Liverpool are favourites to sign Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia in the summer transfer window, according to a key update from reliable journalist Florian Plettenberg.

Are Liverpool pushing to sign Romeo Lavia?

It is all change in the Reds' midfield this summer, with that area of the pitch set to look completely different once the new Premier League season gets underway next month.

The window started well for Liverpool, with Argentine World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister coming in from Brighton and Dominik Szoboszlai joining from RB Leipzig, but James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all moved on when their contracts expired.

Meanwhile, shock exit rumours surrounding Fabinho and Jordan Henderson have since emerged, with the pair looking likely to depart for Saudi Arabia in the very near future.

That highlights the need for further reinforcements in the middle of the park and Lavia has arguably been linked with a move to Liverpool more than any other midfielder this summer, having shone for Saints last season. The 19-year-old may end up leaving his current club sooner rather than later, following their relegation to the Championship, and Arsenal and Chelsea are also believed to be interested in signing him.

Now, a new claim suggests that a summer switch to Anfield is looking on the cards, in an update that will no doubt excite many supporters.

Are Liverpool favourites to sign Romeo Lavia?

Writing on Twitter on Tuesday morning, Sky Sports reporter Plettenberg dropped a fresh update regarding Liverpool's potential move for Lavia, saying the Reds are now in pole position to get their man:

"News Romeo Lavia: Understand that LFC is the top favorite now! Lavia wants to join Liverpool and has given the green light. No agreement between the clubs yet but concrete negotiations are ongoing. His price valuation was around £50m. Klopp wants him!"

It has since been claimed that the Reds have had a £40m offer turned down for Lavia, with Chelsea keeping an eye on the situation.

In truth, it has felt like Liverpool and Lavia are a match made in heaven for a while now, with the Belgium international clearly keen on joining up with Jurgen Klopp. This further suggests that it could now be a matter of time until the Reds get their man, as they potentially snap up one of the Premier League's most exciting young players.

Lavia was so impressive for Southampton last season, standing out amid their struggles and averaging 2.1 tackles per match in the league. He was also described as "incredible" Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, having left the Etihad for the Saints last summer, and compatriot Kevin De Bruyne has backed him to become a "top player" in the future.

He could come in and prove to be a great addition in Fabinho's No.6 role in front of the defence, and while he is still admittedly very young, he has already displayed a level of maturity beyond his years over past 12 months.

If Liverpool could sign Lavia and another player of a similar ilk – someone with a little more experience, such as reported target Cheick Doucoure, it could end up being a productive summer in the transfer market, in what is a major midfield transformation.

تأهل الفريق الأول للكرة الطائرة سيدات بالأهلي، إلى نصف نهائي البطولة الإفريقية للأندية التي تقام في ضيافة النادي حتى 4 مايو الجاري.

واستطاع الأهلي الفوز أمام فريق مصنع الكحول الإثيوبي بنتيجة 3/0، في المباراة التي جمعت الفريقين مساء اليوم في دور ربع نهائي البطولة.

رضا هيكل يُعلن رحيله عن الزمالك ويوجه رسالة للجماهير

‏‎وأقيمت المباراة على صالة الأمير عبد الله الفيصل بمقر النادي بالجزيرة، ونجح فريق سيدات طائرة الأهلي في فرض سيطرته على المباراة بفضل الإعداد الجيد والإرسالات القوية ليتأهل الفريق إلى نصف النهائي.

‏‎وفاز فريق سيدات طائرة الأهلي في الشوط الأول للمباراة بنتيجة 25-10، ثم واصل الفريق أداءه القوي ليحصد الشوط الثاني بنتيجة 25-11، ثم حسم الفريق المباراة بعد الفوز في الشوط الثالث بنتيجة 25-9.

وكان فريق سيدات طائرة الأهلي قد فاز على سان دوني بنتيجة 3-0 في المباراة الماضية.

“It’s not working.”That’s a line captains wish never to say, but Steven Smith had little choice when asked how he felt sitting in the dressing room watching Australia slide to defeat at Eden Gardens by 50 runs.A wrist-spinner picked up a hat-trick, the openers fell cheaply, there was only one partnership that crossed fifty and this after they had restricted India to 252 in the blazing heat of Kolkata.Australia lost five wickets for 42 runs in 10 overs between the 23rd and 33rd. And it took Smith back to previous collapses, in the Dhaka Test when they were 158 for 2 and then 244 all out, falling 20 runs short. In the Hobart Test, when they were knocked over for 85 and 161. During the Sri Lanka tour, when they crumbled for 161 in Pallekele, 106 and 183 in Galle, and, finally, even after two top-order batsmen made centuries in Colombo, they fell from 316 for 4 to 379 all out.”It’s happening bit too often for my liking, to be honest with you, in all forms of cricket,” Smith said. “We’ve had a lot of collapses we need to stop. It’s just easy to just sit here and say it needs to stay but when you get out in the middle, you’ve to change what you’re doing because it’s not working.”So … watching the ball closer. Maybe the guys are trying to watch the ball too closely and forgetting about just playing the game. It’s a hard one to put my finger on. But whatever it is, it needs to change and we need to make better decisions and start playing properly because we’re having too many collapses and it’s not good enough.”

Hardik run-out incident ‘no problem’

Steven Smith was front and centre as a dramatic episode unfolded in the 48th over of India’s innings. Hardik Pandya had skied a full toss to the Australian captain, who caught it, but anticipating the prospect of it being called a waist-high no-ball, and seeing that India were in the process of taking a single, he threw the ball to the bowler’s end in hopes of effecting a run-out.
However, since the umpires hadn’t ruled it a no-ball on the field, Hardik thought he was out caught and therefore was walking off the field, and as such became protected under Law 27.7.
“We thought… it was just play on,” Smith said when asked about his thoughts on the incident. “Didn’t realise it was dead ball if he didn’t choose to run. I think Bhuvi was running, he knew what was going on but Hardik turned around and went the other way. So we just thought the ball was still in play. They’ve said the rules that if they think it’s out, they go off and it’s a dead ball. It’s fine. No problem.”

Smith would not have wanted to be in a position where he had to admit such shortcomings, especially not in his 100th ODI. He produced an excellent half-century, weathering Bhuvneshwar Kumar in top form and even keeping Kuldeep Yadav at bay. He strung a partnership of 76 runs with Travis Head for the third wicket but when that was broken – off a full toss – Australia started to sink. That they managed to get to 202 after being 148 for 8 was down to Marcus Stoinis adding another lone hand to his Eden Park epic.”We should be getting the target of 253 on that wicket. We made many poor decisions again. Under pressure, we are not executing our skills well enough. We are losing wickets in clumps which we can’t afford to do.”One of our top four has to go on and make a big score. Heady and I were the two guys who got in and we weren’t able to do so. A lot of the blame falls on us. We got a good little partnership there. We turn 70 into a 140 then the game’s closed. We just weren’t able to do it.”Kuldeep had fun against a batting line-up going through such turmoil, dismissing Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar and Pat Cummins to complete a hat-trick. When asked if Australia are struggling to read the left-arm wrist-spinner, Smith said, “I’m not sure. I think we played him reasonably well at times today. Just the last few overs our tail-enders probably couldn’t play him as well as the batters. I felt quite comfortable against him today. We just weren’t able to go on and close the game out.”The guys have trained and trained really well. It’s now about getting in the middle and executing those when you are under pressure. Not panicking as such. I think we panicked last game a little bit. This game we just couldn’t get the partnerships, we are just making silly errors. We can’t allow to do so under a quality line-up like India. Stoinis played very well, didn’t panic, was nice and calm and played good cricket shots. Was nice and positive with his intent. We just needed someone in the top four to go on and if we do that the result could have different.”

The win increased the gap at the top between the two sides as Knight riders moved three points ahead of second-placed Patriots

Peter Della Penna24-Aug-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball updatesChris Gayle reached his fifty in 34 balls•Ashley Allen – CPL T20 / Getty

Darren Bravo and Brendon McCullum blitzed eight sixes off the final 13 balls of a rain-reduced chase to leave hosts St Kitts & Nevis Patriots shell-shocked as Trinbago Knight Riders escaped with a dramatic eight-wicket win (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern). The win increased the Knight Riders’ first-place advantage over Patriots to three points and a win in either of their final two matches will clinch them top spot in the league stage.Knight Riders held slim hopes after Colin Munro fell in the fourth over of the chase to Samuel Badree, after which rain halted their 13-over chase – a consequence of two lengthy delays during the Patriots innings – and reduced it to a six-over sprint in which they needed 52 off the remaining 17 balls. Yet, Knight Riders reached the target with four balls remaining.Lewis leads offEvin Lewis hits a ball to the boundary every 4.06 deliveries so far in CPL 2017, a rate behind only McCullum (3.80) and Mohammad Nabi (2.92) for players facing a minimum of 30 deliveries. Lewis was twice as good on Wednesday night, hitting every other ball he faced for four or six in a rollicking 14-ball 39.He distributed his punishment evenly against Knight Riders, driving Ronsford Beaton for a straight six in the second over before doing the same to Sunil Narine in the third. In the next two overs, he pulled each bowler over square leg for another set of maximums. Lewis was on track to bring up the fastest fifty of CPL 2017 – currently held by Darren Sammy off 23 balls – before he was given out to Narine caught behind. Replays showed the ball missed the bat entirely on a back-foot swipe, with the sound of the ball clipping the pad flap. That duped the umpire into upholding Narine’s appeal for a catch as Lewis walked off bemused.Action. Camera. Lights?Just 5.5 overs into the match, with the score at 60 for 1 and Gayle on 19, a floodlight power-failure halted play and eventually resulted in a 90-minute delay, which shaved off two overs from each innings. Just 2.1 overs after the break – as Patriots advanced to 86 for 1 – a further 45-minute rain stoppage caused another five overs to be peeled off.With only five overs left in the innings, Patriots went on to nearly double their score. Their 162 in 13 overs ended up as the sixth-highest first-innings total of the tournament, and the highest scoring-rate of any innings in CPL 2017 (12.46 per over).Vintage GayleChris Gayle was near his menacing best at Warner Park. On three separate occasions – Ashley Nurse in the seventh, Dwayne Bravo in the 10th and Ronsford Beaton in the 13th – he smashed sixes off consecutive balls. He reached his fifty in 34 balls; in the next 12 deliveries, he raced to 93.Gayle needed two boundaries off the innings’ last three balls to reach a ton and Beaton, the bowler, served up another pie, but the batsman mistimed it to deep midwicket. Gayle’s 93 was the second-highest individual score of CPL 2017 and also moved him to the top of the season’s run charts.Knight Riders ambushLewis and Gayle’s knocks, however, were mere afterthoughts in the face of the assault from Darren Bravo and McCullum. Set an adjusted DLS 13-over target of 169, Knight Riders scored only two runs off the bat in a five-run opening over from Ben Hilfenhaus.McCullum got hot in the second over against Carlos Brathwaite, taking him for a six and two fours, then followed up with a trio of boundaries off Hilfenhaus in the third. But Narine and Munro fell in the space of four balls to the Australian and Badree, before rain stopped the chase with the score 34 for 2 in 3.1 overs.When the rain finally ceased, the target was reduced to 86 in six overs. The drama was just beginning though, as Bravo pumped his first two balls straight over Badree’s head for six before heaving a short ball over midwicket for a third in three balls to start his innings. From there on, the equation was simple.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are looking to secure a big in-house agreement, according to talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook.

Who have been linked with exits at Molineux?

Over the course of the last few months, all three players in question have been linked with moves elsewhere as Wolves continue to endure a tumultuous summer transfer window.

In the case of Neto, Sporting Clube de Portugal have expressed an interest in taking the Portugal international on loan for the 2023/24 campaign and is said to be 'very well regarded' by the Lisbon giants, as per A Bola.

Football Insider claim that Arsenal had considered an approach for the £50k-a-week ace earlier. However, it remains to be seen whether they would re-ignite their attraction towards Neto after bringing in Kai Havertz from Chelsea.

Nunes has been mooted with a potential transfer to Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, as per L'Equipe transcribed via Sports Mole and also Liverpool in recent months as his stock continues to rise. Contractually, the deep-lying midfielder is tied to the Old Gold until the summer of 2027 and earns around £85,000 per week at Molineux, according to Capology.

Kilman has also garnered attention this window from Serie A giants Napoli, who saw a £30 million bid rebuffed for the former Maidenhead United defender last month, as per Telegraph Sport.

Earning a modest £15,000 per week at Wolves, Kilman and his current employers are said to have opened dialogue over improved terms to fight off keen suitors, this off-season, as per The Express & Star.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, talkSPORT reporter Crook thinks that Wolves boss Lopetegui will be doing everything he can to keep the trio around despite prying eyes from elsewhere.

Crook stated: Liverpool bid on Nunes in the January transfer window, but they seem to be targeting other midfielders.

"Neto, we know that Arsenal have liked in the past, but if you look at that forward area now with Kai Havertz coming in, where is he going to play? Do they need him? Probably not.

"Kilman, the interest from Napoli was real. I think Lopetegui has made it pretty clear, maybe that's why he's coming out and saying what he has, that he doesn't want to lose him, I think he will probably end up being captain if he stays.

"So, I think they're really hopeful that he will sign a new contract."

What now for Wolverhampton Wanderers?

The fears of a Kilman exit won't be over yet and it remains to be seen as to what the club will decide should another offer come in, with Napoli now eyeing up a loan-to-buy offer for the centre-back.

Spanish coach Lopetegui will be aiming to bulk out his squad by adding some additional bodies before the end of the window, though he has been hamstrung quite severely since the start of play in the market due to the Old Gold's well-documented financial issues.

Nevertheless, recruitment will be a priority of urgency at Molineux and Stuttgart defender Konstantinos Mavropanos has been eyed as a potential defensive reinforcement, according to The Sun.

Scotland international Che Adams has emerged as a target for Wolves and Southampton are reportedly bracing themselves for incoming bids amid further competition from Everton and Bournemouth to secure his signature, as per Football Insider.

Conversely, Wolves now look set to miss out on Bristol City talent Alex Scott after news broke that Bournemouth have swooped in to acquire the Guernsey-born playmaker, as per Telegraph Sport.

The game, which was scheduled for February 28, has been shifted to Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2017

The Napier ODI in McLean Park between England and New Zealand has been moved due to a delay in re-turfing the ground. The game, which was scheduled for February 28, has been shifted to Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.This is the third straight ODI that has been moved out of McLean Park after a match against Australia in February was abandoned due to poor drainage. A subsequent game against South Africa in March was moved to Hamilton. The completion of the $2 million overhaul of the McLean Park outfield, which began in October, was then delayed, forcing New Zealand Cricket to also move out the January 2018 ODI against Pakistan.Inclement weather in Auckland, where the new surface is being grown, has postponed the re-turfing process. “We’ve been advised by our sportsground turf specialist up in Auckland that the volatile weather conditions have obstructed the opportunity to get this specialised grass grown and we haven’t been able to access the 7600 tonnes of special grade sand we need to lay the carpet in time,” Napier City Council CEO Wayne Jack said.”Sadly, despite huge effort on all sides, these are factors outside of our control. We’re now revising all our time frames.”

Fulham are chasing both Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi and Everton forward Demarai Gray, according to reports.

Who will Fulham sign?

The Whites, having already signed centre-back Calvin Bassey and Mexico international striker Raul Jimenez this summer, are attempting to strengthen their ranks further before deadline day.

Fulham enjoyed a solid first full campaign back in the top flight under Marco Silva, finishing in mid-table and even above arch west London rivals Chelsea, who endured a nightmare season.

They even contested for Europe, but if they're to build upon that success, more new signing are needed after the captures of Bassey and Jimenez.

Last season's star striker, Aleksandar Mitrovic, is reliably believed to be pushing for a Fulham exit with Silva even commenting on the saga amid his links to Saudi Arabia.

"It's not the ideal situation, I have to tell you. Not because he received an offer, it's the situation about himself," Silva told reporters last month.

"As you know, he's not going to play tomorrow, he didn't play last Wednesday. He's not working properly with his team mates and when I say this is not the ideal scenario, this is the situation.

"When it's out of my control as a manager, this is not something that concerns me, but I would like to have a different scenario in that situation … Sometimes you have individual decisions that is for them to take care of."

Meanwhile, another Fulham star who could move to the Middle East is Willian, despite him signing a new contract recently, as Al Shabab push hard for his signature.

The need for a new winger may have intensified as a result, with both Hudson-Odoi and Gray linked to Craven Cottage moves in recent weeks.

The BBC have backed Fulham talks to sign the latter player, while Hudson-Odoi is believed to be a firm transfer target as well.

According to The Daily Mail and journalist Simon Jones, it appears Silva's side are targeting both players simultaneously. Indeed, according to their information, Fulham are "chasing" Hudson-Odoi and Gray this summer, but with deadline day in just over three weeks, they may need to hurry.

Not much else is said beyond that, but it looks as if Fulham supporters could expect more activity before the window closes.

How good is Callum Hudson-Odoi?

While Hudson-Odoi struggled to make his impact on loan at Leverkusen, we believe he has more potential to thrive at Fulham than Gray, namely due to his younger age.

The £180,000-per-week Chelsea forward, 22, has far more years ahead of him than Everton's attacker (27), with legends of the game having also tipped him to be huge.

“I know what a player he is," said former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard to the media in 2019.

"He can be an incredible player and he has improvement to make and I want to work with him to do it. But for that he needs to stay longer at the club and of course that then goes to a decision between him and the club itself. I can see him being a huge player for us.”

Meanwhile Gray, for his part, has been called "unbelievable" by former Man United defender Rio Ferdinand.

Wolverhampton Wanderers haven’t exactly had the best preparation before starting their 2023/24 Premier League campaign.

The Old Gold have made just two signings this summer, with Matt Doherty and Tom King arriving at Molineux while Julen Lopetegui has left the club after just nine months in charge amid a summer of unrest.

Gary O’Neil is the new man in charge, and he is already looking at making his first signing as Wolves have shown interest in Murillo.

Could Wolves sign Murillo?

According to Goal Brasil (via Sport Witness), Wolves have ‘opened talks’ to sign the Brazilian defender from Corinthians this summer.

The Old Gold are willing to spend around €12m (£10m) in order to make a move happen, yet this won’t be enough, especially considering Fiorentina had a bid of a similar amount rejected recently.

Nottingham Forest are also showing interest in Murillio and O’Neil could face some Premier League competition for the youngster.

Corinthians are demanding a bid of at least €20m (£17m) for any team to lure the player out of Brazil and this shouldn’t present much of a problem for Wolves, who have yet to spend any of the £47m they received from the sale of Ruben Neves.

Who is Murillo?

O’Neil’s first port of call will be to improve his defensive options. Not only did Conor Coady leave the club, joining Leicester City in the Championship, but Nathan Collins also departed, securing a move to Brentford and the former Bournemouth manager is lacking any real depth at the back.

Murillo could add some much-needed depth to the first team squad, while also being a big upgrade on Toti Gomes.

The Portuguese centre-back couldn’t quite grab a regular slot at the heart of the defence last term, yet when he did, the 24-year-old failed to live up to his potential.

The defender ranked 14th across the squad for tackles per game (0.9) while also ranking ninth for interceptions (0.6) and fourth for clearances (2.6) per game and keeping just four clean sheets in his 17 Premier League appearances.

For Corinthians this season, Murillo has already averaged 1.3 interceptions, 1.1 tackles and 4.8 clearances per game across just 12 matches and these figures rank him 12th, fourth and second in the squad receptively, clearly suggesting he could be an improvement on Toti.

The 21-year-old brute even ranks in the top 1% when compared to positional peers for blocks per 90 (2.13) and the top 8% for clearances per 90 (5.52) and the youngster has even displayed his attacking qualities, ranking in the top 3% for successful take-ons per 90 (0.75).

In contrast, Toti only ranked in the top 20% for blocks per 90 (1.46) when compared to positional peers across Europe’s big five leagues while ranking out with the top 35% for successful take-ons per 90 (0.82) and although he did finish in the top 1% for clearances per 90 (4.66), it’s evident that the Brazilian could be a better option at the back for O’Neil.

There is no doubt Wolves need to bolster their squad before the end of the transfer window and luring Murillo to the Midlands could give O’Neil his dream first signing, and he may just be the catalyst for a few more to arrive in the coming weeks.

فاز فريق الكرة الأول بنادي الإسماعيلي، على نظيره فاركو، بهدفين دون رد، في المواجهة التي جمعتهما اليوم السبت، ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

واستضاف ملعب برج العرب بالإسكندرية، مباراة الإسماعيلي وفاركو، في إطار مواجهات الأسبوع 21 من بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

وجاء هدف الإسماعيلي الأول، في الدقيقة 22 من عمر الشوط الأول للمباراة، عن طريق عمر الساعي، بتسديدة صاروخية وبشكل رائع من خارج منطقة الجزاء سكنت شباك حارس فاركو محمد سعيد شيكا.

واستمر الشوط الأول من المباراة بعد ذلك بمحاولات من لاعبي فاركو لتعديل النتيجة، ولكن وجدوا صعوبة في اختراق دفاعات الإسماعيلي المتمركزة بشكل جيد، لينتهي بتقدم الدراويش بهدف دون رد.

بدأ الشوط الثاني بأداء متوسط من الفريقين، حتى الدقيقة 75، حيث احتسب حكم المباراة ركلة جزاء لفريق الإسماعيلي بعد لمسة يد على مدافع فاركو رامي صبري.

ونجح لاعب الإسماعيلي محمد دسوقي في ترجمة ركلة جزاء إلى هدف ثاني في الدقيقة 76.

طالع | منها الأهلي والإسماعيلي.. رابطة الأندية تعلن عقوبات الجولة 20 من الدوري المصري

وكان عبد العزيز السيد حكم المباراة احتسب لمسة اليد من خارج منطقة الجزاء في بداية الأمر، إلا أن الفار تدخل وأبلغ الحكم أن لمسة اليد من داخل منطقة الجزاء.

وبتلك النتيجة، يعود فريق الإسماعيلي إلى طريق الانتصارات بعد 4 مباريات لم يحقق خلالها الفوز، ليرفع رصيده إلى النقطة 22 محتلًا المركز الثالث عشر في جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري الممتاز.

ولعب الإسماعيلي 21 مباراة حتى الآن، في بطولة الدوري، حيث فاز في 5 مباريات وتعادل في 7 وخسر في 9 مواجهات.

وعلى الجانب الآخر، يواصل فريق فاركو نتائجة غير الجيدة في بطولة الدوري، ويظل في المركز السابع عشر (قبل الأخير) برصيد 13 نقطة من 19 مباراة. أهداف مباراة الإسماعيلي وفاركو اليوم في الدوري المصري

The former Bangladesh captains went unopposed as nominees for the October 31 election

Mohammad Isam25-Oct-2017Former Bangladesh captains Khaled Mahmud and Akram Khan will continue as BCB directors after they, and six others, went unopposed as nominees for the October 31 election. The same cannot be said about Naimur Rahman who, at this stage, is among five nominees for the two directors’ posts from the Dhaka regional and district associations.Some withdrawals, however, are likely to take place in this segment on October 29, the deadline day for withdrawals and final nominations list to be published by the election commission. There are also two nominees for the single director’s post for the Barisal region, with MA Awwal Chowdhury and Alamgir Khan pitted against each other.Mahmud was the only one to submit nomination papers in category-3, under which he is a councillor as a BCB-nominated former cricketer. Akram represents the Chittagong divisional sports association. Both were BCB directors in the 2013 to 2017 period.In fact, the six others who also submitted nomination papers from their respective regions were board directors previously. They are Sheikh Sohel and Kazi Inam Ahmed (Khulna), Shafiul Alam Chowdhury (Sylhet), Anwarul Islam (Rangpur), AJM Nasiruddin (Chittagong) and Saiful Alam Swapan (Rajshahi).Fourteen councillors have filed nominations for the 12 directors’ posts in the Dhaka metropolitan club category although it is likely that the National Sports Council will select two from this category as their picks for automatic directors’ position. It would mean the 12 other nominations in this category would also become board directors uncontested. They were all directors in the previous board.There are two vacancies from the previous board of directors: Nazmul Karim Tinku passed away earlier this year while Ahmed Iqbal Hasan is not participating in the elections this year.