Paris Saint-Germain are plotting a move for Bruno Guimaraes in the January transfer window, but must overcome two major obstacles to land him.
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Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly drawn up plans for Kylian Mbappe's exit as they brace for another mega offer from Real Madrid.
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Moeen Ali has leapfrogged his team-mate Ben Stokes to be ranked as England’s leading allrounder, following his triumphant performance in the first Test against South Africa at Lord’s
ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2017Moeen Ali has leapfrogged his team-mate Ben Stokes to be ranked as England’s leading allrounder, following his triumphant performance in the first Test against South Africa at Lord’s.Moeen’s second-innings haul of 6 for 53 completed career-best match figures of 10 for 112, as South Africa were bowled out for 119 on the fourth day to succumb to a 211-run defeat. That effort followed a vital 87 from 147 balls with the bat in the first innings, as Moeen helped add 177 for the sixth wicket with Joe Root and drive England towards a healthy total of 458.His efforts meant he became the fifth-fastest player to reach 2000 Test runs and 100 wickets, as well as the first for England to score a fifty and record a ten-wicket haul in the same match since Ian Botham in 1980.
1 Shakib Al Hasan (Ban) 432 pts
2 Ravindra Jadeja (Ind) 422 pts
3 Ravi Ashwin (Ind) 413 pts
4 Moeen Ali (Eng) 384 pts
5 Ben Stokes (Eng) 319 pts
As a consequence, Moeen has achieved career-best batting, bowling and allrounder marks in the latest ICC player rankings, and is now considered the third-best allrounder in the world, behind Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and India’s Ravindra Jadeja, with Stokes back in fourth place.Joe Root, who marked his first Test as England captain with a notable victory, is now ranked as the second-best Test batsman in the world, after leapfrogging his New Zealand opposite number Kane Williamson in second place thanks to his first-innings 190.Root had entered the Lord’s Test trailing Williamson by 32 points, but now leads him by eight points. Australia’s captain, Steve Smith, remains 53 points clear in top spot, on 941 points – the fifth-highest ranking ever recorded.England’s wicketkeeper, Jonny Bairstow, entered the top ten for the first time after his fighting fifty in England’s second innings at Lord’s, while Alastair Cook, the former captain, rose two places to 11th with his 69. Moeen is England’s fourth-highest ranked batsman, in 21st place.In the bowling table, Moeen’s ten wickets mean he has climbed nine places to enter the top 20 for the first time, while South Africa’s Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel gained one place each to sit 10th and 13th respectively. The table is headed by Jadeja, with his India team-mate Ravichandran Ashwin second and Rangana Herath of Sri Lanka third.
Last month, Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni had talked about leaving the post, however, he has now given another update after the Copa America draw.
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Nottinghamshire seized the initiative on the second day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Gloucestershire at Trent Bridge
ECB Reporters Network27-May-2017
ScorecardLuke Fletcher was among the wickets as Gloucestershire folded•Getty Images
Nottinghamshire seized the initiative on the second day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Gloucestershire at Trent Bridge.The unbeaten Division Two leaders reached 430 for 9 before declaring and then unleashing their potent attack upon the visitors.With Luke Fletcher taking 3 for 32, and England’s Stuart Broad bagging 3 for 40, Gloucestershire were skittled out for only 149 in just 44.1 overs.For the third match in a row Notts enforced the follow-on and reduced Gloucestershire to 37 for one in their second innings, still 244 runs behind.The morning had begun with Nottinghamshire resuming their first innings on 375 for 5 and the home county quickly sped to maximum batting points as Chris Read and Riki Wessels plundered 55 runs from the first 13 overs of the day.Read was dropped on 29 as Graeme van Buuren spilled a regulation offering at backward point as the Nottinghamshire skipper sliced Chris Liddle to backward point.Gloucestershire’s second bowling point was gifted to them as Wessels miscued Matt Taylor high to mid-off for 37. A decent short delivery from the same bowler then accounted for Read, who had made 36.The batsman had been hurried into taking evasive action but the ball brushed the bat face and carried through to the diving Phil Mustard.Craig Miles, who claimed 4 for 123, picked up his last wicket as an ugly swish from Brett Hutton ballooned straight up in the air for a regulation caught and bowled.Broad made just 5 and the declaration came moments after he’d sliced Kieran Noema-Barnett high to point.Gloucestershire’s hopes of a solid foundation were torn to shreds as Fletcher’s second delivery had Cameron Bancroft caught behind, giving Read his 900th first class catch for his county and an eventful first session was brought to a premature close as Broad bellowed a successful lbw appeal against Will Tavare.The first full over of the afternoon session brought the downfall of Chris Dent as the left-hander nicked Fletcher behind, for just a single.Bowling with good rhythm, despite the gusty conditions, Fletcher then reduced the visitors to 43 for four as he knocked over van Buuren’s middle and off stumps for 15.George Hankins also reached 15 before falling to Harry Gurney, with Read snaffling up his third catch of the innings.Phil Mustard, playing his 200th first class match, had a life on 17 when Wessels, at first slip, grassed an edge off Gurney.The Gloucestershire skipper advanced to 53 but then mistimed a pull off Broad and saw Fletcher take a fine diving catch at mid-on.Steven Mullaney enhanced his reputation as a partnership breaker by snaring two quick wickets. Noema-Barnett assisted the bowler by shouldering arms and losing his off stump for 14 and then Miles was caught behind for four.Chris Liddle was the last man to depart, slashing wildly at Broad and seeing the ball sail all the way into the hands of Cheteshwar Pujara at third man.Batting for a second time, in gloomy conditions with the floodlights burning brightly, Notts could afford to spill Dent on nought before Fletcher removed him for 2.The third stoppage of the day, at around 6.10pm, brought proceedings to a halt, with 15.3 overs still remaining.
Tottenham Hotspur hold a 'genuine' interest in Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho this window, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
What's the latest transfer news involving Jadon Sancho?
As per The Daily Star, Tottenham are keen on Sancho this summer and are lining up a high-profile swoop to try and entice the £350k-a-week ace to Hotspur Way.
The report states that Spurs are 'definitely interested' in the 23-year-old and Ange Postecoglou is also said to want Leicester City midfielder James Maddison as the Australian boss eyes a squad rebuild.
Sancho has endured an inconsistent time of things at Manchester United since completing a £73 million move to the Red Devils from Borussia Dortmund back in 2021, as per BBC Sport.
talkSPORT pundit Ally McCoist has been sympathetic to Sancho's predicament and backed him to find his feet again, stating: “He hasn’t shown enough at all. You’ve got to find a way to overcome it. There’s a million excuses out there if you want to go and look for them. The fact is you’re not going to get game time if you’re not showing the manager in training that you can do a job. I feel sorry for him, he’s got to get away and get his career back on track and honestly, I don’t think it would be a bad thing if he went back to where he came from.”
FootballTransfers claim that Manchester United would be open to selling the winger this window and Aston Villa are also monitoring his situation.
Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jacobs has stated that Spurs do hold a genuine attraction towards Sancho as they target him this summer.
Jacobs told FFC: "At this point, they've not approached Manchester United directly. They've not put an offer down on the table, but it is fair to say that the interest in Sancho is genuine. He's an option for Spurs for sure, but there's still work to be done if they're to progress the deal in any way."
Would Jadon Sancho thrive at Tottenham Hotspur?
Sancho, who was called an "unusual player" by The Athletic, is someone who possesses extreme talent; however, it is fair to say that he has struggled to deliver on his early career promise shown since his move to Manchester United and a new challenge may suit the London-born attacker ahead of next term.
In 2022/23, the former Borussia Dortmund man amassed 41 appearances in all competitions, registering seven goals and three assists, as per Transfermarkt.
FBRef take into account that Sancho has been an efficient chance provider for the Red Devils this term, successfully completing 113 shot-creating actions in total.
WhoScored further lend credence to his creative qualities and detail that Sancho made an average of 1.7 key passes per match in the Premier League.
All things considered, Tottenham may be the perfect environment for Sancho to find his feet and produce consistent performances looking ahead.
England captain Eoin Morgan lauded Chris Woakes’ “brilliant” comeback in the last over in which the seamer sealed their five-run win in Kolkata to narrow the series margin to 2-1. India needed 16 runs off the last over then Kedar Jadhav swung for a six and a four on the first two balls of the over before Woakes came back with four dot balls, including Jadhav’s wicket on the penultimate ball of the over.”It was brilliant, even with the pressure when the first two balls went for boundaries,” Morgan said. “He managed to get the bloke out and we’re right back into the game. They still needed six off four balls. So a couple of good yorkers, a couple of singles, we were still favourites to win. Thankfully, the man at the boundary [Sam Billings] managed to get rid of him and I thought it was going to take something special to get them across the line with two new batsmen. Credit to Woakes he was there till the end.”Woakes had started the series with a stifling spell of 5-0-12-0 in Pune before shining as England’s best bowler during the second ODI in Cuttack, reducing India to 25 for 3. On Sunday, he did not impress as much in the first few overs, taken for 11 in the first over, but his second spell lifted India’s asking rate before he finished things off in the last over. Morgan said Woakes was not appreciated as much as he deserved to be.”He’s been incredible in all forms for the last two years, probably not so much in T20 but in 50 overs and Tests he has had an incredible two years,” Morgan said. “People could be giving him a stick for not bowling fast enough, saying he can’t bowl in Test matches because he’s not fast enough, but he has been relentless. How he has worked and the results that have shown through have been outstanding. People say he doesn’t get much acknowledgement but he certainly does in our group because we appreciate him for what he is.”England’s first win of the tour was set up by a number of other players too. Jason Roy hit his third straight half-century, the recalled Jonny Bairstow made 56, and Ben Stokes produced an all-round show with an unbeaten 57 off 39 balls and the three wickets of Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and R Ashwin. Morgan said not giving Stokes the last over had nothing to do with him conceding four straight sixes to Carlos Brathwaite in the World T20 final last year at the same venue.”I was actually thinking of bowling him two in a row and bowling him out because he bowled a great over and got the wicket of Pandya. Some days they work, some days they don’t. The bowlers made everything we did today look really good, which they do all the time. It’s great to see them bowl today and, compared to the first two games, there was lot of improvement which is very important. On top of a win, particularly given how damp it was, how wet the ball was, and playing against a strong side, I think it holds a lot of weight.”Stokes was pleased with playing a pivotal role in the result, confirming that winning at Eden Gardens had cleared “bad memories” of the World T20 final loss.”This is just a win on its own terms, that was nine months ago, the memories of that have gone,” Stokes said. “But, yeah, it’s nice to come back here and get rid of bad memories of that game. As I said, it was another game of cricket to focus on and nice to get a win here.”Morgan also applauded the start the top order had been giving them in conditions that provided the seam bowlers with the most help of the series. Roy and Sam Billings, the latter who replaced the injured Alex Hales, added 98 for the first wicket and denied India early breakthroughs.”For a bunch of sloggers we did well,” Morgan said. “The guys at the top of the order, Roy and Sam, they were beaten a lot in the first ten overs, and we weren’t sure what a good score would be, but I think after ten overs down we were 47 or 57 [43]. It was a great start, they held their nerve, backed their strengths, things that we do as a batting unit, and it set up the innings really well for us.”
West Bromwich Albion manager Carlos Corberan looks unlikely to be backed significantly by owner Guochuan Lai this summer as he looks to build a squad capable of returning to the Premier League.
The Chinese businessman controversially saw his £5m loan from the club written off a few months ago, with the vast majority of the Baggies' signings coming as free transfers in the 2022/23 campaign.
West Brom could find success down that route once again this summer, with reported target Jay Mingi seemingly set to depart Portsmouth on a free transfer.
Would Jay Mingi be a good signing for West Brom?
It was reported back in December by journalist Alan Nixon that the Baggies were scouting Mingi on a regular basis, with the view of bringing him in on a free transfer in the summer transfer window.
While Pompey have offered the 22-year-old a new contract, that has been on the table since January, and he is yet to sign on the dotted line, which suggests that he could be on his way out of Fratton Park when his current deal expires at the end of next month.
Portsmouth manager John Mousinho said: "There was a conversation with Jay in January which went along the lines of 'I think you’re a terrific player with a load of potential.'
"I think there’s still a lot of work to do to get him there and fulfil that potential. There’s a huge amount to work on and I think he knows that as well, but this is a really good football club for him to do that."
Incidentally, the former West Ham midfielder didn't feature at all under Mousinho due to injury, with his last appearance for the club coming on New Year's Day, so it is perhaps a testament to the talent he possesses that he has been offered a new deal despite his lack of game time.
The Englishman possesses very little senior experience, with just 40 appearances to his name across spells with Maidenhead United, Charlton Athletic and Portsmouth.
However, he is clearly highly rated and could be a great signing for the future by Lai, especially if he continues to back his manager with free-agent signings.
Okay Yokuslu, John Swift and Jed Wallace are ranked as the first, second and fifth-best performers in West Brom's squad this season according to WhoScored, having joined without a transfer fee, emphasising how much success can be had with free agents.
If Lai wants to get the summer off to a positive start as West Brom chairman, he must surely consider making an offer to Mingi ahead of his contract's expiry next month. Such an appealing deal doesn't come around very often.
The U.S. fell at the quarterfinal round once again, with the latest loss coming as a result of some disastrous defending
This run promised to be different for the U.S. under-20 men's national team. After storming through the group stage without giving up a goal, the U.S. battered New Zealand, 4-0, to book their spot in the quarterfinals. Waiting them was Uruguay, a team that had been pushed to the limit by Gambia and would enter the quarterfinal on short rest and shorthanded.
But this run, as it turns out, wasn't different. In fact, it ended the exact same way the three previous tournaments did: with quarterfinal heartbreak and a team left wondering what could have been.
The U.S. defense, perfect through the first four games, imploded in the 2-0 defeat to Uruguay, handing the winners two tournament-ending goals. The first came on a mistake from Justin Che, whose sliding effort left the backline completely exposed for an Anderson Duarte finish in the 21st minute.
The second, though, was even worse, as Josh Wynder deflected home a relatively harmless cross, and it was the youngster's own goal that effectively ended the team's tournament run.
They'll feel that run ended prematurely and, in some ways, they'll be right. While Uruguay were the better team, they were never truly in control, but they sure did take advantage of the U.S. group's catastrophic mistakes.
It's because of those mistakes that another group of American players have failed to advance past this round of the tournament and, with Israel waiting in the semifinals, the U.S. would have had hopes of winning it all. Instead, they'll head home knowing that they proved to be their own undoing.
GOAL rates the U.S. players from Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades
Rangers winger Josh McPake's future is 'hanging in the balance' with Gers chiefs dealt a 'major headache', according to reports.
Who will leave Rangers this summer?
Ibrox could be the centre of a mass exodus this summer as a plethora of first team and fringe members of the squad become linked with an exit.
The Scottish Premiership giants have a seismic nine squad players currently set to leave on a Bosman as things stand, with Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Malik Tillman, Ryan Jack, Filip Helander, Scott Arfield, Steven Davis, Allan McGregor and Kieran Wright all out of contract just next month (Transfermarkt).
Gers boss Michael Beale could witness a huge portion of his team leave by the beginning of June, something which will undoubtedly be of concern to Ibrox bosses. The Glasgow side must either move to extend some of their current contracts or get to work on finding suitable replacements.
There have been reports of decisions already being made on a few, like defender Helander, who may have already played his last game for Rangers. Meanwhile, some players who are in-contract this summer also face uncertain futures.
One of them is young forward McPake, who is currently on a temporary spell at Queen's Park. Indeed, there are reports of the 21-year-old's future being up in the air.
According to Football Insider and journalist Pete O'Rourke, his status at parent club Rangers is 'hanging in the balance' with McPake 'struggling to make an impact' in the Scottish Championship. He was even left out of their squad to face Hamilton last week.
Out of contract in 2024, the attacker is now on his sixth loan spell away from Rangers, and his latest battle to make an impact at Queen's Park has given Gers chiefs a 'major headache' amid their other exit issues.
What should Rangers do with McPake?
McPake hasn't started in less than 50% of Queen's Park's matches over the 2022/2023 campaign, starting just seven in 2023.
The report details a positive start to his loan originally, but 'off-field issues' combined with an overall drop in form has apparently curtailed it.
There is a solution for Rangers, though, as Falkirk are rumoured to have held an interest in signing McPake recently – perhaps giving them an opportunity to negotiate a summer deal.
While the possible fee could be a minimal one, it's far better than losing him for nothing next summer with the Gers needing to strike now.