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Tottenham Hotspur are now fighting to sign “one of the best left-backs in Europe”, but there could be competition for his signature from their Premier League rivals, according to a report.

Tottenham eyeing left-back amid Udogie uncertainty

There have been few standout players for Tottenham this season, given what has been a very disappointing Premier League campaign, but Destiny Udogie has clearly done enough to catch the eye.

Manchester City are now pushing to sign the left-back, with new sporting director Hugo Viana believed to be a long-term admirer, although it remains to be seen whether Spurs would be willing to strengthen a direct rival.

Cristian Romero’s future in north London also remains in doubt, with the Lilywhites contacting AFC Bournemouth over Dean Huijsen, who could be brought in as a replacement for the Argentine.

Tottenham in race to sign £74m Premier League star who PSG are in talks for

The transfer would turn a few heads.

ByEmilio Galantini Apr 12, 2025

With a move also potentially on the cards for Udogie, Ange Postecoglou could also be tasked with bringing in a replacement this summer, should the Australian keep his job, and an exciting target has now been identified.

According to a report from Spain, Tottenham are now in the race to sign AC Milan left-back Theo Hernandez, but there could be stiff competition for his signature, given that Chelsea and Man City have also expressed an interest.

Hernandez’s contract is set to expire in 2026, which means this summer could be Milan’s last opportunity to receive a sizeable fee for his services, with the Frenchman’s value believed to be around £30m.

The 27-year-old is believed to be a key target at left-back, but with a number of top clubs queuing up for his signature, it remains to be seen whether Spurs will be able to lure him to north London.

Hernandez could be "brilliant" addition for Tottenham

It would be fair to say the Milan defender is not enjoying the best of seasons, but journalist Zach Lowy states he has been “one of the best left-backs in Europe over the past decade”, having particularly impressed in an attacking sense.

The France international has chipped in with a remarkable 34 goals and 45 assists in 256 appearances for Milan, during which time he has been lauded as “consistently brilliant” by football writer Carlo Garganese, which indicates this season may just be a blip.

Hernandez has proven he could be a fantastic addition for Tottenham, and £30m could be a bargain fee, given the level of his performances in the Serie A over a number of years.

However, Spurs’ number one priority should be to keep hold of Udogie, which they should be in a strong position to do, given that the 22-year-old is contracted until 2030.

One of the greats of Indian cricket played the game his own way and left lasting memories

Karthik Krishnaswamy24-Aug-2025January 2019. Earlier that month, Cheteshwar Pujara had been the toast of the nation, scoring centuries in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney as India won a Test series in Australia for the very first time. Now he was the villain of all of Karnataka, or at least the few hundred despondent diehards at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium who watched him seal their team’s fate with an unbeaten fourth-innings hundred that steered Saurashtra into the final of the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy.The bulk of Pujara’s innings came against the backdrop of chants from these diehards. “Cheater! Cheater! Cheater!” Once in each innings, he had been reprieved by the umpire when he seemed to have edged behind. Both times, he stood his ground and batted on.If you watched this match, you may have remembered it when you read Pujara’s retirement announcement on Sunday. One word in particular.”As a little boy from the small town of Rajkot, along with my parents, I set out to aim for the stars; and dreamt to be a part of the Indian cricket team,” he wrote on his social media feeds. “Little did I know then that this game would give me so much – invaluable opportunities, experiences, purpose, love, and above all a chance to represent my state and this great nation.”Related

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Pujara's best in Test cricket

State and nation. Pujara belonged equally to both. He played nearly as many first-class matches for his state team (90) as he did Test matches (103), and more than half his Saurashtra games (58) came after his international debut. And this is before we count white-ball cricket, of which he only had a fleeting international taste. Pujara’s father Arvind and uncle Bipin played for Saurashtra too, 43 times between them.Australia’s scourge, Karnataka’s cheater. The competitor in Pujara may have enjoyed both roles equally.In being as much of Saurashtra as of India, Pujara was almost unique for an Indian cricketer of his generation. This, of course, was a matter largely of circumstance. He was a red-ball cricketer of the highest rank, and a red-ball cricketer almost to the exclusion of anything else. The gaps this left in his international schedule allowed him to build a significant body of work in domestic cricket.And as he did this, he became a reminder of a bygone age when batters dreamed of scoring 100 first-class hundreds. For Geoffrey Boycott, getting to that landmark – in an Ashes Test, no less, and in front of his home crowd – was “the most magical moment of my life”.ESPNcricinfo LtdPujara, the most Boycottian batter of his age, didn’t get quite as far, but he went two-thirds of the way, scoring 66, ten of them during a productive late-career county stint at Sussex. In the span of his career, only one batter, Alastair Cook (68), made more first-class hundreds. It’s a momentous achievement, and one, appropriately enough, entirely out of step with the zeitgeist.But as out of step as he may have seemed, Pujara was a formidable cricketer who at his peak ranked just below the four great Test batters of his age. Quite a peak it was too; at the end of that 2018-19 Australia tour, he averaged 51.18 and had scored 18 hundreds in 68 TestsHis numbers declined in the pandemic and post-pandemic years, but he was hardly alone in suffering that fate, with Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane going through similarly prolonged slumps as India played Test match after Test match, home and away, in treacherous batting conditions.And all of that, and perhaps the effects of age on his game, have left many of us with a somewhat diminished image of Pujara the batter. In the tributes from team-mates and former players that have flowed since his retirement announcement, the most frequently used word, by far, is “grit”, and the most frequently evoked image is of the body blows he took during his 211-ball, fourth-innings 56 in the Gabba fairytale of 2021.Cheteshwar Pujara cops a blow from Josh Hazlewood•AFPPujara had plenty of grit, of course, but you need a whole lot more than that to play 103 Test matches. You need those magic, uncoachable qualities that are commonly clubbed together under the banner of talent.One common definition of batting talent prizes the ability to hit a wide range of attacking shots, with bonus points for hitting good balls and/or in unusual directions. Pujara’s gifts didn’t lean in this direction, but he nonetheless gave a sense that he was born to bat.”Every great batsman,” CLR James suggested in his chapter on George Headley in , “is a special organism.” Whether Pujara was a great batter is a debate for elsewhere, but he was undoubtedly a special organism, a batter who could go on and on and score prodigious quantities of runs. In October 2008, for instance, he scored 386 and 309 for Saurashtra’s Under-22s, and in November he followed up with a 302* in the Ranji Trophy.This appetite for runs was well-known long before Pujara played for India, so while it was remarkable that he scored six hundreds – two of them doubles – in his first 16 Tests, with his average hovering in the 60s, it wasn’t that much of a surprise. It takes an uncommonly good eye and technique to be able to score like that, and also the mind of a special organism, capable of an uncommon level of focus. In the first half of his career, Pujara often seemed to bat in a state of trance-like absorption that was palpable to the viewer.He would start watchfully, even glacially, and you’d wonder if his low, choking grip was inhibiting his power and range of strokes, but if he batted long enough he would flick a switch and start hitting shots to all parts, leaping off his toes to cut the fast bowlers without needing width, sashaying out of his crease to drive spinners inside-out or whip them outside-in.ESPNcricinfo LtdThis way of batting came with a remarkably high ceiling, of course, but also a high floor. He often looked in control even when he wasn’t making a lot of runs, as in England in 2014, and by the end of that 2018-19 Australia tour, he had faced at least 50 balls in 73 of his 114 Test innings, and carried on to the 100-ball mark and beyond on 42 occasions.The limits of Pujara’s game only really became evident on extreme pitches, particularly against bowling attacks of uncommon depth, where the proverbial ball with the batter’s name on it was always around the corner. India just happened to play a lot of their cricket on those kinds of pitches, against those kinds of attacks, during the second half of his career. Other batters may have tried to bat differently; Pujara’s faith in his way never wavered.And while this meant he stopped scoring hundreds – he only made one in his last 35 Tests – he still made significant contributions to India’s results: two half-centuries spanning 381 balls in the 2021 SCG draw, that aforementioned 56 at the Gabba, a 206-ball 45 in a slow-burning, match-turning century stand with Rahane at Lord’s in 2021, and a second-innings 61 at The Oval in the same series.None of this was enough to ward off time, of course, and the surge of batting talent pounding at India’s door. But let’s put the job Pujara did in perspective. Since his last Test match, the six batters India have tried at No. 3 have collectively averaged 31.95 across 24 Tests. A fading Pujara, over his last 24 Tests, averaged 31.51.The end came with a second defeat in a second World Test Championship final in 2023, but it wasn’t really the end. The Pujara of Saurashtra, Sussex and West Zone would score a further 2057 first-class runs, at an average of 51.42, with seven hundreds. A fitting finish, on Pujara’s own terms, leaving you wondering if he couldn’t have gone on just a little longer.

They had wanted to practice on such pitches back home in the lead-up to the World Cup, but their complaints went unheard

Andrew Fidel Fernando15-Oct-20232:42

Maharoof: ‘Hope Mendis the captain remains the same batter’

Between June 4 and September 12 this year (both days inclusive) Sri Lanka played 14 ODIs, and bowled the opposition out in each one. The previous world record for bowling oppositions out in consecutive matches was 10, by the Australia side of the late aughts.If you are unaware of the caveats that attach themselves to this extraordinary wicket-taking run, here they are: Eight of these matches came in the World Cup Qualifier, and hence against a significantly worse quality of opposition than in the World Cup proper. Of the remaining six matches, five came at home. The one that didn’t come at home was against Afghanistan in Lahore, when they needed to chase 292 in a little over 37 overs, and almost succeeded.But for all those caveats, 14 matches is a monster stretch for any attack. Right through that sequence – at the end of which even India were dismissed – Sri Lanka’s bowling had a dynamism to it. There were left and right-arm quicks getting new-ball swing (Dilshan Madushanka, Lahiru Kumara, and Kasun Rajitha), a legbreak bowler with a killer googly in Wanindu Hasaranga (who didn’t play in the Asia Cup, but topped the wicket charts in the Qualifier), a round-arm speed merchant (Matheesha Pathirana), and Maheesh Theekshana’s finger-flicked mystery. If we were being generous, there was even a pale shadow here of the variety that comprised Sri Lanka’s greatest white ball attack, circa 2007 to 2014 (Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ajantha Mendis, a young Angelo Mathews – Muttiah Muralitharan is incomparable, of course).Related

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Chamika Karunaratne replaces injured Dasun Shanaka in Sri Lanka squad

In the first two matches of this World Cup, however, Sri Lanka have conceded 773. Pathirana and Rajitha have both gone at more than nine an over, Dunith Wellalage and Madushanka at more than seven, and even Theekshana – in his one match – almost at a run-a-ball. How to explain this?Sri Lanka’s bowling is depleted severely by injury, of course – Hasaranga, in particular, has not made this squad. But he had not played in the Asia Cup either, and Sri Lanka had reached the final, largely bowling themselves there. Left-arm spinning allrounder Wellalage made his first mark on the international game with the ball, and Pathirana had a decent tournament.But that the attack impressed only on slower, turning decks than are often found in India has not been missed within the Sri Lanka camp. Long before this tournament, there had been complaints that the pitches seen in Colombo in particular were not flat enough – a complaint voiced most prominently by Hasaranga himself at the Lanka Premier League, as captain of the franchise side that would eventually win the tournament, and as a player preparing himself tenaciously for the World Cup.Dilshan Madushanka has been the leading wicket-taker for Sri Lanka thus far this World Cup•ICC via Getty ImagesWhile Sri Lankan decks are not low-scoring exactly, they are rarely the kind on which teams tend to chase down totals of over 300. There is often something to envenom the bowlers. If it is not swing with the new ball, there is zip off the surface under lights, or rapid turn as the match wears on, and failing all that the ball stops a fraction of a second in the surface.Perhaps, the difference between bowling teams out 14 times in a row, and conceding 428 for 5, then 345 for 4, is down to the pitches Sri Lanka’s attack plays on. This is at least the current line of thinking. Kusal Mendis said this before his first match as captain, following the injury to Dasun Shanaka.”If we talk about the first two matches, when you come to India you know you’re going to get good batting wickets,” he said. “We should know how to adjust to that. I have a lot of trust that the bowlers are looking to give their best, and even better attacks have been hot for 300 or 350.”As a captain what I’m hoping is that in practice they know what their roles are, and that I can adjust to that as well. We can’t make big changes suddenly. But I have to try and work with the way they’ve been bowling and try to improve on that.”There is a sense that Sri Lanka’s attack hunts collectively on a pitch that offers the bowlers something, but on the kinds of decks that require damage control and containment, they have not developed the skills or experience.Lucknow is something of an unknown. It used to be one of India’s lowest-scoring venues, which would have suited Sri Lanka beautifully. But following this year’s IPL, when it was again low-scoring, the square has been relaid.In the one ODI that has been played on the new square, South Africa made 311 for 7, taking the legspin of Adam Zampa apart in particular, before South Africa’s seamers dismantled the Australia top order, though the likes of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi also had success.The theory is, that the longer this World Cup goes on, the older some squares will get, and the better for spinners in particular. It is not quite as simple as suggesting Sri Lanka are better off on turning tracks, because some of their quicks enjoy the humidity that allows them to move the ball laterally, too. But in the first two matches, neither has been on offer. And the attack has been taken apart.

Bangladesh’s newest hero on his international struggles, Air Force background, sledging Ross Taylor, and more

Mohammad Isam06-Jan-2022You have come a long way since that pacer hunt in 2016…I came out as the speedster from the pacer hunt in 2016. The BCB put me in the High Performance unit for three years. They trained me. I played in the A team, BCB XI, and gradually got to this stage.Related

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How did you build towards your figures of 6 for 46 in the first Test?I think we have to go back to the start of the tour. We were in quarantine for 10 days. On the day before our first training session, team director Khaled Mahmud Sujon sir addressed everyone with a speech. He said, ‘We have not won a single match in New Zealand in 21 years. Does it mean we will always lose here? One team has to win here. I think this is Bangladesh’s best team, and the one that beats New Zealand to create history’.This speech inspired me a lot. I thought to myself, someone has to win here. It should be us, this group. Our captain [Mominul Haque], Mushfiq [Mushfiqur Rahim] and Litton [Das] also spoke well. The fact that motivation works, this match is proof. I told myself that we will be the team that beat New Zealand on New Zealand soil. They are the world champions [of Test cricket], but if we give our best in the field, nobody can beat us.During my second spell [on the fourth day], the support from my team-mates stirred me. I think I was doing anything I wanted with the ball. The captain told me, ‘Bowl to your heart’s content, we are with you’. I never looked back. Every ball, I bowled 140-plus.That’s the thing. You kept hitting one specific length, but how did you manage to bowl both spells around the same 140kph speed on the fourth day?If you are fit enough as a fast bowler, you can do anything. Fitness is the first thing for a fast bowler. Part of my preparation was to play four first-class matches before the Test series against Pakistan. I wanted to improve my physical fitness and mental toughness through these four matches, and I think I bowled well against Pakistan as a result.Initially, we were supposed to do three days of in-room quarantine in New Zealand before getting into practice. Unfortunately, we ended up in room for ten days. We obviously couldn’t do any running but the BCB provided us with Theraband flex-bars and stationary cycles. I spent days and nights trying to remain fit. The conditioning coach Nick Lee and physio Bayezid also helped us a lot, [so] all six fast bowlers are fit.”Nobody should begin their international career like me, I struggled a lot initially”•Getty ImagesWhat changed for you in the Mount Maunganui Test from an individual point of view?I hadn’t put things together despite making my Test debut in 2019. It drew a lot of criticism. I have been working with [fast-bowling coach] Ottis Gibson for the last two years. He always encourages me, saying things like, ‘You possess the ability to swing the ball both ways. You can reverse the ball. You have the best release position in Bangladesh. You have everything, except the confidence. The day you have the confidence, you will be the best bowler in the country’.He changed everything in my bowling. With my previous bowling action, I used to lose energy in latter spells. Gibson changed my action, allowing me to bowl faster with less effort. My accuracy has improved too. Today he said in the team meeting, ‘I can see the perfect Ebadot today. He has understood what he has to do. He will now take it further’.The captain was also very encouraging, and he is always trying to help me.The captain Mominul Haque said that you can finish teams off when you are bowling well. He said that when you took those three wickets in the fourth evening, he finally felt that Bangladesh might win the Test…There’s a background to every success. Everyone from outside – the support stuff, the substitutes – were very helpful. Najmul Hossain Shanto kept telling me from the slips, keep bowling fast. The captain and Mushfiq said that the bowlers are doing well, let’s support them. Taskin [Ahmed] kept telling me things are working. We will win the game.Believe me, hearing all of this from all my team-mates made something burn inside me. I wanted to give it my all to win this Test. I gave my 120%. I just kept bowling fast at the stumps, and the ball was reversing so much. It was unbelievable.The key wicket was that of Ross Taylor on the fifth morning. He had survived two chances on the fourth evening. Did you plan to bowl more inswingers to him?Removing Ross Taylor early meant their tail would be exposed, and it meant we wouldn’t be chasing a big total. Mushfiq gave a great tip when he said that batsmen take a bit of time moving their feet early in the morning. I should bowl my best ball in the morning. I saw the first ball move slightly inwards. I bowled the next one with all my strength, and it reversed so nicely that it beat him.It appeared you two were having a brief conversation after you beat him at one point on the fourth evening. What were you two talking about?I told him that you can hit so well, why don’t you hit me? He said, ‘Brother, if you bowl like that on this pitch, no one can hit you’.After the Taylor wicket, what did you make of Shoriful Islam’s catch?It was an catch. Shoriful, Taijul [Islam] and Shadman [Islam] all took brilliant catches. We fielded so well. If you were here, you would have ran inside the ground in delight. I don’t think anyone could have stood still at the ground. We had such a great feeling among us. I think this win proved to our country that Bangladesh can beat any team, anywhere.

“I told Ross Taylor that you can hit so well, why don’t you hit me? He said, ‘Brother, if you bowl like that on this pitch, no one can hit you.'”

It also appears that there’s a lot of affection within the pace-bowling group.We talk to each other a lot. When Taskin was bowling during the Test match, and he bowled a great delivery, I told him that his pace looks scary even from mid-on. Taskin also keeps encouraging me when I am bowling. He told me recently that we spend 11 months in a year together. If we stay like a family, we can do a lot of good things together.There’s now a lot of interest about your Air Force background. I don’t just mean about the celebratory salute, but being in the Air Force must have also helped you become a more disciplined and fit person?It is a different lifestyle for uniformed persons. They are very disciplined and keep it to themselves. It has helped me a lot at a personal level. I always remember this background, which is also a reminder that I am representing my nation on two fronts.Before this Test, did you worry a lot about your bowling average?I don’t want anyone to start their international career like me. I have struggled a lot. I was telling Ottis, ‘Coach, not a single Test wicket came easily. I have had to work very hard for every wicket. I sometimes got a wicket after 17 overs or 22, or 33 overs. There were Tests when I got only one wicket’.He just smiled and said, ‘Welcome to Test cricket’ (laughs). He said, ‘You are a Bangladeshi fast bowler. The conditions are not in your favour. How many Tests do you play in a year? So make the most of your opportunities’.Patience is everything in Tests. This is why it is called “Test”. It tests the patience of batsmen and bowlers. Playing a Test is not easy.

The 2026 Mets won’t feature many of the faces of the franchise from the last five-plus seasons, with the free agency departures of Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz to the Orioles and Dodgers, respectively, as well as the November trade of Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers for Marcus Semien. General manager David Stearns made a significant signing on Saturday morning, adding former Mariners infielder Jorge Polanco, who will reportedly be in the mix at first base with Alonso’s departure.

The 32-year-old has agreed to a two-year deal with New York worth $40 million, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. On paper, he is a curious positional fit, as he spent most of his time in the field last season at second base (though he was primarily a designated hitter for Seattle in 2025). Passan reports that he is expected to play first base and serve as DH, with Semien set to slide in at second and Francisco Lindor anchoring the infield at shortstop.

Polanco appeared in one game at first base last season—his first appearance at the position of his career.

The 2019 All-Star had an offensive resurgence in 2025, hitting .265/.326/.495 with 26 home runs and 78 RBIs. He cut his strikeout rate from 29.2% in ‘24 to just 15.6% in ‘25, and homered at the second-highest rate of his career at 5% of at-bats. His hard-hit rate of 45.8% was the highest of his career.

The Mets will be Polanco’s third MLB team. He spent 2014 to 2023 with the Twins before spending the last two seasons with the Mariners.

Liverpool are considering a January move for Real Madrid outcast Rodrygo as they eye up a replacement for Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian has been linked with a move away from Anfield in the New Year following a bombshell interview he gave in the wake of Saturday's 3-3 draw with Leeds. And the Brazilian forward has emerged as a potential target for the defending champions.

• AFP
  

  Salah tipped to leave Liverpool in January

  Salah has been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League and to Turkish giants Galatasaray in the New Year, despite signing a two-year deal with Liverpool earlier in the year. The 33-year-old was instrumental as the Reds won the Premier League title in Arne Slot's debut season in charge of the Merseyside outfit as he scored 29 goals and provided 18 assists.

  However, Salah has failed to match last season's exploits in front of goal and has scored just four goals and laid on two assists across 13 league outings for the Reds this season. And the Egyptian forward effectively signalled his intention to leave Liverpool next month as he claimed he'd been "thrown under the bus" having been relegated to the bench for the third game running.

  "I can’t believe it, I’m very, very disappointed. I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season," Salah said after Saturday's 3-3 draw at Leeds. "Now I’m sitting on the bench and I don’t know why. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That is how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame."

Advertisement

• Brighton game could be Salah's last for Liverpool

  Salah has hinted that Liverpool's game against Brighton could be last for the Reds. Arne Slot's side welcome the Seagulls to Anfield following their midweek trip to take on Inter in the Champions League, with the home outing against the south coast Salah's last before the Africa Cup of Nations.

  Salah will then link up with the Egypt national team and could miss up to six matches for Liverpool should the Pharaohs win a record-setting eighth AFCON title. Saudi outfit Al-Hilal supposedly lead the race for the forward, and a move to Simone Inzaghi's side would see Salah reunite with Darwin Nunez, who left Liverpool for the Blue Waves over the summer.

  And according to Spanish publication Defensa Central, Liverpool have identified Rodrygo as the ideal replacement for Salah. The Brazilian was heavily linked with a move away from the Spanish capital earlier in the year, with Manchester City previously leading the race for the versatile forward.

  However, City failed to agree a fee with Real Madrid for Rodrygo, who has since struggled for game time under Xabi Alonso, starting just three league games and registering 342 minutes of action. Los Blancos have reportedly slapped a €70m asking price on the 24-year-old.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Rodrygo not the only winger linked to the Reds

  Rodrygo isn't the only winger that has been linked with a January move to Liverpool, with Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo a potential target for the Premier League champions. Despite penning a five-year deal at the Vitality Stadium earlier in the year, the Cherries forward has a £65m release clause that can be activated next month.

  Liverpool aren't the only side linked with a move for Semenyo, whose Ghana side failed to qualify for AFCON, with Premier League rivals City and Tottenham both considering a move for the 25-year-old.

  Additionally, PSG wideman Bradley Barcola is reportedly on the Reds' radar as the French side struggle to tie the former Lyon man down to a new deal. Bayern Munich sensation Michael Olise is another who is being courted by Liverpool, though Bayern Munich are keen to retain the France international's services.

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• Liverpool's title defence in tatters

  Liverpool's 3-3 draw with Leeds at Elland Road on Saturday means the Reds have now won only four of their last 15 matches in all competitions as pressure continues to mount on head coach Slot.

  In addition, the Merseyside giants are now 10 points behind league leaders Arsenal, with their Premier League title defence in tatters.

Switzerland and Como Women's ace Alisha Lehmann has been selected as one of the torch-bearers for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. The former Aston Villa and Juventus star moved to Como in the summer, and has now been picked to run a key part of the symbolic relay, an honour bestowed on a rare few professional athletes at the events.

Lehmann announces selection

Lehmann has been confirmed as one of the torch-bearers for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will take place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo in February of 2026. The Switzerland star joined Como in the summer from Juventus, and is one of the most followed female players on Instagram, as she boasts a staggering 16.1 million followers at the time of writing. She has, thusly, been announced as "the forward who will lead the way". 

AdvertisementFlame to travel across Italy

Lehmann's route has yet to be announced, but the relay is already underway. It began in Greece, having been lit in Ancient Olympia, as a nod to the history of the Olympic games, and will now travel across Italy. At the time of writing, the torch is in Lamia, a city in central Greece. It will enter Italy on December 5, in Roma, and will travel across the country before eventually reaching Milan on February 4. There are a total of 60 stages to the relay.

GettyLehmann's season

Lehmann has actually struggled immensely on the pitch this season. While she has made six appearances for Como, she has only completed 90 minutes once, and has yet to score or provide an assist. Nevertheless, she retains an immense social media following, and is one of the most marketable stars in the female game. 

She explained in the summer that she joined Como due to a desire to "lead the movement" of expanding the women's game, but her form has yet to match her ambition. 

She said: “It sends the message that being strong, ambitious and expressive can all go hand in hand; that’s important for the future of the sport,” says Lehmann, who likes the club’s “female-first mentality” and apparent ethos.

“We’re in a moment where women’s football can define itself on its own terms, and independent clubs like Como Women have the opportunity in leading the movement. [It] isn’t just about winning matches. It’s about building something that lasts. This is the first time I’ve joined an independent club. That was a big part of my decision. It shows there is a different way of doing things.”

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What comes next?

It is not yet clear when Lehmann will run her leg of the relay but fans will be clamouring for the site of both the Como ace, and the historic Olympic flame. 

Sheffield Wednesday have now reportedly responded to Mike Ashley’s bid to buy the club, with the former Newcastle United man now plotting his next step.

Finance expert reveals extent of interest in Sheffield Wednesday

It’s been a busy month at Hillsborough, with the Owls receiving plenty of takeover interest after entering administration. Setting a soft deadline of December 5, things look destined to accelerate in the coming week in the hope that Sheffield Wednesday finally enter a new era and put Dejphon Chansiri behind them for good.

Football finance expert Stefan Borson recently revealed that there are as many as 11 bidders to buy Sheffield Wednesday, telling talkSPORT: “I’m working with one of the bidders. There are a number of bidders in play, a number of credible players around.

Sheffield-born takeover candidate makes key contact in race to buy Sheffield Wednesday

He could buy his local club.

By
Tom Cunningham

Nov 26, 2025

“Apparently, there’s 11 that have given proof of funds for £50m of liquid assets. That is a serious process, and there is serious interest. The issue is actually that you can’t just look at the headline price here. This is a club that’s not had a lick of paint for quite some time and by the end of this season it will be in League One.

“It will have almost no squad and it will have a stadium that needs significant spending. So anybody that comes in is going to have to have deep pockets. I think the people that are circling do have deep pockets, but it is not going to be a cheap deal for anybody. The challenges are great.

Among those 11 bidders could be John McEvoy, who was one of the first names linked with a move to buy the club, and former Newcastle man Ashley. The 61-year-old is seemingly keen on a return to English football and has already received a response from Wednesday.

Mike Ashley submits bid to buy Sheffield Wednesday

As reported by Sky Sports, Ashley has now submitted a £20m bid to buy Sheffield Wednesday, who have turned that offer down. The former Newcastle owner is now plotting his next step and could yet return with an improved second offer, however.

If he is to return with a second offer, then Ashley will likely have to at least match other bids in the region of £30m to stand a chance of completing a takeover. Whilst it isn’t as simple as accepting the highest bid for the Owls, they won’t sell the club at a cut-price in the face of so much interest.

Of course, if Ashley does match other bids then he could become one of the better options available. He has experience in English football and, financially speaking, he stabilised Newcastle during his time at the club.

Sheffield Wednesday return to Sheffield United takeover merger

Richard Thompson insists 100-ball format will not change before end of current rights cycle

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2025

The tight turnaround between England’s international and the Hundred is a “short-term issue” which ECB chairman Richard Thompson has pledged will be solved for the next TV rights cycle.England’s men played one day before the start and two days after the end of the Hundred this year, leaving all-format players short on relevant preparation for the ongoing ODI series against South Africa. The same scenario will play out in 2026, with the Hundred expected to start two days after an ODI series against India and three days before the first Test against Pakistan.New investors in the Hundred will expect their England players to be available throughout the tournament. Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton and Ollie Pope missed London Spirit’s first game of this season, the day after the fifth Test at The Oval, which their incoming co-owner Nikesh Arora described as “disappointing” while calling for “better planning” by the ECB.Thompson acknowledged that the schedule is too crammed, speaking in his capacity as an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society during England’s third ODI against South Africa on Sunday. “There are no easy answers, but the reality is we can’t have our cake and eat it,” Thompson told Sky Sports.”We want England players to play. This is our premium white-ball competition and we want England players to play in it. What we have to do is find a way of ensuring the schedule before and after the tournament [is better]. Take this year: the gap was a day or two days… That can’t be right.Related

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“If we’re going to get this level of investment, we’ve got to commit to ensuring our England players are available. We don’t want that to be at the expense of the success of England. We need to find a balance, and ultimately we can look at the schedule and we can try and free up time.”We’ve done this deal in the middle of a rights schedule. Come ’28, when we then cut the next deal for the next four years, we can cut this in a different way. We might have a short-term issue here, but we can overcome that.”Ultimately, if a player feels they’re injured, they’re going to rest themselves. They won’t want to play on an injury. England is still everything here. But we are not prepared to accept that you can’t find a halfway house and work with the owners to ensure that the owner will get what they need, and England will get what it needs.”Thompson also said that the tournament’s format will not change from 100-balls-a-side to T20 during the current broadcast cycle, which runs to the end of the 2028 summer, and denied that the sale of stakes in the eight Hundred franchises equates to selling the month of August to private investors.”I can categorically tell you it’s 100 balls next year,” he said. “I don’t think anything will change in this rights cycle. Sky [the Hundred’s main broadcaster] have bought 100 [balls a side]. Sky are not going to want to change that. It’s up to the owners and the ECB to decide what that might be in the future.”This is not English cricket selling off the family silver. This is English cricket bringing in investors to enable us to have a tournament that could challenge the IPL.”

Tottenham Hotspur face Monaco in the Champions League tonight, looking to return to winning ways after the defeat to Aston Villa on home soil over the weekend.

Thomas Frank’s side will have huge expectations placed upon them in Europe this season, understandably so given their successes in the Europa League last campaign.

The Dane has already made an impressive start to life in Europe’s biggest club competition, winning one and drawing the other of their first two outings in 2025/26.

However, the meeting against the Ligue 1 outfit will present a tricky challenge, with Sebastien Pocognoli’s side holding Manchester City to a 2-2 draw at the start of the month.

If Frank is to claim another European victory as the Lilywhites boss, he will likely need one of his current first-team members to be on top form in the South of France.

Xavi Simons’ disappointing start to life at Spurs

During the summer transfer window, the Spurs hierarchy made it clear they wanted to improve the options available to them within the attacking midfield positions.

After numerous failed attempts during the window, they decided to fork out a fee in the region of £52m for the signature of Dutch international Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig.

His tally of 19 combined goals and assists across all competitions generated huge excitement, but it’s safe to say his period in North London has failed to take off to date.

The 22-year-old has only registered one assist in his first eight outings for the Lilywhites, with his transfer now starting to be called into question by numerous pundits.

Simons has only created 1.3 chances per 90 and completed just 40% of his attempted dribbles – with the latter of his two stats ranking him within the 44th percentile of all players in the Premier League.

He’s also demonstrated a lack of physicality in England’s top-flight, only being on the winning side of 38% of his duels – with only 27% of players in the division winning fewer.

He desperately needs to find his form to justify his staggering transfer fee, but Frank can aid him against Monaco by starting one other first-team member tonight.

The Spurs player who can finally get Simons firing

Throughout the first few weeks of his time in North London, Simons has operated in a variety of different roles – with most of his playing time coming in an unnatural left-wing position.

Such a situation would likely have contributed to his recent lack of impact in attacking areas, with the manager needing to utilise him in his natural number ten position.

He created nearly double the amount of chances per 90 at Leipzig last campaign, further showcasing the levels he can produce when featuring behind the striker.

The centre-forward department has also been brought into question as of late, with Richarlison failing to back the faith shown in him by the new manager.

Dominic Solanke will certainly have been the number one option for Frank, but the Englishman’s constant setbacks with ankle injuries have prevented him from consistent first-team action.

Such scenarios should see the manager hand loanee Randal Kolo Muani his first start for the Lilywhites in the clash with Monaco later on this evening.

The Frenchman has only made 24 minutes of action for the club after joining from PSG on deadline day, but a European night under the lights could present an excellent chance to stake his claim for a starting role.

Kolo Muani, who’s been labelled “phenomenal” by former boss Christian Gourcuff, scored 10 goals in just 22 appearances at Juventus last season – highlighting his clinical ability in the final third.

Such talent within attacking areas could hugely benefit Simons, with the Dutchman having the opportunity to boost his assist tally alongside the Frenchman.

After all, this is a player who, in the words of the Bundesliga website, has the “hallmarks of Thierry Henry’s game”. We’re yet to see that since his move but there is no time like the present.

The big-money addition has completed 1.1 crosses per 90, too, with such numbers playing perfectly into the hands of the loanee who scored three headers last campaign.

Both players have ultimately struggled to match the expectations they arrived with in North London, but that could all change tonight if Frank hands them the chance to start together.

The pair could help the side maintain their unbeaten record in Europe this campaign and bolster their chances of claiming another European title.

Their best CF since Kane: Paratici wants Spurs to sign £87m "freak of nature"

Tottenham Hotspur could try and land a new talisman for Thomas Frank in the months ahead.

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Ethan Lamb

Oct 21, 2025