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Manchester City defender Yan Couto has confirmed that he was present at Celtic Park during the Hoops 3-0 Europa League win against FK Jablonec last Thursday, as their loan interest in the Brazilian intensifies [City Xtra].

The Lowdown: Celtic look for right-back reinforcements

Starting off 2021/22 in impressive fashion, Ange Postecoglou will be consulting all avenues as he look to bolster the depth within his squad.

Right-back has been a particularly problematic position for Celtic in recent years. Currently, Anthony Ralston is the only right-sided defender on the books at Parkhead with previous senior experience.

Could the Celts have edged closer to plugging some gaps within their rear-guard after the latest developments?

The Latest: Couto confirms Parkhead attendance

Evaluating his options for the new campaign, Couto accepted an invitation to watch the bumper European clash in Glasgow two days ago [City Xtra].

Celtic have been keen on the 5ft 6in ace for a number of weeks. Despite his preference to stay on at the Etihad for the forthcoming season, Couto understands that he may need to go out on loan to gain regular first-team exposure [City Xtra].

Alongside the Bhoys, former employers Girona are mooted to be eyeing the Brazil Under-20 man, as well as a multitude of sides in Portugal.

The Verdict: Couto would be an astute piece of business by Postecoglou

With the transfer window due to shut in a matter of weeks, bringing in someone like Couto would provide a much-needed boost for the Celtic support.

In 2020/21, he excelled on loan at Girona, registering seven goal contributions in 30 appearances all in [Transfermarkt].

In the Spanish Segunda Division, Couto also showed his desire to lay on chances for attacking team-mates, completing 63 crosses across last year [FB Ref].

Once labelled as the ‘New Dani Alves’ by Spanish news publication Sport, Celtic should look to do everything they can to convince Couto to move north of the border [Daily Mail].

In other news, Celtic have been linked with a Republic of Ireland international.

An intriguing name has been touted as a potential successor to Harry Kane, should he leave Tottenham Hotspur this month…

What’s the word?

The 28-year-old’s future is by no means certain after he missed his return to pre-season training this week amid interest from Premier League champions Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola and co have already tabled a £100m bid for the England international and it’s believed that he will do “whatever it takes” to link up with their new signing Jack Grealish at the Etihad Stadium.

Speaking on The Football Terrace’s ‘The Done Deal Show’, journalist Pete O’Rourke claimed that Spurs could target Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin as a likely replacement.

He said: “I still wouldn’t rule out, if Kane does go, possibly a move for Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Everton. I think he’s definitely on Tottenham’s radar, they see him as being a potential number nine.

“He’s obviously an England international now. He was at the Euros with Gareth Southgate’s team as well and I think he’s an improving player, and Tottenham see him as possible replacement material for Harry Kane, if they do decide to sell Kane.

“So I’m sure that there are plenty of irons in the fire right now for Tottenham.”

Bye-bye Kane?

This would be a very interesting option for Spurs to consider and perhaps one which actually makes a ton of sense.

Calvert-Lewin has emerged as a prolific marksman in the Premier League across the last two seasons, scoring 13 times during the interrupted 2019/20 campaign before bagging 21 goals in all competitions last term, via Transfermarkt.

Former Toffees boss Carlo Ancelotti perhaps handed the 24-year-old the most glowing of endorsements before his return to Real Madrid.

After a win over Newcastle, in which the Englishman netted a brace, Ancelotti said via the BBC: “He is a fantastic striker, in my opinion – fantastic with the head, clever in the box and sharp. I think he is going to be at the top in England and in Europe. He has all the qualities to be a top striker.”

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-team-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-much-more-copy” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours, gossip and much more!”]

Indeed, at 6 foot 2, Calvert-Lewin’s aerial ability seems to be second to none in the English top-flight, having won an average of 4.7 duels in the air per league outing, the joint-most of any striker to start 25 or more games last term, via WhoScored.

That sort of quality has earned lofty praise from his Everton teammate Richarlison, who claimed that “he has an incredible leap on him like Cristiano Ronaldo” and that he “must be a nightmare to play against.”

He’s the sort of centre-forward that Nuno would love to have at his disposal.

A tall commanding presence with a knack for regularly scoring goals. Good in the air and equally adept with the ball at his feet. That certainly seems like a certain Raul Jimenez, on whom the Portuguese relied heavily during his time at Molineux.

It very much remains to be seen how much the Merseyside outfit would command for the 11-cap England international, though a £50m asking price has been mooted by The Sun in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Transfermarkt value him just shy of that at £40.5m.

Could Spurs wave goodbye to Kane with a move for Calvert-Lewin? He certainly isn’t a poor contender, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Nuno dealt big Spurs setback as Alasdair Gold reveals worrying Hotspur Way development…

Rawalpindi may not host its scheduled matches between Pakistan and India early next year because of construction delays. Faisalabad is likely to be the replacement venue

Cricinfo staff08-Nov-2008Rawalpindi may not host its scheduled matches between Pakistan and India early next year because of construction delays. Faisalabad is likely to be the replacement venue.All five venues for the series are undergoing refurbishment that will cost the Pakistan board Rs 800 million. Rawalpindi was marked down for the second of three Tests and third of five ODIs against India.But Saleem Altaf, the PCB’s director-general, said the renovation work in the stadium was likely to be completed only by June next year. “The outfield is in really bad shape and we have sent our chief curator Agha Zahid to inspect it,” Altaf told . “He has given a report but it will take time for the outfield to be repaired properly.”However, Altaf added that Faisalabad was also not ready. Rawalpindi last hosted an international match in 2006 – an ODI between Pakistan and West Indies – while its last Test was during India’s 2004 tour.Earlier this year the venue was dropped for security reasons from the Champions Trophy which was eventually postponed to 2009.

A round-up of the latest County Championship action

Cricinfo staff10-Sep-2008Division Two2nd dayNorthamptonshire tried to make up for lost time against Essex in Northampton as they racked up 303 at more than four an over. Both sides have an outside chance of reaching the second promotion slot, but the first-day wash out meant they were playing catch up. Plenty of batsmen made starts, but David Sales’ 59 was the highest score as wickets were traded for a brisk run-rate. Ravi Bopara’s figures reflected the nature of the day as he claimed 3 for 72 off 10 overs, which would have looked expensive even in a 50-over match. The wickets were shared around as Graham Napier and James Middlebrook also bagged three apiece, Napier removing Riki Wessels and Lance Klusener, thanks to a sharp catch at slip by Jason Gallian, off consecutive balls to leave himself on a hat-trick.Kadeer Ali’s strong late-season form continued with his second Championship century of the summer as Gloucestershire built a solid base against Leicestershire at Grace Road. Ali added 186 for the first wicket with Will Porterfield, who played a neat second fiddle. The home side finally broke through via the unlikely route of Josh Cobb’s part-time spin and three wickets fell for seven as Leicestershire fought back. Cobb had Ali caught behind, then bowled Porterfield as he tried to sweep, before Alex Gidman and Chris Taylor steadied the innings towards the close1st dayDespite bright sunshine there was no play in Cardiff between Glamorgan and Worcestershire with the ground flooded following heavy rain.Division OneClick here for John Ward’s report of Somerset against Durham at TauntonClick here for Andrew McGlashan’s report of Surrey against Hampshire at The Oval

Rangers kicked off their Scottish Premiership title defence in ideal fashion as they beat Livingston 3-0 at Ibrox on Saturday, with Steven Gerrard’s side comfortable despite missing the likes of Alfredo Morelos and Borna Barisic.

Ianis Hagi gave the Gers an early lead against David Martindale’s side as he fired home from Tavernier’s set-piece, before Scott Wright superbly found the corner with a volley to make the points safe.

Fellow substitute Kemar Roofe came off the bench to score a third late on, capitalising on some less than impressive defending by David Martindale’s side to pick up where he left off at the end of last season.

While he didn’t get on the scoresheet on Saturday, the game’s outstanding player was arguably Tavernier, as he played a huge part in the first two goals and was a constant threat going forward.

As per SofaScore, the former Wigan Athletic man earned a superb 8.8 match rating for his performance, which was comfortably the best of any player to feature for either side. Only Steven Davis (101) had more touches than Tavernier (98) at Ibrox, which emphasises just how involved he was in Rangers’ build-up play despite featuring at right-back.

He was also solid from a defensive perspective, as no Livingston player dribbled past him during the game. The visitors’ left-hand side, consisting of James Penrice and Adam Lewis, managed just six passes each during the game, which suggests that Tavernier clearly had the better of them.

Whilst the Rangers captain lost possession 31 times on the day, the most of any player on the pitch, this shows that he is willing to attempt the difficult passes and crosses. When they come off they often lead to a goal, evidenced by his superb goals and assists record during his time at Rangers thus far.

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776”]

After missing a portion of last season, which led to Nathan Patterson breaking into the first team, there were some who felt the Scottish youngster could challenge Tavernier for the starting spot during 2021/22. However, based on the 29-year-old’s performance today, there won’t be many occasions where Gerrard feels the need to drop his “incredible” captain – in the words of Kenny Dalglish – over the coming months.

In other news… Too slow, Wilson: Rangers miss out on “outstanding” winger loved by Gerrard

South Africa may be without the injured Dale Steyn for the third Test against England, but coach Mickey Arthur is awaiting the return of a fired-up Andre Nel at Edgbaston

Cricinfo staff28-Jul-2008
Mickey Arthur: “We’ve backed him [Andre Nel] a huge amount over the last couple of months and I’ve got a feeling he is going to come through this one fantastically” © Getty Images
South Africa may be without the injured Dale Steyn for the third Test against England, but coach Mickey Arthur is awaiting the return of a fired-up Andre Nel at Edgbaston.”Any time Andre [Nel] plays for South Africa he’s fired up,” Arthur told the BBC. “I can’t wait to see him bowl hard. I think he’s going to do really well.” Nel last played a Test against the West Indies at home in January. Nel, known for his aggressive approach, had been controversially dropped from the Test team to India in favour of Charl Langeveldt.”We’ve backed him a huge amount over the last couple of months and I’ve got a feeling he is going to come through this one fantastically,” Arthur said. “It just shows that when you plan there has to be a queue and some succession in place.”We have the ability now to lose one guy and be able to bring back a guy who is a hardened Test-match campaigner. So we are fortunate to do that, but that’s how we structured our team.”Nel goes into the Test having warmed up against a Bangladesh A team in the tour game at New Road, in which he picked up three wickets and his maiden first-class fifty.”Andre is a good tourist, but he certainly doesn’t like not playing,” Arthur told the Daily Telegraph. “He wants to be involved all the time and there is a lot of pent-up energy and aggression there that will hopefully come out at Edgbaston. Every time he has bowled in the nets on this tour, he has wanted to prove to me that he belongs and that he should be in the team.”Andre has got much better of late in learning how to channel his aggression in the right direction,” Arthur said. “If he can, it gives him his competitive edge and I never want to take that away from him.”Nel has played just one Test against England – at Centurion in 2005. He had figures of 6 for 81 in England’s first innings; the match, though, ended in a draw.

The Netherlands Cricket Board (KNCB) have been severely reprimanded for fielding Ryan ten Doeschate, the Essex allrounder, without permission in their European Division 1 Championship match against Scotland

Cricinfo staff02-Aug-2008The Netherlands Cricket Board (KNCB) have been severely reprimanded for fielding Ryan ten Doeschate, the Essex allrounder, without permission in their European Division 1 Championship match against Scotland. ten Doeschate had not originally been selected in the Netherlands squad for this ODI.The ICC Europe participating nations agreement states that the process to replace a player in the original 14-man squad requires an application to the event technical committee prior to the match, which was not made. ODI countries were strongly encouraged and given absolute flexibility to play their best side available for the ODIs. However, Netherlands had not selected ten Doeschate in their original 14-man squad, yet still played him.On learning of their administrative error in not following the correct procedure, the Netherlands management made a retrospective application to replace him. Taking all the facts into account and in the interests of cricket and the tournament, the event technical committee has approved the application.However, it also issued a severe reprimand to the KNCB and stated that the decision of the committee does not set a precedent for future, and the KNCB should ensure it follows relevant procedures correctly.The committee also recommended that ICC Europe may consider a financial penalty in line with the other regional policies.On Thursday, Netherlands were granted exceptional circumstances to replace Daan van Bunge due to illness for their match against Denmark with ten Doeschate being drafted in.The committee looked at all the facts associated with this and determined that there was no link and the two were completely separate issues.

The fractious departure of Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Ashwell Prince from the Cape Cobras continues to rumble on after they hit back at comments from Shukri Conrad that they weren’t good enough to play for the franchise

Cricinfo staff17-Jun-2008
Mark Boucher: ‘It has always been extremely difficult to play for my franchise in a season…I was fully prepared to put the franchise first and come back from India © AFP
The fractious departure of Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Ashwell Prince from the Cape Cobras continues to rumble on after the players hit back at comments from Cobras coach, Shukri Conrad, that they weren’t good enough to play for the franchise.However, Conrad has also responded to the newspaper article saying he was misquoted. “I was very upset with the tone of the report and the way in which it was written,” Conrad told the agency. “The journalist involved has phoned me to apologise, and I expect an apology from the newspaper as well.””I was asked whether, in view of the players’ reaction, I would select the same team, and I said I had no qualms about my selection,” said Conrad. “It would have been a different matter if it had been a four-day or a one-day game.”The trio have moved to the Warriors for the 2008-09 season, and it is believed that the decision to leave all three out of the Pro20 semi-final was a key factor in their move. They had agreed to return from the IPL for the domestic tournament, but Conrad told them their services wouldn’t be required.”I could never choose Kallis ahead of Graeme Smith or Andrew Puttick at the Cobras, because Puttick was one of our best players in the Pro20 in recent times,” Conrad told . “I could also not choose Kallis ahead of Herschelle Gibbs at number three.””I’m not losing sleep over the matter,” he added. “Kallis and Boucher have never in the past had an inclination to play for us anyway. Why do you want to leave the franchise because you were not included in one game anyway? And that after you never played for us in the past.””Jacques played for us once in the last 78 matches and Boucher has never even been at one of our practices.”Boucher responded that the move to the Warriors was more than just about the single game, and there was a general disenchantment about the direction the Cobras were heading.”The three of us have chatted about Shukri’s statements and we are all angry,” Boucher said. “There are a number of reasons behind our decision to leave. The fact that we weren’t considered for selection despite being available is just the last straw. We are unhappy about a lot of things at the franchise, but when we made the decision to leave we decided to be dignified about it and not to make the reasons public.””The fact that Shukri sees fit to take cheap shots at us in the media is seriously disappointing. It makes us think that perhaps we should have made our reasons public.”I’d also like to set the record straight regarding my past availability. It has always been extremely difficult to play for my franchise in a season when there was such a hectic international schedule and I was required to play all three formats of the game for South Africa. So when an opportunity did come up I was fully prepared to put the franchise first and come back from India. To simply be told ‘don’t bother’ is a slap in the face.”Both Prince and Kallis echoed Boucher’s comments. “I’m really disappointed to be leaving Western Province,” said Prince. “I’ve been here for about ten years but the last few years things have changed and I’m unhappy about staying. The professionalism is not like it used to be.””Like Ashwell I’ve been a Western Province man for many years” added Kallis. “I grew up playing here. For Shukri to say that I’m leaving because I wasn’t selected for one game is nonsense. The reasons go much deeper than that.”The players have also received the backing of Tony Irish, CEO of the South African Cricketers’ Association. “These are some of the best players in the world,” he said. “So to say that they aren’t good enough is ludicrous. Each of them had also been prepared to travel back from India to play for the Cobras in the Pro20 semi-final and to miss the first few matches of the IPL, which would have involved a substantial cash penalty. This is how committed they were.”

Aston Villa fans want the club to make another offer for Caleb Chukwuemeka after they had an initial offer rejected for the striker.

The Villans have already completed a couple of deals this summer, with Emiliano Buendia joining from Norwich City in a club-record deal (Sky Sports) and Ashley Young returning to the club from Inter Milan on a free transfer (avfc.co.uk).

Dean Smith and co are also looking to bring in James Ward-Prowse as they aim to move up the Premier League table next term (Football Insider).

It seems they are also planning for the long-term as well. As per journalist Adrian Kajumba, the Midlands-based outfit have made a bid for Northampton Town forward Chukwuemeka, but is was unfortunately rejected. Caleb is the older brother of Carney, who is already a part of the Villa Park side’s academy.

The news was shared on Twitter by @villareport, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

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

“I think it’s a bit of keep Carney settled but Caleb is a decent forward in his own right from the bits I’ve seen. Raw talent.”

Credit: @S1ngh32

“Bring him in!”

Credit: @AshyOG_VillaFan

“I hope this goes through so we can sing the Chucklevision theme tune.”

Credit: @cratesofhippos

“Go back in lads x”

Credit: @VillaVisionBen

“This sauce will be unreal”

Credit: @Villal_

“Please please sign this guy, we absolutely need a song about the chuckle brothers”

Credit: @SteveJones88

In other news, several Serie A clubs want this Villa man.

In yet another high-scoring match in the World Cup Cricket for the Blind, Pakistan successfully defended a total of 369, made in just 37 overs, to notch up a 65-run win over Australia at the Guru Nanak College Ground

Staff Reporter10-Dec-2002In yet another high-scoring match in the World Cup Cricket for the Blind, Pakistan successfully defended a total of 369, made in just 37 overs, to notch up a 65-run win over Australia at the Guru Nanak College Ground.It was chiefly M Ashraf Bhatti’s knock of 96 off only 84 balls (4×4) that formed the spine of the Pakistani innings. There was some threat of Bhatti being stranded at one end until Muhammad Fayaz occupied the crease to good effect, hitting 77 off 60 balls (3×4). These two batting efforts – and as many as 98 extras – spurred Pakistan to a mammoth total of 369 for eight in 37 overs.Australia made a brave charge at the target, led from the front by opener Matthew Horsey’s 90 off 79 balls. The defining knock of the innings came later in the day, when N Haydar hit an unbeaten 107 off 94 balls. But some tight bowling from Pakistan meant that Australia were restricted to 304 for eight.