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Crystal Palace are interested in a move for Manchester United winger Amad Diallo, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

The journalist claimed that the 19-year-old is expected to depart Old Trafford on loan during the current window. Palace and FC Basel are two clubs name-checked with an interest by Romano, with other sides in the Premier League and Bundesliga also keen.

Diallo, who can play anywhere across the front three, is valued at £16.2m by Transfermarkt and has made eight senior appearances for United.

Patrick Vieira is yet to add to his wide or central attacking ranks this summer, with one goalkeeper, two defenders and three midfielders signed by the Frenchman thus far.

Palace fans react

Both @cpfc_xtra and @CPFCtransfersHQ shared Romano’s claim about Diallo via Twitter, and here is what these Eagles fans had to say in reply, with one describing the 19-year-old as ‘special’.

“Wow. I’d be down! Wasn’t expecting that”

Credit: @redandbluesite

“Palace need a winger. We cant get all the players we want in one window for season. This kid is special and gives us more time”

Credit: @russellsbaker

“Would have him”

Credit: @danofthesouth_

“I saw the United wanted to loan him out and immediately thought actually we could use him”

Credit: @nikolimorgan

“Don’t want borrowed players”

Credit: @SteYouLater24

“Ok”

Credit: @cpfcharlie0

In other news: Many CPFC fans buzzing as club confirm Eze news. 

Jayaratne stars with both bat and ball for Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI

Cricinfo staff17-Sep-2008Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI 246 for 9 (Jayaratne 69*, Peiris 42, Dar 3-32) beat Hong Kong 230 (Gull 36, Jayaratne 3-35, Weerasinghe 2-27) by 16 runs
Scorecard
Hong Kong’s misery on their tour of Sri Lanka continued as they lost the final one-dayer against the Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI in Colombo by 16 runs. Hong Kong, to their credit, put up a fight, first with the ball and later with a last-wicket stand but those efforts weren’t enough to pull off a consolation win. The result meant a 4-0 clean sweep for the Sri Lankans who showed no signs of easing off, having already secured the series in the previous match.Put in to bat by Hong Kong, the Sri Lankans were off to the worst possible start losing their openers, Tharindu Fernando and Geeth Kumara, for 11 runs inside the fifth over. Having been reduced to 57 for 5 it was upto Udara Peiris and Imesh Udayanga to steady the innings in the middle. However, the fireworks were supplied by Ishan Jayaratne whose quickfire 69 ensured Sri Lanka edged close to 250. His unbeaten knock, off 60 balls comprised eight fours and a six.Among the Hong Kong bowlers, Irfan Ahmed and Munir Dar finished with three wickets apiece.The Hong Kong batsmen began cautiously but the Sri Lankan bowlers picked up wickets regularly. Opener Tabarak Dar, Munir Dar and Ilyas Gull, who top scored with 36, all got off to starts but couldn’t go on further. The biggest partnership was the 38 put on by the last wicket as Hong Kong finished at 230.Jayaratne starred with the ball as well for Sri Lanka picking up 3 for 35 and was ably assisted by Shameera Weerasinghe who chipped in with two wickets.

Having kicked off their Championship campaign with a spirited draw last weekend, Wayne Rooney’s Derby County side once again displayed a tremendous amount of fight on Tuesday evening in order to qualify for the Carabao Cup second round.

Having fallen behind to two early first-half Salford City goals, with Jordan Turnbull putting the visitors ahead in the eighth minute before Josh Morris doubled the League Two side’s lead six minutes later, Derby fans must have been worried their side could be in for something of a hiding from their lower league opponents.

However, Isaac Hutchinson got the Rams back in the game shortly before half-time, before Colin Kazim-Richards went on to level the scores with a 71st-minute penalty, with the momentum very much appearing to be with the home side as the game wore on.

But, with Derby being Derby, nothing is done the easy way, and when Josh Morris bagged his second of the game just three minutes after the equaliser, those first-half fears may have been creeping back in for the Pride Park faithful.

In the end, it required a moment of magic from one of Rooney’s summer additions to eventually pull Derby level once again, with Ravel Morrison, after seeing his initial free-kick crash into the wall, thrashing a half-volley from 25-yards out into the top corner of the Salford goal in the 82nd minute.

The game would ultimately finish 3-3, with the Rams proving to be the side who kept their composure in the subsequent penalty shootout, dispatching all five of their spot-kicks to Salford’s three.

However, despite a number of impressive performances in the fixture, with Morrison, Louie Watson and Colin Kazim-Richards being the pick of the bunch, there were nevertheless a couple of players who saw the game pass them by slightly – none more so than Kamil Jozwiak.

Indeed, the 23-year-old appeared to be at fault for Salford’s opener, losing his man at the corner, while his statistics from the fixture do not exactly make pleasant reading.

Over the course of the 90 minutes, the winger mustered no shots, either on or off target, lost 73% of his duels – 3 out of 11 – and gave away possession of the ball on 13 occasions.

However, of these statistics, it was perhaps the £7k-per-week forward’s inability to get into scoring positions that stood out most, with The Athletic journalist Ryan Conway dubbing Jozwiak “shot-shy” after the game.

Overall, the Poland international’s display saw him earn a disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.4, ranking him as the joint second-worst performer from either side in the fixture.

So, while Rooney is not exactly blessed with options in the wide attacking areas of his squad, most likely meaning that he will be forced to rely upon Jozwiak once again this weekend, the 35-year-old will undoubtedly be hoping the winger turns in a much more profitable performance against Peterborough United.

In other news: Derby County plotting swoop for “outstanding” £25k-p/w beast, Rooney would love him

Football FanCast’s EFL spy reckons that Liverpool youngster Ben Woodburn could thrive in front of a packed-out Hillsborough if he makes a move to Sheffield Wednesday.

Following their off the field financial problems, the Owls are going to need to take advantage of the loan system if they’re to push towards making an instant return to the Championship.

Darren Moore has already signed Olamide Shodipo for the season from QPR, and the EFL insider has suggested that the Wednesday boss investigates bringing Woodburn to south Yorkshire.

The attacker, who made his Premier League debut at 17 before netting his first Reds goal just three days later, endured a tricky period last season having spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Blackpool before returning to Liverpool in January only to play Under-23 football from then on in.

Woodburn has previously played for Wednesday’s Sheffield rivals, United, one of the EFL loan stints he’s had in the last three years.

But, by the time the new season gets underway, it will be more than seven months since the 21-year-old played at first-team level, and the spy believes that Wednesday could be the perfect home.

He exclusively told Football FanCast:

“He is an interesting one that can play on different sides and can help Wednesday in League One. He has a lot of potential and that could come good for him at a potential full house at Hillsborough when fans return.

“He’s a sharp, clever player who just needs a different home now.”

Edu could sign Arsenal’s new Patrick Vieira in Lille midfielder Renato Sanches this summer amid an exciting transfer update.

What’s the story?

Despite recently signing Albert Sambi Lokonga from Anderlecht, Arsenal are very much in the market for some new additions to their midfield, especially with Granit Xhaka inching ever closer to a move to AS Roma.

Now, The Daily Mail have claimed that if the Gunners can’t manage to get a deal for Leicester’s James Maddison over the line, then Mikel Arteta’s side could turn their attentions towards Sanches.

The report reveals that the Gunners have a strong relationship with Lille – no surprise given that they’ve snapped up the likes of Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel from them in recent seasons – and that could bode well for a possible move.

Arsenal’s new Vieira

While Sanches may not have the same height as Vieira, what he does have that is very reminiscent of the Frenchman, is that power and dynamism.

As per FBREF, the 23-year-old completed 65.5% of his dribbles last season in Ligue 1, while he made 8.37 progressive carries per 90 minutes – to put that into context, Thomas Partey, averaged 5.63.

His passes were also more progressive than Partey, indicating a player who always looks forward either through trying to play in between the lines, or by taking the ball up the pitch himself with his trademark surging runs.

A profile of Vieira on Arsenal.com, said: “But what made Vieira special was that his graft came hand in hand with craft. The composure and quality of his passing meant that, as well as quelling the threat of the opposition, Patrick became a vital cog in Wenger’s forward-thrusting machine.

“There were few more graceful sights in football than Vieira holding off an opponent in a congested midfield before flicking the ball over his head and racing away downfield to spark another Arsenal attack.”

That ability to change the tempo of a game through his sheer power and strength is equally evident in Sanches.

Bundesliga.com once described him as a “box-to-box midfielder with the strength of a WWE heavyweight and the nimble feet of a ballet dancer” – a great indication of the kind of combination of both athleticism and technique that he possesses, much like Vieira in his prime.

It’s no surprise then that the Portuguese ace has also been dubbed as a “machine” and as a “complete athlete.”

And, while on punditry duty for Belgium’s clash against Portugal, Vieira himself said (via football.london): “He was a big prospect. Everybody was waiting for him to be one of the top young players for the future. Last year with Lille, he did really well. He wasn’t really consistent during the season, but he had some flashes of his talent.”

The £27m-rated powerhouse could well be Arsenal’s natural successor to Vieira in the middle of the park, and allow the Gunners to feel more confident at waving goodbye to an established first-team regular like Xhaka.

And when you get to imagining the kind of power and dynamism that a midfield pairing of Sanches and Partey could bring to the table at the Emirates, then it becomes a very mouth-watering prospect.

Meanwhile, Arsenal can sign their new Alexis Sanchez in this star…

MatériaMais Notícias

O zagueiro Luan está perto de trocar o Vasco para o Palmeiras. Mesmo que tratando o assunto com cautela, Henrique lamentou a iminente saída do jogador, que é cria das divisões de base assim como ele. O lateral-esquerdo conta que o defensor é um dos seus melhores amigos no clube, como se fosse um irmão, e que ele fará falta muita falta.

– Eu devo muito como amigo a ele também, porque por mais que ele seja um ano mais velho do que eu, foi sempre muito de me dar conselhos, já viveu coisas antes de mim aqui. Para o time também, um jogador de Seleção Brasileira, campeão olímpico, então claro que faz falta em qualquer time. Nós vamos sentir falta dele.Nós temos jogadores de qualidade que vão dar conta do recado.

Henrique revela que não tinha muito contato com Luan durante a categoria de base. Segundo ele, a amizade entre os dois fortaleceu já nos profissionais, quando eles viraram até companheiros de quarto.

-Ele é um ano mais velho que eu, só que ele roubou na escola (risos). Brincadeira. No colégio era dois anos na minha frente, agente não tinha tanto contato na escola. Falamos um pouco nas categorias de base, mas isso ficou bem mais forte no profissional. A gente foi companheiros de quarto e um sempre passou tranquilidade para o outro. Meu irmão para a vida – contou Henrique, destacando que o zagueiro vai fazer falta, mas o elenco tem boas opções para suprir a carência.

– O Luan é um jogador que tem uma qualidade indiscutível. Ele sabe sair jogando muito bem, já jogou até algumas vezes como volante. O passe dele é muito bom, a virada de jogo. Isso é importante para o time. Mas como eu falei, temos bons jogadores no elenco para suprir. O Rafael Marques também sabe sair jogando, o Jomar bem também. Aí o Julio dos Santos também é um jogador de qualidade e sabe sair jogando. Então, a gente tem boas opções com a saída do Luan – completou.

Henrique também falou sobre a semifinal da Taça Guanabara, contra o Flamengo, no próximo sábado. Ele acredita que o jogo terá a mesma importância para as duas equipes, apesar de o Fla estar disputando a Libertadores.

-Como eu falei, é um clássico. Assim como eles, nós sabemos da importância que é esse clássico. Não só no Rio de Janeiro, mas no Brasil todo. Então, não só vai ser importante para a gente, mas vai ser importante para eles também – afirmou Henrique, ressaltando a importância da vitória contra o rival.

-Para a gente, jogo contra o Flamengo a gente quer ganhar até cuspe a distância. É um jogo que dá moral, é bom para o clube. Eu sei da importância do clássico, joguei a minha base toda. A gente mostrar que é um jogo importante e que a gente quer vencer.

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Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek is reportedly ready to snub interest from across the continent and fight for his place at Old Trafford next season.

What’s the story?

According to the Manchester Evening News (MEN), the 24-year-old is set to reject advances from clubs in Italy, Spain and Germany to stay at United this summer.

Sides in Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga have all made tentative enquiries for Van de Beek in recent weeks, but after arriving on English shores for £35m just one year ago, the Netherlands international is determined to be a success with the Red Devils.

Imagine him and Bruno Fernandes

The creative talent endured a tough first campaign at United and has been linked with a move away during the current transfer window as a result.

However, MEN claim that sources close to the player have said he’s feeling “fit, fresh and ready for the challenge” after missing out on Euro 2020 through a groin injury.

Van de Beek’s extended rest could see him return for the 2021/22 campaign in perfect condition, ready to help Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side continue their progress and finally end their long trophy drought.

Recent reports claim the Norwegian tactician is set to trial a new formation next season, with a more attacking 4-3-3 set to be tested out over the customary 4-2-3-1.

If Solskjaer does make that change, it is likely to mean one of Fred or Scott McTominay dropping to the bench in favour of a more forward-thinking midfielder.

And while Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba may be the obvious choices, Van de Beek has more than enough quality to stake his claim for a regular starting berth.

In a season that can easily reach 60 games, rotation and strength in depth is key for any team to have success, meaning the Dutchman should have ample opportunity to showcase his true ability and potential next term.

The £27m-rated maestro impressed in flashes during his maiden campaign at Old Trafford, drawing praise from former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves following a standout display against Istanbul Basaksehir.

“I thought Van de Beek was close to perfect. He is so unselfish, he can just fit in and play the right balls everywhere,” said the BT Sports pundit.

With Pogba often used on the left-hand side of the front three at the backend of the recently concluded campaign and Marcus Rashford potentially facing up to three months out through injury, Van de Beek may get an extended run in the starting XI alongside Fernandes in United’s engine room.

Just imagine the damage he could do alongside their Portuguese dynamo in the middle of the park. Both players possess creativity in abundance and they also know how to find the back of the net with great regularity.

It’s an ideal opportunity for the former Ajax man to find his best form in a United shirt and Solskjaer must be brave enough to unleash the technical gem.

And, in other news…Fabrizio Romano drops Man United transfer update that should leave fans concerned 

Fulham have been dealt a boost to their hopes of keeping Harrison Reed at Craven Cottage this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by The Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth, who revealed in a recent Q&A session on the newspaper’s website that Leeds United do not currently have the 26-year-old on their list of summer transfer targets, despite him being a player who is admired by the club.

This news comes following a report by the Daily Mail earlier this month that suggested Marcelo Bielsa’s side were plotting a summer swoop for the £9m-rated Fulham man, however, following Smyth’s update, this does not appear to be the case.

Fans should be buzzing

Considering just how important Reed has become within the Fulham team over the past two seasons, the news that the midfielder looks on course to remain at Craven Cottage ahead of next season should leave fans of the club buzzing.

Indeed, over his 25 Championship appearances during his debut season with Scott Parker’s side back in 2019/20, the £31k-per-week man registered one assist and created one big chance for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 1.4 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and winning 4.5 duels per game.

These returns saw the former England U20 international earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.81, ranking him as the club’s joint 16th-best performer in the league, with his displays helping the Cottagers earn promotion to the Premier League.

Over his 31 top-flight appearances the following season, Reed provided two assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.6 interceptions, two tackles and winning four duels per match.

These returns saw the man Shane Long dubbed an “immense” player earn an improved average SofaScore match rating of 6.90, ranking him as Parker’s 11th-best player in the Premier League.

As such, it would very much appear as if keeping Reed at the club this summer is key to Fulham’s hopes of going on to secure an immediate return to the top flight of English football next season, meaning that the news Leeds are not considering a move for the 26-year-old is fantastic for everyone involved with the Cottagers.

In other news: Major Fulham managerial development confirmed, Khan will be buzzing

© CricInfo Given India’s abysmal record abroad, especially in England, ashared Test series can be rated as a moral victory andcongratulations would seem to be in order for Sourav Ganguly andhis men, more so when the balance sheet includes the

Partab Ramchand11-Sep-2002
© CricInfoGiven India’s abysmal record abroad, especially in England, ashared Test series can be rated as a moral victory andcongratulations would seem to be in order for Sourav Ganguly andhis men, more so when the balance sheet includes the triumph inthe NatWest Trophy one-day contest. Overall, there is littledoubt that the Indians produced a heart-warming performance butunfortunately at the end of it all, one major problem stillremains.It looks like the bowling will continue to be a major headachefor future selectors and team managements. There were noindications on this tour whatsoever that there would be an earlyend to this problem.The England batsmen, generally known for their dour approach,made hay while the sun shone. In three of the four Tests, thehosts rattled up totals of 487, 301 for six declared, 617 and 515in quick time against bowling that lacked both ideas andpenetration. At the end of the four-Test series, three Englishbatsmen had averages exceeding 100, two had averages in thefifties and three more had averages in the forties. As many assix centuries – two of them near double hundreds – and 12 halfcenturies made for a pretty high proportion of high scores.These figures put the unimaginative bowling in properperspective. To be sure, the bowling was not expected to workwonders and it is to their credit that they shared the glory withthe batsmen in shaping the victory at Headingley. But thenconsistency is one quality that has been lacking in Indianbowling of late and this was proved again in England.Anil Kumble again failed to deliver though his figures of 14wickets at 36 apiece were an improvement over his recent figuresabroad. Harbhajan Singh took credit for notching up the onlyfive-wicket haul in the series for both sides but his figures of12 wickets at an average of 34.16 clearly do not establish him asa match-winner outside India.Zaheer Khan was one bowler who emerged with full credit thoughhis figures of 11 wickets at 43.90 apiece fail to do him justice.He troubled the batsmen time and again with deceptive change ofpace and disconcerting bounce and movement. There is little doubtthat among the lot of young pace bowling hopefuls who emergedover the past couple of years, the left-armer has clearly won therace to be the spearhead and the logical and worthy successor toJavagal Srinath.Ashish Nehra, it must be said, did not exactly grab theopportunity the tour presented him with both hands. He tended tobe wayward in line and length and not unexpectedly could not holdhis place in the side after the first two Tests.Ajit Agarkar continued to be a puzzle. The lad possesses pace ofthe whippy kind and now and then had the batsmen on the hop withdeliveries that rose sharply. But he was just as capable ofsending the perfect half-volley or long hops that even a No 11batsman can heartily thump to the boundary. He could perhaps dowith another visit to the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai for a fewtips from pace guru Dennis Lillee.As far as the bowling was concerned, there were two surprises.One was that Sourav Ganguly bowled only 12 overs in the fourTests. It must not be forgotten that he headed the bowlingfigures for the Tests in 1996 and given this background, hisreluctance to bowl himself was baffling.The second was the tidy work done by Sanjay Bangar. Theconditions might have suited his dibbly-dobbly style of bowlingbut full marks to the rather inexperienced bowler who maintaineda steady line and length to head the bowling averages with fourwickets at 29.25 apiece.But if there were problems aplenty in the bowling department, thebatting looked as healthy as ever except at the top of the orderwhere only one half-century partnership was registered in sixinnings. Indian batting, particularly in the last few years, hasbeen a sight for the gods. But even by these lofty standards, thebatsmen exceeded expectations. Sure, they had one bad day at theoffice at Lord’s but after that there was no stopping them.The England bowlers felt the heat as in successive innings, theIndians ran up totals of 397, 357, 424 for eight, 628 for eightdeclared and 508 with batting of the royal class. The mostheartening aspect was that the big three came off in spades.Never before have Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and SouravGanguly performed in unison as they did in this series.
© CricInfoDravid, the perpetual No 3 among the trio, finally moved to thetop spot – and not just on figures. It was always on the cardsthat in English conditions, the technically correct Dravid wouldbe India’s best batsman and he proved it with two hundreds and adouble century while racking up a tally of 602 at theBradmanesque average of 100.33.Tendulkar had to take second billing but he lived up to hisreputation with a near double hundred and two other scores overthe half century towards a tally of 401 runs at an average of66.83. Ganguly was a picture of consistency with 351 runs at anaverage of 58.50 with a century and three fifties.To complete the happy picture, the big three received more thanadequate support from Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman and Agarkareven if the blustering approach of Sehwag meant that he wasliable to be caught at slip early in his innings. And Bangar’sbatting, built on first principles, came as a bonus. Indeed, thestrength of the batting can be gauged by the fact that ShivSundar Das, in spite of getting 250 against Essex, could notforce his way back into the side.Both the wicket-keepers Ajay Ratra and Parthiv Patel performedcommendably and as far as this department is concerned, it lookslike the selectors will not have a problem for a long time.

Manchester City fans are livid at Pep Guardiola after it was revealed that up to seven Citizens players could leave the club this summer during a meeting with Barcelona officials Mateu Alemany and Joan Laporta.

It has already been a busy start to the summer transfer window for City, at least in terms of outgoings. Both Sergio Aguero (fcbarcelona.com) and Eric Garcia have completed moves to the Camp Nou, and there have been suggestions Aymeric Laporte could soon join them (Sport).

According to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, Guardiola met with Alemany and Laporta last week, and said up to seven players could be available for purchase from the Etihad Stadium, which does not appear to have gone down well with the club’s supporters.

The news was relayed on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the fans. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the matter, and in particular about Guardiola.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Guardiola below

“Sack Pep & his friends..”

Credit: @Reallywasco

“Who is Pep working for these days?”

Credit: @tfbubendorfer

“I swear Pep will be the downfall of City”

Credit: @HerveMugabo

“Yeah, Pep is playing against us”

Credit: @onemilli19

“Pep is a spy, he was actually building a team for Barca while waiting for Laporte return!!”

Credit: @M_Muhairi93

“What is going on?”

Credit: @Harry_MCFC891

In other news, Man City fans rage at news on this striker.