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Arsenal made some solid signings this summer, as Mikel Arteta brought Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori to the club, improving options in midfield and defence.

David Raya also joined on a permanent deal after spending last term on loan at the Gunners, a move that subsequently ushered Aaron Ramsdale out of the club, joining Southampton on transfer deadline day.

The north London side didn't stop there, however, adding the acquisitions of Neto from Bournemouth and then springing a late surprise to bring Raheem Sterling to the Emirates Stadium on loan.

How much Raheem Sterling could cost Arsenal

The English winger was exiled by Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, failing to make the matchday squads in all four of the club’s games this season so far.

With this in mind, he was looking for a way out of Stamford Bridge in order to play on a regular basis again.

The Gunners were said to considering a move for the Englishman late in the window, having been offered his services due to his desire Stamford Bridge behind.

Well, after submitting a deal sheet with the 11pm window passing, they finally got their man across the line in the early hours of Saturday morning, confirming the move on a temporary basis.

It's initially thought that the winger could be taking a 50% pay drop, moving from his £325k-per-week wages. There's also reportedly no loan fee involved.

Had the Gunners brought him on a permanent basis then he may well have cost around €35m (£30m) according to Transfermarkt. This value has dropped drastically in recent years, with Sterling clearly entering the final phase of his career.

Arteta already has a talented winger in the squad who is worth way more than Sterling though…

Gabriel Martinelli’s market value at Arsenal

The Brazilian joined the club in the summer of 2019, costing just £6m from Ituano as Unai Emery looked to bring some young talents to the club.

Gabriel Martinelli's Arsenal statistics

Season

Games

Goals

Assists

2023/24

44

8

5

2022/23

46

15

6

2021/22

36

6

7

2020/21

22

2

2

2019/20

26

10

4

Via Transfermarkt

Fast-forward five years and this initial outlay will likely give the Gunners a major profit in the next few years.

Indeed, his market value at Arsenal now currently stands at €70m (£59m), which is likely to keep on rising in the next 12 months if he enjoys a stellar campaign.

This valuation is nearly double that of Sterling, proving the Brazilian is by far the better option in the starting XI for Arteta.

The 23-year-old has registered 65 goal contributions – 41 goals and 24 assists – in 176 matches for the North Londoners since joining five years ago, establishing himself as one of the finest young wingers in the country.

The winger has already received praise from various figures in the game, none more impressive than Jürgen Klopp, who said Martinelli was a “talent of the century” after Liverpool drew 5-5 with Arsenal in October 2019.

Last season, the 23-year-old scored six goals in the Premier League – down on his previous figures – while also creating seven big chances, averaging 1.3 key passes per game and succeeding with 1.1 dribbles per match, showing far more than just a keen eye for goal.

Sterling vs Martinelli (23/24 PL season)

Stat (per 90 mins)

Sterling

Martinelli

Goals

0.36

0.27

Assists

0.18

0.18

Expected goals (xG)

0.30

0.30

Shot-creating actions

3.86

4.11

Progressive passes

3.55

2.90

Successful take-ons

2.05

1.79

Progressive carries

5.45

5.67

Stats via FBRef.

Considering he is still only 23, Martinelli’s abilities will surely get better in the coming years, meaning it won't just be his value which will improve.

The Brazilian has the chance to lead the club to glory this season as the Gunners chase down Manchester City in a bid to win their first title since 2004. They have certainly struck golf on him, no doubt about that.

Related Arsenal struck gold on "sensational" ace worth more than Merino & Williams

The special attacker has a massive season ahead of him this year.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes Aug 25, 2024

MatériaMais Notícias

Autor de gols importantes com a camisa do Sport e artilheiro isolado na temporada com 12 tentos assinalados, Mikael está sendo cada vez mais “abraçado” pela torcida. Cria da base, o camisa 99 nasceu no Maranhão e chegou ao clube da Ilha do Retiro em 2017 após passar por uma peneira em Bacabal, sua cidade natal, que fica a 405 quilômetros da capital, São Luís.

RelacionadasFutebol NacionalJosé Welison afirma que o Sport vai com tudo na reta final do Brasileirão e fugir do rebaixamentoFutebol Nacional01/11/2021SportDepois de expulso, técnico do Sport vibrou com vitória no meio da torcidaSport01/11/2021BrasileirãoMikael faz dois gols, mas lamenta suspensão pelo terceiro cartão amarelo; entendaBrasileirão31/10/2021

>Aplicativo de resultados do LANCE! está disponível na versão iOS

Com 57 jogos pelo rubro-negro se somadas as atuações desde 2020, o atacante tem se destacado no time e é considerado uma joia do clube que precisa bastante de seus serviços. Afinal, o sistema ofensivo da equipe é o pior da Série A do Brasileirão com somente 14 gols marcados em 30 partidas.

Entrando em campo contra o Atlético-GO no último domingo (31), o artilheiro foi destaque na partida anotando dois gols – e balançando a rede uma terceira vez, mas que estava impedida. Além disso, o centroavante ainda finalizou mais duas vezes e teve também dois passes decisivos acrescentados a sua atuação.

– Fico muito feliz por essa fase que estou vivendo. Só tenho a agradecer ao carinho da torcida que sempre nos apoia tanto. É maravilhoso poder marcar esses gols e ajudar a equipe, ainda mais agora com a galera tão perto, podendo comemorar junto. Eu amo o Sport, aqui é minha casa e quero poder retribuir tudo o que o clube fez por mim. Vamos fazer de tudo para continuar na Série A, que é o lugar que o time merece estar. Podem esperar 100% de mim – disse o atacante.

O atacante cresceu de rendimento quando foi ganhando espaço no time do técnico Gustavo Florentín. Entre os jogadores do Sport na Série A, ele é quem possui a melhor média de finalizações por partida (1.08 a cada jogo) além de aparecer em segundo lugar no ranking de finalizações no alvo e frequência de gols por partida.

Em relação ao carinho do torcedor, Mikael já tem um apelido que vem ganhando cada vez mais adeptos diante de sua semelhança física e estilo de jogo com Adriano: “Imperador da Ilha”.

Os torcedores começaram a fazer o paralelo entre os dois centroavantes depois de uma assistência de Mikael na Copa do Nordeste deste ano, contra o 4 de Julho, alcunha essa que ganhou força diante dos bons números apresentados pelo jogador de apenas 22 anos de idade.

India captain says the vice-captain, alongwith Pujara, remain India’s ‘most important batsmen’ in Tests

Varun Shetty09-Feb-20213:21

#AskMatchDay: What will India’s XI look like in the second Test?

While acknowledging England’s dominance during the game, Virat Kohli asserted after the first Test that there will be no impulsive reactions from his team after a big defeat to start off the series. Kohli pointed that out on several fronts – in response to whether England were better prepared than the home team, whether India’s line-up needs any changing, and most pointedly at the suggestion that Ajinkya Rahane’s performances haven’t been up to standard.In 14 innings since India’s Australia tour began – including two warm-up matches before the Tests – Rahane has made two centuries, one of them a Player-of-the-Match effort in Melbourne that helped India bounce back from the lows of being bowled out for 36 in Adelaide. In the other other 12 innings during that phase, Rahane’s highest score is 42, and he aggregated only a run during India’s loss to England. But India’s vice-captain remains, Kohli said, one of their most important batsmen.Related

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“Look if you’re trying to dig something out, you’re not going to get anything because there’s nothing,” a visibly annoyed Kohli said in response to a question about Rahane’s performance during the post-match press conference. “I’ve said this many times in the past as well – along with Pujara, he [Rahane] is our most important Test batsman and he is going to continue to be. We believe in his abilities, we have believed in his abilities for a long time now and he’s an impact player.”If you’re talking about the MCG Test, he stood up and scored a hundred when the team wanted it the most. So you can look at a number of innings and what happens from thereon, but the reality of the situation is they’ve won the series in Australia. Here there’s just one Test, two innings and both… today, yeah you can put that innings aside. But in the first innings, he wanted to score a boundary. It was a brilliant catch by Joe [Root] that got rid of him. So if that goes for a boundary, he gets runs in the first innings and we’re not having this conversation. There’s absolutely no issues, everyone’s playing really well and we just need to be focused a lot more, understand that Test victories are earned in any conditions – whether they’re your own or you’re playing away. Nothing is a given in Test cricket and we need to be aware of that reality and work together as a team to keep putting a lot of pressure on the opposition. That’s our focus.”Virat Kohli calls for a quick single•BCCI

On a pitch that was widely acknowledged as a benign one during the first few days, India lost the toss and England batted into the seventh session of the match to take control. Kohli said India’s response to that 578, is where the match was lost, particularly due to a lack of any prolonged partnerships. He played down the suggestion that England were better prepared for this Test, given the recent series win in Sri Lanka in comparable conditions, and the fact that India last played Tests at home in November 2019.”That’s something that was said when Australia won the first Test as well in 2017,” he said, in reference to India’s last Test defeat at home in Pune. “So look, we don’t jump the gun, we don’t come to conclusions too early.”You could say they are well prepared but to say they’re better prepared than us in our own conditions is not an accurate assessment. If you look at the second innings, when the ball was really turning and bouncing, both the sides were pretty much similar in terms of how they went about their second innings. Maybe you can analyse then [after more games] whether we’re better prepared or they’re better prepared and whether this is our toughest challenge – we’re not jumping any guns yet and we’re just focused on playing good cricket and winning Test matches.”A template that’s emerged with India’s batting – and was the bedrock of their famous recent wins – is that they have needed help from their lower-middle order to either rescue innings or finish things off. This was the case in the first innings of this Test, and to some degree in the second innings as well with Kohli himself playing the anchor. Kohli said that the difference was about 80 runs missed with the bat in the first innings, and about that much extra conceded with the ball during England’s first innings.He put those down to their processes not going entirely right, while adding that not a lot of it would change either. There was no need to overthink their performances, he said, and that the reliance on the lower order was something India were looking at with a positive lens.”There’s two ways to look at this. As top order batsmen, we have to take more responsibility and pride in the fact that we have to do most of the work,” he said. “But, if your lower order stands up on such a regular basis, it should give confidence to us as a team and as a whole batting unit that once we have big partnerships up front, then these guys will do their extra job at the back as well. Which makes our positions even stronger.”We choose to look at the positives, regardless of what situation we’re in, and we will continue to do that moving forward. Not putting away the things that we need to improve on. We’re not a side that denies anything. We’re not a side that hides our faults or gives excuses. We accept defeat, things that have gone wrong, and we continuously strive to improve them and come back stronger and put in those performances that we as a side should be putting in every time we step onto the field.”

A day after resigning as Uttarakhand head coach because of “interference in team selection”, former India opener Wasim Jaffer has denied allegations – reportedly levelled against him by senior officials of Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) – that he was creating a religious and communal divide in the dressing room.Calling a virtual media briefing on his own on Wednesday, Jaffer said it was “sad” that he had to take the step to deny the “baseless” allegations attributed to CAU secretary Mahim Verma and team manager Navneet Mishra. The allegations were carried in Hindi newspaper on Tuesday.”These are very serious allegations and therefore I must also present my side,” Jaffer said during the media briefing on Wednesday. “I have already mentioned the reasons behind my resignation in my e-mail, and I stand by them. But giving it a communal angle, and that I have to even give clarification on such things, is very, very sad. After playing for so long, after representing the country, I have to come and defend myself for such petty things.”According to Jaffer, a domestic stalwart who played 31 Tests for India, he respects all faiths having played for several teams in India and overseas. “I didn’t enforce anything on anyone. Everybody has his own faith and he is entitled to it. And I respect all faiths.”‘All I was saying was we shouldn’t have a religious slogan’
Jaffer was also accused of changing the Uttarakhand team slogan from “” to “Go Uttarakhand”. According to Mishra, Jaffer said that since the team has players from different religions, the team slogan should be changed.Jaffer, who won multiple Ranji titles for Mumbai including as captain, clarified why he got the team slogan changed. “When we were playing practice matches, the players used to say or . When we reached Baroda [to play the group phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy], I told them that we were not playing for a particular community, we were representing Uttarakhand. So our slogan should also be something around Uttarakhand, like ‘Go Uttarakhand’, or ‘Let’s do it for Uttarakhand’, or ‘Come on, Uttarakhand’.That suggestion, Jaffer explained, was made based on his experience as a professional with Vidharbha, where former Mumbai and India wicketkeeper Chandrakant Pandit was the coach. “Chandu sir used to say ‘come on’, and we all players used to say ‘Vidarbha’. So ‘Come on, Vidarbha’ [was our slogan]. That was the idea because the XI players on the field are from different faiths. So not everyone must be following what others are following. So I said let’s make some slogan around Uttarakhand and I said you decide because it’s you guys who do this, I don’t even do this as I am not there in the middle.”If I want to make it communal, I would have asked them to say or something else from Islam. And why would I have a problem with ‘Jai Uttarakhand’. All I was saying was we shouldn’t have a religious slogan.”Jaffer was also accused of pushing for former Mumbai left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla, over local player Kunal Chandela as captain for the forthcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. Jaffer pointed out his original choice was Dikshanshu Negi and not Abdulla, one of the professional players he had got at Uttarakhand along with Jay Bista, Samad Fallah and Santosh Saxena. “I had named Dikshanshu Negi as the captain because I wanted a local guy to get some experience. Because professionals will come, play and go, and it’s the local guys who have to stay here and play for long.”None of the Uttarakhand office bearers, including Verma, Sanjay Rawat (vice-president), Avneesh Verma (joint secretary), were available for comments. CAU CEO Aman Singh told ESPNcricinfo that officially he had not heard any complaint being formally lodged against Jaffer. Singh said that the Cricket Advisory Committee, comprising former India players comprising Joginder Sharma, Gopal Sharma and Renuka Dua, would take a call on Jaffer’s resignation.However, soon after Jaffer’s media briefing, Verma was quoted in the that former Sikkim coach Manish Kumar Jha was Jaffer’s replacement. “The way he [Jaffer] has resigned from here is not proper. We have never said that he’s a communal person.”

Regis Le Bris will be aiming to leave his mark on the Sunderland squad during this transfer window, as many Championship sides now go full steam in adding more and more players to their roster ahead of the season to come.

There has only been one new addition to the Black Cats camp so far, with former Coventry City goalkeeper Simon Moore entering the building on a free transfer, but it's unlikely to be the only incoming as the Frenchman now occupying the dug-out puts together what he'll hope is a promotion worthy group.

He might even sign a couple of players that could ruffle a few feathers when it comes to the old guard at the Stadium of Light, with an entertaining attacker reportedly on the Championship side's agenda.

Sunderland interested in loan deal for dazzling youngster

Sunderland have joined a whole host of other second-tier clubs in attempting to sign Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi this summer on loan, as per football journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon.

The Black Cats have even asked about whether such a deal could take place according to Nixon, with Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers also doing the same, whilst Luton Town, Blackburn Rovers and plenty more EFL suitors eye up the sought-after 21-year-old as well.

Why Rak-Sakyi could take Roberts' spot

This could be a loan switch that's attractive for the Eagles reserve player, who was only afforded six Premier League games last season, with Rak-Sakyi still fondly remembered by those with Charlton Athletic connections, for a blistering season-long loan stint during the 22/23 campaign.

Patrick Roberts might sense that his assured starting position in the Sunderland first-team could be under threat by Rak-Sakyi's arrival to Wearside, however, as Les Bris starts to reshape the XI to his liking.

Despite never tasting Championship football across his short career to date, Rak-Sakyi should be able to take the second tier by storm, if his spell at the Valley is anything to go by.

In the division below, the explosive 21-year-old would amass a mightily impressive 15 goals and nine assists from 49 total appearances operating down the right wing, despite predominantly being played down the left flank when rising through the youth ranks back at Palace.

Games played

32

Goals scored

0

Shots per game

1.3

Assists

2

Expected assists (xA)

4.85

Big chances missed

6

Therefore, if the Eagles attacker were to relocate to Wearside on loan, he could take Roberts' spot off him without much trouble, considering the ex-Celtic forward failed to score at all last season as can be seen looking at his numbers above, with just two meagre assists also tallied up.

Rak-Sakyi has also begun to make some waves at Selhurst Park in the senior mix to a degree, with former Eagles manager Roy Hodgson even describing the Palace number 49 as possessing a "remarkable maturity" when he was still in charge, as more first-team opportunities began to open up after scoring a staggering 24 goals from just 40 games for the U21s.

Le Bris will also be concerned that Roberts' in-and-out nature of being in the Stadium of Light treatment room could impact the team next season, especially if they're low on numbers in the midst of a promotion hunt, with Rak-Sakyi's adaptability to play down either flank helpful if depth is lacking.

That could also be a major plus if Jack Clarke was to leave this summer also, knowing that the loan gem could slot into the ex-Tottenham Hotspur attacker's position if the worst comes to the worst.

It could be that many of the players who have become too comfortable at Sunderland need a new lease of life given to them, with Roberts even potentially boosted by Rak-Sakyi's arrival spurring him on to find his best again, as the Black Cats strive for a much better league finish this coming season.

Sunderland could sign their next Defoe in move for “incredible” striker

Sunderland could strike gold with this free transfer purchase up top.

ByKelan Sarson Jul 1, 2024

Mignon du Preez’s half-century guided another good run chase by the Stars

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2020Suzie Bates’ tournament looked to be over with a recurrence of her shoulder injury in her comeback match as the Melbourne Stars continued their form with a fifth-consecutive victory. Bates was distraught when hurting herself attempting a throw from the boundary having made an encouraging 28 off 23 balls with the bat in her first game since damaging her shoulder against Australia early last month. Mignon du Preez’s 51-ball 61, in a second-wicket stand of 92 with Elyse Villani (46), did most of the work in the chase after a rare low score for Meg Lanning when she drove to cover in the third over. A late cluster of wickets made things a little closer, but Anna Lanning struck the winning runs with three balls to spare. Bates and Laura Wolvaardt had given the Strikers a solid foundation but they couldn’t accelerate during the middle overs. Bridget Patterson used up 16 balls for 6 and when Wolvaardt was bowled giving herself room against Tess Flintoff the innings was withering before Amanda-Jade Wellington struck 29 off 17 balls but it wasn’t enough. Nat Sciver took three wickets in the final over.Chloe Tryon played an important innings for the Hurricanes•Getty ImagesThe Hurricanes lifted themselves towards mid-table with a hard-fought victory against a Renegades side hit by struggling form and injuries. Their senior players came to the fore as Rachel Priest top-scored while Chloe Tryon added a vital 36 off 23 to counteract the loss of Hayley Matthews and Nicola Carey in consecutive deliveries. Molly Strano removed Tryon in the penultimate over to sit on 99 WBBL wickets, The Renegades, who lost Georgia Wareham for the rest of the season before the game, juggled their tactics with Carly Leeson promoted to open the batting but she was bowled swinging across the line second ball. Molineux and Amy Satterthwaite have both struggled with their strike-rates this season and though both were given lives the trend continued as their innings finished at under a run-a-ball. Lizelle Lee, shifted down to No. 4, kept the Renegades in the chase and when she was caught in the deep Courtney Webb and Josie Dooley kept the pressure on but 17 off the final over was a step too far against Belinda Vakarewa’s skills.

Leeds United are set for a big summer transfer window after they failed to secure an immediate return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

The Whites are now preparing for a second season in the Championship following on from their 1-0 loss to Southampton in the play-off final at Wembley last weekend.

This could have big implications for the next few months as Wilfried Gnonto is reportedly looking to move on and Aston Villa are reportedly eyeing up Crysencio Summerville.

The club may have to deal with star players moving on as well as having to find a replacement for one loanee who may not make his stay permanent this summer.

Joe Rodon's future at Leeds

Daniel Farke may now have to find alternative options at the heart of his defence next season as Tottenham Hotspur loanee Joe Rodon may not return to Elland Road.

Earlier this month, Football Insider reported that the club had an option to make the deal permanent if they had won promotion, and that a deal could be too expensive should they remain in the second tier.

This suggests that the failure to return to the Premier League could put their hopes of bringing the Welsh star back to Yorkshire to an end, leaving the Whites in need of a replacement.

Instead of going out into the market and splashing the cash on a big-money centre-back to come in and replace the Spurs loanee, Farke could unleash a player already at his disposal.

Leeds may already have dream Joe Rodon replacement

Charlie Cresswell could emerge as a dream replacement for Rodon at the heart of the Leeds defence after a season riding the bench this term.

The 21-year-old centre-back, who was hailed as "impressive" for England U21s by journalist Josh Bunting, only made five league appearances this season and was an unused substitute in both of the semi-final clashes with Norwich recently.

However, his performances on loan with Millwall during the 2022/23 campaign suggest that the potential is there for the youngster to breakthrough as the first-choice for Farke in the right-sided centre-back role.

Championship	Charlie Cresswell (2022/23)	Joe Rodon (2023/24)
Appearances	28	43
Sofascore rating	7.13	7.19
Tackles per game	1.5	1.1
Interceptions per game	1.3	1.2
Ground duel success rate	58%	69%
Aerial duel success rate	61%	67%
Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Cresswell's form for the Lions was not too dissimilar to what Rodon produced in a Leeds shirt this season, from a defensive perspective.

He also ranked within the top 38% of Championship centre-backs for progressive passes per 90 (3.23), which suggests that the England U21 international is also a forward-thinking passer who could thrive in Farke's possession-based side.

At the age of 21, the 6 foot 3 titan is five years younger than Rodon and has time on his side to improve and reach the Welsh star's levels of dominance in duels, but he needs time on the pitch to do so.

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May 29, 2024

Therefore, Farke may find a dream replacement, given they would not need to pay any money to bring him in, for the Spurs loanee by finally unleashing Cresswell as a starter from next season onwards.

علّق جمال حمزة، نجم الزمالك السابق، على وضع نجم الفريق أحمد سيد زيزو ومفاوضات تجديد عقده، بالإضافة إلى غضب جماهير الأهلي وهتافهم ضد اللاعبين قبل مباراة شباب بلوزداد في دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

وقال جمال حمزة في تصريحات لبرنامج “لعبة والتانية”، عبر إذاعة “ميجا إف إم”: “أتمنى أن يُجدد زيزو مع الزمالك، لكن الوضع الحالي غير مُطمئن”.

وبسؤاله عن غضب جماهير الأهلي وهتافهم ضد اللاعبين قبل مباراة شباب بلوزداد بدوري أبطال إفريقيا، قال : “مشهد غير لطيف، لا أرى أن الوضع ومكاسب الأهلي والجهاز الفني واللاعبين والإدارة تحتاج هذا الكم من الهجوم، النقد أمر طبيعي، لكن للأسف نحن وصلنا لمرحلة من التجريح”.

طالع أيضًا | شادي محمد عن واقعة لاعبي الأهلي مع الجماهير: حُزنهم “مضاعف”.. ولن يقتنعوا بأي مبررات

وأضاف: “أرى إن العلاقة مع الجمهور تأثرت لأن الجمهور ظل فترة طويلة بعيدًا عن المدرجات، ولم يكن يفرغ شحنة الغضب، الآن ينتظرون المباريات لتفريغ تلك الشحنة، وهذا غير صحيح، لأن الفريق يحتاج إلى المساندة والدعم في المباريات وليس التجريح”.

واختتم: “أرى أن جمهور الأهلي زاد في رد فعله، خاصة أن الأهلي يسير بشكل جيد، وليس مطلوبًا من الفريق أن يفوز بأي بطولة يشارك فيها، لأن هذا ليس في كرة القدم، الطبيعي سواء الأهلي أو الزمالك عندما يشاركان في أي بطولة يُنافسان عليها، لكن لا أفهم من الذي زرع فكرة إن الفريق الأحمر لا بد أن يفوز بكل البطولات وإلا تحدث كارثة”.

يذكر، أن الأهلي فاز على شباب بلوزداد بسداسية مُقابل هدف، في المباراة التي جمعت الفريقين على ملعب استاد القاهرة، ضمن منافسات الجولة الثالثة من دور المجموعات لدوري أبطال إفريقيا.

“Who’s to say, if we come out and it’s dark, someone doesn’t break their arm or get hit in the head?”

George Dobell at the Ageas Bowl15-Aug-2020Zak Crawley has warned of “life changing” consequences should someone be injured when playing in poor light.Crawley, who was recalled to the England Test team for this match in the absence of Ben Stokes, said that, in previous years, he had been as frustrated as any other spectator at the decision of match officials to take the players off for rain or bad light.But now, as a player, he expressed more sympathy for the umpires and accepted they were faced with a difficult balancing act between “giving the fans what they want” and ensuring the safety of players.”I’ve watched T20s when I was younger and they’ve come off when it’s drizzling,” Crawley said. “I’ve been guilty of arguing that it’s an entertainment business and we’re playing for the fans back home.ALSO READ: Dobell: Cricket still in the dark ages over issue of bad light”But on Friday, I was at deep square when a couple of balls got hit out [to me] and I didn’t see them at all really.”If someone cops one on the head because they didn’t see the ball in the field or a batsman cops one on the arm and misses the rest of the series, that’s life-changing differences in their career or their lives.”It hasn’t happened in this game yet but who’s to say, if we come out and it’s dark, someone doesn’t break their arm or get hit in the head by a cricket ball?”It’s definitely frustrating. You always want the game moving forward, especially when I’d like a bat. But I was thinking, if I was batting right now I’d probably want to go off. You have to look at it from both sides and probably the right decision was made. It was pretty dark.”But it is an entertainment business so maybe there’s a way to work around it and give the fans what they want. It’s a difficult balance.”Zak Crawley bats•Getty Images

Crawley also admitted he fought a battle to stop himself day dreaming about the maiden Test century which has eluded him so far. For while it is, no doubt, natural to visualise such a moment, Crawley feels focusing too much on such a milestone could create unnecessary pressure.”I think about scoring a hundred all the time,” he said. “I pinch myself thinking about scoring a hundred in my room at night. I massively want to score a hundred for England. But I feel that could create too much pressure as I get closer. I don’t want to put myself under pressure.”I’m trying to score in little sets of 10. No doubt, the first one is probably the hardest to get so I’m very much looking forward to the day I hopefully can get one. There’s a lot of hard work yet.”Crawley may have only one opportunity to turn that dream into a reality in the second Test at the Ageas Bowl. With poor weather ruling out any play on the third day, England’s first innings will not begin until the fourth day of the match at the earliest.

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."