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Newcastle United chief Nick Hammond is reportedly now preparing an offer to sign Jordan Veretout in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Window opens

The winter window has now officially opened, and Hammond is sure to be a busy man.

Hired as a transfer consultant on a short-term deal, he will oversee who comes in and who goes out at St James’ Park (Sky Sports) as the northeast club look to find the right players in order to try and help them get out of the relegation zone come the end of the season.

Nonetheless, the quality of player that they can attract will be questioned, given their current predicament.

The Latest: Veretout offer

As per Foot Mercato, Newcastle are now ‘preparing an offer’ to sign Veretout, who is an ‘indisputable holder’ under Jose Mourinho at AS Roma.

It is not clear how much he would cost, but he is currently rated at £27m by Transfermarkt.

The Verdict: Upgrade

Veretout would certainly be an upgrade on Eddie Howe’s options in the middle of the park.

The France international is averaging more interceptions (1.1), key passes (two) and crosses (1.2) per game than Isaac Hayden, Jonjo Shelvey and Sean Longstaff in their respective domestic leagues so far this season, not to mention the four goals and five assists that he has in Serie A (WhoScored).

He also has experience of playing in the Premier League before with Aston Villa, so he should have no problems in adapting to the division if he goes to Newcastle.

In other news, NUFC have a ‘definite interest’ in signing this England international

The West Indians will be able to forget their off-field worries when they open their tour with a four-day match against Queensland

Cricinfo staff17-Nov-2009

The West Indians will be able to forget their off-field worries when they open their tour with a four-day match against Queensland on Wednesday. The side has not played since the end of their costly player strike and has since been written off by the former coach John Dyson ahead of the three-Test series starting in Brisbane next week.One of the new faces expected to be on show at Allan Border Field is Adrian Barath, an uncapped 19-year-old opener who stands at 5ft 4in. Barath is likely to open with Chris Gayle in what is effectively a trial for the opening Test at the Gabba on November 26.Barath is from Trindad and Tobago and was part of that team’s strong showing in the Champions League Twenty20, but he will have to lift his standards to cope against the Australians. In 22 first-class matches he averages 46.05 and has scored five centuries, including one for West Indies A against England in January.”I’m confident, I have worked hard and I’m prepared,” he said. “I performed well in the Champions League in India for Trinidad and Tobago and I’m looking to continue. All I want is the opportunity to get out there and show what I am made of.”I am a player who can adapt to foreign conditions. I will play it as I see it.” David Williams, the coach, wants to pick a full-strength line-up to allow his main men to settle ahead of the first Test.West Indies squad Chris Gayle (capt), Adrian Barath, Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Travis Dowlin, Brendan Nash, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor, Gavin Tonge.Queensland Ryan Broad, Nick Kruger, Lee Carseldine, Wade Townsend, Chris Simpson (capt), Nathan Reardon, Chris Hartley (wk), Daniel Doran, Alister McDermott, Nathan Rimmington, Luke Feldman, Scott Walter (12th man).

Ashley Giles, England’s selector and former left-arm spinner, had urged England to stand up the South Africans when the Test series begins on Wednesday

Cricinfo staff13-Dec-2009Ashley Giles, England’s selector and former left-arm spinner, had urged England to stand up the South Africans when the Test series gets underway on Wednesday.Giles, who faced South Africa 10 times in his 54-match career, warned: “They’re tough to beat on their own territory and will try to bully you a little bit and push you around. You have to go toe to toe with these guys.”The South African management were vocal in their criticism earlier in the tour, with Mickey Arthur publicly questioning England’s tactics in the Twenty20 series. Arthur labelled England as ‘predictable’ and suggested they had shown no faith in Adil Rashid, the young leg-spinner, when he was taken off after a solitary over cost 25 in the second Twenty20 contest.But Giles commended England’s management and said the atmosphere in the dressing room was very positive as they prepare for a tough Test series.”The team spirit is fantastic, and the work ethic has been second to none on any England tour I’ve seen before. Everyone has a role and supports one another. That’s a pretty good start and means you’ve got a very good chance.”It is going to be a tough challenge, but the pressure is on them as well. They have just lost the one-day series here. We’ll take confidence from that going into the Test series – and we beat them here last time as well.”Giles admits the selectors face a difficult choice deciding on the balance of the team but sees England’s plans remaining flexible as the series unfolds.”It’s the age-old battle over the decision whether you play five or six batters. The decision really falls upon the two Andys. I’m here to give my opinion, or to sort out any strife there was between them, which I just can’t see there being. It’s a tough decision to make, but it’s a long series – a game of chess as well and a tough battle against a very good South African team.”England completed their final warm-up fixture on Saturday with Kevin Pietersen making important runs, after his earlier struggles for form, and the bowlers getting a good workout as the home side showed some fight with the bat. Giles was pleased with England’s preparation and is confident Pietersen has turned the corner from his bad spell.”Overall, I think England got a lot out of the four days in East London. The batsmen had a lot of time in the middle. Kevin Pietersen looked much happier, much more solid. His record is fantastic, he has been one of the rocks in the batting line-up since his introduction into the side, so it’s important to everyone to see KP both happy and getting runs.”

Former Bournemouth head coach Eddie Howe is reportedly closing in on a deal to take over at Newcastle United to replace Steve Bruce.

According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the 43-year-old has agreed a deal until 2024, with the move in the final stages of being finalised.

Bruce was relieved of his duties by PIF last month and Howe now comes in to try and keep the Magpies in the Premier League, as they sit 19th in the table after 10 games.

Imagine him and Howe

One Newcastle player who could thrive as a result of this prospective appointment is centre-forward Callum Wilson, who worked with Howe at Bournemouth for a number of years. Imagine a reunion at St James’ Park between the pair which could see the striker’s full potential unleashed.

He played under the 43-year-old in 187 matches for the Cherries, finishing with an impressive 67 goals and 31 assists in all competitions. In his last two Premier League campaigns under Howe’s management, the forward managed an outstanding return of 22 goals and 10 assists, averaging a superb WhoScored rating of 6.99.

Howe previously lauded Wilson as a unique and outstanding player, highlighting the creative side to his game as well as his goalscoring.

The former Burnley boss said of the 29-year-old: “He is an outstanding player with unique attributes for us. He has that ability to run in behind and he’s got the work ethic off the ball and, of course, he knows where the goal is.

“What was also hugely impressive was his assist for Ryan at a key moment in the game with the game still in the balance. He managed to find Ryan, who was almost behind him with a great reverse pass and it really sealed the win for us.”

This season, Wilson is averaging 0.5 key passes and 9.5 passes per game under Bruce and now Graeme Jones, suggesting that he has been left limited in what he can do due to the systems which had been in place. In the 2018/19 campaign under Howe, the striker averaged one key pass and 14.7 passes per game, hinting that the ex-Cherries coach knows how to unlock Wilson’s creative capabilities.

The £19.8m-rated marksman could be unleashed by the seemingly imminent appointment of Howe in terms of what he is able to do in the final third. Instead of being left isolated and feeding off scraps, the 43-year-old could get him more involved in games from a build-up standpoint, allowing Wilson to provide key passes for his teammates whilst still getting in the box to score for himself.

AND in other news, Howe could find his next Lerma for NUFC in £63m-rated beast who is a “joy to coach”…

كشف وائل رياض “شيتوس”، المدرب المساعد بالمنتخب الأولمبي، آخر استعدادات الفراعنة الشباب خلال الفترة المقبلة.

وقال شيتوس في تصريحات عبر برنامج “الريمونتادا” المُذاع على فضائية “المحور”: “الفترة الأخيرة كنا نستهدف اللاعبين مواليد 2001 و2002 و2003، وقدمت لميكالي تقرير بـ120 لاعبًا، ونجحنا في تجميع بيانات لعدد كبير من اللاعبين”.

طالع أيضًا.. ميكالي يؤجل موعد انطلاق معسكر منتخب مصر الأولمبي

وتابع: “خفضنا تلك القائمة إلى 26 لاعبًا و4 حراس مرمى، وغياب لاعبي الزمالك عن المعسكر يأتي بسبب ارتباط الفريق الأبيض بخوض بطولة كأس لوسيل ومباراة الذهاب بالدور التمهيدي في دوري أبطال أفريقيا”.

وأضاف: “نفس الأمر مع فيوتشر، وغياب العربي بدر بسبب مباراة الدور التمهيدي للفريق ببطولة كأس الكونفيدرالية”.

واختتم: “المعسكر المقبل سيشهد زيادة في أعداد اللاعبين بقائمة المنتخب، ونستهدف خوض وديتين خلال الفترة المقبلة”.

Based on the period between August 13, 2008 and August 24, 2009, the awards took into account performances by players and officials during the span

Cricinfo staff02-Sep-2009The nominationsCricketer of the Year
Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Tillakaratne Dilshan, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Shakib Al Hasan, Mitchell Johnson, Graham Onions, Thilan Samaraweera, Kumar Sangakkara, Harbhajan Singh, Graeme Smith, Andrew Strauss, Daniel Vettori, AB de VilliersTest Player of the Year
Stuart Broad, Michael Clarke, MS Dhoni, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Gautam Gambhir, Shakib Al Hasan, Mitchell Johnson, VVS Laxman, Jesse Ryder, Thilan Samaraweera, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Peter Siddle, Harbhajan Singh, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Andrew Strauss, Graeme Swann, Daniel Vettori, AB de VilliersODI Player of the Year
Shivnarine Chanderpaul, MS Dhoni, Andrew Flintoff, Chris Gayle, Umar Gul, Martin Guptill, Michael Hussey, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Thilan ThusharaEmerging Player of the Year
Martin Guptill, Ben Hilfenhaus, Philip Hughes, Amit Mishra, Graham Onions, Kemar Roach, Jesse Ryder, Peter SiddleAssociate and Affiliate Player of the Year
Rizwan Cheema (Canada), Khurram Chohan (Canada), Ryan ten Doeschate (Netherlands), Trent Johnston (Ireland), Alex Cusack (Ireland), Neil McCallum (Scotland), Kevin O’Brien (Ireland), Niall O’Brien (Ireland), William Porterfield (Ireland), Boyd Rankin (Ireland), Edgar Schiferli (Netherlands), Steve Tikolo (Kenya), Regan West (Ireland), Bas Zuiderent (Netherlands)Twenty20 International Performance of the Year
Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Dwayne Bravo, Alex Cusack, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chris Gayle, Umar Gul, David Hussey, Sanath Jayasuriya, Zaheer Khan, Ajantha Mendis, Wayne Parnell, Abdur Razzak, David WarnerWomen’s Cricketer of the Year
Suzie Bates (New Zealand), Holly Colvin (England), Charlotte Edwards (England), Laura Marsh (England), Sana Mir (Pakistan), Shelley Nitschke (Australia), Mithali Raj (India), Karen Rolton (Australia), Priyanka Roy (India), Lisa Sthalekar (Australia), Claire Taylor (England), Sarah Taylor (England), Stefanie Taylor (West Indies), Haidee Tiffin (New Zealand), Aimee Watkins (New Zealand)Umpire of the Year
Billy Bowden (New Zealand), Aleem Dar (Pakistan), Steve Davis (Australia), Ian Gould (England), Tony Hill (New Zealand), Daryl Harper (Australia), Asad Rauf (Pakistan), Simon Taufel (Australia)MS Dhoni and Tillakaratne Dilshan lead the list of nominations at the sixth ICC Awards. Both have been shortlisted in three categories for their performances between August 13, 2008 and August 24, 2009.Eighteen players have received at least two nominations for their performances during this period, which includes the 2009 World Twenty20 in England, the 2009 Women’s World Cup in Australia, and the 2009 World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa, in addition to the various bilateral Test and ODI series.Dilshan scored 848 runs in the eight Tests during that period at 70.66 and was also named Player of the Tournament during the World Twenty20 held in England. He was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s successful run to the final. His unbeaten 96 off 57 balls against West Indies in the second semi-final, and his quickfire 74 against the same opponents in the league phase are the two performances he has been nominated for in the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year category. He is also in line for the ICC Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year awards.Dhoni, who was the ODI Player of the Year in 2008, has been nominated for the Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year. A hugely successful phase resulted in 544 runs from eight Tests at 54.40 and 967 runs in 24 ODIs at 60.43. Among the players nominated for two prizes is Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, who is in contention for the Cricketer of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards.This year’s awards include eight individual prizes, as well as the Spirit of Cricket award for a team. Apart from this, the Test and ODI teams of the year will also be announced, and one man who could be in the frame for the five-day version is England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, who capped a remarkable run of form by leading England to victory in the Ashes, and is one of the 14 players in the frame for the Player of the Year.”I’ve really enjoyed the challenge of playing for England over the past 12 months and to be nominated for two ICC Awards is a huge honour,” he told ecb.co.uk. “I’ve been pleased with my form during that time and I’ve particularly relished the role of England captain more recently. We don’t play the game for awards but to be nominated alongside some of the best cricketers in the world is very humbling.”The Emerging Player of the Year nominees include three Australians – Philip Hughes, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle – along with the New Zealand duo of Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder. Indian legspinner Amit Mishra, West Indian fast bowler Kemar Roach and England bowler Graham Onions are the other nominees in the category.Ireland boasts the most number of nominees in the Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year award with seven names on the list, followed by Netherlands with three. Canada have two names while Kenya and Scotland have one player each.”The LG ICC Awards are an opportunity for the ICC and FICA to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable performances of the world’s top players,” said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat while announcing the list of nominations in Mumbai.”It is also a chance for followers of our great sport to reflect on some of the great cricketing feats they have witnessed over the past year. This will be the sixth time the awards have been handed out and yet again there are so many great performances to recall. Selecting the winners will no doubt test our selectors and voting academy.”The lists were compiled by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain and current chairman of the ICC cricket committee, Clive Lloyd. The panel also includes former players such as India’s Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan, Bob Taylor of England and New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming.The ceremony will take place in Johannesburg on October 1, to coincide with the ICC Champions Trophy 2009. The previous editions were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007) and Dubai (2008).

كشفت شبكة “سكاي سبورتس” عن آخر تطورات رحيل جناح الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي برشلونة، ممفيس ديباي، قبل انتهاء الميركاتو الصيفي الحالي.

وازدادت أنباء رحيل ديباي في الأيام الأخيرة، خاصة وأن اللاعب أصبح خارج خطط المدرب، تشافي هيرنانديز، بعد التعاقد مع رافينها وروبرت ليفاندوفسكي ومن أجل تقليل كتلة الرواتب في برشلونة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. عماد متعب: الدفع بلاعب الأهلي يجعلني أندهش من سواريش

النادي الأكثر اهتمامًا بضم الهولندي الدولي هو يوفنتوس، الاتفاق الكامل لم يحدث بعد، المفاوضات جارية مع برشلونة، وبحسب متخصص سوق الانتقالات، فابرزيو رومانو، أن يوفنتوس لديه يوم مهم، الخميس، من أجل حسم الصفقة.

ولكن رومانو أكد عبر حسابه الرسمي على “تويتر” أن ممفيس ديباي سيغادر برشلونة مجانًا كما جاء بالمجان من أولمبيك ليون في صيف العام الماضي ولمدة عامين.

أكد الصحفي بشبكة “سكاي سبورتس” أيضًا خلال الساعات القليلة المقبلة قد يكون هناك أنباء جديدة عن إمكانية رحيل، بيير إيمريك أوباميانج، عن برشلونة والانتقال إلى تشيلسي.

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has revealed that Aston Villa were open to selling Douglas Luiz in the summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

Reports over the course of the summer suggested that Serie A giants AS Roma were interested in signing the Brazil international, but a move failed to materialise.

Now, Evans has delivered an update on what went on behind-the-scenes at Villa Park.

He said: “They expected more interest in Douglas Luiz, too. Strong messages that Manchester City were ready to activate a buy-back clause found their way to members of the Villa hierarchy, and for some time they were preparing for such an outcome.

“Villa were also open to moving Luiz on elsewhere and at the right price, but there wasn’t enough interest. Roma continue to be linked with Luiz and if they come in strong during the January window, Villa will be in a good position to get a higher transfer fee should his form remain at this high level.”

Then, in response to a question from a fan, Evans added: “Multiple sources confirmed that Villa would have listened to offers for Luiz at the right price. They would have had to move on a midfielder if Ward-Prowse arrived.”

Villa fans will be worried

While last season was a bit of a difficult one for Luiz – as per Whoscored, his average match rating of 6.67 was only good enough to rank him 15th in the entire Villa squad – his start to the current campaign has been outstanding.

In fact, his average rating of 7.08 is the best of any Villa player, and he continues to be a cornerstone of Dean Smith’s midfield. – last year saw him play 33 out of the possible 38 Premier League games last term, as the Midlands club finished just outside the top ten.

As Evans himself suggests, given the kind of “high level” his form is at right now, it would surely be ludicrous from Villa to be selling him in the January transfer window, even if his market value would be at its highest.

In fact, in a recent poll done by FFC, 73% of Villa fans who answered said that they would not sell Luiz this summer (1180 votes to 66) – an indication of just how concerning it would be were the Brazilian to make the move to Roma or somewhere else.

Evans’ latest update is sure to have Villa fans worried about Luiz potentially making an exit in January.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has delivered an Aston Villa update on Emi Martinez…

Bruno Lage’s time as the manager of Wolves has been a perplexing state of affairs so far.

The Portuguese hasn’t done a lot wrong but the fact of the matter is, the Old Gold have only won one of their opening five league matches.

On the chalkboard

Wolves have played some vibrant attacking football this term without gaining many rewards for their efforts.

Raul Jimenez is yet to find the net while Adama Traore and Trincao are also struggling with their end product.

Lage’s men did witness an upturn in form in the Carabao Cup, however, demolishing Nottingham Forest 4-0.

They have a sterner test in round three against Tottenham where it’s likely the manager will make changes.

One area he should look at making an alteration is at left-wing back.

Marcal has played well this term but has let the manager down in some key moments. He let Mason Greenwood get by him too easily when Manchester United beat Wolves and gave away a strange penalty against Brentford.

The defender grappled Ivan Toney to the floor and the referee had to point to the spot.

The solution

If Marcal does miss out on Wednesday evening then Lage must turn to the vibrant young face of Rayan Ait-Nouri.

The Frenchman joined Wolves on loan last season and then made his move permanent over the summer.

However, he’s struggled for game time and has only started once this term – in round two of the EFL Cup.

That said, Ait-Nouri could provide his team with plenty this week, especially in the final third.

The 20-year-old’s performances were inconsistent last season but at his best, he’s an incredible weapon that Wolves have in their armoury.

That theory is back up by his former manager Stephane Moulin.

He said: “He [Ait-Nouri] also made a lot of progress athletically. I also like his way of evolving, he is a modern player, able to eliminate his opponent and make assists. He creates play and danger. Now, he takes on another dimension because he begins to defend well collectively while being interesting individually.”

With that in mind, the £16.2m-rated defender could be game-changing when the Molineux outfit take on Spurs this evening.

After all, he completed a whopping six dribbles against Forest last month and also won nine of his 13 defensive battles.

If he can show similar form against Tottenham this week, Wolves supporters could be in for a treat.

AND in other news, Lage must unleash “ridiculous” £46k-p/w Wolves beast this week, he’s a game-changer…

In the lead-up to this match AB de Villiers spoke of his desire to become the best batsman in the world. It’s a bold ambition for a player currently sitting 21st on the ICC’s Test batting rankings. But for a man who has just turned 25 and has enjoyed the most prolific year of his career, it’s a commendable aspiration.The first step would be to develop into the leading batsman in his own side and on the third day at the Wanderers he was without question South Africa’s star. de Villiers came in at a precarious 49 for 3 and together with Neil McKenzie slowly put things back on track. That there was a further derailment later in the innings was not de Villiers’ fault.His brilliant 104 was his fifth Test century since the start of 2008, a calendar year that brought him 1061 runs at 58.94. In the four Tests against Australia in the past couple of months he has been South Africa’s leading scorer with 347 runs, ahead of acknowledged champions like Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis.To achieve that feat batting from No. 5 deserves extra credit. When he spoke of his desire to become the world’s best batsman he specifically pointed out that it was next to impossible to manage that while coming in at five or six. de Villiers wants to bat at No. 4 and with Kallisstruggling for form it would not be the worst move for South Africa to make a middle-order switch.In four of his five most recent hundreds de Villiers has been left unbeaten, sometimes due to declaration, sometimes because he had run out of partners and once, memorably, because he had orchestrated the world’s second highest Test run chase. On this occasion, when he walked off the Wanderers with 104 next to his name, his team-mates had lacked the ability to stay alive in the difficult conditions that de Villiers had mastered.His first 100 balls brought 34 runs as survival was the primary objective. An inexperienced attack made up of Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus didn’t give away many scoring opportunities. In general his partners didn’t fall due to lack of patience but because of an inability to fend off the dangerous swinging, seaming or bouncing balls.That was not a problem for de Villiers, whose eyes were good. Australia tried to bowl fuller than South Africa had and when de Villiers was given opportunities to drive he did so with excellenttiming and judgment. As his colleagues came and went, he lifted his rate and managed to reach his century with a forceful pull to the boundary off Hilfenhaus.His final contribution of 104 out of 220 was a mammoth effort in trying circumstances. Since the tour of Australia he has had his wisdom teeth removed but clearly hasn’t lost any smarts. For a man who made his Test debut at 20 – incidentally the same age as Australia’s Phillip Hughes – nearly five years at the highest level has been invaluable.”I’ve worked on a few things over the last few years and it’s coming together pretty nicely,” de Villiers said. “If anything I’m just taking my opportunities better than ever. When I get to 50 I try andmake sure that I get to 100. My technique has got better of the last few years and I’m obviously a better player with experience.”Going on to capitalise on his fifties has been a notable feature of his play in recent months. Of the past eight times he has reached 50 in a Test innings he has turned it into three figures on five occasions. This is a man who has learnt the art of fulfilling his promise.It is fitting that he spoke of converting starts during his 50th Test. If he can also turn that half-century into a hundred, South African cricket will be all the better for it. It might even give him a chance of becoming the world’s best.