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Sunderland's 2022/23 campaign unfortunately came crashing to an end earlier this week as they lost to Luton Town in the semi-finals of the Championship play-offs.

The Black Cats, who were missing the likes of Dennis Cirkin, Danny Batth, and Ross Stewart, lost 3-2 on aggregate and will be playing in the second tier next season.

Tony Mowbray is reportedly set to continue as the head coach and planning is underway for the club to bolster the squad heading into the following year.

It was recently reported that they are interested in a potential swoop to sign Northern Irish attacking midfielder Charlie Lindsay on a free transfer.

Who is Charlie Lindsay?

The 19-year-old talent is a versatile forward who has the potential to score and assist goals on a regular basis and could be an excellent addition to Sunderland.

He is going to be a free agent this summer upon the expiry of his contract with Scottish giants Rangers and Black Cats sporting director Kristjaan Speakman could land Mowbray his dream Alex Pritchard heir by securing a bargain swoop for the gem.

The Northern Ireland U21 international did not make a senior appearance during his time at Ibrox but his form for their academy side suggests that there is a big talent to be unearthed.

Lindsay scored 14 goals and provided seven assists in 48 appearances for their B and U19 teams and David Lowry, who was his coach at Glentoran, previously hailed the maestro's attributes in the middle of the park by saying:

"He is a box-to-box midfielder who covers every blade of grass. He is powerful and quick, and his range of passing is first-class. He also knows when to pick a pass, and then he delivers it with precision. He ticks so many boxes as a footballer."

The teenager could be the ideal heir to Pritchard's throne at the Stadium of Light as, like the Englishman, he is a creative player with an eye for goal.

Lindsay, who racked up 12 goals and six assists in 33 games in the Lowland League this season, has not proven himself at first-team level yet but could learn from the ex-Tottenham and Norwich dynamo as he adjusts to playing senior football.

Pritchard, 30, scored four goals and provided six assists in 28 Championship starts in 2022/23 and has been a reliable option for Mowbray to call upon in the no.10 role.

The wizard has the quality to be a difference-maker at the top end of the pitch, by breaking down an opposition defence with a pass or finishing off a move himself, and Lindsay's form at youth level for Rangers indicates that he could grow into being a similar player.

Crystal Palace have received an approach from the agents of Bayern Munich defender Noussair Mazraoui to let them know that he will be available this summer, according to reports.

What's the latest on Mazraoui's future?

The Premier League outfit have Nathaniel Clyne and Joel Ward as their current options at right-back, but with the pair both out of contract at the end of the season, Roy Hodgson will need to enter the market to find suitable replacements should they not extend their stay.

The Moroccan international only arrived at the Allianz Arena in July 2022 on a free transfer from Ajax so still has another three years remaining on his deal.

However, having made just six Bayern league starts before their game against Mainz today, he is significantly low down in the pecking order.

Should the 25-year-old want to receive more regular game time and nail down a starting place next season, he could therefore be tempted to look elsewhere during the upcoming window, and should that be the case, he wouldn’t be short of a potential suitor at Selhurst Park.

According to 90min, Crystal Palace, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Wolves, Arsenal and West Ham United have all been “alerted” to Mazraoui’s potential availability and are expected to be “kept informed” of how his transfer situation unfolds at Bayern. Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid have additionally been “told” that he might be on the lookout for his next destination this summer.

Would Mazraoui be a good signing for Palace?

Crystal Palace have previously been linked with another move for Aaron Wan-Bissaka whose future at United is uncertain, and whilst Mazraoui isn’t as high-profile of a name as the Red Devils right-back, he would be a fantastic acquisition for Hodgson should he sign on the dotted line.

The Adidas-sponsored gem has won over 12 tackles from 17 players challenged this season so is strong in the defensive aspect of his game but is also capable of contributing to efforts at the opposite end of the pitch with 48 goal contributions (26 assists and 22 goals) to his name in over 258 career appearances.

Hailed a “superb” player by football expert Alex Barker, the £135k-per-week full-back will know what it takes to be successful having got his hands on seven senior trophies since bursting onto the professional scene so he would be able to pass on his winning mentality to the rest of the squad at Selhurst Park.

Having threatened to pull off a win over a big team in their first three matches of the Super 10 stage, Afghanistan finally went ahead and did it against the group-topping West Indies in Nagpur

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur27-Mar-2016

Having threatened to pull off a win over a big team in their first three matches of the Super 10 stage, Afghanistan finally went ahead and did it against the group-topping West Indies in Nagpur. Inzamam-ul-Haq, Afghanistan’s batting coach, praised his team’s self-belief, and reiterated the call for more opportunities to play against the Full Members.”All our previous matches have been close,” Inzamam said. “There haven’t been one-sided matches, it’s not like a team makes 200 against us and we are all out for 100 or 150. The team has been fighting, and the belief was always there.”But Afghanistan haven’t had that exposure of winning against big teams. The finishing point has not been seen yet. But now that we have won this, it will definitely help. And we had a strong belief that if we can come so close, we can win too. Today it has happened. We could have won against England, there was a close game against Sri Lanka too. So we knew we had the potential to win, but you still need that win. The more we play against big teams, the more we’ll learn, and can perform even better.”One of the players who displayed strong self-belief was the left-arm spinner Amir Hamza. Having been hit for 25 runs in one over in his last match, against England, he took the new ball, bowled three of his four overs in the Powerplay, and finished with figures of 4-0-9-1.”He’s one of our main bowlers,” Inzamam said. “Sometimes we need to make changes in the XI as per the conditions, and as per the player’s form. But he is a seasoned player and a terrific bowler. In the last match, he conceded 25 runs in one over, but he didn’t let it affect his confidence. Today, at a crucial point, he bowled well.”Sent in to bat, Afghanistan posted 123 for 7. Inzamam felt the total was perhaps 15 or 20 runs below par given the conditions, but said the team made it up with their bowling and fielding.”If you see, chases have been difficult on this ground,” he said. “Even in the last game, West Indies could chase 123 against South Africa only in the last over. India also played earlier and were all out for 79 [against New Zealand]. So it’s not easy to get runs in the second innings on this ground.”And we knew that, so it’s not like we had started out thinking we should get 160-170. Our target was 140 to 150, we thought we could put pressure [on West Indies] if we had that total. So we thought we fell maybe 15-20 runs short, but I think the boys fielded excellently. They caught well and saved 10-15 runs on the field. That covered the runs we couldn’t make while batting.”West Indies were playing their second match of the tournament in Nagpur, while Afghanistan – who had won three out of three first-round matches at the venue – were playing their fourth. Inzamam said Afghanistan’s knowledge of the conditions gave them an edge on the day.”We thought we knew this ground better than West Indies, we had already played three matches here, practised a lot here. We had an idea about the pitch and the ground, and that helped us mentally as well as on the ground. The bowlers knew how to bowl on the pitch, the batsmen had an idea, and we spoke about this in our team meeting yesterday also – that we definitely know these conditions better than West Indies.”Inzamam has been part of the Afghanistan backroom since October 2015. Asked how long he intended to stay on in the role, he said he would sit with the Afghanistan Cricket Board at the end of his current term and take a mutual decision.”I am with them for a year now, so I’m looking at [finishing] that first. After a year is up, we have to decide whether they want to keep me or not too. It has to be both ways. I have five-six months left and, inshallah, they will go well.”

Newcastle United ended their recent wobble by edging past Wolverhampton Wanderers at St James’ Park on Sunday evening, with Eddie Howe’s men claiming all three points for the first time since beating Fulham back in January.

Having gone five Premier League games without a win – as well as losing in the Carabao Cup final to Manchester United – the Magpies had hit something of a rocky patch heading into yesterday’s encounter, with the club’s top-four hopes beginning to ebb way.

Despite those recent frustrations, the Tynesiders produced an excellent response to see off Julen Lopetegui’s side, with goals from Alexander Isak and Miguel Almiron proving the difference either side of Hwang Hee-chan’s close-range effort.

That impressive showing proved a welcome return to the side for midfield star, Joe Willock, with the former Arsenal man – who hadn’t started in the league since the draw with West Ham United – leading the way with his 7.8 match rating, as per Sofascore.

That eye-catching display from the 23-year-old saw the playmaker register an assist for Almiron’s late strike and provide two key passes in total, having also completed four of his six dribbles and won a solid six ground duels.

The London-born dynamo was not the only figure to have proven his worth in that 2-1 triumph, however, with compatriot Jacob Murphy also making the most of what was a rare start in the league.

How did Murphy perform against Wolves?

While Murphy has been a regular fixture under Howe during the latter man’s tenure to date – having featured more frequently than any other player in that time – the 28-year-old has largely been an impact player off the bench this season, making just six league starts thus far.

As such, it was undoubtedly a bold call for the Newcastle boss to include the winger in his starting lineup for the visit of the Old Gold, although the experienced asset seemingly passed that test with flying colours.

As the Chronicle’s Jordan Cronin stated, Murphy deserves a “special mention” for his performance against the Midlands side, having “more than justified his selection” despite the initial concern over his inclusion in the side.

The former Norwich City speedster simply ‘ran himself into the ground’ in that relentless display down the right flank, as per journalist Lee Ryder, notably winning four duels as a marker of that willing work ethic.

The £35k-per-week machine also attempted five crosses and completed 12 of his 16 passes, having showcased a real desire to make things happen in the final third – even while losing possession on 13 occasions.

There is, undoubtedly, a need for the 5 foot 10 menace to provide a greater end product when it matters, although it will be truly invaluable for Howe to have such a committed and hard-working figure to call upon when needed.

With January arrival Anthony Gordon facing a brief spell on the sidelines due to injury, there is now likely to be an even greater onus on Murphy to perform, with Sunday’s 85-minute outing seemingly indicating that the Wembley-born gem is up to the task.

Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas has been praised for his ‘fantastic play’ during the Premier League game vs Wolverhampton Wanderers by journalist Ian Doyle.

The Lowdown: Victory at Anfield

The Reds were the hosts at Anfield on Wednesday night as they secured a 2-0 victory over the Old Gold thanks to two second-half goals from Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.

The Greece international was named in the starting line-up by Jurgen Klopp and had a wonderful impact on the game, providing the assist for the Egyptian striker to seal all three points.

The Latest: Doyle’s reaction

Taking to Twitter, Doyle was quick to applaud Tsimikas for his work rate to burst into the box and lay it on a plate for Salah. He wrote:

“Fantastic play down the left by Tsimikas, who ran on to a Gakpo pass, delayed and delayed and delayed and then picked the right pass to cut back for Salah to score.”

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The Verdict: Standout performer

Liverpool picked up a much-needed win over Wolves, and Tsimikas’s contribution certainly helped them get the result over the line.

The left-back, labelled ‘excellent’ on the night by Dave O’Connell, was his side’s second-best performing player, earning a match rating of 7.7, slightly behind Van Dijk, who came in at 8.2 for his goal and captaincy on the night (SofaScore).

The Reds star also had an 85% pass accuracy and registered two key passes, highlighting the positive impact he made under the lights.

Tsimikas has only been handed six league starts this season, but after a performance like this, Klopp may now have to consider increasing his involvement in the weeks ahead.