Whilst the silverware and Anfield development during Jurgen Klopp's time at the club will take the headlines when he makes an emotional exit this summer, one key aspect that musn't be looked past is the emergence of Liverpool's academy since the German took over. It was getting to a stage when the Reds looked unlikely to find their next Steven Gerrard and then there may have been concerns that Trent Alexander-Arnold was a one-off.

After almost a decade on Merseyside, however, Klopp's impact is finally beginning to show in the academy.

Liverpool's academy emergence

Liverpool have had plenty of promising homegrown stars over the years, but the majority have eventually struggled. Ben Woodburn got his career off to a flying start when he became Liverpool's youngest ever goalscorer at 17-years-old in a League Cup victory over Leeds United. Since that famous day in 2016, however, things have gone downhill. The academy graduate now plays for Preston North End in the Championship.

Then of course, Alexander-Arnold came along, who proved to be no one-goal wonder after striking a stunning free-kick in the Champions League qualifiers against Hoffenheim. The right-back has got better and better ever since and is now Liverpool's vice-captain and the highest assisting defender in Premier League history.

More recently, meanwhile, the likes of Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley have stepped up and played important roles under Klopp and look likely to play a key role in the coming years.

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They're not the only players to have impressed Klopp though. According to Wayne Veysey of Football Insider, Lewis Koumas has been promoted to first-team training after Klopp was reportedly "wowed" by the 18-year-old attacking midfielder.

"Brilliant" Koumas can follow Bradley and Quansah path

Named in the first-team squad for Liverpool's recent 3-1 win over Burnley, Koumas has been described by a well-placed source at the club as a "diamond" as per Veysey. The forward, who operates on the left-hand side, converted from a midfielder last season and has been flying ever since – scoring 12 goals and assisting a further three in 15 games so far in the current campaign.

It's no surprise that Liverpool U21 manager Barry Lewtas has spoken so highly of Koumas, given the numbers. Lewtas told the club's official website: "Lewis has been brilliant for us, he really has.

"He is a real energetic frontline player, loves to run in behind, he is aggressive in how he approaches the game and has really good technique. He is a really good footballer. He has fitted in great with the lads, he has a fantastic character and he just gets on with it, he really does. The other day when we were talking about Lewis, you forget he is still an U18 player. He has really matured the way he plays."

Manchester United seem to finally be finding their feet this season, with a huge 2-1 victory over Aston Villa being the latest sign of progress.

However, there was a frustrating defensive setback for Erik ten Hag, with yet another defender being forced off early.

With that in mind, let’s look at an academy prospect who could be drafted into the first team in the near future.

The left-back situation at Man United

The left-back position in the United starting XI is Luke Shaw’s, but his lack of availability often leaves the side in a difficult position.

When he’s in the team and playing consistently, there aren’t many better left-backs in the Premier League, as displayed by Shaw ranking in the top 8% for passes into the final third and top 10% for touches per game last season in the league, as per FBref.

However, the Englishman has already missed 16 games this season, and he was subbed off at the break against Villa due to a “precaution,” as per the former Ajax boss.

The issue lies in the lack of depth behind Shaw, with Tyrell Malacia not playing a game all season due to injury, Alvaro Fernandez being sent to Benfica in January, and Sergio Reguilon’s loan deal ending last month.

Harry Amass could be handed a huge opportunity

Usually, Diogo Dalot would fill in at left-back with Aaron Wan-Bissaka starting at right-back in the absence of Shaw, but with the former Crystal Palace man also injured, the Dutch tactician doesn’t have many options.

Victor Lindelof attempted to fill in during the second half at the weekend, but he struggled massively, particularly in possession, where he had 81% pass accuracy.

However, the hidden gem that could solve Ten Hag’s issue is 16-year-old Harry Amass. The youngster joined from Watford last summer, and he has already been included in first-team training in the past week, after being a “standout” in the youth setup, as per football creator Alice Abrahams.

The full-back has already been recognised as “Luke Shaw’s successor” by journalist Alex Turk, and he is extremely highly rated by many.

Amass’ performance against Galatasaray in the UEFA Youth League highlighted his strengths, as shown by the table below.

Minutes

56

Tackles

1

Interceptions

1

Shots

2

Successful dribbles

3 (3)

Touches

55

The former Hornet is the definition of an attacking fullback who likes to dribble past opponents, cross the ball, and even shoot at goal, which all indicate that he is extremely confident in his own ability. Abrahams further supports this by describing him as a "real modern technical full-back."

He’s also a steady defender who is comfortable on the ball while also not being afraid to progress the play and create, which is very reminiscent of Shaw.

Although Amass is extremely inexperienced, Ten Hag has proven that he’s not afraid to give youth a chance if they are good enough, and given his lack of options, we could see him in the squad on Sunday.

The ICC is considering cutting into the annual revenue it will give to the BCCI as it continues to find ways to recoup the money it lost as a result of the tax paid during the 2016 World T20 held in India.The 10% tax paid by the ICC to Indian tax authorities has resulted in a revenue loss of $20-30 million. The minutes of a Committee of Administrators (CoA) meeting held on July 6 states that while these events were previously exempted from taz, the Indian government’s stance changed in 2016, which forced the BCCI to withhold 10% of the amount payable by the broadcaster, , to the ICC.Early last year, it had emerged that India could be in danger of losing out on hosting the 2021 Champions Trophy (since replaced by the T20 World Cup) as well as the 2023 World Cup. The ICC management had been directed to seek alternative venues if the issue was not resolved.”The Board agreed that ICC management, supported by the BCCI will continue the dialogue with the Indian Government but in the meantime directed ICC management to explore alternative host countries in a similar time zone for the ICC Champions Trophy 2021,” the ICC had said in a release in February 2018.The minutes of the CoA meeting held last month say that the BCCI “made all efforts” with the government to try and ensure a tax exemption but three years on, the tax authorities have not budged. In the last decade alone, the Indian government allowed tax exemptions for the 2006 Champions Trophy as well as the 2011 World Cup.For the 2006 event, Ehsan Mani and the late Jagmohan Dalmiya had directly negotiated an exemption with the Indian government. On the basis of that negotiation, the government had passed a legislation in the relevant act, which allowed international sporting events to be exempted. This applied as recently as 2017, when the FIFA Under-17 World Cup got a tax break for broadcast equipment imported by FIFA’s host broadcasters.The BCCI will now seek the opinion of an English law firm about their legal options, since the 2016 event agreement between the board and the ICC was governed by English law.

Tottenham really want to sign a "world-class" new £34 million transfer target as the club's recruitment team and chairman Daniel Levy's plans take further shape.

Spurs enjoy busy January

It's already been a pretty busy month at Spurs, with the Lilywhites sealing deals for RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner on loan and defender Radu Dragusin in a £25 million transfer from Genoa.

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Coupled with the plethora of outgoings, as a host of Tottenham players secure loan moves away from north London, there have been widespread reports that they were also in talks to sign Club Brugge sensation Antonio Nusa on a buy-to-loan-back deal.

Brentford moved in to hijack that move and agree a deal for Nusa, but in a sensational twist, Nusa'a move to west London unceremoniously stalled after the winger failed a medical – re-opening the door for Spurs to make a potential move if they see fit.

As the Nusa saga drags on, and Spurs' head coach refuses to completely rule out more late activity, Tottenham could potentially still make a late move to sign Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher. This is regardless of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg choosing to stay at Spurs, as confirmed by the player's own lawyer this week.

The north Londoners are also remain in planning for 2024 transfers overall, with manager Ange Postecoglou apparently keen to bolster his defence further after the signing of Dragusin. Tottenham are real admirers of Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite among others in this respect, but another player now turning heads at N17 is Eintracht Frankfurt defender Willian Pacho.

Spurs make approach to sign new target Pacho

Indeed, as per Belgian transfer journalist Sacha Tavolieri, Spurs have made a 2024 approach to sign Pacho and are "strong" in their interest.

They've also scouted him on numerous occasions over 2023/2024, making the Ecuador international a real "one to watch" in terms of potentially joining Postecoglou this year.

Pacho, called "world-class" by manager Dino Toppmoller, has started 19 Bundesliga games as a mainstay for the German side.

Willian Pacho's best Bundesliga games for Eintracht Frankfurt – 23/24	Match Rating (via WhoScored)
Eintracht 2-0 FC Heidenheim	7.68
RB Leipzig 0-1 Eintracht	7.52
Eintracht 5-1 Bayern Munich	7.48
Union Berlin 0-3 Eintracht	7.42
Hoffenheim 1-3 Eintracht	7.22

The 22-year-old is also still very young with high re-sale value if he performs well, and reports suggest Eintracht are willing to do a deal at around £34 million.

West Ham United are eyeing up a potential late move for one club's 15-goal forward, and he's a new target on the board's radar.

Moyes keen on new attacker at West Ham

Hammers boss David Moyes has been heavily-linked with bringing in a new winger in the January transfer window, with many names being mentioned as targets for the role over these past few weeks.

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Indeed, the likes of Ajax captain Steven Bergwijn, Sunderland star Jack Clarke, FC Norsjaelland's Ibrahim Osman and Al-Ittihad forward Jota have all been floated as possible signings by the national media and beyond this window.

"Moyes has made clear his desire to sign a new left winger," wrote Evening Standard journalist Malik Ouzia before the window opened.

"Patience appears to have finally run dry with Said Benrahma, who has been on the fringes this term, while Maxwel Cornet has never made a serious breakthrough following his arrival 18 months ago.

"Lucas Paqueta has been superb playing out of position, but a specialist arrival on the left would allow the Brazilian to return to a central berth and add to Moyes’s rotation options, with Jarrod Bowen and Kudus also capable of playing across the line."

Tax complications appear to be blocking Jota's move to West Ham (Fabrizio Romano), while talks for Osman are widely reported to have stalled recently. However, before making any formal moves, the east Londoners may have to make room for a possible new arrival in that area by selling anyway.

West Ham have agreed to offload winger Said Benrahma to Lyon, but it is believed the Algerian still hasn't decided on whether he's going to join the Ligue 1 club.

There are a few hurdles to overcome before technical director Tim Steidten can sign Moyes his desired new wide forward, but that hasn't stopped West Ham from weighing up alternative targets.

Obstacles stand in the way of West Ham signing Osman or Jota as things stand, so another player who's come into the club's thinking late on is Plymouth Argyle star Morgan Whittaker.

West Ham eyeing late Whittaker move

The 23-year-old, formerly of Swansea City, has been in sensational form under head coach Ian Foster – scoring 15 goals and bagging six assists in the Championship this season.

Journalist Pete O'Rourke, writing in a Football Insider column, states West Ham are one of the sides interested in a late move for Whittaker alongside both Fulham and Brentford. Plymouth, though, will be demanding around £10-15 million for their star player as they do not wish to lose him mid-season.

Plymouth 6-2 Norwich

9.46

Plymouth 3-2 Rotherham

9.21

Plymouth 3-3 Watford

9.13

Plymouth 3-1 Huddersfield

8.93

Cardiff City 2-2 Plymouth

8.63

Called a "really positive" player by Russell Martin, the Englishman has really been one to watch in the Championship this season, and it will be interesting to see if he can seal a late deadline day move to world football's most prestigious league.

أبدى محمد بسام حارس مرمى سيراميكا كليوباترا، رغبته في الانضمام إلى صفوف الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالأهلي، معلقاً على انتقال محمود الزنفلي المارد الأحمر في يناير الماضي.

وقال محمد بسام في تصريحات عبر قناة “الأولى المصرية” عن اقترابه أكثر من مرة من الانضمام للأهلي: “الموضوع كل مرة كان قريباً جدًا لدرجة أن الناس يتصلون بي ويباركون لي على انضمامي للأهلي، آخر مرة الناس قدموا لي التهنئة وأنا كنت في معسكر قبل نهائي الرابطة وقالوا لي مبروك في شهر يناير الماضي بعد إصابة الشناوي، لكن في النهاية هو نصيب”.

وتابع: “أي أحد يلعب كرة في مصر يتمنى اللعب للنادي الأهلي أو الزمالك”.

طالع أيضاً.. أحمد مجاهد: شخص واحد لا أستطيع الترشح أمامه في انتخابات اتحاد الكرة.. والخطيب أعظم لاعب في تاريخ مصر

وبسؤاله لماذا فشل انتقالك للأهلي؟ أجاب: “لم يحدث اتفاق مع سيراميكا كليوباترا، وقت القيد كان قصيرا، والحارس الثاني كان مصاباً وأمامه فترة لكي يعود، سيراميكا طلب مصطفى شوبير والأهلي عرض حمزة علاء وكان هناك أولمبياد شهر يوليو الماضي”.

وأكمل: “سيراميكا كان لا يريد أن يقف في طريق انتقالي للأهلي ولكن كانت هناك أزمة”.

وبسؤاله، بعد انتقال الزنفلي إلى الأهلي ومصطفى شوبير أصبح أساسيًا، هل هذا الوضع سيكون مريحاً لو كنت أصبحت على دكة البدلاء؟ أتم: “بصراحة لا، أعتاد في أي مكان أذهب له أكون رقم واحد وأثبت نفسي، الأمر سيكون صعبا جدًا، أوقات الزنفلي كان يلعب مع الناشئين، الأمر صعب بالنسبة لي، كان حلمي الانضمام للأهلي ولكن بعدما شاهدت الأحداث التي حدثت، قلت الحمد لله”.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have a sporting GPS telling them “where to go” at Wrexham, but will their final destination be the Premier League?

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Hollywood co-owners arrived in 2021
• Overseen back-to-back promotions
• Intend to reach top-flight at some stage

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Red Dragons have returned to the third tier of English football for the first time in 20 years, with back-to-back promotions lifting them out of the non-league ranks and into League One. Hollywood co-owners in North Wales have made no secret of the fact that they want to reach the top-flight.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  More shrewd requirement and tactical nous will be required to get them there, with executive director Humphrey Ker telling of how the Wrexham board continue to lean on others for advice. He said: “There’s a GPS telling us where to go. We’re lucky we’re surrounded by lots of people who know what they’re doing, so they give us as much advice as possible. And ultimately, it’s up to Rob and Ryan what we do. We’ll plunge our way forward and see what happens.”

• WHAT KER SAID

  Wrexham have not hit too many bumps in the road so far – outside of play-off and Wembley final heartache in Reynolds and McElhenney’s first season at the helm – and they remain aware of the need to tread carefully when heading down a long and winding road. Ker added: “You look at the largest degree of the Premier League and Champions League teams, and then if you go down the football pyramid, the fans and teams get closer together. We’ve got to try and preserve that relationship as much as possible. If we start to move away from what we came here for — which was to create, promote and support a community club that plays for its town and plays for its fans — that’s when we might get in trouble.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Everybody continues to pull in the same direction for now, with the third series of Welcome to Wrexham covering the highs and lows of a League Two promotion-winning campaign in 2023-24. Efforts are being made to get bodies on board in another transfer window, with Reynolds and McElhenney having an important role to play there.

Rahul Johri says the board has to follow the ‘law of the land’, and that NADA has given the BCCI assurances about the concerns it had raised

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2019The BCCI has agreed to come under the ambit of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after years of resisting the move.The decision came after BCCI chief executive Rahul Johri and general manager (cricket operations) Saba Karim met sports secretary Radheshyam Jhulaniya and NADA director general Navin Agarwal in New Delhi on Friday. The meeting took place after the sports ministry of India wrote a strongly worded letter to the BCCI in the wake of Prithvi Shaw’s positive drug test and backdated suspension of eight months.”We have to follow the law of the land and the BCCI is committed to following the law that exists,” Johri was quoted as saying by after the meeting. “The letter which we have signed states that we accept the law of the land.”Asked whether the Committee of Administrators (CoA) was mandated to take such a decision in the absence of an elected general body, Johri said, “Whoever is in existence, the law of the land is there. So you and I can’t choose at what time to follow the law of the land.”The BCCI had been staunchly opposed to coming under NADA’s ambit for several years, consistently arguing that it is an autonomous organisation and not a national sports federation, and is therefore not under NADA’s jurisdiction. In November 2017, Johri had said the BCCI’s anti-doping mechanism was “robust” and rejected the need for NADA to test cricketers.However, on Friday, Johri said that while the BCCI did raise a number of concerns, it had agreed to come under NADA after the sports ministry gave assurances about resolving whatever issues the cricket board had.”We have raised a lot of concerns, we have listed them out and they have agreed to address all these,” he said.The BCCI’s primary concern with coming under NADA was the contentious whereabouts clause that deals with out-of-competition testing. The clause has been regarded as an invasion of privacy and a potential threat to the security of the high-profile cricketers.Johri, however, said “don’t jump the gun” when he was asked about the clause, which requires every athlete to fill a declaration form mentioning three specific dates in a year when they are not competing but are available to NADA’s dope-control officer for sample collection.If any athlete fails to appear on all the specified dates, it invites sanctions for breach of the World Anti-Doping Agency Code. Such a breach had led to the West Indies allrounder Andre Russell being banned for a year.”The BCCI raised three issues before us about the quality of the dope testing kits, competence of pathologists and sample collection. We assured them that whatever facilities they want, we will provide but there will be some charge for it,” Jhulaniya said. “But that higher facility will be equal for all national sporting federations. BCCI is no different from others. They have to follow the law of the land.”The BCCI also agreed to bear the differential cost arising from the high-quality testing methods.”That is okay (bearing the cost), that is not the issue right now,” Johri said. “We have said to them that we want a certain level of service for our players. If there is any differential then the BCCI will agree to pay for it.”There are speculations that the sports ministry pressured the BCCI to come under the ambit of NADA after holding back clearances for the South Africa A and women teams’ upcoming tours to India, but Johri rubbished that claim. “These two are separate issues,” he said. “The tours have already been cleared.”

Openers set pace on way to nine-wicket win as Glamorgan remain rooted to bottom of South Group

ECB Reporters Network06-Aug-2019

Phil Salt crashes one through the off side•Getty Images

Sussex 150 for 1 (Salt 78*, Wright 56) beat Glamorgan 146 for 9 (Lloyd 50, Topley 3-20) by nine wicketsSussex’s fifth win out of six – they also tied against Surrey – moved last year’s beaten finalists above Kent Spitfires and they were always in control against a Glamorgan side still looking for their first win of the campaign.After they restricted Glamorgan, who won the toss, to 146 for 9, openers Luke Wright and Philip Salt launched the reply with a withering assault which brought 130 in 12 overs, Sussex’s fourth highest partnership in the format and their biggest against Glamorgan.The pair rattled along at more than ten an over from the start, matching each other shot for shot against a toothless Glamorgan attack which lacked variety compared to Sussex. Salt reached his fifty with a six into the top tier of the pavilion off Andrew Salter and the offspinner was hit for boundaries off the next two deliveries.Salt won the game off the fifth ball of the 13th over with an uppercut over third man which brought him his eighth boundary, he also hit three sixes as he finished on 78 not out from 42 balls – his third half-century of this season’s competition.It looked as if the Sussex pair might win the game on their own but Wright fell to a superb diving catch in the 13th over by wicketkeeper Chris Cooke after making 56 off 35 deliveries with five fours and two sixes. There were 6.1 overs left when Sussex eased to victory.Such a one-sided contest had seemed unlikely with Glamorgan in good shape at 55 for 1 in the ninth over and opener David Lloyd going well. But they lost eight wickets for 87 and were never the same after Lloyd departed to the next ball after reaching his second fifty of this season’s Blast.The 27-year-old hit nine fours from 37 balls faced but he holed out to deep midwicket to give left-arm spinner Danny Briggs his second wicket and Glamorgan struggled for momentum thereafter against some accurate and disciplined Sussex bowling. Skipper Colin Ingram, Kiran Carlson and Chris Cooke all threatened but Sussex maintained a happy knack of taking a wicket just when Glamorgan threatened to put together a decent partnership.Briggs was taken for 18 in his final over and Tymal Mills’ last over cost 11 runs, but Glamorgan lost wickets too regularly to build any momentum and set a challenging total. Ollie Robinson removed Graham Wagg and Cooke with successive balls in the 17th over and finished with 2 for 27 but the pick of their bowlers was Reece Topley, who finished with 3 for 20. Sussex’s fielding was excellent with Salt taking two superb diving catches in the deep to complete an excellent evening.

MatériaMais Notícias

Dudu voltou ao Brasil para passar férias e espera que o futuro seja resolvido. A permanência provável no Qatar com a compra por parte do Al Duhail não é mais a mesma de outrora. Os dirigentes cataris precisam pagar os seis milhões de euros (R$ 40,5 milhões) ao Palmeiras previstos em contrato para adquirir os 80% dos direitos econômicos.

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O Al Duhail sabe que a condição do pagamento é à vista e, mesmo que não tenha acionado o Alviverde ainda, pode sugerir uma alternativa para quitar o débito e ficar com o atacante por mais três anos. O presidente Maurício Galiotte já avisou que não negocia o que foi acertado no ano passado, quando Dudu saiu por empréstimo e as bases para uma futura compra foram acertadas pelas partes.

> Veja como está a situação do Palmeiras no Paulistão

Os cataris têm até 15 de maio para comunicar o Palmeiras sobre a decisão, e a diretoria aguarda. A confiança pela permanência no exterior demonstrada pelo próprio jogador em entrevistas recentes não é mais a mesma, mas isso não significa que, neste momento, uma volta ao Verdão esteja próxima. As partes esperam o posicionamento do Al Duhail e isso pode demorar mais de um mês.

Enquanto isso, Dudu não foi inscrito para a fase de grupos da Liga dos Campeões da Ásia por conta desta indefinição e, em caso de compra, tem condição de participar dos mata-matas. Uma desistência do negócio do Al Duhail prevê um pagamento de dois milhões e euros (R$ 16,8 milhões) ao jogador. Isso também está previsto no acordo firmado em 2020, quando ele deixou o Brasil durante a parada do futebol em razão da pandemia, em junho.

Para o Palmeiras, o retorno de Dudu seria um ganho técnico para um time que encontra dificuldades de ser reforçar no mercado. Se a venda for concretizada é um alívio nas finanças em mais um ano de receitas comprometidas.

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