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As per reliable reporter Jack Rosser of The Evening Standard, some news has emerged on West Ham and their hunt for a new striker.

The Lowdown: West Ham still in the market…

The Irons’ centre-forward pursuit can be stretched all the way back to January, when David Moyes confirmed that offers had been made for Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri.

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This is to solve the lack of cover for star striker Michail Antonio, especially taking into account his injury history, and despite the club’s efforts, they still haven’t managed to land an alternative to the Jamaica international.

The search is still on, however, as Rosser brings an update involving FC Copenhagen striker Jonas Wind.

The Latest: West Ham weigh bid…

As per The Evening Standard, West Ham – and by extension head of recruitment Rob Newman – are ‘weighing up a move’ for the prolific Dane, who has bagged a senior career total of 45 goals for his current club.

Indeed, a striker apparently ‘remains high’ on Moyes’ shopping list ahead of January as he looks to maintain the Hammers’ head-turning start to the 2021/22 campaign.

The Verdict: Good option…

Over his appearances for Copenhagen this season, Wind has showcased a real proficiency in front of goal with 10 across all competitions already, along with six assists (Transfermarkt).

He’s also a towering presence at 6 foot 2 and could possess a physicality suited to the tough nature of Premier League football.

In a further incentive for West Ham to move for him, it is believed that the 22-year-old could leave his current club for as little as £11m in January, as recently claimed by Ekstra Bladet (via Sport Witness).

Amid the Irons’ links to Andrea Belotti and Adam Hlozek, Wind could come as a shrewd alternative.

In other news: ‘I’m alive’, ‘We baaaccckkk’ – Many West Ham fans react as Irons set for striker swoop, find out more here.

Speaking in an interview with Radio Prague International, Czech football pundit Jiri Hosek has dropped an enticing claim involving West Ham-linked billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.

The Lowdown: Kretinsky in talks…

As news broke last week of the Czech tycoon’s advanced talks to buy a 27 per cent stake in West Ham, the impending deal has been met with much excitement and promise in what could be a huge financial booster for the club.

The potential agreement will see the Hammers’ value as a club rise to between £600 million and £700 million – around six times more than it was worth when GSB took over.

The Telegraph believe Kretinsky’s talks could also be the ‘precursor’ of an eventual full takeover, which would put an end to GSB’s divisive reign at West Ham.

Kretinsky’s personal fortune is said to be more than £3 billion and so it isn’t infeasible to believe that West Ham could see a cash injection for transfers if talks succeed.

The Latest: Hosek drops enticing claim…

Speaking to Radio Prague, Czech source and football pundit Hosek has made an enticing claim as he backs this big news out of West Ham – going on to say that fans should be ‘relaxed’ about the billionaire’s reputation as an owner.

“There are some very dramatic stories being told behind the curtains about his involvement in choosing the line-up, the coaches and discussing the team’s tactics,” he explained.

“West Ham fans should be very relaxed about the reputation of Daniel Křetinský, if we are talking about this in comparison with the recent acquisition of Newcastle United by the Saudi Royal Fund.

“There is a very transparent record of Mr Křetínský’s fortune, so we can say that he is not one of these dodgy Central and Eastern European tycoons whose sources of money we can’t track.

“This is perhaps an optimistic note for West Ham United fans.”

The Verdict: More good news…

Club investments or part ownership from relatively unknown overseas parties will always arguably strike a degree of uncertainty, so this claim on Kretinsky’s background should indeed come as a positive for Irons supporters.

Even if the 46-year-old doesn’t go on to buy a majority stake in the club and take over from GSB, Kretinsky’s cash injection would be one major benefit as manager David Moyes aims to maintain his side’s fight at the very top level.

The Czech pundit’s claims should come as particularly good news for Irons supporters given the chaos currently unfolding on Tyneside, with Unai Emery raising questions over their new owners’ direction when snubbing the club this week, via The Chronicle.

In other news: ‘Huge’, ‘Don’t gas me’, ‘Announce league title’…West Ham fans flock to ‘exciting’ ExWHUemployee claim, find out more here.

With their 1-0 win over Watford now behind them, Southampton now face Aston Villa tonight at St Mary’s for their next Premier League clash.

Speaking ahead of the match in his latest press conference, Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl revealed that Armando Broja will be available to play after missing last week’s win with an ankle injury, so Jack Stephens will be the only Southampton player set to miss tonight’s clash.

With this in mind, here’s how we feel Southampton could line up against Dean Smith’s side.

In goal, considering that he’s played in every league game for the Saints so far this term, it’s safe to say that Alex McCarthy is likely to keep his place in the team.

At the back, we think Hasenhuttl will stick with the same four which managed to keep a clean sheet at Vicarage Road, with Valentino Livramento at right-back, Mohammed Salisu and Jan Bednarek in the centre and Kyle Walker-Peters at left-back after impressing against Watford, where he earned himself an overall match rating of 8/10 for his efforts from SofaScore.

In the centre of midfield, we reckon the Austrian will again stick with the pairing of Oriol Romeu and club captain James Ward-Prowse, for whom Villa made a £25m bid during the summer.

On the wings, we can see Hasenhuttl sticking with Nathan Redmond on the left but bringing in Nathan Tella, who played and scored for the Southampton B team last weekend against Villa’s under-23 side, on the right. Mohamed Elyounoussi, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £60k-per-week according to Spotrac, duly drops out, having failed to score in his last six league starts since the 2-2 draw at Newcastle in late August, as per WhoScored.

Up top, with Broja back in contention to play, we think Hasenhuttl will put him straight back into the team if he is fit to start, given how he scored in his two previous league outings for the Saints against Leeds United and Burnley. Adam Armstrong returns to the substitutes’ bench.

Next to Broja, given how he scored the winner and his first league goal of the season against Watford, it would make sense for Hasenhuttl to keep Che Adams in the team to see if he can add another goal to his tally for the season against Villa, who have lost their last four league matches.

In other news: Bye-bye Forster: Ralph could save Southampton millions with “confident” 20 y/o beast – opinion

قاد الدولي النرويجي، إيرلينج هالاند، فريقه مانشستر سيتي، لتحقيق فوز مثير على كريستال بالاس بنتيجة 4-2 في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وأقيمت المباراة مساء اليوم السبت، على ملعب “الاتحاد”، وذلك ضمن فعاليات الجولة الرابعة من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويدين جوارديولا للفضل في تحقيق الفوز للثنائي إيرلينج هالاند وبرناردو سيلفا، حيث ساعدا السيتي في العودة في النتيجة بعدما تأخر حامل اللقب في النتيجة بهدفين نظيفين. شاهد اهداف مباراة مانشستر سيتي وكريستال بالاس

وانتهى الشوط الأول من المباراة بتقدم كريستال بالاس بهدفين نظيفين، الهدف الأول جاء عبر النيران الصديقة من مدافع سيتي جون ستونز مُبكرًا بعد أربع دقائق فقط، وفي الدقيقة 21، تمكن يواخيم أندرسون من إحراز الهدف الثاني من ضربة رأسية رائعة بعد ركلة ركنية مُتقنة.

وفي الشوط الثاني من اللقاء، انتفض أصحاب الأرض، وتمكن البرتغالي برناردو سيلفا من تقليص الفارق بهدف رائع بعد تمريرة من رودري حصل عليها صانع الألعاب البرتغالي ثم انطلق نحو المرمى بعد أنّ راوغ أكثر لاعب من لاعبي الضيوف وأطلق تسديدة رائعة في شباك الحارس جاتيا بالدقيقة 53.

اقرأ أيضًا.. فيديو | بقيادة ‘فيرمينو’ المتألق.. ليفربول يُدمر شباك بورنموث بتسعة أهداف في الدوري الإنجليزي

وفي الدقيقة 62، سجل هالاند هدف التعادل لـ مانشستر سيتي، بعد تمريرة من برناردو سيلفا لداخل منطقة الجزاء حصل عليها فودين ثم أرسل عرضية رائعة ارتقى لها النرويجي بالرأس لتُصبح النتيجة 2-2.

وتمكن هالاند من تسجيل الهدف الثاني له في المباراة والثالث لـ مانشستر سيتي، بعد تمريرات متبادلة بين لاعبي مانشستر سيتي، ليتمكن النرويجي في الأخير من وضع الكرة في الشباك.

وواصل هالاند تألقه في المباراة ليُسجل الهدف الثالث له (هاتريك)، وتُصبح النتيجة 4-2، بعد تمريرة بينية رائعة من الألماني إلكاي جوندوجان والنرويجي حصل على الكرة بشكل رائع ثم سدد في المرمى، ليتقنص لفريقه ثلاث نقاط هامة.

انتصار مانشستر ستي جعل رصيد السكاي بلو، 10 نقاط ليتصدر الدوري الإنجليزي “مؤقتًا” فيما توقف رصيد كريستال الاس عند 4 نقاط في المرتبة الثالثة عشر في سلم ترتيب البريميرليج.

Many Aston Villa fans have been left slamming some news involving changes to their fixture schedule.

As per the official website of the Villa Park faithful, no fewer than six of their games over the busy December and January period have been selected for live TV broadcast, which means that their kick-off times have all changed.

AVFC supporters are particularly unhappy with the new Boxing Day time, with which they will now host Chelsea at 5:30pm – travelling will be difficult around that time in the evening, likely leaving fans with a choice of being able to enjoy family time or attend the match.

Dean Smith’s side also host Manchester City at 8:15pm midweek, which is another awkward time, particularly for fans who have work the next day.

Aston Villa fans on fixture changes

These Villa fans were left slamming the news of the fixture changes as they were shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that they were ‘disappointing’:

“8:15pm on a weekday and 5:30pm on Boxing Day feels like an attack tbh”

Credit: @victoriaabigail

“Leeds change and Chelsea is a right inconvenience”

Credit: @turland080694

“The fans don’t matter anymore.”

Credit: @Dannybarker1981

“Disappointing changes looks like my seat will be empty for 2 games”

Credit: @spartan888

“Ignorance is bliss”

Credit: @Jannetts_

“Half 5 Boxing Day, getting home last time was crazy…this is going to be a long walk home!”

Credit: @Hotwheels_1978

In other news, find out which Villa talent is set for a new deal here!

Craig Hope has now ruled out Paulo Fonseca in the ongoing Newcastle United manager race.

The Lowdown: Staveley’s preference

As per Tuttosport (via Sport Witness), Fonseca is Amanda Staveley’s ‘preference’ to take over as the new permanent manager at St. James’ Park, with reports last week from Sky Sports confirming discussions had taken place over a deal to bring the former Roma boss to Tyneside.

However, things seem to have moved quickly, and it now looks like the race could be wide open once more.

The Latest: Ruled out

Hope, North-East correspondent for The Daily Mail, has now revealed that based on conversations that he has had, he does not think that Fonseca will become the new manager in the North East, but claimed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium have indeed spoken to him over the role:

“I don’t think it will be Fonseca based on conversations, but of course they’ve spoken to him, for sure.”

The Verdict: Shame

It would certainly be a shame if the Tyneside outfit are not able to hire Fonseca.

He boasts a very impressive CV, having won no fewer than nine major trophies during his career so far, and averages a tally of 1.95 points won per match in 453 games of management (Transfermarkt).

In terms of his playing style, he has been branded as ‘similar’ to UEFA Champions League winning-coach Thomas Tuchel by his former player at AS Roma Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Football London), and described as an ‘international class‘ tactician by Roma chief executive Tiago Pinto.

Fonseca would certainly bring excitement back to the Magpies on the pitch, but it looks as if they may now miss out on his appointment.

In other news, find out which ‘proven winner’ is PIF’s ‘first choice’ for manager here!

As the dust settles on the ICC World Cup Qualifiers we highlight what each team comes away from South Africa with

Cricinfo staff18-Apr-2009As the dust settles on the ICC World Cup Qualifiers – aside from Sunday’s rather pointless play-offs – we highlight what each team comes away from South Africa with.Qualification for the 2011 World Cup
Canada, Ireland, Kenya, NetherlandsODI status for four years
Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, ScotlandIntercontinental Cup 2009-10
Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Namibia, Netherlands, Scotland, UAEICC World Cricket League Division 1
Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, ScotlandICC World Cricket League Division 2
Bermuda, Namibia, Uganda, UAEICC World Cricket League Division 3
Denmark, OmanICC High Performance Programme grant funding 2009 and 2010
Afghanistan, Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Namibia, Netherlands, Scotland, UAE, Uganda

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done a tremendous job of eradicating the many mistakes his predecessors made in the transfer market, but there are still a handful of underperforming flops lingering around the club.

During his two-and-a-half-year stay as Red Devils boss, the Norwegian tactician has shown the door to the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Marouane Fellaini and Matteo Darmian, replacing them with astute purchases that have transformed the fortunes of the 20-time English champions.

However, Solskjaer’s squad overhaul is not quite complete yet. And one player who continues to raise question marks due to his disappointing displays is Diogo Dalot.

The 22-year-old defender arrived at Old Trafford back in the summer of 2018 from boyhood club Porto via a £19.8m move, and former United boss Jose Mourinho couldn’t hide his delight after the deal was concluded.

“Diogo is an extremely talented young defender with all the qualities to quickly become a great player for this club,” said Mourinho at Dalot’s unveiling.

“He has all the attributes that a full-back needs: physicality, tactical intelligence and technical quality, combined with a Porto academy mentality which prepares players for the maturity they need at the professional level.

“In his age group, he is the best full-back in Europe, and we all believe he has a bright future ahead of him at Manchester United.”

However, things have not worked out as planned for the Portugal international. During his first two seasons with United, Dalot made just 13 Premier League starts and largely failed to impress during his time on the pitch.

Things started to look up for the youngster last term, though. He joined Serie A giants AC Milan on a season-long loan and played a pivotal part in the success that Stefano Pioli’s charges enjoyed.

Throughout his 12-month spell at San Siro, Dalot made 33 appearances in all competitions, achieving a highly respectable 6.76 WhoScored rating along the way.

And £25k-per-week earner’s contribution to the Rossoneri was sizeable, making 1.5 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, and 1.8 clearances per league game as Milan finished in second place in the Serie A standings.

Nevertheless, he’s struggled to replicate that sort of form since returning to English shores. In his five appearances for United during the opening weeks of 2021/22, Dalot has been awarded a rating of just 6.67 for his exploits, highlighting his unsatisfactory output.

The right-back’s performances levels have seen his market value plummet to just £9m despite his age and current contract not expiring for another two years, illustrating how a much-celebrated transfer has turned into a nightmare.

At 22, the best could still be to come from Dalot and he will have ample opportunity to finally fulfill his potential, but he will have to improve his game quickly if he’s to get many more chances in a United shirt.

And, in other news…Rob Dawson reveals worrying Man Utd transfer update, Ole may be concerned 

New Celtic signing Jota ‘can be a frustrating and inconsistent player’, according to The Athletic’s data analyst Mark Carey. 

The lowdown

Jota was one of three Deadline Day arrivals at Celtic Park, along with centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers and striker Giorgos Giakoumakis (via BBC Sport).

He’s joined from SL Benfica on a season-long loan with an option to buy for £6million (via Sky Sports).

The 22-year-old, who’s predominantly a left-winger but can also be deployed centrally or on the right-hand side, has scored two goals and provided three assists in 34 appearances for Benfica’s senior side (via Transfermarkt).

Jota was part of the Portugal squad who reached the final of the Under-21 European Championships at the start of the summer, scoring in the quarterfinal victory over Italy.

The latest

Carey warns that Jota could be a player who draws groans from the stands given his carelessness.

“He clearly has bags of talent,” he wrote. “What is the catch?

“Essentially, he can be a frustrating and inconsistent player. As suggested by his low smarterscout rating for ball retention (20 out of 99), he tends to give the ball away. A lot.”

The verdict

This signing really feels like it could go either way. Jota could simply prove to be a class above and light up the division given his natural flair and showings at youth international level.

But if Celtic experience a tricky run of form, you sense that he’s the kind of player who could become an easy target for frustrated supporters, especially if he takes some time to adapt to a new and extremely physical league.

That’s why it’s smart for the Hoops to have negotiated an option, rather than an obligation, to buy come the end of the season.

In other news, Ange Postecoglou wants this position strengthened.

Liverpool have been dealt an injury blow ahead of their upcoming Premier League clash at Anfield on Saturday.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by the Liverpool website, Jurgen Klopp revealed that James Milner looks set to miss the visit of Chelsea this weekend, as the midfielder has not recovered from the injury which ruled him out of the victory over Burnley last weekend.

Speaking about the current state of his squad, Klopp said: “Millie will not be ready – I think that’s it pretty much.

“All the rest trained and looked good and sharp – we should better be because, obviously, Chelsea is a tough one as well. That’s already kind of like the Champions League, just in the Premier League!”

Klopp will be gutted

While Milner is no longer a bonafide starter in the Liverpool team, having been picked in the starting XI just 20 times over the club’s 2019/20 and 2020/21 league campaigns, the absence of the 35-year-old on Saturday will nevertheless leave Klopp gutted, as the midfielder’s versatility and experience would have been invaluable in a fixture against a side as impressive as Chelsea.

Indeed, having been deployed at left-back, right-back, defensive midfield, left-midfield, central midfield and right-midfield during his time at Anfield, Milner is the archetypal utility man who can be deployed to nullify a particularly dangerous opposition player – of which Chelsea have many.

Furthermore, Milner is a player whom Klopp often brings on to see a game out having taken the lead – something that clearly works, considering the £2.7m-rated man’s average of 2.12 points per game since his move to Liverpool back in 2015.

However, the German coach will have to make do without the England international against Thomas Tuchel’s side on Saturday, a game in which at least one of Liverpool’s or Chelsea’s 100% record so far in the Premier League will have to give.

In other news: Klopp can scare Chelsea by unleashing “extraordinary” £27m-rated Liverpool dynamo