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Over the past few years, Aston Villa and their owners have been rather busy when it comes to spending money on bringing new players to the Midlands club.

One player that has made the move to Villa Park in recent times is midfielder Morgan Sanson, who joined the side back in the 2021 January transfer window from French club Marseille in a deal worth a reported fee of £16m.

Since then, the 27-year-old has only made 16 appearances for Villa across all competitions as a result of injury and illness issues as well as just not being picked at times, suggesting that his move to the Premier League club has not been a particularly successful one.

Sanson’s previous appearance for Steven Gerrard’s side in their 2-2 draw against Manchester United saw him give the foul away that led to the free-kick that Bruno Fernandes scored his first goal of the game from, as well as then giving the ball away in the second half that led to United’s second goal, showing that he can be a bit of a risk in terms of his decision making at times.

After that, it wasn’t much of a surprise to not only see the Frenchman, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £59k-per-week according to Salary Sport, not start in Villa’s recent 1-0 win over Everton but also that he didn’t come on at all.

Now that the 2022 January transfer window is nearly over, Villa have been linked with a move for yet another Marseille midfielder that could arguably push Sanson out of the door at Villa Park – Boubacar Kamara.

At 22-years-old, Kamara has been described as a player that “can do everything with the ball” by youth coach Jacques Abardonado, which is a clue as to what the £22.5m-rated maestro could offer Gerrard’s side as a young player with lots of time and possible development ahead of him.

Also, with the Marseille figure predominantly playing as a defensive-midfielder throughout his career, he could be a useful asset for Villa, certainly at the moment with Marvelous Nakamba out injured.

In terms of Sanson, if Villa are keen on signing Kamara before the January transfer window closes, it could be worth offering Marseille the opportunity to take their former midfielder back if it would make them more likely to allow their current player to leave at the same time.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano drops 5-word January transfer update, it’ll leave AVFC fans gutted – opinion

After narrowly missing out on securing three points in their previous Premier League match against Watford at St James’ Park last weekend, when a late goal from Joao Pedro snatched a point for the away side, Newcastle United are back in action today with an away clash against Leeds United. 

Ahead of the clash at Elland Road against Marcelo Bielsa’s side,  Magpies boss Eddie Howe revealed that Newcastle will still be without Callum Wilson, Federico Fernandez and Isaac Hayden through injury, as well as potentially Matt Ritchie. Howe added in his pre-match press conference that Jeff Hendrick and Dwight Gayle returned to training this week. 

With that in mind, here’s how we feel Newcastle could line up to take on Leeds this afternoon, with two changes anticipated from the XI which started against Watford a week ago.

In goal, we think Howe will stick with Martin Dubravka after the Slovakian made four saves against Watford.

For the defence, we think the Newcastle boss will stick with the same back four which started against the Hornets, with Kieran Trippier at right-back, Paul Dummett on the left, and Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles occupying the centre-back positions.

In midfield, we can see Howe sticking with Jonjo Shelvey and Joelinton, but Joe Willock comes back in to see if he can pull off something special as Sean Longstaff drops out. The ex-Arsenal youngster hasn’t hit the heights of last season this time around, but with Longstaff offering little attacking threat last week, he could be the fall guy for Willock today.

In attack, it would be hard to not see Allan Saint-Maximin occupying his usual left-wing position to see if he can wreak havoc on Leeds’ defence and potentially add some goals or assists to his record for the season and, more importantly, secure a win for his team. 

With Wilson still out, it would seem likely that Howe will stick with January signing Chris Wood to see if he can also cause the Whites some problems at the back and haunt his former club. 

On the right, we think Howe will put Miguel Almiron back into the team, with Ryan Fraser – who is currently picking up £63k-per-week according to Salary Sport – dropping out to freshen up the attack. The Scot pays the price for going 17 games without a goal so far this season.

Whether or not Howe goes with the starting XI that we have suggested, this will still be a big game in terms of their hopes of avoiding relegation this season, and one they might be capable of winning given Leeds’ less than stellar results so far in this campaign. 

In other news – Terms agreed: NUFC could land masterstroke with gem whose “shorts look like underwear”…

ظهر ديوجو جوتا لاعب ليفربول الإنجليزي في مؤتمر صحفي للحديث قبل مباراة الفريق أمام جلاسكو رينجرز الأسكتلندي، المقرر خوضها غدًا الأربعاء بمنافسات دوري أبطال أوروبا.

ويحل ليفربول ضيفًا على رينجرز بمنافسات الجولة الرابعة لدور المجموعات في دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وقال جوتا: “يمكننا دائمًا فعل المزيد ولكن عندما تنظر إلى الوراء، تشعر أن كل شيء سار ضدنا في المباراة السابقة (أمام آرسنال)، لكنه جزء من الماضي الآن، وهذا سيناريو مختلف – نحتاج إلى أن نكون مركزين بنسبة 100٪”.

وأضاف جوتا عن سباق اللقب: “الموسم الماضي كنا متأخرين كثيرًا أيضًا، لا يزال هناك الكثير من المباريات لنلعبها – لا يبدو أن الأمر ممكنًا ولكنك لا تعرف أبدًا”.

وواصل البرتغالي: “ما زلنا في بداية الموسم، لم نلعب من أجل الكؤوس حتى الآن، ما زلنا في المراحل المبكرة وهناك الكثير للعب من أجله، سيكون الأمر مختلفًا بسبب كأس العالم، لذلك لدينا بضعة أسابيع لتسهيل الأمر علينا”.

اقرأ أيضًا | كلوب يعلن مدة غياب لويس دياز وأرنولد.. ويؤكد: التحكيم سبب خسارتنا أمام آرسنال

واستطرد بشأن مركزه في الملعب: “سألعب حيث يريدني المدرب، سأقدم أفضل ما لدي بنسبة 100٪ لأن هذا هو ما أنا عليه فقط، إذا كان علي أن ألعب في مراكز مختلفة، فهذا ما سأفعله”.

وشدد جوتا: “أنا مستعد للعب في أي مكان يشعر فيه المدير الفني أنه يمكنني أن أكون مهمًا للفريق”.

وعن مواجهة رينجرز، أفاد لاعب الريدز: “غدًا فرصة أخرى، لا أعرف كيف سيلعبون – ربما يريدون تغيير الأشياء من الأسبوع الماضي – علينا أن نكون مستعدين كما نعلم أن هناك أمام جماهيرهم، نتوقع أن يكون الأمر صعبًا”.

وحول أهدافه خلال الموسم، أوضح: “ليس لدي هدف، لست من هذا النوع من الأشخاص، أرغب دائمًا في التحسن ولكن هذا يعتمد أيضًا كثيرًا على المركز الذي تلعبه، أريد دائمًا أن أشارك في تلك المواقف الهجومية، غدًا سأكون كذلك، جاهز”.

وسُئل جوتا عن زميله داروين نونيز، وأتم:”لقد بدأ بشكل جيد حقًا – ولكن ربما تطلب تكيفه وقتًا أطول قليلاً، أعتقد أنه يجد نفسه في وضع أفضل الآن – هذا جيد للجميع، غدًا سيكون دليلًا أكبر على ذلك”.

The Champions League Twenty20 has not ruled out the participation of teams from England but will stick to its schedule of September 10-26, Lalit Modi, the tournament commissioner has said

Nagraj Gollapudi and Osman Samiuddin20-Feb-2010

The Champions League Twenty20 has not ruled out the participation of teams from England but will stick to its schedule of September 10-26, Lalit Modi, the tournament commissioner has said. Modi told Cricinfo that English teams were still in the fray and that N Srinivasan, a member of the league’s governing council and BCCI secretary, was in talks with the ECB on the issue.The participation of teams from England had been put in doubt after it emerged that the schedule, announced last week, would clash with crucial fixtures at the end of the English season. England will be playing Pakistan in an ODI series at the time, the final two rounds of the County Championship will be on as well as the semi-finals and final of the ECB40 competition.Sussex and Somerset took part in the inaugural tournament last year in India, but further English participation this season was already in doubt after Lalit Modi, the league commissioner, said only days ago on his Twitter feed that two invites had been sent to the ECB, though the board maintained the offer wasn’t official. Cricinfo now understands that the ECB has failed to accept the invitation within the stipulated deadline, though Modi’s statement implies this will not be an issue. The final decision could be taken at the body’s governing council meeting in March.The ECB has so far declined to comment on this.Though the dates for this season’s edition have been announced the number and identity of participating teams has yet to be finalised, despite press releases from Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the Champions League itself stating that, like last season, 12 teams will take part from seven full member countries, including England; CSA also announced that they would be hosting the tournament this year, a statement immediately refuted by Modi.Modi and other league officials insist that the final number of teams and their identity has yet to be confirmed. There might be more than 12 teams – one Champions League official told Cricinfo “at least 12 teams will play.” There could also be a slight change to the schedule, depending on the teams and the shape of the tournament, though this will be announced in March.The uncertainty over English participation keeps the door open for a Pakistani team to feature in the lucrative league, an issue that might become less complicated should the tournament be held outside India. Pakistan and Bangladesh are the only two Test-playing countries with no presence in the tournament. The PCB had a representative – the Sialkot Stallions – in the very first edition of the tournament, which was cancelled in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.As ties worsened between India and Pakistan and their cricket boards in the aftermath, the PCB wasn’t eventually extended an invitation to the first tournament.

Rangers defender Connor Goldson ‘seems galvanised’ by the arrival of Giovanni van Bronckhorst at Ibrox amid the uncertainty over his future, according to sports journalist Andrew Dickson. 

The lowdown

The Daily Record’s Keith Jackson wrote at the end of October that it was ‘getting hard to see’ Goldson, who has ‘been a rock for Rangers’, remaining at Ibrox amid a ‘contractual stand-off’. The defender’s £27,000-per-week deal is due to expire at the end of this season.

Football Insider reported earlier this month that the Englishman, who has been selected for all but one Premiership game so far this term, was intent upon returning to the English Premier League.

The latest

Dickson took to Twitter to admit that, after the Scottish League Cup semi-final defeat to Hibernian last month, he thought it was clear that Goldson was clamouring for an exit, but he has hailed the 28-year-old’s resurgence since the arrival of Van Bronckforst at Ibrox.

The journalist tweeted: “Six games into the Gio reign, where is everyone sitting now on Goldson? I thought after the Hibs semi that he was almost certainly wanting out… but his response to the new manager has been excellent and I feel he’s looked much more like himself. Seems galvanised by the manager.”

The verdict

It’s understandable that Dickson feels there has been a marked improvement in Goldson’s form since Van Bronckhorst came to the club last month. Since the Dutchman’s first Premiership game in charge against Livingston, the ex-Brighton defender has posted markedly better performance ratings from renowned website WhoScored.

The departure of a figure like Steven Gerrard, a Champions League winner and former Premier League player of the year, might have had Rangers fans fearing the worst, but could Van Bronckhorst inspire a change of heart from Goldson?

It’s not out of the question, and prolonging their European campaign by finishing second in their Europa League group should only have helped their case as the January transfer window looms.

But what if rumoured suitors West Ham United come knocking? They’ve been hit with two serious injuries in the heart of defence, and an offer from the Londoners may be too good for Goldson to turn down, if indeed he is still clamouring to return to England when the window opens.

In other news, many Rangers fans bemoaned this injury update

Leeds United are looking into a deal for RC Lens defender Facundo Medina, according to Homme du Match.

The Lowdown: Medina profiled

Medina is a left-footed centre-back who can also play at left-back and has three caps to his name for Argentina.

He has only been with Lens for 18 months but has already been linked with a move to Manchester United following his impressive start to life in France.

The 22-year-old appears to be at the top of his game with a career-high Transfermarkt valuation of £9m, and it seems as if Medina is another player on Victor Orta’s radar at Elland Road.

The Latest: Leeds set their sights

Homme du Match shared a story on Wednesday and led with a title suggesting that the Whites have set their sights on a move for Medina.

He’s a player who is being closely followed by Leeds, with the report believing that he would fit perfectly into Marcelo Bielsa’s style of play.

The Verdict: Avoid for now?

Although Medina appears to be catching the eye over in France and can play in more than one position, perhaps Leeds need to look at alternative areas if they are to add to their squad in January.

Bielsa has just four senior midfield options at this moment in time, so there’s an argument that another would be needed before bringing in what would be a sixth centre-back.

It could be wise for Leeds to keep monitoring Medina’s progress, and who knows, a move may end up making sense further down the line.

In other news: ‘The ideal scenario’ – Phil Hay reacts as this coach is touted to replace Bielsa at Leeds

Andrew Strauss has saluted his bowlers after England’s clinical seven-wicket victory over South Africa, just two days after a 112-run mauling in Cape Town

Cricinfo staff30-Nov-2009Andrew Strauss has saluted his bowlers after England’s clinical seven-wicket victory over South Africa, just two days after a 112-run mauling in Cape Town. The architect of the turnaround was James Anderson, who took a career-best 5 for 23 to rip through South Africa.Anderson, who played with a likely broken toe after stubbing it on a chair, started with a wild delivery down the leg side, and had figures of 3-0-15-0 before turning in two devastating spells of fast bowling. “Jimmy was outstanding with how he built pressure but also bowled wicket-taking deliveries,” Strauss said, “but today was a day for the bowling unit as a whole and they complemented each other very well.”Anderson’s performance eased concerns over his troublesome knee, which has required strapping during the early weeks of the tour, and he is confident it won’t be a further problem although his toe required a local anaesthetic.”If it’s getting better while I’m playing I’m pretty confident it will just continue to do so,” he said of the knee. “It’s not a concern at all once I’ve started bowling. “It seems to be getting better. The practice sessions, I’m taking reasonably lightly – and I’m getting it strapped up in a game as well. The way we are managing it, it is gradually getting better – and I hope it can continue.”The win gives England an unbeatable 2-1 lead heading into the final ODI and came on the back of a remarkable effort from the bowlers, who had leaked 354 runs in Friday’s ODI.”The key was to start well and it was a good toss to lose if I’m honest. But I was pleased with how the bowlers reacted to the conditions,” Strauss said. “You have got to adapt quickly and make sure that if there’s anything in your favour then you use it. I think we did that today.”After being smashed for 55 runs in seven overs in the third ODI, Anderson was thrilled with his Man-of-the-Match performance. “We had a chat after the last game because we didn’t bowl as well as we could have done,” Anderson said. “We wanted to come here and bowl a lot better and, luckily, we got a wicket that helped us with our plans.”England have had an excellent run against South Africa since last year, winning seven out of the last eight completed games. Victory in the fifth ODI in Durban on December 4 will hand them the series.

Southampton’s latest Premier League match saw them secure their second league victory of the season with a 1-0 win at Vicarage Road against Watford, putting them in 14th place in the table with 11 points from their opening ten league fixtures.

One player that has not played a big part in Southampton’s current campaign that we think the club should be looking to move on in the near future is 34-year-old striker Shane Long.

So far this season, Long has played just 65 minutes of action for the Saints across all competitions from two substitute appearances in the Carabao Cup and one substitute appearance in their 1-0 defeat against Wolves back in September.

This highlights just how much of an outcast he is in the squad at this moment in time and says to us that Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl doesn’t rate him or recognise him as a useful attacking option for his team.

Southampton signed Long, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £60k-per-week according to Spotrac, back in the 2014 summer transfer window from Hull City for a reported fee of around £12m.

Since then, the striker, who is currently valued at just £1.08m according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of 229 appearances for the south coast club across all competitions in which he has managed to score only 35 goals and provide 26 assists in the process. That’s a shoddy record and one that should be expendable to the south coast side.

Looking ahead to the future, with Long’s contract at St. Mary’s set to expire next summer, we feel that it would be best for all parties if the player left the club at that point, rather than in the upcoming January transfer window. That’s just in case there are any injury issues in the second half of the season where Long might need to remain as a squad option for Hasenhuttl.

If the Saints do let Long go in the summer, we feel that the club should then be looking to bring in another striker that could fill the space in the squad so they still have enough strength in depth in that area, especially with Armando Broja set to return to Chelsea after his loan deal this season.

In other news: Ralph must unleash “explosive” £16.2m-rated Southampton machine, he’d terrify Villa – opinion

Leeds United could be without both Junior Firpo and Jamie Shackleton against Leicester City this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Leeds’ injury woes

The Whites have had plenty of injury issues to deal with this season and will definitely continue to be without Patrick Bamford, Luke Ayling and Robin Koch against The Foxes.

Bamford and Ayling have missed the last seven games with ankle and knee injuries respectively, whereas Koch has been absent with a pubis problem which has kept him out since the opening weekend.

Firpo returned from injury for the Under-23’s at the end of October and Shackleton hobbled off against Norwich last weekend, and it now seems as if the pair may also miss the Elland Road clash.

The Latest: Bielsa’s comments

In Bielsa’s pre-match press conference on Friday, reported by The Yorkshire Evening Post, cited by MOT Leeds News, he gave an update on the full-back duo.

The Argentine admitted he would have a ‘clearer vision’ on the weekend, however, with Bielsa so up front when it comes to injuries, it appears as if the pair may miss the match against Brendan Rodgers’ side.

The Verdict: Drameh’s full Premier League debut?

Cody Drameh has been thrown into the first-team fold as a result of Leeds’ defensive injuries, making his first start for the club in the Carabao Cup defeat to Arsenal.

He then replaced Shackleton against Norwich last weekend, so if Shackleton, described as ‘important’ by Bielsa, fails to make it, the 19-year-old could be in line for a full Premier League debut.

If Firpo, who was hailed as ‘incredibly fit’, misses out again, then Bielsa may have no choice but to stick with Stuart Dallas at left-back instead of using the Northern Irishman in midfield.

In other news: ‘Immense’ Leeds player reveals ‘not so good situation’ under Bielsa; not happy in Yorkshire. 

MatériaMais Notícias

Flamengo e Botafogo escreverão nesta quarta-feira mais um capítulo nos mata-matas entre os clubes em nível nacional. Com o empate em 0 a 0 no Nilton Santos, um empate com gols dá aos alvinegros a vaga à final da Copa do Brasil, enquanto os rubro-negros precisam da vitória para seguir na competição. Porém, os embates já deixaram histórias marcantes para jogadores de cada época.

Goleiro do Botafogo nas quartas-de-final de 1981, Paulo Sérgio apontou o que fez a equipe desbancar o favoritismo do Flamengo de Zico, Júnior, Andrade & Cia.:

– O Botafogo tinha uma equipe muito competitiva. Além do Mendonça, que era a grande estrela, procurávamos jogar no contra-ataque, como um “time de operários”. Era muito difícil fazer gol na gente – lembrou, ao LANCE!.

O ex-jogador detalhou como foram as duas partidas:

– O primeiro jogo, em uma quarta-feira, foi bastante igual, não teve muitas chances de gol. No segundo, com um Maracanã totalmente lotado, o Flamengo abriu o placar no início. Então, o Mendonça empatou de cabeça e nós viramos o jogo para 3 a 1. Sabíamos que o Flamengo era superior, tanto que foi campeão mundial no fim do ano mas contamos com a grande atuação de Mendonça para garantir a vitória.

Após o empate em 0 a 0 na ida, o Alvinegro garantiu a vaga com o triunfo por 3 a 1. O Rubro-Negro abrira o placar com Zico, mas Mendonça igualou na etapa inicial e Jerson virou a partida. Na reta final, Mendonça ainda deu um drible desconcertante em Júnior, no gol celebrado como “Baila COmigo”, em referência à música interpretada por Rita Lee que era tema de abertura da uma novela da Rede Globo. O Botafogo caiu nas semifinais para o São Paulo.

Já no Brasileirão em 1992, a alegria foi em vermelho e preto, e com um troféu nas mãos. O Flamengo não deu chances para o rótulo de “favorito” do Botafogo e levou a melhor na final. Meia da equipe comandada por Carlinhos, Zinho apontou como foram os jogos decisivos:

– O Botafogo era o favorito, mas nós tínhamos uma equipe muito forte, mesclada por experientes como Gilmar, Charles, Gaúcho e jovens como Marcelinho, Piá, Paulo Nunes. Com a liderança do Júnior, fomos ganhando confiança e, na decisão, e abrimos 3 a 0 no jogo de ida. Isto foi fundamental para a gente levar o título.

O ex-meia apontou o que fez a equipe ganhar confiança para a final do Brasileirão:

– A gente tinha oscilado muito na fase classificatória, conseguimos a vaga no finzinho. Mas aquela confiança da torcida, que empurrava a gente no Maracanã e fazia aquele clima do “deixou chegar”, e o trabalho do Carlinhos foram importantíssimos para nós. Passamos por um grupo difícil, com São Paulo, Santos e Vasco, e fomos para cima do Botafogo com tudo.

O Rubro-Negro garantiu o 3 a 0 com Nélio, Gaúcho e Júnior ainda na etapa inicial. No segundo jogo, Júnior e Júlio César abriram o placar para o Flamengo, e Piccheti e Valdeir decretaram o 2 a 2 na partida, em semana antecedida por polêmica aparição do botafoguense Renato Gaúcho em churrasco de comemoração com atletas do Fla.

Em 2013, no primeiro encontro por uma Copa do Brasil, outro favoritismo foi deixado de lado. O empate em 1 a 1 na ida, com gols de André Santos para o Flamengo e Edílson para o Botafogo, foi uma prévia da batalha forte.

Porém, Hernane Brocador desmoronou a fortaleza que parecia ser o Alvinegro naquela época. O atacante marcou três vezes e ainda sofreu o pênalti convertido por Léo Moura na goleada por 4 a 0. O Rubro-Negro seria campeão da competição, sobre o Atlético-PR.

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