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Finland manager Markku Kanerva seemingly wants Glen Kamara to leave Glasgow Rangers to play for “bigger clubs” as he continues his development.

The Lowdown: Kamara in demand

Kamara is currently away on international duty with Finland as they aim to qualify for the knockout stages of Euro 2020.

The £5.4m-valued 25-year-old (Transfermarkt) is also receiving plenty of interest from clubs in the Premier League, with Arsenal (Football Insider), Watford (The Daily Mail) and Leeds all reportedly in pursuit of the Rangers man.

The Latest: Kanerva wants him to move

Speaking prior to Finland’s match with Belgium on Monday, Kanerva suggested Kamara should move to a bigger club. He said (via france24.com):

“Hopefully he will continue his development, it would be nice to see him playing even at bigger clubs.”

The Verdict: Long summer

You can understand Kanerva’s thinking – Kamara is clearly a talented player, and he will only be tested so much playing week-in week-out in the Scottish Premiership. At the Euros, he has had to perform at a higher level, and has done so comfortably so far – suggesting that there is no reason why he could not perform in a more prestigious league.

However, there is no doubt Rangers themselves are a massive club. They are the most successful team on the planet in terms of league titles (Transfermarkt) and they play in a stadium that holds more than 50,000.

While the quality may not always be of the highest level up in Scotland, the expectations at Rangers are as high as they are at almost any other club on the planet, so Kanerva perhaps needs to choose his words more carefully in the future.

Wanting Kamara to play in a different league makes some sense but there aren’t many clubs in Europe that the Finland ace could move to who are bigger than Rangers.

In other news, Rangers have rejected several bids for this controversial ace.

At the start of the morning at Lord’s there was warm applause for the two umpires John Holder and George Sharp as they walked out onto the pitch, followed by a slightly warmer welcome for the Yorkshire skipper Richard Blakey and his team, but by far

Richard Walsh31-Aug-2002At the start of the morning at Lord’s there was warm applause for the two umpires John Holder and George Sharp as they walked out onto the pitch, followed by a slightly warmer welcome for the Yorkshire skipper Richard Blakey and his team, but by far the loudest cheer of all was reserved for the appearance of the Somerset opening pair Peter Bowler and Marcus Trescothick.For the England man this would have been all the more heartening as he made his re appearance in top level cricket after breaking his thumb in the quarter final of the competition against Worcestershire in mid July.Since they reached the final at the start of August the question on every Somerset supporter’s has been whether or not their hero would be fit enough to return to play in the big match at Lord’s.The first over of the day from the Nursery End bowled by Chris Silverwood left him stranded at the non strikers end. All eyes then focussed upon him as he faced the first over from the Pavilion End bowled by Matthew Hoggard. The first three balls from the paceman produced no runs, but with the fourth ball of the over he cut loose, and the ball skimmed it’s way to the cover point boundary, much to the delight of the Somerset faithful.In the next over bowled by Silverwood his second scoring shot was another boundary, before he really let loose in the fifth over when he took 20 from Hoggard, including a huge six to the Pavilion and two classic Trescothick fours. `Banger’ was back and was showing how pleased he was in the way that he knew best.Sadly his cameo innings was not to last and he was cut down in full flow by an equally impressive catch off his England team mate Michael Vaughan in the covers as Marcus went for another boundary.Banger was back, and in just seven overs he had made 27 runs from 25 balls, which included 1×6 and 4×4’s to give the Somerset supporters a good start to their day.

Aston Villa are interested in signing Argentina starlet Julian Alvarez this summer as Dean Smith plots to land his third new player of the transfer window.

What’s the story?

After sealing deals for Emi Buendia and Ashley Young, it seems that Villa are intent on continuing their fine start to the summer transfer window by making a move for Alvarez.

According to Italian publication Calciomercato, the 21-year-old’s agent Fernando Hidalgo will meet up with both Ajax and Villa over a potential move which would see Alvarez leave River Plate for Europe.

Dean Smith will be buzzing

A versatile forward who can play anywhere across the frontline, Alvarez is making waves in his native Argentina, so much so that he was named as part of his country’s Copa America squad for this summer.

He bagged four goals and set up another seven in just 20 appearances last season, including a couple of games where he registered a trio of assists against Godoy Cruz and Central Cordoba respectively.

Marcelo Gallardo, his manager at River Plate, has also waxed lyrical about the winger, saying that he is “a player that every coach would love to have.”

At his age, and coming with such a glowing comment of being a manager’s dream, Alvarez appears to be the kind of signing that Smith would surely love to have at Villa Park this summer.

The £13.5m-rated flier is capable of playing on either flank and through the middle, so he should go a long way to addressing Villa’s strength in depth in the forward areas.

With Trezeguet sidelined with a long-term injury, Alvarez would arrive as someone who could take the Egyptian’s place in the first team squad, while also offering some competition for Ollie Waktins up front.

It’s exactly why Smith will surely be buzzing that the youngster’s agent is due to meet with Villa representatives over a possible move.

Meanwhile, Dean Smith could land a superb deal with this Euro 2020 sensation…

The pace and spin combination of Umar Gul and Danish Kaneria guided Pakistan ‘A’ to a nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka ‘A’ in first of the two four-day ‘Tests’ at the Iqbal Stadium Friday

21-Sep-2002The pace and spin combination of Umar Gul and Danish Kaneria guided Pakistan ‘A’ to a nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka ‘A’ in first of the two four-day ‘Tests’ at the Iqbal Stadium Friday.Budding pacer Umar claimed four wickets for 36 runs and Test wrist spinner Danish scooped up three wickets for 101 as the visitors were bowled out for 223 after having resumed this morning at 72 for two.Pakistan ‘A’, who had secured a healthy 208-run first inning lead, were left to score 16 run for victory which they achieved in 23 balls losing Asim Kamal. It was a match Asim would like to forget as he followed up his first innings duck with a nine-ball two in the second.But Danish would certainly like to remember this match as he had match figures of eight for 143 runs. This performance virtually guarantees him a place in the Pakistan team for the three-Test series against Australia starting Oct 3 at Colombo.But the star of the day was Umar Gul who exhibited talent and potential in turning into a good aggressive bowler. The youngster bowled his heart out with controlled accuracy to prove to his skipper that he deserved more overs than he got in the end.Umar, who had grabbed both the Sri Lankan wickets when curtains fell Thursday, created the inroad immediately in the fourth monring when he pinned Naveed Nawaz in front of the wickets with the visitors having added only 24 runs to their overnight score.Danish fully cashed in on the opening when he kept the tourists guessing with his crafty bowling. And though the spinner went for over 100 runs, most of the shots were unconvincing and appeared to have been played to take the pressure off rather merit being the criterion.Only Jahan Mubarak, who started at 19, offered any significant resistance by hitting a polished and unconquered 93. He faced 180 deliveries and slammed 12 hits to the fence.Moin Khan also completed an impressive comeback when he accounted for six batsmen behind the wickets. The gutsy wicketkeeper looked athletic and agile but the most impressive part was his fitness.

MELBOURNE, Oct 31 AAP – Victoria lost four wickets before lunch in its first innings on day two of the Pura Cup cricket match against Tasmania at the MCG today.

AAP31-Oct-2002MELBOURNE, Oct 31 AAP – Victoria lost four wickets before lunch in its first innings on day two of the Pura Cup cricket match against Tasmania at the MCG today.Opener Jason Arnberger continued to anchor the innings with an unbeaten 159 as the Bushrangers reached 9-336, while Mathew Inness was yet to score.Australian all-rounder Shane Watson took two of the three wickets this morning and had 3-56 for the innings, while left-arm spinner Shannon Tubb also snared two scalps today for figures of 2-35.Overnight batsman Cameron White brought up his half century, but on 56 he drove Watson to Shannon Tubb for a good low catch at cover.Arnberger and White put on 142 for the sixth wicket.Michael Di Venuto leapt off the ground and grabbed Darren Berry’s scorching cover drive to dismiss him for five, giving Tubb his first wicket of the innings.

Axel Tuanzebe could emerge as a West Ham target this summer, an Irons insider has claimed…

What’s the word?

According to the ever-reliable ExWHUemployee, the Manchester United defender is someone that Hammers boss David Moyes likes and a potential loan-to-buy deal could happen if the club does not land other targets.

Speaking on a recent episode of ‘The West Ham Way’ podcast, he said:

“Speaking of Manchester United, it’s been confirmed that Axel Tuanzebe is available on loan.

“Now I do know that David Moyes likes him, so he could be someone who we potential look to loan with a clause to buy – that’s if we don’t get our other targets.”

Indeed, it’s thought that the 23-year-old centre-back will request a loan move away from Old Trafford this off-season in order to gain regular first-team minutes.

Next Ferdinand

It could be argued that signing defensive reinforcements is a low priority at the London Stadium right now but Moyes could soon have a shortage of options, with Fabian Balbuena leaving next week as well as the futures of Issa Diop and Winston Reid in doubt.

That could leave the Scot with just Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna as his only two recognised centre-backs, and both are in this thirties.

At just 23, Tuanzebe could prove to be an interesting solution, particularly if it’s initially on loan as it would save the Irons plenty of funds that could be used to bolster other areas.

Despite being highly rated by the Red Devils’ hierarchy, the 6 foot 1 defender has been restricted to only 37 appearances since his debut in January 2017.

He’s gone out on loan before, winning promotion to the Premier League at Aston Villa, but he has still struggled to find a way past the likes of Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly in the pecking order.

The £7.2m-rated gem is versatile enough to play at right-back and in midfield too, drawing comparisons to ex-Bayern star Javi Martinez, though it is his comparisons to a former Hammer that is even more exciting.

It’s thought that Tuanzebe could go on to become Man Utd’s next Rio Ferdinand, a player who started his career in East London.

Last season, the former England U21 international drew high praise from his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after a particularly emphatic display against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

“It’s an unbelievable performance by him. He’s only trained for a couple of weeks and he’s absolutely spot on,” claimed the Norweigen to the club’s official website.

“Axel’s a tremendous defender, a great leader. He’s come through the Academy and we’ve known for years that he’s going to be a top player for us and he’s got the character and the attitude that a Man United player should have.”

Given the likely central defensive situation at the club heading into pre-season, Moyes would be crazy to not try and push for Tuanzebe on loan. He could be a bargain fix to a likely problem.

AND in other news, ExWHUemployee drops gutting transfer claim that’ll leave fans GUTTED…

Former Tottenham captain Graham Roberts has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that Daniel Levy made a huge mistake in failing to sign Jack Grealish.

With Villa facing another season in the Championship back in the summer of 2018, Mauricio Pochettino was keen on bringing the highly-rated midfielder to Spurs.

According to Sky Sports, Tottenham bid £25m for Grealish’s services, which came after Levy launched an opening-bid of around £3m and Josh Onomah as he simply wasn’t willing to pay the £40m asking-price for the Championship player.

Onomah ended up joining Villa on loan for the season, but Grealish stayed at his boyhood club and has since gone on to become of one the Premier League’s top attacking players, which is why he’s now on Manchester City’s radar for a reported £100m fee.

Following his impressive form for England at the Euro’s, which included an assist for Harry Kane, a partnership Spurs fans could have been blessed with in recent seasons, Levy’s high-profile error in not signing Grealish is looking worse with every passing week.

And given Grealish’s rise to the top, Roberts looked back on an opportunity missed for Tottenham:

“He was going to give Onomah and £3m, something like that. Aston Villa were in trouble, it was a mistake.

“And Harry coming out the other day saying that when he plays with Jack Grealish and trains with him, he plays some good balls to him.”

In the first of two back to back one day interstate Womens National Cricket League matches, the Victorian Spirit triumphed over the Western Fury by 94 runs at Abbett Park in Perth today.

David Bebb23-Nov-2002In the first of two back to back one day interstate Women’s National Cricket League matches, the Victorian Spirit triumphed over the Western Fury by 94 runs at Abbett Park in Perth today.This was a match of contrasts. The Fury in the field were sharp and accurate. A feather in the cap of coach Murray Robbins. By comparison, the Spirit could not emulate their hosts high standard but had the better share of the luck. The run out of the Fury captain Zoe Goss is the only high point of their fielding.On the other hand, the Spirit ran well between the wickets, they took few risks in doing so and really set the standard for that aspect of the game. Whereas the Fury could well have run an extra 30 runs in running halfway down the track before agreeing not to run and heading back to safety. When they did pierce the field they often only ran two where a three was certainly possible.Player of the match for this game was Melanie Jones who, as you will see, well deserved the accolade with a score of 95 runs and a display of exceptional fielding from the deep which removed the Fury captain.Victoria won the toss and elected to bat on a humid, partly overcast morning.Openers Belinda Clark and Louise Broadfoot took the score to 35 beforeBroadfoot 13 (from 23 balls), with the last ball of the ninth over playedaround a delivery from Fury captain Zoe Goss and was bowled. The ball shaved the pad on the way through and the bowler looked to have half turned in appeal before the death rattle of scattered stumps alerted her to her triumph.The second wicket was worth one hundred runs when Spirit Belinda Clark swept at a leg side ball from Avril Fahey and played the ball into the stumps behind her after scoring 58 (92 balls). Victoria Spirit 135 at the fall of the second wicket at the end of the 32nd over.Right hander Kelly Applebee fell to English import Dawn Holden in the following over. Without a score, she spooned a soft catch to Angelle Gray at gully.Within sight of a century, big hitting Melanie Jones 95 (102) lofted KellyTyrrell to Dawn Holden in the deep at long off and was caught. She played avariety of orthodox strokes either side of the wicket including twelve boundaries and became top scorer and the fourth wicket to fall with the score now at 216.Brooke McFarlane 36 (55) was unfortunately run out when her partner CathrynFitzpatrick pushed a ball from Tyrrell at the covers which was leapt upon by Gray whose quick thinking and sharp throw to the bowler at the non strikers end found McFarlane short of her ground. Spirit now 227 with the loss of the fifth wicket.Fitzpatrick 16 (12) and Jane Franklin 3 (2) were not out after fifty overs had been bowled when the Victorian Spirit had accrued 241 runs for the loss of only five wickets.There were no multiple wicket takers amongst seven Western Fury bowlers. Sarah Collyer went wicket less from her ten overs but was the most economical of the bowlers conceding 26 runs. The wicket takers were Goss (1-22) who took her wicket in her first over, Holden (1-45), Tyrrell (1-49) and Fahey (1-59).The Western Fury were needing to score at 4.84 runs per over to surpass theSpirit score.Elwyn Campbell was out for a second ball duck when Spirit fire brand CathrynFitzpatrick sped through the defense and knocked down the stumps. Already one wicket down without a score on the board and a stiff sea breeze assisting the bowler from the southern end.In the initial stages of the Fury reply, the frequency of runs from sundries were neck and neck and at times ahead of runs scored from the bat.Zoe Goss 5 (26) was run out looking for a third run when batting partnerHeather Taylor lofted the ball into the deep extra covers and Melanie Jones made a direct hit from the boundary line at the non strikers end – to whichGoss was returning. Western Fury now with 19 runs on the board and two wickets gone in the ninth over.Another run out at the non strikers end occurred when Taylor drove straight back at bowler Shannon Young who tipped the ball into the stumps effecting the run out of Angelle Gray 8 (17) who was backing up two meters out of her ground. Three wickets for 55.Pulling at a leg side ball from Shannon Young, Heather Taylor 19 (60) top edged into the mid wicket and was caught there by Belinda Clark. The fourth wicket had fallen with 55 still the score.Attempting to glance a leg side ball from Young, Sarah Collyer 13 (42) popped the ball up off the shoulder of the bat into the backward square leg where it was taken on the circle by Clea Smith. Western Fury five wickets for 88 in the 29th over.Avril Fahey 12 (26) lofted a straight drive off the bowling of Louise Broadfootdown the throat of Jane Franklin who was at mid off. The wicket of Fahey wasthe sixth to fall with 106 the score at that stage.Making her debut for WA at number eight, Lauren Stammers 8 (15) issued up a soft catch to a short leg fielder Jodi Dean off the bowling of Clea Smith. The seventh wicket fell at 137.Dawn Holden lofted a drive off Cathryn Fitzpatrick into the covers and was caught brilliantly by Shannon Young. The fielder had to reach high above her head to pull down the catch. A good catch to remove a quality player who had posted 43 (68) before the eighth wicket fell with the Fury score on 139.The ninth wicket fell on 145 when Kelly Tyrrell 5 (4) was bowled by Fitzpatrick. When Rennee Chappell 3 (16) was bowled by Jane Franklin, theWestern Fury were all out 147 in the 48th over.The Spirit’s best bowling was from the pace bowling from Cathryn Fitzpatrick which brought the reward of three wickets for thirty two runs from her nine overs. With two wickets for 25 runs from ten overs, Shannon Young was economical. One wicket each to Smith, Franklin and Broadfoot round out the wicket takers.The Abbett park track is the same one which the host club Scarborough scored 300 runs in one day a week earlier in the mens grade competition. Conditions which suit the pace of Fitzpatrick and the Spirit.

What should have been the clash of the titans, turned into a wet squid as rain in Cape Town forced the Standard Bank Cup fourth round match between Western Province and Free State into a 32 over smash and grab with the hosts running out victor by six

Keith Lane21-Dec-2002What should have been the clash of the titans, turned into a wet squid as rain in Cape Town forced the Standard Bank Cup fourth round match between Western Province and Free State into a 32 over smash and grab with the hosts running out victor by six wickets.Free Sate winning the toss batting first, on an overcast afternoon, lost the wicket of Jonathan Beukus in the second over minutes before rain forced the players off the field for three hours.Restarting with the game reduced to 32 overs Free State immediately lost the wicket of Morne van Wyk and then had to leave the field again as the Newlands lights went out.Play eventually got under way with Free State unable to recover or get on top of some good swing bowling from Charl Willoughby taking 3-29 in seven overs.A 44 from Neil Dippenaar helped the cause with Nicky Boje (20) and Rayno Arendse (28*) helping Free State to 125/7 when the 32 overs were completed.With the two breaks in the innings, and Free State having lost early wickets, the Duckworth/Lewis method calculated a Western Province target of 124.With the likes of Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis in the Province line up the target was never going to be enough.Herman Bakkes was not going to let names get the better of him, having Gibbs (15) and Smith (12) back in the pavilion to leave Western Province 33/2 in the eighth over.Gary Kirsten, in excellent recent form, stabilised the innings with the help of first HD Ackerman scoring 17, and then Andrew Puttick making 15. Kirsten finished on an undefeated 53, seeing the hosts through to a 6-wicket win.For Free State, Bakkes ended with 2-26, Boje 1-27 and Allan Donald 0-19.

A key update has emerged on West Ham midfielder Felipe Anderson, regarding his potential move to Lazio…

What’s the talk?

According to Fabrizio Romano, West Ham midfielder Felipe Anderson has agreed personal terms with Serie A side Lazio as he nears an exit from the London Stadium. The Brazilian forward wants to return to Rome and has spoken with the club about his contract demands.

Romano states that West Ham and Lazio are in talks over a deal to take Anderson back to Italy, although no transfer fee is mentioned. Discussions are said to be progressing, with a transfer potentially in the offing this week.

Fans will be buzzing

West Ham fans will be buzzing with this news as it appears as though Anderson is poised to depart after two rough years at the London-based outfit. He has scored just one league goal since the start of the 2019/20 campaign, finding the back of the net once in the Premier League and then failing to notch in Liga NOS following his loan to Portuguese giants Porto the following season.

After failing to kick on from his debut season in English football, Hammers supporters may be glad to see the back of him. In the 2019/20 campaign, Anderson registered one goal and four assists in 25 Premier League appearances as he was unable to rediscover his touch from the previous season, in which he scored nine and assisted four for West Ham in the Premier League.

Earlier this summer, former Hammers centre-forward Frank McAvennie claimed that Anderson “strolled about” about at the club and believes that he continued to do that on loan at Porto. The retired striker has urged West Ham to let him go and get him off the wage bill.

He told Football FanCast:

“He’s got to go. Let the boy go. They bought him in and he’s a luxury player. I’ve never seen him go into a tackle, never mind win one. Talent in abundance, but he’s gone to Porto on loan, but has done the same there – just strolled about. He can’t come back to West Ham; they’ll want him off the wage bill.”

The 28-year-old is said to be earning £85k-per-week at the club. Only Andriy Yarmolenko (£115k-per-week) and Jarrod Bowen (£96k-per-week) are above him on the wage bill. This means that West Ham will be saving a significant chunk of money, which could allow them to go out and add a new signing to bolster David Moyes’ squad.

Therefore, fans should be delighted by this update.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Ogbonna: West Ham can seal dream duo with £23m move for Vidic-like beast…