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Leeds United are expecting to receive major offers for star man Kalvin Phillips this summer, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Return to training

The 26-year-old has missed the last six Premier League games with a hamstring injury but has now returned to training alongside Liam Cooper.

Leeds shared images of the pair all smiles at Thorp Arch in the week, with Phillips the subject of late interest in the January transfer window.

West Ham had a £50m bid turned down by Elland Road officials for Phillips late in the winter window, but Leeds are already bracing themselves for even bigger offers.

The Latest: Source shares update

Football Insider shared a story on Saturday where pundit Alan Hutton was giving his thoughts on Phillips’ future.

The outlet added that they were informed by a Leeds source the club are expecting major bids for the midfielder in the summer which are likely to exceed West Ham’s rejected bid.

The Verdict: A worry

Phillips revealed before the January market opened that he wants a new deal at Elland Road, however, as we know, that is yet to materialise.

His current contract is thought to be worth around £25,000-a-week and he hasn’t been handed improved terms since the club’s promotion to the Premier League. That could be a worry for the Whites, especially with interest now mounting in England’s Player of the Year.

Leeds fans will be hoping that Phillips remains in Yorkshire, however, the longer it goes on without a new deal, along with the recent update regarding big summer bids, means there may well be growing concern at Elland Road going into the 2022/23 campaign.

In other news: Leeds beast who Harvey Elliott recently praised may now leave permanently in summer – journalist. 

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Matthias Ginter to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Sky Sports News (via the Daily Mail), who claim that Fabio Paratici is set to battle it out with Juventus, West Ham United and Aston Villa for the signing of the Borussia Monchengladbach centre-back – who is set to become a free agent upon the expiry of his contract at Borussia-Park at the end of the season.

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Conte can axe Sanchez with Ginter

While Antonio Conte and Paratici have reportedly made a left-sided centre-half their priority target this summer, considering just how impressive the right-sided Ginter has been for Gladbach this season, in addition to the fact that Davinson Sanchez does not look to have much of a future in north London under the 52-year-old manager, it is easy to see why Spurs would be interested in a move for the 28-year-old.

Indeed, over his 25 Bundesliga appearances in the current campaign, the £21.6m-rated defender has been imperious in the heart of Adi Hutter’s backline, helping his side keep four clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 1.4 tackles, three clearances and winning 5.6 duels – at a success rate of 67% – per game.

The Germany international has also impressed in an attacking capacity, scoring one goal and creating four big chances for his teammates, in addition to making 56.2 passes, 3.2 long balls and taking 1.2 shots per fixture.

These returns have seen the £50k-per-week player who Joachim Low dubbed “underrated” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.98, ranking him as Gladbach’s best defender and fourth-best player overall in the German top flight this season.

The 46-time capped World Cup winner has also earned praise from legendary German centre-back Lothar Matthaus, who went as far as to compare the Ginter to Paris Saint-German defender and former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos.

Matthaus said: “Ginter has become a leader at the back, similar to Ramos at Real. He doesn’t just give instructions to his teammates, but leads them as well. That’s what Ginter is doing really well at the moment. He reminds me of Ramos.”

As such, considering the fact that the £42m Sanchez has not featured in seven of Tottenham’s last eight Premier League fixtures, as well as the £67k-per-week centre-back who Paul Robinson dubbed “inexcusable” having been linked with a move away from north London in the January transfer window, it would indeed appear as if the Colombia international could be on his way out of the club this summer.

And, if Sanchez does depart, signing Ginter on a free to replace the 25-year-old would undoubtedly be a fantastic piece of business for Paratici to get over the line – as the German would be a huge upgrade upon the former Ajax starlet.

AND in other news: “I wouldn’t be surprised…”: Gold drops teasing Spurs claim that supporters will love

Following Sri Lanka’s comprehensive 81-run defeat in the Asia Cup final, the captain Kumar Sangakkara said the target of 269 was achievable but his batsmen lost the advantage when five wickets fell in the first 15 overs. He added that the fielding was not up to the mark especially in an important game like this.”Unfortunately, our batting style wasn’t probably apt for the conditions. Maybe it would have been a bit tighter and we should have been a bit more positive in executing our strokes,” Sangakkara said. “If we had got through that difficult period, it may have been a couple of wickets down for 60 on the board in the first 15 overs and it would have been a great run chase.”We weren’t the greatest on the field. We had a lot of missed goals that cost us boundaries, 19 extras really doesn’t help the cause especially when you know that you are facing the tougher conditions batting second. We dragged it back in the last 12 overs which cost us only 60 runs but unfortunately, India had a great start, a couple of good partnerships in the middle and 268 was always a very good score on a track like this. We probably gave India about 15-20 runs extra but it wouldn’t have mattered in the end because we got only 187.”Although his team could not make it three Asia Cup wins-in-a-row, Sangakkara said the entire squad showed a lot of character and ability.”What you’ve got to learn is when you get to a final that’s probably where you should play your best cricket, just lift your standards up as high as you can and really go for the blow,” he said. “Unfortunately we had three great games where we outplayed the opposition.”Under Sangakkara’s leadership, this defeat was third in a tournament final, twice to India (first at the Compaq Cup last year) and once to Pakistan (ICC World T20).”We always manage to get into the final unbeaten, then not really perform in the final. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to lift our standards,” Sangakkara said. “You can always talk about the toss at R Premadasa Stadium (Colombo) and at Dambulla but it’s always the mentality that really counts in the end.”The defeatist attitude once the toss goes up and doesn’t come our way is not the right way to go playing cricket. You’ve got to work a lot harder, especially in the first 15 overs.”Commenting on the conditions at Dambulla, Sangakkara said: “We were expecting the ball to move anyway under lights in Dambulla. Both sides played three seamers, unfortunately for us we couldn’t deal with the movement. They bowled good lines and lengths that were tight and hitting the right areas more often than we did at the start. We can talk about swing and seam and all of that, but at the end of the day technically we could have dealt with it a lot better. Getting through difficult periods is the key, not everything goes your way every day. When it doesn’t that’s when the character shows.However, Sangakkara said the fielding was a big disappointment. “We had three great games fielding wise but in the final again we probably saw a big lax in really stopping the ball and converting half chances,” he said. “Especially in a final the margin for error is very little. Conditions or form don’t affect fielding, it is the one thing that you are totally in control of.”

Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has made a claim regarding Tottenham centre-back Joe Rodon, as per GiveMeSport.

The Lowdown: Leeds keen

The defender is yet to make a Premier League appearance under Antonio Conte, who has regularly used left-back Ben Davies as part of a three-man defence.

Leeds United were name-checked with an interest in the 24-year-old over the Christmas period, with reports suggesting that Spurs were likely to give the green light to a temporary exit.

The Wales international recently featured against Morecambe in the FA Cup, but it doesn’t appear as if he is a player in demand this month.

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The Latest: Bridge’s claim

Bridge was talking to GiveMeSport regarding the Tottenham centre-back and claimed that there hasn’t been much interest in Rodon’s services over a loan for the second half of the season.

The journalist outlined: “One thing I have heard is that there hasn’t been a lot of interest from a Premier League side about a loan deal at the moment.”

The Verdict: Not looking good

Spurs insider John Wenham thought that Rodon would ‘definitely’ leave this month, but that is now appearing less likely halfway through the transfer window.

You could make an argument that regular game-time would benefit the defender – who was labelled ‘special’ by Welsh football journalist Ian Mitchelmore – over the next five months, but Spurs will need clubs to approach them for that to happen.

It doesn’t look like the 24-year-old will feature much under Conte in the second half of the season either, and if he doesn’t seal a loan exit, it could be a long 2022 for the player.

In other news: Alasdair Gold drops ‘positive update’ as Tottenham close in on first piece of major January business

تحدث برونو فرنانديز لاعب مانشستر يونايتد عن تعادل فريقه في اللحظات الأخيرة بهدف زميله كاسيميرو أمام تشيلسي ضمن منافسات الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وتقدم تشيلسي بهدف لجورجينيو من ركلة جزاء بالدقيقة 88 ثم تعادل كاسيميرو لمانشستر يونايتد في الوقت المحتسب بدلاً من الضائع. أهداف مباراة تشيلسي ومانشستر يونايتد

وقال برونو فرنانديز في تصيريحاته لقناة “سكاي سبورتس”: “لقد أتيحت لنا فرص في الشوط الأول وكان من الممكن أن نتقدم 2-0”.

مضيفًا: “لقد حصلوا على الهدف من ركلة جزاء لكننا واصلنا القتال، لقد حصلنا على النقطة، لم يكن هذا ما نريد لكننا لم نستسلم أبدًا”.

وتابع البرتغالي حديثه: “أفضل الفرص التي أتيحت لنا لم نتمكن من التسجيل منها، وواصلنا القتال والعمل”. 

عن ركلة الجزاء، أشار برونو: “قلت للحكم إن هذا النوع من الاتصال في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز يحدث كل مباراة، لم أره، لا أستطيع أن أقول ما إذا كان ذلك صحيحًا أم لا، قال سكوت مكتوميناي إنه لم يكن يمسكه (بروخا لاعب تشيلسي)، لا أعلم”.

وبشأن هدف مانشستر يونايتد، أفاد لاعب الوسط: “كانت كرة عرضية رائعة من لوك شو ورأسية رائعة لكاسيميرو، نعلم أنه يمتلك ذلك، سجل العديد من الأهداف مع ريال مدريد، كان هدفًا رائعًا”.

وأتم حول موقف رونالدو: “نحن لا نتحدث عن ذلك، نحن نبقي تلك الأمور بيننا، علينا التعامل مع ذلك في الداخل ولا يتعين على أي شخص آخر أن يعرف ما نريده أو نفكر فيه، لا نعرف ما سيحدث لكن أهم شيء بالنسبة للجميع بما في ذلك كريستيانو هو أن الفريق يفوز، أنا واثق من ذلك”.

وتم استبعاد كريستيانو رونالدو من قائمة مانشستر يونايتد لمباراة تشيلسي ويتدرب النجم البرتغالي مع فريق تحت 21 عامًا، بقرار من المدير الفني إريك تين هاج، بعدما رفض رونالدو المشاركة بديلاً في المباراة الماضية أمام توتنهام. 

Brett Lee is gearing up for the IPL which starts on March 12 and regards the tournament as the first step towards making the Australian team for the World Twenty20 and the ODI World Cup in 2011

Cricinfo staff02-Mar-2010

Brett Lee, who retired from Test cricket last month, is gearing up for the IPL which starts on March 12 and regards the tournament as the first step towards making the Australian team for the World Twenty20 and the ODI World Cup in 2011. Lee had missed the entire Australian summer due to an elbow injury, but is confident of returning to full fitness during the course of the IPL.”I’ve been working very, very closely with Patrick Farhart — he’s been my physio for 16 years — and he’s happy with the way it’s progressing,” Lee, who has been named in Australia’s 30-man preliminary squad for the World Twenty20, told the Sydney Morning Herald. “I’m looking to be up to full pace within a couple of weeks.”Lee added his retirement from Tests had not diluted his ambitions, for he had much to achieve in the limited-overs format. “It was . . . a lifestyle choice through having a young son. I don’t want to be away 11 months of the year,” Lee said, speaking from Dubai at the opening of a training centre for the Kings XI Punjab franchise. “There are many things I want to achieve in the shorter form of the game. One, the Twenty20 World cup for Australia; and two, the 50-over World Cup for Australia in India. I want to be a part of that.”Lee played four matches in the IPL’s inaugural edition, taking four wickets at 28 and followed that up with five wickets in five matches the next year, at 22.20. He was more successful in the Champions League Twenty20. His all-round effort in the final against Trinidad and Tobago won New South Wales the competition, and he was also named Player of the Tournament. The experience of recovering well from injury and succeeding at the highest level, Lee said, was reason to be confident of a strong comeback in the IPL.”Just like anything, experience [matters],” Lee said. “Unfortunately or fortunately — whichever way you look at it — I’ve had a few operations now so I really know what you’ve got to do after it. If it was the first one then I’d be a little bit nervous but I’ve been through it before so I know what I have to do. It doesn’t make it [physically] any easier but it just makes the mental side of things a little bit more relaxed.”In the event of a failure to return to his desired level of fitness during the IPL, Lee said he would opt out of the World Twenty20 but added the possibility was unlikely. “You’ve got to be bowling well and bowling fast. If I can’t get back and bowl the way I want to, whether it’s through [bowling with] pace or through pain, I won’t play. But I don’t think that will be the case, I’m confident my body will stand up to it,” he said.”I’ve got nothing to prove, I’m no out there to prove that I’m bigger and better than ever. I’m just going to keep trying to bowl quick and if I can do the business on the field and still enjoy my cricket that will make me very proud.”

Having secured a loan deal for Philippe Coutinho and now in reported negotiations for the signing of Everton left-back Lucas Digne, Aston Villa’s owners and manager Steven Gerrard have made their intentions clear in the early stages of the current January transfer window about wanting to strengthen their squad.

In terms of what other potential transfer deals could take place at the Midlands club in the coming weeks, one area that has been touted as an area that Gerrard would want to strengthen is midfield.

With this in mind, one potential option that Villa could look to sign and have been linked with in the past is Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who has been labelled as an “outgoing player” from the Italian club this month by manager Max Allegri.

Before jetting off to Juventus back in the 2019 summer transfer window, the Welshman made a total of 371 appearances for Arsenal across all competitions, scoring 65 goals, providing 65 assists and winning three FA Cups along the way.

In the Premier League, the “intelligent” midfielder, as labelled by Juventus teammate Federico Chiesa, made 262 appearances and managed to rack up a total of 40 goals and 51 assists (91 in total), not only highlighting how much experience he has in the top division but also how much of an attacking threat he can be from midfield.

Now that Juventus are apparently willing to let the 31-year-old leave this month, this could pave the way for Villa to secure a solid midfield option that should be able to hit the ground running in the Premier League given his previous experience.

As well as his experience that could be useful for some of Villa’s younger players such as Carney Chukwuemeka, Jacob Ramsey and Cameron Archer, his deadliness in front of goal could give Gerrard the opportunity to create a scary midfield duo alongside John McGinn.

The Scot has also shown his attacking capabilities this season with three goals and two assists in the Premier League, leaving only Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings with more goal contributions.

In addition to his very useful goals and assists, McGinn has shown with his overall performances this season how much of a vital player he is for Villa with a season rating of 7.14/10 from WhoScored, making him their highest-rated player.

Moving forward, if Villa are willing to negotiate a deal for Ramsey this month, this could give Gerrard’s side that added attacking dimension in midfield that could push them to the top half of the table.

Combine Ramsey with McGinn and the Midlands outfit would surely soar up the table.

In other news: Bid made: Journo drops AVFC transfer claim, a future star could be inbound – opinion

علق أنمار الحائلي رئيس نادي اتحاد جدة بشكل ساخر على كثرة الإصابات في صفوف فريقه قبل مواجهة النصر في الكلاسيكو في الجولة الخامسة من دوري روشن.

ويلعب الاتحاد أمام النصر مساء الأحد الثاني من أكتوبر على ملعب مرسول بارك في إطار الجولة الخامسة من دوري روشن السعودي.

الاتحاد مهدد بفقدان 5 لاعبين وهم هيلدر كوستا ومحمد الصعيري ورومارينيو أحمد شراحيلي ومهند الشنقيطي. 

اقرأ أيضا..أنباء سارة في اتحاد جدة بشأن أحمد حجازي قبل مواجهة النصر

وقال رئيس اتحاد جدة في حديث لبرنامج “أكشن يا دوري”: “حتى أنا مصاب، عندي تمزق من الدرجة الثالثة”.

وأكمل: “حدثت إصابتي خلال تمرين الأمس، وأنا الآن في عيادة النادي مع اللاعبين المصابين”.

ويحتل فريق الاتحاد المركز الثالث في ترتيب جدول الدوري السعودي برصيد 10 نقاط، من الفوز في 3 لقاءات والتعادل في مواجهة واحدة.

بينما النصر يأتي في المركز الرابع في ترتيب الدوري برصيد 9 نقاط، حققها من الانتصار في 3 مواجهات، وخسر في مباراة واحدة.

وكان آخر كلاسيكو بين الفريقين شهد فوز الاتحاد (3-0) أمام النصر، وسجل الأهداف رومارينيو وعبد العزيز البيشي وعبد الرزاق حمد الله.

West Indies’ interim coach, Dave Williams, is “almost sure” Chris Gayle will be available to play the first Test against Australia at the Gabba from Thursday

Alex Brown24-Nov-2009

West Indies’ interim coach, David Williams, is “almost sure” Chris Gayle will be available to play the first Test against Australia at the Gabba from Thursday, but will leave the final decision to his jet-lagged captain. Gayle has spent almost 100 hours commuting between the Caribbean and Australia over the past fortnight, and is due to arrive in Brisbane barely 24 hours before the toss.Gayle is no stranger to eleventh hour arrivals ahead of Test series. He landed in England the day before this year’s first Test, having been granted special permission by his board to extend his stint in the IPL. He also cut fine his arrival for the 2008 home Test series against Australia, also due to IPL commitments, prompting Williams to quip: “He’s getting used to it.”Gayle kept fans abreast of his recent movements via his Twitter page, including updates on his mother’s improving health. That development greatly lifted Gayle’s spirits, raising hope among the West Indian team that their captain will be available for the first Test.”He should be alright,” Williams said. “Chris has done this before and he knows what is before him. It’s just a matter of getting acclimatised as quickly as possible and then the ball is in his court whether he wants to play or not. We’ve just got to wait and see and be hopeful that he’s going to be ready for that Test match. It’s going to be very important for us to have him.”Once he comes back here we’re almost sure that he’s going to play. Probably he won’t come to the nets. He’ll just take his time and rest. But it’s up to him. It’s how he feels when he gets up on the morning of the game. We’re just hopeful that he’s going to be ready in time.”Williams dismissed suggestions his team could opt to field first on Thursday to allow Gayle additional time to recuperate from his latest long-haul flight. “We’re not going to make a decision based on one guy,” he said. “If we get to the Gabba and we have a look in the morning and we feel it’s feasible for us to be bat then so be it.”Gayle’s mercy dash is the latest setback to hit the West Indian squad. A damaging industrial relations dispute and an injury to key fast bowler Fidel Edwards conspired to relegate West Indies to 12-1 outsiders with bookmakers for the Gabba Test, and Gayle’s absence would presumably see those odds inflate further.Despite the various crises confronting his team, Williams adopted a bullish stance ahead of Thursday’s series opener. “We have had a good look at the Australian bowling attack (and) we felt it’s not as experienced as previous attacks,” he said. “”Maybe we can put them under some pressure.”

The plays of the day from the fifth and final day at Centurion

Andrew McGlashan at Centurion20-Dec-2009Trott takes his time
Jonathan Trott is going to annoy a few opposition during his international career, because he takes an age to prepare himself to face up for a delivery. After a solitary Test, it is already getting to South Africa. During the one-day series he was given a warning for time-wasting and the umpires had to have another word with him on the final day at Centurion, although he wasn’t officially warned. Trott marks his guard regularly with a huge line carved by his boot, and then likes to survey the field before strolling into line before finally taking strike. A couple of times the bowler and Graeme Smith waved their arms in frustration, but Trott trotted on at his own pace.Running madness
Kevin Pietersen certainly likes his quick singles – or Red Bull runs as they have become known – but it means a few hairy moments. On 27, Pietersen pushed the ball into the covers and raced off for a single. The ball went straight to JP Duminy, one of South Africa’s best fielders, but luckily for Pietersen the fielder couldn’t collect. A direct hit at either end would have resulted in a wicket, but the way Duminy was shaping suggested he would have picked Pietersen as the preferred option. Instead, he and Trott punched gloves mid-pitch and breathed a sigh of relief. But wait…Kevin does a Nasser (or a Thorpe)
Thoughts were just beginning towards a comfortable draw when Pietersen and Trott resumed after tea. Then, out of nowhere, Pietersen pushed the ball into the off side and set off for a single without realising that Friedel de Wet, the bowler, was already closing in on it. De Wet collected and quickly realised he had oodles of time to run up to the stumps. There was no question of Trott, the non-striker, actually attempting the run. His only choice was whether to save or sacrifice himself, and he chose the former. The moment brought back memories of the horror mix-up between Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe at Antigua in 1997-98, when Hussain’s run-out precipitated a calamitous collapse. But shortly after Pietersen’s demise, Nasser was keen to make one point abundantly clear. “It was Thorpe who ran me out, the one time I wasn’t guilty.”A thin line
Quick bowlers like to get very close to the front line and eventually they will overstep and lose out on a wicket. And sometimes it will be a vital wicket. That is what happened to de Wet when he trapped Pietersen straight in front of middle with one that skidded through, only to see Steve Davis’s arm out-stretched. De Wet went down on his knees, knowing how vital that moment could become, and he won’t have felt any better when the big screen showed a replay. Pietersen will think it evened the score after he was bowled off an unnoticed no-ball in the first innings.When a review isn’t a review
South Africa thought they had broken the stand between Pietersen and Trott when the ball flew to Graeme Smith at gully off Paul Harris, but Trott stood his ground and the umpires weren’t sure. They went to the TV official, but it wasn’t a review under the new system because the on-field umpire had asked for the extra assistance to check whether it was a bump ball. In fact, the replays showed it had missed the bat and hit the boot, so that ruled out the catch, but under the new playing conditions the third umpire was also allowed to check for lbw. As it happens, it was going down leg side, so it was much ado about nothing.Unexpected bowl
Who was this coming on for a trundle? The man with a bust rib who wouldn’t bowl until next week. In the 55th over Smith, in a sign of desperation, threw the ball to Jacques Kallis in his search for a breakthrough. It soon became clear he wouldn’t be at full pace, far from it, as he marked out a short run and Mark Boucher came up to the stumps. He operated at something around Paul Collingwood’s pace as he tried out a series of cutters, then shortly before tea he tried a bouncer at Pietersen. It wasn’t a threat, but South Africa will be delighted he’s coming back to action.Game changer
England were saving the game with reasonable comfort, but we should all have known better. In the second over with the second new ball – a passage of play that was always likely to be vital – Jonathan Trott got a brute of a ball from de Wet that jumped off a length and took the glove. Still, it needed some catch, and in AB de Villiers it was heading to the right man (his first-innings spill off Alastair Cook was the rarest of aberrations. Sure enough, he flung himself low to his left to pull off a stunning take. It led to a thrilling final hour.