All posts by h716a5.icu

Celtic have been handed a big boost in their pursuit of Swiss midfielder Fabian Rieder, according to Dean Jones.

The midfielder is a key target for manager Brendan Rodgers this summer.

What is the latest news regarding Fabian Rieder?

The midfielder has attracted the interest of the Hoops this summer.

According to reports, the 21-year-old, who has an "unbelievable technical ability", has attracted the interest of several Bundesliga sides, with Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt and Wolfsburg monitoring the midfielders situation. The report also states that Rieder's club Young Boys have put a £13m asking price on the youngster who has already managed an assist for the Pro League side this season in the clubs opening game. The Swiss midfielder has reportedly made Monchengladbach his preferred destination this summer should he depart his boyhood club.

The Hoops have been handed a boost however, with Borussia Mönchengladbach director Roland Virkus revealing in an interview with Sky Sports (via the Scottish Sun) that the German side cannot afford to pay the asking price, and unless the situation changes they will not be completing a deal for the midfielder: "Fabian Rieder is a good player. But he costs over €10m. That's a board we can't handle. That the player is good and interesting, that we've dealt with him – that's clear. But Fabian Rieder is out of the question at the moment."

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, transfer insider Jones revealed that this is the "golden moment" for Celtic to make the move for the "exciting player" due to the problems Mönchengladbach face with the deal. The journalist also played down any real chance of a Hoops move for Manchester United midfielder Donny Van de Beek: "The big fear around Rieder was that he could land at Gladbach, but that is being played down now, and that’s good news. I’ve spoken before about what an exciting player I think this would be for Celtic, so if they are going to make a move, this would be a golden moment to do so.

As for Donny van de Beek, he is still of interest, but there are offers from leagues he would feel better suited to, and I just get the impression they will struggle to make any real progress with him.”

Would Rieder be a good signing for Young Boys?

Rieder could be a real gem of a signing for the Bhoys.

The midfielder is a real attacking spark, managing nine goals and 11 assists in 43 appearances for Young Boys in the 2022/23 campaign, and those 20 goal contributions would make him the Scottish champions biggest attacking threat from the centre of the park, with the Bhoys closest competitor being Matt O'Riley who managed 15 last campaign.

The midfielder is also incredibly creative, with his 2.1 chances created per 90 last season a higher total than any Celtic player could manage, and that creative quality was only further showcased during the players bright U21 Euro's campaign, where he averaged 2.3 key passes per 90 as the side made it to the Quarter finals where they ultimately fell to Spain in extra-time.

Should the Bhoys complete the transfer, manager Rodgers could have a real difference maker in the middle of the park who could form fantastic partnerships with the likes of O'Riley and new additions Odin Thiago Holm and Hyeok-kyu Kwon.

England’s comfortable victory in the first match ended West Indies’ hopes of automatic World Cup qualification and they must lift themselves to stay in the series

The Preview by Andrew Miller20-Sep-2017Big PictureDespite West Indies’ well-documented woes in recent years, it’s still pretty shocking to consider that one of the most storied teams in the sport – the winners of the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979 – are now in serious danger of missing out on qualification for the 2019 event. Defeat at Old Trafford confirmed that they can no longer overhaul Sri Lanka as the eighth automatic pick. They must instead now muscle their way through a qualification process in which the likes of Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands will all have serious aspirations of their own, and if the lethargy of Tuesday’s loss is anything to go by, they dare not take anything more for granted.It was a listless display from West Indies in the opening match – notwithstanding some lusty early blows from the returning Chris Gayle, who marked his first ODI appearance since the 2015 World Cup with 37 from 27 balls. Worryingly, the energy of their victory in the one-off T20 in Durham had dissipated entirely by the end of the contest, which might well have been wrapped up with more than 11.1 overs to spare had Ben Stokes not been reining himself in to ensure that Jonny Bairstow had time to rack up his maiden ODI century.We’ve been here before with West Indies on this tour – as a team effort, this was by no means as pitiful as their innings defeat in the first Test at Edgbaston, and we all remember how they bounced back from that setback in the second Test at Headingley. But, in the 50-over format, it’s hard to see from where the telling improvements are going to materialise.Marlon Samuels, another of West Indies’ returning grandees, was especially culpable in sucking all momentum from the middle of their innings – his 17 from 46 balls contained no boundaries and a wasteful 31 dot balls, stats that sum up the fundamental difference between the approaches of the two sides. Joe Root, to name just the most obvious contrast, failed to score from just 17 balls in a similar-length innings, including his first three sighters, en route to 54 from 53 balls.England’s performance wasn’t entirely without fault. They were at times spectacular in the field, but a bad miss from Root at slip off Gayle might have been more fiercely punished on another day. And, for all that he enjoyed a fine day with the ball, to follow up his six-wicket heroics in the Lord’s Test, Stokes suffered a Kolkata redux moment at the death, when a more zealous umpire might have expelled him from the attack for two beamers in a final over that went for 15 runs.But, having stumbled badly in their previous ODI outing, the Champions Trophy semi-final against Pakistan, England’s performance was a return to the sort of front-running batting power that has been a hallmark of their recent upsurge in white-ball cricket. West Indies started the series needing a whitewash to secure their World Cup qualification. On the evidence of one match, the one-way traffic is more likely to head in the other direction.Form guide(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLWWW
West Indies LLWLLIn the spotlightOnce again, there are rumblings afoot about England’s captain, Eoin Morgan, whose rampant form from the top end of the summer has gone up in a puff of smoke. Morgan’s career is among the most peculiar in the modern game – approximately one-fifth international kingpin and four-fifths T20 nomad, if you wish to boil it down to its essence. He hasn’t played a first-class match for Middlesex in two years, he captained their T20 team to an underwhelming seventh place in the Blast South Group, and has just returned from a sojourn with the Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League, where he contributed scores of 2, 2, 5 and 0. His innings of 10 in the first ODI, therefore, was a relative triumph. Nevertheless, with Jason Roy on the outside looking in since his form loss in the Champions Trophy, Morgan will be aware of the continued pressure to perform in such a super-charged batting line-up. For the record, his canny leadership remains unquantifiably important to England’s improvement in white-ball cricket, but runs are the only currency that truly resonate. He generally finds a way to silence his intermittent doubters.Where now for Marlon Samuels? His innocuous performance in the first ODI was a concern for West Indies, especially given how much hope had been riding on his recall. But, on a personal level, the lack of runs won’t hurt him nearly as much as the identity of the man who got him out. The war of words between Samuels and Ben Stokes has been unusually diverting as these things go, given how long it has been dragging on and how varied its iterations have been. But there was a sense watching Samuels on Tuesday that, having warned Stokes that he ought to hide on the other side of the boundary when he was batting, he became rather preoccupied with not giving it away. Maybe getting out to Stokes is the spark he needs to take his game to the next level – a cattle-prod of incentive to take the attack back to England. West Indies will certainly hope so.Teams newsNo real need for England to make any changes to a winning line-up, although the temptation to blood Tom Curran must be growing, not least because of his prowess at bowling at the death, one area where England didn’t quite get their lines right on Tuesday. David Willey’s left-arm attack is valued for its variety but he remains slightly anonymous once the initial new-ball swing has worn off.England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Liam PlunkettNo specific shortcomings in West Indies’ side, just a collective malfunction to correct. After picking two spinners for the more receptive surface at Old Trafford, there may be a temptation to trade one of them, probably Devendra Bishoo, for an extra quick. Alzarri Joseph and Miguel Cummins are on standby.West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Jason Mohammed, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Devendra Bishoo, 10 Jerome Taylor, 10 Kesrick WilliamsPitch and conditionsTrent Bridge has been one of the grandstand venues for 50-over cricket in recent times, with Nottinghamshire habitually racking up totals in excess of 400 in the Royal London Cup, and another straw-coloured belter has been prepared for this game. But, all eyes on Thursday are likely to be on the heavens, with a dismal autumnal deluge pencilled in from about 12pm to 7pm. A rain-reduced wallop in the early evening, perhaps? West Indies might not complain if that’s the case. The shorter the game, the more their power-hitters come into play.Stats and trivia England are returning to Trent Bridge for their first ODI since the visit of Pakistan in August last year, when Alex Hales crashed an England-record 171 on his home ground, to power his team to a new world-record total of 444 for 3. Their most recent international fixture at Trent Bridge, however, was less auspicious. South Africa crushed them by 340 runs in the second Test earlier this summer, only days after they had themselves slumped to defeat at Lord’s. Moeen Ali needs two more wickets to reach 50 in ODI cricket.Quotes”I’m not someone who ever looks too far ahead because you know how quickly things can change.”
“From the start we had, with Chris [Gayle] and Evin [Lewis] flying, we were looking at a really good score. But we fell away badly in the middle.”

Journalist Pete O'Rourke has an update on West Ham United's striker search with some news on Bournemouth forward Dominic Solanke.

Who will West Ham sign?

After weeks of little business being done, possibly due to the drawn-out sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal, West Ham appear to finally be making ground on the transfer front.

Mexico international Edson Alvarez was confirmed as new West Ham signing earlier this week, but the former Ajax star certainly won't be the last, as reports suggest they're also close to signing Southampton's James Ward-Prowse.

Meanwhile, David Moyes is waiting for his side to agree terms with Man United defender Harry Maguire, coming after both the Irons and United agreed on a fee for the 30-year-old.

It could be a very busy last few weeks of the window for West Ham, transfer chief Tim Steidten and sporting director Mark Noble, not to mention David Sullivan.

Gianluca Scamacca, after just one season at the club, has also joined Atalanta and Moyes must now replace the Italian marksman with another striker.

Read the latest West Ham transfer news HERE…

West Ham have been linked with a host of new forwards, including Arsenal's Folarin Balogun, and they will need to get this signing spot on if they're not to have a relegation battle repeat of last season.

Solanke, who starred for Bournemouth over 2022/2023, is rumoured to be on their radar as a "top target".

That is according to O'Rourke, who wrote a column for Football Insider on West Ham's transfer business this week.

He claims Solanke is among their priority names to potentially fill the void left by Scamacca, but there is a problem, as West Ham are currently unlikely to persuade Bournemouth into a deal as things stand.

There is little else on whether that might change, but signing a striker is one of both Steidten and Moyes' top priorities with the new campaign set to get underway this weekend.

Ironically, the Hammers travel to Bournemouth for their opening game tomorrow, with kick off at 3pm.

How good is Dominic Solanke?

The 25-year-old registered a brilliant 13 goal contributions in the top flight last season, standing out as one of the Cherries' best-performing players by average match rating according to WhoScored.

Solanke bagged six goals and seven assists and contributed very well as Bournemouth secured survival with relative ease, having also attempted more shots at goal per 90 than any of his teammates (WhoScored).

O'Neil, speaking to the media last term, heaped praise on the former Liverpool man as an "absolutely massive" player for Bournemouth.

“It’s hard for Dom," said O'Neill when reflecting on the task of Solanke leading Bournemouth's attack.

“I feel for him at times, but that’s the nature of the league. We’re not going to dominate all of games all the time.

“Absolutely massive. I couldn’t ask for a better number nine to go and face the challenges that we’re faced with.”

The latest developments in the Ben Stokes case don’t necessarily mean he will take part in the Ashes

David Hopps28-Oct-2017I see witnesses have come forward to defend Ben Stokes. That’s great. So he can play in the Ashes then?Well hold on a minute. Somerset and Avon Police are still investigating the incident and the ECB has suspended him indefinitely as it awaits developments.The guy’s a hero. If Stokes had saved me from a beating, I’d have been down the nick in no time. What took these guys so long?Cricket’s not their thing apparently and they had no idea who he was until a policeman knocked on the door. But according to the they regard Stokes as “a real gentleman”.That’s good. So now Stokes has an alibi, why not just get the first taxi to Heathrow?It’s not an alibi. The footage still shows someone who looks very much like him throwing punches. As far as that goes, nothing has changed.It was self-defence, we all know that.An argument of self-defence would certainly help his case. But a court might still be asked to decide whether the level of force used was reasonable based on the circumstances as Stokes genuinely believed them.So if he is going to be charged, get on with it and find him not guilty. The first Test in Brisbane is less than a month away…”Slow but sure moves the might of the Gods,” as Euripides had it.Eh?The wheels of justice turn slowly.How slowly?Government figures suggest it takes an average of 24 weeks between the offence and the case being concludedBut that’s the end of the Ashes. And some.The middle of March. And the same figures indicate Bristol Crown Court can take twice as longSurely sometimes famous people deserve special treatment? This affects the enjoyment of millions of people.All right, you’ve convinced me. Get him on the plane.

Sri Lanka’s interim coach slams team’s aggressive approach on the fourth morning, says some of the players are repeating the same mistakes

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur27-Nov-20171:54

Chopra: Vijay’s century stood out

The margin of Sri Lanka’s defeat to India in Nagpur – an innings and 239 runs – was the worst in their Test-match history. The defeat was also the most recent in a sequence of chastening results against India.In July-August, Sri Lanka suffered a 3-0 home defeat to India, and lost each of the Tests by a big margin: 304 runs, an innings and 53 runs, an innings and 171 runs.For a team as inexperienced and low on confidence as Sri Lanka are currently, it might seem like a punishment to play the world’s No. 1 Test side in back-to-back series, but their interim coach Nic Pothas feels the experience will help identify players “with the right characters”, who can take the team forward in the long term.In his post-match press conference on Monday, Pothas said, without naming names, that there were a few players in the dressing room who had been making the same mistakes repeatedly and were in danger of losing their places.”I still firmly believe, if we play a team like India in such a short space of time, twice, in six Test matches, the guys with the right characters – which I keep talking about and I keep asking for – will get better into the future,” he said.”As long as the curve is on a general upward trend, then you’re always going to be, when you look down the line, that person’s going to get better. Like in any environment, when things get tough and the pressure goes up, some people fall off the bus, some people get better. That’s natural everywhere.”I think the key is to make sure that we’re picking people, or more people, that are likely to stay on the bus when the pressure goes up. That again is the nature of professional sport. It’s tough, and, as we sit here, it’s very, very tough. The answer you’ll probably get in the next 18 months or two years whether this was a good idea or not to play India twice. Personally, as a coach, I find it hugely exciting.”I’ve learned a hell of a lot in the last series and in the short period of time we’ve been here, and I’ll continue to learn more. What I would say is that, when you play a team like India, cricket is a game like chess. If one team makes a move, or an individual makes a move, you’d better have a counter-move, because if you don’t, you will fall off that bus. At the moment in our changeroom, we probably have a few who keep making the same move and they keep losing pieces off the chessboard.”A big contributing factor to Sri Lanka’s present state, Pothas felt, was the fact that players come to Test cricket having played mostly three-day first-class cricket. He said the SLC, which has included the former Test captains Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara in a five-member committee to rehabilitate Sri Lankan cricket, was in the process of addressing the issue.”If we don’t have a format whereby – I think this is being addressed, at the moment – if you don’t have a format that gives you the opportunity to bat for four to six hours, I think it’s unfair on our part to ask batters to now come and try and replicate that in a Test match against high-quality bowling,” Pothas said. “That, once again, is just a fact. But that is being addressed.”I think Kumar and Mahela have spoken about that at length, and I think their advice is being heeded at the moment. Once we get into a four-day format of high-quality cricket, it will actually make it easier to select people based on results rather than on any other factor.”Pothas did not mince words while summing up Sri Lanka’s Nagpur performance, calling it embarrassing. “Hugely disappointing,” he said. “Disappointing because of the amount of work that goes in, behind the scenes, and to put in a performance like that, I think it’s embarrassing. The players should be embarrassed in their own performances. Putting in work and hitting the ball nicely in the nets means nothing if you’re not going to go out and put runs on the board.”He was scathing of their approach on the fourth day, when, faced with a massive first-innings deficit, a number of players got out playing aggressive shots rather than try to bat time. “Was there a message [before the day’s play]? Of course there was a message. Were they asked to make sure that our score was made up 61% out of boundaries? No. When the percentage of your score is so high in boundaries, against a quality attack, you’re going to run into a lot of trouble.”India, for example – 610 [in their first innings], boundary percentage 37. That’s why they get 610. We’re talking about the top batters in the world. If 37% is good enough for them, then it sure should be good enough for us. If you’re striking at 61% in boundaries, that’s what’s going to happen.”One of the major concerns for Sri Lanka on the batting front is the form of their ex-captain Angelo Mathews. He hasn’t scored a Test hundred since August 2015, and since then has averaged 27.80 across 36 innings. Pothas sympathised with Mathews’ struggles with injury of late, and backed him to rediscover his form, but said there was no running away from his recent numbers.”Having injuries is always tough when you’re not playing continuously, to try and strike a rhythm when you do come back,” Pothas said. “If you’re consistently playing, and facing bowling above 140kph, you get used to it.”We’ve got Thilan Samaraweera now as our batting coach, who is a phenomenal batting coach with a good track record. I’m sure Thilan will sit with Angelo and work things out. Angelo is a quality international cricketer. His numbers over a period of time tell you that.”But you can’t run from the numbers in the short term. Angelo is hurting at the moment, he has an immense amount of pride. And I have no doubt that, with his ability, he’ll come out with some answers. It’s our job as coaches to create an environment and to provide him with as much support as possible, in order for him to have the best chance of success.”

An update has emerged on Southampton and their plans to strengthen their squad before the end of the summer transfer window…

What's the latest Southampton transfer news?

According to the Bristol Post, the Saints are one of a number of teams eyeing up a swoop to sign Bristol City central defender Zak Vyner as Russell Martin wants to add to his options.

The report claims that Premier League side Luton Town and Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers are also weighing up a move for the English titan.

It states that the 26-year-old ace is now within the final 12 months of his contract at Ashton Gate and has opted against signing the fresh terms that were offered to him by the club earlier this year, which has possibly alerted teams to his potential availability.

How good is Zak Vyner?

The £2.3k-per-week battler is an experienced Championship campaigner who could come in as an upgrade on current Saints defender Lyanco to provide the likes of Jan Bednarek and Jack Stephens with competition for their places.

Vyner has played 159 matches in the second tier throughout his career to date and would come in as someone who can hit the ground running due to his knowledge of the division, rather than arriving from a lower league or foreign country and needing time to adapt.

The Englishman averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.88 across 45 league starts for Bristol City last season and has taken his game to another level this term with an average rating of 7.10 over his first two outings.

Lyanco, on the other hand, averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.81 across 21 Premier League matches last term and recorded a score of 6.7 in his only appearance of the current campaign against Gillingham in the League Cup.

This suggests that Vyner would be an upgrade on the Brazilian dud in terms of the average level of his performances, which is backed up by the underlying numbers.

The Bristol City star made more tackles and interceptions combined per game (3.1) than Lyanco did for the Saints (2.1) and only made one error directly leading to a goal – compared to the former Torino enforcer's two, despite playing 24 fewer games.

Vyner could, therefore, be less of a liability at the back whilst also being able to cut out more opposition attacks with his vital defensive interventions week-in-week-out.

The combative centre-back, who was hailed by manager Nigel Pearson as "improved" last season, could offer more in possession as he has averaged 3.32 progressive passes per 90 over the last 365 days, in comparison to Lyanco's 2.67.

This means that the Robins star could provide more incision with his passing out from the back than the 26-year-old brute by finding his teammates in advanced positions more frequently, which could help the team's build-up as they attempt to break teams down.

There, Vyner could be an upgrade on Lyanco when it comes to his general performance level and his play in and out of possession, which is why this could be a shrewd piece of business from Martin if he is able to get it over the line over the coming weeks.

Arsenal could still be in the market for reinforcements this summer, with news in Spain giving an intriguing update on a reported target for the Gunners.

Mikel Arteta and Edu have worked hard this transfer window, obtaining the signatures of Kai Havertz, Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber and David Raya, in four signings that bolster the spine of the squad.

While the activity has been applauded, there could be room for more additions, especially following the damning injury to Timber in the opening day of the season that is suspected to keep him away from the action for the foreseeable future.

It’s not only the defence that has been struck by injury, with striker Gabriel Jesus also out of contention while he nurses a knee injury, making the remainder of the transfer window an interesting prospect for those at the Emirates.

Who could Arsenal sign this summer?

The Gunners have been linked to an abundance of talent throughout the summer window, as expected following their league title challenging campaign last term.

Read the latest Arsenal transfer news HERE…

One name that has appeared in recent reports is Barcelona starlet Ansu Fati, who could leave his boyhood club this window due to ongoing financial pressures.

As initially reported by Spanish outlet Sport, Arsenal were listed as significant admirers of the 20-year-old, claiming that the north Londoners had made a ‘very tempting offer’ to sign the winger.

This week, an update from Radio Barca was relayed by Twitter figure Eduardo Hagn, stating that people should “not rule out” the Gunners making a move for the Spaniard.

How good is Ansu Fati?

Once lauded as being the “difference-maker” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, there were high hopes for Ansu Fati to succeed Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou, with the Spaniard even adorning the number 10.

After a rapid rise to fame from the infamous La Masia set-up to the first team, the 20-year-old has found himself slipping down the pecking order in Catalonia due to injury and the rise in form of those around him.

While the young star’s potential exit from Barcelona is a painful idea for many, it could be the perfect acquisition for Arteta, who could grasp a player with innate ability and his best years ahead of him.

Described as a talent that would “fit Arsenal stylistically” by journalist Ryan Taylor via GIVEMESPORT, the versatile forward could well be the difference between the Gunners challenging for the top four and competing for the title once again this campaign.

Speaking to Sky Sports, pundit and former Arsenal forward Paul Merson slashed Arteta’s squad’s title hopes should they fail to identify more big names this summer, with him focusing on Eddie Nketiah.

Merson said that despite the 24-year-old being reliable when called upon, he isn’t the forward that could be “firing Arsenal to the title”, adding that if the club fail to perform as they did last term, “they won’t even be in the top four”.

While his statements are damning, the club could prove critics wrong in signing a player as lavish as Ansu Fati, who has proved to be an exciting talent playing among some of the world's best.

Likened statistically to Arsenal’s own Gabriel Martinelli by FBref, the explosive £199k-per-week forward could be that added bit of quality to close the gap between the Gunners and Manchester City.

Last season, the north Londoners' market moves proved pivotal to their success in obtaining the likes of Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, suggesting that on top of the talent already secured this summer, further quality additions could well pave the way to the club’s first Premier League title since 2004.

The middle-order batsman was seen trying a few reverse-sweeps and reverse-laps against spinners ahead of the first Test in Kolkata

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kolkata14-Nov-20170:46

Important to improve and evolve day by day – Rahane

On Monday, with three days to go for the start of the Test series against Sri Lanka, Ajinkya Rahane walked into the spinners’ net at Eden Gardens and began reverse-sweeping roughly every fourth ball. Every time Kuldeep Yadav floated one a little wide of off stump, down Rahane would go, lithely, onto his back knee to reverse-slap him square or reverse-paddle him fine.He didn’t always connect, and when he did he didn’t always connect cleanly, but this was a clear, concerted effort to practise the shot.”It’s important to improve your game day by day,” Rahane said on Tuesday. “When you’re practising in the nets, it is important to evolve and I am just practising. I just want to improve. I always think that if I improve one shot in the nets session, I’ll be better off during the game – if the opportunity comes in the game, I am 100% confident of playing a particular shot.”I am just practising – reverse-sweep, sweep, paddle sweep. Just an option.”The reverse-sweep isn’t a shot Rahane is known to play all that much, but neither was the orthodox sweep, until a few months ago, when he used it with great effect to disrupt Nathan Lyon’s line in a match-turning second-innings partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara in Bengaluru.Asked if he was comfortable enough with the reverse-sweep to bring it out against Sri Lanka, Rahane said it was a question of feeling confident about it in the middle.”I am comfortable,” he said. “For me, it is important to give my 100% in the nets. If I am comfortable and confident in the game, I’ll play that shot.”Ever since Rangana Herath bowled Sri Lanka to a come-from-behind win in Galle two years ago, India have looked to blunt his threat by going after him at every opportunity, more often than not by using their feet to him. It has worked: since that Galle Test, Herath has averaged 53.61 against India, taking 13 wickets in four Tests and giving away 3.58 runs per over. Rahane might just throw in the odd reverse-sweep to further India’s aggressive approach against him.

When looking at the current Everton squad, it's difficult to see how they'll manage to avoid yet another relegation battle this season. The question, instead, comes over whether it will be another successful battle or if they'll finally face the drop.

There's still time for Sean Dyche to reinforce his squad this summer, however, and welcoming a goalscorer may just be the key to keeping his side's Premier League survival intact.

With that said, the Toffees have reportedly opened talks to solve their issues in front of goal.

What's the latest Everton transfer news?

So far this summer, Everton have had a mixed transfer window, resulting in an incredibly disappointing start to the season. Welcoming a total of four fresh faces, Dyche's side suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Fulham on the opening day, before being humiliated by Aston Villa, losing 4-0.

With both games failing to see goals, and the second of the season seeing Dominic Calvert-Lewin forced off injured, it has quickly become apparent that Everton have so far failed to solve their main issue in the current window.

Those at Goodison Park will be hoping to see the likes of Jack Harrison settle into life in Merseyside as quickly as possible, improving their offensive output in the process. But, according to Sky Sports reporter Alan Myers, the Toffees have turned to Udinese forward Beto.

Links to the striker first popped up on Thursday, and as per Myers, Everton have now actually "opened discussions" with the Portuguese forward, but a move is unlikely to be completed this week. On a positive note, though, he did go onto say that a deal is "very possible" this summer.

So how good is Beto?

Missing 17 games last season, and already injured in the current campaign, Everton simply cannot rely on Calvert-Lewin to carry their offensive output for any longer, making a deal for Beto imperative to their survival chances.

In the previous campaign, the forward scored ten goals for Udinese, which would have made him the top goalscorer at Goodison Park. It doesn't look as though that number was a fluke, either, given the fact that he has already found the back of the net once in two games so far this season.

At his best, Beto has earned high praise, and deservedly so, including from Sam Tighe, who Tweeted in February: "The way Beto (Udinese) spooks defenders is amazing. Chuck a ball into the channel for him to chase and even if he doesn't latch onto it, defenders panic under his pressure and end up making the craziest decisions or panicked clearances."

Based on what Tighe said, Dyche could have himself the perfect player in Beto.

The former Burnley boss doesn't play a possession-based style, and often asks his forwards to feed off scraps. And that's exactly what Beto looks happy to do, running the channels and counter-attacking in the clinical nature needed to thrive in the Premier League.

Read the latest Everton transfer news HERE…

If Everton can push ahead and secure the Udinese man's signature, they may just have themselves the solution to their goalscoring problems, and, therefore, a major boost in their pursuit of survival this season.

Vidarbha won their maiden Ranji title with a nine-wicket win, coming back into the game after Delhi’s spirited fightback had threatened a bigger chase

The Report by Vishal Dikshit in Indore01-Jan-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Rajneesh Gurbani is mobbed by his team-mates•Rajneesh GurbaniVidarbha proved why they deserved to be crowned the Ranji Trophy champions in their maiden final – a debutant shone in the first over of the match, their best bowler of the season took a hat-trick, their lower order stepped up to hand them a massive lead, and their bowlers delivered long spells on the fourth day to wrap an emphatic nine-wicket win against Delhi in Indore.Vidarbha, who had dominated most sessions of the match, started the fourth day by adding only 19 runs to their overnight lead of 233 runs, losing all of their last three wickets on 547. Delhi had some hope of taking a respectable lead when Dhruv Shorey and Nitish Rana struck half-centuries in the second session, aided by three dropped catches, before both fell minutes before the tea break and offspinner Akshay Wakhare helped wipe out six wickets in the last session. Delhi ended with a scanty lead of 28 with a flurry of late boundaries from Vikas Mishra and the Vidarbha batsmen chased it down in five overs.Shorey and Rana came together in the first session to bring the deficit under 100. Vidarbha’s fielders were also party to the partnership of 114 runs for the third wicket. In the sixth over after lunch, Rana’s inside edge off the thigh pad was put down by short leg when the batsman was on 19. As soon as Rajneesh Gurbani was taken off the attack three overs later, Shorey, on 15, drove Siddhesh Neral but Wasim Jaffer dropped him at first slip. Rana and Shorey scored with ease thereafter and combined for a prolific over against Neral when they were in their thirties: a Rana edge flew wide of Faiz Fazal at slip before Shorey exhibited three classy strokes to race to 45: a flick, a back-foot punch and a cover drive.Rana had barely stretched his score when Shorey was on 59 and edged Aditya Thakare, this time to slip where Jaffer put down a sharp chance again. Wicketkeeper Akshay Wadkar then pouched catches off both Shorey and Rana to land Delhi in trouble again. There was a change in Delhi’s tempo when Shorey fell first off Sarwate: Rana and captain Rishabh Pant started smothering the bowlers to collect quick runs. Pant smacked his third ball so far over long-on that the ball had to be changed and Rana ended that over of Gurbani with two fours through the legside. However, Gurbani had Rana edge what turned out to be the last ball before tea.Wakhare provided the early breakthrough in the last session with a beauty to knock over Himmat Singh’s off stump for a duck but, for some reason, Pant kept swiping at the other end. He also got a life when he survived a stumping chance off Wakhare on 27 but lasted only four balls after that. He handed a skier to point for a 36-ball 32. Six down and trailing by 11 runs, Delhi were running out of time and luck.Mishra’s late surge, including two sixes down the ground, ensured Delhi got a lead, but it was only a matter of time before Vidarbha would chase it down to lift the trophy.Chasing 29 at the end of the day, Vidarbha lost Fazal when he was trapped lbw by Kulwant Khejroliya on the back pad for 2. Jaffer and R Sanjay saw through the next four overs patiently before Jaffer uncharacteristically struck four fours in a Khejroliya over to seal the win. Khejroliya kept banging them short and Jaffer pulled, hooked and tucked the final four to fine leg to lift his arms and be mobbed by his team-mates.Vidarbha had four wickets in hand when the day began and Delhi started the new year the way they had ended 2017. Khejroliya dismissed Siddhesh Neral for the third time in the match off a no ball but it didn’t cost Delhi much. Neral was dropped on 61 too, and he edged one off Navdeep Saini to the wicketkeeper for 74 in the sixth over of the day. Five balls later, overnight centurion Akshay Wadkar swiped for a leading edge to point and this time Khejroliya managed a legitimate delivery. Saini finished the innings in the next over for a five-for by having Thakare edge one to the slips which was a juggled catch that popped out of third slip’s hands and was completed by Shorey at first slip.Delhi’s second innings started with Gambhir cashing in whenever the ball was pitched on middle or leg, collecting three of his seven fours square on the leg side. His brisk innings ended when he was struck in front of leg stump by Gurbani from around the wicket and the angle was such that it would have missed the stumps but he fell to a poor decision. Much before that, the opening stand was broken when Kunal Chandela tried to clear the field down the ground against Wakhare with the new ball, but handed a catch to mid-off for 9.