Rangers fans are eager to see the club continue their pursuit of Brighton & Hove Albion defender Connor Goldson, despite already having two bids rejected by the Premier League outfit.
The Light Blues are reported to have bidded below Brighton’s current valuation of the player, which stands at £3m.
That would likely take a big chunk out of Steven Gerrard’s transfer budget this summer.
However, the defence is clearly an area that needs improvement, with the side conceding more Scottish Premiership goals than every team in the top six of the table in 2017/18.
If they are to compete for trophies next season, they desperately need reinforcements in the area.
Supporters recognise that, which is perhaps why 69% of respondents to a poll we published earlier this week believe the club should continue their pursuit of the player.
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Can the negotiators at Ibrox now get the deal done in the coming days and weeks?
According to reliable West Ham United club insider, @ExWHUemployee, on his latest The West Ham Way blog, the east London outfit are keeping tabs on exciting Marseille attacker Florian Thauvin, rated at £45m by Transfermarkt, ahead of a potential summer move.
What’s the word, then?
Well, @ExWHUemployee has provided an update on the Irons’ summer transfer business, and he says that the France international is a possible target for Manuel Pellegrini, who would make a calamitous start to his reign if he signs a reported 6ft 3in target.
The 25-year-old, who can play as a winger or an attacking midfielder, was involved in 44 goals for the Ligue 1 giants last term, as they finished fourth in the French top flight and were the losing finalists in the Europa League.
However, @ExWHUemployee suggests that while the Hammers are keen, they are also wary that he was something of a flop when he was in the Premier League with Newcastle United previously.
How good was Thauvin in the 2017/18 campaign?
He was outstanding.
The 25-year-old has really matured in recent seasons, and he scored 26 goals and provided a further 18 assists in 54 appearances in all competitions for Marseille last term, showing the quality that he has in his locker.
According to WhoScored.com, aside from his goalscoring ability his main strengths are his passing and his dribbling, and while he made 91 of the former in 47 outings in Ligue 1 and in Europe, he successfully completed 148 of the 216 dribbles he attempted.
Would he be a good signing for West Ham?
He certainly would be, and would help Irons fans forget about the serious injury that could keep fans’ favourite Manuel Lanzini out for the entire 2018/19 campaign.
While he didn’t do well with Newcastle previously, he was at St James’ Park during a difficult time for the club where he found it difficult to adjust to the Premier League at a young age.
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However, he has progressed significantly and matured since then, and his incredible record last season shows that he is ready for a second bite of the cherry in England.
One potential problem could be his current teammate and former Iron Dimitri Payet however, as he could easily tell him to avoid joining the Hammers, while his price tag could be out of their reach given Marseille are likely to want big money for him following such an influential season.
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Lyon announced on Saturday that attacking midfielder Nabil Fekir would be staying with them after talks with Liverpool over a deal broke down, and Reds fans don’t want Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, rated at £58.5m by Transfermarkt, to be the alternative for the 25-year-old.
The Merseyside outfit had looked set to bring the France international to Anfield as Philippe Coutinho’s long-term replacement, but a move now looks to have broken down at the 11th hour.
Meanwhile, Lemar endured a disappointing 2017/18 campaign compared to the one previous as he scored three goals and provided a further 10 assists in 38 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 outfit, with 14 goals and 17 assists in 50 outings in 2016/17.
Liverpool supporters, who have urged Jurgen Klopp to seal a summer move for a £40.5m winger, were quick to have their say on a potential deal for the 22-year-old, and while one said “Thomas Lemar is nowhere near as good as Fekir”, another said “Lemar is worse than Fekir but will cost more”.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]
Reported Southampton target Xherdan Shaqiri picked up an assist but failed to make a mark in general for Switzerland in their 1-1 draw with Brazil in their opening 2018 World Cup group game on Sunday, and Saints fans don’t want their club to sign the 26-year-old.
The Mirror reported on June 4 that the south coast outfit were keen to pay the winger’s £12m release clause following Stoke City’s relegation to the Championship, with Mark Hughes potentially wanting to be reunited with a player he brought to the Britannia Stadium in 2016.
However, the attacker struggled from both an attacking and defensive point of view despite his nation’s positive result against the pre-tournament favourites, and was called out for his lack of tracking back with Marcelo to help new Arsenal signing Stephan Lichtsteiner at right-back.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255885″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Southampton’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]
Southampton supporters, who are split on a potential deal for a Championship defender, were quick to have their say on Shaqiri’s performance via social media, and while one said they “would avoid at all costs”, another said he was “completely ineffective”.
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Sunderland fans are starting to feel optimistic about mounting an immediate promotion charge, after the Black Cats made their third signing of the summer.Sunderland fans were delighted with their move for Jon McLaughlin on Monday, and the club followed it up with a second announcement just hours later.Chris Maguire has joined from Bury on a two-year deal, and new manager Jack Ross will hope the versatile midfielder can immediately slot into the Black Cats’ depleted attack.[brid autoplay=”true” video=”258359″ player=”12034″ title=”The World Cup Twitter Report”]The club is facing the prospect of losing several first team players, so making early moves in the transfer market is absolutely essential to mounting an immediate promotion charge, and that’s exactly what they’re doing.Maguire, who can play on either flank or even as a centre forward, grabbed just two goals last season, but has bagged over forty football league goals in his career so far.The 29 year-old Scotland international joins McLaughlin and Turkish hard man Alim Ozturk as the Black Cats’ first summer signings, and fans are absolutely loving the move.You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…
Despite being cleared by Cricket South Africa (CSA), South Africa’s bowling coach, Vincent Barnes, says the suspicion over Botha’s action “will always be there”
Firdose Moonda30-Oct-2009The trouble with having a charge laid against you is that, whether you’re cleared or not and even if you pay your penance, you’ll always be regarded with some suspicion. Just ask Jacob Zuma, Chris Brown or even Johan Botha. After being cited for a suspect action for the third time, Botha must feel like a wanted criminal every time he steps out to play.Despite being cleared by Cricket South Africa (CSA), Vincent Barnes, South Africa’s bowling coach says the suspicion over Botha’s action “will always be there”, but it is something the bowler has learned to deal with. According to Barnes, Botha always had a mature attitude to his problem and recognised that the question marks over his action were unlikely to disappear.Before being called in the match between the Warriors and the Lions in East London, Botha had already planned to undergo testing at the Sports Science Institute this week. “It was just a coincidence that he was called, and he had to have the tests done for more serious reasons,” said Barnes. “We know that his bowling has to be monitored on a regular basis and this was part of that process.”Botha was last tested in May, when he was banned from bowling the doosra, and although there were more tests lined up in the future, Barnes said they had not conducted one because of Botha’s playing schedule. Since that test, he played a few IPL matches, the World Twenty20, the Champions Trophy and three first-class games.It was in the last of those games when “a few deliveries were thought to be suspect,” said Barnes, who was confident that the offspinner would be cleared even before the testing took place. “We were asked to focus on a particular delivery, which was the quicker one,” said Barnes. “Ironically, in the previous testing, the quicker delivery was the one with the lowest degrees.”Even though he thought Botha would come through the testing with no problem, Barnes said it was imperative to have a back-up plan in place. “We don’t want him to banned from bowling another delivery, so if we found something irregular than we would definitely work on it. The reality is that he is always going to have an awkward action because he can’t straighten his arm. He has a natural bend at the elbow.”The solution is that he has to bowl as naturally as he can. He is aware that he has to be careful and we will be monitoring him on a weekly basis.”The first time he was called [on his Test debut in January 2006], it took him 18 months to get back into the national side, so every time this happens it could determine where his career goes from now.”Botha has had to accept that ongoing testing would be part of his career, but it certainly becomes stressful every time he has to go under the microscope. During the May test, Barnes said: “I asked him which is more pressure: bowling now in the test or if this was the last ball of the World Cup final and you could win or lose the match with it? He said the test was more stressful.”It is for this reason that Barnes thinks testing bowlers in an indoor facility is not a fair way of determining if their action is legal or not. “In my opinion, they must be tested in the environment they are playing in,” Barnes said. “The testing is all done in an artificial environment where the surfaces and the conditions are different. For example, there is no wind, they don’t use boots, and there’s no batsman. The fatigue factor is completely taken out of it, because they only bowl 10 deliveries of a particular ball. But in a match, they could get called after 24 overs, when the bowler is feeling completely different.”Barnes admits that with the various camera angles required to conduct the testing, it’s unlikely that it can take place in a match situation, but he is hopeful that there is another way.
The second ODI of Sri Lanka’s India tour, on November 18, has been shifted to Nagpur from the original venue, Visakhapatnam, following concerns over security arrangements
Cricinfo staff14-Dec-2009The second ODI of Sri Lanka’s India tour, on December 18, has been shifted to Nagpur from the original venue, Visakhapatnam, following concerns over security arrangements. Visakhapatnam has been in the eye of a storm due to protests by students and activists at the federal government’s decision to create a new state in the northern region of the state of Andhra Pradesh.”The prevailing situation is such that all the city police are deployed in the maintenance of regular law and order, and to conduct the match in ordinary circumstances we need to deploy 80% of the city force,” said Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner Sambhasiva Rao. “We have mentioned it to organising locals here that it not possible for us to commit any amount of force for the conduct of the match at this stage.”The match in Nagpur will be a day-night affair, said the Indian board.
Karnataka’s success so far this season has been based on the blossoming of young talent but it was one of the most experienced players in world cricket, Rahul Dravid, who drove them to a dominant position
The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran in Bangalore04-Jan-2010
Scorecard Rahul Dravid’s effort was also an object lesson for Karnataka’s youngsters in making the most after getting a start•AFP
Karnataka’s success so far this season has been based on the blossoming of young talent but it was one of the most experienced players in world cricket, Rahul Dravid, who drove them to a dominant position at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday. His fifth Ranji double-century flattened Uttar Pradesh and left them needing a monumental batting effort to make their third consecutive final.UP were shaken further during the seven overs they had to play out before stumps once Dravid declared soon after reaching his 200. Opener Tanmay Srivastava punched a couple of boundaries in the first over, but it was a nervy period after that, with fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun’s pace causing the visitors problems. Shivkant Shukla was run out by a direct hit from Amit Verma at square leg after the batsmen hesitated before going for a sharp single. Then, nightwatchman Bhuvneshwar Kumar lasted all of one ball, trapped lbw by Mithun and UP hobbled to 11 for 2 by the end of the day.That batting effort came after a sapping 176 overs bowling on an unresponsive track, with nothing in it for either the quicks or the spinners; UP tried out as many as nine bowlers as they desperately searched for wickets through the day. Even early in the morning, with a ball that was only a handful of overs old, Praveen Kumar’s deliveries were reaching the wicketkeeper on the second bounce. There had been some slow turn on offer for Piyush Chawla on the first day, but even that was not in evidence on Monday.It was Dravid who was the headline act, though, and he had a solid support cast backing him up – involved in four century partnerships. His effort was also an object lesson for the home side’s youngsters in making the most after getting a start – all the other Karnataka batsmen, except the
nightwatchman, made it to the 30s but didn’t reach 70.There was an air of inevitability about a big score from Dravid. He had been extremely patient on Sunday, and was in no hurry as well at the start of the second day as well, watchfully playing out the morning spells of Praveen and RP Singh.Once the slow bowlers were brought on, both he and left-hand batsman Amit Verma opened out. Verma made room and crashed left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta through covers and followed up with a clever glide past the keeper. In the next over, Dravid whipped Chawla through midwicket before striking a classical on-drive to a flighted delivery. The run-rate remained sprightly all day after that.About 10 minutes before lunch, the pair raised their century stand, but Verma was stumped giving the charge to Chalwa off the next delivery. Chawla bowled round the wicket and into the pads in an attempt to slow the runs, Dravid responded with whips through midwicket and leg glances, one of which brought up his century; his first fifty had taken 146 balls, the second 63.UP tried to snare the new batsman, CM Gautam, by keeping three slips and making RP bowl well outside off. The ploy would have worked too, had it not been for Mohammad Kaif grassing a simple catch at second slip with Gautam on 13. After that, it was another period of toil, as Gautam and Dravid effortlessly picked off the runs. Again the wicket came soon after the hundred partnership and not too far from an interval – Gautam bowled by Praveen Gupta attempting an ambitious lofted on-drive.That brought together the most experienced players in the match, Dravid and Sunil Joshi, who hurt UP further with yet another century stand, 101 runs in only 138 deliveries. Dravid combined paddle-sweeps with powerful aerial drives while Joshi blasted the game’s first six, straight over the sightscreen to keep Karnataka accelerating. Even the third new ball, taken after 172 overs, didn’t rein in the batsmen, who also capitalised on UP’s falling fielding standards.To top off a thoroughly dispiriting day for UP, their captain Mohammad Kaif became the latest bowler to be no-balled for a suspect action, when he came on for a two-over spell an hour after lunch.
The ICC could allow Australian and English umpires to stand in the Ashes series later this year
Brydon Coverdale at Bellerive Oval18-Jan-2010The ICC could allow Australian and English umpires to stand in the Ashes series later this year as its confidence with the umpire decision review system continues to grow. Despite the controversial video-official judgments in the Johannesburg Test over the past few days, David Morgan, the ICC president, said the UDRS was proving successful enough for the ICC to consider scrapping the neutral-umpire system.”The decision review system is making good progress,” Morgan told Cricinfo. “There have been problems at the Wanderers that I can’t go into because that’s being investigated by the International Cricket Council. But I think the progress with the DRS has been extremely good indeed, to the extent that I think we should be thinking about the best umpires being appointed to Test match cricket irrespective of whether they come from the participating teams or not.”That could mean the man judged as the world’s best umpire for five of the past six years, the Australian Simon Taufel, being able to officiate in Ashes games. Apart from the Super Test of 2005, Taufel last stood in a home Test in 2001. Five of the 12 members of the ICC’s elite panel of umpires are from Australia or England, leaving only seven neutrals to choose from when the two countries meet.Morgan did not rule out abandoning the neutral system in time for the 2010-11 Ashes in Australia. “It’s a possibility,” Morgan said. “I wouldn’t put it any higher than a possibility but I think that in the fullness of time it’s more probable than possible.”Morgan’s comments have come after a fractious England-South Africa Test at the Wanderers, where the Australian third umpire Daryl Harper was under fire for ruling Graeme Smith not out despite a loud noise from the stump microphone when the ball passed the bat. Smith went on to score a century and it prompted England, who are not in favour of the review system, to make an official complaint to the ICC.Despite England’s objections, Morgan was confident the ICC’s member nations could be convinced to discard the notion that neutral umpires were necessary. “I haven’t put that to the test,” Morgan said. “But I know that certain countries are very supportive and certain countries were wishing that it should happen even before DRS was thought about.”Not since 2002 has the ICC appointed umpires from participating countries to Test matches. The small panel and ever-increasing schedule means that the elite officials travel more than ever, and it is a job that before his retirement last year Steve Bucknor described as a sometimes lonely profession.Taufel, who has a young family, has previously stated that he was taking his future year by year and in the past 12 months has stood in international matches in seven nations. The English official Peter Willey declined an invitation to join the elite panel due to the amount of travel involved, and Morgan said he thought the ICC’s umpires would be supportive of doing away with the neutral-umpire system.”I imagine so,” Morgan said. “If you think of the international cricket schedule, with the exception of Pakistan, all international cricketers play about half their cricket at home. International umpires stand in away games only. That makes it a much more difficult lifestyle for them, to the extent that some very good umpires have declined appointment to the elite panel simply because they don’t want to be away throughout the working schedule.”
Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam has accepted responsibility for Pakistan’s poor showing on their tour of Australia
Cricinfo staff07-Feb-2010Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam
has accepted responsibility for his team’s poor showing on their tour of Australia, where they were whitewashed in the three Tests, five ODIs and the one-off Twenty20. Intikhab, however, has refused to resign
like chief selector Iqbal Qasim did, and is prepared to face an inquiry.”I will not run away and will face an investigation,” Intikhab said after the team’s return to Karachi on Sunday morning. “I am not going to comment on any resignation but I will take full responsibility for the defeat.”Pakistan dropped several catches during the tour and let go of a great opportunity to win the second Test in Sydney, where they collapsed chasing 175. The Pakistan board appointed a six-member committee to investigate the defeat. This was Pakistan’s fourth-successive Test series whitewash to Australia.”It was a disappointing tour but if you look into the history, Pakistan has never performed well on a tour of Australia,” Intikhab said. “Our fielding was very poor and the batsmen lacked determination and their shot selection was bad. I will give a detailed report on team’s performance on the tour and hope a fair analysis is done.”He also denied rumours of a rift in the team and asked the fans to be patient and not jump to conclusions.”Talk of grouping is baseless. Such things come when the team loses.Australia is still the best team in the world and they played well. Australia lost a home Test series against South Africa, were defeated in Tests in India and handed Ashes to England in the last two years, but their people backed them and they have regrouped. We should also back our team.”Pressure has mounted
on the top men of Pakistan cricket to step down, including the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt. The captain Mohammad Yousuf is also in danger of losing his job, after Butt announced midway through the tour that a new captain could be named. A disappointed Waqar Younis, the bowling and fielding coach, said he will explain the reasons for the team’s defeat to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports.