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A development has emerged on Rangers’ pursuit of former Glasgow defender Gio van Bronckhorst to take over as manager.

What’s the talk?

According to Sky Sports journalist Dharmesh Sheth, the Dutchman’s agent confirmed to him that he has held ‘positive talks’ with the Gers ahead of a potential move to Ibrox.

Sheth Tweeted: “Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s representative tells @SkySportsNews they held “positive talks” with Rangers today over vacant managerial position. Footage shows van Bronckhorst leaving London earlier.”

He accompanied the Tweet with a clip appearing to show van Bronkchorst heading off to board a plane at Heathrow airport.

Buzzing

This update from Sheth will surely leave Rangers fans buzzing as it appears to place the club one step closer to announcing Steven Gerrard’s successor. The ex-Liverpool man was snatched up by Premier League side Aston Villa earlier this week and the Gers are now moving quickly to bring in a new head coach, with van Bronckhorst seemingly leading the race at this moment in time.

Gers fans will be delighted with the speed at which the decisions are being made by Ross Wilson, with a quarter-final clash with Hibernian coming up next Saturday at Ibrox in the League Cup. The club have the chance to make the last four of the competition and not having a manager in place for the match could hinder their chances, as players would be going out without a coach who they know will be there in the long-term and a bit-part gameplan in-place.

Van Bronckhorst, in particular, could be a superb appointment ahead of this match as his record in cup competitions as a manager is eye-catching. He won four of his five cup finals at Feyenoord and made the quarter-finals and semi-finals in the other two seasons he failed to reach a final. This shows that he is adept at progressing in domestic cups and that could give Rangers an edge in the SFA Cup and League Cup this season, two honours Gerrard failed to win at Ibrox.

Therefore, fans should also be delighted that the talks went well with the Dutchman as he has a track record of winning trophies, including an Eredivisie title with Feyenoord, and could pick up where Gerrard left off. They must be buzzing not only with the speed of the dealings from Wilson but also the fact that they have progressed seamlessly, with the 46-year-old closing in on a switch to the club.

AND in other news, Davis 2.0: Rangers could sign new metronome in gem who “quietly impressed” ex-EPL boss…

England made no mistake in securing their qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after a resounding 10-0 win over San Marino last night and it was a Liverpool star who stood out despite a plethora of goal scorers.

Strikes from Harry Kane, Harry Maguire, Emile Smith Rowe, Tyrone Mings, Tammy Abraham, Bukayo Saka and an own goal secured the victory for Gareth Southgate’s side in what ended up being an incredibly one-sided affair.

However, despite not getting on the scoresheet on this occasion, Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who played the full 90 minutes of the game, still managed to play a big part in the rout.

With 122 touches of the ball, more than any other England player on the night, the right wing-back managed to provide three assists, complete 91 passes with one cross and five long balls, showing just how much England relied on him to keep the ball moving across the pitch throughout the game, which explains why Southgate kept him on the field for the full duration.

As well as showing how much of an attacking and creative threat he can be, Alexander-Arnold didn’t shy away from his defensive duties, making two interceptions when called upon.

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Overall, this performance from the Liverpool defender earned him an impressive match rating of 8.6/10 according to SofaScore, making him the third-highest rated player that started the game.

This performance for England mirrors the sort of performances Alexander-Arnold has produced for Liverpool this season with WhoScored currently listing him as their second-highest rated player with an overall performance rating of 7.7/10, proving that he has been one of Jurgen Klopp’s heroes in this current campaign. With that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that he’s been described as being “out of this world” in the past by pundit Gary Neville.

Moving forward, from an international point of view, despite the rather effortless way England beat San Marino on this occasion, the young defender’s performance showed why he definitely should be in the final squad for the World Cup next year.

Also, if he can continue to keep playing the way he has been for Liverpool and potentially help them win a trophy this season, this would further highlight just how much of an impressive player he is as a whole for his club given how he’s managed to score one goal and provide seven assists in 12 appearances across all competitions at this point in the season.

In other news: Edwards could seal final Liverpool masterclass by signing “exceptional” £81m-rated gem – opinion

Sohail Tanvir has said he has spent his time out of the side “overcoming his problems” and is now set for a stint with Surrey

Cricinfo staff27-Jul-2009Sohail Tanvir, the Pakistan left-arm fast bowler who was dropped for the series in Sri Lanka after a poor World Twenty20, has said he has spent his time out of the side “overcoming his problems” and is now set for a stint with Surrey.While Surrey have not confirmed the news and are still in talks with several players, Tanvir said he had signed a contract with the county and was waiting for his work permit to be sorted before leaving for the UK. “Since I am not a part of the Pakistan team at the moment therefore this stint with Surrey would provide me with good practice,” Tanvir told the Pakistan television channel . Tanvir hoped the stint would help him get back into the Pakistan side.”I am aware that I am not bowling to the best of my ability, but I am confident that the loss of form is temporary and bowling at The Oval will give me my confidence and form back,” Tanvir was quoted as saying by However the entry of the 17-year-old Mohammad Aamer into the Pakistan side has put Tanvir’s return in doubt. Aamer, who made his Test debut against Sri Lanka, had a match haul of 6 for 112 in the first Test before going wicketless in the next two. But he is set to play the one-day series starting on Thursday.Tanvir has welcomed the competition. “The healthy competition would enhance the performance level which will ultimately benefit Pakistan and whoever performs well should play for Pakistan.”

Simon Zekaria has dropped a controversial reveal involving beIN Sports and the potential takeover of Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: CAT revelations

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) hearing between the Tyneside club and the Premier League over the stalled takeover deal with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group finally got underway on Wednesday morning.

As cited by The Daily Telegraph, the St James’ Park club were quite astonishingly threatened with expulsion from the top flight, and their separate arbitration case against the division will now take place on 3 January 2022.

The Latest: Zekaria on beIN

Journalist Zekaria has now revealed that St James Holdings Ltd (SJHL), the company owned by Mike Ashley who bought the CAT claim, have alleged that beIN Sports pressurised the Premier League to block the proposed takeover on Tyneside while discussing a three-year broadcasting rights deal to 2025.

He said: “I have learnt that SJHL’s competition claim alleges that beIN Sports pressurised the PL to block the sale of @NUFC while negotiating a three-year broadcasting rights deal to 2025.”

The Verdict: Controversial

Given that the KSA’s issue with piracy and the illegal streaming of games in the Premier League was reportedly suggested to be key in the delay of the takeover, it is not a surprise to hear that Qatari broadcaster beIN allegedly pressurised the top flight to block the sale.

However, it does not make it any less controversial, as decisions on the takeover should not be influenced by outside parties.

It will no doubt be interesting to see what the arbitration proceedings bring in terms of the direction of where the takeover bid is now heading.

In other news, one Newcastle player’s performance against Wolves has come in for criticism

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After only managing to get a point against Leeds United last week, Newcastle will be hoping to finally pick up their first win of the new Premier League season when they face Watford on Saturday afternoon.

Steve Bruce’s side were involved in an action-packed clash against the Whites which saw Allan Saint-Maximin net a superb solo goal to ensure that the Tyneside club didn’t come away empty-handed.

However, with the Magpies still firmly in the relegation zone heading into the game at Vicarage Road, they could desperately do with adding some more attacking intent – starting with giving Saint-Maximin a partner in crime.

Since joining from Bournemouth on a free transfer back in September 2020, it’s fair to say that Ryan Fraser hasn’t exactly set the world alight at St James’ Park.

The £9m-rated Scotland international has struggled for both form and fitness on Tyneside, making just 27 appearances to date and scoring only one goal for his current club.

In his real standout campaign with Bournemouth back in 2018/19, though, Fraser racked up seven goals and a whopping 14 assists, proving that he can perform at Premier League level when he’s on song.

His former Bournemouth teammate Eunan O’Kane said: “Ryan has got the world at his feet.He has taken him time to settle, but he has learnt a lot in the six months he has been here.For me he is a dream. I just give him the ball and stand behind him and let him do what he does. He is an outlet and can run with the ball and gives us a different option.”

Meanwhile, former Celtic ace Charlie Nicholas added: “What I like is that he is a little pocket dynamo. He is quite an old-fashioned type of player – what we used to call a tanner ba’ – from the days when Scottish players were very popular. He has a little bit of that.”

The 59-year-old continued: “What he does understand is when he gets the ball and is allowed to run at people and be expressive. That is when he is at his finest. It is nice to see a Scot with this kind of creative, natural talent that we don’t obviously have enough of at international level.”

Given the incredible reliance that Newcastle put on Saint-Maximin to be their main goalscorer and creator, having Fraser in the starting line-up would give the Frenchman some much-needed support.

It could be the kind of game-changing move which finally swings things Newcastle’s way.

Meanwhile, Newcastle could sign a major Sean Longstaff upgrade in this ace…

Southampton defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu turns 30 later this month and is now in the final two years of his contract at St. Mary’s. With the Spaniard heading into his 30’s, the club may start to think about what life starts to look like post-Romeu.

He has played 216 games for Southampton since joining from Chelsea in 2015, establishing himself as a regular in midfield almost instantly. His tally of 21 Premier League appearances last term was the only season in which he has not featured in at least 29 league matches for the Saints, emphasising his importance over the past six years.

All good things must come to an end, though, and there could be a player currently in the Southampton academy who could take the torch from Romeu and burn bright in the middle of the park – Caleb Watts.

The 19-year-old Australian international has already made his first-team debut for Southampton and could be the long-term successor to Romeu. Australia’s technical director, Trevor Morgan, was effusive in his praise of the midfielder earlier this year and backed him to have a career in the Premier League. He said:

“He’s a wonderful talent. He was exceptional for us at the World Cup and showed no fear in the matches we played.

“He’s with a very successful team at the present time, and yeah they’ve got some injuries, but he’s a guy that can attack space quickly, he can score goals, he takes responsibility and wants to be on the ball.”

Morgan added: “He’s got a very high work rate, he’s flexible in that he can probably play anywhere in midfield, and he’s an intelligent player; when you speak to him about the game, he understands the game and he reads the game.

“On top of that, he’s training in a Premier League environment and he’s had to fight his way up into that squad, so I think he can have an excellent career and very likely at the Premier League level.”

As Morgan said, Watts can play in a variety of midfield roles – including holding midfield – and his energy could allow him to screen the defence whilst also having the quality on the ball to pick out passes.

He played three games in the Premier League last season, coming off the bench in all three, and featured in the FA Cup against Shrewsbury. This suggests that Ralph Hasenhuttl, like Morgan, sees potential in Watts and believes he can do a job at the first-team level.

Romeu still has two years left to run on his contract at St. Mary’s and this means that he can take Watts under his wing over the next 18 months or so to help him progress as a holding midfielder. The Australian can learn from the ex-Chelsea man to help make that leap from development football to being a first-team regular.

It is now down to Watts, however, to fulfil his potential and show Hasenhuttl that his Romeu replacement is already in the building and that another signing is not required.

AND in other news, Southampton must sign £28k-p/w beast who’s “one of the best”, he won’t cost a penny…

VVS Laxman and Mohammad Kaif have been named captains of the South and Central Zone squads for the Duleep Trophy

Cricinfo staff20-Jan-2009
Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman boost a strong South Zone © AFP
VVS Laxman and Mohammad Kaif have been named captains of the South and Central Zone squads for the Duleep Trophy. Both sides will kick off their campaign against each other on January 22 in Bangalore.Laxman only played one Ranji Trophy game this season, but made it a memorable one with 224 against Rajasthan. His presence, along with Rahul Dravid’s, make for a formidable South Zone side, which includes Robin Uthappa and S Badrinath. Anoop Pai, Hyderabad’s leading run-scorer this Ranji season, has also earned a spot.Five Tamil Nadu players feature. The opener Abhinav Mukund has been rewarded for an impressive Ranji season, in which he scored 856 runs at 85.60, with four centuries, Dinesh Karthik dons the gloves on the basis of a strong season, and L Balaji’s 36 wickets at 17.50 apiece in his comeback season have earned him a spot. Badrinath and the offspinner R Ashwin, who took 24 Ranji wickets, are the other TN players.Sreesanth’s form and fitness will be closely monitored. He played only one Ranji match for Kerala, in which he took seven wickets against Jharkhand, and will get between one and three games to prove himself. Pragyan Ojha, selected to tour Sri Lanka with India’s ODI side, adds depth to South’s spin department.Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Tanmay Srivastava, Uttar Pradesh’s leading wicket-taker and run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy, have been included in the Central squad, along with state-mate Shivakant Shukla, who came to prominence this season. Naman Ojha is the wicketkeeper and Piyush Chawla and Murali Kartik make up the spin component. RP Singh, ignored for the Sri Lanka tour, has been included.The Duleep Trophy is yet another chance for Kaif, who scored 529 runs in the Ranji Trophy, to stake his claim for re-selection to the national side. After captaining UP to their third Ranji final in three seasons, Kaif recently told Cricinfo he was still hopeful.South Zone squad: VVS Laxman (capt), S Badrinath, Abhinav Mukund, Robin Uthappa, Rahul Dravid, Arjun Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (wk), R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, L Balaji, Sreesanth, R Vinay Kumar, Saurabh Bandekar, Suresh M, Anoop Pai.Central Zone squad: Mohammad Kaif (capt), Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Anureet Singh, Robin Bist, Piyush Chawla, Faiz Fazal, Yere Goud, Murali Kartik, Naman Ojha (wk), Pankaj Singh, Parvinder Singh, Jalaj Saxena, Shivakant Shukla, RP Singh, Tanmay Srivastava.

Tottenham Hotspur sporting director Fabio Paratici could be on the verge of making his biggest mistake yet since his arrival from Juventus in June…

What’s the word?

According to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, the north London outfit are very unlikely to sign a striker before tonight’s deadline in what would be a blow to Nuno Santo and his plans.

“At this stage, understand Nuno and Paratici have decided that they will not look to sign another striker today after missing out on their top two targets,” the ever-reliable journalist tweeted.

It’s thought that Spurs had been looking at top-level forwards regularly throughout the summer – to not only partner Harry Kane but in the eventuality that he does leave in the future.

They had held talks with Fiorentina over a move for Dusan Vlahovic, whilst an agreement was struck with Inter Milan for marksman Lautaro Martinez before Romelu Lukaku’s move to Chelsea scuppered those plans.

His biggest mistake yet?

Indeed, earlier in the summer transfer window, the Lilywhites also targeted Danny Ings, who has since joined Premier League rivals Aston Villa.

The Telegraph claimed that the Portuguese head coach was keen to switch Spurs’ system to a two-man attack and would’ve liked an experienced striker to partner the England international.

Failure to deliver on his wishes will be a gutting setback to the manager’s long-term plans and attempts to bring success back to N17.

It also means that Kane remains his only out-and-out senior centre-forward heading into what appears to be a very busy campaign after they qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

We’ve been in this predicament before, under Jose Mourinho. Kane was struck down with an injury heading into January 2020 and Spurs soon slipped down the Premier League standings and were knocked out of the FA Cup by soon-to-be relegated Norwich City, as well as the Champions League by RB Leipzig.

The 28-year-old contributed to 54.4% of all of Spurs’ league goals last term, so that only goes to show just how crucial he will be to Nuno throughout the season.

However, without a back-up – or that partner the Portuguese boss desperately wanted – Paratici may have just let the Lilywhites down for the first time.

Should Kane get injured or the potential switch in system not work out, then the Italian may well have made his biggest mistake yet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

AND in other news, “I’m told”: talkSPORT reporter drops Spurs transfer claim, fans should be excited…

The ICC will look into a complaint from the BCCI against Clive Lloyd, the ICC cricket committee chairman, for suggesting the unrecognised ICL and the IPL, run by the BCCI, should learn to co-exist

Cricinfo staff21-Nov-2008The ICC will look into a complaint from the BCCI against Clive Lloyd, the ICC cricket committee chairman, for suggesting the unrecognised ICL and the IPL, run by the BCCI, should learn to co-exist. However, Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said it would first check with Lloyd to understand the context and veracity of the remarks that were reported in an Indian newspaper.Confirming the ICC had received an email from N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, on the issue, Lorgat told Cricinfo the ICC would approach the issue in a “fair and appropriate” manner. There was no time-frame involved in the process, he said.Asked about the ICL during a private visit to Mumbai last week, Lloyd, the former West Indies captain had told that “there’s nothing like having a discussion to break the ice”, and suggested the West Indies needed leagues like the ICL and the IPL to revive the game in the country.The BCCI on Thursday wrote to the ICC seeking action against Lloyd and compared the situation to the stepping down of Sunil Gavaskar as ICC cricket committee chairman earlier this year. Gavaskar was asked by the ICC to choose between his ICC role and that of a media commentator.Lorgat said he didn’t believe the comparison was valid. “We need to first establish if the merits of the case are the same,” Lorgat told Cricinfo. “Personally, I don’t believe so. We need to just ensure he does not make comments that are not appropriate. And if it is different case we need to establish exactly what the facts are without which it is very difficult to make comments.”The BCCI has adopted a hard-line position against ICL, and banned players associated with it from all forms of official cricket. It has also refused to entertain requests from the ICL for recognition, and pushed for a worldwide ban on players and officials associated with the Twenty20 league.Interestingly, the BCCI’s Asian allies have emerged with conflicting policies on ICL. Sri Lanka Cricket, headed by Arjuna Ranatunga, has allowed six ICL players to participate in a domestic competition, while Javed Miandad, the new director-general of the Pakistan board, has questioned the intent of the bans enforced by past PCB administrations on players contracted with the ICL.