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Pedri has urged Barcelona to sign Nico Williams from Athletic Club amid the attacker's impressive displays for Spain at Euro 2024.

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Barca linked with Spain starPedri in support of transferWilliams hinted at Athletic stayWHAT HAPPENED?

The 21-year-old has been linked with a move to the Catalan club following his excellent season in which he set up an awesome 16 goals and scored a further eight across La Liga and the Copa del Rey. Williams has carried that form onto the European Championship, too, having set up a goal and scored another as Spain beat Georgia 4-1 in the last 16.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT PEDRI SAID

Barca midfielder Pedri has been asked about his La Roja co-star and the prospect of him joining him at club level, and the 21-year-old is fully supportive of the idea.

"We don't talk about it much. It's a decision that he and Barca have to make," he said to , adding: "Yes, it's clear that he would be a spectacular signing. We're already seeing what he's doing at the Euros. Hopefully he can be with us, but we don't know yet because he has a contract with Athletic. Whatever has to happen, will happen."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Pedri is the second Barcelona star to voice his support for Williams joining him at Camp Nou after Lamine Yamal spoke in favour of the transfer recently. However, the winger himself suggested last month that he wants to stay in Bilbao, saying: "I am very happy in Bilbao and that is all I have to say. Yes, I am quite clear, in the end, as I have told you, Athletic is my home."

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR WILLIAMS?

Barca are not the only club credited with an interest in Williams as Premier League side Chelsea have also been linked with the Pamplona native and are said to be willing to spend big to land him. With three years left on his contract, though, the clubs will likely have to pay a big fee to convince Athletic to let him go any time soon.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras estreou na Libertadores com vitória diante do Universiário, nesta quarta-feira, no Peru. Com dois gols a frente no placar, o alviverde chegou a ceder o empate após expulsão de Empereur, mas contou com a estrela de Renan para sair com o triunfo. Nas redes sociais, os palestrinos comemoraram o resultado e defenderam Abel Ferreira. O treinador conviveu com críticas ao longo das últimas semanas.
+ Confira os grupos da Copa Libertadores 2021

RelacionadasFora de CampoApós empate na Libertadores, torcedores do Atlético Mineiro perdem a paciência com Cuca na webFora de Campo21/04/2021Fora de CampoSilva Júnior é confirmado para equipe de narradores do SBT para LibertadoresFora de Campo21/04/2021Fora de CampoArbitragem brasileira é escolhida para apitar Olimpíadas e Copa América; confira os nomesFora de Campo21/04/2021

O português foi cobrado pelos resultados negativos nas decisões da Supercopa do Brasil e da Recopa, além da derrota no clássico diante do São Paulo, pelo Campeonato Paulista. Hoje, os torcedores do Palmeiras saíram em defesa do treinador nas redes sociais. Apesar de sofrer o empate com o resultado controlado, a expulsão de Empereur custou caro e Abel teve sua culpa minimizada no Twitter após o triunfo já no minuto final da partida.

Abel Ferreira não merecia o empate hoje.

Gol importantíssimo de Renan.

— Gabriel Amorim (@gabrilamorim) April 22, 2021

QUE FIQUE BEM CLARO, EU DEFENDO O ABEL COM UNHAS E DENTES

SE EU VER 1 TWEET NA MINHA TMLINE FALANDO MAL DO HOMEM, EU DOU UNFOLLOW

— levizin ˢᵉᵖ (@levizao1) April 22, 2021

defendo o abel 1000 vezes se precisar!!!!

— gabi ⓟ (@gbarbalho1) April 22, 2021

Eu sou defensor do Abel não ir pra coletiva hoje.
Manda o Empereur e o Rocha no lugar dele, e deixa eles explicarem

— Lourenç0 (@jjoaolourenco) April 22, 2021

O Abel montou o time de maneira cirurgica, estava td sob controle.
N é culpa dele jogador ser expulso, n saber marcar 2o pau e colocar a mao na bola dentro da area numa jogada que nem era de gol… O time do Palmeiras continua mostrando q tem qualidade, mas psicologico MTO ruim.

— Laura Cadaval (@CadavalLaura) April 22, 2021

Tim Paine not 100 percent sold on new rule governing player withdrawals

Daniel Brettig in Southampton21-Jul-2019

Tim Paine and Alex Carey train at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton•Getty Images

Australia are coached by a former batsman in Justin Langer who had to have a doorway physically blocked by his captain Ricky Ponting in order to prevent him re-entering the field after a serious blow to the head.In a famous episode, Langer was barred from coming out to bat at the end of a thrilling fourth innings chase against South Africa at the Wanderers in 2006, ultimately achieved by Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz with eight wickets down. Langer, despite serious concussion, doggedly put the pads on with 10 runs still to win.”To tell the truth I don’t know what I would have done,” Ponting said at the time. “If we needed two to win and he had to go out and be on strike I was probably going to have to declare or do something like that, which would have been pretty hard. He said to me then he wouldn’t have spoken to me ever again as long as he was alive. If it comes to that again, I am just going to have to knock him out.”He was probably only ever going to go out there if he could stand at the non-striker’s end. We couldn’t risk or afford him having to face any deliveries. Medically over the last couple of days his situation hasn’t changed. It was going to take me and probably a few other blokes to keep him in the dressing room if it had got down to that.”That being the case, it is not so surprising that the captain Tim Paine is less than 100 percent sold on the concept of players being withdrawn and substituted from Test matches due to concussion. Even if Cricket Australia and its sports science division have led the way on pushing for concussion substitutes, ever since the death of Phillip Hughes highlighted the vulnerability of the head in 2014.”I know the rule has come in. I think you’ll be hard-pressed to make guys pull out of a Test match,” Paine said in Southampton. “It’s going to be interesting to see how it works.”We’re all for player safety and improving that space. But it’s new to me as anyone and it’ll be interesting to see how it’s worked and policed. I find it quite fascinating that you can replace a guy halfway through a game. Again, we’ll wait and see how that works.”Approval of concussion substitutes for the Ashes as part of the inaugural world Test Championship was a keynote decision at the ICC annual conference in London following the World Cup.However, it left a few questions open that remain to be answered: will each Test venue have a demonstrably independent doctor on hand to determine concussions at arm’s length from either team? Will decisions be enforceable irrespective of variable symptoms? Will teams either home or touring stock themselves with additional squad members just in case?Whatever the answers, the area will be a source of interest throughout the Ashes, given the batteries of pace assembled on either side. Certainly Jofra Archer and Mark Wood will be eager to match the pace of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins by series end, the better for Australia to prepare by way of a bareknuckle internal trial in Southampton this week.”I think it will be a proper game, Paine said. “Both sides will be looking to win and both sides will have individual players wanting to do really well to press the final case for Ashes selection. We certainly don’t expect it peter out on the second innings or play around with a run chase or anything like that. At the moment it’s a fair dinkum game of cricket and that’s been made really clear.”Over the years the opposition in tour games has, I wouldn’t say it’s got worse but I don’t think opposition cricket boards have helped each other prepare as much as they used to. You’ve had to find different ways in your preparation to make sure everyone is ready to go for Test match intensity. And obviously a series of Ashes magnitude we thought it was a great idea and as close to a Test match as we think we can get it’s a perfect preparation.”Usman Khawaja will be the one name missing from the game, as he recovers from a hamstring strain, although Paine left open the possibility that the Test No. 3 may get a bat towards the end of a self-regulated fixture. There is no question as yet regarding his availability for the first Test in Birmingham.”I don’t think he’s in serious doubt. He’s in a rehab stage so the decision has been made that he won’t at this stage,” Paine said. “There is a possibility, maybe, if something were to happen to someone else he might be right for the back end of the game. But we expect him to be fully fit and available for selection for the first Test.”

Jude Bellingham has linked up with the England squad ahead of Euro 2024 after his Champions League triumph with Real Madrid.

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Bellingham wins Champions LeagueReal Madrid star given time off before EurosMidfielder links up with England squadWHAT HAPPENED?

After Bellingham helped Real Madrid win a record-extending 15th Champions League title earlier this month, he was granted a leave of absence. The midfielder missed the Three Lions' 3-0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the 1-0 loss to Iceland but on Sunday, the 20-year-old was spotted at England's base, St. George's Park, once more.

AdvertisementWATCH THE CLIPWHAT JUDE BELLINGHAM SAID

In a tweet of his own, the former Borussia Dortmund star wrote: "Euro fever!", alongside an England flag.

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

After a stunning debut season for Madrid, where he scored 23 goals and bagged 13 assists in all competitions, expectations are high for Bellingham to deliver for England at this summer's Euros. However, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate doesn't want to put extra pressure on the youngster.

"I'm sure he is [capable of handling the pressure] but we are not putting everything on Jude. We've got a lot of good players and it is a collective thing to go and try to win this tournament," he told reporters. "He is, of course, a player with a fabulous mentality and will have a big impact on the whole group."

The allrounder was pleased to have ended a long wait for a century and said there won’t be recriminations over him trying to win the match with another six

Sidharth Monga at Old Trafford23-Jun-2019Carlos Brathwaite was dropped for West Indies’ last match. There is a good chance he wouldn’t have been playing at Old Trafford had Andre Russell not been unfit. It wouldn’t have been a particularly harsh decision because Brathwaite had scored only five half-centuries in 158 innings since his sensational four sixes to win West Indies a lost World Twenty20 final back in 2016.Yet, with the World Cup dream all but over, Brathwaite reignited West Indies’ hopes with a scarcely believable century to bring them within five runs of New Zealand’s total. He was caught on the boundary trying to clear long-on off the last ball of the 49th over. After the knock, a shattered Brathwaite was honest in saying the knock meant him a lot even if it left him feeling bittersweet.WATCH on Hotstar (India only) – Brathwaite breathes fire with 101″It is a cliché to say that it doesn’t matter if you don’t win, but for me personally, for my confidence, it is a result of all the hard work that I put in,” Brathwaite said of his first international century. “It is finally good that it has come to fruition. I continue to work hard. Obviously heartbreaking to not get over the line but I give thanks for the performance and being able to get the team in the position that I was able to.”Brathwaite came in to bat at 142 for 4, and scored 101 of the remaining 144 runs that West Indies managed. With a stunning 25-run assault against Matt Henry in the 48th over, he brought the equation down to eight runs required off the two overs.”When I lost [Sheldon] Cottrell, then Lockie [Ferguson] had one over to go and [Trent] Boult had one to go,” Brathwaite said. “And the thinking was if we see them off, we can get 30 in three overs.”Now the equation was manageable, but he had only the No. 11 Oshane Thomas, who was yet to score a run, for company. Jimmy Neesham, bowling the 49th over, said they wanted Brathwaite to make more decisions now. The final – as it turned out – decision was whether to look for a single last ball of the 49th over or a six. If he got a single, he would have retained strike with five to get in the final over. If he missed while going for a six – or even if he got four – New Zealand would be able to have a crack at Thomas.As it turned out, Brathwaite went for a six, and was caught a few metres inside the long-on boundary. “I did tell Oshane about it [the possibility of a single],” Brathwaite said. “Told him we remain positive. We are one hit away. Probably memories came back of 2016 when I played a game against Afghanistan [in the 2016 World T20] and patted a full toss for a single instead of hitting it for a six. My thinking was still: watch the ball, still react, and if it is not a ball that I can get a six off, I try to get a single. He was on high alert, but if it came in my area I try and finish the game in that ball, which I did.”Carlos Brathwaite sinks to his knees after getting caught on the boundary•Getty ImagesBrathwaite came very close, though. “I thought I had enough bat on it,” he said. “Unfortunately it didn’t. Also it went to probably one of the better fielders in the world as well. So, yeah, it is what is. A game of margins. One or two yards more, we could be victorious.”Brathwaite said it should not be too difficult to move on from the decision he made. “The best dressing rooms create a culture where when you pinpoint any incident, any game, there is [talk around] planning and execution,” Brathwaite said. “The plan was right: obviously stay, reacting to the ball, don’t premeditate, if it is not in your zone, get single; if it is, maximise and get a six. And the execution was off. In the game against Australia as well, I got out to a slow full toss from Starc, kind of haunted me as well. Again it is execution. Back to the drawing board. Probably get some other options to similar ball. I am not going to beat myself up because the ball should have gone for six, and we should have won.”It was “heartbreaking” that it didn’t end West Indies’ way, but there was also personal relief. “I know I can [bat well], I know I should,” Brathwaite said. “I never stopped working, I kept working hard. It’s great to see hard work pay off. At the end of the day it is a century in a losing cause, which is bittersweet.”His captain Jason Holder wasn’t surprised he delivered the runs. “His work ethic is really good,” Holder said of Brathwaite. “He’s not one to shy away from his responsibilities. And he puts in really good effort into his preparation. And that’s one thing that I credit him for. The knock that he played today is not surprising to me.”I guess everybody could sit here and agree that we’d love to see that a little bit more often. But that’s the general feeling within the entire group. I think as a team we just need to be a lot more consistent. But seeing Carlos play the way he did doesn’t really surprise me. Just a matter for us to bring it together more often.”The feeling of awe was on both sides. New Zealand didn’t waste any time in going to congratulate and commiserate with Brathwaite moments after the win was sealed. “New Zealanders are some of the best people in the world to share a dressing room with or to play against,” Brathwaite said. “I obviously socialise with them at franchise tournaments and am good friends with a few of the boys. I guess it didn’t mean much at that point in time because you are just getting over watching Boult take the catch and losing. In hindsight it was good sportsmanship on their behalf. I appreciate the mutual respect the opposition had.”

أعلن نادي آرسنال الإنجليزي تجديد عقد مدربه الإسباني ميكيل أرتيتا، في بيان رسمي أصدره اليوم الخميس.

وأفاد آرسنال في بيانه أن أرتيتا وقع عقد طويل الأمد مع النادي، دون أن يعلن مدة التجديد.

لكن بسحب التقارير الواردة وقع أرتيتا على عقد مع آرسنال حتى 30 يونيو 2027.

وتولى أرتيتا مهمة تدريب آرسنال منذ ديسمبر 2019، وأعاد النادي إلى طريق الانتصارات، والمراكز الأربعة الأولى في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وبدأ أرتيتا الموسم الماضي بالفوز بلقب درع الاتحاد الإنجليزي لكرة القدم والحصول على المركز الثاني على التوالي في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وقال أرتيتا: “أشعر بالفخر الشديد والحماس الشديد وأتطلع إلى ما سيأتي بعد ذلك، أنا فخور بأن أكون حيث أنا ولدي العلاقات التي لدي مع الجميع في النادي”.

وأضاف: “أشعر بقدر كبير من الحظ للعمل كل يوم مع أشخاص طيبين والطموح الذي لدينا هنا، أشعر بالإلهام الشديد، وأشعر بالتحدي، وأشعر بالدعم وأريد أن أفعل أكثر بكثير مما فعلناه معًا بالفعل”.

واختتم: “مع اللاعبين وكل فرد في النادي، نتطلع إلى السنوات القادمة، ومع أنصارنا، الذين غيروا النادي والفريق عاطفيًا”.

Southampton have now extended their unbeaten run in the Championship to 13 matches, despite picking up successive draws away from home to stop a lengthy winning streak.

Russell Martin's Saints have won six of their last ten matches in the division, putting themselves firmly in the promotion reckoning as a result.

Blackburn Rovers are the visitors to the south coast this Saturday, with Martin's men keen to add another win to their season tally at the expense of Jon Dahl Tomasson's entertaining Riversiders.

The Southampton boss could reshuffle his side slightly for the task of overcoming Dahl Tomasson's men from Lancashire, with Che Adams one of a number of first-teamers potentially facing the chop.

Here's how the Saints could line up for the game tomorrow…

1

GK – Gavin Bazunu

Gavin Bazunu should retain his spot in between the sticks for the home game, the Irish shot-stopper signed from Manchester City in the summer keeping back-to-back clean sheets at St Mary's before his side picked up two subsequent away draws.

2

RB – Kyle Walker-Peters

Kyle Walker-Peters will also start versus Blackburn, the Saints right-back has barely put a foot wrong all season which has meant he's been everpresent in Martin's side in the Championship.

3

CB – Taylor Harwood-Bellis

Taylor Harwood-Bellis' reputation in the game continues to increase with the Saints, the Man City loanee excelling in the second tier once again after a promising loan switch to Burnley last campaign.

The 21-year-old's display in the away draw at Watford was particularly impressive, winning all but one of his duels in the 1-1 contest, as per Sofascore.

4

CB – Jan Bednarek

Southampton's more experienced centre-back option will also start the Blackburn game, the ever-reliable Jan Bednarek a colossus in the second tier to date.

The Polish defender was a standout performer at the back versus Coventry last game, accurate with 96% of his passes in a calm display.

5

LB – Ryan Manning

Ryan Manning should be the final part of an unchanged defence for Martin, the ex-Swansea City defender important for the Saints this campaign.

Manning's threat from down the channels stood out against the Sky Blues at the CBS Arena, accurate with two crosses in the game in an attempt to assist a Saints forward to gain a win.

6

CM – Joe Aribo

The first switch in personnel Martin will ponder over is axing Shea Charles from his lineup potentially, the Saints splashing the cash on the former Man City man in the summer by paying £15m to land his services.

He was below-par away at Coventry mid-week however – only winning three of his eight duels – and so could be sacrificed for Aribo to be pushed back into a more comfortable central midfield slot.

Aribo played behind Adam Armstrong in an advanced role against Mark Robins' men, but is far more suited to a deeper central midfield role – scoring 11 times from this position when playing for Rangers before switching to the Saints.

7

CM – Will Smallbone

Martin will toy with the idea of starting Flynn Downes for this contest – Downes missing from the Coventry match owing to illness – but risking a star player feels unnecessarily risky when you have Will Smallbone to fall back on.

Smallbone was excellent in Southampton's last second-tier match in mid-week, 100% successful with his ground duels.

Therefore, Martin might not need to bring Downes back into the starting lineup immediately especially if the West Ham United loanee isn't at full freshness just yet.

8

CM – Stuart Armstrong

The creativity potentially lacking from the side with Downes out won't be as noticeable with Stuart Armstrong present in the starting eleven, the ex-Dundee United man enjoying a fine season to date at St Mary's.

The ageing Scotsman wasn't at his free-flowing best away at Coventry – losing possession 20 times – but he's done more than enough in other games this campaign to make that third central midfield spot his own.

Creating four big chances this campaign dictating play in the middle, Martin will hope Armstrong can be at his creative best up against tricky opponents in Blackburn tomorrow.

9

AM – Carlos Alcaraz

In place of Aribo being moved back, Carlos Alcaraz could be given a start by Martin for the home game against the Riversiders.

The Argentine attacker hasn't really gotten into his groove in the second tier for the Saints this season – only helping himself to a single goal in league action – but he was impressive nonetheless when substituted on against Coventry.

Winning three out of three ground duels from a rowdy eight minutes on the pitch, Alcaraz could be the aggressive and forward-thinking figure Martin wants to get his team firing again and beating teams with ease instead of settling for draws.

10

AM – Samuel Edozie

In the other attacking midfielder spot, Martin could axe Adams for Samuel Edozie who made even more of an impact last game than Alcaraz when introduced.

Edozie would ensure the Saints travelled back to the South Coast with a share of the spoils, hammering home an effort after an Adam Armstrong nod-on found him ready to fiercely fire a strike.

Edozie's skilful reputation in the game has even seen him branded with the label of being an "eye-catcher" according to football pundit Adrian Clarke on What the EFL?! Podcast, who hyped up the youngster at the start of August before the season had properly got underway.

Adams will be sacrificed to make way for Edozie to come in, the ex-Birmingham City man not even registering one shot on goal before Edozie was substituted on.

Tottenham Hotspur lost for the third Premier League match in succession as they let another lead slip in a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday.

Ange Postecoglou's side had two weeks over the international break to work to bounce back from losses to Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers but failed to do so.

With the likes of James Maddison, Yves Bissouma, Cristian Romero, and Micky van de Ven, among others, missing, Spurs took the lead through the rarely-seen Gio Lo Celso.

However, goals either side of half time from Pau Torres and Ollie Watkins secured all three points for the visitors as Tottenham failed to grab an equaliser.

It was a frustrating result and performance for Spurs as they fielded a makeshift side, with Emerson Royal lining up at centre-back and failing to deal with Watkins for the second Villa goal.

Emerson Royal's performance against Villa in numbers

The Brazilian defender, who is a right-back by trade, was deployed at the heart of the backline and was not sharp enough to close out quickly on the England international as the striker got between him and Ben Davies to slot into the back of the net.

It was a sloppy mistake and one that you could excuse due to him not being a natural centre-back who is used to dealing with those situations on a regular basis.

Aside from that, the former Barcelona man won the majority (3/5) of his duels and completed 97% of his attempted passes (92/95) across the 90 minutes.

This shows that the 24-year-old enforcer was a strong presence at the back and reliable in possession of the ball to help his side out in an unnatural position.

He was not the villain of the piece for Ange Postecoglou on Sunday. Instead, it was summer signing Brennan Johnson as the Wales international flattered to deceive in a frustrating display out wide.

Brennan Johnson's performance against Villa in numbers

The 22-year-old lightweight can be exciting to watch at times with his direct play and pace to get in behind and cause problems for opposition full-backs.

However, the end product also needs to be there in order for him to be an effective option for a team that is looking to compete at the top of the table.

In 90 minutes on the pitch, Johnson only created one chance for his teammates, failed with both of his attempted crosses, and was tackled in four of his five attempted dribbles.

The former Nottingham Forest man was also unable to find the back of the net from 0.62 xG (Expected Goals) worth of chances, which included a huge opportunity one-on-one against the goalkeeper that he could not poke past Emiliano Martinez to make it 2-2 during the second half.

Johnson, who lost 71% (5/7) of his duels throughout the match, had plenty of chances to make something happen in the final third and lacked the quality to do it.

As such, FootballLondon reporter Alasdair Gold handed him a rating of just 6/10 for his display and added that the forward "just couldn't force the ball home".

The Welsh forward missed the presentable chance that came his way and could not create anything of note for his teammates, which is why he was the true villain of the match instead of Emerson.

Hopefully, it was a learning experience for the summer signing and he will be able to put it right the next time he has the opportunity to be a difference-maker for Spurs.

A Tottenham Hotspur player "will be leaving" Ange Postecoglou's side as one club's transfer chief identifies him as a top transfer target.

Spurs seal second consecutive win at Forest

Despite the wave of injuries which have struck Spurs' squad in the last month and a half, the Lilywhites appear to have found a winning team again.

Their 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest on Friday was Postecoglou's second in as many games, having also thrashed Newcastle 4-1 last weekend, and they're now level on points with Premier League champions Man City just outside the top four.

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Still without both James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, two star summer signings who began the season in excellent fashion, Tottenham are currently improving with Ben Davies at left centre-back and Dejan Kulusevski in Maddison's usual position.

Son Heung-min has also been moved back out wide, with Richarlison playing as the central striker. This appears to be Spurs' most viable way of coping in the absence of Maddison and van de Ven, as Richarlison now starts to pick up form and Kulusevski thrives in the middle.

When asked about the result and performance, Postecoglou couldn't hide his delight, even despite Yves Bissouma's red card with 20 minutes remaining.

"I was really pleased with both, with the win tonight," said Postecoglou on Tottenham's win over Forest (via football.london).

"Tough place to come obvious, they're desperate for a result. .They challenge you in different ways here, a lot of balls in the box – throws and free kicks – and you have to deal with that. For the most part I thought we handled it really well. We still played decent football, within that created some good chances, scored some good goals and we showed character and resilience, and thought we handled it really well."

James Maddison – 7.58

Son Heung-min – 7.38

Dejan Kulusevski – 7.24

Pedro Porro – 7.23

Cristian Romero – 7.20

One player who didn't play a part in the win, though, was out-of-favour defender Eric Dier. The Englishman, after returning from injury, was an unused substitute yet again last night. Postecoglou much prefers using a makeshift Davies in the middle alongside Romero, which is a real indication of the Spurs boss' lack of faith in Dier.

Dier "will be leaving" Tottenham

The 29-year-old also has a contract expiring at the end of this season. There appears to be next to no chance of a renewal, with Roma Metropolitan Magazine (via Sport Witness) sharing a definitive update on his future.

The outlet claims Dier "will be leaving" Tottenham next year when his terms run out, and he's one of the defenders "strongly sought after" by Roma director Tiago Pinto as he draws up a January shortlist.

Jose Mourinho is eager to sign a new centre-half and could help Dier to leave before the summer, but there are other names contending for a move for the Stadio Olimpico.

Mourinho is also an admirer of the centre-back who Antonio Conte called a "reliable player".

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Jake Weatherald found his mojo with a sublime 71 as Adelaide Strikers rolled out their trademark blueprint to strangle the Melbourne Renegades in Geelong.Weatherald appeared to bat on a different surface, with his 71 off 44 balls the stand-out performance of the match. He was the only player on either side to pass 33 and looked set for a huge score until he was run out in unusual circumstances, attempting to pinch a third run.He was doing so to try and regain some momentum after Renegades legspinner Cameron Boyce stemmed the flow, taking 2 for 16 in a sublime four-over spell. Some special late hitting from Rashid Khan gave the Strikers a decent score to bowl at, but it proved surplus to requirements.The Renegades never came close in the chase. They scored just 12 runs off the first four overs and never recovered. Michael Neser and Billy Stanlake did the early damage, before the Renegades floundered against the legspinning trio of Rashid Khan, Liam O’Connor and Colin Ingram.Stormy WeatheraldMuch has been expected of Jake Weatherald this season, after his match-winning century in last season’s BBL final. He had made four starts this tournament, but failed to kick on. He started with two boundaries in the first over from the part-time spin of Tom Cooper. But he really got going against the dangerous Usman Shinwari. After flushing one into Shinwari’s shin that left an egg-shaped bruise in the second over, he stuck three consecutive boundaries in the fourth over, including a magnificent lofted straight drive. He then targeted the short 60-meter boundary after the Powerplay, smashing three sixes into the stands at midwicket. He reached 50 off just 26 balls and laid the perfect platform as the Strikers reached 1 for 75 after nine overs.Boyce breaks through and bouncing batsBrought in for the eighth over, Boyce slowed the rate immediately. Alex Carey holed out from the first ball of his spell. Boyce bowled three dots to Ingram in his next nine balls. The pressure forced Ingram to heave across the line and he sliced a leading edge to cover. Boyce had 2 for 5 after two overs and finished with 2 for 16 from his four. The scoring rate plummeted and it caused two unusual run outs. Matthew Short and Weatherald were both run out in similar fashion. Both men dived for their ground at full stretch, both had their bats over the line, but the end of their bats were adjudged to be in the air by the TV umpire, with no part of it deemed grounded past the popping crease when the stumps were broken. The vision didn’t appear clear cut in either case, but the TV umpire Sam Nogajski was quick to give both out. The Strikers slumped to 6 for 127 with two overs to go, but Rashid Khan did what Rashid Khan does and thumped 21 from seven balls, which included two dots, to raise the total above 150.Powerless PowerplayThe Renegades had raced out of the blocks in their previous match against the Melbourne Stars before falling in a huge hole. They made a change at the top of the order, splitting the inexperienced but inventive pair of Mackenzie Harvey and Sam Harper with the wise-head of Cameron White. But White’s sluggish start put the Renegades well behind the rate. He made 8 off his first 14 balls as the Renegades slumped to 2 for 12 after four overs. Neser hit his lengths superbly, and Harvey and Harper both fell trying to find the rope. Harper was caught attempting a ramp. Carey bravely took the catch running back and collided with Billy Stanlake, but both men avoided injury. White and Cooper took 20 from the last two overs of the Powerplay, but the required run-rate remained above nine-an-over.Legless against legspinLegspinners have dominated the BBL so far, and the Strikers picked two specialists in Rashid Khan and Liam O’Conner, along with the skipper’s part-time leg breaks. Ingram used O’Connor in the first over and then brought him back immediately post the Powerplay. But it wasn’t a magic delivery that made the breakthrough. Instead, Cooper bunted a long hop to cover. It started a sequence of eight straight overs of legspin that put the Renegades into the mire. They got out to good balls and bad ones. White was trapped plumb lbw, sweeping to Rashid Khan. Mohammad Nabi and Dan Christian were bowled by O’Conner and Ingram respectively to leave them 6 for 51. Ingram pushed his luck with a third over and finally paid a price for two waist-high full tosses, but the damage was done. The required run-rate reached 13 by the time pace returned and the game meandered to a tame finish.