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Wolves may conclude their transfer window with a bang as the Old Gold begin to make strides to improving their first-team options.

They are in the market to sign another striker while a further centre-back could arrive before the deadline slams shut next week.

What’s the word?

Bruno Lage appears to be desperate to bring in a new centre-half in the closing days of the window with a multitude of players linked in the last few weeks.

They were eyeing deals for Takehiro Tomiyasu at Bologna and Nikola Milenkovic at Fiorentina but they are incredibly unlikely now.

Instead, they’re looking at finalising a deal for Marseille defender Duje Caleta-Car.

That’s according to Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas who took to Twitter on Wednesday evening. He said: “Wolves have an interest in Duje Caleta-Car at Marseille but face an uphill task to convince him to join. He wants to keep playing in Europe.”

Much-needed

One of the biggest issues for Wolves last season was undoubtedly their defence.

During a period between October and February, the team led by Nuno Santo managed to keep just two clean sheets in 14 straight matches.

Defensive mistakes riddled their team with Romain Saiss in particular struggling. Various injuries to star centre-back Willy Boly also didn’t help their cause.

Boly has spent the early parts of this season out injured while new signing Yerson Mosquera is also on the treatment table.

Consequently, Wolves’ options in their preferred three-man backline are extremely limited.

Caleta-Car, therefore, would not only give them more depth but he’d also provide them with an immense dose of quality. On that basis, supporters should be extremely excited that they want to sign the Croatian.

The 24-year-old is one of the most promising centre-backs in Europe and has developed well in French football.

Last season his pass success rate was north of 86% while he also won 2.5 aerial duels per match. If you compare that to every defender at Wolves, he fits right into their preferred make-up.

Only Conor Coady and Max Kilman had a better pass completion percentage while only Boly and Saiss were more prolific in aerial battles.

As a consequence, Lage must do his utmost to bring the Croat to Molineux this summer. Supporters would surely be elated at having another option in their defence.

AND in other news, Wolves make offer to sign £17m “phenomenon” before deadline day, Lage needs him…

Graeme Swann is hoping that a return to the subcontinent will bring a change of fortune for him as England begin their tour of India

Cricinfo staff06-Nov-2008
Kevin Pietersen waves out after arriving in Mumbai © AFP
Graeme Swann is hoping that a return to the subcontinent will bring a change of fortune for him as England begin their tour of India. Swann is part of both the one-day and Test squad, but although he isn’t guaranteed a starting place in either side he is hoping conditions will be in his favour.He played a key role in England’s one-day series win in Sri Lanka last year, taking seven wickets in four matches, but has since struggled to maintain his place in the team. He hasn’t played an ODI since June and against South Africa he was sidelined by the emergence of Samit Patel. However, he was selected for the final two matches in the Stanford Super Series and with conditions likely to favour spin he could partner Patel over the next month.”I am really excited, I can’t wait to get out there because I did well in Sri Lanka last year, the wickets obviously suit spin bowling more than other parts of the world,” Swann told the . “So I hope to play a big role in both the one-dayers and the Test matches.”The tour includes seven one-day internationals, starting in Rajkot on November 14, followed by two Tests before Christmas. The last time England toured India they lost the one-day series 5-1, following an impressive drawn Test series, and Swann knows it’s vital that the squad begin strongly this time around.”The start of this tour is the most important couple of weeks we have got left in this year because if we start well and get off on the right footing then it sets you up for the whole trip,” he said. “The last thing you want to do when you are on a tour like India and you’re travelling, it’s hectic and you’re not in places that you’re familiar with, is lose the first couple.”Suddenly it can seem like a whirlwind, flying around, playing games but never having time to prepare. On the same basis if you are winning, you just can’t wait to play again.”England had 12 hours in London after arriving back from Antigua before departing for Mumbai and Swann said the team has already moved on from the disappointment of missing out on a million dollars each.”I was a lot less bothered than I thought I’d be,” he said. “Even though it was a big week in terms of publicity, it still ranks low in the grand scheme of England cricket.”The journey back after the match was very English. There was a lot of mickey-taking and Paul Collingwood came out with ‘don’t worry lads, at least we got to the final’.”

Liverpool could still make an attacking signing if certain players leave in the summer transfer window, according to The Athletic’s James Pearce.

The Lowdown: Quiet summer at Liverpool

While the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United have spent big this summer, the Reds have had a low-key window.

Ibrahima Konate remains Liverpool’s only new signing, while Gini Wijnaldum is yet to be replaced after his move to Paris Saint-Germain.

It remains to be seen whether any news faces will be brought in, but Pearce has given an update on the current situation.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

The Latest: Pearce provides key update

Speaking in a Q&A for The Athletic after Liverpool’s 3-0 win away to Norwich on Saturday, the journalist said that Xherdan Shaqiri or Divock Origi leaving could lead to some transfer activity, particularly if the latter moves on. He outlined:

“As I’ve written a few times it all depends what happens with outgoings. If Shaqiri and Origi both leave then I’d expect LFC to bring in an attacker. I asked Klopp about the midfield yesterday and he’s adamant he has enough cover.

“With AFCON on the horizon, I do think the squad needs another Jota type signing. My info is that if as expected Shaqiri goes he’s unlikely to be directly replaced as they see Elliott having his minutes. If Origi left too then I think LFC would be active in the market.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-copy-4/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: One more addition needed

Liverpool’s squad looks strong, as shown by them beating Norwich comfortably without Andy Robertson, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Thiago and Roberto Firmino starting, but a new signing would still be welcome.

Greater attacking depth would help ease the workload of the current players, giving Jurgen Klopp extra options in the final third throughout the season.

It is slightly frustrating that Wijnaldum seemingly won’t be replaced, but if Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stay fit, that issue will be somewhat alleviated.

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been critical of some recent Jurgen Klopp comments. Read more here.

Graeme Hick, the former England and Worcestershire batsman, has joined the unofficial Indian Cricket League

Cricinfo staff01-Nov-2008
Graeme Hick has signed to play for the Chandigarh Lions © Getty Images
Graeme Hick, the former England and Worcestershire batsman, has joined the Indian Cricket League. He will be a part of the Chandigarh Lions and will play their remaining matches this season.Hick had ended his 25-year county career two months ago at the end of the 2008 season. He is the second highest run-scorer in all cricket (first-class and limited-overs combined), with more than 64,000 runs, and his tally of 136 hundreds is eighth on the all-time list.”I am greatly honoured to be associated with the ICL and hope to do my best for them,” Hick said. He played 37 Twenty20 matches in his county career, and scored two hundreds and ten half-centuries.Chandigarh lost two of their key players earlier this week when their regular captain Chris Cairns and Dinesh Mongia were suspended on disciplinary grounds. Chandigarh are currently in fifth place with three matches to go in the round-robin phase.

David Moyes has sent West Ham United fans an exciting transfer hint with less than two weeks to go until Deadline Day…

What’s the word?

The Hammers got the new Premier League season off to the perfect start as they defeated Newcastle United 4-2 at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon, and after the game, the 58-year-old revealed his intentions for the remainder of the month.

In quotes relayed by football.london, Moyes said:

“I have 17-year-old centre-half Jamal [Baptiste] who I want involved in the first-team training but undoubtedly I am going to try and add to the squad.

“And I will be adding a defender and maybe other players as well but then if I don’t, then I will be happy if the players perform as well as they did today.”

Time running out!

It’s been a frustrating summer of business for the Irons, who surely not only want but need reinforcements right across the pitch going into this season, especially as they’ll soon be testing themselves in the Europa League too.

They are among the few sides to have not signed an outfield player, with their only senior addition being a backup goalkeeper in the form of Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper Alphonse Areola, who was on loan to relegated Fulham last season.

It means that Moyes is still an injury to Michail Antonio away from disaster, whilst Fabian Balbuena is yet to be replaced – a reason why a centre-back seems to be the top priority – and there’s only the retiring Mark Noble to back up Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek.

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As a result of their lack of activity since the end of the 2020/21 campaign, plenty of the West Ham faithful have vented their anger on social media – one example is seen in this reaction article from Football Transfer Tavern.

Largely, their annoyance has been targeted towards GSB. The owners are also soon to witness another protest against them, with fan group Hammers United planning a pre-game march for their clash with Manchester United next month.

That could gain further traction should the Irons head into September without making further additions.

However, it’s evident that Moyes knows he needs to bolster his squad and has made the fanbase publicly aware, so they should ultimately be excited by this news.

Whether it actually happens remains to be seen.

It’s also clear that the 58-year-old really does want a new centre-backm and with the Hammers being linked to the likes of Nikola Milenkovic, Kurt Zouma and Kortney Hause in recent weeks, many should be buzzing by the prospect of signing any of these names.

Time is running out but at least there is some hope for United heading into the final few weeks.

AND in other news, Forget Antonio and Benrahma: £27m-rated machine stole the show for West Ham at Newcastle…

Plays of the day from the fourth T20I between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, in Khulna

Mohammad Isam22-Jan-2016The belated sprintIn the fifth over of Zimbabwe’s innings, Hamilton Masakadza ripped his wrists to lift Taskin Ahmed over midwicket. He did not follow the path of the lofted shot, but suddenly he looked up and saw the ball going too high without a fielder under it. Thinking it could fall inside the rope, he started to run while his partner Richmond Mutumbami kept strolling. However, the ball had by then ended up in the stands at midwicket.The clumsy dropRichmond Mutumbami slammed Abu Hider for two fours past mid-off and mid-on before the left-armer tricked him with a slower bouncer. Mutumbami top-edged an attempted pull towards Taskin Ahmed at short fine-leg, but Taskin dropped an absolute sitter, the ball hitting his head before dropping down on the ground. Taskin would have felt a bit of relief when the captain Mashrafe Mortaza himself dropped Masakadza a few overs later.The cathartic roarAfter the dropped catch, Taskin had a better day bowling three very good overs. He also took the important wicket of Malcolm Waller who was looking dangerous for Zimbabwe. Taskin’s celebration after he nailed Waller with a yorker was one to remember, as he ran hard past his team-mates and screamed towards the crowd. Perhaps he was told a few things after the dropped chance.The short gap finderNeville Madziva bowled Tamim Iqbal with a slower delivery that ended up as a yorker, and found very little gap between the batsman’s jammed down bat and slow feet. The gap was miniscule, perhaps as wide as the ball itself. But it stunned Tamim, even as the bowler ran off in celebration. Replays confirmed that it was a precisely bowled slower delivery.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore has joined Yorkshire with immediate effect, bringing to an end a row with his previous club, Worcestershire

George Dobell08-Jun-2017Tom Kohler-Cadmore has been released from his Worcestershire contract and will join Yorkshire immediately.ESPNcricinfo revealed a week ago that Kohler-Cadmore, who was out of contract at the end of the season, had agreed to join Yorkshire for 2018. When he informed Worcestershire of his plans, their director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, was furious and threatened not to select him in first- or second-team games for the rest of the season.Rhodes has now partially relented and allowed Kohler-Cadmore to move on. It is understood he will, initially at least, play in Yorkshire’ssecond XI. He is thought unlikely to be selected in the Yorkshire side for the Royal London Cup play-off.”Worcestershire County Cricket Club have mutually agreed with Tom Kohler-Cadmore and his representative of the immediate release from his contract with the club,” Tom Scott, the Worcestershire CEO said. “We would like to thank Tom for the contribution he has made at New Road and wish him continued success in the future.”The timing of the news may unsettle Worcestershire supporters. The club is due to play in the semi-final of the Royal London Cup(possibly against Yorkshire) in little more than a week – their first semi-final appearance for 13-years – and Kohler-Cadmore was an important part of their white-ball team.It is understood that neither the player or Yorkshire sought an early release from his contract. Indeed, Kohler-Cadmore is understood to bedistressed that a happy spell at New Road has ended in sour circumstances. There is no suggestion that Yorkshire in any way actedinappropriately.While Kohler-Cadmore graduated through the Worcestershire academy – he was attracted to the area by a sixth-form cricket scholarship at nearby Malvern College – he had, until then, developed through the Yorkshire system and is understood to value a return to the north of England.Aged 22, he is a fine prospect. He scored the fastest century of the English domestic season, off 43 balls, in 2016 and made the onlycentury of the Worcestershire campaign – against Yorkshire – to help the county top the North Group in this season’s Royal London Cup. He also averaged 48.40 as the club won their first four Championship matches of the season.Since the news of his departure broke and he was dropped from the side, Worcestershire subsided to an innings defeat against Sussex.”Producing players who are qualified for England and could go on to play for England is what we’re all about,” Rhodes told ESPNcricinfo.”That won’t change.”It’s a delight to watch guys you’ve seen from the age of 13 play first-team cricket and enjoy success together. We’ll carry on trying to produce players and our aim will be to keep them, too.”We’ve a semi-final coming up and everyone here is very excited by that. Hopefully it shows you can play here, enjoy success and furtheryour career.”

Leicestershire’s Ed Barnes bags five as visitors lose their last six first-innings wickets for 27

ECB Reporters Network23-Apr-2022Derbyshire are within reach of a first victory of the LV= Insurance County Championship season after Leicestershire finished day three at the Uptonsteel County Ground six wickets down in their second innings and still 172 behind.Leicestershire seamer Ed Barnes took five wickets in an innings for the first time earlier in the day as Derbyshire lost their last six first-innings wickets for 27.But after a maiden century from Mattie McKiernan enhanced the value of Shan Masood’s superb double-hundred on Friday, Derbyshire still totalled 531 for a lead of 318.It left Leicestershire, who had to fight rearguard actions to emerge with a draw from both of their opening Division Two matches, faced with surviving two sessions just to take the contest into the final day. They succeeded in that but it will need an extraordinary effort from their tail to avoid defeat this time.The morning belonged to McKiernan and latterly to Barnes, the Leicestershire seam bowler, whose dismissal of McKiernan launched an extraordinary spell within a spell that brought him all of his five wickets in the space of 26 deliveries at a cost of just eight runs.McKiernan, a 27-year-old legspinner who spent more than 12 years at Lancashire without making a senior appearance, has played more white-ball cricket than red since joining Derbyshire in 2018 but that should soon be corrected on this evidence.After playing an important role as one of double-centurion Masood’s partners on Friday, sharing a stand of 129 for the fourth wicket, McKiernan cut Callum Parkinson’s left-arm spin for three fours before moving into the 90s by pulling Barnes for six. His century came off 189 balls and contained 11 fours as well as that six.Against a Leicestershire attack in which Will Davis could not participate because of injury, McKiernan and Leus Du Plooy took Derbyshire’s first-innings total beyond 500 for the second successive match – and in consecutive innings for only the second time in the county’s history – but when Barnes thudded one into McKiernan’s front pad to have him leg before, the narrative of the morning changed dramatically.Barnes, who was nought for 93 before umpire Neil Bainton granted him this success, dismissed Anuj Dal lbw and had Alex Thomson caught behind from consecutive balls, before Nick Potts chopped on and Sam Conners was bowled. His final analysis read 5 for 101 but his 10-over spell on the day was worth 5 for 28.After Parkinson wrapped up the innings on the stroke of lunch when Suranga Lakmal chipped him straight to short midwicket, Derbyshire made important inroads before tea as opener Hassan Azad and Leicestershire skipper Colin Ackermann both fell, along with George Rhodes.Thomson accounted for Azad, the off-spinner’s turning delivery finding a thin outside edge that turned into a looping catch to Wayne Madsen at slip, seemingly via the left glove of wicketkeeper Brooke Guest. He then bowled Rhodes before the introduction of Dal’s medium pace induced a miscued drive from Ackermann that went straight to short cover.A stubborn 33 from Sam Evans ended when he was leg before to Sam Conners and Wiaan Mulder’s rather more entertaining 25 was terminated by the same method by the 19-year-old Potts, then Thomson held a stunning low return catch to remove Harry Swindells, with Louis Kimber 33 not out at the close.

Manchester United succumbed to yet another home Premier League defeat, this time at the hands of Nottingham Forest 3-2.

It was a frustrating evening for new boss Ruben Amorim, who watched the same flaws in his side re-surface yet again. Defensive vulnerability with crosses into the box struggling to be dealt with and a lack of fluidity and creativity in attacking areas.

Despite getting on the scoresheet in the second half to get United back to 3-2, captain Bruno Fernandes was substituted in the 76th minute with the game still in the balance.

Often United’s talisman, it seemed boss Amorim was unhappy with his captain’s performance, who lost possession 19 times and had a passing accuracy of just 75%.

Bruno Fernandes' below-par season at Manchester United

Skipper Fernandes carried his Manchester United side at times last season, producing an exceptional 28-goal contributions across all competitions.

So far this campaign, those numbers do not look like reaching the heights of the 23/24 season with Fernandes contributing just five goals so far in 2023/24.

The Portuguese midfielder never shies away from the ball and is always looking to make something happen for his side but recently it seems he has been far more careless in possession.

In his last five appearances for Man United, Fernandes has a passing accuracy of just 76.42% with his lowest total coming against Everton with an accuracy of just 67.6%.

Furthermore, Fernandes has failed to chalk up a single goal-creating action in three out of his last five games and with Amorim hooking him off at a vital time against Forest, it seems that the United captain has food for thought on his own performances.

What they might do for a prime Angel Di Maria at the club. As it happens, their former £60m signing is now outperforming the Red Devils’ club captain.

Angel Di Maria vs Bruno Fernandes in 2024/25

In the words of former teammate and goalkeeper Marcin Bulka, Di Maria now “hates Man United” after leaving the club. That being said, he is flourishing at the ripe old age of 36.

The Argentine is now back at Benfica in Portugal, a club that Di Maria initially joined back in 2007 from his hometown club of Rosario Central for a fee of around £7m.

Following spells at Real Madrid, Man United, PSG and Juventus, Di Maria has returned to the Estadio Da Luz and is now playing his part in Benfica’s title charge, where they sit just two points off leaders Sporting Lisbon.

Goals

3

4

Progressive carries (PgrC)

33

35

Shots on Target %

20%

29%

Long pass completion %

48.4%

50.5%

Successful Take ons

11

16

Crosses

59

63

It seems that Di Maria is showing no signs of letting up just yet in his illustrious career. In fact, the ex-United midfielder is still outperforming current United captain Fernandes in a number of key attacking metrics, perhaps the most significant being goals scored this season.

Di Maria has a higher number of progressive carries than Fernandes and has attempted more crosses into the box in order to create chances for his high-flying Benfica side.

The attacker has at times drifted deeper to collect the ball this term and his long pass completion percentage of 50.5% is over 2% more accurate than his United counterpart.

Whilst it is fair to say Di Maria’s Man United career never really took off, scoring just four times in 32 appearances across his solitary season, the Argentine veteran is still showing that he is capable of mixing it with Europe’s best and, who knows, may even help to fire his beloved Benfica to another Portuguese title this season.

He lost the ball 20x: Amorim got it wrong by giving Man Utd star 90 minutes

The Man Utd ace was poor against Nottingham Forest

ByJoe Nuttall Dec 8, 2024

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has voiced his desire to tie down Reds captain Virgil van Dijk to a new contract with his deal up this summer.

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Van Dijk's contract set to run out soonSlot wants Liverpool to tie captain downRemains cryptic over three stars' futuresFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱(C)Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

Liverpool are sweating on the futures of their three biggest stars this season as Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk's deals are set to run out this summer.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Van Dijk has been a major star for Liverpool ever since he joined the Merseyside club in 2018, while he was named the club captain in 2023 after Jordan Henderson left the Reds. The towering centre half has recently admitted he is unsure whether he will be at Liverpool next season, while he was pictured with PSG chiefs following Tuesday's loss to the French giants in the Champions League.

WHAT SLOT SAID

Speaking to the media about Van Dijk's future, Slot said: "I don’t even know what will happen next year. If anyone says they do know, they are lying to your face. I don’t know what’s happening next season as well, in terms of results. But that’s not what you mean.

"The only thing I know is that I want Virgil to be here next season. All the rest, talks about his contract, that’s not what I do over here."

Questioned on whether it affects his planning for next season, the Dutchman replied: "Interesting way of asking things! No, it doesn’t, not for me."

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR VAN DIJK?

Van Dijk has the chance to lift another piece of silverware as Liverpool captain on Sunday when the Reds take on Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final.