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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.

Posts ByRobbie Walls

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.

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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.

Former BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah, a long-time administrator and currently secretary of Saurashtra Cricket Association, has endorsed Shashank Manohar’s “personal” view that the ICC needs to be more democratic. This comes as important support for possible change in the structure of the ICC, especially considering BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur had essentially opposed Manohar’s view.Shah had told ESPNcricinfo in November that it was not fair that everybody earned equal revenue when India contributed a majority of it. “I remember we fought against the infamous veto rights of England and Australia,” he said. “Now it is almost like we have brought back that system, except that we have added ourselves to that list.”Last week, Manohar had said in an interview with the that the revenue-sharing structure the Big Three had imposed needed changing. “I don’t agree with the revenue-sharing formula, because it’s nice to say that India [BCCI] will get 22% of the total revenue of the ICC, but you cannot make the poor poorer and the rich richer, only because you have the clout. The ICC runs cricket throughout the world.”This had brought about an opposing view from Thakur. “The [BCCI] president said this in his personal capacity,” Thakur told . “He made it very clear that it was his personal opinion. The Indian subcontinent contributes close to 70% of the ICC’s revenues. To take 21% of that is not much. That was the position with Australia and England earlier, and no one objected to it then. If this happens to India today, we shouldn’t object to it.”Shah, who will be a voting power if this issue comes up for discussion in the BCCI, believes the board shouldn’t take the view that this becomes right just because somebody else had done it in the past. Shah also compared it with the structure of the BCCI. “In India Tripura and Mumbai have the same voting powers and get the same share of the revenue,” he said and reiterated Manohar’s view that even if India contributes more to the world cricket financially, it needed good competition to do so.Shah said that if the ICC was to be restructured, the matter would be brought up in the BCCI first. Asked if he, as a member of the BCCI, would support such a move, he answered in the affirmative, but said that only a majority view was likely to be considered.

Whatmore is surprised by Ranatunga’s comments © AFP

Dav Whatmore has expressed surprise and disappointment at reports that Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lanka captain, has advised the PCB against hiring him as their next coach.According to , Ranatunga had a chance encounter with Talat Ali, the Pakistan manager, in Scotland recently. When asked for his thoughts on Whatmore as an option, given that the two had worked together extensively and led Sri Lanka to their 1996 World Cup triumph, Ranatunga reportedly offered the advice that Whatmore should be avoided.”I don’t know what his motivations were but he is entitled to his own personal views and I have no desire to get dragged into a public argument with him,” Whatmore told Cricinfo.Whatmore was one of three Australians shortlisted by the Pakistan board for the coaching position, lying vacant since the death of Bob Woolmer in March. Geoff Lawson, the former Test fast bowler, and Richard Done, the ICC’s High performance manager, are the others.”The facts are that I have indicated my desire to coach Pakistan and, if appointed, I am confident of being able to do an extremely good job with a very talented group of players,” Whatmore said.Kumar Sangakkara, who made his debut while Whatmore was in charge, endorsed his credentials to be the Pakistan coach. “I have absolutely no doubt that Dav is exactly the kind of coach Pakistan needs right now,” Sangakkara told Cricinfo.”He has the expertise and the experience, including a World Cup win, the pinnacle of coaching success. I count myself as very fortunate to have broken into the national side with him as coach. It helped me to hone the right attitude towards hard work and getting out of my comfort zone that has stood me in good stead ever since,” he said.Ranatunga’s advice comes on the back of increasing chatter within Pakistan that Whatmore may not be the favourite he once was for the position. Some of the players, especially senior ones, are said to be more keen on Geoff Lawson, wary of Whatmore’s reputation as a no-nonsense taskmaster. According to the report, Talat Ali has also given Lawson his backing.The board, however, is refusing to say anything other than each candidate was impressive and that a final decision will be taken soon. Though Nasim Ashraf, the board chairman, has repeatedly said a decision would be made by July 1, it looks likely that one will be taken at the next meeting of the board’s ad-hoc committee, in the middle of the month.

‘Neither my house, nor my offices were raided’: Lalit Modi © AFP

Lalit Modi, the vice president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India,has strongly denied reports that his house and offices were raided by theincome tax department.Modi told Cricinfo that income tax officials had carried out a routinesurvey at the office of Rajasthan Cricket Association, of which Modi is thepresident, to seek “routine information about tax deducted at source (TDS)on certain payments made by the association last year”.”Contrary to what many media organisations have reported, neither my house,nor my offices were raided,” Modi said, “in fact, no-one in Mumbai was awareof the raids.”Modi said he was initiating suitable legal action against the organisationswhich had tried to spread misinformation about him.

Ricky Ponting came of age as a leader © Getty Images

Steve Waugh said Ricky Ponting graduated as a Test captain with his century at Old Trafford and his “lesson in concentration and application” should force Australia into action. Writing in his column in the , Waugh said if the team didn’t follow Ponting’s lead “our hold on the Ashes is perilous”.”A draw was like a victory for Australia and this will be the mind-set the team take into the next Test,” he wrote. “England will view it as a lost opportunity and will no doubt torment themselves with what might have been.”Waugh said England again could not deliver the “killer blow” after controlling the tempo of the match. “Nevertheless, England are playing better cricket and the Aussies must raise their intensity to reverse the momentum,” he wrote.In 1997 Waugh, then the vice-captain, walked out at Old Trafford with Australia down 1-0 and scored twin centuries to draw Australia level. When Ponting marked his guard his side was in desperate trouble amid poor batting form, rumours of disharmony and a buoyant England backed by a madly patriotic crowd. In scoring a brilliant 156 Ponting took them within 24 balls of a draw, a result that was sealed by Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath.”Ricky Ponting led from the front in the final day of the Test as all influential leaders should,” Waugh wrote. “In time he will look back and see this as his graduation as a Test captain.”

Paul Nobes has been appointed South Australia’s chairman of selectors for the 2004-05 season. He takes over from John Nash, who will now form part of the three-member panel along with Neil Dansie.Unlike in previous years, when the panel consisted of five members, the current one only has three, with two others taking up newly created grade-observer roles. Explaining the logic behind the new structure, Harvey Jolly, the South Australian Cricket Association’s general manager of cricket, said: “We have chosen this structure to better enable the selection panel to focus their time on selection for the Pura Cup, ING Cup and Cricket Australia competitions, with dedicated support from the grade observers, who will identify talent in the grade competition.”Nobes, 40, played 86 first-class games for Victoria and South Australia in a career which spanned eight years, from 1988 to 1996, and scored 6180 runs at 41.75.The new panel will commence duties from July 1.

New Zealand Cricket will be $US 500,000 better off after some of the money withheld by the International Cricket Council pending a claim by Global Cricket Corporation was made available today.The welcome news came from the meeting in Monaco yesterday of the ICC’s commercial arm.New Zealand orginally had $US 2.5 million withheld from its tournament payout for not playing their pool game in Kenya due to security fears.England, who refused to play in Zimbabwe had $US 3.5 million withheld and it will get $US 1.5 million back.Sri Lanka which had half a million United States dollars withheld will get all its money back.The return of cash followed an assessment and what the ICC called “an informed judgment” that the maximum claims against the three countries would not exceed the amounts withheld.India was in a different position, however, and no monies were returned to it.The ICC president, Ehsan Mani, said the specific nature of the issues relating to England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka allowed this decision to be made.”The nature of the claims allowed us to return money to three of our Boards,” he said.”In relation to the Indian Board, it is not possible at this stage to assess the likely maximum claims and all countries made the prudent financial decision to continue to withhold the Indian Board’s World Cup distribution at this stage.”

Northerns Cricket Union have announced that Gerald Dros has again been appointed as the Titan’s Captain for the forthcoming 2001/2002 cricket season.Gerald, in his first full season as Captain last year, made great strides with a young team and managed to pull off numerous very encouraging results. From a personal point of view, Gerald was able to average above forty in all forms of the game with the bat, and below thirty with the ball in hand – which according to Dave Nosworthy, the Titan’s Coach, “Is a brilliant performance from a captain who has led from the front and instilled a winning attitude amongst his troops!The reappointment of “Drossie” is in line with our policy of continuity and there is no doubt in my mind that he will again fulfill an important role within the team’s objectives and goals.”

Easterns allowed what should have been a comfortable victory over Border intheir first Standard Bank Cup match of the campaign to turn into somethingof a sweat before eventually triumphing by 15 runs.The Border last-wicket pair of Dumisa Makalima and Geoff Love managed to add42 before paceman Andre Nel wrapped up proceedings by bowling Makalima, whohad made 21 off just 29 balls, with the first ball of the 44th over.That gave Nel an analysis of three for 35 and made him, along with AlbieMorkel, who took three for 27 after coming on first change, the mainarchitect of his team’s success from a bowling point of view.Ironically, though, the Easterns attack, including Nel and Morkel, werepartly responsible themselves for Border getting so close to their victorytarget of 190, as they managed to send down 14 wides and five no-balls, oneof the latter for what umpire Mike Gajjar, standing at square leg, ruled a”chuck” by medium-pacer Pierre de Bruyn.Easterns also gave away eight byes in an extras tally of 32, which was 25more than Border had allowed them as they compiled their total of 189 forsix.Border lost too many early wickets to be in with a serious chance ofvictory, with the first six batsmen falling for just 72 to the pace trio ofMorkel, Nel and Kenny Benjamin, before offspinner Derek Crookes, who wouldlater be named man of the match, chipped in with two wickets later on.When Makalima and Love came together at 132 for nine, 58 runs were stillrequired and their task seemed impossible, but with three overs left, therequired number of runs had been reduced to just 21. Five were scored in the43rd over, bowled by left-armer Mike Rindel, leaving them 16 to make off thelast two overs. But the fiery Nel, who had thrown the ball down infrustration at the end of his previous over after a driving Makalima was putdown by substitute fielder Anthony Pollock, steamed in and spreadeagled hisstumps with the next delivery to dismiss Border for 174.Easterns, whose skipper, Deon Jordaan, had won the toss and elected to bat,found themselves in trouble at 65 for four in the 16th over, withwicketkeeper Ian Mitchell having claimed two catches, off opening bowlersVasbert Drakes and Piet Botha, and two stumpings off the bowling ofoffspinner Love.But Jordaan helped redeem his own decision as he and allrounder Crookes setabout fashioning a partnership of 112 for the fifth wicket. Itwas slow but steady as both batsmen reached half-centuries to give the homeside a defendable total. Jordaan eventually perished for 72, bowledby Tyron Henderson, but Crookes stuck around until the end for an unbeaten58.Love was the pick of the visiting bowlers, claiming two for 29 in his nineovers, while Drakes, Botha and Henderson each managed to collect one scalp.

Daren Ganga will need to lead from the front in the field when West Indies takes on England in the fourth and final Test at Chester-le-Street. © Getty Images

West Indies captain Daren Ganga admitted that his team’s poor batting in the first innings and woeful fielding through the game had influenced the outcome of the third Test at Old Trafford.Talking to journalists a day ahead of the final Test at Chester-le Street, Ganga indicated that the team’s fielding needed to drastically improve. He said, “With the introduction of our new fielding coach – Julien Fountain – we have been working very hard as a team to improve but improvement will not happen overnight. It is something that we will continue working at and hopefully you will see a drastic improvement in this Test match.”On Darren Sammy’s injury, Ganga said that an assessment would be made regarding his fitness for the Test. With the weather expected to disrupt the proceedings of the match, Ganga said such matters were out of their control. “We have the Headingley experience behind us so we are aware of what the English players can do in English conditions.”Ganga emphasised that the team needed to cut down on errors. “We are trying to limit the amount of mistakes that we are making over and over again. We’re not accustomed to playing in seven degrees and the swinging ball in the Caribbean. It is important that we feed off one another; a lot of talk has been going around our dressing-room with regards to adapting and dealing with situations like this.”On whether Daren Powell would figure in the team, Ganga said, “Before the last Test match it was really tough leaving Daren Powell out. He was one of our better bowlers over the past year. Strong consideration will be given to him and the other bowlers.”Stating that the injured Ravi Rampaul would not be considered, Ganga said, “We lacked a bit of penetration in terms of getting 20 wickets. We were able to do that at Old Trafford, we actually created a lot more than 20 chances but we weren’t able to hold on to all. It might be a four-day Test match [with weather likely to affect the game] but we don’t know and these are things we have to factor in.”