Somerset have furthered their links with the PCB by signing Imam-ul-Haq as a replacement for Matt Renshaw for the final four games of the County Championship season.Babar Azam and Azhar Ali have been popular overseas signings at Taunton in recent years and Andy Hurry, Somerset’s director of cricket, said the club had used their “long-standing relationship” with the PCB to get Imam’s deal over the line, subject to a No-Objection Certificate and visa.”Imam-ul-Haq is an outstanding batter who will bring quality and a wealth of experience to our environment,” Hurry said. “To be able to bring in an established Test match player for the final LV= Insurance County Championship matches of the season is a coup for us with so much international cricket being played during this important period.”We have a long-standing working relationship with the PCB and we are grateful to them for their assistance in helping us to sign a player of this calibre. We are genuinely excited about what he will add to the club both on and off the field.”Related
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Imam is one of Pakistan’s incumbent opening batters alongside Abdullah Shafique, and is part of the squad to play Sri Lanka later this month. He said that he had spoken to his international team-mates about the club and that county cricket is “a challenge that I am relishing”.”I have heard a lot about the quality of Somerset from Babar Azam and Azhar Ali,” he said. “It is a club with a good reputation and great support. I look forward to representing the county and contributing to some good wins in the County Championship.”Somerset have struggled in the Championship this season and are ninth in the 10-team Division One, though have a game in hand on most of the bottom half of the table.Renshaw, the Australian top-order batter, will leave the club at the end of August to begin pre-season training with his state side Queensland ahead of his home summer.
Fair to say, Rangers boss Philippe Clement has plenty of work to do in the January transfer window.
Ahead of the New Year’s Old Firm derby coming up at Ibrox on Thursday afternoon, the Gers are a whopping 14 points adrift run away league leaders and fierce rivals Celtic.
The last-gasp defeat at St Mirren on Boxing Day, followed by a 2-2 draw at Motherwell three days later, has cranked up the pressure on Clement, hence why he’ll be looking to recruit reinforcements this month.
Rangers interested in new midfielder
According to a report by reporter Ižak Ante Sučić for Germanijak, Rangers, as well as Club Brugge and AZ Alkmaar, are interested in signing Varaždin midfielder Leon Belcar.
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They add that the 22-year-old is contracted to the Croatian club until 2026, but that they plan to “make a lot of money on him”.
Varaždin president Dražen Vitez claims he is yet to receive any official bids for Belcar, only willing to sell his most-prized asset for in excess of €700,000 (around £580,000), with Karlo Lusavec’s move to Danish outfit Horsens being used as a benchmark.
So who is Belcar, and how would he fit into Rangers’ team?
Where Leon Belcar would fit in at Rangers
Belcar is a 22-year-old defensive midfielder, operating at the base of Varaždin’s back-line, starting all but one of their HNL matches this season, the only one he’s missed being as a result of a suspension.
Despite his defensive instincts, Belcar has scored three goals during this campaign to date, most-recently firing home from the edge of the area during a 2-1 victory over Šibenik in late November.
At international level, he’s earned six caps for Croatia’s U21s, although he won’t be adding to that tally, given that the Mladi Vatreni were heartbreakingly beaten by Georgia on penalties, thereby missing out on a place at this summer’s U21 Euros in Slovakia.
Instead, could Belcar spend 2025 acclimatising to life in Glasgow? Let’s see how he compares to Rangers’ two most-used central midfielders.
Leon Belcar vs Raskin & Diomande in 24/25
Statistic
Leon Belcar
Nicolas Raskin
Mohamed Diomandé
Minutes
1,352
1,028
1,091
Appearances
17
15
16
Interceptions per 90
1.1
0.5
0.5
Tackles per 90
1.4
3.3
1
% of duals won
58.2%
65.5%
54.2%
Fouls per 90
0.9
1.5
1
Average rating
7.04
7.33
6.99
All statistics courtesy of SofaScore
As outlined above, Nicolas Raskin comes out on top for most of the metrics included, but that should not be too surprising given his excellent form this season, with former Rangers defender Alan Hutton describing the Belgian as “brilliant”, adding that he has to be the first name on the teamsheet in midfield.
However, Belcar does compare favourably to Mohamed Diomandé, who’s made 28 appearances across all competitions so far, including starting seven of the eight Champions League or Europa League matches.
But this is exactly why Belcar – whose numbers are still “really impressive” in the eyes of Scottish football content creator Kai Watson – would be a success. He’s a different style of midfielder; Raskin excels out of possession, while the young Croat is at his best on the ball.
Rangers do have somewhat recent history when it comes to signing talent from the Croatian top-flight, with mixed success.
Following a Europa League qualifying victory over Osijek in 2018, Steven Gerrard was so impressed with what he saw he signed two of the White and Blues’ players.
Eros Grezda’s 17-game stint at Ibrox was, at best, unmemorable, but the other member of this double-deal was Borna Barišić, who would make 236 appearances for the Gers, becoming a cult hero, a key figure as they won the Premiership title in 2021 and then reached the Europa League Final the following season.
That same summer seven years ago, Nikola Katić joined from Slaven Belupo Koprivnica and, while he was far from a major success, his headed winner at Parkhead in December 2019 means he will never be forgotten.
Thus, Belcar could become the latest Croatian to make his mark in Govan.
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Glasgow Rangers are reportedly interested in a deal to sign the Romanian ace.
Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham drew 1-1 with Bournemouth, with late drama between the sides leading to a thrilling end on Monday evening.
The Spanish coach clearly tweaked his game plan against the Cherries in order to avoid their pressing traps, playing slightly more direct, looking to miss out the midfield pivot and win second balls closer to the box.
A late penalty call for a controversial handball saw the Hammers take a 1-0 lead in the 87th minute through Lucas Paqueta. But just three minutes later, Enes Unal smashed the equaliser home with a wonderful freekick.
West Ham remain 14th in the Premier League despite picking up four points in their last two games, and whilst results have picked up in their last few fixtures, the performances have still left a lot to be desired.
West Ham's best performers vs Bournemouth
Having said that, against Bournemouth, there were a few good performances, one of which was the performance of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, making eight saves, six of them coming from inside the box.
Another top performer was the goalscorer, Paqueta, who not only slotted away the penalty, but also made three key passes, took three shots (one on target), and had 51 touches.
Defender Max Kilman was another performance worth mentioning, making five blocks, three tackles, winning three of his five ground duels, winning five of his seven aerial duels, and making six of his 13 long balls attempted.
But alongside these good performances, there was a poor one that needs to be addressed, as Lopetegui now has a decision to make on whether to drop this man or not.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Edson Alvarez's performance v Bournemouth
Edson Alvarez has made 14 appearances this season, receiving four yellow cards and two red cards in 843 minutes played. The Mexican midfielder was given a 5/10 match rating for his performance by The Standard, with a few poor mistakes bringing his score down on Monday evening.
The 27-year-old played 75 minutes against the Cherries, losing possession 11 times, failing both of his long ball attempts and completing just 76% of his passes (32/42).
Minutes
75
Touches
49
Accurate Passes
32/42
Long Balls
0/2
Shots
1
Successful Dribble Attempts
2/2
Ground Duels Won
2/3
Aerial Duels Won
2/3
Possession Lost
11
Alvarez was tasked with dropping between the two central defenders on the ball for West Ham, as they looked to bypass the middle of the pitch, playing long balls into the front line, and winning second balls. However, the Mexico international put his side under pressure at times, losing the ball 11 times, and missing both of those long ball attempts.
In terms of winning his duels, he did win four out of six both ground and aerial, but when he was the main source of protection in front of the defensive line, the fact he only competed in six duels in his 75 minutes, is a different problem of its own, which can again begin to highlight some slight mobility issues in the West Ham midfield.
Since joining the club last summer, with the aim of replacing Declan Rice, the 27-year-old defensive midfielder has struggled to provide consistency in the middle of the park for the Hammers, and now Lopetegui has a big decision on his hands regarding his place in the team, especially as his job is far from secure.
West Ham must regret selling Moyes flop who's now like Harry Kane
Tottenham star Son Heung-min has backed Barcelona superkid Lamine Yamal to become the "best winger in the world in a couple years".
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Yamal has been in sensational form Has often been compared to MessiSon backed him to be the bestFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Yamal inevitably draws comparisons with Lionel Messi, who emerged from Barcelona’s youth system to become an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner. At just 17 years old, the winger has already made history, proving he can follow a similarly remarkable trajectory.
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The Spanish youngster has already collected significant individual accolades, including the Kopa Trophy and Golden Boy award, both of which recognise the brightest young talents in the game. Additionally, he played a key role in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph and will be one to watch out for in the 2026 World Cup.
WHAT SON SAID
While Son acknowledged that Yamal is already among the world’s top five wingers, he hesitated to place him in the top three just yet. However, he was confident that the Barcelona starlet will soon surpass his current level and establish himself as the very best.
In an interview with GOAL, Son stated: "He is unbelievable. Don’t get me wrong. At this age, the way he performs, he is incredible. I’m enjoying every bit of it. It’s a good thing that he is so young and he still has so much room to improve. So, in the next couple of years he will be top, number one."
DID YOU KNOW?
Yamal delivered a standout performance in Barcelona’s 3-1 victory over Benfica in the Champions League. He provided an assist for the opening goal before scoring himself to restore Barcelona’s lead after Nicolas Otamendi’s equaliser. This historic moment made Yamal the youngest player ever to score and assist in the same Champions League match, further highlighting his rapid rise to prominence.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he was happy to see out-of-favour forward Marcus Rashford leave Manchester United in the January transfer window.
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Rashford left Man Utd on loan
Joined Aston Villa until end of the season
Ratcliffe was 'pleased' to see Rashford leave
Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱
Getty Images
WHAT HAPPENED?
The English forward exited Old Trafford on a six-month loan deal to Aston Villa after losing the faith of manager Ruben Amorim. Since joining the Villans, Rashford's performances have seen a remarkable upturn as he has contributed with three assists in seven appearances for Unai Emery's side. United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has now addressed Rashford's departure from the club, admitting he was "pleased" to see the forward leave.
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WHAT SIR JIM RATCLIFFE SAID
Ratcliffe said to the BBC: "He's moved out of Manchester and maybe that's a good thing for him. I am very pleased he is doing well. It's good to see because he has got tremendous talent, but for whatever reason it wasn't working in Manchester for the past couple of seasons. But he is a very talented footballer, Rashford."
Getty Images Sport
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The Red Devils are reportedly ready to incorporate their academy star back into the side next season, but claimed last month that Rashford would prefer to continue with the Villans beyond the 2024-25 campaign, as he is keen on securing a permanent move to the West Midlands to develop under Emery. The 27-year-old feels that playing under the Spanish coach will help him resurrect his international career and he would be able to find a way back to the England national team ahead of the World Cup next year.
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WHAT NEXT FOR MARCUS RASHFORD?
The United loanee will be back in action for Aston Villa on Wednesday as they take on Club Brugge in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 fixture, having won the first leg 3-1 in Belgium.
O Corinthians encerrou neste sábado (5) a sua preparação para enfrentar o Ituano, neste domingo (6), às 18h30, pela quarta rodada do Campeonato Paulista.
continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansWillian volta a ser relacionado pelo Corinthians após dois jogos fora; confira lista completaCorinthians05/02/2022CorinthiansPerto do Internacional, volante Gabriel fica fora dos relacionados no CorinthiansCorinthians05/02/2022
Os trabalhos foram comandados por Fernando Lázaro, auxiliar-técnico que comandará o clube na beirada do campo contra o Galo de Itu, neste fim de semana.
> GALERIA -Confira técnicos estrangeiros livres no mercado > TABELA – Confira e simule os jogos do Corinthians no Paulistão
Na primeira parte do treinamento Lázaro comandou um trabalho tático focado nas ações posição por posição. Na sequência, o treinador promoveu repetições de jogadas de bola parada, tanto defensiva, quanto defensiva, com o elenco.
Recuperado de Covid-19, Cássio está de volta aos relacionados, assim como Cantillo, que voltou da seleção colombiana, e Willian, que encerrou o seu processo de controle de carga.
A provável escalação do Corinthians para enfrentar o Ituano tem Cássio; Fagner, João Victor, Gil e Lucas Piton (Fábio Santos); Du Queiroz; Willian, Renato Augusto, Giuliano e Róger Guedes; Jô.
Vinicius Junior could make a stunning move to Saudi Arabia after alienating a number of his Real Madrid team-mates, per a new report.
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Vinicius losing popularity at RealModric singled him out for criticismConsidering Saudi switchFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Per , Luka Modric turned against Vinicius during their recent 3-2 win over Leganes, having had to cover for the winger defensively. Vinicius is said to have left the dressing room without speaking to his team-mates and the report claims he has become a different person since losing the Ballon d'Or to Manchester City midfielder Rodri. Many within the squad are said to be running out of patience with his attitude on and off the field.
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Since that snub, Vinicius has struggled for form. He has not scored in La Liga since November 9 and has only scored in two of the nine games he has featured in during 2025. Now, Madrid are said to be negotiating a new contract with the Brazilian but their first offer has been rebuffed, and some within the club are said to believe that a sale would be in everyone's best interests.
DID YOU KNOW?
An unnamed Saudi club are said to be willing to pay up to €300 million (£250m/$310m) for Vinicius and potentially offer him a five-year contract worth €200m (£167m/$206m) per season. Given that Madrid now have Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo, both of whom could step into Vinicius' position, there is said to be a school of thought that the club would be best off taking the money.
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?
Madrid face City in a huge Champions League tie in midweek. Vinicius is almost certain to be involved in that game.
Derby County would have bitterly disappointed with their 3-2 loss against Norwich City at the weekend, with the performance of the Rams up-and-down on the day, alongside a controversial refereeing display stealing the headlines post-match.
Before this narrow loss, the Rams were unbeaten in ten on home soil, but a fortuitous opening goal for the Canaries – which could have been ruled out on another day owing to the ball looking to be out of play in the build-up – would swing the tie in favour of the visitors from Norfolk.
Away from the man in the middle, Paul Warne will have been disappointed with a number of his key performers when the full-time whistle was sounded, as Derby succumbed to their first defeat at Pride Park this campaign.
Derby's main underperformers vs Norwich
Derby’s glowing home form had been down to the exploits of Kayden Jackson putting chances away, but it was also massively helped by Jacob Widell Zetterstrom being rock solid in-between the sticks for his side.
The new Rams goalkeeper wasn’t his confident best against the Canaries, with Borja Sainz picking up a hat-trick at the expense of the Swedish shot-stopper, who made just three saves all afternoon.
Whilst Sainz was a controversial goalscoring hero on the day, the aforementioned Jackson fluffed his lines multiple times, which included a glaring miss in the first minute after being found in lots of space by a rampaging Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.
Likewise, Jerry Yates was ineffective up top as the sole striker, with zero shots managed on Angus Gunn’s goal, as the ex-Blackpool striker continues to fire worrying blanks for his new employers.
However, Warne could be tempted to ruffle a few feathers by dropping Mendez-Laing for his side’s clash away at Sunderland tonight, after the Rams captain blew hot and cold against Norwich.
That was reflected in Derbyshire Live journalist Leigh Curtis’ post-match thoughts, with Curtis handing out a low 6/10 rating to the experienced winger after the dust had settled, stating that he only had a ‘couple’ of bright moments in the entertaining early kick-off.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
He was quiet in patches, with the ex-Cardiff City attacker managing zero shots on target, whilst Corey Blackett-Taylor starred when coming on with his Rams goalscoring duck broken late on.
Why Blackett-Taylor could now start for Derby
The former Charlton Athletic attacker could now start over his 32-year-old teammate tonight, who might well do with the rest, as more and more second tier games come thick and fast.
Corey Blackett-Taylor for Tranmere.
The 27-year-old hasn’t really been given enough gametime in a Derby shirt to date to really explode into life at Pride Park, with only 14 outings coming his way since a move earlier in the year.
Yet, his consolation strike against the Canaries could be the springboard for Blackett-Taylor to gain more minutes, as another option Warne can rely on down the left away from overworking Mendez-Laing.
Blackett Taylor’s EFL record away from Derby
Team
Games
Goals
Assists
Charlton
97
20
13
Tranmere Rovers
62
8
8
Walsall
10
0
0
Sourced by Transfermarkt
Making a name for himself at the Addicks, after leaving the youth structure at Aston Villa behind, Derby could also sense that change down the wings might take Sunderland off-guard, with Blackett-Taylor’s trickery on the ball late on against Norwich proving to be effective.
Labelled as being a “difficult to defend against” attacker by his former Charlton boss in Johnnie Jackson, big calls by Warne such as dropping Mendez-Laing for the reserve attacker could work, especially if Derby end up shocking the Stadium of Light home masses tonight with the exciting winger fresh for the challenge ahead.
Derby County manager Paul Warne.
The 32-year-old could still make his presence known even if he is demoted to the substitutes bench, as Warne wrestles with what lineup to pick after a demoralising first home loss of the early campaign.
Left for £10.5m: Derby struck gold selling "demon" who's now unemployed
Derby County will have no regrets now over this sale.
Inevitably Covid-19 had an impact on grassroots participation in Australian cricket last summer, and is likely to do so for another season, but the decline was mitigated somewhat by growth in the female game.Cricket Australia released its annual participation figures on Wednesday with an overall drop of 24% from approximately 710,000 registered players to 539,000.However, there was a 2% increase in children playing the game. That was powered by 17.5% growth among girls registered to clubs and the Woolworths Cricket Blast programme in the first summer after Australia’s T20 World Cup success, which finished with the final at the MCG with a crowd of over 86,000 just days before the pandemic shut down global sport.”We were really fortunate with some timings and there’s no doubt the impacts we felt last season will be a similar story this year,” James Allsopp, Cricket Australia’s executive general manager of community cricket told ESPNcricinfo. “Cricket really did reconnect communities last year after missing winter sports, that’s seen in the junior numbers, so we are really pleased with the way the game came out of it. We are also really mindful that the impacts won’t be a one-off thing, we’ll be navigating it this summer as well.”The areas hit hardest by the pandemic were indoor cricket, schools and social competitions. Overall, Cricket Australia said there were 170,000 games played last season largely thanks to the efforts of volunteers who adapted to the new normal.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
“Around the country, particularly Melbourne but everyone went through it at some stage, they had to do their version of biosecure plans,” Stuart Whiley, Cricket Australia’s head of participation, said. “There were Covid-safe plans, cricket club will never have spent more money on sanitiser, there were check-in, check-out systems.”For a club volunteer who is trying to do that as well as living with everything else going on that’s a lot of additional work. First and foremost, we are just really appreciative of the volume of work volunteers picked up to get those games to happen.”While trying to see through another season that appears likely to face disruption, an area of continued focus for CA is to ensure there are pathways into cricket outside of the club structure both for the multi-cultural communities and also those for who the traditional route is not the best fit.”We know that South Asian communities love their cricket so we are really sharply focused on how we are integrating those communities into our clubs,” Allsopp said. “We need to really understand their culture, what are the barriers to them participating and making sure we an inspiring them to play the game.”That’s something we are really mindful of as we start to work through the new strategic design. How do we continue to support the traditional club structure but how do we diversify the cricket offering so they are flexible, more social, you can opt in and out, to make sure there’s a format of cricket to suit everyone.”