According to The Mirror, Everton are interested in bringing Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere to Goodison Park this summer, but the Toffees should instead consider re-signing Marouane Fellaini from Manchester United.

What’s the story?

Wilshere announced last week that he would be leaving Arsenal following the expiration of his contract on June 30.

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West Ham United have been strongly linked with a move for the English midfielder, but according to The Mirror, Everton are also very much in the race.

The report claims that new Toffees boss Marco Silva and the club’s director of football Marcel Brands believe that the arrival of Wilshere could help bridge the gap on the top six in the Premier League next season.

Wilshere worked his way back to fitness and form last term, and there is absolutely no question that he still has time on his side.

The 26-year-old is certainly an attractive proposition on a free transfer, but Everton should instead be looking to re-sign Fellaini, who is valued at £10.8m by transfermarkt.co.uk, from United ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

Why Fellaini?

Like Wilshere, Fellaini will see his contract expire at the end of this month, and it does appear that the Belgium international will be leaving Old Trafford.

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United boss Jose Mourinho wants to keep the 30-year-old, but it is understood that the two parties have failed to agree a new contract, and Fellaini will surely soon announce his departure.

Fellaini has scored 20 times and registered 10 assists in 156 appearances for United since making the move from Everton in the summer of 2013.

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It was at Everton where the midfielder really made his name, however, scoring 33 times and registering 26 assists in 177 appearances for the Merseyside club.

The Toffees’ supporters have recently revealed their desire for Fellaini to return to Goodison Park, and it could turn out to be a genius piece of business from Silva and Brands.

Indeed, Fellaini’s best performances in England have come as an advanced forward at Goodison Park, and the offer of a long-term deal – and healthy wages – could convince the Belgian to seal what would be an incredible return to Merseyside.

Newcastle United are interested in signing Guingamp midfielder Clement Grenier, according to L’Equipe.

What’s the story?

27-year-old Grenier played most of his career at Lyon before he signed for Guingamp in January this year.

The versatile midfielder has impressed since his move, scoring five goals and assisting four in 14 games.

Grenier is comfortable playing in both central and attacking midfield positions and is valued at £3.6million on Transfermarkt.

According to L’Equipe, Grenier could be available for as little as £2.6million as he only has 12 months remaining on his current contract, but Newcastle will have to see off interest from Fulham, Rennes, Fenerbahce and AC Milan.

What’s the catch?

So far, so good for Newcastle, as it seems an in-form player in a position they need strengthening could be available on the cheap this summer.

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The main problem with Grenier is his injury record which has seen him play only 29 times in the last three seasons.

Rafa Benitez will have to weigh up the risks but at £2.6million, he could be worth a punt.

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Newcastle have had success identifying gems from Ligue 1 and Grenier has the ability to become another if he manages to stay fit.

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Sussex have confirmed that they have granted permission for Rory Hamilton-Brown to have talks with Surrey about a move to the Oval that will see Hamilton-Brown takeover as captain.

Cricinfo staff09-Dec-2009Sussex have granted permission for Rory Hamilton-Brown, the 22-year-old allrounder, to talk to Surrey about a move to the Oval that will see Hamilton-Brown take over as captain.Hamilton-Brown has played just eight first-class games and is currently with England’s performance squad in Pretoria as a level B player, meaning the selectors view him as being one to three years away from international level.Sussex, who signed Hamilton-Brown from Surrey in 2008, did not welcome the approach initially, saying they had no intention of losing Hamilton-Brown and had already offered him an improved contract before Surrey’s approach.On Wednesday, Jim May, the Sussex chairman, reiterated the club’s position but admitted they would have to allow Hamilton-Brown to speak to Surrey.”The position of Sussex remains unchanged in that we have no wish to see a player of Rory’s potential leave the Club and our immediate aim is to agree an extended contract with him,” he said. “However, we recognise that to achieve this aim it is appropriate to give Rory time to talk to Surrey about their opportunity.”At this stage, the Club has granted permission to talk only. We remain strongly of the view that Rory’s cricket development is best served by remaining at Sussex and we will be meeting him subsequent to his meetings with Surrey to discuss matters further.”

Grant Elliott has expressed his keenness to make a bigger contribution with the ball in the second Test against Pakistan in Wellington

Cricinfo staff30-Nov-2009New Zealand allrounder Grant Elliott has expressed his keenness to make a bigger contribution with the ball in the second Test against Pakistan in Wellington. Elliott bowled just two overs in New Zealand’s 32-run win in Dunedin due to his knee injury, leaving Shane Bond, Daniel Vettori, Iain O’Brien and Chris Martin with an additional responsibility to fill in for the fifth bowler.Vettori had admitted the extent of the workload the four bowlers had to bear, in having to bowl out Pakistan twice, was huge. New Zealand can expect the physical demands of winning the next Test to be greater, especially as their bowlers are recovering from injuries. Bond is missing the big toe-nail on his left foot, Vettori is nursing an injured shoulder and O’Brien is awaiting scans on his dislocated finger.”It definitely hurts me not being able to do that (bowl) because you saw how hard the bowlers toiled,” Elliot told . “It’s tendonitis. I’ve just been battling with that a bit. I had it in Wellington but hopefully I can take a load off the bowlers. It’s about (bowling) loads and how the inflammation is at the time. It has good days and bad days.”Eliott has managed just two wickets at an average of 66 in Tests but has bowled more often, and has had more success, in the ODI format, taking 17 wickets at 22.11. While establishing himself as a solid middle-order batsman in limited-overs cricket, Elliott is still fighting for a long-term slot in Tests. “It’s runs and wickets at the end of the day,” he said. “For me, every Test innings I play I’m looking to establish my position and stamp my authority on the game. Hopefully it will be in this Test.”The second Test begins on December 3.

Graeme Swann has crowned a remarkable year, in which he has taken 54 wickets in 11 games, by rocketing to No. 3 in the world rankings, ahead of Muttiah Muralitharan

Cricinfo staff31-Dec-2009Graeme Swann has crowned a remarkable year, in which he has taken 54 wickets in 12 games, by rocketing to No.3 in the world rankings, ahead of Muttiah Muralitharan.His man-of-the-match performance at Kingsmead, where he completed match-figures of 9 for 164, earned him an eight-place jump to the number-three spot, the highest of any England bowler since Steve Harmison was crowned No.1 in August 2004.Stuart Broad, who partnered Swann to condemn South Africa to defeat in Durban with 4 for 43 in the second innings, also gains, up six places to No.7 in the bowling rankings.Not surprisingly, the picture isn’t as rosy for most of South Africa’s bowlers. Under-pressure Makhaya Ntini has slipped four places to eight, after failing to take a wicket in the match while Paul Harris has dropped five places, out of the top ten, to No.12.On a more positive note, Morne Morkel, who has been the biggest threat for South Africa in the series, has gained six places and now sits in 24th position. Dale Steyn has managed to cling on to No.1 spot although he is under pressure from Mitchell Johnson, after Steyn’s mediocre return from injury in Durban.As far as the batting rankings are concerned, Andrew Strauss’s 49-ball 50 has helped him gain four places to joint-13th position, level with Rahul Dravid and AB de Villiers, who drops one place.For a full list of the rankings click here.

Shahadat Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan completed five-fors, while Sachin Tendulkar completed his 44th Test hundred as India were bowled out for 243 early on day two

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga17-Jan-2010
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Bangladesh, all pumped up and incisive, roared back “extraordinarily”, taking eight Indian wickets for 130 runs and forcing Sachin Tendulkar to dig deep to try and take India towards a respectable total. Shakib Al Hasan, who bowled 25 overs unchanged for 48 runs, and Shahadat Hossain, who bowled in hostile spurts, were at the centre of the comeback, taking four wickets apiece for 103 runs between them, and proving the Indians “still are human beings”. Every wicket pumped Bangladesh up more, every wicket was met with wild celebrations, special one among those being Shahadat’s after Dinesh Karthik’s wicket – a finger on his lips, telling his opponents in no unsubtle terms to watch their mouth.Virender Sehwag, who had called Bangladesh an “ordinary” side in the lead-up to the Test, got off to an aggressive start in a curtailed first session after fog and murky light delayed the start of the match. When he went into lunch, despite the balls stopping and coming and the turn available for the spinners, Shakib would have wondered if he had made the right decision by putting India in. India had raced to 63 for 0 in 13 overs, and immediately after the break Sehwag hit Shahadat for three boundaries in one over, reaching his fifty at more than a run a ball.Yet, Sehwag wasn’t totally in control. He had hit Shakib for a first-ball four, but the turn had had Sehwag in an edgy frame of mind. Off 12 balls of spin, Sehwag was forced to abort attacking shots because he was beaten in flight, rapped on the pads by arm balls, and had one bat-pad fly wide of forward short leg. He eventually lost patience and hit a shortish delivery straight to short cover. Shakib 1, Sehwag 0.Sehwag’s dismissal kick-started a period of aggressive and smart bowling and captaincy, which eventually resulted in soft dismissals. Gautam Gambhir, who had been circumspect in playing outside off, went to cut a wide delivery from Shahadat and the extra bounce caught the edge. Rahul Dravid came to bat in a situation tailor-made for him, but played all around a swinging yorker, and 79 for 0 became 85 for 3 in a matter of 17 deliveries.Shakib then kept his fast bowlers fresh by rotating them from one end, and keeping the pressure up bowling unchanged until stumps. With Rubel Hossain getting reverse-swing from the other end, there were no free hits, boundaries were plugged away, and Laxman, especially, struggled to get off strike. For 13.4 overs not a single boundary came.Shakib mixed the offbreaks and the arm balls well, also varied the degree of the flight. After a series of near dismissals – leaving alone an arm ball that almost shaved the off stump, hitting uppishly one bounce to short cover, and scoring 7 off 29 balls, Laxman finally over-balanced when looking to drive Shakib. The ball went straight on, took the inside edge onto the pad, and then rolled along to an alert Mushfiqur Rahim, who found Laxman short of his crease.There was no counterattack forthcoming from Yuvraj, who prodded and nudged Shakib dangerously for 30 deliveries, before the lack of clarity of thought consumed him. Caught completely in the defensive frame of mind, Yuvraj could have done many things with a gentle leg-side fulltoss, but lobbing it down mid-on’s throat wouldn’t have been high on the agenda. Immediately Shakib got Shahadat back, and as if on cue, Karthik drove at a wide delivery and edged low to gully.All the batsmen who got out had a lesson to learn from the man they passed when they walked back. Tendulkar, dropped on 16 by Imrul Kayes at wide slip, respected that the pitch was not flat, Shakib and Shahadat were bowling really well, and cut out undue risks. He didn’t play away from the body, worked the singles, found the gaps for twos, and even the edge that flew to the left of slip came against the run of play. Tendulkar capitalised on that, and without taking risks, maintained a strike-rate of 50-plus in reaching his 98th score of 50 and above.The other end, though, remained vulnerable. The tea break came just at the right time, and Shakib and Shahadat came back fresh. Tendulkar and Amit Mishra added 32 for the seventh wicket, but Shahadat came back to produce a reversing low full-toss to Mishra. Unlike Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan couldn’t make the most of a dropped catch, and the 27-run eight wicket ended when an arm ball got him.Before bad light kept India’s first innings fighting for another day, two statements were made that suggested that Bangladesh were not as ordinary as India had thought. Tendulkar was forced to try and farm strike, and more often than not Shakib bowled smartly enough to keep him at the other end and expose the tailender for a complete over to Shahadat. And just before stumps, Shakib, not lacking in a sense of drama, bowled with three slips, a silly point, a forward short leg, and a leg gully to Ishant Sharma.