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With the Premier League season fast approaching, Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa will no doubt have some idea of what his starting line-up for his side’s first game of the campaign will be.

But pre-season can often throw up some exciting twists, with fringe players making their mark and really forcing their way into the manager’s plans.

And against Guiseley on Tuesday night, it was Crysencio Summerville who put in the kind of display that will have given Bielsa some food for thought.

The 19-year-old looked in good touch as the Whites ran out 3-2 winners, with Summerville netting the opening goal of the contest from a spot-kick having done some fine work with the ball at his feet.

The teenager then set up Leeds’ decisive third by winning the ball back and finding Charlie Allen to fire home.

And, writing on Twitter after the game, Leeds Live’s Joe Donnohue said: “Cody Drameh and Crysencio Summerville were great together down the right flank for Leeds’ U23s last season. Seems like more of the same this year. Drameh an excellent carrier, weightless going forward. Summerville a wriggler, impossible to handle.”

Described as a “bag of tricks” by Chris Powell – his former coach when he was a teenager at Dutch side ADO Den Haag – Summerville scored a hat-trick against Burnley on just his second start for the U23s last season.

In total, he bagged an impressive six goals and provided a further six assists in just 12 Premier League 2 games, including netting in the final game of the campaign.

The 19-year-old is an exciting winger who can play on either flank and while he might be diminutive in stature at just 5 foot 9, he more than makes up for it with his quick feet and agility.

Summerville himself said earlier this year: “I often hear that there are doubts because of my physical condition, but when you are on the field, you are not concerned with that. There are often big defenders in front of me, I have to be smart about that. I know I’m agile and try to play with my mind.”

Given his pace and trickery, there’s a lot to get excited about when you consider Summerville could line up alongside Raphinha not just next season, but for the years to come too.

The duo would give Bielsa’s side an eye-catching attack that can beat players one on one and have the end product to match too.

If Bielsa is looking at unleashing a youngster over the coming weeks, then Summerville may be the man for the job.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has dropped an update on Leeds United’s search for a central midfielder…

Sunderland are closing in on a deal to bring Daniel Jebbison to the Stadium of Light this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Northern Echo, who claimed that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is in discussions over a season-long loan deal for the Sheffield United centre-forward, who was in attendance for the Black Cats’ 2-1 victory against Hull City on Friday.

The report added that the Blades manager Slavisa Jokanovic does not feel that the 18-year-old is ready for regular first team football at Championship level and is duly prepared to sanction the temporary departure of the highly-rated forward this summer.

Finally, it is claimed a number of clubs are interested in signing the England under-18 international ahead of the new season, but the striker’s presence at the Stadium of Light this week might suggest that Lee Johnson’s side are close to completing a deal.

Louis-Dreyfus masterclass

Sunderland are desperately in need of attacking additions ahead of their upcoming League One campaign, with both Charlie Wyke and Chris Maguire having left the club at the end of last season, so the prospective addition of such an exciting prospect in Jebbison would be something of a transfer masterclass by Louis-Dreyfus.

Indeed, having burst onto the Sheffield United scene by becoming the youngest-ever player to score on their first Premier League start in the Blades’ 1-0 win over Everton last season, interest in the youngster became apparent very quickly, with the likes of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United and Chelsea all reported to be monitoring the striker.

Pundits were also quick to praise the £900k-rated starlet, with Micah Richard dubbing the forward Sheffield United’s “shining light,” describing his landmark performance against the Toffees as “fantastic.”

In addition to his first team heroics, the 18-year-old has netted six goals in as many appearances for the Blades’ under-18 side in FA Youth Cup action, hinting that he could be a regular scorer for whichever team he represents.

As such, despite his tender age, it would appear to be a rather large coup for Sunderland should they get a deal over the line for Jebbison in the coming days. The centre-forward seems to have the ability to help fire the Mackems to promotion next season – something which would undoubtedly leave fans of the club buzzing.

In other news: Louis-Dreyfus dealt another transfer blow over £540k-rated “threat”, he’d be a big miss for Sunderland

Chaminda Vaas and Chamara Silva are notable absentees from Sri Lanka’s squad for the Canada Cup Four Nation Twenty20 tournament to be played in Toronto next month

Cricinfo staff17-Sep-2008
Thilina Kandamby has been included in Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 squad after impressing in South Africa © AFP
Chaminda Vaas and Chamara Silva are notable absentees from Sri Lanka’s squad for the Canada Cup Four Nation Twenty20 tournament to be played in Toronto next month, while Dilhara Lokuhettige, Jeevantha Kulatunga and Thilina Kandamby have been rewarded for consistent first-class contributions.Kumar Sangakkara, who underwent a surgery on the index finger of his right hand last week in Australia, and Muttiah Muralitharan, also nursing an injury, were not considered for selection. Farveez Maharoof makes a comeback after an eight-month injury lay-off.Vaas, who recently became the fourth bowler to take 400 one-day international wickets, was replaced by the 28-year-old Lokuhettige, an allrounder who played eight ODIs in 2005.Silva, who scored 878 runs at 46.21 in 2007, has been dropped after failing to score more than one fifty in his last 11 ODI innings; his last three scores, all against India, read 0, 0, 1.He was dropped in place of Kandamby, who top scored with 463 runs at 77.16 in Sri Lanka A’s tour of South Africa. Captain of the A side, Kandamby was among the probables for the Champions Trophy. He is seen as primarily a one-day specialist and played four ODIs in 2004.Kulatunga, 34, has been called up for the first time in an 18-year first-class career. He has been a prolific scorer in domestic cricket and in May steered his club Wayamba to a 31-run victory in the inaugural inter-provincial Twenty20 final against Ruhuna.Otherwise there are no major changes to the ODI squad that lost 3-2 to India at home last month. With Sangakkara ruled out due to a finger injury, Tillakaratne Dilshan will keep wickets.The four-nation Twenty20 tournament, also involving Pakistan, Zimbabwe and hosts Canada, was scheduled to be held between August 14-17, but was postponed due to sponsorship issues. Bangladesh were slated to feature in the tournament, but the revised dates clash with their home series against New Zealand.Sri Lanka Squad: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Udawatte, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Tillakaratne Dilshan (wk), Jeevantha Kulatunga, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilina Thushara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilina Kandamby, Dilhara Fernando, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Kaushalya Weeraratne.

Sky Sports’ Michael Bridge believes that Bournemouth’s Arnaut Danjuma would be an adequate replacement for either Lucas Moura or Steven Bergwijn at Tottenham.

The 24-year-old has only come to the attention of the Premier League in recent months after producing heroics for the Cherries last season.

Danjuma scored 15 goals and added seven assists in the Championship, although his impressive efforts couldn’t help Bournemouth return immediately to the topflight.

However, Danjuma’s efforts might just have earned himself a move to a Premier League club.

He’s already been linked with Villarreal, who saw a £13m bid knocked back, whilst the flying winger is on Southampton and Aston Villa’s radar.

But whilst Tottenham have signed young Spaniard Bryan Gil, they’re set to listen to offers for Moura, whilst Bergwijn have been linked with a move back to Holland.

Spurs have already lost Erik Lamela, and with Gareth Bale now staying at Real Madrid, Nuno Espirito Santo could end up short in the wide areas.

With that in mind, Bridge told Football FanCast that he thinks Danjuma is good enough for topflight level:

“I would go as far and say, if Tottenham sold Bergwijn and Moura, I think he would do a job at Tottenham, I think he’s really good, he’s Premier League material.”

David Morgan has said that the US$70 million proposal between Sri Lanka Cricket and IPL chairman Lalit Modi was “quite unacceptable behaviour against the background of Sri Lanka’s signed agreement with the ECB”

Cricinfo staff12-Oct-2008David Morgan, the ICC president, has said the US$70 million proposal between Sri Lanka Cricket and IPL chairman Lalit Modi is “quite unacceptable behaviour against the background of Sri Lanka’s signed agreement with the ECB”.The has quoted Morgan condemning the deal, which, if ratified by the BCCI, would force the abandonment of Sri Lanka’s Test series in England in May 2009. According to the report, Morgan pointed out that only last month the ICC reaffirmed the primacy of Test cricket with the unanimous agreement of all Full Members.Sri Lanka’s tour is due to run from April 21 to May 30, while the IPL is scheduled for April 10-May 25. The series clashes with the latter stages of the IPL’s second season, and a number of the Sri Lankan squad – such as captain Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara – have signed lucrative contracts to play in the IPL.Sri Lanka’s sports minister, Gamini Lokuge, asked the board to release players for the IPL, indicating that Sri Lanka could be forced to field a second-string side to England. In September, Arjuna Ranatunga, the interim committee chief of SLC, insisted the tour would go ahead. “We have a memorandum of understanding with the England and Wales Cricket Board for the tour and we must honour that,” he said.Sri Lanka’s one-day tour of Pakistan was cancelled in April-May this year because the dates clashed with the IPL’s inaugural tournament.

Intikhab Alam acknowledged there may have been unease within the team, but said the issue was not something that cannot be easily resolved through open, honest communication

Cricinfo staff08-Nov-2008
Intikhab Alam: “Maybe it [the reports of unease] is correct. But I spoke to Malik as an elder. I’m sure whatever issues we have are from small misunderstandings” © AFP
Much of the surprise over the appointment of Intikhab Alam as coach of Pakistan has emanated from not knowing precisely what he brings, in this day and age, to the set-up. Yet days ahead of his first assignment, it is becoming clearer what qualities he will bring.Almost from the day of his appointment as captain last year, Shoaib Malik is said to have shared an uneasy relationship with senior members in the side. Mohammad Yousuf, recently signed up with the Lahore Badshahs of the ICL, was the first – and so far only player – to go public with the dissatisfaction but he isn’t the only one.At a two-day training camp ahead of the ODI series against West Indies, Intikhab acknowledged there may have been unease within the team, but said the issue was not something that cannot be easily resolved through open, honest communication.Along with the manager Yawar Saeed, Intikhab held a long multi-purpose meeting with the team on Friday: to set out his plans for the side and also allow grievances to come out in the open. It is believed at least two of the more experienced members in the squad took the opportunity to vent some frustration with Malik.Renowned from his first stint as coach in the early 1990s as a man-manager of some skill, Intikhab downplayed the differences. “I won’t hide anything,” he said. “Yawar and I gave the boys an opportunity to talk openly and we said if anyone does have any issues to resolve do it here and now. The meeting was held in a good atmosphere and reservations came out in it.”Maybe it [the reports of unease] is correct. But I spoke to Malik as an elder. I’m sure whatever issues we have are from small misunderstandings. If they are left then they grow but it is nothing major.”Communication, he stressed, would be the key. “I feel a lack of communication often is the biggest problem. There should always be open communication between players and the management. As an elder, it is particularly important for me to do so with the younger guys because at this age, they don’t always know about life outside cricket.”Aaqib Javed, his assistant, and often touted as a future national coach, has been actively involved in team trainings, going so far as to have a bowl at the tailenders in nets today at the National Stadium in Karachi. But for now Intikhab is the head honcho and reports of his loose grasp of modern-day coaching methods may be slightly exaggerated.”I’ve been looking at and analysing videos of the West Indies team,” he said. “They’ve got a good ODI side and a few new faces. As coach my work is to be fully prepared. I have to do that background work to help the captain to devise strategies for opponents and that can only happen when you have complete knowledge.”

An update has emerged regarding Aston Villa’s interest in Norwich midfielder Todd Cantwell.

What’s the talk?

The Athletic’s Michael Bailey has stated that Aston Villa will not be pursuing a deal for the 23-year-old this summer. He was omitted from Norwich’s pre-season friendly clash with Newcastle due to a knock, with Bailey tweeting to confirm that it was because of a challenge in training and that he will not be joining Villa in this window.

This comes after Football Insider reported earlier this month that Villa have been working on a transfer for the youngster. It was also reported that Norwich could demand as much as £50m for Cantwell.

Fans must be relieved

Aston Villa fans must be relieved to read this update, as it means that the club will not make an expensive blunder before the end of the transfer window.

It is worth noting the wording in Bailey’s tweet. He stated that Villa will not be signing the Englishman in ‘this window’, which doesn’t mean that they are not interested in him. It suggests that the report from Football Insider may have been correct, but Johan Lange later decided against potentially splashing £50m on him, shelving the interest for a future transfer window.

Cantwell has one year left on his Norwich deal, but the Canaries have an option to extend it by a further year. This means that he is likely to have 12 months left by the time next summer comes around, and that could allow Villa to swoop in at a more attractive price, as the East Anglian club would be facing the prospect of losing him on a free transfer in 2023 if he opts against extending his contract.

Villa supporters must therefore be relieved that Lange has made the decision not to sign him this month. Why spend £50m on a player whose contract situation could significantly reduce that fee next year? This appears to be a sensible decision from the Villa chief and one which should get fans’ approval.

Former Norwich player and coach Darren Huckerby once admitted that Cantwell could be intimidated by the opposition players. He told The Athletic: “He was always the most gifted, but needed more work mentally than the others. He would admit it himself he could get intimidated by other players, and it’s great to see where he is now, because five years ago you might have said it would be touch and go.”

His statistics in comparison to Emi Buendia also suggest that £50m would be a sizeable overpayment from Villa. The Argentine, who cost the club £33m, managed nine more goals and 10 more assists than Cantwell whilst playing for Norwich in the Championship last term. Therefore, Villa should not be paying £17m more for the English playmaker than they did for Buendia.

AND in other news, Lange must secure Aston Villa swoop for “hardworking” gem who “will go very far”…

Following their disappointing Champions League exit earlier this week, it seems as if Rangers will have to sell some key players this summer, and Borna Barisic could be one of the first to leave Ibrox, with Roma being tipped to sign the Croatian.

What’s the word?

After missing out on the reported £40m bonus of reaching the Champions League group stages, Rangers no longer look to be in the best financial position, especially when you consider Steven Gerrard’s net spend during his time at the club.

Therefore, it was always likely that some of the top performers in his squad would be linked with moves away, and it seems as if Roma could test Rangers’ resolve with a bid for starting left-back Barisic before the transfer window shuts.

According to Italian journalist Gabriel Antoniazzi on PLZ Soccer, Roma have been keen on the 28-year-old in the past 12 months, and Rangers could sell him this summer as they look to make a profit on the £2.2m they paid to sign him from NK Osijek in 2018.

Could Barisic leave Rangers?

Considering that Barisic’s contract at Ibrox is set to run until 2024, and he is currently valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt, Rangers are in a strong position when it comes to selling him and would almost certainly make a profit on the left-back should he join a club such as Roma this summer.

Gerrard also has two youngsters in Calvin Bassey and Nathan Patterson who could potentially fill in for the Croatian if he were to leave Ibrox, and that could go some way towards solving the problem of fitting Patterson and James Tavernier in the same starting side.

However, Barisic has proven himself to be a top-quality left-back during his time at Ibrox, with former Rangers ace Alex Rae labelling him “terrific” in 2020 amid links with Tottenham Hotspur.

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776”]

During his three years at Ibrox, the left-back has contributed an impressive seven goals and 32 assists in 115 appearances for the Teddy Bears, so it would undoubtedly be a blow to lose him. Rangers fans will no doubt be frustrated that their side blew such a good chance to reach the Champions League group stage, and that they may have to cash in on key players such as Barisic as a result, thus worsening the mood.

In other news… Wilson can sign Rangers’ next Ryan Kent with swoop for 24 y/o “top player”

Harbhajan Singh has hit back at Adam Gilchrist’s comments on Sachin Tendulkar and said that Gilchrist was not respected anyway due to his own on-field behaviour

Cricinfo staff25-Oct-2008
The war of words involving Adam Gilchrist, Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh has continued © AFP
Harbhajan Singh has hit back at Adam Gilchrist’s comments on Sachin Tendulkar and said that Gilchrist was not respected anyway due to his own on-field behaviour. Gilchrist labelled as a “joke” the evidence Tendulkar gave in January during the hearing into Harbhajan’s alleged racist remarks against Andrew Symonds.”He should not be talking about Sachin. It is all rubbish,” Harbhajan told the . “We don’t respect him. He pretends to be a saint and people say he walks when he nicks, but why did he appeal when batsmen don’t nick?”He always changes his mind according to a situation. If Australia is close to a victory he is always going up [appealing], whether it is out or not out. We don’t need him to say these things [about Tendulkar] just because he is retired.”Harbhajan was alleged to have called Symonds a monkey and was initially suspended for three Tests, although the ban was overturned on appeal. Gilchrist was annoyed that Tendulkar told the appeal Harbhajan had used a Hindi term that sounded like monkey, although he had earlier given evidence that he could not hear Harbhajan’s comment.”I don’t want to talk about that episode again and again. It is over,” Harbhajan said. “If you talk to any guy who plays or follows cricket about Sachin Tendulkar, they will talk about the respect he commands. These guys can’t come close to him. I am really shocked.”Harbhajan said the ill-feeling between the two sides that spilled over in the series in Australia had long since passed. He said both teams had played in the right spirit in the first two Tests in India this month.”We are very focused on cricket and on the next Test in Delhi,” Harbhajan said. “We know Australia will come back very strong. It has been a great series so far. There have been no dramas in the first two Tests. I hope the next two will be played in the gentleman’s spirit.”

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has denied that overconfidence of playing against weak opponents resulted in his disappointing form during the one-day series against Zimbabwe

Cricinfo staff02-Dec-2008
Mahela Jayawardene managed just 19 runs in four innings at 4.75 inn the five-match ODI series in Zimbabwe © AFP
Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has denied that overconfidence stemming from playing weak opponents resulted in his disappointing form during the one-day series against Zimbabwe.Though Sri Lanka swept the series 5-0, Jayawardene scored 19 runs in four innings- his worst performance in a bilateral five-match ODI series- at 4.75, with a highest of 15 in the first ODI in Harare, and ducks in the last two games. He even experimented with opening the batting in the last match, but failed to score off 12 balls.”As a top-order batsman there is always pressure and expectation on me to perform but, like any cricketer, one goes through a lean spell, when you don’t find your rhythm and as a result can’t spend time in the middle,” he was quoted as saying on the ECB website. “But the most important thing is you realise where you went wrong and try to rectify that as quickly as possible. I have played enough cricket to realise that.”In the previous ODI series, a five-match encounter at home against India, Jayawardene finished as the highest run-scorer for Sri Lanka with 185 runs at 46.25. He was second to Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the overall standings for the series, which the hosts lost 2-3.”I have never had overconfidence in my life. In 11 years of international cricket I’ve never walked into a game with overconfidence,” he said. “I’ve known that I have to work very hard for my runs and that is what has worked for me.”For five games [in Zimbabwe] the highest total was 170, the conditions here were very tough and we knew we had to work very hard to get runs. So it wasn’t overconfidence, just that maybe the options that I took, preparation and shot selection, were the wrong ones and I will need to work on that.”Though the result gave the impression of a lop-sided contest, Zimbabwe did manage to run Sri Lanka close in the last three ODIs. Jayawardene said though his team had reached their goal of winning the one-day series, Zimbabwe deserved to be given more respect.”We achieved it but it was not the most convincing way of doing it. You need to consider the conditions we played in and also that Zimbabwe rose to the occasion, especially in the last two or three games. They [Zimbabwe] performed really well, especially with the ball. At the end of the day we were put under pressure, but winning 5-0 is always good.”What you have to realise is that Zimbabwe is a good team, they’ve got talent but they haven’t been consistent. We knew that as well and so we were prepared when we came here. We never said it would be a walk in the park.”Sri Lanka chose a young side for the tour and were without Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas, and Jayawardene was pleased with the way the squad had responded strongly after being put under pressure. “We expected a tough challenge and it was a very good experience for us, especially a young team with only three senior players who had over 100 caps. So it was a good experience that we will take to the next World Cup.”The next assignment for Sri Lanka is an away series later this month in Bangladesh, where they will play two Tests followed by a tri-nations ODI series also involving Zimbabwe.