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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…

According to the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, Sunderland are planning a second round of manager interviews this week.

Roy Keane remains the frontrunner and negotiations with him will continue, but the journalist revealed that the likes of Grant McCann and Alex Neil are still in contention for the vacancy at the Stadium of Light.

The Lowdown

The Black Cats are searching for a new permanent manager after Lee Johnson was sacked following an embarrassing 6-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers in late January.

Mike Dodds took charge for Saturday’s home tie against League One’s bottom club Doncaster Rovers, but the Wearsiders fell to a 2-1 defeat.

A number of potential replacements have been lined up since Johnson’s departure, including that of former Sunderland manager Roy Keane. The Irishman was in charge at the Stadium of Light from 2006 to 2008, and has had just one first-team manager job since, with Ipswich Town between 2009 and 2011 (Transfermarkt).

The Latest

According to fresh news from Hope, Sunderland are set to undertake a second round of manager interviews this week. Keane remains the favourite, and negotiations with him will continue to progress, although the likes of McCann and Neil are still in the frame for the job.

Hope took to Twitter to share the news, stating: “Sunderland are planning second interviews this week. Roy Keane remains frontrunner & negotiations continue (situation could change if agreement reached). But likes of Grant McCann & Alex Neil still in frame #safc”

The Verdict

On Friday night, former Manchester United captain Keane said live on ITV that he wants to return to management. He stressed that it was important that everything is right with any proposition as he was in no rush of securing a job, having not held a managerial role in 11 years.

Sunderland fans will surely be eager to hear the results of the upcoming interviews, which are set to go ahead this week. With a push for promotion in sight, it is crucial that the club fill the vacancy as quickly as possible, so the players can focus on the remaining half of the season and know where they stand with whoever is appointed as Johnson’s successor.

In other news: Martin O’Neill has offered a glowing endorsement of one of the managerial candidates

Aston Villa are back in action this afternoon with a home clash against Norwich City in the Premier League.

The Villans’ previous outing saw them pick up a point at Leicester thanks to a rather uninspiring 0-0 draw which saw just five shots on target between both teams throughout the 90 minutes. That result means that Steven Gerrard’s side have now failed to win any of their last five league games.

Now that the Midlands club are back on home turf and set to take on Dean Smith’s Norwich, who look destined for relegation, this could be a great opportunity for Villa to pick up a win against the manager under whom they began the current campaign.

On the chalkboard

One man who didn’t start against the Foxes but we feel should be in the Villa starting XI this time around is Emiliano Buendia.

Villa signed the Argentine from today’s opponents in last summer’s transfer window for a club-record fee of £33m. Since then, the 25-year-old has appeared in 29 league games, scoring two goals and providing four assists along the way.

To further highlight how useful an attacking player he has been for the club, only John McGinn (80) and Douglas Luiz (60) have racked up more shot-creating actions than the former Norwich star (59) in the current campaign. Furthermore, Buendia has a higher number of goal-creating actions (nine) than any of his team-mates.

Even from a defensive point of view, the £82k-per-week attacker has been particularly prominent for Villa this season, as only four team-mates have made more tackles than him.

This explains why Gerrard labelled the Argentina international a “warrior” and a player who “puts his body on the line” for his team.

With the summer recruit not starting a game for Villa since their 1-0 defeat against Arsenal over a month ago and not delivering a goal contribution since their 2-1 defeat to West Ham United just before that, Buendia will be desperate to get back on the pitch today and make an impact.

If Gerrard does give the attacker the chance to shine from the beginning against Norwich, he certainly has what it takes to give his old club and former manager Smith some real nightmares with his ability throughout the pitch.

In other news: Gerrard can land his own Pogba as Villa plot bid for “impressive” £107k-p/w machine

Aakash Chopra, who is batting on a career-best 262 in the Ranji Plate semi-final against Maharashtra, called it his most satisfying knock this season

Sriram Veera16-Dec-2010Aakash Chopra, who is batting on a career-best 262 in the Ranji Plate semi-final against Maharashtra, called it his most satisfying knock this season. Rajasthan reached a strong 551 for 6 at the end of the second day after being put into bat at Nasik.Chopra, who played 12 years for Delhi before shifting this season, said that he felt more pressure playing as a professional cricketer for Rajasthan, and was happy that he could contribute in the semi-final. “It’s a different ball game as a professional; there is a lot more pressure on you to perform,” Chopra told ESPNCricinfo. “You are the main player. The youngsters look up to you for guidance and you have to stand up and be counted. Luckily, for us, we have Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Rashmi Parida and all of us professionals have done well so far.”This will probably be the first time that Chopra, whose previous highest first-class score was 239*, would go to sleep thinking about a possible 300. However he said he wasn’t sure how long Rajasthan would bat tomorrow. “We have to declare at some point and bowl them out to gain points for the first-innings lead. We are yet to discuss when to declare. I think we will bat for a while but not sure how long. I have a few double hundreds but yes, this could be the first chance for 300.”Chopra was delighted with the timing of his knock. “More than the amount of runs, the fact that I scored in a semi-final is what gives me great pleasure. This is the game that actually decides whether we go on to the finals, and Super League, or remain in Plate.”Though the scoreline might hint at a placid track and raise questions over Maharashtra’s decision to bowl first, Chopra said that Rajasthan also would have opted to field had they won the toss. “There was enough moisture on the track which was very darkish in colour. So there was no surprise that they made us bat.”It was obvious then that the first session would be the most crucial, and much depended on Chopra to provide a good start. “We were just biding time in the first session yesterday. There was enough sideways movement along with bounce because of red soil. I opened up in the second and hit around 75-80 runs. It was my most free-flowing phase in the last two days; I also hit a few sixes, which helped.”Maharashtra’s woes were compounded by their bowling and wicketkeeping errors; they have conceded 74 extras that included 33 byes and 25 no-balls. “It was indeed bizarre,” Chopra said. “Rohit Motwani [Maharashtra’s captain and keeper] is a pretty decent keeper actually. What’s happening is that the ball here is moving late and a lot after it passes the batsmen. And it’s also dipping on the keeper.” The current record lies with Railways who gave away 89 extras against Tamil Nadu in 1998-99.Chopra was confident of gaining the vital lead. “The track is showing signs of deterioration; there is bounce and a little movement. Also, you have to consider the pressure of this large total. We are confident of bowling them out and getting that lead.”

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”

The England and Wales Cricket Broad has revealed that no England players or officials are implicated in the new spot-fixing allegations

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Sep-2010The England and Wales Cricket Board has revealed that no England players or officials are implicated in the new spot-fixing allegations that emerged on Saturday and confirmed that Pakistan’s tour will continue for the final two one-day internationals.The ICC earlier announced it had launched an investigation into the third ODI between England and Pakistan at The Oval after receiving information from newspaper prior to the game alleging that bookies were aware of certain scoring patterns that occurred during the match. An emergency ECB board meeting was held at noon on Saturday and Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, has written to the ICC president Sharad Pawar for clarification of the information they hold.”Following a board meeting held at noon on September 18 the chairman of the ECB has written to the president of the ICC seeking assurances that the ICC does not have evidence which could result in either charges or suspension of players prior to the conclusion of the current NatWest Series,” the statement said. “No substantive evidence has been shared with the ECB or the PCB at this stage.””The ECB board noted the ICC is not stating as fact that anything untoward has occurred, nor has yet been proven in relation to the third ODI between England and Pakistan. The ECB has received confirmation that no England players nor member of management are involved in any allegation linked with ACSU activities.”The ECB Board reiterated its policy of zero tolerance and strongly supported a full investigation into such allegations. Until the ICC substantiates that any allegations are correct no further action can be taken.”Angus Porter, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, said the players would take their lead from the ECB. “We don’t have enough facts to make a judgement,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “The players will do what the ECB decide.”Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said there was enough reason to launch an immediate investigation into the match. “A source informed newspaper that a certain scoring pattern would emerge during certain stages of the match and, broadly speaking, that information appeared to be correct.”We therefore feel it is incumbent upon us to launch a full enquiry into this particular game, although it is worth pointing out at this stage that we are not stating as fact that anything untoward has occurred. Only in the fullness of the investigation can that be established.”The latest allegations came three weeks after the News of the World broke the initial spot-fixing story during the Lord’s Test where Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif allegedly delivered no-balls on demand. The two bowlers, and Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt, were suspended by the ICC and are now back in Pakistan.Pakistan won the match at The Oval by 23 runs to pull the series back to 2-1. The final two matches will be played at Lord’s on Monday and the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.

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).

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.

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.”

England’s one-day renaissance has hit the buffers. Two defeats against Australia with the series wrapped up were forgiveable, but their five-run loss against Bangladesh should come as a real shock to the system.

Andrew McGlashan in Bristol10-Jul-2010England’s one-day renaissance has hit the buffers. Two defeats against Australia with the series wrapped up were forgiveable, but their five-run loss against Bangladesh should come as a real shock to the system. England looked off the pace throughout the match at Bristol and were caught out by a resurgent visiting team that finally found a way to finish off a match.That England got as close as they did, to the point that Ian Bell limped out with a broken foot at No. 11, was down to Jonathan Trott’s determined 94 that almost pulled them over the line. However, the fact that one batsman dominated in the chase is a pattern that has emerged this season for England. Eoin Morgan was the man in the first two wins against Australia, then it was Andrew Strauss at Old Trafford.Two days ago at Trent Bridge Bell made a stylish 84, but still batsmen gave their wickets away. It is a by-product of the way England now express themselves in one-day cricket that batsmen will make mistakes, but to be successful on the subcontinent at next year’s World Cup England can’t rely on a handful of batsmen.”We weren’t at the races today, it’s as simple as that,” Strauss said. “Our bowling was okay but our fielding was poor and our batting, chasing 237, was a particularly poor effort if I’m honest. We’ve only got ourselves to blame but we also have to give credit to Bangladesh for the way they defended that total. They were able to take wickets throughout the innings and keep the pressure on.”We’ve had starts at the top of the order, 20s, 30s but we’ve not had enough big scores,” he added. “Fair play to Belly coming in in the last game and Jonathan Trott in this one coming in and showing the rest of us what we should be doing on a more regular basis. You need two or three of your top six to be doing that regularly if you want to win consistently.”[Paul] Collingwood and [Eoin] Morgan getting out when they did gave Bangladesh a much better chance of winning the game but it was the constant loss of wickets and a lack of major partnerships that cost us the game.”This isn’t a time to panic for England, Andy Flower is not that type of coach and Strauss has been in worse situations as captain, but it is a good time to reassess where the team have reached. Some of the shots from the middle raised questions about the suitability for pressurised roles while the lack of early wickets means England have to keep clawing innings back.”Getting bowled out for 51 in Jamaica was worse than this but it’s not fun to stand up here after losing in this fashion,” he said. “All we can do now is go forward and make amends.”They were going to beat us at some stage and we were just hoping it would be some stage in the future,” he added. “They thoroughly deserved their victory but for us it’s about going away, licking our wounds and making sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes again on Monday.”All of a sudden, that game at Edgbaston has far more riding on it that anyone would have imagined.