Taking the job following the dismissal of Michael Beale, new Rangers manager Philippe Clement has the task of turning things around at Ibrox, with the club already seven points behind the Scottish Premiership leaders.

The new boss has some task on his hands when it comes to repairing the damage already done to the Gers' campaign. And, when the January transfer window comes around, he could make his mark on the side. The winter window could yet see some departures from the Scottish giants, however, with one club reportedly eyeing one particular Rangers player.

What's the latest Rangers transfer news?

Beale welcomed a number of arrivals in the summer, before watching on as his side struggled to find form in both the Scottish Premiership and Europe. In total, Rangers' summer spending reportedly reached the €16m (£14m) mark, with the likes of Danilo and Sam Lammers coming through the Ibrox doors.

Player

Price

Danilo

€6m (£5m)

Cyriel Dessers

€5m (£4m)

Sam Lammers

€3.5m (£3m)

Jose Cifuentes

€1m (£870k)

Dujon Sterling

Free

Kieran Dowell

Free

Jack Butland

Free

Leon Balogun

Free

Abdallah Sima

Loan

One of those arrivals could already be heading for the exit door, though, with the latest Jack Butland transfer news claiming that the goalkeeper has attracted the interest of Birmingham City. According to The Sun, new Birmingham boss Wayne Rooney wants to sign the goalkeeper, who started his career at the Blues and is his first-choice target.

The Championship club may be forced to wait until next summer to secure Butland's services, as they bid farewell to current goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, who is reportedly one of their big earners. Having only recently signed Butland, Rangers will be keen to keep hold of their number one, particularly after he has made a strong start to life in Scotland, starting every game.

How has Jack Butland performed this season?

Amid Rangers' poor start this season, the goalkeeper has been one of the few bright sparks, and Butland's clean sheets, keeping seven in 16 games in all competitions, have helped to make his transition at the club fairly seamless. As a result, the shot-stopper has earned deserved praise, including from former manager Beale, who said:

"It was a wonderful goal and after that we were unfortunate not to go and score one or two more. I have to say Jack Butland was outstanding tonight too and that's why we have recruited him."

From Clement's perspective, he will be hoping to keep hold of as many key players as possible, as he looks to take a struggling Rangers side back into title contention, whether that be this season or the next. The former AS Monaco manager certainly has a big task on his hands, but keeping hold of Butland could make things far easier when it comes to battling for results. If Birmingham come calling, then those at Ibrox may look to do everything in their power to keep hold of their current number one, handing Clement a major boost at his new club, in the process.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the INEOS group are likely to retain the services of current Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag beyond the 2023-24 season.

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• Man Utd could keep Erik ten Hag as manager
• Decision to be taken by new board
• Man Utd next face Brentford on Saturday

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  As per , the new Manchester United co-owner and the director of sports at INEOS, Sir Dave Brailsford, are considering keeping Ten Hag as the club's manager beyond the current season after he guided them to a memorable win over rivals Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

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  The situation, though, could change if Dan Ashworth joins the club from Newcastle United next season as their sporting director. Ashworth and newly appointed CEO Omar Berrada – who joined from Manchester City – are likely to call the shots regarding the football team.

• WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

  Quoting a source, wrote: "Making big calls without consulting the experts is not what Sir Dave does. If anything, he will ask too many people’s opinions. Delegating to the right people is his thing. He is fully aware Ashworth and Berrada know better than he does whether Ten Hag is right for Manchester United. Transforming how major decisions are made is really what he is there for."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  The Dutch manager has his work cut out as he will be aiming to guide the Red Devils to a top-four finish this season to qualify for the Champions League. If he fails to do so, the officials may consider removing him from his position. For now, Ten Hag will remain focused on his duties at Old Trafford, with United next in action on Saturday in a crucial Premier League match against Brentford.

Everton will look to bolster their ranks when the transfer window opens up this coming January, with the Toffees rumoured already to be in for a Manchester City outsider…

Who could Everton sign in January?

Sean Dyche recruited a number of new bodies in the summer to Merseyside, namely the additions of both Beto and Chermiti – the two Portuguese attackers joining the club for around an estimated £30m per Transfermarkt.

The Toffees have also bought shrewdly, utilising the free transfer market with signings such as the experienced Ashley Young coming in for free whilst loaning in Arnaut Danjuma and Jack Harrison to add more quality down the wings.

Rumours now suggest that Everton could be circling for a new man in central midfield, new prospective owners in 777 Partners enabling the Toffees to spend in January where funds have been tight before.

Their man could well be Kalvin Phillips, once a "monster" in a Leeds United shirt – as per Yannick Bolasie – the 27-year-old will hope a move away from Manchester City to Merseyside can kickstart his career again.

Rumours are even suggesting his ex-club in Leeds could be sniffing about, Daily Telegraph journalist Luke Edwards commenting on what would be an "ideal move" for the current frustrated midfielder on the BBC's Football Gossip Daily if he was to pack his bags and move back to Elland Road.

But, if Phillips was to join Everton – with the Toffees and Newcastle interested in his signature – as per the i – current midfield man for Everton in Idrissa Gueye could be sweating about his immediate future with the Premier League club.

How good is Kalvin Phillips?

£42m man Phillips might well have been reduced to a player on the periphery at Man City – only playing 70 minutes in total this campaign off the bench for the Premier League champions – but there's a reason why Pep Guardiola wanted to bring Phillips to the Etihad in the first place.

Phillips burst onto the scene as an exciting, young talent with Leeds and blossomed into a pivotal part of the successful Marcelo Bielsa's teams of recent memory – epitomising the Argentine manager's need for an energetic man in the centre of the park, able to spray passes with ease to help his team push further up the pitch.

He would give Everton another midfield option to help them shore up more defensively, but also another midfielder who could drive the Toffees forward and contribute with a goal from time to time – Phillips netting 14 goals for Leeds across 234 appearances.

With the likes of Joe Garner, Andre Onana and Abdoulaye Doucoure impressing for Sean Dyche's men recently also – both Garner and Doucoure scoring in Everton's emphatic 3-0 win over AFC Bournemouth last time out at Goodison Park – Phillips would give the Toffees another star to slot into an already excellent midfield.

It could, however, signal the end for Idrissa Gueye with the Toffees who was lamented for a "really poor" mistake by Andy Townsend when Arsenal met Everton last term. Even this season, the former PSG man has been "wasteful" in possession.

Crucially, the Senegalese central midfielder isn't getting any younger at 34 years of age, and with an injury ruling him out of the victory versus AFC Bournemouth, it could see him fall down the pecking order in Merseyside especially if Phillips' move to Everton occurs in January.

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In more bowler-friendly conditions than Derbyshire’s last home match, the captain stood firm for four-and-a-half hours

ECB Reporters Network04-Sep-2018
ScorecardDerbyshire captain Billy Godleman continued his recent impressive run of form with 95 to steer his side to respectability on the opening day of the Division Two match against Glamorgan at Derby.Godleman, who had scored a century and 71 in his previous four innings, passed 4000 first-class runs for the county as Derbyshire made 251 with their former seamer Graham Wagg taking three wickets.Timm van der Gugten also claimed three wickets and in reply, Glamorgan were 20 without loss when bad light ended play early.Derbyshire’s previous home game had been a batting feast with more than 1300 runs scored but conditions here provided help for the bowlers throughout with the floodlights on from ball one.Given the overcast skies and a green tinged pitch, it was no surprise the toss was uncontested and Tom Lace had already been dropped in the slips before he shouldered arms and lost his off stump to one that came back a long way from van der Gugten.van der Gugten also saw Wayne Madsen put down at point before he had scored in the same over but he clipped Michael Hogan tamely to mid-wicket and when Alex Hughes was caught behind trying to withdraw his bat, Derbyshire were wobbling at 50 for 3.Godleman was beaten several times but showed typical determination along with an awareness of any movement in the media centre to ensure his team posted what looks a competitive total.Gary Wilson shared a stand of 52 but was lbw playing no shot to the last ball of the morning to give David Lloyd his 50th first-class wicket and Matt Critchley batted positively until he played across the line at Hogan.Kieran Bull, in his first game for three years, was rewarded for an impressive spell of controlled offspin when Harvey Hussein was lured down the pitch and after tea was taken early because of rain, former Derbyshire allrounder Wagg had Martin Andersson lbw on his Championship debut following his loan move from Middlesex.Godleman had been in for 270 minutes but with a century beckoning, he dabbed at a wide ball from Wagg and was caught behind.Wagg quickly pinned Lockie Ferguson lbw but Tony Palladino and Ravi Rampaul guided Derbyshire to an unlikely second batting point before Glamorgan were left with 13 overs to negotiate.It was always likely to be an awkward period for the openers but they survived six overs before bad light ended play with Glamorgan 231 runs behind.

CA’s team performance manager has been arguably the most debated figure in Australian cricket over the past seven years

Daniel Brettig24-Oct-2018Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s team performance chief, will not seek an extension to his current contract, meaning he will finish a tenure that began in the wake of the 2011 Argus review at the end of next year’s Ashes tour of England at the latest.Installed as a “single point of accountability for team performance” as one of the Argus review’s recommendations, Howard has been arguably the most debated figure in Australian cricket over the past seven years. He signed a contract extension in May last year to take his time at CA through to 2019, mirroring those of the former coach Darren Lehmann and his support staff. However, all faced a hailstorm of criticism in the wake of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, forcing Lehmann to resign immediately.While Howard’s team performance wing of CA is expected to face plenty of criticism in the independent cultural review of the governing body, commissioned in the wake of Newlands, he retorted to its facilitator Simon Longstaff that the performance of the men’s national team represented only “25%” of his job.”It’ll be interesting where that goes and I don’t know where that’s going. I haven’t had anything to do with it,” Howard told last month. “I’m in charge of men’s and women’s teams and underage teams so I guess if the environment had been the same everywhere … then I would have a different view, but I don’t think [problems] have been consistent across all the teams.”The cultural review did ask about that [win-at-all-costs culture] and I said I’m happy to give you my KPIs as a starting point. About 25 per cent is on outcomes, ie winning, and then there’s a lot of stuff in line with strategy and which is available freely. Don’t get me wrong, I want people to be the best they can be, me included, players, managers, all of us. But I don’t believe I have a win-at-all-costs culture. My proudest ever tour was the 2017 Indian tour, which we lost.”A CA spokesperson said Howard’s decision not to renew his contract, of which he has recently been informing CA and national team staff and players, was unrelated to the review’s imminent release. “Pat had previously indicated that he would not be seeking contract renewal beyond the end of the 2019 Ashes series, when his contract was due to conclude,” the spokesperson said. “The decision is his own and is no way connected to the reviews to be released on Monday. A recruitment process will be decided and announced in due course, but there is plenty of time for this to be considered.”Since joining CA from a rugby background in late 2011, Howard has been in almost perpetual motion in the job, trying many things while also developing a long list of critics. His innovations have included the return of bonus points to the Sheffield Shield and the trial of Dukes balls in the second half of recent seasons, the use of wellness apps to monitor the health of CA-contracted players, encouragement of increased management for fast bowlers to reduce their injury rate, moving the domestic limited-overs tournament to the front end of the season, and the use of the ICC academy in Dubai to prepare for a competitive showing on the 2017 India tour.Howard was also an advocate of introducing performance bonus pay to the national teams, as per the recommendations of the Argus review, during the 2012 MoU negotiation. The scheme remained in place for the current MoU, during which Howard and Sutherland completed compromise talks with the Australian Cricketers Association after the game was brought to a standstill by the players’ dispute with CA’s lead negotiator Kevin Roberts, who has since been named as the new chief executive.However he has faced criticism from numerous quarters of the game in Australia for the perceived marginalisation of the Sheffield Shield and limited-overs tournaments, and the perpetuation of a system geared towards finding great players at the expense of the merely very good. A famously combative character, he was recently revealed to have sent a scathing email to performance staff in the wake of a Test-match loss to Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2017.

The allrounder has picked up a side strain and will be replaced in the squad

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2018

Liam Dawson chats with the medical staff•Getty Images

Allrounder Liam Dawson has been ruled out* of the rest of England’s tour of Sri Lanka after suffering a side strain. Joe Denly, who is in the Test squad, has been called up as his replacement.Dawson, who has been in the XI for the opening two matches, sat out training on Monday, ahead of the third one-day international against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. After the injury was assessed by medical staff, the decision was taken to send him home, with PCA Players’ Player of the Year Denly coming out to Sri Lanka early.Denly has been preparing for his return to the England set-up after more than eight years, having been selected for the Test party following two impressive seasons with Kent in which his batting has been rejuvenated and his legspin a surprise success across the formats. He will arrive in Pallekele on Wednesday, hours before the third ODI, and could at some stage win his first one-day cap since the 2009 Champions Trophy.England have fielded three frontline spinners at the start of the series – Dawson joining Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid in the side – so unless Denly steps off the plane and straight into the side, it will likely mean a different balance and the chance for one of the other seamers to come into the team. Joe Root’s offspin could help cover for Dawson’s absence if required.Mark Wood, Tom Curran and Sam Curran have been carrying the drinks so far after England opted for a spin-heavy attack and also preferred Olly Stone to share the new ball with Chris Woakes.Dawson claimed one wicket in England’s victory in Dambulla, hustling through the overs alongside Moeen to ensure the 20-over mark was reached before rain arrived, meaning the result would stand without needing the reserve day. Early wickets for Woakes and Stone, during an impressive first spell at international level, had left Sri Lanka well behind the DLS target.There was an extra visitor to England’s training session on Tuesday when a cobra was spotted by groundstaff behind the pavilion. It was removed with the help of a drain pipe and a sack. England’s players had spent some of their downtime in Dambulla getting up close with local wildlife around their hotel and on safari – some posted on Instagram holding a python – but it’s unlikely many would be volunteering to get too close on this occasion.It isn’t the first time, however, that England’s cricketers have encountered snakes in Sri Lanka. On the 2007 tour, two were spotted on the boundary’s edge during a warm-up match in Colombo. Matthew Hoggard was among the players keen for a closer look that day.*6PM BST – This story was updated with news of Denly replacing Dawson

Disgraced former Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales claims he is facing prison time for kissing Jenni Hermoso “because he's a man”.

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Controversy sparked at 2023 World CupFaces charges of sexual assaultAlso at the centre of corruption investigationWHAT HAPPENED?

The 46-year-old sparked controversy at the 2023 Women’s World Cup final when planting a kiss onto the lips of ex-Barcelona star Hermoso as Spain celebrated capturing a global crown. He faces charges of sexual assault as a result of the non consensual clinch, while he is also being accused of coercion following supposed attempts to get Hermoso to speak out in his defence.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT RUBIALES SAID

Rubiales has told of ‘kissgate’ and why he feels unfairly singled out: “I have a clear conscience. Things have become crazy. A small thing has gone on to devour a person. I wanted to be calm and get out of the spotlight. False feminism? What I said is said. I defend egalitarianism. Feminism advocates supporting women to achieve equality. For me there is no crime. It's my opinion. I asked her the question [over the kiss] and she said: 'Okay'. You can't question Hermoso. I can. Is it because I'm a man? They want to curtail freedom of thought.”

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Rubiales went on to say: “I cannot understand that anyone could think this was a sexual assault.” He responded to the allegations of coercion by adding that he “only spoke 10 or 15 seconds with Miss Hermoso”.

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GettyWHAT NEXT?

Rubiales is also at the centre of an unrelated corruption investigation, which led to his arrest when returning to Spain from a visit to the Dominican Republic. He is said to have had his phone and laptop confiscated as part of an investigation by officers from the Civil Guard's Central Operative Unit. Rubiales stands accused of diverting at least £3.24million from the Spanish FA to a construction firm that saw him earn kickbacks through a company owned by a close friend.

A "world-class" Liverpool superstar has been linked with a shock move away from Anfield in the near future, with a fresh claim suggesting as much.

Big Liverpool players could leave

The Reds have gone into the final international break full of confidence, with Sunday's 3-0 win at home to Brentford seeing them jump into second place in the Premier League table. There is only one point separating Jurgen Klopp's side and leaders Manchester City, ahead of what is a monumental clash at the Etihad on November 25th, with an exciting title race in prospect.

So far this season, many of Liverpool's most high-profile players have stood tall and performed superbly, whether it be Alisson in goal, captain Virgil van Dijk at the back, or Mohamed Salah further forward. Salah has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, however, after a £150m bid from Al-Ittihad was rejected in the summer transfer window, while Thiago is another big name who could leave the Reds, with Inter Milan keen on signing him in 2024.

Now, a new transfer report suggests that another of Liverpool's star figures could be of interest, in what represents a concerning update.

Trent Alexander-Arnold transfer update

According to a report from Spain, Real Madrid are eyeing a big-money move for Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold, seeing him as a great option to bring in as Dani Carvajal's successor at right-back.

The La Liga giants are willing to pay more than €80m (£70m) for the services of the 25-year-old, and while manager Carlo Ancelotti could leave at the end of the season, he would still help get a deal over the line for the Reds ace.

Madrid appear to be building another special team of world-renowned players, with Jude Bellingham coming in and Kylian Mbappe potentially arriving next year, and it looks as though Alexander-Arnold is the player they have earmarked for that right-back spot.

While clearly a worrying update from a Liverpool perspective, their brilliant homegrown star may not want to leave his boyhood club at this point, and the Reds should be demanding far more for his services than £70m. Alexander-Arnold is one of the most gifted players to have ever emerged from the Merseysiders' academy, and he has grown into a genuinely elite player, producing levels of creativity from right-back that few have produced from that position in history.

In fact, Alexander-Arnold's numbers throughout his career sum up just how special he is, not to mention winning the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup, among other trophies.

Appearances

287

Goals

16

Assists

75

Former Reds midfielder Lucas Leiva has described him as "world-class", such is his ability, and the fact that he is still only 25 years of age means that he has a big chunk of his career ahead of him. Alexander-Arnold is simply too special a talent to let go at the peak of his powers, and while some of his defensive work could possibly still be improved, this is someone who may well be a key man for another decade, quite possibly taking over the captaincy from Van Dijk one day.

With the top order contributing runs for the first time in four matches, it’s the middle order that failed Sri Lanka in the shortened third ODI against England. So said Niroshan Dickwella, the batsman who had given Sri Lanka their fast start, hitting 36 off 25 balls to set the team on course to a score of 58 for 1 by the end of the Powerplay.Just after the 12-over mark, however, Sri Lanka’s innings started to wobble. They lost Sadeera Samarawickrama to an Adil Rashid full toss, the batsman top-edging what should have been a straightforward sweep to the short fine leg fielder. Next ball, Thisara Perera attempted to launch the first delivery he faced into the next galaxy, and managed only to top-edge it into the deep. When Dhananjaya de Silva fell at the start of the 16th over, Sri Lanka had lost three wickets for 18 runs.Eventually, due in part to a laboured 34 off 42 balls from Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka mustered only 150 for 9 from their 21 overs – a total that always seemed light on a night when the bowlers struggled to grip the ball.”We got a good start but we were 20-25 runs short,” Dickwella said. “After being 92 for 2, it was 92 for 4 suddenly. That was the main turning point. If Thisara could have batted five overs at that time, we would have ended up with a score closer to 190. You can’t win a 21-over match with only 150 on the board. The ball was also wet because of the rain. If we had made 175, it could have been a winning score.”Sri Lanka’s batting has been consistently modest since the start of 2017, in which they’ve now lost 32 games out of the 42 they have played. They had lost four top-order wickets inside the Powerplay in the second ODI, essentially surrendering the game in that period. Now, in this match, batsmen further down the order have failed to make an impact, with Thisara and de Silva producing three runs off 11 balls between them.”In the last couple of matches we didn’t get a big partnership from the top order,” Dickwella said. “This time we got that, but the middle order failed. That’s been happening for a while. When the top order scores, the middle order fails and vice versa. To get the optimal score, we need to click together.”Though on this occasion, Dickwella was perhaps justified in attacking relentlessly as the match had turned into a virtual T20, he has been guilty of being wasteful with his wicket after he has made a promising start. He had reached double figures in five of his seven previous innings, but had only once made a half-century. It’s a shortcoming he admits to.”I can’t be satisfied with my performance. A lot of times I get 30 or 40, but only about one in five games do I go on to get 70 or 80. Today was a shortened game so it’s different. Once I got 30 I tried to keep going at the same tempo, because we had wickets in hand. But overall when you look at my one-day cricket, even though I’ve got starts, I haven’t capitalised and turned them into big innings.”