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As per Jeunesfooteux, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has personally set his sights on a new target in Sparta Prague sensation Adam Hlozek.

The Lowdown: Eye-catching talent…

The Czech Republic ace has already managed 12 international caps despite still being a teenager, leaving little wonder Premier League clubs are reportedly taking note.

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West Ham United are one English top flight side to have been heavily linked with a move for the electric striker with 24 goals and 21 assists since the start of last season.

The 19-year-old can play across the front line in a variety of roles with Klopp now also eyeing a move as reports emerge.

The Latest: Klopp sets sights…

According to Jeunesfooteux, Liverpool’s boss has personally taken an interest in the forward with Hlozek catching the eye of Klopp.

It is believed the Reds are now ‘closely following’ Sparta’s gem, though this report claims he prefers a move to Germany.

This comes amid the ‘departure’ of striking back-up Divock Origi, whose contract expires at the end of 2021/2022, with the Belgian, hailed as a ‘monster’ by Klopp, now looking set to leave on a free deal.

The Verdict: Make a move?

Displaying much promise already, Liverpool will apparently have to pay more than his £17.1m Transfermarkt value to get a deal done.

He may be worth it, however, with the player’s representative Pavel Paska having waxed lyrical over his ‘world class’ client already.

Liverpool have made no fuss in signing star talents for the future before, most recently attempting a deal for Fabio Carvalho, and we believe Hlozek should firmly be on the agenda if they can persuade him to favour an English move.

In other news: FSG ready bid to sign ‘top level’ £66.6m man as opportunity opens for him to join Liverpool, find out more here.

The PCB has sent a legal notice to Mickey Arthur, who suggested that an ODI between Pakistan and South Africa in 2007 had “a strong suspicion of match-fixing” around it

Osman Samiuddin08-Nov-2010The Pakistan Cricket Board has sent a legal notice to former South Africa coach Mickey Arthur, asking him to respond within seven days about comments he made recently, suggesting that an ODI between Pakistan and South Africa in 2007 had “a strong suspicion of match-fixing” around it.The PCB had issued a statement last Friday expressing concern over Arthur’s comments and indicated that legal action would be taken. Arthur has since said his words were taken out of context, but the same claims are set to be made in his soon-to-be published autobiography. That might now cause further problems.In the legal notice, a copy of which is with ESPNcricinfo, the PCB finds it “extremely startling” that Arthur has said this more than three years after the ODI. “They [the PCB] have reason to believe that such scandalizing statements have been made by you inter alia to “sell” your biography.” The notice concludes that without any proof, the claims and allegations are “whimsical, frivolous, defamatory, disparaging, denigrating, libelous, slanderous and derogatory.”Arthur has been directed to “unconditionally and publicly retract” the statement and offer an “unqualified and unconditional apology” for the allegations. Pertinently, as far as the publication of the book is concerned, the board has asked for a written undertaking that no such statements will be made publicly again and “that your biography will not contain such or similar libels and disparaging statements against the Pakistan team or any of its members.”The PCB has also directed Arthur to put forward a proposal for paying them a “substantial sum” in damages. Arthur now has seven days from the receipt of this legal notice – a copy of which has also been sent to Cricket South Africa and the ICC – to respond.

Despite having been heavily linked with a move to Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side in the January transfer window, Hannes Wolf’s potential switch to Parkhead ultimately did not come to fruition, with the Borussia Monchengladbach winger eventually going on to secure a temporary switch to Swansea City.

However, while missing out on a deal for the 22-year-old who Christoph Freund dubbed “perfect” initially appeared to be something of a blow for Bhoys, considering the Austria U21 international’s form so far during his spell in Wales, it is beginning to look as if Postecoglou dodged something of a bullet in failing to land the forward last month.

Indeed, over his seven Championship outings in the current campaign, the £4.5m-rated attacker has so far failed to hit the back of the net, is yet to provide his teammates with a single assist and has created just one big chance, as well as completing an average of a mere 0.3 crosses and losing possession of the ball 11.4 times per game.

These returns have seen the £27k-per-week winger average a rather disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.76, ranking him as Russell Martin’s 11th-best performer in the second tier of English football.

As such, while hindsight is a wonderful thing, when taking into account the fact that Wolf would have cost Celtic around £621k in wages – plus whatever loan fee Swansea are playing the Bundesliga side – during his proposed spell in Glasgow, Postecoglou looks as if he has saved the club a considerable amount of money by missing out on the forward.

Not only that, but considering the 22-year-old’s poor returns in front of goal so far for the Swans, it very much looks as if the Austrian may not be cut out for the demands of British football – something that all involved with Celtic will be delighted was not discovered after the attacker moved to Parkhead.

In other news: Forget Scales: “Really Poor” Celtic dud with 30 touches made Ange look foolish vs Bodo

Teenager Nathan Buck took a starring role to spearhead a Leicestershire fightback on the first day of their final home County Championship game of the season against Gloucestershire at Grace Road

07-Sep-2010
ScorecardTeenager Nathan Buck took a starring role to spearhead a Leicestershire fightback on the first day of their final home County Championship game of the season against Gloucestershire at Grace Road.The 19-year-old seamer posted a career best score of 26 as Leicestershire’s lower order batsmen pulled them out of trouble and then followed up by grabbing two wickets in two balls at the start of Gloucestershire’s reply. But, by the close, Gloucestershire had staged a recovery of their own to reach 54 for 2, although they were still 241 runs behind Leicestershire’s 295, to which Tom New contributed a top score of 63.At one stage the home side had looked to be plummeting to a below-par first-innings total after winning the toss and deciding to bat. They stumbled to 36 for 3 and then to 167 for 6 before New led the fightback as the last four wickets adding 128 valuable runs to take Leicestershire to a competitive score.Claude Henderson struck a quick-fire 33 off 29 balls with 28 of his runs in boundaries, Nadeem Malik made 34 and Buck was last man out for 26 – his best score so far in his first full season of Championship cricket.Then the England Under-19 international trapped both Will Porterfield and Chris Dent lbw with the third and fourth balls of his second over to plunge Gloucestershire to 10 for 2. It also took the highly-rated Buck to 41 wickets for the season.He finished with 2 for 20 off his opening six-over spell as Jonathan Batty (24) and Hamish Marshall (19) survived until the close.Gloucestershire’s veteran seamer Jon Lewis was their most successful bowler taking four for 42 with some well controlled bowling on a helpful pitch. The home side were in real trouble after losing their first three wickets in nine overs but Jacques Du Toit hit 46 off 57 balls with seven boundaries, sharing a stand of 55 with Paul Nixon.Du Toit was dismissed when he edged Anthony Ireland to slip, but Nixon (43) and New put on another 76 runs in 21 overs before Nixon fell lbw to James Franklin. But New led the late tail-end resistance sharing a stand of 56 with Henderson before finally falling to an excellent ball from Ireland that found the edge.But Buck and Malik put on another 62 in 18 overs for the ninth wicket to take Leicestershire to a more comfortable position than had looked likely.

MatériaMais Notícias

Mais duas equipes garantiram vaga na segunda fase da Copa do Brasil na noite desta quarta-feira. O Figueirense derrotou o Treze por 2 a 0 e o Joinville bateu o Itabaiana por 1 a 0. As duas equipes tinha a vantagem do empate, mas ambas saíram com a vitória.

O Figueirense não teve muitos problemas para superar o Treze. A equipe catarinense abriu o placar ainda no primeiro tempo com André Luís, aos 20 minutos. Na segunda etapa, João Lucas fechou o placar.

No outro confronto, Joinville e Itabaiana fizeram um confronto bastante movimentado, com as as duas equipes criando boas oportunidades. O JEC só conseguiu balançar as redes aos 34 minutos do segundo tempo, com Elias.

Na próxima fase, o Figueirense aguarda o vencedor de Brasiliense e Oeste. Já o Joinville vai enfrentar ou São Raimundo ou Vila Nova na próxima fase.

South Africa ended the third day at the Queen’s Park Oval in a position of total dominance thanks to the fearsome bowling combination of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill12-Jun-2010Close:
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Dale Steyn picked up for 5 for 29 to reach 200 Test wickets in just his 39th match•AFP

South Africa ended the third day at the Queen’s Park Oval in a position of total dominance thanks to the fearsome bowling combination of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, who combined to skittle West Indies for just 102 in their first innings.After Morkel’s opening burst left the hosts’ top order in tatters, Steyn ripped through the middle and lower order to take 5 for 29 and become the fourth fastest bowler to reach 200 Test wickets behind Clarrie Grimmett, Dennis Lillee and Waqar Younis. Graeme Smith gave his bowlers a rest after their hard work, choosing not to enforce the follow-on, and by the close he had found the form that had eluded him on the tour thus far to take South Africa to 155 for 2 with an unbeaten 79, a lead of 405.Morkel bowled with great effort to extract life from a slow, low pitch and bully the top order from the crease in the morning session, reducing West Indies to 12 for 3 as Travis Dowlin, Brendan Nash and Chris Gayle were removed with back-of-a-length deliveries.Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Narsingh Deonarine rallied briefly with a 59-run fourth-wicket stand, but Steyn then tore through the middle order, reverse-swinging the ball at high pace as six wickets fell for just four runs in 28 deliveries. Denesh Ramdin showed some pluck as he took West Indies’ score past 100 in a 27-run partnership with No. 11 Nelon Pascal, but Jacques Kallis then returned for a second spell and wrapped up the innings with the wicket of the tailender.South Africa were in control of the game within the first hour, as Morkel bowled with discipline and patience and found pace and alarming bounce off a placid pitch. Dowlin had stern questions asked of his technique against the short ball, and the whereabouts of his off stump, before he lost patience and pushed at one that he should have left.Morkel made it two wickets in two balls when he had Brendan Nash caught behind off the glove with the first delivery of his next over. Umpire Steve Davis didn’t think he had got anything on it, but the South Africans were convinced and asked for a referral, upon which Davis’s decision was overturned. With the first ball of his next over Morkel got the wicket that South Africa really wanted, as Chris Gayle went to pull a back-of-a-length delivery that wasn’t quite short enough for the shot and the resulting inside edge cannoned into his stumps to put West Indies in serious trouble at 12 for 3.With Morkel and Steyn taken off after their opening spells, Chanderpaul and Deonarine began to settle and took a particular liking to Paul Harris, who bowled six unsuccessful overs for 25 runs. They managed to weather another short burst from the opening pair before lunch, but when they returned, refreshed after the break, West Indies’ capitulation was quick in coming. The partnership was broken as Steyn went round the wicket and sent down a brutal bouncer at Chanderpaul, who gloved an easy looping catch to Mark Boucher.Dwayne Bravo, too, was bounced out shortly afterwards, although in his case it was a lack of bounce that contributed to the dismissal. Morkel dug one in halfway down and Bravo, expecting the ball to rear up at him, crouched and turned his head away but the ball kept low and flicked the glove on its way through.In a sustained assault of fast bowling of the highest standard, Deonarine was next, shouldering arms to a delivery that reversed in to him from around the wicket to have his stumps splayed. Shane Shillingford fell to the very next ball as Steyn continued to find devilishly late movement at high pace and the batsman was struck on the pad right in front of the wicket.Ramdin managed to survive the hat-trick ball – though it was wide of off stump and he flashed wildly at it – but three balls later Steyn reached the 200-wicket milestone by beating Sulieman Benn for both pace and movement to rattle his stumps.His fifth wicket came just two balls later, as Ravi Rampaul – like Deonarine before him – failed to pick up the reverse swing as Steyn came round the wicket and he left a ball that clattered into his off stump. With that, West Indies were 75 for 9 and Steyn’s four overs since the lunch break had yielded five wickets, for the cost of just four runs.When Ramdin took three boundaries off his 14th over, Steyn was pulled out of the attack, but the fightback was a brief one as Kallis nipped Nelon Pascal out in the second over of his spell. Deciding against the follow-on, Smith and Alviro Petersen put on 56 without much discomfort despite the fact that the pitch was beginning to exhibit huge variations in bounce.After Petersen was trapped in front of his stumps by Benn for 22, Hashim Amla suffered his second failure of the game, driving Shillingford uppishly into the hands of a diving Deonarine in the covers to reduce South Africa to 79 for 2.But Smith fought to a half-century off 78 balls and Kallis was also in belligerent mood, his first boundary a massive six over long-on off Shillingford. He took South Africa’s lead past 400 with a savage pull off Pascal before fading light forced the players from the field.

Scorecard
Former England Under-19 international Mark Footitt delivered a reminder of his talents by claiming four wickets to help Derbyshire dismiss Northamptonshire for 220 on the first day at Wantage Road.Footitt, who was tipped for senior England duties as a youngster, was released by Nottinghamshire last year but returned figures of 4 for 78 off his 17 overs. The 24-year-old was ably supported by Tom Lungley and former South Africa international Robin Peterson, who took three wickets each.Northants captain Nicky Boje top-scored for the hosts with 54 but David Sales and Andrew Hall both gave their wickets away on 33. And opening duo Wayne Madsen and Chris Rogers smashed 57 runs from 13 overs before the close of play to leave Derbyshire trailing by only 163 runs.Northants won the toss and chose to bat but were struggling on 25 for 2 after nine overs thanks to Derbyshire seamer Lungley. He first trapped Vishal Tripathi lbw for 13 before Alex Wakely went for a third-ball duck when Lungley clipped the top of his off stump with a slower ball.Stephen Peters made it to 32 off 58 balls before he smashed Footitt to Rogers, who took a good low catch at mid-off. Footitt struck again when he ripped through Rob White’s off stump with a superb quick delivery, the batsman going without troubling the scorers after facing six balls.Resuming on 98 for 4 after lunch, Hall lasted another seven overs before being caught by wicketkeeper Lee Goddard off Footitt after making a bright 33 off 41 balls. Northants lost Sales, who also made 33, in the next over when his attempted drive off spinner Robin Peterson flew straight to Madsen at extra cover.Lungley claimed his third wicket when Paul Harrison edged him limply to Goddard for a simple catch. Boje and James Middlebrook took no chances as they tried to salvage their side’s innings before tea with a gritty 32 off the afternoon’s remaining 20 overs.Boje reached his half century in 97 balls in the fourth over after tea. His total included four fours and one six smacked straight down the ground, but he did not last much longer as the 37-year-old went to drive Footitt in the next over but only found Madsen at point.Peterson then ended the Northants innings by first bowling David Lucas (13) then Jack Brooks, who faced just two balls without scoring before being caught by John Sadler at short leg. Derbyshire made a strong start to their reply, to be 163 runs behind with 10 first-innings wickets in hand.

Leeds United ambassador Noel Whelan has bemoaned the hamstring injuries picked up by Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips, describing it as ‘really bad news’ for the club.

The Lowdown: Leeds pair out injured

The Whites have been plagued by injuries throughout the season, which has no doubt played a part in what has been a disappointing campaign to date.

Cooper and Phillips are two of the most high-profile current absentees and, as revealed by Marcelo Bielsa on Friday, the duo are not expected to be back in action until March, which comes as a huge blow to Leeds.

While relegation should still be avoided, not having those two key figures available could make life difficult, and results must start improving in the coming weeks if they are to avoid an uncomfortable run-in to the campaign.

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The Latest: Whelan reacts to news

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan couldn’t hide his frustration at the news that Cooper and Phillips face another couple of months on the sidelines. He rued:

“The injuries looked so innocuous. Usually with a hamstring if you’re not jumping in the air and hitting the clouds, it could just be a tiny tear which could take as little as four weeks.

“But this is really bad news for Leeds United because they are two big players. Phillips, who is one of the best defensive midfield players in the Premier League and is vitally important to how we play. He’s irreplaceable in there.

“And then Cooper is the club captain, and that presence will be missed sorely in the dressing room. You can’t take away the importance of what he gives you in there. It’s like Jordan Henderson at Liverpool – you miss those types of voices.”

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The Verdict: Big battle without them

This is a massive couple of months for Leeds, with fringe players simply having to step up to the plate without Cooper and Phillips around. The former has been the Whites’ second-best performer this term as per WhoScored, while the latter boasts one of the highest tackling averages (2.3 per game) within the squad.

Phillips is going to be a particular miss, considering the sparsity of midfield alternatives and the fact that he is England’s reigning Player of the Year, highlighting how talented player he has become.

A new midfielder may well be needed to be brought in this month to help fill the void, whereas fit-again Diego Llorente and Robin Koch will hopefully forge a strong centre-back pairing without club captain Cooper around. For now, it’s easy to see why Whelan is so worried.

In other news, one Leeds player is set to leave the club this summer. Find out who it is here.

Newcastle United could do a ‘simple’ deal for Flamengo forward Gabriel Barbosa this month, according to The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder. 

The lowdown

Barbosa, who goes by the nickname Gabigol, is a long-term ‘Newcastle target’, having been scouted extensively by head of recruitment Steve Nickson.

The 25-year-old has previously had stints at Inter Milan and Benfica, but he made little impact at either club. At least he is highly regarded by his country, though, with 17 caps under his belt, and he was most recently called up for October’s World Cup qualifiers.

The latest

Writing for The Chronicle, Ryder claimed that Barbosa has been made available for loan and is ‘eager’ to test himself in Europe once again.

It would be a quite straightforward transfer – an initial loan with ‘a £17million deal on offer’ at its culmination.

Sources close to the player have indicated that he ‘likes’ the idea of joining Newcastle, and the 25-year-old would apparently relish the idea of linking up with his compatriot Joelinton at St James’ Park.

Newcastle made an enquiry pre-Christmas but have not gone any further for now. They’re waiting to find out how long the injured Callum Wilson will be sidelined, with the club hopeful that Eddie Howe’s initial prognosis of a ‘months’-long absence may prove overly pessimistic.

The verdict

Even if Wilson’s current injury isn’t as bad as first feared, Newcastle could certainly do with stronger cover. Based on the 29-year-old’s injury history, there’s a very real possibility that he could be sidelined again before the end of the season.

Current deputies Joelinton and Dwight Gayle have only managed 33 goals in 228 combined Premier League appearances, and while Barbosa still needs to prove that he can do it in Europe, his record for Flamengo is mighty. He netted 29 goals last season, taking him to 84 in 124 appearances for the club.

Bringing him to St James’ Park may seem a gamble, but based on his recent record and the dearth of firepower currently available to Howe, it appears a gamble worth taking.

In other news, Newcastle have made an offer for this Champions League ace

Newcastle United host Manchester United at home in the Premier League tonight as they go in search of their second win of the season.

The Magpies are on ten points after 18 matches and have won just one game as they sit in the relegation zone heading into the half-way stage of the campaign.

They now come up against Ralf Rangnick’s United side off the back of losing three games in succession to Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester City.

St. James’ rocking

Newcastle need to get St. James’ Park rocking tonight to create an intimidating atmosphere for the Red Devils to play in and Howe could ensure that happens by unleashing Allan Saint-Maximin from the start.

The tricky winger was left on the bench against Manchester City last week and should now be brought straight back into the starting XI as he is a player who can get fans off their seats. He has the quality on the ball to lift a crowd and this could be vital to gain momentum throughout the match.

This season, the forward has averaged 1.9 shots, 1.5 key passes and 4.1 dribbles per game in the Premier League for Newcastle. He is constantly involved in the play and wants the ball at his feet in order to make things happen, which brings with it an air of excitement every time he is in possession as the fans know that there is the potential for something magical to happen.

Gary Neville previously lauded the £93k-per-week gem, saying: “To see his speed, his movement, it’s absolutely breathtaking. We were defenders in the Premier League and played against lots of good players.

“But every team now has three or four players who are unpredictable and brilliant, he’s breathtaking.”

The 24-year-old also has three goals and three assists in the league this term, which shows that he has been able to provide the end product to make him a genuine threat in the final third. He can scare defenders with his trickery and Howe must use this weapon against Rangnick’s team tonight.

This is why the Magpies boss must ensure that he is in the starting XI ready for kick-off at 8pm. He can get the St. James’ Park crowd rocking with his direct running and that could give the team the boost they need to pull off a shock result under the lights.

AND in other news, Howe must ruthlessly axe “laughable” NUFC dud who Shearer dubbed worse than an “U10″…