Tag Futebol

Tottenham are interested in a deal to bring Lautaro Martinez to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Tuttosport (via Sport Witness), who claimed that, after failing with a move for the Inter Milan centre-forward last summer, Fabio Paratici could once again launch an offensive for the 24-year-old at the end of the current campaign.

The report added that the Argentina international could view Spurs as the ideal destination if he were to secure a move away from the San Siro this summer, having enjoyed an extremely successful spell under Antonio Conte during his own time in Milan.

Finally, it is claimed that Inter may be willing to discuss a deal for the striker due to their ongoing financial difficulties, with the Serie A club’s hierarchy reportedly willing to listen to offers starting at €70m (£59m).

He’s “perfect” for Conte

Considering the quite extraordinary metrics that Martinez returned when previously working with Conte, it is not difficult to see why both Paratici and the 52-year-old coach would be interested in a move for the Inter star this summer.

Indeed, over his 38 Serie A appearances in the Nerazzurri’s Scudetto-winning 2020/21 season, the £63m-rated forward was in breathtaking form, bagging 17 goals, registering 10 assists and creating nine big chances for his team-mates, along with taking 2.9 shots and making one key pass per game.

These returns saw the €125k-per-week (£105k-per-week) sensation, who Roberto Rojas dubbed an “absolute goal machine”, average an incredibly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.17, ranking him as Conte’s third-best player last term.

In total, the Argentine scored 40 goals and provided 19 assists in his 97 appearances under the 52-year-old, although it was not only his efforts in the final third which made him a key player for the head coach, but also his tireless work rate in a defensive capacity.

Indeed, speaking about Martinez last year, Siavoush Fallahi said of the 24-year-old: “Not many know that Lautaro Martinez was a defender back in the days. That’s why he’s so good in defence and winning the ball back. Huge resource for Inter and very appreciated by Conte for that work.”

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Furthermore, it is clear that Partici is also a massive fan of the striker, with Gianluca Di Marzio stating in a recent interview with Wett Freunde: “I think Tottenham will go after Lautaro because they wanted him last summer. They want another forward to play with Kane or plan for the future without Kane. Lautaro Martinez is one of the players that Fabio Paratici loves. I think it could be Lautaro’s summer and Atletico Madrid or Tottenham could be the perfect destinations for him.”

Indeed, considering all of the above, it seems all but certain that Martinez would be something of a perfect signing to play alongside Harry Kane in the Tottenham attack, leading us to believe that Paratici simply must do all he can to get a deal over the line for the centre-forward this summer.

AND in other news: Conte can unearth his next 243-goal talent in Spurs prodigy who “runs over every blade”

Omar Khan, West Indies’ new team manager, has said the most important challenge for the home side ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Guyana is their mental approach to the game. “I have no doubt of the quality and potential of these players and now it’s about instilling that competitive edge, that fighting spirit that is so essential for success,” Khan told the .Khan replaced Clive Lloyd as the team manager and said a new era had emerged with the arrival of the new management. John Dyson replaced Bennett King as the coach after the World Cup and later David Williams, the Trinidad & Tobago coach, was appointed the assistant coach. “This is a new era in West Indies cricket with a new management team and players must see it as a stepping stone to getting their game right and taking West Indies cricket forward.”We head into Guyana on Tuesday and from Wednesday through to Friday, we will be hosting a number of team building sessions with the hope that it can bring the players closer together and improve team unity.” Khan said though there was little time to work with the players on the mental aspect of their game he was certain, being professionals, they would respond well.Khan also said Pedro Collins’ withdrawal from the Test squad to play for Surrey was an unfortunate event. “Myself and the coach looked at Collins during the Barbados-Jamaica game and he took nine wickets. He was bowling very well and it is a pity that he won’t be with us. However, having said that, we have a number of good bowlers in our ranks and we will be well served in that department.”

West Indies thrived at the 2005 World Cup but their participation in the next one, in 2009, is at serious risk © Getty Images

The West Indies Cricket Board “has killed or is killing” women’s cricket in the region, according to a former board employee who is calling on the ICC to intervene.Dr Michael Seepersaud, the former chief cricket development officer of the WICB under whose portfolio the women’s cricket fell and who is now the secretary of the West Indies Women’s Federation (WIWCF), believes that the WICB has fallen well short of the ICC mandate to integrate women’s cricket, saying: “It is doing very little.”Without much-needed funding and organisational support from the board, the once-strong women’s game will flounder, he believes – and it is already dying on its knees. “It’s a bleak situation,” he says.West Indies women haven’t played a game in two years and have no more matches scheduled until the next World Cup in 2009. If they fail to play any cricket in that time their place at the tournament is in serious jeopardy, as the ICC has minimum requirements for competing. They are supposed to host Pakistan and India later this year, but without funding the tours cannot take place. Unsurprisingly, the cricketers are in low spirits, as Dr Seepersaud says: “It’s affecting the morale of our players and administrators very badly.”West Indies do have some very good players coming through, and the side qualified automatically for the last tournament, while one of their best players, Nadine George, has recently received an MBE. Women’s cricket is the WICB’s responsibility, but the players are still required to pay their own travel costs to participate in regional tournaments, nevermind not being able to play international cricket.

We cannot continue to treat our women with this kind of disrespect

In this year’s senior tournament, several territories, including Guyana, Grenada and others who have always participated, can’t afford to fly over to Barbados to take part. This situation, says Seepersaud, would never occur in the men’s game regardless of age.Funding used to come through an annual grant from the WICB of $100,000 per annum, which Seepersaud had secured when he was on the board. But when the WICB took over the women’s game, this sum was discontinued. It’s unlikely to be reinstated, either, as the board is $15million in debt.Under an ICC mandate, each board must look after the women’s game in its own country, but WICB has largely ignored the players since it took over in 2005. The board did provide some funding for the Under-19 inter-island competition which was held in Jamaica in 2006 – although the money didn’t cover airfares and accommodation. That, says Seepersaud, is encouraging but he believes it borders on tokenism where the process and funding are concerned. “The WICB must shed its old boys’ club image. We cannot continue to treat our women with this kind of disrespect.”He has also called on the ICC to put pressure on the WICB to designate some of the $11.5million generated by the World Cup to the women’s game to help keep it alive. “The ICC can’t sit idly by and allow the WICB to destroy women’s cricket in the region,” he says. “By taking over women’s cricket they have accepted responsibility for its development. They must step in to redress the situation.”The WICB Integration Steering Committee, which was established to manage the integration process jointly with the WIWCF, has met just twice since its formation in 2004. The WIWCF is entirely staffed by volunteers, who rack up hundreds of dollars in telephone bills between islands.The WIWCF has, says Seepersaud, the administrative capabilities to step in and save the proposed visit of Pakistan and India, but without any representation on the board, or access to the requisite funding, they are powerless to assist. “If they make X amount of funding available we will do it ourselves, but some full time employee of the WICB must be directed to provide the logistical and organisational support. The very least they could do is to reinstate the annual subvention.”

Nadine George receives her MBE from Prince Charles – a brief highlight among the malaise of women’s cricket © Getty Images

No money is currently available to the WIWCF even for executive meetings. Seepersaud says that he has requested less than $2000 for airfares with the executive looking after their own accommodation. Yet every time they have asked, the board has turned their request down. “We are not begging for anything. We just want an historical wrong to be righted, and for the women to take their rightful place.”Ironically, the ICC move was seen as a potential saviour of women’s cricket in the country. Before the merger, West Indies women had struggled to gain sponsorship to enable them to participate in the 2005 World Cup in South Africa. Governments and sponsors stepped in, and once there, they thrived.Seepersaud blames what he calls “the chauvinistic nature” of the WICB and the lack of leadership at the board and secretariat levels for the current malaise. In 2005, consultants from Ernst and Young recommended that women’s cricket be given a voice on the board, with one seat, but “that was kicked out in a very aggressive way.” He adds: “Yet a short time later the board expanded its membership by three – males, of course.”Perhaps the telling indication of the board’s attitude towards women’s cricket is that the WIWCF specifically, and women’s cricket generally, played no part in the recent World Cup in the Caribbean. The board invited the president to one match after lobbying from the WIWCF, but, again, Seepersaud believes that was tokenism. “I just don’t think that in the 21st century this kind of insult should be allowed.”

Bruce Reid believes that Australia’s incumbent bowlers will have to hang in there for a few years yet © Getty Images

Bruce Reid, the former Australian left-arm seamer, has sounded a warning about the dearth of quality fast bowlers in Australian cricket at present, and believes that the current international incumbents will have to hang in there for a little while yet before the next generation is ready to step into their shoes.”They are not jumping out of the trees as such,” Reid, Hampshire’s bowling coach, told Cricinfo at the county’s press day at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. “One or two guys in the first-class system are getting there, but otherwise there’s a bit of a lull at the mo.”We haven’t got three or four who are ready to take over,” added Reid, “so Australia is really relying on those current guys to hang around for a couple more years to see us through this little patch.”Such a pessimistic outlook is good news for England ahead of the forthcoming Ashes rematch. During the recent Australian summer, the selectors made half-hearted attempts to blood one or two youngsters, such as Brett Dorey and Mitchell Johnson, but aside from the admirable 30-year-old, Stuart Clark, there have been no significant personnel changes since the Ashes.Consequently, Australia – to universal surprise – turned back to the old faithfuls, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz, for the current trip to Bangladesh. “Gillespie and Kasper seem to be bowling okay again which is good news,” said Reid, “but if you look back to the last Ashes, Australia struggled to bowl sides out.”Part of Australia’s problem in the Ashes stemmed from the absence of a specialist bowling coach, an issue since rectified by the recruitment of England’s mentor, Troy Cooley. “It’s a catch-22 when you’ve had such a good bowling attack for so many years,” said Reid, “you think you don’t need one. Then when a couple of those guys get a bit old and some new faces come in, or a couple struggle as Jason did in the Ashes, then who do you turn to?”There’s always been an abundance of batting coaches but the poor old fast bowlers have been left to their own devices a little bit. If they can have someone to come and talk to, then so much the better. It’s a way of getting the best out of that player.”Of all the young players vying for the Ashes, Reid’s own tip for the top is the strapping 24-year-old left-armer, Johnson, who stands 6’4″ tall, and bears more than a passing resemblance to Reid himself, who took 113 wickets in a 27-Test career that was plagued by injury.”He’s tall and quick and moves the ball around, and he’s got the potential to play a big role in the Ashes,” said Reid. “I did well as a left-armer against England, as did Brendon Julian. It’s something people haven’t often seen before, and it could provide the variation Australia need.”

West Indies 565 for 5 (Gayle 317, Chanderpaul 82*, Bravo 10*) trail South Africa 588 for 6 dec (Kallis 147, Prince 131, Smith 126, de Villiers 114) by 23 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Chris Gayle piles on the runs as he reaches a Test-best 317 © AFP

For the second time in consecutive matches at the Antigua Recreation Ground, a West Indian batsman set his sights on the individual world Test batting record. But where Brian Lara achieved his goal, gloriously, against England last April, today Chris Gayle fell valiantly short, caught at slip off Monde Zondeki for 317, from 483 balls, with 37 fours and three sixes. With his departure went the last lingering remnants of interest in a match that has been dead from the moment that West Indies avoided the follow-on.By the close, West Indies had proved more than a match for South Africa’s first innings efforts, closing on 565 for 5 in reply to 588 for 6 declared, with Shivnarine Chanderpaul closing in on the seventh century of a grossly unequal contest between bat and ball. At least the Antiguan crowd was enlivened by this state of affairs, as they revelled in their ground’s uncanny ability to attract record-breaking performances. But for the true fan of Test cricket, there was little pleasure to extract from a match that offers nothing but individual achievements.Of course, none of this can detract from the sheer willpower that went into Gayle’s monument of an innings. After yesterday’s pyrotechnics, it was a reformed character who emerged from the dressing-room to resume on his overnight 184 not out. Having blazed to 150 from 149 balls in yesterday’s onslaught, Gayle needed another 313 deliveries to double that tally, as the enormity of his opportunity dawned on him.Eventually, Gayle chipped a single to midwicket in the final over before tea to bring up his maiden Test triple-century, and by the time he succumbed to fatigue in the final session, he had recorded the 14th highest score in Test history, surpassed Bradman’s 299 not out as the highest scorer against South Africa, and left a litany of West Indian greats – including Viv Richards, George Headley and Frank Worrell – trailing in his wake. Tellingly, however, Gayle’s 317 was only the third-highest score in 20 Tests in Antigua.Gayle has never been renowned for his stickability, but today he was determined to utterly immoveable, so much so that with every passing drinks break, the South African fielders’ refreshments became more and more elaborate, with deck chairs, umbrellas and a full picnic hamper making their way to the middle. They, unlike England before them, had no fear of defeat to enliven their efforts, having already posted a formidable total in the first innings.This is a pitch that makes bowlers contemplate early retirement, so it was to South Africa’s great credit that they managed to engineer a double-breakthrough in the morning session. A mere 331 runs and 93 overs after Wavell Hinds had been dismissed, Ramnaresh Sarwan drove on the up to point and stood his ground – scarcely able to believe he had given it away on this pitch. Eighteen runs later, Lara was also gone. It may have been his 36th birthday, but a position of 345 for 2 was not the sort of situation that was going to gird his loins, and after 29 scratchy deliveries, he deflected a jubilant Zondeki into Boucher’s gloves for 4.

Shaun Pollock shows his frustration as Chris Gayle piles on the runs in Antigua © AFP

Zondeki, in fact, was so overjoyed at claiming such a significant scalp that he forgot to turn around to the umpire in his appeal, earning a mild rebuke from Billy Bowden and light-hearted word from his captain. It was a good-natured situation, however. The batsmen had clearly found a pitch to smile about and now the bowlers had realised that the only thing to do was laugh.Gayle, meanwhile, continued to tackle heights that he had never before contemplated – his previous best in Tests was 204 and his highest first-class innings was 259 not out. But at least he had a man alongside him who was familiar with the situation. Chanderpaul had been Lara’s wingman during his 375 on this very ground in 1994, and by tea, the pair had added 127 for the fourth wicket, with Gayle’s stand-and-deliver cover-drive providing him with the bulk of his runs.Aside from an alarm off his first ball of the day, when Gayle inside-edged Shaun Pollock past his off-stump for four, he had just one notable let-off as he approached the summit. On 281, Gayle reverse-swept at Nicky Boje and was struck in line with his limbs in a tangle. Umpire Bowden, however was unmoved, and for South Africa the moment was lost. The tension mounted as Gayle became entrenched in the 290s, but it was an unnatural tension that did not do justice to his individual achievement.With one irrelevant day of this Test remaining, the need for the Antigua pitch to be relaid has never been more aptly showcased. Gayle had 12 runs from four innings coming into this match. He leaves with a sprinkling of immortality. Kudos to the man, but a pox on this pitch.

How they were out

West IndiesWavell Hinds c & b Ntini 0 (14 for 1)
Early on defensive push, taken one-handed in followthrough
Loose drive on the up, scooped off turf at pointBrian Lara c Boucher b Zondeki 4 (363 for 3)
Attempted glide to third man, extra bounce, simple edgeChris Gayle c Smith b Zondeki 317 (512 for 4)
Wide delivery, sliced drive to slipNarsingh Deonarine c Boucher b Smith 4 (535 for 5)
Round the wicket, attempted cut, maybe unfortunate