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Lachlan Stevens has beaten a strong field to become Mickey Arthur’s new assistant coach at Western Australia

Cricinfo staff27-May-2010Lachlan Stevens has beaten a strong field to become Mickey Arthur’s new assistant coach at Western Australia. Stevens, who spent several years as a fringe batsman with South Australia and Queensland, was favoured over big names believed to include Jason Gillespie, Allan Donald and Carl Hooper.Despite his relative youth at 31, Stevens has plenty of coaching experience, having taken on the role of high performance coordinator at the Centre of Excellence in 2004. For the past two seasons, he has been assistant to the Queensland coach Trevor Barsby, and his past roles also included a stint as career and education manager with Queensland Rugby Union.”I am excited by the challenge to work with the players of the Retravision Warriors and look forward to helping them to fulfil their potential in the coming seasons,” Stevens said. “I also saw this as a fantastic opportunity to work with Mickey Arthur and learn from one of the leading coaches in world cricket.”Western Australia identified Stevens as a “hands-on” coach who would complement Arthur as he tries to lift the Warriors, who haven’t won any silverware since the 2003-04 one-day trophy. Arthur was confident Stevens would be a good fit with Western Australia.”Lachlan is a very hard worker,” Arthur said. “When you are preparing players to be the very best they can be, it is vital that the coaches set the standard in terms of the level of application required to succeed at interstate level.”

West Ham United are said to be one of the teams keen on signing Yves Bissouma ahead of the summer transfer window…

What’s the word?

That’s according to the Daily Star, who have claimed that the Irons have made inquiries to Brighton and Hove Albion over the potential of signing their star midfielder.

However, it is thought that Premier League rivals Arsenal are leading the race to secure his signature, whilst Everon and Spurs are also mooted with interest.

The 24-year-old has two years still to run on his Seagulls contract and is thought to be valued at around £30m.

Dream Rice replacement

A new central midfielder likely won’t be top of David Moyes’ priorities given that he so desperately needs attacking options, in particular an alternative to the injury-prone Michail Antonio, but things could quickly change.

The Hammers are on the verge of achieving something extraordinary in qualifying for the Champions League but even despite that, Declan Rice’s future continues to be shrouded in mystery.

According to the Mirror, Manchester United are eyeing him up as a potential replacement for Paul Pogba at Old Trafford, whilst Moyes did reveal that he would consider any huge bids that come forward for his talismanic midfielder.

Bissouma would be an ideal successor, should West Ham lose out on the 22-year-old, who has been hailed as the “future captain” of the club. Rice would evidently leave some pretty big boots to fill but the Mali international has been a rare bright spark in Brighton’s poor campaign.

In terms of reading the game and possessing the ability to thwart the opposition, the former Lille man stacks up well to Moyes’ current options, averaging more tackles per game (2.8) than Rice (1.9) and Tomas Soucek (1.9).

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Whilst in terms of interceptions, Bissouma (1.7 per game) is ahead of the Czech midfielder (1.6) and only just behind Rice (two). He also offers a little more going forward than the England international too.

As per WhoScored, the Seagulls powerhouse likes to drift forward with the ball, averaging 1.5 dribbles (vs Rice’s 0.9) and also likes to have a pop at goal, just like Soucek (1.6), having averaged 1.2 attempts per game this term.

Bissouma’s ex-teammate at the Amex Stadium, Dale Stephens, waxed lyrical about his ability to local reporters in 2019. He said: “He’s got the ability of perhaps a winger playing in central midfield with the way he can go past players. His feet are incredible and I’m sure he’s going to get better and better. He’s got everything you need to be a top player.”

Whilst his former manager Chris Hughton, now in charge of Nottingham Forest, dubbed him a “wonderful talent” to The Argus (via Goal). Gary Lineker lauded him as an “exceptional footballer” and Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher believes teams will be queueing up to bid for him this summer.

The praise is endless.

With a similar playing style to Yaya Toure, there are certainly comparisons to be had with Rice and if Moyes were to lose such a big talent, then GSB should look no further than Bissouma as the man to replace him.

If they do choose to sell Rice this summer, GSB must look to beat Arsenal to Bissouma’s signature and provide Moyes with a suitable successor.

AND in other news, 5 key passes, 4 shots: West Ham’s £18m-rated “team player” fired Moyes a huge message…

According to a report by Spanish outlet La Razon, Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has personally requested for the club to sign Sevilla colossus Diego Carlos this summer – with the Lilywhites manager appearing very keen on the Brazilian as a solution to his defensive woes.

Mourinho is under increasing scrutiny at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with speculation surrounding his future as Spurs currently face a battle to qualify for European football next season.

Jose Mourinho want Diego Carlos

This is despite a fine start to the 2020/2021 campaign which saw them briefly climb to top of the Premier League table at one point.

As the summer transfer window nears, Mourinho is now reportedly very keen to sign Sevilla powerhouse Diego Carlos in the summer as he eyes new additions to strengthen his defence.

The 28-year-old has a release clause of around €75 million (£64.8 million), and amid the current financial crisis caused by coronavirus, a boost for Spurs could be that the La Liga giants would agree to lower the price if they included Davinson Sanchez in the deal.

Sevilla are apparently ‘obliged to make a big sale’ this summer, and although there is plenty of noise surrounding fellow star centre-half Jules Kounde, they could opt to offload Carlos instead.

Transfer Tavern take

Nicknamed ‘the beast’ with a ‘shade of Kalidou Koulibaly’, as Spanish football analyst Domagoj Kostanjšak explained last year when he was linked with Liverpool (Liverpool Echo), it appears Carlos has continued in that vain this season.

Amassing a round total 90% pass accuracy out from the back in La Liga this season, whilst also averaging the most clearances per 90 out of all Sevilla players with over ten appearances (WhoScored), it is safe to say he has been a consistent presence.

Time will tell what comes of this report, but Mourinho is certainly keen on the signing.

In other news: This Tottenham star could leave,  find out more here.

Manchester City fans are worried after Pep Guardiola revealed that Kevin de Bruyne is injured, although he is getting better.

De Bruyne has enjoyed another fantastic campaign this term, scoring nine goals and 17 assists in all competitions (Transfermarkt). However, although the Citizens will end the season playing in all but one possible match, the £90m-valued Belgium international (Transfermarkt) has made just 38 appearances, missing a good number through injury.

Now, speaking ahead of City’s clash with Newcastle this weekend, Guardiola has revealed the 29-year-old is currently out injured, even if he is getting better. It appears there may be a bit of a race against time to get him fully fit and firing for the Champions League against Chelsea in Porto on May 29th.

The comments from Guardiola were shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and they attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the matter.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the De Bruyne news below

“can you hurry up pls kev I’m getting worried”

Credit: @Ethan4707

“Starting to think he’s actually injured now”

Credit: @GdpMcfc

“Sigh”

Credit: @mcikevz

“What? How?”

Credit: @CSR2693

“We’ve lost the final then”

Credit: @dy1anwest14

“What?”

Credit: @AlexanderNox11

In other news, Man City fans are delighted at this Eric Garcia news.

Financial expert Kieran Maguire has been reacting to Celtic’s significant share price rise in line with talks of an all-British League.

Reports from The Sun on April 22 suggested that both the Hoops and rivals Rangers were wanted as part of a new British division after the fall out of a European Super League, with both clubs thought to be keen on a possible switch.

It didn’t take long for the news to have an effect on the club, with Celtic Plc‘s stock shooting up the same day, as reported by Football Insider.

Maguire, talking to Football Insider, explained it was no coincidence that the club’s share price increased following proposals of a British League, labelling a potential deal as ‘massive’.

He also added that the arrival of new CEO Dominic McKay, who arrived three days earlier, wouldn’t have had an impact on the figures.

“I think it is down to speculation going forward.

“I don’t think the new chief exec’s arrival would have had any impact, as has been suggested.

“Potential additional revenues for the club would be the main driver, I suspect.

“There is a lot of talk about this British league, of course. Whether or not it will actually happen is a different question for another day.

“But it would have a massive impact on Celtic’s finances. That might make the shares potentially look undervalued at their current rate.”

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Transfer Tavern take

Financially, a potential move to an all-British League could have a major positive impact on the Hoops, as Maguire suggests.

You just have to look at the TV money on offer in the Scottish Premiership compared to the Premier League to see that.

Celtic, when participating in the Champions League group stage, used to pocket around £30m a season. Compare that to Huddersfield Town, who netted over £100m in their first season as a Premier League club during the 2017/18 season.

However, even though the financial aspect would more than likely be a major plus, the Hoops may struggle to win silverware and qualify for Europe after competing domestically with the biggest sides in England.

Winning trophies on a regular basis has been a major part of the club’s history, so it’ll be interesting to see what the club would do if plans gathered pace.

In other news: Hoops source shares Eddie Howe update, find out more here. 

Will Celtic ever hire a new manager? The Bhoys have whittled down their list to replace Neil Lennon but a month on we’re still no closer to finding out who will be in the dug-out next season.

What’s the word?

Eddie Howe is the current frontrunner to become the new boss at Parkhead but claims have emerged regarding Roy Keane again.

Celtic were in discussions with the Irishman a number of weeks ago and were even reported to have held an interview with him. However, days after that, news emerged that he was now unlikely to take up the position.

Though, speaking about the former Sunderland manager this week, Graeme Souness fired a message to the Hoops.

Speaking to Off The Ball (via Glasgow Times), the television pundit said: “He (Keane) is desperate to get back. He’s a football man and I have spoken with him about returning to management. He is very keen to do that.”

Souness continued: “Can you imagine how good it would have been if it was Roy Keane vs Steven Gerrard in Glasgow?

“All of a sudden, it wouldn’t just be Scotland, Ireland and a wee bit of England talking about Scottish football, the world would be talking about it. It would have been great for Scottish football.”

U-turn to emerge?

Considering the farcical nature of Celtic’s saga with Howe, it wouldn’t be a great surprise if the Hoops reverted their attention elsewhere.

The 43-year-old has been playing the Bhoys like a fool in recent days with Dermot Desmond dealt repeated setbacks in his bid to lure the former Bournemouth boss to Glasgow.

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It’s thought that Howe isn’t keen on returning to management until the summer while he’s listed some hefty demands in terms of his backroom staff.

The Englishman wants a trusted figure in Richard Hughes to join him at Parkhead but it doesn’t appear as though Celtic are keen on that happening.

Crystal Palace and Brighton have since joined Celtic in the race for Howe and the longer time goes on, the less likely it seems he’s going to sign with the Bhoys.

With that in mind, Desmond may perform a U-turn and revive his interest in Keane. After all, further manager targets Lucien Favre and Jesse Marsch are also attracting suitors from elsewhere.

The Irishman isn’t a man in demand and considering he’s desperate to return to coaching. Thus, he could be an easy candidate to bring in.

Celtic supporters might not be too enthused by the idea but this news is exciting nonetheless. If only Howe could admit he was keen to come out of a hiatus as well.

AND in other news, Celtic dealt fresh blow in the hunt to find a new manager, Desmond surely stressing…

This has been a particularly difficult week for everyone associated with Wolves.

They may have defeated Fulham courtesy of a last-gasp strike from Adama Traore but, on the injury front, more negative news has engulfed Molineux.

Last week the Old Gold were rocked by the news that Jonny was ruled out for the rest of the season, and now Pedro Neto is also facing a lengthy absence. After suffering a break to his kneecap, he will miss the next six months of action, so Nuno Espirito Santo will have to dig deep to replace a man of his qualities; he is their joint-top scorer and leading assists provider this term.

With that in mind, how will he line up on Saturday night when they face Sheffield United? Here’s the XI we’re predicting…

We’re tipping Nuno to makes as many as four changes to the side which defeated Fulham.

The first change to note is in attack, where Neto obviously misses out. Daniel Podence moves into the right-hand channel at his expense, with Vitinha afforded a rare start just behind the striker.

Willian Jose again failed to score last time out but Fabio Silva came off the bench to register a crucial assist. Consequently, the teenager leads the line.

There is another replacement in midfield, where Ruben Neves is absent. He is currently at home isolating and can play no part in the fixture. As a result, Joao Moutinho makes his first start since picking up a minor injury on international duty with Portugal.

The final change is in defence. Willy Boly is back from isolation and takes his place in the middle of a back four. He comes in for the £22,000-per-week Romain Saiss.

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Nuno has wanted his side to be more attacking this season and, as they prepare to face rock-bottom Sheffield United, this feels like the perfect time to ditch the wing-backs. That’s something the manager has been keen to do this season when the chance presents itself.

Nuno has confirmed that teenage talent Theo Corbeanu will be in the squad this weekend – he is someone we’ve championed on multiple occasions to get game-time.

AND in other news, Forget Jose: Wolves must swoop for “powerful” 10-goal gem, Shi has already bid £91.4m…

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has been handed a huge boost ahead of Tuesday’s game against Leeds United, as Oriol Romeu could feature at St Mary’s this evening.

The Spanish midfielder had been expected to miss the rest of the season when he broke his ankle in the reverse fixture against Leeds at Elland Road in February, but he recently made his return to training and could feature against Marcelo Bielsa’s side in the teams’ penultimate Premier League fixture of the campaign.

Hasenhuttl confirmed in his pre-match conference that Romeu would be in the squad to face Leeds on Tuesday, although he hinted that the midfielder might well start on the bench.

Earlier in the season, Romeu and James Ward-Prowse established a formidable partnership in midfield and complimented each other brilliantly, which was a key factor in the Saints topping the Premier League table for the first time in their history in November.

Despite being absent for so long, the 29-year-old is still rated as one of Hasenhuttl’s top players in the Premier League this season, with his 6.97 average rating from WhoScored ranking him as the second-best performer so far this term.

It was no surprise that Southampton’s form between March and April was largely woeful, as Ibrahima Diallo has struggled to step up in the Spaniard’s absence, whilst Stuart Armstrong simply doesn’t offer the same defensive qualities as Romeu.

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No player in Southampton’s squad who has played at least five times this season has averaged more tackles per game than Romeu, which emphasises his industrious style of play in the middle and also allows for Ward-Prowse to push forward in midfield, safe in the knowledge that Romeu will be there to cover for him.

After signing a new deal in October last year, Hasenhuttl was full of praise for the midfielder, saying: “He’s one of the most professional guys I’ve ever seen. When you see him as a professional, how he reacts when he’s not first choice, it’s unbelievable.”

Whilst Leeds come into this game in fine form, Southampton have won two home games in the last week and will want to finish the season as strongly as possible, so the return of one of their top performers in midfield may well concern Leeds manager Bielsa ahead of the game at St Mary’s.

In other news… Semmens disaster: Southampton missed out on “outstanding” Premier League gem with 21 G/A

Whilst Southampton fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening, there was a promising display from young defender Mohammed Salisu in North London, something which will surely delight Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The Ghanaian defender has had limited opportunities in the Austrian’s side so far this season as a result of fitness and injury problems, making just seven appearances in the top-flight.

The partnership of Jannik Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek at centre-back has also undoubtedly been a factor in his lack of appearances this season, although Hasenhuttl seems to have found a potential solution, as he has featured as a left-back on a number of occasions since the turn of the year.

He was selected there again for the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday in the absence of Ryan Bertrand and was tasked with keeping Gareth Bale quiet.

Although the Welshman scored the equalising goal with a quality finish, the 22-year-old defender defended well for large parts of the game and was one of few bright sparks in the defeat.

As per SofaScore, Salisu would earn a solid 6.7/10 rating for his display and was able to keep Bale and Serge Aurier at bay for much of the game.

WhoScored also rated the defender a 6.73/10, which is his best performance in the Premier League for the Saints, so it is clear that he impressed despite the disappointing result.

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During the 90 minutes, the young defender would contribute six clearances and six tackles, which was the most clearances made by any player on the pitch, whilst only Aurier registered more tackles in the game (seven).

Considering he has averaged just 2.9 tackles and 1.7 clearances in the Premier League so far this season, it is clear that produced an impressive display in North London.

Although he was partnered by the inexperienced Nathan Tella on the left-hand side, Salisu did an admirable job with his defending and was also a threat going forward, as only a spectacular save from Hugo Lloris denied him the opening goal.

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431″]

Therefore, Salisu, who joined in a £10.9m deal last summer, deserves a lot of credit for his display and hopefully, he will continue to get better ahead of potentially becoming a regular in Hasenhuttl’s side next season.

And, in other news… Forget Djenepo: Saints flop who played 10 passes was Hasenhuttl’s worst vs Spurs

Many Arsenal fans have been buzzing at the news from The Telegraph that the Kroenkes could be tempted to sell the club for a bid of around £2bn.

As per the news outlet, the Gunners – one of the six English clubs who originally signed up to be part of the proposed European Super League (ESL) project – will face further fan protests after a large number of supporters gathered outside the Emirates Stadium before the 1-0 loss to Everton in the Premier League on Friday night to voice their anger at Stan Kroenke, with the hope that he will leave the north London club.

Daniel Ek, a Swedish billionaire entrepreneur and chief executive of Spotify, recently tweeted that he would ‘be happy to throw (his) name in the ring’ if Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) would like to sell Arsenal following the mass protests, and The Telegraph have now reported that he is ‘serious’ about tabling an offer.

Arsenal fans on Kroenke and Ek update

These Gooners buzzed upon reading the update on Twitter, with one supporter claiming that they are ‘excited’ while another branded the news as ‘massive’:

“Yessss”

Credit: @RobTheGoatAfc

“Omds I’ve never heard that they would be tempted at all. This is new and massive!!!!!!”

Credit: @AFCWilliam_

“What a dream this would be”

Credit: @ESR_Army_

“Not gonna get excited…..but as an Arsenal fan, I’m impossibly excited”

Credit: @Capt_Amber_jack

“This has made my evening”

Credit: @afcceee

“PLEASE. I’M ON MY KNEES…….”

Credit: @_AFCFRED

In other news, this Arsenal man’s performance against Everton was blasted by many supporters.