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Now that they are seemingly out of trouble, Newcastle United can look to level up their squad in a bid to achieve a higher Premier League finish next season.

And, according to reports, the Magpies could look to kickstart this gradual rebuild with the acquisition of the 110-goal machine that is Christian Eriksen.

What’s the word?

Indeed, the Northern Echo claim Eddie Howe’s side have identified the Danish midfield maestro as one of their primary targets in the summer transfer window.

Having returned to action in what has been one of the greatest feel-good stories in recent football history, Eriksen signed a short-term deal when he agreed to join Brentford in January.

And whilst Bees boss Thomas Frank would like Eriksen to join on a permanent basis, Brentford face a tough challenge to hold onto him.

A positive return

With one goal and one assist in five Premier League appearances, Eriksen’s return to England’s top-flight has been a success thus far.

The 30-year-old has also been in goalscoring form following his return to the international stage, having scored in back-to-back games for Denmark.

His performances this season have cast doubters – who thought he was too fragile for top-flight football – aside – with his four consecutive 90-minute appearances demonstrating his emerging return back to his best.

And, despite Newcastle’s rise to presumed safety, they do need to work on their assertiveness in midfield, as well as their goal-scoring acumen, which has only seen the Magpies net 34 goals this season.

Eriksen – who has been described by Thomas Frank as “unbelievable” – can offer experience in both of those aspects, with his veteran footballing status sure to help Newcastle reach that next level.

With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, Newcastle should do everything they can to sign a player who is valued at £13.5m in today’s market, for free.

Indeed, Eriksen would surely provide Newcastle United with a huge boost of creativity in the middle of the park, and, if he continues his impressive run of form since his return to the professional game, could even go on to become the Magpies’ new Chris Waddle – the legendary attacking midfielder who scored 46 goals over 170 appearances for the Toon.

In other news: NUFC eye £25m bid for £140k-p/w ace who “makes things happen”, it could be bye-bye ASM

Leeds United are leading the race to sign young Aberdeen defender Calvin Ramsay, according to a report from journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.

The Lowdown: Ramsay impressing in Scotland

The 18-year-old is already making a name for himself in Scotland, being hailed as a defender who ‘loves going forward’ by former manager Paul Sheerin.

Indeed, Ramsay has made 12 starts in the Scottish Premiership this season, chipping in with an impressive tally of four assists from right-back to back up his manager’s praise.

It may be that the teenager’s future lies at a bigger club and it appears as though Leeds could now snap him up.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Leeds in ‘pole’

According to Di Marzio, the Whites are currently in ‘pole’ position to acquire Ramsay’s signature, with a host of clubs thought to be eyeing him up.

The Scot’s current Aberdeen deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2024, so Leeds may struggle to sign him on the cheap, so they are allegedly eyeing a loan deal with an option to buy.

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The Verdict: One for the future

Granted, Ramsay wouldn’t be considered an immediate key man if he joined in January, or in the summer for that matter, but planning for the future is crucial.

At 18, he is already shining in his country’s top league and he could be someone who is viewed as a long-term replacement for Luke Ayling, who turns 31 later this year.

It would be a crying shame if Leeds failed to kick on beyond the Marcelo Bielsa era and returned to obscurity – signing talented youngsters like Ramsay could go a long way to avoiding that.

In other news, Leeds have been linked with a move for a club captain. Find out who it is here.

Leicestershire chairman Neil Davidson has accused coach Tim Boon and captain Matthew Hoggard of setting a poor example to the younger players at the club after the pair led calls for his resignation

Cricinfo staff24-Aug-2010Leicestershire chairman Neil Davidson has accused coach Tim Boon and captain Matthew Hoggard of setting a poor example to the younger players at the club after the pair led calls for his resignation.As Cricinfo exclusively revealed, Boon and Hoggard, backed by the playing, ground and administrative staff allege that Davidson interferes in team affairs and has made the club unattractive to new players. However, following an emergency board meeting at Grace Road on Monday, and a private meeting with Hoggard, Davidson denies the charge and believes the actions have set a bad precedent.”I think really the way the senior coach unfortunately got the captain into this and the senior players is setting a very poor example to our fine young players about how they should behave at a cricket club,” Davidson told Sky Sports News. “I like Matthew immensely it but I don’t think he’s thought this one through. I think Matthew has found himself in a very difficult position. The current situation is unsustainable so we’ll see how it all pans out.”Hoggard later released a statement of his own insisting he had taken his action in the best interests of the club. “As coach and captain, Tim Boon and I believe we have a duty to bring matters of serious concern to our employer’s attention and we did this privately and confidentially in recognition that this was and remains a matter for the board of Leicestershire county cricket club.”We conveyed the sincere and deeply held views of the players and staff of the Club to the Board and asked them to act appropriately in light of those concerns. We continue to urge them to do so.”Leicestershire finished bottom of the second division of the County Championship last year and though they have fared better in first-class cricket under new captain Hoggard this season – winning five matches – Davidson believes the poor performances in limited-overs cricket demands his attention.”I don’t interfere on a week-to-week basis, day-to-day basis, it’s when we lose matches we should win and we lost all our home games in Twenty20 this year bar one which was rained off. We’ve won two CB40 games so far this season and we’ve lost twice to Scotland.”The performances just aren’t good enough and these are revenue-generating areas of the club and for a small county we can’t afford to underperform. We’ve got one of the best set of youngsters in the country and I’m raising questions about the ability of the management to get the best out of those players.”

Worcestershire’s losing streak in the Twenty20 Cup continued with a fifth straight defeat as Derbyshire won by six wickets to move into the top three of the North Group

Cricinfo staff21-Jun-2010
Scorecard
Worcestershire’s losing streak in the Twenty20 Cup continued with a fifth straight defeat as Derbyshire won by six wickets to move into the top three of the North Group. Moeen Ali did his best to halt the slide with 67 off 52 balls out of the Royals 127 for 7 and then took 2 for 14 from his four overs to make the Falcons sweat under the County Ground floodlights.But Garry Park hit an unbeaten 41 from 40 balls and shared a stand of 64 in 10 overs with Robin Peterson to see the Falcons to 128 for 4 with four balls left. The result means Worcestershire have now lost 35 games in the competition, more than any other team in the eight-year history of domestic Twenty20 cricket.The signs were ominous for the Royals after they were put in and Phil Jaques chopped the first ball of the match from Charl Langeveldt onto his stumps. Sanath Jayasuriya also failed, scooping Tim Groenewald to mid on for nine in the fourth over and a great reaction return catch by Wes Durston cut short a blossoming innings from Alexei Kervezee.After 10 overs, the Royals were struggling at 59 for 3 and only Moeen came to terms with another slow Derby pitch to at least give his bowlers something to defend. Daryl Mitchell was lbw playing across the line at Peterson and when James Cameron sliced Durston to backward point in the 15th over, the visitors were still well short of a challenging total on 83 for 5.But Jack Manuel drove Greg Smith for the only six of the innings – which also included only eight fours – in the next over and helped Moeen add 40 before Steffan Jones speared one in to trap Moeen lbw in the 19th over. Gareth Andrew came in but failed to give the innings a final flourish and was bowled for a duck swinging wildly at Langeveldt, who conceded only four from the last over.The Falcons appeared to be coasting to victory when Loots Bosman launched the chase by hitting seven fours, three of them in one over from Andrew, but the spin of Moeen and Jayasuriya put the Royals back in the game. Bosman skied Moeen to long on and Smith played around one to be lbw before Durston was caught and bowled in the next over when he drove too soon at the Sri Lankan.The flow of runs had now dried to a trickle and the pressure on the home side would have increased if Peterson had not been badly missed before he had scored by Cameron at deep midwicket, who fell over and allowed the ball to cross the ropes. The result was still in doubt when the Falcons needed 25 off 18 balls but they had wickets in hand and Park settled any nerves by twice hitting Alan Richardson for four in the 18th over.He then swung Mitchell for six over midwicket and although Peterson was bowled for 24 off 22 balls trying to seal victory in style, Park pulled Andrew for the winning run off the second ball of the final over.

Craig Kieswetter hit his first County Championship half-century of the season as Somerset reached 517 all out on the second day against title-chasing Nottinghamshire at Taunton

30-Jul-2010
ScorecardCraig Kieswetter hit his first County Championship half-century of the season as Somerset reached 517 all out on the second day against title-chasing Nottinghamshire at Taunton.It was only the wicketkeeper’s ninth innings in the competition due to England one-day commitments, but he will still have been relieved to hit 73 after a spell of poor form with the bat. Peter Trego made 54 and Darren Pattinson took 5 for 95. By the close Nottinghamshire had replied with 278 for 5 and required a further 90 to avoid following-on.Samit Patel (92 not out) and Chris Read (75 not out) led a determined fightback from 130 for 5 after Matt Wood had made 72 against his former team. Somerset began the day on 423 for 6 and Peter Trego was given a life on 38 when Wood dropped him at long leg off Pattinson. Trego went on to reach his fifty from 61 balls with eight fours and Kieswetter followed him to the landmark in the same over, having faced 87 deliveries and hit six fours.Pattinson claimed his fifth wicket when Trego drove a catch to Mark Wagh at deep cover. Trego and Kieswetter had added 113 for the seventh wicket, but worryingly for Nottinghamshire the ball was starting to turn, as Kieswetter found to his cost when bowled by Patel.Alfonso Thomas added an unbeaten 30 at the end of the innings and Nottinghamshire were left with six overs to face before lunch, which they reached at 15 without loss. Wood and Alex Hales extended their opening stand to 41 before Hales was caught at slip by Marcus Trescothick off the fifth ball of Murali Kartik’s first over.It was 48 for 2 when Wagh, on four, drove Trego to Zander de Bruyn at short extra cover, one of several imaginative field placings in catching positions in front of the bat placed by Trescothick. Wood reached his half-century from 87 balls with nine fours, punishing anything short with some attractive off-side shots, but with the total on 119 he edged another left-arm spinner, Arul Suppiah, to Trescothick at slip.It was 128 for 3 at tea and Nottinghamshire looked to be slipping into deep trouble when Charl Willoughby struck twice in the first over of the evening session. First he had Dave Hussey taken low down by Trescothick, his third slip catch. Then two balls later Alistair Brown lifted a good length ball straight to De Bruyn at cover.Read survived a difficult chance to Kartik at slip off Willoughby on five and gradually helped Patel turn the innings around. Patel’s reached his fifty from 103 balls, with eight fours and a six, whileRead’s half-century came from just 58 deliveries and featured 11 boundaries. By the close they had put on 148 in testing circumstances to keep Nottinghamshire in the match.

A round-up of matches on the first day of the ICC World Cricket League Americas Region Division One tournament in Bermuda

Cricinfo staff29-May-2010USA hammered Argentina by 119 runs in their Division One match of the ICC World Cricket League Americas Region in Bermuda. Twin centuries by Orlando Baker and Aditya Thyagarajan propelled USA to a mammoth 347 for 6 in 50 overs at the St George’s Cricket Club. Coming in after a mini collapse left USA at 91 for 4, Thyagarajan’s century was the more brutal of the two, his 159 runs coming from only 119 deliveries, with 21 boundaries and three sixes. Opener Baker was the last batsman to be dismissed after scoring 113 from 108 deliveries, sharing a 213-run partnership with Thyagarajan.An asking-rate touching nearly seven an over was always going to prove tough forArgentina and they lost wickets regularly to finish on 228 for 9. In a chase where they needed batsmen to stay longer at the crease, Argentina’s best stand was 75 runs for the fourth wicket between Gary Savage and Grant Dugmore. Adrian Gordon took 4 for 38 in eight overs for USA, a spell which included the wickets of the Argentina openers.Bermuda brushed aside Bahamas by seven wickets with more than 20 overs to spare after Bahamas were dismissed for 128 batting first at the National Stadium in Hamilton. Player of the match Kevin Tucker took figures of 8-3-9-3 as five Bahamas batsmen failed to score.But for No. 8 Narendra Ekanayake’s unbeaten 52, Bahamas would not have crossed 100, after being 19 for 5 at one stage. Ekanayake was supported by Dwight Weakley, who was the only other batsman to reach double figures, making 28 and sharing a 42-run seventh wicket stand. The state of the Bahamas innings could be gauged from the way opener Hamilton Gilliard scratched around for 57 deliveries for only 6 runs.The Bermuda batsmen didn’t face any trouble in knocking off the small target, reaching it in just 28.1 overs, with only opener Fiqre Crockwell failing to make runs.Canada completed a comfortable eight-wicket win against Cayman Islands, chasing the target of 133 with 20 overs to spare at St David’s Cricket Club.In a game that was shortened to 41 overs, Cayman Islands were guilty of poor running between the wickets. Four batsmen were run out in an uninspiring batting performance, in which only one batsman crossed 20, as Cayman Islands were restricted to 132 for 9. Canada fast bowler Khurram Chohan wrecked the top order with 3 for 18 from eight overs. Though Cayman Islands captain Saheed Mohamed made 51, he lacked support from his team-mates, and the innings never recovered after Chohan had reduced them to 27 for 4.Canada captain Rizwan Cheema seemed to be in Twenty20 mode as he smashed an unbeaten 79 from only 57 deliveries, finishing the chase in only 20.1 overs. He did justice to his reputation for big hitting, clobbering a staggering seven sixes and as many boundaries.

Some Glasgow Rangers fans have been left flocking to some news on Rangers B player Tony Weston.

As shared by the official Twitter page of Rangers B & Academy, the striker scored Rangers B’s fourth goal in a 6-0 win away at Vale of Leithen in the Scottish Lowland League in their last game of 2021.

Alex Lowry, Robbie Ure (two), Kane Ritchie-Hosler and Cole McKinnon also found themselves on the scoresheet for the young Gers, but it was Weston once more grabbing the attention of the Ibrox faithful.

After a hat-trick last month, the Englishman has been in fine scoring form so far this season, and certainly has promise at just 18 years of age.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst may now be thinking of a loan for Weston to play men’s football and further continue his development, or even bring him into the first-team squad with the view of giving him some game time.

Rangers fans on Weston goal

These Teddy Bears flocked to the news of the goal as it was shared on Twitter, with one Light Blues supporter even going as far as to call it ‘unbelievable’:

“Unbelievable how many goals this lad has. Must be on the cusp on promotion to 1st team squad?”

Credit: @dave_n84

“Shock Tony scores yet again”

Credit: @harricrowe

“Scoring for fun”

Credit: @WillieS38914473

“Boy seems to be a player”

Credit: @legendsofibrox

“Tony scores goals.”

Credit: @JHC17626935

“Can see him getting his call up to the first team very soon”

Credit: @strokecity61

In other news, find out who could now leave RFC in the new year here!

Former New Zealand international Iain O’Brien ensured Middlesex got theirClydesdale Bank 40 campaign off to a winning start by ripping throughNorthamptonshire in a low-scoring game

25-Apr-2010
ScorecardFormer New Zealand international Iain O’Brien ensured Middlesex got theirClydesdale Bank 40 campaign off to a winning start by ripping throughNorthamptonshire in a low-scoring game.The 33-year-old seamer claimed figures of 4 for 41 inside seven overs atWantage Road to help skittle out the Steelbacks for a mediocre total of 146.Only David Sales offered any resistance hitting a 75-ball 56 as Middlesex setabout making up for Saturday’s thrilling County Championship loss betweenthe two sides. Panthers pair Gareth Berg and Dawid Malan made light work of the chase with unbeaten scores of 43 and 31 respectively to seal a seven-wicket victory inside33 overs.Steelbacks skipper Nicky Boje won the toss and chose to bat, but lost both ofhis openers in the second over. O’Brien was on hand to first remove Stephen Peters leg before for five before snaring Alex Wakely for four with the final ball.He had his third victim when South African Andrew Hall went cheaply for 18after smashing O’Brien straight to Berg at extra cover leaving Northamptonshirereeling at 31 for 3.Rob White made 11 before he edged Berg to wicketkeeper John Simpson and thehosts problems deepened when captain Boje was cleaned up by Tom Smith for 12. Shaun Udal joined the attack in the 22nd over and he immediately took two wickets – the first James Middlebrook stumped by Simpson for just two on his Northamptonshire debut.Paul Harrison then faced three balls without scoring before he was caught byMalan at slip off Udal. Sales hit 56 before he launched Toby Roland-Jones to Tim Murtagh at fine leg. Roland-Jones then caught David Willey (13) at long-off off Murtagh beforeO’Brien wrapped up the Steelbacks’ innings by bowling Lee Daggett (5).Chasing 147, the Panthers lost Scott Newman for 19 in the fifth over when heedged to wicketkeeper Harrison off the bowling of Daggett. England captain Andrew Strauss hit 20 but went in the same fashion as Newman, this time to David Lucas.Josh Davey hit 15 before his middle stump was removed by Middlebrook during hisfirst over as Northamptonshire sought to bring down Middlesex’s run-rate. But with the score 63 for 3 after less than 15 overs Malan and Berg eased the visitors to victory with a fourth-wicket stand of 85.

Gautam Gambhir has come out strongly in defence of Yuvraj Singh, who was criticised by the media for his poor performance in the 2010 season of the IPL

Cricinfo staff03-Apr-2010Gautam Gambhir, the Delhi Daredevils captain, has come out strongly in defence of his India team-mate, Yuvraj Singh, who was criticised by the media for his poor performance in the 2010 season of the IPL.”You have got to show confidence in your cricketers, you have got to back them up when they are down,” Gambhir wrote in his column for . “Yuvraj is an exceptional cricketer, and the match-winner right now in this country. He’s always been the way he is, in form or out of it. He’s had the same lifestyle, the same carefree, happy attitude to life in general. So why kick the guy when he’s down?Yuvraj has scored only 137 runs in eight IPL games at an average of 17.12. His performance mirrored Kings XI Punjab’s woeful showing and they are virtually out of contention for the semi-finals after winning only one out of eight games. That led to speculation that his poor form was due to an alleged rift between Yuvraj, the former Punjab captain, and incumbent Kumar Sangakkara. An upset Yuvraj vented his feelings on his Twitter page.”This is the same Yuvraj who’s single-handedly won matches for India,” Gambhir said. “So yes, he’s going through a lean patch, that doesn’t make him any less of a fantastic player. Every person, whether it’s Yuvraj, or you or me or anyone else, needs space and time to recoup, the freedom to be allowed to do that and the confidence that someone out there is standing by him.”Yuvraj had also stressed that his poor batting form was due to his recent injury and nothing else.

Joey Veerman ‘remains high’ on Rangers’ list of transfer targets, journalist Pete O’Rourke has told Give Me Sport. 

The lowdown

The 23-year-old central midfielder plays for Heerenveen in the Eredivisie. He has two-and-a-half years left on his contract with the club and is valued at £6.3m by Transfermarkt.

Rangers may need to seek replacements if some of their existing midfielders are lured elsewhere. The Gers are braced for January interest in Glen Kamara, while Joe Aribo also has admirers from the Premier League.

The latest

O’Rourke told Give Me Sport that Rangers attempted to bring in Veerman last summer, when Steven Gerrard was still their manager, and that the club’s interest hasn’t subsided.

He wonders if the defender’s Dutch compatriot Giovanni van Bronckhorst might enjoy more success in pursuit of the player, saying: “Veerman will definitely be high on the list of targets. They tried to sign him in the summer and he still remains high on their list of potential targets.

“With van Bronckhorst in there now, I think it just gives extra weight in maybe following up that interest in the Dutchman.”

The verdict

Veerman would arrive at Ibrox with some pretty glowing endorsements. Dutch coach Robert Molenaar has called him ‘extremely good’ on the ball, adding that he plays like he’s ‘on a square in [the village of] Volendam’. Meanwhile, former Rangers defender Michael Ball has said that ‘his numbers are fantastic’.

Ball is right to do so – Veerman has been directly involved in nine goals (scoring three and setting up six) in 15 league appearances in 2021/22. He also ranks in the Eredivisie’s top six for chances created per 90 minutes with 2.4 (via WhoScored).

Hopefully O’Rourke’s suspicion that Van Bronckhorst’s arrival at Rangers could be a substantial step towards persuading the 23-year-old to make the move to Ibrox, especially if Aribo moves south of the border.

In other news, this Rangers trio struggled against Hearts