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Tottenham Hotspur have an unmissable chance to bring back former fan favourite and Premier League playmaker Christian Eriksen this summer, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye move…

The Times, sharing news out of Spurs in the last few days, believe that there could be a real summer of change at Hotspur Way as manager Antonio Conte sets his sights on a major overhaul.

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They claim as many as eight players could be offloaded by Conte, a contingent including Sergio Reguilón, Emerson Royal, Steven Bergwijn, Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele.

Meanwhile, the Lilywhites head coach is thought to be targeting six major signings in three defenders, a midfielder and a forward.

The likes of Eriksen and Leicester City playmaker Youri Tielemans are thought to be on the radar but much could hinder on their final push for a Champions League qualification place.

The Latest: Jones makes claim…

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Jones say Spurs have an unmissable chance to sign Eriksen this summer given his soon-to-be free agent status.

He explained:

“There’s a general rule in football that is don’t go back, but in this sense Eriksen can be a rule break because he’s ridiculous and this isn’t your normal situation that has opened up.

“Eriksen being available as a free agent is an opportunity you simply can’t turn down.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

The 30-year-old’s fairy-tale return to the grass after suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 has been nothing short of sublime.

According to WhoScored, he has stood out as Thomas Frank’s main man since joining in January – averaging the most key passes in the final third and best match rating per 90.

Sealing a sensational return for Eriksen could be a brilliant move by Spurs and one which would gift Conte more creativity in his starting eleven.

Already hailed as a ‘superstar’ by teammate Pontus Jansson, this move could certainly be on to watch for supporters.

In other news: Tottenham push for ‘statement’ signing as ESPN man makes five-word claim! Find out more here.

Antonio Conte has dropped an update on the current condition of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Oliver Skipp.

What’s the latest?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Spurs’ meeting with Leicester City on Sunday afternoon (via football.london), the Italian manager revealed that the 21-year-old’s surgery on his pubis injury went well, and that the England U21 international will be returning to first-team training this summer.

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Regarding Skipp’s injury, the 52-year-old said: “I have spoken with the doctors and they said to me that the surgery was OK, it went well. For sure, Oliver will be ready for pre-season, for next season.

“It’s a pity because don’t forget that we lost two players in Skipp and Tanganga from January. We don’t have two reliable players like them and for sure it’s not good for me to manage the situation. This squad is not so deep so to lose two players that for us we’re talking about important players; it’s not good news.”

Supporters will be buzzing

Considering the sheer amount of potential Skipp quite clearly possesses, the news that the midfielder’s surgery appears to have gone well is undoubtedly fantastic for everyone involved with Tottenham, not to mention being something that will leave supporters buzzing.

Indeed, despite his tender age, the £18m-rated talent has already made 51 appearances for the first-team, with the youngster looking to have been a particularly important part of Conte’s long-term plans in north London – featuring in all but one of the 14 fixtures in which he was available for selection following the Italian’s arrival at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

As such, while it is undoubtedly a huge blow to have lost the services of the £50k-per-week starlet for the remainder of their 2021/22 campaign, with it looking as if Skipp is in line to make a full recovery well before next season kick-offs, Conte and supporters can look forward to seeing the continued development of one of their most exciting young talents in the not too distant future.

AND in other news: “Eyeing move…”: Journo drops big Spurs transfer claim, he’s a “young Paul Gascoigne”

England have won two successive away Tests for the first time in six years to complete a rare series win in Sri Lanka.

Shiva Jayaraman18-Nov-2018 England end their away woes 2000-01 The last time England won a Test series in Sri Lanka. The visitors had won the three-match series 2-1. Since then, this is England’s first win in the country in four attempts. While the hosts had won in 2003-04 and 2007-08, the two-match series in 2011-12 was drawn 1-1. This is England’s third series win in Sri Lanka: they had won their first series – a one-off Test – back in 1981-82. 4 Number of times in 20 attempts before this series that teams from outside the subcontinent had managed to beat Sri Lanka in a Test series in Sri Lanka. Apart from England in 2000-01, Australia had managed to beat the hosts in 2003-04 and in 2010-11. More recently, Sri Lanka lost to South Africa in 2014. 10 Number of Test series won by England in the subcontinent excluding one-off Tests. Their previous win here had come against India in 2012-13, when they had won the four-match series 2-1. Since 2000, they have won six out of the 17 series they have played in Asia involving two or more Test matches. 2012-13 The last time before this tour in which England had won two successive away Tests. They beat India in Mumbai and Kolkata in the 2012-13 series. The two wins in this series have come after a poor recent run for England in away Tests. Their last away win before this series had come against Bangladesh at Chittagong, after which they had lost ten matches out of the 13 that they played outside England. England spinners – 19, pacers – 0Thirty-eight wickets fell to spin in the Pallekele Test, the most ever in Test history•ESPNcricinfo Ltd 0 Wickets taken by England pacers in this match. This is only the third time that England have won a Test match when their quick bowlers have not taken a single wicket. The last such instance had come in the 1956 Ashes Test at Old Trafford when Jim Laker took 19 wickets in the match. The first such instance had come against India in 1951-52 at Kanpur. 38 Number of wickets taken by spinners in this Test – the most in a Test match ever. The previous highest were the 37 wickets which fell to spinners in the Nagpur Test in 1969-70 between India and New Zealand. 5 Number of times England spinners have taken 19 or more wickets in a match including this. The last such instance was against India at Mumbai in 2012-13 when Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann combined to bowl their team to a famous win.

Adil Rashid’s use of the rough and technique against spin on a track with plenty of bite feature in Aakash Chopra’s technical breakdown of the fourth day’s play in Mumbai

Aakash Chopra11-Dec-20163:48

Ganguly: England’s spinners don’t have the quality

Moeen’s mystery

The fifth ball of the 148th over from Moeen Ali disturbed the surface and spun sharply into Jayant Yadav. The following ball, once again, disturbed the surface but went straight after pitching. While the ball turning sharply after hitting a patch is understandable, it’s quite rare to see the ball go straight on. It’s only fair to assume that there’s enough help on the pitch for the spinners to exploit provided they’re accurate.Rashid pays for lack of accuracy

Two deliveries by Adil Rashid to Jayant Yadav in the 144th over highlighted how lack of accuracy plays a part in spinners struggling even on helpful surfaces. The first ball was a full ball right under Jayant’s bat and he drove it for a four. The following ball was a half-tracker, which Jayant dispatched for another boundary through backward point. If you were to err as a spinner, it’s imperative to err on the fuller side, for dropping short is an open invitation.Bowling in the rough is an art

It’s one thing attacking the rough created outside a right-hander’s leg-stump and quite another knowing how to do it effectively. The trick is to hit the length that makes it impossible for the batsman to go on the back foot. It’s also important to hit the line that’s at least a foot and half outside leg, for that allows the captain to set a six-three leg-side field. While Rashid tried his hand at this tactic, he was not consistent enough. That forced Cook to have four fielders on the off side. Indian batsmen were able to play off the back foot and also, the absence of a fielder at short midwicket allowed easy singles.Lower-order defiance gives Kohli options

India started the second innings with fast bowlers from both ends. The move worked as it produced a wicket in the first over itself. It’s likely R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja may have been given the new ball had India managed a lead of just 100 or thereabouts. The cushion of extra hundred runs allows the captain various options to explore.Sometimes playing straight is not the best option

When there’s as much turn as there is at the Wankhede, playing spin with the straight bat and down the ground isn’t the best option. Even though the Indian spinners constantly bowled the fuller length, the turn and bite off the pitch made it impossible to play down the ground. The ideal way is to either use the depth of the crease (like Jonny Bairstow did against Ashwin) or play across the line like Joe Root did against Jadeja.

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2015McCullum found good company in Ross Taylor before the latter was undone by Josh Hazlewood for 26•Getty ImagesThe New Zealand captain powered to 80 but was wrongly given out caught at slip by umpire Nigel Llong•Getty ImagesDoug Bracewell then fell the next ball to Mitchell Marsh…•Getty Images… but a frustrating last-wicket stand of 46 held off the hosts before Mitchell Starc put the seal on the win by removing Trent Boult for 15•Getty ImagesWarner and Lyon celebrated with their kids after the big win•Getty Images

Bangladesh’s performance in the World T20 brought to the fore limitations of skill, accountability and a deep sense of insecurity

Mohammad Isam03-Apr-2014Over the course of the last three weeks, the nation of Bangladesh has shown its love for cricket and cricketers from around the world, and proved that it can manage to hold a World T20 on its own. Its cricketers, however, have sung a different tune.Their on-field performance has been shoddy and un-host like. They have lost five T20 games on the trot, starting with a loss to an unranked Hong Kong after which they became easy targets in the Super10s. At various times during this drubbing, they have repeatedly said how poor they are, why T20 is not their game, how they are genetically unsuited for big-hitting and that their fans should expect very little from them.To conduct a thorough analysis of what the Bangladesh players did and said between March 16 and 31, one has to first detach Shakib Al Hasan’s recent comments from the equation. His belief that home fans should be deprived of the game for two years to temper their expectations was, according to his TV interview with Sanjay Manjrekar before the Australia game, based largely around some hotel staff’s eagerness of wanting their favourite team to win.Also, the controversy that Shakib created was almost expected, after he had created a similar buzz during the 2011 World Cup and immediately after Bangladesh’s exit in the 2012 World T20. Shakib has deflected his own frustration by making these strange comments and it should be left it at that.The focus, therefore, should firmly be on the team’s performances. Most of the Bangladesh players came into the World T20 on the back of two ordinary competitions at home – the series against Sri Lanka and the Asia Cup. The team’s morale was at an all-time low after they were beaten by Afghanistan and then lost to Pakistan despite scoring 326 in the Asia Cup.Bangladesh started their World T20 campaign by crushing Afghanistan and Nepal, but there was hardly any ambition left after they closed in on their goal of confirming a place in the Super 10s. Prior to the World T20, however, statements like, “Even teams like Hong Kong and Nepal could beat us” suggested a deeper problem.Bangladesh appear to be a one-dimensional team with many cricketers comfortable playing in just one format, mostly ODIs, and being one-directional. They seem easily distracted, whether confronted by a loud appeal or a big controversy. It was natural for them to be scared about their livelihoods as serious questions were raised on Bangladesh’s Test status when the ICC revamp position paper was leaked in January. That news admittedly had an impact on the team as they were crushed by Sri Lanka in the first Test.Like most others, this is also a team that wins only when a number of players perform. When they won two ODI series without Shakib – their best player – against West Indies in 2012 and New Zealand a year later, it was a mark of progress. In the final ODI against New Zealand in November last year, they swept to a 3-0 series win by chasing a 300-plus score without Shakib and Tamim and in spite of Mushfiqur’s low score.But form has deserted many of these new performers, like Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Sohag Gazi and Rubel Hossain, which means that a large chunk of players from the team built over the last 18 months are struggling. Only Anamul Haque and Al-Amin Hossain have shown significant progress as cricketers, particularly the latter who played seven games in the World T20 without much trouble.Their fielding in every game of the tournament also confirmed that their confidence had hit rock bottom. It wasn’t just dropped catches or ground fielding; towards the end, it was either a stunner or bust. Tamim and Ziaur Rahman pulled off three great catches between them but when someone like Nasir dropped catches, it became a statement of how scattered the ranks are.The players were shell-shocked after being beaten by Hong Kong, having plummeted to a depth they have dreaded all these years. In the second phase of the tournament, as rumours emanated from the dressing room, theories abounded. There is a feeling, with evidence in the form of statements and an outburst by the captain, that new chief selector Faruque Ahmed has got off to a rocky start. It hasn’t gone down well with the team management and several players, particularly those who had grown out of the habit of listening to a senior figure within the team or the BCB.One can be certain that a team which looked aimless after achieving its target of reaching the Super 10s would require a sterner boss somewhere in the chain of command. Given how Bangladesh have reacted to certain situations on the field and how woeful they have been while accepting failure and weakness, it is time for a sense of accountability to be injected into this mercurial team.

Alex Doolan’s silky century against the No. 1 team in the world at the SCG has only strengthened his case for Test selection

Daniel Brettig at the SCG03-Nov-2012Alex Doolan has always looked like a Test batsman. Possessing an attractive, languid technique that is nonetheless simple and compact enough to keep out high-quality bowling, Doolan has caused many observers to wonder how well he might perform if the Tasmania badge on his green batting helmet were to become the Australian coat of arms.Until recently Doolan had not been stacking up the kinds of numbers that might have been expected of a player with his purity of method, as a tally of three first-class centuries in four summers entering this season can attest to. This season, however, Doolan is pushing his name ever closer to the front of an admittedly thin batting queue, and a polished, unbeaten 161 for Australia A against the South Africans at the SCG may be hard to argue with if the selectors find themselves having to cover for injuries to Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson.At 26, Doolan is the right age to be graduating from first-class to international ranks, and in making 491 runs at 122.75 in four long-form appearances so far this season he is putting together the sort of hot streak that catapulted his Tasmanian team-mate, Ed Cowan, into the Test side last summer. Following his innings at the SCG, Doolan cautiously hoped he would be noticed.”I certainly hope it’s talked about,” he said. “There are plenty of quality players in that dressing room at the moment. There’s Phil Hughes who has got 19 first-class centuries and three Test centuries, two against South Africa, so I think he’d be right in the firing line as far as next man in, but who knows. Hopefully it puts my name up there and hopefully people are starting to talk.”Coming to terms with the fact we were playing the world’s best team was my biggest battle, and overcoming some nerves to a certain extent, but as far as reaching my highest score it was just a matter of batting and continuing to play in partnership with Tim Paine at the time.”I feel confident, I still feel there’s a bit of work to be done before that chance [to play for Australia] may arise, but I certainly feel confident enough to hold my own out there.”Doolan has been highly regarded in Tasmania for some time, taking possession of the state team’s No. 3 batting spot over the past several seasons. When batting with Ponting against a full-strength Victorian attack at the MCG last week, his captain George Bailey noted that Doolan lost little by comparison with the man who has 13,346 Test runs.

“When those two were going together he didn’t look outclassed; when I was batting with Ricky it felt like we were playing two different sports, but Dools and he were just on another level.”Tasmania captain George Bailey on Alex Doolan batting with Ricky Ponting

“When those two were going together he didn’t look outclassed; when I was batting with Ricky it felt like we were playing two different sports, but Dools and he were just on another level,” Bailey said. “Dools is a bit of a cricket nuffy and the first couple of times Ricky did come back [to the state side] Dools was the unfortunate one who made way. The fact now he has had the chance to play a couple of games with him has been great for him.”He made beautiful 20s and 30s and 40s last year, the year before he made a couple of hundreds. It’s turning those starts into big scores, particularly at No. 3, that’s going to make him of real interest to the selectors. In terms of his game and how classically, technically correct he is, I see he has just got so much time, and that’s something the selectors would be excited to see.”As for why he had found such a rich batting vein to mine this time around, Doolan said he had grown more relaxed and confident about his place with Tasmania, and now tended to worry less about his innings’ before he actually had the chance to play them. This in turn made him fresher in mind and body when he did go out to bat.”Maybe just another year in the system and another year of feeling more comfortable at the crease has helped,” Doolan said. “As far as mental preparation goes, it’s just about trying to stay relaxed; if you worry too much before you get out there you’re exhausted by the time you take your spot at the crease. I don’t think I’m doing anything too differently to last year, but it’s certainly working this year.”It is working so well, in fact, that if he keeps his form up Doolan may soon go from looking like a Test batsman to actually becoming one.

This wasn’t the first collapse of the summer, but it was one of the most dramatic as the visitors fell apart after facing England’s record-breaking stand

Nagraj Gollapudi at Lord's28-Aug-2010Is it that shocking? Another Pakistan batting collapse? Not really. Pakistan have batted with a defeatist mindset in this Test. If technique, concentration, bloody-mindedness, patience and aggression are the nuts and bolts of successful batsmen then most in this line-up team fall well short of the requirements.Two-and-a-half hours is all it took England to demolish them in the first innings. It was not a period when the tourists offered resistance because that would have involved them stonewalling, putting a price on a wicket and not being submissive. It was not the first instance of a team collapsing so quickly this summer. Australia, England, Pakistan have all succumbed in much more demanding conditions where the ball was swinging “at the corners” as Graeme Swann described. In fact, Pakistan bowlers triggered quite a few of those downfalls themselves.However, on Saturday Lord’s was bathed in bright sunshine. Richie Benaud was there and his verdict: “it is a wonderful day.” It as a sell-out crowd started the bank holiday weekend in a joyous mood, clapping and urging the overnight pair of Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad to extend their record-breaking stand. The conditions were dry as England sprinkled further salt into those gaping wounds left open on the Pakistan mindsets by adding a further 100 runs.Still, if Pakistan remained hopeful it was because they had batted purposefully in the victory at The Oval last week. It was the first time Pakistan had crossed 300 runs in an innings. Incredibly, they had even managed to take a lead, a feat that seemed beyond their frail batting line-up earlier on the tour. The return of Mohammad Yousuf proved a good omen as Pakistan’s most experienced batsman lent guidance and direction to his younger colleagues. Everybody chipped in and, then, Pakistan seriously threatened to level the series yesterday.When England were stuttering at 102 for 7 on Thursday morning, overwhelmed by Mohammad Amir’s magical spells of bowling, Pakistan had control of this match. But as the minutes ticked by Trott bonded with Broad to irritate, frustrate and eventually dominate the Pakistan bowlers and their captain Salman Butt. It was an astonishing fightback, which mentally exhausted the tourists. Not only did the Trott-Broad alliance break various records, it simultaneously broke their opponent’s will during a six-and-a-half-hours vigil. By the time they arrived to bat, Pakistan were devoid of any ideas, completely numbed by the slow torture.”A lot of it [Pakistan’s first innings collapse] is to do with that [Trott and Broad’s partnership],” Swann, who helped himself to five wickets, said. “At lunchtime yesterday [Friday] the Pakistan top four would all have been mentally rehearsing batting and the fact they were still doing that five hours later has got to have a very negative effect on them.”But that partnership was only half the reason Pakistan seemed hopeless. The other striking, and more dangerous, part was the weak frame of mind. None of the batsmen showed the focus and guts to build a fight. For that to happen they would need to stay at the wicket – Pakistan lost their last seven wickets in 56 minutes. If England had showed the character from the depths of despair, Pakistan wilted like a dead chrysanthemum.Earlier in the series, every time his batting unit flopped Butt justified it by reasoning Pakistan were not the only ones to crumble under pressure. True, in testing conditions even England’s batsmen had been exposed consistently by Pakistan’s fast bowlers, but each time the home side were under the pump they found a man or two to stand up and take the pressure. That is why Trott, Broad and Matt Prior have topped the series batting charts because they have found a way past the conditions and the bowler.On Thursday, at the time when the partnership with Broad was still in its infancy, Trott studiously left alone numerous deliveries even if they were pitched on a driving length or short and wide. He laid down his own rules and lived by it until he was caught as he cashed late runs, 16 short of becoming the first batsman to get two double centuries at Lord’s. His hunger, dedication and determination have come as a result of countless hours in first-class cricket and net sessions. Pakistan’s distracted young batsmen can learn a lot from him.

As Yuvraj Singh geared up for his first ever one-dayer at his home ground, he spoke to Anand Vasu about the challenges ahead

Anand Vasu in Mohali28-Oct-2005

Yuvraj Singh: all set to thrill his home crowd © Getty Images
“Do anything you have to, even tread on the damn thing but don’t let it get past,” Greg Chappell’s booming baritone bore down the pitch at Yuvraj Singh as he gave him throw-downs in the last net. Chappell had drawn Yuvraj aside, and was dealing with him one-on-one even as the rest of the team were put through their paces in the nets at the practice facility adjoining the main ground at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali.”It’s amazing what you can achieve if you get your energy moving forward. As long as you keep coming towards the ball you can always back yourself to get into a position to keep the ball down. It’s when you stop that you might hit it in the air,” exhorted Chappell, as Yuvraj crunched one brutal drive after another back towards his coach.On Friday, Yuvraj plays his first ever one-dayer at his home ground. He grew up playing on this ground, made his Test debut here, but has never once had the pleasure of wearing his India blue in front of a home crowd that adores him. “You’re right, it is quite surprising that I have beenplaying one-day cricket for so many years, have played all over the world, and yet never played here,” Yuvraj told Cricinfo. “It will be a good feeling – my mother, father, friends, they’ll all be there watching.”And you can bet there will be support, for Yuvraj has been under such pressure to hand out passes and tickets till late on the eve of the match, that the extra expectation of fans could play a factor. “Pressure is always there when you are playing international cricket,” he said, laughing off the suggestion that it might actually be harder to play at home than away. “I know Chandigarh is my home town and I love the place, but when you are playing for India you don’t think about that. It’s not about home town, it about country.”But Yuvraj has been able to play a role, offering suggestions and local expertise to the captain and coach, something which could play a crucial part in the second one-dayer. “Greg was here for the Challenger Trophy, so he has a fair idea of the conditions. I don’t need to tell him what it is like here. But I did have a chat with the captain, the coach, and some of the guys in the team and gave my inputs.”Chappell has believed for some time now that Yuvraj has it in him to become one of the batting mainstays of this team. In a few years, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly will all have moved along, leaving a gaping hole in the batting line-up. Yuvraj willthen have to move to the next level, and shoulder more responsibility. “I have been working on a lot of things, and I don’t really want to go into that in detail,” he added. “But I can tell you that one thing we have been paying special attention to is footwork.”When you suggest to him that he should perhaps refrain from sweeping against the spinners, as it is a shot that he does not play especially well, and that the percentages may be against him, he gets a touch irritated. “There’s no point saying I should not play the sweep just because I get out a few times playing that shot. Don’t forget I also score a lot of runs playing the sweep.” The way he plays in the V, with a long stride forward or a deep step back, you wonder why he needs to resort to the sweep. “You can’t just play the same shot each time,” he said. “If you do, the bowlers sort you out and start bowling a different line. You have to mix things up.”

Yuvraj does some fielding drills with Chappell watching closely © Getty Images
Yuvraj has begun to show the consistency people have been asking of him over the last few years. Yet his game and attitude are constantly questioned by the media and public who mistake his confident swagger for arrogance and a lack of hard work. In the last match, when he was dodgily adjudged lbw for 14, a television channel dubbed him [Culprit of the match] in a show that can only be described as disgusting.On the eve of the second one-dayer, one journalist asked Dravid about Yuvraj’s “failure” and his “lack of consistency.” Dravid, slightly taken aback by the question, retorted: “He’s a very good player, and he’s won matches for India with bat, ball and on the field. He’s just got one low score in a match where we’ve played after a month. He came out to bat when we needed to score quickly. In just the last series we played he got a hundred. It’s unfair, very unfair, to talk abouthis record,” ended Dravid, visibly ticked off, glaring at the journalist who asked the question.Yuvraj himself smiles off such criticism. His captain, coach and team know how good he is. And most importantly, Yuvraj himself knows, and this shows in the way he expresses himself with a bat in hand.

Cristiano Ronaldo seemed to be bidding an emotional farewell to the Al-Nassr faithful, which has sparked speculation regarding a possible exit.

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Al-Nassr played final home game of seasonFootage after showed CR7 acknowledging fansFueled speculation about a possible summer exitFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Al-Nassr beat Al-Khaleej 2-0 in their final home game of the season on Wednesday, with Ronaldo finding the back of the net to make it 24 league goals. However, his body language and gestures at the end of the game seemed indicative of a player who might seek new pastures. Indeed, CR7 looked emotional after the game as he walked up to a section of Al-Nassr supporters behind the goal to acknowledge them. He waved and clapped multiple times, which has only intensified speculation of his possible summer departure.

AdvertisementWATCH THE CLIPGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner will soon enter the final month of his contract with the Saudi heavyweights, and there have been no talks about a renewal so far. The Portuguese international has attracted interest from a number of clubs across the globe after Al-Nassr failed to qualify for the AFC Champions League and endured another season without lifting silverware.

Moroccan outfit Wydad Casablanca were reportedly keen on signing Ronaldo on a short-term deal. They are set to feature in the Club World Cup, which begins on June 14, and Wydad were said to be keen on signing the ex-Real Madrid and Man Utd player for the duration of the tournament.

Brazilian side Botafogo have also been linked with the forward after Renato Pavia, the club boss, said he would love to have him in their ranks. An emotional homecoming to boyhood club Sporting CP has not been ruled out.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR CRISTIANO RONALDO?

Ronaldo's future at Al-Nassr remains uncertain, raising the possibility that this weekend’s clash with Al-Fateh could mark the 40-year-old's final appearance for the club. If that is to be the case, Ronaldo will be hoping to score at least two goals to bring up a century of goals for .