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Tottenham Hotspur are now keen on signing an “elite” Champions League goalkeeper, who could be brought in as a replacement for Guglielmo Vicario.

Spurs eyeing new goalkeeper amid Vicario criticism

Tottenham have been underperforming as a collective this season, currently sitting 13th in the Premier League, having won just one of their last five matches, but their goalkeeper has received some particularly heavy criticism.

Following the 3-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest last month, Jamie Carragher slammed Vicario for refusing to take responsibility, saying: “Typical Vicario, he’s always blaming someone else. Every time I see him when a goal goes in, he’s throwing his arms at someone else.”

Since then, the Italian has gone on to put in some improved performances, keeping clean sheets in two of his last four matches, but Jamie O’Hara remains unconvinced by the goalkeeper.

Interestingly, a report from TEAMtalk has revealed Tottenham have ‘growing concerns’ about whether the 29-year-old has a long-term future in north London, and they have now started looking at replacements.

The report states Tottenham are now keen on signing Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who could be allowed to leave the Spanish club this year, despite being highly regarded at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Indeed, the Spanish club may now be willing to sanction Lunin’s departure, given that he has found game time hard to come by this season, and youngster Javi Navarro could be utilised as a back-up to Thibaut Courtois.

There could be fierce competition for the Ukrainian’s signature, with Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion also named as interested parties, and there is a belief a move to the Premier League would strongly appeal to the £76k-a-week shot-stopper.

Lunin could be "elite" as a first-choice goalkeeper

The 26-year-old has made just two appearances for Madrid in all competitions this season, which came in the Champions League and Copa del Rey, suggesting he may need to leave the European giants for the good of his career.

The Ukraine international being a back-up goalkeeper arguably isn’t a great sign, but in fairness, he is playing second fiddle to Thibaut Courtois, and he has impressed at Real Madrid when given the opportunity.

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Lauded as “elite” by scout Ben Mattinson, the Madrid ace played a major role in his side reaching the Copa del Rey final last season, keeping a clean sheet and making five saves from inside the box in a 1-0 win against Real Sociedad in the semi-final.

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The Kharkiv-born goalkeeper has also proven himself in the Champions League, making 13 appearances in Europe’s elite competition, including eight en-route to glory in the 2023/24 edition, during which time he received high praise from Carlo Ancelotti.

As such, should Tottenham decide not to persist with Vicario as their first-choice goalkeeper, Lunin could be a solid replacement.

Liverpool look set to miss out on a deal to sign Antoine Semenyo from Premier League side Bournemouth, as he closes in on a move to their rivals.

Manchester City are reportedly close to sealing a swoop for the Ghana international after positive talks with the Cherries, and the transfer could be completed in the coming days now that the January transfer window is open.

The Reds were said to be in the race to land the £65m-rated left winger at the end of last month, but the Cityzens appear to have won the race for his signature.

Semenyo’s return of nine goals and three assists in the Premier League this season, per Sofascore, suggest that it is a blow for Liverpool to miss out on his services this month.

Liverpool set to sign £43m star in January

However, the reigning Premier League champions are reportedly closing in on another player who could be an even better signing than Semenyo.

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According to the Mirror, Liverpool are set to complete a deal to sign Club Brugge central defender Joel Ordonez in the January transfer window.

The report claims that the Reds are poised to wrap up a move for the Ecuador international ‘in the coming days’, as they close in on their first signing of the month.

It adds that the initial fee for the centre-back is expected to be around £35m, but it could rise to £43m if add-ons are achieved, with Arne Slot keen to bolster his backline.

The outlet explains that Giovanni Leoni’s ACL injury and the fact that Ibrahima Konate’s contract expires at the end of the season have played a part in Liverpool’s move for Ordonez.

Why Ordonez is a better signing than Semenyo

Whilst missing out on Semenyo will be frustrating, because of his impressive output at the top end of the pitch this season, the Club Brugge centre-back could be an even better signing for the second half of the campaign and beyond.

Liverpool currently rank joint-fifth for goals in the Premier League this season, with 30 goals scored. Meanwhile, they rank joint-10th for goals conceded, with 26, and only eight teams have conceded more goals.

Konate’s individual errors have been costly for the Reds. Liverpool podcaster and writer Eddie Gibbs described him as “Liverpool’s most alarming fault line” who “looks like a footballer fighting his own reflection” earlier this season.

Jamie Carragher ripped into his defensive work in the 3-3 draw with Leeds United at Elland Road last month, as his defending partially led to the team giving up 2-0 and 3-2 leads.

The France international has been too much of a defensive liability this term, with six errors leading to shots, goals or penalties, per Sofascore, and Ordonez could come in to improve Slot’s backline by providing a more reliable presence alongside Virgil van Dijk.

25/26 season (all comps)

Konate

Ordonez

Appearances

24

21

Error led to shot

4

1

Error led to goal

1

0

Penalties committed

1

0

Dribbled past

6x

5x

Fouls committed

28

18

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the Club Brugge star has only made one error in 21 appearances in the Pro League and the Champions League combined this season, whilst he has also committed ten fewer fouls than the Liverpool flop.

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These statistics suggest that Ordonez is less likely to make costly errors at the back for the Reds, which could tighten up their defence and improve their defensive record in the second half of the campaign.

The 21-year-old star, who was described as “imressively complete” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is also a consistent defender, as he only made one error that led to a shot or a goal for the opposition in his first two seasons in the Pro League with Club Brugge, per Sofascore.

Therefore, Ordonez would be an even better signing than Semenyo could have been because he has the quality to have a bigger short-term impact in an area of the pitch that Liverpool have struggled more in, whilst he is also four years younger than the attacker and has more scope to develop further in the future.

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The Ecuador international is also five years younger than Konate, whose contract expires in the summer, and this piece of business could ensure that they have their new long-term right-sided centre-back in the building already.

	Doug Bollinger was jumping for joy earlier in the season but not after breaking his foot this week © Getty Images

Matthew Mott, the New South Wales coach, says the loss of Doug Bollinger is a huge setback for the Blues as they build towards the Pura Cup final in mid-March. Bollinger has been ruled out for the rest of the season after breaking his foot in this week’s four-day game against Victoria.He is the leading Pura Cup wicket-taker this summer with 45 victims at 15.44, a collection that placed him high on the Australian selectors’ list of back-up fast bowlers. Bollinger’s injury requires a minimum four to six weeks of recovery time, which means he is virtually no chance for the decider which starts on March 15.”It was just terrible for Doug,” Mott told . “He has been the heart and soul of our bowling attack this year. He was probably knocking on the [Australian] selectors’ door. It’s a massive blow for us.”Mott said Mark Cameron, who took ten wickets in the Pura Cup draw this week, would be fit for the rest of the season despite missing Wednesday’s FR Cup game. Although New South Wales and Victoria have already qualified for the Pura Cup final, the next two rounds will remain important as the teams vie for the right to host the match.

Bob Woolmer’s family was informed that his body would be kept in Jamaica till the inquest was over © Getty Images

The Jamaican authorities have ordered an inquest to be held into the murder of Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach. Woolmer’s family was informed that his body would remain in Jamaica till the inquest was over.Coroner’s inquests are held in cases of sudden or unexplained deaths.The reported that according to the Commissioner of Police, Lucius Thomas, the coroner had directed the inquest be held “as soon as possible”.According to Les Green, the police officer heading the Major Investigation Task Force, no date has yet been set for the inquest. “We don’t know when it will begin at this point,” Green told the on Friday.But a release from the government’s public relations arm, the Jamaica Information Service, stated that the coroner gave an assurance that the inquest, which is to be held with a jury, would be conducted “as soon as practical”.The police also denied reports appearing in the foreign press that a man was arrested in connection with the case in Jamaica on Thursday night and that phone numbers of Pakistan and Indian team members were found in a cellular phone taken from the man.TVJ, a local television channel, reported that Darren Lifsun, the Pakistan team physiotherapist, and Murray Stevenson, the trainer, would stay back in Jamaica till the inquest is completed. “We promised the family to stay until everything is sorted out,” Lifsun told AFP. “The police informed the family first, then us, with everything, and then we told the team.”Woolmer died on March 18 in his hotel room in Kingston and five days later the cause of his death was confirmed to be asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation. The Pakistan team were fingerprinted and asked to provide DNA samples as part of the investigations.

Jacques Kallis refused to wilt under pressure at Durban © Getty Images

South Africa believe they are getting closer to matching Australia on the Test match field but, each time the divide threatens to get a little smaller, familiar foes have stood in the way. However, today they faced up to the challenge and counterattacked with a verve that deserves much praise. They showed similar fight on the second day at Cape Town before capitulating, but the key here is the day ended on a positive note rather than a late fall of wickets.At 10 for 2, with Brett Lee consistently hitting above 150kph, the South Africans could have gone like a pack of cards, especially after a frustrating time trying to wrap up the Australian innings. But Jacques Kallis, who is playing under constant pain from what has been diagnosed as tennis elbow, refused to wilt. He was made to hop about, and was not always convincing against the short ball, but to beat Australia those are the periods batsmen have to battle through.Ironically, it was Ricky Ponting’s decision to bring Shane Warne and Andrew Symonds into the attack – so that the umpires wouldn’t offer the light – that enabled South Africa to finish on a more level playing field than had appeared likely for most of the day. Ponting’s move was another subtle way of Australia making a further statement of intent; they are already 1-0 up and could quite easily have headed for the dressing room, but this is not a team that plays for draws. South Africa are the ones who need to force the pace, yet would have been quite happy to kick their heels as the clouds rolled in.Kallis clearly wasn’t happy with the conditions and a couple of his boundaries were a release of frustration, but he and AB de Villiers soon realised that Warne and Symonds were not posing a huge threat. Kallis is certainly not considered a dasher among the world’s leading batsmen, but followed his aggressive intent from the first Test. He hasn’t had a huge amount of cricket of late, after sitting out the majority of South Africa’s recent one-day matches, and the benefits of an extended period in the middle showed as his balance and footwork returned to something near their best.The same can’t be said of Herschelle Gibbs who, despite his astonishing 175 in match at Johannesburg, continues to have a tough time in Tests against the Australians. He should have gone second ball today, Ponting shelling the chance at second slip, and there was an air of inevitability about his dismissal to Michael Kasprowicz. For the seventh time in nine knocks against Australia this summer he stumps were rattled – an unbelievably high number for a top-order batsman. Gibbs has always been prone to being bowled, given his keenness to free the arms at hit through the offside, but he has drifted further to leg and the Australians now aim to hit his stumps.If Gibbs’ manner of dismissal is becoming an unwanted similarity for South Africa, so is the identity of the man who held them up earlier in the day. Following a courageous draw at Perth in December, their winter began to unravel when Mike Hussey – never mind being Mr Cricket he is certainly Mr Fix It – and Glenn McGrath added 107 for the tenth wicket at Melbourne. The stand hauled Australia around from 248 for 9 and South Africa never fully recovered.Hussey’s intervention today was less dramatic, but no less important following Andre Nel’s burst which left Australia 259 for 7. A repeat of his 122 at the MCG was looming with Stuart Clark providing combative support and the South African bowlers growing increasingly agitated. If Ponting had continued with his quicks Hussey would have been the story of the day, but his thunder was stolen by a courageous recovery. South Africa have shared the honours for two days, but for that gap to become permanently smaller it must continue for the next three.

Titans 115 for 2 (Bodi 47) beat Western Province Boland114 for 9 (Kemp 3-19) by 8 wicketsWestern Province Boland finished a dismal season at Newlands in CapeTown taking an eight-wicket drubbing from the Titans in the final round-robin game of the PRO20 Series.Sent in to bat, WPBOL’s innings never got off the ground as first DaleSteyn (2 for 10) sent them crashing with some very quick bowling andthen Justin Kemp (3 for 19) cleaned up the top order. With only DerrinBassage, Wian Smit and Renier Munnik able to get into the twenties, WPBOLcollapsed to 114 for 9 at the end of the 20 overs.In contrast, the Titans innings started well with Goolam Bodi andAlviro Petersen putting on 43 before Petersen was caught behind for 20off 15 balls. The hard work had been done up front leaving Bodi andZander de Bruin the easy task of looking for a run-a-ball and theoccasional boundary. A great catch at short fine leg saw the end of Bodihaving scored 47 off 43 balls to leave the Titans 18 runs short of thewin. Justin Kemp strode to the crease and after getting away with anedge off the first ball took just seven ball to hit 14 and the win forthe Titans.Warriors 145 for 6 (Henderson 62) beat Eagles 141 for 8(Beukes 49, Jacobs 40) by 4 wicketsAt Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein, the Eagles were knocked out of a homesemi-final spot as the Warriors beat them by four wickets to claim thesecond spot on the table.A slight wobble at the start of the Eagles’ innings saw Jonathan Beukesand Davey Jacobs recover from 2 for 14 to 3 for 90 after 11 overs.Jacobs struck 40 in his 26 balls while Beukes played a more conservativerole scoring 49 off 45. Benjamin Hector was next best with 15 as thelower order failed to leave the Eagles on 141 for 8.The Warriors lost both their openers for 37 but a 56-run partnershipbetween Arno Jacobs (22) and Tyron Henderson saw them edge closer to thetarget. With Henderson once again on fire, striking six sixes and twofours in his 62, the Warriors eased to a four wicket win with 5 balls tospare.

Wisden Cricinfo speaks exclusively to United States captain Richard Staple in the aftermath of the qualification for the Champions Trophy in SeptemberWhat’s been the reaction to your team qualifying?
Joy and happiness. This win has done a lot for cricket here judging by the response. It’s getting out that we won the tournament, and the awareness is much greater now.What sort of feedback have you had from the non-cricket community?
We’ve received some calls from politicians. It’s an election year. That’s always good for publicity, bringing the game into the public forum.How much preparation was there before the tournament?
We had a camp in Florida as most of our players are from the north-east. Mostly net sessions – we didn’t play for months. We had Faoud [Bacchus] as well as a few guys who live in Florida, like the former West Indian player Hamesh Anthony, assisting.Did you have any idea how quickly you had to win the last match to finishahead of Scotland?
About three-quarters of the way into the game we worked out we were going to have to win with two overs to spare.The batting was your strength – did you bank on that knowing the bowling would concede some runs?
Definitely. The wickets were batting tracks and we backed ourselves to bat second as we chase pretty well. We knew our bowling wasn’t as strong.In the build-up to the Champions Trophy, will you be looking for some more bowlers?
Yes, we have some good young fast bowlers. They were overlooked – I don’t know why, to be quite honest. There is a young boy named Imran Awan in Washington DC. He’s about the quickest we have in the country. and I think we are going to have to encourage young talent like him because our bowling attack is ageing. We have a lot of cricket prior to the Champions Trophy, so hopefully we can get a few young ones in.What was different about this squad to previous ones?
Clayton [Lambert] adds professionalism [which was] lacking in the previous sides. Normally, we would lose one or two wickets and then panic when chasing around 240. He keeps his cool, and allows the other players to play with a certain amount of relaxation.Should the ICC schedule more tournaments for the top six or so non-Test countries?
Yes. That would be great. We have been too inactive. We play a tournament and then don’t play for some time. Against teams like Holland, Scotland and Namibia, we can only improve.

Las Condes, the 2002 Santiago League Champions, initiated their 2003 campaign on Saturday at the Grange School ground against a fancied Santiago side who were still smarting from a narrow defeat against the PWCC the previous week.Santiago were put into bat on what looked like and soon turned out to be a bowlers wicket and were soon two wickets down with just one run on the board with both Santiago’s openers back in the pavilion.Marcus Yorke-Long and Blair Douglas then steadied the ship before Douglas was well caught at first slip by Hollis giving Messner his second victim. Sean Jones took his second wicket for Las Condes shortly afterwards when Yorke-Long mistimed a straight drive giving the bowler a simple catch.The Messner-Hollis combination saw the back of Anglin four runs later, again superbly taken by Hollis in the slips leaving Santiago on 26 for 5 after just nine overs.Messner continued to rip the heart out of the Santiago order as Shalders and Desmaras quickly fell to his spell of accurate Medium quick seam bowling. At 40 for 8, early tea looked imminent, but the experienced Chris Brown had other ideas as he came in and leapt on the bad balls from the second string bowlers for a confident looking 31 not out. The Santiago tail, unfortunately couldn’t stay with him and when Graves became Messner’s sixth and Willemse was stumped by Wollocombe, Santiago were all out for just 77 runs.The Las Condes openers, Hickman and Wollocombe, achieved what Santiago had not, on the other hand, through a good deal of grit and determination against Santiago’s strong left and right bowling attack of Douglas and Anglin. The breakthrough didn’t come until the 10th over with the score on 22 as Wollocombe was alleged LBW to a full length inswinger from Anglin.Hollis was not able to pick up where had had left off in the South American Championships and was out cheaply giving Douglas his only wicket of the match. However, Matthew Hickman was still looking good despite the good bowling and, supported by Andy Salmond-Smith, the pair took the score to 46 before Hickman was bowled off another Anglin inswinging missile.Salmond-Smith continued to thump the ball with a relish until he holed out on 16 to Douglas off a good over from Santiago’s young hopeful JP Fassnidge.Shalders and Fassnidge then began to eat their way through Las Condes’s middle order to expose a shaky looking tail until the Las Condes Captain Clive Marriott managed to steady the ship and Messner cracked the winning runs with just two wickets remaining.Tim Messner was awarded Man-of-the Match for his fine spell of 8-3-13-6.Points awarded Las Condes:18,Santiago:7

With three man of the match awards from four games in the ongoingtriangular series in Zimbabwe, Sachin Tendulkar says he is extremelykeen to “score more and more hundreds”, a statement certain to ringalarm bells for the other finalists, the West Indies.”I am not easily satisfied. I want to score many more hundreds,” saidTendulkar yesterday after his unbeaten 122 shaped up India’s sixwicket win against West Indies in the last league match.Tendulkar’s 29th one-day international hundred, was his first of thesix-week tour where he has played two Tests and four ODIs besides athree-day game. The genius said he was disappointed at not getting acentury in previous games.”One always goes out to score hundreds. I wanted to score a hundred inboth the Tests. But it happens to all the players. If it was not to beso, then all the great players wouldn’t have got out in the 70 and80s. When I had embarked on this tour, I had personally decided to tryand hang around as much as possible. And that is what I was trying todo. I had told myself not to play big shots, even though that meant Iwould have to suppress my natural instinct to hit the ball. Ibasically did it because of the wickets here. I think on these kind oftracks you can’t play the way you play in India or anywhere else.”But, that the batsman does not forget defeat easily was evident whenhe recalled how the one hour on the fourth morning of the second Testcost India the match.”The tour has gone on very well so far, except for the fourth morningof the second Test. That one hour cost us the match. I thought wedidn’t play good cricket and we allowed them to get back into thegame. If we had given them 200 or 210 runs to get in the fourthinnings it would have been a different story.”India lost the second Test to Zimbabwe by four wickets after they lostseven wickets for 37 runs on the penultimate day.”I thought losing those seven wickets for 37 runs was the key. If youlose so many wickets in no time, it is very difficult to win a Testmatch. Right until that moment I felt that we were in the drivingseat. I know it is very hard to express in words as to what we shoulddo and what we shouldn’t do. It just happens,” the former skipper saidphilosophically.”The only thing one could have done was to wait and hang around therefor the new ball to wear out. Such things are going to happen. Wecan’t pin-point each other. We all need to take responsibility for itand try and ensure that we don’t repeat it.”On the brighter side, Tendulkar said the team had now some very goodyoungsters. “All the youngsters we have are very talented. They arealso hungry to do well. They are prepared to work hard and that is agood sign. It augurs well because if you look at the average age ofthe team it is around 23-24 years. The team is young and if this lotcan stick together for years to come, I am sure we can produce betterresults.”However, Tendulkar said, it was the bowling where India had profitedmost. “All the bowlers show promise. All the guys have differentqualities and that is so important when you form a team. From everyend, you have variety. Harbhajan Singh is a top class off spinner andhe is only 21. It is an added advantage to the side. Somebody who isso young and done well against quality sides, we can only expectbetter things from him.”The 28-year-old stalwart from Mumbai was also very pleased with thefitness level of the team. “It has improved by leaps and bounds. Nowwe are a very good fielding side too”.Tendulkar said he is always keen to lend a helping hand to youngstersin the team. “I know I am the senior-most among the players here. If Isee something wrong or an area where somebody can improve, I just goand tell him that this is what I feel. Then it is up to the player totake a decision. But as a senior member, I feel I should tell themwhere they are going wrong.”

It hasn’t been the prettiest campaign for Tottenham Hotspur, and Thomas Frank has work to do if he is to convince the Lilywhite supporters of his capacity to lead this team through a sustained period of success.

The conquering of the Europa League last season might have been used as a springboard, but Tottenham have reverted to type, 11th in the Premier League and lacking the attacking sparkle fans expect. This was painfully clear last weekend, during the 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest.

To Dare Is To Do, but Spurs are not being brave enough, and their instability is becoming a big problem. It will be Frank’s undoing if he fails to mount a convincing assault against the Premier League’s elite, challenging in the Champions League and FA Cup too.

Defensively, issues linger from the Ange Postecoglou era. Tottenham have been blunted in attack too. But it’s perhaps the midfield which is epicentral to the lack of control and creativity and craftsmanship.

Spurs' plans to fix their midfield

Tottenham’s midfield ranks have left plenty to be desired this season. Frank will feel hard done by given James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski have been absent since the summer due to injury, but the decision to persist with Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha isn’t providing the desired results.

Palhinha, a loan arrival from Bayern Munich, has added some punch to the centre of the park, but he’s not exactly a progressive midfielder on the ball. Bentancur, beside him, struggles to serve as a neat counterpoint, with the Uruguayan’s struggles in recent years even leading analyst Raj Chohan to describe him as a “candidate for worst centre-midfielder at a big six club”.

Clearly, Spurs need an upgrade, and they could find one in Leon Goetzka, who fancies trying his hand at something new after a lifetime of football in his German homeland.

That’s according to Spanish sources, who claim that Goretzka is seeking a fresh start after being consigned to a reduced part in Vincent Kompany’s project.

Tottenham are understood to be among the best-placed teams to complete a deal, with Premier League rivals like Nottingham Forest and West Ham United also ready to submit formal offers this winter.

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Last summer, Manchester United’s interest led to Bayern relatiation, placing a £34m on the 30-year-old. ENIC Group will hope that figure has since diminished.

Why Leron Goretzka would be perfect for Spurs' midfield

Goretzka has enjoyed a glittering career with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, winning the Champions League and so many Bundesliga titles since joining on a free transfer in 2018 after his contract with Schalke expired.

A powerful and commanding centre-midfielder, Goretzka’s prospective success down N17 in the Premier League would come at either Palhinha or Bentancur’s expense.

Looking at how he contrasts with ex-teammate Palhinha for example, underscores the kind of upgrade Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici would strike.

Goretzka vs Palhinha (past 12 months)

Stats (per 90)

Goretzka

Palhinha

Goals scored

0.11

0.16

Assists

0.04

0.16

Touches

83.66

60.63

Pass completion (%)

90.8

84.9

Progressive passes

7.69

3.02

Progressive carries

2.18

0.49

Shot-creating actions

2.21

1.29

Successful take-ons

0.41

0.43

Ball recoveries

4.73

3.77

Tackles + interceptions

2.74

5.87

Aerial duels won

1.95

1.72

Data via FBref

He is a midfield powerhouse, and his energy and ferocity have seen him said to be “like a madman” on the field by former teammate Sami Khedira, who then hailed his countryman as a “machine” of a player.

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He doesn’t churn out the same calibre of defensive actions as someone like Palhinha – who does? – but Goretzka is a more complete and balanced player. He would raise the level of Spurs’ wider system, trumping Bentancur in that regard.

Indeed, across 11 Bundesliga starts this season, the experienced midfielder has won 57% of his ground duels. He could actually partner Palhinha in the Spurs centre, striking a much-needed defend-attack balance. Control. It’s very important in the Premier League, and Goretzka would instil it.

With an intense work rate and a tenacity that cannot be taught, Goretzka would be a credit to Tottenham’s midfield. He would certainly work his way into the starting line-up at the expense of strugglers like Palhinha and Bentancur.

Tottenham need more dynamism in midfield, and Goretzka has the experience and the technical skillset to create a central system that could see Frank’s vision realised over the second half of the season and indeed the next few years.

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