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According to Calciomercato, Antonio Conte does not want to move to Tottenham Hotspur as Daniel Levy will not fund a restructuring of the squad.

The Lowdown: Nuno sacked

After Spurs’ latest defeat, a 3-0 loss at home to Manchester United, Nuno Espirito Santo’s time at the club was brought to an end this morning as his dismissal was confirmed.

As such, the rumours linking managers to the vacant Spurs managerial role have well and truly started, and Conte has been mentioned as a potential suitor.

The Latest: Conte against Tottenham move

However, according to Calciomercato, it now seems that the Italian is not keen to move to Spurs.

The report claimed that he is seeking a restructuring of the squad, something which Levy does not want. Conte is said to be only interested in a move to Man United as a result if he is forced to take on a job which is constrained by budgets.

The Verdict: Work needed

Of course, Nuno should have performed better with this current Spurs squad. Valued at £627.3m by Transfermarkt and possessing the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son, both of whom are prolific goalscorers at Premier League level, there is no excuse for how incohesive and lacklustre the Lilywhites have looked at times this season.

Having said that, there are still a number of areas where the squad must be improved if they are to compete higher up the table – a much-criticised defence springs to mind – and if a top-quality manager is to come in, he will surely want to put his own stamp on the squad. Levy may be taking his usual hardline stance, but missing out on a man of Conte’s experience and trophy-winning nous due to his own intransigence could come back to haunt him.

In other news, Spurs would like to sign this up-and-coming centre-half

Leeds United striker Joe Gelhardt has withdrawn from England U20 duty due to injury…

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a report from LeedsLive, who have revealed that the 19-year-old has returned to Thorp Arch in a bid to aid his recovery ahead of the Whites’ trip to north London to face Tottenham Hotspur next weekend.

The young frontman missed their 1-1 draw with Leicester City at the weekend with an unknown injury and it seems as if it is bad enough to keep him out of the internationals this break.

Gelhardt was originally named in Andy Edwards’ squad alongside Elland Road teammates Sam Greenwood, Lewis Bate and Cody Drameh.

Short up top

This has to be a massive cause for concern for Marcelo Bielsa as he has been light on options in attack, with first-choice striker Patrick Bamford also facing time on the treatment table in recent weeks.

Indeed, the senior England international has missed each of Leeds’ last six league outings and without Gelhardt on Sunday, the Argentine boss only had Rodrigo, who is more of a second striker or a no.10 at his disposal.

Even Jack Harrison has led the line on the odd occasion, which goes to show just how bad Bielsa and his side have been suffering without Bamford.

Gelhardt has only featured in 124 minutes of action for the first team this season but he played a starring role from the bench in winning a late penalty against Wolves last month, in which the aforementioned Spaniard equalised from the spot to clinch a point.

The former Wigan Athletic graduate has been touted for big, big things in the past, with LeedsLive journalist Beren Cross once suggesting he could be Leeds’ best-ever business.

“As I’m sure we’ll find out in the years ahead, Gelhardt may well be the best bit of business the club has done in the last 20 years, if not ever, because he just looks absolutely outrageous, very, very good player,” he claimed.

With 17 goals in 23 appearances at U23 level, the teenager would be an interesting prospect to fill the void left behind by Bamford, so this latest blow comes at the very worst time for him.

As that’s another option off the table for the time being, you could forgive Bielsa if he was absolutely reeling back in Yorkshire.

AND in other news, Leeds eyeing January swoop for £110k-p/w “liability”, it would be one huge Orta howler…

Rejuvinated by his recent limited-overs form, Shahid Afridi has set his sights on helping Pakistan retain their World Twenty20 title

Cricinfo staff06-Nov-2009Rejuvinated by his recent limited-overs form, Shahid Afridi has set his sights on helping Pakistan retain their World Twenty20 title in the third edition of the tournament, to be held in the Caribbean next April. Afridi was named Twenty20 captain after Younis Khan retired from the format after leading Pakistan to the World Twenty20 title in June and has continued to excel as a match-winning allrounder.Afridi was instrumental in this summer’s triumph, turning in Man-of-the-Match performances in both the semi-final and the final. “I am becoming more and more responsible with my batting,” Afridi told . “I want to help my team win the World Twenty20 again next year and then the bigger prize in the World Cup in two years time.”Being the captain I have to do planning for the World Twenty20 because I want to win it once again, for my team, for my country and for my people who get inspired with our wins. There is no cricket back home so it is important that we keep winning and motivate the youth to take up the game which will keep the interest alive in our country.”The last five years have been the most productive of Afridi’s career, where despite brief patches of indifference, he has established himself as a fixture in Pakistan’s limited-overs set-up. His form has been particularly good this year, with impressive performances in the ODI series and Twenty20 against Australia in Dubai in May, his critical role in leading Pakistan to the World Twenty20 title, and now in the first ODI against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi.”I know all my fans want to see my explosive hitting, but I am more of a bowling allrounder and want to be remembered for that,” said Afridi.Pakistan are due to tour Australia for three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 between December 26 and February 5. Afridi has decided to not play Test cricket in an attempt to give his best in limited-overs cricket. He recently turned down an offer to represent Tasmania because he wanted to focus on his team’s forthcoming tour of Australia.

Celtic summer signings Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide could leave Parkhead on loan during the January transfer window, John McGinley reports.

The Lowdown: Hoops to cut ties with Ajeti and Barkas?

The Hoops could be busy once again in the winter window following a number of incomings and outgoings over the summer.

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that Celtic are ready to cut their losses on striker Albian Ajeti, while Vasilis Barkas is also expected to depart Parkhead.

The club are also getting organised for any potential signings in the winter window, but it appears as if two more players could depart Glasgow on a temporary basis.

The Latest: Ange open to loan exits

McGinley took to Twitter on Monday afternoon, sharing comments from manager Ange Postecoglou following a media event.

Postecoglou admitted the pair are improving every day at Lennoxtown following a difficult period in the summer.

McGinley also reported that the Hoops are ‘open’ to the possibility of Shaw and Urhoghide leaving on loan, however, a decision is yet to be made.

The Verdict: Loan out

Shaw, described as ‘aggressive’, and Urhoghide, labelled as ‘quick’, both arrived over the summer but the pair are yet to make a senior appearance in green and white.

They were getting regular game time for Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship last season, with Shaw making 19 second-tier appearances and Urhoghide 16, so it seems as if senior football for the second half of the current campaign could help their development.

Adding to their experience of first-team football, you’d expect, would only benefit them ahead of a possible breakthrough next season, so the Hoops hierarchy should be looking to find the youngsters a new temporary home.

In other news: Celtic now lining up January move for 6 ft 4 international. 

Muttiah Muralitharan has expressed doubts over his participation in the two Twenty20s against India after damaging ligaments in his right bowling hand

Sa'adi Thawfeeq06-Dec-2009Muttiah Muralitharan has expressed doubts over his participation in the two Twenty20s against India after damaging ligaments in his bowling hand.”I suffered the injury when I was playing football. I got hit and two ligaments are damaged in the fingers,” he said. “I was bowling with the injury the whole of yesterday [the third day’s play in Mumbai]. It will take a few days to recover. I am not sure whether I will be fit for the Twenty20s but I should be okay for the one-dayers.”The Sri Lankan team regularly indulge in a game of volley football after a day’s play as a means of keeping the team unity together. According to the manager Brendon Kuruppu, the players decide when to play it. “Especially when you come out on tours of this nature there is nothing the players can do once they get back to their hotel so they play a few games to keep the team unity together,” he said.Muralitharan, the highest wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs, injured the second and third fingers of his right hand during the on-going third Test but showed no discomfort while bowling 51 overs to take 4 for 195 runs during India’s innings.The two Twenty20s are scheduled to take place on December 9 in Nagpur and December 12 in Mohali. The five-match ODI series starts on December 15.

Paris Saint-Germain may have a readymade replacement if Mauricio Pochettino is lured to Manchester United.

The Telegraph’s Jason Burt reported that the Ligue 1 leaders have been made aware that former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane would be keen on the job at the Parc des Princes.

Is Pochettino to United now on?

This could be a crucial development because, according to Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, PSG will let Pochettino go to United if they have a successor lined up for the Argentine. Conveniently, he also says that Zidane is their preferred candidate.

Incidentally, the former Real Madrid boss has himself been ‘repeatedly linked’ with the Red Devils.

No need to wait?

United’s initial plan following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was to appoint an interim manager to lead the team until the end of the season, but it seems as if the prospective appointment of Pochettino could be fast-tracked, with Zidane now said to be waiting in the wings.

Fan feed utdreport relayed Burt’s update, and here’s what a selection of supporters said in response, with many voicing excitement over the potential chain reaction which would see the Argentine coming to Old Trafford soon.

“I’m starting to get excited about our club again”

Credit: @koreen_didier

“This now looks inevitable. we need to get it sorted before Chelsea.”

Credit: @stefanduro

“Get it done”

Credit: @ellis22szn

“Get in”

Credit: @niarra4v

“Ok that works. Let’s do that. Everybody wins.”

Credit: @TheRealRobLaw

“It’s all coming together…”

Credit: @UtdLG

In other news: What of Erik ten Hag? These Man United fans have flocked to an update on the Dutchman.

Kevin Curran, the Zimbabwe Under-19 coach, says his side are in good shape to upset a few of the bigger nations at the World Cup in New Zealand

Marc Ellison14-Jan-2010Kevin Curran, the Zimbabwe Under-19 coach, has said his side is in good shape to upset a few of the bigger nations at the World Cup in New Zealand and refused to use the current unstable political situation in his country as an excuse for lack of depth and preparation.Curran, the former national coach, who was criticised for telling his players to simply compete before looking to win matches, was upbeat about his side’s’ chances and saw his role as a chance to give something back to his country.”I’ve been involved in Zimbabwe cricket since 2000 and for me politics and sport have never mixed. My job is to actually give back what I learned when I first started my career and cricket has come a long way. In the last three or four months everybody has really tried to get cricket going in the right direction and we’ve gone a long way,” Curran said.”I don’t know why so much is being made of the [political] situation. To be honest I’d like to do my best and give back what I learned in the sport. If you look anywhere in the world there are things that work well and things that haven’t worked so well. I just think from a cricketing point of view there are a lot of talented players in Zimbabwe and I’m trying my best to get the best out of them.”Curran believed the political situation at home did not deter teams from travelling to Zimbabwe, pointing to the Pakistan Under-19 team tour of 2009. “We’ve had a really good build up this year. We had a series against Pakistan where they came and toured Zimbabwe, we’ve had a tour to Bangladesh which was a really good experience for our young guys and then we went via Johannesburg, played at their High Performance Centre and played against their Academy.”There’s been quite a lot of cricket for these guys, where in the past World Cups they haven’t had many warm-up games to get that exposure because they come straight from school cricket. And then to play on the international stage is quite a big step. I’ve tried to give them as much exposure as possible and from February when I took over, they’ve certainly improved 50%, so we’re hoping for some good things.”Zimbabwe are paying the price for their poor showing in the 2008 event in Malaysia where they finished 14th, thanks to disappointing losses to Malaysia, Nepal and Ireland. As a result, they are being grouped in 2010 with hosts New Zealand and Sri Lanka. However, Curran doesn’t see the tough group as an issue, saying he has faith in his team to do the job.”Basically only two go through in our Group out of New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Canada [and Zimbabwe] so it’s tough. I’m quietly confident that if we get it right on the day we’ve got the players to beat all three of those sides.”We’ve shown against Pakistan where we beat them once and we came very close against Bangladesh. In fact, we should’ve won a couple of games against Bangladesh. It was just through a little bit of inexperience perhaps that we lost those games. We competed in all of them and that’s the bottom line at this level when guys come from school boy cricket and haven’t had that exposure as long as they are proving that they are learning every time, they are going to become good cricketers.”Hopefully I can keep this side together for the next two years and hopefully there’s one, two, maybe three players who can go on and push to play for the national side in the not-too-distant future.”Curran has changed the trial system that was in place for the Under-19 team selection. Previously, trials would be conducted at the end of the school year, but Curran felt that the system was dated and that too many youngsters were falling through the net.This time around, in February, he sent scouts out to look for the best young players and report back to him before selecting a squad of 70. A series of trial matches followed and the squad was whittled down to 35 with which Curran worked closely for three months before finally settling on the 15 for the World Cup.He is far happier with the new system and, even though his side haven’t had the same international exposure as some of the other teams at the tournament, he is confident that their preparation stands them in good stead.”Obviously it would have been nice to have a few more practice games but what I will say for the organisers of the cricket has been fantastic. Just today we had a warm-up game against Afghanistan at Lincoln in one of the outer grounds and I don’t think I’ve seen an outfield like that on some of the Test grounds I’ve played. The facilities have been unbelievable and people have gone out of their way to do the right thing. For these young guys whatever happens in the tournament, they are going to come out better people and better guys.”Curran is aware he must watch how he approaches the players regarding the tournament and be careful not to blow things out of proportion.”I think sometimes young guys are a bit naive and maybe that’s a good thing because if you hype it up too much for them it can complicate things for them more. We’ve done a lot of hard work off the field and our preparation in that sense has been pretty good, so they’ve just got to go out there and enjoy the occasion.”If you make it too big an occasion then perhaps you won’t get the best out of them. I want them to just go and express themselves and, should they do that, they have the capability to do well.”

As per Football League World, Tottenham Hotspur managing director Fabio Paratici has seemingly pulled a U-turn over letting Jack Clarke move away after opting to keep him in the summer.

The Lowdown: Clarke struggles for chances…

It has been a spell to forget for the winger since Spurs chairman Daniel Levy elected to sign him on a permanent deal from Leeds United for an initial £10m fee.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-developments-2/” title=”Spurs developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Clarke has seriously struggled for chances at Spurs, making just four senior appearances in over two years (Transfermarkt) and spending stints on loan at Leeds, QPR and Stoke City in that time.

As he continues his N17 limbo, some news has now emerged on his future at the club and what Tottenham are now set to do in January.

The Latest: Spurs set to greenlight Clarke loan exit…

As per Football League World, Tottenham and Paratici by extension are now ‘ready’ to send the 21-year-old out on loan, with the outcast ‘set’ for a January departure.

This comes as a plethora of Championship clubs, including Barnsley, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United, all eye a move for Clarke, with game-time at Spurs looking severely limited.

Paratici ‘took the option’ to hang on to the youngster during the summer window but, as he seemingly pulls a U-turn over his stance, he now sees January as ‘the right time to let him go’.

The Verdict: Correct move…

Clarke’s career at Spurs increasingly looks to be hanging on by a thread, leaving little wonder that the club believe a temporary January move is the best way forward.

Tottenham will need to start thinking about the player’s long-term future soon considering that his contract expires in 2023, giving Paratici just four more transfer windows to decide whether to stick or twist.

Clarke could even end up leaving on a free in two years’ time, a scenario that Spurs would be desperate to avoid, with a possible loan move this January seemingly crucial to raise his market value and find a suitor.

Barring that, it is difficult to see the former Whites sensation playing his way into Conte’s plans any time soon.

In other news: ‘Coming from Tottenham’…Journalist makes exciting transfer claim with big offer tabled, find out more here.

A round-up of the first day’s play of the second round of the RBS Pentangular Cup

Cricinfo staff07-Jan-2010
Scorecard
The Rest began their Pentangular Cup on an encouraging note, reaching 371 for 7 on an action-packed day against Sialkot at the National Stadium. They scored their runs at a fair clip and were boosted by a century from Aamer Sajjad, who struck 25 fours in his 119. The Rest were in a spot of bother at 74 for 3, Sajjad stepped up to the task, adding 155 with Naved Yasin, who made 93, and Sarfraz Ahmed – who has been called up for the third Test against Australia. Sarfraz finished the day unbeaten on 67 and his team will bank on him to stretch that score to something more substantial. For Sialkot, Faisal Rasheed picked up three wickets.Karachi Blues 253 for 9 (Asad 69, Mansoor 50, Hafeez 3-54) against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited
Scorecard
A collective bowling display helped Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited take the first-day honours against Karachi Blues at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex. Mohammad Hafeez’s offspin fetched him three wickets, and each of the other SNGPL bowlers grabbed at least a wicket each to limit Karachi to 253 for 9 at stumps. Karachi had been struggling at 69 for 4, but useful contributions from Ali Asad (69), Tariq Haroon (41) and wicketkeeper Javed Mansoor (50) helped them recover. Asad and Haroon were involved in an 80-run stand after which the lower order stepped up to add some respectability to the Karachi total.

In a financial year in which many counties have struggled as a result of the downturn in the economy Leicestershire have recorded a small profit of £689 for 2009.

Cricinfo staff06-Feb-2010In a financial year in which many counties have struggled as a result of the downturn in the economy, Leicestershire have recorded a small profit of £689 for 2009. This is the first time the county has recorded a profit since 2003, and heavy financial losses were suffered in 2007 and 2008.”I am expecting difficult trading conditions to continue throughout 2010, with sponsorship and advertising revenue streams in particular continuing to be under pressure,” said Leicestershire chief executive David Smith. “But we are hopeful with three Friday night Twenty20 matches in June and July to see an increase in our corporate hospitality revenue.”Despite the financial difficulties faced, Leicestershire have decided to substantially increase their investment in the cricket playing budget for the 2010 season, recruiting former England bowler Matthew Hoggard as club captain, and Brad Hodge as a second overseas player – to go with fellow Australian Andrew McDonald – for this year’s domestic Twenty20 competition.”Non Test match cricket clubs will face many challenges over the next few years but I believe that after a difficult few seasons, as we move forward, the club has genuine reasons for optimism,” Smith added.