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An update has emerged on Leeds’ pursuit of Celtic defender Leo Hjelde, regarding the player’s thoughts on a potential move.

What’s the talk?

According to Football Insider, Leeds United have offered a contract to Celtic central defender Leo Hjelde, with his deal at the Scottish giants expiring next summer.

The report claims that he is interested in signing for the Yorkshire-based club, who believe he has huge potential to become a Premier League star in the future.

Bielsa will be buzzing

Bielsa will be buzzing with this news as it appears as though a transfer for Hjelde could be on the cards. The player wants to make it happen and Leeds are seemingly serious about completing a deal, given that they have already proposed a contract to him. Whether it happens this summer or not is a moot point as he is out of contract next year, which means that the Whites could bide their time and snap him up for a compensation fee.

Either way, Leeds would be bringing in a player with real potential to bolster the academy ranks. He would not be an addition with the first-team in mind immediately, allowing Bielsa to take his time with the defender and work with him on the training pitch with no expectations in the short-term. The centre-back only turns 18 next month and still has his entire career ahead of him, which Bielsa could love as he has the chance to help him fulfill his potential.

Earlier this year, Ross County boss John Hughes called him the next Virgil van Dijk and revealed that Leeds wanted him in January before the loan move to his club. He said:

“Leo is going to be the next Van Dijk – trust me on that.

“The quality he has shown, the physical challenge, playing real men’s football and standing up to it – it’s been a wonderful experience for Leo.

“Before he came, Leeds United were after him. I think he had to sign an extension to his contract for the loan to go through.”

Hjelde has already experienced first-team football at a decent standard. He played 11 games on loan under Hughes at Ross County in the Scottish Premiership, averaging a dismal WhoScored rating of 6.47. His performance levels at the age of 17 at senior level are nothing to read into, though, and it is more important that he gets the experience under his belt.

Therefore, if Leeds can get him in the current window then a loan move to a local Football League club where he could play regular first-team football whilst still being able to train with Bielsa two or three times a week could be the perfect scenario. This would allow him to get the first-team experience to develop his game whilst also still being able to learn from the Argentine head coach on the training pitch.

AND in other news, Leeds land boost in pursuit of “fantastic” wing wizard, he’d be an upgrade on Harrison…

Preview to the third Test between Sri Lanka and India, at P Sara in Colombo

The Preview by Sidharth Monga07-Aug-2008
With a top-score of 44 between them in eight innings, there is plenty to be discussed © Cricinfo Ltd
Match factsFriday August 8 – Tuesday August 12, 2008
Start time 10.15am (0445GMT)Big PictureSri Lanka v India has already made a strong claim to being called the Asian Ashes, as opposed to the contests between Pakistan and India who, over their last two series, produced some of the most unappetising Test cricket on pitches that didn’t deserve any better. The matches in this series have been far more exciting than the victory margins seem to suggest. The first Test witnessed the coming together of two spinners who look set to form the most fearsome bowling duo since McGrath-Warne. Till as late as the final two sessions and a bit of a see-saw second Test, one team took a lead of some sort, only to be pulled back even before they could feel comfortable.Not for the first time did Sri Lanka lay claims to invincibility at home, only for India to come back from the dead in the next Test. That’s raised the stakes for the third Test: India have not won a series in Sri Lanka since 1993, and Sri Lanka are looking for revenge for the 0-2 hammering they received when they last toured India. If the teams can continue from where they left off in Galle, we are in for some match.Form guide (last 5 Tests) Sri Lanka LWLWD (most recent first)
India WLWLDWatch out forMuttiah Muralitharan: Murali is not used to not contributing, and one of the key factors in India’s success in Galle was that he took only 5 for 200, three of which were tailenders’ wickets, after the damage had been done. He will look to make amends.The Fab Four: Similarly, the famed Indian middle order is not used to failing so consistently. Between them they have managed one half-century in 16 innings. Their response will be interesting: will they master or be mastered?Sehwag v Mendis: Two runaway stars of the series, both capable of turning a match around in a very short period. Without doubt Sehwag has been the best Indian batsman against Mendis, who has come across as a threat as big as Murali, if not bigger. Will they decide the series between them? Will Sehwag survive till Mendis comes on? If he does, will there be a repeat of Galle (76 in 83 balls) or the Asia Cup final (out second ball)?Team newsDinesh Karthik had done little behind the stumps in the first two Tests to inspire confidence in the bowlers and, with his captain among the bowlers to suffer, he may be axed in favour of Parthiv Patel, who last played a Test in October 2004. The rest of the line-up remains the same.India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly, 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Anil Kumble (capt), 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ishant Sharma.
© weather.com
Sri Lanka decided to stick on with Michael Vandort – 17 runs in three innings so far – but were not as kind to Nuwan Kulasekara, who has taken one wicket in the two Tests. They are yet to decide whether they to pick Thilan Thushara, the left-arm medium-pacer, or hand out a debut to Dammika Prasad, whose pace has been a talking point ever since he was added to the squad after the first Test.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Michael Vandort, 2 Malinda Warnapura, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Muttiah Muralitharan, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Thilan Thushara/Dammika Prasad.Umpires: Mark Benson and Rudi Koertzen. : Billy DoctrovePitch & conditionsThe pitch is likely to be hard and bouncy, a welcome news for all parties involved: pace bowlers, spinners, and the batsmen. But if the conditions are pacer-friendly, India stand a better chance of exploiting them. Scattered thunderstorms are forecast for the five days of the Test, but that is expected in August in Sri Lanka. The thunderstorms in the first two Tests were not enough to rob us of a result, and the teams will be hoping for the same here.Stats & Trivia Sri Lanka have not lost a match at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium ever since Test cricket returned to the venue in July 2002; they have won four and drawn one. This is also the ground where Sri Lanka played their first Test, and later recorded their first Test win. The last time India won back-to-back Tests was 19 matches ago – and that was the last and first match of two different series. Their previous back-to-back wins against the same opposition came against Sri Lanka in 2005-06 at home. The spinners have taken 51 of the 66 wickets to have fallen so far. Ishant Sharma leads the pace bowlers with five wickets, while Zaheer Khan and Chaminda Vaas have managed four each. Harbhajan Singh, who took his first away 10-wicket haul in the Galle Test, is 13 short of reaching 300 wickets. If he manages to reach the mark in this Test, this will be some comeback.

Southampton have been linked with a move for Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey recently, and it would be a real statement of intent by Martin Semmens if he could bring him to St Mary’s.

What’s the word?

According to 90min journalist Graeme Bailey, Southampton have joined the race to sign the 23-year-old winger this summer, with the likes of Aston Villa, Leicester City, Wolves and Everton also linked with the Jamaica international.

The report claims that the Bundesliga side would demand more than £25m for Bailey after his impressive performances in recent seasons and that Villa have not baulked at that fee, although it would be a huge signing by Southampton if they were to pay that amount to bring him in.

Would Bailey be a good signing for Southampton?

Ralph Hasenhuttl suggested ahead of the transfer window that Southampton’s budget meant that they would target players for £10m or less this summer, which suggests that they are unlikely to pay more than double that in order to prise Bailey away from the BayArena.

Southampton’s big-money signings in recent seasons have been less than successful, with the likes of Guido Carillo, Sofiane Boufal, Mario Lemina and Wesley Hoedt all sold for significant losses in recent years, which may well put them off the idea of breaking their transfer record for a player with no experience in the Premier League.

However, after a brief flirtation with relegation last season, Southampton have done little to strengthen their squad ahead of the new campaign, with the relatively unproven Romain Perraud arriving as Ryan Bertrand’s replacement at left-back. Theo Walcott has also joined on a permanent deal after spending last season on loan at St Mary’s, so you could argue that the Saints are no stronger than they were in the 2020/21 campaign.

Therefore, it would be a real statement of intent by Semmens and the Southampton board to go all-out for Bailey this summer, and his performances in the Bundesliga in recent seasons certainly suggest that he would be an excellent addition at St Mary’s.

Last season saw the pacey winger contribute nine goals and eight assists in 30 league appearances, averaging an impressive 7.26 rating from WhoScored for his performances, which was better than any Southampton player.

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431”]

Bailey is slowly moving on from his reputation as a wonderkid, following former Leverkusen coach Heiko Herrlich’s proclamation in 2017 that the Jamaican “can do anything”. He could prove to be a superb addition to Hasenhuttl’s squad, so Semmens should definitely consider bringing him to Southampton this summer, as it would be a huge statement of intent ahead of the new season.

In other news… Southampton look set to miss out on their next Sadio Mane as agent drops transfer update

Chris Martin has been ruled out of next month’s ODI series in Bangladesh due to a nagging hamstring injury

Cricinfo staff24-Sep-2008
New Zealand hope Chris Martin will be fit for the Tests against Bangladesh © Getty Images
Chris Martin has been ruled out of next month’s ODI series in Bangladesh due to a nagging hamstring injury. Martin was originally named in the limited-overs squad and while he is still aiming to be fit for the Tests that follow, his place in the one-day side will be taken by Michael Mason.Martin picked up the injury during while playing with Warwickshire this season. Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand team’s general manager, said Martin’s problem was not enough in itself to keep him off the park but for the long-term good he would end his stint with Warwickshire early.”He was able to fully contribute to their most recent four-day match,” Crocker said. “[But] we have come to the conclusion his longer term interests are best served by him cutting short his obligations at Warwickshire, returning home for full treatment and rehabilitation before hopefully being able to head to Bangladesh to take full part in the Test series.”Mason will join the squad in Bangladesh directly from India, where he is currently on tour with New Zealand A. New Zealand will arrive in the country next Tuesday before the three-match ODI series, which starts on October 9, and the two Tests that follow.

Frank McAvennie slammed Glasgow Rangers as the club continued to go to war with the SPFL over their sponsorship deal with car sales company Cinch.

The Lowdown: Gers oppose sponsorship deal

Earlier this summer, the SPFL secured Cinch as the Premiership’s title sponsor, with the deal said to be worth £8m.

However, the Gers have opposed the agreement and are refusing to feature the sponsor on their matchday shirt sleeves or on the advertising boards at Ibrox for their Premiership season opener against Livingston last Saturday (The Daily Record).

Gers chairman Douglas Park owns a car sales business, and the club have pinpointed issues with the Cinch contract. According to The Scottish Sun, Gers’ lawyers are adamant that they are within their rights not to comply and are refusing to back down.

The Latest: McAvennie slams Gers

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie slammed the Gers’ ongoing feud with Cinch. He said:

“If that’s what they want to do, pull them out and don’t let them have the money.

“What are they playing at? Rangers have to seriously think about the other teams. It’s so reckless.

“If Rangers won’t play ball with the sponsors then why would another sponsor come and give the league money?

“They want to fight everyone all of the time and make up their own rules.

“We saw it with the government earlier this year, they just want to argue.

“They think the whole world is against them.

“It’s so tiring. They should be cut off. If they don’t want the sponsor then fine, don’ give them the money.

“No special treatment.”

The Verdict: Bizarre

It does make little sense as to why the Gers have decided to strongly oppose this deal. There appeared to be little furore when the deal was announced in July, so why take this stance now when the season has started? The last thing Steven Gerrard will want is a distraction as the season kicks off.

As per The Daily Record, the Gers believe there are gaps in the contract which mean that they do not need to feature the sponsor. That may well be the case, but surely it would be better to enter into constructive discussions with the authority rather than take them on.

In other news, this Rangers ace is on the verge of a move to England.

The fourth ODI of England’s India tour, on November 23, has been shifted to Bangalore from Jamshedpur

Cricinfo staff29-Sep-2008The fourth ODI of England’s India tour, on November 23, has been shifted to Bangalore from the original venue, Jamshedpur, following concerns over the state of the stadium. The galleries at Jamshedpur’s Keenan Stadium are reportedly in bad shape, raising doubts about the safety of spectators.The Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) withdrew its hosting rights for the match last week, after the deadline set by the BCCI for the association seeking confirmation about hosting the match ended at 12 noon on Thursday, and the final decision to switch venues was made at the BCCI over the weekend.Tata Steel, which maintains the Keenan Stadium, said it regretted the JSCA’s decision. “It is indeed a pity that the JSCA has taken this hasty step without consulting the company, as the Tata Steel has always maintained that the request from JSCA is ‘under active consideration’ and its engineers’ report on the status of the galleries was awaited,” said a statement from the company.Named after John Lawrence Keenan, a former general manager at Tata Steel, the stadium was built in 1939 at an estimated cost of just Rs 25,000. The Keenan Satdium last hosted an ODI between India and England in April 2006.

Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe is likely to cost Aston Villa big money if they decide to make another move for him next summer, says the Express & Star’s Luke Hatfield.

Villa tried to bring Smith Rowe to Villa Park this summer but failed in their attempts, watching two bids, including one worth around £30m, get rejected by Arsenal.

It was not too much of a blow for the Midlands club, however, who have still managed to bolster their attacking options in this transfer window, though they have lost Jack Grealish.

Wingers Leon Bailey and Emiliano Buendia were both brought in from Bayer Leverkusen and Norwich City respectively, which should help soften the blow Grealish’s move to Manchester City has dealt.

And in the near future, Hatfield believes manager Dean Smith could try to improve his attack even further by making another play for Smith Rowe, though the Aston Villa journalist has warned any deal is unlikely to be cheap.

“The fee’s likely to be much, much higher,” Hatfield told FFC. “Considering they already had two pretty big bids turned down this summer when they were in the middle of a contract dispute so to speak, you’d imagine the fee would be incredibly high next summer. But it might be one they revisit.”

Villa seemed like they desperately wanted Smith Rowe going into this season, so it certainly would not be a surprise to see them target the English youngster again.

Michael Hussey, the Australian middle-order batsman, has regained his place at the top of the ICC Test batting rankings after his century in the first Test in Bangalore

Cricinfo staff14-Oct-2008
Michael Hussey averages 69.50 after 26 Tests © Getty Images
Michael Hussey, the Australia middle-order batsman, has regained his place at the top of the ICC Test batting rankings after his century in the first Test in Bangalore. He briefly held the No. 1 spot during Australia’s tour of West Indies in May this year but had slipped to third at the start of the series in India.His hundred, coming in his first Test in India, along with Ricky Ponting’s century, helped Australia gain a 70-run first-innings lead. Ponting remained fourth in the rankings, despite scoring his first hundred in India.Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden and Rahul Dravid lost two places each. Sachin Tendulkar, who needs 15 more to break Brian Lara’s record for most Test runs, slipped by one to No. 24.Zaheer Khan and Mitchell Johnson, two fast bowlers who fared well in the Test, moved up the table. Zaheer, who took six wickets and was the Man of the Match, jumped seven places to No. 11 in the bowlers’ rankings, while Johnson, who got five, moved six places to No. 34. Ishant Sharma improved his position marginally, from No. 41 to No. 40.

ICC Rankings – Test batsmen Rank

Name

Country

Rating

1M.E.K. HusseyAUS8992S. ChanderpaulWI8903K.C. SangakkaraSL8864R.T. PontingAUS8845 Mohammad YousufPAK8806D.P.M.D. JayawardenaSL8377K.P. PietersenENG8298 Younis KhanPAK7999M.L. HaydenAUS79610J.H. KallisSA774Top 100

Test bowlers Rank

Name

Country

Rating

1M. MuralidaranSL8952S.R. ClarkAUS8603D.W. SteynSA8474B. LeeAUS7865M. NtiniSA7606R.J. SidebottomENG7387 Shoaib AkhtarPAK6847W.P.U.J.C. VaasSL6849S.E. BondNZ66810M.S. PanesarENG653Top 100

Manchester United have been linked with a move for Bayern Munich midfielder Corentin Tolisso as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to bolster the club’s engine room.

What’s the story?

According to German outlet BILD, the Red Devils are interested in securing the 27-year-old’s signature this summer but are set to face competition from several potential suitors.

The report claims that Juventus, Arsenal and West Ham United are also keen on Tolisso after Bayern slashed their asking price to just €10 million (£8.5m).

Imagine him and Bruno Fernandes

Tolisso arrived at the Allianz Arena with a growing reputation following his £37m move from boyhood club Lyon back in 2017 and instantly settled in the Bavarian capital.

He bagged 10 goals and provided a further seven assists for his teammates in 40 appearances for Munich, playing a pivotal part as they secured the Bundesliga title.

However, after helping France claim the World Cup over the summer, Tolisso suffered a cruciate ligament injury in August 2018, limiting him to just four outings in the entire 2018/19 campaign.

The central midfielder has struggled to force his way back into the first-team picture at Bayern since, starting just 14 top-flight fixtures over the last couple of campaigns.

Having said that, Tolisso has shown glimpses of getting back to his best with some standout performances, notably against Atletico Madrid in last season’s Champions League group stage.

Speaking to media previously (via AZ), former Bayern boss Hansi Flick heaped praise on the box-to-box beast, praising him following an improved performance against the Spanish giants.

“You can tell during training that a burden has been dropped from him. That is extremely important for him because then he has a certain degree of relaxation,” said Flick.

“Then he can play with his very own class, which gives him more self-confidence. He is very strong. He has this quality, good finishes from the second row, but he also pits.”

If Solskjaer can help the Lyon academy graduate rediscover his best form on a consistent basis, then for just £8.5m, the Norwegian tactician could have a real bargain on his hands.

A combination of Bruno Fernandes and Tolisso in the middle of the park would be a pairing capable of striking fear into any Premier League defence next term, and therefore, football director John Murtough must swoop.

And, in other news…Man Utd plot big-money move for £54m-rated “phenomenon”, fans will surely be buzzing 

Peter Marron, the head groundsman at Old Trafford, will leave Lancashire at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities as a freelance consultant

Cricinfo staff31-Oct-2008
Michael Vaughan chats with groundsman Peter Marron ahead of the 2005 Ashes Test © Getty Images
Peter Marron, the head groundsman at Old Trafford, will leave Lancashire at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities as a freelance consultant .Marron, 53, has been at Old Trafford for three decades and has become one of the most respected groundsmen in the country. So highly regarded was he that in 2006 the county awarded him a benefit, an almost unprecedented award for a non player.”Peter has been thinking about this for sometime, and it’s something he and I have discussed at length over the past couple of months,” Lancashire’s chief executive Jim Cumbes said. “He’s been head groundsman here for 25 years, and there are things away from Old Trafford he would like to do, and felt if he didn’t do them now, he never would.”To my mind, he has been the best groundsman in the country for years. And I know he doesn’t win the top awards, but they tend to go to those with the flattest pitches, not necessarily the best cricket pitches! You just need to read the comments made by the England team and touring sides over recent years, and they are always full of praise for the pitches at Old Trafford.”He has just completed installing our new £600,000 start-of-the-art drainage system and outfield, and will be kept busy over the coming weeks overseeing the turfing and maintenance of this. It’s not the last we will see of him, as I fully expect him to be driving the re-orientation of the square when that takes place at the end of 2009, it’s just he won’t be here on a full-time basis.”On making the decision Peter Marron said; “Not many people can come to work each morning and honestly say they love their job, but I can. However, when you’ve been doing it for as long as I have, you get to a point when you need a new challenge and want to use your knowledge in a different capacity.”Lancashire and Old Trafford is a massive part of who I am. I’ve had the best and the worst of times whilst working here, and over the years some work colleagues have become my closet friends. But there is a big wide world out there, and you just know when it’s time to pass over the reins and try something new.”