Bermuda could be set to stage their first major international match, proving the ICC decides that pitches at the National Sports Centre have improved sufficiently since an inspection last year.The surface was condemned by Andy Atkinson, the ICC’s inspector, in July 2007. “The square at the Sports Centre is good enough for club cricket, but when you’re talking about ODIs or longer games then I’m afraid it’s a no-go,” he said, adding that bringing in soil from abroad was the only way to rectify the situation. That idea was subsequently slammed by the Bermudan government as it contravened the island’s strict laws on the importation of soil.But Cricket Scotland said that it had been contacted by the Bermudan board (BCB) who are confident that ICC approval could come in time for the Intercontinental Cup tie to be played there in mid July. “The process for approving the National Stadium in Bermuda for ICC Intercontinental Cup matches is in place and we hope that a decision will be made towards the end of this week or early next week whether Bermuda will host Scotland in early July,” a spokesman for the ICC told Cricinfo.At the moment, the four-day game is scheduled to be played in Toronto where Scotland will then meet Canada three days later. But of clear concern to Scotland is that if the match is switched to Bermuda then it will present logistical issues in rearranging the initial flights and then transferring on to Canada with little time to acclimatise.”The Bermudians are keeping us in the loop about their plans,” Roddy Smith, the board’s chief executive, said. “The ICC requested them to prepare a four-day wicket for tests and they’ve been playing practise matches on the ground for each of the last three weekends. The tests end this weekend and we understand the ICC will make a decision on the venue for our game during the week. I’d say it’s looking likely that we’ll be told to play in Bermuda.”Obviously there will be a bit more hassle with travel but I’d imagine there are worse places to go than Bermuda.”
Twelve months ago Ryan Sidebottom was a one-cap wonder putting in the hard yards for Nottinghamshire on the county circuit. On Monday night at Lord’s he was named England’s Player of the Year and will start the first Test against New Zealand as the team’s premier strike bowler.Since his surprise recall against West Indies, at Headingley, he has taken 53 wickets in 12 Tests, including 24 against New Zealand in March. He claimed a 10-wicket haul and a hat-trick in Hamilton and his 7 for 47 in Napier, the best figures by an England bowler for four years, helped to set-up their come-from-behind series win. He had already been named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year.His chance came due to an injury to Matthew Hoggard, who is now, partly because of Sidebottom’s excellence, battling to get is own place back in the team. Hoggard used to be the first bowler on the team-sheet, but that honour now goes to Sidebottom and he has confounded predictions by developing into an all-round wicket-taker regardless of conditions.”This time last year I was training with Nottinghamshire and just playing regular county cricket so it’s been a massive turnaround,” he said. “But I don’t want to get carried away with it and I’m relishing the chance to play at Lord’s again. The other 10 guys in the team have made me feel very welcome, which has allowed me to get on with my job. I suppose it goes out to all the players because one player doesn’t make a team.”Maybe one player doesn’t make a team, but much of the limited success England have had over the past year wouldn’t have happened without Sidebottom. New Zealand would have ended in defeat and even toppling West Indies last summer would have proved a harder task. Then there is his role in the one-day side, 20 wickets from 12 matches, including a Man-of-the-Series performance in Sri Lanka.Sidebottom is a laidback character off the field (bowling is different matter, just ask anyone who drops a catch) and insists the last year hasn’t changed him. After waiting so long for a second chance he isn’t taking anything for granted. “I don’t want to get too carried away because things can change quickly. It’s just a case of keeping doing the basics,” he said.”All the talk [when called up against West Indies] was that it would be one game, the horses for courses thing, but I sat down with my dad [Arnie, who also won one cap for England] and he said just go out and do your best, don’t look too far ahead. At Headingley I played as though it would be my last game and I’m not going to change. Each game I’ll enjoy it and give it my best.”Sidebottom has broken into the top 10 of the bowling rankings and received praise from Richard Hadlee, who said he was the main threat in the series ahead. “It’s a massive compliment coming from a great bowler,” said Sidebottom. “On the other hand I’m not taking much notice because they are a difficult team to beat.”We aren’t taking it lightly, especially myself because I’ve only played a few games. Of course I would like to carry on in the same form but it’s not going to be easy. As long as I’m consistent and getting wickets for my team-mates then that’s great.”The other major award handed out at Lord’s on Monday evening was the Women’s Player of the Year which went to Claire Taylor, while Outstanding Achievement awards were given to the men who scored a 100, claimed a five-wicket haul or held five catches in an innings.Two one-off presentations were also given to Ashley Giles and Marcus Trescothick in recognition of their England success over the years. Trescothick announced his retirement from international cricket in March and Giles is now on the England selection panel as well as Warwickshire’s coach.
ScorecardFile photo: Michael Bracewell struck six fours and three sixes during his fifty•Cricket Scotland
Half-centuries from Michael Bracewell and Brad Wilson set up Otago’s 19-run win against Wellington at the Basin Reserve, extending the team’s lead at the top of the Georgie Pie table to six points. Otago, after being inserted, lost their openers Anaru Kitchen and Neil Broom early, but Bracewell and Wilson counterattacked with a 96-run partnership. While Bracewell eventually fell for a 36-ball 53, Wilson stayed at the crease for five more overs, stroking 67 off 46 balls, with four fours and three sixes. The pair’s blitz ensured Otago compiled a total of 181 for 8.Wellington failed to get going in their chase, as Jacob Duffy (3 for 23) and Sam Wells (4 for 24) struck at regular intervals to bowl the hosts out for 162. Matt Taylor stood up with a 41-ball 65, but received little by way of support from his team-mates, as only three other batsmen managed double-digit scores. The defeat left Wellington rooted second from bottom, with just eight points from six matches.
Alex Hales failed for the second time in consecutive innings on the second day of England’s three-day warm-up match at Potchefstroom, leading his conqueror, the Zambia-born seamer Junior Dala, to claim he was “under pressure” going into his anticipated Test debut against South Africa at Durban in ten days’ time.Hales, who has been earmarked to open the batting alongside Alastair Cook in the Boxing Day Test, was bowled for 8 after a painstaking 42-ball stay, the same score he had made from just ten balls in the first innings.Dala was the successful bowler on both occasions, this time inducing an inside-edge on to the stumps after extracting a touch of extra bounce from back of a length, having bowled Hales while offering no stroke first time around.A supposedly stiffer challenge awaits later in the week, when the second warm-up against South Africa A gets underway in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, but Dala’s assessment hardly augurs well given that Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and South Africa’s newest fast-bowling talent Kagiso Radaba lie in wait for the first Test.”I knew he hasn’t played Test cricket yet so I knew he was under pressure,” Dala told the Press Association. “I just came in and went hard at him, trying to expose the fact he is keen to score runs.Alex Hales made 8 in both innings at Potchefstroom•Getty Images
Dala’s technical analysis was particular damning, and chimed with a similar assessment made by the former England coach Peter Moores, who claimed that Hales had been “found out” by the ball shaping back into him after he made an underwhelming ODI debut last year.”It looks like he is trying to open up the off side every time he faces the ball. I just tried to keep it simple and tuck him up because he struggles on the leg side.”In the first innings I was hoping I would bring one back, but I wasn’t expecting him to leave it. Second innings was a bit back of a length, but the same plan, just tuck him up and he chopped it on.”It’s nice when a game plan comes together.”Dala added that he hopes his efforts will help the Test team to make their own plans for Hales later this month. “With the video analysis we do in cricket we felt we could expose a few of the English top order and maybe that could be good for the Proteas in the Test series.”However Chris Woakes, who returned figures of 1 for 35 in ten overs as the South Africa Invitational XI were bowled out for 188, played down concerns about Hales’ aptitude for the challenge ahead.”He probably hasn’t had the time in the middle he’d like, but we’re only two days into the tour and there’s plenty of time to get into nick,” he said. “He’s a great player and he deserves his opportunity.”Fingers crossed in the next week or two before the first Test he can get some more time out there and show what he can do.”
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Farmers in Bloemfontein have been praying for rain, so when livelihoods are at stake it is wise not to be too despondent when it comes, but before the storm broke – and gave England a rain-affected victory in the first ODI of this five-match series – Jos Buttler and Quinton de Kock harvested two excellent centuries worthy of grateful looks to the heavens.Buttler’s last ODI innings was the fastest hundred in England’s history, against Pakistan in Dubai more than two months ago. An enforced rest has done him no harm. Back in an England shirt, he made a hundred once more, not quite as fast but still eye-wateringly impressive, as England set a formidable 400 to win.Buttler is the poster boy of an England ODI side playing an attacking brand of cricket that, in the extent of its ambition, surpasses anything previously envisaged. Three days before the IPL auction, his 105 from 76 balls (remarkably, the slowest of his four ODI hundreds) could not have advertised his talent more persuasively. He will surely attract great rivalry from the franchises.De Kock was a $20,000 ingénue when he first played in the IPL in 2013. His progress is now apparent. The boy with the baby face is now a baby-faced assassin. He is on a roll. Scores of 103, 33 and 109 were at the heart of South Africa’s ODI series win in India and he added a century in his Test comeback at Centurion for good measure.When rain intervened, his unbeaten 138 off 96 balls had out-Buttlered Buttler. South Africa, at 250 for 5 in the 34th over, were deemed to have lost by 39 runs, but with de Kock at the crease it felt closer, adding to the suspicion that the rain tables have yet to adjust to exhilarating recent trends where domineering batting on good pitches has become the norm. AB de Villiers suggested South Africa were “spot on” but, had de Kock fallen, they would have been clocked off.The stats were stacked in England’s favour. Their 399 for 9 was their second-highest ODI score, outdone only by their 408 for 9 against New Zealand at Edgbaston last June – that also powered by a Buttler hundred.Mangaung Oval has a reputation as a batsman-friendly ground, but South Africa had only once chased so many to win: the famous 438 for 9 against Australia in Johannesburg, 10 years ago now. No side had previously made more than 351 to win here, nor chased a total of 300-plus under lights. And this spotless pitch was not quite a batsman’s benefit: as the England innings progressed, there were occasional signs of grip and reverse swing to give the bowlers hope.Buttler sat out the Test series against South Africa as England opted for Jonny Bairstow. But in limited-overs cricket his batting Manhattans promise to be so dominant that Boris Johnson could gladly adopt them as a plan for London’s skyline, selling them in advance to the Russians and the Chinese. They are not garish innings, full of flashing neon lights, but assembled with a gentle brutality that few can rival.He fell eight overs from the end, driving Farhaan Behardien to de Villiers at cover. Of his five sixes, a politely dismissive step-across to cow corner against Marchant de Lange took some beating, as did another stooping six over midwicket off the jerky offspin of JP Duminy, a venomous flick that carried inconceivable force.No South Africa bowler curbed him for long. Behardien did demolish his stumps on 54 but it was a free hit, and the same player almost intervened in the field when Buttler was 68, flinging himself to his left at deep square leg to try to hold a blow off the legspinner Imran Tahir, but spilling it on landing. They were brief moments of hope as de Lange went even faster off the bat than he did on to it and the fifth-bowler combination of Duminy and Behardien went for 93.By the time that Buttler perished, at 317 for 5, England had a sniff of 400, only to come up one run short as the No. 11 Reece Topley failed to make contact with the last two deliveries – a reminder of normality.Chris Morris responded most vigorously for South Africa, his four new-ball overs spilling 29 but finding some swing from a full length late in the innings to reap 3 for 74. But then he only bowled five deliveries at Buttler.England launched their innings with immediate élan, recognising rare vulnerability in South Africa’s pace attack. Jason Roy is the catalyst, committed in his relatively young career to an aggressive start. He had to pass a late fitness test after back spasms, but he had 43 of England’s 56 by the sixth over. South Africa started poorly. England never looked back.Alex Hales, after an unproductive Test series, was encouraged ahead, one of three England players to support Buttler’s hundred with a half-century. When Hales departed to a miscued hook, Buttler was promoted to No. 4 with the score an inviting 130 for 2 in the 18th over. Just think, there was a time when England would have looked askance at their laptops and saved Buttler for the slog. He told Sky TV he was nervous, driven by adrenalin.Joe Root chivvied away alongside him for a half-century before Morris summoned an excellent swinging yorker. Even the muscular figure of Ben Stokes then adopted an understudy role, quickening after Buttler’s dismissal to make 57 from 38 balls, his innings silenced by a pre-meditated scoop shot to have his stumps rattled by a low full toss.In response, de Kock carried the fight virtually single-handedly. Anything too straight was wristily flipped through the leg side, often making use a stiff breeze. The spinners felt the pressure as did Chris Jordan, whose last ODI spell against New Zealand last June went for 97 and who leaked 56 in 5.3 overs before rain put him out of his misery.South Africa’s chase was all the more remarkable considering that their two star turns, Hashim Amla and de Villiers, scrambled only 14 runs between them. Amla dragged on to David Willey, a lack of footwork evident, and after Faf du Plessis had helped de Kock marshal the chase with a half-century, de Villiers came to the crease with three successive ducks to his name, the residue from South Africa’s Test series defeat.A wind had sprung up, strong enough for the batsman weathervane on the scoreboard to be playing switch hits, and a storm seemed to be brewing. South Africa were keenly aware that they had to lift the rate around the 20-over mark, at which time the match could be settled by rain recalculations. Three balls before the match became valid, de Villiers’ role in it ended, courtesy of Stokes’ brilliant chase and thrust of a right hand at long-on to intercept a flat drive. If the wind had not blown the boundary back a yard it would have been tight.De Kock’s milestone, off 67 balls, came up with computerised precision: his ninth ODI hundred logged at 187 for 3, one ball short of halfway. But compared to Buttler his support was lacking. Duminy, outwitted by Topley’s slower ball, chipped back a simple return catch and Rilee Rossouw gave Moeen a third wicket when he toe-ended to long-off. By the time the rain fell, de Kock was feeling short of company. His consolation was the Man-of-the-Match award and Buttler, gentle guy that he is, would not have complained.
Ian Bradshaw yesterday admitted that Barbados’ attack lacked the necessary firing power after Guyana performed the rare feat in attaining a first innings target in excess of 400. “We weren’t penetrative enough in our bowling. The pitch was a good one. It was a little bit slow, but I thought we could have been a little bit more penetrative,” the new Barbados captain said after the drawn opening Busta match at Kesington Oval.In the twinkling of an eye, Barbados swiftly lost their seemingly firm advantage after lunch.Corey Collymore’s splendid spell of fast bowling in the morning session in which he uprooted Carl Hooper’s off stump with arguably the best ball of the match, appeared to have been the decisive strike in defence of their big target of 422.Hooper, resuming on 117, was out for his best regional first-class score of 159 and it was Collymore’s sixth wicket which reduced Guyana to 391 for eight a few minutes before lunch.On resumption after the break, there was immediate success with the dismissal of Eion Katchay which left Guyana 23 short of overhauling Barbados.The hosts needed only to dislodge first-timer Ron Matthews or last man Kevin Darlington, but the Guyanese tail-enders quickly proceeded to wipe off the target in a stand of 37 which was only broken when leg-spinner Dave Marshall came on for his first bowl of the day.It was difficult to explain what went wrong for Barbados, but the skipper and new coach Hendy Springer also gave Guyana their due recognition for reaching their total of 436.”When you put tactics together, you don’t cater for hard luck or good luck or things like that,” Springer said. “The luck went Guyana’s way at times and they did well enough to get into that position and deserved to pull through with first innings lead.”Springer described Barbados’ overall performance as interesting.”The bowlers have been suffering from a lack of match practice, but I thought they did exceptionally well,” he said.”What we’ll probably have to do is to work on some sharpness in the field to save some of those runs that we gave away and a couple of sharp, missed chances, but I think we are waking up to the fact that we are into a first-class season.”For most of the last two days, there were some who argued that Barbados should have gone into the match with five specialist bowlers, but both Bradshaw and Springer defended the final choice.In the case of Springer, he felt there was a need to get away from the club mentality.”In first-class cricket, you have got to be a bit more patient. As far as the responsibility of the bowlers is concerned and the amount of work they had to do, every bowler went out there with a responsibility and knew they would have had to do a lot of work taking into consideration the nature of the pitch,” he said.”I think everybody tried really, really hard, For a lot of them, things did not work out wicket wise, but I think they made their contribution and they know what they are supposed to be doing.”Bradshaw, who went wicketless in 30 overs, made reference to the fact that two of the team’s bowlers – Hendy Bryan and Dave Marshall – who were among the leading wicket-takers last season, were not successful in this game.”When we sat down to pick the team, we obviously felt that we had a team that was good enough to beat Guyana,” the captain added.Bradshaw also responded to queries about why he chose to delay the taking of the new ball until early yesterday morning after 131.1 overs had gone by.”Late in the afternoon (Sunday), it was an option, but Corey had a little cramp and at that stage he was our most penetrative bowler. With him not being 100 per cent, we waited until the morning to take it,” he said.
The gentle exodus of players from Zimbabwe continues with news that Gary Brent and Terry Duffin are believed to have quit international cricket.Brent, 32, played 70 one-day internationals and four Tests for Zimbabwe but was increasingly at odds with the board, and was one of the rebels who went on strike following the sacking of Heath Streak as captain in 2004. Although he did make a comeback, he is said to have grown frustrated with the attitude of the national selectors and last month gave notice on his contract.Duffin, 26, was Zimbabwe’s captain until 2006 and played 23 ODIs and two Tests. His last major match was during the 2007 World Cup and since then he has struggled with injury, although he represented Zimbabwe Provinces in South Africa as well as Southerns in the domestic Twenty20 tournament in March.It is thought that he applied for the board’s permission to play club cricket in England but this was refused, even though he is not in the main national squad. Duffin travelled to England anyway where he is playing for Winsley in Wiltshire, and it is reported that he will go to New Zealand rather than return to Zimbabwe at the end of the season.
India women have named uncapped 15-year-old batsman Shafali Verma in their T20I squad for the first three – of five – games of the series against South Africa, which starts on September 24 in Surat. Another teenager, 19-year-old allrounder Pooja Vastrakar, who debuted in 2018, has been recalled to the team that will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur.Alongside that of Harleen Deol, the selection of Verma and Vastrakar seems to signal a decided move towards youth as they come in to replace the likes of Ekta Bisht, Komal Zanzad and Mithali Raj, who retired from T20Is on Tuesday.Raj will continue to lead the ODI squad, where D Hemalatha returns after having missed the ODIs against England earlier this year.Verma, who has never played at the senior level, was among the brightest players in the Women’s T20 Challenge in May, impressing the likes of Dani Wyatt, her team-mate at Velocity, with her hitting ability at the top of the innings. She had previously rocked the domestic T20 scene with Haryana during the 2018-19 senior women’s inter-state T20 tournament, making 186 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 187.87, including a tournament-high 128 off 56 balls against Nagaland.For Vastrakar, it’s a first stint with the team since June 2018, with an injury keeping her away from Women’s World T20 last year. The seam-bowling allrounder scores at a rate of 137.09 and has taken 12 wickets at 18.50 in a career of 11 T20Is, and could partner one of Shikha Pandey and Arundathi Reddy in India’s seam attack. Mansi Joshi is also in the mix with a return to the squad, while the spin options remain largely the same as the one that lost the series to England, with the addition of Harmanpreet, who had missed that series.For the three-match ODI series, which starts on October 9 in Vadodara, Mona Meshram has been left out of the squad following a dip in performances in recent times. Meshram made ducks in both her innings against England, and was among the batsmen who copped criticism during India’s below-par Asia Cup in 2018. Tamil Nadu’s Hemalatha takes her place in the squad, while Deol has been left out, having previously been named for the England series. Kaur returns to the ODI set-up as vice-captain.Veda Krishnamurthy continues to miss out from the ODIs, but has retained her spot for the T20Is despite her three single-digit scores in her last four innings. Taniya Bhatia is the wicketkeeper in both squads.India squad for first three T20Is: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Veda Krishnamurthy, Harleen Deol, Anuja Patil, Shafali Verma, Mansi JoshiIndia squad for ODIs: Mithali Raj (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Punam Raut, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, D Hemalatha, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Priya Punia
Kaka is reportedly wanted by Carlo Ancelloti and the Italian is weighing up the option of recruiting the attacking midfielder in the summer.
However, Jose Mourinho is only willing to let the Brazilian leave the Bernabeu if Chelsea are willing to exchange the player for Frank Lampard.
So the question is, if the deal were to fabricate, which team would benefit most from the deal, Real Madrid or Chelsea?
Kaka and Ancelotti have a strong bond and good friendship during their time together at Milan, and the Chelsea boss would love to work with the Brazilian once again in an attempt to capture the Champion’s League title next season.
Roman Abramovich has declared that there is money for Chelsea to spend on Kaka and other players if Ancelotti wishes to do so. But with Mourinho’s appointment as new Real Madrid boss a few weeks ago, the Portuguese manager has added a new dimension to the negotiations.
Mourinho has quickly expressed his interest in his former Chelsea boys Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard and will be using Kaka as bait in order to snap up the pair this summer.
Kaka completed his first season in Spain after making the switch from Milan in an astronomical £59 million fee last summer. Since his move, Kaka has only managed to make 29 appearances for the Galacticos and bag 9 goals so far in his Real Madrid career. Many have questioned the player’s ability since his move and it appears the 28-year-old hasn’t settled in as well as he had hoped to.
Kaka doesn’t look the same player as he once did in Italy, but it doesn’t mean that the midfielder has lost any of his ability. The Real Madrid man is still highly renowned in the football world and is famed for driving through defences with his pace and skill. A great player on his day, but is he capable of handling the English game if the proposed deal were to go through?
Frank Lampard on the other hand has had one of his best seasons in a Chelsea shirt in recent memory. The 31-year-old attacking midfielder notched up an impressive 46 games and 26 goals for his club this season. Lampard poses a real goal threat and is an important part of Chelsea’s well oiled machine. He maybe getting on, but Lampard still has the determination and desire which inspires the club to challenge for trophies year in year out.
The England international was chased by Mourinho when he was in charge of now treble winner Inter Milan in 2008. However, Lampard signed a new deal and has since accomplished the domestic double with Chelsea. The clubs have yet to approach each other about a possible swap deal, but if Mourinho came in with an offer for the England star, then Lampard may be tempted to join his ex-boss at the Bernabeu next season.
Many Chelsea fans will not like to see one of their star players leave the Bridge, but then again Lampard has conquered all of the domestic trophies England have to offer. So is it time he left to pursue a new challenge?
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
With all this being said, who would benefit if the deal were to go through, Chelsea or Real Madrid? Just by looking at the statistics alone, you have to say Lampard moving to Madrid would benefit the Spanish club more. Although, Kaka is younger than the Englishman, and one average season in Spain does not mean he is worthless, it’s a case of finding feet once again.
Both players going in the opposite direction could potentially benefit both Chelsea and Real Madrid. Ancelotti knows Kaka well and will know how to utilize the playmaker effectively, and visa versa with Mourinho and Lampard. So actually could both clubs benefit if the deal ensues this summer?
Follow me on Twitter – http://twitter.com/TMer4kl1
Young, talented and setting the World Cup alight in South Africa, Mesut Ozil is fast becoming one of the most promising starlets since the emergence of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
Ozil is currently contracted to Werder Bremen and still has one more year left on his deal. However, the 21-year-old midfielder has impressed so much in South Africa that he has attracted several clubs around Europe.
Amongst them are Premier League outfits Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal, as well as Primera League champions Barcelona, who have recently expressed their interest in the player dubbed ‘the German Messi’ by his country.
The instrumental German international is bound to leave the Budersliga side after the mass interest shown in him this summer, but which club would best suit Ozil from the ones that have shown an interest in him so far?
Barcelona
Barcelona will no doubt be the favourites to sign the Werder Bremen man as they are undoubtedly the best team in the world. They play some majestic football and have a great amount of talent in all areas of their team, especially within the midfield and upfront. Ozil likes to play behind the striker, but can also play on the flanks if he needs to. However, reports in Catalonia suggest that they are only interested in signing the 21-year-old because of other big clubs showing an interest. Barcelona will make a bid for the German international in the summer and if they are successful, will loan him out as reports suggest in Spain. With that being said, would Ozil like the idea of being bought to the Nou Camp only to be loaned out to the team he just left? Barcelona already have Lionel Messi, Pedro, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and newly recruited David Villa in their current line up for this season, so do Barcelona really need Ozil? Especially with Barca also chasing Cesc Fabregas this summer, or are they bidding just to spite the other clubs interested?
Mesut Ozil would definitely suit the Catalan club because of the football they play, but would it be the correct move for the midfielder at this stage of his career? Probably not, as he will want to play week in week out for the club he signs for…he’s too good to be loaned out plain and simple.
Suitability Rating: 9/10 – Would blend well with the Barcelona side without a doubt. However, it would be the wrong move for him if we are lead to believe what has been reported of course.
Manchester City
Manchester City urgently need an attacking midfielder amongst their ranks, as it appears they have none for the upcoming season. Stephen Ireland looks to be heading off, and is the only recognized attacking midfielder City have to offer at present. Manchester City don’t play the best football, but they do acquire great team spirit and have good solid players in all areas of the field. City have been linked with David Silva in the past few weeks and should they sign him this summer, then maybe Ozil will not be as wanted as much by Mancini. However, Ozil is a very versatile player and could play in the central role at the club, which would mean Silva would take a wing position which he is very familiar with.
City are very capable of obtaining the German maestro as money is certainly not an issue to Mancini and co. Ozil could fit well into the squad, although, the Manchester club do not offer Champion’s League football this season, which evidently may see the German look for one that does.
Suitability Rating: 6/10 – City need a player like him, but Ozil certainly doesn’t need a club like City, especially if they don’t offer Champion’s League football.
Continue to page 2
Arsenal
The interest has only been fabricated because the North London club fear they may lose their captain and talisman Cesc Fabregas this summer. A lot of names have been thrown about as to who the ideal replacement would be for Fabregas if Arsenal do decide to let him go to Barcelona, Ozil is definitely one of them.
Arsenal obtain a vast number of players with creativity within their squad, Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin and Robin van Persie are to name just a few. Arsenal’s pursuit of the German will only grow bigger if Fabregas leaves this summer, otherwise they will not really need another creative midfielder, right? Arsenal (just like Barcelona) play some wonderful, cultured football, and having seen Ozil in the World Cup so far, it looks as if he does as well. The Gunners also offer Champions League football which will work in their favour if they are to bid for the German when the window re-opens in July. Wenger would certainly provide Ozil great coaching and adapt the 21-year-old’s skills in the right way, thus making him even better than he already is (that’s a scary thought right?) The Werder Bremen wonder-boy would definitely fit well into the squad, and excel as a player if he were to join Gunners this summer. However, as stated before, it all depends on what Fabregas decides within the next few months. Possibly one of his better options out of the four listed in this article.
Suitability Rating: 8/10 – Arsenal play beautiful football and Ozil certainly bags creativity to suit their style of football, but if Cesc stays then most positively Wenger will not take his interest any further.
Chelsea
With Michael Ballack and more importantly Joe Cole heading for the exit doors this summer, Chelsea will be short of creativity within their midfield. Chelsea have a solid and formidable team, but many question whether they have enough ingenuity within their squad. Potentially, along with City, Chelsea need a player like Ozil at their club, someone to unlock a defence with a through ball or fashion a moment of magic out of nothing. Carlo Ancelotti likes to set his team in a 4-4-2 diamond shape, with Michael Essein at the back, and Frank Lampard on top of the diamond. Ozil would relish the role Lampard has, but would Ancelotti be willing to take his most influential player out of position in order to integrate Ozil into their side? Lampard has been moved before so who’s to say he won’t do it again for the good of the team.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Chelsea have played more of an attractive game since the arrival of the Italian manager, that’s for sure. With the club achieving the domestic double last season and Champion’s League football again this season, Chelsea maybe a good location for the young German to hone his skills. However, it does appear that if he is to purchased this summer then current players at the club may have to move around in order to accommodate and bring out the best in the 21-year-old attacking midfielder.
Suitability Rating: 8/10 – Chelsea are a well oiled and solid unit which guarantees European football every season, a good option for Ozil, but may struggle to adapt to Chelsea’s style of football.
Follow me on Twitter – http://twitter.com/TMer4kl1
**
Click on image below to look at the SPANISH babes at the World Cup