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Glasgow Rangers continued their rapid improvement under Philippe Clement with an excellent 5-0 away victory in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday evening.

Dundee were put to the sword in what was the Gers’ biggest away victory in the league for over two years, with the 6-1 win against Motherwell on 31 October 2021 the last time the side scored five or more away from Ibrox.

It was a confident performance and one that should inspire confidence amongst the supporters, but there is still a long road ahead, and with a League Cup semi-final clash coming up this weekend against Hearts, Clement will be tested once again.

The Belgian has not been able to call on several members of his squad due to injury and this has impacted who he can pick for his starting XI at the current moment in time.

Nicolas Raskin is the latest player to join the treatment table after being stretchered off against Hearts last weekend and with Clement already missing Kemar Roofe and Tom Lawrence, there is still some more quality to come into the starting XI.

The former Club Brugge manager could turn to the January transfer window, however, in order to add some much-needed squad depth to the side.

Rangers’ January transfer plans

Last week, the 49-year-old tactician discussed his plans for the coming months while speaking to the media, saying: "I am here to build the team and make them stronger – that is where my focus lies and not on any external noise.

“We need to work hard in the coming weeks and months to see what we need to do in January. With injuries, you need to find solutions but we had players who were able to step in and that is what I expect.”

Although previous manager Michael Beale spent a lot during the summer transfer window, these comments certainly suggest that Clement may be looking to add an extra body or two to the current squad.

A recent update has emerged from TEAMtalk regarding some transfer news, and it appears as though Rangers are keen on signing Jhon Arias, who plays for Brazilian side Fluminense.

The report claims that the Gers have been keeping tabs on the player, who can play across a multitude of positions, yet they are not the only admirers.

Crystal Palace, West Ham United, Burnley, and Leeds United have also checked Arias recently and his performances have evidently drawn plenty of interest from these clubs, and the Light Blues look set to face significant competition for his signature.

With the money on offer south of the border, it remains to be seen whether or not Clement will able to tempt the Colombian gem to Scotland with a promise of winning trophies and potentially playing in the Champions League, instead of a move to the Premier League.

Jhon Arias’ season in numbers

Throughout the 2023 season for his club, Arias has mainly operated on the right side of the midfield, either as a winger or dropping slightly deeper, yet he has produced some incredible numbers.

Across 53 matches for the Brazilian side, the 26-year-old has registered 22 goal contributions – nine goals and 13 assists – as Fluminense have reached the Copa Libertadores final against Boca Juniors which takes place on Saturday evening.

Indeed, during the continental competition, the winger is currently ranked third across the squad for goals and assists (five) along with ranking second for big chances created (three), first for key passes per game (2.3), and first for successful dribbles per game (3.3), showcasing his attacking talents on the biggest stage of them all.

His performances have powered his club to the final and another solid display against the Argentinian outfit could drive his price tag up further.

However, it remains to be seen how much the 5 foot 6 dynamo will cost and that may not be an issue that Rangers need to worry about until the January transfer window is close to opening for business.

Journalist Fernando Campos hailed Arias as "decisive" earlier this year, and said: “Jhon Arias has been one of the best players in the country since the beginning of last year and we don't talk about that much.”

The right side of the attack has been a weak point for the Gers this term and Clement has had to persist by using Scott Wright, and there is no doubt that the Colombian is a far better option than the former Aberdeen gem.

Scott Wright has an uncertain future at Rangers

It looked as though Wright was ready to depart Rangers during the summer, with a move to Turkish side Pendikspor all but sealed, yet nothing materialised, and he chose to stay and fight for his place.

Despite remaining, the winger has made just four starts all season while failing to score or grab an assist, and his attacking output has been disappointing, to say the least.

Indeed, since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, he has played 43 matches, yet managed to register just two assists, a woeful return, and this area of the team needs to vastly improve in the coming months.

Wright has not been able to produce quality shots or passes with regularity at the top end of the pitch and the Gers could now bring in a player with the ability to be a difference-maker.

Since the start of the 2022 campaign, Arias has played 114 matches across all competitions, scoring 25 goals and grabbing 30 assists, clearly indicating how impressive he has been going forwards.

If Clement is serious about challenging for silverware with the Light Blues and making progress in Europe, signing talented players such as Arias is the way to significantly bolster his squad.

The 26-year-old whiz has shone in South America over the previous few years, and it is clear his talent deserves to secure him a move to Europe sooner rather than later.

Players like Wright, who have underperformed since before Beale was brought in as manager, should not still be one of the main attacking options at the club, and it shows how far the Gers have regressed since winning the league in 2021.

Although they face stiff competition to sign the Colombian maestro in the coming months, Clement must act fast in order to convince him that his project at Rangers is interesting enough for him to move to Glasgow.

It would certainly signal a huge statement of intent if they pulled this move off, and it would further speed up Wright’s inevitable exit for the Glasgow side.

Arias' statistics suggest that the talented wizard has the ability to be a significant upgrade on the Scottish dud, if he can translate his form to Scottish football, and that is why the Gers must swoop for his services.

Bilal Asif set for debut, while Mohammad Hafeez is expected to be part of the XI for the first Test against Australia

Osman Samiuddin in Dubai05-Oct-2018Pakistan’s hopes of coming at Australia with a rare two-legspinner combination have taken a hit with Shadab Khan all but ruled out of the opening Test in Dubai on Sunday. Shadab has yet to recover from a groin injury he picked up during the Asia Cup, though Pakistan remain hopeful he will be fit for the second Test in Abu Dhabi.In his place the offspinning allrounder Bilal Asif is set for a Test debut. And it also all but guarantees a return to the side for Mohammad Hafeez, discarded and disgruntled earlier this year after being axed from the ODI side, but now back for a first Test in over two years. As much as his runs, Pakistan will look to Hafeez’s overs against an Australia top six that includes three left-handers.Nevertheless, Shadab’s absence will come as a blow. Earlier this summer, while Pakistan were on tour to England, Mickey Arthur was relishing the prospect of unleashing Yasir Shah and Shadab in tandem at teams in the UAE.That tour was a breakthrough of sorts for Shadab in the longer format. Though his numbers shine with bat in hand – three fifties across the three Tests in swinging conditions – there were signs that his legspin was developing too. He was far from the finished product, but a vast improvement from his Test debut in Bridgetown in April 2017.Pakistan have not been historically averse to playing two legspinners in the same Test XI. Abdul Qadir and Mushtaq Ahmed played a Test together in 1990 against West Indies; Mushtaq played a couple of Tests with Danish Kaneria in 2003. And though Shahid Afridi counts as an allrounder, his legspin accompanied that of Kaneria in as many as 17 Tests. In the 60s and 70s, Intikhab Alam and Mushtaq Mohammad played together many times, both allrounders strictly speaking but both also legspinners.Spin was the major factor in Pakistan’s 2-0 triumph when Australia last toured the UAE four years ago. Yasir, Zulfiqar Babar and Hafeez took 30 of the 40 Australian wickets in that series.Pakistan are considering another debutant in Mir Hamza, the left-arm fast bowler who could partner Mohammad Abbas in a two-man pace attack. With Mohammad Amir out of the picture, the choice would appear to be between the returning Wahab Riaz and Hamza, but the former’s low impact for Pakistan ‘A’ in the warm-up game may work against his inclusion.

يرى أحمد حسام ميدو لاعب ومدرب الزمالك السابق، أن إمام عاشور لاعب خط وسط الأهلي الحالي يعتبر أفضل من يشغل مركز 8 في مصر، مشيرًا إلى أنه دائم التطور من ذاته.

وقال ميدو في تصريحات تلفزيونية بفضائية “أون تايم سبورتس2” عبر برنامج “الهدف”: “إمام لاعب ذو شخصية، بعض اللاعبين عندما يصنعون (لوك) جديد، يكون هذا سعيًا منهم لوضع ضغوط جديدة، لأن هذا يؤثر عليهم إيجابيًا”.

ميدو: جماهير الأهلي سترد على استفزاز بيراميدز.. وشوبير الأحق بالمشاركة

وأضاف: “يجب أن يتواجد رمضان صبحي في مباراة فريقه بيراميدز أمام الأهلي، لا أعتقد أنه سيبدأ اللقاء ولكن يجب أن يكون له دور”.

وتابع: “يجب على المدير الفني لبيراميدز استغلال دوافع رمضان صبحي بالشكل الصحيح، في رأيي إذا بدأ المباراة ستؤثر عليه الضغوط لكن في وقت من الأوقات عندما يشارك قادر على تغيير المباراة”.

وعلق على قرار رفع الإيقاف عن رمضان صبحي: “صفحة جديدة من الفساد والظلم لا يمكن أبدًا أن تحدث في أي مكان إلا مصر، لاعب في عز تألقه، يتعرض لإرهاب معنوي بشكل غير طبيعي، كلنا نعرف أن القانون يقول لا تستطيع إيقاف لاعب طالما عينته الأولى سلبية”.

واستكمل: “يجب أن يكون هناك تحقيق في الأمر، أتمنى أن يحصل رمضان صبحي على حقه، ولكن الأهم من ذلك تأهيله نفسيًا قبل العودة للملاعب، لا نريد أن نكرر نفس اخطائنا”.

وأتم: “رمضان صبحي شخصية قوية وأتمنى ألا يؤثر عليه ما حدث ويركز ويحصل على حقه في الملعب، رمضان لاعب كبير”.

ويستعد الأهلي لمواجهة بيراميدز يوم الإثنين المقبل 22 يوليو، في إطار منافسات الجولة 31 من عمر الدوري المصري الممتاز.

England have announced Ollie Pope will make his debut, but both teams have other selection issues

The Preview by Sidharth Monga08-Aug-20181:29

Ollie Pope ‘very mature for a young man’ – Root

Big pictureThe only team that could afford to lose the first Test did at Edgbaston. Imagine England coming to Lord’s, expected to be drier than Edgbaston, 1-0 down, sans Ben Stokes, having somehow messed up in swing-friendly conditions despite the availability of their best bowling resources. They very nearly did through a run-out and through dropped catches. Had England not closed out Edgbaston, they would have begun to doubt whether they could close this India team out at all.India, on the other hand, couldn’t go in with their first-choice bowling resources. The conditions are expected to favour them more at Lord’s, where the pitch wore a green look two days out but is expected to be drier. India have more spin options, and their best new-ball bowler is injured. Despite the failure to win the first Test, India have positives to look at. India’s bowling, while still not consistently of the match-winning variety in these conditions, looks better and deeper than it often does. If it doesn’t fall apart, it will keep them more competitive than if only their batting was working.England are possibly dangerous too. They know they weren’t even close to playing the perfect Test with the bat and in the field, and yet they have a lead in the series. They will also know from experience from their tour of India and Australia that visiting teams tend to crack sooner if they are kept under consistent pressure. They will look to do that at Lord’s. Just keep building that pressure the way they did on the final day at Edgbaston and then pounce on the opportunities that come their way.Except that England will have to do it without Ben Stokes, who brings an important complement to the correct, traditional Test-match bowling of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. He is a different challenge after you have faced that immaculate inquiry from the two quicks. His body falls away, he is not always accurate, he tends to get uneven bounce; he messes with the rhythm. His possible replacement is another correct, classic bowler, Chris Woakes, or an offspinner, Moeen Ali. It is a big hole that India might want to exploit.Form guideEngland WWLDL
India LWWLLIn the spotlightThe man most annoyed with the Kohli-is-left-alone narrative should be Ajinkya Rahane. He has played two Tests in this overseas cycle and has scored a crucial 48 on a brutish pitch in one of them, in Johannesburg. In the previous cycle, he was even more important than Kohli, waging a lone fight in Durban, setting up a win at Lord’s, counterattacking to take the pressure off Kohli in Melbourne. And yet – starting with his struggles against spin in India, continuous cricket on spin-friendly tracks, and then the scarcely believable axing in South Africa – his game looks a wreck. Then again, he has his chances now, and in the ruthless world of international cricket what is being talked about is his average of 10.72 in seven Tests in the last 12 months. The man likeliest to support Kohli has to stand up, and stand up now.You could almost see India taking a backward step the time Jonny Bairstow got into his innings. Root scored the most pristine runs, Kohli the most evocative ones, but Bairstow came closest to dominating. He has the form, the confidence and the intent that England require in the middle to negate the spin threat at Lord’s. More so, now that England’s batting is thinner in Stokes’ absence.Team newsEngland made one change the day after the Test, partly to deny R Ashwin so many left-hand batsmen to feast on, partly as a response to Dawid Malan’s form with the bat and in the slips. The 20-year-old promising right-hand batsman Ollie Pope has been confirmed to make his debut. Which one out of Woakes and Moeen plays will depend on the pitch and the forecast.England 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Joe Root (capt.), 4 Ollie Pope, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Chris Woakes/Moeen Ali, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Sam Curran, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.India have never played the same XI in successive Tests under Kohli. It will be a surprise if they do so at Lord’s. The questions they have: do they need an extra batsman, do they need an extra spinner, and who should the reinforcements be?If India go for that extra batsman, it will mean leaving out Hardik Pandya, who admittedly didn’t get much to bowl but was India’s second-highest run-getter at Edgbaston. Listening to Bharat Arun, India’s bowling coach who has seen the pitch, India don’t seem ready to make the “conservative” move of going in with only four bowlers.That means if the spinner – Ravindra Jadeja or Kuldeep Yadav – comes in, he will replace either Umesh Yadav, who didn’t start off well at Edgbaston, or Pandya.Even if the combination doesn’t change, will India keep persisting with Shikhar Dhawan, in whom they have put the trust earlier teams used to invest in Virender Sehwag? And if they don’t, do they pick Cheteshwar Pujara, who hasn’t had a great time in England this year or Karun Nair, who will come with less baggage and memories of a triple-century against the same opposition?Having raised all these questions, this might well be the time India don’t change their XI under Kohli.India (possible): 1 M Vijay, 2 Shikhar Dhawan/Cheteshwar Pujara, 3 KL Rahul, 4 Virat Kohli (capt.), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 R Ashwin, 8 Hardik Pandya, 9 Ravindra Jadeja/Umesh Yadav, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Mohammed ShamiPitch and conditionsThe Lord’s ground staff has worked hard to maintain a tinge of green on the pitch despite the heatwave in England. The days of the Test match itself are expected to be cooler with the odd shower around. The conditions underfoot are expected to be similar to Edgbaston, which raises the question to which we don’t have a definitive answer: will the ball swing similarly too?Stats and trivia The last time England beat an Asian opponent at Lord’s was India in 2011. Since then they have lost three and drawn two Tests with Asian teams at Lord’s. James Anderson averages 14.5 against Kohli in England and 92 in India. During the course of his five-for at Edgbaston, Ishant Sharma went past B Chandrasekhar to become India’s seventh-highest wicket-taker. He has the joint-highest number of five-fors for Indians in England: two. Alastair Cook has converted his last two centuries into doubles, but he has scored only two of those in 21 Tests now. Despite those big innings, he averages 34.71 over the period. At Edgbaston, both sides dropped four catches each. While it is near impossible to calculate the damage caused – partnerships are formed, momentum is lost, bowlers get tired – the reprieved batsmen went on to cost England 154 runs, and India 86.Quotes”One of the most exciting things about last week is that we weren’t at our best, but we found a way to win under pressure, and wrestle momentum back in our favour. That’s a sign of some strong characters in our dressing room. And having had some indifferent results in the recent past, to pull off a win like that is a really good sign for us moving forward.”
“There is good grass cover in it (pitch) and that is required basically to keep the wicket together. The pitch is going to be an all-round wicket: batsmen bat well they can get runs, obviously dukes ball in overcast conditions, and when the wicket wears off the spinners can come in. Tempting thought to field two spinners but we have to take a call on that depending on the team balance. But two spinners definitely in contention.”

We all love a good transfer saga. We might pretend that we don't, but there is something about the drama of it all that is too entertaining to ignore. And when it comes to transfer sagas, few players have been involved in more than Kylian Mbappé.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward was at the centre of a transfer storm in 2022 when he opted to sign a new mega deal at the club instead of joining Real Madrid, and then he found himself in another this summer when he told the club he would be leaving next year for free.

The ensuing weeks of back and forth between the two sides led to a mountain of clubs being linked to the star.

Still, he ultimately remained at the club, with reports suggesting that he has signed, or will sign, a one-year extension, meaning that if he is to leave next summer, clubs will likely have to pay close to the £259m offered by Al-Hilal in the summer.

With that in mind, Football FanCast has created a list of nine teams linked to the Frenchman in the last year or so and ranked them out of ten for plausibility and fit.

9 Tottenham Hotspur

Right, so kicking off our list is Tottenham Hotspur, and we'll admit that this does feel like a bit of a pipe dream – and that's being generous – but the idea of Mbappé donning the white of Spurs already seems less farcical now than it did just a few months ago.

That said, we haven't just plucked this one out of thin air, as during the summer, in the midst of the Harry Kane debacle, there were, in fact, reports suggesting that Daniel Levy and co had an interest in signing the French supremo.

We have to admit that the idea of Mbappé playing under the ever-entertaining Ange Postecoglou and thriving in his uber-attacking style of football is pleasing.

Ultimately, are the Lilywhites going to offer PSG the money required to sign their superstar? No. And is Mbappé likely to accept a team that can't guarantee Champions League football? Also, no, but it's an entertaining thought nonetheless.

Chances: 1/10

8 Manchester United

Moving onto our second Premier League team on this list, and unlike Spurs, a transfer to Manchester United now seems infinitely less likely than it did in the summer.

The Red Devils were coming off of a relatively successful campaign that saw them lift the League Cup and finish in third place, all in Erik ten Hag's first season in charge, so why wouldn't Mbappé want to join?

They are Manchester United, after all.

The same Spanish reports that revealed Spurs' interest in the Frenchman also mentioned United as an interested party in the summer, and with the way the three-time European champions spend money, why couldn't they sign him?

Well, a disastrous start to their campaign this season and an increasingly hostile atmosphere around the club has made a deal such as this seem practically impossible. That said, a front three of Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund, and Kylian Mbappé would be a goals-fest.

Chances: 3/10

7 Al-Hilal

So this is the first of the really dull options on the list, and the team we – along with most fans – really hope he doesn't end up joining, Al Hilal.

In the midst of his stand-off with PSG in the summer, when it looked as if he would be spending this season sat in the stands, Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal decided that they would blow the lid off of the transfer market and offer an eye-watering transfer fee of £259m to sign the Frenchman.

If the fee wasn't obscene enough, the club also offered the forward about €700m (£604m) to play in Saudi Arabia for just one year, a deal that would have truly signalled the departure of sense and reason from the sport.

Luckily, Mbappé refused the offer and opted to stay in Europe, but who's to say the Saudis won't come back with an even more earth-shattering offer next summer, one that Mbappé finds too good to turn down.

Chances: 4/10

6 Barcelona

Yes, for all of the links to fellow La Liga side Real Madrid over the last however many years, staunch rivals Barcelona made a play to sign the World Cup winner this summer when it looked like his future would be anywhere other than Paris.

According to FootMercato, the Blaugrana made an offer to the Parisian side that included three players alongside a cash offer. TalkSport has claimed that the players included were Gavi, Ousmane Dembele and Raphinha.

We aren't surprised that this deal failed, and with Barca's well-documented financial fragilities, a deal for the number one player in Europe seems like an impossibility, especially as they were unable to re-sign their greatest ever player in Lionel Messi when he left PSG this summer.

That said, we would have loved to have seen the crowd reaction at the Santiago Bernabéu were he to turn up donning the blue and garnet of Barcelona.

Chances: 4/10

5 Arsenal

Back to these shores now, and alongside their north London rivals and Manchester United, Arsenal found themselves linked to Mbappé in the summer, somewhat surprisingly, it must be said.

The Gunners spent over £200m on their summer revamp, and so spending another £250m plus on the Frenchman was never really on the cards. Still, once it had been reported that the forward had said he would join the Premier League runners-up should he come and play in England, the rumour mill went into overdrive.

Now, that is it in terms of links to the club, but we can't help but imagine how utterly brilliant a front three of Gabriel Martinelli, Mbappé and Bukayo Saka would be.

That said, for as great a fit as this would be from an entertainment perspective, we really don't think this is a genuine possibility.

Chances: 4/10

4 Chelsea

We're staying in London for this one but moving from the north over to the west, as alongside the other English teams in this list, Chelsea were also rumoured to be interested in the 24-year-old this summer.

Now, we know we just said that the player himself has reportedly said he would join the Gunners were to come to England, but unfortunately, in this game, money talks, and while Arsenal aren't afraid to spend, the Blues take it to a whole other level.

Since Todd Boehly's takeover alone, Chelsea have spent close to £915m, so what's an extra £259m for the best player in the world?

Now, just as with every other Premier League team, this deal is unlikely – especially following Chelsea's start to the season – but if there is any club in European football that is happier to part with their cash, we don't know them.

Chances: 5/10

3 Liverpool

From west London to the northwest of England, and Liverpool are the next on our list of clubs linked with Mbappé.

Where the other English sides have only been rumoured to be after the player in the last year or so, the Red's potential interest goes back several years at this point.

In 2020, rumours suggesting that the Frenchman was on his way to Anfield were everywhere, but in the years since, those links have seemingly all but vanished.

However, amid the standoff between club and player this summer, the Mirror reported that the Reds could step in and offer the superstar the option of a one-year loan spell to help resolve things.

We know now that this report ultimately led to nothing, but that didn't stop the fans from dreaming and us from imagining just how good a three of Mohamed Salah, Mbappé, and Luis Diaz would've been.

While this deal seems a bit farfetched at the moment, the fact that Liverpool seem to have rediscovered their mojo this season can only help fuel the rumour mill.

They couldn't, could they?

Chances: 5/10

2 Paris Saint-Germain

Here we are at the second-worst option on the list, and one we really hope he doesn't choose next summer: staying at Paris Saint-Germain for another year.

Now, this might seem like an unlikely option for Mbappé given his actions over the summer, but if the reports suggesting that a new deal is in the works are accurate, then we can't rule out him opting to run down that contract as well.

If he decided to stay until summer 2025, he wouldn't leave Ligue 1 until he was 26 years old. While the French top-flight is entertaining, it isn't as competitive as the Premier League or La Liga.

Fans want to see the supposed best player in the world actually challenge himself every week.

Hopefully, this doesn't happen, and the new deal is just to help the club earn a significant fee, but based on his past behaviour, we have a sneaking suspicion he could stay in Paris for another two years.

Chances: 6/10

1 Real Madrid

Here we are, the club we think Kylian Mbappé is most likely to end up at next year and come on, who else was it going to be?

Real Madrid are the clear favourite when it comes to landing Mbappé's signature next year, and it is pretty clear that Los Blancos are the only team that the Frenchman has any desire to join once he leaves Paris; he even said as much.

There is no denying that his behaviour over the last few years has seriously annoyed the Real Madrid hierarchy, especially Florentino Perez, who did not hide how he felt following the player's decision to stay in Paris in summer 2022.

That said, football is a fickle business. Whatever Real officials and fans might say, they will still be working on a way to sign Mbappé next summer and with their need for a striker more acute now than it has been in years, we don't see a world in which the Frenchman isn't wearing the white of Real at some point in the next couple of years.

Chances: 8/10

MatériaMais Notícias

O atacante Bruno Henrique não poderá enfrentar o Internacional, no próximo domingo, pela 18ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. O camisa 27 recebeu o terceiro cartão amarelo diante do Corinthians, na vitória do Flamengo por 5 a 1, e é uma ausência confirmada para o próximo compromisso do time no torneio.

Bruno Henrique foi um dos autores dos gols rubro-negros no histórico resultado deste domingo – a maior goleada sofrida pelo Corinthians no estádio.

Antes de enfrentar o Colorado no Beira-Rio, em Porto Alegre, o Flamengo entra em campo pela Libertadores. Na quarta, no Maracanã, o time recebe o Junior Barranquilla, da Colômbia, pela última rodada da fase de grupos da Copa. Com 12 pontos, a equipe de Domènec Torrent já está garantida nas oitavas de final.

West Ham United manager David Moyes, in an admission this week, says one player has "improved greatly" in training at Rush Green.

How are West Ham doing?

The Irons have started this 2023/2024 Premier League season with real gusto; winning three out of their opening four top flight matches prior to this international break.

Impressive victories over the likes of in-form Brighton, who they convincingly beat 3-1 at the Amex, and big-spending Chelsea have proven West Ham right not to part company with Moyes so far.

Reports over the summer indicated that the Scotsman's future was in doubt after a period of transfer inactivity, but their recent performances have showcased that Moyes could still do a job at the London Stadium.

West Ham clinched their first ever European trophy since 1965 and first piece of silverware overall since the 1980s with last season's Europa Conference League triumph in Prague.

Some supporters, at the time, could be forgiven for thinking that Moyes should've bowed out there and then to end his tenure on a high – but the West Ham manager is so far proving them wrong.

What's the latest West Ham transfer news?

After bringing Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Mohammed Kudus to east London over the summer, rumours have circulated of a possible return for free agent Jesse Lingard.

The 30-year-old is free to sign for any interested club outside of the transfer window after leaving Nottingham Forest in late June, and he has been training with West Ham on a sort-of trial basis.

Lingard has been working to build his fitness up and featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Ipswich Town last week; a match which ended 1-1.

The Englishman was taken off soon before the final whistle after fading out of the game, but he did manage to impress in flashes.

There have been few updates since on the possibility of Lingard re-signing for West Ham, coming after he dazzled on a 2021 loan spell; scoring nine goals and assisting four others in 16 starts at the time.

Moyes, speaking to talkSPORT this week, has shared an update on the player and says that he's improved massively in training.

“Jesse has trained with us for three weeks and he’s improved greatly from when he first came in," said Moyes to the Sports Breakfast Show with Ally McCoist and Andy Townsend.

“He’s in really good condition – much better condition than he was when he first came in. I have to say, when Jesse joined us two years ago I think he scored nine goals in 15 games and was probably the difference between us getting into Europe for the first time.

“I want to give him every opportunity to get himself back in condition and see how he does. So there’s no real update on it at the moment, just to say that he’s back and getting much closer to the levels of fitness where you’d hope he would be.”

Lingard was once a Man United academy graduate, and upon returning from his 2021 West Ham spell, he ultimately failed to work his way back into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's plans.

A regrettable one-year stay at Forest followed, with time now running out for the midfielder to resurrect his career.

Matt Renshaw’s third century in as many Shield Games helped Queensland set Western Australia a target of 305. They fell 212 runs short, collapsing in just 38.2 overs

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2018
ScorecardGetty ImagesA staggering collapse from Western Australia on the final day has all but assured Queensland will host the Sheffield Shield final at the Gabba.Matt Renshaw’s third century in as many matches allowed the Bulls to set the Warriors 305 to win from 59 overs. Renshaw is the first Queenslander to score three centuries in three straight Sheffield Shield fixtures since Matthew Hayden in 1993-94.Charlie Hemphrey added an unbeaten 68 to his first-innings hundred to total 171 runs for the game without being dismissed and was rewarded with Man of the Match.On the same surface where Renshaw peeled off 143 not out, the Warriors folded in the fourth innings chase for 93 in 38.2 overs. Seven of the Warriors’ wickets came from outside edges to the wicketkeeper or the slips cordon.No Warriors player reached 20 as Jack Wildermuth, Michael Neser and Luke Feldman took nine wickets between them.The Warriors will now battle for the wooden spoon in the last round against South Australia.

In Hyderabad, Group A runners-up Delhi drew their final match after the hosts amassed 442 in their second innings. Delhi will face Madhya Pradesh in the next round

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2017

Karnataka set up a quarter-final date with Group C runners-up Mumbai after offspinnerK Gowtham’s 7 for 72 helped them beat Railways by 209 runs, giving the Group A table-toppers their fourth group-stage win at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. Karnataka will now face Group C runners-up Mumbai in the quarter-final.Gowtham ran through the Railways batting on the final day, dismissing all seven batsmen either bowled or lbw, to finish with a career-best match-haul of 10 for 142. Railways’ target of 377 was courtesy Mayank Agarwal’s second ton of the match – 134 to follow 173 – as the visitors declared on 275 for 4.Gowtham broke Railways’ resistance in the 14th over with the dismissal of opener Shivakant Shukla and took regular wickets to stop them from building any solid partnerships. By the time Railways went past 100, they had already lost five wickets, and together with legspinner Shreyas Gopal, Gowtham cleaned up the tail. The hosts’ resistance lasted 63 overs.Agarwal – who has already flown past 1000 runs for the season – started the day on 104, with Karnataka at 208 for 1. He fell to Vinit Dhulap in the in the day’s ninth over, and Karnataka declared with a lead of 376 five overs later.Group A runners-up Delhi drew their match against hosts Hyderabad after being made to bowl over 150 overs in the second innings. Forced to follow on after conceding a lead of 210, Hyderabad’s batsmen came good in the second innings, with Akshath Reddy (107), Rohit Rayudu (103) and B Sandeep (93) taking them to 442 for 8 at stumps.Delhi used nine bowlers through the innings, with the only notable success being left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra’s fifth five-wicket haul. He took four wickets on the final day, including those of the set batsmen Rayudu and Sandeep. Hyderabad finished fourth in Group A with 16 points, after having their first two matches washed out. Delhi finished second with 27 points and will face Group C winners Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinals.

Seamers Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami have been recalled to the Indian ODI squad that has been picked for the six-match ODI series in South Africa. Virat Kohli, who who was rested from the team’s most recent limited-overs assignment, against Sri Lanka, returns as captain of the 17-member touring party.Kedar Jadhav, who suffered a hamstring injury in early December and has not played any cricket since, has also been picked. Thakur too had a problem with his shoulder recently, leading to his missing Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy quarter-final on December 7 and both players are expected to be on the park very soon to prove their match fitness. “Shardul will be playing shortly. In fact, he will be playing from the first of January,” chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said. “Kedar will be playing the T20 matches shortly. Basing on the report we have got from the physio, we have taken this call [to include them in the ODI squad].”

India ODI squad

Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.
In: Virat Kohli, Kedar Jadhav, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur
Out: Washington Sundar, Siddarth Kaul

The series begins with the first of six matches in Durban on February 1. Batsman KL Rahul and the senior spin pair of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja continue to miss out after the selectors felt Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel deserved an extended run following their good performances in the last few months.Prasad hastened to add it was not the end of the road for Ashwin and Jadeja, who last played an ODI in June-July. “We keep repeating this. We have been consistent with Chahal and Axar,” he told reporters in Mumbai. “With every game game they have been improving a lot. They should be given an extended run since they are doing very well. It is a unanimous decision. When we picked these three boys, we wanted to increase the bench strength in the spin department. Today, we have five-six quality spinners that are aiming for these slots.”R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were made to wait even longer•BCCI

When asked about how Ashwin and Jadeja could thrust themselves back into contentions in limited-overs cricket, Prasad said: “We have enough domestic matches. They have played enough cricket and have enough number of wickets under the belt,” he said. “[The] only issue is we have tried these guys [the young spinners] and time and again they are winning games for you, so it makes sense to continue with these guys for some time.”Prasad also sympathised with Rahul’s omission despite being among the runs in the T20Is against Sri Lanka where he smashed 61 and 89 in the first two matches. However, he is being considered only for the opening spot, and India are already very well equipped with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane.”Definitely we were discussing on that point also,” Prasad said of Rahul. “The class and the form he is in, it’s really unfortunate that he is missing out. Right now, I think those boys who are already there in the squad have done well, so it makes sense to continue. Maybe in times to come, KL will definitely [get a look in]. We will try and see that he will be fit into different options. So, probably after this series we will have to think about that.” Asked if the player had a say in where he wanted to bat, Prasad said the player had every right to express his preference, but it was up to the selectors to identify what was good for the team.Explaining the rationale behind a 17-member squad, Prasad and his panel wanted to try out different players before settling in on a core squad. And on naming it more than a month before the start of the series, he said: “Three points I will like to bring across: announcing one month before helps them to prepare physically or mentally for the demands of the game. The ODI specialists will have sufficient time to prepare. Second point, they may go a bit early to acclimatise. Third point is logistics. Makes it easy.”MS Dhoni talks to chairman of selectors MSK Prasad•PTI

Prasad identified the limited-overs series in England as a rough deadline for firming up India’s core squad ahead of the 2019 World Cup and said new players would be tried out in the T20Is in South Africa. The selectors’ aim is to develop specialist squads for each of the three formats. “Probably from England series, that’s where we will have a core team,” Prasad said. “Maybe we will fix up on a certain number and focus on that. We will definitely pick new boys for T20Is. I would also like to say we are moving towards that direction – specialists for different formats of the game. We are targeting that we should be No.1 in all three formats. We are No.1 in Test format, No.2 in ODIs and maybe No.4 in T20I series. After this T20I series, we don’t know, maybe we could go to No.2 spot.”Prasad also more or less confirmed that MS Dhoni would continue to be India’s No.1 wicketkeeper going into the World Cup. “I think he remains as the number one wicketkeeper in the World, and day in and day out we have been seeing, even in the current T20 series (against Sri Lanka) the stumping that he does, the caught-behinds that he takes are phenomenal, there is no comparison. I don’t see any wicketkeeper, who is even closer to him in world cricket, forget Indian cricket.”We are grooming some new wicketkeepers in India A tours. More or less we have fixed up [our] mind till the World Cup and after that at later stages we will start grooming some of those wicketkeepers in India A tours. Let me tell you frankly that still those boys are not up to the levels that we have expected. We will still keep giving them chances in the India A tours and see that they are nurtured.”