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Aston Villa have made contact regarding a potential summer deal to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Hwang Hee-Chan, according to reports.

Who is Hwang Hee-Chan?

Hwang is a South Korean international who permanently arrived in the Premier League from RB Leipzig last summer following a successful loan period at Molineux the season before, as per Transfermarkt, where he’s since clocked up 63 appearances across both spells to date.

The Old Gold forward still has another three years remaining on his contract, but having established himself as Julen Lopetegui’s third best-performing offensive player this campaign, has caught the eye of Unai Emery.

The Midlands outfit comfortably secured their safety in the top-flight weeks ago now, but as a result of experiencing issues with Financial Fair Play, they could be forced to cash in on some of their most prized assets to help balance the books during the upcoming window, the 27-year-old being one of them, which has alerted the manager to his potential availability.

Who is signing Hwang?

According to The Mirror, Aston Vila have “registered an interest” in landing Hwang alongside AS Roma, with Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United also “monitoring” his situation in the Premier League. Wolves are “under pressure” to decrease the size of their squad in the weeks and months ahead with it being stated that some players “will have to be sold”.

Lopetegui is “loathe to lose” the striker, but he wants all of his transfer business to be completed “as quickly as possible”, so NSWE will therefore have to “show their hands” soon should they want to reach an agreement.

Would Hwang be a good signing for Villa?

Aston Villa will know that Hwang only made 12 Premier League starts in 2022/23 due to sustaining a hamstring injury earlier in the term, but he’s still shown what a “dangerous” poacher he can be when fit, as hailed by Sky Sports pundit Kevin Campbell, so he has the potential to be a great addition for Emery.

The World Cup participant, who currently pockets £30k-per-week, posted seven goal contributions (four goals and three assists) across all competitions this season, but he’s also capable of getting stuck in defensively, ranking in the 99th percentile for most tackles and blocks.

Finally, Hwang would add wonderful versatility to the Spaniard’s squad with his ability to operate in five different positions over the grass, including out wide on both flanks and even deeper in the midfield alongside his natural centre-forward role, and he would only develop even further under the guidance of Emery at Villa Park.

فرض سانت جيلواز البلجيكي التعادل الإيجابي على نظيره آينتراخت فرانكفورت الألماني بنتيجة 2/2، في إطار منافسات دوري المؤتمر الأوروبي.

وواجه آينتراخت فرانكفورت فريق سانت جيلواز، وذلك في إطار منافسات دور الـ 32 من مسابقة دوري المؤتمر الأوروبي على ملعب “لوتو بارك” بمدينة بروكسل البلجيكية.

اقرأ ايضاً.. فرانكفورت يطلب 30 مليون يورو.. عملاق انجليزي يدرس التعاقد مع عمر مرموش

في الشوط الأول، وعند الدقيقة 3 افتتح فارس شعيبي أهداف المباراة بتوقيعه على الهدف لصالح اينتراخت فرانكفورت.

ووقع ساسا كالاجدزيك على ثاني أهداف فرانكفورت بحلول الدقيقة 10.

وقلص لاعب سانت جيلواز راسموسين نتيجة المباراة بتسجيله الهدف الأول لأصحاب الأرض عند الدقيقة 31 من عمر الشوط الأول.

في الشوط الثاني، وبحلول الدقيقة 68 أحرز جوستاف نيلسون هدف التعادل والثاني لصالح سانت جيلواز.

وقام دينو توبمولر باستبدال المهاجم المصري، عمر مرموش، عند الدقيقة 80 وقام بالدفع بخدمات إريك إبيمبي.

ولم تشهد الدقائق الأخيرة من المباراة أى فرص محققة للتسجيل من كلا الفريقين. لينتهي اللقاء بالتعادل الإيجابي بهدفين لكل فريق. اهداف مباراة اينتراخت فرانكفورت وسانت جيلواز 2 2 دوري المؤتمر الاوروبي

Northants Steelbacks confounded the sceptics yet again with a third Finals Day appearance in four years as Adam Rossington led them to victory against Middlesex

Vithushan Ehantharajah09-Aug-2016
ScorecardAdam Rossington saw Northants to Finals Day•Getty Images

Northamptonshire Steelbacks sealed the second Finals Day spot with a commanding seven-wicket win over Middlesex. “No one likes us and we don’t care” rang out from a few in the Ken Turner Stand, as they rose to embrace more Twenty20 success.While the sentiment seems a tad forced, there is a feeling in this part of the world that many take delight in shedding light on their faults, while applying the dimmer when success comes their way. For the third time in four years, they will command the Edgbaston spotlight.It was a game that boiled down to how both sides operated outside the Powerplay overs. And even that can be caveated by the fact that the Steelbacks, who were all for chasing before Dawid Malan won the toss and opted to set a target, knew they didn’t have to break sweat.That Northants were led to victory by a measured and unbeaten 67 from Adam Rossington will have stung Middlesex supporters. Rossington used to be theirs: a plunderer of runs in the Middlesex second team while the first XI stuttered, hammering away at a door that, ultimately, never fully opened for him.Opportunities came with the white ball, but Middlesex’s ambivalence to limited overs cricket at the time, coupled with John Simpson’s desire to play all forms, meant he was beginning to exist in a void. The cheers of six-and-a-half thousand filled every bit of air above Wantage Road when he helped the final ball of the match around the corner for four.So much of the occasion spoke of being Northants’ night. Two hours before the start, Abington Avenue was at a standstill as members were turned away from the car park as Sky set-up their various trailers across most of the Wantage Road car park behind the Pavilion. “That’s why we don’t invite ’em round,” snarled an attendant.Sky’s cameras, or rather their absence, has been a point of contention in these parts. Despite reaching Finals Day twice in the previous three seasons and starting the 2016 campaign with a bang, this quarter-final was only their third televised match of the season.Originally scheduled for just one – at home against Birmingham Bears – a second came due to a last minute switch, when Yorkshire Vikings needed a win to guarantee a quarter-final spot (or at least that was the Northants slant). It did not take long in this broadcast for viewers to figure out what happens next.Malan, who rattled off an unbeaten 185 off 126 balls for the England Lions in his last innings at Wantage Road, was dismissed for a two-ball duck by Rory Kleinveldt, before Nick Gubbins followed in a similar manner to Richard Gleeson to reduce Middlesex to 10 for 2 in the second over. As a pair, it Kleinveldt and Gleeson’s opening spell, hitting just back of a length with all they could, that scuppered Middlesex’s chances of posting a competitive total.Paul Stirling’s natural instincts were reined in and, when he departed, thoughts turned to George Bailey, who they restricted to a run-a-ball 46, for Gleeson’s second wicket of the innings. Legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna’s 2 for 20 from his four in the middle of the innings – accounting for Stirling and the destructive John Simpson for eight – and regular bowling changes eventually saw Middlesex stumble to 132.It meant that when pressure was built during the opening six overs of Northants’ innings, through dot balls and a packed and expectant off side, it was easily relieved with a six over midwicket from Richard Levi, an exquisite swing into the stand at extra cover from Rossington or consecutive fours muscled down the ground by Josh Cobb.If there was one moment that might have turned the game, it was when Ben Duckett, Northants’ leading T20 Blast run-scorer, was dropped on three after driving aerially to Gubbins stationed at cover to Nathan Sowter, at the end of the eighth over. It was hit low and hard to Gubbins’ right and, given the measly target, the quality of the batsman and the importance of the match, it simply had to be taken.With the first ball of the very next over, Duckett stepped down and flicked James Franklin over midwicket for four to bring up 2,000 runs in all competitions. He would go on to make 29 in a 58-run partnership with Rossington that effectively sealed Northants’ passage to their fourth Finals Day.Given the uncertainty that exists at the club, that is a remarkable feat. Middlesex were shorn of Brendon McCullum, Eoin Morgan and James Fuller through injury. But Northants, too, have had a plethora of ailments to such an extent that they have spent as much time at a nearby sports therapy clinic as they have in the nets recently. That they have only used 16 players this season is remarkable. “We don’t have any more than that,” remarked Northants skipper Alex Wakely.No doubt some will insist on labelling them as “outsiders” in the lead-up to Edgbaston. But this will be their third appearance at Finals Day in the last four years, winning the competition in 2013 and finishing runners-up in last year’s showpiece. That is far beyond the work of “underdogs”. That’s what you call pedigree.

Nuwan Kulasekara, the Sri Lanka seamer, has announced his retirement from Test cricket to concentrate on his limited-overs career

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2016

Nuwan Kulasekara, the 33-year old Sri Lanka seamer, has announced his retirement from Test cricket.”I would like to retire from playing Test cricket with immediate effect,” he was quoted as saying in a Sri Lanka Cricket press release. “After much thought I believe it is the right time to retire and I hope it will allow me to better prepare for ODI and T20 cricket, which I would like to continue playing for Sri Lanka subject to good performance and selection”Kulasekara played 21 Tests and picked up 48 wickets since making his debut in April 2005. Though pace wasn’t his strong suit, he had the ability to move the new ball and was known for his accuracy. Among his standout performances were the two four-wicket hauls he took against Pakistan in Colombo in 2009 to finish with a match-winning 8 for 58 in 28.4 overs.Kulasekara played his last Test in June 2014 at Lord’s, where Sri Lanka clung on for a nail-biting draw. He was not in the XI at Headingley, though, where Sri Lanka beat England to seal a landmark series win.Kulasekara is an asset in limited-overs cricket – he has played 173 ODIs and was ranked as the No. 1 bowler in March 2009 – due to his nagging lines and seam movement but was unable to reprise the same threat in Tests. As a result, he could only play 21 matches in 11 years.

Olly Stone’s freak injury while celebrating the dismissal of Moeen Ali has taken on even darker consequences after he was ruled out for the season with serious knee damage

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-2016Olly Stone, one of England’s most promising pace bowlers, has made an ever-more unfortunate entry in the ranks of cricket’s oddest injuries. He is now expected miss the rest of the season after damaging an anterior cruciate ligament during a wicket-taking celebration.Stone, 22, fell awkwardly after leaping skywards in delight at having Moeen Ali caught behind in Northamptonshire’s NatWest Blast tie against Worcestershire at Northampton on Friday. After falling, he attempted to finish his over, but collapsed in his delivery stride and was carried off the field.Any brief sense of amusement at Stone’s predicament dissipated even further when scans revealed the serious extent of the injury. Stone, afflicted by injuries during a disrupted and occasionally devastating career, has suffered a “compact knee injury with anterior cruciate ligament and cartilage involvement”. He has now been referred to a specialist surgeon.Stone’s season has been relatively unspectacular. He has taken six wickets in three matches in Division Two of the Specsavers Championship and three wickets in three NatWest T20 Blast fixtures.Northants’ small squad has been stricken by injury and they may be forced to look for further reinforcements to get through the season.

Journalist Alasdair Gold has revealed that Tottenham Hotspur have made "zero contact" with Mauricio Pochettino about becoming their new manager.

What is the latest on Mauricio Pochettino and Spurs?

The Premier League side are currently on the hunt for a new boss having fired Antonio Conte, with Cristian Stellini being placed in charge until the end of the season.

London rivals Chelsea are in a similar position and they seem to be seriously considering a move for former Spurs boss Pochettino.

With that being the case, we might expect to soon learn that Tottenham have also reached out to the 51-year-old in an attempt to get him back on board before the Blues can make him one of their own.

However, when talking about this on his YouTube channel, Gold revealed the surprising news that Pochettino has not had any contact with the north London outfit.

He explained: "Spurs have shown zero interest in reappointing Mauricio Pochettino.

"They haven't. I've been asking around, asking people around Poch and everything, and from what I understand – and also, this is kind of coming from people within the club as well – there has been no contact made by anyone from Spurs with Mauricio Pochettino at this point.

"I double-double-checked before starting this video, but there's been no kind of feelers put out to him from Spurs of whether he'd be interested in coming back, which is huge, really, when you see the calls for him to come back from the fans, the chants at the stadiums."

Will Pochettino want to join Spurs?

It certainly is surprising that Spurs and Daniel Levy haven't made any contact with Pochettino yet. After all, Gold has explained in the past that the club's own fans have been chanting the Argentinian's name at games.

Most recently, during a fortunate win over Brighton & Hove Albion at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the home crowd were signing: "Mauricio Pochettino, he's magic, you know."

Seeing as the 51-year-old oversaw 293 games with Spurs, averaging 1.84 points per game and taking them to a Champions League final along the way, it's not hard to see why plenty would love to see him back in north London.

And in some sections of the media, Pochettino has been touted as a leading candidate to make a return – which is why it's so surprising Levy hasn't even reached out to the manager.

With that being the case, it seems as though Chelsea are now in which a great chance of hiring him when many could have predicted a return to Spurs as being far more likely.