According to Sky Sports News, Everton are keen to complete a summer deal for Crystal Palace attacker Wilfried Zaha.
The 26-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal in recent weeks.
However, according to Sky Sports News, Everton are determined to sign the Ivory Coast international and will meet with Palace this week to discuss a possible deal.
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Zaha enjoyed a strong 2018-19 campaign for the Eagles – contributing 10 goals and 10 assists in 34 Premier League appearances.
Everton have thus far secured deals for Andre Gomes, Fabian Delph and Jonas Lossl in this summer’s transfer window.
Whether Zaha arrives at Goodison Park remains to be seen, but the Merseyside club’s fans have been on social media discussing a potential move.
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There are those who would be pleased to see the attacker arrive ahead of the new season, although others have doubted whether the move is even possible.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Players will have seven days to build-up to the series after their hotel isolation
Andrew McGlashan30-Aug-2021A tough preparation awaits the India team and the majority of the Australia squad ahead of their multi-format series which has been moved entirely to Queensland.The visitors along with those Australian players based in Sydney and Melbourne will begin 14 days hard quarantine on Monday with no exemptions for training meaning two weeks of only being able to do what is possible inside a hotel room.It impacts 12 of Australia’s 18-player squad with only Beth Mooney (Queensland), Molly Strano and Nicola Carey (Tasmania), and Darcie Brown and Tahlia McGrath (South Australia) able to join the team closer to the start of the series.Georgia Redmayne, who has earned her first call-up for this series, is currently undertaking hotel quarantine following her return from the Hundred in England.Last season players from Victoria and New South Wales also had to quarantine ahead of playing New Zealand in Brisbane although on that occasion they were allowed to train in small groups at Allan Border Field.Related
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“We’re incredibly grateful to the government up here in Queensland for allowing our players in,” head coach Matthew Mott said. “We’ve been really good at quarantining. It’s going to be tough for those players especially leading into a Big Bash straight afterwards so looking after them mentally and physically will be really important.”Those in quarantine will be released on September 13 giving them seven days to prepare for the start of the ODI series in Mackay which has been pushed back two days from the original date.The Australia squad has not been together since the tour of New Zealand in April with various plans for winter camps in Brisbane and Darwin having to be scrapped due to Covid-19 outbreaks.The majority of the Australia squad face two weeks quarantine before facing India•Getty Images
“It’s been a long time coming, unfortunately,” Mott said. “It will be great to get everyone back together. I think we’ve been pretty good with our communication over all the various forums but there’s nothing like getting back together.”Earlier this month captain Meg Lanning said that the squad was prepared for any situation and was confident the team would be ready whatever form their build-up took.”There’s an element of the unknown, we haven’t been together for quite a long time, haven’t had any practice, but to be honest, and we’ve spoken about this, these days there is no ideal preparation,” she said. “You just have to make the most of what’s in front of you. You need to call on your experience and trust yourself a lot. That does challenge people but we’ve dealt with that really well so far and this series will be no different. Whatever preparation we get to do that will be good enough.”In the original schedule for the series, the day-night Test was set for the WACA in Perth bringing with it the potential for pace and bounce and the excitement generated by Australia’s group of young quick bowlers including Tayla Vlaeminck, Darcie Brown, Stella Campbell, Annabel Sutherland, and Maitlan Brown.However, Mott is hopeful that those characteristics won’t be lost by the move to the Metricon Stadium which will also host the T20Is that conclude the series in early October. “The pitch from what I’ve seen in the Big Bash has been exceptional so hopefully get a bit of pace and bounce and bring a couple of our young quicks into the contest,” he said.
India captain also refused to focus on struggling individuals
Sidharth Monga28-Aug-20212:49
Time for India to look beyond Rahane?
India will not be demoralised. They actually like to be in such situations. Situations where the whole world doubts them. So said Virat Kohli after the innings defeat to England at Headingley. The captain also insisted that this was not the time to look at individual players’ numbers but at their contributions and how they can put the team in good positions.”If what happens in one game guarantees you the same thing the next game, we should have smashed England again [after the win at Lord’s],” Kohli said. “It didn’t happen. We like to be in this situation where people start coming at us with doubts and start questioning our ability. That is the situation we love best. We will not be demoralised by this loss. The guys in the changing room are hurt. When you are hurt, you really want to correct the things that did not go our way. That is the way we will play the next two Tests.”India have a middle order that has been averaging in the 20s over the last two years and their No. 6 has been repeating the same style of dismissal since the World Test Championship final. Kohli, though, refused to focus on the struggling individuals.Related
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“As a batting group, we failed in this game in the first innings,” Kohli said. “Second innings we did a better job. As a bowling group also, we accept we are not consistent enough. That’s it. I know what happens when we lose one game. I have said this in the past so many times that we are not going to fall into this trap where we start picking on issues or one or two things to talk about. We fail as a team, and we win as a team.”When asked if Rishabh Pant was batting one station ahead of where he should be, Kohli brought up the example of Cheteshwar Pujara’s return to runs. “With one loss I cannot assess or start analysing that as captain,” he said. “Definitely the management is not going to start that either. We are not failing consistently as a team. Yes we failed this game and we take responsibility for that.Virat Kohli: You cannot become a bad team overnight•Associated Press
“Similar conversations were being initiated about Pujara as well, which seem to have disappeared after yesterday. We want to give Rishabh all the space to play his game and understand situations and take responsibility like is expected of everyone else in the batting order. You can’t judge people all the time on numbers and whether they are succeeding or failing. That is not how you make a team. There is still time in this series. After two more Test matches, we can look back and analyse, ‘okay these are the areas that were not quite right,’ but right now is not the time.”This game has been kind of an aberration in how we have gone this series. First two games, we put ourselves in a position where we won one game and had the opportunity to win the first one as well. We analyse ourselves as a team and not [individual] numbers. That all happens on the outside. Whether we are helping to build partnerships and putting the team in good positions is our only focus. There is no connect between the focuses on the outside and focuses within the group.”Kohli sought to take the heat off the batting group. “They have done that [understand the situation and find ways to score runs] in the first two games,” he said. “And even in this game, batsmen got in good positions to play a big knock. We were not able to do that but that doesn’t mean we will not be able to do that. When you step onto the field, you are not looking to prove to people that you can play. You obviously want to do the best you can and play big innings. The reason why we won the second Test or were in a position to win the first was because guys stepped up and got the job done for the team.”The things we need to reflect on are the mistakes that happened. As I have said in the past, when we have lost, we have played sessions that have been way below par… not up to the standard that we know we can play. Those are the areas that we need to plug in. Like this morning, we need to look at how we can control that tide and find ways out of difficult situations. These are the only things. You cannot become a bad team overnight. If a win doesn’t guarantee you a win in the next game, a loss too doesn’t guarantee anything. It all depends on your mindset. I can assure you that we will arrive [at the Oval for the next Test on Thursday] with a lot more determination and intensity than we did in this game.”
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
According to L’Equipe, former Liverpool target Ousmane Dembele now wants to stay at Barcelona, as the possibility of a departure grows unlikely.
What’s the word?
Liverpool’s attacking trio of Mohamad Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane were exceptional last term, notching 56 goals between them in the Premier League.
However, that reportedly hasn’t stopped Liverpool from showing an interest in attacking recruits.
Last month TEAMtalk reported that Barcelona had given the Reds the green light to bid for Dembele, but any hopes they did have of signing the player have now been quashed.
L’Equipe claim that the French winger wants to stay at Barcelona and has no plans of moving away. That comes after Bayern Munich and Liverpool both made contact with the Catalan club.
Liverpool should be thankful
Last month, we documented the fact that Dembele would be unlikely to get on with Jurgen Klopp because of his rebellious attitude, but there are further reasons to suggest why this would have been a rather needless signing.
If you look at the overall picture, the 22-year-old wouldn’t improve Liverpool, especially given the supreme talent they have in wide areas.
Both Salah and Mane scored 22 Premier League goals in 2018/19, playing predominantly from wide positions. Dembele, on the other hand, scored just eight.
But it’s his overall impact on the pitch that is also worse.
In La Liga last season he averaged 1.3 shots per game. If you compare that to both of Liverpool’s dynamic wingers, Salah had 3.6 shots per outing whilst Mane managed 2.4.
With that in mind, it’s unlikely he’d add an extra layer of goals to the squad. Furthermore, he also wouldn’t offer a huge amount of improvement in terms of creativity. The fact he claimed just two more assists than Xherdan Shaqiri tells the story.
You can relive Liverpool’s Champions League celebrations in glorious 2D thanks to the guys at 442oons in the video below…
Last term, Salah played 1.8 key passes per game. Dembele, who can also play on the right-hand side, made 1.6.
Considering the brunt of their attacks are started by the full-backs anyway, his influence would be narrowed down even more if he did join Liverpool.
If you take all of this into account, the Reds should be thankful that he’s deciding to stay at Barcelona this summer instead of potentially joining them.
Not a lot has happened since Sky Sports revealed at the end of last month that Wilfried Zaha wanted to leave Crystal Palace.
That might be down to the reported £100m price tag the south London club have slapped on their 26-year-old talisman as they look to scare potential suitors off.
Even so, Zaha continues to attract interest, with Arsenal being one outfit who could potentially make a serious push for him this summer.
According to The Sun, Unai Emery has asked his superiors to break the bank and bring the Ivory Coast international to the Emirates before the start of the new season. With Arsenal’s transfer budget currently less than £50m, which the English newspaper cites, Crystal Palace supporters are unlikely to be quaking in their boots just yet.
And if that £100m valuation mentioned by The Telegraph is indeed correct, which would not be a surprise given how much the club seem to be demanding for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, It is hard to imagine a deal materialising on those terms.
That being said, Crystal Palace should still be wary over Arsenal’s reported interest. Right now, they are a desperate and wounded beast.
After the season they had, the Gunners have to do something this summer. Seeing them do everything in their power to try and get the Selhurst Park hierarchy to come to a compromise is a play you could quite possibly see them trying to make.
Still, with Zaha’s contract not up until 2023 (as per Transfermarkt), the ball remains firmly in Crystal Palace’s court.
Crystal Palace fans, are you confident the club can keep hold of Zaha this summer? Let us know in the comment section below!
A look at what Pakistan, Ireland and West Indies need to do to qualify for the World Cup quarter-finals from Group B
Shiva Jayaraman07-Mar-20153:20
Impact of Ireland’s win on Group B
While Pakistan’s win against South Africa has given them a chance to qualify for the quarter-finals without getting into the complications of net run-rate, Zimbabwe’s loss to Ireland has made them the second team from Group B to be knocked out of this World Cup after UAE.With a win against West Indies, India have ensured a place in the last eight. They are likely to end up topping the group should they win at least one of their remaining two games – against Ireland and Zimbabwe. South Africa’s loss to Pakistan hasn’t done any real damage to their chances of qualifying, as they still have a game against UAE left. Their superior NRR will ensure that they qualify as the second team from Group B in the event that Ireland lose at least one of their two remaining games. This leaves three teams – Pakistan, Ireland and West Indies – fighting for the remaining two spots in the last eight.Pakistan – Pakistan have one match left against Ireland. A win in this game will send them through to the quarter-finals. A loss though, will bring NRR into play. Should it come to that for Pakistan, they will be fighting for a berth in the quarter-finals based on NRR with West Indies, assuming the likely event of West Indies beating UAE in their final game.Ireland – Ireland have six points and two matches still to go – against India and Pakistan. They have to get a point from one of those games to sail through to the knockouts. Though Ireland managed to add two important points to their account with their win over Zimbabwe, the narrow margin means that they haven’t improved upon their negative NRR. As it stands, Ireland have the worst NRR (-0.820) out of the three teams in contention. Losses in both these games will, in all likelihood, send them out of the World Cup because of their inferior NRR, given the likelihood of West Indies beating UAE.West Indies – West Indies are the only team out of the three in contention to be completely dependent on other results to qualify. They will have to beat UAE to begin with and preferably by a huge margin. If Ireland beat India, that will leave only one spot to fight for. If Pakistan also lose to Ireland, then it will come down to NRR between West Indies and Pakistan. A Pakistan win in that game will knock West Indies out. If Ireland lose both their remaining games, West Indies will in all likelihood qualify ahead of Ireland on account of their superior NRR.If the game between India and Ireland is washed out or tied, then Ireland will advance to the quarter-finals. Pakistan will then need an outright win against Ireland or a NRR healthy enough to pip West Indies. If any of the last two games in Group B – Pakistan v Ireland or West Indies v UAE – is washed out or tied then it will be curtains for West Indies.
The PFA have announced the Championship, League One and League Two Teams of the Year.
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Leeds dominate Championship Team of the Year
Crysensio Summerville picks up prize
League One & League Two teams also revealed
WHAT HAPPENED?
Players from across the Football League have been recognised for their efforts last season by the PFA. The annual awards have seen the Teams of the Year announced for the Championship, League One and League Two. Individual awards have also been handed out for the three divisions, with former Leeds winger Crysensio Summerville scooping the top prize in the Championship.
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CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM OF THE YEAR
Leeds United agonisingly missed out on promotion to the Premier League but are well represented in the Championship Team of the Year with Illan Meslier, Ethan Ampadu, Archie Gray and Summerville all making the cut. Leicester City were crowned champions to ensure a quick return to the Premier League, with Ipswich Town and Southampton joining the Foxes in gaining promotion to the top flight. As such, it's no surprise to see the the team also feature plenty of players from those teams, with stars such as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Leif Davis and Adam Armstrong making the XI.
PFA
LEAGUE ONE TEAM OF THE YEAR
Portsmouth made it back into the Championship for the first time in 12 years after finishing top of the pile last season. Pompey dominate the League One Team of the Year with Will Norris, Conor Shaughnessy, Marlon Pack and Colby Bishop all named in the XI. Derby County and Oxford United also celebrated promotion and have representatives in the Team of the Year with Eiran Cashin and Cameron Brannagan recognised for their efforts.
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LEAGUE TWO TEAM OF THE YEAR
There was also plenty of drama in League Two last season as Stockport claimed top spot. Yet there was also delight for Wrexham as the Welsh side owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney achieved back-to-back promotions by finishing as runners up. Mansfield Town also went up automatically, while Crawley grabbed the final spot after a play-off win over Crewe.
There are plenty of things up in the air with Liverpool Football Club ahead of the 2024/25 season. Manager Jurgen Klopp is set to leave the club, and they are yet to find a replacement, although Sporting manager Ruben Amorim is the man linked with the role.
Of course, this throws into question the number of new signings whom Amorim or any other candidates would both want and need to tailor the squad to their style of play.
The future of key player Mohamed Salah is not 100% certain yet, either. Whilst fans will surely hope their talisman stays another year at Anfield, there are strong rumours that the Egyptian could follow suit with Klopp and depart the club at the end of the season.
If the Premier League legend does leave Liverpool next summer, it of course means the Reds will need a replacement, and it would likely have to be a marquee player to fill the very big void left by Salah in his potential departure.
Liverpool eyeing dream Salah replacement
According to reports in Spain, via Football Transfers, the man linked with a move to Anfield in the event of Salah’s departure is one of the world’s deadliest wingers, Vinicius Junior.
The Real Madrid man is said to be of major interest to Liverpool when Kylian Mbappe inevitably joins Los Blancos this summer, thus becoming their key man ahead of Vini.
Vinicius Jr. celebrates for Real Madrid
The fee quoted to Liverpool is huge and would be both a club record and a Premier League record. Darwin Nunez’s £85m move to Liverpool from Benfica in 2022 is the current Liverpool record, with Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo the Premier League’s record transfer, when he cost the Blues £115m last summer from Brighton.
Liverpool would need to pay a huge £171m fee to Real Madrid should they wish to acquire the services of Vini ahead of next season, but they might recoup a lot of that from the sale of Salah.
According to reports, Saudi club Al Ittihad made a bid of at least £80m for the Egypt captain last summer and could make a similar offer this time around.
How Vinicius and Salah compare
There is no doubt Vini is one of the best players in the world, a sentiment which Sadio Mane agrees with. The former Liverpool man even believes Vini is one day capable of winning a Ballon d'Or.
The Brazilian has scored 18 goals and registered eight assists for Real Madrid this season in all competitions. Salah, however, has outdone him in terms of goal involvements. The 31-year-old has netted 23 goals and has 13 assists to his name, a remarkable return.
The pair are not very similar players stylistically. Vini is a superb ball carrier, using his pace to get in behind opposition defences and driving at defenders in one-on-one scenarios. In contrast, Salah is less of an explosive dribbler, thriving more in combination play and operating mainly in the final third.
The numbers suggest this estimation is correct. According to Fbref, Vini is one of the world’s best dribblers. Per 90 minutes, he averages 6.31 progressive carries which places him in the top 3% of positionally similar players in Europe, 4.41 carries into the penalty area, which puts him in the top 1% and 3.44 carries into the final third, which ranks him in the top 12%.
In comparison per 90 minutes, Salah completes 3.85 progressive carries, placing him in the 59th percentile, 2.26 carries into the final third, which puts him in the 51st percentile, and 2.65 carries into the penalty box, which ranks him in the best 8%, according to Fbref. The difference between each player with the ball at their feet is clear to see.
Where Salah excels over Vini is with his progressive passing. As per Fbref, the Eygpt international sits inside the best 4% of wingers for passes into the penalty area, with 2.6 per 90 minutes, and in the 81st percentile for progressive passes, with 5.47 per 90 minutes.
In comparison, Vini makes 1.09 passes into the penalty area per 90 minutes, ranking him in the 25th percentile, and 2.67 progressive passes per 90 minutes, placing the Brazilian in the 80th percentile. The comparison is stark.
Mohamed Salah celebrates for Liverpool.
There is no doubt that, whilst different, both players are elite wingers. Should Liverpool move for Vini in the event of Salah’s departure, it would be interesting to see how he fits in, given he is a better dribbler than Salah, but less creative in the final third.
Should the Reds sign the Madrid superstar, they will certainly be bringing in one of the best players in the world. It would be exciting to see such a talented player in the Premier League, and fascinating to how he would fill the boots of Salah.
Wolves have made their first move to sign a new player ahead of a number of Premier League rivals, according to a new report.
Wolves planning for summer transfer window
Those at Molineux and Gary O‘Neil may well be looking ahead to the 2024/25 season, with the club’s push for European football this season now faltering.
Tuesday evening’s 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Burnley has seen Wolves drop points in three of their last four fixtures, with a potential battle now on for a top-half finish.
O’Neil once again vented his frustrations at the club’s business in the January transfer window following the point at Turf Moor.
There have been transfer targets mentioned ahead of the summer, especially in attack. Wolves are expected to sign teenage forward Stephano Carrillo from Mexican side Santos Laguna and they are also readying an offer to sign Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal ahead of Brentford and Crystal Palace.
The Old Gold are also in pole position to sign Southampton striker Che Adams, but there could also be additions at the back going off a new update.
Wolves make contact to sign new goalkeeper
According to reports in Spain in the last 48 hours, relayed by Sport Witness, Wolves have made contact to sign UD Las Palmas goalkeeper Alvaro Valles.
The 26-year-old has been linked with rivals Aston Villa, as well as Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, but it is Wolves who have made first contacts over a potential deal.
Valles, who was previously on the books with Real Betis, has been with Las Palmas since 2018 and has been a regular in recent years.
In fact, the shot-stopper helped Las Palmas win promotion to La Liga with 19 clean sheets in 34 appearances, and he has also impressed in the Spanish top flight.
Alvaro Valles best performances 2023/24
WhoScored rating
Athletic Club 1-0 Las Palmas
8.37/10
Sevilla 1-0 Las Palmas
8.04/10
Real Madrid 2-0 Las Palmas
7.95/10
Deportivo Alaves 0-1 Las Palmas
7.72/10
Las Palmas 1-0 Getafe
7.63/10
For example, his Transfermarkt valuation stood at just €1m less than 12 months ago, but that figure has now rocketed to a career-high €15m. Valles also recently spoke about the possibility of being called up by Spain ahead of Euro 2024 following his eye-catching displays.
“I’m not aware of anything. I’m focused on the collective success of the team. We all want to finish as high as possible in the standings, to make history. Individual awards, if they come, are welcome. But the main thing for me is the collective. Praise can be debilitating, that’s why I always keep my feet on the ground.”
A move to Molineux this summer looks like it could be one to watch, with Valles potentially the long-term successor to Jose Sa.
Manchester United have reportedly held initial talks with Youssouf Fofana as they seek a midfield signing this summer.
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United make Fofana approach
One of a number of targets
Still interest in former loanee Sofyan Amrabat
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Per Sky Sports' Dharmesh Sheth, United have held exploratory talks with Monaco star Fofana as they seek a midfield acquisition. The club are working through a shortlist of names which includes PSG midfielder Manuel Ugarte, but the French club's asking price is curently deemed too high. The other names under consideration are Richard Rios, Sander Berge, Martin Zubimendi and Sofyan Amrabat, of Palmeiras, Burnley, Real Sociedad and Fiorentina, respectively.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
United appear to be seeking a potential replacement for Scott McTominay, who has been linked with Fulham and Tottenham this summer. The Scotland international is seemingly deemed expendable by Erik ten Hag, although the club are clearly keen to ensure they are not left light in the position.
DID YOU KNOW?
Fofana is a full France international and has a contract with Monaco until 2025. He has made 175 appearances in total for the Ligue 1 club, having joined from Strasbourg in 2019.
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WHAT NEXT?
United face Manchester City in the Community Shield this weekend and will then kick off their Premier League campaign against Fulham the following Friday.