Arne Slot responded to Trent Alexander-Arnold's "legacy" comments as Liverpool look to fend off Real Madrid and tie him to a new contract.
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Alexander-Arnold's Liverpool future in doubtDefender revealed he wants "legacy"Slot put team first ahead of individual gloryFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Having been with Liverpool since the age of six, Alexander-Arnold has dedicated 20 years to the club. Now 26, the defender has made 330 appearances and collected eight major trophies, including the Premier League, Champions League, and FIFA Club World Cup.
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In a recent interview with , Alexander-Arnold expressed his evolving ambitions. While winning more trophies remains a priority, he highlighted his personal goal of building a lasting legacy at Anfield. "Of course, winning more trophies. But on a personal level, it is building a legacy. That is something that is important," he said.
WHAT SLOT SAID
Responding to Alexander-Arnold’s remarks, Liverpool head coach Slot commended the player’s ambitious outlook as the Dutchman emphasised that a drive to be exceptional is a hallmark of elite athletes.
"I definitely like this in a player. I think this is something every player must have if you play at this level, if you don't have this you probably don't play at this level," Slot told reporters on Friday.
"As long as they understand that they need the team to be special as an individual. As long as they put the team first and as a result be special themselves, that is what they all do – including Trent. All the top players have this, they want to be special, they want to be the best. If that's not what you have I think it is so hard to put the effort in to stay fit, to be good every three days."
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Alexander-Arnold’s contract is set to expire in the summer, and speculation about his future has grown with persistent links to Real Madrid. The Reds are in negotiations with the defender but a resolution is yet to be reached.
The Bangladesh head coach is also pleased with the “good energy and attitude” brought by the returning Shakib Al Hasan
Mohammad Isam05-Jul-2021Tamim Iqbal is doubtful for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe that starts on Wednesday. According to coach Russell Domingo, the opener is yet to recover fully from a knee injury that he picked up during the Dhaka Premier League last month. Domingo, however, had better news about Mushfiqur Rahim’s recovery from the finger injury.”We are still not 100% sure about Tamim,” Domingo said. “There’s still a lot of doubt regarding him. I think a decision will be made in the near future. Mushfiq is pretty confident that he will be fit to play. He has done his rehab really well. Everything seems to be on track. I am pretty confident that he will play.”Domingo was pleased to see the renewed energy and focus of Shakib Al Hasan too, who returned to the Test side having missed the Sri Lanka Test series in April.”Shakib looks really hungry to play Tests again,” he said. “The thing that’s always the key with big players is their desire and attitude when they come into a Test series. It is great to have him back. He balances the side really well.”He bats in the top six, and he is a frontline bowler. He is what every international team is looking for, so it is really pleasing to have him back. He has brought really good energy and attitude on this tour as well.”Related
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The Harare pitch is generally on the slower side. Keeping that in mind, Domingo expected his players to remain patient and play “hard, attritional cricket”.”I think when playing in Harare, patience is very important with bat and ball,” Domingo said. “I have been here a few times and scoring rates haven’t been very high. You have to maintain pressure for long periods of time before getting wickets. It is definitely not a venue where you run through a batting line-up or score 350 runs in a day. It is hard, attritional cricket. They play smart cricket here. We will have our task cut out in the next few days.”That also means Bangladesh will have to be on their toes in the field all the time; their catching hasn’t been up to the mark in the last six months.”We have to be patient, disciplined and hold on to the chances, which might not come around often. When they do come, we have to be mentally ready to take those chances.”Bangladesh are yet to have a look at the pitch, though. “Unfortunately, the groundsman hasn’t allowed us to look at the pitches,” Domingo said. “So once we have had a good look at the pitch, either later today or tomorrow, we will have more ideas about what sort of bowling attack we will be looking at.”
Hosts join Hundred front runners with six-wicket victory over Invincibles in Edgbaston run-fest
ECB Reporters Network04-Aug-2021Birmingham Phoenix jumped right among the Hundred front runners with a thrilling six-wicket victory over Oval Invincibles in a runfest at Edgbaston.A powerhouse innings from Colin Ingram – 81 from 43 balls – lifted the Invincibles to 172 for 3 – the second-highest total in the Hundred.The 36-year-old built on a fast start from Jason Roy (38, 22 balls) and hit eight fours and four sixes, many coming in a third-wicket stand of 72 in 39 balls with captain Sam Billings (24, 17 balls).But the Phoenix reeled in the tall target, reaching 174 for 4 with six balls to spare thanks to Moeen Ali’s 49 off 26 balls, Will Smeed’s 45 from 28 and a dazzling cameo by Chris Benjamin, whose unbeaten 37 from 16 balls tilted a knife-edge contest his side’s way.After choosing to bowl, the Phoenix started well with Adam Milne and Imran Tahir each conceding just a single from their first over. The Invincibles then hit their stride, though, Roy batting with characteristic power, hitting five fours and a six before he was bowled by a slower ball from Benny Howell.Ingram and Billings accelerated in a violent partnership which ended when the latter lifted Pat Brown to long off where Howell took a fine catch. Ingram cleared the ropes in each of the last two overs to provide late impetus and round off a perfectly paced innings from the South African.Finn Allen’s 23 off 13 balls gave the Phoenix reply a fiery start with five fours in eight balls but he fell in strange fashion when he played back to Sunil Narine’s first ball and trod on his wicket.Liam Livingstone heaved one huge six but was denied another when Laurie Evans took a stinging catch on the mid-wicket rope to give Tabraiz Shamsi his first wicket.Sneed stepped it up after a watchful start but skied Saqib Mahmood to extra cover. With such a big target, the pressure on the Phoenix batters was high but Ali responded with a furious attack which included successive sixes off Tom Curran. The skipper was within one run of a half-century when Curran got his revenge, taking a superb catch at deep mid-wicket.That left the Phoenix needing 34 from 25 balls. Benjamin got to grips with the task straight away, trimming the target to ten fom ten and then striking the winning four to continue his fairy-tale rise.
Alejandro Garnacho has been told that he "should be taking advice" from Harry Maguire to save his Old Trafford career.
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Garnacho is no longer considered untouchable Has struggled to find his feet under Amorim Stam wants Garnacho to "come out fighting"Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Garnacho has found himself at a career crossroads as doubts swirl over his future at Old Trafford. Under new manager Ruben Amorim, Manchester United have seen significant shifts in their squad dynamics. Notably, Marcus Rashford is reportedly on the transfer list, signalling the club’s willingness to part ways with academy stars to raise funds. Garnacho, another highly-rated prospect, has also been tipped for a potential exit as his minutes continue to dwindle after Amorim has taken charge.
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Despite showing immense promise last season, Garnacho has struggled to replicate his form this term. In 18 Premier League appearances, he has managed just one goal and one assist—a stark contrast to his impressive performances in the previous campaign. While the team secured a thrilling 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the derby, Garnacho was notably absent, further emphasizing his reduced role under Amorim.
WHAT JAAP STAM SAID
Former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam weighed in on Garnacho's situation, offering words of wisdom for the young player. According to Stam, Garnacho must embrace the challenges and seek help from senior figures in the dressing room like Maguire who also had to undergo similar rough patches at Old Trafford.
“In the career of every player there will be difficult periods, young players cannot expect to come into a team and then spend 15 years in the first team with complete consistency, it’s too hard," he said in an interview with “For every young player, you have tough moments you need to come through and that toughens you up as a player, next time it happens you will know what to expect and it makes you stronger as a player and that can be the case with Alejandro Garnacho."
He added: “It’s tough for young players but they need to understand that these things can happen and you need to come out fighting. Once you’re through that then you will have learned from it. It’s good for a young player to learn how difficult things can be in the Premier League and it’s a wake-up call. If he doesn’t see it as a wake-up call then that’s the wrong attitude, one big example is Harry Maguire and that’s who he should be taking advice from. Maguire has had tough patches and been left out of the team but always comes back and he deserves huge respect for that. Garnacho can learn a lot from him."
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WHAT NEXT FOR GARNACHO?
With Amorim's tactical reshuffling and the growing need for results, Garnacho's role at Manchester United hangs in the balance. His recent appearance in United's 2-0 defeat to Newcastle saw him play just 25 minutes as a substitute, failing to make a meaningful impact. With a crucial fixture against Liverpool looming, it remains uncertain whether Garnacho will earn a starting spot at Anfield.
There’s a long road ahead for Everton, but Sean Dyche and his tactical coterie will know that his journey may come to an abrupt halt if he doesn’t spark life into his team today.
Everton travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City in the Premier League after losing each of their opening four fixtures on top of crashing out of the Carabao Cup in midweek against Southampton, losing on penalties.
We need not go into the nature of the recent losses, but the Blues will take some small degree of solace from the fact that they have proven they can storm into the lead. Dyche has likely drilled home this exact message in preparation for the Foxes clash.
Everton manager Sean Dyche
Everton were beset by injury misfortune last week and saw a host of first-team stars sidelined for the defeat earlier this week, but now, Dyche is hopeful that his outfit is approaching full fitness.
Everton team news
Jarrad Branthwaite is on the cusp of returning from the hamstring injury that has ruled him out for the start of the 2024/25 campaign. He won’t, however, be fit for today’s fixture, instead playing with the U21s as he works toward full fitness.
The same can be said for right-back Nathan Patterson, who is dearly missed given Seamus Coleman is set to be sidelined indefinitely after picking up an injury with Ireland at the start of September.
Furthermore, the Toffees faithful will be delighted to hear that several first-teamers – including Dominic Calvert-Lewin – have returned after missing the midweek cup exit due to injury. James Tarkowski has also returned to training and will hopefully start the contest.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin's fitness will be key
Calvert-Lewin could be the key to success against Steve Cooper’s Leicester. Armando Broja, brought in from Chelsea this summer, is still not fit, whereas Beto is fit but certainly not flying. The Brazilian has scored just six goals from 43 matches for Everton.
2024/25
4 (4)
2
1
2023/24
32 (26)
7
2
2022/23
17 (15)
2
1
2021/22
17 (15)
5
2
2020/21
33 (32)
16
1
2019/20
36 (30)
13
1
2018/19
35 (19)
6
2
2017/18
32 (18)
4
5
2016/17
11 (5)
1
0
When he’s fit, the 11-cap England international – with four goals – is such a commanding physical presence from the front of the team. Good fitness, however, has not been his friend in recent years, scoring only 14 goals across the past three completed Premier League campaigns.
He did start to look “like the DCL of old” under Dyche’s wing last year, as was said by The Athletic’s Paddy Boyland, and now, after starting all four of Everton’s Premier League games this term, scoring twice and claiming one assist, he’s well placed to play an instrumental part in the fight to escape the brewing relegation battle.
Let’s hope he’s ready to start this afternoon. Fingers crossed. Calvert-Lewin’s absence would run counter to Dyche’s plans of jumping out of the division’s bottom spot.
A whole host of further changes need to be made. Orel Mangala made his starting debut for the club against Saints, but with James Garner sure to start in the centre of the park, the Belgian midfielder must return to the bench, with Tim Iroegbunam given the nod once again.
Dyche must unleash Tim Iroegbunam
Everton’s summer dealing with Aston Villa had a ring of PSR evasive action about it. Several teams were passing along prospects as if working some clandestine operation.
Tim Iroegbunam for Everton
This was necessary, of course. Everton did not want to suffer another points deduction in the Premier League, and so Lewis Dobbin moved to Aston Villa, with the Blues welcoming Iroegbunam in return, with the 21-year-old midfielder signing for a reported fee of ÂŁ9m.
If anyone thought this was merely a move to appease the division’s financial regulations, maybe they were correct. However, Everton appear to have landed an excellent piece of business, with Dobbin out on loan with Derby County in the Championship and Iroegbunam thriving (on a personal level) in the English top flight.
Robust and carrying elite athletic properties, the former Villan youth has started all four Premier League fixtures from the middle of the park and will bring a punchy presence to battle against Leicester.
Everton missed him against Southampton. Much was said about the visitors’ domination of the ball, but Everton only won 44% of the contested duels. Iroegbunam has the defensive skillset to turn that problem around, as his season statistics highlight.
Matches (starts)
4 (4)
Goals
0
Assists
0
Touches*
40.0
Pass completion
74%
Key passes*
0.5
Ball recoveries*
8.0
Dribbles completed
1.3
Tackles + interceptions*
5.8
Total duels won
7.3
Everton are very much a counter-attacking team, ranking 19th in the league for possession so far this term, and Iroegbunam is admittedly not a refined distributor.
He is, however, a progressive player and tough-tackling monster, ranking among the top 2% of midfielders across the whole of Europe for tackles won and the top 10% for successful take-ons per 90. The aforementioned Boyland has even hailed him as the “standout” of Everton’s season so far.
Dyche knows as well as anyone that defeat against newly-promoted Leicester could spell out dismissal before supporters had moved through the turnstiles as they trudge back to Merseyside.
The squad will fight tooth and nail to ensure that doesn’t happen, and, for certain, Iroegbunam could be instrumental in chipping away at the hosts’ centre, allowing the forwards, such as Calvert-Lewin, to score, and the backline to rectify past mistakes and protect Jordan Pickford’s net.
Everton could hire dream Dyche successor who "ranks among the top managers"
Resounding victory sends Essex into semi-finals after Rymell’s 121 off 130 balls
David Hopps14-Aug-2021Not since Dan Lawrence made such an impact in his first season in 2015 had a graduate of the Essex academy made a hundred for the county. That shortfall has now been addressed by two century-makers in this season’s Royal London Cup – Feroze Khushi and now Josh Rymell, both of them encouraging hopes of a new dawn. But how to regard it? The challenge of this tournament is to distinguish the false dawn from the true.Rymell’s 121 from 130 balls was the centrepiece of Essex’s trouncing of Yorkshire in the first RLC play-off – a 129-run victory that secured them a semi-final place against Glamorgan in Cardiff on Monday. For Yorkshire, the last six weeks of the season still bring hopes of success in the T20 Blast and Championship, although as far as four-day cricket is concerned they carry forward a considerable points deficit in to the final group stage.When Lawrence became Essex’s third-youngest Championship century-maker, taking Surrey for 161 at the age of 17, county cricket was still confident in its value and the feat gained considerable attention. Khushi and now Rymell have taken their chance in a much-devalued tournament, and not to recognise that 50-over cricket is now largely developmental is to abandon attempts at proper evaluation.Nevertheless, with county debutants in List A cricket this season now well past the hundred mark, Essex’s batting pair look more persuasive than many. Khushi failed on this occasion, George Hill’s inswinger bowling him through a sizeable gate, but Rymell, who has been promoted from the middle order to opener as the tournament has progressed, produced an expertly-paced innings that belied his years. He now has 287 runs at 57.40, although he would have had considerably fewer has Dom Bess not dropped him off Hill on 36.Bess was one of a handful of Yorkshire players who could confidently expect to get into a full-strength side, but he failed to produce the turn that Essex’s spinners – the part-timer Tom Westley among them – found in reply. Yorkshire were routed by a trio of Essex spinners on a worn surface as they set sail for 318.Their start was secure enough, as they reached 68 for 1 in the 15th over, but Will Fraine and Will Luxton fell to lofted legside hits in successive overs as Simon Harmer and Aron Nijjar enforced a grip that was never relinquished. In seven overs, they shared four wickets at a cost of 20 runs to leave Yorkshire reeling on 88 for 5. Westley then had Gary Ballance lbw on the back foot and picked up a three-for. The margin of defeat could have been much higher were it not for a spot of window dressing from Matthew Revis and Matthew Waite.Yorkshire held Essex for much of their innings: Khushi was the third batter to fall at 108 in the 27th over and Paul Walter’s scratching around thereafter told of an unrewarding season. But Mathew Pillans, a curio among Yorkshire signings, bowled Walter into form with five overs which went for 50.Although Walter departed at mid-off to a leading edge against Revis, Essex added 141 from the last 83 balls. Rymell was motoring by then and found willing accomplices in Adam Wheater (34 from 20) and Harmer (31 not out from 13) as Yorkshire’s bowling fell apart. Only Hill, who floated his medium-pace into the blockhole to good effect, and emerged with 3 for 51, came out with much credit. It was such a delivery that did for Rymell as he attempted a flat-batted scrape to third man.Ballance, back in a captaincy role that has not always sat easily with him, suggested that Yorkshire had bowled well for the entire innings and that everybody would be much better for the experience. Which was nice, even if it did not stand up to scrutiny. Essex, meanwhile, are one game away from their first List A Final since 2008. That is even nicer. But maybe that doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny either.
After being handed what can only be described as a horror set of fixtures to kick off the Premier League season, Ipswich Town are showing signs that they might be able to beat the drop this year.
Kieran McKenna’s side may have unsurprisingly lost their first two games of the campaign against Liverpool and Manchester City, but they picked up valuable and impressive points away to Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion before securing a third point away to fellow relegation candidates Southampton last weekend.
Now, the Tractor Boys would have wanted to pick up their first win at St Marys, but that point might come in handy down the line, and as the fans will probably admit, it wasn’t the team’s finest display.
In fact, despite the club’s positive start this season, summer signing Sammie Szmodics hasn’t quite hit the ground running in the way some might have hoped, so it could be time for McKenna to replace him in the starting lineup for this afternoon’s clash with Aston Villa.
Why Szmodics should be dropped
So, the first thing to point out is that Szmodics is an undeniably talented footballer who was simply sensational for Blackburn Rovers last season, scoring 33 goals and four assists in 48 games.
However, due to this incredible form, there was an expectation from fans and pundits alike that following his ÂŁ11m transfer this summer, he’d be able to add some serious attacking threat to the Tractor Boys’ midfield and that even if he couldn’t replicate his form in the Premier League, he’d still maintain a healthy level of output.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case so far. In his five appearances for the club, he has scored just a single goal, which came in the club’s heavy 4-1 defeat away to Manchester City last month.
Moreover, aside from pure output, the 29-year-old hasn’t looked particularly impressive in general, with his performance against Southampton last week getting him a 5/10 rating from the East Anglian Daily Times’ Alex Jones.
With that said, his body of work suggests that with time, Szmodics will eventually come good for McKenna and Ipswich, but with a challenging game against Villa this afternoon, the Irishman should be dropped for another of the exciting summer signings.
Why Clarke should start today
So, the summer signing that should take Szmodics’ place on the left-hand side this afternoon is 23-year-old Jack Clarke.
Now, like the Irishman, the former Sunderland ace hasn’t been electric for the Blues so far this season, but unlike the former Blackburn ace, the Englishman has not had the same chance to show what he can do.
In all, he’s played 68 minutes of Premier League football across three games and only started in the League Cup, which is hardly enough time for a new signing to get to grips with the team.
Moreover, thanks to his supreme form for the Black Cats over the last couple of seasons, McKenna should know how talented the dynamic winger is.
For example, in 42 appearances for the Championship side last year, the “unplayable” York-born star, as pundit Adrian Clarke dubbed him, racked up a seriously impressive haul of 15 goals and four assists, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 2.21 games, which helps to explain why he won the club’s Player of the Year award.
Appearances
50
42
Goals
11
15
Assists
14
4
Goal Involvements per Match
0.50
0.45
The campaign before that, he was just as effective, scoring 11 goals and providing 14 assists in 50 matches for the Black Cats, which equates to a goal involvement every other game.
Ultimately, Clarke has proven over the last few seasons that he can be a serious and consistent goal threat, either by scoring them himself or setting up chances for his teammates, and while the Premier League is undoubtedly a big step-up, he deserves an opportunity to start today’s game.
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The incredible signing has proven his worth and then some.
Arsenal's injury nightmare won't seem to come to an end as Gabriel Jesus was stretchered off against Manchester United in their FA Cup clash.
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Jesus stretchered off after knee injuryCollided with Man Utd's FernandesReplaced by Raheem Sterling in first halfFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Arsenal forward Jesus had to be stretchered off in the 40th minute of the Gunners' FA Cup clash against Manchester United after the Brazilian attempted to stop Bruno Fernandes on the edge of the box. A tangle of legs between Jesus and the United captain saw Jesus go down in agony and after medics tended to the 27-year-old's injured knee, it was clear that the Brazilian would not be able to continue.
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Arsenal have been struggling with an injury crisis in attack after losing Bukayo Saka to a serious issue. The crisis has now been worsened as Jesus' injury also seems a severe one, as the Brazilian seemed to be in immense pain. Jesus has struggled with knee issues in the past and may be facing his own lengthy spell on the sidelines.
DID YOU KNOW?
Just a few minutes earlier, Jesus was also spotted holding his knee after an aerial duel with Lisandro Martinez. The clash with Fernandes then appeared to serve as the final blow, with Arsenal's medical team needed to carry the 27-year-old off the pitch.
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The Arsenal star will now undergo tests over the course of the next few hours so that the Gunners can determine his availability for the short and long-term. It's possible that Mikel Arteta may have to alter his plans for January depending on the severity of Jesus' injury.
Some senior cricketers stand to earn almost twice as much as they did previously
ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2021Almost two years after Sourav Ganguly had announced that the financial health of domestic cricketers would be his “biggest priority” as BCCI president, the board on Monday announced sizeable hikes in match fees for men and women at the end of its apex council meeting. The new pay slabs, which will be in place 2021-22 onwards, will have the senior men earning between INR 40,000 and 60,000 [USD 540 to 810 approx] per day while senior women will earn up to INR 20,000 [USD 270 approx.] per day.In another major update, the BCCI has also decided to allot 50% match fees “as compensation” for the Covid-19-affected 2019-20 season where the board could organise just the Syed Mushtaq Ali (T20) Trophy and the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy for the senior men.Related
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That hike is a small one for the players in the first category (under 20 matches), but an almost 100% hike for more experienced hands (40-plus games), while those who have played between 21 and 40 matches will earn INR 50,000 [USD 680 approx.]. Earlier, senior men’s cricketers earned INR 35,000 [USD 470 approx.] per day for first-class and one-day games, and INR 17,500 [USD 240 approx.] per game for T20s.The new pay slabs will apply to both first-class and limited-overs cricket.For the senior women, who earlier earned INR 12,500 [USD 170 approx.] per one-day match and INR 6250 [USD 85 approx.] per T20 match – there isn’t, currently, a first-class competition for women in India – the pay has been raised to INR 20,000 for playing XI members and INR 10,000 [USD 135 approx.] for those on the bench.There were upgrades for the age-group cricketers, both male and female, too.When he took over as BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly had promised to “look after the financial health of our first-class cricketers”•BCCIMen’s Under-23 players will now earn INR 25,000 [USD 340 approx.] per day (earlier INR 17,500) if they are in the playing XIs, and INR 12,500 (earlier INR 8750) if in the reserves, while Under-19s in the playing XIs will get INR 20,000 (earlier INR 10,500) and INR 10,000 (earlier INR 5250) will go to reserve players. For the Under-16s, the corresponding amounts are INR 7000 (earlier INR 3500) and INR 3500 (INR 1750).For women, the daily fees for Under-23s, Under-19s and Under-16s have been raised from INR 5500 to INR 10,000 for those in the playing XIs and from INR 2750 to INR 5000 for those in the reserves.Till 2017-18, domestic players were paid in two instalments: a flat match fee and a bonus calculated on a pro-rata basis based on the BCCI’s gross revenue share (GRS) – its non-IPL earnings from media rights, team sponsorship rights, apparel sponsorship rights, series sponsorship rights, etc. This would be paid the following year after the accounts were ratified at the annual general meetings.Since 2018, though, the GRS component has been added to the match fees, leading to a near 200% hike for players. However, in the absence of AGMs in the past two years, the GRS component has not been ratified by the BCCI, which had left domestic players disgruntled. The pandemic then made things worse.But a few months ago, the BCCI formed a sub-committee to work out a new payment structure, including ways to compensate players who had taken a hit financially during the pandemic since March 2020.
Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement made a raft of changes to his playing squad at Ibrox during the recent summer transfer window.
The Light Blues boss allowed the likes of Ryan Jack, Borna Barisic, John Lundstram, Todd Cantwell, and Connor Goldson, among others, to move on from the club.
This opened the door for the likes of Nedim Bajrami, Robin Propper, Connor Barron, Jefte, Hamza Igamane, and Vaclav Cerny, among others, to arrive at Ibrox.
There are players who were already part of the squad that Clement has been eager to keep hold of though, including Dujon Sterling – who recently signed a new contract through to the summer of 2028.
Dujon Sterling's time with Rangers
The versatile defender joined the Gers on a free transfer from Premier League side Chelsea in the summer of 2023, under Michael Beale, and has proven himself to be a valuable option for the manager.
Since the start of last season, Sterling has played 48 matches for Rangers in all competitions and racked up over 2,000 minutes of action for the club.
Glasgow Rangers defender Dujon Sterling.
The most impressive part of that is that he has been deployed at left-back, right-back, defensive midfield, central midfield, right midfield, left midfield, and right wing in that time, with no more than nine appearances in any one role.
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Rangers currently have a few players who are out of contract at the end of the season and, following Sterling’s new deal earlier this month, Tom Lawrence should be the next player to land a big pay rise and an extension at Ibrox.
Why Tom Lawrence has earned a new deal
The Wales international is currently set to become a free agent next summer and the Gers must now move to pin him down to an extension, as they did with Sterling, due to his fantastic start to the season.
In the 2023/24 campaign, Lawrence managed three goals and three assists in 32 appearances in all competitions, as he struggled to find his best form at the top end of the pitch.
This term, however, the 30-year-old star has upped his game and is starting to show that Clement can rely upon him moving forward, which is why he should be pinned down to a new contract.
Appearances
6
Sofascore rating
7.35
Goals
3
Assists
1
Big chances created
3
As you can see in the table above, Lawrence has produced six goals and ‘big chances’ created combined in six appearances in the Scottish Premiership this season.
Pundit James McFadden recently claimed that the attacking midfielder, who scored in the 4-1 defeat to Lyon in the Europa League last week, is one of the players who is “stepping up” for Rangers at the moment.
Lawrence, who is reportedly on ÂŁ22k-per-week – less than the likes of Rabbi Matondo and Danilo, should now be the next player to earn fresh terms and a pay rise to ensure that they do not lose the impressive dynamo for nothing when his contract is due to expire next year.
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The Light Blues hit the jackpot by signing the central midfielder this summer.
ByDan Emery Oct 9, 2024
That would prevent him from being able to sign a pre-contract with another club from January onwards and make sure that Clement can still rely upon the experienced star’s talents in the years to come.