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An exciting Newcastle United transfer claim has been made regarding their plans for the summer window…

What’s the talk?

Journalist Pete O’Rourke has stated that the club will lean into deals similar to the one they attempted to complete with Hugo Ekitike in January.

The Magpies reportedly had a bid of £33m accepted by Reims in the last transfer window to sign the teenage striker, only for the player to reject the move at the last minute.

O’Rourke told GIVEMESPORT: “I think the way Newcastle are looking right now, Eddie Howe and his plans going forward, I think they’ll be looking to try and sign some of the best young talent in Europe, which they tried to do in January with Ekitike at Reims.”

Howe will love it

Toon boss Eddie Howe will surely love this approach for multiple reasons.

Firstly, it could save the club millions in two different ways. Firstly, signing a player at such a young age means that you are not buying them at their peak.

This means that you accept a risk that they may not fulfil their potential to avoid paying millions more for them when they are 25 and playing to the best of their abilities.

Take Jack Grealish as an example. Aston Villa reportedly wanted £30m for the midfielder in 2018 before selling him to Manchester City for a British record £100m in the summer of 2021. In theory, Pep Guardiola would have saved the club £70m by bringing him in earlier and developing him at the Etihad, rather than waiting for him to get to a point where he was deemed good enough.

This highlights one potential benefit to signing players at a young age. Another is that it gives them a longer shelf life at the club. Instead of having four or five years in their peak years to make an impact before being replaced, they could be at the club for eight or more years if they are signed in their teens or early 20’s as they are at an earlier point in their career and have more to offer in the long-term.

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Howe will also love the addition of young players as it will provide him with the chance to coach them on the training pitch.

He may take pleasure from being able to develop them into fulfilling their potential on the pitch at Newcastle and he will have the opportunity to do that if PIF splash the cash on bringing in talented young players in the upcoming windows, which is an exciting prospect heading into the summer for the reasons stated above.

AND in other news, Major boost: Newcastle now handed big injury lift that’ll leave Howe buzzing…

	Arjuna Ranatunga: ” We have lot of past cricketers and captains who are keen and willing to help. It’s a huge advantage for me” © Getty Images

Arjuna Ranatunga, recently appointed chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), has said one of his prime concerns is to improve the standard of junior cricket in the country and to prepare a team to win the 2011 World Cup, which will be hosted in Asia.The last time Asia hosted the World Cup was in 1996, and Sri Lanka won it under Ranatunga’s captaincy. “If we address the few problems that we have at present and pick the right team and create the right environment, winning another World Cup is within our reach,” Ranatunga said while addressing the media after taking over the chairmanship of SLC. “Today we can draw a lot of strength having the world’s greatest wicket-taker in the history of the game [Muttiah Muralitharan] and also the best batsman in the world [Kumar Sangakkara],” he said, “but for some reason our team is not occupying the place it should be at present.”I was lucky to win a World Cup, but the important thing is was from there onwards I don’t know whether we have gone on the right track,” he said. “I personally feel that we are second to none. We are one of the best sides in international cricket today, one of the most talented cricketing nations in the world. It’s very important to get it right.Ranatunga said he was keen on working for the betterment of the game and that the help of former cricketers would be a plus. “Something that I’ve always wanted to do to was to try and give something back from the administration side after retiring from cricket,” he said. “I am not really concerned about what people say. I came here to do a proper job and address the issues facing Sri Lanka cricket today. We have lot of past cricketers and captains who are keen and willing to help. It’s a huge advantage for me.”Ranatunga said he was confident of achieving his goals within a certain timeframe, just as he did when he led Sri Lanka to a World Cup win. “This position is not a new thing for me. I’ve worked in the cricket committee for a short period,” said Ranatunga, after being appointed chairman following the resignation of Jayantha Dharmadasa on Monday. “The important thing is that I am a straightforward person. I will do the right thing. I have got the blessings of the President of the country and the two Sports Ministers. It is very important for me to get the backing from the Sri Lanka Cricket staff, coaches and even the media.”In the past a lot of good things have taken place but we have to put right areas where we have gone wrong. Cricket is something that belongs to everyone in the country. I think I have a great responsibility and there were a lot of people who wanted me to take over this post. Now that I have accepted it, it is my responsibility to do the right thing for cricket.”Ranatunga said his parliamentary experience would be also aid him in improving the game. He expressed his desire to take cricket to the villages. “I think in the recent past it has not gone the way it should. Cricketers in the provinces and districts should be given the same facilities and employment as in Colombo so that the game develops in those areas,” he said. “What we have here today is that because of the lack of such facilities we have all of them coming down to Colombo which is not good for the game.”When my team won the World Cup there was about 60-70 percent cricketers from the outstations [places other than Colombo]. Even today the majority of our national team comprises outstation cricketers.Junior cricket is high on Ranatunga’s priority. “Something has gone wrong somewhere in our junior cricket and we have to address that immediately. School cricket is the foundation of our cricket,” he said. “I believe that if you can get the junior and Under-19 cricket going properly the problems that exist in the national team will cease and we’ll have quality cricketers coming through.”

Soon after the fall of the second wicket in the opening ODI match with Scotland at Mombasa, I passed Canadian coach Andy Pick on my way round the ground. “I know you’d be more interested in winning the game,” I told him, “but that stand was a new Canadian ODI second-wicket record.” We agreed it was another step, although a century stand would have looked better than 87 runs….and would have been a Canadian first for an ODI game. Canada’s best is a stand of 96 runs for the first wicket.John Davison’s innings had gone out with a blast, after Ashish Bagai had set the pace with shots blending power, technique and the all-important singles to keep the scoreboard moving. Three or four more big overs at that time and Canada would have been really surging…but that’s the nature of cricket, and sport in general.Davison had made 41, being deprived of two runs as one six hit a couple of leaves on the tree that is within the playing area. A ‘ground rule 4’, as they would say in baseball. The leaves fell in front of the media table, presumably dropping some 30 feet, if not more.The third wicket against Scotland added 122, but it included Ashish Bagai retiring hurt at 148 for 2. Qaiser Ali was then joined by Desmond Chumney. Bagai returned to the crease in the final over and ended on 64 not out. This was his third fifty in five ODI innings in Africa this Canadian winter and a new ODI personal best.Ali went on to record his best ODI score of 70, building on his innings of 174 against the Netherlands in the ICC Intercontinental Cup in December. Realistically, Ali needed a good score in ODI cricket, his previous best from four matches was just 12, set in South Africa after missing the opening matches due to an ankle injury.Chumney had gone to South Africa with a personal best of 28 in ODI cricket – not the kind of runs demanded from a specialist batsman. In Mombasa he matched that score, making it five innings in a row where he has matched or exceeded his ODI personal best. He reached 48 against the Dutch before his lack of acclimatisation took over in the opening match in South Africa.The naysayers, and there are several around the Canadian cricket scene, would no doubt like a balance to be struck. These records were not set against ICC Full Member countries. The first warm-up test in 2007 will be Bangladesh, who have been doing quite well, in late February in Antigua. The Canadian batting has failed during 2006-07. The major slump in the first innings against the Dutch in the Intercontinental Cup saw six wickets tumble in eight balls. A couple of the shots played in this phase lacked discipline but that type of incident is starting to become the exception.A couple of victims in that phase, Sunil Dhaniram and Ashif Mulla, batted well against Scotland. Dhaniram ended on his second ODI fifty. Mulla’s knock of 26 was probably better from a technical perspective than his 30 against Bermuda in Potchefstroom. Clearly he has been listening to the coach.The optimists, and those beyond that realm (Canadian cricket includes several of them, based on my experience), would delight in the January 14 headline from the Sunday Telegraph. “Pitiful line-up for World Cup” said Scyld Berry, in reference to England’s prospects. We can but dream, as the big showdown in St Lucia approaches on March 18.There is a gap in the playing levels of full-time players, especially those at elite levels, and most leading Associate country players. It has similarities to the way Rugby Union has moved since the introduction and rise of professionalism, or in a more traditional Canadian context, (ice) hockey.Both those sports face issues of player releases from club teams to the next layer of national team. Similar to the situation of Geoff Barnett being contracted to Central Districts, so he will not be in Nairobi for the World Cricket League Division 1; a major event from a Canadian perspective. Not to mention the potential $250,000 windfall for a top-two placing and a berth in the Twenty20 World Championships later in the year.Of course, another facet of Canadian cricket is that the selectors would have to pick Barnett: a “major league” topic in itself. There was talk at the CCA’s 2005 Annual General Meeting of having to sort out the selection processes. I think there is still some way to go until things get ironed out, but I digress.Either way, don’t expect a whole chain of surprise successes at the World Cup. People talk of Davison’s 111 versus West Indies in the last World Cup. it was a great achievement and a cup record, and there was also the win over Bangladesh. But on the down side, there was that 36 all out versus Sri Lanka, beating the previous low score in the World Cup that was set by Canada at the 1979 World Cup when out for 45 runs.This will be Canada’s third time in the World Cup. The way the batting is shaping up, there should be no disaster innings. Technique, application, the basics, shot selection. That, I believe, has been Andy Pick’s message to the National side and I am sure he would love to see that across Canadian cricket, particularly in the elite levels from youngsters upwards.In the meantime, on Saturday January 20, Canada face Kenya. A team Canada beat in an exciting ICC Intercontinental Cup match in the summer with batting application from different players in each innings, and solid efforts from the bowlers, especially Umar Bhatti.Bhatti will miss this week’s match with Kenya as his ankle recovers from a net practice injury sustained in Toronto. There is unlikely to be much help in the wicket for the bowlers, based on the two opening matches of this series. As Pick said on Thursday, “Kenya will be a difficult game. They are playing in their own conditions.” But if Canada can get among the runs, there is certainly hope.

An opening stand of 159 between Subhomoy Das and Sourav Ganguly guided Bengal to a nine-wicket win over Jharkhand at Dhanbad. Ganguly was dismissed for 72, but Das went on to score 126 not out off 139 balls. Jharkhand’s 245 for 9 was built around an unbeaten from Rajiv Kumar, with Ganguly, Shib Paul and Saurasish Lahiri each taking two wickets.Tripura clinched a low-scoring affair against Assam at Dhanbad by five wickets thanks to the steady hand of Manoj Singh (44). Winning the toss and electing to field, Tripura dismissed Assam for just 123 in 46.1 overs with Vinit Jain (3 for 33) and Timir Chandra (3 for 25) rocking the top order. Left reeling at 46 for 7, Assam recovered somewhat thanks to Anand Katti’s dour 29 from 89 deliveries, but in the end a total of 123 proved too little. S Tarafdar gave Tripura a run for their money initially, taking 4 for 41before they reached home in the 44th over.Hemang Badani’s 109 and tight bowling from Tamil Nadu’s bowlers saw them clinch a 66-run win over Hyderabad. Consuming just 77 deliveries in his thrilling innings – complete with seven sixes – Badani took TN to a commanding 264 before Ganapathi Vignesh and Sridharan Sriram picked up key wickets to rout Hyderabad for 198 in 45.3 overs. Badani also picked up the wicket of top-scorer D Vinay Kumar (58) as TN swept the hosts aside. The win, the third in-a-row for TN, gave them 14 points from three matches. It was Hyderabad’s third consecutive loss.Chandrashekar Raghu’s second hundred of the tournament and four wickets from Vinay Kumar powered Karnataka to a 66-run win over Andhra Pradesh and helped record their third straight win to pick 14 points from three matches. at Secunderabad. Batting first, Karnataka’s total of 273 was centered around Raghu’s 110 from 92 deliveries and Robin Uthappa’s 54 at the top of the innings. In response, Andhra never really got off the blocks as strikes from Kumar left them struggling at 28 for 3. Venugopal Rao, the Andhra captain, hit 72 to try and lead a fightback but was unable to sustain it due to a lack of partners at the other end.Vasudevan Jagadeesh’s unbeaten 52 and a breezy 41 not-out from Sreekumar Nair saw Kerala romp home by seven wickets against Goa at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Dismissed for 175 – with only Swapnil Asnodkar (56) and Robin D’Souza (46*) offering any resistance – Goa struggled to contain Asnodkar, Nair and a rampaging PV Manikandan, who smashed 40 from 24, as Kerala claimed victory in the 37th over. Prasanth Chandran (2 for 34) and Nair (2 for 33) were the prime wicket-takers for Kerala.

ScorecardIn Port Elizabeth Eastern Province took a first-innings lead of just one run, thanks to Michael Price, who fell just three short his falling maiden first-class hundred. Ettienne Potgieter had a near-perfect debut as he ended on an undefeated 70, while Ruan Nel scored 58.Jason Brooker will resume on 51 for Griquas, who lead by 99 runs. The game seems destined for a draw, and only a sporting declaration from Griquas can give this match any hope of a decisive result.
ScorecardIn East London Border recovered well from being 31 for 3 overnight toend just five runs short of the Northerns first-innings total of 240.Warwick Hinkel (78) and Bevan Bennett (53) led the recovery and kept Border in the game.The Northerns’ second innings received the impetus it needed from MauriceAronstam (37) and Johann Myburgh (46), who will continue the innings onthe third and final day.
ScorecardIn Benoni Gauteng took a 109-run first-innings lead over Easternsas Vaughn van Jaarsveld anchored Gauteng with a patient two-hour 54. Pierre de Bruyn mixed his pace well and was the most successful bowler for Easterns, taking 3 for 74.Andre Seymore, scoring at better than a run a ball, kept Easterns in thegame with an aggressive 63 which came off only 58 balls and included 19boundaries. When stumps were drawn Easterns were still 31 runs behindwith eight second-innings wickets in hand.

Hampshire Hawks recorded their fourth successive victory in the ECB National League Division Two in their clash against Sussex Sharks under the Hove floodlights to augment their second place in the table behind Lancashire.An impressive bowling display from the countries leading NCL wicket-taker Dimitri Mascarenhas at the start of the Sussex innings left the home side with too much to do, while Mascarenhas broke a long-standing Hampshire record in the process.Winning the toss was important as the Hawks chose to bat first in warm evening sunshine. They got off to the best possible start with James Hamblin and Simon Katich posting a century opening stand, both batsmen getting to half centuries.John Crawley and John Francis continued where they left off the previous day against Scottish Saltires in adding a 77-run partnership which brought Hampshire to a respectable score of 250-5, with Mascarenhas chipping in with 20 runs off just 11 balls at the end.Sussex Shark, in reply, lost their first five wickets for 37 runs, which made their task of chasing the score extremely difficult, especially after bad light stopped play when two of the main floodlights failed and readjusted the target to 244 to win off 41 overs.Mascarenhas took the first three wickets to fall and with some sprightly bowling from Chaminda Vaas and James Bruce decimated the home sides top order.Some late uninhibited hitting from Michael Yardy and Mark Davis kept the crowd entertained, and a couple of missed catches delayed the inevitable.Dimitri Mascarenhas’s four-wicket haul was his fourth of the season, the most ever in a season by a Hampshire bowler. Two bowlers have achieved three in a season – Tom Mottram in 1976 and Trevor Jesty in 1978.

Anil Kumble took five wickets to put India back in the driving seat after England made an excellent start to the second Test in Ahmedabad. Marcus Trescothick fell agonisingly short of his third Test century and England ended the day on 277 for 6.The day started with the disconcerting news that England were going into the match without their premier batsman. Graham Thorpe, who is flying home to sort out personal matters, will take no further part in the series. His place went to Yorkshire’s Michael Vaughan, and Ashley Giles returned to the side in place of James Ormond. India also made two changes, with Virender Sehwag replacing the injured Sanjay Bangar and fit-again Javagal Srinath coming in for Iqbal Siddiqui. Nasser Hussain chose to bat after winning the toss, and the game got under way half an hour late due to early morning dew.Although Mark Butcher was initially the freer-scoring of England’s two openers, it was Trescothick’s innings that eventually made the greater impression. On a sluggish pitch each batsman made the most of anything loose, and Sourav Ganguly introduced Harbhajan Singh as early as the 10th over. Despite early signs of turn on a slower wicket than Mohali, both left-handers remained positive, with Trescothick sweeping Harbhajan through midwicket and Butcher taking four more from Srinath through the covers. By lunch England had reached 79 without loss.The hapless Shiv Sunder Das had to leave the field early in the afternoon session, after being struck painfully on the shoulder at short leg as Trescothick swept Kumble right off the meat. When Srinath dropped short, the Somerset left-hander pulled him fiercely to the midwicket boundary, following up with a superb drive through the covers.After reaching his 50 and bringing up England’s hundred in the process, Trescothick welcomed Harbhajan back into the attack by swinging him for a heady six over midwicket. Butcher completed his own 50 by coming down the pitch to Harbhajan and taking four through mid-on. But Kumble then immediately accounted for Butcher, who got a thin edge to a ball that was angled across him outside the off stump, giving wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta a straightforward catch.Hussain had made just one when he was given out lbw to Kumble, playing round a googly which looked as though it might be going down the legside. Vaughan, after some early good fortune, was sawn off without ceremony by umpire Ian Robinson, caught at short leg off Kumble as the ball appeared to go straight off his pad. At tea England had reached 176 for 3 with Trescothick unbeaten on 99.The interval plainly didn’t agree with him; he was unnerved by a brilliant over from Kumble, eventually edging to Dasgupta to fall one short of his hundred. England subsided to 185 for 5 when Flintoff, pushing defensively at Kumble, was caught off bat and pad without scoring by VVS Laxman at silly point.Ramprakash was prepared to chance his arm in adversity, pulling Kumble for six over midwicket, and his attacking mood rubbed off on Craig White as the Yorkshireman dropped on one knee to drive Harbhajan for four through the covers. But Sachin Tendulkar regained India’s momentum with the first ball of a new spell, bowling Ramprakash off his pads with a quicker ball as he went back on to his stumps.White and James Foster took England watchfully to the close, Foster cashing in on two loose balls from Tendulkar, boosting his own confidence with boundaries through cover and midwicket. White mixed caution with occasional aggression as the two batsmen ended the day quietly against the spinners. There had been no Mohali-style collapse, but India must still be fancying their chances.

Australia fast bowler John Hastings is the latest to hedge his bets when it comes to the pink ball. It was in use in Victoria’s opening match of the Sheffield Shield season against Queensland at the MCG and Hastings mentioned at the end of the first day’s play that the pink ball lost its hardness rather quickly, and also pointed out that it doesn’t swing after approximately 15 overs leading to “a boring brand of cricket.”As a workaround, Hastings suggested changing it after 50 overs of use rather than 80 overs as is custom with the red ball. “It’s certainly better than the first few pink-ball games that we’ve played but I think there’s a fair bit of work to do,” he said. “The main issue for me is the hardness of the ball. It just doesn’t stack up to the red ball. Maybe if we change the ball at around 50-55 overs and get a new one or a semi-new one, it might be a better contest towards the end.”We’ve bowled about 15-16 overs with it and it stopped swinging,” he said. “It’s just a matter of the ball doesn’t move off the straight. It’s tough work. All you’ve got to do is set straight fields and it’s quite a boring brand of cricket when do have that pink ball.”If conventional swing was restricted, Hastings felt reverse swing with the pink ball was underwhelming. “It did actually go a little bit there at times. It wasn’t consistent. But the main thing is that when you get a red ball to go reverse, it’s actually quite hard and it can zip off the wicket. But with the pink ball we didn’t really get the zip off the wicket.”The rate of wear on the pink ball is a major concern to John Hastings•Getty Images

Hastings also indicated the fielders found it difficult to pick up the ball as it got discolored, echoing the comments made by Test batsman Adam Voges after the PM’s XI match against the touring New Zealanders. Cricket Australia, however, said it did not read too much into the issues.It was noted that with a lush outfield the pink ball’s durability was increased, but when the pitch and the outfield were abrasive – as in Manuka Oval where the PM’s XI match was held – the deterioration happened faster. Adelaide Oval, where the inaugural day-night Test between Australia and New Zealand beings on November 27, shares that trait. It is hosting a Shield match currently, where it is understood that the groundstaff were encouraged to prepare a grassy surface to keep the pink ball functioning optimally.When asked if the difficulty in sighting the pink ball posed safety concern for the players, Hastings said. “I don’t really know. It could well be but I’m not 100% sure. I felt okay at mid-on, I felt I could pick it up okay.”

Tim Spiers has given his reaction to the news that Wolves have advanced in the FA Youth Cup thanks to a 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Lowdown: Into the semi-finals

The game was played at Molineux on Saturday afternoon, with youngsters Ollie Tipton, Nathan Fraser and Harvey Griffiths scoring the goals to put the home side through.

They will now face Manchester United in the semi-final stage of the competition, in what could well prove to be a tougher test.

The Latest: Spiers reacts

Taking to Twitter, The Athletic journalist Spiers has given his reaction to the news that Wolves are through to the last four, and even commented on the work that under-18s manager Steve Davis is doing.

He gushed: “Wolves have only won the FA Youth Cup once and Jimmy Greaves was playing for the opposition, which shows you how long ago it was and how big a deal it is to get this far.

“U18s boss Steve Davis doing a great job. Potentially a big league finish with games in hand too. Great stuff.”

The Verdict: Promising

The fact that they have got this far suggests that Davis is bleeding a promising crop of young players at Molineux, which bodes well for the future.

The first team are having a fine season of their own, with Bruno Lage guiding them to eighth in the Premier League table, and they can leapfrog West Ham United into sixth by beating them in east London this afternoon.

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Nonetheless, Lage himself will likely be keeping one eye on the performances of these youngsters, in the hope that he can blend one or two of them into the first team ready for next season.

In other news, Wolves are now keen on signing this in-demand attacker

Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist, together with several other players, could be on a collision course with Cricket Australia over the Indian Premier League © Getty Images

Cricket Australia has told 11 Australian players including Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist it is disappointed with them for signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would allow them to play in the Indian Premier League. The IPL Twenty20 tournament is officially sanctioned by the ICC and in October it was announced that Ponting, Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Brett Lee, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey and Matthew Hayden were among an extensive list of Australian players to have signed up.But according to a report in the James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive, has written to the players to express his frustration at their actions. The paper obtained a copy of the letter in which Sutherland said he was disappointed Cricket Australia had not been consulted prior to the signing of the MOUs.”A number of significant issues remain unresolved, particularly regarding Australian players’ participation in the proposed events and the terms of participation,” Sutherland wrote. “Until CA is satisfied with the various terms and conditions associated with the IPL and CT20 [Champions Twenty20], CA will not consent to you or any other contracted player’s participation in the aforementioned tournaments.”You will no doubt be aware that this MOU sees you providing undertakings that will put you in conflict with your obligations to CA and/or your state association. In this context, I am disappointed that you have chosen not to discuss or advise CA of your decision.”Nathan Bracken, Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin, Jason Gillespie and the New South Wales-contracted Simon Katich were reported to have joined the league in October along with the other players. Sutherland said while Cricket Australia was generally supportive of the BCCI’s plans to develop the ICL, several issues remained would need to be resolved before Australian-contracted cricketers could become involved.The IPL season might clash with Australia’s scheduled Test tour of Pakistan early next year, although the Pakistan trip has not yet been confirmed due to the political situation in the country. However Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, said the players knew that their national commitments should come first. “I had a discussion with the players before the Hobart Test and their commitment is to play for Australia,” Marsh told .”As the calendar stands none of them will be able to play in the IPL for the next two years. The players have signed an MOU with the BCCI with the understanding there is a longer-term contract. This is currently being worked on to come later.”Cricket Australia’s spokesman Peter Young said the players were unlikely to go against the wishes of Cricket Australia. “It would be a breach of contract to play without our permission,” Young said.”The status of the baggy green is more powerful than cash for any red-blooded Australian and cricketers will tell you that themselves. I don’t think anyone is going to turn their back on a baggy green to play a short domestic competition somewhere else in the world.”