According to Sky Sports, Sunderland have made an enquiry about defender Jack Baldwin, who is the skipper of League One rival Peterborough United.
What’s the Story?
Sunderland are making enquiries into the availability of the defender, after Chairman Stewart Donald revealed on Twitter that he was hoping to name four new signings for the Black Cats in the coming weeks.
The Wearside club do face competition if they want to sign the defender, with Bolton Wanderers thought to be trying to tie up a deal for Baldwin. Peterborough United, though, will likely try and fight off interest to keep hold of their man.
Would Jack Baldwin be the right fit for Sunderland?
Baldwin would come to the club with precious League One experience, and will understand the level well. He would also bring valuable versatility, able to play at centre-back, right-back and in midfield, and Transfermarkt value him at just £360k – although Peterborough could demand significantly more than that.
At 24 years of age, Baldwin would also join the club approaching his prime. However, the defender Baldwin spend a significant portion of last season out due to injury. With a long season ahead, Jack Ross will need all his players at his disposal if he is to achieve his objectives at Sunderland.
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A new approach
Signing Baldwin would be a shrewd move from Ross. It would signal a move away from the old Sunderland, bringing in rejects from Premier league clubs and unknown quantities from abroad, which has seen them make some awful moves in previous transfer windows. With John O’Shea on his way out of the club, Ross will need a leader at the back to replace the Irishman, and Baldwin looks a solid replacement.
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[brid playlist=”4766″ player=”12034″ title=”World Cup 2018″]
The Premier League is a natural stomping ground for the world’s elite, the players that dazzle and delight before picking up a colossal pay packet at the end of the week.
But what about those individuals that are simply there to ‘do a job’?
You know the ones, the defenders who will launch the ball into the stands at the first sign of danger, or the strikers who are only useful when placed inside the 6-yard box. The manager’s favourites, the cult heroes in the heart of the supporters and those who give us all hope that we could still make it as a professional.
With this in mind, I have decided to collate the top 15 ‘limited’ performers still grazing on the grass of the Premier League.
Click on Shola Ameobi to see the full list
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Having clinched the signing of Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City for a deal believed to be in the region of £5m, Tottenham clinched their most important piece of business of the entire summer, so with that in mind, is it all starting to come together at White Hart Lane?
The short answer is ‘maybe’, and while I’m not trying to be facetious (it just comes naturally), there are still a lot of incomings and outgoings to contend with as Daniel Levy seeks to get the best bang for his buck, while new boss Andre Villas-Boas attempts to make his mark on the side he inherited from predecessor Harry Redknapp.
Michael Dawson, somewhat surprisingly, looks as if he’s heading towards the exit door after being deemed surplus to requirements by the Portuguese boss for being too slow and cumbersome. While these are of course legitimate criticisms of Dawson, given the Ledley King had retired before the start of pre-season, he was the club captain elect and while Jan Vertonghen and Younes Kaboul looked the first-choice pairing, it’s a shock that both Steven Caulker and William Gallas are preferred at the moment.
QPR and Stoke are the teams in for him and the £8m mentioned seems a fair fee for a 28 year-old with past injury problems, but it’s still an extremely bold move from Villas-Boas and a great show of faith in Caulker, who spent last year on loan to huge success at Swansea.
Elsewhere, Danny Rose looks as if he’s edging towards a loan move to Sunderland as Kieran Richardson seeks a move further south, while Tom Huddlestone has been made available for loan, with Stoke again interested, not to mention the fact that David Bentley, Jermaine Jenas and Giovani Dos Santos are thought to be available for transfer. That’s a hell of a lot of activity left to potentially go through in just over a week, particularly when you bear in mind that Tottenham did come fourth last season, after spending most of it in third place.
There’s also the giant elephant in the room that is this summer’s most repetitive transfer saga involving Luka Modric’s move to Real Madrid, which looks set to be completed later this week. Replacing the Croatian playmaker will be of paramount importance and the fees mentioned range from £24.5m to £39.5m, which more than anything, just highlights that while nobody really has a clue, that the level of negotiation taking place is of a reasonably high risk level as we edge closer to the end of the transfer window.
Nevertheless, the arrival of Adebayor was a much-needed signing and even with Villas-Boas tinkering the the club’s style and how they press off the ball and higher up the pitch, he is certainly more suited to the lone striker role than Jermain Defoe is, despite a decent goalscoring display in their opening day defeat away at Newcastle. The Togolese forward finished last campaign with 17 goals and 11 assists in the league and he neatly threads the play together well, while simultaneously acting as a focal point for their attacks and his return is a welcome one.
While I don’t buy into the criticisms of chairman Daniel Levy, for the way the club is run is extremely responsible and prudent,Tottenham have been left in a position where they are conducting most of their business after the start of the season, which is far from ideal. Adebayor, much in the same way that Robin van Persie at Arsenal, hasn’t had much of a pre-season to speak of and the deal has taken, partly due to Adebayor’s outlandish request that the transfer fee be paid to him directly, a full two months later than everyone initially though and their progress, in the short-term at least, may still be hindered.
Porto midfield Joao Moutinho has been heavily linked with the club when Modric departs, but given their stance over Chelsea’s pursuit of Hulk, the club are known to be tough negotiators and Portuguese international could cost as much as £30m, but at 25 years-old, he would represent a sound long-term purchase for the future.
There had been rumours that the club had targeted Roma midfielder, the hugely talented Miralem Pjanic as a cheaper alternative, but the player’s agent Michele Gerbino had this to say on the proposed £12m deal, telling reporters: “Tottenham made a move for him, but both Roma and Pjanic thanked them for their interest and politely declined the offer. This is not the time to move or consider any other offers. The lad has tied himself to this project and first of all wants to do well at Roma. Besides, the club locked him down. Basically, he will not be moving. Pjanic had a very positive year, adapting easily to Serie A and you can see that from how quickly he learnt to speak Italian. He’s very happy at Roma.”
With Huddlestone and Jenas both looking to be moved on and with Scott Parker still injured, the club need to get somebody in to replace Modric and Gylfi Sigurdsson, as some may think, was never bought as his replacement as he plays a lot higher up the pitch, merely to supplement the existing options within the squad.
Some strength in depth could also be needed out wide to compliment the existing duo of Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale. Both are key to the shape of the side and whenever one is injured, the entire balance is affected, with Adam Johnson and Willian targeted. The fact that Johnson is available now for a much more reasonable fee of around £10m, as opposed to the ridiculous £15m mooted earlier in the summer, and that he’s already adjusted to the Premier League could see him preferred.
So where else do the club need to strengthen? Up front, with youngster Harry Kane still third-choice, they could still do with another striker, but Leandro Damiao’s price in negotiations with Internacional has fluctuated wildly and it seems as if the club are trying to nail jelly to a wall with that one.
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They also require a new goalkeeper eventually too, although it looks as if they are going to persists with 41 year-old Brad Friedel surely in his final year at the club, maybe even his career, but they’ve so far buckled at Lyon’s £15m valuation on Huge Lloris – it’s not a top priority as a replacement for Modric and another striker perhaps are, but it’ll need addressing sooner rather than later, with neither Gomes or Carlo Cudicini anything more than back-up now.
It’s strange that so close to the end of the transfer window, that the club is still in such a state of flux with concerns to their transfer activity. The next nine days represent a pivotal point in their season both on and off the pitch and if they manage to conclude all of their business in that time, I see no reason why they can’t finish in the top four again this season, but at the moment it’s a big ‘if’, even if the Adebayor deal is a step in the right direction. The current top eight, the majority of teams are in a period of transition, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea the main example, and while Tottenham certainly are themselves, they appear to have more potential at the moment for future deals, which could change where they ultimately finish up by the end of the campaign.
Ex-Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Jerome Rothen believes that Arsenal target Edinson Cavani will leave the French club before long.
The Uruguayan striker has been linked with numerous moves away from the Parc des Princes over the course of 2014 – despite only signing for PSG last year – with the Gunners having been mooted as a potential destination.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have also been linked with him, but Arsenal are rumoured to be the most interested party, even though Arsene Wenger has tied Olivier Giroud down to a new long-term contract and snapped up Danny Welbeck in a £16m deal.
WANT MORE? >> Arsenal transfer news | Latest transfer news
Cavani was a target for the Londoners over the summer, yet he elected to remain in Paris in a bid to battle for a central striking berth.
However, after just a few months of the new season he is believed to be unhappy once again due to being played on the wing to accommodate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Rothen – who made over 130 appearances for the Parisians during his spell there – feels that it’s only a matter of time before the forward leaves:
“He can still succeed in Paris, but his performances will be more or less the same. Everything depends on the tactical choices of Laurent Blanc. However, I can’t see him staying long-term in Paris,” he told Le 10 Sport.
“If he reiterates his desire to leave, the club will not keep him. Especially if he has the same performances as last year – the directors won’t necessarily be satisfied.”
“If Cavani considers himself a star in the team, it could be a concern because, in Paris, it’s Zlatan and then the rest. They must deal with Zlatan, who is a player beyond the norm,
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“For me, Cavani is not among the great attackers, like Ibra, Messi or Ronaldo. He’s a player who needs others and will not decide something with a bit of class, an individual moment.”
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This was supposed to be a season of opportunity for Tottenham, a genuine chance to push on and start challenging with the very best. But as is so often the case with Spurs we are frustratingly back to square one. This is a club that enjoys false dawns like no other, a rollercoaster ride between cynicism and belief that more often than not ends in disappointment.
Spurs’ Premier League top four challenge is in tatters. Whilst Spurs have crumbled under the pressures the sides around have shown the resilience required and it would now take something remarkable for the North Londoners to get back on track.
If the rumours are to believed Sherwood wont last out the summer at Spurs, with a number of names already being lined up as his replacement. Some are willing to write off these final few months and just start from fresh next season, but are they right?
Spurs may be in turmoil but they are also on the cusp of actually achieving something in the Europa League. A European tie against Benfica was the kind of thing to capture the imagination in years gone by for Spurs, but this season it seems to have approached with a degree of animosity. With the league as good as gone it is time for Spurs to shift their focus to Europe and start taking this competition seriously.
The obsession with 4th place has become harmful for Spurs, a club that is losing track of what it is all about and forgetting what made it great in the first place. European football is key to Spurs, and it is high time that fans echoed the words of the late great Bill Nicholson and cherished it once more:
“It’s magnificent to be in Europe, and this club – a club like Tottenham Hotspur – if we’re not in Europe…. we’re nothing. we’re nothing.”
Maybe I’m being a little nostalgic here, a sentiment long lost perhaps. But this is definitely something that still resonates with Spurs fans on European nights and something that needs to be rekindled once again. Garry Mabbutt who played for the club the last time they lifted the UEFA Cup was quick to laugh off those that discredit the competition:
“People have spoken about the different value of competitions, it’s nonsense,” he said.
“Footballers want to win every single competition they’re playing in, whether it’s the Capital One Cup or the Europa League. Look at the Man City team when they won the League Cup.
You look at Vincent Kompany when he lifted that trophy, the look on his face – was that the look of someone who thinks we shouldn’t really be here? No. They won the trophy; they outplayed other teams to win it. For them, the players and the supporters, it was a fantastic day.”
“For any Spurs fans if we could be in Turin at the Europa League final and see Michael Dawson lift that trophy at the end of the season that would be fantastic.”
The issue with the Europa League has always been its length; it is hard to generate excitement when the end goal seems so far away. But when it comes to the last 16 of the competition this should all change, especially when it is against one of the great European sides. Spurs will be looking for redemption for their controversial 1962 European cup defeat to Benfica, and the opportunity to prove themselves against one of the best on the continent once again.
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It isn’t all doom and gloom for Spurs. It may be time to forget about the Premier League, but in the Europa they genuinely have something to get excited about. Winning the competition would be the greatest achievement in the clubs recent history and would help Sherwood to prove his considerable list of doubters wrong.
A European night at the Lane will always be special; it is time for fans to realise this once more.
Charlton take on Middlesbrough this weekend in what is a huge game for both sides at the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table.
Neither side won last time out, though Boro had a much better time of things compared to the Addicks.
Whilst the men from Teesside were unlucky to not win against Nottingham Forest last night, Charlton were beaten comfortably by Huddersfield in a result that has really hit Addicks fans.
Even so, a raucous Valley could well put things right for the run in and fans will be hoping that the players help them generate such an atmosphere.
They’ll be working hard this week in training, then, and it seems as though Lee Bowyer is getting as hands on as possible with him taking part in yesterday’s session:
The former Leeds midfielder played at the highest level and probably still has a bit in the locker with Addicks fans reacting to it on Twitter.
Let’s take a look at the best of what has been said:
أعلن نادي الأهلي السعودي اليوم الأربعاء، التعاقد مع البرازيلي روبرتو فيرمينو لاعب ليفربول الإنجليزي السابق، بشكل رسمي خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية الحالية.
ونشر الحساب الرسمي لنادي الأهلي السعودي، فيديو يوضح فيه تعاقده مع مهاجم ليفربول ومنتخب البرازيل فيرمينو.
وكان عقد فيرمينو مع ليفربول قد انتهي بنهاية الموسم الماضي، وأصبح لاعباً حراً.
طالع | أهلي جدة يتواصل مع جوليان ناجيلسمان لخلافة موسيماني
وأشار النادي الأهلي أن مدة عقد فيرمينو مع الفريق حتي عام 2026.
يذكر أن فيرمينو يعد الصفقة الثانية للأهلي السعودي بعد ضم الحارس السنغالي إدوارد ميندي، حارس مرمى فريق تشيلسي.
ونجح أهلي جدة السعودي في العودة إلى الدوري السعودي الممتاز (دوري روشن) هذا الموسم بعد هبوطه في الموسم الماضي.
Si Señor 🫡🪄#WelcomeFirmino pic.twitter.com/jZGcJXCUon
— النادي الأهلي السعودي (@ALAHLI_FC) July 4, 2023
📸 الـديـنـاميـت فيرمينو يوقع رسمياً لـ #الأهلي 🇧🇷 🪄🫡#WelcomeFirmino pic.twitter.com/zwtfkx37ZA
Round-up of the Women’s World Twenty20 qualifiers played in Dublin on July 31 and August 1, 2013
ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2013
Ireland sealed their place in the 2014 World Twenty20 with a last-ball, two-run win against Netherlands•ICC/Ian Jacobs
Ireland booked their berth in the 2014 World Twenty20 by securing a two-run win against Netherlands in a closely fought third-place playoff at the YMCA Cricket Club in Dublin.The match, pushed to a reserve day due to heavy rains, went down to the last ball. Netherlands, chasing 137, needed a four to win, but Marloes Bratt could only parry straight down to long-on for a single. As a result of the victory, Ireland will join Sri Lanka and Pakistan in next year’s 10-team showpiece T20 event in Bangladesh.Ireland, put in to bat by Netherlands, had got off to a shaky start after opener Clare Shillington was caught behind by wicketkeeper Miranda Veringmeier off Braat in the first over. Ireland however hit back with an unbeaten 64-ball 72 from Isobel Joyce.Joyce struck six fours during her innings and put up a crucial 80-run second-wicket stand with Kim Garth to help take Ireland to 136 for 5 in 20 overs.Netherlands lost Veringmeier and Tessa van der Gun early in the chase, but recovered through a 53-run partnership for the third wicket between Helmien Rambaldo and Heather Siegers.Rambaldo scored 58 off 54 balls, with three fours, but Ireland managed to keep Netherland’s scoring rate from racing. Siegers was eventually run-out for 29, as Netherlands, facing an ever-increasing required-rate, needed 12 off the last over.Rambaldo remained at the crease, but failed to find a boundary, as seamer Laura Delany held her nerve in the final over to seal the win for Ireland.Sri Lanka and Pakistan will share the Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifiers title, after rain prematurely ended the qualifier final at the YMCA Cricket Club in Dublin. However, for ranking purposes, Sri Lanka finish the tournament as No. 1 as they had a better net run rate.Both teams had already booked their berths in the Women’s World T20 in Bangladesh next year after beating Netherlands and Ireland in the semi-finals respectively.Sri Lanka, electing to field, had restricted Pakistan to 112 in 20 overs, but as the rain began to pour down, the umpires had no choice but to postpone the final to a reserve day. Another pitch inspection in the morning of the reserve day ruled the outfield to be far too wet to play on, and the match was called off.Thailand defeated Zimbabwe by 25 runs (D/L method) in the Shield final in Dublin, after the match was cut short by rain.Somnarin Tippoch, the Player of the Match, spearheaded the bowling for Thailand, as they picked up wickets at regular intervals to restrict Zimbabwe to 85 for 6 in 20 overs. Zimbabwe could only manage two fours and one six throughout their innings, as Precious Marange, batting at No. 8, top-scored with 19.Chasing a modest total in wet conditions, openers Pundarika Prathanmitr and Tippoch put up an unbeaten 48 in seven overs before the match was called off due to rain and Thailand were way ahead of their par score of 23.The Shield third-place playoff between Canada and Japan was abandoned without a ball being bowled, despite the match being carried into the reserve day.
Uma briga nos arredores do estádio Alfredo Jaconi acabou com um torcedor do Grêmio baleado no último domingo. A vítima é Bruno Pisoni Garcia, conselheiro do Tricolor, que está internado no hospital, em estado grave.
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No site oficial do clube, o Tricolor divulgou uma nota oficial, onde lamenta o ocorrido e a briga entre organizadas.
Culpados
No meio da confusão, a Brigada prendeu três torcedores. O primeiro foi preso em flagrante. O segundo foi pego com porte ilegal de arma e o terceiro foi liberado por não ter ligação com o crime.
Confira abaixo a nota do Grêmio
‘O Grêmio FBPA vem a público lamentar mais uma vez que episódios como o ocorrido ontem durante o jogo Juventude e Grêmio, na saída do Estádio Alfredo Jaconi, envolvendo membros de torcidas organizadas, maculem o nome de nossa instituição, os princípios do futebol, e vão de encontro aos valores do Clube. O Grêmio baliza sua conduta de acordo com padrões éticos, sociais e morais, sobretudo no que diz respeito à preservação e segurança da vida humana.
Ao conselheiro Bruno Pisoni Garcia, nosso desejo de pronta recuperação.
O Grêmio aguardará o resultado da investigação e verificará providências, se for o caso, de condutas que infrinjam regulamentos do Clube’.
Após derrotar o Juventude por 6 a 0 o Grêmio entra em campo na noite desta quinta-feira com uma vantagem confortável. Ciente que a missão do adversário é dificílima, o técnico Renato Gaúcho já pensa na semifinal e vai a campo com um time reserva.
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Uma das novidades para o jogo da volta é o lateral-direito Léo Moura. O jogador de 40 anos fica com a vaga de Leonardo e admite que, mesmo com toda a experiência, está ansioso para o duelo.
‘Confesso a vocês que estou com frio na barriga para jogar novamente. Me sinto 100% recuperado. Meu pensamento é só de fazer um grande jogo. Estamos com vantagem, mas o meu principal objetivo é voltar, voltar bem. Me colocar à disposição. Ajudar os meus companheiros dentro de campo. Quero voltar a jogar, até pelo tempo que não atuo. Atuei só um tempo, quando me machuquei. Estou só esperando me dar camisa e jogar’, afirmou.
Lembrando que, o último jogo de Léo Moura foi contra o próprio Juventude na fase de classificação. Na 3ª rodada do torneio, o lateral-direito participou dos primeiros 45 minutos no triunfo de 3 a 0 do Tricolor.