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Nottingham Forest could also sign an “attacking” defender alongside Giovanni Reyna and Rodrigo Ribeiro before the deadline, with an agreement reportedly reached.

Nottingham Forest set to sign Reyna

Nuno Espirito Santo is yet to make his first signing in charge at the City Ground, with the Reds’ focus so far being on moving players out of the club. The likes of Emmanuel Dennis, Jonathan Panzo and Scott McKenna have all sealed loan exits, joining Watford, Standard Liege and FC Copenhagen respectively.

All confirmed Premier League done deals: January transfer window 2024

With the January transfer window coming towards its conclusion, FFC has all the info for tracking your club’s winter transfer activity.

ByLuke Randall Feb 1, 2024

Talking about transfers following the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal, Nuno was coy on potential incomings, saying: “It is two days to go. Let’s wait and see. Since the window opened there has been things going on. We have to wait and see what happens in the last days.”

Since then, it has emerged that Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder Reyna is on course to become Forest’s first January signing, with Fabrizio Romano sharing an update on Wednesday morning.

Following that, it has been added that striker Rodrigo Ribeiro is also on course to move to Forest on a loan with an option to buy deal from Sporting CP.

However, the pair may not be the only players through the door before tomorrow evening’s deadline, with an update coming to light on a new full-back.

Nottingham Forest reach Brandon Soppy agreement

According to journalist Orazio Accomando, Nottingham Forest have reached an “agreement” for defender Brandon Soppy, although he doesn’t state if a deal would be a loan or permanent transfer. Since then, it has been added that Schalke are in talks over a loan deal for the full-back, while Torino are shopping for replacements, so there could be a late tussle for his signature.

Soppy is 21 years of age and is currently on loan at Torino from Atalanta. However, it looks as if his temporary spell could come to an end with a move to Forest. The Frenchman is primarily a right-back and can also play as a left-back or as a right-midfielder. Previously on the books of Rennes and Udinese, Soppy’s Transfermarkt valuation has dropped in the last 12 months, so he could need a new challenge in England.

Udinese

32

0

Atalanta

16

4

Rennes

11

0

Torino

5

0

Once linked with a move to Celtic, French football expert Adam White said at the time that Soppy is a “very attacking” full-back with a lot of potential.

“He's very inexperienced and very attacking. Soppy likes to take players on and is very good on the ball. He has a lot of potential and there's a reason why all these clubs are interested in him – he has talent.”

Nuno currently has Neco Williams, Gonzalo Montiel, Ola Aina, Serge Aurier and Richie Laryea as his right-back options, and by the looks of things, Soppy could be the next to arrive to challenge for a starting spot.

The fast-bowling allrounder had missed the first Test, which West Indies lost by 318 runs, due to an ankle injury

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-2019Keemo Paul has recovered from his ankle injury and has been drafted back into the West Indies squad straightaway for the second and final Test against India in Kingston, replacing Miguel Cummins, the man who had filled in for him in Antigua.

WI squad for second Test

Squad: Jason Holder (capt), Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jahmar Hamilton (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach.

That was the only change to the squad for the first Test, which India won by 318 runs. Shai Hope kept wickets then, and might continue to do so with first-choice Test wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich back in Barbados continuing his rehabilitation from an ankle injury, even though back-up keeper Jahmar Hamilton is among the 13 in Jamaica.Cummins didn’t have a particularly good time of it in Antigua, conceding 69 runs in 20 wicketless overs across two innings, as India piled up 297 and 343 for 7 declared while bowling West Indies out for 222 and 100 to earn 60 World Test Championship points.While batting was West Indies’ weak link in the first Test, the bowling unit did let India off the hook somewhat after having the visitors down on the mat at 25 for 3 – Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli among the batsmen out – on the first morning. “We got the early wickets we were looking for but I thought that we tried a bit too hard, we didn’t stick to coming down the channel, we tried a bit too hard with the short-ball plan and stuff like that,” Roston Chase, the only spinner in the XI for the first Test, had said of that performance.West Indies will hope that changes in the second Test. With Cummins out and Paul in, that might be a straight swap in the XI at Sabina Park, unless the conditions call for an international debut for Rahkeem Cornwall, the 26-year-old offspinning allrounder from Antigua.

da bet nacional： Liverpool are currently in first place in the Premier League but have returned to the ominous familiarity of a title race against Manchester City, with the slightest slip-up evoking a sense of fatality.

da leao： Last weekend, the reigning champions welcomed back Kevin De Bruyne and the Belgian reminded English football of his prowess with a talismanic performance to turn the tide and snatch victory, scoring off the bench before a stunning scooped ball from deep to allow Oscar Bobb to place a last-gasp winner.

The result means that Liverpool are just two points ahead after 21 matches and now know that anything but victory at the Vitality Stadium against AFC Bournemouth tomorrow afternoon could hand Pep Guardiola's side the opportunity to advance to top spot.

Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo are both absent on international duty, while this weekend's clash comes too soon for the returns of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson and Dominik Szoboszlai.

With this in mind, Jurgen Klopp could make just two changes from the team that beat Fulham in the Carabao Cup a week and a half ago.

1 GK – Alisson

Caoimhin Kelleher deputized between the sticks last time out, in the Carabao Cup, but there's little question over who will get the nod on the south coast.

Alisson is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world and boasts the best save percentage in the Premier League this season, saving his side many a time with jaw-dropping stops and commanding performances.

PL Goalkeepers 23/24: Top Save Percentage

#

Player

Club

Save Percentage

1.

Alisson

Liverpool

77.4%

2.

Alphonse Areola

West Ham United

76.9%

3.

Nick Pope

Newcastle United

73.6%

4.

Bernd Leno

Fulham

73%

5.

Andre Onana

Manchester United

73%

*Sourced via FBref

2 RB – Conor Bradley

Alexander-Arnold may be injured but Liverpool supporters need not fear given the recent emergence of Conor Bradley, who has been hailed for his “eye-catching” displays of late by The Athletic's James Pearce.

The 20-year-old was crowned Bolton Wanderers' Player of the Season last year after helping them back into League One, and having now overcome injury issues that ruled him out for most of the opening half of the 2023/24 term, he is now thriving in Klopp's first-team.

3 CB – Ibrahima Konate

Joel Matip's season-ending ACL injury suffered in December sparked fears that Liverpool's campaign had suffered a detrimental blow, but Ibrahima Konate has stepped up and then some.

Stranding at 6 foot 4, the France international is a monstrous presence in the central defence and has won a whopping 38 duels across his past five appearances in the Premier League.

4 CB – Virgil van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk has been immense since earning the captain's armband in the summer, returning to his iron-clad best in front of Alisson's goal.

Cultured and commanding, the 32-year-old is arguably the best centre-back in the world right now and will be crucial in dominating aerially against imposing and in-form Cherries striker Dominic Solanke.

5 LB – Joe Gomez

Robertson is not yet ready for a return after an extensive injury layoff and Kostas Tsimikas remains sidelined after breaking his collarbone against Arsenal in December, so Joe Gomez will continue to serve at left-back.

The versatile defender was one of the most prominent strugglers in Liverpool's team last season but has enjoyed a resurgence since the summer and has been an invaluable tool amid the Reds' injury issues.

6 DM – Alexis Mac Allister

With Endo competing at the Asia Cup, Alexis Mac Allister should make his first Premier League start in over a month, having recovered from injuring his knee against Sheffield United in December and started last time out against Fulham.

7 CM – Ryan Gravenberch

Liverpool completed their summer business with the £34m deadline day signing of Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich, offering succour and a clean slate for a player who had endured a torrid time with the Bundesliga champions.

He's certainly not the finished product but is undoubtedly bursting with talent, ranking among the top 5% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for shot-creating actions, the top 10% for progressive passes, the top 12% for progressive carries, the top 9% for successful take-ons and the top 11% for blocks per 90, as per FBref.

8 CM – Curtis Jones

Possibly the most underrated player in Liverpool red, Curtis Jones has been in fine fettle over recent matches and must start against the Cherries, with three goals and three assists clinched apiece since the start of December.

9 RW – Diogo Jota

Salah's absence does raise the question as to who is the best fit for deployment on the right wing, and while Harvey Elliott appears the obvious pick, he was more ineffectual than usual last time out – receiving a 6/10 match rating against Fulham by GOAL – and Klopp could opt to field one of his deadliest marksmen.

Diogo Jota has scored nine goals from just 12 starting appearances across all competitions this season, and while he is naturally better placed on the left, his two-footedness and versatility means that he can offer the clinical presence needed to finish off Liverpool's surging runs, hailed as a “pressing monster” by assistant coach Pep Lijnders.

10 LW – Luis Diaz

True enough, six goals and two assists across 26 outings this term is not the best tally in the world, but Luis Diaz has had to navigate through various hurdles in 2023 and has certainly looked brighter in recent weeks.

The Colombian was sensational against Newcastle United in Liverpool's previous Premier League match and made three key passes and succeeded with five dribbles, as per Sofascore, stretching and rending the Magpies' defensive shield.

Frank Lampard was brought in at Everton to steady the ship following a tumultuous six months with Rafa Benitez, however, it hasn’t gone quite to plan and now insider Dean Jones has made a huge claim on the manager’s future.

What’s the latest?

Speaking to Football FanCast, transfer expert and journalist Jones has given his thoughts on Lampard’s future at Goodison Park come the end of the season.

He commented: “I don’t think he’ll stay if Everton go down. I’m not even sure he’ll stay if they stay up. To be honest with you. I think this is really up in the air.

“I think if they stay up, I could see Bilić getting a chance at it if they go down, I’m not sure so sure.”

Supporters will be gutted

The last thing that Everton needs right now is further upheaval in one of the most vulnerable periods of their club’s history, and if they were to suffer their first-ever Premier League relegation this season, stability at the club is essential for them to bounce back up, so supporters will surely be gutted if Lampard was to leave.

There are many areas of improvement that are needed at Goodison Park, but sacking managers hasn’t got the Toffees in a better position over the years since Farhad Moshiri arrived, with the owner sacking five permanent managers in six years so far.

Therefore, it doesn’t seem like a path the club needs to necessarily go down to turn things around no matter the situation they find themselves in at the end of the season.

Since his arrival, the 43-year-old manager has won four, drawn one and lost eight which isn’t the record the supporters would have hoped for when he was appointed. Yet, given the squad he has inherited that has been plagued with the worst injury record in the Premier League this season, if he manages the great escape from relegation it’s a huge achievement.

With that being said, it seems premature to sack a manager who has had a limited amount of time to coach the team, no opportunities to rebuild or acquire players over a full transfer window and has a squad riddled with injuries, however, it will be interesting to see where Lampard’s fate will lie should the side drop into the Championship next season.

AND in other news: Forget Holgate: Everton must unleash “composed” 18y/o tank with “plenty of potential”

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.

Mikel Arteta has admitted that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is helping to power Arsenal’s Premier League title bid. The Gunners are looking to land a first top-flight crown since the fabled ‘Invincibles’ of 2003-04, with their Spanish head coach prepared to use all of the tools available to him. He has, however, urged caution when leaning on technology for assistance.

Unique methods: Arteta seeking marginal gains

Arteta has become renowned for his somewhat unique take on coaching, with an Amazon Prime documentary series lifting the lid on his occasionally bizarre methods of motivation – which once included playing crowd noise in training sessions. He is always seeking marginal gains.

In the modern era, that means taking advantage of the many sources of advice that are available. AI services are on hand to answer questions and simplify masses of data, with Arteta conceding that he is among those to have explored potential benefits there.

AdvertisementGettyFormer Arsenal Women's boss uses ChatGPT

Former Arsenal women’s team coach Laura Harvey, who now works with the Seattle Reign in NWSL, recently told the of ChatGPT influencing her tactical decisions: “One day in the offseason, I was writing things into ChatGPT like, ‘What is Seattle Reign’s identity?’ And it would spurt it out. And I was like, ‘I don’t know if that’s true or not’. “And then like, ‘what do you need to do to be successful in the NWSL?’ Like really broad questions.

“And then I put in, ‘What formation should you play to beat NWSL teams?’ And it spurted out every team in the league and what formation you should play. And for two teams — I’m not going to say who they are because they’ll know — it went, ‘You should play a back five.’ So I did. No joke, that’s why I did it.

“It was early in the season and I said to the coaching staff, I’m not joking this is what I did. And they were like, ‘huh, interesting’. We researched it, we did a deep dive on it, we thought about how we could play it. And we went for it, and we liked it. It worked. We won the game. It didn’t tell you how to play it or what to do in it or any of that stuff. It was just like ‘this is what we would say to do’. And I was like, ‘alright’. And that was what spurred me to look into it. So then I really looked into it.”

How Arteta is using AI at Arsenal

Quizzed on whether he is treading a similar path, Arteta said of using AI to evaluate performances and identify areas of improvement: “It’s a tool that is super powerful if you use it in the right way and you ask the right questions. It’s in use already for many things and many processes that can help not just a team but an organisation as well. It will improve and it will give us good insight, or things at least to think about. I’m not an expert but it’s a valuable tool.

“We have developed certain things that in our opinion can help us to understand ourselves better and evaluate what we do and what we can improve. And then we will explore using it in many other areas of the club.”

He added on tech tools being unable to replicate the skills required to deal with players on a personal level: “If it’s reliable, it can help us [for injuries], for sure but always without losing the sensitivity and feeling and following your gut. We are dealing with human beings and that’s an aspect that, so far, it is not able to replace.

“With the stats, it is about how do I interpret those stats and how reliable they are? You can get very confused, very annoyed, immediately. But this data means nothing, because you have to analyse. What is the methodology of that? And if you don’t understand that, and you just look at the data, then you can have a big problem.”

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gettyNorth London derby & Kane: Arsenal fixtures

Arsenal have opened up a four-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, but dropped two in the latest outing after being held to a dramatic 2-2 draw at Sunderland.

With another international break being reached, the Gunners will be back in action on November 23 when playing host to arch-rivals Tottenham in the north London derby – before then tackling Harry Kane and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

No suggestions of an increased quota, but focus on including more black African players in the national sides

Firdose Moonda12-Oct-2020Cricket South Africa (CSA) intends to outline the implementation of a more aggressive transformation policy to parliament, if they are allowed to present their plans to the sports portfolio committee on Tuesday. The meeting comes a week after CSA were hauled over the coals by the same committee for failure to present the forensic report they used to fire former CEO Thabang Moroe.At a two-hour meeting last week, in which no other matter was discussed, CSA committed to furnishing the committee with a copy of the report by Friday. The deadline was met, though the version of the report CSA sent contained redactions, and discussion over the report are expected to take up most of the meeting time tomorrow. However, if the meeting moves past the report, CSA may have the opportunity to unveil its Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) agenda.Among CSA’s proposals is an emphasis on ensuring “that more black players, particularly black African players are included in national teams on a sustainable basis,” and major changes to the way cricket is governed at franchise and provincial level, to ensure greater representation of black women. Beginning in December this year, CSA would like all its affiliates to make new appointments according to affirmative action requirements, and will fine those who do not.”It will become part of the membership requirements that the executive management teams of unions and the boards become predominantly black with a heavy focus on black female members in these critical positions. The intention is to identify at least 10 black female candidates. The onus will be placed on Affiliates to address the current status of non- transformed positions especially in CEO and Executive positions. Failure by the Unions to do this will result in financial penalties,” CSA’s presentation reads.Similarly, CSA have committed to filling the independent director vacancy on its board, which resulted from the resignation of Steve Cornelius in August “by a black female, preferably with skills in media and marketing”. The position is expected to be filled by the end of November, before the rescheduled AGM which will take place on December 5.On the playing field, the presentation notes that “the number of selections for whites’ dwarfs (54%) the numbers for any of the black demographic, with the players of Indian descent and Coloured players, making up an equal 12% selection in any of the 15 matches played,” over the last year. It notes that selection was particularly skewed in fifty-over cricket primarily because of the consistent inclusion of four players. “It is particularly within the ODI format where the selection frequency is predominantly in favour of white players. These numbers are boosted by the consistency in selection of (Quinton) de Kock, (Rassie) van der Dussen, (Faf) du Plessis and (David) Miller.”While the presentation does not say there will be an increased quota (currently the national team is required to field six players of colour, of which at least two must be black African, on average over the course of a season), it does state that there will be no target reduction and that the direction of cricket, the coaches and selectors will have to adhere to transformation key performance areas, which will be part of their contracts. CSA exceeded their 2018-19 transformation target, with the 2019-20 data yet to be released, but have also come under fire from the sports minister, Nathi Mthethwa, for failing to have people of colour in senior roles.Since then, CSA have committed to applying a preference for consultants of colour and now appear to be taking the policy further. The presentation also mentions addressing the salary difference between the men’s and women’s teams and confirms a cash injection of R10 million (US$604, 575) for the SJN project, which could offer reparations to players who were discriminated against in the past. In August CSA named Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza as their SJN ombudsman and they intend to begin hearing at provinces in January 2021. The ombudsman will also independently present to parliament and the sports minister.

Phil Parkinson says Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney “get it” when it comes to the football business, with “everybody out to beat Wrexham”.

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• Takeover completed in 2021
• Back-to-back promotions enjoyed
• Not everything will go as planned

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Hollywood co-owners arrived at SToK Racecourse in February 2021 as relative novices when it came to the world of soccer. They have, however, committed emotionally and financially to an ambitious project in North Wales that has delivered back-to-back promotions and plenty of drama for what is now an award-winning documentary series.

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  WHAT PARKINSON SAID

  Parkinson has been able to call upon the full support of those in the boardroom throughout his reign as manager, with the Red Dragons boss telling the podcast of what it is like to work under the brightest of sporting spotlights: “People want to speak to you when you win, but it’s about when you have bad days at the office – which you are inevitably going to have. You need that support and Rob and Ryan have been brilliant. They get it, they totally understand it. This is a competitive industry we’re in and everybody is out to beat Wrexham – they know that. It’s not going to go all our way, all the time. When we lose, we take the pain together. When we win, we enjoy those victories. It’s not when we lose ‘let’s blame Phil and the team’, we all look at it together and we move on.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Reynolds and McElhenney make a point of messaging Parkinson in the darker times, to let him know that they have his back, with the experienced coach adding on the need for everybody to pull in the same direction: “Support from the owners is huge. It’s good that they understand. They understand that the overall aim was to get promotion. In every season as a player or a manager where I have been successful, there have been times when it doesn’t go your way. The 111-point seasons, a record points total, they don’t happen! You are going to get beat, you are going to have bad days, you are going to get injuries to key players.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Parkinson does not get beaten very often – suffering only 27 losses through 165 games as Wrexham boss – but he is now preparing for an ever bigger challenge as the Red Dragons step up into League One and seek to ensure that they bring the right players in during the next transfer window.

UAE’s top order flounders with no batsman crossing 50, legspinner Ryan Burl finishes with career-best figures

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Apr-2019After running Zimbabwe close two nights ago, UAE were put through another tough examination in Harare in the third ODI of their four-match series, and the quality of Zimbabwe’s batsmanship was good enough to help them clinch the series 3-0 with one to play.This was made possible courtesy Sean Williams’ third ODI century, an unbeaten 84-ball 109, that helped Zimbabwe post 307 for 4. Williams was helped along the way by Craig Ervine and Peter Moor, the captain, with whom he put together 104 and 145 respectively.Moor made 58 off 52 balls during the course of the mammoth fifth-wicket stand off just 107 deliveries. That helped the pair add 100 in the last ten overs. They took a special liking to offspinner Rohan Mustafa, whose 1 for 67 was the most expensive spell for UAE.In reply, UAE slumped to 15 for 3 in the sixth. Zimbabwe were briefly kept at bay by CP Rizwan and Muhammad Usman, who made 47 and 49 respectively, but that served to merely limit the damage. Ryan Burl, the 24-year-old legspinner, first removed Rizwan and then returned to clean up the lower order to finish with a career-best 4 for 32.The two sides will square off in the fourth and final ODI on Tuesday.

Olly Stone faces a lengthy period of rehabilitation in the wake of his early departure from England’s tour of the Caribbean, after a stress fracture in his left lower back was confirmed following further examination in the UK.Stone, the fastest bowler in England’s original squad for the West Indies series, reported the problem shortly after arriving in Barbados earlier this month, having flown from Australia a few days previously. His place has been taken by Mark Wood, who linked up with the squad last weekend.His county, Warwickshire, confirmed he had suffered “a partial stress fracture to his left lower back”, which typically takes six to 12 weeks to heal.Jim Troughton, First Team Coach at Warwickshire CCC, said: “We’re bitterly disappointed for Olly who has already had his fair share of injury heartache.”Getting himself into the England set-up was a great achievement so the timing of this setback is a tough one for him.”The science and medical staff at Warwickshire will work closely with Olly, in partnership with the England medical team, and hopefully we can have him back to bowling as soon as possible.”Stone’s chances of breaking into the Test side on this tour were limited. But the England management were impressed by his pace and his attitude in Sri Lanka last year, where he claimed a wicket with his seventh ball in international cricket: a bouncer that took the gloves of Niroshan Dickwella as he fended the ball away from his face. He is seen as the sort of bowler who could learn from being in the environment and one day make a difference on an Ashes tour.