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Declan Rice continued his phenomenal form as West Ham United’s unbeaten start to the 2021/22 campaign came to a crushing end on Sunday.

David Moyes’ side were beaten 2-1 by Manchester United at the London Stadium in a game marred by late controversy as club captain Mark Noble came on as a substitute to miss a penalty, just minutes after last season’s loan star Jesse Lingard bagged an agonising winner.

In amongst the heartbreak, it was the 22-year-old England international who displayed exactly why teams like their opposition are interested in signing him ahead of 2022.

According to The Sun earlier this month, both Manchester giants are set to go head-to-head in a battle to try and secure the Hammers star next summer, though they’ll have to pay in excess of £100m.

In the heart of midfield, Rice was shades of Roy Keane, something on which the Sky Sports pundit even commented himself during the game.

“He’s way ahead of me when I was 22. I think the next step will come to him when he plays a higher level and when I say higher level I mean for Manchester United,” he said.

Indeed, the £63m-rated beast managed to record the best passing accuracy on the pitch, making 97% of his 59 attempts – a feat that not even Paul Pogba nor Bruno Fernandes could match on the afternoon.

He also completed 100% of his long ball attempts, which is even more impressive considering the lack of a target man in this West Ham squad.

Rice was one of Moyes’ most influential players, registering a squad-high 68 touches, in which he only lost possession three times, and that was amongst the lowest on the pitch as he proved to be a very hard man to dispossess – almost as if he ran the show, despite the defeat.

Keane wasn’t the only one to shower the Englishman in praise either as the Evening Standard’s Jack Rosser graded his performance a 9/10 and wrote: ‘Another stellar showing following his goalscoring European debut in the week.’

Rice, who earns around £60k-per-week currently, also showed his defensive capabilities by putting in two interceptions and one tackle, though it wasn’t enough to thwart the finishing qualities of Ronaldo and his teammate from last season.

All in all, though, Rice was perhaps the one shining light from a bitter day at the London Stadium.

AND in other news, Signed for £15m, now worth 140% more: Moyes struck gold over “unplayable” West Ham gem…

A number of Liverpool supporters are fuming after talk over Erling Haaland joining the Reds was shrugged off by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

The Norwegian has emerged as arguably the most exciting young player in world football at the moment, performing at an incredibly high level for Borussia Dortmund.

Haaland has scored 66 goals in as many appearances for the Bundesliga giants, and at 21, he looks to have an incredible future ahead of him.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

The thought of the striker even being in a Liverpool shirt is a mouthwatering one and the Reds have been linked with an audacious move for the hitman in the past.

However, speaking to Bild [via AS] recently, Bayern Munich legend claimed that Haaland won’t be moving to Anfield due to FSG being miserly in the transfer market.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-3/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans angry at Haaland latest

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to fume over the comments from Rummenigge, once again seeing it as a stick with which to beat the much-maligned FSG.

“You know you are a joke when even other owners are openly saying our owners don’t spend! Yet you got these top Reds in my mentions saying how great they are…”

Credit: @Thiago6STAN

“Tears. Even chairmen can say this about us and we cannot do anything because that’s the truth”

Credit: @AbhideepJain6

“In other news, water is wet”

Credit: @ali_reza110

“WOOWOWOWOW. We are getting bantered”

Credit: @AbdelDC

“This is so embarrassing”

Credit: @sleepyyzie

“Tearssssss”

Credit: @LadyToluu

In other news, Liverpool are reportedly in the chase to sign a legendary player. Find out who it is here.

With Valerien Ismael seeing his West Bromwich Albion side struggle in recent weeks, with the Baggies currently being on a run of three Championship fixtures without a win, having scored just two goals over these games, there is one clear area of the pitch that needs improvement at The Hawthorns – up front.

Indeed, while the Frenchman did bring in Jordan Hugill to help bolster Albion’s attack in the summer transfer window, the Norwich City loanee is yet to find the back of the net over his four Championship appearances, while none of Callum Robinson, Karlan Grant, Grady Diangana or Matt Phillips have exactly been in clinical form in front of goal – with the quartet having scored six league goals between them.

As such, considering the 45-year-old West Brom manager is yet to spend any of the £17.17m received from the sales of players this summer, it would appear highly advisable for Ismael to pull the trigger on move for a target the Baggies boss is known to be a fan of in the winter transfer window – Daryl Dike.

Dike could transform West Brom

Having highly impressed under Ismael at Barnsley side last season, Dike is a centre-forward who clearly boasts the ability to find the back of the net on a regular basis in the Championship, as well as one who is accustomed to the Frenchman’s style of play.

Indeed, over his 19 Championship appearances for the Tykes – only 13 of which came as starts – the £9m-rated man scored nine goals, as well as taking an average of 1.7 shots and making 0.7 key passes per game.

These returns saw the player Ismael himself dubbed an “unbelievable” talent earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.15, ranking him as Barnsley’s third-best performer in the second tier.

However, with the Express & Star journalist Joesph Masi recently revealing that Orlando City were demanding £18m in order to sanction the sale of the 21-year-old, it is clear to see why Ismael did not sanction a move for the centre-forward in the summer window.

Although, with this asking price more than likely being a starting point for negotiations – and one that could be lowered in discussions – coupled with the fact that West Brom appear in desperate need of a clinical striker in order to give them the best possible chance of securing promotion, it would seem wise for the Albion boss to do all he can to land Dike in January, as the USA international could well transform the Baggies’ season from disappointment to success.

In other news: West Brom handed double fitness boost ahead of QPR clash, Ismael will be buzzing

Kolkata Knight Riders will announce their captain and squad for the IPL’s second season in South Africa and not in India

Cricinfo staff30-Mar-2009Kolkata Knight Riders will announce their captain and squad for the IPL’s second season in South Africa and not in India.”I don’t want to disclose the names of the players who would be going to South Africa now as we want to keep all options open,” Joy Bhattacharya, Kolkata’s team director, said after the conclusion of a six-day training camp at the Eden Gardens. “We might take the whole squad which took part in the conditioning camp to South Africa. Nothing has been finalised right now. The final team for KKR would be announced in South Africa.”John Buchanan, Kolkata’s director of cricket operations, had already sparked speculation with his revolutionary theory of doing away with a fixed captain and instead have four or five leaders through the tournament. Kolkata had been led in the first season by their ‘icon’ player, Sourav Ganguly, who is not fully convinced by Buchanan’s multiple-captain theory.Kolkata’s players will leave for Bloemfontein in batches, with the first lot flying out on Tuesday evening for the tournament which kicks off on April 18. Ganguly is expected to leave for South Africa on April 5.

Jeetan Patel has been called up to the ODI squad as cover for the captain Daniel Vettori, who is expecting the birth of his child

Cricinfo staff06-Mar-2009Jeetan Patel, the New Zealand offspinner, has been called up to the ODI squad as cover for the captain Daniel Vettori, who is expecting the birth of his child.The New Zealand team manager Dave Currie said Vettori, the solitary spinner in the squad, and his wife Mary were anticipating the possibility of minor complications related to the birth of their child, expected shortly. “In case Daniel is called away at short notice Jeetan has come in on standby,” he said. “He will remain with the squad through the ODI series or until required.”Patel was a member of the New Zealand A squad, playing against the visiting England Lions. His place has been taken by Bruce Martin, the left-arm spinner from Northern Districts. Patel last represented New Zealand earlier this year, in the five-ODI series against Australia. He managed just one wicket in three ODIs, conceding 110 runs.

England’s batsmen took the opportunity to find their form ahead of this week’s first Test as they drew their tour match with West Indies A at Warner Park

Cricinfo staff31-Jan-2009 West Indies A 574 for 8 dec and 16 for 0 drew with England 414 (Strauss 97*, Pietersen 92, Collingwood 82, Bell 52)
Scorecard
Andrew Strauss is bowled three short of his hundred © Getty Images
England’s batsmen took the opportunity to find form ahead of this week’s first Test as the tour match with West Indies A at Warner Park petered out in a tame draw. Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell all made fifties as England were dismissed for 414 late on the third and final day before the captains agreed to call time early.”It was not an ideal work-out but it was a pretty good one,” Strauss said. “We head to Jamaica with just about as much as we could have got out of this practice time. Clearly when the Test match comes along there will be a need to raise intensity and sharpen up.”Pietersen got the day off to a breezy start with a 53-ball fifty inside the first hour, including five four off one over from legspinner Gavin Wallace, and by the drinks interval he had almost caught up Strauss who was 47 ahead at the start. In all, the morning produced 161 runs in 30 overs.Strauss also found his touch as the session wore on, sweeping Amit Jaggernauth for six and then pulling him for four, but in the next over he played all round a legbreak from Wallace three runs short of his hundred.Pietersen followed soon after for 92, bowled trying to hit Jaggernauth through midwicket, and when Owais Shah was rather dubiously given lbw for 9, three wickets had fallen for 28 and England were wobbling on 270 for 5.Collingwood and Matt Prior steadied the ship either side of the interval, adding 80 for the sixth wicket before Bell was run-out for the second time in as many outings, calling Collingwood for a sharp single only to change his mind.Graeme Swann edged Wallace to slip, and then Collingwood’s 82 ended when he top edged an attempted hook off Kevin McClean and wicketkeeper Devon Thomas took a swirling catch. Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Harmison bothfell to return catches off short balls as the final three wickets fell for seven runs.Resuming with a 160-run lead, West Indies A reached 16 for 0 in five uneventful five overs before both sides decided to end play early.

Martin Crowe, the former New Zealand captain who was a vocal critic of the previous coaching regime, has expressed his happiness with the new-look team announced on Saturday to take on West Indies

Cricinfo staff06-Dec-2008
Tim McIntosh is in the form of his life, says Martin Crowe © Getty Images
Martin Crowe, the former New Zealand captain who was a vocal critic of the previous coaching regime, has expressed his happiness with the new-look team announced on Saturday to take on West Indies. The New Zealand selectors had made several changes, including dropping opener Aaron Redmond and fast bowler Chris Martin, and recalled Mark Gillespie besides calling up opener Tim McIntosh.”The team selected for the first Test is a ripper. Batsmen like McIntosh, in the form of his life, and quickies like Gillespie, charging in fit and strong, is fantastic news,” he told New Zealand’s .Other changes to the squad include the recall of allrounder James Franklin and the return of Jacob Oram from injury. “With Oram back fit too and Brendon McCullum finding form in Adelaide, the team now have, with the skipper [Daniel Vettori] and the return of James Franklin, the most explosive multi-talented allrounders in the game. This lower order is arguably the strongest NZ has ever selected.”There is a powerful look to the whole squad and, along with a smaller support group, these men will prosper in this series and going forward.”Earlier this week, Crowe had called New Zealand’s innings-defeat to Australia in Adelaide “our worst moment in Test cricket” and the five years under former coach John Bracewell, who stepped down after that loss, “probably the most destructive to our game in the history of our game.”He had also been particularly harsh on opener Redmond, who he felt “never was a Test player and never will be”. However, Crowe apologised for the comments on Redmond, who had a rough first year of Test cricket, averaging 23 in seven Tests. “It was uncalled for given how tough Test cricket is and he has only been in it for less than 12 months.”

This was a match Tillakaratne Dilshan made his own. He set up Sri Lanka with 162 and 143 and completed the job by wiping out the Bangladesh lower-order and finishing with figures of 4 for 10 to wrap up the series 2-0 and script the fifth-biggest margin of

The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran06-Jan-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Tillakaratne Dilshan, who made centuries in each innings and took 4 for 10, was both Man of the Match and the series © AFP
This was a match Tillakaratne Dilshan made his own. He set up Sri Lanka with 162 and 143 and completed the job by wiping out the Bangladesh lower-order and finishing with figures of 4 for 10 to wrap up the series 2-0 and script the fifth-biggest margin of victory in Tests in terms of runs. Set an improbable 624 to win in five sessions, Bangladesh wilted first to the spin of Ajantha Mendis before Dilshan struck. It was all over in two sessions.It could have ended even earlier but Sri Lanka delayed their declaration till lunch, by when their lead stretched to mammoth proportions. The expected tactic in the morning was to allow Dilshan and Thilan Samaraweera to reach their respective hundreds before declaring, though only one of them managed to do so. The declaration came after Chamara Kapugedera reached his second half-century of the match and the lead stretched beyond 600.Bangladesh were left to chase 521 in Mirpur and made a fist of it thanks to telling contributions by three batsmen. Mushfiqur Rahim, the only common link between that game and this, was left to steer a sinking ship on his own. With the target out of reach, the best Bangladesh could have done was to save the game but Mushfiqur, in the end, was had too much to do.A strong and steady start was required from the openers but the only promising element was a textbook cover drive by Tamim Iqbal off Dilhara Fernando in the second over. The excitement was short-lived when both openers perished with just 22 on board. Mahela Jayawardene went in for the kill by introducing Mendis in the eighth over and he struck immediately, getting Imrul Kayes to edge to first slip. Tamim fell in identical fashion to his first-innings dismissal, edging Chaminda Vaas to the wicketkeeper and it was the curtain raiser to an all too familiar story.The incoming batsmen weren’t allowed to settle in as Mahela crowded fielders around them, something his counterpart Mohammad Ashraful failed to pick up on yesterday. Slips were employed for the spinners but the placement was different for Dilhara Fernando. Due to the slow nature of the surface, the possibility of slip catches were unlikely, so Mahela stationed them in close catching positions on the on side at silly mid-on, short square-leg and short midwicket. Though the fielders didn’t necessarily come in to play, one could sense that Mahela was trying to make things happen and that may have psychologically played a part in Bangladesh caving in.Junaid Siddique was trapped in front off Mendis and Ashraful, trying to cut loose, failed to pick the googly off the same bowler. Raqibul Hasan was then squared up by a deadly reverse swinging yorker from Fernando. At that stage Bangladesh had lost half their side for 52 and the prospect of wrapping up the game by the afternoon was inevitable.The decibel levels went up when Mushfiqur and Shakib Al Hasan came together and added 92 for the sixth wicket. Shakib had a packed off side field that he pierced with firm punches off the backfoot off Fernando. In such an insoluble situation, attack seemed the best form of defence. He picked on their best bowler, Mendis, by regularly making room, targeting him on the off side and straight down the ground. Mushfiqur was solid in defence off a very off-colour Muttiah Muralitharan, who didn’t quite possess the sting and bite of his partner Mendis.Mushfiqur tucked away deliveries with the turn and pushed the singles while his partner took the aggressive route. Dilshan was introduced just before the final drinks break and drew Shakib forward with the flight, only to have him stumped off Prasanna Jayawardene, whose glovework has improved this series. Dilshan fired his offbreaks from round the wicket and sliced through the tail with the same exuberance he displayed with the bat. The adjudicators for the Man of the Match and series couldn’t have had it easier.He missed the chance to score two scores of 150 plus in a Test when he was squared up by a brute of a delivery from Enamul Haque Jnr which spun from the rough outside the legstump, skidded and clipped the offstump before he could even react. When he slashed Shahadat Hossain past backward point, he joined Duleep Mendis, Aravinda de Silva, Asanka Gurusingha in the list of Sri Lanka batsmen who have scored centuries in both innings of a Test.His overnight partner Samaraweera wasn’t so fortunate to record a century as he was trapped on the backfoot by a vicious delivery by Shakib which turned square. Kapugedera charged the spinners, threw them off balance with reverse sweeps and paddles and marched on to record a half-century. A declaration was expected after he got to his fifty but curiously, there were no signs of it before lunch. The field was spread out and the whole situation seemed very farcical as the batsmen blocked their way till the interval. It seemed as if Bangladesh’s brave attempt at 521 in Mirpur had prompted Mahela to delay the declaration and an amused Ashraful was seen chuckling. By the afternoon though, he wasn’t smiling any more.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer believes the Owls could sign winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing in the future if they do not end up signing him now.

Mendez-Laing is currently a free agent after leaving Middlesbrough and has been linked with a move to Wednesday. According to The Star, the Yorkshire club have considered a swoop for the 29-year-old.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire Live journalist Dom Howson (via Football League World) claims Mendez-Laing is a player manager Darren Moore specifically likes.

Considering that, Palmer can see Wednesday easily moving for the Englishman later on in the season should they decide against bringing him to Hillsborough now.

“I think it [signing Mendez-Laing in the future] could be a possibility,” the ex-Wednesday player told TT. “He’s a free agent, so I think if Darren Moore really wanted to get him in now, I’m sure he could do because he’s available on a free.

“But he’s somebody I know Darren admires, so maybe that’s one he’ll look at down the line.”

Whatever happens with Mendez-Laing, it has been a really positive transfer window for Wednesday, who have brought in a whole host of new players following their relegation from the Championship.

With those additions, the Owls will be hoping that they can make a swift return to the second tier of English football.

Todd Greenberg, the ACA chief executive, said players were aware how important it was to keep the game going

Alex Malcolm28-Feb-2022The Australian Cricketers’ Association is hopeful the key parts of a new pay deal between the players and Cricket Australia could be resolved in the coming months with chief executive Todd Greenberg vowing that there will be no repeat of the ugly dispute that unfolded when the last deal was struck in 2017.Discussions on a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) have been ongoing between Greenberg and CA chief executive Nick Hockley with the pair currently in Pakistan together on tour with the Australian men’s team for the first Test in Rawalpindi.They have been speaking regularly since coming into their respective posts in 2021 in a bid to form a stronger bond than the almost non-existent relationship between predecessors James Sutherland and Alistair Nicholson back in 2017 when an ugly 10-month pay dispute led to the players being unemployed for 34 days and an Australia A tour being cancelled before a resolution was found.”I’d be surprised if we haven’t got something resolved in the coming months,” Greenberg told ESPNcricinfo. “First and foremost, we don’t anticipate having any of the MoU discussions conducted in the same manner that it was way back in 2017. I think a lot of that has changed.”Cricket Australia have recognised the revenue share model and the importance of that for cricket. The game has continued to grow during this period of time, and I think despite the difficulties of the Covid pandemic, what it has demonstrated is there is a really strong alignment of partnering between the game and the players because there’s a real need for each other to be aligned on that. So the model works. Effectively if games aren’t being played, revenue is not being earned.”We’ve made some good progress already on the MoU discussions. Nick and I have been leading those on behalf of our respective teams. And I’m hopeful we can come to an agreement in a relatively short space of time, which will see both the players and Cricket Australia in a really strong position to come out of the pandemic.”Bubbles have been a strain on finances and the players•Cricket Australia via Getty ImagesGreenberg was pleased he had been able to forge a relationship with Hockley over the last year to create a greater dialogue between the ACA and CA on a range of issues.”We’ve spent a lot of time together,” Greenberg said. “And I’m pleased that we are spending time together because it’s really important when we said we can talk about different issues in the game and I can certainly give him perspectives on behalf of the players both male and females.”That relationship is really strong. I came into this role knowing the history of the last MoU and the difficulties that the game faced, and I was pretty determined to try to repair some bridges and try to mend some of those relationships. And so Nick and I both being new in our roles have an opportunity to do that.”The new MoU is one of a number of key issues for Cricket Australia to resolve in the coming months. New CA chairman Lachlan Henderson outlined a new cricket strategy with refreshing the BBL at the top of the agenda, particularly with a new TV broadcast rights deal set to be negotiated in 2024, after the new MoU is already in place.Covid has also affected CA’s bottom line with Henderson revealing the administration had spent $40 million on biosecurity over the past two seasons, money it needs to recoup.The players are hopeful the bio-bubbles will not be required next summer after two years of playing in such environments both home and abroad.”We’re really hopeful that we can return to some level of normality next summer by the time that rolls around,” Greenberg said. “But it’s certainly not lost on me and it shouldn’t be lost on the fans that the players have made enormous sacrifices to keep the game underway.”The players have made it very clear to me that at any point in time, the most important thing for them is to continue to play cricket and if you go back over the last 24 months the sacrifices players have made to be away from families to be in isolated environments, some of the sacrifices from players from Western Australia who have literally not been home since the middle of last year is nothing short of phenomenal.”They know that they’ve got a huge responsibility to do that, a responsibility to keep the show on the road but a responsibility to play cricket so that the revenues are still coming into the game. Because the revenues are there to generate grassroots participation and to keep the game flowing from top to bottom.”