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Liverpool have reportedly been keeping track of Leicester City winger Harvey Barnes as manager Jurgen Klopp looks to bolster his attacking options.

What’s the story?

According to Goal’s Liverpool reporter Neil Jones, the Reds’ recruitment team have been watching the 23-year-old’s progress over the last couple of campaigns ahead of a possible move for the speedster.

The Anfield outfit are believed to be in the market for a new forward this summer following underwhelming campaigns for Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino last time out.

Liverpool fans will be delighted

Barnes enjoyed a stellar 2020/21 season, bagging 13 goals and providing a further four assists in 38 appearances for Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes.

He was tipped to make Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2020 given his outstanding displays for the Midlands outfit. However, a serious knee injury picked up in March ruled the forward out for the rest of the campaign.

The electric England international made a winning return to first-team action over the weekend, though, featuring from the off as Leicester claimed just their second Community Shield with a victory at Wembley Stadium.

And now Barnes could be rewarded for last season’s fine form with a move to the 19-time English champions.

With Mane and Firmino beginning to fall below their usual exceptional standards and the likes of Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri heavily linked with an Anfield exit, Barnes could provide the spark to Liverpool’s forward line that it so desperately needs.

He’s made incredible progress since joined West Bromwich Albion on loan back in 2018, where he contributed to 16 goals in 26 Championship outings for the Baggies, and his underlying numbers last term are evidence of that.

As per WhoScored, Barnes recorded 2.2 shots per league game in 2020/21, made one key pass and completed 1.6 dribbles, placing him in the top five compared to his teammates for all metrics.

Therefore, Liverpool fans will surely be delighted to learn the club’s recruitment team are closely monitoring his progress. Barnes is an exciting, young, English prospect with bags of potential and he should only get better under Klopp’s tutelage.

Whether the Reds follow up their reported interest with a formal offer remains to be seen, but his arrival on Merseyside would certainly be welcomed by the supporters. The fact that he’s on Liverpool’s radar should be music to the ears of Reds’ fans.

And, in other news…Report reveals exciting transfer update that’ll have Liverpool fans buzzing 

The League One campaign of Sheffield Wednesday did not get off to the best of starts on Saturday afternoon, as Darren Moore’s side were held to a goalless draw by Charlton Athletic at The Valley.

Much had been discussed prior to kick-off about whether the Owls manager would start either of his recent signings Florian Kamberi or Lee Gregory following Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with Huddersfield Town in the EFL cup last weekend – a fixture which the club ultimately lost on penalties – however, Kamberi would only make the bench, while Gregory was not included in the matchday squad at all.

Instead, the 47-year-old decided on a front three of Jaden Brown, Callum Paterson and Andre Green, although Paterson would be withdrawn after just 16 minutes due to injury.

And, as the game progressed, it was clear to see exactly why Moore had been so keen to bring in attacking reinforcements this summer, as his Wednesday side mustered just one shot on target over the course of the 90 minutes, from a total of six attempted efforts.

Perhaps the most disappointing of the attacking performances was given by Green, with the 23-year-old struggling to have any real impact on the game whatsoever.

Indeed, over his 64 minutes on the pitch, the £720k-rated man managed no shots – either on or off target – failed with his one attempted dribble and touched the ball a total of 20 times – 11 times fewer than Bailey Peacock-Farrell between the Sheffield Wednesday sticks.

The £6k-per-week winger also completed neither of his two attempted crosses, found his target with a mere seven of his 10 attempted passes and lost possession of the ball a total of nine times.

Furthermore, the former Burnley man won none of his seven duels, was dribbled past by an opponent on three occasions and committed one foul, before he too was forced off due to injury in the second half.

Overall, these metrics saw Green earn a highly disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.3, the worst of any player from either side to feature in the match.

As such, it would be a difficult argument to make for the winger to keep his place in the Sheffield Wednesday starting XI for the visit of Doncaster Rovers next week, with Green undoubtedly needing to up his game should he wish to play any sort of major role in the Owls’ push for promotion this season.

In other news: Chansiri masterclass: SWFC confirm transfer development that will have fans buzzing

Batting in to the semis
Kepler Wessels, the Chennai Super Kings coach, has said if his side bat like they did against the Rajasthan Royals then they have a chance to beat the Deccan Chargers. Chennai are aiming to qualify for the semi-finals and a win in Hyderabad will ensure they beat the Mumbai Indians to the only remaining berth in the final four. “We are looking for more firepower in bowling,” Wessels said. “It is a fact that the bowlers were punished badly on a very good pitch in the last match. However, it is important to remember that they have been bowling superbly right through.” He also said fast bowler Manpreet Gony was the find of the IPL. Gony has taken 13 wickets at a strike-rate of 22.1 in 13 games.Police complaint against franchise owner
The Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police RS Khatra has lodged a formal complaint with the District Commissioner of the Patiala range regarding the alleged verbal assault on him by Ness Wadia, the Mohali IPL franchise owner. Khatra claimed Wadia had told him the police were selling tickets in black and letting many spectators in an unauthorised manner. “I would have addressed Ness’ grievances by initiating action against members of the police force, if found guilty. However, Wadia launched a verbal assault on me using derogatory language against me,” Khatra said. “He addressed me as a low life which disturbed me greatly.”Akram for shorter IPL
Wasim Akram has suggested a shorter IPL for next year. “I would advise the organisers to next time reduce the duration of the league and number of matches. It has got to a stage where it has become a bit too long and the whole tournament has become a bit complicated because of the number of matches each team is playing,” Akram told . “The IPL has been a success because Twenty20 cricket is all about entertainment. It is not real cricket.”

The state of the world’s pitches is taking away the excitement from Test cricket, according to Ricky Ponting

Cricinfo staff12-Jun-2008
Ricky Ponting: “Let’s just try and do something with the wickets. If it means digging them up and relaying them then let’s try it” © Getty Images
The state of the world’s pitches is taking away the excitement from Test cricket, according to Ricky Ponting. Australia have completed two Tests on dull surfaces in Jamaica and Antigua and Ponting believes bounce is crucial to making the game more interesting.”I just think Test cricket is probably not as exciting anymore because of the wickets that we’re playing on,” Ponting said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “People would rather watch a game in Perth than they would in Antigua. There’s much more happening.”There’s more bouncers, more batsmen ducking and weaving and sometimes falling on their backsides, more catches behind the wicket, more hook shots. That’s the sort of Test cricket that we all grew up watching and enjoying.”Ponting repeated his view that the surfaces around the world were “just too flat and too placid”. “That’s what I would be saying to all the authorities around the world: let’s just try and do something with the wickets,” he said. “If it means digging them up and relaying them then let’s try it. It’s obviously not working too well at the moment.”While Ponting wants the pitches changed, he is less enthusiastic about the ICC’s idea of a Test world championship, with a prize awarded at the end of a four-year cycle. “You’re playing for a trophy every series you play,” Ponting said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s at the end of two or three or four years, there are trophies on the line every series. We’ve got to look at other smaller ways. But let’s just see how this all pans out.”

Celtic almost signed Hadjuk Split centre-back Mario Vuskovic, according to Croatian outlet Dalmatinski.

The Lowdown: Starfelt breakthrough

The Hoops had a busy Wednesday when it comes to transfers. They brought in winger Liel Abada from Maccabi Petah Tikva and also made inroads when it comes to defensive reinforcements.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed on Wednesday morning that Celtic have reached an agreement with Rubin Kazan to sign Carl Starfelt in a deal worth €5m.

Starfelt has already agreed on personal terms and an official announcement is expected soon, according to Romano, which has seemingly had a knock-on effect on Vuskovic.

The Latest: Vuskovic report

Croatian outlet Dalmatinski shared a story on Wednesday regarding Celtic’s move for Starfelt and what that means for Vuskovic, who has been heavily linked with a Parkhead switch of his own.

They claimed that a move for Vuskovic was ‘almost a done deal but then it all stopped’.

Vuskovic, valued at £5.85m by Transfermarkt, is now being eyed by Dutch side Feyenoord.

The Verdict: Should Celtic sign both?

It seems as if the Hoops will be bringing in Starfelt over Vuskovic, but surely there is an argument to sign both, especially with Kristoffer Ajer’s Parkhead situation.

Brentford are set to make a new £15m bid for Ajer, who wants to leave Glasgow this summer, so the Hoops could possibly sign both Starfelt and Vuskovic with those funds with some money left to spend.

Bringing in two centre-backs could be a smart move if Ajer leaves, as that would then take Ange Postecoglou to five senior central defenders ahead of the new season.

In other news: Hoops make bid for 5ft 8 ace on £1,600-a-week, find out more here. 

Marcus Bent doesn’t believe Everton will revisit their interest in Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko this summer.

The Toffees came close to signing the experienced Frenchman back in 2016 following Newcastle’s relegation back to the Championship.

However, the midfielder failed to agree personal terms at Goodison Park and ended up joining Spurs.

But having slipped down the pecking order in north London, making an exit more than likely, Bent reckons that Sissoko’s age could prove a barrier to stop Rafael Benitez from linking up with the 31-year-old once again after their brief spell together at Newcastle, in which he made the Frenchman captain in one fixture against Manchester City.

But Sissoko turns 32 on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, and the former Toffees striker believes that Benitez will be looking to bring in younger players.

He exclusively told Football FanCast:

“I don’t think they’re going for a 31-year-old. With the players and Everton who they are at the minute, they can go for a younger signing.

“Bringing in a 31-year-old, and don’t get me wrong, massive player, but I don’t think that would be a good signing for Everton. Whether it happens or not I don’t know, or whether Rafa demands him, I don’t know.”

Everton generally have a young squad, so adding to Sissoko to their party would be a bizarre signing.

Managers love bringing in former players, not to mention that Benitez once made the French midfielder captain at Newcastle, but this isn’t a transfer that many will expect to see materialise.

© CricInfo The current Indian team seems to be showing a lot of character and areal hunger to win

Erapalli Prasanna01-Jul-2002
© CricInfoThe current Indian team seems to be showing a lot of character and areal hunger to win. Two victories in consecutive days is indeedsomething to cherish, and hats off to Sourav Ganguly and the boys forgetting off to a wonderful start in the NatWest tri-series. The mostimportant element of the triumphs was that on both occasions Indialost the toss and were forced to chase. Coming under such adversecircumstances – for India are not willing chasers – the wins will bean ideal tonic for a long English summer.But no fan of cricketing heroics and entertainment – myself included -can fail to look at Sri Lanka’s continuing slide of form with morethan a tinge of sadness. Sanath Jayasuriya and his men look a paleshadow of the team that notched up a nine-Test winning streak. Missingace spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan is understandable, but Sri Lankahas enough talent waiting in the wings to take on the very best.After losing two Tests and two one-dayers in fairly emphatic fashion,the morale of the Sri Lankan team must be close to rock-bottom, andthey are clearly lacking in self-belief. Having won the toss andelected to bat, they were expected to put together a solid battingperformance against a confident Indian team. Unfortunately for them,no Indian supporter would complain about their opponent’s carelessapproach or the modest total they reached.In addition to worrying about his team’s performance, Jayasuriya alsohas to grapple with his own woeful personal form. Yesterday he showedglimpses of the mighty attacking shots that he possesses in hisarmoury – particularly in one fierce slash over square third-man off ZaheerKhan for six – but Jayasuriya yet again was unable to translate itinto a noteworthy innings.In such a situation, when a captain has worries in two departments,failure in one inevitably feeds failure in the other. CharithaBuddhika, brought in specifically to bolster the bowling attack, wasused for just three overs, and Jayasuriya’s captaincy was found wantingon a few other aspects of the game as well.His counterpart, however, looks to me very confident on this tour, andthe series will go a long way in shaping Ganguly into a top-notchcaptain. He seemed yesterday to have a good idea about the strengthsand weaknesses of the bowling at his disposal, and the fieldplacements and bowling changes were very effective.It was good to see Ashish Nehra coming back into the side, primarilybecause it would mean that Ajit Agarkar would not have to take the newball. I have always believed that Agarkar is a far better bowler withthe older ball, over which he has considerably more control. That wasproved amply at the Oval; it was Agarkar who destroyed the Sri Lankantop-order with some purposeful fast bowling. The subtle variations inpace and swing had the Sri Lankan batsmen guessing, leading totheir downfall.
© CricInfoSri Lanka’s seamers Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa too bowled extremelywell, and at one stage, India, teetering at 135 for five, could easilyhave slid to defeat. But the Sri Lankans could not break the crucialpartnership between youngsters Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif.Both youngsters play their game with much evident enthusiasm, andtheir haring between the wickets for singles was particularlyendearing. Yuvraj and Kaif, I am sure, will be part of the core of theIndian challenge at the World Cup in 2003.If there were any disappointing factors at all from Sunday’s match, itmust be the performance of Anil Kumble. He seemed to be too keyed up, andthat naturally restricted his bowling abilities. Kumble is anexperienced campaigner, and I am sure he will sort things outquickly.But it is sad to see someone like Harbhajan Singh sacrificed for thesake of the team’s balance. Having said that, Rahul Dravid seems to begetting accustomed to his wicket-keeping tasks, and the catch he tookto dismiss Jayasuriya was an outstanding one. This clearly helps add acertain depth to the Indian batting, and if they continue to play insimilar vein, I do not see any team stopping them in this NatWestseries.

حرص أحمد دياب رئيس رابطة الأندية المصرية المحترفة وعماد متعب نائب رئيس الرابطة على تلبية دعوة عبدالله ناصر الجنيبي، النائب الأول لرئيس اتحاد الإمارات لكرة القدم، ورئيس مجلس إدارة رابطة المحترفين الإماراتية، بزيارة  بمقر الرابطة في أبو ظبي.

طالع | لاعب الزمالك الأفضل في الجولة السابعة عشر من الدوري المصري

وجاء ذلك على هامش نهائي كأس رابطة المحترفين، الذي أقيم مساء أمس في استاد محمد بن زايد، وتوج به العين، بعد تغلبه على نادي شباب الأهلي بركلات الترجيح.

وشهدت الجلسة الودية التي شهدها أحمد دياب وعماد متعب، حضور مختلف الإدارات بالرابطة الإماراتية، وتم خلال الزيارة تبادل الدروع التذكارية بين الجانبين.

طالع | لجنة التخطيط في الأهلي تحدد 4 تصورات جديدة بشأن جهاز موسيماني

وحرص أطراف الجلسة على التأكيد على تعزيز التعاون في المرحلة المقبلة، بما يصب في مصلحة كرة القدم بين البلدين الشقيقين.

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith could land a superb teammate for Jack Grealish in Wales and Juventus star Aaron Ramsey in the summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

A report from Italian outlet Tuttomercato suggests that Villa have got their eye on the former Arsenal man, who is currently on international duty at EURO 2020 with Wales.

It’s suggested that Smith’s side are the front-runners for the midfielder, who has scored 91 career goals for club and country thus far in his career.

Imagine him and Grealish

Arsene Wenger raved about Ramsey’s ability to get into the box and find himself on the end of moves, saying: “In my head, Ramsey was going to be a player between 10 and 15 goals a year. He is a Frank Lampard type. He is (about) getting in the box and he has a huge capacity to run. Physically, he has a combination of stamina, power and his capacity to repeat high intensity is certainly the best in the league.”

Described as an “outstanding technician”, Ramsey would offer that same knack of getting into the box at the right times and scoring those poacher-type goals. In fact, Lampard himself wrote in a column for The Evening Standard: “It will probably come as no surprise to people that I like Ramsey. Like me, he makes late runs in the penalty area and he showed that with aplomb for the second goal at AC Milan last week.”

And, after a superb goal-scoring performance in the win over Turkey at EURO 2020, former Wales international, Danny Gabbidon, said: “I love Gareth Bale massive amounts but when Aaron Ramsey gets Hulked up he is my favourite Wales player! There’s nothing he can’t do.”

Having Ramsey in the side could be a huge boost for Grealish. The Villa talisman would have a runner from deep in Ramsey to pick out, rather than just having Ollie Watkins to run in behind the opposition defence.

It would give Grealish a second man to pick out, and given his ability to spot a pass – he averaged 3.1 key passes per game last season in the Premier League, which was almost double that of any Villa player – you would back him to find Ramsey more often than not.

It could be a superb little double-act that would take the weight off Watkins’ shoulders in terms of goal-scoring, and give Grealish another partner in crime.

AND in other Villa news; pundit warns Smith to avoid a move for reported Villa target

After finally touching down in Glasgow on Wednesday afternoon, Ange Postecoglou has got straight to work on Celtic’s recruitment.

Prior reports led us to believe that the new Hoops boss was already active in the window, with Celtic’s defence a key priority of his.

What’s the word?

Celtic have reportedly begun talks over a move for Valentin Rosier and Riccieli but they have also started negotiations with a left-back in Italy.

That happens to be one of their former employers, Aaron Hickey.

According to the Daily Mail (via The Sun), the Bhoys are plotting a £3m bid in order to prise him away from Bologna.

Hickey only joined the Serie A side last summer but could make a swift return to Scotland after initially departing Hearts.

Celtic have been interested in securing his services for a number of months and it looks as though a move may be starting to materialise.

Perfect for Postecoglou

With the new Celtic head coach preferring an attack-minded style of play in his previous jobs, Hickey would be an ideal signing.

He might be a defender but he often plays at breakneck speed, darting down the left-hand side in much the same way Kieran Tierney did for the Bhoys.

Hickey left Celtic as a 16-year-old but has progressed immensely in recent seasons, now possessing a set of attacking traits to frighten the life out of defenders. In a scout report on the player, The Footie Analyst wrote: “One of Hickey’s key strengths is his ability to run with the ball at speed, utilising the space available to drive his team forward.”

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-transfer-news-posetcoglou-ryan-delap-wyke” title= “Read the latest Celtic transfer news!”]

Of players to feature for 90 minutes on more than one occasion last term, Hickey ranked as Bologna’s seventh-best player for ball carries with 38.3 per 90.

The teenager also ranked as the Italian club’s fourth-best player from their regular starters in terms of progressive carries of the ball per 90 minutes, advancing possession 229.9 yards.

What should really delight Postecoglou is Hickey’s ability to press. In Japan, the Australian built his system around a high-intense press, squeezing the opposition high up the pitch and winning the ball back quickly.

In this department, the £16k-per-week earner was successful with 35.1% of his pressures last season. That was the fourth-best tally at Bologna for those to manage more than four 90 minutes during the course of the campaign.

Another benefit for the new coach could be his versatility. Speaking previously about the defender’s game, former Hearts man Austin MacPhee remarked: “He’s so young he could play a lot of positions. He could end up being like Busquets.”

That’s a viewpoint that Craig Levein agrees with: “He could be a fantastic holding midfielder with his great awareness of danger and his ability to get out of tight situations with the ball at his feet,” he said.

Whether or not Hickey transitions into midfield remains to be seen but what is for sure, is that he’s as confident in possession as the great Spaniard.

He completed 91.1% of his short passes last term and over 85% of his medium passes.

For a further glimpse at his potential, he’s also been compared to one of the greatest German full-backs to play the game: “Aaron as a player is like Philipp Lahm,” ex-Hearts boss Daniel Stendel once commented.

“For me at Hearts, he played as a full-back. He not only runs up and down the line, but looks for attacking moves like Lahm once did. And Aaron can also play in the central midfield. Trust me, he will have a great career,” Stendel concluded.

The young Scot may have slipped through the Celtic net when he was younger but he is now swimming towards their waters again. Dominic McKay must set the bait and lure him to Paradise for a second stint.

AND in other news, Celtic eye swoop for 56-goal gem who is “among the best”, he’d be a great Edouard heir…