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Daniel Farke is enjoying a renaissance at Leeds United at the moment, when he once looked almost certain to be sacked.

The once under-pressure German has now spearheaded an unbelievable seven match unbeaten run in the Premier League for the Whites, with Noah Okafor coming out to state that the ex-Norwich City manager is a “top coach” for the swift turnaround in fortunes in West Yorkshire.

This is a complete change of narrative from when Farke was regularly being tipped to be axed in October and November, as the revitalised boss now hunts down some January additions to solidify the feel-good factor and to avoid a slump in form.

Leeds hold talks with La Liga star

Farke has done extremely well to maintain this impressive run of form, with the likes of Joe Rodon out of the side owing to injury.

He could bring in Chelsea outcast Axel Disasi to strengthen at the back, as the commanding Welshman remains sidelined, with a deal reportedly in the advanced stages for the Frenchman to leave Stamford Bridge behind for new opportunities at Elland Road.

Leeds are some way off completing another deal for Real Madrid sensation Gonzalo Garcia, on the other hand, with TEAMtalk revealing that the Premier League newcomers have been rebuffed in their latest approach for the Los Blancos centre-forward.

Indeed, the report states that Leeds have been admirers of the young Spaniard for some time now, having even been noted – back in November – to be planning a £17m bid for the 21-year-old’s services.

Nothing has materialised, though, with the latest set of enquiries from Leeds, and their top-flight rivals in Sunderland, being met with clear rejection, as Garcia fights for a starting place at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Leeds’ long-standing interest means this is a deal that won’t just fizzle out, however, as the Whites could go the distance all window long in trying to tempt Garcia to England, with the Madrid-born striker arguably a bigger talent than the free-flowing Dominic Calvert-Lewin, already situated at Elland Road.

Why Garcia is a bigger talent than Calvert-Lewin

Of course, when initially taking this statement at face value, this does feel like a ludicrous comment to make, with Calvert-Lewin deep in a purple patch of form in the Premier League, which has seen him power home eight top-flight goals donning Leeds white.

But, there will be a worry lingering at the back of everyone’s minds at Leeds, that Calvert-Lewin is prone to a slip-up in form, as evidenced by the ex-Everton marksman only powering home three top-flight goals all of last season, as his injury difficulties took a firm grip.

At 28 years of age, as well, it’s clear that Calvert-Lewin will be winding down his playing days in the near future, even with the Sheffield-born striker now sticking out as an arguable late bloomer, having been a largely inconsistent scorer of Premier League goals since a very early age.

It would take the 11-time England international 43 outings at the very pinnacle of English football to reach five league strikes.

On the contrary, Garcia is already eight goals down for Xabi Alonso’s men from 30 senior appearances, with his manager hailing him as an “unbelievable” and “aggressive” attacker to work with, when making considerable strides in the men’s game in Madrid.

Garcia’s last run-out in La Liga versus Real Betis saw him power home a sensational hat-trick, with Alonso and Co. not put off whatsoever in their aims to win, even as Kylian Mbappe was missing from the starting lineup.

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Thankfully, their homegrown sensation stepped up and delivered the goods, instead, with the red-hot striker showing why he’s been hailed as “incredible” in the past by scout Jacek Kulig, when putting away a stunning four goals in Club World Cup action in pre-season – even when facing the likes of European giants Borussia Dortmund and Juventus.

Garcia’s Real Madrid record

Age bracket

Games

Goals + Assists

RM Castilla

73

30 + 7

Real Madrid

30

8 + 3

Madrid Youth League

16

6 + 3

Sourced by Transfermarkt

With his blistering goalscoring record clear for all to see in the table above, it’s not the wildest shout to suggest that Garcia could surpass Calvert-Lewin’s long-standing career at the very top in time, with the 21-year-old also boldly dubbed as a “world-class” finisher by journalist Zach Lowy.

For now, Leeds will bask in the glory of Calvert-Lewin’s goalscoring prowess.

But, in the long term, landing Garcia’s services, against all the odds, could put them in an even better position for success, as the Spain U21 regular is already a feared goal machine on some grand stages, at just 21 years of age.

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Posts ByKelan Sarson

Sunderland are pushing for a top-half finish at a minimum in the Premier League table. However, they are now targeting a January arrival who could put them in the picture for continental qualification.

Sunderland look to build on excellent Premier League form

Undoubtedly, Sunderland have been the surprise package of the campaign under Regis Le Bris and have proven that their form isn’t just a flash in the pan after being able to sustain some consistency during the Christmas period.

Sitting comfortably in the top half of the table, they are feasibly a few victories away from mathematically securing safety and have exceeded expectations, albeit with the help of some fantastic summer recruitment.

Now, the question will be centred around how far Sunderland can push expectations. Clearly, the Stadium of Light is an appealing destination for players, so it is almost a certainty that fresh faces will come in to add further squad depth.

It remains to be seen where fresh reinforcements are added, though Roma’s Artem Dovbyk is reportedly a target for the Black Cats, illustrating that their forward line may be subject to change between now and the end of the window.

Brentford, Everton, Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Burnley represent some welcome upcoming fixtures for Sunderland in the next few weeks, potentially offering the ideal breeding ground for prospective new arrivals to get their first taste of action in the North East.

In what has become a really exciting period at the Stadium of Light, there is a feeling that they may be set to achieve something special this campaign, which a player currently starring at the African Cup of Nations may be about to experience.

Sunderland eyeing move for Paris FC winger Ilan Kebbal

According to Football Insider, Sunderland are in the mix to sign Paris FC winger Ilan Kebbal, who is also wanted by Fulham and Crystal Palace during the mid-season window.

Currently at the African Cup of Nations with Algeria, the 27-year-old has registered six goals and four assists in 16 appearances across all competitions this campaign, earning plaudits in the country of his birth.

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Predominantly a right winger, Kebbal has created 40 chances in Ligue 1 this term and is capable of going in either direction, regularly beating his marker as proven by his tally of 18 successful dribbles.

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Of course, his presence in Morocco for now wouldn’t help Sunderland in the immediate term as Algeria fight it out for tournament glory, but he may be someone who is worth investing in after a series of superb performances in France.

Sunderland could also sell Paddy Roberts to Birmingham permanently, according to the outlet, offering a small cash boost that could help to see a deal for Kebbal over the line.

I don’t want to wait in vain: Chris Gayle is hoping his hamstring injury heals in time © Getty Images

Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, is optimistic that his hamstring injury will heal in time ahead of the first Test against South Africa starting December 26.”It’s improved a lot the last couple of days,” Gayle said. “The physio has been doing a terrific job and hopefully it improve over the next couple of days. I’ve been feeling pretty good, batting in the nets, but there’s still uncertainty. We’ll assess it finally on match day. It’s coming on pretty good.”Gayle, who was named captain in Ramnaresh Sarwan’s absence, will be replaced by Dwayne Bravo if he misses out. Bravo, who, like Gayle, has never captained West Indies in a Test match, has an unbeaten record in ODIs – leading them to victory in his first three ODIs in charge against Zimbabwe.West Indies’ main area of concern is their batting, after they lost a warm-up game against South Africa A in East London inside three days. “We have to put that behind us and try and get into the right frame of mind ahead of a very important game,” Gayle said.”We know where went wrong and we know there’s a lot of work to do. We know what we’re capable of. We just have to play basic cricket and get the job done, and if we get a start, we have to capitalise on it. You can’t allow the South Africans in, because once they get an opportunity then definitely we’re going to be up against it.”John Dyson, the West Indies coach, also remained positive. “I’ve been very impressed with the professionalism and enthusiasm the players have shown in the nets,” he said. “If we can take that forward to the middle we’ll be very competitive.”Meanwhile, Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, said that he had fully recovered from a virus that ruled him out of the recent ODI series against New Zealand. “I started training about a week ago and I am feeling energised again.”South Africa go into the match at St George’s Park as strong favourites on the back of consistent performances in their recent matches. They have won three out of their four Tests this season – one against Pakistan and a brace against New Zealand, and have the likes of Dale Steyn, the right-arm fast bowler who took 20 wickets in the series against New Zealand, as well as Jacques Kallis, one of only two batsmen to score 1000 runs this calendar year, in their ranks.

A report in Jamaica’s Gleaner newspaper has suggested that visitors to the island for the World Cup face having to pay massively inflated prices for hotel rooms, with many being almost double the standard rate.A survey by the newspaper’s business section revealed variations in price of between 63 and 133% above the normal rate, something that hoteliers put down to supply and demand at an already busy time of the year.Horace Peterkin, the president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, explained that the higher costs were justified by additional expenditure needed to cope with the extra tourists expected on the island.He added said that during the initial planning for World Cup, hotels were told the matches would occur in April and May, the to the tourism sector’s summer season and the point at which its rates are generally lowest.The Jamaica Pegasus, which will be the base of match officials and other cricket personnel, has rates of US$300 per room/night, compared to the US$167 it currently charges.”The bookings were made way in advance. There are going to be four teams officials and the press,” general manager Eldon Bremmer told the Gleaner. “We are fully booked and because of who are staying here it will work out cheaper. We have not had a change in rate since last year.”

Zimbabwe’s players are preparing to go to court in a bid to extract their unpaid salaries and match fees from their cricket board, having set a deadline of January 31for the dispute to be resolved.The players, who last week ended their strike action in the hope that a softening of their stance would ease the way for a resumption of negotiations, are owed about US$200,000 in total, including vehicle and fuel allowances, and most have not been paid since last August.Now they have enlisted the services of a leading lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, and intend to take the case to the Harare High Court and pursue Zimbabwe Cricket for an index-linked sum of more than US$700,000.”I have been engaged by the players to act for them in their claims,” said Mtetwe,”but I am naturally waiting to see what happens in the next six days.”Even if the board was willing to resolve the situation, which seems unlikely, it appears that they have no funds available to do so. One of the major stumbling blocks is the exchange rate. The money owed was calculated at a rate of Zim$25,000 to the dollar, but that rate has since spiralled to Zim$85,000.Zimbabwe Cricket’s original contract offer made no allowance for index linking, but in a country with runaway inflation, that was never likely to be acceptable.The renewed militancy will be a problem for ZC as it is considering ICC-driven proposals to play in a tri-series in Bangladesh which would feature Kenya as the third side. On Tuesday, Cricket Kenya also announced that it was in talks to host three ODIs against Zimbabwe, possibly as early as next month.

Graeme Smith will be rested for the final one-day international against Zimbabwe, and Nicky Boje will be his replacement as captain. He was rested due to a persistent ankle problem. South Africa also announced a full-strength Test squad, including Jacques Kallis, who was rested from the one-day side after a busy – and prolific – season.Smith was replaced by AB de Villiers, whose 47 in four one-dayers stand in stark contrast to his burgeoning Test career, in which he has accumulated 362 runs in 10 innings. Andrew Hall was replaced by Monde Zondeki, and Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel were also left out to recuperate before the first Test, which begins on March 4. Ashwell Price was also brought into the side for the final one-dayer.Squad for third ODI Adam Bacher, AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Herschelle Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp, Mark Boucher (wk), Nicky Boje (capt), Albie Morkel, Charl Langeveldt, Monde Zondeki.Squad for first Test Graeme Smith (capt) Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Rudolph, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher (wk), Shaun Pollock, Nicky Boje, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, Charl Langeveldt.

Close Australia 400 for 5 (Ponting 176*, Katich 75, Langer 58) v India
Scorecard

Ponting was Australia’s hero on the first day at Adelaide © Getty Images

A scintillating unbeaten 176 by Ricky Ponting was the outstanding performance of the day as Australia made full use of winning the toss at the Adelaide Oval. At close of play on the opening day, they had raced to 400 for 5 – the highest total in a day at this venue, beating Australia’s 387 on the second day against West Indies in 1968-69 – with useful contributions from Justin Langer (58) and Simon Katich (75).Apart from Matthew Hayden, all the Australian batsmen got starts, but Ponting capitalised on it, racing to his hundred off just 117 balls. He slowed down noticeably after reaching 150, despite which Australia finished the day with a run-rate of nearly four-and-a-half an over. All the Indian bowlers toiled – rather unsuccessfully – to beat the daunting combination of a flat pitch, a fast outfield with short square boundaries, and an awesome opposition batting line-up.Coming in at the fall of an early wicket, Ponting started off with an all-run four down the ground, before peppering the square boundaries on the off side with some sumptuous drives off either foot. He had a couple of reprieves early in his innings: on 12, a close lbw shout off Ajit Agarkar was turned down, while Virender Sehwag dropped a head-high chance at third slip off Irfan Pathan when Ponting had added just six. Once past those early jitters, though, Ponting didn’t give the Indians much respite.The tone for the day was set early when both the Australian openers drove through the line of the ball, trusting the even bounce and the lack of movement off the pitch. Sourav Ganguly packed the off side, and his bowlers largely stuck to an off-stump line, but the batsmen still threaded the gaps – in fact, every single one of the 16 fours Ponting struck in his first 100 runs were on the off side. Ganguly didn’t help the Indian cause by keeping the third-man region vacant for most of the day.These were ideal conditions for Hayden’s plonk-the-front-foot-and-drive-through-the-line style of batting, but Pathan – making his debut after Zaheer Khan missed out due to a strained hamstring – nailed him with one in the corridor which shaped away and kissed the edge of the bat (22 for 1).The dream start for Pathan and India soon went sour as Ponting and Langer went about their merry ways, cashing in on all the bad balls and sometimes putting away the good ones as well. Anil Kumble was soon pressed into service, but that only inspired Langer to go into overdrive – in one over he smote Kumble for two sixes and two fours. Kumble struck back in his next over, though, when Langer miscued a sweep to Sehwag at midwicket (135 for 2).That dismissal, which came at the stroke of lunch, was some respite for the Indians, but it only meant that one effective run-scorer was replaced by another, more graceful one. Martyn was in fantastic touch from ball one, stroking some gorgeous drives through the covers off Agarkar and Pathan, who, after an impressive first spell, fell away, struggling to find the movement he had obtained with the new ball. A big score was there for the taking, when Martyn (30) threw it away, steering a wide one from Nehra – the first ball of a new spell – to VVS Laxman at second slip (200 for 3).Steve Waugh smote a few through the off side in his 30, but was sorted out by a clever piece of bowling by Nehra. Bowling from round the wicket, he dug a few in short, then slipped in a full-length ball on middle. Waugh, weight on the back foot and probably expecting another short one, played all over the ball as it crashed into his stumps (252 for 4).A feature of this innings was the partnerships that the Australians put together for every wicket, and Simon Katich now joined Ponting to add the biggest one for the day. Katich first dug in, then showed that he could play a few strokes too, the most emphatic of them being a pulled six off Nehra, who came in armed with the second new ball. Galvanised by that shot, Katich raced along, even as Ponting quietened down and seemed to set his sights on his double-century.The 138-run partnership was finally broken off the penultimate over of the day, when Katich top-edged a pull and was caught spectacularly by Sehwag, diving full length and coming up with the ball in both hands (390 for 5). In walked Adam Gilchrist, and promptly dispatched the second ball he faced to the cover fence, and then pulled Kumble for another boundary before bringing up the 400 with the last ball of the day. In four Tests at the Adelaide Oval, Gilchrist has scored a mere 145 runs at 24.16. Time to set the record straight?

ADELAIDE, Dec 18 AAP – South Australia plans to play three spinners to cope with an expected heat wave and a very flat Adelaide Oval pitch in the Pura Cup cricket match against Western Australia starting here tomorrow.SA skipper Greg Blewett said all three slow bowlers in the Redbacks 12 – John Davison, Mark Higgs and Brad Young – were likely to be included in the final 11 tomorrow morning.”That’s a real possibility, we’ll make the final decision tomorrow when we have another look at the wicket,” Blewett said.”But with the weather that’s forecast, and as I can bowl a bit as well … that’s the way we’re probably leaning at this stage.”SA has also included debutant Shaun Tait, a 20-year-old fast bowler who is the leading wicket-taker in the Adelaide club competition, and whom Blewett said had the ability to bowl dangerously quick.”He’s given me a couple sore toes in the nets, especially last season I got a couple on the feet,” he said.”He’s sharp and he adds a new dimension to our bowling attack.”This year we’ve been quite steady and just tried to keep it at two or three runs per over, but certainly with him coming in he is just raw pace and really lets them go.”We’re aiming to bowl him in fairly short bursts and just tell him to bowl as quick as he can.”Fellow SA paceman Paul Rofe said he was looking forward to bowling with Tait.”He does bowl fast and he tries to scare a few blokes, so that should be exciting, I think,” Rofe said.But he said the pitch and weather conditions could make things difficult for pacemen.With Test opener Justin Langer in the WA side, Rofe said dismissing him quickly would be crucial to SA’s chances, as he has shown a strong liking for the Adelaide Oval pitch in the past.”Hopefully we can get him out so he doesn’t bat all day, because he can quite easily do that,” Rofe said.WA today lost Brad Hogg and Ryan Campbell, who were called up to the Australian one-day side, from its squad.All-rounder Kade Harvey is a late replacement for Hoggwhile youngster Luke Ronchi, who impressed in his Pura Cup debut last week by scoring 90 and 33 against Tasmania, will replace Campbell in the Warriors team.Teams:SA: Greg Blewett (captain), Chris Davies, John Davison, Shane Deitz, David Fitzgerald, Ben Higgins, Mark Higgs, Paul Rofe, Mike Smith, Shaun Tait, Jeff Vaughan, Brad Young (12th man to be named).WA: Justin Langer (c), Mike Hussey (VC), Jo Angel, Beau Casson, Michael Clark, Murray Goodwin, Kade Harvey, Chris Rogers, Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges, Brad Williams, Paul Wilson.

Karnataka emerged winners of the P Ramachandra Rao Trophy for theSouth Zone under-22 title on Thursday. The three points they got fromtheir rain affected match against Tamil Nadu at Pondicherry was enoughfor them to edge out Hyderabad on run quotient. Both Karnataka andHyderabad finished on 24 points. But Karnataka on a better runquotient took the trophy.The Pondicherry game ended in a tame draw as play was called off at1.30 pm on the third and final day.Put in to bat, Karnataka in their first innings scored 271 thanks to afine 105 by opener KS Ponnappa. He shared a 98-run second wicket standwith Barrington Rowland (45). Thereafter a 61-run fourth wicketpartnership ensued between Ponnappa and AR Mahesh (37). VasanthSaravanan was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 5 for 59.The second day witnessed only 25 overs. After Karnataka were all outin the morning, Tamil Nadu mustered 49 for no loss at the end of play.On the final day, only 16 overs were bowled. Tamil Nadu had scored 116with the openers S Badrinath (67) and Rajat Bhatia (39) remainedunbeaten till the end.

Rangers have been dealt a concerning blow over Ibrox midfielder Joe Aribo’s injury situation…

What’s the latest?

Gio van Bronckhorst has admitted that the Nigeria international is a doubt ahead of their Scottish Cup quarter-final clash today, with the club set to make a late call on his availability.

On Friday, Rangers’ official Twitter channel quoted the manager as saying: “Physically it was a tough match last night, we have a couple concerns with Lundstram’s ankle and we have to assess Aribo also before Sunday.”

Sweating

The knock to the ex-Charlton man will surely leave Van Bronckhorst sweating, as the 25-year-old has been a crucial player for the club throughout the campaign. He has proven himself to be an integral member of the squad and it will be a big blow to lose him for any period of time.

Rangers are three points behind Celtic in the Premiership table and remain in the Europa League and the Scottish Cup, so there is still plenty to play for between now and the end of the campaign. Therefore, the Dutch head coach will surely want as many of his top players available as possible, and Aribo fits into that description.

In the league this season, the midfielder has averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.11, placing him sixth out of all the outfield players. He has chipped in with seven goals and five assists whilst mainly being deployed in a number 10 role or out wide, showing that he has the quality to make a difference in the final third for the Gers.

He has also averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.92 in the Europa League, creating 1.3 chances per game and registering one assist so far. This may not be as impressive as his ratings domestically, but he is ranked above the likes of John Lundstram, Ryan Jack, Scott Arfield, Borna Barisic and Glen Kamara in the Rangers squad, which shows that he has been one of the Gers’ better performers in Europe.

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The 25-year-old’s statistics in Europe and in the Premiership illustrate why Van Bronckhorst will be sweating over this latest injury issue. The Gers boss will surely be hoping that it is only a minor issue which will not leave the Nigerian out of action for an extended period of time, as Aribo has proven how important he is to the team.

For now, though, this is looking like a big blow to the squad for the clash against Dundee today and potentially beyond…

AND in other news, Rangers dealt another concerning injury update which will also leave Van Bronckhorst sweating…