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According to an exclusive report in The Sun on Sunday, Southampton are on the brink of securing a deal for Norwich City attacking midfielder James Maddison after seeing a bid worth more than £20m accepted.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Sun on Sunday says that Saints have had an offer accepted for the highly-rated 21-year-old, who has been targeted by a string of Premier League clubs including Everton and Leicester City.

The Sun on Sunday says that sources close to the Canaries say that the south coast outfit’s manager Mark Hughes now has permission to speak to the England U21 international, who won the Championship club’s 2017/18 Player of the Season award, and convince him to move to St Mary’s.

The report adds that Maddison could be a replacement for Sofiane Boufal, who looks set to join either Marseille or Nice in France having had an altercation with Hughes and then been excluded from the first team following the loss against Chelsea back in April.

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How did Maddison do last season?

He was outstanding.

The 21-year-old scored eight goals and provided a further 14 assists in 44 league games for Norwich, but he brings far more to the table than simply goals and assists.

The England U21 star is comfortable on the ball and impressive in tight situations, and according to WhoScored.com he successfully completed 104 of the 154 dribbles he attempted, while he made a remarkable 124 key passes.

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Would he be a good Southampton signing?

He certainly would be, and their most exciting since they brought Sadio Mane to St Mary’s from Red Bull Salzburg in 2014.

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Like the Senegal international, Maddison brings a huge threat in the final third and has the touch and ability to get forward that will excite Saints supporters, who are split on a potential club-record deal for another Championship star, and that is something that is much needed after two successive disappointing campaigns.

The fact that he is also good on set-pieces is another bonus, and he would surely significantly boost a team that only scored 37 goals in 38 Premier League matches last term.

Tottenham Hotspur managed to come from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Juventus in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday night.

Gonzalo Higuain scored twice – once from the penalty spot – inside the first nine minutes of the encounter in Turin.

Spurs were able to recover from the shock, though, as Harry Kane pulled a goal back and Christian Eriksen later secured an equaliser.

The result has put Mauricio Pochettino’s team in a good position heading into the second leg at Wembley, especially as they have two away goals to their name.

There was one crack on the surface, though, and it was centred around Serge Aurier.

The right-back had a mixed performance, and he made some rash decisions that were costly.

After Kane gave Spurs some hope with a goal, Aurier was in danger of helping Juve to a 3-1 lead when he gave away a penalty by lunging in on Douglas Costa.

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The 25-year-old, though, breathed a sigh of relief when Higuain missed the target, but he later received a yellow card, which means that he will be suspended for the second leg.

Some Tottenham fans were not best pleased with Aurier’s performance.

Fans tend to joke amongst each other about supporters of certain teams being a little casual when it comes to knowing the history. This is perceived to be the case with some of the bigger teams in the Premier League, who have fanbases spanning several continents, but is it actually true? Knowing a football team inside out can take time, especially for younger fans without memories stretching back several decades.

What it can do is help when trying to impress fans, but how much do fans tend to know. Using all teams currently in the Premier League as an example, it seems that a few supporters should know a little more than they do right now. A quiz asked how well do you know your team, with 10 different questions spanning every facet of the club. The test by Ladbrokes caught quite a few out.

Ignorant Canaries?

Right at the foot of the knowledge table are Norwich City, who aren’t out of trouble on it just yet. Supporters of the East Anglian side have, on average, scored a miserable four out of ten in the quiz, perhaps showing that their knowledge of the club’s history doesn’t go too far back. In total, less than one third of their fans who took the quiz got at least six correct answers.

Another set of fans who didn’t fare too well are Stoke City supporters. The Potters, who look to be close to achieving Premier League safety following a solid win over Hull City last weekend, saw 3% of fans come away without getting a single question right. Less than a quarter of their fans got more than 6/10, which is surprising given their support at the Britannia Stadium is pretty vociferous.

Proud Palace

Among the other low scorers are West Bromwich Albion. Although not a single Baggies fan scored zero, two-thirds of their fans failed to get more than 5/10, which is surprising. However, not all of the smaller clubs’ support fared so badly, with Crystal Palace fans proving to be pretty sharp when it comes to knowing their team.

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12% of Palace fans scored 10/10. An astonishing 72% of their fans came away having scored at least 6/10. Also, 16% of Hull City fans managed to get all their questions right, which shows that smaller teams’ fans have plenty to draw on, as do the bigger clubs, but it’s Southampton who sit at the top of the table.

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Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas has lamented his side’s performance on Saturday as they crashed to an embarrassing defeat to Wigan at White Hart Lane yesterday, reports talkSPORT.

Spurs went into the match on the back of a rich vein of form having won five of their previous six Premier League matches, but a disappointing display meant Wigan left North London as deserved victors.

The Portuguese boss faced anger from home fans after he substituted Jermaine Defoe and he was the first to admit that the performance was way below the level he expects from his side.

‘We didn’t manage to keep the ball or pass well. We couldn’t recognise ourselves today.

‘Wigan were superior. Our chances weren’t clear cut. There are various reasons why we played like this.

‘The opponents were sharp and aggressive. We kept making mistakes. We played more with the heart rather than the head.”

Wigan’s Ben Watson punished Spurs day off driving home from close range after Brad Friedel had flapped at a Shaun Maloney corner. The home support was further incensed just after the goal when AVB took off leading scorer Defoe to bring on Emmanuel Adebayor.

However he explained the decision to the striker and insisted that he understand the fans complaints.

“We understand that they can show their frustrations, “the 35-year-old said.

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“We don’t do things to punish them or for the fans to show revolt. We do things for the benefit of the team.

“They want the win, but we want the win as much as them. We respect them.”

According to reports in The Mirror, Southampton manager Mark Hughes wants to sign Barcelona attacker Paco Alcacer, who was also a target for previous Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino, according to a report in The Sun in October 2017.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Mirror says that Alcacer wants to leave the La Liga champions after two seasons where he has found his first-team opportunities restricted, and Hughes is keen to bring the Spaniard to St Mary’s to strengthen his frontline.

The 24-year-old joined Barca in a £30m deal in 2016 after scoring 29 goals in two seasons for Valencia previously, but he has failed to hit the same form for the Catalan giants.

Hughes’ men are certainly in need of a boost to their firepower given the Saints, who should sign a 6ft 4in England international once Chelsea complete a £45m deal, only netted 37 times in their 38 Premier League matches last term, as they narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship with a 17th-place finish.

How did Alcacer do during the 2017/18 campaign?

It was another tough campaign for the attacker, who once again found himself behind the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele in the pecking order.

The 24-year-old only made 23 appearances in all competitions – playing just 693 minutes of La Liga football – but he still scored seven goals and provided a further four assists, scoring a goal on average every 142 minutes in total.

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Would he be a good signing for Southampton?

He certainly could be, yes.

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The centre-forward showed during his time with Valencia that he can both score and create, and while his time with Barcelona hasn’t been hugely impressive in terms of the number of goals and assists he has recorded, the fact that he is making an impact when he does play is certainly eye-catching.

The fact that the La Liga giants bought him in the first place shows how good the 24-year-old is and can be, and there is no doubt that it would be a huge coup for Saints if they could bring the £30m man to St Mary’s.

Despite a minority of fans criticizing his efforts in recent years, it is safe to say that Mesut Ozil is the brightest talent in the Arsenal squad.

His stunning form of late has garnered him much praise, especially in the league victory over Crystal Palace and Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win over Chelsea.

The German, who is valued at £45million by Transfermarkt, has now become the key man as Arsenal look to close the gap on the Premier League’s top four.

However, the seemingly interminable conversations about a new contract for the 29-year-old continue.

Ozil has just six months remaining on his current deal and there have been no signs of an extension agreement being reached.

However, with the arrival of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and possible addition of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang certainly improving the talent pool in Arsenal’s squad, Ozil could be persuaded to sign a new contract in North London.

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Following the victory over Chelsea, Arsenal fans took to Twitter to plead with the club to agree a contract extension with Ozil as soon as possible.

The fans never stopped supporting the team. That’s what they’ll say when looking back at David Moyes’ first season in charge of Manchester United. Whether Moyes only makes it to the end of the year or goes on to create a second 20-year dynasty, it’s unlikely that there’ll be many darker days than the 3-0 home defeat to Liverpool. And still the fans kept singing.

While the support for the team was certainly admirable, it was equally as tragic. They didn’t cheer the team on because they expected a comeback. That was impossible: there was no coming back from this.

They sang to prove a point. We’re still singing because we’re not like you. We’re still singing because we support our managers. We’re still singing because we’re Manchester United Football Club. We’re singing because we’re still better than you.

The fans in Old Trafford have taken the fall from grace with dignity. While they may mutter Moyes’ name with discontent in private, in public they have put on a united front. This was Ferguson’s last beckoning call after all. A public damning of Moyes would be to betray their last manager and that’s the last thing you’d get from  a club built on loyalty.

However, it’s hard not to draw parallels between the Man United fans’ behaviour of late and that of Liverpool fans for the last 20 years. It may seem odd that a comparison with Liverpool fans would have negative connotations given that the Scouse support are famed for their backing of the club. But then that’s just it, they’re famed for their support because they sing when they’re losing. This is not something that a club as successful as Manchester United want to be associated with. It’s demeaning.

But they may just have to settle for having the best fans, if not the best team in the world. That’s how the future looks. It’s one where Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand beam out from Sky Sports studios eulogising on the size, tradition and character of the football club as they cling onto past glories. It’s what we’ve had from Jamie Redknapp, Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness for years.

And Souness knows how easily things can change at the top. Like Moyes, Souness had the unenviable task of following an incredibly successful manager of the biggest club in the country. And like Moyes, Souness found his best efforts met with failure.

However, unlike Moyes, Souness went out in a ball of flames. He took on the playing squad from day one, with little respect for reputation or skill. He broke the dynasty by breaking the team. If anything, Moyes has been too respectful to the players he was given. But then, the man who chose these players was the same one that chose him.

The Manchester United fans may accept their temporary fall from grace but only because they believe it won’t be as long as Liverpool’s time in purgatory. And they may be right. The reason that United were able to reign supreme over their Merseyside rivals for the last 20 years was due to the Manchester club’s relative success in harnessing the greater revenue streams offered by the Premier League.

And this strategy has only been on the increase. The club now boast 35 commercial sponsors according to their website, including Mister Potato, the Official Savory Snack Partner of Manchester United. However, how long Brand United can last if team United suffer an extended exile from the Champions League remains to be seen.

One gets the feeling that there is little danger of the Red Devils support having to update ’20 times’ anytime soon. 21 will come.  But it may be that they have to live on past glories for longer than they think. They may just have to survive for as long as Liverpool have.

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It has been ten years since Wayne Rooney scored his unforgettable goal against Arsenal for Everton at aged just 16. The sensational strike revealed that the youngster was a future star in the making. However, the England international is still as hungry as ever to impress and has announced that he wants to play in England’s friendly next month against Sweden.

Rooney’s international performances have been criticised, and the 26-year-old failed to make an impact against Poland on Wednesday, despite getting on the scoresheet with a fortunate goal from a Steven Gerrard corner kick. The Manchester United forward has often been injured in the build-up to international tournaments which hasn’t helped his cause.

Roy Hodgson will undoubtedly be under pressure to rest his first team and give less experienced Premier League players a run-out. However, Rooney has insisted, “of course I want to play.

“I want to play all the games, if that’s possible. Hopefully I can stay in good form and the manager will pick me.”

Hodgson is expected to field younger players, such as Arsenal’s Carl Jenkinson and Liverpool’s Jonjo Shelvey, however the England manager has stated he will keep some key players.

“We have to be careful. I don’t intend to go to Stockholm with a weak team. It is a massive occasion for Sweden — and they like me over there, or they used to!

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“I’m also conscious that a lot of players will be in the middle of European football as well, and I don’t know how much I can bash them,” added Hodgson.

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India batter had signed for county in 2023 only to win recall for World Test Championship final

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2024India batter Ajinkya Rahane has signed to play the second half of the county season with Leicestershire. He will be available for the club’s One-Day Cup campaign as well as five County Championship matches.Rahane, 36, had agreed to join Leicestershire last summer before winning a recall to India’s Test team for the World Test Championship final. He then went on the Test tour of the West Indies and subsequently did not play for the county in 2023.”We are thrilled to welcome someone of Ajinkya’s quality to Leicestershire,” Claude Henderson, Leicestershire’s director of cricket, said. “It was unfortunate that Ajinkya’s schedule didn’t quite work with ours last year, but it’s a massive boost to have secured his services for the business end of this season.”He holds immense experience and vital leadership qualities, which will be hugely beneficial to the team alongside his run-scoring ability. Ajinkya’s arrival also presents a fantastic opportunity for our batters to learn from one of the game’s best.”Rahane played both of India’s Tests in the Caribbean last July but has not featured since. He has scored more than 13,000 runs in first-class cricket, at an average of 45.76, and another 6475 at 39.72 in List A.His arrival in mid-July will cover for the expected departure of South Africa allrounder Wiaan Mulder on international duty, and help strengthen Leicestershire’s defence of the One-Day Cup that they memorably lifted last September.Rahane said: “I’m really excited to have another opportunity to come to Leicestershire. I’ve built a strong rapport with Claude and [head coach] Alfonso [Thomas], and I’m looking forward to playing for the club this summer.”I followed the team’s results last year and was very impressed with what I saw. I’m hoping to enjoy my cricket and contribute to more success for the club this season.”

Hardik Pandya is expected to be available for Titans, while Kings will be tempted to field both Rabada and Livingstone

Sidharth Monga12-Apr-20236:30

Will Punjab stick with Ellis and bench Rabada?

Big picture: Gujarat Titans look to bounce back

Rinku Singh did to Gujarat Titans an extreme version of what they did to teams last year. In fact, their next opponents, Punjab Kings, last year had every reason to believe they had done enough when they got Hardik Pandya first ball of the last over with 18 still to get, but Rahul Tewatia won Titans the match with two sixes off the last two balls.When Titans come up against Kings in Mohali on Thursday, they will have to quickly bounce back from the five-sixes finish from Rinku, which lost them what seemed an unlosable game. Kings, coming off a loss themselves, will try to cash in on any residual effect of the defeat Titans suffered.On the line in this match is a ticket into the early top three. Both teams have won two games each in their first three matches. Titans have looked the more formidable side, but Kings will look to use their home advantage to the fullest.

Team news: Liam Livingstone is here

After a long wait, Liam Livingstone is finally in Mohali and training at the nets. If he plays, this will be his first formal cricket match since he jarred his knee on Test debut in Pakistan in December. He should take Matt Short’s place in the XI. There might be temptation to play Kagiso Rabada, but Nathan Ellis has not done badly at all. If they bat first, Kings could think of bringing one of them in as Impact Player.Hardik Pandya was unwell and missed the last match, but should be available for this encounter.3:34

Dhawan and the difficulty of being an anchor batter in T20s

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Punjab Kings
In the last match, Kings started without Sikandar Raza to see if they could squeeze in Rabada during the second innings. A collapse with the bat meant Raza had to be substituted in. Now, though, Livingstone’s arrival could make Kings go with a more conventional side.Probable bat-first XI: 1 Prabhsimran Singh, 2 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Sam Curran, 7 M Shahrukh Khan, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Rahul Chahar, 11 Arshdeep SinghProbable field-first XI: 1 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 2 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Sam Curran, 6 M Shahrukh Khan, 7 Harpreet Brar, 8 Rishi Dhawan, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Rahul Chahar, 11 Arshdeep Singh2:08

Moody: Vijay Shankar repaid Titans’ faith in him with an extraordinary performance

Gujarat Titans
Hardik should replace Abhinav Manohar in the bat-first XI while it remains to be seen if they show faith in Yash Dayal or give him a break after that fateful last over to Rinku. It is not a bad time to introduce the impressive left-arm spinner, R Sai Kishore. Their Impact Player scene seems sorted: Sai Sudharsan starts if they bat first, Josh Little if they field.Probable bat-first XI: 1 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Sai Sudharsan, 4 Hardik Pandya (capt), 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 David Miller, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 R Sai KishoreProbable field-first XI: 1 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Hardik Pandya (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 David Miller, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Alzarri Joseph, 9 Josh Little, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 R Sai Kishore

Stats that matter

• Livingstone has scored 119 runs off 69 balls against Rashid Khan: an average of 30 and a strike rate of 173.
• Mohammed Shami has never dismissed Shikhar Dhawan, who strikes at 149 against him.
• At 70.5%, the Kings top three have made the second-biggest contribution to their team’s total this IPL, behind only Royal Challengers Bangalore.