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Manchester United have been in hot pursuit of Mason Mount over the last few weeks and now a new update has emerged on their pursuit of the player this summer.

What's the latest on Man United's move for Mason Mount?

According to The Times, the Chelsea midfielder has agreed personal terms to become a Man United player this summer.

As per the report, it is claimed that the Red Devils are closing in on making Mount their first signing of the summer with Erik ten Hag keen to add more creativity into his midfield set up this summer and Chelsea are keen to cash in to ensure they don't lose a huge asset on a free next summer.

Would Mason Mount be a good fit for Man United?

Whilst the most pressing concern for Erik ten Hag will be the centre-forward role this summer, an opportunity to strengthen the quality and attacking perspectives in the centre of the pitch is a chance they cannot afford to pass up on.

Although Man United boast a number of highly-respected talent in midfield it is definitely an area of the squad that is starting to age with Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and Fred all in their 30s at this point and other than Bruno Fernandes, are three of the most experienced first teamers.

As a result, the signing of Mount presents an opportunity for the Dutch coach to continue his rebuild at Old Trafford by injecting not only some youth into the midfield personnel but also maintaining a high level of quality and a winning mentality to match those decorated players who surround him.

The 24-year-old Champions League winner – who has been "unbelievable" in the words of Joe Cole – offers flexibility in his positioning with experience operating in a number of roles over his illustrious career so far, but could be the dream creative outlet that Ten Hag is searching for who can combine with one of his England teammates to make United an unstoppable force.

Marcus Rashford has been one of the standout performers on the red side of Manchester this season – tallying up 30 goals and 11 assists in all competitions with a goal contribution every 104 minutes, an impressive output unmatched by any player in the team as Fernandes came in second scoring less than half (14).

Now, Mount could provide the pacey winger with even more opportunities to convert chances by injecting some consistent creativity into the midfield and breaking the lines of attack to form a dangerous attacking threat.

The Chelsea academy graduate ranks in the top 15% of his positional peers in midfield across the top five European leagues for shot-creating actions, shots on goal, progressive carries, touches and progressive passes received, proving that he could be a key asset in playing that final ball into the box or even taking the goal-scoring opportunities for himself with confidence.

With that being said, it will be interesting to see how Ten Hag will deploy Mount if he joins the Red Devils this summer and whether he can reach the high expectations that will come with his reported £70m price tag next season.

A round-up of the CSA T20 Challenge matches played on November 16, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2016Albie Morkel’s unbeaten 34 off 16 balls helped Titans recover from a top-order wobble to beat Cape Cobras by six wickets in Paarl and post their second successive win in the CSA T20 Challenge.Morkel, who came in to bat No. 6 with Titans needing 52 off the last five overs, smashed six fours in his cameo. He was supported by Farhaan Behardien, who remained unbeaten on 22, as Titans surpassed Cape Cobras’ 141 for 6 with seven balls to spare.Cape Cobras had lost Richard Levi in the second over after Justin Ontong elected to bat. They were driven by an 84-run stand for the second wicket between Cebo Tshiki (47) and Jason Smith (38), before Lungi Ngidi’s double-strike in successive overs hurt the Cobras. That they recovered to post 140 plus after a wobble was because Kieron Pollard made a 19-ball 32.Titans lost Henry Davids, bowled by Dane Paterson, off the first ball of their chase. When Heino Kuhn was caught and bowled by Rory Kleinveldt for 11, Titans had slipped to 22 for 2 in the fourth over. Heinrich Klaasen kept chipping away at the target, making a 39-ball 46, while Qaasim Adams made 17. At 90 for 4, Titans benefited from the presence of two experienced batsmen to steer the side home.Cameron Delport narrowly missed his second T20 century•PSLCameron Delport’s unbeaten 93 and four-wicket haul helped Dolphins record their first win of the competition, against Lions by 49 runs in Durban.Delport and Morne van Wyk, the captain and wicketkeeper, put on 124 for the first wicket in just 13 overs after being asked to bat. Van Wyk made 60 of those in 37 balls, while Delport batted through to finish with five fours and six sixes in his 62-ball knock. Three of those sixes came in one Eddie Leie over, the 16th of the innings, to give Dolphins a final push; they smashed 63 off the last five overs to finish on 193 for 4.Lions started briskly with Dominic Hendricks firing, but found themselves at 55 for 3 in the seventh over. Nicky van den Bergh made 43 in a 52-run stand with Hendricks before their dismissals in the space of six deliveries set Lions back. They were bowled out for 144 in 19.3 overs with Delport, who was introduced in the 12th over, finishing with career-best figures of 4 for 17.”When the luck is going your way, you’ve just got to ride it,” Delport said, after having been dropped three times in his innings. “Morne and I had that important partnership of 100 up front and we know that when we do that, as a team we bat so deep and have so much diversity on our team that we can post a big total.”I love bowling and work hard on it in the nets. I think I’ve got a role to play with the ball, especially in the shorter format and it was nice to be able to contribute this evening.”

Newcastle United have joined Manchester United in their interest for Napoli defender Kim Min-jae, reports Fabrizio Romano.

The 26-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Serie A champions this summer, and the Red Devils are currently the front-runners.

Newcastle have also taken an interest, though, and could try to hijack a move for the defender if the opportunity presents itself.

With the Magpies securing Champions League football next season for the first time in two decades, the club have their work cut out for them this summer as they look to bolster the squad and build on last season's Premier League success and adding Kim would be a great start.

What's the latest Newcastle United transfer news?

After a strong transfer window last summer, it seems Newcastle are aiming to repeat the feat this year, with the club already linked to several major names and some figures heading out of St. James' Park as they prefer for European football.

Chris Wood is the first sale of the summer for Eddie Howe's men, as the forward recently completed his permanent transfer to Nottingham Forest after he spent the last year on loan at the midlands club.

Newcastle have also announced that Ciaran Clark and Matty Longstaff will be let go in the summer, but the club have been linked to some exciting incomings.

Former Manchester City academy graduate, Felix Nmecha is reportedly a target for the Magpies, with the Wolfsburg midfielder seen as a viable option to add to the club's midfield.

While their priority is building for the upcoming season, Newcastle have also had an eye on the future, recently signing 18-year-old winger Yankuba Minteh, before immediately loaning him out to Dutch champions Feyenoord, with the plan being to assess his first-team potential once he returns next summer.

As they continue to strengthen the side, stealing Kim's signature out from under United's nose would be a huge statement of intent.

What has Fabrizio Romano said about Kim Min-jae, Manchester United and Newcastle?

While United are currently the favourites to land the South Korean, reports that they've agreed a deal with Napoli aren't true, reports Romano.

Speaking on his Youtube channel, Romano said: "There are many reports of a done deal with Manchester United coming from Italy. Guys, at the moment, nothing is done. This is not a done deal yet."

Romano also went on to reveal that Newcastle, as well as several other clubs, were interested in Kim, saying: "There is also interest from Newcastle, but also other clubs are interested in Kim, so the race is absolutely open, trust me."

With a release clause of £42m being activated early in July, the Magpies will have to act quickly if they're to beat United to a potential deal.

A round-up of all the CSA T20 Challenge matches on December 11, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2016In a top-of-the-table, rain-affected clash, Titans secured their place in the final with a narrow win over Warriors, who will host Lions in the qualifier. The match was reduced to five overs a side and Titans prevailed thanks to Farhaan Behardien’s 55 not out off 15 balls – including a fifty from 14, the fastest in the competition’s history.Titans lost their openers Jonathan Vandiar and Heino Kuhn in the first seven balls but Behardien stole the show after that. He struck four fours and five sixes in an explosive knock, during which no bowler was spared. Jon-Jon Smuts’ solitary over cost 24, Sisanda Magala’s 27 and Kyle Abbott – playing his first game for his new franchise – was hit for 18. Behardien’s 50 came off 14 balls and he put on 73 runs for the third wicket with Heinrich Klaasen – who scored 17 off nine balls – to take Titans to a competitive five-over total.Warriors appeared up for it in the reply and racked up 19 runs off the first over and 29 off the first ten balls. Smuts was dismissed after that but Colin Ingram and Christiaan Jonker kept up with the rate. Warriors were 53 for 1 after thee overs, needing 28 off the last two.David Wiese conceded no boundaries in his over and dismissed Ingram to leave Warriors needing 22 of the final over. Malusi Siboto conceded just five runs off the first four balls to put the game beyond Warriors and Jonker’s 10 runs off the last two balls were in vain.File photo – Wayne Parnell’s effort went in vain•AFPLions booked their spot in Tuesday’s qualifier with a slender victory over Cobras – bolstered by the return of several international batsmen – on a scorching afternoon in Paarl. Legspinner Eddie Leie’s four wicket haul was crucial in the Lions’ defence of 139.Asked to bat first, Lions started well after openers Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks put on 45 inside six overs. The loss of Hendricks and Dwaine Pretorius in successive overs pegged Lions back, but a 61-run third-wicket stand between van der Dussen, who scored the innings’ only half-century, and Mangaliso Mosehle, set Lions up well at 109 for 3 in the 14th over.But Wayne Parnell and Tshepo Moreki carved their way through Lions’ middle-order and took 6 for 48 between them to leave Lions with a below-par total of 139 for 8. Of the Lions’ last six batsmen to visit the crease, only Temba Bavuma managed double figures.Cobras would have been confident of chasing down the total, especially with Hashim Amla and JP Duminy back in their XI, but they were the first two batsmen to be dismissed – Amla for 15 and Duminy for 3, both falling to Dwaine Pretorius – to leave Cobras needing contributions from their domestic regulars.Richard Levi stood man alone for the first half of the reply and plundered 41 runs off 33 balls but the rest were outspun by Leie and Bjorn Fortuin – they lost their last seven wickets for 47 runs and only Kieron Pollards’ run-a-ball 18 looked like it could do any damage.The win put Lions one point ahead of the Cobras and put them through to the qualifiers, where they will face Warriors on Tuesday, with the winner taking on Titans in Friday’s final.In a fixture that had no bearing on the playoffs, Knights secured their third-win of a disappointing campaign as they finished the season at the bottom. They beat the Dolphins, who won the same number of matches and ended above them by a point.Dolphins’ innings did not get going until the final over, in a game reduced to eight overs a side. They were 38 for 5 after seven overs with all of Cameron Delport, Morne van Wyk, Kevin Pietersen, Robbie Frylinck and Keshav Maharaj dismissed in single figures. Khaya Zondo hit three sixes in four balls off Corne Dry in the last over to give Dolphins something to defend.After two overs, they would have known it was not enough. Knights were 29 for 1 at the end of the second over, with David Miller and Patrick Kruger in no mood to hang around. Imran Tahir bowled a boundary-free third over but the Knights were in control after that and reached the total with two overs to spare.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been one of the clubs interested in signing Championship hitman Viktor Gyokeres this summer, as Julen Lopetegui bids to end his side’s woes in front of goal.

Ending the campaign as the Premier League’s lowest scorers, the Spaniard will face the task of bolstering his attack while adhering to a tight budget, following the revelation of the club’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) concerns.

The latest link to Gyokeres could tick one of those boxes, acting as a talisman in the second division, though the Old Gold would have to strike a compromised deal to remain within budget.

What’s the latest on Viktor Gyokeres to Wolves?

The saga between Wolves and Coventry City striker Gyokeres has been ongoing since the beginning of last month.

Following the news of the club’s financial struggles, the deal took a backseat, though a refreshing update from the Daily Mail earlier this week included Wolves as a club ‘battling’ for the Swedish forward.

It’s reported that the Midlands club are one of the Premier League sides seen as ‘admirers’ of the 25-year-old, who is suggested to have a price tag of £25m.

What could Viktor Gyokeres offer Wolves?

Lauded as “phenomenal” by Coventry City manager Mark Robins (via the Coventry Telegraph), the striker fired the Sky Blues to the promotion play-offs after a dominating personal campaign.

In a total of 46 regular-season Championship appearances, the forward contributed 21 goals and 10 assists, as per FBref, ending the term as the league’s second-highest scorer behind Middlesbrough’s Chuba Akpom.

The 25-year-old could be a revelation for Wolves, having scored just 10 goals fewer than Lopetegui’s entire squad in the Premier League.

While his ability to put the ball in the back of the net is a hireable attribute in itself in the eyes of the Molineux outfit, the strengths of his game as a No 9 could inspire those around him to reach their full potential.

Wolves rotation striker Hwang Hee-chan has shown glimpses of the player he could be when operating in a free-scoring frontline.

Hailed as a player that is capable of doing “everything” by Ian Wright on BBC’s Match of the Day, (as relayed by Molineux News), the forward could unleash his talents by thriving next to a player as tactically aware as Gyokeres.

The Swede’s statistics this season show the calibre of player Wolves could snatch, as well as the ability the 25-year-old has to be potentially influential in unlocking the Korean.

As per Sofascore, the forward averaged 3 total shots and 1.3 shots on target per game in the Championship, as well as making an average of 45 touches of the ball to show his desire to be involved in the play.

The Coventry ace also recorded a team-high average of 1.8 key passes per game, making him an effective creator in an area that could give Hwang room to show his worth.

In signing a competent line-leader, Lopetegui could give the “dangerous” Wolves forward – as described by former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell – a perfect partner in Gyokeres, who has proven himself to be a player with strengths in conducting play in the final third.

West Indies allrounder Carlos Brathwaite will fly back home after playing Sydney Thunder’s next match

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2017Carlos Brathwaite will exit the Big Bash League after defending champions Sydney Thunder’s final league match against the Adelaide Strikers on Wednesday. Brathwaite will return to the Caribbean to represent Barbados in the Regional Super50 domestic one-day tournament.Brathwaite said he will leave Australia on Thursday morning for Barbados, where the hosts will play their first Super50 match against Guyana on January 24. “Unfortunately, I still have to go home on [Thursday] morning to play in the Super50 tournament,” Brathwaite told the Australia.Brathwaite was hired by the Thunder as a replacement for fellow West Indies allrounder Andre Russell, who suffered a combination of hamstring and knee injuries. In the two matches he has played so far in the BBL, Brathwaite has taken five wickets: 2 for 31 against Hobart Hurricanes and 3 for 21 in the Saturday Sydney derby against the Sixers. He batted only against the Hurricanes and scored 6. He had become an instant hit in the tournament with his ‘dab’ celebrations.Currently, the Thunder are placed sixth on the table and a win against the Strikers would keep them in contention for the knockouts.

Rajinder Goel and Padmakar Shivalkar will receive the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, while India’s first Test captain Shantha Rangaswamy will be the inaugural recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Women

Nagraj Gollapudi and Bharath Seervi27-Feb-2017Former left-arm spinners Rajinder Goel and Padmakar Shivalkar will receive the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award this season. Starting this year, the BCCI has also decided to institute the Lifetime Achievement Award for Women with India’s first Test captain Shanta Rangaswamy being the inaugural recipient of the honour. The trio would each get a cash prize of INR 25 lakhs too.The unheralded four

Goel and Shivalkar are two of only four non-Test players, the others being wicketkeeper Bhausaheb Nimbalkar and journalist KN Prabhu, to receive the BCCI’s lifetime achievement award. Here is the full list
1994 – Lala Amarnath
1995 – Mushtaq Ali
1996 – Vijay Hazare
1997 – KN Prabhu
1998 – Polly Umrigar
1999 – Hemu Adhikari
2000 – Subhash Gupte
2001 – MAK Pataudi
2002 – Bhausaheb Nimbalkar
2003 – Chandu Borde
2004 – Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, S Venkatraghavan, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar
2007 – Nari Contractor
2008 – Gundappa Viswanath
2009 – Mohinder Amarnath
2010 – Salim Durani
2011 – Ajit Wadekar
2012 – Sunil Gavaskar
2013 – Kapil Dev
2014 – Dilip Vengsarkar
2015 – Syed Kirmani

The winners were chosen by a three-person jury comprising the pair of Ramachandra Guha and Diana Edulji (both of them sit on the Supreme Court-appointed committee of administrators that presently supervises the BCCI) along with senior journalist N Ram. Former India and Tamil Nadu legspinner VV Kumar and the late Ramakant Desai, former India and Bombay fast bowler, will have been named as recipients of a Special Award for their yeoman services to Indian cricket. This award also carries a cash prize of INR 15 lakhs each.Both Goel, who played for Haryana and Delhi, and Shivalkar, who represented Bombay, never played for India. Still, their legend is well-known in Indian cricket history. In the mid-1960s, when Bishan Singh Bedi was making his mark, the question that was asked was, “is he as good as Goel?” Ironically, one reason Goel never played for India was because Bedi had cemented his position in the Indian team. The closest Goel came to play for India was in the unofficial Test against Ceylon in 1964-65.In 1985, Goel retired aged 43. He had 637 wickets in the Ranji Trophy, a record that stands to date, going past VV Kumar’s tally. He had an incredible 53 five-fors and 17 ten-wicket match hauls. Overall, Goel played 157 matches and got 750 wickets.Another young man who was denied an India berth as his career clashed with that of Bedi was Shivalkar. A product of the famous Shivaji Park Gymkhana, Shivalkar’s accuracy to land the ball repeatedly on the same spot and then spin it viciously made him unique. He made his Ranji debut at 22 and retired when he was 48. During that time, Shivalkar finished with an aggregate of 589 first-class wickets at an average of 19.69 in 124 matches, between the 1961-62 and 1987-88 seasons. Shivalkar’s 361 Ranji wickets came for Bombay, most by any bowler. He had 11 ten-wicket hauls (joint-second).Rubbing shoulders with the greats: Rajinder Goel (left) with MAK Pataudi•Rajinder GoelWhile recognizing their efforts, the awards committee praised Goel and Shivalkar saying: “The two left-arm spinners traumatized the batsmen picking wickets in a heap.”Rangaswamy, who is 63, played 16 Tests for India out of which she led in 12 matches. In her own words, Rangaswamy was a batting allrounder. She shared the new ball and was a hard-hitting, middle-order batsman. There were many other notable firsts attached to her name: she scored the first Test century, hit the first six and led India to their first series victory (against West Indies in 1976). Rangaswamy, who was the chairman of the selectors till 2016, had also won the Arjuna Award in 1976.Rangaswamy was thrilled to receive the BCCI honour, and felt it was a reward to the collective brilliance of the “pioneers” of Indian women’s cricket. “It is more a recognition of the services rendered to the game of Indian women’s cricket by the pioneers, those founding mothers if I can use the word. Because had we done badly in the initial stages the game would have just withered away. We did well. We could rub shoulders with international teams and that ensured the longevity of the game. And that I feel is the single-most significant contribution of all of us. With pride I can say – yes, we did it.”

Before the time of social media, players and pundits didn’t get as many chances to go back and forth. A pundit would express their opinion and a player would have to hit back either through an interview or an awkward in-person interaction.Nowadays, however, pundits have to be careful just who they take aim at because it could result in a back and forth on Twitter late in the evening on a random Tuesday night. At least, this was the case recently for Chris Sutton and Todd Cantwell.

How did Todd Cantwell perform at Rangers last season?

Joining Rangers in January, Cantwell didn’t quite set the world alight last season, scoring just twice in 11 appearances as Rangers lost out on the Scottish Premiership title.

One positive to note, however, is the fact that the midfielder made four assists in those 11 appearances from midfield, which is something to take into the next campaign.

Cantwell will also be looking to get one over on their Old Firm rivals. Last season, with the Gers, he lost to Celtic in the Scottish League Cup, the Scottish FA Cup, as well as in the league with the title on the line – this is not a record that Cantwell will be keen to keep hold of.

Ahead of next season, the former Norwich City man will be hoping to hit top form at Ibrox with Rangers looking to regain their crown in Scotland’s top flight. He has at least bought himself time to settle in by putting Sutton in his place, that’s for sure.

What did Todd Cantwell say to Chris Sutton?

Cantwell’s outburst aimed towards Sutton isn’t a complete surprise, given the BBC pundit’s previous Tweets aimed the way of the midfielder, in which the former forward took a swing at the Rangers man.

Cantwell sure holds grudges, however, as he bided his time before finally taking aim at Sutton, replying to a Tweet about the best pundit in Scotland, saying: “I can you [it] isn’t Chris Sutton.”

Replying to the Tweet, Sutton said: “Here is some balanced factual punditry from last season TikTok you may not enjoy…you joined Rangers on a free from the Championship and lost every meaningful game against Celtic and won nothing.”

Cantwell ended the spat with: “Twitter troll has his notifications on then.”

You can see the entire interaction below:

More than 100 capped international players will be among the 351 players available for bidding at the upcoming IPL 2017 auction in Bangalore on February 20

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Feb-20170:48

Quick Facts: IPL 2017 Auction

A total of 351 players, which includes 122 capped internationals, will feature in the IPL auction, scheduled to be held in Bangalore on February 20. The final roster was pruned from the original list of 799 players, after the eight franchises submitted their wishlists to the IPL.Fast bowler Ishant Sharma is one of the seven players with a maximum base price of INR 2 crore – approximately US $298,000 – for the tenth player auction. The other six include three England players – allrounder Ben Stokes, ODI and T20I captain Eoin Morgan and allrounder Chris Woakes – two Australian fast men Mitchell Johnson and Pat Cummins, and Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews.In the initial list there were 160 capped players from nine countries – none from Pakistan – and 639 uncapped ones. The final list also contained six players from the Associates, including five from Afghanistan: captain Asghar Stanikzai, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Rashid Khan and Dawlat Zadran. Shahzad and Rashid have the highest base prices among the five at INR 50 lakh. UAE batsman Chirag Suri was the other Associate player in the list.Seamer Sudeep Tyagi, who has played four ODIs, is the only one to have been cut from the original list of 24 capped Indian players.Considering they will have to put a majority of their players back into the auction in 2018, some franchise officials said they would not be too aggressive in buying players this season. However, they did agree that there would be considerable interest in the English players.Although the IPL is yet to decide on the retention rules, franchises expect the right-to-match option to be available. This allows a franchise to buy back a specific number of the players they have released for the auction by matching the highest bid those players attract. If they match the bid, they get the player.

With West Brom currently the subject of a takeover bid, expert Dr Daniel Plumley has weighed in with his verdict on the current proceedings to West Brom News and reports that there are no legal issues for the club's supporters to be worried about.

What is the latest on a potential West Brom takeover?

The Baggies are currently led by Lai Guochuan, although his tenure in charge has become the subject of anger from large sections of the club's fanbase. After a recent incident that involved the Championship side not speaking out about the club's finances, it has led to further annoyance from the Hawthorns faithful. They are rightfully unhappy with the leadership of the club and that has led to Action 4 Albion – a fan group – holding meetings over the future of the side.

That future may lie away from Lai. A recent meeting between the group and Mark Miles, one of the board's executives, led to the revelation that they could be open to a potential sale of West Brom. It means that new owners could soon be found, and that could come in the form of Chris Farnell and Mohamed El-Kashashy. The two have joined forces to try and buy a stake in the Baggies, with talks underway, and that initial purchase could eventually see them completely take over the reins at the Hawthorns.

What has Daniel Plumley said about the West Brom takeover?

No official takeover has been completed yet though and the group are yet to buy the stake they want in the Championship side. However, it doesn't appear to be a fault of either Farnell or El-Kashashy, with Daniel Plumley revealing that there is nothing to be worried about in terms of the legal side of proceedings with the new bidders.

Speaking via West Brom News, he stated that whilst there is bound to be a worry over fresh parties coming into the club amongst the fans, there are no "legal issues" to worry about when it comes to the prospective buyers.

Speaking about the potential deal, he said: "It’s almost well is that better than what they have currently? Because what they have currently is an absolute nightmare of a situation with the outstanding loan and the owner, the toxic relationship it has been at times.

"When somebody else steps in, there are perhaps some questions around their history as well, and there will be things there, (but) there are no kind of legal issues behind that."

His comments imply that West Brom supporters have every right to be concerned over potential interest in the side considering the trials and tribulations they've been through. However, it appears that things are looking up when it comes to these new buyers – although for now, no deal has been completed.