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Wolves are thought to be interested in signing Uruguayan midfielder Emiliano Martinez in the summer transfer window, according to a recent rumour.

Who is Emiliano Martinez?

The 23-year-old, who isn't to be confused with his namesake who plays in goal for Aston Villa and Argentina, is currently at FC Midtjylland, one of Denmark's biggest clubs, and he has grown into an important player for them.

Having arrived from Red Bull Bragantino in 2022, Martinez has made 33 appearances for his current club, seven of which came in the Europa League last season, with six starts coming his way. He has also won two caps for Uruguay in a star-studded side that has featured the likes of Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, Darwin Nunez and Fede Valverde.

The midfielder is currently contracted to Midtjylland until the summer of 2027, meaning it may not be easy for clubs to sign him on the cheap, but there could still be interest in him during the summer transfer window.

Wolves are on the lookout for new signings, as they aim to improve on a fairly underwhelming 2022/23 campaign, and it looks as though Martinez has emerged as a target to come in and make up for the loss of Ruben Neves.

Are Wolves signing Emiliano Martinez?

According to Football Insider, Wolves are "among a number of English clubs" interested in signing Martinez this summer, with West Ham also mentioned in the report. He has been receiving "rave reviews" for his performances for Midtjylland, highlighting why Wanderers are seemingly in the mix to acquire his signature.

The player's father and agent, Luis Ferrer, is thought to have been "instrumental" in Kylian Mbappe's move to Paris Saint-Germain and is looking to seal a big move for his son and client somewhere across Europe, amid plenty of intrigue in him.

Martinez may be an unknown to many, with all due respect to Midtjylland, who aren't necessarily Europe's most closely-followed team by fans of other clubs. It seems clear that he is a standout figure in Denmark, however, so it is exciting to Wolves in the mix to sign him before the new campaign kicks into gear.

The fact that he has forced his way into Uruguay's plans from a weaker league says a lot about his ability, given some of the midfield quality at their disposal, from Valverde to Manuel Ugarte, and he is still a young footballer who should only develop over time.

It is essential that Wolves fill the void left by the influential Neves this summer, and while Martinez may not be able to do that alone, given his lack of experience in an elite league, he could still make a noticeable difference in the middle of the park.

Last season, he averaged an eye-catching three tackles per game in the Europa League – no Wolves player matched or had a higher tally in the Premier League – so he could be a real force out of possession, but he also enjoyed an 81.4% pass completion rate, showing that he is also perfectly good on the ball.

Cricket Australia remains “comfortable” with the level of security provided to the Australian team, after terror attacks in London on Saturday night left at least six dead and 48 injured

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2017Cricket Australia remains “comfortable” with the level of security provided to the Australian team, after terror attacks in London on Saturday night left at least seven dead and 48 injured.Australia are one of three teams in London, one of the venues for the Champions Trophy. They are due to play Bangladesh on June 5 at The Oval in south London.”As with the rest of the world, the Australian team is shocked and saddened at the events that have occurred in London overnight and our thoughts are with those directly involved and their loved ones,” CA said. “The team, support staff and travelling contingent have been accounted for.”Our security team is working closely with the ICC and LOC to ensure the safety and security of our players and support staff is paramount. At this stage we are comfortable with the level of security being provided to us and will continue to monitor the situation.”Steven Smith, Australia’s captain, spoke after the team trained at The Oval on Sunday morning. He read from the CA statement and added the players were “saddened and hurt” by events but were happy to continue playing in the tournament.Australia had travelled down from Birmingham, where they played their first game against New Zealand, and the squad and support staff were in their hotel in west London when the attack was taking place in London Bridge. Smith said he has seen reports on Twitter before turning on the news, but that the players were quickly reassured by team security.”You never want to see that happening around the world,” he said. “Particularly, when we are so close to the events of last night. We have been briefed by our security team this morning and they are comfortable with where security is at and for us it is just about being diligent with everything that we do and continuing the tournament as usual.””Guys were a little bit concerned at the time and didn’t really know what to do so Frank [Dimasi], our security guy, just made sure that we remained in the hotel and stayed nice and safe. I think everyone was on the phone just letting their loved ones back home know that everything was okay with everyone involved in our team.”Heightened security in London following Saturday night’s attacks•Getty Images

Smith added that the group would continue to be “smart” in what they get up to in London over the next few days before returning to Birmingham for Friday’s match with England. “We’ve been advised to stay relatively close to the hotel and just be diligent with whatever we do,” he said. “Just make sure we’re on the lookout and being smart with whatever we do.”Following the attacks, the ICC ensured all team hotels went into lockdown, with every team, match official and related staff accounted for. The enhanced security measures put in place following the suicide attack at a pop concert in Manchester two weeks ago will continue.”Our thoughts are with everyone affected by what has happened in London overnight,” the ICC said in a statement. “We operate on advice from our Tournament Security Directorate – in conjunction with the ECB and relevant police and security authorities – to ensure that we can deliver a safe and secure event. We will continue to work with authorities over the coming hours and days and review our security in line with the threat levels.”The security situation has been very much front and centre of our preparations and we constantly review our procedures to guarantee they are as effective as possible to keep everyone safe.”Following the Manchester attack, Cricket South Africa had said there were concerns over safety but was comfortable with the reassurances and guarantees provided regarding the team’s security. South Africa are touring the UK not only for the Champions Trophy but also for a bilateral series against England.

If you told us that the same Gary Neville who won eight Premier League titles – before going on to make questionable noises on the gantry for Sky Sports – would join Dragons’ Den, we’d have a lot of questions.Yet, here we are, with the Manchester United legend joining Steven Bartlett, Sara Davies, Touker Suleyman, Peter Jones, Emma Grede, and Deborah Meaden on the show, as confirmed by the BBC.It’s not as random a move as you may think, however. The former right-back actually does have plenty of business experience.

What is Gary Neville’s net worth?

Since retiring in 2011, Neville has gone on to have huge success off the pitch, becoming a constant feature on Sky Sports as one of their main pundits, and opening his own hotel, as well as a number of other businesses.

The Sky Sports pundit also owns an investment company, a property developer, a programme of study, a hospitality company. On top of this, Neville owns part of Salford City alongside other members of Man United’s class of 92.

So, it’s fair to say that he has been a busy man since hanging up his boots, arguably becoming more famous than in his playing days.

As of today, Neville’s net worth is reportedly as much as $25m (£19.65m), giving him plenty to invest with while on Dragons’ Den.

Why is Gary Neville joining Dragons’ Den?

As explained on the BBC, Neville is joining the show for series 21, which will air in 2024, to “shake things up and impart their unique business advice on those entering the Den”.

Speaking about joining the show, the Premier League winner told BBC: “I am excited to join the Dragons, and to meet the entrepreneurs brave enough to face us in the Den.

“I hope my personal journey shows that you can take the experiences you’ve had in one part of your career and use them to do something entirely different and make it a success.

“Business is all about managing people and managing yourself, and I’m looking forward to sharing my experience to help the entrepreneurs we’ll meet in the Den reach their potential.”

It will certainly be an interesting watch, with Neville’s involvement potentially attracting a new range of viewers to the show, given his popularity in football.

If it goes anything like his punditry career, too, then we’re bound to get moments worth watching over and over again. Although it must be said, Neville will want to avoid a debut similar to his first Sky Sports appearance when he famously attempted to interview then-Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini after his side’s game.

Despite their not posting a 200-plus total yet in the ODI series, Graham Ford has said he is ‘excited’ by the way some of Sri Lanka’s young batsmen batted while getting starts in the second ODI

Firdose Moonda02-Feb-2017

Despite Sri Lanka slumping to a second big defeat in the ODI series against South Africa, coach Graham Ford found a silver lining from their performance in Durban. Surprisingly, it was in their batting, even though Sri Lanka have yet to post a total over 200 in the series.”I was quite excited with what I saw today. Unfortunately none of our batsmen converted starts but they certainly showed they have got the talent to play at this level and to make an impact at this level,” he said. “I feel when I look at the number of games so many of them have played and the ages of some of them, if they are looked after and shown the right kind of support, in time, they could be a very good Sri Lankan side.”Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella and Dhananjaya de Silva are 22, 23 and 25 respectively and between them have played just 40 ODIs. None of them had been to South Africa before this trip and the experience they will gain from facing the moving ball on surfaces with good bounce and carry is something Ford hopes will put them on the right path for the future.”For some of the guys it’s a bit of a jolt to come and see how tough it is to play in foreign conditions and to play in South Africa,” Ford said. “From that point of view, it’s got to be a learning opportunity. If we are realistic and we look at the players we’ve got and the ages and the amount of games they have played, it is about learning and it is about improving. At times we’ve shown improvement, at times I have hoped for more improvement. On tonight’s performance, I was quite excited about what I saw.”With less than six months to go before the Champions Trophy in June, where Sri Lanka will face South Africa in the group stage, Ford knows his team needs to develop fairly quickly. “It’s pretty clear there is a lot of improvement that needs to take place. From what I saw from some of these young batsmen, they showed they can handle this sort of bowling attack,” he said. “Conditions in England might not suit them as much as today’s conditions so we will have to do a bit of thinking about balance of side and the way we can try and disrupt them in those conditions but we will have to improve a lot in all three disciplines.”For now, Sri Lanka have to find to find a way to deal with South Africa over the next eight days. They will play three more matches, all must-win, all without regular captain Angelo Mathews, whose absence Ford admitted has been felt. “In white-ball cricket, Angelo is a fantastic allrounder. He is the leader of the group so it is a setback but if I look at where we are at, it gives us a chance to groom a couple of other guys in the set-up and hopefully it will pay us back down the line.”As a result, Sri Lanka will look to the only other members of their squad who have toured South Africa before, stand-in skipper Upul Tharanga and senior batsman Dinesh Chandimal, to lead the resurrection.Chandimal’s form, in particular, has been worrying. He scored 85 runs in six innings in the Tests at an average of under 15, 33 runs in the three T20s and 22 and 36 in the two ODIs. But Ford has noticed the steady increase in Chandimal’s contributions and suspects that something bigger and better is on the horizon now that the wicketkeeper-batsman has recovered from the thumb dislocations that sidelined him late last year.”In recent weeks, he has started to look a lot better, started to time the ball and shown he is not far away,” Ford said. “He started this tour a little under-done because of that serious finger injury but we all know what a capable player he is. He will get one score score hopefully in the next game and hopefully he won’t look back.”

Newcastle United are extremely interested in a deal for Rennes teenager Desire Doue, according to reports in France.

What's the latest Newcastle transfer news?

The Magpies are expected to be busy in the summer transfer market as Eddie Howe prepares his squad to compete in four competitions for the first time in the northeast since a Europa League campaign back in 2012/13 which ended at the hands of Benfica.

Howe seems to be prioritising a central midfielder above all else, with the effects of playing such intense football week in week out clearly taking its toll towards the end of the season, with Joe Willock and Joelinton picking up injuries and Bruno Guimaraes looking lacklustre in the closing few weeks.

James Maddison has been strongly linked with a move, although they will face competition from Tottenham, and then there is Khephren Thuram, who is apparently also attracting interest from Liverpool.

Deals won’t come easy then, but it seems one player the Magpies are out in front for is rising Rennes sensation Doue.

According to L’Equipe, via Sport Witness, Newcastle are the main club “particularly keen” on the young attacking midfielder and their “interest is real”. They say he is a “great prospect” and only a “substantial offer” will convince the Ligue 1 outfit to cash in.

Who is Desire Doue?

Delving into what makes Doue so special, it’s his versatility at such a young age that really stands out. According to Transfermarkt, despite being just 18, he played up front, as a number ten, on both wings and in his natural role as a central midfielder for Rennes this season, racking up 26 top flight appearances and seven in the Europa League too, scoring four times.

Going by FBRef’s advanced metrics, his dribbling ability looks incredible, sitting in the 99th percentile against other midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for successful take-ons, also ranking highly for goals per 90 minutes (97th percentile).

Such is his ability to drive forward and find goals by arriving late in the box, the website actually lists the Magpies’ own Joe Willock as a 'similar player', so fans at St. James’ Park should know what to expect if the youngster arrives on Tyneside.

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Julen Lopetegui is set for a 'really important week' as he reflects on what the club can change going forward at Molineux, according to journalist Dean Jones.

What's the latest news involving Wolverhampton Wanderers and Julen Lopetegui?

According to BBC Sport, Lopetegui thinks that it will be difficult for Wolves to compete in the English top flight next term amid Financial Fair play issues at Molineux, as he stated: "I have had that meeting [with chairman Jeff Shi] and there are some Financial Fair Play problems I didn't know before. I hope we will solve this issue. It's very difficult to compete in the Premier League without investment."

The report states that the Old Gold posted a £46.1 million deficit in their last financial results in an environment where Premier League clubs are only allowed to record £105 million of losses in a three-year period.

Several first-team players could be on their way out at Wolves this summer in order to balance the books, one of them being club captain Ruben Neves, who is being courted by La Liga giants Barcelona, as per AS.

Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Roma and Aston Villa have been linked with a move for Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan, who could become another asset used to raise funds to combat their financial restrictions, as per The Mirror.

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jones thinks that Lopetegui will be anxious to seek clarity over what the future may hold for Wolves next season.

Jones told FFC: "I think it's going to be a really important week or so to reflect on what Lopetegui has actually changed about the club and what he's going to be able to change going forward. That's what he needs to be assured of, that the work that's gone in over the past five or six months can continue and that's, I think, is his big concern."

Who could Wolverhampton Wanderers bring in to supplement potential departures?

Obviously, Wolves will also need to try and bring in players in the summer to supplement prospective departures to build a team capable of competing in the Premier League in 2023/24.

Writing in his column for Caught Offside, journalist Ben Jacobs has stated that Liverpool youngster Fabio Carvalho has emerged as a target for the Old Gold, with a loan deal in the off-season believed to be a possibility.

FC Metz forward Georges Mikautadze has also cropped up on the Old Gold's radar according to reports in France, potentially adding some quality to Lopetegui's forward line.

talkSPORT understand that Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres is someone Wolves want to bring in ahead of next season; however, it may cost the best part of £25 million to bring him to Molineux.

With the Australia team for the Perth Test against South Africa set to be announced within a week, Nathan Lyon reasserted his place as the side’s most accomplished spinner with a miserly 4 for 10 against Queensland

Daniel Brettig23-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHaving been surplus to requirements in the previous match against Victoria, Nathan Lyon put in a more assertive display in the final•Getty ImagesOn Friday, Nathan Lyon was dropped by New South Wales for the elimination final against Victoria. On Sunday, he responded by dismantling Queensland to deliver the Matador Cup title to the Blues at North Sydney Oval and reassert his place as Australia’s most accomplished active spin bowler.With players like Mitchell Starc, Steven Smith and David Warner looking on, Lyon’s display was a welcome sight for members of the national team at the start of the week in which the Test squad to face South Africa in Perth will be announced.Starc’s restricted fielding duties

Mitchell Starc will be restricted in his fielding ability during the South Africa Test series as a result of the deep cut that he suffered in a training mishap ahead of the summer.
Watching the Matador Cup final before he underwent a fitness session post-match, Starc said he would be unable to slide or dive until the wound had fully healed, though he will be fit to bowl in Tuesday’s Sheffield Shield match against Queensland in Brisbane. Starc may well find himself in the slip cordon as a result.
“It’s going ok, it’s slowly closing up,” Starc told . “It’s still a bit open, but holding together nicely.”

It also helped complete back-to-back domestic limited-overs titles for New South Wales, a possibility that had seemed remote earlier in the competition when the Blues had struggled in their win against the Cricket Australia XI and also dropped matches against Tasmania and South Australia. By contrast, Queensland had been the early pacesetters, winning their first four matches before slipping up in the final.Lyon’s spell combined flight and frugality. At one point his analysis read an eye-popping 3 for 3 before he finished his 10 overs with figures of 4 for 10. Having been surplus to requirements on Friday, Lyon needed to put in a more assertive display, following some returns on the recent tour of Sri Lanka when he did not adapt well to the role of leading strike bowler in spin-friendly conditions.This time around he was into the game with the early wicket of the Player-of-the-Tournament Marnus Labuschagne, and followed up by tempting the Bulls captain Usman Khawaja to top-edge a sweep. He then found a way past Jason Floros and rounded things off by deceiving Ben Cutting before he could do any serious damage with his notoriously clean hitting.Trent Copeland, Pat Cummins and Doug Bollinger all provided useful support on a North Sydney pitch that posed some early challenges for batsmen but also rewarded patience. This was to be borne out when the Blues set about chasing the modest target – only once has a team successfully defended less than 240 on this ground.Ed Cowan, Nick Larkin and Nic Maddinson all fell swiftly to a strong new-ball spell from Michael Neser, who will be particularly happy to have burst through Cowan’s forward stroke with some late inswing to the left-hander. However the innings was steadied and then controlled by the Blues captain Moises Henriques.In partnership with the tall and elegant Kurtis Patterson, Henriques worked the ball around initially before opening his shoulders with some compelling blows. By the time Henriques fell to Mitch Swepson’s leg breaks for 85, the Blues were well and truly in charge, meaning the tournament was won by the team that finished strongest, rather than that which started fastest.

Burnley are eyeing a number of new signings this summer as they look to build on their Championship title win, with Ryan Kent one man linked with a move to Turf Moor.

Would Ryan Kent be a good signing for Burnley?

The Rangers man, who will depart Ibrox on a free transfer this summer when his contract expires, is an option for the likes of Burnley, Sheffield United, Everton and Leeds United according to TEAMtalk.

Since signing for the Scottish outfit permanently in 2019, the tricky winger has gone on to make 218 appearances in total, contributing 38 goals and 57 assists.

He was vital for the Gers in their run to the Europa League final last season, notching one goal and five assists, which earned him a spot in the team of the tournament, perhaps emphasising why he could be such a good pickup on a free transfer this summer.

Even in a campaign that has been widely perceived as a difficult one for Rangers, Kent has contributed three goals and eight assists in the league with a strong 7.31 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Success in the Premier League will come for Burnley if they can add some quality in the final third, especially with the likes of Ashley Barnes and potentially Nathan Tella not being at Turf Moor next season.

Kompany may well be looking to spread out the goals in his squad once again as they did in the second tier this year and Kent's ability to find the back of the net, as well as his obvious eye for a pass, make him an ideal target.

Steven Gerrard was full of praise for the former Liverpool man during his time at Ibrox, saying:

"Ryan Kent has been top-class and hasn't let any noise affect him, he is scoring goals and looking very dangerous. He is really taking it to opposition teams."

If he were to arrive at Turf Moor, his dribbling ability and impressive record in the final third could see him emulate Maxwel Cornet, who impressed in his one-year stay at Burnley having joined from Lyon.

The Ivorian winger registered nine goals and one assist in 26 Premier League appearances and won over the fans with his performances before a relegation release clause saw him join West Ham United last summer.

He would average 1.8 shots, 0.6 key passes and 0.5 dribbles per game, compared to Kent's return of 2.1 shots, 2.2 key passes, and 1.9 dribbles per game at Rangers, which suggests that the Englishman could even be an upgrade on Cornet at Turf Moor.

Therefore, Kompany and Burnley should act quickly to bring Kent to the Premier League on a free transfer, as the speedster could be a superb addition to the squad.

Afghanistan are set to play their first full series against West Indies, travelling to the Caribbean in June 2017 for five ODIs and three T20Is. It will Afghanistan’s first full series against a Full Member other than Zimbabwe.The specific dates of the tour are yet to be announced, although a press release from the Afghanistan Cricket Board mentioned the tour would begin in mid-June.Afghanistan have played only two full series against Full Members previously. The first was when they visited Zimbabwe for five ODIs and two T20Is in October 2015; then, they recorded their first series win over a Full Member. In the return series, two months later, hosted by Afghanistan in the UAE, they beat Zimbabwe in both formats again and broke into the top 10 of the ODI rankings for the first time.Chairman Nasimullah Danish welcomed the series, saying: “Playing with Twenty20 champions will boost technical prospects for us.” WICB chief executive Michael Muirhead was happy to have more games on the calendar. “This series will add to the variety of cricket our teams will be playing for the next year and we are happy to be able to have teams visit the region to add exposure for all our players,” Muirhead said.Most recently, Afghanistan met West Indies in the Super 10 stage of the World T20 in March and beat them by six runs.

Clubs vying for Super League slots in the Dhaka Premier Division’s first phase have one eye on the next BCB elections, even though they are more than a year away

Mohammad Isam06-Jun-2016

At least two Super League places are up for grabs in the final round of matches in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League’s first phase. In the race to keep themselves among the six teams of the Super League, the clubs also have the next BCB elections in mind – even though they are more than a year away.Three teams – Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club, Victoria Sporting Club and Legends of Rupganj – have all but secured their Super League spots. Six other teams – Mohammedan Sporting Club, Abahani Limited, Gazi Group Cricketers, Prime Bank Cricket Club, Kalabagan Krira Chakra and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club – are also in the running, going into the final round. They have more than just a passing interest in keeping themselves in the advantageous position of a Super League berth.This is because, according to Article 9.2.A of the BCB’s constitution, each Super League club will have two members in the BCB’s general council. The other six Dhaka Premier League clubs have one each, just like all the clubs in the Dhaka First Division Cricket League clubs, the top 12 Dhaka Second Division Cricket League clubs and the top eight Dhaka Third Division Cricket League clubs. These are called category 2 among the councilors.The same article states that the “standing earned based on the result of the last finished cricket season will be counted for a membership in the general council”. This means that the councilors eligible to vote in the elections will therefore only be counted if the league seasons have ended.Clubs this season are wary that if the 2016-17 seasons of all four Dhaka Leagues – Premier, First, Second and Third – do not end before the election period, the standings from 2015-16 will be used for voting purposes in the next BCB elections, which are not scheduled before October 2017.This eventuality is possible given Bangladesh’s busy international schedule starting October 2016. The Dhaka Premier League clubs have often shown reluctance to hold the league when their big players are on international duty.ESPNcricinfo has learned that one part of the BCB is in favour of holding the elections using the 2015-16 standings since it would be favourable to their fortunes. It has made the rest of the clubs think of safety in numbers, since having two members in the council will give them more bargaining power.A delay in the Dhaka leagues in 2016-17 would not help the professional cricketers for whom the Dhaka league is the main source of income.The other voters in the elections comprise one councilor each from all eight divisions and 64 districts in Bangladesh (called category 1). National Cricket League champion sides and runners-up, school boards, public universities, the National Sports Council (NSC), BKSP and other associations and organisations (called category 3) also provide councilors.But it is the Dhaka clubs who hold the most clout in the BCB. The Dhaka clubs’ councilors will vote to elect 12 directors among themselves while the divisions and districts will vote to elect 10 directors among their councilors. The NSC chooses three directors out of the councilors from all three categories and another director from among the category 3 councilors.