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Adama Traore’s long-term future is unlikely to belong at Wolves after a lack of playing time recently, according to journalist Luke Hatfield.

The Lowdown: Traore loses place

Bruno Lage’s side are in a good place at the moment, sixth in the Premier League after winning 1-0 at home to high-flying West Ham on Saturday.

However, Traore isn’t a key part of Wolves’ plans at the moment, having fallen out of favour in recent weeks. The winger hasn’t started a game this month, with the likes of Francisco Trincao and Daniel Podence preferred to him out wide, and he featured for just 14 minutes against the Hammers.

The Latest: Hatfield makes Traore exit prediction

Recent reports have linked Traore with a move away from Molineux, and speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Hatfield said that he expects the Spain winger to move on

The journalist claimed: “If I was a betting man, I would probably say that his future lies away from Molineux.”

The Verdict: Time to move on?

The £27m-rated Traore is an exciting player renowned for his pace and power – indeed, Jurgen Klopp once called him “unplayable” – but it appears as though Lage doesn’t rate him as highly.

If that is the case, it is pointless keeping hold of him, especially as Wolves could earn a healthy fee for his signature, with his current deal not expiring until 2023.

Allowing Traore to leave would suit all parties, giving Lage additional transfer funds on players he wants around and giving the Spaniard an opportunity for regular football elsewhere.

It could be argued that it is no coincidence that Wolves’ form has improved without Traore in the team, with the winger failing to contribute to a goal in 13 appearances this term despite his aforementioned traits.

In other news, Wolves have been tipped to sign one player. Find out who it is here.

As per the club’s official website, Premier League side West Ham let young defender Reece Oxford leave the London Stadium on loan on Deadline Day. The 20-year-old has come up through the ranks at the East London outfit but has only gone on to make 17 senior appearances for the Hammers over the years, with struggles for regular game time this term under Manuel Pellegrini calling his future at the club into doubt.

And it was Bundesliga outfit Augsburg who sealed a temporary deal for the versatile sensation on the final day of the January transfer window, and while Oxford hadn’t actually featured in the West Ham first team in the first half of the season, the late decision to let him leave in January could very much come back to bite the Hammers.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, things haven’t quite worked out for the England Under-20 international since bursting onto the scene as a 16-year-old against Arsenal back in August 2015, with the youngster failing to nail down a spot in the Hammers first team with only 17 appearances to his name, none of which have come this term and only two of which came last time round.

And for someone tipped by many to be the next big-thing coming out of the West Ham academy many years ago, things certainly haven’t panned out as many would have expected, with loan spells at Borussia Monchengladbach and Reading also proving difficult for the 20-year-old in his pursuit of first team football.

On the surface then, another opportunity to play his trade and attempt to get regular minutes under his belt makes complete sense, but not given the current injury situation Pellegrini’s side have at centre back.

Ultimately, Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna are the only senior centre backs fit for selection given the long-term injury to Winston Reid alongside Fabian Balbuena’s recent setback – the Hammers look set to be without the duo until at least the middle of February.

And even when Balbuena returns, as expected, later on this month, that still leaves Pellegrini’s side somewhat short of options in that area of the field – it only takes another injury or suspension to plunge West Ham into a defensive crisis.

Yes, Declan Rice could fill in at centre back if needed given his talents in that position, but doing so would see him vacate a midfield spot that he has made his own this season – what the Hammers would gain with him at the back they would lose greatly from him not being in midfield.

As such, while Oxford didn’t get a look-in under Pellegrini in the first half of the season, he at least provided the Chilean with an option at centre back were things to go wrong in that department – but that option is no longer there.

And with the Hammers stretched enough defensively given injuries to Reid and Balbuena, the club’s decision to let him leave late in the January window could very much come back to bite the East London outfit as the season progresses.

West Ham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Tottenham Hotspur are set to ramp up their pursuit of Antonio Rudiger in the coming days, according to an inside source…

What’s the word?

As revealed by Football Insider this week, the north London outfit are in the race to sign the £100k-per-week Germany international after he rejected a new Chelsea contract, meaning he is currently free to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer.

Valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, it is thought that Spurs have planned discussions behind-the-scenes in an effort to persuade the 28-year-old to swap the Blues for their capital city rivals in 2022.

Lilywhites sporting director Fabio Paratici is said to be pushing hard to get an early agreement in place but they will face a battle to secure him as foreign teams can seal him on a pre-contract agreement as early as January, something that Spurs do not have the luxury of.

Statement signing

This would be quite an outlandish move from Spurs, considering their west London rivals won the Champions League last summer and are quite some way ahead of them on and off the pitch.

However, the fact that Antonio Conte is in charge boosts their chances of landing the 6 foot 3 colossus as the pair worked together when the Italian was at the helm.

45 of his 172 appearances for the Blues came under Conte as they won the 2017/18 FA Cup together, leading to the German describing the 52-year-old as a “very good coach” to reporters.

Rudiger has been one of Chelsea’s standout performers under Thomas Tuchel over the past 12 months, with BT Sport pundit and Premier League legend Rio Ferdinand a big fan.

“Look at Rudiger, he’s arguably, since Tuchel has been there [at Chelsea], been the best defender in the Premier League,” he told his podcast (via the Metro). “Him or [Ruben] Dias in that time. He’s been unbelievable, he’s like an animal.”

Indeed, the German is just one of two players to have played every minute of every Premier League outing for the Blues this term, where he has averaged a second-most 2.2 aerial duels won, 1.1 tackles and an 86.9% passing accuracy when managing over 70 attempts per game, as per WhoScored.

Evidently, Rudiger is an efficient ball-playing defender and one that would instantly improve Spurs’ backline, not just because of his trophy record at Stamford Bridge.

The vastly-experienced defender would be quite the signing to make next year and it would certainly reveal the ambitions of the club under Conte. As such, many around N17 must be absolutely excited by this latest development.

Spurs fans would surely love Rudiger at the club, so this update should provide some huge encouragement heading into January.

AND in other news, Paratici eyes Spurs bargain after “courting” £18m-rated maestro, Conte would love him…

Kumar Sangakkara has asked for teams to be given equal opportunity in Test cricket, saying the dwindling number of five-day matches Sri Lanka were playing was limiting their ambitions

Cricinfo staff22-May-2010Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lankan captain, has asked for teams to be given equal opportunity in Test cricket, saying the dwindling number of five-day matches Sri Lanka were playing was limiting their ambitions. Sangakkara welcomed the idea of a world Test championship and said teams should be given the chance of playing a minimum number of Tests in a year.”It’s great to have a Test championship but I believe that all sides should have an equal opportunity to play Test matches,” Sangakkara told in Florida, where Sri Lanka are playing two Twenty20 internationals against New Zealand. “This year we are lucky that India wants to come and play Test matches but the opportunity for Sri Lankan players to fulfil their Test ambitions are getting more and more limited.”Since their tour of Australia in 2007, Sri Lanka have not played a Test series outside the subcontinent. They haven’t been to South Africa for a Test tour since 2002 and the Tests in 2011 will be their first in England in five years.”Sides must be given the opportunity to play a minimum number of Test matches and the Future Tours Programme must be reorganised so some of the best sides tour more than just once in five years,” Sangakkara said. “There was once talk of playing a Test championship without Sri Lanka in the first year at a time when we were number two in the Test rankings. These are the inconsistencies they must address.”Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka batsman, echoed his captain’s views. “I think we need to think a bit more about Test cricket, you need to make sure all the teams are going to play eight to ten matches a year minimum, and then you can strike that balance,” he said. “I have only played four Test matches in my entire career in Australia; that’s in 12 years of playing.”

Luis Enrique apparently “doesn’t like Kylian Mbappe”, with the PSG boss accused of displaying an “oversized ego” when it comes to the star forward.

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World Cup winner subbed in last Ligue 1 appearanceQuestions asked of manager's approachSummer move to Spain labelled a "win-win"Getty/GOALWHAT HAPPENED?

Paris Saint-Germain are having to come to terms with the fact that World Cup winner Mbappe may not be on their books for much longer, with the France international seemingly poised to link up with Real Madrid when hitting free agency this summer.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

With that in mind, Enrique took to substituting Mbappe in the 65th minute of PSG’s latest Ligue 1 fixture – despite his side trailing 1-0 to Rennes at the time. That decision has been questioned by many, and Mbappe has now been told that a switch to Spain is quickly becoming “a win-win”.

GettyWHAT DUGARRY SAID ABOUT MBAPPE

That is the opinion of 1998 World Cup winner Christophe Dugarry, who has told : “I think Luis Enrique doesn’t like Kylian Mbappe. He doesn’t like the way he plays and his attitude. Is it because Luis Enrique has an oversized ego and wants to be the star, or because he has a certain Spanish vision of football? I don’t know anything about it. But I think he doesn’t like Kylian Mbappe. Did he hide it well? He has no choice. One time, he put him on the right, one time on the left, a shot in front. There have always been little sentences…Afterwards, Kylian Mbappe can tell him: ‘You take me out, but I’m going to show you that I’m the strongest and that I’m going to make you win because I want to finish well’, and Luis Enrique also has the right to shake him up a little because Kylian Mbappe’s performances are largely insufficient. So, I think it can be a win-win.”

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WHAT NEXT FOR MBAPPE?

Mbappe, who is PSG’s all-time leading scorer, has 32 goals to his name through as many appearances this season. He is helping to keep his current employers in the hunt for another Ligue 1 title and potential shot at Champions League glory.

Pakistan have brought in fast bowler Javeria Rauf and axed Masooma Junaid and Rabiya Shah for the World T20 in September

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2012Pakistan has made two changes in the squad of 14 for the Women’s World T20 in September, from the one that won tri-nation women’s one-day series in Ireland last week – rookie fast bowler Javeria Rauf has been brought in, while Masooma Junaid has been left out.Rabiya Shah, who was part of the Ireland tour, has also been axed while allrounder Sana Mir will continue to lead the side.Pakistan have been placed in Group A along with England, Australia and India and they open their campaign against England in Galle on September 27.Asian champions Pakistan were knocked out in the group stages in the 2010 World T20 in the West Indies. The team would look to capitalise on their recent successes, as they won the tri-series besides a one-off one-dayer against Bangladesh.Team: Sana Mir (captain), Bismah Maroof, Syeda Nain Fatima Abidi, Javeria Wadood, Nida Dar, Marina Iqbal, Syeda Batool Fatima Naqvi (wk), Qanita Jalil, Asmavia Iqbal Khokar, Sumaiya Siddiqi, Elizabath Barkat, Sadia Yusaf, Nahida Bibi, Javeria Rauf.

The fast bowler has been forced out of the Tests against Australia due to a stress fracture in his foot

Cricinfo staff21-Feb-2010The fast bowler Andy McKay has been forced out of the Tests against Australia due to a stress fracture in his foot. McKay had hoped to return for the two matches after being ruled out of the one-dayers and Twenty20s against Australia starting next week, but has been diagnosed with a fracture after bone scans in Wellington last week.”It turns out I’ve got a stress fracture in my foot. It’s not good,” he told .”I then went back and saw the sports physician on Thursday and the injury had actually settled down quite a bit in a matter of days.”That was fairly encouraging and the doctor thinks my recovery will be a matter of weeks, rather than the usual two to three months that an injury like this normally takes to heal.”McKay, 29, made an impressive start to his ODI career, taking five wickets against Bangladesh at an average of 21 but it was his pace which stood out. He reportedly clocked 147 kph in the Napier ODI and the captain Daniel Vettori said he was one of the quickest bowlers he had faced in the Twenty20 HRV Cup, even comparing him to Shane Bond. McKay was eager to translate his form into the five-day format but his career has been put on hold for the moment.”It’s bittersweet,” he said. “I was obviously very happy with how things went in the one-dayers against Bangladesh and then I was over the moon about being selected in the Test side. Obviously the priority now is about getting things right.”The series gets underway on February 26 with the first of two Twenty20s, followed by five ODIs and two Tests.

Sarina Wiegman has hinted at how she entertains herself when not on England duty, after a reporter asked the Lionesses boss about her Spotify Wrapped.

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Wiegman asked about her most played songSurprised reporter by responding with Burna BoyPress conference precedes big Nations League clashWHAT HAPPENED?

It wasn't the type of question the Dutch manager is used to fielding in press conferences, and she seemed thrown by the digression into musical tastes. And Wiegman's answer revealed another side of her character that may have surprised some fans.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT WEIGMAN SAID

"I didn't expect this so I don't know the name of the song," said a surprised Wiegman when asked which song topped her Spotify Wrapped playlist, after the release of the popular music streaming feature yesterday. "But it is the song with Burna Boy and Ed Sheeran. I definitely played that song the most." Who would have thought the Lionesses boss was a big Burna fan?

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Wiegman's comments come as she prepares her team for a crunch match in the UEFA Nations League against her home country, the Netherlands. The Lionesses will be desperate to right the wrongs of the team's previous clash with the Oranje in September, when they were beaten 2-1 after a late winner from Renate Jansen.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR WIEGMAN?

There's been plenty of speculation about Wiegman's future recently, with widespread talk about the Euros-winning boss succeeding Gareth Southgate as England Men's manager. According to the Lionesses coach, it is a "matter of time" before a female coach takes charge of a top men's team in England, although she refused to be drawn on the potentially vacant Three Lions role.

How to watch France vs Netherlands in the Euro 2024 qualification stage from the US as well as kick-off time and team news

France will take on the Netherlands in their EURO 2024 qualificationopener at the Stade de France on Friday.

💻 Watch France vs Netherlands live on Fubo in the U.S.

Both France and Netherlands' last international appearances were against Argentina at the 2022 World Cup. While France lost in the final, the Netherlands were knocked out of the tournament by La Albiceleste in the quarter-final.

Kylian Mbappe has been appointed as captain of the national side after long-standing skipper Hugo Lloris announced his retirement from international football after the World Cup.

The Netherlands side has also witnessed a change in personnel as Ronaldo Koeman has replaced Louis van Gaal at the helm.

GOAL brings you everything you need to know about how to watch the Euro 2024 qualifier fixture France vs Netherlands, plus team news, recent form and more.

Getty ImagesKick-off time

Date:

March 24, 2023

Kick-off time:

3.45pm ET

Venue:

Stade de France

The game is scheduled for March 24, 2023 at Stade de France. It will kick off at 3.45pm ET in the US.

Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesHow to watch France vs Netherlands online – TV channels & live streamsTV channels & streaming options

Country TV channel Live stream

U.S.Fox SportsFubo

In the U.S., the match can be watched on Fox Sports and can be streamed on Fubo.

Getty Images/GOALTeam news & squadsFrance team news

France coach Didier Deschamps will miss the services of Wesley Fofana and William Saliba, who have pulled out of the team due to injuries.

Position Players

Goalkeepers:Mike Maignan, Alphonse Areola, Brice SambaDefenders:Theo Hernandez, Jules Kounde, Benjamin Pavard, Wesley Fofana, Dayot Upamecano, Eduardo Camavinga, William Saliba, Ibrahima KonateMidfielders:Adrien Rabiot, Aurelien Tchouameni, Youssouf Fofana, Khephren Thuram, Jordan VeretoutForwards:Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Moussa Diaby, Randal Kolo Muani, Kingsley Coman, Marcus ThuramNetherlands team news

Frenkie de Jong and Steven Bergwijn have pulled out of the 25-man Netherlands squad due to injuries as Donyell Malen and Joey Veerman have replaced them in the group.

Position Players

Goalkeepers:Jasper Cillessen, Mark Flekken, Bart VerbruggenDefenders:Nathan Ake, Daley Blind, Sven Botman, Matthijs de Ligt, Denzel Dumfries, Lutsharel Geertruida, Tyrell Malacia, Jurrien Timber, Virgil van DijkMidfielders:Steven Berghuis, Frenkie de Jong, Marten de Roon, Davy Klaassen, Kenneth Taylor, Mats Wieffer, Georginio WijnaldumForwards:Steven Bergwijn, Brian Brobbey, Memphis Depay, Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons, Wout WeghorstHead-to-head record

Date Result Competition

17 Nov, 2018Netherlands 2-0 FranceUEFA Nations League10 Sep, 2018France 2-1 NetherlandsUEFA Nations League1 Sep, 2017France 4-0 Netherlands2018 World Cup Qualifiers11 Oct, 2016Netherlands 0-1 France2018 World Cup Qualifiers26 Mar, 2016Netherlands 2-3 FranceFriendly

Netherlands have defeated the former world champions just once in their last five meetings. Their only win came on November 18, 2018 during a group game of the UEFA Nations League.

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Getty ImagesUseful links

France team page

Netherlands team page

Live soccer on TV in the U.S.

Koeman claims Jeremie Frimpong can't defend

Mbappe CONFIRMED as new France captain

GOAL looks at how various talents from the continent performed in their club’s engagements just after the international break

Getty.Review of Africans in Europe

Whereas Kelechi Iheanacho helped Leicester City pick up a point at Old Trafford against Manchester United, his counterpart Alex Iwobi’s lack of concentration denied Everton a point against West Ham.

AdvertisementGettyToo Good: Kelechi Iheanacho

The Nigerian was on the scoresheet as Leicester City drew 1-1 against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Iheanacho scored the first goal of the game in the 63rd minute before it was cancelled out by Fred's strike three minutes later.

This was his 36th Premier League goal, with only four other Nigerian players managing more (Yakubu 95, Nwankwo Kanu 54, Efan Ekoku 52, and Shola Ameobi 43).

GettyToo Bad: Edouard Mendy

Mendy was in goal as Chelsea suffered a 4-1 defeat to Brentford at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues have now conceded four or more goals in the Premier League at home to a newly-promoted side for just the second time – also 2-5 against West Brom in April 2021 – both occasions under Thomas Tuchel.

It was also the second time that Chelsea have lost by three or more goals in a Premier League London derby at Stamford Bridge, after a 0-3 defeat to Arsenal in April 1997.

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Getty ImagesToo Good: Sebastien Haller

The Ivorian forward was involved as Ajax defeated Groningen 3-1 to maintain a four-point gap at the top of the Eredivisie table.

However, Haller was substituted in the 71st minute for Adjei Brobbey as his side won by a comfortable margin.