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Liverpool are looking to open contract talks with defender Neco Williams this summer.

What’s the word?

That’s according to a report by the Liverpool Echo, who claim that the Reds are planning to hold talks with Williams at the end of the season, before making a final decision on the defender’s future at Anfield.

With the club making the 21-year-old available for around £10m last year, it has been a remarkable turnaround for the player.

There were no bids for Williams in the summer and this led to him joining Fulham on loan in January, where he has excelled.

Jurgen Klopp sees progress

The Welshman’s form in the Championship with Fulham – who were recently promoted back to the Premier League – has convinced Klopp to see what the future holds for the defender at Liverpool.

The £10m rated defender has played 14 times for his adopted side in all competitions and registered an impressive two goals and two assists during that time. A solid return for a right-back and this will surely have impressed a watching Klopp.

The manager is clearly a massive admirer of the defender, explaining that he “trained like a machine” with further compliments also coming from his international boss, Rob Page.

Page stated that Williams “had to be brave” to join Fulham from Liverpool in January, moving away from what could be a historic achievement if they win the quadruple and training with world-class players on a daily basis.

This move seems like it has paid dividends, however, with the news that Klopp could want the player – who Page also claimed is a “recipe for success” – to remain at Anfield after the summer transfer window.

There is no doubt there he is a talented player, his success already proves this, plus the fact he has been capped for Wales 18 times at such a young age.

And, should Williams continue his impressive form at Anfield next season, the right-back could well begin to challenge Trent Alexander-Arnold for his place in the Reds starting XI, something that would undoubtedly please Klopp greatly.

Indeed, with more competition for a starting role, the England international will need to be at his absolute best in order to remain as the German’s number one in the position – something that is only likely to improve Liverpool further next season, meaning Williams could indeed be Klopp’s recipe for success.

AND in other news: Liverpool now plot £67m bid for “sensational” 76k-p/w “winner”, imagine him and Salah.

Leeds United have picked up a bit of form at just the right time, and having picked up seven points from a possible nine, they head into tomorrow’s clash against Watford with a whole lot more confidence.

Jesse Marsch’s side picked up some much-needed victories over Norwich and Wolves before drawing 1-1 to Southampton at Elland Road last time out.

Their trip to Vicarage Road may prove to be a stern test given that Roy Hodgson’s men are currently battling for their lives in the Premier League relegation battle, and Marsch will have some big calls to make on his starting line-up.

One decision he might be compelled to make is dropping Diego Llorente.

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The Spain international has found himself in and out of the side in recent weeks and months, with niggling injuries disrupting him from really putting together a run of consistent games together.

After being forced off inside the first half against Wolves at Molineux in mid-March, Llorente made an immediate return against the Saints last weekend, but he looked off the pace and nervy on occasion.

As per Sofascore, while he made a team-high six tackles, he also committed the joint-most fouls, finding it difficult to balance being aggressive and playing on the edge, and sometimes losing his cool and composure. In fact, this season has seen him lose 80 duels in total in the Premier League, while winning only 97.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for Leeds Live, Beren Cross gave him a five, saying: “Can be unconventional, but brilliant at times or just verging on calamity in the backline. Armando Broja gave him a difficult afternoon without dominating him.”

Those sentiments were echoed by The Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth, who awarded him a six, before adding: “Brought an element of drama at times that felt unnecessary, some mixed moments of defending and in possession.”

Pascal Struijk was the man to find himself out of the team following the return of club captain Liam Cooper, and the Scot was partnered with Llorente in central defence.

While the Dutchman may have had a difficult time of late, at just 22 he remains a big part of the future of this Leeds team, and he would surely learn a lot more from playing rather than sitting on the bench.

Indeed, speaking earlier this year, Cooper himself said of Struijk: “Pascal has absolutely everything to be one of the best centre-backs out there, he really has. He’s unbelievable on the ball, he’s strong, good in the air. I always knew. We all know now. His improvement speaks for itself.”

Bringing the youngster into the line-up and having someone as experienced as Cooper alongside him should see him return to much better form, knowing that he has someone to fall back upon and organise the defence rather than feeling the pressure to do so himself.

Valued at £12m by CIES, Llorente should be dropped from the starting line-up against Watford, with Struijk coming back in to take his place and resume his fledgling partnership with Cooper.

AND in other news – Signed for £5m, now worth 700% more: Orta struck dream Leeds deal with “quality” 22 y/o

According to a report from The Scotsman, Celtic could now face major competition for the capture of loan ace Cameron Carter-Vickers in the summer transfer window. 

The lowdown: Celtic want Carter-Vickers permanently

The 24-year-old has been nothing short of a revelation since arriving at Parkhead on a season-long loan deal from Tottenham Hotspur, and it’s no surprise that Celtic would be looking to make the move a permanent one.

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Following a recent report from the Daily Record claiming that a full-time transfer was ‘edging closer’ as the Glasgow club take advantage of a £6m purchase option, Hoops supporters might have felt that the capture of the USA international was a mere formality.

However, those hopes may be about to be tempered as multiple Premier League clubs take an interest in the defender who has already racked up 39 appearances this term…

The latest: Carter-Vickers a man in demand

As per The Scotsman, Celtic could face a battle to land the eight-cap American defender, who could add to that tally significantly over the coming months after his nation recently secured qualification for the World Cup in Qatar.

The report claims that Wolves, Burnley and Leicester City are all ‘weighing up’ a decision on whether to make an offer to sign the loanee at the end of the season.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is said to be ‘relaxed’ about the prospects of the deal, which could rise up to £10m should certain stipulations be met.

The verdict: Would be a statement signing

As the Hoops go in search of Champions League group stage football, adding the likes of the £2.7m-valued Carter-Vickers to the Parkhead squad will be imperative if Postecoglou’s men are to compete at that level.

Any attempts to scupper this deal, or indeed one to bring Jota to Glasgow on a permanent basis, will likely fall on deaf ears as Celtic have purchase agreements in place with both parent clubs.

The difficulty may come should those interested be willing to far supersede the money on offer, bringing the prospect of a fast sale for profit into the equation.

Moreover, the Hoops should be dotting the necessary i’s and crossing the t’s to bring the man hailed as ‘excellent’ by Chris Sutton to Parkhead on a permanent deal.

In other news, Celtic eye move for Scottish starlet. Find out who it is here.

With the likes of Robin Olsen, Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho having made their way to Aston Villa to join up with the rest of Steven Gerrard’s squad, this highlights how busy the Midlands club have been during the current January transfer window.

Now with just a week left before the window closes, it seems as though the Villans have their eye on bringing another player in that would strengthen Gerrard’s squad further.

What’s the latest?

According to a recent Twitter post from journalist John Percy, Atletico Madrid striker and Gerrard’s former Liverpool teammate, Luis Suarez, has provided the Villa manager with a “glowing reference” on reported transfer target Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus.

He is apparently now the club’s first-choice for a new defensive-midfielder after seeing a £25m bid for Yves Bissouma rejected by Brighton & Hove Albion.

In full, he said: “Luis Suarez has provided Steven Gerrard with a glowing reference on #avfc target Rodrigo Bentancur. Juventus midfielder & Uruguay international now #1 choice at DCM after Villa’s £25m bid for Yves Bissouma rejected by Brighton. Talks to continue this week, as per @TomCollomosse.”

As a product of Boca Juniors’ youth system, Bentancur eventually joined Juventus back in the 2017 summer transfer window and has since gone on to make a total of 181 appearances for the Italian club across all competitions, scoring three goals and providing 18 assists along the way.

Fans will be thrilled

With Suarez having played with a number of top talents throughout his playing career such as Gerrard and Coutinho as well as the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Andres Iniesta among many others, it’s safe to say that a glowing reference from him will mean a lot and thus, will surely excite a lot of Villa fans about the possibility of Bentancur joining the club.

However, with the Uruguay international having played in 26 games for Juventus so far this season across all competitions, Villa could find it difficult to sign him if Juventus are reluctant to let him go.

Moving forward, if Villa were able to sign the 24-year-old in the next few days before the end of the month, this would surely be another big transfer move from the Midlands club.

That’s when you consider the experience Bentancur has of playing in one of the top teams in Europe in competitions such as Serie A and the Champions League while winning a number of trophies in the process.

It really does feel as though Gerrard is flooding his team with as much elite experience as possible; an exciting proposition for any fan at Villa Park in 2022.

In other news: Journalist drops latest Yves Bissouma transfer update

Sri Lanka attacked from every corner, with seam and spin, to strangle and harass Zimbabwe who just about managed to get past 100. And Tillakaratne Dilshan helped them polish off the target without any trouble

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera01-Jun-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outHamilton Masakadza fought a lone battle for Zimbabwe•AFP

“Frankly today we were rubbish,” said Zimbabwe’s new coach Alan Butcher. And he was right. It was a one-way street in Bulawayo. Only Hamilton Masakadza turned up for Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka attacked from every corner, with spin and seam, to strangle and harass the hosts who just about managed to get past 100. Only Masakadza managed to successfully combine aggressive intent with the required skill that the rain-reduced 26-over game demanded of the batsmen. It was Sri Lanka, led by Ajantha Mendis, who called all the shots and Tillakaratne Dilshan ensured they earned a bonus point and took the top spot with a breezy knock.Mendis bamboozled with his mystery against a team he’s had much success with – 18 wickets from six games before this. Suraj Randiv troubled with his accuracy and Jeevan Mendis, the debutant leg-spinning allrounder, picked up a couple of wickets. Not that the seamers didn’t sparkle.Nuwan Kulasekara turned in an asphyxiating spell with the new ball with figures that read 3-0-7-0 and Dilhara Fernando, as ever, extracted bounce from short of a length to produce an equally tight spell. And it was Fernando who started the demolition job by removing Brendon Taylor.The nature of Taylor’s dismissal set the tone for Zimbabwe today: He stumbled out to the leg side, almost like a tailender, to a short-of-length delivery and had a lame fatal poke at it. It highlighted the urge to attack that the reduced game demanded of the hosts, but also perfectly caught the confusion in the mind of the way to go about it.Zimbabwe also faltered in their strategy. Why was Greg Lamb, a batsman with a strike rate of about 41, sent in at No.3 in a 26-over game? The pitch wasn’t so bad that they needed to stitch one end up. Lamb crawled to a 19-ball 10 which was neither here nor there and only piled pressure on Masakadza.Craig Ervine’s struggles against spin further hurt Zimbabwe. He could only eke out three runs from 18 deliveries of spin from the combination of Ajantha Mendis and Randiv. He couldn’t pick Ajantha Mendis’ variations and couldn’t break free against Randiv’s accuracy. Ajantha Mendis swallowed both Lamb and Ervine and Randiv lured Charles Coventry to hole out to the deep. And more trouble lay around the corner for Zimbabwe as they lost Elton Chigumbura , inside-edging a short delivery from Jeevan Mendis on to his stumps.Watching all the damage unfold was Masakadza. It was he who hit the first boundary with a disdainful pull in the fourth over against Fernando. It was he who hit the first six in an over where he threatened to turn things around for Zimbabwe. He went after Thissara Perera in the eighth over, thrashing him for a four past mid-off and unfurling an imperiously-pulled six to loot 17 runs. However, he too slowed down after that frenetic over. It took him a further 38 deliveries to hit his next boundary, the self-restraint no doubt caused by the alarming rate at which the wickets fell. In the end, he was the ninth wicket to fall when he top-edged a bouncer from Fernando and Zimbabwe soon crashed out for 118.Zimbabwe needed a great start if they were to pull off an unlikely heist. However, Chris Mpofu went for 14 runs in the third over as Upul Tharanga pinged the point boundary for three fours and Sri Lanka seized all momentum. Though Tharanga was run out later, Tillakaratne Dilshan, who had played a watchful, but a good knock against India in the previous game, hastened the end with an aggressive innings. He lofted Prosper Utseya for a six and a four, slog-swept Lamb to the ropes and cut Chigumbura for more boundaries. The chase was over in a blink.

Having secured a 1-0 victory in their previous SPFL match against Livingston, Rangers are back in action this afternoon with an away clash against Ross County next up for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side in their latest attempt at moving a step closer to securing the league title.

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Van Bronckhorst could select to be in his starting XI to take on County this afternoon, one figure that didn’t start against Livingston but ended playing a big part in the win that we feel should be in the team from the beginning on this occasion is Scott Arfield. 

After replacing James Sands in the 59th minute in midweek, Arfield managed to get his name on the scoresheet and score the vital goal that earned Rangers the three points on the day. 

With that in mind, it would be a good option to give Arfield, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £16k-per-week according to Salary Sport, the chance to potentially add another goal to his tally for the season from the start rather than the substitutes bench again. 

Also, with Van Bronckhorst recently sharing his wishes at seeing the Canadian stay at the club for the foreseeable future after his current contract at Ibrox expires at the end of the season, starting him this afternoon would be a good way of proving just how important he is for the team.

Labelled as a “reliable” player for Rangers by Kenny Miller, Arfield has racked up 165 appearances for the Scottish champions across all competitions with 32 goals and 18 assists under his belt, showing not only how experienced he is but also how capable he is in front of goal.

Taking into account how the 33-year-old has already scored against County this season back in August during Rangers’ 4-2 win, he now has the chance to haunt them again this time around and terrify them with his goalscoring ability.

Moving forward, while the midfielder proved in the game against Livingston how much of a useful impact player he can be for Rangers off the substitutes bench, it could be worth starting him this time to see if he can help his side have a more comfortable game this time around.

In other news: “Monitoring”: Journalist delivers key Rangers transfer update which Van Bronckhorst will love…

Match facts

Deccan v Chennai, Nagpur
Saturday, April 10
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)If Deccan beat Chennai, four teams will be level on ten points•Indian Premier League

Big Picture

The rules of the game have changed a bit since Deccan Chargers beat Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday night. Had Deccan rolled over and died in the big chase then, this match wouldn’t be between Deccan and Chennai Super Kings. This rather would have been one part of the tussle between Chennai, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals.Now, though, not only have Deccan thrown their hat in, Bangalore too are not so sure of their progress. Instead of a three-way tussle for the last spot, it has become a five-way epic for the last two slots. This heightened scenario of permutations and combinations will of course stand all but squashed if Chennai beat Deccan in Nagpur, where the latter choked so spectacularly against Rajasthan.If Deccan build some sort of momentum, though, and beat Chennai, more intrigue will follow: Chennai, Bangalore, Deccan and Kolkata will we levelled at 10 points each in that scenario, with the second match of Saturday to break up the tie between Kolkata and Bangalore. It’s all a bit delicate for all the five teams involved, and time for making mistakes is gone. This much is given: both sides will be feeling good after upset victories against Bangalore and Mumbai Indians in their last respective matches.

Form guide (most recent first)

Chennai Super Kings WWWLL
Deccan Chargers WLLLL

Team talk

T Suman solved a big headache for Deccan, becoming the first Indian domestic player to make a sizeable contribution for them this season. It might still be a step too far for them to do away with an overseas allrounder, Mitchell Marsh in this case, and bring in Chaminda Vaas to bolster a struggling bowling attack. In tough times, though, tough teams make tough calls.Doug Bollinger’s arrival has given Chennai the x-factor they needed, but Thilan Thushara’s impressive performance ahead of Muttiah Muralitharan will give them a bit of a selectorial headache, especially with Albie Morkel and Justin Kemp returning to fitness. Morkel should take his place ahead of Mike Hussey, which will make it an interesting toss-up between Thushara and Murali. Sudeep Tyagi should retain his place ahead of L Balaji, Manpreet Gony and Joginder Sharma.

Previously

Deccan 3, Chennai 2
In their first match, in the first week of the tournament, Deccan racked up 190 and defended it with ease in Chennai, to break their head-to-head tie over the last two seasons.

In the spotlight

Adam Gilchrist has been striking at the rate of 176.81 per 100 balls, but the trouble for Deccan is he has lasted on an average only 13.8 balls per innings. Teams are mindful that one of these days he will play 50 balls, and run away with the match. Chennai will hope Saturday is not one of those days.Something similar could be said of Matthew Hayden, who is yet to follow up his Mongoose-driven demolition of Delhi Daredevils with another match-winning innings. Just as with Gilchrist, his long-time ODI opening partner, Hayden’s next big innings can’t be too far away. We are in for some match if their big days coincide on the Saturday.

Prime numbers

• At 12 wickets, Murali is three short of purple-cap-holder Pragyan Ojha.
• Gilchrist’s 176.81 is the best strike-rate among those who have scored 200 or more in this IPL.
• At 89 wickets, Morkel is only one strike behind the most successful bowler in all Twenty20s, Yasir Arafat.

The chatter

“A 90% improved performance, still 10% left to do.”
“I think the fresh legs in our team after the three changes helped us. It was late when I went to bed, still feeling very elated. The next morning, I couldn’t believe we had won.”