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Chelsea exile Raheem Sterling may finally have a way to fulfill his hopes of departing Stamford Bridge on a permanent basis this winter.

After seven years at Manchester City, much more was expected when Sterling, in the prime of his career, signed for Chelsea in the summer of 2022. The former England international was a constant in the first team for two years, until the 2024 appointment of Enzo Maresca.

Sterling was loaned out to Arsenal for the 2024/25 season but scored no Premier League goals as he failed to establish himself as a starter with the Gunners.

Having failed to secure a move in the summer, Sterling has since been part of Chelsea’s “bomb squad”. Alongside players such as Axel Disasi, Sterling has had no involvement with the first team in the current campaign.

Maresca has since departed Stamford Bridge, with Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior in the frame to replace him at Chelsea. Despite the pending arrival of a new manager, however, it appears that Sterling is still determined to move on from the club.

West Ham pursuing deal as Sterling makes transfer decision

According to ESPN, Sterling is “prioritising a permanent move” away from Chelsea ahead of the February deadline, with West Ham being one of the clubs interested in acquiring his services.

The Hammers, who replaced Graham Potter with Nuno Espirito Santo early in the season, are firmly entrenched in a relegation battle, having won just three games before the turn of the year.

Having struggled for goals, West Ham have been targeting forwards this winter, with Sterling the latest to be linked with a move. Reportedly, the Hammers originally approached Chelsea to take Sterling on loan. The 31-year-old “rejected” this approach as he would prefer a permanent move to a London-based club.

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Active elsewhere in the market, West Ham’s offer to take Sterling on loan may have also been, in part, due to his staggering salary. Sterling is on an eye-watering £325,000 per week, a wage that Chelsea are keen to offload, especially for a player who is not part of the first team.

Chelsea’s top earners

Gross pay per week

Gross pay per year

1

Raheem Sterling

£325,000

£16,900,000

2

Reece James

£250,000

£13,000,000

3

Wesley Fofana

£200,000

£10,400,000

4

Enzo Fernandez

£180,000

£9,360,000

5

Marc Cucurella

£175,000

£9,100,000

Sterling has certainly not been at his best in recent years, though he has scarcely been afforded the chance to recapture his form in that time. At the London Stadium, Sterling could become an essential component of the starting 11, offering the Irons a creative spark that their attack, excluding Jarrod Bowen, desperately needs. Whether a deal will be completed, however, remains to be seen.

Related Premier League forward set to join West Ham after Nuno specifically asked for him

He’ll sign ‘immediately’ in January.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini

	The umpires have a word with Harbhajan Singh following his mid-pitch interaction with Andrew Symonds © Getty Images

Mike Procter, the match referee, has delayed Harbhajan Singh’s code-of-conduct hearing, originally scheduled for Saturday, until after the conclusion of the ongoing Test in Sydney on Sunday. Harbhajan was charged with a level-three offence under the ICC Code of Conduct following his on-field altercation with Andrew Symonds on day three of the second Test.”At the request of the India team manager and under the circumstances I have exercised my discretionary powers to postpone the code-of-conduct hearing until the conclusion of this Test match,” Procter said. “I am satisfied that with a further 24 hours India will have time to sufficiently prepare for this hearing.”The possibility of lawyers getting involved cannot be ruled out. The charge was laid by match umpires Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor after the close of play after they received a complaint from the Australia captain Ricky Ponting.”They reported to me that there was a breach of conduct, reported to them by Ponting,” Procter said while talking to . “It’s a level three, which is pretty serious. The umpires didn’t hear anything, they didn’t know anything about it. I’m the adjudicator at the hearing, there will be witnesses called. The end result is what I want to achieve. To answer your question, yes lawyers could be involved.”The incident occurred while Harbhajan was batting and Matthew Hayden walked past Harbhajan after his confrontation with Symonds but did not reveal any details of the accusations or the conversation. “We believe we have a very strong case,” Hayden said at the close of the fourth day.”It’s a scenario none of us want to be in, we love the game and we hope we can move forward. Andrew’s a very strong character who had a great, tough upbringing in Charters Towers [in north Queensland] and we all love him and Australia love him.”Meanwhile, the ICC have asked British barrister Nigel Peters QC to advise Procter during the hearing. Talking to PTI, an ICC spokesperson said that Peters, who is also an elected committee member of the Marylebone Cricket Club, had assisted them in the past.If found guilty, Harbhajan could face a ban of between two and four Tests or four and eight one-day internationals. The hearing will take place after the conclusion of play on Sunday.

Michael Hussey has been promoted from middle-order batsman to captain for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy © Getty Images

Michael Hussey, the stand-in captain, says Australia will look to regain confidence for the World Cup in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after their shock CB Series finals loss to England. Hussey is leading the team for the three matches starting in Wellington on Friday after Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist were rested from the week-long tour.”I just want us to focus on playing well in this Chappell-Hadlee series and we’re looking to win the series,” Hussey told reporters before the team left Melbourne. “We don’t want to focus on the World Cup and look too far ahead.”The team is excited, we’ve had a huge summer here in Australia, but we’re looking forward to getting away and playing some good cricket. We’re trying to change the momentum a little bit and get our confidence back a little bit, but I’m sure we’ll put in an excellent showing over there.”With Ponting and Gilchrist absent and Michael Clarke nursing a hip injury, Matthew Hayden is the only certainty out of Australia’s first-choice top four. Hussey batted at No. 6 throughout the CB Series and said team balance would dictate where he would slot into the order in New Zealand.”As captain you’ve got the luxury of getting to choose where you would like to bat,” he said. “I’ll sit down with John Buchanan and we’ll try to work out what the best balance for the team is and then I’ll fit in there.”If my role is best for the team coming in and playing that finishing role then that’s what I’ll do. If the team thinks I need to go up the order and try and bolster the middle-order in that way, or the team thinks I need to open the batting, then I’ll do whatever is best for the team.”Hussey, who averages 68.65 in one-day internationals, said he was in good shape despite two failures in the finals against England, when he fell to Andrew Flintoff for 17 and 0. “I still think I’m hitting the ball well in the nets but obviously my results haven’t been as I would have liked in the last couple of games,” he said. “I’m sure if I stick to my plans I can still be successful and consistent for Australia for a while yet.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Malinga Bandara dismisses Ashwell Prince as Sri Lanka head for an important win © Getty Images

Sri Lanka finally fought their way out of a poor patch with their first win of the VB Series at the Gabba which has thrown the tournament wide open. It may be just their third win in their last 13 one-dayers, but it was a resounding one, crushing South Africa by 94 runs. Kumar Sangakkara and Jehan Mubarak both struck fifties to propel them to 6 for 282, which proved to be an insurmountable total on an excellent pitch.It was a swift comedown for South Africa after the jubilation of beating Australia, at last, earlier this week. And when the post-mortem comes in the dressing room, the toss will probably be first up for dissection. Graeme Smith chose for his team to endure a long, hot day in the field and then, after falling early for three, he watched his side grind their way towards inevitable defeat on a used pitch. Afterwards he was adamant he did the right thing. “The pitch played well right through,” he said. “Our basics let us down.”He can say that again. Basically, South Africa dropped catches, bowled waywardly and then their batsmen were hopelessly outspun by the usual magic from Muttiah Muralitharan and some delightful legspin from Malinga Bandara: each grabbed three wickets. Jacques Rudolph and Mark Boucher both impressed with fifties, but theirs was a cause made hopeless from the outset as Chaminda Vaas started the rot with a controlled spell. He finished with 2 for 21 from eight overs.South Africa’s own attack wasn’t helped by being shorn of Nel, Ntini and Kallis and although Shaun Pollock inevitably held his end up – with 1 for 39 from his ten overs – the other bowlers were just too loose. But full marks to Sri Lanka for some stylish strokeplay.Sangakkara simply sizzled with his 88, while Mubarak dazzled in striking 61 from 67 balls, his highest international score. Sangakkara certainly used the flat surface well, and the pace of the ball, too, as he opened the face of the bat regularly and effectively. As usual, he was able to get himself a decent start but making it count was a bigger test for him, after getting out in the fifties twice in his last three innings.He was cantering along at nearly a run a ball in sight of his fifth ODI century before his wasteful dismissal at the hands of Pollock, a wicket prompted in part by Marvan Atapattu’s stickiness at the other end after Mubarak had fallen.While they were together, Sangakkara found a willing and able partner in Mubarak. The pair, who put on a well-deserved 108 for the second wicket, came out counterpunching and scored quickly after the early dismissal of Upul Tharanga.The dashing Mubarak played positively, his graceful hands caressing the ball to the boundary time and again, particularly square of the wicket, although he offered the odd well-timed straight drive, too.But he was lucky to celebrate his fifty after Johan Botha totally misjudged a chance in the deep off Monde Zondeki and missed the ball completely. As the bowler clasped his hands to his head, Mubarak ran three and brought up his half-century with a sheepish look, rather than the usual bat-waving. Botha made amends for the slip, though, with a quicker one which trapped Mubarak without too much further damage. Still, Mubarak’s was a richly deserved score in a smashing, confident display.Yet pumped up though it was, Sri Lanka’s eventual total still wasn’t quite as inflated as they would have hoped for until wickets slow-punctured their momentum in the later stages. Zondeki finally got in among the wickets in the first over of a more-controlled second spell – he removed Tillakaratne Dilshan – and, with Botha, he began to apply the squeeze to quieten Sri Lanka a touch. Credit must be given here to South Africa, who finally stepped up their game with some impressive fielding after those early fumbles.Their reply got off to a wobbly start and they were soon in trouble at 3 for 57. As wickets tumbled they soon fell behind the run-rate and when their Supersub Jacques Rudolph, in superb nick, became South Africa’s second run-out victim for 53, the momentum fell right away.Rudolph, in aggressive mode, strode to his well-constructed fifty with an array of shots – there were crashing cuts, dinky leg glances and some powerful drives. But he soon found himself in some difficulty against Muralitharan, who found immediate rip when he entered in the 18th over. From then on in it was all Sri Lanka and they will now head into their next clash on Sunday with Australia in buoyant mood.

Sri Lanka

Upul Tharanga c Boucher b Kruger 16 (1 for 33)
Jehan Mubarak lbw b Botha 61 (2 for 145)
Tillakaratne Dilshan c Gibbs b Zondeki 15 (3 for 172)
Kumar Sangkkara 88 (4 for 211)
Mahela Jayawardene c Prince b Botha 14 (5 for 244)
Marvan Atapattu (6 for 259)

South Africa

Graeme Smith lbw b Vaas 3 (1 for 8)
Boeta Dippenaar b Kulasekara 10 (2 for 30)
Herschelle Gibbs run out (Perera/Sangakkara/Kulasekara) 7 (3 for 57)
Jacques Rudolph run out (Perera) 53 (4 for 93)
Ashwell Prince c Kulasekara b Bandara 29 (5 for 127)
Justin Kemp b Bandara 10 (6 for 152)
Shaun Pollock c Atapattu b Vaas 4 (7 for 179)
Andrew Hall b Muralitharan 4 (8 for 184)
Johan Botha lbw b Muralitharan (9 for 188)
Mark Boucher c Dilshan b Bandara 62 (188 all out)

Zimbabweans 232 for 3 (Rogers 42, Masakadza 103*, Taylor 41*) beat Gauteng/ North West XI 229 for 7 (Snijman 97, Motaung 52, Rogers 3-38) by seven wickets
Scorecard

Barney Rogers: the man of the series in Bangladesh is on form once again© Getty Images

The Zimbabweans recovered from an ordinary start to their tour of South Africa to inflict a comprehensive seven-wicket defeat on a combined Gauteng & North West XI at Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom.The Zimbabweans restricted the combined team to 229 for 7 after they had made a good start, and then knocked off the runs with 5.5 overs to spare, with Hamilton Masakadza starring with an undefeated century. Masakadza reached his century and won the match with his 11th four – smashing Gerhard de Bruin to the midwicket boundary. He also hit a six, and shared an unbeaten partnership of 133 with Brendan Taylor, after Barney Rogers had provided a lightning start, slamming 42 from 41 balls with eight fours, four of them off successive balls from the suffering de Bruin.Although Stuart Matiskenyeri made only 12 and Alester Maregwede 10 before both were caught behind, the Zimbabweans were never in much trouble.It was rather different at the start, though, when the Zimbabweans – who won the toss and decided to bowl first – were subjected to a display of classy strokemaking from the 19-year-old Gauteng opener Blake Snijman, who hit nine fours in his 97. The combined XI rattled along to 143 for 0 by the 33rd over, before Zimbabwe finally made a breakthrough, as William Motaung lofted Gavin Ewing into the hands of backward square leg for 52.But after that, Zimbabwe rushed back into the game, as a succession of middle-order batsmen came and went in a hurry. On 2, Mohammad Akoojee clipped Ewing into the air on the leg side, where Tatenda Taibu took a tumbling catch (147 for 2), and five overs later Snijman’s innings was spectacularly ended by Matsikenyeri, who took a blinding catch at midwicket (167 for 3).Four balls later and the fightback was complete, as Juan le Roux cut at a wide one from Matsikenyeri and was well held in the gully by Taylor. Three more wickets fell in a helter-skelter final ten overs, in which Richard Stroh and Matthew Harris smacked a six apiece to keep the combined XI on course for a decent total.But Rogers started the reply with a bang, and Masakadza, who recently came down from university in South Africa, relished his return.

Early breakthrough: Richard Johnson celebrates the wicket of Javed Omar © Getty Images

Close
ScorecardEngland ended the second day of this Test holding the edge, but only after another shocking collapse in which they lost their last five wickets for 13 runs from 80 balls to be bowled out for 326. Mashrafe Mortaza took a Test-best 4 for 50 and the clatter of wickets again surrendered a strong position and threw away a good start to the day, this time by Nasser Hussain and Chris Read. Rikki Clarke did put England back on track with two quick wickets, but Bangladesh held out to close on a battling 93 for 4.England’s morning progress was solid rather than spectacular, with 74 runs coming in the first two hours for the loss of only Clarke’s wicket for 55. Read and Hussain carried on untroubled until lunch, with Hussain happy to play second fiddle. Read was the main aggressor, playing positively from the start, hitting six boundaries and taking the attack to the bowlers.However, just like yesterday, England suffered a sever bout of the post-lunch blues as the bowlers turned up the heat and the lower-order melted. Read’s dismissal started the slide when he was caught by Rajin Saleh at short-leg off Enamul Haque jnr for a bright 37 (313 for 6). One over later and Hussain followed, snicking Mortaza to Khaled Mashud, the wicketkeeper, who took a good catch low to his right for 76 (313 for 7). That left the tail horribly exposed, and it offered precious little resistance as Mortaza cashed in on some cheap wickets. The last three batsmen fell for a miserly 13 runs to complete a wretched hour for England.On the flat Chittagong pitch, the new ball was vital, and Richard Johnson and Matthew Hoggard both made early breakthroughs. Johnson continued his healthy knack of taking early wickets when he picked up Javed Omar in his second over. Trying to turn a straight ball through midwicket, Omar instead got a leading edge straight to Michael Vaughan at mid-off (6 for 1). Hoggard then tempted Habibul Bashar into a loose drive with a classic awayswinger which he edged head-high to Mark Butcher at gully (44 for 2).Hannan Sarkar, meanwhile, took the fight to the bowlers and was keen to get forward and drive anything full. For a while, Bangladesh’s scoring rate was more sprightly than it had been all series as Sarkar mixed the odd boundary with quick singles on both sides of the wicket. Hoggard, in particular, banged in the short balls to unsettle the batsmen, but it was the improving Clarke who turned the tide England’s way.Clarke replaced Johnson ahead of Martin Saggers, the debutant, and he was rewarded for another tight spell with two wickets in as many balls. His first victim was the big one of Sarkar for 28, with a bit of help from Asoka de Silva, who did his already dwindling popularity in these parts no favours. Sarkar went right back to a full delivery and was hit on the back pad. The ball was arguably missing leg stump, but de Silva quickly made up his mind and sent Sarkar on his way (61 for 3).

Mashrafe Mortaza celebrates the wicket of Nasser Hussain during England’s alarming collapse © Getty Images

And with the first ball of his next over, Clarke dismissed Alok Kapali for a golden duck. Kapali tentatively defended a short ball which kicked up and hit the handle of the bat for Butcher to take his second catch at gully (63 for 4). Clarke was on a hat-trick and Bangladesh were threatening to take a leaf out of England’s well-read book on The Art of Collapsing.But no-one can do it quite like they can, as Rajin Saleh and Mushfiqur Rahman defiantly held out for the last 15 overs. But only just. After Rahman creamed a square-drive for four off Saggers and spanked a Clarke slower-ball to the fence, he was dropped on 14 by Marcus Trescothick at first slip off Hoggard. It was hard chance low to Trescothick’s left, but not only did he spill it, he also injured his thumb and had to leave the field immediately to have an X-ray.Ashley Giles wasn’t brought on until the 36th over when the light was fading fast, but he bowled as well as could be expected given his current lack of confidence and was starting to find a rhythm just as the umpires offered the light to the batsmen with four overs of a mixed day for England remaining.

When India faced off against England in the Reliance Cup semifinal atBombay in November 1987, rarely could they have taken the field in aone-day international with so many factors in their favour. Thedefending champions, they were playing at home, had won fivesuccessive games, and were up against opponents who had manylimitations. Pakistan had beaten England twice in the group matches,and everything pointed to India registering a one-sided victory.Kapil Dev won the toss and sent England in to bat. Graham Goochdominated the scoring from the start, but India still claimed twowickets for 79 in 22 overs. Mike Gatting then joined Gooch and the twoadded 117 runs for the third wicket in 19 overs. Both batsmen adoptedthe bold policy of sweeping and pulling the two left-arm spinnersManinder Singh and Ravi Shastri. As future events proved, this was themajor turning point.Gatting on 56 finally swept Maninder onto his leg-stump; he faced 62balls and hit five fours. In his following over, Maninder removedGooch as well, but the opening batsman had scored 115 off 136 ballswith 11 boundaries. Allan Lamb countered the double blow by hitting anunbeaten 32 off 29 balls, and England were able to post a highlyrespectable 254 for six in 50 overs.India suffered an early blow when Philip DeFreitas bowled SunilGavaskar (4) with the total on 7. This was to be Gavaskar’s lastappearance for India in international cricket. KrishnamachariSrikkanth (31) and Navjot Singh Sidhu (22) put the innings back ontrack with a second-wicket partnership of 51 runs. The run-rate,however, could not be improved, thanks to accurate bowling andbrilliant fielding, and neither Srikkanth (55 balls) and Sidhu (40balls) managed a single boundary. Neil Foster removed both and, at 73for three, India were in some trouble. But Mohammad Azharuddin andChandrakant Pandit (in for Dilip Vengsarkar) initiated a recoveryprocess by adding 48 runs for the fourth wicket. After Pandit (24)became Foster’s third victim, Azharuddin and Kapil gave a fillip tothe scoring rate with a flurry of strokes.At 168 for four, India seemed well on course to victory. BothAzharuddin and Kapil were settled, there was plenty of batting tocome, and the required run-rate was below six an over. There was noneed for any mock heroics, but it was at this stage that Kapilexecuted a stroke he was to regret all is life. Carried away by hisown impetuosity, the Indian captain, who had hit 30 out of the fifthwicket partnership of 47, heaved Eddie Hemmings high and straight toGatting who had just then stationed himself on the mid-wicketboundary.In retrospect, this shot cost India the match. Even though Azharuddinand Shastri took the score to 204 before the sixth wicket fell, theIndians were strangely directionless. Hemmings, who had been hit byAzharuddin and Pandit for 27 runs from his first three overs, nowstruck back with a vengeance. He had Azharuddin leg-before for 64 (74balls, seven fours). Shastri was still determination personified, butpanic and recklessness now set in. With five wickets gone and 10 oversin hand, India were looking for five runs an over. But in a flash,Kiran More (0), Manoj Prabhakar (4) and Chetan Sharma (0) left, andShastri too finally gave in. When on 21, he swung at Hemmings,resulting in a skier that was gratefully accepted by wicket-keeperPaul Downton.Astonishingly, India lost their last five wickets for 15 runs in fiveovers, and the end came with a suddenness that was shattering for thepacked Wankhede stadium crowd, as well as millions watching ontelevision all over the world, to stomach. Hemmings, who had looked soinnocuous initially, took four for 21 in 34 balls and England,scarcely believing their good fortune, trooped out exultant victors by35 runs.

Overnight rain at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College meant that adamp wicket delayed the start of play between East Zone and West Zonein the CricInfo Rani Jhansi women’s cricket tournament on Monday byalmost two hours. The wicket was one predominantly of clay and thatmeant that the time taken to dry up was longer than usual.The matchwas reduced to a 41 overs a side affair and as it turned out, a lowscoring game. West Zone were restricted to 124 off their allotedquota. However, East were bundled out for 55 by some disciplinedbowling by West Zone.While the umpires Gururajan and Sundar made inspection afterinspection, the players did some light warm up exercises.Play finally got underway at 11.30. Winning the toss, the East Zoneskipper Pratima Chakravarty elected to take the field.Opening the bowling for East Zone was medium pacer Zulan. For West,southpaw Arti Vaidya got off the mark off the very first ball, easinga ball on her pads through the on side. Her companion out in themiddle was Vaishali Landge.After a slow start, West Zone lost their first wicket in the 10th overwhen Arti walked across her stumps and played down the wrong line to astraight ball from first change bowler Babusha. Arti (7) was steady inher stint at the crease. Though the score was just 21, it was hardly arepresentation of the West Zone effort. The outfield was slow as aresult of the overnight rain and boundaries were hard to come by. Tocompound matters, the East Zone bowlers maintained a good line andlength.A period of slow batting followed, with Vaishali unable to get theball away into the gaps. She motored on to 19, off what seemed like aninordinate length of time that consumed 54 balls, and was run outattempting a single that was not on.Though she was slow in going, Vaishali managed to seal up oneend. After her dismissal, wickets started to fall at regularintervals. It was only the arrival of the captain, Kalyani Umarani atthe crease that brought some hope for the West Zone side. After morethan 20 overs had been bowled, Kalyani cracked the first boundary ofthe innings. Planting her front foot down the wicket, she swung theball cleanly through the on side.However, West Zone’s joy was short lived. Kalyani, playing down thewrong line, nicked off spinner Saswati Mukherjee to thewicketkeeper. The West Zone skipper had made 20 off 39 balls.Unfortunately for West Zone they lost wickets at an alarmingly quickrate. From 49/2 they slumped to 90 for 7.Opening bowler Jhulan Goswami was the most economical bowler,conceding just 13 runs off her six overs. However, it was Saswati wholooked the most penetrative of the bowlers. She picked up 3/31 off hernine overs, including the wicket of the West Zone captain.At the end of their innings, West Zone had 124/9 on the board.When West came out to defend their modest total, the captain KalyaniUmarani took matters into her own hands. Opening the bowling with hernippy medium pacers she tied up one end. In a move that was designedto surprise, she had off spinner Sonali Chandok partnering her.Sonali bowled a fine spell. Giving the ball copious amounts of flight,she teased the batswomen into making false shots. Unlucky not tostrike early she drew first blood in the 8th over. Following that upwith more crisp off spinners, Sonali made batting very difficult forthe East Zone team. As the overs progressed, they got increasinglybogged down and began to lose wickets at regular intervals. In no timeEast Zone were reduced to 28/6. After that there was very little anysingle batswoman could do. Saswati with 14 top scored. Hardly a healhysign for East Zone.West Zone’s victory was achieved by maintaining good composurethroughout the course of the game. Sonali Chandok ended with thesplendid figures of 9-3-9-2 and helped skittle out East Zone for just55 runs.West Zone captain Kalyani speaking to CricInfo at the end of the matchsaid “we (West Zone) have nothing to lose. We are going all out for awin. The West Zone team will do its best to put up a good show.”

Taking to Twitter, journalist Jacque Talbot of The Daily Star has made a big Tottenham Hotspur transfer claim involving Sporting Lisbon star Joao Palhinha.

The Lowdown: Spurs linked…

The Lilywhites and transfer chief Fabio Paratici have been linked with a move for the Portugal midfielder before as Spurs reportedly eyed a move in the 2021 summer window.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-copy/” title=”Tottenham latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Sporting’s mainstay, due to his form over the past year, has attracted major Premier League interest with the tough-tackling Palhinha also having impressed in flashes at Euro 2020.

Now, with the 26-year-old potentially on the move this year, it appears super agent Jorge Mendes is about to offer Spurs a chance to sign him.

The Latest: Talbot makes major claim…

According to the reporter, Palhinha ‘will be offered’ to Spurs, Newcastle, Man United and other Premier League clubs with an ‘agreement in place’ for Mendes to facilitate his exit.

Whilst believing Wolves are the ‘most likely’ to sign him, Talbot believes Paratici’s relationship with Mendes also gives Tottenham a chance.

He explained: “Sporting Lisbon’s Joao Palhinha – heard similar, will be offered to Man United, Spurs, Newcastle, but other Premier League clubs in the running/more likely.

“Agreement in place with Jorge Mendes to forge a move.

“Wolves the most likely, I’m told, but of course, Mendes does have a good relationship with Tottenham’s MD Fabio Paratici.”

The Verdict: Get it done?

Palhinha has a release clause in his Sporting deal worth around €60 million (£50m) according to Record but the player may well be worth that investment going by his stats.

Indeed, the colossal 6 foot 2 anchor has averaged an impressive 3.3 tackles per 90 in the Portuguese top flight this season (WhoScored) – marking himself out as a truly robust option for Spurs boss Antonio Conte.

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By comparison to Tottenham’s squad, that’s a far greater number than any Lilywhites player has managed, with Emerson Royal coming the closest but quite far off (2.6).

As Mendes now looks set to offer out Palhinha, Spurs and Paratici may well want to seriously consider a move, especially with Sporting’s manager having already called him a ‘special player’.

In other news: ‘Really hotting up’ – Ex-BBC man say Conte could now axe ‘monster’ Spurs star! Find out more here.

Michael Clarke has been handed the reins for the match against New Zealand in Perth © AFP

Michael Clarke will give Australia a view of the future when he leads the team in the Twenty20 international against New Zealand on Tuesday. Clarke, who is tipped to be the next Test captain, will step in for Ricky Ponting, who will miss the Perth match to allow the younger players to be on show.Clarke, 26, leap-frogged Adam Gilchrist and Michael Hussey – the move is sure to disappoint the local supporters – and he will be in charge of a squad including Adam Voges, Ashley Noffke and Shaun Tait. Gilchrist remained the vice-captain while Matthew Hayden was not picked.”It’s any young kid’s dream to captain their country, I’m stoked,” Clarke said at the SCG. Thoughts of being the new leader were the last things on Clarke’s mind when he heard the chief selector Andrew Hilditch, nicknamed Digger, wanted to speak to him.”When Digger gives you a call over the phone it’s normally for bad news,” Clarke said. “I thought ‘please tell me I’m not going to get dropped’. It certainly was a shock to me, I was a little bit speechless.”Hilditch said the appointment was made “to enhance the leadership skills of Michael Clarke to assure the long history of strong leadership of Australian cricket is continued into the future”. Hilditch also said the squad marked the start of preparations for the 2009 World Twenty20 in England. “It represents a clear indication that we will at all times be picking Twenty20 sides which will be specific to this form of the game,” he said.Voges, who made his ODI debut in February, came in as reward for his strong domestic form – he struck 180 in the current match in Hobart – while Noffke deserved his call after taking 24 Pura Cup wickets and scoring 490 runs. There was no spot for Ben Hilfenhaus, the out-of-form Tasmanian, but Tait was given a chance to continue his rehabilitation from a serious elbow problem.Clarke’s maturity since returning to the Test arena in 2006 impressed those around the team and he was Hussey’s deputy during last season’s Chappell-Hadlee Series until withdrawing with a hip injury. John Buchanan, the former coach, believes Clarke will be Australia’s next Test leader, Ponting has said he was the “obvious choice” and there were even predictions before his debut that he would captain his country.”This is a great opportunity, but there is no doubt Ricky is our leader and will be for a lot longer yet, but I’m certainly proud and honoured to be given this opportunity,” Clarke said. “For me it’s about trying to grab it with both hands and really enjoying every minute of it. I’ve spent a lot of time standing beside Ricky throughout my short career for Australia so I think I’ve learned a lot.”Clarke said he had consulted Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ian Chappell since coming into the Australian team. “Any young player would be silly not to.” Next Tuesday it will be him giving the instructions.Australia squad Adam Gilchrist (wk), Brad Hodge, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Adam Voges, Brett Lee, Ashley Noffke, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait.