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Tottenham Hotspur appear to be done this deadline day, according to Fabrizio Romano…

What’s the word?

With less than two hours to go before the January transfer window draws to a close, there isn’t likely to be any more activity in terms of incomings at Hotspur Way, despite being linked with a last-ditch move for Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele.

“Barcelona president Laporta: “We presented one last option to Ousmane Dembélé”. Tottenham are not negotiating for him – understand Spurs market is now almost completed,” the Italian journalist tweeted late on Monday night.

All but done

This will come as gutting news to many supporters, who are probably waiting up to see any late business before 11pm but that won’t be the case.

Earlier in the day, the club announced the double swoop of Juventus duo Rodrigo Bentancur, who has joined in an initial £15.9m deal that could rise by £5m – also signing a four-and-a-half-year deal – and Dejan Kulusevski, who arrives on an initial loan (£8.3m fee) with an option to buy for £29.2m, via the BBC.

Meanwhile, they have seen a handful of players depart.

Tanguy Ndombele has returned to Lyon on loan, Giovani Lo Celso has also made a temporary switch to Villarreal, Bryan Gil joins LaLiga rivals Valencia and Dele Alli will be signing for Premier League rivals Everton permanently.

It does leave manager Antonio Conte much lighter on options, especially in the final third, where there is now a lack of creative influence, not that either of those names were cutting the mustard this season.

He will also be upset to have missed out on a new right wing-back, losing out on Adama Traore to Barcelona. It’s thought that he doesn’t have faith in summer signing Emerson Royal or Matt Doherty due to their lack of effectiveness in the final third.

Conte could have also done with a new centre-back too as his current options aren’t the most reliable behind Eric Dier and Cristian Romero. That much is evident by the fact that left-back Ben Davies featuring in the back three instead.

All in all, Spurs are done until the summer, so they best hope that Bentancur and Kulusevski can help steer the north London outfit back into the top four this campaign.

AND in other news, Spurs could end D-day with a bang with 31-goal “phenomenon” who’s “better than Neymar”…

The ICC has ruled out creating a separate window in the FTP for lucrative domestic leagues like the IPL

Cricinfo staff12-Apr-2010

The ICC has ruled out creating a separate window in the FTP for lucrative domestic leagues like the IPL, despite increasing calls for the game’s governing body to figure out a way to allow players to participate without disrupting their international commitments.”We don’t envisage a separate window for a domestic event like the IPL,” Haroon Lorgat, the ICC’s CEO, said in New Delhi at the unveiling of the ICC World Twenty20 trophy. “We cannot incorporate all domestic events into the FTP. It is just not possible as there would be implications for all other member boards.”Players from Australia, New Zealand and West Indies had to miss the first few games of the IPL this season as they were busy playing for their countries. Australia and New Zealand were involved in a bilateral series and the players couldn’t reach India before April 1. Former Australian wicketkeeper and captain of Deccan Chargers, Adam Gilchrist, was the latest to join the chorus for an IPL window, pointing to the financial rewards for the players.Commenting on the Twenty20-heavy calendar, Lorgat said he wasn’t too concerned about possible player burnout once players assemble in the West Indies for the World Twenty20. The tournament begins on April 30, just five days after the conclusion of the six-week IPL. He pointed to the success of last year’s World Twenty20 in England, which followed just after the IPL.”The World Cup in England last year came immediately after the IPL. But it was extremely successful. We saw a full house at all the venues. I think the IPL is a great forerunner to the World Cup,” he said. “Players are in Twenty20 mode and we are hopeful of an equally successful World Cup this time around.”The World Twenty20 is supposed to be held once every two years, but the fact that this edition follows barely a year after the previous one is an anomaly, which the ICC is trying to fix.”The fact that it is the third T20 World Cup in four years is a bit of an anomaly,” Lorgat said. “We are trying to rectify the scheduling and set it right.”He also brushed aside concerns that the popularity of Twenty20 will overshadow that for Tests and ODIs. “Its popularity has gone beyond expectations but other formats are alsopopular. There was a lot of negativity around the other formats, but in the last 12-18 months we have seen some fascinating 50-over games,” Lorgat said. “When (India’s) Sachin Tendulkar scored 200, most people were of the view that 50-overs cricket would definitely survive.”

Many Everton fans have been left fuming over a revelation involving Farhad Moshiri.

As per a report from earlier on in the week by The Daily Mail, which has since been shared by EFC DAILY on their Twitter page, Moshiri has given Rafa Benitez his full support after their latest run of bad results, and now wants to back him financially as well.

The Goodison Park faithful have won just two of their last 12 games in the Premier League, and currently languish in 14th spot in the table.

However, it seems as if Moshiri has put this period behind him, much to the dismay of the Merseyside club supporters, who feel as if there is still a rot to get out of.

Nonetheless, with just a mere £1.8m spent in the summer transfer window, it seems unlikely that Moshiri will be able to give Benitez sufficient enough funds in January to improve the squad.

Everton fans on Moshiri revelation

These Toffees fumed as the revelation was shared on Twitter, with one Blue even going as far as to claim that it was ‘dreadful’:

“Moshiri out”

Credit: @Harrys1878nsno

“Why Farhad?”

Credit: @jayefc_

“The people’s club, listening to the fans!? Can’t moan about the amount of investment, though poor recruitment and we’ve gone back 10yrs, but what a poor businessman Farhad is turning out to be”

Credit: @KingMantisBand

“Sticking with him through a period of dreadful results. We’re still in that period, one draw against Chelsea doesn’t change that!”

Credit: @MarkSim98240708

“”Through” a period of bad results??? We’ve picked up 1 point from the last 2 games and won 1 in 11 I’m not sure we’ve come through anything just yet”

Credit: @BGR1878

“A period of dreadful results? We’re still not out of that “period”. If this is the so-called plan for the club going forward, it’s absolutely dreadful.”

Credit: @WillNSNO

In other news, find out what early team news before Burnley has Evertonians fuming here!

Sheffield Wednesday fans will not be able to watch The Owls in action this weekend after their League One fixture against Accrington Stanley was officially postponed.

The club shared the news on their official Twitter page, which, as to be expected, had a number of Wednesday supporters talking.

Darren Moore’s side have enjoyed some solid league form in recent months and are unbeaten in their last 12 League One outings. They enjoyed a 3-2 win over Accrington last month, however, the return fixture will not go ahead as planned on Saturday due to a Covid-19 outbreak at Wednesday.

The club informed the EFL that they would be unable to fulfil the fixture, with discussions now ongoing in regards to a new date for the match.

Wednesday’s next game is set to take place on Boxing Day at home to Burton Albion, but it is unsure at this moment in time if that will go ahead.

Wednesday fans react

This is what these Wednesday fans had to say in reply to the official news, with many not exactly thrilled and one labelling it as ‘depressing’.

“It’s happening again isn’t it.”

Credit: @siobhanomalley_

“Joking?”

Credit: @KieranhSwfc

“Depressing. Hope all affected are having mild symptoms”

Credit: @Jamesy_boy

“Don’t tell me, rearranged for a Tuesday night”

Credit: @jazmino85

“I hate life honestly”

Credit: @JOELH0LMES

“Not just injuries we do well at #swfc”

Credit: @owls_4life

Everton put in a dire performance against Brighton this afternoon, and lost their chance to climb the table with significance by conceding a defeat at Goodison Park, leaving them on 19 points in 15th in the league table.

Rafa Benitez led his side to yet another defeat in the Toffees ninth loss of the season and their fourth at home, with the return of Dominic Calvert Lewin failing to revive the side in their first game of 2022.

After the returning striker missed a penalty, only Anthony Gordon could salvage something from a poor performance in front of the fans in Merseyside this afternoon.

The 20-year-old talent scored two goals in the 53rd and 72nd minutes of the game, but it wasn’t enough to claw back a point in the game as Brighton scored their third just before Gordon’s second killing the game for the Toffees.

One area of blame for such a performance is in the defensive line in a three at the back set up that clearly did not work for Everton today, with one defender in particular having a below average performance.

According to SofaScore, Seamus Coleman lost possession 19 times in defence, and was dribbled past three times against Brighton, with a shot attempted that was sent wide.

The Everton captain hasn’t been at his best this season, and One Versus One records that the 33-year- old has made eight errors leading to goals this season so far, which should be enough for Benitez to axe the captain from the side.

Despite his poor performance, the Irish defender was actually playing out of position on the complete opposite side as left wingback at Goodison Park today, as Benitez continued to refuse Lucas Digne for a start amid a feud, a decision that could be argued cost them a proper defensive performance against Brighton.

Fans took to social media to scathe their captain and the decision who is currently in his thirteenth season for the club.

One fan tweeted in response to Benitez’s decision to drop Digne again and play Coleman out of position;

“Remember when we had a French international left back and decided to play Seamus Coleman there instead.”

Another simply criticised the £3.15m-rated liability’s performance, humorously tweeting;

“Seamus Coleman has the footballing IQ of a tortoise.”

Everton will now have a break from the Premier League to tackle a domestic cup challenge in the FA Cup next weekend against Hull City, and Benitez will be hoping that a positive cup run can distract from the awful performances fans have seen in the league so far this season.

In other news: Benitez could sign Ainsley Maitland-Niles in January

Everton have reportedly lined up Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand to replace the under-pressure Rafa Benitez following a run of disappointing results.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, the Toffees have made the highly-rated 49-year-old their ‘main candidate’ to replace Benitez should results not improve over the coming weeks.

The report states that: “Kasper Hjulmand, the brilliant Danish coach of the national team from his native country, is the main candidate to take over the reins of the club if the Spaniard leaves.”

Fans will be ecstatic

Benitez only arrived at Goodison Park over the summer, and things got off to a good start for the former Real Madrid, Liverpool and Inter tactician.

A run of just one defeat in Everton’s opening seven Premier League fixtures sparked optimism around the club, but a string of injuries to the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Yerry Mina saw a dramatic drop-off in results.

The Blues are currently enduring a seven-game winless run after falling to another defeat at the hands of Brentford over the weekend, with Benitez’s charges now sitting just six points above the relegation zone.

As a result, several managers including Nuno Espirito Santo and Frank Lampard have been linked with succeeding the 61-year-old in recent weeks.

However, there now appears to be a new frontrunner in the race to take over the Everton reins, and the club’s supporters will surely be ecstatic to learn that Hjulmand is in contention for the role.

The Scandinavian rose to prominence after guiding Danish minnows Nordsjaelland to the Superliga title in 2011/12, a feat which was compared to Leicester City’s remarkable Premier League success by former American defender Michael Parkhurst.

Hjulmand’s impressive exploits at club level landed him the national team job back in August 2020 and has once again worked miracles during his short tenure.

After star midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed during their Euro 2020 curtain-raiser, Hjulmand guided the Red and Whites to the semi-finals of the competition, winning several plaudits along the way.

The Athletic sources quotes from local outlets in Denmark, hailing the head coach. A magazine called Euroman read: “The national coach has been honest, vulnerable and at the same time tough if needed.

“This is how a modern leader acts, and Kasper Hjulmand has shown the way for all other leaders in this country. Hjulmand is the leader of the year.”

Therefore, he is likely to be a popular choice to replace Benitez should he be unable to turn Everton’s season around, providing the fanbase with a renewed sense of hope and optimism.

And, in other news…Rafa could solve major EFC issue with “sensational” 18y/o gem whose “future is bright”

Jacques Kallis is rated as only 50-50 to make the first Test against England at Centurion Park as he continues a slow recovery from the fractured rib that ruled him out of the one-day series.

Andrew McGlashan in East London07-Dec-2009Jacques Kallis is rated as only 50-50 to make the first Test against England at Centurion Park as he continues a slow recovery from the fractured rib that ruled him out of the one-day series. However, on a more positive note for the home side, Dale Steyn is progressing well after his hamstring strain which he picked up in the third ODI at Port Elizabeth.Mike Procter, the convenor of selectors, is confident that Steyn will be ready to lead the attack in nine days but admitted the outlook isn’t so positive for Kallis raising further questions as to how South Africa will balance their side for the opening encounter.”Dale should be okay, but with Jacques we aren’t quite sure yet. Things are progressing well, but on the conservative side I would say 50-50 is a fair call,” Procter told Cricinfo. “It’s a nasty injury he picked up.”When Kallis was initially ruled out of the one-dayers it was suggested that he would be considered as a specialist batsman if the injury hadn’t cleared up in time for the first Test. However, Procter said that wouldn’t be considered with the risks of aggravating the problem too great.”With a cracked rib it’s either right or it isn’t, there isn’t really anything in between like with a side strain where you may be able to get away with it by not bowling,” he said. “It affects his batting as well and I think he has to be a 100% fit. We wouldn’t want to jeopardise his chances by doing further damage to him with three more Tests in the series.”Kallis and Steyn will be assessed when the South Africans join up in Potchefstroom for a three-day training camp on Friday and if Kallis is ruled out a decision will need to be taken over how to cover for both his batting and bowling. In the one-dayers they went along the extra bowler route which worked at Cape Town when AB de Villiers blazed a hundred, but failed spectacularly at Port Elizabeth when they were blown away for 119 – a collapse that cost them the series.So early in a four-match contest it seems highly unlikely that South Africa would gamble on weakening the batting even though they have included Ryan McLaren as a potential all-round option. Both he and Mark Boucher were batting one place too high in the one-day series which means Alviro Petersen is shaping up as a Test debutant. Petersen was impressive in coloured clothes as he notched three half centuries but would have huge shoes to fill.”Jacques is a massive player and it will be great to have him there,” he told the . “If I am required to play I’ll make sure I’m as ready as possible.”While South Africa’s headaches will revolve around replacing Kallis, at least it is appearing as though they won’t have to concern themselves with also covering for their strike bowler. “He [Steyn] is coming along nicely,” Procter said. “He and Jacques are both crucial to us, but Dale isn’t looking like too much of a concern.”Steyn’s recovery would mean even less chance of Friedel de Wet, the Lions quick bowler, making a debut. De Wet was the most surprising name in South Africa’s 15-man squad, but with Wayne Parnell and Morne Morkel vying to support Steyn and Makhaya Ntini in the pace ranks he will have to wait a while. However, he showed impressive form in the most recent round of Supersport games with match figures of 6 for 76 against the Titans.”In camps like this what we try and do is get guys in who haven’t been around before to come so if they are called up it’s not like going in totally cold,” Procter said. “It’s a good chance to allow Graeme Smith and Mickey [Arthur] a chance to have a look at them.”He had a good season last year and I’ve seen him bowl recently on some pretty flat tracks at East London and at Johannesburg so he’s a player worth looking at and we’ll see what comes out of it.”

Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that there is still no timeframe in regards to Christopher Jullien making a Celtic return, as reported by Jo Hendry.

The Lowdown: Jullien’s terrible 2021…

The 28-year-old hasn’t featured for the Hoops for almost 12 months now after suffering a serious knee injury against Dundee United just after Christmas 2020.

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The Frenchman, labelled as ‘excellent’ by former Hoops boss Neil Lennon, is yet to feature under Postecoglou, who brought in a number of defensive additions over the summer.

Jullien returned to training back in October, but he hasn’t managed to feature in a competitive match for the Bhoys in the current campaign.

The Latest: No timeframe…

Postecoglou confirmed on Wednesday prior to the meeting with Hearts that Nir Bitton and Tom Rogic would be available to fact Hearts tonight.

However, Carl Starfelt and Giorgos Giakoumakis remain sidelined, while no timeframe has been given in regards to Jullien’s return.

The Verdict: Not ideal…

It’s been more than six weeks since Jullien returned to training, so it appears as if the Hoops are being extremely cautious when it comes to the centre-back.

Celtic have a very busy month ahead with nine fixtures in all competitions, so it isn’t ideal being without Starfelt and still having no timeframe when it comes to the French centre-back.

Hopefully, we will learn more on Jullien before the end of the year, but at this moment in time, it appears as if we may not see the 28-year-old defender until 2022.

In other news: Nicholson ‘plans’ to sell ‘terrific’ Celtic ace in record-breaking £25.5m deal. 

Franck Kessie and Marcelo Brozovic are amongst the players named on new Tottenham manager Antonio Conte’s six-man shortlist ahead of the January transfer window, according to Sportmediaset.

The Lowdown: Conte plots January moves

Conte has been brought in (The Athletic) to replace Nuno Espirito Santo, who was sacked as Spurs manager after the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.

There are no shortage of areas in the Spurs squad which need improvement, with Harry Kane struggling for goals and no adequate back-up behind him, while the defence has conceded 16 goals in their first 10 Premier League games. To put that number into perspective, 18th-placed Burnley have let in the same amount.

The Italian is seemingly already preparing for the January transfer window, and he has drawn up a shortlist as a result.

The Latest: Six-man list revealed

According to the reports from Italy, the new gaffer has drawn up a six-man list of potential targets to buff up his squad.

Dusan Vlahovic, Franck Kessie, Marcelo Brozovic, Alessandro Bastoni, Stefan de Vrij and Manuel Lazzari make up the alleged list.

Of course, Conte and Fabio Paratici worked together in Italy to great success, winning the league title with Juventus, so it is no surprise to see the pair shopping in their homeland.

The Verdict: What he knows

While Conte did win the Premier League with Chelsea, it is in Italy where he really made his name. He has won Serie A with both Juventus and Inter Milan, massively upsetting the former’s long run of dominance with the latter, while he also coached the Italian national team to a European Championships quarter-final in 2016.

As such, he knows the players in his homeland inside out, and it is not surprise to see him look at what he knows. He even coached three of them at Inter in Brozovic, Bastoni and de Vrij.

There is some real talent there, as well, with the former of that trio having featured in a World Cup final, while £49.5m-valued Kessie (Transfermarkt) for example has been labelled as “devastating” by Antonio Cassano (via Sempre Milan).

Whether he will be able to pick up all or some of them in the next window remains to be seen, but with a reported £150m transfer budget, he is likely to be able to give it a good go.

In other news, the numbers of Conte’s contract have been revealed.

Many Everton fans have been left reacting to some comments that have emerged from Rafa Benitez on Fabian Delph.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of their match away at Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, the Spaniard said (via Toffee TV) with regards to the player: “He has the right mentality, the right attitude. I have to stop him in the training sessions because he’s pushing very hard.”

The comments came as a bit of a surprise to some members of the Goodison Park faithful, given that he has not really lived up to the £8.55m price tag that they paid City to sign him for, missing a lot of games through injury and only managing to make a mere 33 appearances in total over all competitions across the last three seasons, scoring no goals and making no assists (Transfermarkt).

As such, some supporters of the Merseyside club have previously called for him to be sold, and so the comments about his mentality and attitude in training have come as a shock.

Everton fans on Delph comments

These Toffees gave their reactions to the comments as they were shared on Twitter:

“Are these the same training sessions where Iwobi is a world beater?”

Credit: @martinhughgreen

“Lol, he’s just trolling us now”

Credit: @melbourne1973

“Is this because his contract is up in the summer?”

Credit: @danblue1980

“That’s who’s injuring everyone then”

Credit: @Hawthorne_EFC

“He will have to be a one man hurricane THIS weekend. It’s the hope that…”

Credit: @Botony

“Here we go”

Credit: @Tommy_D_1878

In other news, find out what early team news has Blues raging here!