Tottenham Hotspur are on the verge of making another addition this transfer window…

What’s the word?

With just a week left to go, it appears that Fabio Paratici and co are close to sealing a fourth signing in young Metz midfielder Pape Matar Sarr.

Renowned Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano took to Twitter to announce:

“Pape Sarr to Tottenham, agreement reached and here-we-go. Deal set to be completed for €15m fee, personal terms agreed on verbal basis waiting for contracts to be signed.”

This came as an update to his report from yesterday, where he said:

“Deal at final stages for talented midfielder Pape Sarr to Tottenham from Metz. The verbal agreement has been reached between the two clubs – now discussing on Sarr staying on loan at Metz until June 2022. Talks ongoing on personal terms. Details still to be sorted.”

The 18-year-old talent is expected to cost in the region of £14m and he is likely to stay with the Ligue 1 outfit before heading to north London next summer.

One for the future

It seems as if the Lilywhites are planning for the long-term with this move – and quite rightly so.

Spurs boss Nuno Santo is awash with plenty of options in the engine room right now, with Oliver Skipp, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Dele Alli his preference right now.

He also has the likes of Giovani Lo Celso and Harry Winks available from the bench, whilst there’s even Tanguy Ndombele and Moussa Sissoko still on the books despite mooted moves away.

Indeed, Sarr could be the long-term successor to either but perhaps more so to the 31-year-old, who has to be running out of time in the capital.

The veteran Frenchman has regressed over the past 12 to 18 months – as per WhoScored, Sissoko averaged 1.4 dribbles per game during the 2019/20 campaign but that halved to 0.7 in 2020/21 and similarly, his key passes per game dropped by 0.4. Furthermore, he also managed far fewer tackles.

Described as “quite a versatile player” who “plays the box-to-box role” by French football expert Adam White to Football FanCast, the rising Metz prodigy could well take the reigns from Sissoko in a year’s time.

Sarr enjoyed a breakthrough last season, playing 26 times in all competitions, including full-length appearances against Mauricio Pochettino’s big-spending Paris Saint-Germain and title winners Lille.

The teenager has been likened to Miralem Pjanic and been lauded as a player who’s “got everything”, and his performances would certainly reinforce that.

He averaged two tackles, 1.2 interceptions, 0.8 dribbles and 0.7 key passes per league game last term, via WhoScored. All of which clearly exceed Sissoko’s returns.

Nuno and Paratici could finally axe the dwindling Frenchman by signing Sarr.

This latest and exciting breakthrough is sure to leave many around N17 absolutely buzzing.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Ndombele: Paratici could find Spurs’ next Dembele in £26m “outstanding talent”…

Everton have reportedly submitted a bid for Rangers defender Nathan Patterson, and it would be a huge blow for Steven Gerrard if the 19-year-old were to depart Ibrox this summer.

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic, the Toffees made a bid for the teenager last week, with Rafa Benitez looking to add to his right-back options at Goodison Park.

It has been previously suggested that Rangers may be forced to sell key players this summer in order to balance the books but thus far we have only seen fringe players such as George Edmundson and Jordan Jones depart.

The likes of Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Glen Kamara had been touted as potential options to leave but as it stands, Rangers are yet to receive an acceptable bid for any of those players, so they may be forced to consider an offer from Everton if they meet the Gers’ valuation for Patterson.

Would it be a blow to lose Patterson?

Despite only making 17 appearances in his first-team career at Rangers, Patterson is highly regarded at Ibrox.

The teenage defender came into the side last season when James Tavernier was injured and he seriously impressed with his performances, to the extent where some Rangers fans were calling for him to start ahead of the captain at right-back.

His displays were enough to convince Scotland manager Steve Clarke to include him in his Euro 2020 squad, and whilst the 19-year-old is yet to make an appearance for his country, he looks to have a huge future with the Tartan Army.

Rangers’ head of academy Craig Mulholland was full of praise for Patterson last season, saying: “Nathan has been fantastic for us this year.

“Again, we started the project five, six, years ago to get a level of player that we felt could go and compete in the Europa League, could go and compete in Old Firm games.

“And if you go and look at Nathan in the last 16 of the Europa League, if you look at him in the Old Firm game, it’s a great example for all the young players in here of what we’re trying to achieve.”

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Therefore, the vast majority of those involved with Rangers will surely be desperate for Patterson to stay at the club this summer and it would be a huge blow for Gerrard to lose him, but it may be difficult to turn Everton down if they come in with a serious offer.

In other news… Jordan Campbell reveals injury update on “superhuman” Rangers gem, fans will be gutted

ScorecardSri Lanka ensured that they made the most of a rain-hit third day, as Chamara Kapugedera reached 150 to guide his side to a dominating 564 for 4. Zimbabwe’s bowlers were spared further punishment when the rain came tumbling down shortly after lunch.Only 38 overs were possible, and Zimbabwe’s bowlers only managed to pick one wicket which again demonstrated the enormous gulf in class between the two sides. With the first ODI only six days away, Sri Lanka are looking in ruthless form.That trend continued today. Kapugedera was unbeaten on 117 at the start of the day and added went on to reach 150, joining Kumar Sangakkara in reaching the milestone. In all, he cracked 14 fours and two sixes before retiring himself, content with a decent workout in the middle.Zimbabwe broke through when Prosper Utseya had Jehan Mubarak caught behind for 22, but not before Kandamby had stroked 55 from 116 balls to extend Sri Lanka’s lead past the 400 mark. Further play was possible after the rain fell, but with pools of water on the outfield, the umpires were forced to call play off 25 minutes early and more poor weather is forecast for the final day tomorrow.

New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder has contracted a mystery illness ahead of the first Test against Australia starting November 20 in Brisbane. He has been quarantined from his teammates and placed on an intravenous drip

Cricinfo staff14-Nov-2008
Jesse Ryder was confined to the team hotel missing out on the second day of the tour game against New South Wales © Getty Images
New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder has contracted a mystery illness ahead of the first Test against Australia starting next Thursday in Brisbane. Ryder has been quarantined from his team-mates and placed on an intravenous drip.With Brendon McCullum also struggling with a back problem, New Zealand have called up two reserves with Peter Fulton and Gareth Hopkins flying out to join the squad.Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand manager, said Ryder was vomiting before and after batting in the first innings of the tour game against New South Wales at the SCG on Thursday. He was attended by the doctor on duty at the ground soon afterwards, who recommended the illness should be treated as viral.”He woke up yesterday feeling unwell and being ill,” Crocker told . “We quarantined him, basically, took him back to the hotel. He’s not eating so we rehydrated him. He spent the night quietly and he’s woken up this morning not feeling a good deal better which is a little concerning because we hoped it had run through by now.”Ryder was confined to the team hotel on Friday morning and did not take the field for New South Wales’ innings, with the allrounder Grant Elliott acting as a substitute. But Crocker said Ryder’s illness did not yet place him in doubt for the first Test, although there would be major worries if the symptoms continued through the weekend.”It’s run for a day-and-a-half now and he was vomiting again this morning. That’s the concern. That time away from eating means he’s starting to lose a bit of condition. It’s not alarming yet but we want to get him right quickly.”Other New Zealand players had also reported upset stomachs on Friday, though not enough to sideline them. “There’s a bit of diarrhoea amongst the group but no one’s reported in sick beyond that,” Crocker said. “We’re keeping careful watch in case it’s something that spreads.”Ryder made his Test debut in New Zealand’s most recent Test series in Bangladesh. He scored 169 runs in the two matches at 56.33, including 91 in the first innings of the second Test in Dhaka.New South Wales also had similar concerns on the first day of the tour match when the spinner Beau Casson was sidelined by food poisoning. New Zealand play two Tests in Australia before they host West Indies for two Tests, two Twenty internationals and five ODIs.

An update has emerged on Ederson and Gabriel Jesus, regarding their availability for Manchester City this weekend. 

What’s the talk?

According to Sky Sports, Manchester City are set to be without both Ederson and Gabriel Jesus for their clash with Leicester in the Premier League this weekend.

The report claims that FIFA are poised to hand five-day bans to players whose clubs blocked them from playing for Brazil due to Covid restrictions, at the request of the Brazilian FA.

Pep will be fuming

Pep Guardiola will surely be left fuming by this news as it means that two of his key players will have to miss out on the game against Leicester. The Spanish head coach’s team will be weakened due to issues that are out of his, or the player’s, control and that will be frustrating for everyone involved.

Man City only had two options; block the players from playing or allow them to play and have them miss 10 days through quarantine upon their return. Either way, given the subsequent action, it would have resulted in Ederson and Jesus missing the game against Leicester due to the Brazilian FA’s request.

The report claims that FIFA remains in talks with the UK government over an exemption to the 10-day quarantine coming back from certain countries, but that is with future international breaks in mind rather than with a view to rectifying the current issues.

Guardiola will be livid that two key players are out of Saturday’s clash. Ederson is his number one goalkeeper and has won the Premier League Golden Glove in each of the past two seasons, suggesting that he has been the best player in his position in the division during that period.

Jesus, meanwhile, has one goal and three assists in two Premier League starts for City this season, averaging a superb WhoScored rating of 7.85. This means that Guardiola will be without an in-form forward for the clash with Leicester.

Whilst frustrating, it is something ManCity are seemingly going to have to deal with for this match. They will then need to hope that the problems can be resolved ahead of the October and November international breaks, or else Edersona and Jesus may be in trouble again.

AND in other news, 73% duels won: Man City dynamo with 120 touches will have wowed Pep with performance…

MatériaMais Notícias

Em oitavo lugar no Campeonato Brasileiro, com dez pontos em sete rodadas, o Cruzeiro conta com o reforço do atacante Sassá para subir na tabela. Pelo menos foi o que demonstrou o discurso do comandante Mano Menezes após a derrota de 1 a 0 para o Corinthians, na última quarta-feira, pela sétima rodada.

O técnico exaltou a contratação do jovem de 23 anos e já projetou a estreia do novo cruzeirense, que não joga desde o último dia 02 de maio. Ele crê que o ex-atacante do Botafogo esteja pronto para jogar em cerca de 15 dias. Assim, é possível imaginar que ele jogue no clássico com o Atlético-MG, no dia 02/07, ou na quarta-feira anterior, 28/06, data que deve ser reservada para o duelo com o Palmeiras, em São Paulo, pela ida das quartas de final da Copa do Brasil.

-Foi uma boa aquisição do Cruzeiro. Acho que vamos conseguir trabalhar juntamente com o jogador para direcionar bem, colocar a cabeça no lugar, trabalhar bastante. Acho que ele precisa de condição física melhor, pois estava há 30 dias sem jogar e as condições ainda não são adequadas para jogar na segunda-feira – comentou Mano Menezes.

-Precisamos um pouco mais (de tempo). Talvez 15 dias seja o prazo ideal para ele poder atender às expectativas que são criadas na contratação de um jogador. Se você coloca em campo antes da hora, ele não vai bem e a contratação passa a ser contestada. E tudo que não pode é a contratação ser contestada – completou Menezes.

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Rangers’ Ianis Hagi produced a superb display for Romania in their World Cup qualifying game at the weekend, which will surely delight Steven Gerrard ahead of his return to Ibrox.

The 22-year-old started on the left wing for his country as they faced Liechtenstein in a Group J fixture and he provided the assist for Romania’s second goal as they ran out 2-0 winners.

As per SofaScore, the former KRC Genk man would earn an impressive 7.9/10 rating for his performance, with only Razvan Marin (8.0) rated higher of all the players from both sides to feature in the game.

Hagi was regularly involved during his 80 minutes on the pitch, completing three dribbles and 31/40 of his passes, resulting in a solid 78% pass accuracy.

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For comparison, Romania’s right-winger Andrei Cordea would complete none of his three attempted dribbles and played one fewer pass than Hagi, despite playing the full 90 minutes.

The Rangers man also impressively played three key passes and created one big chance during the game, with his quality and creativity with the ball clear to see as Mirel Rădoi’s side earned an important three points in their World Cup qualification hopes.

Hagi won the young player of the season award at Rangers last season and has two goals for the Teddy Bears so far this campaign, so Gerrard and the Rangers supporters should definitely be excited by his potential.

The 41-year-old manager was full of praise for the young winger in 2020 after he inspired a comeback in the Europa League, saying:

“Ianis is an outstanding talent and that stage was made for him.”

Therefore, Gerrard will no doubt be delighted to see him impressing for his country during the international break and he will be hoping that he can continue his fine recent form when Rangers face St Johnstone this weekend.

And, in other news… Manager drops worrying transfer claim on “fantastic” Rangers ace

According to Spanish news outlet IDEAL (via Sport Witness), Tottenham Hotspur are expected to lodge a bid to sign Granada defender Domingos Duarte as contact is initiated with the player.

The Lowdown: Spurs in defensive overhaul?

So far, Spurs managing director Fabio Paratici has overseen the arrivals of Pierluigi Gollini, Bryan Gil and Cristian Romero in north London but only the latter man comes as a much-needed defensive addition.

Reports indicate that the Lilywhites wish to add another defender and provide manager Nuno Espirito Santo with some strength in depth.

The likes of Nikola Milenkovic (now staying at Fiorentina) and Takehiro Tomiyasu have been heavily linked to Spurs with news now emerging of another target.

The Latest: Spurs expected to make Duarte bid…

As per IDEAL, Tottenham are now expected to make an initial offer of around €10 million (£8.5m) for the 26-year-old and they have even made contact to sound out the player.

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Nuno is said to be personally behind this possible move as he knows Duarte well and is reportedly looking for alternative defensive signings so he can use a back three formation.

However, Spurs’ expected opening offer will only scratch the surface of his alleged €30m (£25.7m) release clause and Granada are likely to stick to that fee.

The Verdict: Move on…

Starting 27 games for the La Liga side last season, Duarte didn’t exactly blow on-lookers away with his numbers.

While a key player for Granada according to this report, averaging the third-most clearances per 90 out of their entire squad over 2020/2021, he doesn’t do much better than that.

Almost every Spurs defender managed a higher rate of successful tackles and aerial duels won last season with the 6 foot 4 powerhouse hardly being a standout statistically (WhoScored).

If Paratici has to pay a £25.7m clause, we believe he could aim slightly higher than Duarte as he seeks to bolster Nuno’s squad.

In other news: ‘Getting closer’…Spurs now advancing in talks to sign ‘machine of a player’, find out more here.

Despite his side’s poor year, on and off the field, Bermuda’s coach Gus Logie is nevertheless encouraged by the proposed groupings for next year’s World Cup qualifiers and remains optimistic that Bermuda can qualify for the 2011 tournament

Cricinfo staff21-Dec-2008Despite his side’s poor year, on and off the field, Bermuda’s coach Gus Logie is nevertheless encouraged by the proposed groupings for next year’s World Cup qualifiers and remains optimistic that Bermuda can qualify for the 2011 tournament.Bermuda made their debut in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and are alongside top Kenya, Netherlands, Denmark, and the UAE for next April’s qualifiers.”We feel comfortable being in the group that we are in,” Logie told the The top four countries advance to the 2011 World Cup while the top six are each awarded full ODI status.”We haven’t discussed the World Cup qualifying groupings as a team. But I amcertain that our players will feel comfortable as well in the knowledge thatwe have already beaten some of those teams in our group.”And I think that if we can play to our full potential we can beat themagain.”Bermuda were roundly thrashed in last year’s World Cup, beaten comprehensively by Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. 2008 has been a difficult year, too, with allegations of drug misuse and they finished bottom of the ICC Intercontinental Cup which was won by Ireland.

The chairman of the ECB, Giles Clarke, has given a strong indication that England could take on Scotland for a 20-over match a few weeks before the ICC World Twenty20 this summer

Cricinfo staff14-Jan-2009
Giles Clarke has spoken with Scotland’s first minister, Alex Salmond, about cricket in the country © Getty Images
The chairman of the ECB, Giles Clarke, has given a strong indication that England could take on Scotland for a 20-over match a few weeks before the ICC World Twenty20 this summer.England’s first match of the tournament gets underway on June 5 against the Netherlands, but Clarke intimated that teams will need sufficient practice ahead of the event, with England tackling Scotland possibly on June 2 or 3.”Almost certainly Scotland will have a warm-up game with England, probably at Trent Bridge,” Clarke told the . “If I were allowed to bet – which I’m not – I’d expect a big travelling support for the Scots.”England have only faced Scotland once in an ODI – last August in Edinburgh, a match blighted by the summer’s gloomy mizzle – and Clarke, whose mother was born in Glasgow, spoke of the need for Scottish cricket to gain a greater foothold. A permanent ground with adequate seating is one such area in which they could improve.”Telling extremely able people who know Scottish cricket better than me what to do is the last thing on my mind. However, as someone who likes to consider themselves a friend of Scottish cricket, there are benefits to be gained if the right steps are put in place,” he said. “I realise it is not the economic environment in which to develop a stadium but it is the right climate in which to have a building contract. Establishing a strong ground would help take the Saltires deeper into the [English] county structure which is necessary to move them forward and they have already come a long way in the short time they’ve been playing regular fixtures.”The shorter the format the greater chance of a more level playing field and Twenty20 fixtures, perhaps against Durham, would help demonstrate crowd appeal. That would mean a [Scottish] economic base to get the sponsorship that drives youth athletes down the road to becoming professionals.”It will require a quantum leap of faith and although I’m not a political person I do know [first minister] Alex Salmond is a cricket fanatic whose father has told me how he travelled by train to Lord’s in 1938 to watch Wally Hammond make a double century against the touring Australians.”I have spent a day with Alex Salmond and my hope is he is in a position to get an argument across for more [government] support of clubs provided they cater for all ages and genders.”Scotland have shown definite improvement as an Associate nation and, along with Ireland, are beginning to show that British Associate cricket is in a healthy state.”They compete particularly well at Twenty20 and one day international level because they are fit, give little away in the field and are very, very tough,” Clarke said. “There’s no reason why similar goals should not be achievable by Scotland and with the ethnic groups preferring cricket to football there is an opportunity to go forward with them on board which should also be appealing in terms of integrating communities.”