Newcastle United have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Middlesbrough winger Adama Traore as Paris Saint-Germain have entered the race for his signature, according to Arab News.

What’s the story?

Adama Traore joined Middlesbrough in 2016 and the pacy and tricky winger has shone, scoring five and assisting ten goals last season.

The 22-year-old Spaniard has been rumoured to be a target for Newcastle but now according to Arab News, PSG are interested in signing the hot prospect.

According to the report, Traore is understandably excited by the prospect of playing at one of Europe’s top clubs and this would make it very hard for Newcastle to convince him to stay in the north-east of England.

What does this mean?

Traore would be a great signing for Newcastle if they could get him, with his great pace and direct running offering a real threat going forward.

However, when a club like PSG come calling, you don’t often say no.

The report states that PSG are looking at the Boro player to bring their finances in line with UEFA financial fair-play regulations, which gives the rumour more than a ring of truth.

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If PSG are genuine in their interest, Newcastle don’t stand a chance of landing the player, but it may be worth them keeping an eye on developments in case any deal falls through.

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Iago Aspas will not go down in Liverpool history as one of the greats; in fact he has not left any sort of legacy at Anfield.

Some fans, though, feel that the attacker had plenty of potential, but former manager Brendan Rodgers failed to get the best out of him.

Aspas joined the Reds from Celta Vigo in 2013 and spent two unsuccessful years at Anfield before rejoining the Spanish club.

Last season, the 30-year-old impressed by scoring 23 goals in 37 appearances for the La Liga outfit in all competitions.

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Aspas also created five assists, and he has played an important role at the World Cup for Spain.

On Monday, the forward replaced Diego Costa in the 74th minute of the nation’s final Group B clash against Morocco.

La Roja were trailing 2-1 before Aspas flicked the ball into the back of the net in stoppage time.

VAR was required to grant the goal, which helped Spain secure top spot heading into the last 16.

On Twitter, some Liverpool fans took aim at Rodgers for Aspas’s failings at Anfield.

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West Ham have been linked with a move for Lazio midfielder for what seems like most of the summer, and some Hammers fans think his latest tweet hints at his impending move to London.

The latest reports suggest that the Brazilian midfielder has handed in a transfer request to the Italian club in order to force a move, according to Italian news outlet Tutto Mercato Web.

Sky Sports reported that West Ham made an offer of £35million plus add-ons for the 25-year-old and it is thought that a move will be imminent for the player valued at £27million on Transfermarkt.

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However, the attacking midfielder’s latest tweet seems to have set West Ham fans’ hearts racing with many believing it is a sign that he is on his way out of the Roman club.

The cryptic message, when translated, reads: “Long live the goodbyes and all that they teach us!”

West Ham supporters have been reacting to the message with many thinking it refers to him saying farewell to Lazio, but it can’t be denied that the message does look deliberately vague.

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Here’s a selection of what the Hammers fans are thinking.

Andrew Symonds’ Queensland comeback will begin on Saturday after he answered a call to help out the injury-depleted one-day side in Alice Springs

Cricinfo staff13-Nov-2009Andrew Symonds’ Queensland comeback will begin on Saturday after he answered a call to help out the injury-depleted one-day side in Alice Springs. Symonds, who had his Cricket Australia contract torn up in May, was due to play only Twenty20 matches for the state as a guest signing, but a recurrence of Chris Swan’s groin problem and a knee injury for Glen Batticciotto led to an early return.Symonds agreed on Wednesday to join the FR Cup squad to face South Australia and will be paid on a match contract. Queensland’s selection chairman Ray Phillips said Symonds had been waiting for the call.”At this stage, this is a one-off with Andrew, but we will look at how things sit with the recovery of the injured players during the tour game with the West Indies and make some plans from there,” Phillips said. The Bulls are currently on top of the FR Cup table but are also without Ryan Harris (knee), James Hopes (hamstring), Ben Laughlin (abdominal strain) and Grant Sullivan (hamstring), leaving Symonds to provide some much-needed experience with bat and ball.Until now Symonds was destined for a life as a Twenty20 specialist following his axing from the Australia side for drinking in public in England. That misdemeanour followed a string of more serious offences which had him on a last warning with his Cricket Australia bosses. The decision ended his international career at 26 Tests, 198 ODIs and 14 Twenty20s.Queensland were prepared to include Symonds in their squad but he did not want to commit to a full season. His last major tournament was the Champions League Twenty20 in India, where his side the Deccan Chargers were knocked out in the first round.Queensland squad Ryan Broad, Chris Hartley (wk), Lee Carseldine, Andrew Symonds, Wade Townsend, Craig Philipson, Nathan Reardon, Chris Simpson (capt), Nathan Rimmington, Scott Walter, Ben Cutting, Alister McDermott.

Pakistan cricketers will not take part in the next season of the IPL as their board has failed to obtain their visas before the deadline for confirmation of participation, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi said

Cricinfo staff07-Dec-2009Pakistan cricketers will not feature in IPL 2010 as their board has failed to obtain their visas before the deadline for confirmation of participation, the league’s commissioner, Lalit Modi, has said. The franchises will now have to look for replacements for the Pakistan players they had signed, he said.”We have been informed by the PCB that they have not been able to obtain the visas as of now. So we are not able to extend the deadline,” Modi told the channel. “Today is the absolute deadline for confirmation of Pakistani players [to take part in the IPL]. The exchange window [ends] the day after tomorrow.”Unfortunately, the Pakistani players are out and they will not be allowed to take part in the next IPL because we are handicapped by the fact that the exchange window is the day after tomorrow. We are informing the teams that they now can go for the replacement of the Pakistani players.”However officials in Pakistan are emphatic their side of the deal was done. “The players have applied for visas but the clearance hasn’t come from the Indian side. The ball is not in our court,” Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, said on Monday.Wasim Bari, the PCB’s chief operating officer, told Cricinfo the board was in possession of all necessary NoCs and clearance letters from the Pakistan side but had not been given visas. “From our side everything was done and in order. Players had received invitation letters from the franchises as well,” he said.Pakistan are the reigning World Twenty20 champions, and several franchises had expressed their interest in signing on the country’s cricketers. Five Pakistani players – Kamran Akmal, Misbah ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir – are already on contract with IPL teams.Last week, it had seemed that they, and several of their team-mates, would be in next year’s IPL after Pakistan’s foreign ministry and interior ministry cleared them to play in the Indian league. That meant the PCB could issue the NOCs necessary for Pakistan’s players to be eligible for the tournament, but the inability to obtain the visas in time meant their players will have to sit out a second successive IPL.Pakistan’s players were absent from IPL’s second season, held earlier this year in South Africa, after their government did not allow them to travel to India – where the tournament was originally to be held – for security reasons. The decision came in the wake of the Mumbai attacks last year, after which relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated considerably. Eleven players from Pakistan had taken part in the first IPL, though after the Mumbai attacks, only four were retained by their franchises, though their contracts were suspended until further resolution. Razzaq was signed recently by Kolkata Knight Riders.The PCB has been keen on getting their players involved once again after Ijaz Butt, the board chairman, raised the matter on a trip to India in October and said after that the relevant government authorities had also cleared Pakistan’s players to play.

Karnataka waltzed into the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy for only the second time, by prevailing over Punjab on the basis of the first-innings lead in Mysore

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera in Mysore27-Dec-2009
Scorecard
Karnataka waltzed into the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy for only the second time since their triumphant campaign in 1998-99 by prevailing over Punjab on the basis of the first-innings lead in Mysore. The competitive interest in the game had evaporated yesterday afternoon when Punjab decided to adopt a go-slow approach in their batting and nothing much changed today as Punjab declared only 76 minutes before tea and both teams agreed to call off the proceedings at 3.11 pm.There were three insignificant half-centuries for Punjab: Sunny Sohal and Uday Kaul missed centuries and Mayank Sidhana fell for an exact fifty and while there was nothing to get enthused about any of the three innings in the context of the game, Sohal’s effort would have warmed the hearts of Punjab fans. He is not known for patient knocks and has in the past been guilty of throwing away starts but he dropped anchor today. Curiously, this effort came when perhaps a more adventurous route was the crying need of the day but Sohal was just following the team plan.Bhupinder Singh Sr, Punjab’s coach, said that Manpreet Gony wasn’t fit to bowl (shoulder injury) and he felt some of the batsmen would do well to get some practice in the middle. It’s debatable what the practice was for as their campaign had derailed with this season-ending game and they are headed home for some rest.Kaul has been Punjab’s best batsman this season and he proved it again today with yet another assured knock. Rarely was he hurried, and seldom was he in any trouble. As the innings progressed he took more risks, shuffling across the stumps to flick to the on side but fell, against the run of play, to one such attempt. He walked across and tried to lap a short-of-a-length delivery to the on side but got a top edge that was swallowed by the bowler Vinay Kumar. Mayank and Taruwar Kohli too got among some runs but the game was always destined to end up going nowhere once Punjab shut shop yesterday.”I was a little surprised by how Punjab batted, thought they would make us bat for 60 overs and set us a target, but no complaints,” Rahul Dravid said later. “We were happy to wrap up the game and move on. We could have bowled a bit better at the end of the first day, certainly our catching could have been a lot better and we should have converted more of our starts while batting.”For his part, Pankaj Dharmani, Punjab’s captain, said he was satisfied with their performance this season. “We were hit by the ICL and we are in a transition stage. We have played well to reach the quarter-finals and our bowling has been good. Some 12-14 players have made their debuts in the last two seasons and we are slowly getting to form the nucleus of the side.”

England reached their highest batting total of the Women’s Cricket World Series in Christchurch, New Zealand today, but it was not enough to halt the progress of the host nation and current World Champions, who ran out seven-wicket winners.

Andrea Wiggins25-Dec-2009England reached their highest batting total of the Women’s Cricket World Series in Christchurch, New Zealand today, but it was not enough to halt the progress of the host nation and current World Champions, who ran out seven-wicket winners.England Captain Clare Connor won the toss and elected to bat, with England reaching 173 for nine in their 50 overs. The new opening partnership of Kathryn Leng (Yorkshire) and Sarah Collyer (Somerset) made a solid start, Leng especially looking in fine touch driving opening bowler Kate Pulford straight down the ground for four in the first over.The pair had reached 38 in the ninth over before Leng was caught by Haidee Tiffen off Mason for 16. She was replaced by Claire Taylor, who has been playing State cricket in Canterbury this season, and drove imperiously to open her account.Tiffen’s fielding is one of the reasons why New Zealand hold the cherished World Championship crown, and a direct hit ran out Taylor when she had made just eight.Collyer stayed at the crease to reach 39 in the 28th over, before being run out by more sharp fielding, and England were 83 for three. Steele then removed three England middle order wickets in quick succession as Connor was caught and bowled, Arran Thompson stumped by Rebecca Rolls, and Laura Newton dismissed lbw, which saw England at 106 for six in the 37th over.This time, England’s tail had some venom, and attacking batting from youngsters Laura Spragg and Nicki Shaw assisted Dawn Holden in taking England to 144 for eight, Holden reaching 26 before being adjudged lbw.Shaw, in particular, drove well, starting her innings with two fours and the Nottinghamshire pair kept the scoreboard ticking over with well-worked singles as England’s run rate reached 3.30 an over for the first time since the opening stand.Clare Taylor, who became the first Englishwoman to reach 100 caps for her country during the tournament, finished on 16 not out.New Zealand skipper Emily Drumm led the reply after England had taken two quick wickets in the opening spell to leave the match finely balanced with the home side on 53 for two.With New Zealand significantly trailing the required run rate Drumm began to assert some authority over the England bowling. She was dismissed on 92 in the 45th over of the match, when the scores were level, trying to make the winning runs. That honour fell to Tiffen.Despite England’s bowlers containing the New Zealanders, who didn’t reach the required run rate until the 41st over, they were unable to take key wickets and New Zealand have secured their place in the Final on Saturday. They face Australia in a repeat of the thrilling World Cup Final at the same venue in December 2000.England will play India in their last group game on Thursday 6th Feb and will face them again the following day in the play-off for third place.ENGLAND: Kathryn Leng (Yorkshire), Sarah Collyer (Somerset), Claire Taylor (Berkshire), Arran Thompson (Lancashire), Laura Newton (Cheshire), Clare Connor (Capt, Sussex), Dawn Holden (Nottinghamshire), Laura Spragg (Yorkshire), Nicki Shaw (Nottinghamshire), Clare Taylor (Yorkshire), Lucy Pearson (Staffordshire).

Ireland weathered a strong fight-back from Afghanistan to claim their first win of the Associates Twenty20 Series at the P Sara Oval in Colombo.

Cricinfo staff01-Feb-2010
Scorecard
Ireland weathered a strong fightback from Afghanistan to claim their first win of the Associates Twenty20 Series at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. William Porterfield’s boundary-laden 46 powered Ireland’s reply to a sub-par 121 for 9 from Afghanistan before a brief middle-order collapse reduced Ireland from 91 for 2 to 98 for 5 in the space of 12 balls.Calm innings from John Mooney and Gary Wilson ensured the win, and with it a small measure of revenge after Afghanistan’s defeat of the Irish in the Intercontinental Cup a week ago and at the World Cup qualifiers last year.Earlier, Afghanistan struggled to replicate the pyrotechnics of yesterday’s game against Canada. Karim Sadiq, who top-scored with 69 in that game, was dismissed for single figures today, edging Trent Johnston through to Niall O’Brien. Johnston also accounted for Mohammad Shahzad before cutting short Shafiqullah’s threatening cameo and snaring Asghar Stanikzai for his fourth wicket.George Dockrell, the young left-arm spinner, showed just why he is so highly rated in Irish cricket circles, taking 2 for 11 in a superb display of control and variety. Andre Botha’s accurate medium pace proved too much for Afghanistan’s tail, and had it not been for Raees Ahmadzai’s unbeaten 33, the Afghans may not have even reached 100.After a strong start to their reply courtesy of O’Brien and Porterfield, Ireland’s chase stalled somewhat in the middle overs. Hameed Hasan and Sadiq slowed the flow of runs, sparking a nervous flutter in the middle order before Mooney and Wilson’s unbeaten 26-run partnership saw Ireland home.

Canada consolidated their dominant position against Afghanistan by piling on 566, and nipping out three wickets before the close of play on the second day

Cricinfo staff21-Feb-2010
Scorecard
Canada consolidated their dominant position against Afghanistan by piling on 566, and nipping out three wickets before the close of play on the second day. Canada’s was a combined batting effort, led by Sunil Dhaniram’s 130, which included 17 fours and a six. His knock was backed up by important contributions; the last four wickets added 221 with each of the last four batsmen managing 20-plus scores. Ten batsmen in Canada’s innings reached double-digits, and the extras furthered their tally by 34 runs.Canada built on a strong performance on the first day by Ashish Bagai, who had helped steer his team to 350 for 6 and Dhaniram, together with the lower order, got them to a score greater than what they would have expected at the start of the second day.For Afghanistan, legspinner Samiullah Shenwari grabbed 4 for 118, but the bowlers were handled quite comfortably as Canada reached a virtually invincible position. In reply, Shabir Noori held one end together with an unbeaten 46 but lost three partners, including captain Nowroz Mangal, as his side finished on 110 for 3 at stumps.

Bangalore’s facile thumping of Rajasthan had a crucial sub-text to it – the perfect bouncer and the amount of strife it continued to cause Indian batsmen

Sriram Veera in Bangalore18-Mar-2010Bangalore’s facile thumping of Rajasthan had a crucial sub-text to it – the perfect bouncer and the amount of strife it continued to cause Indian batsmen. Anil Kumble had a seasoned and varied seam-attack at his disposal and they repeatedly let Rajasthan get a good sniff of leather. As Bangalore continue to rise in confidence on the back of two home victories, the other franchises will do well to prepare for the impending bouncer-barrage.Tip against Yusuf – push him backShane Warne can hype it all he wants but Yusuf Pathan’s devilishly entertaining hundred against Mumbai lacked the stamp of class. Amazingly, under the captaincy of Sachin Tendulkar, the Mumbai bowlers didn’t bowl even one bouncer to Yusuf. Not one. It was bizarre. Surely, by now, everyone knows if there is any chink in Yusuf’s armour, it’s the ball at his chin. There was a slow bouncer from Lasith Malinga and despite Yusuf struggling against that one, there weren’t any more. Yusuf wasn’t so lucky tonight – Anil Kumble was not as generous as Tendulkar.And boy did Kumble’s boys pepper him with bouncers or what? Time and again Yousuf was ready on that front foot, ready to swing his club through the line but the white ball flew past his face. It wasn’t just the pacy Dale Steyn or the bumper-hungry Jacques Kallis but even Vinay Kumar managed to crash-land one on his helmet.Where Yusuf redeemed himself was that he didn’t let even one full delivery go unpunished. In that respect, his mental fortitude has to be lauded. Vinay was dispatched twice over long-on and even Steyn was crashed once to the cover boundary. He doesn’t have the horizontal-bat shots to score against the short deliveries and though he tried couple of upper cuts, he couldn’t connect today. It will be a fascinating to watch how he copes with this line of attack in the future. In trying to tackle the short ones by perhaps retreating further inside his crease, will his imperious front-foot play be impeded? Shane Warne put up a brave front when he was asked. “If other teams want to try it against Yusuf, they’re welcome to. If they don’t get it right and drop it too short, he’ll send the ball sailing over the stands,” the Rajasthan captain said.Kumble likes it short and nastyPerhaps it takes an Indian to know an Indian. It wasn’t just against Yusuf that Kumble launched the bumper barrage but in the previous game, he went after his old team-mate for many years – Sourav Ganguly. As soon as Ganguly came in, he brought back Steyn, placed a short-leg and a slip and asked his fast bowler to hurl bouncers. Though Steyn couldn’t find his radar on that day, Kumble had sent out the message loud and clear and you knew today he would go after Yusuf.When in doubt against Indian batsmen, bounceIf we have learned anything so far, it’s this – if you see a domestic Indian batsman, don’t think too much, just bounce at him. Today, nearly every Indian batsman in the Rajasthan side was tested by bumpers. Naman Ojha, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Yusuf, Paras Dogra and Sumit Narwal were all given the perfume balls. Unsurprisingly, all of them struggled. As Kallis revealed later, it was all part of his team’s preparation. “We had the plans in hand, and they worked even better than we thought. The wicket had some carry and we worked out early on that short of a length was the way to go. Some of the Indian batsmen are not used to this kind of carry,” he said.Not everything bad for the IndiansIt wasn’t all bad for the Indians though. Anil Kumble was as canny as ever and Manish Pandey played a few delightful shots but it was Praveen Kumar’s night to remember. In his third over, he claimed a hat-trick. Damien Martyn – after a strange and insipid innings – charged out to york himself, Narwal found the bouncer too hot to handle and top-edged his pull to fine-leg and Dogra couldn’t keep out the hat-trick delivery that skidded from short of length to take the fatal inside edge. Praveen couldn’t hold himself back – he ran all the way towards third man, high-fiving every extended palm that came on his way.