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Manchester United are reportedly considering making a sensational move for former Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.

What’s the story?

According to well-known journalist and transfer expert Duncan Castles, the Red Devils are interested in securing the 34-year-old’s services this summer after he became a free agent.

“He’s available and looking for a club. It’s interesting to see what decisions will be taken by clubs,” Castles said on the lastest installment of the Transfer Window Podcast (as relayed by the Manchester Evening News).

“It’s interesting Manchester United – who have talked about their coherent strategy and planning that have gone into their transfers and they’ve been quick to do deals for two important players in positions where they needed players in – are saying, ‘Well, can we do something for Messi?’.

“I’m not surprised PSG are pushing to do it.”

United fans will be absolutely buzzing

Messi departed Barcelona in dramatic fashion over the weekend after it looked certain that he’d stay at Camp Nou after agreeing terms on a new five-year contract back in July.

The new deal would have reportedly seen the six-time Ballon d’Or winner half the £123m a season he is thought to have received in his previous contract.

However, the agreement was dependent on player departures to get Barca’s wage bill under La Liga’s limit, but the club were unable to do so, leaving them with no choice but to allow Messi to depart following his remarkable 21-year association with the Catalan giants.

The Blaugrana president Joan Laporta said on Friday that attempting to retain Messi’s services could have put the club at risk for 50 years.

As a result, Paris Saint-Germain have been heavily linked with a move for arguably the greatest football player to have ever graced the beautiful game, with contract talks said to be progressing between the club and Messi’s representatives.

Nevertheless, the player stated that he had “not agreed anything with anyone” during Sunday’s emotional press conference, meaning United may still have time to hijack any potential move, leaving the club’s supporters absolutely buzzing.

After scoring a quite sensational 672 goals in 778 appearances for Barca, adding a further 305 assists on his way to 35 major trophies, Messi’s time in the Catalan capital is over and after Castles’ comments, United supporters will be hoping his next destination will be the Theatre of Dreams, making their wildest fantasies come true. Having already had the privilege of watching Cristiano Ronaldo play for their club, United fans would be buzzing if they got to see Messi in the famous red shirt, even for just a couple of years.

And, in other news…Murtough must avoid MUFC transfer nightmare over £40.5m-rated gem, Ole would be fuming 

The Evening Standard’s Jack Rosser believes that a loan move with an option to buy for Alphonse Areola would be West Ham’s preferred option this summer.

Areola spent last season in London on loan at Fulham, making 37 appearances in all competitions for the Cottagers and kept ten clean sheets.

The French shot-stopper isn’t the only goalkeeper the Hammers have looked at, as according to ESPN they have been linked with a move for West Bromwich Albion’s Sam Johnstone.

However, Rosser believes that Areola is the preferred choice because he would likely be cheaper, telling TT: “I think a loan for Areola with an option to buy would be the preference, but that one seems to be taking a little bit longer than anyone expected. I think he’d be a fantastic option.”

Areola has an impressive CV that features the likes of Real Madrid, Villarreal and RC Lens on there, and after his parent club PSG concluded a deal for Italian goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma, Areola may find himself short of game time in the French capital if he chooses to stay there beyond the summer.

After an impressive campaign in the Premier League last season, where the Hammers finished sixth, David Moyes will be hoping to strengthen his squad this summer to help West Ham mount another charge on the top four next season.

Trinidad and Tobago will be losing three key players to the Stanford Superstars squad in the Twenty20 for 20 series next month but their manager Colin Borde feels it will give other players a chance to vie for the US$ 400,000 up for grabs for T&T’s match

Cricinfo staff17-Sep-2008
T&T allrounder Kieron Pollard will be playing for the Stanford Superstars in the Stanford Twenty20 for 20 series © The Nation
Trinidad and Tobago will be losing three key players to the Stanford Superstars squad in the 20/20 for 20 series next month but their manager Colin Borde feels it will give other players a chance to vie for the US$ 400,000 up for grabs for T&T’s match against Middlesex, also part of the same series.Kieron Pollard, Dave Mohammed and Rayad Emrit have been picked in the Superstars squad for the tournament, while Dwayne Bravo is ruled out due to injury. “Dwayne is a very dynamic cricketer, he adds a lot to the squad,” Borde told the . “He is a very exciting player and he brings a tremendous amount of enthusiasm into the team and onto the field.”Borde said the squad, which has been training since June 4, will tour Grenada next month before the Stanford tournament. “This will be the beginning of the season for us and, like all competitions, we will be looking for 100% success. We have done a lot of physical work, but we have been hampered by the weather so we are short on match practice.”We have games scheduled for this weekend and next week, weather permitting, and this will give the selectors a chance to get a look at the players and it will give the players a chance to address the selectors. Our preparation will be going right up until the start of the [Stanford Super] series on October 25. We will be prepared, we will give a good account of ourselves and we will be looking for three upsets in the tournament.”T&T won the Stanford 20/20 tournament last season, thereby qualifying for the Super Series.

Bermuda were dismissed for 106, giving Scotland a lead of 176, which they extended to 259 by scoring 83 for 3 in the second innings

Cricinfo staff12-Jul-2008
Scorecard
A strong performance from Scotland’s bowlers helped them gain a substantial first-innings lead on the second day of their Intercontinental Cup match against Bermuda in Hamilton. Bermuda were dismissed for 106, giving Scotland a lead of 176, which they extended to 259 by scoring 83 for 3 in the second innings.Bermuda’s openers – Chris Foggo and Oronde Bascome – provided a steady start by adding 44 for the first wicket, of which Bascome’s contribution was only 6. Medium-pacer Sean Weeraratna triggered the collapse, having Bascome caught by Ross Lyons after which he dismissed both James Celestine and Steven Outerbridge to reduce Bermuda to 64 for 3. Foggo offered resistance but once he fell for 53 the innings folded – the last six wickets fell for 33 runs. Only one other batsman – Jekon Edness, who scored 23 – got into double figures.Dewald Nel, the Scotland medium-pacer, mopped up the tail to finish with figures of 4 for 27 but it was Weeraratna’s 3 for 14 at the top that hurt Bermuda. Lyons provided support by picking up 2 for 15.Scotland slipped to 22 for 3 during their second innings – all the wickets fell to George O’Brien – but the captain Fraser Watts and wicketkeeper Colin Smith steadied the innings with an unbeaten 61-run stand for the fourth wicket. Watts, who had scored 93 in the first innings, made 43 to steer the hosts to 83 for 3.Earlier in the day, Scotland’s first innings had wrapped up for 282 after beginning the day on 240 for 7. Nel struck 22 to help add 20 each for the last two wickets before Dwayne Leverock picked up the final wicket to finish with 6 for 120.

Worcestershire are targetting Nathan Bracken as a replacement for Fidel Edwards, who withdrew himself from the county season because of knee injury sustained in the recent series against Australi

Cricinfo staff26-Jun-2008
If Worcestershire get their way, Nathan Bracken could return to the county for a second stint © Getty Images
Worcestershire are targetting Nathan Bracken as a replacement for Fidel Edwards, who withdrew himself from the county season because of a knee injury sustained in the ongoing series against Australia.Bracken recently returned to the Australian one-day team following knee surgery and Worcestershire are hoping to ink him in after his international commitments in the Caribbean.”Bracken has a gap after the one-day series in the West Indies,” director of cricket Steve Rhodes told the BBC. “There is a window and he is one of the possibilities, but there are others.”Rhodes did not rule out Western Australia’s Steve Magoffin – who has taken 21 wickets in six first-class games this season – extending his contract for a short time before heading home.Bracken, 30, previously played for Worcestershire during the 2006 season and earlier also represented Gloucestershire. He has played 85 one-day internationals and five Tests for Australia.

Speaking to the Daily Record, a well-placed source close to the situation has dropped an update on Cameron Carter-Vickers and his potential exit from Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lowdown: Goodbye?

The USA international has been tipped as one of numerous players to make way this summer as Spurs adopt a sell-to-buy policy.

Tottenham must offload players who are deemed surplus to requirements and bolster key areas of the squad, with reliable reporter Alasdair Gold expecting a big summer of change.

The club recently took up an option to extend Carter-Vickers’ contract by one year so as to not lose him for free, with a well-placed Daily Record source now coming out with a fresh update.

The Latest: Source drops Carter-Vickers update…

Speaking to the Scottish outlet, an unnamed source has revealed Carter-Vickers’ own stance on leaving north London this summer.

It is claimed that the 23-year-old is ‘looking for a new challenge’ and wishes to secure a move away ‘as soon as he can’.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-updates-4/” title=”Spurs latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

“Cameron is looking for a new challenge and a few clubs are interested,” the Daily Record source explained.

“Celtic and Bournemouth are the most serious right now. He’s looking to get something sorted as soon as he can with the season just around the corner.”

The Verdict: Time to go…

Despite showing signs of early promise, with former Spurs fan favourite Jan Vertonghen once calling him an ‘absolute beast’, we believe that the time is right for Carter-Vickers to leave.

Spurs may certainly look to make that happen after extending his deal, with chairman Daniel Levy seemingly refusing to let the American centre-back depart on a free transfer.

While it is claimed Levy values him at £5m, an arguably insignificant sum, you could also say that every penny is needed in these difficult financial circumstances for the club.

In other news: ‘In recent days’…Spurs have now made approach to sign £34.4m-rated ‘genius’, find out more here.

The MCC, the guardians of cricket’s laws, will discuss the legality of the shots played by Kevin Pietersen at the Chester-le-Street ODI when they meet on Tuesday

Cricinfo staff16-Jun-2008
Kevin Pietersen turns improviser to smack Scott Styris for a left-handed six © Getty Images
The MCC, the guardians of cricket’s laws, will discuss the legality of the shots played by Kevin Pietersen during the first ODI against New Zealand at Chester-le-Street when they meet at Lord’s on Tuesday. In the course of his match-winning century, Pietersen twice switched his grip and stance to hit Scott Styris for six, essentially turning from a right to a left-hand batsman, while the bowler was approaching the crease.A meeting to discuss issues such as grip changes and reverse-sweeps had been requested by the ICC last month before yesterday’s events.”The ICC has asked the MCC to look at it and make a recommendation,” the MCC’s Abi Carter told , adding that they had the power to make a recommendation within hours of meeting. An actual change to the laws, however, would need more consultation.”Yes, it is on the agenda but it won’t change overnight,” an MCC spokesman told Cricinfo.Pietersen was clear that he believed the strokes were quite legal. “Reverse-sweeps have been part of the game for however long,” he said. “I am just fortunate that I can hit it a bit further. Everybody wants brand new ideas, new inventions and that’s a new shot. Nobody has seen it before.”There’s new things happening to cricket at the moment and people are criticising all the time,” he said. “There should just be positives about all the stuff that’s happening.”Even Daniel Vettori, New Zealand’s captain, approved. “It’s amazing to see and I think it’s really good for the game that batsmen have the skill to do that. The only thing I would say about it is that if you’re going to bat left-handed then I think to even it up for the bowlers you should have both sides of the wide line. That would bring your skill into play and the wicketkeeper’s skill into play, if a batsman wants to change then it should be fair for both ball and batsmen.”Not everyone at Chester-le-Street was convinced of the merits of the stroke however. The Guardian cricket correspondent, Mike Selvey – himself a former fast bowler – wrote: “Astounding and audacious strokes these may have been but there is something not quite right about their provenance. It poses a number of questions. Should the batsman be obliged to declare if he is playing right- or left-handed? The bowler has to. Vettori and the bowler would have wanted to change his field setting had he known of the reversal. Had Styris fired the ball away to the right of the stumps, would that have constituted a leg-side wide?”And where does the umpire stand with the lbw law in all this?” asked Selvey. “Which is leg stump and which is off? Would a slip, a gully and backward point, say, constitute three men behind on the leg side and so render the delivery a no-ball? Given the early stage at which Pietersen revised his stance, Styris could have stopped his run-up and started again.”

Manchester City fans are far from happy with comments from Kevin de Bruyne following Belgium’s exit from Euro 2020 on Friday.

Belgium had been one of the pre-tournament favourites to win the competition, but they exited at the quarter-final stage after a 2-1 defeat to Italy. De Bruyne picked up an injury in the previous round against Portugal, along with Eden Hazard, and Roberto Martinez said both would be unavailable for the Italy clash (via Football Italia).

However, while Hazard was indeed not included in the squad, De Bruyne started and played the whole 90 minutes. After the match, the midfielder was asked how he managed to play. He responded by saying it was a miracle he was able to play, and that he had torn his ligaments (via 90min.com).

The comments was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it is fair to say they attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the De Bruyne comments below

“you what…”

Credit: @mikepeters123

“Oh great”

Credit: @Arton9320

“What about a responsibility to the people who pay his exorbitant salary?”

Credit: @Cafelover259

“Whaaaatttt”

Credit: @PepisaBlue

“Man City should be upset they’ve allowed him to play with a torn ligament but we’re spineless fc..”

Credit: @mcfc1O

“he shouldn’t have played, that was reckless”

Credit: @M_Muhairi93

In other news, Man City fans were gutted at this man’s exit.

Veteran left-hander Hashan Tillakaratne has been drafted into Sri Lanka’s one-day squad after his unbeaten hundred in the firth innings of the second Test at SuperSport Park.

Charlie Austin18-Nov-2002Veteran left-hander Hashan Tillakaratne has been drafted into Sri Lanka’s one-day squad after his unbeaten hundred in the firth innings of the second Test at SuperSport Park.Tillakaratne has not played one-day cricket since the 1999 World Cup, after which he was axed from international cricket for two years before being recalled to the Test side in August 2001.Since then he has scored four centuries and with the World Cup to be played in Southern Africa early next year, the selectors have decided to give the 35-year-old another chance.Tillakaratne was omitted from the original 16-man squad but his 104 not out persuaded the selectors to make a last-minute change.Full squad:Sanath Jayasuriya (Capt), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Russel Arnold,Mahela Jayawardene, Aravinda de Silva, Jehan Mubarak, Avishka Gunawardene,Hasantha Fernando, Upul Chandana, Thilan Samaraweera, Pulasthi Gunaratne,Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Chamila Gamage Lakshitha, Prabath Nissanka,Hashan Tillakaratne.

With his captaincy and place in the side for the Ashes in doubt after a poor run in the last 11 Tests, Steve Waugh silenced his detractors as he has done so many times before, by letting his bat do the talking

Agha Akbar20-Oct-2002With his captaincy and place in the side for the Ashes in doubt after a poor run in the last 11 Tests, Steve Waugh silenced his detractors as he has done so many times before, by letting his bat do the talking.His unbeaten hundred, by far his best innings of the year, led Australia to a substantial 444. As Pakistan tottered on 163 for six at stumps, an improvement on 100 for six but still adrift of follow-on target by 82 runs, Australia’s second successive clean sweep looked almost inevitable.Steve Waugh may have shown them the way, but the inexperienced Pakistani top order failed to find any inspiration. Lacking in resolve and technique against top quality bowling, there were soft dismissals aplenty and they have effectively handed the match to the Aussies on a platter. Unless something miraculous happens on the third day, the match doesn’t look likely to go into the fourth.Despite the partial recovery from 100 for six with an enterprising stand of 63 for the seventh wicket between Hasan Raza (37, off 77 balls, 7 fours) and Saqlain Mushtaq (27, off 49 balls, 4 fours, 1 six), Pakistan remained in the doldrums. Raza and Saqlain took some spectacular boundaries off the Aussie attack, the latter clouting Warne for six over mid-wicket. If they can negotiate a fresh Glenn McGrath and Warne tomorrow, Pakistan just might avoid the follow-on. But Australia have a way of seizing the initiative early on the day.On a good batting pitch, Pakistan again made a poor start. Taufeeq Umar – having averted a fourth duck in five innings, including a pair in the second Test – was plumb in front to McGrath. Younis Khan, the most experienced of their batsmen, was out to a horrendous shot, chasing the ball outside off-stump, guiding it into Adam Gilchrist’s gloves off McGrath – his 398th wicket. Imran Farhat (29, in 35 balls, 6 fours) played some superb shots before he failed to read Warne’s straight one and was lbw with Pakistan on 50.Andy Bichel trapped Misbah-ul-Haq plumb in front, and Fasial Iqbal was caught by Gilchrist. Rashid Latif lived dangerously, as Damien Martyn missed a difficult chance in the slips, but then he tamely handed Mark Waugh a catch at first slip. At 100 for six Raza, the youngest to have played a Test but only playing in his third match, and Saqlain embarked on their effort at retrieval.Earlier it was Waugh all the way. With wickets tumbling around him, with the exception of the 55-run stand for the sixth wicket with Adam Giclchrist, Waugh held the Australian innings together. He was eventually left high and dry as four wickets fell for 55 after lunch, but he whizzed to his 28th hundred, placing him just one behind Sir Don Bradman’s 29 and fourth best overall, with Sunil Gavaskar (34) and Sachin Tendulkar (30) also ahead of him.Two remarkable deliveries, one swinging out and the next seaming in, from skipper Waqar Younis provided the much needed early breakthroughs for Pakistan, accounting for Ricky Ponting after he had made exactly 150, and Martyn first ball. Gilchrist averted the hat-trick, and there ensued another stand of 50-plus (55 in 104 deliveries).Danish Kaneria induced a faint edge from Gilchrist (34, 53 balls, 3 fours) for Latif to take a good catch. Pakistan picked up three wickets quickly after lunch, before Waugh accelerated. He hit Sami for four through point and gully, before two wickets fell in one Kaneria over. The leggie trapped Warne leg before, and Lee was run out as Waugh attempted a quick single. Andy Bichel trying to heave Kaneria, holed out to Taufeeq Umar.Needing 17 for his hundred with McGrath at the other end, Waugh went after Kaneria. He swept the leg-spinner for two boundaries on either side of the square-leg fielder and then smote two sixes over mid-wicket to go past the three-figure mark in great style, in 191 balls, with 13 fours and two sixes.Waqar then had Glenn McGrath caught at the wicket, Latif’s third catch in addition to a big hand in Lee’s run out, as the Aussie innings folded for 444.