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The grand final is expected to be one of the seminal events in the history of sport in Australia, and of women’s sport around the globe

The Preview by Daniel Brettig07-Mar-20201:24

How India made it to their maiden T20 World Cup final

Big PictureTournament organisers have been handed their dream final, between the world’s No. 1 team and hosts Australia, and the world’s mightiest and most populous cricket nation, India. An enormous crowd is expected at the MCG, with the ICC releasing extra standing room tickets on Saturday to cope with demand. With Katy Perry performing either side of a contest on International Women’s Day, it shapes as one of the seminal events in the history of sport in Australia, and of women’s sport around the globe.But what about the cricket? Australia, grappling with tournament favouritism and a pair of ruinous injuries to Tayla Vlaeminck before the event and Ellyse Perry in the middle of it, have had the rockiest possible road to the final. They have not played their best cricket, but instead shown forbearance, determination and big-match temperament to forge through what have effectively been four successive elimination matches after they lost the opening game of the tournament to India.In Meg Lanning, they have a captain and top-order bat of the highest possible quality, while in the field they have shown discipline and athleticism to defend middling targets against New Zealand and South Africa. Fatigue, both physical and mental, will be an obstacle.India, meanwhile, have more or less ridden the wave they caught in defeating Australia at the Sydney Showgrounds on opening night, neither beaten nor particularly troubled at any point in their next three group matches, then enjoying the benefit of a free pass to the final over England due to their higher better qualifying position. Shafali Verma has been the tournament’s undisputed batting star, consistently rocketing her team to rapid starts, while Harmanpreet Kaur has marshalled her spin bowlers and the mediums of Shikha Pandey adroitly.ALSO READ: How Australia and India made their way to the MCG finalIf there are any question marks over India, they are matters of belief, having never played in a T20 World Cup final before, let alone won one, and also sharpness: in a tightly scheduled tournament, their draw and the Sydney rain has meant that they have not played a match in more than a week. Australia, in the meantime, have played twice.Form guideAustralia WWWWL (completed matches, most recent first)
India WWWWL In the spotlightAgainst South Africa, Jess Jonassen essentially took up the bowling role left vacant by Perry’s torn hamstring, sharing the new ball with Megan Schutt in the powerplay and then bowling at the death as Laura Wolvaardt threatened to perform a middle-order miracle for her side. It was Jonassen, too, who was the decisive force against India in the final of the triangular series that preceded the Cup proper, plucking five wickets in quick succession to deliver the Australians a narrow victory. How Jonassen fares in concert with the other spin bowlers at Lanning’s disposal will go a long way towards deciding the outcome.Shafali Verma gets ready to take strike•Getty ImagesScores of 29, 39, 46 and 47, all made at whip-crack pace, have made Shafali Verma the most feared top order bat in the tournament, capable of either setting up a big first innings or supercharging any pursuit of a target. Her danger to Australia is enhanced by the lack of any top pace or bounce bowlers to challenge Verma on the back foot, meaning that Lanning will be relying heavily on the likes of Schutt and Jonassen to nail their lines and lengths. The only thing Verma is yet to achieve in this event is a truly major score, leaving India to hope that the biggest innings will arrive on the biggest day.Team newsAustralia will be tempted to stick with the same formula that saw them through against South Africa, although Molly Strano’s offspin is a worthwhile option given India’s left-handers, and she did play in the opening match of the tournament. Georgia Wareham would be the bowler most likely to make way.Australia (possible): 1 Beth Mooney 2 Alyssa Healy (wk) 3 Meg Lanning (capt) 4 Ashleigh Gardner 5 Rachael Haynes 6 Jess Jonassen 7 Nicola Carey 8 Delissa Kimmince, 9 Georgia Wareham/Molly Strano 10 Sophie Molineux 11 Megan SchuttIndia have a very settled line-up after their smooth progression through the group stage and semi-final walkover against England.India (probable): 1 Shafali Verma 2 Smriti Mandhana 3 Jemimah Rodrigues 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt) 5 Deepti Sharma 6 Veda Krishnamurthy 7 Taniya Bhatiya (wk) 8 Shikha Pandey 9 Radha Yadav 10 Poonam Yadav 11 Rajeshwari GayakwadALSO READ: Factors that can influence the T20 World Cup finalPitch and conditionsMelbourne’s forecast is mercifully fine for the final after Sydney’s weather travails knocked out England and nearly did likewise for Australia. The pitch itself should be hard and flat, although the ground itself has not hosted any cricket since Australia A’s meeting with England Lions more than two weeks ago.Stats and trivia This would be India’s first-ever T20 World Cup final appearance The MCG has hosted one women’s World Cup final previously, the decider of the 1988 ODI tournament, won by Australia over England in front of a crowd of about 3,000 spectators Australia won all of the first seven T20I encounters between the teams, but India have won six of the past 12 and three of the past five.Quotes”This build-up to the game is something I’ve not experienced before and I’m quite glad that the final’s here tomorrow and we can say we’re involved in it. I always dreamed of being involved in this game, when I saw it was the MCG and they were hoping for a big crowd I just wanted to be involved.”
“We are going to have 90,000 in the stadium and it’s a great feeling. We just need to enjoy the moment because it’s a big moment for all of us.”

The Hurricanes’ imposing total was built around Matthew Wade and Mac Wright, but Alex Hales threatened in reply

Report by Alex Malcolm24-Jan-2020

D’Arcy Short claimed a career-best 5 for 21•Getty Images

A special performance from D’Arcy Short, with the ball rather than the bat, helped the Hobart Hurricanes climb back into finals calculations on the back of a stunning 57-run win over the Sydney Thunder in Hobart.Short was out for a duck in but took 5 for 21 as the Thunder lost 8 for 28 in the chase of 186. Alex Hales and Alex Ross were well placed at 2 for 100 after 12.2 overs but the side imploded and their finals hopes took a massive blow as their net run-rate dropped below the Hurricanes’ after starting the game well clear of them.Matthew Wade and Mac Wright once again make half-centuries to underpin a big Hurricanes total but it was a hard-hitting cameo from George Bailey that tipped the score above 180. He made 29 off 10 balls with three fours and two sixes in what might be his final game at Bellerive Oval. Daniel Sams took 4 for 34 with the ball to equal Kane Richardson’s BBL record of 24 wickets in a season with a game to go.The Thunder now face the Perth Scorchers in their final home and away fixture on Sunday in Sydney while the Hurricanes head to Adelaide to tackle the Strikers, with both games set to shape the finalists.Wright-ing the shipShort fell to Arjun Nair in the opening over as the Thunder’s pre-planning paid off. They bowled spin from both ends first up to Short and Wade and it paid massive dividends with the Hurricanes 1 for 5 after two overs. But captain Callum Ferguson opted to bowl just two more overs of spin in the next eight and neither were bowled by Nair. Wade and Wright settled as the pace slid on better on a good batting track and they found the boundary in every over bar the ninth and struck four massive sixes between them. They scored 94 off 50 balls and Wade looked set for a huge score until Sams deceived him with a slower ball for 56 which triggered a mini-collapse. David Miller fell to a brilliant catch from Hales at long-on, who tiptoed along the rope, flicked the ball up, stepped out and dived back in to complete a remarkable piece of fielding. When Wright and Ben McDermott also fell to Sams in the 17th over, one with some extra pace, the other from clever slower ball, the Hurricanes were 5 for 144 and in danger of squandering a big total.Bailey BashThe crowd was aware that this could be Bailey’s final innings on his home ground as he is set to retire from all cricket at the end of the BBL to become an Australian selector. He went out with a bang. He was fortunate with his first boundary, dropped on the rope by Hales but it was a brutally tough one-handed chance that few would have even got to. Bailey then pummelled Gurinder Sandhu with a six over square leg, a falling scoop fine for four, and an uppercut that was caught by Sams at deep point but he was touching the rope. His 29 off 10 ended in a skilful final over from Sams that cost just eight but it gave the Hurricanes and the crowd a huge boost heading into their bowling innings.Hales-stormNot for the first time, Hales threatened to single-handedly steal a game in this BBL as he marched past 400 runs for the tournament with a dazzling half-century. He lost an out of sorts Usman Khawaja early and didn’t get much assistance from Ferguson but he took down Clive Rose in the last over of the powerplay with a hat-trick of sixes. Two slog sweeps, one over backward square, the other over long-on into the stands, bracketed a phenomenal lofted strike over cover. He came within metres of a fourth in a row but had to settle for 23 from the over. Hales was in cruise control and he had a great ally in Ross as the pair ticked the total to 2 for 100 in the 13th over, leaving the Thunder needing 86 from 47 balls with eight wickets in hand.The big ShortShort has never been player of the match after scoring 0. Nor had he ever taken more than two wickets in 80 T20 matches. He ran through the Thunder taking 5 for 21 in a magical spell and he started the rot removing Hales with a wrong ‘un. Hales hit the first ball of the over for four and knew Short was the match-up to target with the left-arm wristspinner’s stock ball spinning into his arc but he didn’t read the wrong ‘un and top-edged it to short third man. Those that followed were utterly clueless. Chris Morris couldn’t pick it either and was pinned lbw. Jay Lenton, Ross, and Nair all fell miscuing trying to clear the rope. The collapse of 8 for 28 took just 31 balls to complete and was sealed with an obligatory run out with Wright producing a classy direct hit to end the match.

Liverpool have had quite a whirlwind couple of weeks of late. From winning the Carabao Cup to scoring a last-minute winner against Nottingham Forest, now feels like a good time to be a Reds fan.

Alongside their last six games resulting in victories, due to the injury crisis that the club have found themselves in, they have had to rely on their academy much more often than they would've liked to have done.

However, due to Jurgen Klopp's reliance on Liverpool's youngsters, it has sprung some of their careers into gear.

For example, Conor Bradley is the name which would come to the forefront of fans' minds when thinking about which youngsters have made the most progress.

The right-back has filled in for Trent Alexander-Arnold on multiple occasions and has even outshone him here and there.

The Northern Ireland international has played a total of 14 games in all competitions thus far and has managed six goal contributions during that time.

Although for the academy graduates, their inclusion within Liverpool's first-team is undeniably good for their development, it has meant some of the Reds' first-team players have drawn the short straw.

Liverpool's biggest loser from academy success

The most notable of those is that of Cody Gakpo. The attacker hasn't been in the best of form of late and looks to have lost some of the confidence he showed last season amidst an upturn in performance level from the younger stars of tomorrow around him.

That was particularly the case in the Reds' most recent Premier League tie against relegation battlers, Nottingham Forest.

Despite starting the game on Saturday and playing a total of 84 minutes, the attacker failed to have much of an impact on the tie.

During his time on the pitch, the Dutchman, who played as a striker, failed to register a shot on target. Additionally, he only amassed a total of 32 touches and ended up with a pass accuracy of just 81%.

Having such a minimal number of touches during the clash meant that the former PSV man had fewer than Caoimhin Kelleher, which, for someone who is supposed to be one of the Reds' best attackers, is quite concerning.

Unfortunately, across the rest of the season, despite scoring 11 goals, it feels as if the 24-year-old has lost his spark in recent games, failing to net in the Carabao Cup final and then frustrating at the City Ground.

Compared to the previous term of 2022/23, where the attacker joined the Merseyside club in January, the difference in output is staggering.

Gakpo played a total of 12 games less (so far) and still managed to end up with ten goal contributions with one even ending up inside the top 10 of Liverpool's best goals of the campaign.

Although this season has seen a downturn in the form of the 24-year-old, for Jayden Danns, his career has just begun.

The sudden rise of Jayden Danns

Prior to being involved in Liverpool's senior squad for the first time against Luton in what was a 4-1 win for the Reds, the striker had been lighting up the youth leagues for the club.

In just 17 games, the attacker managed to involve himself with 20 goals, 16 of which came as his own.

Standing at a height of 6-foot, the striker is a physical presence on the field and offers Klopp yet another tactical option should he feel the need to change it up during a game.

His clinical scoring ability (as shown by his goal tally) is also a major advantage to his game. Additionally, the fact that the 18-year-old managed to slot two goals past Southampton in the FA Cup isn't something that should be frowned upon.

The attacker is one of the best stories to come out of the Liverpool camp this term and looks set to have a bright future ahead of him if his form continues.

Australia’s captain Tim Paine insists that it will take an awful lot for him ever to send an opposition side into bat after twice seeing his men struggle against England when he did so at Lord’s and The Oval. Perhaps this is just as well, because his talismanic No. 4 Steven Smith becomes a far more human batsman whenever he does not get the chance to bat first.Smith has long complained of sleeping poorly during a Test match, as his brain goes into visualisation overdrive and he struggles to switch off and then nod off. But there is strong statistical evidence to suggest that Smith’s fraught sleep patterns contribute to a deterioration of his performance across the four innings of a Test.In the first innings of a Test, Smith averages a truly Bradmanesque 93.64 from 39 innings, and has scored 16 of his 26 hundreds there. In the second, this drops to 63.67 from 29 innings with six centuries, and then 51.68 from 36 innings with four centuries in the third. Worst of all is the fourth, where Smith averages just 30.68 from 21 innings and has never reached three figures.ALSO READ: ‘Coachability’ pushed Labuschagne to front of queuePut in the context of his lack of sleep across a match, this is unsurprising. Take Smith’s admission after the most recent day-night Test at Adelaide Oval, the Ashes Test in late 2017, where England fought back into the game after Smith declined to enforce the follow-on as captain: “I had to have a sleeping pill last night. It has been a pretty tough 24 hours if I’m being honest, it’s all part of being captain of your country, you have to make difficult decisions and sometimes you’re going to make the wrong decision.”Members of the Australian set-up have recalled how drained and washed out Smith was to look in the aftermath of the Perth Test, where the Ashes were retained later in December. The following March, of course, the Newlands scandal occurred, ruling Smith out of captaincy and sleepless Test match nights for the next 12 months. Before his return to Test cricket in England this year, Smith spoke again about his sleeping troubles.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I am an awful sleeper. In Test matches, I reckon I average 15 to 20 hours throughout the whole five days,” Smith told Sky Sports before the Edgbaston Test. “It’s all positive stuff – who’s bowling at me, where I am going to hit them, how I’m going to play, where I’m going to look to score. I don’t very often get many of those negative thoughts. When I do, I shut them out pretty quickly.”More recently, Smith has spoken of the various methods he is using to try to improve his sleep in a game, particularly using a rain sounds app on his phone to simulate the gentle patter of raindrops and help quieten his active mind. For Paine, there is an acknowledgement that Smith’s brain is part of what makes him one of the greatest batsmen the world has ever seen, but also an area where, the older and more mature he gets, improvement can still come.”That is just how he is, but at the same time I know he’s working with people at Cricket Australia and elsewhere on trying to find a better night’s sleep,” Paine said. “It’s not a great endorsement for his Koala mattress company, but he’s working on trying to get better at that and trying to relax a bit more during games. But he performs in first innings, which all good players want to be able to do when the game’s up for grabs, and big first innings runs more often than not will win you Test matches or certainly put you well in front of the game.”If you asked him would he rather score his runs in the first or the second innings he’s going to take the first every day of the week and his record is second to none. He’s plugging away at trying to get a better nights’ sleep, but I don’t think it’s an easy fix for someone who’s wired the way Steve is.”Something Paine noted about sleeping habits was the fact that fatherhood can provide a great simplifier. “I sleep okay, the bed in Adelaide’s a bit soft, but I’m a pretty good sleeper I must admit,” he said. “It’s changed a bit since I’ve had children, I’m up a bit earlier these days, so I tend to crash a bit earlier as well.”Sleep or no sleep, Paine has his own issue to address in Adelaide this week – that of backing up after a victory. Two of Australia’s six Test wins under his captaincy so far have been followed by defeats in the next match, with the Lord’s draw also an uncomfortable result. Only once, against Sri Lanka in January and February, were two wins strung together.”I wouldn’t say we’ve had a problem with it, I’d say we haven’t won a lot of cricket games over the last 18 months,” Paine said. “But as I’ve touched on before Brisbane, now we’ve got a team together, we’re turning up to Test matches expecting to win, whereas in the last 18 months it was probably a bit unsure and I think most teams would be the same had you taken their two best players out.”Now we’ve got some consistency around our group, but we were certainly disappointed with the way we played the fifth Test [in England] and one of the things we’ve spoken about as a group since that is we’ve called it ‘winning after winning’, making sure we can back up a performance which we were really happy with last week, but coming to Adelaide now knowing that last week’s performance means nothing and we have to be at our best again starting tomorrow afternoon.”A well-rested and relaxed Steven Smith will go a long way towards ensuring Australia start to pile the wins up into a longer sequence, particularly in terms of winning games where they haven’t made the perfect start to proceedings.

Former Leeds United manager Simon Grayson has been giving his thoughts on Archie Gray’s breakthrough campaign at Elland Road, while also making an exciting claim on another prospect at Thorp Arch.

Archie Gray’s breakthrough season at Leeds

After making his senior debut on the opening weekend of the Championship season, Gray hasn’t looked back and has been an important member of Daniel Farke’s squad as the Whites look to get back to the Premier League.

Archie Gray's best Leeds performances in the Championship

WhoScored rating

Swansea City 0-4 Leeds United

7.76/10

Leeds United 1-0 Norwich City

7.34/10

Leeds United 1-0 Queens Park Rangers

7.28/10

Plymouth Argyle 0-2 Leeds United

7.25/10

Leeds United 2-1 Bristol City

7.22/10

Now 18 years of age, the midfielder began the season in midfield with Ethan Ampadu before moving to right-back and making the spot his own.

He has been rewarded with a new long-term contract at Elland Road, while also being name-checked by England manager Gareth Southgate and a call-up to England's U21s.

Simon Grayson praises Archie Gray

Speaking to Football FanCast on behalf of over25tips.com, Grayson was asked what he's made of Gray’s breakthrough season. The former White boss waxed lyrical over the youngster while also sharing a conversation with Leeds legend Eddie Gray, who said Archie’s younger brother, Harry, “is probably even going to be better”.

Harry Gray is a forward coming through the ranks with Leeds and has already been linked with a move to Manchester City.

Archie recently admitted he’d love to play alongside Harry in the first team, following in the footsteps of Eddie and Frank: “Yeah he’s a good player, he’s a good player. I don’t want to say too much about him, he’ll get a bit big-headed. If he keeps training hard them I’m sure he can do what I’m doing… hopefully, I’d love to play with him one day. It’d be like [great uncle] Eddie and [grandfather] Frank playing with each other again.”

Arsenal put in their arguably best performance of the Premier League season on Sunday afternoon as they comprehensively beat Liverpool at the Emirates.

Mikel Arteta's side was the better team to a man, and Jürgen Klopp's men looked utterly bewildered for much of the 90 minutes.

One of the goalscorers for the Gunners was Bukayo Saka, and while he might not be as aesthetically pleasing as last season, he has been just as effective.

So far, the 22-year-old superstar has scored 11 goals and provided 12 assists in 30 appearances for the north Londoners this year, and Hale End might already have the next Saka on their hands.

Bukayo Saka's Arsenal record

Saka joined the Arsenal set-up at just eight years old and has been with the club ever since, working his way up through the junior sides before finally making his way into the first team.

This journey from relative obscurity to international stardom with the Gunners is undeniably a part of what makes him so beloved by the Arsenal faithful. Still, he has the ability and impressive record to back it up.

Before establishing himself as a first-team player, the Ealing-born gem played 53 games for the U18 and U23 sides, where he scored 22 goals and provided 17 assists, meaning he averaged 0.73 goal involvements per game.

Bukayo Saka's Arsenal Career in Numbers
Team	Arsenal	Arsenal U23	Arsenal U18
Appearances	209	25	28
Goals	49	6	16
Assists	53	10	7
Goal Involvements per Match	0.48	0.64	0.82
All Stats via Transfermarkt

He made his debut for the senior side in November 2018 in a Europa League Group Stage game against Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava before making his first Premier League start for the club against Aston Villa in September 2019.

Since then, Arsenal's 'Little Chili' has made 209 appearances for the club, scored 49 goals and provided 53 assists, meaning he has averaged 0.48 goal involvements per match across his entire senior career.

The stats are genuinely remarkable, and with the emergence of another Hale End prodigy, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Arteta might have a second Saka on his hands.

The numbers that prove fans should be excited about Amario Cozier-Duberry

Now, comparing a youngster to a senior player as impressive and beloved as Saka could certainly be seen as setting said youngster up for failure.

However, with how impressive Cozier-Duberry has been for the Gunners' youth teams and how those in the know talk about him, it feels as if he is genuinely going to make it into the senior side soon.

For example, when speaking to The Athletic last season, Jack Wilshere, Arsenal's U18 coach, said: "He reminds me of Bukayo Saka. In some moments, he's unplayable. You give him the ball and he can make things happen. You can set up a team and have a game plan, but when you've got individuals like that you've got a chance."

This sense that he is special extends outside the club bubble as well, with talent scout Jacek Kulig describing the 18-year-old as "Hale End's finest" halfway through last season, and when looking at his numbers from the academy, it's not hard to see why people feel so strongly about his ability.

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In 72 games for the U21s, U18s and UEFA Youth League squads, the exciting "talent", as U23 scout Antonio Mango dubbed him, has scored 24 goals and provided 15 assists, meaning that he has been averaging a goal involvement every 1.8 games, or more than once every other game.

Amario Cozier-Duberry's Youth Career in Numbers
Team	Arsenal U21	Arsenal U18	Arsenal YL
Appearances	37	31	4
Goals	12	10	2
Assists	7	8	0
Goal Involvements per Match	0.51	0.58	0.50
All Stats via Transfermarkt

Ultimately, hitting the bar set by Saka at Arsenal is a herculean task, of that there is no doubt, but if any of the Gunners' recent crop of youngsters stand a good chance of doing so, it's Cozier Duberry.

Former Leeds United assistant Gus Poyet has been speaking to Football FanCast about his time at Elland Road and what he makes of the current Whites side managed by Daniel Farke.

Leeds United’s season so far

After a season to forget last year, Leeds now find themselves back in the Championship looking to earn an immediate return to the Premier League. Farke has been the man tasked to take the Whites back to the top flight under new owners the 49ers Enterprises and currently has them in contention in the playoff places, making Elland Road a fortress during that time.

So far, Leeds are yet to lose a single game at home during the current campaign, with the likes of Crysencio Summerville, Georginio Rutter and Dan James all starring for the Whites in attack. Meanwhile, summer signings Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Glen Kamara and Sam Byram have all played their part in midfield and defence, with teenager Archie Gray also shining in what is proving to be his breakthrough campaign.

Things are looking promising for Leeds, however it was anything but that when Poyet arrived at the club alongside Dennis Wise back in 2006, when Leeds were owned by Ken Bates and struggling in the second tier.

Gus Poyet backs Leeds to win promotion

Speaking to Football FanCast, in partnership with William Hill, Poyet, now manager of Greece, looked back on his time in Yorkshire and admitted that despite not the best of welcomes for him and Wise due to their Chelsea connection, he now gets supporters asking him to go back. He also feels Leeds have a "great chance" to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

“It was very interesting because when we arrived with Dennis Wise, obviously being ex-Chelsea, it was not really a nice welcome. Especially after all the craziness of the administration and everything that happened in the first six, seven months, I think that everybody understood what kind of people we were with Dennis, and we achieved something.

“I’m still meeting Leeds fans. They always ask me to go back and they always want me to go back. Because it was a good, close relationship in a very difficult, unique situation. We were into administration, into League one. We started the season with minus 15 points. I hope it’s the last time in my life that you win your first five games and you go zero points. Top of the league and you go zero points. We won six or seven in a row.

“The supporters were amazing, taking so many fans to an away game in the lower leagues. The fans were great. But football can change in an instant and I got a call from Tottenham, to help Juande Ramos and I decided to move on to the Premier League and have a different experience.

"I always say that without the experience of being with Dennis Wise and without the experience of being with Ramos at Tottenham, I wouldn’t be the coach I am now. I like the Leeds team this season, after a tough start, they have got into their groove and will challenge for automatic promotion. It is very competitive, but Leeds do have a great chance to return to the Premier League at the first attempt.”

Last summer, Unai Emery brought Youri Tielemans to Aston Villa on a free transfer after he reached the end of his contract at Leicester City. Tielemans had attracted interest from clubs across Europe in anticipation of his release, but it was Villa who won the race.

Now, heading into this summer, Villa could look to repeat the trick of snapping up a player from a relegated club in a transfer that wouldn't cost a penny. Luton Town came up from the Championship last year and could well end up going straight back down, having won only 20 points so far. The Hatters are just a point above the relegation zone heading into their final 15 Premier League games.

Villa one of the sides eyeing up Osho

According to Sportslens, Villa are watching Gabriel Osho at Luton, with his deal due to expire at the end of June. The defender has been "catching the eye" of clubs further up the division, including Villa, Fulham and Crystal Palace.

Luton hope to keep Osho if they stay up this season, but he's expected to join a more "established top-flight side" as a free agent if they do end up getting relegated.

"Gifted athlete" Osho shining despite Luton struggles

Osho was actually unattached when Luton signed him back in 2020 and, after spending time at Yeovil Town and Rochdale, he's now a key player at Kenilworth Road. He started 22 of the 31 Championship games for which he was available last season, and then made the XI for all three play-off matches as they earned a place in the Premier League for the first time in their history.

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He missed the start of the current campaign because of an injury he suffered in pre-season, but manager Rob Edwards backed him to thrive in the top-flight at the outset.

He said: "He’s a naturally gifted athlete and someone who’s very intelligent as well, switched on, so I back him to step up to any challenge really. I think the level he was performing at last year was like a Premier League footballer anyway, so I expect him to be able to come in and handle it pretty well."

Osho has since repaid his boss' faith and earned a start in 13 of the past 14 games. As you can see in the table below, he's been extremely busy at the back, but perhaps the standout stat is the third one, which shows that he's proving very difficult for attackers to beat in individual battles.

Tackles per 90

1.98

83rd percentile

Tackles won per 90

1.35

88th percentile

% of dribblers tackled

68.8

80th percentile

Blocks per 90

1.9

95th percentile

Interceptions per 90

1.82

92nd percentile

Clearances per 90

5.07

87th percentile

Errors per 90

0.00

81st percentile

Edwards sounded relaxed about the situation when asked about it late last month, telling the press: "I don’t think we’ve got too many that will be out of contract. There’ll be one or two, but I think pretty much everyone is fairly comfortable with where they’re at and where they fit at the moment.

"It won’t be something that we’re worrying about addressing right now, the important thing is we get January out of the way and making sure we’re in a strong position when we come out of the month. Once we get into February, March-time we can really start assessing where everyone’s at contract-wise and what we do going forward."

It remains to be seen whether the emergence of interest from Villa and other top-flight clubs causes Luton to try to accelerate their plans with Osho, but the player himself may be waiting to discover their fate before he commits.

Manchester United staff were reportedly livid that YouTuber IShowSpeed attended the club's FA Cup final victory party – and they didn't.

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• Man Utd beat Man City to win FA Cup
• IShowSpeed attended victory party
• United staff not happy at his presence

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  United upset Premier League champions City to win the FA Cup with a 2-1 victory at Wembley last weekend. Now, according to the , the popular YouTuber, whose real name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr, was invited by United star Alejandro Garnacho to an after-party at the Marriott Hotel in Mayfair over the weekend. This reportedly did not go down well with many of the club's non-playing staff.

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• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  United's traditional end of season awards were cancelled by new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in mid-May; partly so the men's team could focus on the FA Cup final, but also reportedly as part of his cost-cutting drive at the club. Therefore, the fact the 19-year-old was partying with the Red Devils players has left a bitter taste in the mouth of many of United's employees as they were not invited to the post-Wembley triumph.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  This comes amid the news that United's non-football staff were reportedly given a week to decide if they want to continue working at the Red Devils as Ratcliffe looks to decrease spending. A spokesperson for the club said: "This isn't a voluntary redundancy programme. The club recognises that not everyone wants to work from the office full-time so has provided options for staff who don't wish to return to the office to step away now."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  With Ratcliffe's INEOS group running footballing matters at United going forward, it remains to be seen which further changes he will implement at the Premier League giants. The next big decision is whether or not manager Erik ten Hag will keep his job.

Neal Maupay welcomed Mohamed Salah to the "slap head club" after the Liverpool star shaved off his hair in a bold new look.

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Salah shaves off hair in new lookMaupay known for winding-up othersWelcomes him to 'slap head club'WHAT HAPPENED?

Egypt international Salah displayed a new haircut and beard trim on Friday and soon after the Liverpool ace revealed this on social media, Everton striker and Brentford loanee Maupay responded with a cheeky message.

AdvertisementWHAT NEAL MAUPAY SAID

He posted on X, formerly Twitter: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Welcome to the slap head club brother 🙏🏼."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Putting haircuts to one side, Salah has been linked with a Liverpool exit but the 31-year-old has also suggested he wants to stay at Anfield next season. His contract expires in 2025 and, unless he signs a new deal, the former Roma man could leave for free next summer – 12 months on from manager Jurgen Klopp departing the Merseyside outfit.

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While Maupay will head back to Everton after the expiration of his Brentford loan, Salah will prepare for Egypt's upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Burkina Faso on June 6 and Guinea-Bissau on June 10 respectively.