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Tottenham Hotspur should look to turn their attention elsewhere after a frustrating update emerged this week.

According to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, talks to sign Atalanta centre-back Cristian Romero have “slowed” down due to the Serie A outfit’s financial demands. Reports in Italy suggested that the Serie A outfit are demanding around €60m (£51m) for his signature, whilst La Liga giants Barcelona have been credited with an interest in recent weeks.

Spurs have not splashed out that sort of money since signing Tanguy Ndombele in the summer of 2019 for a club-record £55m, whilst their biggest fee spent on a defender was Davinson Sanchez for £42m.

His performances since then prove why it’s a massive gamble to spend so much on just one player, and as a result, the North Londoners may want to approach this Romero situation with caution.

For that money, the North Londoners could seal at least two players in the role, especially amid links to fellow Serie A monster Nikola Milenkovic.

As revealed by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare, Spurs “hold an interest” in the Fiorentina star, and he claims that it would be an easy deal to do as the player would love to play in the Premier League and has less than a year remaining on his current contract.

The reliable journalist also hints that just €15m (£12.5m) would be enough to secure him. That’s a fraction of Romero’s price and he’s arguably just as good.

At just 23, Milenkovic has been likened to Nemanja Vidic, who is arguably one of the greatest to ever do it in the English top-flight.

“Milenkovic is better than Vidic with the ball at his feet, and he is much calmer on the field,” Mozzart journalist Dejan Stankovic told ESPN FC. “He is the most talented centre-back Serbia have had since Vidic, and they definitely have one thing in common – both are fearless.”

The 28-cap Serbian has also been dubbed a “beast”, and during the 2020/21 season, he averaged 3.6 clearances, three aerial duels won, 1.4 tackles and 1.3 interceptions in a worse team than Atalanta, who finished third overall.

By comparison, Romero – who won the Serie A’s ‘Defender of the Year’ award – was only way clear with his averages for tackles and interceptions, but again he played in the more solid team.

For just £12.5m, Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici could secure a new defender for a bargain fee, especially with Transfermarkt currently valuing him at £22.5m.

The Lilywhites must consider Milenkovic as a bargain alternative to Romero should talks continue to slow down before next month’s deadline.

AND in other news, Paratici must sanction Spurs swoop for 6ft 3 “leader”, he’s a HUGE upgrade on Sanchez…

Khurram Manzoor scored 123 but there was not much support from the other batsmen as Pakistan Cricket Academy conceded a first-innings lead of 95

Cricinfo staff14-Sep-2008
ScorecardKhurram Manzoor, the Pakistan Cricket Academy captain, scored 123 but there was not much support from the other batsmen as the visitors conceded a first-innings lead of 95 against Kenya in Nairobi. The second day of the four-day contest was also dominated by the captains. Manzoor’s hundred followed the 170 on Saturday from his Kenyan counterpart Tikolo, who took three wickets as Pakistan succumbed against spin.The day began on a bright note for Pakistan. Kenya, resuming on 344 for 7, were all out for 372. Anwar Ali added one more wicket to his six on the first day to end with figures of 7 for 97, and Mohammad Talha bagged the final two wickets.Peter Ongondo struck early in Pakistan’s reply, removing Umar Amin and Asad Shafiq with the score on 22. Manzoor and Fawad Alam added 67 for the third wicket before Alam became the first of four wickets for left-arm spinner Hiren Varaiya. Raheel Majeed scored 33 off 43 balls in a stand of 52, but his innings was cut short by Ongondo.Tikolo and Varaiya shared the remaining wickets to fall in the innings. Wicketkeeper Naeem Anjum and Talha got starts, but failed to build a big partnership with Manzoor, who was the ninth batsman out. Varaiya took 4 for 66 off 13.5 overs while Ongondo bowled economically, taking three wickets and conceding just 29 off 12 overs.Kennedy Otieno fell for the second time to Anwar as Kenya began their second innings. The hosts closed the day at 15 for 1, leading by 110 runs.

The sporting landscape of Fiji and Samoa is dominated by the oval ball, but for the next two weeks the focus will be on a little red object as the MCC arrive for a six-match tour

Cricinfo staff06-Oct-2008The sporting landscape of Fiji and Samoa is dominated by the oval ball, but for the next two weeks the focus will be on a little red object as the MCC arrive for a six-match tour.The 14-man squad includes three county players – Glamorgan’s Mike Powell, Gloucestershire’s Tom Stayt and Worcestershire’s Josh Knappett – and the tour will also include coaching sessions in Suva.The MCC will donate US$2,500 to both the Fijian and Samoan cricket associations and the ICC will give US$1,250 to each country.Bob Baxter, a ten-time MCC tourist, will manage the trip. “This tour gives us a wonderful opportunity to represent the club both in the quality of our play but also in the way we conduct ourselves,” he said. “We’re looking forward to some good competitive cricket, played in the right spirit.”Stayt, a right-arm medium-pace bowler, is looking forward to some action after a 2008 season hit by injury. “It was frustrating to end the season fully fit and still raring to go,” he said. “This MCC tour gives me a great opportunity to keep my momentum going as I look to impress the coaching team at Gloucestershire ahead of next season.”The tour opens with the first of three 50-over matches against a Samoan XI at the Garden Oval, in Tuanaimato, then the tour moves to Fiji for three further games.

French football expert Adam White believes Brandon Soppy would prove to be a hit if he seals a move to Celtic before the transfer window closes.

Soppy broke into Ligue 1 side Rennes’ first-team last season and made 11 appearances.

According to French media outlet L’Equipe, the right-back has entered the final 12 months of his contract and been the subject of interest from Scottish Premiership giants Celtic, who could complete the signing by meeting his €5m (£4.25m) price tag.

The report claims Celtic are facing competition for Soppy’s services, with newly-promoted Premier League outfit Watford and Udinese, of Serie A, also keeping a close eye on proceedings.

The 19-year-old has won five caps for France’s under-18 side and could add another dimension to Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side after a disastrous start to the campaign.

Having already exited the Champions League in the second qualifying round for the second consecutive year, the Glasgow-based club then lost their opening Scottish Premiership clash of the season at Hearts.

Get French Football News’ White has urged Celtic to boost their options by signing Soppy.

He told Football FanCast: “He’s very inexperienced and very attacking. Soppy likes to take players on and is very good on the ball.

“He has a lot of potential and there’s a reason why all these clubs are interested in him – he has talent.

“I definitely think he has the potential and can make an impact at Celtic, absolutely.”

Celtic have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Royal Antwerp right-back Aurelio Buta, according to The Daily Record.

The Lowdown: Buta links

Celtic are on the hunt for a new right-back this summer and have been linked with a move for Buta for a number of weeks.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano was the man who initially shared the Hoops’ interest in the 24-year-old more than three weeks ago.

Reports since have claimed a £3m deal has been agreed between the two clubs, with personal terms believed to be the main issue.

The Latest: Antwerp inclusion

The Daily Record shared an update on Buta to Celtic on their live transfer blog on Saturday (16:16).

They shared the news that the Portuguese defender has been included in Antwerp’s official squad list, titling the news as another blow for the Hoops.

Claims of a deal being agreed between the two clubs were mentioned once again, with personal terms still yet to be agreed.

The Verdict: Time is ticking

Celtic don’t want to be left in a position where a deal for Buta falls through and leaves them with no time to add to their right-back ranks.

Anthony Ralston has been an ever-present figure in Ange Postecoglou’s side recently, so if the Royal Antwerp defender doesn’t want to accept the Hoops’ best offer, then they should move on.

Other right-backs such as Josip Juranovic, George Baldock and Fabricio Bustos have also been linked with a move to Celtic Park, so the Hoops may need to set a deadline for Buta before looking elsewhere.

In other news: Transfer listed: ‘Destructive’ Celtic-linked ace missing on Saturday as Hoops link resurfaces

Plays of the day for day two of the third Test between India and Australia in Delhi

Cricinfo staff30-Oct-2008
Ricky Ponting stands at silly mid-on © Getty Images
I placed it there
In Chennai they call it the idea shot. Brett Lee had just been pulled by VVS Laxman in the gap between two men on the square boundary. Two balls later, Lee bowled a better bouncer, the ball rising right up to Laxman’s face. Laxman fended at it, his eyes not on the ball, and off the glove it went between Brad Haddin and Matthew Hayden, at a wide lone slip. That boundary took Laxman to 78, and a bad day for Australia got worse.The unholy reunion avoided
For most of the time that Laxman batted, Ricky Ponting stood at silly mid-on, right in front of Gautam Gambhir, the non-striker. On one occasion, Ponting turned and did a little shimmy, reminiscent of Simon Katich’s move last evening when he got into a tangle with Gambhir. This time, though, it was all in good humour. Gambhir smiled, Ponting laughed, and the umpire did not have to get between the two men.Nervous 99
Laxman got to 99 off the 159th ball he faced, but Mitchell Johnson came up with a devious plan to keep him away from the century for as long as possible. With a packed off-side field, Johnson kept bowling wide outside off, testing Laxman’s patience. He almost got the result when Laxman edged Cameron White to slip, but the ball bounced in front of the fielder. Apart from that one misjudgment Laxman kept his cool, and played out 11 dot balls before getting to his 100, via a cover-drive off White. He rolled his left arm over, after reaching the century, a gesture, according to Sunil Gavaskar doing TV commentary, meant for Zaheer Khan who had probably predicted Laxman would get the century.Inspired bowling change, but too late
Ponting hasn’t won himself many fans for his choices for bowling changes in this series. Today, he brought himself on even before Watson got a bowl. Watson had managed to contain the run-flow yesterday, but the last over he bowled was the 61st of the Indian innings. He had to wait till the 124th over to get the ball back, and he struck immediately, removing Gambhir in the first over he bowled.Simon and Aleem
When he comes in at 444 for 5, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a dangerous man. He can manufacture shots in a way that nobody on the field, or in the crowd, is safe. He pummelled a half-tracker from Katich that stayed low straight down the ground. The ball travelled so fast that Aleem Dar had no time to get out of the way. And then Super Simon dived in front of him, risked his left hand, but prevented the ball from crossing the stumps. A relieved Dar waited for Katich to get up, and shook his hand in gratitude. The Indians will hope Dar forgets the incident by the time they start appealing against Katich the batsman.
Shane Watson bowled Gautam Gambhir in his first over of the day © AFP
Anticipation is the thing
Hayden has taken some special slip catches this series, but with the way Gambhir and Laxman batted, even he let down his guard at slip. You cannot blame a man who stood bending for 109 overs for one catch for not expecting any other offerings. Especially off Cameron White. But that’s what happened when Gambhir played White for the turn, but the ball went straight on. Hayden was slow to react, and could not even get a hand to it.How to get to the double
Laxman was on 198 and India were waiting to declare when Virender Sehwag decided he should help hurry things up. From the dressing room he tried to catch the batsman’s attention and signalled a reverse-sweep as the shot Laxman should try to get to his landmark. Though it isn’t clear whether Laxman saw what Sehwag intended him to do, he did jump out of the crease in the next ball and lofted Michael Clarke over long-on. Double-century was reached, declaration was made, cut to a smiling and satisfied Sehwag.

Carlton Palmer has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that Said Benrahma needs time to adapt to the Premier League but has challenged the winger to kick on this season.

Benrahma joined on loan from Brentford last October before signing permanently in January to allow space for Jesse Lingard to come in on loan for the rest of the campaign.

However, despite being arguably the standout player in the Championship the previous season when Brentford were beaten play-off finalists, the Algerian scored just once and provided six more assists in 33 Hammers outings last season.

Several of those 30 appearances were from the bench, though, with the January arrival of Lingard seeing Benrahma drop to the bench for much of the second half.

But Benrahma found some confidence towards the end of the season, netting his first goal against Brighton, part of three goal contributions in a five-match spell.

Benrahma has clearly taken that newfound confidence into the new campaign after scoring one and assisting another in West Ham’s opening day victory at Newcastle on Sunday.

And Palmer told The Transfer Tavern that now is his time to prove his worth:

“You’ve got to give the kid the opportunity and time. He’s come up a level, the Premier League is a different animal. He’s had a little look at it now, and if he can get off to a good start who knows what happens.

“You’d like to think he can make the step up for the money they paid for him, but only time will tell.”

The BCCI expects “no problem” in hosting the first Test as scheduled from December 11 in Chennai, where Reg Dickason, the ECB’s security advisor, carried out an inspection of the stadium

Cricinfo staff03-Dec-2008
Security consultant Reg Dickason examines facilities in Chennai © Cricinfo Ltd.
The Indian cricket board says it expects “no problem” in hosting the first Test as scheduled from December 11 in Chennai, where Reg Dickason, the ECB’s security advisor, carried out an inspection of the stadium on Wednesday. “We had some security concerns and those have been addressed,” Dickason said after the inspection.England’s tour of India, starting next week, and their players’ availability for the two-Test series hinges on the security report Dickason will submit to the ECB. “Dickason will go to Mohali for discussions with Punjab Cricket Association and then make his report to the ECB,” N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, said.In Chennai, Dickason had discussions with Srinivasan, who is also president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), which manages the MA Chidambaram stadium, and had security-related discussions with Chennai’s police commissioner and other officials. He also visited the venue around afternoon and inspected the dressing rooms and the players’ sitting areas.”Based on the discussions held and the clarifications given, the BCCI expects no problem with the first Test being held in Chennai,” Srinivasan said.BCCI sources told Cricinfo that Dickason “had sent a set of conditions before his arrival and during the inspection these things will be discussed”. The requirements are believed to involve blanket security from Indian special forces. Indian newspapers have reported that the ECB had asked the BCCI for a group of 20 commandos to accompany the team at all times along with an emergency evacuation plan in case of a terrorist strike and a security blanket over England’s dressing rooms.Chennai police commissioner K Radhakrishnan said that Dickason expressed satisfaction on the security arrangements being planned for the match. “[A] central access control system will be installed at the vantage point and the players’ viewing area and also at the team hotel. The players, upon their arrival here, will be advised to restrict their movements outside the hotel area,” he said. “The Tamil Nadu police will also provide extra security at the stadium, which will be more than the usual security arrangement and the players protection by the security staff will be watertight.”On the cricket front, the Indian selectors are expected to meet in Chennai on Thursday afternoon to pick the team for the two Tests, while the ECB is learned to be considering the option of organizing a practice game in Abu Dhabi for their team on its way to India.”There are plans but nothing is finalised yet,” an official in Abu Dhabi told Cricinfo. “It will be a stop-over for a few days but they are currently struggling to get a flight to Abu Dhabi. It is difficult to arrange a game right now as it has been the national day holidays and also Eid is coming up, so the players are away. But we’ll set up the nets and facilities at the Sheikh Zayed stadium for them should they come. A decision is expected later this evening.”

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said the cricketing fraternity must try to rise above the threat of terrorism

Cricinfo staff30-Nov-2008
Haroon Lorgat: “Cricket is a common thread that binds all ICC members and we must seek to ensure those ties endure. By doing so we will ensure our strong sport will grow even stronger” © AFP
Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said the cricketing fraternity must rise above the threat of terrorism and urged England to go ahead with its Test tour of India if the security situation is deemed safe. Lorgat said security concerns would be on the agenda at next weekend’s ICC chief executives’ meeting in Cape Town and there is a strong possibility the 2011 World Cup, due to be held in the subcontinent, will be discussed in this context.England put off their final two ODIs against India after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and there are doubts over their players returning to India for the two-Test series, though the second Test has been shifted from Mumbai to Chennai.”If safety and security allow then I would urge the England Test tour of India to go ahead and if it does so then representatives of the ICC will be there to show solidarity with the competing teams,” Lorgat said, in a message condoling the tragedy in Mumbai. “And if those Tests are played I would also urge supporters of the game to attend them … to send a message to those who seek to disrupt our way of life that we will not be prevented from doing what we want.”Lorgat said he would take up the issue of security concerns at the Cape Town meeting, which will be attended by chief executives of the ICC’s 10 Full Members, as well as three Associate Member representatives, the ICC president, vice-president and himself.One of those attending will be James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, and he said security concerns over the 2011 World Cup were likely to come up for discussion. “It hasn’t been talked about but that may well have changed out of this Mumbai incident but one would hope the World Cup and other events that are planned for various places in the sub-continent can go ahead as planned,” he told the .There is some speculation that standby hosts could be identified for the 2011 tournament but Sutherland said he did not know if another country had been put on standby and was non-committal when asked if Australia would have enough time to prepare for the event should it be switched.”I don’t know the answer to that. It’s something that down the track would need to be looked at, but we are very keen for it to go ahead where it has already been allocated,” he said. “Let’s see how things settle down after the tragic events of Mumbai.”ICC spokesman James Fitzgerald said there had yet to be any discussions about shifting the tournament. “A decision would have to be made soon if that was to happen because we need a good run in to get the World Cup ready on time.”

A number of Liverpool supporters are delighted after an official club tweet emerged showing Andy Robertson running again after his ankle injury.

The Scot has been an enormous player for the Reds since joining from Hull City in 2017, maturing into arguably the best left-back in Europe.

Robertson has been a model of consistency down the left flank, providing endless quality in the final third but also defending doggedly.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

It is rare that the 27-year-old gets injured but he is currently sidelined with an ankle issue picked up during the final stages of pre-season.

There was concern that Robertson could miss a big chunk of action, given how serious the injury looked at the time, but the current signs are positive.

On Wednesday, the club tweeted some footage of the left-back running at the training ground, suggesting his return to the fold might not be too far away.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-10/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans react to Robertson video

These Liverpool provided their thoughts on Twitter, with plenty of reason for positivity.

“This made me so happy”

Credit: @SirXabi

“MY BOY IS BACK!!!!!!”

Credit: @ArtiiGL

“This guy ahhh”

Credit: @WEBBZJAY

“If Carlsberg did Wednesdays’”

Credit: @KopAce74

“This guy is Terminator”

Credit: @StephenJPike

“Never been more excited to see a guy running”

Credit: @BrendoTGB

In other news, some Liverpool fans are fuming at one piece of Reds transfer business. Read more here.