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Arsenal did not mess around in the summer transfer window, strengthening a squad that went the distance in the Premier League title race last season by recruiting three, stand-out additions that even saw the Gunners break their transfer record in the process.

Jurrien Timber looked to be a promising signing from Ajax, the Dutch centre-back warranting a £38m transfer fee after excelling in his native Netherlands but the 22-year-old would fall foul of an ACL injury on the opening day.

Kai Havertz and Declan Rice joined also, with the latter signed for that record-breaking fee – signing for £105m – and slotting straight into the Arsenal set-up effortlessly.

Yet, in this upcoming January transfer window, Mikel Arteta could well be shopping for even more new faces to add to his group with Douglas Luiz reportedly one of the targets wanted by the Spanish head coach to complement Rice in the middle of the park.

Arsenal's interest in Luiz

First interested in Luiz last year – Arsenal failing to land the Villa man at the time with bids waved away – the Gunners could well reignite their interest in the Brazilian when January rolls around according to football journalist Fabrizio Romano on Caught Offside.

A number of clubs are keeping tabs on Aston Villa's £75k per-week midfielder via Capology, with Romano stating that Arsenal are very much still an interested party despite previous failed attempts.

He said, via Caught Offside: "Of course, we know that Arsenal had bids rejected for Luiz in September 2022, and he later went on to sign a new contract at Villa Park, which runs until 2026. He’s now a key player for Villa so the deal would not be an easy one, but many clubs appreciate him.”

Arteta will hope that this persistence pays off, with Luiz in electric form currently for an Aston Villa team firing on all cylinders and proving himself to be an excellent Premier League player.

Luiz's performances for Villa this season

Luiz has particularly stood out going forward for Unai Emery's men this season, despite naturally playing in a more reserved midfield role.

He has five goals from only ten games played in the Premier League, as Aston Villa continue to impress – 5th in the table as things stand after a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Luton Town.

Despite his impressive performances to date, Luiz is going under the radar somewhat with football pundit and ex-Arsenal player Paul Merson referring to the one-time Manchester City man as "underrated" recently compared to other stand-out performers from the top-flight stealing the limelight.

Luiz's more daring game overall – which saw him individually create six shot-creating actions against West Ham in October, per FBRef – would make him a perfect partner for Rice if Arsenal could seal this potential deal, who also can help out in attack when called upon.

Further, Luiz looks to be an upgrade on Havertz already with the German midfielder firing blanks in terms of goal output for his new employers.

The Brazilian is also unafraid to roll up his sleeves and win tackles to help his side consolidate, averaging 2.36 tackles per match over the last year according to FBRef.

Although the 25-year-old struggles aerially – only 0.57 aerial battles won per 90 according to FBRef from the last year – his potential partner in Rice excels where Luiz falters with an impressive 1.09 aerials won on top of making 1.72 interceptions per 90 minutes.

This suggests that the Villans star could be a tough-tackling partner for the England international, who can make up for his potential teammate's lack of physicality in the air, and someone who can provide attacking impetus.

Arteta will hope that this potential partnership does come to fruition, the Gunners adding Luiz to the building could help the North Londoners on their way to challenge for the Premier League title once more and even win the esteemed honours.

Surrey Stars beat defending champions Western Storm by seven wickets in the first ever Kia Super League fixture at Cheltenham

ECB Reporters Network26-Jul-2018Surrey Stars 136 for 3 (Taylor 50*) beat Western Storm 132 for 9 (Mandhana 37, Dunkley 3-18) by seven wickets
ScorecardRevenge was sweet for Surrey Stars as they beat defending champions Western Storm by seven wickets in the first ever Kia Super League fixture to be staged at Cheltenham.Legspinner Sophia Dunkley claimed 3 for 18, including the wicket of Indian star Smriti Mandhana, as Storm were restricted to 132 for 9 in their 20 overs.Inspired by Sarah Taylor’s well-judged innings of 50 not out from 34 balls, Stars chased down their target with 4.1 overs to spare, avenging the defeat they suffered at the hands of Storm in last season’s semi-final.Appreciating Storm’s strength when chasing, Stars skipper Natalie Sciver won the toss and deployed a quartet of spinners in an attempt to tie down the defending champions on a used pitch.Storm began well enough, openers Rachel Priest and Mandhana taking advantage of the power-play fielding restrictions and a fast outfield to find the boundary on a regular basis in adding 43 in five overs.Out to prove a point after being dropped by New Zealand in the winter, Priest made 21 at a run-a-ball, harvesting 4 fours, before hoisting a Marizanne Kapp length ball to mid-off.Undeterred, overseas signing Mandhana picked up the cudgels, plundering 15 runs off one Laura Marsh over as she moved gracefully towards a half century.But Storm’s smooth progress was checked by 20-year-old Dunkley, who made a double breakthrough when introduced from the College Lawn End in the eighth over.The Middlesex spinner had England captain Heather Knight caught at the wicket and, two balls later, persuaded Mandhana to hole out to deep midwicket for 37.Dunkley then lured Fran Wilson into front foot indiscretion, the England international miss-timing a drive and offering a catch to Grace Gibbs at mid-off. At that point, Dunkley boasted figures of 3 for 6 from seven balls.England spinner Marsh weighed in with 2 for 28, accounting for the dangerous Stafanie Taylor and Sophie Luff, while Mady Villiers bowled Naomi Dattani for 12 and England World Cup hero Anya Shrubsole lofted Gibbs to van Niekerk on the long-off boundary.Wickets continued to tumble as Gibbs had Danielle Gibson held on the long-on boundary in the penultimate over.Expansive from the outset, Lizelle Lee (22) and Bryony Smith (33) played aggressively in a power-play that yielded 59 runs, affording Stars’ reply crucial early momentum.The balance of power shifted when Gibson removed Smith and Sciver in the space of nine balls to reduce Stars to 79 for 3 in the ninth over, but World Cup winner Taylor summoned an assured response to calm any nerves.Supported by van Niekerk (14 not out), the England wicketkeeper dominated an unbroken stand of 57 for the fourth wicket, harvesting nine fours as the visitors banked a bonus point win.

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Na tarde desta segunda-feira, no CT Joaquim Grava, o Corinthians iniciou a sua preparação para o próximo compromisso válido pelo Campeonato Brasileiro, contra o Grêmio, no próximo domingo, às 20h30, na Neo Química Arena, pela 22ª rodada da competição. A novidade do dia foi a presença de Boselli, que iniciou sua transição física para voltar a jogar.

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Antes da apresentação, todos os atletas, comissão técnica e funcionários do CT realizaram teste para detecção do coronavírus. Segundo o clube, os 105 exames deram resultado negativo. Na próxima quinta-feira, novos testes serão feitos.

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> Veja classificação e simulador do Brasileirão clicando aqui

Na atividade do dia, os jogadores que atuaram por mais de 45 minutos na partida na derrota por 2 a 1 para o Atlético-MG, no último sábado, pela 21ª rodada do Brasileirão-2020, fizeram um trabalho regenerativo.

Os demais atletas iniciaram o treino com um aquecimento no Campo 1 (Ronaldo Soares Giovanelli), comandado pelo preparador físico Flávio de Oliveira. Depois, no Campo 3 (Roberto Rivellino), o técnico Vagner Mancini fez uma movimentação de posse de bola e marcação pressão.

Ao mesmo tempo, Anderson Batatais, auxiliar técnico da equipe, fez um trabalho com os defensores com cruzamentos e enfrentamentos de um contra um diante de um atacante. Na sequência, Mancini realizou um trabalho tático em campo reduzido. Vale lembrar que os jornalistas não podem acompanhar as atividades in loco por conta da pandemia de coronavírus. Sendo assim, as informações são fornecidas pela assessoria de imprensa do clube.

A novidade do dia foi por conta do atacante Mauro Boselli, que iniciou a transição física e participou do aquecimento com o restante do grupo. O meio-campista Gabriel Pereira, também em transição, realizou o teste iô-iô, que avalia a parte física do atleta, e fez a movimentação inicial do treinamento. Ambos podem pintar entre os relacionados no próximo domingo.

Para enfrentar o Grêmio, Mancini terá os retornos certos de Fábio Santos, que não pôde enfrentar o Atlético-MG por conta de cláusula contratual, Otero, que retorna da seleção da Venezuela, e Xavier, que cumpriu suspensão e volta a ficar à disposição do treinador. Os três devem ser titulares contra os gaúchos. Enquanto isso, Jemerson pode ser relacionado pela primeira vez e estrear.

Jô e Mateus Vital, diagnosticados com Covid-19, permanecem em isolamento, Cazares ainda está em recuperação de estiramento na coxa esquerda e, por isso, fora do jogo. Gustavo Silva, com estiramento na coxa direita, tem poucas chances de retornar. Roni, que levou o terceiro amarelo contra o Galo, está suspenso e é mais um que será desfalque certo no Corinthians.

O Alvinegro volta a treinar na manhã desta terça-feira, no CT Joaquim Grava, de olho na partida do próximo fim de semana. Serão mais cinco treinos até o próximo sábado, quando o elenco encerra a preparação para pegar o Grêmio.

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Se o objetivo era homenagear o legado da Seleção Brasileira, a CBF escolheu o nome certo e fez uma justa homenagem à Zagallo. A entidade escolheu a lenda brasileira de 89 anos para ser modelo na divulgação dos novos uniformes de jogo, inspirados nos modelos usados na Copa de 1970, no México.

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A camisa amarelinha destaca gola, número nas costas e faixa nas mangas com a cor verde, além do calção azul e a meia branca, semelhante ao modelo utilizado pela equipe do ‘Velho Lobo’, que foi treinador do Tri. A lenda também foi campeão em 1958 e 1962, como jogador, e 1994, como auxiliar-técnico.

– Temos vários elementos que convidam o torcedor a revisitar aquela camisa tão icônica. A gola careca e as mangas em verde são as que chamam mais atenção. Temos outros símbolos, como na parte interna da nuca escrito 70 com o grafismo tão simbólico da época”, disse Gustavo Viana, diretor de marketing da Nike. fornecedora de material esportivo da Seleção.

A CBF divulgou ainda detalhes da camisa azul da Seleção. Veja fotos:

The batsman had taken a break from cricket after the Women’s World Cup in July last year and had missed all international cricket since

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2018Thirty-two-year-old batsman Nain Abidi has returned to the Pakistan side for the Women’s T20 Asia Cup, after an eight-month break from cricket. She was named in the 15-member squad, along with four reserves, for the six-nation tournament to be played in Malaysia starting June 3.Abidi last played international cricket during the World Cup last year in England and subsequently moved to the USA after her marriage earlier in 2017. She returned to domestic cricket for the Zarai Tarakiati Bank women’s team earlier this month and had a productive tournament with two fifties, including an unbeaten 85 off 65 in the final on Thursday that helped them clinch the Departmental T20trophy. Abidi missed Pakistan’s last two outings, the ICC Women’s Championship matches against New Zealand and Sri Lanka.”Staying away from cricket is always difficult. I have played professional cricket for 11 years, so going and staying away from cricket was the most difficult part after marriage,” Abidi told the recently.Bismah Maroof continues to lead the team, following a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka in March.The Women’s Asia Cup will consist of Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.Pakistan women squad: Bismah Maroof (capt), Muneeba Ali, Nahida Khan, Javeria Rauf, Nain Abidi, Umaima Sohail, Javeria Khan, Sidra Nawaz, Nida Dar, Kainat Imtiaz, Sana Mir, Nashra Sandhu, Anam Amin, Natalia Pervaiz, Diana Baig. Reserves: Fareeha Mehmood, Rameen Shamim, Fazila Ikhlaq, Aliya Riaz.

Newcastle United have reportedly completed some last-minute transfer business, beating a number of Premier League rivals to the signing of one player.

Have Newcastle had a good summer?

The Magpies had a fantastic 2022/23 season, finishing fourth in the table and sealing a richly deserved return to the Champions League in the process.

However, the key was for them to kick on during the summer transfer window, bolster the squad and ensure it was primed for an assault across four different competitions.

Newcastle have done a good job in that respect, making several important signings, including the silky Sandro Tonali from AC Milan and the dangerous Harvey Barnes, who has traded Leicester City for St James' Park.

While it is vital that the Magpies improve the current team, it is also essential that they continue to build for the future, creating a dynasty in the same way Manchester City have down the years.

For that to happen, top young talent needs to come in – individuals who can blossom into stars over the time.

Have Newcastle signed Trevan Sanusi?

According to NUFC Blog, Newcastle pipped a number of rivals to the signing of highly rated Birmingham City teenager Trevan Sanusi on deadline day:

"Newcastle United have won the race to sign highly-rated winger Trevan Sanusi.

"He’s shone at youth level and was named in Birmingham’s senior squad for their Championship clash with Sheffield United back in May. Had he featured from the bench, he would’ve broken Jude Bellingham’s record as the Blues’ youngest ever player."

The fact that Sanusi has chosen Newcastle over the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool speaks volumes about the strides the club are making these days, with those rivals far more likely to have beaten them to the signing of youngsters in the past.

The Magpies really are going places under Eddie Howe, and the former Birmingham youngster clearly sees this as the best option for his development moving forward.

Sanusi is an extremely gifted winger who has been lauded by former coach Steve Spooner, who said of him after his match-winning performance against Everton's Under-21s last year:

"He is on his way through and is an exciting young talent who has just been away on an international camp. What a way to open your account with the Under-21s and what a way to make an impression by scoring the winning goal!"

The hope is that Sanusi will steadily mature as a footballer as the years pass, thriving in Newcastle's youth system, before eventually becoming a huge star who becomes a new hero at St James'. He will have to work hard for that to happen, but he is certainly one to watch.

The Leeds United squad has endured a fair few changes over the last few years, from starring in the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa, to suffering relegation with Sam Allardyce at the helm, and eventually landing on Daniel Farke in an attempt to secure promotion from the Championship at the first time of asking.

Things haven't quite gone to plan for the former Norwich City man, however, having overseen just one victory in five league games, already leaving the Whites four points adrift of the play-off places, and seven points adrift of table-toppers Preston North End.

Now, one player who has been under contract at the club through their Premier League heroics all the way to their relegation, and since then, subsequent Championship struggle, could finally secure a permanent departure away from Elland Road.

What's the latest Leeds United transfer news?

It was a mixed summer transfer window for Leeds in the end. Whilst they said goodbye to the likes of Tyler Adams, Rodrigo, and Luis Sinisterra, they did at least keep hold of Wilfried Gnonto, and secure the signing of the likes of Joel Piroe, who scored 20 goals for Swansea City last season.

With the majority of the transfer windows now closed, including the Saudi Pro League's, you'd be forgiven for assuming that the Yorkshire club's business had come to an end under new owners the 49ers Enterprises. That doesn't seem to be the case, however.

According to journalist Ben Jacobs, via Give Me Sport, winger Helder Costa could yet secure a move away with clubs from Turkey making enquiries with their window open until September 15th. Farke also confirmed, via the Yorskshire Evening Post, that the winger wants to leave the club, and that he is not in his plans. Jacobs said:

"There hasn't been that much interest in Costa. There had been a few Saudi enquiries, and also in Turkey. We need to wait and see what happens. There's a possibility that he will leave for sure. On the Saudi side, he received an approach about three weeks ago from Al-Taawoun, and Al-Shabab, under their old board, had explored a deal.

"So, you will get some players, regardless of what the club thinks, that just prefer to sit it out until January or see whether they can change the manager's mind between now and then because, in the new year, there may be more options available to them.”

Should Leeds United sell Helder Costa?

It would be an understatement to say that Costa isn't exactly needed around Elland Road these days, having spent previous loan spells away in Saudi Arabia and Valencia without a permanent switch coming into fruition.

From Leeds' perspective, offloading Costa would also free up some room on their wage bill, with the winger earning a reported £46k per week at the Yorkshire club. With that said, a move would likely benefit all parties involved, whether it comes this summer, or in January, and by the looks of things, it could be one to watch despite the domestic window shutting at the beginning of the month.

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A possibilidade dos jogos no Rio de Janeiro voltarem a ter público está em pauta. De acordo com informação divulgada por “O Globo” na última sexta-feira, a Federação de Futebol do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Ferj) deve se reunir na próxima semana uma reunião com os clubes e autoridades para debater o retorno com presença parcial de público, inicialmente a partir de outubro.

Em entrevista coletiva, o prefeito Marcelo Crivella detalhou o teor das reuniões e cogitou reabrir com “10 a 12 mil pessoas”, se referindo ao Maracanã. Aos seus olhos, nos palcos há chance de uma fiscalização maior para fiscalizar as medidas de precaução da Covid-19.

– Nossa esperança é que as pessoas indo para os estádios no domingo não vão para a praia. Estamos tentando combinar, até antecipar os horários dos jogos um pouco. No estádio, conseguimos controlar o distanciamento e o uso da máscara, o que não é possível nas praias – declarou.

Será elaborado um protocolo com diretrizes de segurança que os clubes terão de seguir à risca para voltarem a ter presença de torcedores. A CBF ainda não falou sobre a possibilidade de volta de jogos com público. Não há presença de torcedores nos estádios do Rio de Janeiro desde a partida na qual o Goiás derrotou o Vasco por 1 a 0, em 12 de março, em São Januário.

Leeds United have maintained an interest in Rangers ace Glen Kamara despite suffering relegation from the Premier League this year.

What's the latest on Glen Kamara to Leeds?

That's according to TEAMtalk, who claim that Daniel Farke's side are indeed considering a swoop for the Finnish midfielder, though will face competition from fellow Championship outfit Southampton.

Leeds have lost midfielders Marc Roca and Brenden Aaronson on loan this summer, while Adam Forshaw's contract at Elland Road has also expired, and Kamara could ensure the midfield robustness is reinstated.

Read the latest Leeds transfer news HERE…

The 27-year-old is believed to have a £5m release clause in his contract with the Scottish Premiership giants, and now it's up to the Whites to pay the sum.

How good is Glen Kamara?

Kamara is a proven midfielder at a high level having starred for Rangers for several years since signing from Dundee for a paltry £50k, playing 193 times, scoring nine goals and providing 11 assists.

Kamara is perhaps best described as a press-resistant, defensively effective central midfielder, usually occupying the role ahead of the defensive midfielder.

As per WhoScored, he boasts a pass success rate of 89.3% across the duration of his career, also averaging 0.9 tackles and one interception per match – given Farke's inclination to play a possession-centric system, he is the perfect fit to propel Leeds back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Hailed as a "terrific footballer in possession" by former Gers manager Steven Gerrard, Kamara could be an upgrade on the recently-departed Roca, who did not have the desired effect at Elland Road after signing from Bayern Munich for an initial £10m one year ago.

TalkSPORT host Adrian Durham claimed last season: "I'm not sure he's a Premier League footballer" following the consistently subpar showings, and given that the Spaniard ranks among the bottom 14% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues for pass completion over the past year, as per FBref, he certainly doesn't look a tailor-made fit for Farke's team.

This is a far cry from Kamara's set of skills, with the 52-cap international backed to be an absolute "monster" by Gerrard and while the midfielder was somewhat out of sorts last term, starting only 11 times in the Scottish Premiership, the 2021/22 campaign confirmed his ability.

Indeed, Kamara recorded an average match rating of 7.01, starting 28 matches, completing a stunning 91% of his passes, making 1.3 key passes per game, one tackle per match and succeeding in 56% of his ground duels.

The former Arsenal academy graduate is also a proven winner, having gleaned the league title and Scottish Cup during his time at Ibrox despite Celtic's lasting dominance, and Leeds could make use of his mentality after falling by the wayside last season.

The 'monster' is a tough, tenacious and technical midfielder, and with Leeds requiring grit and determination to blend with the obvious qualities at Farke's disposal, Kamara's signature might just be one to ensure the club's return to the second tier is nothing more than a sojourn.

It is the kind of dismissal that can change the nature of a captaincy. Sarfraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq were building on their stellar work on the fourth evening and had already scored 27 runs in six overs at the start of the fifth day.As he has done thousands of times before, Sarfraz went down to sweep the fifth ball of Dilruwan Perera’s over. He got nice and low, but the ball didn’t – it bounced a little more, caught his top edge and landed in Nuwan Pradeep’s hands at deep square leg.Pakistan needed 92 at that stage and this was the last specialist batting pair. They had already put on 173 and were in the process of turning the game around. More significantly, the new ball was due in eight balls and the situation demanded Sarfraz and Shafiq to be there to face it. Instead he was gone, and with it, Pakistan’s hopes of a series-levelling win: they lost their last four wickets for just 23 runs, and with it went Pakistan’s unbeaten, decade-long home streak.Did he regret the shot?”No, not regret,” he said. “That is my shot and I play it a lot. In this innings I really checked myself, I didn’t play too many shots but I guess, there is regret that I got out to it and the team was hurt because of that.”It is correct that the sweep is his go-to shot against spin and he is very good with it. But, the situation as it was, this being his second Test as captain, and having been dismissed in the Abu Dhabi chase also attacking, it will, he admitted, make him rethink its deployment. A loose hook shot in his first Test as captain, after all, changed the nature of Imran Khan’s batting.”It is the shot that I play, I’ve played it lots before and made runs from it,” he said. “But I’ll try and not play it at crucial moments again.”That mistake merely compounded a whole series of collective ones Pakistan made through the two Tests. It constitutes the first real bump in Sarfraz’s leadership, which hitherto has gone smoother than expected. He’s won nine and lost two T20s that he’s led in, and can already boast of a global ICC trophy.”I got to learn a lot from this. We made many mistakes. This was my first series as captain and it was pretty tough. Captaincy is very different in Tests – it changes session by session.”His assessment of the defeat wasn’t much different from Mickey Arthur’s the previous evening. It wasn’t the bowling, though Sarfraz did concede they could’ve gone with two spinners here. The biggest problems were of the batsmen, failing in a chase of 136, and then failing to make 300 in each innings in Dubai. But it wasn’t just the order that was the problem.Shafiq’s final day hundred was the only century for Pakistan in four innings, with seven fifties [Sri Lanka had two but both were big ones].”We lacked in our batting, we didn’t play any long innings and didn’t capitalise on good starts,” Sarfraz said.”The kind of innings Asad played, if we had gotten that in the last game, or in the first innings here, then we could’ve gotten out of it. I’ve learnt a fair bit and I hope that whatever the next series is, we’ll try and improve on these.”Part of that could be attributed to a lack of game time. In contrast to Sri Lanka who came into this series battle-hardened with a full series against India behind them, Pakistan had not played a Test since May. Since the Champions Trophy win in June, they had only played three Twenty20s against a World XI, which, tough as they may have been, carried the air of exhibition games.Their only real preparation, for a series that began in the UAE as early as the last week of September for the first time, was a five-day training camp in Lahore. There had been some talk of an earlier arrival in the UAE for better preparation before the team left, but Sarfraz was happy they had done their work.”If I say we didn’t do our full preparation, or we weren’t acclimatised to conditions, it would be wrong. We did our preparation in the time we had. We played a practice game in Lahore.”I think we just didn’t play this series well and to say we didn’t get the time to prepare is wrong – we did our preparations right. We just didn’t avail the opportunities we had. In the first Test we got so close and could have won it but couldn’t.”