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West Ham United are considering making a move for RB Leipzig forward Yussuf Poulsen, according to Calciomercato.

What’s the word?

The report claims that Newcastle United and Everton are also tracking the Denmark international, who scored once in three of the nation’s matches at the World Cup.

West Ham are said to have switched attention to attacking targets, with Poulsen on their radar.

The 24-year-old has developed his game at Leipzig after joining the club in 2013.

Last season, the forward scored just four goals in 30 Bundesliga outings, but he only started 18 of those fixtures.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”262679″ player=”12034″ title=”Chattin’ Shirt 3 Teams at Russia 2018″]

Why should West Ham steer clear?

The Hammers have had their fair share of lacklustre strikers, and it is important that they do not put faith in another one who may not deliver.

What do you think of the World Cup so far? Let us know and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.

Andy Carroll has disappointed the East London outfit numerous times due to his constant injury woes.

Javier Hernandez also struggled to make an impression last season, but one could argue that was because he was being played out of position.

If West Ham want a striker that can be reliable, then Poulsen may not be the answer due to his inconsistency.

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Perhaps it’s best for Manuel Pellegrini to go back to the drawing board.

According to Belgian news outlet Nieuwsblad, there has been a transfer update out of West Ham United involving KV Mechelen goalkeeper Gaëtan Coucke.

The Lowdown: West Ham eyeing new shot stopper?

Despite possessing an option to buy Alphonse Areola from Paris-Saint Germain, who is currently on loan at the London Stadium, West Ham and manager David Moyes have been tipped to bolster their goalkeeping department.

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The most prevalent link appears to be to West Bromwich Albion ace Sam Johnstone with the Englishman running out of contract at the Hawthorns and set to leave as a free agent later this year.

However, as some news comes out of the continent, it appears Moyes and co are also weighing some low profile options.

The Latest: Coucke open to joining as West Ham eye move…

As per Nieuwsblad, KV Mechelen’s colossal 6 foot 2 shot stopper Coucke is on West Ham’s radar as they enter the fray to sign him alongside Reims and Torino.

The 24-year-old’s deal expires in 2023 with his club eager to extend, but Coucke himself knows this could destroy the chance of an ‘attractive transfer’ to West Ham or any of the aforementioned teams.

As such, Mechelen’s number one is ‘interested’ in joining the Irons, Torino or Reims as he eyes more call-ups to the Belgium national team – with his first and only one coming back in 2020.

The Verdict: Get it done?

Areola’s lack of game time overall backs that Lukasz Fabianski is mostly an touchable in Moyes’ starting eleven so signing an astutely cheap back-up could be the way forward.

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Valued at around €750,000 (£628,000), West Ham could sign a bargain capable number two for Fabianski considering Coucke is still young and has proved capable going by his one-time nod for the Red Devils international squad.

In other news: Chief sports writer: West Ham enter talks to sign ‘out of the ordinary’ £22.5m-rated star for Moyes, find out more here.

England 454 and 168 for 2 beat Australia 435 and 182 by eight wickets
Scorecard1st day

Wally Hammond and Bob Wyatt head off after winning the fifth Test © The Cricketer

England made only one change from the fourth Test match, Voce replacing Mitchell, but Australia brought in Oldfield, O’Brien, Alexander and Lee for Love, Bromley, Ponsford and Wall, who was unable to play owing to injury. Woodfull again won the toss and Australia began batting under ideal conditions, but in the first over Richardson was caught in the slips. Jardine used his bowlers in short spells, and when Bradman was out at 64 Larwood had taken three wickets for 14 runs. O’Brien made many good forcing strokes in a fourth wicket partnership with McCabe which produced 99 runs, but he might have been caught when 37 and 43 by Voce in the slips. Darling did not begin well. He was nearly caught by Sutcliffe when 11 and missed off a caught and bowled by Allen one run later. However, he improved rapidly and with McCabe carried the total to 244 before the latter fell to Verity bowling round the wicket. Oldfield came in to play out time with an invaluable 13 not out. Darling was 66 not out and the total 296 for 5.2nd day
Runs again came much more freely than in the previous Test matches. Darling was out trying to drive Verity, and then Lee came in to hit the ball with great power and incidentally to drive Larwood. After defending splendidly for 2 hours and 18 minutes, Oldfield was brilliantly thrown out by Paynter, and then came some useful hitting by O’Reilly and Alexander. It was estimated that England missed 14 chances during the innings, but many of them were very difficult. Larwood again bowled splendidly and deserved better figures, but Allen was handicapped by a strained side. When England batted Jardine never really settled down, but Sutcliffe and Hammond got completely on top of the bowling and it was a surprise when the Yorkshireman was out for a chanceless 56 just before close of play. Hammond was in delightful form, still he gave two possible chances in the slips. When stumps were drawn England had scored 159 for 2, Hammond 72 not out, Larwood 5 not out. Hammond and Jardine protested against Alexander for running up the wicket after delivery.3rd day
When the game was resumed in perfect conditions Larwood scored much more readily than Hammond and reached his 50 in 77 minutes. In the meantime Hammond played with great care and was in for nearly three and a half hours before being lbw. He hit twelve fours and had the distinction of being the only batsman to score two hundreds in this series of Test matches. Joined by Leyland, Larwood continued to bat splendidly, but after hitting Lee from successive balls for 2, 4, 6 and 2, he was caught off the next ball, having batted for two hours and eighteen minutes with one 6. one 5 and nine 4’s as his best strokes. Leyland, hardly at his best, ran himself out, and then there was a quiet spell before Ames, too, was run out. Wyatt and Allen made a useful stand for the eighth wicket, and when the former was caught by Ironmonger at 418 stumps were drawn, Allen being 25 not out. Of the new Australian bowlers, Alexander was expensive, but had one or two chances missed off him. Lee did well with his slow off-breaks and he also suffered from dropped catches.4th day
Allen resumed his innings with Verity as his partner, but the Yorkshireman snicked a ball to Oldfield. Allen hit well with Voce in and was unfortunate to miss his 50, Bradman bringing off a magnificent catch. Australia made another disastrous start, Richardson bagging a pair by being well caught by Allen off Larwood’s second hall. Bradman then came in to partner Woodfull and proceeded to play an innings which was noteworthy for some beautiful strokes – and some most unorthodox ones. He tried to force Larwood’s leg balls to the off and made some highly dangerous strokes, but it was Verity who bowled him after he had been batting for 97 minutes. Bradman hit nine fours. With the dismissal of Bradman at 115, there was a bad collapse, caused chiefly through Verity, who flighted the ball cleverly and appeared’to be taking advantage of the heel marks made by Alexander. O’Brien fell to a catch in the slips McCabe, who was unwell, was caught in the gully, and Darling left at 148 and Oldfield at 161. Woodfull was the next to go, being beaten by Allen’s pace. He had batted nearly three hours for an invaluable innings which contained five fours. At the beginning of his innings Woodfull batted much more freely than usual, but when the collapse began he concentrated on defence. Verity bowled splendidly, but Larwood was handicapped by a swelling on his foot and was off the field from 3.30pm. England had 25 minutes’ batting and Jardine, 6 not out, and Wyatt, 5 not out, played out time.5th day
Ironmonger quickly found a spot caused by Alexander’s run on the wicket, and when Jardine and Leyland, who was bowled off his pads, were out for 43, Australia appeared to have a chance, but Hammond and Wyatt took the score to 70 for 2 at lunch. After the interval Hammond proceeded to attack the bowling and made some tremendous hits, an on-drive off O’Reilly being one of the biggest hits ever seen on the Sydney ground. Wyatt, too, forced the game well and there was a very bright finish with Hammond hitting Lee for a glorious six. The Gloucestershire batsman was in his best form and, apart from his two sixes, hit six fours. Wyatt played remarkably well for three hours and a quarter and had much to do with the victory. Although he appeared to have lost some of his nip, Ironmonger was the only bowler to cause any trouble, O’Reilly appearing to be rather stale after his exertions in the previous Test matches. Lee made a promising first appearance against England, spinning the ball and maintaining a good length.

Easing the pressure: ‘I went to the beach for a swim and a stretch, and felt good coming out tobat’ © Getty Images

Having finished the opening day on 98 not out, Ashwell Prince was upbright and early on Wednesday morning, and he said that the Ashes tussleat the MCG had played its part in inspiring a spirited South Africantail-wag on day two. Having suffered in the heat on Tuesday afternoon,prompting the decision to go off for bad light, Prince carried on to 121,as South Africa went from 257 for 8 to a much healthier 328 all out.”I was up early this morning, watching the Ashes and seeing two batsmenmake centuries,” he said. “I was hoping that I would get my hundred too. Iwent to the beach for a swim and a stretch, and felt good coming out tobat. It was a big decision for me to take the light offer last evening. Icould have stayed on and got my two runs, but I was not physically in aposition to give my best for the team because I was cramping up. I wantedto come back fresh and try and help us get to 300, which was the target.”He refused to be too harsh on his top-order team-mates, few of whom havebeen able to make any sort of impression on the scoreboard during thisseries. “You have to give credit to India, they have been bowling verywell,” he said. “Especially Sreesanth, who has been getting swing awayfrom the right-handers and bounce too. Zaheer [Khan] too has been bowlingvery well. Our batsmen haven’t got out to irresponsible strokes. Theirbowlers have been putting us under pressure.”On Wednesday, South Africa applied some pressure of their own, but a goodafternoon’s work with the ball was ruined by Graeme Smith dropping asimple chance from Sachin Tendulkar at first slip. Prince, who enjoyed areprieve from Tendulkar when he had made just 41, was philosophical aboutthe whole thing. “Sachin is a great batsman, but these things happen,” hesaid. “We just need to keep our heads up and take the next one.”With Jacques Kallis having missed a few games, Prince has been SouthAfrica’s premier Test batsman this year, and he attributed that largely tothe self-belief gained from his 119 made against the very best. “I started offthe year very well with that hundred at the SCG, and it gave me a lot ofconfidence to have made runs against a quality bowling attack,” he said.”I started to believe then that I could play well at this level.”Having made his Test debut in 2002, he then spent two-and-a-half years onthe outer before earning a recall. Along with the breakthrough knockagainst Australia, Prince reckoned that it was the making of him. “I haveplayed some ten years of first-class cricket, and one of the things I havelearnt is that I needed to improve the conversion-rate,” he said, whenasked about his Test tally of five centuries and four 50s. “I needed to upmy game to make big contributions for the team.”Both at the Wanderers and in Durban, those contributions have beenimmense, in a line-up that has been anything but.

Peter Chingoka: fighting fire with fire © Getty Images

The crisis in Zimbabwe cricket plunged to new depths with an escalation in the damaging stand-off between the national executive body and their provincial chairmen.The increasing bitterness was apparent in the tone of Peter Chingoka’s response to a letter from the provincial chairmen which contained demands for explanations of what they described as “unusual financial dealings” by executives and staff.But Chingoka, the Zimbabwe Cricket chairman, dismissed the bulk of the queries, insisting the answers could be found in already published documents. Almost all the others matters raised were, he claimed, routine.In a clear swipe at the chairmen’s involvement in the game, Chingoka said: “I am surprised that responses to most of the questions raised in your document have not been furnished to you and your colleagues who do not sit on the board by those of you who do and some of whom are, in fact, chairmen of various ZC committees. I am sure you will agree with me that those who are chairmen of their respective committees are actually closer than the writer to several issues you raise.”The exposure given to Chingoka’s response in the state-controlled Herald newspaper was in stark contrast to the scant coverage it gave the original meeting of the chairmen on October 21. There was also every indication that this latest incident in an increasingly bitter row between the board and stakeholders was being flagged as a racial battle.The chairmen’s letter probed the board’s finances, asking why ZC made a $2.4 billion loss, why there were no explanations on debts and staff loans, no explanation on income, no breakdown on sponsors and grants of $1.4 billion, and why there was no explanation on secretarial costs that chewed up $3.8 billion. The dossier also accused the board of constantly breaching its own constitution and demanded answers about the package of Ozias Bvute, the ZC managing director.The board’s critics have also accused it of attempting to sidestep any attempted coup by the provincial chairman by creating new provinces and disrupting exiting ones. Max Ebrahim, the chairman of Masvingo and the head of national selection, made clear that there was no racial divide. “It’s a case of six provinces and the players being together,” he said. “It’s a case of stakeholders versus two or three individuals bent on holding on to power.”The deepening crisis is being monitored by the ICC, although as this is a domestic matter, it is unlikely to become directly involved.

Australia’s Test series against India will be shown on live television following an 11th-hour TV rights deal.Fox Sports said it had finalised its rights to show direct telecasts of the four-match series, starting in Bangalore next Wednesday.The telecast – and the series itself – had been in jeopardy because of a legal battle over TV contracts.The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) completed a deal overnight which effectively froze out both initial bidders – Zee Telefilms and the Disney-Murdoch owned ESPN-Star Sports.Live feeds of the matches will now be provided by TEN Sports, with distribution and marketing handled by the BCCI’s old television partner Doordarshan.Fox Sports will pick up the feed for exclusive live telecasts in Australia, which will be hosted by Brendon Julian, the former Test allrounder.

A serious Herschelle Gibbs at the King Commission hearings

Herschelle Gibbs is no stranger to controversy. In a short life he has run foul of the authorities on several occasions, most notably when he became embroiled in the infamous match-fixing scandal with the disgraced former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje. But in an interview with Simon Wilde in the London-based Sunday Times, Gibbs showed little remorse for his involvement with Cronje and even joked that he treated his six-month ban as a “holiday”.”I loved it,” he said when asked about his forced break. “I played golf virtually every week. It wasn’t a difficult time. I’m a happy sort of guy. I don’t really get down about things that don’t go my way.” The life-skills counselling that Gibbs undertook following the hearings appears not to have included the art of thinking before speaking.At the King Commission hearings, Gibbs broke down during questioning, and yet he admitted that soon after he and Cronje “had a good laugh”. And Gibbs added that he held no animosity towards Cronje for getting him involved in the scandal. “No. I never for one minute held it against him.”Barry Richards hinted that Gibbs isn’t necessarily the sharpest card in the pack. “Team management should not burden him with game plans and undue responsibility,” he told Wilde.Perhaps the best assessment of Gibbs comes from Wilde himself. “He is living proof of the dangers inherent in living the blinkered existence of the professional sportsman,” Wilde wrote. “He still laughs at serious issues and often opens mouth before engaging brain.”Click here for the full Sunday Times article

Hampshire Second XI go into their last ECB County Championship match of the season, against Warwickshire at Bournemouth Sports Club, knowing that to clinch the title they will need just 8 (eight) points, and that is surmising Yorkshire would get 20 points from their last match against Durham at Darlington.Both 3-day matches start on Wednesday 5th September.Hampshire have remained unbeaten all season, winning seven of their ten matches, Yorkshire who have played 12 games, have lost two.Tony Middleton, Hampshire’s second XI coach is confident his side can win the title. “They deserve to, the players have all given 100%, and despite first-team injuries during the summer, we have always brought in players ready to fill the gaps. In truth winning the Championship would be nice, but it is the development of the team, and seeing the young players, and one or two older ones vying for first XI places that is more pleasing. We have watched the likes of John Francis, James Schofield and Chris Tremlett all doing well for the firsts, and that is what 2nd XI cricket is all about”.Hampshire eleven: Jason Laney, Andrew Sexton, John Stephenson, Lawrence Prittipaul, Damian Shirazi, Iain Brunnschweiler, Irfan Shah, James Hamblin, Simon Francis, James Schofield.Full match details will be posted on the Hampshire web site each evening, and wicket-keeper Iain Brunnschweiler will be posting a daily report (www.hampshire.cricket.org).

Wolves have had a rather mixed bag of results so far this season, having won 12, drawn four and lost 10 of their 26 Premier League games under Bruno Lage.

In terms of their individual players, one man who has been anything but inconsistent in terms of his performances this season is Rayan Ait-Nouri.

The Midlands club originally signed the left-back on loan from Angers in October 2020 before eventually securing him on a permanent basis in last summer’s transfer window in a deal worth a reported £9.5m. Last season saw the defender make 21 league appearances and chip in with one goal and one assist along the way.

Having made an appearance in 15 league games so far this term, the Frenchman has earned him an overall performance rating of 7.12/10, making him the highest-rated player in Lage’s squad according to WhoScored. Also, it is considerably higher than the rating (6.56/10) he earned last season, showing the improvement he has made since then.

The 20-year-old has also proved himself to be a solid defensive presence for the Old Gold by making 49 tackles in the league, with an average of 3.3 per game. That is higher than any other Wolves player to have started more than two league games, and the joint-second highest in the entire league.

He has also made 15 interceptions and 22 clearances with 15 aerial duels won, showing that he has played a big part in his team’s rather decent defensive record, with just 21 top-flight goals conceded.

The youngster has also shown his manager what a threat he can be going forward, with an average of 1.9 dribbles and 1.1 crosses per game, the highest of any player currently at Molineux for both aspects.

Having been praised for his “phenomenal” performances in the past and called a “standout” player by Tim Spiers, that is certainly what the defender has been for the Midlands club this season, who have clearly made the right decision in keeping hold of him after his loan spell.

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If the £13.5m-rated gem can keep delivering strong performances for his club throughout the remainder of the season, he could well be viewed as arguably Wolves’ most important player for the 2021/22 campaign, as illustrated by his lofty WhoScored ranking.

In other news: Huge setback: John Percy shares worrying Wolves update, it’s a “big blow” for Lage – opinion

Hong Kong have included 43-year-old former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Campbell in their squad for the upcoming World Twenty20, which starts from March 8 in India.Campbell, who has a Hong Kong-Chinese lineage, played two ODIs for Australia in 2002 and has been a part of Hong Kong’s domestic set-up since 2012. He is also the national team’s current batting coach.Campbell had moved to the territory in 2012 to take up a role as head coach at the Kowloon Cricket Club, which he also represented as a player. He scored 160 runs in five matches, including two fifties, for Kowloon CC in the Hong Kong Premier League one-day Tournament in September-October last year.”I’m there to mentor them as I have done for so long,” he said. “It has been a while (since I played international cricket), but if you look at my numbers I think I’m still one of the best batsmen in Hong Kong. Brad Hogg is still going around for the Scorchers and I must admit he’s inspired me a bit to say age is just a number.”The squad for the World T20 also includes James Atkinson who, like Campbell, does not feature in the 15-member team for the Asia Cup. Medium-pacer Adil Mehmood and 19-year-old allrounder Ninad Shah have been picked for the Asia Cup, where Hong Kong will first have to play a qualifying tournament that starts from February 19. Both squads will be led by Tanwir Afzal.Hong Kong coach Simon Cook said that Campbell’s experience would help Hong Kong deal more clearly with high-pressure situations on the field. “His form in Hong Kong has been good in Premier League and Sunday games for Kowloon Cricket Club,” Cook said. “One of the things that we learned about our last World T20 tournament is that having that ability to think clearly in high pressure situations is critical and Ryan’s experience will be an enormous help in that regard.”The qualifying tournament for the Asia Cup will be played between February 19 and 22. Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Oman and UAE will play each other to decide the one Associate who will advance to the main draw involving the region’s four Full Member teams. Hong Kong will then kick off their World T20 campaign with a first-round match against Zimbabwe in Nagpur on March 8.Hong Kong squad for Asia Cup: Tanwir Afzal (capt), Mark Chapman (vice-capt), Haseeb Amjad, Nadeem Ahmed, Tanwir Ahmed, Waqas Barkat, Christopher Carter, Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Aizaz Khan, Waqas Khan, Adil Mehmood, Kinchit Shah, Ninad Shah, Anshuman Rath.Hong Kong squad for World T20: Tanwir Afzal (capt), Mark Chapman (vice-capt), Haseeb Amjad, Nadeem Ahmed, Tanwir Ahmed, James Atkinson, Waqas Barkat, Ryan Campbell, Christopher Carter, Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Aizaz Khan, Waqas Khan, Kinchit Shah, Anshuman Rath.