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Arsenal must beat north London rivals Spurs to the signing of Bologna centre-back Takehiro Tomiyasu this summer.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that Arsenal are in talks to sign Ben White from fellow Premier League side Brighton, but it now appears the club have got their eye on another versatile defender.

According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Mikel Arteta’s Gunners are battling Spurs for the signing of Tomiyasu, and that they are talking to Serie A side Bologna to find an agreement.

A new Koscielny

Just like Koscielny was in his prime, Tomiyasu is as reliable as they come, and doesn’t often let opponents go past him, with his combination of strength, speed and reading of the game.

His current teammate at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, Mitchell Dijks, dubbed him “very strong” and a “true Japanese warrior” at a press conference, via Tuttosport.

In fact, speaking about the defender’s potential, former Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni said: “He is a complete player and Bologna got a real bargain with Tomiyasu. He’s a good player and was compared to Maya Yoshida, who has been playing in Europe for a decade. He’s got the quality to be a real star.”

Able to play at centre-back, right-back, left-back and in holding midfield too, the £18m-rated ace’s versatility marks him out as someone who would be a bargain alternative to White.

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that the Brighton defender has a valuation of around the £50m mark, but when you compare the two, Tomiyasu favours well.

According to FBREF, the 6 ft 2 defender is extremely competent in one on one duels – as per 90 minutes, Tomiyasu tackled 56.7% of players who attempted to dribble past him in Serie A, significantly better than White’s 37.5%.

The Japan international also boasts a far better successful pressure percentage (ie closing down opponents), while he is considerably better on the ball too.

He had a higher successful dribble percentage, made progressive carries, and had a better pass accuracy over both short and long passes – and it’s those stats both on and off the ball that are also eerily reminiscent of Koscielny.

A profile done on the Frenchman by Sky Sports back in 2016 read: “His reading of the game, his anticipation of opponents and his positional awareness are excellent. Koscielny is as accomplished with the ball as he is without it, boasting an average pass completion rate of 91.37 per cent in the Premier League over the last two seasons.”

Tomiyasu has everything in his locker to be a new Koscielny for Arsenal and be a better signing for the Gunners than White.

Meanwhile, Arsenal could sign a new Fabregas in this star…

Tottenham Hotspur hold an interest in Franck Kessie, according to his agent…

What’s the word?

Speaking to Tuttomercatoweb Radio, the 24-year-old’s representative, Massimo Brambati, claimed Spurs were one of two Premier League teams keen on signing the AC Milan midfielder this summer.

He said:

“Today, having a contract expiring in 2022 with an important player, one of Milan’s strongest, is a danger. Here is a basic error by the club. Now [Kessie] is the one who holds the knife by the handle and can decide what is best for him rather than the club.

“I know that in addition to Inter [Milan] there are two Premier League teams interested in him, including Tottenham.”

Fabio Paratici, the newly-appointed sporting director at the North London club, should know about the 44-cap Ivory Coast international more than most, having witnessed his talents whilst at Juventus, so perhaps these reports should come as no surprise.

Shades of Dembele

In Kessie, the Italian supremo could well find Tottenham another Mouse Dembele type figure for the engine room.

Whether the Lilywhites need another central option remains to be seen but the box-to-box powerhouse is certainly a very talented player and one that could present an upgrade to either of Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko, with both their futures seemingly in doubt.

The £36m-rated star emerged as one of Milan’s most reliable players throughout 2020/21 and even begun to add goals to his game, making him a very threatening prospect in midfield – even if much of these came from the spot.

As per WhoScored, Kessie ranked as Stefano Piolo’s fourth-best player (7.15) and ended the season with a whopping 13 goals and four assists. Only Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored more (15) in Serie A.

In terms of other output, the 6-foot dynamo proved to be an intelligent and powerful presence in the heart of midfield, where he averaged 1.4 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 1.2 dribbles per league outing.

It’s no surprise to see that Kessie has been lauded as an “extraordinary player” with “sublime intelligence” in the past, by his former Rossoneri boss Vincenzo Montella.

Pioli has also dubbed him the “complete” midfielder as he gives the Italian giants “physicality, energy, quality, protects the defence and knits the moves going forward too.”

In some ways that can draw comparisons to the monstrous presence of Dembele when he was in a Spurs shirt.

The Belgian beast loved to get on the ball and drive forward but he had a tough nature to him that made him a force to be reckoned with – for example, during the 2016/17 season, he averaged 2.6 dribbles and 2.1 tackles per game in the Premier League.

Kessie is doing that and offering goals, which makes him a mouthwatering target to consider this summer.

By comparison, neither of Sissoko or Winks can match up to these numbers, in any of their top-flight campaigns in North London, so if either is to leave, then Paratici could strike gold with the Milan maestro.

The Italian and subsequently chairman Daniel Levy must look to Kessie for what appears to be an massive midfield upgrade.

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold reveals fresh twist in Nuno Santo pursuit…

England’s injury problems in Australia deepened today as their left-arm spinnerAshley Giles was ruled out for for up to six weeks.

Stephen Lamb & Ralph Dellor19-Nov-2002England’s injury problems on the Ashes tour of Australia deepened today as their left-arm spinner Ashley Giles was ruled out for up to six weeks with a fractured left wrist.Giles was hit by Durham fast bowler Steve Harmison in the nets at the Adelaide Oval while preparing for the second Test starting on Thursday. He continued with his net but was sent for an X-ray later after complaining of soreness."It was the first ball I faced from Harmy and it struck me at the point of the left wrist," said Giles. "At first I thought it was just bruising and kept on batting. But afterwards the pain just got worse and worse. Now I have been told I will be out for anything up to six weeks which is obviously very disappointing."That would mean that he will be unavailable until the fourth Test starting in Melbourne on Boxing Day. It will be a serious blow to the captain, Nasser Hussain, who has always turned to Giles as a means of exerting some control on the opposition batsmen.Giles and Hussain became the targets for much criticism last winter when he employed the negative tactics of bowling from over the wicket into the footmarks outside leg stump in an attempt to keep Sachin Tendulkar quiet. On this tour, however, he had been bowling well and had not been afraid to give the ball more air with a certain amount of success.So far on the tour Giles has taken 17 wickets in all matches at 32.17 each in all matches at under four runs an over. At a time when Australian batsmen in all forms of cricket have been enjoying themselves at the expense of English bowlers, that is a very creditable return. In the first Test in Brisbane he was the most successful of England’s bowlers with six wickets.Giles did not play in the match against Australia A in Hobart, giving a rare outing to off-spinner Richard Dawson who took one for 70 in 16 overs. The Yorkshireman now comes into contention for a place in the Adelaide Test team. Before Hobart, he had bowled only once on tour – in the opening festival match at Lilac Hill – where he failed to take a wicket in his five overs costing 35 runs.Dawson last played in a Test on the tour of India last winter when he made his debut and a favourable impression. It was his temperament as much as his play that marked him out as having a future in Test cricket then, and that will now face a severe examination if he is exposed to the Australian batsmen in Adelaide.

Former Premier League star Carlton Palmer believes that Nuno Espirito Santo would be a good appointment for Everton as they continue their hunt for a new manager, with reports on Tuesday suggesting they are now in talks with other candidates despite the Portuguese being the favourite to take the role.

The Toffees have yet to replace Carlo Ancelotti after his shock departure to rejoin Real Madrid.

There has been a lengthy search for a new boss but they are yet to formalise the appointment of his replacement.

Santo seems to be the frontrunner, per reports, as they look to parachute a new manager into the club ahead of the 2021/22 season.

He decided to leave Wolves at the end of the campaign, having spent a total of four years during his time at Molineux, guiding the club from the Championship into the Premier League.

Palmer believes he has the correct profile to take over at Everton, as he plays an attractive brand of attacking football, and believes he may have left Wolves at the right time, after taking them as far as he could.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “Nuno has done well up until this season but when you’ve brought a side up from the Championship, it takes a long while for that side to become established in the Premier League and I’m assuming that maybe he felt he’d taken them as far as he could take them with the resources that were available to him.

“He’s obviously a very good manager, I like the way he plays, I like that he’s very offensive in his attacking style of play.”

Tottenham legend Graham Roberts has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that his former club should not have sold Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid.

Trippier joined Diego Simeone’s side back in 2019 for £20m and has since gone on to help them become La Liga champions.

Meanwhile, Tottenham have really struggled. Following Trippier’s departure, the north London outfit have finished sixth and seventh place in the Premier League, missing out on Champions League football as a result.

Ultimately, for Roberts, letting the 30-year-old right-back go was a mistake. On the subject, he told FFC:

“I wouldn’t have let him go. He was the best right-back we had. When Kyle Walker went, he took over and was very, very good.

“He’s gone on to Atletico Madrid and won the league there, so we just seem to let our good players go and they go and win the league.”

In hindsight, selling Trippier does look like it was a mistake. The England international has been excellent under Simeone, which clearly has not gone unnoticed.

Last week, speaking after his surprise inclusion at left-back against Croatia, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate claimed Trippier had become a “defensive animal”.

Indeed, in both an England and Atletico shirt, Trippier has undoubtedly proven himself and shown Spurs they have perhaps slipped up.

Somerset Under-19’s two day game against Gloucestershire at Keynsham fell foul of the weather last week, and in the end they had to settle for first innings win

Richard Walsh21-Jul-2002Somerset Under-19’s two day game against Gloucestershire at Keynsham fell foul of the weather last week, and in the end they had to settle for first innings win.Gloucestershire won the toss, and batting first were all out for 285. Tom Webley was the pick of the Somerset bowlers with the impressive figures of 27 overs 5 for 37, but there were also two wickets each for Arul Suppiah and James Hildreth.When Somerset batted they scored 300 for 6, with Webley scoring 108, Suppiah and Chris Gange each making 46 and Simon Green from Weston super Mare chipping in with 44.The Under 19’s are next in action when they travel to Kidderminster to take on Worcestershire in a two day game starting on July 25th.

Some Wolves fans have been left to slam Romain Saiss as a transfer update emerged.

According to journalist and transfers expert Ekrem Konur, Al Hilal are in talks with the Morocco international over a potential move in the summer window.

Saiss did not endure the best of seasons in the Premier League, keeping a mere seven clean sheets in 27 games, while also losing possession of the ball 11.7 times on average per match (Sofascore), as his team finished in a measly 13th place in the table.

At 31 years of age, now may be the best time for the Midlands club to cash in on him, and they can use that money to go out and find a suitable replacement, or invest in another position that perhaps needs more depth.

Wolves fans on Saiss transfer update

These members of the Molineux faithful slammed Saiss as the transfer update was shared on Twitter, with one WWFC supporter even going as far as to claim that he is a ‘liability’:

“Thank goodness. What’s the fee we have to pay to move him on?”

Credit: @dsandford125

“Defensively a liability and not good enough for our ambitions. Many times this season his positioning has been all over the place and consistently poor, a few clearances doesn’t him him great, I’d say get rid and get a proper defender in that’ll help Boly out”

Credit: @GoldenWolves2

“Overrated by many of our fans, happy for him to move on…”

Credit: @jonnyboy8463

“Found his level!”

Credit: @AndyByr72089874

“Please take him”

Credit: @MaybeMikeMendez

“He would of been first on my list to get rid of”

Credit: @Adam11520205

In other news, find out which £21.4m-rated ace Wolves are eyeing as a potential Ruben Neves replacement here!

A brilliant century from opening batsman Akash Chopra (109 off 132 balls) took India A to a convincing five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka A in the deciding fifth one-day match played at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, on Thursday

Staff Reporter06-Jun-2002A brilliant century from opening batsman Akash Chopra (109 off 132 balls) took India A to a convincing five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka A in the deciding fifth one-day match played at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, on Thursday. India A thereby won the five-match series 2-1, after rain had washed out the first two encounters.In the morning, Sri Lanka A elected to bat first but found the going tough against a resilient visiting side. Most of their batsmen got to double figures yet failed to convert those into even a fifty. Only Romesh Kaluwitharana (34 off 43 balls) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (47 off 79 balls) made mentionable contributions.A late flourish from Chamara Silva (29 off 24 balls) and Akalanka Ganegama (16* off 18 balls) however helped Sri Lanka A post 223/8 in 50 overs. Lakshmipathy Balaji and Irfan Pathan Jr picked up two wickets each. Earlier, Sarandeep Singh (7-0-27-1) had applied the screws in the middle overs of the Sri Lanka A innings.Chasing a modest target of 224 in 50 overs, India A were never in trouble and emerged victorious with 2.2 overs to spare. Chopra, a 24-year-old right-handed batsman from Delhi, applied himself to the task admirably, striking eight boundaries while compiling a match-winning hundred.India A lost the wicket of Gautam Gambhir (5), early in their run chase. Skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar (24) and Rohan Gavaskar (16) could not capitalise on their good starts and India A were 98/3 in the 29th over.Chopra then found an ally in Jai P Yadav with whom he added 116 runs for the fourth wicket in just 16.5 overs. The partnership all but took the match away from the home team. Yadav made a whirlwind 55 off just 52 balls, striking three boundaries and a six.Even though India A lost the wickets of Yadav and Chopra with just a few runs needed to seal the win, Parthiv Patel (3*) and Sridharan Sriram (1*) ensured the emphatic victory.

Former Australian player Joanne Broadbent is set to make a comeback forthe Konica Queensland Fire Women’s Cricket team this season.

Queensland Cricket13-Jun-2002Former Australian player Joanne Broadbent is set to make a comeback forthe Konica Queensland Fire Women’s Cricket team this season.The left-hander, the first woman to score a double century in Testcricket during the 1998 Ashes tour, has accepted an invitation to trainwith the Fire squad during the off-season.Originally from South Australia, Broadbent retired from cricket afterthe 2000-2001 Women’s National League season and moved to Queenslandlast year to commence work as a Regional Cricket Manager for QueenslandCricket.The 36-year-old did not play last season, electing to coach the KonicaQueensland Under-19 and Under-17 teams at national championship level.Her coaching stints included leading the Under-17 team to an historictitle win in Perth, the first national championship win by a Queenslandwomen’s team.Broadbent said today she was keen to make a playing comeback as long asshe could continue to meet the demands of her role with QueenslandCricket.”I’ll train with the squad and see how everything looks closer to theseason but it would be exciting to be involved on the playing sideagain," she said.”Queensland have been developing a strong team in the past few seasonsand it would be great to be a part of that," Broadbent said.Broadbent played 43 one-day internationals for Australia, scoring 993runs and taking 38 wickets, and 10 Tests, scoring 437 runs and taking 13wickets.Queensland achieved their best ever representation in Australian squadsin April, with Julia Price, Tricia Brown, Melissa Bulow, Sally Cooper,Belinda Matheson and Cindy Kross named in the 2002-2003 CommonwealthBank AIS Southern Stars squad and Kasee Marxsen, Kerryn Matthews,Kirsten Pike, Jodie Purves, Leteysha Randall and Megan White named inthe AIS Shooting Stars Youth squad.Also named in the Fire squad is ex-NSW player Lisa Floyd who has movedto Brisbane, and Australian Youth allrounder Kelly Klibbe who missedlast season due to shoulder surgery.The Fire will be coached this season by former University and Northsfirst grade pace bowler Richard McInnes who coached the QueenslandCountry team to the National championships in Warrnambool last season.2002-2003 KONICA QUEENSLAND FIRE SQUAD: Joanne Broadbent, Tricia Brown,Reanna Browne, Bronwyn Buckley, Melissa Bulow, Sally Cooper, Lisa Floyd,Kelly Klibbe, Cindy Kross, Renee Lee, Kasee Marxsen, Belinda Matheson,Kerryn Matthews, Angela Murnane, Kirsten Pike, Julia Price, JodiePurves, Leteysha Randall, Megan White.

Contrary to previous reports, Charlton attacker Chuks Aneke has not rejected the club’s offer of a new contract at The Valley.

What’s the talk?

TeamTalk reported earlier this week that Aneke is set to depart Charlton at the end of the month after rejecting their contract renewal offer. The outlet claimed that Reading, Coventry, Queens Park Rangers, Bristol City and Middlesbrough are all interested in signing Aneke, who they claim is going to be a free agent this summer.

However, the South London Press has rebuffed TeamTalk’s claim that Aneke has turned down Charlton’s attempts to tie him down to an extended contract. Aneke has not refused to sign an extension at Charlton and the club’s offer is still on the table for the former Arsenal midfielder.

Aneke’s former manager Steve Davis hailed him as a “powerhouse” during his time with Crewe. David told Crewe’s official website: 

“I thought Chuks was excellent in behind the striker, where he can play those passes. He looked quick and strong for such a big guy and was a real powerhouse for us.”

Charlton fans will be buzzing

Charlton fans will be buzzing that Aneke has not turned down the club’s advances as of yet. Whilst no deal has been agreed with Aneke to stay at Charlton, this update leaves the door wide open for that to happen whereas the TeamTalk report stated that outright that the attacker would be leaving for nothing.

This means that Addicks fans have gone from believing that their top scorer was on his way out of the door to now still thinking their side are in with a chance of him being part of Nigel Adkins’ squad next season.

The £5.4k-per-week dynamo bagged himself 15 goals in League One for Charlton, four more than the second-highest scorer in the squad Conor Washington. Aneke and Washington were the only players able to hit double figures for goals in League One, highlighting Aneke’s importance to Adkins in terms of the goals he provides. The 27-year-old only started 11 games in League One, with a further 27 substitute appearances, and averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.83.

In his 11 starts, Aneke scored six goals, provided one assist, and averaged a superb WhoScored rating of 7.30. For context, Jayden Stockley was the only Charlton player who managed a WhoScored rating of 7.30 or higher over the course of the campaign. This suggests that Aneke was one of Charlton’s top performers when chosen from the start, whilst also providing quality off the bench with nine strikes in 27 substitute displays. Therefore, Charlton fans should be delighted that there is still a possibility of him being at the club come the end of the month.

AND in other news, Nigel Adkins heading for huge error over £7k-p/w flop, Charlton fans will be fuming