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Burnley and Brighton and Hove Albion are front-runners to lure Liverpool defender Nat Phillips away from Anfield this summer [GOAL].

The Lowdown: Liverpool re-shape their squad ahead of 2021/22

Liverpool will be looking to be back amongst the honours once again in 2021/22, following their third placed finish last term.

the Reds have already seen the high-profile departure of Gini Wijnaldum to PSG [BBC], whilst loanee Ozan Kabak has returned to Schalke after his temporary stint on Merseyside [SB Nation], so a small reshuffle of the squad could be necessary.

Interestingly, there now could now be a third exit through the famous Anfield gates, in the form of the 24-year-old Phillips.

The Latest: Burnley and Brighton and Hove Albion lead chase

Currently speaking, Burnley and Brighton and Hove Albion are leading the chase for the 6ft 3in colossus [GOAL].

Though the Liverpool hierarchy would be hesitant to sell Phillips, they understand his desire to play regular first-team football and could relinquish his services for the right price [GOAL]. No mooted fee has been established as of yet regarding his potential asking price.

Of course, these developments come as something of a fresh twist in proceedings, as Newcastle United were thought to be the team interested in the centre-back in recent weeks [CaughtOffside].

The Verdict: Phillips should be allowed to depart

There is an agreeable nature to these rumours, signifying it could be the right decision for Liverpool and Phillips to amicably part ways this window.

On one hand, the Bolton-born stopper is unlikely to be an important first-team regular in 2021/22, owing to the recent signing of highly-rated defender Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig last month [Liverpool FC] and others returning from injury.

Conversely, Phillips has proven his worth as an established Premier League defender who is too good to sit fourth or fifth in the pecking order. In 2020/21, he made 20 appearances for Liverpool, registering one goal and a solitary assist [Transfermarkt].

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Conveying his dominant prowess within the Reds backline, he won an outstanding 5.6 aerial duels per 90 minutes across the Premier League year [WhoScored]. Put into context, that was by quite a margin the highest rate of the entire Liverpool squad [WhoScored].

Once labelled as ‘brilliant’ by manager Jurgen Klopp [Liverpool FC], Phillips simply has to get out and play as a first-choice defender – he is entering the prime years of his career. Should Liverpool elect to sell him for a considerable sum, that could be a happy ending for both parties as they look towards the new campaign.

In other news, Jurgen Klopp is said to have ‘cancelled’ a move for an international defender.

The third Cable & Wireless Test went through a succession of contortions on the third day yesterday but it would have taken the elasticity of an Indian yoga master to have turned it on its head

Tony Cozier05-May-2002The third Cable & Wireless Test went through a succession of contortions on the third day yesterday but it would have taken the elasticity of an Indian yoga master to have turned it on its head.For all the sudden twists and turns, the West Indies remained as strongly placed as when they routed India for 102 on the opening day.They extended their lead to 292 before lunch after captain Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul duly completed their second centuries and their second double-century stand of the series and in spite of the customary collapse of their tailend, the last six wickets falling for 18.Inevitably, they had to contend with more tenacious resistance from the Indian batsmen on an ideal pitch than in the feeble first innings.But they recovered their composure after a chaotic second session to remove the top four in the Indian order for 169 by close, called seven overs before schedule, just past 6 p.m.It left India, with a tail as negligible as their own, still 123 short of avoiding another heavy defeat at Kensington Oval where they have been beaten in six of their previous seven Tests.Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, the two whose records place them in the elevated company of modern batsmen with averages above 50, have already gone cheaply. And India’s chances of protecting their 1-0 lead in the series now lies with the last of their specialist batsmen, captain Saurav Ganguly and V.V.S.Laxman.They spent the last 23 overs of the day together in a partnership of 51 and resume this morning.But had Ramnaresh Sarwan been able to cling on to sharp chances at short-leg before either had scored neither as difficult as one he held earlier in the same position and had Laxman’s edged catch to the ‘keeper off Pedro Collins at 15 not been negated by a no-ball, the match might well have been over already.India’s slim hopes of getting back into contention flickered more than once as they summarily despatched Ridley Jacobs and the four fast bowlers after removing Hooper for 115 and followed with their best opening partnership for the series of 80 between Shiv Sunder Das and Wasim Jaffer.The three-quarters of an hour in which the West Indies’ first innings folded and the two hours of the second session provided an anxious period for the home team that again raised doubts over whether they have the resources and resolve to make the most of an advantage, even one as overwhelming as this.The diminutive Das, shell-shocked after his several failures on tour, was alarmingly dropped off Dillon’s chest-high lifter by Stuart Williams, low down at fourth slip, when three.While Cameron Cuffy kept the pressure on with maiden after maiden his figures at close, 18-15-3-0, were scarcely believable Collins especially fed Jaffer’s obvious strength off the backfoot through the off-side.The slim right-hander kept peppering the boundary between point and extra-cover and, even when he slapped a Collins long-hop low to the swooping Sarwan at extra-cover, third umpire Billy Doctrove wasn’t persuaded by the television replays that the catch had carried.Jaffer was then 35 and it took Das’ misplaced optimism over a single to cover and Chanderpaul’s swift pick-up and direct underarm hit to end his innings with a run out.India were 85 for one at tea but the West Indies clearly regrouped during the interval.The remarkable Cuffy, the aggressive Dillon and the more accurate Collins pinned down Das and Dravid to such an extent on resumption that they could only eek out 16 from 13 overs.The pressure duly told.Das’ dismissal might have been freakish but Dravid and Tendulkar were victims of the new West Indian intensity.In the second over of a new spell, Adam Sanford drew a drive at a wide ball from Dravid and Jacobs lunged to his right to gather a difficult catch.Right away, Ganguly stabbed his second ball into and out of Sarwan’s grasp but the miss was quickly forgotten in the cacophony from 10 000 voices that greeted another cheap Tendulkar dismissal.Defending on the back foot against Dillon, he was taken on the pad and not even the Mormon Tabernacle Choir could have matched the decibels when umpire Ashoka deSilva nodded his head and raised his finger on the appeal.Tendulkar has now had scores of nought, nought and eight in his last three innings.It was to be the last West Indian success for the day but their stranglehold had been scarcely eased.It was loosened briefly after Hooper was out an hour and a half into the day.The skipper, 70 at the start, finally fell to a skied off-side catch from off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for 115, while the left-handed Chanderpaul was unbeaten 101 before Jacobs and the bowlers capitulated in familiar fashion.It was a continuation of the prolific form the two Guyanese brought into the series with a stand of 293 in the drawn first Test in Georgetown when Hooper compiled 233 and Chanderpaul 140, the highest Test scores for each.Now they recorded their second hundreds in a series for the first time, Hooper also passing 400 in a series for another first.Hooper had overcome an uncertain start and a lucky break from the third umpire on a television replay for run out at 15 the previous day. Since then, not much missed the middle of the bat.He proceeded to his 12th Test hundred with three rasping off-side boundaries in the same over off the left-arm swing bowler Asish Nehra whose inconsistency was punished by both batsman.Chanderpaul was 91 when Hooper’s innings of five-and-three-quarter hours was ended as his attempt for a 19th four skewed off the leading edge.Recent experience would have alerted him to the necessity of gathering the nine runs needed for his fourth Test hundred as quickly as he could.The last six West Indian wickets in the series had contributed 38, 65 and 51 and he just managed to get to his landmark before his partners deserted him.Jacobs continued the batting woes of wicket-keepers in the series by edging his fourth ball to the keeper off Nehra, who soon bounced out Dillon.Harbhajan, otherwise ineffective on the true pitch, then removed Pedro Collins and No.10 Adam Sanford with successive balls.Cuffy denied him his second Test hat-trick by edging a single past slip, but he promptly and comically ran himself out at the non-striker’s end, scampering for a run that Chanderpaul refused and then stumbling as Harbhajan broke the stumps.On the ground where he recorded his first Test hundred in the corresponding Test against India five years ago, Chanderpaul’s innings of six hours, 10 minutes were chanceless and authoritative.The West Indies won then in a tight finish. They should so do again with much more comfort.

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A trama de Marinho continua. Nesta sexta, o presidente do Vitória, Ivã de Almeida, afirmou que recebeu um depósito referente a contratação do jogador, que está com quase tudo certo para defender o Changchun Yatai, da China.

Com a venda, o Vitória, que tem 50% dos direitos de Marinho, vai receber 2,5 milhões de euros e o Cruzeiro fica com 30%. No total, a multa recisória do jogador é de 5 milhões de euros, cerca de 17 milhões de reais.

– Enquanto não finalizar, ele continua sendo nosso jogador. O pagamento ainda não foi identificado, mas tem a sinalização de que houve o pagamento. Vamos exigir também o documento com o Cruzeiro. – afirmou o presidente após a coletiva de apresentação do meia Leonardo Pisculichi.

Ainda esta semana, Marinho viaja para Dubai, onde vai realizar exames médicos e assinar o contrato para começar a treinar com o time que já iniciou os trabalhos para a pré-temporada.

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Following the completion of day three of its match against Tasmania here at the Adelaide Oval, South Australia appears almost certain to achieve its opening outrightwin of the Pura Cup season

Leith Forrest03-Dec-2000Following the completion of day three of its match against Tasmania here at the Adelaide Oval, South Australia appears almost certain to achieve its opening outrightwin of the Pura Cup season. The Redbacks will head into the final day with the Tigers already five second innings wickets down and still requiring another 268 runs toachieve what would shape as a near-miraculous win.The Tigers had opened the final session requiring the nowhere-near-unrealistic total of 337 runs to win. The makeshift opening pairing of Jamie Cox (10) and AndrewDykes (14) started off in positive style, but things soon went awry. Possibly unsettled by the loss of close confidant, Dene Hills (who was still feeling the effects ofbeing struck on the helmet by a Graham Manou pull shot earlier in the afternoon), Cox (10) was the first to go, departing to what appeared to be a bat-pad decision, when a catch flew high to gully off the bowling of Brett Swain (1/15).Swain was in the midst of a wonderful spell from the Bradman Stand End by this stage. He was proving a constant handful for the batsmen, and had a number of lbwand caught behind appeals turned down.In the over following the one which brought about the demise of Cox, Mick Miller (2/20) joined the party by snaring Dykes with an lbw decision. Much as it had donein the first innings, Tasmania’s upper order was already displaying an air of shakiness.Michael DiVenuto (9) fared little better than his two fallen teammates. He never really looked settled, found it difficult to break a tightly set field and, in the end, lostpatience. He drove loosely at Miller and lobbed an easy catch to David Fitzgerald at point. By this stage, the Tigers had slumped to 3/35.Following something of a contextual drought between the fall of Tasmanian wickets, Redbacks captain Darren Lehmann tried to unsettle the stubborn pairing of ShaunYoung (10) and Daniel Marsh (14) by bringing leg spinner Peter McIntyre (2/15) into the attack. It proved a masterstroke. Like he had done yesterday, the veterandropped on to a fine line and length from the outset and his reward came when Young edged a leg break through to Manou behind the stumps.Scott Kremerskothen (6*) joined Marsh and simply tried to last until stumps. Marsh had endured a bad day with the bat yesterday; he was involved in the disastrousrun out of DiVenuto and later played a wild shot at McIntyre to be bowled. And, unfortunately, matters didn’t improve much for him today. His dismissal was possiblythe most cruel of the match; he leaned forward to defend a ball from McIntyre but had the ball roll back between his legs and tilt back a stump before he had thechance to retrieve the situation.So dire had affairs become by this point that the injured Hills (4*) was forced to come to the crease. He at least made it through the day unscathed but not withoutsurviving one chance; Shane Deitz dropping a reasonably difficult catch close in to the bat from McIntyre’s bowling.

According to The Sunday Mirror (via Shields Gazette), Mike Ashley has lined up Sean Dyche to replace Steve Bruce if the latter is sacked as Newcastle manager.

The Lowdown: Bruce future uncertain

The Magpies have lost just one game in their last seven (Sky Sports) and have beaten the likes of Arsenal, Leicester and West Ham, but that still leaves them 16th in the Premier League table.

Bruce is not the most popular man on Tyneside (Chronicle Live), and his future at St James’ Park remains uncertain.

The Latest: Dyche in the frame

As such, if Ashley does decide to relieve Bruce of his duties, the Newcastle owner will reportedly target Dyche as his replacement.

The Burnley boss has just over 12 months left on his contract at Turf Moor, although he is in talks with Clarets over a potential extension to that deal. Crystal Palace, Everton and Aston Villa are also said to be keen on the 49-year-old.

The Verdict: Much change?

Dyche has done a magnificent job with Burnley. Despite having one of the lowest wage bills in the Premier League (Spotrac), he has been able to keep them in the top flight since 2016, having twice led them to promotion.

He is actually the longest-serving boss in the top tier, having taken over the role at Turf Moor in 2012 (sportskeeda.com), and fellow Premier League manager Graham Potter has acclaimed the “amazing job” the Kettering native has done at Burnley (Lancashire Telegraph).

However, whether he is the right man for Newcastle is uncertain – the biggest criticism directed at Bruce has been the stale football his side has played (The Mirror). Burnley only average 43.3% possession compared to the Magpies’ 41.3%, while Dyche’s men have averaged even fewer shots per game (WhoScored).

Granted, Burnley’s squad is perhaps not as good on paper as what Bruce has, but the statistics do not indicate that Dyche would be able to given Newcastle fans the entertaining football they crave.

In other news, Newcastle are interested in signing this Premier League forward.

Leeds United star Raphinha has been named in Paul Merson’s Premier League Team of the Season following an ‘outstanding’ campaign.

The Lowdown: Superb season for Leeds

The Brazilian arrived from Rennes in last summer’s transfer window and has been one of the Whites’ star men in 2020/21, scoring six goals and registering nine assists in the league.

Raphinha has caught the eye with his silky dribbling, creativity and end product on the right wing, playing a big role in Leeds ending the campaign ninth in the table.

The Latest: Merson hails Raphinha

Merson has been left hugely impressed by the 24-year-old and the Sky Sports pundit outlined [via MOT Leeds News] why he picked the Brazilian in his Team of the Season, saying:

“Raphinha has been an absolute sensation for Leeds this season.

“To go into Leeds as a Brazilian player, and you have to be a certain type of player to play the Leeds way, and he has taken to it like a duck to water and has been absolutely outstanding.”

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The Verdict: More to come

The hope is that this is only the start for Raphinha, with next season seeing him go up another gear and taking Marcelo Bielsa’s side to new heights.

It could be argued that the winger’s influence waned slightly as the campaign went on, with just one goal in his final 10 games, but with a good rest this summer, there is no reason why he won’t be even better next time around.

It is essential that Leeds keep hold of Raphinha should offers come in for him, with the South American arguably the most gifted player at Elland Road currently and, according to WhoScored, their best performer from a successful season. Merson’s recognition of him is a deserved testament to how well the 24-year-old has done upon moving to the Premier League.

In other news, a pundit has urged Leeds to sign a current England international this summer. Find out who it is here.

Where do you begin to trace the root of Celtic’s diabolical season?

The Hoops have been plagued with issues throughout 2020/21 and when you dig deep enough, you’ll realise that there are problems far greater than Scott Brown’s dwindling performances or Odsonne Edouard’s questionable mindset.

It stems far deeper than Jonjoe Kenny’s inability to concentrate or Diego Laxalt’s hopeless defending. It also runs further back than last summer’s shambolic recruitment.

Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti have been a huge waste of money, setting the club back a sum of £9.5m. The former has barely played after being usurped in the pecking order by Scott Bain while Ajeti has only six goals to his name.

Coincidentally, that significant financial investment nearly equates to the amount of money Celtic received for Brendan Rodgers.

Back in February 2019, Leicester City managed to prise the Northern Irishman away from Paradise in a deal that goes down as one of the most expensive manager transfers of all time.

The Foxes paid a compensation fee of around £10m two years ago but that money has rather evaporated.

Rodgers engineered a tremendous amount of success in Glasgow, winning seven trophies in total but they failed to replace him sufficiently when he headed south of the border.

That decision was taken by the much-maligned Peter Lawwell. The CEO is set to retire at the end of the season and be replaced by Dominic McKay but it’s his lack of ambition back in 2019 that is the root cause of Celtic’s current downfall.

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With that in mind,  you can hardly blame the numerous protests that have occurred outside Parkhead this season.

Speaking on ACSOM after Celtic were drubbed 4-1 by Rangers last Sunday, presenter Paul John Dykes said: “So we make around £10m when he [Rodgers] goes to Leicester and what do we do with it? We bring in Neil Lennon. Now, that is on Peter Lawwell and that performance today if you really want to track it back is on Lawwell.”

Dykes continued: “The suggestion that Peter Lawwell will still be at the club in some capacity going forward, Celtic fans should be frightened about that. He is the reason we have fallen so disparagingly short this season.”

It’s particularly hard to disagree with that assessment. Lawwell had £10m to spend on a top-quality manager but instead looked towards the past.

Lennon returned for a second bite of the cherry and despite winning the treble last term, everything has disastrously fallen apart in 2020/21.

His management left a lot to be desired and the fact he was still using Rodgers’ training methods at Lennoxtown says it all.

£10m is a lot of money for a club like Celtic but it was thrown down the drain with their shoddy recruitment in the transfer window summing things up.

That £9.5m last summer would have been better sitting in the bank, especially after the way Lawwell refused to spend it on an able replacement over two years ago now.

With Celtic in such a dominant period in their history, attracting a manager shouldn’t have been a particularly arduous task.

At the time, they were linked with Slaven Bilic, David Moyes, Steve Clarke and Roberto Martinez. Any of those coaches will have been more inspirational than someone who had already taken on the job once.

As the hierarchy are proving now, it’s difficult to find a new head coach when the future of the football club is so unclear.

Their search has gone on for ten weeks and is still devoid of a solution. All of this is on Lawwell; he has a lot to answer for. The fans should be particularly enraged right now.

AND in other news, Forget Howe: Desmond can transform Celtic by hiring “brave” 48 y/o who wowed Guardiola…

مع تبقي ساعات قليلة على مباراة باريس سان جيرمان وريال مدريد، في دوري أبطال أوروبا، اليوم الثلاثاء، لا تتوقف الأنباء حول مستقبل الدولي الفرنسي كيليان مبابي جناح النادي الباريسي، واقترابه من الانتقال إلى النادي الملكي.

ويحل ريال مدريد ضيفًا على باريس سان جيرمان، مساء اليوم الثلاثاء، في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، على ملعب “حديقة الأمراء”، ضمن لقاءات ذهاب دور الـ16 من دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وليس سرًا أن مبابي يرغب في الانتقال إلى ريال مدريد، حيث يُعد نادي أحلامه وصرّح برغبته في الانتقال إلى الملكي في أكثر من مناسبة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. آس: الخليفي وبيريز يجتمعان على مائدة غداء مليئة بـ”التوتر” قبل مباراة اليوم في دوري أبطال أوروبا

وحسب صحيفة “ذا أثلتيك” في تقرير حصري لها، فإن مبابي رفض خلال الساعات القليلة الماضية، عرضين على الأقل من إدارة النادي الباريسي من أجل التوقيع على عقد جديد.

وينتهي عقد مبابي مع باريس سان جيرمان بنهاية الموسم الجاري، في 30 يونيو 2022، ويبدو أن الفرنسي عازم على الرحيل.

وأكدت الصحيفة أن مبابي يرغب في الرحيل، ولا يرى نفسه إلا بقميص ريال مدريد في الموسم القادم.

وقالت الصحيفة إنه بعد رفض العرضين الأخيرين من قبل مبابي، أصبح ريال مدريد أكثر ثقة أنه سيضم صاحب الـ”22″ عامًا، مؤكدة أن وصيف فرنسا بات يائسًا للاحتفاظ باللاعب.

يُذكر أن مبابي هذا الموسم يُقدم أداء أكثر من رائع مع النادي الباريسي، والنجم الفرنسي شارك في 31 مباراة بمُختلف المسابقات، وتمكن من إحراز 21 هدفًا وقدم 16 تمريرة حاسمة.

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been urged to forget about the upcoming European Championship due to his injury woes.

Having suffered a serious knee injury against Everton back in October, the defender was expected to be ruled out for the rest of the club campaign, as well as this summer’s tournament.

However, Netherlands coach Frank de Boer has suggested that the 29-year-old could potentially “contribute” to the national side this summer, having returned to training with the Anfield club.

However, former Dutch international Khalid Boularhrouz has suggested that he “wouldn’t be thinking” about the Euros if he were Van Dijk.

Whilst missing out on the chance to appear for his country at the Euros would be a huge blow for the Reds’ centre-back, it would be a considerable positive for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool.

Missing out on the tournament would of course give Van Dijk more time to recover from the serious knee injury he sustained six months ago, allowing him to get back to top form and fitness.

Of course, the Dutchman not taking to the pitch should also eliminate any possibility of him aggravating the problem once again, hopefully leaving him fully-fit going into the 2021/22 campaign.

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Should he play at the tournament and get injured, then Liverpool would certainly feel his absence once again. With Van Dijk in the backline during 2019/20, the Reds lifted the Premier League title, only conceding 33 goals – just 0.86 per game – en route to their iconic triumph.

Their drop-off without the £63m-rated defender this season has been dramatic. In the league matches he has missed this campaign, Jurgen Klopp’s troops have conceded 0.92 goals per game, leaving them languishing sixth in the table.

With the 29-year-old back, though, he could certainly help Liverpool to get back to their best. Whilst Van Dijk missing the Euros could be a personal blow for the player, it could also be a huge boost to Liverpool.

AND in more news, read why Liverpool must break the bank for this Serie A starlet…

Glasgow Rangers’ last five games of the season have been revealed as they attempt to go the term unbeaten.

Rangers find out remaining schedule

Of course, the Scottish Premiership’s peculiar format means the league will split into the top six and the bottom six, with the teams in each group playing each other once to take the grand total for the campaign to 38 games played per side.

The Gers’ final five games of the league season have now been confirmed (via The Glasgow Times). They are as follows:

Sunday 11th April – Rangers vs Hibernian

Wednesday 21st April – St Johnstone vs Rangers

Sunday 2nd May – Rangers vs Celtic

Wednesday 12th May – Livingston vs Rangers

Saturday 15th May – Rangers vs Aberdeen

Glory awaits

After 33 matches, the Gers are in the fantastic position of still being unbeaten (BBC) – that means they have a realistic opportunity of going the campaign without defeat in the league. However, there is no doubt they will face some difficult challenges if they are to do so.

Obviously, the fourth Old Firm derby of the season jumps off the page – Steven Gerrard will be happy that game will be played at Ibrox. A third visit of the term to Livingston and their artificial pitch is unlikely to be an easy game either. All eyes, though, will be on the final fixture. They will face Aberdeen, and it is on that day that they are likely to finally receive the Premiership trophy. Given the rivalry they share with the Dons (The Guardian), it will be an occasion the Gers will particularly enjoy.

In other news, this man has been tipped to be Rangers’ Player of the Year.