Tag Futebol

Arsenal have allegedly agreed on personal terms with West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice, with the player favouring a move to The Emirates Stadium, according to a recent report from FootballTransfers.

Who will Declan Rice sign for?

Bayern Munich fancied their chances in the race for Rice, with The Daily Mail reporting that manager Thomas Tuchel had hoped to persuade him to move over to the Bundesliga, however, he is now prepared to snub a move to the Allianz Arena.

The same report details that Manchester United and Arsenal are interested in the midfielder, but the Gunners are currently leading the race for the player thought to be valued at over £100m, as he is understood to be settled living in London, and a fee in that region would smash the current Emirates record.

Not only that, but the Gunners have now taken an important step towards securing the Englishman's signature, as Football Transfers report that the two parties have made a breakthrough by agreeing on personal terms after working on the transfer for several weeks.

Mikel Arteta has edged closer towards landing the West Ham captain, with the player himself having made a move to the Emirates Stadium his priority since back in January, however, there are still aspects of the deal that will need to be ironed out.

Arsenal are yet to reach an agreement with West Ham regarding the transfer fee required for the 24-year-old, and the player himself wants to see his current club adequately compensated if he is to leave this summer. As such, the likes of Man United, Bayern Munich or even Liverpool could still make a late attempt to hijack the move.

Should Arsenal sign Rice?

Even though the deal is by no means done yet, it is fantastic news that it has taken a step towards completion, as the England international could be a fantastic signing, given the range of different qualities that he has displayed over the past year.

With an average of 1.73 interceptions per 90, the central midfielder ranks in the 94th percentile compared to his positional peers, while he has also started to display his ability on the front foot, scoring in style after picking the ball up in his own half against Gent.

Hailed as "unbelievable" by members of the media, Rice has proven that he is ready to make the step up to the Champions League, and Arsenal may now be looking to agree a transfer fee with West Ham United at the earliest opportunity.

Adam Voges hopes his remarkably productive home summer last year will hold him in good stead when Australia’s selectors assess the fallout from the recent whitewash at the hands of Sri Lanka

Brydon Coverdale25-Aug-2016

Adam Voges hopes his remarkably productive home summer last year will hold him in good stead when Australia’s selectors assess the fallout from the recent whitewash at the hands of Sri Lanka. Australia lost all three Tests in turning conditions, and will face much of the same early next year they will travel to India for four Tests. But in the meantime, they will host South Africa and Pakistan for six Tests on surfaces that are far more familiar.Voges was one of the batsmen who struggled to adapt to the slow, spinning pitches in Sri Lanka, where he failed to score a fifty across the three Tests and averaged 19.66. However, last summer he piled up 660 runs at 165.00 in the six home Tests against New Zealand and West Indies, and he also scored profusely on the tour of New Zealand that followed.But at 36, Voges knows that all his mountains of runs will count for little if he endures a prolonged dry patch, and scores of 47, 12, 8, 28, 22 and 1 constitute the beginnings of one. The home Test summer begins at the WACA against South Africa in early November, and Voges hopes that his track record at that ground, and in Australia generally, will be enough to convince the selectors to stick with him.”The first home Test for the summer is here at the WACA and obviously conditions are fairly different to what we’ve just experienced,” Voges said on on Thursday. “I take a lot of confidence out of what I was able to do last summer, and hopefully get that opportunity here in Perth at my home ground, somewhere that I’ve grown up playing and know the conditions really well.”I’ve given the selectors the opportunity to leave me out if they wanted to, with how I’ve performed in Sri Lanka. Hopefully they keep the faith with me. I still think I’ve got plenty to offer. I take a lot of confidence out of what I was able to do last summer, and really the form and the run that I’ve had over the last couple of years, hopefully the last three Tests have just been a small blip on what’s been a pretty good couple of years.”Four times from the six innings in Sri Lanka, Voges was dismissed by Rangana Herath. However, he was far from alone in struggling against Herath, who claimed 28 wickets for the series and caused Australia major problems in all three Tests.”We didn’t have a lot of answers for him, to be honest,” Voges said. “He has very subtle variations with his release points, his pace, where he stands on the wicket. But ultimately the ball seems to end up relatively in the same area. Some spin, some don’t. And he’s just very crafty. In conditions that suit him, like they did over there, he’s certainly a handful.”It took until the third Test for Australia to find a batsman to build on a start and go on to reach triple figures – Shaun Marsh and Steven Smith both did so in the first innings in Colombo – but by then the series was decided. Sri Lanka had wrapped up their triumph in Galle, where they set Australia 413 to win. Voges came to the crease at 61 for 4 and reverse swept his first ball, persisting with the shot until it brought him undone on 28.”We spoke before that fourth innings and on a Galle wicket that was spinning quite a bit, the skipper and the coach asked the batting group to be a lot more proactive with the way we went about things,” Voges said. “The reverse sweep was basically my version of it. I played one first ball, which was a little bit gutsy, but there was only one bloke on the off side and eight on the leg side.”My thinking was that if I could get one away it would bring at least one of those guys back over and maybe I could find a couple of gaps on the leg side … It always looks bad when you get out playing that sort of shot, but at the time I thought it was the best way to try and combat them and score runs in those conditions … If I had my time again I’d still play the shot – maybe a little more selectively and mix it up a little bit more than what I did.”

Prime Bank Cricket Club have pulled their franchise out of Bangladesh Cricket League’s first-class tournament for the 2016-17 season, their general secretary Tanjil Chowdhury has said

Mohammad Isam30-Aug-2016Prime Bank Cricket Club have pulled their franchise out of Bangladesh Cricket League’s first-class tournament for the 2016-17 season, their general secretary Tanjil Chowdhury has said. He stated that the decision came in “protest” of unavailability of top players from their region, poor facilities and the tournament’s lack of context in the domestic scene, and they had informed the BCB about it.”Prime Bank Cricket Club has decided to pull out of the upcoming edition of Bangladesh Cricket League,” Tanjil wrote in a Facebook post. “This may have surprised and upset our fans, wellwishers and cricket lovers. We would like to clarify that this decision was reached due to a culmination of few factors and issues, which we feel obliged to notify our stakeholders.”PBCC feels that the spirit of alleviating domestic cricket standard especially the longer format is not aligned with the current editions of BCL which we have formally communicated to the BCB. We are deeply saddened by the circumstances that tantamounted (sic) to this critical decision, but at the same time feel that it was timely to do so as a matter of protest.”BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said that they were aware of Prime Bank’s issues but they would only decide on the matter once the BCB president Nazmul Hassan returns to the country.”They (Prime Bank) have raised some issues and informed us. The BCB president is out of country and we will decide after he returns to the country,” Nizamuddin said.Tanjil further explained that the lack of star players in their South Zone franchise due to several reasons contributed to the pull out. “The presence of national team players in BCL is far and few, often getting missed out due to holiday, international duties and injuries or rest periods,” he wrote. “That means we never got the full strength of our zonal team as on pen and paper.”The youngsters [are] mostly inexperienced and few senior players miss out on the opportunity to play with national capped players.”The standard of ground and quality/conditions of cricket in general is very poor. Starting with facilities and non cricketing season to name a few.”He mentioned that budgetary allocation was also limiting them from financing more than two teams’ participation. Already their teams played in the Dhaka Premier League and last season’s BCL, which spilled over to 2016. But Tanjil informed that they were pulling out only for this season.”We have not retired our franchise, we merely declined to participate in upcoming edition citing the above mentioned reasons,” he wrote.The BCL was supposed to be held from September 20 but now that the Afghanistan ODIs have been scheduled from September 25, it has thrown the tournament into uncertainty as the BCL was being scheduled as a preparatory tournament for the England tour.

Western Storm reaped the benefit of some quite brilliant fielding at the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton to kick off their Kia Super League season with a four-wicket victory

ECB Reporters Network31-Jul-2016
ScorecardHeather Knight picked up 3 for 11 and then scored 23 in Western Storm’s successful chase•Getty ImagesWestern Storm reaped the benefit of some quite brilliant fielding at the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton to kick off their Kia Super League season with a four-wicket victory over Lancashire Thunder.In front of almost 1200 supporters, the West Countrywomen, led by England captain Heather Knight, were sublime in the field as Lancashire slipped, unceremoniously, from 67 for 5 to 83 all out. South Africa’s Lizelle Lee took two outstanding catches in the deep with Cait O’Keefe following suit with one of her own. Then, Knight, dived full length to her right to snap up a caught-and-bowled of the highest quality.With Knight leading the way, as expected, with the bat, the Storm withstood a concerted bowling effort from the Thunder to eventually reach their target in the 16th over.Having chosen to bat first, Thunder lost their opening wicket in the fourth over when Lee plucked a wonderful catch from the afternoon sky to bring about the downfall of 18-year-old Bajan Hayley Matthews. Thunder captain, Amy Satterthwaite, followed Matthews back to the pavilion in the ninth over when she was bowled by Jodie Dibble for 13.Emma Lamb and Deandra Dottin added 24 for the third wicket before the former became Stefanie Taylor’s first victim of the day – once again superbly caught by the acrobatic Lee – for 25.Thereafter, Storm turned the screw and with Taylor and Knight bowling well in tandem, Lancashire simply had no answer. Deandra Dottin struck two boundaries before O’Keefe took a running catch at long on at 65 for 4 and although the situation was far from desperate, the visitors were soon staring down the barrel of a below-par total.Both Knight and Taylor took wickets in successive balls in the 15th and 16th overs respectively as Lancashire capitulated in the closing overs. In the end they were bowled out for 83, in the 19th over, with Knight helping herself to 3 for 11 and Taylor weighing in with the figures of 4 for 14.Although the Storm lost Rachel Priest off the eighth ball of the innings, they chipped away at their target with real purpose. Taylor and Knight, once again, led the way with a second-wicket partnership of 35 before West Indies allrounder Taylor was well stumped by Satterthwaite off the bowling of Matthews for 14.Knight continued to accumulate runs, despite some decent bowling. She hit the occasional bad ball to the boundary and used all her experience to work the good balls for ones and twos.Lancashire did apply some genuine pressure when Dottin picked up the wickets of Fran Wilson and Lee in her first over, and Sophie Ecclestone bowled Knight for 23 at 65 for 5. It took a sixth-wicket partnership of 15, between Sophie Luff and Georgia Hennessy, to settle the nerves and help the hosts towards victory with 27 balls to spare.

Arsenal are targeting a centre-back in the summer to provide stronger support for William Saliba, journalist David Ornstein has claimed.

What's going on with Arsenal and Saliba?

Arsenal found themselves struggling to maintain their excellent form this season when Saliba picked up an injury against Sporting CP in the Europa League, with Rob Holding failing to deputise properly for the Frenchman.

January signing Jakub Kiwior replaced Holding as Arsenal returned to winning ways against Chelsea after four games without victory, and with Saliba's injury thought to be severe, it seems that the right centre-back role is one they are targeting in the summer window.

Speaking on The Athletic Football Podcast (10.30), Ornstein claimed that the club will be actively looking to upgrade their depth in the position in order to avoid a similiar drop-off in quality next season.

"Central defence is one that I definitely really think there'll be looking to bring reinforcements in, whether it's a starter or a backup player," he stated.

"I think Rob holding will have a year to go, and despite his clear quality, we've seen in the absence of William Saliba, that it's a bit of a mark down when he's absent."

How can Arsenal reshape their defence?

Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are the first choice centre-backs, and will likely continue to be next season.

Ben White made a successful move to right-back, and he shares the role with Takehiro Tomiyasu. With cover needed for Saliba, a centre-back seems to be the logical signing.

However, there have been previous links with Real Valladolid right-back Ivan Fresneda. If the teenager joins, then White or Tomiyasu could move to the centre as cover whenever Saliba is not available, with Fresneda covering the right.

Kiwior will provide cover for Gabriel as a left-footer, and a right-sided defender who can perform to a similar level of Saliba would be ideal.

There have been links with Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen, and given that Arsenal have now qualified for the Champions League, they may be able to afford a bigger signing in what is a crucial area of the squad.

Rob Holding will have one year left on his deal, and now he has shown his inability to provide cover at the back, he would ideally be sold after seven seasons at the club. Despite making over 150 apperarances for the club, he has failed to prove himself as a serious option heading into a season where quality depth will be paramount.

Sky Sports reporter Paul Gilmour has suggested that Tottenham Hotspur could sack interim manager Cristian Stellini after the club's humiliating loss.

What's the latest on Spurs and their manager?

It's hardly been a good season for the North London outfit but some must have hoped things would improve when Antonio Conte left a few weeks ago.

Instead of a new manager bounce, however, the club have sunken even further into their own misery with the Italian's former assistant Stellini now pulling the strings.

Indeed, the shocking 6-1 defeat at Newcastle United in the Premier League over the weekend means the interim has won just one of his four games in charge and it sounds as though he might not be around to oversee many more.

Indeed, when asked if he thinks Stellini could be sacked before the end of the season, Gilmour revealed that the club's hierarchy were at the training ground early on Monday morning so an exit for the 48-year-old might be on the cards.

He told Sky Sports News (1:40): "It wouldn't surprise me if the club were at least discussing that after what happened yesterday.

"We have seen many of the club's hierarchy drive into the training ground early this morning."

Will Cristian Stellini be sacked by Spurs?

Stellini was promoted by Daniel Levy to take charge until the end of the season, giving Spurs ample time to decide a long-term replacement for Conte who would be hired in the summer.

With that in mind, it's a remarkable turn of events which leaves the club now potentially on the brink of sacking the 48-year-old coach.

Only adding to Gilmour's insight, Dan Kilpatrick has reported in the Evening Standard that "sources" at Spurs are unsure if Stellini will last until Thursday when Manchester United travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – with Ryan Mason tipped to potentially step up.

The current interim certainly has come in for some heavy criticism in the media after the loss at Newcastle, with Jamie Carragher calling for him to be sacked.

The pundit wrote on Twitter: "Tottenham are a disgrace!

"How have they gone to a back four for the first time this season, with Porro a full back that can’t defend & Perisic who is a winger.

"Get a proper manager in right now, not Conte’s mate."

While Stellini himself dropped a damning assessment of the game, telling reporters (via Goal): "There are no words to explain a performance like this. The first 25 minutes were maybe the worst I've ever seen. Changing the system was the wrong decision and that's my responsibility.

"We have to apologise to everyone. If it's the system, it's easier to change. If it's not the system, then we have to analyse why.

Rangers could be set to lose Glen Kamara this summer, with Nantes continuing to eye a deal for the midfielder, according to a report from Football Insider.

Which Rangers players could be leaving this summer?

There is speculation regarding the future of multiple first-team players, with Alfredo Morelos edging closer to an exit, amid recent reports that Rangers are yet to offer the striker a new deal. With the Colombian's contract set to expire at the end of the season, the club are aware they will lose him for nothing if an offer is not tabled, amid interest in his services from France and Italy.

The same report also outlines that the Light Blues are at risk of losing Ryan Kent, with the winger's contract also due to expire, as he has shown no desire to extend his stay, despite the offer of a contract extension being put forward. Morelos is not the only Gers player attracting interest from abroad, with a recent report from Football Insider claiming Kamara is being targeted by Nantes, the club that also tried to sign him last summer.

The midfielder was linked with an exit in the January transfer window, with Serie A side Salernitana also believed to be interested, however no deal could be agreed. Rangers' resolve is set to be tested once again this summer, when it appears likely Nantes will make a fresh attempt to sign the Finland international.

Will Glen Kamara leave Rangers?

Judging by Beale's comments about the central midfielder, the manager has no desire to let him leave this summer, previously stating: "Glen has got 100 per cent of my trust. He was hugely important in my previous time here and while he’s still young, he’s coming into the prime of his career."

Since Beale returned to Ibrox, the 27-year-old has featured regularly in the first team, appearing in 14 of the last 17 Scottish Premiership matches, while also starting in the Scottish League Cup final, indicating how highly he is rated by the manager.

Over the past year, the £21k-per-week earner has flourished defensively, averaging 1.88 interceptions per 90, a figure that places him in the 96th percentile compared to other midfielders, also ranking in the 85th for aerials won in the same timeframe.

Kamara has been very solid for Rangers, and he is clearly thought of in high regard by Beale, so it would be a surprise if the club are willing to let him go in the summer.

Everton have become renowned for their transfer disasters under Fahad Moshiri’s ownership with over £500m spent and little to show for it.

The Toffees are enduring another relegation scrap this season with Sean Dyche the seventh permanent manager appointed by the unpopular owner challenged with the task of turning things around at Goodison Park.

In more recent transfer windows, Everton have found themselves having to tighten their belts due to financial concerns after the reckless spending on numerous transfers took its toll.

Indeed, at the rate that the club were turning over players Moshiri was bound to get it right at some point and the controversial sale of Lucas Digne back in January last year is the perfect example.

It was a troubling time at Goodison Park with Rafael Benitez struggling to get the best out of his squad and with every game came another protest against both the manager and owners.

Behind the scenes, it was quickly revealed that Benitez had fallen out with Digne as the pair disagreed on the training pitch which led to the Frenchman being isolated and dropped from match-day squads.

Ultimately this fractured relationship would be the end of Digne’s career with Everton and the player was sold for £25m in the January transfer window to Aston Villa.

Ironically, it wasn’t long before the former Real Madrid boss followed Digne out of the door as he was sacked just five days later, nevertheless Moshiri surprisingly still had the last laugh on the sale.

How much is Lucas Digne worth now?

The move to Villa Park was a great opportunity for Digne to have a fresh start and move on from the seemingly sinking ship he was leaving behind under Benitez.

Under the management of one of Benitez’s player prodigies, Steven Gerrard, at first it looked like Digne was a key player in the young manager’s set-up playing 90 minutes in 13 of the remaining 18 games of the season.

However, shortly into the current campaign things began to unravel for Digne when he suffered an ankle injury in September 2022 that left him side-lined for 40 days.

During that time Villa found themselves edging closer and closer to the relegation zone and when the left-back returned in late October, Gerrard had been sacked.

With a new manager comes a new perspective, a fresh style of play and commonly a change of favour when it comes to selection and under Unai Emery, Digne has become a fading feature.

Digne has not played a full 90 minutes since New Year’s Day and the arrival of Spaniard Alex Moreno has only added insult to injury as the former Villarreal boss clearly doesn’t see the player in his future plans.

In fact, there are claims that the 29-year-old – dubbed "poor" by Luis Miguel Echegaray – could be on his way out this summer and with his market value plummeting 72% to (€8m) £6.9m compared to what they paid just 16 months ago – as per CIES Football Observatory – it’s safe to say Everton hit the jackpot.

With that being said, although the sale of Digne was met with fury from supporters, in hindsight, Moshiri made the right decision at the right time in a very rare transfer masterclass.

Referee Paul Tierney and the VAR officials may well have made a big mistake late on in the recent Leeds United draw after they failed to award a penalty for a challenge on Rodrigo.

What’s the latest on the possible Leeds penalty?

On Saturday afternoon in the Premier League, the Whites played host to Brighton and Hove Albion as they looked to pick up a positive result amid their relegation fears.

In the end, one goal from Patrick Bamford and another from Jack Harrison (who had scored an own goal to put the Seagulls ahead) was enough to see Javi Gracia and his new side pick up a point in a 2-2 draw.

However, with the scores still level and just minutes left on the clock, Rodrigo burst into the Brighton box and appeared to be fouled by Adam Webster who slid in to clear the ball.

The referee played on but this footage suggests it probably should have been a foul.

Did Rodrigo deserve a penalty for Leeds against Brighton?

It’s clear to see that Joel Veltman comes in to help win the ball and he makes his challenge cleanly. This may be why referee Tierney allowed play to go on as if there was no foul

Despite that, though, Webster also made a tackle and appears to take Rodrigo out with plenty of contact before he gets any kind of touch on the ball.

It feels like one of those decisions where if the referee had given a penalty, VAR wouldn’t have overturned it. However, the officials didn’t feel it was a bad enough mistake for Tierney to then review his call at the monitor.

In the end, that penalty shout went ignored and so Leeds had to settle for just a point when they could have stolen all three right at the death. As they sit inside the relegation zone, they’ll be hoping this key call doesn’t come back to haunt them at the end of the season.

Sky Sports News pundit Gary Neville has warned that Manchester United fans will be scared that the Glazer family don’t end up entirely leaving amid recent takeover talks.

What’s the latest on the Glazer family and the Man Utd takeover?

Recently, it was reported that The US hedge fund Elliott Investment Management have put forward a proposal for possible financing to the Glazers if they opt not to sell the club.

Of course, Qatari-linked Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe have both tabled offers to take over instead as majority owners.

With plenty of interest, it remains to be seen as to how exactly it all plays out but Neville has stayed that this upcoming period has to spell the “end of the Glazer ownership” in order for the club to progress.

While talking on The Gary Neville Podcast, he explained: “I think what scares Manchester United fans most at this moment in time is the feeling that this Manchester United ownership, the Glazer family, are running this process to drive a massive price up to try and somehow establish a level that means that two of them can stay in, and the rest of the family that want out can be bought out, by, for instance, an American fund who they wouldn’t mind owning a minority or a sort of, if you like, significant share, but not the whole entirety of the share.

“That is the biggest concern, and the absolute emphasis at this moment in time from all of us United fans is that this has got to be the end of the Glazer ownership.

“They’ve run out of money. They’ve not invested in a stadium. The fans want a new stadium here, whether that’s this one [Old Trafford] refurbished or there’s a new one rebuilt. We need new facilities. Manchester United’s stadium is behind, well behind, a lot of the big clubs in Europe.”

What does the latest takeover news mean for Man Utd?

The Premier League club certainly haven’t been at their best in recent times under the Glazer ownership and have not won a league title since Sir Alex Ferguson departed after the 2012-13 season.

What’s more, club legend Cristiano Ronaldo recently slammed the family, stating that they “don’t care” and have let all the facilities fall below the standard of top European clubs because they don’t care about the sport and only about the marketing.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has bid for 69 per cent of United– which is as much as is currently owned by the Glazers – so the family would not be involved. While the Qatari bid would wipe out all the club’s debts and try to “restore” the Red Devils back to the top of European football.

With that in mind, it’s no wonder so many just like Neville are desperate for a clean break in ownership. It will be interesting to see how things play out in the coming weeks with takeover bids on the table but nothing yet confirmed one way or the other.