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Three years on from having arrived in north London from Sporting CP, Tottenham Hotspur defender Pedro Porro could be on his way in 2026, if reports are to be believed.

The Spaniard – who is having a “disaster of a season”, in the view of podcaster Seb Martin – is said to be attracting interest from LaLiga giants Real Madrid, with Xabi Alonso’s side already considering replacements for Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back.

While the nature of that interest might suggest it would be a significant loss for Spurs to lose their starting full-back on that right flank, as Martin alluded to, it hasn’t exactly been a positive 2025/26 for the 26-year-old.

Indeed, for all Porro’s attacking thrust, he has actually only registered a solitary assist in the Premier League, while ranking in the bottom 10% of top-flight full-backs for pass completion, as per FBref.

With Djed Spence also waiting in the wings, there would be adequate cover if Porro were to depart, be it this month or over the summer, not least if Thomas Frank’s side also acquire a perfect replacement.

Spurs in talks to sign Porro replacement

Full-back looks likely to be a priority area for the north Londoners in 2026, not least with Destiny Udogie still making his way back from injury, ensuring veteran left-back Ben Davies started – and scored – in the 1-1 draw with Sunderland.

That need for another genuine option on the left flank has led to Spurs moving for Santos teenager, Souza, with the club having already had an £8m bid rejected for the 19-year-old.

On the opposite side, Spurs could also turn to an exciting Brazilian talent to help send Porro on his way, with TEAMtalk reporting that talks have been held regarding AS Monaco defender, Vanderson.

Indeed, the report suggests that the Lilywhites and ENIC have been contacted by intermediaries regarding a possible move for the 24-year-old, with top-flight rivals Everton also among those to have been approached, alongside Crystal Palace and Brighton.

The piece notes that the player is seeking to leave the Ligue 1 side this month, with Monaco likely to cash in at the right price, amid the suggestion that a £20m fee could be enough to strike a deal.

How Vanderson compares to Pedro Porro

Gone are the days of Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier at Tottenham, with the full-back berths still proving somewhat problematic for a succession of managers now at N17.

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In the case of Porro, the attack-minded asset isn’t without quality, having registered six assists and created ten ‘big chances’ last season, as per Sofascore, although it’s hard to ignore his woes defensively, having been dribbled past 1.1 times per game in 2025/26.

Vanderson, meanwhile, has only played eight times in Ligue 1 this season, but he has showcased a fine balance between attack and defence, bettering the Spurs man across a string of metrics.

Vanderson vs Porro – 25/26 League stats

Stat (*per game)

Vanderson

Porro

Games

8

20

Starts

5

18

Goals

0

0

Assists

2

1

Big chances created

3

4

Key passes*

1.1

1.4

Pass accuracy*

80%

74%

Possession lost*

10.6

19.2

Dribbled past*

0.5

1.1

Stats via Sofascore

Indeed, despite his limited game time, the seven-cap Brazil star has still registered two assists, while having been dribbled past just 0.5 times per game in France.

Equally, when comparing the pair to their peers in Europe’s top five leagues across the last 12 months, as per FBref, it is again Vanderson who has been far more impressive, albeit while also lining up as a wing-back at Stade Louis II.

The £20m man notably ranks in top 3% of European full-backs for interceptions, and in the top 13% for tackles, with Porro, by contrast, ranking in just the bottom 32% and the bottom 48% for those same two metrics, respectively.

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In the final third too, Vanderson ranks in the top 13% for successful take-ons, as well as boasting a far superior pass accuracy rate (77.3%), while Porro ranks in just the bottom 52% for successful take-ons, alongside recording a 71% pass accuracy, across the league and Champions League.

In essence, the wantaway Monaco star is a real all-round, balanced option on that right flank, while also providing the benefit of his “obscene pace”, as noted by scout Antonio Mango.

With 24 goals and assists in 137 games in total for his current side, he would be able to get close to mirroring Porro’s attacking threat, albeit while appearing far less of a liability defensively.

And so, with Madrid calling to take the Spurs struggler back to Spain, Frank and ENIC could speed up the process by signing off on a ready-made replacement.

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Tottenham manager Thomas Frank needs more quality in and around the final third.

Posts 1 ByAngus Sinclair

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Adam Voges made his highest first-class score © Getty Images

Adam Voges’ dominant century lifted Western Australia to 8 for 551 declared on the second day against Tasmania in Hobart, while the home side could only struggle to 4 for 147, still trailing by 404 runs. Voges made his highest first-class score of 180 and Adam Gilchrist 86 as the pair shared a fifth-wicket stand of 161 to continue the good work started in the latter exchanges of Monday.Voges added exactly 100 on the second day while Gilchrist played a typically quickfire innings from 74 balls that included three sixes. Both were then trapped lbw by Brendan Drew, who had also grabbed Brad Hogg for 4, but this only paved the way for some lower-order hitting from Darren Wates (35 not out) and Steve Magoffin, who made his highest score of 45 to push them past 500.Magoffin then led the attack with the two quick wickets of Michael Dighton for 12 and Travis Birt for a duck. Tasmania recovered to 101 before Michael Di Venuto fell to Wates on 61.Dane Anderson (39) reached yet another top score but he became Mathew Inness’ first victim of the day as the wickets continued to fall. George Bailey and Dan Marsh began the slow rebuilding job before stumps, and they face a mountain on the third day.

Warwickshire have agreed to release Mark Wagh to allow him to sign for Nottinghamshire. He had two years of his existing contract left to run.Wagh had reportedly been unsettled for some time, and the announcement was not a surprise. “It’s been a very hard decision for me as I have spent my whole cricketing career at Warwickshire and I would like to thank them for their understanding,” he said. “I just feel a new start will help me and I’m looking forward to the challenge of proving myself in a new environment.””When Mark approached us with this request we considered the options,” Warwickshire’s chief executive, Colin Povey, added. “[We} concluded that if Mark believes he will have better opportunities at Notts then we should not stand in his way.”Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, was understandably more upbeat. “Mark is an accomplished batsman and I believe he can be the answer for us at No. 3 in the Championship,” he said. “It’s been a problem position for us for the last couple of seasons but Mark has all the attributes to be a success there. I’m confident he’s got plenty of good years ahead of him and along with Jason Gallian and Will Jefferson, I think we now have a high-quality top order.”I think Mark is ready for a fresh start and this move may be just what he needs to get him enjoying playing cricket again. I’ve seen him play well against us on a number of occasions, so I’ve always kept any eye on his progress, and I’m delighted he’s signed.”

‘Mickey [Arthur] has made a lot of difference. The team’s more honest now’ – Jacques Kallis © Getty Images

On whether he felt that India erred with their choice of bowlers in HyderabadThe pitch there probably favoured the seamers more and didn’t take as much spin as expected. But having looked at this wicket, we feel spin will come into play more here.On the challenge posed by Indian conditionsPlaying India in India is always tight, and we knew that we’d have to play good cricket to beat them. If we’re not on top of our game, we’ll come up short.On what he expects from the Indians hereWell, they’re one nil down and we expect them to come out with all guns blazing. We’re ready for that.On whether awareness of equalling the world record for an unbeaten run would add to the pressureWe want to stretch that run for as long as we can. But we take it one game at a time, as we did in the last game.On how this side stacks up against the legendary team that lost the World Cup semi-final in 1999I still feel that was the strongest side that South Africa have had. But if we carry on like this, we can also be one of the best sides the country has produced. The stability within the team has been key.On how Mickey Arthur has changed things around as coachMickey’s made a lot of difference. The team’s more honest now. Guys put their hands up if the performances aren’t good enough. He’s also been using the computer to help work on technique and other things.On the dew factorIt will certainly be hard bowling with the wet ball. But we have experience of such conditions back home and are not too worried about it. The toss will certainly be important though.On whether the Indians experimenting to find their strongest combination reminded him of where South Africa were a year agoNot really. They’re a very strong side, as they showed recently against Sri Lanka. All the teams will be looking to experiment a little with the World Cup in a year’s time.

Keith Mitchell, Grenada’s prime minister, has suggested a “cooling-off period” between West Indies’ players and their cricket board in the ongoing dispute about endorsement contracts.”Some of the problems that are now emerging can be resolved with a cooling-off period during the holidays and during the tour,” he said on BBC World Service on Tuesday. “Then we will engage the private-sector bodies, both Cable & Wireless and Digicel, in the whole question of a final solution to the problems faced by the board and the players.” Mitchell would “offer some constructive solutions” to ensure the West Indies team’s imminent tour of Australia continues “without any disruption whatsoever”.Mitchell, who helped settle the initial stalemate in November, is set to meet officials from both the players’ association and the board today. Judge Adrian Saunders, the mediator in the dispute between the board and several of the players over contracts, will present his report at that meeting.

Bournemouth left-hander Tom Webley made his County Championship debut for Somerset today – against the fastest bowler in the world !Webley is expected to open the Somerset batting against Durham at the Riverside, with Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar – the Rawalpindi Express – steaming in at the other end.”It certainly promises to be a baptism of fire, but it will be a great experience for me,” Webley said last night.Webley, 20, who lives with his parents in Corfe Mullen, got his full county call up after a string of encouraging performances for Somerset’s 2nd XI and Academy sides.”Tom did well at the Cambridge UCCE at the start of the season, has been batting well in the second team and thoroughly deserves his chance,” praised Somerset 2nd XI coach Mark Garaway.Webley, who played for Bournemouth colts as a 14-year old and graduated into the club’s Premier League side three years ago, hit a First Class century for Cambridge UCCE against Northants at Fenners in May.A former pupil at King’s Taunton, Webley is studying at Anglia University.To see how he is getting on, click on the link on the match below

Overcoming their first-innings debacle, Goa surged back into the gamein their Ranji Trophy league match against Kerala at Panaji onWednesday.Having Kerala overnight at 6/2, Goa did not let up on the pressure.Barring C Prashanth Menon, who made 55 off 148 balls, and Ajay Kudva(44 off 120), none of the Kerala batsmen was allowed to convert astart into a significant score.Kerala were bowled out for 210, with Narayan Kambli taking 4-49 andAvinash Aware taking 5-67. At stumps on the third day, Goa were 33/0,chasing a fourth-innings total of 213 for victory.

A third wicket partnership of 108 runs between Devang Gandhi andSrikkanth Kalyani enabled Bengal to draw their Ranji Trophy SuperLeague encounter at the Eden Gardens on Sunday. Chasing a victorytarget of 310 in 46 overs, Bengal finished the day at 180 runs for theloss of five wickets. Earlier, Rajasthan had declared their secondinnings closed at 216 for the loss of eight wickets. Rajasthan managedfive points from the match. Bengal, on the other hand finished withthree and their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage nowappear slim as they have two tough matches against Karnataka andMumbai.It was a day when a number of personal achievements wererecorded. Utpal Chatterjee took five wickets in the second inningsonce more to have match figures of 10 for 160. It was the fourth timethat Chatterjee recorded a haul of 10 wickets in a Ranji Trophy gameand the 20th time that he had five wickets in an innings. Kalyanibecame the 27th player and fourth from Bengal to score over 5,000 runsin the Ranji Trophy. When he reached 40, square cutting left armspinner D.P.Singh, Kalyani had joined the elite ranks of Pankaj Roy,Arun Lal and Ashok Malhotra from Bengal.Bengal, aspiring for an outright win had two early successes in theday. Skipper Chatterjee sent back Nikhil Doru and off spinnerSourashis Lahiri accounted for Kuldip Singh to have Rajasthantottering at 96 for 5. However, a sixth wicket stand of 90 betweenSanjeev Sharma (54 with seven boundaries) and Saket Bhatia (48, 8×4)dashed their hopes. The partnership was finally broken by Lahiri whohad Sharma bowled as the batsman tried to swing him over midwicket. Shortly afterwards, the Rajasthan skipper Gagan Khoda declaredthe innings at 216.When Bengal batted, Sanjeev Sharma had Alokendu Lahiri caught behindand Singh had Rohan Gavaskar caught bat-pad at short leg to haveBengal tottering at 23 for two. But Gandhi and Kalyani with some finestrokes brought things under control. Gandhi had one huge six over midwicket of Jaykumar and eight boundaries in his 67. Kalyani who got hissecond fifty of the match also had eight fours in his 56. Most of themcame through pleasing drives in the `V’ between mid on and mid of. Atfinal draw of stumps Saba Karim (17) and LR Shukla (1) were at thecrease.

Chris Brunt has dismissed speculation that he is talking about a new contract with West Brom.

The Baggies skipper claims that he does not know where quotes came from that appeared in the newspapers on Sunday saying that discussions between him and the club were happening.

He said to The Birmingham Mail: “There are no talks going on. I’ve barely played any football so I’m training to try to get fit to get back into the first team. If that comes it comes, if it doesn’t it doesn’t but I still have to do my job by playing football and earning that. I still have two and a half years with the option year. It looks like I’m begging for a contract. I’m not sure where they (the quotes) came from. It’s a strange one.”

The captain is also hoping to make it into Monday night’s team to play Southampton.

He said: “Southampton is a target. Hopefully nothing will go wrong during this week and I’ll be fit enough. It’s up to the gaffer but it would nice to be involved. A few of us were out there yesterday so we should be back to full strength for the Southampton game. I have a job getting back into the first team because the lads have done very well.”

Steve Clarke is waiting on many players who currently have injuries, including Billy Jones and Jerome Thomas.

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Brunt sustained a hamstring injury in the Baggies’ Premier League match with Aston Villa, which ended as a draw, in September.

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Shane Warne says assessing Muttiah Muralitharan’s action in a Test would be worth the hassle © Getty Images

Shane Warne believes Muttiah Muralitharan’s action should be assessed in a Test match to end any lingering speculation over its legality. Warne is set to be overtaken as the world’s leading Test wicket-taker by Muralitharan, who needs seven more victims to pass Warne’s mark of 708.Muralitharan’s action has been repeatedly cleared by biomechanical tests over the past decade but those trials have never taken place in a match situation. Warne’s bowling mentor Terry Jenner said on the weekend that Muralitharan needed to be tested during a game to clear his name completely, and Warne agrees.”He should be tested under match conditions,” Warne wrote in his column in newspapers. “I’m sure he is sick of it all, but it would be well worth the exercise and hassle.”I think for his own peace of mind and everyone in world cricket, do the testing in the heat of battle – a Test match. Surely the ICC, Sri Lanka and Murali would want that.”Muralitharan was first no-balled for throwing during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in 1995-96 and again during a one-day game in Adelaide three years later. In 2004, when he troubled Australia with his doosra during a Test series in Sri Lanka, he was reported by the match referee Chris Broad.Along the way Muralitharan has undertaken biomechanical tests in Perth, Hong Kong and England, and has been repeatedly cleared to keep bowling. The former Australia batsman Michael Slater took part in the 2004 analysis and he said despite going into the trial with doubts about Muralitharan’s action, by the end he was totally convinced Muralitharan did not throw – even when bowling the doosra.”In Australia, there is an almost universal belief Muralitharan is a chucker,” Slater said in the . “But if they were to see this footage they would be amazed. When people see the video, they say, ‘I’ve changed my mind, he’s not a chucker’.”Muralitharan has a chance to pass Warne’s Test wicket record during the second Test, which starts in Hobart on Friday. Australia and Sri Lanka are competing for a new prize in the two-Test series – the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy.