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West Bromwich Albion are one of several Championship clubs interested in securing the services of Newcastle United youngster Elliot Anderson on a loan deal next season.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to the latest reports from TEAMtalk, who claim that the 19-year-old’s performances on loan at Bristol Rovers have attracted interest from several Championship sides.

West Brom are among the quintet of second-tier clubs keen on the youngster, although, it will not be easy for the Baggies to tie this deal up – with the likes of Middlesborough, Coventry City, Reading and Stoke City all interested in signing the starlet.

Earlier reports also claim that Nottingham Forest, Queens Park Rangers and Preston North End are keeping tabs on the midfielder – making things even tougher from Albion’s perspective.

Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton understandably would like to keep Anderson if he can aid the club in securing promotion to League One, though it is understood that Eddie Howe wants the England U19 international to be playing Championship football next season.

Bruce’s goal-scoring solution

The £180k-rated talent has been a key player in the Pirates’ pursuit of promotion, with the 19-year-old establishing himself as a Rovers regular – finding himself in the starting XI 94% of the time.

Anderson, who has had manager Joey Barton waxing lyrical over his performances, has also notched up an impressive total of nine goal contributions in 18 appearances in League Two this season.

The attacking midfielder has since been described as a “superb” player who “gets you off your seat” by the Bristol Rovers boss:

“I think our fans have taken to him because he gets you off your seat. You would be really pleased for him to have the ball for ninety minutes because he’s got such quality.”

Steve Bruce would be right to move for Anderson who looks to be a supreme talent with his ability to score and create goals – something which could well solve the Baggies’ own scoring problems next season.

AND in other news: £10.7m wasted: WBA had howler over “absolute nightmare” who rinsed Peace for 147 weeks

For a decade, the swaggering superstar of Australia’s summer carnival liked nothing better than smashing Aussies to a pulp

John Birmingham15-Aug-2010

Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was a soft and shy man, not an arrogant prince. He lived for the day, while retaining a sense of history. He was not a genius, as Imran Khan thought. The word genius implies a depth of rational thought and consideration, which was never part of Richards’ game. He was more an intuitive artist blessed with an exceptional gift for violent performance. A gladiator, perhaps. He was driven by a personal will to power as ferocious as any Caesar or Bismarck, and his quest for dominance on the sporting field was sharpened by a sense of vengeance for past injustices off it. He punished the English for colonising West Indies and Australia for humiliating their cricketers in the summer of 1975-76.In an era stalked by the fastest and most dangerous bowlers in history, Richards never wore a helmet. Not once. Not against Lillee and Thomson. Not against Khan or Kapil Dev or Garth le Roux. Not even against his own team-mates: Holding, Roberts, Garner, Marshall and the rest of the Caribbean express. As his batting contemporaries wrapped themselves in increasingly sophisticated layers of armour, Richards trusted his life to his eyesight and his nerves.He was called the Black Bradman, not so much for his capacity to amass enormous scores but for his inhuman ability to see a ball almost before it had been bowled. Such were his reflexes that the fastest of bowlers were frightened of him. He monstered them, physically abusing them, terrifying some and destroying the confidence of others, shortening their careers by the savagery of his assaults on their bowling. Whether in creams or coloured uniform, Richards lived and died by one credo: it was either he or they.He arrived at that mantra on his first tour to Australia in 1975-76, with Ian Chappell’s team in full flight behind the berserkers of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. So fast were they bowling at that point in their careers that they were quite literally unplayable. Thomson, in particular, could send a ball screaming from one end of the pitch to another in less time than science tells us a human being can possibly react.And Richards played that series as the West Indians would play every series for the following decade or so. That is, at full tilt – with maximum prejudice and malice directed at the fast men who were trying to undo him. No matter how short the ball, or how steeply it rose off the pitch to tear at his throat, he fairly skipped on to the front foot to smash away one boundary after another.He had Chappell’s ability to humiliate a bowler. But he brought with him to the pitch a much darker sense of coiled menace and evil intent. He played with perfect timers of the ball like Sunil Gavaskar and Zaheer Abbas. He played with thuggish enforcers like Ian Botham. But none of them came within a shadow of combining Richards’ rare sense of timing, his frighteningly muscular physique and his heavyweight’s ability to hammer down an opponent. For all their blinding pace, both Lillee and Thomson spent much of that summer standing helplessly, mouths agape, as their lightning bolts screamed back overhead to clatter loudly into sightscreens and picket fences. Richards – half-smile,half-sneer – dared them to bowl faster.He was supposedly a nervous starter, although he masked any lack of confidence with that brutish swagger and general air of lordly disdain. He would dispense with any anxieties through the simple process of smashing the opposition to a pulp before they could dare exploit a perceived weakness. It made him a fiendishly difficult problem for opposing captains, who could see two days of ascendancy demolished in half an hour. And all this, of course, made him especially devastating in the shortened game, when there was no time to recover from a plan gone badly awry, where the fast bowlers who were his natural enemies were hobbled by fielding restrictions and the limited number of overs they could deliver.Kapil Dev remembers two shots in the 1983 World Cup final when Richards carted balls from way outside off, smashing them around to square leg. "My line was on and outside the off stump, to get him out with my outswinger. On both occasions I threw my arms up expecting an edge, only to see the umpire waving his arm to signal a boundary."Imran, who thought Richards the greatest batsman of his generation, recalls the Master Blaster handing out similar treatment to his Australian nemesis in a World Series Cup match. "He advanced down the wicket at Thomson, at his fastest and armed with a new ball. He smashed a short ball from him to the mid-on fence."When Richards played one of the greatest innings in cricket history it was not in a Test but a one-dayer – and it was against his most cherished victims, the Poms. His 189 not out at Old Trafford in 1984, from only 170 balls and out of a team total of 272, is rated by Wisden as the greatest one-day knock of all time.For Richards, demoralising hapless Englishmen was something of a raison d’être. They had foolishly baited him before their first encounter, England’s captain Tony Greig vowing that he and his motley crew of semi-geriatric plodders would make the Windies "grovel". It would have been an ill-advised comment at the best of times. Coming from a South African mercenary in some of the darkest days of the apartheid period, it galvanised the feelings of Clive Lloyd’s young West Indians. On hearing of the insult, Richards famously spoke of himself in the third person."Nobody talks to Viv Richards like that."For a young man he had a well-developed sense of his own greatness. At 16 he’d earned a two-year ban for dissent when he refused to leave the wicket on being dismissed for a duck. A riot ensued and the crowd could be calmed only by his recall. He scored another duck. And made it three goose eggs when he failed to trouble the scorers in the second dig. His curious record of three ducks in one match is a piece of cricketing arcana but goes to demonstrate that, even as a stripling, he would not suffer the insults of lesser beings without consequence.As he matured Richards learned to exact his vengeance with the willow. In 1976 he took 829 runs off Greig’s side in only four Tests. A few years later, in 1979-80, he destroyed the career of Australia’s Rodney Hogg after the slab-shouldered paceman was foolish enough to smack Richards a painful blow in the head with a bouncer on the unreliable MCG deck. Chewing gum like a waterfront contract killer, the champion No.3 gave Hogg the stone face before dismembering his next six overs. Hogg ended up going for 10 an over and had to retire from the field with a strained back. It was another year before Hogg stepped on to a Test match field, and never again did he regain the penetration of his earliest days when he routinely embarrassed Geoff Boycott.There was a curious price to be paid for all this inhuman brilliance. Those West Indian sides were overburdened with talent, but so dominant was Richards that if he stumbled it was possible to bring the whole team down around him. In 1983 they lost a World Cup final to India simply because Richards couldn’t contain his natural flamboyance and threw his wicket away at an inopportune moment.Australian cricket remembers him with bittersweet fondness as the man who kept a studded boot on their throat throughout the 1980s. Shane Warne was just a fat kid from the burbs back then. The national side was first riven by conflict between loyalist players and the original World Series defectors, then gutted by the defection of more than a dozen players to a rebel series in South Africa. It was one of the darker periods in local sporting history. Richards was responsible for ensuring it didn’t get any better so long as he had a say.Only Lillee had any answers. Lillee never made Richards his bunny, but no other bowler in the world had as good a chance of removing the dynamo. It is telling, however, that Lillee rarely – if ever – beat him for pace. He generally bamboozled Richards on to the back foot and trapped him leg-before with cut and swing, not brute speed.If Australia were ever to prove competitive against their tormentors through that era, it meant getting rid of Richards early. It was more often a dream than reality.John Birmingham is the author of He Died With A Felafel In His Hand and Leviathan. His latest book is Dopeland.

A big update has emerged on Rangers and Gio van Bronckhorst’s transfer plans at Ibrox for the remainder of the January window…

What’s the talk?

A transfer has claimed that the Gers are working hard to source a new signing in attack before the end of the month.

Pete O’Rourke told GIVEMESPORT: “They’re actively looking for options on the right flank, and it just seems they’ve been linked with a lot of players right now. So, it’ll all depend on who Van Bronckhorst sees as the best fit for his side going forward.”

Excitement

This news will surely leave Rangers fans feeling excited for several reasons.

Firstly, it shows that the club are still putting the work in behind the scenes and actively looking to add to their squad despite already making two signings in the form of James Sands and John Souttar.

Ross Wilson is seemingly keen to give van Bronckhorst as many tools as possible to ensure that they are able to secure a second Premiership title in a row. The Gers are also still in the Europa League and could be eyeing further progression in that competition as they prepare to face Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund next month in the first knockout round.

Therefore, supporters will be buzzing to read that they are not resting on their laurels and willing to go with what they have for the rest of the campaign. Continual improvement appears to be the way they want to go about it and it will be interesting to see if they have any more targets beyond a right winger for the current window.

The position in which Rangers want to make a signing will also get fans excited as it means that they can look forward to an attacking player coming in.

Bringing in a right-winger suggests that they want someone who can come in to score and create goals from out wide, which would surely get fans off their seats in excitement as they watch a new wing wizard causing havoc down the flanks.

Of course, there is no guarantee that they will be able to sign an effective forward who is able to deliver in the final third but, for now, fans can be buzzing with the prospect of a new attacker coming in to bolster the squad before the deadline next week.

AND in other news, Rangers could finally axe “really poor” lightweight by landing £2.8m-rated playmaker…

West Ham United are still attempting to tie up a deal to bring Darwin Nunez to the London Stadium on transfer deadline day.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee, who stated in a post on The West Ham Way that, despite David Ornstein’s recent report suggesting that the 22-year-old has rejected a move to East London, the Hammers move for the centre-forward is very much alive.

In his post, the Irons insider said: “As of last night we do not believe a bid has been accepted by Benfica for Nunez. We actually believe they are likely to reject it and that we could go back in for him if they did.

“Therefore, reports at the moment that the player has rejected the deal are probably based upon the fact that a deal hasn’t been accepted. It is easy for the player to reject a deal and appear loyal if there is no deal to reject.

“Believe me, a number of our players over different eras and windows have used that tactic. I believe we are still trying to get the deal done, although as said before, I can’t see it happening.”

Fans will love Ex’s update

Considering just how talented a player Nunez quite clearly is, in addition to the fact that West Ham are in desperate need of backup and competition for Michail Antonio in the centre-forward role, Ex’s update that the Uruguay international has not rejected a move to the London Stadium is sure to be one that Hammers fans love.

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Indeed, the £28.8m-rated centre-forward has been in remarkable goalscoring form for Benfica so far this season, having bagged 15 goals and registered two assists over his 16 Liga Bwin outings, scored three goals over six Champions League appearances and netting two goals over three fixtures in the Taca de Portugal and the Allianz Cup – taking his total haul to 20 goals and two assists in just 25 games.

As such, should West Ham manage to get a last-gasp deal over the line for the £31k-per-week sensation prior to Monday’s transfer deadline, he would undoubtedly be a signing who could fire the Irons to a top-four finish in the league this season – an outcome that would represent a remarkable achievement for Moyes and his side.

In other news: “We have…”: WHU insider drops huge deadline day development, Moyes is finally acting

Leeds United have been handed a triple injury boost ahead of their trip to the capital this afternoon…

What’s the latest?

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered an update on the injury crisis at Thorp Arch as the Yorkshiremen head back to the London Stadium to face West Ham United for the second successive weekend, this time in the Premier League.

Indeed, Marcelo Bielsa’s side were knocked out of the FA Cup last Sunday by the Irons but this time around, the Argentine will have a few more players available for selection.

“Team news for West Ham on Sunday – [Patrick] Bamford, Rodrigo and [Pascal] Struijk could all be involved, which is clearly a big and overdue boost,” the ever-reliable reporter tweeted ahead of kick-off.

Huge boost

This will come as a major boost to Leeds.

Bielsa has suffered from persistent and ever-mounting injuries throughout the 2021/22 campaign, so much so that the west Yorkshire giants find themselves at the wrong end of the table.

Right now, they are just six points clear of the relegation zone but some of the teams below them hold games in hand due to recent postponements, so things could quickly change – and that’s out of United’s control.

During last weekend’s defeat, the Argentinian started three academy prospects, whilst there were only three first-team players on the bench. Just last month, he was missing 11 players for the loss to Arsenal.

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Leeds have sorely missed the absence of Bamford, who has played only 22 minutes since mid-September.

Without him, Bielsa has had to deploy a whole host of names upfront, usually the likes of Jack Harrison or Daniel James, who are wingers by trade and do not possess the same goalscoring threat and attacking prowess in the penalty box

Struijk offers the side immense versatility in being able to play anywhere along the backline and in midfield, so his involvement bolsters Bielsa’s tactical options tenfold.

Whilst Rodrigo has been one of the side’s biggest creative influences, having averaged 1.6 key passes per game – a feat only bettered by Raphinha (1.8), as per WhoScored.

On the above evidence, fans around Elland Road and across the country should be absolutely delighted – and perhaps a little relieved – heading into today’s Premier League encounter.

Bielsa has been handed a big triple injury boost and that only bolsters their chances of getting revenge down in east London this afternoon.

AND in other news, Bielsa must ruthlessly axe “headless” £16.2m-rated Leeds dud today, he’s been shocking…

Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has returned to the squad for the first two ODIs against Zimbabwe in Providence after missing the Twenty20 to be with his unwell mother. The selectors, however, did not pick Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo in the 14-man squad.Sarwan scored a hundred for Guyana against Windward Islands in the WICBfour-day tournament but, according to a CMC report, the team management wanted to assess his fitness further before recalling him to the national set-up. The match was Sarwan’s first game since he injured his back during the tour of Australia in December.Bravo had also nearly recovered from the hand injury he sustained while playing for Victoria in the Big Bash, Australia’s domestic Twenty20 competition. He trained with the West Indies squad last week and is likely, along with Sarwan, to be chosen for the last three games against Zimbabwe.The only other change to the squad that lost a low-scoring Twenty20 against Zimbabwe in Trinidad is the inclusion of Guyana batsman Narsingh Deonarine at Darren Bravo’s expense.The first ODI between West Indies and Zimbabwe will take place on March 4 and the second on March 6.Squad: Chris Gayle (capt), Adrian Barath, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard,Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Fletcher, Nikita Miller,Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy,Dwayne Smith.

يرى وليد الهشري لاعب منتخب تونس الأسبق والترجي أن فريقه كان ندًا للجيل الذهبي بالنادي الأهلي الذي كان يضم محمد أبو تريكة ومحمد بركات.

وقال وليد الهيشري في تصريحات عبر برنامج “بوكس تو بوكس” المذاع على قناة “إل تي سي”: “سجلت هدفًا في مرمى شريف إكرامي عام 2011”.

طالع أيضًا.. الاتحاد البوليفي يوضح لـ بطولات آخر تطورات عقوبة برونو سافيو “المتمرد”

وأضاف: “الفترة التي تواجدت فيها مع الترجي واجهنا الأهلي بنجومه الكبار من بينهم محمد أبو تريكة ومحمد بركات، وكنا ندًا لهم في المباريات الكبيرة التي جمعتنا بدوري أبطال إفريقيا”.

وأردف: “كنا نواجه الأهلي الذي كان يضم الجيل الذهبي لمنتخب مصر، والذي حصد بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا 3 مرات”.

واستأنف: “هُزمنا في مباراة الذهاب، ومحمد فضل سجل هدف في الترجي بيده، ومايكل إينرامو سجل الهدف في الأهلي بيده، وهذا سلف ودين”.

وتابع: “لقد لعبت هذه المباراة، في الأول لم أر أن إينرامو سجل الهدف بيده، لكن في الفيديو الأمر تم حسمه”.

Newcastle United have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Everton centre-back Yerry Mina in January, with the defender reportedly available for £17m.

What’s the story?

The Magpies are likely to invest in January after the completion of their Saudi-backed takeover and will be looking for reinforcements to help push their survival bid.

Eddie Howe’s side are currently 19th in the Premier League, having won just one of their 15 top-flight games this term. However, that win came in their most recent match against Burnley and they will look to make themselves a more attractive proposition over the coming weeks before the transfer window opens.

They certainly need additions in the defensive department, conceding 30 league goals already this term, the third-highest tally in the top flight, and a swoop for Mina could be shrewd business.

According to a report from Jeunes Footeux, the Toffees will allow the defender to leave Goodison Park in January should their €20m (£17m) asking price be met. Mina is also entering the final 18 months of his contract, meaning that an imminent sale would be preferred by the Merseyside club.

The Colombian has been limited to just seven league appearances under Rafael Benitez so far this season, although an ongoing thigh problem has been a major reason for his absence. Mina returned to action on Monday night in Everton’s 2-1 win over Arsenal after two months out of the team, although the 27-year-old only managed 31 minutes as he had to be withdrawn.

According to SofaScore, the £120k-p/w defender has averaged a 78% pass accuracy and 3.4 clearances per game this season, compared to the 66% pass accuracy and 3.7 clearances per game of Fabian Schär.

It appears that Mina is certainly popular with many associated with Everton, in particular teammate Richarlison, who claimed that the Colombian is the club’s “best defender”. Furthermore, former Everton defender Michael Ball claimed earlier this season that “when he’s fit, he’s a monster.”

The 27-year-old has shown that he poses a threat in the air, frequently netting with headers and winning at least 2.7 aerial duels per game in every season since moving to Merseyside. Such traits are reminiscent of former Newcastle defender Fabricio Coloccini, who was renowned for being ‘strong in the air’ during his time on Tyneside.

With Transfermarkt currently valuing Mina at £18m, it could prove a sensible deal for the Magpies if PIF can land a new version of former Magpies and Argentina defender Coloccini. At 6 foot 5, the Colombian is certainly a physical presence and would come to St James’ Park with plenty of Premier League experience, having made 73 appearances in the English top flight.

In other news: Howe drops four-word injury update which will leave Newcastle fans buzzing

Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rüdiger would be a top signing for Tottenham Hotspur, according to former Spurs defender Graham Roberts.

The Lowdown: Rüdiger out of contract

The Germany international has enjoyed a fantastic start to the season, excelling in Thomas Tuchel’s back-three system. His electric form has ensured that he is a crucial component to Chelsea’s back-line – he has started 14 of 15 Premier League matches this term and drawn massive praise just last week from Blues legend Gianfranco Zola.

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However, the defender is out of his £100,000-per-week contract in the summer, and is yet to commit his future to the West London club.

With a £31.5m valuation, Chelsea will not want to lose him on a free at the end of the season. This has opened up the possibility of a transfer in the January window. Consequently, a whole host of clubs may well be interested in the colossal defender, including Spurs, who are expected to pursue a new defensive signing for Antonio Conte.

The Latest: Rüdiger linked with Tottenham

According to transfer insider Dean Jones (via GIVEMESPORT), Tottenham have made Rüdiger the most lucrative offer. It was even revealed earlier this year that the player spoke with former manager Jose Mourinho about the possibility of a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Former Spurs centre-back Graham Roberts has now sung the German’s praises, claiming that he would be a good signing for Conte. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said:

“I think it would be good for us. He’s the most improved player I’ve seen in the last year in the Premier League.

“From where he was under Frank, he’s become a man-mountain, he’s a really good passer of the ball.”

However, Roberts is not confident in the deal coming to fruition, claiming that he’s “not sure he would come to Tottenham”.

The Verdict: Ideal but unlikely

With Cristian Romero currently out injured, the arrival of the Germany international would instantly improve the starting 11 in north London – he is part of a defence who have conceded just nine times in 15 games this term, and Rio Ferdinand even called him the best defender in the league last season.

Despite this, it is unlikely that the Chelsea player would choose to join a London rival, especially one below their current ambitions.

He could perhaps opt for a move overseas, with Real Madrid keen to find a replacement for Raphaël Varane and the Spanish giants almost always in and around the trophies come the end of each season.

With the defender out of contract in the summer, there will be a long list of clubs aiming to bring Rüdiger in on a free, so this one certainly feels difficult for the Lilywhites to pull off unless they offer him massive wages.

Aston Villa midfielder Marevlous Nakamba may miss the rest of the season through injury.

That’s according to The Athletic’s Gregg Evans, which, as to be expected, has had plenty of Villa fans talking on social media.

Nakamba had started every game under Steven Gerrard prior to going off against Liverpool with a knee injury.

The 27-year-old was also set to represent Zimbabwe at the Africa Cup of Nations in the New Year, however, it seems as if he may be out for the rest of the current campaign.

Evans shared news on Tuesday afternoon, suggesting Villa will decide over the next 48 hours if the defensive midfielder requires surgery on the problem. As a result of Nakamba’s injury, Villa will look to sign a new midfielder in the January transfer window.

Villa fans react

This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply to Evans’ Twitter post regarding Nakamba, with one labelling it as a ‘massive shame’.

“This is the worst Christmas present ever”

Credit: @BWC_19

“Day ruined. Sadness achieved.”

Credit: @SusaninSports

“Massive shame for him if it’s the worst case scenario as he really started to look like he was getting there. It feels like typical Villa this, every time someone gets on a good run of form, then the injury hits. New midfielder should be a priority now in January.”

Credit: @BradMorris_96

“Damn that’s heart breaking news especially after his form lately.”

Credit: @Boutthatpaper

“Actually so upset about this, can’t even imagine what’s going through his head.”

Credit: @marathesayu

“Horrible news for a player who was nailing that position down as his own. Get well soon Marv”

Credit: @AvfcU

In other news: ‘Excellent’ ace thinks his Villa career ‘is over’; he’s now eyeing a permanent exit.