a winless start to their name.

It has been an awful season so far for Wolverhampton Wanderers. They are without a win in the Premier League, sitting rock bottom of the table with just three points to their name. The Old Gold are also the worst defensive side in the competition, conceding 27 goals, more than any other team.

The Midlands club are led by Gary O’Neil, who did an excellent job last season keeping them up, after tough circumstances landed him the job in the first place.

Although his job is under pressure this term, he might well have enough credit in the bank following his performances in 2023/24, a campaign that Julen Lopetegui was meant to be in charge of the club.

Lopetegui’s Wolves career

West Ham United manager Lopetegui has had an interesting 18 months or so. At the start of last season, he left his post at Molineux, just three days before their season opener against Manchester United.

The official statement from Wolves explained that both the club and manager “accepted their differences of opinion on certain issues and agreed that an amicable end to his contract was the best solution”. This largely surrounded the fact that he was not given any money to spend in the summer of 2023.

For what it is worth, the Spaniard did a good job in the hot seat at Molineux. He was originally appointed in November 2022, around the time domestic football temporarily stopped for the 2022 World Cup. He replaced Bruno Lage, who was sacked the previous month.

The former Real Madrid boss was only in charge for 27 games but brought them from the bottom of the Premier League when he took over, to a 13th place finish.

He changed the club’s fortunes around and left with a good record, winning ten games in all competitions and ensuring survival for another season in the Premier League.

Stat

Number

Games

27

Wins

10

Draws

5

Losses

12

Goals for

31

Goals against

42

Premier League points

31

However, things did not go according to plan that summer when it became clear the higher-ups at Molineux would not spend money to help strengthen the squad. Thus, he left his post and was replaced by O’Neil.

Interestingly, neither Lopetegui nor his successor O’Neil could have ended up at Molineux. Following Lage’s sacking there was another manager who the Old Gold targeted, although they ultimately missed out on him.

The manager Wolves missed

The man in question here is Portuguese manager Ruben Amorim. The former Sporting boss has recently landed himself one of football’s top jobs, that of Manchester United, and he replaces Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.

Incredibly, back in October 2022, the Sun reported that the new Red Devils boss was one of four managers in a shortlist to replace Lage at Molineux, claiming that he was ‘at the top’ of the list to take over.

It would certainly have made sense to bring the former Sporting boss to Molineux given they had a strong Portuguese contingent at the club back in 2022/23. Ten players within the first-team squad that season were from Portugal, including Joao Moutinho who was a former teammate of Amorim at international level.

Looking back on it, the Old Gold may well regret missing out on the 39-year-old, who was named “Europe’s most wanted” manager by journalist Lewis Steele. He has a superb record in Lisbon, winning five trophies as Sporting boss including two league titles. In all, he has 164 wins in 230 games in charge of Leoes, who have scored a whopping 511 goals in that time.

His side recently dispatched Manchester City in the Champions League 4-1. It was his final home game before he makes the move to the Red half of Manchester, and was the perfect send-off after a stellar time in Portugal.

Wolves fans will surely look back on their chase of Amroim with great regret. They came close to securing his services a couple of years ago, and now it seems like their chance to get him has well and truly gone.

This season could have been a far different story for the Old Gold if they had managed to bring in one of the best young managers in Europe.

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O Athletic, clube da elite do futebol mineiro, de São João Del Rei, anunciou um reforço com larga experiência no esporte para a sequência do Campeonato Mineiro. O atacante Ricardo Oliveira vai vestir a camisa do Esquadrão de Aço.

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Novamente, o Athletic recorre a um nome famoso para reforçar o seu elenco. Em 2021, a equipe chegou a anunciar o uruguaio “Loco” Abreu, que fez muito barulho, mas poucos jogos dentro de campo.

Ricardo Oliveira, de 41 anos, chegou a acertar com o São Caetano para a disputa da Série A2 do Campeonato Paulista, mas não houve acordo, e ele deixou o time paulista dez dias depois sem estrear pelo Azulão. A última equipe do atacante foi o Coritiba, no ano passado, quando fez 18 jogos, marcando dois gols pelo Coxa.

Ricardo Oliveira tem grande historia no futebol, com passagens por Portuguesa, Santos, São Paulo, Atlético-MG, Valencia-ESP, Betis-ESP, Zaragoza-ESP, Milan-ITA, Al Jazira-UAE e Al Wasl-UAE, além da Seleção Brasileira, onde foi campeão da Copa América (2004) e Copa das Confederações (2005). Agora, ele voltará ao futebol mineiro, depois de ter relativo sucesso no Galo, até 2020.

Borussia Dortmund have reportedly put a price tag on Chelsea and Bayern target Jamie Gittens in case they miss out on a Champions League windfall.

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Dortmund struggling in BundesligaThey are seven points adrift of a top-four placeMight offload Gittens if they miss out on UCL footballFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The German club is currently struggling in 11th place in the Bundesliga after 21 games, sitting seven points adrift of the top four. With Champions League football a key financial driver, failing to secure a spot in the competition could force the club to offload key players to compensate for the revenue shortfall. A report from indicates that Dortmund's hierarchy has already identified potential departures, with Jamie Bynoe-Gittens emerging as a prime candidate for a big-money sale.

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The 20-year-old English winger has attracted significant interest, particularly from Chelsea and Bayern Munich. Chelsea had been in the market for a left-winger and a striker in the January transfer window and explored multiple options, including Bynoe-Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho, and Liam Delap. However, the Blues ultimately opted against making a move, believing that the market lacked players offering good value for money.

Now, with Dortmund potentially willing to cash in, they have reportedly set an asking price between €80 million (£67m/$83m) and €100 million (£83m/$104m) for Bynoe-Gittens. Bayern Munich have been tracking his progress closely as well, and a bidding war between the two European giants could be on the horizon.

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Another player whose future at Signal Iduna Park remains uncertain is Karim Adeyemi. The Germany international recently switched agencies, now being represented by Roof, which often signals a player's desire for a transfer. Earlier this year, Serie A side Napoli expressed interest in signing Adeyemi. While no formal bid was submitted, the Italian club was reportedly willing to offer €40 million (£33m/$41.50m) plus performance-related bonuses. Dortmund, however, deemed the offer too low, as club officials value the winger at €50 million (£42m/$52m) plus bonuses, which could push the final fee to around €60 million (£50m/$62m).

Dortmund may also consider selling their first-choice goalkeeper Gregor Kobel – but only if he expresses a desire to leave. Chelsea have been monitoring Kobel’s situation, as they continue to look for a long-term solution to their goalkeeping concerns. If Dortmund decide to part ways with the 26-year-old, they are expected to demand a fee of around €50 million. Interestingly, Dortmund have already secured a potential successor in Diant Ramaj, whom they signed from Ajax in January. This move suggests that the club is already preparing for a future without Kobel, should an attractive offer arrive.

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Dortmund’s approach to the summer transfer window will largely depend on whether they can recover their league form and secure a top-four finish. If they fail to qualify for the Champions League, selling key players like Bynoe-Gittens, Adeyemi, or Kobel could become necessary to balance the books and fund squad reinforcements. The Black and Yellows will be back in action against VFL Bochum on Saturday.

أصدر نادي إنبي بيانًا رسميًا أعرب فيه عن رفضه لقرارات اتحاد تنس الطاولة بشأن قيد اللاعبين خالد عصر ويوسف عبد العزيز في قائمة النادي الأهلي، مؤكدًا أن الاتحاد كان قد منح النادي البترولي الأحقية في تسجيل اللاعبين قبل أن يتم التراجع عن القرار بناءً على توصية من اللجنة الأولمبية المصرية.

وأكد إنبي في بيانه أن مجلس إدارة الاتحاد اتخذ قرارًا رسميًا لصالحه قبل أكثر من شهر، إلا أنه فوجئ بقرار جديد يلغي القرار السابق دون مبرر قانوني واضح، موضحًا أن رئيس الاتحاد قام بمخاطبة اللجنة الأولمبية دون علم بقية أعضاء مجلس الإدارة.

وأشار النادي إلى أن أعضاء الاتحاد أكدوا خلال اجتماعهم الأخير عدم قانونية تدخل اللجنة الأولمبية في هذه الأزمة بعد صدور القرار الرسمي، معتبرين أن توصية المستشار القانوني للجنة الأولمبية لا يجب أن تكون أقوى من قرار الاتحاد نفسه، ما أثار علامات استفهام حول شفافية الإجراءات المتبعة.

وحذر إنبي من أن هذه الممارسات قد تؤثر سلبًا على نزاهة المنافسات الرياضية مستقبلًا، مشددًا على أنه يحتفظ بكافة حقوقه القانونية، وقد يصل الأمر إلى تجميد نشاط تنس الطاولة داخل النادي اعتراضًا على القرارات التي وصفها بأنها غير قانونية وغير مبررة.

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يعرب نادي إنبي عن رفضه القاطع للقرارات الصادرة عن مجلس إدارة الاتحاد المصري لتنس الطاولة برئاسة السيد/ أشرف حلمي، والتي جاءت لصالح النادي الأهلي !! فيما يتعلق بقيد اللاعبين يوسف عبد العزيز وخالد عصر، وذلك بعد أن صدر قرار سابق من مجلس الإدارة بكامل هيئته لصالح نادي إنبي منذ أكثر من شهر.

وقد فوجئ الجميع، بما فيهم أعضاء مجلس إدارة الاتحاد، خلال جلسة أمس بقرار جديد يلغي القرار السابق، استنادًا إلى مكاتبة أرسلها رئيس الاتحاد إلى الإدارة القانونية باللجنة الأولمبية دون علم مجلس إدارة الاتحاد، والغريب في الأمر أن أعضاء مجلس الإدارة أنفسهم لا يعلمون الأساس الذي استند إليه رئيس الاتحاد لعرض الموقف على الإدارة القانونية باللجنة الأولمبية، وهو ما أكدوا عليه في جلسة أمس أنه إجراء غير قانوني.

كما شدد أعضاء المجلس على أنه لا يصح أن يتم إلغاء توصية الإدارة القانونية للاتحاد بقرار مستند إلى توصية من الشؤون القانونية باللجنة الأولمبية – وإن كانت هناك رغبة في مراجعة القرار خارجيًا – أن يتم ذلك قبل صدور قرار مجلس الإدارة وليس بعده، وهو ما يعكس غياب الشفافية في عملية اتخاذ القرار.

وجاء رأي المستشار القانوني للجنة الأولمبية ليمنح الأحقية للنادي الأهلي، مما جعل توصية المستشار القانوني للجنة الأولمبية أقوى من قرار مجلس إدارة الاتحاد نفسه، وهو ما تعتبره إدارة نادي إنبي تجاوزًا غير مفهوم وغير قانوني، كما أكد بعض أعضاء مجلس إدارة الاتحاد في محضر الجلسة بالأمس عدم قانونية عرض الموضوع مجددًا على المستشار القانوني للجنة الأولمبية، خاصة أن القرار كان قد صدر بالفعل بعد مراجعة المستشار القانوني للاتحاد ودراسة جميع جوانبه والموافقة عليه.

وإذ تؤكد إدارة نادي إنبي على غياب الشفافية في هذه الإجراءات وإقحام اللجنة الأولمبية دون أي مبرر قانوني أو إجرائي في هذا الخلاف، وما ترتب عليه من تغيير للقرار بأسلوب غير مقبول، فإننا نخشى أن تصبح مثل هذه الممارسات نهجًا يفرض نفسه على الأجواء الرياضية خلال الفترة القادمة، وهو ما لا نأمل حدوثه في أي رياضة، وعلى أي مستوى، أو داخل أي هيئة رياضية تسعى للحفاظ على مبادئ العدالة والنزاهة.

ويحتفظ نادي إنبي بكافة حقوقه القانونية والإجرائية، بما يتناسب مع مكانته وتاريخه على المستويين الإفريقي والعربي، والتي قد تصل إلى المطالبة بوقف النشاط داخل النادي، في ظل اتحاد يصدر قرارات غير قانونية، ويقحم اللجنة الأولمبية في قراراته بصورة غير مبررة.

Marcus Harris is grateful for the vote of confidence from national selector George Bailey early in the season which ensured he was locked in as David Warner’s opening partner for the start of the Ashes.When Will Pucovski’s latest concussion ruled him out of contention there was debate around who would go in alongside Warner at the Gabba – even though Harris was the incumbent from the India series in January – but he had been given the nod by Bailey a few weeks before the squad was confirmed.Related

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Harris made a century in the first Sheffield Shield match of the season against New South Wales, and though he failed twice in the return game at the MCG he is also coming into the Ashes on the back of a strong overseas campaign with Leicestershire.”I probably spoke to Bails [George Bailey] about a week before we went away to Sydney for the first Shield game,” Harris said. “We just had a really good conversation. It was just good to have some clear communication with a selector about what I was doing and what was in their thinking for me.”It’s good for your confidence as a player to know where you stand and having the backing of people is really good. It puts your mind at ease a little bit, your mind can run obviously coming into a big series on the Ashes with the amount of attention that’s brought to it, so to not have to worry about that for probably a month leading into the first game has been pretty good.”Bailey also said that Harris, who averages 23.77 from 10 Tests, would be given a run in the role as Australia look to cement an opening pair – at least for the remainder of Warner’s career. The duo had a rocky start against England in the 2019 Ashes when the round-the-wicket line of Stuart Broad caused a mountain of problems, but they added 89 in the second innings against India in Brisbane earlier this year.”David brings a lot of energy to the crease and to the partnership,” Harris said. “Obviously for a long period of time, he’s dominated world cricket. So he takes a lot of pressure off, you don’t feel any pressure to score. I know we had a tough series over in England but in the second innings against India we put on 80 or 90.”Anytime you can play with another player that takes a lot of pressure off you it makes your job a bit easier. Hopefully we can forge something pretty good – we’ll get through this summer first – but over the next period of time.”Harris feels better equipped for his latest run in the Test side after the challenges of the series in England two years ago where he replaced Cameron Bancroft after two Tests. It remains to be seen if England’s quicks can pose the same challenge in Australian conditions as they did at home, but Harris is confident he can respond.”It’s been a ploy that a lot of teams have employed against me now to come around the wicket,” he said. “I feel like I’ve worked really hard on the technical side of my game and tactically to try and combat that. The proof will be in the pudding come December 8 but feels like I’ve worked really hard on it’s gone well.”Harris had shown significant promise in his debut series against India in 2018-19 with two half-centuries and his averaged peaked at 37.75 after five matches before tumbling to its current level. He has always had the ability to bat time at domestic level – his maiden first-class century of 157 in 2011 came from 411 balls and shortly before his debut in 2018 he made a career-best unbeaten 250 from 403 – but he now feels he has struck a better tempo.”My initial idea of trying to get through the 20s was to dash as quickly as I could, but as I’ve got a bit older and more experienced I just let the game come to me a little bit more and let the bowlers come to me a bit more.”That probably comes back to just having a hunger for making a lot of runs, making big runs and having patience. In the first Shield game I think I’ve faced 360 balls so it’s not being satisfied with making 50 or 100. Through the off-season I had some really good innings where I made some big hundreds and over the last couple of years have made a couple of 200s. It comes back to having a bit of a bit of self-motivation and drive to do really well and lead from the front of your team.”

The PCB had terminated its cable-distribution deal and suspended the broadcasting deal with PTV Sports, which was expected to earn them US$ 200 million over three years

Umar Farooq23-Nov-2021A sessions court in Lahore has issued a stay order to prevent the PCB from suspending its deal with the state-owned broadcaster PTV.The PCB had signed a three-year broadcast deal in 2020 with PTV, as well as an agreement with I-Media Communications Services, to ensure the PCB’s broadcast content is not redistributed illegally by cable operators. The official signing of the deal had taken place in the presence of Imran Khan, the Pakistan prime minister who is also the PCB’s patron-in-chief.But last week the PCB terminated its cable-distribution deal and suspended the broadcasting deal with PTV Sports, deals from which, on signing them, the PCB said were expected to fetch them US$ 200 million over three years. The PCB also opened a new tender inviting bids for new media rights for home internationals for the upcoming series against West Indies and Australia. That process will have to be put on hold for now until the dispute is sorted.At heart is the nature of the arrangement. The deal allowed PTV to broadcast all Pakistan’s home bilateral commitments as well as all domestic cricket, though the PCB held on to the production rights. The deal with I-Media Communications Services was meant to ensure that the distribution of cricket content would only be done through licensed cable operators, and the value of the content would be protected against potential illegal distribution.The expected earnings from this deal would come from advertising revenue and also, for the first time in Pakistan, distribution revenue from the cable operators – the equivalent of revenues that broadcasters make from subscriptions – through I-Media. That revenue is important in countries such as England, Australia and, increasingly, India but has been non-existent in Pakistan due to the nature of the industry.It is believed to be on the basis of non-compliance on payments from the I-Media contract that the PCB has gone to court. In its plea before judge Talat Mahmood, PTV said that it “had been honouring” the terms of the deal at every stage. PCB, however, had suspended the deal with both parties because of the supposed non-compliance when it came to implementing the Digital Pakistan policy (one part of which is regulating the illegal cable operator business).PTV also claim that PCB had never addressed any grievances to PTV’s managing director, as the contract stipulated – ESPNcricinfo understands that PCB wrote directly to the Information Minister – who oversees the state-owned PTV – when required.The broadcast deal was signed in the face of a shrinking broadcast market, more so after the Covid-19 pandemic. It ended a long-running broadcast relationship with Ten Sports. International rights for PCB’s home series were sold separately to various channels around the world.Pakistan has few local sports broadcasters to choose from though recently, the ARY Group has launched an HD sports channel called A-Sports, which covered the T20 World Cup and is presently broadcasting the Abu Dhabi T10 league. PTV, however, broadcasts its content on standard definition, which the PCB wants to change to HD.Neither PTV or PCB chose to speak on the matter when contacted.

Peter Crouch has hilariously taken credit for Kylian Mbappe's shinned volley, with the ex-England international saying you "can't teach" that skill.

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• French forward on target at the Etihad
• Shinned volley into the top corner
• Ex-England star used to do likewise

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Real Madrid superstar Mbappe was back among the goals during his latest Champions League appearance. The World Cup winner netted Los Blancos’ first of the night as they claimed a dramatic 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Mbappe’s strike, which came on the hour mark and cancelled out Erling Haaland’s opener for the hosts, had more than a touch of good fortune about it. The Frenchman did not make the cleanest of contacts as he lined up a spectacular scissor kick.

• WHAT PETER CROUCH SAID

  The ball was, however, to end up in the top corner as it skewed off Mbappe’s shin and looped beyond Ederson. Former Liverpool and Tottenham striker Crouch hit a few like that himself during his playing days and has posted on social media alongside images of Mbappe emulating his efforts: "Can’t teach it."

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Jude Bellingham went on to grab a 92nd-minute winner for Real against City, as they took control of a heavyweight Champions League knockout phase play-off. Mbappe, meanwhile, has taken his goal tally for the season to 24 through 36 appearances in all competitions.