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Rumoured Liverpool transfer target Aurelien Tchouameni is wanted by two unnamed Premier League clubs, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Tchouameni a huge talent

The 22-year-old has emerged as arguably one of the best young midfielders in the world, performing with quality and maturity beyond his years.

Tchouameni has made 25 starts for Monaco in Ligue 1 this season, winning 2.4 aerial duels per game and also being described as ‘extraordinary’ by international colleague Paul Pogba.

Liverpool have been linked with a move for the Frenchman, and Romano has now shed new light on the player’s transfer status.

The Latest: Romano provides update on Tchouameni

Taking to Twitter over the weekend, Romano confirmed that a couple of Premier League clubs want to sign Tchouameni, along with Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. He revealed:

“Aurelien Tchouameni’s agent has denied to Le Parisien any agreement on personal terms with Real Madrid.

“Real are following Tchouameni’s performances with Monaco since long time alongside two Premier League clubs and PSG but there’s nothing agreed with any club.”

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The Verdict: Wonderful potential signing

Tchouameni looks like a spectacular talent, mastering a deeper-lying midfield role and already proving to be such a key player for Monaco, ranking as by far their best performer according to WhoScored metrics.

With some of Liverpool’s midfielders now in their 30s – the likes of Fabinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are close to that milestone, too – the 22-year-old could be an ideal summer addition, capable of playing in a defensive or central midfield role.

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Not only does Tchouameni average an eye-catching 2.6 tackles and interceptions apiece per match this season, he also averaged a 90.9% pass completion rate across five appearances for France in World Cup qualifying, demonstrating that he is a midfielder of many talents.

In other news, Liverpool are reportedly eyeing up a move for a former Premier League midfielder. Read more here.

	James Anderson: finding his rhythm, but still prone to the odd bad over © Getty Images

James Anderson has known some dramatic peaks and troughs during his five-year England career, and his recent tour of New Zealand provided a perfect microcosm. He was recalled for the second Test in Wellington and starred with five first-innings wickets en route to a series-turning victory, but one match later in Napier his form had fallen away, and he was dispatched for more than six an over by Stephen Fleming in the first innings and Matthew Bell in the second.”It was very frustrating, and I can’t really put my finger on why it happened,” said Anderson during the launch of adidas’s new England kit at Lord’s. “It’s just the way it goes I guess. The pitch was flatter in Napier, but in both innings I started off reasonably well and it was coming out quite nicely. Then I had one bad over, and I tried to chase it from there.”Bad overs are a bit of a feature of Anderson’s game. In Kandy before Christmas, he was clubbed for six fours in consecutive balls by Sanath Jayasuriya, and in Napier, he suffered arguably a greater ignominy, as Bell – a batsman who had failed to pass 30 all series – hurtled towards a half-century with four blows in a row of increasing authority.The impression is that Anderson’s head drops as soon as a batsman gets after him, but the man himself disagreed with that suggestion. “It’s not getting down on myself, but when you’ve gone for 30 off five, you have got to pull it back from there,” he said. “My thought process is to bowl maidens, and I want to be pretty economical, keeping the run-rate below three. I was probably chasing it a bit too hard rather than being patient and letting the rhythm do it like I did in Wellington.””I call myself a strike bowler, and the way I see myself is getting wickets,” he said. “But when you play against a team like New Zealand, who want to hit boundaries, you want to stop them doing that. Sometimes that might be about bowling maidens to get that pressure.”Anderson suffered an injury setback during the Wellington Test, when he twisted his ankle in a warm-down game of football, but by and large, he said he felt as comfortable in his run-up and action as he has been for several years. There was a period around 2004-05 when Anderson’s action, which involves an awkward dipping of the head at point of delivery, was completely deconstructed by the England coaching staff. But all that, he believes, is now behind him.”I think I have gone full circle now,” he said. “I have played for five years now, and I think technically and physically my action is as good as it is going to get. I am comfortable now it feels really natural, and I don’t think there is an awful lot more I can do with it. When I first started, my leading arm was somewhere behind the back of my head. Now it is somewhere where it feels comfortable.”Anderson returns to competitive action for Lancashire next week, but the countdown is already on for the first Test of the rematch against New Zealand at Lord’s on May 15. It is a venue at which Anderson enjoys bowling, and against India last summer, he picked up his second five-wicket haul in three visits.”It’s a nice place to bowl – there is a nice slope, and it generally swings here,” said Anderson. “My mentality might change if the ball is swinging. Like in Wellington, I might bowl more attacking lines and I might be happier going for more runs than I would do if it wasn’t swinging. I just think you do better at some grounds than others. I don’t up my game when I play here, it just happens.”There is no guarantee that Anderson will feature in the first Test, however. His poor showing in Napier has given hope of a recall to Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison, the men who made way for his Wellington comeback, and also looming on the horizon is Anderson’s Lancashire team-mate, Andrew Flintoff, who has completed 28 overs in his comeback match at Surrey – his heaviest workload since the Brisbane Test in November 2006.”It’s going to be a real battle for places. No-one’s place is set in stone,” said Anderson. “We have all got to perform in the first couple of games of the season. Hoggy and Harmy are going to be fighting like mad to try and get their places back, then you have got the other guys like Chris Tremlett, Liam Plunkett and Saj [Mahmood] at Lancashire too. There are a lot of people in the hat.”As for Flintoff, Anderson was cautiously optimistic that – after four ankle operations – he might this time get back to his best form. “Every time he has an operation he has come back strong,” said Anderson. “So it is just whether this time it is for good. He has always been pretty fit, and his bowling always seems to look after itself. He gets it down at good speeds when he needs to.”From his own point of view, Anderson knows what he needs to do to cement his place in the England team. “Fitness wise I am fine, so the only issue is mental,” he said. “I know I can bowl that well, it is just about figuring out what went wrong in that game [at Napier]. A lot of it is about rhythm and just being relaxed, and not trying to fight myself and bowl quicker when it is not going so well.”

Cricket Scotland has secured another two year’s sponsorship with Lloyd’s TSB, extending their association until 2009.”The profile of cricket in Scotland has increased significantly since we first became main sponsor,” Lisa Stephenson, director of marketing at Lloyds TSB Scotland said. “It is one of the largest participative and inclusive sports we have and is a perfect fit with our brand and our business. We are extremely proud to have been associated with this growth in popularity.”Roddy Smith, Cricket Scotland’s chief executive, was delighted with the deal and is excited by the future benefits the continued sponsorship will bring. “Lloyds TSB Scotland is a much valued partner, and the support we have received to date has played a significant part in the development of the game in Scotland,” he said. “Against a backdrop where other national teams are losing or changing sponsors, it is a major coup for cricket to secure continued support at this level.”

Richie Richardson feels Brian Lara went out to silence the critics © Getty Images

Richie Richardson, former West Indies captain, u-turned on his earlier criticism of Brian Lara’s captaincy, attributing West Indies’s success in the ODI series against India to his imaginative leadership. West Indies won nine out of their eleven home ODIs this season, which included a 5-0 drubbing of Zimbabwe and a 4-1 victory against India.Richardson had earlier criticised Lara’s appointment as captain for the third time in his career, saying that he lacked support from his players. Instead, he supported elevating vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan to the post, but was convinced the West Indies board reverted to Lara for the sake of getting instant results, with no long-term objective.”A lot of people thought they should have annihilated Zimbabwe”, Richardson told . “It didn’t happen. Maybe there was a concerted effort to try and do something different [against India], and have a different approach.”I really don’t know what transpired, but I believe Brian Lara had a part to play in that. Just the way he went about his job, especially in the field. He was there with a purpose.”Richardson also believed that Lara would have been spurred by negative comments, after Sir Vivian Richards also stated that his appointment was based on commercial considerations ahead of next year’s World Cup. “Maybe something like that inspired Brian Lara. He is the sort of guy that if you criticise him, he’s going to want to prove you wrong.”

Steve Tikolo, the former Kenya captain and unofficial spokesman for the 13 striking players, has slammed the Kenya board (KCA) after none of them were included in the squad for next month’s Intercontinental Cup semi-final in Sharjah.Sharad Ghai, the KCA’s chairman, said that none of the players who boycotted the recent match against Namibia had been picked as they had not reapplied for selection. “We only read about the whole thing in the press,” fumed Tikolo. “Is this the way to get in touch with players?”No KCA official has ever contacted us asking us to apply,” he continued. “We have only been reading about it in a section of the press recently and before taking note, the team was named. Now we are the ones being blamed for not applying.”The announcement by Ghai that the players had to ask to formally reapply for selection caught them on the hop, and when he made the statement earlier in the week it raised suspicions that they were about to be omitted.Against Namibia, the players drafted in to replace the strikers were subjected to considerable heckling, but Tikolo offered those chosen his full support. “We have no problem with the team which has been selected and we wish them all the best since they are our brothers,” he said. “I hope they will continue with their form.”

The Pakistan government has told the foreign office to relax visa regulations for Indians travelling to watch the upcoming Pakistan-India series.A report from India Abroad News Service quoted an official of the foreign ministry as saying, “We have received instructions from the prime minister’s secretariat to make special arrangements for issuing visas for the cricket series.”The Indians arrive in Lahore on March 10, and will play five one-day internationals and three Tests, in addition to a one-day warm-up game. The one-day series will start in Karachi on March 13.According to the official, the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi had been given instructions to the effect that all Indians carrying “valid documents, bookings in Pakistani hotels, and tickets for the matches will be given visas”.The visas will be issued on a “first-come, first-served” basis, and the number issued would depend on the capacity of the stadiums where matches are to be played. For a one-day match, three-day visas would be issued, while for Tests, they would be for seven days.Meanwhile, officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have said that Indians too can purchase tickets online. “Different organizations have already started the online sale of tickets for next month’s series,” said the official.Only 20 per cent of the tickets have been allotted for sale on the Internet, with the remaining to be sold at the gates.There has been tremendous interest from Indian and Pakistani expatriates living in Britain, the USA and the Middle East.

SYDNEY, Jan 4 AAP – Steve Waugh failed to add to his stunning century of yesterday but Adam Gilchrist took up the challenge as Australia closed in on England’s first innings total in the fifth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground today.At lunch on day three, Australia was 8-336 in reply to the tourists’ 362.Waugh, who resumed on 102 after hitting a four off the last ball yesterday to equal Sir Donald Bradman’s record of 29 Test centuries, was out on the fifth ball he faced today.He was caught at second slip by Mark Butcher off the bowling of Matthew Hoggard in the second over of the day.Hoggard struck again when he had Andy Bichel caught by John Crawley for four and, with his next ball, had Brett Lee caught behind by Alec Stewart.Jason Gillespie survived the next delivery to deny Hoggard the hat trick.Gilchrist reached his century off just 94 deliveries to be not out 127 from just 116 balls at the break.He was well supported by Gillespie, who remained unbeaten with 11 with the pair putting on a partnership of 69.

It is encouraging to see South Africa’s youth showing a keen interest in thegame of cricket. PPC Cement and Barloworld, are proud to be associated withcricket development as sport lies in the heart of a winning nation.The PPC Cement Pitches Programme was launched in 1997. It is a jointinitiative between PPC Cement, its holding company – Barloworld – and theUnited Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA). The objective of thisProgramme is to develop winning, local, regional and national teams of thefuture.The PPC Cement Pitches Programme is well on track to reach the goal ofcompleting 1000 concrete pitches and 23 ovals by the 2003 Cricket World Cup,which should ultimately boost cricket development throughout the country.To date, the PPC Cement Pitches Programme has been responsible for theconstruction of 722 concrete pitches and practice nets, eleven ovals and twoclubhouses throughout South Africa’s provincial cricket regions.As part of PPC’s commitment to uplift the communities in which it operates,all these facilities were built by contractors drawn from the localcommminities. In addition, these contractors were trained in basic concretetechnology and provided with technical assistance, in an effort to enhancetheir future prospects through the skills that they have acquired.

Alasdair Gold has revealed a teasing update on the current condition of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Oliver Skipp.

What’s the latest?

In a recent report for football.london, Gold relayed the comments of Antonio Conte regarding the injury of the central midfielder, in which the Italian appeared to suggest that the 21-year-old could finally be in line for a return to first-team football after the upcoming international break.

Speaking about the England U21 international, the 52-year-old said: “About Skippy, I hope to have him after the international break. His pain is getting better and better.”

An update supporters will love

While it is true that the January signing of Rodrigo Bentancur has somewhat eased the loss of Skipp in the middle of the park, the news that the midfielder could be available for selection for the Newcastle United fixture on April 3 is sure to be an update the Tottenham Hotspur faithful will love.

Indeed, the youngster has proven to be something of a revelation for Spurs over his 18 Premier League outings this season, with the £18m-rated dynamo having become a first-team regular under the management of Conte, something that is not surprising considering the 21-year-old has made an average of 0.7 interceptions, 1.8 tackles, 42.3 passes and won 3.6 duels – at a success rate of 54% – per appearance.

These metrics have seen the £24k-per-week academy product average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.81, ranking him as Tottenham’s joint 15th-best performer in the top flight of English football in the current campaign.

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As such, while it would appear as if Skipp remains unavailable for the West Ham United clash on Sunday, the news that the player who Jose Mourinho dubbed a “future captain” looks as if he will be back in time for Tottenham’s Premier League run-in is undoubtedly fantastic for Conte and his side – as the return of the tenacious midfielder will almost certainly increase the club’s chances of going on to secure a top-four finish in the league come the end of the season.

AND in other news: Paratici eyeing bid for £84m “thoroughbred bomber”, “he’s the future” of Conte’s Spurs

New South Wales 281 (Katich 86, Siddle 5-66) & 8 for 563 dec (Hughes 116, Lee 97, Siddle 4-101) beat Victoria 216 (Hodge 84, Lee 4-71) & 372 (Jewell 99, Casson 4-128) by 256 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
5th day
Bulletin – Blues’ all-round power delivers Pura Cup
Quotes – Cup caps off perfect year for Katich
Gallery
4th day
Bulletin – Lee’s 97 puts Blues on the brink
News – Siddle faces another shoulder reconstruction
Gallery
3rd day
Bulletin – Hughes and Katich put Blues on top
Quotes – Katich unfazed by Pura Cup record
Gallery
2nd day
Bulletin – Lee stirs as team of champions starts to surge
Quotes – Hodge confident Victoria can fight back
Gallery
1st day
Bulletin – New South Wales suffer from Siddle shocks
News – Siddle’s pain is Victoria’s gain
GalleryLead-up coverage
Preview – Blues hold aces in high-stakes match
News – Beau wraps up successful summer
News – Siddle eager to step up against stars