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Leeds United swiftly moved back to the top of the Championship table on Monday night with a dramatic 2-1 win over Sunderland at Elland Road.

Two goals from substitute centre-back Pascal Struijk completed a comeback for Daniel Farke’s side, who found themselves 1-0 down to a Wilson Isidor strike at the break.

Struijk and Joe Rothwell, who combined for both goals, will, rightly, get the acclaim for their cameos off the bench, but Mateo Joseph also made an impact.

In The Pipeline

The Spain U21 international came on and won 100% of his duels whilst constantly closing down the Sunderland defenders with his pace, which helped the Whites to force the opposition into hurried clearances to maintain dominance in the game.

Mateo Joseph's first-team emergence

Unfortunately, it was another game that Joseph did not change with a goal or an assist, as his tally for the season remains at three goals and three assists in 32 Championship matches.

The former England youth international came up through the academy system at Thorp Arch and made 20 appearances as a substitute in the second half under Farke in the 2023/24 campaign.

Appearances (stats)

20 (0)

32 (11)

xG

1.74

4.95

Goals

1

3

Big chances created

1

4

Assists

0

3

As you can see in the table above, Joseph has been given more responsibility by Farke this season and has become a significant member of the first-team squad.

The 21-year-old starlet still has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and improve, with these statistics showing that he is heading in the right direction.

Farke may also already have the next version of Joseph, despite the youngster still being early on in his career, in the academy in the form of Oliver Boast.

Leeds could strike gold with Oliver Boast

Analyst Ben Mattinson recently described the U18s centre-forward as one of the club’s “exciting” prospects, as the 15-year-old forward has impressed at youth level.

Mattinson posted: “The Leeds academy has a few exciting talents. Oliver Boast is the other I like most, from the U16’s but he’s been promoted to the U18’s and continued his goal-scoring. Another clinical finisher, good pace and movement to peel off defenders to create space and receive passes.”

Despite not turning 16 until May, Boast has already made the bench for the U21s this season and has been a regular for the U18 side in the Premier League, with 11 appearances.

The Leeds youngster has scored one goal in two appearances in the FA Youth Cup, an U18 competition, playing above his age bracket, and scored on his debut for England at U16 level.

This shows that Boast is playing above his agemates and that his form has impressed the coaches at national level, hence his cap for England’s U16s.

The 15-year-old ‘clinical’ talent appears to be an exciting prospect for the Whites if he can continue to develop and take the step up to the U21s on a regular basis, potentially following in Joseph’s footsteps by then kicking on and earning a place in Farke’s first-team squad in the future.

73% duels lost: Leeds lightweight may be on borrowed time under Farke

The Leeds United attacker may not have a future in the team if they are promoted to the Premier League.

ByDan Emery Feb 18, 2025

The German head coach could, then hit the jackpot with the talented teenager by bringing him into the senior squad to save the club millions on a new striker, which is what Joseph’s emergence prevented when Georginio Rutter was sold last summer.

For the first time at Lord’s, the floodlights shone in a Championship match – but they went off for bad light all the same

ECB Reporters Network13-Apr-2018
ScorecardMiddlesex batsman Max Holden dives to regain his ground•Getty ImagesMiddlesex’s batsmen fought back from a sticky start against Northamptonshire to reach 136 for 4 on a shortened opening day of the Specsavers County Championship at Lord’s.Inserted on a greenish wicket, the home side slumped to 63 for 4 before lunch, with Northants seamers Ben Sanderson and Brett Hutton picking up two wickets each.But Sanderson squandered a chance to cement his side’s grip on the game, dropping John Simpson at fine leg before the Middlesex wicketkeeper went on to share an unbroken stand of 73 with Paul Stirling.Simpson (31*) and Stirling (40*) seemed well set when bad light halted play – despite the Lord’s floodlights being in use for the first time in a Championship fixture.Middlesex deployed an inexperienced batting line-up, with club captain Dawid Malan unavailable and Nick Gubbins, Eoin Morgan and Stevie Eskinazi all ruled out through injury or illness.That left 20-year-old Max Holden – who spent a successful loan period at Northamptonshire last season – to open alongside stand-in captain Sam Robson, with debutant Robbie White coming in at three.Holden managed just eight before he nudged Sanderson (2-30) to second slip – and White left the next delivery, which moved back to flatten his off stump.Australian Test batsman Hilton Cartwright, also making his Championship debut, went on the offensive with a couple of boundaries off Doug Bracewell and then pulled Hutton into the Mound Stand for six.But Hutton, who joined Northants on a permanent basis from Nottinghamshire during the winter, took his revenge with a slower ball that foxed Cartwright after a brisk 30.Having dropped anchor with a gritty 14, Robson also fell victim to Hutton as he was trapped leg before to compound Middlesex’s difficulties.After lunch, Simpson had made only three when his top-edged hook sailed towards the waiting hands of Sanderson, only for the fielder to spill what looked a regulation catch.Simpson made the most of that let-off, beginning to play his shots as the bowlers’ accuracy waned and carved Bracewell through the covers to bring up the 50-partnership with Stirling.Meanwhile, the Ireland international took advantage of the short boundary on one side, hitting seven fours, but Middlesex were unable to build on that momentum as deteriorating light forced the players from the field just before 3pm.They returned briefly towards the end of the day and Richard Gleeson found some movement during the 3.5 overs that were bowled, with Stirling adding a further four runs to the total before play was finally abandoned.

Nottingham Forest, perhaps more than there has been in recent times, are bringing a plethora of promising talent through their academy setup.

While the Reds have always been an institution that has taken pride in their ability to develop young talent and turn them into stars, several have emerged on their journey back to the Premier League.

Joe Worrall and Ryan Yates, in particular, formed the backbone of success in their promotion campaign and despite Forest splurging their war chest of funds on talent across Europe, that duo still remain an integral part of Steve Cooper's plans and are shining examples of the quality that can be nurtured.

Two even bigger examples of that increase in production quality are the emergence of stars Matty Cash and Brennan Johnson, who were sold for a combined £61.5m after shining at the City Ground and demonstrating how giving young talent a chance can save clubs millions.

The latter was sold to Tottenham this summer following his scintillating performances in the Premier League and his journey is being used as a tool of inspiration for youngsters setting their sights on becoming the next Brennan Johnson.

On the production line at Forest, there is a wealth of precocious quality waiting to impress among the seniors and make that jump into the first team like Johnson did.

Who is Nottingham Forest's biggest academy talent?

Now in their mid-twenties, Yates and Worrall have firmly established themselves as first-team regulars on Trentside, racking up a combined 366 appearances since their inclusion in the senior setup.

Alex Mighten, who is currently on loan at Belgian pro league side KV Kortrijk, featured regularly in the Championship – 67 times to be exact – but has fallen down the pecking order since their promotion, which is why the 21-year-old has been sent out on loan.

Lower down the line, promising defensive duo Aaron Donnelly and Zach Abbot, who impressed on their first-team debuts in the Carabao Cup last season, demonstrate that the future of their defence is in safe hands, as Abbot was listed among the Guardian's best talents in the Premier League ast year.

While Forest boast a wealth of talent in their defensive ranks, the Reds have a highly-rated striker who has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of Johnson. He goes by the name of Dale Taylor.

Who is Dale Taylor?

When Forest signed Taylor from Linfield in the summer of 2020, they knew he was showing the early hallmarks of becoming a special talent.

After impressing for the club's U18s, he made his first-team debut for the Danske Bank Premiership side, at the age of just 15, when he came off the bench in a 5-1 victory over rivals East Belfast.

It took a while for the youngster to settle – as expected – but once he was accustomed to his new surroundings, his goal-scoring exploits exploded into life as he notched up eight goals in 14 appearances for the 18s before being moved up to the U23s.

A move up an age group allowed Taylor to flourish further as he chalked up six goal contributions in eight Premier League 2 appearances in the first half of last season as a whole host of EFL clubs came calling, with Burton Albion winning the race for his signature in January.

Similarly to when Johnson was loaned out to League One side Lincoln City to aid his development in the 2020/21 season, a move to Burton gave the 19-year-old a taste of senior football, and it was one he took to like a duck to water.

Described previously by fellow Northern Ireland striker Conor Washington as "quality", Taylor announced himself to the Pirelli Stadium in style with a goal on debut, as supporters instantly fell in love with the teenager.

After scoring a further four more goals, the number of clubs apparently interested in taking him on loan was said to run into double figures, but it was Wycombe Wanderers who won that particular race.

Having opened his account for the Chairboys in a 3-2 victory over Leyton Orient, a calf injury has since stopped him in his tracks, and now has to dislodge Brandon Hanlan or Sam Vokes for a place in the starting XI.

Despite that minor setback, the fact that Johnson's career truly took off in the lower echelons of the EFL gives Taylor hope that his journey to Forest stardom is only just beginning.

Kagiso Rabada was also included after he missed the IPL, and South Africa included three spinners in the squad of 15

Firdose Moonda11-Jun-20182:47

‘I’ll play for South Africa as long as my name is up there’ – Steyn

Dale Steyn has been included in South Africa’s Test squad to tour Sri Lanka next month. Steyn, who returned to competitive cricket for Hampshire six months after a heel injury saw him break down in the New Year’s Test against India, is three wickets away from breaking Shaun Pollock’s record as South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker and will have the chance to do so in the two-Test series.Kagiso Rabada, who was forced out of the IPL with a stress fracture, will be fit to return to action alongside Vernon Philander, as Lungi Ngidi replaced the retired Morne Morkel. South Africa included three spinners in their squad: regular specialist Keshav Maharaj was joined by left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who has one Test cap to his name, and legspinner Shaun von Berg, who received his maiden Test call up.In the batting department, AB de Villiers’ retirement created room for Heinrich Klaasen to remain in the Test squad. Klaasen, who will also act as back-up wicketkeeper, will compete with Theunis de Bruyn for a place in the line-up. Klaasen toured with South Africa to New Zealand in March 2017 and was part of the squad to play Australia in March, but is yet to play a Test.ESPNcricinfo LtdKlaasen has played four ODIs and three T20Is for South Africa and earned an IPL deal with Rajasthan Royals for the 2018 season. He was not among the top 25 run-scorers in last season’s first-class competition but played seven matches, scored 426 runs and averaged 38.72 with two centuries and a half-century, and was preferred over the domestic tournament’s top three run-scorers Rassie van der Dussen, Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Pieter Malan.The rest of the batting line-up takes on a familiar look, with Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram to open the batting and Hashim Amla holding the fort at No. 3. Temba Bavuma may move into de Villiers’ spot at No.4, unless captain Faf du Plessis opts to promote himself with the vacancy for de Bruyn or Klaasen at No. 6, if South Africa choose to play seven specialist batsmen. If they opt for six, Quinton de Kock will bat in the No. 6 position, with the bowlers to follow.Notably, South Africa opted not to pick an allrounder in the squad, leaving no room for young Wiaan Mulder who was around the Test group last summer, and also limited their selection of quicks to four. That means there is scant cover if Steyn, who has been hampered by injuries for much of the last three years, or any of the other quicks breaks down.Steyn has only just returned to first-class cricket and could feature in as many as three matches for Hampshire before the Sri Lanka tour. Originally, Steyn was only due to play in the ongoing fixture against Surrey, in which he has already bowled 26 overs and taken 2 for 91, but he will stay on after national team-mate Hashim Amla had to leave the squad with injury. Steyn is now also due to play in matches against Yorkshire and Lancashire, and in an interview with ESPNcricinfo at the weekend, he indicated his interest in playing Test cricket “for as long as I can”.”It is very welcome news to have Dale back in our pack of world-class seamers particularly in view of the retirement of Morne Morkel,” Linda Zondi, South Africa’s convener of selectors said. “A key factor in our selection process was to cover all our bases and all possible conditions that we may encounter in Sri Lanka. The two additional spinners to back up Keshav Maharaj have both had excellent records in recent times in our domestic cricket. Von Berg also gives us additional batting strength in the lower order.”While Shamsi only played four first-class matches last summer and took 17 wickets at 37 per piece, von Berg finished third on the wicket-takers’ list, with 29 wickets at 41.75. He was well behind the leading wicket-taker Simon Harmer, who took 47 wickets at 21.85, who chose to sign a Kolpak deal two years ago, and has since extended it until 2019, and could not be considered for selection.South Africa will play a two-day practice match at the P Sara Stadium in Colombo on July 7 and 8 before the first Test in Galle from July 12 and the second in Colombo from July 20. They are yet to name their squads for the five ODIs and the lone T20I that will spill into August.

Aston Villa have another player who is frustrated by his situation at Villa Park since joining the Premier League side in the summer transfer window, according to reports.

Aston Villa updates: Castore latest, Douglas Luiz targeted, Zaniolo controversy

According to a recent update from the Telegraph on Aston Villa's wet-look kit controversy, it is now believed that Castore have offered up two solutions to the unusual issue that has hit the headlines in recent weeks.

The report states that Castore will either make small adjustments to the current crop of jerseys that both the men's and women's teams wear on matchdays or they will provide an entire new batch of playing jerseys. Complaints came to fruition after both sides complained about the shirts becoming heavy and drenched in sweat when worn on the field. Nevertheless, there finally looks to be a solution to the problem.

In other news, a transfer update on Douglas Luiz from Fabrizio Romano's Daily Briefing has indicated that Arsenal are monitoring the Brazil international after previously being keen to take him to the Emirates Stadium.

Romano stated: "As I recently reported, Arsenal have been monitoring Pedro Neto for some time, and I can also say that Arsenal always keep monitoring the same players they like and Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz remains one of them. He’s always been appreciated."

He then added: "Of course, we know that Arsenal had bids rejected for Luiz in September 2022, and he later went on to sign a new contract at Villa Park, which runs until 2026. He’s now a key player for Villa so the deal would not be an easy one, but many clubs appreciate him."

Nicolo Zaniolo's lawyer meanwhile has denied allegations that the Italy international has illegally gambled on sport following his perceived involvement in a major betting scandal in Italy, stating to Gazzetta dello Sport via Chronicle Live: "Nicolo never bet. He also told me this. It is possible that he played card games such as poker and blackjack on illegal online platforms, without however knowing that they were. We will clarify everything. What do you risk? A fine of a few hundred euros. All this unless there was a repetition of the crime so great as to make it impossible to impose only a financial penalty."

Aston Villa's next five fixtures – all competitions

Competition

Opponent

Venue

Premier League

West Ham United (H)

Villa Park

Europa Conference League

AZ Alkmaar (A)

AFAS Stadium

Premier League

Luton Town (H)

Villa Park

Premier League

Nottingham Forest (A)

City Ground

Europa Conference League

AZ Alkmaar (H)

Villa Park

Aston Villa transfer news – Clement Lenglet

One piece of transfer news on Clement Lenglet that has emerged via Sport Witness claims that the Frenchman is going through some difficulties at Villa Park due to his lack of first-team involvement.

The outlet claim that he has yet to win over Aston Villa boss Unai Emery, which has angered his parent club Barcelona to the point that they could terminate his loan spell in January.

Turning out for Tottenham Hotspur last term, Lenglet joined Aston Villa on deadline day and has gone on to make just two appearances in all competitions (Lenglet statistics – Transfermarkt). Nevertheless, Lenglet may have to bide his time at Aston Villa to get a prolonged look-in under the tutelage of Emery following a disappointing time of things so far.

Melvine Malard stole the show against Brighton as Millie Turner, Lucia Garcia and Nikita Parris fired Manchester United into the FA Cup semi-finals.

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Man Utd beat Brighton 4-0 in quarter-finalsMalard tormented defence throughoutRacked up two assists in comfortable winGettyTELL ME MORE

Barring the opening five minutes, it was simply one-way traffic for Marc Skinner's troops at Broadfield Stadium on Saturday afternoon. They took just eight minutes to break the deadlock through Turner and there was no looking back. The hosts were rocked after the early goal and just kept fading away as the match progressed with little resistance or spark at either end of the pitch.

Nine minutes after the opener, Malard set up Parris from the edge of the box and the striker kept her calm to slam home through the inside of the near post to double United's lead. Brighton pressed high to force a mistake from United's backline but Turner and Maya Le Tissier had little trouble playing out from the back.

The Seagulls had a few encouraging moments in the final five minutes before the half-time but their hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished after the Red Devils netted the third. Ella Toone drilled in a reverse pass for Malard who did pretty well to beat an on-rushing Sophie Baggaley, but her shot bounced off the woodwork. However, the rebound fell kindly for Lucia Garcia who had the easiest of finish.

The second half started in the same vein with Brighton dominating the first few minutes only to be nipped back by a dominant United. Toone & Co. were persistent in their efforts and were rewarded just before the hour mark after Lisa Naalsund found the back of the net after Malard laid her off, making it 4-0. The scoreline could have been more embarrassing if the crossbar had not denied substitute Irene Guerrero.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE MVP

Malard was the brightest spark on the pitch for the visitors without a shred of doubt. She was a constant menace for Brighton's defence as she drew defenders towards her to make space for her team-mates to bang in the goals. No surprise that she ended up with two assists and, with a little more luck, could have got her name on the scoresheet as well.

GettyTHE BIG LOSER

Brighton's defence was in sixes and sevens against an inspired United side. There were yawning gaps between the two centre backs which were utilised to the fullest by the United forwards. Malard handed a tough time to Pauline Bremer as the right-back struggled to keep a check on the fiery winger – who had little trouble in cutting side from the wide areas. Overall, they were brittle and paid heavily for their lack of awareness.

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WHAT COMES NEXT?

United joined Leicester as the second team to qualify for the Women's FA Cup semi-finals after the Foxes got the better of Liverpool earlier on Saturday. They will now shift their focus to the WSL where they are slated to meet Bristol City next Sunday. On the other hand, Brighton face a stern test against leaders Manchester City on the same day.

There is not expected to be a reduction in the England Lions programme and it is hoped counties may still send young players overseas

George Dobell05-Jul-2018The ECB has confirmed the cancellation of their pace programme and overseas placements.With budgets strained – not least by set-up costs for the new tournament, currently The Hundred – a review of funding was undertaken and the two areas identified as most expendable.The pace programme, which has seen the most promising fast bowlers in domestic cricket given specialist coaching and opportunities to develop, has been criticised not just for its cost but its failure to deliver. Few of the eight seamers who went on it last winter were fit at the start of the 2018 season and one of those who was – Toby Roland-Jones – experienced a recurrence of a stress fracture that ended his season.The last programme saw the bowlers invited to numerous training camps at Loughborough as well as two warm weather training camps in Desert Springs and one two-week one in Potchefstroom.The overseas placements, meanwhile, saw eight promising young players given opportunities to play good level club cricket during the English winter. It was a scheme that sought to benefit young spinners, in particular, and had seen Mason Crane and Matt Parkinson play Grade cricket in Sydney under the watchful eye of Stuart MacGill, while several offspinners – most recently Glamorgan’s Andrew Salter and Hampshire’s Brad Taylor – have been placed with Jeetan Patel in Wellington. Middlesex’s Max Holden and Somerset’s George Bartlett also played club cricket in Perth.It is understood there will be no reduction in the Lions (or Young Lions) commitments – they are to travel to the UAE before Christmas to play Pakistan and tour India after Christmas – and that no redundancies will be made. It is also understood the ECB hopes that counties will continue to arrange overseas placements, but such trips will not be centrally funded.”ECB’s priority over the next 12 months is to ensure our Player Pathway programmes continue to provide the best possible support for England teams ahead of our winter tours, and next summer’s Cricket World Cup and the Ashes,” said an ECB spokesman.”We remain fully committed to developing the Player Pathway and the Performance Centre, and will consider opportunities for further investment in our next financial planning cycle from 2020 onwards.”The timing of the news is intriguing. While it is not long since the ECB announced a lucrative broadcast deal (for the period starting in 2020) and they can expect a large surplus in 2019 – the World Cup profits are expected to be around £50m and it is also an Ashes year – all the signs are the organisation is facing significant financial pressures.They recently published accounts that show their reserves have dropped by around GBP65m in two years. Those reserves – which the ECB say they aim to keep at 40 percent of turnover – were down to GBP8.6m, down from GBP73.1m in 2016.

Former boxing world champion Amir Khan has tipped Wayne Rooney to fight Jamie Vardy if he enters the combat sport world.

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Rooney rumoured to be entering boxingKhan tells him to fight VardyKhan offers to train RooneyWHAT HAPPENED?

Khan, 37, has suggested that former Manchester United forward Rooney should take on Leicester City strike Vardy – if he does choose to enter the sport of boxing. According to , Rooney was approached by boxing promotion company Misfits last month, to discuss the possibility of the England legend fighting on one of their cards.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT KHAN SAID

"Jamie Vardy is the right fight for Wayne Rooney, that's a very good even fight," Khan told Gambling Zone. "They've got the spat their wives have had, what a fight that would make, it would sell well. They're both around the same level as well. They're both novices. I'd back Wayne though because Wayne's more streetwise, he's more solid.

"You don't want to put him in the ring with someone that could hurt him, or outbox and make him look stupid, it should just be someone for a bit of fun as some like Wayne Rooney could get really hurt. He's not really a boxer, so if he got in the deep end too quickly, it could knock his confidence and he could get hurt."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The former Birmingham City and Derby County boss was a member of an amateur boxing club in Liverpool as a child and therefore has some experience in the sport. The link to a possible dispute with his former England teammate Vardy arrives after both of their wives were embroiled in a court case regarding Rebekah Vardy leaking information to the press about Wayne's wife, Coleen. Following the dispute in court back in 2022, Vardy was ordered to pay a substantial proportion of Rooney's legal fees after the statements were deemed to be true.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR ROONEY?

If Rooney was to accept an offer to fight in a event, Khan has offered to train the United legend for his bout. "I'd love to train and help Wayne Rooney," he added.

"Sportsmen have a lot of respect for one another, because they've been there and done it, so they'd listen to you more than a normal trainer. When you train with another athlete it's going to push you and you're going to train hard."

With Ed Smith and the selectors currently pondering England’s squad to play India in the first Test, we take a look at who could be in contention

Alan Gardner25-Jul-20180:33

Gale plays down chance of red-ball return for Rashid

Top order
Alastair Cook confirmed his readiness for consecutive Test No. 155 by scoring 180 for the Lions against India A last week, and he is likely to be joined at the top of the order by Jennings, who batted once for 29 on his return at Headingley, but has been in productive form this season for Lancashire, with three Championship hundreds. That would mean no room for Surrey’s Rory Burns, currently the leading run-scorer in the country, unless the selectors wanted to shuffle Joe Root back down to No. 4. What seems more likely is Dawid Malan retaining his place at four, having scored twin fifties for the Lions – Burns, who captained the team, made 5 and 38 – above England’s multi-faceted lower-middle order engine room. Malan’s Middlesex team-mate Nick Gubbins, who made 73 against India A, might be a contender as the summer wears on.Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings run between the wickets•AFPAllrounders
Injury kept Ben Stokes out of England’s last Test, and he will miss the second match of the India series due to his impending court appearance, but he is a default pick at No. 6 and proved his bowling is in good order by taking 8 for 118 in Durham’s Championship match this week. If England stick with the blueprint used against Pakistan, Stokes will have Jonny Bairstow above him and Jos Buttler below. While it might make sense to give the gloves to the man lower down, Bairstow has been bullish about his ability to keep and bat at No. 5, while Buttler seemed to thrive on the freedom of coming in lower down, and has so far managed to maintain the purple patch of form that caught Smith’s eye during the IPL. Sam Curran, the debutant who came in for Stokes against Pakistan, could also be included with an eye towards Lord’s.Seam
Although the senior new-ball pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been managing injuries over the last few weeks, both seemed to come through Championship games – for Lancashire and Nottinghamshire, respectively – without any issues. The same can’t be said for Mark Wood, who bowled only six overs at Cheltenham before complaining of pain in his heel; he went for a scan on Tuesday, with Durham coach Jon Lewis saying “it could be something and nothing”, but England may not want to risk him. Chris Woakes, the third seamer at Headingley, subsequently missed six weeks with a thigh problem and only managed match figures of 2 for 139 for Warwickshire over the past few days at Lord’s, but a record of 46 wickets at 23.76 in home Tests stands in his favour. Other candidates might include Jake Ball, who played his last Test during the winter’s Ashes; Essex’s Jamie Porter, the leading wicket-taker in the Championship last season; Somerset’s Overton twins, with the oft-injured Jamie showcasing some impressive pace in their ongoing match at New Road; and even Matt Fisher, Yorkshire’s former England U-19 who was part of the Lions team that thrashed India A by 253 runs.Positive spin: Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid impressed in the opening match against Australia•Getty ImagesSpin
If Smith wants to roll the dice, then this is perhaps the most likely department for a gamble. Talk swirled last week about a possible recall for Adil Rashid – after he left Virat Kohli goggling at a sharp-turning legbreak during the third ODI – but he has not played a first-class game since September, and Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale said on Tuesday there had been no signs of Rashid pushing for a comeback. Bess impressed with his all-round ability against Pakistan, but was left out this week by Somerset in favour of Jack Leach, whose broken thumb initially gave Bess a shot with England. Left-armer Leach might offer a more probing line of attack against India’s battery of right-hand batsmen, and if England want an offspin option as well, that could open up a way back for Moeen Ali. Dropped for Leach in New Zealand, Moeen seems to have rediscovered his bowling confidence with England’s white-ball teams, and this week claimed 8 for 170 against Somerset – including his first Championship five-for since 2013. India, against whom he took 19 wickets at 23.00 in 2014, would surely be wary of a repeat.

Manchester United breathed a collective sigh of relief after yesterday's Champions League result, the Red Devils finally getting their first win of Group A courtesy of a Harry Maguire header to overcome FC Copenhagen by a solitary goal in a 1-0 victory.

It ended up being a nervy and nail-biting finale at Old Trafford, especially when the Danish visitors were awarded a last-minute penalty kick.

Thankfully for Erik Ten Hag's men, Andre Onana's previous woes in goal for United didn't impact the former Ajax shot-stopper in this instance who confidently saved Jordan Larsson's spot-kick to silence his harshest critics and give the hosts a crucial three points.

Maguire and Onana might have managed to pull off a night of redemption by playing pivotal roles in the narrow victory at the Theatre of Dreams, but one Red Devils player continues to have a nightmarish spell in a United strip – Antony having 38 touches all night for Ten Hag's men but continuing to be largely ineffective for his side when it matters.

How did Antony perform against Copenhagen?

Antony could well have stepped up to the mark in this one and spearheaded his side to a comprehensive victory instead of settling for his side hanging on, in the end, to get over the line via Onana's heroics, but the Brazilian was somewhat anonymous in yesterday evening's clash.

From the 63 minutes he was on the Old Trafford turf – replaced by Alejandro Garnacho who is pushing for a spot in Ten Hag's starting eleven more regularly – Antony only registered one shot all evening, an off-target attempt too that didn't threaten the Copenhagen goalkeeper with the game still in the balance at 0-0.

The 23-year-old managed zero key passes from his hour or so on the pitch too, a passenger all evening when United needed their top talents to come into their own to easily fend off their Danish opponents and pick up a confidence-boosting win in Group A.

Compare that to Garnacho's contributions when he was substituted on for the underperforming dud, and Antony will be sweating about his immediate first-team future – the highly regarded Argentine winger hitting his only shot of the evening on target, saved brilliantly by Kamil Grabara in the visitors' net to the dismay of the 19-year-old.

It even led to Samuel Luckhurst, chief Man United writer for the Manchester Evening News, calling the £200k-per-week winger's individual game out.

He noted that it was "mystifying" that the Brazilian had even started this contest and he should be dropped for the Red Devils' next encounter in the Manchester Derby this coming Sunday, leaving Ten Hag with a selection dilemma.

The Dutch head coach could also look to ditch his Moroccan defensive midfielder, Sofyan Amrabat, for this crunch match against their arch-rivals and neighbours, with the on-loan maestro also poor alongside Antony.

How did Amrabat perform against Copenhagen?

Substituted off the pitch at half-time – Antony at least survived longer before being hauled off – the 27-year-old Fiorentina midfielder had a torrid 45 minutes.

Registering an impressive 7.40 Sofascore rating from his four Premier League games to date in a Man United shirt, he didn't play to those same standards against Copenhagen – leaving the pitch with a 6.7 rating overall.

Much like Antony, he was a bystander to the action and didn't take the game by the scruff of the neck whatsoever – bailed out by a late Maguire header saving the contest.

Having lost possession five times, the Moroccan – who 'moved the ball around slowly and sloppily' according to GOAL's Richard Martin – failed to provide a brick wall-like cover to the defenders behind him.

Ten Hag therefore could freshen up his starting lineup when Man City make the short visit to Old Trafford for the contested Derby match this weekend, with both Antony and Amrabat underserving of another inclusion from the off.