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A concerning update has emerged regarding the possibility of a permanent move to Wolves for Hwang Hee-chan, with an attacking player needing to be sold for it to happen.

The Lowdown: Hwang impressing for Wolves

The 25-year-old joined Wanderers on loan from RB Leipzig during the summer transfer window in order to add depth to Bruno Lage’s squad. Hwang has made an instant impression at Molineux, scoring four Premier League goals and thriving in both a left-sided and central attacking role.

The South Korean has been linked with joining Wolves permanently but a fresh rumour has now emerged which could present an obstacle to such a move.

The Latest: Permanent move thrown into doubt

According to Football Insider, Wolves may need to sell one of their prized assets for ‘big money’ in order for the move to happen.

That could potentially apply to Adama Traore, who has been tipped to leave Molineux and linked with an exit, but either way, the club may not be able to fund it without outgoing business happening.

Wolves have the option to sign Hwang for £13m next summer as part of the loan arrangement but another club could swoop for him in January.

The Verdict: Tie him down, Wolves

Hwang has shown what a huge asset he can be for Wolves in the space of a few short months, so it makes complete sense to sign him permanently.

Furthermore, with Traore seemingly out of favour under Lage – his last start came against Leeds United on October 23 – his exit could help fund a permanent deal for the South Korea ace.

Hwang has already looked in sync with fellow Wolves forward Raul Jimenez, with Rio Ferdinand describing their combination as ‘beautiful’, and it would be good to see them continuing to flourish together beyond next summer. If selling someone like Traore is what it takes to get the Korean in permanently, so be it.

In other news, one rumoured Wolves target has hinted at a move to the Premier League. Find out who it is here.

Kevin Pietersen is finally returning to the England squad but according to team-mate Graeme Swann is not guaranteed a starting place in the team

Cricinfo staff09-Nov-2009

Kevin Pietersen is finally returning to the England squad but according to team-mate Graeme Swann is not guaranteed a starting place in the team.He has been missing since the second Ashes Test in July, recovering from surgery to his right Achilles tendon, but arrives in South Africa on Tuesday before joining up with the squad on Wednesday.Pietersen will bring much-needed experience to England as they begin a two-and-a-half month tour of South Africa, who are ranked the No.1 Test team. Following an encouraging display in the Champions Trophy and a bright start to this tour in his absence, the England selectors have a difficult task fitting Pietersen back into the side.While Pietersen has been sidelined, Eoin Morgan and Jonathan Trott performed promisingly and demonstrated a depth that Swann admits could challenge Pietersen’s place. Morgan has already impressed against South Africa with a 34-ball 67 in the Champions Trophy and made 67 in England’s warm-up victory against Eagles last week. Trott meanwhile made 85 in the same game following his debut century in the last Ashes Test.”I don’t think it’s a squad that’s sitting there desperately hoping that other people turn up because I think we’re all getting on well, we’ve got a very positive outlook and we’ve had some good performances,” Swann told PA. “So Kev’s just going to add to that, I don’t think he’s going to change it. You never know, he might even have to fight for his place when he gets here.”With Andrew Flintoff frequently missing through injury over the last four years England have been used to coping without key players. “Whenever you lose one or two of your big players, everyone else has got to step up to the plate and perform,” Swann added. “Last summer they did, that last Test match everyone was saying that it had to be Andrew Flintoff’s massive last game and it was Stuart Broad who took the limelight – he stepped up to the plate.”We can’t be reliant on one or two players, that’s unhealthy for the team and unhealthy for English cricket. Thankfully at the minute, everyone’s chipping in in their own respective areas, which is a more healthy state to be in.”England play their final warm-up match against a strong South Africa A side in Bloemfontein on Tuesday ahead of two Twenty20 internationals against South Africa at the weekend.

After a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Huddersfield Town at the weekend, West Brom are back in league action this evening with a clash against Blackpool away from home. 

With club captain Jake Livermore now serving a three-game ban after picking up a red card in the defeat against Huddersfield, he will be unavailable for the next few fixtures. 

West Brom also have the likes of Dara O’Shea and Kean Bryan out with injuries. Taking this into account here is how we feel West Brom could line up tonight with three changes expected.

In goal considering how he’s played in almost every league game so far this season, we can see Sam Johnstone will keep his place in the team on this occasion.

For a back three, we think Baggies boss Valerien Ismael will go for the same trio that started against Huddersfield with Kyle Bartley, Cedric Kipre and Matt Clarke all in to try and keep a clean sheet this evening.

In midfield, with Livermore suspended we think Ismael will go with Robert Snodgrass and Jason Molumby, with Alex Mowatt, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £13k-per-week according to Salary Sport, dropping down to the substitutes bench.

At wing-back, we think Connor Townsend will keep his place on the left-hand side with Taylor Gardner-Hickman also retaining his place on the right-hand side.

For the attack, we can see Ismael sticking with Karlan Grant and Matt Phillips but bringing Callum Robinson, who managed to score in Republic of Ireland’s 3-0 win over Luxembourg during the recent international break, back in with Grady Diangana dropping out after he failed to impress and even have one clear shot at goal against Huddersfield.

West Brom are on an incredibly spotty run of form at the moment with three wins, one draw and four defeats under their belt in their eight previous league outings.

Thus, Ismael and everyone else at the Midlands club will undoubtedly be hoping that the team will be able to produce a strong performance and pick up all three points so they aren’t in danger of potentially missing out on a promotion place by the end of the season.

In other news: Forget Furlong: Ismael must unleash “important” WBA machine, he’d terrify Blackpool – opinion

Everton journalist Patrick Boyland reckons that the Blues will be open to letting Cenk Tosun leave in January. 

The lowdown

The Turkey international was an unused substitute in the Toffees’ 1-0 defeat away to Brentford on Sunday.

It had looked like a potential starting opportunity for the striker, with Richarlison suspended and Dominic Calvert-Lewin out injured, but Rafael Benitez favoured Salomon Rondon instead.

Tosun missed the first nine matches of the season with a patella rupture, but he has been in Benitez’s last four matchday squads (via Transfermarkt). However the £2.7m-rated 30-year-old is into the final year of his £60,000-per-week contract.

The latest

Boyland told supporters on The Athletic’s matchday discussion boards on Sunday that Tosun could be made available for transfer in the mid-season window.

In reply to an Everton fan bemoaning the striker, the journalist replied: “Leaning on the fact that Rondon has played more minutes, I think. Tosun is likely to be available come January – just a case of needs must in terms of padding out squad until main strikers back”

The verdict

It’s absolutely no surprise that Tosun could be on his way out of Goodison Park. He has failed to live up to his £27m price tag, contributing just 11 goals in 58 appearances.

The Turkish frontman, who spent the first half of 2021 on loan at Besiktas, is clearly well down the pecking order under Benitez too, given his lack of involvement even with a sparsity of centre-forward options and Rondon enduring a terrible run of form.

While they may not recoup much in terms of a transfer fee, Everton will be hopeful of clearing Tosun’s lofty wages off their books, especially with the club hamstrung by Financial Fair Play regulations.

In other news, many Everton fans reacted negatively to this piece of training insight

With Dean Smith’s Aston Villa side heading into Sunday’s Premier League clash on a run of three consecutive defeats, the 50-year-old would have undoubtedly been hoping for a much better result and performance when West Ham United visited Villa Park this weekend.

However, first-half strikes from Ben Johnson and Declan Rice, in addition to an Ollie Watkins goal for Villa, saw the Hammers take a 2-1 lead into the break, before Ezri Konsa’s 50th-minute red card all but ended Smith’s chances of getting anything out of the game – with goals from Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen completing the 4-1 rout late on.

As is perhaps to be expected after such a result, a number of Villa players did not fare well in terms of match ratings, with Emiliano Buendia and goalscorer Watkins being the only two players to receive a SofaScore match rating of 7.0 or above on the losing side.

Although, it will undoubtedly be Konsa most disappointed with his display on Sunday, as the centre-back cost his side dearly.

Marching orders

While the 24-year-old’s biggest fault on Sunday was quite obviously his sending off for denying Bowen a clear goalscoring opportunity early in the second half – even if this decision has caused some level of controversy in the aftermath of the fixture – the defender’s display during his 50 minutes on the pitch was far from his best performance in a Villa shirt.

Indeed, the £22.5m-rated man failed to make any tackles, any interceptions or any clearances – three of the metrics which generally determine how effective a defender has been during a match.

The former England U21 international also lost four of his eight duels, completed just 17 passes and touched the ball a grand total of 25 times – 14 times less than Aston Villa shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez.

Finally, it would be difficult to comment on the £72k-per-week centre-back’s performance without mentioning the red card properly, as, regardless of whether or not Chris Kavanagh’s call was harsh, Konsa gave the referee and VAR a decision to make – one that ultimately ended up costing his side dearly.

Indeed, this is reflected in the SofaScore match rating of the player who Thomas Frank dubbed “like a Rolls-Royce”, with the 24-year-old’s 5.8 ranking him as the worst player on the pitch on Sunday.

As such, while any Aston Villa fan will know that Konsa is a much better player than his performance against West Ham would have you believe, the fact nevertheless remains that the defender was a major factor in Villa’s breakdown against the Hammers.

In other news: Signed for £17m, now worth “quadruple”: Lange struck oil on “unreal” £47k-p/w AVFC ace

The previous summer transfer window saw Southampton sell striker Danny Ings to fellow Premier League club Aston Villa after the Englishman managed to score 46 goals in 100 appearances for the Saints.

Unsurprisingly, Southampton have been struggling in front of goal so far this season with just five goals scored in their opening seven Premier League games.

Although things aren’t looking too positive at Southampton at the moment, there is one player at the club that Hasenhuttl should consider giving a chance to play in the first team to help fix their attacking output.

16-year-old attacking-midfielder Kamari Doyle has been showing his talents in Southampton’s youth teams in recent weeks.

Back in August, Doyle made three appearances for Southampton’s U18 side in the U18 Premier League where he managed to score five goals and provide one assist with all five strikes incredibly coming in their 7-2 win over Birmingham City.

Since then, the teenager has been involved with Southampton’s U23 team, playing in numerous positions as a second striker, central-midfielder and a right-winger, which shows just how skilled he is at just 16-years-old.

In addition to this, the fact that Doyle was recently named in The Guardian’s Next Generation 2021 list of the 20 best young talents across the Premier League clubs, proves how impressive he has been in Southampton’s youth ranks and how big his future at the club could be.

Taking all of this into account, we feel that it could well be worth Hasenhuttl giving Doyle a chance to show what he can do in the Premier League with the rest of the senior team, even at such a young age.

With current Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse set to begin serving a three-match ban after the current international break following a red card during the club’s previous clash with Chelsea, it could open the door for Doyle to make his senior debut from the bench.

Looking further down the line, we feel that there’s every chance that Doyle could potentially replace Ward-Prowse and be Southampton’s next academy star to come through the ranks and impress. He has the goal-scoring prowess to do so which combines nicely with his tidy ability on the ball. Doyle’s versatility is also a trait that compares well with the club’s skipper.

In our view, whether Hasenhuttl chooses to give Doyle a shot in their upcoming Premier League matches, the Saints could really do with getting their first win of the season as soon as they can to move away from the relegation zone.

In other news: Ralph could solve Southampton’s JWP problem instantly after big injury boost – opinion

Dean Smith has been told to drop Emiliano Buendia for Aston Villa’s Premier League clash with West Ham United on Sunday.

Birmingham Live journalist Ashley Preece has set out the line-up he believes can end the hosts’ slump.

The lowdown

Villa take on the Hammers looking to halt a run of three consecutive league defeats.

Buendia started his fifth Premier League game of the season against Arsenal last time out, lining-up behind Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins in Smith’s 3-4-1-2.

But he endured a difficult night, squandering a ‘big chance’ to reduce the Gunners’ three-goal lead just after the hour mark, losing possession 14 times and completing only one of his three dribbles. He was replaced by Jacob Ramsey on 68 minutes (via SofaScore).

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said that Buendia is ‘not working’ in Smith’s system.

The Argentine, a summer arrival from Norwich City, is Villa’s fourth-highest earner at reported £75,000 per week.

The latest

Preece called for a reversion to a back four, with Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Matt Targett protecting Emiliano Martinez’s goal.

In midfield, he wants to see John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Jacob Ramsey, who ‘deserves a chance to build on his first goal’ against Arsenal.

Provided Leon Bailey passes a fitness test, Preece thinks he should start on the right, Ings through the middle and Watkins out on the left.

The verdict

Buendia did indeed struggle at Arsenal, while Ramsey came on and gave Villa hope by scoring an outstanding goal.

According to ex-Villan Gabriel Agbonlahor, the 20-year-old has been in ‘great form’ this season and adds ‘more legs’ in midfield, implying he is absolutely the right fit if a three-man midfield is selected, as Preece suggests.

Villa are in need of three points to arrest their slide, and so Dean Smith can’t shy away from making big decisions in terms of team selection.

In other news, fans loved this sight in midweek.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been dealt a huge blow ahead of their upcoming Premier League clash.

What’s the latest?

According to a report by The Guardian, Bruno Lage will be unable to call upon Francisco Trincao on Saturday afternoon as the winger is yet to complete his quarantine period after falling ill while on international duty with Portugal last week.

It had originally been reported that the Barcelona loanee was a doubt for the game, as it was unclear exactly when his aforementioned quarantine would end, and it has now been confirmed that Wolves will be without the 21-year-old for the trip to Aston Villa today.

Lage will be gutted

Considering just how impressive Trincao has been for Wolves since joining the club on a temporary basis this summer, Lage will be gutted that he will have to make do without the forward for the all-Midlands clash this afternoon.

Indeed, despite being yet to directly contribute to a goal over his six Premier League appearances, the £19.8m-rated winger has nevertheless demonstrated his ability in abundance, taking 2.5 shots, making one key pass and completing 3.2 dribbles per game. None of his team-mates have averaged more shots per match, while only the league-leading Adama Traore can better his dribbling average at Molineux.

These metrics have seen the £140k-per-week man earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.90, ranking him as the club’s joint eighth-best performer in the top flight.

While Lage is not exactly short of options in the wide attacking areas of his squad – with Traore looking the most likely candidate to come in for the Portugal international against Villa – it will undoubtedly come as a big blow to the Wolves boss to be without Trincao, as the winger has already proven that he can offer a threat in the final third of the pitch.

In other news: “Huge” £51k-p/w Wolves target “able to leave” in January, he’d be a major coup for Shi

New Zealand will look to ride the momentum from a thumping win last night, and also the bounce the pitch offered, when they go into the Test series that begins this Wednesday. Three days ago they looked an outplayed side, but the Auckland win has changed a lot of things in the New Zealand camp.”Cricket is a momentum game,” Andy Moles, their coach, said. “It was a good win last night. Of course the Indians will say that they won the series. That’s fine. Our answer is there have been six games of cricket, they have won three, and we have won three. So we are level going into the [Test] series. They outplayed us in the one-dayers, but we are looking forward to the Test series.”We know that India are a fine side. We respect that, but we are not scared of them. And last night it showed. We got early wickets and put them under pressure. They make mistakes like everybody else.”More than the win, New Zealand will draw confidence out of the fact that they bowled India out in 36.3 overs. And also that India seemed to not adjust to a pitch that offered seam movement and good bounce. New Zealand are not getting ahead of themselves with it, though, because India will have more time to adjust to such pitches in the Test series, and also because they will get better difficult-pitch batsmen in Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.”The pitch had bounce so they were not able to play with the freedom,” Moles said. “But Tests are different. They have a different set of batsmen and they will be looking to carrying on the success they have enjoyed in the last 18 months.”Iain O’Brien, who over the least two weeks has taken one of the worst beatings of his short career, looked excited with the bounce. Would he want similar pitches as the one at the Eden Park for the Tests?”Not necessarily the seam movement, but the bounce,” O’Brien said. “Just nice go get a deck that has good carry and good bounce through to the keeper. Just the bounce that made life more interesting for a bowler. It’s nice to dismiss them in 36 overs or so. It’s a good thing to do, knock them over. The Test wickets won’t be as flat as one-dayers, there will be a little bit in them.”Moles shared the sentiment. “After what we saw last night, the wicket there was in our favour,” Moles said. “The curator [at the Seddon Park] is known to prepare good wickets. We are looking forward to a fine cricket wicket, and if it bounces it will be great. We don’t want to play on a green seamer, we want to have a good game of cricket, and I am sure that’s what we will get.”The Seddon Park pitch right now wears a green look, but it is not ready. A lot of that grass will obviously be taken off, and it is expected to be a pitch that could open up a debate whether to play two spinners or not. Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, said before the Auckland ODI that they hadn’t yet made their mind on whether they wanted to play three pace bowlers. In the last Test played in Hamilton, New Zealand went in with both Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel. Between them Vettori and Patel took seven wickets as New Zealand beat England by 189 runs.

Four greats of West Indies cricket were honoured in a ceremony hosted by the Jamaican Cricket Association and the WICB. George Headley, Everton Weekes, Garry Sobers and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the current No. 1 Test batsman, were honoured at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Monday.The celebration commemorated four unique events – the 100th anniversary of Headley’s birth, the 60th of Weekes’ five consecutive Test centuries, the50th of Sobers’ 365 not out, and Chanderpaulbeing named the ICC’s International Player of the Year 2008.In accepting the award, Weekes thanked the organisers for the “specialhonour”, while Chanderpaul said he was “delighted” and would be looking tocontinue the good work in the upcoming series against England.Headley, who died 25 years ago, was represented by his son Lindie while Sobers was unable to attend.