Rossa Ryan is eager to test Task Force’s potential when he lines up in Saturday’s Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket.

Ralph Beckett’s charge is certainly bred to be a world beater as a son of Frankel out of a 1000 Guineas winner in Special Duty, and he has made an impact in winning each of his two starts to date.

A three-and-a-quarter-length winner on debut at Salisbury in July, Task Force took a jump to Listed level in his stride when coming home a cosy winner at Ripon at the end of last month.

Ryan was particularly impressed on the latter occasion and expects to find out plenty more about the colt when he switches to Group One company this weekend.

He said: “He has done everything right so far and his Listed race at Ripon is working out really well. 

“Quite a lot impressed me about him the last day as his win didn’t really feel like a race, it felt more like a piece of work as he was doing it that easily. 

“I know this is a massive leap forward into a Group One, but he has done everything right and you can’t fault him in any manner. 

“He has a very good cruise control and hopefully he can use that at the weekend. As to what his best attribute is I don’t know yet, but hopefully he will answer a few of those questions on Saturday.”

Ryan also has a second Group One ride to look forward to on the card as he teams up again with Symbology in the Cheveley Park Stakes.

The Clive Cox-trained filly was a York maiden winner in July and has since come up short in three Group races, most recently coming home seventh behind the reopposing Juniper Berries in the Dick Poole Stakes at Salisbury.

While that form leaves her with something to find, Ryan does not think she will be out of her depth in the six-furlong contest.

He said: “Symbology has done little wrong, although the last day things didn’t quite go to plan. She is in good health. It is a very good race and we will see how she goes. 

“On her home work she has shown the ability to be able to perform at this level, but in the Group races she has run in up until now she has just been a bit green.

“Hopefully that won’t be the case in the Cheveley Park.”

The bet365 Cambridgeshire is the other highlight on the card, with 35 runners set to tackle the nine-furlong distance.

Ryan is on a likely longshot in Alan King’s Paradias, but he would not be surprised should the four-year-old outrun his double-figure odds.

He added: “Paradias has been consistent enough and he hasn’t done too much wrong. However, he is off a career-high mark.

“He looked like winning the race the last day at York with me, but he just hung across the track.

“We are dropping back to one mile, one furlong from a mile and a half so we will see how he goes back down in trip, although he has won over it before.”

Norway’s Viktor Hovland warmed up for Friday’s start of the Ryder Cup by holing his tee shot at the par-four fifth hole at Marco Simone in Rome.

Unfortunately for the world number four it was only a practice round and it was his second attempt at going for the green on the 300-plus yard hole which is guarded by water.

The 24-year-old had fanned his first attempt pin-high into the right rough and reloaded with his three-wood and landed the ball on the green.

He turned away to walk back to his bag only to see the ball roll into the hole followed by loud cheers, him tossing his club away, playing partner Matt Fitzpatrick jumping on his back and fellow team-mate Tyrrell Hatton struggling to contain his laughter.

Surrey have retained their LV= Insurance County Championship title as Essex’s slim hopes ended after their batters collapsed in a heap against Northamptonshire.

A 20-point gap between the top two Division One teams heading into the final round meant Surrey needed just five points in their fixture against Hampshire to celebrate a 21st championship triumph.

They secured three bowling bonus points at the Ageas Bowl but none with the bat, which opened the door for Essex, who needed to amass a 400-plus score in 110 overs to have any chance of catching Surrey.

But Essex were unable to claim the maximum amount of batting bonus points as they capitulated to 211 all out on Thursday morning, with last man Jamie Porter bowled by Tom Taylor to crown Surrey champions.

Surrey, who have won the championship five times since the turn of the century, became the first side since Yorkshire in 2014 and 2015 to claim back-to-back titles.

Shuwari returns from a two-month absence in the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket on Friday, with her form being franked in some style during that lay-off.

Ollie Sangster’s filly followed up a Newbury novice stakes success by getting the better of Fallen Angel in the Listed-class Star Stakes at Sandown towards the end of July.

That runner-up has since gone on to land the Sweet Solera at Newmarket and the Group One Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh.

“We’re looking forward to it,” said Sangster. “Her first two runs were pretty straightforward, she looks a lovely filly and I think the better ground will bring out the best in her.

“We wanted to run her in the Prestige at Goodwood, but she suffered a small setback which ruled that out.

“So she’s not as battle-hardened as some of the other runners in the race, but that can’t be helped and we’re hopeful she can carry on improving.”

Aidan O’Brien’s Ylang Ylang bids to redeem her lofty reputation in this Group Two contest over seven furlongs after disappointing in the Moyglare.

The Frankel filly was made favourite for next year’s 1000 Guineas following a couple of convincing victories, but finished last of nine at the Curragh earlier this month.

Carla’s Way was a beaten favourite in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot after impressing on her Doncaster debut, but showed the benefit of a wind operation last time out.

The daughter of Starspangledbanner was prominent for a long way when second to Darnation in the Prestige Fillies’ Stakes at Goodwood.

Ed Crisford said: “She ran a nice race at Goodwood when finishing second on ground that probably didn’t suit her. She comes into this in good form, I think she’s just come on a bit for that run, and the going should be spot on for her this time.”

Spiritual was weak in the market before her Leicester debut and showed signs of greenness early on, but overcame that inexperience in fine fashion.

John and Thady Gosden’s charge is bred to stay and the €280,000 purchase galloped on strongly to win going away.

Alshinfarah claimed wins at Doncaster and Haydock before finishing a close third behind Freville in a Group Three at ParisLongchamp.

Jim Crowley’s mount made the running over a mile and was only headed in the closing stages, so dropping back down in distance could suit.

Zenjabeela gets a deserved step up in class following strikes at Southwell and Beverley, showing a good attitude to wear down subsequent Ayr scorer Miss Roberts at the Yorkshire track.

Carolina Reaper was well beaten in the Sweet Solera after an emphatic success on the July course here but recovered to secure some black type in Germany last time out.

Charlie Johnston’s charge battled on well to edge out Schutzenzauber by a neck in a Group Three contest at Baden-Baden.

Marcella has a Chester win to her credit but was 50-1 when fifth of six in a Haydock Listed event.

Geoffrey Boycott has warned “there will be trouble” if Yorkshire sell their Headingley home to Mike Ashley, and added: “Everybody in Newcastle hates him.”

Ashley owned Newcastle United Football Club until October 2021, when the Magpies were bought by a Saudi-led consortium.

The PA news agency understands the Frasers Group, where Ashley is chief executive, is one of the parties interested in purchasing Headingley and securing naming and sponsorship rights, with Yorkshire working to refinance their debts and obtain sufficient working capital to thrive rather than merely survive.

Former Yorkshire and England batter Boycott, 82, voiced his view on the club’s future direction at a heated extraordinary general meeting at the ground on Thursday morning and urged the club’s board to be transparent with members.

“Every week I pick up a paper and I hear you telling us ‘we’re near a deal’. That’s been going on for months and months,” he said to the club’s chief executive Stephen Vaughan.

“We know nothing more except (what’s in) the newspapers about that guy at Newcastle wanting to buy it, and the club near to selling to him.

“Everybody in Newcastle hates him. I don’t know him, but that doesn’t sound good for Yorkshire cricket if you’re going to sell to him and lease back. I don’t want to be leasing back Headingley, why the hell do I?

“So tell us something, for God’s sake! If you do try to sell and lease back, I’m telling you there will be trouble.”

Vaughan responded: “There are various offers with different connotations, but what I will say, if people genuinely think people have come forward with some sort of unicorn bid to buy the stadium, to keep it as a members’ club, all these things, then they’re kidding themselves.

“We would have taken something like that in a heartbeat. If anybody thinks there was some sort of miracle answer out there, they’re kidding themselves.

“If anybody thinks we aren’t taking certain offers seriously, personalities don’t come into it. The very best thing for our creditors, our members and other stakeholders will be accepted by the board, it’s as simple as that.”

The club have done a deal to defer any repayments of the £14.9million owed to their major creditor, the Graves Trust, until 2025 which they hope will afford them the breathing space to secure the right refinancing deal and then pay that debt off.

The club are also trying to get back on an even keel following the financial and reputational costs of the racism scandal which engulfed them over the last three years.

Vaughan and chair-elect Harry Chathli both gave guarantees that whichever refinancing deal was ultimately accepted, Yorkshire remaining at Headingley in perpetuity would be a “red line”.

Asked in a separate interview with PA after the meeting whether Yorkshire remaining as a member’s club was also a red line, Vaughan said: “We’ve made it extremely clear to everybody that we’ve spoken to that we have no intention of Yorkshire becoming a non member’s club.

“Indeed, with anybody that’s approached us saying that they would like to explore that opportunity, we have gone one step further and said it’s not within our gift.

“We will have to get 50 per cent quorum to vote – which would be going some versus the numbers we’re getting at the moment – and then 75 per cent to vote in favour of Yorkshire becoming a non-member’s club. Other than the fact that would be challenging in the extreme, we have no say on that as a board.”

Chathli is set to become Yorkshire’s new permanent chair in succession to Lord Kamlesh Patel in the coming weeks, with special resolutions passed on Thursday which would allow his appointment outside of an annual general meeting.

Members voted in favour of Chathli’s appointment to the board as an independent non-executive director, and he will officially become chair once Financial Conduct Authority ratification of the appointment is received. That is expected by mid-October.

However, his election to the board was far from unanimous, with 108 of the 389 members who voted by proxy going against the motion to appoint him. A further eight of those 389 abstained.

On the outskirts of the Eternal City, Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has a simple message for his players: This is your time.

It is written, in their native language, on the wall in their personal area in the team’s dressing room, which also features a space dedicated to the late Seve Ballesteros – Europe’s long-time talisman in the biennial contest.

On their way to the first tee at Marco Simone, the last thing the players will see is a large image of Ballesteros, designed by local art students, bearing the Italian phrase: “Per sempre nei nostri cuori” – Forever in our hearts.

Donald has unashamedly cranked up the emotion in the build-up to Europe’s attempt to regain the Ryder Cup, bringing his players to tears with messages from family and friends and in Rory McIlroy’s case his caddie, Harry Diamond.

“Previous Ryder Cups we’ve gone pretty light-hearted at the start of the week and then we get hit with an emotional bomb before we go play Friday,” McIlroy said.

“It’s a little different this year. It flipped a little bit and I think that was part of Luke’s plan and strategy.”

McIlroy, of course, was famously emotional at the end of the previous Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, the four-time major winner feeling he had let his team down by suffering three heavy defeats before beating Xander Schauffele in the opening singles.

“I just can’t wait to get another shot at this,” McIlroy said in between sobs and, after a tumultuous two years in men’s professional golf, he will finally get his wish.

Joining LIV Golf in June 2022 and subsequently resigning from the DP World Tour meant that Ryder Cup stalwarts Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood were ineligible for Donald’s team, although whether the ageing trio would have qualified or been selected anyway is up for debate.

US players remained eligible through membership of the PGA of America, but captain Zach Johnson made it clear he had zero interest in performances in the LIV Golf League and only US PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka was selected after narrowly failing to qualify.

That meant no place for the likes of Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, who garnered seven and a half points from eight matches in 2021, yet the visiting team can still boast three of this year’s major winners, six of the world’s top 10 and all 12 players ranked inside the top 25.

Europe have five players outside the top 30, including three of their four rookies, but can call on the world numbers two, three and four in McIlroy, Masters champion Jon Rahm and FedEx Cup winner Viktor Hovland.

They also have home advantage in a contest which has seen just one away victory in the last eight, namely the “Miracle at Medinah” in 2012 when Jose Maria Olazabal’s side recovered from 10-4 down to pull off an incredible win.

That also remains the last close contest and the United States have not won on European soil since 1993, a fact their players have been keen to play down.

“We have so many guys that have not played a foreign Ryder Cup, an away game, if you will. I think that ignorance is bliss in my opinion,” US Open champion Wyndham Clark said.

“We have guys like Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa and Collin Morikawa and myself that have played on Walker Cup and Palmer Cup teams where we dominated and all we know in our years is how to win, both away and at home.

“Then all we’ve ever seen and watched is that we lose on the road for Ryder Cups and so I almost feel like we have a little added chip on our shoulder.

“A lot of us played other sports and we all love that it’s an away game. We feel like we can quiet the crowd and it would be even more fun and more enjoyable to win on the road.”

Clark also said he wants to face McIlroy in the singles to prove he is the better player and that Europe’s team could be “leaking oil” on the final day. Whether he is sipping champagne or eating humble pie on Sunday will be fascinating to see.

Celtic’s injury problems in central defence are easing as Nat Phillips and Cameron Carter-Vickers step up their comebacks.

Phillips has missed two games after rolling his ankle on his debut against Dundee but the on-loan Liverpool defender could return in Saturday’s cinch Premiership meeting with Motherwell at Fir Park.

The centre-back’s return is a welcome boost for manager Brendan Rodgers as Gustaf Lagerbielke’s European suspension would otherwise leave Liam Scales as the only fit central defender for next Wednesday’s Champions League visit of Lazio.

Rodgers said: “Nat Phillips we are keeping an eye on, he has rejoined the group but we just have to make sure with his ankle. But that looks much better. Hopefully (he will be back) for the weekend.

“No-one else who has been out injured will be back.”

Carter-Vickers is also stepping up his return from a hamstring injury while fellow centre-backs Stephen Welsh and Maik Nawrocki are further behind.

“Cam is coming back in to rejoin the training group but he is not going to be ready until after the international break, I would suspect,” Rodgers said.

The Celtic manager will make a decision over who replaces the suspended Joe Hart at Fir Park.

Scott Bain came off the bench and kept a clean sheet after Hart was sent off in the first half of Celtic’s 3-0 win at Livingston on Saturday but Benjamin Siegrist is another option.

Rodgers said: “We will look at it between Scott and Benji. Both of the guys work really hard every day so we will finalise the team on Friday.”

Billy Vunipola insists England will rally around Manu Tuilagi in expectation of the Samoan onslaught he will face when the rivals meet in their Rugby World Cup clash.

Vunipola, the Saracens number eight of Tongan heritage, has first hand experience from Japan 2019 of what it is like to be targeted by Polynesian opposition with a point to prove.

It is a scenario that Tuilagi will encounter in Lille on Saturday week when Samoa are England’s final Pool D assignment before the quarter-finals.

Now 32-years-old, Tuilagi moved to the UK from the Pacific island when he was 13 and even though he remains proud of his origins, Vunipola expects him to have a target on his back at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

“I know for a fact that the Samoan boys, as much as they respect and hold Manu in high regard for what he has done for exposure in his heritage, they will want to go after him,” Vunipola said.

“Everyone knows Manu can look after himself but we will be right next him trying to help as much as we can because they will be ready and waiting.

“It happened to me at the last World Cup against Tonga when I remember getting put on my backside. I looked up and everyone was cheering on the side of the pitch like they won the game.

“I am on the other side of it but if I were to put myself in a Tongan shirt I would think ‘let’s go get this Tongan kid or who thinks he’s a Tongan kid even if he is on the other side’.

“That’s how I would think if I was in the Tonga team but I am not. I still remember the image of them cheering on the bench and it made me laugh. You just have to accept it and move on.”

England face the prospect of colliding with Pacific island opposition on successive weekends given they are likely to face Fiji in the quarter-finals on October 15.

The teams last met at Twickenham in August when the dangerous Fijians prevailed 30-22, securing a historic first victory in the fixture. It was an important moment for Islander rugby, but Vunipola felt only deflation.

“You obviously have that link to what you have in common with them but at the end of the day I am representing England and I want to win,” the back row said.

“As soon as I cross the white line against any Polynesian team, it’s like ‘right, how do we get the result?’

“Watching the Fiji game in August there was no part of me that was thinking ‘oh great win Fiji, I am happy for you’.

“I was gutted for the boys and was disappointed that we lost. It does not matter about history or they are Polynesian, it is just about the result.”

Wales captain Jac Morgan has been described as “phenomenal” following an immense contribution towards his country reaching the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

The 23-year-old flanker has proved Wales’ stand-out performer in the tournament, inspiring pivotal Pool C victories over Fiji and Australia.

Morgan’s level of leadership and all-round game defies a relative lack of experience on the Test-match stage that has seen him win 14 caps and captain Wales only four times.

But his efforts have gained comparison with former Wales and British and Irish Lions skipper Sam Warburton, who oversaw a World Cup semi-final appearance at the age of 22 in 2011.

Wales have already confirmed a quarter-final spot this time around, and they are guaranteed to finish top of their group if they beat Georgia in Nantes next week

That would then set up a potential last-eight appointment with Argentina seven days later, with Wales having reached the knockout phase under head coach Warren Gatland for a fourth successive World Cup campaign.

“Jac is phenomenal,” Wales assistant coach and forwards specialist Jonathan Humphreys said.

“He is one of these guys where nothing fazes him. He is just the same kid all the way through the week, then two minutes before the game, just the same kid.

“He is brave, and he has such an impact on the game, such an impact on the group.

“Captaincy has not changed him one iota. He is a huge figure for us, and we are blessed in that (number seven) department with Tommy (Reffell), who is back fit now, and Taine (Basham).”

Morgan was appointed co-captain for the World Cup with hooker Dewi Lake, and Gatland said: “He is growing into this role. He is still a young man, and I threw him in at the deep end.

“He has been absolutely outstanding, and I have a huge amount of admiration for him.

“He is definitely a player who leads from the front. I thought he was outstanding (against Australia), and he did exactly that. It was a brilliant performance from him.”

Wales are preparing for a training ground return following a few days’ break after their record 40-6 win against Australia in Lyon that left the Wallabies close to pool-stage elimination.

They will reassemble at their Versailles base, from where preparations will begin for Georgia.

Wales full-back Liam Williams said: “To win by 34 points (margin) against Australia at a Rugby World Cup is a dream. On to the next game now.

“Our pack was outstanding (against Australia). They got us on the front foot, and there was nothing more you could ask from a pack of forwards.

“As the head coach said, it is about being a hard team to beat, and that is what we are being at the moment.”

And lock Will Rowlands added: “It is not always the most flashy rugby, but for us it was so satisfying.

“We put pressure on them (Australia) – good scrum, good maul and got the points and went again.

“We are really pleased with how the three games have gone. Now everyone is switched on and focused on doing a job on Georgia so we can top the pool.”

Hukum will have to overcome an unfavourable draw in stall 14 if he is to triumph in Sunday’s Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp.

The Owen Burrows-trained six-year-old won the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot when last seen in July, having beaten Derby hero Desert Crown in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown, when both horses were returning from long absences.

However, Hukum did not enjoy much luck in Thursday’s draw ceremony, with only Simca Mille on his outside in a 15-strong field.

Two winners have emerged from stall 14 since 2000, with Frankie Dettori producing a memorable ride aboard Golden Horn in 2015 and Dalakhani winning under Christophe Soumillon in 2003.

Hukum’s big-race pilot Jim Crowley will now be studying the tapes of the heroics of his weighing-room colleagues ahead of his ride aboard the Shadwell-owned contender in the French capital.

“I’m sure Jim will be doing all that, but there’s absolutely nothing we can do,” said Angus Gold, racing manager for the owners.

“Golden Horn had a lot of tactical speed, he went forward and stayed out wide and got a brilliant ride.

“There is no point making a fuss about it as there is nothing we can do.

“We’ll just have to work around it, see how he breaks and go forward and hope to slot in somewhere.”

Ante-post favourite Ace Impact, winner of the Prix du Jockey Club for Jean-Claude Rouget, enjoyed much better fortune in stall eight, with St Leger winner Continuous, who was supplemented at a cost of €120,000 on Wednesday, next to him in stall seven for Aidan O’Brien.

The Ralph Beckett-trained Westover, beaten just a head by Hukum at Ascot, will be on the inside in stall one, with Free Wind – Dettori’s final Arc mount – in three for John and Thady Gosden.

Bay Bridge, representing Sir Michael Stoute, completes the British and Irish challenge in stall six under Richard Kingscote.

German Derby and Prix Niel victor Fantastic Moon was also supplemented and he will be in stall 12, with fellow German raiders Mr Hollywood and Sisfahan in 10 and 13 respectively.

Prix Niel second Feed The Flame and Japanese runner Through Seven Seas are also drawn low in two and five, with Haya Zark (four), Onesto (nine) and Place Du Carrousel (11) rounding out the field.

Coral trimmed Ace Impact to 100-30 from 7-2 following the draw, while Hukum was edged out to 5s from 9-2.

The firm’s David Stevens said: “Ace Impact’s connections can have few complaints about drawing stall eight, and it’s a draw that will probably ensure the unbeaten colt is sent off favourite on Sunday, especially as his biggest market rival, Hukum, appears to have been done few favours with a wide draw in 14.”

The ground at ParisLongchamp is expected to be good to soft, with a reported 25 per cent chance of light rain on either Thursday or Friday and no watering planned.

Micky van de Ven is no stranger to proving people wrong and has total confidence Tottenham can continue to silence the “negative” talk which surrounded the club this summer.

The Dutch defender has been a revelation since he signed from Wolfsburg for an initial £34.5million fee and has helped Ange Postecoglou’s new-look team win four of their opening six Premier League fixtures despite the departure of record goal-scorer Harry Kane.

While Van de Ven and Spurs are enjoying a new lease of life under Postecoglou, it has not been a smooth journey for the 22-year-old with a career outside of football considered and a difficult first campaign in Germany navigated before he reached England’s top flight.

Van de Ven was on the brink of being released by Volendam during his under-19 days when Wim Jonk’s arrival as manager resulted in an unexpected first-team opportunity. Fast forward five years and he is in the Netherlands senior set-up while quickly on his way to becoming a fan favourite in N17.

“I like to prove people wrong, yeah it is true,” Van de Ven told the PA news agency after he surprised Lea Valley Primary pupils during a school football session put on by Tottenham Hotspur Foundation this week.

“My dad (Marcel) helped me also a lot at Volendam. It was a difficult situation for me because when people say they don’t trust you when you are 17-years-old, maybe you have to look for work or something.

“You have to have a second choice if you can’t make it to be a professional football player and you have to switch. I said to my dad, ‘maybe I have to work,’ and he was like, ‘no! Trust me. One day a person will come, you will get your chance and grab it’.

“So, I kept working, pushing, pushing, pushing and there was the chance and I grabbed it.

“Also when I came from Volendam and went to Wolfsburg everybody said the step was too big, but I wanted to prove people wrong, so that is the mentality.

“It is true (for Tottenham) because what I saw before I joined Spurs was that people were really negative about Spurs.

“Of course, Kane was maybe going to leave and he scored every year 30+ goals, so yeah amazing striker, but we were there to prove them wrong. I think we are doing good now, but it is just the beginning. We need to keep pushing.

“We want to be at the highest level all season, so I don’t know where it will end but we want the best.”

James Maddison, Son Heung-min and Yves Bissouma have taken the biggest plaudits for Tottenham’s transformation from a disjointed, counter-attacking team last season into a front-foot side.

Spurs have scored 15 times in six league fixtures with Son leading the way, but it is at the other end of the pitch where the bravery and boldness in possession begins with Van de Ven and centre-back partner Cristian Romero.

The duo are opposites in style with World Cup winner Romero known for his aggression, while Van de Ven appears calmness personified, but they have quickly built a bond on and off the pitch.

Van de Ven explained: “I think it naturally happened on the pitch and we felt each other quite fast, but when I came he was also really nice to me and showed me ‘here is the kitchen and where you can get this’, so he was sitting with me and we talked a bit.

“It was really nice the first couple of days I was there, but also on the pitch it felt good.

“Of course he won the World Cup, I saw him play the whole World Cup so I know his quality already.

“I think I know what Cuti’s (Romero’s) qualities are and Cuti knows what my qualities are, so we know what we expect from each other. I have his back and he has my back.

“Cuti is just an amazing player and I know when I run in one direction, he is in my back because he is always there. We just feel each other and of course it is amazing when you have this as a centre-back duo.

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“Of course we are shouting to each other (in games) but it is not in a negative role or something. It is always positive.

“I think I make him maybe more calm and he makes me more aggressive. He will (always) be a more aggressive player and I am a more calm player, but it fits each other well.”

While it is early days for the Van de Ven and Romero partnership, the youngest member of the duo is crystal clear about his personal ambitions.

Van de Ven wants to become one of the best defenders in the Premier League like compatriot Virgil van Dijk, who he will face on Saturday night when title contenders Liverpool visit Tottenham.

“I am really looking forward to seeing the fans again in the stadium and they will make it a good game from us,” the former Netherlands Under-21 captain added.

“We are going to play our own way and play like we want to play. We don’t have fear for Liverpool.

“I think Virgil was the last couple of years and this year also one of the best defenders in the Premier League, for sure.

“The year they grabbed the title he was unbelievable and showed how important he is for Liverpool. He shows how important he is the last couple of years.

“Yeah, that is my ambition to be one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League and I will work hard for it to make it happen, but I just started so hopefully I can be there in I don’t know how many years.”

:: Micky van de Ven appeared at a school’s football session delivered by the Club’s Foundation at N17 Arena – a community hub located on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium campus.

Jurgen Klopp joked that he used the promise of the captain’s armband to sell Curtis Jones on the idea of playing right-back for Liverpool in Wednesday’s 3-1 Carabao Cup win over Leicester.

Jones was the only player retained from Saturday’s 3-1 win over West Ham, but dropped back from midfield to fill in on the right side of defence in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez, with Stefan Bajcetic on the bench after playing right-back against LASK last week.

Even with plenty of experience in the side, the 22-year-old Jones took the armband as he adjusted to a new role.

“Yesterday, when I told him he will play right-back, I sold the right-back idea with the captaincy,” Klopp said.

“He was already completely excited when I told him he would play right-back, and the way he executed it was super special, I have to say. Wow.

“We thought about him because we couldn’t play Stefan, we have to be careful with him. Joey will be OK for the weekend (away to Tottenham) but was not OK for today so we have to find solutions and Curtis was always in my mind as a potential solution.

“He enjoys being on the ball and the deeper you are the more often you can get the ball. It was a top performance I have to say for the first time in for him a strange position. I liked that. He’s in a good moment and could probably play each position.

“But we will try to use him as often as possible in his natural position.”

Jones was one of several Liverpool players to earn praise from Klopp after their come-from-behind victory.

Dominik Szoboszlai took the headlines after hitting a superb strike to give Liverpool the lead just five minutes after coming off the bench, completing the turnaround after Cody Gakpo’s goal early in the second half had cancelled out Kasey McAteer’s effort, with Diogo Jota getting a late third.

But Klopp reeled off a list of several performances he was impressed by, including those from Wataru Endo, Jarell Quansah, Harvey Elliott, and Ryan Gravenberch.

“There were super signs, I really like that a lot,” Klopp said. “The boys enjoyed playing it and you saw how they were pressing until the last second. They really enjoyed it and that’s cool.

“Minute by minute, we grew into that game and it was a top performance, to be honest.

“With all the quality of Leicester, we have to admit that as well, super-coached team obviously, super set-up, you can pretty much see, feel and smell the confidence they have because of their situation, so that made life difficult.

“But we kept going and improved during the game as a team clearly but individually as well, a lot of performances stepped up and here we are, and I like that a lot.”