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Graeme Smith is ready to “leave it all there” when he captains South Africa for the last time in an ODI tournament, starting on Thursday against the West Indies in Delhi

Firdose Moonda in Delhi23-Feb-2011Graeme Smith is ready to “leave it all out there” when he captains South Africa for the last time in an ODI tournament, starting on Thursday against the West Indies in Delhi. “I feel I am best prepared going into this tournament as I have been throughout my career. I am just excited to be able to lead the guys.”So ready is he that he almost left it all out there when a reporter persisted in asking if Smith thought the team would be able to drop the chokers tag, given their record under pressure. When Smith said that there is a “luck element” in tournaments such as this, the journalist went on to ask if South Africa’s nerves often undid any luck that the team may have secured. Smith sneered in reply. “So you have been out in the middle, you will understand that?”Silence.No one on the outside can really understand the unique kind of pressure that has weighed South Africa down, or how stoically they’ve had to deny that it’s had any effect on them. Every few years, when questions like the one above get asked, we get a small glimpse into the burden of underachievement South Africa cricketers carry. It’s why each tournament, for them, seems bigger and more important than the previous one and why this one is “the biggest tournament” for this group of players to date.”A lot of the guys who are here for the first time have definitely said that,” Smith said. “The expectation, the energy around India and before we left, the things that were going on around the group, especially compared to the other World Cups, this is a lot bigger.”The heightened importance of this tournament may stem from the fact that South Africa have brought their most dynamic line-up to a major competition, especially in the bowling department. “It’s the most variety that we have ever had,” Smith said. “We now have pace, we have bounce, we have left-armers, we have got a few spin options.” The variation means that South Africa hope they will be “a lot harder to prepare against” because their starting XI is going to be more elastic than it has been in the past. “Tactically we have got our ideas about how we would like to set up in this tournament. We have covered every base there and we are really excited to get going.”South Africa have been training in India for just over two weeks and although that time has allowed the squad to settle in, there is still an element of uncertainty going into their first game in the World Cup. The Feroz Shah Kotla stadium is hosting its first match after a 14-month ban it incurred in December 2009 for having a dangerous pitch. It has been since relaid, with a surface that promises even bounce, but Smith said neither side knows what to expect from it. “It’s an unknown factor for all of us. But I think you can see they have made a really big effort out here.”It’s also the first time Smith will use the Umpire Decision Review System in a one-day international and it may prove tricky when the team is in the field because “with our bowlers, every decision is out,” Smith said. “I’ll have to trust AB also because I am not always going to be in a position to really judge the lines and where the ball has pitched.”What’s not a first is coming up against the West Indies in the opening match of a World Cup. The last time that happened, South Africa were put to the sword by a blustering innings from Chris Gayle. Smith is wary of not allowing the same kind of flamboyant performance to undo South Africa again. “They have guys who on their day can really punish you and take the game away from you. That’s why in Cup competitions, they are a very dangerous opponent to come up against.”The West Indies struggle with consistency, as Smith noted, and often fall away in a four- or five-match series, but playing them in a one-off match is as much a competition as playing anyone else. Their strategy is based on a certain casual yet colourful flair. In many ways, on their day, they are side that leaves it all there. To see them come against a South African captain who hopes to do the same promises an explosion.

The PCB has issued national coach Waqar Younis a notice for expressing his surprise over the board’s decision to not name the captain when it announced the final squad for the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2011The PCB has issued national coach Waqar Younis a notice for expressing surprise over the board’s decision to not name the captain when it announced Pakistan’s final squad for the World Cup. Waqar had said it “would have been better” if the selectors had named the captain along with the final 15, and that not doing so “would only lead to issues”.”We have issued Waqar a notice asking him to explain his comments on the captaincy issue since he is under contract with the PCB,” the board’s media manager Nadeem Sarwar told . He explained that under PCB’s media policy it was binding on all team officials and players to avoid giving statements that questioned or negated the policies of the board.In recent times, the PCB has adopted a new media policy for players and officials and has come down hard on any violations. The new guidelines also limit direct interaction between the team and journalists, and prefers the use of press releases.The delay in naming the captain was criticised by several former cricketers and ex-selectors. It led to speculation that Misbah-ul-Haq could take over the one-day leadership from Shahid Afridi, who has been the captain in the limited-overs formats since the 2010 Asia Cup. After taking over from Salman Butt, who was suspended following the spot-fixing controversy, Misbah has sparked a resurgence as the Test captain, leading Pakistan to a draw against South Africa and a series win in New Zealand. The move to name him as vice-captain for the New Zealand ODIs is seen as a means of putting pressure on Afridi, who has struggled for form.Before leaving for New Zealand, however, Afridi said he was not worried about the position. “I am not worried about the captaincy, it never worries me,” he said. “I have never run after the captaincy in my entire career. It is something for the cricket board to decide. If they feel I am the right man they will appoint me and if they don’t they will make someone else captain.”I am a senior professional and I know what I have to do. I have to lead the team to win the series and perform well as player. I know our winning the series will be very important because if we win in New Zealand it will give us a boost for the World Cup.”

Celtic have the chance to put last weekend’s defeat in the Scottish Cup semi-final behind them tomorrow as the Hoops are back in SPFL action.

This time, Ange Postecoglou’s side will be taking on Ross County away from home on Sunday afternoon.

Heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures, the Hoops currently sit at the top of the league table with a six-point gap over Rangers in second place.

Looking ahead to their upcoming showdown, it seems as though the Bhoys have been handed an injury boost that will surely improve their chances of securing yet another league victory.

What’s the news?

According to Postecoglou (via the Daily Record), Hoops striker Giorgos Giakoumakis is back in contention to play on Sunday after picking up a hamstring injury during the 7-0 win over St. Johnstone earlier this month.

Having arrived at the Parkhead club during the previous summer transfer window from VVV-Venlo in a deal worth a reported fee of up to £2.5m, the striker has made 16 league appearances.

In those appearances, the 27-year-old has scored nine goals, leaving only Liel Abada having found the net on more occasions (10).

To highlight how much of an attacking threat the centre-forward has been for the Bhoys, he currently has the highest average of shots on target per 90 minutes in the league out of everyone in Postecoglou’s squad.

This shows how much a nuisance he can be for opposition goalkeepers and why County and their players will be sweating over the prospect of facing him this weekend.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s showdown, it will surely be great news for the Hoops boss to be able to have the Greek international back in the squad and available for selection.

Beyond that, if the striker can keep his fitness up for the remainder of the campaign and add some more goals to his tally, he would give his side a great chance of securing the league title.

For the time being, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not the 56-year-old picks Giakoumakis to be in his starting XI or keeps him on the bench to start with and bring him on at some point.

AND in other news: Cost 7 figures, now worth £810k: Celtic had a nightmare on “struggling” Lennon flop

Sri Lanka’s openers responded well after following-on in the first Test in Galle

The Bulletin by Andrew Fernando in Galle18-Nov-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Prasanna Jayawardene battled valiantly for his 58 but was unable to get Sri Lanka to the follow-on target•AFPA post-lunch fightback was not enough to prevent West Indies from asking Sri Lanka to bat again on the fourth day in Galle, as the hosts were dismissed agonisingly close to the follow-on target of 381. Some positive batting from the Sri Lanka openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga Paranavitana, however, ensured West Indies would have to battle hard to go 1-0 up in the series, as they closed out the day’s play on 89 for no loss, having chiseled the deficit down to 113.A mini-collapse following the wicket of Dammika Prasad ensured that Sri Lanka would have to bat again, despite the best efforts of Prasanna Jayawardene and Prasad himself, as their 72-run partnership propelled the hosts to within three runs of avoiding the follow-on. Prasanna Jayawardene battled valiantly for his 58, while Prasad rode his luck for 47 at the other end, edging the fast men through the slips on several occasions as well as mistiming sweeps off the spinner, only for the ball to fall metres in front of the fine-leg fieldsman. He also entertained with two sweetly struck sixes over midwicket, using his feet against Shane Shillingford to loft him over cow corner and hanging back to wallop a slower ball from Darren Sammy over the same area.Prasanna Jayawardene, too, chipped in with regular boundaries and accumulated sensibly. He made use of some odd field placements by Sammy who, for the first time in the innings, had relaxed the field while the fast bowlers were in operation, even turning down the second new ball and opting instead to attack with spin.The ploy paid off eventually, however, as Prasad holed out to long-off attempting to clear the boundary one too many times, with his side only 14 runs short of making West Indies bat again. Ajantha Mendis came and went, and No.11 Thilan Thushara drove Kemar Roach down the ground to get Sri Lanka within one strike of the follow-on score. Prasanna Jayawardene, however, could not get the hosts over the line, top-edging an aggressive sweep off Shillingford to leave his team short, and Sammy with the option of enforcing the follow-on. He did so with little hesitation.West Indies had consolidated their position of advantage, striking thrice in the morning session to remove the overnight pair of Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera as well as Angelo Mathews; that left Sri Lanka going in to lunch at 262 for six. Shillingford continued to torment Mahela Jayawardene, as he had yesterday, almost having him caught at leg slip, only to have Dwayne Bravo spill the tough chance. He was out wafting airily to Roach next over, however, having made 59.Thilan Samaraweera started nervously against the pace of Roach, but soon found his feet to progress to a half-century. He was the victim of a terrible stroke of misfortune soon after, when he was caught backing up too far as a straight drive from Mathews clipped Dwayne Bravo’s outstretched boot on its way to the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Sri Lanka were left in the lurch when Mathews fell just before lunch, and despite Prasad and Prasanna Jayawardene’s partnership, the follow-on target proved too challenging for the hosts.The Sri Lankan openers came out fighting after their side batted again, as they raced to 31 in seven overs before tea and continued to defy West Indies following the break. Dilshan was typically free flowing, slashing and pulling with little restraint to force the field back, and used the crease well to negotiate the spin of Shillingford, once even dancing down the track to slam him back over his head for four. Paranavitana, too, was positive in intent, driving and cutting to the square fence early in his innings, before settling into a steady routine of singles and twos to the sweepers once gaps began to appear in the field. Only 22 overs were possible in Sri Lanka’s second innings before evening showers stopped play, and the inclement weather was steady enough to wash out the remaining overs.Weather permitting, West Indies have 98 overs to take ten Sri Lankan wickets tomorrow and have a chance of notching up a historic win. But the hosts’ impressive start and the intervention of the weather have made a draw the most likely outcome heading into the final day.

Marcus North, Doug Bollinger and Xavier Doherty have been axed, and Australia’s selectors have sprung a major surprise by naming the little-known spinner Michael Beer in their 12-man squad for the Perth Test

Brydon Coverdale10-Dec-2010Marcus North, Doug Bollinger and Xavier Doherty have been axed, and Australia’s selectors have sprung a major surprise by naming the little-known spinner Michael Beer in their 12-man squad for the Perth Test. Phillip Hughes has been picked to replace the injured Simon Katich, while Steven Smith is a strong chance to play after no other specialist batsman was named to replace North.Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus are also likely to come back in to the side in what could be a four-man pace attack with Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle, who the selectors considered the best of the bowlers in the Adelaide loss. But it’s the inclusion of Beer that will raise eyebrows, especially with Nathan Hauritz fresh from a first-class century and five-wicket haul for New South Wales.”Michael Beer replaces Xavier Doherty in the squad,” Australia’s chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, said. “Michael is a left-arm orthodox spinner who has been very impressive at domestic level this year. He took wickets against England in the tour match earlier this summer and we expect he will bowl very well against the English on his home ground.”But Hilditch’s comments seemingly ignore the fact that the WACA has been Beer’s home ground for only a few months, after he moved from Victoria during the off-season. He has played only three first-class matches at the ground and in his five first-class appearances, all of which have taken place this summer, he has 16 wickets at 39.93 with a best of 3 for 39.Beer, 26, is a left-arm orthodox bowler who plied his trade in Melbourne club cricket until the end of last season, when he moved to Western Australia in an attempt to launch his domestic career. Against the touring England side last month he 3 for 108 and 2 for 99, and the chances of him winning a place in the starting XI for the third Test must be slim.One man who will definitely play at the WACA is Hughes, who is not in his best form but was still considered the most likely replacement for Katich, who will miss the rest of the series with an Achilles tendon injury. The pressure on Hughes will be increased after Australia altered the balance of their squad by leaving out the specialist batsman North.North has had a disappointing start to the Ashes campaign and the strong batting form of Brad Haddin makes it likely that the wicketkeeper will move up to No. 6 with Smith at No. 7. Smith has played two Tests, against Pakistan in England in July, when he was chosen as a legspinner in the absence of the injured Hauritz, and if Beer doesn’t play he will be the lead slow bowler in Perth.”Steve Smith replaces Marcus North in the 12-man squad,” Hilditch said. “This is obviously disappointing for Marcus who has played some outstanding Test innings for Australia but it was felt to be the right time to bring the exciting prospect Steve Smith into the Test team. Steve has already had success at international level and will also add to the bowling depth with his leg-spin bowling and dynamic fielding.”Doug Bollinger has been omitted from the squad. Both Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus did not play in Adelaide but will be strongly considered for selection in the Perth Test match where conditions will suit them. Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle were the pick of our quicks at Adelaide Oval and these four make up the pace attack for the Perth Test match.Squad Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin (wk), Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Michael Beer, Ben Hilfenhaus.

A round-up from the opening day of action in the ICC World Cricket League Division 8 tournament in Kuwait

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2010The ICC World Cricket League Division 8 tournament began in Kuwait on Saturday and here is a round-up of the action from the first set of matches.And another: Bhutan collapsed for 55 after Vanuatu posted a massive total•International Cricket CouncilVanuatu inflicted an embarrassing 282-run defeat on Bhutan who crumbled for 55 in the face of Vanuatu’s huge 337 for 9. Captain Andrew Mansale led the with 87 off 81 balls, adding 154 alongside Jonathon Dunn (75), but it was the closing stages of the innings that provided the real fireworks. Patrick Matautaava swung his way to 79 from 43 deliveries including seven fours and four sixes and he wasn’t finished there as he then claimed 4 for 11 in Bhutan’s reply. None of the batsmen could muster double figures in an innings that lasted 23.1 overs.”It feels great to have been able to help the team to our first win of the tournament and to get my Man of the Match award from Tony Hill was pretty cool,” said Matautaava. “But this is only the first game of a long tournament.”In another clash that was the definition of one-sided, hosts Kuwait hammered Suriname by nine wickets and the entire contest lasted 36 overs. Kuwait were only chasing a paltry 77 and knocked off their target in 7.1 overs. The trouncing was set up by their opening bowlers, Mohammad Murad and Saad Khalid, who shared eight wickets. At 27 for 7 Suriname were also threatening not to have anyone reach double figures, but Terbhawan Ranjit (19) and Anthony Seeraj (12 not out) managed to edge the total to 76 which was boosted by 19 wides.”It was a dream start for us to begin the tournament with a victory but we can’t be complacent,” said captain Hisham Mirza. “Vanuatu are in our group and after their big win today, we need to make sure we’re prepared to face them tomorrow in Hubara. I couldn’t have hoped for a better start for us today and it was good to finish so early so we had time to relax ahead of tomorrow’s game where we hope we can also do well.”Germany produced an impressive comeback to beat Zambia by 11 runs after only posting 128. In reply, Zambia were well placed on 58 for 2 but Shakeel Hassan turned the match on its with an incisive spell where he took out the middle order and revived Germany’s hopes. Ehsan Latif then returned for a second burst, and carried on where Hassan left off with three scalps, to wrap up the innings as Zambia’s lower order couldn’t absorb the pressure despite the required rate never being an issue. Germany had struggled to form any sort of platform with the bat as they fell to 20 for 3, but Rishi Pillai made a vital 39 before Hassan contributed 20. Hassan’s key role was still to come.Bahamas put in an efficient display to ease past Gibraltar by seven wickets. Their captain Gregory Taylor led the chase with 74 and received solid support from the rest of the top order. Gibraltar had also put in a solid attempt with the bat but couldn’t take advantage of having wickets in hand at the death. Kieron Ferrary top-scored with 52 however, the strike-rates of the middle order were low.

With just over two weeks left until the current January transfer window closes, Celtic have been rather busy with their activity in the market so far with a number of players making their way to the Parkhead club to strengthen Ange Postecoglou’s squad.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the window, it seems as though a current Celtic player has been touted for a move away from the club that would surely not go down well with a lot of fans if it were to happen.

What’s the latest?

Speaking to Football Insider, Alan Hutton had this to say about Celtic defender Stephen Welsh, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £3.6k-per-week according to Salary Sport and his immediate future at the Parkhead club.

He said: “He deserves the praise that’s coming his way. I think for the player, he’ll be thinking about it, a chance to move. He will have seen the likes of Aaron Hickey going there, Jack Hendry going abroad.

“They’re doing really well, getting moves and progressing in their career.”

Welsh had recently been linked with a move to Udinese in Italy, a nation where former Celtic academy gem, Hickey, is currently enjoying his football in.

Transfer calamity

As a product of Celtic’s youth system, the 21-year-old has gone on to make 41 senior appearances for the club across all competitions, chipping in with three goals and one assist along the way.

Having been praised for his “superb” performances for Celtic in the past by fellow teammate Greg Taylor, Welsh has been a fairly regular figure in Postecoglou’s side across all competitions this season with 19 appearances under his belt and nine of them coming in the SPFL.

His performances have shown why it would be a disaster for Celtic to let him go as well with WhoScored giving him an overall season rating of 7.03/10, making him the ninth-highest rated player that’s currently in Postecoglou’s squad.

That shows he is more than capable of playing in this current Celtic team at a decent level and why it would be a calamity to see him leave.

With Postecoglou recently claiming that Welsh’s immediate future will be at Celtic Park, it’s safe to say that the fans would be more likely to take his word about the situation over Hutton’s.

Therefore, any worries about the defender potentially making a move away from Parkhead could be quashed, especially when you consider the fact that his current contract isn’t set to expire until 2025.

In other news: Big boost: Ange drops huge Celtic injury update that’ll surely have fans delighted – opinion

Ricky Ponting believes it is “absolutely possible” that Australia can trounce England with a 5-0 Ashes clean-sweep this summer

Cricinfo staff16-Aug-2010Ricky Ponting believes it is “absolutely possible” that Australia can trounce England with a 5-0 Ashes clean-sweep this summer. Although Ponting didn’t quite match Glenn McGrath’s 5-0 prediction from four years ago – which turned out to be correct – he was confident that Australia had learnt from their mistakes and such an outcome was “all in our hands”.The Australians gave up the urn in England last year with a 2-1 defeat and while they have performed strongly since then, a 1-1 draw against Pakistan last month raised a few questions. The Headingley loss was Australia’s first Test defeat since the Ashes, and back home they won’t have as much reason to fear the swinging ball.By the first Test at the Gabba, Australia should have regained their No. 1 wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and the offspinner Nathan Hauritz, while they hope Peter Siddle will also be available after battling back stress fractures. Ponting met Cricket Australia officials in Melbourne on Monday to plan for the Ashes and said there was no reason to rule out a 5-0 win.”It’s absolutely possible,” Ponting told reporters. “There’s no reason why not. It’s all in our hands. It’s how well we play and how well we take charge of different situations. We’ve learnt from a lot of the mistakes that we’ve made. There’s no doubt we made some mistakes in the last Ashes series in England that probably at the end of the day cost us the series.”We know now that we’re a more experienced and probably a better team now than we were then. We put that together plus we’re playing in our conditions, we hope to win this series and win it well. Batting collapses probably were the reason we lost the series last time around and our inability to bowl them out on the last day in Cardiff. I’ve got confidence in the squad of players that we’ve got that they are going to be good enough to win an Ashes series.”Following Australia’s 1-1 series with Pakistan, England have started their series against the same opponents with two powerful victories, winning inside four days at both Trent Bridge and Edgbaston. They play two more Tests against Pakistan, their only five-day outings before the Ashes, while Australia will fine-tune their preparations with two Tests in India in October.”[James] Anderson and [Stuart] Broad and those guys have really stepped up,” Ponting said of England.” They are coming together well as a team. We have to make sure at the end of the Indian tour that we have got everything in place to make sure that we’re ultra-competitive against them.”They [England] certainly have bowled well and they’ve had great conditions to bowl in as well, the English. We’ll have a different set of conditions and a different ball when they come out here and I’m sure our guys will equip themselves really well. We know where we have to bowl to all of their batsmen. They’ve got no one there who’s going to surprise us at all.”Jonathan Trott, the England batsman who scored a century on debut at The Oval last August, offered a wry response to Ponting’s assessment. “I’ve only played one game against them, and they wanted to win that game but it turned out pretty good for us,” he said. “That’s all I can say, I don’t know the guy and his character, but I’d find if I’d said something like that I’d have put more pressure on myself and the team, more than if I go about my business the way I know.”

Journalist Ryan Taylor believes Leeds United are working ‘behind the scenes’ on ‘other’ deals alongside RB Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson, Give Me Sport report.

The Lowdown: Third Aaronson bid?

The Whites have made Aaronson their top midfield target and have already submitted two bids. The first was £15m and was rejected, whereas the second was worth £20m and is also yet to be accepted.

Graham Smyth of The Yorkshire Evening Post believes the Whites are now considering a third offer for the USA international, who was coy when quizzed on a move to Yorkshire.

However, even though Phil Hay stated that a quiet end to the window was expected if Leeds couldn’t land Aaronson, Taylor believes Victor Orta is hard at work.

The Latest: Taylor’s comments

Journalist Taylor was talking to Give Me Sport in a story shared on Wednesday morning.

He believes that there is ‘other stuff going on’ alongside Aaronson ‘behind the scenes’.

“We haven’t really heard much on specific names, but from some of the people I’ve spoken to, it seems like there is other stuff going on (than the Aaronson pursuit) behind the scenes.”

The Verdict: Who could it be?

Midfield is where Orta is keen to add to, with reports ahead of January suggesting he was after both a defensive and attacking midfielder.

Aaronson appears to be the attacking target, so perhaps Marseille’s Boubacar Kamara is a defensive one. Leeds have reportedly spoken with the Frenchman’s agent, with the Marseille man seemingly up for sale for £10m due to his contract situation.

He could be a shrewd midfield addition who can also provide cover at centre-back, and hopefully, Leeds can bring in at least one player before Monday’s deadline.

In other news: Sky Sports drop live TV update as Leeds now handed fresh hope to sign Aaronson before February 1. 

Roberto Firmino may consider leaving Liverpool this summer due to Sadio Mane’s shift into the middle, says former top flight manager Alex McLeish.

The Lowdown: Firmino down the pecking order

The Brazilian has become an undisputed Reds legend since joining from Hoffenheim back in 2015, winning the Premier League and Champions League, not to mention leading the line superbly.

Firmino finds himself down the attacking pecking order these days, however, with Mohamed Salah, Mane, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota all arguably seen as stronger options by Jurgen Klopp, especially since Mane moved to a central role after Diaz’s arrival in January.

The 30-year-old’s current Liverpool deal runs out at the end of next season and the idea of him leaving this summer hasn’t been completely ruled out.

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The Latest: Pundit casts doubt over future

Speaking to Football Insider, McLeish admitted that he could see Firmino moving on due to the shift Klopp has made in recent weeks with Mane, moving Firmino further down the striker pecking order.

Ultimately, he says, the decision will be up to the player himself:

“I think he’s still making an impact. You see him in games coming on and getting a couple of goals and assists. He’s still, I think, very integral to their success this season.

“Like everybody else, he will want to maybe play more football at the end. Who knows, maybe it suits him, the way it is just now. One thing’s for sure, Liverpool are a great club and will do the right thing by their players.

“They will do whatever Firmino wants to do, I would think. Maybe keep him on and keep doing his cameo. Or does the guy want to play more football? I think that would be in Firmino’s hands.”

The Verdict: Don’t leave, Bobby

While it would be understandable if Firmino decided to enjoy a fresh challenge this summer, the hope with the vast majority of Liverpool fans is that he stays put.

At 30, he still has a huge amount to offer, even if his best days are behind him, and he is a perfect foil for different styles of players around him in attack. If he is content being a squad player, the matter should be settled immediately.

Firmino isn’t a player who is reliant on pace, which further highlights why he can be a force for years to come, and the idea of such a popular player leaving doesn’t bear thinking about.

In other news, an exciting Liverpool transfer update has emerged. Read more here.