Charlie Adam hopes his goalscoring form with Stoke will catch the eye of Scotland manager Gordon Strachan.

Image source, Getty Images

Adam's last game for Scotland was a friendly against Poland last March and he admits he has been in only occasional contact with Strachan by text since then.

The midfielder, 29, has scored four goals in Stoke's last six Premier League games and said: "I'm confident that when I am playing well, scoring goals, dictating games, I can get in to the Scotland side."

But despite the speculation about Ings, Burnley chief executive Lee Hoos has insisted the club do not need to sell players despite their relegation from the Premier League.

Hoos told the club's website, external: "We are in the fortunate position right now where we will not be forced to sell anyone for financial reasons.

"I can't predict the future and what might happen to individuals, but last time we were relegated we were forced to sell players to balance the books. We won't be in that position next season."

Image source, Getty Images

The Times, external: Manchester United have joined Liverpool and Real Sociedad in the race to sign Burnley's Danny Ings - but Brendan Rodger's side remain most likely to seal a deal for the striker.

Italian cyclist Matteo Rabottini has been banned for two years after testing positive for EPO.

Image source, Getty Images

The International Cycling Union says three months of Rabottini's ban is deferred to reward his cooperation with the investigation. He is eligible to race again next May.

Rabottini, 27, tested positive for the banned endurance-boosting hormone in training last August. He was then withdrawn from Italy's team for the road world championships.

Image source, Getty Images

QPR's Chilean striker Eduardo Vargas refused to play for the club at Crystal Palace as they battled relegation, reports The Mirror, external. The 25-year-old will leave this summer.

Right, that's quite enough cricket for the time being (although please keep your views on KP coming in if you would). Let's turn our attention to a bit of transfer speculation in the morning papers, starting with this...

Image source, Getty Images

Daily Mail, external: Atletico Madrid are reluctant to sell Chelsea target Antoine Griezmann as they look to strengthen this summer. The France forward, 24, has a buy-out clause set at £43.5m and super-agent Jorge Mendes is understood to be poised to enter negotiations on Chelsea's behalf.

Helen Davies: re: 09.59 update from Radio 5 live. We can't afford not to have an oz coach for the Ashes but we can overlook KP?

Matt Flecknoe: What will happen when the new coach comes in and says I want KP in my team...

Simon Genner: As per usual in British sport, we always ignore/under value the Maverick. ..#KPforEngland

Here is Matthew Hayden's view on Kevin Pietersen and his exile from the England cricket team. You can almost here the knife being twisted...

"Kevin Pietersen probably couldn't be a greater foe to Australian cricket and to the Australian cricket team.

"Whether it's that classic Australian anti-authoritarian position that we seem to have bred into our genetics. But more than anything what we really love about Kevin Pietersen is his freedom and ability to be able to express himself within the game of cricket and more specifically with his bat.

"There have been very few players in the last one or two generations that have had the ability to entertain and direct their attention towards positive cricket like Kevin Pietersen has. He has captured the imaginations of all the Australian cricketing public, who love to see positive cricket, love to see the game moving forward. They don't even love to see it, they demand to see it."

Image source, Getty Images

With his compatriot Jason Gillespie in the frame, former Australian international Matthew Hayden has been speaking to BBC Radio 4 about the England coaches job. He had this to say about the latter:

"You'd be crazy to apply for the England coach's role because with a director, you are the man the establishment is going to kick. You're going to have no control whatsoever.

"I think they entering into a very dangerous space. They have been in a perilous position for the last six months and they are going into very deep times now with an absolutely on-fire New Zealand team and a really revengeful and very in form Australian team too.

There are going to be some really tough times ahead for Engand and they need to sort their back of office out quickly otherwise we are going to see England fall well behind in those Test rankings."

Image source, BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC Radio 5 Live are debating if Jason Gillespie could be England's new head coach. If you want to know how his current side, Yorkshire, are getting on in the County Championship, you can listen via our cricket pages and on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.

Alasdair Lamont
BBC Scotland sport reporter

The Scottish Professional Football League has agreed a sponsorship deal with Ladbrokes, starting next season. The two-year deal is described as the biggest ever Scottish football title sponsorship.

It marks the end of a two-year period without a sponsor for the league, with chief executive Neil Doncaster stating: "Today's announcement is the result of significant investment of energy and effort and further strengthens our optimism about the future health of the game in Scotland."

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke will decide his future in June after playing in Belgium's end-of-season internationals as Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Roma weigh up £30m bids, reports The Mirror, external.

The big story today (as it was yesterday) is Kevin Pietersen's England exile and subsequent attack on Andrew Strauss and the ECB. Here are some of your insights on the matter...

Emma Sanders: They asked him to play county cricket & score runs. He did. And a lot of them! What more do they want? Loss to English cricket.

Alex Barreto: Just pick the best players. Cook Lyth Ballance KP Bell Root Stokes Buttler Rashid Broad Anderson.

Josh Benson: The turning point is Graves telling KP he would be picked if he scored runs, without that KP would still be playing IPL.

Image source, Getty Images

Play will soon get back under way at Headingley in the County Championship game between Yorkshire and Hampshire, with the latter struggling on 37-4, still 411 runs short of the home side's tally.

The reason I mention this is that champions Yorkshire are coached by Jason Gillespie, who was yesterday named by Andrew Strauss as one of the candidates the ECB are considering as the next England head coach.

Word on the street is that the Australian will be speaking after today's play is concluded. Should be interesting.

Image source, Andy Murray

Yep.

Image source, Getty Images

Sticking with the theme of football club owners and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has called on the Rangers board to hold an extraordinary meeting to pay back his £5m loan to the Glasgow club.

Ashley, who owns a 9% stake in Rangers, has also asked the board to explain why the club has been delisted from the AIM stock exchange.

The move comes after the Sports Direct owner lost control of the Ibrox boardroom to South Africa-based businessman Dave King, who is awaiting Scottish FA approval to become the club's new chairman.

Image source, Getty Images

Here is a question for you: are Manchester United better off after 10 years under the ownership of the Glazers?

As our man Simon Stone says, "demonised and ridiculed yet praised for their business brains and financial foresight, the Glazer family have split opinion during their 10-year reign as owners of Manchester United."

To read more about the decade-long Glazer reign at Old Trafford, click on these words.

Image source, Getty Images

Hey, why doesn't Andy Murray just go make hay on clay, then lay by an Italian bay? He just may! What'd ya say?

British number one, and winner of back-to-back titles in Munich and Madrid this month, Murray will be back in action today in Rome as he continues his preparations for the French Open.

Murray, seeded third, will and we will bring you updates of how he is getting on from about 11:00 BST.

Image source, Getty Images

Once he has said goodbye to Liverpool, Steven Gerrard will be heading off to the USA (he likes American things now). But after that, what does the future hold for Stevey G? Well, his former Reds boss Gerard Houllier thinks the midfielder will make a "great manager" when he retires from playing.

"He has got everything it takes to think about the team, the club and the development of others," said Houllier. "He is a natural born leader, a very inspirational leader. He is somebody you want to follow."

The big story today (as it was yesterday) is Kevin Pietersen's England exile and subsequent attack on Andrew Strauss and the ECB. Here are some of your insights on the matter...

Peter: After all KP's stirring, Strauss offered the olive branch of an advisory role to see if reintegration was on - no doubt now.

Jon Evans: ECB are a joke. Ruining our team and the game. Play the best team, forget about personal feuds. #BringBackKP.