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Looking to retain their Scottish Premiership crown next season, Celtic are reportedly plotting a move to sign a free agent who Brendan Rodgers loves this summer.

Celtic transfer news

The Bhoys' main focus at the start of the summer may well be keeping hold of their best players, including Matt O'Riley. The impressive midfielder has attracted a lot of interest over the last few months, and rightly so, but Celtic must do everything to either keep hold of the Dane or at least cash in for the right price and reinvest that money wisely.

Meanwhile, when it comes to incomings, the likes of Kieran Tierney have been linked with a move in what would be a sensational return. The Scotland international left the Hoops back in 2019, before injuries brought any progress at Arsenal to a crashing halt, and he was sent on loan to Real Sociedad last season. At a career crossroads, Tierney could now reunite with Celtic and Rodgers this summer.

He may not be the only player to reunite with his former club, either. According to Pete O'Rourke of Football Insider, Celtic are now plotting to re-sign Stuart Armstrong this summer following the end of his Southampton contract. A free agent, the midfielder could get the chance to make a sensational return six years after swapping Celtic Park for St Mary's.

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Earning a reported £65,000 a week, Armstrong may hope that teams like Celtic are in a position to pay his hefty salary next season, given that they'll be avoiding a transfer fee altogether.

What's more, it's certainly one that Rodgers could get behind, having lavished Armstrong with praise during his time at Celtic, saying (via the Daily Mail): "He’s technically very strong and tactically he understands now how to keep the ball. When I first came in, he gave it away too cheaply.

"He wants to progress to be a player, so we reinforced the possession element of his game. He’s also got a good range of pass, can shoot and is good on set-pieces. So he’s really developing very well and, to put on top of that, he’s a really bright boy."

"Strong" Armstrong can pick up where he left off

Celtic could be primed to win a fourth consecutive Scottish Premiership title next season under Rodgers – and with Armstrong and Tierney picking up medals, it would be quite the twist. Simply put, six years on from Armstrong's exit, not much seems to have changed at the top of Scottish football. And now he can pick up where he left off if he completes a return this summer.

Appearances

144

Goals

28

Assists

25

Titles

4

Now 32 years old, it would be fitting for the former Southampton midfielder to end his career at the club he's enjoyed most success, especially if he caps it off with even more titles in the Scottish Premiership. A free agent on the move, a Celtic return makes perfect sense for Armstrong this summer.

وافق مجلس إدارة نادي الزمالك برئاسة حسين لبيب، بشكل رسمي، على طلب نظيره النصر الليبي.

وكان النصر الليبي قد طلب من الزمالك خوض مباراة ودية في مباراة اعتزال خالد حسين نجم منتخب ليبيا وفريق النصر الليبي.

ومن المقرر أن تقام المباراة يوم 15 نوفمبر الجاري بين الزمالك والنصر الليبي.

وتولى أحمد سليمان عضو مجلس إدارة القلعة البيضاء والمشرف على الكرة الاتفاق على كافة تفاصيل المباراة. 

طالع أيضاً.. الزمالك يفوز على اتحاد الشرطة في الدوري المصري لكرة الطائرة

وتسافر بعثة الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي إلى ليبيا يوم الأربعاء المقبل على متن طائرة خاصة تم توفيرها من الجانب الليبي، لخوض المباراة الودية.

Crystal Palace are enjoying a spectacular end to the Premier League season under new coach Oliver Glasner.

The Austrian has seen his side beat Newcastle United, West Ham United and, most impressively, Liverpool in the last four games, and since he was appointed in February, the Eagles have lost just three league games, one of which was against Manchester City.

In all, things look to be on the up and up at Selhurst Park, and one of the players benefiting most from the club's change of fortune is French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, who is more than repaying his manager's faith in him and making the wages paid out to previous strikers at the club look absurd.

Jean-Philippe Mateta's Palace career in numbers

The Eagles first signed Mateta on an initial 18-month loan from Bundesliga outfit Mainz in January 2021 but made the deal permanent for around £9m in February the following year.

While the 6 foot 4 forward hasn't ever been particularly bad for the South Londoners, it would probably be fair to describe much of his time at Selhurst Park as underwhelming. Before this season, he had scored just ten goals and provided a single assist in 67 appearances.

However, this year, the 26-year-old has finally shown the kind of form that piqued Palace's interest in the first place, scoring 14 goals and providing five assists in 36 games, meaning that he's averaging a goal involvement every other game.

Mateta's record for Palace this season
Competition	Premier League	FA Cup	League Cup
Appearances	34	2	2
Goals	11	0	3
Assists	4	0	0
Goal Involvements per Match	0.44	0.00	1.5
All Stats via Transfermarkt

This reliable output has seen him become Glasner's first choice in attack, and he's started every game following the former Eintracht Frankfurt boss' arrival, more than justifying his £50k-per-week wages in the process, which isn't something that can be said about a former Palace striker and flop.

How much Connor Wickham cost Crystal Palace

The former striker in question is 31-year-old Connor Wickham, who joined Alan Pardew's Palace for around £9m in August 2015 following a mixed – if not underwhelming – season for Sunderland in which he scored six goals and provided one assist in 40 appearances.

Despite his mediocre return for the Black Cats, the Englishman was handed a relatively hefty wage packet worth around £60k-per-week, making him the joint third-highest earner at the club for the 2015/16 season, behind only Emmanuel Adebayor and Yohan Cabaye.

The Hereford-born forward's first season in red and blue was a mixed one. His return of six goals and three assists in 24 appearances wasn't too bad, but he would miss 17 games through injury, and unfortunately for all involved, he would continue to be plagued by injury for the rest of his time south of the river.

In all, the former Ipswich Town gem would miss a whopping 143 games across the six years he spent as a Palace player – including the season he spent on loan with Sheffield Wednesday – while scoring 11 goals and providing five assists in 50 appearances.

Therefore, when adding his £9m transfer fee to the £16.8m he earned in wages during the five seasons he spent at Selhurst Park, he cost Crystal Palace £25.8m, or £516k-per-appearance, £2.3m-per-goal, or £5.1m-per-assist.

The finances of Connor Wickham's Crystal Palace Deal
Transfer Fee	£9m
Wages (Total)	£60k (£16.8m)
Total Cost	£25.8m
Appearances	50
Cost per Appearance	£516k
Goals	11
Cost per Goal	£2.3m
Assists	5
Cost per Assist	£5.1m
Goal Involvements	16
Cost per Goal Involvement	£1.6m
All Stats via Transfermarkt & All Wages via Capology

Ultimately, while Wickham was undeniably unlucky when it came to injuries, it would be impossible to describe his time at Palace as anything other than a failure, and by extension, his transfer was a flop.

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Strong third-innings batting performances from Rahane and Suryakumar eventually set a stiff target for Haryana on a deteriorating pitch

Shashank Kishore11-Feb-2025

Shardul Thakur and Suryakumar Yadav celebrate the fall of a wicket•PTI

A maiden five-wicket haul from left-arm seamer Royston Dias studded Mumbai’s 153-run win over Haryana at Eden Gardens. Up next in the semi-final will be Vidarbha, in a repeat of last year’s final.Dias fittingly picked up the final wicket when he had Jayant Yadav top-edge a pull to Suryakumar Yadav at mid-on to complete his five-wicket haul. Shardul Thakur, who picked up 6 for 58 in the first innings, was the other contributor. He ended with a match haul of 9 for 84 as Mumbai completed a sensational turnaround from 94 for 6 on the first morning.Related

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Mumbai’s turnaround was orchestrated by Tanush Kotian and Shams Mulani, who put together 165 for the eighth wicket as they posted 315 in the first innings. Haryana responded solidly with Ankit Kumar, the captain, hitting 136, but from 218 for 3, Haryana collapsed to be bowled out for 301, thereby conceding a 14-run lead.Mumbai converted a slender lead into a match-winning one courtesy Ajinkya Rahane’s 108. The Mumbai captain put together a 129-run stand with Suryakumar, who ended a lean run of form with a typically robust 70 to set up the innings. Shivam Dube then made 48 to swell the lead further. Haryana were a bowler short for the entire second innings with seamer Ajit Chahal injured.Mumbai were poised for a lead of over 400, but collapsed on the fourth morning, losing 6 for 25 to set Haryana a 354-run target. They weren’t in the chase at any stage, stumbling to 60 for 5 very quickly. Opener Lakshay Dalal top scored with 64 while Sumit Kumar hit 62 as the pair briefly frustrated Mumbai with a 90-run sixth-wicket stand before the floodgates opened.

The difficulty of travelling at the moment was a key reason behind the pace bowler’s decision

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-20200:38

Matthew Hayden – RCB too reliant on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers

Kane Richardson hopes he gets another chance to appear in the IPL in the future but said he could not risk missing the birth of his first child following his withdrawal from the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for this year’s tournament.The limitations around global travel amid the Covid-19 pandemic was one of the key factors in Richardson’s decision, knowing that it would be difficult to jump on a plane from the UAE to get home to Australia at short notice. He has been replaced at RCB by Australia team-mate Adam Zampa.He will return home after the limited-overs tour of England and undertake the mandatory two-week quarantine before heading back to South Australia.ALSO READ: Key to Australia’s T20I success: Spin twins, and return of David Warner, Steven Smith“It’s always difficult to withdraw from a competition like the IPL, it’s the pinnacle domestic competition in the world but when I really sat down and thought about it’s definitely the right one with all that’s going on in the world at the moment,” he said.”Just the challenge around getting home on time for something as unpredictable as the birth of a child, I couldn’t risk missing that. It’s disappointing to miss the IPL but hopefully there are opportunities ahead for that and don’t think I’d ever be able to live with missing the birth of my first kid.”We’ve had five months of but hopefully cricket will always be there. The main thing for me is to support my wife, as cricketers we are away for a lot of things but there comes a time when you prioritise your family over anything else and at the moment in the world a lot of people are doing that.”Over the next couple of weeks Richardson’s focus is a return to international cricket for the first time in five months. He has been an integral part of Australia’s T20I side, forming the pace attack alongside Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, as they have climbed to No. 1 in the world and hopes to retain that role.Kane Richardson is his delivery stride•Getty Images

“Coming off five months of doing nothing you don’t really know until you start, but if look back over the last 12 months I’ve feel I’ve done the job so it’s been a really nice period for the T20 team,” he said. “You never feel 100% comfortable behind those guys but hopefully my name is called on Friday night.”Given the enlarged nature of the squad for this tour inside a biosecure bubble, Richardson is one of a host of pace-bowling options available including the uncapped Riley Meredith and Daniel Sams.”Everyone brings a little bit of variety and their individual strengths, think that’s what you want in a bowling attack. I feel like we have all bases covered,” Richardson said.Most of Australia’s batsmen have enjoyed time in the middle over the four intersquad warm-up matches played at the Ageas Bowl and Richardson picked out Marnus Labuschagne’s 50-ball century as the standout performance although he will find it tough to break into the T20 side.”T20 probably hasn’t been his format so to get the opportunity in that last game he showed a few people what he could do and probably some surprise in the field with the shots he was playing, was almost batting like a mini AB de Villiers someone said. That’s a fair endorsement.”

da spicy bet： Celtic took another step in the right direction as they attempt to win the Scottish Premiership title for the third season running with a 3-0 win over Hearts on Saturday.

da stake casino： The Hoops hosted the Jam Tarts at Parkhead and secured a comfortable victory in Glasgow, thanks to two first-half goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and a late penalty from Matt O'Riley.

Brendan Rodgers' side are bidding to ensure that they do not end the campaign without a trophy to show for their efforts, having been knocked out of Europe and the League Cup earlier this term, and have a huge match upcoming in the title race against Rangers next weekend.

One player who has played themselves into being undroppable for the Old Firm clash with his performances in recent weeks is forward James Forrest, who put in a fantastic display against Hearts.

James Forrest's performance against Hearts in numbers

The experienced winger was selected to line up on the left side of the attack on Saturday, with Daizen Maeda returning to the bench, and justified his selection with a fine showing.

Forrest, who was handed a match rating of 7/10 by the Daily Record, did not register a goal or an assist for his efforts throughout the afternoon against Steven Naismith's side but did offer quality in and out of possession.

The Scottish whiz had more touches (50) of the ball than Kyogo (20), who scored the first two goals for the Hoops, and this speaks to how frequently he got on the ball in an attempt to make things happen.

James Forrest

Vs Hearts (04/05/24)

Minutes played

84

Sofascore rating

7.6

Key passes

2

Dribbles completed

3/4

Duels won

7/11

Tackles won

3

Pass accuracy

86%

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the right-footed speedster created two chances, was efficient in his dribble attempts, and worked hard for the team defensively to make tackles in order to break up Hearts attacks.

Why James Forrest is now undroppable

The 32-year-old Celtic star has stepped up in recent weeks with a string of superb performances on the flank, which is why he should now be undroppable for Rodgers heading into the clash with Rangers at Parkhead next Saturday.

In his last seven appearances for the Bhoys in all competitions, Forrest has racked up an eye-catching four goals and one assist for the Scottish giants.

Maeda – the manager's alternative option for the role on the left of the front three – has scored four goals and provided two assists in 23 Premiership starts this season.

This suggests that the Scotsman could, given his recent output in front of goal, offer more than the Japan international in the final third, which is why he deserves to keep his place in the team.

Forrest, who has won 52% of his ground duels in the league, also works hard for the team, as shown by his three tackles won on Saturday, to go along with his attacking actions.

The veteran forward should, therefore, be undroppable after his latest impressive showing on the left wing, given his superior attacking statistics in comparison to Maeda and red-hot form in the final third.

After resigning, he alleged that ‘the current administration carries out their duties without transparency’

Andrew Fidel Fernando30-Jul-2020Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) vice-president K Mathivanan has quit his position with the board, as he and the remainder of the SLC executive committee made accusations of impropriety against each other. Jayantha Dharmadasa, a longtime administrator who failed in his bid to be elected SLC president in February 2019, has been appointed to Mathivanan’s vacated post.An SLC release stated that Mathivanan’s resignation had come “in the wake of the recent unanimous decision of the executive committee to hold an inquiry against Mr. Mathivanan for indulging in unethical practices in his capacity as an office bearer”.Mathivanan, the only office bearer elected from outside the Thilanga Sumathipala-backed faction at the most-recent SLC polls, was understood to have had a deteriorating relationship with several others at the board, over the past year. The ethics inquiry is believed to have been about leaks to media – allegations Mathivanan denies.Following his resignation, Mathivanan himself issued a release alleging that “the current administration carries out their duties without transparency and integrity in such a manner which makes it impossible for me to remain in such a set up”. Mathivanan said that the board had made “unsavoury decisions” despite his objections, and had also failed to provide him with “notice of meetings, with the agenda and board papers”.SLC is set to hold another election next year, at which Mathivanan is again expected to contest. As vice-president, he had been in charge of domestic cricket, which presently stands suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Former Rangers chairman Dave King has dropped a worrying claim over Philippe Clement’s future as manager, following an impressive start to life at Ibrox.

Clement's excellent Rangers prepare for Old Firm

The Belgian has come in and done an excellent job as Gers boss, only arriving last October but immediately making them a force again, following the disappointing reign of Michael Beale.

Clement has ensured that Rangers are right in the thick of a Scottish Premiership title battle with Celtic, trailing their biggest rivals by one point but boasting a game in hand, giving them a slight edge in the race.

On Sunday afternoon, the Gers host the Hoops in the biggest game of the season so far, and victory would be a huge step towards Clement guiding his side to glory in his first season in charge.

The only issue that Rangers have is that the more he impresses, the higher the probability there is that interest could emerge from elsewhere, as proved to be the case with Ange Postecoglou at Celtic.

Dave King drops worrying Philippe Clement claim

Speaking to Rangers Review [via The Daily Record], King warned that Clement could potentially leave Rangers in the near future.

"I really think we have got a platform now and I Just hope we are able to keep the manager. If you look at it right now and the international market for managers, I am watching it a lot with the Liverpool situation and I say: 'Where is the quality of manager?' Liverpool are looking for a manager, I think (Manchester) Utd will be looking for a manager, we have Barcelona looking for a manager, Bayern looking for a manager. You look out there and ask : 'Where are these managers?'

"I would think that our present manager, particularly given that Postecoglou has done so well with Spurs as well, I think that we are going to have to work hard to hold on to him becasue there is a dearth of really good managers out there."

The idea of Clement leaving so soon is clearly worrying for anyone associated with Rangers, considering the impact he has made since arriving last autumn. Granted, he hasn't always been perfect, but to be arguably the favourites to win the title currently says so much about the job he has done in recovering Beale's disastrous reign.

Philippe Clement

33

2.48

Steven Davis

2

1.50

Michael Beale

43

2.26

Giovanni van Bronckhorst

68

2.01

David McCallum

1

0.00

Steven Gerrard

192

2.15

Jimmy Nicholl

3

1.67

Graeme Murty

20

1.90

Pedro Caixinha

26

1.81

Graeme Murty

9

2.00

The hope is that the 50-year-old sees his future at Ibrox for a long time to come, feeling that he is at the start of his journey, but sudden interest from a Premier League club, for example, could turn his head.

da winzada777： Leeds United stumbled to a 2-2 draw against Watford on Good Friday, the underwhelming Whites bailed out by Mateo Joseph managing to score late on to steal a share of the points.

da esoccer bet： Without that vital goal finding the back of the net, Daniel Farke's promotion chasers would have fell to their first Championship defeat of the calendar year.

This up-and-down collective display at Vicarage Road could see Farke chop and change his XI for the visit of Hull City to nearby West Yorkshire tonight, with Liam Cooper in grave danger of being axed after a horror show in Hertfordshire.

Liam Cooper's performance vs Watford in numbers

Drafted into the starting lineup to make up for the absence of Ilia Gruev, with Ethan Ampadu then pushed into defensive midfield, Cooper will be fearing that Farke won't be as keen tonight to keep him in his starting XI after his disastrous showing against the Hornets.

The decorated Whites servant is in danger of tainting his long and celebrated time at Elland Road with displays like these, the 32-year-old ran ragged by Emmanuel Dennis up top for Tom Cleverley's men for the second Watford strike of the night.

Moreover, the seasoned centre-back would end up squandering possession 11 times in total playing out from defence before being substituted off on the 64th minute mark.

In stark contrast, his centre-back partner in Joe Rodon would give up possession just three times whilst Ampadu would manage to come away from the 2-2 affair with an 87% pass accuracy next to his name.

It was no surprise, therefore, to see Cooper's performance receive pelters after the game was up.

LeedsLive journalist Beren Cross would dish out a 4/10 rating post-match to the Scotsman, describing his display as contributing to a 'disjointed' Whites look at Vicarage Road.

The logical switch now would see Ampadu return to the heart of defence alongside the popular Tottenham Hotspur loanee, with Cooper then left to make up the numbers on the bench for Farke's men against the Tigers.

Cooper's numbers vs Watford

Minutes played

64

Touches

49

Accurate passes

29/40 (73%)

Tackles

0

Duels won

4/6

Possession lost

11x

Stats by Sofascore

This could well be the beginning of the end for Cooper's Leeds career, unfortunately, with the Leeds number six's contract coming to an end very soon in June.

Liam Cooper's future at Leeds

Cooper starting against the Hornets was only the 32-year-old's eighth start of the season in the Championship and only his 15th appearance to date in the league overall.

To say he's fallen down the pecking order would be an understatement when you examine how effective of a defensive duo Rodon and Ampadu have become over the waning centre-back getting minutes.

Cooper has only contributed to just two clean sheets too when playing this season for a Leeds side that have the sternest defence in the division, with 30 goals shipped from 39 games so far.

It will obviously be a sad severing of the ties if Cooper isn't kept on past this summer, but with this showing against Watford still fresh in the minds of Whites fans, it might well be what needs to be done so not to damage his career at Elland Road further.

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Posts ByKelan Sarson Mar 31, 2024

Ewie Cronje, the former Free State Cricket president and father of the late South Africa captain Hansie Cronje has died. Cronje was suffering from stomach cancer. He was 80.Cronje played 27 first-class matches for Free State between 1960 and 1971 but was better known for his time in administration. He played a leading role in establishing and growing cricket at the University of the Free State and went on to become president of Free State Cricket Union, a position he held between 1983 and 1990. Cronjé was a mentor to some of the province’s high-profile players including Allan Donald, Corrie van Zyl and Boeta Dippenaar.He stood by Hansie during the match-fixing scandal in the year 2000 and though Hansie was banned from all forms of cricket and died two years later, Ewie continued to work in the development of the game. In 2012, Cronje was honoured by Cricket South Africa, who presented him with the Khaya Majola Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his years of service to the game.Cronje’s health deteriorated steadily this year and he was unable to speak when former cricket boss Dr Ali Bacher contacted him late last month to mend their relationship. Bacher told the weekly Afrikaans newspaper that the coronavirus pandemic prompted him to reach out to Cronje, who he had not spoken to in almost two decades. Though Cronjé could not respond, he was able to listen to Bacher and his family reported that his response was emotional.That was three weeks ago, when Cronje was described as seriously ill. At 2.05pm on Monday, he passed away.With South Africa still under a strict lockdown and restrictions in place on the number of people who can gather, the family have opted not have a funeral at this stage. Cronje is survived by his wife San-Marie, his son Frans and his daughter Hester.