Leeds United goalkeeper coach Marcos Abad, whose importance at Thorp Arch has been labelled as ‘huge’, is expected to stay at the club and work under Jesse Marsch, according to Training Ground Guru.
The Lowdown: Bielsa departs
The Whites decided to sack Marcelo Bielsa on the weekend after three-and-a-half years in charge at Elland Road following a 4-0 defeat to Tottenham.
Marsch has since been named as the Argentine’s successor, penning a deal through to 2025 in Yorkshire.
It looks as if Cameron Toshack will serve as the American’s assistant, and Marsch will also be able to call upon Abad to continue his work alongside Illan Meslier.
The Latest: Abad set to stay
Training Ground Guru shared a story on Monday regarding Bielsa’s staff.
They claimed that assistants Diego Reyes, Pablo Quiroga and Luis Ouvina and fitness coach Benoit Delaval will leave, whereas head of analysis Guillermo Alonso and Abad look set to stay.
The Verdict: Orta influence
Pundit Kevin Campbell believes Abad should be given ‘huge credit’ for the work he has done with Meslier, and Victor Orta has surely had a say in the goalkeeping coach and Alonso staying put at Elland Road.
Indeed, the pair both worked under Orta at Middlesbrough, so the director of football has now collaborated with the duo at two English clubs and is clearly a big fan of their work if they are not joining the Bielsa exodus.
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It seems to be a decision that makes sense, especially when you look at Meslier’s progression at Elland Road, with his Transfermarkt valuation at a career-high £18m figure.
In other news: ‘According to insider sources’ – Report claims Leeds chief set to ‘resign’ in Bielsa aftermath.
Scorecard Jalaj Saxena hit an unbeaten fifty to guide Madhya Pradesh to a four-wicket win against Jammu & Kashmir in a low-scoring thriller in Jammu. Having resumed on 18 for 3, needing a further 113 runs to win on the final day, MP lost three wickets to reach 85 for 6. Jalaj, who resumed the day on 11, then shared a 48-run stand in 16 overs with Murtaza Ali (29*) to steer MP home. Out for a duck in the first innings, Jalaj could not have found a better time to register his highest first-class score. The game had turned on its head on the third day when Anand Rajan grabbed a career-best six-wicket haul to help MP, who faced a first-innings deficit, shoot J&K out for 91.Scorecard Powered by a career-best 7 for 90 from Ashraf Makda, Gujarat registered an innings victory against Tripura in Ahmedabad. At the start of the fourth day, the last six Tripura wickets needed 200 runs to make Gujarat bat again. Makda, the left-arm medium-pacer, grabbed four wickets as Gujarat took the required wickets in 42.4 overs of play to earn six points from the game. Nishit Shetty offered the lone fight with an 80, but he only managed to delay the inevitable. ScorecardJharkhand lost their last six wickets for 52 runs as Haryana beat them by 132 runs with only three overs’ play to spare. Apart from the captain Manish Vardhan who scored 106, not a single Jharkhand batsman reached 20, extras (30) being the second-largest contributors to their score of 223.Haryana, after having attained a first-innings lead on the third day, had declared overnight with a lead 354 runs. Sachin Rana, their medium-pacer, followed his first-innings effort of three wickets with three more in the second innings. ScorecardAt Palakkad, Kerala took the last five Services wickets for 25, enforced a follow-on, took eight second-innings wickets, but ran out of time and could not enforce an outright win. Services, who resumed at 325 for 5, collapsed to the bowling of Tinu Yohannad and Prasanth Chandran.Following on, Services made a steady start, but they lost their first two wickets at the score of 36. After a 69-run third-wicket stand, Services kept losing wickets consistently. Jasvir Singh and Yashpal Singh scored 43 runs each to keep them afloat. Sadanandan Anish, Kerala’s right-arm offbreak bowler, bowled 34 overs for his six wickets. ScorecardGoa dismissed Railways for 425 to walk away with the first-innings points in Margao. Railways, in pursuit of Goa’s 535, began the day at 291 for 5, with wicketkeeper Mahesh Rawat approaching his first century for Railways. Rawat missed the ton by four, and his wicket at the team score of 348 triggered a collapse as the next four could add only 57 runs. Karan Sharma, who had scored a century in the previous game – his debut – was left stranded at 70. Harshad Gadekar and Robin D’souza took three wickets apiece for Goa. ScorecardAfter rain had washed out close to three days of play, Assam and Vidarbha couldn’t force a first-innings result and took away a point apiece. Assam, resuming at 65 for 2, scored 216, thanks largely to S Sharath’s 60. Pritam Gandhe, the Vidarbha offbreak bowler, bowled 15.4 economical overs in which he took four wickets and gave way 20 runs.Alind Naidu, Vidarbha’s No. 3, made sure there won’t be any hiccups in getting the one point, by scoring 48 runs.
Aaqib Javed, the former Pakistan fast-medium bowler, has been appointed chief coach of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced.A PCB spokesman said that Aaqib’s appointment as the head of coaching at Lahore’s NCA would be highly beneficial for the young players training at the academy. “Aaqib brings to this position vast experience as an international cricketer and as a professional coach,” said the spokesman.Aaqib, 34, played the last of his 22 Tests in 1998, having taken 54 wickets. He was an under-recognised part of a much-feared Pakistan pace attack of the 90s, overshadowed mostly by Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. He did however forge a more successful one-day career, taking 182 wickets from 163 matches.He was part of Pakistan’s triumphant 1992 World Cup squad and once held the record for the best bowling figures in an ODI – 7 for 37, including a hat-trick – which he achieved against India in Sharjah in 1991.Aaqib has stayed attached with international cricket since his exit nine years ago and has attended several coaching courses and workshops in recent years. He completed a PCB Level-2 Coaching Course (2003) and has participated in Asian Cricket Council (ACC) High Performance Course (2004). He has also attended the Cricket Australia/ACC Cricket Skills course for fast bowling and batting, held in Bangkok (2004-05).Aaqib has successfully completed assignments as fast bowling coach at the Lahore Regional Academy at Sheikhupura (2001), head coach of Lahore Region at Muridke (2002) and fast bowling coach at NCA (2004-05).His stint as fast bowling coach was widely acknowledged as a successful one, having worked with and improved several young fast bowlers, including Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Mohammad Khalil, Mohammad Irshad and Samiullah Niazi.Aaqib has also coached several national age-group teams and under him Pakistan won the Under-15 Asian Championship in 2002 and the Under-19 World Cup in 2004. He also had a successful coaching stint with the Pakistan ‘A’ squad.
“The Zimbabwe Cricket Union is apolitical, and believes in the inviolable separation of sport and politics. We are an organization of diverse political, ethnic, cultural, racial and religious backgrounds.” Peter Chingoka speaking to Cricinfo in February 2004“They have gone back on their word that they would not serve under Chingoka. They have left Taibu in the lurch. It is disturbing that they are now prepared to play under the same regime supported by new board members with dubious cricket qualifications and who we can only assume are government appointees. Cricket is in anarchy and I doubt whether it is recoverable but I still hope the ICC will take the government’s interference seriously and investigate the make up of this committee.” David Ellman-Brown Former ZC chairman and life president“To actively promote, develop and administer the game of cricket for the benefit of all Zimbabweans without discrimination of any kind.” Zimbabwe Cricket’s mission statement“They have betrayed what they went on strike for, and Taibu. He won’t change his mind but we know some of them never had any principles and are only in it for the money. Most of them are not so poor.” Elvis Sembezeya Elected as chairman of Mashonaland last year but Peter Chingoka blocked his appointment“They have abandoned Taibu and that is off sides. They have nullified the reason for going on strike in the first place. I am surprised they have not asked to see this committee before they ended their strike to get a commitment in writing pertaining to their contracts and how the game would be revived.” Heath Streak Former Zimbabwe captain“It seems bizarre that although he [Chingoka] was head of an administration that they see fit to remove, they now make him the head of a new one. If this is the bunch that’s going to help them deliver cricket for the next six months, I don’t know what they are going to be delivering at the end of it. It won’t be cricket, it’ll be a corpse.” Clive Field spokesman for Zimbabwe’s players“No-one should regard the appointment of this committee as a solution to the issues facing Zimbabwe cricket and there remain a number of outstanding matters that must be urgently resolved in an open and transparent manner to support Zimbabwe’s participation in international cricket. These include addressing allegations of financial mismanagement; ensuring disputes between players and the board are effectively addressed; and providing certainty for other ICC members that the strongest possible Zimbabwe cricket team will be able to fulfil future international commitments, especially the forthcoming tour of the West Indies due to commence in April.” ICC statement“I suppose this ought not to have been a surprising move as this was announced at the Zanu PF National People’s Conference held recently. All the same it is still quite shocking. What all cricket loving enthusiasts feared is now official I suppose, Zimbabwe cricket is now a government agency. So much for those who have advocated that sport and politics don’t mix or that Zimbabwe cricket is apolitical: I believe that words to that effect came out of the mouth of Chingoka a while back.” Henry Olonga Former Zimbabwe international“There should be no racism in sport. They should not mix sports and politics.” Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe’s president speaking in 2004
Just days after ruffling feathers by not consulting a Pakistan Cricket Board-endorsed physician, Shoaib Akhtar has once again thumbed his nose at officialdom by refusing to play in a Patron’s Trophy match. With the squad to tour India likely to be announced in four days’ time, PCB officials had wanted Shoaib to prove his match-fitness.A Press Trust of India report quotes sources close to the player as saying that he was “surprised” at the board’s request, since the team’s South African trainer, Grant Compton, had advised him to rest the injury till February 18. Shoaib has apparently sought a meeting with Shaharyar Khan, the board chairman, to explain his position.The source was quoted as saying: “Shoaib is also surprised at these instructions since even the foreign trainer and physiotherapist would return only on 18 from South Africa, so he (Shoaib) is wondering who is going to assess his fitness even if he plays in the match.”And to add to the sense of intrigue, the report suggested that the request to play in the Patron’s Trophy was a board initiative meant to shake off any sense of complacency that Shoaib might have. “We also realise Shoaib is a valuable bowler when he is 100 per cent committed,” said an unnamed PCB official. “But his antics in recent times are not acceptable.”The Board wants to not only ensure he is completely fit for the Indian tour but also keep him under pressure so that he does not take his selection for India for granted.”Shoaib did little of note on India’s tour of Pakistan last year, but was the pick of Pakistan’s bowlers in recent Test matches at Perth and Melbourne before his well-documented fitness woes returned to zap his effectiveness.
It has been several months since Alok Kapali last hit the headlines for his bowling. These days, it is his combative middle-order batting that occasionally catches the eye, but back in July 2002, when he made his Test debut as an 18-year-old, his legspin was perceived to be his strongest suit. Sure enough he picked up two (albeit expensive) wickets in his first outing against Sri Lanka.But, in keeping with Bangladesh’s struggles, Kapali’s next scalp did not arrive for about a year – when Australia’s Justin Langer played all round a straight one at Darwin last month. Now, however, Kapali has doubled his tally and halved his average (from a Mike Athertonesque 209.33 to an Ian Salisburyish 104.67), all in the space of three deliveries.Kapali, who turns 20 on New Year’s Day, is the 31st cricketer to take a Test hat-trick, and, hardly surprisingly, the first from Bangladesh. His efforts may yet contribute to an historic maiden Test victory, but judging by their late collapse on the third day at Peshawar, he will have to impress with the bat as well. Still, he completed a memorable day by reaching the close unbeaten on 4, to give Bangladesh a vital 118-run lead with six wickets remaining.Bangladesh may not be too hot when it comes to team performances, but every once in a while they chalk up an unlikely individual achievement. Against India at Dhaka in November 2000, Aminul Islam became only the third batsman (after Australia’s Charles Bannerman and Zimbabwe’s Dave Houghton) to score a century in his country’s inaugural Test. And a year later, in Colombo, Mohammad Ashraful became the youngest player to score a century on his Test debut, at 17 years and 63 days old.In becoming his country’s first hat-trick bowler, Kapali has been propelled into an eclectic nine-man club, occupied by three alltime greats, two extremely-goods, and a handful of extras. The club’s inaugural member was Australia’s demon fast bowler, Fred Spofforth, who ripped through England’s batting at Melbourne in January 1879 with match figures of 13 for 110.Four years later, England replied through Willie Bates, a maverick Yorkshire allrounder who played all 15 of his Tests in Australia. On his day he was irresistible, and at Melbourne in January 1883, his slow roundarm spin collected 14 wickets in the match, including 7 for 28 in 26.2 overs in the first innings.England and Australia shared all 12 of the first hat-tricks in Test history, and it wasn’t until March 1959 that any other nation got a look-in. Appropriately, it was one of the greats who broke the stranglehold. Wes Hall had already marked his arrival as a Test cricketer with 41 wickets on his maiden tour for West Indies, an arduous trek across India and Pakistan in 1958-59. And in the eighth and final Test of that trip, he took his tally to 46 with a hat-trick against Pakistan at Lahore.South Africa were the next team to accomplish the feat, and against England at Lord’s to boot. But it was a bitter-sweet occasion for the bowler, Geoff Griffin. An accident at school had left him with a permanently kinked elbow, and he was no-balled no fewer than 11 times for throwing. It was his second and last Test, and he retired a fortnight after his 21st birthday.Only three men to date have achieved the feat on their Test debuts. The first was England’s Maurice Allom, in January 1930. The second was New Zealand’s offspinner Peter Petherick, who dismissed the Pakistan trio of Javed Miandad, Wasim Raja and Intikhab Alam at Lahore in October 1976. It merely delayed the inevitable, however, as Pakistan eventually won the match by six wickets. The third was Australia’s Damien Fleming, at Rawalpindi in 1994-95, whose victims included Salim Malik for a modest 237.Next to join the club were Pakistan. Wasim Akram had already picked up two one-day hat-tricks in quick succession in 1989-90. Now, nine years later, he repeated the feat in Test cricket as well. His first batch came against Sri Lanka, once again at Lahore, in the third match of the Asian Test Championship. One Test later, and in the final no less, he repeated the dose to send Sri Lanka crashing to an innings defeat.In the recent World Cup, Chaminda Vaas took a spectacular hat-trick from his first three balls against Bangladesh. But he was merely following the example of his team-mate Nuwan Zoysa, whose opening over in the Test against Zimbabwe at Harare in 1999-2000 was equally astonishing. Trevor Gripper was not the most illustrious of first victims, but his next two, Murray Goodwin and Neil Johnson, are among the best to have played for Zimbabwe. At 0 for 3, it was a long way back for Zimbabwe, and unsurprisingly, they fell to a seven-wicket defeat.The last, but most certainly not least of the countries to get off the mark was India – in the guise of Harbhajan Singh, in arguably the most astonishing victory in the history of Test cricket. India had been walloped by Australia in the opening Test of their 2000-01 home series, and when they were forced to follow on at Kolkata, the series looked dead in the water. But Harbhajan’s first-innings hat-trick, including the prime wickets of Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist, provided the first inkling that this was a miracle in the making. Sure enough, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid put together their thrilling 376-run partnership, and Harbhajan sealed the victory with match figures of 13 for 196.As India proved then, miracles do happen. Alok Kapali will be praying for something similar tomorrow.
Sri Lanka finally ended Kandy jinx on the final tension-strewn day of thesecond Janashakthi National Test when they defeated West Indies by 131 runsin the descending gloom to win this three-Test series.But, boy, was it a close run thing. West Indies came within 16 minutes ofsaving the game thanks to a stubborn 59 run seventh wicket stand between MarlonSamuels and Mervyn Dillon and despite an umpiring blunder that robbed themof batting super star Brian Lara.West Indies went into the final hour with four wickets intact. MuttiahMuralitharan, once again the hero and the man of the match for the fourthtest running, was sending down over after over, spinning the ball the squareon a worn fifth day pitch, as a ring of squawky jack-in-the-box fieldersclosed in around the bat.The light was deteriorating quickly and Sanath Jayasuriya was unable to usefast bowler Chaminda Vaas for fear that the umpires would reach for theirlight meters and offer the light.The crowd, which had built up steadily throughout the day, grew more excitedwith each passing over, cheering each appeal and hooting theirdisappointment whenever the umpire failed to raise his finger.Samuels and Dillon had batted for 59 minutes and Sri Lankan hopes of forcinga victory were slipping away. But 18 minutes into the last hour, Dillonplayed over the top of a full-length delivery from Muralitharan and wasbowled.Samuels and Dinanath Ramnarine kept Muralitharan at bay for 15 more minutes,during which time Samuels passed fifty for the first time in the series,following scores of 16, 2, and 0.But just after the umpires had checked their light meters, which were surelyhovering on the danger zone, Samuels was trapped lbw for 54 as he stretchedacross his stumps. At 5.41pm Pedro Collins was comprehensively bowled byanother booming off-break and then the final disasterColin Stuart, who was banned for bowling in the first innings after lettingloose two beamers, suffered an equally calamitous dismissal as hesuccessfully defended his second ball from Muralitharan. However, cruelly,the ball spun backwards and slowly trickled towards his stumps with justenough velocity to knock off both bails.Three wickets had fallen in 12 balls. The Sri Lankans were cock-a-hoop andthe crowd joyous. A pale-faced West Indian manager Ricky Skerrit could beseen with his head in his hands. They felt they had been robbed. Certainlyan injustice had been done.Lara had played expertly after the loss of both openers before lunch. He hadbatted for two and a quarter hours for his 45 before he was wrongly adjudgedto have been caught at short leg off left-arm spinner NiroshanBandaratillake two balls after tea.The ball had come off the full face of the bat into the hands HashanTillakaratne who completed a brilliant reflex catch. The Sri Lankan closefielders started celebrating immediately and umpire Gamin Silva upheld theappeal. Lara stood aghast. His arms lifted in astonishment and he lingeredat the crease, before slowly trudging back to the pavilion.Television replays clearly indicated that the ball had been hit into theground. The third umpire watched powerless in front of his monitor, able tointervene with on-field judgments only in the case of line decisions.Likewise the on-field umpires were handicapped by ICC regulations that onlyallow umpires to call for the third umpire to verify whether the catchitself was taken cleanly, not whether it was a bump ball.During all three previous innings in the series his dismissal had sparkeddramatic collapses. In Galle the last five wickets fell for 25 runs in thefirst innings and 13 in the second. Yesterday the lower order the last fiveproduced just 24 runs. This time they cobbled together 64 and showed greaterresistance, but it still swung the match towards Sri Lanka.The West Indies team were left fuming. They have had the bad breaksin this Test, from the time Stuart was barred from bowling, and they feelthey suffered in the field too, when a number of decisions were turned down.Coach Roger Harper, speaking straight after his sides 131 defeat, said: “Naturally we are very, very disappointed. Not only in losing but also in the manner in which we thought the game was taken away from us.”He added: “The dismissal of Brian Lara was clearly the pivotal moment. The outcome could have been totally different. I have no explanation for it. All I can say is that all the Sri Lankans in the match contributed to it.”On balance, however, the Lara dismissal apart and a gloved catch offJayasuriya that was not given, the umpiring was not poor. There were somemarginal decisions and mistakes, but not an unusually high number and they didnot all fall in Sri Lanka’s favour. Ultimately this game was lost because ofwoeful batting and some wonderfully skillful bowling from Muralitharan, whoonce again finished with ten wickets in the game.Earlier in the morning, Sri Lanka appeared mindful of criticism that theyhad not been more positive yesterday evening. They came out this morning,after a long team chat prior to the start of play, all guns blazing.Sangakkara displayed the team’s newfound urgency early on, as he danced downthe wicket to a bemused Dillon and aimed a back-wrenching swipe.Boundaries were hard to come by over the soft buffalo-grassed outfield, butSangakkara, on 10 overnight, swivel-pulled and slashed a further 35 runs in30 balls before he pulled straight into the hands of Ramnarine atmid-wicket.In the first ten overs Sangakkara and Atapattu added 63 runs, increasing SriLanka’s 225-run overnight lead to 288. A declaration appeared imminent, butJayasuriya erred on the side of caution.Hooper quickly dispensed with Pedro Collins, whose four overs cost 31 runs,and asked leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine to bowl into the rough outside theright-handers pads. The slips disappeared and boundaries became heavilypatrolled. The tactic slowed the run rate, as Ramnarine picked four wicketsin the next ten overs as Sri Lanka added only 33 more runs.Jayawardene briefly glistened before he skied a simple catch. Russel Arnold,fighting for his place in the side, scooped a catch to cover in the nextover.All the while, Atapattu had been steadily accumulating runs in hishigh-elbowed and stylish way. For a while it looked like the declaration wasbeing delayed to allow him to complete his ninth Test hundred. But when hewas stumped having hot-footed down the wicket to Ramnarine, Vaas appearedfrom the dressing room.Jayasuriya was concerned about the “Lara factor” and wanted to make sure therun-getting equation was loaded in Sri Lanka’s favour. However, soon afterthe dismissal of Vaas he was finally persuaded to call the innings to aclose and let Muralitharan loose.
Mario Balotelli has not had the best of starts possible to his career at Liverpool. Across the seven games he has been featured in in the league the Italian has failed to score, causing frustrating fans, pundits and even his own manager.
These lacklustre displays, along with his shirt swapping incident in the Champions League, has led to some asking for the 24-year-old to be removed removed from Merseyside altogether and replaced with someone else.
Here are FIVE possible players that could replace Balotelli…
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CLICK ON ‘SUPER MARIO’ TO REVEAL THE FIVE
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1. Gonzalo Higuain
Football – Germany v Argentina – FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 – Final – Estadio do Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 13/7/14Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain celebrates a disallowed goal with Argentina’s Marcos Rojo (R)Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Andrew BoyersLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
Gonzalo Higuain has been tipped as one player that could replace Balotelli at Liverpool. The Argentine has scored three goals and provided two assists from eight appearances in Serie A this season for his club Napoli. These three goals have only come in Napoli’s last game in the league against Verona, so you could say he’s having a just as bad season as Balotelli. Many rumours have linked the 26 year old with a move to Merseyside but these have been dismissed by his brother, Columbus Crew’s Federico Higuain.
2. Wilfried Bony
Wilfried Bony was linked with a move to Liverpool last summer, and with the form of Balotelli, he is already being linked again. So far this season in the Premier League for Swansea he has scored four goals and provided one assist from nine appearances – all four of his goals have come in his last five appearances. The Ivorian still has two years left on his contract at the Welsh side, so Liverpool would have to part with more than his transfer market value of just over £14m to acquire him.
3. Divock Origi
Football – Lille v Everton – UEFA Europa League Group Stage Matchday Three Group H – Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve d’Ascq, France – 23/10/14Everton’s Romelu Lukaku and Lille’s Divock Origi speak at the final whistleMandatory Credit: Action Images / Andrew BoyersLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
Divock Origi was purchased by Liverpool over the summer from Lille for £10m, but he was immediately loaned back to France for the 2014/15 season. His loan could be terminated early if Balotelli continues his goal drought, however the French club have played down such a possibility. The Belgian has scored three goals and provided one assist from nine appearances in Ligue 1 this season. His shots per game may be a tad concerning though as he has an average of 1.6.
4. Saido Berahino
The Englishman has been fantastic at West Brom so far, and has been one of this season’s breakthrough stars. From nine Premier League appearances he has scored seven goals, six of them coming from his last six appearances. The 21 year old is also being watched by many other clubs, so the Baggies will be asking for a high transfer fee for his services.
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5. Jay Rodriguez
Football – Crystal Palace v Southampton – Barclays Premier League – Selhurst Park – 8/3/14Jay Rodriguez celebrates after scoring the first goal for SouthamptonMandatory Credit: Action Images / Steven PastonLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account repres
Jay Rodriguez is yet to make an appearance for high flyers Southampton this season due to a cruciate ligament rupture in his knee, which he picked up in April against Manchester City. The Englishman isn’t expected to return to action until the end of November.
Due to how well Southampton are currently playing, there may not be a place for the 25 year old in the starting XI when he returns, meaning a possible exit from The Saints could be on the horizon. Before he got injured last season, he scored 15 goals from 33 league games, five of those goals coming from his last five matches.
With Antonio Conte opting to send versatile Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso on loan to Villarreal in January, and the La Liga side having an option to buy the 25-year-old this summer, it would very much appear as if the Argentina international’s time in north London could be coming to an end.
It is true that the £19.8m-rated midfielder never quite lived up to expectations following his £55m move to Spurs in 2019 – earning seasonal SofaScore match ratings of 6.77, 6.78 and 6.72 in 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 respectively. However, considering just how impressive he has been so far in Spain, perhaps the club’s decision to include an option for Villarreal to buy the Argentine could be one that Conte comes to regret.
Indeed, over his four La Liga outings in the current campaign, the £100k-per-week dynamo has been in remarkable form Unai Emery’s side. He has created one big chance for his team-mates, in addition to averaging 0.5 interceptions, 1.3 tackles and 29.3 passes and winning five duels (at a success rate of 71%) per game.
These returns have seen the 25-year-old average a highly impressive average SofaScore match rating of 7.22, not only ranking him as Villarreal’s third-best performer in the top flight of Spanish football but also the 11th-best player in the entire division.
Furthermore, according to FBRef, over the past year, the player who Jose Mourinho dubbed “phenomenal” also ranks in the 96th percentile of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for passes attempted, the 95th percentile for progressive passes, the 93rd percentile for pressures, the 97th percentile for tackles and the 90th percentile for interceptions.
As such, should Lo Celso demonstrate this level of form consistently for Spurs, he could undoubtedly become a hugely important player for Conte.
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However, as a result of the option-to-buy clause that Villarreal hold for the midfielder, the Italian looks rather unlikely to have the chance to reassess the status of the Argentine within his squad – something which could cost Spurs big time come the summer.
In other news: Conte can axe Paratici’s “terrible” £62k-p/w Spurs dud with 19-year-old dubbed “one of the best”
Kerala, led by fifties from Jalaj Saxena and Rohan Prem, finished the second day only five runs behind Haryana‘s 208 in Lahli. Kerala, who stand a good chance of progressing to the knockouts, have seven wickets in hand.Haryana managed to add only one run to their overnight total of 207 for 9. The visitors’ batsmen then batted out 85 overs in the day to all but wipe Haryana’s total. Saxena and Prem added 172 for the second wicket, before the former was bowled by legspinner Amit Mishra on 91. Prem, however, remained unbeaten on 79 at stumps, with Basil Thampi for company.Table-toppers Gujarat finished the day with a 313-run lead after their bowlers took three early wickets against Jharkhand in Ranchi. Early in the day, Rujul Bhatt helped Gujarat go past 400, with an unbeaten 145.Gujarat were at 295 for 5 early in the day, after overnight batsman Manpreet Juneja was out for 67, but Bhatt then batted well with the tail. The last five batsman added only 28 runs, but Bhatt took charge in his 224-ball innings that had 22 fours and three sixes. Ashish Kumar (4-118) cleaned up the lower order.Jharkhand’s innings started poorly, with Chintan Gaja taking two early wickets. But opener Nazim Siddiqui’s unbeaten 52, together with Ishank Jaggi (27*), who has three centuries so far this season, took the hosts closer to 100 at stumps. Like Kerala, Gujarat must win if they are to qualify into the play-offs in their own terms.Saurashtra, the team that’s chasing Gujarat and Kerala, were also, fascinatingly, on course posting 534 in their first innings against Rajasthan in Jaipur. After overnight centurion Avi Barot was out for 130, Sheldon Jackson made 94 following which their lower-order batsmen Jaydev Unadkat (88, who is leading the side, and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (79*) chipped in with fifties to make Rajasthan’s bowlers toil for almost 144 overs. Jadeja then returned to take two Rajasthan wickets, as the hosts finished the day on 60 for 2.Barot could add only two runs to his overnight total, when he was dismissed for 130 in the opening hour. Prerak Mankad and Chirag Jani were soon to go as well, as Saurashtra were at 313 for 6. But then Jackson and Unadkat added 71 for the seventh wicket, after which the former was out six runs short of his century. Unadkat carried on, putting on another 98 for the eighth wicket as Saurashtra score swelled. The two lower-order batsmen together smashed 17 fours and two sixes.Rajasthan started their innings well, with openers Amitkumar Gautam (26) and Chetan Bist (30*) adding 60 for the first wicket, but Jadeja’s double-wicket 28th over – the day’s last – pegged the hosts’ progress as they finished the day on 60 for 2, still trailing by 474.