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According to Football Insider, West Brom have made an approach to sign Aston Villa full-back Ritchie De Laet before the loan window closes.

What’s the story?

De Laet joined Villa from Leicester in 2016 but has made just 14 appearances during his two years at the club. In January this year he was shipped out on loan to Royal Antwerp, the club where he began his career, as he fell behind Alan Hutton in the pecking order at Villa Park.

The Belgian defender can play in any position across a back four but is predominantly a right-back. Before his four year stint with Leicester he was at Manchester United, although he managed just six first team appearances in three years and spent most of his time out on loan.

The 29-year-old now finds himself even further away from the first team at Villa this summer as Hutton, Ahmed Elmohamady and loanee Axel Tuanzebe have all played at right-back, with De Laet making just two appearances in much-changed Carabao Cup sides.

A desperate bid

West Brom recently confirmed the signing of 35-year-old right-back Tyrone Mears on a rolling contract until January, having let Allan Nyom leave the club on loan this summer. However, Mears has likely been brought in as back-up but a deal for De Laet would smack of desperation.

The former Belgium international is no longer seen as good enough for Villa and West Brom are a direct rival who are battling for promotion back to the Premier League, suggesting that he wouldn’t be good enough for the Baggies either.

Darren Moore has also begun deploying a three at the back formation with Matt Phillips playing as an attacking right-wing back. His success in this position has surprised many and De Laet would be too different a player to suit the new system. This is a mistake that Moore must avoid making.

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According to reports in the Watford Observer, Tottenham Hotspur could face competition from a number of Chinese Super League clubs in the race to sign highly-rated Watford winger Richarlison.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Spurs were heavily linked with the 20-year-old by The Mirror earlier this month after he made an outstanding start to his Premier League career with the Hornets this term, but the Watford Observer says a big-money offer from China could be in the offing.

The Watford Observer says that several unnamed clubs from the Far East have contacted Watford owner Gino Pozzo about the Brazilian forward, although the Italian is desperate to keep hold of his prized asset who only signed a five-year deal when he joined from Fluminense during the summer transfer window.

Why do Tottenham want him?

It can take some players a while to adapt to life in the Premier League when they first come to England, but that hasn’t proven to be the case for Richarlison.

The wide man has scored five goals – including one in the 2-0 win against West Ham United at Vicarage Road on Sunday – and provided a further three assists in 12 top flight appearances this season.

The tally of the former should perhaps be even higher considering the Brazilian missed some clear-cut chances in the defeat to Chelsea last month, but the huge potential he has shown mean that a number of top clubs will be watching his progress closely.

Would he be a good signing for Tottenham?

He certainly would be.

The youngster would add a new dimension to Spurs’ attack with his pace, direct running and strength in the air, but the fact that he plays on the left wing would perhaps be a small concern considering Mauricio Pochettino has preferred to play with wing-backs and more central attacking midfielders this term.

Could he really go to China?

It really depends on the player, but considering he is 20 years of age and has already made an impression in the Premier League, you would expect him to join a bigger club in England while he can rather than going to China at such an early stage in his young career.

Leeds United’s chances of signing Swansea City centre-back Kyle Bartley on a permanent basis this summer was boosted as the Swans secured their Premier League status for another season on Sunday.

Having beaten Sunderland 2-0 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday to move four points clear of the relegation zone, Paul Clement’s men knew that if Hull City were beaten by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park that the Tigers would go down, and that is exactly what happened as Marco Silva’s side lost 4-0.

The Yorkshire outfit and manager Garry Monk – if he stays – will hope that it is more likely that they will be able to sign Bartley permanently after he impressed during a season-long loan spell at the Championship outfit this term.

Having formed a strong relationship with Pontus Jansson at the heart of the Whites’ defence, Leeds supporters were quick to have their say on Swansea’s survival via social media and they hope it means that the former Arsenal man will be lining up at Elland Road again in August.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

If you’re a Welsh Liverpool fan then is this the article for you!

To be honest, even if you’re not, this article reveals some of the finest goals scored by Ian Rush during his time as a Liverpool footballer, and if you’re remotely interested in football, you will enjoy these goals.

Today marks his 54th birthday and those of us at the Football FanCast headquarters couldn’t pass up the opportunity to enjoy some of Rush’s finest moments.

He was a master at composure and scored a truly frightening amount of goals during his two spells on Merseyside.

In his first spell (which includes a loan back from Italian giants Juventus), Rushie netted 139 league goals in 224 appearances – before scoring 90 goals in 245 games once he rejoined the Reds.

He also featured for Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield Wednesday after his time at Liverpool and was capped 73 times by Wales, scoring 28 goals.

In 1992, Rush overtook Roger Hunt to become Liverpool’s all time leading goalscorer, achieving the feat in the best possible way – scoring against arch rivals Manchester United.

As it stands, Rushie’s Liverpool record appears untouchable and he is far clear of the chasing pack with his 346 goals in all competitions for the Merseysiders.

Without further ado then, here are Ian Rush’ 10 best goals of all time.

Vs Everton

Liverpool were in their prime at that point but that doesn’t make defeating one of your biggest rivals, at their home ground, by a scoreline of 5-0 any less impressive.

The imperious Rush scored 4 goals during this game but only one of them has made it onto out list. Check from 4:30 onwards to see it.

Vs Everton (again)

Poor Everton fans. Rushie seemed to have a knack for scoring against Everton, and always when it mattered most.

In the 1986 FA Cup Final between the Merseyside clubs, Liverpool were trailing 1-0 at half time.

An inspired Liverpool and co fought back though and won 3-1 with two of those monumental goals making it into our post.

Vs Everton (again II)

Only three years later, and with the Hillsborough tragedy still looming over them like a huge cloud, Liverpool still managed to overcome their nearest rivals, Everton, in yet another cracking cup final.

Liverpool twice led before being pegged back but Rushie had the final word, securing another FA Cup triumph for Liverpool against the Toffees.

He bagged two as well, both accepted onto our top 10 Rush goals! (I promise they don’t all involve Everton!)

Vs Villa

Rushie was in fine form for Liverpool and showed it against Aston Villa.

With the game nicely poised, Rush gave Liverpool a deserved lead.

However, it’s his final two goals, the two that secured him yet another hat-trick, that he will be most fondly remembered for in this match.

Vs United

This strike is definitely up there with one of the purest and most meaningful of his career.

After forcibly getting the better of United’s centre half, Rush scored and absolute screamer, showing the standard of football he is indeed capable of.

Vs United (again)

Originally, this is the kind of fixture which tends to bring the best out of players and none more so than with Ian Rush.

In fact, not only did he score against Manchester United, but his goal to put Liverpool 2-0 up actually placed him ahead of Roger Hunt in the all-time Liverpool goalscorer charts.

Vs Blackburn

The final clip comes from a 1994 clash with Blackburn Rovers in the Carling Cup, in which there seemed to be a distinct quality difference between the sides.

It could be possible that Rovers were resting players for their ruthless Premier League schedule but that takes nothing away from the awesome strike.

Tim Ream believes Sergino Dest showed "a complete lack of respect" to the U.S. men's national team with his red card on Monday night.

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Ream blasts Dest for 'disrespect'Fullback sent off for arguing with refereeUSMNT lose, but qualify for Copa AmericaGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Dest was sent off in the first half of Monday's match, which saw the U.S. play for a spot in the Nations League semifinal and next summer's Copa America. After a 3-0 win in the first leg, the U.S. was up 1-0 early as Dest assisted Antonee Robinson, but the fullback was dismissed for arguing with the referee. After a decision went against him at the other end of the field, Dest booted the ball into the stands and, after receiving a yellow card, continued to argue with the referee, going so far as to blow kisses at the official.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Ream and Matt Turner were among the USMNT stars seen yelling at Dest on his way off the field, with the USMNT players left on the pitch clearly upset with their teammate. Ream went on to explain that Dest was also confronted in the locker room, with the Barcelona fullback apologizing to his teammates on Instagram after the game, calling his actions "selfish and immature".The U.S. went on to lose 2-1, but won on aggregate 4-2 to book a spot in the Copa America.

GettyWHAT REAM SAID

"Disappointment," Ream began, "but I think, overall, it's a complete lack of respect for the guys that are playing and for the guys that are on the bench. It's a feeling of a lack of respect for the game itself, for the referees. We knew, and we talked about it, every time we come down here, every time you're in a CONCACAF game, that anything can happen, so we know not to give an excuse for anything like that to happen.

"So, for me, it's just a feeling of disrespect, to be completely honest with you and that's something that he needs to understand because it completely changes the game and then it completely changes any type of potential plan of guys coming in and subs off the bench. It throws that completely out of whack. So yeah, just disrespect overall."

He continued: "I think 'words with him' would be putting it nicely. There were a lot of choice words at halftime, but, at the end of the day, we had to focus on the second half, so we couldn't focus on that situation at the time. Digging in, we had 45 minutes to try to get a result and make sure that we were going to advance in the Nations League and ultimately qualify for the Copa America. There's not not too many things that I can say here publicly that we said privately."

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR USMNT?

The USMNT will not play a competitive match until next spring, although there will almost certainly be a January camp for MLS-based players. In 2024, the U.S. will play in the Nations League semifinals before joining South America's finest in the Copa America next summer.

Everything you need to know about Norwegian goal-machine Erling Haaland!

Erling Haaland is a professional footballer from Norway who currently plays as a striker for Manchester City in the Premier League and the Norway national team. Haaland was born on July 21, 2000, in Leeds, England, while his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, was playing for Leeds United. He grew up in Bryne, Norway, and started playing football at a young age.

In 2017, Haaland joined Molde FK, where he made his professional debut in the Norwegian Eliteserien. He quickly made an impression, scoring four goals in his debut match. He was then snapped up by Austrian giants Red Bull Salzburg, where he made swift progress.

In December 2019, Haaland joined Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga after turning down a transfer to Salzburg's sister club RB Leipzig….and after smashing five past them in midweek, Leipzig supporters will be ruing the one who got away!

He made an instant impact on his arrival at Signal Iduna Park, scoring a hat-trick on his debut against FC Augsburg. Since then, he has gone from strength-to-strength as he continued to impress with his remarkable goalscoring exploits.

Haaland's performances during the 2020-21 season saw him announce himself as one of the best strikers on the planet. He scored 27 goals in 28 Bundesliga outings, finishing as the league's second-highest scorer behind Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski.

He also scored 10 goals in the UEFA Champions League, finishing as the competition's joint-top scorer alongside Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe. His stellar form in Germany earned him a high-profile move to Premier League giants Manchester City in the summer of 2022, and his performances at the Etihad have since been mind-blowing.Haaland's playing style is a unique blend of traditional and modern target-man, underlined by his exceptional physical abilities and precision finishing. He stands 6'4 tall and boasts amazing speed, strength, and agility, making him a nightmare opponent for any defence. He's also a great finisher with both his feet and his head, and is capable of scoring goals from nothing.

To conclude, Erling Haaland is an incredible young footballer who is on course to be remembered as one of the best strikers the world has ever seen, while breaking numerous goalscoring records along the way.

With his talent and potential, Haaland is sure to rule the world of football for many

Here are 15 fun facts aboutErling Haaland you need to know…!

• imago images / Digitalsport
  

  Born to be an athlete! 🏃

  Haaland has a very stong family background in the world of sports. His parents were both excellent athletes. Haaland's father, Alf-Inge Haaland, was also a professional footballer who played for some renowned English clubs like Leeds United and Manchester City during his career.

  However, Haaland Sr. became famous for being a subject to one of the most infamous challenges in the history of football when Roy Keane produced a disgusting tackle in a feisty Manchester derby back in 2001.

  His mother, Gry Marita Braun, meanwhile, is also recognised as a national champion in heptathlete in the 90s, while his grandfather was a well-known long-distance runner in Norway.

  No wonder the kid's a monster!

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• Could've been a professional handball player 🤾

  While Erling followed his father’s footsteps and became a footballer, Alf-Inge revealed in an interview that he ensured his son would try a whole host of other sports before choosing football. By 14, Erling had already had a taste of handball, athletics and cross-country skiing.

  A natural athlete, Haaland excelled at a variety of sports growing up, he was an exceptional handball player, and was told by many coaches that he could make a career in that sport. His father later revealed that Norway's handball manager wanted him to play handball.

  Thus, had things turned out differently for him in his formative days, he could have been a famous international handball player for Norway by now.

• Getty Images
  

  A prolific jumper at five

  Are you aware that Erling Haaland set his first world record at the age of five?

  Now, we're trying hard not to believe the rumours about him being a Terminator, but these facts doesn't help in any way!

  At five, most of us were busy watching cartoons, and playing video games..but not Haaland.

  Despite his tender age, he was already training, taking part in multiple sports, and building himself to be a phenomenal athlete.

  On 22nd January 2006, he produced a standing jump of crazy 1.63 metres!

  It turned out to be a new world record, and 17 years later, that record still stands tall!

  A world record-breaking jumper: at least, this explains some of the insane towering headers and freakish side-volleys we've come to see from him time and again.

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• Was eligible to play for England

  Needless to say, Haaland is the future of Norwegian football.

  He has scored 21 times in just 23 games for the Drillos, and is the face of a young and competitive Norwegian side that narrowly missed out on qualification to the recent Qatar World Cup.

  However, Haaland was born in Leeds and so could have been eligible to play for England. However, he emulated his father at both club and country levels by picking City and Norway, a decision that came naturally to him since he spent most of his youth in the Scandinavian country.

  If the stars had aligned differently, Haaland and Kane would have lined up as a strike-pairing upfront, potentially firing Gareth Southgate's team to the elusive World Cup triumph. Defenders legs' would be shaking at that sight, wouldn't they?

The runaway league leaders unsurprisingly feature heavily in Goal's picks for the best players of the season thus far

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  David De Gea | Manchester United

  The best goalkeeper in the world, and there really shouldn't be any debating it anymore. De Gea's superhuman double save against Arsenal qualifies him for this team alone, as it capped one of the finest goalkeeping performances seen in English football in years. His 10 clean sheets are unmatched by any other goalkeeper, too.

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• Getty
  

  Kyle Walker | Manchester City

  That Pep Guardiola managed to extract Walker from Tottenham in the summer is perhaps both a masterstroke for City and an entry into the Darwin Awards for Spurs. Walker is, on form, the single best right-back in the country and he has barely put a foot wrong at the Etihad. He has played at both right midfield and right full-back which shows that he has a layer of versatility to his game.

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  Nicolas Otamendi | Manchester City

  Being the best ball-playing defender in a Pep Guardiola team is a tough ask, but Otamendi has managed it at City. Previously imposing but error-prone, the Argentina international has cleaned up his act, and has made a league-high 1,607 passes – ahead of even team-mates David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne. In 17 games, he has also contributed four goals, one coming in a fiercely contested derby encounter with Manchester United.

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  James Tarkowski | Burnley

  Burnley's defence perhaps defies statistics, but Tarkowski has been a central reason for their remarkable rise up the Premier League table. Closer to the European positions than relegation, the Clarets had the joint-best defensive record along with Manchester City heading into the weekend, with Tarkowski making a club-high 28 blocks, 145 clearances and 94 headed clearances.

The ICC has announced that the USA has been chosen to host ICC World Cricket League Division Four, to take place later in the year

Peter Della Penna25-Apr-2016

The ICC has announced that the USA has been chosen to host ICC World Cricket League Division Four, to take place later in the year. It will be the first WCL tournament that the USA has hosted and will also include Bermuda, Denmark, Italy and two teams promoted from WCL Division Five in Jersey, scheduled for May 21-28.The tournament will be staged in Los Angeles. Though the ICC has not formally announced a specific site, local sources have told ESPNcricinfo that Woodley Park in the suburb of Van Nuys will be the location for the matches. The Leo Magnus Cricket Complex at Woodley Park has four turf cricket grounds adjacent to each other.Earlier this month, Los Angeles hosted the first of eight ICC-organised USA Combines for scouting and evaluating national team player talent. While the event was taking place at Woodley, ICC officials met with city officials in Los Angeles to discuss hosting Division Four at the site.The USA has hosted numerous ICC Americas tournaments, in Fort Lauderdale and Indianapolis. However, neither city has the requisite three turf grounds within close proximity needed to stage the simultaneous three games per day that are necessary for WCL events.The most high profile event staged at Woodley in the recent past was a five-match series between Australia A and India A in September 1999, captained by Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman respectively. The inaugural ACF National Championship was also held at Woodley in October 2012.New soil has recently been added to the squares at Woodley on some of the grounds to improve the quality of the fields, which have deteriorated in recent years mainly due to overuse.The USA had been in line to host ICC WCL Division Four in 2012, which was tentatively scheduled to be held in Florida that May. However, USACA’s administrative struggles at the time, most significantly the highly controversial 2012 elections, contributed to USA losing the opportunity to host. The tournament was eventually held that September in Malaysia instead.

MatériaMais Notícias

Os gestos obscenos feitos por Felipe Melo em relação à torcida do Santos, no último dia 9, após a derrota por 2 a 0 do Palmeiras, podem custar caro. O volante foi denunciado e será julgado pelo Superior Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva (STJD) na segunda-feira, correndo risco de ser suspenso por até seis partidas no Campeonato Brasileiro.

O jogador foi denunciado no artigo 258 do Código Brasileiro de Justiça Desportiva (CBJD), que fala em “assumir qualquer conduta contrária à disciplina ou à ética desportiva”. A punição prevista vaira de um a seis jogos.

Expulso no clássico, Willian também será julgado na segunda-feira, com risco de suspensão de uma a seis rodadas. O atacante aplicou um carrinho em Pituca, recebeu cartão vermelho direto e foi denunciado no artigo 254, por “praticar jogada violenta”.

Com incômodo em uma antiga fibrose na perna direita, Willian já será desfalque na próxima rodada, contra o Avaí, no domingo, em Florianópolis. Felipe Melo está à disposição de Mano Menezes.

Depois de 27 rodadas, o Verdão ocupa a segunda colocação do Campeonato Brasileiro, com 54 pontos, dez atrás do Flamengo.

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MatériaMais Notícias

Na manhã desta terça-feira, o técnico Odair Hellmann comandou o último treino do Internacional antes de encarar o Flamengo, fora de casa, pelo Campeonato Brasileiro.

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Sem a presença da imprensa, o comandante deu atenção ao sistema ofensivo, que sofre com inúmeras críticas quando atua longe do Beira-Rio.

A principal ausência é o meia Andrés D’Alessandro. O jogador não se recuperou da lesão muscular que o tirou da final da Copa do Brasil. Com isso, Nico López fica encarregado de organizar o time no Maracanã.

No trio de volantes, Nonato e Patrick disputam a última vaga do sistema. Na defesa, Uendel e Zeca briga pela lateral-esquerda.

Caso não tenha nenhuma mudança de última hora, o Colorado entra em campo com a seguinte formação: Marcelo Lomba; Bruno, Rodrigo Moledo, Víctor Cuesta e Uendel (Zeca); Rodrigo Lindoso, Edenílson, Patrick (Nonato), Nico López e Wellington Silva; Paolo Guerrero.

Após 20 rodadas disputadas, o Internacional se encontra na quarta colocação, com 36 pontos, nove a menos que o rival desta quarta-feira.