All posts by h716a5.icu

Liverpool target Khephren Thuram has been urged to join the Reds as Premier League clubs battle for his signature this summer.

What’s the latest on Khephren Thuram to Liverpool?

RedmenTV presenter Paul Machin believes the Nice man should think carefully about his next destination, despite some of his potential suitors being able to offer Champions League football.

Indeed, Newcastle United are also believed to be admirers of the Frenchman and will return to the Champions League next term.

Machin told GIVEMESPORT: "I think Champions League football is an obvious draw, but the Newcastle project is still so young that there are so many uncertainties around it.

"I think they need a year or two of consistently qualifying for the Champions League before they become a proper Champions League club."

Whilst it’s difficult to argue against the project and the excitement brewing at St James' Park, Jurgen Klopp’s side is still expected to continue their pursuit of Thuram.

As per Nice-Matin, via Get French Football News, Liverpool will lodge a bid for the 22-year-old once the U21 European Championship has finished.

It is understood that Anfield is Thuram’s preferred destination, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently revealing that the 2019 Champions League winners are in constant contact with the Frenchman.

Thuram is valued at around £35m, with Newcastle still in the race.

How could Liverpool line up next season?

Since making his first team debut for Nice in 2019, Thuram has evolved into one of the continent's most promising and exciting talents.

In total, he has accumulated 138 appearances for his current club, with 35 of those coming in Ligue 1 this season.

Didier Digard, Thuram’s coach at Nice last season, has eulogised over his limitless potential and said: “Khephren’s fantastic. He is very hardworking, very attentive. On rest days he's at the training centre. He recovers quickly for back-to-back matches and completes high-intensity training.

“He listens and applies himself. He has room for improvement and he's in demand. He simply eats up video analysis, additional sessions. He also advises others, because he takes on a leadership role.”

As well as his commendable mentality, the £14k-per-week gem has also displayed his sensational dribbling ability as he ranks within the top 9% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for progressive carries per 90 and successful take-ons per 90.

A player of this calibre could form a scintillating new partnership with Liverpool’s newest recruit, Alexis Mac Allister.

The Argentinian recently signed for just £35m and his incredible numbers make him a huge asset. The World Cup winner sits within the best 20% for successful take-ons per 90, shot-creating actions per 90, and total shots per 90, as his impudent trickery combined with Thuram’s energy makes for a frightening prospect.

Last campaign, across 35 top-flight games, the former Brighton man averaged 2.0 tackles and 1.3 key passes per game, as well as forging an 87% pass accuracy.

With a new-look midfield on the horizon at Liverpool, Klopp’s side could be back to their devastating best in the near future.

D’Arcy Short slammed a quickfire fifty to drive the Hobart Hurricanes to 200 in their first match, securing a 60-run victory over the Sydney Sixers

Brydon Coverdale23-Dec-2016
ScorecardThe Hobart Hurricanes cruised to victory in their first match of the BBL campaign, set up by contrasting half-centuries from their openers. T20 debutant D’Arcy Short smashed 61 off 29 deliveries, while his captain and opening partner Tim Paine made a relatively more sedate 63 from 45 balls as the Hurricanes raced to 6 for 200 from their 20 overs.In reply, the Sydney Sixers struggled to gain any significant momentum in their chase, an innings of 40 from 22 balls from opener Jason Roy their only real bright spot. The Sixers lost wickets throughout and were dismissed for 140 in the 17th over, and the 60-run loss was their second-heaviest defeat by runs in BBL history.Short runsBorn in the Northern Territory, Short plays his longer-form cricket for Western Australia and in this match made his Twenty20 debut for the Hurricanes. Short was handed the responsibility of opening with Paine and made a fast impression, racing to a half-century from 21 deliveries. He pummeled 18 runs from the second over of the game, bowled by Ben Dwarshuis, and another 20 from the next at the same end, bowled by Joe Mennie.Short finished with 61 off 29 deliveries, which was the highest score ever by a T20 debutant in the Big Bash League, breaking a record that had stood for all of three days – Sydney Thunder’s Ryan Gibson had made 53 in his first T20 match, also against the Sixers, in this year’s season opener. For good measure, Short later added a wicket with his left-arm spin, in his first over as a T20 bowler.Rose to the occasionChasing 201 was always going to be a tall order for the Sixers: only twice in BBL history had teams chased down 200-plus targets to win. But a 20-run opening over gave the Sixers hope, as Jason Roy plundered three fours and a six off Shaun Tait. However, the run-rate tightened up over the next two overs as Clive Rose went for five and Stuart Broad, in his first BBL appearance, conceded only four.The pressure had built, and Rose capitalised in the fourth over of the chase. From its first ball, he had Jordan Silk caught by a backpedalling Broad at short third man, and from its fourth delivery he took a magnificent return catch to send Moises Henriques on his way for a golden duck. The Sixers had stumbled from 0 for 29 to 2 for 34. When Roy later fell to another spinner – stumped for 40 off 22 while dancing down to Cameron Boyce – the result was almost a formality.Tait fires lateTwenty runs off his first over was hardly the start Tait was after, but he finished in fine style. The 15th over of the chase brought Tait three wickets as he trapped Steve O’Keefe lbw at 147kph and then had Sean Abbott caught behind and then bowled Sam Billings with a yorker so damaging that technicians had to come out onto the ground to fix the stumps that contained the camera and sound equipment. It meant Tait finished with 3.2-0-32-3 – a great recovery after that first over.

A big update has emerged on Celtic and their plans to appoint Brendan Rodgers as their replacement for Ange Postecoglou…

What's the latest on Brendan Rodgers to Celtic?

According to The Scottish Sun, the Hoops have agreed terms with the 50-year-old tactician after talks between the ex-Leicester City boss and majority shareholder Dermot Desmond went well.

The report claims that the club see this proposed appointment as a statement of intent and believe that they can now push on in the Champions League next season.

It is stated that an announcement is expected on Monday [19th June 2023] as they plot to officially confirm their new head coach, who was once hailed as a "genius" by journalist Sid Lowe.

Does David Turnbull have a future at Celtic?

The return of Rodgers to Parkhead could ensure that attacking midfielder David Turnbull has a future at the club as the Scotland international could be the perfect playmaker for the Northern Irishman.

During the 2022/23 campaign, the 24-year-old wizard was restricted to just six starts in the Scottish Premiership as he failed to break into the starting line-up on a regular basis.

The no.10 did not naturally fit in with Postecoglou's 4-3-3 set-up but could be the dream player to feature as the supporting player behind the striker in Rodgers' 4-2-3-1 system.

Playing as an attacking midfielder in that formation with two teammates behind him and three forwards to link up with, it could suit him perfectly as the former Motherwell star is an exceptional talent on the ball who has the quality to score and create goals on a regular basis.

Prior to Postecoglou's arrival in 2021, Turnbull started 30 matches in the Premiership during the 2020/21 campaign and averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.47 – the highest average score in the entire squad that season.

The Hoops star scored nine goals and created 12 'big chances' for his teammates, whilst he also created 2.9 chances per game, in 36 league appearances.

No Celtic player created more than Matt O'Riley's 2.1 opportunities per match in the Premiership during the season just gone under Postecoglou and Reo Hatate was the highest-scoring central midfielder with six.

These statistics suggest that Turnbull has the ability to play as a no.10 and offer far more quality in the final third than the club saw from their other options in the middle of the park last season, by providing more goals and opening up the opposition's defence more frequently to create for his teammates.

The 6 foot 1 magician has proven himself to be an exceptional performer in the Scottish top-flight and for Celtic in the past and Rodgers coming in to utilise him as an attacking midfielder could allow the young maestro to flourish next term, which is why this appointment is fantastic news for the £16k-per-week dynamo.

A round-up of the second day of Group C matches in the seventh round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2016Snehal Kauthankar’s second first-class century – and maiden double ton – helped Goa recover from 190 for 6 to 413 against Haryana at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Ghaziabad. Goa had started the day on 197 for 6 with Kauthankar on 80 and Shadab Jakati on 4. The two stretched their seventh-wicket stand to 64 with Jakati contributing 28. After Jakati’s dismissal with Goa on 254 for 7, Reagan Pinto, who had retired hurt on 25 on the opening day, returned and helped add 73 for the eighth wicket with Kauthankar. Pinto struck 58 before he became left-arm spinner Ashok Sandhu’s fourth first-class victim. Amulaya Pandrekar, Goa’s No. 11, spent over an hour at the crease and batted out 40 balls to help add 67 more for the last wicket with Kauthankar. Pandrekar contributed just 5. Kauthankar was the last man dismissed, for 225 off 374 balls, which contained 30 fours and four sixes. Harshal Patel and Amit Mishra did the bulk of the damage, taking four wickets each.Haryana made a strong start to their reply, with Nitin Saini, not out on 76, taking them to 110 for no loss in the company of Shubham Rohilla, who was unbeaten on 32. Haryana ended the day trailing by 303.Kerala’s bowlers fought back after their team was bowled out for 219 by Andhra in Guwahati. Left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla and offspinner Rohan Prem, along with Basil Thampi, the right-arm medium pacer, took two wickets each to leave Andhra 173 for 6 at stumps.The day had begun with Kerala 188 for 8 in their first innings. KS Monish (14) – resuming on 4 – and Thampi (15) used up 76 balls between them and took them to 219. Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt dismissed both batsmen. DP Vijaykumar, who had taken a six-for on the opening day, ended with 6 for 47, his best innings returns.Andhra began solidly with Srikar Bharat and Prasanth Kumar both hitting half-centuries and putting on 81 for the first wicket. Abdulla broke through, having Bharat caught behind for 54. He followed it up with the scalp of Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari for 3. Prasanth stuck on to add 63 more with Ricky Bhui for the third wicket before being stumped off Prem. That dismissal began a procession with Andhra sliding from 152 for 2 to 170 for 6. Bhui stayed not out on 47. Andhra trail by 46 runs.In Surat, Rishi Dhawan’s five-wicket haul triggered a collapse as Services, resuming on 276 for 3, were bowled out for 401 by Himachal Pradesh. Services lost Nakul Verma, the overnight centurion, for 117 when he was bowled by Dhawan in the third over of the day. From there, Services lost two more quick wickets to slip to 288 for 6. That they got to 401 was courtesy Vikas Hathwala, who struck 69 and added 42 for the seventh wicket with Muzzaffaruddin Khalid (18) and 56 for the final wicket with Raj Bahadur (11 not out). Dhawan finished with 5 for 82.In response, Himachal ended the day 182 for 4. Paras Dogra top-scored with 70, while Prashant Chopra (47) and Ankit Kalsi (23) got off to starts, but none of them could convert into a big score. Robin Bist was unbeaten on 34 at stumps and had Mayank Dagar (3 not out) for company.At the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium in Valsad, Hyderabad lost six wickets for 84 runs to get bowled out for 351 by Chhattisgarh. Hyderabad began the day on 267 for 4 with BP Sandeep not out on 73 and Mehdi Hassan giving him company on 10. Hassan was caught and bowled by right-arm medium pacer Pankaj Rao, while Sandeep missed his century by four runs, becoming the eighth man dismissed, to the right-arm medium pace of Abhishek Tamrakar. Rao, playing his sixth first-class match, took his second five-wicket haul, ending with 5 for 89.Chhattisgarh responded strongly, with their openers Sahil Gupta and Abhimanyu Chauhan notching up identical scores of 55. Gupta was trapped lbw by right-arm pacer Mohammed Siraj, before Chauhan took Chhattisgarh to 124 for 1 along with Sumit Ruikar. Chhattisgarh are behind by 227 runs.At the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, Jammu & Kashmir’s bowlers reduced Tripura to 193 for 6 after they were bowled out for 315. J&K resumed on 270 for 6 with Aditya Singh on 65 and Samiullah Beigh on 35. Aditya added just nine to his overnight tally before being caught behind off Rajib Dutta, while Beigh raised a half-century and was the eighth man out, for 54. Tripura’s new-ball pair of Manisankar Murasingh (4 for 75) and Dutta (3 for 74) took seven wickets between them. Ajoy Sarkar took two wickets and Gurinder Singh had one wicket.Like Tripura, J&K’s bowlers hunted in a pack with each of the five bowlers they used making an entry into the wickets column. Opener Bishal Ghosh struck an unbeaten 86, but Tripura were hurt by the inability of several of their batsmen to convert their starts.

Leicester City are looking for a new permanent manager following their relegation from the Premier League this season, and a former Liverpool legend is among the names of the shortlist.

The Foxes could begin their summer rebuild by appointing former Aston Villa and Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, as per journalist Tom Collomosse.

Will Steven Gerrard become Leicester manager?

Gerrard has been without a club since he was sacked by Villa back in October after less than a year in charge.

The Liverpool native was dismissed after a poor run of form to start the season and was replaced by former Arsenal manager Unai Emery who later helped guide Villa to a place in next season’s Europa Conference League.

The former Reds captain had a successful stint in Scotland and helped guide Rangers to their Scottish title in ten years back in 2021 before his move to Villa Park.

Gerrard is one of a number of names on the shortlist to take over at the King Power Stadium, which includes current interim boss Dean Smith, former Fulham and AFC Bournemouth head coach Scott Parker and current Manchester City assistant coach Enzo Maresca.

Leicester could face competition from fellow-relegated side Leeds, who The Mail claim are also interested in offering Gerrard a role as head coach. Leeds are looking for a new manager following Sam Allardyce’s departure.

Would Steven Gerrard be a good Leicester City manager?

Although the former England midfielder had some success in his time in Glasgow, Leicester fans may be concerned at a lack of experience on the part of the manager could hinder their chances of promotion back to the Premier League.

Gerrard has only held two senior managerial posts.

The Liverpool legend managed the U18 and U19 teams at the club for which he made over 500 league appearances before landing the job at Ibrox.

But the 43-year-old's spell at Villa will be what concerns Leicester fans the most.

Jordan Campbell of The Athletic has described Gerrard’s managerial style as “repetitive' and that 'it leaves fans cold'. Campbell argues that even before his tenure at Rangers ended, there was a 'distinct feeling that things had gone stale.'

Former Premier League manager Neil Warnock told talkSPORT in October:

“I think it’s hard for him to relate to fans at times”.

“I just think sometimes you’ve got to get on board with the fans a little bit more and become almost one of them.”

Comments like these will worry Leicester fans ahead of a managerial appointment of huge significance as the club look to rebound immediately to England’s top division.

Paris Saint-Germain will reportedly ask for €150m (roughly £129m) to sell Kylian Mbappe this summer after the French winger informed the club he won’t be signing a new contract.

How much will Kylian Mbappe be sold for?

According to trusted media outlet L’Equipe, he has officially told PSG that he won’t be exercising the option to add another year to his contract, meaning the winger could leave for free in 2024.

Consequently, the Ligue 1 champions and club chairman Nasser Al Khelaifi will begrudgingly let the 24-year-old leave Paris this summer, to make sure they can still cash in on Mbappe for a reasonable price.

Even so, as reported by Julien Laurens for ESPN, the player will only cost €150m (£129m) and Real Madrid are named in the article as a possible destination as they’ve “pursued Mbappe since he was 11 years old”.

Interestingly enough, PSG turned down a bid in the region of €180m from the Spanish giants just two years ago, with the 24-year-old signing a three-year contract extension instead.

Even so, with only a year left on that deal – and Mbappe unwilling to extend – it appears that PSG might want to sell, but the player is happy to wait around another season before moving on.

Indeed, he recently took to Twitter to slam the rumour that he wants a move to Madrid right away, saying: “LIES. “At the same time, the bigger it is, the more it passes. I have already said that I will continue next season at PSG where I am very happy.”

Who wants to sign Mbappe?

Of course, nearly every elite club in the world will be working out right now if they could have any chance of landing the World Cup winner over the coming months.

In light of the news, The Sun has claimed that Premier League clubs are on “transfer red alert” and named Liverpool, Newcastle, Chelsea and Manchester United as teams who could be interested in chasing a deal.

For now. though, it seems as though Real Madrid lead the race thanks to those aforementioned links with Mbappe that date back years and years. What’s more, with Karim Benzema now departing to Saudi Arabia, Los Blancos are in need of a new attacker and the French 24-year-old could be a perfect replacement signing.

Of course, Man City could also be a destination with star man Erling Halaand recently expressing his wish that Mbappe was from Norway so they could play together.

He told Canal + (via RMC Sport): “There are so many good players and Kylian is one of them. He is so strong! The French are so lucky that he plays for France. I would like him to play for Norway obviously, but it’s not the case. But yes, he’s an incredible player.”

“He’s so fast, so strong and he’s been doing it for so many years. So what is he? Two years older than me? It’s crazy! Sometimes you have to tell yourself that he still has ten years playing at the top level. He is phenomenal.”

Ravi Bopara has stepped down as Essex’s limited-overs captain after one season in the role

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2016Ravi Bopara has stepped down as Essex’s limited-overs captain after one season in the role. Bopara wants to focus on his own game, with Championship captain, Ryan ten Doeschate, taking over in all formats.Essex continued their recent trend of losing knockout matches in 2016, with quarter-final defeats in the NatWest T20 Blast and Royal London Cup – something that occurred the previous year, under ten Doeschate, as well. Bopara’s all-round form was solid, if not spectacular, but he went a second consecutive season without scoring a hundred in the Championship.Although Bopara’s bowling was a key feature of Essex’s promotion to Division One – he was their third leading wicket-taker with 42 – he only managed 750 runs at an average of 37.50. His last Championship century came in June 2014.Ten Doeschate was previously Essex’s limited-overs captain before succeeding James Foster in charge of the Championship side this year, leading the team up as Division Two champions at the first time of asking. He said he was happy to reunite the roles and allow Bopara, who is currently playing in the Bangladesh Premier League, to concentrate on his form.”Ravi did an excellent job in limited overs cricket last year, leading us to quarter-finals in both formats,” ten Doeschate. “If we had a bit more luck we could have progressed further. He has decided he would prefer to concentrate on his individual game next year and make valuable contributions throughout the season.”We respect Ravi’s decision and I was more than happy to take up the captaincy in all formats as I have thoroughly enjoyed my role in the Specsavers County Championship so far.”

South Australia amassed the highest total in the history of one-day cricket in Australia – 7 for 420 – to trample Cricket Australia XI in Sydney

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2016
ScorecardCallum Ferguson made his highest List A score of 154•Getty ImagesSouth Australia amassed the highest total in the history of one-day domestic cricket in Australia. Their 420 for 7, fuelled primarily by centuries from captain Callum Ferguson and opener Jake Weatherald, was enough to shatter Cricket Australia XI and the previous record – 4 for 405 – set by Queensland against Western Australia in 2004.The game plan was simple. The pitch was flat. CA XI had invited their opposition to bat. The rest became history. The 21-year old Weatherald, playing his first season of List A cricket, raced to his half-century in 31 balls. He was celebrating a century 35 balls later, his first in the format. He finished with 141 off 107 balls with 17 fours and six sixes.Weatherald’s opening partner Alex Carey was one of the few who missed out, dismissed by left-arm quick Tom O’Donnell, who was CA XI’s best bowler on the day with 3 for 84, but Ferguson came out and the run-fest continued. The Redbacks captain eased to his sixth List A hundred and turned it into a career-best score – 154, which included 17 fours and three sixes.”We talk about getting two guys set at the crease together and the sort of damage you can do when that happens,” Ferguson told . “We’ve managed to do that a couple of times in the past few games and voilà, we’ve ended up with two wins. It’s great to see that come to fruition. When you’re playing in good conditions like this you’ve got to make the most of your starts and Jake and I were able to do that today.”There was little under seven overs left when both men were dismissed, which Alex Gregory used to smack an unbeaten 42 in 24 balls to claim the record.CA XI’s response were build around half-centuries from Josh Inglis (68), Ryan Gibson (68) and Jake Carder (98). They were 226 for 3 in the 29th over but the middle and lower orders were unable to combat the humongous scoreboard pressure. They were dismissed for 318 in 42 overs. In a stroke of irony, on a pitch where 738 runs were scored, Cameron Valente, the 22-year old seamer, picked up a career-best 4 for 49 to seal Redbacks’ victory.According to a report on the Cricket Australia website, offspinner Arjun Nair injured his leg in the first over and needed 16 stitches. He completed his 10 overs though, picking up 1 for 68.

Arsenal are confident that Reiss Nelson will sign a long-term contract to stay at the club very soon, journalist Charles Watts has revealed.

What's the latest on Nelson and Arsenal?

The 23-year-old has struggled to break into the Arsenal first team this season as a result of injuries and the form of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, but has delivered when called upon as a substitute.

His cameo against Bournemouth saw him provide an assist for the equaliser and score a stunning winner as Arsenal completed a dramatic comeback, and some impressive substitute appearances followed as he finished the season with six goals and assists in 18 games across all competitions.

Nelson's contract expires this summer, and it appeared that he was going to depart the club, but he now looks set to stay following a breakthrough in talks.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Watts revealed that there is now confidence within the club that the winger is going to commit his future to Mikel Arteta's side.

"All signs are that this is going to be a done deal with Reiss Nelson and his contract, after rejecting a few previous offers," he stated.

"A breakthrough in talks has happened and people that I'm speaking to at Arsenal think this is going to happen. Until it's signed, until it's done, you never know something can change and other clubs can come in and wave a big contract offer under his nose and he could decide to go elsewhere.

"But at the moment there is a lot of positivity that Reiss Nelson will sign his new contract, we're just waiting for it to be done and announced."

What are Arsenal's aims for Nelson?

Given that Saka played in every league game last season, Nelson can be used more as rotational cover for the England international as Arsenal return to the Champions League.

Losing Nelson for free would have made a replacement necessary, and keeping Nelson, even with a wage rise, would likely be better value than spending a large fee on another winger, when Saka and Martinelli are the undisputed first choice options.

Arteta recently described Nelson as "important," and it is hard to imagine a scenario where Nelson will have committed his future to the club without assurances over his game time.

The winger was once regarded as one of the best talents in the academy, and after a difficult few seasons and a number of loan spells away, it now seems that he is in prime position to fulfil his potential at the club.

Pat Cummins’ pace came to the rescue for New South Wales as the Blues squeaked past the Cricket Australia XI in a high-scoring Matador Cup affair at Hurstville Oval

Daniel Brettig07-Oct-2016
ScorecardMoises Henriques scored a quickfire century•Getty ImagesPat Cummins’ pace came to the rescue for New South Wales as the Blues squeaked past the Cricket Australia XI in a high-scoring Matador Cup affair at Hurstville Oval.After Moises Henriques blasted his way to an unbeaten 164 from 135 balls, with handy support from Kurtis Patterson, NSW seemed well placed to defend 328 against the youthful CA XI, who have only won one match in the competition over two seasons.However, a sensible stand of 141 between the NSW-based Ryan Gibson and the CA XI captain Will Bosisto put the emergent team in strong position to challenge at 2 for 243 in the 42nd over.That was when Cummins intervened in his first match since returning from the latest of a string of injuries dating back to his Test debut for Australia at the Wanderers as far back as 2011. Cummins snared Gibson, Bosisto and Sam Harper in the space of eight balls to tilt the match towards NSW.Even then, the CA XI fought on, and in the end they fell just four runs short of a major upset, making 14 of the 19 runs they needed from Gurinder Sandhu’s final over.Another NSW product, the spinner Arjun Nair, had earlier impressed by returning figures of 2 for 53 against his state squad team-mates.