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According to Sky Sports, a fresh transfer claim has come to light involving Newcastle United and Odion Ighalo.

The Lowdown: Newcastle set for January moves?

Ahead of what looks likely to be a long and arduous relegation battle for Eddie Howe’s side, the Magpies and their new owners PIF have been linked with a plethora of January swoops to boost their chances of Premier League survival.

The likes of Ousmane Dembele and Kieran Trippier have been mentioned in recent weeks, with the Magpies aiming to maintain their top-flight status and kickstart a new era on Tyneside.

It appears that some players are even keen to be a part of Newcastle’s new age as Sky Sports now share news on former Manchester United marksman Ighalo.

The Latest: Sky make Ighalo claim…

According to their information, the 36-cap Nigeria international has now been asked by his current club Al Shabab whether he would agree to join Newcastle and Howe should they make a move for him.

Ighalo’s response was apparently that he would seriously consider a move to St James’ Park should the Magpies and PIF come knocking.

The Verdict: Should they swoop?

Once called ‘superb’ by Geordie legend and all-time Premier League top scorer Alan Shearer (via African Football), the 32-year-old has previously turned it on for his former club Watford. Indeed, Ighalo bagged 16 goals and five assists in 27 Premier League appearances for the Hornets over 2015/16, but that was his last great season at an elite level.

Prolific campaigns have followed in both the Chinese Super League and Saudi Professional League but this arguably isn’t enough to prove that he could come in and seriously bolster Howe’s chances of Premier League survival.

It remains to be seen whether Newcastle do make contact, but it’s arguable that Ighalo’s signing wouldn’t pull up any trees.

In other news, find out which ‘world-class’ ace NUFC are now ‘most likely’ to sign here!

Pakistan have hit a new low after losing three Tests and four one-day internationals in Australia and Salman Butt has personally apologised to aggrieved fans. Pakistan were whitewashed by Australia for the fourth successive time in ten years during the Tests and have failed to win an ODI, and the criticism has been harsh from fans and former players.”Pakistan is a cricket loving nation, the people eat, sleep and breathe cricket and I feel that as a team we have let our fans down during the current tour of Australia,” Butt told . “I know what it is like to wake up through the night and watch your team lose again and again. I know what it feels like, because as a youngster I too was a cricket fan watching my heroes in action and its heartbreaking when your team loses.”On a personal note Butt stood out during the Test series, scoring a team-high 280 runs at 46.66, but he made no excuses for himself or his team-mates. “Australia is always a tough tour for any team and yes in the past our teams have lost here, but we can’t use that as an excuse for our defeats on this tour. We have simply not performed well and have not been good enough”.After the Tests Pakistan had hoped that a few fresh faces, a change of outfit and format would lead to a change in fortune on a long tour, but it was not to be as a 4-0 scoreline clearly indicates. According to Butt, the players needed to learn from their mistakes. “We all need to learn from this experience and to look at our mistakes and to use the tour to become better players in future,” he said.”Nobody on the tour can walk away and say they can’t improve aspects of their game. We all need to analyse our individual performances and look to improve our standard of cricket”.The final ODI will be played on Sunday in Perth, followed by a Twenty20 international on February 5 in Melbourne.

Chandrakant Pandit, India’s Under-19 coach, has said his team’s biggest challenge at the forthcoming World Cup in New Zealand will be the cold conditions. The biennial tournament starts on January 15 with India, the reigning champions, starting their campaign against Afghanistan in Lincoln. The final will be played at the same venue on January 30.”It will be a little more chilly and windy out in New Zealand so the conditions will be different and the biggest challenge,” Pandit said in Mumbai on the eve of the squad’s departure to South Africa, where India will play a tri-series from December 27-January 5 that includes Sri Lanka. “The boys need to get acclimatised as early as possible. We should be ready from the first game to handle the conditions.”The 15-member squad, led by allrounder Ashok Menaria from Rajasthan, was a picture of confidence as it faced the media contingent at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. Both captain and coach said the players have bonded well over the last year, when they’ve been together. Most of them were also part of the tour of Australia in April this year, where India won the ODI series 2-1 and drew the Tests 1-1.The Indians finished a 10-day camp in Mumbai on Friday and Pandit said it was a fruitful exercise, with every player made aware of his role. “Our plan was to go step by step,” Pandit said. “To begin with, we placed individual responsibilities in the camp. We want to do well in South Africa and finally come up with our best performance in New Zealand.”The seriousness of India’s campaign can be gauged from the fact that guest speakers like Sachin Tendulkar, former Australian fielding coach Mike Young and sports psychologist Dr Bhimeshwar Bam spent quality time with the youngsters.Pandit, a former team-mate of Tendulkar’s, said the 45-minute conversation Tendulkar had with the players would stand them in good stead. “Tendulkar spoke on how to approach a game. His technical feedback was really valuable,” Pandit said. “For example, he told the fast bowlers that when they run towards the target [batsman] they have to keep their head forward. We would Probably have learnt that after going there,” Pandit said with visible excitement.He said Tendulkar’s most valuable advice was on “trusting the teammate”. “He told them that “if you are going to stand next to each other you need to have the confidence in the other. Only then can the team perform”. The boys seemed to have understood the message as they started looking at the other from there onwards,” Pandit said.As for Young, he managed to instill a more enthusiastic approach to fielding. “He made us enjoy fielding,” Saurabh Netravalkar, one of the fast bowlers in the squad, said. “He started with the basics of fielding, about how to start, how to position yourself, and made fielding easy.”Young just focussed on refining certain basics as he felt that Pandit had been carrying out the right drills and there was no need for him to introduce anything new.Pandit said India haven’t missed anything by way of preparation. “We need to now look at how we are going to implement what we have been working on during the actual games.”Meenaria said the defending champions were not in any way burdened by expectation. “There is no pressure, instead we are more confident now – especially after winning in Australia,” he said. “I’m confident we are favourites to win the World Cup. But for now, our focus is on the South African tour.”India play their first game against South Africa in Johannesburg on December 28.

Newly-appointed Kolkata Knight Riders coach Dav Whatmore believes his association with Sourav Ganguly will help in improving the side’s performance in the third edition of the IPL. “Ganguly has a great contribution to Indian cricket,” Whatmore said. “He knows how to extract the best from his players. It’s a wonderful experience working with him. We are looking for a fruitful season ahead.”Whatmore backed the former India captain, who will be leading KKR for the tournament to be held between March 12-April 25 next year, and said the forgetful experiences under former coach John Buchanan in the two previous seasons were a thing of the past. “I don’t want to delve into what happened in the past. We are giving our best and preparing strongly for a competitive IPL 3 ahead.”In fact, Whatmore’s appointment was part of a team management overhaul after the team finished sixth and bottom respectively in the two editions. The franchise not only recalled Ganguly to take over the captaincy from Brendon McCullum, but named Wasim Akram as their mentor, signed on Vijay Dahiya, the former India wicketkeeper and Delhi coach, to assist Whatmore, while retaining Andrew Leipus as physiotherapist and Adrian Le Roux as physical trainer.At the conclusion of a two-day KKR camp, Whatmore revealed the sessions had been productive and had helped assess the skills of the local talents. “I am very happy to see the local talents, it was a productive two days of skill assessment and development in our endevour to make a strong side for IPL 3.The two-day camp was attended by former ICL players Rohan Gavaskar, Eklak Ahmid, Ganapathi Vignesh. Gujarat offspinner Mohnish Parmar, who is on the list of bowlers with ‘suspect’ actions, and Services allrounder Yashpal Singh also attended the camp. Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Ashok Dinda, Sourav Sarkar, Sourashish Lahiri and Rohan Banerjee, were also present, with Bengal not featuring in the latest round of Ranji Trophy Super League matches.Whatmore, 55, played seven Tests for Australia and brings to the IPL an impressive record. Apart from the 1996 World Cup title for Sri Lanka, he guided Bangladesh to two historic wins in the 2007 World Cup against India and South Africa, and also coached Lancashire to title wins in the NatWest and Sunday League in 1998. Last year, he was coach of the India Under-19 team that won the junior World Cup in Malaysia.

Speaking to Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur ‘insider’/club source John Wenham has shared his thoughts on a recent development involving Inter Milan star Stefan de Vrij.

The Lowdown: de Vrij emerges as Conte target…

As per numerous claims from Italian, Spanish and English media, Nerazzurri defender de Vrij is very much on new manager Antonio Conte’s list of targets.

The 29-year-old is apparently one of many Serie A big names who could be targeted by the Spurs boss and managing director Fabio Paratici, with Calciomercato.it listing him among six others in Federico Chiesa, Matthijs de Ligt, Marcelo Brozovic, Alessio Romagnoli, Dusan Vlahovic.

Meanwhile, Fichajes believe that things are slightly more advanced – claiming last week that the Dutch international is edging ‘closer and closer’ to signing for Spurs as Conte seeks to solve his major defensive problems.

Last but not least, Football Insider have the most recent development, stating de Vrij is personally open to the idea of a Spurs move – wanting more information and telling friends he is ‘very keen’.

The Latest: Insider backs realistic Spurs chance…

Speaking to FI, in reaction to these developments, insider Wenham believes that the centre-back is indeed a ‘realistic signing’ if the Lilywhites can negotiate a reasonable fee – certainly not his reported £40m valuation.

“He’s clearly a player Conte trusts. if he does want De Vrij then that is a deal I can see us doing,” said the Spurs source.

“He’s an international player with 55 caps, he’s a trophy winner and he’s an instant improvement on Ben Davies.

“The £40million fee is a bit steep for a player who doesn’t have that long left on his contract.

“I think Tottenham would look for a discount there, a £25million deal seems fair to me.

“Especially if you look at his age as well. He is a more realistic signing.

“If Conte really wants him then the club have to back that decision.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

If Tottenham can indeed whittle his price down to around £25m, even despite his age, we believe it is certainly a deal worth pursuing.

Racking up over half a century of caps for the Netherlands, de Vrij has not only played in two major international tournaments, but also possesses lots of Champions League and Europa League appearances at club level.

Making 44 cameos across the continent’s most elite European competitions since 2010/2011, de Vrij’s wealth of experience on the biggest stages in football could be invaluable to Conte and Spurs.

A remarkable ball-playing centre-back, de Vrij averaged a higher pass accuracy (93.8%) than any Tottenham player last season as Inter ended Juve’s stranglehold on the Scudetto (WhoScored).

We believe his composure and assurance would complement Cristian Romero to superb effect and potentially educate Tottenham’s relatively young defender in the process.

Lauded as a ‘worldbeater’ by pundit Noel Whelan, this could be one major potential coup for Spurs.

In other news: ‘Understand’, ‘In recent weeks’…Alasdair Gold shares exciting development out of Hotspur Way, find out more here.

Scott Walter has replaced James Hopes in Queensland’s squad for their opening Sheffield Shield encounter against Western Australia

Cricinfo staff12-Oct-2009Scott Walter, the left-arm bowler, has replaced James Hopes in Queensland’s squad for their opening Sheffield Shield encounter against Western Australia at the WACA from Tuesday. Hopes, the Australian allrounder, will miss the game to recover from some minor injuries and prepare for the seven-match ODI series starting in India on October 25.Walter, 20, adds to the Bulls’ inexperienced line-up as they consider handing debuts to Glen Batticciotto and Wade Townsend. The legspinner Daniel Doran has been cut from the squad leaving Walter in contention to join a four-man pace attack with Ben Laughlin, Ben Cutting and Grant Sullivan. Walter took eight wickets for the Queensland Academy of Sport against the ACT last week and wants to appear in his second first-class match.The Bulls are looking to spark their season after a narrow loss in Sunday’s FR Cup match, which ended with Ashley Noffke, their former team-mate, stealing victory for his new side. Noffke and Steve Magoffin, another Queensland-raised fast man, have been named in Western Australia’s squad, which also includes Michael Hogan, a signing from New South Wales who will be on debut if he makes the XI.Queensland squad Nick Kruger, Ryan Broad, Lee Carseldine, Wade Townsend, Glen Batticciotto, Chris Hartley (wk), Nathan Reardon, Chris Simpson (capt), Ben Laughlin, Grant Sullivan, Ben Cutting, Scott Walter.Western Australia squad Shaun Marsh, Wes Robinson, Luke Towers, Marcus North (capt), David Bandy, Adam Voges, Luke Ronchi (wk), Ashley Noffke, Brett Dorey, Steve Magoffin, Brad Knowles, Michael Hogan.

All the action from the first day of the last round of Championship action as Northamptonshire boost their promotion hopes and Lancashire ease some relegation concerns

Cricinfo staff23-Sep-2009Division TwoNorthamptonshire gained most from the opening day of the final found as a stand of 268 in 47 overs between Rob White, with his first hundred of the season, and Andrew Hall powered them to 465 for 6 against Leicestershire at Wantage Road. It had been a very different picture during the morning session as the top order slipped to 44 for 4 with James Benning claiming two wickets. The counterattack was launched by Rikki Wessels – who reached fifty with three fours in an over – then continued in grand manner by White and Hall. The score raced along to such an extent that Northamptonshire had their full hand of batting points after 88 overs – stage one in their quest to leapfrog Essex into second spot. White couldn’t have picked a better moment to finally reach three figures, while Hall lost nothing in comparison and passed 1000 runs for the campaign. Leicestershire, with nothing to play for continued their worthwhile policy of blooding youngsters, were powerless to stem the tide.Gloucestershire’s new-ball pairing of James Franklin and Jon Lewis gave the Division Two champions, Kent plenty to think about as they shared nine wickets between them on a seam-dominated first-day at Bristol. With Ian Saxelby chipping in with the scalp of Justin Kemp, Kent were rolled over for 264, despite having at one stage reached 101 for 1 thanks to a second-wicket stand of 81 between Rob Key and Geraint Jones. However, both men fell for the addition of six runs, as did Darren Stevens for a second-ball duck when he shouldered arms at Franklin who found consistent swing, and at 139 for 6, Kent were deep in the mire. But Alex Blake glued the innings together with 47 before Simon Cook leathered the Gloucestershire attack to all parts in a violent 60 not out from 39 balls – including 10 fours and two sixes on a outfield where the boundary ropes at been brought in to aid the home side’s bid for full batting points In reply, Gloucestershire reached 21 for 0 before bad light curtailed the day.Usman Afzaal dented Glamorgan’s hopes of promotion with an unbeaten 170 as Surrey finished on 334 for 4 at The Oval. The visitors enjoyed the best of the early exchanges as Surrey slipped to 51 for 3, but Afzaal turned the around along side Arul Harinath and Matthew Spriegel. Afzaal added 103 for the fourth wicket with before Harinath (57) was caught at leg slip off Robert Croft, but Glamorgan were made to toil as the fifth-wicket stand reached 180. Afzaal reach his hundred from 136 balls and dominated the rest of the day alongside Spriegel as Glamorgan struggled to make an impression.Essex had promotion on their own hands as they took on Derbyshire at Derby. Andrew McGlashan watched the action.Division OneLancashire made great strides towards ensuring their survival in the top flight, while at the same time denting Warwickshire’s chance to challenge for the runners-up cheque of £225,000, as VVS Laxman’s half-century built on a Glen Chapple masterclass at Old Trafford. Chapple produced the astonishing figures of 14.4-6-19-6, as Warwickshire were skittled for 148 in 44.4 overs, with only a 73-run stand for the seventh wicket between Jim Troughton and Neil Carter offering any resistance. Warwickshire’s demise was a mixture of good bowling, poor batting and a helpful pitch. Carter top-scored with 58 before being caught at second slip and though Lancashire wobbled in reply, with Paul Horton falling early to Chris Woakes, Laxman’s class shone through as he stroked nine fours in 108 balls, to leave Lancashire just 22 runs adrift at the close with six wickets still standing.Sussex are facing relegation as they take on Nottinghamshire. Jon Culley reports from Trent Bridge.Yorkshire and Hampshire still need a few points to be assured of safety. John Ward watched the action at Headingley.The champions, Durham, struggled to raise their intensity against the long-relegated Worcestershire. George Dobell was at New Road.

An update has emerged regarding Newcastle’s interest in Watford winger Ismaila Sarr.

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Mail, the Magpies are eyeing the forward as a potential January signing as they look to bolster their squad following the club’s takeover earlier this month.

The report claims that Watford will fight hard to keep hold of their star player as they believe he can be as good as Manchester City winger Jack Grealish.

Saint-Maximin 2.0

PIF must secure a deal to sign Sarr in the January transfer window as they could unearth Allan Saint-Maximin 2.0 for the club. The Hornets forward is similar to the Frenchman in his playing style and could operate on the opposite wing, which is why the Toon Army faithful could love him.

Both players excel at dribbling with the ball and creating chances for their teammates, whilst also possessing the ability to score themselves. Sarr has averaged 3.4 dribbles and key passes per game in the Premier League this season, compared to Saint-Maximin’s 6.3.

This suggests that the Watford maestro is on his way to reaching the former Nice man’s standards, whilst he has already shown he may be a step above when it comes to goalscoring. He has found the back of the net nine times in 31 top-flight starts for Watford, whilst the Magpies wizard has scored eight goals in 51 starts. This is why Newcastle fans would love Sarr at St James’ Park, as he has the end product to match his exciting play.

Former Manchester United defender and current Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville once lauded the winger’s talents and praised his movement in behind. He said: “He’s a big, big talent, honestly he really is. I always think, particularly as a wide player, what would I have not wanted to have played against? The first thing is pace.

“And then you’ve got to think about, can he use his pace? Well, yes, he can, because he makes really good quality runs: the spin in behind, straight, but also the run inside in between full-back and centre-back – which I always think is the most difficult to mark.”

Neville’s comments suggest that Sarr also has the pace that Saint-Maximin possesses, with both players able to run with the ball at speed and take players on. Along with their similarity in playing style, this is why PIF could find their next wing wizard in the 23-year-old and must work hard to strike a deal for his services in the January window. The fans would surely love to see another talented winger in the ranks to get them off their seats during games and the Watford man’s statistics suggest that he could do just that.

AND in other news, PIF must ruthlessly sell shocking £75k-p/w liability, he’s holding Newcastle back…

Chad Keegan, the former Middlesex fast bowler, has been offered a trial with Sussex

Cricinfo staff19-May-2009Chad Keegan, the former Middlesex fast bowler, has been offered a trial with Sussex.Keegan, who was released by Middlesex at the end of 2007, represented Sussex in the Second XI Championship last week and today made his first team debut for the club in their Friends Provident Trophy match against Surrey.”Today is another opportunity to see what attributes Chad could bring to the squad,” Mark Robinson, Sussex’s professional cricket manager, said. “It’s a dead match now, as we have qualified for the quarter-finals in the competition, so we will be using the match to rest a few of the regulars and also give a few of the fringe players a chance to perform.”

Cricket Australia will offer states $50,000 each to recruit high-profile overseas cricketers for next season’s Big Bash Twenty20 tournament

Alex Brown11-Jun-2009Cricket Australia will offer states $50,000 (approximately US$40,000) each to recruit high-profile overseas cricketers for next season’s Big Bash Twenty20 tournament. The move is a direct attempt by CA to bolster the profile and prestige of Australia’s domestic 20-over league, and represents a major departure from states’ long-held position of freezing out ‘imports’ to protect places for local players.Several states last season took the initiative of recruiting overseas players to improve their chances of qualifying for the lucrative Champions League – not least New South Wales’ controversial move to draft New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum in for the Big Bash final against Victoria. Sohail Tanvir (South Australia) and Umar Gul (Western Australia) also played in 2008-09, and now CA has thrown open the door for more to follow.”We want to make the Big Bash a Bigger Bash,” CA spokesman Peter Young said. “This is part of the new Memorandum of Understanding and is something that is hoped will really lift the tournament’s profile further.”Our long-term strategic position is that Twenty20 is best played and promoted at state and domestic level. In the eyes of the marketeers, this is something that’s a little bit sexy, and we’d like to think the public will take the opportunity to see some top-level international players competing for their home states.”At least two states have begun the process of tapping up overseas players through their international contacts, secure in the knowledge that they now have CA’s financial backing. Cricinfo understands that states will be free to approach third-party sponsors to add to the $50,000 put forth by CA in a bid to attract big-name imports.Western Australia have already confirmed their interest in signing their former star Adam Gilchrist for the Twenty20 tournament after he led Deccan Chargers to the IPL title this year. “I’d say he’d be a reasonable target,” Graeme Wood, Western Australia’s chief executive told . “We are certainly hoping that would come to fruition.”One Australian player who could yet figure in next season’s Big Bash is Andrew Symonds, who on Thursday met with Queensland Cricket officials to discuss his future. Cricinfo understands Symonds requested the state not to reserve a place for him on their contract list for 2009-10, but left the door ajar to play for match payments in 50- and 20-over competitions for the Bulls.Symonds’ agent, Matt Fearon, said his client had yet to finalise his plans for the future, although it is highly likely he will position himself as a freelance Twenty20 specialist, available to play in domestic leagues around the world.”He is in no immediate rush to make any big decisions, but it’s fair to say he is in a good space at the moment,” Fearon said. “I think he is enjoying being out of that Cricket Australia environment.”