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Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left buzzing as some early team news has emerged ahead of their Old Firm clash next month.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of their match at home to Dundee United this afternoon, Giovanni van Bronckhorst has now revealed that any players that are set to represent their countries at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in January will be available for their game away at Celtic on the 2nd before being released.

The likes of Leon Balogun, Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo could well be called up to the Nigeria squad for the tournament, which kicks off a week later on the 9th.

All three have made at least 18 appearances in total over all competitions so far this season for the Ibrox faithful, and so are all important members of the squad.

Thus, having them available for potentially their biggest game of the season against their bitter rivals, given their positions in the Scottish Premiership table, would be a big boost to their chances of winning.

Rangers fans on team news

These Teddy Bears supporters buzzed as the team news was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it is ‘brilliant’:

“Superb news especially with the way Aribo and Bassey are playing right now.”

Credit: @NYCRFC

“There’s some brilliant news for your Friday afternoon”

Credit: @OhItsSteely

“Superb news!”

Credit: @sayersy1872

“Smashing news”

Credit: @swigalot

“Huge news”

Credit: @rossco2586

“Absolutely fantastic words from the man himself”

Credit: @rossco72_

In other news, find out which loanee is now set to return to RFC here!

According to a report by Tuttosport (as shared by Sport Witness), Juventus are now ‘ready to agree’ a loan deal for Aaron Ramsey in the January window, with Newcastle listed as the possible destination.

The Lowdown: Serie A hasn’t worked out for Ramsey

Ramsey has had a disappointing career in the Serie A since joining giants Juventus, having failed to secure himself a spot in the side’s starting eleven. In the league this season, the Wales international has played just 98 minutes of football, spanning over three games, coming off the bench in two of those.

The former Arsenal man has endured some horrendous injuries over the years, and it seems his bad luck has followed him to Italy. Due to an unknown injury sustained in the middle of November, Ramsey has since missed nine games for Massimiliano Allegri’s side, with a return date still unknown.

As a result, Allegri is looking to offload Ramsey, as his monstrous £230,000-a-week salary is taking a heavy hit on Juventus’ finances.

The Latest: Loan deal with Newcastle?

According to a report by Tuttosport (as relayed by Sport Witness), Juventus are now ‘ready to agree’ a loan deal and Tuttosport have singled out the Magpies as the only listed destination for the player.

The situation is considered a ‘work in progress’, as it appears that Ramsey is standing his ground in regard to not taking a wage cut. A loan deal would be preferable for Newcastle in this case, as Juventus would likely pick up part of the wage bill.

The Verdict: Good deal for both parties

Ramsey is contracted to the Turin club until the summer of 2023. Therefore, if Howe’s side do get relegated to the Championship, the 31-year-old will be able to walk-away from the club and return to his big-money deal in Italy.

For Newcastle, Ramsey would be a brilliant signing in the short-term. Having created or score 91 goals in 262 appearances in the Premier League for Arsenal, the Welshman would provide the Magpies with that much-needed experience, which is critical in a relegation battle.

Wales teammate Joe Allen has claimed that Ramsey is still a ‘world-class player’, despite calls over his recent form in the Serie A. This suggests that the signing of the Juventus-man would be a fantastic addition to Howe’s Newcastle side if they can keep him fit for the relegation scrap.

A number of Liverpool supporters are delighted after journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed Divock Origi would not be leaving in the January transfer window.

The 26-year-old had put together a memorable Reds career – one that will likely see him considered a legend for many years to come.

While Origi has rarely been a regular starter for Liverpool since arriving in 2014, he has scored some iconic goals against the likes of Barcelona, Tottenham, Everton, Newcastle United and most recently Wolves.

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The Belgian’s current deal potentially expires in the summer of 2023 and he has even been linked with a January exit, despite Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane being away from Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Taking to Twitter on Saturday, however, Romano claimed Origi was going nowhere until at least the summer, saying Liverpool have no intention of selling him this month.

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Liverpool fans love Origi update

These Reds fans provided their positive thoughts on the matter on Twitter, no doubt delighted to keep hold of the cult hero given their lack of options up front in January.

“Not surprised, Salah and Mane already left for Afcon. And Minamino still injured…”

Credit: @biGDhee08

“HE STAYS!!!!”

Credit: @SIGHYONARA

“The hero stays!!!”

Credit: @lfc_reviews

“THANK GOD. WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT LORD ORIGI”

Credit: @Muniamma007

“Good”

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“At least we got to keep Origi”

Credit: @Littleisprince

In other news, some Liverpool fans also love a David Ornstein transfer claim. Read more here.

Flocking to Twitter, lots of Manchester City supporters have gone wild as a £59.3m claim emerges involving wantaway forward Ferran Torres.

Sporting director Txiki Begiristain secured his signing in the summer of 2020, with Torres moving to City for an initial £21m, arguably a bargain fee for one of Spain’s most promising stars.

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The forward, who impressed this season before his recent injury lay-off, has averaged more shots on goal per 90 than any Sky Blues player (WhoScored), often being utilised as a makeshift out-and-out centre-forward by Pep Guardiola.

Despite playing a more prominent role at Eastlands when available, big news over this last week indicates that Torres could now prematurely move back to La Liga, with reliable reporter Sam Lee of The Athletic backing the 21-year-old’s desire to join Barcelona as they eye a move.

Many updates on the situation have emerged since then but one claim from journalist Gerard Romero has had many Citizens talking.

Taking to Twitter, the Twitch reporter claimed that City have slapped a €70m (£59.3m) price tag on the player as Begiristain looks to make nearly triple what was originally paid to sign Torres. Barca are only offering €50m (£42.4m), with the Citizens showing no sign of letting their starlet leave Manchester easily.

Man City fans go wild…

The former Valencia man shone at Euro 2020 in parts, getting on the scoresheet and providing an assist for Luis Enrique’s side in their epic last 16 win over Croatia.

He’s also been playing more centrally for Spain at times this season, bagging a brace and putting in a Man of the Match display against Euro 2020 winners Italy in their 2-1 UEFA Nations League semi-final victory last month.

Thriving on both the international and club stage over 2021/22 so far, it’s little wonder that City value him at £59.3m, especially considering that he is still just 21 and has huge sell-on potential.

As City make their stance clear in negotiations, with only a sizeable fee enough to part ways, many Sky Blues have gone wild on Twitter as they praise Begiristain and the club for not being pushed around.

Check out some of their best reactions below:

“TXIKI ACTUALLY TRYING TO SELL FOR A GOOD PRICE”

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“Perfect”

Credit: @JDesrochers_

“Finally some good negotiations”

Credit: @MCFC_Liban

“Well this is awesome ngl”

Credit: @kae_saret

“Aaaaaah! Finally we are negotiating at right price. This will help us with balance for Striker – either in summer or Jan window”

Credit: @guraj_vaish

“Finally getting a good price for a player, in Txiki we trust”

Credit: @Irish_cityFan

“Siuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu he’s staying”

Credit: @Weezy_ef

“We might actually get a good deal”

Credit: @DabboGaming

In other news: ‘Yessss’, ‘We are back’, ‘Ain’t going nowhere’…Man City fans erupt over ‘lovely news’ out of Eastlands, find out more here.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Dean Jones of Eurosport has made a rather promising claim involving Tottenham Hotspur and Lautaro Martinez.

The Lowdown: Spurs dealt Martinez summer blow…

As reliably reported, Spurs were well in the mix to sign the Inter Milan striker even before new manager Antonio Conte’s highly-anticipated arrival in north London.

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Indeed, managing director Fabio Paratici had his sights set on the Argentine at one point in the summer window and The Times even revealed that a £60m fee had been agreed with Inter.

However, in a twist to the tale, London rivals Chelsea played a heavy hand in Tottenham’s failed swoop for Martinez thanks to their capture of Belgium superstar Romelu Lukaku.

Fabrizio Romano explained that the 28-year-old’s move to Stamford Bridge prompted Inter’s reluctance to agree a deal with Spurs over Martinez, especially considering that they would have been left without a marquee centre-forward (Twitter).

The Argentina striker duly ended up putting pen to paper on a new deal at the San Siro instead, which reportedly earning him around £179,000 per week.

The Latest: Spurs could now return…

You’d think that would be the end of Tottenham’s interest, but Jones has now come out with another twist to the tale.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he believes that Spurs under Conte will return for another attempt in the winter window, explaining:

“”I’m told Lautaro Martinez is someone they’re going to look back towards again in January.”

The Verdict: Exciting…

Given their links to Fiorentina hotshot Dusan Vlahovic, with there even being talk of a meeting held in London already, this claim on an alternative star striker target is certainly exciting.

Going by Martinez’s pedigree, he is a player who would significantly bolster Conte’s options at Spurs and could partner star striker Harry Kane to devastating effect – or maybe even replace him.

According to WhoScored, the 24-year-old has scored more goals in Serie A this season than anyone for Tottenham in the Premier League, racking up a higher average of attempts per 90 in that time also.

The South American has also attracted praise from some the very best strikers in world football, including former Inter teammate Lukaku, who called Martinez a ‘beast’ on Instagram Live (via Daily Mail).

However, one major hiccup to this Spurs transfer plan may be costs, especially considering that the Argentina international is valued at around £72m by Transfermarkt.

Paratici and co will need to smash the club’s transfer record to get a deal done, but going by his age, calibre and quality, Martinez may well be worth the investment.

In other news: Tottenham tell rising star he is free to leave as they green light surprise exit from N17, find out more here.

Sri Lanka’s 38-run loss today to New Zealand to end their group phase now means their fate is in the hands of others

Osman Samiuddin in Johannesburg27-Sep-2009

After such an ebullient start, Sri Lanka have somehow pushed themselves to the very brink of this tournament, with a little help from England and New Zealand. Their 38-run loss today to New Zealand to end their group phase now means their fate is in the hands of others; having kick-started the Champions Trophy with a wonderful opening-day win against the hosts South Africa, it is a fate not many expected to befall them. Little about this tournament has been easy to predict.Sri Lanka gave the game away in many areas today. Having dropped Muttiah Muralitharan and brought in Thilan Thushara, their new-ball pair began poorly. After getting back into it at 161 for 5, again the bowlers threw it away, though Kumar Sangakkara directed his gaze elsewhere.Though widely considered the best fielding side in Asia, Sangakkara thought his men were “appalling” in the field and have not been much better over the last few months. “A real minus is our fielding. It has been sometimes appalling and not up to international standard. So we’ve got a lot of work to do to compete. That will be a real bugbear in the next tournaments. Individuals must take responsibility. The real difference between the sides will be fielding,” said Sangakkara.In hindsight there will be other concerns. Sri Lanka’s pace bowling – which was to be their trump card – was unable to adjust to conditions in South Africa and their start and finish to New Zealand’s innings was poor. Nuwan Kulasekera and Thushara, so lethal in home conditions, have failed to translate that form here.”It probably has to do with the lengths we have to bowl here,” Sangakkara said. “We have played a lot of cricket at home where lengths are different. Here we have to go back to basics and see, especially with our fast bowling, where the right lengths are and also how to hit them with aggression. Unfortunately most of our bowlers aren’t the tallest but at the same time they are quality bowlers. We have to adapt.”Chief among the strugglers was Lasith Malinga, who went for 85 runs in his ten overs and whose poor mid-innings spell allowed New Zealand to bring themselves back in the game, from 161 for 5. “The skiddy length he bowls in the subcontinent, the ball doesn’t skid here, it holds up. This was not a quick track, it’s got carry but it has tennis ball bounce. We need to hit the deck rather than just run in and drop it on the spot.”Sri Lanka’s batsmen also gave away starts, none more so than the opening pair, who kept them up with the rate initially. By that time the wicket wasn’t so difficult to bat on, as Mahela Jayawardene and Kulasekara’s first fifty proved, and certainly lacked the assistance that had prompted Sangakkara to bowl first. But ultimately there weren’t enough partnerships all of which requires Sri Lanka to wait on other results and hope to improve all three aspects of their game.”Mathematics can be peculiar,” said Sangakkara. “If England win all games with healthy margins we’ve probably got an outside chance to come in. But it’s not nice to wait to see which side loses and depend on run-rates. We should’ve put it away today and we didn’t. We got outplayed. All three departments we have a lot of brushing up to do. We had lots of individual performances but as a team we need to brush up.”

Liverpool managed to make no issue in keeping their winning run in the Champions League group stage going this season with a 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid at Anfield.

Goals from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane secured the three points against Diego Simeone’s side who saw defender Felipe sent off after just 36 minutes.

One Liverpool player that we think was a massive shining light for the Reds in midweek was right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

In the 89 minutes he was on the pitch for, Alexander-Arnold managed to assist both goals, make two interceptions, three tackles, attempt 112 passes with an accuracy rate of 92%, four of them being key passes, complete two accurate crosses and 11 accurate long balls, ultimately earning himself an impressive overall match rating of 8.4, making him Liverpool’s highest-rated player on the day according to SofaScore.

This shows just how vital Alexander-Arnold was for his side on this occasion and that he stole the show over any of his teammates, even the likes of Mane and Jota who were on the scoresheet, thanks to Alexander-Arnold’s assists.

So far this season, the 23-year-old dynamo, who is currently valued at £67.5m according to Transfermarkt, has made 11 appearances for the Reds across all the competitions in which he has managed to provide six assists in the process.

Since making his senior debut for the Reds, Alexander-Arnold, who has been dubbed as “outstanding” by Klopp in the past, has managed to score 10 goals and provide 50 assists in the 190 appearances he’s made across all competitions, highlighting just how much of an attacking threat he is for the team from the right-back position.

Additionally, with Alexander-Arnold being currently listed as Liverpool’s second-highest rated player with an overall season rating of 7.69, according to WhoScored based on his performances in the Premier League. This shows how important he has been for the team in their latest league campaign.

Moving forward, if Alexander-Arnold can keep producing the same sort of performances as he did in midweek throughout the remainder of the season, we feel he will be a massive part of any success Liverpool have this year, whether it be domestically or in the Champions League if he can keep providing assists and maybe even add some goals to his tally this season, as he’s shown in the past that he is capable of.

In other news: Klopp could already own £54m-rated machine’s heir with “excellent” 18 y/o LFC prodigy – opinion

امتدح بيب جوارديولا مدرب مانشستر سيتي قدرات لاعبه إيرلينج هالاند متحدثًا بعد الفوز العريض أمام نوتينجهام فورست في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وسجل هالاند هاتريك مساهمًا في فوز مانشستر سيتي بستة أهداف دون مقابل، وذلك في مباراة بالجولة الخامسة للبريميرليج مساء الأربعاء.  هاتريك هالاند في مباراة مانشستر سيتي ونوتينجهام فورست

وقال بيب جوارديولا  لـ”بي تي سبورت”: “هذه الليلة جيدة حقًا، الموهبة التي نمتلكها في مهاجمينا، كانت مباراة جيدة حقًا”.

وأضاف: “أعلم أن إيرلينج سعيد بتسجيل الأهداف، لكن ما يريده هو الفوز، إذا حطم الأرقام القياسية لكن لم نفز، فلن يكون سعيدًا”.

وتابع جوارديولا: “هالاند قوي في جميع الأنحاء، ولكن بشكل خاص حول منطقة الجزاء يشم رائحة الأهداف، وإنهائه للهجمة، وأخلاقياته في العمل رائعة جدًا، إنه جائع للأهداف والنجاح”.

اقرأ أيضًا | أول تعليق من هالاند بعد الهاتريك في مباراة مانشستر سيتي ونوتينجهام

وواصل مدرب مانشستر سيتي: “ما فعله هالاند في ألمانيا، فعله هنا، أول اتصال بالكرة، الهدف الأول، لدينا مهاجمون رائعون، وشعور رائع برائحة الأهداف”.

وأكد جوارديولا: “هالاند بالطبع يمكن إيقافه إذا لم نلعب بشكل جيد، السبب الذي يجعلنا نحاول دائمًا اللعب بشكل جيد هو منح لاعبينا المهاجمين فرصة لتسجيل الأهداف”.

وعن كون هالاند أول من يسجل هاتريك في مباراتين متتاليتين، بعد أجويرو، أردف: “سيرجيو [أجويرو] أسطورة، لا أحد يستطيع أن يكسر مركزه في قلوب جماهير مانشستر سيتي، لكن إيرلينج لديه جودة ليحظى بمكانة كبيرة، لا يتعلق الأمر به أو سيرجيو، ما فعله أجويرو من أجل هذا النادي لا يصدق”.

وأكمل بيب: “الأرقام تتحدث عن نفسها، نحن غزيري الإنتاج تهديفيًا [19 هدفًا في 5 مباريات]، أمام نيوكاسل لم نتمكن من التحكم في الانتقالات، ضد كريستال بالاس لم نتمكن من التحكم في الكرات الثابتة، لقد سيطرنا عليها اليوم”.

وأتم: “عندما خسرنا درع المجتمع أمام ليفربول، قال الناس”إيرلينج لن يتأقلم مع الدوري الإنجليزي، هذا غير ممكن”، نعم ، حسنًا … الشيء المهم بالنسبة لنا هو يمكن أن يظهروا كم هم مخطئون، على أرض الملعب”.

Monty Panesar has blamed moves to expand his spin bowling repertoire for his poor first-class returns this season, and has vowed to revert to his natural game if pitched into Ashes combat this summer

Alex Brown29-Jun-2009

Monty Panesar has blamed moves to expand his spin bowling repertoire for his poor first-class returns this season, and has vowed to revert to his natural game if pitched into Ashes combat this summer. Panesar, who this year surrendered the mantle of England’s premier Test spinner to Graeme Swann, has taken just six wickets at 86.66 apiece in six first-class matches for Northamptonshire in 2009 but has retained the faith of the national selectors, who have named him in the England Lions squad for the tour match against Australia on Wednesday.Shane Warne is among those to have criticised Panesar for a one-dimensional approach to spin bowling, and the left-armer has used the first half of the county season to experiment with new deliveries. Those changes, he concedes, have been difficult to implement, and Panesar will instead rely on instinct in his bid to partner Swann against the Australians this summer.”I would love to right now have loads of wickets under my belt but I know things haven’t gone as planned,” Panesar said. “Sometimes you’ve got to take a step back for the longer and the medium term.”My strength is that I have a natural ability to bowl a certain pace, bowl lots of overs and get a lot of maidens. I think I’ve got to trust myself, go back to that and reproduce that natural bowling style that I have. During the Northants phase I’ve just tried to go into the development side of things … but this current situation gives me the opportunity to rise to the situations and reconnect with what I do naturally.”After losing his place in the starting XI in the wake of England’s humbling Test defeat in Jamaica, Panesar worked with England’s spin coach, Mushtaq Ahmed, on broadening his game. He hopes the moves will serve him well in the years to come, but admitted they have not helped his form for Northants this season.Panesar also delivered a thinly-veiled swipe at Peter Moores, suggesting the analytical approach of the former England coach over-complicated matters and bred confusion within the team.”I obviously struggled at the start of the season and I was in a way trying to experiment with my variation of pace and length,” he said. “I understand that in an ideal world I would have loved to have taken stacks of wickets prior to the Ashes series and that would be a good preparation for me. But I understand that for my development, and to go further, I have to maybe take a backwards step to go forward for the medium- and the long-term.”I have got the opportunity to work closely with Andy Flower, who I think is a thoughtful and intelligent man. He’s able to give you the space to actually work things out for yourself. I had similar success with Duncan Fletcher. I think sometimes if there’s too much information being put to you it can actually overload you and you can be confused with what you’re doing. The space that tends to gives you helps you to work things out for yourself.”Panesar’s cult status since joining the Test side has at times been overwhelming, and the spinner admitted the time away from international cricket has afforded him the rare opportunity to decompress.”I enjoyed the time out because it gave me the space to do my own thing and my own training,” he said. “It let the dust settle down and let me review my game and where it needs to go. One of the challenges I’ve had at Northants, I’ve had four-day games, one-day games and Twenty20 games. In ideal world I would like to play back-to-back four-day games and get myself into a good rhythm. That has been quite testing, trying to adapt from one form to another form.”

Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney is reportedly set to miss his side’s Carabao Cup fourth round clash with Leeds United on Tuesday night.

The Lowdown: Leeds head to Arsenal

The Whites trade Premier League duties for domestic cup action on Tuesday, making the trip to the Emirates as they look to reach the quarter-finals.

While the league clearly takes precedence for Leeds, particularly given their struggles at the moment, a good cup run could turn their fortunes around after a worrying start to this campaign.

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The Latest: Tierney set to miss out

According to the Yorkshire Evening Post‘s Joe Urquhart on Monday, Tierney is expected to be an injury absentee for the game.

The Scot missed Arsenal 3-1 win over Aston Villa last Friday with a bruised ankle and he is unlikely to be fit in time to take to the field.

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The Verdict: Boost for Bielsa and co

Tierney has been an impressive signing for Arsenal, providing quality and tenacity at left-back – he has averaged 1.3 key passes per game in the league this season – so he could be a miss for the Gunners from a creativity sense.

Should Raphinha be deemed fit to start in north London, he could be buoyed by Tierney’s absence, although it remains to be seen how strong Marcelo Bielsa’s starting lineup will be, as he potentially rotates his squad.

In other news, Phil Hay has provided another worrying Leeds injury update. Read more here.