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Crystal Palace are "in a really good position" to beat Chelsea to the signature of Flamengo's highly rated and highly sought-after youngster Matheus Franca, claims transfer insider Dean Jones.

Is Matheus Franca joining Crystal Palace this summer?

It hasn't been a great start to the summer window for Palace so far this year. They have made just one senior signing so far, and it was the rather uninspiring signing of Jefferson Lerma from Premier League rivals Bournemouth.

However, the departure of club legend Wilfried Zaha is the biggest problem for the South Londoners, as his performances over the last few seasons have been instrumental in keeping them in the league, and to see him leave for free is nothing short of a disaster.

That said, the club do appear to be making inroads with some potential transfers, one of those being for the highly-rated Brazilian youngster Franca.

According to Brazilian publication Tocedores, Palace co-owner John Textor has made an offer for the 19-year-old in the region of £26m, putting them in direct competition with cross-city rivals Chelsea for his signature.

The Blues have also made an opening bid for the exciting prospect after meeting with his representatives in London earlier this month, per Globo.

The fact that he has made just 28 senior top-flight appearances since making his debut in 2021 has done little to put people off, with football scout Jacek Kulig waxing lyrical about the youngster, saying:

"Great midfielder, great striker, he can play almost everywhere. One of the most exciting teenagers in Brazil at the moment."

What did Dean Jones say about Crystal Palace and Matheus Franca?

Jones was surprised by Palace's success in reaching this point of the transfer battle but was full of praise for them and didn't rule out the possibility of them securing his signature.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said: "Yeah, it would be massive for them if they could actually win this battle. I mean, it's not easy to even get as far as they've got with it to be honest because he's a player that has been coveted by a lot of clubs.

"Getting to this moment and obviously Chelsea being the biggest of them and Chelsea don't normally miss out on targets like this. It has to be said that Palace have put themselves in a really good position to actually sign him."

Who else have Crystal Palace been linked to this summer?

While Franca would undoubtedly be an excellent signing for the future, it's unlikely that he'd make an immediate impact on the team and so, the South London side are likely to do some more business this summer before the transfer window slams shut on September 1st.

One of the players that the Eagles are interested in is Arsenal's American striker, Folarin Balogun. The 21-year-old is coming off a brilliant season in France, where he scored 21 goals for Ligue 1 side Stade Reims and achieved an average match rating of 6.9.

The club's interest in the young prodigy was revealed last month by Football Insider, an interest that was confirmed by Ryan Taylor earlier this month when he told GIVEMESPORT that Palace were still "looking at him."

The biggest hurdle for this deal is that Arsenal now want close to £50m for their young American, which would eclipse Palace's previous record transfer fee of £27m, which they paid Liverpool for Christian Benteke in 2016.

Perhaps Roy Hodgson's side could get some kind of discount should they include a buyback clause, as they are going to have to find a way to replace the goals lost from Zaha's departure.

أكد ناصر الخليفي، رئيس نادي باريس سان جيرمان، أنه كان يثق في قدرتهم على عبور برشلونة ومن ثم التأهل إلى نصف نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وفاز باريس سان جيرمان في مباراة مثيرة على برشلونة، على ملعب “مونتجويك” بأربعة أهداف مقابل هدف في إياب ربع نهائي البطولة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. تير شتيجن بعد توديع دوري أبطال أوروبا: نحتاج لإعادة شحن بطارياتنا

وخسر باريس سان جيرمان في الذهاب على ملعبه بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدفين، ولكنه نجح في عبور برشلونة من معقله.

وقال الخليفي في تصريحات نشرها الموقع الرسمي للبطولة: “إنها لحظة رائعة بالنسبة للنادي، ليس من السهل الفوز هنا، لكنني كنت واثقًا”.

وأضاف: “كنت واثقًا قبل المباراة الأولى وبعدها، وقبل مباراة الليلة، وبعدما استقبلنا الهدف الأول، كنت واثقًا حقًا”.

وواصل: “لقد رأيت شيئًا لم أره منذ 13 عامًا، وهو أن الجميع يقاتلون معًا من أجل بعضهم البعض، الأجواء، كل شيء”.

واستمر: “هدفنا؟ نريد الاستمرار بنفس الطريقة، علينا البقاء هادئين، دوري أبطال أوروبا صعب للغاية، كل التفاصيل مهمة”.

واستأنف: “لويس إنريكي؟ تحدثت معه قبل المباراة، أخبرته أنني أريد التأهل، لدي ثقة به، كما أشكر المشجعين، شعرنا وكأننا في بيتنا”.

واختتم: “نصف نهائي دوري الأبطال، إنه أمر صعب، نريد الاستعداد جيدًا، كما أن المدرب يعرف دورتموند جيدًا”.

Arsenal are reportedly one of the clubs interested in Israeli sensation Oscar Gloukh, as the Gunners eye reinforcements ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

Mikel Arteta will hope to close the gap on Manchester City in making sufficient signings this summer, something that the Spaniard is seemingly mastering with Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber Emirates bound.

The Gunners will face competition for Gloukh, who has been linked with a potential move to north London from Austria.

Are Arsenal signing Oscar Gloukh?

As reported by The Guardian on Tuesday, Arsenal are one of the Premier League representatives eyeing RB Salzburg midfielder Oscar Gloukh.

The report names the Gunners, along with City and Tottenham as the side’s wanting to secure the teenager’s signature, stating that the player would ‘prefer’ to join an English or Spanish side next.

It's thought that all three of those clubs have made enquiries to sign the player too.

It was only in the winter window that the youngster was picked up by Salzburg from Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv for a fee of €7m (£6m), however, a sharp start to his budding career has suggested that another move could be on the cards.

How good is Oscar Gloukh?

Labelled a "wonderkid" by journalist Tom Maston, the teen lit up the recent U21 European Championships, where he actually played against Emile Smith Rowe's England on Wednesday night.

The Arsenal star bagged an assist as Gloukh's side exited the tournament following a 3-0 defeat. He did, however, bow out having created four big chances in the tournament, the most of any player, while also registering three assists.

Deployed primarily as an attacking midfielder for Salzburg, the 19-year-old clearly has talents in the final third, as further highlighted by his two goals and one assist since arriving in the Austrian Bundesliga.

In the Bundesliga, Gloukh created five big chances, as well as averaging 1.2 key passes, despite only averaging 52 minutes per game for his new club.

For Arsenal, the teenager’s talent is an exciting prospect when taking into consideration Arteta’s confidence in young players at the Emirates, with the Gunners averaging the joint-youngest team last season.

The north Londoners are expected to bid farewell to Granit Xhaka this summer, who could depart for a German Bundesliga return after an eventful seven years at the club.

The Swiss midfielder’s exit could allow for a new face to flourish in his place alongside Rice, with Gloukh signalling to be a perfect heir to the 30-year-old.

Hailed as being a “jewel” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the teenager has been tipped by Kulig to become a “future legend of Israeli football” and could emulate the creative spark that Xhaka introduced to his game in the latter stages of his Arsenal career.

Typically used as a deep midfielder, the Swiss ace was identifiable as a hot-headed cog in the engine room, before displaying a more offensive role under Arteta, scoring nine times last term.

The 30-year-old averaged 1.3 key passes per game for the Gunners, as well as creating six big chances, just one more than Gloukh in his half-a-season at Salzburg, implying that the youngster could one day fill the void left by Xhaka’s departure.

One thing that is certain is that the club that secures the signing of the starlet will have an audacious talent on their hands, in a player that has a glass ceiling to his abilities in central midfield.

Steven Smith, like his namesake Hannibal Smith, loves it when a plan comes together. And Australia’s plans for this tour of India – a campaign of which Smith is immensely proud regardless of what happens in the final Test in Dharamsala – have been coming together since they were humiliated with a 0-3 defeat in Sri Lanka last year.For Smith, that tour was a wake-up call. Prior to that series Australia had only ever lost a single Test to Sri Lanka; now they lost three in a month. Their run of consecutive Test defeats in Asia had stretched to nine. And so Smith and coach Darren Lehmann needed a new approach, a new resolve, when a four-Test tour of India was on the horizon.A two-week training camp was scheduled in Dubai prior to Australia’s arrival in India, so they could control the types of surface on which they trained, and formulate plans for difficult conditions. Still, it is hard to imagine that even the Australians themselves believed they would dominate the first Test in Pune in quite the way they did, and would remain alive in the series with one Test to play.”I learned a lot out of Sri Lanka when we lost there, just about playing in the subcontinent and leading in the subcontinent,” Smith said in Dharamsala ahead of the fourth Test against India. “I had a reasonable idea before I went to Sri Lanka of how I wanted to do things, how I wanted to do thing a lot differently and didn’t want to over-attack and things like that.”I think you can see it in the way that you have to play here. You can’t attack non-stop. You have to have defensive fields at times and people are going to be critical at that but they’re not the ones out in the middle that have to do the job. I know that if you get a bit defensive on occasions and build a bit of pressure.”Back home when you’re talking about building pressure you talk about maiden overs but here it’s more if you go for two an over it’s pretty good over. It’s very hard to contain the scoreboard. If you’re limiting the boundaries, keeping the runs down and building the pressure that you need it makes a big difference.”As unsexy as such talk of defence and containment can be, Smith’s plans have put him within touching distance of becoming the first Australian captain since Adam Gilchrist in 2004 to lead a series victory in India. That would not have been the case but for some impressive fight from Peter Handscomb and Shaun Marsh on the final day in Ranchi, where they toughed out a draw that felt like a win.”If you look at past sides that have come here recently that day five result we had the other day where we were able to play out the draw, that’s just ended pretty quickly for us on a few occasions where we’ve just rolled over,” Smith said. “Having the fight and willingness to work hard to get the results we’re after, it’s been great from the boys.”I thought the way we fought out that draw was magnificent. I’m sure they [India] would be disappointed that they couldn’t get the result they were after. In that regard I’d rather be in our boat than theirs.”Steven Smith on Matt Renshaw: “For a guy that’s only played a handful of Tests, to go out there and just play his game and back what he’s worked on over the last few weeks has been amazing.”•Associated Press

In particular, Smith has been thrilled with the work of the young opening batsman Matt Renshaw in this series, in what is his first exposure to cricket in the subcontinent. Renshaw will turn 21 during the Dharamsala Test but has outperformed most other batsmen in the series – only Smith and Cheteshwar Pujara from either side have faced more deliveries this series than Renshaw.”I’ve been really impressed with Renshaw,” Smith said. “For a guy who’s never been here before it’s almost a different game when you get out to the middle and you see guys around the bat and crusty wicket, things like that, and that can get to players, players who have played for a long period of time.”For a guy that’s only played a handful of Tests, to go out there and just play his game and back what he’s worked on over the last few weeks has been amazing. I think a lot of the guys, the more senior players, have taken a bit out of the way he’s done things having only been a youngster and not been here before. That’s been really good.”The teams enter the final Test with the series locked at 1-1, meaning the winner in Dharamsala’s inaugural Test will claim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – and in the unlikely event of a draw, Australia will retain it as the current holders. Smith said that although much hard work remained over the next few days, he was proud of his men regardless of the final outcome of the series.”We all know that this is one of the toughest places to come to play as an Australian team,” he said. “Regardless of what happens in this last Test match I think the way we’ve played has been a credit to each and every individual here. We’ve played some very good cricket. We probably did a couple of things wrong in Bangalore where we could have wrapped up there series or had a two-nil lead. The cricket we’ve played has been really good.”Right now we’re in a good position. We’ve got to play well this week and hopefully win the series here but we’ll do that by doing the things that we’ve done well in this series so far and just doing it for just a little bit longer. I’m not worried about the result as such … It’s obviously a relatively young side and this team could be together for a very long time.”

Amid links to Manchester United, fans online have been reacting after a viral video emerged highlighting just how impressive Inter Milan’s Andre Onana is with the ball at his feet.

What’s the latest on Andre Onana to Man Utd?

The Red Devils are competing with Chelsea for the goalkeeper’s signature this summer, according to Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian. And the latest news is that the English club have made a second bid for the goalkeeper worth €50m (£43m) but that’s still not enough to seal the deal.

Despite suffering the heartbreak of a Champions League final defeat against Manchester City, Onana enjoyed a season to remember at Inter Milan last season, as his stock increased once more.

Keeping eight clean sheets in 24 Serie A appearances, Onana also played a key role outside of action in the league, picking up silverware in the Italian Cup and Italian Super Cup last season.

After a successful campaign, the goalkeeper has earned interest from both Manchester United and Chelsea, as per Steinberg. And, with David de Gea’s contract at Old Trafford now technically expired, the number one spot could be available for the first time in a decade.

De Gea’s ability has been questioned in recent times, too, particularly after United’s FA Cup final loss against Manchester City, in which he was potentially at fault for the second Ilkay Gundogan goal. Given recent mistakes, now could be the perfect time for Onana’s arrival.

Statistically speaking, Onana is also better with his feet than De Gea. According to FBref, Onana completed 34.9 passes per-90 last season, whilst De Gea completed just 22.8, half of the amount that Onana managed.

Such is the modern-day need for a top side to play from the back and involve the goalkeeper, too, perhaps swapping De Gea for Onana wouldn’t be such a bad idea for Erik ten Hag, who worked with the Inter number one at Ajax.

The Cameroon shot-stopper’s significant ability on the ball has been further backed up by the video posted on Twitter by @Yung_leslie, which you can see below:

Fans were certainly in awe of Onana’s ability, which is great news for MUFC supporters with their side reportedly in pole position to get a deal across the line.

Here are some of the best reactions below…

He would no doubt be an interesting addition to the Premier League.

Opener Israrullah’s unbeaten 153 off 148 balls overpowered Karachi Blues and led Peshwar to the final of the Regional One-day Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Israrullah hit his third List A hundred•PCB

Opener Israrullah’s unbeaten 153 off 148 balls helped Peshawar to a narrow win over Karachi Blues and put his team in the final of the Regional One-day Cup against Karachi Whites.Israrullah struck 12 fours and five sixes and contributed just over half of Peshawar’s runs. The next best score from was wicketkeeper-batsman Gauhar Ali’s 45 off 51 balls, but a series of cameos from the middle order pushed the total to 303 for 5.Karachi Blues made a steady start to the chase with Khurram Manzoor, who last played for Pakistan in the Asia Cup T20 in March 2016, and captain Khalid Latif adding 59 for the first wicket. The stand ended in the 17th over when Latif was lbw to left-arm spinner Khalid Usman. Manzoor, though, went on to bring up his 28th List A fifty off 73 balls.He then became part of a middle-order slump as the chase spiraled out of control. From 155 for 2, Karachi Blues were reduced to 211 for 7. Jaahid Ali, coming in at No.7, counterattacked his way to 53 off 44 balls, but ran out of partners in the end. Karachi Blues were dismissed for 280 in 47.4 overs, left-arm seamer Taj Wali taking care of the tail and finishing with 3 for 32.

Newcastle United are looking to make a "sensational" move for West Ham captain Declan Rice this summer, according to a new update.

Is Rice leaving West Ham this summer?

The 24-year-old has grown into a wonderful player for the Hammers, and on Wednesday night, he lifted the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy, following a dramatic late win over Fiorentina in the final.

The general consensus is that that was Rice's last-ever appearance in a West Ham, with the £60,000-a-week midfielder now set for a new challenge this summer. A move to a Champions League-playing club is likely on the cards, and as things stand, Arsenal look like the favourites to snap him.

Newcastle can also promise elite players a place at Europe's top table next season, however, as they approach what has the potential to be a memorable summer transfer window.

In that respect, a fresh claim suggests that the Magpies could be eyeing an audacious move for Rice, as they look to seal some eye-catching business.

Are Newcastle signing Rice?

According to Football Insider, Newcastle "are considering a sensational bid for Declan Rice as they look to hijack Arsenal’s deal", in what is a major update. The report goes on to add that they are "interested in the West Ham star in what would be a stunning swoop".

That being said, the Gunners are still believed to be "leading the race" to snap up the England star in the coming weeks and months, with a "verbal agreement" in place and move to the Emirates potentially just "days away".

Rice could be the perfect summer signing by Newcastle, should they gazump Arsenal and others for his signature, also representing a huge signal of intent if they are chosen as his next club.

The West Ham star has arguably grown into one of the best players in his position in the Premier League, being lauded as "world-class" by former Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley and maturing into a huge box-to-box presence.

In 2022/23, Rice scored four goals and registered two assists in the league, but he also averaged 2.1 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game, showing that he has become someone who can thrive on and off the ball.

For England, he was also an ever-present at the 2022 World Cup, starting every game, and he could even be a future captain of his country, further outlining why Newcastle signing him would feel so significant.

The Bangladesh coach delivered some tough words during the tea interval on the third day in Mirpur and the players responded with an astonishing display

Mohammad Isam31-Oct-2016Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha said that at tea time during on third day of the Mirpur Test there was apprehension that another winning position was slipping from their grasp after England had moved to 100 without loss chasing 273.Hathurusingha, who has been influential in Bangladesh’s rise in the last two years, praised the role of the players who stood up to his challenge to turn the situation around, particularly the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Mehedi Hasan. Tamim, Mushfiqur Rahim’s deputy, took an active role in setting fields while Shakib and Mehedi shared the ten wickets that fell in the third session, handing Bangladesh their maiden Test win over England.”The best thing I can tell you is that the big players stood up,” Hathurusingha told ESPNcricinfo. “I was disappointed and upset that we are nearly wasting another opportunity which we had in our hands. I had a chat with the boys. I challenged them to stand up. I told them that this opportunity will never come again. I am glad that a few people stood up and decided to do something different.”Bangladesh had previous frozen when near to a winning position on a number of occasions during England’s tour this year – particularly the first one-day international and at key moments of the opening Test – but Hathurusingha said that the team will become more successful if they keep getting out of difficult situations in matches.”This group is still learning. They have a long way to go. Otherwise we would have had more success. I hope that after this win, they will have better memories if they get into such winning positions in the future, to do on their own. They can find the ways on their own in the middle. There’s a lot of idea sharing and making sure we create the environment that they get challenged.”Hathurusingha, who has now overseen four Test wins for Bangladesh, said that he is more interested in getting the job done rather than pleasing those around him. He said that the players and the BCB were supportive of him.”I got lot of support from the players, who are open for ideas, and the board members which is all you want. You don’t need everyone to like you. In that way, you’re pleasing people. The more people criticise you, it means you are challenging what is happening. Results on top of that, give you a positive sign.”

Calum MacLeod’s third ODI ton propelled Scotland’s chase of 229 to see the hosts to a seven-wicket win over UAE at the Grange, thereby closing Netherlands’ lead at the top of the table to one point

Peter Della Penna in Edinburgh16-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:06

‘Offseason technical work gave me confidence’ – MacLeod

Calum MacLeod’s third ODI ton propelled Scotland’s chase of 229 to see the hosts to a seven-wicket win over UAE at the Grange, completing a series sweep in the pair of WCL Championship fixtures, thereby closing Netherlands’ lead at the top of the table to one point. It was MacLeod’s first century since making 116 not out in a win over Ireland in September 2014.Scotland’s chase began in slightly shaky fashion with Craig Wallace slashing Mohammad Naveed to third man for 6 and Kyle Coetzer top-edging a pull to mid-on off Mohammad Shahzad for 25. At 43 for 2 in the ninth over, MacLeod and captain Preston Mommsen came together to add 165, a third-wicket record for Scotland and their third-highest ODI partnership.MacLeod punished a short-pitched barrage from UAE’s pacers, cutting them through point for four of his six fours and clubbed three sixes over long-on during his classy knock. He brought up his fifty in 69 balls and took a further fifty balls to bring up his century. His innings, and the partnership with Mommsen, was ended by a yorker from Naveed when on 103. By that stage, Scotland needed just 21 more to win off 33 balls.Mommsen remained unbeaten on 80 as Richie Berrington hit the winning boundary to finish 15 not out in his 50th ODI for Scotland. Following his unbeaten 111 on Sunday, Mommsen is yet to be dismissed in three ODIs against UAE. His other knock is an unbeaten 139 in the final of the 2014 World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand, giving him a total of 330 runs in ODIs against UAE. In six total List A games Mommsen has played against the UAE – four WCL Championship matches and two games at the 2014 World Cup Qualifier – he has scored 383 runs at an average of 383 with his only dismissal coming via a runout.The win was set up after a UAE batting collapse saw them throw away a great foundation at 187 for 4 in the 34th over. They lost their last six wickets for 41 to be dismissed for 228 in 45.4 overs. Shaiman Anwar top-scored with 63 off 75 balls for UAE, but his wicket sparked the slide when an uncontrolled cut off debutant Chris Sole sailed to the point sweeper where Safyaan Sharif took a superb sliding catch on the run.It was one of several outstanding catches on the day for Scotland, who continued to show up UAE in the fielding department. After taking a brilliant diving catch at point on Sunday, Berrington pulled off another stunner at short extra cover to send Amjad Javed back for a first-ball duck off the bowling of left-arm spinner Con De Lange. Javed’s false drive came two balls after Anwar fell, expediting UAE’s downward spiral.Sharif had made the earlier inroads into the UAE top order, getting L Sreekumar for 16 driving to Michael Leask at cover and inducing Shahzad’s edge off a full delivery for 21. In between, Sole took his maiden wicket, sparking Scotland’s short-ball plan early in the day when he had Rohan Mustafa gloving a pull down the leg side for 19. Sole later bounced out Naveed.Alasdair Evans also used the short ball to claim his two wickets. Evans broke a crucial 76-run fourth-wicket stand between Anwar and Muhammad Usman when the latter laced a pull straight to MacLeod at short midwicket for 43 in the 30th over, and wrapped up the innings when Ahmed Raza’s awkward hook was taken at long leg by Coetzer.Sharif was the undisputed star with the ball though, finishing with 3 for 25 in eight overs while Sole ended up with 3 for 51 on debut. Scotland’s final two ODIs of the summer are against Hong Kong in Edinburgh, beginning on September 8.

Chelsea are one of numerous Premier League clubs interested in signing Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha this summer, according to a new transfer report.

How good has Palhinha been this season?

The 27-year-old has arguably been one of the standout midfielders in the league so far this season, catching the eye with his off-the-ball ability. In fact, no player in the entire division has won more tackles than him in 2022/23 to date, with a tally of 129 coming his way.

Palhinha has been a big reason for Fulham's success, with relegation never looking likely despite pre-season prediction suggesting otherwise, and the west Londoners will be desperate to keep hold of him at the end of the season. His current deal expires in the summer of 2027, so it is likely that only a sizeable fee will be able to prise him away once the summer window arrives.

Midfield is an area of the pitch that Chelsea will be only looking for reinforcements in moving forward, and it looks as though the £50,000-a-week Portuguese is a potential option to come in.

Are Chelsea in the mix to sign Palhinha?

According to Football Insider, Chelsea are one of many teams who are "interested" in signing Palhinha this summer, although it clearly won't be easy for them to get their man. Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United and Bayern Munich are also reportedly in the mix, while Aston Villa are also confident of being able to compete financially with those clubs.

It is stated that Fulham are "resigned to losing" the Portugal international once this season reaches its conclusion, "given the mass amount of interest in his signature".

Palhinha could be exactly what Chelsea are looking for in the middle of the park moving forward, possessing the ability to cover ground, bite into tackles and generally help them dominate games. With N'Golo Kante's future up in the air and Mateo Kovacic turning 29 earlier this week, bringing in fresh blood is essential, and the Fulham man could be an ideal partner for Enzo Fernandez, possessing more physicality than the Argentina World Cup winner.

There are very few things working against the move, although the Blues' lack of European football next season could certainly be an issue, with others reportedly keen on him being able to promise him Champions League next season, which can often be a massive lure for players.

Palhinha has been lauded by Jamie Redknapp for having a "real presence about him" and for being a "fantastic" signing by the Cottagers, and Chelsea signing him could be a masterstroke.