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Everton have received a potential injury boost ahead of their Premier League clash with Brentford over the weekend after it was revealed the club are hopeful that Yerry Mina will be able to make his return to action.

What’s the word?

The 27-year-old last featured in the 1-1 draw against Manchester United on 2nd October before picking up a hamstring injury while on international duty.

However, according to the Liverpool ECHO, Mina could be in line to make his comeback for the trip to west London after making a full recovery.

Phil Kirkbride’s report states that: “Everton are hoping Yerry Mina is passed fit to play in London at the weekend.

“The Colombian centre-half has missed the last four league matches because of a hamstring issue but it is believed he was left out as a precaution.”

Rafa Benitez will be buzzing

News that Mina could play some part against the Bees on Sunday will have Everton manager Rafa Benitez buzzing with excitement, given his importance to the first-team squad.

Prior to his fitness woes, the South American had made six Premier League appearances this season, losing on just one occasion.

In his absence, the Toffees have lost four of their five encounters, keeping just one clean sheet in the 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur. And his underlying numbers indicate why.

As per WhoScored, Mina has averaged 1.5 interceptions per top-flight fixture, four clearances and 0.7 blocks, placing him in the top four amongst his teammates for each metric.

With Everton currently in desperate need of a positive result against Brentford, Benitez will be delighted to have Mina back at his disposal, providing a huge boost to their chances of securing all three points.

And, in other news…Forget Iwobi: Rafa must unleash rarely-seen 18 y/o “top-player” amid huge EFC setback

Kevin Campbell believes that Tottenham manager Antonio Conte will sign Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij in January, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Spurs’ centre-back options

The Italian, who tends to go with a back three system, has five senior centre-backs at his disposal at this moment in time.

Eric Dier and Cristian Romero have been used in his first two games in charge, along with left-back Ben Davies as a third centre-back. That has left no place for Davinson Sanchez, Japhet Tanganga or Joe Rodon, and it seems that he is after a marquee defensive addition in the New Year.

The Latest: De Vrij links; Campbell’s comments

Reports at the beginning of the month suggested that Conte wants Tottenham to sign De Vrij, with an A-list centre-back a top priority.

The 29-year-old, who was labelled a ‘monster’ by former Lazio defender Mauricio, was a regular under Conte during his time with Inter and is under contract with the Italian giants until 2023.

Campbell, who regularly features as a pundit for Sky Sports, was asked by Football Insider if De Vrij would be a smart signing. Although he questioned if Spurs needed a new defender, he backed Tottenham to get a deal over the line, if that is what Conte wants, saying:

“Do they need another centre-half? They have got numbers back there.

“Conte will have his own mind of what he wants to do and how he wants to play. They key is signing players who are going to make this team better. They don’t need bodies.

“If De Vrij is the one Conte’s wants, Spurs will go and get him. Conte is very ruthless like that. I’m sure we’ll see him in a Spurs shirt soon.”

The Verdict: Smart move?

De Vrij is a player Conte knows quite well from their mutual time at Inter, so he’ll be well aware of the specific attributes that the Dutch defender would bring to Tottenham along with his wealth of international experience.

With Davies being used out of position as a third centre-back, that could speak volumes in regards to Conte’s thoughts on Sanchez, Tanganga and Rodon.

If he doesn’t feel that the trio are good enough, then a marquee centre-back signing in the New Year could prove to be a shrewd decision, and it seems as if that man could well be De Vrij.

In other news: ‘The real winner’ of Conte’s appointment will still be sold in Spurs clearout, pundit predicts

Simon Jordan has suggested that Aston Villa should make a move to appoint Erik ten Hag as their next manager.

What’s been said?

Speaking recently on talkSPORT (via Birmingham Live), Jordan stated his belief that, rather than making a move to appoint Rangers boss Steven Gerrard as Dean Smith’s successor at Villa Park, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens should turn their efforts towards the Ajax manager Erik ten Hag.

Speaking about Gerrard’s ability, Jordan said: “There is an assumption – and I am not in that camp right now – that Steven Gerrard is an elite manager. I don’t think he’s an elite manager.

“I think [Villa’s] ownership have a top-six mentality about them. Gerrard is in the Europa League with Rangers because he is in a league that is not pushing him to the next level.

“If they are now saying their ambitions are to be a top side then they should be looking vertically. And a vertical manager is someone like Ten Hag because if Tottenham can get Conte why can’t Villa get someone like that?”

Ten Hag would revive Villa

Considering the rather remarkable job Ten Hag has done with Ajax since his appointment at the Johan Cruijff ArenA back in 2017, it is difficult to argue with Jordan’s suggestion that the 51-year-old would make a much better appointment than Gerrard.

Indeed, the Haaksbergen-born manager has turned the Dutch giants, who had not lifted the Eredivisie for three years prior to his arrival, into a title-winning machine – having won the league in each of the three full seasons Ten Hag has been at the club, in addition to lifting two Dutch Cups.

Furthermore, the former Bayern Munich II coach has also reestablished Ajax as a presence in the Champions League, reaching the semi-final of the competition back in 2018/19 – narrowly missing out on qualification for the final as a result of a stoppage-time Lucas Moura winner for Tottenham Hotspur.

Further still, Ten Hag also helped to develop some of Europe’s most exciting young players in recent seasons, with the likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Justin Kluivert, Hakim Ziyech, Donny van de Beek and Sergino Dest all being sold for huge sums after being handed a chance in the Ajax first-team by the 51-year-old.

As such, with a track record of reestablishing a huge club back to their rightful position in the league, having an impressive record in cup competitions, being highly adept at developing youth prospects and boasting a 73% win rate at Ajax, the man who Pierre van Hooijdonk dubbed a “remarkable” manager would indeed seem to be a fantastic fit for Villa. The Dutchman very much appears to be more than capable of reviving the struggling Premier League side if appointed by NSWE.

In other news: “I understand”: Sky journo drops big AVFC manager update, fans surely buzzing

Leeds United have entered the final international break of 2021 15th in the Premier League after 11 matches played this season.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men have only won two of their 11 league games, but have avoided heading into the break in the bottom three.

The Lillywhite have 11 points and are three points ahead of 18th-placed Burnley, whilst they are four points behind 10th-placed Crystal Palace.

Liability

One player who has let Bielsa down with his performances this season is Welsh international winger Daniel James, who joined the club from Manchester United for a reported £30m in the summer window.

Since making the switch, he has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.57 in the Premier League for the Lillywhites – ranking him 19th in the squad. Jack Harrison (6.48) is the only senior player below him in the list, with Crysencio Summerville, Charlie Cresswell and Cody Drameh the others making up the bottom five along with Harrison and James.

The 24-year-old summer signing has been a liability on the pitch. Whilst he puts in the hard work and tries to make things happen, his quality lets him down at the end of the day and his lack of end product will surely frustrate Marcelo Bielsa.

In 10 league outings for Leeds, James has registered zero goals and one assist, whilst he has created a measly five chances in that time.

Former Premier League forward Darren Bent once criticised the attacker’s decision-making in the final third and branded him as ‘headless’. He told Football Insider:

“The only thing about Dan James at times, for me, he’s a little bit headless.

“He’s shown great potential, when he first went to United he played really well, scored a few goals but at times he for me he’s fouled or he shoots sometimes when he should pass it, he’ll pass when he should shoot.

“He’s got great pace and I think he’d be a great addition in anyone’s squad but when we talk about someone coming in and making a real difference and adding a lot of quality to whatever they’ve already got, I’m not quite sure.”

Per SofaScore, James has also been a liability in terms of keeping the ball, with 103 losses of possession in 10 top-flight games.

Whilst his end product in scoring and creating goals has been lacking, the main concern may be how often he gifts the ball back to the opposition throughout matches. He has also lost 62% of his duels, proving himself to be a lightweight in the defensive side of the game.

This shows why James has let Bielsa down this season, as he has been poor at keeping the ball, competing in duels and delivering quality in the final third.

Paying so much for a player who has only offered running thus far does not appear to be a great piece of business, but there is plenty of time left for him to come good and, hopefully, the Argentine can get the best out of him,

AND in other news, Imagine him and Joffy: LUFC may save millions in 19y/o who can “become a household name”…

Essex have signed South African batsman Hashim Amla as overseas cover for Danish Kaneria, away on national duty

Cricinfo staff29-Jun-2009Essex have signed South African batsman Hashim Amla as overseas cover for Danish Kaneria, away on national duty. Amla will play for the county until the end of July, or even longer, depending on Kaneria’s return to England.Amla’s immediate aim is to ensure promotion for Essex, who are currently at third place in Division Two. “I am thrilled with the prospect of joining up with Essex at this important stage of the season,” he said. “Promotion in the Championship is a major focus for the team and I hope that I can help achieve this goal. I am really looking forward to the challenge.”Kaneria is on tour with Pakistan’s Test team in Sri Lanka and Amla will extend his stint beyond July if Kaneria is selected for the one-day series which succeeds the Tests. Amla is expected to form part of the squad for the game versus Glamorgan at home on July 7. Amla’s signing is subject to him obtaining a working visa and Essex receiving clearance for him to play from Cricket South Africa.

With just six goals conceded in their opening ten Premier League games of the season, Manchester City have the second-best defensive record in the top flight so far in this campaign behind league leaders Chelsea who have conceded just three goals.

Despite having conceded fewer goals than the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United, it seems as though Pep Guardiola has his eye on adding a new defensive star to his squad to tighten up his defence even further.

What’s the news?

It has recently been reported by Calciomercato (via Sport Witness) that Italian club AC Milan are trying hard to tie left-back Theo Hernandez down to a new deal.

However, they are facing difficulties to secure his future with Manchester City putting pressure on the club in an effort to try and sign their star defender.

Dream move?

Hernandez, who has been described as a “monster” by Milan legend Serginho, joined the Serie A club back in the 2019 summer transfer window from Real Madrid for a reported fee of €20m (£16.9m).

Since then, the 24-year-old, who is currently valued at £45m according to Transfermarkt, has made 92 appearances for Milan across all competitions in which he has managed to rack up a mightily impressive attacking record of 16 goals and 16 assists along the way.

So far this season, Hernandez has played in all but two of Milan’s 11 Serie A games, scoring one goal and providing three assists, showing how important he is for the team and why City want him so intently at the Etihad Stadium.

In terms of a potential move to the Manchester club, we feel this would be a dream move for Pep and co. That’s because they currently only have Oleksandr Zinchenko in their squad that predominantly plays in the left-back position. Not only would be an upgrade on the Ukrainian but if you keep in mind his attacking play-style, it would perfectly suit the Citizens.

That being said, if City does sign Hernandez in the near future, he could find himself in for some competition on the left of Guardiola’s side in Joao Cancelo who has played the full 90 minutes in all but one of City’s Premier League and Champions League games so far this season.

He played as a left-back in the majority of those games and thus, has earned himself an overall season rating of 7.26/10 for his league performances, making him one of City’s highest-rated players according to WhoScored.

That doesn’t mean Hernandez wouldn’t be the ideal signing in January, however.

In other news: Pep must unleash “intelligent” £140k-p/w Man City star vs Brugge, he’s a game-changer – opinion

Loads of Everton fans have been left gushing as some early team news has emerged ahead of their game at home to Norwich City on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match at Goodison Park in the Premier League, Rafa Benitez has now revealed that Jordan Pickford is ‘okay’ and ‘has been training’, meaning that he could well return in between the posts against the Canaries.

It has come as a big relief for the Merseyside club to have their number-one goalkeeper back, especially after the disappointment that Asmir Begovic had in the Carabao Cup loss to Queens Park Rangers, in which he failed to save any of the seven penalties that he faced in the shootout (Sky Sports).

Everton fans on Pickford news

These Toffees supporters gushed as the early team news involving Pickford was shared by the club on their official Twitter page, with one Blue even going as far as to claim that it is ‘huge’:

“SEND THEM IN GET THE RAVE ON”

Credit: @Conor_LaneSmith

“Thank the lord we don’t have to see Begovic again”

Credit: @efcdoyley

“Pickford being back is huge”

Credit: @JDGEFC

“Relieved about Digne, and great to hear Pickford is back, gives us a bit more confidence going into this winnable game”

Credit: @daveblueallover

“No Begovic yessss”

Credit: @ShaunJackson015

“No Casper the ghost yes now”

Credit: @bobmarl03974950

In other news, find out what stadium news has Evertonians fuming here!

أعلن ناديا ريال مدريد وخيتافي عن توصلهما لاتفاق رسمي يقتضي بانتقال مهاجم الملكي، بورخا مايورال، بشكل نهائي إلى خيتافي بعد انتهاء إعارته لمدة 6 أشهر.

وكان مايورال قد انضم لصفوف خيتافي في يناير الماضي، وسجل 6 أهداف في 18 مباراة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. رابطة الدوري الإسباني توجه رسالة لـ الأهلي وعضو مجلس إدارته

📢 OFICIAL | Borja Mayoral nuevo fichaje del Getafe.

¡Bienvenido de nuevo a la familia azulona @Mayoral_Borja! 🥳#VamosGeta #MayoralAzulón — Getafe C.F. (@GetafeCF) August 1, 2022

ووقع الإسباني على عقد لمدة 5 سنوات قادمة مع خيتافي، بعد الاتفاق مع ريال مدريد على كافة بنود العقد ليبقى في ملعب “ألفونسو بيريز” حتى يونيو 2027.

وحدد نادي خيتافي موعدًا لتقديم مايورال عبر وسائل الإعلام يوم الخميس المقبل 4 أغسطس، في تمام الساعة الحادية عشر والنصف صباحًا بتوقيت “القاهرة”.

MatériaMais Notícias

O São Paulo encerrou nesta noite a sua complicada volta de Chapecó (SC), mas não fez todo o trajeto de ônibus. Por volta das 19h30 desta segunda-feira, a diretoria encontrou espaço em um voo saindo de Curitiba (PR) e retornou de forma mais confortável, dentro de um avião.

A mudança no transporte ocorreu porque dirigentes foram buscando alternativas enquanto o ônibus levava a equipe de ​Chapecó a Curitiba, um trajeto de cerca de 480 km. Quando acharam vaga em um voo que partiria da capital paranaense para São Paulo, optou-se por fazer o resto da viagem, de 420 km, de avião.

A delegação desembarcou do avião por volta das 21h e a mudança de planos, alterando o meio de transporte de quase metade da viagem, tem como objetivo diminuir o desgaste do elenco, que passaria cerca de 12h no ônibus. O elenco volta a treinar às 15h30 desta terça-feira, na única atividade antes do jogo de quarta-feira, contra o Vasco, no Morumbi.

A passagem do São Paulo por Chapecó não deixará saudades nos tricolores. No domingo, a equipe foi derrotada por 2 a 0 para a Chapecoense e, para completar, não conseguiu retornar do local logo após o confronto. O aeroporto de Chapecó foi fechado por questões climáticas e a aeronave que buscaria os são-paulinos não recebeu autorização para pousar.

Assim, os jogadores dormiram na cidade catarinense e embarcaram de ônibus na parte da manhã.O São Paulo até tentou ver outros voos saindo de Chapecó nesta segunda, mas encontrou poucos lugares nas aeronaves disponíveis.

A equipe não vence há nove jogos e, com 12 pontos em 14 rodadas, ocupa a zona de rebaixamento do Campeonato Brasileiro. Enfrenta o Vasco às 21h45 de quarta-feira, no Morumbi.

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Cricinfo previews the third ODI between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran02-Feb-2009Match factsTuesday, February 3, 2009
Start time 14:30 local, (09:00 GMT)
Sri Lanka need Tillakaratne Dilshan to fire at the top of the order © AFP
The Big PictureIndia took 23 years to secure their first bilateral one-day series win in Sri Lanka, finally accomplishing the feat last August. Less than six months on, the Indian juggernaut stands on the brink of a reprise. Besides clinching the series, a victory at the Premadasa on Tuesday will also equal India’s longest winning sequence in one-dayers – eight. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has already warned against complacency, and also said that though India negotiated the threat of Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan well in the first two games, the pair posed a formidable challenge.Apart from overcoming a slick Indian outfit, Sri Lanka will have to beat history: in 84 five-match series, only twice has a side come back from 2-0 down (South Africa against Pakistan in 2003, and Bangladesh over Zimbabwe in 2005). They will be buoyed by the return to form of Mahela Jayawardene, who ended a lean patch with a battling half-century. The other factors in their favour are that the bowlers are doing an adequate job, and Thilina Kandamby is proving to be a reassuring presence in the middle order. If the move to push Tillakaratne Dilshan up the order pays off as it did in the recent Pakistan series, Sri Lanka will still fancy their chances.ODI form guide (most recent first)Sri Lanka LLWWL
India WWWWWWatch out for …After a stop-start career, Suresh Raina is making the most of his second coming. He has managed to keep his place in the middle order despite a clutch of talented youngsters pushing for a place. Besides his batting, he has been an electric presence in the field, and also chipped in with a few tidy overs of offspin.One of the bright spots for Sri Lanka has been the form of Thilina Kandamby, who was recalled after a four-year gap. He has propped up their fragile middle order, and nearly engineered a victory in Saturday’s match with an unflustered 93.TeamsA groin injury has forced Munaf Patel out of the series, and L Balaji has been called in as a replacement. However, it is unlikely he’ll play, as India did well to contain the Sri Lankan batsmen in the second ODI with four frontline bowlers and the combination of Yusuf Pathan, Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina, who bowled 14 overs among them.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Zaheer Khan, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 Ishant Sharma.Thilan Thushara has had two disappointing games, conceding 103 runs in 16 overs for one wicket. However, he played a critical role in bowling out Pakistan in the series decider in Lahore. Though he is under scrutiny, he is likely to retain his place.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Thilina Kandamby, 6 Chamara Kapugedera, 7 Farveez Maharoof, 8 Thilan Thushara, 9 Muttiah Muralitharan, 10 Nuwan Kulasekara, 11 Ajantha Mendis.Stats & TriviaChamara Kapugedera hasn’t made a half-century in his previous 18 innings.The opening partnership has failed to deliver for Sri Lanka. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya averaged 63.33 for the first wicket in the three-match ODI series against Pakistan, but have managed just 15 runs for the opening stand in this series. Dhoni has won seven of his last eight tosses in one-dayers against Sri Lanka.Pitch and conditionsThe third ODI will be played on a different track, but it is expected to behave in a similar manner to the one used in the last match. A score of 260 should be reachable, but fast bowlers may get some assistance for the first few overs under lights.Quotes”We have to be a bit more consistent with our all-round game. That’s one area we have to focus on, especially when you are playing against a good team. You can’t keep making mistakes.”

“We know we have a lot of work to do but the momentum is with us at the moment. We just have to focus on what we have been doing and give us the best chance of winning the next match.”
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