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Sunderland will aim to make it back-to-back wins when Michael Beale's men face off against Middlesbrough today in the lunchtime game, an entertaining contest in prospect at the Riverside Stadium between two near neighbours.

The promotion-chasing Black Cats, who find themselves just outside of the playoff picture in the Championship after a wobbly patch of form saw them fall down the division, got their stuttering season back on track last time out with a convincing 3-1 win against Stoke City.

Although Sunderland did end up cruising to a much-needed win, the final moments were made just that little nervier when Jenson Seelt accidentally scored an own goal when Beale's men were three goals in front.

This unfortunate mishap on Seelt's end could see his starting spot sacrificed against Boro, especially with former Leeds United left-back Leo Hjelde joining the Sunderland ranks at the death on Deadline Day.

Jenson Seelt's season in numbers

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Beale has relied upon Seelt to come in and do a job as a makeshift left-back with both Niall Huggins and Dennis Cirkin long-term absentees in the Black Cats treatment room, a less-than-ideal situation.

The 20-year-old Dutchman has performed admirably there, but his blunder against Stoke could well signal the end of his extended spell in the first-team fold as an unconventional full-back.

Minutes played

90

Own goals

1

Duels won

8/12

Possession lost

19x

Accurate passes

30/43 (70%)

Accurate long balls

3/7

Stats by Sofascore

Losing possession a grand total of 19 times in the win on top of scoring an own goal, it makes logical sense for Beale to gift Hjelde his debut in a Sunderland strip ahead of Seelt today.

Hjelde was never banging down the door at Elland Road for more first-team minutes, hence Leeds not really putting up a fight to keep their young Norwegian defender, but the 20-year-old did shine prior to moving to Elland Road.

Following a loan spell at Ross County – amid his stint at Celtic – the promising defender was even tipped to be the "next Van Dijk" by manager John Hughes, with the hope being that Beale can nurture such a talent over the coming months at the Stadium of Light.

The former Rangers boss will also pray that reintroducing Patrick Roberts to the first team today works wonders, the 26-year-old coming in to add an experienced head to a youthful Black Cats team as the push for promotion goes on.

Patrick Roberts' season in numbers

Roberts hasn't set the world alight when selected this season to date however, meaning this could be a controversial call for Beale to make.

The 26-year-old winger only has one assist to show for his efforts when fit from 23 appearances, with his ineffectiveness in the side only further magnified by Jack Clarke's continued heroics down the left-hand side of the pitch.

Yet, the flashes of brilliance Roberts has shown previously in his Sunderland career mean he's still a worthwhile option to start against Boro today.

Roberts excelled last campaign in the Championship, notching up five goals and seven assists as a crucial figure in the Black Cats side who made it into the playoffs.

Described as being "magic" by former Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray at the peak of his powers that same campaign, Beale will pray that Roberts can come good again with just one standout display then re-energising the wing wizard and boosting his confidence in the process.

Starting Roberts would see the Black Cats have to majorly rejig for the trip to the Riverside – with Abdoullah Ba arguably undroppable after starring against Stoke – but it could well be a reshuffle that works if the £12.5k-per-week winger is able to show Sunderland what they've been missing on the way to another win after battling back from injury.

يرى مهاجم وهداف نادي واتفورد السابق، تروي ديني، أنه ليس من السهل على ليفربول تعويض رحيل محمد صلاح عن قلعة “أنفيلد” في المستقبل.

وينتهي عقد محمد صلاح مع ليفربول في 30 يونيو 2025، وبالتالي، سيرحل نهاية الموسم الحالي بالمجان إذا لم يبدأ الريدز المفاوضات معه للتمديد.

اقرأ أيضًا.. فابريزيو رومانو يُطمئن جمهور ليفربول بشأن مستقبل محمد صلاح

وتحدث ديني في تصريحات عبر شبكة “talkSPORT” البريطانية، وقال: “كان هناك حديث خلال الأيام الماضية عن تمديد عقد محمد صلاح، لكن راتبه الكبير يجعل ليفربول مترددًا بعض الشيء”.

وتابع: “محمد صلاح ليس اللاعب الوحيد والمهم الذي ينتهي عقده في نهاية الموسم الحالي هناك فيرجيل فان دايك وكذلك ترينت ألكسندر أرنولد”.

وأضاف: “أرنولد ربما يكون الأسهل لتعوضه إذا رحل، وفي رأيي أن على ليفربول التمديد لـ محمد صلاح أولًا ثم فان دايك وأخيرًا ترينت”.

واستمر: “ليفربول سيحتاج إلى لاعبين مميزين آخرين لتعويض ما يمكن لـ محمد صلاح تقديمه مع الفريق، فان دايك هو المدافع الأهم في الفريق وأي لاعب آخر في نفس المركز هو رقم 2”.

“I don’t think we want to play on wickets like these because it becomes too low-scoring and it becomes slightly difficult for our batters to get going,” the Super Kings captain said

Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai09-Apr-20192:33

Dasgupta: Chepauk conditions shouldn’t have been alien to KKR

Weeks after expressing his displeasure over the slow, low Chepauk track in the season opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni was once again critical of the pitch following another low-scoring match, against Kolkata Knight Riders.After Super Kings inserted Knight Riders, keeping the dewy conditions in Chennai in mind, the visitors laboured to 108 for 9 in 20 overs, with only Andre Russell passing 20. Super Kings’ spinners Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja bowled 15 dots each and ended with combined figures of 12-0-53-5.Super Kings’ batsmen themselves struggled to get going in the chase, but opener Faf du Plessis ushered them home with seven wickets and 16 balls to spare.Super Kings and Knight Riders played on the same pitch that was used for the hosts’ fixture against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday. Dhoni likened the pitch to the opening game of the season that produced a mere a 141 runs. The spinners accounted for 10 of the 13 wickets to fall in that game.”Well, again, it became like the first game,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation on Tuesday. “We were cribbing about the track but we ended up winning the game. And [after] losing Bravo, it’s slightly difficult for us to get the combination right because we’re missing an allrounder and David [Willey] is not here, so it can’t be a straight swap.”So, if you look it looks a good wicket to us. But, I don’t think we want to play on wickets like these because it becomes too low-scoring and it becomes slightly difficult for our batters to get going. And also what happens is that it’s slightly more difficult if you’re batting first. As the dew comes in, it becomes slightly easier in the second half.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Seamer Deepak Chahar, who claimed 3 for 20, echoed his captain Dhoni’s thoughts and said Super Kings want a “better” pitch at home. He put down the sluggish nature of the pitches down to the extreme heat and humidity in Chennai.Ahead of the matches and during practice sessions, the groundstaff have shielded the playing square from getting to dry under the blazing Chennai sun by setting up a tent-like structure.”I’m happy I performed well, but obviously we’re looking for a better wicket,” Chahar said. “Nobody wants this type of a wicket. It’s [because of] the soil and heat and you can’t help it. It’s very hot here and the pitch curators are doing their best job to give us a good track. But, at the end of the day you can’t help it.”

An attempt to deny Barbados the chance to collect more bonus points fell flat in a dramatic and controversial finish to the match

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2019A bizarre declaration from Leeward Islands to lose a match in an apparent attempt to deny their opposition Barbados the chance to build enough bonus points to overtake them in the WICB Regional Four-Day Tournament, has backfired with Barbados securing second place.Whatever calculations took place from Leeward Islands, who were captained by Rahkeem Cornwall, did not work as the result was enough to put Barbados into second place by just 0.2 points with 17.4 points and end with 134.2, which proved to be just enough to overtake Leeward Islands, who collected 2.8 points from the match and ended with 134.After Guyana had been confirmed as champions the previous day following Leeward Islands’ collapse for 90 in the first innings against Barbados, courtesy a career-best 5 for 29 from Keon Harding, it became a battle between the two for second place.Barbados built a first-innings lead of 101 when they declared early on the second day at 191 with two wickets still in hand, after Alazarri Joseph took 4 for 28, before Leeward Islands moved to 83 for 2, still 18 behind, when they declared about 40 minutes after lunch and conceded the match.

Michael Klinger was dismissed in controversial circumstances off the seventh legal delivery of an over when the umpires miscounted

Report by Tristan Lavalette13-Jan-2019A red-hot Ashton Turner and Cameron Bancroft engineered Perth Scorchers’ daunting run chase of 178 with ease to flatten Sydney Sixers on a batting-friendly Perth Stadium pitch.Scorchers’ season was hanging in the balance after an even batting performance lifted Sixers to a seemingly sizeable 5 for 177. Turner and Bancroft, however, flipped the match with a blistering 98-run third-wicket partnership in the chase as Scorchers won their second straight match.Turner, who was called up to Australia’s first ODI against India but not selected, dominated the partnership with a spectacular 30-ball 60.Bancroft sealed the deal in the 19th over with a boundary to finish 87 not out from 61 deliveries – his second consecutive half-century as he returns from the ball-tampering scandal.Sixers rued their batsmen failing to convert starts as they slipped to a 4-4 record, while the rejuvenated Scorchers are back in the finals hunt at 3-5.Steady Sixers as Vince debutsAfter deciding to bowl, a weakened Scorchers attack hoped to make inroads against an unsettled Sixers who lost opener Justin Avendano during the warm-up. The visitors, however, enjoyed a solid top-order effort with late inclusion Jack Edwards combining in a 42-run opening partnership with Daniel Hughes.The towering Edwards, even more eye-catching with his flowing blonde locks, had a slice of luck when he was dropped in the second over but settled to blunt Scorchers’ quicks. There was bounce and movement off the green-tinged wicket although it played slower than in previous BBL matches and last month’s low-scoring Test match.Without Jason Behrendorff and Jhye Richardson, who both starred for Australia in the opening ODI against India, Scorchers looked to out-of-form David Willey for inspiration but the England import was wayward and conceded 17 runs in his first over.After Edwards fell in the sixth over to a spectacular catch diving forward by debutant Cameron Green, James Vince came to the crease in his first match of the tournament after his compatriot Joe Denly departed for England’s tour of the Caribbean.The stylish Vince showcased several of his trademark flowing drives against the quicks, but struggled to pick legspinner Usman Qadir and ungainly used his feet in a bid to break the shackles. Vince looked to hit out against pace at the other end, but fell lbw to quick Matt Kelly in the 13th over. He made 28 off 25 balls and helped lay a platform for the Sixers.Sixers fire at the death despite Tye’s trickerySixers were rolling towards an imposing total through Moises Henriques’s belligerent batting. In a purple patch, he smashed 38 off 21 balls, including consecutive sixes off Nathan Coulter-Nile, before spooning a return catch to Andrew Tye.Much of the burden rested on Tye to restrict the Sixers and he tapped into his bag of tricks with a cross-seam delivery to deceive Henriques. He then removed Jordan Silk to start the 19th over as the Sixers fell to 5 for 150 and appeared to be falling short of their desired score.But Tye faltered on the fifth ball of the over with a short delivery that flew over wicketkeeper Sam Whiteman and conceded five wides. With newfound momentum, Sixers added an invaluable 18 runs after that with Tom Curran and Josh Philippe, who has the second highest strike rate in the BBL, cashing in.Klinger’s rut continues in farcical fashionA chunk of Scorchers’ woes this season can be attributed to Michael Klinger’s struggles. The BBL’s all-time leading run-scorer has failed to fire putting into question his position at the top of the order.Klinger’s poor run continued making just 2 after bizarrely being dismissed on the seventh legal delivery of the second over, slicing a short Ben Dwarshuis delivery to Stephen O’Keefe at third man.O’Keefe dived forward to complete the catch but was unsure if his fingers were underneath the ball. Third umpire Nathan Johnstone was satisfied O’Keefe’s catch was clean but everyone seemed oblivious that Dwarshuis had bowled a seven-ball over – a stunning oversight in modern cricket.”The incident will be followed up in Cricket Australia’s general match review process and feedback will of course be taken on board,” a Cricket Australia spokesperson said.Turner demolishes SixersWhen Whiteman fell in the eighth over, Scorchers were 2 for 65 with the match in the balance. Enter, Turner. His bat sizzled from the get go as he thumped an O’Keefe delivery into the stands with ease on his sixth delivery.Turner did likewise to Ben Manenti in the next over as he quickly turned the match around with a pyrotechnics show to flatten a shell-shocked Sixers attack. He reached his half-century in just 22 deliveries before falling in the 18th over with victory in sight.With 210 runs in his past four innings, higher honours await the imperious Turner.

On a day when the bowlers found no real purchase – barring occasional uneven bounce – from the MCG surface, India continued their batting dominance, consolidating their overnight position before declaring just under half an hour from stumps.India rode on the back of a 170-run third-wicket stand between Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara – the overnight pair batted out the first session – before useful contributions from the middle order took them to 443 for 7. Their bowlers then tested Australia’s openers for the last six overs of the day.Australia collected five wickets on the day, and the manner of a couple of them may have caused furrowed brows among their batsmen. Balls that stayed low accounted for Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, and instances of such misbehaviour are only likely to grow more frequent as the Test match wears on.Nathan Lyon, so influential in Adelaide and Perth, struggled for a similar impact on a pitch with much less bounce for him to exploit. As on the first day, India’s batsmen comfortably negated the offspinner, using their feet to reach the pitch of the ball, and drove him through the covers or midwicket almost every time he went too full. A switch to round the wicket didn’t help Lyon either, and it took him nearly 40 overs to earn his first wicket of the game. By the time Lyon struck after tea, trapping Rahane lbw with a ball that kept low, India had already built handsomely on their first-day platform.Kohli and Pujara began the day crisply, flicking and nudging to the long square boundary for a collection of threes, before settling in to protect their wicket. They weathered Australia’s bowlers, adding 62 runs before lunch and ensuring India’s second straight wicketless session.4:00

Laxman: Pujara showed application and looked at ease

Kohli chose to curtail his game after a few outside edges scuttled past the slips. He had collected his 20th Test half-century in the day’s first over, but was troubled by Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins early on. It was an unusually defensive innings but it kept India in control and he walked off at lunch, a smile plastered on his face, having successfully completed the mission India had in mind for the opening session. At the other end, Pujara brought up his 17th Test century, and his second of this series, with a straight drive off Lyon a couple of overs before lunch.After lunch, Kohli was troubled by a sore back that forced the physio Patrick Farhart onto the field. Kohli appeared to be struggling, getting down on his knees between deliveries. In an eventful over from Starc soon after the physio’s appearance, Kohli pulled in front of square for three, then hit another pull for four. By the time the over had ended, however, Kohli had steered an upper-cut right into the hands of third man. It was relief for Australia, a sedate celebration after almost 70 overs of no joy.Pujara would have liked to build on his 17th Test hundred, but he received a delivery from Cummins that he could do little about. It snaked through low off the surface from just short of a good length, and slid under Pujara’s back-foot defence and took out off stump. Cummins didn’t celebrate too hard, perhaps aware that the uneven bounce could pose a danger to Australia’s batsmen too.Pujara’s dismissal brought Rohit Sharma, who had missed the second Test due to injury, into the middle. He took the back seat early on, as Ajinkya Rahane took control till tea. Rohit looked comfortable in the middle – at one point his control percentage was 96 – but nearly fell against the run of play when he top-edged a sweep off Lyon. Substitute Peter Siddle, however, dropped a simple chance at backward square leg, handing him a reprieve on 16.Following Rahane’s dismissal, Rohit went on to add 76 for the sixth wicket with the No. 7 Rishabh Pant, who also enjoyed a bit of good fortune, with Cummins dropping him at long-on off the luckless Lyon.With Australia’s lead bowlers struggling for incision on the largely docile surface, Mitchell Marsh bowled a long spell of stump-to-stump medium-pace in the afternoon, with Tim Paine standing up to the stumps. Marsh finished as Australia’s most economical bowler, conceding only 56 off his 21 overs.With the day coming to a close, Rohit finally began to hit out. He swatted a length ball to deep midwicket to bring up India’s 400, and celebrated his 10th Test fifty, his second in Australia, two overs later. Australia took the third new ball in the 166th over, with Starc and Hazlewood returning for another late spell, but the harder ball only made run-scoring easier for Rohit and Pant. Both creamed fours off one Starc over, before Pant fell for 39, miscuing a leg-side heave. Ravindra Jadeja was out the next over, and at 443 for 7 Kohli declared, having kept Australia on the field for nearly 170 overs.Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris were left to face six tricky overs before stumps. There were two inside-edges in Ishant Sharma’s first over, and from the other end Jasprit Bumrah rattled Harris’s helmet with a short ball. The openers managed to survive this period, adding eight runs by stumps.

Glasgow Rangers return to Europa League action this Thursday, and they will be hoping to gain revenge on Aris Limassol after they defeated the Gers last month in what was a rather surprising result, to say the least.

The Ibrox side were in a crisis then. Michael Beale had been sacked just days before and interim manager Steven Davis was thrown into the deep end and this culminated in a 2-1 defeat against the Cypriot side.

The Gers have gotten their act together since then, however, appointing Philippe Clement as their new manager and going unbeaten across his first eight matches.

The 1-1 draw with Aberdeen in the Premiership at the weekend was the first time the club have dropped points domestically since the Belgian arrived, and he will be looking for an immediate response.

With the fixtures coming thick and fast and several players unavailable due to suspension and not being included in the squad, the 49-year-old will need to make some changes to his starting XI.

With this in mind, we predict that the manager will make four changes from the stalemate against the Dons on the weekend…

1 GK – Jack Butland

The former Crystal Palace ‘keeper has been a revelation between the posts for the club this season, especially with recent goalkeeping troubles plaguing the side.

Butland has featured in every single match this term, conceding 21 goals across 24 matches, along with keeping 11 clean sheets.

A third group stage clean sheet would go a long way to seeing the Gers achieve knockout football.

2 RB – James Tavernier

The 32-year-old is currently the top scorer for the Light Blues this season as the festive season approaches, finding the back of the net on 12 occasions so far.

The defender loves Europe’s second-tier competition and was even the top scorer during the 2021/22 edition, finishing with seven goals and remarkably, they all came during the knockout stages.

3 CB – Ben Davies

The first change to the side will see Davies come in and replace Connor Goldson, who is suspended for the tie.

The centre-back picked up his third yellow card of the group stage against Sparta Prague in the previous tie and this means he won’t be available for selection against Aris.

Clement will replace him with Davies, who has started every match of the group stage so far, yet has made the starting XI just four times in the league.

4 CB – John Souttar

The second change Clement will make is bringing in Souttar for Leon Balogun, as the 35-year-old wasn’t included in the Europa League squad by Beale.

It was a poor decision, especially with Balogun’s experience, yet the Scot will be able to step up and form a solid partnership with Davies.

5 LB – Borna Barisic

The Croatian started against Aberdeen, yet due to yet another error by Beale, who failed to include Ridvan Yilmaz in his Europa League squad, he will be forced to start against Aris.

Barisic only has a few months left of his current contract, and it remains to be seen whether this will be his final season in Glasgow.

6 CM – John Lundstram

The Englishman has been solid in recent weeks and, under Clement, he has started all eight games and returned to the sort of form which saw him propel the Gers into the Europa League final in 2022.

During that semi-final tie against RB Leipzig, the former Premier League midfielder popped up with the winner with just minutes to go, thus earning cult hero status in the process.

Expect him to retain his place against the Cypriot side.

7 CM – Ryan Jack

The third change by the Belgian will see Jack return to the starting XI in place of Jose Cifuentes.

The Ecuadorian is finding his feet at the Ibrox side following a slow start and against the Dons, the 24-year-old looked comfortable at the heart of the midfield, taking 81 touches, and succeeded with 88% of his attempted passes.

Jack has started just once in the competition, yet he has won 88% of his ground duels and Clement may just prefer his experience alongside Lundstram.

8 RW – Ross McCausland

The man of the moment. McCausland will be Clement’s fourth and final change as he will come into the side.

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The youngster has recently signed a new contract which will keep him at the club for the next three and half years, and it is a wise investment by Clement.

He has broken into the first team over the previous few weeks and secured his first start for the Light Blues against Livingston before the international break.

He could add something extra to the attack and don’t be surprised to see him shining yet again.

9 AM – Todd Cantwell

The Englishman started on the right against Aberdeen and while he made five key passes and succeeded with 100% of his dribbles, there was something missing in his performance.

His best position is clearly just behind the striker and he registered eight goal contributions from that role during the second half of last season after joining from Norwich City.

This means Tom Lawrence will drop to the bench to accompany the attacking midfielder. The 29-year-old – who was dubbed as “wonderful” by journalist Josh Bunting – could be an important player for the club this term, and his impact will be useful from the bench tomorrow.

10 LW – Abdallah Sima

The on-loan Brighton and Hove Albion starlet has really made the left wing role his own recently. Sima has managed to find the back of the net on nine occasions and he scored during the first two matches of the group stage, including the winner against Real Betis.

He will make yet another appearance in the starting XI against Aris.

Rebuilding. For ageing pros, time ultimately laps at the heels of the slowing runners, the poor performers or simply the out-of-place. That's not meant to be mean, it's just the truth – especially in the cut-throat here today-gone next year nature of the Premier League.

Even when the dream of top-flight football winds down with an extensive career, positives can still come to fruition – that's something learned today, with this Ukrainian winger once revered in East London with West Ham United, who is now favoured back in his home country's Ukrainska Premier Liha following a stellar season in the UAE.

Why did West Ham sign Andriy Yarmolenko?

Rewind to the 2017/18 season and Andriy Yarmolenko has totted up a marvellous Dynamo Kyiv career. 11 seasons in Ukraine's capital has brought about some staggering numbers whilst consistently being rumoured a move away.

In 336 games in all competitions, Yarmolenko scored a whopping 136 goals and registered 89 assists. He was performing on the international stage too, and by this point had performed at Euro 2012 and 2016.

As one of his country's most gifted players, it's no wonder that clubs on the continent came sniffing around the 27-year-old winger – and eventually Yarmolenko signed for Borussia Dortmund for €25m (£22m) on a four-year-deal in August 2017.

Despite time at Dortmund beginning strongly with his first goal on his first start against Tottenham in the Champions League, Yarmolenko didn't seem to fit in at the Signal Iduna Park and only mustered 18 Bundesliga appearances that term under Peter Bosz.

That said, he still managed three goals and five assists – showing glimpses of why BVB had signed him. Solace came at West Ham, who picked the winger up for £17.5m in July 2018 with a four-year-contract.

What went wrong for Andriy Yarmolenko at West Ham?

Where things had hoped to be better in east London, Yarmolenko instantly suffered a rocky start. Just two months into his stint under David Moyes, the Ukrainian ruptured his Achilles against Tottenham.

He was ruled out for six months and was absent for 222 days. Then, on his eventual return in August 2019, he reacted positively with his first goal for the club in a 2-0 win over Norwich City.

In September's next home game, he scored again – however, injury reared its ugly head again for Yarmolenko. A torn Abductor muscle saw him sidelined from December until March 2020. It just seemed he couldn't catch a break.

Despite injury, (he'd again suffer with COVID-19 and then a torn knee ligament) Yarmolenko did manage 20 goal involvements – 13 goals, seven assists – in 86 all-competition games for the Hammers. Some of these strikes were important too, like the winning goal against Chelsea in July 2020 which effectively kept West Ham up for instance.

However, with West Ham in transition – the 32-year-old exited for free and signed for UAE club Al-Ain in July 2022.

Although blighted by injury and the heartache of Ukraine's political turmoil – Yarmolenko's West Ham career still sits fondly within Irons' hearts. An emotional farewell was blunt and well-received on the player's social media.

Where is Andriy Yarmolenko now?

Yarmolenko's lucrative move to the Middle East was only a season long, as he is now back at Dynamo Kyiv.

However, while in the UAE, Yarmolenko notably put in some solid shifts in what many deem yet another moneyed retirement league in world football. The Ukrainian even outperformed Jarrod Bowen's numbers last term.

Where Bowen reached an impressive 13 goals across 53 all-competition games, with an exciting trophy winning five goals in 11 Conference League matches – Yarmolenko trumped him in league goals.

Granted, it is the UAE first division, but the Ukranian forward showed he still had something to give in his cameo one-term at Al-Ain. He scored 11 league goals and got six assists in 23 games – certainly a better rate of goal involvement than Bowen.

Indeed, tn the Premier League, Bowen only scored six and got six assists in 38 games. It's funny how football can work out, isn't it?

Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has been banned from football for 10 months, but another setback has now potentially emerged, according to an update from journalist Craig Hope.

Sandro Tonali ban

The Magpies signed the Italian from Serie A giants AC Milan during the summer transfer window, in what looked like a fantastic piece of business by the club.

Tonali had shone in his homeland, helping Milan reach the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, and was seen as someone who could take Eddie Howe's side to the next level.

After a dream debut that saw the 23-year-old score in a 5-1 win at home to Aston Villa in the league, disaster has struck in recent weeks with the news that Tonali has received a 10-month ban from football for breaching betting rules during his time as a Milan player.

It is a massive blow for Howe and anyone associated with Newcastle, and immediately hurts their chances of going far in the Champions League, as well as qualifying for the competition again next season – but now another potential setback has emerged regarding the situation.

Fresh Sandro Tonali blow

Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Hope explained that Tonali may have broken betting rules since moving to Newcastle, which is contrary to earlier reports:

"Exclusive: The Football Association are now investigating whether Sandro Tonali broke betting rules AFTER his £52m move to Newcastle in July. The player is currently banned for 10 months for illegal gambling activity in Italy."

In his article for The Daily Mail itself, Hope goes on to add that the Italy international "continued to bet on football while under their jurisdiction", and that if this is proved to be the case, Tonali "could be subject to further sanction" from the FA.

This is a very worrying development from a Newcastle perspective considering they are already without the young midfielder for the rest of the season, not to mention what a bitter blow it is for the player himself, who will also miss Euro 2024 with Italy.

This fresh development has the potential to lead to a further ban, as Tonali could be found guilty of continuing to bet after he made the move from Milan to Newcastle, which doesn't bear thinking about.

What he cannot afford to do is become too big a distraction for the Magpies on the pitch at a time when their form has been a little hit-and-miss.

A good run of results ended recently with a 1-0 defeat at home to Borussia Dortmund, which could be a damaging Champions League result, while their 2-2 draw away to Wolves in the Premier League twice saw Howe's men fail to hold onto a lead. That being said, the 3-0 win at Manchester United in the EFL Cup more than steadied the ship, though they need to retain that level moving forward.

The hope is that nothing new comes from this latest Tonali development and that his 10-month ban ends up being the worst-case scenario, but it is clear that a replacement is needed in January, with Newcastle linked with the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Ruben Neves and N'Golo Kante, among others.

National selector Trevor Hohns and national talent manager Greg Chappell will be more focused on Tests and ODIs

Daniel Brettig26-Jul-2018

Tim Paine chats with Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer•Getty Images

Australia’s selection panel has been formally shaved down to three members, with the new coach Justin Langer to take primary responsibility for the Twenty20 format after the resignation of Mark Waugh.Langer will act as “chair” in discussion around T20I squads, while the national selector Trevor Hohns and national talent manager Greg Chappell will be more focused on Tests and ODIs. State talent managers and Big Bash League coaches will also be consulted more thoroughly, with the reduced panel unable to be present at every Sheffield Shield match.The panel changes were approved at a meeting of the CA Board in Melbourne.While the new structure is not as dramatic a change as that adopted previously by New Zealand – essentially placing selection in the hands of the national coach with help from a selection manager – it increases Langer’s say in selection beyond the level previously granted to Darren Lehmann and Mickey Arthur, after the 2011 Argus review recommended that the coach be a selector.”We believe the changes to the structure of the selection process will deliver the best possible result for the Australian Men’s Cricket Team across all formats,” Cricket Australia’s team performance manager Pat Howard said. “Having a selector focus on the T20 format for the past 18 months was viewed as a success, particularly as we now sit third in ICC rankings in this format, and we will look to continue this in a slightly modified way.”This sees Justin take on additional responsibility as both the head coach and lead selector in Twenty20 cricket, as we build towards the ICC World T20 in Australia in 2020. Justin has performed a similar role previously while coach of the Perth Scorchers, and has a wealth of knowledge around the Big Bash League and its players.”The changes also see the State Talent Managers and Big Bash League coaches involved in the selection process for Twenty20 cricket, as we consult our experts in Australian cricket.”Australia’s T20 selections have grown increasingly BBL-focused over the past seven years with a trend of improving results in 2018 which included winning the tri-series involving England and New Zealand. However, the Test and ODI teams face an uphill task during the 2018-19 season, dealing without the suspended Steven Smith and David Warner in particular.Waugh resigned from the panel to take up a larger scale role commentating for Fox Sports as part of the new AUD1.18 billion broadcast rights deal that also includes the Seven Network. He had previously juggled selection with BBL commentary for Ten.