All posts by h716a5.icu

Tottenham are reportedly set to be left empty-handed by Dele Alli's transfer to Everton, with that deal depreciating from £40 million to nothing.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Midfielder moved to Goodison in 2022Struggled for a sparkHeading towards free agency in 2024WHAT HAPPENED?

The ex-England international bid farewell to north London in January 2022, with a professional spark already in danger of fizzling out at that point. Dele hoped that a change of scenery would help to get him back on track, but a spell on Merseyside has turned into a disaster.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Dele has endured issues on and off the field, preventing him from recapturing the form that once made him one of the most exciting talents in English football. He has, having spent part of last season on loan at Turkish side Besiktas, taken in just 13 appearances for the Toffees.

DID YOU KNOW?

His last appearance of any kind came on February 26, 2023, with injury issues holding him back. The 27-year-old was forced to undergo groin surgery in January. He may not grace an Everton shirt again, with his contract due to expire at the end of the current campaign.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR DELE?

According to , Spurs are set to miss out on any kind of fee for Dele. His move to Everton could have been worth as much as £40m ($50m), while Tottenham would have been due £10m ($13m) once he reaches 20 appearances for the Toffees. They did try to restructure that agreement in December 2023, but were unable to do so and are now watching on helplessly as Dele heads towards free agency.

Charles Coventry, Vusi Sibanda, Brian Vitori and Chris Mpofu are all expected to be recalled to the Zimbabwe squad for the upcoming series in Pakistan

Firdose Moonda07-May-2015Charles Coventry, Vusi Sibanda, Brian Vitori and Chris Mpofu are all expected to be recalled to the Zimbabwe squad for the upcoming series in Pakistan but there may be no room for Malcolm Waller, Graeme Cremer or Solomon Mire.The tour, which has been confirmed despite FICA’s independent security assessment calling the risk of any team visiting Pakistan “unacceptably high,” will be Zimbabwe’s first international outing since the 2015 World Cup, coach Dav Whatmore’s first bilateral series in charge of the team, and their first without Brendan Taylor who quit international cricket for a county career in March.Taylor’s absence has paved the way for the return of both Sibanda, who was dropped for the World Cup squad, and Coventry, who last played for Zimbabwe four years ago. Sibanda has been active in the domestic competition and scored two centuries and two half-centuries in his last six first-class games, while Coventry has come in from the wilderness. He turned down a call-up ahead of the 2014 World T20 because of Zimbabwe Cricket’s precarious financial situation and has since played club cricket in Dubai and South Africa.Zimbabwe have also had to bulk up their bowling reserves following Tendai Chatara’s leg injury, which will sideline him for six months. Chatara, who was Zimbabwe’s best bowler at the World Cup, broke his leg in two places playing football and will be replaced by Mpofu, who last played international cricket in 2013, and fit-again left-arm seamer Vitori, who was also not part of the World Cup squad.With Zimbabwe going back to many of the players they have relied on in the past, there could only be room for one new cap. Allrounder Roy Kaia, who bowls offspin, is in the mix. Zimbabwe’s other slower bowling resources will include Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza, while Prosper Utseya, who now bowls medium-pace after he was banned from bowling offspin, will also travel with the squad. Legspinner Cremer, who returned to training with the national squad, has not played any domestic cricket since quitting the sport for golf two years ago, and has not been deemed match-fit.Elton Chigumbura will continue to lead the limited-overs teams while Zimbabwe’s administrators mull a replacement for Taylor in the Test side, which will retain a core of players that includes Hamilton Masakadza, Craig Ervine and Tinashe Panyangara. Richmond Mutumbami is expected to take over as wicketkeeper from Taylor.Squad (probable): Elton Chigumbura (capt), Sikandar Raza, Charles Coventry, Chamu Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Roy Kaia, Hamilton Masakadza, Chris Mpofu, Tawanda Mupariwa, Richmond Mutumbami, Tinashe Panyangara, Vusi Sibanda, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Sean Williams

Harshad Khadiwale and Kedar Jadhav continued their run feast, scoring centuries on the first day for the second week in succession as Maharashtra plundered 360 for 3 against Goa

Amol Karhadkar in Pune21-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo – Harshad Khadiwale made his third successive century•K SivaramanHarshad Khadiwale and Kedar Jadhav continued their run feast, scoring centuries on the first day for the second week in succession as Maharashtra plundered 360 for 3 against Goa at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium on the outskirts of Pune.The picturesque stadium has been a happy hunting ground for home batsmen and they took advantage of a mediocre Goa bowling attack after being put in to bat.With Maharashtra deciding to alter their combination from last week’s game in Hyderabad, the promising youngster Vijay Zol walked out to open the innings with Khadiwale. Though Saurabh Bandekar did ask a few questions with the new ball, the duo survived the initial period. Zol, who scored a double-century on Ranji debut, moved to 20 before Bandekar breached his defense with an incoming delivery that crashed into the off stump.Khadiwale, coming into the game on the back of a century in each of Maharashtra’s two games so far, looked in supreme touch. He added 75 with Sangram Atitkar before the latter was trapped lbw by the offspinner Amit Yadav in the penultimate over before lunch.That brought together Maharashtra’s in-form combination of Jadhav and Khadiwale, who had shared a 206-run partnership in Hyderabad last week. The pair took on Goa’s spin duo of Shadab Jakati and Yadav, who did the bulk of the bowling in the second session. Jadhav went after Jakati, slogging the left-arm spinner for his first six that rammed into the super sopper outside the square leg fence. Jadhav’s craft was also on display as he then played late cuts whenever either of the spinners pitched it short.Jadhav then danced down the wicket and hit Yadav almost 20 rows back into the stands to complete his fifty. Khadiwale shifted gears and hit Yadav for a six over long-off. Minutes before tea, Khadiwale flicked the medium-pacer Gauresh Gawas through midwicket for a couple and completed his 12th first-class century.The attacking stand prompted the Goa captain Ravikant Shukla to adopt defensive tactics. Jakati changed his angle to over the wicket with a defensive line, hoping to contain the batsmen. Even that didn’t work as Jadhav reverse swept the first ball to the point fence, and then paddled one to the fine leg boundary, much like Sachin Tendulkar.Jadhav threw his wicket away shortly after scoring his second successive century, top-edging Yadav to offer wicketkeeper Keenan Vaz a dolly. But with Khadiwale looking solid and Ankit Bawne having reached a sedate 36, Maharashtra looked set to pile on their third-successive 450-plus total on the board.

Nasir Hossain was planning to celebrate his century in a manner that would have “stunned everyone”

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur16-Nov-2012Even before reaching his maiden Test century, Nasir Hossain was thinking of how to celebrate the milestone. He got very close, within four runs, before his attempt to push the ball into the covers took the edge to the waiting Chris Gayle at slip. The world remains unaware of how he would have saluted the hundred, though Nasir said it would have “stunned everyone”.”I made plans for my [century] celebration too early, so it is my bad luck that I got out on 96,” Nasir said. “I was trying to give [Shahadat Hossain] Rajib bhai as less strike as possible. After [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai got out, I decided to bat aggressively. I think it was the right thing to do at that stage.”Nasir, however, enjoyed every bit of the freedom of coming in to bat at 362 for 5, a rarity for a Bangladesh No. 7, whose usual role is to stop a batting slide. On a wicket which he described as “beautiful”, Nasir capitalised by hammering six boundaries and four sixes. He added 121 runs for the seventh wicket with Mahmudullah before taking full charge of the 61-run ninth wicket stand with Shahadat Hossain. He had reached fifty off 99 balls, with a pulled boundary off Ravi Rampaul, but scored the next 43 runs off 37 deliveries.Known for his temperament and ability to close out games in limited overs cricket, Nasir is aware of what he is going to face at this position in the longer-format. “I told the coach that I might have to encounter the second new ball in that position so I would say I was well prepared to bat at No. 7, because I had done the hard yards in the nets.”But there is not much of a challenge in batting at this position. In the national team I am willing to bat anywhere and as in domestic cricket where my performance is counted, I bat up the order.”In the national team, Nasir will likely have to continue in the lower-middle order for a little while longer after Naeem Islam confirmed his place at No. 4 with a hundred and Mahmdullah weighed in with a half-century of his own.Nasir is going to turn 21 at the end of this month and he plays the part of an exuberant youngster. Last year, he had asked Mahmudullah how to celebrate just as he was approaching his first ODI century. This time he was itching to get to the three-figure mark. “I can’t tell you what it is, but it would have been something that stunned everyone.”

Ricky Ponting’s enthusiasm has been enhanced by the time away from the dressing room that had been his domain for so long

Daniel Brettig in Bridgetown02-Apr-2012When David Boon lost his place in Australia’s ODI team, he felt entirely uneasy about spending time on the couch between Tests.His feeling of displacement was compounded when he returned to the side for the 1995 Boxing Day match against Sri Lanka, to be greeted by a bevy of back-slaps and “good to have you back” sentiment. To be a bit-part player in Australian cricket did not sit well with Boon, and he retired at the end of the series.Ricky Ponting was then a precocious, goateed member of Mark Taylor’s team, and the heir apparent to Boon’s No. 3 batting spot. Years later, Ponting is now cast in much the same role as his fellow Tasmanian had been, a senior Test man surplus to the team’s ODI concerns. So far, Ponting is sharing none of Boon’s discomfort with a reduced role, and said in Bridgetown that if anything, his enthusiasm has been enhanced by the time away from the dressing room that had been his domain for so long.Unlike Boon shifting uncomfortably in his seat in front of the TV during those World Series matches, Ponting had less time to contemplate his new arrangement. A heavy late season schedule with Tasmania, with the team making it to both Ryobi One-Day Cup and Sheffield Shield finals, kept Ponting busy until a few days before his West Indies departure, and helped assuage any lingering pain about the loss of his ODI place.”I’m not sure freshened up is the right word because I’ve probably ended up playing more cricket than these guys,” Ponting said. “The last few weeks I’ve had three Shield games and the one-day final so I’ve had plenty of cricket under my belt. Because I was playing as much as I was, I probably didn’t keep an eye on the international stuff as much as I normally do.”I was so focussed on what I was trying to do with Tassie [Tasmania] that I’ve sort of been away from the national set-up a little bit. To join the boys this week has been good. There’s a good feeling around the group, switching back to the Test arena now and the preparation’s been good. I suppose when you’ve been away from international cricket for a little bit it does make you that little bit more excited about it.”Taking out the five consecutive slim scores that tipped him out of the limited-overs calculations, Ponting has been in his best touch for some years, clattering runs against India and then doing likewise for Tasmania in domestic matches. Though he did not fare well in a hotly contested and narrowly lost Sheffield Shield final in Brisbane, Ponting said he was ready to ensure the Indian summer proved to be more than a final fling.”That’s what it’s all about. International cricket’s not about having one good series here or there, it’s about being consistent and putting performances on the board game after game,” he said. “The Indian Test series was great. It had been a long time between drinks since I’d had a series like that and to come out of that and play well in the games I played for Tassie was satisfying.””To know the hard work I’ve been doing is paying off is satisfying as well. That’s what this week’s all about now, making sure I get that preparation spot on and am ready to go for the three-day game, get something out of that which I can then take into the Test matches.”At the back of Ponting’s mind is England, and it has not escaped his or anyone else’s attention that the holders of the Ashes have stuttered noticeably in recent months. Swept 3-0 by Pakistan, Andrew Strauss’ team is now facing another series defeat in Sri Lanka, and it is now possible that Australia and England will trade places in the ICC rankings if Michael Clarke’s team dominates West Indies.”It goes to show we’re on the right track to turning our cricket around and probably goes to show that England might have been at the start of the end of their cycle,” Ponting said. “It’s really hard to stay up and dominate international cricket as long as we did a few years ago.””England have got a taste of it up there for a little bit and have started to struggle a bit in their last couple of series. When you’re up the top and you’ve got everyone trying to chase you, it’s hard to maintain that.”So long as he feels comfortable and useful in the Test team, and so long as his performances merit selection, Ponting can retain hope of facing England again next year. Then, as Boon did 16 years before, he will have the chance to end his career with the Ashes safely in Australia’s keeping.

The 19-year-old helped inspire Boca to the Copa Libertadores final and is ready to take the plunge into European football

Manchester City pulled off one of the steals of the 21st century when they signed Julian Alvarez in January 2022. The striker was only just making a name for himself in Argentina when City struck a deal with River Plate for just £14 million ($17m), and 18 months later he had lifted every trophy imaginable, a World Cup winner with the Albiceleste and a crucial part of City's treble-winning team.

While Brazil has become a highly-competitive hunting ground for European clubs searching for young talent in the last few years, Argentina continues to be overlooked in comparison, meaning teams can get real value for money. And nearly two years after unearthing Alvarez, City are one of several clubs casting their eye over the next superstar to come out of Argentina.

Valentin Barco, 19, has emerged as one of the top players for Boca Juniors and, like Alvarez, has built his reputation in the Copa Libertadores, South America's answer to the Champions League. Barco helped the Xeneize reach the 2023 final, where they were narrowly beaten in extra-time by Fluminense at the Maracana, but is being tipped for far bigger things in the future.

In his first full year in the Buenos Aires' giants first team, the teenager has stood out in a side of veterans including Edinson Cavani, Marcos Rojo and Sergio Romero. He broke into the team as a marauding left-back but soon evolved into an attacking playmaker, showing versatility that will stand him in good stead when he eventually takes the next logical step and heads to Europe…

Boca Juniors oficialWhere it all began

Barco grew up in the town of 25 de Mayo in Buenos Aires province and shone for local side Club Atletico Sportivo as a striker. He attracted the attention of Boca's scouts and was signed by the club at the age of nine by highly-respected scout Ramon Maddoni, who discovered Carlos Tevez, Juan Roman Riquelme, Esteban Cambiasso and Fernando Redondo, among others.

Barco, though, decided to remain with his family and each day would embark on a 450-kilometre roundtrip each day from his hometown to Boca's La Candela training base in the capital. "I'd go to school in the morning and train in the afternoon and it was a three or four hour journey. I'd get home at 10 or 11 at night," he recalled.

"I'm so grateful to my family, they made huge sacrifices for me since a young age and that's why I matured quicker than normal. What they did was very difficult, they gave up everything for me. Their dream was to see me make my debut at the Bombonera and they said that once I'd done that, they could die happily."

Barco made his Boca debut in 2021 at the age of 16 against Union, becoming the fourth-youngest player in the club's history.

AdvertisementMarcelo Endelli/Getty ImagesThe big break

Barco consolidated his place in Jorge Almiron's side at the start of 2023, and he showed his quality and maturity in a Copa Libertadores group game at home to Deportivo Pereira. With their side trailing 1-0, Boca's vociferous fans were booing their side, who could barely string a pass together.

The one exception was Barco, who led the way in every statistical department, taking more touches, making more tackles, attempting more dribbles and drawing more fouls than any of his team-mates. Boca levelled in the 89th minute before Barco set up the winning goal deep in added-time with a pin-point cross for Alan Varela, who hailed his teenage team-mate as "a phenomenon".

Barco struck his first goal for Boca in another Libertadores game against Monagas, while he was the star of the show in 2-1 league win over Newell's Old Boys, scoring the first goal before setting up the second with a dinked cross for team-mate Cristian Medina.

Getty ImagesHow it's going

In the space of little more than six months, Barco went from being an impressionable teenager to Boca's most influential player and one of the spearheads of their charge to the Copa Libertadores final.

He began as a left-back, but as Almiron started to realise the true extent of his talent, he moulded him into an attacking midfield playmaker. Although he has continued to wear the number 19, Barco has taken on the prestigious role of Boca's No.10, following in the footsteps of Diego Maradona and Riquelme. He has two goals and eight assists in all competitions.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty Biggest strengths

Barco is following in the fine Argentine tradition of dribbling, meaning he is frequently fouled. He is remarkably adept with both feet, as comfortable crossing with his left as he is shooting with his right. And he has developed his passing game, leading to him being used more as an attacking midfielder than a full-back, even if he prefers the latter.

"I feel comfortable in both roles and I'll play whether the coach or team needs me," he told . "A lot of people see me as a midfielder as my main quality is attacking play, but I love to play at left-back because I have the whole pitch in front of me."

The teenager also has proved to have nerves of steel in clutch moments, calmly converting decisive penalties in shootout wins over Nacional in the Libertadores and Talleres de Cordoba in the Copa Argentina.

Sri Lanka women’s team manager ARM Aroos has resigned, following the board’s sanctioning of a formal inquiry against him in wake of a complaint made by captain Shashikala Siriwardene last week, accusing Aroos of extortion

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2013Sri Lanka women’s team manager ARM Aroos has resigned from all his posts connected to the women’s game in the country, following the board’s sanctioning of a formal inquiry against him because of a complaint made by captain Shashikala Siriwardene last week, accusing Aroos of extortion.Retired senior superintendent of police, Hemachandra Dias, had conducted a preliminary inquiry into the matter, and recommended that the board conduct a formal inquiry into the allegations, at the SLC’s executive committee meeting on Tuesday. The executive committee subsequently appointed a panel to carry out the inquiry, and following that Aroos submitted his resignation. Apart from being team manager, Aroos was also a national women’s selector. He also stepped aside from his position as chairman of Sri Lanka’s umpires committee, relinquishing that duty until the inquiry is complete.The executive committee appointed Channa Weerakkody as team manager for the upcoming tour of Ireland, and named Srinath Silva the acting chairman of the umpires committee.

India’s sports ministry has reiterated that the BCCI be brought under the transparency-enhancing Right to Information (RTI) Act

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2013India’s sports ministry has reiterated that the BCCI be brought under the transparency-enhancing Right to Information (RTI) Act, a move that was last proposed in 2011 but ran into political resistance.”The BCCI, like all other national sports federations, will have to come under the RTI and anti-doping regulations,” sports secretary PK Deb told the . “We will stick by the recommendations made to us by the Justice Mukul Mudgal-led panel.”Mudgal, who heads the committee charged with finalising the National Sports Development Bill, said the BCCI will have to meet the requirements of the RTI Act, failing which it will not be allowed to use “India” in the titles of its teams. “It is important that the BCCI, like all [sports] federations, is brought under the RTI,” Mudgal said. “Apart from a few exemptions – like, one cannot raise questions regarding why a particular player/coach is selected over another, or the contents of a player’s contract, medical health and fitness etc – the public is authorised to raise questions. Unless the BCCI adopts this rule, it won’t be able to use ‘India’ for its teams.”The sports secretary also criticised the BCCI’s clearing of the owners of Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings before the completion of the police investigation into alleged corruption in the IPL. “The board should have waited for the police probe to get over before clearing them,” Deb said.The secretary’s comments came just before the Bombay High Court ruled that the BCCI’s two-member committee that investigated and subsequently cleared the franchise owners was constituted illegally.

Yuvraj Singh has made a comeback to India’s limited-overs squad for the Twenty20 and first three ODIs of the home series against Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2013India squad for T20 and first three ODIs

MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat
Out from Champions Trophy: Umesh Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, M Vijay, Irfan Pathan
In from Champions Trophy: Yuvraj Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Shami

Yuvraj Singh has made a comeback to India’s limited-overs squad for the Twenty20 and first three ODIs of the home series against Australia. There were four changes made to India’s last first-choice ODI squad, the one that won the Champions Trophy in England. Yuvraj replaced opener M Vijay, Dinesh Karthik lost out to his Mumbai Indians team-mate Ambati Rayudu, the injured Irfan Pathan made way for Mohammed Shami, and Jaydev Unadkat’s left-arm seam was preferred to Umesh Yadav’s erratic-at-times pace.”I am happy the selectors have reposed faith in me. Now, I have to deliver,” Yuvraj told , after news of his selection broke. “My footwork and timing are alright. The bat swing is in order as well. That is why I got runs against the West Indies and New Zealand A teams. That gave me confidence. Now, I have to capitalise on the opportunity.”Yuvraj’s last ODI was against England in Dharamsala in January 2013. He was dropped from the squad for the Champions Trophy and did not feature in the Zimbabwe series either, when India had rested several first-choice players. However, following a fitness programme in France, he has shown a return to top form in List A cricket. He was the leading run-getter for India A in the limited-overs series against the touring West Indies A, with 224 runs from three matches, including one hundred and a fifty at an average of 74.66. He also scored a half-century for India Blue in the Challenger Trophy, a domestic 50-overs tournament.A fit Yuvraj is seen as a bigger asset than Karthik. Karthik had a decent run in England and in Zimbabwe, but he failed to reach 50 in the tri-series in the West Indies. In effect, Karthik has lost out to Rayudu, who scored 101 runs off 163 balls at an average of 50.5 against Zimbabwe.Two other changes from the Champions Trophy squad mostly explain themselves. Vijay struggled in the West Indies, and Irfan is injured. Yadav, though, remains a curious case. He cannot have been considered unfit because he played the Challenger Trophy last week. He cannot have been rested because he is just coming out of a break. The selectors have either begun to look at him as a Test-only prospect or it was his performance in the Champions Trophy that has got him the axe: four wickets and an economy rate of 5.55 in a mostly low-scoring tournament. His economy rate in the West Indies tri-series hovered around the same mark. His career economy rate also stands at over six, and an average of 41.58 doesn’t do him any favours.The seam-bowling replacements, Shami and Unadkat, played all the five ODIs in Zimbabwe, and have been retained. Mohit, who played two of them and was Man of the Match in the first of them, was expected to replace Vinay Kumar, but the Karnataka quick has retained his place. Vinay went at 6.03 in the recently concluded Challenger Trophy, although he did pick up eight wickets in three matches.Batsmen Karthik, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, seamer Mohit and spinner Parvez Rasool missed out from the team that played Zimbabwe.

Duronto Rajshahi have finished top of the Bangladesh Premier League table after winning what ended up being a tense match against Dhaka Gladiators in Mirpur

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2012
ScorecardMohammad Sami took lots of wickets for very little runs•BPL T20Duronto Rajshahi have finished top of the Bangladesh Premier League table after winning what ended up being a tense match against Dhaka Gladiators in Mirpur. Dhaka also qualify as they have a better run-rate than Chittagong Kings. Mohammad Sami had remarkable figures of 5 for 6 as Dhaka were shot out for 116, but Rajshahi stuttered in the chase and needed captain Mushfiqur Rahim to score 40 not out as they won in the final over.Sami had ripped through the Dhaka line-up, causing them to collapse from 59 for 2 to 116 all out in 18.2 overs. All of Sami’s wickets were either lbw or bowled.The chase looked a simple one, but Rajshahi slipped to 80 for 6. Mushfiqur stitched together a 32-run partnership with Soumya Sarkar to get Rajshahi close. Sarkar’s dismissal in the 19th over meant the match was pushed into the final over. Sami, who had been the star with the ball, came in and scored 3 off 3 balls with the bat to help Mushfiqur get Rajshahi over the line.