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Wolves shouldn’t consider making a move for Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli in the January transfer window, according to journalist Luke Hatfield.

The Lowdown: Alli linked with Spurs exit

The 25-year-old’s stock has fallen rapidly in recent years, going from one of England’s World Cup stars in 2018 to an outcast at Spurs.

Alli could leave the north London club in January in order to earn more playing time, considering that he has only started six Premier League games this season, and none since the end of September.

While Wolves haven’t officially been linked with a move for the midfielder, Paul Merson recently said on Sky Sports (via Molineux News) that the Old Gold should consider him as a prospective signing.

The Latest: Hatfield plays down interest

Alas, Hatfield has been quick to play down this potential transfer. Speaking to Give Me Sport, the journalist had no doubt that Alli would jump at the chance to join Wanderers but doubted that it would work out well for the Black Country outfit

He said: “It wouldn’t work if you’re Wolves. I could understand it from the player’s perspective because he’d want to go to a club where they’re not worried about relegation.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“375704”]

The Verdict: Not worth the risk

It is sad to see what has happened to Alli’s career, given the potential he had as a teenager, but the fire in him appears to have gone out, despite being hailed as a ‘machine’ by Rio Ferdinand.

While the 25-year-old’s natural talent is undeniable – he once scored 18 goals in a Premier League season in north London – he simply isn’t worth the risk for Wolves, with far too many ineffective performances thrown in for Tottenham under the likes of Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo.

Alli has only scored three league goals since the beginning of last season, which sums up his struggles considering that he is an attack-minded player, and he hasn’t completed 90 minutes in a league outing since September. When you also factor in criticism of his application at times, it’s easy to see why Hatfield has his reservations about the Spurs playmaker succeeding at Molineux.

In other news, some Wolves fans are buzzing over an injury update. Read more here.

Adrian Barath had reason to feel hard done by at not being selected for the tour of England this year, but was not putting too much thought to his impending Test debut. Barath, the promising Trinidad & Tobago batsman from whom much is expected, has had an outstanding regional first-class season (845 runs at an average of 44.47) and looks primed for a Test debut in the upcoming tour of Australia.There is no third opener in the 15-man squad – Devon Smith and Lendl Simmons haven’t been picked – so Barath could well open with Gayle in Brisbane. “I am an opening batsman and I am hoping to partner Chris Gayle if given the opportunity,” he told the . “I will be looking to give my best and give the West Indies a good start and set up the innings for the middle order, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. My goal is to perform at my best, but the first thing is for me to get into the final XI.”He first came into the spotlight when Brian Lara invited him to watch a few matches against England in 2007, and stayed in the news by scoring a century for West Indies A against England last year. He was then included in the squad for the first home Test against Bangladesh in July but didn’t play. During the Champions League in India last month, Barath shone for T&T raking in 106 runs at 35.33 with a strike-rate of 168.25.There were few nerves as far as the shift from Twenty20 to Test cricket was concerned. “Over the next couple of days I will be doing some batting in the nets and practicing and I will be practising even more when I get to Australia to make sure I am ready for the challenge,’ he said.The contract row that rumbled on for the past few months denied him a possible Test debut against Bangladesh, but Barath was keen to look ahead. “I got selected against Bangladesh this year and I did not play because of the unfortunate situation, but I am glad to see things back to normal, back to the full-strength West Indies team again,” he said.”I think everyone was waiting on that and it is a wonderful feeling for me to have this opportunity again to represent the region. It will be challenging for me playing against Australia, but as a player you will have to face them and this will be the first time for me but, hopefully, I can rise to the challenge and play each ball on its merit.”West Indies will play three Tests in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth before returning for a one-day series in February.

James Foster struck Durham legspinner Scott Borthwick for five consecutive sixes off the first five balls of an over as Essex surged to Pro40 victory at Chester-le-Street

Cricinfo staff05-Sep-2009
ScorecardJames Foster sent a message to the England selectors about his hitting power when he struck Durham legspinner Scott Borthwick for five consecutive sixes off the first five balls of an over as Essex surged to a seven-wicket Pro40 victory at Chester-le-Street. He missed out on the chance to finish the match in grand style with a full house of sixes when the sixth ball was fired down the leg side for five wides.Foster, who was discarded from England’s Twenty20 line-up despite impressing with the gloves in the World Twenty20, cut loose when Essex required 33 to win from four overs. All five sixes came over the leg side, with the first two swept before Foster latched onto three pulls as Borthwick, who had bowled well previously, dropped short. Foster ended with a career-best 83 from 38 balls as Essex won with a comfortable 19 balls to spare.Foster’s pyrotechnics overshadowed a second consecutive hundred for Alastair Cook, another player trying to prove his one-day credentials, as he hit an unbeaten 104 from 108 balls to follow his ton against Hampshire earlier in the week. Cook, not a renowned six-hitter, managed two himself but that was nothing compared to his team-mates. Graham Napier didn’t hold back, either, as his 63 came from 49 balls during which he added 117 in 16 overs with Cook to set-up Essex’s chase.It was a thoroughly entertaining, high-scoring contest as boundaries flowed for both sides. If the ECB’s new 40-over competition reproduces these types of matches next season there will be some good entertainment.Phil Mustard began a productive day for discarded England one-day players as he and Ian Blackwell added 100 in 12 overs to propel Durham’s innings. Mustard’s hundred came from 98 balls, but that had faded from the memory by the time the match came to its explosive conclusion.

West Ham are interested in signing out-of-favour Liverpool centre-back Nathaniel Phillips in the January transfer window, according to a new report.

The Lowdown: Phillips out of favour at Liverpool

The 24-year-old came to the fore for the Reds last season, filling in in the absence of injured trio Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez.

With Liverpool’s injury problems easing, however, Phillips has not featured at all in the Premier League in 2021/22 and has played just one minute of Champions League action.

It is hard to see where he is going to get minutes at Anfield, so a January exit could make sense despite being hailed as ‘absolutely incredible’ by Jurgen Klopp.

The Latest: West Ham linked with move

According to Football Insider, a West Ham source has claimed that the Irons are interested in snapping up the Liverpool centre-back in the winter transfer window.

He is one of a number of defensive targets for the east London club, who are ‘laying the groundwork’ for a potential move.

The Verdict: Filling the Ogbonna void

With Angelo Ogbonna possibly out for the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament injury, it is vital that a centre-back comes in, with David Moyes’ side losing their last two league games without the Italian.

Phillips could be a strong candidate to come in as a squad player, but he remains relatively untested at the top level, only starting 15 Premier League games in his career despite being 24 years of age.

With West Ham aiming to secure a top-four finish, they could do with signing someone who could make an immediate impact rather than being a backup option, but the Liverpool man could still thrive if he is called upon sporadically.

Phillips averaged an eye-catching 5.6 aerial duels per game in the league in 2020/21, with Tomas Soucek leading the way for West Ham with 3.1 this season. It might not seem like the most exciting name to be linked, but Moyes would be wise to give it some consideration.

In other news, three West Ham players struggled in the defeat to Manchester City. Find out who they are here.

Everton saw out a 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in their latest Premier League game at Goodison Park at the weekend, placing them in 11th place in the league table with 15 points alongside Crystal Palace and Leicester City who also have 15 points on the board heading into the latest international break.

With a two week interval before the Toffees take on Manchester City away from home in their next league fixture, it seems as though Everton could be welcoming back one of their key players just in time to take on Pep Guardiola’s side, which we feel will leave a lot of fans buzzing.

What’s the news?

Speaking after the draw against Antonio Conte’s side, Everton manager Rafa Benitez revealed he is “optimistic” that defender Yerry Mina will be able to return to training in the next few days.

The Spaniard suggested that he is “very close” to a return to action after missing their last three Premier League matches because of a hamstring problem.

Not only will it be good to have Mina back available for selection against City, but it seems as though his return will be coming at the best time. Mason Holgate will be banned for the game against the Manchester club after he was red-carded in the late stages of the match against Tottenham so a replacement will evidently be required.

Since joining the Merseyside club from Barcelona back in the 2018 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £28.5m, the 27-year-old, who is currently valued at £18m according to Transfermarkt, has made 83 appearances for the Toffees across all competitions, chipping in with six goals in the process.

In the six Premier League games he’s played in for Everton so far this season, Mina has managed to rack up an average of four clearances per game, 1.5 interceptions per game and one tackle per game, highlighting just how much of a defensive unit he can be for the Toffees.

This also says to us that Mina could well be a vital figure for Everton when their match against City comes around. They have managed to score 22 goals so far this season in the league and have made more passes than any other top-flight team with 7095 made across 11 games.

With this in mind, if the defender does manage to get back to training in the next few days and use his time to fully recover and prepare himself for the City game, his presence will give Everton a great chance of securing a positive result against the reigning league champions. That’s something that will undoubtedly leave supporters delighted.

In other news: Forget Holgate: £90k-p/w Everton dud with fewer touches than Pickford let Rafa down – opinion

If not for Chris Gayle’s headline-grabbing antics, Dwayne Bravo might have expected a more torrid time this summer. The murmurs and rumblings surrounding his absence from West Indies’ unpopular two-Test series against England threatened to bubble over – particularly as he went on to play a full and active role for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL – but Gayle’s Test cricket obituary pushed questions over Bravo’s motives to the background.If Caribbean cricket supporters were upset with Bravo over his appearance in the IPL during a Test series, all is now forgiven. Bravo turned in perhaps the most complete performance of the ICC World Twenty20 to single-handedly guide West Indies to a stunning seven-wicket victory over the defending champions, India, before a febrile Lord’s crowd. Evidently, Gayle is not the only player capable of carrying the West Indies.Bravo’s extended stint in the IPL – which ran concurrently with the West Indians’ dispiriting Test defeats at Lord’s and Chester-le-Street – appears to have done him no harm. His nippy medium-pacers and deft variations unsettled the opposition batsmen, and went far to restricting the Indians to their lowest 20-over total of the tournament. Gautam Gambhir, MS Dhoni and the brothers Pathan made for an impressive list of dismissals and, fittingly, his figures of 4 for 38 were the best of his Twenty20 international career.But he was not done there. Debunking the “no-Gayle, no-Windies” theory, Bravo combined with the impressive Lendl Simmons (44 off 37 balls) to steer his side home with eight-balls to spare. He did so in the most emphatic style possible – blasting Zaheer Khan over the extra-cover boundary – to round off a 36-ball innings of 66 not out; another career-best.”I used the opportunity wisely today,” Bravo said. “I’ve had two stints in the IPL and I’ve gained a lot of experience by sharing experiences with a lot of Test players. I’m happy and flexible and I don’t want to play at a particular batting spot. It doesn’t really matter where I bat.”Bravo returned from an eight-month injury-enforced lay-off in March, and his surgically-repaired left-ankle is in for its sternest test on Saturday. In a curious piece of scheduling, the West Indians will face the surging South Africans in the first match of a double-header at The Oval, having played the late game at Lord’s on Friday. That represents a 15-hour turn-around; even less when commuting times and warm-ups are factored in.Still, given the enormity of their accomplishment at Lord’s, West Indies will presumably be happy to take on Graeme Smith’s men at a time when the excitement of the victory over India is still coursing through their veins. A summer that began disastrously has suddenly, inexplicably, taken a dramatic turn for the better. The bedraggled bunch who limped their way through the series against England have taken on the visage of world-beaters. South Africa would be wise to treat them with respect.

Tom Barclay has suggested that Ralph Hasenhuttl could change the position of one of his Southampton players.

What’s the talk?

Journalist Tom Barclay has suggested that Southampton could utilise summer signing Tino Livramento as a winger in the Premier League, citing his experience for England at under-21 level.

He told GiveMeSport:

“I did the game at MK Dons, the win against Kosovo, which was Lee Carsley’s first game in charge last month. And Livramento didn’t start, Max Aarons did because he’s the most experienced player in that squad, and clearly Carsley likes him a lot.

“But when Livramento did come on, he came on at right-wing rather right-back and they played together. So that would suggest that he has the ability to do that, and probably be quite impressive.”

Bold call

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl could now solve a big problem by making a bold call over Livramento’s position. By moving him forward into a wide attacking role, the Austrian could bring Romain Perraud in at left-back, play Kyle Walker-Peters in his natural position and replace one of his struggling forwards.

Nathan Redmond, Moussa Djenepo, Theo Walcott and Mo Elyounoussi have managed one goal and zero assists between them in six Premier League games this season. This suggests that the wide positions are a problematic area for Hasenhuttl, one he could want to solve in the coming weeks, which is why moving Livramento there could be a masterstroke.

The ex-Leipzig coach lauded the full-back as a fantastic player earlier this month, praising how he has adapted to the physical side of the game. He said:

“He shows every week how strong he is and when you play against such players like these you have to be good and one against one he is.

“He never stays, he is always going and that’s what I want from him. Physically he is a good guy, a good height for a full-back, a fantastic player. But keep it calm – don’t talk too much about him!”

This shows that he has the physical strength to play at the top end of the pitch and take attackers on, whilst his 2.5 key passes and dribbles combined per game show that he has the quality on the ball to make an impact.

He has proven in the early parts of this season that he has the ability to create chances and dribble past opponents, which could help him thrive in an attacking role.

Therefore, Hasenhuttl could solve his issues out wide whilst offering more game time to Perraud and Walker-Peters by making this bold call.

AND in other news, Ralph masterclass: Saints beast has seen value soar 317% since arriving at St. Mary’s…

Hayden now finds himself preparing to return to a game with which he is still making his peace, and a league that contributed to his premature departure from the Australian team

Alex Brown15-Apr-2009

These are strange days for Matthew Hayden. Three months removed from calling time on his international career – an announcement he had hoped to stave off until after the 2009 Ashes, but expedited due to an extended scoring trough – Hayden now finds himself preparing to return to a game with which he is still making his peace, and a league that contributed to his premature departure from the Australian team.Hayden speaks glowingly of his experiences in the inaugural IPL, despite the Achilles injury that marked the beginning of the end of his international career. It was that ailment, sustained during a training session with the Chennai Super Kings, that sidelined him from the ensuing tour of the West Indies, and stymied the momentum he had built since The Oval Test of 2005. Upon his eventual return, Hayden averaged just 23.93 in his nine Tests. Retirement, in the circumstances, was the most noble course of action.Hayden has said a thousand goodbyes and completed many a lap of honour in the intervening period, only to find himself poised for a return to the middle. The pain of his departure from international cricket might not have entirely subsided – “It’s hard to watch a game you still want to be involved in” – but he is nonetheless buoyant at the prospect of again turning out for the Super Kings, for whom he bludgeoned 189 runs at 63.00 last year.”The players really feel they are part of a revolution in cricket – the way that it is played, the way it’s packaged, and the spectators who are watching it,” Hayden told Cricinfo. “For someone like me, who has been in the game a long time, it blows me away what Twenty20 cricket has done, and is doing, to the sport.”[Last season] was unfortunate. I picked up that [Achilles] injury doing a running session because I wanted to be spot on for that West Indies tour. I came back [from the IPL] on a real high, not realising how bad the injury was. It didn’t feel all that serious, and I wasn’t expecting to miss any games let alone an entire Test series, so it wasn’t until later that I realised what I was actually dealing with. But I don’t look back on [the inaugural IPL] as a negative. If anything I found that really reinvigorated me and revived my enthusiasm, because you could feel you were a part of taking cricket to another level.”Had the Super Kings management harboured concerns for Hayden’s physical condition post-retirement, they were placated within moments of the 37-year-old’s arrival in India for a pre-IPL training camp. Hayden has spent much of the past three months immersed in one of his favourite training pursuits – surfing – and believes he is in better physical condition than at most stages of his international career.KwaZulu-Natal beachgoers have been treated this week to the sight of a trim and toned Hayden surfing the Durban breaks with his one-time opponent, Jonty Rhodes. But the Australian batsman has also found plenty time to hit the nets, where he has discovered that the months away from the game have done little to erode the technique forged over a 103-Test career.”Skills-wise, I’ve had a week and a half in India and hit a million balls, so in that regard I’m up and running,” Hayden said. “But in terms of actually playing, I haven’t picked up a bat since my final Test in Sydney, so it will be interesting to be back out there competing again. It has felt quite good so far.”I’ve probably never been fitter. I’ve done a stack of surfing in the last few months and, as ridiculous as it sounds, it’s probably the best kind of fitness work a batsman can do. It’s all about core strength, balance and stability. Fitness was probably the one thing you couldn’t get to all that much when you were playing all the time. It was sort of game-recover-travel, game-recover-travel.”Had Twenty20 cricket arrived on the scene earlier in his career, Hayden is certain he would have taken the David Warner route and tailored his game to meet the format’s specific demands. Indeed, Hayden took with him a “Twenty20 mindset” into the 2007 World Cup – a tournament he dominated to the tune of 659 runs at 73.22 – and was brutal during his four game stint for Chennai last season. It is a format, he says, to which he is well suited, even at an advanced age.”The World Cup for me was pretty much as good as it got, and that was about me basically going out there and striking the ball; trying to thump it as you would in a 20-over game,” he said. “I wasn’t so much worried about building innings or protecting my wicket. I was looking for boundaries, and it really took my game to another level. It’s something I see in Warner. He turned the cricketing nation on its ear because he could strike a serious ball. He had everyone talking, and shows just how the game is changing.”It’s amazing to see the momentum of Twenty20. At first, it was considered quite a light-hearted thing and even now, in Australia, it’s presented in a way where players are miked up and it’s more about the entertainment. But I think it’s changing elsewhere. Players are working more on how to develop their skills to be successful in Twenty20 cricket, which is the ultimate spectacle, and leaving the singing and jazzing about to others.”

Steven Gerrard has a key decision to make over the future of Rangers winger Brandon Barker…  What happened?

According to Rangers News, the 24-year-old was expected to leave Ibrox on loan before the end of the summer transfer window.

He is out of contract at the end of the season and Football Insider reported that the club told him he could find a loan move or permanent exit on deadline day.

The winger failed to secure a deadline day switch and is now in limbo at Ibrox, having been left out of the Gers’ Europa League squad and not being in Gerrard’s current Premiership plans.

Gerrard faces decision on Barker

Gerrard is now in a position where he needs to take charge and make a crucial decision regarding what to do with Barker. It would be a waste to see the winger kicking his heels and doing nothing until January, so the Rangers boss needs to decide whether he wants to allow him to play for the B team and/or first team or have him do nothing for four months.

Rangers B have an SPFL Trust Trophy clash against Ayr United on Wednesday and Barker is eligible to feature in the game. Gerrard must allow the 24-year-old to feature in it in order to gain some match fitness and show that he has the quality to be a first team option further down the line.

His performance in this game, if he is allowed to play, could determine what happens with him between now and January. Given that he is out of contract next summer, January will be the club’s final chance to recoup some money for the former Manchester City man and giving him some game-time leading up to the transfer window could drum up some interest in his services.

Commenting on Barker and Jordan Jones previously, Gerrard hailed the pair as exciting players who can provide quality in the final third.

He said: “Last year I didn’t feel we had enough in the final third. The idea this year was to build a squad with exciting players who can open the door in different ways.

“Jordan Jones and Brandon Barker open the door in one-v-one situations then provide crosses or cut in to score goals.”

This shows that Gerrard had faith in Barker at the start of his career at Ibrox and maybe he could still have the potential to be a success. He scored three goals and provided four assists in 22 games on loan at Oxford last season, having scored twice in 10 Premiership matches during the first half of the campaign for Rangers.

Giving him a few opportunities in the league between now and January could be worthwhile for the Gers for multiple reasons. Firstly, it allows him to show that he has improved since the start of last season and it could open the door for him to work his way into Gerrard’s plans, but it also gives interested clubs a recent set of performances to analyse and make decisions upon – potentially helping him to secure a transfer.

AND in other news, Rangers flop has seen value soar by 203% since leaving Ibrox, he deserved more time…

Sunderland’s eight-match unbeaten run came to an end on Saturday as they were hammered 4-0 by Portsmouth in League One.

Lee Johnson’s side found themselves 3-0 down by half-time as Pompey ran riot at Fratton Park, thumping the Black Cats and knocking them off the top of the table.

Wigan have overtaken Sunderland to lead League One on goal difference, with both teams having won seven, drawn one and lost two of their opening ten matches.

Whilst a number of players struggled throughout the match, one player who let Lee Johnson down badly was winger Aiden O’Brien.

The ex-Millwall man endured a rough afternoon as he failed to impress in general play and in the final third, playing the full 90 minutes of the 4-0 defeat. He was given the joint-lowest SofaScore rating (6.1) for Sunderland, highlighting how disappointing he was in the match.

In terms of his general play, he left plenty to be desired. Per SofaScore, he lost nine of his 17 duels on the pitch and gave possession of the ball away 21 times. He also completed 75% of his passes and made one tackle and one interception.

This suggests that he was sloppy with the ball at his feet as he failed to provide a reliable outlet for Sunderland on the left-hand side. He gave up possession far too often and that helped Portsmouth to build more attacks and continue to build the pressure on Hoffmann’s goal, which contributed to the home side dominating the match and winning comfortably.

O’Brien struggled to make an impact when in the final third. Per SofaScore, he had a 0% success rate from his attempted crosses and only completed one of his four dribble attempts.

This led to him providing zero key passes in the entire match, whilst having two shots – one on and one off-target – at the Pompey goalkeeper. So, he was unable to showcase his quality in-and-around the box, whilst also looking off the pace in general play.

Therefore, the dud let Johnson down as he did not offer anything out of or in possession in the game and that contributed to Sunderland’s ultimate demise.

Although he was not the sole reason for the defeat, with other players also struggling, his performance was worrying and his place in the starting XI could now be under threat at the head coach has two weeks of an international break to ponder changes to his team.