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Remarkably, Liverpool’s incredible summer of spending has yet to leave Arne Slot’s squad with an air of completeness.

Particularly, Virgil van Dijk’s central defence is rather light, especially now that Joe Gomez has suffered a minor Achilles injury following the £35m sale of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.

Then turn your head toward the frontline. The incredible additions of rising superstars such as Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike suggest that Liverpool are shaping up to have one of the deadliest frontlines in the game (if they didn’t already).

However, Luis Diaz left for Bayern Munich last month, and now, Darwin Nunez is on the verge of completing a permanent transfer to Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.

With Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott both mooted to be off, it’s not desirable but imperative that Liverpool add another attacker to their mix, and FSG appear to have one or two show-stopping names in mind.

Liverpool chasing another forward

The dream transfer target is, of course, Alexander Isak. You might have heard that Liverpool are interested in signing the Newcastle United striker, and rumour has it he’s rather keen on the journey toward Anfield too.

Unfortunately, Newcastle’s transfer market has been a pitiful thing, with Eddie Howe no doubt feeling hot under the collar. Any number of top targets have been missed on Tyneside, and with Benjamin Sesko now hoping to sign for Manchester United, Isak’s sale is less certain, for a reliable replacement must be signed, else he will not leave.

Last month’s initial £69m signing of Hugo Ekitike has tempered Liverpool’s need for the Premier League superstar, but it would still be a stunning signing.

However, sporting director Richard Hughes is a man of deep nous, and he hasn’t placed all his eggs in one basket. Liverpool are emerging as contenders for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, though completing a summer deal will be difficult indeed.

If neither move comes to fruition, there’s another option waiting in the wings who might be perfect for Slot’s system.

Liverpool in for for Barcola upgrade

According to L’Equipe, Liverpool are in the race to sign Real Madrid winger Rodrygo, who has also attracted interest from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Rodrygo, 24, has been anticipated to leave the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, having struggled for form last year and slid down the early pecking order as the Xabi Alonso era shapes up.

Liverpool’s interest in Barcola might have just become public, but their admiration for Rodrygo also has substance, and the South American’s suspected price tag has been reported to fall into the region of £78m.

Why Liverpool want to sign Rodrygo

Rodrygo came under fire for his performances with Los Blancos last season. Such is his level; such are the expectations at Real Madrid.

His 25-goal contribution return still matched that of Diaz and Cody Gakpo at Liverpool, perhaps illustrating the calibre of forward Slot would add to his ranks, on par with the Reds crop yet capable of so much more.

And given that he would likely play as a left-sided forward, a rare experience in recent years at Real Madrid, Rodrygo’s desire to move to Anfield, should he move at all, is understandable, for he notched six goals and six assists from only 12 games as a left winger last year.

Even though Real Madrid’s selfless superstar had been played out of position for the majority of the recent season, he still managed to impress, with former teammate Luka Modric even claiming he is one of the club’s “world-class superstars.”

When collating his seasonal data with Barcola’s, you perhaps begin to see that his underlying quality suggests he would rise to a higher level than Barcola could.

Goals

0.35

0.47

Assists

0.22

0.39

Shots taken

2.54

2.89

Shot-creating actions

4.56

4.24

Pass completion

85.7%

81.9%

Touches (att pen)

5.84

8.95

Progressive passes

4.69

3.33

Progressive carries

5.07

5.45

Successful take-ons

2.15

1.74

There’s no denying that Barcola has enjoyed the better season, winning the quadruple with PSG and notching 42 goal contributions across all competitions.

But when digging deeper, it becomes clear that Rodrygo is the superior player of the two, and given that they both fall into a similar financial ballpark, is the one Liverpool must push for.

For example, the French winger is regarded as a silky, high-speed dribbler, but he averaged only one dribble per match in Ligue 1 last year and, more concerningly, at a success rate of just 27%, as per Sofascore.

In fact, FBref also record that he ranked among the bottom 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers across all of Europe last season for take-on success rate, underscoring the amount of failed efforts to drive the ball forward.

That’s not to negate his quality; Barcola has just played an instrumental role in a Champions League-winning campaign after all. However, Rodrygo knows his way around Europe’s elite competition, a two-time champion and a force to be reckoned with at the business end too.

Barcola, moreover, has yet to polish his shooting boots. Though he scored 17 goals across PSG’s Ligue 1 and Champions League campaigns, he also missed a whopping 33 big chances.

Conversely, Rodrygo only missed three big chances, albeit he also netted just 11 times across his disappointing season. Still, that makes a strong comment on his prolific ability.

When he’s on his A-game, the Brazil international is “unstoppable”, so says Madrid columnist Kiyan Sobhani.

Ultimately, the fact that Liverpool fans are mulling over whether they fancy Barcola or Rodrygo as potential alternatives to Isak, having already signed Wirtz, Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giorgi Mamardashvili, illustrates just how far this club has come.

The Premier League champions are in the most enviable of positions, but if given the pick of the bunch, Hughes might want to move for Rodrygo over Barcola.

Dream Elliott replacement: Liverpool in race to sign "exceptional" £35m gem

Liverpool are reportedly in the race to sign a star who would be a dream replacement for Harvey Elliott.

ByDan Emery Aug 7, 2025

Tottenham seemingly have the chance to sign a “huge talent” as agents make contact to discuss his availability, as per a new report, and he was once “very close” to making the move to north London.

Related Tottenham advancing move for £24m defender after 'emerging' as favourites

Spurs have been told what it would take to get a deal done.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini Jul 23, 2025

Spurs have a few key items on their transfer checklist which are yet to be ticked off.

The Lilywhites have signed Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel on permanent deals, later adding both Kota Takai and Mohammed Kudus to their list of summer signings, and they remain in pursuit of Nottingham Forest playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White despite their threat of legal action.

Tottenham’s best-performing regulars in the Premier League – 2024/2025

Average match rating

Son Heung-min

7.00

James Maddison

6.98

Pedro Porro

6.95

Dominic Solanke

6.84

Dejan Kulusevski

6.83

via WhoScored

Finalising a deal for the latter is currently Tottenham’s main priority, according to Fabrizio Romano, who also told GiveMeSport’s Market Madness podcast that they’re confident of eventually sealing Gibbs-White’s signature.

“Tottenham remain confident about their chances of signing the player. But, obviously, now this is a legal topic. They need to have discussions directly with Nottingham Forest to find the solution,” said Romano.

“Of course, it changes the timing of the deal. Tottenham’s perfect plan was probably to sign Kudus and Gibbs-White in 24 or 48 hours. It is now going to take a bit longer, but they remain intent on signing the player.”

According to Alasdair Gold, Spurs also want a new number six to come in, and hold an interest in Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha. However, any deal would hinge on selling one of their current engine room men, most likely Yves Bissouma.

Links to Brentford striker Yoane Wissa haven’t gone away, either, with some credible media sources suggesting that the Congo international is open to reuniting with Thomas Frank at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium amid interest from Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.

That being said, Newcastle appear to be the most advanced right now, and have already seen bids rejected for Wissa as they push to sign him for Eddie Howe.

If Spurs are beaten to the punch by Newcastle for Wissa, an intriguing chance to sign PSG striker Randal Kolo Muani has emerged, according to journalist Graeme Bailey.

Tottenham offered chance to sign PSG striker Randal Kolo Muani

The Ligue 1 and European champions are demanding around £43 million for Kolo Muani, a price tag which Juventus are refusing to meet amid extensive talks to re-sign the forward, after his productive loan spell in Turin.

Now, Bailey has told TBR Football that agents have contacted Tottenham over Kolo Muani’s potential availability, coming after he was once on the verge of a move to north London in January.

“Kolo Muani’s move to Juventus has stalled,” said Bailey.

“They want him back, but they want a loan with an option. PSG are not keen, and they believe there are other clubs willing to take him on better terms.

“Kolo Muani has enjoyed life in Turin, but we are told that he remains keen on England – he was very close to joining Tottenham in January.

“Spurs are one of those contacted again, but so have the likes of Manchester United and Newcastle, both of whom are obviously in the market for new forwards. He is suddenly a name who is possibly back on the market, and he is intriguing to these Premier League clubs. He is still seen as a huge talent.”

The France international netted 23 goals and registered 17 assists in all competitions for Eintracht Frankfurt, during his best-ever season to date in 2022/2023, so it is clear as day that Kolo Muani does have it in his locker.

He also played a key role in helping his country reach the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar. Kolo Muani is no stranger to the big occasion, and his versatility could also be a very useful asset to Frank as Spurs look to compete on multiple fronts next term.

تحدثت تقارير مغربية، عن مستقبل اللاعب المغربي أشرف داري مدافع النادي الأهلي، خلال الفترة القادمة، بعد إصاباته المتعددة مع الفريق.

أشرف داري كان قد تعرض للإصابة خلال مباراة الأهلي وبيراميدز، مؤخرًا، وغاب عن معسكر منتخب المغرب الحالي بسبب تلك الإصابة.

ووفقًا لصحيفة “المنتخب المغربية”: “النادي الأهلي يبحث عن منفذ للتخلص من أشرف داري مقابل التعاقد مع لاعب أجنبي آخر خلال الميركاتو الشتوي المقبل”.

طالع | وليد صلاح الدين يوجه رسالة للاعبي الأهلي.. ويصرح: هدفي رد الجميل

وأضاف: “يأتي ذلك بسبب أن الفريق لا يستفيد من خدمات اللاعب لكثرة الإصابات التي تلاحقه، وبالتالي أصبح الفريق المصري يبحث جديًا عن إيجاد عروض في البطولة السعودية”.

وكان أشرف داري انتقل إلى صفوف النادي الأهلي في 2024 قادمًا من بريست الفرنسي، وقد تعرض لإصابات عضلية متعددة غاب على إثرها عن كثير من مباريات النادي الأهلي.

ومن المقرر أن يستأنف النادي الأهلي مبارياته في بطولة الدوري المصري، بعد نهاية فترة التوقف الدولي الحالي، بمواجهة إنبي في الجولة السادسة وذلك يوم 14 سبتمبر.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s Everton future is still unresolved, but that saga will have no bearing on David Moyes’ pursuit of a new centre-forward to take to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Moyes took the reins from the beleaguered Sean Dyche in January and steered Everton toward a comfortable 13th-place finish, bagging 48 points.

But scoring goals has always been the crux of Everton’s wider problems, and that’s where the Toffees boss wants to make improvements this summer.

Everton approach club for new striker

According to Spanish outlet Cadena Ser, Villarreal’s Thierno Barry has been added to Everton’s shortlist, with the Toffees believed to have made an approach after asking about his situation.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

This comes amid the Merseysiders missing out on Liam Delap, who has signed for Chelsea in a £30m deal.

Barry, meanwhile, has club-hopped for two successive years and could be on the move once again, with a €40m (£34m) release clause in his contract.

However, the Yellow Submarine are keen to keep hold of their man. That said, The Friedkin Group were willing to green-light a move for Delap, and could now turn to Barry instead, with Villarreal sure to evaluate offers if their clause is indeed met.

What Thierno Barry would bring to Everton

Standing at 6 foot 4, Barry is a tall and powerful frontman whose efforts over the past several years have spoke of incremental progress.

Hailed for his “menacing” profile by talent scout Antonio Mango, the 22-year-old Barry appears to be the perfect kind of player for a Moyes system, having won 5.1 duels per La Liga game this term, as per Sofascore.

Indeed, FBref record Barry to rank among the top 1% of centre-forwards across Europe’s top five leagues this season for percentage of aerial battles won (67.3%) per 90, furthering the argument that he’s the man for the job.

He’s not quite so progressive a ball carrier as Delap, who ranks among the top 13% of forwards across Europe for progressive carries and the top 7% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref, but he’s every bit as brutish a talisman.

Thierno Barry – League Stats by Season
Season	Apps	Goals	Assists
24/25 – Villarreal	35	11	4
24/25 – Basel	3	5	0
22/23 – Basel	35	9	5
22/23 – Beveren	31	20	4
Data via Sofascore

Barry began life on the senior stage prolifically indeed, although his term with Beveren was contested in the second tier of Belgian football. In any case, he’s showcased an exciting growth that could now be translated to life in the Premier League.

Delap, similarly, landed when making the big jump, having enjoyed a decent breakthrough campaign in the Championship with Hull City last year, scoring eight goals and adding two assists across 31 games for the Tigers.

However, he’s only gone from strength to strength across the past year, unable to prevent Ipswich Town’s relegation but impressing with a 12-goal return across 32 starts.

Barry, with his strength and confidence, might just prove to follow in Delap’s footsteps, even becoming a better version of the English talent. The Frenchman has a higher release clause, after all, while his 20 league goal involvements for 2024/25 ranked him ahead of Delap’s own return of 14.

There would be an element of risk in bringing a young and unproven talent over to Merseyside, but Everton appear to have turned a corner over the past six months, and if Moyes gets this one right, it could make the Toffees faithful forget all about Delap.

Perfect Branthwaite replacement: Everton considering bid to sign £30m star

Everton could lose Jarrad Branthwaite this summer, but appear to have the perfect replacement lined up.

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Ethan Lamb

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Although their fate is yet to be decided in pursuit of Champions League football, Aston Villa have already reportedly reached the closing stages of negotiations to sign one particular star.

Aston Villa's late push to secure Champions League football

Aston Villa have hit form at the perfect time and could yet be in a position to take full advantage in the final two games of the Premier League season. Victory over Bournemouth last time out made it four wins in their last five league games in a run that includes a 4-1 thrashing of top five rivals Newcastle United. Now, with two games remaining, Unai Emery’s side only sit behind Chelsea on goal difference.

Premier League’s UCL race	Points	Goal Difference
Liverpool (C)	83	46
Arsenal	68	33
Newcastle United	66	23
Manchester City	65	24
Chelsea	63	19
Aston Villa	63	7
Nottingham Forest	62	12

With Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United to play – two sides who have nothing to play for following disastrous Premier League campaigns – there’s every chance that Villa could yet sneak into the Champions League places in dramatic fashion.

Emery reiterated that Aston Villa must keep going after victory at Bournemouth, telling reporters: “It’s very good. I’m very happy and proud but we can’t stop now. We have to keep going.

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2

By
Ross Kilvington

May 12, 2025

“We got Europe last week against Fulham at home and today against Bournemouth, teams that are competing very well and performing very well. They were fighting with us as their opponent.

“They were an opponent for us to get Europe. Now we’re in the run in with the teams fighting for Champions League after the way we did last week and the win we did today. We’re deserving to play the next match against Tottenham having the possibilities to be there, taking even more in Europa League or Champions League.”

Aston Villa closing in on Asensio deal

Away from the action on the pitch, meanwhile, those in the Midlands have already reportedly set their sights on their first reinforcement of the summer. According to Estadio Deportivo, as relayed by Sport Witness, Monchi is now in the closing stages of a deal to sign Marco Asensio on a permanent basis for Aston Villa this summer.

The Villans are reportedly set to offer Paris Saint-Germain around €15m (£13m) to sell the Spaniard in a deal that Emery is reportedly personally pushing Monchi to complete. Given that PSG are keen to sell Asensio too, it seems likely that Villa will be in the perfect position to secure their move.

Asensio certainly has plenty of fans around the Midlands following a successful loan spell. And Emery is among those fans, having told reporters when questioned on the winger’s quality: “For him as well, it is a very huge challenge, to show here his capacity to help us. But every match, of course, he is doing a fantastic job, and his adaptation was going very quick.”

It is right back to business for Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou after their heroics in the Europa League on Thursday, with Champions League qualification chasers Nottingham Forest awaiting them on Easter Monday as Nuno Espírito Santo looks to upset his former club.

Tottenham enter first Europa League semi-final since 1984

Spurs edged past Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals, courtesy of Dominic Solanke’s vital spot-kick, and Postecoglou’s side were forced to display some last-gasp pieces of defending to keep hold of their precious advantage on hostile away turf.

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Bodies were on the line over a dogged, mature display which we’ve scarcely witnessed at Spurs all season long, and Postecoglou was thrilled by the effort from his players, as Tottenham set up their first Europa semi-final since 1984.

“They’ve been so united in believing in what we’re trying to achieve here and that is what gave me heart all along that if we got our own slice of luck in terms of getting some players back that I really believed this team could achieve,” said Postecoglou on Spurs’ win over Eintracht.

Nottingham Forest (home)

April 21st

Liverpool (away)

April 27th

West Ham (away)

May 3rd

Crystal Palace (home)

May 10th

Aston Villa (away)

May 18th

“That is what keeps driving me. It isn’t so much my belief in them, it’s their belief in what we’re doing and both players and staff have been outstanding. I am the front man for it but they take responsibility for it as well and all my decisions and everything I do, but not at any stage have I felt they lost any belief in me or what we’re doing.”

Postecoglou has been repeatedly tipped for the Tottenham axe following a dismal Premier League season, having already lost 17 top-flight matches, but their Europa League campaign represents a golden opportunity for the Lilywhites to make history and fulfill the Australian’s goal of winning silverware during his second term in charge.

All eyes are on the next round, where they will face off against fairy-tale semi-finalists Bodo/Glimt, but they must first take on both Forest and travel to Anfield for a clash against Liverpool.

Tottenham could be without James Maddison against Nottingham Forest

As Spurs prepare to host the former at home, Postecoglou has shared a pre-match update on star £170,000-per-week midfielder James Maddison.

Maddison was forced off against Eintracht after his nasty collision with goalkeeper Kaua Santos, which resulted in the away side being awarded Solanke’s decisive penalty.

The Englishman ultimately playing a crucial role in helping Tottenham to the semis, but as a result, Postecoglou has now confirmed that Maddison is a Tottenham injury doubt for Forest.

“It’s fair to say he’ll probably be a bit sore, so he’s probably a doubt for Monday,” said Postecoglou on Maddison’s condition.

“The rest of the group, again, they all worked hard, so they’ll be sore, but they should all be okay for Monday night. Sonny will still be out. He’s been dealing with a foot problem for a while, so now is as good a time as any to give him the right time to to get over it. He’ll definitely miss Monday. Everyone else should be okay.”

The 28-year-old has bagged 10 goals and 11 assists throughout all competitions, and he’ll likely be a sore miss against Forest, but with nothing to play for domestically, it is far more imperative that he’s fresh and ready for their European tie.

Chelsea ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in their UEFA Conference League quarter-final first leg away to Legia Warsaw on Thursday night.

Enzo Maresca’s side were dominant throughout and will now take a lead back to Stamford Bridge that puts them in a very comfortable position.

It actually took Chelsea until the 49th minute before they took the lead, and what a moment it was for their young attacker Tyrique George, who scored his first goal for the Blues.

He showed good instinct, too, following in a strike from Reece James, whose strike was pushed by Kacper Tobiasz into the path of the Chelsea youngster.

From there, the floodgates somewhat opened for Chelsea, who scored twice, in the 57th and 74th minutes, with the same combination linking up both times. Jadon Sancho set fellow England international Noni Madueke up twice to help Maresca’s men to the 3-0 scoreline by which they won.

It was two sharp pieces of play by Sancho, who first played Madueke in on the right-hand corner of the box, driving into space ahead of him. For the second, he went on the outside of the full-back and played a perfectly weighted ball across the face of the goal.

It was an eye-catching showing for Sancho, just as it was for Madueke, who was one of the Blues’ standout players.

Madueke’s performance in numbers vs. Legia Warsaw

What an exceptional performance Chelsea fans were treated to by their number 11. The former PSV Eindhoven winger, who replaced star man Cole Palmer at half-time, ran the show for the Blues.

His two goals were brilliant finishes; the first strike was composed, latching onto Sancho’s pass, taking a touch and firing his effort into the near corner. His second showed great poacher’s instinct, gambling in the penalty box to get on the end of a ball into the area.

One of the onlookers who rated Madueke’s performance highly was GOAL reporter Richie Mills. He gave the England international a stunning 9/10 for his performance, explaining he had an “instant impact” when he was brought onto the pitch by Maresca.

The winger’s stats from the game, courtesy of Sofascore, show just how well he played in his 45-minute cameo. He amassed an impressive 100% pass completion rate, won three of his five attempted duels and created one chance.

As well as Madueke played in Warsaw, there was a Chelsea player who was far worse, and you could argue had his blushes saved by their number 11.

Chelsea's worst player vs. Legia Warsaw

It has not been an easy season for Christopher Nkunku, with journalist Nizaar Kinsella explaining the Frenchman “can’t catch a break at the moment”. Indeed, those struggles continued away to Legia Warsaw.

Performance in Numbers

Want data and stats? Football FanCast’s Performance in Numbers series provides you with the latest match analysis from across Europe.

The former Paris Saint-Germain academy star missed a penalty, although Sancho did pick the ball up in the run of play that followed and created Madueke’s second goal. He didn’t really offer much leading the line outside of that.

The stats from Nkunku’s performance in Poland show just how much he struggled. He had just 48 touches of the ball, completing 29 out of 32 passes, losing the ball six times and missing one big chance.

Touches

48

Passes completed

29/32

Duels won

5/8

Shots

4

Key passes

1

Big chances missed

1

Expected goals

1.16 xG

Mills’ review of Nkunku’s performance was damning. He gave him a 4/10 rating, explaining that he “didn’t provide the forward presence Chelsea needed” before suggesting that his “confidence seems quite low right now”.

The next few weeks are huge for the Blues. They have a battle on their hands to qualify for the Champions League via a top-five finish in the Premier League and are also looking to keep up the momentum in Europe.

With his confidence quite low at the moment and plenty of options for Maresca to pick from, including Madueke, it remains to be seen if Nkunku will manage to keep his place in the side.

It is a big end to the season for Chelsea, and competition for places is strong. There is no doubt Maresca needs his side at his best, and perhaps time out of the spotlight will help Nkunku in the long run.

He's like Estevao & Vini Jr: Chelsea plot £103m bid to sign Madrid star

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ByJoe Nuttall Apr 10, 2025

The Mumbai Indians quick has almost every skill a fast bowler could hope for, and he’s showing them off in the IPL

Karthik Krishnaswamy26-Apr-20242:07

Moody singles out Bumrah for praise

You’re writing about Jasprit Bumrah’s extraordinary IPL season. You type ‘prithvi shaw jasprit bumrah’ in the search bar, looking for this video from this game, but you end up, instead, at this video from two years ago, from this game.Who else but Bumrah could have dismissed the same batter with two entirely different yet equally unplayable deliveries?You remember the yorker from this season, of course, made memorable by Shaw’s lifted back leg. A nifty bit of footwork out of the Mohammad Azharuddin/Kevin Pietersen playbook, but where those two adopted the flamingo pose to whip the ball through midwicket, Shaw did it purely in self-preservation.The 2022 ball was just as devastating, an offcutter-bouncer that lost none of its pace for being delivered like an offcutter, jagging in wildly off the pitch to follow Shaw’s attempt to… to do what, exactly? Here again, the batter’s actions were almost all reaction, almost entirely geared towards self-preservation, except on this occasion he was protecting his head rather than his foot.Related

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Bumrah can make you look helpless from either end of the length spectrum and nearly every point in between.Much of this helplessness stems from how little time Bumrah gives batters to line him up. His release point, as you already probably know, is much further ahead of the crease than it is for most fast bowlers, so he’s effectively bowling on a shortened pitch. But it isn’t just that. When you’re watching his release from front-on, from the batter’s point of view, he gives you far less of a clue than most bowlers as to what length he’s about to bowl.An X (formerly Twitter) analyst, who doesn’t want to be identified here, has dipped into ball-tracking data and created an enlightening graph that plots bowlers’ average release heights for different lengths, and it’s notable how tight Bumrah’s cluster is, especially compared to those of taller bowlers.Unless he’s delivering high-effort bouncers halfway down the pitch, for which his release is notably later and lower, it would take a batter with an incredibly good eye to differentiate just from release height (they have other cues to help them, of course) what length Bumrah is bowling. For pretty much any length from 2m to 8m from the stumps, his release height is virtually the same. That range encompasses everything from yorkers to hard-length balls.Jasprit Bumrah’s action gives you little clue of where he is going to land the ball•BCCIAnd if it isn’t enough that Bumrah’s action gives you precious little clue of where he’s going to land the ball, he can make it confound you in every way imaginable.He can beat you in the air like a spinner, and make you misjudge lengths fatally. You probably already know about the lift Bumrah can generate. He puts so much backspin on his on-pace deliveries that the ball defies gravity for a fraction of a second and comes to earth later, and fuller, than the batter is conditioned to expect.Bumrah’s yorker to Wriddhiman Saha from Mumbai Indians’ first game of the season demonstrated this beautifully. Saha was shaping to drive through the covers, his mind probably registering a half-volley or something near that length when he saw the ball leave Bumrah’s hand, little realising how much of a misjudgment he was making. It was a misjudgment of length, yes, and because of Bumrah’s exaggerated inward angle it was also a misjudgment of line. The ball didn’t just york Saha but beat his inside edge as well.But as exaggerated as that angle is, it doesn’t stop him from beating the other edge when he wants to. Like the Saha yorker, the Rilee Rossouw yorker from Mumbai’s game against Punjab Kings was also delivered with the new ball, and also from over the wicket, but on this occasion Bumrah swung it so much that the ball defied that angle, reversing course late in its path across the left-hand batter to turn the stumps into a gory spatter.And if he generates significant lift while delivering full-tilt, he can do the opposite too, and get the ball to dip alarmingly, thanks to the vicious overspin he puts on his slower offcutter. After yorking Saha in that Gujarat Titans game, Bumrah dismissed David Miller with one such delivery. Like Saha, Miller was shaping to drive a half-volleyish length through the covers; his front-foot stride was short enough to be non-existent. The ball, though, wasn’t just slower but also significantly shorter than the one Miller initially seemed to think he was playing; he ended up checking his shot, hitting underneath the ball, and spooning it to the backtracking mid-off fielder.Rilee Rossouw’s stumps are shattered by Jasprit Bumrah•BCCIThese deliveries represent only a fraction of Bumrah’s full range, but the thing that moves him into genius territory isn’t the range as much as his awareness of when and how to use it. Despite having every toy a bowler could ask for, he’s far from over-eager to show off his collection. If he bowls on a pitch with a bit of seam movement, he’ll bowl good lengths all day and extract all the help he can. If his slower ball is gripping and stopping, he’ll run in and bowl those all day. Why risk the margin for error of the more spectacular option?But then again, the mechanics of Bumrah’s bowling give him wider margins for error than most other bowlers. Since the start of the 2020 season, only T Natarajan (165) and Harshal Patel (133) have bowled more full-tosses than Bumrah (125) in the IPL. If you attempt a lot of yorkers, you’ll inevitably bowl a lot of full-tosses. But where other bowlers pay a heavy price for missing their length by a few inches, Bumrah doesn’t, and perhaps this has something to do with the lift he generates, and how much harder his full-tosses hit the bat as a result. Bumrah’s full-toss economy rate in this period is 7.87, which is nearly two runs an over better than Mohammed Siraj’s 9.62. No other bowler who has sent down at least 40 full tosses in this time has gone at less than 10 an over while bowling this length.Because Bumrah can do so many things with the ball, and because he knows when to do what thing, and against which batter, and because even his errors are hard to punish, he can bowl in any phase of a T20 innings. With a cut-off of 30 balls bowled in that phase, he’s the most economical fast bowler of IPL 2024 in the powerplay (5.16) the death (7.20), and he sits at No. 3 (7.00) in the middle overs, behind Mayank Yadav and Matheesha Pathirana.Those are ridiculous numbers, and he’s achieved them while bowling for a Mumbai Indians team that has made an ordinary start to the season, losing five of their eight games so far. Imagine how much worse off they’d be without Bumrah. Or, and this is a truly scary thought, where they’d be with one more Bumrah.There is and has been, however, only one Bumrah. He does extraordinary things so routinely that they’ve almost lost their ability to blow your mind. Then he runs up and bowls his next highlights-reel ball, making you marvel at him afresh.

As the England quick celebrates a milestone birthday, S Rajesh looks at how incredibly well he’s aged as a bowler

S Rajesh30-Jul-2022It is likely that sometime in the next couple of months, James Anderson will become the first bowler to take 400 Test wickets after turning 30. Already, he is only the second player to play 100-plus Tests after 30 – Alec Stewart was the first, with 107 – but Anderson’s feat is remarkable at several levels.ESPNcricinfo LtdFor starters, he is a fast bowler, and fast bowlers aren’t supposed to go on as if age is just an irrelevant number. Currently, Anderson has 389 wickets from 101 Tests after turning 30; since turning 35, he has taken 177 from 47 matches. Among fast bowlers, only Courtney Walsh, with 180 from 39, has more wickets beyond 35. Only six other fast bowlers have managed even 200 wickets after the age of 30, but Anderson is moving towards 400, and seemingly, quite effortlessly.