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Manchester City recently announced that they had agreed a deal to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund this summer.

As the upcoming transfer window approaches, it seems as though the Manchester club could be set to see one of their current attacking stars leave the Etihad Stadium to potentially make way for their incoming Norwegian.

What’s the news?

In a recent Twitter post from journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, he relayed comments made to him by Marcelo Pettinati, the agent of Gabriel Jesus, who has recently been linked with a move to fellow Premier League club Arsenal.

He said: “We had talks with Arsenal about Gabriel Jesus, we like the project – it’s a possibility we’re discussing. There are 6 more clubs interested in Gabriel – he’s focused on final games with Man City, we’ll see.”

City secured a deal for the Brazilian back in the 2016 summer transfer window from Palmeiras for a fee of £27m.

Awful news for Guardiola

With 234 appearances under his belt for the Citizens across all competitions, the 25-year-old has 95 goals and delivered 46 assists along the way.

This shows just how much of a useful attacking figure he has been for his side since his arrival.

In 26 league appearances this season, the attacker has racked up 56 shots at goal, leaving only Joao Cancelo (77) and Kevin De Bruyne (69) with more.

To highlight how much of a deadly player he is at the top of the pitch, he currently has the highest number of goal-creating actions (17) to his name in City’s squad and the joint fourth-highest in the entire league.

After the Brazil international scored four goals in City’s 5-1 win over Watford last month, Pep Guardiola heaped praise on the player by saying that “when you behave like him, life and football rewards you.”

The City boss then added that “he doesn’t need to score four goals for me to know he has this incredible ability. He will have a long and successful career.”

This shows just how gutted the 51-year-old would be to potentially see Jesus leave the squad this summer.

Despite what his agent has had to say, City should have no intention of letting their attacking star leave the club this summer.

In other news: Pep can land the next Fernandinho as Man City eye move for “extraordinary” £83m dynamo

Kent lost their last eight wickets for 120 runs in a session and nine balls to gift Lancashire only their second success in Canterbury since 1936

21-Aug-2010
ScorecardKent lost their last eight wickets for 120 runs in a session and nine balls to gift Lancashire only their second success in Canterbury since 1936. The 121-run drubbing moved the visitors to fourth in the County Championship Division One table with a game in hand to maintain their outside championship hopes, whereas Kent slip back toward the relegation scrap following their fifth defeat of the top-flight campaign.Resuming on their overnight score of 84 for 2 and in pursuit of an unlikely victory target of 339, Kent added 13 runs before the start of their nightmare slide against the twin seam threat of Tom Smith and Glen Chapple that saw them lose four wickets for three runs in the space of 27 balls.Visiting skipper Chapple was first to strike, running one down the Canterbury slope and away from right-hander Martin van Jaarsveld who edged to Paul Horton at slip to make it 97 for 3.In the next over Sam Northeast went back and across his stumps to Smith only to work across the line and go leg before then, in his next over, Smith got one to lift sharply at Geraint Jones who feathered a catch to his counterpart Luke Sutton.Without addition to the score Darren Stevens followed a Chapple leg-cutter to give Sutton another catch and leave Kent floundering on 100 for 6. Lancashire struck again through Smith when Alex Blake, chopping down late on a short one, played the ball onto the base of off-stump.Kent partially saved face thereafter with a sprightly eighth-wicket stand of 72 in 63 balls between left-handers James Tredwell and Matt Coles (51) that at least took the game into its penultimate session.Coles raced to his maiden half-century for the county from 41 balls and with six fours but, two deliveries after raising his bat, the 20-year-old miscued a slog sweep against Gary Keedy straight into the hands of Sajid Mahmood at deep midwicket.In the over before lunch, Tredwell, having hit five boundaries to take Kent beyond 200, danced past one from Keedy to be stumped by a yard. Nine balls after the restart and without addition to the total, Cook swept at Keedy only to be caught at deep mid-wicket and hand Lancashire their 21-point win while Kent bank only four.

According to reliable reporter Gary Jacob of The Times, a transfer update has come out of Tottenham Hotspur involving Atletico Madrid striker and Juventus loanee Alvaro Morata.

The Lowdown: Spurs linked…

As manager Antonio Conte reportedly seeks a new forward addition before this window’s closure, with Alasdair Gold revealing it is one of the Italian’s four priorities, links have emerged to ex-Chelsea striker Morata.

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Indeed, a report out of Spain from El Partidazo de COPE recently claimed that both the Lilywhite and Newcastle United are in the picture to sign him before January 31 – with the overseas source even believing there is an offer from managing director Fabio Paratici.

Eligible striker targets are waring thin at Tottenham given long-time target Dusan Vlahovic has now sealed a blockbuster move to Juventus, while links to other names have been fairly scarce.

The Latest: Jacob makes Morata claim…

In what could be an opportunity for Spurs and Paratici, they have apparently been ‘offered’ the chance to sign Conte’s former star in a late window development.

Indeed, according to Jacob, writing for The Times, the Spain international has reportedly been placed on the table and Tottenham could sign him on a loan deal.

The Verdict: Take it?

The 29-year-old has endured a mixed senior career to say the least, showing signs of real promise last season during his first year on loan in Turin.

Morata racked up 11 Serie A goals and 11 assists under ex-boss Andrea Pirlo over 2020/2021 – not even including his six goals in eight Champions League appearances that year.

However, at Chelsea, the Spaniard’s poor final season return of five in 16 Premier League outings saw him part company for Atletico.

He was perhaps most in-demand when playing for Real Madrid at the end of the 2016/2017 season – with his former club even once placing a £90 million price tag on his head (The Sun).

Morata, clearly, comes as somewhat of a mixed bag.

However, on loan, it could be a gamble worth taking given Spurs are arguably in dire need of an alternative to Harry Kane.

In other news: Spurs now preparing last minute marquee bid to sign ‘special’ forward for Conte, find out more here.

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

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee (via Birmingham Live), with the West Ham insider revealing that David Moyes’ side have made contact with Aston Villa regarding a move for the centre-back this month, although talks between the two clubs are still believed to be in the preliminary stages.

Regarding the Hammers’ interest in the 26-year-old defender, Ex said: “Hause was on the bench for Villa in their cup defeat at Manchester United [and] has featured very few times under new manager [Steven] Gerrard.

“Despite this, Aston Villa have reportedly offered him the option of a new contract to keep him at the club. Hause is said to be one of a number of centre-back targets [for West Ham] and talks are only at the primary stage.”

He’d be a major upgrade

Considering just how much West Ham have struggled for numbers at the back following the injuries suffered by first-choice centre-back pairing Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna, it would appear a very wise move for Moyes to bring in greater depth into the position this month if he wants to give his team the best possible chance of securing a top-four finish this season.

While it is true that Hause has not featured regularly for Villa since Gerrard’s arrival at the club in November, the former England under-21 international has nevertheless proven that he would make a fantastic addition to Moyes’ current options at the back.

Indeed, over his seven Premier League appearances last term, the £4.5m-rated defender helped his side to keep three clean sheets and scored one goal, as well as making 1.1 interceptions, 0.6 tackles, and 7.6 clearances per game and winning 65% of his duels.

These returns saw the £25k-per-week defender earn an impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as Villa’s sixth-best player – and their best-performing centre-back – in the top flight in 2020/21.

For comparison, over his eight league outings this season, Issa Diop has failed to convince that he is of the standard required to be a starter for West Ham. The centre-back has helped his side to keep two clean sheets, in addition to making 0.5 interceptions, 1.1 tackles and 3.3 clearances and winning a mere 2.9 duels per fixture.

These returns have seen the Frenchman average a disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.59, ranking him as the Irons’ fourth-worst player – and their worst-performing defender – in the top flight.

As such, it is clear to see that the player who Matt Law dubbed a “ridiculous bargain” for the £3m that Villa paid to Wolves for the 26-year-old back in 2019 would be a major upgrade on Diop, leading us to believe that Moyes simply must do all he can to get a deal over the line for the Villa centre-back this month.

In other news: Transfer insider reveals West Ham have “looked at” signing £25m beast, fans surely buzzing

New Zealand failed to execute their plans against the India batsmen, and the hosts are now poised to take a big lead

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2010There were just three moments where New Zealand stayed with India today: Daniel Vettori’s removal of Virender Sehwag, Andy McKay’s short, but probing, spell to Gautam Gambhir and Tim Southee’s final spell against Sachin Tendulkar. In between these acts, though, they waxed and waned as you would expect them to do on a flat track, especially with an attack that isn’t very potent.Yesterday evening Daniel Vettori left us with a note of defiance. Today, though, they couldn’t hide from yesterday’s mistakes. The pitch was flat, India oozed intent, and long before the evening, the game had begun to sprint away from New Zealand.You could sense they had plans. You could see that they couldn’t always execute them. They sparkled in little phases of inspiration. McKay v Gambhir was one such contest. Gambhir’s fifty in the second Test was his first in ten months, and McKay reminded him of his barren patch with his probing line around the off stump. Gambhir stabbed at a couple, wasn’t in full control of a few steers, and was hesitant to lean fully forward for some of his off drives. That dab outside off has been his downfall in the recent times, and McKay tried to catch an edge or trap him with one that darted in with the angle.His first delivery in Test cricket seamed in to hit Gambhir, who had shouldered arms, high on the pad. A short while later a good lbw shout was turned down when Gambhir was on 26. Soon, Gambhir caressed McKay to the cover boundary and lunch arrived at the end of that over. The fight evaporated after the break when Martin fed Gambhir with half-volleys. It was the pattern of the day: as soon as someone tried to stir up a contest, some other bowler killed it.Southee said as much at the end of the day. “We had our plans right, but we needed to execute it better right from the start.” He was the guilty too, allowing Gambhir to settle down at the start with poor deliveries on his legs, which were put away to the boundary without much fuss. He improved in his second spell in the evening, when he pinged Tendulkar’s body a couple of times with bouncers. It didn’t appear that Tendulkar’s wicket could be claimed through such a tactic on this docile pitch, but it was worth a try.”You can’t be predictable,” Southee said. “You just have to mix it up. I just tried to bowl wicket to wicket. I had a better rhythm in that second spell and it just sort of went from there.”Vettori was another one who could find his rhythm only in patches. He is a better limited-overs bowler than a Test operator. He has a good arm-ball, varies his pace, trajectory, and length intelligently, and often strangles a batsman who is looking for runs in ODIs.”Test match bowling is something I want to get better at,” he said at the start of the series. That is a part of my game I want to improve.” Today wasn’t a day he would be entirely satisfied with. He lured Sehwag, who was going after him, to hit one straight back to him and that should have helped him raise his performance, but he couldn’t do it consistently. He has never had the big turn that a bowler of his pace and style needs to be a very good Test spinner, but has rarely slipped up on lengths. Today, he wasn’t his usual accurate self and the Indians indulged.The real damage though, was done yesterday. “We didn’t score many runs in the first innings and they have a great partnership going now,” Southee said. “Hopefully, we can pick early wickets tomorrow and fight our way back into it.” May be they will surprise us but it looks unlikely. The game seems to be on auto-pilot and cruising towards a state where they will have to bat out two days to save it.

Eoin Morgan hit an unbeaten 79 off 34 balls as Middlesex thrashed Glamorgan by 84 runs to claim their third successive victory

15-Jun-2010
ScorecardMorgan’s onslaught included five sixes and seven fours•Getty ImagesEoin Morgan hit an unbeaten 79 off 34 balls as Middlesex thrashed Glamorgan by 84 runs to claim their third successive victory and move into a challenging position in the Friends Provident t20 South division. Morgan’s onslaught, which included five sixes and seven fours, took Middlesex to a total of 213 for 4 – their highest in this form of cricket.However, the success was set up by Adam Gilchrist, who has taken over the captaincy from Shaun Udal on his return to Richmond – the club where he played as a 17-year-old. Gilchrist had made 29 out of 50 in five overs by the time David Brown gave Glamorgan some respite by taking two wickets in three balls. He bowled David Warner for 13 and then had Neil Dexter smartly stumped by Mark Wallace.There seemed to be no stopping him as he raced to 50 off 29 balls with three sixes, two off James Harris and one off Shaun Tait, and six fours – but then he tried to turn Robert Croft on the legside and was leg before wicket for 51.That only brought in Morgan – who was soon displaying his array of improvised shots, including a carve for six off Tait and a scoop for four off Jim Allenby, as well as more conventional strokes which brought him a six and four fours in one over from Brown. Morgan and Owais Shah had put on 88 in eight overs when Shah was caught by Brown at midwicket off James Harris for 30 and Morgan went on to add another 43 off the last three overs with Dawid Malan.To make it harder for Glamorgan to bear, Malan was badly dropped at mid-off by Dean Cosker off Allenby in the penultimate over and he made them pay by hitting Tait for two sixes and four fours to finish unbeaten on 27.Glamorgan made a brisk enough start but once Mark Cosgrove had been well caught by Dexter, running in from deep square leg, wickets fell regularly against Middlesex’s slow bowlers.Dexter picked up two in four balls when he bowled Allenby and had Tom Maynard stumped, Tom Smith took four for 23 with his left arm spin and Udal showed he still has plenty to offer as an off-spinner by claiming 3 for 24 as Glamorgan slumped to 129 all out in 17 overs.

Greg Smith made his highest score for nearly two months to give Derbyshire achance of a first Championship victory since late April at Derby

Cricinfo staff23-Jul-2010
Scorecard
Greg Smith made his highest score for nearly two months to give Derbyshire achance of a first Championship victory since late April at Derby.Smith made 91 off 163 balls as Derbyshire claimed a first-innings lead of 126and then reduced Worcestershire to 70 for 3 at the close.Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan took 3 for 94 but Derbyshire’s lastfive wickets added 168 to take the home side to 405 before their bowlers leftthe visitors facing defeat.The match was in the balance at the start of day three with Derbyshire 96 runsbehind with six wickets intact but the home side slowly gained the initiativeafter Worcestershire’s bowlers failed to make an early breakthrough.Smith and Dan Redfern batted through the first 18 overs before Matt Masonfinally struck with the new ball when Redfern was well caught at second slip byDaryl Mitchell for 19.Redfern had faced 110 balls but he had done a valuable job in frustrating thebowlers who were then held up by Smith and Robin Peterson as the sixth-wicketpair put on 71 in 22 overs to take Derbyshire past 300.Smith had not scored a half century in any form of cricket since late May -against Worcestershire – but he showed his confidence had returned by hammeringfour boundaries in an over from the wayward Richard Jones.He looked set for a hundred until he drove Moeen Ali’s off-spin loosely toshort extra cover and Derbyshire were only 45 runs on when Peterson was caughtat short leg to give Shakib his first Worcestershire wicket. But Steffan Jones mixed watchful defence with some punishing blows, including two big sixes over midwicket, to score 40 off 43 balls and Lee Goddard chipped in with 38 to leave Worcestershire with a lot of batting to do.David Wheeldon had batted for more than three hours for 20 in the first inningsand he was again threatening to stand in Derbyshire’s way when Jones brokethrough with the last ball of his second over.The experienced pace bowler found the outside edge as Wheeldon prodded forwardand Goddard pouched the chance to end the opener’s one-hour occupation. Worcestershire suffered another blow five overs later when skipper Vikram Solanki got a good ball from Mark Footitt that left him and Chris Rogers dived forward at first slip to hold a fine catch.Derbyshire’s celebrations showed just how important they thought that wicketwas and they were gifted a big scalp off the penultimate ball of the day. Mitchell and Moeen had dug in for 14 overs to reduce the arrears to 56 when Moeen drove loosely at Peterson and sliced a catch to point to leave Derbyshire scenting victory.

An update has emerged on Rangers and their transfer plans, with a striker reportedly being lined up for a move to Ibrox by Giovanni van Bronckhorst…

What’s the talk?

According to the Sunday Post, the Gers are considering a deal to sign Colombian forward Frank Castaneda this month.

He is a free agent after his contract with Sheriff Tiraspol expired at the start of 2022 and Rangers are said to be one of a number of clubs interested in snapping him up.

Won’t cost a penny

Van Bronckhorst must ensure that the club are able to get a deal over the line for the attacker in the coming weeks as he could be a terrific signing.

From a financial standpoint, Castaneda could be a sensational addition as he will not cost a penny in transfer fees. He is currently a free agent and is allowed to join any club of his choice, with his wages being the only hurdle that the club would need to overcome to bring him to Glasgow.

In terms of what he could offer on the pitch, his record throughout his career suggests that he could be an excellent signing. He has produced 105 goals and assists in 139 career appearances for FK Senica and Tiraspol, including an incredible 33 goals and 18 assists in the 2020/21 campaign for the latter.

Of course, it is difficult to gauge the difference in quality between where he has played so far and the Scottish Premiership, but he can only play against what is in front of him and he has shown immense quality in those matches.

The predator has proven that he can score and create goals on a consistent basis and that suggests that he could be a top player for Rangers if he is able to translate his form over to Scotland.

That is why the Gers must work hard to beat off interest from elsewhere to land the 27-year-old on a free transfer to bolster van Bronckhorst’s squad. It is a worthwhile gamble for the club to make given the financial aspect means that they will not lose a huge chunk of money if the move does not work out and he flops at Ibrox. Furthermore, he also holds the potential – given his record for Tiraspol – to make a big splash in Glasgow.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Bassey: Rangers could pull off masterclass in £2m swoop for “calm” gem…

Aston Villa have seen numerous players make their way through the youth system at the Midlands club and go on to have substantial careers in the Premier League and elsewhere.

In terms of Villa’s current squad, one player that has worked his way through the ranks to make it into the first team is midfielder Jacob Ramsey.

With 65 combined appearances for Villa’s U18 and U23 sides under his belt, the Englishman racked up 24 goals and 11 assists.

He also had a loan spell with Doncaster Rovers back in 2020 where he found the back of the net three times in seven appearances.

The Englishman made his senior debut for the club back in February 2019 in a Championship defeat against West Bromwich Albion under former Villa manager Dean Smith.

Overall, the 20-year-old has now played in 58 senior games for his club and is now a fully-fledged member of Steven Gerrard’s squad. With 29 league appearances made this season, the youngster has scored six goals and provided two assists for his teammates.

As well as this, no other player at the club has made more attempts to put an opponent under pressure (461) on the pitch than Ramsey.

This highlights not only what a useful player he can be for his team in terms of winning the ball back, but also the desire and work ethic he has in him, something that Gerrard surely wants to see from his players.

Additionally, only Tyrone Mings has racked up a higher distance in yards for a player to have moved the ball while controlling it with their feet in any direction.

Once again, this shows what a tricky player Ramsey can be when he’s on the ball, as well as being a hard opponent to play against when he’s not in possession. As well as providing goals, it’s evident just how much he offers in the finer parts of the game.

All of this has seen the player’s transfer value rise considerably. Back in December 2020, Transfermarkt rated the midfielder’s market value at £1.35m, whereas it now stands at a massive £19.8m after a seriously impressive year.

Presumably based on his efforts on the pitch for Villa,

Labelled as a player that “demands attention” by Joe Cole, this highlights just how far the £15k-per-week youth graduate has come in his career.

Ramsey has certainly been a massive positive for the club as a whole and provides a great example for other youth prospects aiming to break into first-team football.

In other news: Source: AVFC’s “difficult” dud could now leave Villa Park, it’s great news for Gerrard

Patrick Boyland has now revealed some big Everton injury news before they play Chelsea at home in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

The Lowdown: Davies training

The Goodison Park faithful have revealed that Tom Davies is back in training, after not featuring since the 0-0 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur in November.

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There will be question marks over how quickly he can get back to full fitness, and of course how much impact he can actually have with so little of the season left to play.

The Latest: Injury update

Taking to Twitter, The Athletic journalist Boyland has revealed that although Davies is now eligible for selection due to Jean-Phillipe Gbamin moving out on loan, he is still ‘some way off’ a return to the team:

“Tom Davies *is eligible for selection between now and the end of the season. Everton added him to PL squad list after JP Gbamin joined CSKA Moscow on loan. But midfielder, who was pictured training today, is still some way off a return.”

The Verdict: Bad news

Of course, the fact that Davies still seems far away from a return to action will certainly come as a big blow to Frank Lampard and his side.

Before his horrific injury, the central midfield player had managed one goal and one assist in seven games this season, and being a local boy, knows how much it means to the supporters for the Merseyside club to stay up.

Nonetheless, with the campaign drawing nearer to a close, this is news that the Toffees would certainly not like to hear.

In other news, find out who the Blues are now close to signing here!