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football.london’s Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold has revealed that the club want at least four new signings over the summer.  

The Lowdown: Late January business

Spurs left it late when it came to transfer activity in January, with Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski arriving from Juventus.

There were also multiple outgoings in the final days of the transfer window, with Bryan Gil, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso leaving on loan and Dele Alli joining Everton on a permanent deal.

Those incomings and outgoings haven’t exactly revived the club’s fortunes in the second half of the season, though, with Antonio Conte’s side suffering surprise defeats to Burnley and Middlesbrough in recent weeks.

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The Latest: Gold’s transfer claim

Gold ran a Q&A on football.london on Saturday, with one fan asking for information regarding the club’s summer plans.

This is what he had to say in reply, revealing that Spurs chiefs want a striker, right-wing back, centre-back and a creative player:

“There’s been a lot of talk about Tottenham having to spend this summer in order to convince both Conte and Kane of their ambition, while Fabio Paratici also likes a free transfer. I think Spurs will be pretty busy this summer. They need to be. In terms of positions, at this point they want a new striker, a right wing-back, a left-sided centre-back and another creative player. Anyone who leaves will have to be replaced as well. Like I say, it has to be a busy one.”

The Verdict: Crucial few months for Spurs

You’d expect that Tottenham would be able to attract a better calibre of player in the summer if they finish in the top four, making the next few months vital with regards to the club’s long-term project under Conte.

The Italian and Harry Kane may also be more inclined to stay in north London with Champions League football guaranteed next season, with Gold also admitting that possible stadium naming rights may give a boost to the transfer kitty over the summer.

However, if Spurs fail to finish in the top four, it could be difficult for them to bolster the four areas that Gold mentioned with top quality.

In other news: Spurs and Conte gifted another injury boost before Everton clash as ‘team player’ now declared fit

Sunderland provided a huge response following their midweek stalemate with Plymouth Argyle by taking an impressive 5-1 victory from Cambridge United yesterday.

Alex Neil and his team are now on a 12-game unbeaten run, with the Scottish manager only losing once since he arrived at the club in February, and they now find themselves fourth in the League One table albeit only one point safe in the play-off position.

The Black Cats put in a phenomenal attacking performance that was boosted when Cambridge went down to ten men in the 12th minute of the game, with Lloyd Jones getting red-carded awarding their hosts a penalty which Ross Stewart scored to make it 1-0 a minute later.

Sunderland were dominant throughout the game holding 75% possession, making ten more shots on target and over 400 more accurate passes than their opponents on Saturday afternoon.

Elliot Embleton, Danny Batth and Nathan Broadhead all joined Stewart in getting on the scoresheet delivering five goals in total, and Embleton, in particular, was an absolute force in the attacking threat his team imposed on Cambridge and offered an unrivalled presence.

The 23-year-old who was labelled “complex” by former manager Lee Johnson, made an impressive 141 touches, 113 accurate passes, four key passes and was successful in the majority of his long balls and crosses (12/21).

Embleton has been integral in Sunderland’s play-off charge as of late and has delivered in the moments when it has been needed most, grabbing his opportunities to impress his new manager following a lack of game-time since the Scotsman took over at the Stadium of Light.

Neil had been playing the midfielder off the bench, but he has now finally integrated him back into the starting eleven over the last two games following an assist to the last-minute winning goal against Gillingham and scoring the winner against Oxford in the final moments in the following game, with his contribution earning the Black Cats six points in just 27 minutes of play.

The fight for a play-off place isn’t over with the North-East club safe by just a point with one game in hand over their competitors inside the top six, and with no room for error in the last two games, Sunderland must continue their unbeaten form to boost their chances of potential promotion.

AND in other news: Speakman howler: SAFC may now be on the verge of repeating brutal Hugill disasterclass

With something of a rebuild on the cards for Jesse Marsch and Leeds United this summer, one would expect a number of the 48-year-old’s first-team players to be moved onto pastures new in the upcoming window – in order for the American to raise funds for his own signings ahead of 2022/23.

One such player who looks certain to depart Elland Road is Helder Costa, the winger currently on loan at Valencia.

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The LaLiga side are reported to have a €20m (£16.5m) option to buy the Angola international, however, disappointing performances coupled with the January arrival of Tottenham Hotspur’s Bryan Gil have seen the £7.2m-rated forward’s minutes become extremely limited, with the latest updates from Spain suggesting that Los Che will not be taking up the purchase clause of the 28-year-old.

And, considering the fact that the player who Noel Whelan dubbed “negative” is reported to be earning a whopping £70k-per-week at Elland Road, in addition to the fact that Costa has ranked as the club’s second-worst and 10th-worst performer in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 Premier League campaigns respectively, it is unsurprising that reports are suggesting the Whites could look to move the player on permanently this summer.

Indeed, with an extremely inflated wage and failing to live up to his £16m fee, it would appear a wise move for Marsch to finally call time on the Angolan’s career at Elland Road.

Another player whose head could be on the chopping block at the end of the season is Robin Koch, the £13m 2020 signing from SC Freiburg.

The £15.3m-rated centre-back has struggled with both form and injury in 2021/22, making just 15 Premier League appearances, over which he has averaged a well below-par SofaScore match rating of just 6.54 – ranking him as Marsch’s sixth-worst player in the division.

These returns have seen the Germany international come in for criticism, with Danny Mills stating his belief that the 25-year-old could well find himself on the unwanted list as a result of failing to stake a claim in the starting XI:

“He hasn’t really found a position. He’s OK here, he’s OK there and he’s decent there. You don’t look at it and go, ‘he is playing centre-half’ or ‘he’s playing defensive midfield.’

“That is difficult for a player and also for a manager. Where does he fit in? Can the manager get somebody to do a specific job in that position who is maybe a little bit better?

“Sometimes being a utility player is great but it often means you are on the fringes. You are often second-choice in six or seven different positions.”

“The new manager will be looking to bring in two or three of his own players, players that he wants. If that means you have to get a couple out then so be it.”

And, with Koch also earning a quite considerable £46k-per-week at Elland Road, from his performances this season, it would not appear as if the player who Beren Cross dubbed both “horrible to watch” and “not good enough” is worth this outlay.

As such, it would seem as if moving Koch on – alongside Costa – could also be a smart move by Marsch, as not only would these exits free up room in the 48-year-old’s first-team squad, but it would also save Leeds a colossal £116k-per-week in wages.

AND in other news: Orta now plotting £20m Leeds bid for “unbelievable” talent, he’s better than Aaronson

Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring Josh Brownhill to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a recent report by 90min, who claimed that, having reportedly made an approach for the Burnley midfielder last summer, Victor Orta is once again interested in a move for the 26-year-old at the end of the current campaign.

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However, the report added that Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Everton, Fulham, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are also interested in a deal for the Englishman this summer, with the Hammers thought to be leading the race at present.

Orta must move

Considering just how impressive Brownhill has been this season, despite the Clarets’ struggles in the league, it is easy to see why Orta would be keen to bring the midfielder to Elland Road ahead of 2022/23.

Indeed, over his 32 Premier League appearances this term, the £6.3m-rated talent has been imperious in the heart of the Burnley midfield, scoring two goals, registering three assists and creating two big chances for his team-mates, along with making 1.2 key passes, taking 0.9 shots and completing 0.4 dribbles per game.

The £45k-per-week man has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making 1.9 interceptions, 2.0 tackles, 1.2 clearances and winning 4.5 duels (at a success rate of 54%) per match.

These returns have seen the player who Lee Hendrie dubbed a “fabulous” talent average a quite impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.02, ranking him as his club’s fourth-best player in the English top flight.

As such, with Mateusz Klich looking to be on his way out of LS11 at the end of the current campaign, it is clear to see that Brownhill would very much make a fantastic replacement for the Poland international – leading us at Football FanCast to agree with Hendrie that Leeds should “take him all day” this summer.

AND in other news: Orta now in talks for “unbelievable” £25.5m Leeds signing, it may be bye-bye Raphinha

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was on the receiving end of boos from the Burnley fans during Saturday’s Premier League clash. 

The lowdown

Villa made it two wins on the bounce with a 3-1 victory at Turf Moor that dented the hosts’ survival hopes.

Danny Ings opened the scoring against his former club after just seven minutes, Emiliano Buendia doubled the visitors’ advantage just after the half-hour and Ollie Watkins made the points safe early in the second half.

Villa climb to 11th place, while Burnley remain two points above 18th-place Everton, having played two games more.

Martinez started in goal for 33rd time in 34 Premier League matches this season, and was denied his 12th clean sheet of the campaign by a late consolation strike from Maxwel Cornet.

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The latest

BBC Sport journalists Gary Rose and Emlyn Begley noticed the angry reaction of the Clarets fans.

They felt he was ‘time wasting with a goal kick’ just 36 minutes into the game.

Villa were already two goals to the good at that stage, and the home supporters seemed to suspect that he was trying to protect the lead by running down the clock before the interval had even arrived.

The verdict

Rose and Begley weren’t the only ones to sense the frustration. One Sky Sports journalist observed that the spectators had been ‘moaning’ about the alleged time-wasting for the whole half.

And Martinez is a ‘keeper who can sometimes land himself in trouble with the referee. He’s been shown four yellow cards this season, as many as any GK in the top flight, but escaped such punishment this time around.

It was a busy afternoon for the £47,000-per-week Argentine, who had to make five saves – two from shots inside the box – to preserve his clean sheet. He also recorded two high claims and 22 attempted passes (via SofaScore).

In other news, Aston Villa are interested in this defender.

Liverpool are long-term admirers of Roma’s Nicolo Zaniolo and could make a move for him this summer, according to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness). 

The lowdown

Zaniolo, 22, is predominantly a right winger but he’s also played 17 matches this season in a second striker role. That means he could provide cover and competition for Mohamed Salah, but may also be able to operate as a false nine in the manner of Roberto Firmino, for example.

Liverpool, of course, signed both Salah and Alisson from Roma in 2017 and 2018 for fees of £34million and £67million respectively.

And it seems Julian Ward, taking over as sporting director from Michael Edwards, could look to find more success by shopping in the Italian capital.

Zaniolo has just over two years remaining on his deal at the Stadio Olimpico, though his current focus may be on preparations for the Europa Conference League final against Feyenoord on 25 May.

His hat-trick against Bodo/Glimt last month helped steer Jose Mourinho’s side into the semifinals.

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The latest

The Italian press claim Zaniolo has been a Liverpool target for some time, so this is seemingly an Edwards target being carried over into Ward’s new role.

If the player is to extend his stay at Roma, he wants a contract worth €4million per year, which equates to about £65,000 per week, says the report. But if he’s to leave, he won’t be short of suitors, either domestically or abroad.

Juventus and AC Milan are waiting in the wings, and the player’s first instinct is apparently to remain in Italy.

He would apparently find it difficult to turn down a ‘super offer’ from overseas though, as Liverpool and Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur ‘have continued to monitor him for some time’.

It’s thought that he would cost somewhere between €65million and €70million (£55.3million-£59.5million).

The verdict

Is Zaniolo good enough for Liverpool? His goals/assists record this season is good without being spectacular – seven scored, eight assisted in 39 appearances across all competitions.

But it’s important to remember that he’s still a young player and that his development has badly affected by injury. The Italian suffered two anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the space of a year, so patience may be required.

What’s more, some of Zaniolo’s underlying numbers are strong. He records a high volume of dribbles (81st percentile), touches in the attacking penalty area and progressive passes received (both 80th), highlighting his technical proficiency and intelligent movement.

This is the former Serie A Young Player of the Year, and Klopp may believe he can unlock his potential.

In other news, Liverpool may have found a Jordan Henderson replacement.

Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa is set to miss the opening weeks of the 2022/23 Premier League season after sustaining a knee injury last weekend against Crystal Palace that will keep the Englishman sidelined for 12-16 weeks.

What’s the latest?

As tweeted by Birmingham Live’s Ashley Preece following Steven Gerrard’s pre-Burnley press conference, the 24-year-old has sustained a “serious” knee injury and will miss all of pre-season as well as the opening stages of the next Premier League campaign.

The Villa boss stated: “We’re quite relieved because we thought we were dealing with an ACL” whilst also revealing that Emi Martinez picked up an injury in training and Robin Olsen could be set for his Villa debut in between the sticks.

The Villans have just two matches left this campaign, this evening’s home clash with the Clarets before a trip to Manchester City on Sunday.

However, the injury has come at an awful time for Konsa who will have to work extra hard to catch up for when the new season comes around given him missing out on pre-season training.

Bad news

Although the West Midlands outfit have been frustratingly inconsistent at times this season, Konsa has had a decent campaign this term.

The Englishman has won 64% of his duels in the Premier League whilst averaging 0.5 interceptions, 0.9 tackles and 2.8 clearances a match in 29 top-flight appearances.

However, the injury could trigger long-term issues for Konsa’s Villa tenure.

There have been reports that the 24-year-old could depart Villa Park this summer with Gerrard planning a major squad overhaul, particularly in defence with his side conceding 50 times in 36 matches this season.

Therefore, Villa may still go ahead and sign new defenders that will beat Konsa to a starting spot whilst the Englishman is now unlikely to be bought this summer given his injury and the uncertainties that could bring.

It’s a major blow for the defender and could lead to an even greater predicament that will surely have supporters gutted.

AND in other news: Signed for £7.6m, now worth £225k: AVFC had a shocker on “hiding” £28k-p/w disaster

Zimbabwean calls time on third coaching spell with club

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Sep-2021Dave Houghton is to step down as Derbyshire’s head of cricket at the end of the season. Houghton was in his third coaching spell at the club, having rejoined in 2018.Houghton, 64, the former Zimbabwe captain and coach, was director of cricket at Derby between 2004 and 2007 and batting coach from 2011 to 2013, during which time Derbyshire were promoted to Division One of the Championship. He went on to take up similar roles at Somerset and Middlesex before heading back to Derbyshire after Kim Barnett stepped down from his consultancy role midway through 2018.This season, Derbyshire have yet to win a game in the Championship, finished second from bottom in the North Group of the Vitality Blast and bottom of Group Two in the Royal London Cup.”It has been a bitterly disappointing season, much of which, including injuries, has been out of Dave’s control,” Derbyshire’s chairman, Ian Morgan OBE, said. “It is the mark of the man that he has taken responsibility for on-field performances. He leaves a squad which contains a number of young talented players who will develop their skills in the coming seasons.”On behalf of the supervisory board, I would like to thank Dave for his integrity and commitment throughout his tenure and wish him the very best for the future.”Houghton said: “It has been a challenging season in many ways, and I believe it is the right time to step aside for both myself and the club. I hope to be leaving the club in a better position than when I took on the role in 2018 and with a good squad and a highly-promising pathway setup, I am confident that Derbyshire will enjoy success in the future.”

Relaid Sharjah pitch has posed tough questions for batters all around, but Royals’ shot selection and adaptability still need review

Varun Shetty05-Oct-20212:39

Kumar Sangakkara: ‘Adaptability not our strength on the day’

Rajasthan Royals were the last team this season to get a taste of the newly laid Sharjah pitch, and they didn’t cope well: their 90 for 9 against Mumbai Indians is now the second lowest total in IPL history for a completed innings.Sharjah was the ground that teams went to and set up for scores in excess of 200 last season. Royals themselves have great memories of it, particularly Rahul Tewatia innings. There was an element of completely changing up plans when going to Sharjah last season and that has persisted this season, albeit in a completely different way.

Watch the IPL on ESPN+

Sign up for ESPN+ and catch all the action from the IPL live in the US. Match highlights of Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians is available here in English, and here in Hindi (US only).

Of the seven matches played in Sharjah so far – and there are three more left, two of them playoffs – only two have involved scores of greater than 140. Only three out of 14 innings have had fewer than six wickets falling, and Punjab Kings managed to defend 125 in the second match there this season.Royals, coming in after a high-flying chase against Chennai Super Kings in their last game in Abu Dhabi, failed to adapt and head coach Kumar Sangakkara said that while it wasn’t an ideal pitch, it was Royals’ batting that went awry.”These types of pitches are challenging and it’s about adapting your game and being smart on it. We’ve spoken about the Sharjah wickets in the lead-up to this game, what the bowlers have to do, what the batters have to do,” he said. “That the first six overs will be easy and then it’s the case of building a platform… getting to about 15 overs with wickets in hand so we can capitalise at the back-end. For the bowlers it’s about hitting that back of a length, hitting your cross-seams, fast cutters into the pitch.”But you know on pitches like this, it tests not just your skill but also your flexibility and your mindset. So at times playing on pitches like this is not a bad idea. It’s not the greatest T20 pitch in terms of runs, but it is a challenging pitch in terms of coming to terms with it and then playing on it. It’s an experience, so we’ll have to wait and see how they’ll turn up for the [T20] World Cup [which follows the IPL in the UAE and Oman].”Royals came into the game with a straightforward playoff route on paper: they needed to win their last two games and that would have done it. But the game began with a loss at the toss, which Sangakkara said went against them. After the match, captain Sanju Samson hinted at that as well, saying that batting got much easier in the second innings. The innings with the least wickets falling in Sharjah during this leg have all been in successful chases, and Mumbai’s run rate of 11.28 on Tuesday was some distance away from the next-quickest innings.Related

• Neesham, Coulter-Nile and Kishan demolish Royals

However, the lack of adaptability stood out sorely during Royals’ innings, with their three overseas batters – Evin Lewis, Glenn Phillips and David Miller – all falling trying to play across the line to length deliveries that skidded on low, and Samson and Shivam Dube out flapping away from their bodies. Sangakkara suggested that that batting effort negated anything that the toss could have equalised. Royals had fallen from 41 for 1 to 50 for 5 in the space of four overs and at one point went 79 balls without a boundary. In the ten overs after the powerplay, they made only 33 runs.”You could probably say that,” Sangakkara said about the toss affecting the result. “We haven’t played here at Sharjah before, and watching the other games, it seems to be slightly better in the night. And today there was probably a little bit more pace. But once we had only 90 on the board, it was really tough unless you had this amazing powerplay with wickets and very few runs.”The crucial part for us was we were 42 [41] for 1 after the powerplay, and the plan was then to extend it beyond the 13th-14th over with at least seven wickets in hand. So that we could really target a bowler or two and build that platform in the 15th over. Unfortunately we didn’t adapt, Mumbai bowled very well, and we lost too many wickets and we could never attack at any stage. So probably the fault lies more with us than the pitch or the toss.”

Jhulan Goswami, Beth Mooney, Nicola Carey and a whole heap of drama

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2021One of the greatest ODIs played in Australia came down to an extraordinary final over with the experienced Jhulan Goswami went up against Beth Mooney, who had produced a masterful century after the home side had been in early trouble, and Nicola Carey. Here’s how the drama unfolded49.1 Goswami to Mooney, 3 runs
Full toss, swung off the pads through midwicket and Mooney makes it back for the second…AND THERE’S AN OVERTHROW. But it means Mooney is off strike49.2 Goswami to Carey, 2 runs
Full outside leg stump, heaved into the leg side and there’s another misfield which allows the second49.3 Goswami to Carey, (no ball)
Oh dear! That’s a beamer which has clattered straight into Carey’s helmet. Of course it’s a no-ball. Main thing is Carey okay? Seems like but that was a horrendous blow49.3 Goswami to Carey, 1 bye
They steal a bye! Was very well bowled, full outside leg, Carey didn’t connect but Mooney was alert49.4 Goswami to Mooney, 1 leg bye
Moves right across outside off, tries to scoop but it’s only single towards short fine leg49.5 Goswami to Carey, 2 runs
Full outside off, dragged down towards long-on, they get back for the second! Oh boy49.6 Goswami to Carey, (no ball)
Full toss, caught at midwicket! But they are going to check for the height. What drama. India are celebrating. It’s VERY close. What will the third umpire decide? It could easily be called no-ball this. There’s some rocking and rolling here. They are still looking at this. Crazy end to the game. IT’S A NO-BALL!!!49.6 Goswami to Carey, 2 runs
Full and straight, clipped into midwicket and Mooney makes it back for the second. An extraordinary victory for Australia to keep the streak alive.