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Leeds United have agreed on personal terms with 17-year-old Espanyol attacker Mateo Joseph, according to reports in Spain.

The Lowdown: Starlet from Spain

The teenage sensation’s contract is ending at Espanyol at the end of the season and numerous clubs have made their move to lure him away from the Catalan side, including rivals Barcelona and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

Yet to make an appearance for the Espanyol first team, Joseph has been described as ‘one of the pearls’ of the Espanyol youth set up and could now be set for a move to the Premier League, as it seems Victor Orta is making use of connections in his homeland.

The Latest: Personal terms agreed

According to Diego Balbontin (via @leedsutdacademy) on Twitter, United have agreed on personal terms with the attacker, but are yet to agree a fee with Espanyol regarding a transfer fee.

Joseph has a £1.2million release clause inserted in his contract and Leeds have fallen short with their attempts so far, with their latest offer of roughly £425k missing the mark by about £775k.

The English-born talent was on Manchester City’s radar following the departure of Sergio Aguero in the summer, but Leeds look set to lock up a deal if Orta ups his offer.

The Verdict: Good signing?

Leeds’ progression and fine track record of recruiting young players and either selling them on or nurturing them into first-team players look set to continue with this signing.

However, with Patrick Bamford leading the Leeds frontline now, Bielsa has Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood already at the club and we are still waiting for their chance in the first team.

Learning from a striker like Bamford, who has experienced a tricky rise to where he is now, will provide Joseph with a good starting step in English football, but don’t expect to see him in and around the senior squad any time soon, with a path through the under-23 set-up most likely.

In other news, this Leeds United youngster has received backing to appear for the first team. Find out more here.

The IPL assumes significance to different parties in different ways, but for India’s selectors it has provided a happy headache or three

Sidharth Monga03-May-2009The IPL assumes relevance in different ways to different parties but for India’s selectors it has provided a happy headache or three. Barely two weeks after the IPL finishes in South Africa on May 24, Indian players from the various teams will come together to defend the World Twenty20 crown. The deadline for announcing squads is May 5, so in all probability the composition of the squad going to England will be revealed tomorrow.The Twenty20 squad of 16 that went to New Zealand had a solid and settled look to it, the 2-0 loss notwithstanding. The IPL, though, has brought two more names in the fray: RP Singh and Abhishek Nayar, though the Mumbai Indians allrounder is only an outside chance.The selectors had one preliminary meeting in Cape Town on April 24, in the presence of N Srinivasan, the board secretary. Whether they will need to meet once again is uncertain.RP, back to the scene of India’s World Twenty20 triumph, has discovered close to the same form that took him to No. 3 on the wicket-takers’ list then. Two years later he has donned the purple cap for the longest period in the IPL, and is currently the second-highest wicket-taker. But his way back is not that simple: none of the three pace bowlers he can replace – Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are beyond this debate – has done badly so far.Irfan Pathan has provided Kings XI Punjab with early breakthroughs regularly and backed that with quick and important runs. Munaf Patel has had just two really ordinary games, one when Sourav Ganguly got stuck into him and then against Deccan Chargers, but has come back well to top the wickets for Rajasthan Royals. An economy-rate of 7.35 is not that bad. Praveen Kumar is Royal Challengers Bangalore’s second highest wicket-taker. He’s given away runs at 7.34 and showed his mental strength in the last over against Punjab when 12 were needed to win, taking two wickets. It will make for an interesting exclusion if RP does find his way back.The only other close call for this squad is that India took 16 players to New Zealand, and here must name 15. The two most disposable members of those 16 are Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja. Karthik, though, has made a strong case for himself with 127 runs at an average of 25.41 and a strike-rate of 140 in the IPL’s second season.Nayar has been sent up the order twice, to No’s 4 and 5, without much success but what really stood out was his 14-ball 35 against Chennai Super Kings, from his more regular No. 6 spot, that turned the inaugural game of the season Mumbai’s way. Jadeja has done nothing to lose his place, and the verdict here is more likely to go with the incumbent. The choice between the three might come down to their part-time skill: do the selectors want their 15th man to be a part-time wicketkeeper, a part-time medium-pacer, or a part-time spinner? Karthik’s assured batting in the IPL, and his being a wicket keeper, might just be the clincher for him.Piyush Chawla, out of the Indian scheme of things for quite a while now, has done his best in the IPL, but his charge has been thwarted by Pragyan Ojha, who has done even better. The experience of Harbhajan Singh, and also the good form he has run into, cannot simply be dispensed.None of Ajit Agarkar, Robin Uthappa, Joginder Sharma, Sreeesanth or Chawla is likely to be there to defend the trophy they won two years ago. But vis-à-vis India’s last international Twenty20 squad, expect 13 to be there.Squad: (probable) MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Dinesh Karthik/Ravindra Jadeja/Abhishek Nayar, and three out of Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar and RP Singh.

New Zealand are likely to pull out of the rescheduled tour of Zimbabwe following the collapse of public health system in the African nation

Cricinfo staff27-Dec-2009New Zealand are likely to pull out of their rescheduled tour of Zimbabwe following the collapse of public health system in the African nation. Major Western governments have advised against non-essential travel to Zimbabwe, and the foreign ministries of Australia, New Zealand and the UK have warned that public hospitals there were experiencing shortages of staff, water, power, medicines and equipment.New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Justin Vaughan and the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association boss Heath Mills expressed their concerns about the proposed trip, which has already been delayed once.”The pragmatist in me suggests that there’s still another two years to go in the current international playing programme and we could look to postpone again,” Vaughan told the . “Medical facilities are a concern. You can go to countries and protect yourself against infectious diseases and the like as long as you’ve got a decent standard of hygiene and healthcare services available to you.”We’re not in possession of all the facts quite yet, but it appears that [health] could be quite a significant concern. Certainly, NZC is non-negotiable on the matter of putting our team at risk at any time.”Mills said he feared for player safety if the medical situation didn’t improve in Zimbabwe. “I’d be very concerned about them going in the existing circumstances,” he said. “I fail to see how you can put the team into a country which is effectively third world, and when there’s so little confidence in the health infrastructure.”We need to be confident our players can get the appropriate standard of medical care. If you can’t get those assurances, I’d be very uncomfortable about the team going.”New Zealand postponed the tour – originally scheduled to be held in July this year – for a year after a decision was made in February with the New Zealand government vetoing the trip on political grounds, a decision which protected NZC from being fined for breaching a touring contract.Under the ICC rules, a team may only withdraw from a sanctioned tour for health and safety reasons, but is immune from penalty if prevented from touring by a government order.Despite Zimbabwe’s shaky political situation, Murray McCully, a spokesman for the foreign minister said no decision had yet been made about the tour. “We’re keeping a watching brief on the situation in Zimbabwe as things are still relatively fluid, politically and security-wise, and the situation could easily change significantly before the tour is scheduled to begin.”Vaughan said a government decree against touring Zimbabwe would make things easier but such decisions couldn’t be made lightly. “They [the New Zealand government] stepped in to cause the postponement of this year’s visit … so we pushed the tour forward 12 months,” Vaughan said. “And that’s what we might do again.”

This season is going to be all about progression for Everton and Rafa Benitez.

The Toffees ended a dismal 2020/21 campaign in tenth place and then saw Carlo Ancelotti walk through the Goodison Park exit door.

Therefore, you sense that Everton now need to find a bit of stability after a pretty quiet transfer window.

The Merseyside outfit spent just £1.7m in the market and have barely strengthened their starting XI.

However, Demarai Gray looks an instant hit after scoring two goals already since moving from Germany.

Another area Everton struggled in was selling players. They accepted a loan move for Moise Kean but fringe players like Cenk Tosun, Tom Davies and Jonjoe Kenny are all still at Goodison Park.

Tosun spent a period of last season on loan at Besiktas but ruptured his patella in what was another dismal campaign for the Turkish forward.

It would be a surprise if he gets much football this season either, especially with Dominic Calvert-Lewin such a big threat and in the goals immediately during 2021/22.

On the topic of Everton’s star striker, it’s a player who’s been compared to the England international that should be unleashed instead of Tosun.

That happens to be 20-year-old Ellis Simms, a man who helped Blackpool to promotion from League One last season.

In what was his first consistent taste of senior football, the striker found the net on ten occasions in 24 outings.

It was excellent form as he consequently earned praise from former Toffees goalkeeper Nigel Martyn. He commented: “Ellis Simms, centre forward. Natural goalscorer, still learning his craft, but he doesn’t snatch at chances. As happy scoring in the 90th minute, when you could snatch at it, for one so young – he’s a pretty cool finisher.

Martyn added: “He has all the attributes, he’s 6 foot 1, he’s got the attributes of a Calvert-Lewin, for instance.”

Simms has scored goals right throughout his youth career, rattling the back of the net on a regular basis.

He bagged 41 in 44 for the club’s U18 side before notching 17 in 36 for the U23s. The youngster began to replicate that with Blackpool but obviously, the Premier League is a colossal step up.

Though, with Tosun’s career fading in Merseyside, Simms is surely more deserving of some match action.

AND in other news, Everton can combat Coleman blow by signing “uncoachable” 28 y/o who won’t cost a penny…

Many Sunderland fans are far from happy with the club’s online ticketing system as they aim to secure seats for their match against MK Dons this coming weekend.

The Black Cats’ campaign is already underway and they started in the best possible manner as they picked up all three points thanks to a 2-1 victory over Wigan on the opening day of the league season. Tonight they play Port Vale in the first round of the Carabao Cup before traveling to Milton Keynes this weekend for their next League One fixture.

With stadia now allowed to be full across England, Sunderland fans have the chance to travel down south for the match. However, judging by social media reaction, many supporters appear to be experiencing issues buying tickets as the interest in attending is naturally high.

The club announced the sale of tickets for the clash on Twitter, and that attracted plenty of attention from disgruntled supporters who encountered problems with the “pathetic” ticketing system. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the ticketing problems

“How the heck ordering 1 ticket do I get the message – Unfortunately, the items you have selected do not have a common delivery method assigned, please purchase them separately??? No hope in getting through to the ticket office either.”

Credit: @mrbowena

“Been trying for 3 hours but keep getting this error despite being a season ticket holder”

Credit: @timmyward

“Been trying to get tickets but the site and the phone lines are a shambles”

Credit: @johno31_safc

“I would love to.. been trying since 12pm and I’m well and truly peeved now”

Credit: @woodybp26

“System is pathetic & not fit for purpose..I have been trying for over 3 hours”

Credit: @justpassing73

“Been trying to all morning like many other people”

Credit: @numberoneskitz

In other news, many Sunderland fans lauded this man’s display against Wigan.

Fast bowler Imran Arif has been cleared to play for Worcestershire for the next two seasons after being granted a British passport

Cricinfo staff06-Mar-2009Fast bowler Imran Arif has been cleared to play for Worcestershire for the next two seasons after being granted a British passport.Pakistan-born Arif, 25, played for the county as an overseas player in 2008 and did enough to be offered a contract, subject to obtaining the passport. Australia allrounder Ashley Noffke is the overseas player this summer.”In the autumn of 2008 Imran took and passed the UK citizenship test and immediately applied for British citizenship,” a spokesman said. “This was confirmed in February which enabled Imran to apply for a British passport. This passport has now arrived and he can now be registered to play for Worcestershire as an English-qualified player.””Imran showed a lot of potential last summer after stepping up at short notice for his first taste of first-class cricket,” Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes said. “If he bowls in 2009 like he did last year, we will be very impressed.”

Glasgow Rangers fans have shared their anger with an article from The Scottish Sun on Grant Adam, who was on the books at Ibrox for two years between 2010 and 2012.

The Gers have had their troubles with the media in recent weeks. Recently, The Daily Record published a report from Mark McGivern, who had uncovered a number of offensive and bigoted tweets from contributors The Heart and Hand podcast, one of the Gers’ official media partners. In return, Rangers fans found tweets in the same vein from the newspaper’s writers in what has descended into a tit-for-tat online war.

It seems the Scottish Sun have now incurred the wrath of the Gers supporters. They tweeted a story about goalkeeper Grant Adam, who could potentially be jailed for allegedly stealing £15,000. Even though he never made an appearance for the Gers, he has been referred to in the post as an ex-Rangers player.

The Gers fans were far from happy with what they saw, and they took to Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say below

“Here we go again, Ex Rangers player”

Credit: @dave_n84

“Another paper bites the dust.”

Credit: @BigJY1976

“Astoundingly bad journalism”

Credit: @Matt_2k8

“Another fine example of MSM reporting and they wonder why journalistic print is dying.”

Credit: @Tomachenko10

“Shows just how much they make from using rangers’ name in headlines for click bait. Should be a back handed compliment that they need to use us to make any money. But you just know that everyone who clicks on it is foaming at the mouth, desperate to see some negativity about us”

Credit: @SteSteStevie

“Grant Adam left Rangers years ago and then has had at least 7 clubs since, he isn’t ” ex-Rangers” as we are not his last club! This is frankly desperate from the Scottish Sun”

Credit: @TheGers5

In other news, this Gers star has refused to commit his future to Ibrox.

As if it wasn’t riddled with gimmicks already, the organisers of the Stanford 20/20 for 20 have announced more for next weekend’s $20 million match

Cricinfo staff27-Oct-2008As if it wasn’t riddled with gimmicks already, the organisers of the Stanford 20/20 for 20 have announced more for next weekend’s $20 million match.The main one is that if the game ends in a tie, then rather than a bowl out, there will be a one-over-a-side winner-takes-all finale. Each team will select two players – one to bowl and one to bat – for what will be called a Super Over. Whichever pair scores the most will win.Other rules for the competition include there being a five-run penalty for dissent, and the third umpire has the ability to over-rule his on-field colleagues. Just as World Series Cricket spawned several innovations that became part of the mainstream, it is likely the ICC will be monitoring the way things go in Antigua.

Valerien Ismael has seen his reign at West Bromwich Albion get off to a fantastic start, with the Frenchman’s Baggies side remaining unbeaten in the Championship despite two tricky fixtures.

Indeed, a 2-2 away draw against an impressive AFC Bournemouth side on the opening day of the season and a 3-2 win over an upwardly mobile Luton Town team have seen Albion pick up four points and score five goals over their opening games of the season.

Meanwhile, Slavisa Jokanovic, the new manager of Wednesday evening’s opponents, Sheffield United, has not been quite as fortunate, with the 53-year-old’s Blades side falling to a 1-0 defeat against Birmingham City in their season opener, as well as having to settle for a 0-0 draw against Swansea City last weekend.

However, United are a much better side than these results would suggest, with Ismael’s team undoubtedly having to be at their best if they are to leave The Hawthorns with all three points on Wednesday.

As such, the 45-year-old Baggies boss must ensure that he gets his team selection spot on, with the Frenchman facing a number of tough calls about who to include in his starting XI.

So, here’s how we think West Brom could line up against Sheffield United, along with the latest team and injury news…

While Robert Snodgrass is unlikely to feature for West Brom having played for the club’s U23 side on Monday evening in a bid to improve his match fitness, Ismael does not appear to have any fresh injury concerns ahead of the Sheffield United clash.

However, we are nevertheless predicting that the 45-year-old will make two changes from the side that defeated Luton Town at the weekend.

The first of which is at left wing-back, where, following a disappointing performance last time out, Conor Townsend drops to the bench, with the £2.52m-rated summer signing Adam Reach taking the 28-year-old’s place.

Secondly, Matt Phillips comes into the side in the place of Grady Diangana, who has so far failed to set the world alight on the right-wing, earning a distinctly average SofaScore match rating of 6.8 in both the Bournemouth and Luton fixtures.

Elsewhere, Dara O’Shea and Matt Clarke keep their places in the starting XI, with Semi Ajayi having to make do with a spot on the bench, while Callum Robinson starts in the number nine role against his former club.

In other news: Ismael drops West Brom injury update on “quality” 6 ft 4 beast, fans will be buzzing

Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ meeting with Arsenal over his future did not go well, Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has told Football FanCast.

Maitland-Niles has made it abundantly clear that he wants to leave Arsenal and has attracted strong interest from Everton at this closing stage of the transfer window.

In fact, according to Sky Sports, Everton made an offer on Monday to take the 24-year-old midfielder, who can also play at right-back, on loan.

Maitland-Niles has held discussions with the club as he tries to force an exit, but Bridge has been informed that those talks did not go to plan.

“He had a meeting yesterday about his future and it didn’t go very well,” the Sky Sports journalist told FFC. “I don’t know what’s going on with Arsenal, I really don’t.”

Maitland-Niles has played just 19 minutes of Premier League football this season, which came in the 5-0 thrashing to Manchester City at the Etihad.

The England international was also loaned out to West Brom last term, so he is clearly a player Mikel Arteta can live without.

From Maitland-Niles’ perspective, it is easy to understand why he is upset and frustrated with his club’s decision. In January, perhaps they may reconsider their stance.