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Heerenveen striker Henk Veerman believes that Glasgow Rangers target Joey Veerman will leave the club this summer.

The Lowdown: Gers linked with Veerman

As the Gers prepare for next season and a potential Champions League run, they will be looking at new targets as a result. As such, they are said to be eyeing midfielder Joey Veerman.

They are among a number of clubs interested in his services, along with the likes of Atalanta and PSV Eindhoven (Voetbal International).

The Latest: Teammate expects departure

Henk Veerman, who also plays for Heerenveen but bears no relation to Joey, believes that the 22-year-old will move on during the transfer window. He told podcast Omrop Fryslan (via Voetbal Primeur):

“Then it changes enormously. That is a serious problem for me. I have read things about Atalanta Bergamo, Rangers FC, Celtic, PSV, Ajax and AZ. I expect him to go to one of those clubs. I also think Joey is an added value for every club in the Netherlands.”

The Verdict: Good news for Rangers

It looks like one of the Gers’ targets will be available this summer, and if they can capture his services, he could prove to be a very useful player. Veerman has managed nine goals and 11 assists in all competitions from the middle of the park this season, adding to the five of each he picked up for his current club in the previous campaign (Transfermarkt).

Currently valued at £7.65m by Transfermarkt, he is unlikely to come cheap. However, if Steven Gerrard is particularly eager to take him to Ibrox, perhaps Ross Wilson and co should sit up and take note, given his abundant goal contributions in recent months and the seemingly strong prospect of him leaving Heerenveen.

In other news, some Rangers fans don’t want to sign this striker.

Australia skipper Steve Waugh is aiming to shrug off two disappointing results against English county sides when they take on high-flying Pakistan in the second NatWest Series match at Cardiff tomorrow

CricInfo08-Jun-2001Australia skipper Steve Waugh is aiming to shrug off two disappointing results against English county sides when they take on high-flying Pakistan in the second NatWest Series match at Cardiff tomorrow.Pakistan are full of confidence after winning the Second Test against England and then soundly thrashing them in the opening encounter of the series at Edgbaston on Thursday.Meanwhile Australia, in their two one-day games this week, have lost to Middlesex and were held to a tie by Northants.Waugh knows his side must improve on those performances if they are to win tomorrow. “Pakistan are a very good side who have some exceptional players and have got their confidence back,” he said.”They have two very good, young all-rounders in Abdur Razzaq and AzharMahmood. But they have some experienced players who have done well in one-daycricket.”When Pakistan’s confidence is high they can do anything. But we have apretty good record against them recently and we believe we can do well again.”Waugh admits that Australia sometimes struggle in the early games in tournaments, most notably in the last World Cup in England when they started so slowly that they needed to win all their last seven games to lift the trophy. And, of course, it was Pakistan who they beat in the final.”We did not plan on peaking half-way through the World Cup,” he said. “Wewanted to win our first game, but if we have a weakness it is not playing wellin the early games.”But we have played 12 months of cricket and we had to have some time off(before arriving in England this year).”The down side of that is that when you have that time off you are not quiteon your game.”It is no one’s fault – it is just the way modern cricket is played. Thereare not many lead-up games, but you have to have a break when you get thechance.”While Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis is aiming to field the same side which beat England, Waugh is uncertain of his starting line-up.Ricky Ponting did not play at Northampton because of a minor hip problem while pace bowler Nathan Bracken was rested after sustaining a shoulder injury.And seam bowler Damien Fleming limped off after bowling only four overs at Northampton. Waugh said: “We still have a couple of guys we are testing. There may be one or two unavailable.”Meanwhile, Pakistan decided not to hold the conventional practice session the day before a big match and rested instead. It was a policy they tried before the Second Test against England when they took the day off and went to the seaside resort of Blackpool – and, judging by the match result, it was a policy which served them well.Teams:Australia (from): A Gilchrist (wkt), D Martyn, M Waugh, R Ponting, S Waugh(captain), M Bevan, M Hayden, I Harvey, S Warne, J Gillespie, G McGrath, NBracken.Pakistan: Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Abdur Razzaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq, YousufYouhana, Azhar Mahmood, Younis Khan, Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif (wkt), WaqarYounis (captain), Saqlain Mushtaq.Umpires: A Whitehead (Eng) and P Willey (Eng).Third Umpire: R Julian (Eng).Match referee: B Hastings (Nzl).

Jacob Murphy has revived his Newcastle United career since being deployed as a wing-back and Keith Gillespie, who joined the Magpies as part of the deal that saw Andy Cole join Manchester United, has spoken exclusively to Football FanCast about the winger’s future at the club.

After having to go out on two separate loan spells since joining Newcastle in 2017, Murphy has become a mainstay in Steve Bruce’s side during the Magpies’ recent upturn in form having started the last eight league games.

Murphy, who grew up supporting Newcastle, has scored two crucial goals this season against Wolves and Burnley, and Bruce has admitted that he wants the club to offer the winger a new deal.

Speaking on why Murphy has to remain at the club given his consistent performances and how he has the ability to change a game single handily, Gillespie exclusively told FFC:

“I’d keep him because he can change a game in an instance. So, he is definitely one of the players I’d be looking to keep at the club.

‘Ultimately, it’s up to the manager who will decide if he’s going to be a regular because players themselves want to be playing regular football.”

Having signed from Norwich City ahead of the Magpies’ first season back in the Championship, the £25,000 per week winger struggled as he was farmed out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday in 2019, where Bruce was manager at the time.

Bruce and the Newcastle board will have some tough decisions to make this summer as they have several first-team players who are set to become free agents.

Steve Stubbings rediscovered his form to lead aDerbyshire fightback with an unbeaten 84 afterHampshire had taken control of the game

Nigel Gardner26-May-2001Steve Stubbings rediscovered his form to lead aDerbyshire fightback with an unbeaten 84 afterHampshire had taken control of the game.A last wicket stand of 80 – a Hampshire record againstDerbyshire – between Adrian Aymes and Alan Mullally,took the visitors total to 464 and their bowlers thenreduced the home side to 85-3.But Stubbings, with only 25 runs from his fourprevious first-class innings, dug in and with RobBailey, added 93 in 33 overs before Mullally brokethrough four overs before the close.Bailey was lbw pushing well forward for 52 butStubbings held on as Derbyshire closed on 188-4, still127 away from avoiding the follow on.Their target would have been less demanding if theyhad performed better in the field. A dropped catchreprieved Mullally on six and that proved costly as hestayed to add to the bowlers frustration.Bailey trapped him lbw for 36 shortly after lunchleaving Aymes unbeaten on 83 but Derbyshire’s batsmenthen pressed the self destruct button on a goodbatting track.Luke Sutton perished chasing a wide ball, MathewDowman edged into his stumps and Michael Di Venutocarved Shaun Udal to short third man.Udal was finding some sharp turn but he was forced toleave the field when he pulled up in his 14th over andHampshire will hope he is fit to resume in themorning.Derbyshire will expect Stubbings to carry on and theleft hander has so far batted for 247 minutes to keephis side in the game although they still have a lot ofwork ahead of them.

A Pakistan ‘A’ team will visit Sri Lanka on a three-week tour next month, official said

Sports Reporter04-May-2001A Pakistan ‘A’ team will visit Sri Lanka on a three-week tour next month, official said. The team will tour between the second week of June and first week of July during which it will play three four-day games and as many limited overs matches, the director of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Brig Munawwar Rana said.Rana said players currently under guidance as Lahore’s National Cricket Academy would be considered for selection while admitting that there would be no age restricts. He said all the youngsters who have either excelled for the junior teams or those who have performed at the domestic front, have been taken under the fold of the academy.But he left the option open while saying any other player with an excellent record would definitely be considered for selection. Pakistan’s junior string last visited Sri Lanka in the early part of 2000 when the Under-19 team participated in the Youth World Cup. The team finished as losing semi-finalists.Rana said the itinerary of the tour would be finalist soon which would confirm the venues and the dates. He, however, agreed that the tour would be a tight one because in three weeks, the team would have 17 days of competitive cricket.In the recent past, the PCB has rightly started giving importance to youth cricket. Last month, a junior team visited Kuala Lumpur for a four-match series while before that, another youth team took part in the ICC junior tournament at Dhaka, Bangladesh. Pakistan’s present crisis of not having skill-ful and polished youngsters to replace the ageing veterans is chiefly because the youth cricket programme has been abruptly halted a couple of days ago.The emphasis on youth cricket provided Pakistan current multi-talented players like Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Mushtaq Ahmad and Moin Khan etc who were in the same batch of players who played together at the junior level a decade ago.

Tottenham Hotspur have turned their attentions elsewhere following the news that Bayern Munich will appoint Julian Nagelsmann as their next manager.

What’s the word?

According to the Telegraph, Ajax boss Erik ten Hag is set to rise up Daniel Levy’s list of targets to replace Jose Mourinho this summer.

The Portuguese was sacked last week and the 33-year-old Leipzig manager quickly emerged as a key candidate and top target for the Spurs hierarchy, though it has now been confirmed that he will replace Hansi Flick at the Champions League holders.

It is now claimed that ten Hag will enter the final year of his current contract at the end of this season, so any compensation fee shouldn’t be out of Spurs’ budget.

Dream successor

Following the drab and dismal football on offer under Mourinho, targeting someone like Ten Hag would present a new approach from Levy, who is said to want an ‘attack-minded’ coach as his next appointment.

Of course, the ideal candidate needs to be much more than that too as Spurs sunk to defeat in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, meaning their 13-year wait for a trophy continues on.

This is where the Ajax maestro can buck the trend and bring an exciting brand of football back to N17.

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His expansive and flexible 4-3-3 system is not only similar to that of Mauricio Pochettino but has also drawn major comparisons to Pep Guardiola, who the 51-year-old worked under at Bayern Munich, when in charge of their ‘B’ team.

Ten Hag has racked up an impressive 73% win rate since taking the helm in Amsterdam in 2017 and that’s hardly a surprise given his ‘born winner mentality.

According to Ajax’s official website, the boss often speaks about dwelling on a loss for no more than 24 hours and similarly the same goes for a win, as it’s merely the next game up and his only inspiration is the quest for silverware, in which he has won four trophies so far.

As football.london’s Alasdair Gold recently explained, Ten Hag “ticks a lot of boxes” as he’s “very good at developing young players” and has his side playing “with real style.”

When comparing him to the likes of Gareth Southgate and Roberto Martinez, who are also mentioned in the Telegraph’s report, then the Ajax gem is surely the dream heir to the vacant throne in north London.

A serial winner, with a bold and thrilling style of football, Levy must now put his weight behind a push to clinch ten Hag.

AND in other news, Spurs dealt devastating Julian Nagelsmann hammer blow

Once the transfer window opens, Celtic will have a colossal job on their hands.A number of Hoops players, including Odsonne Edouard and Kris Ajer, have been linked with the exit door while they have several loanees that will head back to their parent clubs after a spell at Paradise.

On the chalkboard

One man who will definitely leave the Bhoys behind this summer is Scott Brown as the midfield veteran heads to Aberdeen to take up a player-coach role.

His replacement in the middle of the park could be Crystal Palace’s James McCarthy.

The Irishman is out of contract at the end of the season and will be available to lure to Glasgow on a free transfer.

Celtic have been linked with the 30-year-old for a good few months now and he could well become Dominic McKay’s first Celtic signing.

GIVEMESPORT claim that talks between McCarthy and the Hoops are now at an advanced stage.

Forget McCarthy

Despite being a boyhood Celtic fan, they need to completely forget about signing him this summer.

That’s because they have a number of young players in the same position coming through that they’d be better off blooding.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/celtic-manager-transfers-eddie-howe-jesse-marsch-ryan-christie-siriki-dembele” title=”Read the latest Celtic managerial updates, transfer news, rumours and gossip!”]

The Hoops are in a transitional stage where they need to move away from older players and look towards the future.

Ismaila Soro is one player who should get a chance instead while they also have Luca Connell coming through the ranks.

However, there is a youngster who they will welcome to the club that should be given the limelight; Liam Shaw.

Celtic have agreed a deal to sign the 20-year-old, who is set to join up with his teammates at Lennoxtown for the first time this summer.

The Sheffield Wednesday youngster has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in England, playing in a multitude of positions. He can feature at centre-back but he also looks at home playing in midfield and using his long levers to stride forward.

Comfortable in possession and full of energy, his box to box style could completely reinvigorate this Celtic team.

He is adept in the air, winning 1.7 aerial duels per game but he also knows how to pick a pass and beat a man.

For instance, against Rotherham this year, he completed three key passes and four dribbles as Wednesday lost 2-1.

With Brown walking through the exit door this summer, the last thing they need to do is replace him with another ageing player. By utilising Shaw, it could breathe fresh life into a decrepit starting XI.

In a similar way to Ajer, he loves to burst forward, something we saw in the FA Cup earlier this season against Exeter.

He galloped beyond the halfway line in lung-busting fashion from centre-half before dancing past his marker on the right flank and fashioning a goal. It was a piece of play that The Mirror’s James Whaling said was “sensational.â€

Blessed with tremendous stamina and non-stop energy, McKay will need to urge the new management team to faze Shaw into proceedings as soon as possible.

AND in other news, Celtic set for huge boost as Lennoxtown news emerges, McKay & Desmond will be buzzing…

Mark Warburton will be looking to witness a reaction from his Queens Park Rangers side this afternoon as they head to the north-east for another Championship outing.

The Rs endured a late second-half collapse against Rotherham United last time out and even though there is little to play for at this stage of the season, a win over Middlesbrough will bring much joy back in west London.

But what sort of lineup could we see from the 58-year-old at the Riverside Stadium today? Here’s our predicted XI as well as the latest team and injury news from the Superhoops camp…

There could be as many as four changes and a welcome sight in defence following fresh injury updates this week.

According to Warburton, there is a chance that Jordy de Wijs is able to feature despite suffering a broken nose up at Rotherham. “Hopefully he’ll be okay this morning and okay to travel,” the QPR boss revealed to West London Sport.

Whilst skipper Geoff Cameron is expected to be unavailable once again. Therefore, the backline should remain unchanged, meaning it will be Seng Dieng between the sticks, with de Wijs in between Yoann Barbet and Rob Dickie.

Osman Kakay has impressed at right wing-back, delivering an assist for Lyndon Dykes’ opener on Tuesday night, so he should keep Todd Kane out the side but Warburton should be able to welcome back Lee Wallace after a rest in midweek.

He’ll replace Niko Hamalainen on the left after a disastrous showing. The 24-year-old will be lucky to feature again this season after that performance.

In midfield, we could finally see Dominic Ball get a rare start with Stefan Johansen expected to remain as a key cog in that engine room.

There should also be returns for Chris Willock and Ilias Chair, who were both surprisingly dropped for the trip to Yorkshire – their creative presence in attacking midfield was sorely missed and Warburton will think twice before doing that again.

It means young duo George Thomas, 24 and Charlie Kelman, 19, will drop to the bench.

Dykes, who is in red-hot form with 12 goals for the season, will lead the line once more in the absence of the suspended Charlie Austin.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Dieng: QPR ace who lost possession 16x offered Warburton nothing last time out…

Finance expert Kieran Maguire believes Celtic’s search for a new manager will step up a gear over the coming days.

That’s because Dominic McKay will begin his role as the Hoops’ new chief executive on Monday.

McKay, who will replace Peter Lawwell when he retires in the summer, will join the club earlier than planned.

He was scheduled to link up with Celtic in July, however, he will now move to Parkhead earlier than planned to ensure a smooth transition.

The Hoops are yet to announce a long-term replacement for Neil Lennon, and Maguire, talking to Football Insider, believes that process will ‘accelerate’ over the coming days.

“Things will accelerate when they get the new chief exec in.

“He’ll be wanting to interview and recruit people who he knows he can work with on a partnership level and a leadership level.

“The quicker he arrives, the quicker those decision can be made.

“Clubs already have their plans in place for summer recruitment. So to have left it to 1 July as was originally planned would have made the summer activity more difficult.

“So it makes sense to get him in as soon as possible.”

Transfer Tavern take

We agree with Maguire’s comments regarding the club’s hunt for a new manager. It makes perfect sense for McKay to have a major say on the next boss, as he’ll have to work closely with whoever it may be in the long run.

Fergal Harkin will also have to be fully on board with the managerial appointment. The Irishman looks set to become the club’s new director of football and could well be a key figure going forward.

McKay, Harkin and the new boss appear to be the key men in a Parkhead rebuild, and, following McKay’s Monday arrival, we may see things start to progress.

In other news: Hoops keen on signing £57k-p/w ace this summer in deal for Odsonne Edouard, find out more here. 

David Sullivan should block any efforts by David Moyes to sign Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard this summer after Frank McAvennie backed West Ham United to seal a deal.

What’s the word?

While speaking with Football Insider, former Irons and Hoops striker McAvennie has claimed he would happily bring Edouard to the London Stadium at the end of the season.

West Ham were credited with an interest in signing the 23-year-old for £35m during the January transfer window following Sebastien Haller’s move to Ajax, after David Moyes had the Celtic star scouted on several occasions.

Moyes admitted he later passed up on any attacking arrivals as he decided to keep £15-20m aside for the summer, when the Hammers boss will be expected to explore options to fill the void left by Haller.

West Ham could face heightened competition in any efforts to sign Edouard, who was linked with Leicester City in January, with Arsenal and Liverpool both claimed to be keen as Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp eye reinforcements.

McAvennie is not entirely convinced that Edouard would be Moyes sort of player, but would persist with a deal if he were the one sitting at the London Stadium helm.

“I would take Edouard at West Ham but the way he downed tools with Lenny [Neil Lennon] was disappointing,” he said.

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“The boy’s got talent and West Ham need a striker. But if David Moyes would have that kind of player, I don’t know. But you get the ball up to him and he keeps it. He’s definitely a talent.”

Should West Ham sign Celtic’s Edouard?

Edouard has been scoring freely for Celtic this season with 20 goals in 34 games across all competitions, including against AC Milan during the Europa League group stage and hitting eight in six Premiership fixtures earlier in the year.

His run of eight goals in six Scottish top-flight encounters between January 27 and February 14 would go against McAvennie’s suggestion that the former France U21 international had downed tools for Lennon, but his comments are not the first to question Edouard.

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Alan Hutton claimed in December that “he doesn’t always look that interested,” while Andy Halliday suggested the £19,000-per-week striker “seems unhappy” in November – suggesting Edouard’s attitude has never picked up.

That would be a huge problem for Moyes and Sullivan if West Ham were to beat out interest from Arsenal and Liverpool to sign Edouard at the end of the season, as his arrival would undoubtedly be expensive and have to live up to that price tag.

Haller could never live up to the club-record £45m fee West Ham paid Eintracht Frankfurt for his services in 2019 and was ultimately sold for just £20m as Moyes feared the Irons would never see offers worth that again.

Part of the problem for Haller, who scored just 10 Premier League goals in 48 games, was that Moyes did not believe the Ivory Coast international worked hard enough for the side, and thus continually backed Michail Antonio to lead the line.

Sullivan would surely rue repeating that expensive failure by bringing Edouard in to replace Haller, only for the Hoops star to follow on the same path given the questions surrounding his attitude at Parkhead.

AND in other news, West Ham are set to sign a £13.5m-rated titan for free this summer…