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Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt an injury blow ahead of their Premier League clash with Liverpool on Saturday night.

What’s the latest?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference (via football.london), Antonio Conte confirmed that Sergio Reguilon, who missed the win over Leicester City last weekend due to a groin injury, is once again unavailable for selection this evening.

The 52-year-old went on to state that, with just two weeks remaining in the current Premier League campaign, the left-back may well be ruled out for the rest of the season as a result of his latest knock.

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Regarding the current condition of the 25-year-old, Conte said: “Sergio Reguilon is not available. He hasn’t had a training session with us. Honestly, I don’t know, it’s only two weeks until the end of the season and I’m not sure if he’ll be back.”

Conte will be fuming

While it is true that Reguilon has not enjoyed the best campaign of his career, the fact that the Spain international could be set to miss the remainder of the season due to injury is nevertheless sure to have left Conte fuming.

Indeed, although the full-back has often left a lot to be desired from his performances in 2021/22, he has still been a solid option for the Italian over his 25 Premier League appearances this term. The £25.2m-rated defender has scored two goals, provided three assists and created five big chances for his team-mates, along with taking 0.8 shots, making 1.2 key passes and completing 0.8 dribbles per game.

The £53k-per-week Spaniard has also been sturdy at the back, helping his side to keep six clean sheets, in addition to making 1.2 interceptions, 1.6 tackles and 1.6 clearances and winning 4.6 duels (at a success rate of 52%) per match.

These returns have seen the former Real Madrid starlet average a SofaScore match rating of 6.92, ranking him as Spurs’ 12th-best performer in the English top flight.

As such, with the top four race looking as if it will go down to the wire, and Conte’s other left wing-back option Ryan Sessegnon having suffered numerous injuries of his own this season, the fact that Reguilon is unavailable for a fixture as important as the trip to Liverpool tonight – and potentially the remainder of the campaign – is undoubtedly a huge blow for the 52-year-old and his team.

Indeed, with Tottenham very much in need of a result at Anfield – and in their further three league outings – if they are to have any hope of securing Champions League football next season, Conte will need as many of his first-team regulars fit and firing as possible in order to give themselves the best chance of sealing a top-four spot.

AND in other news – “Expect to see”: Eccleshare drops £145m Spurs summer claim, supporters will be buzzing

Lots of Sunderland fans have been blasting the performance of Tom Flanagan in their 1-1 draw at Accrington Stanley on Saturday.

It was a disappointing draw in the end for Lee Johnson’s team, who took the lead through Aiden O’Brien. Ross Sykes was later given a red card for the home side, but they still managed to snatch a late equaliser through Mitchell Clark.

Nonetheless, Flanagan struggled at times at the back, losing out on five duels, while he also made just one interception and gave possession away 17 times, the fifth-most out of any Black Cats player (SofaScore).

Some Sunderland fans are becoming increasingly agitated with his performances of late, and the Northern Ireland defender knows that he needs to improve amid a promotion charge.

Sunderland fans blast Flanagan

These Sunderland supporters blasted his display on Twitter, with one even going as far as to call the 30-year-old an ’embarrassment’:

“Does Tom Flanagan own any feet?”

Credit: @Ramma_____

“When is Tom Flanagan going to be dropped? Constantly makes mistakes. Another two today missing the ball. 2nd one has cost us. Awful player”

Credit: @Gozza8

“Tom Flanagan is a liability at any level. Always runs like his legs are tied up.”

Credit: @SunlunAdam

“Tom Flanagan at the end there staring the fans down for criticising the performance. He’s an absolute embarrassment to this club, wish he would pack his bags tomorrow me”

Credit: @harrydays4

“Tom Flanagan could be the worst player to ever reach 90+ appearances for Sunderland”

Credit: @DjRoberts22

“Tom Flanagan needs gone like. Disgusting defending that”

Credit: @antony_waterson

In other news, find out whose display against Accrington was also slammed by many Sunderland fans

Manchester United will face Aston Villa for the second time this week after beating them at Old Trafford in the FA Cup last Monday.

This evening they travel to Villa Park in the Premier League, and Red Devils interim manager Ralf Rangnick has taken to his pre-match press conference to reveal a huge injury boost ahead of kick-off, with four regular starters returning to the squad after injury problems.

The German confirmed the availability of Jadon Sancho, Harry Maguire, Cristiano Ronaldo and Phil Jones after they all missed the FA Cup game on Monday night.

He revealed on Friday: “I think they will be available, they only trained yesterday for the first time, Cristiano yesterday, Harry the day before yesterday. We have to wait for the final session this afternoon but as it seems right now, they should be available for tomorrow.”

Fans will be buzzing

It’s no secret that Ronaldo in particular is a fan favourite, so his presence back in the starting line-up will surely leave supporters buzzing after the manager’s admission on Friday. He is also their leading scorer this season by some distance, so his return could be decisive.

Jones had an impressive game against Wolves 12 days ago, while Maguire’s 2.6 headers won per match makes him the squad’s biggest aerial threat. While Sancho’s output has been minimal in terms of goals and assists, his return nonetheless offers United another option in attack.

Rangnick has only lost one game since he was appointed as interim manager in late November, but with their last Premier League match ending in a 1-0 defeat to Wolves at Old Trafford, the 63-year-old will surely be hoping to continue the winning momentum after Monday night’s cup win over Steven Gerrard’s side.

United are chasing down a top four spot but are currently seventh in the Premier League after an inconsistent start to the season which has seen them pick up only nine wins, four draws and six losses so far. However, being away from home doesn’t seem to faze them, as four of their nine top-flight victories have been earned on the road.

Their chances of making that five out of 10 would appear to have been greatly boosted by the availability of Maguire, Jones, Sancho and especially Ronaldo, and Rangnick will no doubt be delighted to have such an abundance of options to call upon at either end of the pitch this evening.

In other news: Rangnick could make huge first transfer window coup with this midfield beast

It’s a contest between Ajmal Shahzad, the uncapped Yorkshire paceman, or Ryan Sidebottom to replace the injured Tim Bresnan, and the final decision will provide an insight into the selectors’ long-term planning

Andrew McGlashan at Old Trafford03-Jun-2010Assuming England don’t take everyone by surprise on Friday morning and change the balance of their side, they have just one selection poser ahead of the second Test against Bangladesh. It’s a contest between Ajmal Shahzad, the uncapped Yorkshire paceman, or Ryan Sidebottom to replace the injured Tim Bresnan, and the final decision will provide an insight into the selectors’ long-term planning.Throughout this season England are trying to increase the pool of players from which they can choose for any particular Test. It’s part of the reason behind the rotation system which has been implemented, with Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss keen to have a strong squad rather just a strong first XI. With a view to that it’s important they learn about new players, which would suggest these next five days are an ideal chance to find out about Shahzad.He has been part of the England squad since the Twenty20s against Pakistan in Dubai – where he marked his debut with two wickets in his first over before being dismantled by Abdul Razzaq at the end of the run chase – and he later made his ODI debut in Chittagong. However, he has since been overtaken on the Test scene by Steven Finn who leapfrogged him into the starting line-up for the first Test in Chittagong, only a matter of days after stepping off the plane from London.While playing Sidebottom may be a safer option – and his left-arm angle will also be tempting – the selectors won’t learn anything they don’t already know, and this may be the last chance in the near future to test Shahzad’s credentials, with Stuart Broad expected to return to face Pakistan later in the summer. Shahzad is also a like-for-like replacement for Bresnan with a first-class batting average of 32, and so would be expected to contribute usefully down the order.”With Ryan we know what we will get, he’s a very experienced campaigner, very good in English conditions, very good against left-handers and brings that different angle being a left-armer,” said England’s captain, Andrew Strauss. “Ajmal we don’t know as much about at this stage but are very excited about what we’ve seen which is why he’s been in the squad. He bowls with good pace, keeps running and can swing the ball both ways. It’s a choice between youth and experience and we have to decide what is the best way of winning this Test.”Bresnan received encouraging news after his injury was downgraded to a “stress reaction” with “no established fracture” following further scans, but his performance at Lord’s suggested he would have struggled either way to remain part of a three-man pace attack. There were occasions when England’s four-pronged unit looked light on firepower, especially with Graeme Swann having little influence on the match. Strauss is expecting more from the Old Trafford pitch, both for the quicks and the spinners, but a surface that aids the bowlers won’t do much to clear up the question of whether England need an extra option.”The balance-of-the-side issue is something we look at on a case-by-case basis but this wicket should have a bit more in it for the bowlers,” said Strauss. “Generally there’s a bit more pace and bounce and the spinner usually comes into the game a bit more so we are probably leaning towards four bowlers.”Two areas we wanted to improve were getting big hundreds, which to some extent we did with Jonathan Trott getting a double, and the second was finding ways of taking wickets when the ball isn’t doing much. I don’t think we did that as well as we could during the Test, certainly on day two and to a certain extent on day four when the sun was out and the ball wasn’t swinging. We weren’t able to apply as much pressure as we’d like and it’s an area we want to touch up on.”The pitches will be flat in Australia and the Ashes hype was notched up a few levels in Sydney on Wednesday when a selection of Australia players, including Ricky Ponting, launched the title sponsorship for the series. Strauss again admitted that the contest was never far from his mind even at the start of the English season, but that it was important not to lose focus on the present.”You have to look at a bit of both but primarily this game,” he said.”As I said at the start of the summer it’s about winning and winning consistently then things will become clear as the summer goes on as to the personnel we need. I’d like to say we’ve half an eye on it, but the more immediate concern is this game.”

An insider has dropped a big transfer claim on Tottenham and their interest in Paulo Dybala…

What’s the talk?

Former Palermo sporting director Rino Foschi has claimed that Spurs may be in the race with Inter to land the Argentine international on a free transfer this summer.

Foschi dealt with Fabio Paratici when he sanctioned the sale of the forward to Juventus from Palermo and he is not ruling out the Italian attempting to snap him up again.

He told 1 Station Radio, via FCInterNews: “In November there was talk of certain figures for which everyone agreed, while in January they (Juventus) offered him less, taking back the not so much the player, the more the entourage did not go down with this change of offer, and tried to pique the interest of some European teams, including Inter.

“As of today, the Nerazzurri track seems to be the most accredited, but I would not rule out Tottenham, given how much Paratici is crazy about the Argentine.”

Antonio Conte will be excited

This claim will surely leave the Spurs head coach delighted as Dybala would be a terrific addition to the squad to further bolster his attacking options.

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He already has Heung-Min Son, Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski delivering the goods in the final third and throwing the Juventus man into that mix is an exciting prospect because of the quality he possesses.

The attacking midfielder has proven his ability in the Serie A as he has been a key player for the Old Lady for a number of years. In 285 appearances for the club, he has scored 113 goals and provided 48 assists in all competitions as he has been able to provide direct goal contributions on a regular basis.

He scored three goals and registered one assist in five Champions League outings this term and this shows that he would be a useful player to have if Spurs finish in the top four. He has proven that he can do it in Europe’s premier competition and is, therefore, a player Conte can rely upon next season if they are able to qualify this term.

Overall, Conte will be excited by this claim because of Dybala’s immense talents in the final third and Paratici’s relationship with him making a deal realistic. The Argentine attacker would bring quality and experience at the top level to the side, whilst costing Tottenham £0 in transfer fees to get it over the line.

AND in other news, Talks underway: Paratici in negotiations for £41.5m deal, it’d be a big coup for Spurs…

Pakistan have announced a 15-man squad to take on South Africa in two T20s and five ODIs later this month in the UAE, but surprisingly not named a captain

Osman Samiuddin07-Oct-2010Pakistan have announced a 15-man squad to take on South Africa in two T20s andfive ODIs later this month in the UAE, but surprisingly not named a captain.Shahid Afridi has been – bans, punishments and Test retirements notwithstanding – the limited-overs captain since June this year and is in the squad but not yet as leader. No selector was available to comment on the decision. The chairman Ijaz Butt, selectors and management were involved in a day-long meeting at Gaddafi Stadium and the issue of naming a captain is thought to have been discussed only briefly. One official who attended that meeting told ESPNcricinfo that Butt insisted a captain would be announced later.Predictably, the non-announcement has already sparked speculation of possible disharmony. One TV channel reported that a negative report against Afridi’s leadership during the England tour from the team management has led to the decision to not name a captain yet. Afridi was outside the country on a commercial assignment and only returned on Thursday.The other surprise is the return, yet again, of Misbah-ul-Haq to bolster the middle order. Misbah was dropped from the set-up after the winless tour of Australia earlier in the year – he had only gone on that tour after the original decision to axe him was reversed – as the selectors looked to move towards younger options. But an impressive Man-of-the-Tournament performance in the RBS ODI cup earlier this year – where he top-scored with 490 runs at 163.33 – won him a return to the national team. Azhar Ali and Umar Amin, who have both been part of at least oneODI squad since June and were loudly trumpeted as the future, have been left out.The team will also be without Kamran Akmal who has just undergone anappendicitis operation. Zulqarnain Haider, who replaced Akmal for one Testin the summer against England and scored a valiant 88, has been given an opportunity to build on that first impression.Pakistan will already be without two key ODI players in Salman Butt andMohammad Amir, both of whom are provisionally suspended by the ICC fortheir alleged involvement in a spot-fixing scandal during the England tour.Mohammad Asif, the third suspended player, would not have been eligiblefor selection in any case as he is barred from entering the UAE. Therecontinues to be no place in the side for a pair of former captains, YounisKhan and Shoaib Malik.There have been key changes in the management as well, the mostsignificant being the return of Intikhab Alam as manager of the side. Intikhab,a veteran manager, takes over from Yawar Saeed. He was also coach of theside until earlier this year and in an inquiry committee after theAustralia tour in January called his players “mentally retarded”, as well assuspecting the motives of some of them in the now infamous Sydney Testloss.Ijaz Ahmed, the batting and fielding coach on recent tours, has not beenre-appointed. David Dwyer, the popular trainer who arrived with formercoach Geoff Lawson, has also not been retained after the series inEngland.Pakistan squad: Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Shoaib Akhtar, Tanvir Ahmed, Zulqarnain Haider (wk).

Celtic have initiated talks regarding a deal to bring Cameron Carter-Vickers to Parkhead on a permanent basis.

What’s the talk?

According to recent reports (via The Celtic Bhoys), Ange Postecoglou’s side have started talks with Tottenham Hotspur about making the centre-back’s season-long loan switch a permanent move ahead of the January transfer window.

A previous report by the Daily Record revealed that Celtic have an option-to-buy clause in the 23-year-old’s temporary contract at Parkhead, with £10m reported as the figure that the Bhoys would need to shell out in order to sign the USA international permanently.

However, Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph then claimed in a post on Twitter that the Hoops’ clause to purchase Carter-Vickers is actually £6m.

“Great move”

Considering just how impressive Carter-Vickers has been since his arrival in Glasgow earlier this year, reports that Celtic have initiated talks to sign the defender on a permanent basis are sure to have left Hoops fans buzzing.

Indeed, over his 15 Premiership appearances so far this season, the £1.8m-rated centre-back has helped his side to keep seven clean sheets, scored two goals and provided his teammates with one assist. He has also averaged 1.4 interceptions, 0.7 tackles and 85.2 passes per match – the second-most of any player in the league for the latter – and won 71% of his duels.

These returns have seen the £20k-per-week loanee, who former Spurs team-mate Jan Vertonghen dubbed an “absolute beast”, average a tremendous SofaScore match rating of 7.45, ranking him as the fourth-best performer in the Scottish top flight.

As such, it would very much seem as if Postecoglou’s claim that Celtic’s signing of the defender was a “great move” by the club is bang on the money, while the addition of the 23-year-old on a permanent basis in January would undoubtedly be a very positive one for the future of the Bhoys based on how his loan spell has gone so far.

In other news: Postecoglou drops four-word injury update which will delight Celtic fans

Andrew Strauss used his return to the scene of his Ashes-winning triumph last summer to rediscover his batting form for Middlesex in their London derby against Surrey.

18-May-2010
Scorecard
Mark Ramprakash was the mainstay of Surrey’s first innings with a superb 223•Getty ImagesAndrew Strauss used his return to the scene of his Ashes-winning triumph last summer to rediscover his batting form for Middlesex in their London derby against Surrey.Strauss finished the second day of the County Championship Division Twoclash on 54 not out after earlier watching former England batsman MarkRamprakash turn an overnight century into a superb 223 as Surrey totalled 490. With Scott Newman also hitting an unbeaten 79 in his first match against hisformer county, Middlesex reached 148 for 0 in reply by the close.England captain Strauss certainly needed some runs in his last countyappearance before the start next week of the two-Test series againstBangladesh.In 11 previous Championship innings for Middlesex this season, Strauss had madeonly 262 runs at an average of 23.81, with just one half-century. In threefurther Clydesdale Bank 40 one-day innings, he had managed only another 60 runswith a top score of 26.Strauss, who missed the short winter tour to Bangladesh in order to rest, alsohad to watch from afar as Paul Collingwood and the England Twenty20 team becameworld champions with their magnificent victory against Australia in theCaribbean on Sunday.He would not have wanted to link up again with England without some significantruns behind him and it was his good fortune to find himself batting on a trueOval surface.Ramprakash’s innings, too, showed Strauss just what was possible as the 40-yearold moved on majestically from his overnight 125. It was Ramprakash’s 11th double-ton for Surrey, putting him just one behind SirJack Hobbs’ county record of 12. Hobbs, though, made 144 centuries for Surrey;this was Ramprakash’s 57th three-figure score for the county.In addition, Ramprakash moved into joint fifth position in the all-time list offirst-class double-century makers when he thrashed a short ball from Dawid Malanthrough the covers for four. He now has sixteen in his career, putting him levelwith Hobbs, CB Fry and Graeme Hick.Gary Wilson hit 10 fours in an excellent 62, dominating the strike and thescoring in an 88-run stand with Ramprakash for Surrey’s seventh wicket, beforehe was stumped giving Malan the charge.Ramprakash was eventually ninth out, hitting high to long on, after facing 395balls and striking a six and 26 fours in a 564-minute stay at the crease.Surrey also announced during the day that Younis Khan, the former Pakistanbatsman, will be joining the club until mid-July and could be in the country intime to play in Friday’s Clydesdale Bank 40 fixture against Glamorgan inCardiff.Surrey professional cricket manager Chris Adams said: “I am confident thatbringing a world class player such as Younus Khan to Surrey will have a verypositive effect on the side.”As well as benefiting from the weight of runs we hope he will bring, we havea number of young batsman who will doubtless benefit greatly from being able totrain and play alongside him.”Brian Lara, however, will not be joining Surrey for the Friends Provident T20following talks between the club and the great West Indian, and Indianleg-spinner Piyush Chawla – Surrey’s original overseas signing for this season -has been refused permission to play county cricket by the BCCI.

Nathan Hauritz is walking freely again but is unsure whether he will be fit for Australia’s two-Test series in India in October

Cricinfo staff01-Aug-2010The injured Nathan Hauritz is walking freely again but is unsure whether he will be fit for Australia’s two-Test series in India in October. Hauritz wore a moon boot for three weeks to help the recovery from a foot stress problem that sent him home during the limited-overs tour of the British Isles.Steven Smith replaced Hauritz for the two Tests against Pakistan, but Hauritz remains Australia’s No.1 in the five-day game whenever he is healthy. “I would love to be saying I am fully fit and ready for India and there is still seven weeks to go before we leave,” Hauritz said in The Sunday Mail. “But I will have to prove my fitness before then and we will not get a good gauge until we step up the training in a couple of weeks.”Hauritz has had a four-week break but running will be the big test. “I will start 40 to 50-minute walks this week and will start jogging on it pretty soon after that,” he said.The injury had been bothering Hauritz, but it was not until he was batting in the ODIs against England that it became bad enough to leave the trip. If he had continued it could have developed into a serious stress fracture.”We were lucky to pick it up when we did, otherwise it could have been three to four months out not doing anything,” he said. Australia’s first Test against India is on October 1 in Mohali and the series is a warm up for the Ashes, which begin in November.

Tottenham currently have an exciting set of young players coming through and impressing at youth and senior level this season.

The likes of Dane Scarlett, Ollie Skipp and Japhet Tanganga are academy products who have had first-team involvements, whilst Ryan Sessegnon, Dejan Kulusevski and Christian Romero are all promising talents who have come in from elsewhere.

Whilst the current crop of prospects can get the supporters excited, some fans may look back and wonder what could have been with some of the targets Spurs have had in the past.

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One player the club had a major howler with was midfielder James Maddison in January 2016. Mauricio Pochettino was reportedly keen on a deal to sign the Englishman from Coventry City but ultimately missed out on him as Norwich City snapped him up.

At the time of the move, Transfemarkt valued him at a measly £450k as he was an up-and-coming prospect who had yet to prove himself at senior level.

He spent time out on loan at Coventry and Aberdeen before Daniel Farke handed him his first-team opportunity at Carrow Road. In the 2017/18 campaign, the midfielder thrived under the German coach as he scored 15 goals and provided 11 assists in all competitions for the Canaries.

This earned him a transfer to Leicester in the summer of 2018. Since joining the Foxes, he has scored 41 goals and registered 29 assists in 164 outings, including 14 goals and nine assists in all competitions this term.

Although he has only been capped once by England, Gareth Southgate previously hailed the magician’s “world-class” set-pieces and he has showcased his ability from dead balls for Brendan Rodgers, with six direct free-kick goals in the Premier League to date.

At the time of writing, Transfermarkt now value him at a whopping £45m. This illustrates the phenomenal rise over the years from his time at Coventry, Norwich and, now, Leicester. He has come on leaps and bounds as he has proven himself in the Premier League and is continuing to flourish in the present day.

This shows that Mauricio Pochettino had a major howler by missing out on him in January 2016, as Norwich and Leicester have gone on to profit from his immense talent on the pitch since then.

The size of their blunder can increase as he continues to develop in the top-flight. At the age of 25, he still has plenty of time left ahead of him to improve and hone his skills, proving that Spurs were wrong to opt against a deal to sign him six years ago.

AND in other news, Conte can now axe “truly hilarious” £42k-p/w flop as Spurs eye £33m “difference maker”