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Newcastle United have made a “generous and extremely tempting” offer for Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard.

That’s according to The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, and a number of United fans have been giving their thoughts to the news on social media.

Lingard is out of contract at Old Trafford in the summer and has made just two starts all season. He’s recently been linked with Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham, with the former of the three pushing to land the 29-year-old.

According to Edwards, Newcastle had a loan bid turned down earlier in the week but have now returned with a “generous and extremely tempting” offer.

Edwards adds that United could be able to make around £12m for Lingard, who Ole Gunnar Solskjaer labelled as ‘brilliant’, however, the England international isn’t considering a permanent move at this moment in time.

United fans react

@utdreport relayed Edwards’ claim regarding Lingard on Twitter. This is what these United supporters had to say in reply, with many keen for him to move on.

“If we pull that off, it’s a massive let off considering we rejected £10m from West Ham in the summer.”

Credit: @yaboybdav

“About time we robbed someone welcome to our world. Can he take a few with him”

Credit: @clarketipsinfo

“Scenes when we reject it and ask for £20m”

Credit: @GarryDevilDada

“I’m on my knees”

Credit: @snvmsu

“Get it done!! Then bring in Zakaria”

Credit: @Dizbhoy

“Wow”

Credit: @PrinceChrisMUFC

In other news: ‘Wow’ – Lots of Man United fans erupt as ‘ridiculous’ transfer news emerges. 

An update has emerged on Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield, regarding plans for his future at Ibrox…

What’s the talk?

According to the Glasgow Evening Times [29 January, page 47], the Gers are poised to enter contract talks with the Canada international.

His contract is up at the end of the season and the Scottish giants now want to offer him fresh terms in an attempt to keep him at the club moving forward.

GvB needs it

Gio van Bronckhorst will be buzzing with this news as he needs Arfield to put pen to paper on a contract extension before his deal expires in the summer.

The 33-year-old has dipped in and out of form this season and there have been moments where it has looked as if he needs replacing. He has lost 59% of his duels this term and missed a whopping five ‘big chances’ in front of goal, which highlights some of the issues he has had throughout the campaign.

However, just when you may think his time is up at Ibrox he pops up with another moment to show why he needs to stay. He came off the bench against Livingston earlier this week and scored the winning goal with a sublime first-time, improvised, finish into the far corner in a 1-0 win for the Gers, proving that he still has it in him to be a huge player for the club.

Earlier this month, van Bronckhorst admitted that he does not want to see the veteran leave at the end of the campaign, saying: “Scott is an important player to have around. He is definitely someone I want to have longer at Rangers.

“Hopefully we can welcome him next season as well.”

The £16k-per-week beast is still capable of producing moments of magic to win vital points for Rangers and that is why the Dutch head coach needs this key deal to go through. Arfield still has value to offer to the Light Blues and Ross Wilson must ensure that he is able to agree terms with the midfielder over a contract extension in the coming weeks and months.

Hopefully, the ex-Burnley man will continue to provide big goals to help Rangers on their way to another Premiership title and can then celebrate with the trophy and a new contract to head into the 2022/23 campaign.

AND in other news, Rangers could replicate Amad masterclass with swoop for “exceptional” £3.1k-p/w gem…

Durham captain Phil Mustard rediscovered his best one-day form by thrashing 90 off 72 balls in a five-wicket home win against Group C leaders Warwickshire in the Clydesdale Bank 40

22-Aug-2010
ScorecardDurham captain Phil Mustard rediscovered his best one-day form by thrashing 90 off 72 balls in a five-wicket home win against Group C leaders Warwickshire in the Clydesdale Bank 40. Since making 61 in a defeat at Edgbaston, Mustard had totalled 53 runs in four innings in a competition in which he averaged 52 last season.Put in by Mustard, Warwickshire made 243 for 8, but with legspinner Imran Tahir absent through illness they never looked like defending their total and Durham got home with 10 balls to spare. The home side had lost four of their previous five CB40 games, the only win coming against Scotland, and rested three experienced men in Dale Benkenstein, Steve Harmison and Michael Di Venuto.Mustard hit a Keith Barker long hop over extra cover for six then whipped the same bowler over long leg for six as the 10th and 12th overs produced 28 runs. He also hit 10 fours before he tried to whip Chris Woakes to leg and skied a catch to backward point in the 24th over.Woakes had only one over left and there was little else for Durham to fear as Boyd Rankin, Barker and Darren Maddy all bowled poorly. By the time Neil Carter returned, Durham needed only 13 off four overs and Gordon Muchall’s unbeaten 49 off 50 balls saw them home.Opener Varun Chopra made his top score in any cricket for Warwickshire with 70 off 90 balls, but his progress in mid innings in company with the out-of-touch Maddy was too slow. Chopra drove Ian Blackwell for a straight six, but hit only three fours before driving Gareth Breese to long on.After conceding six runs an over for the first 12, Durham did well to restrict Warwickshire to 96 in the next 20 overs before a high full toss from Ben Harmison set the visitors on the way to collecting 75 runs off the last eight overs. That Harmison delivery cost six runs as it was signalled a no-ball and was steered behind square on the off side for four by Jim Troughton, who made 48 not out off 47 balls.Rikki Clarke hit Harmison for two leg-side sixes in scoring 29 off 17 balls but Warwickshire were restricted by a good four-over spell from Ben Stokes at the end of their innings.

A rampant Chennai Super Kings crushed the Warriors by eight wickets to win the Champions League Twenty20 final at the Wanderers

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera in Johannesburg26-Sep-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
R Ashwin removed the dangerous Davy Jacobs, and changed the tenor of the game•Associated PressIt was a reverse sweep that changed the entire complexion of the game. Davy Jacobs had started off imperiously and catapulted Warriors to 45 in the sixth over. Then R Ashwin got one to turn quickly towards the leg stump, Jacobs went for the reverse sweep, but was trapped in front. It’s a shot that he had successfully played in the previous game; the adventurous unorthodox spirit is his calling card, and he has reaped much success with that approach. But tonight it hurt his team. This can be a cruel game, sometimes.After Jacobs fell, Muttiah Muralitharan suffocated the Warriors with his skill, and L Balaji maintained the pressure with a disciplined spell in the middle, keeping the Warriors to 128, which was never going to be enough. And it wasn’t. This is the last time this group of players will turn out for Chennai, and they gave themselves a nice farewell present.Warriors’ Achilles heel is their lower order. Johan Botha bats at no 6; the batting isn’t that deep. And so, the middle-order chose caution over valour and Chennai closed in. L Balaji, who grew in confidence with the Warriors’ non-violent approach against him, slipped in a few quiet overs with his steady line and length stuff. Ashwin continued to tease them with his variations and Muttiah Muralitharan came on in the 10th over to harass them with his ability.He kept his doosras to a minimum, and ripped offbreaks across at varying pace. Success came in the 14th over: Mark Boucher, who has fallen most to Muralitharan than any other bowler in his career, was bowled, and Justin Kreusch was beaten by the dip and flicked straight to midwicket.There was a brief little moment in the 17th over when things stirred at the bull ring. “Fast cars and big shots, that’s Craig Thyssen,” Jacobs had said earlier in the week. Tonight Thyssen went after Balaji to pick up three boundaries – a pulled four, a delicate late steer and a muscled six over midwicket. The home supporters in the crowd started to find their voice: They chanted out “Let’s go Warriors” and tried to inspire the local team but Thyssen’s cameo was too late and too little to matter in the bigger scheme of things. In hindsight, Ashwell Prince’s fall – he was bowled missing a slog against a full toss from Doug Bollinger- also proved critical as there was too much pressure on the middle-order.The only chance for Warriors after that effort was take early wickets. They didn’t. M Vijay and Michael Hussey shut them out of the contest with assured knocks. Both play spin well. Vijay used his feet to repeatedly drive inside out while Hussey, as ever, worked the angles. There was a brief moment at the end when Vijay and Suresh Raina fell in quick succession and you wondered, ‘Hold on, do we have a twist here?’ The equation jumped from a comfortable 26 from 31 deliveries to 13 from 12. However, Hussey and Dhoni calmly escorted Chennai home. A score of 128 wasn’t enough to test Chennai. Jacobs’ wicket was the key.Half-way through the evening, Jacobs’ blitz at the start already seemed a distant memory. As ever, he had moved around on his nimble feet and ripped shots with slaughterhouse finality. He smashed Doug Bollinger and Albie Morkel to all parts of the ground. There were his usual shuffle-and-smash shots, but there were also some skillful upper cuts and neat cover drives. Things looked so bright for Jacobs and his team in the sixth over but the lights went out very quickly.

Reliable reporter David Ornstein believes that Aston Villa may look at signing a central midfielder on deadline day.

The Athletic reporter was speaking live on Sky Sports and had many Villa fans talking on social media.

The Villans have been after a new midfielder this month following Marvelous Nakamba’s serious injury towards the end of 2021. However, so far they have had no luck, with offers for Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur being rejected by Brighton and Juventus respectively.

Marseille’s Boubacar Kamara is thought to be another player on the midfield shortlist, but there have been no significant updates on Villa and the Frenchman for over a week.

According to Ornstein [via @AVFCFaithful], who was speaking on Sky Sports News’ transfer deadline day coverage, Villa may have another nibble at a central midfielder in the final hours of the January window.

Villa fans react

Here is what these Villa supporters had to say in reply, with many excited at the possibility of a late arrival to Steven Gerrard’s squad.

“YES DAVID I LOVE YOU”

Credit: @charliepowellm1

“He’s tier 111111 please please please”

Credit: @JRamsAV

“ORNSTEINNNNN”

Credit: @_AVFCOlly

“ORNSTEINNNNNNN”

Credit: @ViIlaI_

“DAVID YOU BEAUTIFUL MAN”

Credit: @DG_Villa1

“What a tease”

Credit: @JohnCha00458074

In other news: ‘No way’ – Lots of Villa fans flock to journalist’s deadline day hint

Centre-back. Left-back. Midfield.

Pascal Struijk can do it all at Leeds United.

The towering 6 foot 3 colossus has been nothing short of a sensation for the Yorkshire outfit, and he’s only going to get better.

He cost the Whites absolutely nothing when their director of football Victor Orta poached him from Ajax in 2018 and at just 22, he hasn’t looked out of place in the Premier League whatsoever.

Struijk has always delivered whenever called upon in whatever position manager Marcelo Bielsa needs him to play, though he appears to be a central defender by trade.

And that is where his long-term future is likely to settle.

“He’s going to become a supreme centre-back,” once claimed LeedsLive reporter Beren Cross. “He’s [Bielsa] worked with so many players in world football, and for him to say the things he’s saying about Pascal, it’s very, very exciting. Defenders don’t always get a very exciting press. It’s all about Raphinha, it’s all about Joe Gelhardt. But Pascal is the future. 

“And the longer he stays under the radar, the better, because he’s got the lot, to be honest.”

In terms of this season alone, he’s amongst their most resolute defensive options, averaging the second-highest number of tackles per game (2.3) and third-highest number of interceptions per match (1.4), too, as per WhoScored.

The Dutchman is also very capable with the ball at his feet, having averaged a passing accuracy of 84.3%, which is only bettered by fellow centre-back, Liam Cooper (85.7%) – of those that have started ten or more league games.

It’s no wonder Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Joe Urquhart dubbed him a “beast.”

Those returns suggest he’s more than capable at reading a game and then acting upon it, whilst his ball-playing ability makes him one of Bielsa’s most reliable options to start playing out from the back – and that be why he sometimes slots into the defensive midfield role as he’s clearly able to dictate play.

Meanwhile, ex-Leeds star Dominic Matteo also believes “he’s got it all” and that he “looks comfortable in possession.”

Struijk is going to be an integral part of Leeds’ success for the remainder of the season, especially with the aforementioned skipper still absent through injury.

What makes it all the more impressive is the fact that he cost Leeds absolutely nothing. He’s now worth around €20m (£18m), according to CIES Football Observatory. A fee that is only going to rise alongside his impressive performances.

This has been something of a dream deal for the Yorkshire giants. He could stay for a long time and continue to make a huge impact or he could sold on for mega profit. It’s a win-win.

United hit the jackpot with Struijk, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Huge boost for Bielsa: Journalist drops behind-scenes Leeds update out of Thorp Arch…

Shaun Udal, the former England offspinner, has announced his retirement from first-class cricket, three years after he had originally decided to quit the game

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2010Shaun Udal, the former England offspinner, has announced his retirement from first-class cricket, three years after he had originally decided to quit the game. Udal, 41, had called time in 2007 after nearly 20 seasons with Hampshire but was lured out of retirement soon after by Middlesex, who he has represented since.Udal helped Middlesex to the t20 Cup in the 2008 season, towards the end of which he took over as the club’s captain. He resigned from the role earlier this year. He led Middlesex in the Stanford 20/20 in 2008 and Twenty20 nearly provided him an unlikely international comeback at the age of 40, when he was named in England’s preliminary squad for the World Twenty20 in 2009.Udal played the last of his four Tests for England in 2006 and his final ODI in December 2005. The highlight of his international career was his 4 for 14 on the final day of the Mumbai Test in 2006 which helped England to a famous series-levelling victory against India.In a first-class career spanning 22 seasons, Udal collected 822 wickets at 32.47, including 37 five-wicket hauls, and scored nearly 8000 runs at 22.59. He also played 410 List A matches, taking 458 wickets at 30.19 and making 2966 runs.”I am extremely lucky to have played the game I love for such a long period of time,” Udal said. “It is obviously a sad day – waving goodbye to something very special is always difficult – but I look forward to getting stuck in to the next chapter of my life.”Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s managing director of cricket, hailed Udal’s contribution to the club. “When Shaun took over as Middlesex captain, he inherited a fractured dressing room and morale was low,” Fraser said. “During the two years he captained Middlesex Shaun successfully pulled the team closer together and the dressing room is now a far happier and united place. He has handed over to Neil Dexter a club in far better shape than the one he inherited.”

Ricky Ponting finds himself in the sort of situation that once confronted Allan Border in the late 1980s

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2010Having gotten so used to singing to celebrate Test victories for most of his career, Ricky Ponting now finds himself in the sort of situation that once confronted Allan Border in the late 1980s. A 2-0 defeat in India, especially after coming within a ball of winning the first Test, is hardly ideal preparation to try and win back the Ashes, but the man entrusted with restoring Australian cricket to the top asserted that it wasn’t all doom and gloom after the latest Indian misadventure.”There have been a few positives,” Ponting said. “[Mitchell] Johnson and [Ben] Hilfenhaus have been very good. Shane Watson at the top of the order. Tim Paine has looked every bit a world-class keeper-batsman. The rest of us have been a bit inconsistent. We haven’t played the five days that we need to to win games. They deserve to have won both games, but even if you ask them, they’re a bit flattered by that result.”Some of the squad now face limited-overs games against India and Sri Lanka, while others will return to a diet of Shield cricket before the first Test against England. “We’ve got to move on pretty quickly now. Our next Test match is at the Gabba, the start of the Ashes series. We have to make sure that we play five long tough days of Test cricket.”While bitterly disappointed at another loss in India, Ponting suggested that it would have little bearing on the contest for the urn. “They’re totally different conditions,” he said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how the group bounces back now. That’s three Tests in a row we’ve lost as well. We can’t forget the last one against Pakistan. I’m not sure that’s happened in my time of playing for Australia. It’s certainly not happened since I’ve been captain.”There are some issues there that we need to deal with, and we have to get over them quickly. We’ve managed to match it with the No.1 team for nine of the 10 days, but we haven’t been good enough when it’s mattered.”When it was pointed out that Australia hadn’t lost three in a row since West Indies defeated them at Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne in 1988, he said: “I wasn’t playing in 1988, though it feels like it (grins). We have to get off that train for sure, and start winning some Tests pretty soon.”Having come to India with a Test average of 20 in 12 Tests here, Ponting the batsman certainly went some way towards correcting that anomaly in his career stats. But when asked whether he felt he had done his part, he disagreed. “When a No.3 batsman gets in and makes 60 or 70, you expect him to go on and make big scores. Tendulkar did it; he made 200. If I’d made 200 in the first innings, the result might have been different. We’ve got to be harsh on ourselves. Three scores in the 70s is not good enough.”His deputy, Michael Clarke, managed just 35 runs in the series, a far cry from 2004 when he made a scintillating century on debut in Bangalore. Clarke has moved up the order to No.4, but Ponting was adamant that the switch had nothing to do with the downturn in his batting fortunes. “We’ve all had those series in India.” he said. “I had about four of them [laughs], where I came here and worked hard without getting the results I wanted.There’s no need to worry about Michael Clarke. He knows his own game very well. The fact that he’s moved up one spot in the order hasn’t got anything to do with the runs he has or hasn’t scored. He’s a world-class player and I’m sure that when the Ashes come round, you’ll see him in good touch.”Apart from Ben Hilfenhaus, who toiled away diligently while enhancing his claim to keep the new ball, there was little consistency on the bowling front. But in Ponting’s eyes, it was the batsmen who cost the side the series. “I think our bowlers have done a terrific job here,” he said. “We were one ball away from winning the first Test. I don’t think they were disappointing. If anything, the reason we’ve lost both games is our second-innings batting. If we had batted an hour longer in both Tests, we certainly wouldn’t have lost.”Nathan Haurtiz failed to make an impact with his bowling in either Test•AFPWhile the match was in progress, Shane Warne, his former team-mate, weighed in with some scathing criticism of the field Ponting set for Hauritz. When asked about it, Ponting put down his old mate in polite fashion. “Every field that Nathan’s bowled to since he’s been here has been at his request,” he said. “Those are the fields he wants to bowl to. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that Shane would take the time to ask anyone about that. He’s got his opinion out in public at the moment.”Different people say different things. We don’t always agree with all of them. There’s no doubt we’ll all face a bit of criticism having lost two Tests, but it would be nice if they were a bit more informed before they made some of their comments.”There was no unequivocal backing for Hauritz though, when asked what lay ahead for the beleaguered offie. “That’s up to him to work out,” said Ponting. “As you know, I’ve given him what I feel is the right advice, on the little things he can work on. That’s what captains and coaches are in place for.Hopefully he plays well in the one-day series here and gets a bit of confidence under his belt before he gets back to Australia. He can play a couple of Shield games there and start working things out for himself.”He also brushed off suggestions that there might be major changes in personnel ahead of the Ashes. “We all have to be disappointed with the results,” he said. “But all any of us can do when we go back home is play the best cricket that we can. Me, I’ve got to make as many runs as I can. Anyone that’s out of the squad at the moment … if they keep scoring runs and putting their hands up, we’ll wait and see what happens when the selection comes round for Brisbane. I don’t think there are too many gaping holes in our team. We just have to make sure we don’t let opportunities slip.”They did in Mohali, and after being outplayed for the final five sessions in Bangalore, it will be interesting to see what this team are made of. Do some of the old warhorses have one big series left in them? And how many of the inexperienced hands are capable of the game-changing performance? Ponting and Hilfenhaus aside, there’s an ordinariness and inconsistency there that England will certainly have noted as the clock ticks down to the Gabba.

West Ham United’s top-six hopes were dealt a blow this afternoon as the Hammers were held to a 1-1 draw against relegation-battling Burnley.

The managerless Clarets, who parted company with Sean Dyche on Friday after ten years in charge, took the lead through Wout Weghorst in the 33rd minute and could’ve had a two-goal lead at half-time when awarded a penalty. However, the spot-kick was missed by Maxwell Cornet.

Irons midfielder Tomas Soucek was able to equalise with 16 minutes to go for the hosts to ensure they took something from the match, although after Thursday’s 3-0 win in Lyon, the result will certainly be a disappointment.

Of course, the afternoon could’ve gone worse for David Moyes’ side, especially if Cornet had converted from the spot. However, the Scotsman will be assessing some of the below-par performances in his side, particularly that of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who conceded the penalty.

The 36-year-old came back into the side for league duties with deputy Alphonse Areola entrusted with European and domestic cup commitments and struggled to help his side.

According to SofaScore, alongside the penalty incident, Fabianski failed to make a single save all afternoon whilst making just one punch and catching zero high claims in a nervy performance from the ‘keeper.

Moreover, despite a 79% passing accuracy, the Polish Hammer attempted just 14 passes all afternoon and completed half of his six attempted long balls.

There was little action for the long-term West Ham servant in East London with Fabianski making just 21 touches all afternoon, the fewest of his teammates and the joint-fewest of the 22 players who started the match, with Burnley’s Ashley Westwood also touching the ball just 21 times.

Fabianski was also deemed the Hammers’ worst player with a 6.0/10 rating, with winger Nikola Vlasic the next worst with a 6.6 score. The 36-year-old certainly let his manager down.

The goalkeeping situation has been a debate all season amongst the West Ham faithful, particularly given the decent performances of PSG loanee Areola.

In the Premier League, Fabianski has averaged a 6.83/10 rating, according to SofaScore, whilst Areola has averaged a 7.19 rating in the Europa League and 7.97 in the EFL Cup.

The East London outfit do have an option to buy the French goalkeeper this summer upon the expiration of his loan whilst Fabianski’s current deal at the London Stadium expires in June.

Therefore, we may be starting to see the beginning of the end of the Polish goalkeeper’s four-season spell as the Hammers’ first choice in between the sticks.

AND in other news: West Ham plot bid for £21.6m-rated “leader”, Moyes can now axe “shocking” £61k-p/w dud

A source from Everton has revealed that Farhad Moshiri is now plotting a ‘major’ overhaul of the squad in the summer.

The Lowdown: Change coming?

After the season that the Goodison Park faithful have had, big changes are needed on the pitch to ensure that they do not find themselves in a relegation battle again.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-news-4/” title=”Everton news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The likes of James Tarkowski and Florian Grillitsch have recently been linked as potential incomings, while Jarrad Branthwaite has been linked with a move away from Merseyside.

The Latest: Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison out

As per Football Insider, a source with knowledge of their recruitment has revealed that Moshiri is now ‘plotting’ a ‘major’ overhaul for the Toffees this summer, and both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison could be two ‘star’ names that may leave in a mass exodus.

They are thought of as the Blues’ ‘most valuable’ assets, as evident by their market values compared to the rest of the squad.

The Verdict: Sell one, keep one

Given their values, Frank Lampard’s team could potentially afford to sell one of them for a premium price, but if they were to lose both, they would be very difficult to replace.

Despite the miserable season, Richarlison still remains their joint-top scorer with seven goals in total over all competitions, while in an injury-hit campaign, Calvert-Lewin managed to score previous seasons his scoring credentials for the club.

Nonetheless, EFC could sell one to raise funds for strengthening in other key areas of the pitch, and keep the other to hopefully get them firing again.

In other news, find out what big Everton update before Leicester City now has this ex-BBC man fuming here!