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Rangers have been given a fresh update over Auston Trusty's future, with the youngster stating via the Daily Record that he is only focused on the present and his current pre-season tour with Arsenal.

Who is Auston Trusty?

The 24-year-old currently plays for Arsenal, having been poached by the Gunners only last year. Despite the Premier League side snapping him up, he has yet to make his top flight debut for the side and has instead been shipped out on loan in order to get minutes. That meant spending the 2022/23 season on loan with Birmingham in the Championship.

The youngster ended up being an integral part of the Blues' first-team squad and missed only two second tier outings all campaign. He featured on 44 occasions in total and fired in four goals with two assists along the way, despite his position on the field.

Prior to joining Birmingham though, Trusty had no experience of English or Scottish football. His entire playing time came in his native USA, having been given his league debut by Bethlehem in the USL at the age of 17. He then joined up with Philadelphia in the MLS, before switching to Colorado Rapids, which resulted in his most outstanding time as a player to date.

He managed 57 league appearances during his time there, with two goal contributions, and also helped drag them up to second in the standings in one campaign.

Are Rangers signing Auston Trusty?

It was these showings that led to Trusty heading to England for Arsenal. Now, it looks as though he could be cast aside by the club this summer, with talks of a permanent switch away on the cards. Rangers are one of the sides mentioned in terms of the interest in the American, with a price tag of £2m mentioned as potentially enough to seal a deal to send him to the Scottish Premiership outfit.

However, they do face competition from England, with Ipswich also linked with the player – his experience in the second tier could prove invaluable to the newly-promoted Tractor Boys.

Now, according to the 24-year-old himself via the Daily Record, he has spoken out about his current situation and future. He hasn't spoken of any interest in his signature and has instead insisted he is only thinking about things on a "day-to-day" basis. He has, of course, been taken on Arsenal's pre-season tour in his homeland. That means he is currently "focused" on that – so any potential deal for the ace may have to wait until he is home and able to think about a potential deal.

"My mindset has been here since the beginning. So I'm not focused on anything else. I'm focused on day by day. You can ask anybody how I approach things. my mindset has always been focused on day by day. You never can control the future but I'm focusing on myself."

Rangers then could have to play the waiting game over Trusty. The central defender will likely showcase his stuff for the Gunners over the summer, and then his future could be decided upon his return to England.

If the Gers did manage to sign the 24-year-old though, it could be a shrewd move. He's proven to be a reliable option at a decent level in the Championship and was a regular in the MLS to boot. His age and his current skillset means he has all the capabilities of being a very solid part of the Scottish side's backline if they sign him this transfer window.

Leeds United are in desperate need of some reinforcements to their squad following their relegation from the Premier League last season and now a fresh update has emerged on a potential transfer target.

What's the latest on Leeds' interest in Ryan Fraser?

According to the Sunday Mirror, Leeds are interested in signing out of favour Newcastle winger Ryan Fraser this summer.

As per the report, it is claimed that Fraser is expected to leave St James' Park this summer and Leeds are joined in their interest of forward by fellow relegated club Southampton.

How good is Ryan Fraser?

Leeds are set for a hugely transformative summer with a full takeover confirmed and Daniel Farke appointed as the new head coach at Elland Road in recent weeks.

Now the behind-the-scenes issues have been resolved it is time to start focusing on recruitment plans and identifying players who can help the club bounce back from the devastating relegation and achieve instant automatic promotion by dominating the second tier next season.

As a result, the signing of Fraser – once hailed a "dream" by his former Bournemouth teammate Eunan O'Kane- could be a great piece of business for Farke this summer as the Newcastle outcast has a lot to offer in the attacking third and could ultimately form a formidable partnership with Patrick Bamford to get the striker scoring consistently again.

The Scotland international reportedly had a disagreement with manager Eddie Howe and has since been banished to the youth set-up, so it is difficult to measure his output when his game-time has been limited for the majority of the campaign.

However, the 29-year-old has proved on many occasions over his career that he can be a real asset in the wide positions of the forward line, tallying up 34 goals and 52 assists over 312 club appearances, but it's not just his goal contributions that would make him a valuable asset to Farke.

Before falling out of favour, Fraser displayed many of his qualities over eight league appearances for Newcastle last season by successfully completing 100% of his dribbles and winning the majority of his duels combined (59%).

Only in 2018/19, did he create a whopping 14 assists in one Premier League season, demonstrating strong attributes in his ability to play the final pass into the box and deliver goal-scoring opportunities.

The Scot can replicate that at Elland Road he could be extremely valuable to Bamford next season and with more chances played into the box, it would surely boost his goal tally in the Championship.

Despite his recent troubles in the North East, Fraser has earned high praise during his career, especially for his influence on the Scotland national team, with his compatriot and former Aberdeen player Charlie Nicholas telling Sky Sports Soccer Saturday:

"What I like is that he is a little pocket dynamo. He is quite an old-fashioned type of player – what we used to call a tanner ba' – from the days when Scottish players were very popular. He has a little bit of that. He has obviously put a lot of muscle on and built himself up to be able to take the knocks and kicks that come his way."

With that being said, it is reported that Newcastle will command a fee of around €8m (£7m) this summer which would be a steal for a Premier League proven player who could work alongside Bamford to ensure Leeds can comfortably compete in the Championship next season.

After exceeding their transformation targets in the 2016-17 season, CSA were optimistic of having their major tournament ban lifted

Firdose Moonda08-May-2017Cricket South Africa is “optimistic” of having the government ban on bidding for hosting major global tournaments overturned when the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) presents its transformation report on Tuesday morning, although they do not foresee having any global cricket events in the country until at least 2023.The EPG is an independent committee, appointed by ministers, who compile an annual assessment of various sporting codes and their commitment to change. Last year, they found four sporting federations, including cricket, had not met the transformation criteria. Then-sports minister, Fikile Mbalula, meted out the same punishment to all four federations, even though it had little material impact on any of them. In cricket’s case, the ICC had already distributed events for the next six years.Nonetheless, CSA set new transformation targets which required the team to field a minimum of six players of colour, of which at least two must be black African. At the end of the 2016-17 summer, CSA exceeded their targets.”We are optimistic of achieving good outcomes but we would not want to pre-empt anything at this stage. Regardless, we are committed to transformation and we will continue to engage with the ministry and other stakeholders to ensure we achieve our transformation goals,” CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat told ESPNcricinfo.Apart from the on-field numbers, CSA also worked with the EPG and government administrators to create a more up-to-date database of cricket statistics at lower levels, particularly schools and clubs where much of the existing information was obsolete. “We have engaged constructively with the EPG secretariat and the Department to correct data errors and to develop a tailored scorecard for cricket,” Lorgat said.With accurate statistics now in place, cricket is unlikely to have a similar problem in the future provided the transformation numbers continue to meet requirements. There is no word on whether the targets will be increased, with new sports minister, Thembelani Nxesi, who was appointed in early April, yet to weigh in on the issue.

The majority of England’s centrally contracted players have been made available to play for their counties in the early rounds of the Specsavers County Championship

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Mar-2017The majority of England’s centrally contracted players (who are not otherwise engaged at the IPL) have been made available to play for their counties in the early rounds of the Specsavers County Championship and the Royal London One-Day Cup next month.The player availability, which was confirmed by the ECB on Friday, means that Essex’s return to Division One of the Championship, against Lancashire at Chelmsford on April 7, could provide some intriguing individual match-ups.In particular, England’s former Test captain, Alastair Cook, will face up to his long-term attack leader, James Anderson, in his first first-class outing since relinquishing the captaincy, while Cook’s likely opening partner for July’s Test series against South Africa, Haseeb Hameed, will be fronting up at the top of Lancashire’s batting.Joe Root, the new Test captain, will sit out Yorkshire’s opening Championship fixture against Hampshire at Headingley, as will his Yorkshire team-mate, Jonny Bairstow, who might have been playing in the IPL during the same period had he not gone unsold at the auction. Moeen Ali and Jake Ball will also miss the opening round of matches, for Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire respectively, following their busy winter schedules.However, those players will be made available for at least one of the opening three rounds of the Championship, before attention returns to white-ball cricket with the impending ODI series against Ireland and South Africa, followed by the Champions Trophy.Several other players who have featured in England’s Test plans in the past 12 months will also be available to their counties in that period, including Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Alex Hales, Steven Finn, Mark Wood, Keaton Jennings, Liam Dawson, James Vince, and Root and Bairstow’s Yorkshire team-mates, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid and David Willey.The list, naturally, excludes the eight England players who will be on IPL duty in India, including the allrounders Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes, the one-day captain Eoin Morgan, and the one-day opener, Jason Roy.All England players who are currently with their counties, however, have been made available for the opening three rounds of matches in the Royal London One-Day Cup, which has been brought forward in the season this year building to a final at Lord’s on July 1.

Ben Stokes will be available to his new IPL franchise, Rising Pune Supergiants, for the full six-week group stage of the competition

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-20172:37

England players attract big bids in the auction

Ben Stokes will be available to his new IPL franchise, Rising Pune Supergiants, for the full six-week group stage of the competition, after he was given clearance to miss England’s two-match ODI series against Ireland that takes place in early May.Stokes, who was yesterday signed by Supergiants for USD 2.16 million, a record fee for an overseas player, will instead be required to return to England on May 14 to prepare for three ODIs against South Africa in late May that serve as a warm-up for the ICC Champions Trophy.England IPL availability

Due back May 14 Stokes, Woakes, Buttler
Due back May 1 Morgan, Roy, Billings
Available all matches Mills, Jordan

Jos Buttler, who has been retained by Mumbai Indians after playing in the 2016 IPL, and Chris Woakes, who was acquired by Kolkata Knight Riders for USD 625,000, have also been cleared to take part in the tournament until May 14. Should their teams finish in the qualification slots, it would mean missing out on the knockout stages as well as the final, which is scheduled to take place on May 21 in Hyderabad.As anticipated, England’s captain, Eoin Morgan, will be recalled to England duty sooner than his team-mates, with his availability for his new franchise, Kings XI Punjab, limited to the first month of competition. He is due to return to England on May 1 to prepare for the Ireland matches that take place at Bristol and Lord’s on May 5 and 7.Jason Roy, who was picked up by Gujarat Lions for USD 150000, will also return to England on May 1, as too will Sam Billings, retained by Delhi Daredevils, who may see the Ireland matches as a good opportunity to press his claims for a starting berth in the Champions Trophy, following a decent showing on the recent tour of India.Tymal Mills, who was signed by Bangalore Royal Challengers for USD 1.8 million and who is limited to T20 matches due to a congenital back condition, is available to his franchise for the duration of the tournament, as is his fellow Sussex seamer, Chris Jordan, who seems unlikely to be back on England duty until the South Africa T20s in late June.

The BCB intends to extend Thilan Samaraweera’s spell as Bangladesh batting consultant until next year’s Champions Trophy

Mohammad Isam01-Nov-20161:02

Samaraweera to stay on as batting coach

The BCB intends to extend Thilan Samaraweera’s spell as Bangladesh batting consultant until next year’s Champions Trophy. Cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan said that Samaraweera is prepared to stay on in his role.”We are keeping him,” Akram told BDnews24.com. “Everyone is positive about him. The coach wants him to stay back, and so does everyone else. He also doesn’t have any reservations about it.”Samaraweera joined Bangladesh ahead of the Afghanistan series for a stint that was initially to run until the end of the England series. But now he will be part of the coaching staff for the tours to New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, Ireland and England in the upcoming seven months.Bangladesh’s coaching staff has been revamped after Heath Streak and Ruwan Kalpage quit as bowling and assistant coach respectively earlier this year. Courtney Walsh replaced Streak while Samaraweera also joined as batting coach, though the BCB has said it is still looking for a spin bowling coach. Richard Halsall, previously the fielding coach, has been promoted to the assistant coach’s position.

England women will conclude their busiest-ever year of international cricket by taking on Sri Lanka in the final round of ICC Women’s Championship in November.The three-match ODI series was today confirmed by the England & Wales Cricket Board, and will take place at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on November 12, 15 and 17.England are currently third on 19 points in the Championship standings, which serve as the qualification tournament for the 2017 World Cup, with Sri Lanka lying in eighth, having won just twice in their first five rounds of the competition.

England women in West Indies and Sri Lanka

• 1st ODI, Florence Hall, October 8
  2nd ODI, Florence Hall, October 10

• 3rd ODI, Kingston, October 14
  4th ODI, Kingston, October 16
  5th ODI, Kingston, October 19
  Training camp, Abu Dhabi, November 1-7
  1st ODI, Colombo, November 12
  2nd ODI, Colombo, November 15

• 3rd ODI, Colombo, November 17

Arguably the bigger test of England’s credentials will come when they travel to Jamaica next month to play West Indies in the penultimate round of the ICC WC. Stafanie Taylor’s team are one point ahead of England in second place on the table, meaning that the result from that series will have a significant bearing on the final qualification standings.”The tour to Sri Lanka will mark the end of the busiest ever year for the England women’s team and the conclusion of the ICC Women’s Championship,” said Mark Robinson, England Women’s Head Coach. “It will be another good test to mark how we are progressing as a squad, as we bid to overcome a passionate home team in the heat and humidity of Sri Lanka.”As always, it will be a challenge that we will relish, as we keep building for the future and look ahead to the ICC Women’s World Cup on home soil next year.”Prior to arriving in Colombo, the squad will take part in a six-day training camp in Abu Dhabi from November 1-7.

Journalist Craig Hope has claimed that Newcastle United winger Miguel Almiron could be on the bench this weekend.

What's the latest injury news for Newcastle and Miguel Almiron?

The 29-year-old winger has been out injured for a little while now and has not actually played in any of the club's last four Premier League games.

However, with Aston Villa to face away from home, it looks as though he could be in contention to make a return to the bench.

Indeed, while speaking to the press ahead of this game, manager Eddie Howe provided an interesting update on the winger.

He said (via Shields Gazette) “He’s done really well. He’s ahead of schedule at the moment. Fingers crossed, he gets through training, and could be available very soon.”

He was then asked if Almiron could play against Villa, and remained vague with his answer but admitted it was a “possibility".

While talking about this on his own YouTube channel, Hope claimed that Howe's words were enough to confirm that the Paraguay international will definitely make the bench.

He explained: “We've learned to read Eddie when it comes to fitness and otherwise.

"But for him to say that Miguel Almiron is back and training, and see how he come through today's session, that tells us that he will be on the bench down at Aston Villa tomorrow, which is two weeks ahead of schedule, which is a huge boost for them."

How many Premier League goals has Almiron scored this season?

Before the break for the winter World Cup, Almiron was in the form of his life, scoring eight goals and providing one assist in the Premier League.

Since then, however, the £60k-per-week star has lost a little bit of momentum and form, adding just three more league goals to his tally (for a total of 11 in 25).

Perhaps this little time on the sidelines will have done him so good then, just to let him reset before the final run-in.

At the very least, he certainly seems raring to go if he is indeed ready to get back on the bench to play Aston Villa ahead of schedule.

Indeed, while Howe wasn't prepared to confirm Almiron would play any part, journalist Hope seems to be sure that the winger be involved in some capacity as part of the matchday squad for the first time since 12th March.

Everton have been offered the chance to sign Boca Juniors striker Mateo Retegui this summer, according to reports.

What's the latest on Retegui's future?

The Toffees failed to sign a single player during the January window and having not replaced Anthony Gordon or recruited another senior forward to help Ellis Simms whilst Dominic Calvert-Lewin is on the sidelines, these could be just some of the reasons why Sean Dyche finds his outfit in this dangerous position.

The Argentinian’s contract with Hugo Ibarra’s side isn’t set to expire until the end of next year, but having fallen out of favour, is currently on a season-long loan at Club Atletico Tigre, as per Transfermarkt. Despite them having the option to buy included though, the 23-year-old has been attracting interest from the Premier League.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, the forward admitted that he’ll be on the move at the end of the season and is ideally looking to secure a switch to Europe. He said “Melarana [Tigre's president] said that in July it could be likely that I'll be sold. I really like the idea, it is a dream for everyone who plays football, the greatest teams are in Europe. In Italy there are great clubs, I like them all.”

Now, according to 90min, Retegui has been “offered” to Everton, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Leeds, Leicester and newly-promoted Burnley, who have all been “made aware” of his potential availability in the summer. AC Milan, Inter Milan, Lazio and Udinese are also “keen” to secure his services, whilst Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Eintracht Frankfurt and Union Berlin are among others “weighing up” an approach.

Should Everton splash the cash on Retegui?

Journalist Josh Bunting has claimed that Retegui is a centre-forward who has a natural “instinct in the box” and so Everton should certainly consider tabling an offer should they be in an affordable position to do so.

The Adidas-sponsored star has posted 33 goal contributions (30 goals and three assists) in 53 appearances for Tigre where he’s currently averaging 3.9 shots per league game, showcasing how prolific he is at not only taking his chances but creating them.

The 6 foot 1 striker also poses a physical presence and threat up top with his height where he’s recording 2.7 aerial wins every 90 minutes, making him the ideal target man when it comes to long balls, crosses and set pieces being whipped into the area.

Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, has called for the team to play smarter cricket following the poor end to their tour of South Africa as they turn attentions to the World T20 in India. However, he does not want the players to go into their shells after a difficult couple of weeks, saying that the winner in India will be the “boldest” team on show.England ended their stay in South Africa with a crushing nine-wicket defeat at the Wanderers to lose the T20 series 2-0. From a promising position of 157 for 3 – with Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler finding their range – they were well placed for 200, but conspired to lose 7 for 14 and not even play out their overs.They were then belted around the Bullring by AB de Villiers who cartwheeled to 71 off 29 balls as South Africa raced to their target with more than five overs to spare.It led to Bayliss saying it was like “men against boys” and meant that England finished with five defeats on the bounce having been 2-0 up in the one-day series before being let down by poor fielding when they could have sealed it in the Johannesburg ODI. Although the Test series was secured on that heady day at the Wanderers when Stuart Broad blew South Africa away the tour ended on a downbeat note.There is little time to ponder with just a short break at home before departing for India where they will face group matches against West Indies, Sri Lanka, a qualifier and, potentially significantly given recent results, South Africa again in Mumbai on March 18. Faf du Plessis, the South Africa T20 captain, was not shy at suggesting his side could have struck some psychological blows.”I can guarantee you one thing, the team that wins the World Twenty20 will be the boldest team there,” Bayliss said.”If we go out and try to be too nice, or if we give that advantage away or are not as positive and aggressive as we have been when we have played well and won, then we will still not win – because there will be teams out there with the confidence, players and ability to go out and play that way.”The two series defeats in South Africa have zapped some of the feel-good factor that had developed around England’s white-ball teams since their post-World Cup rebuilding which has been forged on an almost breakable desire to be positive and for players to be encouraged to push their own boundaries.Both Bayliss and Morgan have cited the inexperience in the side as a factor as to why the wheels came off somewhat in South Africa and cautioned that more such days cannot be ruled out as players continue to find their feet at international level. But the straight-talking Bayliss knows that platitudes about how good a team could be does not help in the present.”We’ve had some good results, but it’s a reminder to people back home in England that this team is still a developing one,” he said. “We’ve had some good performances, and there’s a lot of potential there.”But potential never won anything … we’ve got some hard work to do. I think the expectation the players have put on themselves is why they are so disappointed when they play badly. It may be that extra pressure they put on themselves that they’ve got to get over.”In the final ODI at Newlands and the first T20 at the same ground, England were criticised for not adjusting quickly enough to conditions and reassessing what a defendable total could be.”We spoke the other night, it is a case of going with the flow of the game,” Bayliss said. “If we get off to a good start, you have to recognise that flow [and think] ‘can we continue to do this’?”If we do happen to lose a few wickets … well, has the flow of the game changed, and do we have to play a little bit differently? I think that will be playing smart cricket, and that is what the good teams will do.”Still, despite the setback, Bayliss believes that England can put on a good show in India which will conclude a long period overseas for the team this winter.”If we play well … we’ll be hard to beat. In the last two games, we haven’t played all that well – and in this game, we’ve been beaten easily. We’re going to have to play a lot better than that.””It’s small margins,” he added. “One catch, and we’d have only lost the last four – and we’d have won the one-day series. That’s as simple as it can get. You win that fourth match, who knows … it might have given the boys enough confidence to go on and win the fifth one. We’ve got to learn from that, and work out how we can get better.”