All posts by h716a5.icu

Tillakaratne Dilshan has been appointed Sri Lanka’s captain for all three formats during the upcoming tour of England in May

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2011Tillakaratne Dilshan has been appointed Sri Lanka’s captain for all three formats during the upcoming tour of England in May following Kumar Sangakkara’s resignation from the post after the World Cup. Sri Lanka Cricket have not yet named a vice-captain to fill the role vacated by Mahela Jayawardene because “the prospective candidates are nursing injuries, and their availability for the forthcoming tour is still in question.”Dilshan’s appointment ends the speculation over whether he, or 23-year-old allrounder Angelo Mathews, would be named as Sangakkara’s immediate successor. Mathews is presently fighting to recover from a leg injury which he said could keep him out for eight weeks.In a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo, Sangakkara, who resigned with a view of giving the next captain enough time to build a team before the 2015 World Cup, had backed either player to take over the captaincy. “If they think Angie [Angelo] is too young then Dilshan will do a good job because he has these little touches for success. Anything he does on the field, he has this little knack,” he said. “I don’t know whether he will be the long-term candidate with his age, but if he keeps himself fit he can easily play the next World Cup.”Dilshan, 34, previously led Sri Lanka to a win in a triangular ODI series in Zimbabwe – the third team being India – in May-June 2010, apart from captaining the side in two Twenty20 internationals in 2008 and 2009. Presently with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, Dilshan is coming off a rich vein of form in the World Cup, in which he topped the batting table with 500 runs from nine matches at 62.50.

Virat Kohli, the Indian batsman, has been fined 15% of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his team’s ODI against New Zealand in Dambulla on Wednesday

Cricinfo staff26-Aug-2010Virat Kohli, the Indian batsman, has been fined 15% of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his team’s ODI against New Zealand in Dambulla on Wednesday.Kohli pleaded guilty to a Level 1 offence and accepted the penalty imposed by match referee Alan Hurst after play concluded. He was found to have breached 2.1.3 of the code which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision”.After being given out in the sixth over, Kohli stood his ground and looked at the umpire for a considerable time before eventually leaving the middle. The New Zealand team had finished celebrating and their 12th man had brought the team drinks by the time Kohli had walked past the non-striker on his way to the pavilion.”Accepting umpires’ decisions is part and parcel of playing cricket,” Hurst said, “and on this occasion Virat clearly showed dissent when he had been given out.”Since Kohli pleaded guilty to dissent and accepted the proposed sanction there was no need for a formal hearing. The charge was brought by on-field umpires Asad Rauf and Asoka de Silva, third umpire Kumar Dharmasena and fourth official Gration Liyanage.

Not since 1887 has a side made as little as 72 in their first innings and still gone on to win a Test, so it was no real surprise that history was averted at Edgbaston today

Andrew Miller at Edgbaston09-Aug-2010Not since 1887 has a side made as little as 72 in their first innings and still gone on to win a Test, so it was no real surprise that history was averted at Edgbaston today. That Mohammad Amir got the better of a woefully flat-footed Alastair Cook was hardly a shocker either, but nor was the serenity with which Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott coasted to their target of 118. For all the defiance that Pakistan showed with the bat on Sunday afternoon, their overall standards were too low for too long from them to lay any rightful claim to a miracle.And so for England the run of triumphs extends unabated. Six Test wins out of six is now the tally, which is two shy of their all-time record of eight in a row from May to December 2004, but for Strauss – who made his debut against New Zealand at Lord’s at the very start of that run six years ago – any sense of a gathering momentum remains tempered by the acceptance that all is not quite as rosy as the record-books would suggest.”Any time you win six in a row you are pretty happy with yourselves, but we are still conscious that there are plenty of areas where we need to improve so we are not getting too carried away,” said Strauss. “The first job is to make sure we win the series next week and then push on from there, because this was a timely reminder you do have to work hard for a Test match. If it had been a longer chase it would have been much harder.”The underlying implication from Strauss is that England allowed themselves to coast through the latter stages of this game – and if that is understandable after mugging one’s opponents inside 40 overs of the first day’s play, then their subsequent lapses were concerning nonetheless. At various stages of the game, England lost five wickets for eight runs to give Pakistan their first glimmer of a comeback, before Zulqarnain Haider and his colleagues burrowed so far into their psyche that Stuart Broad’s fit of pique was merely the most visible expression of a wider mood of frustration.England will not allow themselves to look too far beyond the current challenge just yet – certainly not while the series is still live – but if their players can be driven to distraction in an innings in which their opponents still end up making less than 300, it hardly bodes well for what will lie ahead in Australia this winter, when the 50 degree heat of Adelaide will send their temperatures soaring far more readily than a debutant No. 7 and his obdurate tail-end colleagues.”It doesn’t matter how good you are, you don’t have everything your own way all the time,” said Strauss. “That’s always the case. We got a double whammy because the ball didn’t swing and also the wicket died, so there was no real carry or menace with the ball, and that’s always going to be tough for the seamers. We were forced to work very hard for those final wickets, but thankfully we came out the other side.”They emerged with their victory, but Broad came out with a sizeable dent in his wallet after being fined 50% for his “inappropriate” shy at Haider – and it is perhaps somewhat fortunate for him that Pakistan’s captain Salman Butt made less of the issue than might have been the case for previous leaders of tours to England – most notably Inzamam-ul-Haq and Javed Miandad. The ugliness of the incident deserved censure, and given Broad’s tendency for sailing close to the wind, a one-match ban would not have been unwarranted, even though Strauss insisted his player had “matured”.”It didn’t look good and he understood that he overstepped the mark, and he has paid the price for it,” said Strauss. “What I would say is that, generally over the summer, he has been outstanding in terms of the way he has gone about his business, so let us just hope this is a one-off incident. It was an end-of-the-over chuck-the-ball-back when the batsman had gone down the wicket, and I don’t think he meant to hit him. He was just throwing it back to the keeper.”He is maturing and learning from his mistakes, and I am very comfortable in my own head that this will be a one-off situation,” added Strauss. “We have to remind ourselves all the time that there are lines there that you don’t want to overstep, and Stuart received a timely reminder of that. But you want aggressive characters in your dressing room and guys who want to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and have a bit of fight about them, so it’s always that managing of where the lines are, and making sure people don’t overstep those boundaries.”If discipline was one of England’s issues, then batting form was the other major talking point, with Cook taking his summer tally to a troublesome 100 runs in seven innings in another painful performance. Though Strauss inevitably backed his opening partner to come good, and expressed his desire to see him at the other end at The Oval in 10 days’ time, he could not deny that the lack of runs was starting to become a concern.”Opening the batting in Test cricket can be tough at times and when you’re down on confidence it can be exploited more than other areas in the batting line-up,” said Strauss. “Cooky has played some outstanding innings for England in the past, he’s a very valuable member of our side, and I have every confidence he will come back and play some valuable innings in the near future. He’s a top-quality opening bat, and four Tests don’t change that.”Of far greater cheer was the performance of Trott, whose refusal to rush at any stage of the contest enabled him to become the only player to reach fifty in each innings. His mannerisms remain peculiar, but the end result is unequivocal, and his twin performance in this match took his career runs tally to 923 in 11 matches, at the substantial average of 51.27. Another decent showing at The Oval next week, and he could well achieve 1000 runs inside his first year of Test cricket.”The vast majority of the innings I’ve seen him play for England, he’s had that calm unflustered look to him, and it’s immensely reassuring to see your No. 3 batsman not get ruffled or flustered, and not get particularly concerned about how quickly he’s scoring,” said Strauss. “He’s played some really valuable knocks for us in this series in these two Tests, and I’m really happy with the way he’s coming along.”

Tottenham Hotspur could land the next Kevin De Bruyne this month, according to recent reports.

Belgian outlet Voetbal Nieuws claim the north London outfit are one of several teams interested in Club Brugge sensation Charles De Ketelaere, with manager Antonio Conte said to be keen on the 20-year-old attacking midfielder.

However, Premier League rivals Leicester City have now entered the equation, though it is thought that it would cost around €40m (£34m) to secure him this month.

De Ketelaere has enjoyed a breakthrough year at the Jupiler Pro League champions and that has been epitomised by his performance on the international stage too.

It was De Bruyne who supplied the young gem with his first goal for Roberto Martinez’s Red Devils back in October, scoring past Euro 2020 holders Italy.

The two are very similar players in terms of style and potential, and that’s something De Krant van West-Vlaanderen journalist Frans Buyse told BBC Sport earlier this season.

“De Ketelaere’s style is reminiscent of De Bruyne. He is intelligent and possesses great vision and a superb passing range. His dribbling is similar to De Bruyne’s too. Eventually, he should take his place for Belgium,” he said.

Meanwhile, legendary Club Brugge midfielder Gert Verheyen told Het Nieuwsblad (via Goal): “His versatility is a huge asset. He is complete, with a mix of physical and technical qualities.”

Valued at £24.3m by Transfermarkt, the Brugge beast has provided 12 goals and eight assists across the Belgian top-flight and the Champions League, too, where he put in a ‘Man of the Match’ display against Mauricio Pochettino’s Paris Saint-Germain.

‘In the second half, his vision created opportunities for Jack Hendry and Noah Lang that could have easily seen Brugge take all three points. Many would be overawed coming up against three of the best forwards in the world but he and Lang revelled in the shop window such a high profile game provided them with,’ wrote Eurosport.

With Spurs still lacking that creative no.10, one who can not only provide the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son with killer balls but also be a lethal threat inside the penalty box. They have long lacked that presence since Christian Eriksen’s departure.

Sporting director Fabio Paratici would be wise to win the race to sign the coveted Belgian wonderkid this month.  On the above evidence, the Lilywhites could well discover their very own De Bruyne in De Ketelaere.

AND in other news, Levy U-turn: Spurs keen on £18m-rated “monster”, he’d be Conte’s dream January signing…

Newcastle United are reportedly now eyeing up a move for Marco Asensio in the summer.

The Lowdown: Madrid frustration

Asensio has been struggling with a lack of game time at Real Madrid this season, as he has only managed to complete the full 90 minutes in five matches.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/newcastle-news-5/” title=”Newcastle news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

He was limited to just a 2023, his long-term future at the Bernabeu is now under question.

The Latest: Newcastle contact

As per Spanish news outlet Cuatro, the St. James’ Park faithful, as well as Juventus, have ‘already asked’ about Asensio ahead of a potential move this summer, but AC Milan seem to be the favourites for his signature.

The Italian giants are set to join the Tynesiders ‘soon’ in terms of having new owners from the Middle East, and so it looks as if they will face tough competition to land him.

The Verdict: Risky

Given Asensio’s lack of playing time, a big-money move for him this summer does seem risky – his rather remarkable £442million release clause would have to be whittled down exponentially.

Once hailed as ‘world-class’ by former Madrid and Spain international manager Vincente del Bosque and likened to Lionel Messi by Zinedine Zidane, the winger has had an illustrious career already, with two Champions League titles the standout in his trophy cabinet.

Despite his titles with Los Blancos though, Asensio has arguably fallen behind in the shadows of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, with just 71 goal contributions over six seasons, and often shuffled around in a number of different positions across the pitch (Transfermarkt).

At 26 years of age, he still has a lot to offer, but this feels like a signing that would have to pay off straight away for the Magpies to be worth the money.

In other news, find out which ‘special’ Mbappe-like star NUFC could now sign this summer here!

Roelof van der Merwe, the hero of the Titans’ victory in the first leg of the semi-final, starred with the ball in the second, taking five wickets to secure his team’s berth in the MTN40 final

The Bulletin by Firdose Moonda02-Dec-2010
Scorecard
Roelof van der Merwe, the hero of the Titans’ victory in the first leg of the semi-final, starred with the ball in the second, taking five wickets to secure his team’s berth in the MTN40 final with a 11-run victory against regional rivals, the Lions, at the Wanderers. The Lions, at 116 for 1 in the 13th over, were on track to chase 288 but a roller-coaster innings, containing dramatic collapse and nail-biting revival, ended their hopes of reaching the final.Jonathan Vandiar, the Lions opener, appeared as though he had pressed pause on last week’s innings – 130 in the first leg – and play on this week’s. It didn’t seem as though he had put his bat down between the two. Vandiar’s fifty came in a frenetic over in which he hit, in succession, a four, two sixes and another four. Together with Alviro Petersen, he put on a rapid first-wicket partnership of 116 inside 13 overs.The Titans’ needed van der Merwe to halt the Lions. He removed Vandiar and Richard Cameron off successive balls. Four boundary-less overs followed, and then Neil McKenzie, desperate to rotate strike, attempted a quick single. Henry Davids pounced on the ball at extra cover and a direct hit had McKenzie short. Zander de Bruyn got a faint edge off Albie Morkel and van der Merwe claimed his third wicket when Petersen nicked to Heino Kuhn. The Lions lost five wickets for 24 runs.Jean Symes and Thami Tsolekile accumulated quietly for the most part, except for an over from Faf du Plessis, whom they took for 19 runs to put the Lions back on course. van der Merwe returned for a third spell, though, and removed Tsolekile. With him went almost all of the Lions’ chances of a great escape.Symes’ valiant half-century almost stole the win for the Lions and he brought them within 14 runs of the target before van der Merwe had him caught on the rope. With 13 runs needed off the final over, Friedel de Wet attempted a big heave and was caught on the cover boundary, ending the game.During their innings, the Titans had looked set to score over 300 but ended on 287 for 8. Ethan O’Reilly had a forgettable outing that started with an over containing four wides, after which he watched Davids hit three boundaries in his second over. de Wet and Robbie Frylinck reined in the early charge from Davids and Gulam Bodi. Davids mistimed a pull shot to Richard Cameron at mid-on but the allrounder couldn’t get to it.The opening partnership was broken three balls later when Paul Harris took a diving catch at midwicket to dismiss Bodi. Davids wasn’t put off by Bodi’s departure and he and Jacques Rudolph surged on. Rudolph showed aggression, hitting two fours off the first three balls he faced and punishing Werner Coetsee on the leg side. It was up to Harris to break through again, this time with an arm ball which Davids missed.The Titans were hoping for van der Merwe to repeat his Friday night heroics with the bat and sent him in at No. 3, ahead of the in-form du Plessis. The move didn’t pay off, though, and in the 20th over a nervy van der Merwe top edged Harris, who raced to mid-on and attempted to take what should have been Coetsee’s catch. Embarrassingly, both fielders failed to take it. Harris had his man in his next over, when van der Merwe skied the ball to Frylinck at backward square leg.Rudolph’s assault continued with a classy display of dominance against spin and he reached his half-century with a pull off Harris. But during a rare lapse of concentration, Rudolph fed the ball straight to his opposite number, Petersen, at deep extra cover. That sparked a mini collapse as du Plessis and Morkel were also dismissed in the next two overs.The Lions did an impressive damage-control job and conceded only 40 between the 30th and 36th over. Former South Africa under-19 player Mangaliso Mosehle took the Titans closer to the 300 with three monstrous sixes in the final over.

Canada will be the overseas team participating in the inaugural Caribbean Twenty20 tournament between July 22-31 in Barbados and Trinidad, Cricket Canada announced today

Cricinfo staff13-Jun-2010Canada will be the overseas team participating in the inaugural Caribbean Twenty20 tournament between July 22 and 31 in Barbados and Trinidad, Cricket Canada has announced. Apart from Canada, the tournament will include seven regional teams – Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana, Jamaica, Windward Islands, Leeward Islands and Combined Campuses and Colleges.The winner will be the sole representative from the West Indies in the Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa in September. Last year Trinidad and Tobago, the winners of the Stanford 20/20, qualified for the inaugural Champions League in India and finished runners-up.Ravin Moorthy, Cricket Canada’s first vice-president, said the tournament was a great opportunity for supporters to fly down from Canada.”Fans across Canada are anxiously anticipating this event and hundreds are expected to flock to the Caribbean to watch the action,” he said. “The world’s biggest T20 stars, including Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, will be taking the field against Rizwan Cheema and the rest of the Canadian stars. This is a great moment for Canadian cricket and something we should all embrace.”The eight teams will be split into two groups of four, with each team playing three games in the league stage, and the top two teams in each group qualifying for the semi-finals. Barbados will host the first eight games from July 22 to 25, while the next eight will be held in Trinidad from July 28 to 31. August 1 is the reserve day for the final.

Jordan Campbell has dropped an update on Glasgow Rangers’ bid to bring Danilho Doekhi to Ibrox in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

In a recent article for The Athletic, the journalist revealed that, following the pre-contract signing of John Souttar, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side are also in a strong position to secure a deal for the Vitesse Arnhem centre-back this month, with the Gers manager keen to bolster his numbers in the heart of defence prior to the closure of the transfer market.

In his piece, Campbell wrote: “Rangers are also keen on Vitesse captain Danilho Doekhi and are in a strong position to land the Dutch defender.”

Fans will be buzzing

Doekhi has been impressive in the Netherlands this season, and Van Bronckhorst is in rather desperate need of defensive reinforcements ahead of the restart of the Premiership season given the injuries to Filip Helander and Leon Balogun out, as well as the latter and Connor Goldson being out of contract at the end of the current campaign. Therefore, the news that Gers appear to be closing in on a deal for the 23-year-old is sure to have left the Ibrox faithful buzzing.

Indeed, over his 14 Eredivisie appearances this term, the £2.7m-rated Vitesse defender has helped his side to keep three clean sheets and scored one goal, as well as making 1.6 interceptions, two tackles, 3.6 clearances and 39.1 passes per game and winning 65% of his duels.

These returns have seen the £3.4k-per-week centre-back average a SofaScore match rating of 7.01, ranking him as Vitesse’s joint-seventh best performer in the Dutch top flight.

As such, it is clear for all to see that Doekhi would make a fantastic addition to Van Bronckhorst’s current options in the heart of his defence at Ibrox. The prospective arrival of the 23-year-old would undoubtedly provide Rangers’ chances of going on to retain the Premiership title with a considerable boost, an outcome which would delight everyone involved with the club.

In other news: Rangers dealt fresh transfer setback on “crazy” January transfer, Van Bronckhorst will be fuming

Marcus Trescothick led Somerset to a crushing 95-run win in a spicy encounter with Essex at Taunton to book a place in the Clydesdale Bank 40 final next Saturday.

The Bulletin by Sahil Dutta11-Sep-2010
ScorecardMarcus Trescothick treated the Taunton crowd to an array of attacking strokes as he booked his side a Lord’s final•Getty ImagesMarcus Trescothick led Somerset to a crushing 95-run win in a spicy encounter with Essex at Taunton to book his side a place in the Clydesdale Bank 40 final next Saturday at Lord’s.Batting first in front of a passionate and packed home crowd, Trescothick launched the innings with a Man-of-the-Match winning 79 from 62 deliveries and was supported by a muscular 55 from Nick Compton and three bright performances from James Hildreth, Jos Buttler and Arul Suppiah as Somerset’s imposing 312 for 6 proved too much for Essex, despite a brave half-century from captain James Foster.Somerset were clear favourites coming into the game and did not disappoint. While their young and talented line up has challenged for silverware in all three domestic competitions, Essex have been relegated from the First Division of the County Championship and lacked the class to really challenge the home side on the day.The gulf between the sides was all too apparent after David Masters and Tony Palladrino’s first three overs of the day disappeared for 29. The new-ball pair were both trundling in below 80mph and, with the fielding restrictions in place, Trescothick simply helped himself. He unleashed an array of trademark clunking off-drives and displayed some deft class with a couple of fours glided past short third man off the hapless Palladrino.Having raced to 50 from 32 balls he looked set to make plenty more but was undone when a gentle off-cutter from Chris Wright snuck past the outside edge to rattle off stump. The glee on the face of the Essex fielders was surpassed only by their surprise as they hoped to stage a fightback.It proved not to be, however, as from that point on Somerset’s progress was relentless. Hildreth’s prolific season continued with him running Essex ragged in partnership with Compton. He picked off five classy boundaries before spooning Danish Kaneria tamely to cover but the dismissal only heightened the visitor’s pain by bringing Buttler to the crease.Just 20 years old and in his first full season at Somerset, Buttler has saved his most impressive performances for the TV cameras this summer and once again was immediately into his audacious stride. Mirroring his captain’s stillness and clarity at the crease he launched 36 from 21 balls, including a straight six off Ryan ten Doeschate that ended up on the roof of the stand behind the bowler’s head. Somerset looked already to have too many before Arul Suppiah bludgeoned 42 from 23 balls in an innings that included two more enormous sixes off ten Deoschate. The late charge carried Somerset beyond 300 and out of sight.Facing such an imposing total Essex needed a bright start to give them any semblance of hope. Instead they lost Mark Pettini to the first delivery of the innings, chipping a tame leading edge to mid-off off Alfonso Thomas. The innings went from bad to a lot worse in the sixth over as, in the space of two deliveries, Somerset demonstrated the well-honed professionalism that has underlined their whole season.First Trescothick pulled off a blinding, one-handed catch diving to his left at short cover to remove Cook before ten Doeschate was run out next ball, risking a sharp single to Hildreth who swooped low and threw down the stumps in a flash to catch the speedy ten Doeschate short. Essex were reeling three down for 33 and the game looked in danger of slipping away quickly.Grant Flower, in his last appearance for Essex after six seasons at the club tried his best to go out with a bang, smiting five boundaries before becoming the second of three run outs in the innings. Attempting a sharp second to Buttler on the square-leg boundary a rifle throw came in and caught him just short of his ground.A brief revival came in the shape of the bulky Matt Walker and Foster. Suppiah was treated to some of the savage hitting he earlier dished out as Walker thumped a full toss out of the ground over deep square and deposited a length ball miles down the ground as Essex upped the rate. The bowler almost got his own back immediately but the catch Walker offered on the long-on boundary was spilled by Thomas.Thomas then put down another, much tougher chance next ball, diving one-handed to his right at short third man off a top-edged cut from Foster, as the fifth-wicket pair brought up a 50 partnership off 32 deliveries and carried Essex to level par with Somerset by the 20th over. It became third time lucky for Thomas soon after, however, when he snaffled Walker’s powerful sweep off Murali Kartik on the deep square-leg boundary and, tottering at 139 for 5, the game looked up.Foster, though, had other ideas. He thrashed 12 off Kartik in the first over of the batting Powerplay before his adrenalin-fuelled charge was interrupted by a Thomas beamer in the next over. Though the bowler apologised immediately, Foster was furious and ended in up in a bug-eyed exchange with both Thomas and Trescothick.Visibly riding on the drama of the occasion he brought up his fifty, off just 35 balls, by rocketing a drive through cover and when he struck another powerful boundary down the ground off Thomas, Essex might just have dared to dream of pulling off an incredible heist.Instead Thomas had his final revenge as Foster tried one shot too many, trying to clear long-on only to offer Buttler a simple catch on the boundary. Thomas stood triumphant with his arms aloft but he even would concede it was a brilliant innings from Foster. The dismissal signalled the end of Essex’s fight and they crumpled in a heap thereafter.Somerset are still in the Championship title race and as the form side must go into the final at Lord’s against Warwickshire as strong favourites.

Everton have seen a number of their players linked with moves away from Goodison Park following a difficult Premier League campaign this season and now a new update has emerged on a fan favourite.

What’s the latest?

According to Football Insider sources, there has been a development in Everton’s summer transfer plans with recruitment sources at Goodison Park revealing that the club would be willing to accept offers of at least £50m for Richarlison this summer.

The reports claim that Everton are confident they will be able to attract offers over the aforementioned transfer estimation.

Supporters will be fuming

Supporters of the Toffees will surely be infuriated with the news that the club will potentially cash in on one of their best players and prospects this summer, as he has proven he would be integral next season in helping Everton steady the ship if they were to stay in the Premier League.

Richarlison has been a loyal and consistent servant for Everton in the forward line offering up 51 goals and 13 assists in 148 appearances, with some incredibly important strikes, particularly this season. As a result, he’s kept the Toffees’ chances alive to compete for a place in the Premier League during a tough relegation battle.

Recently, the Brazilian forward has made the difference in his team securing four points with a last-minute equaliser against Leicester City two weeks ago, and a winning goal against Chelsea in front of the home fans on Sunday afternoon that has kept the side in contention to make the great escape from the bottom three.

His impact during his time at the club has ultimately attracted interest from other Premier League clubs, with Manchester United reportedly interested in the goal machine, however, the value he adds to Everton’s attacking threat should be priceless to Frank Lampard, and the manager should do all that he can to keep hold of one of his star players next season.

Ultimately, Everton’s future in top-flight football hangs in the balance with the side now two points deep into the relegation zone with just five games to go and the future of many players, including Richarlison, will likely remain undecided until their fate is sealed over the next few weeks.

AND in other news: Bye-bye DCL: Lampard must finally unleash Everton’s 19 y/o “exciting talent”