أثار مدافع الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي بنفيكا الشاب، أنطونيو سيلفا، إعجاب ليفربول ومدربه، يورجن كلوب، من أجل تدعيم الخط الخلفي في الريدز بالموسم المقبل.

ويبلغ سيلفا من العمر 18 عامًا فقط ولكن أداءه مع بنفيكا في الموسم الحالي جذب الاهتمام له من أكثر من نادٍ على رأسهم ليفربول وكذلك برشلونة، ريال مدريد، مانشستر سيتي وباريس سان جيرمان.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ردود أفعال جماهير ليفربول على أداء محمد صلاح بعد الخسارة أمام نوتينجهام

وبحسب صحيفة “O Jogo” البرتغالية، يتابع ليفربول أداء سيلفا مع بنفيكا عن كثب في الفترة الحالية ولكن هناك عقبة في إتمام تلك الصفقة.

بنفيكا يطلب الحصول على 100 مليون يورو وهو شرط فسخ التعاقد في عقد مدافعه، وهو ما يرفض ليفربول الانصياع له وبالتالي تكون الصفقة صعبة الحدوث.

يريد ليفربول أن يدعم خط الدفاع في الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بسبب التذبذب في أداء جويل ماتيب وجو جوميز وعدم مشاركة إبراهيما كوناتي المستمرة بجانب، فيرجيل فان دايك.

Phil Simmons, Ireland’s coach, believes his side are wiser going in to the third edition of the ICC World Twenty20 than they were in last summer’s competition. For Ireland the trip back to Jamaica also allows them to recapture memories of their 2007 World Cup campaign when they famously beat Pakistan to progress to the Super Eights, and Simmons was hopeful they could pull off a few more upsets.”I think it’s easier to pull off a shock in Twenty20 because recovery time is less than in 50 overs,” said Simmons. “We have played that little bit more Twenty20 than we had going into the last World Cup – so we are slightly wiser about Twenty20 cricket. That has to be a good thing.”Ireland have maintained consistent performances in recent times despite a number of high profile retirements and injuries, having lost players of the ilk of Eoin Morgan and Ed Joyce to England, and with Boyd Rankin – who is also on England’s radar after being included in the ECB’s England Performance Programme – sidelined since January with a stress fracture to his right foot. Yet they have the likes of veteran Trent Johnston, who captained during the World Cup, and his successor William Porterfield, as well as players with county cricket experience.”It’s nice (for me) to be playing in the West Indies and for the players to be taking on England too,” Simmons said. “But this is the group we would have taken too; we are happy with that. From our point of view, it is about trying to improve our performance every time we take on teams at this level – and Twenty20 is no different. It is a format we are not experienced in, but we have to keep picking things up as we go and make sure we use them.”Ireland’s preparations ahead of the tournament have not been too successful. They won just one of six tour games, lost an ODI to West Indies, and won one of two warm-up Twenty20 matches. Against the backdrop of calls in certain quarters to push for Ireland’s Test status, Simmons did not feel there was added pressure on the team. “Yes, the pressure is on; but that is inevitable on these occasions,” he said. “The stakes are always high, whenever you are taking on these full member top teams with a chance to show you are improving. It’s not something we even think about. We just go out to play as well as we can and make sure we take our opportunities.”Ireland have been grouped with West Indies and England during the initial phase of the World Twenty20, which starts on April 30.

Fabrizio Romano has backed up previous reports that Newcastle United are now ‘keen’ on signing Benoit Badiashile in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Botman off?

Romano has confirmed that the deal to try and bring Sven Botman to St. James’ Park has ‘collapsed’, meaning that they will now have to look at other targets in the centre-back area.

They have conceded no fewer than 42 goals the Premier League so far this season, the second-worst in the division, and so bringing in a new central defender should help improve that number.

Nick Hammond has already secured the signings of Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood, and the North East club can now target the centre-half position over the next few days.

The Latest: Badiashile interest

As per Romano, the Tyneside outfit are now ‘keen’ on doing a deal for Badiashile, although West Ham United are also ‘interested’ in his signature, and the AS Monaco ace has recently picked up an injury:

“Newcastle are keen on Benoit Badiashile after Botman deal collapsed. West Ham are also interested. Nothing agreed yet.

“From today’s medical tests, AS Monaco expect Badiashile to be back with the team in 2-3 weeks. Timing will be key to understand next steps.”

The Italian’s update comes after previous reports from The Sun believed the clubs to be ‘in talks’ over a deal.

The Verdict: Sign

If the Botman deal cannot be done, then the Magpies need to bring in another centre-back fast, as crucial games like the one at home to Watford on Saturday afternoon are coming thick and fast.

Although Badiashile has no experience in England, he has been playing at a high level in Ligue 1 and in the UEFA Europa League, despite being just 20 years of age.

Described as a ‘tenacious’, ‘strong’ and ‘fast’ player by Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig, the Frenchman has a bit of everything, and could certainly thrive in the Premier League.

Nonetheless, if Eddie Howe’s team can scoop him up in this window ahead of David Moyes’ high-flying Hammers, then it would represent a real sign of intent.

In other news, find out which other centre-back NUFC are ‘eyeing’ here!

Leeds United missed out on signing French youngster Bilal Brahimi in the January transfer window, according to a report which emerged on Friday.

The Lowdown: Brahimi joins Nice

The 21-year-old winger struggled during his short time with Angers, making just nine appearances for the French club after arriving last summer.

Despite this, Brahimi earned a move to fellow Ligue 1 outfit Nice during the January window, joining in a deal thought to be worth £6.3m.

While Leeds failed to make any new signings last month, a new update suggests that the versatile Nice attacker could have been plying his trade at Elland Road currently.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Leeds missed out on youngster

Leeds fans heard plenty on the constant January links to Brenden Aaronson, but now comes a new name on Victor Orta’s radar which has not been reported elsewhere.

According to TEAMtalk, Leeds were one of a host of British clubs who wanted to sign Brahimi, with Wolves and Rangers also mentioned in the report.

It is claimed that Nice signed the two-time France Under-19 international, who can play on either wing or behind the striker, as an alternative to out-of-favour Manchester United man Jesse Lingard.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-33/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: One that got away?

While Brahimi clearly struggled at Angers, he is a talented player who could have potentially been an exciting long-term addition for Leeds.

He registered 12 goals and 10 assists in just 34 appearances for Le Mans before joining Angers and if he was wanted by Marcelo Bielsa then the enigmatic boss clearly sees plenty of potential left to fulfil.

Attacking firepower has been Leeds’ downfall this season in the absence of Patrick Bamford for much of the time – they have only scored more than once in four Premier League games – and Brahimi could have helped solve that issue.

In other news, Leeds are still thought to be monitoring a British player ahead of a summer move. Read more here.

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Duje Caleta-Car to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to David Ornstein’s recent report for The Athletic, in which the journalist claimed that David Moyes and his West Ham transfer team are weighing up a move for the Olympique de Marseille centre-back in the closing stages of the winter market.

Ornstein goes on to state that, while the Hammers are more inclined to sign the 25-year-old on a loan deal, the Ligue 1 side would prefer to part with the Croatia international on a permanent basis, in order to raise funds for their own transfer business this month.

Finally, the journalist reports that both Liverpool and Newcastle United are also interested in a move for the centre-back, whose current deal at The Stade Velodrome is set to expire in the summer of 2023.

Fans will be buzzing

While the early return of Kurt Zouma from a hamstring injury has somewhat lessened West Ham’s need to sign a new central defender this winter, considering just how impressive Caleta-Car has been for Marseille this season, in addition to the fact that Moyes could still do with greater depth in the heart of his defence, Ornstein’s claim will undoubtedly have left the London Stadium faithful buzzing.

Indeed, over his 11 Ligue 1 appearances in the current campaign, the £14.4m-rated man has been in astonishing form for Jorge Sampaoli’s outfit, helping his side keep five clean sheets and scoring one goal, as well as making an average of 0.7 interceptions, 1.2 tackles, 1.9 clearances, 68.2 passes and winning 74% of his duels per game.

These returns have seen the £47k-per-week defender average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.15, ranking him as Marseille’s fourth-best performer in the top flight of French football.

As such, with Angelo Ogbonna out until the summer with a knee injury, it would indeed appear a wise move for Moyes to bring in an upgrade on both Issa Diop and Craig Dawson this month – with Caleta-Car looking to be an extremely strong candidate to fulfil this role.

In other news: GSB must sanction West Ham swoop for “unplayable” £5m gem, he’s Lanzini’s perfect heir

A key Newcastle United transfer update has emerged, regarding what position they are looking to strengthen in…

What’s the talk?

Athletic journalist Chris Waugh has revealed that the Magpies are in the market to add at least one new striker to their squad this month, although they are not close to completing any deal as it stands.

In the Q&A section of his piece on The Athletic, Waugh replied to a fan asking about Steve Nickson and the pursuit of a forward:

“In terms of Nickson, you’re right that he was working within restrictions under Ashley and, hopefully, that may have changed. The players identified do seem impressive so far, so let’s hope they can manage to sign some of them. As for his long-term future, there has been no rush to remove him, but I think substantive decisions will be deferred until a CEO and director of football are in place, then they can determine the long-term direction of the club.

“In terms of strikers, they are very much actively looking to recruit at least one but, as you say, it’s a very difficult window and hard to secure one even during the summer, so it’s proving tricky, but they will keep attempting to lure one. I don’t believe anything is close, though, and I think they see beyond Gayle now.”

Delight

Newcastle fans will surely be delighted with this update as the club are in desperate need of more goalscorers in the squad heading into the second half of the campaign.

This was shown in full view on Saturday as the Magpies lost 1-0 to Cambridge in the FA Cup. They managed 19 shots, nine on target, against the League One outfit and were unable to find a way past Dimitar Mitov as they wasted chance after chance at St. James’ Park.

In the Premier League this season, only Allan Saint-Maximin (four) and Callum Wilson (six) have scored more than one goal. This also highlights how little Eddie Howe has in the striking department and why fans will be buzzing with Waugh’s latest claim.

Goals win games and Newcastle have only won one league match all season, which is why they could benefit greatly from bringing some extra firepower to the side. They could improve their chances of winning games and dragging themselves out of the dropzone by signing a player who could come in and score six or seven goals in the next five months.

Therefore, fans will be delighted that the club are working hard on a deal to sign a striker and are aware that the position needs attention alongside other areas. It is now down to the likes of Nickson, Howe and Nick Hammond to identify the right targets and get them in before the window slams shut at the end of the month.

AND in other news, “Intensifying efforts”: Ornstein drops NUFC transfer update that’ll have fans buzzing…

Partly misfortune but mostly indiscipline cost them the fifth and final ODI in Port of Spain to ensure South Africa swept an ODI series 5-0 for the third time against West Indies

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya03-Jun-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outJP Duminy’s wicket tilted the balance in favour of West Indies, but the hosts failed to take advantage•AFPThe humiliation was complete, but only moments after it seemed West Indies had done enough to avert it. Partly misfortune but mostly indiscipline cost them the fifth and final ODI in Port of Spain to ensure South Africa swept an ODI series 5-0 for the third time against West Indies. The wickets of half-centurions Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy had helped the hosts wrest control of the game, but Jerome Taylor’s inopportune injury, Dwayne Bravo’s poor death bowling and Kieron Pollard’s nervy last over deprived the hosts of an elusive face-saving win.South Africa’s lower order had been untested this series due to the success of their frontline batsmen, but prevailed through a combination of luck and mettle. Jerome Taylor, who bowled Duminy in the 44th over to put his team ahead, tormented Ryan McLaren with deliveries outside off stump that the batsman consistently struggled to hit. The effect was increasing pressure on the visitors that was relaxed when Taylor’s niggles returned to haunt him.As Taylor walked off the field, Bravo and Pollard, two bowlers adept at changing their pace, had to shoulder the responsibility of restricting South Africa. But the more experienced among them erred in strategy and direction, opting to target the stumps as opposed to Taylor’s ploy of troubling the batsmen outside off. He conceded three wides, was struck for a boundary through midwicket and chipped over the in-field in the 47th over which cost 13 and brought the equation to 19 off 18.Pollard’s next over, which only went for two, restored West Indies’ advantage with the wickets of Johan Botha and McLaren. But Bravo again let it slip, bowling too wide to be sliced for four before gifting a full toss to van der Merwe who drove him past mid-off for another boundary. He made amends somewhat with the wicket of Charl Langeveldt to make it nine down, but Pollard’s nerves failed him in the last over off which the visitors needed seven. He doled out a short delivery that van der Merwe dispatched over square leg and gave the No.11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe just the delivery he needed to launch his ODI batting career – a short and wide delivery cracked through the covers to seal West Indies’ fate with two balls to spare.The chase, however, was set up by Kallis, who played with an assuredness conspicuous in its absence when West Indies were batting. Joining Hashim Amla after the early loss of Graeme Smith, he quickly settled in with consecutive boundaries off David Bernard. When the field spread, he had no trouble working the field, an approach he stuck to despite the loss of two prolific partners in Amla and AB de Villiers within a space of five overs. The situation was a tough one to adapt to for a player searching for form, but Duminy found his game in typically busy fashion, as he struck just one four in his 52, while supporting Kallis in a 58-run fourth-wicket stand. Though their wickets shifted the balance, the depth in batting ensured they had achieved enough.West Indies’ performance with the bat in the final two ODIs improved markedly but there remained existing glitches that South Africa’s bowlers managed to exploit. In conditions favourable for batting, they went through periods of stagnation, a problem highlighted by Chris Gayle at the end of the previous game as well, despite them reaching 303. It was largely due to a Narsingh Deonarine-initiated late surge that West Indies scored 252, with assistance from Pollard and Darren Sammy.The bounce remained true and the South African seamers consistently pitched short of a good length. While getting the ball to cut both ways and testing the batsmen with variations in pace, they were helped by one end being held up by Shivnarine Chanderpaul. For three consecutive overs did Gayle pick a single off the first ball, only to watch his partner gobble up the remaining deliveries. The agony was cast aside with each batsman striking Tsotsobe for fours in the eighth over, but Gayle failed to consolidate his start yet again, mistiming an attempted pull off a slower ball straight to mid-on in Ryan Mclaren’s first over.The introduction of spin choked West Indies further. Now it was Darren Bravo who didn’t get going. Attacked by Botha from round the wicket and van der Merwe’s nagging lengths, Darren Bravo failed to break free. Such was the difficulty in pinching the singles that his batting was confined to dabbing the ball around the in-field, with just eight runs scored off his first 31 deliveries. When he finally decided to open up, and played a convincing lofted drive, he was pouched brilliantly by Mark Boucher at extra cover, without the keeping gloves for the first time in his 292-ODI career.Though Deonarine, backed by Pollard and Sammy’s power-play at the end of the innings, combined muscle with an innovative quest for runs to help score 86 off the last eight overs, the failure of Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo to push on despite wickets in hand meant the eventual score was always one that an in-form South Africa would back themselves chasing.

Cricinfo previews the first semi-final between Mumbai and Bangalore at DY Patil Stadium

The Preview by Sidharth Monga20-Apr-2010 Match factsWednesday, April 21
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Both their league games were one-sided affairs. Will the semi-final promise an even contest?•Indian Premier League

Big PictureAround last weekend, Royal Challengers Bangalore were a pleased side. Assured of a semi-final slot, they were looking forward to playing the knockout match on a pitch that suits their style of play, in front of a crowd that gets behind them vociferously. On Saturday, though, things changed. First they got a hammering from table leaders Mumbai Indians, which meant their net run rate fell, taking them to No. 4, setting up the semi-final against the same opponents. Before that thrashing started, there were two bomb explosions outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which meant the semis were moved to the DY Patil Stadium in the outskirts of Mumbai.Now Bangalore find themselves up against an imposing side at an intimidating venue: ask Adam Gilchrist, whose Deccan Chargers played a “home” match at DY Patil against Mumbai Indians. Yet Bangalore are one of the few sides this season that know that Mumbai can be beaten: they did so, convincingly, and in front of the Brabourne crowd. Mumbai would like to use their home advantage to make their first-ever appearance in an IPL final.Form guide (most recent first)Royal Challengers Bangalore LWLWL
Mumbai Indians LWWWL Team talkAfter having experimented in their last few matches, Mumbai should go back to full strength, barring injuries. Kieron Pollard and Lasith Malinga are the two clear choices for overseas players. Dwayne Bravo hasn’t been in great form, so they may give JP Duminy a look-in. Dilhara Fernando might have impressed them enough with his split-finger slower ball, but Ryan McLaren might get the nod because he is a decent batsman too.Mumbai Indians (probable) 1 Sachin Tendulkar (capt.), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Saurabh Tiwary, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 JP Duminy, 7 R Sathish/Ali Murtaza/Abhishek Nayar/Aditya Tare, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Ryan McLaren/Dilhara Fernando, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Lasith MalingaBangalore are not likely to tinker too much with the XI that lost its last league match to Mumbai. Pankaj Singh v Praveen Kumar seems to be an interesting choice.Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable) 1 Jacques Kallis, 2 Manish Pandey, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Ross Taylor/Cameron White, 5 Robin Uthappa (wk), 6 Rahul Dravid, 7 Virat Kolhi, 8 Dale Steyn, Anil Kumble (capt.), 10 R Vinay Kumar, 11 Praveen Kumar/Pankaj Singh Previously…Bangalore 3 Mumbai 3
Their first match this year encounter was one-way traffic, with R Vinay Kumar and Dale Steyn slicing open Mumbai’s batting, and Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey leading the chase. But Mumbai returned the favour through an even more one-sided match, a 57-run win.In the spotlight Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey have fizzled out after having given Bangalore some smashing starts in the first half of the tournament. Both have recently had question marks against their roles in the team, but it might be too late to replace them. They were as big a factor behind the success as they have been behind a lukewarm second half, and they will not want to be failures if they come second-best in the semi-final.Lasith Malinga was one of the most difficult men to score off, bowling yorkers at will and using the slower ones as well. But he was rested for the last three matches, so the question is if he will be able to hit his rhythm right away when comes back for a pressure match.Prime numbers and trivia In the first half of the tournament, the opening stand of Kallis and Pandey averaged 72.6 per dismissal at a run-rate of 8.07 per over. In the second half, they have gone at 11.4 per dismissal and 5.34 an over.Sachin Tendulkar and Shikhar Dhawan have opened for Mumbai seven times, and their opening combination has averaged 46.43 at 8.55 per over. In the seven remaining games, Mumbai’s first wicket has averaged 24.43 at 7.6 an over.Of the six IPL matches played at the DY Patil, three have been won by sides batting first and three by the chasing sides. The average first-innings score has been 153, and second innings 140. Quicker bowlers have enjoyed the venue more, taking 56 wickets at an average of 22.05 and economy-rate of 7.48. The corresponding stats for spinners are 19 wickets at 26.74 and 7.82.Chatter “I don’t think any team has an advantage anywhere. You have to go out and do well. Every team has been beaten by every other team at some stage. Every team has the ability to beat any other team.”

Celtic look set to receive a second offer for Stephen Welsh in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Sun, who claim that after Ange Postecoglou’s side rejected Udinese’s initial offer of a loan with an option to buy the centre-back, the Serie A side are preparing a second bid in the coming days to test the Bhoys’ resolve for the 21-year-old.

Further reports have suggested that Celtic have placed an asking price of €2m (£1.6m) on the Scotland U21 international, while Messaggero Veneto go as far as to suggest that the defender would be open to a move to Italy this month.

Huge mistake

While it is true that Welsh is not currently a guaranteed starter at Parkhead, considering the undoubted potential the centre-back possesses, it would certainly be a huge mistake for Postecoglou to cash in on the 21-year-old this January.

Indeed, over his nine Premiership outings in the current campaign, the £1.35m-rated defender has been in fantastic form for the Bhoys, helping his side keep three clean sheets and providing one assist, in addition to making an average of 1.6 interceptions, 0.8 tackles, 85.9 passes, 2.2 clearances and winning 5.1 duels per game.

These metrics have seen the £3.6k-per-week man average a rather extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.11, ranking him as Celtic’s 10th-best player in the league – of the players who remain a part of Postecoglou’s first-team squad.

The 21-year-old also impressed over his three Europa League fixtures this season, scoring the opener in Celtic’s 3-2 win over Real Betis back in December, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.07.

As such, while the likes of Carl Starfelt, Cameron Carter-Vickers and even Christopher Jullien may well be ahead of Welsh in the Paradise pecking order at present, it is undeniable that the centre-back has the ability to go on and become a crucial part of Postecoglou’s back four in the future, and perhaps even a Celtic captain.

So, selling the defender so soon into his professional career would indeed appear to be something of a disaster for the Bhoys, particularly for as little as £1.6m.

In other news: Ange must swoop for £13k-p/w gem amid exciting source reveal, he’s perfect for Celtic

Despite currently sitting eighth in the Premier League table with 28 points from 19 games, Wolves have only scored 14 goals in the top flight, leaving rock-bottom Norwich City as the only team to have found the back of the net on fewer occasions this season.

One figure who has not been a stranger to scoring goals for Wolves over the years but seems to be having some struggles this season is Raul Jimenez, who has only bagged three goals in 18 league games so far in the current campaign.

With a total of 51 goals in 129 appearances across all competitions under his belt for the Old Gold, the 30-year-old perhaps hasn’t been as clinical in front of goal this term as Bruno Lage and the Wolves fans would have hoped.

Given the serious head injury that the Mexican suffered in November 2020 which kept him out of action for so long, it’s safe to say that this could have impacted his ability to score goals at the same rate as he had been beforehand.

Taking into account his age, if Jimenez doesn’t start scoring regularly again, this could force the club to start looking at new strikers they could bring in to potentially replace him in the future.

Having been linked with a move for Flamengo striker Gabriel Barbosa – also known as Gabigol – in recent weeks, he could be an ideal candidate to come in and potentially become Wolves’ next version of Jimenez.

With 129 goals scored in 263 club appearances across his career, the 25-year-old – who is currently earning £49k-per-week according to Salary Sport – certainly knows how to find the back of the net regularly, something which can’t really be said of Wolves at the moment.

Also, with WhoScored listing finishing as one of Barbosa’s strengths but one of Jimenez’s weaknesses, this shows how deadly an attacking outlet the Brazilian could be for the Old Gold.

One former player who  knows a thing or two about scoring goals is Brazil legend Ronaldo, who has previously described Barbosa as having “a lot of quality”, highlighting what an exciting prospect it could be for Wolves to have him in their squad.

Looking ahead to the future, the 25-year-old is a player that Wolves and their executive chairman Jeff Shi should definitely keep an eye on regarding a potential transfer if their goalscoring situation doesn’t improve soon.

In other news: Fosun plot deal for £26k-p/w Wolves beast who’s “got everything”, Lage surely buzzing