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Evening Standard journalist Jack Rosser doubts David Moyes will pay £30m to bring Manchester United attacker Jesse Lingard back to West Ham.

Lingard helped West Ham to a brilliant sixth-placed finish last season, scoring nine goals and providing four assists during his loan spell.

Understandably, Moyes now wants to bring the 28-year-old back to the London Stadium, with The Athletic claiming his parent club are seeking a £30m fee in a potential permanent deal.

It is a fee Rosser cannot see the West Ham boss being prepared to pay, however, though based on his information, United’s asking price may actually be lower.

“There’s been reports of Man United wanting 30 million, which I think by my understanding is significantly higher than what they’re asking for,” Rosser told TT.

“But if that were to be the case, I don’t think Moyes would pay it. He’s got that sort of attitude that, you know, it’s not his money and he wants to spend it carefully.”

While Moyes is having trouble signing Lingard to bolster his attack, he is at least having some fortune at the back, with Alphonse Areola coming in to challenge Lukasz Fabianski between the sticks.

With an option to buy, the Frenchman could be the 36-year-old’s long-term successor at the London Stadium.

Ashley Noffke’s Queensland team-mate Andy Bichel has described the Australia selectors’ decision to overlook Noffke for the Test tour of India as “mind-blowing”

Cricinfo staff26-Sep-2008
Ashley Noffke is likely to start the domestic season with Queensland instead of being with the Australia squad in India © Getty Images
Ashley Noffke’s Queensland team-mate Andy Bichel has described the Australia selectors’ decision to overlook Noffke for the Test tour of India as “mind-blowing”. Noffke was one of two backup fast men on this year’s trip to the West Indies but the relatively untried Peter Siddle was preferred for the Indian series.Noffke made his one-day international debut in February but when a place opened up in the recent Darwin series against Bangladesh, Brett Geeves was called into the squad. The selectors’ harsh treatment of Noffke hit home for Bichel, who often during his career was pushed out of the national side despite being a consistently strong state performer.”To see it happening to one of your Queensland mates you think ‘what is going on here?’ Bichel told . “Even Brett Geeves getting a game against Bangladesh … it should have been Ashley Noffke. It’s just mind-blowing.”Instead of being with the Test group, Noffke is in India with Australia A, where he has picked up six wickets in the one-day games at 26.50. In his only chance to bowl in the three-day game, Noffke finished with 1 for 67. However, he had a huge domestic campaign in 2007-08, when he became only the third Australian to complete the season double of 50 wickets and 500 runs.”I’m not saying Siddle isn’t a great prospect for the future,” Bichel said. “But injuries happen on tour and all of a sudden … Ricky [Ponting] needs to turn to someone he knows can do the job. Ashley Noffke is ready for that challenge, but he’s playing for Australia A instead.”A frustrated Noffke said after the Test squad was announced that he was disillusioned with how the selectors made their decisions. Noffke holds a Cricket Australia contract for the coming season and he will be aiming to add to his one ODI cap and two Twenty20 appearances.

Express and Star journalist Luke Hatfield believes Aston Villa kept their cards close to their chest in terms of their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen star Leon Bailey, after the club confirmed a deal was agreed on Saturday.

German outlet Bild had previously reported that Dean Smith’s side had tabled a bid for Bailey, worth £25.5m, but Leverkusen are keen to receive £29.8m for him.

Both Leicester City and Wolves had also been linked with a move for the forward, who was in impressive form for Leverkusen last season.

Bailey made a total of 40 appearances in all competitions, scoring 15 goals and registering 11 assists, and he can play on both flanks as well as up front.

Villa have been aggressive in their recruitment this summer, bringing in Emiliano Buendia from Norwich City and Ashley Young on a free transfer from Inter Milan.

Jack Grealish could well leave, with reports suggesting that Manchester City have opened talks over a huge deal that could cost in excess of £100m, perhaps explaining Villa’s desire to bring in a number of new players.

Asked about Bailey, Hatfield said: “I imagine they have kept their cards close to their chest. No club really likes people knowing who their targets are, particularly months before a transfer window.

“Villa will have done their due diligence, though, they will have looked at Leon Bailey and the performances he’s put in for Leverkusen over the past couple of years, and he’s coming off a really impressive season as well. Villa have probably seen that and have probably drawn up a list of players.”

Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s coach, is happy with the performances of national players in the SuperSport Series, the first-class domestic competition, which began this month

Cricinfo staff13-Oct-2008
Neil McKenzie scored 110 for the Lions against the Dolphins © Getty Images
Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s coach, is happy with the performances of national players in the SuperSport Series, the first-class domestic competition, which began this month.Cricket South Africa released its contracted players on a phased-in basis for the tournament and already in the first week and a half several of them featured high on the runs and wickets table.Neil McKenzie and Jean-Paul Duminy got centuries for the Lions and the Cape Cobras respectively, while Makhaya Ntini took seven wickets, including a first-innings haul of 5 for 9, in the Warriors win over the Eagles. For the Titans, Morne Morkel took six against the Cape Cobras while brother Albie, who picked up a shoulder injury in England in June, scored a half-century and took a wicket as well.”It was particularly pleasing to see McKenzie opening the batting for the Lions as this is where he plays for the Test squad,” Arthur said. “Another encouraging sign was to see Albie Morkel having his first bowl of the season after his troublesome shoulder injury. He is exactly where we want him to be in terms of his preparation for the ODI squad. Lonwabo Tsotsobe was also impressive for the Warriors and he is one of the players outside the contracted group whom we will be looking at during our training camp later this month.” Tsotobe, the 24-year-old left-arm fast-medium bowler, took seven wickets from the first two matches of the season.The Warriors-Titans match, starting Thursday, could feature two of the strongest XIs in the competition for the Titans have five centrally contracted players – AB De Villiers, Albie, Morne, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn – and the Warriors have six – Johan Botha, Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis, Ntini, Ashwell Prince, Robin Peterson. But Steyn’s availability for the match is still doubtful since he has been struggling for the past week with an attack of sinusitis.

Adam White of Get French Football News believes that Kurt Zouma is an underrated player amid links with West Ham United and Sevilla.

The Chelsea centre-back has been linked with an exit from the club in recent weeks, amid links with Sevilla star Jules Kounde.

The 6 ft 3 defender was reportedly set to be involved in a swap deal designed to bring Kounde to Stamford Bridge.

Zouma was also linked with a potential move to West Ham United, although it appears that deal has stalled, leaving the Hammers instead pursuing a deal for Fiorentina’s Nikola Milenkovic.

The 26-year-old has made a total of 150 appearances for the Blues but has had to put up with being in and out of the team in recent months.

And White is of the opinion that he does not quite get the credit that he deserves.

He said: “I think Zouma’s a slightly underrated player. I think he gets marginalised occasionally.”

Zouma made 22 starts in the Premier League last season and scored four goals in the top-flight.

Tottenham will be “kicking themselves” after missing out on Danny Ings to Aston Villa, claims the club’s former player Paul Stewart.

According to The Telegraph, Ings was Tottenham’s top transfer target this summer, with manager Nuno Espirito Santo looking to play another striker up front with Harry Kane.

However, the plan to make Ings that striker went out of the window when Villa, out of the blue last week, announced that they had signed the 29-year-old from Southampton in a £25m deal.

For Stewart, it is a development that would have left Nuno and Tottenham frustrated. On Ings’ move to Villa, he told TT:

“Nobody expected Ings to become a Villa player. I don’t think anyone predicted it, did they? I certainly didn’t. Maybe Spurs will be kicking themselves.”

Looking at Ings’ goalscoring record over the last couple of seasons, he probably would have been a good addition to this Tottenham side and a suitable strike partner for Kane.

If the north London club can manage to snap up Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan, though, it is hard to imagine fans being too disappointed about missing out on Ings.

According to The Times, the Argentina international, who scored an impressive 17 goals in Serie A last season, is the forward Spurs are now hoping to deploy alongside their vice-captain.

Royal Bengal Tigers were thoroughly outplayed in Ahmedabad by a Hyderabad Heroes outfit peaking at the right time to defend their title

Cricinfo staff08-Nov-2008Hyderabad Heroes 112 for 1 (Khaleel 54*, Rayudu 46*) beat Royal Bengal Tigers (McMillan 31, Sahabuddin 3-22, Reddy 3-22) by nine wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Craig McMillan and his Royal Bengal Tigers were hardly a match for Hyderabad Heroes © ICL
Craig McMillan, the Royal Bengal Tigers’ captain, joked that the match was lost at the toss, but he will be hoping a similar performance on the field doesn’t take place in their semi-final next week. Bengal, who despite consistent showings have failed to win an ICL tournament, were thoroughly outplayed in Ahmedabad by a Hyderabad Heroes outfit peaking at the right time to defend their title.It was not just the toss that didn’t go right for Bengal. Put in to bat, opening bowler Syed Sahabuddin got vital breakthroughs to reduce Bengal to 40 for 3. He struck once in each of his three overs, removing Deep Dasgupta, Hamish Marshall – the highest run-scorer in the tournament – and Rohan Gavaskar. He was unlucky not to have a fourth – a tough chance off McMillan was dropped at mid-off.McMillan kept the score ticking with wickets falling at the other end, but fell for 31, nicking to wicketkeeper Ibrahim Khaleel a delivery that spun away from Nicky Boje. Hyderabad captain Chris Harris and Boje choked up the runs, but it was the strikes from left-arm spinner Inder Shekar Reddy that snuffed out any chances of a recovery.Reddy dropped Rajiv Kumar off his first delivery, in the 13th over, but he made amends when the batsmen chose to take a quick single while Reddy rued the missed opportunity. The ball had only run along a few yards away from Reddy, who reacted quickly and threw the stumps down at the non-striker’s end to dismiss Kumar.After 15 overs, Bengal were at 78 for 5, with Lance Klusener curbing his attacking instincts to score 16 off 29. He decided to step up the pace, but after coming down the track against Reddy to hit a four, he was stumped off a wide aiming for a another boundary in the same over. Bengal lost more wickets as the lower order aimed to boost the total; Reddy picked up another one in the final over to bowl them out for 111.With Jimmy Maher not playing the game, Hyderabad sent in Khaleel to start the chase along with Abdul Razzaq. Khaleel had not got too many opportunities with the bat in this tournament, but he used the chance to make an impression before the ICL India XI, for whom he performed splendidly last season, is picked for the upcoming World Series. Razaaq fell for 7 before Khaleel and Ambati Rayudu put on 101 runs to clinch a nine-wicket win.Bengal’s bowlers didn’t have a decent score to defend and they also struggled a bit with the dew. Khaleel helped himself to a fifty, which included a breathtaking scoop to the fine-leg boundary and a six over long-on to reach the mark. Rayudu too scored briskly, sealing the comprehensive win with a big hit. Hyderabad could run into Bengal in the semi-final, not a worrisome prospect after this win.

A number of Liverpool supporters are overjoyed after the reliable David Ornstein claimed that Jordan Henderson is set to sign a new Reds deal.

The club captain has been a wonderful servant for Liverpool, now spending 10 years at Anfield and counting. The 31-year-old recovered superbly from a tough start on Merseyside to become a key man under Brendan Rodgers, before going up another level with Jurgen Klopp at the helm.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

Henderson has grown into one of the greatest captains in the club’s history, lifting both the Premier League and Champions League and proving to be a special character at the club.

There have been some doubts surrounding the England international’s Liverpool future, but it looks as though the issue has been resolved. According to The Athletic’s Ornstein, an improved three-year deal looks set to sign by Henderson, coming as a huge boost to the club and its fans.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-copy-4/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans delighted with Henderson update

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to show their delight at the “great” news about Henderson’s future.

“Great news to wake up to this morning , Jordan Henderson perfectly personifies the values of this football club and city – I hope at this stage he knows what true fans feel about him”

Credit: @KurtLFC99

“Yessss babe”

Credit: @zanetalkssports

“My captain”

Credit: @ScouseMouse97

“Ornstein on a Monday morning, what a way to start the week eh”

Credit: @Somos_LosRojos

“The significance of this cannot be overstated. Here’s to another 3 years, Jordan Henderson, hopefully discussions go smoothly and the skipper is back with a bang soon. A leader of leaders.”

Credit: @MattySixTimes

“YESSSSS MY CAPTAIN”

Credit: @SamWilliams_96

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been mocking one rival’s comments. Find out who it is here.

A round-up from the third day of the fifth round of Pentangular Cup matches

Cricinfo staff20-Nov-2008
ScorecardBaluchistan’s batsmen showed more appetite for the fight than they had displayed during their embarrassing first-innings effort of 57 all out, but they still face an uphill struggle to get back into the contest after being set a daunting 393 for victory by Federal Areas. By the close of the third day, they had reached 147 for 3, thanks to 64 from Shoaib Khan jnr, and an unbeaten 36 from Saeed Anwar jnr.That target might have been more attainable had Federal Areas been bowled out cheaply after resuming in the morning session on 198 for 8 in their second innings. Instead they stretched their total to 303, thanks largely to Usman Saeed, who converted his overnight 21 to an unbeaten 87. He was well supported by Yasir Ali, who made 30 in a stand of exactly 100 for the ninth wicket.Ali then struck early in Baluchistan’s second innings, as Usman Tariq was caught behind for 11, while Sohail Tanvir, their first-innings tormentor, trapped Rameez Alam lbw for 13. Shoaib and Saeed prevented another collapse, but their hopes of victory are looking slim.
Scorecard
North West Frontier Province need another 67 runs on the final day against Punjab at Lahore, after Junaid Khan triggered a dramatic turnaround with second-innings figures of 6 for 56. Despite conceding a first-innings lead of 37, with Younis Khan adding only five runs to his overnight 70 before being left high and dry by the tail, NWFP roared into the ascendancy by skittling Punjab for 134 in 32.3 overs.Junaid, a 19-year-old left-arm paceman, was the stand-out performer. After Nauman Habib had removed Punjab’s captain, Mohammad Hafeez, in the first over, Junaid ripped through the middle order, reducing them to 75 for 7 before Mohammad Salman and Wahab Riaz staged a partial recovery. Salman top-scored with 35 before being bowled by Junaid.Energised for their run-chase, NWFP set off at nearly a run a ball before losing both openers, Yasir Hameed and Adnan Raees, with the score on 21. Rafatullah Mohmand, however, reached the close on 35, and with Younis still waiting in the pavilion, his team are now odds-on to complete a comfortable win.

Noel Whelan has offered his thoughts on Kurt Zouma’s possible move to West Ham this month.

What’s the talk?

Former Premier League forward Noel Whelan has suggested that West Ham could be an ideal destination for Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma. Whelan has said that the Hammers being in London and playing in the Europa League could make them the perfect place for the ‘dominant’ centre-back.

He told Football Insider:

“It’s a club in Europe, a club that, whatever he would be paid, (he) would be one of their first-choice centre-halves.

“The transition is already there when it comes to English football. He’s been here a long, long time now. He is a very dominant centre-half, there’s no doubt about that.

“A very powerful player, very good in the air and dangerous and committed in both areas, going forward and defending.

“I think it’d be an easy transition. He’s probably not going to be needing to move home.”

These comments came after Sky Sports reported that West Ham and Tottenham are keen on a deal for the defender, who is reportedly valued at £25m by Thomas Tuchel’s side.

Moyes needs him

GSB needs to get this deal done before the end of the window. They need to pay up the £25m and pounce on this opportunity to add Zouma to David Moyes’ squad as he could be a phenomenal addition to the team.

The French international is experienced and proven in the Premier League, whilst also still relatively young by centre-back standards at the age of 26. This means that he could come in and have an instant impact on the team whilst also having the potential to develop further and become a key player for the club for many years to come.

Last season, Angelo Ogbonna was West Ham’s highest-rated centre-back on WhoScored. He achieved a rating of 6.73 for his performances, putting him ahead of Fabian Balbuena (6.71) Craig Dawson (6.67) and Issa Diop (6.64) in the pecking order.

The Italian won 2.3 aerial battles and made 1.1 interceptions per game in the Premier League. Zouma, meanwhile, averaged a WhoScored rating of 7.07 as he won 3.6 aerial battles and made 1.2 interceptions per game. This suggests that the Frenchman could come in and be an immediate upgrade on what Moyes already has at his disposal.

Moyes also needs Zouma because of his age and the age of his other options. Balbuena, Dawson and Ogbonna will all be 30 or older by the end of the month and Diop, 24, only started 15 matches last term.

This means that the Scot is in need of a younger defender who can come in and be a regular starter for the next four or five years, as the other options in the squad begin to enter the final years of their career. At the age of 26, Zouma would be exactly what he needs.

AND in other news, Get it done: GSB must complete West Ham move for 22-goal marksman, Moyes needs him…