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Fulham are now preparing a move to hijack a permanent deal for an “incredible” Premier League midfielder who Marco Silva already knows well.

Cottagers in good form heading into Chelsea derby

The Cottagers are now up to 11th in the Premier League table, extending their unbeaten run to five games after Harrison Reed fired home a spectacular late equaliser to earn a 2-2 draw against Liverpool last time out.

Silva is likely to feel as though justice was served, with the manager expressing his disbelief that Florian Wirtz’s goal wasn’t disallowed for an offside, saying: “Now, I have more images, different tools. For me, I cannot believe how that goal was allowed, it was a clear offside.

“We are still waiting for feedback from the Premier League. Everyone had the same opinion, it was clear. It’s much more than 5cm in my opinion.”

Although the west Londoners were ultimately unable to secure all three points, the fact they went toe-for-toe with last season’s champions is a very good sign, heading into the derby match against Chelsea tonight.

Performances have been much-improved as of late, but Fulham remain keen on strengthening their squad this month, and they recently made an approach to sign Real Betis midfielder Sergi Altimira.

However, according to a report from TEAMtalk, the Cottagers are also eyeing up a midfielder from much closer to home, with it being revealed they are preparing to pounce to sign Joao Palhinha, who is currently on loan at Tottenham Hotspur from Bayern Munich.

Tottenham have the option to make the midfielder’s stay permanent for £26m, but there is a feeling they could now abort the deal, which could open the door for a return to Craven Cottage.

Should Spurs choose not to snap up the Portuguese maestro, Fulham would consider a move, and if he is able to replicate his previous exploits at the club, he could be a fantastic addition…

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Posts ByCharlie Smith Palhinha could be "incredible" signing for Fulham

Silva knows the central midfielder well, having previously worked together at Craven Cottage, during which time he put in some top-quality performances, particularly impressing with his tackling ability.

The 30-year-old, who has been praised for his “incredible work rate and exceptional tackling”, has continued to catch the eye from a defensive point of view across spells with Bayern and Spurs over the past year, while also displaying a keen eye for goal, when compared to other midfielders.

Joao Palhinha’s key statistics

Average per 90 (past year)

Tackles

4.76 (99th percentile)

Blocks

1.64 (87th percentile)

Aerials won

1.78 (87th percentile)

Non-penalty goals

0.15 (81st percentile)

Assists

0.15 (80th percentile)

As such, it would perhaps be a little unusual if Tottenham chose not to take up the option to sign Palhinha permanently, but their loss could be Fulham’s gain.

Liverpool started 2026 in disappointing fashion as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Leeds United at Anfield in the Premier League on Thursday.

It was a fairly uneventful match, with just one ‘big chance’ between the two teams combined, and one that ended a four-game winning streak for Arne Slot’s side.

FSG already knew that there is work to be done with the squad in the January transfer window before this underwhelming result, though, as the club are reportedly closing in on a big-money addition.

Liverpool set to sign new defender

Liverpool are reportedly closing in on the signing of central defender Joel Ordonez from Club Brugge for a fee of up to £43m to bolster the manager’s options at the heart of the defence.

The Reds did not have a senior centre-back available on the bench against Leeds, with Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni out injured, and it is clearly an area that needs strengthening.

If these latest reports are to be believed, it is an area that FSG are set to strengthen in the coming days, with Ordonez set to come through the door to provide Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate with competition.

It is good to see that the club have moved swiftly to address a key issue in the squad at the start of the transfer window, but there is still work to be done for the recruitment chiefs before the window slams shut.

One Liverpool flop’s performance against Leeds on Thursday showed that FSG still need to spend more money on another signing, even after swooping for Ordonez for £43m.

Why Liverpool need to sign another attacker

The reigning Premier League champions still need to add another attacking option to Slot’s arsenal before the January transfer window slams shut.

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Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

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That is because Florian Wirtz provided yet another reminder that he is not the player who is going to go and make a difference for the Reds in a tight and physical game in the 0-0 draw with Leeds.

The £116m signing started the game on the left flank for Liverpool and looked totally ineffective. One analyst on X stated that the Germany international is “not a final third difference maker”, and should play further back on the pitch in a role akin to the one that Pedri plays for Barcelona.

There is merit to that theory because he ranks highly in statistics that you would expect a deep-lying midfielder to excel in. For example, Wirtz is in the top 4% of attacking midfielders in the Premier League for passes attempted per 90 (55.38) and the top 2% for progressive passes per 90 (7.05), per FBref.

Meanwhile, his blank against Leeds means that the attacking midfielder has only scored one goal, which came against a Wolves team who have three points, and provided one assist in 18 top-flight games since his big-money switch from the Bundesliga.

Vs Leeds

Florian Wirtz

Minutes

66

Shots

4

Goals

0

Big chances created

0

Assists

0

Dribbles completed

0/1

Possession lost

15x

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Wirtz was ineffective at the top end of the pitch for the Reds on Thursday, as he lost possession 15 times without creating any ‘big chances’, and failed to score from any of his four efforts on goal.

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The issue with the £116m signing’s struggles on the left flank is that Slot’s other left winger, Cody Gakpo, has produced one goal and one assist in his last 11 appearances in all competitions for the club, per Sofascore.

Wirtz’s struggles in an attacking position, whilst excelling in statistics associated with a deeper-lying midfielder, suggest that Slot should utilise him further back in midfield, such as the position that Curtis Jones started in against Leeds.

This dismal showing against Leeds should be the final bit of evidence that is needed to make that change in role for the German, which would then mean that FSG need to dip into the market to sign a starting-grade left winger.

Related In the coming days: Liverpool set to seal better move than Semenyo for £43m

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Posts ByDan Emery

With Gakpo struggling badly for form and Wirtz in need of a position change, Liverpool must dip into the market to sign another wide attacker to bolster their squad, even after splashing £43m on Ordonez.

Monty Panesar, England’s forgotten spin bowler, is preparing to speak out about the mental illness that led to his high-profile departures from Sussex and Essex, and says he has not given up hope of an England recall one day.At the age of 33, and with 167 wickets in 50 Tests already to his name, Panesar ought to be in the prime of his international career, not least given the otherwise barren state of English spin bowling, as evidenced by the shortcomings of Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Samit Patel in the recent series against Pakistan.Instead, he is without a county going into the 2016 season, having been released by Essex at the end of last summer. He played just three first-class matches in a miserable 2016 season, including one, against Kent in April in which he did not bowl in either innings.His increasingly erratic behaviour included time-keeping issues, for which he was disciplined by the club, and criticism for his attitude in the field, for which he was at one stage given a dressing-down in front of his team-mates.Panesar’s failure to settle at Essex followed on from his departure from Sussex in 2013 where, in the wake of a bitter and painful divorce from his wife, he hit the headlines on one particularly lurid night out in Brighton by urinating on a bouncer at a nightclub.However, in a bid to battle his way back into the sport, Panesar has been working with a team of four professionals – a performance coach, a hypnotherapist, a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist – and hopes that his recognition of his issues is the first step towards resolving them.”For a long time I was in denial that I had a problem,” Panesar told The Times. “It was in my first session with the hypnotherapist that I began to realise that something was wrong and that I needed help.”The best way to describe it is that I have suffered from feelings of paranoia, and that these feelings were linked to my performances on the field. The worse things went, the lower my confidence went, the more paranoid I became. Things spiralled downhill so that I began to think my team-mates were all against me.”Panesar recounted one occasion in which he stormed out of a gym session after being out-performed by James Foster, the club captain, and some of his younger team-mates.”I remember thinking that they were all out to get me and then when I calmed down I was, like, ‘These guys are my team-mates, why am I thinking like that?'”Panesar’s obsessional nature impacted on his lifestyle on tour as well, where he would often retreat from his team-mates outside of matches.”I’d be in my room a lot, always thinking about cricket and bowling. I found I got on with most players, but I didn’t have any particularly close friends,” he said.”Those that I spent most time with were often tied up with my job: the wicketkeepers I’d work with, my bowling partners.”Panesar’s absence from the sport is particularly poignant given what an integral member of the team he ought to be right now. On the 2012 tour of the UAE, he claimed 14 wickets in two Tests against Pakistan, including five-wicket hauls in consecutive second innings, providing precisely the sort of impact that England’s spinners lacked on their most recent tour last month.”One part of me thought, I should be the one out there bowling 30 or 40 overs a day going for two an over,” he said. “But then another part of me was saying, ‘Come on, Monty, you’ve not helped yourself.'”

Sarwan’s team-mates look on after he injured his shoulder on the boundary edge during the second Test against England at Headingley © Getty Images

Ramnaresh Sarwan is on the verge of recovering from a shoulder injury sustained during the tour to England. Sarwan damaged his right shoulder while attempting to stop a boundary during the 2nd Test at Headingley, after which he returned home.”It’s coming along pretty well. It’s about 90 per cent now,” Sarwan told . “I’ve been doing some weights and a bit of throwing. I’ve been impressed with the way things have been going so far.”Sarwan’s rehabilitation process includes running, cycling, icing and heating. While he has slight pain when he does push-ups, he has been told it would go within a week, paving his way for a return to domestic cricket.”It’s frustrating to get injured on such a frequent basis, but it’s very important that you try and stay mentally strong. You are playing sport and these things do happen. It helps you to become stronger.”Sarwan suffered a small hairline fracture in his right foot during a Test match in Pakistan last year and had to miss the five-match ODI series. He also missed this year’s Carib Beer series after he had injured his hand while batting for Guyana.The Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa will see Sarwan’s return to international cricket. “It would be great if the West Indies Cricket Board – and even if Digicel can take part a bit – to actually have a camp where we can have a couple of games before we go off, probably four or five games.”If we have a ten-day camp or a 15-day camp, it would be good to have a few games to give the guys a feel of what Twenty20 is about.”

Scorecard

Bob Woolmer: ‘Today he [Shoaib] looked trim and slim but he hasn’t bowled for six months’ © Getty Images

Shoaib Akhtar continued to ease his way back towards fitness with 11 promising overs against West Indies A at Shenley. The match was originally scheduled as a two-day game, but was switched to two separate one-day matches. However, following interruptions for rain and bad light it will go down as a limited overs game that ended in a draw.A decision on Shoaib’s fitness will be taken after he has bowled in tomorrow’s second one-day match although he remains more likely to feature in the one-day series than the final Test at The Oval.”It is less necessary to field such players after we have lost the Test series,” Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach said, “but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to win the Oval Test. We want to win the last Test to prove our critics wrong. I don’t think we have done badly, England played better.”Asked if Shoaib could be risked, Woolmer said it was still possible. “If it’s necessary,” he said. “I wonder if it is necessary, just for the sake of winning a Test then why can’t others who are match fit and doing well not do that?”Shoaib had a stress fracture and what he has to do is to play little bit of cricket, and the perfect scenario I see for him is to get fit for the five one day internationals, the ICC Trophy then the home series against the West Indies. That is really the sort of path I want for him.”I don’t want to make this judgement before talking to him. If he bowls 15-20 overs by Sunday then I will ask him because he will be in a better position to tell. Today he looked trim and slim but he hasn’t bowled for six months,”Shoaib started in style by bowling Devon Smith with the fifth ball of the day, but couldn’t add to his tally as Lendl Simmons struck a fine 106 off 122. Simmons and Runako Morton added 86 for the second wicket and both batsmen hooked Shoaib for six. Dwayne Smith then added 116 with Simmons to turn the West Indies innings around from 99 for 4. Samiullah Khan picked up three figures during a lively spell.Richard Kelly then struck with the new ball and Dwayne Smith removed Salman Butt as Pakistan slipped to 51 for 3. However, Imran Farhat enhanced his prospects of a Test recall with an unbeaten 43-ball 62 before the light closed in and the teams agreed to a one-day draw.

Dave Nosworthy has been appointed coach of Canterbury for the next three seasons starting in September.Nosworthy has coached the Northern Titans, one of South Africa’s six first-class sides, for the last five years, but they decided not to extend his contract at the end of the 2004-05 season. In addition, he has coached the national Under-19 and A teams.”Dave comes highly recommended and impressed the interview panel with his thoroughness of preparation. I’m confident he will do an excellent job,” Richard Reid, Canterbury’s CEO, told New Zealand Cricket.Nosworthy, who beat eight other applicants, takes over from Michael Sharpe.

Andy Blignaut and Geoff Marsh (Zimbabwe’s coach) ponder their futures in Harare yesterday© Getty Images

While Malcolm Speed was being given the cold shoulder by the board of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, he did meet with some of the rebel players during his 36 hours in Harare. The talks, described as amicable, remained private, but by the time he left what was clear was that the standoff between the board and the players was no closer to a resolution.The rebels remain unimpressed by last Friday’s statement from the ZCU giving them another 21 days to return to work, seeing it as little more than a face-saving exercise brought about by fears that the board had acted illegally by dismissing them in the first place.If anything, the players’ attitude has hardened. They still insist that Heath Streak should be reinstated as captain, the board is equally adamant that Tatenda Taibu, his successor, is there to stay. Asked whether they would be prepared to compromise, Grant Flower, the spokesman for the players said: “I’m not. Our captain [Streak] might be, but I think he’d be on his own.”Flower added that he feared that he, and most of the other rebels, had played their last matches for Zimbabwe. And he admitted to having grave concerns for the game’s future there. “With more experience the young guys in the team will become better players, but that will take a long while,” he said. “But I don’t know if there are enough good players in this country to keep the system going to be honest.”Although they are continuing to train, many of the rebels appear to have accepted that their careers in Zimbabwe are over and are looking for employment abroad. Sean Ervine left last week – ironically bumping into the Australian side in transit at Johannesburg airport – and is pondering playing for Western Australia. Streak has been linked with Tasmania, although he is unlikely to do anything until all hope of a deal with the board has disappeared. Others are considering offers to play club cricket.As for Taibu, he remains at the centre of the dispute but very much distanced from it. He has got on with the job of captaining the decimated Zimbabwe side, and has led by example and with great dignity. But while he is good enough to play international cricket, he is leading a team which clearly isn’t.”Obviously it has been tough, but I’m very lucky to have a bunch of young guys who are willing to represent their country,” he said. Asked whether he thought the Tests should go ahead, he said that was a decision for the ICC. But he added: “It’s disturbing … it would be disappointing for me because the Australians are the world champions and my boys need to play them to improve.”

Below you will find a full list of possible outcomes from the final matches in Group A of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 with details of the final standings in each case:

Ind beat PakAus beat EngPak beat Zim1. Aus 24, 2. Ind 20, 3. Eng or Pak or Zim 12, decided by net run-rate.Ind beat PakAus beat EngZim beat Pak1. Aus 24, 2 Ind 20, 3. Zim 16.Ind beat PakEng beat AusPak beat Zim1. Aus 20, 2. Ind 20, 3. Eng 16.Ind beat PakEng beat AusZim beat Pak1. Aus 20, 2. Ind 20, 3. Zim 16 (Eng 16 eliminated by loss to Zim)Pak beat IndAus beat EngPak beat Zim1. Aus 24, 2. Pak 16, 3 Ind 16.Pak beat IndAus beat EngZim beat Pak1. Aus 24, 2. Ind 16, 3 Zim 16.Pak beat IndEng beat AusPak beat Zim1. Aus 20, 2. and 3. decided on net run-rate between Eng, Ind, Pak 16.Pak beat IndEng beat AusZim beat Pak1. Aus 20, 2. and 3. decided on net run-rate between Eng, Ind, Zim 16.

Note: no provision has been made for matches that are rained off or tiedAll statistics provided by Andrew Samson

Central Districts’ 52nd annual general meeting will be held in Palmerston North on Sunday, September 2 at 2pm.Nominations for officers of the Association close with the executive director Blair Furlong on August 17 at 5pm.Any notices of motion need to be received by the executive director by 5pm on August 3.On the day of the annual meeting, a meeting of the Central Districts council will be held at 11am.Nominations and notices of motion can be sent to: P.O. Box 309 Napier, Fax: (06) 835 0543, E-mail: [email protected].

Leeds United are reportedly interested in signing Barcelona and USA full-back Sergino Dest this summer, according to journalist James Marshment.

The Lowdown: Dest doing well at Barca

The 21-year-old may not always have been a guaranteed starter for Barca this season but he has still enjoyed plenty of playing time for the La Liga giants.

Dest has started 15 league games in total, chipping in with three assists in that time, and he has been hailed as ‘spectacularly good’ by manager Xavi.

The American is currently contracted with Barca until the summer of 2025 but that hasn’t stopped interest emerging from Leeds.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Leeds keen on move

Taking to Twitter, TEAMtalk editor Marshment claims that Dest is seen as Victor Orta’s second American transfer target this summer, along with Brenden Aaronson:

“TEAMtalk understands that Leeds are pushing forward with plans for the summer window and, subject to Prem survival, remain actively in pursuit of Brenden Aaronson.

“He’s not the only American on their radar either, with sources informing us that Sergino Dest is also a target.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-40/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Hugely exciting option

Dest would be a superb signing if Jesse Marsch manages to pull it off, with the youngster someone who could come in as both a current and long-term key man.

He already has 48 La Liga appearances to his name, meaning he has proven himself in a top European League, and he will be a key figure for the USA at the World Cup later this year.

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Dest could be seen as an eventual replacement for Luke Ayling, who turns 31 later this year and hasn’t always been at his best this season, despite his winner at Wolves. They could compete for the right-back spot, with the former eventually becoming the undisputed first choice.

In other news, a journalist has dropped a key Leeds update regarding one player. Find out who it is here.