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West Ham United are set to strike gold amid reports that they will offer Tomas Soucek a new contract…

What’s the word?

According to club insiders Claret & Hugh, the Irons’ hierarchy are expected to hand the 26-year-old a bumper extension to his current £67k-per-week deal at the London Stadium.

It’s thought that the Czech Republic midfielder will be offered the contract at the end of the current campaign and that he has been buoyed by the arrival of his international and former Slavia Prague teammate Alex Kral on transfer deadline day.

Soucek joined the Hammers on a permanent basis last summer on a four-year contract for around £15m, per Sky Sports, having impressed during an initial loan spell in east London.

Strike gold

Upon Soucek’s arrival, manager David Moyes waxed lyrical about his qualities to the club’s official website, saying:

“I think that he gives us a lot of different qualities, but most importantly he fits the profile of the player we want to bring to the Club. He is young and hungry but with an established pedigree and proven talent.

“He was captain of Slavia Prague, he’s played as a defensive midfielder but he’s scored a lot of goals as an attacking midfielder as well. At the moment he ticks a lot of boxes.”

Indeed, that has certainly been the case since.

The 6 foot 4 beast, who is currently valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, ended the 2020/21 campaign as West Ham’s joint-top goalscorer on ten goals, whilst he was also their highest-rated player (7.36), via WhoScored.

Soucek led the team for aerial duels won (6.2 per game) and tackles (2.1 per game), and wasn’t far behind for interceptions (1.6 per game) or average passes (42.3 per game), via WhoScored.

This merely highlights the influence he has in the squad and really goes to show why he has already earned a new contract.

The Czech star was lauded as “unplayable” by former Everton winger Yannick Bolasie and it is such form which has earned interest from some of Europe’s top clubs, including Bayern Munich.

West Ham can strike gold by tying him down to a much-improved and longer-term contract this season. Perhaps they ought to do it sooner rather than later, especially if he continues to perform at such levels.

Moyes may well be about to deliver another masterclass in east London.

AND in other news, ExWHUemployee drops exciting behind-the-scenes West Ham claim…

Phillip Hughes and Peter Forrest, two of the so-called “baby Blues”, posted impressive centuries to hand New South Wales first-innings points as they dominated South Australia on the second day

Cricinfo staff25-Oct-2008
Scorecard
Peter Forrest scored his second first-class century © Getty Images
Phillip Hughes and Peter Forrest, two of the so-called “baby Blues”, posted impressive centuries to hand New South Wales first-innings points as they dominated South Australia on the second day. The 253-run stand between the two was finally broken when Forrest was run out for 135 but Hughes continued unimpeded and finished the day unbeaten on 170.It was his highest first-class score and his second century – the first came in last summer’s Pura Cup final victory. At the close he was batting with Grant Lambert, who had 19, and New South Wales had extended their lead to 59.The powerful Hughes-Forrest partnership was an indication of the depth of talent in New South Wales, a team that this season has lost top-order men Simon Katich, Brad Haddin and Phil Jaques to the Test squad. The youthful New South Wales batting line-up this summer will rely heavily on Hughes, 19, and Forrest, 22.The men came together in the second over of the innings after Greg Mail was run out for 2. They batted through until after tea as South Australia’s attack failed to have any impact. Even Shaun Tait, who destroyed the Blues in a one-day game on Wednesday, had no answers and it took another mix-up between the wickets before Forrest finally departed.Dan Cullen was costly – his 11 overs conceded 65 – and both centurions enjoyed reaching their milestones off his bowling; Forrest with a boundary through midwicket and Hughes with an all-run four. The Redbacks fought back with four wickets in the final session but with Hughes still at the crease having batted the whole day, the third morning could provide some more headaches for South Australia.

Wolves came into the transfer window with plenty of work to do but it could only happen if they sold some of their best players.

The Old Gold had limited spending power and it was thought that in order to reinvest in the playing squad, Ruben Neves and Adama Traore would have to leave Molineux behind.

What’s the word?

Wolves are heading into the final weeks of the window still aiming to sign a centre-forward but they are set to gain the necessary money in order to do so by selling the likes of Rafa Mir, Patrick Cutrone and Romain Saiss.

That’s according to Tim Spiers who delivered an encouraging update on the future for Wolves in the window.

In his latest column for The Athletic, Spiers revealed that Wolves aren’t anticipating selling either Neves or Traore.

Arsenal’s interest in the former has never materialised and they will now only sell if their sizeable asking prices are met.

Huge boost

After Wolves finished 13th in the Premier League last season, this will come as a massive boost to their hopes of getting back in continental action.

During Nuno Santo’s final season at Molineux, he struggled to find an answer to their troubles as the Old Gold slipped down the table after missing Raul Jimenez from November onwards.

Pedro Neto finished as their joint-top scorer alongside the aforementioned Neves. That provides a big reason as to why they simply have to keep hold of the central midfielder.

Furthermore, Traore has shown that he’s one of the most dangerous players in the top-flight.

During the 2020/21 campaign, no player in the whole division recorded more successful dribbles than his 4.1 per match.

He did only score two goals last term but on his day, the Spaniard is an unstoppable force capable of scaring defenders with his remarkable speed and trickery.

Lage hasn’t had an ideal start to life in the Midlands but the idea that the Wolves hierarchy isn’t keen on selling should be music to his ears.

They are two key components in the Wolves XI and if they are to replicate their top-half finishes, they will need them to remain at the club. Consequently, fans should be absolutely delighted at this update.

AND in other news, Lage heading for big howler after Wolves submit bid to sign 35-goal “monster”…

There was disappointment in Europe yet again for Celtic as Ange Postecoglou’s reign got off to the worst possible start as they were knocked out of the Champions League by Danish giants FC Midtjylland this week after losing 2-1 on Wednesday night.

The Hoops took the lead through Callum McGregor’s brilliant strike and appeared on course to go through to the next stage of qualification. However, a goal from Awer Mabil sent the game to extra-time and then Raphael Nwadike sealed the win for the Danes with a goal in the 94th minute, ending Postecoglou’s Champions League campaign earlier than was hoped.

While he was not the only Celtic player to struggle on the night, one man in particular who caught the eye for the wrong reasons was Ismaila Soro.

The midfielder only started 11 games in the Scottish Premiership last season and these early matches were a chance for him to prove to the manager that he deserves more playing time throughout the 2021/22 campaign. With this showing against Midtjylland, he is unlikely to get it.

He let Postecoglou down with his performance at the base of the midfield, as he failed to put out fires and win the ball back to kickstart Celtic counter-attacks, as the manager would have wanted his holding player to do in a 4-3-3 formation.

As per SofaScore, Soro lost 10 of the 14 duels he was involved in on the pitch. He won 20% of his ground duels and 50% of his aerial duels, winning four in total. This highlights the lack of strength he imposed in the middle of the park, as he was overpowered by the Danes, allowing them to take control of the game and ultimately, progress through to the next round.

He completed 40 passes on the night, out of 45 attempted. However, goalkeeper Scott Bain completed 52 passes between the sticks and this is another indication that Soro did not do enough to warrant a starting place in the midfield. The Ivorian could not win the ball back at a high enough rate and he did not get on the ball enough to dictate the play, which begs the question; what was he there for?

Not a lot, it seems. Postecoglou will surely be feeling let down by Soro’s performance and questioning whether or not he should be a regular member of the squad heading into the season, if these are the sort of displays he can expect from him.

The Scottish Sun’s David Friel published his player ratings from the game and was far from impressed with the 23-year-old. He said: “Snapped into challenges and was unlucky with a few soft calls from the ref but needs to be more composed on the ball. The Ivorian is far too slack. Booked… 5”

Friel is right, Soro wasn’t good enough. He let his new manager down on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Celtic must avoid nightmare over potential move for £21k-p/w flop

Wolves started their transfer window impressively with the addition of Trincao but their inability to clear players from the wage bill is now hampering them in the markets.

The idea of Adama Traore and Ruben Neves taking their leave has been a concern for a few months now but they’re yet to find new clubs for their Iberian duo.

What’s the word?

One of the primary issues for Bruno Lage heading into the new season should be the fitness of Raul Jimenez.

The Mexican has scored in pre-season, but only time will tell whether he can discover his best form after recovering from a fractured skull.

As such, the Old Gold are in the market for a new striker. Barcelona’s Martin Braithwaite has been on their radar but they’re now interested in another long-term target once again.

According to the Mirror, Wolves want to sign Liverpool forward Divock Origi before the window closes. He was a player they considered back in the winter.

Origi is currently valued at just £10.8m via Transfermarkt.

Swerve a move

Wolves may require extra bodies in the final third in order to lend a hand to Jimenez but they’d be taking a huge gamble on Origi, one that would bring back vibes of Willian Jose.

The big Brazilian signed for the Molineux outfit on loan back in January as cover for their Mexican sensation.

However, he had a turgid time in the Midlands, scoring just once in the Old Gold and failing to link up play to any sufficient level.

They had an £18m option to buy the Real Sociedad attacker but rightfully rejected the chance to do so.

Yet, by landing Origi in the coming weeks, they may just have a player of a similar ilk.

Described as a “monster” by Vincent Kompany, the Belgian super sub has scored some important goals down the years for Liverpool, namely against Barcelona in Europe and then in the Champions League final against Spurs.

That being said, his ability to find goals on a regular basis has to be questioned. Like Jose, his record certainly isn’t the best, but you have to consider his lack of match action.

The 26-year-old has beaten the goalkeeper on 35 occasions in 157 outings for Liverpool and only started two league games in the whole of the 2020/21 campaign.

He might know the English game, but there are better options out there in a window where Wolves are strapped for cash.

Like Jose, this would be a huge risk from Lage and Fosun. They must swerve a deal this summer.

AND in other news, Bruno Lage can seal Wolves masterclass by signing “top-level” £28.8m-rated monster…

A round-up from the latest Friends Provident Trophy matches

Cricinfo staff 26-May-2008Midlands DivisionThe game of the day was Nottinghamshire versus Ireland at Trent Bridge by a big margin, given the narrowness of the win – Nottinghamshire triumphing by one run to go top of the table. Ireland may have been the wooden spoons but they were certainly prepared to stir Nottinghamshire, albeit in agonising pursuit of 241. Kevin O’Brien shone with an unbeaten 93, building on Reinhardt Strydom’s 49. Nottinghamshire had their middle order to thank for rescuing them from 22 for 3, with Adam Voges, Samit Patel and Chris Read each making fifties.Warwickshire emerged winners of a game against Leicestershire made lopsided by intermittent – and interfering – rain showers at Oakham. Batting first Warwickshire made 187 for 8 from 49 overs, having lost one over after the players departed the field, then returned, in the 46th over. Leicestershire set off in pursuit but at 19.3 overs, when on 53 for 2, the rain came again, leaving them eight runs short when Duckworth-Lewis was calculated. Having restricted Warwickshire, to lose in such a manner was a big blow for Leicestershire who are still not through: they need a point in their final game on Wednesday.

Midlands Division Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Nottinghamshire 7 4 1 0 2 10 +0.074 922/228.0 913/230.0 Leicestershire 7 4 2 0 1 9 +0.672 1162/242.3 999/242.3 Northamptonshire 7 3 2 0 2 8 +0.271 1143/216.4 1141/228.0 Warwickshire 8 2 4 0 2 6 -0.145 1073/242.3 1067/233.3 Ireland 7 1 5 0 1 3 -0.675 1192/296.4 1372/292.2North DivisionDurham made it two wins in two this weekend, their big 117-run win at Chester-le-Streetpushing Derbyshire down to third after Yorkshire also won. Durham posted a mighty 297 for 7 after choosing to bat, Michael di Venuto weighing in with a century and Will Smith a fifty, which proved far too daunting for the visitors. Gareth Breese shot them down with 5 for 41, while Steve Harmison’s economy helped; his five overs went for 18.For John Ward’s account of how Yorkshire overcame Scotland at Headingley, click here.

North Division Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Durham 8 5 3 0 0 10 +0.432 1622/340.1 1413/325.5 Yorkshire 7 4 2 0 1 9 +0.544 1175/242.4 1152/268.0 Derbyshire 7 3 2 0 2 8 -0.141 935/205.4 975/208.0 Lancashire 7 3 3 0 1 7 +0.243 982/228.5 1085/268.0 Scotland 7 1 6 0 0 2 -1.090 1044/301.1 1133/248.4South East Division Tabletoppers Kent are in the quarter-finals, even after torrential overnight rain left the outfield under water, washing out their game against Middlesex at Tunbridge Wells. Middlesex can no longer qualify. Essex also made the last eight after picking up a point from a would-be fixture with Sussex – who were already out of the competition – that was abandoned after the third inspection at 2pm. It was to have been Hastings’ first match in eight years.

South East Division Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Kent 8 5 2 0 1 11 +0.674 1769/325.0 1588/333.0 Essex 7 4 2 0 1 9 +0.426 1462/257.0 1370/260.2 Surrey 7 3 4 0 0 6 -0.627 1796/329.2 2043/336.0 Middlesex 7 2 3 0 2 6 -0.033 1243/229.0 1185/217.0 Sussex 7 1 4 0 2 4 -0.534 1158/222.0 1242/216.0South West Division Hampshire were denied a final stab at glory when rained washed out their tussle with Glamorgan at the Rose Bowl 45 minutes before the scheduled noon start. Hampshire needed a win to keep their quarter-final hopes kindled while Glamorgan were already out, with only one win. Gloucestershire are guaranteed a home quarter-final after rain washed out proceedings in Bath half an hour before the start and Somerset are still in the hunt for a place in the last eight.

South/West Division Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Gloucestershire 7 4 1 0 2 10 +0.705 1104/177.4 1099/199.3 Somerset 7 3 2 0 2 8 +0.307 1281/246.1 1216/248.2 Worcestershire 7 3 3 0 1 7 -0.121 1152/232.1 1231/242.1 Hampshire 8 3 4 0 1 7 -0.431 1534/295.4 1536/273.2 Glamorgan 7 1 4 0 2 4 -0.219 972/209.0 961/197.2

Somerset find themselves in deeper relegation trouble after they slipped to their third county championship defeat of the season when they were well beaten by Kent at Canterbury today

Richard Walsh10-Aug-2002Somerset find themselves in deeper relegation trouble after they slipped to their third county championship defeat of the season when they were well beaten by Kent at Canterbury today.Resuming on 221 for 6, the hosts lost Mark Ealham when he was caught by Rob Turner off Richard Johnson for 60, but Min Patel kept the score moving forward until Kent declared after 8 overs with the score on 286 for 7, Patel ending unbeaten on 71.Requiring 331 for victory the Cidermen got off to the worst possible of starts when they lost Jamie Cox with the score on 4 and Mike Burns with the score on 18.Two more wickets fell before lunch, by which time Keith Parsons was at the wicket and Somerset were on 47 for 4.From this situation however Somerset were always struggling against a good bowling attack and despite a fighting innings from Keith Parsons who made 52 and 35 from Rob Turner , they were all out for 177 to give Kent victory by 153 runs.At the end of the game Kevin Shine told me: "This was a poor day for us and we were thoroughly outplayed by them. They got 70 runs too many in their first innings and then when we batted apart from `Woody’ and `Bowls’ there were no partnerships. Then we were set 331 to win, they ran in and bowled aggressively and put the ball in the right spot and got us out."He continued: "Of course we are disappointed but we have all talked it through and we now have to pick ourselves up. We have set ourselves a target to win three out of the last six championship matches."

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Tottenham player Paul Stewart believes Manchester City will offer Gabriel Jesus in their bid to sign Harry Kane this summer.

Kane continues to be linked with a move to the Etihad, with Sky Sports claiming last month that Manchester City have already launched a £100m bid for the Tottenham striker.

The same report also states that the Premier League champions would be willing to include players in any potential deal, and Stewart thinks Jesus could be one name that is put on the table.

On the Brazil international, the ex-Spurs star said:

“I think he could be offered in the deal. This is all dependant on the manager that comes in and whether he would want him.

“Jesus had a great end to the season. We looked at him as a replacement for [Sergio] Aguero and he didn’t quite cut the mustard there.”

If the worst-case scenario does happen and Tottenham are forced to sell Kane to Manchester City, then having Jesus included in the deal is a smart move.

The £54m-rated forward is Premier League proven and has a good goalscoring record in England overall.

Given that they are not in the Champions League, the north London club could find it difficult to attract another No.9 of Kane’s calibre, so someone like Jesus could be their next best option.

كشف ضياء السيد مدرب منتخب مصر السابق عن سبب استبدال محمد شريف خلال مباراة مصر والكاميرون في كأس أمم إفريقيا الأخيرة بعد مشاركته بدقائق قليلة قبل تنفيذ ضربات الجزاء الترجيحية.

وقال ضياء السيد في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة الحياة: “كيروش كان مصممًا على خروج محمد شريف أمام الكاميرون بسبب عدم وجود اللاعب في قائمة ركلات الترجيح”.

وتابع: “محمد شريف لاعب كبير، وكيروش يعلم أن لديه إمكانيات رائعة وكبيرة، وكان يستخدمها في بعض الأوقات التي يحتاجوه فيها”.

وبسؤاله “كيف واجهت الكلام الذي قيل عنك أن كيروش لا يكلفك بشيء؟”، أردف: “أنا أثق في نفسي ولم أخرج لأرد على هذا الكلام لأنه هراء، كيروش أبلغ المسؤولين بأنني حاجة كبيرة لديه، محمد شوقي وقف على الخط عند طرد كيروش لأنني كنت مسؤولًا عن التواصل معه بغرفة الملابس”.

طالع | ضياء السيد: منتخب مصر خسر كيروش وكسب إيهاب جلال.. وأعلم من صورني وأنا نائم

وأشار: “راتبي في منتخب مصر كان ضعيفًا لمرحلة كانت لا تتحمل أن أجادل في شيء، وكيروش كان يمنع الجهاز المعاون من التعامل مع الإعلام”.

وبسؤاله عن الحديث بشأن جلوس كيروش مع صلاح في جلسات مغلقة والاستعانة برأيه في التشكيل، أوضح: “هذا الكلام غير صحيح، محمد صلاح محترم جدًا ويعرف حدوده”.

واختتم: “من حق المدير الفني يتناقش مع أفضل لاعبي العالم أو أي لاعب آخر، كيروش كان يعقد الكثير من الجلسات الفردية مع جميع اللاعبين”.

Many Crystal Palace fans have reacted warmly on Twitter to the club’s announcement that Eberechi Eze has won the Eagles’ goal of the season prize for his outstanding solo effort against Sheffield United in January.

Enjoying an outstanding first season in south London, the 23-year-old notched 10 goal contributions in 36 outings for the Selhurst Park outfit, with four goals and six assists [Transfermarkt].

Eze has impressed fans and pundits alike up and down the country due to his hard work, flair and trickery.

In keeping with these principles, his goal against the Blades illustrated all of these qualities. Embarking on a 60-yard jinking run unchallenged, he then proceeded to curl a wonderful 20-yard effort into the bottom corner. [YouTube]

As you can imagine, loads of Crystal Palace fans took to Twitter to rejoice at footage of his “cool” strike in the 2-0 win over the Yorkshire visitors.

Crystal Palace fans react:

Replying to the club’s official Twitter account, here is what some Eagles fans had to say regarding Eze’s goal:

“Ebs about to be even better under Favre”

Credit: @DrizzyCPFC”tell him I love him”Credit: @EBERZEE”Why did this not get any recognition by the pundits?Credit: @Dave_Winbod”not bad”Credit: @FPLWILSON”Cool as you like, well done Ebz”Credit: @AJThoma64729546″Eze & Zaha could seriously do damage under the right manager…”Credit: @csmwilloughbyIn other news, these Crystal Palace fans reacted to a recent managerial update.