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Newcastle United are keen on Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic, according to a report from German publication Kicker. 

The lowdown

Signing a striker is an ‘absolute priority’ for Newcastle in the upcoming market, The I’s Mark Douglas has reported.

Newcastle paid £25million to sign Chris Wood in January, but he’s only scored one non-penalty goal in 16 appearances, and Callum Wilson’s lengthy injury record may also be a concern.

Kaladjzic, 24, is a giant of a number nine at 6 foot 7, and may be exit-bound if last weekend’s scenes are anything to go by.

The Austrian ‘looked like [he was] saying goodbye’ in a tearful moment after a 2-1 win over Koln.

David Ornstein of The Athletic reported on Monday that Stuttgart would seek a relatively cheap €25million (£21million) for his signature.

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The latest

According to Kicker’s information, Newcastle are one of the clubs on the trail of Kalajdzic ahead of the summer transfer window.

However, they face some competition from clubs who may be bracing themselves to lose star no. 9s this summer.

With Darwin Nunez emerging as ‘one of Europe’s most coveted players’, Benfica have begun exploring a move for Kalajdzic.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich are considering a move too as a successor for Robert Lewandowski after the Poland star indicated that he is open to leaving the club.

The verdict

Could Kalajdzic be the long-term striker at St James’ Park?

Well, he’s only scored six goals this season, but that’s largely down to the fact that he was out of action from the end of August until the New Year with a shoulder injury.

His impressive record last season, when he bagged 17 in 36 appearances, is probably a truer reflection of his capability.

Overall, he’s bagged 36 goals in 93 outings at club level, adding four more in his 13 caps for Austria (via Transfermarkt).

It’s no surprise that Kalajdzic is a monster when it comes to aerial duels, winning 5.7 per 90 minutes. That puts him in the 93rd percentile for strikers in the top five leagues, and comparisons to Peter Crouch were perhaps inevitable.

The ‘towering’ forward (in the words of journalist Andy Naylor) could dominate centre-backs and be a smart, reasonably-priced pick-up for Newcastle.

In other news, this ex-NUFC boss could raid his former club. 

Rangers could bank £3.9m if they overturn their 1-0 semi-final first leg deficit to reach the Europa League final, according to The Rangers Review.

The lowdown

The Glasgow giants shipped a narrow defeat in the first leg last week after Angelino’s 85th-minute winner for their German hosts.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side are very much the underdogs in the tie, ranking a full 19 places below opponents RB Leipzig in the UEFA club coefficient ranking, although their hopes of making it to the Seville showpiece are far from dead.

On Thursday, they will welcome Leipzig to Ibrox, where they boast a strong record. The Gers have only lost five of their last 33 European matches on home soil.

The two teams are battling to face either West Ham United or Eintracht Frankfurt (who lead 2-1 heading back to Germany) in the final.

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The latest

In addition to the near-£4m incentive for beating Leipzig, Jonny McFarlane outlined for The Rangers Review (and on Twitter) how winning the tournament would also be quite lucrative.

Whichever club prevails in Seville on 18 May will receive €8.6m (£7.2m) in prize money. They would also set up a meeting with the winners of the Champions League in the UEFA Super Cup, a fixture projected to earn them €3.5m (£2.9m).

Perhaps the biggest reward, though, is Champions League group stage qualification for 2022/23, which is said to be worth a whopping €15.6m (£13.1m).

The verdict

This would be huge for Rangers. For instance, it can help them finance incoming transfers in the summer and also enable the club to present more lucrative contract offers to current players who might be considering a departure from Ibrox.

Perhaps above all else, it would help them to overcome the considerable losses they have incurred in recent times.

In the first six years under the current regime, the club has lost a cumulative £73.5m. In the most recent accounts, Rangers were £23.5m in the red, feeling the effects of the pandemic.

The benefits of this deep European run should not be underestimated, and there could be some huge windfalls to come their way if Van Bronckhorst and co can overturn the 1-0 deficit against Leipzig on Thursday night.

In other news, Tom English calls one Rangers man ‘nowhere near good enough’

MatériaMais Notícias

Revelado no clube e ídolo rubro-negro, o goleiro Julio Cesar pode prorrogar o seu vínculo – que é de três meses – com o Flamengo até o final de julho. A informação foi dada pelo Extra e confirmada pelo LANCE!. Assim sendo, o clube teria um tempo hábil maior para programar uma despedida para o arqueiro de 38 anos, já que seu vínculo se encerraria ao término do Campeonato Carioca.

Além do espelho para os goleiros vindos da base, Julio Cesar agrega experiência e “sangue” rubro-negro ao vestiário, o que é visto como algo benéfico pelo departamento de futebol do clube. Contudo, tudo dependerá também da vontade do ex-seleção brasileira em seguir maior tempo no clube.

Julio Cesar disputou apenas um jogo neste seu retorno ao Flamengo:contra o Boavista, em Volta Redonda, pelo Campeonato Carioca. Na ocasião, saiu sem ser vazado e deu um discurso emocionado no vestiário antes da partida. Além dele, o elenco atual rubro-negro conta com o titular Diego Alves, além de César, Thiago e Gabriel Batista, sendo os três últimos revelados no clube.

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Callum Ferguson made a typically intelligent half-century and, with assistance from No. 5 Cameron Borgas, helped South Australia preserve their 100% record

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran21-Sep-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Guyana had their moments in both innings, but could not do enough for a victory•AFP

South Australia had already strolled into the semi-finals and seemingly had little to gain against the also-rans from Guyana in their final league match, but still benefited as their largely untested middle-order got a thorough and much-needed workout in Johannesburg. Callum Ferguson made a typically intelligent half-century and, with assistance from No. 5 Cameron Borgas, helped South Australia preserve their 100% record in the league phase by powering the Redbacks to their highest total of the tournament.The other challenge for South Australia was for their bowling attack to manage without the furious pace of the injured Shaun Tait, a test they barely passed after Ramnaresh Sarwan made Guyana’s first half-century of the tournament to make the game much less of a mismatch than was initially feared.It was easily Guyana’s best performance of the tournament, troubling South Australia with the new ball and then remaining in the hunt for much of the chase despite facing a mammoth target. In perfect batting conditions, Sarwan exploited the short boundary towards long-off to siphon plenty of runs, and was well supported by the youngsters, Richard Ramdeen and Steven Jacobs, as Guyana asked South Australia’s bowlers plenty of questions.Perhaps Guyana’s best phase of the match was the Powerplay after being asked to bowl. Seven deliveries into the innings, South Australia had cracked three boundaries to sprint to 15 but seamer Paul Wintz, who was clobbered by Kieron Pollard on his debut against Mumbai Indians, managed to extract some bounce to remove Daniel Harris and slow the scoring.Then, the tournament’s highest run-getter, Michael Klinger, was undone by a back-of-the-hand delivery from Christopher Barnwell, and holed out to midwicket. In the next over, Wintz served up the ball of the innings – a yorker that speared into Graham Manou’s boot and then onto off stump. South Australia were 41 for 3. The lowest contribution by their top three wickets previously in the tournament was 127.Ferguson and Borgas put on 88 for the fourth wicket with little risk, and set the tone as their side plundered 117 in the final nine overs. Guyana were left to rue what might have been after being on top at the halfway stage of the innings, with their spinners – the architects of their Caribbean T20 triumph – keeping the heavy-hitters of South Australia quiet.The carnage began in the 14th over when Guyana’s fifth bowler Jacobs, an offspinner who doesn’t believe in flight, overstepped twice and had one of his two consecutive free-hits smashed over cover by Ferguson for the first six of the innings. One legitimate delivery cost 12 runs, after which there was no reining South Australia in.Before that, there had been only three boundaries in an eight-over spell when Ferguson and Borgas rebuilt. Despite not offering any threat, Jacobs was given another over – the 17th – which Ferguson and Derwin Christian hammered for 22. Jacobs finished with 3-0-50-0. Two sixes and four fours in the final three overs sent South Australia rocketing to 191. Strangely, Wintz, who was so impressive with the new ball, bowled only three overs.Just like when they were bowling, Guyana were the more impressive side for more than half the innings when they batted. Their finest batting patch was the 56-run stand between Sarwan and Jacobs. They were together for five overs, each of which was taken for at least ten runs, which meant that at the end of the 12th Guyana were at a solid 106 for 2.The chase spluttered with the loss of three wickets in four overs, but Sarwan kept fighting. A lovely square drive for four off Gary Putland was followed by a six that just cleared sweeper cover, leaving Guyana needing a stiff, but not impossible, 42 off the final three overs.Harris had failed with the bat, but he delivered with the ball, removing Derwin Christian and, more importantly, Sarwan in the space of three deliveries in the 18th over. Guyana eventually ended up 15 runs short.South Australia will be satisfied at coming through a tough battle ahead of the the tournament’s biggest games, and relieved at keeping the winning run going, something they failed to do in the final league of the Big Bash campaign after sweeping through the initial stages of that tournament.

Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge believes Leeds have struggled without Kalvin Phillips in recent months, GiveMeSport report.

The Lowdown: March return

The Whites won just two of their six Premier League fixtures in 2022, losing three of their last four. [Sky Sports]

Marcelo Bielsa has had to deal with numerous injury issues throughout the campaign, with holding midfielder Phillips missing since December.

He has had surgery to repair a hamstring problem and is on course for a return next month. The Whites have to navigate fixtures against Liverpool and Tottenham before the month is out, though, and will be without Robin Koch at Anfield following his head injury on the weekend.

The Latest: Bridge’s comments

Bridge was talking to GiveMeSport in a story shared on Wednesday morning, hours before the Whites’ clash with Liverpool.

With Leeds now just five points above the relegation zone, Bridge had this to say on the holding midfielder’s absence from the side in recent months.

“They’ve really missed Kalvin Phillips in that middle. Wow.”

The Verdict: Phillips key

Leeds have struggled without Phillips in the defensive midfield role in their last nine league games, losing six of those, with Bielsa not having a direct replacement in the squad for the England international.

Koch, Pascal Struijk and Mateusz Klich have all turned out at the base of the midfield in recent weeks with Leeds struggling to pick up points, so hopefully, getting Phillips back will result in a change of fortune.

Next month’s home fixtures against Aston Villa and Norwich City could prove key in regards to the club’s bid to avoid relegation, and all being well, Bielsa will be able to call upon Phillips for both games.

In other news: ‘Exciting’ Leeds attacker now set for March return after months out as reporter relays news. 

Arsenal and Barcelona are both interested in signing Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves this summer, according to journalist Samuel Luckhurst.

The Lowdown: Neves’ Wolves future in doubt

The 24-year-old has returned to top form for Wanderers this season, standing out as one of the team’s most influential performers throughout the campaign.

Neves has helped Wolves to boss numerous midfield battles in the Premier League, averaging 2.3 tackles per game and registering four goals and two assists.

A plethora of recent links have suggested that the Portuguese midfielder could depart Molineux this summer, with Manchester United among the leading suitors, and a new claim isn’t likely to alter that thought process.

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The Latest: Neves a man in demand

According to Manchester Evening News journalist Luckhurst, Arsenal and Barcelona are both eyeing up summer moves for Neves as they look to strengthen in the middle of the park.

It is stated that Wolves ‘could cash in’ on the Portugal international if he is unwilling his extend his stay at Molineux, with his current deal expiring in 2024.

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The Verdict: Matter of time?

Sadly, it does feel inevitable that Neves will be plying his trade elsewhere next season, with a top-four finish arguably the only thing which would have kept him at Wolves.

He may simply feel that he has outgrown Bruno Lage’s side at this point, giving five years of excellent services to the club, including taking home numerous end-of-season awards back in 2017/18 as they regained their top-flight status.

It is hard to begrudge him a move elsewhere, though, especially if Barcelona come calling, with the La Liga giants making impressive strides under new manager Xavi.

There is no absolute guarantee that Neves will leave the Black Country, and it would be an enormous bonus if he stays put, but there seems plenty of evidence to point towards him exiting at the end of the season.

In other news, Tim Spiers has given a double Wolves injury update. Read more here.

David Moyes’ West Ham United side secured their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup with what can only be described as an embarrassing 2-1 victory against National League North side Kidderminster Harriers after extra time on Saturday afternoon.

Indeed, a 91st-minute Declan Rice strike levelled the tie with essentially the last kick of normal time after Alex Penny had given the hosts a well-deserved lead in the first half. Jarrod Bowen then replicated his team-mate’s feat in extra time, with the 25-year-old’s 121st-minute winner with what was practically the last kick of the game just about enough to get the Hammers over the line.

However, as is to be expected after such a narrow victory against a team 113 places below them in the English football pyramid, a number of Irons players turned in extremely underwhelming performances against their non-league opponents. Issa Diop, who was hooked at half-time; Nikola Vlasic, who spent the afternoon in Penny’s pocket; and Andriy Yarmolenko, who yet again offered nothing going forwards, were arguably the worst of a bad bunch.

While both Diop and Vlasic will certainly be hoping to put their displays behind them as quickly as possible, it was Yarmolenko’s disasterclass which stood out the most this afternoon. The 32-year-old’s performance on the right wing was undoubtedly one of his worst in his time with West Ham, which is saying something in itself given his atrocious season so far.

Lost the ball every 3.6 touches

While it is true that the forward’s wayward strike ultimately led to Aaron Cresswell squaring the ball for Bowen to tap home the last-gasp winner, this was certainly not a conscious decision, although it was the only thing of note that the £100k-per-week Ukrainian offered his team at Aggborough Stadium.

Indeed, over the course of his 120 minutes on the pitch, the £3.15m-rated winger had 40 touches of the ball, just four more than Alphonse Areola between the West Ham sticks. He completed a mere 24 passes – 44 fewer than Rice, who came on at half-time – and ceded possession on 11 separate occasions, meaning the 32-year-old lost the ball once for every 3.6 touches.

The Ukraine international also failed to have a single shot on target, failed to find his man with his one attempted long ball and his three attempted crosses, won just two of his four duels and attempted to win his team a penalty with one of the most shameful dives imaginable – with Dion Dublin labelling this incident as “embarrassing.”

These returns saw Yarmolenko earn a disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.7, Considering that he was up against a non-league centre-back playing out of position on the left in Caleb Richards, that rating is completely unacceptable.

Indeed, if we were in Moyes’ shoes, the former Borussia Dortmund attacker would be getting nowhere near a matchday squad for the remainder of the current campaign, before being sold to the first bidder this summer. Yarmolenko simply does not deserve to play for the Hammers again after Saturday.

In other news – “All I can say is”: Moyes finally addresses transfer failures, West Ham fans won’t be happy

دافع أحمد حسام ميدو لاعب منتخب مصر الأسبق عن كلامه بتفوق الزمالك على الأهلي خلال الموسمين الماضيين، وأهمية فوز القلعة الحمراء بلقب السوبر المصري بسبب تألق الأبيض في أخر عامين.

وقال ميدو في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة “المحور”: “إذا عقدنا مقارنة بين إدارتي الأهلي والزمالك سنجد أن الأحمر بقيادة محمود الخطيب يعاني من استقرار كبير منذ انتخابه 2017 وشهد مجلس إدارته تغيير بسيط في انتخابات العام الماضي وهذه ميزة لصالح النادي ورئيسه”.

وتابع: “أما الزمالك فقد عانى من عدم الاستقرار بعد عزل مرتضى منصور لمدة عام وتعيين عدة لجان مؤقتة لتولى إدارة النادي قبل عودة الأول من جديد ثم عقد الانتخابات وفوزه بها”.

طالع | ميدو: “الخائن الأكبر” يُموّل اللجان الإلكترونية لإشعال فتنة بين الأهلي والزمالك

وأردف: “الزمالك تعرض لظروف صعبة بعيدة عن كرة القدم وهذا يؤثر على أي فريق، بجانب معاناته من أزمة مالية طاحنة، نتج عنها اعتراضات من الموظفين وأزمة لاعبي كرة القدم وحصول النادي على قرض لحل هذه الأمور”.

واستطرد ميدو: “سعد شلبي المدير التنفيذي للأهلي أعلن وجود 14 راعيا خلال الموسم الماضي ثم تأسست شركة الكرة برئاسة ياسين منصور قبل استقالتها”.

وأضاف: “الزمالك يعاني من الديون منها 78 مليون جنيه لصالح اتحاد الكرة، تم سداد جزء منها ومازال يتبقى أموال، والفريق فاز ببطولات أكثر من الأهلي منذ عام 2020 بتحقيق لقب السوبر المصري ثم الدوري مرتين متتاليتين وكأس مصر والسوبر الأفريقي”.

وأشار: “الأهلي عاش استقراراً فنياً بعد تعيين بيتسو موسيماني ثم جاء سامي قمصان مؤقتاً قبل تعيين ريكاردو سواريش بجانب ضم لاعبين مثل بدر بانون وطاهر محمد طاهر وبيرسي تاو ووالتر بواليا”.

واختتم: “كل ذلك على عكس الزمالك الذي قام بتغيير عدة مدربين على رأسهم باتريس كارتيرون وقبله طارق يحيى ثم باتشيكو وأسامة نبيه وجيسوالدو فيرير، وتم إيقاف قيد الزمالك بالموسم الماضي”. 

Indian opener Virender Sehwag has suffered a shoulder injury, which has ruled him out of the ICC World Twenty20

Cricinfo staff20-Apr-2010

India opener Virender Sehwag has suffered a shoulder injury, which has ruled him out of the ICC World Twenty20 beginning in the West Indies on April 30. Sehwag has been advised rest for three to four weeks, and has been replaced by Tamil Nadu batsman M Vijay in the 15-man squad, the BCCI said in a statement. Gautam Gambhir will be the vice-captain.The BCCI statement, however, did not mention how or when Sehwag sustained the injury but the batsman later said via Twitter that he had a tear in his rotator cuff muscle. Sehwag played all 14 IPL league matches for Delhi Daredevils, scoring 356 runs at an average of 25, his last appearance being on April 18. He was deemed fit when included in the World Twenty20 squad so it’s likely the injury occurred during Delhi’s IPL campaign.The blow is similar to the one India suffered before the 2009 ICC World Twenty20. Sehwag had sustained a shoulder injury during the 2009 IPL in South Africa, shortly before the World Twenty20 was due to begin. He travelled with the squad to England, but was not able to play a game. India were eliminated without winning a game in the second round.His replacement, Vijay, has been in aggressive form for Chennai Super Kings, scoring 417 runs, including a century, at an average of 38. He has been India’s back-up opener for Tests and ODIs as well.

Plays of the day from Bangladesh v England, 2nd Test, Dhaka, 1st day

Andrew Miller in Dhaka20-Mar-2010

Innings of the day
Tamim Iqbal’s onslaught was a cut above everything else that occurred on the first day. A cut, and a drive, and a mow through midwicket for that matter. He needed a touch of luck to get going as two of his first three fours were edges, but once he’d decided that today was his day, there was nothing that England could do to dissuade him. In particular, he treated England’s new world No. 2 bowler, Graeme Swann, with utter contempt, beasting him for three fours and a six from consecutive deliveries to hurtle along to a 34-ball fifty. And his innings was still purring at 74 not out from 48 when the mid-session drinks break arrived to disrupt his focus. Sadly for Bangladesh, he never quite regained the upper hand again.Punchbag of the day
Sometimes the ball just follows you around the field, and when you are a Test captain with an awful lot on your mind – as Alastair Cook was during Tamim’s fireworks – you tend to wish it would just go away. Instead, Cook was pursued as if by an angry hornet from the moment, in the ninth over, when he got both hands to Tamim’s regulation clip to mid-on, but flapped the chance to the turf. Three overs before lunch, Mahmudullah poked a catch through his hands at silly point, soon after the resumption, he wore a drive on the toe that, to judge by his agonised reaction, deserved to be given out as a rebound catch to Prior. Another chance burst through his hands before he could react, and another drive cracked him painfully on the calf. Still, only four more days in the firing line, then Andrew Strauss can take over once again.Debut of the day
James Tredwell was unlucky to miss out in the first Test, but this time England accepted that a second spinner was essential. And so it proved as he chimed in with two vital breakthroughs in a torrid first-day’s work. It was he who extracted Tamim for 85 – conceivably a touch unluckily as the ball looped off his forearm with no obvious deflection via bat – and he later returned to nail Shakib Al Hasan on the sweep, as the captain’s eagerness to reach his half-century lured him into a less-than-ideal stroke. Bowling with flight and patience, and extracting a hint of turn as well, he more than justified his inclusion in a 29-over effort.Debut of the day Mk 2
Jahurul Islam would not have been playing in this Test had it not been for Raqibul Hasan’s much-publicised fit of pique in the build-up to the Chittagong match, and though Jamie Siddons said that he would have welcomed Raqibul straight back into the team, the BCB’s chose instead to impose a three-month ban for the disruption his “retirement” had caused. So Jahurul was given his chance, after an impressive season which culminated in a century and a fifty for Rajshahi in the recent National League final. Alas, he wasn’t able to replicate that form. After seeing off five dot-balls from Tredwell, he was pushed back into his stumps by Swann, and pinned lbw for a duck.Bowling change of the day
England’s decision to play five bowlers was justified from the moment Tamim started laying into their collective resources. Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn bowled five overs between them out of the first 50 of the innings, having conceded 45 runs in their new-ball burst, but when Finn returned with tea in the offing, his height and pace paid instant dividends. Mahmudullah had played with great composure for his 59 from 106 balls, but he couldn’t help but skew a loose drive to Paul Collingwood at backward point from the very first delivery of the new spell.Coaching session of the day
Shortly after lunch, Collingwood underwent some running repairs on the dislocated finger that has been giving him problems ever since the Durban Test in December, and which he seemed to have aggravated while spilling a sharp slip catch in the opening exchanges of the match. However, the discussion that took place by the boundary’s edge – between the vice-captain, the physio, and an extremely animated England coach, Andy Flower – seemed to have far less to do with fingers, and far more to do with finger-pointing. It wasn’t quite like watching Fergie prowling in the technical area, but the overall impression was clear enough. England needed to sharpen up their act, and the suggestions from the dressing-room were soon relayed to young captain Cook.Recovery of the day
Swann was introduced to the attack with unseemly haste this morning, rushed in Red Adair-style as early as the eighth over after Tamim had left their best-laid plans in tatters. However, after five chastising overs, he had figures of 0 for 43, and was looking a bit singed for arguably the first time in a Test match since his nervy Ashes debut at Cardiff back in July. But slowly but surely he regained his poise – aided in no small part by Tamim’s departure – and by the end of the day he was back where he belongs at the top of England’s wickets tally. With figures of 30-4-94-3, you’d hardly have noticed the punishment he took early on.