Celtic have begun work on bringing in two new midfielders during the January transfer window, according to The Scottish Daily Mail, via 67 Hail Hail.
The Lowdown: Midfielder links…
The Hoops are reportedly confident of bringing in versatile Japanese forward Daizen Maeda in the New Year, and it seems as if he may not be the only winter window arrival at Lennoxtown.
Celtic have been linked with Japanese midfielder Reo Hatate in recent weeks, whereas rumours regarding a move for Shamrock Rovers’ Danny Mandroiu emerged earlier in the week.
Talks over a move for Hatate are underway with his club Kawasaki Frontale, whereas Celtic appear to fancy their chances of signing Mandroiu, a player they have been keeping an eye on since the summer.
The Scottish Daily Mail state [print edition 19/11/21, p.86], relayed by 67 Hail Hail, claim that the Hoops are working on two new midfield additions.
However, the print report does not share any names specifically, but it seems as if Celtic have their sights on multiple signings.
The Verdict: Nicholson not hanging about
It appears as if interim CEO Michael Nicholson isn’t hanging about when it comes to working on January moves. Even though the recent report doesn’t name-check targets, it could be the case that Hatate and Mandroiu are the players in question.
Callum McGregor, David Turnbull and Tom Rogic have been Ange Postecoglou’s go-to options in the middle of the park, with summer signings Liam Shaw and James McCarthy failing to make the impact they may have hoped for this season.
Meanwhile, the likes of Ismaila Soro and Nir Bitton don’t seem to be fancied by Postecoglou from the off, so bringing in two midfield options in Hatate and Mandroiu, who are both versatile, could prove a wise decision as Nicholson and Postecoglou aim to build a squad capable of challenging for Scottish Premiership glory.
In other news: Jim White told live on air former West Ham man wanted Celtic move.
Reigning domestic one-day champions Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) and regional four-day title-holders Jamaica will clash in one of four matches on the first day of the WICB President’s Cup one-day tournament in Guyana from October 28.T&T, who currently hold both-50-over and Twenty20 titles, will face the Jamaicans in a Zone A fixture at the National Stadium in Providence.At last year’s tournament, T&T beat Barbados by seven wickets in the final to emerge new champions. Jamaica are enjoying a solid year in regional cricket and will be going for a fifth regional title in the 2009 campaign having won the four-day George Headley/Everton Weekes Trophy, the CLICO Under-15 title and the U-19 three-day and one-day titles at home in August. Other matches on the opening day are Windward Islands against Combined Campuses and Colleges at Everest in Zone A, Barbados against West Indies Under-19s at Bourda, and Guyana facing the Leeward Islands at Enmore in Zone B.The other preliminary round dates are October 30 and 31 before the semi-finals on November 2 and November 3, with the final set for November 5.The WICB confirmed that all preliminary round matches will start at 9.15 am (local time) while the semis and final are day-night fixtures listed for 1.30 pm starts at the National Stadium.
Celtic journalist Kieran Devlin has expressed uncertainty about the return date of centre-back Christopher Jullien.
The lowdown
The Frenchman hasn’t played for the Hoops since their 3-0 win over Dundee United at the end of December 2020. He was forced off in that game after injuring his knee when colliding with the post (via BBC Sport).
Former Scotland boss Alex McLeish has said it will be a ‘massive’ boost for Celtic whenever Jullien, a treble winner in 2019/20, eventually makes his comeback.
Ange Postecoglou said in late October that the 28-year-old would be back after the November international break, but there’s no sign of him as yet.
The latest
In The Athletic’s matchday discussion surrounding Thursday night’s Europa League clash with Bayer Leverkusen, a supporter asked Devlin if there was ‘any indication when/if’ the defender would be back.
The fan ‘thought by now we would have seen something of Jullien in training’ or in a youth team game.
Devlin replied: “It just keeps being pushed back. Briefed multiple times this season that he’d be back within a few weeks and it just hasn’t happened. Not sure what the new estimated date is.”
The verdict
Celtic initially expected to be without Jullien for a period of four months, but we’re now approaching a full calendar year of him being sidelined.
Devlin’s latest claim is worrying because it suggests that there may have been a setback, with the 28-year-old not able to meet the club’s revised timeline.
They were knocked out of the Europa League this week after a 3-2 defeat by Bayer Leverkusen, with Chris Sutton acknowledging that ‘defensively, Celtic have come up well short in Europe’.
It’s tempting to wonder whether they would have had enough to progress from their group with a fully fit Jullien, who was included in their squad for the competition – a sure sign that the Hoops had banked on him returning to action by now.
In other news, this defender is open to signing for Celtic
Chris Martin, the New Zealand seamer, has expressed his desire to team up with Shane Bond and the new ball at the international level. Neither are together on New Zealand’s upcoming tour to Sri Lanka – Martin is in the Test side, Bond in the one-day squad – but Martin was keen to strengthen New Zealand’s fast-bowling attack by forging a healthy pairing domestically.Martin, 34, has returned to Canterbury for the 2009-10 season after spending the past four summers at Auckland and will share the new ball with Bond. “I think we can be a good partnership with the new ball,” Martin told the .”That’s because both of us know what we’re doing with the ball; our job is well-defined in our own mind and if you have two guys who are confident in what they’re doing they can put on more pressure.”While New Zealand’s selectors have often preferred contrasting bowling pairs, Martin hoped his similarities with Bond would not stop them sharing the new ball. “We both tend to swing it in at pace but Shane bowls a bit more full whereas I tend to whack it in shorter and look for more bounce, but we can complement each other because we both know what we’re doing with the ball,” he said. “And Shane’s a genuine wicket-taker so anyone at the other end should be giving him the opportunity to bowl at one guy for as long as he needs to and I can do that role.”It will be quite exciting to have him back and to have an opportunity to build on having two guys who should be at the top of their game and mentally be pretty relaxed about their job. And when Dan Vettori looks around the park to throw the ball to someone he will have more options.”According to Martin, in Bond’s absence – he had quit to join the unofficial Indian Cricket League – New Zealand’s bowling attack “has been steady without being world class but still gets the job done”.Martin and Bond have shared the new ball in only four Tests. While Martin will travel to Sri Lanka with the Test side, Bond will warm up for his international comeback by visiting India with New Zealand A in August.
Tottenham Hotspur are now reportedly eyeing up a move to try and sign towering striker Umar Sadiq.
The Lowdown: Sadiq on form
Sadiq is a player on form and full of confidence, scoring six goals and making a further three assists in just eight games in La Liga 2 for Almeria so far this season (Transfermarkt).
He is well on course to beat his very impressive stats from last term in the division, when he scored 20 times and supplied seven assists in 37 matches in total (Transfermarkt).
The Latest: Tottenham interest
As per Fichajes, Spurs have now been following Sadiq through a Big Data consulting company, and receiving reports of his performances.
They see the striker as a potential replacement for Harry Kane, but he currently has a release clause of €60m (£51m).
However, Almeria would reportedly be happy to sell him for €30m (£25.5m), thus presenting the North London club with a potential bargain.
The Verdict: Not a replacement
Although Sadiq does play in a lower division, his goal scoring record should certainly not be sniffed at.
With a six-foot-three-inches frame as well, the Nigerian should have little problems in adapting to the physical nature of the Premier League, and would offer Nuno Espirito Santo’s team a threat in both boxes.
If they can get the 24-year-old for £25.5m, it could turn out to be a real bargain in the future, but his inexperience at the highest level would make it a risk to bring him in as a direct replacement for Kane – perhaps he can be the deputy the Lilywhites have been searching for?
In other news, find out what big Dusan Vlahovic to THFC claim has been dropped here!
Celtic have been dealt a fresh injury blow ahead of their upcoming Premiership fixture.
What’s the latest?
In recent comments cited by Sky Sports, Ange Postecoglou revealed that, following the midfielder’s first-half substitution in the 3-1 win over Hibernian in midweek, Tom Rogic now looks set to miss the next two to three weeks of first team action after pulling his hamstring, starting with today’s visit of Livingston.
Speaking about the condition of the 28-year-old prior to the clash against the Lions, the Celtic manager said: “He had a scan on his hamstring. It’s going to put him out for at least two to three weeks.
“It’s not a major one but he definitely won’t be involved in these games. Then obviously we have the international window, and if everything goes to plan, he should be available once we get back from that.
“All injuries are frustrating, but the flip side of that is Tommy has probably played more football in the first couple of months of the season than he has for quite a while. He was probably due a spell anyway.
“Him and Dave Turnbull in particular, because Cal [McGregor] had a bit of time out with injury, have been carrying the burden of the midfield. To be honest, even if he had come through, I probably wouldn’t have played him [on Saturday] anyway.
“Hopefully, if nothing else, this freshens him up for another run at it. But he was outstanding, he has been all year, but in the first half against Hibs he was at the centre of all the good stuff we were doing.”
Fans will be gutted
Considering just how impressive Rogic has been for Celtic so far this season, the news that the midfielder looks set to miss up to three weeks of action is sure to have left fans of the club gutted.
Indeed, the 28-year-old has formed an impressive trio alongside David Turnbull and Callum McGregor over his 11 Premiership appearances this term, with the £1.35m-rated man bagging one goal, registering two assists and creating five big chances for his teammates. He has also taken 1.2 shots and made 1.5 key passes per game, with these returns having seen the Australia international average a SofaScore match rating of 6.97.
As such, the news that Rogic will miss not only the Livingston clash, but also the Hoops’ Europa League crunch match against Ferencvaros as well as the trip to Dundee in November, is sure to come as a big blow to Postecoglou, who will undoubtedly be hoping that the £16k-per-week midfielder can pick up where he left off upon his return from injury.
In other news: Ange must unleash Celtic’s “top-class” £2.7m-rated ace on Saturday, he’s being wasted
With just three weeks left for the IPL to begin in South Africa, the eight teams have begun a race against time to get their player combinations and practice bases in place
Nagraj Gollapudi28-Mar-2009
Not surprisingly, there has been a rush among the franchises to be based in prime locations like Kingsmead in Durban which has a sizeable Asian fan base•Keith Lane
With just three weeks left for the IPL to begin in South Africa, the eight teams have begun a race against time to get their player combinations and practice bases in place.Rajasthan Royals, the IPL champions, were the first off the blocks and have tied up with Cape Cobras and Western Province to use Newlands in Cape Town as their practice location. Kolkata Knight Riders are eyeing Bloemfontein, and Mumbai Indians are hoping to cash in on the Asian support base in Durban, which is hosting 16 IPL matches.In fact, there was such a rush among the franchises to be based in prime locations like Durban and Pretoria, which also has a sizeable Asian fan base, that Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, told a TV channel in South Africa: “The franchises are fighting with me to get a base to organise their camps and that is our priority.”Most of the teams have also confirmed that they will be holding preparatory camps in South Africa from the first week of April. Shaun Pollock, mentor to the Mumbai Indians, told Cricinfo the camp will begin on April 8 in Durban. But Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils are taking a different route. “We will have a 10-day camp starting March 31 or April 1 in Chennai,” Rakesh Singh, the marketing head of India Cements, which owns Chennai Super Kings, said. “We are having a preparatory camp for Indian players in Delhi from April 1 and we will leave for South Africa on April 7,” T A Sekhar, who heads the cricketing operations for Delhi Daredevils, said.Franchise officials are looking through the tournament schedule that was officially released on Friday and also engaged in commercial meetings with the IPL in Mumbai and Delhi. Most of them are also approaching a final decision on how many players they can take to South Africa , 20-29 in many cases.The franchises hope the event will be well worth the extra effort but they admitted that the absence of the home-and-away concept, which was such a success in India last time, might take some sheen off the contests.”There is no option and we can’t do much about it,” Joy Bhattacharya, team director of Kolkata Knight Riders, said. “There is no concept of home-and-away games because the weather conditions don’t permit it as in places like Port Elizabeth it gets colder during these months so that has to be factored in, too. And if given a choice, all eight teams would have liked to play at Durban and Cape Town (due to the strong Indian fan base).””It is an advantage to have a home base as you are playing seven matches on a particular surface and then you also have control over preparation (of the pitch),” Amrit Mathur, the chief operating officer of the Delhi franchise, said. “There is a certain merit in the home-and-away concept as there is identity of your team along with your supporters who will rally behind your team. Now it becomes uncertain, but every team is affected by the same factor.”There is also considerable interest in how many matches the England players, who are making their IPL debut, can squeeze in, considering that they will be available only till May 1, after which they leave for the home series against West Indies. For instance, if Bangalore Royal Challengers get Kevin Pietersen, their captain, to stay on till May 1, they will be able to squeeze in seven matches for their star catch. Andrew Flintoff, the other England star, will get to play six matches for Chennai, while Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah play five games for Delhi.AdaptabilityWith the pitches and conditions at the eight venues something to ponder for a few team managements, there is also talk of recruiting local help on a short-term consultancy basis. “For instance, Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, could be one of those tapped for such a role,” a franchise official said.”The type of pitches is dependent on the weather conditions and the moisture, but it is very difficult to predict their nature,” Jennings said. “At this point of time last year, it was raining and it would be different in two weeks’ time.”There’s one other major concern for some of the teams – how quickly their Indian stars will adapt to the new conditions. “We have got seven Indian players who will be part of the XI and who are right now playing in different conditions in New Zealand,” Delhi’s Amrit Mathur said. “So the challenge is to see how well and how soon those players adjust.””Kevin is going to be crucial, especially his attitude on the field and that is why he was made the captain,” Ray Jennings, Bangalore’s new coach, said. The franchise has announced that Jacques Kallis would take over from Pietersen, but Jennings said that the final call will be taken later. “Kallis is one of the options to take over but we’ll have to see how he stands up in the first six games,” he said.The other significant decision that confronts the franchises is how many players they will fly across to South Africa, because they have been informed by the IPL that the league would bear the ticket costs of only a specific number of players – the number is still being finalised.”We have been given the assurance from the IPL that they will take care of the incremental costs; this was told to the franchise owners when the decision to stage the event was finalised,” Chennai’s Singh said. “Suppose I spent X amount of money last year and the expenses are X + Y this year, Y is what IPL has told us they will take care of. The understanding is the IPL will pay for the return ticket for certain number of players.”Jennings has asked the Bangalore franchise to send 20-25 players for his team training camp that starts on April 5. “We are taking almost 24 to 25 players to the camp,” Kolkata’s Bhattacharya said. “We will arrive initially with 11-12 players and then four players will join us in two subsequent batches and later on some of the guys on international duty will join us eventually. Before the tournament begins we may cut it down to 20, not including the support staff.”Chennai’s Singh said MS Dhoni, the team’s captain, and Stephen Fleming, the coach, will decide on a final number. “We have announced 29 players and if they want all of them we have no issues with that,” he said. Mumbai Indians have already sent a bunch of their Indian domestic players to South Africa to train under Pollock in Durban.”We intend to take 22 players,” Delhi’s Sekhar said. “In any case there will be seven Indians and four foreigners. There will six other foreigners as back-up so you need that for the Indians also.”
The pitch at Fitzherbert Park behaved in much the same way as the tracks used for the ODI series between India and New Zealand, playing host to a run-fest in which over 700 runs were scored. England Lions fought hard in pursuit of New Zealand A’s mammoth 373 for 6, but seamers Brendon Diamanti and Michael Mason took three wickets each to help the hosts win by 35 runs in the first unofficial ODI.England Lions were well within reach of their target after Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan – who has represented Ireland in 21 ODIs – added 129 for the fourth wicket. At 226 for 3 in the 37th over, a win still seemed possible but England Lions then lost three wickets for 45 in under five overs to let it slip. However, Essex allrounder Graham Napier led a late resurgence, bludgeoning 77 in just 41 balls, including nine fours and three sixes, to give New Zealand A a serious scare, but a double-strike by Diamanti triggered another collapse where four wickets were lost for 22, sealing a win for the home team.Opener Peter Ingram spearheaded New Zealand A’s innings with an aggressive 135 and was involved in a 97-run fourth-wicket stand with half-centurion Shanan Stewart to lay the foundation for a substantial score. Nathan McCullum, brother of Brendon, and Diamanti then dealt some lusty blows, adding 73 runs in just 26 balls to ensure their team’s eventual score was just about adequate for their bowlers to defend.The two teams played the second one-dayer at the same venue on March 16.
كشف محمد الركباني محامي اللاعب التونسي لسعد الجزيري، عن الأسباب التي دفعت موكله لشكوى الإسماعيلي، ومن ثم الحصول على حكم بإيقاف قيد قلعة الدراويش لمدة 3 فترات.
وقال الركباني في تصريحات لبرنامج “رقم 10” عبر القناة الأولى المصرية: “الإسماعيلي وضع لسعد الجزيري على قائمة الانتظار والاتحاد الدولي لم يكن يسمح بذلك، واللاعب رفض وتواصلنا مع النادي وأعلمناه برغبة اللاعب في المشاركة والتواجد بصورة أساسية لأن هذا عمله”.
وتابع: “الإسماعيلي لم يلتزم بإعادة اللاعب للقائمة الأساسية فتم فسخ العقد ورفع دعوى وصدور قرار”.
وأضاف: “الإسماعيلي تقدم بطعن في التحكيم الرياضي، وبعد صدور القرار الثاني لم يلتزم النادي بالدفع؛ لذلك تم إيقافه 3 فترات”.
طالع أيضًا.. ليس 3 فترات.. اتحاد الكرة يتسلم خطاب فيفا بشأن إيقاف قيد الإسماعيلي
واختتم: “إيقاف الإسماعيلي ليس دائمًا، بل يسترجع القيد عند دفع مستحقات لسعد الجزيري، ولكن الحكم نافذ ولايمكن للنادي تسجيل أي لاعب جديد قبل دفع المستحقات”.
وكان لسعد الجزيري قد انضم إلى الإسماعيلي قادمًا من فريق اتحاد بن قردان التونسي موسم 2018، لمدة 3 سنوات.
وخاض اللاعب 8 مباريات فقط قبل أن يرحل عن الإسماعيلي، ويتقدم بشكوى ضد النادي في المحكمة الرياضية الدولية، لعدم حصوله على مستحقاته المالية.
وحصل لسعد الجزيري على حكم بتغريم الإسماعيلي 450 ألف دولار، وهي الغرامة التي لم يُسددها النادي حتى الآن.