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The gap in quality between Liverpool’s starting front three and their reserves is staggering – it is hard to think of a greater discrepancy in the Premier League – but Dominic Solanke stands the best chance of bridging that gap.

The Englishman, valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, is doubtless a bright prospect, full of desire to improve after finding gametime limited at Chelsea.

Yet, he still has work to do in order to convince the Reds’ fans that he will eventually become a viable backup to Roberto Firmino as Liverpool’s first-choice frontman.

A large part of that is down to how he has lacked cutting edge in front of goal, as well as how his physical approach appears to contrast with Klopp’s high-tempo demands – yet having a genuine alternative is always a useful weapon.

Solanke showed what he could do in Sunday’s final day stroll against Brighton, an afternoon when the Reds made a mockery of any pressure to run out 4-0 winners and the frontman got his maiden Liverpool goal.

He also contributed more than just his strike, with three key passes and two dribbles to suggest that maybe he can offer a more rounded option to Klopp than his bulk and tender years may suggest.

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His passing was also sound as Solanke did all he could to prove he could be a viable option next term, or maybe off the bench in the Champions League final…

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As Southampton continue their meteoric rise, with one foot in the door of the Europa League, it is still remarkable to think about just what Ronaldo Koeman and the club have achieved after repeatedly losing their best players. Touted as relegation-fodder last year, the South Coast side enjoyed a fantastic campaign after blending some astute buys and excellent youth prospects into the team. Despite losing Nathaniel Clyne and Toby Alderwield this year, the Saints looked in good shape against Vitesse Arnhem in their European qualifier – they won 3-0.

Rather than placing their hopes for the new season on an incoming transfer, a man who missed all of last season could well have the biggest impact. Jay Rodriguez is closing in on a return to first-team action, having missed the entirety of last season. Cruelly injured with the 2014 World Cup on the horizon, the former Burnley star had only recently broken into the Three Lions camp after a string of stellar performances on the South Coast. During March 2014, he scored five goals in four matches, taking his tally up to 15 with a month and a half of the season left. Then he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament against Manchester City.

Though he did not play against Vitesse, the goal-getter has looked sharp in pre-season. A brace netted against Red Bull Leipzig, followed by another against Dutch outfit KVV Quick 1920 has led a return of four strikes in four pre-season appearances. Not bad for a player returning from a year out.

Rodriguez himself has expressed his eagerness to pull on a Three Lions shirt once more: “as a player you always want to play at international level”, he told The Mirror, “I want to try and become the player I was.” His steely determination could help create a nice headache for England boss Roy Hodgson, who can currently field a number of different striking options. The Saint, however, is perhaps the most natural wide-forward available to him, a lethal mix of a winger and a front man.

Before pulling on all the all-white of England, the Southampton man must get back to his best Premier League form. Despite an excellent season last year, the Saints tailed off towards the end of the campaign and finished well below the Champions League spots they had thrillingly chased for a prolonged period. Italian star Graziano Pelle, who was excellent for the side, seemed to lose his goal scoring touch after the Christmas pile up and Shane Long failed to provide any real consistency.

Rodriguez offers goals from wide positions, and if he can rekindle the ‘bromance’ he enjoyed with Adam Lallana with current Saints schemer Dusan Tadic, there will be much to cheer on the South Coast. If he can take some of the burden away from his Italian strike partner, perhaps Koeman’s side can sustain a more substantial challenge in their constant quest to improve.

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With Southampton’s foray into Europe, strength in depth becomes vital. New signing Juanmi and last season’s revelation Sadio Mane provide competition in the final third, but ‘J-Rod’ has proven quality. Having recently signed a new deal, reportedly keeping the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham at bay, Jay Rodriguez’could prove to be a ‘lightning rod’ for his side.

Team News

Swansea boss Michael Laudrup is expected to stick with the same side that were beaten by Manchester United, despite doubts lingering over Michu’s hamstring. Goalkeeper Michel Vorm and midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung are absent.

Fulham are expected to have Kieron Richardson fit as they head to south Wales with no fresh injury worries. Steve Sidwell sits out the final match of a four-game ban.

Michael Laudrup… “That’s a problem isn’t it — how can you better this? It’s nearly impossible. That is the only downside of this season — that is it almost impossible to do better. You always have to try to find a mark, and a mark for this club, with the lowest budget in the Premier League, is to try to consolidate in mid-table. I know it sounds a little bit arrogant for a club with our budget to try to do that.”

Martin Jol…”I signed an option and that is a long time ago, ages ago. For me, there is no difference. It is not something from the last 48 hours as [the speculation] happened before. If people make up a little story and I speak about new players coming in, of course you need a little bit of money. They associate us with the chairman and he has to give us the funds, but we are a healthy club. We will try to get some players in so there is no story.”

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Match Statistic: 11 of the 14 Premier League goals Dimitar Berbatov has scored this season have come before half-time.

Prediction: Swansea City 2-1 Fulham

Sunderland midfielder Adam Johnson has said he doesn’t regret joining Manchester City as he embarks on the next chapter of his career in the north-east.

Johnson won both the FA Cup and Premier League at City after joining from Middlesbrough in January 2010.

He rejected an initial approach from the Black Cats in favour of City, but defended his move by claiming it was too good an opportunity to turn down.

“Looking back, I think anyone in my position would have signed for City at the time,” he said.

Johnson signed for Sunderland earlier this week for an undisclosed fee after making 97 appearances for City and scoring 15 goals, but 43 of those came from the bench – a major factor in his decision to switch the Ethiad Stadium for the Stadium of Light.

He has 11 caps for England and started in the recent 2-1 win over Italy, but Roy Hodgson understandably wants all of his senior players to be in action week in, week out.

Martin O’Neill has spoken publicly over his satisfaction in bringing the winger to Wearside, something Johnson believes has made him feel wanted – unlike under his previous manager at City.

Despite the great respect the City players have for Mancini, Johnson eluded to feeling trapped by the Italian’s somewhat overly-critical nature, but now feels he can re-ignite his career.

“You can only take so much criticism and no praise as a player; it doesn’t matter who you are.

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“The other night, when I made my debut, it felt as if I’d had the chains taken off me. I was playing again and the manager has already given me that confidence and the freedom. Hopefully that’ll continue.”

You can follow all the deadline day deals on our live blog right here

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India’s T20I captain has not been in good form in T20 internationals this year

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2025India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has been named in Mumbai’s squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy starting on November 26. Allrounder Shardul Thakur will lead the 17-member squad, which also includes Shivam Dube, Sarfaraz Khan, Ajinkya Rahane and Ayush Mhatre.Suryakumar’s inclusion in Mumbai’s T20 side comes ahead of India’s T20I series against South Africa from December 9. Despite a prolific IPL for Mumbai Indians – 717 runs at a strike rate of 167.91 this season – he hasn’t been among the runs in international cricket, scoring only 184 runs in 15 innings in 2025 at an average of 15.33 and strike rate of 127.77.India play ten T20Is at home – five each against South Africa and New Zealand – ahead of a T20 World Cup they will be co-hosting with Sri Lanka in February and March 2026.Related

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• 'Rocket Raheja' prepares for IPL and Ranji lift-off

Like Suryakumar, Dube will also be looking for match practice. He has batted in only six out of 11 T20Is across the Asia Cup and the series in Australia, scoring 76 runs off 60 balls in those games.Mumbai are the defending champions of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, having beaten Madhya Pradesh in the final in 2024-25. This season, they start their campaign against Railways in Lucknow.

Mumbai squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26

Shardul Thakur (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Siddhesh Lad, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Sairaj Patil, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Atharva Ankolekar, Tanush Kotian, Shams Mulani, Tushar Deshpande, Irfan Umair and Hardik Tamore (wk)

Lancashire make early running on truncated day before former star digs in for visitors

ECB Reporters Network24-May-2024Three wickets from Lancashire’s Tom Bailey put the hosts in charge against Warwickshire after a truncated day at Emirates Old Trafford ended with the visitors 89 for three from 39 overs on day one of this Vitality County Championship Division One clash.Bailey, who has struggled for consistency so far this campaign, showed what the Red Rose had been missing, as he dismissed Rob Yates, Will Rhodes and Ed Barnard either side of tea to finish the day with three for 25 after the game had finally got underway at 2.10pm following overnight rain.Full of confidence following a fine performance in beating Durham at Blackpool, a win which has left them within striking distance of mid-table, Lancashire will be looking to move off the bottom with a similar result against the Bears, who are winless in six matches, their second defeat – added to four draws – coming on Monday against Essex at Chelmsford.Once the extensive mopping-up operation had finished, Warwickshire, having won the toss, began batting under typical overcast Manchester skies with Yates opening the batting with former Lancashire wicket keeper batter, Alex Davies.The opening pair had put on 38 when Yates badly misjudged a Bailey delivery which jagged back and removed his off bail in the 11th over as the left-hander departed for 19.Skipper Davies, meanwhile, was going along nicely against his ex-teammates, with some trademark cover drives and busy running, a painful reminder to the home crowd of his talents.But it was Bailey, who had the bit between his teeth and with a worn pitch, gloomy skies and Nathan Lyon at the other end in support, he produced a beauty to find Rhodes’ edge with the batter on 14 when keeper Matty Hurst took the catch.74 for two quickly became 82 for three when Barnard edged another excellent Bailey delivery to Hurst to depart for two.The score had progressed to 89 for three with Davies unbeaten on 47 and Dan Mousley one not out when the players left the field at 5.09pm due to a combination of drizzle and bad light.

Sussex batter shows benefit of work with Ian Bell on first Lions tour

Vithushan Ehantharajah01-Feb-2023Sri Lanka A 136 and 228 for 1 (Fernando 114, Madushka 91*) trail England Lions 467 (Haines 118, Fisher 53, de Silva 3-59) by 1o3 runsTom Haines’ century on debut has put England Lions in a commanding position on day two of the first unofficial Test in Galle.The Sussex opener scored 118 from No. 3 as the Lions finished their innings on 467, establishing a first-innings lead of 331. The hosts were able to whittle that down to 103 by close, with a century from Oshada Fernando and unbeaten 91 from Nishan Madushka in a strong response of 228 for 1 in their second innings.Haines, 24, has been touted for higher honours off the back of two stellar seasons that saw him average 47.04 and 49.52 in the 2021 and 2022, with 1176 and 941 runs respectively. Among them were six centuries spread evenly across both, with this latest three-figure score taking him to nine in his first-class career.”It is very special and a very proud moment for me,” Haines said at stumps. “The thing that I was most pleased with was that it has put us into a really good position in the game. We would have liked a few more wickets to end the day, but we’ll have to come back tomorrow and try and get some more.”While not his first experience of Sri Lankan conditions, having toured here with Sussex Academy “nine or 10 years ago”, he scored positively with 12 fours and a six across a knock that boasted a strike rate off 85.50. It was in line with the innings as a whole which went at a rate of 5.31 across the 87.5 overs. Evidently the pre-tour briefing to try and emulate the positive approach of the Test side instilled by head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes has been well heeded.Haines also credited batting coach Ian Bell, who presented him with his Lions cap on day one, for reinforcing his work against spin. Bell, along with Graeme Swann, have been drafted in by the ECB to pass on their wisdom to the Lions, a relationship the began on the Lions training camp in Abu Dhabi last November.”I have really enjoyed working with him it has been top drawer,” Haines said. “I enjoyed working with him at the Lions camp in Dubai before Christmas.”He has definitely helped me out with playing spin and just my mental attitude towards it, and how you apply that so that you do it in the game.”Swanny and Belly spoke about the importance of first-innings runs before the game – about how certain shots you can play in the first innings but second innings you might need a completely different repertoire of shots. We’ll see how it plays tomorrow.”

That said, the senior paceman doesn’t expect Australia to play the same four-man attack all summer

Alex Malcolm17-Nov-2021Australia vice-captain Pat Cummins feels he is as fresh as he has ever felt coming into a Test series, but says he would be surprised if the side persists with the same four-man attack through all five Ashes Tests, something they did against India last summer.Cummins returned to Australia and into hotel quarantine on the Gold Coast on Tuesday with the majority of the triumphant World Cup-winning squad to begin their Ashes preparation.He hasn’t played a first-class match since February. Cummins has also only featured in seven T20s since April having opted out of the limited-overs tours to the Caribbean and Bangladesh during Australia’s winter. He also missed the second half of the IPL prior to the World Cup to be home for the birth of his son.Australia will only have one three-day intra-squad match to prepare for the first Ashes Test starting December 8 but Cummins has no concerns about his personal preparation.”My body feels as good as it has in a couple of years. There’s no niggles,” Cummins said. “I think the first, I guess, benefit of the short spells is we’re all feeling really fresh. I always feel like it’s better to be underdone than overdone coming into a big Test series.”For now it’s just trying to work back from that day one, get a few good bowls in, I think. We’ve got access to quite a few centre wickets. So we’ll have three, four, five centre wickets where we try and have relatively big days, you know, bowl a couple of spells on those days. And we’ll be ready to go. And we had a similar prep last year and all felt really good going into that Adelaide first Test.”Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc played all four Tests against India last year, but the plan backfired as the trio tired on the final days in Sydney and Brisbane and were unable to bowl out India in either game as the visitors produced a famous come-from-behind series win.Australia rotated their bowlers heavily in the 2019 Ashes series using Peter Siddle and James Pattinson as specialists in those conditions. Cummins was the only one of the five Australian fast bowlers used in that series to play all five Tests and he expects that there will be some rotation again this summer.”When someone’s I guess rested it is normally more to it than just purely workload,” Cummins said. “There’s always niggles and small little injuries that we’re dealing with, basically after every single Test match.”The great thing is we’ve got a huge stable of fast bowlers. So yeah, I don’t think it’ll be a huge issue if someone’s not able to get up for a Test or someone’s just red-lining a little bit. Someone else can slot in.”I’d be surprised if the same four bowlers were used for all five Tests. That’s pretty rare, especially the five-Test match summer. But I certainly won’t be putting my hand up to be rested unless I’ve got something going wrong.”Pat Cummins hasn’t played a first-class match since February 2021•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Jhye Richardson is firming as a certainty to play a part in this Ashes series having not played a Test match since 2019 when he dislocated his shoulder in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup and Ashes tour.Michael Neser has also been a constant presence in Australia’s Test squads in recent years and could also make his Test debut this summer despite coming off a hamstring injury.”I think both can slot in really well,” Cummins said. “It might be like-for-like maybe in some regards. I’d say probably Jhye, especially last week, I only saw a little bit but apparently, he bowled beautifully up here at the Gabba.”It’s really great to see him back around the squad. He was on the verge of a World Cup and an Ashes series a couple of years ago before having a shoulder injury, so it’s great to see him get back and bowling well, fully fit, and hopefully he kind of starts off where he left off against Sri Lanka a few years ago.”Chairman of selectors George Bailey confirmed Australia would have a squad mentality after announcing the 15-man Ashes squad for the first two Tests as well as an Australia A squad on Wednesday. Bailey was also impressed by Richardson’s form leading into the Ashes series following his Player of the Match performance for Western Australia against Queensland at the Gabba last week where he took eight wickets including 5 for 23 from 22.2 overs in the second innings.”Getting pretty excited by Jhye,” Bailey said. “One physically, I think he looks as strong as I’ve seen ever seen him.”He’s had a couple of niggles, and he’s worked his way back from those so he’s starting to build some resilience into his body, still a young body.”I think he’s worked his way into the last three shield games quite nicely, but one particular spell I think it was the morning of day [three], a really impressive spell early on, I think he ended up ended up getting the wickets of Marnus [Labuschagne] and Joe Burns, who both commented that it was it was impressive quality.”

The allrounder’s one-year ban ends on October 29

Mohammad Isam11-Aug-2020Shakib Al Hasan is likely to make an immediate return to the Bangladesh team after his suspension deadline ends on October 29, with Sri Lanka the assumed venue of his comeback. Bangladesh’s tour of Sri Lanka is all but confirmed and given how the tour schedule is shaping up, it is more than likely that Shakib will at least feature in the proposed three-match T20I series.According to SLC chief executive Mohan de Silva, the two boards have reached an agreement on Bangladesh’s departure date, but they are still in discussions over whether it will be a two or three-match Test series after the BCB requested a three-match T20I series in addition to the original tour schedule.Shakib will be training at the BKSP – Bangladesh’s largest sporting institute – from next month, so it is likely that the Bangladesh team management will have one eye on his progress towards full fitness.Head coach Russell Domingo has said Shakib’s return will depend on his fitness levels and possibly some match-time under his belt. However, he compared Shakib’s year-long break from cricket with the current Bangladesh players also having had to sit out for six months without any on-field action, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.ALSO READ: Qazi Onik banned for two years for failing dope test“I think Shakib being out for a year is not that much different to the rest of our squad who have been out for six or seven months as well,” Domingo told ESPNcricinfo. “We are hoping all the players are fit. Obviously, there are standards that they need to attain in terms of fitness level. We have to organize a bit of game time for Shakib, as well as for all the players. It is very difficult to get into international cricket without any sort of cricket. I think we need to try to find some opportunities for him to play some games. He is a world-class player so I am sure he will get back into it pretty soon, but fitness is an important thing.”Domingo, however, said Shakib would have to play unofficial cricket matches as a suspended cricketer, so a lot would depend on his fitness regime and net practice during the next couple of months. “It is something that we have to discuss with the selectors. I don’t think he can play any official game before October 29, so all games that he plays have to be unofficial games. It might be inter-squad games but we need to have clarity if he is allowed to play that.”He has to make sure he is fit and that he starts hitting balls and bowling some balls. Once we assemble before heading off to Sri Lanka – when that tour is confirmed – we will get closer to making a decision. There’s still a while to go; it is only August now. His ban finishes in two-and-a-half months. When he is fit and available, we will cross that bridge.”On Tuesday, SLC chief de Silva said Bangladesh’s departure date, September 24, is nearly confirmed but the boards are still a couple of days away from finalising the tour schedule. “It is more or less [finalized],” de Silva told the Dhaka-based TV channel . “We are actually negotiating. They [BCB] want to play three T20Is and three Tests. So we are actually negotiating with them to reduce one Test and then play the T20Is. We will be able to confirm it within a day or two.”

Ireland’s last-wicket pair of George Dockrell and Tim Murtagh put together 87 to keep them in the contest after Afghan bowlers run riot

The Report by Shashank Kishore15-Mar-2019Afghanistan were utterly dominant for large parts of the opening day of the one-off Test against Ireland in Dehradun. So much so that a snooze for 25 overs in the second session didn’t cost them much.They let Ireland recover from 69 for 8 to 172, with 37-year old Tim Murtagh becoming the second-oldest No. 11 to score a Test fifty; only South Africa’s Pat Symcox was older when he scored a half-century. The last-wicket pair of Murtagh and George Dockrell added 87 together to frustrate Afghanistan and give their bowlers some leeway, though not much.Afghanistan shelved their firebrand approach to batting, which they displayed during a nervy Test debut nine months ago. Mohammad Shahzad kept lunging forward and defending, pottering to 6 off 35 deliveries as Ireland opened with pace and spin in trying to adopt the very methods that brought Afghanistan much success earlier in the day.But where Afghanistan’s spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Waqar Salamkheil got the ball to bite and zip off the pitch, Ireland were much more traditional, relying on the batsmen to make mistakes. The turn they extracted was slow and Shahzad adjusted nicely. Even then, the odd ball that was dropped short or bowled full was either cut, lofted over mid-on or paddled fine.In the second hour of the final session, Ireland finally managed to induce a mistake as Shahzad stepped out and drilled one back down the pitch. It needed outstanding reflexes from offspinner James Cameron-Dow to move low to his left and pouch the catch to send the danger man back on 40. Cameron-Dow had earlier taken the first wicket when he trapped debutant Ihsanullah Janat with an arm-ball for 7.Tim Murtagh raises his bat after reaching fifty•AFP

Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah ensured there were no further hiccups as Afghanistan closed the day on 90 for 2, trailing Ireland by only 82.As such, Ireland are not entirely out of it, and will be in business if they can strike early on Saturday. That they are in a slightly better position than looked likely after the first session where they were reduced to 69 for 7 was because of their lower-order defiance.William Porterfield called right, but all the batting unit had to show in the first couple of hours was Paul Stirling’s aggressive 26 at the top, 24 off which came off fours, three of them in a single over off Yamin Ahmadzai, Afghanistan’s best fast bowler on the day with returns of 3 for 41. Ireland raced to 37 without loss in the ninth over, and at that stage Afghanistan were struggling, not having bowled a single maiden over.The impressive Ahmadzai, who took the new ball, finally struck when he had Stirling after Afghanistan had strung together 20 dots. He bowled one that nibbled away to take the edge through to the keeper. Exactly six balls later, Porterfield was done in by drift, squared up by one that spun away sharply to be lbw off Nabi.Andy Balbirne walked in at No. 3 and looked every bit a nervous wreck looking for his first Test runs. The debut against Pakistan was far from memorable as he had bagged a pair. Here, he managed just four off a thick outside edge before being done in by Ahmadzai’s nipbacker that sent the off-stump cartwheeling. Spin soon took over.Rashid’s Test inception was forgettable. He was walloped for three fours in his first over by Shikhar Dhawan, and then smacked for two fours and a six off his fourth. Then, he kept over-bowling the googly, dropped short, and failed to have any control over the red ball like he does with the white ball. Here, he was on the money straightaway, picking up two wickets – James McCollum with a googly and Stuart Poynter with a dipping full toss that struck the batsman on the toe – off the first three deliveries.At that stage, Ireland were in danger of being bowled out before lunch. But with Dockrell in the middle, they hobbled to 69 for 7 at the break, and after that Murtagh and Dockrell made sure to turn some of the tide Ireland’s way.In the third ODI earlier on tour, Ireland scripted a remarkable turnaround to level the series, which went on to end 2-2. On that occasion, Dockrell had added 143 for the fifth wicket in a match-turning stand with Balbirnie. Here, with only the No. 11 for company, he batted with plenty of calm and tremendous application to negate Afghanistan’s spin threat.Dockrell wasn’t concerned about farming strike, happy to give Murtagh the strike whenever singles were available – quite easily, because Afghanistan had gone on the defensive. Murtagh, who has solid experience of playing on trickier surfaces at Surrey, repaid that faith. His solidity and strokeplay belied his batting position, and his use of the crease and swift footwork to move forward or rock back to cut the spinners stood out.What started off as a partnership with Dockrell looking the more accomplished batsman soon turned into a stand among equals. Murtagh’s expert reading of the spinners by picking lengths early was a practical lesson his mates in the dressing room would have done well to take note of.Murtagh remained unbeaten at the end, looking good for much more, when Dockrell became Ahmadzai’s third and final wicket of the day.