Category Uncategorized

Everton have now made contact with AS Monaco over signing midfielder Aleksandr Golovin…

What’s the story?

The Toffees have made a couple of acquisitions already in this January transfer window, and it now appears that the Merseyside club have got their sights set on a play-maker.

According to a source who spoke to Sport Witness, both Everton and fellow Premier League side West Ham are “interested” in signing Golovin, and that they have already been in contact with the midfielder’s agent about a potential move.

Fans will love it

While the Toffees may be enduring a difficult campaign on the pitch under Rafa Benitez this season, a move for Golovin would certainly be a good victory off it.

During his work as a television pundit for broadcaster RT, Jose Mourinho revealed himself to be a big fan of the Russian saying: “Golovin is a playmaker, he’s a player that gives the dynamic of the team.”

And, his former boss at AS Monaco, Niko Kovac, simply said: “Golovin is a fantastic player. For his first start since August, he’s scored three goals. He’s a world-class player. He delivers delicious passes. I know the quality of his passing. That’s why I asked him to take the free-kick that led to the third goal.”

In fact, Toffees legend Tim Cahill has previously thrown his backing behind a potential swoop for the creative star, saying just last year: “He (Golovin) is a great footballer. After yesterday’s 4-1 defeat against Liverpool, it is clear that Everton needs good players. He could strengthen the team.”

As per Whoscored, he has averaged 1.5 key passes per game in Ligue 1 this season for Monaco, good enough to rank him inside the top 20 in the entire division – real evidence of the kind of creativity and guile that he possesses.

The £22.5m-rated midfielder could provide Everton with an extra spark in midfield, and have fans buzzing.

Meanwhile, Everton are considering a swoop for this Premier League outcast…

The ECB will experiment with two-innings one-day matches in their Second XI competition this season

Cricinfo staff25-Mar-2010The ECB will experiment with two-innings one-day matches in their Second XI competition this season. The 40-over matches will be split into two 20-over innings, with the second starting from the point the first innings finished.There will be 20 overs of Powerplays of which 10 will be at the start of the first innings and the other 10 split into blocks of five, one to be taken by the fielding team and one by the batting side as is the case in one-day internationals.The idea of splitting one-day innings into two halves has been suggested as a way of livening up ODIs, although it is a method that has been experimented with before without gaining much support. For example, on England’s tour of Australia in 1994-95 they played a two-innings one-day match against Western Australia at Perth.The tournament will also continue with the experiment of using pink balls to assess how the balls perform in English conditions, while the players will wear whites instead of coloured clothing to see how the two work together.MCC play Durham in Abu Dhabi next week also using the pink balls but that match will be under floodlights.

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Jonathan David to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee, who revealed in a recent post on The West Ham Way that the LOSC Lille centre-forward is one of the names on David Moyes’ transfer shortlist ahead of the winter window.

However, the insider went on to state that the Hammers’ interest should be taken with a pinch of salt, as the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool and Arsenal are all also keen on the 21-year-old, meaning West Ham’s chances of securing a deal for the Canada international look quite low at this stage.

In his post, ExWHUemployee said: “There has been a lot of talk in the press and on social media in recent days of West Ham making a move for Lille striker Jonathan David. We are interested however this must be taken with a pinch of salt.

“Other clubs also eyeing the Canadian – who is [the] top scorer in Ligue 1 – are Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool and Arsenal. So a move to West Ham at this stage is unlikely.”

Fans will be delighted

Despite the insider’s claim that a West Ham deal for David may not be the most realistic in the January transfer window, the confirmation that the Hammers are indeed interested in the forward is sure to have delighted fans nevertheless.

Indeed, the striker has highly impressed over his 18 Ligue 1 appearances so far this season, scoring 11 goals and creating three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.9 shots and making 0.9 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £45m-rated man average a SofaScore match rating of 6.97, ranking him as Jocelyn Gourvennec’s fifth-best player in the top flight of French football.

The £35k-per-week forward has also impressed over his six Champions League outings, bagging a further three goals and averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.88 – with his performances helping his side finish top of their group table, setting up a round of 16 clash with Premier League side Chelsea.

As such, should West Ham manage to pull off a deal to sign the player who has been compared to Luis Suarez this January, it would undoubtedly be a fantastic signing for the club’s board to get over the line.

Not only would David help to fire West Ham to as high a finish in the league as possible this season, he would also appear to be a perfect long-term heir for the Hammers’ current talismanic forward, Michail Antonio.

In other news: West Ham can repeat Lingard masterclass with “unique” £21m beast who’s “irreplaceable”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outMohammad Aamer got the first two wickets with no runs on the board…•Getty Images

Skillful, rousing bowling from Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif evoked New Zealand’s famous second-innings collapses against Pakistan, and almost neutralised the disadvantage of a 97-run first-innings deficit. Pakistan held all the momentum after a dramatic fourth day, which featured swing, reverse-swing, cutters, two wickets for no run, the last six for 53, drama over reviews, rain, and bad light. New Zealand began the day looking to give themselves enough time to take 10 second-innings wickets. By the end of it they were thankful that time was actually lost.During the third innings, the Test seemed reminiscent of the Basin Reserve affair in 2003-04, when New Zealand squandered a 170-run first-innings lead by collapsing from 95 for 3 to 103 all out. But this one was different: Pakistan came back not through blinding momentum and sheer pace, but by planning and persisting. Aamer bowled two superb spells of swing bowling, the conventional variety getting the first two wickets, and the reverse leaving the middle order befuddled. Asif took 2 for 2 in his spell before tea, following it up with two more after the break.Pakistan also improved in previously slack areas: fielding and reviews. Khurram Manzoor hit the only stump he could see from square leg and ran out Ross Taylor, the only man who looked like he could score runs. Asif successfully challenged an lbw decision to dismiss Tim McIntosh, and nearly got another against Grant Elliott overturned in unique circumstances. New Zealand were 113 for 5 when a reversing delivery caught Elliott in front, but Asif couldn’t get the decision from Billy Doctrove. The replays revealed a marginal no-ball. It appeared a minute part of his heel had landed behind the line and then slid onto it, but third umpire Rudi Koertzen thought otherwise.If this was unique, Peter Fulton – low on form and confidence – enacted the bizarre. Suspecting an inside edge when given lbw off Umar Gul, he walked back unimpressed, holding his bat upside-down, but was reminded of the existence of reviews by his team-mates only when he was about to cross the rope.Fulton was the fourth man out, with the score on 91, minutes after Taylor’s attempt at arresting the all-too-familiar slide ended in a misunderstanding. Yes, no, yes, no, and he was run out for 59 out of the 87 runs scored until then. He was edgy, uncomfortable, and fortunate at times but still battled and scored quickly. Playing and missing against Aamer, getting hit twice on the body, edging to short of slip twice, Taylor even resorted to slogging Gul out of the ground. But just when he looked comfortable in the middle, having passed 50 off 69 balls, the run-out happened.That doesn’t take away, though, from the quality of bowling on display. Martin Guptill, on a warmer, stiller day, kept McIntosh – on a king pair – away from Aamer and took strike. But because it was warmer, Aamer got the ball to swing for the first time in the match. Four balls into the innings, New Zealand were 0 for 1 for the second time, the ball swinging in enough to take the inside edge onto the stumps. Daniel Flynn continued his horror Test – eight runs and a crucial dropped catch in the first innings – when he played across the line to a straight delivery, and was caught dead in front…. and Mohammad Asif tore the middle order apart•Getty Images

After the wickets of Taylor and Fulton, Aamer came back for a spell of reverse-swing that brought back memories of Wasim Akram. From round the wicket he angled the ball into Elliott, and got it to move away. Repeatedly. And not just by fluke. McIntosh, who avoided the pair but didn’t care much about scoring, survived twice by shouldering arms to deliveries that jagged back in. After a spell of 4-2-2-0 from Aamer, Asif took over and did that extra bit to get the wickets.The ball that got McIntosh pitched just within the stumps and straightened a touch, and the confidence and awareness showed in how Asif called for the review. Moments after the Elliott review fiasco, he ended Brendon McCullum’s painstaking stay with a beauty, pitching one short of a length, just outside off, and getting it to move away a touch. Rain, then, was a relief for New Zealand who had scored just eight runs in their last 13 overs.Rain and bad light continued to frustrate Pakistan for the rest of the day, but there were two brief spells of play and they took a wicket in each. In the first, Asif dismissed the dangerous Daniel Vettori. After an offcutter took an edge and was dropped in the slips by Umar Akmal, Vettori whipped one straight to midwicket. How the game treats people differently. Flynn and Imran Farhat were still ruing their dropped catches, but Umar was relieved in just one delivery’s time.Another offcutter after the break and Shane Bond looked to move his bat out of the way, the ball followed, and the inside edge cannoned into the stumps. Another glance at the light meter, and the umpires relieved the tailenders of their torment.

أعلن مسؤولو نادي البنك الأهلي عن التعاقد مع صفقة جديدة في فترة الانتقالات الصيفية الحالية، وذلك استعدادًا للموسم الجديد.

وكان البنك الأهلي قد نجح في ضم 5 لاعبين في فترة الانتقالات الصيفية وهم: أحمد توفيق ومحمد أبو جبل وأسامة فيصل وحمدي علاء وإسلام جابر.

طالع | خاص.. ثنائي البنك الأهلي يقترب من الزمالك

وتعاقد البنك الأهلي مع لاعب وسط فريق نادي النصر أدهم حامد صاحب الـ22 عامًا لمدة 3 مواسم، بناء على رغبة خالد جلال المدير الفني للفريق، الذي تابع اللاعب في الموسم الماضي مع فريق النصر، وأشاد بقدراته الفنية والبدنية.

يذكر أن البنك الأهلي أنهي الموسم الماضي محتلًا المركز السابع في ترتيب جدول الدوري برصيد 46 نقطة.

Rangers are back in Premiership action today with a home clash against Dundee in their latest push for the league title.

Looking beyond today’s match, it seems as though the club have been handed a fresh injury boost which will surely have a lot of fans buzzing.

What’s the news?

Speaking ahead of the clash against Dundee this afternoon, Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst revealed that Leon Balogun will train with the squad on Sunday after missing their two previous league games and should be back ‘soon’.

The 33-year-old defender has played 18 games across all competitions so far this season, which shows just how important he is for the team and why having him back in training again will be such a big positive for the Gers.

Averaging 3.3 clearances, 1.8 tackles and 1.4 interceptions in the league this term along with winning 64% of his duels, Balogun’s overall league performances have earned him a season rating of 7.06/10, making him Rangers’ fifth-highest rated player in 2021/22 according to WhoScored.

Since joining the club in 2020 on a free transfer from Wigan Athletic, the defender – who is currently valued at £720k by Transfermarkt – has made 46 appearances for Rangers across all competitions, with one goal and three assists to his name for the club.

Moving forward, if Rangers can secure a win today and then have the Nigerian back to full fitness and staying fit for the rest of the season, it could give the team a great chance of securing the title once again in 2022.

Looking even further down the line, with Balogun’s current contract at Ibrox set to expire at the end of the season, it’ll be intriguing to see whether or not the club decide to offer him a new deal to keep him in their squad for a little bit longer.

Taking into account his performances this season and his evident defensive abilities, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were to offer him a new contract.

In other news: “We understand”: Journalist drops major Rangers transfer update which will leave fans fuming…

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has suffered a major injury blow before his side’s Premier League clash against Brighton today.

What’s the story?

The former Rangers boss will take charge of his first game with his new club when the Seagulls come to town this afternoon, but the 41-year-old will be without the services of one of his team’s midfield lynchpins in Douglas Luiz.

The Brazilian picked up a thigh problem ahead of the game against West Ham three weeks ago and has missed the last two games in the Premier League as a result, and it appears that he will not make it back for the visit of Brighton either.

Major setback for Gerrard

While Villa’s poor run of form has cast a dark cloud over the club in recent weeks, Luiz’s performances as a whole has actually been one of the rare shining lights.

While last season was a bit of a difficult one for the Brazilian – as per WhoScored, his average match rating of 6.67 was only good enough to rank him 15th in the entire Villa squad – his start to the current campaign has been outstanding.

In fact, his average rating of 7.0 is the best of any Villa player, and he continues to be a cornerstone of the midfield. Last term saw him play 33 out of the possible 38 Premier League games as the Midlands club finished just outside the top ten.

Reports over the course of the summer suggested that Serie A giants AS Roma were interested in signing the Brazil international, but a move failed to materialise.

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans shed some light on the situation and revealed: “They expected more interest in Douglas Luiz, too. Strong messages that Manchester City were ready to activate a buy-back clause found their way to members of the Villa hierarchy, and for some time they were preparing for such an outcome.

“Villa were also open to moving Luiz on elsewhere and at the right price, but there wasn’t enough interest… Roma continue to be linked with Luiz and if they come in strong during the January window, Villa will be in a good position to get a higher transfer fee should his form remain at this high level.”

In fact, in a recent poll on Football FanCast, 73% of Villa fans who answered said that they would not sell Luiz this summer (181 votes to 66) – an indication of just how concerning it would be were the Brazilian to make the move to Roma or somewhere else.

Given the 23-year-old’s importance to this Villa side, Gerrard will surely be gutted at not having Luiz to call upon for his first game in charge of the club against Brighton later today.

Meanwhile, Villa must finally sign this long-term transfer target…

Division One

Ian Bell, the batsman most likely to replace Kevin Pietersen in the Ashes squad, failed for the second time at the Rose Bowl as the match between Hampshire and Warwickshire ended in a draw. Bell’s dismissal – bowled by Imran Tahir for a duck – came shortly before the game ended with Warwickshire 23 for 2 in the second innings. Earlier Hampshire had amassed a formidable 505 all out in their first innings after Michael Carberry scored a career-best of 204. Sean Ervine cracked a quick 82 as well but Hampshire were given a scare when captain Dimitri Mascarenhas retired hurt after being struck on the helmet by Boyd Rankin. Hampshire insisted, though, that Mascarenhas would be fit for Saturday’s Friends Provident final against Sussex.Worcestershire were asked to follow on at New Road but the pair of Vikram Solanki and Ben Smith added 136 runs for the third wicket, a partnership that denied Somerset a victory that would have taken them closer to division leaders Durham. Andrew Caddick picked up the last two wickets in Worcestershire’s first innings, securing Somerset a lead of 203. The hosts were in trouble during the follow on as well, being reduced to 40 for 2, before Solanki and Smith got together. Solanki scored 93 off 89 balls, including four boundaries in a Peter Trego over, before he was bowled by Zander de Bruyn, while Smith made a more composed 80 off 145 deliveries. Worcestershire wiped out the deficit and had reached 225 for 5 when the match ended.Click here for John Ward’s report of the fourth day’s play between Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire at Scarborough.

Division Two

Rain ruined Middlesex’s hopes for a maiden victory this season after they were set a challenging target of 280 in a minimum of 68 overs by Derbyshire at Derby. A shower after lunch reduced the number of overs to 50 but Middlesex covered good ground, reaching 121 for 1 off 24 overs, with Owais Shah and Nick Compton playing aggressively, when another rain interruption brought the day’s play to an end. Earlier in the day, Derbyshire had declared their second innings on 258 for 7, after resuming on their overnight score of 138 for 2. Steven Finn and Shaun Udal took three wickets apiece for Middlesex.Weather denied Essex the time to push for 20 wickets after Leicestershire were forced to follow on at Grace Road. Resuming on the final morning at 61 for 3, Leicestershire were dismissed for 238 in the first innings, conceding a lead of 189. No one apart from Jim Allenby, who made 71, and James Taylor (88) made more than 20. Tom New and George Walker fell off successive deliveries and there was some controversy over Iain O’Brien’s dismissal shortly after. O’Brien appeared to have nicked the ball to the wicketkeeper but he felt the ball had clipped off stump instead. Leicestershire, however, had only 42 overs to negotiate in the follow-on and finished the day on 123 for 3.

According to a report by Milan Live, West Ham United have now got Lille forward Jonathan Ikone in their sights as they eye more attacking additions for manager David Moyes.

The Lowdown: West Ham in forward hunt…

Over the summer, Moyes made no secret of his desire to add more forward additions to his ranks and bolster West Ham’s chances for 2021/2022.

As he candidly admitted, the Scotsman was ‘desperate’ to sign a striker in particular and it isn’t difficult to see why when taking into account star man Michail Antonio’s concerning injury history.

The Jamaica international has started this season in sublime form; bagging six goals and three assists in just nine Premier League starts whilst also winning the English top flight’s Player of the Month award for August.

Moyes has had to manage him carefully, though, with the Hammers boss electing not to use the 31-year-old at all in the Carabao Cup for example.

He has even sent club doctors abroad to monitor Antonio when the player goes touring on international duty.

An injury to Antonio, which is always a lingering possibility, would spell disaster for West Ham and Moyes – leaving little wonder why they are currently weighing moves for new attacking additions like Andrea Belotti and Jesse Lingard.

The Latest: West Ham set sights on Ikone…

As per Milan Live, West Ham have now set their sights on another forward in Lille star Ikone who has featured in the Champions League this season.

A key player for the Ligue 1 title-winners over 2020/2021, he has been attracting attention from Serie A giants AC Milan, but as they apparently pull out of the race, the Hammers and Everton swoop in.

West Ham, alongside the Toffees, are now in contention to sign the 23-year-old and are ‘seriously considering buying the player’ for Moyes.

The Verdict: Underwhelming?

Lille apparently value their man at around €40 million (£34.2m) according to an exclusive Anfield Central, and for that price, we believe Ikone should be strongly avoided.

The summer signing of Nikola Vlasic and links to Lingard, who could leave Manchester United in January for half of Ikone’s reported price (The Sun), arguably render the Frenchman’s addition unnecessary.

Going by his numbers, he doesn’t exactly stand out as a must-have target for Moyes either.

According to WhoScored, Ikone’s averages of 1.3 shots, 1.1 key passes and 1.1 completed dribbles per 90 don’t measure up to that of key West Ham first teamers.

The likes of Said Benrahma, Jarrod Bowen and Antonio have all racked up superior numbers to Ikone in terms of these attacking aspects, leaving one to wonder what he could add under Moyes.

A ‘very sought-after’ player before signing for Lille, we believe he shouldn’t be anywhere near the top of Rob Newman’s transfer wish list for January.

In other news: ‘Woohoo’, ‘Going for the title’…ExWHUemployee’s transfer claim has many West Ham fans buzzing, find out more here.

Cricinfo previews the four-match ODI series between India and West Indies

The Preview by George Binoy25-Jun-2009Match factsFriday, June 26, 2009
Start time 09.30 (14.30 GMT)
The Big PictureA successful IPL proved crucial in Ashish Nehra’s selection for the ODI squad to West Indies•AFPWest Indies and India prepare for the first of four one-day internationals, in Jamaica, after extremely contrasting World Twenty20 campaigns in England. India entered the tournament as one of the favourites but underachieved tremendously, losing all their matches in the Super Eights stage. As a result of their second-round elimination, India reached the Caribbean even before their hosts, who exceeded expectations by qualifying for the semi-finals, where they lost to Sri Lanka.For India, a team shaken by defeat, injury and fatigue, this series is the last before a long break until the Champions Trophy in September. They will do well to focus on the task at hand, rather than think about the lengthy rest their tired bodies deserve. India are weakened for they are without Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina and Zaheer Khan, four key players either injured or resting because of their hectic schedule in recent months. Their unavailability, though, opens up rare opportunities for players on the fringes of the national squad such as Dinesh Karthik, S Badrinath and M Vijay because the Indian one-day side has been a settled unit for a while now. It also gives others, such as Ashish Nehra, a new lease of life for few would have expected him to return after four years on the sidelines.West Indies’ performance in the World Twenty20 was a dramatic improvement from their efforts during a torrid summer in which they lost both the Wisden Trophy and ODI series to England. Their run to the final four was especially heartening since Dwayne Bravo and Lendl Simmons scored runs in vital games, disproving the belief that West Indies’ batting is a three-man act of Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Surprisingly, though, the selectors have left out Lendl Simmons from the squad for the first two games. There are other tweaks too, with Darren Sammy omitted, Runako Morton and Narsingh Deonarine recalled, and the uncapped Darren Bravo brought in.ODI form guide (last five matches, most recent first)
India – LWWNW
India’s last ODI series was the five-match contest in New Zealand which they won 3-1 with one washout.West Indies – LLNLL
West Indies’ last five one-dayers were all against England and they didn’t win any, losing two at home and two away with one being abandoned.Watch out for …Ashish Nehra: The left-arm medium-pacer last played an international for India in September 2005 after which a spate of injuries kept him out of contention. However, a strong performance in the IPL, where Nehra was the third-highest wicket-taker with 19 at 18.21 each, coupled with the axing of Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan, paved the way for his return.Darren Bravo: If he’s anywhere near as skilled as his sibling Dwayne, India have a problem on their hands. Darren Bravo’s an unknown quantity to people outside the Caribbean, having played only 15 first-class games and eight List A matches for Trinidad & Tobago. It will be interesting to see what responsibility he’s given, if he plays, in the first two games against India.Team newsIndia have a few decisions to make regarding the composition of their final XI. Should Rohit Sharma continue opening in Sehwag’s absence? Or should he move down the order to give Vijay or Karthik a chance at the top? What of S Badrinath? Another worry for the team management is the delayed arrival of Karthik, Vijay and Badrinath due to issues with obtaining a transit visa to England. They were scheduled to arrive in Jamaica on Thursday evening.India (likely): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Dinesh Karthik, 3 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 RP Singh, 11 Ashish Nehra.Simmons’ omission from the West Indies squad was surprising considering he scored 150 runs during the World Twenty20, including a 50-ball 77 against South Africa, and took a four-wicket haul in the group match against Sri Lanka. They also omitted Darren Sammy who has been an underrated allrounder in the West Indian outfit.West Indies (likely): 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Runako Morton, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Darren Bravo, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Jerome Taylor, 9 Ravi Rampaul, 10 Suleiman Benn, 11 Lionel BakerStats and triviaWest Indies have won four out of their last five ODIs in Jamaica – against India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland. India have played only two ODIs at Sabina Park of which they lost one and won the other.Only once has a team made more than 300 at Sabina Park: Pakistan made 349 against Zimbabwe during the 2007 World Cup. The highest target successfully chased there is 254 when South Africa made 255 for 2 against West Indies in 2005.Quotes”West Indies are playing good cricket at the moment. They had a very good World Twenty20 tournament, but in 50 overs, you have time to settle down.”
“Both teams are looking to win and they (India) are trying to prove something against us. At the same time we want to get more wins under our belt and continue our development.”