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If Harry Kane still wants to leave Tottenham, his options are limited, says former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer.

In recent months, on several occasions, reports had claimed that Kane had asked to leave Tottenham.

Manchester City looked the most likely destination for the 28-year-old, with Pep Guardiola even coming out to confirm his side’s interest.

Much to the delight of Nuno Espirito Santo and supporters, though, Spurs have managed to keep hold of their talisman for the time being.

If the club have another disappointing season, you would expect Kane to once again push for a move. Palmer, however, expects a departure next summer to also be complicated, feeling that the England captain has few options when it comes to choosing a new outfit to join.

“Whoever’s going to come in for him, they’re going to have to pay in excess of £130-140m, so that doesn’t put a lot of teams in that bracket,” the ex-Leeds United player exclusively told FFC.

“You’re only looking at your PSGs, your Man Uniteds, your Man Citys or your Real Madrids. They’re the only clubs really who can pay that type of money.”

This summer, City were the only team who really registered serious interest in Kane. It will be interesting to see if that is the case again next year.

South Australia 1 for 57 trail Queensland 352 (Carseldine 152, Harris 51) by 295 runs
Scorecard

Lee Carseldine saved Queensland from a meagre total with a shot-laden 152 that pushed them to a highly competitive 352 against South Australia. The Bulls were dropped to 5 for 78 in a horror start, but Carseldine gradually dragged the team further ahead and gained some assistance from the captain Chris Simpson and Ryan Harris.Carseldine, 32, is enjoying more appearances this season following a serious long-standing back problem and showed his value as a No. 5. He collected 28 fours and one six in a brutal 174-ball display after surviving a dropped catch on 21 and a run-out reprieve on 55.Simpson blasted his way to 49 from 35 balls while Harris, playing against his old state, added a vital 51 from 54 towards the end of the innings. Carseldine was the last-man out and left with the satisfaction of recording his first Sheffield Shield century for six years.Allan Wise captured the early wickets of Ryan Broad (16) and James Hopes (12) and finished with 3 for 72 while Paul Rofe and Daniel Christian also grabbed three victims. Rofe started the Queensland collapse by removing Nick Kruger for 21 before Christian chipped in with the dismissals of Martin Love and Shane Watson.However, the visitors could not continue their strong start and are faced with a difficult chase for first-innings points. At stumps they were 1 for 57 after losing Daniel Harris to Hopes on what was the final ball of the day.

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have erupted over a transfer claim involving Montpellier striker Gaetan Laborde.

Irons boss David Moyes has been on the look out for a new striker ever since the summer transfer window opened and it is believed that reinforcing the centre-forward was one of his main priorities early on (Claret & Hugh).

There have been no shortage of striker links so far this summer, either, but nothing appears close to being done as it stands with just 10 days of the transfer window remaining.

Now, as per Foot Mercato, West Ham have set their sights on another forward who they actually targeted in January.

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Indeed, according to the French news source, Moyes and co are ‘in the running’ to sign Laborde and their interest could well heat up towards the end of the transfer window.

The 27-year-old bagged 18 goals and nine assists across all competitions in France last season (Transfermarkt), possibly leading Irons supporters to erupt over this claim.

As well as this, other reliable Ligue 1 sources like L’Equipe (print edition, May 28) have claimed he could be available for around £11 million this summer.

Find all of their best verdicts, in response to West Ham Central, COYIrons and West Ham Fan Zone, down below.

West Ham fans flock to Laborde claim…

“top-class this bloke is, get it done”

Credit: @stephenlott

“11m is class please get it done”

Credit: @WHUJayyy

“At £11m absolutely get it done”

Credit: @FinnWHU

“Too good to be true”

Credit: @oliver90820149

“Get this done, £11m, someone who can score, no brainer!”

Credit: @sam_lummis

“Laborde, Kamara and Blas for a combined 40m – get it done!”

Credit: @JamesGunn23

“Just get him signed, like now.”

Credit: @Johncherringto9

“He would be a good signing. Hopefully we can get him in.”

Credit: @BigAd1985

In other news: Bid expected: Sky Sports reporter drops West Ham transfer claim involving ‘sensational’ player, find out more here.

Southampton have been heavily linked with Joakim Maehle in recent years and the Denmark star would be available this summer should the Saints submit an acceptable bid, with the Atalanta man reportedly up for sale.

What’s the word?

Southampton were initially linked with the full-back during his time at Genk and reportedly submitted a bid to the Belgian Pro League side in January 2019.

However, that bid was rejected and he joined Atalanta in January, despite more reported interest from Southampton in the months beforehand.

After an impressive Euro 2020 with Denmark, with the versatile defender helping Kasper Hjulmand’s side to the semi-finals, it was perhaps always likely that links to Southampton would resurface, and according to Serie A football expert Conor Clancy, the 24-year-old will be up for sale by Atalanta this summer.

He told Football FanCast: “Everyone at Atalanta is for sale. That’s just how they work every summer.

“Maehle is not a starter on the left or the right at Atalanta. He showed some flashes of the player we saw at Euro 2020 early on at Atalanta, but then it didn’t quite happen for him.

“If a club wants Maehle, they can sign him. Everyone who saw the Euros knows Southampton would be getting a very good player if they can sign him.”

Should Southampton bid for Maehle?

Although Southampton have already brought in Romain Perraud and Tino Livramento as full-back options this summer, Maehle’s versatility suggests that he could be a great option for Hasenhuttl to have next season, as both Perraud and Livramento are young and inexperienced.

Maehle was one of the stars of Euro 2020, contributing two goals and one assist in six appearances for Denmark, which earned him a fantastic 7.38 rating from WhoScored for his performances. Ian Wright also labelled him “fantastic” after his performance against the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals.

He ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to a typical Hasenhuttl signing, as he is 24 years old, versatile and extremely athletic, whilst his current Transfermarkt value of £17.1m suggests that he could be affordable, especially with the money raised from Danny Ings and Jannik Vestergaard’s departures.

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Therefore, if Clancy’s claim is true and Atalanta are willing to sell this summer, that is a huge boost to Southampton’s reported hopes of signing Maehle, and Martin Semmens should definitely try and bring him to St Mary’s.

In other news… Semmens heading for Saints transfer disaster with £10.8m-rated “machine”

Bangladesh are ready to step into the Champions Trophy if any teams pull out of the tournament, according to the coach Jamie Siddons

Cricinfo staff20-Aug-2008
Jamie Siddons: “We’ve been called to Pakistan recently to fill in for the Aussies and we’ll do it again if we get invited” © AFP
Bangladesh are ready to step into the Champions Trophy if any teams pull out of the tournament, according to the coach Jamie Siddons. Siddons’ side replaced Australia when they postponed their tours to Pakistan earlier this year and Bangladesh were also part of the Asia Cup, which was staged in Karachi and Lahore in June and July.Ninth in the world rankings, Bangladesh could slip into the eight-team Champions Trophy if a re-shuffle is required. “I think we’re free to play if it happens but, personally, I can’t see it happening,” Siddons told the Age. “We’ve been called to Pakistan recently to fill in for the Aussies and we’ll do it again if we get invited.”The state of the Champions Trophy remains undecided as Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa wait on an ICC ruling on the event, which is due to start on September 12. A final decision on the venue of the contest is due after an ICC meeting on Sunday.Bangladesh are currently in Australia preparing for a three-match one-day series starting on August 30. They lost their first warm-up against the Australian Institute of Sport, but earned a three-wicket victory in Wednesday’s match in Darwin.

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, blamed the batsmen for his side’s defeat in Galle. Sri Lanka, who conceded a lead of 37 on the first innings after restricting India to 329, managed to last only 47.3 overs in their second as they were bundled out for 136. Speaking after the 170-run loss, which levelled the three-Test series 1-1, Jayawardene suggested his team might consider “a quick bowler” like Ishant Sharma for the series-decider.”I didn’t think the match would have been over today. I thought we could give India a better fight,” Jayawardene said. “We fought every time we were down. We fought very well to come back into this Test match. To get six wickets this morning in quick time and restricting India to 269 was a brilliant effort. That gave us a good opportunity to chase these runs down.”Although stating that “batting first would be ideal” on subcontinent pitches, Jayawardene felt his batsmen should have chased down the target. “It’s important we get a good start in any run chase,” Jayawardene said. “We didn’t get it and [being down] 10 for 3 wasn’t ideal.”The bowling unit fought really well throughout the Test and created opportunities for us and kept the Indians under control,” he said. Like on Saturday, Jayawardene said the failure to gain the advantage in the first innings had cost his team dearly. “The disappointment was in the first innings where we should have capitalised and put more pressure on the Indians,” he said. “We should have got a few more runs on the board. We played really good cricket for two to three days and we just lost it in the last two sessions of the fourth day.”Jayawardene hinted his team was missing a genuine quick bowler. The fast bowlers hadn’t made much of an impact in the series so far, but Ishant extracted pace and bounce to surprise Sri Lanka’s batsmen on Sunday. “A quick bowler like Ishant is something for us to discuss. Ishant is an exceptional bowler,” Jayawardene said. “He creates a bit of bounce on these kinds of wickets. That’s something which India has.”The ineffectiveness of Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara in Colombo had prompted the selectors to call up Dammika Prasad, who took 4 for 58 in the tour game against the Indians prior to the Tests. However, Sri Lanka stuck to the same new-ball pairing in Galle. Vaas took two vital wickets in both innings of this Test after going wicketless in Colombo, but the pressure will be on Kulasekara, who has taken only one wicket in 33 overs in the series. With Dilhara Fernando and Lasith Malinga out due to injury, Prasad could get the nod for the final Test. “We just need to make a smart choice,” Jayawardene said. “We’ll have a chat with the selectors. We have a few options in our squad and see what we can come up with.”Even in subcontinental conditions, Jayawardene said the batsmen needed to be wary of the new ball, although it’s the spinners who will do the bulk of the damage. “Going into the fourth day or fifth day of a Test match, you always know that when you have [to face] two top-class spinners the mindset would be there. But we always knew that the new ball is always going to be a factor on these kinds of wickets,” he said. “That’s where you probably can pick up a couple of wickets. Thilan [Samaraweera] showed a lot of character to hang around there and batted well but it was a bit too much for him in the end.”One positive for Sri Lanka was the progress of Ajantha Mendis, who took the first ten-wicket haul of his career, in just his second Test, and Jayawardene praised Sri Lanka’s young spin sensation. “I am very happy for Ajantha, in his second Test match, to pick up ten wickets. He bowled brilliantly and supported the other bowlers as well.”Jayawardene, though, brushed off suggestions of any changes in the batting line-up. “The last game was brilliant, we got 600 runs. One game you have a bad run you just can’t point fingers and say this is bad,” he said. “It is just that we need to figure out a way of controlling situations a bit better especially under pressure and see how we can come out of it.”While India’s openers had stands of 167 and 90, Sri Lanka’s duo of Michael Vandort and Malinda Warnapura managed just 4 in both innings. However, Jayawardene is not pressing for any changes. “Michael has been one of the consistent bats in the last six months. In Australia he batted really well. Malinda is coming into his own. It is just that we need both of them to hang in there for a while.”

Southampton fans are not happy with comments on Moussa Djenepo from Ralph Hasenhuttl, who suggested the 23-year-old will play at left-back this coming campaign.

Southampton are preparing for the new season as Hasenhuttl and co aim to improve on last season’s 15th-place Premier League finish. One of their two signings this term has been left-back Romain Perraud, who joined from Stade Brestois (southamptonfc.com), but the Saints are still light on that side of the back four.

The St. Mary’s Stadium outfit have been linked with a move for Brandon Williams, but they appear to have hit a stumbling block in that respect (The Telegraph). Now, Hasenhuttl has suggested Djenepo could play the term at left-back (Goal.com), a position he did take up at times last season.

These comments were shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra, and they attracted plenty of attention from the Gers supporters – they appear to believe £11.7m-valued Djenepo (Transfermarkt) is a disaster waiting to happen in that role. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the comments on Djenepo

“Mad stubborn Ralph at work, absolute liability..”

Credit: @hurstshank

“Oh no”

Credit: @JoshW_SFC

“This worries me. If Ralph is resorting to playing players out of position, then we’re in big trouble”

Credit: @Dixon1970Darren

“Very very worrying if this true and Ralph seriously believes that Djenepo is anywhere near good enough … not only as a LB but for our squad .. Championship or SPL standard at best .. send him to Celtic”

Credit: @smorgy13

“Ralph has lost it! first the clown trousers and now this, utterly baffling…”

Credit: @HackedOffStuart

“He is an accident waiting to happen”

Credit: @CallumWilson21

In other news, Southampton fans are livid with this transfer news.

Leeds United’s hopes of signing Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez have been dealt a blow, with Inter Milan keen on making a move for him.

The Lowdown: Leeds keen on signing Nandez

Midfield could be an area of the pitch Marcelo Bielsa looks to improve in this summer, in order for Kalvin Phillips not to be relied upon too much.

Nandez is a player who has been continually linked with a move to Leeds, having impressed for Cagliari last season, starting 31 Serie A games and chipping in with two goals and assists apiece.

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The Latest: Nandez chase may be over

The Whites may have suffered a setback in their quest to sign the 41-time capped Uruguay international, however, with FC Inter News [via Sport Witness] claiming Inter say he is ‘more than welcome’ at the club.

It is also stated that Leeds’ interest in Nandez was ‘over in a short time’, suggesting he won’t be heading to Elland Road this summer.

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The Verdict: Competition too strong?

Missing out on Nandez would be an undoubted blow for Leeds, but competing with a club of Inter’s stature was always going to be difficult.

The lure of Marcelo Bielsa may be great, but the Nerazzurri are the reigning Serie A champions and arguably one of Europe’s most exciting propositions, of course with Champions League football to offer as well.

It may be that Leeds now need to turn their attention to a similar player, in order to add depth and quality in the middle of the park next season.

In other news, one Leeds player is reportedly close to leaving the club this summer. Find out who it is here.

Pitches like that on which India and New Zealand played out a frustrating three-wicket win to the home team did nothing for cricket

Lynn McConnell26-Dec-2002Pitches like that on which India and New Zealand played out a frustrating three-wicket win to the home team did nothing for cricket.That was Indian captain Sourav Ganguly’s of the game which saw New Zealand take 37.4 overs to score the 109 runs it required to claim the first victory in the seven-game National Bank Series.For the Indians it was just a continuation of the frustrating surfaces that have been dished up to them in New Zealand on the tour.Ganguly did admit, like New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming before him, that the pitch looked as if it would play a lot better than it did.”This sort of thing doesn’t help anybody. People come to watch cricket,” he said.And with only 100 runs to each side, people would be coming to watch the games in the future.The conditions also gave false confidence to the bowlers in the sides.The pitch, played on one of Eden Park’s portable pitches proved to be two-paced, to have variable bounce and shot-making was not easy.India did have a chance in the game and Jacob Oram, who was 27 not out at the end, had gone very close to getting out leg before wicket to Anil Kumble but India just couldn’t pull off the win.”Due credit to him [Oram] he hung in well in both innings, in Hamilton and here but a few decisions this way, that way could have changed the game,” he said.Javagal Srinath’s presence had been good for the side and he had proven again he was a class act while taking four wickets for 23 runs in his 10 overs.Ganguly said it wasn’t only the confidence of his players that was down, the New Zealanders were also struggling, this despite the fact they had grown up in these conditions.The winning of the series would be done by the side which best responded to the task of batting better in the remaining game, he said.

Leicester City are reportedly close to completing the signing of Schalke 04 defender Ozan Kabak.

What’s the story?

According to journalist and Bundesliga expert Chris Williams, the 21-year-old is set to join the Foxes following a relatively successful loan spell at Liverpool last season.

Williams tweeted [via Leicester Mercury]: “Schalke have given Ozan Kabak extra time off to sort out his future, they expect a deal to be finalised in the next week. Leicester City seems the final destination. Schalke have allowed the player to find a club, agree a deal in principle, then for that club to make an approach.

“Leicester have contacted the player’s management agency, if a deal can be agreed between them, #LCFC will make a formal approach, #S04 want €15m (£12.8m).”

Fans will be buzzing

Williams’ claims were backed up by The Daily Star newspaper in Turkey (via Leicester Mercury) after it revealed that Kabak is heading for the King Power Stadium.

They reported: “National football player Ozan Kabak is on his way to Leicester City. It was stated that Ozan Kabak, who was put on the sales list due to the German team’s relegation to a lower league, received offers from many teams, especially English clubs.”

News that Brendan Rodgers is set to add another young, highly-rated centre-back to his ranks for a very reasonable fee will surely have the club’s supporters buzzing.

Kabak played nine Premier League games for Jurgen Klopp’s side in 2020/21, helping the Anfield outfit to a third-place finish following an injury crisis in the heart of defence, and he earned plenty of plaudits for his efforts on Merseyside.

Liverpool passed up the opportunity to make the youngster’s stay permanent for £18m, opting to sign Ibrahima Konate instead, although Schalke’s relegation to the second tier of German football has seen their asking price plummet.

Bringing in Kabak will significantly strengthen Leicester’s defensive options ahead of the upcoming campaign, allowing Rodgers the freedom to flip between a back four and a back five on a regular basis given the wealth of central defensive options at his disposal.

The departures of experienced duo Christian Fuchs and Wes Morgan left the Foxes looking threadbare at the back, but the arrival of Ryan Bertrand and the potential acquisition of Kabak will have quickly transformed their situation. It’s a situation which will surely leave Leicester fans buzzing at the defensive talent within their squad as the Foxes again try to break into the Premier League’s top four in 2021/22.

In other news… Leicester dealt possible blow in hunt for “wonderful” £30m gem, Rodgers will be gutted