All posts by h716a5.icu

Manchester United have had a bid rejected for Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane as the race for his signature hots up this summer.

What’s the story?

The Red Devils have been strongly linked with a move for the 28-year-old in recent weeks as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to bolster his first-team squad, and now they’ve made their first move.

A £50m offer was tabled for Varane, but Los Blancos are holding out for closer to £80m despite the World Cup winner only having one year remaining on his current contract, according to the Manchester Evening News.

United must swoop

United are reportedly still in contact with the Spanish giants over a potential deal, as they hope to reach a compromise over Madrid’s asking price.

However, they remain reluctant to match the capital club’s £80m valuation, with Varane set to become a free agent next summer.

The France international has been courted by United for many years now, and it seems as though a transfer could finally be on the cards for the 6 ft 2 centre-back.

David Alaba’s arrival at the Bernabeu means a replacement is already in place, and Madrid’s spiralling debts mean the club’s hierarchy are willing to sell one of their prized assets.

A new partner for Harry Maguire at the heart of defence is thought to be high up on Solskjaer’s wish list for this summer’s transfer window.

Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly have failed to prove their long-term suitability as United aim to challenge for football’s top prizes, meaning Ed Woodward and co. must swoop for Varane this summer.

During his decade-long stint in Spain, the former Lens ace has won four Champions League crowns, three La Liga titles, and one Copa del Rey.

His formidable partnership alongside Sergio Ramos led to ex-Real manager Zinedine Zidane hailing Varane as a “leader”, while Gary Neville labeled him an “amazing player.”

It’s clear that Varane’s addition would strengthen United considerably and edge them closer to an elusive 21st top-flight title, and the supporters will surely be hoping that the club’s hierarchy can get this deal over the line.

The club’s hierarchy simply cannot allow a transfer saga to develop and after failing to secure Jadon Sancho last year, they would risk upsetting the Old Trafford faithful even more.

And, in other news…Woodward heading for huge MUFC transfer mistake over £500k-p/w monster, Ole must avoid 

Tottenham Hotspur ‘like’ Norwich City’s Max Aarons but are waiting for a ‘reasonable bid’ for Serge Aurier, according to football.london’s Alasdair Gold.

The lowdown

Aarons started 45 of Norwich’s 46 Championship matches in 2020/21 as they secured immediate promotion back to the Premier League. The England under-21 international scored two goals over the season, creating 1.4 chances and averaging 1.4 successful dribbles per game (via WhoScored).

It was reported by The Times in April that Norwich, who have recently lost another star of their promotion campaign in Emiliano Buendia, would demand £30m for the right-back.

Aurier wants to leave Spurs and it was suggested by journalist Rudy Galetti last week that he was close to rejoining Paris Saint-Germain, who are managed by former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.

The latest

Gold says that the situation with Aurier is ‘quite simple’ – Spurs won’t stand in his way if their demands are met. That price tag is thought to be lower than the €20m (£17.1m) quoted in the PSG links from Galetti.

If Aurier does leave, Tottenham will make a move for a replacement, and Aarons is a possible option, particularly as the club ‘need some homegrown signings’ according to Gold.

The verdict

Aarons would be an exciting addition if Spurs can bring him in, potentially slotting straight into the first team ahead of Matt Doherty, who struggled for regular game-time and form in his first season in North London.

The Norwich starlet part of a hugely exciting generation of English right-backs which also includes Trent Alexander-Arnold and Reece James.

He may not be an assist machine at the outset – he only delivered 0.8 crosses per game at Norwich last season – but there is plenty of time for his game to develop, and his homegrown status serves only to add further weight to him being an ideal candidate to fill the void that Aurier could leave.

In other news, Fabrizio Romano has dropped an update on Spurs’ manager hunt. 

One more major factor has to be kept in mind while analysing India’schances and that is that they are in a group in which no team is apushover

Partab Ramchand13-Sep-2002Going through the list of teams fancied by the bookies to win the ICCChampions Trophy, I was slightly taken aback to see India third in thelist. They are ranked just behind prohibitive favourites Australia andSouth Africa in the list of those fancied to take the trophy – andahead of hosts Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and well ahead of England, NewZealand, West Indies and Zimbabwe.

---

One more major factor has to be kept in mind while analysing India’schances and that is that they are in a group in which no team is apushover. In each of the three other pools, there is at least one teamthat can be rated as being there just to fill the numbers. India hasEngland and Zimbabwe in their group and neither of them can beregarded as no-hopers.

---

Capable as the Indian team undoubtedly is, I wish I could share theoptimism of the bookies. Evidently, the fine showing in England cappedby the triumph in the NatWest series has influenced their choicesomewhat. But while the display in the NatWest competition was reallycommendable, especially the manner in which the Indians won the titleclash against England, it certainly does not constitute a majortriumph.Come to think of it, when did India last notch up a major titlevictory? Not one really, since the outstanding double of the World Cupand the World Championship of Cricket triumphs, almost two decadesago.The Indian team frequently acquires this irritating habit of promisingmore than they deliver, of not playing up to potential, of falteringat the final hurdle. Like they did in the last Champions Trophy atNairobi when after successive victories over Australia and SouthAfrica, they went down to New Zealand in the final. It is moreprobable, then, that India’s overall performance in the tournamentmight have something to do with the bookies line of thinking, for inthe inaugural year of the competition in 1998, India defeatedAustralia before losing to West Indies in the penultimate round.Sure, on potential, the Indian team has it in them to win theChampions Trophy ­ and other limited-overs competitions. With arguablythe best batting line-up in the world, including unarguably the bestplayer in the game today, the Indians should be making mountains ofruns. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.And, then, there is the problem with the bowling. Sure, the weaknessin this department may not be as palpable on the sub-continent as whenit is exposed in England, Australia, South Africa or the West Indies.Again the paucity may not be as pronounced in the limited-overs gameas it is in Test cricket. But there is no way one can argue that it isa strong attack. Also perennial problems like poor fielding and poorrunning between wickets are always there, though, of late, thanks tothe induction of youth, there has admittedly been some improvement.One more major factor has to be kept in mind while analysing India’schances and that is that they are in a group in which no team is apushover. In each of the three other pools, there is at least one teamthat can be rated as being there just to fill the numbers. India hasEngland and Zimbabwe in their group and neither of them can beregarded as no-hopers.In other groups, it is always going to be more or less a straightfight between Australia and New Zealand, West Indies and South Africaand Sri Lanka and Pakistan (which the hosts have already won) to enterthe semifinals. In Pool two, which is India’s group, all three teamshave a realistic chance of qualifying for the penultimate round.One victory does not guarantee them a place in the knock-out stagewhile one defeat does not mean that the team is knocked out. Itcertainly is the most intriguing group in the competition. On presentform, there is no reason why India should not beat England andZimbabwe, particularly on sub-continent pitches. But one-day cricketis all about having one good game or one bad game on the day. Indiawill have to be wary and cannot afford to be complacent on the basisof their good record against both the countries at home, or inconditions very close to home.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has appointed formerRedbacks captain, Jamie Siddons, as the new Assistant Coach for the Stateside.

South Australian Cricket Association18-Oct-2002The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has appointed formerRedbacks captain, Jamie Siddons, as the new Assistant Coach for the Stateside.Siddons, who retired from first-class cricket in 2000, represented Australiain One Day Internationals, and captained both the Victorian and SouthAustralian State teams.As a middle-order batsman, Siddons scored more than ten thousand runs inSheffield Shield/Pura Cup matches – making him the most prolific scorer inthe competition’s history.Siddons joins the SACA following the departure of Tim Nielsen who recentlyjoined the Australian side as Assistant Coach.SACA’s State Manager of Cricket, Mr Greg Chappell, said the SACA was verypleased to have Siddons on board.”At such a critical time of the season, we are very fortunate to havesecured Jamie to join the State coaching team ,” Mr Chappell said.”Jamie brings to the SACA a wealth of knowledge and experience, and as arecently retired player and captain, he has a proven track record as avalued leader. His leadership skills and knowledge of the game of cricketwill be an enormous asset to our State squad.”

A number of Liverpool fans are unsure about the prospect of the Reds signing Kingsley Coman following an update over the weekend.

Jurgen Klopp may be on the lookout for attacking reinforcements this summer, providing even more competition for places. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino will all be vying for playing time next season, but a fifth strong option wouldn’t go amiss.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

According to Sport 1 journalist Florian Plettenburg on Twitter on Sunday, Liverpool are interested in signing Bayern Munich winger Coman. The Reds are thought to be ‘in contact’ with the 25-year-old’s management, although a decision won’t be made until after his participation at Euro 2020 with France.

The £58.5m-rated attacker has scored 41 goals and registered 50 assists in 200 appearances for Bayern, famously netting the only goal in the 2020 Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-5/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans excited after Coman update

Despite this, these Liverpool took to Twitter to show their displeasure at Coman being linked with the Reds, with some citing his injury record as a reason for their negativity. Others cited concerns over previous off-field misbehaviour and how that might negatively impact the Anfield dressing room.

“Ahhhh he’s so good but he’s injury-prone as it is, and with our horrible medical team it will be even worse”

Credit: @BackAgainBro

“I seriously don’t know what to make of this, seems very unlike Liverpool to go after someone so injury prone, personally I’d take him but who’s he going to be playing over? Won’t happen anyway cause FSG won’t spend a penny”

Credit: @Matty1999lfc

“I couldn’t think of a worse player to move for from LFC point of view. Poison in a dressing room and this stinks of using LFC to leverage that new contract at Bayern he’s after lately “

Credit: @John__Chubb

“He’s a baller but he’s so injury prone. I don’t want to be sold dreams again”

Credit: @ahmedlfc

“Another injury-prone Bundesliga player? Jurgen bro other leagues exist…”

Credit: @lfcOscar11

“If we sign Kingsley Coman then this club is finished”

Credit: @buuuugsas

In other news, a reliable journalist has provided a key update on one rumoured Liverpool transfer target. Find out who it is here.

Aston Villa have been encouraged in their attempts to sign Southampton star James Ward-Prowse this summer, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Praised by the best…

We first heard of Villa’s interest in Ward-Prowse a day after the club agreed a deal for Emiliano Buendia.

Reports in the middle of June suggested that owners Wes Edens and Naseef Sawiris would back a big-money move and wanted to seal a deal in time of the club’s return for pre-season training.

The 26-year-old, who scored two free-kicks against Villa last season, was hailed by Pep Guardiola as the best free-kick taker he has seen in his life, and it seems as if Villa are still keen on the set-piece specialist.

The Latest: Source shares update

According to Football Insider, who were informed by a recruitment source, Villa are now readying a bid for the Saints captain.

That will come after other parts of their transfer jigsaw fall into place, with Villa given third-party indications that Ward-Prowse is keen on a move to the Midlands.

The England international is impressed with the club’s ambition and views a potential move to Villa Park as an upgrade on the Saints.

The Verdict: It could take another club-record fee…

It’s good to know that Edens and Sawiris are willing to throw their financial might behind a move for Ward-Prowse, as it could well take another club-record fee to bring him to the club.

Villa spent £34.56m on Buendia earlier this summer, with his Transfermarkt valuation at the time standing at £19.8m.

Ward-Prowse currently holds a £27m valuation on the same site and still has a whopping four years remaining on his St Mary’s deal.

On that basis, the Saints may not want to sell unless an eye-catching offer comes in, and you’d expect that would have to be over £35m.

In other news: ‘Good mates with Jack’ – Many AVFC fans erupt as transfer comments emerge on ‘quality’ 25 y/o, find out more here. 

Barry Jarman, a former Australian captain and international match referee for eight years, said this week that Illegal bowling actions, declining attendances and over-use of the third umpire are significant problems to be overcome if Test cricket is

Ken Piesse for Cricket Week14-Nov-2002Barry Jarman, a former Australian captain and international match referee for eight years, said this week that Illegal bowling actions, declining attendances and over-use of the third umpire are significant problems to be overcome if Test cricket is to retain its status as a bastion of world sport.In a Cricket Week exclusive, Jarman says putting aside the vibrant interest in the current Ashes contests, administrators worldwide are facing an on-going struggle to woo fans.He predicts fresh controversies over the bowling actions of many – not just the controversial Sri Lankan Muthiah Muralidaran – and says the rush to involve technology could backfire and force some fans away.Now 66 and free of his ICC refereeing responsibilities, Jarman says the growing imbalance in power at the top could be a further problem for the game and its sponsors.Unless the players truly entertained and more countries were competitive, television would lose interest and sponsors withdraw, creating a “domino-style” set of problems for the game at all levels.A 19-Test player for Australia in the late ’50s and ’60s, Jarman says one-day cricket is helping to pay Test cricket’s mounting bills.”Unfortunately there’s not many people around the world, outside England and Australia, who still go along in numbers to Test matches,” he said.” They don’t go in India and Pakistan. The crowds in South Africa have fallen away too.”I used to say to the guys before the start of a new series how they can make or break the game by the way they play. I stressed that they were the entertainers and were paid to entertain. And if they didn’t, no-one would go to Test cricket anymore, the TV people and the sponsors would drop out and the players would be hit in the hip pocket.”Jarman says throwing is also a raging issue, which has been ignored for far too long.”There are a lot of them around in almost all the sides now,” he said.”All the players know about them… I knew it was going to happen… (but) it’s too hot to handle. You bring it up in a meeting and they (the ICC) don’t want to know about it.”Jarman says he’d reported the high-profiled Murali in New Zealand during his first tour to New Zealand and when the star Sri Lankan had taken less than 50 wickets.”I’ve never been asked to do a game involving Sri Lanka since,” he said.Jarman says he’s seen Murali bowl leg-spin with a straight arm, so why couldn’t he also bowl with a similarly correct action when delivering off-breaks?”If he — and others – even partially straighten their arm it’s illegal,” said Jarman, who believes if administrators continue to allow bowlers with doubtful actions to play unchecked, the wording of rule 24.3 should be altered accordingly.”Right now, as the law stands, they do not deliver the ball legally,” he says.He says experiments to use the third umpire in lbw decisions, as occurred at the mini-World Cup in spring, created more potential problems than they solved.”It’ll finish up that they’ll never finish a day’s play,” he said.”I’ve seen (Shane) Warne appeal six balls out of 6. If he was to wait for the third umpire to give a decision each time he’s going to bowl a 10 minute over, or more.”Jarman said if lbw decisions are to be constantly referred to a third umpire, there is a danger that a batting side would all be dismissed leg before.And if the contentious dismissals are played and replayed on the big screens at grounds, it can pressure the third umpire into making incorrect decisions.”I have twice seen third umpires push the wrong button because he’s under pressure from people out in the crowd,” said Jarman.”Play them as much as you like at home, as long as the third umpire can’t hear the people from home yelling and shouting.. it’s like Shirley Bassey’s left arm. It’s not right and it’s not fair.”Jarman believes the technology should be restricted where needed to video replays for stumpings, run-outs and for line-ball boundary decisions.He said umpires are more inclined to uphold lbw appeals now, as if they don’t they’ll be grilled via the slow motion replays which are now such a part of cricket.”Previously it was easy to say not out,” he said.He said criticism that no Australian umpires are standing in the current Ashes series was not an issue among the players.”You don’t want to have any grey areas,” he said. “We can’t have visiting teams thinking any decision is a home town decision.”

Last week was a period of surprising news at Parkhead as Dominic McKay got to work with Ange Postecoglou on shaping the squad for next season.

On the chalkboard

The Hoops signed versatile defender Osaze Urhoghide just hours after confirming a new deal for Leigh Griffiths.

It was a strange decision for a player who has so regularly been second fiddle to Odsonne Edouard.

Some members of the Parkhead faithful were keen to see a man known as one of the best finishers at the club handed a one-year extension.

However, others were perplexed that he was going to form part of the club’s rebuild.

Griffiths has been off the pace for a while now and ended last term with just seven goals to his name.

That was one more than Albian Ajeti but you sense there would be a greater use of the club’s resources.

The solution

Celtic could look towards Vakoun Issouf Bayo following his return to the club. The Ivorian spent last season on loan at Toulouse where he bagged 13 times.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-news-doig-nketiah-mccann” title= “Read the latest Celtic transfer news!”]

Though, the Hoops could also dip their toes into the transfer market. The Daily Mail reported towards the end of last week that Celtic were interested in signing Hibernian forward Kevin Nisbet.

The striker made three substitute appearances for Scotland at Euro 2020, earning a place in the team after a fine campaign with Hibs.

Jack Ross is willing to do a deal but only if a willing suitor coughs up around the £4m mark.

Nisbet has progressed exceptionally well over the last 12 months, scoring 18 goals in all competitions. 14 of those strikes came in the Premiership, meaning that only Edouard found the net on more occasions in the entire division.

Speaking about the 24-year-old back in May, Frank McAvennie commented: “I would sign him, I’d love to get him but I don’t think it will happen. I like him a lot, he’s a wonderful player.

“I don’t know if he can be that focal point. For a decent price, he’s a good buy. But he’s not the finished article.”

McAvennie is right to doubt his capabilities as Celtic’s main forward but if Edouard does end up staying, he’d be a superb back-up, someone with a better recent history in front of goal than Griffiths.

He is also approaching the prime of his career, whereas Celtic’s number 9 is now into the latter stages.

At just £4m, this move would be a snip. He’s proven in the division, unlike Albian Ajeti who set the Hoops back £5m last summer.

AND in other news, Celtic submit bid to sign £3.5m gem who may end up “like Busquets”, he’s a big upgrade…

Cricket fans are being given a bonus extension to apply for tickets forindividual matches for the ICC Cricket World Cup South Africa 2003

Rodney Hartman07-Nov-2002Cricket fans are being given a bonus extension to apply for tickets forindividual matches for the ICC Cricket World Cup South Africa 2003.The Ticket Window, a random draw ballot, opened on October 8 and wasoriginally intended to close tomorrow, Friday, 8 November.To maximize the opportunity for the public to apply for tickets, it has beendecided to extend this window of opportunity for a further two weeks.Fans now have until midday on Friday 22 November to apply for tickets inthis way.The CWC 2003 Final in Johannesburg next March 23 is totally sold out anddoes not feature in the Ticket Window.Members of the public can make application for other individual matches onany of the three ticket sales channels – at the CWC stadiums themselves, onthe official website www.cricketworldcup.com or via the callcentre hotline on+27-83-123-2003.Although many of the matches are already oversubscribed, all applicationsduring the six-week window will stand an equal chance of success.There will be a random draw for each match. The names of all people whoapplied for a particular match will go into the draw. Names will be randomlyselected by computer until all the seats available for the match have beenassigned to winners. The random draw from November 25 will be closelymonitored by the auditing firm Deloitte and Touche.Customers’ success or failure will be conveyed to them from December 2, atwhich time the successful applicants may make their purchases until thecutoff date on January 10. Thereafter, they will forfeit the chance topurchase the tickets allocated to them.Current holders of Stadium Packages for Wanderers in Johannesburg,Supersport Park in Centurion, Kingsmead in Durban, Newlands in Cape Town andSt George’s Park in Port Elizabeth cannot apply through the Ticket Windowfor individual matches at those venues.No money will change hands until customers have been notified of theirsuccess. Tickets will then be sold to them on the sales channel of theirchoice.Apart from the website, Ticket Window applications may be made on thecallcentre hotline between 07h00 SA Time (05h00 GMT) and 19h00 SA Time(17h00 GMT) seven days a week; or at CWC stadiums from 09h00-16h00 Monday toFriday.

Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh offered a hint of the menace that may yet allow his side to recover from their poor first innings batting and steal the initiative from New Zealand in the first National Bank Series Test at the Basin Reserve in

Lynn McConnell13-Dec-2002Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh offered a hint of the menace that may yet allow his side to recover from their poor first innings batting and steal the initiative from New Zealand in the first National Bank Series Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington today.New Zealand lost Nathan Astle, Scott Styris and Jacob Oram in the space of five runs towards the end of the abbreviated second day’s play and were teetering on the brink of disaster before Mark Richardson, playing another of his “we-will-fight-them-on-beaches”-type innings and Robbie Hart shored up the innings towards stumps.The lead for the home side, by the completion of the 55 overs available on the day, had reached 40 with Richardson on 83 and Daniel Vettori still to face a ball.He came in after Hart received a questionable leg before wicket decision from Daryl Harper.It has not been a perfect example of the benefits of the elite umpiring panel. That decision by Harper went with more made by Asoka de Silva at the other end and while Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal yesterday was debateable so too was that for Test debutant Oram today.But all umpiring complaints aside, the New Zealanders largely have themselves to blame for their position and the fact is that it is going to take some remarkable batting tomorrow for them to get out of this hole.Harbhajan was able to utilise the bounce available in the pitch to splendid effect against New Zealanders who traditionally struggle with containing quality spin bowlers. Harbhajan had two for 22 off his 13 overs while Zaheer Khan, who was the most consistent of the Indian pace attack, took three for 42 in a fine display of controlled bowling.With the new ball available four overs into tomorrow, India must be keen to make good use of the assistance that is still in the pitch.Of the New Zealanders only Richardson stood firm among the chaos, totally implacable, as has become his trademark.There is so much to admire in the mature approach Richardson brings to his craft. It is not hard to understand why he is relishing every moment in the middle. It is a summer which due to the constraints imposed by the World Cup he has only a maximum of four innings in which to play international cricket, and that is not the sort of diet Richardson enjoys.Scoring runs and grinding down opposition attacks as much through his applied concentration as through an acknowledged basic technique that allows few flourishes, he continually impresses as the sort of fighter this New Zealand team needs.The rest of the batting cast failed to offer anything like confidence that the batsmen are anywhere near the top of their game.Stephen Fleming, having offered some hope that he was in for something big on last night’s first evening, failed to get beyond first gear today and played too far from his pads to left-armer Khan. The ball came back through the gap, clipped the top of his back pad and cannoned into the wickets when he had scored 25.Craig McMillan, promoted to No 4, had looked to up the tempo almost from the outset and at one stage dragged Richardson through to complete an all-run four, although McMillan touched down with an undignified dive as he attempted to beat Harbhajan Singh’s throw from the cover boundary. He just made it.Several shots from the New Zealanders failed to reach the rope, holding up as the dampness on the outfield took effect.Astle looked to be just starting to free up with some of his pull shots, straight drives and flashing cut shots being unleashed, when he got a shorter ball from Khan which stood up on him and caught him in its headlights. That allowed the ball to climb off the splice of his bat in the direction of cover-point where Harbhajan eventually got hold of the chance.Astle’s 41 came in a 70-run partnership with Richardson for the fourth wicket but his dismissal exposed the all-rounders Styris and Oram, and they both succumbed to Harbhajan’s off spin, for ducks. Styris was stumped from the fourth he faced while Oram was unlucky to be given out leg before wicket to a ball that looked to be missing the left-hander’s off stump, especially when considering how far the tall Oram’s front leg was down the pitch.Hart toiled to ensure a rout was not completed for 49 minutes but was out to the last ball of the penultimate over. He had added only 15 runs with Richardson but the steadying influence allowed New Zealand to fight again today.Play ended at 7.47pm in good light as New Zealand nears its longest day of the summer, but that was still 47 minutes after the extended closing time. A howling wind continued to blow, gusting quite severely in the latter stages of the day.