Both teams are looking to shake off a lean run in red-ball cricket as the 2025-27 cycle of the World Test Championship gets underway

Mohammad Isam16-Jun-2025

Big picture: Galle set for spin-heavy scrap

Even before South Africa could fire up the final celebratory after their triumph at Lord’s, the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for 2025-27 is set to begin some 9,000 km away in Galle. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, both looking to snap out of extended Test slumps, will kick off the new cycle, however, the looming threat of rain could dictate terms over the next five days.Sri Lanka return to red-ball cricket four months after a 2-0 home defeat to Australia, also in Galle. Bangladesh, meanwhile, have managed just two international wins since the start of the year and are visibly short on confidence. Despite fielding a squad with six uncapped players, Sri Lanka will believe this is an opportunity to get back on track, especially against a side that’s just as brittle.This series also marks the end of an era. Angelo Mathews will retire from Test cricket after this series, following in the footsteps of Dimuth Karunaratne, who bowed out after the Australia series earlier this year. Sri Lanka’s top order collapsed in that series, despite being one of the most productive Test batting units in 2024. Kamindu Mendis, one of their mainstays last year, has crossed fifty just once since January. To cover their bases, the selectors have brought in four uncapped batters – Lahiru Udara, Sonal Dinusha, Pavan Rathnayake, and Pasindu Sooriyabandara – all of whom have shown promise in domestic cricket and for Sri Lanka A.Prabath Jayasuriya was the third-highest wicket-taker among spinners in the last WTC cycle•AFP/Getty Images

In the spin department, Tharindu Rathnayake, the ambidextrous spinner with 337 first-class wickets, has earned a call-up, as has Akila Dananjaya, who could feature in a Test for the first time since 2019. Their main task will be to support Prabath Jayasuriya, who has carried Sri Lanka’s spin attack almost single-handedly in the past year. The fast-bowling department looks steadier, with allrounder Isitha Wijesundara and Kasun Rajitha in the running to make the XI.For Bangladesh, the concerns run just as deep. After splitting a Test series against Zimbabwe in April, their top-order remains erratic. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has just two half-centuries in his last ten Tests, while Mushfiqur Rahim hasn’t passed fifty in his last 13 innings. Though Shadman Islam and Anamul Haque shared a century stand against Zimbabwe, neither has delivered consistently. With no reserve openers in the squad, Shanto may be pushed to open if needed. Mominul Haque has struggled to convert starts, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz – despite his issues with the short ball – remains their leading run-scorer in recent Tests.Related

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• Could Jaker Ali be Bangladesh's secret sauce?

Spin will be central to Bangladesh’s hopes in Galle, with Mehidy and Taijul Islam leading the charge. They’re backed up by Nayeem Hasan and uncapped left-arm spinner Hasan Murad. Ebadot Hossain returns to the squad for the first time in two years, while Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana offer pace options to complement an attack picked for the spin-friendly conditions.Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Tests have often lacked drama, with one side dominating. But with both teams rebuilding and their batting misfiring in 2024, this one might be more competitive. In the end, as always in Galle, it may just come down to which spin attack holds up better.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: LLLLW (last five Tests, most recent first)

Bangladesh: WLWLL

In the spotlight: Dinesh Chandimal and Mehidy Hasan Miraz

Dinesh Chandimal was excellent in 2024. He hit two fifties against Australia in February, followed by solid returns in domestic first-class cricket and a brief PSL stint last month. Batting at his new position at No. 3, Chandimal remains a key threat. He averages 67.06 in 12 Tests against Bangladesh, with five centuries.Mehidy Hasan Miraz was Bangladesh’s standout performer in the Zimbabwe series, scoring a century and taking five wickets in their Chattogram win, after a ten-wicket haul in the Sylhet Test. One of Bangladesh’s few consistent players over the past two years, he has grown into the allrounder’s role in Shakib Al Hasan’s absence. In Sri Lanka, he’ll shoulder added responsibility with the ball in spin-friendly conditions.Mehidy will shoulder the allrounder’s responsibility, but will he be match-fit?•AFP/Getty Images

Team news: Three spinners for Bangladesh?

Sri Lanka have to make four changes from the side that played against Australia in February. Karunaratne has retired, Lahiru Kumara is injured while they have dropped Ramesh Mendis and Nishan Peiris. There could be a debut for Udara, while Milan Rathnayake and Dananjaya could form a two-spin, two-pace attack.Sri Lanka (likely): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Lahiru Udara, 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kusal Mendis (wk), 8 Milan Rathnayake, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Akila Dananjaya, 11 Asitha FernandoBangladesh are unlikely to fiddle with their top and middle order positions. They could tinker with their bowling attack by including three spinners, which will leave them with just one pace bowling option. There’s a slight concern around Mehidy, though, since he was reported to have a fever.Bangladesh (likely): 1 Shadman Islam, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Jaker Ali (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Nayeem Hasan, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Hasan Murad, 11 Hasan Mahmud

Pitch and conditions: Rain threat looms

Spinners consumed wickets in Galle, where both the Sri Lanka-Australia Tests were played earlier this year. But in between that there have also been two 600-plus first-innings totals over the last nine months. Pitches are likely to be conducive to slow bowling in this Test too. There’s rain forecast on all five days in Galle.

Stats and trivia: Galle and spin

• Bangladesh have now played 21 successive Tests without a draw, equaling their longest run from 2001 to 2004. Their last drawn Test in this cycle was against Sri Lanka three years ago.
• Galle’s reputation for being a spin haven can be expressed in numbers too. Spinners have taken 373 wickets at Galle, the most at any venue since 2020. A wicket falls to spinners roughly once every ten overs at this venue.
• Awaiting their Test debuts, Tharindu Ratnayake has 337 first-class wickets while Lahiru Udara has 16 centuries in first-class cricket.

Quotes

“The best thing we can do for Angelo is win the match for him and give him a good farewell. Unfortunately we couldn’t do that for Dimuth. Personally I’m hoping we can do it for Angelo.”

MacDonald-Gay takes four wickets to keep the table-toppers in command

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay30-Jul-2025Surrey continued their Metro Bank Women’s One-Day Cup charge with a three-wicket win over Warwickshire at the Edgbaston Community Sports Ground.Warwickshire were lifted to 239 all out by a dazzling maiden professional century by Davina Perrin (113 from 125 balls). Supported by Natasha Wraith (47, 49), Perrin salvaged her side from 32 for five after early damage done by Ryana MacDonald-Gay (four for 47) and Alice Monaghan (three for 48)Surrey then reached 240 for seven with 20 balls to spare as Alice Capsey’s sparkling 79 (73) underpinned the chase and Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s composed 43 not out (43) saw it to a comfortable conclusion.Surrey chose to bowl and did so very effectively in the opening overs as four batters had their furniture rearranged in the first 40 balls. Monaghan bowled Meg Austin through a pull and Abi Freeborn through the gate. MacDonald-Gay bowled Bethan Ellis behind her legs and induced Amu Surenkumar to play on. When Sophie Beech, on her debut, tucked her first ball to leg and was called for a quick single by Perrin and run out by Phoebe Franklin’s throw, it was 32 for five.Perrin and Wraith skilfully excavated their side from the hole with a partnership of 118 in 19 overs. Perrin posted the century stand in the grand manner with a straight six off Danielle Gregory before Monaghan returned to hit the stumps for a third time, Wraith’s as she tried to lift to leg.Issy Wong (21, 27) continued the recovery in a stand of 55 in nine overs with Perrin whose superb innings finally ended when she she lifted a Gregory full toss to long off. She walked off to a huge ovation and with her team right back in a game they seemed to have lost in the opening overs.Surrey’s reply took an early hit when Wong trapped Kira Chathli lbw. Bryony Smith (38, 31) and Capsey added 75 from 62 balls but when Smith launched Phoebe Brett over long off for six she immediately signalled for treatment and soon had to retire hurt having aggravated a side strain.Surrey shrugged off the blow as assertive cameos from Paige Schofield and Grace Harris kept the scoring rate high. Schofield fell lbw when she missed a sweep at Georgia Davis and Harris, match-winner in the final three days earlier, was bowled by Wong.Capsey was lured down the track by Brett and stumped and Millie Taylor kept Warwickshire in contention by removing Monaghan and Franklin in an over, but Wyatt-Hodge, with plenty of time on her side, eased Surrey calmly to their target.

Rockets still in with an outside chance of a top three finish after convincing victory over Welsh Fire

ECB Media24-Aug-2025Trent Rockets 145 for 6 (Sciver-Brunt 39, Davies 3-26) beat Welsh Fire 122 for 9 (Dunkley 26, King 3-17) by 23 runs Trent Rockets produced a clinical all-round performance to overcome Welsh Fire by 23 runs at Sophia Gardens and keep themselves in the mix for progression to the Eliminator.Aussie all-rounder Ash Gardner starred with bat and ball, hitting 36 from 26 and taking 2 for 28 with her off-breaks, as the Rockets claimed a victory which leaves them four points behind third-placed Manchester Originals with one game still to play. They will need to win their final group match against Birmingham Phoenix on Wednesday and hope other results go their way to secure a top-three finish.Bryony Smith (38 from 27) laid the foundations for the Rockets’ 145 for 6, the opener hitting Freya Davies for three boundaries in the second set and then finding the ropes from three consecutive Jess Jonassen deliveries in the fifth.Hayley Matthews was next in Smith’s sights, the Bajan off-spinner dispatched over mid-off for four and then swatted for six, but Davies (3-26) ended her entertaining knock when a top edge flew to Georgia Elwiss at short third.A third-wicket stand of 67 from 45 balls between Nat Sciver-Brunt (38 from 26) and Gardner built on Smith’s good work, the England skipper stroking five fours while Gardner showed off her powerful strokeplay with three maximums.Jonassen broke the partnership when she trapped Sciver-Brunt lbw and Gardner fell six balls later, nicking off to a surprise bouncer from Matthews, but a bright cameo from Heather Graham, who hit two boundaries in her unbeaten 13, took the visitors to a competitive total.In reply, Tammy Beaumont’s lean trot continued when she was bowled by Alexa Stonehouse for 5 before Sophia Dunkley (26 from 23) and Matthews (18 from 12) moved the Fire on to 57 for 1. But when Gardner took the key wicket of Matthews, bowled by a nicely flighted delivery, the hosts lost their momentum.Aussie leg-spinner Alana King turned the screw, returning figures of 3 for 17, while Gardner made another telling intervention when she had the dangerous Dunkley caught and bowled.The Fire eventually subsided to 122 for 9 from their 100 deliveries, their sixth defeat of a disappointing season.Gardner, the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “I think that was probably our first well-rounded performance. I think we did all three disciplines really well. Obviously we need to keep winning and for others results to go our way but we’re just trying to control what we can, and that’s winning games of cricket.”I was happy with parts of my innings. There were a few dot balls in there where I was trying to hit it too hard but the wicket was quite tricky at times when the bowlers took pace off the ball, and when the quicks bashed a length it was tough to find the boundary. But if I had a ball in my zone, I tried to clear the fence.”

Both teams suffered heavy defeats in their opening games of the World Cup

Srinidhi Ramanujam05-Oct-20252:24

A case for Annerie Dercksen’s return?

Big picture – Who will bounce back?

New Zealand and South Africa meet for the first time since they contested the 2024 T20 World Cup final in October last year, under rather different circumstances. Both teams began their Women’s World Cup campaigns with heavy defeats and there’s little to choose between them as they face off in Indore on Monday.New Zealand’s 89-run defeat to Australia laid bare familiar concerns with the bat; they crumbled in a chase of 327 despite a century from Sophie Devine. Since the start of 2024, they have lost ten of 15 ODIs – a result of their inconsistency with both bat and ball. To add to their challenges, they entered this World Cup without playing a single ODI in the six months leading up to it.While there have been individual performances, the batting unit will be eager to click collectively. New Zealand have scored 250-plus only twice since 2024. In the bowling department, they have a mix of youth and experience with Lea Tahuhu, the Kerr sisters – Jess and Amelia – along with Bree Illing and Eden Carson, forming a unit capable of making a difference.South Africa had a disastrous start against England in Guwahati, where they were bowled out for 69. They will look for a reset in Indore. They remain a top-heavy side, with Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, and Marizanne Kapp scoring the bulk of their runs. But their last two ODI defeats – including a 115 all out against Pakistan – have been due to severe batting collapses. A third in a row will be difficult to come back from in this tournament.

Form guide

New Zealand LWWLL (last five completed matches)

South Africa LLWWWSophie Devine made a hundred against Australia•Getty Images

In the spotlight – Brits and Bates

Tazmin Brits has hit peak form in 2025. In ten ODIs this year, she has scored four centuries and one half-century, averaging 81 at a strike rate of 93.91. Known for her power game, Brits has made noticeable improvements against spin. With the in-form Laura Wolvaardt at the other end, the pair forms a strong right-hand opening combination capable of dictating terms. If they get going, South Africa could get the platform they’ve lacked in recent ODIs.Suzie Bates will make her 350th international appearance for New Zealand on Monday – a landmark in the women’s game. The veteran remains a key presence in a top order featuring Georgia Plimmer and Amelia Kerr. Although she fell for a duck against Australia, Bates has scored three half-centuries in her last seven ODI innings. As New Zealand aim for their first win of the tournament, Bates will be eager to mark the occasion with a defining innings.

Team news

South Africa may reconsider their XI after leaving out allrounder Annerie Dercksen – one of four batters to make a century for them since the start of 2024 – for Anneke Bosch, who has neither been a regular nor scored a fifty since December 2023.South Africa:1 Laura Wolvaardt (capt), 2 Tazmin Brits, 3 Sune Luus, 4 Marizanne Kapp, 5 Anneke Bosch/Annerie Dercksen, 6 Sinalo Jafta (wk), 7 Chloe Tryon, 8 Nadine de Klerk, 9 Masabata Klaas, 10 Ayabonga Khaka, 11 Nonkululeko MlabaLeft-arm spinner Flora Devonshire was ruled out of the World Cup with an injury to her bowling hand and seamer Hannah Rowe was named her replacement. However, New Zealand are unlikely to change the side for their second match in Indore.New Zealand: 1 Suzie Bates, 2 Georgia Plimmer, 3 Amelia Kerr, 4 Sophie Devine (capt), 5 Brooke Halliday, 6 Maddy Green, 7 Isabella Graze (wk), 8 Jess Kerr, 9 Lea Tahuhu, 10 Eden Carson, 11 Bree Illing

Pitch and conditions

Indore rolled out a flat track for the opening game and Australia piled on 326 batting first. A different surface will be used for the second match, but weather could be a factor. It rained heavily the day after the first game there and conditions are expected to be overcast with hazy sunshine. As Suzie Bates put it, “It’s all about who adapts the best tomorrow because it is a different wicket, and it can play differently.”

Stats and trivia

• Suzie Bates, the third highest run-scorer in women’s ODIs, is 104 short of 6000
• Marizanne Kapp is two away from breaking into the top five wicket-takers in women’s ODIs. She has 169 scalps from 154 matches.
• Wolvaardt and Brits have scored nine ODI hundreds between them since 2024.
• New Zealand have not scored a 300 in ODIs since the start of 2024.

Quotes

“Yeah, I think it’s a huge advantage. It’s not only playing in the same conditions, but not having to travel after that game.”
“For us as a batting unit is to just literally just knuckle down and just bat. Don’t think too much about the outcome. Just take it one ball at a time.”

Fast bowler hails decisions on and off the field as England emerge on top on rollercoaster first day

Andrew Miller21-Nov-2025

AFP/Getty Images

Brydon Carse heaped praise on England’s captain, Ben Stokes, for his leadership on and off the field, after a barnstorming fightback with the ball on the opening day of the 2025-26 Ashes.Carse claimed the key wickets of Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja, before Stokes ripped through the lower-middle order with figures of 5 for 45 in ten overs, as England fought back from being bowled out for 172 by reducing Australia to 123 for 9 at the close, a deficit of 49.It meant that 19 wickets had fallen, the most ever on the opening day of an Ashes series, as the action lived up to every ounce of the pre-series hype.Carse, however, praised his captain for confronting the emotions of the series head-on, both in encouraging the team to walk to the venue at the start of the day’s play, and in inspiring their fightback with his calm response to their batting display.”Stokesy came up with that idea last night,” Carse said of the team’s arrival, through a sea of fans with 51,531 spectators attending the opening day. “It was obviously what we decided to do. And luckily, we came in at about 8.30am, because I think if we were about a half an hour later, we might have got a bit more stick from some of the Aussie fans. It was electric … the energy throughout the day was awesome.”Once inside the Optus Stadium, England won the toss and choose to bat first, only to lose Zak Crawley for a duck to set the tone for Mitchell Starc’s magnificent seven-wicket display. But despite being rolled aside in just 32.5 overs – the second-shortest Ashes innings, behind Australia’s 60 all out at Trent Bridge in 2015 – Stokes gathered his team at the innings change-over and set in motion their change of fortune.”Stokesy kept it really simple,” Carse said. “We had 45-50 minutes before tea, and he said to the lads with the ball, just give everything. The way Gus Atkinson and Jofra [Archer] started was phenomenal. And then after tea, that messaging was pretty similar, just do it over a longer period of time.Related

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“While the ball was still new, there was a lot of pace and bounce in it. And, we said as a group of bowlers, it was just about hitting the wicket as hard as we could.”The close-of-play scoreline vindicated England’s decision to field a five-man pace attack, which allowed Archer and Mark Wood – their fastest bowlers – to be used in short, sharp bursts that denied Australia a chance to settle at any stage of their reply. With Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts still waiting in the wings, Carse was confident that England could keep their pace levels high throughout the campaign.”I haven’t played in a lot of attacks where we’ve had five seamers, but everyone does complement each other,” Carse said. “I’ve said before that the group is six, seven seamers, and we’ve all got different attributes. Hopefully that stands us in good stead throughout the series.”Stokes, however, remains utterly fundamental to England’s hopes of winning an Ashes series in Australia for the first time since 2010-11. Having hinted at his readiness with six wickets in a low-key warm-up against England Lions last week, he showcased his golden arm with the vital wickets of Travis Head and Cameron Green, then picked off Alex Carey, too, on the way to his sixth five-wicket haul and second in Australia.”His character and enthusiasm around the group, and the way it goes about his business is phenomenal,” Carse said. “Everyone looks up to him. He’s a great leader to have in our team.”He’s been out here for the last two-and-a-half weeks, and as Ducky [Ben Duckett] said a couple of weeks ago, he’s in beast mode at the moment. Hopefully that pays off throughout the series for him.”Stokes is back in Australia for his third Ashes tour, having debuted on the 2013-14 tour, 12 years ago. Carse, however, was sampling the occasion for the very first time, and admitted the atmosphere had been a step up from his previous experience in England colours.”I felt nervous, excited … obviously almost going into a bit of the unknown, but just trying to soak it all up throughout the day. It’s been a phenomenal day. We’ll go back to the hotel and we’ll have a quiet night.”The stage is set for another high-octane day on Saturday, and Carse admitted that – despite the shortcomings of their batting first-time around – their run-rate of 5.23 had demonstrated that batting could get easier once the first-day nerves and some of the pitch’s early life have gone.”The first thing tomorrow is obviously to knock over this last wicket,” he said. “Then, we’ve seen some of the guys that have got starts and some runs today, the way that they went about it was obviously taking the positive option.”I even thought Alex Carey, towards the end, was quite proactive and positive, and it put us under a bit of pressure. So going into the second innings, I think our batters will know what sort of gameplan they are going to use.”

Saturday turned out to be a special day for Declan Rice, which left him with more than one reason to celebrate.

Not only did West Ham United secure a 3-1 win against Southampton to get themselves out of the relegation zone, but it was also his 100th appearance for the club, which he posted about on Instagram after the final whistle.

It is some achievement for the 21-year-old to have played so many times already, after making his debut with a cameo against Burnley on the last day of the 2016/17 season.

His progress is perhaps best embodied by the fact that he has also become an England international during that time.

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Looking at his performance against Southampton, he showed the maturity that has been characteristic of his game since breaking into the team.

He made three tackles, five clearances, three interceptions and two dribbles, while also winning five aerial duels.

His teammates have shown appreciation for the midfielder, with Robert Snodgrass, Angelo Ogbonna and Jeremy Ngakia commenting on his picture.

Rice’s original Instagram post, and the comments from his teammates, can be seen below:

Meanwhile, West Ham fans hailed one man’s performance against Southampton.

It was the common narrative to congratulate the resilience of West Brom and Everton this summer, but there was unquestionably not enough of a reality check from the collective media when they analysed their summer decision making.

Roberto Martinez and Bill Kenwright presided over the transfer saga of the summer as their defied the odds to keep John Stones at Everton, whilst the board at West Brom were equally stubborn in their efforts to retain Saido Berahino from the daring advances of a desperate Tottenham. This, if you’ve looked anywhere on the internet, is congratulated as a brilliant victory for the mid-table and a welcome two fingers up at the money throwing big boys; unfortunately, its not even halfway to being that simple.

The Baggies are not going to be pulling up any trees this year, whatever Pulis may think, and the potential revenue they could have gained from the sale of Berahino may have made a significant difference to their squad. At best, West Brom will comfortably avoid relegation and be set for the riches of the Premier League for another year to come. With the money that was on the table, surely West Brom could’ve added depth and quality across the squad and moved on a player who had upset the fans at the Hawthorns.

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Once a player has asked to leave the club, it almost always seems slightly foolhardy to force them to stay, however much you may want to. Saido Berahino is currently a talented individual, but lets not get carried away about his talent or what excellent things he could do for West Brom. The West Brom man is on the cusp of the England squad (by no means a regular) and is currently a very big fish in a small pond, the money that was on offer would have been massive for West Brom.

Everton were in a similar situation with Stones. The Toffees should’ve been licking their collective lips at a record deal for the centre-back, who I believe has the potential to be one of the very best, but the offers that Chelsea made could’ve seen Martinez add four or five quality players to his line-up. Yes, it would have left Everton extremely short at the back, but if they had accepted an offer with over a week to go in the window, there would have been plenty of time to reinforce a squad enough to challenge for Europe.

It is likely, in both cases, that they will never receive offers quite as lucrative as they reportedly did this summer and it could well come back to haunt them. Once both are tried to force a way out, the best thing either board could have done would be to maximise the fee they receive up front and move the deal on as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this was not the option either club took and they are now left in a situation that they may well face repeatedly.

The retention of either player will not change the course of the season, particularly a centre back, whereas a reinvestment across the squad could’ve changed the fortunes of either manager. It would have been easy to speak separately of these transfer ‘sagas’, but the parallels are clear to see.

The fans, if social media is anything to go by, are ecstatic that their club has held off such significant offers, but there must be some who are worried that they turned down offers that were too good to be true.

The stubbornness shown by both Everton and West Brom was not the pragmatic route that they may have though it was, they will have to hope they have not lost out longer-term because of such an error.

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Manchester United star David de Gea has been urged to stay at the club by former manager Quique Sanchez Flores, who is now in charge of Watford, according to reports from the Mirror.

De Gea was heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid during the summer, but the transfer broke down after a late submission of paperwork to the Spanish Football Association.

WANT MORE? >> Manchester United Transfer News | Latest Transfer News

And despite the Spain international penning a new Man United deal, De Gea is still expected to depart due to a £30million release clause inserted into his contract.

However, Watford boss Sanchez Flores, who gave De Gea his debut for Atletico Madrid, has urged the 25-year-old to continue his career with the Red Devils ahead of the two sides’ clash this weekend.

“When I arrived at Atletico Madrid he was third-choice keeper and after one month he was first, because he was amazing.

“I am really pleased with the evolution of David. He is in the top three best goalkeepers in the world. He has everything.

“I got a present after two years when we separated – it was a watch, antique, golden on a chain, that I have kept – so he is a very lovely guy.

“It would be perfect for David and for the Premier League to keep him in English football for long.

“He has learned a lot playing here in England.”

The Spanish gaffer also joked that he is praising the United goalkeeper too much, because he needs his team to score past him at Vicarage road on Saturday.

Flores added: “I’ve talked too much about De Gea because our objective is to score goals past him!

“When he sees my comments his confidence will grow and it will be very difficult to score goals past David De Gea.”

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that his side can win the title this season, according to reports from the London Evening Standard.

Spurs are currently fourth on the table nine points off league leaders Leicester City, but Pochettino is adamant that his team has the capability to win the English top flight for the first time since 1961, refusing to rule out a challenge in the second half of the season.

“In football everything is possible,” he stated.

“The most important thing is the belief you can win every game. We are very young, we have a strong squad, we believe in ourselves and we keep working hard try to win every game.

“The last 10 games are very important, and how you get to that stage decides whether you can attack different objectives or achieve important things.

“People don’t realise the effort we made, and how hard our players work, because we are the youngest squad in the league.

“Sometimes the players deserve more praise for the position they are in. In football, everything can happen if you believe.

“We have a very strong squad with a strong mentality. Always you need time to develop your game and improve, but we are in a good place.

“We need only time to prove we have the quality to challenge for big things.”

Earlier in the campaign, Tottenham went on an unbeaten 14-game run but their streak came to a shock end against Newcastle United, who were then struggling near the relegation zone at the time.

But the Lilywhites are now back on track following a convincing 2-0 win against Pochettino’s former club Southampton last week, and will hope to grab all three points when they host Norwich City at White Hart Lane this weekend.

Sadly, they won’t have summer signing Clinton N’Jie available for the rest of the season, with the forward undergoing surgery to his knee.

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Trying to replicate the shrewd transfer business of Mauricio Pochettino is a bit of a challenge in itself. Fortunately, Spurs begin with a decent budget and have several players who can be sold on to generate reasonable revenue.

The squad has great depth, but both central midfield and the right wing are short of what is required for the side to really challenge for the top four. The first season gives you the challenge of Europa League football so making the most of your budget is even more crucial.

Football Manager prides itself on realism and the Spurs board will want to see a lot of investment in youth, whilst a Champions League place in your first season will see you secure a monstrous budget for the next campaign.

Spurs have been trying hard to be a bit less like Spurs for years and a few additions can help you achieve that on the latest edition of the world’s most addictive computer simulation game.

Here are FIVE signings to get on the cheap…

Sofiane Feghouli

You will have to wait to sign him on a pre-contract in January for this one, but Feghouli has all the attributes to be a quality addition in the second season for Spurs.

Erik Lamela can be inconsistent and tricky to manage, but Feghouli’s electric pace nicely compliments the creativity of Eriksen whilst his work rate of 15 makes him extremely versatile.

Saul

As with Feghouli, it might be best to wait until the second season for Saul. The versatile midfielder offers a pretty complete game and can be available for under £10million if Atletico don’t mind letting go of the youngster.

A player this complete could work well alongside any of the Spurs central players, but a partnership with Dele Alli longer term would be ideal.

Saul is a good example of why buying backup players from stronger squads can be a good move financially.

Zach Clough

Spurs have a great deal of young English talent already and Clough is a brilliant addition to the squad.

The Bolton youngster is at his best when operating as a false nine but could easily cover in a second striker role behind Harry Kane.

Clough begins with finishing at around 15 and dribbling to match makes him a very high quality addition to any Premier League squad, his potential could see him become a star performer for England too.

As ever, another homegrown player helps with the challenging squad quotas.

Lincoln

Lincoln is the latest from the Brazilian talent supply line and this versatile forward provides quality in a number of positions and is available for less than £5million.

Such a bargain is hard to overlook when the inconsistencies of Nacer Chadli and Erik Lamela can provide such challenges.

Lincoln begins your save at Gremio and has one of the highest potentials on the game, so its inevitably difficult to overlook a 16-year-old with technique and flair over 16.

Alessandro Bastoni

This is another youngster who will be available for under £1million and is only 16 at the beginning of your save.

Bastoni is regarded as one of the best young Italian defenders at the moment but it should be easy to prise him away from Atalanta.

Bastoni is 6’3 and has a jumping reach of 16, making him ideal for the Premier League and the barrage of crosses he may have to deal with.