Newcastle United have now made a £50m+ bid and activated the release clause to sign a “fantastic” midfielder, according to a report.
Newcastle eyeing signings in all areas
The Magpies are not short on transfer targets in several key positions, with Burnley’s James Trafford, who caught the eye by saving two penalties against Sunderland on Friday night, among the main targets between the sticks.
Earlier in the January transfer window, Eddie Howe’s side were positioning themselves to sign Abdukodir Khusanov, but the Uzbekistani defender has now completed a move to Manchester City.
As such, Newcastle may have a look at some other centre-backs on the shortlist, including AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori or Sporting CP’s Ousmane Diomande, having conducted scouting missions to assess the 21-year-old.
Newcastle eyeing up £30m star who would be devastating with Isak & Gordon
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ByBen Gray Jan 20, 2025
Moving into more attacking areas, Howe remains interested in a new striker, given that Alexander Isak is attracting the attention of some top clubs, and PAOK’s Stefanos Tzimas has recently emerged as a potential signing.
Whether Isak remains at St. James’ Park or not, Howe will be keen to have a quality midfielder providing service to his striker next season, which is why the Magpies have now made their first concrete move to sign Villarreal’s Alex Baena.
According to reports from Spain, Newcastle have now made a €60m (£50.7m) offer for Baena, activating his release clause, but there is set to be stiff competition for his signature.
The attacking midfielder is one of the most sought-after young players in Europe, with Nottingham Forest and Bayern Munich also making their interest clear and doing the same as the Magpies.
The report states the 23-year-old could become a key player for Howe’s side in the coming years, as they seek to establish themselves as a top Premier League club.
Baena impressing in La Liga
The Spaniard has caught the eye with his performances in La Liga, and for good reason, having contributed two goals and 14 assists in 34 appearances for Villarreal last season.
With four goals and five assists this term, the attacker, who can also play on both wings, is on course to have another fantastic season, so this could be a very good piece of business for Newcastle. Football talent scout Jacek Kulig was also full of praise for the Spain international back in September.
As such, it is exciting news that Newcastle have reportedly activated Baena’s release clause, but it may be difficult to win the race for his signature if Bayern step up their interest, considering the German side are almost guaranteed to have Champions League football on offer next season.
Liverpool have been given a boost in their efforts to snap up an "exceptional" world-renowned superstar in January, following a promising transfer update.
Liverpool transfer news
The Reds currently have one of the strongest squads they have ever assembled in the Premier League era, with top-quality options littered all over the pitch. There is experience and class in defence, with the world-class Alisson behind them, the midfield is revitalised after some brilliant summer signings, while in attack, Jurgen Klopp has five fantastic players to choose from, with Mohamed Salah the standout figure.
Despite this, Liverpool may still look to improve their squad further in the January transfer window, as well as next summer, and they have been linked with numerous players in recent weeks. Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and Bayern Munich starlet Jamal Musiala are both seen as potential targets currently, while Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has also been seen as an option to come in, having fallen out of favour at the Etihad.
It may not be easy for Liverpool to get some key business done midway through the season, but a new claim will certainly give owners FSG hope of it happening.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Jamal Musiala to Liverpool
According to a fresh transfer update from Football Insider reporter Pete O'Rourke, Liverpool have been boosted in their quest to sign Musiala, with the youngster happy to leave Bayern in January if he doesn't earn enough minutes:
"Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala will push for a January move if he doesn’t get regular game time in the next months with Man City and Liverpool keeping tabs, sources have told Football Insider. The Premier League giants are among the club’s monitoring the 20-year-old attacking midfielder’s situation ahead of the January window.
"The clubs, along with Real Madrid, are closely watching the player and building dossiers on him as they do their background checks."
This acts as a massive positive for Liverpool, considering Musiala has a strong case for being one of world football's best young players at the moment, perhaps along with Real Madrid and England sensation Jude Bellingham. The 20-year-old has become an important figure for Bayern and Germany already, catching the eye with his attacking brilliance and producing numerous match-winning moments.
Musiala's statistics show what a force he already is, too, with the young forward already scoring 35 goals and assisting 26 times in a Bayern shirt, as well as netting twice for Germany Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen knows a thing or two about what makes a top-class young attacking player, and he recently said of him:
"I think he is exceptional, really exceptional. It’s such a shame he chose Germany over England. There’s lots of people comparing him to Bellingham but I think he is a different type of player. He’s a brilliant runner with the ball. I think he’s unbelievable when it comes to dribbling. He’s got the lot this lad."
While Liverpool don't necessarily need another attack at the moment, given their plethora of top-class options in the final third, the chance to sign Musiala shouldn't be missed, so if the opportunity is there to get him, the Reds should act fast and get a deal over the line.
Erik ten Hag shared a positive update on Luke Shaw's condition as he expects the defender to regain full fitness before the end of the season.
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Ten Hag provided update on ShawLikely to return before the season endsCould be included in England squad for EurosWHAT HAPPENED?
The Manchester United manager claimed that Shaw is on course to make a comeback before the current season ends. Thus, he will get enough opportunities to prove himself worthy of being named in Gareth Southgate's England squad for the upcoming Euro 2024.
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Speaking to reporters, Ten Hag said, "I expect him back before the end of the season. That is the plan and he is still on schedule and will return to our team."
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The left-back has been sidelined since February when he suffered a muscle injury during United's Premier League clash against Luton Town. There were concerns regarding his fitness as Southgate hinted that Shaw might not make it to England's starting lineup at the Euros. However, Ten Hag's update comes as a boost for the Three Lions as well as the Red Devils who are aiming to finish the 2023/24 season on a high.
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Ten Hag's side will return to action on Saturday as they take on Brentford away from home in a crucial Premier League clash.
Wolves boss Gary O'Neil says there's "no truth" in Manchester United's reported interest in him but added it's an honour to be linked with the club.
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United linked with Wolves boss O'NeilEnglish manager rubbishes rumoursLoves it at Wolves but honoured by linksWHAT HAPPENED?
ESPN claimed the Red Devils wanted to talk to the former Bournemouth boss about a coaching role at the club as they plan to make changes under minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe. O'Neil said this was the first he had heard of it, that he was happy at Wolves, but he was flattered by the links.
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The 40-year-old said of the reports: "I don't know where it came from."
He added: "Growing up, Liverpool and Manchester United always felt special. It's an honour to be linked even if there's no truth in it. I love it here [at Wolves]. I'm a head coach, I'm always going to be a head coach. I'm really enjoying my time at Wolves. I was only made aware of it [the links] by the media team to prepare for your questions."
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Wolves were one of the favourites to go down this season after selling some of their best players, including Ruben Neves, to comply with profit and sustainability rules; but O'Neil has done remarkably well since taking over last summer. They are ninth in the Premier League, have a shot at qualifying for Europe, and due to Erik ten Hag's uncertain future at United, links from bigger clubs are understandable. However, it seems O'Neil is going nowhere for now.
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O'Neil's Wolves travel to Midlands rivals Aston Villa early on Saturday evening, whereas Ten Hag's United are being hosted by lowly Brentford later on that night as the Premier League returns following the conclusion of the international break.
Unfortunately, not every young and hungry talent that finds themselves on the cusp of making it at Manchester United capitalises on their brief moment in the sun.
For every David Beckham, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes that manage to become idols after coming through the youth system, there are far more players who end up on the footballing scrapheap after Old Trafford without anything to show for their hard work and progression to get to that stage.
James Wilson falls into the latter category, tipped to be the next Ruud Van Nistelrooy for his potency at youth level for the Red Devils with interim boss Ryan Giggs even handing him a Premier League debut in 2014 versus Hull City off the bench.
It was a genius decision that worked on the night, as their homegrown talent netted twice on a debut – the first player since the Dutch marksman to achieve that feat – that saw Man United fans get carried away in what they believed their young striker would go on to achieve.
Nearly ten years on from his Man United senior debut and being heralded as "special" by Robin van Persie, Wilson now finds himself in League One with Port Vale.
How did James Wilson perform for Man Utd?
James Wilson was a stand-out talent at youth level for the Red Devils and big things were expected of him when making the transition to the first-team.
Scoring 20 goals for both the Man United U19s and U21s, he may have been expected to follow in the footsteps of previous greats who had humble beginnings at the Theatre of Dreams before exploding into life in the senior game.
Despite scoring twice on his full debut versus Hull City – the pressurised Ruud Van Nistelrooy 2.0 tag placed onto him from then on – Wilson would only go on to score one more goal in the top-flight for his expectant employers versus QPR the following season.
WIlson would be shipped out on loan far and wide – loaned out a total of four times from Old Trafford to Brighton, Aberdeen, Sheffield United – before he was eventually released following the conclusion of the 2018-19 season.
Since severing ties with his boyhood club, Wilson has primarily plied his trade in the lower reaches of English football to varying levels of success.
How has Wilson performed since leaving Man United?
Speaking about the 'lows' he experienced in the aftermath of leaving Man United with the Daily Mail recently, the now 27-year-old has matured to become a competent striker in the EFL despite battling demons.
Playing for both Salford City and Port Vale has seen Wilson get amongst the goals once more, after firing blanks throughout his permanent stay at Aberdeen directly after the Red Devils with Sir Alex Ferguson's ex-club signing him after a decent loan switch.
Former Manchester United forward James Wilson.
He would manage 10 goals from 35 starts when playing for Salford City, the Ammies owned by Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, and other Man United greats as a major passion project.
The Valiants would then come calling for the Red Devils outcast, Port Vale his fixed residency at this moment in time with 88 games for the club under his belt.
20 goals in that time is not the most impressive goal return – Wilson's time at Vale Park has been dampened by frequent injuries – but the 27-year-old ace now has a home in Vale after uncertain times.
Not quite living up to the outrageous billing of being the second coming of Van Nistelrooy, Wilson can take some comfort from the fact his career didn't completely fall off a cliff and he will be raring to return to League One action soon when called upon.
The Trinbago Knight Riders held on to complete a nine-run win against Barbados Tridents in Port of Spain
The Report by Peter Della Penna08-Sep-2018Getty ImagesDenesh Ramdin’s second half-century of the season was backed up by a tight bowling effort to guarantee Trinbago Knight Riders’ top-two finish in CPL 2018, as the defending champions held on for a nine-run win over Barbados Tridents at Queen’s Park Oval. Fawad Ahmed’s three wickets catapulted him to the top of the tournament’s wickets chart and increased the Knight Riders’ lead at the top of the table to three points. The Tridents, meanwhile, suffered their seventh consecutive loss to finish with the CPL’s wooden spoon for 2018.Chart busting MunroColin Munro had a modest night overall, comfortable enough to let his partners do the work after the New Zealand international has done most of the heavy lifting for the Knight Riders through the season. Chris Lynn blasted 29 off 10 balls in their 35-run opening stand while Ramdin did the bulk of the scoring in a 75-run partnership that gave the Knight Riders a fantastic platform through the 11th over.Munro’s 28 off 29 balls served as his third-lowest score of the season, and he had a pair of lives in the fifth over as well, dropped on 1 and 2 off Mohammad Irfan by Shai Hope and Dominic Drakes respectively. But his good fortune meant he went on to break Chadwick Walton’s single-season CPL scoring record of 458 runs set in 2017; Munro now has 464 runs on the season with a minimum of three more games to go, in what is shaping up to be a Player-of-the-Tournament campaign for the top-order batsman.Ram’s denThe Knight Riders wicketkeeper was hidden down the order earlier in the season with limited opportunities to contribute in the final overs. But Sunil Narine’s extended slump in form triggered a reshuffle that has seen Ramdin move up to No. 3 in an effort to rekindle the batting flair of both men. Ramdin responded with 90 runs over the last two matches, including 51 off 31 balls against the Tridents.Ramdin took over from Lynn to keep the Knight Riders momentum going early by bashing Roston Chase for two fours and a six over deep midwicket at the start of the fourth, then cracked Jason Holder for a pair of boundaries in the sixth to round off the third-highest Powerplay of CPL 2018 at 68 for 1. Another maximum off Chase took Knight Riders past 100 to end the 10th over and put Ramdin three away from his half-century.His departure in the 13th at the hands of Imran Khan came not long after Munro’s exit and the Knight Riders innings soon stalled, going a stretch of 33 deliveries without a boundary. It took a late burst, however, from Dwayne Bravo – with three fours and two sixes from the 16th to the 18th overs – to ensure Ramdin’s effort wasn’t wasted.All crossed upTeams bowling second at the Queen’s Park Oval have typically had difficulty gripping the ball with the nighttime dew, which is why Fawad’s three wickets stood out in a Man-of-the-Match performance.Not for the first time this season, Fawad struck with his first delivery of the night to bowl Tion Webster with a googly in the fifth over. Another googly cleaned up Sunny Sohal to end the seventh after he had cracked a pair of sixes off American team-mate Ali Khan in the Powerplay. Fawad capped off his haul in the 13th, beating Shai Hope’s charge to make it 92 for 3. The Australian said afterwards that he resorted to bowling with a scrambled seam all night in order to be able to get a handle on a very wet ball and the strategy paid off.Forty-tudeFor the third time in five matches, Nicholas Pooran made it into the forties but once again failed to cross fifty, run out by a direct hit from Bravo at extra cover at a critical moment with three overs to go. It ended a 50-run stand with Holder, but the whole scenario was emblematic of the Tridents’ lack of a finishing kick that has contributed to their seven-match losing streak.With 39 needed from 18, the onus was on Holder to get the Tridents home. But Ali Khan claimed the Tridents captain by inducing a skier to long-off at the start of a masterful four-run 19th, leaving Chase and Shamar Springer to get 24 off the last over bowled by Bravo. Springer could only muster nine from the first four balls, thereby securing Knight Riders’ top-two finish after the league stage.
Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal welcomed Kylian Mbappe's imminent move to Real Madrid as he drew a comparison with Robert Lewandowski.
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Carvajal welcomed Mbappe's imminent move to RealDrew comparison with Lewandowski's transferMbappe set to join Real after PSG contract expiresWHAT HAPPENED?
The Spanish full-back claimed that Real Madrid have not informed the players about Mbappe's impending arrival at the club, even though they reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the mercurial French attacker back in January. Caravajal, though, has welcomed the prospect of playing alongside the France captain, claiming that players of Mbappe and Barcelona star Lewandowski's stature help to elevate the standard of La Liga.
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In an interview with , the defender said of Mbappe: "They haven’t told us anything. It seems that it is a possibility that he can come. In Madrid, the best have to come and he is one of the best. For the League and our football, it would be good, just like Lewandowski has gone to Barcelona."
When asked if the arrival of the star player will have any adverse effect on the dressing room atmosphere, the Real Madrid star said: "No jealousy, but the people who have been in the club for the longest time are in charge of everyone rowing in the same direction; that when one derails a little, grab him by the ear and put him on the track of our train."
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The 25-year-old France international has enjoyed a stellar run of form in the current season having scored 38 goals in 37 appearances across all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain. The club are currently leading the Ligue 1 title race and are once again favourites to lift the title. They have also reached the Champions League quarter-finals and Coupe de France last-four stage.
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The 32-year-old right-back will be next seen in action for the Spanish national team, who are set to face Colombia and Brazil on March 22 and 26, respectively in international friendly clashes.
Arsenal will be delighted to have snuck away from Stamford Bridge with their unbeaten Premier League record still intact, after a disappointing afternoon as they drew 2-2 with Chelsea.
"First half from us the worst we've played this season in terms of sloppiness," Declan Rice would echo, whose impressive long-range effort kickstarted the comeback from two goals down.
It was a match that was always going to be decided through blunders, as for all the positivity of the home side, their quality seldom told. However, with the Gunners, whilst few can question their quality, they cannot afford for so many of their key players to go missing all at once.
It very nearly cost them the match, had Robert Sanchez's gaffe not handed the 24-year-old the opportunity to half the deficit.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
Overran by the energy of the Blues, and terrorised down the flanks by the raw pace of Raheem Sterling, Mauricio Pochettino deserves praise for how he set his team up, and how it negated the strengths of their visitors.
However, his job was made far easier by the performance of Jorginho, who once again struggled to compete with the physicality of such an all-action and impassioned affair.
How did Jorginho play vs Chelsea?
As a midfield conductor who thrives with time and space to pick passes, placing Conor Gallagher beside him marked a nightmare for the Italian.
Often lambasted for a lack of pace or urgency, he was harassed by the former Crystal Palace loanee, who made it so the 31-year-old could not calm proceedings down and establish the control Mikel Arteta craved. So often do his team seize possession and cease to release it, tiring out their opposition with combinations in the engine room.
That was an avenue they could not explore, with Jorginho's failures a key component in those struggles.
Although the statistics might paint the picture of a dominant display, given he recorded a 91% pass accuracy and enjoyed 77 touches, that could not have been further from the truth.
The eight times he lost possession is perhaps more reflective of the torrid afternoon he endured, which journalist Simon Collings sought to detail in his post-match ratings. Writing for The Evening Standard, he gave the 48-cap dud a 4/10 rating before penning: "A poor performance from the Italian as he returned to his old club. Could not give Arsenal the control they wanted as Conor Gallagher hassled him non-stop."
This was a notion further supported by news aggregator Connor Humm, who took to Twitter to lambast the £110k-per-week flop: "Jorginho running in treacle again. He’s so slow at recovering. Get Partey on for crying out loud."
The 6.35 rating handed to him by WhoScored was a fair reflection of a tough return to the Bridge for the former Blues and Napoli metronome, who must surely see his starting spot under threat now with the options Arteta has at his disposal.
Who could replace Jorginho?
There are many options that the Spaniard could seek to explore in an effort to remove the sluggish presence from his midfield. After all, he has already proven himself as an innovative coach, and one who seeks to offer revolutionary progress to rival Pep Guardiola's.
Arsenal midfielder Jorginho
As such, there is every chance that Oleksandr Zinchenko could be moved there permanently, allowing the in-form and perhaps more orthodox Takehiro Tomiyasu to take up his full-back spot.
Then again, there are a whole host of actual midfielders in Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe, all of whom would love to be handed that spot beside Rice.
However, the outstanding option, and one which Benn actually referenced earlier, must be to finally recall Thomas Partey and reintegrate him back into the first XI.
Having started the season in stuttering fashion, as he desperately sought to return to fitness, it seems that the Ghanaian general is now ready for action, but remains on the bench. A short cameo in their win over the Citizens marked his return, whilst he was an unused substitute both against Chelsea and in their loss to RC Lens in the Champions League.
His absence is a confusing one, given he can provide that same controlling presence that Jorginho supposedly offers, with far more physicality. After all, he surely proved that to everyone with his performances during last season's title push.
How good is Thomas Partey?
"He is still important to them, for sure," claimed pundit Lee Hendrie told Soccer Special on Sky Sports (03/10/23 at 7:40 pm) earlier this month. "He is a big player, no doubt about that. The two Rice and Partey can play in that middle. You give that freedom and luxury, more so, to Odegaard to really join in and be a massive threat (further forward).
“Yes, having him back amongst the squad. The availability, he is definitely a starter in my side for Arsenal.”
It seems he is well aware of the foundation his partnership with Rice could build for the Gunners, who would surely use that added stability to reach even loftier heights.
After all, last campaign saw the 30-year-old shine as the key defensive anchor in midfield, allowing Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard to push on and contribute offensively.
As such, he would maintain 2.1 tackles and 1.2 clearances per game, winning an impressive total of 59% of his duels in the league as he featured 33 times, via Sofascore.
And then, as if to emphasise his technical assets, when compared to other midfielders across Europe, Partey sits in the top 5% for passes attempted, the top 11% for pass completion, and the top 3% for progressive passes per 90, via FBref.
Against Chelsea, Jorginho struggled because of the pace of his opposite men, and his lack of. Were the former Atletico Madrid monster selected in his place, there would have been far less emphasis on that issue, as his strength and speed would have helped him thrive.
6.88
7.11
32
33
86%
88%
1.9
2.1
4.0
5.0
The £200k-per-week titan is the perfect defensive midfielder for this side, able to play football as well as get stuck in. It should therefore come as no surprise that Arteta suggested he was a "super important player" over the summer.
Perhaps now is the perfect time to match his actions with his words, and regain that control over the midfield by ditching Jorginho for Partey.
The jury in the trial of Ben Stokes will retire to consider their verdict on Tuesday morning
George Dobell at Bristol Crown Court13-Aug-2018The jury in the trial of Ben Stokes will retire to consider their verdict on Tuesday morning.Stokes, who is being tried alongside Ryan Ali, denies a charge of affray following an incident that took place in the early hours of September 25. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in jail and an unlimited fine.The jury has been asked to reach a unanimous decision though it is possible that, if they have not been able to do so by late on Tuesday or early on Wednesday, the judge will permit a majority decision.Monday in Bristol Crown Court saw closing statements from barristers and a summing-up from the judge that encompassed much of the evidence given over the last week.In his summing-up, Judge Blair directed the jury “not to hold it against Mr Stokes” that he didn’t answer police questions but relied upon statements when first interviewed by the police. Stokes was told by his lawyers at the time not to answer questions. “It would be surprising not to take advice of a lawyer,” Judge Blair said.The judge also suggested that Stokes’ account had been “very consistent” from the first time he was interviewed by the police, on September 25, to his appearance in the witness box.The judge also said that the recollection of Andrew Cunningham, the doorman at Mbargo nightclub who suggested Stokes was abusive and had bullied two gay men, was not entirely consistent. Cunningham has suggested he had directed several members of the England cricket team to Manos cocktail bar (next door to Mbargo) when they first arrived at Mbargo as the club was a little quiet. CCTV footage, however, suggested “his memory is quite wrong about that”.Earlier, Gordon Cole QC, acting for Stokes, had suggested the worst of the injuries inflicted in the incident might have been inflicted by Stokes’ England team-mate, Alex Hales, while Anna Midgley QC, acting for Ryan Ali, admitted her client may feel “regret and embarrassment for brandishing a bottle”.But, Midgley said, Ali was “responding” to “an escalation in tension” and used the bottle – a bottle that was in his hand anyway and from which he had previously been drinking – “in self-defence”.While Chris Haynes, the director of communications at the ECB, has spent a couple of days listening to evidence, there was no direct ECB representative on Monday. The Professional Cricketers’ Association, the players’ union, have not had a presence at the trial.The case continues.
Eyeing a return for Tests against Pakistan in October, the 25-year old said he had taken time to consider how sustainable it was for him to turn out for Australia across the three formats
Daniel Brettig09-Jul-2018As he plots a path towards fitness for Australia’s Test appointment with Pakistan in October, Pat Cummins has admitted to pondering whether it is possible for fast bowlers to maintain a place in the national team’s plans across all formats, following a 15-month stretch in which only Kagiso Rabada bowled more overs in international cricket.ESPNcricinfo LtdCummins (back), Josh Hazlewood (back) and Mitchell Starc (right leg) are all at varying points of their rehabilitation stress-related injuries picked up towards the end of last summer, with recent results in England and Zimbabwe showing how much the “big three” are missed. After early injuries and then careful preparation to ensure he reached fast bowling maturity without chronic problems, Cummins said he had taken time to consider how sustainable it was for him to turn out for Australia across all three formats.There will be a hefty ODI emphasis for Australia over the next 12 months, with series against South Africa, Pakistan and India ahead of the World Cup in England. But there are also two Tests in the UAE and six at home against India and Sri Lanka, before the rapid transition from the knockout stages of the World Cup to an Ashes tour of England. Cummins, 25, reckoned it’s going to be “really hard” for him and his pace bowling colleagues to do it all. Having not played a T20 match for Australia since February last year, the shortest format appears to be the sacrificial one.”I think it’s really hard. Especially for Australian bowlers it seems like our Test matches always go for basically the full five days and the bowlers are bowling lots of overs,” Cummins told ESPNcricinfo. “I think certain tours, like India last year, in some games the pace bowlers didn’t bowl heaps of overs, Bangladesh the same. I feel like the Australian summer is pretty brutal, there’s lots of pretty flat wickets, hard wickets and it’s a lot of bowling.”It’s about finding that balance, you want to play as much as you can, you also need to keep bowling, you can’t just play a game and have a few weeks off. I’d love to play every single game for Australia, but realistically I think you get up for the Test matches and then make sure you’re 100% for the ODIs and then taking one series at a time. You’re making sure you’re 100% right to go but knowing if you’re not, it’s not worth it. There’s so much other cricket and so many other guys that are banging down the door, you can’t play unless you’re 100% right to go.”What may change for Cummins is a pivot from 50-over matches to T20Is, after next year’s World Cup but before the World T20 hosted by Australia in 2020. “I know for example this year we’re playing a lot more ODIs leading into the World Cup and therefore the schedule allows us to really put an emphasis on that and play lots of ODI cricket leading into the World Cup,” Cummins said.”I know Pat Howard, one of his big things talking about the schedule is trying to give us the best opportunity to perform in those big tournaments leading up. I’m sure for the T20 World Cup we’ll have the same, a bit more time where the T20 side can really play together, work out their combinations and have a good run in. Even now we’ve seen this tour [of England and Zimbabwe], its good there’s a big chunk of T20 cricket, getting five games in a few weeks with one team, one coaching staff all together. Hopefully we’ll see a bit more of that.”ESPNcricinfo LtdThe amount of cricket Cummins played, starting with the limited overs portion of the 2016-17 summer, then tours of India, Bangladesh, the home Ashes and limited-overs series, and then a traumatic tour of South Africa, dwarfed all his previous international experience. Having played one Test in six years, he then played 13 in a row. Mentally, Cummins said this made a huge difference in terms of feeling like he had a strong record to call on, rather than “faking” the confidence of a young fast bowler.Alongside Starc and Hazlewood, Cummins is on course to return to bowling by the end of July, then building gradually towards a level of fitness and confidence that will be hardy enough to withstand the likely challenge of flat pitches and scorching temperatures in the UAE, where Pakistan trounced the Australians on their previous Test tour in 2014.”We’re still hoping to make the UAE,” Cummins said. “Hoff and Starcy and I are all on a pretty similar programme, we’re all hoping to start bowling by the end of July and that’ll give us a two or three-month lead-in to the Tests. We’re all on track for that, just got to get a final scan in a few weeks and get the final sign-off that my back’s alright.”It’s one of those weird injuries in that you feel fine and I’m pain-free, don’t feel my back at all, but you’re basically dictated by a scan because it’s bone and a bit of a waiting game. You can try and rehab everything around it as much as you like, but you’ve just got to wait for it to be right. Still hoping to start bowling by the end of the month and be right for the UAE.”A Test match is brutal, especially over somewhere like there, it’s high intensity and you can be out in the field for a few days at a time, so it’s not a matter of getting right and then starting to bowl and playing a couple of weeks later, you do need a good two or three months of build-up. A nice gradual build-up and then be flat out to go is the plan. You’ve always got to be pretty careful with it.”