Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif seems to be on course for a return to the international fold ahead of the Champions Trophy. The PCB has asked Asif, 26, to report for a coaching camp for young players to gauge his fitness for the tournament, to be held in South Africa, as he completes a 12-month ban for a doping offence.”Asif is attending the training camp for under-23 players in Karachi where we have asked camp commandant Rashid Latif to give us a report by August 20 whether he is match fit for the Champions Trophy,” chief selector Iqbal Qasim told Reuters.Qasim was satisfied with Asif’s progress after he took 1 for 23 in the nine overs during a match at the PCB Under-23 Emerging Players camp at the National Stadium in Karachi. The performance would have done his chances of inclusion in the Champions Trophy squad no harm.”He performed well in the match and apparently seems fit. There is still some time before the Champions Trophy and he can even go up by 5-10% in fitness by that time,” Qasim said. “But the selection of players depends on the verdict of the complete selection committee,”Qasim, however said, the board would not experiment when picking the team for the Champions Trophy. “The 15-member squad for Champions Trophy would be selected from the initial 30-man squad,” he said.Asif has not played any cricket since July last year and was banned last September by the PCB after testing positive for nandrolone while playing for the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL’s first edition.He will complete the ban on September 22, and has been okayed by the ICC to play in the Champions Trophy that starts on the same day in Johannesburg.Asif has taken 51 wickets in 11 Tests at 23.13 and 36 in 31 ODIs at 33.27, but has also had his run-ins with the authorities over disciplinary issues. The PCB fined the fast bowler Rs 1 million last month after he was detained in Dubai last year for possessing opium.The Pakistan selectors will meet in Lahore on August 20 after which they are expected to announce a 15-member squad the following day.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left buzzing over an admission from Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of their game away at Liverpool in the Premier League this evening, the Spaniard admitted (via Sky Sports Scotland) that he is a Gers fan: “As a Rangers fan I must say thanks so much to Stevie”.

Of course, he is referencing the departed Steven Gerrard, who has left to go and manage Aston Villa, while Giovanni van Bronckhorst has now taken his place.

Nonetheless, members of the Ibrox faithful picked up on the fact that he is a Light Blues supporter, despite growing up in Spain and currently managing the Gunners.

Arteta won a Scottish Premiership title with the Teddy Bears as a player, as well as two other domestic trophies (Transfermarkt), and must have enjoyed his time in Scotland so much to call himself an RFC supporter.

Rangers fans on Arteta admission

These Rangers fans buzzed as his admission was shared on Twitter, with one claiming that they ‘love’ it while another even went as far as to call it ‘superb’:

“Class, well said Mikel! Always a Ranger”

Credit: @KenM_inCzechRep

“Outstanding Mikel”

Credit: @gazza226

“Now this does put a smile on my face”

Credit: @Gsinclair291

“Superb”

Credit: @douglasjamesgr2

“Love this”

Credit: @buntymunn

“Cutting onions”

Credit: @RssGrhm

In other news, find out who van Bronckhorst is bringing with him to Rangers here!

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has backed midfielder Adam Forshaw to fill in as a reliable deputy to Kalvin Phillips moving forward.

The Lowdown: Forshaw back after injury nightmare

Forshaw was a key player for Leeds when they were in the Championship, making 31 league appearances back in 2018/19.

Unfortunately, the 30-year-old has suffered a nightmare time of things with injury, missing close to two years of action with a serious hip problem.

Forshaw is now back in the fold, however, appearing five times this season and producing a ‘good cameo’ away to Norwich City on Sunday, according to journalist Phil Hay on Twitter.

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The Latest: Whelan makes key claim

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan tipped Forshaw to continue to be ideal cover for Phillips in central midfield as the season progresses:

“Yeah, I think so. We’ve still got to be mindful he’s had a really bad injury. He was out for two years, it’s not like two months.

“A little bit of cotton wool round him, just easing him in. Giving him the right amount of minutes, in the right games and situations.

“If Kalvin does suffer any more injuries, he probably is the one that you look at, to step into that role. So it’s very important that we manage him.

“I’m sure he’ll be expressing his fitness levels and how he’s feeling to the medical staff and the manager as well. It’s important that they all work together on Adam.

“Keep him fit, keep him out there on the training ground, keep him playing certain minutes of football. It will hopefully, steadily, get him back to where he was before the injury.”

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The Verdict: Hard to rely upon

While it is heartwarming to see Forshaw back fit – Whelan has hailed him as ‘excellent’ in the past – Leeds could still do with signing another midfielder to rival Phillips.

Given the severity of his injury, it is hard to rely on him staying fit for long periods, even though he is currently injury-free and impressing.

In an ideal world, Forshaw will carry on being a reliable squad member for a number of years, but it would be risky to trust him as Phillip’s main backup after his major injury setbacks.

In other news, Phil Hay has provided an update on Marcelo Bielsa’s future. Read more here.

Everton have reportedly stepped up their pursuit of Stoke City defender Harry Souttar as they prepare for Yerry Mina’s potential departure.

The Toffees were first linked with the highly-rated 23-year-old after it was revealed Duncan Ferguson had personally scouted the youngster ahead of a possible move.

And now, with Mina believed to be keen on a transfer to Serie A next summer and Inter amongst the clubs interested in his services, it appears Everton have already begun making plans to bring in his successor.

Spanish outlet Fichajes reported towards the end of last month that the Merseyside outfit are keeping a £20m sum aside as the January window approaches in order to convince Stoke to part ways with their prized asset as Rafa Benitez looks to bolster his defensive ranks.

Heir to Yerry Mina

Standing at a whopping 6 foot 7, Souttar certainly has the stature and physical prowess to replace the sizeable Mina in Everton’s backline.

But despite his imposing frame, the Australia international is also capable of carrying out the expectations placed upon a modern-day centre-back.

Potters boss Michael O’Neill has been quick to get this point across in the opening weeks of the campaign, praising Souttar’s ability on the ball in a post-match interview.

“I think Harry’s got a lot to offer,” he said. “The most pleasing thing for me is that Harry has made us better in terms of starting games from the back.

“People might just see 6ft 7in and think it’s all about the aerial side of the game but if anything it’s not like that for Harry. He’s a quality footballer, and I think he’s adapted to the Championship really well.”

After spending 2019/20 on loan at Fleetwood Town, Souttar has since established himself as a regular starter at the heart of Stoke’s defence over the last 18 months, and he’s currently enjoying a stellar campaign.

As per WhoScored, he’s averaged a whopping 5.8 clearances per league game this term – the highest total amongst his teammates – and also managed 1.9 tackles and 1.9 interceptions – the fourth-highest tallies compared to his colleagues.

Whether he’s able to make the step up to the Premier League remains to be seen, but the Everton supporters would surely love to see another promising young talent take to the Goodison Park pitch, especially if he possesses similar qualities to Mina.

And, in other news…Everton could replace James with “dynamic” £25.2m-rated “playmaker” who fans will love 

While the visitors lean to a four-man seam unit, England will consider calling up Monty Panesar to link with spin partner Graeme Swann on a dry surface

Peter English at The Oval19-Aug-2009

Australia are reluctant to change their match-winning combination and are expected to keep their all-pace attack for the Ashes decider at The Oval. While the visitors lean to a four-man seam unit, England remain adamant that they can bounce back from their two-and-a-half day humiliation at Headingley, with their captain, Andrew Strauss, backing the character and balance of the 14-man squad at their disposal.The depth of England’s squad is designed to cover every bowling permutation, from an extra swing bowler in Ryan Sidebottom to the second spinner, Monty Panesar, but with Andrew Flintoff’s right knee showing strong signs of lasting the distance, their range of alterations becomes much clearer. Australia almost carry a closed shop following the victory in Leeds that levelled the series and the most likely line-up includes the quartet of Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and Stuart Clark.Brett Lee is pushing to appear in his first match of the series but his only way back is if Ricky Ponting is convinced there will be considerable reverse-swing during the match.Unfortunately for Lee, The Oval’s groundstaff say the ball has not moved late throughout the season, and the only bare spots that could rough up the ball are on the practice pitches at the edge of the square. Surrey’s cricket manager, Chris Adams, told Cricinfo that this could be due to the Tiflex ball that is currently used instead of the Duke in the second division of the County Championship, but either way it does not bode well for Australia’s pace spearhead.”What we see at the moment is what we expect,” Ponting said at The Oval on Tuesday. “As I said after the Headingley game, we’re going to have to see something really different to change the make-up of the side considering everything worked really well. The wicket looks particularly good and it could dry a little bit.”Usually such a barren pitch would make a spinner a certainty, but Nathan Hauritz chips in with wickets rather than dominating batting orders and the side coped without him in the more seam-friendly conditions in Leeds. Ponting called Hauritz a “very smart and skilful offspinner” and talked up his performance in the tour game in Canterbury, while he also reminded England of Lee’s qualities during a cautious description.”With Brett, his record suggests he is a really striking bowler who can go for a few runs,” Ponting said. “If it looks like it’s going to be really dry and later in the game there might be some reverse-swing, then he’ll come into consideration.” The current forecast, which changes more often than batting gloves late in the game, is for rain on Thursday and sunny intervals over the following three days.Ponting was impressed by the pitch and predicted some big innings during the match, which Australia only need to draw to take the Ashes. He also hoped it would provide pace, bounce and some turn late in the contest. “If you look at the results over the last couple of years there have been big innings – teams have made 600, 580 – and I’d expect at some stage in this game there will be those sorts of innings as well,” he said.Strauss kept his large squad together “in case things go wrong” on Wednesday and refused to rule out the use of two spinners. “It’s definitely an option,” he said of Panesar teaming up with Swann. “It’s a pretty dry wicket. At the moment it looks like a belter, it looks like a great wicket to bat on, but there’s always a chance that it’s going to deteriorate in the back-end of the game.”Whatever changes England make, Strauss will be satisfied if they are planned, unlike the frenetic start to the Headingley Test when Matt Prior, the wicketkeeper, hurt his back in the warm-up. That injury delayed the toss, Strauss was out quickly and England fell for 102 on the way to an innings-and-80-run loss. “I just don’t want a wicketkeeper falling over five minutes before the toss,” he said, hoping for a more sombre lead-up.Regardless of any off-field distractions, however, Strauss is confident that his team will be fully focussed once the action gets underway. “We’ve been through a lot of tough times in the last six to 12 months and generally we’ve come through,” he said. “Guys are holding their heads up and we’re as tight a unit as we were at the start of the series.”I’m absolutely certain that we’re going to go out and play well this week. I’ve got no doubt about it. The crowd are going to get behind us, there’s going to be fantastic support there for us. The guys are going to go out there in the right frame of mind and enjoy their cricket. Pressure is only something you put on yourself. That’s not something that’s going to be pre-occupying us.”

While the Carabao Cup may not have been high up on Leeds United’s priority list, their tame 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday night would have done nothing for their confidence heading into this weekend.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side were well in the game during the first-half, and but for some truly woeful decision-making in the final third and some questionable end product, could have found themselves a goal up.

Instead, they let the home side off the hook, and the Gunners duly punished them after the break, with goals from Calum Chambers and former Whites loanee Eddie Nketiah bagging to see the north Londoners through to the quarter-finals.

One man who really embarrassed Bielsa with his performance, was Dan James.

The Wales international was once again handed a start from the off as Bielsa went fairly strong with his starting line-up, and showed the searing pace that makes him a nightmare for opposition defenders.

But, James’ speed was all that was on show in terms of a positive sense for Leeds. Time and time again, his final ball and decision-making let him down and wasted numerous promising opportunities for his team.

One occasion saw him mis-control an admittedly difficult ball that would have had him take on Bernd Leno one on one, while another, and arguably the most disappointing, saw him race away on the break but fail to see Rodrigo to his right in open space and seeing the attack come to an end.

The fact he had fewer touches than goalkeeper Illan Meslier spoke volumes of just how anonymous he became, and it was something a couple of people spotted.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for The Yorkshire Evening Post, Graham Smyth gave him a five, saying: “His pace troubled Arsenal but the final ball let him down. Disappeared from the game as an influence after the break.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Leeds Live’s Beren Cross, who also gave him a five, and added: “Found excellent positions and out himself in the right places at the right times to turn the afterburners on and get Leeds up the field, but by contrast, showed slowness in thought when it came to delivering a final ball or shot around the box. Wasted several good openings.”

Bielsa would have been desperately hoping for James to prove why the Whites splashed out big money on him after several years of following his progress.

Instead, he put in the kind of mind-numbing display that would have left his manager extremely disappointed on the side-lines.

Meanwhile, Leeds must finally unleash this academy starlet in the Premier League…it’s not Gelhardt

Monty Panesar, the England left-arm spinner, has joined South African domestic side Highveld Lions as their overseas player this season

Cricinfo staff02-Oct-2009Monty Panesar, the England left-arm spinner, has joined South African domestic side Highveld Lions as their overseas player this season.Panesar was dropped from the England Test team after the first Ashes Test at Cardiff, despite his match-saving effort with the bat on a tense final evening, and has now lost his central contract. His spot as England’s No.1 spinner has gone to Graeme Swann and in 13 County Championship matches this season Panesar took just 18 wickets at an expensive 59.44.”Having practised with [head coach] Dave Nosworthy and the Lions players last January for 10 days prior to going to West Indies with England, I know what superb facilities and friendly people await me in Johannesburg,” Panesar said. “[Chief executive] Alan Kourie was very helpful to me on my last trip, and I look forward to picking his and other people’s brains further as I seek to develop my bowling and all-round game in the challenging environment of South African cricket.”England are yet to announce their touring party for the winter tour of South Africa, but Panesar’s name is not expected to feature with Adil Rashid set to travel as the second spinner. However, Panesar will be in the right place should injuries strike the main squad.Two years ago the Lions had Steve Harmison in their ranks as he tried to prove his form and fitness before the tour 2007-08 tour of Sri Lanka.

تواجد البرتغالي روي فيتوريا المدير الفني لمنتخب مصر في مقر نادي طلائع الجيش باستاد جهاز الرياضة العسكري.

وكان فريق طلائع الجيش قد تمكن من الفوز أمام الأهلي مساء أمس بنتيجة 1-0، في المباراة التي جمعتهما ضمن منافسات الدوري.

طالع | فيتوريا يستقر على 40 لاعبًا في معسكر منتخب مصر القادم.. ويتبع سياسة جديدة

واجتمع فيتوريا بالجهاز الفني للفريق بقيادة طارق العشري، في حضور عامر حسين عضو اتحاد الكرة، وأحمد المهدي مدير الكرة بنادي طلائع الجيش، ومحمد غرابة المدير الإداري لمنتخب مصر.

وتحدث الثنائي فيتوريا والعشري عن بعض الأمور الفنية بنادي طلائع الجيش والدوري المصري ومستوى بعض اللاعبين.

MatériaMais Notícias

Começou na manhã desta segunda-feira a pré-venda de ingressos para o Avanti do jogo entre Palmeiras e Coritiba, segunda que vem, dia 18, às 20h, no Pacaembu. A diretoria do Verdão diminuiu o valor do ingresso em três setores: cadeiras Laranja, Descoberta e Coberta.

A preferência de compra para os sócios-torcedores segue no site do Avanti até quarta-feira, às 18h. A partir disso, o restante dos palmeirenses terão acesso aos ingressos para o confronto, válido pela 24ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro.

O Verdão jogará no Estádio Municipal, por conta de shows e a nova troca de gramado no Allianz Parque. A partir do dia 21, a arena receberá um festival de rock, e antes das apresentações será feita a retirada do campo para plantar um novo antes do clássico contra o Santos, dia 30 de setembro. Este jogo está garantido no Palestra Itália.

Esta será a terceira vez no ano em que o Verdão jogará no Pacaembu por conta de eventos no Allianz Parque. No Paulistão, o time enfrentou o Novorizontino pelas quartas de final no estádio municipal, assim como o confronto com o Grêmio, pelo Brasileiro. Nos dois o Palmeiras venceu.

Os valores dos ingressos são:
Tobogã – R$ 40,00 [R$ 20,00 meia-entrada]
Arquibancada Laranja – R$ 60,00 [R$ 30,00 meia-entrada]
Arquibancada Verde – R$ 60,00 [R$ 30,00 meia-entrada]
Arquibancada Amarela – R$ 60,00 [R$ 30,00 meia-entrada]
Cadeira Laranja – R$ 70,00 [R$ 35,00 meia-entrada]
Cadeira Descoberta – R$ 80,00 [R$ 40,00 meia-entrada]
Cadeira Coberta Azul – R$ 100,00 [R$ 50,00 meia-entrada]
Arquibancada Visitante Lilás – R$ 60,00 [R$ 30,00 meia-entrada]

POSTOS DE VENDA
Bilheterias do estádio do Pacaembu (Portão Principal)
Endereço: Praça Charles Miller
Pacaembu – São Paulo/SP
Horário de atendimento: dias 15, 16 e 17 de setembro, das 10h às 17h, e dia 18, das 10h até o intervalo da partida
*Disponível para venda de ingressos e trocas de meia-entrada
Obs.: os demais postos de venda serão divulgados nos próximos dias.

continua após a publicidade

Leeds United are still reportedly interested in signing Arsenal youngster Eddie Nketiah, bringing him back to Elland Road in the process.

The Lowdown: Nketiah struggling at Arsenal

The 22-year-old may be England under-21s’ all-time record goalscorer but his stock has fallen in recent times.

Nketiah has found himself out of favour at Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta opting for the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette ahead of him. The striker is yet to play a single minute of Premier League action this season and his only two appearances have come in the Carabao Cup.

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The Latest: Leeds return on the cards?

According to TransferMarketWeb, Leeds have contacted Nketiah about a move to Elland Road, with West Ham, Crystal Palace and other European clubs also mentioned as potential suitors.

The young striker enjoyed a spell on loan with the Whites back in 2019/20, scoring five times in 19 appearances.

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The Verdict: Added squad depth

There may be question marks about whether or not Nketiah is good enough to regularly lead the line for a Premier League club, but he could be a good squad option for Leeds.

He could provide competition for the likes of Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo, and at 22 and having broken the England under-21 goalscoring record, there is no reason why he can’t still reach his potential, with Arteta once describing him as ‘extraordinary’.

Nketia has played under Marcelo Bielsa before at Elland Road during that loan spell and the Argentine could be the perfect man to get the best out of him.

In other news, Leeds have been mentioned as possible suitors for one exciting player. Find out who it is here.