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According to a report by The Times, Tottenham Hotspur, and by extension managing director Fabio Paratici, are ‘ready to make a move’ to sign Villarreal defender Pau Torres.

The Lowdown: Another defender incoming?

It looks like Tottenham aren’t quite done after the signing of Cristian Romero for the heart of their defence.

As per football.london, Spurs could look to add two new centre-backs this summer rather than just one as Paratici continues his major summer rebuild at N17.

In the past week, they have been strongly linked with both Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic and Torres, with The Times now backing interest in the latter man as they provide their own update.

The Latest: Spurs ‘ready to make a move’ for Torres…

The reliable news source says that Spurs and Paratici are now ‘ready to make a move’ for the 24-year-old as they aim to add even more steal to Nuno Espirito Santo’s defence.

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Torres, who they describe as ‘one of the stars of Spain’s run to the semi-finals of Euro 2020’, also played a huge role in Villarreal’s Europa League-winning campaign last year.

The defender, however, will cost a pretty penny with his sky release clause having risen towards the end of 2020/2021.

His previous clause was €55 million (£46.8 million), but it has now rose to €65 million (£55.4 million), though the Lilywhites are hoping they can secure Torres for a lesser figure.

The Verdict: Huge coup…

If Paratici can somehow get this one over the line for Nuno, even factoring in their sell-to-buy policy, it would be one huge coup for Spurs.

Described as ‘sensational’ by Levante head coach Paco Lopez, the young defender possesses an incredible composure and assurance in passing out from the back – as stated by those who have worked with him throughout his career (The Athletic).

Standing at a colossal 6 foot 3, Torres also has the physicality to succeed in Premier League football and, with plenty of years still ahead of him, could gain Spurs some significant sell-on value.

In other news: Agreement reached: Tottenham confirm another N17 exit in social media announcement, find out more here.

A round-up of the third’s day’s play of the Ranji Trophy Plate League semi-finals

Cricinfo staff20-Dec-2008
Scorecard
Himachal Pradesh’s move up to the Super League is certain after they piled on a massive 348-run lead on the third day in their semi-final against Madhya Pradesh in Nagpur. Bhavin Thakkar, resuming on 111, fell without scoring on Saturday, but Mukesh Sharma, the other overnight batsman, scored a career-best 161 to put his team totally in command.Himachal Pradesh, who began the day in the lead, were boosted by a 218-run stand for the fifth wicket between Sharma and Ajay Mannu, who fell seven short of his century. Madhya Pradesh dismissed the duo and Sarandeep Singh quickly, but they were to be further frustrated by the lower-order batsmen. Ashok Thakur and Vikramjeet Malik, who took four wickets apiece in Madhya Pradesh’s innings, added an unbroken 51 for the ninth wicket.
ScorecardOnly 110 minutes of play was possible on the third day at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. Play only started an hour after the scheduled lunch break, thanks to the poor visibility, and only 25 overs were possible before bad light intervened.Goa’s overnight pair of Aniket Desai and Ryan Ninan continued the rebuilding job. The two had taken Goa from a precarious 34 for 5 to 95 at stumps on the second day, and played out ten overs by the time Bengal struck. Desai was out for 37, trapped by Ranadeb Bose, who grabbed his sixth wicket of the innings. Twelve runs later, part-time bowler Manoj Tiwary had Shadab Jakati leg-before. Robin D’Souza then scored 25 of 35 balls in an unbroken stand of 30 with Ninan, who held one end up. Ninan, who began on 43, scored only 23 of his 71 runs in the day. Goa, though, will need to complete a remarkable turnaround on the final day to earn promotion to the Super League.

Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge believes Manchester City may be having second thoughts about signing Harry Kane.

England captain Kane has made no secret of his desire to leave Tottenham Hotspur before the transfer window closes at the end of the month, with the striker growing frustrated at a lack of silverware.

City boss Pep Guardiola has confirmed he wants to add last season’s Premier League Golden Boot winner to his squad as he seeks back-to-back titles.

Speculation that a move could be on the cards heightened when Kane, 28, was not included in Spurs’ matchday squad when they opened their campaign against City last weekend.

Reports suggest Kane has once again called on Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to stick to their gentleman’s agreement, which meant the frontman could leave if the north Londoners failed to win a trophy or finished outside the Premier League’s top four last season.

While City have lodged a £125million offer for Kane, which would be a British record transfer fee if the deal is completed, Bridge reckons City may refuse to increase their bid to Levy’s estimate.

He told Football FanCast: “City can afford him. This is 50p to them because they’re not suffering from the pandemic due to their owners.

“However, they have to look at it and ask does it look good if we spend £160million on a 28-year-old guy who gets injuries?

“They have just survived Financial Fair Play so do they go and spend that amount on one man? They’re the reasons I’m not so sure of a deal now.”

Bruno Lage’s first summer at Wolverhampton Wanderers has been a tame affair.

The Portuguese boss hasn’t been supplied with a war chest in order to bring new players in and as a consequence, the Old Gold still look light on first-team names.

What’s the word?

The encouraging sign for Wolves supporters is that Lage and Fosun do have their eyes set on bringing some fresh faces to the club in the remaining days of the window.

While a move for Cardiff striker Kieffer Moore has been touted, they also want to bring another midfielder to the club if you believe reports.

Wolves have set their sights on Roma gem Amadou Diawara throughout the summer but it was thought the Guinean had rejected a proposal to sign him a few months back.

However, according to Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), that offer is still on the table for Diawara as his club aim to shift him before the deadline closes.

According to CIES, the midfield brute is valued at around €20m (£17m).

Lage needs him

With the new manager admitting last week that Wolves were training with no more than 15 senior players, it’s easy to see why they need to dip their toes into the transfer market.

Signing a further midfielder might look strange on the surface, however. Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho have both started the season emphatically, putting in some classy performances against Tottenham and then Nottingham Forest.

Yet, they do arguably lack depth in that position. Morgan Gibbs-White is a more offensive midfielder while Romain Saiss and Leander Dendoncker were preferred in defence during the latter stages of Nuno Santo’s tenure.

Wolves also lost Vitinha this summer when they opted against signing the Portuguese dynamo on a permanent transfer.

Consequently, the idea of signing Diawara is an attractive one. Like Neves and Moutinho, he’s incredibly assured in possession of the ball.

Last campaign, the 24-year-old completed 89.7% of his passes in the top-flight of Italian football. His tally over the last year, meanwhile, puts him in the 87th percentile among fellow midfield players in Europe’s top five leagues.

Regularly successful in winning back the ball for his team, Diawara was once described as a “phenomenon” by his former coach, Fabrizio Tazzioli.

Combine that with the fact he’s been compared to Marcel Desailly and the thought of signing him becomes even more attractive.

AND in other news, Wolves set for huge boost after Tim Spiers tweet, fans should be elated…

It has been a tough, exhausting and emotional few weeks for the South African squad and the coach Mickey Arthur is pleased they can now they welcome new faces for the limited-overs portion of the tour

Brydon Coverdale10-Jan-2009
Lonwabo Tsotsobe will make his Twenty20 international debut on Sunday © Getty Images
It has been a tough, exhausting and emotional few weeks for the South African squad. They came to Australia aiming to become the first team to beat Australia in a Test series at home in 16 years. They achieved their goal with a pair of brilliant come-from-behind victories before the effort took its toll and they narrowly lost the third Test in Sydney.Now there is a new challenge: a limited-overs series of two Twenty20 internationals and five ODIs against Australia. Johan Botha is captaining the side in the absence of Graeme Smith, who flew home to a hero’s welcome during the week, and their starting line-up for the first Twenty20 at the MCG on Sunday features five men who did not take part in the Tests.”Fresh faces at this point of the tour is very good,” the coach Mickey Arthur said. “It’s been a long haul for us. Our guys worked extremely hard through the Test tour, so to get some young faces in just keeps refreshing the squad, which is great. We’ve now closed the book on our Test tour. We see this as another tour for us.”Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Vaughn van Jaarsveld are set to make their international debuts, while Herschelle Gibbs has also returned after completing an alcohol rehabilitation programme. South Africa’s semi-final exit from the World Cup in 2007 led them to focus on Tests for the next two years; now the one-day rebuilding phase has begun as they aim to discover the men who can win them the World Cup in 2011.”There are going to be opportunities for a lot of younger players here and it’s going to be interesting to see how they stand up,” Arthur said. “We probably know we’re not the finished article yet in one-day cricket.”Obviously our goal in one-day cricket is to be that in two years’ time when the World Cup comes about. Two years ago we started with our Test team to get them ready for this tour. We’re sort of two years behind in terms of our one-day side.”Technically South Africa are the No. 2 one-day team in the world, but like Australia’s No. 1 Test ranking, it is more a legacy of previous sides than a reflection of the current outfit. The loss of Charl Langeveldt and Shaun Pollock in the past year has left the squad short of experienced bowlers, and the Test fast men Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel will be rotated this series to keep them fresh for the return Tests in South Africa.It all means a genuine opportunity for Australia to build some momentum against a side that has turned their summer dark and gloomy. Australia are also looking to the next World Cup and their plans do not include Matthew Hayden, who has been dropped, but Arthur believes Australia are more advanced in their one-day arrangements than South Africa.”This is probably their chance of salvaging a little bit out of their summer,” he said. “I think they’re going to come out extremely hard. We’re expecting a huge backlash from them during this series and they have to start as favourites. There’s no doubt about that. They are a little bit further up in their rebuilding phase than we are.”Australia have given Mitchell Johnson, Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin time off from the Twenty20 games in Melbourne on Sunday and Brisbane on Tuesday as they aim to manage the workloads of their key men. It is the first time Australia will host two Twenty20s against the same opponent in a summer and Arthur said it was important not to left the shortest format expand too far at international level.”I worry about overkill of Twenty20 cricket with international teams,” he said. “There should be perhaps two Twenty20s a summer with your international teams … and then every two years you play a world championship”That’s perfect for international cricket. I worry that sometimes you might have three ODIs and a five-match Twenty20 series on a tour because of the commercial value. I think that would be wrong.”

Liverpool are still reportedly interested in signing Sampdoria and Denmark midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard before the transfer window closes.

The Lowdown: Damsgaard linked with Liverpool move

The 21-year-old made a name for himself at Euro 2020, helping Denmark reach the semi-finals without key man Christian Eriksen, scoring twice and assisting once in the tournament.

Damsgaard has been linked with a move to Liverpool this summer, as he potentially looks for a bigger challenge away from Sampdoria.

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The Latest: Another update emerges

It appears as though the Reds’ interest in the attacking midfielder hasn’t gone away, with La Repubblica [via Sport Witness] reporting that they are ‘eligible candidates’ to sign him, along with Leeds United.

Damsgaard’s current Sampdoria deal doesn’t expire until 2024, however, so a sizeable bid may be needed to prise him away.

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The Verdict: Much-needed addition?

Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea was further proof that Liverpool lack attacking options from the substitutes’ bench, with Jurgen Klopp’s men running out of steam against ten men – the manager opted to bring on left-back Kostas Tsimikas when chasing a goal.

Damsgaard could be a player who comes in and provides that, producing guile in attacking areas and possessing the versatility to thrive centrally and out wide.

Admittedly, he remains relatively unproven, despite his performances at the Euros, but he could thrive working under Klopp and may be seen as a long-term investment.

In other news, some Liverpool fans are not happy at a new transfer story that has emerged. Read more here.

Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder, has said he is considering “cutting Test cricket altogether” and giving up bowling because of the spate of injuries that has kept him out of the national team

Cricinfo staff08-Feb-2009
Jacob Oram: “I would be lying if I said I haven’t considered the prospect of cutting out bowling altogether” © AFP
Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder, has said he is considering “cutting Test cricket altogether” and giving up bowling because of the spate of injuries that has kept him out of the national team.”I would be lying if I said I haven’t considered the prospect of cutting out bowling altogether,” Oram told . “I’ve also considered cutting Test cricket altogether.”Those options have been floating around my head for some time now. It’s a hard one because my head’s thinking one thing and my heart’s thinking another. At the moment, there’s a bit of conflict there and I’m sort of looking for some divine intervention which will help me with the decision. That could be in a month’s time or it could be in 12 months’ time.”Oram suffered a variety of injuries in recent months. He returned home mid-way through the tour of Bangladesh in October and missed the Test series in Australia because of a back injury. A calf strain kept him out of the home Test series against West Indies and an Achilles injury cut short his participation in the one-day series that followed.”It’s frustrating for me being injured all the time and I know it’s frustrating for other people as well, my team-mates included,” Oram said. “There may have to be a decision soon but as of now one hasn’t been made.”Oram is currently missing the Chappell-Hadlee Series in Australia but said he was “dead keen to play the Indians” when they tour New Zealand in February-March. “My recovery is progressing positively,” he said. “It’s slowed down a little bit in the last week or so but that’s probably to be expected because I had some quite dramatic improvements in the first week or two. Unfortunately, I can’t give an indication of when that date will be.”I won’t be going over to Australia next week. I’ve still got a fair bit to get through before I declare myself fit and get back into domestic cricket. Right now if I had to make a call, I’d say I’m pretty confident I will be back in time to play India.”Oram’s frequent absence from the team drew criticism from former team-mate Craig McMillian who suggested that the allrounder was “wrapped in cotton wool”. Oram said such comments fired him up to perform better.”It does annoy me a little bit,” he said. “I said a while ago when there was a little bit of controversy about me being injury-prone that I don’t mind criticism when I bowl poorly or bat like crap. Things that happen on the park are open for scrutiny. But it’s when your character and integrity gets called into play that it gets annoying.”People don’t have a clue what sacrifices I’ve made to get where I am and the hard times I’ve been through. To be injured and unable to follow through on all the hard work and sacrifice, it’s so deflating.”

Pakistan will play Australia in five one-day matches at neutral venues in the Gulf, the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has said

Cricinfo staff06-Feb-2009Pakistan will play Australia in five one-day matches at neutral venues in the Gulf, the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has said. The first two ODIs will be played in Dubai, while the remaining three will be played in Abu Dhabi.”We have decided to play the five-match one-day series against Australia in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from April 24 to May 7,” said Butt. “The teams will then return to Dubai for the Twenty20 international.”Australia had cancelled their tour of Pakistan in the wake of the heightened violence in March 2008, and were expected to visit the country separately for the ODI and Test series this year. Venues in England, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai had been considered as alternatives in a discussion with Cricket Australia officials on the sidelines of an ICC executive board meeting late last month.The PCB had turned down the offer to stage the matches at a neutral venue when CA initially expressed their reluctance to tour last year. Butt said there was a possibility of hosting the Test series against Australia at neutral venues as well. “If Australia do not play the Tests in Pakistan there is a possibility of playing the Test series in England,” he said.Australia have not played in Pakistan since 1998. In 2002, due to security concerns, a three Test series between the two sides in Pakistan was shifted to Colombo and Sharjah.

Dean Windass feels Callum Hudson-Odoi will pay the price after failing to secure a deadline day switch to Leicester City.

The Foxes enquired about the availability of the Chelsea winger as Brendan Rodgers looked to strengthen his squad hours before the transfer window closed.

German giants Borussia Dortmund were also hoping to complete a loan deal, with Hudson-Odoi open to going elsewhere in search of regular minutes, but he has remained at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea were unwilling to sanction a switch.

It comes despite the 20-year-old failing to make a single Premier League appearance so far this season.

Hudson-Odoi’s only involvement this term has come in the form of starting the UEFA Super Cup clash with Spanish side Villarreal, which the Blues won following a nail-biting penalty shoot-out last month.

With Hudson-Odoi’s first-team opportunities seemingly limited, former Premier League striker Windass believes Leicester would have been the ideal destination for the exciting winger to rediscover his best form.

He exclusively told Football FanCast: “He needs to play and, as a young boy, he can’t just sit on the Chelsea bench. He isn’t going to play or get minutes.

“He needed to go out and play and Brendan would have looked after him.

“He would have played for a top club in Europe and been a great signing for Leicester. I like him and think he is a strong boy.”

Andrew McGlashan presents the plays of the first day in Barbados

Andrew McGlashan in Barbados26-Feb-2009
‘You get a rhythm to your batting on any given day and I felt that if I continued being positive it was the best way for me to go in this instance’ © Getty Images
This doesn’t look like the worst of Tests to miss for a bowler, which could provide some solace for Steve Harmison. His omission surprised many, but the disappointment he felt may have eased as he watched Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook carve West Indies to all corners in the most benign of conditions. Cruising is a popular way to reach Barbados and the openers did just that for two sessions.This was England’s first double-century opening stand since Strauss and Marcus Trescothick added 273 at Durban in 2004, but runs alone aren’t going to be enough. They are the side that needs to win and all the talk has been about whether they can take 20 wickets. That is going to require hard toil from the four main bowlers whenever England have finished filling their boots.Opening batsmen have to deal with their fair share of hostile conditions where the ball is swinging and seaming, only to then watch when the middle order takes the glory. Today was their chance. Opening partnerships can do so much to set the tone of an innings and a match. When England found themselves 1-0 in the 2005 Ashes, Strauss and Trescothick came out all-guns blazing at Edgbaston, adding 112 before lunch to show Australia they wouldn’t be backed into a corner. As Duncan Fletcher said in his recent column, the team were able to play that way because, despite defeat at Lord’s, they had the confidence gained from prolonged success.It is no coincidence that England’s decline in fortunes since 2005 can be traced to the loss of Trescothick. Injury to Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones, coupled with Harmison’s loss of form, have all been crucial, but the impact of losing Trescothick was immense. He gave the side impetus, but also had the ability to build Test centuries while allowing his partner – often it was Strauss – to play second fiddle.When Trescothick pulled out of the 2006-07 Ashes, Strauss tried to reinvent himself as the dasher, but two errant pull shots in Brisbane showed it was a game plan that didn’t suit. “I tried to do that against Australia in the Ashes and it didn’t go very well for me,” he said. “I think it’s more a case of assessing the wicket and assessing the bowlers then deciding the odds are in my favour. The more experienced you become as a batsman the better you are at judging that.”He perhaps felt forced into the new role by Cook’s style of play which didn’t (and still doesn’t) lend itself to quick scoring. It is why there has been a concern that the current pair are too similar to be an ideal opening combination. But new relationships need time to flourish and the captain and vice-captain are beginning to gel. The 229-run stand was their sixth hundred-plus effort since they were reunited at the beginning of the home series against New Zealand last year.What has marked the two most recent performances, here and in Antigua, has been the newest evolution of Strauss’s play. He showed at the ARG an aggression that hadn’t been seen since 2005, while at the same time remaining compact and using the shots he feels comfortable with. This innings was another free-flowing display, admittedly helped by inconsistent bowling.”You get a rhythm to your batting on any given day and I felt that if I continued being positive it was the best way for me to go in this instance,” he said. “The reality is that it is great to be playing with freedom here, but I personally believe you have to earn the right to play with that freedom and maybe the grafting innings I played last summer have given me enough confidence to play that way.”If it’s difficult to believe that this is same batsman who was dropped, that’s because he has emerged a very different character and his standing among England’s elite is rising by the day. He now has more hundreds than Alec Stewart managed in 133 Tests and the same as Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain managed in 100 each.Captaincy affects batsmen in different ways, but after the tough start at Sabina Park it appears to have brought Strauss out of his shell. Strauss circa 2007 or 2008 wouldn’t have dreamt of reaching his hundred with a six over deep midwicket. There’s also his one-day role to consider. He is the limited-overs captain for this tour by default, because the ECB didn’t want more upheaval, but he could yet have something to offer longer term. One captain is always preferable.His increased scoring rate has allowed Cook to maintain his own rhythm without the innings drawing to a halt. For someone trying to break his hundredless run, it is one less thing to worry about. And for 64 overs they dovetailed perfectly only to both fall when there was more to come; Strauss was playing well enough to reach a double, Cook was on the verge of that elusive century. But, as the cliché goes, if the team had been offered 229 at the start they’d have taken it.If the next few years work out how England hope, Strauss will lead the side through the current difficult times and in four years or so Cook will be ready to take over the reins. Nothing, in English cricket, is ever that simple but this can develop into a partnership of leadership and today they have both led from the front.