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Potter’s free-spending Chelsea can ‘attack’ end of the season

Published

8 months ago

February 2, 2023

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Potter's free-spending Chelsea can 'attack' end of the season

Chelsea manager Graham Potter says he is excited by the challenge of getting the best out of a bloated squad after the Blues smashed spending records during the January transfer window.

World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez could make his debut against Fulham on Friday after joining for a British-record 121 million euros ($132 million, £107 million) from Benfica.

Ukraine’s Mykhailo Mudryk could also make his Stamford Bridge bow after joining from Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee that could rise to 100 million euros.

Chelsea signed eight players in total in January, taking their total spend in the first season under new ownership to more than £500 million.

Despite the investment, Chelsea sit 10th in the Premier League table and were dumped out of both domestic cups by Manchester City.

Potter’s men have a 10-point deficit to make up if they are to catch the top four.

And the former Brighton boss faces a tricky task ahead, unable to register all the new arrivals for the latter stages of this season’s Champions League.

“It’s exciting,” said Potter, who only arrived at the club in September.

“It’s a test for me of course and for the staff and everybody but it’s an exciting one. We’ve got a lot of really good players.

“We have to create an environment where there’s healthy competition and they can push each other and at the same time understand that there’s going to be frustration at times because only 11 can play.

“But we’ve got a lot of important games and we need to improve our results so it’s about playing, supporting the team and being ready to play.”

Options

Potter suddenly has a wealth of options at his disposal, with Chelsea’s long injury list beginning to clear.

Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Raheem Sterling and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are available again for selection.

“There is a youthful dynamic and you can see the type of player we’ve tried to sign. We are trying to build something for now and the future,” Potter said, referring to Chelsea’s much-criticised transfer policy.

“We’ve had a pretty unprecedented injury situation, lots of things have happened. We’ve learnt a lot and we can attack the second half of the season.”

Argentina’s Fernandez was signed with minutes to spare as protracted negotiations with Benfica went down to the wire on Tuesday’s deadline day.

But not all of Chelsea’s business was completed — a move to send Hakim Ziyech to Paris Saint-Germain on loan collapsed after the paperwork was not finished in time.

“I’m the head coach so I don’t get too involved in the nitty gritty of deadline day,” said Potter.

“I’ve been involved too long to know that there are some things you can’t control and I couldn’t do anything at that point to change things. I found out that we had signed Enzo when it was all done and I’m very pleased, because he is a fantastic player.”

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Sports

Bangladesh name Najmul captain for third New Zealand ODI

Published

6 days ago

September 25, 2023

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Bangladesh name Najmul captain for third New Zealand ODI

Bangladesh named batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto captain for the third one-day international against New Zealand and brought several senior players back.

Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, and Shoriful Islam join Najmul for the must-win contest at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday.

New Zealand are leading the three-match series 1-0 thanks to their 86-run win in the second match on Saturday, the side’s first win against Bangladesh in the country in nearly 15 years.

The first match was washed out by rain.

The Kiwis last beat Bangladesh in their own backyard in October 2008.

They then lost the next two series in 2010 and 2013, respectively, by 4-0 and 3-0.

Over that period, New Zealand’s only ODI victory in Bangladesh came against South Africa in the 2011 World Cup quarter-final.

Bangladesh rested Liton Das, Tamim Iqbal, Khaled Ahmed, Soumya Sarkar, Mustafizur Rahman, and Tanzim Hasan, who all played in the second match against New Zealand.

Regular captain Shakib Al Hasan did not play any part of the series. In the absence of Shakib and Liton, Najmul is now set to become the 16th ODI captain for Bangladesh.

The series is the last for both teams ahead of the upcoming World Cup in India, which opens on October 5.

Squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Zakir Hasan, Anamul Haque, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Rishad Hossain.

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Sports

Naseem Shah likely to undergo shoulder surgery

Published

6 days ago

September 25, 2023

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Naseem Shah likely to undergo shoulder surgery

Pakistan’s pace icon Naseem Shah, who was injured in the match against India in the Asia Cup, is likely to undergo shoulder surgery.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Shah had been asked for the shoulder surgery following his medical examination and consultation with experts. It is expected that recovery of fast bowler will take four months.

Also Read: Naseem Shah bowls Indian girl over with ‘charming look’

Earlier, Pakistan Cricket Team chief selector Inzamamul Haq had also mentioned the health of Shah while he was announcing the squad for the ICC World Cup.

Also Read: Naseem Shah does it again as Pakistan win last-over thriller against Afghanistan

Naseem Shah, who is not part of the World Cup 2023 squad expressed his dismay through his Tweet.

Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), Shah mentioned that “With a heavy heart, I’m sharing that I will not be part of this amazing team that will be representing our beloved country. While I’m disappointed, I believe everything is in Allah’s hands. InshahAllah will be on the field very soon.”

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Sports

Leather, willow and sunflowers: China gets to grip with cricket

Published

6 days ago

September 25, 2023

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Leather, willow and sunflowers: China gets to grip with cricket

There’s a reverential hush from the respectful crowd as Pakistan’s Sadia Iqbal opens the bowling to Bangladesh’s Shathi Rani in the Asian Games women’s bronze medal match in Hangzhou.

The sound of leather on willow echoes around the purpose-built cricket ground, which until recently was full of sunflowers.

The atmosphere is more village green than the fever pitch of, say, Pakistan’s Gaddafi Stadium, but the few hundred spectators are fully engaged — even if many admit to never seeing the game before.

Almost entirely Chinese, the crowd “oohs and aahs” and clap when a wicket falls, cheer every boundary and then look bewildered when a loud lbw appeal pierces the serenity of the Zhejiang University of Technology (ZJUT) Cricket Field.

“I didn’t ever see cricket before so I was interested to know more about this sport,” said spectator Huang Dapeng, who runs his own business in Hangzhou. “I’m starting to understand it a little, but I am really enjoying it anyway.” A few have some knowledge of the game and seem captivated.

“I travelled to Sri Lanka before and a friend invited me to watch cricket, so I became interested,” said Liang Xiaoqian, a travel agent. “When I heard it was in the Asian Games I wanted to learn more about this game,” she added, ahead of Monday afternoon’s final between India and Sri Lanka.

“I am enjoying watching. I will be supporting Sri Lanka in the gold medal match.” Others are there just because it is the Asian Games and they want to watch sport, any sport. “It’s the only Asian Games tickets we could get,” said a smiling Jeff Wang, an engineer who was sitting in the stand with his father Wang Hang.

“It’s my first time to watch cricket. It’s unknown to me before, I don’t really know what is going on. “But I did hear this game is very famous in South Asia.”

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