Journalist Pete O'Rourke has dropped a double Everton exit update ahead of the summer transfer window, with "huge fees" potentially seeing them leave.

Everton transfer news

The Blues continue to battle for their survival in the Premier League this season, with Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Manchester City a predictable result, but still another loss that doesn't help their current situation. They are still one point adrift of safety, sitting 18th in the table, so there is understandable concern.

Should Everton head to the Championship for the first time this summer, it is clear that a number of key players could move on, possibly refusing to ply their trade in the second tier of English football. The likes of Jordan Pickford, Jarrad Branthwaite, Amadou Onana and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are just a few examples, and it would be hard to begrudge them a move away.

On the flip side, incoming transfer business could be expected, regardless of whether Everton have been relegated or not, and they have been linked with a move for Brighton midfielder Jakub Moder, ultimately missing out on signing him during the January window. Their interest could potentially return at the end of the season, however, so it could be one to watch.

Onana and Branthwaite could leave Everton

According to a fresh update from Football Insider's O'Rourke, Everton could sell both Onana and Branthwaite for "huge fees" this summer.

"Everton duo Amadou Onana and Jarrad Branthwaite are in line to be sold in the summer, sources have told Football Insider. The Toffees need to raise funds amid their financial woes, and the pair have emerged as the obvious candidates for the club to sell. The club remain in financial turmoil amid their fight to remain in the Premier League, their pending takeover by 777 Partners and their 10-point deduction for breaching Profit and Sustainability rules in November.

"Both Branthwaite and Onana have been the subject of widespread interest in recent months following their standout displays this season and are expected to fetch “huge fees”, sources say."

Losing both Onana and Branthwaite would be a massive blow for Everton, considering they are not only among the most important players at the club currently, but also youngsters who could only get better in the coming years.

It is easy to see their heads being turned by switches over better teams, sadly, and as mentioned, if Sean Dyche's side fail to beat the drop come May, it is impossible to see either staying put.

Onana has been linked with a move to Newcastle United, the Magpies are reportedly in pole position to seal a £60m move for him, while Branthwaite is thought to be a big target for Manchester United, with the Red Devils seeing him as a long-term option at the heart of their defence. One report has even claimed that Everton could want as much as £75m for his signature.

The only positive would be the "huge fees" that O'Rourke mentions, with Everton understandably demanding big money for two of their prized assets, meaning the club could use the funds to rebuild their squad, hopefully seeing it pay off for the better in the long run.

Blow for Everton with "very good" player set to miss next two games

There’s a growing list of injuries at Goodison Park.

By
Tom Coates

Feb 11, 2024

All this does is highlight the Blues' current financial plight, however, and in an ideal world, they wouldn't have to entertain the idea of selling two stars.

Glasgow Rangers are on a spectacular run right now which has seen them recently return to the summit of the Premiership table for the first time since August 2022.

While the players have been excellent, Philippe Clement is the catalyst behind such an impressive few months. The Belgian arrived last October with the Ibrox side engulfed in a crisis, but fast-forward five months, and he has the club in a title race, secured his first trophy while even setting up a Europa League last 16 clash against Benfica.

There will be bumps in the road, no doubt about it, but the transformation has shown that the club are ready to fight for every trophy.

One key element that the 49-year-old will be keen to develop at Ibrox is the establishment of a successful player trading model.

Previously, the Gers have paid money for players, only for their value to decrease or for them to run down their contracts and leave for free.

Over the previous decade, only three players have generated the club a major profit: Nathan Patterson, Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo.

The former two are performing well for their new clubs, yet Aribo has largely struggled since leaving Glasgow, indicating that perhaps selling him in 2022 was the correct thing to do.

How much Rangers signed Joe Aribo for

Following an underwhelming debut season in charge of Rangers, Steven Gerrard sought to bolster his side prior to the 2019/20 campaign.

The likes of Ryan Kent, Filip Helander and Greg Stewart joined the Light Blues, but it was the signing of Aribo which looked the most exciting.

Player

Club signed from

Ryan Kent

Liverpool

Filip Helander

Bologna

George Edmundson

Oldham

Joe Aribo

Charlton

Greg Stewart

Birmingham

Steven Davis

Southampton

Jake Hastie

Motherwell

Jordan Jones

Kilmarnock

Sheyi Ojo

Liverpool

Brandon Barker

Manchester City

The attacking midfielder had shone for Charlton Athletic in the season prior, scoring ten times and grabbing five assists as he helped the side secure promotion back to the Championship.

He signed for the club on a four-year contract, costing the Gers just £300k because of cross-border transfer rules and Gerrard hailed his new arrival.

"We have a good midfield but currently we don’t have a player with Joe’s characteristics.

“He is tall, athletic and quick. He’s a box-to-box player and is not afraid to open the door when he gets around the box and he can unlock defences.”

High praise indeed for the youngster, and he was clearly ready to turn heads during his spell in Scotland, as it was evident Aribo was destined for bigger things in the future.

Joe Aribo’s statistics at Rangers

Aribo started off encouragingly at Rangers, scoring nine goals and chipping in with eight assists, although the club failed to lift any silverware during a season which was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was the 2020/21 campaign in which the former Charlton midfielder began to really showcase his talents, however, as the Light Blues steamrolled all opposition as they won their first title for a decade.

The Nigerian international registered 15 goal contributions – eight goals and seven assists – in all competitions and ranked sixth among his teammates for goals and assists (11) in the top flight, along with ranking fourth for big chances created (seven), fourth for key passes per game (1.2) and first for successful dribbles per game (1.9), displaying his full repertoire of skills during the season.

Aribo was fast becoming a crowd favourite at Ibrox due to his mesmerising displays and the 2021/22 season would be his most productive yet.

Nine goals were scored in all competitions, but it was his effort in the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt which will be remembered most fondly, despite the club losing the game on penalties.

Aribo became just the fourth Rangers player to score in a major European final and the first since Willie Johnston in the 1972 Cup Winners' Cup final.

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.

He won a Scottish Cup winners medal a few days later, but Giovanni van Bronckhorst accepted an offer of £6m from Premier League side Southampton for the midfielder during the 2022 summer transfer window.

It marked the end of a successful three-year stint north of the border and while the Gers did not want to lose a player of his quality, the offer was clearly too good to turn down.

Safe to say, the 27-year-old has not enjoyed the most fruitful of spells at Southampton since joining nearly two years ago.

How Joe Aribo is doing at Southampton

There was no doubting Aribo’s Premier League credentials, as his spell at Rangers, especially with his displays in Europe, proved he could cut it in the English top flight.

He only started 13 league matches last season, however, scoring just two goals and his talents were wasted as the Saints suffered their first relegation from the top flight since 2005.

Despite their relegation to the second tier, Aribo has failed to secure a consistent run in the starting XI, making just eight starts in the Championship all season.

The former Gers star has netted just three times, and it looks as though his move down south has turned south, even if the Saints may secure promotion at the first time of asking.

Aribo currently ranks in a lowly 18th position among the squad for key passes per game (0.5) in the Championship, while also ranking 13th for successful dribbles per game (0.6) and these numbers are a fry cry for his displays at Rangers, especially in the season they won the league.

His recent struggles suggest the Light Blues made the correct call, cashing in on the player, even if it meant weakening the side, as he clearly wanted a dream move to the Premier League.

Scoring just five goals in 18 months since departing Scotland is not the form the Saints, or even Aribo himself anticipated, and he needs to work hard to earn more minutes between now and May.

Clement must know the right time to sell some of his prized assets, as the money generated could allow him to sign even more talented youngsters, who will then make the club a big profit.

It may well be the circle of life, but this model could help the Gers reestablish themselves as the best club in Scotland.

Harper says his target is to make the selection process as transparent as possible

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2019Darren Bravo might have been left out of the West Indies squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, but lead selector Roger Harper backed the batsman to strike form in domestic cricket and return to the side.Bravo scored a mere 47 runs in four innings at an average of 15.66 in the Test series against India. His form hardly improved in the CPL, where he managed 128 runs in seven innings, striking at 103.22, and only one half-century.”Firstly I don’t want to term it as dropping a player like Darren Bravo,” Harper said in a press conference at the Queen’s Park Oval on Wednesday. “We all know the quality of a player like Darren Bravo, with the sort of Test and one-day record he has representing West Indies.”We recognised Darren has not been at his best as we have seen over the years. Therefore, we wanted to give him the opportunity to go away, maybe play club cricket, but definitely our regional cricket, get his game right and come back to being the best he can be, so that he can make a real positive impact for our West Indies team and be the force we know he can be in world cricket.”The new selection panel of Harper, Miles Bascombe and coach Phil Simmons also gave maiden call-ups to legspinner Hayden Walsh Jr and opener Brandon King for the white-ball squads. Walsh Jr topped the bowling charts in the 2019 CPL with 22 wickets from nine games. But more than the wickets, it was his wicket-taking ability – an astonishing strike rate of 9.1 – that impressed the selectors. King was the leading run-scorer with 496 runs at an average of 55.11 and a strike rate of 148.94.ALSO READ: Hayden Walsh Jr’s moment of truth, at 36,000 feet”During the CPL, he [Walsh Jr] excited everyone with his performances and given the direction white-ball cricket has gone, we realize the need for bowlers capable of taking wickets,” Harper said. “Walsh has proven he is a wicket-taker and I think he will have a great impact on the team, especially in middle overs so that we won’t be drifting through but can keep control of games.”He [King] had an outstanding season, made runs in our domestic four-day competition and followed it up with an outstanding CPL that demanded a place in the team. We were impressed not just by his stroke play, but his maturity and wish him all the best.”Apart from King and Walsh Jr, experienced batsman Lendl Simmons also reaped rewards of a strong show in the CPL and made a comeback to the T20I side. His 430 runs at an average of 39.09 and a strike rate of 150.34 were second only to King’s tally. Meanwhile, Denesh Ramdin, who last played a T20I in November 2018 when West Indies toured India, also found a place in the 20-over side as the selectors went for a back-up wicketkeeper in each format.”Similar to Brandon King, his [Simmons’] weight of runs in the CPL prior to the squad selection made us had to consider him,” Harper said. “When we looked at the balance of the team, we needed a player like him because he is a versatile batsman.”One of the things we tried to carefully do in all three squads is to have a wicketkeeper as cover. Denesh brings with him a lot of experience and as a batsman can contribute in the middle if required and I think he will add a good blend to the team as well.”Talking about his own appointment, Harper said his target was to make the selection process as transparent as possible.”If the West Indies team is to move forward it’s an area we have to get right. I look forward to working with coach Simmons, fellow selector Bascombe, taking the advice of captain Holder and Pollard so that we make this process as transparent as possible, so that every player who is performing and meeting the criteria, will feel they have a fair chance at being selected. Once we do that I believe players will give their best and we will see a positive effect of that on the field.”

The 18-year-old netted the winner on his Blaugrana debut just seconds after coming off the bench, but has now taken his talents to Stamford Bridge

Spanish publication called him "a striker in the shadows." A former coach admitted he was "unstoppable with space." But in October 2023, Marc Guiu became a Barcelona cult hero overnight, a 17-year-old who had salvaged a result for his team within seconds of emerging into their consciousness and was being tipped to become a crucial part of the Blaugrana set-up for years to come.

Guiu wasted little time in introducing himself to the world that night against Athletic Club. Around 23 seconds, in fact. Where Ferran Torres and Joao Felix had failed, he succeeded, darting in behind the visitors' defence, taking one touch, before steering his shot off the leg of Unai Simon and into the net.

It was a goal that demonstrated everything Guiu is about. He is a player unlike modern La Liga strikers, an archetype that Spanish football rarely churns out. Guiu is strong, fast and direct, a physically gifted and ruthless No.9. This is not a link-up striker or false nine. Rather, Guiu is a potentially game-changing goal-scorer — something he showed in his Barca debut.

However, the chances of him becoming part of the furniture in Cataluyna are now over after Chelsea secured the signing of the Spanish striker after beating off competition from Bayern Munich and paying Guiu's €6 million (£5m/$6m) release clause.

With that in mind, GOAL takes a look at the potentially ruthless No.9 who could well now be seen as one who got away from Barca…

• Getty Images
  

  Where it all began

  There is nothing overtly unique about Guiu's Barcelona story. Born in 2006, less than an hour's drive from Camp Nou, he grew up a massive Barcelona fan. At the age of seven, he got the opportunity to join his boyhood club, establishing a foothold in La Masia's set-up by 2014.

  His age-group is one of the most talented crops of Barca talent in recent memory. Top prospects Alexis Olmedo, Pau Prim, Hector Fort and Arnau Pradas have all grown up together, and were all tipped to work their way into the first team before long.

  Still, Guiu wasn't as highly regarded as fellow recent graduates Lamine Yamal, Gavi or Alejandro Balde. His talent was clear to all, but how he might fit into a modern Barcelona side was up for debate.

Advertisement

• Getty Images
  

  The big break

  That changed in late 2023. While Yamal was the biggest name in Spain's Under-17 side at the European Championship that summer, Guiu had a decent claim to be their best player. The striker scored four goals as Spain made a run to the semi-finals, equalling Yamal's tally for the tournament.

  That proved to be enough to earn a spot in the Barca Athletic squad, who play in the Spanish third tier. And he has starred early on, scoring five goals in the first two months of the season.

  Xavi took notice in early October, naming the 17-year-old to his matchday squad for Barca's Liga clash against Granada. That time, he didn't make it off the bench. A fortnight later, though, he did. The rest has gone down in Blaugrana folklore.

• Getty Images
  

  How it's going

  Guiu's remarkable first-team debut may have stunned the rest of Europe, but not then-Barca coach Xavi, who admitted that he could tell Guiu was ready, saying: "I saw it in Gavi, Balde, Lamine, Fermin Lopez… and I saw it in Marc. There was no fear in his face. I told him he would get one chance. He gets one chance and he took it. I felt he was ready. I am really happy for Marc, he is a good kid who works hard."

  The teenager's wild introduction meant he was able to remain around the first-team squad for much of the campaign, though he only made six further appearances in all competitions. He did, however, manage to open his Champions League account with a goal against Royal Antwerp in December, while he played his part in Barca Athletic reaching the promotion play-offs, too.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Biggest strengths

  Guiu's most obvious strengths are clear to see from when he steps on the pitch. He is an immensely strong, quick and powerful player. He has a long stride, bruising physique, and arrowed running style that makes him a real handful for defenders.

  The 18-year-old isn't necessarily a deadly finisher. Still, he's instinctive around the box, and has a solid right foot. He's also good in the air — something La Masia coach Ivan Carrasco described as his "best attribute."

  Coaches have also lauded his intensity and work rate, praising the striker's willingness to press off the ball, sacrificing his own legs for the betterment of the team.

Celtic are interested in sealing the summer signing of a player compared to Italy and AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini, according to a new transfer rumour.

Celtic to chase defensive additions this summer

The Hoops will no doubt be eyeing a busy summer transfer window, in order to take Brendan Rodgers' squad up another level, and they seem to be targeting defensive additions at the moment.

Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has emerged as a hugely exciting option, with the Republic of Ireland international potentially looking for a fresh challenge away from the Reds. He is enjoying plenty of minutes this season, due to Alisson being injured, but while the Brazilian is around, he is going to find it hard to ever be first choice.

In the same update, Trabzonspor stopper Ugurcan Cakir is seen as an alternative option for Kelleher, should the Liverpool man either stay put or go elsewhere, with the 27-year-old winning 26 caps for Turkey to date.

Rapid Vienna centre-back Leopold Querfeld has been linked with a summer move to Celtic, too, with the tall centre-back considered an exciting young target, along with midfield teammate Matthias Seidl.

Celtic want player compared to Paolo Maldini

According to 1908.nl [via Sport Witness], Celtic are interested in signing FC Twente left-back Gijs Smal this summer, with a free transfer in the offing. That's because the 26-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season, and it looks unlikely that he will sign an extension at his current club.

Rangers are mentioned as suitors in the report, too, but the Hoops' rivals will have to sell either Borna Barisic or Ridvan Yilmaz before they consider sealing a move for him.

Celtic are believed to have already told Smal "what they can offer", suggesting that talks have already taken place with him, and it looks like a signing that would tick plenty of boxes.

The 26-year-old is at a brilliant age to come in and make an immediate impression at Parkhead, having picked up so much experience in his career, but also still having plenty of years ahead of him at a high level.

Gijs Smal vs. Greg Taylor in the league this season

Smal

Taylor

Appearances

16

26

Goal contributions

1

7

Tackles per game

1.3

1.6

Clearances per game

1.3

0.9

Key passes per game

1.1

1.8

Pass completion rate

79.7%

82.5%

This season, Smal has made 16 appearances for Twente in the Eredivisie, also enjoying two outings in the UEFA Europa Conference League. Perhaps the biggest compliment he can be paid is that he has been nicknamed 'Smaldini' in his homeland in the past, drawing comparisons to the Italy icon.

The Dutchman could provide strong competition at left-back for Greg Taylor at Celtic, giving Rodgers two excellent options there, assuming the current Hoops ace stays put at the club ahead of his contract expiring in the summer of 2025.

Related Celtic ready to bid for former star this summer who would cost record fee

The Scottish champions are weighing up a move to bring back an old favourite.

Posts ByBen Browning Mar 6, 2024

Smal has the pedigree and quality to be a big success at Parkhead, and if the Hoops were to beat Rangers to his signature, it would feel even sweeter.

تعرض حساب يوفنتوس الرسمي باللغة الإنجليزية بمنصة X “تويتر سابقًا”، للاختراق، وذلك بعدما نشر تغريدة أعلن من خلالها التعاقد مع لاعب ريال مدريد الإسباني أردا جولر.

“مرحبًا بك في يوفنتوس أردا جولر، النجم اللامع الآن جزء من عائلة يوفنتوس. هل أنت جاهز لصناعة التاريخ سويًا في هذه الرحلة الجديدة؟”

تلك الجملة نشرها حساب يوفنتوس الرسمي باللغة الإنجليزية في وقت سابق من هذا اليوم، وهو الأمر الذي جعل عشاق البيانكونيري يتفاعلون عبر منصة X “تويتر سابقًا” مع الإعلان.

طالع أيضًا.. تشواميني يثير الشكوك في ريال مدريد قبل مواجهة بوروسيا دورتموند

وسرعان ما تفطن يوفنتوس للأمر، وحذف التغريدة، مؤكدًا أن الحساب الخاص باللغة الإنجليزية قد تعرض للاختراق،

واستعاد يوفنتوس من جديد الحساب، لتتبخر أحلام البيانكونيري في ضم أحد أبرز المواهب الواعدة في كرة القدم الأوروبية، صاحب الـ19 عامًا.

تزامن ذلك في ظل التقارير التي تشير إلى رغبة ريال مدريد في إعارة اللاعب التركي خلال ميركاتو يناير المقبل، مع صعوبة مشاركته أساسيًا.

Chelsea are looking to begin the Enzo Maresca era with a bang and have reportedly agreed a deal to sign Basel youngster Renato Veiga.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Chelsea close to signing Renato VeigaTransfer will be worth around €14m/15mWill be Chelsea's fifth signing of the summerWHAT HAPPENED?

Over the last few years, Chelsea have prioritised the signings of young players and they are close to signing yet another wonderkid in the form of the 20-year-old defender from Basel. As per Fabrizio Romano, Veiga will be signed for a reported fee of around €14-15m (£12m-13m/$15m-16m).

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Veiga reportedly has a medical scheduled in London with the 20-year-old Portugal youth international expected to sign a contract until 2032 with the Stamford Bridge club following a successful season with Basel despite the Swiss club's struggles domestically as they finished eighth.

(C)Getty ImagesDID YOU KNOW?

Veiga is anticipated to be deployed as an inverted full-back and is thought to be an ideal fit for Enzo Maresca's system despite having played for Basel as a left-sided centre-back, left-back, or a number six. Last season, he made 26 appearances for the Swiss team, scoring twice and providing one assist.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

WHAT NEXT FOR VEIGA?

The Portugal international is set to join Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guiu and Omari Kellyman as the first signings of the Maresca era.

MatériaMais Notícias

Enquanto o Botafogo se preparava para a semifinal da Taça Rio, diante do Nova Iguaçu, o atacante Rhuan, que está fora dos planos do time para a temporada, jogava um torneio amador no Rio de Janeiro. O jogador participou de um campeonato realizado em São Gonçalo, um munícipio da Cidade Maravilhosa, no último fim de semana.

+ Rhuan é o segundo jogador mais caro do Botafogo, afirma site

O atleta fez parte de uma equipe chamada “Tropa do R10”. O campeonato também reuniu outros times amadores e teve uma quantidade considerável de público nos arredores do campo.

Vale ressaltar que o Botafogo defende o distanciamento social e as medidas de prevenção do novo coronavírus. É comum, por exemplo, que o clube faça postagens alertando sobre o uso de máscaras nas redes sociais.

+ Demissões no Botafogo causam atrito; VP’s interferem em decisões da gestão e geram desconforto

Rhuan teve a companhia de Elivelton, lateral-direito também criado nas categorias de base do Alvinegro, na equipe. O defensor, que não teve o contrato renovado com o Botafogo, atualmente está na Tombense-MG.

RelacionadasBotafogoAtualmente na reserva, Ênio pode ser uma das soluções para trazer velocidade ao BotafogoBotafogo05/05/2021BotafogoEm jogo de duas expulsões, Botafogo vence São José-RS e sai em vantagem na Copa do Brasil sub-20Botafogo05/05/2021Futebol NacionalBotafogo na frente! Estudo mostra os clubes com as maiores dívidas fiscais do BrasilFutebol Nacional05/05/2021

FORA DOS PLANOS
Rhuan não faz parte dos planos de Marcelo Chamusca para a temporada. O atacante sequer foi relacionado para uma partida do Botafogo desde que o treinador chegou ao cargo.

O Alvinegro busca resolver o futuro do atleta, seja com uma ida em definitivo ou um empréstimo para outra equipe. Até agora, nenhuma proposta chamativa chegou ao clube ou aos representantes de Rhuan.

Junto de outros cinco jogadores, o atacante até chegou a receber férias no mês passado, justamente para tentarem resolver as respectivas situações contratuais. Todos voltaram a participar do dia a dia do clube na última semana.

Groundstaff will have to put in at least two full days of work to get the ground ready for cricket, says the PCB

Danyal Rasool in Karachi27-Sep-2019

The second ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka has been postponed by a day owing to unseasonal rains that left Karachi’s National Stadium waterlogged, washing out the first game of the series in the process. With more rain expected on the day of the second game – Sunday, September 29 – the Pakistan Cricket Board, in consultation with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board, has rescheduled the game to Monday, September 30.”This week’s heavy rains, including on Friday afternoon, has left the outfield soggy, with the groundstaff requiring at least two complete days to make the ground fit for cricket,” a PCB media statement said. “The PCB has also announced tickets sold for Friday, 27 September, will be valid for either 30 September or 2 October ODI, while tickets sold for Sunday, 29 September, match may also be used for either 30 September or 2 October ODI. As per the PCB ticketing policy for the series, the PCB will also allow refund of all tickets for Friday’s match.”PCB director of international cricket Zakir Khan said, “This week’s unseasonal heavy rains have forced us to review the series schedule. I am thankful to Sri Lanka Cricket as well as our host broadcasters for agreeing to amend the match schedule to ensure there are no further abandonments due to rain in what is an important bilateral FTP series for Pakistan.”Unexpected rain in Karachi had put this game in doubt as early as 48 hours before the scheduled start, with the city lashed by heavy afternoon rains each of the past three days. With a training session cancelled on Wednesday and only a short one possible on Thursday, the square had been under covers all this while. This afternoon, when perhaps the heaviest spell of rain all week descended upon the National Stadium, cancellation was inevitable.It is by no means a familiar phenomenon for the city, this match being the first ODI ever to be abandoned because of the weather in Karachi.

Stuart Broad has described himself as a “reinvented cricketer with more to offer” after enjoying his most-successful Ashes with the ball. In the absence of the injured James Anderson, Broad led the line superbly for England, with his dominance over David Warner providing a snapshot of his summer renaissance.In all, Broad picked up 23 wickets during the five Tests, two shy of equalling his best series haul (against India in 2011). His proficiency at bowling round-the-wicket to left-handers was a notable feature – helping him to remove Warner seven times in 10 innings – and he also kept his pace high while pursuing a fuller, more attacking length.Having only played in half of England’s winter Tests, in Sri Lanka and West Indies, there had been a sense that Broad was no longer an automatic pick – despite sitting second only to Anderson on England’s wicket-taking list. However, bowling off a shortened run-up, worked on in consultation with Richard Hadlee, and with a focus on making batsmen play more, he has restated his worth.ALSO READ: ‘I’d swap Headingley drama for an Ashes win’ – Stokes“I’ve been very pleased with how it has gone this summer,” he said. “I’ve gone from being talked about as a diminishing cricketer being eased out to a reinvented cricketer with more to offer. At 33 years old that is a good place to be.”All the hard work has been worth it. Fate allowed me to have the time during the winter to work on things. In Sri Lanka I didn’t play too much and I was able to work on a new run up and stuff like my attacking intent, which has paid dividends. I’ve not been as attacking in my areas, and making batsmen play as much as I have for many years.”His method to Warner was the culmination of his early season with Nottinghamshire, where the coach, Peter Moores, and team analyst, Kunal Manek, passed on data about the “leave percentage” of batsmen facing Broad. Resolving that this was too high, he focused on attacking the stumps more – combined with his ability to move the ball away from left-handers, it left Warner caught betwixt and between, falling lbw or bowled four times, and caught behind or in the slips three.”I had an added responsibility to try and get their big players out and that’s why I did a lot of planning on David Warner and how I might get him out before the series started,” he said. “I had to go fuller at him, I had to try and hit his stumps and I had to try and forget about his outside edge.”The edges would come but only if I bowled in the right areas consistently rather than searching for the edge of his bat. I never dreamt that I would have the success against him that I’ve had.”Of course that is just in this series. If we put our numbers together over the course of our careers and how much we have played against each other I think they would be quite even. He has outdone me in many a series, but this time it went my way and I think it perhaps shows that sometimes planning does work.”Before the series, Broad had taken Warner’s wicket five times in 18 Tests; that figure now stands at 12, making the Australia opener the man he has dismissed most often.The numbers for Australia were stark. Warner finished the series with an average of 9.50, with the opening partnership averaging even less at 8.50. Marcus Harris was dismissed three times in six innings by Broad, while Cameron Bancroft also fell to him once before being dropped.”We talk about setting the tone with the new ball and I felt that this has been my best summer for a long time in terms of doing that with the new ball,” Broad said. “I felt a responsibility to lead that first 10 overs and I’ve had great energy running in. I felt like the mindset of trying to hit the stumps has really paid off.”I don’t think we could have dreamt of keeping Australia’s opening pairs quite so quiet throughout the series so we can class that as a good win for us. We do a lot of planning and preparation to go into these series and our new ball bowling has been a success.”Although Broad described himself as “distraught” at England’s failure to win a home Ashes series for the first time since 2001, he suggested that a draw was a fair result and a fitting way to end the summer. He praised Steven Smith for playing “out of his skin” in his first series since returning from a ball-tampering ban – likening his response to that of Ben Stokes, England’s man of the summer, who has used adversity to lift his own game to new levels.Stuart Broad wheels away in celebration after bowling David Warner•Getty Images

“It was really important we got a positive result in this game to make sure that Australia didn’t go home with a win,” he said. “A World Cup win and a drawn series in the Ashes is a memorable summer. I won’t say it is a totally successful summer because we would have really liked to win the series, but if we sit down in a week’s time without the emotion, it is probably the right result.”I think both teams are so similar in the way they go about their business. They had one batsman who has been a 15 out of 10 and we’ve not had that which has been a huge difference.”Of course I’m distraught not to be lifting the urn at the Oval and I can’t remember having a feeling like this before because usually at The Oval we are lifting a trophy. It is certainly the first Ashes series where I’ve not been spraying champagne at the end which is a weird feeling.”It is a fair result. Steve Smith has played out of his skin. It has taken 24 days to finally get him to tuck one round the corner to leg slip. [Chris] Woakes got him with a straight one that was hitting the middle of middle and that was just about the first on he’d missed. Why had he not missed one before? He’s been so good and everything has worked for him.”Stokesy has had a summer where all his hardship has paid him back and Steve Smith the same, all his hardship has paid him back.”