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Newcastle United were very active in the previous January transfer window in terms of bringing new players to the club.

They were particularly focused on strengthening their defence after bringing in the likes of Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier and Matt Targett.

With the upcoming summer transfer window in mind, it seems as though a clue has emerged over another potential defensive figure coming to St James’ Park, which could finally see one current figure in Eddie Howe’s squad getting his bags packed and moving on.

What’s the talk?

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist and transfer insider Dean Jones was discussing the possibility of Newcastle making a summer move to sign Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly, who has been linked with a switch to St James’ Park in the past.

He said: “I think that it’ll be interesting to see if his head is turned by that interest, obviously, not only because of Newcastle’s ambition but because of the Eddie Howe link as well.” 

Since joining the south coast club, who were managed by Howe at the time, back in 2019 from Bristol City in a deal worth a reported £13m, the defender has gone on to make 82 appearances for the Cherries across all competitions, scoring two goals and providing five assists along the way.

Having appeared in 31 of Bournemouth’s Championship games this season and donned the captain’s armband in many of those, it’s safe to say that Kelly – who is currently valued at £9m by Transfermarkt – is an important figure for the club, who may not be too keen on selling him this summer.

From a Newcastle point of view, with Ciaran Clark having not been included in the Premier League squad after their January shopping spree and being slammed for his “shocking” performances earlier in the season, securing a deal for the 23-year-old could be the final nail in the coffin for the Irishman in terms of his tenure at St James’ Park.

Labelled a “Rolls-Royce” of a player by Jonathan Woodgate, the Bournemouth defender could be an ideal long-term replacement for Clark and give Newcastle the chance to finally get the latter’s £42k-per-week wages off their books once and for all.

In other news: Big twist emerges on £27m-rated Newcastle-linked “golden boy”, PIF will be buzzing

Half centuries from Moeen Ali, Daryl Mitchell and Gareth Andrew helped Worcestershire edge the honours on the first day of their County Championship game against Leicestershire at Grace Road

04-May-2010
ScorecardHalf centuries from Moeen Ali, Daryl Mitchell and Gareth Andrew helped Worcestershire edge the honours on the first day of their County Championship game against Leicestershire at Grace Road.Moeen and Mitchell shared a third-wicket stand of 145 to lead the fightback after Worcestershire slumped to 15 for 2 and some late order resistance saw them through to a total of 308. Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard claimed 3 for 69 and 19-year-old Nathan Buck 3 for 64 and the home side then survived two awkward overs to reach stumps on 9 without loss.There was a degree of surprise when Worcestershire captain Vikram Solanki batted first on a green-looking pitch after winning the toss. And when two wickets fell – including Solanki’s – for 15 runs in the first six overs the decision was looking even more questionable.But Solanki, who popped an easy catch off Hoggard, was able to breath much easier after the partnership between Mitchell and Moeen had launched the recovery. The third wicket pair rode their luck at times but also profited from some erratic bowling from the home attack who failed to make the most of the conditions.Moeen was severe on anything loose and raced to 50 by hitting left-arm spinner Claude Henderson for 18 off one over. He struck a six and three fours to reach a half century from 60 balls. Mitchell was more circumspect but he too reached 50 off 93 balls shortly after lunch.But the partnership was broken by Hoggard who trapped Moeen lbw as he tried to work the ball on the leg side after making 80 off 127 balls. His departure triggered a middle-order collapse as Leicestershire regained the initiative. Hoggard snapped up his third wicket by trapping Mitchell lbw, Ben Smith was out in the same fashion to Henderson and Ben Scott edged Andrew McDonald to wicketkeeper Tom New.It meant four wickets had fallen for 39 runs with Hoggard taking 2 for 16 in an impressive nine-over spell. But a fluctuating day swung back in Worcestershire’s favour as Alexei Kervezee and Andrew led another recovery with a stand of 51.It needed a magnificent one-handed slip catch by Will Jefferson to removeKervezee off the bowling of McDonald with the total at 250. Andrew, however, reached his half century with a six off Hoggard before carvinga catch to point. Last man Jack Shantry ended a run of four consecutive ducks with a boundary off Hoggard but then fell lbw to Wayne White at 308.

MatériaMais Notícias

Já classificado na Libertadores, o Cruzeiro garantiu força máximo contra o Botafogo, no jogo do próximo domingo.

No treino desta sexta-feira, Mano Menezes organizou uma atividade de dois toques, seguida de um rachão. Fábio, Léo (suspenso) e Rafael Sobis não treinaram. Nenhum deles viaja para o Rio, mas o treinador enfatizou que tirando os três, o time estará completo.

– Nós vamos cumprir a tabela, como estamos fazendo nos jogos anteriores. Não seria coerente dispensar uns e não outros. Gosto de seguir uma linha de coerência. Sei que tem muitos jogadores que jogaram bastante jogos. Mas estamos inteiros para a última partida. Teremos 30 dias de férias para descansar e tenho certeza que eles vão querer disputar jogos festivos também durante as férias – afirmou o técnico.

Mano comentou também que alguns jogadores das categorias de base serão promovidos, um deles deverá ser Victor Luiz, lateral-esquerdo, que vem treinando com os profissionais esta semana.

– Temos alguns jogadores que estão estourando idade, dentre esses, vamos fazer nossas escolhas. Os jogadores que ainda estão com idade mais abaixo, ainda vão permanecer (na base), achamos importantes eles ficarem lá para jogar. O Victor Luiz está entre os jogadores que estouram idade, o Vitinho (lateral direito) ainda não, é mais novo (tem 18 anos). Vale aquilo que falamos. Vamos analisar o Victor Luiz, dentro das características dele, da necessidade da posição. Se estiver aí, vai ser considerado apto para jogar, como os outros que estão aí – afirmou o comandante.

Sobre o novo reforço do Cruzeiro, o lateral Egídio, Mano Menezes foi só elogios. Com a camisa celeste, entre 2013 e 2014, o jogador fez 107 jogos, marcou quatro gols e contribuiu com 17 assistências.

– O Egídio é um ótimo jogador. Quando perdemos o Diogo, começamos a trabalhar com a possibilidade de tê-lo e eu disse que ele preenchia as características que queríamos. Ótimo acabamento, tem boa finalização. Aquele ajuste de marcação, penso que é fácil fazer, até pelo jogador inteligente que ele é – destacou o técnico.

Aston Villa are set to battle it out with ‘a lot of really big clubs’ for the signing of Boubacar Kamara ahead of the 2022 summer transfer window. 

That’s according to journalist Luke Hatfield, who was speaking to Give Me Sport.

The lowdown

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported at the beginning of this week that Kamara, who can play as a defensive midfielder and as a centre-back, has decided to leave Olympique de Marseille on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Manchester United were said to be monitoring the 22-year-old’s situation, while German giants Bayern Munich and Spanish marquee FC Barcelona were named as strong admirers.

Kamara is yet to make his senior debut for the French national team but has featured nine times for Les Bleus at Under-21 level.

The latest

Hatfield picked out Kamara when he was asked about possible transfer targets for Steven Gerrard, but warned that there is doubt over Villa’s chances of landing the Frenchman.

“There is a lot of talk around Boubacar Kamara and Marseille,” he said.

“He’s going on a free in the summer but I think there’ll be a lot of really big clubs after him”

The verdict

Kamara is a precise passer and an effective shield for a defence, data from FBRef shows. In fact, he boasts a similar profile to Barcelona’s highly-decorated midfielder Sergio Busquets, and perhaps they view him as a successor.

Indeed, former team-mate Rolando has dubbed him a ‘phenomenon’, suggesting he can go right to the very top.

Do Villa have a shot? Well, it’s a matter of convincing the player rather than the club.

A healthy upgrade on his £46,000-per-week salary should be achievable for Villa, and then it’s down to Gerrard to make the project as attractive as possible.

In other news, fans react to this cruel injury blow.

David Obuya hit an unbeaten 115, adding 203 with his brother Collins, to lead a strong Kenya batting effort after Ryan ten Doeschate moved to a double century which lifted Netherlands to 385

Cricinfo staff21-Feb-2010
ScorecardDavid Obuya hit an unbeaten 115, adding 203 with his brother Collins, to lead a strong Kenya batting effort after Ryan ten Doeschate moved to a double century which lifted Netherlands to 385.The combined efforts of the Obuya brothers propelled Kenya to 235 for 2 at the close and they will now sense the opportunity to build a first-innings lead. David Obuya’s second first-class hundred was the ideal response for Kenya and his hundred came from 148 deliveries shortly before Collins Obuya was bowled for 89 late in the day.Netherlands’ bowlers found it tough work after ten Doeshcate had provided an early breakthrough by having Rakep Patel caught behind. They had to wait another 46 overs before Mark Jonkman managed to break the second-wicket stand and the fact the attack managed just five maidens in 56 overs shows how they were dominated.Their batting effort had almost been a one-man display with ten Doeschate providing comfortably more than half the total. He resumed overnight on 129 and added 83 of the 109 runs Netherlands compiled before being bowled out. His double ton arrived off 267 balls during a final-wicket stand of 43 with Pieter Seelaar who didn’t contribute during his 23-ball occupation.Elijah Otieno eventually ended the innings to finish with impressive figures of 4 for 57 from 25.1 overs.

Newcastle United had to settle for a point at home to Norwich City in the Premier League on Tuesday night after Ciaran Clark was sent off early on.

Callum Wilson actually put the hosts in front from the penalty spot before Teemu Pukki equalised as the score finished 1-1.

While there were some spirited performances from Eddie Howe’s team, a few seemed to struggle, as The Transfer Tavern uses statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst performers (to have played at least 45 minutes) were for the St. James’ Park faithful:

Joe Willock

Although Ciaran Clark (3.0) and Ryan Fraser (6.4) both ranked poorly by SofaScore, they did not play at least 45 minutes, and so Willock comes in third with a 6.4 rating.

The former Arsenal man was hauled off for Isaac Hayden in the 73rd minute, as he lost out on five of his duels, and also failed to record a single shot on goal from midfield, while he lost possession of the ball six times.

Javier Manquillo

Manquillo was also given a 6.4 rating by SofaScore, but comes in second place here because he played the full 90 minutes.

The Spaniard lost three duels, and recorded no successful dribbles, blocked shots, tackles, key passes, crosses or accurate long balls from right-back.

He was also guilty of losing the ball on no fewer than on 20 separate occasions in the match, the most out of any player on the pitch.

Jamal Lewis

Lewis was ranked as the worst player on the night for the North East club to have played at least 45 minutes, as SofaScore gave him a 6.3 rating.

The left-back lost seven of his duels in total, and also failed to record a successful dribble, key pass, accurate cross or long ball, losing possession 10 times.

In other news, find out who could be back for NUFC earlier than expected here!

Crystal Palace will be hoping to return to winning ways when they take on Leeds United in their intriguing Premier League clash this evening.

The Eagles fell short of their usual high standards against Aston Villa last time out, suffering defeat for the first time since 18 September after goals from Matt Targett and John McGinn cancelled out Marc Guehi’s consolation strike.

In Monday’s press conference, manager Patrick Vieira confirmed key centre-back Joachim Andersen will face another game sat on the sidelines with a thigh injury, while long-term absentee James McArthur will also be unavailable.

However, the Frenchman revealed that Eberechi Eze is continuing to make good progress following his first outing of the campaign over the weekend.

Vieira also eluded to the fact that he plans to utilise some of the fringe players in his first-team squad as the hectic festive fixture list gets underway, meaning £60k-per-week summer signing Will Hughes could be in line for his debut.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects the 45-year-old tactician to line up at Elland Road, with two changes from the side that started on Saturday…

The virtually ever-present Vicente Guaita will start between the sticks once again, and the 34-year-old shot-stopper will be desperate to earn his fifth clean sheet of the campaign.

Ahead of the Spaniard will be a back four made up of Tyrick Mitchell, Guehi, James Tomkins and Joel Ward due to Andersen’s injury woes, and they’ll be looking to put in a better showing this time around.

Vieira faces a tricky decision over who to select in his midfield, though. Club captain Luka Milivojevic and the in-form Conor Gallagher should retain their places, while Hughes will be hoping to feature from the off at the expense of Cheikhou Kouyaté.

The biggest decision that the former Nice boss faces is who to start up front. Christian Benteke has already notched up four strikes throughout 2021/22, but Odsonne Edouard’s pace may see him partner Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise in an exciting forward line.

And, in other news…Vieira must unleash Palace’s £79k-p/w “special talent” vs Leeds, he’s a game-changer

Match facts

Sunday, September 27, 2009
Start time 2:30pm, 12:30 GMT

Big picture

Wayne Parnell is one player England should watch out for•Getty Images

Well, who’d have thought it? England, their chances written off – or even laughed off in some cases – announced themselves at the ICC Champions Trophy with a smooth six-wicket victory against the previously impressive Sri Lanka. How would they counter their first meeting with Ajantha Mendis? Leave him wicketless. How would they quell a flamboyant Sri Lanka top order? Take them out for 17 runs. How would they repel an old foe in Muttiah Muralitharan? Take him for 60 runs in 10 overs. Easy, this one-day lark.What makes England’s unexpected success more notable is that their next opponents, South Africa, were efficiently dismantled by Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tournament. However, as Andrew Strauss said, now is not the time to be getting carried away. One win does not make an international trophy.England will be disappointed to leave the Wanderers behind for this match after encountering a surface that suited their pace-heavy attack perfectly. James Anderson and Graham Onions exploited helpful conditions, but runs have been slightly easier to come by at Centurion so the attack should be tested. They will need to tighten up on wides – 21 was far too many against Sri Lanka – while some of the middle-innings bowling verged on the brainless. South Africa, after a slow start to their season, are finding their stride and will punish any looseness.The hosts sharpened their game against New Zealand to get their campaign back on track. Wayne Parnell claimed five wickets and AB de Villiers looked in ominous form. This will be the first of many meetings between the two sides over the next few months; in November England return for a full Test and one-day tour. In the present, though, it’s all about reaching the semi-finals of this tournament and South Africa can’t afford any more slips. It’s a pressure game for Graeme Smith’s team, and pressure can do funny things to South Africa.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England – WWLLL
South Africa – WLLWW

Team news

England are in the rare position where changes aren’t required. They have a balanced attack, with Graeme Swann to complement the four quicks, and Paul Collingwood is a more than handy operator. Collingwood’s return to form has a huge impact on England’s one-day unit, but Strauss could do with better control from Stuart Broad and Luke Wright.England: (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Joe Denly, 3 Owais Shah, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Luke Wright, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Graham Onions.South Africa know their best one-day team and generally stick with it. Herschelle Gibbs has been passed fit for selection and should slot back in alongside Smith. How England combat the 20 overs of spin from Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe will be vital, while Dale Steyn will want to lay some early makers for battles ahead.South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Johan Botha, 9 Roelof van der Merwe, 10 Wayne Parnell, 11 Dale Steyn

Watch out for…

Eoin Morgan was one of the few bright spots to come out of the 6-1 hammering to Australia, but that was based largely on one brisk innings at Trent Bridge. Now he has brought his form to South Africa and shown his expertise in pacing a run chase with 62 off 83 balls. England have lacked someone who can control the middle of an innings since Graham Thorpe and before him Neil Fairbrother. Morgan is viewed as the man for that role and his unorthodox technique makes him difficult to bowl at – although occasionally his dismissals can look uglyEngland will be seeing plenty of Wayne Parnell in the next few months. He hasn’t made his Test debut yet, but the Centurion Park meeting between these teams is odds on. In the one-day side he is already a central figure where he has added a new dimension to the attack. He hasn’t been at his best so far, proving expensive in both matches, but has already collected eight wickets including 5 for 57 against New Zealand.

Pitch and conditions

The Centurion surface hasn’t offered the amount of help that England enjoyed at The Wanderers, but there has still be something there for good bowling. As ever in these parts there is a threat of thunderstorms, but so far they have only impacted one match.

Stats and trivia

• These two teams have met twice at Centurion Park, once in 1996 and then in 2005, with South Africa winning on both occasions.
• Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood survive from the England side of 2006, while Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher are certain to play for South Africa.

Quotes

“They have got a very good side. They were number one in the world when the tournament began, we are down at number six. We will have to play above ourselves to beat them.”
.”We have had a good record against England in the past apart from last year’s series in England but we will be treating them just like we would any other side in the tournament.”

Despite a 55-run defeat to Sri Lanka, Mickey Arthur said he was pleased with most elements of South Africa’s performance

Firdose Moonda23-Sep-2009

It’s that season again, when dust, pollen and other flowery bits float through the air and settle in that corner of your nose, where you can’t get them out, no matter how many times you sneeze. In fact, there’s only one thing that can wash away the layers of swirling, sandy mist and that’s a noisy and wet Johannesburg thunderstorm. Thankfully, the first summer rains descended on the Highveld last night, washing away the winter’s last grime. Mickey Arthur may be hoping those showers also rinsed the rustiness off the South African team.If the coach is thinking along the lines of most of his critics, that South Africa are disadvantaged because they are the only team to have not played international cricket since June, he’s being careful not to say so. Despite a 55-run defeat to Sri Lanka, Arthur said he was pleased with most elements of the team’s performance and felt they had adequate preparation, although he did allude to a lack of competitive cricket. “Nomatter how much preparation you have,” Arthur said “it’s not going to prepare you for amatch situation and what you face in the middle.”Arthur didn’t pin the loss to anything in particular and simply laid the blame on a “bad day at the office.” He had no extra special or intense training to put his men through ahead of their “do-or-die” clash with New Zealand. In fact Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and AB de Villiers were not required to attend practice in Centurion since Arthur was “happy with their skills.” Roelof van der Merwe and Johan Botha were also excused which means only the seam bowlers and select batsman wereput through their paces.The team’s media officer, Michael Owen Smith, confirmed Hashim Amla will open the batting again because Herschelle Gibbs was still out with a cracked rib. There were no signs of a change in the bowling attack, despite the bowlers conceding 319 runs on Tuesday. Wayne Parnell came under the strongest microscope, despite taking three wickets, for conceding 79 runs in his 10 overs, and calls to replace him with Makhaya Ntini have abounded. But Graeme Smith defended Parnell saying he is “still young and it is inevitable that he is going to have ups and downs at international level.”Perhaps it’s not their own bowling South Africa need to worry about, buttheir opponents’. Shane Bond is still on the comeback trail and according to Davey Jacobs, captain of the Warriors franchise that defeated New Zealand in a warm-up match last Friday, he is their “most dangerous weapon and capable of being a match-winner.”Jacobs led the Warriors to a two-wicket win over New Zealand but found the visiting team to be no pushovers. He said their bowling would be their biggest strength, “If Bond and Kyle Mills operate well together, they could be real trouble for the batsmen.” Daniel Vettori had similar views about their bowling, saying the return of Bond and Daryl Tuffey had brought back some “competition in the seam bowling department.”It’s the New Zealand batting that can be fragile, and it perhaps explains why the South African bowlers were made to have extra practice. Even though Jacobs identified batsman such as Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder as a potential threat to the South African bowlers, he believed their batting was the one area where they could be exposed. “A lot of their batsman got in and made good starts but couldn’t convert and we knocked their tail over quite easily,” said Jacobs.Vettori had similar worries. When the team touched down in South Africa, some of his first observations from the tri-series defeat in Sri Lanka were about the batting. “Our individual records are good, if you look at guys like Taylor and Elliot, but our problem is that we need to be able to put partnerships together.” Despite that, Vettori thinks the Centurion pitch may favour his men, finding it similar to the pitches theyplayed on in Sri Lanka and more docile than usual.Vettori is not fooling himself into thinking it will be an easy task, though, and knows that his team could be on the receiving end of a South African backlash as the hosts try to erase memories of the first-match embarrassment. Arthur even hoped it will signal a turn around of the chokers tag, and his team will now get their bad match first up and not later on, when it really matters. But as Jacobs put it, “New Zealand are dangerous because if you look at them on paper, they’re not supposed to win. But they may just surprise you.”

Celtic have been dealt a huge injury blow regarding Karamoko Dembele ahead of their upcoming Premiership fixture.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on his Instagram account (via Daily Record), the 18-year-old winger – who has been sidelined since Celtic’s pre-season tour of Wales – revealed that he has suffered a setback in his recovery from injury, having to undergo surgery on an ankle fracture, which will keep him out of action until at least the turn of the year.

Regarding his injury, the England under-18 international said: “Unfortunately I’ve had some problems with the healing process of my ankle fracture, so I’ve had to get surgery done. Back on the field soon!”

Fans will be gutted

Considering the sheer amount of potential Dembele seems to possess, the news that he looks set to remain sidelined until at least 2022 is sure to have left the Parkhead faithful gutted.

Indeed, the £225k-rated teenager had started to feature more regularly for the Bhoys towards the back end of last season, playing in three of the club’s last four fixtures of the 2020/21 Premiership season, in which the winger scored his first senior goal for the club in a 4-0 drubbing of St Johnstone.

Prior to his injury, Dembele was also heavily involved in Celtic’s pre-season fixtures, featuring in both the 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic – a game in which the 18-year-old opened the scoring for the Hoops – and the 0-0 draw with Bristol City.

However, following his recent update, it now looks as if the teenage forward will not only miss Saturday’s visit of St Johnstone but also many more fixtures before he makes his return to first team action. That will undoubtedly come as a huge blow to Ange Postecoglou, who had admitted that he was looking forward to working with the youngster upon his arrival at Celtic this summer.

In other news: Ange makes approach for tough-tackling £3.2m sensation, Celtic fans will be buzzing