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Nottinghamshire admit they face a fight to keep Alex Hales after two other clubs made approaches for the player.While Hales may appear an unlikely target in some ways – as an England opener in all three formats, his availability for county cricket is limited – such is his ability in white ball cricket, in particular, that he could prove a huge asset in a relaunched T20 competition which might well, sooner or later, become the centrepiece of the domestic season.That has quickened the interest of Essex, for one, a county with sharpened ambition under the cricket chairmanship of Ronnie Irani.Hales is out of contract at Nottinghamshire at the end of the season and, as things stand, the club have not opened contract talks with the player.”We want Alex to stay,” Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, told ESPNcricinfo. “But we haven’t wanted to clog his mind with contract talk when he is trying to earn an England contract. We have had a couple of approaches for him from other clubs but, as an England player, people may wonder how much they are going to see of him.”His game has matured. He has come to terms with practice. His general approach has improved through being around guys like Alastair Cook and Joe Root and he has learned a lot about how to prepare.”It was a brave decision not to play at the start of the year. I admire that. He gave others the chance to perform and Sam Robson and Adam Lyth did that. But apart from England, he has played pretty much non-stop for three years with the Big Bash and Notts and he felt he needed a break. It was a ballsy decision.”With Hales largely unavailable to Nottinghamshire anyway, the club have made moves to find a replacement batsman. As well as confirming they had made an approach for Warwickshire’s Varun Chopra. Essex are interested here, too. Newell also hinted they had interest in the Durham pair of Scott Borthwick and Mark Stoneman.”We have put in a 28-day approach for Chopra,” Newell said. “And we have put in 28-day approaches for the top order batsmen who are available. We’ve made contact with those counties.”Meanwhile, Newell rated Warwickshire as “the best team” in Division One of the Championship and said they had “every chance” of lifting the trophy at the end of the season. Accepting that his side were “on the wrong end of the game” he admitted he had some relief when rain saw the final day abandoned at around lunch time.”Warwickshire have so much experience and they don’t have the same injuries as Yorkshire,” he said. “Rikki Clarke is an outstanding bowler these days and Boyd Rankin is bowling very quickly. And with Trott and Bell available all the time… I think Warwickshire might be the best team.”Newell also said he hoped that Stuart Broad, who is keen to return to the England white ball teams, would be released by England to play in Nottinghamshire’s T20 match against Durham on Friday – and suggested that Jake Ball should also feature.Hales is already confirmed to play in the Championship match that starts at Trent Bridge on Sunday and has expressed his desire to play in both. Imran Tahir, who lands on Friday morning – having flown from the Caribbean – is also expected to play on Friday night.Ball did not reappear on the third day of Nottinghamshire’s Championship game at Edgbaston having carried a heavy workload on the second day. Although he reported a sore elbow, Newell said he would have been fine to bowl had a couple of wickets been required for victory.”He’s been in the 12 for the last three Tests,” Newell, who is also an England selector, said. “There are question marks over Jimmy Anderson so Ball has to have a fine chance of being in the 12 and possibly making his debut.”He surpassed what we even expected from him here. He bowled with exceptional pace; as quick as I’ve seen from him. He’s up to mid to high 80s, I think.”I was a bit concerned before this game as he hadn’t bowled much over the previous few weeks, but he’s done very well. He has a lovely action, he has worked hard in the gym and he feels ever more confident in the England environment. I’m sure he’ll play Test cricket.”With a Test debut at Lord’s highly likely – England look resigned to being without Anderson or Ben Stokes – Ball may well be rested from Nottinghamshire’s next Championship game with an eye to keeping him fresh for his Test debut. They will have Broad, Tahir and Harry Gurney back for that game.”If Jake is going to get a Test call, we want him going into the best shape possible,” Newell said. “We will look at Jake’s workload with the prospect of giving him a rest. He has bowled an awful lot.”

Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount can become a key player under Mauricio Pochettino if both end up crossing paths at Stamford Bridge, journalist Dean Jones has suggested.

What's the latest news involving Mason Mount and Mauricio Pochettino?

As per The Mirror, Chelsea caretaker boss Frank Lampard recently spoke to media over the future of Mount in a press conference, stating when asked if he'd played his last game for the club:

"I don’t know the answer to that, it’s a conversation between Mason and the club, so I don’t know. It’s not final at this point and we’ll have to see because those conversations are ongoing.

"It’s a shame for me personally because I think everyone knows how I feel about working with Mason and I like to think he feels the same about me, and we could have done with him in the games we’ve played already this season. But the bigger picture is something that’s going to become clearer in the next weeks and months, and that will be the club and Mason together having conversations."

The Evening Standard have revealed that the £80k-a-week ace has resumed contract talks with Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly over extending his terms at the club, which are set to run out in the summer of 2024.

The report also states that the Blues have slapped a £70 million price tag on the Portsmouth-born man to ward off interest in his services from Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Manchester United.

Of course, there is a strong possibility that if Mount chooses to stay, he could find himself linking up with ex-Tottenham Hotspur manager Pochettino, who is in 'advanced talks' to permanently succeed Graham Potter at Stamford Bridge, as per BBC Sport.

Writing in his column on GIVEMESPORT, Jones thinks that Mount is a player that would suit Pochettino's tactical methods down to the ground.

Jones suggested to GMS: "Of all the players Poch is set to inherit in the new job, perhaps none seem more likely to thrive under him than 24-year-old Mount. A typical Pochettino Premier League line-up could see Mount play an advanced role in a 4-2-3-1 formation and as the counter-pressing figure in that team his levels from past Chelsea seasons could quickly re-emerge."

How key could Mason Mount become under Mauricio Pochettino's stewardship?

Given that Pochettino does prefer to operate in a high-pressing system, there is real potential that Mount could be used as the linchpin to initiate pressure on opposition backlines in advanced areas of the pitch.

The Argentinian coach operated a similar structure to his side involving Christian Eriksen when he was at Tottenham, despite the Danish midfielder initially struggling to adapt to his role in the side, eventually leading him to become one of Spurs' key men in forcing turnovers during that period and gaining his team possession in dangerous offensive pockets.

In light of his inconsistent form this term, there will also be question marks over how to get Mount back to putting up impressive goal contribution numbers. In 2022/23, the England international has registered just three goals and six assists in 35 appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

Compared to 2021/22, Mount lodged 13 goals and 16 assists in 53 outings, as per the same outlet, showing that there is some work to do in order to get him back to his best at Stamford Bridge.

FBRef show that Mount ranks in the top 1% of midfielders for touches in the attacking penalty area across Europe's top five divisions, managing to complete 3.97 per 90 minutes across the last 365 days at the time of writing, showing that Pochettino would have a lot to work with if he could convince the Cobham graduate to stay in west London beyond the summer.

It'll be an interesting few months ahead as we wait to find out what the future will hold for Mount come the start of next season.

Chelsea have held talks about signing A.C. Milan winger Rafael Leao this summer, according to recent reports from Portugal.

What's the latest Chelsea transfer news?

Having spent £600m on new players since the arrival of owner Todd Boehly, there have been indications that Chelsea will be unable to compete for some of their top targets in the summer transfer window.

The Blues now consider a deal to bring Victor Osimhen to Stamford Bridge "financially impossible", with Napoli set to demand over £100m for the striker, who had been considered a top target for the west London club.

Amid the financial struggles at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal are now in pole position to sign Declan Rice this summer, meaning Boehly will have to consider alternative central-midfield options, and Romeo Lavia is at the top of the shortlist.

Even though Chelsea may not be as active in the upcoming window as they have been previously, A Bola report (via Sport Witness) that they have held talks with Sporting CP officials to discuss the signing of Leao.

Despite the winger playing for A.C. Milan, discussions have taken place with Sporting as there is an ongoing dispute with the player's former club, as they are still owed €20.3m (£18.1m) following the termination of his contract in 2018.

The 23-year-old is in the process of renewing his contract with Milan, but the Blues believe they can sign him by offering to end the financial dispute with Sporting, giving the Portuguese club priority on the list of players they are selling in the summer.

Should Chelsea sign Rafael Leao?

It remains to be seen whether Chelsea can strike a deal with Sporting, however if an agreement to bring the Portugal international to Stamford Bridge this summer is possible, then he should undoubtedly be signed.

Hailed as a "monster" by members of the media, the A.C. Milan star is a fantastic dribbler of the ball, ranking in the 96th percentile for successful take-ons per 90 in the past year, when compared to his positional peers.

With 11 goals and nine assists to his name, no Milan player has weighed in with more goal contributions than the £28k-per-week winger so far this season, recently assisting in both legs of his side's Champions League triumph over Napoli.

Raheem Sterling has failed to reach the heights expected of him in a Chelsea shirt, now without a goal or assist in his last eight Premier League games, while Mykhaylo Mudryk has also flattered to deceive, and Leao could be a real upgrade at left-wing.

Dan Cook has urged Crystal Palace and Steve Parish to not bring back Roy Hodgson.

The Lowdown: Palace still searching for a Vieira replacement

Crystal Palace will have been hoping for a sort of bounce when they sacked Patrick Vieira and put Paddy McCarthy in temporary charge against Arsenal, however, the complete opposite happened as they shipped more than two goals in a game for the first time since the start of January.

Following the shock decision to sack Vieira, reports started to emerge about a sensational return for former manager and now retiree Roy Hodgson, who is said to be open about taking charge until the end of the season.

However, given that Vieira was appointed as this young and forward-thinking coach as well as being allowed to overhaul the squad by losing veteran players and bringing in more youthful talents he could help develop, going back to Hodgson is a bizarre move.

The Latest: Parish must avoid managerial mishap

Following the defeat against Arsenal and talk of Hodgson returning to Palace, Cook has urged Parish to not return to the veteran manager while speaking on the HLTCO podcast.

He said: (3:15) “In this particular instance, I’m going to nail my colours to the mast, I don’t see what bringing Roy Hodgson back to this football club achieves in the short term or the long term.

“I understand that maybe the Patrick Vieira experiment and the dynamic behind the scenes had shifted dramatically post-the decision to relieve Shaun Derry of his duties as one of his coaching staff.

“But, if the upshot of a break in the relationship between the ownership and Patrick Vieira is to get rid of him and bring Roy Hodgson back to the football club, then I just don’t see what purpose it serves, I can’t understand the decision making.”

The Verdict: Hodgson is not the answer for Palace

Bringing in Hodgson could be a panic appointment from Parish and the Palace board, the logic would be sound as he’s been there and done it at Selhurst Park managing to keep the Eagles in the top flight during his previous tenure.

However, given his age and the fact he willingly retired in 2022 should suggest that going back to the Englishman would be a poor decision and only show Palace to be going one way and that’s backwards.

Palace looked to be moving in the right direction by signing young exciting players such as Michael Olise, Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen, but calling a manager out of retirement just for short-term gain would signal that parish may well have lost vision of what he wants the Eagles to be like as a club.

Liverpool now ‘like’ Real Madrid forward Marco Asensio ahead of the upcoming summer window, according to journalist Jacque Talbot.

The Lowdown: Contract offer rejected

The Spaniard is set to become a free agent with his contract due to expire at the end of the season, after rejecting the latest new offer to extend his stay at the Bernabeu.

The Reds were reportedly offered the chance to bring the 27-year-old to the Premier League in August 2022, and despite a deal failing to materialise at the time, it sounds like Jurgen Klopp has his eye on him again.

The Latest: Liverpool ‘like’ Asensio

Taking to Twitter, Talbot revealed that Liverpool are admirers of Asensio, with assistant manager Pep Lijnders especially keen. He wrote:

“Liverpool also like Asensio (I know, I know!) He is a free agent in the summer and would represent a cheap option and something of a replacement for the departing Roberto Firmino. Told Pep Lijnders is a big fan of Spaniard.”

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The Verdict: Potential advantage?

Asensio shares the same agent as Fabinho, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez, so this could potentially gift Liverpool with an advantage should they attempt to secure his services this summer.

The winger has clocked up 84 goal contributions in 266 appearances for Madrid and currently ranks in the 93rd percentile for most shots per game by players in his position.

The Palma native also provides fantastic versatility having played in six different roles throughout his career, which will be an extremely attractive attribute to Klopp.

Asensio has been dubbed a ‘dangerous’ forward by his manager Carlo Ancelotti, making him the perfect candidate to inject some end product into the attacking midfield ranks at Anfield.

Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that the Chelsea board will be “stubborn” and stick with Graham Potter despite growing pressure on the manager.

What’s the latest on Graham Potter and Chelsea?

If Potter was to be sacked after this weekend, nobody would be that shocked. After having taken over from Thomas Tuchel, the Englishman has struggled to impress so far.

Indeed, heading into their clash against Spurs, the Blues sit 10th in the league on 31 points after 23 games. In total, Potter has overseen 17 Premier League games, winning just five.

Under previous management, perhaps that would have been enough to see him sacked. However, owner Todd Boehly has been patient up until now and it seems as though that won’t change any time soon.

Indeed, during the latest edition of Chasing Green Arrows on YouTube, Jones responded to the idea of Potter being sacked soon.

He replied: “It is not happening. You’re going to have to get your head around the fact that Graham Potter is going to be your manager for a while longer unless things get absolutely out of control.

“This board are just not going to budge. They’re going to be stubborn with this and they’re going to stick with him.”

Will Boehly sack Potter at Chelsea?

Going into this weekend’s round of league fixtures, Potter has won just one of his last Southampton was perhaps the most damning of his Chelsea career so far.

Former owner Roman Abramovich may well have taken that defeat as his cue to sack the club’s current boss. After all, in 19 years in charge, the Russian oligarch saw 13 different men hired as the permanent Chelsea manager.

Boehly, however, appears to be more patient – albeit having sacked Tuchel earlier this season – and Jones certainly seems confident with his prediction. Even so, if Potter can’t turn things around soon enough, he will surely be on borrowed time.

It’s certainly a hugely important game for the Englishman this weekend as his side take part in a London derby away at Tottenham Hotspur.

A defeat there really would put Boehly’s patience to the test.

Everton manager Sean Dyche enjoyed the perfect start to his time in the dugout at Goodison Park by defeating league leaders Arsenal 1-0 in the Premier League earlier this month.

The Toffees picked up a huge three points in their battle against relegation from the top flight thanks to James Tarkowski’s goal, and the midfield was crucial to the win.

Idrissa Gueye, Amadou Onana and Abdoulaye Doucoure were superb in the middle of the park as they broke up opposition attacks and used their athleticism to counter and put pressure on the Gunners in their half of the pitch.

Gueye held things together in midfield by winning five duels, making two tackles and one interception, and completing an eye-catching 100% of his attempted passes.

However, Dyche may already be starting to think about possible transfer targets for the summer or beyond, as the 33-year-old Senegal international is heading into the latter stages of his career.

One player who could come in as the long-term successor to the former Paris Saint-Germain colossus is Sunderland youngster Chris Rigg, who has been linked with a move to Goodison Park.

Who is Chris Rigg?

The 15-year-old central midfielder is reportedly a target for Everton, whilst also being eyed by a number of other Premier League clubs, and he made his debut for the Black Cats last month.

Rigg, who does not turn 16 until the summer, has played in three FA Cup matches for Tony Mowbray’s first-team in 2023, despite only playing six times for the Wearsiders’ U21 outfit.

The teenager has “enormous” potential, according to Mowbray, and could be an exceptional addition to Everton’s squad for the future, as the youngster has plenty of years left ahead of him to develop and improve.

Whilst it remains to be seen how much of an impact Rigg can have the in the short-term, as he has only played three first-team matches, the midfielder – who can play in a multitude of roles – is someone who could come in with a view to breaking into Dyche’s squad in a future campaign.

Rigg was hailed as being “like a tiger” by his boss, which indicates that the Championship talent could offer similar defensive qualities to the current Toffees midfielder in terms of pouncing on the opposition to win back possession for his team.

By investing in such a young prospect, who has already shown enough quality at the age of 15 to convince Sunderland to hand him senior game-time, Everton could prevent themselves from needing to splash out big money on a replacement for Gueye further down the line.

Therefore, Dyche could land his eventual heir to the defensive midfielder’s position in the team by swooping ahead of the club’s Premier League rivals to land a deal for Rigg in the summer.

Nottingham Forest have reached an ‘agreement’ to sign Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Keylor Navas, reliable journalist John Percy has reported.

The Lowdown: Strong link Navas links

The Costa Rica legend has been linked with a move to the City Ground numerous times in recent days, having struggled for playing time at PSG this season.

Dean Henderson’s injury has forced Steve Cooper into the transfer market and Navas has emerged as the front-runner to come in between the sticks.

Now, it looks as though Forest will get their man right at the end of the January transfer window.

The Latest: ‘Agreement’ reached over move

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday evening, Percy claimed that an ‘agreement’ has now been reached:

“#nffc now have an agreement with PSG to sign goalkeeper Keylor Navas on loan. Deal in final stages and medical expected to take place in Paris, but obviously the deadline is approaching.”

Not only that but he also confirmed that Lewis O’Brien is departing, as the midfielder undergoes a medical at Blackburn Rovers:

“Lewis O’Brien is having a medical at Blackburn.”

The Verdict: Great signing by Forest

This is a potentially excellent signing by the Reds, with Navas someone who has both a wealth of experience and a winning mentality built up throughout his career.

The 36-year-old won the Champions League three times while at Real Madrid and two Ligue 1 crowns with PSG, as well as being named Costa Rica’s Footballer of the Year back in 2016.

The £198,000-a-week-earning Navas could play a massive role for Forest between now and the end of the season, raising other players’ games around him and proving to be an influential figure.

West Ham have struggled immensely in front of goal so far this season and David Moyes will only make fans angrier in his revelation that the Hammers turned down the chance to sign Manchester City star Julian Alvarez.

Moyes’ side are currently languishing in the relegation places in the Premier League after some woeful recent form, with the likes of Gianluca Scamacca, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio all failing to fire, with just seven league goals between them.

After reaching the Europa League semi-final last season, while also securing Europa Conference League football, the Hammers’ eye-catching summer additions of Nayef Aguerd, Lucas Paqueta and Scamacca seemed to be setting the club on an upwards trajectory.

However, Moyes is now a man under serious pressure as his side continues to struggle in the Premier League and he will undoubtedly be wishing that he had signed Alvarez, especially after his superb performances at the World Cup with Argentina.

The 22-year-old would hit four goals for Lionel Scaloni’s side as they triumphed in Qatar, while he also has seven Manchester City goals to his name since his arrival from River Plate in the summer.

Moyes recently confirmed that he turned down the chance to sign the young forward when speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast.

He said: “Just recently, because we’ve been talking about it, Alvarez who has just played for Argentina in the World Cup. I brought in a new scout who says ‘Look, you should go for Alvarez at River Plate’.

“I watched him and I thought he was a very good technician and done so many good things as a centre-forward. But I thought [he’s] maybe not quite the one we want, we had Michail Antonio who had been doing very well and I thought I don’t know.”

Considering only Wolves have scored fewer goals than the Hammers in the Premier League so far this campaign, it seems clear that the Hammers would have benefitted from a striker of Alvarez’s quality.

Lionel Messi sang his teammate’s praises after his displays at the World Cup, dubbing him “spectacular,” and given his reputation as one of the best to ever do it, there is little doubt that he would have been a success in Moyes’ side.

Therefore, this decision must go down as another Moyes disaster and unless the Scottish manager can turn things around, he may look towards his failure to sign Alvarez as one of many factors behind his potential sacking or a possible relegation.

Celtic are interested in a deal to bring Thiago Santana to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Japanese media outlet Sponichi (via Daily Record), who claim that, with Giorgios Giakoumakis seemingly nearing an exit from Glasgow this month, Ange Postecoglou is ramping up his search for the Greek centre-forward’s replacement in attack, with the 57-year-old thought to have now placed the Shimizu S-Pulse striker on his shortlist.

The report goes on to suggest that, while it had initially appeared as if the Celtic manager was set to bring Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors star Cho Gue-sung to the reigning Premiership champions this month, a move for the South Korea international now appears to be off the table, forcing Postecoglou to turn his focus in the transfer market elsewhere.

Forget Cho

Considering just how impressive Thiago was in Japan last season, it is not difficult to understand why Postecoglou would be interested in a deal to bring the Brazilian striker to Parkhead as an alternative to Cho.

Indeed, over his 27 J League appearances in 2022, the £1.6m-rated talent was in devastating attacking form, scoring 14 goals, registering six assists and creating 10 big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.6 shots, making 1.3 key passes and completing 1.1 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the 29-year-old who journalist Vinicius Moura dubbed “impressive” average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.18, not only ranking the striker as Shimizu S-Pulse’s best performer league but also as the 10th-best player in the top flight of Japenese football as a whole last time out.

For comparison, over Cho’s 31 K-League 1 games last year, the £2.2m-rated forward scored 17 goals, provided five assists and created five big chances for his teammates, as well as took an average of 3.3 shots – 1.5 of which hit the target – made 1.2 key passes and completed 0.5 dribbles per match.

It is true that Thiago is five older than Cho, but considering the Brazilian boasted a better goals-to-game ratio than the Korean last term, in addition to setting up more goals and creating more big chances, it would indeed appear as if the 29-year-old would be an upgrade on the Jeonbuk star. That leads us to believe that Postecoglou must move for the Shimizu striker this month.