Northamptonshire could be facing a raid on their best players as rival clubs look to exploit their troubled financial situation

George Dobell01-Jul-2016

Northamptonshire could be facing a raid on their best players as rival clubs look to exploit their troubled financial situation.ESPNcricinfo understands that Olly Stone, Ben Duckett and Josh Cobb have all been targeted by other clubs who hope to sign them ahead of the 2017 season.While Stone is currently sidelined with an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament – a freak injury he sustained celebrating a wicket – the 22-year-old is seen as one of the most exciting young pace bowlers in England. ESPNcricinfo understands that Hampshire lead the race to secure his signature.Duckett, the third highest run-scorer in Division Two of the County Championship so far this season, is contracted at Northants until the end of 2017 but, as was the case with David Willey last year, the club could agree to release him should they agree a transfer fee with another club and Duckett decides he is prepared to leave.As a young player at one of the smaller clubs, though, he offers outstanding value to a rival club. Precedent suggests any transfer fee is likely to be around 50 percent of his salary.Cobb, meanwhile, has the option of another year at the club but is waiting until later in the season before he decides what to do. It is understood he is of interest to several other clubs with a view to white ball cricket, in particular.Despite their well-chronicled off-field difficulties, Northants currently sit at the top of the North Division of the NatWest Blast table and can count both Duckett and Stone as home-grown players. Should the pair go on to represent England – and it is far from impossible – the club would continue to benefit from performance-related fee payments.

Pakistan’s players are ready to close ranks around Mohammad Amir when he makes his long-awaited Test comeback at Lord’s this week – but they are also focused on shutting out the noise surrounding Amir’s return to the scene of his spot-fixing involvement six years ago and intend to let their efforts on the pitch do most of the talking.Wahab Riaz has already described Amir as the team’s “little brother” and he reiterated their support for the 24-year-old, who is likely to be under intense scrutiny in his first Test since 2010, after which he served time in a young offenders’ institute as well as a five-year ICC ban from all cricket for agreeing to bowl deliberate no-balls.

Wahab plays down Trott tussle in 2010

Wahab Riaz has described his altercation with Jonathan Trott in the nets at Lord’s in 2010 as nothing more than an argument that got out of hand. With tensions running high in the wake of the spot-fixing revelations, Trott and Riaz had to be separated after a physical confrontation before the fourth match of the ODI series that followed on from the Tests.
Both players were spoken to at the time by the match referee, Jeff Crowe, and the matter was not taken any further. Asked to recall the incident six years on, Wahab played down its significance in typically light-hearted fashion.
“He was a bit rude and when it comes to being rude, you can never beat the Pakistanis on it,” he said. “We are the most rude when it comes to it. We are nice but if somebody is rude we won’t spare it.
“He was a bit rude, he was angry, he was not scoring runs, he was getting out early in the ODIs, [after] doing well in the Tests. It was a frustration he tried to take out on me. It’s gone now.”

Despite the shadow cast over Pakistan’s last visit to Lord’s, Amir’s name remains on the honours board for his first-innings 6 for 84. Wahab said he hoped Amir would be able to repeat the feat this time around and that another five-wicket haul in sunnier circumstances would help to rehabilitate his reputation, as well as put Pakistan on their way to upsetting England in the first Test.”What has happened has gone now, it has gone a long way now so I think the best thing is that he can perform well,” Wahab said. “I want him to take five wickets in this Test match to get his name back and to get his image back, which has been spoiled, and I wish him all the best to win this Test for Pakistan.”While the current England team – a handful of whom played in the 2010 Test – have largely expressed a willingness to face Amir, some former players, notably Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen, have suggested that match-fixers should automatically be banned for life. Speaking last month, Alastair Cook put forward a similar view, although he was satisfied that, in Amir’s case, he had served than ban that he was given at the time.The question of how the Lord’s crowd will react when Amir readies himself to bowl at the ground once again also looms over the Test, but Wahab said his team-mate was mentally strong enough to handle the pressure.”I think he will deal with all those things and he is ready to answer with his performance and that is what counts,” Wahab said. “He is ready for everything. If you make a mistake it doesn’t mean that you are out of this world and people will keep blaming you for that. Once he has done his punishment then it is a new life for him and he is ready to have a go again.”Responding to several questions about the significance of the occasion, Wahab said the Pakistan players were getting used to letting it go “in one ear and out the other”.”You cannot stop what people say and what people think,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what people think and we are not here to answer what people think. The only thing is we are here to play good cricket and here to play competitive cricket against an England team who are very good in their home conditions.”Our focus and concentration is to win this Test match and play as good as we can for our country and win this game. That is all we are thinking. We know things will come and go but you hear it in one ear and you leave it with the other and you just concentrate on your cricket.”Pakistan’s last two tours of England have ended in controversial – not to mention heavy – defeats: the forfeiture at The Oval in 2006 led to a 3-0 scoreline, while England wrapped up the series 3-1 four years later. Their last Test series win in this country came 20 years ago, in 1996, but they arrive this time as the higher ranked side, on the back of a thorough programme of preparation and acclimatisation, and having won their five of their last six Test matches against England.Pakistan briefly rose to No. 2 in the ICC Test rankings – they are currently third, a place above England – after beating England 2-0 in the UAE last year and Wahab pointed to Misbah-ul-Haq, who stepped up to replace Salman Butt as captain after the 2010 spot-fixing crisis and oversee the rebuilding of the team, as the main reason for their recent success.”What has happened before has gone,” he said. “It was six years ago and Pakistan have made their name in Test cricket. From the last four years we have had a Test ranking of two, three, four. Under the captaincy of Misbah this team is much more united.”We have seen the hard time of Pakistan cricket. It’s easy to see and easy to talk about but we have worked hard after what happened. We have managed to make people all over the world believe that Pakistan is a good Test team. The belief will come – it depends how much crowd will come and want to see the Test matches. If it is a full house that means they do believe in the Pakistan team. Pakistan are a strong team and can always give you a hard time.”

Mustafizur Rahman will fly to London on Wednesday morning after finally receiving his UK visa on Tuesday afternoon in Dhaka

Mohammad Isam19-Jul-2016Mustafizur Rahman, the Bangladesh left-arm seamer, will fly to London on Wednesday morning after finally receiving his UK visa on Tuesday afternoon in Dhaka. This means he will be available for Sussex’s NatWest T20 Blast game against Essex in Chelmsford, on July 21. Mustafizur can now play at least seven games for the county side in the T20 and one-day competition.Mustafizur’s departure had been delayed by seven days because of visa issues, after he could not leave on July 13 as planned. During that period, he worked on his fitness in Dhaka, after returning from a triumphant IPL campaign with multiple leg injuries.The recovery took nearly a month, after which the BCB medical staff passed him fit. Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha said that a season in England would benefit Mustafizur immensely, although he was initially reluctant about the county stint.Sussex had signed him as their second overseas player, after New Zealand’s Ross Taylor, for 2016, in March.

يخوض فريق ريال مدريد مباراة أمام خيتافي مساء اليوم الخميس، ضمن منافسات الدوري الإسباني “الليجا”.

ويلتقي ريال مدريد وخيتافي في مباراة مؤجلة من الجولة العشرين للدوري الإسباني، على ملعب “كولسيوم ألفونسو بيريز”.

ويحتل ريال مدريد المركز الثاني في ترتيب الدوري الإسباني برصيد 54 نقطة، خلف المتصدر جيرونا بفارق نقطة واحدة.

أما خيتافي يتواجد في المركز العاشر، ويملك في رصيده 29 نقطة بجدول ترتيب الدوري الإسباني.

ويبحث ريال مدريد عن الفوز من أجل اعتلاء صدارة ترتيب الدوري الإسباني لموسم 2023-2024.

طالع | مباشر بالفيديو | مباراة ريال مدريد وخيتافي في الدوري الإسباني موعد مباراة ريال مدريد وخيتافي اليوم

تنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، الحادية عشر مساءً بتوقيت السعودية. القناة الناقلة لمباراة ريال مدريد وخيتافي في الدوري الإسباني

تذاع المباراة عبر قناة beIN sports HD3. معلق مباراة ريال مدريد وخيتافي

يعلق على المباراة، حسن العيدروس.

ويمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة عبر مركز المباريات من هنا.

Mateo Kovacic was slammed on social media for his poor display against Nottingham Forest as Chelsea dropped two more points.

The Blues struggled in yet another Premier League game but Raheem Sterling was a player to savour. The Croatian meanwhile was taken off after half-time before the game finished 2-2 with very few fans or pundits impressed with him.

How did Kovacic play against Nottingham Forest?

Kovacic was taken off injured but the midfielder's bad luck summed up his display. During his time on the pitch, he had just 26 touches and while he had an 83% pass accuracy, he was ineffective and careless with his pass selection, completing no key passes, crosses or dribbles and attempting zero shots.

Kovacic also lost the ball five times while failing to create any chances for the home side.

What did the media say about Kovacic?

The midfielder's passing left Chelsea reporter, Simon Phillips, bemused. On Twitter, he said: "Ruben only has to make a couple forward passes to have a better game than Kovacic did."

Alex Goldberg had this to say: "Kovačić is one of the most careless midfielders there is. ANOTHER bad giveaway. And yeah, Mendy, that’s poor…"

Raheem Sterling was Chelsea's best performer, scoring a brace either side of Taiwo Awoniyi's two goals.

The Blues have been very poor this season but Sterling has been a player of promise. Despite the turbulence, the former Liverpool and Man City star has managed nine goals and five assists. Perhaps with more quality and stability at Chelsea next season, the England international could showcase the quality that saw him become so feared at the Etihad.

Chelsea's prospective new boss is eyeing a reunion with his former Tottenham Hotspur colleague Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at Stamford Bridge as he looks to beef up the Blues' midfield, though journalist Dean Jones believes 'it would be a strange' move.

What's the latest on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to Chelsea?

According to one outlet in Spain, Pochettino is said to have 'requested' that Chelsea try to sign Spurs anchorman Hojbjerg this summer, someone who the Argentine previously worked with during his spell in north London in charge of the Lilywhites.

The report states that Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is willing to shell out for further squad additions in the forthcoming transfer window. Hojbjerg has been earmarked as someone with plenty of Premier League experience, battling qualities and is also technically adept, which could add some steel to the Blues' midfield moving forward.

In recent times, the 27-year-old has spoken about his side's struggles to find any real consistent footing in 2022/23, as per Sky Sports via The Evening Standard, stating: “When you have three coaches in a very short time, there is some instability. We know that this is a part of this world that in a game, in a season, there will be some instability. There will be insecurity, there will be a lack of energy when you are changing coaches. You kind of lose your way a bit, your values."

He has also come under fire for his own form this term from BBC pundit Charlie Adam, who criticised the enforcer on The Monday Night Club on 5 Live Sport, saying: “He does what he wants to do [Hojbjerg]. He just walks around.”

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Dean Jones has his doubts over whether Hojbjerg would be an ideal signing for Chelsea under Pochettino, as he said: "It would be a strange one to go in and make straight away. It would look like he was signing almost a Tottenham reject at this point. Given the reputation he seems to have among some of the fan base from recent times, it might not look like great for PR. Only Pochettino knows the exact identity that he wants in that midfield now to come in."

Should Chelsea look to make a move for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this summer?

Hojbjerg has been a perfectly serviceable midfielder during his time in the Premier League and has distinguishable qualities; however, there are questions as to where he would fit into this Chelsea side.

The Blues have an overwhelming quantity of options in the middle of the park, while the futures of Mason Mount, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic and Conor Gallagher are still yet to be determined, which could be problematic when trying to bring midfield additions into the club this summer.

Boehly admitted that huge mistakes have been made since he took over at Chelsea, and this could be yet another one.

As per FBRef, the 27-year-old has struggled to impose himself in the tackle as much as he would've liked, with Hojbjerg hovering just above the bottom 20% of midfielders across Europe for number of players tackled across the last 365 days, managing just 1.62 per 90 minutes all in.

In the Premier League, the £100k-a-week ace has also only created five big chances across the entire campaign, showing that Pochettino can surely do better in terms of bringing in a midfielder to break between the lines.

Overall, Hojbjerg has made 44 appearances for Spurs in 2022/23 across all competitions, registering five goals and seven assists, as per Transfermarkt.

Wrexham goalkeeper Ben Foster criticised the Dane for his role in Spurs' 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend on his YouTube channel, stating: “There was a clip doing the rounds last night of Hojbjerg. A fan has just focused on him for about a 30-second period. Tottenham don’t have the ball, so he’s doing a bit of defensive work. It’s painful. It’s a painful watch. He just looks lost. He doesn’t really know when to press, he doesn’t really know when to sit back in. He’s just wandering around, a few arms getting flinged about."

This is further backed up by a video that surfaced online after Spurs' defeat to Aston Villa, with Hojbjerg looking lethargic and lazy with not a care in the world, which is something Pochettino cannot risk after the season Chelsea have just had.

Looking ahead, Pochettino will surely be looking for a better alternative to help solidify the midfield area as Chelsea aim to bounce back in 2023/24.

Manchester United intermediaries The Raine Group are still involved in the mediation between the Glazer family and prospective bidders who want to take control at Old Trafford, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.

What's the latest ownership news involving Manchester United?

As per Sky Sports, Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani has submitted a fourth bid to take ownership of Manchester United 'believed to be close to' £5 billion in worth.

Competition Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his petrochemicals firm INEOS submitted a 'revised offer' last week to try and acquire the Premier League giants from the Glazer family, prompting the Qatari businessman to act with a bid that pledges to clear around £1 billion of club debt alongside promising a separate fund to improve facilities at Manchester United.

The Mirror cite that The Raine Group are a bank and also a means of communication between the Glazer family and prospective bidders, who act as an advisory presence to the Manchester United owners and report back to them with their findings.

The Raine Group will also be actively involved in the sale of the club and will, upon instruction, be asked to enter into discussions with the Glazers' preferred bidder to try and tie up any loose ends leading to the sale of the club.

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jacobs has also heard that The Raine Group have been playing a big role in the ownership battle at Old Trafford.

Jacobs told FFC: "I think The Raine Group is still running this process; the Raine Group is still ultimately in control of this process. So, when people say that 92 Foundation have sort of in some way gone rogue and bypassed the process, it's only true in the sense that they're bullish, they're very aggressive because they were the ones driving the fourth offer, rather than necessarily being invited directly to do so. That's what prompted their choice to ultimately have a phone call with the Glazers, but Raine is still in on this and there are vehement denials on the selling side that somehow The Raine Group are being bypassed. That's not my understanding. They're in on the calls; they're in on the meetings, they're in on the key moments that are taking place and will take place; they're running the sale."

What now for Manchester United?

Erik Ten Hag and his players will know that there is nothing they can really do to control any aspect of the ownership battle rumbling on in the boardroom and will instead stick to the task they know best, trying to win football matches.

Manchester United find themselves in a good position with just three Premier League matches to go, sitting fourth in the league table on 66 points, which is one more than their rivals Liverpool on 65, who have played a game more than the Red Devils.

In their three remaining fixtures, Manchester United travel to Bournemouth, host Chelsea and then play Fulham at Old Trafford on the final day as they try to secure a Champions League slot.

FA Cup glory could also be on the horizon for Ten Hag as he prepares his men to take on Champions League finalists Manchester City at Wembley in early June, meaning that 2022/23 could have a special ending in store for Manchester United if all goes to plan.

Tottenham and chairman Daniel Levy are eyeing Benfica director Rui Pedro Braz as a replacement for the departed Fabio Paratici, according to reports.

What's the latest Spurs news?

Heading into what will be a crunch summer transfer window, Levy still has it all to do, with there being little sign of a permanent manager appointment as things stand and no out-and-out sporting director.

Paratici's departure has left a gaping hole in this regard, coming after the Italian was forced to resign from his post due to losing his appeal against a 30-month worldwide ban from football.

Spurs have appointed former City Football Group executive Scott Munn as chief football officer Scott Munn, who will oversee all on-field operations and effectively operate as Levy's number two.

However, the lack of a proper sporting director is said to be an issue for managerial targets like Julian Nagelsmann, with reports claiming the German asked about this in a recent interview for the Spurs job.

Appointing a successor for Paratici, therefore, may well come as a crucial factor in the day-to-day running of Tottenham.

Now, as per a report by The Daily Mirror, there has been an update on Spurs and their attempts to find someone who can step into Paratici's shoes.

According to the outlet, and reporter James Nursey, Benfica talent-spotter Pedro Braz is now said to be a name in the frame – with Spurs stepping up their pursuit of Paratici's successor.

His work in Portugal is attracting plenty of praise – having become efficient at identifying relatively unknown talents and selling them on for large transfer fees.

Pedro Braz was heavily involved in lucrative Benfica deals to sell both Darwin Nunez, who joined Liverpool for £85 million, and midfielder Enzo Fernandez's mammoth £107m move to Chelsea.

Before Chelsea appointed Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley as directors, Benfica's chief was even linked with taking a role at Stamford Bridge, such is the scale of his work.

What could Pedro Braz bring to Spurs?

The director has amassed quite a reputation for his dealings off the pitch and could come as a real asset to Tottenham.

His aforementioned credentials make him a stand-out candidate with Pedro Braz also boasting quite an interesting background away from the boardroom.

He previously "starred" on Portuguese TV as a commentator and football analyst – whilst also possessing an MBA in Sports Management.

As Spurs are short of decision-makers, Pedro Braz could come as an exciting option.

Glasgow Rangers finished their final match at Ibrox in the 2022/23 Scottish Premiership campaign with a 2-2 draw against Hearts on Wednesday night.

Lawrence Shankland scrambled the ball into the back of the net inside the opening minute of the match and had VAR to thank as they overruled the linesman's offside decision in order to award the goal.

The Light Blues struggled to break Hearts down for the majority of the first half but eventually found their equaliser through Todd Cantwell as the midfielder rode a challenge in the middle of the park before bursting through to slot a brilliant left-footed shot into the bottom corner.

Michael Beale's team then started the second half with a bang as Fashion Sakala capitalised on a mistake at the back to prod the ball into the back of the net in the 47th minute.

Despite the home side's dominance, Hearts were able to find an equaliser in the 94th minute of the game as Ryan Jack's poor attempt at a clearance resulted in Garang Kuol prodding the ball past Allan McGregor.

How did James Tavernier perform against Hearts?

Beale will surely be frustrated with the way that his side failed to pick up all three points and the head coach was let down by one of his star performers as captain James Tavernier put in a rare shocker at right-back.

The Englishman has averaged a terrific Sofascore rating of 7.65 in the Premiership this season – the highest of any player in the squad – but recorded a score of 6.7 on Wednesday night, which is his lowest rating since he received a 6.5 against Kilmarnock in January.

This shows that it was an out-of-character display from the skipper, who did not show his usual quality in or out of possession for the side.

As per Sofascore, the right-back lost the ball a whopping 28 times from 95 touches and failed with ten of his 11 attempted crosses. Whereas, he has averaged 22.9 losses of possession and completed 30% of his crosses over the course of the league season, which suggests that he was not at his usual level in the final third.

This means that he wasted too many opportunities to create chances for his teammates with the space that was afforded to him on the right flank, which resulted in Rangers being unable to kill the game off at 2-1 and presented the opposition with encouragement to go on and snatch a draw.

Defensively, Tavernier was also dribbled past twice – 1.1 more times than his average per game – and was caught out for the opening goal inside the first minute of the match as his poor headed clearance allowed Shankland to give Hearts the lead.

Instead of clearing the ball from danger, he caused chaos in his own box and that left Rangers chasing the game almost immediately.

Therefore, the 31-year-old cost Beale dearly with his rare shocker at both ends of the pitch and the head coach will be hoping that this level of performance does not become a regular occurrence heading into the 2023/24 campaign.

يرى لاعب وسط نادي ليفربول الأسبق، جاري ماك أليستر، أن جناح وهداف الريدز، محمد صلاح، قد لا يرحل بنهاية الموسم رغم التكهنات.

وارتبط محمد صلاح كثيرًا في الفترة الماضية بإمكانية الرحيل عن ليفربول والانتقال إلى الهلال أو اتحاد جدة في الدوري السعودي.

اقرأ أيضًا | أرتيتا رغم فوز آرسنال: ليفربول أفضل فريق في أوروبا.. وعدنا مجددًا إلى سباق الدوري الإنجليزي

ولكن يرى الأسكتلندي أن محمد صلاح قد يبقى بعد نهاية الموسم الحالي ولكن بشرط واحد، كما كشف في البرنامج الإذاعي “No Tippy Tappy Football”.

وقال ماك أليستر: “أعتقد أن محمد صلاح سيبقى بالتأكيد في ليفربول بعد هذا الموسم”.

وأضاف: “لا يزال هناك الكثير ليحققه محمد صلاح مع ليفربول، ما زال لديه الكثير في جعبته، وبالتالي، قد لا يفكر في الانتقال إلى الدوري السعودي”.

واستمر: “إذا نجح ليفربول في الفوز بلقبين هذا الموسم أو حتى لقب واحد، فلماذا سيريد الرحيل، لأنه سيرغب بالاستمرار في اللعب في بطولات بمستوى عالي”.

وتابع: “لا يحتاج للعودة إلى الدوريات العربية والتراجع في مستواه، يمكنه الانتقال إلى السعودية بعد عامين أو ثلاثة أعوام، خاصة وأن مستواه في ليفربول رائعًا هذا الموسم”.

وأكمل: “ليفربول هو المرشح للفوز ببطولة الدوري الأوروبي ويتصدر جدول ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي، وبالتالي، سيعودون إلى دوري أبطال أوروبا الموسم المقبل”.

وأتم: “اعتقد أن هذا هو ما يريد محمد صلاح مع ليفربول، يمكنه الانتقال إلى أي دوري آخر في وقت لاحق”.