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Following the arrivalsÂof Jack Colback and Ayoze Perez, Newcastle UnitedÂyesterday confirmed Siem De Jong as their third summer signing. ÂThe 25 year oldÂagreed terms on a six year deal and has moved from Ajax for a reported fee of £6 million.Capable of playing as a playmaker or an outright striker, many view the signing of the Dutchman as the long-awaited replacement for Yohan Cabaye. But with Papiss Cisse the only other senior forward currently contracted to the club, more attacking reinforcements are desperately required at St James’ Park.After the disappointments of the last few transfer windows, Newcastle fans aren’t anticipating many further arrivals at their club this summer. But following such a dismal run of form in 2014, Mike Ashley may finally be ready to put his hand in his pocket or delve into the club’s recent impressive profits.Bearing this in mind, here are SIX signings to follow De Jong to Newcastle this summer.[ffc-gallery]

Click on Remy Cabella to start

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REMY CABELLA

The six month transfer saga that shows no signs of abating any time soon, Newcastle are still believed to be in the hunt for Cabella. The 24 year old racked up fourteen goals and five assists in a struggling Montpellier side this season.

In spite of Newcastle’s troubles in 2014, the Frenchman is still believed to be keen on a move to Tyneside. Capable of fulfilling a central or wide role, Pardew will be keen to add Cabella to his ranks if Montpellier can be negotiated down from their lofty £16 million valuation.

However, some Newcastle fans fear that the arrival of De Jong may spell the end of a prospective deal for the Montpellier playmaker.

ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE

De Jong has been brought in to create and supply but there is currently a dearth of striking talent at the club. Shola Ameobi has been released, Papiss Cisse has been ruled out through for an extended period and no permanent deals for Luuk De Jong or Loic Remy seem to be in the offing.

Enter Alexandre Lacazette.

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Lyon may have struggled in Ligue 1 but the 23 year old still managed to net fifteen times in the league. Newcastle will hope to profit from the French club’s financial woes but will likely face strong competition for Lacazette’s signature. If Luis Suarez departs for Barcelona, many expect Liverpool to move for the Frenchman this summer.

DANNY INGS

A striking solution much closer to home, recent rumours on social media have strongly linked the Magpies with a move for Ings. The 22 year old’s return of twenty one strikes played a massive part in securing Burnley’s promotion from the Championship this season.

German duo Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg have surprisingly been credited with an interest in the striker, along with the likes of Everton, Liverpool, Newcastle and Southampton. Burnley are understandably reluctant to part company with Ings and are believed to be holding out for £7 million for the Englishman.

Pardew may try and find better value on the continent but most Newcastle fans wouldn’t be disappointed with the signing of the 22 year old.

CLEMENT GRENIER

With the arrival of De Jong and the continued pursuit of Cabella, talk of a move for Grenier has cooled in recent months. The Magpies launched an unsuccessful “substantial” bid for the 23 year old back in January in a last ditch attempt to replace Yohan Cabaye.

Judging by these spectacular efforts, the Frenchman certainly seems capable of filling the PSG midfielder’s boots when it comes to free kick duties.

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As it stands, Newcastle look set to pursue other targets ahead of Grenier this summer. But with the club worryingly short of creative attacking talent, the 23 year old will surely remain on the club’s radar for the foreseeable future.

SERGE AURIER

Although attack is most certainly the priority, a replacement for Mathieu Debuchy may be required this summer. Speculation linking the full back with a move to Arsenal continues to gather momentum and a £12 million deal has been mooted in some circles.

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Even though the Ivory Coast flattered to deceive once again, Aurier impressed in Brazil and managed to pick up two vital assists in the victory over Japan. Strong defensively and a potent offensive outlet, signing the 21 year old Toulouse full back as a replacement for Debuchy could turn out to be a smart piece of business.

Indeed, it is a scenario which many Newcastle fans themselves have suggested on Twitter.

STEVEN CAULKER

0-3. 0-4. 0-4.

This horrendous sequence of results at the beginning of April not only emphasised the club’s blunt attack but also their frailties at the back. Fabricio Coloccini has established himself over the years as a reliable performer but lacks a solid defensive partner.

Lauded by many as one of England’s most promising centre backs, many were surprised by Tottenham’s decision to sell Caulker last summer. The defender moved for first team football but may be looking for a new club once again following Cardiff’s relegation into the Championship.

Attack may be the priority this summer but for a rumoured £8 million, Pardew would do well to strengthen his leaky defence with this 22 year old centre back.

Manchester United are set to step up their interest in England U21 star Thomas Ince with Nani thought to be edging towards the Old Trafford exit door, according to the Daily Mirror.

The Blackpool star has put in a number of impressive performances this season as the former Liverpool youth academy product looks set to live up to his billing as one of the brightest talents in English football.

It is thought that the Red Devils are finally set to make their move and they have been tracking the son of former United legend Paul Ince since the summer transfer window.

At the time, the Seasiders were keen to fight off Premier League interest, with the 20-year-old being viewed as pivotal to their promotion bid.

They were proven correct with Ince scoring 7 goals in the first 12 league games of this season, including a smart finish against Derby in a 4-1 victory on Saturday.

However, now that Manchester United are expected to come calling, the interest could prove too much for the Championship club to ignore.

Former Blackpool boss Ian Holloway believes the player has the capability to emulate and even overtake current England internationals Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain.

The Daily Mirror believes that a bid hinges upon whether Nani decides to stay at Old Trafford with the Portuguese winger currently facing an uncertain future.

Sir Alex Ferguson fuelled fresh speculation about the former Sporting Lisbon ace, after he reacted angrily to the mistake the 25-year-old made in the Capital One Cup 4th round clash with Chelsea which helped the Blues score a late equaliser and catapult them to an extra time victory.

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The batter posted his List A stats on social media, expressing surprise at his omission

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2024Prithvi Shaw has been left out of Mumbai’s squad for the first three rounds of the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy beginning December 21. The announcement was made on Tuesday, two days after Mumbai beat Madhya Pradesh in Bengaluru to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Ajinkya Rahane, who played a key role in the triumph by top-scoring in the tournament, has been rested following a request for a break. Rahane made 469 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 164.56, with five half-centuries, as an opener.Shreyas Iyer continues to remain captain, while Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur feature in a full-strength 17-member squad. Opener Ayush Mhatre, who missed the domestic T20 competition to be part of India’s Under-19 Asia Cup squad, returns to the mix.Shaw’s exclusion comes at a time when questions continue to be raised about his form and fitness. He failed to hit a half-century in nine innings in the SMA Trophy – 197 runs with a highest of 49 against Vidarbha in the quarter-final.Related

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Shaw expressed surprise at his omission by posting his List A stats in an Instagram story. “Tell me god, what more do I have to see…if 65 innings, 3399 runs at an average of 55.7 with a strike rate of 126, I’m not good enough…but I will keep my faith in you and hopefully people believe in me still…cause I will come back for sure. Om Sai Ram.”The spotlight has been on Shaw since he was dropped from Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy squad in October owing to fitness and disciplinary issues. While he received support from Greg Chappell and Kevin Pietersen, Shaw’s fitness standards and “work ethic” – as stated by Iyer – continues to be a concern. In December, Shaw wasn’t picked in an IPL auction for the first time.”He needs to get his work ethics right, and if he does that, the sky is the limit for him,” Iyer said after Mumbai won the SMA Trophy. “We can’t babysit anyone, right? Every professional who is playing at this level, they need to know what they should be doing. And he has also done it in the past; it’s not that he hasn’t. He has to focus, he has to sit back, [and] put a thinking cap on, and then figure out himself. He will get the answer by himself.Baroda, semi-finalists at SMAT, will be without Hardik Pandya for the first few rounds of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as part of his workload management, keeping in mind India’s upcoming schedule that includes six white-ball games at home against England followed by the Champions Trophy. Hardik played seven games for Baroda in the SMA Trophy, where he hit 246 runs at a strike rate of 193.70, with two half-centuries. He also bowled 19 overs in those games for six wickets.

While acknowledging Athapaththu’s contribution, SL coach was pleased others played their part in the historic win too

Valkerie Baynes07-Sep-2023Sri Lanka Women’s coach Rumesh Ratnayake has described his team’s T20I series triumph over England as “really huge” for cricket in the country.Sri Lanka blew their hosts away by seven and eight wickets respectively to come back from 1-0 down and hand England their first T20I series defeat by a side other than Australia since 2010.It followed Sri Lanka’s home 2-1 ODI victory against New Zealand in June and coincided with Pakistan’s 3-0 sweep of South Africa in their T20I series.Related

• Coach Warnapura hails 'scintillating' Athapaththu as SL seal famous win

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Given that Sri Lanka are ranked six places lower than England and Pakistan two spots behind South Africa in the format, the results have fuelled hopes that the gap between the top-ranked nations and the rest can be closed. Ratnayake’s prediction that his side’s victory will make people sit up and take notice in Sri Lanka can only help the cause.”If I say it’s huge, it’s not good enough because it’ll be really huge,” he told ESPNcricinfo after Wednesday night’s victory in the series decider in Derby, led by captain Chamari Athapaththu’s 3 for 21 and 44 off 28.”It’s really huge because when we left Sri Lankan shores, they didn’t think that we would do so well. Everybody thought maybe you might win one out of six. But I just told the girls that we are here not just to play and participate, we are here to win. I think it is going to be huge there. The awareness of girls playing and wanting to be people like Chamari and the likes would be huge.”Athapaththu had been instrumental in the win at Chelmsford also, her brutal half-century helping mow down another meagre target after England were bowled out inside 20 overs for the first of two successive games. Her scintillating form this year – she has two unbeaten centuries and four half-centuries across white-ball formats in 2023 – has only emphasised Athapaththu’s position as the lynchpin of her side, but Ratnayake was pleased that others had contributed to their latest victory too.Kavisha Dilhari, the 22-year-old off-spinner matched Athapaththu’s five wickets for the series and was key to their latest victory with her variations in speed and tight lines, claiming 2 for 16. Seamer Udeshika Prabodhani also bagged 2-16 in Derby and, along with left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera and offspinner Inoshi Priyadharshani, rounded out the series’ top-five bowlers.Chamari Athapaththu has been in superb form lately•Getty Images

“It’s huge,” Ratnayake said of Athapaththu’s influence on the team. “But our challenge is to win without her. I saw the others sort of stepping into it as well. We’ve got some good players, but to have another Chamari would be a freakish outcome in the future.”That’s the way we play back home. Sometimes I keep Chamari with me and we play matches without her, and we see where we stand against good opposition, and that’s a challenge for the future. It’s working out well.”You’ll be surprised, even the smallest can hit sixes now. So we are there, but it’s a collective thing, it’s a cohesive thing where everybody gets together and works as a team.”We know where we can be and we can see the picture and that’s how we are here and that’s what we came for. We spoke of playing cricket for moments like this, for tours like this.”Ratnayake also attributed practice matches against men’s sides to helping his players’ development, but he highlighted a change in mindset as critical.”I recognised what we need to do and created an environment which was a learning environment where they were free to express themselves in a fearless manner because I saw them playing cricket in a very fearful way,” he said. “When they started to play like that, we saw some good things coming out. It was a challenging environment where they learned a lot of things.”A fearless approach is precisely what Jon Lewis, England Women’s head coach, asked of his players when he took charge last year. He even applied the philosophy to selection for Sri Lanka’s visit, opting to rest some senior players to test younger, less experienced ones at international level.Even after the loss to Sri Lanka, Lewis stood by the approach, saying it was about “trying to give people opportunities who’ve been sat on the edge of our squad or just outside our squad, to try and learn about what they’re capable of under pressure”.While England will welcome back star allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt and opener Tammy Beaumont for the three-match ODI leg starting in Durham on Saturday, that series could hinge somewhat on whose courage wavers first.

Former England batter had been involved with men’s team selection since 2018

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-2022The reorganisation of England men’s coaching and selection structures has continued with the ECB announcing the departure of James Taylor from his role as head scout.Taylor, the former England, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire batter, joined the ECB in 2018, working beneath national selector, Ed Smith. When Smith’s role was made redundant in 2021, Taylor moved into the scouting role, assisting head coach, Chris Silverwood, with selection.The arrival of Rob Key as England men’s managing director has already seen a number of changes, with separate head coaches appointed for red- and white-ball cricket, and the return to selection by a panel.Key is reportedly keen to bring back the national selector role, but is understood to be considering splitting the position by format, too. The Daily Mail last week linked former England batter Ian Bell with the job of Test selector.”James Taylor has been a great servant to English cricket both as a player and an excellent administrator over the past four years,” Key said. “He has a deep passion for the game and is attuned to the current demands of a modern cricketer, having played with and against most of the England set-up and pathway players.”Everyone at the ECB would like to thank James for his hard work and dedication and wish him well in the next chapter of his career.”