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Transfer insider Dean Jones has dropped a fresh update on Aston Villa’s permanent pursuit to sign Philippe Coutinho.  

The Lowdown: Coutinho at Villa

Steven Gerrard made the former Liverpool star his first signing as Villa manager, with the Brazilian joining on loan from Barcelona. The 29-year-old has gone on to impress back in England, contributing to seven goals in 11 appearances.

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Villa managed to negotiate an option to buy Coutinho at the end of the season, believed to be in the region of £34m, but Johan Lange and co have seemingly asked the Europa League quarter-finalists if they can help further with a full-time switch.

The Latest: Jones’ comments on Coutinho

Talking to The Transfer Tavern, Jones claimed that Villa have ‘asked’ Barcelona if they could do ‘something’ when it comes to Coutinho’s final year under contract at the Nou Camp. The journalist stated:

“From what I understand, they’ve asked Barcelona about doing something over the last year of his deal there.”

The Verdict: Interesting…

Barcelona appear to be desperate to offload Coutinho for good and would reportedly be willing to accept a lower fee than the £34m figure upon which the clubs agreed in January.

Villa may well be aware of that, and with Coutinho on £480,000 per week at the Nou Camp, the Midlands club may well be asking Barcelona to release the playmaker from the final 12 months of his deal or lower a fee massively in order for Villa to finance a full-time move for him.

Newcastle have also been linked with his services recently, so there could be more twists and turns when it comes to Coutinho’s long-term future ahead of the summer transfer window.

In other news: Gregg Evans buzzing as Aston Villa confirm ‘great news’ for Steven Gerrard 

2021 was an extremely unkind year to Celtic Football Club and the Hoops’ supporters.

It was a year that saw Neil Lennon lose his job as the Bhoys surrendered their dominance of Scottish football, handing over the title to their fiercest rivals.

Ange Postecoglou did arrive and sealed a League Cup victory but 2022 hasn’t exactly started out perfectly.

The Australian coach has added the likes of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi to his ranks but there is a feeling that more transfer business could be concluded.

That’s because Celtic may already be working with a depleted squad just two matches it into the calendar year.

Callum McGregor suffered a severe facial injury in the win over Alloa Athletic on Saturday while Liel Abada had to hobble and Ideguchi also sustained some sort of injury too.

Couple that with Maeda’s international call up for Japan just in time for the Old Firm and it doesn’t paint a vibrant picture of availability in Postecoglou’s ranks.

Thus, the window could be exploited once again before it slams shut next week.

In order to combat injury blows to McGregor and Ideguchi in the middle of the park, the Glaswegian outfit must try their best to force through a late move for Ahmed Kendouci.

Also touted with Rangers, it’s thought the Celtic-linked midfielder handed in a transfer request earlier this week. That’s a situation Postecoglou simply has to take advantage of in the coming days, luring what would be another exciting signing to Parkhead.

The Algerian is just 22 years of age but has a plethora of qualities and attributes that would benefit Celtic.

First and foremost, the youngster is capable of playing all across the midfield, whether it’s in a holding role or more advanced. That has seen him score an impressive three strikes from a deep-lying role for ES Setif in the top tier of Algerian football this term.

Furthermore, stats first shared in September demonstrate how he’s not just effective in the final third, but also supremely combative in physical battles. He had made 96 recoveries and 46 interceptions, showing his ability to win back possession. With that in mind, he’d have loved the contest against Alloa just a few days ago.

Bullish in defensive duels, Kendouci is also a graceful midfield player. Known as a risk-taking ball carrier who can play defence-spitting passes, talent scout Jacek Kulig hailed his mesmerising feet last summer, saying that his left foot is “made of gold.”

With that in mind, Kendouci very much appears to be a sensible signing for Celtic this winter, especially when you consider the long-term blow to McGregor.

AND in other news, Celtic can finally axe the “new Ryan Christie” by signing £3.5m “Jota-type trickster”…

MatériaMais Notícias

Desfalque no treino de sexta por conta de uma amigdalite, Keno foi a campo e participou de todo o trabalho neste sábado de manhã, na Academia de Futebol. A atividade foi apenas para os reservas, pois os atletas que começaram a partida contra o Santo André tiveram mais um dia de trabalho regenerativo na parte interna do centro de excelência.

Sem Marcos Rocha, Antônio Carlos, Thiago Martins, Victor Luis, Felipe Melo, Tchê Tchê, Lucas Lima, Dudu, Willian e Borja, todos fazendo recovery, Roger Machado comandou atividades técnicas e de bolas paradas com os reservas.

Na sequência, o elenco almoçou na Academia de Futebol e os relacionados já seguem viagem para Ribeirão Preto (SP), onde o Verdão enfrenta no domingo, o Botafogo-SP, pela segunda rodada do Estadual.

O Palmeiras não divulga mais os atletas convocados para os jogos, mas a expectativa é de que Keno esteja entre eles. O Al-Nassr, da Arábia Saudita, demonstra interesse no jogador, mas o Verdão é enfático ao dizer que não recebeu nenhuma proposta pelo camisa 11. Segundo Alexandre Mattos, neste momento não há negociações nem para chegadas, nem para saídas.

Um desfalque certo para a segunda rodada em relação à estreia é Deyverson. O atacante sofreu uma fissura em um osso do pé direito no treino de sexta e ficará entre seis e oito semanas fora de combate. O confronto com o Botinha está marcado para as 17h (de Brasília), no estádio Santa Cruz.

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There is a feeling that Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa will leave Elland Road at the end of the season, according to journalist Alex Crook.

The Lowdown: Bielsa’s deal running out

The 66-year-old signed a one-year extension with the Whites last summer, having not been willing to commit his long-term future to the club.

Bielsa has arguably had his hardest season to date at Leeds, with numerous injuries affecting his team’s performances and a relegation battle still not out of the question.

It is unknown whether or not the Argentine will sign a new deal but a new claim doesn’t sound too promising.

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The Latest: Journalist makes big claim

Speaking to Give Me Sport, talkSPORT’s Crook claimed that there is an ‘expectation’ that Bielsa will leave in the summer, potentially bringing an end to a wonderful spell at the club:

“I’ve not really heard too many links and maybe that’s because there’s a bit of an expectation that Bielsa will probably leave at the end of the season.

“Are the board really going to let a manager sign players in January knowing that he possibly won’t be there?”

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The Verdict: Time to move on?

Bielsa is slowly coming towards the end of his fourth season as Leeds manager and it may be that he feels he has taken his side as far as he can.

In fact, he has never before been in charge for this long anywhere during his entire career in club management, barring a 10-year stint with Newell’s Old Boys youth team between 1980 and 1990.

There is an argument to say that things have started to go stale under Bielsa – Leeds sit 15th in the Premier League and have only won five games in the competition this season – and a new manager could freshen things up.

That being said, Whites fans are unlikely to complain if Bielsa stays on, given his almost God-like reputation among supporters.

In other news, Leeds have been boosted in their quest to sign a Premier League player. Find out who it is here.

Tottenham are facing a panicked last few days of the January transfer window with Fabio Paratici and Antonio Conte struggling to bring the club’s main targets through the door.

The likes of Luis Diaz and Adama Traore are moving elsewhere but fortunately, Spurs have moved quickly to identify new targets.

What’s the word?

The Lilywhites have opened talks to bring Dejan Kulusevksi to English football in the remaining days of the window but he’s not the only Juventus player believed to be involved in discussions.

That’s according to Sky Sports News with journalist Lyall Thomas taking to Twitter on Friday to confirm interest in one of their midfield players too.

He stated: “Sky in Italy: Tottenham are rivalling Aston Villa with interest in Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur (From @DiMarzio) Villa have already had a bid in the region of £20m turned down.”

Separate reports claim Juve want at least £21m to consider a sale.

Great news

After failed moves for both Diaz and Traore, as well as the news that it’s unlikely Spurs will land Franck Kessie, it is superb news for Conte and the club’s supporters that they have alternative targets lined up.

Of course, the first two names are more offensive players but Kessie is a totally different beast, capable of dominating defensively and in the final third.

However, with a move now appearing to be off the cards, Spurs will need to consider other options, particularly with Tanguy Ndombele and Dele Alli linked with exits away in the remaining days of the window.

Bentancur is more of a defensive-minded midfielder by comparison but he’d still be a terrific acquisition.

After all, this is someone with plenty of experience at the top table of not only European football, but also World football, being capped 46 times by his country.

At just 24, he is also approaching his peak years and would surely strengthen the club’s central areas.

This is a player who is supremely confident with the ball at his feet, completing 87.5% of his passes in Serie A this term, while he’s won an impressive 1.7 tackles per game. Combine that with his three assists this term and Bentancur looks to be an all-round midfielder who could dominate in multiple facets of the game.

He has constantly strived to prove the doubters wrong and was once named as the “surprise” of Serie A by Max Allegri.

On that evidence, he’d be a wonderful late signing and one that Paratici simply has to get across the line.

AND in other news, Bid accepted: Spurs now closing in on first January signing, Conte will be buzzing…

Former Premier League striker Gabby Agbonlahor has been reacting to an update in Celtic’s pursuit of making Jota’s loan move permanent, as per Football Insider.  

The Lowdown: Source shares update

Celtic have been busy this month already, bringing four players to Parkhead. Two of those have been attacking additions in Daizen Maeda and Johnny Kenny, with the club’s attention now on making Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers’ temporary stays full-time.

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According to a recruitment source from Football Insider, a permanent transfer fee for the 22-year-old will exceed £5m on top of a loan fee which has already been paid. with a full-time deal believed to be close. Should that go through, Jota would become the most expensive signing of the Ange Postecoglou era.

The Latest: Agbonlahor’s comments

Agbonlahor, who regularly features as a pundit on talkSPORT, was talking to Football Insider regarding the update. He believes that a permanent transfer will ‘definitely’ happen, labelling the Hoops as an ‘attractive club’ as he outlined:

“Celtic are an attractive club, it’s a club where players will feel settled, they’re going to love their time there and are fighting for the league title.

“Those loans will be converted easily. I’d rather play for Celtic and Rangers than a Championship club.

“Definitely, they will be converted easily.”

The Verdict: Good news

Jota has been a star in green and white this season, contributing to 14 goals in 18 games. He missed the last seven fixtures prior to the international break due to injury, although you’d expect that he will remain the first choice on the left flank when he returns despite Maeda’s arrival.

The Portuguese winger is currently valued at £4.95m by Transfermarkt, and although Celtic will need to pay more than that this month to make his move permanent, you’d expect that it could turn out to be a shrewd deal in the long run.

He’s still just 22 years of age, and if he continues to shine, it won’t be long until his market value hits eight figures.

In other news: ‘Ideal’ – BBC pundit thinks Celtic may accept bid almost double previous offer for ‘excellent’ ace

Australia Under-19 captain Mitchell Marsh has commended the team effort that gave his side a narrow two-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the World Cup semi-final. After bowling Sri Lanka out for 205 in 48.2 overs, Australia faltered in the chase, losing regular wickets before getting across the line with nine balls to spare.”I think run-chases in finals are always pretty tough and they’re the sort of games you never win two or three down,” Marsh said. “It’s a credit to the boys at the end who stuck to their guns and got us over the line.”Marsh led from the front, scoring 97 of 110 balls, including twelve fours. Even as wickets fell around him, he continued to keep the score ticking over, eventually finding able support in wicketkeeper Tom Triffitt, who made 50. The two put on 78 for the sixth wicket and Marsh noted the importance of the crucial stand, which rescued them from 93 for 5.”When you get those sorts of scores you always want to go on and make hundreds but it was a pretty good catch and at the end of the day it was just important for us to get the win,” Marsh said. “Being 5 for 93 at one stage, I think we’ve done pretty well to win and my partnership with Triff [Triffitt] towards the end there was pivotal and that’s what you need in these sorts of games.”The form of the Australian fast bowlers through the tournament has been impressive and Marsh said he was pleased with their efforts to pin down Sri Lanka to 205. “You always want to bat first on tracks like that but credit to the way the boys came out and the attitude of the fielders and bowlers,” Marsh said. “In these sorts of games if you can bowl consistently good areas you’re always going to get wickets and that’s what the two big guys [Josh Hazlewood and Alister McDermott] did at the start.”Marsh also said he had set his sights on the final against Pakistan on Saturday. He said he was excited about the challenge ahead and hoped to return home with the big prize. “Pakistan’s going to be a tough encounter, they’re a very well-drilled side and if we can just keep doing the basics right then I think we’re in for a good day Saturday,” he said. “They’ve got a fair bit of experience at the top of the order and a few good spinners so we’ll look to counter them and hopefully we can do the job.”

Newcastle United host Burnley at St James’ Park in the Premier League on Saturday in a mammoth clash at the bottom of the table.

Three points separate the teams heading into the game, with both sides in the relegation zone after 14 matches in the division. The Magpies were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Norwich last time out, having taken the lead through a penalty from Callum Wilson.

How many changes will Eddie Howe make to his team selection for the match today? Here is our predicted XI…

We are predicting that he will make four alterations for the game from midweek, with Miguel Almiron, Jacob Murphy, Jamaal Lascelles and Federico Fernandez all coming in.

One change will be enforced upon Howe following Ciaran Clark’s red card against the Canaries. Fernandez came on to fill the gap at centre-back and was outstanding to ensure that the Magpies did not lose, and he may have played his way into a start against Burnley.

As per SofaScore, he won both of his ground duels and made two clearances, two blocks, two interceptions and one tackle as he earned a rating of 7.0. This suggests that he was a solid performer at the back and could help Newcastle against the Clarets, as he has shown that he can put in a strong defensive display.

Fabian Schar went down with knocks on a couple of occasions and lost 50% of his ground duels as he recorded a SofaScore rating of 6.5. This could tempt the 43-year-old into bringing Lascelles back into the team after his suspension. The captain’s leadership at the back could seal his place in the starting XI next to Fernandez.

At right-back, Howe could exclude Javier Manquillo from the team. We published an article explaining why the £40k-per-week dud should be axed from the XI, and the ex-Bournemouth boss could offer Murphy an opportunity to come in and show what he can do at St James’ Park.

We are predicting that the midfield and forward line will only have one change from the starting XI against Norwich. Clark’s red card in the 11th minute forced Ryan Fraser to be sacrificed early, which led to a disjointed attack which was not given a fair chance to shine, and we think that Miguel Almiron for the Scotsman may be the only change that Howe makes in those positions today.

AND in other news, Discussions underway: NUFC must land £100k-p/w beast compared to “Ballack” and “Gazza”…

Many Everton fans have been left fuming over some news involving one of their upcoming fixtures in the Premier League.

As per the official Twitter page of the Goodison Park faithful, their trip to Newcastle United in February has now been rescheduled, after being selected for live TV.

It will now be played on Tuesday 8th February at 7:45pm, in what is an ridiculously inconvenient time for supporters hoping to go to the game on Tyneside.

The late kick-off makes it difficult for Toffees to travel back, especially in a midweek when they are likely to have work the next day, and there will be fewer public transport options at that time of night.

Nonetheless, the anger also comes after a poor run of form on the pitch, which has seen the Merseyside club win just one of their last 10 matches in the Premier League.

Everton fans on fixture change

These Blues fumed as the news of the fixture change was shared on Twitter, with one EFC fan even going as far as to claim that it was ‘awful’:

“Why?”

Credit: @efc_1878___

“Keep going @premierleague – kick us when we’re already down”

Credit: @SpecterAndGold

“We’re actually never playing a game on a Saturday again”

Credit: @joejohnson1202

“Everton are not allowed to play Newcastle in broad daylight”

Credit: @jamesc_422

“Absolutely awful date change for Newcastle away that”

Credit: @Lammylad88

“Half the fan base just suffered an injury reading this tweet”

Credit: @SchneiderErnie

In other news, find out what injury news has Evertonians fuming here!

Younis Khan, Pakistan’s Test and ODI captain, has said he could return to playing Twenty20 internationals

Cricinfo staff28-Oct-2009

Younis Khan, Pakistan’s Test and ODI captain, has hinted that he could return to Twenty20 cricket despite having retired from the format after leading his team to the world title in England in June this year.In a television interview with , Younis nudged the door open for a possible return to a format he thought he was too old for. “If my fellow players accept me and the nation wants me to,” Younis said, “I will come back to playing Twenty20 internationals.”Younis had announced his retirement at a press conference right after Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets at Lord’s to win the final. Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, had said at the time that he would try and get Younis to change his mind though Pakistan seemed to have moved past that by appointing Afridi as the Twenty20 captain.Afridi led Pakistan to a Twenty20 win against Sri Lanka in the summer and will lead them in internationals against New Zealand and Australia, before spearheading Pakistan’s defence of the world title in April next year in the West Indies. And responding to Younis, Afridi, on the same show a night later, said Younis was “more than welcome” to return and would even “step down from the captaincy and play under Younis Khan”.Younis had recently resigned as Pakistan captain from all formats following allegations of match-fixing during the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa and murmurs about factions in the team and management working to undermine him. The Pakistan board, however, rejected the resignation and Butt came out in support of Younis, who then said he was happy to take back the captaincy after certain conditions were met.Afridi again denied reports of a rift with Younis but did confirm that some other players had problems with Younis after the Champions Trophy, which were now resolved. “The players informed me about their problems,” Afridi said. “I told them it was better if they directly communicate their problems to Younis, an idea which they didn’t like.”Afridi said he had already informed both Younis and the PCB chairman about the players’ problems and he hoped in future there will be no communication gap between team players and the captain. “The problem with our players is they don’t speak their heart out and that’s where the communication gap comes in,” Afridi saidYounis has played 22 Twenty20 internationals, scoring 432 runs at an average of 25.41 with a strike rate of 124.85. Pakistan’s next Twenty20 assignment is two matches against New Zealand in Dubai in November.