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Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has urged Tottenham to sell Giovani Lo Celso in the summer should he fail to perform this season.

The Lowdown: Flattering to deceive

The Argentina international has so far failed to make the impact that many Spurs fans would have hoped for since he made the switch from Real Betis for £27.2m in January 2020 (BBC).

Last season, he managed just 28 matches in all competitions for the club, picking up five goals and one assist (Transfermarkt) as he struggled with injury.

The Latest: Bridge demands more from Lo Celso

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Bridge suggested that Lo Celso’s time to impress is running out given his misfortunes in a Tottenham shirt.

He said: “Give him the ball, let’s see what he can do, because if not, he can go. I want him gone anyway in the summer; this Argentina stuff left me cold.”

The Verdict: Lo Celso must start to prove his talent

This season has not started fantastically for £24.3m-valued Lo Celso (Transfermarkt). In September, he travelled to South America to represent Argentina, attempting to enter Brazil despite knowing that he would have to quarantine for 10 days as soon as he arrived given the pandemic restrictions for those having travelled to the United Kingdom (The Guardian).

His actions are believed to have enraged those in power at Tottenham, with club and international colleague Cristian Romero also in the dock over the same incident (The Guardian).

This season, he has played eight times under Nuno Espirito Santo but has not set the world alight – he has averaged a WhoScored rating of just 6.15 across the Premier League and Carabao Cup. Indeed, if he fails to deliver soon, Spurs should perhaps look to cut their losses with him, as Bridge has suggested.

In other news, this man turned down the chance to manage Tottenham this summer.

Netherlands are no strangers to global events and continue to compete strongly at Associate level despite the difficulties of trying to promote the game

Andrew McGlashan04-Jun-2009Netherlands are no strangers to global events and continue to compete strongly at Associate level despite the difficulties of trying to promote the game. They haven’t needed to travel far for this tournament and are hoping that they can bring some colourful support with them.If everything runs as expected they won’t survive beyond the early days of the tournament, but they have the honour of playing the opening match against the hosts and they are quietly confident of making their presence felt. An England-Netherlands match has brought back memories of 1989 when an England XI were beaten by three runs at Amstelveen, a game where current captain Jeroen Smits was 12th man with Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart lining up for England.All eyes will be on their two leading players, Dirk Nannes and Ryan ten Doeschate, and in Twenty20 cricket they have the ability to cause real problems. Nannes was outstanding during the IPL, while ten Doeschate is a consistent performer for Essex. If Netherlands can return home having caused one of the two big sides to sweat a little it will have been a successful tournament.StrengthsThey can go out with a no-fear, nothing-to-lose approach and play with a spirit of enjoyment and excitement. If they get hammered by England and Pakistan it’s what is expected, but both those teams will have to remember to show some respect otherwise Netherlands could make life uncomfortable.WeaknessesTheir lack of depth could easily be exposed if the big two don’t fire and they also lack quality spin which can be so vital in Twenty20. The one genuine slow-bowler they have is Daan van Bunge, the legspinner, who was taken for 36 in an over by Herschelle Gibbs during the 2007 World Cup in West Indies. If the first couple of balls in an over clear the boundary, he might start getting twitchy.X-factorWhile everyone is talking about Nannes and ten Doeschate that can play into Netherlands’ hands. Cricket history is littered with relatively unknown players making a name for themselves and the fact England and Pakistan won’t have much information on some of the Dutch players could be their secret weapon.Key playersVirender Sehwag said that Nannes was the fastest bowler he has faced and he was good enough to keep Glenn McGrath on the sidelines during the IPL. The success or otherwise of his four overs will be vital for Netherlands, but also keep an eye on the batting pair of Bas Zuiderent, a survivor from the 1996 World Cup, and Alexei Kervezee who both have county experience.Form guideThey were heavily beaten by Bangladesh in a warm-up game at Canterbury and only managed to squeeze past a PCA Masters XI by four runs. At the recent ICC World Cup Qualifiers they ensured their progress into the 2011 World Cup.Squad: Jeroen Smits (capt & wk), Peter Borren, Mudassar Buhkari, Tom De Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Alexei Kervezee, Dirk Nannes, Ruud Nijman, Darron Reekers, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Ryan ten Doeschate, Dan van Bunge, Bas Zuiderent

West Bromwich Albion striker Kenneth Zohore is nearing the Hawthorns exit door after a hugely disappointing two years at the club.

The Athletic’s Baggies reporter Steve Madeley claimed last week that the 27-year-old was set to depart the Midlands outfit in the previous window, but an appropriate offer never materialised for the player.

Now though, Zohore is reportedly happy to cancel his current contract in order to secure regular game time away from West Brom, despite having two years remaining on his existing deal.

“Zohore was keen to move on in the summer, and Albion were keen to help a transfer happen,” Madeley wrote seven days ago.

“Several clubs expressed an interest, but no one managed to structure a financial package that could satisfy Albion and the player, so Zohore ended up staying.”

Zohore initially joined West Brom in an £8m deal back in 2019, yet has struggled to make an impact on the pitch, scoring just five goals in 23 appearances for the Championship side.

All of that has seen his value drop dramatically with the attacker now valued at just £1.8m via Transfermarkt.

The Danish forward has failed to ever establish himself in the starting lineup under Slaven Bilic or Valerien Ismael, with his last start coming in the 6-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Arsenal on 25 August.

A fitness concern has kept Zohore sidelined in recent weeks, something Ismael was quick to address ahead of their trip to Cardiff last week.

“He has been injured in the last few weeks,” said the former Barnsley boss. “He is a West Brom player, so it doesn’t change anything with our thoughts on Ken.

“He was injured, so for a few weeks, he was out. He needs to get back his fitness now and he needs to get the confidence of having his fitness back. But when Ken is 100% fit, we know we have another possibility in our front three with him.”

However, in reality, Zohore is firmly on the outskirts of Ismael’s first-team plans, and it would take a dramatic U-turn for the target man to get another chance in a West Brom shirt.

He has Grady Diangana, Matt Phillips, Karlan Grant, Callum Robinson and Jordan Hugill ahead of him in the battle for places in Albion’s front three, meaning an imminent exit is firmly on the cards.

Given his shoddy record at the club and how much they’ve already lost on the Dane, they simply have to get rid.

Zohore’s hugely underwhelming output has seen him become a drain on West Brom’s resources, and his exit would help everyone, including the supporters, move on in their new chapter under Ismael.

And, in other news…Ismael drops fresh update on “consistent” £4.4k-p/w ace, West Brom fans surely buzzing 

Tamim Iqbal hit his maiden hundred and shared a century stand with Junaid Siddique to hand Bangladesh a 252-run lead

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera12-Jul-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Tamim Iqbal celebrates a maiden Test century•AFPBangladesh moved towards safety in the first two sessions before accelerating in the last to take control of the game. Tamim Iqbal hit his maiden century and shared a 146-run stand with Junaid Siddique to hand Bangladesh a 252-run lead by the end of the fourth day’s play in St Vincent. However, if they don’t manage to bowl out West Indies on the final day they might wonder if they had erred by not scoring at a faster clip today.West Indies didn’t allow them to get away at a frenetic, match-controlling, pace with disciplined line-and-length bowling but perhaps Bangladesh were worried about repeating their first-innings collapse and opted for the safety-first tactic; they didn’t try to quicken the scoring until post-tea.Tamim started the third session like a runaway express, hitting David Bernard to all parts of the ground – a crunching pull hopping on one leg and a thunderous wallop over wide mid-off being the highlights – but fell, going for the fifth boundary in the over. With his exit, the momentum started to slowly shift and when Siddique fell, squeezing Darren Sammy to gully, it slowed down further. And with Mohammad Ashraful falling cheaply, yet again, Bangladesh were forced to return to the cautious route.Before his late blitz Tamim had steered the side calmly, playing almost out of character. In the past, he has paid for his over-aggression but today, he was careful not to cross that line. He looked for his favourite off drives and didn’t flinch from cutting if the ball was short. When Tino Best hurled sharp bouncers at him, he swayed away calmly but when it was short and wide enough to cut, he went for it. Post lunch, he grew more sedate, concentrating on defense and singles, and fetched the odd boundary to reach a century off his 206th ball – the most he has ever faced in a Test innings – with a push in the direction of point.He did have his share of luck, though. He was on 34 when Floyd Reifer, the West Indies captain, dropped a sitter at slips off Sammy and, while on 76, Omar Phillips dropped another easy chance at midwicket with Ryan Austin bowling.Siddique gave him company after lunch and started the session with two cut boundaries against Kemar Roach, but he too settled down to score at a gentle pace. With the bowling looking unthreatening as the session wore on, he picked singles easily without breaking much sweat. He looked to get on the front foot for his drives and appeared set for his maiden hundred, but the new ball found him out as he edged Sammy to gully.Tamim had Imrul Kayes for company for much of the first session. Kayes chose to stay rooted to the crease, intent on blocking everything thrown against him. He was aware of his off stump and left many a delivery alone, only defending what he had to play at. However, he lost patience when Austin tempted him with a flighted delivery and drove it straight to short cover.For their part, West Indies stuck gamely to their task on hand on a slow pitch. Sammy and Kemar Roach attacked the left-handed batsmen from round the stumps, punctuating the length deliveries coming in with ones that straightened outside off stump. It was a game of patience. Sammy, in particular, was disciplined and was unlucky to go wicketless in the first two sessions. He saw Tamim being dropped at slip and, in the same over, produced another edge only to see the ball fly between slip and gully. He went past the outside edge on a few more occasions but found some luck in the last session, removing Siddique with a full delivery that moved away and inducing Raqibul Hossain to drag an attempted pull onto the stumps. However, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan steadied the innings after the loss of three quick wickets with an unbeaten stand of 54. They rotated the strike well, ensuring the lead kept growing, and will look to take it beyond 300 tomorrow to set the hosts a challenging target.Sammy was well supported by Roach, who attacked mainly from round the stumps today. He had tended to push a tad too much across to the left-handed batsmen in the first innings but he switched the angle today and kept it fuller than the rest. He even slipped in a couple of very good yorkers but they were well dug out by Tamim. He dragged a few short in the second session before the spinners Austin and Nikita Miller took over the burden.Austin did his part; he flighted his deliveries from a high-arm action and attacked with men crowding the bat. The suffocation nearly worked when Tamim slogged him across the line to wide midwicket but it fell safely. He continued to chip away relentlessly, never afraid to flight the ball but couldn’t break through. Miller bowled a flatter trajectory and didn’t taste any success. It would be interesting to see how Bangladesh spinners bowl on the final-day track. That could determine the fate of the match.

An update has emerged on Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard, regarding Newcastle’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to The Telegraph, Newcastle are exploring the possibility of signing the Manchester United attacking midfielder in the January transfer window.

The report claims that it remains to be seen whether or not Lingard would be interested in making the switch, as he rejected the Magpies to join West Ham on loan last season.

Nolan 2.0

PIF could find the new Kevin Nolan at St. James’ Park by sealing a permanent deal for Lingard in the January transfer window. He is a goalscoring midfielder who could come in and excite the supporters with his performances on the pitch.

Nolan enjoyed a sensational spell on Tyneside as he scored 30 goals in 91 appearances for the Magpies, before going on to score 22 Premier League goals from midfield in his first two campaigns for the Hammers after leaving Newcastle.

Lingard could now come in and enjoy a similar record, having proven his quality on loan at West Ham last season from Manchester United. He produced nine goals and four assists in 16 games for David Moyes’ side and has scored two goals in three matches for the Red Devils in the Premier League this term.

Earlier this year, United icon Andy Cole lauded Lingard’s work rate, praising the England international for his all-around play. He said:

“I think Jesse has come back with that bit between his teeth. He has got the goal, but it is not just about the goal – it is his work rate as well.

“I think his work rate can become infectious. He is putting himself about, getting in the right areas – and getting himself a goal as well.”

The £19.8m-rated attacker would surely be loved by the Newcastle fans as he has the goals and assists to go along with the hard work. Supporters will appreciate, as Cole explained, his work-rate on the pitch as he harasses defenders and puts the press on to make things happen.

He has proven that he knows how to find the back of the net at Premier League level, much like Nolan did from a similar position in his time at the club. This is why PIF must ensure that they can get a deal over the line for Lingard – the new Nolan.

AND in other news, PIF must secure NUFC swoop for £31.5m-rated beast who is “almost impossible to mark”…

Tom Lungley, the Derbyshire bowler, will join Lancashire on a four-week loan to cover their growing injury list

Cricinfo staff10-Aug-2009Tom Lungley, the Derbyshire bowler, will join Lancashire on a four-week loan to cover their growing injury list.Lungley, 30, has been drafted into the Lancashire attack to stand in for a string of injured players, including Glen Chapple, Sajid Mahmood, Tom Smith and Steven Cheetham. Also, Andrew Flintoff and James Anderson are away on England duty.”Injuries are a part of sport, but to have the majority of our bowlers in the treatment room at the one time is extremely unlucky,” said Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s cricket director. “We’ve had no option but to look outside our ranks for personnel” he added.Lungley’s immediate availability could mean he could debut for Lancashire in their Championship match against Durham tomorrow at Old Trafford.

With Southampton having scored just six goals in their opening eight Premier League games of the season, it’s safe to say Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have not been in the best attacking form so far in this campaign.

One attacking player that is making a difference away from Southampton is 20-year-old left-midfielder Will Ferry, who is currently on a loan deal from the Saints with League Two club Crawley Town.

Ferry joined Southampton’s U18 side from Bury’s U18s back in the 2017 summer transfer window for an undisclosed fee.

Since then, Ferry has featured in 23 matches for Southampton U18s where he has managed to score seven goals and provide nine assists along the way.

The player has also managed to make 33 appearances for Southampton’s B team, netting five and assisting on seven occasions but has yet to make his senior debut for the Saints.

During his time with Crawley, Ferry has managed to score one goal and provide three assists in ten outings for the club so far this season across all competitions, getting plenty of minutes under his belt which should be very pleasing for Hasenhuttl and the supporters.

In addition to this, Ferry has racked up an average of 1.4 shots per game in League Two as well as 1.3 key passes per game, showing just how much of an attacking threat he has been for the club since his arrival at Crawley.

He’s certainly delivering on the immense promise that made Crawley pounce on his temporary signature with their CEO, Erdem Konyar, saying in August: “Will is an exciting young player.”

Moving forward, if Ferry can keep playing regularly for Crawley until the end of his loan spell and keep adding some more goals and assists to his tally, we feel he could definitely be in contention to eventually make his senior debut for the Saints when he returns at some point.

Given the age of some of Southampton’s current wingers such as Theo Walcott (32) and Nathan Redmond (27), there’s every possibility that Ferry could well be a regular first-team player for the Saints in the future alongside the likes of Nathan Tella and Moussa Djenepo. With that many options on the flanks, however, the boss would have an undoubted dilemma as to who to select.

The Irishman is some way off being Premier League ready but his potential and star qualities lower down the leagues is standing him in good stead.

In other news: Forget JWP: Saints must unleash “aggressive” 22 y/o on Sat, he could terrify Burnley – opinion

Moments after England started celebrating their Ashes success, it was confirmed that Andrew Flintoff will undergo exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his injured right knee on Monday

Cricinfo staff23-Aug-2009Moments after England started celebrating their Ashes success, it was confirmed that Andrew Flintoff will undergo exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his injured right knee on Monday. He has been withdrawn from the England one-day and Twenty20 squads for the matches against Ireland and Australia during the summer as well as the Champions Trophy in South Africa.Flintoff was severely hampered by his injured knee during the Ashes after he first damaged it at the IPL, before further aggravating it at Cardiff during the first Test. He managed to play at Lord’s and Edgbaston, but was forced to miss the fourth Test at Headingley after Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower decided he wouldn’t make it through the game despite Flintoff insisting he was fit. He returned for a triumphant finale at The Oval but was below full pace with the ball.The ECB haven’t revealed any further information on the procedure. “A further update on the outcome of the operation and the likely timescale for rehabilitation will be released in due course,” the statement said.Andrew Strauss, however, was confident that there would be “some great times” in Flintoff’s career in the future. “Obviously he won’t be playing Test cricket for us again, which is a very sad thing, but clearly his body can’t take it anymore and I think we all understand that,” Strauss said after regaining the Ashes. “He’ll be desperate to contribute to England in any way he can going forward, whether it be 50-over cricket or 20-over cricket, but the most important thing is that he gets his body in good shape again which means taking whatever steps he needs to do that.””At least he knows what he’s going to go through, but it must be soul-destroying to have to go through that. But when you are there on the field when you win an Ashes series it makes it all worthwhile and there will be some great times in his career going forward I’m sure.”Earlier this week it was reported that Flintoff would undergo the same micro-fracture procedure that Michael Vaughan had in 2006 after his knee gave way on the tour of India. It took Vaughan more than a year to recover and the expectation is that Flintoff could be out of action for as long as nine months.”My future now is Twenty20 and one-day internationals. I want to be the best one-day international player in the world and not playing Test cricket will let me concentrate on that,” Flintoff told Sky Sports before The Oval Test. “I still want to play two more World Cups and there is still plenty for me to go on. I have got lots of ambition and want to play for England as much as I can in the short form of the game.”

Angelique Taai will mark her return to international cricket after more than four years, following her inclusion in the 14-member South African squad to take on West Indies during the home series in October

Cricinfo staff29-Sep-2009Angelique Taai will mark her return to international cricket after more than four years, following her inclusion in the 14-member South African squad to take on West Indies during the home series in October. The 22-year old, who last represented her country against the same opposition back in April 2005, was delighted with her call-up.”I am really looking forward to the challenge ahead,” Taai said. “The selectors have shown a lot of faith in me, considering that I was not in the initial squad so I want to show that I deserved the call-up by producing results.”The hard-hitting middle-order batsman and medium-pace bowler was rewarded for her performances with East Coast at the Women’s Super 4’s that were held in Kimberly over the weekend. Highveld were the winners of the four-day competition as they coasted to a seven-wicket victory over defending champions, West Coast.Also included in the squad is Gauteng’s Kirsty Thompson. Thompson was initially part of the team for the 2009 Women’s World Cup held in Australia in March, but pulled out because of a lower-back stress fracture.”The Super 4’s was a very successful competition, the girls played quality cricket and some seriously put their hands up for selection,” said Denise Reid, the national convenor of selectors. “We felt that our batting was a bit thin and has been an area of weakness so we decided to bring in Angelique and Kirsty to help bolster up the batting order.”Angelique is an aggressive batter and she will bring in something extra to the squad, she is also very useful with the ball. Kirsty had an excellent tournament and stood out among the ladies and she will compliment Cri-zelda Brits and Mignon Du Preez at the top. “Squad: Sunette Loubser (capt), Cri-zelda Brits, Trisha Chetty, Mignon du Preez, Shandre Fritz, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Ashlyn Kilowan, Marcia Letsoalo, Alicia Smith, Angelique Taai, Kirsty Thompson, Charlize van der Westhuizen, Dane van Niekerk.

Crystal Palace are among the Premier League sides ‘keeping tabs’ on Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson, according to Football League World. 

The lowdown

Johnson, who’s predominantly been deployed as a central attacking midfielder, has been directly involved in six goals (scoring and assisting three each) in 14 Championships starts for Forest this season (via WhoScored).

Sports journalist Josh Bunting has hailed him as the ‘shining light’ in a side that’s amassed only 18 points so far, while the Press Association’s Phil Blanche says he ‘looks destined’ for the Premier League.

According to talent scout Jacek Kulig, he has a similar style of play to Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes.

Johnson’s contract is up at the end of next season, and for now he’s valued at just £360,000 by Transfermarkt.

The latest

Palace are said to be admirers of Johnson, along with local rivals Brighton and Hove Albion and fellow top-flight outfits such as Newcastle United, Everton and Southampton.

Forest boss Steve Cooper is apparently involved in the club’s attempts to tie the Welshman down to a new contract and ward off that interest.

The verdict

It seems the sharks are beginning to circle around The City Ground amid the uncertainty over Johnson’s future. Palace aren’t the only side sensing an opportunity.

Johnson would be another exciting Championship arrival in South London, following in the footsteps of Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise in terms of young attacking talent at Patrick Vieira’s disposal.

If he’s being compared to Harvey Barnes, then you’d think he could easily move from his central berth out to a wide role in Vieira’s 4-3-3.

In other news, fans react to this Nathan Ferguson post.