Tag Futebol

Liverpool are now reportedly racing to sign a £100m star who’s already been the subject of several enquiries in the January transfer window.

Slot admits Liverpool's attacking struggles "obvious"

After breaking their transfer record twice to welcome Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, Liverpool’s attacking problems are now “obvious” for all to see, according to Arne Slot.

The Reds have gone from free-flowing but extremely vulnerable to defensively compact, yet incredibly slow going the other way. They’re simply yet to find the perfect middle ground which saw them lift the Premier League title last season.

Having his say on his side’s current form, which has seen them go seven games unbeaten, Slot told reporters: “Yeah, although the margins are small so that could have influenced us having three, four, five, six more points maybe.

“But from open play, from where we are, when I look at Arsenal, I look at City and I look at us, it’s fair that we are not above them.

“That we are so many points behind them, there are reasons for that but it wouldn’t be fair if we were above them for the way we have played.

“I think it is clear and obvious that we hardly concede chances any more… but for me it is also clear and obvious that we find it quite hard to generate enough chances for all the ball possession we have and that is not new for us this season.”

The truth of Liverpool’s recent run was exposed against Leeds United last time out, when they struggled to create and settled for a 0-0 draw at Anfield. It was a contrast of the days of old in Merseyside and Slot must find a solution, be it internally or through the transfer market.

Liverpool racing to sign Baleba with Brighton response given

According to Caught Offside, Liverpool have now joined the race to sign Carlos Baleba from Brighton & Hove Albion this month.

The midfield star has already been the subject of several enquiries this month, but it seems as though the Seagulls are ready to turn down any potential approaches midway through the campaign.

Related Edwards sends Liverpool officials to join race for "fantastic" starlet this week

He’s a wanted man.

Posts ByTom Cunningham

Reportedly valued at around £100m by those in Sussex, Liverpool would have to splash out another hefty fee if they were to step up their chase to sign Baleba. The question, therefore, is whether the 21-year-old would be worth what could be a hectic chase.

Subscribe for Smarter Transfer Analysis and Insight Want clearer context on transfer sagas like Baleba? Subscribe to the newsletter for expert breakdowns of player form, tactical fit and market value — concise analysis that helps you evaluate transfer talk and club strategy.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

After Alan Shearer dubbed him “wonderful” last season, it would be easy to assume that Liverpool should go all out for Baleba. But his form has complicated things this season.

Baleba in the Premier League per 90

24/25

25/26

Minutes

2,661

896

Progressive Passes

3.99

2.4

Tackles Won

1.55

1

Ball Recoveries

6.66

5.10

Whilst there’s still a long season ahead, Baleba’s numbers have plummeted in every department in the current campaign and that’s something Liverpool should be wary of. The last thing they need is for another big-money signing to struggle.

Scorecard

Tamim Iqbal’s 104 was outdone by Richard Jones’ unbeaten 85 as Auckland coasted to victory © Getty Images

Led by captain Richard Jones’ brisk unbeaten 85, Auckland made light of a target of 243 in 50 overs and handed the Bangladeshis their second defeat in as many completed matches on their tour of New Zealand so far. The visitors opted to bat but bar Tamim Iqbal’s 104, the first hundred of the trip, there were few contributions to speak of and even more worryingly, the Bangladeshi bowlers managed just three Auckland wickets ahead of a full ODI and Test series.Paul Hitchcock, who earlier picked up 2 for 48, scored 35 in an opening stand of 81 with Martin Guptill to set the base for Auckland. After his departure, caught by Ferhad Reza off Nazmul Hossain, 21-year-old Guptill fell for 59 from 61 balls. Jones and Colin de Grandhomme (34) finished the match with ease, adding an unbroken partnership of 97. Jones hit eight fours and a six to finish on 85, and denied the Bangladeshis any entrance into the middle order. The target was overhauled with 24 deliveries to spare.With the bat, the Bangladeshis got starts but collapsed dramatically. Tamim stood firm, adding 86 for the second wicket with Aftab Ahmed (29), and 55 with captain Mohammad Ashraful (27). However, a complete mess down the order – the last seven wickets fell for 58 – saw Bangladesh bowled out in 48.5 overs. Tamim hit four sixes and ten fours in his 122-ball effort, but was the fourth batsman to fall, at 184 in the 35th over.Greg Moran, the rookie 21-year-old right-arm medium-fast bowler, took 3 for 33 off eight overs, Andy McKay and Roneel Hira two each, and there was a wicket for Daryl Tuffey in his first match for Auckland this season.Bangladesh’s tour continues with a Twenty20 match against a New Zealand Cricket XI in a World Vision Cyclone Relief match in Hamilton on Sunday.

Gold League
Karachi Urban tamed the Rawalpindi attack and scored 284 for 2 on the opening day of their fifth-round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Gold League match at the National Stadium on Thursday.By stumps, Saeed Bin Nasir was unbeaten on 100 after Karachi’s captain Hasan Raza chose to bat. It was Saeed’s eight first-class hundred in 70 matches and he batted for three hours 40 minutes, faced 170 balls and hit 14 fours and a six. Asif Zakir was unbeaten on 76 off 181 balls with nine hits fours.The unbroken third-wicket partnership between the pair yielded 184 runs, in 220 minutes off 350 deliveries. Earlier, Agha Sabir and Khurram Manzoor had given Karachi Urban a splendid 96-run opening partnership.Rawalpindi captain Mohammad Wasim employed as many as eight bowlers including himself but fast bowlers Yasir Arafat and Sohail Tanvir were the only two who were successful.After four matches Rawalpindi, who have never won a national cricket title before, had collected 21 points to go top of the Gold League table. Karachi Urban with 15 points are placed third in the seven-team ranking.Defending champions Sialkot did their chances of qualifying for the Gold League final no good, when they scraped together 212 for 6 against Lahore Shalimar at the Jinnah Stadium on Thursday.At one stage, after having been put in first, Sialkot were in dire straits having lost six wickets for 152 runs. It was an unbroken 60-run stand for the seventh wicket that helped them cross the 200 mark. Ayub Dogar and Tahir Mughal were at the crease at stumps. Earlier, opener Atiq-ur-Rehman had dominated the scoring with 70 off 139 balls with the help of 11 fours as Sialkot reached 127 for 2.Fast bowler Junaid Zia, with figures of 3 for 33, bowled with spirit after Mohammad Khalil had made the first strike by removing Haafiz Majid Jahangir. Veteran left-arm spinner Mohammad Hussain later snared two victims.Sialkot were led by former Pakistan batsman Ijaz Ahmed, who made a comeback to first-class cricket after an absence of six years, because Imran Nazir was called up to the ODI squad in South Africa. Sialkot had collected only 12 points from their previous three matches and are currently fifth in the seven-team table. Faisalabad exploited Peshawar’s dwindling form to their advantage, and dismissed them for 215 on the opening day at the Iqbal Stadium on Thursday. Faisalabad’s openers added 39 runs by stumps.Peshawar were rattled by fast bowlers Faisal Afridi and Asad Ali as they lost three wickets for 17 runs. Debutant Fawad Khan and Shoaib Khan then added 100 for the fourth wicket. Fawad scored 69 while Shoaib contributed 59. Later, captain Arshad Khan helped raise a score from 137 for 6 to 187.While Faisal, Asad and offspinner Saeed Ajmal took two wickets each, medium-pacer Tauqeer Hussain restricted Peshawar’s batsmen with figures of 4 for 47 from 12.4 overs.Faisalabad are currently at the bottom of the Gold League table with two defeats in three matches and no points to their credit. They desperately need to lift themselves in order to avoid relegation to next season’s Silver League circuit.Peshawar were displaced by Rawalpindi at the top of the points table in the previous round. They are still at second place with 18 points, but lost two successive matches after having started with wins in their first two appearances.Silver League
With nothing at stake for either team, 14 wickets fell on the opening day of the Silver League match between Quetta and Hyderabad at the Niaz Stadium on Thursday. Quetta bowled out Hyderabad for 193 after they had opted to bat first. By the close of play, Quetta had slipped to 91 for 4.But for wicketkeeper Hanif Malik’s 90 off 148 balls with 11 fours and a six, Hyderabad might have fallen for less than 100. Hanif, who made his highest score in first-class cricket, arrived with his team at 65 for 5 and lifted them to 193.While Quetta captain Faisal Irfan was hard working as usual with figures of 3 for 36, Zahoor Ahmed, a left-arm medium-pace bowler, captured 4 for 39.Opener Shoaib Khan was still at the crease on 47 in Quetta’s first innings. Hyderabad’s most successful bowler this season, Farhan Ayub picked up three of the wickets to fall.The Abbottabad pace attack bowled out Lahore Ravi for 162 at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground on Thursday.Abbottabad won the toss and invited Lahore to bat first on a placid wicket and exploited it to put pressure on Lahore. At stumps, Abbottabad were in a sound position, having reached 89 for 1 in 35.2 overs. After the departure of Ahmad Said, who made 44 with eight fours off 88 balls, Mohammad Naeem was unbeaten on 30 and Wajid Ali on 5.Abbotabbad’s pace trio of captain Sajid Shah, Nasir Jalil and Junaid Khan captured three wickets each and ripped through Lahore’s innings in 55.3 overs. Lahore Ravi could not find any notable support from their key batsmen but number nine batsman Wasim Khan shone with a fighting half-century.Wasim gave some respectability to the total with a solid knock that included one six and eight fours after Ali Azmat made 24 and Adnan Raza contributed 23. Six of Lahore’s batsmen failed to reach double figures.Abbottabad, with 12 points from their previous four matches, still have an outside chance to nose ahead of Multan into the Silver League, in case they gain an outright win against Lahore Ravi.Azhar Mahmood century boosted Islamabad to 314 against Multan on the opening day at the Diamond Club Ground on Thursday.Azhar Mahmood’s 105 off 183 balls with 14 fours, was the seventh hundred of his 142-match first-class career, but the remainder of his team didn’t do too well. Bilal Asad and debutant Asadullah Sumari chipped in with 49.Azhar’s fifth-wicket partnership with Asadullah produced 112 runs. Opener Atif Ashraf was injured early on and had to retire hurt. He resumed later in the innings and remained unbeaten with 20 runs. For Multan, pace bowler Abdul Rauf took 3 for 63 from 18 overs.By the draw of stumps, Multan had lost one wicket in for 26 in eight overs. Opener Usman Tariq has retired hurt without having opening his account.With the full 36 points from their previous four matches, Islamabad have already qualified for the Silver League final, scheduled to be played from February 7. Multan, second in the table with 21 points, appear the team most likely to be in that match alongside Islamabad. The winners of the Silver League competition will be promoted to the Gold League circuit of the next season.

Michael Mason gets an opportunity after a string of injuries © Getty Images

An injury crisis and the retirement of Chris Cairns has forced the New Zealand selectors to pick an experimental line-up for the one-day series against West Indies starting next week. Cairns will play his final game for New Zealand in the Twenty20 international at Auckland on Thursday, and while the top order borders on being settled for the opening two contests the bowling stocks are less impressive.”There are some issues around selecting allrounders of international quality,” John Bracewell, the coach, said. “Michael Mason is currently the best line-and-length bowler in the country. With the gap left by injuries to Kyle Mills, Andre Adams and Jacob Oram, he has a real opportunity to prove himself at international level.” Mason has played one Test and five one-day internationals, but his last appearance for New Zealand was in 2004.Mills is suffering from a groin strain and was not considered, Oram is missing as he recovers from a bruised heel and Adams has a fractured hand. Bracewell said Mills was returning to club cricket this weekend and would play a State Championship match before the squad for the final three matches is selected.”With a return to form of many players at domestic level there was fierce competition for top-order batsmen,” Bracewell said. “It was very much a case of deciding who to leave out rather than who to select.” The first ODI is at Wellington on February 18 followed by a game four days later at Queenstown.New Zealand Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Lou Vincent, Hamish Marshall, Scott Styris, Peter Fulton, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum (wk), Daniel Vettori, Jeetan Patel, James Franklin, Michael Mason, Shane Bond.

Jagmohan Dalmiya is keen to see India host the World Cup© AFP

India are seeking tax exemption from the government in a bid to host the 2011 World Cup. “We are planning to host the World Cup in 2011, but we can go ahead only if we get the nod on tax exemption,” Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former BCCI and ICC president, was quoted as saying in , a Pakistan-based daily.India has been unable to host major ICC events in the recent past because of a government policy that refuses to waive tax on events held there. The ICC insists on a tax waiver, and it is this that stood in the way of India being allotted the Champions Trophy.Dalmiya made his comments after meetings with Sunil Dutt, India’s sports minister, and the ICC president Ehsan Mani in Delhi recently. He added: “The minister gave us a patient hearing and has promised to take up the matter with the concerned authorities.”The ICC is hoping for a positive response from the Indian government before March 17, when their executive board meets.

Andy Flower lofts the ball towards the hoarding and a $50,000 reward © Getty Images

Andy Flower’s winter in Australia proved more lucrative than expected when he collected a Aus$50,000 prize for hitting an ING advertising hoarding during South Australia’s ING Cup match against Western Australia. Flower sweptthe ball over midwicket to become the sixth player during the 12-year sponsorship to win the prize.In an impressive innings, his first at home for the Redbacks, Flower hit 74 off 73 deliveries, the winning six coming in the 45th over off WA’s Marcus North. Flower and youngster Mark Cosgrove (50 from 75 balls) put on 107 runs for the fifth-wicket from 121 balls to help SA to a solid total.But despite Flower’s personal success, it was a poor day for South Australia as they went down to a comprehensive seven-wicket defeat with Murray Goodwin (80) and Mike Hussey (84*) putting on an unbeaten 153 for the fourth wicket in 121 balls.In 2001-02 Hussey collected Aus $200,000 for hitting a simlar sign at Perth.

The match looked to be heading for a draw before a combination of decent spin bowling, woeful batting, sharp catching and a dash of misfortune all conspired to send Kenya tumbling to defeat in the first unofficial Test at P.Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.Kenya, on 31 for one overnight, still 91 runs in arrears after Sri Lanka A had scored 414 in their first innings, were bowled out for 150, leaving Sri Lanka’s openers with a 29 run target. The game was won with ten wickets to spare shortly after the luncheon interval.Steve Tikolo, arguably the best batsman to not be playing Test cricket at the moment, provided the only resistance with an entertaining 65 from 106 balls that included 10 boundaries.But when he was brilliantly caught by an airborne Tillakaratne Dilshan at backward point, Kenya betrayed their inexperience in the first class game, losing their last seven wickets for 39 runs.The day, which had begun early to make up for time lost on the second afternoon, started with an early wicket as left-arm fast bowler Ruchira Perera trapped Ravindu Shah (19) lbw.Thereafter it was the spinners that did the damage, but not before Tikolo and Kenyan skipper Maurice Odumbe had laid the foundations for a game saving partnership. The pair added 38 runs and looked comfortable at the crease.But they were separated when Odumbe was fingered by umpire T.H. Wijewardene as he went onto the back foot to an off-break from Muthumudalige Pushpakumara (77 for three).Pushpakumara went onto to take four wickets in the innings, but it was leg-spinner Upul Chandana who then took the crucial wicket of Tikolo (111 for four).With Tikolo back in the dressing room the innings went into freefall: Thomas Odoyo was caught behind off Chandana; Pushpakumara bowled Hitesh Modi after an ugly heave across the line; AO Suji gifted Dilshan a wicket with his part-time off-breaks and Collins Obuya was unfortunate to be caught at short leg when he cracked a short ball into Chamara Silva’s armpit; Mohammad Sheikh was stumped and Martin Suji was last man out when he nibbled at a leg-spinner.Pushpakumara finished with four wickets for 43, whilst Chandana picked up three for 36.Sri Lanka A thus took a one-nil lead in the three-match series. The second game is to be played in Matara starting next Thursday.

Central Zone eased past South Zone by seven wickets on the opening dayof the CricInfo Rani Jhansi tournament for women in Chennai at theIntegral Coach Factory ground. After being put in to bat South hadstarted confidently and were eyeing a useful score at 108/3 in the31st over but the Central spinners led by Bindeshwari Goyal pulled therug from under them as South collapsed to 137 all out. Centralopeners, Bharati Varma and Priyanka Sailey then put on an openingwicket stand of 73 and although both were sent off in quicksuccession, Central still had enough firepower to end the contest withfourteen overs to spare. Central keeper Arundhati had a satisfyingday, snapping up five catches behind the stumps and stroking an unbeaten 27that included four boundaries.Amsavalli and Karuna Jain opened the batting for South and in thefourth over of the day Neetu Singh struck first blood for Central whenshe sent back Karuna for a duck. Harsha came in at one drop with thescore at 10/1 but there was poor coordination between the twobatswomen in their running between the wickets and almost inevitablythe stand ended in a run out, with Amsavalli the victim. EarlierHarsha had scored the first two boundaries of the innings in the 10thover bowled by Tara. She seemed to be in a belligerent mood when shewas stumped by the keeper off Preeti for 32 (49 balls, 3 fours), whichturned out to be the highest score for South.The sun had come out in full splendour belying the weather office’sgloomy predictions of morning showers. Sudha Rani and Vinita Violathen put on a significant if not entirely convincing stand of 48 forthe fourth wicket. But after Sudha was caught at long on for 29 whenshe stepped to the pitch and drove Bindeshwari , South suffered aninexplicable collapse. Vinita too departed at 119, bowled by Preetiand the last six wickets fell for 18 as the innings folded up for 137in the penultimate over. Bindeshwari Goyal was the most successfulbowler for Central with her nagging offbreaks claiming 3-26 in tenovers. She was well supported by fellow spinners Preeti Dudhe andVarsha Raphael with two wickets each.Facing an asking rate of 2.76, Central openers Bharti Varma andPriyanka Sailey began their reply on a strong footing. But GSLakshmi, the South captain, threw everything into a desperate effortto derail Central. She bowled a torrid but luckless first spell inwhich Bharati was dropped in the slips, the ball actually goingthrough the slip cordon for three runs. Priyanka was also notcomfortable with Lakshmi medium pace stuff and popped one justout of reach of forward short leg. When Lakshmi came off after a firstspell of 6-1-15-0, the openers breathed easy. Priyanka was the moreresourceful of the two as she kept stepping out and lofting to long onalthough the thickish grass in that region of the outfield preventedthe ball from going all the way.Bharati patience finally snapped when she tried to swing one fromoff spinner Nooshien Al Kabir into the depths of the on side and got atopedge which was swallowed by Harsha at point. She had made 26 andCentral were 73/1. Nooshien struck again in her very next over,rearranging Priyanka’s stumps but not before she had made the matchtop score of 36 (64 balls, 2 fours). Central’s No.3, Chitra Bajpai,who has appeared in India colours, summoned all her experience andstemmed the breach with some fluent hitting. Chitra was bowled at 132,when Central were within one scoring stroke of victory, but RahulSingh then delivered the finishing stroke with a boundary tomidwicket.

The influence of 49ers Enterprises is growing all the time at Leeds United ahead of their eventual takeover, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: 2024 takeover expected

In January 2024, 49ers Enterprises are expected to take 100 per cent control of Leeds, bringing to an end the successful reign of Andrea Radrizzani at Elland Road and shilling out roughly £475m to the Italian.

With Jesse Marsch replacing Marcelo Bielsa as manager last week, there is a definite feel of a new, American-heavy era slowly dawning at the club, as the Whites fight to stay in the Premier League.

Judging by a new update, the incoming new owners are already making their influence felt.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Journalist reveals 49ers latest

Speaking to Give Me Sport, O’Rourke dropped a claim from ‘within the corridors’ at the club, believing 49ers Enterprises are ‘flexing their muscles’ at Leeds as their power grows following Marsch’s arrival:

“It definitely seems that the 49ers and the American influence does have some power within the corridors of Elland Road and it just seems they are trying to exert their influence.”

This follows the massive news last week that both Angus Kinnear and Victor Orta could leave this summer, as we really may be entering a totally new era in Yorkshire.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-36/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

The Verdict: Good for Leeds

In a financial sense, the change in ownership should be a good thing for Leeds, allowing more funds to be available for new signings, as the club builds as a whole – many would argue the failure to truly reinforce Bielsa’s squad last summer and in January cost the fan favourite his job.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

That being said, it is important that 49ers Enterprises show respect to Radrizzani and don’t get overly involved at this point, leading to a potentially bitter situation.

That shouldn’t happen, and the hope is that the change in ownership is a smooth transition in two years’ time, at which point the Whites will still hopefully be in the Premier League.

In other news, Leeds have been backed to sign a Premier League attacker this summer. Read more here.

Shoaib Malik’s promising start at the helm was quickly reduced to rubble following series losses against South Africa and India © AFP

Younis Khan, Pakistan’s vice-captain, has lashed out at the country’s former cricketers for criticising Shoaib Malik’s captaincy. Malik’s tenure has been on a slide after a promising start and drawn a string of criticism but Younis believes it is too early to take such a stand.”I am really upset at the criticism of some of our former players. Malik is a young captain and he will only learn from his mistakes,” Younis, the stand-in skipper in the Kolkata Test following Malik’s injury, told . “This has always been a tradition in Pakistan and India … Former players always tend to run down someone who is in trouble or facing a crisis.”The same people criticising Malik today didn’t say anything when he was named captain. At that time they supported his appointment. Malik needs to be encouraged and backed by everyone, including former players.”Malik’s tenure began with an ODI series win against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi and a place in the ICC World Twenty20 final but it went on a downward spiral thereafter, losing the ODI and Test series at home to South Africa before losing the ODI series and the first Test against India.Shrugging aside the recent losses, Younis said: “Malik is learning every day. His first experience has come against top teams like South Africa and India. He needs at least two or three years to mature into a good captain. I am sure he will learn a lot from playing and leading the side in India. He will learn because no one is born a leader.”Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s former captain who retired after the Test series against South Africa, urged Malik to improve his individual performance in order to be a successful captain.”Unless Malik performs it will be very difficult for Pakistan to make a comeback in the Test series,” Inzamam told the daily . “Unless he [Malik] can withstand this pressure and come out of it, his problems will increase.”Pakistan’s third and final Test of the series begins in Bangalore on December 8.