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Wolves need to bring in both a centre-back and a midfielder in the January transfer window, according to journalist Luke Hatfield.

The Lowdown: Heartbreak against Liverpool

Bruno Lage’s side suffered an agonising 1-0 defeat at home to Liverpool on Saturday, with Divock Origi pouncing at the death at Molineux.

The loss is no disaster in the grand scheme of things, however, with Wolves sitting eighth in the Premier League after the weekend action – their season will not be decided by fixtures against teams like Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Still , it may be that January reinforcements are needed if Wanderers are to mount a genuine European push, given the quality of the teams around them – West Ham for example were able to grab three points against title-chasing Chelsea on Saturday.

The Latest: Journalist backs double signing

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Hatfield says that should be the case next month, claiming there are two clear areas that need to be improved upon:

“They need a really dominant centre-half, would be ideal for them along with an energetic midfielder.”

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The Verdict: Ideal for squad depth

It makes complete sense for these areas to be focused on, with Wolves appearing to run out of the steam against Liverpool on Saturday.

In Max Kilman, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss, Lage has a strong to back-three to call upon but another option would allow him to rotate and give his key defenders the odd breather.

Someone like Lille’s Sven Botman would be ideal, having been linked with a move, with the 21-year-old’s average of 2.5 aerial duel wins per game in the league this season only bettered by Saiss (2.9).

In midfield, the likes of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho are arguably too similar, oozing technical class but not covering endless ground, so a more combative middle man could be a perfect foil for the pair – perhaps the endlessly linked Renato Sanches.

In other news, three Wolves players struggled in the defeat to Liverpool. Find out who they are here.

Following Steven Gerrard’s appointment as Aston Villa’s manager after the departure of Dean Smith, rumours linking Villa with one of Gerrard’s former players at Rangers have started to emerge.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Fichajes, Villa could make a move to sign Ianis Hagi from the Scottish club at some point in the future as a potential direct request from Gerrard.

The 23-year-old winger originally joined Rangers on a loan deal from Belgian club Genk in the 2020 January transfer window before joining the Glasgow side on a permanent basis the following summer.

Overall, the Romanian – who is currently valued at £5.85m by Transfermarkt – has made a total of 77 appearances for Rangers across all competitions, scoring 14 goals and providing 21 assists in the process.

With Gerrard previously saying that Hagi was a “absolute dream to work with” when he was in charge of Rangers, it would make sense for the Villa boss to seek a reunion with the player at the Midlands club if he thinks the 23-year-old could strengthen their squad.

In addition, with the ex-Liverpool captain also praising Hagi’s work rate and mindset, a lot of Villa fans would be thrilled if their club managed to work out a deal to bring him to Villa Park for a reasonably low price given Gerrard’s clear admiration for the player and his talents.

Looking ahead to the future, with Villa CEO Christian Purslow recently suggesting that some deals could be made in the upcoming January transfer window, perhaps adding Hagi to Villa’s squad could be exactly what they need to make sure Gerrard is able to push the team to a potential European place in the Premier League table.

However, with the 23-year-old’s contract at Ibrox not set to expire until the summer of 2024 and having made 19 appearances for the club across all competitions so far this season, this could make it hard for Villa to persuade Rangers to do business in January.

Also, with Villa currently having six wingers in their senior squad, it could be hard for Hagi to get as much regular game-time there as he has been at Rangers, despite Gerrard’s praise for him.

In other news: Gerrard could be heading for his first AVFC disaster on £31.5m-rated “absolute joy” 

Noel Whelan has been reacting to Celtic’s reported swoop for former Leeds United midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Terms agreed

Celtic don’t seem to be wasting any time when it comes to getting a head-start on their January business.

Ideguchi could well be one of the first to arrive at Parkhead in 2022, with the Hoops reportedly agreeing on terms with Gamba Osaka in recent days for the 25-year-old.

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A medical has been pencilled in before the end of the month, with hopes of a transfer being finalised ahead of January 1.

The Latest: Whelan’s comments

Whelan, who regularly contributes for BBC Radio Leeds, was talking to Football Insider regarding the update on Ideguchi.

Here is what he had to say in reply about the 25-year-old, backing Ange Postecoglou to bring out the ‘superstar’ in the Japan international.

“He was one of these players that came into Leeds United that no one ever saw

“As soon as he came in he was sent out on loan.

“Look, Postecoglou has obviously done his homework. He knows of the player

“Where would he fit in the team? Well, he’s an attacking midfield player. We had so many high hopes and heard rave reviews when he came into Leeds. He was the next star.

“It didn’t really materialise but maybe Postecoglou can get the best out of him and find the position that’s going to bring out that superstar status when he signed for Leeds.

“Right now, you can’t question the signings that he’s made.”

The Verdict: Needed?

Postecoglou has relied heavily on Callum McGregor, Tom Rogic and David Turnbull in midfield this season, with summer signing James McCarthy struggling at the beginning of his Parkhead career.

The Irishman has struggled ‘in training with the pace and intensity of Postecoglou’s sessions and the demands of his midfielders’ and has been restricted to just five starts in all competitions.

On that basis, bringing in Ideguchi, who can play in a central or attacking midfield role, could be a shrewd move in the long run to bolster Celtic’s ranks in the middle of the park.

In other news: Celtic allegedly now looking at signing 34-assist ace in January; he’s his agency’s biggest star

The head of Pakistan’s national parliamentary committee on sports has accused the team of deliberately losing to Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy in a group match and has called for changes in the national cricket board

Cricinfo staff06-Oct-2009

The head of Pakistan’s national parliamentary committee on sports has accused the team of deliberately losing to Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy in a group match and has called for changes in the national cricket board. He has also said he would summonthe board chief and captain before parliament.”There is evidence that the team lost the match to Australia on purpose,” Jamshed Khan Dasti said. “It underperformed. Then against New Zealand also there are signs the team didn’t want to win.”We have been told by some respected and senior people and we are also trying to collect evidence that there might have been some hanky panky in the match against Australia and New Zealand.”Pakistan lost to Australia off the final ball of the match after setting them a target of 206. In the semi-final, they lost to New Zealand after setting them a target of 234. However some dodgy umpiring decisions cost them in their innings – Umar Akmal was given out lbw for 55 though replays showed the ball hit the pads off a thick inside edge.Younis said he was bitterly disappointed with the Champions Trophy exit as he had wanted to gift his country the trophy that had been shifted from Pakistan to South Africa because of security concerns. He said there were many reasons for the team’s defeat to New Zealand, including his dropped catch, missed run-outs and poor umpiring but that finishing in the top four was a positive sign.ICC sources, meanwhile, told Cricinfo that its Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) is yet to conclude investigations about the games in question involving Pakistan. However, it’s understood that the unit has not done anything extraordinary (on the games in question) other than the normal set of procedures meant for every game.

With arguably the biggest game of Ange Postecoglou’s short Celtic career coming up in the Europa League on Thursday, as a win could potentially see the Bhoys take a huge step towards securing what initially looked to be a highly unlikely route out of their group, the 56-year-old will undoubtedly be thinking long and hard about his starting XI for the clash.

There is yet further incentive for Celtic to get one over on Bayer Leverkusen this week, as the Bundesliga side stuck four past the Bhoys at Parkhead in the reverse fixture – a result which appears to have inspired the Hoops on a run of nine consecutive games without defeat in all competitions.

So, with so much riding on the match, it is essential for the Greek-Australian boss to get his team right for the trip to the BayArena – with one player who has made a very strong case for a start in recent fixtures being James Forrest.

Postecoglou must unleash Forrest

Having recently returned from a training ground injury – a knock which kept the 30-year-old sidelined for ten weeks – Postecoglou has been slowly reintroducing the winger to first-team football, with Forrest featuring for eight minutes against Livingston, 20 minutes against Ferencvaros, 28 minutes against Dundee and 21 minutes against St. Johnstone last weekend.

It was the latter of these appearances which proved that the £5.4m-rated man is ready for a start on Thursday, as, just four minutes after being brought on in the League Cup semi-final, the man who Kieran Tierney dubbed a “brilliant” player inspired Celtic to a dramatic win, drilling home to send the Bhoys end wild, and securing his club’s spot in the final.

Aside from Forrest’s impressive impact last weekend, another reason why Postecoglou simply must start the £15k-per-week winger on Thursday is the rather contrasting recent displays of Liel Abada, as, aside from a good showing against Ferencvaros, the 20-year-old has not been in the best of form over the past month or so.

As such, with a win being of the utmost importance in Germany, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss must unleash the man who Tam McManus claimed “always shows up” for the Hoops – as he could well be Celtic’s cup hero once again.

In other news: Celtic dealt big transfer blow, Ange will surely be fuming

As per South American news outlet El Intransigente.com, it appears West Ham United and head of recruitment Rob Newman have their eyes on another striker as some Julian Alvarez news emerges.

The Lowdown: West Ham eyeing new forward…

It is perhaps the worst kept secret in football that West Ham wish to add a new striker to their ranks amid fitness concerns surrounding Michail Antonio.

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Manager David Moyes has been attempting to bring in a back-up for his Jamaica international since the start of 2021, confirming himself that bids had been lodged in January.

Over the most recent summer window, the Scotsman candidly admitted he was ‘desperate’ to bring in a centre-forward but to no avail as his hunt continues.

The arrival of new transfer chief Newman could help in this regard as they become linked to more and more strikers.

Alexandre Lacazette, Adam Hlozek and Andrea Belotti are just some of the names to be mentioned alongside the Hammers and now some news has surfaced on yet another target.

The Latest: West Ham in Alvarez hunt…

According to El Intransigente’s sources, West Ham are one of the several clubs across Europe in the race to sign promising Argentine forward Alvarez.

The Liga Profesional sensation has been attracting suitors from across the continent due to his fine form, with Moyes’ side joined by Real Madrid, Atletico, Juventus, Inter Milan, Fiorentina, Bayern Munich and, now, Borussia Dortmund.

The Verdict: Good candidate?

At 21-years-old with plenty of seasons ahead and real sell-on value, Alvarez may have just become one of the best candidates to reinforce West Ham’s forward line.

The five-cap international’s record in front of goal speaks for itself, having netted 19 strikes across 2021 alone as he draws some crazy comparisons.

Former Uruguay star and club football journeyman Sebastien Abreu bizarrely likened him to a ‘Lion’ in the jungle due to his ruthlessness whilst also comparing Alvarez to the likes of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez for his hardworking style (archysport.com).

Lauded as ‘amazing’ whilst he develops ‘enormously’ by Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni (remonews.com), the young striker is also pretty affordable from West Ham’s perspective.

He reportedly has a release clause of around €20 million (£16.7m) which could rise to €25 million (£20.9m) depending on a special clause (El Intransigente), arguably a decent price to pay when taking into account his age and prolific form.

Alvarez has also averaged more shots per 90 domestically (3.3) than any West Ham player bar star man Antonio (WhoScored), perhaps indicating he would be a fine understudy.

In other news: ‘Yesssss’, ‘What a day’, ‘Get in’…ExWHUemployee’s ‘great news’ has many West Ham fans buzzing, find out more here.

Dimitri Mascarenhas’ all-round effort overwhelmed the Middlesex Panthers in front of a large, enthusiastic crowd at Lord’s

Cricinfo staff06-Jul-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Dimitri Mascarenhas lived up to his Twenty20 specialist reputation, making a 16-ball 32 and taking two early wickets•Associated Press

Dimitri Mascarenhas’ all-round effort overwhelmed the Middlesex Panthers in front of a large, enthusiastic crowd at Lord’s. He blasted 32 of Rajasthan Royal’s final 37 runs at a strike-rate of 200 to haul them to a competitive score, and then took two wickets, including the big one of Owais Shah, with the new ball.Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan then showed off some unconventional strokes but they weren’t too effective, as Middlesex could only cobble together 24 runs in a seven-over period, leaving them at 47 for 3 after 10. Nearly two runs were needed off each ball after that, a task which proved well beyond Middlesex, especially against the likes of Shane Warne and a rejuvenated Sohail Tanvir.It was Warne’s final competitive game at Lord’s and the legspinner had flown in from Las Vegas, where he’s playing poker, on Sunday evening to play the match today. He bowled impressively for someone who admitted to being out of practice, taking 1 for 24 off four overs, and is due to fly out to Las Vegas again on Tuesday morning. He came on to bowl in the 10th over of the Middlesex innings, and received a massive cheer from the substantial crowd.At the start of the match, though, typically British weather, swinging between heavy showers and bright sunshine, had the festive crowd wondering whether there would be much play but a full game was squeezed in. With Rajasthan’s anthem of ‘Halla Bol’ ringing around Lord’s, the spectators were chanting and dancing right through.In both seasons of the IPL, Warne has relied on the performances of youngsters and two of them, Swapnil Asnodkar and Faiz Fazal, provided Rajasthan with a solid start when they were sent in. They guided Rajasthan to 55 in the seventh over before Murali Kartik had Fazal caught at sweeper cover, bringing in Moahmmad Kaif, who had been left out of the Rajasthan’s squad to South Africa for the IPL earlier this year.Though there were no further breakthroughs for a while, Kartik kept the brakes on Rajasthan. Just as Asnodkar started to open out, swinging a full toss over square leg in the 15th over, he was dismissed by Malan. There were a couple more quick wickets, Naman Ojha and Justin Langer, before Mascarenhas came in.He started with a four to third man and a savage pull over midwicket providing the required impetus. Kaif had little of the strike towards the end and helped Mascarenhas steal a flurry of twos to lift Rajasthan to a total which the misfiring Middlesex batting never looked like chasing down.

Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan coach, has said that the move to strip Pakistan of the rights to host the 2011 World Cup is “unjust” and a blow that, he said, would be hard to overcome.”I am hugely disappointed,” Alam said in Dubai. “Pakistan has been singled out for security, which is unjust and has hit our cricket with a big, big blow that will be hard to overcome for years.”The ICC executive board made its decision following a meeting on Friday, citing the “uncertain security situation” in Pakistan in the aftermath of the Lahore attack on March 3, when six policemen and two civilians were killed as gunmen fired at the Sri Lankan team bus. The ICC had also added that Pakistan was unlikely to resume hosting any tournament at all until 2011. India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, who are the other co-hosts for the World Cup, will now stage all the matches.Alam, however, said this was unfair as he felt the security situation in the three other countries hosting the competition was also “not good”, and that the scenario in Pakistan could improve with two years still to go.”India had to move their high-profile league because of security fears,” he said, referring to the IPL, which was moved to South Africa as the competition clashed with India’s parliamentary elections. “We couldn’t tour Bangladesh as there were security fears in the wake of military mutiny. The situation in Sri Lanka is not good, either, with Tamil (rebels) fighting a war against the Sri Lankan army. So why does only Pakistan suffer?”[The ICC made] a hasty decision because the World Cup is still two years away and things are getting better in Pakistan… They should have waited for a few months.”Alam, who is currently in the UAE for Pakistan’s ODI and Twenty20 series against Australia, said his players were shocked at the ICC’s decision. “When the players got to know about it, they were shocked. They are sad to play their cricket away from their home, away from their fans and now they will have to play their World Cup matches elsewhere.”

Celtic finally got off the mark in their UEFA Europa League group on Tuesday afternoon thanks to a 2-0 win at home to Ferencvaros.

Kyogo Furuhashi, long odds with LV BET for first goalscorer, opened the scoring for the hosts just short of the hour mark, before an own goal late on sealed all three points for Ange Postecoglou’s team at Parkhead. However, not all of the Hoops thrived, as The Transfer Tavern dives into the three worst-rated players by statistical specialists Sofascore…

David Turnbull

Turnbull was the third-worst rated Hoops player (6.9) per Sofascore, as players have to had played a minimum of 45 minutes to be taken into account.

The Scotland international failed to record a single shot on target or dribble in the match, and also lost possession of the ball on nine separate occasions.

With little depth in midfield behind the 22 year-old, his place in the XI will likely remain safe for now.

Tom Rogic

Rogic was another midfield player who may have been a bit disappointed by his overall performance, as Sofascore gave him a measly 6.6 rating.

The 28-year-old lost out on five of his duels in total, and also did not manage a shot, while his 78% pass accuracy was the worst out of his outfield teammates.

Rogic also lost possession on no fewer than on 15 different occasions, the third-highest out of any Celts player.

Liel Abada

Abada did not have the most productive of afternoons, and was unsurprisingly ranked as the Bhoys’ worst player with a mere 6.4 overall rating.

The winger lost nine of his duels, the joint-most out of any player to have set foot on the pitch, and also did not have a shot on target or successful dribble, while his zero key passes or accurate crosses (Sofascore) pretty much sums up his lack of end product.

Abada also lost the ball 13 times, the fourth-most out of his teammates, in what was a frustrating afternoon for the Israeli.

In other news, find out which player Celtic are having doubts over here!

Group A

With five of their top six batsmen chipping in with useful scores Multan Tigers needed just 42 overs to chase Hyderabad Hawks‘ 253 in Mirpur Khas. Babar Ali (36) and Shoaib Maqsood (48) gave Multan a 56-run opening stand after which debutant Fayyaz-ul-Hasan (52), Gulraiz Sadaf (49*) and Rizwan Haider (35) drove Multan to a five-wicket win that took them to the top of the Group A points table. Opener Aqeel Anjum scored 74 for Hyderabad but a middle-order collapse, where Hyderabad lost five wickets for 20 runs, nearly had them bowled out under 200 before Mohammad Urs’ unbeaten 40-ball 58 took them to a competitive total. However it wasn’t enough to stop Multan in their tracks.Half-centuries by Hammad Ali and Riaz Kail took the Abbottabad Rhinos to a 130-run win over the Quetta Bears in Karachi. Hammad scored 81 in only his second List A match and added half-century partnerships with Mir Azam (44 off 29) and Ghulam Mohammad (44 off 52) before Kail slammed 71 off 56 balls as Abbottabad reached 294. Quetta lost their openers with only six on the board and without any half-century stands they fell far behind the run chase. Umair Khan picked up 3 for 29 in his seven overs while Armaghan Elahi and Khalid Usman took two each. Taimur Ali top scored with 35 as Quetta were bowled out inside 37 overs.Khalid Latif’s century and 142-run opening stand with Ali Asad set up the Karachi Dolphins‘ six-wicket win over the Rawalpindi Rams after debutant medium pacer Khalid Mahmood picked up 5 for 56 to restrict Rawalpindi to 268 at the National Stadium. Mahmood opened the bowling with Mohammad Sami and the two had reduced Rawalpindi to 4 for 24 before Usman Saeed (109) walked out to the middle and began a rescue effort along with Zahir Mansoor (74). The two added 156 together before Usman was bowled by Mahmood.The third-round matches for groups’ B,C and D were postponed because of the current political situation in Pakistan. The revised schedule for the groups will be released later.