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David Moyes’ West Ham United side secured their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup with what can only be described as an embarrassing 2-1 victory against National League North side Kidderminster Harriers after extra time on Saturday afternoon.

Indeed, a 91st-minute Declan Rice strike levelled the tie with essentially the last kick of normal time after Alex Penny had given the hosts a well-deserved lead in the first half. Jarrod Bowen then replicated his team-mate’s feat in extra time, with the 25-year-old’s 121st-minute winner with what was practically the last kick of the game just about enough to get the Hammers over the line.

However, as is to be expected after such a narrow victory against a team 113 places below them in the English football pyramid, a number of Irons players turned in extremely underwhelming performances against their non-league opponents. Issa Diop, who was hooked at half-time; Nikola Vlasic, who spent the afternoon in Penny’s pocket; and Andriy Yarmolenko, who yet again offered nothing going forwards, were arguably the worst of a bad bunch.

While both Diop and Vlasic will certainly be hoping to put their displays behind them as quickly as possible, it was Yarmolenko’s disasterclass which stood out the most this afternoon. The 32-year-old’s performance on the right wing was undoubtedly one of his worst in his time with West Ham, which is saying something in itself given his atrocious season so far.

Lost the ball every 3.6 touches

While it is true that the forward’s wayward strike ultimately led to Aaron Cresswell squaring the ball for Bowen to tap home the last-gasp winner, this was certainly not a conscious decision, although it was the only thing of note that the £100k-per-week Ukrainian offered his team at Aggborough Stadium.

Indeed, over the course of his 120 minutes on the pitch, the £3.15m-rated winger had 40 touches of the ball, just four more than Alphonse Areola between the West Ham sticks. He completed a mere 24 passes – 44 fewer than Rice, who came on at half-time – and ceded possession on 11 separate occasions, meaning the 32-year-old lost the ball once for every 3.6 touches.

The Ukraine international also failed to have a single shot on target, failed to find his man with his one attempted long ball and his three attempted crosses, won just two of his four duels and attempted to win his team a penalty with one of the most shameful dives imaginable – with Dion Dublin labelling this incident as “embarrassing.”

These returns saw Yarmolenko earn a disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.7, Considering that he was up against a non-league centre-back playing out of position on the left in Caleb Richards, that rating is completely unacceptable.

Indeed, if we were in Moyes’ shoes, the former Borussia Dortmund attacker would be getting nowhere near a matchday squad for the remainder of the current campaign, before being sold to the first bidder this summer. Yarmolenko simply does not deserve to play for the Hammers again after Saturday.

In other news – “All I can say is”: Moyes finally addresses transfer failures, West Ham fans won’t be happy

South Africa emerged as the Emerging Players Tournament victors after the final against India was washed out at Allan Border Field in Brisbane

Cricinfo staff20-Aug-2010Match abandoned South Africa Emerging Players v India Emerging Players
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Match abandoned New Zealand Emerging Players v Australian Institute of Sport
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South Africa emerged as the Emerging Players Tournament victors after the final against India was washed out at Allan Border Field in Brisbane. Heavy rain also prevented any start of the third-place playoff between New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Sport across town at University.There was a chance of play in the decider but just as the ground was ready more showers arrived and the match was abandoned at 12.40pm local time. South Africa finished on top of the one-day standings after being undefeated in their three group games. Australia won the Twenty20 section of the event last week.

Wolves could be set to say goodbye to one of their key players before the end of the January transfer window after a late twist has recently emerged.

What’s the latest?

According to a recent Twitter post from journalist David Ornstein, Barcelona are now working on a deal and in talks with Wolves to bring Adama Traore back to his former club on loan with an option to buy the winger in the summer for a fee of €35m (£29.1m).

Ornstein also revealed that a potential deal with Tottenham Hotspur, who Traore has been heavily linked with over the past few days and weeks is “all-but over” despite talks between the two clubs going positively but with Traore not too keen on playing as a right wing-back.

Traore joined Wolves from Championship club Middlesbrough back in the 2018 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £18m.

Since then, the Spaniard has gone on to make 154 appearances for the Midlands club across all competitions, racking up 11 goals and 18 assists in the process.

Fans will be buzzing

Given how the 26-year-old has only managed to score one goal in 23 appearances for Wolves so far this season across all competitions, it’s safe to say that some Old Gold supporters may not see Traore’s potential exit as a big miss for the team and might be rather pleased to see him leave.

However, there is a key point to be made, something that will ultimately leave supporters rather pleased. It would be better for the club to keep him away from a Premier League team such as Tottenham given how close the two sides are in the league table, even despite his lack of goal contributions this term.

With Wolves apparently rejecting a £15m bid for Traore from Spurs earlier in the month, this apparent deal to see the winger go back to Barcelona, where he worked his way through the youth ranks before moving to Aston Villa in 2015, would also be a considerably better deal for Wolves in a financial regard as well.

Moving forward, allowing Traore to leave on loan this month and then pick up a hefty transfer fee for him in the summer which they can then use on strengthening their squad, would be a good piece of business for Wolves, putting to bed any further speculation about his future at Molineux.

In other news: Wolves now eyeing late swoop for “special” £23.4m-rated beast, Lage would love him – opinion

Celtic have seen a bid for Iran forward Mehdi Ghayedi rejected by Shabab Al-Ahli but intend to return with another offer, according to sports journalist Hatam Shiralizadeh. 

The lowdown

The 23-year-old is predominantly a left winger but can also play on the right and through the middle. His club compete in the UAE Pro League and currently sit in fourth place, just outside the AFC Champions League qualifying spots.

Ghayedi is under contract for another four-and-a-half years and is valued at just under £1.1m by Transfermarkt.

Ange Postecoglou already has nine forwards at his disposal, having added Daizen Maeda and Johnny Kenny to his ranks already this month, but it has been reported that Celtic could look to offload one of their existing options in Albian Ajeti during the current transfer window.

The latest

Shiralizadeh tweeted that Shabab Al-Ahli had rejected an offer from Celtic for Ghayedi, as they are relucant to sell him this month, but the Hoops are not set to go quietly in their pursuit of the 23-year-old.

The journalist outlined: “Shabab Al Ahli have turned down an official bid from Celtic for Mehdi Ghayedi. UAE side don’t want to sell the Iranian striker in January, however, Celtic are determined to sign the young talent, so they are planning to offer a new bid for the 23-year-old.”

The verdict

Ghayedi would arguably be a risky signing for Celtic if Ange Postecoglou were to raid Asia once more, having brought in Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi from the J1 League since taking the reins at Parkhead.

The Iranian’s record this season is reasonable – three goals and one assists in 11 league appearances, only six of them starts. Having been named as Iran’s young player of the year, he has also earned opportunities at senior level, scoring in just his second game against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Could he cope with the step-up in quality to Scotland, though? No club from the UAE Pro League features in FiveThirtyEight’s list of the top 645 sides in the world, while UEFA rank the Scottish Premiership as one of the 10 strongest divisions in Europe.

That said, Furuhashi joined from Japan – a ‘largely untapped’ market in the words of Kris Commons – and he is the Hoops’ top scorer this season, so perhaps we shouldn’t be too quick to make a judgement on what Ghavedi could do if he becomes Celtic’s latest Asian acquisition.

In other news, Celtic are on the brink of this £6m deal

Former Zimbabwe coach Walter Chawaguta will begin his duties as coach of the national Under-17 side as they prepare for a tournament in Benoni, South Africa, from August 6 to 10

Cricinfo staff26-Jun-2010Former Zimbabwe coach Walter Chawaguta will begin his duties as coach of the national Under-17 side as they prepare for a tournament in Benoni, South Africa, from August 6 to 10. The 15-member squad named for the trip is yet to work together as a group, but Chawaguta is not overly concerned.”We have picked a squad to work with specifically for this assignment,” Chawaguta said. “We haven’t met as a team as yet but I am hoping to work with the players on an individual basis because they are not available at the moment. The cricket season is taking a break at the moment and some of the players are engaged in other sports at their schools and this makes it difficult to assemble. So we hope to work with them on individual basis.”After competing well in the late nineties and early 2000s, Zimbabwe cricket slumped in the aftermath of political turmoil in the country and they lost their Test status. Things have started looking up in recent times, with the national side doing well in the recent tri-series against Sri Lanka and India. Chawaguta was aware of the importance of age-group cricket in ensuring a robust cricketing structure in the country.”We will have more trials for the side because we have to come up with the real Zimbabwe Under-17 team by the end of the year. This is a very important age-group because most of the players in this team are the ones who are going to play at the 2012 Under-19 World Cup. So we need to be thorough in our activities,” he said.Squad: Alistair MacLeod, Salman Khan, Malcolm Lake, Michael Torr, Deven Bell, Rhett Wallbridge, Ryan Burl, Andre Odendaal, Charles Kunje, Odicious Mhanje, Luke Jongwe, Joylord Gumbie.Reserves: Matthew Wicks, Bryan Majoka, Shane Musekwa.

Tottenham and Manchester City have both launched enquiries for Bologna midfielder Mattias Svanberg, according to Calciomercato.com.

The Lowdown: Svanberg profiled

Svanberg is a 15-cap Sweden international who can play in a defensive, central or even attacking midfield role.

The 23-year-old has been with Bologna since 2018 and has made over 100 appearances for the club – 20 of which have come this season.

He holds a career-high Transfermarkt valuation of £13.5m so appears to be at absolute the peak of his powers, with reports previously suggesting that Svanberg is a top target for Antonio Conte.

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The Latest: Enquiry made

Calciomercato.com shared an update on Thursday morning, claiming both Spurs and City have made contact for Svanberg.

The report added that the midfielder’s agent, Martin Dahlin, is set to arrive in Italy for a meeting with Bologna to discuss a possible renewal or future sale.

A January exit was also mentioned, should the parties fail to reach an imminent agreement.

The Verdict: Shrewd addition?

Conte will know just what Svanberg could bring to Spurs following his time in Italy managing Inter Milan, and it seems he likes what he sees in the player after making him a top target.

Capable of playing in three different midfield roles, it could be a wise under-the-radar addition, with Svanberg not exactly a name known around the world.

Franck Kessie is another Serie A midfielder linked with Spurs, and Conte could really do with bringing both to the club. Tottenham have a total of six defensive, central and attacking midfielders on the books, and that number could decrease with the likes of Dele Alli and Giovani Lo Celso tipped for possible exits, meaning reinforcements would be needed this month.

In other news: Spurs now take next steps to sign ‘one of the best’ from PL rivals; Conte personally wants him. 

Bruno Lage has made no secret of his intentions to have a successful transfer window in January, and has furthered his intentions by naming several positions in the team he would be interested in filling over the next few weeks.

What’s the word?

Lage took to his pre-match press conference to give Wolves fans an insight to the positions he is looking at adding depth to in the January transfer window;

“We need one, we need one centre-back.”

“I think also we can find one more winger, a different striker, so we have two or three situations we can improve to manage better our squad.”

Lage did also praise his current centre backs for their performances so far this season;

“I’m very happy with Conor, Saiss and Max, because they are doing very well,”

“I pray every training and every game that the guys don’t have any injury because we play with three centre-backs and I just have those three.”

Romain Saiss will be joining Morocco for African Cup of Nations in a few days, so it is understandable why Lage feels that a centre back would be a priority area to fill over the next few weeks, as well as risking the back line without reliable back up if there was an injury.

The other attacking positions that Lage is looking to cover can be justified by an injury to goal-scoring winger, Hwang Hee-Chan who has now been confirmed to be out until February, and could also be linked to replacing Adama Traore, who has been rumoured with moves away from the club since the beginning of the season.

Fans will be buzzing

These comments from the Portuguese manager will be welcomed by the Wolves fans, who will have high expectations for the second half of the season to echo the consistency and success of the first half, with new signings giving the side the opportunity to strengthen and improve their form further over the coming months.

Wolves fans have been taking to Twitter to share their excitement on the potential of business for the club this month;

“Notifications turned on for @FabrizioRomano and @Wolves transfer window is open and confirmed. Here we go”

Lage will be taking his side to Old Trafford tomorrow in the hope that they can steal a result from Ralf Rangnick’s Manchester United side, who are currently unbeaten in their last five games in the Premier League.

A win could be a great opportunity for Wolves to gain some more cushion in their pursuit for a finish in a European spot this season, as three points could pull them away from Leicester City who are on the same points in 9th, and push them closer to closing the gap with Tottenham in 7th.

In other news: Bruno Lage drops injury update on two players

Tottenham Hotspur could bring Philippe Coutinho back to the Premier League this January…

What’s the word?

According to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), the north London outfit have been offered the chance to sign the Barcelona flop next month and he is open to joining them, especially over top-flight rivals Newcastle United.

The former Liverpool sensation is not in Xavi’s plans at the Nou Camp and is expected to leave the Catalan giants in the upcoming transfer window.

For exactly how much remains to be seen, if even permanent, though Transfermarkt value the 63-time Brazil international at just £18m.

Playmaker needed

If there’s one area of the pitch that Spurs have struggled in, then it’s in the final third.

Harry Kane has floundered in front of goal in the Premier League this term, finding the net just twice in 14 appearances, whilst there are only two teams that have attempted fewer shots on goal per game than Spurs (10.8), rock-bottom Norwich City (10.5) being one.

You could argue that the Lilywhites aren’t creating enough clear-cut chances. Indeed, just two of Antonio Conte’s first-team stars are averaging more than one key pass per match – Heung-min Son (1.8) and Lucas Moura (1.2).

It’s clear that Spurs have missed a player like Christian Eriksen in attacking midfield all season.

Coutinho was an absolute star for Liverpool in the Premier League, so if Conte can get that back out of him, then he could well be a valuable asset for the rest of the season.

During a loan spell away from Spain, the Brazilian maestro excelled for Bayern Munich, where he averaged 2.2 key passes per 90 across the Bundesliga and Champions League. He also delivered 11 goals and nine assists in just 20 starts across both competitions, too.

That was only two seasons ago, so he may well be worth a risk as he would be given an actual chance to impress at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Once dubbed a “magician” with “magical powers” by ex-teammate Roberto Firmino, Coutinho could be the Eriksen heir that Spurs have been looking to find for quite some time.

His experience in England and track record makes this gamble 100% worth it. Fabio Paratici must look to take on Barca’s offer.

AND in other news, Conte can finally axe Spurs’ “liability” by signing £36m-rated “absolute beast”…

After only picking up a point in their previous Championship match in a 0-0 draw away at relegation strugglers side Barnsley, West Brom currently sit in fourth place in the league table just four points behind league leaders Fulham.

With the January transfer window around the corner, this will give Valerien Ismael the chance to make any changes to his squad that he thinks may increase their chances of securing promotion by the end of the campaign.

One deal that the Baggies could do in January that may not improve their chances of winning promotion but could be very beneficial for one of their rarely seen youngsters, would be to send the £1.7k-per-week Rayhaan Tulloch out on loan until the end of the season.

The likes of Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield Wednesday, MK Dons and Fleetwood are reportedly monitoring developments around the 20-year-old attacker with an eye for a potential temporary move in January and this could be West Brom’s chance to offload the youngster on a temporary basis and give him the chance to shine at another club if he’s able to get regular playing time.

Taking into account how Tulloch has only played one minute of senior league action for the Baggies this season suggests that he isn’t likely to play regularly during the remainder of the campaign and they aim for promotion, which would make a loan move to a League One club a smart move for the youngster.

The Athletic have claimed that West Brom are looking at bringing a new attacking player to the club in January such as Daryl Dike or Cauley Woodrow and this would only make Tulloch’s chances of playing regularly even less likely.

Labelled a “star boy” in the past by Jonathan Leko, there is every chance he could go on to cement his place at the Hawthorns next term if he plays regularly and manages to show Ismael what he’s made of.

In doing so, he could potentially save the club millions in future transfer fees if they don’t manage to secure a striker if and when he returns from his temporary spell away.

After all, his immense potential is quite incredible. Former England U17 boss, Steve Cooper, once said:

“He’s quick and the type of player that’s broken through a lot recently — like Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi. I’m not saying he’s at that level but he’s that type of player that could quickly change a game through an explosive movement, a quick dribble or a run in behind and that can have quite an impact on a game.”

If West Brom don’t manage to secure a deal for Tulloch to go out on loan in January, even with the number of clubs reportedly eyeing him up, it could then be worth giving the youngster a shot in the team to see if he can help push the club to promotion.

In doing so, it may well prevent Albion from dipping their toes into the market and overpaying for a new forward.

In other news: WBA could spark promotion charge with £2.7m-rated beast who “carries a goal threat” – opinion

While Ange Postecoglou’s career as Celtic manager got off to something of a shaky start, with the Bhoys losing both their Champions League qualifying tie against FC Midtjylland and their opening Premiership match against Hearts under the management of the 56-year-old, things have improved 10-fold for the Greek-Australian coach and his side in recent months.

Indeed, Celtic now find themselves on a run of 11 league fixtures without suffering defeat, as well as having turned in a number of extremely impressive performances in the Europa League – including back to back wins over Ferencvaros and a 3-2 victory against Real Betis – despite their ultimate third-place finish in Group G.

Furthermore, a number of Postecoglou’s summer signings have also started to really find their feet in Glasgow, with Benfica loanee Jota having scored eight goals and provided six assists over his 18 appearances for the Hoops, Kyogo Furuhashi bagging 14 goals and five assists over his 24 outings for the Bhoys and centre-back duo Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt averaging extremely impressive SofaScore match ratings of 7.47 and 7.30 in the league respectively.

And, with the January transfer window just around the corner, Celtic are once again being linked with a growing list of players this winter, particularly from what could perhaps be considered as lesser-known leagues – such as the Bhoys’ reported interest in Shabab Al-Ahli winger Mehdi Ghaedi.

Postecoglou could repeat Jota masterclass

Standing at just 5 foot 5 tall, Ghaedi is a forward who burst onto the Iranian football scene back in 2019/20, with the 23-year-old scoring a whopping 10 goals and registering eight assists over his 30 Persian Gulf Pro League appearances for Esteghlal FC, in addition to bagging a further five goals and one assist over 11 outings across the Hazfi Cup, the AFC Champions League and AFC Champions League qualification.

This is form which the £1.08m-rated winger maintained over his 40 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring nine goals and providing nine assists in his side’s 2020/21 campaign, returns which saw him pick up the Persian Gulf Pro League’s young player of the season award.

A £1.38m move to Shabab Al-Ahli followed for the Iran international this summer, with the player who Tasnim News Agency dubbed a “wonderkid” and journalist Reza Khaasteh claimed is the “Iranian Neymar” having already netted three goals and provided one assist over nine UAE Pro League appearances for his new side.

And, with Jota looking as if he will be ruled out until some point in January as a result of a hamstring injury, Postecoglou could well be in the market for a new left-winger this winter.

As such, considering Ghaedi’s obvious potential and more than likely wallet-friendly price tag, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss could well replicate his masterclass of bringing the Benfica loanee to Parkhead with a swoop for the 23-year-old Iranian gem.

In other news: “Understand”: Kieran Devlin drops Celtic transfer claim that will leave fans worried