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Gabby Agbonlahor has become the latest pundit to address Celtic’s triple swoop for Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Daizen Maeda, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Triple deal, more to come?

Ange Postecoglou and Michael Nicholson have wasted no time in getting players through the Parkhead door in 2022, with moves for Hatate, Ideguchi and Maeda already finalised.

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Midfielders Hatate and Ideguchi have penned four-and-a-half-year contracts, whereas forward Maeda has joined on loan with a transfer becoming permanent in the summer.

The Hoops now seem to be turning their attention to offloading players and looking to sign loanees Cameron Carter-Vickers on a full-time basis, with Celtic back in action in ten days time.

The Latest: Agbonlahor’s comments

Agbonlahor, who regularly features on talkSPORT, was talking to Football Insider regarding the New Year’s Eve moves for the Japanese trio.

Here’s what he had to say in reply, labelling the moves as ‘amazing business’.

“You’ve got time with the winter break to see what they can do.

“Get them working together, get them used to their new teammates.

“I’m sure they’re very, very good players and it could turn out to be amazing business for Celtic.

“They’ve now got a group of people who can help each other. They are from the same country so that’s going to help them settle in more.

“It’s looking positive for Celtic.”

The Verdict: Shrewd signings

The Hoops have already reaped the rewards from the J1 League market with Kyogo Furuhahsi’s £4.86m move in the summer, and it seems as if Hatate, Ideguchi and Maeda could cost less all combined. [Transfermarkt]

Hatate is a versatile midfielder who helped his previous employers win back-to-back titles, Ideguchi has been back playing regularly following a troubled spell with Leeds United, while Maeda has just come off the best goalscoring year of his career.

So, overall, Celtic appear to have got themselves three bargains, and there could well be more additions to come before the end of the month, with a move for teenage talent Johnny Kenny expected to be wrapped up imminently.

In other news: Celtic now after ‘energetic’ star with Jan business not slowing up; Ange ‘well aware’ of target. 

Tottenham Hotspur fans should have little fear heading into the January transfer window after an encouraging claim from a reliable source emerged this week…

What’s the word?

According to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, Spurs boss Antonio Conte knows exactly where the club is financially and did so before accepting the role, so he understands whether or not he can bolster the playing squad this winter.

The Italian is renowned for being a big spender when it comes to transfer activity, having spent over £300m during his time at local rivals Chelsea, where he won a league title and an FA Cup.

But the Lilywhites have notoriously spent little in January, so there could be worries that Conte will not be able to work his magic and no one will want to lose their world-class coach over problems in the transfer market.

Although, Gold’s claim has provided some insight into where he stands heading into January. He said:

“From what I’ve been told, Conte was made fully aware of what the club can and can’t do when it comes to money. They are on a more even keel now after losing £150m of revenue during the pandemic and that debt is spread long-term rather than in short-term loans.

“I think players will be moved on. By his own admission, Conte is evaluating his squad to see who he wants and doesn’t, but also I can’t imagine the Italian would have been brought in without being assured that changes will be made to help him. Tottenham have to push on and improve their squad or the gap will continue to grow to the other clubs, regardless of who is in charge.”

A busy winter?

This has to be news that leaves much of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful absolutely buzzing, if not hugely excited, as it means Conte is effectively here to stay and will do what he can to bolster the squad in the early part of 2022.

He would not have accepted the job if he wasn’t going to be backed or given a true shot at changing their fortunes on the pitch and because let’s be honest, every manager since and including Mauricio Pochettino has hinted that some sort of rebuild was required.

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As per Gold above, some players – largely the deadwood, you’d imagine – will be moved on to garner move funds for the 52-year-old to utilise in January, whilst it is abundantly clear that some sort of investment will be required as Spurs lack quality in several key areas of the pitch.

For instance, there is no viable alternative to Harry Kane, which not only is a worry due to the Englishman’s poor form (one top-flight goal in 11 appearances) but also because it limits Conte in his tactical system, having deployed a two-man attack at Inter Milan, with Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez firing them to the Scudetto.

Cristian Romero’s injury raises further question marks defensively, so a new centre-back could be on the agenda, whilst Spurs are one of the worst teams in the final third (joint league-low of 10.3 shots per game), so a creative playmaker is surely on the list of priorities, too.

All in all, this latest update must raise expectations and excitement heading into January, which will surely be a busy month for Conte, sporting director Fabio Paratici and chairman Daniel Levy as they look to finally bring the north Londoners back to their very best.

We must expect a busy winter transfer window in N17.

AND in other news, Conte could repeat his Cesc Fabregas trick at Spurs with “unplayable” 24 y/o…

After securing a top-half finish in the Premier League last season, Leeds United have had a rocky start to their latest campaign this time around with three wins, seven draws and seven defeats under their belt, the latest of which being a disheartening 7-0 thrashing against Manchester City.

Despite this, in his pre-match press conference ahead of Leeds’ next Premier League match against Arsenal at the weekend, Marcelo Bielsa said that his sole focus is continuing with his job until the end of the season, putting to bed any concerns some Leeds fans may have about the Argentine potentially leaving before then.

Leeds journalist Phil Hay also shared some interesting insight regarding Bielsa’s immediate future at Elland Road, assuring his Twitter followers that there is ‘zero’ chance that sacking Bielsa is ‘in any way a thing’ at Elland Road.

Since being appointed at Leeds back in 2018, the 66-year-old has gone on to take charge of 160 games with the Yorkshire club, winning 79, drawing 29 and losing 52, taking Leeds from the Championship to the Premier League after a 16-year absence.

Given the major love and respect that Leeds fans have for Bielsa and what he’s done for the club since his arrival, they will be delighted that not only does Bielsa have no intention of leaving his position before the end of the season but also that the club apparently shares that stance, per Hay.

However, with the Whites currently sitting in 16th place in the league table with Arsenal and Liverpool for their next two fixtures, Bielsa will have to oversee one incredible turnaround in form in order to end 2021 on a high.

The boss claimed the performance at the Etihad Stadium was the worst they have produced in four years under his reign, and even if they don’t pick up points against the irrepressible Reds and in-form Gunners, they must ensure there are positives in the display to take forward into January.

Given the current injury issues that have plagued the club in recent weeks, if Leeds can have players such as Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper and Patrick Bamford among others back fit again as soon as possible and stay fit for the rest of the campaign, this should put them in a good place to avoid the drop.

In other news: Leeds dealt yet another injury blow ahead of Arsenal that’ll surely leave fans fuming – opinion

It’s been a good underdog story so far, but now New Zealand come up against the biggest, the baddest, villains

The Preview by Sidharth Monga04-Oct-2009Match factsMonday, October 5, 2009
Start time 1430 (1230 GMT)Big pictureLeader of men: Daniel Vettori has got the most out of the resources available to him•Getty Images

Underdogs in films make a mockery of the form book. Exhibit 1: New Zealand come to the Champions Trophy, sans superstars, sans high ICC rankings, and after being well and truly battered for more than a month in the sapping heat of Sri Lanka. They are – it is fair to say – the outsiders in this tournament.Underdogs in the movies start out of their depth, find the happy knack of winning, and then start liking what they feel. Exhibit 2: New Zealand are outclassed by South Africa on a true Centurion pitch. Then Sri Lanka, fooled by the earlier two pitches at the Wanderers, put New Zealand in, and discover they have given their opponents first use of a batting beauty. Against England, New Zealand get a spitting beauty of a pitch, call right at the toss, and run through the batting.Underdogs in the movies are hit by injuries, handicaps, and miseries, but every setback inspires them. Exhibit 3: New Zealand lose Jacob Oram before their campaign starts. Jesse Ryder pulls his left abductor muscle during the Sri Lanka game, but before leaving plays the kind of innings that must have led to the coining of the phrase “beware the wounded batsman”. Then Daryl Tuffey, at the time looking their best bowler, breaks his hand while fielding and is ruled out for the rest of the tournament. Next up, Grant Elliott, hero of the win against England, breaks his thumb, but braves the injury to score a heroic unbeaten 75 in the semi-final.The real villains start appearing only in the later stages of underdog movies. Exhibit 4: On paper Pakistan have everything they need to end this underdog tale, but their occasional overconfidence and exceptional play from the underdogs take New Zealand to the final.Underdogs in the movies meet the biggest, scariest villain right at the end. Exhibit 5: It is always Australia’s fate, or that of any champion team, that their excellence, consistency, their hard work, will always be seen as villainous in romantic underdog stories. We can also conveniently forget that they too lost three of their most important players – Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin – in the lead-up to the tournament. Champions, though, don’t deserve such considerations. Every good underdog story needs a mean villain, and Australia have rarely failed to oblige at world events.If more context is needed, New Zealand have historically seen Australia as big brothers, and have always sought to bring their best against them. Moreover, New Zealand are yet to beat Australia in a tournament final, and have lost six times (tournaments with more than one final have been considered as one). Centurion will not provide them with a freak pitch either. It’s all stacked up against New Zealand this time, and no self-respecting underdog story would have it any other way.How good this story is will be known by Monday evening, or rather early on Tuesday morning in Australia and New Zealand.Form guide(last five completed matches, most recent first)Australia – WWWLW
Ominously they are peaking at the right time. Even more ominously they have survived the one token scare that champion sides face, in the game against Pakistan.New Zealand – WWWLL
Their weakened line-up has made the rest even more determined. They will rely a lot on their bowlers and fielders to find a balance between defence and attack, and restrict Australia like they did Pakistan.Team newsBoth teams gave satisfactory performances in the semi-finals, and both are more or less settled – even if not entirely by design.Australia (probable): 1 Shane Watson, 2 Tim Paine (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Cameron White, 6 Callum Ferguson, 7 James Hopes, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Nathan Hauritz, 11 Peter Siddle.A discussion on allrounder Brendon Diamanti has its merits – Neil Broom hasn’t had much to do in the tournament – but New Zealand are not likely to tinker with a winning combination. And the way Elliott came through the semi-final, a big worry for them has been taken care of.New Zealand (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum (wk), 2 Aaron Redmond, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Neil Broom, 6 Grant Elliot, 7 James Franklin, 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Shane Bond, 11 Ian Butler.Watch out for…Daniel Vettori is definitely in the running for the Player-of-the-Series award. Against Sri Lanka he rescued a floundering middle order, and against Pakistan he promoted himself to No. 6 and guided a nervous side through to the final. And that’s besides his routine job, during which he has taken seven wickets at an average of 17.71 and an economy-rate of 3.97. He is now four wickets short of the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, Wayne Parnell.Ricky Ponting has a habit of turning it on on the big day. But he is a bruised captain, too, the only Australian leader since time immemorial to have lost the Ashes twice. He has also led them to successive unsuccessful campaigns at ICC events. When was the last time they failed to win three majors in a row?Shane Watson is a threat to Vettori for that series award. He has taken six wickets at 16.83, and put behind him the lean run with the bat that he experienced at the end of the England series and at the start of this event. If he bats like he did in the semi-final, we could be in for a swift finish.Pitch and conditionsCenturion, apart from the Pakistan-Australia game, has had flat batting pitches, which could made it harder for New Zealand to pull off an upset. A 30% chance of precipitation means we should get a complete game.Stats and trivia New Zealand have entered 13 tournament finals before this, and have won four of those.Since their 1999 World Cup triumph, Australia have reached 19 tournament finals, and have lost only three: in 1999 to Sri Lanka in Colombo, and two CB Series finals to England and India in 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively. The whole New Zealand team has scored six ODI centuries between them (Ross Taylor 3 and Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill and Grant Elliott one each), Ponting has 28. Australia have beaten New Zealand in six tournament finals. This will be their first meeting in a final at a neutral venue.Quotes”We are playing at a level which would win us the big games. We look to play best cricket when it matters. We are peaking at the right time for the finals.”
“But once you reach that level, you realise there is an immense desire to go all the way and I think there’s no relief in the camp. It was all about how we’re going to win tomorrow as opposed to it’s great the we’ve made it”
.

أعلن أحمد سامي المدير الفني لـ سيراميكا كليوباترا، رحيل الثنائي شادي حسين ومصطفى ميسي، وضم أحمد ياسر ريان مهاجم الأهلي، موضحًا اقتراب فريقه من التعاقد مع لاعب آخر من المارد الأحمر.

وقال سامي في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة “أون تايم سبورتس”: “رحيل مصطفى ميسي وشادي حسين لن يؤثر على الفريق وسيتم التدعيم ببدائل قوية في نفس المراكز”.

وتابع: “إن شاء الله صلاح محسن سينضم لسيراميكا كليوباترا، وحسام حسن أبدى رغبته في البقاء مع الأهلي من أجل الحصول على فرصته، وأحمد ياسر ريان سيتألق معنا في الموسم الجديد وسيكون مختلفًا”.

وكان “بطولات” علم في وقت سابق، عن إنهاء الأهلي اتفاقه مع سيراميكا كليوباترا، بضم لاعبه شادي حسين مقابل أحمد ياسر ريان. طالع التفاصيل.

وأردف: “لا أركز على أسماء اللاعبين، الأهم هو جودتهم وهذا الأمر يتم بالتواصل مع الإدارة وأنا أجهز لموسمين مقبلين”.

واستطرد: “لم يتم طرح اسم يوسف أوباما للتعاقد معه ولكن الزمالك لم يعرض أي لاعب في صفقات تبادلية، وأي لاعب الأهلي يعرضه سنتعاقد معه مثل محمد شكري الظهير الأيسر وأحمد رمضان بيكهام، ولم يتم المناقشة بشأن عمر السعيد”.

وأضاف: “لا أعلم أي شيء عن وجود بند بأحقية شراء الأهلي لـ أحمد ياسر ريان من سيراميكا كليوباترا”.

واستطرد: “هناك عدد كبير من حراس المرمى المميزين في الدوري منهم محمد بسام والهاني سليمان ونستهدف ضمهم للفريق، لكن ننتظر موقفهم”.

وأكمل: “لم يعرض علينا أبو جبل ولا أعرف شيء عن الحارس، ونفس الحال بالنسبة لأوباما، ولا نرغب في ضم أي مهاجم من الزمالك بعد التعاقد مع أحمد ياسر ريان واقتراب صلاح محسن”.

واختتم: “كهربا لاعب جيد للغاية، ولو أصبح لاعبا حرا سأضمه من الغد، ولن يحتاج لفترة اعداد طويلة، وسيقدم أداء مميز مع سيراميكا كليوباترا”.

West Bromwich Albion have been dealt a major injury blow ahead of their upcoming Championship fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by the West Brom website, Valerien Ismael confirmed that Grady Diangana will not be available for selection for the trip to Swansea City on Wednesday evening, as the winger is yet to recover from a hamstring injury which saw him ruled out of the 1-0 win over Birmingham City last Friday.

Speaking about the current condition of the 23-year-old, Ismael said: “Grady won’t be available for the game because he only had his first session with the group on Tuesday. It’s too close for him to be able to play. If everything goes correctly then hopefully him being available for Saturday won’t be a problem.”

Meanwhile, the Frenchman also revealed that Alex Mowatt, who was brought off midway through the second half of the Birmingham victory due to a toe injury, will be assessed prior to Wednesday’s fixture.

On the central midfielder’s fitness, the 46-year-old said: “We’ll assess Alex before the game at Swansea. We’re going to keep a close eye on things and how he is before we make a decision on him.”

Ismael will be gutted

While it is undeniable that Diangana has not been in the best form of his career this season, having scored no goals and registered just one assist over his 11 Championship appearances, the absence of the winger for the trip to Swansea will nevertheless have left Ismael gutted. The 23-year-old proved in the Baggies’ promotion-winning campaign back in 2019/20 that he undoubtedly possesses the ability to help fire the club back to the Premier League.

Indeed, over his 30 Championship appearances that season, the £9m-rated forward bagged eight goals, provided six assists and created eight big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.6 shots and making 1.4 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the £36k-per-week man earn a highly impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.06, ranking him as Albion’s third-best performer throughout the campaign in question.

As such, while, as previously mentioned, the former West Ham United winger is yet to hit these heights so far this season, it is abundantly clear that Diangana can win a game in an instant for West Brom, a talent that Ismael will sorely miss on Wednesday night.

In other news: Forget Hugill: Ismael could save WBA millions by placing trust in 20 y/o “star boy”

Steve Bruce is no stranger to being hung out to dry by his respective employers. At Hull City he was virtually singled out as club spokesman when the owners attempted to erase the team’s history by renaming it as part of a rebranding strategy. Then at Newcastle he performed the same role for Mike Ashley, being asked to stand between the Sports Direct boss and the irate Toon Army.

It is therefore no surprise that since his sacking at Newcastle he has released statements about the torment he has suffered while fulfilling his role as a topflight manager. Indeed, his treatment is now being highlighted as a potential barrier for new managers to enter the game, especially ex-players who probably could do without even more abuse than they suffered during their playing careers.

Do Inflated Salaries Justify Such Treatment?

There is an argument that because top managers and players get paid so much that they should just put up with the flack that comes their way, but in many ways this misses the point, that being that if managers are so distracted fighting battles on behalf of their club’s owners they will not find the time to run their football team correctly. Just as managers often talk of protecting their players, it might be a good idea for owners to do the same with their managers.

Is There a Different Way?

Ultimately managers put up with enough criticism regarding how their charges are living up to the betting odds and the expectations of online tipsters and sports bettors. This means that none of them need the added pressure of acting as a front man for their owner. Clubs may wish to start putting official PR or spokespeople in front of the cameras when such issues relating to club ownership arise, allowing managers to focus instead on delivering for those fans who wagered their online free bets on top football action. It could also be good that as part of Premier League rules, club owners should be forced to face fans or the media a set number of times each season, thus further taking pressure off the shoulders of harassed managers. The odds of that happening are slim, but it would certainly make for a fairer and more transparent Premier League.

Is Bruce the Only One?

Bruce is far from the only manager undertaking this sort of role of go between. A good case in point was the whole furore surrounding the European Super League, where managers found out in the media that their club was being entered in the breakaway league rather than being kept abreast of the topic by their bosses. This led to managers like Jürgen Klopp having to explain his club’s actions, despite them being counter to his own beliefs on how the game should be run.

A powerful batting display from Hampshire, led by Michael Lumb’s 100, propelled them into the Friends Provident Trophy semi-finals as they proved too good for a Middlesex team missing key players

Cricinfo staff23-May-2009
ScorecardMichael Lumb sweeps during his 100 as Hampshire piled up the runs•Getty Images

A powerful batting display from Hampshire, led by Michael Lumb’s 100, propelled them into the Friends Provident Trophy semi-finals as they proved too good for a Middlesex team missing key players. Lumb and Jimmy Adams added an opening stand of 154, while there was a strong finish from Liam Dawson as Hampshire reached an imposing 310. The visitors’ inexperience batting line-up couldn’t keep up the chase.It was a commendable effort by Middlesex to hunt down a huge target without the services of Phil Hughes (back in Australia), Owais Shah and Eoin Morgan (both on England duty) after each of that trio had played key innings at various times in the qualifying stage. Without them, Middlesex had to draft in Billy Godleman, who had previously lost his one-day place, and 19-year-old Sam Robson.Godleman fell early in the chase, but Robson combined with Neil Dexter to give Middlesex a chance. They added 89 for the third wicket and kept the asking rate within reasonable bounds. However, Robson fell when he tried to cut Dawson and the middle order lost momentum. The normally free-flowing Dawid Malan laboured for 19 off 39 balls and three quick wickets then put paid to any slim hopes of success.Malan was removed by Billy Taylor and shortly after Dexter picked out midwicket against Imran Tahir for 78. Taylor showed all his experience when he bowled Shaun Udal and Hampshire were home and dryUdal, the Middlesex captain, made a surprise move by opening the bowling on a dry surface after Hampshire batted first. However, that experiment lasted just one over before the quicks took over and the Hampshire openers began to make hay. The run rate was soon above a run-a-ball and the visitors missed the experience of Tim Murtagh.Steven Finn made the breakthrough when he bowled Adams but Hampshire eased past 200 as Lumb reached his century off 97 balls. However, when he was stumped next ball off Malan the pace slowed a little as Udal picked up two quick wickets. But there was a final flourish from the home side as Michael Carberry and Dawson added 90 for the fifth wicket. Dawson again caught the eye with 51 off 37 balls and it was an innings that proved vital.

Leeds United winger Raphinha may have become even more crucial for the Whites than Kalvin Phillips, according to journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Raphinha excels on Brazil debut

The 24-year-old has been superb for Leeds since arriving from Rennes in 2020 and he has taken his form with him to the international stage.

Raphinha registered two assists on his Brazil debut on Thursday evening, helping them to a 3-1 victory away to Venezuela in a World Cup qualifier.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375277″]

The Latest: Hay hails winger

It was a performance that summed up Raphinha’s brilliance, and taking to Twitter on Friday morning, The Athletic‘s Hay admitted that he could be the first name on Leeds’ team-sheet, ahead of even Phillips:

“One of the questions in the mailbag was ‘Is Raphinha Leeds’ most important player?’ and even though Phillips is the player Leeds really miss, you could easily make an argument for Raphinha.”

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The Verdict: Phillips still the key man

Raphinha is a wonderful footballer who is unquestionably one of Leeds’ star men, but Phillips is still the player they miss the most when he isn’t there, losing seven out of the nine fixtures he was absent for in the top flight last term.

That was highlighted in the 5-1 defeat at Manchester United on the opening weekend of the season when the Whites’ midfield fell apart without him in the team.

Phillips has averaged 2.3 tackles per game in the Premier League this season – only Liam Cooper (2.7) has more – as well as an 84.6 percent pass completion rate.

The England international brings so much energy, quality and all-round influence in the middle of the park that he has the edge over Raphinha, which isn’t to diminish his own class as a footballer.

In other news, one Leeds player has been tipped to make a ‘breakthrough’. Find out who it is here.

MatériaMais Notícias

O técnico Fábio Carille deve ganhar mais um desfalque para os próximos jogos do Corinthians. Após as lesões de Pablo e Jadson e o incômodo muscular de Romero recentemente, o meia Marquinhos Gabriel sentiu a coxa esquerda e deve ficar um tempo no departamento médico.

Marquinhos teve de ser substituído por Giovanni Augusto aos 38 minutos do primeiro tempo do jogo contra o Flamengo. Ele será reavaliado nesta segunda-feira, na reapresentação do elenco no CT Joaquim Grava.

Por outro lado, o atacante Clayson não foi substituído por conta de alguma lesão. Ele sentiu apenas câimbras durante o segundo tempo da partida.

– Eu trabalho com o grupo, não fico lamentando, é esse o elenco que eu tenho e venho trabalhando todos os dias – disse o técnico Fábio Carille.

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