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Newcastle striker Alexander Isak is reportedly demanding a huge pay rise to stay at the club amid interest from Liverpool and Al-Hilal.

Isak in demand this summer Asks Newcastle for huge pay rise to stayCurrent contract expires in 2028Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Isak has attracted interest this summer after a brilliant season with Newcastle where he scored 27 goals in all competitions for Eddie Howe's side and helped the Magpies end their long wait for a trophy by winning the Carabao Cup. Liverpool and Al-Hilal are both keen on the Sweden international and are believed to be ready to splash out heavily to land the 25-year-old striker.

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Newcastle are eager to keep hold of their star man but have now been told he wants a huge pay rise to stay at the club. According to talkSPORT, Isak is demanding an eye-watering £300,000-a-week to sign a new contract at St James' Park which would smash the club's current pay structure. The striker's current contract at Newcastle runs until 2028.

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Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has said he's hopeful of keeping hold of Isak but did also concede that he had sent the striker home from Newcastle's friendly with Celtic due to the ongoing speculation about his future. Isak's agent has also offered a cryptic update on the current situation, telling Saudi newspaper  that currently they are "studying and analysing all options, and we may be close to finalising the next step for the player."

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Newcastle's next friendly is against Arsenal in Singapore on Sunday. All eyes will be on the Newcastle team to see if Isak makes his first appearance of pre-season for the Magpies.

He is the eighth uncapped player named in the traveling group for the two Tests

Firdose Moonda16-Jan-2024Opening batter Edward Moore has been added to South Africa’s Test squad for their two-Test series against New Zealand next month. Moore is the eighth uncapped player named in the traveling group, and takes the total squad size to 15.Moore’s call-up comes after Tony de Zorzi became unavailable when he landed an SA20 deal with Durban’s Super Giants. De Zorzi had been identified as an opener for the New Zealand series, and played in that role in the A team matches against West Indies, but, in line with CSA’s directive that players are obliged to fulfil SA20 duties ahead of international cricket, he cannot play in the series.Related

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With 117 first-class caps and an average of over 40 in red-ball cricket, Moore is vastly experienced, albeit only at domestic level. This season, he has scored 414 runs at an average of 51.57 in the first-class competition, and is currently the seventh-highest run-scorer. He is likely to open the batting with uncapped captain Neil Brand.South Africa will depart for New Zealand on Friday, more than two weeks before the first Test, to give themselves time to familiarise with conditions ahead of the series. The two Tests are part of the 2023-2025 WTC cycle, where South Africa lie third after one series. They drew 1-1 with India over the festive period with a full-strength squad. Given the clash with the SA20, South Africa have opted to send a makeshift Test side to New Zealand after attempts to have the series moved were unsuccessful.

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Ajax star Jorrel Hato for a reported fee of just under £38 million.

Chelsea confirm Hato signingBlues finally recruit Ajax starTeenager joins for £38mFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

After weeks of negotiations, the Blues have announced the capture of the 19-year-old on a deal until 2032. And according to Fabrizio Romano, the Dutch international has pocketed Ajax €43m (£37.5m).

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He told Chelsea's website: "I’m very excited, I’m so happy to be here. I thought a lot about my future and wanted to take the next step in my career. Chelsea is the best place for me to do that so I’m very happy."

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The teenage defender is one of the Netherlands' most promising young talents, showcased by the fact that he became Ajax's third-youngest player to debut for the club in the Eredivisie at the age of 16 in 2022. Now, he will have an eye on securing a starting spot in Enzo Maresca's Chelsea side for next season.

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Chelsea added that Hato – who becomes the club's seventh first-team signing this summer after the arrivals of Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr, and Kendry Paez – will link up with his new team-mates in pre-season training this week.

Abbas Afridi’s 3 for 20 and Fakhar Zaman’s 45-ball 61 went in vain for Pakistan

Danyal Rasool25-Apr-2024Four days after failing to defend 178 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan failed to chase down the same target in Lahore on Thursday. A disciplined performance from New Zealand’s bowling attack, particularly the pace duo of Will O’Rourke and Ben Sears, saw them edge Pakistan by four runs and take a 2-1 lead in the series.In pursuit of a target of 179, Pakistan lost early wickets, slumping to 46 for 3 before the powerplay was over. Only a spirited performance by New Zealand’s old foe Fakhar Zaman kept the game alive for Pakistan. Fakhar marked his return to the side with a 45-ball 61, lashing three sixes along the way, but when an off-colour Iftikhar Ahmed and he fell in consecutive overs, Pakistan’s fate was sealed.Pakistan kept the game alive till the very last ball, though, thanks to Imad Wasim. A cagey final over from Jimmy Neesham, in which he had to defend 17, ended with Pakistan needing six of the final ball, and a scythed blow behind point was not enough to pull off the heist.Earlier, Pakistan had had put New Zealand in, making five changes to the side as Mohammad Amir, Imad and Zaman Khan all returned. But it was New Zealand who landed the telling early blows as Tim Robinson and Tom Blundell put the bowlers to the sword in the powerplay, racing to 56 in the first five overs.The dismissal of Blundell saw Pakistan rein New Zealand in somewhat, but Robinson’s explosive knock – he smashed 51 off 36 before Abbas Afridi removed him – put New Zealand in a commanding position at the halfway mark.New Zealand did lose their way at the death as Imad and Amir did well, but the efficiency of their bowlers confirmed that they had put up just about enough to keep Pakistan at bay.Abbas Afridi picked up two wickets in two balls in the 19th over•Associated PressAbbas Afridi makes his casePakistan rung in the changes in the fast-bowling department, with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah both missing out. In came Amir, but it was Abbas who stood out, bowling some of the toughest overs and coming away with both credit and wickets. After a first over where New Zealand targeted him in the powerplay, he returned and provided an immediate much-needed breakthrough as the explosive Robinson miscued him into the night sky.For some reason not called upon for his full quota, Abbas’ final over – the penultimate one of the innings – was the pick of the bunch. A mix of cutters, hard lengths and perfect yorkers saw Abbas take two and concede just five as New Zealand continued to be dragged back. Abbas’ figures of 3 for 20 possibly left Babar Azam wondering why he hadn’t used him for the full four.Tim Robinson played responsibly at the top•AFP/Getty ImagesShadab Khan takes a stunnerIt’s perhaps on-brand for Shadab Khan’s reputation as an allrounder that despite not bowling a single delivery for the first time in a completed T20I innings, he was responsible for the most impressive Pakistan contribution in the field. It took place in the 14th over of the New Zealand innings, when Mark Chapman – Pakistan’s bete noire on tours like these – slapped one over the head of wide mid-off. Or so he thought. Shadab moved to his left and flung himself into the air with feline-like lethality. The speed of the ball knocked his right hand off as he held on to it with his left. It took a disbelieving crowd a few moments to register what had happened, but it hampered New Zealand’s death-overs push.Fakhar Zaman smashed Ish Sodhi for a six early on in his innings•AFP/Getty ImagesSears and O’Rourke hold their ownThere’s a Super Smash feel to the New Zealand squad in Pakistan, and that was particularly true of the seam-bowling duo of Sears and O’Rourke. Sears had played ten T20Is before this tour while O’Rourke was yet to make his debut, but the pair was instrumental in halting Pakistan’s early charge from the get-go.While Pakistan targeted Jacob Duffy, O’Rourke struck in his first over, drawing Babar into a cover drive, and the extra bounce saw him paddle it to cover-point on the full.He also dismissed the other opener, Saim Ayub, who was put down in the first over.Sears kept New Zealand plugging away as he prised out Usman Khan to leave Pakistan in trouble. The pair’s ability to keep the runs quiet at the same time allowed Michael Bracewell to turn to them whenever pressure needed to be applied, a motif that continued right through the innings. The pair was brought later, and gave their captain the wickets of Iftikhar and Fakhar to kill the game off, combining for figures of 8-0-54-5.

Exclusive: Pulling out of other commitments at short notice is understood to be the main reason for his withdrawal

Alex Malcolm and Danyal Rasool16-Mar-2024Shane Watson has pulled out of the race to become Pakistan’s head coach after being the PCB’s preferred candidate.Watson, the former Australian allrounder who coached Quetta Gladiators this season in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), was in advanced discussions over the last week regarding him taking over as Pakistan’s limited-overs coach. It is understood he had seriously considered the offer after thoroughly enjoying his time in Pakistan during the PSL and was excited by the prospect of working with Pakistan’s players.Related

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PCB sounds out Shane Watson to coach Pakistan

But ESPNcricinfo understands that Watson has decided to honour his current coaching and commentary commitments for the time being. Watson currently has a commentary deal at the IPL and a head coaching role in Major League Cricket with San Francisco Unicorns, on top of his role with Quetta Gladiators. He also has a young family and is based in Sydney.A full-time position with Pakistan would have seen him assume charge with immediate effect ahead of Pakistan’s next limited-overs series against New Zealand at home in April and commit to Pakistan’s limited-overs programme year-round.Watson’s decision to pull out of the race means Pakistan remain without a head coach ahead of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. Pakistan are also due to play T20Is against England in May ahead of the T20 World Cup in June.While news reports in Pakistan suggested the PCB’s offer to Watson ranged around US$2 million a year, ESPNcricinfo understands the actual figure was closer to half that number. It is understood the PCB’s financial offer played no part in Watson’s decision to withdraw.The speed at which developments occurred concerning the PCB’s interest in Watson as head coach meant that accepting the offer would have necessitated pulling out of his other roles at short notice, which is understood to be the main reason for withdrawing.Watson was appointed head coach of Quetta Gladiators late last year. He won a title with Gladiators as a player in 2019.He has rung the changes at the top in his first season as coach, most notably playing a leading role in replacing Sarfaraz Ahmed – who had served as captain of the franchise for eight years – with South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw.Gladiators started extremely strongly and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. However, they lost momentum towards the tail-end of the tournament and were eliminated by Islamabad United on Friday.

Sergio Aguero says Lamine Yamal “deserves the 10” at Barcelona, but admits comparisons with Lionel Messi “aren’t helpful”.

Teenager signed lucrative contractHanded iconic jersey in CatalunyaBacked to create his own legacyFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Having seen another product of their famed La Masia academy system make a senior breakthrough at 15, Barca are trying to carefully manage Yamal through a testing stage of his career that presents plenty of distractions.

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He has been likened to eight-time Ballon d’Or winner for some time, as another left-footed superstar that is seemingly destined for greatness, with records tumbling around the youngster as he collected European Championship and La Liga titles.

WHAT AGUERO SAID

Spain international Yamal has now turned 18, allowing him to sign a lucrative contract, while an iconic shirt in Catalunya has been passed his way. Ex-Barcelona striker Aguero has told : “[Barcelona’s number 10] has got a lot of symbolic weight for sure. There's Leo to think about, yes, but also Ronaldinho, Diego [Maradona], and other great players. I think Lamine deserves the 10, having demonstrated a lot of character and skill for a player his age. He's performed great both at Barcelona as well as the national squad, so I'd say he's managed the pressure very well so far.”

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Aguero added on the pressure being lumped onto Yamal’s young shoulders as he heads down a similar path to Argentine GOAT Messi: “I don't believe there's a lot of value in this type of hypotheticals. Leo has a singular, one-of-a-kind trajectory of personal and team feats under his belt. For Barcelona, he's the best there ever was. So, this type of comparisons aren't helpful. Lamine should pave his own path. He's just getting started and he's done brilliantly until now.”

A Fenerbahce director is reportedly heading to England this week with a view to completing a €15 million move for a Tottenham player.

Fenerbahce eye Tottenham starClub director heading to EnglandKeen to finalise deal this weekFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

According to Fotomac, Fenerbahce sporting director, Devin Ozek, will travel to England to hold transfer talks with Tottenham over signing Yves Bissouma for €15m (£13m) in the coming days. However, they reportedly face competition from West Ham and Juventus.

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Bissouma was seen as a shrewd acquisition in 2022, and while he has undeniable quality, consistency has been a big issue for the 28-year-old at Tottenham. The loan signing of fellow defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha may limit his game time next season, and with his contract expiring next summer, now may be the time to sell for Spurs.

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Bissouma, who has played 100 times for Tottenham and scored two goals along the way, was born in the Ivory Coast but moved to Mali when he was 13. He has represented Mali since 2016, earning 45 caps and scoring six goals in the process.

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Tottenham may look to sell the former Brighton man as they also have Rodrigo Bentancur as a defensive midfield option. It remains to be seen if Bissouma will leave Spurs or if the north London team will try to keep hold of him.

No final-day play possible in match that was blighted by the weather from the first day

ECB Reporters Network06-May-2024Middlesex 407 for 8 (Robson 162, du Plooy 131) drew with Leicestershire 306 (Handscomb 109, Bamber 4-68) Middlesex’s Vitality County Championship clash with Leicestershire ended in a damp squib of a draw with no play possible on the final day.The hosts led by 101 with two wickets left going into day four, but the rain which washed out the first day’s action returned with a vengeance early on the final morning drenching the outfield.Umpires Paul Baldwin and Robert White gave the ground every chance to recover, calling an early tea at 3:10pm following a 2:35pm inspection. However, further rain in the interim led to the abandonment at 3:25pm..The hosts earn 15 points to Leicestershire’s 12 leaving them both on 68 points, six shy of leaders Sussex. Middlesex however sit above the Foxes in the table on games won.Toby Roland-Jones, Middlesex’s captain, said: “It’s frustrating. We’ve lost two full days of a game we feel we’ve played pretty good cricket in and certainly the only reason we’ve ended up only 100 ahead is through I guess trying to fast forward things a little bit on that third evening.”When you find yourselves here with the way this place can dry and have two days where it hasn’t stopped raining is incredibly rare. Once you get that window here it can be pretty good to go in a couple of hours, so we’ve just been unlucky that’s not been the case.”The most important thing is we can be happy about the way we have gone about our cricket once more. Set 300 to try and hunt and get past, the guys went about it with great skill. That partnership between Robbo (Sam Robson) and Leus (Du Plooy) was obviously great to watch.”

Villarreal president Fernando Roig has defended Thomas Partey after he was booed by supporters on his debut for the club against Aston Villa.

Partey joins Villarreal after Arsenal exitHas been bailed on charges of rapeClub president defends midfielder after boosFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Partey joined the Spanish side this summer following his departure from Arsenal. The midfielder has been allowed to move to Spain despite being charged with five counts of rape against two women and a charge of sexual assault against a third woman. Partey was granted conditional bail at the start of August in a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

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Partey's move to Villarreal has drawn criticism from fans. Cesar Pena, president of the Villarreal supporters’ club in Villafranca de Barros, has criticised the decision to sign the player, while he was booed on his debut for the club in a pre-season friendly against Aston Villa.

WHAT ROIG SAID

The Villarreal president defended Partey after the game and told reporters: "The player is currently undergoing legal proceedings. He maintains his innocence and denies the charges against him. The club upholds the presumption of innocence, and it will be the responsibility of the English courts to clarify the facts. We have spent years demonstrating our values with all kinds of activities.  We respect the presumption of innocence and, of course, condemn any type of violence, whether inside or outside of football. At this moment, Partey is as innocent as the rest of us here. A fundamental right like this must be respected."

Roig also insisted the boos came from Aston Villa supporters, adding: "The English [Aston Villa fans] whistled Partey. Not the Villarreal fans. I wouldn’t like our own fans to whistle at players on our team. We must stand with the team and respect the presumption of innocence. He is not a convicted player. We must be cautious and wait for justice. Let’s not judge prematurely. Thomas has the right to do his job until there is a conviction."

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Partey is due to appear at the Old Bailey on September 2. Villarreal will kick off their new La Liga campaign on Friday against newly-promoted Oviedo.

Nottingham Forest are reportedly working on a deal to sign Douglas Luiz just a year on from him joining Juventus with then-girlfriend Alisha Lehmann.

Luiz set for England returnNears Nottingham Forest switchYear after signing for JuventusFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The Brazilian has been linked with Forest and Everton but a Juventus exit is proving difficult. However, The Athletic states that Nuno Espirito Santo's side are in the process of trying to sign Luiz, along with Manchester City's Rico Lewis.

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Luiz swapped Aston Villa for Juventus for a substantial fee of €50 million (£42m/$54m) a year ago but the move has not worked out. The midfielder completed a unique 'couples' transfer with Lehmann to the Italian giants but the two are no longer together. The Swiss international has just joined Como, and now Luiz could be heading back to the Premier League.

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The report adds that Forest are inching closer to a deal for Rennes star Arnaud Kalimuendo. The striker, who has two years left on his contract with the Ligue 1 team, is said to be undergoing a medical in London ahead of a possible £26m ($35m) transfer. 

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The 27-year-old, who has been heavily criticised for going AWOL at Juventus this summer, has also been linked with Leeds United but it seems a Forest move is most likely. The Tricky Trees are playing in the Europa League this season and that may be a factor in convincing him to move there.