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A round-up of the ninth round of Sunfoil Series matches that ended on January 15, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jan-2017A mammoth second-wicket partnership of 355 runs between Senuran Muthusamy and Vaughn van Jaarsveld – the fourth-highest for the wicket in first-class matches in South Africa – was the highlight of a high-scoring drawn game between Knights and Dolphins in Kimberley.Muthusamy’s 181 and van Jaarsveld’s 203 – his highest first-class score – helped Dolphins pile up 538 for 7 declared in response to Knights’ score of 487 for 7 declared. The pair came together in the 17th over of Dolphins’ innings, after the wicket of Divan van Wyk, and stayed at the crease for 86 overs; Dolphins’ entire innings lasted 141 overs. Van Jaarsveld brought up his century first – off 145 balls – while Muthusamy took 190 deliveries to reach his sixth in the format. Van Jaarsveld took only 86 more deliveries to get to his double century, hitting 27 fours and three sixes in his 237-ball knock, which was ended by Theunis de Bruyn. Muthusamy was out ten overs later, also dismissed by de Bruyn, having hit 20 fours and two sixes in his 348-ball stay. Knights used ten bowlers, and the most successful ones – de Bruyn with two and Rudi Second with 4 for 105 – were also the players who had struck centuries for them earlier in the match.De Bruyn and Second added 258 for the fourth wicket, pulling Knights out of trouble after they were struggling at 85 for 3 by the 28th over, having been put in to bat. The pair came within six runs of the partnership record for the fourth wicket in the competition, held by Albie Morkel and Justin Kemp. De Bruyn slammed 19 fours and four sixes in his 249-ball 182 while Second scored 125 off 170 balls with 14 fours. Knights were 364 for 5 by the time both batsmen were dismissed and managed to move past 450 with solid contributions from Keegan Petersen (65*) and Marchant de Lange (42).Dolphins took 8.07 points from the game, the most in the round, to grab a slender lead over Titans at the top of the table.Cape Cobras and Warriors remained in the bottom half of the points table as poor weather, bad light and a wet outfield truncated play in the draw in East London. Both teams saw half-centuries from their top and middle-order batsmen while offspinner Dane Piedt impressed with 4 for 64 on the last day after the third day didn’t see any play.Once Warriors opted to field, Cobras were in some trouble, at 200 for 6, after opener Andrew Puttick fell for 85. However, Aviwe Mgijima’s second straight fifty led them to a more respectable 291 as Basheeru-Deen Walters and Sisanda Magala finished with three wickets apiece.Warriors’ batting did not impress much either as they conceded first-innings lead after only Colin Ackermann (89) and Yaseen Vallie (94) scored more than 30. They were 175 for 5 at the end of the second day and Piedt claimed four wickets in the space of eight overs on the last day to restrict Warriors to 260. Cobras batted for 23 overs in the second innings to post 71 for 3, collecting 7.82 points compared to Warriors’ 7.2.Lions had the upper hand in their draw against Titans, who batted their way to safety after being set a fourth-innings target of 405 in Benoni.Lions scored 347 after being put in to bat, largely due to the efforts of Nicky van den Bergh (99), Devon Conway (66) and No. 10 Nono Pongolo, who struck an important 49 not out. Van den Bergh and Conway shared a 128-run partnership to pull Lions to 238 for 3 before seamer Malusi Siboto’s strikes left them in danger of being bowled out for less than 300. Van den Bergh and Pongolo added 80 for the ninth wicket.The Lions bowlers, particularly Ayavuya Myoli and Bjorn Fortuin, ensured a 96-run first-innings lead, with the pair taking four wickets each. The Titans batsmen got starts, but the top score in their innings was an 80-ball 39 from Chris Morris at No. 8.Morris’ three strikes, in a space of two overs, had threatened to keep Lions’ lead to manageable proportions, leaving them 61 for 4 in their second innings after they were 59 for 1. However, Dominic Hendricks and Mangaliso Mosehle struck centuries and added 163 runs for the sixth wicket to swell Lions’ lead. Mosehle struck a brisk 123-ball 100, with ten fours and three sixes, while Hendricks finished the innings unbeaten on 103, ensuring the side’s lead had passed 400.Aiden Markram struck a fifty at the top of the order for Titans n their second innings, which eventually closed at 143 for 2.

Aston Villa are in advanced talks to sign West Bromwich Albion midfielder Rico Richards, according to a recent report from Football Insider.

What's the latest Aston Villa transfer news?

Despite having already completed the signing of Youri Tielemans, Villa are keen to bolster their midfield even further, and they have emerged as potential suitors for Villarreal's Alex Baena, who is said to be valued at €50m (£43m).

Leeds United's Tyler Adams is another option for the Villans following the Whites' relegation from the Premier League, however, the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion, Everton and Nottingham Forest have also enquired about his availability.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain reportedly "expects" to make the switch to Villa Park this summer after leaving Liverpool, and Unai Emery has now been presented with another opportunity to snap up a midfielder on a free transfer.

According to a report from Football Insider, Villa are in advanced talks to sign Richards, who will be available for free upon the expiration of his contract with West Brom at the end of this month.

Talks have progressed well and Emery's recruitment team are confident of securing a full agreement with the 19-year-old, who primarily plays in advanced midfield, but can also play on either wing and up front.

To begin with, the youngster could join the likes of Louie Barry and Aaron Ramsey in the under-21 setup at Villa Park.

Who is Rico Richards?

The starlet has come through the ranks at West Bromwich Albion, making a total of 52 appearances in the Premier League 2, during which time he has registered a respectable six goals and eight assists.

After impressing at youth level, the Englishman was handed one appearance in the Championship last season, though that ten-minute cameo is the only experience he has of first-team football.

As such, the midfielder is likely to be some way off competing for a starting place at Villa Park, but he has certainly caught the eye in the youth setup, being hailed as "splendid" by journalist Joe Chapman after a quality display against Arsenal.

Villa are now in the privileged position of being able to attract top-quality young players, and there is every indication the West Brom youngster is in that bracket, recording nine goal contributions in 19 Premier League 2 games last season.

Given that Richards is available on a free transfer, it is a very low-risk signing, and it is exciting news that a deal is edging closer to completion.

Round-up of the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals on December 26, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Dec-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Shahbaz Nadeem finished with 11 wickets in the match, his second haul of more than 10 wickets in this season•KCA/Ranjith PeralamShahbaz Nadeem’s four-for and a rapid 86 from Ishan Kishan helped Jharkhand cruise into the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy. Jharkhand’s previous appearance in the semi-final came in the 2004-05 plate league, and this is the first time they will play at this stage of the competition since the tournament was restructured.Haryana had ended the fourth day with an overall lead of 59 and eight wickets in hand with the top four making important contributions. Their innings, however, unraveled quickly against Jharkhand’s spinners, Nadeem and legspinner Samar Quadri, as Haryana went from 178 for 2 to 193 for 7 within 10 overs. Nadeem, who had taken seven wickets in the first innings, took his match haul to 11 wickets with 4 for 78 in the second innings and Quadri took 3 for 75. This was the second time Nadeem finished with more than 10 wickets in a match in this season.Haryana’s dismissal for 262 left Jharkhand with a target of 176. Kishan stepped up with a 61-ball 86 which included nine fours and six sixes. His partnerships with opener Anand Singh and Virat Singh both came at more than five runs an over and by the time he was dismissed in the 24th over, Jharkhand had raced to 139. They took only another seven overs to complete the chase.
ScorecardFile photo – Aditya Tare scored his 14th first-class fifty•AFPThree wickets in the last half hour of the day from left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil took Mumbai close to a win against Hyderabad who were seven wickets down and 111 away from their target of 232. Even though Mohammed Siraj’s five-for kept Mumbai to 217 and Hyderabad got off to a decent start in the first 15 overs of the chase, Gohil’s second five-for in as many matches made Hyderabad slide in what could have been a memorable win in a quarter-final against the defending champions.Hyderabad opener Akshath Reddy fell early when he was caught behind off Abhishek Nayar for 1 in the fourth over. Tanmay Agarwal and No. 3 Balchander Anirudh could bat for just over 11 overs together when two quick wickets from Gohil dented the chase. Agarwal handed a return catch and captain S Badrinath fell for 1, leaving them at 45 for 3. Anirudh and Bavanaka Sandeep brought the innings back on track with a stand of 44, but Abhiesh Nayak bowled Sandeep for 25 to help Mumbai bounce back. Soon after Hyderabad crossed 100 with four wickets down, Gohil troubled the lower order with the wickets of K Sumanth (14), Mehdi Hassan (4) and Akash Bhandari (4) to slim Hyderabad’s chances of winning.Earlier, Mumbai resumed the day on 102 for 3 and extended their lead with the help of Aditya Tare’s 57 and Siddhesh Lad’s 46. That they could add only 115 for seven wickets was because of Siraj. Once Praful Waghela fell for 28, Siraj dismissed Tare, and Mumbai lost their last six wickets for 70 runs. Siraj finished with 5 for 52, his maiden five-for in first-class matches.
ScorecardFile photo – Samit Gohel’s previous best was 104 in first-class cricket•ESPNcricinfoOvernight batsman Samit Gohel batted all day with a string of partners to take Gujarat to 514 for 8 against Odisha. Gohel, who started the day on 110, added another 151 runs on the fourth day to increase their lead to a massive 578 runs.Gohel, whose previous highest score in first-class cricket was 104, reached his double-century just before tea, after Manpreet Juneja fell for 24. Gohel added 78 runs for the fifth wicket with Parthiv Patel (40) and followed that up with small partnerships with Chirag Gandhi, Rush Kalaria and Mehul Patel to take Gujarat to 453 for 8, before an unbeaten 61-run partnership with No. 10 Hardik Patel saw him move past 250 and Gujarat past 500. Left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh, who removed Parthiv, Gandhi and Kalaria, finished the day on 5 for 139, his fourth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.

Manchester United enjoyed a relatively solid debut season under the leadership of Erik ten Hag – securing a League Cup triumph and qualification for the Champions League, ensuring the first stage of his rebuilding job is complete, yet there is still so much work to do.

These achievements might not be enough to satiate the Old Trafford faithful, and further progress will be required next year as the Dutchman will be hoping his two star performers, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, can take their games to new heights in Europe’s premier competition.

Last season, Fernandes was in exceptional form, registering 29 goal contributions – 14 goals and 15 assists – from an attacking-midfield position and creating a staggering 32 big chances, as well as completing 3.3 key passes per game – numbers that saw him ranked first in both metrics across the whole of the Premier League.

The Portuguese sensation will turn 29 during the opening stages of 2023/24, and with United recently linked with Wolfsburg midfielder Felix Nmecha, could Ten Hag potentially be eyeing up someone who could eventually replace Fernandes?

Could Manchester United sign Felix Nmecha this summer?

The 22-year-old could be available for as little as €15m (£13m), and the Dutchman should look to secure his signature as soon as possible.

Having started off his career at Manchester City, he is not a complete stranger to English football, however, he only really began to showcase his wonderful potential in Germany after signing for Wolfsburg in 2021.

Across 50 appearances for the Bundesliga side, he has scored three goals and grabbed seven assists, yet it was 2022/23 which saw him register all but one of these goal contributions in what was a solid campaign for the one-cap Germany international.

Indeed, he ranked as the third-best player in the squad for overall rating, as per Sofascore, while ranking fifth for big chances created (five) and successful dribbles per game (0.9), suggesting he was a positive influence within the side.

The former City starlet doesn’t just pose attacking qualities, as he ranks in the top 20% across Europe’s top five leagues for aerials won (2.16) and clearances per 90 (1.52), showcasing a different side to his game – and this ability to chip in defensively when required could be a big bonus for Ten Hag.

Journalist Josh Bunting has been quick to praise the youngster due to his displays recently, saying: “He’s very quick, technical ability is good, a ball carrying number 8, strong in his duels and has an intelligent eye for a final pass.”

With this in mind, a fee of around £13m would surely represent a bargain for the Red Devils as they continue to plan ahead for not only next season, but also the future.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has achieved a top-five ranking in all three formats, after his team’s 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh in the T20I series that concluded on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2017New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has broken into the top-five rankings for batsmen across formats, climbing to no. 4 on the T20I list after his team’s 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh. Williamson is ranked fourth in Tests and fifth in ODIs. Virat Kohli is the only other batsmen to occupy positions in the top-five rankings across formats.With 145 runs in the three matches, Williamson was the highest scorer from either side. His 57-ball 60 on Sunday helped his side recover to 194 after a slow start, before the bowlers snuffed out Bangladesh’s fight during the chase to win by 27 runs. With the 3-0 win, the team retained their No. 1 ranking in the format.”Really pleased with the series as a whole,” coach Mike Hesson said. “We were put under pressure at times during all three games with both bat and ball, and different players stood up and that’s critical for us as a developing side even though we are ranked number one in the world.”It shows our consistency over the last 18 months to two years. We’ve been the most consistent side in Twenty20 cricket around the world, and in different conditions, having played in India and other places around the world. It’s a nice mantle to hold, although it doesn’t drive us so much. But it is nice to reflect on.”Hesson was especially pleased with the manner in which a young team put its hand up. New Zealand handed out debut caps to four players during the series, and most players in the squad were in their 20s. “The nature of Twenty20 is that you need guys who can turn the game on its head. You need that with both bat and ball, and we’re fortunate enough that we’ve got some really talented players,” he said.”Sure, they might be a little bit inexperienced, but they’ve certainly got the ability to change a game on their day, and that’s what T20 is about. Some of our match winners are quite young and raw, but there’s some really good signs there.”Colin Munro, who slammed a 52-ball century in the second T20, leaped up 20 places to 19th position, while Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi achieved career-best rankings. New Zealand also succeeded in discovering young talent from the domestic circuit in the form of Lockie Ferguson, Ben Wheeler and Tom Bruce.”It’s a nice sign for us moving forward that we can bring players in from domestic cricket in the Super Smash and they can do well, which is great,” Hesson said.Among other big gainers, Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman broke into the top ten among T20I bowlers, displacing Shakib Al Hasan as Bangladesh’s highest-ranked bowler.

Tottenham Hotspur have been credited with an interest in Lyon midfielder Maxence Caqueret as new manager Ange Postecoglou looks to craft a team capable of rising to prominence next term.

What's the latest on Maxence Caqueret to Tottenham?

That's according to Foot Mercato, who claim that Spurs join German giants Borussia Dortmund in the pursuit of the Frenchman this summer and have placed him on the 'short-list' of options.

While the report does not reveal a transfer value, CIES Football Observatory touts the 23-year-old at £26m, and with four years still left on his current deal in France, it is likely his outfit will demand a lucrative fee to secure his services.

Tottenham failed to qualify for Europe last year and now must place the onus on making astute purchases in the transfer window and returning to the fore, and Caqueret could be the midfield saviour that chairman Daniel Levy craves.

Should Tottenham sign Maxence Caqueret?

With the Lilywhites ending a campaign without European endeavours to look forward to for the first time since 2009, there is simply no margin for error this summer in targetting apt individuals capable of playing pivotal roles in a coveted ascent back to European football at the very least, but Champions League football coveted.

While the shoddy defence was illuminated after a dismal and leaky season for the London club, with the 63 goals shipped over the 22/23 league term shockingly the sixth-worst record in the division, the centre of the park will receive attention as Postecoglou attempts to instil some swagger and belief back into the fold.

And Caqueret could be the perfect midfield option to nurture into a world-class talent, having risen from Lyon's youth ranks to forge 130 appearances across all competitions, scoring five times and providing 13 assists.

The France U21 international is an all-encompassing midfield engine and catches the eye with both his dogged pursuit of retaining the ball and his attractive ball-playing ability.

Indeed, as per FBref, the £55k-per-week menace ranks among the top 5% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past 12 months for assists, the top 9% for shot-creating actions, the top 17% for successful take-ons and the top 14% for tackles per 90, illustrating a dynamic approach to his play that could weave the various facets of Tottenham's system together.

And given that he is listed as the most comparable player in Europe to former teammate Bruno Guimaraes, who departed Les Gones for Newcastle United in January 2022 for £40m, Postecoglou could hit the ground running by providing Spurs with their own version of the impressive Brazilian.

Guimaraes, comparatively, ranks among the top 19% of peers for assists, the top 13% for shot-creating actions, the top 13% for progressive passes and the top 13% for successful take-ons per 90, and has been hailed as "world-class" by Magpies teammate Dan Burn.

Caqueret could well be a "crucial" signing, as he has previously been called by Peter Bosz, enriching the central ranks and emulating Guimaraes in the Premier League, and Tottenham would be wise to kickstart their rebuild by forging ahead with negotiations for the dynamic ace.

Mykhailo Mudryk has supposedly impressed new Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino with his attitude by stating his desire to represent Ukraine’s U21 side.

What does Mauricio Pochettino think of Mykhailo Mudryk?

The season is now officially over for the Blues and many will be delighted by this as it will allow them to put a terrible campaign behind them, having finished 12th in the Premier League – their lowest-ever final position in the division.

Perhaps more than most, Mudryk will also be relieved to be done with English football for a short while, having really struggled to adapt to his new environment since his £88.5m January move from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Indeed, the £97,000 per week winger has scored zero goals and had claimed just two assists in 17 matches since arriving and has been subjected to plenty of criticism for his underwhelmed displays.

With that in mind, you might think he'd prefer to take a big break away from the game over the summer but according to The Telegraph, he hopes to play for Ukraine at this summer’s European Under-21 Championship in a bid to rediscover his best form.

The article explained: "Mudryk’s desire to try to recapture his form and confidence with the Under-21s is thought to have impressed new head coach Mauricio Pochettino and his staff ahead of the Argentine officially starting work at Chelsea on July 1."

Can Mudryk play for Ukraine Under-21s this summer?

Mudryk had actually already had a couple of weeks off since Chelsea's season finished but he did start in Monday’s friendly against Germany, even forcing an own goal off Antonio Rudiger in the 3-3 draw.

The article adds, however, that despite being in the senior Ukraine squad, the 22-year-old is also still eligible for the Under-21s for this summer’s tournament in Romania and Georgia.

With that being the case, he hopes to use this as an opportunity to "find some rhythm at a critical time" having not played an awful lot of minutes for Chelsea in the final stages of the season.

Interestingly enough, Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi once rejected the opportunity to play for England’s Under-21s after appearing for the senior side – which left Gareth Southgate unimpressed – and so Mudryk's decision shows the very opposite attitude.

There's no doubt, Ukraine's winger has failed to live up to expectations since arriving at Stamford Bridge but he's still so young there is plenty of time for him to develop with the right coaching and this willingness to play for his nation during the summer certainly shows he's really committed to fulfilling his potential at Chelsea.

South Africa’s convener of selectors Linda Zondi felt that domestic players needed to play more pink-ball cricket to make the transition to day-night Tests that much easier

Firdose Moonda17-Nov-2016Linda Zondi, CSA’s convener of selectors, has suggested that South Africa should consider introducing pink-ball cricket at first-class level. This, he said, would help prepare players for the inevitable move towards more day-night Test cricket.”From a selection point of view, it only makes common sense as we move on that guys need to familiarise themselves with the process,” Zondi said. “You cannot be in a position where at the international level, you play with a particular ball but then at franchise level, where you are selecting from, the guys are not.”While Australia, India, England, Pakistan, Bangladesh and West Indies have all introduced some pink-ball matches into their domestic competitions, South Africa’s only first-class experience with it was four years ago in a match between franchise team Knights and provincial side North-West. The only member of the current South Africa squad who played in that match was Rilee Rossouw. Rossouw made 21 and 2 in the drawn game, during which issues were raised about the quality of the ball.The pink ball was used again during the group stages of the inaugural Africa T20 Cup in 2015 – a season-opening tournament played between the provincial semi-professional sides alongside a team each from Zimbabwe, Kenya and Namibia. After feedback from players, match officials and the host broadcaster, it was decided that white balls would be used for the knockout round. This year’s Africa T20 did not feature pink balls at all.South Africa have also not been tempted to experiment with it in a franchise match. It was only when they agreed to play a day-night Test on this Australia tour that their international players were exposed to the pink ball. South Africa A toured Australia in winter and sent opening batsmen Stephen Cook and Dean Elgar, middle-order man Temba Bavuma and opening bowler Vernon Philander to gain experience with the pink ball. Initially, Philander expressed concerns about the softness of the ball.He has since returned with the Test squad, who played in a pink-ball warm-up match in Adelaide before the series. There, Quinton de Kock downplayed the hype over the pink ball, saying he found it no different from any other colour ball because it was tricky to face upfront and then became easier.Kyle Abbott had similar views after the Hobart Test. “It is not that much different to a red ball, or a white ball really for us. It is either going to swing or seam,” he said. “It all depends on the surface. It might nip. Under lights it did seem to nip a bit, but we’ll just have to see when we get there because I think the conditions will be a little bit different.”The Adelaide pitch is expected to have a fair amount of grass – a means of delaying the aging of the ball – which hints at an advantage for bowlers. South Africa, though, can’t be too sure because their experience with the pink ball is limited to the matches they have played in Australia. Only Rossouw knows otherwise, although Zondi is hopeful that will change in future.”The key is that within the franchise, within our structure, sooner or later it will be an idea to also make sure all those guys where we pick from are using the pink ball,” Zondi said. “I’m not quite sure when it will happen because that’s a different pipeline in terms of the guys who are dealing with it but we hope it will happen.”While all major franchise grounds have the facilities for day-night first-class cricket, a potentially prohibitive cost will be that of turning the lights on. Electricity prices in South Africa have risen 10% in 2016 alone and most stadiums spend hundreds of thousands of Rands to use floodlights. The franchises and provinces are heavily funded by CSA so if domestic pink-ball cricket is to become a reality, the finances will need to be carefully assessed.

Darren Stevens will continue his Kent career at the age of 41 next season after agreeing a new one-year deal with the county

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Oct-2016Darren Stevens will continue his Kent career at the age of 41 next season after agreeing a new one-year deal with the county.Stevens, who was awarded a benefit year in 2016, had been out of contract at the end of the season, but demonstrated his enduring worth with a strong all-round showing to help the club finish second in Division Two of the County Championship.”Darren has given so much to Kent that all along we have wanted him to remain with us and are delighted that he has made that decision,” said Graham Johnson, Kent’s chairman of cricket.”I’m sure all Kent supporters will greet the news with delight, help him round off his benefit year in style and look forward to his contribution to further develop what has been achieved to date.”In the first-class season, Stevens made 782 runs at 48.87, and claimed 37 wickets at 30.56. He also made a strong case for his retention with an innings of 136 in Kent’s final game of the season, against the Division Two champions, Essex.After that match, Stevens said: “I love this place and I don’t want to go anywhere else, so my hope is that we can sort something out because I feel I’ve still got two years left in me. I still have passion for the club and for these lads and I want to be successful, so we’ll have to see what happens.”I always love scoring runs and get more satisfaction from scoring runs being that Kent signed me as a batsman. I’ve obviously turned myself into a bit of an all-rounder in the meantime, but my main job is to get runs and the past couple of months have been pretty enjoyable in that regard.”

Aston Villa are battling Everton for the signing of Almeria attacker Largie Ramazani ahead of the summer transfer window, a new report has claimed.

Has Ramazani had a good season?

The Villans enjoyed such an impressive 2022/23 season in the end, with Unai Emery completely transforming the club's fortunes and getting them into Europe. It is an achievement that seemed scarcely believable at one point, and it puts the club in a strong position heading into the summer.

The upcoming window has the potential to be one of the most exciting at Villa Park in a number of years, with funds available for new signings and Emery's pull potentially allowing them to snap up some top-quality additions.

One player who has been linked with a move to Villa in recent days is Ramazani, who proved to be a key figure for Almeria throughout the campaign. The £2,499-a-week forward has scored three times in La Liga for a side who only just avoided relegation, and he may feel that he could thrive more in a stronger outfit.

Could Ramazani be off to Villa?

According to Football Insider, Villa are "tracking" the 22-year-old ahead of a potential summer move, although they aren't alone in expressing an interest. Everton are also name-checked in the report, while other unnamed clubs are also believed to be in the running.

Ramazani, who was once a youth team player at Manchester United between 2017 and 2020, is "attracting admiring glances from across Europe after starring for the Rojiblancos on their return to the Spanish top flight."

The Almeria favourite could be a really shrewd signing by Villa this summer – not necessarily the big name that many supporters will be hoping for, but someone who could be a strong squad addition. He is out of contract at the end of the 2024/25 season, so his current club may feel that now is the right time to cash on him, with his stock arguably never higher.

Ramazani has played all across the front-line for Almeria this season, proving to be adept on either flank and in a central attacking role, and his versatility could be something that really appeals to Emery, providing depth in a number of positions.

The youngster has been hailed as "explosive", "dynamic" and "the Mini-Vinicius" by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, which says a lot about his ability and potential as a player, and why Villa would be wise to make a move for him.