England wicketkeeper Ben Foakes is not "stressing" over the impact Jonny Bairstow's prospective return could have on his place in Ben Stokes' set-up.

Foakes missed two of England's three Test victories in Pakistan in December, but he returned with a second-innings knock of 51 as the tourists won their opener in New Zealand last week.

While captain Stokes has repeatedly described Foakes as the world's best gloveman, Bairstow's return from the broken leg he suffered last September could put his place at risk.

With Harry Brook making scores of 89 and 54 against New Zealand, he looks unlikely to be the man to make way for Bairstow – who has won 49 of his 89 England caps as wicketkeeper.

While Foakes is aware of the debate concerning Bairstow's likely return later this year, he is shutting out the noise in a bid to maintain his own good form.

"Naturally you're going to think about things but at the stage I'm at, there's no point stressing over it," Foakes said.

"I'm having some good form in my career and I'm just trying to enjoy that, rather than stressing about what else might happen.

"My England journey has been a bit of a rollercoaster from day one and I've had a lot of times out of the team where I've thought, 'how do I get back in?'

"I guess thinking about those things doesn't help my game at all."

Ahead of the second Test in New Zealand starting on Thursday, England have won 10 of their 11 contests under captain Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, with their aggressive style being affectionately dubbed 'Bazball'.

While Foakes acknowledges he lacks the attacking range possessed by some of his team-mates, he feels there is still a place for his more considered approach. 

"I don't think it's smart for me to go and try to be Ben Stokes or Harry Brook. I'm not, as you'd say, 'Bazball'," he added. 

"I can't do what a lot of these guys do. If I did that from ball one I'd just get out, so it doesn't make sense for me to try. 

"In bridging the gap between our explosive starts and then batting with the tail, I've got to bat a different way."

Reported Manchester United and Chelsea target Victor Osimhen has refused to rule out a move in the next transfer window, though the Napoli star is focused on delivering silverware before then.

Osimhen has hit 18 goals to help Napoli build a 15-point advantage at the Serie A summit – only Manchester City's Erling Haaland (26) has outscored him in Europe's top five leagues this term.

The Nigeria international scored in a seventh consecutive league game in Napoli's 3-0 thrashing of Sassuolo last week, and his electrifying form has reportedly attracted Premier League suitors. 

United and Chelsea have both been credited with an interest in Osimhen, who Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis insists is not for sale.

While helping the Partenopei clinch the Scudetto for the first time since the Diego Maradona era is his current focus, the striker has left the door ajar for a move at the end of the campaign.

"When you are doing so well, top clubs around the world are watching, mostly in the top five leagues," Osimhen told ESPN.

"To be able to be attract interest from these top clubs shows that I am doing great, and it gives me the motivation to do even more for myself and my team.

"But I am focused on Napoli right now and they have the final say. I just want to help my team to win matches and win trophies.

"At the end of the season, we will see what is going to happen, but that is not up to me. It is for the club to decide."

Napoli travel to Eintracht Frankfurt for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, having top-scored in the competition's group stage with 20 goals – though only one of those came from Osimhen.

The New York Jets are an option for Derek Carr, who enjoyed a "great trip" to meet the team and head coach Robert Saleh.

Quarterback Carr is a free agent after leaving the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this month following his decision to decline waiving a no-trade clause in his contract.

The Raiders wanted to send Carr to the New Orleans Saints, but he now has the chance to decide on his own future after reportedly rejecting a pay cut to facilitate a trade.

According to Carr's older brother David, a former first-round draft pick who won a Super Bowl ring with the New York Giants during an 11-year NFL career, the 31-year-old "hit it off" with Jets coach Saleh.

"It was a good trip," David Carr said on the NFL Network.

"It's not just going to be a situation where he gets on a plane to go have fun in New York. Derek had a great trip.

"He went there to get a feel how they work, from the top down, and everyone he met, we knew he would love Robert Saleh – he's fantastic – and they hit it off and they would love to work together."

However, Carr is still weighing up his options.

"But there's a lot of questions that have to be answered," David added.

"He has to find out how the front office works but also, the most important thing for him as a veteran quarterback, what is it going to be like as a play-caller. Todd Downing is there (as passing-game coordinator), he has a relationship with Todd. Nathaniel Hackett (offensive coordinator) is also there.

"They had a good chat, they talked about a lot of different things. Obviously, the team needs a quarterback, some stability there. They have a lot of good components, there are a lot of things that are very positive about the Jets.

"He had a great trip. It's going to be a long process, though. He really only has the Saints, the Raiders and the Jets and to compare those three places, so he wants to do his due diligence to see as many places as he can, to see what the best place will be."

Carr was drafted by the Raiders in 2014 and holds franchise records for his 35,222 passing yards and 217 touchdowns.

Thomas Tuchel has been out of a job since being sacked by Chelsea in September but could be on the brink of a return to action. 

The German has previously led top European clubs Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and the Blues, whom he took to the 2020-21 Champions League title.

The 49-year-old has been linked with numerous vacant posts in recent months but reportedly turned down two Premier League offers.

TOP STORY – PSG WILLING TO ADMIT TUCHEL ERROR

PSG have grown frustrated with head coach Christophe Galtier and are ready to move to re-appoint Thomas Tuchel, claims the Evening Standard.

The club sacked Tuchel in December 2020 after two and a half years in charge with the best win percentage in Ligue 1 history.

But PSG are reportedly willing to admit their mistake in letting him go as they try to convince Tuchel to return following their recent run of three straight defeats, which was ended by Sunday's 4-3 win over Lille.

The report claims Tuchel would need assurances from the club, but it is the type of role he has been waiting for, joining a top side competing for major trophies.

ROUND-UP

– Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio is being monitored by Tottenham, according to Football Insider. Spurs will need to compete with Arsenal and Manchester United for the 27-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of this season.

– Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are all circling for Borussia Monchengladbach's Marcus Thuram, reports Talksport. The Athletic claims Thuram will exit Gladbach in the off-season as a free agent, with Bayern Munich also interested.

– Relevo reports Bayern are weighing up a move for Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos, with head coach Julian Nagelsmann an admirer, although no contact has been made yet.

– ESPN claims Manchester United and teenage sensation Alejandro Garnacho have agreed in principle to a new five-year contract, warding off interest.

– Manchester United will need to fork out €80million (£71m) to land Tammy Abraham from Roma, reports Calciomercatoweb.

– Juventus will move for Real Madrid winger Brahim Diaz after this season, claims Calciomercatoweb. Diaz is currently on loan at Milan, but the Rossoneri will not trigger their option to buy him.

Liverpool welcome Real Madrid to Anfield on Tuesday in the Champions League round of 16, and the latest meeting of Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti.

Their respective histories could have been so different.

After Everton and Liverpool had played out a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park in October 2015, in the Sky Sports studio, Thierry Henry reached across and placed his hand on a bewildered Jamie Carragher's knee as the news was announced that Brendan Rodgers had been dismissed as Reds manager.

Within minutes, the favourites for the role were being discussed, with frontrunner Klopp ultimately being the man to come in and take the club back to the summit of English and European football.

The second favourite had been Ancelotti, out of work at the time following his exit from his first spell at Madrid, and Carragher argued that while the Italian had the more impressive CV, Klopp was the more suitable choice for the Anfield hotseat after his success at Borussia Dortmund.

"I think with either of those coming to Liverpool, the supporters would be ecstatic," he said at the time. "If it was me, I would go for Klopp ahead of Ancelotti. I think he's got more to prove. Ancelotti is a great manager of course, but he's gone to clubs where you would expect to win trophies.

"It's a difficult job now at Liverpool getting them back into the top four. Forget talking about the title. And I think it needs someone with that energy and drive to get Liverpool back to where it wants to be and I think Jurgen Klopp's that man."

Of course, Carragher proved to be right about Klopp.

It will never be known what would have happened had Ancelotti been hired instead, but he has gone on to enjoy success at other clubs since, with spells at Bayern Munich, Napoli and Everton before heading back to the Santiago Bernabeu in December 2021.

The two have faced off numerous times in opposing dugouts, with the upcoming two-legged Champions League tie set to be their 12th and 13th meetings.

It is interesting how frequently Klopp and Ancelotti have come up against one another, especially considering the Italian's 18-month spell at Everton was the only time they have managed in the same league.

They clashed on four occasions in Merseyside derbies – coincidentally after that had been the fixture that led to their names being linked with the Liverpool job back in 2015 – with two draws at Goodison Park in the Premier League and a 1-0 Liverpool win in an FA Cup third round game at Anfield.

The most notable encounter also came at Anfield in February 2021, with no fans in due to COVID-19 restrictions, where Ancelotti masterminded Everton's first win at the home of their neighbours since the turn of the century.

Their other seven meetings have come in the Champions League, Klopp coming up against Ancelotti for the first time during his penultimate season at Borussia Dortmund as they took on Madrid in the last eight, losing 3-0 in the Spanish capital before a spirited but unsuccessful 2-0 reverse back in Dortmund.

Two goals from Marco Reus in the first half had given the German side hope of a comeback, but Ancelotti's men put up the defences and managed to see the game out, a tactic that the Los Blancos head coach has used to good effect against Klopp on numerous occasions since.

He also frustrated Klopp in their first meeting as Liverpool and Napoli bosses respectively, with the Serie A side winning 1-0 at home in the 2018-19 group stage, restricting the Reds to just four shots – none on which were on target – as Lorenzo Insigne struck a late winner.

A Mohamed Salah goal in the reverse fixture was enough to send Liverpool through to the knockout stage with a 1-0 win at Anfield at Napoli's expense, with the Reds going on to lift the trophy in Madrid that season.

The two teams were drawn together again in the group stage the following year, with Napoli again defeating Liverpool in Naples, 2-0 this time, while they played out a 1-1 draw back on Merseyside.

Klopp and Ancelotti would not meet again in the Champions League until after their brief Merseyside derby rivalry, somewhat appropriately in the final as Liverpool faced Madrid in Paris last season.

While the game was heavily distracted by the chaos outside prior to kick-off that an independent investigation has since claimed was the fault of UEFA and the French authorities, on the pitch it had a feel of Klopp's previous struggles with Ancelotti.

Liverpool dominated large parts of the contest, but Madrid were largely able to contain them, though goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois still had to put in an outstanding performance to keep a clean sheet.

Ancelotti suggested after the 1-0 win thanks to a Vinicius Junior goal that Klopp's team were "more decipherable" than others he had faced, but ahead of their next clash, the German coach lavished praise on his opposite number.

"Carlo is the most relaxed manager I ever met in my life," Klopp said at his pre-match press conference. "One of the best people you can meet, fantastic person, a humble person, super smart and nice, and obviously his man management is at a completely different level to all of us, and I respect that a lot and admire it a lot."

Ancelotti reciprocated at his press conference, saying: "I have a good relationship with Klopp. We stayed for a year and a half in Liverpool during the pandemic, and we used to text each other and exchange gifts. He's a really lovely person."

There is clear mutual respect there, strengthened by the duo's personal achievements as well as how difficult they both find games against one another.

Klopp's teams have only managed to find the net seven times against Ancelotti's in 11 games, despite having 153 shots, suggesting the former Milan, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss knows how to restrict them to low-quality chances.

Ancelotti has relied on his team's defensive solidity more often than not, and boasts the superior record with five wins to three defeats and three draws, but he has never been able to beat a Klopp team in an away game when fans have been in attendance, with a noisy Anfield on Tuesday a near certainty.

He surely takes slightly more pleasure in besting Liverpool than he does most other foes following one of his most painful defeats as a coach when his Milan side was beaten on penalties in the iconic 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul, despite leading 3-0 at half-time.

This season's final will also be in the Turkish capital, but at least one of Liverpool or Ancelotti will not be there this time.

Klopp v Ancelotti. Germany v Italy. Beard v eyebrow. It is one of the great modern coaching rivalries, and round 12 should be another fascinating contest.

David Pastrnak became the fifth Bruins player to score 40 goals in consecutive seasons as the Bruins remained on pace for a history-making season with Monday's 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators.

Pastrnak scored twice, breaking the second-period tie to move beyond the 40-goal mark for the third time in his career.

The win improved the NHL-best Bruins' record to 43-8-5, extending their current win streak to four games.

Boston are currently on pace for 62 wins, which would match the record held by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Bruins are also on pace for 133 points, which would exceed the record held by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens.

Boston also tied the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers for the fewest games to reach 90 points in NHL history.

Bruins center David Krejci, who brought up his 1000th game, said the challenge for the team was to not mentally let standards slip.

"We're at that point in the season where it's mental," Krejci told reporters. "We all know what we can do in this room, and we've got to be mentally prepared for each game.

"We hit a little tough patch maybe a couple of weeks ago, but we're a good team. We've got good guys on the team, and we talk about it.

"Like I said, it's mental. We've just got to get ready for those games. We've got to stay sharp because it is not easy.

"This is the time of the year that if you let up, it can get away from you pretty easily, so we've got to stick together, grind it out and be mentally sharp."

Thiago Monteiro enjoyed a memorable victory on Monday as he defeated former world number three Dominic Thiem 6-1 3-6 7-6 (7-2) in his opening match of the Rio Open.

The highest-ranked Brazilian in the field made a winning start at South America's only ATP 500 event, but he had to work for it, emerging victorious after an 88-minute third set.

A raucous crowd cheered on every point down the stretch, and after saving four break point opportunities to force a tiebreaker, he jumped ahead to a 5-1 advantage and served it out.

He will face the winner between second seed Cameron Norrie and rising Argentine talent Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the next round.

Meanwhile, the top seed in action on Monday – third seed Lorenzo Musetti – continued his recent rough stretch of form with a disappointing 6-4 6-1 defeat at the hands of Chile's Nicolas Jarry.

Musetti, already ranked 18th in the world at 20 years old, has now lost four of his past five matches, while Jarry has won eight out of 10.

Jarry will play Spain's Pedro Martinez in the second round after he spoiled a potential all-Chilean matchup, eliminating Cristian Garin 7-6 (7-0) 6-4.

The only other Brazilian in action, Joao Fonseca, had no luck against Slovakia's Alex Molcan as he went down 6-0 6-3, while Bolivia's Hugo Dellien was similarly dominant in his 6-0 6-2 trouncing of Portugal's Joao Sousa.

After taking a set off world number two Carlos Alcaraz at last week's Argentina Open, Laslo Djere advanced into the second round as Facundo Bagnis retired in the second set while trailing 6-2 3-2.

Bam Adebayo is thrilled about the Miami Heat securing Kevin Love following his buyout with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Love fills an urgent need for a shooter in the frontcourt, as he will slot in as the only player on the Heat roster taller than six-foot-five while averaging at least one made three-pointer per game.

The five-time All-Star is also leading the league this season in defensive rebounding percentage, but had found himself out of the Cavaliers' rotation leading into the All-Star break as they prioritised their youth.

Love, a champion in 2016 when his Cavs came back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals, is averaging career-lows in both points (8.5) and rebounds (6.8), but Adebayo believes he will bring value that extends beyond just his minutes on the floor.

"It's exciting. We've got fresh legs on the team," he said. "We've got a guy like Kevin Love, who has been through those wars, came back from 3-1.

"You've got a battle-tested guy like that who has won – it's big for us. He's really underrated as a team player.

"He's underrated for what he does. I know what he'll bring to our team will make us more successful."

Adebayo has spent time with Love previously as they trained together with Team USA in the lead-up to the 2020 Olympic Games.

He went on to compare Love to Heat stalwart Udonis Haslem, with the 42-year-old now in his 20th season in Miami, providing leadership from the bench despite only actually playing in 17 combined games since the end of the 2018-19 season.

"[Love is] smart, he stretches the floor, and you can learn from a guy like that, having a guy like that in your corner," Adebayo said. "Him and 'UD', two different walks of life, but now they're kind of going down the same road. 

"Having guys like that, it'll help me tremendously. He's an all-around great person."

Miami will come out of the All-Star break sitting seventh in the Eastern Conference with a record of 32-27.

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge declined to put a figure on the number of home runs he hopes to hit in 2023 but says "you never know" if he can better last season's historic return.

Judge last season broke Roger Maris Sr's long-standing American League and Yankees single-season record of 61 home runs from 1961, blasting 62 across the regular season.

When asked on Monday if he could hit 62 home runs again in the 2023 season, Judge replied "we'll see" with a wry grin.

"I don't like putting a number on it," Judge told reporters. "I just like going out there trying to control what I can control, but you never know what could happen. So, we'll see about 62."

Judge added: "I've got some goals written down but my individual stats always take care of themselves when I'm focused on the team. The game tells you what you need to do.

"After everything that transpired last season, I'll try do what I did last year, I'll try to take it one at-bat at a time."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone backed Judge for another "MVP-caliber season" irrespective of how many home runs he hits.

"The biggest thing for him is making sure he's going to the post and keeping him healthy," Boone said. "If that's the case, greatness will find its way.

"Whether it's not 60 homers again or 62 homers again, whatever it is, if he's healthy he's going to go out there and have an MVP-caliber season. There's no doubt in my mind about that. I don't worry about a hangover."

Judge was confirmed as the Yankees' 16th captain in December having signed a nine-year, $360million contract to stay in the Bronx.

The 30-year-old was excited by that "incredible title" but determined to lead the Yankees to World Series glory, which has eluded them during Judge's time with the franchise and since 2009.

"That sound in the clubhouse after a [season-ending] loss is probably the worst feeling a ballplayer can have," Judge said.

"You don't know what to say. You don't know what to do. All of a sudden you're going from, every day preparing for this game, and this is the most important game of your life, and all of a sudden you're done and the offseason begins.

"Every year that we don't finish what we started, it wears on us in different ways. Each season is a little different: If it’s getting kicked out at the Wild Card game, to the ALCS game, to the ALDS, they all sting, but they sting in different ways.

"As the years go on, and you make improvements from what you did last year and it's, 'We weren't able to do this, let's improve on that' – and you fail again and fail again. But I think every failure kind of pushes you towards that ultimate goal."

Patrick Beverley confirmed on Monday that he will be signing for the rest of the season with the Chicago Bulls.

Beverley, 34, began the season with the Los Angeles Lakers, starting all 45 of his appearances before being traded to the Orlando Magic at the deadline in exchange for Mo Bamba.

With the Magic in the midst of a youth revolution and in the advanced stages of their rebuild, they decided to negotiate a buyout with Beverley to allow him to head elsewhere.

A defensive specialist, Beverley is a three-time NBA All-Defense selection (one First Team, two Second Teams), while also boasting a solid career three-point percentage of 37.6.

Unfortunately, his shooting has dipped over the past couple of seasons, setting a career-worst mark of 34.3 per cent in 2021-22, and he is only slightly better this campaign at 34.8.

Meanwhile, his combined steals and blocks figure of 1.5 is his lowest since the 2018-19 season, and tied for the second-lowest of his career.

He has not been at his best this season on a tumultuous Lakers team, but he theoretically fills a couple of needs for the Bulls, and is excited to return to his hometown.

Chicago are averaging the fewest made three-pointers per game (10.3) and the fewest attempts (28.8) – areas Beverley will provide a boost in compared to current starting point guard Ayo Dosunmu.

Dosunmu is averaging 0.8 made threes per game at a mediocre 32.4 per cent clip, and while Beverley's percentages are down, he is still making 1.2 per game.

The move also helps the Bulls lean into their strong suit this season, as they sit 24th in offensive rating, but are seventh in defense.

Beverley will join Alex Caruso to make a menacing defensive back-court, with Caruso emerging as an advanced stats darling on that end of the floor.

Caruso is seventh in the league in steal percentage (1.7 per cent), while sitting third in defensive box plus/minus, and a clear number one overall in defensive RAPTOR.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has "avoided serious damage" after further testing on his injured right wrist ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks' run to the playoffs.

Antetokounmpo played only 20 seconds in Sunday's All-Star Game where Team Giannis won 184-175 over Team LeBron in Utah.

The Greek forward exited with a wrist injury that he had initially suffered in Thursday's win over the Chicago Bulls trying to block a Coby White shot.

The 28-year-old had also opted out of Saturday's skills challenge, replaced by Bucks team-mate Jrue Holiday.

Antetokounmpo's right wrist was wrapped while standing on the sidelines supporting his team throughout the All-Star Game.

ESPN reported that he would be heading for further testing in New York, with The Athletic's Shams Charania saying on Monday the player had "avoided serious damage in his right wrist after further testing", adding: "Antetokounmpo could miss some games, but an overall sigh of relief for the Bucks..."

"Taking it day-by-day, try to get healthy," Antetokounmpo told reporters after Sunday's game. "You know, obviously I had the incident three days ago. I don't think it's smart in any way to play a lot of minutes in the All-Star Game.

"Take a break here, take care of it, and hopefully I can be available for my team when they need me."

The Bucks are second in the Eastern Conference with a 41-17 record on the back of a 12-game win streak, with their next game after the All-Star break coming on Friday against the Miami Heat.

Antetokounmpo is averaging 31.8 points (third in the NBA), 12.2 rebounds (second in the NBA) and 5.4 assists this season.

The agent of Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani believes the baseball unicorn has "earned the right" to explore free agency.

Ohtani, 28, is the only player in Major League Baseball who excels as both a pitcher and a hitter, earning an All-Star selection in both categories last season.

He struck out 219 batters in 2022 – the sixth-most in the majors – while also tying for 11th on the home run leaderboard with 34 dingers. His 80 combined home runs over the past two seasons trails only Aaron Judge (101).

The six-foot-four Japanese sensation led all players in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) in 2021, and it took Judge breaking the American League home run record in 2022 to unseat him as number one.

Ohtani will play for a $30million salary this season ahead of what will almost certainly be a record-breaking contract, but agent Nez Balelo gave no indication that his client is leaning towards staying in Anaheim.

When asked if he would be open to negotiating a long-term extension during spring training, Balelo said he is open to anything, but will not make a commitment.

"I've always been open to it," he said. "But there's several layers to this one, and Shohei's earned the right to play through the year, explore free agency, and we'll see where it shakes out."

Asked if that meant a spring training deal was actually unlikely, Balelo was again not willing to go one way or the other.

"I've said it before, I'll say it again – we're taking it one day at a time," he said. "I'm not putting the cart before the horse on this one."

Ohtani has been weighed down by poor Angels teams and has never made the playoffs – something he may be growing tired of.

"He's so competitive, like all great players are, so of course they want to experience the postseason, of course they'd love to be in the World Series," Balelo said. "But is that the deciding factor? I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see.

"Shohei's been here five years, now this is his final year, and now we have free agency, so of course there's gonna be a lot of questions.

"What does he wanna do? Where's he gonna go? All of it. And I've said this so many times and Shohei has said it as well – we really take it day by day, one day at a time.

"I've always wanted him to enjoy this ride that he's on. I've wanted him to embrace it. That's what he's done. We're gonna continue that."

Whoever eventually secures Ohtani long-term will almost certainly have to eclipse the nine-year, $360m benchmark set by Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees this offseason.