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Football Insider have shared an update on Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips and a possible new Elland Road contract.  

The Lowdown: Manchester United links

Rumours have emerged in recent days regarding Manchester United’s interest in Phillips.

The Daily Star believe Old Trafford bosses have abandoned their interest in West Ham’s Declan Rice and will target Phillips as a result.

Phillips, 25, is under contract until 2024, but it appears as if the Whites want to tie him down to a new deal over the coming months.

The Latest: Source shares new update

Football Insider shared a story on Tuesday afternoon, where Alan Hutton gave his thoughts on Phillips’ future.

Within their report however, they shared the latest from a Leeds source, who told the site that talks of a new Whites contract are at an early stage.

Interestingly, they also added that Leeds, led by Andrea Radrizzani, want a new deal completed before January 1.

The Verdict: Next few months key

It seems as if Leeds want to put to bed rumours of their star man leaving by the New Year to avoid any uncertainty during the next transfer window, so the coming months will be key.

The holding midfielder only signed a new Elland Road contract in 2019, however, he has taken his game to the next level over the past two years.

Phillips picked up England’s Player of the Year recently, so, on that basis, you’d like to think Leeds would be willing to make him their top earner ahead of Raphinha and Patrick Bamford.

In other news: Phil Hay drops six-word Leeds verdict that could be bad news for Bamford.

Crystal Palace attacker Eberechi Eze was in contention to be called up to Gareth Southgate’s standby list for the European Championship over the summer, according to Michael Bridge.

The Lowdown: Impressive debut season

Eze caught the eye of many Premier League clubs after scoring 14 goals and setting up another eight for QPR in the 2019/20 season and Palace won the fight to sign him as they paid just under £20m for him last summer.

The 23-year-old was involved in 10 goals in 34 appearances in his debut Premier League season, but it was curtained in the worst possible manner as he injured his Achilles in training with only two games remaining at the end of the campaign.

He hasn’t featured yet this season under Patrick Vieira, but he will be hoping to continue his impressive start to life in the Premier League when he fully recovers from that setback.

The Latest: England call-up was in the pipeline

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Bridge has made an astonishing claim about Eze and Southgate’s squad prior to Euro 2020 this summer, saying that the £18m-rated maestro was on the fringes of getting the call-up for the Three Lions for the tournament.

The Sky Sports journalist said: “Eze, I was told was potentially going to be on the England standby list for the Euros, the way he was playing.”

The Verdict: Still on the cards

Eze’s performances last season were often the shining light in a dreary campaign for Palace. His transition from the Championship to the Premier League seemed to be easy and his four goals and six assists were influential in Roy Hodgson keeping them up in his final year in charge.

With Wilfried Zaha and now Michael Olise in Vieira’s squad, Palace seem to be on the up with their attacking, high-pressing football and it could suit Eze perfectly. If he can come back and rediscover the goal contribution returns he produced prior to his injury, then a call-up to Southgate’s squad won’t be too far away.

With the 2022 World Cup still more than a year away, Eze has time to recover, get back into the Eagles’ XI and do all he can to be potentially called up to represent his nation on the biggest stage. It would be just reward after so cruelly being deprived of partaking in England’s Euro 2020 adventure.

In other news, a rumour linking this Premier League midfielder to Palace has one pundit puzzled. Find out more here.

Auckland have appointed former Zimbabwe spinner Paul Strang as their head coach for the next two years

Cricinfo staff08-Jul-2009Auckland have appointed former Zimbabwe spinner Paul Strang as their head coach for the next two years.Strang, 38, had taken over as head coach in February for the 2008-09 season when Mark O’Donnell was appointed assistant coach of the national side for the India series. Auckland Cricket had decided to review the position of long-term coach at the end of the season and Strang has clearly impressed. Under his tenure as coach Auckland clinched their fourth State Championship in eight years.”Paul has a great deal of cricket experience and he enjoyed immediate success as a coach last season as Auckland stormed home to win the State Championship,” said Auckland Cricket chief executive Andrew Eade.Strang has been part of the coaching staff at Auckland for just over a year and also worked with their A team. Former New Zealand opener Matt Horne has taken over Strang’s full-time role as high performance coach for Auckland Cricket.The change of coaching staff ends O’Donnell’s seven-year tenure as Auckland coach. “The team has enjoyed considerable success under his leadership but his fixed term contract ended in June and in the view of the association it was time for a change,” said Eade.

Having arrived into Leeds hopeful of a series-clinching victory, England were left to lament a dramatic first day in which form, injury and even faulty fire-detection equipment conspired against them

Alex Brown at Headingley07-Aug-2009A 5am fire alarm might well have been the highlight of England’s day. Having arrived into Leeds hopeful of a series-clinching victory, England were left to lament a dramatic first day in which form, injury and even faulty fire-detection equipment conspired against them.By far the most immediate concern for England surrounds the fitness of their fast bowlers. James Anderson appeared in significant discomfort after setting off for a sharp single during the hosts’ batting innings, stretching and flexing his right leg for the remainder of his brief tenure at the crease. He would later bowl without the menace of his second day spell at Edgbaston, and left the field on several occasions to receive treatment.Anderson’s already astronomical importance to the England attack escalated further prior to play upon confirmation that Andrew Flintoff would play no part in the fourth Test. Flintoff looked severely restricted by his injured right knee during Thursday’s training session, and was eventually replaced by Steve Harmison – a move that stabilised England’s bowling unit, but substantially eroded the depth of their batting line-up.According to an ECB release, Flintoff remains eager to play in the fifth Test at The Oval from August 20, but will not receive anymore pain-killing injections to assist him. There remains the possibility that the recently-concluded Test match at Edgbaston was Flintoff’s last, but with almost a fortnight to rest, England are optimistic their enigmatic all-rounder will be afforded a final hurrah in south London.Flintoff’s withdrawal was not England’s only drama prior to play. Matt Prior was struck down with back spasms while playing football in the warm-ups and was immediately taken from the field for treatment. England requested Australia that the coin toss be delayed for ten minutes while medical staff decided whether a replacement wicketkeeper was required. In the end, Prior was given the all-clear and, while appearing stiff at the crease, still managed to post an innings-high total of 37 not out.”I have been on so many drugs today that I don’t think I’ll remember much of (the innings) tomorrow,” Prior said. “It was really touch and go … and I have to thank the Australians. That extra ten minutes was huge in allowing me to have the injection and receive treatment from the physio.”I knew that if I didn’t play that I’d be right as rain toimorrow and absolutely gutted that I didn’t go through a bit of stress today. It’s stiff. When you have a back spasm all the muscles are seizing up and the joints can tighten up. Ultimately your body is telling you to stop moving. You’ve got to try and get it going again, you’ve got to try and move it. Obviously I’ve had a lot of physio, a lot of massage, the normal anti-inflammatories and pain-killers. And I had an injection in my butt this morning.”The hosts’ mood was tested early on Friday when players and support staff were evacuated from the Radisson SAS Hotel at around 4.50am due to a fire alarm. All were forced to stand in the rain for 20 minutes while fire crews investigated the source of the alarm.”It’s not ideal,” Prior said. “I think anyone would be slightly miffed at 5am standing in the rain with no shoes on. It’s not an excuse. All it was was a few grumpy people moaning they’ve been woken up at five.”

Southampton could be without striker Che Adams for their Premier League clash with Leeds United this weekend, which comes as a potential boost for the Whites.

The Lowdown: Leeds host Saints

Marcelo Bielsa’s men are back in Premier League action after the international break as they travel to St Mary’s on Saturday.

Leeds picked up their first league win of the season last time around, beating Watford 1-0, and another victory against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side would be just what the doctor ordered.

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The Latest: Adams could miss out

James Ward-Prowse is already missing for Saints through suspension following his red card at Chelsea, and the home side could also be without Adams.

According to The Daily Record, the striker has been ruled out of Scotland’s World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands on Tuesday night due to a muscle injury and has returned to Southampton to be assessed.

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The Verdict: Boost for Whites

Adams is a key player for the Saints, especially since the summer departure of fellow striker Danny Ings to Aston Villa, so this has to be considered a boost for Leeds.

Granted, the 25-year-old is still searching for his first league goal of the season, but he carries a threat in attack as evidenced by his nine top-flight goals last term, and Saints should be weakened by his absence. His potential absence would also deprive Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men of one of their main aerial threats – nobody else in Southampton’s squad can match his average of 3.2 successful aerial duels per game.

It remains to be seen whether or not Adams will be OK to feature on Saturday, but Leeds’ hopes of victory would surely be enhanced if the Scotland striker is unavailable.

In other news, talks over a deal for one Leeds player are reportedly ‘advanced’. Read more here.

Sunderland dropped down to fourth in the League One table after a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Charlton on Saturday.

The Black Cats endured a frustrating afternoon as Jayden Stockley’s goal was the difference between the two sides, with the visitors remaining 22nd in the table despite the win.

Lee Johnson’s side were on a four-game winning streak in all competitions heading into the match, with their last game seeing them record a 4-0 win over Crewe.

Aiden McGeady made his return from injury in that win and provided an assist from the left wing. He was handed another start against the Addicks on Saturday and had a nightmare of a performance, letting Johnson down with his display.

Last season, the Irishman chipped in with an eye-catching four goals and 16 assists in League One as he consistently delivered in the final third for the Black Cats. However, this showing against Charlton was a far cry from what fans have been used to with the former Celtic flyer.

He was suspect defensively and offensively throughout the game. As per SofaScore, he lost seven of his 13 duels and failed to make a single clearance, interception or block, although he did complete three tackles as he showed a good work ethic down the flank.

However, he was unable to win the majority of his battles overall, proving himself to be a lightweight against Charlton. This allowed the Addicks to get the better of him at times, gaining possession where another player may have won the ball back for Sunderland.

On the ball, he failed to provide the magic Sunderland fans know that he can. As per SofaScore, he completed a measly one of his four attempted dribbles (25%) and managed two successful crosses and long balls from a combined nine attempts, losing possession 18 times. He was able to create two chances for his teammates, but neither of them represented a ‘big chance’ and Sunderland did not score from either.

McGeady is an experienced player and knows how to deal with setbacks, having been through the peaks and troughs of a season so many times throughout his career. He will not let this display put him down and hopefully he will be back to his best against QPR in the Carabao Cup in midweek – that’s if Johnson is ready to trust him again.

Justin Vaughan has said the IPL should be careful about the amount of calendar space it consumes in a year

Cricinfo staff24-Aug-2009Justin Vaughan, the New Zealand Cricket chief executive, has said the IPL should be careful about the amount of calendar space it consumes in a year since a majority of players are willing to miss international matches to play in the league.”IPL has come a long way and benefited cricketers worldwide,” Vaughan was quoted as saying to PTI. “But in the process, a lot of players tend to play in all the matches due to obvious reasons.”Last week former Australian opener Matthew Hayden, who plays for the Chennai Super Kings, suggested a three-month window for the IPL where no international cricket would be played. In May last year Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, had proposed the tournament be spread over two seasons from 2011. But the idea did not receive widespread support.With the permanent addition of the IPL to the calendar, and the compulsory Twenty20 fixture per tour, there have been calls to cut down on or even eliminate ODIs. But Vaughan, who was in Chennai with the New Zealand A squad, said the solution to a jam-packed calendar lay in maintaining balance and not in discarding ODIs. “Cricket is lucky to have these many formats. Each and every formula has an essence of its own. Taking out ODI’s altogether is not a solution.”Vaughan was also against tinkering with the Test format. “Why would anybody want it to be a four-day affair? There would be more drawn matches than results. After all, it’s Test cricket we are talking about where a player’s endurance is pushed to the limits in the course of five days.”

Leeds United’s top-half finish in the Premier League last season was littered with incredible success stories throughout the playing squad.

The likes of Stuart Dallas, Luke Ayling, Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford, among others, caught the eye after making the step up from the Championship to the Premier League.

Another player who made the step up was midfielder Tyler Roberts, as the youngster made 27 top-flight appearances and was directly involved in three goals.

He was signed from West Brom as a teenager in January 2018 and, at the time of the move, Transfermarkt valued him at a measly £225k. He joined after scoring five goals in 17 League One games on loan at Walsall, with the Baggies deciding to cash in on him in the January transfer window.

The Welshman has been a dream signing for the club, certainly from a financial point of view, as he has progressed superbly over the years. Roberts managed seven goals and seven assists in his first two full seasons in the Championship, proving to be a reliable option in a squad that’s bereft of much depth. Of course, that second campaign ended in promotion to the Premier League too.

Tony Pulis, who managed him at West Brom, lauded his talents earlier this year and praised his mentality to keep developing. He said:

“He’s a very very talented boy. And I mean a very talented boy. He has got everything.

“I was always concerned whether he had the mental toughness to really push on. At Leeds, if you haven’t got that Bielsa isn’t going to play you.

“The kid has pushed on. It’s great to see all the young players you’ve worked with, especially the ones you had a little bit of doubt with, come through and he’s one of them. He’s got all the tools, like I said, it was just that mental strength. People say, ‘Does he want it enough, is he prepared to push it’, but over the past couple of years it looks like he’s turned a corner.”

Roberts has been able to use that work ethic to improve himself throughout his time at Elland Road. He has clearly taken to working with Bielsa with ease and made sure that he soaks up as much information from the Argentine as possible, with his soaring valuation an indication of this.

At the time of writing (24/10/21), Transfermarkt value the 22-year-old at £5.40m. This is a sensational 2300% increase in under four years at the club, with just over three years working with Bielsa at Elland Road.

The club snapped him up at a young age and have been able to develop him into a Premier League player, which is why it has proven to be a dream deal. He was a regular appearance maker in the top-flight and played a part in a title-winning season in the Championship, showing that he has had an impact on the pitch whilst also growing in value over the years.

It’s safe to say that if he does depart Elland Road, as has been rumoured, they’ll receive a lot more than the £2.5m they paid to drag him away from the Hawthorns. Based on that alone, it was a great piece of business by the Yorkshire club.

AND in other news, Forget Rodrigo: Leeds wizard who won 12 duels was Bielsa’s real hero v Wolves…

ICC match referee David Jukes found the players guilty of failing to control their respective teams in a hearing after the conclusion of the game in Toronto

Cricinfo staff10-Sep-2009Captains James Atkinston (Hong Kong) and Rustam Bhatti (Canada) have been found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during their Under-19 World Cup Qualifier game on September 5. ICC match referee David Jukes, at a hearing after the conclusion of the game, found the players guilty of failing to control their respective teams.Atkinston has been reprimanded for the second time this tournament; he was found guilty of breaching the Code of Conduct on two occasions during Hong Kong’s game against Afghanistan on September 4. Hong Kong were beaten in both games.Atkinson and Bhatti were found guilty of breaching the Clause 2 (Level 1) of the ICC Code of Conduct which deals with conduct that brings the game into disrepute. Atkinson, in the game against Afghanistan, was found to have breached Paragraph CC 1.3 of the code, which concerns showing dissent at an umpire’s decision by action or verbal abuse. He was also deemed to have breached Paragraph 1.2 of the code, which deals with the abuse of cricket equipment.”Both captains failed to control their teams and, as a consequence, their collective poor behaviour brought the game into disrepute,” Jukes said. “While Mr Atkinson has apologised for his earlier breach from 4 September and shown a degree of remorse for his actions, there is no place for this sort of behaviour on any cricket field, let alone on the international stage.”On a more positive point, however, I am sure that everyone will have learned from today’s experience. Certainly, the captains will have received a timely reminder of their specific responsibilities.”

The Mid West Rhinos match against the Mashonaland Eagles petered out to a draw at the Kwekwe Sports Club with the hosts batting out their second innings on the final day

Cricinfo staff26-Sep-2009A ten-wicket match haul by Tymcen Maruma gave the Moutaineers a comfortable eight-wicket win against the Southern Rocks after chasing down 175 in the fourth innings.The Rocks started confidently after being put in by the Mountaineers with a 105-run second-wicket partnership between captain Chamunorwa Chibhabha and Erick Chauluka. However their lower order lost wickets to the spinners Prosper Utseya, and Maruma who took seven wickets between them. After five hours and sixteen minutes of play the Rocks were bowled out for 250. Chauluka scored 43 off 133 balls, Chibhabha was bowled for 60 off 82 and Robertson Chinyengetere scored 59 from 110 balls before being trapped leg before wicket by Maruma, who took 5 for 37 runsOvernight drizzle delayed proceedings by an hour and when play got underway at 11am it was the Rocks who drew first blood when Bernard Mlambo was caught at backward point by Hilary Matanga off the bowling of Tendai Chisoro without adding to his overnight score of 13. By lunch the Mountaineers had slipped to 81 for 4. A fifth-wicket stand of 110 between Stuart Matsikenyeri and Utseya seemingly put the home side back on track before Matsikenyeri presented Matanga with the simplest of catches for 73.Wickets then started to fall at regular intervals and despite Utseya’s gritty 54, the home side could only manage a lead of 37. The Rocks’ second innings got off to a bad start and at lunch of day three they found themselves floundering at 51 for 7 as Maruma bowled a devastating spell of 5 for 37 runs off 10 overs. A day-three finish seemed almost certain as they collapsed to 109 for 9. Alistair Maregwede then found an unlikely partner in Matanga who frustrated the Mountaineers as the two of them added 110 for the tenth wicket before Matanga was finally out for 33. Maregwede was unbeaten on a hard-fought 82 off 190 deliveries.Maruma followed up his first-innings success by taking 5 for 62 off 18 overs giving him match figures of 10 for 99 which meant that the Mountaineers were set 175 to win. Openers Tinotenda Mawoyo and Tatenda Taibu laid the platform with an opening stand of 107 before Taibu was well caught by wicket-keeper Maregwede off the bowling of Matanga for 49 but the Mountaineers managed an easy win.The Mid West Rhinos’ match against the Mashonaland Eagles petered out to a draw at the Kwekwe Sports Club with the hosts batting out their second innings on the final day.Centuries from Friday Kasteni and Brendan Taylor took the Rhinos to 344 in the first innings despite a seven-wicket haul from 18-year old legspinner Tinotenda Mutombodzi. The Rhinos lost two early wickets but the Kasteni and Taylor added 204 to take them to them to 229 before Mutombodzi took the first of his five wickets. In 22 overs he reduced the Rhinos from 229 for 2 to 286 for 7. Ed Rainsford and Graeme Cremer took them past 300 but could not really build on the advantage given by Taylor and Kasteni. Mutobodzi dismissed Taurai Muzarabani and Rainsford to end with 7 for 84 in only his third first-class match.The Eagles stuttered in their reply, losing their first five wickets for 105. However a patient 156 Forster Mutizwa and 49 by Elton Chigumbura gave them a first-innings lead of 36. Cremer was the pick of the bowlers, taking 5 for 160 with his legbreaks.At the end of day three the Eagles may have fancied their chances to win the game as the Rhinos led by 32 runs with seven wickets in hand. However Cremer scored 94 and Muzarabani chipped in with 51. The Eagles used eight bowlers in the second innings but Cremer’s innings had already ensured a draw.