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As per Calciomercato, an update has emerged on Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer plans for Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez ahead of the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye summer move…

Over the summer, Spurs transfer chief Fabio Paratici had his eye on the Uruguay international as an option who could fill many gaping holes in the Lilywhites first team.

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Indeed, Sky Sports even lifted the lid on an approach for Nandez at the time with new boss Antonio Conte seemingly reigniting the club’s interest as the winter window looms next month.

The 25-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from his current club and it appears Tottenham are still firmly in the hunt as an update emerges from Italy.

The Latest: Spurs in Nandez race…

According to CM, Tottenham and Leeds are interested from the Premier League as both clubs keep tabs – with the outlet explaining that Nandez may have already played his last match in a recent 4-0 defeat to Udinese.

As well as this, while his release clause is estimated at around €36 million (£30.6m), it is a figure which ‘could be revised downwards’ if Nandez’ club decide to do business – meaning a possible discount on the cards.

The Verdict: Get it done…

The South American ace could well be perfect for Conte’s system given he can play wing-back, right-midfield and even as a defensive midfielder (Sky Sports) – so we believe this could be an astute bit of business for Spurs.

He isn’t without his plaudits, either, with Serie A expert Mina Rzouki explaining how he has been a standout for his side.

The ESPN and CNN pundit called Nandez ‘unstoppable’, ‘amazing’ and ‘underrated’ in a glowing Twitter endorsement, perhaps highlighting how well he has played over 2021 and why Spurs are keen.

As Cagliari could be willing to sell for less than his release clause, a move for Nandez may well be a no brainer for the right price.

In other news: Paratici backed by Levy as he tries to seal Spurs agreement for ‘sensational’ ace, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly now enquired over the possibility of signing Benjamin Mensah in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Right wing-back wanted

It is no secret that Spurs are targeting a new right wing-back this month, with Adama Traore the most prominent name to be sounded out as a potential signing.

Matt Doherty has been heavily linked with a move back to Wolves, which would leave Antonio Conte a little light in that position, while Emerson Royal has not exactly impressed since his summer move, registering just one assist in 14 Premier League appearances from the right flank.

Thus, it is an area of the pitch that they will look to strengthen before the window closes.

The Latest: Mensah enquiry

As per Sky Sports (13 Jan, 12:46), the Lilywhites have now made an enquiry to Peterborough United about Mensah, who can play as a right wing-back as well as on the right of a traditional back four.

He would go straight into their U23 set-up, although there are a number of other clubs interested in his signature, so it’s not a done deal yet.

Mensah made his debut for the Posh in a 2-1 win at home to Cambridge United in the EFL Trophy back in 2019 at just 16 years of age, and went on to play in three more games in the tournament.

The Verdict: Preparing for first team

It will be good for the North London club to get in a player for the U23s who can play as a right wing-back, so that they can play a system that would best prepare them for the first team under Conte.

Of course, Mensah is one for the future, but the 19-year-old will have aspirations of breaking into the first team should he perform well – there aren’t exactly a whole host of world-class options in front of him.

Nonetheless, having made his senior debut at such a young age, he is certainly heading in the right direction, and could well turn out to be a gem that can be unearthed at Hotspur Way.

In other news, find out which ‘phenomenal’ ace THFC are now eyeing here!

Aston Villa have introduced a new manager, with Steven Gerrard joining the club in November, and he will surely be confident going into his first Premier League winter transfer window, making his own mark on the squad.

Gerrard has been in charge of the side for seven games, with four wins for the Villains so far climbing from 16th to 10th since his arrival, and has had the opportunity to work with the current crop of players at Villa Park to determine his next moves in the upcoming transfer window.

He recently spoke to Birmingham Live to offer an insight to his plans for January;

“In terms of the January window, there’s obviously conversations at Villa and there always will be behind the scenes identifying areas where we can improve.”

Time to go

One player who is expected to be axed in the winter transfer window is striker, Wesley Moraes, who has been on loan at Club Brugge for the first half of the season, struggling to make an impact on the Belgian side with no goals or assists in his seven appearances.

The centre forward suffered a horrific ACL injury back in January 2020, when he was playing for Aston Villa, which saw him injured for almost 18 months, making his return in April 2021, and being sent out on loan to Club Brugge a few months later.

He is now linked with a move to one of two Brazilian clubs, Sao Paolo or Internacional, who are both rumoured to be interested in the £35K-p/w gem and it could really be a blessing in disguise for Gerrard, as he will be looking to free up funds so that he can spend on players he wants to add into his Aston Villa team of the future.

Rumours of a replacement

Gabriel Barbosa, better known as Gabigol, has been heavily linked with Aston Villa and a number of other Premier League clubs for that matter, including Newcastle United, West Ham, Arsenal and Everton.

The Flamengo forward has offered a much better output in his most recent season for his club compared to Villa flop, Wesley, with an impressive 29 goals and nine assists in 43 appearances, and has quite rightly grabbed the attention of Premier League clubs desperate to add goals and creativity to their side.

Flamengo legend, Zico, claimed Gabigol “has everything” in an interview: “I think Gabigol has everything to be the greatest striker in Flamengo’s history.”

Reports suggest that the goal machine would costs around £17m, but with the competition so broad across a number of Premier League clubs rumoured to be interested in securing Gabigol’s signature, it could be a battle of the highest bidder.

The Villa boss would surely welcome a striker with the volume of goals Barbosa has scored for his Rio De Janeiro based club at Villa Park, as he continues to attempt to climb the Premier League table in the second half of the season, in the hopes he will be able to repair the damage done before his arrival to the club last month.

In other news: Gerrard dealt a blow in securing transfer target

Ricky Ponting was the man who asked for the reviews that preceded Mark Benson’s exit from the Adelaide Test

Brydon Coverdale at Adelaide Oval08-Dec-2009

Ricky Ponting was the man who asked for the reviews that preceded Mark Benson’s exit from the Adelaide Test, and after the match finished he said he would ask the remaining officials for their thoughts on the system. Benson was expected to announce his retirement on Tuesday after returning to England, having officiated for only the first day of the Test.The ICC has denied that his departure was directly caused by his decisions being queried, including one caught-behind appeal that Ponting was convinced was out and was overturned by the third umpire Asad Rauf. Ponting said he still supported the review system and was keen to speak to Rauf and Ian Gould following the controversy.”The thing I want to do is to have a chat with the umpires and see what their views and opinions are on the whole system,” Ponting said. “That’s the important thing. Sometimes important people can be overlooked in some of these rule-changing decisions that are brought in. I’m going to speak to the umpires who were officiating in this game tonight and get their opinions on it all.”That’s what I want to find out from them. I want to see how they are going with it all. It’s one thing for the players to accept these changes and technology, but it’s another thing from the umpires. I want to get the overall feeling from them as to how they think it’s going.”Despite wasting both his reviews early in West Indies’ second innings and being left to rue his hastiness later on, Ponting said the system could still have a positive effect on Test cricket. However, he said it would take some time to get used to reviewing on-field decisions, just as it had been an ongoing learning process dealing with one-day changes like Powerplays.”Ideally with a lot of those rule changes and things that we’ve brought into 50-over cricket over the last couple of years you’d like to have trialled them elsewhere,” he said. “I think there’s still some refinement that can be done with the technology that’s used [in reviews].”That’s the big thing with it all. If you’re going to go into something like this you’ve got to go in 100% and use whatever you can to make the system work its best. We’re all still coming to terms with it and the more we play with it and learn about it and experience it the more we’ll probably appreciate it.”One man who doesn’t appreciate the system is the West Indies captain Chris Gayle. He was scathing of the review process after the Gabba Test, and remained unconvinced following the Adelaide draw. “I still stand firm,” Gayle said. “It’s just complicated.”

Joe Denly’s impressive 217 set up a dominant day for the England Performance Programme (EPP) as they hammered home the advantage against the Titans at the LC de Villiers Oval

Cricinfo staff10-Dec-2009England Performance Programme 425 for 9 (Denly 217, Tredwell 70) and 44 for 1 lead Titans 235 (du Plessis 124*, Shahzad 4-37) by 234 runs
ScorecardJoe Denly starred for EPP in Pretoria•AFPJoe Denly’s impressive 217 set up a dominant day for the England Performance Programme (EPP) as they hammered home the advantage against the Titans at the LC de Villiers Oval.Denly has had a difficult time in South Africa until now, failing to make an impact his two outings in the Twenty20 series, but after rescuing EPP from 133 for six to end up 188 not out on day one, he reached 217 on the second morning before falling to Imran Tahir’s leg-spin.He struck for 26 boundaries and four sixes in his 295-ball stay and lifted EPP to 425 for nine before Andrew Gale’s declaration put the Titans in.It was an important innings for Denly, who lost his spot in England’s one-day team to Jonathan Trott at the top of the order. Though Alastair Cook is England’s established Test opener, there remain doubts about his ability to deliver against the best teams and Denly could be next in line if he falters.Amjal Shazad, the Yorkshire paceman, and Sajid Mahmood then made inroads with a hostile new-ball spell. The Titans’ top-three batsmen were all dismissed without scoring and three more wickets fell quickly as the Titans slipped to 60 for 6. They were rescued by a fine, unbeaten hundred from captain Francois du Plessis, who also plays for Lancashire. His counter-attacking 124 came off 162 deliveries and lifted the home side to 235.Shazad cleaned up the tail to end with 4 for 37 while Mahmood’s 3 for 51 was a timely reminder to the England selectors of what they could be missing in the Test series.EPP took their 190-run first-innings lead up to 234 as they reached 44 for one in their second innings.

Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey turned out for Jamaica in the week but had to be withdrawn in the final stages.

Rumours surfaced on social media suggesting he needed work on his hamstring after being replaced, however, Birmingham Live claimed that he was only suffering from slight cramp.

And a number of Villa fans have been reacting to that injury update on social media.

Bailey, who cost £28.8m over the summer, has started just two of Villa’s 10 Premier League games so far and has been out due to injury in five of those.

But it appears as if he could be in contention to feature in Steven Gerrard’s first game in charge this weekend against Brighton, with his injury issue for his country thought to be minor.

Villa fans react

The AVFC Faithful tweeted late on Tuesday evening regarding the rumours on Bailey’s hamstring issue but then shared the news on it being cramp.

This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply to the correction…

“How is this guy never fit”

Credit: @morley_kev

“Still. rest this man until he’s 100 percent. Sheesh”

Credit: @myburneraccou11

“Damn, I wouldn’t be surprised if he misses the game on Saturday now”

Credit: @VillaFiend

“I have a sad feeling that this may be the norm with Bailey.”

Credit: @TotalRankers

“He seems to get a few of those. What with him and Traore, I hope that we don’t go within a million miles of Winston McKennie. Good players all, but if they are rarely available, not a lot of good to us”

Credit: @thetrees80

“Phew”

Credit: @tom_avfc1

In other news: ‘Excited’ – Many Villa fans rejoice as Gerrard reveals ‘one thing’ he wants. 

The Indian cricket board will no longer use the services of IMG following a disagreement over payments for the league’s second season in South Africa

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Aug-2009The Indian cricket board will no longer use the services of IMG, the sports management firm, for conducting the IPL, following a disagreement over payments for the league’s second season in South Africa.N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, conveyed the decision to Andrew Wildblood, the IMG vice-president, on Friday through a letter in which he explained that the Indian board’s working committee felt that IMG’s fee was “disproportionate to the service rendered”. Srinivasan did not disclose IMG’s fee for conducting and managing the IPL’s second season but claimed that the BCCI has paid Rs 42.92 crore to the firm for the first edition in 2008.Srinivasan claimed in the letter that he and Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president, had met Wildblood in London in June for negotiations on the issue and had asked IMG to submit a fresh fee proposal before the BCCI’s next working committee on August 13. IMG failed to do so, Srinivasan claimed in the letter and concluded: “Therefore, please note that BCCI has taken a decision not to use IMG service anymore for the IPL tournament.”When contacted, Srinivasan and Wildblood neither confirmed nor denied the development. “I would refrain from making a comment,” Srinivsan said. “I am not able to make any comment at this time,” Wildblood said. Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, declined to comment too.The IPL franchises were informed about the decision only on Saturday morning through a separate email sent by league officials, a franchise official confirmed.Sources in the IPL governing council said they expected IMG to drag the Indian board to court over the issue, but the latest development is on expected lines as the payment to the sports management firm was a matter of debate within the BCCI last year too. One section of officials claimed that the fee was exorbitant and argued that IMG’s role was over once the tournament was launched. Others have pointed to the crucial role played by the firm in conceptualizing, implementing and managing the league that has been widely acknowledged as a huge success; this is a view that has been backed by many franchise officials, one of whom said his team would always prefer to have independent professionals managing the IPL..

Queens Park Rangers will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they welcome Nottingham Forest to Loftus Road for their Championship clash this evening.

The Hoops are without a victory in their last two outings in all competitions after a last-minute defeat against Peterborough United was followed by a penalty shoot-out loss at the hands of Sunderland last time out.

Misses from Charlie Austin, Ilias Chair and Yoann Barbet saw the capital club get knocked out of the Carabao Cup last-16 in midweek after their League One opponents held them to a goalless draw in the 90 minutes.

Manager Mark Warburton made several alterations for the Tuesday night encounter, though, and the experienced tactician is likely to recall multiple key names for the visit of Forest.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects the 59-year-old to line up in a few hours’ time, with six changes from the side that started against the Black Cats…

In goal, first-choice shot-stopper Seny Dieng is set to keep his place between the sticks despite keeping just four clean sheets in his 16 appearances this season.

Ahead of the Senegal international is likely to be a familiar back three, with Barbet and Rob Dickie partnering the returning Jimmy Dunne to complete QPR’s defensive unit.

However, Warburton is expected the wring the changes in the midfield. He handed out chances to Osman Kakay and Luke Amos against Sunderland, while Moses Odubajo also featured from the off.

But the trio are set to be replaced by Dominic Ball, Albert Adomah and Sam McCallum, with club captain Stefan Johansen completing the engine room.

The promising Chris Willock is also set to take a place on the bench, allowing Ilias Chair to return to his preferred No.10 position, and the £3.6m-rated Andre Gray is set to follow suit, allowing Scotland international Lyndon Dykes to partner Charlie Austin up front.

And, in other news…Lost possession 22x: QPR lightweight who won 0 duels let Warburton down vs Sunderland 

John Crawley has become the latest former England player to announce his retirement in recent days and will end his career at the end of the current season

Cricinfo staff08-Aug-2009John Crawley, one of the most prolific batsmen in county cricket for nearly two decades, has become the latest former England player to announce his retirement in recent days and will end his career at the close of the season.Crawley, 37, has been at Hampshire since 2002 having spent the first 12 years of his career at Lancashire. Before the current Championship match, against his former county, he had 24,328 first-class runs at 46.60 to go alongside 8681 runs in one-day cricket.After scoring more than 10,000 runs for Lancashire he managed to transfer his skills to the spicy Rose Bowl surface and made his career-best score of 311 not out, against Nottinghamshire, on the ground in 2005.”I have enjoyed a fantastic career at the top of the game for over 20 years, meeting some amazing people and collecting some incredible experiences along the way,” Crawley said. “However, I have now realised that the time has come to close this particular chapter of my life and have decided to retire at the end of this season.”I am particularly pleased to have been able to see out my career at such a fantastic club as Hampshire. The last thing I want to do is stand in the way of that talent. I would like to thank Rod [Bransgrove, the chairman], Giles [White, the coach] and the rest of the playing, coaching and support staff for all their fantastic support. Finally I would like to thank all the members and supporters who have followed me throughout my career.”Crawley struggled to replicate his consistent and heavy domestic scoring onto the Test arena and averaged 34.61 during a 37-match career after making his debut, prematurely, against South Africa in 1994. His top score of 156 not out came against Sri Lanka, at The Oval, in 1998 and his final Test was against Australia, at Sydney, in 2003.He joins former England team-mates Mark Butcher and Andy Caddick in announcing their retirements in the last week.

Former Aston Villa assistant John Terry is in the frame to take over at Villa Park, should Dean Smith lose his job over the international break, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Another Newcastle target?

Terry left the club over the summer to focus on becoming a manager. However, as we know, he is yet to land his first position as a boss.

He was recently linked with the Newcastle job, similar to another reported Villa target Paulo Fonseca – Eddie Howe looks likely to arrive on Tyneside, so the Villans could now have a free run at either of those names.

Smith’s position at Bodymoor Heath is thought to be in ‘serious jeopardy’, and it seems as if Terry is another target NSWE have in mind.

The Latest: Terry links

According to a report from Football Insider on Thursday afternoon, Villa will sound out Terry for a possible return if they part ways with Smith.

A Villa source informed the site that Smith will be fighting for his job if Villa suffer a fifth defeat in a row against Southampton on Friday evening, and even a win could just delay the inevitable.

The Verdict: A big gamble…

Terry reportedly still has a very strong relationship with Villa chief Christian Purslow, but if Villa decide to move for the 40-year-old to possibly replace Smith, it could be a huge gamble.

As mentioned, he has no experience in management, with his only coaching position coming alongside Smith at Villa Park.

On that basis, it could be a big ask to expect Terry to turn things around, compared to another target like Fonseca, who has a proven record in a number of leagues and a clear 3-4-2-1 style which wowed Pep Guardiola.

In other news: ‘Hate this club’ – Lots of AVFC fans fume at ‘disappointing’ Chukwuemeka news.