He won’t play for CA XI against England Lions after being dropped from the Queensland Sheffield Shield team
Alex Malcolm12-Feb-2020Queensland and Australia’s out-of-favour Test opener Matt Renshaw will take a short break from cricket in order to freshen up after being dropped from Queensland’s Sheffield Shield team for the upcoming clash against Tasmania in Brisbane.Renshaw, 23, missed out on Queensland’s 12-man squad after scoring just 182 runs at 20.22 with a highest score of just 36 in 10 Sheffield Shield innings prior to the BBL. He had come out of the BBL as Brisbane Heat’s second-highest run-scorer, which included three half-centuries, but made just 26 off 117 balls in Queensland’s 2nd XI clash with Western Australia in Perth last week.The return of Joe Burns and Marnus Labuschagne saw him squeezed out of Queensland’s Shield top order with Bryce Street’s form in his debut season entrenching him at the top, while Sam Heazlett made 125 for the Queensland’s 2nd XI in their innings victory over WA.Renshaw didn’t play club cricket last Saturday for family reasons but was set to be selected in the Cricket Australia XI to face England Lions in a four-day game in Hobart starting this Saturday. It is understood he was initially keen to play but following a lengthy and arduous BBL and a 2nd XI trip to Perth last week it was decided, in conjunction with the Queensland management, that Renshaw should rest for a couple of weeks to freshen up.He won’t play club cricket for Toombul this weekend although rain is likely to wash out a majority of Queensland premier cricket games in Brisbane.He will instead prepare for Queensland’s next 2nd XI fixture which begins on February 24 against ACT/NSW Country although he may well come into consideration for Queensland’s Sheffield Shield match against Victoria starting on the same date, with skipper Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne likely to be missing.Khawaja will play in the Australia A clash with England Lions at the MCG starting on February 22 while Labuschagne will head to South Africa to join Australia’s ODI squad ahead of the first ODI of a three-match series starting on February 29.Renshaw has not been in Test calculations since the tour of the UAE in October 2018. After suffering a concussion whilst fielding at short leg in the warm-up game he was not selected for the two Tests against Pakistan despite being passed fit.Since then he has averaged just 21.68 in 34 first-class games for Queensland and Kent with just two half-centuries. Australia have used six different Test openers in that period including Burns, Khawaja, David Warner, Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, and Cameron Bancroft.
Federico Chiesa's agent has reportedly flown to London to hold talks with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur as Juventus exit looms.
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Federico Chiesa set for Juventus exitAgent holds talks with Chelsea and TottenhamManchester United also reportedly interested(C)Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
Chiesa has been heavily linked with a move away from Juventus this summer with the Serie A champions keen to sell the winger as his current contract is set to expire in the summer of 2025. He is also not expected to be a part of Thiago Motta's plans at the Allianz Stadium, hence, Chiesa's agent has been holding talks with potential future clubs.
AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE
As per Corriere dello Sport, Chiesa's agent, Fali Ramadani flew to London last weekend to hold talks with Chelsea and Tottenham as both London sides look to improve their squads. Manchester United have also linked with the winger and his situation is expected to be clarified ahead of the start of the new season.
GettyDID YOU KNOW?
Chiesa as also been linked with Roma and Napoli, however, Gli Azzurri have moved on to other targets while I Giallorossi have chosen to concentrate on Matias Soule. Chiesa played in 37 games last season, tallying 10 goals and dishing out three assists.
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WHAT NEXT FOR CHIESA?
The Italian winger has not travelled with the Juventus squad for their Germany preseason squad, he will be hoping to have his future sorted out sooner rather than later as he will need a proper preseason before joining another club.
West Ham United's history in the transfer market is littered with mistakes and misfires, though David Moyes' tenure has birthed a period of consistency that reached its apex last June with triumph in the Europa Conference League.
Greater accuracy in the market has coincided with the emergence of Declan Rice, who graduated from the club's academy before completing 245 senior appearances and playing a pivotal part in the club's growth before completing a £105m transfer to Arsenal last summer.
Declan Rice with the Europa Conference League trophy for West Ham.
While Ben Johnson plays for Moyes' first team and a rich crop of teenage talent pushes for a regular place at present, homegrown breakthroughs have been few and far between, with perhaps the most thrilling to take the stage (barring Rice) Grady Diangana, a fleet-footed and artful winger.
There was quite the buzz surrounding Diangana's prospects, but West Ham made the contentious decision to cash in right when he was on the cusp of prominence…
Why West Ham sold Grady Diangana
It was 2020. Moyes had just navigated away from relegation danger after returning to West Ham midway through the 2019/20 campaign and was set on building the squad.
Diangana was a promising player but, with an overload of wide players following Jarrod Bowen's £22m arrival from Hull City in January 2020, it became clear that cashing in on Diangana, one of the club's most saleable assets, might be the right move, albeit unpopular.
Grady Diangana for West Ham.
The club had anticipated Rice's sale but Chelsea, who let the player go from Cobham during his formative years and held a vested interest in recovering his signature, were not in a position to launch a bid for what would have been an expensive acquisition, and so Diangana was the apt alternative.
And so, well-known admirers West Bromwich Albion were handed an inroad and secured Diangana's services for a fee approaching £18m in September 2020, leaving Irons captain Mark Noble incensed.
Understandably, Noble was concerned about the sale of a player who had burst onto the scene and been praised by the likes of pundit Paul Merson for looking "very good going forward", with his partnership with Marko Arnautovic particularly catching the eye.
Still, for all the noise surrounding his departure, hindsight suggests that West Ham actually pulled off something of a blinder in cashing in when they did, with the DR Congo international suffering quite the depreciation over the past few years.
Furthermore, funds raised were directed toward the signings of players such as Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek and, more directly, Said Benrahma.
All three of those stars have played big parts in the illustrious journey of recent years, and Diangana, conversely, has been mired in the Championship and fluctuating in performance for his current club.
Grady Diangana's market value in 2024
Diangana has now racked up 156 appearances for West Brom, scoring 22 goals and providing 16 assists for his teammates, with his ebb and flow in performance suggesting that maybe West Ham were right to place the player on the market.
He hit the ground running at the Hawthorns and plundered eight goals and seven assists across 31 fixtures in the 2019/20 Championship term, with his efforts as a loanee convincing the Midlands club to move ahead with a risky outlay.
Risky it might have been but Diangana's goal contributions were pivotal in a campaign that saw the Baggies clinch promotion to the Premier League, though it was a short return the following year as a timid effort culminated in a bottom-placed finish.
Diangana didn't offer much, scoring once and failing to add any assists across his 20 outings, with the West Ham pathos over the winger's sale quickly morphing into the acceptance that the powers that be engineered a shrewd deal, especially given Moyes' first full term at the helm resulted in a sixth-place finish and a route into Europe. The rest, as they say, is history.
West Brom winger Grady Diangana.
To emphasise Diangana's stark decline and West Ham's success in cashing in while they did, Football Transfers' valuation model currently marks the 25-year-old at just £2m, which makes for a shocking 89% nosedive in value.
Grady Diangana's season in numbers
In fairness, Diangana has been electric – if inconsistent – under Carlos Corberan's management and has chalked up seven goals and five assists from just 22 starting roles in the second tier this season, with West Brom chasing down a return to the big-time once again.
His comparative prolificness somewhat clouds over some mediocre showings, however, with Diangana averaging just 0.7 tackles and 2.3 ball recoveries per game while succeeding with only 43% of his dribbles and 42% of his contested duels, as per Sofascore.
23/24
Championship
27
7
5
22/23
Championship
31
4
3
21/22
Championship
41
2
1
20/21
Premier League
20
1
0
19/20
Championship
30
8
7
18/19
Premier League
17
0
1
Given Diangana's up-and-down form over the past several seasons, if West Brom do manage to achieve promotion to the Premier League there is no promise that he will find himself thriving, not quite boasting the ambit of qualities needed. Moreover, his record of one goal and one assist across 37 showings in the top flight is hardly awe-inspiring.
Ultimately, West Ham pulled off a blinder in completing Diangana's sale when they did, and while it was met with a unison of disapproval, the London club has since moved through the gears to cement itself as a major player not only in the Premier League but on the continent.
Market Movers
Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?
With the likes of Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta some of the wide forwards plying their trade on Moyes' flanks right now, it really is hard to make a case that Diangana would be performing as a prominent member.
Less than 24 hours after playing key hands in India’s 3-0 series whitewash of South Africa, Mayank Agarwal and R Ashwin will be back on the field, playing for their respective states in the Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-finals in Bengaluru.They won’t be on opposite sides on Wednesday though, with Ashwin’s Tamil Nadu taking on the Parthiv Patel-led Gujarat at the Just Cricket Academy grounds. Agarwal, meanwhile, will link up with Karnataka for the semi-final against Chhattisgarh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.Rains have lashed the city for the past fortnight, and forecast for Wednesday looks grim. With the drainage facility far from being top notch at the Just Cricket Academy, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, there is a real threat of a truncated contest or a no result, as was the case on Monday, with Tamil Nadu pipping Punjab because of more wins in the group stage.If there is a washout, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will progress to the final owing to more wins in the group stage. Tamil Nadu were unbeaten in nine games, while Karnataka won seven out of their eight fixtures to top Groups A and B combined, before seeing off Puducherry’s threat in their final-eight fixture on Monday.ALSO READ: Pandey, Jaiswal lead list of top performers in Vijay Hazare TrophyAgarwal’s inclusion could give the Karnataka team management some healthy selection headaches. While he’ll replace Abhishek Reddy in the squad, it remains to be seen if the team management would want to disturb a successful opening combination of KL Rahul and 19-year old Devdutt Padikkal, who has been among the most impressive batsmen in the tournament.Rahul has made 458 runs in nine innings, with a century and three fifties while Padikkal is the sixth-highest run scorer overall, with 506 runs in nine innings, with two centuries and four half-centuries.Meanwhile, Ashwin, whose inclusion could force Tamil Nadu to play two specialist spinners – legspinner M Ashwin being the other – recently became the joint-fastest to 350 test wickets along with Muttiah Muralitharan. He achieved the feat in his 66th Test.Ashwin (357) is India’s 4th highest wicket-taker in tests, with only Harbhajan Singh (417), Kapil Dev (434) and Anil Kumble (619) ahead of him in the list.
Only 19 of more than 300 domestic players in the draft have stipulated a reserve price
ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2019English players have been conservative in their salary demands ahead of Sunday’s inaugural draft for The Hundred, with only 19 of the 331 domestic players choosing to put down a reserve price.While many of the big overseas names in the draft have opted for a base price of £100,000 or more, meaning they will have to be picked in the first four rounds if at all, only four English players – Joe Denly, Liam Livingstone, Samit Patel and Mark Wood – have dared to enter with a reserve price as high as £60,000.Seven players – Ian Bell, Sam Billings, Morne Morkel, Liam Plunkett, Delray Rawlins, Olly Stone and Ryan ten Doeschate – have entered with a reserve price of £50,000.Eight more – Kyle Abbott, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Gareth Harte, Richard Levi, Wayne Madsen, Hamidullah Qadri, Rilee Rossouw and Hardus Viljoen – have a reserve price of £40,000, while the rest have none, meaning they could go for as little as £30,000.The vast majority of players with a county deal have put their names forward, meaning there are few notable omissions – though some red-ball specialists like Alastair Cook, Rob Yates and Nick Browne have not entered.Those without a base price that can hope to be picked up relatively early in the draft include Ravi Bopara, Liam Dawson, Cameron Delport, Lewis Gregory, Tymal Mills and Reece Topley, while the overwhelming majority of recent stars in the T20 Blast are on the full list.Several players without a county contract have entered, including recent pros Mohammad Azharullah, Richard Oliver, and Azeem Rafiq.As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the overseas player list includes global T20 stars including Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Glenn Maxwell, though AB de Villiers has not registered for the competition.Harbhajan Singh was the only Indian to have initially entered the draft, but had a change of mind and wanted to focus on playing in the IPL. The BCCI made it clear to him that unless he was retired he could not be permitted to play overseas T20 leagues.Some players have moved their reserve prices since ESPNcricinfo revealed an earlier version of the overseas player list. Lungi Ngidi has removed his initial reserve price of £125,000, while Shahid Afridi has changed his down from £100,000 to £60,000.Several more overseas players have registered since then, including Mohammad Amir, Hazratullah Zazai, Umar Akmal and Avishka Fernando. In total, there are now 239 overseas players registered for the draft.
Glasgow Rangers perhaps delivered their finest victory of the season over the weekend as they dismantled an in-form Hearts side who had taken 28 points across their previous ten matches.
Not only did the Light Blues register another confidence-boosting win, but they scored five against the Gorgie outfit without reply, and it piled the pressure on Celtic ahead of their clash against Motherwell on Sunday.
They ended up securing a late win, but the Parkhead side were far from their best and Rangers now have the momentum for the first time in a while.
Much has been said about the recruitment of both teams over the previous few years, but Philippe Clement’s three January signings all scored against Hearts and this injection of freshness might just prove to be the difference in the chase for the Premiership crown.
One incoming in particular has already made such a positive impact that there is no doubt he could become one of the finest players in the squad over the next few years; Mohamed Diomande.
How much Mohamed Diomande cost Rangers
Prior to Christmas, Clement had to endure an injury crisis that deep at the club that he was forced to play Dujon Sterling – a natural full-back – in the heart of the midfield in a major domestic cup final, and it gave him an idea of just how much the squad needed to be bolstered.
Having added Fabio Silva to his side in the winter window, it looked as though the Belgian manager was going to focus on further strengthening his attacking options, but he pulled off a major surprise with a move for Diomande.
The Ivorian midfielder had starred for Danish side FC Nordsjaelland during the first half of the 2023/24 campaign, ranking in the top five among his teammates for big chances created and interceptions per game in the Superliga, and it looked as though Clement had secured a talented young maestro.
The 22-year-old was signed on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy for a fee in excess of £4.3m, and it looked like a wise move for the Gers.
"I am really pleased to have been able to add Mohamed to our squad, and I am excited to see what he can bring to our team," beamed Clement after the announcement that he had signed.
"In our conversations and what I have seen of him as a player, I believe he will be a real asset to us, not only in what remains of this season, but in the seasons to come also.”
Mohammed Diomande
After just five matches, this statement from the manager is already coming true.
Mohamed Diomande's season in numbers
The midfielder was given just 16 minutes of action in his first two league matches, but between those games, he started in the 2-0 Scottish Cup win over Ayr United at Ibrox and gave the supporters a demonstration of his talents.
This earned him a first Premiership start against St Johnstone last weekend, and he certainly delivered a wonderful display when it was needed most.
Against the Saints, he opened the scoring with a fantastic low drive just before the interval, along with making two key passes, succeeding with 100% of his dribble attempts and winning every single one of the ground duels he contested.
Games
4
Goals
2
Key passes per game
1
Successful dribbles per game
0.8 (100% success rate)
Balls recovered per game
2.8
This showed that not only can he be a threat going forward, but he also won't be bullied off the ball easily and can chip in from a defensive viewpoint, which could be crucial in tight matches between now and the end of the season.
Diomande was given another start against Hearts on Saturday, and he scored his second goal in a week to open the scoring once again, and it set the tone for a dominant display from Rangers.
Furthermore, he also won all of his ground duels while completing 86% of his passes, and it was another solid showing from the new boy.
His performances may certainly keep Nicolas Raskin out of the team, but could he even be better than the Belgian gem?
How Diomande compares to Nicolas Raskin
Following the win over Hearts, Rangers Review journalist Chris Jack hailed the signing and said that the call from Clement has certainly “paid off so far” with regard to bringing him to Ibrox last month.
Raskin has plenty of talent, yet fitness has disrupted his campaign so far during 2023/24. He has missed 18 games due to a couple of injury problems and failed to really build any momentum.
Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin.
The midfielder has scored just one goal in 20 appearances, while Diomande has two in just five games, demonstrating his positive instant impact.
The Ivorian has also registered more key passes per game (1 vs 0.8) than Raskin and succeeded with more successful dribbles per game (0.8 vs 0.6), showing that he certainly possesses a greater attacking threat than his fellow teammate.
Clement needed a player to come in last month and make an immediate impact, and Diomande has done just that, which could be the boost the Gers need to get over the finishing line.
The onus is now on the manager and his side to continue winning and putting in solid performances to fend off Celtic, while also potentially going far in the Europa League, although this would be a bonus.
Signing Diomande for just over £4.3m is already beginning to look like a major steal and if he continues to maintain his impressive start to life at the club, then he will become one of the first names in the starting XI as the season reaches its crescendo.
Could he be the driving force which sees the Light Blues end a three-year wait for the league title? Only time will tell.
Leeds United are still pushing to sign a Premier League player before the deadline, with a fresh round of transfer talks recently held.
Leeds transfer rumours
The Whites are not in Championship action now until after the January transfer window closes, with a 1-0 win over Norwich City in the week closing the gap on Ipswich Town and Southampton in the race for automatic promotion.
EFL Championship done deals: Every January 2024 transfer
As the January transfer window closes, FFC has you covered for every in and out involving your club in the EFL Championship.
By
Luke Randall
Feb 1, 2024
Daniel Farke and his side now have to navigate a fourth-round FA Cup tie at home to Plymouth Argyle on Saturday afternoon before owners the 49ers Enterprises possibly look to seal a number of late new signings in the final days of the market.
The priority appears to be on additions in defence, with right-backs Djed Spence and Luke Ayling leaving Elland Road earlier this month, with the former having his loan terminated and the latter heading to Middlesbrough after struggling for game time.
A number of full-back names have been rumoured to come in and fill the void left by the pair, including Liverpool’s Calvin Ramsay, Tottenham Hotspur’s Ben Davies, West Ham’s Ben Johnson and Burnley’s Connor Roberts. However, additions in the final third could also be made.
Manuel Benson
Burnley winger Manuel Benson has been heavily linked with a move to Yorkshire, and a new transfer twist has come to light.
Manuel Benson transfer update
Benson has been on the radar at Elland Road this month, with journalist Sacha Tavolieri claiming previously that Leeds wanted the Burnley man to replace Wilfried Gnonto, who was linked with West Ham.
However, a lot has happened since then. Reports suggested that the Whites were in “very advanced talks” to sign Benson, but it was then claimed that Southampton were set to win the race for his services. To add to all of the updates, it has since been rumoured that Gnonto is close to signing a new Leeds deal.
Deal close: Phil Hay shares what he's heard on Gnonto's Leeds contract
The future of one Leeds player looked uncertain up to this point.
By
David Comerford
Jan 24, 2024
Despite this, the 49ers are still pushing to sign Benson, with fresh transfer talks held on Wednesday for the Premier League attacker. Tavolieri said on Thursday…
Journalist Josh Bunting hailed Benson as an “aggressive” winger and overall “beautiful footballer” last season, and after his second-tier tally of 12 goals and three assists helped Burnley earn promotion, whoever wins the race for Benson between Leeds and Southampton could get a much-needed boost for the Championship run-in.
In what it a rarity these days, Chelsea didn't spend a single penny in the January transfer window, with their late focus instead on showing Armando Broja the exit door, allowing the young forward to leave on loan to Fulham for the rest of the season. When the summer transfer window arrives, however, the Blues are seemingly ready to steal the headlines once more.
Chelsea transfer news
After Chelsea made a late U-turn on the future of Broja, the forward completed a move to London rivals Fulham for a reported loan fee of £4m. The former Southampton loanee expressed his delight over the move, saying: “It feels amazing. I’m really happy to be here and I can’t wait to get started, meet the players and manager and play for the fans.
"The fans always play a big role and I can’t wait to go to Craven Cottage and meet them all. I’m going to work hard for the team and create a real bond. I’m really honoured and excited to be here.”
The Blues have now reportedly turned their attention to incomings and a potential defensive boost in the summer transfer window. According to reports in Spain, Todd Boehly and Chelsea are eyeing a move for Giorgio Scalvini from Atalanta this summer ahead of Premier League rivals Manchester United and Manchester City.
It remains to be seen just how much the Serie A club demand for the 19-year-old defender, but with his current contract not expiring until 2028, Atalanta are certainly in strong position to negotiate. Chelsea may need to sell before they can buy to comply with FFP rules too, according to football finance expert Stefan Borson.
Borson told talkSPORT: “In my mind, there’s certainly trouble on the horizon, and they will certainly fail FFP for the current season. Unless – and it seems to be very unlikely – that by June 30 this year they sell well over £100m of players. But the window they can now do that is going to be very small, because the season is going to finish and we’ve got the Euros.
"So if you look at someone like Gallagher, he’s going to be in the Euros from June 14, so if they want to ship him before June 30, they’ve got to move very quickly. And again, the likely buyers are going to know that Chelsea need to sell players.”
"Dominant" Scalvini can replace Silva
At 39-years-old, the curtain is coming down on Thiago Silva's illustrious career, leaving Chelsea in need of a replacement. And sticking to Boehly's trend of securing players for the future, Scalvini could be the perfect option. When compared to Silva, Scalvini's stats certainly represent a player who is capable of stepping into the Premier League next season.
Progressive Carries
16
1
Progressive Passes
60
69
Tackles Won
23
10
Aerial Duels Won
54
34
Interceptions
39
19
Scalvini's rise has been well-documented by Football Talent Scout's Jacek Kulig, who previously praised the defender, describing him as "dominant" when posting on X.
Mesmo jogando como visitante frente a Ponte Preta no Moisés Lucarelli, quem venceu na noite desta quinta-feira (4), fechando a segunda rodada do Paulistão, foi o Santo André. Com o placar favorável de 2 a 0, o time da região do ABC foi a quatro pontos (virando o líder do Grupo A) enquanto a Ponte fica em terceiro no Grupo B com uma unidade.
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>Confira a classificação atualizada do Paulistão
AUSÊNCIA DE CHANCES CLARAS
A boa movimentação do ataque tanto da Macaca como do Ramalhão até apareceu em momentos pontuais diante de uma mistura de forte marcação e muitos erros de passe de ambos os lados. Todavia, quando algum momento de perigo de gol surgia, o grande problema nessas situações acabou sendo a conclusão. Seja na bola rasteira de Minho que a zaga da Ponte conseguiu fazer o corte como na bonita enfiada de Renan Mota onde Paulo Sérgio só não foi mais rápido que a saída do gol precisa de Fernando Henrique que bloqueou a tentativa de drible.
RETRATOS DA PARTIDA
Logo na primeira parte do tempo complementar, foi possível traduzir de maneira fidedigna, em dois momentos do confronto, como o problema de finalização era algo latente para quem conseguia abrir os espaços necessários de criação.
A Ponte teve boas situações para ser aguda no ataque quando Apodi recebeu do lado direito do ataque além de Paulo Sergio, na altura da meia-lua, ficando de frente para a meta defendida por Fernando Henrique. Porém, enquanto o lateral-direito chutou o chão, o camisa 9 da Macaca simplesmente isolou a bola.
ENSINA, GEGÊ!
Se do lado pontepretano estava difícil acertar a mira nos raros momentos ofensivos, o Ramalhão apresentou com Gegê uma verdadeira pintura que inaugurou o placar do Moisés Lucarelli com muito estilo. O meia do Santo André, de longe, acertou um petardo de perna esquerda em bola que foi no ângulo esquerdo de Luan que até pulou, mas nem de longe conseguiria alcançar tamanha a perfeição da batida.
TENTOU RECUPERAR
Se empatar sendo superior territorialmente e quando havia melhorado seu desempenho já era ruim, sair atrás do marcador forçou o time de Campinas a ser ainda mais incisivo e tentar “acuar” de todas as formas o clube do ABC na busca pela reação. Porém, variando entre recuar totalmente suas linhas e conseguir por vezes sair do seu campo defensivo como “desafogo” (chegando a perder uma incrível oportunidade de ampliar com Fernandinho), o Santo André se saiu bem e conseguiu os três pontos.
FICHA TÉCNICA PONTE PRETA 0 x 1 SANTO ANDRÉ
Local: Moisés Lucarelli, em Campinas (SP) Data e hora: 04/03/2021 – 19h Árbitro:Fabiano Monteiro dos Santos Assistentes:Danilo Ricardo Simon Manis e Miguel Cataneo Ribeiro da Costa VAR:Rodrigo Guarizo Ferreira do Amaral Cartões amarelos: Ruan Renato (PON); Giovanni Palmieri, Paulo Roberto (SAN)
GOLS: Gegê (15’/2°T) (0-1)
PONTE PRETA (Técnico: Fábio Moreno)
Luan; Apodi, Ruan Renato, Luizão e Yuri; Dahwan, Vini Locatelli e Renan Mota (Bruno Michel, aos 32’/2°T); Pedrinho (João Veras, aos 15’/2°T), Moisés e Paulo Sérgio.
SANTO ANDRÉ (Técnico: Paulo Roberto Santos)
Fernando Henrique; Marcos Martins, Rodrigo, Willian Goiano e Giovanni Palmieri; Léo Costa (Paulo Roberto, aos 17’/1°T), Marino e Gegê (Wesley Fraga, aos 23’/2°T); Rone, Minho (Fernandinho, aos 2’/2°T) e Ramon (Tiago Marques, aos 24’/2°T).
Gary O'Neil and Wolves find themselves in a difficult position in this month's transfer window. Despite making an £80m profit last summer, the Midlands outfit still aren't out of the woods when it comes to Financial Fair Play compliance, and that's set to shape any business they do before the deadline.
There's a chance that Wolves may sign targets on an initial loan with a later obligation or option to buy, deferring payments to next season's accounts, or they could alternatively reinvest money they generate through outgoings. Either way, there will be an emphasis on finding bargain gems for now, rather than doing headline deals. And Wolves' talent-spotters may have found one player who fits that bill.
Wolves one of six clubs keen on Rosario
According to Chris McKenna, a journalist for The Daily Mirror, Wolves are interested in Pablo Rosario at Nice. They're one of a quartet of Premier League sides "keeping an eye on" the midfielder this month, alongside Fulham, West Ham and Brentford.
Wolves have been scouting the player "in recent months" and have clearly been impressed by what they've seen, but Rosario is also attracting interest from Germany in the form of Stuttgart and Werder Bremen, so they don't exactly have a free run at the player.
Rosario offers possible Gomes solution amid Spurs interest
Rosario played for Feyenoord, Ajax and PSV during his time in youth football, but eventually left his homeland to join Nice in 2021. He's four short of a century of appearances for the south-of-France club, having tacked 17 onto his tally this season. While he's not considered undroppable by manager Francesco Farioli, he has been heavily involved, starting ten of their 18 Ligue 1 games so far this season.
While he's a defensive midfielder by trade, Rosario has featured in four different positions this season, also filling in as a centre-back, right-back and more advanced midfielder. All that chopping and changing makes it hard to assess him statistically, but it's the kind of versatility that makes him a manager's dream and an asset to any squad.
It should also be noted, given that the majority of those roles are defensive in nature, that Nice have only conceded 11 league goals this season, fewer than any side in Europe's top five leagues. Rosario deserves credit for the role he's played in that achievement.
All confirmed Premier League done deals: January transfer window 2024
With the January transfer window coming towards its conclusion, FFC has all the info for tracking your club’s winter transfer activity.
ByLuke Randall Feb 1, 2024
Wolves are currently fielding interest in 2023 signing Joao Gomes, who's caught the eye of Champions League-chasing Tottenham Hotspur and could be subject to a "substantial" bid. Given that Rosario is primarily a defensive shield, he could be a short-to-medium term replacement for the Brazilian in Gary O'Neil's midfield, if indeed he does leave. In light of Wolves' FFP concerns, it might be that the money from his potential sale is directly put towards this deal, though we'll wait to see if Spurs match Wolves' asking price first.