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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.

علق سيد عبد الحفيظ لاعب ومدير الكرة السابق بالنادي الأهلي على فوز المارد الأحمر على سيراميكا كليوباترا في مباراة نصف نهائي كأس السوبر المصري للأندية الأبطال.

وكان الأهلي قد نجح في تحقيق فوز مثير على سيراميكا كليوباترا في مباراة كأس السوبر المصري بشكله الجديد المقام في الإمارات.

وقال عبد الحفيظ في تصريحات تلفزيونية بفضائية “أبوظبي”: “قلنا إن المباراة ستكون قوية، كنت أخشى على الفريق من المجهود البدني خاصة في آخر ربع ساعة، لكن المباراة أعطتنا درسًا في العدالة”.

طالع.. فيديو | الأهلي يلدغ سيراميكا بهدف في الوقت القاتل ويصعد إلى نهائي السوبر المصري

وأضاف: “الأهلي كان أفضل خاصة في الشوط الثاني، وحتى المتسبب في الهدف هو أفضل من في المباراة”.

وتابع: “لم ألاحظ الإرهاق بسبب روح الأهلي، لكن في بعض الحالات خصوصًا المرتدات كان وارد أن يكون هناك تأثير، لكن أنظر إلى شخصية وروح وسرعة إمام عاشور، هو بطبيعته يتحرك في كل مكان، ويُحسب للاعبين إصرارهم على الفوز”.

وواصل: “خلال الشوط الأول كان وضعًا طبيعيًا أن يتفوق الأهلي، الشوط الثاني أيمن الرمادي أضاف توني مع تراجع عمرو السولية وأحمد نبيل كوكا، حتى أنطونيو موديست لم يكن سيئًا خلال الوقت الذي شارك فيه”.

واستطرد: “كولر يسير بشكل جيد جدًا رغم الانتقادات (انت ليك أكل ولا بحلقة)، الأكل موجود والبطولات موجودة”.

وأتم: “المباراة القادمة مع فيوتشر، مدربهم يلعب بشكل مختلف في الـ 30 متر الأخيرة ويلعب على الهجمة المرتدة”.

وحسم الأهلي تأهله إلى نهائي كأس السوبر المصري للأندية الأبطال، لمواجهة مودرن فيوتشر الذي حسم صعوده على حساب بيراميدز.

Leeds United did not hesitate to back Jesse Marsch in the two transfer markets that he was at the club, investing heavily in the American who had taken over from Marcelo Bielsa and guided them to safety.

Whether his football was sustainable or not, it almost felt compulsory that he be given money considering the club had lost Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha for mouth-watering fees just last summer.

However, with hindsight and seeing how his tenure quickly turned sour, once again leading them into a relegation battle, it seems that this blind faith was somewhat misguided.

This is now a team crafted by numerous managers with wildly varying styles, with the pragmatic Javi Gracia expected to knit that into some kind of survival form.

The Spaniard has already taken great strides forward with wins over Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers but has not been aided by Marsch's biggest signing; Georginio Rutter.

How much did Georginio Rutter cost Leeds?

Seeking a striker stand-in given Patrick Bamford's fitness woes and patchy form, the obvious decision would be to turn to experience and sign someone with a proven record in the Premier League; like West Ham United did with Danny Ings.

However, whether it be through naivety or misguided faith, the former RB Salzburg boss instead opted to unload a club-record fee of £35.5m on a 20-year-old who had never stepped foot in England and hardly boasted the goal record needed to be their saviour.

Across 15 Bundesliga games this campaign Rutter had scored just twice, and although his potential remained sky-high he was far from the man they needed in January.

He has since gone on to prove this, with neither Marsch or Gracia really keen to hand him starts in the bigger matches.

The £35k-per-week struggler as such is averaging just 27 minutes per game, with an average rating of 6.50 to go alongside it. Even in his only league start, against Chelsea, journalist Beren Cross showed visible sympathy for him whilst branding him a "non-entity" against the towering defence he faced.

It is clear he is far from ready to star in English football, with a lack of experience completely overriding his undeniable talent.

One day in the future Rutter is certainly destined to be a top player, yet despite flashes of brilliance he is simply not what they needed in another battle for survival.

Gracia could be made to pay for this monumental transfer blunder of Marsch's, who has hung his successor out to dry by not signing the experienced striker everyone knew the Whites needed.

Frank Lampard’s time at Everton was disappointing, to say the least. He took over from Rafa Benitez in January 2022 and was sacked just eight days shy of a year in charge, with the Toffees languishing near the foot of the table.

Although he prevented them from Premier League relegation last term, they shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place, not with the resources at their disposal.

There were very few positive aspects of Lampard’s tenure, however, the signing of defender James Tarkowski was one of them, especially considering the Toffees managed to secure him on a free transfer.

How much is James Tarkowski worth now?

Tarkowski left Burnley once his contract expired at the end of last season and subsequently joined the Merseyside club ahead of 2022/2023.

Having played over 200 matches for Burnley, his experience in the top flight was key for Lampard in securing a deal and his performances this term have been excellent, despite the club suffering.

With a Sofascore rating of 7.22/10, he ranks as the club’s third-best player while ranking first for clearances per game (5.3), second for accurate long balls (3.7) and third for both interceptions (1.2) and pass success rate (83%).

These stats clearly prove just how important he is to the club, and they may well be worse off without him in their starting XI.

Indeed, the 6-foot brute is now valued at €20m (£18m) by FootballTransfers and having not cost the Toffees a single penny, it represents an excellent piece of business conducted by the now-unemployed Lampard, which could prove to be fruitful.

His performances should also move to the next level with the Merseysiders appointing his old Burnley manager Sean Dyche as head coach, as the two worked together for six and half seasons and this will only be a good thing for the club going forward.

Lampard praised Tarkowski upon signing the 30-year-old, saying he was a “really strong leader” and he has certainly proven his worth during his first eight months at Goodison.

The Chelsea legend may not have done much of note in the dugout at Everton, yet he played a blinder over the signing of Tarkowski that’s for sure.

Crystal Palace will once again be without Wilfried Zaha for this afternoon’s trip to Brentford, Matt Woosnam reports.

The Lowdown: Hope earlier in the week

Zaha has missed Palace’s last two Premier League games with a hamstring injury but was pictured back out on the grass earlier in the week.

The Evening Standard’s Dom Smith described it as a key boost and said the forward could be in contention to return this weekend. However, it looks as if that won’t be the case, which is a blow for the Eagles.

The Latest: Woosnam’s post

Woosnam took to Twitter to share news from Patrick Vieira’s pre-Brentford press conference on Friday.

He relayed the update on Zaha, claiming he will be unavailable against Thomas Frank’s side, with Ben Dinnery adding that Vieira has suggested he could still be a couple of weeks away.

The Verdict: Bad news

The Eagles are still without a Premier League win in 2023, so knowing that Zaha is out of action for a little longer isn’t ideal. Described as ‘absolutely outstanding’ by Ally McCoist, Zaha has scored more goals than any Palace player and has been key in the final third by also topping the dribbling charts at Selhurst Park, as per WhoScored.

Jeffrey Schlupp has filled in for Zaha on the left-hand side, scoring his first goal of the season against Manchester United, so Vieira could once again turn to the versatile Ghanaian with his star forward still out.

Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth has said that ‘multiple’ bids are expected from several clubs in the Premier League and Europe for Arsenal transfer target Ivan Fresneda.

The Lowdown: Arsenal moving ‘behind the scenes’

It has recently been reported that the Gunners, along with Borussia Dortmund, are moving ‘behind the scenes’ to try and sign Fresneda and are ‘leading the race’ for the Real Valladolid right-back.

Both clubs have reportedly already ‘agreed terms’ with the 18-year-old, with the deal expected to cost €15m (£13.1m) and the Spaniard set to be loaned back to Valladolid for the rest of the campaign.

However, it now looks as if that duo will not be alone in their pursuits of Fresneda in the final days of the January transfer window.

The Latest: ‘Multiple’ bids could be incoming

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Sheth says that ‘multiple’ bids are expected from a ‘number’ of clubs in both the Premier League and in Europe for Fresneda in the final days of the month, which suggests that Arsenal and Dortmund could be dragged into a bidding war for the teenager.

The Sky Sports reporter stated: “I’m told that there are going to be multiple bids from a number of European clubs and Premier League clubs in what remains of this transfer window. I think Fresneda will need to make a decision if an interested club meets the €15m valuation simply because he’s playing at the moment for Valladolid – he’s getting first-team action, he will want to play.”

The Verdict: Urgency needed

If Mikel Arteta’s team are serious about signing Fresneda, then there needs to be some urgency in terms of getting this deal done, given that Transfer Deadline Day is tomorrow and other bidders are expected to come in for him.

Hailed by journalist and La Liga presenter Juan Arroita for his “beastly” ability to maraud forward and put in crosses, the teenager currently averages one key pass and 0.4 crosses per match in the Spanish top flight, ranking highly among the Valladolid squad in both metrics (WhoScored).

Fresneda also ranks in the top 11% for tackles, clearances and interceptions per match among full-backs in Europe’s top five leagues over the last year (FBref), showing how impressive he is defensively as well, and he already looks like the complete right-back at the tender age of 18.

Perhaps Arsenal’s bullish pursuit of Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo is holding up a deal for the Spaniard, or possibly the fact that Cedric’s expected move to Fulham has not gone through yet, but the north Londoners simply cannot let their Fresneda pursuit fall through the cracks.

West Ham United have been linked with many players this window, and yet have only seen two deals completed as of yet.

However, with the recent confirmation that Craig Dawson will depart from the London Stadium, a huge vacancy has opened up in their back three that must be filled.

The 32-year-old was poised to leave east London in the summer but saw a deadline day switch to Wolverhampton Wanderers halted due to an injury crisis at the back.

Summer signing Nayef Aguerd had been ruled out for the foreseeable future, and Kurt Zouma would later require knee surgery. Therefore, he stayed.

However, now that both have returned, manager David Moyes will be looking for the perfect centre-back to partner the Moroccan who truly showcased his talents at the recent World Cup.

The 26-year-old recorded three clearances and one tackle per game as they reached the semi-finals, but it was his 87% pass accuracy that truly shone.

His ability on the ball was unparalleled, and he was instrumental in their wicked transition that resulted in so many famous results.

With a similar system employed by his domestic outfit, he could benefit from the return of a purely solid centre-back to afford him the platform to showcase his talents.

That could certainly be Shakhtar Donetsk’s Mykola Matviyenko, who was linked to the Irons despite engaging in talks with Brighton and Hove Albion. The Ukrainian outfit are reportedly demanding a fee of around €25m (£22m).

For blocks and clearances, there are few across Europe who can compete with his statistics. When compared to other centre-backs across the continent, for both of these metrics he ranks in the top 1%.

However, he does pair this with a fine attempt to play football. As such, he also sits in the top 7% for passes attempted.

Oleksandr Ryabokon, a football legend throughout Ukraine, was full of praise for the 26-year-old. He described him as “a stable and reliable player,” before continuing:

“In my opinion, reliability is the most important quality for a central defender. He can play as a centre-back and a left full-back. He is a smart player, he reads the game well, and he is an accurate passer.”

This was further supplemented by journalist Andrew Todos, who predicts a bright future for Matviyenko: “In my opinion, he can be world-class when he plays in a formation with three defenders.”

All the signs point towards this being a hugely successful deal should they manage to pull it through, now offering the returning Aguerd a partner with which the club can build into a more impressive future.

Liverpool could take the opportunity to strengthen their midfield during the January transfer window and now a new update has emerged from a reliable source on a potential target.

What’s the latest?

According to journalist Jacque Talbot, Liverpool have held talks over signing Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Kouadio Kone.

Talbot tweeted: “Hear been talks between Reds and Khephren Thuram of Nice – and Kouadio Kone of Borussia Monchengladbach.”

Moises Caicedo clone

It is no secret that Liverpool are in desperate need of reinforcements in midfield, something that has become glaringly obvious since the start of the current campaign.

The Reds are currently sixth in the Premier League ahead of their clash with Brighton and Hove Albion this weekend with a challenging second half of the season ahead of them in order to climb back inside the top four, now seven points behind in the race for a Champions League qualification spot.

The Carabao Cup champions of last season have already been knocked out by Manchester City, suffered a disappointing draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup pending a replay and next month will face their Champions League rivals Real Madrid in the round of 16 – only adding to the pressure mounting at Anfield.

As a result, the powerbrokers at the Merseyside club can no longer continue to ignore the much-needed refresh in the centre of the pitch and the signing of Kone could be the perfect opportunity to add pace, aggression, quality and depth to their midfield in order to transform their gloomy trajectory over the remainder of the campaign.

In fact, the Reds could even land an alternative to one of their widely-reported top transfer targets Moises Caicedo as Kone – who was hailed a “warrior” by Jacek Kulig – is a clone of the Ecuadorian ace with the Brighton midfielder being named as one of the most comparable players to the Gladbach star, according to FBref.

The two midfielders have shared similarities in some of their strongest attributes so far this term, including goal contributions (2 v 2), pass completion rate (85.4% v 87.4%), shot-creating actions (34 v 35), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.22 v 0.19) and blocks (20 v 17).

Both immense box-to-box propositions, it is generally in defensive situations where their quality shines through the most, with the duo making a comparable amount of tackles this term, albeit with Caicedo coming out on top – 2.97 to 2.13 per 90 minutes.

It is reported by Sport BILD (via GGFN) that Kone has a price tag of €45m (£39m) whilst Caicedo boasts a more expensive transfer fee of £65m, so it could be an opportunity to acquire the services of a like-minded midfielder at the fraction of the price – something that will surely capture FSG’s attention.

With that being said, the signing of Kone could be the perfect solution to the ongoing issues at Anfield and if the club can secure a deal ahead of the second half of the season he could be a huge asset to Klopp over the remaining fixtures.

Tottenham Hotspur got back to winning ways with a 4-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace on Wednesday night and there was even a rare start for popular academy graduate Oliver Skipp.

However, the England U21 international struggled to impress and may have failed Antonio Conte’s test with a woeful display.

Harry Kane bagged two of the Lilywhites’ four second-half goals, with his talismanic partner Heung-min Son and Matt Doherty also getting on the scoresheet to lift the north London outfit to within two points of third-placed Newcastle United.

It was the perfect way to bounce back from their humiliating New Year’s Day defeat to Aston Villa, where Yves Bissouma picked up his fifth yellow card of the season and a subsequent suspension.

That’s what allowed Skipp to come back into the fray at long last, having struggled for much of last season with injury. Indeed, it was only his third start in the Premier League this term and just his fifth since the start of 2022.

Perhaps it was rustiness, as alluded to by football.london reporter Alasdair Gold but it’s hard to imagine him keeping his place when Rodrigo Bentancur returns from injury, particularly after an impressive cameo from Pape Matar Sarr, too.

The 22-year-old gem – once dubbed an “absolute machine” by Opta’s Matt Hayes – registered the worst rating of any Spurs starter on Sofascore, highlighting that he was the poorest of his peers on the night.

He picked up an early yellow card and that certainly limited him somewhat, managing only one tackle. Skipp also lost 75% of his duels, with Wilfried Zaha often gliding past him with relative ease.

As per Sofascore, he was dribbled past twice and in his 66 minutes on the pitch, he only managed 38 touches  – four fewer than goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. The aforementioned Sarr quickly racked up 27 after replacing him too.

According to football writer Andrew Gaffney both he and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had “totally lost control of the midfield” in the first half and at the break then claimed Skipp was “chasing shadows” all half.

Similarly, journalist Matt Brian suggested that the Englishman was “run ragged” in this shocking display, which doesn’t bode well towards his chances of starting again anytime soon.

The young £40k-per-week enforcer, therefore, failed to impress in what was a rare opportunity to stake a claim and he must be careful to not tow the same career path as Harry Winks.

Skipp will do well to be involved against Portsmouth in the FA Cup now.

AND in other news, Spurs close in on dream 1st Jan signing in £35m “special talent”…