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Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles will not start ahead of the likes of Youri Tielemans and Wilfred Ndidi at the King Power, former Leicester City defender Steve Howey has told The Transfer Tavern.

After a loan spell with West Brom last season, Maitland-Niles could again be heading for the Emirates exit door.

According to The Sun, Leicester, Southampton and Burnley are all interested in signing the 23-year-old in this transfer window.

Out of the Premier League trio, Leicester look like the most attractive destination, with the Foxes playing in Europe and proving they can compete for trophies following their FA Cup triumph back in May.

Howey has warned, though, that Maitland-Niles will struggle for game time at the King Power if he is looking to play in midfield.

“I mean, he obviously started off at Arsenal as kind of a full-back,” the ex-Leicester man said. “Big Sam brought him in at West Brom; ultimately, it didn’t pay off because they got relegated.

“I think he’s a decent player, but he’s not getting ahead of Ndidi and Tielemans.”

Tielemans and Ndidi, when fit, were two of Leicester’s best players last season. Only James Maddison produced more key passes per league game than Tielemans, while no one in Brendan Rodgers’ squad managed to win more tackles on average than Ndidi (via WhoScored).

Taking that into account, it is hard to see where Maitland-Niles would fit if he does want a regular midfield role.

Rangers have been linked with a move for Gary Cahill recently and if he were to arrive at Ibrox, it could spell the end for Nikola Katic in Steven Gerrard’s side.

What’s the word?

According to The Sun, Rangers are interested in signing the veteran centre-back following his exit from Crystal Palace earlier this summer, and are prepared to offer him a significant wage in order to bring him to Ibrox.

Should the 35-year-old arrive, it would leave Gerrard with a plethora of options at centre-back, which suggests that at least one from his current squad would leave, with Katic one of the most likely options.

The Croatia international missed the entirety of last season through injury and whilst he made his return in the pre-season game against Brighton recently, it is difficult to see him reclaiming a regular first-team spot in Gerrard’s side, when you consider the superb performances of Connor Goldson and Filip Helander last season.

Rangers would concede 13 goals in the Scottish Premiership, with their superb defensive record key to them finishing the league season unbeaten, which suggests that Gerrard won’t make too many changes at the back as he prepares for the season opener later this month.

Should Rangers swap Cahill for Katic?

Katic has been linked with a loan move to Italian side Spezia in recent weeks and sending him out on loan could be the ideal way for him to regain fitness and prove to Gerrard that he has a future at Ibrox, as before his injury he was a key player in the 41-year-old manager’s side.

Therefore, bringing in someone of Cahill’s experience could be an excellent short-term option for Gerrard and Rangers, as he will add some Champions League know-how ahead of the Gers’ return to the elite club competition.

The former Chelsea man was a regular for Crystal Palace in the Premier League last season, which suggests that he has what it takes to play consistently in the Scottish Premiership, and former manager Roy Hodgson praised his leadership qualities, saying:

“He’s also brought us leadership qualities, he’s been very good leadership-wise. He’s the best type of leader; he’s the quiet leader people don’t see from Row Z in the stand. He’s the leader we see in training week to week.”

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This certainly sounds like the type of player any manager would love to have in his squad, and therefore it would make a lot of sense if Ross Wilson were to sign him on a free transfer this summer and then perhaps send Katic out on loan to regain his fitness and confidence after his terrible injury problems last season.

And, in other news… Wilson can sign Rangers’ next Defoe with swoop for “exciting” wonderkid

Recent reports from Portugual have suggested that Porto are yet to make a concrete bid for Alfredo Morelos, which could be a big boost for Steven Gerrard’s hopes of keeping him at Ibrox this summer.

What’s the word?

According to reports from Record (via Sport Witness), the Liga NOS side have not made a bid for the Colombia international and aren’t even in negotiations with Morelos or Rangers, with previous reports of a €12m bid rubbished in this latest article.

If true, this is undoubtedly good news for Gerrard, who will be desperate to keep Rangers’ record European goalscorer at Ibrox this summer as he oversees the Gers’ return to the Champions League.

The 41-year-old manager was full of praise for his striker when he broke Ally McCoist’s goalscoring record, saying:

“It’s fantastic for him from a personal point of view. Alfredo’s a top-class player, a top-class goalscorer, and it’s fantastic that he’s still here.”

Will Morelos leave?

Morelos had been linked with a move to Porto in recent months as his impressive performances in Scotland continue to attract the interest of clubs abroad.

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Last season saw the 25-year-old striker contribute 17 goals and 13 assists in all competitions for the Gers, which emphasises that he is much more than just a goalscorer in Gerrard’s side and that he is key to the attacking threat that they possess.

Although Rangers can now boast a league title and the chance of playing in the Champions League next season, Porto are guaranteed a spot in the group stages of Europe’s elite competition and will also undoubtedly be challenging for the title in Portugal, so it may have been difficult for Morelos to turn them down.

However, if this latest report is true and Porto are yet to submit a bid, then perhaps their interest in the striker isn’t genuine and he will remain at Ibrox this summer, and with the Champions League qualifiers on the horizon, Rangers may well be able to convince him to stay with their own offer of a spot in the group stages should they progress.

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Gerrard will certainly be relieved with the news that Porto are yet to make an offer, as it would significantly increase Rangers’ chances of retaining the title next season if Morelos were to stay at Ibrox.

And, in other news… Huge Ibrox update emerges that’ll delight Rangers fans

An update has emerged on Southampton forward Danny Ings, regarding West Ham’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic, West Ham are showing an interest in Southampton centre-forward Danny Ings as he continues to opt against signing a new contract at St. Mary’s.

He has 12 months left to run on his existing deal and is waiting to see what offers he gets from other teams this summer before committing his future to the Saints.

The report claims that Tottenham and Aston Villa are also interested in the England international, although, Ings is hoping to join a club already in the Champions League picture for next season.

Arnautovic 2.0

West Ham must seal a deal to sign Ings if there is any chance of them being able to land him. The line about him wanting Champions League football clearly does not favour the Hammers in any transfer pursuit, given that they failed to make the top four last term, but that does not mean that the situation cannot change. David Moyes may be able to sell the project to Ings and convince him that with his help, West Ham can become a top-four club in the not-too-distant future.

The club should be working hard to get a deal over the line for the English forward, as he could be a sublime addition to the squad as he is the type of player that Moyes needs.

Michail Antonio was West Ham’s top scorer last season with 10 strikes and Sebastien Haller’s tally of three was the next highest by a striker in the squad, suggesting that the Scot is in dire need of another centre-forward.

In terms of West Ham centre-forwards down the years, Ings is comparable to maverick ex-Stoke man Marko Arnautovic. Ings may not be the fiery character, to put it lightly, Arnautovic is but he carries similar qualities in the way he operates at the top end of the pitch.

The Austrian averaged over one dribble per game across his two Premier League campaigns for the Irons, as Ings has in the past two years for the Saints, whilst they both struggled aerially with 1.2 aerial battles won per game or fewer in each of their past two domestic seasons in England.

Both players like to take players on and create chances for themselves, taking shots from distance. They can create opportunities out of nothing to score goals, with both players hitting double figures for goals in those two seasons.

Clinton Morrison once said that Ings has “first-class” movement and claimed that he has the ability to play for a top-four club given his form for Southampton in the Premier League in recent seasons.

He said:

“Yes, I would say Danny Ings is top-four quality, most definitely. The season he’s had at Southampton, if you put him in one of the teams at the top four, he’d easily score goals like that.

“I used to play with a striker who used to play like Danny Ings – Robbie Keane.

“I look at the way Ings plays at the moment, his movement is first class and I used to say to Robbie Keane, ‘how do you get in behind defenders when you’re not rapid?’ His movement was first-class and Danny Ings is like that.”

Ings could be a sublime addition to West Ham’s squad and become the striker that Moyes has been lacking. His movement and wizardry to create chances for himself can help to unlock defences and help the Hammers win even more games in the Premier League next season, giving them a real shot at a top-four finish.

AND in other news, The Athletic drop concerning West Ham update on £10m “leader”, Moyes will be gutted…

Hampshire recorded an exiting 3 run victory over Middlesex at The Rose Bowl, but it was too late to qualify for the Quarter Final stages of the Benson & Hedges Cup.

Vic Isaacs06-May-2002Hampshire recorded an exiting 3 run victory over Middlesex at The Rose Bowl, but it was too late to qualify for the Quarter Final stages of the Benson & Hedges Cup.
Crawley recieves Gold Award
Photo Vic Isaacs
The inability of the middle order has been Hampshire’s downfall in this year’s competition, but this was put right with two of their number, John Crawley and Giles White who saved the innings after a bad start. With three wickets down for 41, these two batted with extreme care, before opening their shoulders. White finally fell at the end of a 127 run partnership for a well executed 60, then with help from wicket-keeper Nic Pothas, Crawley completed his first Limited-Overs century for his new club winning him the Gold Award, to take the home side to a comfortable 237 run total.Angus Fraser playing his last match for Middlesex before becoming a journalist was the tidiest of the bowlers taking 2/34 in his 10 overs.Middlesex began as Hampshire had, losing 2 wickets cheaply, but as with the home sides innings they rallied with Owais Shah and Ed Joyce bring the game round. Many of the batsmen contributed, but some indifferent shots when going strong was their downfall. Middlesex who had more to gain from a victory than their hosts came agonisingly close to victory against a Hampshire attack so weakened that they had to rely of occasional bowlers Prittipaul and Will Kendall captaining the side in Robin Smith’s absence with a shoulder problem.Dimitri Mascarenhas was the pick of their bowlers, with a tidy spell from Mullally, but with Middlesex requiring 11 to win from the last over, Kendall held his head to restrict them to 7.So, the curtain comes down on Hampshire’s 31 year history in the Benson & Hedges Cup, winning 66 of the 142 matches played over the years, and winning the competition in 1988 and 1992.

Despite a superb overall campaign that saw them claim the Premier League title and win the Carabao Cup, Manchester City have been tipped for a summer rebuild ahead of next season.

After falling just short in the FA Cup and Champions League, it seems that Pep Guardiola’s side are looking to make some big name signings ahead of next season, which will likely also see some first-team regulars depart as the former Barcelona boss looks to end City’s woes in Europe after losing the Champions League final to Chelsea last season.

A host of names have been linked with the Citizens now that the transfer window is open, whilst the likes of Raheem Sterling, Aymeric Laporte and Bernardo Silva have all been linked with moves away.

Here’s how Football FanCast predicts Guardiola’s strongest XI could look next season…

After their title win was built on the improvement of their defence, with Ruben Dias a standout signing at the back, it seems unlikely that City will make too many defensive signings this summer.

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Nuno Mendes is one name who has been touted as a potential option at left-back but that seems reliant on whether or not they can get rid of Benjamin Mendy, with Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko likely to rotate their next season, with John Stones and Kyle Walker also likely to keep their regular spots.

Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri will likely be the regular midfield partnership for Guardiola, although a new defensive-midfield signing may be necessary if Fernandinho does not agree to a new contract with the Etihad outfit.

Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez keep their place in attacking-midfield roles, with Phil Foden likely to be regular on the wing or through the middle, although the potential £100m signing of Jack Grealish could see him become a starter on the left.

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Up front, Harry Kane could seal a £150m exit from Tottenham Hotspur to sign for Guardiola’s side, with the Citizens seemingly the most likely destination for the England captain.

And, in other news… Bye-bye Bernardo: Txiki should seal Man City swoop for “phenomenal” £27m-rated wizard

Hard work developing his bowling action worked for Durham county all-rounder Paul Collingwood last night when he skittled Lou Vincent, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris and Andre Adams to help England to a deserved 43-run win over New Zealand at Napier

Lynn McConnell20-Feb-2002Hard work developing his bowling action worked for Durham county all-rounder Paul Collingwood last night when he skittled Lou Vincent, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris and Andre Adams to help England to a deserved 43-run win over New Zealand at Napier.The win kept the National Bank One-Day International Series alive and was a reminder to the New Zealanders that, despite all the work they have put into advancing their game this year, they can still be undone by neglect of the basics of the game, especially partnership building.Collingwood had a previous best of one for 31 in his 16 ODIs and he had only three wickets at a cost of 101 runs apiece before last night’s effort.He finished with four for 38, the result of his finding the McLean Park environment and the settling dew suitable for his swing bowling.England were defending a score of 244/5, another score in the 240s that has dominated much of New Zealand’s one-day summer.But there were no heroics to get the CLEAR Black Caps out of this muddle.England built their total around the batting of Nick Knight. His 80 was a classic foundation-type innings which could only be faulted for the fact that he got out in the 43rd over when the chance was there to bat all the way through and make an even bigger total. He did take a blow to the face when pinned by a ball from fast bowler Ian Butler to sustain a cut that needed three stitches.As it was, part of the slack was taken up by Graham Thorpe who plundered with some success and brought up a half century off 48 balls. He produced some hard hit shots in the latter part of his innings and was only out to a fine leaping catch on the boundary’s edge by Nathan Astle.England had built their innings cautiously after getting to 71/1 in 13 overs, the same score as at the 15-over mark due to two maidens bowled when the players returned from the first of two rain breaks.But tight bowling, especially from fast-medium merchant Daryl Tuffey, whose 10 overs cost only 39 runs, and Harris, who took one for 29, kept the lid on any scoring outbreaks from the tourists.They kept their wickets too, although Marcus Trescothick departed for 41, off 50 balls, when hitting a ball from Cairns straight to Harris, while Nasser Hussain, the England captain, got it all wrong when trying to sweep Harris and was bowled around his legs for 24.New Zealand’s chase was not helped by quite possibly the umpiring blunder of the series to date when Brent Bowden gave Astle out for a catch that even had Hussain smirking at the after-match press conference and mentioning that Astle might do his pants up tighter next time. Television replays showed that Astle’s bat was nowhere near the ball.Chris Nevin scored 21 off 19 but New Zealand were 31/2 in the sixth and while Craig McMillan attempted to help Stephen Fleming recover the situation he set the trend for the big hitters in the New Zealand innings when his first real effort to get onto a ball went straight to hand rather than to free country.Similar fates befell Cairns and Adams who both departed to catches deep in the outfield.Lou Vincent did help Fleming add 58 for the fourth wicket before he was Collingwood’s first victim, caught by Craig White in the gully when he had scored 29.The run rate requirement was mounting against the New Zealanders at this time and the pressure was on the batsmen coming in.Fleming stood firm in an innings of 76 not out scored off 112 balls. There were some moments of outstanding strokeplay but there were other moments when he struggled.The score was his second highest of the summer and his best since he scored 85 against South Africa in Hobart in the VB Series.But Fleming needed much more scoring assistance than was forthcoming from his side and it would not surprise if New Zealand decided to bolster their batting in Auckland by bringing Brendon McCullum back into the side.Whatever happens, Napier will be remembered as a happy hunting ground for England on this leg of their tour and perhaps the first step towards achieving a victory in the series.Fleming has said New Zealand know what they have to do, and Hussain has said he expects New Zealand to come charging back at them.Fighting talk from both camps, and that could yet be the requirement that produces the thriller this series could do with.

A grant of £150,000 from Sport England has been received, as the club act in response to a number of comments made by visitors to the Rose Bowl last season.One of the main complaints made during the inaugural campaign at the new ground were on safety issues including the dangerous steps leading down to the pitch side and the uneven and unstable state of the stone on the berm.But now, courtesy of the grant, Hampshire Cricket have invested in metallic handrails to aid the negotiating of the steps and the compaction of the stones for the time being ahead of some extensive work, which will commence during next winter.A £1million project to tarmac the car parking areas will start after the coming season, while the commission of lighting will also be included in this plan, which it is envisaged will be completed by the 2003 season.

Southampton have been linked with a move for exit-bound Burnley winger Robbie Brady recently and the Republic of Ireland international could be an excellent addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side this summer.

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mirror (15:27 in live blog), the Saints, Crystal Palace, Celtic and Watford are all considering a move for the 29-year-old, who is set to leave the Clarets this summer when his contract expires.

The left winger has plenty of Premier League experience with both Norwich City and Burnley and has earned 56 caps for his country, although he has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, preventing him from being a regular in Sean Dyche’s side.

Would he be a good signing?

If Brady can prove his fitness, he could definitely prove to be a solid addition to Hasenhuttl’s side this summer, as his performances in the three seasons between 2015/16 and 2017/18 emphasise that he can be a real threat in any team when he is on form.

The Irish winger is quite versatile, as he can play on either flank and also as a left-back. That immediately marks him out as someone who Hasenhuttl would love to have in his squad, especially with the dearth of left-backs currently available to the Austrian ahead of next season following Ryan Bertrand’s decision to leave the club.

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Former Ireland teammate Stephen Quinn was full of praise for Brady back in 2014, saying: “He is just an exceptionally talented footballer and I think that left wing-back position suits him because he is coming into plays, he will always attack and he gets goals like that.”

The 29-year-old could rediscover his best form if he was afforded a run of games, so given that he is available on a free transfer, you could argue that his signing would be something of a no-brainer for the Saints this summer.

Hasenhuttl has suggested in recent months that he will consider more experienced signings after being won over by Theo Walcott this season, and considering that Brady is younger and more versatile than the former Arsenal man, there seems little reason for Saints CEO Martin Semmens not to sign the Irishman this summer should he prove his fitness.

In other news… Ralph handed golden opportunity to axe £11.7m Saints flop, Gao surely buzzing

There are likely to be as many as 20 teams, including Kenya and twoEnglish counties, playing in the West Indies’ annual limited-overstournament later this year.The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) cricket committee has approvedthe plan to double the number of teams in the Red Stripe Bowl and themarketing department is presently seeking increased sponsorship tofinance the expansion.Former WICB marketing director Chris Dehring said yesterday he waspreparing a document detailing suggestions of how the tournamentshould be structured.Kenya, which is already scheduled to compete in the 2002 Busta Series,is also keen to participate in the expanded limited-overs tournamentand two English counties, preferably champions of the two One-Daycompetitions, will be invited.The Leeward and Windward Islands are to be split into their componentparts so that Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent of theWindwards and Anguilla, Antigua, Nevis, St Kitts and either thecombined Virgin Islands or Montserra of the Leewards will competeseparately.They will be added to the Cayman Islands, who were included for thefirst time last year, Bermuda, Canada and the United States, who arerecent entrants, and the WICB founder-members, Barbados, Guyana,Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.The proposed format, to be completed in three-and-ahalf weeks,provides for four groups of five seeded teams each with the Top 2 fromeach group, following round-robin play, advancing to the Super Eightsalong the lines of the Super Sixes of the World Cup.The Top 4 will then move into the semifinals and the winners to thefinal.The ambitious project follows the successful expansion of the BustaSeries last season with the addition of the England ‘A’ and WestIndies ‘B’ teams. It is seen as giving a chance to more players tocompete at a higher level.In the case of the Leeward and Windward Islands, it will be the firsttime competing at West Indies level, creating a national spiritmissing as part of a composite team.