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Duo share 105-run stand to beat Lightning as Stars stay on track for regional double

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2021Alice Capsey smashed her highest Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy score as South East Stars continued their perfect week to beat Lighting by 28 runs.The 17-year-old Capsey crashed 78 off 73 balls to accompany Bryony Smith’s 84 from 73 deliveries in a 105-run stand as Stars totted up 293 for 9 at The County Ground, Beckenham.Despite Kathryn Bryce striking 87, Smith took 3 for 46 while Capsey and the impeccable Phoebe Franklin nabbed two wickets each to set up the victory.The high-quality win keeps Stars in strong contention to progress from the group as they attempt to win the regional double, following their Charlotte Edwards Cup success at the weekend.Smith happily chose to bat before producing a breath-taking innings on a pitch that offered bounce, and later significant spin. She quickly adjusted to the conditions, striking beautifully through the covers before laying into her favoured leg side.Around her Alice Davidson-Richards and Kirstie White were both caught in the ring having gone through with their shots too early.Smith, who scored her fifty in 41 balls, was joined by in-form Capsey and the pair flourished as run-scoring was free-flowing.Smith was bizarrely caught behind after a tickle onto her thigh pad, but Aylish Cranstone continued the momentum with Capsey – who reached her maiden half-century of the season in 50 balls.Capsey copied Smith’s approach although used sweeps to good effect as the spin took hold.Cranstone was also caught behind off Yvonne Graves as spin took over and squeezed the hosts – four wickets fell in seven overs – and Capsey was run out.Phoebe Franklin and Grace Gibbs were both bowled by prodigious turn – Graves celebrating a career-best 3 for 43 and Kirstie Gordon returned 2 for 37 – and Kira Chathli was caught and bowled.But the return of pace at the death boosted Stars, with Kalea Moore and Emma Jones adding a crucial 50 in quick time.Lightning built a good foundation to their chase on partnerships – with 40, 46 and 77 shared between the first three wickets.Sarah Bryce found the going similar to Smith earlier, sweetly collecting 45 off 37 balls, while Beth Harmer was bounced out.The Bryce sisters kept the visitors above the rate, and when Sarah Bryce departed Abbie Freeborn tagged in.Kathryn Bryce was the glue to the innings, never truly scoring rapidly but passed her half-century in 64 deliveries.The introduction of Franklin stemmed the flow of runs however, and found the wicket of Freeborn – bowled with a brilliant off-cutter.Theresa Graves and Ella Claridge were both bowled – by Capsey and Franklin – and Kathryn Bryce was run out as the rate glided out of reach.Yvonne Graves, Grace Ballinger and Sophie Munro all departed late to keep Stars unbeaten since the Hundred break.

Australia will play two Tests this season and there is a push to see more of the format

Andrew McGlashan10-Sep-2021Australia allrounder Ellyse Perry believes it is a “no brainer” that there should be multi-day cricket at domestic level in the women’s game.Test cricket has returned to the women’s game this year for the first time since 2019 when England playing India in June with Australia set to face India in a day-night Test at the end of September followed by an Ashes encounter in January. Since 2004 only England, Australia, India, South Africa and Netherlands have played Tests.Currently the only way for players to hone their long-format skills is if specific warm-up matches are arranged. There is a push among female players for more opportunities to play Test cricket and Perry sees having a proper structure at the level below can have multiple benefits.Related

• More calls for five-day Tests in women's game; debate around points structure

• Bangladesh Women to tour Zimbabwe for ODIs in November

• Ellyse Perry: 'You've always got to push to get better or else someone comes along who is going to jump you'

• Perry: 'The more Test matches we play, the better we are going to get at it'

• Mooney: Pink-ball Test poses a different challenge to what we're used to

“It’s really important and I actually think it serves dual purposes. Certainly, it helps identify longer format players, it helps prepare the Australian team to play Test cricket but, equally, and perhaps more importantly it’s such a great tool for development,” Perry told ESPNcricinfo.”We’ve got so many young players in domestic squads now a lot of them haven’t played a lot of cricket and don’t get a chance to play a lot of cricket, particularly at domestic level just because of the way that the summer set up.”So for them to be exposed to longer days in the field, or longer days batting, it just gives them an incredible resource to improve their skills and develop as cricketers. So to me that it’s sort of a bit of a no brainer in a little lot of ways because it serves that dual purpose.”In Australia, if a state player does not have a WBBL deal they will play maximum of eight days of cricket in a season as part of the WNCL – plus a possible final – and there have been calls to expand that competition.The chief executive of the Australia Cricketers Association, Todd Greenberg, said last month that he would be bringing the topic of long-form cricket in the women’s game to the next round of the MoU discussions with Cricket Australia which will take effect from the middle of next year.”An easy headline is to say our female players want to play more Test cricket,” Greenberg told the newspapers. “But the reality of that statement is to play more Test cricket, you have to have long-form cricket available to females at a domestic level and right through the pathway. That will occupy as much of our attention as the top of the pyramid.”Peter Roach, Cricket Australia’s head of cricket operations, has previously said that all options are on the table but setting up a multi-day competition is not the only solution.”What is worth pointing out is that there’s a lot of different ways to prepare players for international cricket,” he told ESPNcricinfo in July. “We understand Test cricket is a passion for them which is great and we’d be disappointed if it wasn’t. The players’ association is working through that with us at the moment to say what’s the best way to structure our domestic cricket in the future. We often default to answer of it being more, but there’s different ways of finding the right solution.”

It’s hard to stomach the fact that we may have seen the last of Tottenham’s fearsome DESK combination that the fans rave over. Dele, Eriksen, Son and Kane make up that four-man attack, but with Eriksen linked with a move away, the only way to make it easier to take would be to swap one of Real Madrid’s attacking options with the Dane.

The Sun have conveniently reported exactly that. Whilst Zinedine Zidane must be used to getting whatever he wants, if Eriksen is to join Los Blancos he will have to part with Marco Asensio according to the story. The Spanish youngster is four years Eriksen’s junior, but he has the talent to match the impressive Tottenham man in time.

Whatever happens, if Eriksen does leave North London then he will need to be replaced in some capacity, so bringing in Asensio as part of the deal would kill two birds with one stone, especially considering he’s managed 44 combined goals and assists for the Madrid giants in his 135 games for them, stats via Transfermarkt.

Eriksen’s boots won’t be easy to fill for anyone, but should the Lilywhites be given the pick of anyone in the world of football to try and do so, the young Spanish would certainly be up there given his talents and history of turning up in big games, as he’s previously netted crucial Champions league goals against PSG and Bayern Munich as well as scoring in both legs of a Supercopa win against Barcelona.

When looking at the bigger picture, Eriksen might have the pedigree to star for Real Madrid, whilst Asensio’s talents deserve regular first-team football, so a part-exchange deal looks like it would make the most sense if this is to go through, and there would surely be little complaints from either party if this is the way it would be to go.

Tottenham fans, would you take Asensio as part of the Eriksen deal? Let us know below?

Plays of the day from the game between Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Mohali

Nikhil Kalro09-May-2016The ominous let-offBefore Royal Challengers Bangalore’s game against Kings XI Punjab, Virat Kohli had scored 541 runs in eight games this season at an average of 90.16. In the third over, Mohit Sharma bowled an outswinger on a good length outside off. A leaden-footed Kohli threw his hands at the ball, which skewed off the outside half of his bat, lobbed over point and went for four. Kohli wasn’t in control, but got lucky.Mohit’s next ball was on a similar line and length and Kohli reached for it again. He could not keep the square drive down because his feet weren’t close enough to the pitch of the ball. Marcus Stoinis, at backward point, set himself to take the catch, but the ball burst through his hands. Kohli wasn’t in control, but he got lucky again.De Villiers’ yorker-scoopsMohit and Sandeep Sharma had executed their yorkers perfectly in the final overs of their previous game to lift Kings XI to a nine-run win. However, that strategy wasn’t quite so foolproof against AB de Villiers. In the 16th over, de Villiers stayed low to a Sandeep Sharma yorker, got inside the line and swept the ball over fine leg for six. In his next over, Sandeep, bowling from around the wicket, missed his yorker to de Villiers. Aided by a leg-stump line, the batsman scooped the low full toss over backward square leg for another six.Amla’s well-judged runHashim Amla’s IPL debut was a nightmare: he offered four run-out opportunities and Delhi Daredevils finally converted one of them to dismiss him for 1 off 5. Against Royal Challengers, off the last ball of the fifth over, Amla missed a sweep and the ball pinged off towards short cover. He set off for another questionable run even as the bowler Yuzvendra Chahal swooped on the ball, picked it up, turned around and fired an accurate throw at the non-striker’s end. The Royal Challengers fielders celebrated. However, it seemed like Amla had judged this run to perfection, for he just made the crease.Rahul’s redemptionA week ago, Andre Russell danced down to Chahal, having misread his slider, and was about to be stumped, but KL Rahul, the wicketkeeper, was unable to hold onto the ball. Royal Challengers rued the missed opportunity as Russell went on to play a match-winning knock.This time, Wriddhiman Saha stepped out for a wild heave against the same bowler, and once again Rahul was unable to collect it cleanly. Before the bad memories could bubble up, Rahul recovered the ball, which had hit him on the chin, and whipped the bails off before Saha could stumble back into his crease.One ball later, Rahul was given the opportunity to pull off another stumping, as Chahal beat David Miller with a slider, and this time he didn’t even fumble.

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has confirmed midfielder George Evans will undergo ankle surgery, forcing him out for "months".

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• Evans suffers ankle injury
• Wrexham ace set for surgery
• Midfielder will be out for "months"

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 29-year-old suffered the injury in Wrexham's 1-0 loss to Stevenage Town on Tuesday, with manager Parkinson describing the setback as a "huge" injury blow. The former Millwall man is now set for an extended period on the sidelines.

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  WHAT PHIL PARKINSON SAID

  He said, via : "All we can do is get the operation done as quickly as possible and give him the best rehab going forward. What we’ve been told is the surgeon, when he has a look inside, will understand the extent of the damage more so they don’t want to put a timescale on it until the operation. But it will be months with George."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  While this is a blow for the Red Dragons, Evans has not been a regular in Parkinson's side this season – with just one of his five League One appearances being as a starter. Moreover, they are still second in the table and are in an excellent position after nine matches. Despite that, losing a player to injury is never a good thing.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Wrexham will look to return to winning ways in League One on Saturday afternoon when they host lowly Northampton Town at Stok Cae Ras, before taking on Wolves' Under-21s in the EFL Trophy three days later.

After a season that started with plenty of play-off promise ended with a disappointing 16th-place finish, Sunderland are reportedly set to suffer transfer consequences in the coming months.

Sunderland transfer news

If those at the Stadium of Light could go back in time, then it would be interesting to see whether they would have parted ways with Tony Mowbray in favour of appointing Michael Beale. When the former left, the Black Cats were battling well for a top six place, but by the time his successor departed, their play-off chances were left looking more like a pipe dream than anything else.

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Mike Dodds' interim spell in charge didn't help improve things either, resulting in a season to forget on Wearside. Now, Sunderland have been left searching for their next manager in a decision they must get right. The likes of Paul Heckingbottom and Steve Cooper have been linked, but it remains to be seen just who will be stepping into the hot seat.

Whoever it is though, they will reportedly face an instant transfer problem as a result of a frustrating campaign at the Stadium of Light. According to Graeme Bailey, Sunderland will lose Trai Hume this summer as a consequence of their struggles.

Bailey told Sunderland AFC News: ”I think you’re going to lose Hume at right-back too. Well, they were looking to sell the lad you got from PSG [Pembele], but I think one of the right-backs will go. They had originally signed the PSG boy to succeed Hume, but he hasn’t got much of a look in, has he?”

It's quite the blow for Sunderland, who could lose not one, but two right-backs to leave them with no choice other than to turn towards the transfer market for reinforcements. Hume would be a particularly frustrating exit, given his starting role and high praise from Mowbray, who said: "I told him to be patient, that there would be injuries and therefore opportunities, and to make sure that he was ready to grab it.

"Make me think, 'wow'. That's what happened, Lynden has moved on, Luke is at centre back, and Trai has made that position his own."

Hume departure would sum Sunderland's season up

As much as Sunderland will want to look towards positives and starting a new era at the Stadium of Light, Hume's exit would deal them a huge blow, even if the right offer comes in to clear his reported £3k-a-week salary from their wage bill.

His exit would act as a warning sign of just how important at least competing for a place in the Championship's top six is and then, of course, promotion to the Premier League. With or without Sunderland, however, Dodds believes that Hume has top-flight quality, having praised the right-back via Chronicle Live back in March.

Dodds said: “If he carries on the path he is going to, Trai is going to the Premier League. That’s how good I think he is. When you think of full-backs in this league, Trai would definitely be one of the best if not the best full-backs in the league and I don't think there will be many arguments over that."

If he is to exit as predicted by Bailey, then perhaps the Premier League is where Hume is heading this summer. At 22 years old, he's certainly got the time and potential to thrive at the top level.

Arne Slot provided an update on Federico Chiesa's potential Liverpool debut against Nottingham Forest.

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• Chiesa signed from Juventus on deadline day
• Had been working on his match fitness since the transfer
• Joined team training on Thursday

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Italian winger joined Liverpool from Juventus during the summer transfer window in a deal that could rise to £12.5 million. However, the Italian star did not have a full pre-season with Juventus, having only played sparingly since Italy’s elimination from the European Championship at the end of June.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  During the international break, Chiesa had been training with Liverpool's U21 squad at the AXA Training Centre. This period has been crucial for him to build up his fitness and sharpness, allowing him to integrate with his new teammates and since Thursday he has been training in full swing with the senior team.

• WHAT SLOT SAID

  Slot provided an encouraging yet cautious update regarding Chiesa’s potential inclusion in the squad for the Nottingham Forest game. He said: "Chiesa has trained three or four times with the team, so let's see how he does today because we have more than 20 players to choose from."

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• SLOT REACTS TO ELLIOTT'S INJURY

  Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott has a fractured foot and could be on the sidelines until late October. He impressed Slot with robust performances during pre-season and the latest setback is a "big disappointment" for the Dutch manager.

  "Harvey it's a big disappointment for him and us," he said. "Not played a lot but did in pre-season and did really well. If he stayed fit he would've played a lot but now he isn't and it's a chance for someone else. It's a blow for him and us because availability is important at this stage of the season. He will work hard to come back in the best way."

How to define Tottenham Hotspur's infuriating defeat against arch-rivals Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon? How to define Ange Postecoglou's first campaign at the helm after replacing Antonio Conte at the struggling London club last summer?

Tottenham's narrative is complex and multi-layered, with more depth required than a perfunctory glance at the slide from the fantastic early-season, table-topping form and subsequent inconsistency that has left Champions League qualification dangling by a thread in the final phase of the campaign.

Without question, there is much scope for growth at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but there is also a vast stretch of land between the current crop and the coveted location at the forefront of domestic and continental football.

Maybe Tottenham will fail in their bid for a place among Europe's elite next year, maybe that's okay. Of course, there's still every chance that Spurs will prevail against Chelsea, against Liverpool, against Manchester City, it's just a tough run to close the campaign.

One of the chief reasons behind the dip in form, or rather the failure to emulate that early-stage brilliance, has been the struggles of James Maddison, who was so influential in his creative performances early on, transferring from relegated Leicester City for a £40m fee last summer.

James Maddison's season in numbers

What better way to start off your journey at a new club than by earning the Premier League's Player of the Month award for August? Thus Maddison had set the tone under Postecoglou, emphatic in lifting the north London side after a terrible 2022/23 campaign that culminated in the sale of Harry Kane.

But an ankle injury suffered against Chelsea in November has kept the 27-year-old away from his finest football ever since, slashing a detrimental blow through the verve that had left Lilywhites supporters giddy.

As per FBref, the Three Lions star ranks among the top 9% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 6% for passes attempted and the top 1% for progressive passes and shot-creating actions per 90 – evidence, surely, of an elite-level playmaker.

But there's no denying that Maddison has failed to reclaim that blistering pre-injury form that had left the Premier League in a frenzy, with his 3/10 match rating – by football.london – in Spurs' recent loss against the Gunners emblematic of the bitter lapse that sent Spurs' season into a spin.

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While Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson and co have strengths in their wide play, Gareth Bale would have been the ultimate partner for Maddison to fire himself back into his finest form, even more so than had Kane remained at the outfit last summer.

Why Spurs signed Gareth Bale

After a promising start to life on the professional scene with Southampton, scoring five goals and supplying 12 assists across 45 matches as a teenage full-back in the Championship, Bale captured the attention of Premier League heavy-hitters Manchester United and Tottenham, with the latter winning the race and signing the 17-year-old for an initial £5m in May 2007.

Incredibly, Bale proved to have something of a penchant for disaster and failed to win any of his opening 24 matches for Spurs, though he put this ill-fortuned reputation behind him and forged a pathway to the top of the game, shifting to a forward-placed role after his supreme athletic ability and blooming deadliness in front of goal become clear.

Across 237 appearances over two spells with Tottenham, the Wales phenomenon posted 72 goals and 57 assists and established himself as one of the finest forwards in Europe, with his final campaign during his first spell – in 2012/13 – securing a return of 26 goals and 14 assists from 41 matches in all competitions.

The 34-year-old, now retired, improved with each passing campaign and won the PFA Player of the Year during that last, pre-Spain season in London.

Hailed as "unbelievable" and a "super talent" by Andre Villas-Boas back in 2013, the 111-cap international indeed went from strength to strength at Tottenham and dazzled, through his incredible Champions League performances against reigning champions Inter Milan in 2010/11, his ridiculous rate of prolific form, his frightening pace and power.

Bale has etched his name into Tottenham's halls eternally and while he left when a certain Spanish club came calling, he is remembered as a modern legend down at N17, where he cut his teeth and became one of the standout stars of his generation.

Why Spurs sold Gareth Bale

Tottenham sold Bale to Real Madrid in 2013 for a world-record £85m fee, eclipsing the previous record that saw Los Blancos bring Cristiano Ronaldo to the Spanish capital from Manchester United in 2009, making a jaw-dropping 750% profit on the one-time outlay that Daniel Levy granted to bring the teenage talent to the side.

It was a staggering transfer but not without full merit, with the Welshman proving his worth as one of Europe's best with his performances at Tottenham and fully deserving a shot at Real, one of the most prestigious and illustrious outfits in the world.

Reports suggested that Manchester United were hellbent on signing Bale after that initial failure to land their man, way back when, though Spurs supporters' pains were spared when he headed overseas, a move that proved auspicious for him.

Having retired at a relatively early age, Bale can rest with a stunning trophy cabinet at Real Madrid that saw him plunder five Champions League titles, three La Liga trophies and one Copa del Rey, among a host of other honours.

European football expert Zach Lowy outlined the facets that have left this wonderful star a true sensation of his time, saying: "Gareth Bale took Wales to the Euros semifinals, took Real Madrid from zero Champions Leagues in 11 years to five Champions Leagues in 8 years, and has just taken Wales to their first World Cup in 64 years. Legend of the game."

While Tottenham's erstwhile maverick didn't enjoy his trophy-laden days at the club, he is truly one of the greatest to play the game, and would be the standout among the current crop, enhancing the games of his peers considerably.

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Liverpool boss Arne Slot has dismissed any concerns regarding Federico Chiesa’s fitness, after seeing him endure injury struggles at Juventus.

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• Italian taking on English adventure
• Questions asked of injury record
• Reds will not rush winger into action

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Italy international winger has completed an £11 million ($15m) transfer to Anfield, with the 26-year-old snapped up in a cut-price deal after entering the final year of his contract in Turin. Chiesa sat out games in all four of his seasons at Juve, with a cruciate ligament tear keeping him sidelined for nine months in 2022.

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• WHAT SLOT SAID

  Liverpool believe that the Euro 2020 winner has merely been unfortunate when it comes to picking up knocks, with Slot expecting the Italian to be available on a regular basis as he takes on a Premier League adventure. The Reds’ Dutch coach has said of Chiesa: “It's true he had an ACL issue but the rest he didn't have big injuries, just minor like other players maybe. I trust my performance staff, he is not the only winger we have, we have others, so if he is not available at certain moments we have others and there are enough players to choose.”

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  While Chiesa’s injury record is mixed at best, there is no questioning his quality. Liverpool are delighted to have him on board and expect a debut to be made after the September international break. Slot added on his newest recruit: “I'm excited, if we sign someone who can help us and improve the squad, of course you're excited to get him in. One of the best things of working here is the culture of this team; they work so hard to achieve their goals and I think it is important the first player you bring in has the same culture. He works really hard on and off the pitch, he can score goals and is aggressive off the ball and he can play so many positions, an interesting signing. We will take care of him because he hasn't trained much but we have good performance staff to build him in the right way and we can see his quality in the near future.”

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Liverpool have confirmed that Chiesa will train alongside his new team-mates on Friday, but he is unlikely to be included in the Reds’ matchday squad for a meeting with arch-rivals Manchester United on Sunday. His Premier League bow could be made against Nottingham Forest at Anfield on September 14.

It was one of those days that had supporters waking with a gnawing sense of unease. Even the most sanguine of Liverpool fans would have feared a fifth slip in as many matches to close Jurgen Klopp's tenure with a whimper.

But, alas, the ship has been steadied and Liverpool dispatched Fulham 3-1 at Craven Cottage in the Premier League to leapfrog Manchester City (who have a game in hand) into second place, behind table-toppers Arsenal only on goal difference.

Whether Liverpool complete a staggering title triumph in the weeks to come is unknown, such hopes hang in the balance after some damaging recent results, but the fact remains that Liverpool rebuilt last summer to create a team of great promise and quality once again, and Klopp leaves his legacy in good hands.

Of course, such hands are undetermined right now, with The Athletic's David Ornstein revealing that Ruben Amorim is West Ham United's top target and that a move to Liverpool is unlikely, with the all-knowing journalist quashing widespread belief that he was the frontrunner.

Who the Reds will seek to anoint as helmsman is anyone's guess now, but FSG's new CEO of Football, Michael Edwards, appears to be identifying possible signings to strengthen the squad at the dawn of a new era.

Liverpool eyeing La Liga star

According to prominent French publication L'Equipe, Liverpool are in the hunt for new defenders and have earmarked Real Madrid left-back Ferland Mendy for transfer.

L'Equipe reveal that France international Mendy has already been in contact with the Merseysiders concerning a possible transfer this summer, with Arsenal also keen and the player is understood to have rejected interest from Newcastle United.

Los Blancos welcomed Mendy, who is 28 years old, to the ranks in 2019 after completing a £47m deal with Lyon, and it appears that the different parties feel his journey in Madrid has reached a natural conclusion.

Ferland Mendy's style of play

With rumours mounting surrounding Real Madrid's interest in Bayern Munich speedster Alphonso Davies, it makes sense that Mendy might be on the way out, with his game time sure to diminish upon the Canadian's prospective arrival.

Throughout the duration of his Real Madrid career, Mendy has completed 165 matches, scoring six goals and supplying ten assists, having been described in the past as a "very balanced FB" and an "offensive machine" by Real Madrid content creator Ardit Loconte.

As per Sofascore, Mendy has chalked up 21 appearances in the Spanish top flight this season, completing 94% of his passes, taking 62 touches per fixture, averaging 0.5 key passes and 4.2 ball recoveries per game and succeeding with 56% of his dribbles.

He's not very creative but that's not really his role, instead focusing on his dribbling ability – analyst Raj Chohan has even heralded him as a "1v1 beast" after one performance when pitted against France superstar Kylian Mbappe.

His complete style of play aligns with the attributes of some of the Premier League's finest wide defenders, and while he is considered a similar player to Trent Alexander-Arnold, his playing style is far more similar to that of Andy Robertson, who he may well succeed on Merseyside.

Why Liverpool are interested in Ferland Mendy

Mendy is not one of the galactico-level names at Santiago Bernabeu but he is a shrewd and steady operator at left-back and has been a key component for a side that has picked up the Champions League, two La Liga titles and one Copa del Rey trophy since his arrival.

While there may be similarities to be drawn between Mendy's style of play and Robertson's, he's unquestionably more conservative and crisp in his distribution, ranking among the top 1% of full-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past. year for pass completion and the top 18% for passes attempted per 90, as per FBref.

Still, the £172k-per-week defender has excelled in the Spanish capital and would bring a welcome layer of protection to the Anfield backline, perhaps even taking Robertson's place as the starting star in his position.

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Robertson is an elite defender and has been heralded as the "best left-back in the Premier League" by former Everton ace Kevin Kilbane, scoring nine goals and supplying 65 assists across 293 appearances, singing under Klopp in a shrewd £10m deal from Hull City in 2017, right at the start of the club's illustrious chapter.

While he has been afflicted by injuries this season, the 29-year-old has still produced some comparatively successful displays in the Premier League, scoring one goal and adding two assists across 14 starting roles, completing 88% of his passes, averaging 2.6 key passes and 4.3 ball recoveries per game.

Mendy's steely defensive security and secure ball control make him the perfect player to succeed the Scotland international at Liverpool – or perhaps even just serve as a foil to open up a valuable extra dimension for the new manager, whoever that may be.

The 5 foot 10 ace has a wealth of trophy-winning experience from numerous years at Real Madrid and given that he is 28 years old, the time might feel apt to make a change and try his hand in the Premier League.

With electricity in his gait and high-class quality in his work – at both ends of the pitch – Liverpool might be wise to maintain contact with Mendy ahead of a possible summer swoop.

He might just be the perfect new player to ensure that Liverpool keep their place at the forefront of the Premier League next season.