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Wolves have had a fairly quiet start to their January transfer window compared to other sides in the Premier League with Japanese midfielder Hayao Kawabe being the only player to arrive at Molineux so far this month.

However, it seems as though the Midlands club could be set to say goodbye to one of their current squad members, which wouldn’t please manager Bruno Lage.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Football Insider, fellow Premier League club West Ham United have made a “concrete” move to sign Wolves winger Adama Traore this month.

In the 152 appearances he’s made for the Old Gold since arriving from Middlesbrough in a deal worth a reported fee of £18m back in the 2018 summer transfer window, the 25-year-old has only managed to score ten goals and provide 18 assists along the way, which is far greater than what the club would have been hoping to get from him at this stage.

Potential disaster?

Despite the Spaniard reportedly being unhappy at Molineux with a long-term issue surrounding the possibility of him signing a new deal, Lage would certainly not want to lose one of his most dangerous attacking players midway through their season, especially as they aim to secure a European place.

Labelled as a “dynamic” player by former Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood, Traore has still managed to prove himself to be an important player for Lage in the Premier League this season with an overall rating of 6.96/10 from WhoScored, making him their third-highest rated player.

If Wolves were then to sell Traore this month, it could be a disaster for Fosun and Lage if the team were to miss out on a European finish this season as a result of the winger’s potential absence for the remainder of the campaign.

Considering West Ham are a rival for European football, it wouldn’t be a good idea at all to sell him to the Irons and if they eventually beat them to a place among Europe’s elite, Lage would understandably be rather angry.

With that in mind, it may be the best option to keep the £43k-per-week Traore until the end of the season and then try to secure a move away for him if he still doesn’t want to sign a new deal.

In other news: Lage could blow Wolves fans away by signing £27m-rated ace who is “better than Mbappe” – opinion

Lots of Everton fans have been flocking to some manager news involving Duncan Ferguson.

As per The Times, sources close to the Goodison Park club have now indicated that Rafael Benitez could be relieved of his duties before they play Aston Villa at home in the Premier League next Saturday.

Ferguson is ‘ready’ to take temporary charge of Everton once more if the Spaniard is given the chop before then.

After yesterday’s embarrassing 2-1 loss at relegation-threatened Norwich City, the Toffees have still only managed to pick up one win in the top flight since September, and the extremely poor run of form looks set to cost Benitez his job.

Nonetheless, Ferguson looks set to take the reins once more, having done so back in 2019, when he actually did pretty well over four games. He won his opening match 3-1 at home to Chelsea while also picking up credible draws against both Manchester United and Arsenal (Transfermarkt).

He surely cannot do any worse than Benitez in terms of results, so it seems that a lot of Toffees supporters would be happy with the the 50-year-old being appointed.

Everton fans on Ferguson manager news

These Everton flocked to the manager news as it was shared on Twitter:

“Right decision. Get him in for Villa and Goodison bouncing again”

Credit: @bluesofgoodison

“Let’s hope so..”

Credit: @neilthompson67

“Yes Yes Yes”

Credit: @Stephen12724226

“Big Dunc”

Credit: @AndyVale27

“Perfect choice. The fanbase and team needs uniting again and he’s the perfect man to do it. Imagine the atmosphere vs Villa alone.”

Credit: @SachinT1878

“Let him be in charge for the rest of the season, see how he gets on”

Credit: @AdamEFC9

In other news, this Everton player was slammed by many fans over his performance against Norwich

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has said paceman Jerome Taylor is still not ready for competitive cricket and will not be rushed back prematurely, with less than three weeks before West Indies are due to host the World Twenty20

Cricinfo staff13-Apr-2010Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has said paceman Jerome Taylor is still not ready for competitive cricket and will not be rushed back prematurely, with less than three weeks before West Indies are due to host the World Twenty20.Taylor has not played since limping out of the first Test against Australia in Brisbane last November and is yet to feature in the Jamaica Cricket Association Festival, where West Indies are playing Jamaica, Ireland and Canada.”He has not played yet in the festival yet but the intention is to play him later this week, maybe Saturday or Sunday, but currently he is still doing all the strengthening and the ‘back to bowling programme’,” Gibson told .He was picked in the West Indies squad for the Festival and also in the official 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 and Gibson is confident that the rehab is going well.”Jerome is progressing nicely. He is doing all the things we asked him to do. He is doing some bowling and he is doing a lot of strengthening work, which he needed to do since he has his injury.West Indies will be without paceman Fidel Edwards, who is recovering with from back surgery, for the tournament but Gibson is hopeful that Taylor will be available.”He is a lot fitter than when I saw him two weeks ago in Barbados, so the signs are very good for him moving forward. He is getting closer and closer at all times and as I said to him, his main focus is to get fit for the first game [in the World Twenty20].”

Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner, will receive an award from the PCB following the World Twenty20, for being the ‘No. 1 bowler in the world’, board chief Zaka Ashraf has said

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Sep-2012Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner, will receive an award from the PCB following the World Twenty20, for being the ‘No. 1 bowler in the world’, board chief Zaka Ashraf has said. The announcement comes in the wake of Ajmal not being on ICC’s shortlist for Test Player of the Year.”Saeed Ajmal, we still say you’re the No. 1 bowler in the world and the PCB recognises you, and whether someone gives you the prize, that is immaterial, we don’t care,” Ashraf said. “We congratulate you and when you come back home [after the World T20] we will give you a prize for being the No. 1 bowler in the world. The PCB is with you.”Ajmal was on the longlist for the ICC award, which will be announced at a function in Colombo on September 15, but did not make the shortlist that included South Africa’s Hashim Amla and Vernon Philander, Australia’s Michael Clarke and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara. Subsequently, the PCB had lodged a protest with the ICC regarding his omission, but the ICC had said it could not revise the list as it had been put together by an independent jury. That prompted talk of a possible boycott of the awards function by Pakistan.While the boycott wasn’t a certainty, Ashraf said, he was hoping for a last-minute revision. “There is some error, I think the ICC should try to rectify it. At least his name should have been on the shortlist,” Ashraf said. “I’m still hopeful the ICC will make a positive move by trying to rectify it.”The PCB hasn’t decided as yet to boycott [the awards ceremony], that will be an extreme step. But we are under extreme pressure. There have been demonstrations in Pakistan, people have come out in support of Saeed Ajmal; there was a big demonstration held in front of the PCB office. We’ve conveyed that to the ICC. It has [even] been taken up in the parliament in Pakistan, there’s a big debate going on.”Ajmal had taken 72 Test wickets between August 4, 2011, and August 6, 2012, (the qualifying period for the award). He climbed to No. 3 in the Test bowlers’ rankings and, last week, took the No. 1 spot in the ODI rankings.

A lightening 117-run opening stand between Andrew Strauss and Craig Kieswetter rocketed England to a seven-wicket victory with over a quarter of their innings to spare against Scotland in a sun-drenched Edinburgh

The Bulletin by Sahil Dutta19-Jun-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAndrew Strauss was in destructive mood against some inviting Scottish bowling•PA PhotosA lightening 117-run opening stand between Andrew Strauss and Craig Kieswetter rocketed England to a seven-wicket victory with over a quarter of their innings to spare against Scotland in a sun-drenched Edinburgh.Against some inviting medium-pace bowling, England were able pick up from where they left off in the World Twenty20, hitting 21 boundaries in the first 13 overs with Craig Kieswetter and Strauss matching each other stroke-for-stroke as they registered rapid half-centuriesComing into the game there were murmurs that Strauss may not quite fit into the big-hitting opening approach England had adopted so successfully in his absence in the Caribbean. But that charge was unfair, it was under his leadership that England first put the ‘no-fear’ cliché into practice, and here he emphatically made the point, stoking 12 fours in his 43-ball innings.It made light work of Scotland’s hard-fought total of 211 but Gavin Hamilton, who earlier in the day had profited against the England new-ball bowlers, paid the price for ignoring the lesson of Scotland’s innings where the spinners dominated. Instead he opted for an array of equally ineffective medium-pacers.Dishing up a combination of half-trackers and half-volleys there was no pressure until the introduction of offspinner Majid Haq in the 14th over. Haq is Scotland’s best bowler and one of their few full-time professionals and his showing today glittered with nous and plenty of nerve.He accounted for Strauss in his first over, luring him into a mistimed sweep-shot that sailed comfortably down to the deep midwicket fielder and thereafter he controlled all the England batsmen.Kevin Pietersen was first suffocated and then defeated by Haq’s teasing bowling. It was the sort of genteel occasion that was never going to get Pietersen’s juices flowing and he was dropped twice before miscuing a sweep and skying a catch to midwicket.It left Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan to calmly knock-off the total with 16.2 overs to spare. England could have chased a lot more and at one stage it looked as though they could well have to.Kyle Coetzer and Hamilton had put on 86 after the early loss of Ryan Watson to leave Scotland well placed until Swann and Michael Yardy threw sand into their wheels. Left out of Durham’s Clydesdale Bank 40 team, Coetzer sent a clear message by hitting eight crisp boundaries during a 59-ball half century.On a good pitch it may have been too much to expect a rout from the England bowlers, but the ease at which the pacemen were dealt with was telling. Broad, suitably beefed-up after his ‘strength and conditioning’ break from the side dropped short too often and was merrily punished by all the batsmen and James Anderson, despite his early wicket, could not exert much control either.It was the spinners who first restricted the scoring and then made the breakthroughs. Once Coetzer fell tamely to Yardy, chipping back a return catch, the Scotland top order folded. Hamilton had worked his way to 48 but was drawn out his ground to end up stumped off Swann. It wasn’t until Douglas Lockhart’s enterprising 46 at the end of the innings that Scotland offered any more resistance.Still, having allowed Scotland to cross 200, England had not quite managed emulate the spark that took them to the World Twenty20 title by the halfway stage but Strauss and Kieswetter soon changed that. England will face a sterner test against Australia on Tuesday but they can head into it brimming with confidence.

A Newcastle United chief has now had a meeting over the potential signing of Darwin Nunez.

The Lowdown: On fire

Nunez is certainly on fire this season, with 11 goals and two assists in 18 games in total over all competitions for Benfica, including strikes against Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League (Transfermarkt).

His growing reputation has also seen the striker play six times for the Uruguay national team ahead of the likes of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, scoring two goals (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, the 22-year-old certainly has a bright future ahead of him, and may not be playing in Portugal much longer.

The Latest: Nickson meeting

As per Maisfutebol, Head of Recruitment at St. James’ Park, Steve Nickson, has now had a meeting with Benfica president Rui Costa over potentially signing Nunez, but the Portuguese giants do not want to let him go until the summer at least.

The player has a contract with them until June 2025, and has a whopping release clause worth €150m (£127.8m), although it is thought that the starting price for talks would be close to €50m (£42.6m).

The Verdict: Survival

The North East club must avoid relegation down to the Championship before they can even think about signing Nunez in the summer.

Described as an ‘incredible talent’ by sports journalist Maxi Angelo, there will no doubt be other suitors for him, especially given the fact that he has already shown his worth in the Champions League.

Nonetheless, if the Tyneside outfit can survive, then there is no reason that they cannot tempt him to move to the Premier League next summer, and he would certainly be a real signing of intent for their long-term project.

In other news, find out boost NUFC have now received in pursuit of this ‘extraordinary’ star here!

Stuart Broad has admitted that he knew his Ashes tour was over from the moment he began his second spell on Monday afternoon, as England’s famous innings-and-71-run victory at Adelaide was tempered by the loss of one of the key members of their bowling at

Andrew Miller in Adelaide06-Dec-2010Stuart Broad has admitted that he knew his Ashes tour was over from the moment he began his second spell on Monday afternoon, as England’s famous innings-and-71-run victory at Adelaide was tempered by the loss of one of the key members of their bowling attack.Broad was ruled out of the tour shortly before play on the final day of the second Test, after the ECB chief medical officer, Nick Peirce, confirmed that he had suffered a torn abdominal muscle. He is due to fly back to England on Wednesday, where he will undergo a ten-week programme of rehabilitation, with a view to returning to fitness in time for the latter stages of the World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh that gets underway on February 19.”Obviously I’m heartbroken. I’m distraught at leaving the tour,” said Broad. “Within two or three balls of my spell, I knew I was in big trouble, and I immediately said to Jimmy Anderson, ‘I might be struggling here’. I got through a few overs, but it felt like someone stabbing me in the stomach. I put a couple of bouncers in and I could hardly breathe. I knew my tour was over. I was going for broke then, and just trying to get a wicket before I was gone.”Broad briefly remained on the field after grimacing through his 11th over, but was off receiving treatment on the injury for much of the afternoon. While he was off the field, he bowled off a minimal run-up in the nets with a strap around his waist, and was seen lifting a medicine ball with considerable difficulty. He returned to the field late in the day, but did not bowl another over.”I had an injection to see if I could get through this Test, bowling and do a job from one end, but the tear was too big, and it wasn’t really feasible,” said Broad. “I’ve been fortunate in my career, because I’ve been fairly injury free, but this is a blow. It’s going to be hard to watch, but I will be watching – because the guys are playing fantastic cricket.”The lads have a fantastic opportunity to win the Ashes, and I hope they will keep playing this sort of cricket without me. It will be hard to leave this changing room. It is a fantastic place to be, but it’s a great opportunity for whoever takes my place. Everyone is capable of stepping up and delivering.”My next focus is to get it 100% right for the World Cup and be fresh and ready to perform then,” he added. “It’s eight to 10 weeks’ rehab, and the first World Cup game is nine weeks (away). But the thing about that World Cup is that it goes on for years, so even if I miss the first game I’ll still be available for the end of it. But my family are coming out for Christmas, so we will probably cross like ships in the night.”England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, admitted that Broad had known his fate before the results of the scan had been confirmed. “It was pretty clear last night what was likely to happen, so I had a couple of words with him,” he said. “He’s distraught, and I think we’re all distraught that he’s going to be leaving us because he’s a big part of our side, not just on the field but off the field too.Broad, 24, will also miss the seven-match ODI series that follows the Ashes, as his focus shifts to the second of England’s twin peaks for the winter. “Stuart will return to England shortly to commence a rehabilitation programme and we expect him to make a full recovery in time for the World Cup next year,” said Dr Peirce in an ECB statement.”Playing for England in an Ashes series in Australia has been something I’ve dreamed of for a long time so to have that cut short by injury is devastating,” said Broad. “So far the series has been everything I had anticipated and knowing I’ll play no further part is quite hard to take. Given the way we had started the series I was looking forward to playing a leading role in England retaining the Ashes but that’s not to be.”Injuries happen and there’s nothing I can do about it other than make sure I get stuck into rehabilitation and come back stronger in time for the World Cup next year. This winter is a big one for the England team so my focus will have to shift to preparing for the World Cup.”Despite claiming two wickets at 80.50 in the first two Tests, Broad’s height and aggression will be sorely missed throughout the rest of the series. It means that England’s tour match against Victoria at Melbourne, which gets underway on December 10, will take on an extra significance, with Chris Tremlett, Ajmal Shahzad and Tim Bresnan all competing for the vacancy.”He’s been one of the mainstays of our bowling attack for a while, and he’s got all the ingredients to bowl well in Australia as well,” said Strauss. “We’re devastated for him but the show moves on, and those other three have got a chance to stake a claim and have a big impact on the series now.”The likelihood is that all three of those will play in Melbourne, and we’ll see which one is looking the most potent and the most suited for Perth, which is going to be important as well,” added Strauss. “What happens in Melbourne will have some effect, but we’ve got to think what bowler is likely to make an impact.”

Andy Flower has backed Craig Kieswetter, the 22-year-old wicketkeeper batsman, to push for a place in the senior squad having impressed for England Lions during their tour of UAE

Cricinfo staff15-Feb-2010England coach Andy Flower has backed Craig Kieswetter, the 22-year-old wicketkeeper batsman, to push for a place in the senior squad having impressed for England Lions during their tour of UAE.Kieswetter qualifies to play for England on Tuesday having appeared for South Africa Under-19s before moving to England four years ago. He has performed well for Somerset in both first-class and limited-overs cricket and has been in fine form for the England Lions during the tour so far, making 31, 40 not out and an unbeaten 77 in wins over Pakistan A and UAE A and has the chance to face the full side on Wednesday.”Craig Kieswetter has had a really good start,” Flower told reporters in Dubai. “He’s got runs in all three of his Lions games so far, so Wednesday is a chance for him to impress. I think he qualifies tomorrow for England and, of course, he’ll be excited about that challenge.””All of the Lions are under consideration and, quite rightly, they’ll be very hungry to press forward their case for selection. I’ve spoken to David Parsons, who is in charge of that group, and it’s been nice to see them play such powerful cricket. It is a good opportunity for them to impress, a good opportunity for them to challenge us so they’ll all be quite excited.”Kieswetter will find it difficult to dislodge Matt Prior from the Test side, but could find an opening in the shorter format, where Prior’s form has been far less prolific. Prior has moved up and down the batting order without impressing in any position, averaging 24.24 from 52 games. If Prior does keep his spot at No. 6, Kieswetter could conceivably play as a specialist batsman, after making 634 runs at 48.76 for Somerset in 50-over cricket and 248 runs in 12 Twenty20 games in 2009.His selection for England would stir some controversy after the inclusion fellow South-African raised players Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen. Geoff Miller, the national selector, admitted in January that England must be ‘careful’ about picking too many South Africans.The Lions will face the senior side on Wednesday with Pietersen eager to re-establish his position as the linchpin of the batting. Having been forced out mid-way through last summer’s Ashes series with an Achilles injury he struggled on his return to the side against South Africa and has now gone 11 months without a Test hundred. Flower, however, feels it won’t be long until Pietersen is delivering again.”He’s very hungry, he had quite a chunk of time out of international cricket and he’s come back hungry,” said Flower. “Things didn’t go perfectly well for him in South Africa but he did make some contributions, especially at the start of the series.”It was a difficult challenge for him to come back from playing no cricket to facing the South African attack on sporty wickets. It was difficult for him. This is an opportunity for him to get some serious time in the middle and for him to start contributing again in his dominant way in England victories.”

John Percy has dropped an update regarding the takeover of Derby County.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, The Telegraph journalist revealed that Quantuma – the joint administrators of Derby County – are close to naming their preferred bidder for the club, with an announcement expected next week.

Percy went on to state that Wayne Rooney’s side are currently in talks with three potential buyers: the Kirchner group, a local consortium with who the Rams’ former chairman and owner Peter Gadsby is involved and one other unnamed party.

Finally, the journalist claims that, although there are still a number of factors that need to be ironed out in order to complete the club’s sale, Quantuma are in fact confident that Derby will secure a new owner in the not too distant future.

In his tweet, Percy said: “Quantuma close to naming preferred bidder, but not until next week at earliest. In talks with 3 parties: Kirchner group, a local consortium with former chairman/owner Peter Gadsby involved + 1 other. Still numerous factors to consider, but Quantuma confident of a sale.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how bad things have become at Derby in recent months, with the future of the club very much appearing to be up in the air, Percy’s latest update will undoubtedly have left fans of the Rams buzzing.

Indeed, Wayne Rooney’s side have been deducted a whopping 21 points as a result of being found guilty for breaching the EFL’s profitability and sustainability rules, as well as for being entered into administration – something which has all but confirmed that the club will be playing their football in League One as of next season.

Furthermore, with it being reported that the club is currently a whopping £83m in debt, questions were rather understandably raised as to whether any potential buyer would be able to afford the purchase of the Rams – something that appeared to cast serious doubt on whether or not Derby would indeed be able to get themselves out of their financial mess.

However, following Percy’s latest update, it now appears as if these doubts have been quashed, with the possibility of Derby County having a new owner by the turn of the year looking to be a very real one – undoubtedly fantastic news for everyone involved with the club.

In other news: “Very dangerous”: Alan Nixon drops big Derby County claim that’ll terrify fans

Trent Copeland produced a stunning debut with seven wickets, but Queensland were boosted by Lee Carseldine’s century as they reached 9 for 335

Cricinfo staff29-Jan-2010Queensland 9 for 335 (Carseldine 109, Swan 55*, Copeland 7-92) v New South Wales
ScorecardTrent Copeland was in outstanding form on debut as he knocked over seven Queenslanders•Getty ImagesTrent Copeland produced a stunning debut with seven wickets, but Queensland were boosted by Lee Carseldine’s century as they reached 9 for 335 on the first day. Copeland, a 23-year-old fast bowler, got his chance due to the state’s injury-hit stocks – and Josh Hazlewood being at the Under-19 World Cup – and he showed the same form that he displays for his grade side St George.He struck in batches, taking two wickets early in the day and another two shortly before tea, and came back in the third session to add three more. Copeland walked off with 7 for 92 in 28 overs, currently the third best return for the Blues on debut, and was the first to grab a five-wicket haul in his opening game since Glenn McGrath in 1992-93.Carseldine, the No. 4, was the main problem for the Blues as he registered his third first-class hundred, moving to 109 with 15 fours when he was Copeland’s sixth victim. The seventh came with Luke Feldman’s exit shortly before the end and he will chase an eighth on the second morning. He will have Chris Swan, who is unbeaten on 55, and Scott Walter (0) to aim at.Carseldine and Chris Hartley revived Queensland from 4 for 89 with a 108-run stand before Copeland intervened. He picked up Hartley for 38 and followed up with Chris Simpson before tea and Ben Cutting after the interval.Queensland started well after being sent in on a green surface, with Nick Kruger (32) and Ryan Broad (28) taking the score to 69 before they went in consecutive balls. Broad gave Copeland his first wicket when he was lbw and Kruger was taken at second slip off Grant Lambert, who quickly backed up by having Wade Townsend caught behind. The Bulls had lost 4 for 20 when Glen Batticciotto was taken by the wicketkeeper Daniel Smith, one of four catches to him, as Copeland continued his outstanding entry.