Category Uncategorized

When it rains it pours is definitely the sombre expression to sum up the sorry state of affairs at Wolverhampton Wanderers currently, as Gary O’Neil’s men battled with Manchester City well last time out, only to end the tight contest with nothing to show for their determined efforts.

A late John Stones goal for Pep Guardiola’s visitors would swing the Premier League contest in City’s favour by two goals to one, with the winner initially ruled out for offside before being controversially overturned to the dismay of the home masses packed into Molineux.

O’Neil will have bought himself more time with this promising display you imagine, with the Wolves boss under increasing pressure to turn around the fortunes of the basement club, as the likes of Matheus Cunha try to continue to shine for the former AFC Bournemouth boss during bleak times in the West Midlands.

Cunha's form this season

The Brazilian has been a source of positivity for Wolves fans to latch onto long before this campaign, with the entertaining 25-year-old enjoying his best time as an Old Gold player last season.

Cunha would help himself to a mightily impressive 14 goals and eight assists across the course of 36 games, cementing his reputation as a firm fan’s favourite in the process, which has only increased this season as Wolves find themselves rock bottom of the Premier League pile.

He has three goals from eight Premier League games so far, with the Old Gold even more reliant on the firepower of their South American ace, knowing the likes of Pedro Neto are no longer present.

Regardless of Cunha reaffirming his importance to the cause, his wage isn’t the heftiest in O’Neil’s camp by any means, with the former Atletico Madrid man earning a reasonable £60k-per-week pay packet currently, according to reports.

In contrast, this ex-Wolves ace is absolutely swimming in cash in his new location, after lining up alongside the Brazilian during the start of his playing days in England.

The player now earning way more than Cunha

When on the books of Wolves still in the top division, midfield star Ruben Neves would only pocket £50k-per-week, with that salary actually coming in as being less than Cunha’s.

Now, however, the Portuguese midfielder has won himself a gigantic pay increase playing for Al-Hilal out in Saudi Arabia, with the former Wolves number eight now on an outrageous £277k-per-week salary.

Player

Wage per week

Wage per year

1. Neymar

£1.6m

£83.3m

2. Kalidou Koulibaly

£555k

£28m

3. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

£400k

£20m

4. Aleksandar Mitrovic

£400k

£20m

5. Malcom

£288k

£14.9m

Amazingly, that steep wage doesn’t see Neves even enter into the top five highest earners bracket at the Middle East outfit, with Neymar taking home a mind-boggling £83.3m per year when scanning the table above.

Still, Neves’ extortionate pay packet for Al-Hilal means he takes home £217k more per week than Cunha does battling it out for the Old Gold, but nobody back at Molineux would accuse their former midfield star of throwing in the towel prematurely to chase down these riches.

Long before a lavish move to Riyadh was even on the cards, the midfielder would score screamers like this one against Derby County on a regular basis for his ex-employers, with Neves even playing for Wolves in the Championship before their triumphant return to Premier League in 2018.

It wasn’t quite the same bumper £277k-per-week wage for him back then – with Neves pocketing a far more modest £30k-per-week – but his former club won’t bother themselves too much thinking about his lavish salary for Al-Hilal, as more pressing relegation concerns are surely on their mind.

Wolves have a dream Kilman replacement in "quality" star who's out on loan

Wolves could have their new Max Kilman

ByJoe Nuttall Oct 18, 2024

Breetzke and Fortuin bring out the big runs in a not-very-competitive round of Pool D games

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2021Fortuin finds a new home, and some form
Clyde Fortuin was part of the 2014 South Africa Under-19 side that won the World Cup, but unlike Kagiso Rabada and Aiden Markram, he has not found his way into the senior side just yet. In fact, Fortuin had not even found a domestic team to call his own and bounced around between Western Province and Northern Cape before settling in the Boland for the coming summer.Related

Five talking points about SA's new domestic structure

Teams from Western Cape shine as Lions fail to advance

Rain intervenes as Knights, Titans progress to quarters

In his first match for the Rocks, Fortuin reeled out what will end up being one of the innings of the tournament, the second century after Zubayr Hamza’s, and a knock that ensured Boland posted a match-winning total against the Warriors. After losing the Malan brothers with the score on 40 in the fifth over, Fortuin built a 118-run stand with Christiaan Jonker to take Boland to 183 for 5. He recorded a duck in his second match but finished with 151 from three hits to lie third on the batting charts.Warriors lose, and then hit up 243!
After a 17-run defeat in their tournament opener, the Warriors line-up was merciless against second division side Limpopo and piled on the competition’s highest-score to date: 243. Wihan Lubbe and Matthew Breetzke scored half-centuries each, and for Breetzke, it was his second successive half-century of the tournament, and he shared in a 129-run opening stand before JJ Smuts’ 26-ball 52 and Diego Rosier’s 15-ball 31 propelled them over 200. Limpopo used eight bowlers and only Malcolm Nofal conceded at less than ten runs an over.No win for Limpopo
If that 120-run reversal wasn’t bad enough, Limpopo ended with a winless season as they went down to Boland by 32 runs in their next game.After two losses from two games, they were up against high-fliers Boland. Pieter Malan won the toss, scored just 13 – the Malans, together, totalled 14 – but with Fortuin hitting a quick 47, they had 141 for 8 on the board. It was a bowling effort to be fairly proud of for Limpopo. Don Radebe, the 24-year-old medium-pacer, and the pacy Sithembile Langa picked up five wickets between them and, really, 142 was as good a target as they could have hoped for.But it’s a team that hasn’t managed to put up big runs often enough – the 96-run stand between Morne Venter and Juandre Scheepers in their first outing was a bit of an outlier – and it was more of the same as a platform of 54 (in eight-and-a-half overs) for the opening wicket was frittered away by the rest of the batters and Limpopo limped to 109 for 8. Shaun von Berg, the veteran legspinner, ended with 3 for 17 and a Player-of-the-Match award.Hit-and-miss Border
They won their first fixture, against Limpopo, and then went down to Boland – the table-toppers despite a fair fight in their second game, but then put up quite a show, even though it was in a losing cause, against Warriors in the last game of the round.Warriors have the batting, and they opted to bat first, and Breetzke hit an imperious 46-ball 80, and Tristan Stubbs chipped in with 46 off 22 balls from No. 5 to give them an imposing 228 for 5.That’s usually enough to win big, and when Border went from 73 for 2 at the halfway mark of the chase to 82 for 5 just another over-and-a-half in, the chase looked dead in the water. But Border have been impressive in patches, and the last eight-and-a-half overs of their innings was one of those patches, this one courtesy captain Jerry Nqolo and Clayton Bosch, who hit 58* and 64* respectively in double-quick time to, well, not quite give Border a chance, but enough to take them past 200. Not bad, all considered.That was true of Thomas Kaber in the first half too when, in the face of quite an onslaught, the left-arm spinner returned 2 for 30. In a match worth 435 runs, his effort was deemed the best of the lot.

قد يلعب المدرب المساعد لنادي ليفربول، جون هيتينجا، دورًا حاسمًا في التعاقد مع البديل المحتمل حال رحيل، محمد صلاح، في الصيف المقبل.

لم يوقع صلاح بعد على عقد جديد مع ليفربول، وينتهي عقده الحالي في يونيو المقبل، وفي ظل احتمالية رحيله، يسعى ليفربول للبحث عن نجم يمكنه سد الفراغ الهجومي الكبير.

اقرأ أيضًا | جهزوا الكرة الذهبية لـالملك.. ردود أفعال جماهير ليفربول على أداء محمد صلاح أمام نيوكاسل

محمد قدوس، البالغ من العمر 24 عامًا، لم يُظهر أفضل مستوياته هذا الموسم مع وست هام، لكنه قدّم أداءً مميزًا في الفوز المفاجئ 1-0 على آرسنال، مما أعاد تسليط الضوء عليه كخيار هجومي محتمل.

كان قدوس على رادار ليفربول منذ نوفمبر 2024، ويحتوي عقده على شرط جزائي بقيمة 85 مليون جنيه إسترليني يبدأ في الصيف المقبل، وهو مبلغ قد يكون أعلى مما يرغب ليفربول في دفعه.

ووفقًا لصحيفة “ديلي ميل” البريطانية، يُصر وست هام على عدم التنازل عن هذا المبلغ، بينما يراقب كل من ليفربول وآرسنال الوضع عن كثب لمعرفة ما إذا كان الهامرز سيظل متمسكًا بسياسته أم ستكون هناك مرونة.

وأعرب قدوس سابقًا عن إعجابه الكبير بهيتينجا، واصفًا إياه بأفضل مدرب عمل معه في أياكس، مما يعزز فرص انتقاله إلى ليفربول بفضل العلاقة الجيدة بينهما.

عمل هيتينجا مع قدوس في أياكس ثم وست هام، حيث كان له تأثير إيجابي على اللاعب، وقد أكد الغاني الدولي أنه كان يتمنى العمل معه لفترة أطول.

وبالتالي، إذا احتاج ليفربول لتعزيز خياراته الهجومية هذا الصيف، فإن العلاقة القوية بين هيتينجا وقدوس قد تكون مفتاحًا لإتمام صفقة انتقال مثمرة إلى الأنفيلد.

Newcastle United are now believed to be considering using the Marc Guehi money to sign a £100m-rated midfielder, according to a recent transfer update.

Newcastle transfer news

The summer transfer window may now be closed, meaning the Magpies can't make new signings until January, but that isn't stopping Paul Mitchell and Co from getting their ducks in a row for 2025, identifying targets after what many fans believed to be a disastrous summer window.

One such figure is Kevin Zenon, with Newcastle linked with a move for the Boca Juniors midfielder, considering him an exciting long-term prospect. They have even made an initial approach for the 23-year-old winger, whose left foot has been described as "magical".

Meanwhile, Barcelona winger Raphinha continues to be touted as a possible target for Newcastle in the coming transfer windows, as they look to snap up an upgrade to Miguel Almiron. The Brazilian has been linked with a switch to St James' Park numerous times in the past, and they are believed to be willing to match Barca's £52m valuation of him.

It is always important for Eddie Howe and Mitchell to be looking into the future and eyeing signings for the summer of 2025, and it looks as though one exciting player has been identified as an ambitious option.

Newcastle interested in "outstanding" midfielder

According to The Daily Mail's Sami Mokbel, Newcastle are interested in signing Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton next summer, with Liverpool and Manchester City also mentioned as being in the mix. The Magpies of course have money in the coffers after failing with a near £70m deal for Wharton's teammate, Marc Guehi, whose position as Palace captain could now stifle a future move as well.

It has been claimed that the Eagles value the young midfielder at over £100m, and while Newcastle's interest is only thought to be "tentative", he would surely be viewed as a long-term successor to Bruno Guimaraes in the middle of the park.

Wharton could be a fantastic signing by Newcastle in 2025, having enjoyed a meteoric rise this year, joining Palace in January and then being named in England's squad for Euro 2024. It would be a shrewd way to use the Guehi money if a deal for the centre-back is indeed dead in the water.

A gifted young midfielder with elegance to his game, the 20-year-old was lauded by Newcastle legend Alan Shearer earlier this year, who said of him after an eye-catching performance away to Liverpool.

In Wharton, Newcastle wouldn't only be signing a player who could mature into something great as the years pass, but they would also be getting a footballer who is ready to shine in the Premier League for them from the off, having proven himself at Palace.

Newcastle make first approach to sign "magical" new £15m star for Howe

The Magpies could already have their first signing of 2025 lined up.

By
Tom Cunningham

Sep 6, 2024

Granted, the lure of Liverpool and City acts as a real threat to the Magpies' chances of getting their man, but they should be willing to break the bank for him, having averaged 2.3 tackles per game in the league this season, as well as one key pass per match.

He and Rabada rescued South Africa from 73 for 7 by adding 70 for the eighth wicket. Roach picked up four wickets for West Indies

Firdose Moonda20-Jun-2021

Rassie van der Dussen celebrates his half-century•AFP/Getty Images

South Africa set West Indies 324 to win the second Test and square the two-match series in St Lucia, and the hosts knocked off 15 of those runs without losing a wicket by the end of the third day. West Indies have successfully chased a score over 300 seven times before, second only to Australia, and twice in the last four years but are yet to cross 200 in this series.South Africa managed 33 more runs than their lowest total against West Indies, 141, a record in danger of being rewritten, when they teetered on 73 for 7. Rassie van der Dussen scored the sixth half-century of his Test career and shared in a 70-run eighth-wicket stand with Kagiso Rabada to save South Africa’s blushes. Rabada finished with a career-best 40, the second-highest score on the South African card.Kemar Roach and Kyle Mayers shared seven wickets between them and asked tough questions of South Africa’s line-up. Despite a heavy morning downpour and high humidity, there was not much swing through the air but the West Indian attack generated movement off the seam and challenged South Africa’s top and middle order.Watch cricket on ESPN+

The WI vs SA series is available in the US on ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the match.

The day’s action got underway two hours and forty minutes late, with no play possible in the first session because of a wet outfield. Play was interrupted a couple of times more and only 59 overs were possible in the day. West Indies bowled 53 of them and their attack appeared to tire as the day wore on. Shannon Gabriel, who came into this match having recovered from a hamstring injury, was a particular concern. He bowled just six overs, in spells of three each, and went wicketless. Both Roach and Roston Chase also left the field for periods of time and Chase, who suffered a quad injury while fielding, did not bowl at all.Roach though struck with his third ball when Aiden Markram was forced to play at a delivery that moved away from him only to edge it to Jason Holder at second slip. He troubled Keegan Petersen and then changed ends to remove Dean Elgar, who pushed at a ball that seamed away from him and gave Holder a second catch.Petersen saw off Roach but bottom-edged Mayers onto his stumps as he tried to cut a short and wide delivery. He finished his debut series with a top score of 19.Mayers could have had Kyle Verreynne caught in the cordon when he edged a full delivery between third slip and gully, and then did have him when he was caught behind in the next over. West Indies snared the biggest fish four balls later when Quinton de Kock edged a Holder delivery to Joshua Da Silva. After a hundred in the first Test and 96 in the first innings of this Test, de Kock was dismissed for a duck.Wiaan Mulder attempted to drive a Mayers’ delivery that was pitched on fourth stump he edged it and was caught at gully. With South Africa losing five wickets for 21 runs, the questions about their batting inconsistencies resurfaced. van der Dussen and Keshav Maharaj took South Africa to tea but Maharaj was dismissed 14 balls after the break to what may be remembered as the catch of the series. Holder dived full stretch to his right to hang on one-handed as Maharaj edged off Jayden Seales.West Indies would have wanted to finish off South Africa’s tail quickly from there but Rabada denied them with a display that may earn him a promotion. He drove Gabriel through cover-point for four, hit Mayers over mid-off to take South Africa’s lead over 250, but the shot of his innings was a swing off Roach that went over long-on for the first six of the innings.van der Dussen brought up his fifty three balls later, off 103 balls. His was a demonstration of control, occasionally peppered with an aggressive shot through the covers or with a flick through the leg side. He may have had thoughts of a first Test century but Rabada’s dismissal, when he top-edged a Roach slower ball to the point fielder, would have ended those hopes. Anrich Nortje took South Africa’s lead past 300 and then nicked off before Lungi Ngidi became Da Silva’s first Test stumping when he went down the wicket to hit Kraigg Brathwaite over the top but missed.West Indies had to negotiate a little period of batting before the close and saw off Rabada, Ngidi and Maharaj to finish the day unscathed. A massive job remains for them over the next two days, made more difficult by a potential shuffle to their line-up because of Chase’s injury.

And just like that, the Premier League is back, and while every team has something to play for, that feels especially true for Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lilywhites enjoyed a generally positive first campaign under Ange Postecoglou last year, but following a disappointing end to the campaign that saw them slip out of the Champions League places, they need to ensure they go one better in 2024/25.

Fortunately, Daniel Levy and Co have done their jobs this summer with the captures of Archie Gray, Yang Min-Hyeok, and most importantly, Dominic Solanke.

The talented number nine could be a real game-changer for the North Londoners this summer. However, it appears he won't be the only attacking addition this summer, with reports now linking another forward who outscored the Englishman with a move to the club.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from France, Tottenham are 'very interested' in signing LOSC Lille's Canadian striker Jonathan David this summer.

Interestingly, while the report itself seems to believe the 24-year-old will remain in the North of France this year, the message from LOSC's president, Olivier Letang, is far less certain, with him saying: "I'm not going to make promises today that I can't keep."

There have been other stories in the last week or so corroborating the North Londoners' desire to bring the former Gent ace to N17, and a separate report from Football Insider towards the end of last month confirmed that talks had been held and that the player could be available for as little as £20m, likely due to his contract expiring next year.

In all, this looks like a transfer that could go either way at the moment, but at the price reported, bringing in another quality attacker who outscored Solanke last season is a no-brainer.

Why David would be an excellent signing

Fundamentally, there is one primary reason why Tottenham should be looking to sign David this summer: he scores goals, and plenty of them at that.

For example, in 47 appearances last season, the "mind-blowing" poacher, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored a whopping 26 goals and provided nine assists to boot, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.34 games.

In contrast, Solanke, who enjoyed a stellar campaign last year, scored 21 goals and provided four assists in 42 appearances for the Cherries, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.68 games.

Now, we aren't saying that the Canadian international would come into the team and displace the Englishman as Postecoglou's starting striker. That seems incredibly unlikely given his £65m price tag, but he would be an exceptional second choice, and with the number of games teams have to play nowadays, he'd still get plenty of game time.

If some of you are still not convinced by his performances last season, then you only need to look back at his club record between 20/21 and 23/24, as in that period, he was outrageously consistent, scoring 84 goals and providing 18 assists in 183 appearances, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 1.79 games.

Appearances

48

48

40

47

Goals

13

19

26

26

Assists

5

0

4

9

Goal Involvements per Match

0.37

0.39

0.75

0.74

Such a record makes it hard to disagree with journalist Tony Marinaro's description of the 54-capped international as "one of the best strikers in the world."

Lastly, according to Understat, he hasn't underperformed his expected goals figure in the league by more than 1.25 in the last four years, suggesting that when he's presented with a good chance, you can be confident that he'll usually put it away.

Spurs could finally banish Lo Celso by signing "box-crashing" £30m star

The European Champion would be an incredible signing.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Aug 15, 2024

Ultimately, Solanke looks set to be Spurs' main number nine next season, but with David supposedly available for just £20m, not signing him feels like an own goal, as he'd bring so much quality attacking depth to Postecoglou's squad.

If there is one area of their side that they could look to revamp this season, Manchester United could well overhaul their midfield. It was a very frustrating season in 2023/24, and their midfield might well need to change in order to provide them with a better platform for the new term.

There are three of United’s midfielders who are seemingly guaranteed to stay at the club beyond this season. Firstly, captain Bruno Fernandes will stay, despite interest from clubs in Europe including PSG, and from Saudi Arabia. Mason Mount will also likely stay, despite a tough, injury-hit first season at Old Trafford, as will his compatriot Kobbie Mainoo, who burst onto the scene last campaign and is now a crucial player.

In terms of players who could leave, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay are all at risk of being sold. It was confirmed by the Daily Mail in April that all three could depart the club. Donny van de Beek has already gone, and Sofyan Amrabat’s loan expired in June.

With all these changes in the centre of the park, United will no doubt need to strengthen in midfield. Recently, they have been linked with one player who could add quality strength and depth.

Man Utd target Ligue 1 midfielder

The player in question here is AS Monaco and France international midfielder Youssouf Fofana. The 25-year-old has been a crucial player for his club side and has now been to two major tournaments with France. He is now wanted by clubs across Europe this summer.

According to a report from Dharmesh Sheth, a highly reputable journalist for Sky Sports, Fofana is one of the players who United are “looking at in the central midfield area”, along with the likes of Manuel Ugarte, Martin Zubimendi and former loanee Amrabat.

However, the Red Devils are not the only side in the race for the experienced France international. Italian giants AC Milan are also thought to be keen on bringing him to the club, and according to Italian news outlet Calcio Mercato, are thought to have agreed on personal terms with Fofana.

With regards to the price, it is believed that the Rossoneri had a bid of £10.1m plus add-ons was rejected. Instead, Monaco are likely to accept a bid of around £16.9m, after initially requesting £21m for the Frenchman. With sales, this is a figure that United are likely to be able to meet.

How Fofana compares to Ugarte

Fofana was a vital player for Monaco last summer, playing 32 times in Ligue 1, grabbing four goals and four assists. He is a destroyer in midfield, a tough tackling ball-winner who is also a wonderful ball-carrier and a good progressive passer. That is a real feature of Fofana's game, that can go unnoticed, but he screens the back four very well, often winning the ball back and then looking to progress play forward.

Football analyst Ben Mattinson described the midfielder as a "monster" in the middle of the park, and this is certainly reflected in how the 25-year-old plays, given he is such a tenacious ball-winner.

He could prove to be a great alternative to Ugarte in the centre of the park for the Red Devils. United are thought to be targeting the Uruguayan but are put off by his price, with PSG wanting £59m. Both players are tenacious ball-winners, although Ugarte is a more aggressive, front-footed player out of possession. He is similar in many ways to N'Golo Kante, in how front-footed he is when looking to win the ball back for his side.

In terms of their FBref stats off the ball, the PSG midfielder averages 6.42 tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes, compared to Fofana’s average of 3.27 tackles and interceptions. However, it is far closer when it comes to ball recoveries, with the Monaco midfielder averaging 7.67 per 90 and Ugarte just pipping him with 8.42.

Stat (per 90)

Fofana

Ugarte

Tackles and interceptions

3.27

6.42

Blocks

1.17

1.26

Clearances

1.03

1.16

Aerial duel win %

51.5%

53.8%

Ball recoveries

7.67

8.42

Where Fofana’s quality does shine through over Ugarte is with the ball. He averages 8.3 progressive passes per 90 and 1.77 progressive carries, whereas the Uruguayan midfielder completes half the amount of progressive passes on average, with 4.05 and just 0.74 progressive carries each game.

Why Fofana could be perfect for Mainoo

With that in mind, Fofana could also be the dream partner for Mainoo. The young England international thrives in the middle and final thirds, and having Fofana screening behind him, plus kickstarting attacks with his progressive play, could reduce the defensive responsibility on his young shoulders.

The 19-year-old is also a wonderful ball carrier, who glides past players with ease, able to ride tackles so well and slalom past defenders like they are not there. In fact, last season, the young midfielder averaged 2.70 attempted take-ons and completed 1.46 of those, which ranked him in the top 9% and 8% of midfielders in Europe respectively, as per FBref.

Having someone like Fofana covering behind would allow Mainoo to play much higher, operating in between the lines rather than having to start attacks deeper and carry forward to start United’s attacks. Instead, this is a role Fofana can fulfil.

For a fee of £21m at the most, this could surely be a dream signing for United. Not only is he a cheaper alternative to Ugarte, but he would also allow Mainoo to get further forward, providing excellent cover to the youngster and reducing his defensive responsibility.

It could certainly be a shrewd piece of business from the Red Devils.

Man Utd line up £68m Mainoo partner who's "far less reckless than Ugarte"

The Red Devils’ bid to sign PSG midfielder Ugarte has hit a snag.

ByAngus Sinclair Jul 27, 2024

Starc and Sean Abbott had earlier added an important partnership before NSW declared behind

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2021

Mitchell Starc made early breakthroughs•Getty Images

Mitchell Starc briefly threatened to burst the game open in Adelaide after New South Wales had declared behind in a game dominated by batsmen, but South Australia recovered to extend their advantage to 209.The Redbacks are in a similar position to the previous round where they will need to judge a target to set on the final day – last week they were one wicket short of victory at the WACA – although the late loss of Travis Head, edging Nathan Lyon to slip, kept New South Wales in with a chance of bowling them out.After starting their second innings with a lead of 116 they lost two early wickets as Starc, who earlier scored an unbeaten half-century, recaptured the late swing that he has struggled to find consistently this season in the first-class game. He shaped deliveries into the pads of Henry Hunt and Liam Scott to win lbw appeals which left South Australia 2 for 1 in the fourth over.The in-form Head responded aggressively, getting off the mark with a cut over point for six off Starc, and added 77 for the third wicket with Jake Weatherald before a lovely delivery from Lyon found the edge late in the day and was neatly held by David Warner.South Australia had visions of bowling New South Wales out to gain a significant lead when they had them 6 for 259. Kurtis Patterson reached his century before becoming the first first-class wicket for left-arm wristspinner Joe Medew-Ewen when he drove a catch to short cover.Peter Nevill’s half-century was ended when he edged the new ball to second slip straight after lunch before any hope the home side had of rattling through the lower order was halted by Starc and Sean Abbott as the pair added 80 for the seventh wicket following their partnership of 189 against Tasmania earlier in the season. South Australia have still to bowl a side out in this year’s competition.

With their first pre-season under Arne Slot well underway, Liverpool could finally seal their first arrival of the summer transfer window – with an offer reportedly expected in the coming days.

Liverpool transfer news

A new manager, a new sporting director in Richard Hughes and the return of Michael Edwards, combined with international tournaments this summer, was always going to delay the Reds in their transfer business. However, now in August, some may have expected those at Anfield to have had at least one deal over the line. Alas, that hasn't been the case, and it seems as though they won't be rushed into securing incomings that aren't deemed suitable enough.

Liverpool could sign best CF since Suarez with move for £59m "powerhouse"

FSG would need to break their record to land this goal machine…

ByAngus Sinclair Aug 3, 2024

The lack of fresh faces hasn't stopped Slot's first pre-season from going to plan, either. The Dutchman has overseen friendly victories over Real Betis and Premier League rivals Arsenal, during which Liverpool fans got a potential glimpse of what he's asking his new side to do.

That's not to say that fresh faces won't be on their way, with fresh reports suggesting the exact opposite. According to Sportmediaset via TuttoJuve, Liverpool are expected to submit an offer for Teun Koopmeiners in the coming days in a deal that would see them sign a midfielder who previously worked under Slot at AZ Alkmaar.

Previous reports indicated that Atalanta have set a hefty price tag of £50m for the Dutchman, which would undoubtedly kickstart the Reds' transfer window just before the Premier League campaign gets underway. Following rumours that Wataru Endo has been attracting the interest of Marseille, who even saw a bid rejected, those at Anfield may well be in need of a midfield addition this summer. And Koopmeiners would certainly be an impressive coup.

"Complete" Koopmeiners can replace Endo

Although Koopmeiners' main position is attacking midfield, his ability to play in both central and defensive midfield means that he could emerge to replace Endo in the long term. The former Stuttgart man even admitted that he is not a long-term solution at the heart of Liverpool's midfield at 31 years old, saying (via This is Anfield): "I don’t care about those reports, but I also think it would be better to get a No. 6 midfielder."

Goals

12

1

Assists

5

0

Ball recoveries

150

108

Tackles won

24

28

The numbers instantly highlight Koopmeiners' versatility, managing to match Endo defensively whilst also adding an attacking element that the current Liverpool midfielder lacks.

Described as "complete" by analyst Ben Mattinson, the Atalanta man could be the final piece of the Reds' midfield rebuild and the key to the perfect debut season for Slot at Anfield. Having worked with the Dutchman before, it would feel somewhat fitting that Koopmeiners emerges to finally kickstart Liverpool's summer less than two weeks until the Premier League campaign gets underway.

All eyes will be on Slot's first Premier League game against Ipswich Town, which may yet feature a fresh face in the form of Koopmeiners.

According to Sky Sports, Crystal Palace are one of two Premier League clubs interested in signing a new £35m forward.

Crystal Palace summer signings so far

The Eagles, sporting director Dougie Freedman and chairman Steve Parish have been making preparations behind the scenes ahead of Oliver Glasner’s first full season in charge at Selhurst Park.

So far, centre-back Chadi Riad is the only signing, with the Morocco international arriving after an impressive season on loan in Spain with Real Betis.

Concrete interest: Palace could use Olise fee to land dream Eze partner

The incredible youngster could be a future superstar.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Jun 25, 2024

Next to officially arrive looks set to be Daichi Kamada. The Japanese attacking midfielder will officially become a free agent at the beginning of July after leaving Lazio and has reportedly penned a two-year deal with Palace.

Glasner and Palace will lose Michael Olise, who is joining Bayern Munich in a deal worth more than £50m, and it is believed that Club Brugge forward Antonio Nusa could be the player to replace Olise, with the Norway international valued at £25m.

Meanwhile, another target is Sunderland’s Jobe Bellingham, the youngster brother of Jude, with Fabrizio Romano recently saying that the Sunderland gem is a “main target”, whereas Nusa is also among the “priorities”.

Alongside both Bellingham and Nusa, though, it looks as if another attacking target is of interest to Palace.

Crystal Palace want Emile Smith-Rowe – Sky Sports

According to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth, speaking live on Wednesday evening, Crystal Palace are interested in signing Emile Smith-Rowe from Arsenal this summer.

“We understand that a number of Premier League clubs, including Fulham and Crystal Palace are interested in Arsenal forward Emile Smith-Rowe.

“He is very popular at the club, should be noted, Smith-Rowe. He is very popular at the club with those within the club, he’s very popular with the fans as well – the fans always get behind an academy product. But, he started just three times in the Premier League in the last two seasons, and now he’s in that position in his career where he thinks ‘I want regular first-team football’.

“It’s thought that if a suitable offer was to present itself, that Arsenal would seriously consider that offer. Formal approaches for Emile Smith-Rowe are expected to start coming in over the next few weeks.”

Reports elsewhere have stated that the Gunners could hope to bring in around £35m for Smith-Rowe, so the Eagles may need to make the 23-year-old Palace's most expensive signing of all time if they want to bring him to Selhurst Park.

In total, Smith-Rowe has made 115 senior appearances for the Gunners, scoring 18 times and registering 13 assists. He’s also spent time out on loan with RB Leipzig and Huddersfield Town after coming through Arsenal’s academy, but by the looks of things, a permanent exit could be on the cards.