All posts by h716a5.icu

With Liverpool having scored more goals (39) in the Premier League than any other team so far this season, with five scored in the Carabao Cup and 15 in the Champions League, it’s safe to say that they are one of Europe’s most lethal attacking sides.

It seems as though the Reds have the opportunity to add another attacking talent to their squad for a cut-price fee.

What’s the news?

It has recently been reported by Football Insider that Wolves could be willing to sell winger Adama Traore in the upcoming January transfer window for a fee of around £20m.

This has apparently put the Merseyside club on red alert as they were reportedly linked with a move for Traore during the previous summer transfer but were put off by Wolves’ asking price of £50m.

Since joining the Midlands club during the 2018 summer transfer window from Championship club Middlesbrough in a deal worth a reported fee of £18m, Traore has made a total of 145 appearances for Bruno Lage’s side across all competitions, scoring 10 goals and providing 18 assists along the way.

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Labelled in the past as “electric” by pundit Martin Keown, Traore may not have managed to grab a goal or assist in the Premier League so far this season, but he has still shown what a versatile attacking threat he is.

With 12 league appearances under his belt, Traore has managed to rack up an average of 1.4 shots per game and 1.2 key passes per game.

In June last year, OptaJoe shared a post on their official Twitter account calling the 25-year-old winger a “bulldozer” after revealing that  Traore had drawn 21 cards in the opposition half thanks to his dazzling dribbling skills.

Combine those attributes with the fact that Liverpool will be without two of their top goalscorers for a period in January when Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah take part in the upcoming AFCON tournament, Michael Edwards should definitely pounce on a possible £20m deal for Traore if Wolves would be willing to sell him to them in January.

If this did happen, Liverpool would not only be getting a talented and experienced Premier League star but a player that has the potential to grow and develop his game under Klopp for the next few years given his age.

With his frightening speed, incredible desire to beat opponents and the ability to make something out of nothing, he’d undoubtedly be a dream deal at a time where the Reds may be cut short of their attacking options.

In other news: FSG must avoid transfer calamity at Liverpool with “sensational” £27m-rated beast – opinion

A world record for the fastest 50 in One-Day Internationals appears to have been achieved by New Zealand opener and wicket-keeper Rebecca Rolls in the World Series of Women’s Cricket match against India at Bert Sutcliffe Oval today

Lynn McConnell25-Dec-2009A world record for the fastest 50 in One-Day Internationals appears to have been achieved by New Zealand opener and wicket-keeper Rebecca Rolls in the World Series of Women’s Cricket match against India at Bert Sutcliffe Oval today.While records are sketchy, it seems that her 30-ball innings is the fastest recorded half century in the women’s game.She ended the innings with 59 runs off 37 balls including 12 fours with some controversy about whether she was caught behind by wicket-keeper Sulakshana Naik. The square leg umpire Jeremy Busby was called into play by bowler’s end umpire Dave Quested and he felt the catch had been completed.Rolls’ batting was more than a slog fest, it featured some cultured shots, with cover drives and sweep shots timed to perfection.”It was a bit like watching from outside yourself,” Rolls said.”In that situation you ride your luck and follow your instincts.”She said that she has been trying to ensure she stays at the wicket longer through the innings but she finds it very difficult to control her urges when getting on a roll like that she experienced today.While disappointed with the nature of her dismissal she said she shouldn’t have edged the ball in the first play.Then when donning the wicket-keeping gloves she picked up two key stumpings, the first to remove the troublesome Mithali Raj for her potentially game-breaking innings when she scored 82 off 98 balls, and then the last wicket to fall, Jhulan Goswami which allowed New Zealand to claim the bonus point to give it a place in Saturday’s final.She said that she had been standing up to the wicket deliberately to keep the pressure on Raj who liked to drive, and because the ball wasn’t carrying to her standing back. She also finds it good for staying focused.This was despite the loss of half a tooth in the first game against India which required some dental work in the evening. She suffered a blow in the face from a ball rebounding off a bottom edge.As far as the team was concerned she said it had still to put a complete performance together but the base of a really good team was there and because the side’s bowling stocks had been depleted since the 2000 CricInfo Women’s World Cup it was a case of patience for the side.

Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite ‘will certainly want to show his ability at a senior level’ and a loan move could be ‘perfect’ for his development, Adam Jones writes.

The lowdown

Centre-back Branthwaite has featured in the matchday squad for seven of Everton’s 11 Premier League matches so far this season, but he’s yet to play a single minute in the competition under Rafael Benitez.

However, his only piece of first-team action has come in the EFL Cup win over Huddersfield Town back in August, perhaps indicating he would be best place securing some much-needed game time in a temporary exit from the Toffees.

The England Under-20 international is a ‘terrific footballer’ who ‘has got everything’, according to his former manager Steven Pressley (evertonfc.com), with Jones now believing he could feasibly move away in the winter window.

The latest

The Liverpool Echo’s Jones notes that Branthwaite is ‘too good’ for the Under-23s, but ‘hasn’t had opportunities’ at senior level.

The ‘highly-rated’ youngster will be keen to prove himself in the men’s game, he says.

And so he could potentially request a loan move in January to rack up valuable experience.

The verdict

This really does seem a logical move for both parties. Benitez may be reluctant to be part with a player he clearly considers a defensive back-up midway through the season but, as Jones notes, loaning Branthwaite out ‘would surely benefit’ Everton in the long-term.

After he started 10 matches during his spell at Blackburn Rovers in the latter half of the 2020/21 campaign, you’d imagine there’d be Championship suitors if he were to be made available.

The 19-year-old arguably possesses an abundance of potential, especially going by Pressley’s past comments, and you could even argue he has the physicality to succeed in England’s second tier.

Standing at a colossal 6 foot 4, Branthwaite could more than hold his own up against the Championship’s sturdiest strikers – but time will tell whether Everton do in fact sanction a brief departure.

In other news, fans fumed over this transfer update. 

Celtic journalist Kieran Devlin thinks Ange Postecoglou will field an unchanged line-up for Saturday’s Scottish League Cup semifinal against St Johnstone. 

The lowdown

Celtic’s last game prior to the international break was their 4-2 victory away to Dundee.

Postecoglou set out his team in a 4-1-4-1 formation that day, with Joe Hart in goal and Anthony Ralston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Stephen Welsh and Josip Juranovic protecting him.

Nir Bitton slotted into the holding role behind Liel Abada, David Turnbull, Callum McGregor and two-goal Filipe Jota. Kyogo Furuhashi led the line for the Hoops.

Victory over the Saints at Hampden Park could set up a meeting with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers in the semifinal, provided they get the better of Hibernian on Sunday.

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The latest

Addressing supporters in The Athletic’s matchday discussion, Devlin wrote: “I’d think maybe the starting XI will be the same as against Dundee?”

Carl Starfelt and Tom Rogic may have been in contention had they recovered, but for the umpteenth time this season ‘an injury has taken much longer to heal than expected’.

Devlin does note that James Forrest, who played the last half an hour at Dundee, has a chance of starting if he’s deemed to be fit enough.

The verdict

One aspect of this team that would please ex-Hoop Frank McAvennie is seeing Furuhashi deployed through the middle.

He feels it would be a ‘mistake’ for Postecoglou to play him out wide as he’s done on four occasions so far this season.

With Giorgos Giakoumakis, who came off the bench against Dundee, out injured, the Australian’s centre-forward decision perhaps becomes that little bit easier, with the limited options up front almost making it a no-brainer to start the club’s top scorer through the centre.

In other news, read about Celtic’s January transfer plan.

Steven Gerrard has implemented a new code of conduct at Aston Villa, and The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath has revealed some of the details.

The club’s new manager has apparently banned fizzy drinks, sauces, puddings and hot chocolate as he seeks to improve the condition of his players.

Gerrard inspired by Houllier as he puts stamp on Villa

The 41-year-old left Rangers during the international break to fill the vacancy left by Dean Smith’s sacking.

He spoke during his first official press conference about the influence of Gerard Houllier, his manager at Liverpool between 1998 and 2004. The late Frenchman apparently monitored what he was eating, an indication of ‘what it takes to stay at the top level’.

Gerrard enjoyed a successful start to his tenure at Villa Park, with late goals from Ollie Watkins and Tyrone Mings securing a 2-0 victory at home to Brighton on Saturday. He now has a full week of training to prepare for his next test – a trip to Crystal Palace.

Fan feed Villa Report shared McGrath’s reveal, and here’s what supporters had to say, with one enjoying the 41-year-old’s “ruthless” stance in comparison to the reign of his predecessor Smith and others poking fun at how John McGinn would cope without Irn-Bru, a beverage with which he has become renowned.

Villa fans react to Gerrard’s code of conduct

“John McGinn needs Irn Bru, though. It’s in his contract.”

Credit: @cratesofhippos

“Irn Bru have just gone bankrupt”

Credit: @Josh1874_

“John McGinn puts in transfer request as Irn Bru is dropped from Villa’s drinks menu”

Credit: @B6Nigel

“Ruthless”

Credit: @mrmglloyd

“Smith would give them the day off and a bag of Haribos each”

Credit: @Scott78273205

“Praying for McGinn”

Credit: @catrinavfc

In other news, Gerrard’s latest Rangers target has emerged.

With Ange Postecoglou having endured something of an injury crisis during the early stages of his managerial career at Celtic, the 56-year-old manager will undoubtedly be delighted that a number of his first-team squad are finally returning to full fitness at Parkhead.

Indeed, Mikey Johnston, Josip Juranovic, Georgios Giakoumakis and James McCarthy were all available for selection against St. Johnstone on Saturday after varying lengths of spells spent on the sidelines due to injury, while Christopher Jullien and James Forrest are set to return to first-team training in the coming weeks.

Postecoglou himself recently commented on his excitement regarding the return of Johnston, stating after Saturday’s 2-0 win: “I was really pleased to see Mikey back because he looked really good in pre-season. I know how talented he is but the key for him was to get his body healthy and to be really patient with him.

“He’s a talented player and he’s now getting more game time. The way we play I know he can have a huge impact for us, he just needs to stay healthy and keep improving his game.”

It is easy to see why the 56-year-old appears so happy with the return of the 22-year-old, as, over his brief 8-minute cameo against Ferencvarosi in midweek, the £900k-rated man highly impressed, managing 13 touches of the ball, making one key pass, completing both of his attempted dribbles, creating one big chance and hitting the target with his only shot at goal.

These metrics saw the £9k-per-week forward earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.7, ranking him as the third-best player to feature in the match.

As such, while it is true that Johnston has failed to ever really cement a starting spot in the Celtic side after breaking through into the first team, with his highest number of league appearances in one season being 14 back in 2018/19, Postecoglou simply must unleash the 22-year-old in the coming weeks, as now would finally appear to be the time when the winger can have a real impact within the Bhoys side.

In other news: Conroy drops key update on “priceless” £15k-p/w dynamo that’ll delight Celtic fans

Wolves could reportedly face competition from Serie A giants AC Milan for the signing of Lille and Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches.

The Lowdown: Wolves linked with Sanches move

The Portugal international was linked with a move to Elland Road earlier in the year but a transfer failed to come to fruition.

Instead, Sanches stayed put at reigning Ligue 1 champions Lille, where he has made five Ligue 1 appearances so far this season, starting three times.

The £27million-rated midfielder’s current deal expires in 2023 and it could be that Lille look to receive a fee for him before he can leave for free.

The Latest: New rumour emerges

A fresh update has now emerged regarding Sanches’ future, with Calciomercato confirming Wolves’ interest but also mentioning Milan as potential suitors.

He has been compared (Bundesliga – official) to Netherlands legend Clarence Seedorf in the past, which highlights his potential as an all-action midfield general.

The Verdict: A risk worth taking?

Sanches’ talent is undeniable – he was superb at Euro 2020 for Portugal, for example, completing 91.6% of his passes – but the one main question mark against him is injuries.

The Portuguese has been plagued by fitness issues throughout his career and he was limited to just 14 league starts for Lille in their title-winning season.

Wolves could be wise to take a punt on Sanches, given his ability, but they would do it knowing that there is a risk element behind it.

In other news, some Wolves fans are fuming after a revelation emerged regarding one player. Read more here.

A round-up of the third day of the KPL Cup

Cricinfo staff11-Sep-2009The Karnataka Premier League witnessed its most exciting game thus far, as Bangalore Brigadiers (Urban) scraped through to a one-wicket win against Mangalore United at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.Chasing 119, Bangalore, who won their second consecutive game, were crippled right at the start, as they collapsed to 53 for 6. But a lower-order fightback anchored by David Mathias (30) and supported by Narayanan Prasad (13) and wicketkeeper Sadiq Kirmani (17*), saw to it that Bangalore prevailed. Kirmani and the No.11 batsman Mansur Ali Khan were involved in a match-winning stand and saw off some anxious moments to knock off the seven runs required when the pair got together. Mansur struck a crucial boundary in the last over to seal victory with three balls to spare, and hand Mangalore their second defeat in the competition.Mangalore will be disappointed they didn’t post a more competitive score, for they had been provided an encouraging start by openers Karun Nair and Bharat Chipli, who added 38. Rongsen Jonathan (24), RK Sabharwal (15) and Vijay Chauhan (21) all got starts but were unable to push on, as the Bangalore bowlers kept chipping away. Mansur and Prasad bagged two wickets each and the others rallied around them to limit Mangalore to 118, which just about proved chaseable.Bijapur Bulls eased to their second successive victory in the KPL Cup, beating Malnad Gladiators, playing their first game of the tournament, by six wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.Chasing a competitive target of 146, Bijapur were helped by a solid opening stand of 32 between Gaurav Dhiman and Mithun Beerala, who anchored the innings with an unbeaten 63. The Malnad bowlers, led by Ryan Ninan (2 for 32), did their utmost to put pressure on Bijapur, and had them in a spot of bother at 94 for 4. But Beerala, along with captain Sudhindra Shinde, who chipped in with 27, saw to it that there were no more hiccups and knocked off the remaining runs with ten balls to spare.The Malnad innings had centered around an unbeaten 40-ball 45 from Kunal Kapoor and he had received good support from opener K Gowtham (28) and Ganesh Satish (28). But an economical spell by left-arm spinner Daniel Laio (2 for 19) prevented Malnad from posting a formidable total.

Sunderland made their way through to the fifth round of the League Cup on Tuesday night as they beat QPR on penalties away from home.

The Black Cats fought hard to secure a 0-0 draw in normal time, with the Rs having a goal wrongly disallowed for offside and attempting four more shots than the visitors.

Astonishingly, two QPR players completely missed the target from the spot, with Lee Burge saving Charlie Austin’s penalty to allow Sunderland to win the shootout 3-1. Aiden McGeady, Alex Pritchard and Ross Stewart converted their spot-kicks.

Whilst Burge saved a penalty and intimidated the other two enough to miss, it was another player stole the show for Lee Johnson’s side on the night – Carl Winchester.

The versatile Northern Ireland international lined up at right-back and put in an impressive display, full of endeavour and hard work. He was constantly bombing up and down the pitch to provide an outlet for the Black Cats down the right and played an important part in the victory.

Earlier this season, Sunderland journalist James Copley hailed him as a cult hero for the club, saying: “Carl Winchester – fast becoming a cult hero, he got the winner, he’s made that right-back spot his own.”

On the ball, he was heavily involved. – as per SofaScore, he had 75 touches and completed 75% of his passes from the right-back position. He also had two efforts on goal and alleviated pressure from his side by winning an impressive four free-kicks throughout the match.

The defender was not without his faults, though. Winchester only completed two of his seven attempted crosses and long passes and was unsuccessful with his one dribble attempt. However, this gives him something to work on ahead of his next appearance to continue his development as a player.

Defensively, he was very impressive.

Again, as per SofaScore, he won nine duels in the game, including seven of his 13 ground battles.

In addition to that, he made an eye-catching four tackles, three interceptions and one block against the Championship side, proving that he can be a solid defender for the club.

The 28-year-old was also able to get through the 90 minutes without committing a single foul, showing the excellent timing of his challenges.

Therefore, he stole the show for Johnson as he put in an energetic, impressive, performance at right-back as Sunderland booked their place in the next round of the cup.

Burge saved a penalty, but Winchester put in 110% throughout the game and his individual drive typified the spirited display by the club. Hopefully, he will be able to maintain a high level throughout the campaign and become an important member of the starting XI.

Former Premier League striker Nigel Jemson has suggested that both Erling Haaland and Harry Kane could become targets for Liverpool next summer.

The Reds kept their powder largely dry throughout the transfer window, with their only first-team signing being the defender Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig.

The club opted against bringing in a new striker, with Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota remaining their main options up front.

Next summer could be a huge one for players leaving their clubs, particularly those who are marquee names.

Haaland’s release clause of £68m becomes active next summer, meaning that there could be a scramble for his signature from a number of top European clubs.

The Norway international has been in electric form this season, scoring 11 goals in just eight games in all competitions.

And Kane could again be at the centre of a transfer saga after he failed to move to Manchester City after Euro 2020.

Thus, Jemson believes both could become options for the Reds.

Asked about whether Liverpool could spend big on a striker, he said: “You look at Haaland, where he’s going to be, he’s obviously got a clause in his contract next year. Kane. Is his destination City next year? Has Levy said ‘give me one season, you can go for sixty, seventy, eighty million’, whatever it may be?”