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Manchester United have made some impressive inroads this campaign and could now look to sign a “unique” talent from the continent to strengthen their level of output in attack.

Man Utd look to January window under Ruben Amorim

Despite some trials and tribulations along the way, Manchester United have made a decent start to the Premier League campaign and find themselves in contention for European football at the midway point of the season.

Ruben Amorim has began to show tactical flexibility and has earned another layer of credit after his side held firm to secure a slender victory over Newcastle United. Nevertheless, their lack of depth is something that may need addressed in January amid an injury crisis of sorts.

However, the former Sporting boss did make it clear that Mason Mount’s withdrawal at half-time during their clash against the Magpies was taken as a precaution, which will come as a relief to supporters as the Red Devils close out the year.

He said in his post-match press conference: “He felt something at half-time. He wanted to go, and that is also a good thing. He wanted to go in the second half, but cannot lose more players, and if you are not 100 per cent, Jack (Fletcher) did a very good job.”

Alongside his need for midfielders, Manchester United are closing in on a surprise pre-contract move for Auxerre striker Lassine Sinayoko. He will be available for free next summer, and could arrive in January for a cut-price fee if circumstances align.

Now, Manchester United could be willing to swat aside rivals to bring in an exciting star who could add some pace and a new dimension in the wide areas.

Man Utd at front of queue to sign Hoffenheim's Bazoumana Toure

According to CaughtOffside, Manchester United are said to be at the front of the queue to sign Hoffenheim’s Bazoumana Toure after running scouting checks on the Ivorian winger.

Arsenal are also in the hunt for his signature, and scouts who have been involved in data-driven analysis of his play have been blown away by his ‘ability to operate in transition-heavy systems’ both at club and international level, something that is becoming a key feature within the Premier League world.

Related Zirkzee & Sesko upgrade: Man Utd could sign "one of the best CFs in PL"

Friday’s narrow in over Newcastle showcased why another centre-forward is still needed at Manchester United.

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With his market price set to soar should he be included in the Ivory Coast’s World Cup squad, Toure has registered two goals and five assists in 16 appearances this term and is only going up in the estimations of clubs across Europe.

Subscribe to our newsletter for smart transfer insights Unlock deeper transfer analysis by subscribing to our newsletter for scouting-led breakdowns, player valuation context, and clear takes on potential targets like Bazoumana Toure and emerging wide forwards across Europe.

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Valued at around £39 million, Manchester United will face a tough fight to land the 19-year-old, but he looks to be worth every penny judging by his level of output at such a young age.

Geoff Lawson will get to see his players in action for the first time as Pakistan heads to Nairobi for the quadrangular tournament © AFP

Pakistan’s preparations for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship have been unusually well-planned. A gruelling summer of conditioning camps in three cities as well as a glut of practice Twenty20 matches indicated a seriousness of purpose unseen in other countries. But it all means little until they play their first actual match.”We can prepare strategies, try and find the right balances, work out plans and play any number of practice games,” Geoff Lawson, the Pakistan coach, told Cricinfo just before the team’s departure for Nairobi, where they play a series of warm-up matches against Bangladesh, Uganda and Kenya.”But that can only take you so far,” he said. “Until the first match happens, we won’t really know what to expect. We’ve got an excellent opportunity to play some matches in Kenya now and fine-tune our plans and get our combinations right.”The relative freshness of the format – there have only ever been 16 international matches – means teams start on a more equal footing than they might in a 50-over tournament. Pakistan have only played two internationals (won one, lost one) but were one of the first to organise a domestic Twenty20 tournament – with the fourth edition scheduled for this December – which has proved a wildly successful revenue-earner and has meant their players are familiar and comfortable with the format.”Most of the players in the side have played it and have good experience of it,” Lawson said. “Shoaib [Malik, captain] has an excellent grasp of the tactics in this format. He has been successful at leading domestically as well, so that will play a part.”Fortune, too, will play a role. “We have some explosive players but I think everyone understands that luck will play some part in this game too. Everyone wants to win and to do so, any side will need an element of luck.”It helps also if you have a pace attack “at least the equal of any other side in the world”. Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul are simultaneously fit and available for the first time since they came together and despite the popular perception that the format is skewed heavily in favour of batsmen, pace, Lawson feels, might make a difference.”See, good cricketers are good cricketers in any format, 20 overs, 50 or a Test. And pace bowlers are good to have in any format. We have three or four very good ones, they are looking healthy and their roles will be crucial in South Africa.”Lawson has been with the side for just over a week, familiarising with the players and overseeing the final training camp in Lahore, but Talat Ali, the manager says the signs are already positive. “He had good interaction with the players, the body language between all of them is very positive,” said Ali. “There is a definite change in the atmosphere and the way the team is and that is a good sign.”Lawson himself has been impressed by the squad’s capacity for hard work. “I’m very happy with their attitude and the way they have responded to the training regime. With David [Dwyer, fitness trainer], we’ve given them some real tough, heavy workouts and full-on sessions. But they want to do it and that is impressive.”There is still considerable work to be done, however, for a side Bob Woolmer initially thought the poorest he had seen in terms of fitness. “We’ve looked at lots of areas in terms of their fitness. They have definitely improved, but they still have a long way to go. But we’re on that slope [of progress], which is good.”How far up that slope Pakistan is, will begin to reveal itself now. They open the four-nation tournament with a match against Uganda on September 1, before taking on Bangladesh the day after. They wrap up preparations by playing the hosts Kenya on September 4, before flying out to Johannesburg for the real deal.

Graeme Smith made a strong comeback from injury © Getty Images

Graeme Smith’s right ankle showed no signs of discomfort during his innings of 73 in a warm-up match against a local team in New Delhi ahead of the Champions Trophy.This was Smith’s first match since he recovered from an ankle injury that sidelined him for two months, forcing him to miss the tour of Sri Lanka in August and the one-day series against Zimbabwe that followed.”He [Smith] was comfortable on Sunday and active in the nets on Monday,” said Gordon Templeton, South Africa’s media manager. “All the players proved their fitness and now the preparation for the tournament can start in earnest. It was a good trial run on a typical subcontinent pitch.”AB de Villiers contributed 55 and Shaun Pollock scored an unbeaten 53 as the South Africans piled up 307 for 9 against the local side. The completed a clinical performance by dismissing their opponents for 198.South Africa have a couple of warm-up games before they kick off their Champions Trophy campaign against New Zealand in Mumbai on October 16.

James Anderson will have some big shoes to fill if he plays at The Oval © Getty Images

This has been no ordinary build-up to a Test match. But this is no ordinary Test. England are on the verge of reclaiming the Ashes after 18 years and Australia know that anything less than victory will send them home to face a barrage of criticism and some very tough questions. Given what is riding on the outcome both captains came across relaxed during their press conferences at The Oval, although it was easy to tell who was leading the series.”I’ll have a pint please,” quipped Michael Vaughan as he took his place next to the bar in room set aside for the interviews, which was crammed to the rafters with journalists, and cameras. This series (and more than ever this Test) is big news almost everywhere and the ECB media department has been working overtime to try and squeeze in all the hacks who want to cover the final chapter to this drama. Some should pack their umbrellas because they will be perched outside and, of course, most of England is praying for some help from the weather.The huge media presence is proof of the state of this series, as were the two press conferences given by Vaughan and Ricky Ponting. Vaughan was his languid self – while the country has been losing its head he has remained, outwardly at least, an image of calmness – and his interview was a run-of-the-mill affair.He admitted that the loss of Simon Jones opens the door for either Paul Collingwood or James Anderson to be a hero – although he gave few hints over which one will get that opportunity. “Simon is a big loss, he has bowled extremely well and it was going to be very hard to find a like-for-like replacement. Given the way he has bowled he is probably up there with the best in the world at the moment.”But it’s a great opportunity for Jimmy or Colly to come and a make name for themselves this week. It will be a tough decision to make on who comes in and we wish them well. There is no bigger match for someone to come in.” It is hoped that neither player is of the nervous disposition.Ah, yes, the nerves, a rare commodity around the country after the last three Tests. But what about Vaughan’s: “I’m fine at the moment but I’m sure I will have some tomorrow morning.”Once Jones was ruled out of the Test, many of the questions put to Vaughan have been based around two topics – Glenn McGrath and the weather. McGrath has now been passed fit after his afternoon workout but Vaughan said he is not concerned about things out of his control.”We have been very good at controlling everything that we can. We can only control our performances, not what the weather is going to do or whether Glenn is going to play. You know that whichever attack you face it is going to be strong. We really are focussing on our performance levels and we know that if we can continue to be a high standard we know can put them under pressure.”The Australia team is already under more pressure than it has felt since their reign as the world’s best began during the mid-nineties. While Vaughan did not have to field any particularly tough questions, Ponting certainly sounded like a man contemplating the worst. He is certainly aware that the reception back home will not be particularly accommodating if they fail to win this Test. “We will cop a bit of a hammering if we lose,” he said with a nervous grin.His Australian side has certainly shown its age on this tour and all the talk has been of the end of an era and a changing of the guard. But Ponting tried his best to dampen any thoughts that some players are facing a make-or-break Test. “We said at the start of the tour that a few of the older guys may be on their last Ashes tour but I wouldn’t like to say that anyone is playing for the future.”But what about his own position? If England reclaim the Ashes Ponting will go down in history as the Australian captain that ended an era of dominance. “I wouldn’t like to think that my position would be under threat and I’m not sure that one series defeat would be the end of an era.”We are a team, a very close team and if we do lose we will all be responsible for it at the end of the day. I will take a bit more responsibility because I’m captain. If we happen to lose this game I will put my hand up and say there are things I could have done differently but if we happen to win, things probably won’t be as tough on me as they could have been.”Ponting, though, was quick to end on an attacking note – maybe a sign of things to come over the next five days. “The way things have been said over the last four days you’d think we were 4-0 down, but we’re not. We got very close to winning the last Test and we nearly won the second. It’s gone England’s way at the moment but we have got a week to change that and change everyone’s thinking about the series.”Ponting finished by saying if Australia gets the result this game it will be the greatest series he has ever played in. He didn’t say what it would be if he didn’t. This series has lived and breathed on such fine lines. Getting very close won’t do for Australia this time. Tomorrow, at 10.30, the talking can stop.

Devon Smith: ready to occupy the crease for long periods of time© Getty Images

Devon Smith has said that West Indies’ performance in the NatWest Series, in which they beat England in two of the three games they played against each other, means they will go into the first Test with plenty of confidence.”I think we have so far shown an improvement from the one-dayers and we want to take that into the Tests,” said Smith, adding: “After the one-dayers, you’ve got to recondition to five-day cricket and you have got to be more patient. What is important for us, if we get a good start, is that someone in the top order has to stay and bat through the innings so you have still someone to depend on all the way through.”Smith also urged West Indies to be more ruthless in the field, and blamed their 3-0 defeat in the Caribbean earlier this year on an inability to dominate the opposition for long periods of time.”At certain times in the Caribbean, England played better cricket than us. We don’t deny that. But we were also on top at times and allowed England to get back into the game. That is the area where we let things slip and we know that has to improve,” he explained. “We have to pull together and come strongly at England this summer and, when we are on top, we have to push home the advantage. We have been working on that. When on top, you have to stay on top as long as possible and be ruthless.”Smith, who scored 142 against MCC at Arundel earlier this week, added that it was his job to stay at the crease as long as possible. “I see it as very important that I stay at the crease as long as possible and see what the ball is doing,” he said. “I see that as my role, to stay in as long as I can. I know that if I get my eye in and occupy the crease, there will be a lot of runs there for me to score.”Smith also warned England not to underestimate the inexperienced West Indian side, saying: “We are coming here to win, to play hard cricket to the best of our ability, and we’re looking to improve game by game.”West Indies’ last warm-up game before the first Test, against Sri Lanka A at Shenley, starts on Saturday (July 17).

Significant changes to the International Cricket Council’s one-day international rankings list have occurred as the first year of results in the original calculation drop out.The refreshed table is based on the results of the last two years. Matches played in the last 12 months have a higher weighting in the calculation. They are worth two-thirds and the previous year has a one-third value, with matches played in the next year worth full value. An annual refresh of the table will be done on July 31.The new order is:

New Old Rating RankRating Rating Change Change1 Australia 134 132 +2 -2 South Africa 118 120 -2 -3 England 107 103 +4 up 44 West Indies 106 103 +3 up 25 New Zealand 106 101 +5 up 36 Sri Lanka 105 106 -1 down 27 Pakistan 105 108 -3 down 48 India 104 104 0 down 39 Zimbabwe 63 66 -3 -10 Kenya 28 28 0 -11 Bangladesh 3 4 -1 –

New Zealand has enjoyed the biggest jump, in terms of rating points, moving from eighth to fifth place, while England has leapt four places to No 3 and the West Indies have increased three places from seventh to fourth.The reasons for the marked change, and the way the system works this sort of upheaval could occur each year, are because the teams that have improved, have had bad seasons drop off their calculations. England lost a season in which it had two wins from 14 games, New Zealand lost a year in which they had 12 wins in 35 completed games, and the West Indies dropped a year in which they won only eight games of 23.The opportunity for fluctuation is high, and probably reflects the competitiveness of the teams concerned. Only three points separate third-placed England and eighth-placed India.It is so close that if a team like India won two or three games in a row against a top-ranked team like Australia or South Africa, they could almost immediately leap to third place. England had such a leap in its performance by beating South Africa three times out of four in their recent NatWest Series.The method of separating teams with equal ratings has also changed as the system has evolved. Previously the team with most matches got the higher rating, but now the rating is extended to three decimal places to resolve the issue. England, the West Indies and New Zealand are separated by only 0.826 rating points, and the West Indies and New Zealand by 0.174.The actual ratings for the three are: England 106.783, West Indies 106.130 and New Zealand 105.957.The change has also highlighted Australia’s increased dominance as the gap between it and second-placed South Africa has now extended from 12 to 16 points. Such has been world champion Australia’s dominance of the one-day game that it is going to have to suffer a massive turnaround in form to lose its hold on first place. Its last 12 months has been its most successful period to date, so that season will not fall out of calculations for another two years.Pakistan and Zimbabwe both paid the price for having good seasons drop off the calculation scale. Pakistan has had a poor last 12 months while Zimbabwe has suffered a more gradual decline over the last three years.ODI playing record in the new period of calculation (August 2001-July 2003):

P W L T NR %Australia 52 38 12 1 1 75.5%South Africa 64 40 21 2 1 65.1%England 47 23 22 – 2 51.1%West Indies 46 23 20 – 3 53.5%New Zealand 49 22 26 – 1 45.8%Sri Lanka 67 33 31 1 2 51.5%Pakistan 58 33 23 – 2 58.9%India 64 36 24 – 4 60.0%Zimbabwe 50 11 36 – 3 23.4%Kenya 29 4 24 – 1 14.3%Bangladesh 26 – 24 – 2 0.0%

These results can be broken down by each weighting period. Matches played in the last 12 months (Period Two) were formerly taken at face value, but are now dampened down to a weighting of two-thirds. Matches played in the 12 months prior to this (Period One) now carry a weighting of one-third.Period Two results (August 2002-July 2003):

P W L T NR %Australia 34 28 5 – 1 84.8%South Africa 37 24 11 1 1 68.1%England 24 10 13 – 1 43.5%West Indies 27 13 12 – 2 52.0%New Zealand 21 13 8 – – 61.9%Sri Lanka 44 21 20 1 2 51.2%Pakistan 36 16 18 – 2 47.1%India 33 18 12 – 3 60.0%Zimbabwe 26 5 18 – 3 21.7%Kenya 20 3 16 – 1 15.8%Bangladesh 20 – 18 – 2 0.0%

Period One results (August 2001-July 2002):

P W L T NR %Australia 18 10 7 1 – 58.3%South Africa 27 16 10 1 – 61.1%England 23 13 9 – 1 59.1%West Indies 19 10 8 – 1 55.6%New Zealand 28 9 18 – 1 33.3%Sri Lanka 23 12 11 – – 52.2%Pakistan 22 17 5 – – 77.3%India 31 18 12 – 1 60.0%Zimbabwe 24 6 18 – – 25.0%Kenya 9 1 8 – – 11.1%Bangladesh 6 – 6 – – 0.0%

Results removed from calculations (August 2000-July 2001):

P W L T NR %Australia 25 19 5 1 – 78.0%South Africa 27 19 6 1 1 75.0%England 14 2 12 – – 14.3%West Indies 23 8 15 – – 34.8%New Zealand 36 12 23 – 1 34.3%Sri Lanka 31 20 11 – – 64.5%Pakistan 24 15 9 – – 62.5%India 28 16 12 – – 57.1%Zimbabwe 31 9 22 – – 29.0%Kenya 1 – 1 – – 0.0%Bangladesh 4 – 4 – – 0.0%

The United Cricket Board of South Africa has been placed in an extremely difficult position regarding the staging of the third Castle Lager/MTN Test match at SuperSport Park, Centurion, from tomorrow.”We were informed this morning by the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, that the Indian team will not take the field if Mike Denness is acting as Match Referee,” said UCBSA Chief Executive Officer Gerald Majola.South African cricket and the South African public in general cannot afford the cancellation of this Test match. Although the crisis has not been of our making, we have received reports of protests at South African embassies in India and our country has been caught up in this issue. The South African Government, through Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour, has instructed the UCBSA to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the Test match goes ahead.In view of these issues, the UCBSA has asked Mike Denness to stand down asMatch Referee in the interests of cricket.However, Mr Denness indicated that he was a properly appointed ICC Match Referee who was in South Africa to act as such and he could not step down from that position.United Cricket Board Chief Executive Officer Gerald Majola telephoned ICC CEO Malcolm Speed to inform him that the UCBSA had no alternative but to ask Mr Denness to recuse himself and, facing his refusal to do so, had indicated that the UCBSA was unable to allow him access to the Match Referee’s position at the ground for the Test Match.Under the circumstances, South African Denis Lindsay, who serves on the ICC Match Referees Panel, has agreed to be available to stand in as Match Referee and the BCCI has agreed to him replacing Mr Denness.”We sincerely regret that the matter has come to this, however we are pleased to announce that the third Castle Lager / MTN Test match will go ahead as planned. We are certain it will be a thrilling contest and we hope the South African public will give their full support to their team as they go all out to play for their country,” concluded Mr Majola.

Two days after BCB president Nazmul Hassan said the Test series between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in January would be shelved to concentrate on limited-overs cricket ahead of the World T20, the BCB’s cricket operations committee has announced it is in discussion with their Zimbabwean counterparts to hold one Test in January apart from three Twenty20s.The cricket operations committee chairman Naimur Rahman said that Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) had proposed the teams play five T20s in Bangladesh after their series against Afghanistan ends on January 10. But Rahman said neglecting Test cricket was rarely beneficial.”Every team is playing Test cricket during this time,” Rahman said. “They will also play in the World T20, so we have to play all the formats. We cannot avoid any of these formats. Test cricket is the real deal. We can improve in other formats if we do well in Tests. But if we just play T20s, we can’t improve properly.”We have always spoken about increasing Tests in the FTP. So there will be a negative effect on us if we don’t play Tests despite the opportunity.”The original schedule for this series featured three Tests, then it was cut to two in September and now there is a possibility of a full, if split series – one Test in Bangladesh, two Tests in Zimbabwe after the World T20. “If we play one Test here, we can play the other two there in July next year, in addition to an ODI series,” Rahman said.Rahman also added the proposed series in January will likely be played in Khulna and Sylhet since most of the other venues in the country will be busy preparing for the Under-19 World Cup that begins on January 27.Naimur also said Bangladesh will not be playing the World T20 warm-up match on March 4 since it clashes with the Asia Cup’s schedule. They will only play the warm-up game on March 6. The operations committee has also called off an initial plan to hold a training camp in Dharamsala in late January because of the different weather conditions compared to the time the World T20 will be played there.

Out in the cold: Nilesh Kulkarni has been dropped for the Nissar Trophy © Cricinfo Ltd.

He has not even signed up with the Indian Cricket League (ICL), but Nilesh Kulkarni is already feeling the strain. Mumbai’s selectors named their team to take on Karachi in a four-day match for the Nissar Trophy on Saturday and Kulkarni figured in the squad. With speculation rife that he was set to join the ICL Mumbai Cricket Association officials got in touch with Kulkarni to check what the exact situation was.When they learned that Kulkarni, who is currently playing league cricket in England, had indeed been offered a contract by ICL, and was dilly-dallying over whether to sign or not, and reportedly asked for a few days time before he made up his mind, Mumbai’s selectors made theirs up.They dropped Kulkarni for the Nissar Trophy match, replacing him with Mundeep Mungela, the medium-pacer.”We wanted to send a strong message to Nilesh,” a senior MCA official close to the selection committee, comprising Dilip Vengsarkar, Abey Kuruvilla, Milind Rege and Kiran Mokashi, told . “He wanted a few days’ time but we decided to take our own decision.”Mumbai’s reaction is hardly surprising considering the embarrassing position Sharad Pawar, president of the MCA and the BCCI could find himself in if members from his own team migrated in large numbers to the ICL.Mumbai will play Karachi Urban, winners of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Pakistan, in a four-day match starting on September 8. This is the second edition of the Nissar Trophy, named after Mohammad Niswar, the fast bowler who represented India in six Tests in the 1930s before migrating to Pakistan. The first edition was won by Uttar Pradesh, then Ranji champions. Mumbai will miss the services of Wasim Jaffer who is recuperating from a knee injury and has been advised to take six weeks rest.Already players who have signed up for the ICL have been left out in the cold by their state associations, most notably Hyderabad, who were forced to send in replacements for seven cricketers who were part of the Hyderabad team taking part in the Buchi Babu Memorial tournament in Chennai.While it has only happened in one or two cases so far, it is expected that many of the cricketers who have signed up with the ICL will also either lose their jobs or be forced to give up their jobs as they will be ineligible to take part in any tournaments organised by the board or its affiliates.

The Indian board today launched its official ratings for international and domestic cricket, including women and juniors, but preferred to keep the prize money on offer a secret till close to the planned annual awards function in April 2007 at Mumbai.The ratings cover all segments and fall under the familiar broad categories like batting, bowling, fielding and all-round performance. Lalit Modi, the BCCI vice-president, said the official ratings have been introduced to reward performances which largely remain unrecognised, especially in domestic cricket.”But we are keeping details of the awards close to our chest till the last moment and the annual awards ceremony would be held at the end of the season, in April,” Modi said.The categories are as follows: Best Test and ODI batsman, bowler, fielder and allrounder; Best Test and ODI Opening Batsman, Most Consistent / Reliable ODI and Test player; Best Test and ODI Innings of the Year.The popular categories are: Test and ODI Player of the Year; My Favourite Player; Most Stylish Player and Master Blaster of the Year. Viewers’ voting categories would include Player of the Week and My Favourite Player.The ratings system is based on parameters defined by the BCCI panel that includes cricketers and statisticians. For the first time in such ratings processes the public would be able to participate by casting their votes through various TV channels, Modi said.The BCCI ratings process is being done in partnership with Percept Holdings, he added.