Her mother and daughter will now stay at a hotel outside the CWG village

Umar Farooq12-May-2022

Pakistan Women’s captain Bismah Maroof’s infant daughter, Fatima, has been denied accreditation to access the Commonwealth Games village. As a result, Maroof was deliberating over her participation in the event, which is to be held from July 25 to August 8 in Birmingham. But ESPNcricinfo understands she will travel for the games, with her daughter and mother, who will take care of Fatima, staying at a hotel outside the village.It has been learnt that the PCB had asked the CWG Federation for two extra accreditations to accommodate Maroof’s mother and daughter in the village. In response, the federation asked the PCB to remove two personnel from their allowed 22-member travelling contingent, which includes officials as well. But the PCB stated that it was in no position to omit any players or officials from the touring party.ESPNcricinfo has written to the Games’ media department for the official version of their parental policy but they were yet to respond at the time of this story being published.Related

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The little big hit! Bismah Maroof's daughter steals the show after intense India-Pakistan contest

PCB announce year-long calendar for women's cricket, revive U-19 domestic tournament

Maroof had recently travelled to New Zealand for the 2022 Women’s World Cup with her daughter and mother. The PCB’s maternity policy allows a mother “to travel with a support person of her choice to assist in caring for her infant child”, with travel and accommodation costs shared equally between the board and the player.The PCB has also confirmed that Maroof will continue to lead the national team for the 2022-23 season. Pakistan are set to play 25 matches this season, starting with the home series against Sri Lanka in Karachi, which gets underway from May 24. After that, the team will head for Belfast to play a triangular T20I series against Ireland and Australia from July 12 to 24. This will be immediately followed by the Commonwealth Games.”I want to thank the Pakistan Cricket Board for its immense support throughout my career and especially in helping me strike the right work-life balance after the birth of Fatima,” Maroof said. “There was a time when I contemplated giving up on my passion of playing cricket, but the PCB ensured it never came to that with the introduction of the maternity policy, which has made the game as inclusive as it can be for the women in our country. I also want to thank my family and especially my husband, Abrar, who has been a great support throughout my career and has provided me encouragement to continue to play for Pakistan.”Maroof was handed the T20I captaincy in 2016, replacing Sana Mir and was named the ODI captain after the 2017 World Cup. Last April, Maroof had taken an indefinite maternity leave, and the PCB’s new parental policy helped her return to cricket and captaincy earlier this year.On being retained as captain for the 2022-23 season, Maroof said: “It is truly an honour for any cricketer to captain their country and it is a great privilege for me to continue in this role. The 2022-23 cricket season is the busiest for Pakistan Women’s side and we are excited and geared up for the challenges it presents. Every match in the upcoming season is important for us as a team as bilateral ODIs will determine whether we qualify for the next ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup and the T20Is provide us opportunities to prepare for the all-important T20 World Cup in February next year.”

Thomas Tuchel says it makes "no sense" to call up Cole Palmer for England's upcoming World Cup qualifiers due to a muscular injury.

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• Palmer suffers muscle injury
• Won't play in England games
• Tuchel issues verdict on Chelsea man

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Palmer was left out of Chelsea's squad for the 1-0 loss to Arsenal last weekend due to illness, and head coach Enzo Maresca later revealed the 22-year-old had picked up a "muscle problem" in training. Despite being named in new England boss Tuchel's first Three Lions squad last week, the German has made it clear the attacking midfielder won't feature in their World Cup qualifiers over the next few days.

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• AFP
  

  WHAT THOMAS TUCHEL SAID

  He told reporters on Thursday: "Cole will not be with us. We waited a while for feedback. But he is not on the pitch and it makes no sense to call him up now."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Palmer is struggling for form and goals at present, with the Chelsea man last scoring more than two months ago. The ex-Manchester City ace will need time to rediscover his form and playing while injured will not help towards that goal. Even Maresca admitted the England international is "human", so some time off may do him good.

• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Tuchel's first England games are against Albania on Friday and Latvia on Monday as they begin their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

A club are preparing to push hard for one member of Ange Postecoglou’s squad in January, as the player looks for a way out of Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs face Bournemouth after disappointing 1-1 draw to Fulham

The Lilywhites take on Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium tonight, and it is quite uncertain which version of Spurs we’ll see.

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He’s seen as crucial by Ange.

1

By
Emilio Galantini

Dec 4, 2024

Postecoglou’s side thumped Premier League champions Man City 4-0, thrashed London rivals West Ham in a London derby, beat top-four rivals Aston Villa by three goals and dominated Man United at Old Trafford, but they also handed both Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace their first wins of the season.

Tottenham’s inconsistency has been a real chink in their armour so far, and it could seriously endanger their prospects of clinching a first piece of silverware since 2008 and a place in the top four at the end 2024/2025.

It will be interesting to see how Spurs decide to show up on the south coast this evening, but they also are not helped by the plethora of absentees in their squad right now.

Postecoglou is without his number one keeper Guglielmo Vicario for the foreseeable future after surgery on an ankle fracture, while he’s also missing his star central defensive duo Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.

Wilson Odobert, Richarlison, Mikey Moore and Rodrigo Bentancur are also set to miss tonight’s trip, while doubts surround summer signing Dominic Solanke, which has left Spurs very short on the field.

“Everyone from the weekend got through OK, Archie [Gray] obviously got a knock, but he’s recovered well,” said Postecoglou on Tottenham team news before Bournemouth.

“Dom’s due to train today, he’s still not 100 per cent, but he’s definitely improved from the weekend, so we’ll see how he goes through training today. The other injured guys are inching closer but not available.”

Due to the severe shortage of options, Postecoglou has even suggested that they could turn to £120,000-per-week outcast Sergio Reguilon, who is yet to make a first-team appearance and this season and was included on the bench for the first time in months against Fulham.

“He is ready. He is training every day so part of the squad and we’re down in numbers, but there is also a reason why Reggy is in the last year of his contract with us,” said Postecoglou on Reguilon.

“We’ll see how that all transpires but nothing wrong with his attitude. He is training every day and we literally have schoolboys on the bench, so we’re low down on numbers and he’ll probably be involved again tomorrow.”

Getafe prepared to open talks for Tottenham defender Sergio Reguilon

As a result of his exclusion from the team, Reguilon is attracting interest from La Liga, as he reportedly looks for a way out of N17.

There have even been reports that Reguilon wants to terminate his Spurs contract, with SuperDeporte now providing an update on the former Real Madrid defender’s future heading into January.

The Spanish news outlet writes that Getafe are prepared to “negotiate hard” to sign Reguilon from Tottenham, as they look to take advantage of this situation and shore up their left-back department.

“Frustration” is emerging from Reguilon and his camp over the lack of game time, with Getafe apparently ready to offer him a route out of north London. Reguilon is accomplished at the top level, spending last season on loan spells at Man United and Brentford, so he could be a very astute option on loan mid-season.

According to SuperDeporte, Tottenham will demand around £10 million to sell him outright in January, despite his contract expiring at the end of this campaign.

Arsenal are now reportedly making a massive bid to land a new forward for Mikel Arteta as they look to fix their problems in front of goal.

Arsenal struggle from open play

Arsenal’s fifth draw of the season saw them lose more ground on Liverpool in the Premier League title race. The Gunners laboured to a 1-1 stalemate with Fulham at Craven Cottage, rescuing a point through William Saliba’s goal just before the hour mark.

It was their third goal from a corner in a week, and it has underlined their reliance on set pieces for goals, at the detriment of their attack. As per CBS reporter James Benge, Arsenal have managed to create at least 1 expected goal from open play on just three occasions in fifteen Premier League games this season, while they rank a lowly 13th in the division for open play expected goals this season.

Clearly, there are problems in attack. Neither Gabriel Jesus nor Raheem Sterling have troubled the scorers in the Premier League so far this campaign in almost 400 minutes of action combined, while Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard have 11 goals between them, only four more than Arsenal’s defenders.

Kai Havertz

5

Bukayo Saka

5

Leandro Trossard

3

Gabriel

3

Gabriel Martinelli

3

Mikel Arteta, speaking after the draw with Fulham, bemoaned the small “margins” in the game, that saw Gabriel Martinelli ruled offside in the build up to what would have been a winning goal.

“Very disappointed not to win the game, overall we absolutely dominated the game from start to end, we did all the things that we wanted to do during the game and unfortunately we concede one goal in one shot but the way the team played, the way the team wanted to win, it was unbelievable and very unfortunate for millimetres to win or don’t win in this league and that’s the disappointing thing tonight.”

Now, Arsenal want to sign a new forward to help them close those margins.

Arsenal make £50m+ striker bid

That is according to reports in Spain, that claim the Gunners are back on the trail of Brighton striker Joao Pedro. The Brazilian has been a player of interest to the Gunners previously and has thrived at the AMEX Stadium since his arrival from Watford.

Arsenal boss Arteta wants "extraordinary" player to stay despite exit links

The 24-year-old is attracting a lot of attention across Europe.

1 ByDominic Lund Dec 8, 2024

Brighton content creator Ryan Adsett dubbed him “magic”, and he has already managed four goals and three assists in just nine outings for the Seagulls this season.

As per the report, this has caught the eye of Mikel Arteta and co., with the report claiming that the young Brazilian “fits perfectly into Mikel Arteta’s plans”, adding that the Spaniard sees Pedro “as a fundamental piece to further strengthen the squad”.

To that end, it is claimed that “the Gunners are willing to pay between 55 and 65 million euros to secure his services” [£45m-£54m], with the report adding that Arsenal have made a “first offer” in that region for the Brazilian.

Though a January move seems unlikely, the versatile 23-year-old could well be one to watch in the summer transfer window.

The last month or so has been brutal for Tottenham Hotspur.

Ange Postecoglou’s side have suffered several injuries to star players and been on the wrong end of several eye-catching results.

For example, they lost 6-3 to Liverpool on Sunday evening, 4-3 to Chelsea a couple of weeks ago and 2-1 to newly promoted Ipswich Town before the final international break of the year, and in each of those games, the manager started Radu Dragusin.

The Romanian international has not been great this season, so reports suggesting the club could be set to repeat the mistake that saw them sign him in January should worry fans.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from Football Insider, Tottenham are interested in Atalanta defender Ben Godfrey, a player with 112 Premier League appearances to his name.

In fact, the report has revealed that the North Londoners have already made an approach to take him on a short-term loan as they look for solutions to their current defensive crisis.

However, while their need for a new defender might be the most acute, the Lilywhites aren’t the only team interested in the former Everton ace, as reports from earlier this month named Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest as two of four Premier League sides keen.

Now, given Spurs’ stature and what they can offer players, we would be surprised if they couldn’t get ahead of the competition, but given their ambitions, we aren’t sure they should, especially considering how poorly their last centre-back signing from Italy has fared.

Why Spurs shouldn't sign Godfrey

So, simply put, signing Godfrey, even on a short-term loan, would be a poor decision and could end up mimicking Dragusin’s move.

The Romanian joined the North Londoners from Serie A side Genoa in January for a fee of around £26.7m, and while there was some excitement around the transfer, he’s now one of the most scrutinised players in the squad, and for good reason.

The 22-year-old has been forced into a more prominent role this season due to injuries, and while he hasn’t been cataclysmically bad, he has been poor.

For example, in the Europa League, he got himself sent off against Qarabağ FK, gifted Victor Osimhen a goal against Galatasaray and looked utterly out of his depth against Rangers.

He’s not fared much better in the Premier League, averaging just 1.30 points per game and being so poor against Ipswich Town that journalist and fan Mitch Fretton described his performance as an “absolute horror show.”

Now, while Godfrey’s move would be similar in the sense that he’d also be joining from an Italian club, the difference is that he’s not an important member of Atalanta’s squad.

For example, since joining the Bergamo outfit in the summer, he’s made just five appearances, totalling 93 minutes, and was even described as a ‘flop’ by Italian outlet Tutto Atalanta in September.

Unfortunately for the former Norwich City gem, he hasn’t got an impressive body of work in the Premier League to fall back on either, as in the four seasons following his £25m move to Goodison Park, he made just 93 appearances.

Moreover, during his final campaign with the Toffees, the “embarrassing” centre-back, as dubbed by former scout Bryan King, made just 16 appearances across all competitions, meaning he wasn’t deemed good enough to help the club avoid relegation.

Godfrey’s senior career

Club

Appearances

Everton

93

Norwich City

78

Shrewsbury

51

York City

15

Atalanta

5

All Stats via Transfermarkt

Ultimately, Spurs’ need for some defensive reinforcements is undeniable, but that does not mean they should be signing the first player they come across, and that is what this potential deal feels like.

Related Spurs target Solanke upgrade in "world-class" £70m ace who Madrid also want

The incredible attacker would make Spurs a scary proposition.

Posts 1 ByJack Salveson Holmes Dec 18, 2024

Victoria wicketkeeper ends his professional career due to chronic finger injury

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2022Victoria wicketkeeper-batter Seb Gotch has been forced to retire due to a chronic finger injury while offspinner Todd Murphy has earned his first Victoria contract after being named in the Australia A squad to tour Sri Lanka.Gotch’s retirement has been a long-time coming. The 28-year-old has not played since the final Sheffield Shield game of the 2020-21 season and was unavailable for Victoria and Melbourne Stars all of last summer due to his finger issue. He finishes with 29 first-class matches for Victoria and played in two Sheffield Shield titles. He made 1187 runs at 33.91 with two centuries and completed 108 dismissals.Meanwhile, Murphy has been rewarded with a full contract for Victoria after making his Shield debut this season. He starred in his second game with match figures of 7 for 146 and 24 not out in a fourth-innings chase against Tasmania and will be heading to Sri Lanka with the Australia A squad in June.Todd Murphy has been upgraded to a senior contract•Getty ImagesVictoria have also upgraded young quick Cameron McClure to their senior list after he made his List A and Sheffield Shield debuts in March.Australian Under-19 opener Campbell Kellaway and promising Casey South-Melbourne batter Ashley Chandrasinghe have both been handed rookie contracts.Opener James Seymour has lost his state contract despite making his maiden Sheffield Shield century against New South Wales at the MCG earlier in the summer. Xavier Crone and Tom Jackson have also been delisted.Victoria men’s contract list:Peter Handscomb, Scott Boland (CA), Travis Dean, Zak Evans, Aaron Finch (CA), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Jon Holland, Nic Maddinson, Cameron McClure, Glenn Maxwell (CA), Jono Merlo, Todd Murphy, Tom O’Connell, Wil Parker, James Pattinson, Mitchell Perry, Will Pucovski, Matt Short, Will Sutherland, Ashley Chandrasinghe (Rookie), Brody Couch (Rookie), Sam Elliott (Rookie), Campbell Kellaway (Rookie), Fergus O’Neill (Rookie) In: Ashley Chandrasinghe, Campbell Kellaway | Out: Xavier Crone, Seb Gotch (retired), James Seymour, Tom Jackson

MatériaMais Notícias

Classificado para a final do Campeonato Paulista ao bater o Red Bull Bragantino, neste sábado (26), por 2 a 1, o Palmeiras não desistiu de decidir o Estadual no Allianz Parque.

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A decisão está prevista para o dia 3 de abril, um domingo, dois dias antes do show da banda americana Marron 5 no estádio palmeirense.

>TABELA – Confira os jogos da reta final do Paulistão
> GALERIA – Veja quanto o Palmeiras ganhou de premiações com Abel

O Verdão atua nos bastidores para o segundo jogo da final do Paulistão então seja antecipado em um dia e ocorra no dia 2 de abril, um sábado. Mesmo assim, essa possibilidade é vista como improvável até mesmo para a cúpula alviverde, por conta da detentora dos direitos de transmissão aberta do campeonato, que transmitiu os seus jogos do fim de semana às 16h dos domingos desde o início do torneio.

O Palmeiras conversa com a Federação Paulista de Futebol e o estafe do Marron 5 para poder decidir o Paulistão no Allianz pela terceira vez desde a sua inauguração. As outras duas vezes foram contra o Corinthians, em 2018 e 2020, com uma derrota e uma vitória. O Timão pode ser novamente o adversário palmeirense na decisão estadual, caso passe pelo São Paulo, neste domingo (27), no estádio do Morumbi.

Caso o Verdão não consiga articular a alteração de datas na final do Campeonato Paulista, terá que buscar um outro estádio para mandar a sua partida. A Arena Barueri é um local trabalhado pela direção alviverde.

Ishan Kishan admits having “lost focus” in trying to deviate from being an early enforcer to a finisher. Having gotten into a rut, he’s trying to revert to his original style that has brought him T20 success.Currently, his strike rate of 117.15 is the fourth lowest among batters who have faced at least 150 balls in IPL 2022. There has been some improvement though over the past three games, with Kishan contributing scores of 51, 45 and 26. Kishan’s struggles have mirrored Mumbai’s struggles.”What worked well for me was, initially when I started the tournament, I wasn’t over-thinking, I was just going and batting, like I used to do,” Kishan said. “My focus was on giving a good start to the team. But I think later, somewhere I was trying to finish the game and do the job for others who were supposed to do it, and maybe I lost my focus in the first six overs.Related

• Pride for Mumbai, last-gasp effort for CSK as old rivals come together again

“I had a chat with the coach and captain also, and they just said, ‘If you can give us a good start, it will be helpful for the team, so you don’t have to think about finishing the game. If you are set there in the middle, you will anyway do that.’ So right now, my focus is just on giving good starts and making sure that I don’t get out easily. And if I’m the set batsman in the middle, I’m making sure that I have to be there to finish the game.”Much of Kishan’s focus lately has been inwards. Known to be a prankster around the team, he hasn’t let the fun element dry out. He insists key lifestyle changes and an improved focus towards diet and fitness have helped him make wholesome changes that he hopes will pay off going forward.”During the earlier seasons, I didn’t follow diet plans and stuff a lot, but now I’m following it,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of senior players around me do that. I’ve also had chats with trainers as to how the body helps you with your cricket, something I hadn’t realised until now. Like, while wicketkeeping, my movements are still good because a lot of it is liked to diet and how you train and form your routines.”In the IPL, matches keep coming, sometimes you tend to miss the training bit outside of the game. But now I have a proper plan in place that I’ve formed in discussion with the trainers. And we’re following it to ensure fitness is maintained and we feel good at the same time. Most of the guys who are in the Indian team are also following the same plan.”Players feel quite nice about it. In a bubble, we’re only looking at how we can utilise the time. The body is used to the bubble life now. We’ve got all the facilities given to us by the Mumbai management – gym, trainers – three of them who are always behind us. So, we’re focused on how to keep the body in best shape and how we can perform at our best.”Kishan’s lack of form has invariably been linked to IPL auction pressure. He was the season’s costliest signing at INR 15.25 crore. He admits while it did play on his mind early on, he has moved on and chats with senior players around the subject have helped bring clarity.”Price tag pressure lasts for a certain time,” he said. “Maybe on auction day, or maybe a day or two after that. But at the level you’re playing and having played for a while, I know what is most important. Do I keep that pressure on your mind or do I focus on how you can win matches for the team? Obviously, price tag pressure will be there for a while but if you have good seniors around you, if a player around you feels that way, a lot of seniors are around you.”Rohit, Virat, Hardik – all of them said the same thing. ‘Don’t be worried about the price tag pressure, it’s not something you have asked for. Instead of thinking about that, think of cricket and be in your zone. That is important.’ It’s possible they would’ve also faced such a situation before. How have they handled it then? These are things I’ve spoken about.”I feel very light now, I don’t even think about it. Price tag is secondary. The focus – whether you’ve been sold for 1 crore, base price or 15 crores – what matters is how you make the team win. Or if you’re not in form, how you’re helping others bring out their best. The focus has been on that.””Rohit, Virat, Hardik – all of them said the same thing. ‘Don’t be worried about the price tag pressure’•BCCI

Has he been affected by the external noise and chatter about his form, auction price? Not at all, if Kishan is to be believed.”I don’t really check who is saying what,” he said. “I know that they aren’t in our situation. If I was sitting on the outside, maybe I would have also written a lot of things about everyone. It’s the easiest thing to pick your phone and type away.”I saw some players, new to the team, who were checking the comment sections after the match. I told them, ‘There’s nothing to be gained by reading this. Those people aren’t playing, and they don’t know what pressure we have gone through.’ It’s easy for them to write that there should have been a six hit, they might want 36 runs in six balls. But cricket isn’t so easy.”What the situation is in the middle, what the team requires at that time… every player likes to play shots, but sometimes you will see several big-hitting players also playing on the merit of each ball, for 25 balls. Because that is a situation where you need a partnership.”It’s easy for the public to write. But yes, there are some fans who know what you’re going through also and who will back you. If you see on social media, or get to see through your manager, you’ll see you get backing also in your down time.”But I don’t get affected by the other comments people make, and I don’t think anyone else does either. People will talk. If you have fans, you’ll have haters too. They’re getting fun while writing, it’s okay. It doesn’t affect us, and we don’t even see those messages.”

خاض النجم المصري عمر مرموش مباراة فريق مانشستر سيتي، يوم الثلاثاء، ضد خصمه فريق أستون فيلا في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وتلاقى الفريقان في إطار منافسات الجولة الرابعة والثلاثين من الدوري الإنجليزي، موسم 2024/25، على ملعب “الاتحاد” حيث فاز مانشستر سيتي بهدفين لهدف.

وشارك عمر مرموش كأساسي في مباراة اليوم رفقة مانشستر سيتي، وخاضها حتى النهاية. ملخص لمسات عمر مرموش اليوم أمام أستون فيلا

وتحصل مرموش على ركلة ركنية، في الدقيقة الثانية من عمر الشوط الأول، بعدما انطلق داخل منطقة جزاء أستون فيلا، واصطدمت كرته بالدفاع.

وتسبب عمر مرموش في هدف مانشستر سيتي، في الدقيقة السابعة من عمر الشوط الأول، الذي سجله برناردو سيلفا.

جاء الهدف بعد تمريرة من عمر مرموش، حيث حاول إيصال الكرة داخل منطقة الجزاء، لتصطدم بالدفاع وترتد لتصل إلى برناردو سيلفا الذي سددها في الشباك رغم محاولة إيميليانو مارتينيز الإمساك بها.

وكاد مرموش أن يسجل هدف التقدم لصالح مانشستر سيتي، بعدما نفذ راشفورد ضربة جزاء بنجاح لـ أستون فيلا.

وسنحت فرصة خطيرة لصالح مرموش، في الدقيقة 20، حيث وصلت له تمريرة، وكاد أن ينفرد بالمرمى لولا تدخل إيميليانو مارتينيز الذي أمسك بالكرة.

وارتكب مرموش خطأً في الدقيقة 21، لصالح أستون فيلا، بعد تدخله ضد أحد لاعبي الخصم.

وسدد عمر مرموش كرة رأسية في الدقيقة 36، ولكن مرت أعلى مرمى أستون فيلا، لتستمر نتيجة التعادل.

وتسبب عمر مرموش في خطأ من جديد لصالح أستون فيلا، بعد تدخله ضد يوري تيليمانس، في الدقيقة 41.

واحتج مرموش لعدم حصوله على خطأ في الدقيقة 42، بعدما تعرض لدفعة من قِبل راشفورد، خلال انطلاق المصري بالكرة من الناحية اليسرى.

وسدد عمر مرموش كرة في الدقيقة 56، ولكن اصطدمت بالدفاع لتتحول إلى ركلة ركنية، نفذها كيفين دي بروين.

وتكرر الأمر من جديد في الدقيقة 73، حيث سدد مرموش كرة ولكنها تحولت إلى ضربة مرمى بعدما مرت إلى الخارج.

وسجل عمر مرموش هدفًا في الدقيقة 81، ولكن تم إلغائه بداعِ التسلل على المصري، قبل أن يحتفل مع رفاقه بالهدف القاتل الذي سجله زميله ماتيوس نونيز في الدقيقة 93.

Argentine giants River Plate have been urged to sign Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne when his contract expires this summer.

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De Bruyne in twilight of careerIn final year of Man City contractRiver Plate urged to swoopFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

It seems as though De Bruyne's time with the Premier League champions is drawing to a close and fans will be following his next move with interest. Rumours of a switch to Saudi Arabia or Major League Soccer have been swirling, but there is one man who believes the 33-year-old should instead head to Argentina and join River Plate.

AdvertisementGetty/GOALWHAT MORETE SAID

Former River Plate striker Carlos Morete is desperate to see the club bring De Bruyne to South America. He said in an interview with : "River has a manager and brains. Maybe they called and I don't know or it wasn't made public. Why didn't anyone take a plane to Manchester and go find out about De Bruyne?

"He's 33 years old. You pay him $20 million, he's free, and you see if you bring him in or not. He'll make you a champion, make you fight for championships, and solve all your problems. Go check out his physical condition. He's a real star, and he's not that old. Make him an offer.

"He leaves City for free, pay him 20million (£16.7m) Euros a year and bring him in. If you buy a player for 14 like the Colombian or 12 for Driussi, you've made a million-dollar salad. Here you don't pay a penny for a transfer and you bring in a star. Everything River brought in doesn't solve anything."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Morete is right when he claims De Bruyne is not in his best physical condition, but there is no doubt that he still possesses world-class ability. He has still played a role under Pep Guardiola this season, albeit more often than not from the bench. Whichever club does pick up the Belgium international next, they will be getting a bargain, even if the player himself still demands a hefty contract.

AFPWHAT NEXT FOR DE BRUYNE?

City's playmaker will not be going anywhere before the summer and he may even choose to stay at the club if given the opportunity. Reports have suggested that have the ex-Chelsea midfielder would be willing to take a pay cut to stay in Manchester.