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Everton's transfer window finally appears to be gaining steam, and manager Sean Dyche is now hoping to fortify his offensive ranks with a swoop for Juventus teenager Samuel Iling-Junior.

The Toffees have only signed Arnaut Danjuma on loan and Ashley Young on a free transfer, and while a £13m deal has been agreed for Sporting Lisbon striker Youssef Chermiti, more work will need to be done to avoid another perilous season battling against relegation from the Premier League.

What's the latest on Samuel Iling-Junior to Everton?

Italian outlet il BiancoNero revealed one week ago that Everton have displayed a concrete interest in Iling-Junior following El Bilal Toure's rejection of the Goodison Park side in favour of Atalanta.

Read the latest Everton transfer news HERE…

More recently, Tuttomercatoweb have claimed that Everton and Premier League rivals Aston Villa are in pursuit, though the OId Lady would only sanction a sale if their €25m (£21m) valuation is met, with the player penning a new long-term deal last December.

Who is Samuel Iling-Junior?

Everton's director of football Kevin Thelwell has his work cut out to ensure that the club finally construct a team capable of challenging for a place higher up the ladder in the English top-flight.

After years of issues, the maladies on Merseyside could be cured with the crafting of a team brimming with first-class talent; Chermiti, aged 19, certainly looks a future star, while Iling-Junior holds the tools to build a successful career.

A dynamic and explosive winger, Iling-Junior scored once and supplied two assists from 18 outings for Juventus last season, only starting on three occasions.

Once lauded for his "high energy and work volume as well as dreamy ball skills" by scout Antonio Mango, the 19-year-old already ranks among the top 5% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 1% for assists, the top 9% for shot-creating actions, the top 20% for progressive carries and the top 9% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref – though it's important to note that this is based off little match action.

Nevertheless, it illustrates his natural striking instinct and skill as a bouncing, energetic force on the flanks, with journalist Michele Neri already heralding the starlet as an "assist machine".

When discussing Iling-Junior's style, Neri also said:

“In these qualities, you can absolutely see shades of Rafael Leão when the AC Milan superstar was a bit younger. Of course he is certainly less impactful today than Leão is and has a long way to go to reach the Portuguese’s level."

The AC Milan phenom is definitely not a bad choice to mould one's game off, with the Portuguese talent, who has been dubbed a "phenomenon" by Italian sporting director Fabio Cordella, scoring 16 goals and providing 15 assists across all competitions.

The £105k-per-week gem ranks among the top 5% of attacking midfielders and wingers for goals, the top 11% for assists, the top 11% for progressive carries and the top 4% for successful take-ons per 90.

Given Leão's progressive prowess and electric presence, Iling-Junior could flourish with Everton – boasting a similar profile, he could devastate on the Toffees' flank and grow into one of Europe's leading stars.

Arsenal are reportedly chasing the signature of Goncalo Inacio to bolster their defence in their three-way title race with Liverpool and Man City.

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• Arsenal want €60m-rated defender
• Lacking depth at centre-half
• Keen to avoid collapse akin to last season

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to , Arsenal are monitoring the Portuguese international and Sporting CP star. The 22-year-old is indispensable to the Liga Portugal leaders and would command a significant transfer fee, given there is a €60 million (£52m/$65m) release clause in his contract. Inacio is left-footed and would offer strong competition to Arsenal’s left-sided centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Perhaps wary of a repeat of last season’s collapse following an injury to William Saliba, Arsenal are looking to add depth at centre-half in January. The Gunners are relatively short at the back, having lost summer-signing Jurrien Timber to an ACL injury in the opening game of the Premier League season. Mikel Arteta’s side have also been linked with Inacio’s team-mate and fellow defender, Ousmane Diomande, as they look to raid the Portuguese capital.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Inacio has actually played and scored against the Gunners. The defender nodded in Sporting's first goal in the sides' 2-2 draw in the first leg of the last season's Europa League round of 16. Sporting would go on to knock Arsenal out on penalties.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR INACIO AND ARSENAL?

  Given Arsenal's struggles with Financial Fair Play, a transfer in January is unlikely to materialise unless the Gunners make a major sale. With both Sporting CP and Arsenal in the middle of title charges, neither side will want too much disruption mid-season.

ScorecardSimon Harmer did the hard yards on the third day. On the fourth, gifts were bestowed upon him. For Harmer, it all added up to his career-best figures of 8 for 36, and 14 for 128 in the match. For Warwickshire, dismissed for 94, it added up to a whole lot of trouble.While Essex strengthened their hold at the top of Division One, Warwickshire are marooned with Somerset at the bottom, 40 points away from safety. Defeat by an innings and 164 runs underlined the extent of their challenge and, soon after the finish, their coaching team were huddled in earnest conversation.As Harmer took the last wicket, in a hospitality box overlooking the ground Mohammad Amir confidently predicted that he could help Essex win the Championship. Neil Wagner departed with a magnum of champagne and public thanks during a lunchtime celebration – a sign that Essex are doing the small things well – and, in Amir, they have quite a replacement.Ryan ten Doeschate, Essex’s captain, was delighted with his side’s response so soon after their last-over defeat in the Royal London Cup semi-final against Nottinghamshire. “Obviously Friday’s defeat was massively disappointing, but it was up to us to bounce back and the Championship is vitally important,” he said.Bouncebackability owed much to Essex’s first-innings batting, but it was ultimately down to Harmer. A switch of ends, a decision made late in Warwickshire’s first innings, and a harder ball, both contributed to faster turn than he had achieved the previous day and Warwickshire succumbed shortly after lunch.”We didn’t think the wicket was going to turn all that much, hence we only played one spinner,” said ten Doeschate. “Harmi is a turning spinner and there is not much more you can say about 14 wickets in the match. It was great for Harmi – he has predominantly done the holding job for the first six games of the year so to be able to fulfil that attacking role is a feather in his cap.””The English summer has arrived,” said Harmer with a smile. Hmm, perhaps somebody should have a word and warn him that it is an itinerant beast.Harmer had put in a 39-over shift on the third day, the bulk of it to take 6 for 92 in the first innings, but there were immediate indications that he had managed to fall out of bed in decent order as he took up a central place in Essex’s attack.By the time he came on for the ninth over of the day, Essex’s pace attack, encouraged by dark, thundery skies, had already struck. Ian Bell, a Warwickshire captain who must find a way out of a calamitous season, fell to an excellent diving catch by wicketkeeper James Foster after nicking a good ball from Wagner, which bounced a shade from a demanding line. There was no shame in that dismissal, although Bell had also edged just short of first slip earlier in the over.Harmer needed just six deliveries to start adding to his tally, Andrew Umeed edging onto the back foot and falling lbw. In his next over, Sam Hain tried to bale out of what seemed to be a pre-meditated sweep, got in a tangle, and squirted a catch off one knee to ten Doeschate at short leg.For the second time in the match, Rikki Clarke eschewed his attacking inclinations and concentrated largely on survival. The lbw decision against him that Harmer won was bound to get a few replays in the Warwickshire dressing room. Clarke shouldered arms to a good-length ball that pitched well outside off stump and was adjudged lbw. With his departure, Warwickshire’s last chance had gone and Tim Ambrose cast his bat aside in frustration.Next ball, Keith Barker tried to paddle the delivery away, got a top edge and was caught behind by Foster. Jeetan Patel, whose leg-side assault had damaged Harmer’s figures in the first innings, fell lbw. By lunch, Harmer’s morning’s work amounted to 5 for 31 off 15 overs.The lunch interval was delayed by 15 minutes, without success, to try to complete the match, but Warwickshire’s last two wickets did not delay overlong thereafter. Boyd Rankin was lbw to surely the slowest, loopiest full toss that Harmer has ever bowled, leaving Sunny Singh to push a turning delivery to first slip in the next over.So the pitch upon which Essex suffered a heartbreaking 50-over defeat had provided consolation by wearing sufficiently quickly for Harmer’s benefit. Patel, a fellow offspinner, and a fine one at that, will rue the fact that Warwickshire lost the toss and imagine that he might also have felt the benefit.But luck rarely runs with a side at the bottom of the table. It is Essex who have become the story of the summer. Their top six has been sheltered from the storm by Alastair Cook and will soon have to prove its mettle without him. Harmer is the signing of the summer and the combative qualities of Wagner are about to give way to the sheen of Amir. And a clutch of promising young pace bowlers are a reminder that Essex remain committed to unearthing their own.Chris Silverwood, a coach with a rising reputation, was absent from the final day because he was feeling unwell, but there was much good news to aid his recovery.

ScorecardSamit Patel continued to make the most of the richest vein of form of his career with another imperious innings on the first day of Nottinghamshire’s Specsavers County Championship match against Leicestershire at Trent Bridge.Patel reached the close on 157 not out, scoring his runs from 222 balls with 17 fours and a six, as the home side closed on 345 for 4 after being asked to bat first.Since making 82 against Derbyshire on June, 4 in the second innings of Nottinghamshire’s last home match, Patel has rattled off an unbeaten 257 versus Gloucestershire and then one-day cup scores of 66 and 122 not out in last week’s wins over Somerset and Essex.The 32-year old was given not out on 37 after the umpires had conferred with Leicestershire claiming a slip catch by Paul Horton but a bump ball seemed to be their judgement.Otherwise it was a breeze, on a day that badly needed one, for the middle order stroke-maker, who picked up a couple of milestones during his five and a half hours at the crease.On 89 he reached 11,000 runs in first class cricket and the shot that took him to his 26th first-class hundred also took him to 10,000 for his county.Jake Libby fell for 7 inside the first hour of the day, nibbling Dieter Klein down the leg side and into the gloves of wicketkeeper Lewis Hill.On a stiflingly hot day, the visitors’ gamble of opting to bowl first and pick up early top order wickets wasn’t helped by the early loss of Ben Raine. The allrounder had sent down 3.2 overs before he left the action in some discomfort with a side strain.”It doesn’t look good for him, it looks worse than the previous side strain he had, so that’s not good news for us or for Ben, who is absolutely gutted,” Pierre de Bruyn, the Leicestershire head coach, said.Steven Mullaney appeared untroubled in making 40 from 59 balls but then had his defences exposed as Gavin Griffiths nipped one back to flatten his middle stump.Brendan Taylor, also off the back of two substantial white ball innings (156 and 62), made 61 in his first Championship knock of the summer.He had a scare on 48 when he nicked Clint McKay but wicketkeeper Lewis Hill couldn’t gather low down. A couple of deliveries later the former Zimbabwe captain was gifted two overthrows from an errant shy, to reach his 50 from 104 balls.Klein picked up his second wicket when he had Taylor caught behind to a regulation nick and he struck again when Michael Lumb dragged on for 36, soon after tea.Late in the day Leicestershire took the second new ball and Patel greeted its arrival by hoisting McKay several rows back over the midwicket fence as his unbeaten fifth wicket partnership with Riki Wessels neared three figures.Notts had a further reason to be thankful with the announcement that James Pattinson, their Australian quick bowler, has been cleared to remain in the country and will participate in the Royal London One-Day Cup final a week on Saturday.

Jason Ratcliffe, formerly second in command at the Professional Cricketers Association, has warned of “the huge gamble” English cricket is taking with the introduction of a new-team T20 competition

George Dobell22-Mar-2017Jason Ratcliffe, formerly second in command at the Professional Cricketers Association, has warned of “the huge gamble” English cricket is taking with the introduction of a new-team T20 competition.Ratcliffe was on the steering group in the developmental stages of the proposed competition in 2015 before stepping down as assistant chief executive of the PCA at the end of last year after 14 years with the organisation.He feels there has been a lack of discussion “outside inner cricketing circles” ahead of an important vote that “will forever change the landscape of English cricket.””I care very much about our game,” Ratcliffe told ESPNcricinfo. “And, having sat on numerous ECB committees and structure reviews, as well as having played county cricket for 15 years, I feel I’ve a deep understanding of the issues.”The situation is that attendances at our existing T20 competition, the NatWest Blast, have grown 63 per cent in the last four years, where the ‘appointment to view’ principle has been proven to have worked and where our domestic competitions produced a good enough side for us to reach the final of the most recent World T20.”But we seem to be turning our back on that success and embracing a high-risk strategy that involves new teams and new identities. If the same money went into marketing the existing competition and brands as we are expecting to be invested in the new one, we could make something special and inclusive.”Ratcliffe fears for the future of county cricket if the gamble goes awry.”There is no halfway house with the strategy. We risk throwing away 130 years of history and alienating our core supporters while cannibalising our existing competitions. If we get this wrong, it could mean the death of county cricket.”Intriguingly, Ratcliffe also suggested it was the ECB’s intention to introduce an eight-team competition at the start of the T20 review process.”One of the things that has become clear to me is that there was an agenda right from the start of this process, back in 2015, to introduce an eight-team competition,” he said.”In the first CIRG [County and International Review Group] meeting, several of us asked if this was the plan. We were assured it was not but, after several days of strategy and modelling it became clear that it was.”The projected value of broadcast figures came out as early as July 2015 and non-disclosure agreements were put in place last year to prevent information leaking out. Looking back, I believe there was an agenda from the start.”

‘I’m concerned that, if the ECB’s strategy fails, the game in this country could shrink, not grow’

While Ratcliffe hopes his comments will be viewed “in the constructive manner they are intended,” his concern is the counties are close to committing to the new-team competition before many key questions have been answered.”I read the ECB chief executive Tom Harrison’s recent interview,” Ratcliffe said. “And while he clearly makes an exciting, compelling case, there was one phrase that stuck in my mind. He talked about “a moment where there’s a leap of faith” and suggested we are ‘very close to that.’ It feels like a high stakes gamble.”There are so many unanswered questions: how much influence does free to air broadcasting have? Who will host the matches? Will fans embrace new identities and travel to the matches? What will happen to Test cricket if the new-team T20 competition is being run at the same time and marketed so aggressively? How will county memberships, sponsorships and existing competitions be affected? Where is the compelling research to show that the new competition is desirable? How can our 50-over cricket develop if our best white-ball players are all involved in the new T20 tournament?”My concern is that Welsh Rugby Union went down a similar route in 2003 and it’s taken a generation to find out that attendances haven’t improved.”I’m not against change. I think we probably should have modelled a T20 competition with promotion and relegation and our existing 18 sides. But I’m concerned that, if the ECB’s strategy fails, the game in this country could shrink, not grow, as a result of the new competition.”There’s a potential game-changing vote about to take place over the future of domestic cricket and there’s been almost no open discussion. It’s happening before existing supporters have come to understand the full ramifications.”The only guaranteed winners in the short term, will be players with more money coming in at every level. County futures, however, are potentially far less uncertain.”There’s no doubt that cricket is resilient – 130 years of history has proved this. But while change is inevitable, we can’t take anything for granted. If the plans progress next week, county cricket as we know it, will change forever and we’ll be left with our fingers crossed that ECB have got this right.”

Manchester United could be set to acquire another Scandinavian striker in the form of Rasmus Hojlund, who will surely seek to follow in the footsteps of a former Old Trafford great.

What's the latest on Rasmus Hojlund to Manchester United?

Having been linked for the bulk of the summer, the latest to come out of this saga is an updated price tag. The Daily Mail suggested that Atalanta will demand a fee of around €100m (£86m), which whilst mouth-watering is still lower than what Tottenham Hotspur wanted for Harry Kane.

The England captain was expected to fetch a £100m fee, and as such Erik ten Hag has cooled his interest in the 29-year-old. He will look elsewhere, and that search could land on this young finisher.

Transfer insider Dean Jones even suggested that it might not be such a bad move, and he told Football FanCast: "I mean Solskjær was just such a good fit for Man United in terms of he had all the ability and none of the ego that you needed for a player that was coming into a strike force of such a high level.

"So they would love a player like Hojlund who could have that Solskjær effect on this team, but also not throw their toys out of the pram were they left on the bench."

Would Rasmus Hojlund be a success at Manchester United?

Although the free-scoring Kane would likely be atop everyone's list, his age profile would make this a deal for the present rather than the future.

So often this club have prioritised instant success over long-term growth, and it has left them light years away from their rivals. For once they must show some foresight to invest in youth and admit that silverware might have to take a back seat in pursuit of the creation of a dynasty.

Should Hojlund join and develop like he very well can, Ten Hag could secure his perfect number nine for the next decade.

After all, the 20-year-old is coming off the back of a term where he scored 16 goals and assisted a further seven in all competitions.

This is a far cry from the 32 that Kane notched or the double figures he has hit every year in the league since 2014, but turning 30 next month, his presence at the top of the game has a time limit.

Meanwhile, the Denmark international has only recently been branded a "monster in the making" by Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig, suggesting he is far from his final form despite already tearing up Italian football.

Should he have that same lethal finishing touch as Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who recorded 176 goal contributions in 366 games for the Manchester club and won nine major honours, then it would be an investment worth making.

After all, his tireless work rate, proficiency in front of goal and patency for a one-touch strike all emphasise these comparisons.

Misbah-ul-Haq has asked whether Australia’s abysmal recent record in Asia warranted a similar rethink the way one was suggested by Ian Chappell after Pakistan’s recent 0-3 whitewash

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jan-2017

Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has hit back at Ian Chappell’s criticisms of Pakistan, saying they were “uncalled for and unbecoming” of someone with Chappell’s stature in the game.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo minutes after Pakistan lost the third and final Test of the series in Sydney – their 12th successive Test loss in the country over 17 years – Chappell had said Cricket Australia should reconsider the utility of a future Pakistan tour to the country.”Pakistan have now lost 12 Test matches on the trot in Australia, and somebody’s got to give them a kick up the bum,” Chappell had said. “Cricket Australia have got to start saying ‘listen if things don’t improve we will stop with the invites’.”You can’t continue to [play poor] cricket. You can’t bowl poorly, have conservative field placings and field sloppily and expect to play decent cricket in Australia.”Writing in his column for , Misbah, whose captaincy bore the brunt of further criticism, asked whether Australia’s abysmal recent record in Asia warranted a similar rethink.Australia have lost their last nine Tests in a row in India, the UAE and Sri Lanka; since 2008 they have lost 13 of their 18 Tests in Asia and won only one.”The comments do not make any sense or suit a cricketer of his stature,” Misbah wrote. “Australia themselves have been on the losing side in the recent away tours. They were clean swept by a Sri Lanka side that did not have Mahela Jayawardena or Kumar Sangakkara and some of their players didn’t even have 10 Tests to their names.”Then Australia lost the one-day international series 0-5 in South Africa. In the recent past they have been whitewashed by us in the UAE and in India. If we apply Chappell’s comments to Australia, does that mean if they continue to get whitewashed on the subcontinent on a regular basis then they should also not travel there? And if Australia does not travel to Asia or the Asian teams do no travel to Australia then how are they going to improve?”Misbah has come under pressure at home as well, though in this case for comments he made post-match in Sydney. Asked whether he felt his team represented the best chance Pakistan had in Australia to reverse the long run of defeats, Misbah had said, “Yes, you can say, but in ’99 when Pakistan came, I think that was one of the strongest teams ever, strongest bowling attack, in terms of experience, in terms of the batting, so many superstars in that team. We lost then as well. “That side, led by Wasim Akram, counted Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed among its attack; Saeed Anwar, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Ijaz Ahmed were part of the batting order.The Australian side that whitewashed them was soon to become one of the greatest in Test history, though some might argue that that Pakistan side was past its peak.Misbah’s comments, however, have been construed as an attack on the 1999 side. It has forced him to issue a clarification on Twitter, unusual for him and also indicative of the pressure he is under to retire from Test cricket.”My reply was that 99 team was our best team,” Misbah tweeted. “My aim wasn’t to disrespect them. I wasn’t trying to use them as an excuse. They’re our legends… have nothing but respect for the 1999 team. ‪@wasimakramlive who was captain then, is someone who I’ve worked with, & has helped me a lot”.In his column, Misbah said he was taking a “time-out” from the discussion about when he goes. “I want to spend some time at home and then play in the PSL. I will then analyse how much passion for cricket I have left in me and whether I can play on… The PSL will be important for me in making a decision on my international future.”

Glasgow Rangers have confirmed that several members of their first-team squad will be departing the club upon the expiry of their respective contracts this summer.

Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Scott Arfield, and Allan McGregor are just a few of the players who are going to be moving on from the Light Blues ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

The summer transfer window will provide Michael Beale with an opportunity to replace them but the Gers head coach could save the club millions by looking to the B-Team to find new first-team stars next season.

Robbie Ure, Ross McCausland, Arron Lyall, and Alex Lowry were all brought off the bench in the 3-1 win over Hibernian last weekend in the Scottish Premiership.

Lyall, in particular, could earn himself a regular senior role for Rangers next season after reportedly agreeing a new contract with the club.

Who is Arron Lyall?

He is a 19-year-old winger who has caught the eye with his performances for the B-Team this term and the youngster could be a dream replacement for Kent.

The current first-team attacker has played 29 matches in the Premiership in 22/23 and chipped in with three goals and eight assists from out wide. This comes after he produced two goals and eight assists in 26 outings in the competition in 21/22.

Kent has, therefore, contributed with 21 direct goal involvements in 55 appearances in the Scottish top-flight since the start of last season, which is one every 2.62 games.

Meanwhile, Lyall has scored 13 goals and provided two assists in 34 Lowland League clashes for the B-Team in the current campaign. He has also scored two goals and assisted one in five outings in the Challenge Cup and UEFA Youth League combined this term.

This means that the teenager has been directly involved in 18 goals in 39 games at youth level for the Gers – a contribution every 2.16 appearances.

These statistics indicate that the youngster has the potential to make a similar, and possibly greater, impact to the one that Kent has made in the Premiership this season if he can translate his form over to the first-team.

Lyall, who ex-boss Neil McCann dubbed "exciting", has also been rewarded for his efforts by being named the club's Academy Player of the Year and the B-Team's Players' Player of the Year.

This shows that the club and his teammates have recognised his exceptional performances and Beale has clearly taken notice of his progress as the manager handed him a debut in the win against Hibs.

He is clearly, based on the overwhelming evidence of his form for the academy and his individual honours, a promising young talent and the manager could unearth the magician as the dream heir to Kent's position on the wing in 23/24.

There is no harm in using pre-season as an opportunity for the 19-year-old to showcase his quality in a first-team environment, and it could be the perfect chance for Lyall to prove that he can make the step up to fill the void left by the Englishman.

R Ashwin, whose 5 for 62 helped India dismiss West Indies for 196 on the opening day of the second Test at Sabina Park, said he was “pretty surprised” by Jason Holder’s decision to bat first

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kingston31-Jul-20161:32

‘Ashwin exploited the spin and bounce from the pitch well’ – Manjrekar

R Ashwin, whose 5 for 62 helped India dismiss West Indies for 196 on the opening day of the second Test at Sabina Park, said he was “pretty surprised” by Jason Holder’s decision to bat first. Speaking to the media after India had moved to 126 for 1 in their reply at stumps, Ashwin said the pitch was a “bit sticky” early on, and that it might have suited West Indies’ strengths more to bowl first.”I was pretty surprised that they won the toss and batted first today,” Ashwin said. “Like Virat mentioned at the toss, there was a bit in it, it was a bit sticky. Maybe I would’ve batted as well. But with their strengths, I thought it was a bit surprising.”Despite India ending the day on top, Ashwin cautioned that there was a long way still to go in the match. “I was really taken aback by the counterattack that [Jermaine] Blackwood did,” he said. “It sort of put the game in the balance. And we had to break [through] twice and brought the game back. It’s clearly a game where the experienced side is seizing the more opportune moments. I would put it that way. With a little bit of experience and nailing the right moments, the game could get closer.”This game has a lot of uncertainties. We just saw one when Sri Lanka pulled it off against Australia [in the Pallekele Test]. And they did the same against us in Galle [in 2015], so we can’t be lacklustre with that, we will have to keep doing our process properly.”Ashwin said his variations of pace had been key to picking up five wickets on a damp first-day pitch.”A little bit of bounce and speed variation, that was important, I thought. Most of the dismissals were brought about by difference in speeds rather than much of spin, actually. It was initially damp and there was some turn, but after that it flattened out a bit and started going straight. This ball, once it gets older, it becomes easier to bat. There’s a lot more time. I think it was more about bounce and speed variation that created the problem.”Playing only his 34th Test match, Ashwin has already picked up his 18th five-wicket haul. At this moment, his rate of taking five-fors is even better than that of Muttiah Muralitharan, who picked up 67 in 133 Tests.”Everybody wants to start playing cricket one day to achieve what nobody else could achieve,” Ashwin said. “I am happy to be there, at some stage of my career where I am better than everybody else who has played the game. It feels nice, but the only thing that is constant is trying to improve from wherever you are. I think change is very very important. Keeping on benchmarking yourself is more important. This is good, but tomorrow is a different day and you have to keep improving.”Coming in for the injured M Vijay, KL Rahul got India off to a near-perfect start to their reply, and ended the day batting on 75. Ashwin wasn’t surprised by his performance, and said he had nicknamed him ‘batting machine’ for the amount of batting he does in training.”We all know that he’s a quality cricketer,” Ashwin said. “He’s made a lot of runs in first-class cricket. He has pretty much arrived at this level.”Beforehand, when he made hundreds for us, it has been crucial knocks. He made one in Sri Lanka which is very very memorable. As a matter of fact, the way he played in the IPL, it’s just an extension. Everybody wants Rahul to do well, which is a big tick for him.”I’ve nicknamed him batting machine. He keeps batting all the time and it’s not a surprise that he’s made runs and I’m very happy for him.”

Fans online have been left stunned after Bernardo Silva nutmegged multiple players in one run for Manchester City in their most recent outing.

What’s the latest on Man City and Bernardo Silva?

On Tuesday night, the Cityzens gave their hopes of securing a first-ever Champions League title a huge boost as they cruised to a 3-0 win at the Etihad.

Coming up against Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich in the first leg of their tantalising quarter-final clash, a well-fought first half saw City go in 1-0 at the break thanks to a stunning long-distance effort from Rodri.

Pep Guardiola and co were then able to dominate the later stages of the game as two goals in the space of six minutes from Silva and then Erling Haaland sealed the 3-0 victory.

While the Portugal international scored that vital goal, he also worked hard defensively to help nullify the potential attacking threat of Bayern wingback Alphonso Davies.

This was something noted by his manager after the game, with Guardiola telling Sky Sports: “He is a player who you say is going to play in that position and you do not have to say anything else.

“I have been lucky to coach some very good players for Barca and Bayern. He is one of the best players I ever trained in my life, ever. He is something special as a football player.

“Bernardo is a football player, he can play everywhere because he understands the game perfectly and every action with and without the ball.

“When Davies starts to go you cannot stop, Bernardo has the ability to read the positions, give us an extra pass. He is so important in these types of games, he can play holding midfielder. He is so, so important and lately he is scoring goals, which he lacked a little bit. Now he is being decisive.”

Perhaps Silva’s most jaw-dropping moment, however, came on the hour mark when the score was still only just 1-0.

Indeed, seemingly trapped in a cul-de-sac, the £150k-per-week star jinked forward, pushing the ball through Davies’ legs, then Leon Goretzka’s, before then doing the same to Davies once more (potentially twice, actually) before teeing up a shot for John Stones.

BT Sport shared the footage on their Twitter feed and it’s safe to say a number of fans were stunned by the skill.

The praise just kept on coming with some onlookers on their knees at what they had just witnessed…

And some suggested, he actually got four nutmegs as he seems to beat Davies on three occasions, with two coming right at the end.