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Newcastle United have reportedly already made an offer to Chelsea for Andreas Christensen.

The Lowdown: Contract up

The 25-year-old’s contract at Stamford Bridge is up in the summer, with no sign of a renewal as of yet.

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Given that he currently holds a market value of £31.5m according to Transfermarkt, it would present a real bargain for whoever is able to snap him up on a free transfer.

The Latest: Offer made for Christensen

As per FC Inter News, Newcastle have already offered a four-year deal to Christensen which is ‘economically improving’.

However, the Denmark international does not favour a move to the northeast at this moment in time, and Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan are all ready and waiting to pounce.

The Verdict: No-brainer for Newcastle

If the Tyneside club can attract a player of Christensen’s quality for free, then it is surely a no-brainer.

A Champions League winner with the Blues, along with many other accolades, the 25-year-old would bring an elite winning mentality which will be needed for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium’s lofty ambitions, and his age means that he could be a mainstay in the team for years to come.

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Described as ‘one of the best defenders in the world’ by Brentford manager and fellow Dane Thomas Frank, he is equally comfortable playing in defensive midfield too, having done so a few times for his country, so his versatility would also be a huge bonus to Eddie Howe at Newcastle.

In other news, NUFC are now in a three-horse race to sign this ‘stratospheric’ warrior

Tim Nielsen: “It’s the four best bowlers for the conditions we are faced with” © Getty Images

Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, has given Brad Hogg a Boxing Day boost by saying the Australian team has better balance when it has a spinner. Hogg is the next slow-bowling option following Stuart MacGill’s withdrawal for wrist surgery, but the case for playing four fast men has been considered by the coach Tim Nielsen.Hilditch said they would look at that option only if the wicket was suitable. The MCG drop-in pitch played low and slow in the Victoria-New South Wales Pura Cup game and a similar surface would further improve Hogg’s prospects.”Test cricket is generally better with a make-up of a quality spinner, particularly going into a third, fourth or fifth day,” Hilditch said in the Courier-Mail. “But I don’t think we’ve ever been adverse to the concept.”I don’t think it’s any secret that Australian cricket generally would prefer to go in with a spinner to give us the balance we need. Brad Hogg will do an excellent job if he is chosen.”Nielsen said Hogg had the best claims on a spot in the final XI because he was in the squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka. “That is an indication and you would expect he is the next cab off the rank,” Nielsen said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “But Hoggy needs to keep working hard.”It’s the four best bowlers for the conditions we are faced with. In the ideal set-up, we have got a frontline spinner and we would certainly like to have one in the squad, I’m sure, but we will have to sit down in Melbourne and see what the wicket looks like.”

SuperSport Series

A fine all-round performance from Heino Kuhn was the highlight of the Titans’ emphatic victory over the Dolphins by an innings-and-92 runs at Pietermaritzburg. Kuhn hit 216 in the Titans’ mammoth 623 for 6 to become only the third wicketkeeper in history to score a double-century and take five dismissals in an innings in the same first-class match, having earlier claimed five catches in the Dolphins’ first-innings 237. Maurice Aronstam and Martin van Jaarsveld also scored centuries at a quick pace to help the Titans establish a first innings lead of 386 and leave themselves with almost two days to bowl out the Dolphins. Despite a battling 98 by captain Ahmed Amla the result was never in doubt and the Dolphins were eventually dismissed for 294.A fine all-round performance from Robin Peterson was in vain when the Lions beat the Warriors by five runs at Johannesburg. Peterson’s 73 had given his side a chance of victory, but he was ninth out with24 still needed, and although Brent Kops and Lonwabo Tsotsobe took the score to 259, Kops’s dismissal left them an agonising five runs short. Peterson had previously kept his side in the match almost single-handedly. He took four wickets in the Lions’ first innings 256, anchored by a fine 95 from Neil McKenzie, and then was the only batsman to top 25, scoring 54 in the Lions meagre 158. Charl Langeveldt and Friedel de Wet shared nine-wickets between them for the Lions. Peterson claimed four more scalps to bring the Warriors back into the contest when they bowled the Lions out for 166 second time round, a total that owed much to de Wet’s feisty, unbeaten 43. 265 was needed for victory, but again Peterson was the only Warriors batsman to top 50 in the second innings, a sterling effort but not enough to bring victory.A superb display of fast bowling from Eagles bowlers Johan van der Wath and Ryan McLaren blitzed the Cobras and led their side to a 52-run victory at Bloemfontein. McLaren and van der Wath claimed four wickets apiece to skittle the Cobras for 107 and leave them well short of their target of 160. Honours were even after the first innings, the unfortunate Dean Elgar having been stranded three runs short of a maiden century in the Eagles’ 218, while Henry Davids made 76 in the Cobras’ 220. Only Rudolph got to 50 when the Eagles could muster just 161 in their second knock, and they looked to have blown their chances of victory. Their fast bowlers, however, had the last word.

Glenn McGrath was reprimanded for his behaviour for the first time during a Test match. © Getty Images

Glenn McGrath has been officially reprimanded for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his country’s third Test match against South Africa at Sydney.In a hearing after play on the fourth day, McGrath was found to have breached Level 1.4 of the ICC Code which relates to “using language that is obscene, offensive or insulting and/or the making of an obscene gesture” by Chris Broad, the ICC Match Referee.The charge was brought by on-field umpires Aleem Dar, Billy Bowden and the third umpire Bob Parry. The hearing was attended by Steve Bernard, Australian team manager, Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, Glenn McGrath and the on-field umpires.McGrath had Herschelle Gibbs dropped by Shane Warne from the first ball of the over, and Gibbs finished it with consecutive boundaries to frustrate the bowler, for which McGrath showed dissent.McGrath is the second Australian to be reprimanded in this Test match after Brett Lee was pulled up for showing dissent on Day 1.

Michael Papps: gave Canterbury a good start before things began to unravel© Getty Images

ScorecardKerry Walmsley and Tama Canning rocked the Otago top order, reducing them to 137 for 8 at one stage. Otago had won the toss and opted the bat, and despite the start, Warren McSkimming and Bradley Scott vindicated that decision. The two batsmen added 208 for the ninth wicket before McSkimming was bowled by Aaron Barnes for 111. Scott remained not out on 96, but with just one man for company on the second morning.
ScorecardMichael Parlane and Matthew Bell put Wellington comfortably on top in the match at Napier, adding 215 runs, Wellington’s highest partnership for the second wicket against Central Districts.Bell finished the day unbeaten on 114, while Glen Sulzberger was the most successful bowler, with 2 for 52 to his credit.
ScorecardCanterbury got off to a wonderful start at Gisborne, where they won the toss, chose to bat, and notched up 103 runs for the first wicket. But the opening partnership between the Papps brothers, Tim and Michael, was broken when Tim was caught behind off the bowling of Te Ahu Davis, and the innings unravelled thereafter. Michael Papps made 74, but Andrew Ellis, with 68 not out, was the only other batsman to hang in there. At close of play, Canterbury were 265 for 8, a far cry from where they had appeared likely to end up after the first third of the day.

Cricket Australia Code of Behaviour Commissioner Mr Alan Sullivan QC today reprimanded West Australian batsman Murray Goodwin for breaching Cricket Australia’s Code of Behaviour.Goodwin was charged by the Western Australian Cricket Association under Rule 9 of Section 1 of the Code for making detrimental public comment regarding the selection of the Zimbabwe Test team.The case against Goodwin, due to be held before a full hearing in Sydney tomorrow (Saturday 1 November) was brought forward after Goodwin advised of his intention to plead guilty.Mr Sullivan was asked to determine the question of penalty, if regarded as appropriate.Mr Sullivan found Goodwin’s comments were inappropriately timed and were potentially harmful to the interests of cricket.In handing down the verdict Mr Sullivan took into account Goodwin’s prior record and his genuine regret in making the comments.He considered that Goodwin intended no malice in the comments he made.WACA CEO Mrs Kath White, who brought the charge against Goodwin, said it was now time to move forward."It is regretful that this had to happen," Mrs White said."In my view Murray’s comments, inadvertent though they may have been, called other players’ abilities into question."We look forward to moving on and putting this matter behind us. I hope Murray can have a successful season for the Retravision Warriors."The reprimand means Goodwin is available to represent the Warriors in Sunday’s ING Cup clash against New South Wales at North Sydney Oval and the corresponding Pura Cup fixture beginning at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday 4 November.

The dateline might have changed but there wasn’t too much difference in the look of the scoreline as openers Justin Langer and Matthew Haydencombined to hand Australia early command of the Third Test against South Africa in Sydney today.Exactly as they had been through the final five months of 2001, Langer (126) and Hayden (105) were emphatically on song at the start of 2002,hoisting Australia toward a mark of 5/308 by stumps on the match’s opening day.In adding 219 for the opening wicket after captain Steve Waugh had won the toss on another warm morning in hazy, bushfire-charred Sydney, thepair remarkably raised a fourth double century stand for the summer. It now means that no opening pairing in the annals of Test cricket hasregistered more partnerships in excess of the 200 mark. And there certainly hasn’t been any in history that has scored as many within the space ofjust nine appearances as a combination.The home team’s position was weakened nonetheless when a hard-working attack hit back to claim all five of the day’s wickets in the final session.It was in that period that Hayden edged a Shaun Pollock (2/64) delivery to slip and Langer played off bat and pad to silly point fieldsman NeilMcKenzie from the bowling of the sparingly used Nicky Boje (1/25). In between those dismissals, Ricky Ponting (14) – not the first time in thisseries – was run out after Langer had pushed a ball to cover and set off the stroke. Later, Steve Waugh (30) also succumbed, beaten as he playedoutside the line of a Pollock off cutter with the second new ball. And Mark Waugh (19) then complicated matters in the very last over, perishing ashe cut errantly at Allan Donald (1/64) and edged a catch to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.Yet Langer and Hayden’s efforts ensured that this was again a day largely owned by Australia.There was a nervous period for the twin left handers through the opening half-hour as both Pollock and Donald extracted notable seam movementwith the new ball. Langer’s outside edge, in particular, was beaten more than once and he later played two shots over the slips cordon and onethrough it in the air.Accordingly, it wasn’t an opening partnership based on the sort of total domination of the attack that has characterised some of their previousefforts. But it was pretty darn impressive all the same.Langer’s 12th Test century – and an astonishing fourth for the 2001-02 summer alone – was typically full of well-crafted strokes, many of themreleased from off the back foot.For its part, Hayden’s seventh Test century – also a fourth for the season – was raised more slowly and its arrival was not accompanied by quite thesame degree of exuberance. But it was similarly punctuated by a series of powerful strokes, with one crunching cover driven boundary off Donaldbefore tea even staking claim to be classed as the shot of the entire Test summer.Through a wretched middle session, the South Africans’ woes were further compounded as Boeta Dippenaar’s penchant in this series for ending onthe wrong side of catches continued. With the total at 168, Dippenaar dropped a comfortable waist-high offering at square leg as Hayden (on 68)miscued a sweep at Claude Henderson (0/28). Therein it extended a run of misfortune that has seen the young South African spill three chances inthe series and fall to three barely conceivable catches when it has come his own turn to hit balls in the air.Worse was to come just before tea when Boucher failed to grasp an outside edge as Langer – on 102 – pressed half-forward at Boje.Confirmation from national selector Graeme Pollock on ABC Radio that the team originally chosen to play in the match was vetoed overnight by the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) failed to ease the sense of calamity either.The UCBSA adopts a policy that at least one coloured player should always be part of its eleven, and accordingly chose to supplement Herschelle Gibbs’ presence with the inclusion of young all-rounder Justin Ontong in the side ahead of batsman Jacques Rudolph.But it still represented something of a shock move, albeit that Ontong was by no means the Proteas’ worst player on a day when he bowled two tidy overs and orchestrated the departure of Ponting.

Singapore inningsIn the match played at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) ground Karachi, Singapore batted first and were all out for 115 runs.The opening pair of Zeng Penchun and Sidarth Verma provided the team a solid start of 54 when Sidarth was out after scoring 27 runs with the help of two 4s. The 2nd wicket fell immediately when Anand Sanrthanam was run out for a duck. Except for Zeng Renchun who scored a steady 21 and Nishant (11 not out) no other batsman could hold the crease with confidence.The whole team was thus out for 115 runs in 34 overs. The UAE bowlers being too wayward bowled 18 wides in a total of 30 extras. Aamir Shahzad was however, the most successful bowler for clinching 4 wicket for 24 runs.UAE inningsUAE had a moderate target of 116 runs to win the match. They had a fantastic start with Aamir Husain (28) and Aamir Shahzad (45) mounting the score to 66 when the first wicket fell. Both of them hit 3 boundaries each during their stay at the crease. In 20 overs UAE was at 79 for the loss of 2 wickets.Nidike Kiran who came to bat at no.4 played an excellent innings of 22 not out with 4 hits to the boundary. He received sound support from Mohammad Usman who also remained not out with 10. Both of them raised their team’s total to 119 for the loss of 5 wickets in 30 overs. Anand Santhanam took 3 wickets for 38 runs. UAE defeated Singapore by 5 wickets.

New Everton boss Frank Lampard has already brought through a number of youth team players despite his relatively short time spent as a head coach after stints at Derby County and Chelsea.

While Anthony Gordon has already made giant strides this season and is showing great potential, Lampard will likely also be looking to find his new Mason Mount, someone who can create from deep but also play across the attacking-midfield positions too.

Bristol City’s 18-year-old sensation Alex Scott could be that man, after showing some incredible development across this season and turning into one of the Championship’s finest prospects – the same league where Lampard gave Mount his first minutes in English league football.

What’s the news?

According to the Daily Mail, Everton are just one team on a lengthy list of clubs interested in acquiring the teenager’s services in the summer, including the likes of Tottenham, West Ham and Leicester.

While Spurs are now believed to be the ‘front-runners’ for Scott’s signature, the possibility of working with Lampard, who himself was a world-class complete midfielder that loved to attack, would surely be tempting.

Lampard must develop youth

Dubbed the “the next Grealish” by a prominent West Ham insider also reporting the story, the England U19 international is a technically sound and versatile player, who has scored three goals and set up another two in 28 appearances, as well as winning over 50% of his duels across the season and averaging around 74% for completed passes.

Thus, with his ability to score and create consistently, comparisons with Mount start to emerge, someone that Lampard played a pivotal role in developing.

Should Scott choose the Toffees in the summer, he could well become another one of the top young players in the Premier League under the stewardship of the former Chelsea legend.

Furthermore, with the prospect having a market valuation currently at £270k (albeit Bristol City are likely to demand far more than that), not only could Everton gain a future profit, but the signing could facilitate the sales of current deadwood like Fabian Delph and Andre Gomes, who are on far too high wages for the amount of playing time they receive.

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The likes of Marc Guehi, Tariq Lamptey and Fikayo Tomori were all developed by Lampard during his time at Stamford Bridge, and have since made permanent moves to top tier clubs for a combined £45m.

If Lampard could replicate this at Everton, who have had close runs with financial fair play troubles this season, he would not only surely re-establish himself as one of the top up-and-coming managers in world football, but also potentially begin to turn things around at the club.

In other news: Everton’s “embarrassing” £34m mistake could now finally be revitalised under Lampard

QPR continued their superb start to the season with a comprehensive win over Wolves at Molineux to send Neil Warnocks side up to ninth in the Premier League.

Skipper Joey Barton opened his account for the R’s with a goal in the eight minute which was quickly followed by a strike by Alejandro Faurlin leaving the Wolves fans speechless.

DJ Campbell completed the scoring after half time to put a smile on manager Neil Warnocks face as his side made it four points in six days after Monday’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle.

The visitors were quick out of the blocks with Shaun Wright-Phillips clearly relishing his new role at the club. He was afforded room to run at the Wolves defence all afternoon and was heavily involved in the opening goal.

As the home side’s defence backed off he laid the ball into Barton’s path and the former Newcastle midfielder had no hesitation in lashing the ball past Wayne Hennessey from the edge of the area.

Faurlin doubled that lead two minutes lated crashing a 20-yard effort into the top corner with Hennessey unable to keep it despite getting a hand to the ball.

Mick McCarthy’s side responded well and captain Karl Henry struck the post amid protest for a penalty whilst Stephen Ward went close after he found some space in the Rangers area.

But they never managed to make the breakthrough and a Barton inspired away side as DJ Campbell wrapped up victory with three minutes left.

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The goals are flying in around the Football League today and it took no fewer than 10 minutes for the six Goaldash numbers to come flying in.

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