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Aston Villa are ‘in the queue’ to sign wantaway Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah in January, according to Ekrem Konur. 

The lowdown

Nketiah has yet to make the matchday squad for a Premier League game this season, having picked up an ankle injury just before the campaign started.

His only first-team minutes have come in the Carabao Cup clash with AFC Wimbledon, a game in which he scored.

Last season, the England Under-21 international was limited to just four Premier League starts.

Significantly, his contract is up come the end of the season and, according to a report from David Ornstein in August, ‘there is no sign’ of a forthcoming extension.

Arsenal may, therefore, be under pressure to sell their £14.4million-rated asset in January amid the risk of losing him for free.

The latest

Nketiah ‘plans to leave’ The Emirates at the turn of the year because he ‘wants regular first team football’, Konur says.

Villa can expect to face competition from newly-promoted Brentford and from Leeds United, where Nketiah had a spell on loan during the 2019/20 season.

The verdict

It certainly looks as if Nketiah will be leaving the Gunners, but it’s hard to see Villa being his next destination.

If he wants to be playing week-in, week-out, then he surely won’t go to a club where he’ll be behind two other strikers – Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins – in the pecking order.

Perhaps Villa should look in-house if they want to bolster the first team’s attacking ranks. Cameron Archer has been particularly impressive.

In other news, fans flocked to this update on Leon Bailey.  

At the fourth time of asking, a tearful Charlotte Edwards has at last won a World Cup by leading England to their third overall title following a very successful year. And this might be the most important victory yet, with the triumph sending a message to the other boards that backing the women financially helps.”Now looking back on my sleepless nights there was an expectation for us to do well this tournament,” said Edwards after the match. “There has been a huge amount of money pumped in to develop our girls. We knew we were up against a really good team today. We’ve repaid a lot of people that have shown a lot of faith in the girls.”The maternal Edwards’ brand of leadership is full of tough love and it has paid off handsomely, with her charges playing consistent – if not quite perfect – cricket, and wanting to do well for their captain and themselves.”Unbelievable, really,” said Edwards of the win, although she might be the only one to think so. England’s victory has not come as a surprise. They always had the potential to win the trophy and, ominously, they do not feel they played their best cricket despite lifting the $35,000 trophy. “We’ve not played a perfect game of cricket in the tournament and there are a few areas we need to work on.”This is certainly true, but they were still the best side in the tournament and just winners. England will now regroup with several warm-up matches before the World Twenty20 at home.”I suppose it won’t sink in for a couple of days,” Edwards concluded. “It’s an amazing feeling and a day I will cherish for the rest of my life. I’m loving cricket, it’s my life.”A disconsolate Haidee Tiffen admitted that England had outplayed them, but still thought her side “had a sniff.” Tiffen was appearing in her second World Cup final, but had to experience the pain of losing for the first time. “It was just another day for us at the office,” said Tiffen. “Unfortunately it was a bad day for us, but I can’t take anything away from England.”And she can hold her head up high. Like Edwards, she has been a positive influence on her team who fully deserved their place in the final. They just could not do it on the day as the pressure told.England showed nerves too, but rose to the occasion just when it mattered. Their victory is not just one for themselves. As bizarre as it sounds, it could ultimately be a win for New Zealand, too, if their board can take note of how England won the final and what resources they could use in the future.That will be of little comfort to New Zealand right now as their players come to terms with the loss, but England have proven how to win the World Cup and just what a little faith can do.

Sheffield United are interested in a deal to bring Michael Cooper to Bramall Lane this winter.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claimed that the Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper is attracting the interest of numerous clubs ahead of the January transfer window, including the likes of the Blades, Aston Villa, Southampton, Brentford and a host of Championship sides.

While there is no mention of whether or not the League One outfit would be willing to sanction the sale of the 21-year-old this winter, it is claimed that a number of the interested parties, including Sheffield United, appear very keen on the shot-stopper and have sent scouts to watch the youngster in action.

Ramsdale 2.0

Considering just how impressive Cooper has been for Plymouth so far this season, in addition to Sheffield United recently selling their first-choice goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to Arsenal, it is not difficult to see why Slavisa Jokanovic is reported to be interested in the 21-year-old.

Indeed, over his eight League One appearances this term, the £900-per-week man has kept four clean sheets, saved one penalty and made an average of 2.6 stops per game.

These returns have seen the goalkeeper earn a remarkable average SofaScore match rating of 7.20, ranking him as Argyle’s fourth-best performer in the third tier of English football and helping them to get their 2021/22 campaign off to a fantastic start, with the Pilgrims currently sitting fourth in League One.

As such, considering his tender age and obvious potential, it would seem advisable for Jokanovic to do all he can to land the man who Argyle boss Ryan Lowe dubbed a “monster” in January. While AS Roma loanee Robin Olsen is a fine short-term option for the Blades this season, the 21-year-old could well prove to be Sheffield United’s next Ramsdale in the long-term.

In other news: Signed for £20m, now worth £9m: Sheffield United had a nightmare on £24k-p/w flop

With five batsmen and four bowlers among the top ten in this season’s Ranji Trophy runs and wickets charts, West Zone start as favourites against East Zone in their Duleep Trophy semi-final, which begins tomorrow at the Brabourne Stadium.A top order comprising Wasim Jaffer, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara – the top three run-makers this year – and a bowling attack led by Dhawal Kulkarni [the joint highest wicket-taker] along with Siddarth Trivedi , Ramesh Powar and Samad Fallah make West an intimidating prospect. And this is not even their first XI: Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, the Pathan brothers [Irfan and Yusuf] and Ravindra Jadeja are away on national duty. Even in their absence East have much to worry about.East have two internationals in their ranks – Shiv Sunder Das, their captain, and Manoj Tiwary – who will need to take charge if they are to match their formidable rivals. They will also need the best out of the new-ball pair of Ranadeb Bose and Basanth Mohanty, who might find the Kookaburra ball to their liking, especially in the morning session.Most of all, East will need a superlative team effort. Das, leading East for the second successive year, said it was a challenge captaining players from five different states (Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Tripura and Assam) but said he was getting used to it. He admitted West are a “strong” opponent, but said he had faith in his seamers to do the job. “The side that plays the new ball (both batsmen and bowlers) well will hold the upper hand. And I back my seamers [Bose, Mohanty and Ashok Dinda],” Das said after the training session.Both captains spoke about the true behaviour of the pitch, expected to be lively in the first session with enough moisture for the fast bowlers to create an advantage. There have been results in all the three games played at the ground this season and another one cannot be ruled out over the next four days. The curator has left a light grass cover, so some action is expected in the first session at least on the first two mornings with spin coming into play in second half of the match.Although the line-ups are to be picked on the morning of the game, the pace-conducive pitch will influence the final XIs with both teams likely to adopt a five-bowler strategy (three seamers and two spinners).Apart from bonding as a unit, certain players will aim to further their ambitions of making it to the next level. “If they perform for themselves it will help the team. They can think of getting not only on the New Zealand tour but also into the India A squads,” Jaffer said. Between the two teams there are five players with a BCCI contract – Jaffer, Parthiv Patel and Cheteshwar Pujara from West and East’s pair of Wriddhiman Saha and Ashok Dinda – and all of them will look to make an impact to attract the attention of the selectors.Of the five, Parthiv will entertain strong hopes of making a comeback at least as a stand-by wicketkeeper for Mahendra Singh Dhoni on the New Zealand tour. Even if Dinesh Karthik has been making a statement with the bat his keeping remains a concern and Parthiv will hope the selectors give him another chance after recalling him for the third Test of the Sri Lanka series last year. He has had a strong domestic season with the bat, piling up 526 runs in eight games at 47 – including a double-century – and leading Gujarat to the Ranji quarterfinals.Teams
West Zone (likely): Wasim Jaffer (capt), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Kedar Jadhav, Bhavik Thakker, Ramesh Powar, Rajesh Pawar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Siddarth Trivedi, Samad FallahEast Zone (likely): Shiv Sunder Das (capt), Dibyendu Chakravarthy, Manoj Tiwary, Rashmi Parida, Nishit Shetty, Niranjan Behera, Wriddhiman Saha, Ranadeb Bose, Ashok Dinda, Basant Mohanty, Anand Katti.

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has delivered an insight into the decision to let Aston Villa star Frederic Guilbert join Strasbourg on loan on transfer deadline day.

What’s the story?

Dean Smith’s side had a fairly quiet deadline day after a more hectic summer transfer window saw the likes of Emi Buendia, Danny Ings and Leon Bailey, among others arrive, and Jack Grealish of course leave.

One piece of business the Midlands club did do however, is sending Guilbert back to Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, where he spent the second-half of last season on loan at.

And now, in a Q&A for The Birmingham Mail, Preece responded to a question about why the Smith decided to let him go, saying: “Not sure, just doesn’t fancy him at all. A shame because he seems a good guy who always put it all on the line for Villa.”

Villa fans will be frustrated

Writing for The Athletic last year, Gregg Evans said of Guilbert: “I agree, there’s potential, but it seems like Smith has seen enough and favours others.”

A number of Villa fans have already made their feelings clear about Guilbert on several occasions, first slamming the decision to actually let him leave on loan for Strasbourg back in January and suggesting they should’ve kept him, then urging Smith to give him a chance in pre-season earlier this summer after his impressive spell away.

The fact that both Evans and Preece have declared that Smith just isn’t the biggest fan of the full-back is sure to frustrate fans who would have been hoping to see him in action for Villa, and challenging Matty Cash for a first-team spot, or just providing a back-up option for him.

This latest update from Preece is a “shame” as Preece says, and it’s one that won’t have gone down too well with Villa supporters.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has confirmed this Aston Villa starlet will sign a new contract…

حسم المنتخب المصري الأول لكرة السلة، صدارة المجموعة الرابعة وتأهله إلى المرحلة الثالثة والأخيرة من التصفيات المؤهلة لكأس العالم ٢٠٢٣، بعد الفوز على الكونغو الديمقراطية بنتيجة 80-52، في المباراة التي أقيمت مساء اليوم الأحد.

وكان منتخب مصر قد حقق الفوز على كل من السنغال وكينيا، قبل الفوز على الكونغو الديمقراطية في المرحلة الثانية من تصفيات كأس العالم، التي أقيمت على صالة برج العرب بالإسكندرية.

وتأهل منتخب مصر إلى المرحلة النهائية رفقة كل من الكونغو الديمقراطية، والسنغال، بعد احتلالهما المركزين الثاني والثالث في المجموعة الرابعة.

كيف ستقام المرحلة القادمة من التصفيات المؤهلة لكأس العالم؟

يتبقى مرحلة ثالثة وأخيرة ستنضم فيها المنتخبات الثلاثة التي صعدت من المجموعة الرابعة إلى المنتخبات الثلاثة الصاعدة من المجموعة الثانية التي ضمنت التأهل منها كل من: جنوب السودان وتونس، ويتبقى بطاقة يتنافس عليها الكاميرون ورواندا، على أن يتأهل كل منتخب بالنقاط التي حصدها في المرحلة التي انتهت مؤخرًا.

طالع | اتحاد السلة يتفق مع الأمن على حضور الجماهير لمباريات تصفيات كأس العالم مجانًا

بمعنى أن المجموعة التي سيتواجد فيها مصر والكونغو والسنغال وجنوب السودان وتونس والكاميرون أو رواندا، سيتواجد فيها المنتخب المصري برصيد 11 نقطة التي جمعها من المرحلة السابقة وسيتواجد في المركز الأول في حال خسارة جنوب السودان من الكاميرون، بينما في حال فوز جنوب السودان سيرتفع رصيده إلى12 نقطة وسيكون منتخب مصر في وصافة المجموعة.

سيتم لعب المرحلة الثالثة والأخيرة على مرحلتين، الأولى ستكون في الفترة من 22 إلى 30 أغسطس المقبل، أما المرحلة الثانية ستكون في الفترة من 20 إلى 28 فبراير لعام 2023، ولم يتحدد أماكن إقامتها حتى الآن.

في نهاية مباريات المرحلة الأخيرة يتأهل أول منتخبين مباشرة إلى كأس العالم، مع صاحب أفضل مركز ثالث من بين المجموعتين.

Surrey have announced that fast bowler Alex Tudor has rejoined the club on a one-year deal.Tudor began his career at The Oval and was there between 1995 and 2004 before being released after several seasons where he was more often injured than available. He moved to Essex, initially on a pay-as-you-play basis, before establishing himself as a regular in the first team, although he did not regain the form which saw him win 10 Test caps as well as the 1999 Young Cricketer of the Year award.He returned to Surrey in August and made three Championship appearances, taking five wickets at 39.00.”I’m absolutely chuffed to be back at Surrey,” Tudor said. “I’ve spent nine years at the club in the past and it’s good to be back home and fighting fit again. Last season an opportunity to play some first team cricket came up at The Oval and I’m really pleased that my performances then have now earned me a new contract for 2009. I’m looking forward to trying to win a place in Surrey’s first XI and then push on and do as well as I possibly can for the team.”

MatériaMais Notícias

A partida do último final de semana foi importante para Mancuello, para a sua sequência no Flamengo. Argentino não vinha sendo aproveitado e ganhou chance no time titular, contra o Atlético-PR, na Arena da Baixada. No empate por 1 a 1 com os paranaenses, quem marcou o gol para os cariocas foi o camisa 11.

Mancuello comentou sobre a importância do gol e afirmou que ganhou mais confiança. Argentino destacou também o belo cruzamento de Pará para a sua cabeçada.

– É bom fazer gol porque a gente ganha confiança. Estava precisando fazer um gol após um belo cruzamento do Pará. E na semana a gente tinha treinado finalização e fico muito feliz. No pessoal, fico feliz pela colaboração com o time.

Sobre o resultado contra o rival de Curitiba, Mancuello achou que o resultado de 1 a 1 foi justo de exaltou o ponto conquistado fora de casa, o que é muito importante numa competição longa, de 38 rodadas.

– Acho que foi um resultado justo. Antes do jogo a gente vinha pensando em somar ponto sabendo que o campeonato Brasileiro é muito forte. Só que depois do intervalo, que tínhamos um gol de vantagem e como se apresentou o segundo tempo, o ponto ficou pouco

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Many West Ham United fans have been reacting to the news that have been exploring the market for France-based defenders and forwards.

The Hammers have enjoyed a stupendous start to the campaign, winning both of their matches in the Premier League so far this term (whufc.com). That follows on from the previous campaign, when they finished sixth in the top flight to qualify for the Europa League.

However, they have only signed one new player so far this summer in goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. They have been heavily linked with Kurt Zouma (The Athletic), and it now seems they are exploring the market in his home country – reliable West Ham insider ExWHUemployee has revealed that the club are looking at a number of Ligue 1 players as they look to get their squad ready for the rest of the campaign.

The news was shared on Twitter by @central_louis, and it attracted plenty of attention from Irons supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts,

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the update from Ex

“Got more chance exploring Romford Market…”

Credit: @ADAMArchitectUK

“I wonder where our one scout has been looking?”

Credit: @tannerman1uk

“Explored Fc”

Credit: @Callumharvey92

“Shame as I feel we are going to miss out on #Belotti due to Moyes & GSB looking at cheaper options in Ligue 1 or loan options possibly. Trust Moyes but can’t help to imagine what might have been with #Belotti up front in the years to come”

Credit: @DJTiale

“Literally because of the financial scenario, we’ll never progress with this lot in charge.”

Credit: @funkycoolers

“This could have been done months ago, they know exactly when the transfer window opens and shuts. It’ll be easier to say we’re not signing anyone. It’s the disappointment that kills you”

Credit: @gsbout2

In other news, many West Ham fans want the club to sign this winger.

Crystal Palace fans should not judge Ainsley Maitland-Niles on West Brom’s relegation, says The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam.

Maitland-Niles is thought to be a target for Palace, with football.london reporting last month that the south London club have asked Arsenal about the player’s availability this summer.

He spent some of last season out on loan at West Brom, joining the Baggies during the winter transfer window, but was unable to help prevent them from getting relegated to the Championship.

Woosnam, however, does not think that should be a stain on the 23-year-old midfielder and has told supporters not to hold it against him.

“With Maitland-Niles, I guess you could get swept up in looking at well, you know, West Brom went down last season, so why are we sort of signing those when they’re not the best young players?” the Crystal Palace journalist said in a chat with FFC.

“But I think he’d be a good option for Palace.”

West Brom as a whole were not good enough last season as they finished in 19th, so it probably would be unwise to make an assessment on Maitland-Niles based on that campaign.

The likes of Leicester City and Southampton have also been credited with an interest in Maitland-Niles, so Palace could face a battle to sign the England international.