After witnessing Simone Zaza’s infamous – and frankly spectacular – penalty miss at Euro 2016, clubs would have been forgiven for halting any interest in the striker, such was the shambolic nature of the Italian’s stuttering run-up and blazed effort in a game of such magnitude.
No strangers to making bold – and often bizarre – deals in the transfer market, though, West Ham United were unperturbed by that spot-kick horror show, eventually signing the player from Juventus on a season-long loan deal later that summer.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing in football, with GSB likely wishing they had heeded the warning signs, as the journeyman forward went on to distinctly underwhelm in a Hammers shirt.
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One of many notable names to have failed to make the grade for the east London outfit over the last decade or so, Zaza’s time in English football is only noteworthy for just how brief it was and how little impact he made.
Having been signed for a reported £5m loan fee by then-Irons manager Slaven Bilic, the Policoro native went on to feature just 11 times for the club in all competitions, spending a mere 571 minutes on the pitch and failing to register a single goal.
In the end, all that came of his Premier League stint was two yellow cards, with those bookings costing the club £2.5m apiece in relation to his loan fee.
Such was the dire nature of Zaza’s time in east London, Bilic and co eventually severed ties with the player just a matter of months into his loan spell in order to avoid having to pay an appearance-related £20m purchase option, as the striker secured a January move to La Liga side Valencia.
Upon his departure, the Italian’s father insisted that it had been a “huge mistake” to make the move to the London Stadium, with the club and their supporters seemingly thinking the same.
Since then, the 30-year-old has somewhat faded from view, eventually making his return to Italy after an 18-month stint in Spain, with the 18-cap international now plying his trade for Serie A outfit Torino.
He has scored just 20 goals in 102 games across all competitions for his current club, notably failing to find the net in ten league appearances so far this term, all of which have come as a substitute.
Such has been Zaza’s decline since his stint in the Premier League, he is now valued at just £1.8m by Transfermarkt, despite having reached a peak of £22.8m back in January 2018 after a brief purple patch at the Mestalla.
As for West Ham, the only saving grace is that they hadn’t agreed to a permanent deal in the first place, with Simone Zaza now just another name on their list of failed centre-forward additions.
In other news, West Ham eyeing swoop for “aggressive” £45m-rated warrior, just imagine him and Rice
Appointment suggests Bell can look forward to a career in coaching when his playing days end
George Dobell02-Oct-2019Ian Bell is set to be confirmed as England’s batting coach at the U19 World Cup.While Bell missed the entire 2019 season due to injury, he plans to continue his playing career in 2020 and has beaten several more established coaching candidates to the role.The appointment underlines how well thought of Bell is and suggests he can look forward to a career in coaching when his playing career end. He will be 38 in April and is out of contract at Warwickshire at the end of the 2020 season.The next edition of the U19 World Cup, featuring 16 sides and ODI playing regulations, will be staged in South Africa in January and February.England finished a disappointing seventh in the previous tournament played in New Zealand in 2018. India won the trophy after beating Australia in the final. Jon Lewis remains the head coach of England U19s.Former England batsman Bell this year played no part in Warwickshire’s County Championship campaign for the first time since 2000, after his comeback from a foot injury sustained during the Pakistan Super League in Feburary was ruined by a tendon issue in his left knee. It was the first time he had failed to play at least one first-class game since making his debut for the club in 1999 at the age of 17.
Roy Keane warned England that Gareth Southgate will not be able to improve their game in Euro 2024 despite the team reaching the quarter-finals.
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Keane warns Southgate can't improve England's game
Remained hopeful of Three Lions winning Euro 2024
England beat Slovakia 2-1 to reach quarter-final
WHAT HAPPENED?
The Three Lions made it to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals by the skin of their teeth on Sunday as they edged out Slovakia 2-1 courtesy of a late equaliser from Jude Bellingham followed by Harry Kane's extra-time winner. Despite their progress to the next round, the team and their manager Southgate have once again faced criticism for yet another underwhelming performance.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Manchester United legend Keane is the latest pundit to join the bandwagon as he clearly stated that England have no scope for improvement under Southgate in the ongoing tournament. He, however, refused to rule out the team's chances of lifting the trophy.
WHAT ROY KEANE SAID
Speaking on , the former United skipper said: "It's embarrassing at the moment but that's what happens sometimes. It's about surviving, it's about staying in the competition. They're staying in the fight. England keep swinging. After yesterday [Sunday] I wouldn't be writing England off, far from it."
He added: "If you think Gareth and his staff are going to fix that in the next two weeks you're living in cuckoo land. Move onto the next game. They've got some momentum. Football's about winning at the top level."
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WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?
Kane and Co. will now aim to put up a convincing show against Switzerland in the quarter-final clash on Saturday and further progress in Euro 2024.
Glamorgan 435 (Cooke 96*, Patel 66, Lloyd 66, Wright 5-64) and 251 for 5 dec (Brathwaite 103*) beat Leicestershire 263 (Wright 60, Patel 4-58) and 132 (Salter 3-6) trail by 291 runsGlamorgan gained the maximum 24 points by defeating Leicestershire by 291 runs to keep their slim hopes of promotion alive, but they will need to beat Durham by a similarly resounding margin at Chester-le-Street next week and hope that Gloucestershire or Northants- who play each other in the final game – drop sufficient points.Leicestershire’s only hope was to battle for a draw, but apart from Mark Cosgrove, who faced 158 balls for his 28, no one could master an accurate Glamorgan attack, where both seam and spin triumphed.The visitors, who required a massive 424 to win, resumed on 33 for 2 on a glorious final day of the season at Sophia Gardens, were soon in trouble against Michael Hogan, who took two wickets in his opening spell.Hassan Azad was the first to go, when he was undone by a perfect yorker from Hogan that left the batsman on his hands and knees, then four overs later George Rhodes was bowled by a beauty that pitched middle and hit the off stump.Harry Dearden then joined Cosgrove, and he played some handsome strokes through the offside, but was out shortly before lunch when he played down the wrong line at Andrew Salter and was adjudged leg before for 37.Leicestershire were 101 for 5 at lunch, but the end came quickly after the interval as they lost their last five wickets for 31 runs in 23.4 overs .Harry Swindells was caught at slip when he edged one that turned from Samit Patel, and was followed by Cosgrove, whose vigil ended when he was run out. He pushed the ball to short leg, and although Billy Root had the ball in his hands, Cosgrove set off, realised his mistake, but by then Root had underhanded the ball onto the stumps.Chris Wright, who had top scored in the first innings did not last long, also edging a catch to slip off Salter, then from the next ball Will Davis, sensing that were six men crouched around the bat, tried to launch the ball into Cathedral Road, only to spoon a catch to cover point.When Gavin Griffiths gave David Lloyd his third catch at slip for Patel’s second wicket, and Salter, at the other end, had finished with 3 for 6 from 10 overs, Glamorgan had won with ample time to spare.
da prosport bet： Caso não vença o Atlético-GO, no próximo domingo (31), às 16h, em Goiânia, pela 33ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro, o São Paulo vai completar um mês inteiro sem vitórias, algo que não acontece desde junho de 2019.
Rojas com futuro indefinido: Veja os jogadores do São Paulo que têm contrato somente até 2021
Naquela ocasião, o Tricolor enfrentouCruzeiro, Avaí e Atlético-MG, obtendo três empates (1×1, 0x0 e 1×1), em um aproveitamento de 33%. O time era comandado pelo técnico Cuca, e tinha no elenco alguns nomes que estão até hoje, como Volpi, Bruno Alves, Tchê Tchê e Vitor Bueno. Outros como Pato e Juciliei já deixaram o clube.
SIMULE OS PRÓXIMOS JOGOS DO SÃO PAULO NO BRASILEIRÃO
RelacionadasSão PauloSão Paulo treina visando o Atlético-GO: veja provável time para a partidaSão Paulo29/01/2021São PauloDiniz deve poder escalar São Paulo completo pela primeira vez nesse anoSão Paulo28/01/2021São PauloCapitão do São Paulo Sub-17, zagueiro Brian Carvalho espera mais uma conquista na Copa do BrasilSão Paulo28/01/2021
da aviator aposta： Porém, se virmos somente o número de jogos, o desempenho deste ano é bem pior. Isso porque em junho de 2019, o Tricolor só disputou três partidas, enquanto nesse mês de janeiro, já foram realizados cinco partidas, com três derrotas (Red Bull Bragantino, Santos e Internacional) e dois empates (Athletico e Coritiba).
Para evitar essa marca negativa, o técnico Fernando Diniz deve ter o time completo contra o Atlético-GO, já que não tem desfalques por suspensão ou lesão. Essa será a primeira vez que o comandante terá a escalação considerada ideal em 2021, para ficar na cola do líder Internacional, que está quatro pontos na frente do São Paulo.
Wolverhampton Wanderers evaded a transfer curveball from Newcastle United in January when the Magpies attempted to sign two of the Old Gold’s most important players.
What’s the word?
That is according to The Athletic’s Tim Spiers who has claimed that Eddie Howe’s side were intent on signing the Old Gold duo in January, when they were in the depths of a relegation battle.
And even though Wolves managed to keep hold of their defensive assets, they may face a worry to keep the pair across this summer’s transfer window.
In the report for The Athletic, Spiers claimed: “Newcastle are the biggest transfer curveball the Premier League has experienced in some time and Wolves, like everyone else in the league, are distinctly aware of the money the Geordies’ new owners can now offer to try to prise clubs’ star assets away.
“Newcastle have already had an influence on Wolves’ business; it is believed they made enquiries for Kilman and Coady in January, tried to sign Botman and did sign Bruno Guimaraes of Lyon, a player Wolves had been courting.”
A scary summer
With Spiers’ latest report in mind, this summer’s transfer window could come with some scary propositions for the Wolves faithful, with the Molineux side already touted to lose Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Leander Dendoncker and Marcal who have all been linked with moves away.
Therefore, the last thing Old Gold fans will want is to lose their Captain in Coady and emerging star in Kilman.
Featuring as a starter in 88% of Wolves’ Premier League games this season, Kilman has asserted himself as a fully-fledged member of the first team, with his metrics backing up why that is the case. Whilst his defensive participations have been decent this season, it’s his ability in possession that has been valued by Lage. His match average 3.61 progressive carries has injected composure within the Wolves backline.
Paired with captain Coady, who has started every single game for Wolves in the league, the Old Gold have been afforded consistency and solidity at the back, with Lage’s side boasting the fourth best defence in the league this season with just 32 goals conceded as a result of 11 clean sheets.
As such, supporters will surely be incredibly worried about the prospect of yet more interest in the duo going forward.
Whilst it is hopefully not the case, you cannot argue that the project at Newcastle presents an exciting opportunity which is backed up by seemingly unlimited amounts of ambition an endless quantities of financial backing.
The Magpies will most likely continue to get stronger and recruit higher calibre players who are in the mould of Guimaraes. From the perspective of Kilman who is just 24-years-old, the project at St James’ Park could be the ideal way to raise his stock and elevate his game season on season amidst the recruitment of bigger names and better players.
In other news: Lage must unleash “unplayable” £25 million-rated reject, he’s better than Trincao
Tottenham Hotspur’s quest to find a new attacking playmaker should see them turn to James Maddison this summer.
During a recent interview with reporters, manager Antonio Conte hinted at the fact that a no.10 could be high on the agenda during the off-season and the Leicester City gem would surely be an ideal candidate.
Earlier this month, The Sun claimed that Spurs had entered the race – alongside arch-rivals Arsenal – to sign the Englishman, who could be sold by the Foxes in a bid to bolster other areas of Brendan Rodgers’ playing squad.
Maddison is thought to be valued in the region of £60m, as per the report, and he has since been backed as a player that would suit the Lilywhites and the Italian head coach.
“He’s a very intelligent attacking player. He scores goals, gets loads of assists, and he’s a player Tottenham have been crying out for,” former Leeds striker-turned-pundit Noel Whelan told Football Insider.
“They got Giovani Lo Celso after Christian Eriksen left – that never worked out. They’re really missing that midfield player who has an eye for a killer pass.
“He’s proved he can do it in the Premier League by being a very important piece of the puzzle for Leicester.
“I think he would suit Tottenham down to the ground. With that front three in front of him, they could go to the next level with him.”
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Indeed, the north London outfit have lacked that true attacking midfielder to sit in the hole behind the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, and given his experience and current form in the top-flight, there won’t be many better candidates than Maddison.
As per Transfermarkt, the 25-year-old maestro has delivered 14 goals and nine assists across 45 appearances in all competitions this season, averaging a direct contribution once every 126 minutes, which is better than the figures Eriksen put up before his departure.
The Dane scored or assisted every 152 minutes in a Spurs shirt, whilst the bulk of Conte’s creativity has come from the usual suspects – the aforementioned attacking duo, who have combined for 14 assists alone.
Pairing Maddison with the likes of Kane, Son and winter arrival Dejan Kulusevski has got to be a mouthwatering prospect with the Leicester star once being dubbed a “special talent” by The Times’ Henry Winter.
Just like Eriksen, the £45m-rated dynamo could also provide Conte with a major threat from set-pieces, having drawn a great deal of inspiration from one of the best to ever do it, David Beckham, growing up.
An average of 1.4 key passes per game across the Premier League, Europa League and Carabao Cup this season further highlights his creative ability and it’s one that could see Kane and co absolutely thrive upfront.
So, on the above evidence, sporting director Fabio Paratici and Tottenham’s recruitment team would be foolish to not consider the Foxes gem heading into next season.
Just as Whelan suggests, he could be the perfect fit for what Spurs need this summer.
AND in other news, Spurs can complete Conte’s frightening trio with swoop for £33m-rated “absolute beast”…
Former Germany manager Joachim Low is keen on the England job after Gareth Southgate's resignation, according to a report.
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Low would welcome England approach
FA searching for new boss
Southgate resigned after Euro 2024
WHAT HAPPENED?
According to , Low would welcome an approach from the FA as they seek a successor to Southgate. The 64-year-old left his role as Germany manager in 2021 after England knocked them out of the European Championship at the round-of-16 stage at Wembley.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Low, of course, won the World Cup in 2014, and he would be happy to speak to the FA about attempting to lead the Three Lions to their first trophy since 1966. Southgate guided England to two successive European Championship finals but was unable to get over the line, and resigned earlier this week.
DID YOU KNOW?
England have already been linked with a number of potential candidates. Pep Guardiola has been identified as a possible marquee appointment, while there is also interest in Eddie Howe and Graham Potter.
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WHAT NEXT?
England are next in action in September when they kick off their Nations League campaign against the Republic of Ireland.
da casino： Tottenham Hotspur have endured a mixed campaign so far as their form has been up and down with various injury and suspension issues to deal with throughout the season so far.
da betsson： Ange Postecoglou was brought in from Scottish giants Celtic last summer and enjoyed a terrific start to life in England with eight wins and two draws from his first ten Premier League matches.
However, they then lost the likes of Micky van de Ven and James Maddison to injury and failed to win any of their next five league matches – including four losses and one draw.
Tottenham midfielder James Maddison.
Since then, Spurs have won four of their last five Premier League games and appear to be back on the right track ahead of the second half of the campaign.
The January transfer window opened at the start of last week and it has provided Postecoglou with an opportunity to add further depth and quality to his squad.
Spurs transfer news – Hayden Hackney
Tottenham have already been busy in the market this month and have now been linked with interest in Middlesbrough central midfielder Hayden Hackney.
The Standard claim that Spurs are lining up a move to land the Championship midfielder, who is also being eyed by other Premier League sides, as they prepare to join the race for his services.
Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United are all said to be interested in a deal to sign the impressive young dynamo following his superb form under Michael Carrick in the second tier.
Hayden-Hackney-and-Michael-Carrick
The report adds that Boro are braced for offers for his services in the summer and have told teams that it will take a 'sensational' offer to convince them to part ways with him this month.
However, The Standard do not mention what sort of fee would constitute as sensational, which means that it remains to be seen whether or not a move is realistic for Spurs this month.
The outlet goes on to mention that Tottenham are particularly keen on a deal for the England U21 international as another homegrown player would help them to meet the quota for UEFA competitions, should they secure a place in the Champions League, Europa League, or Europa Conference League.
Spurs got a glimpse of his quality against Premier League opposition when he faced Chelsea in the first-leg of the League Cup semi-final on Tuesday night.
Hackney, as you can watch in the video above, scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory for Middlesbrough, whilst he also created one chance and made two tackles throughout the 90 minutes.
His performance showed that he does have the quality to make an impact against the top-flight sides, which is why Spurs should take a gamble on him this month.
He is a progressive central midfielder who could help Postecoglou to unlock the best of Timo Werner, who recently joined on loan from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.
Timo Werner's goal record
The Germany international is set to be at Tottenham until the end of the current campaign and they have an option to make it permanent for €17m (£14.6m).
Spurs will be hoping to get him back to his best after a difficult first half of the season in his home country, which ended with two goals and zero assists in 14 appearances in all competitions.
Last season, Werner plundered a respectable 16 goals and six assists in 40 matches for Leipzig – including nine goals and four assists in 29 Bundesliga outings.
His second spell at Leipzig came after a two-year stint in England with Chelsea. The German forward produced 23 goals and 21 assists in 89 games and helped the Blues to win the Champions League in 2021.
Werner's best goalscoring form, however, came during the 2019/20 campaign for Leipzig, which led to his transfer to England in the summer of 2020.
Werner's career goal record by position (via Transfermarkt)
Position
Appearances
Goals
Centre-forward
292
133
Left winger
74
16
Right winger
25
Seven
Second striker
22
13
The now-27-year-old marksman racked up a staggering 34 goals and 13 assists in 45 games in all competitions – including 28 goals in 34 Bundesliga matches.
It is now up to Spurs and Postecoglou to unlock Werner's top form between now and the end of the season, which the signing of Hackney could help with.
The statistics that show why Spurs should sign Hackney
The Boro star is all-round central midfielder who can make an impact in and out of possession but his qualities on the ball are why he could help the German striker.
Hackney, firstly, is a solid contributor off the ball. He has made 2.2 tackles and interceptions combined and 7.7 ball recoveries per match across 16 Championship outings this season.
Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney.
Meanwhile, Pape Matar Sarr (5.1) and Yves Bissouma (4.8) have not retrieved possession as frequently each game in the Premier League as the English dynamo.
This suggests that the potential is there for the Boro ace to create more opportunities for Spurs to attack by recovering the ball more often than Postecoglou's current options, if he can translate his form to the top-flight.
His presence in the middle of the park could, therefore, provide the team with more chances to counter and make the most of Werner's impressive pace and movement in transition.
Hackney, who was described as a "sensational" young midfielder by journalist Graeme Bailey on the Talking Transfers podcast, also has the progressive passing to consistently find Werner, and other attackers, in dangerous positions.
Hackney vs midfielders (via FBref)
23/24 Championship (per 90)
Percentile rank
Shot-creating actions (3.50)
Top 18%
Progressive passes (8.19)
Top 1%
Progressive carries (2.25)
Top 19%
Passes attempted (77.37)
Top 5%
As you can see in the table above, the 21-year-old starlet is an exceptional passer who constantly looks to progress play through passes or carries to push his team into advanced positions in the opposition third.
Bissouma, as a point of reference, has averaged 6.56 progressive passes and 2.31 shot-creating actions from 78.74 attempted passes in the Premier League this season.
This suggests that, if Postecoglou can help Hackney to translate his current performances over to the top-flight, the 5 foot 10 dynamo could enhance the quality of Tottenham's build-up play.
This would, in turn, lead to more opportunities for Werner to use his pace and direct play to make things happen at the top end of the pitch, which is why this potential signing could help to unlock the German whiz.
India are getting closer to playing day-night Test cricket. According to BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, Indian captain Virat Kohli has told him he is “agreeable” to day-night Tests although there is no definitive date as to when it would happen.Ganguly said India had no choice and playing day-night Tests was the “way forward” if Test cricket needed to attract crowds. That is what he told Kohli during their meeting in Mumbai on Thursday at the BCCI headquarters. It was the first meeting between Ganguly and Kohli after the former captain took charge as BCCI president on October 23.”We all are thinking about this. We will do something about this,” Ganguly said on Friday at the Eden Gardens at an event organised by Cricket Association of Bengal to felicitate him on him taking charge at BCCI. “I am a big believer in day-night Tests. Kohli is agreeable to it. I see a lot of reports in newspapers that he is not, but that is not true. The game needs to go forward and that is the way forward. People should finish work and come to watch champions play. I don’t know when that will happen, but it will.”India, No.1 on the ICC’s Test rankings, and Bangladesh are the only teams (outside of newly promoted Ireland and Afghanistan) to never have played a pink ball Test cricket since Australia and New Zealand featured in the first one in 2016.Now, with the World Test Championship under way, the onus is on the host board to organise day-night Tests, but the BCCI had expressed its reluctance, mainly because India wanted to protect its points and Indian players had not played enough first-class cricket under lights.Sourav Ganguly holding his first press conference after being appointed the BCCI president•AFP
Ganguly has been pushing for India to play with the pink ball even when he was head of the BCCI’s technical committee. In the past, he had recommended that the BCCI continue to invest in playing Duleep Trophy under lights, an experiment first used in 2016. This season the board had initially planned for the Duleep final to be a day-night affair only to change its mind at the last minute.When day-night Tests were launched, the ICC had said that it was a way to let fans come back to the ground after work and have a nice time. The first one in Adelaide was packed on all three days.Earlier this week Kohli had suggested BCCI could limit Test cricket to five of the big venues in India, saying one of the advantages of doing that would be attracting large crowds. His comments came after the final two Tests of the South Africa series were played to sparse crowds in Pune and Ranchi. Ganguly thinks day-night Tests could be a good option to sort that problem too.”Cricket needs a change,” he said. “Who had thought that T20 cricket will be such a rage when it was first played? Even we (senior players) were asked to rest when the format was first played. See lifestyles have changed. No one can afford to bunk schools or offices these days to watch cricket. They need to be brought to the ground after day’s work.”India’s upcoming Test calendar includes a two-match series against Bangladesh in November and a three-match series in New Zealand next February and March