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With the county season reaching its end, a number of Ireland’s players with commitments in England will miss the four-day Intercontinental Cup match between Ireland and Namibia in Belfast from September 6

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2011With the county season reaching its end, a number of Ireland’s players with commitments in England will miss the four-day Intercontinental Cup match between Ireland and Namibia in Belfast from September 6. The match was originally scheduled for early July but was postponed because the Namibia players were facing issues getting their visas. With regular captain William Porterfield missing the game, Kevin O’Brien has been appointed captain of a 13-man squad that includes some new names.Stuart Poynter, the 21-year-old wicketkeeper, joins his older brother Andrew in the squad, while 18-year-old Graeme McCarter, who took 14 wickets in the recent Under-19 World Cup qualifying tournament, has also been included. Boyd Rankin, contracted with Warwickshire, Niall O’Brien, who plays for Northamptonshire, and Sussex’s Ed Joyce will all miss the game, which is Ireland’s first four-day match in this year’s Intercontinental Cup. Trent Johnson will also miss the game with injury.Ireland have recently announced they are planning to put a first-class structure in place in order to ultimately attain Test status, and this will be their first first-class match this year.Kevin O’Brien has captained Ireland once before but only in List A games, and he said he was looking forward to leading the team in a longer format. “The four-day game gives skippers a chance to try different ideas and put their own stamp on the team,” he said. “We have a few new faces in the squad for the game, with Stuart Poynter and Graeme McCarter both uncapped at senior level. This is an excellent chance for them, and the rest of the squad to make a mark ahead of the winter schedule.”Ireland had won the Intercontinental Cup three years in a row before Afghanistan won last year’s event.Ireland squad: Kevin O’Brien (captain), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Phil Eaglestone, Nigel Jones, Graeme McCarter, John Mooney, Andrew Poynter, Stuart Poynter, Paul Stirling, Albert van der Merwe, Andrew White, Gary Wilson.

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O ano começou com Jailson, Fernando Prass e Weverton disputando a vaga de titular no gol do Palmeiras – o primeiro dos três acabou o escolhido e tem justificado a decisão. Um dos destaques do Verdão, o goleiro tem desempenho até para ser convocado para a Seleção Brasileira, segundo Roger. A briga na meta, portanto, está restrita à vaga de primeiro reserva e foi reaberta pelo técnico.

Durante o Paulista, Prass era o substituto imediato de Jailson, tanto que entrou no Dérbi em que o camisa 42 foi expulso e o substituiu quando precisou cumprir suspensão em outras duas partidas. Agora, Roger escolheu fazer um revezamento. Contra o Boca Juniors (ARG), Weverton foi o reserva, enquanto Prass foi até cortado do banco de reservas – na Libertadores só podem ficar sete jogadores no banco. No domingo, quando precisou poupar o titular contra a Chapecoense, o reforço trazido do Atlético-PR jogou.

-Diferentemente do que determinei no Paulista, coloquei os jogadores no mesmo nível. Então, vai haver um revezamento daqueles que vão ser os segundos em determinados momentos. Como o Weverton foi o segundo na Libertadores, automaticamente, na ausência do Jailson, o Weverton foi para a partida. Posteriormente, se acontecer a mesma coisa, e estiver na vez do Fernando, será ele o goleiro do Palmeiras – disse Roger.

Weverton teve pouquíssimo trabalho diante dos catarinenses. Foi sua segunda partida no ano – a outra havia sido contra o Ituano, quando o Palmeiras jogou com uma equipe toda reserva. Contratado por R$ 2 milhões após 318 partidas pelo Furacão, o camisa 21, de 30 anos, é ainda visto como o goleiro do futuro no clube. Jailson tem 36 anos, Prass, 39, e os contratos dos dois terminam em dezembro – o clube não tratou do futuro com nenhum deles ainda. O ex-atleticano, por outro lado, tem vínculo até o fim de 2022.

Roger não revelou quantas partidas em sequência dará para cada um dos reservas. Contra o Alianza Lima (PER), quinta-feira, ou Fernando Prass ou Weverton será cortado do banco novamente. Apesar da intensa competição, em todas as entrevistas o bom ambiente entre os três é citado.

– A gente é muito feliz dentro do Palmeiras. Tanto eu, quanto Jailson e Prass temos orgulho de vestir essa camisa. É uma briga legal porque são três grandes goleiros que querem espaço. Infelizmente só pode jogar um. Eu, às vezes, me coloco no lugar do Roger porque sei o quanto deve ser difícil para ele poder encarar isso e ter essa decisão. Temos de valorizar também o Palmeiras por ter essa qualidade e grandes jogadores na mesma posição – analisou Weverton, que elogiou Jailson.

– Somos felizes, estamos contentes, o Jailson está em um momento espetacular da carreira dele. Sempre converso e digo para ele aproveitar esse momento, ele merece o que vive. A gente tem de trabalhar e esperar quando o Roger der oportunidade para manter o mesmo nível e procurar ajudar o Palmeiras – completou.

Além dos três, o Palmeiras tem Daniel Fuzato, ex-sub-20, como quarto goleiro. Vinícius Silvestre, outro arqueiro formado pelo clube, tem 24 anos e está emprestado à Ponte Preta até dezembro.

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كشف محمد سعد المدرب العام لفريق أسوان، عن الحوار الذي دار بين أيمن الرمادي المدير الفني للفريق الجنوبي وجوسفالدو فيريرا مدرب الزمالك، عقب اللقاء الذي جمع بين الفريقين.

وخسر الزمالك بهدفين مُقابل هدف، في المباراة التي أقيمت على ملعب استاد أسوان، ضمن منافسات الجولة الحادية عشر من عمر مسابقة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

وقال محمد سعد المدرب العام لفريق أسوان في تصريحات عقب المباراة: “بدأنا المباراة بشكل جيد وأضعنا أكثر من فرصة وكان من الممكن أن نُسجل 3 أهداف”.

طالع أيضًا | موعد مباراة الزمالك القادمة أمام الداخلية في الدوري

وتابع: “أجرينا تغييرات في أضيق الحدود لأنها كلها كانت اضطرارية بسبب إصابة اللاعبين وتعرضهم للإرهاق لأنهم يلعبون مباراة كل 3 أيام”.

وأضاف: “أيمن الرمادي يلعب أي مباراة سواء أمام الزمالك أو الأهلي، بشكل هجومي وضغط، ولذلك الأبيض تفاجأ من هجوم أسوان من بداية المباراة”.

وبسؤاله عن الحوار الذي دار بين أيمن الرمادي وجوسفالدو فيريرا عقب المباراة، قال: “مدرب أسوان ذهب لنظيره البرتغالي وقال له حظ موفق، وكان رد الأخير (جيد.. ولكن عليك أن تلعب بهذا الأداء أمام الأهلي أيضًا)، وأوضح له المدير الفني لأسوان بأنه يلعب بنفس الأسلوب أمام جميع الفرق وليس من شأنه الصراع الذي يدور في قمة الدوري”.

Sri Lanka 146 for 1 (Tharanga 67*, Dilshan 44) beat Kenya 142 (C Obuya 52, D Obuya 51, Malinga 6-38) by nine wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Kenya had no answer to Lasith Malinga•AFP

Lasith Malinga announced his return to full fitness by storming his way to an unprecedented second World Cup hat-trick with an exhibition of yorker-on-demand bowling that proved too much for Kenya’s tail at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The visitors imploded to 142 all out despite dogged half-centuries from the Obuya brothers, who enjoyed plenty of fortune in a determined 94-run stand that kept the varied threats of Sri Lanka’s bowling at bay for nearly 30 overs. Sri Lanka’s batsmen barely had to break a sweat in the chase, finishing it off in 18 overs.

Smart Stats

• Lasith Malinga became the only bowler to pick up two hat-tricks in World Cups. His previous one had come against South Africa in 2007. So far, six bowlers have taken a hat-trick in World Cups.

• This was also the first instance of bowlers taking hat-tricks in consecutive matches in a World Cup. The 2003 World Cup was the last edition to see two hat-tricks.

• Malinga’s 6 for 38 is the second-best bowling figures by a Sri Lankan bowler in World Cups, behind Chaminda Vaas’ 6 for 25 against Bangladesh in 2003.

• The 94-run stand between David Obuya and Collins Obuya is the fourth-best for Kenya for the third wicket in World Cups.

• Apart from David Obuya and Collins Obuya, the rest of the batsmen failed to reach double figures and aggregated just 20 runs among them. From a decent position of 120 for 3, Kenya lost the last seven wickets for just 22 runs to be bowled out for 142.

• David Obuya’s strike-rate of 48.11 and Collins Obuya’s strike-rate of 52 are third and seventh on the list of lowest strike-rates for scores between 50 and 99 in World Cups. The lowest is Ishwar Maraj’s 53 off 155 balls, at a strike-rate of 34.19 against South Africa in 2003.

• The 188 dot-balls in the Kenya innings is the second-highest in the 2011 World Cup, behind the 194 dots in Canada’s innings against Zimbabwe.

• Sri Lanka’s nine-wicket win over Kenya was achieved with 188 balls to spare. This is third on the list of victories with most balls to spare for Sri Lanka in World Cups.

The Obuyas weren’t exactly convincing – testing every edge of their bat, surviving close lbw calls, regularly air-driving outside off and rarely reading the spinner’s variations – but hung on obdurately to take Kenya into triple-digits. A solid platform was in place when they had hauled Kenya to 102 for 2, but Malinga’s burst demolished the tail as the final eight wickets were blasted out for 40 runs. None of the other Kenyan batsmen made it past single-figures.The Kenyan collapse was rapid: it took only 22 deliveries for them to go from 127 for 4 to being bowled out. Muttiah Muralitharan started it off by getting the set batsman David Obuya to slog-sweep to midwicket.Then it was Malinga time. Jimmy Kamande barely found his bearings after being struck by a toe-crusher, and decided to go for a single when the ball was only a couple of metres away from him. Chamara Silva pounced from midwicket and did a passable imitation of Jonty Rhodes from 1992 to crash into the stumps and dismiss Kamande.Tanmay Mishra was next, becoming the first victim of Malinga’s hat-trick after missing a full delivery on leg stump to fall for a 13-ball duck. It was the final ball of the over, and Malinga gave Peter Ongondo the warmest welcome possible to the tournament in the first ball of his next – a yorker that uprooted middle. The staggered dismissals meant many in the crowd weren’t aware that Malinga was on a hat-trick. He steamed in and middle stump was dismantled again next ball, the clueless batsman this time was Shem Ngoche.Attention then shifted to whether Malinga could repeat his outrageous four-in-four from the 2007 World Cup, but he sprayed a wild delivery for five leg-side wides. Elijah Otieno defended the next ball, but that was followed by another unstoppable yorker from Malinga that thud into leg stump to end Kenya’s innings. Malinga had taken four in five legal deliveries to finish with 6 for 38.A tiresomely familiar tale seemed set to play out earlier in the afternoon when Kenya slid to 8 for 2 in the third over. Nuwan Kulasekara and Malinga removed the openers cheaply with their favourite weapons – Kulasekara getting Maurice Ouma with an inducker, and Malinga dislodging Seren Waters with an inswinging yorker that left the batsman on his knees.The Obuyas ensured there wasn’t a repeat of Kenya’s house-of-cards performance against New Zealand. Kulasekara gave away only nine runs in a constricting six-over opening spell, but Kenya were more at ease against Angelo Mathews, who was taken for a couple of boundaries.Sri Lanka brought on the spin of Ajantha Mendis in the 14th over to break the frustrating stand, but though the batsmen weren’t sure which way the ball would turn, they survived his bag of tricks with some dour defence. Kumar Sangakkara then turned to Muttiah Muralitharan to get the wickets, but though there were leading edges and outside edges, Murali couldn’t break through, with the batsmen negotiating him with a series of sweeps.It was painfully slow progress from the Obuyas, and after more than two hours of defiance, it was that most deadly of weapons that separated them – a Malinga yorker. Some more of those left Sri Lanka chasing a tiny target in front of a raucous Colombo crowd.The fans had even more to cheer when Sri Lanka batted, as Tillkaratne Dilshan provided a typically fast start with an array of punches through cover. He picked up a couple of boundaries in three successive overs to power Sri Lanka to 51 in the sixth over. Upul Tharanga, who started sedately, then joined the party with three fours in the next over. Dilshan fell short of a half-century, but Tharanga went on to make 67 with a string of lofted boundaries in the batting Powerplay to hasten the finish, and push Sri Lanka to the top of the table on net run-rate.

Match Timeline

انفعل المدير الفني لمنتخب الأرجنتين، ليونيل سكالوني، على الصحافة في مؤتمره قبل مباراة هولندا في دور الـ8 من بطولة كأس العالم قطر 2022.

وتلتقي الأرجنتين وهولندا غدًا الجمعة، في تمام التاسعة مساءً بتوقيت “القاهرة” على ملعب “لوسيل” بقيادة الحكم الإسباني الدولي ماتيو لاهوز.

اقرا أيضًا.. فان جال يرد على دي ماريا بعد وصفه له بأسوأ مدرب في العالم ويستشهد بـ ديباي

ووجه صحفي سؤالًا في المؤتمر حول إصابة رودريجو دي بول، فما كان من سكالوني سوى الانفعال بغضب: “لا أعرف هل أنت تمثل هولندا أم الأرجنتين؟ لماذا تسألونني عن إصابة رودريجو”.

وتابع: “لقد تدربنا خلف الأبواب المغلقة، لسنا مهتمين بالمعلومات التي تقال في الصحافة، لم يحضر الصحفيين التدريبات، يجب أن نعرف جيدًا ما نقوم بنشره ونتأكد منه”.

وأضاف: “من حيث المبدأ دي بول بخير، كذلك دي ماريا، سنراهم في التدريبات ونستقر على تشكيل المباراة”.

وواصل تصريحاته: “يجب أن نتحلى بالهدوء أمام هولندا، سنقدم كل ما لدينا، عليكم أن تتأكدوا من ذلك الأمر، هذا ما يريده الناس، لأننا نعلم كم أن كرة القدم غدارة للغاية”.

وعن وضع ديبالا الذي لا يشارك في المباريات: “لدينا 26 لاعبًا، رغم أنه لاعب جيد لكننا نحاول الاستفادة من اللاعبين وفقًا لمجريات المباريات في كأس العالم”.

Lalit Modi, the former IPL chairman, has sought clarity on several points from the regional passport office in Mumbai over the notice issued by it earlier this month, including the deadline and the basis for the notice

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2010

Lalit Modi, the former IPL chairman, has sought clarity on several points from the regional passport office in Mumbai over the notice issued by it earlier this month, including the deadline and the basis for the notice. He has also said through his lawyer that, though travelling abroad, he was not absconding.The notice was sent after the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which looks into foreign exchange violations, wrote to India’s external (foreign) affairs ministry on October 5 asking it to revoke Modi’s passport since he had not appeared before the ED to answer allegations of financial irregularities.Modi’s counsel Mehmood Abdi said that, before filing his reply, Modi needed to know the ED’s reference to the RPO, following which the notice was issued, and the documents on which the RPO based its notice.Modi has 15 days to reply to the notice and, though it was issued on October 15, Abdi said this period should start from the date of receipt of the notice, which was October 20. “According to us, the deadline expires on November 4. We sent the RPO a letter on October 26 seeking clarification but there has been no reply.” Abdi said he had also sent a reminder to RPO today but has not received a response.Modi has been living abroad for the past few months and said he fears for his life. “There is a threat to his life and he will not return till the situation changes,” Abdi said. He denied that Modi was absconding and said he was communicating with the ED and other authorities from London.Two days ago Abdi had said that his client was ready for interrogation by the ED in London and would bear the expenses of ED personnel travelling there to question him.The ED is examining whether Modi violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act during his time as IPL commissioner. Earlier this month, the directorate issued a blue corner alert for Modi, which makes it mandatory for law-enforcement agencies around the world to detain him wherever they spot him and inform the ED accordingly.

Crystal Palace will no doubt be looking to return to winning ways, after sustaining losses to Chelsea and Leicester City, respectively.

Both losses saw the Eagles deploy two different formations, as they temporarily stepped away from their 4-3-3 system.

When they played Leicester City in their most recent league game, Palace attempted to gain a numerical advantage throughout the centre of the pitch by deploying a 4-2-3-1 system against Brendan Rodgers’ 4-3-3 shape.

And in the FA Cup semi-final, Vieira looked to nullify Chelsea’s attacking threat by the means of a 3-5-2 system.

Across both fixtures, Vieira’s side conceded four goals and scored just one. That is a sure-fire sign for the return of the system that had seen them pick up 11 points from a possible 15, across their last five games.

On the chalkboard

One player who has drastically struggled for minutes this season is the 23-year-old talent, Ebere Eze, someone dubbed “special” by the Coaches Voice.

Eze has made just seven appearances in the Premier League this season, after struggling for fitness as a result of an achilles tendon problem that he sustained at the end of the last Premier League campaign.

Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Chelsea saw him play a full 90 minutes for the first time this season, with Eze now reported to be fully fit by Crystal Palace correspondent, Mark Wyatt, and ready to make his claim as an Eagles regular.

The game against Eddie Howe’s Newcastle side is the perfect opportunity for the England starlet to make his presence known and get back to the form that saw him chip in with ten goal contributions in 34 Premier League appearances for Palace last season.

Vieira can give the £37k-per-week livewire creative freedom up top, with a simple tweak to his usual 4-3-3 formation.

Quite simply, a switch to a 4-3-2-1 system (replacing the two wing positions with two attacking midfielders) would suit Eze’s game down to a tee.

The £18m-rated star played his best football as an attacking midfielder for QPR in a 2019/20 season that saw him bag eight assists.

This slight tweak could help him reach these numbers once again in a move that could, quite simply, terrify Eddie Howe and Newcastle United.

In other news: Vieira eyes CPFC move for “sensational” £14k-pw maestro, it could be bye-bye Gallagher…

Scorecard
Rusty Theron and Colin Ingram starred in the tri-series opener to give South Africa a convincing win over Pakistan A at the SSC in Colombo.Theron grabbed four wickets to help South Africa fight back after a 137-run third-wicket stand between Asad Shafiq and Aamer Sajjad, who struck half-centuries. Pakistan were resting easy at 156 for 2, but lost their next seven wickets for 61 runs. Theron was supported by Vernon Philander, who took 3 for 42, and helped restrict Pakistan for a chaseable 219.In their response, South Africa were boosted by a brisk opening start from Morne van Wyk, who scored a quickfire 33, and Ingram then took over to anchor the innings. He struck nine fours and a six in his 85 while Dean Elgar chipped in with an unbeaten 47 to steer his team home with 26 balls to spare.

For a brief moment this morning it felt like Pakistan seemed to have gained a foothold in this exciting Test. After Umar Gul’s defiant burst with the bat, which relieved them of the burden of following on, Pakistan fought back admirably with their three fast men trampling the England batting order with authority. At 98 for 6, and the lead at 270, Pakistan held their heads high.But as the full house at Trent Bridge welcomed the sun finally breaking through the clouds for the first time in two days about an hour after lunch, the visitors’ body language steadily grew weary. With the pitch offering hardly any true bounce or movement and the ball losing its shine, Salman Butt duly rested his pace trio comprising the two Mohammads – Asif and Aamer – and Gul.Subsequently Danish Kaneria, who was introduced for the first time in the day one over before tea, continued to operate from one end while the part-timers Shoaib Malik and Umar Amin bowled innocuous overs for Matt Prior to build to his century and wilt the Pakistan spirits with every additional run.Just like Australia had escaped twice at Lord’s after Pakistan’s quicks had worked assiduously to demolish the specialist batsmen, Prior led England to recovery and then built further momentum in the company of the tail. What worked in the hosts’ favour was there was nothing much for the fast bowler on a dry and slow pitch. Also keeping in mind a long summer ahead, Pakistan did not want to exhaust and risk injury to their match-winning pace trio.”The [fast] bowlers were really tired,” Waqar Younis, Pakistan coach, said after the day’s play. “These [fast] bowlers have been bowling too many overs from the Australia series. We don’t want anyone injured and those three our key bowlers.”If there was somebody he wasn’t impressed with it was his main spinner Kaneria, who Waqar felt was a big letdown. The coach had a blunt appraisal of the legspinner in this match: “We struggled with Danish Kaneria. He was lacking confidence and he really struggled getting his rhythm going, which was tough for us.”Astonishingly, Kaneria failed to bowl any maidens and had only one wicket to his credit with his match figures reading: 33-0-171-1. Waqar pointed out that Kaneria’s best opportunity to bounce back after an abysmal first-innings performance with the ball came early in the second session today.With Stuart Broad hunting for runs this year and Jimmy Anderson on a king pair and Steven Finn playing only his third Test, Kaneria needed to dominate Prior, England’s last specialist batsman. “At a stage when they were six down we just needed somebody to get up and take a wicket but that didn’t happen,” Waqar said.For most of the afternoon Pakistan allowed things to happen and the early morning promise that Gul had injected into the team with his maiden half-century suddenly seemed distant. For the second time this summer Pakistan were chasing a 400-plus score for victory in the fourth innings – Australia had set them 440 at Lord’s – and both times they knew it could’ve been a much easier, and achievable target.Asked if he was disappointed at his top order failing to survive with about three quarters of an hour before the close of play, Waqar conceded that losing three wickets was too many. “In a way it is always disappointing when you lose wickets when you don’t want to especially at the end of the day,” Waqar said. “I wasn’t expecting three wickets – maybe one, but they were right on target.”But the Pakistan coach said he couldn’t blame the batsmen entirely, as they had endured a long and taxing day in the field. “It is always tough when you are in the field for 70 overs and then you have to go and bat and it is even tougher for the youngsters,” Waqar said.So, is it over for Pakistan in this Test? Waqar nearly admitted defeat. “It seems very, very hard form here on,” he said nodding his head. That does not mean he is giving up on the series, because he reckons Pakistan have the ability to fight back just like they caught Ricky Ponting’s men by surprise at Headingley.”We won against Australia [so] we are a very fine side and I’ve got no doubt that they can make a comeback. It is a four-match Test series. I haven’t given up on this Test yet, but it is not going to be very easy tomorrow.”

Everton must not pursue their reported move for Leicester City defender Jannik Vestergaard.

The links

Football Insider report that Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell is very much an admirer of Vestergaard.

He apparently tried to sign the Dane during his time at Wolverhampton Wanderers, and launched a fresh scouting mission during the recent international break.

Thelwell and his recruitment team believe he could be an asset to the club because of his ‘aerial dominance’ and experience in the Premier League, but there’s reason to question that assessment.

Former player underwhelmed

Last summer, amid links to Tottenham Hotspur, former PL midfielder Rob Lee admitted that he was unconvinced by Vestergaard and urged the Lilywhites to think twice about a move (via Football Fan Cast).

He questioned the consistency of the centre-back’s performances: “I’ve seen him play well, seen him play badly, so I wouldn’t go breaking the bank for him,” he said.

“I’d go and break the bank for Danny Ings, but for Vestergaard, no, not really. He’s not Virgil van Dijk, is he?”

Strong criticism from journalists

In the end, it was Leicester City that snapped him up, but some journalists believe the move has proven to be a mistake.

For example, Josh Bunting of the Islington Gazette has called it a ‘poor’ signing that ‘hasn’t worked at all’, while Zach Lowy regards him as ‘one of the biggest flops’ of the summer transfer window.

Lowy also believes that the 6 foot 6 Vestergaard isn’t as dominant as he ought to be – he labelled him ‘about as imposing in the air as a macaroni penguin’. The numbers support this too, as the Denmark international ranks eighth for winning aerial duels in the Foxes squad, despite being by far their tallest player (Whoscored).

Tactical concerns

What’s more, Vestergaard may not be the best fit for Frank Lampard’s system at Goodison Park.

The manager has looked to be aggressive, playing the kind of high line Rodgers employs at Leicester, but BBC Sport writer Raj Chohan has observed that the Foxes look ‘so much’ more vulnerable when they ask Vestergaard to push up the pitch.

And The Athletic’s Rob Tanner has noted that the 29-year-old may simply be better suited to playing deeper.

Based on these verdicts, it looks like moving for Vestergaard could be a costly mistake for the Toffees, who already have a number of flops at centre-back with Jamie Carragher branding them a ‘Championship back four’.

In other news, a transfer insider says Arsenal have a second Everton target in mind.