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As per reliable source The Athletic, an update from West Ham has emerged regarding central defender Angelo Ogbonna. 

The lowdown: Current situation

The 33-year-old was an ever-present in David Moyes’ starting line up during the opening weeks of the 2021/22 campaign and had played every Premier League minute prior to being injured against Liverpool at the London Stadium back in November.

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Since then the experienced Italian has undergone successful surgery on a cruciate ligament injury but remains unlikely to make a full return to competitive action before the end of the season.

Out of contract in the summer (Transfermarkt), there had been questions as to whether Ogbonna might’ve played his final game for the club.

The latest: New deal incoming

According to the report, having returned to ‘light training’ the club are looking to reward the 13-cap Italy ace with a prolonged stay.

Therefore, West Ham are ‘expected to activate the one-year option’ to extend Ogbonna’s deal beyond the end of the ongoing season.

The east Londoners are also believed to be set to open ‘preliminary talks’ over a new contract for the man once described as ‘top-class’ by Garth Crooks following a team of the week worthy display against Everton.

The verdict: No brainer

Whilst it remains to be seen how the 6ft 2ins centre-back will come back from what was a serious injury, Ogbonna’s unerring quality was there for all to see as the ex-Juventus man helped Moyes’ side towards three clean sheets in 11 league outings early on.

Recruitment chief Rob Newman will be looking to further add to the defensive ranks, particularly as Issa Diop seems destined to move on to pastures new, but tying down the experienced Italian is undoubtedly a smart place to start the summer business.

Potential incomings aside, Ogbonna will be 34 when the new season begins and could be used in a rotation with fellow reliable veteran Craig Dawson to partner Kurt Zouma as West Ham attempt to fight on multiple trophy fronts once again.

In other news: Find out who the three worst West Ham players were against Burnley. 

Journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Athletic has made a claim involving Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy after an Antonio Conte twist at the Premier League club.

The Lowdown: Conte news emerges…

Over this last week, a major twist has come out of Spurs on Conte’s future at the club – coming just months after he was appointed to replace the sacked Nuno Espirito Santo in November.

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The Italian has guided Tottenham to within touching distance of a top-four place as they compete with north London rivals Arsenal for a coveted qualification spot.

However, reports have recently emerged of the 52-year-old’s potential departure to Paris-Saint Germain, with Le Parisien claiming that he is seriously interested and has even spoken to club chiefs about the role.

Meanwhile, former Spurs fan favourite Mauricio Pochettino is allegedly set to depart the French capital despite guiding them to a Ligue 1 title win.

The Latest: Pitt-Brooke makes Pochettino claim involving Levy…

Taking to Twitter, reporter Pitt-Brooke of The Athletic believes that hiring Pochettino is chairman Levy’s only way to ‘save face’ if Conte leaves – even if Spurs’ chief is ‘desperate’ for his appointment to work.

He explained: “For Daniel Levy, the appeal of Pochettino would be obvious. Levy is desperate for Conte to work out, but if Conte does go, bringing Poch back is basically the only way he can save face. He’s effectively a get out of jail free card for Levy and the club.”

The Verdict: Correct call?

After Jose Mourinho’s dismissal this time last year, reports linking Pochettino with a sensational return to Tottenham were prevalent.

Credible claims backed that the Argentine was considering a reunion at Hotspur Way and it is believed that Levy has Pochettino on standby if Conte does unceremoniously quit this summer (The Telegraph).

Knowing the players and club intrinsically already, Pitt-Brooke is absolutely spot on that hiring Spurs’ former manager is, quite literally, Levy’s only avenue in the event of Conte’s exit.

That being said, Tottenham’s current coach has worked wonders since his arrival and it would be a major disappointment to see him depart so soon.

In other news: Source: Tottenham edge closer to ‘top signing’, he now really wants to join Conte…find out more here.

Only 2.1 overs were possible at the Colin Maiden Park, as rain played spoilsport in the encounter between hosts Auckland and Otago

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2010Only 2.1 overs were possible at the Colin Maiden Park, as rain played spoilsport in the encounter between hosts Auckland and Otago. The teams took two points each, enabling Auckland to continue their place at the top of the league with 18 points. Otago stay at the bottom.

Graeme Smith, South Africa captain, felt that he had the time but not the conditions to bowl India out on the last day of the deciding Test in Cape Town

Firdose Moonda at Newlands06-Jan-2011Graeme Smith, South Africa captain, felt that he had the time but not the conditions to bowl India out on the last day of the deciding Test in Cape Town. “I expected more from the wicket today,” he said at the post-match press conference. “It didn’t have much swing, like we saw on the first three days.”The Newlands pitch began crumbling on day four and was expected to remain tricky for batting. There was variable bounce on offer, which Morne Morkel made us of, while Dale Steyn gave everything he had and more, and succeeded in bowling outswing despite the conditions. Smith said that the two quicks, aided by Lonwabo Tsotsobe, could have used the help of an additional seamer to carry some of the load. “Having the extra seamer is a massive bonus. MS Dhoni has worked the whole series like this [with three seamers]. Having bowlers fresh is obviously nice.”South Africa had to juggle just three pace bowlers because Jacques Kallis’ rib injury prevented him from bowling.Smith was also hoping for a 12th man in the form of the pitch, which had cracks that should have worked to the spinners’ advantage, but Paul Harris had no joy at all. “I expected the cracks to play more of a role,” Smith said. “If you hit the rough, you got spin, but on the straight there wasn’t much.”Even though Smith knew that with the mercury reaching 38 degrees for three successive days the pitch would “become a really good batting unit, as we saw against England last year,” he still thought South Africa had the firepower to claim 10 wickets and was “disappointed that we didn’t get close today and only managed to have them three down.”Still, he was pleased with how the pitch had behaved over the course of the match. “It’s provided really good Test cricket. Compared to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which were roads, it was nice to play a series where everyone had the opportunity to do well.”South Africa have failed to register a series win at home for the third successive season but Smith did not see that as worrying sign. “We’ve played some good cricket around the world in recent times. You do want to be really strong at home. For two Tests here we played really, really well and for one we were poor.”That one was not the decider, Smith emphasised, but the Boxing Day Test that South Africa lost by 87 runs. “We were really disappointed with the way we played in Durban. There were moments were we needed to fight a little harder and India were better than us in those moments.” Smith thought his team bounced back from those lows and laid claim to the key moments in Cape Town when they recovered from 130 for six to reach 362. “We showed a lot of character to get into a position to win.”The fact that they didn’t win did not appear to irk Smith too much. “It’s good for world cricket that the top four teams are competitive. We don’t need to fool ourselves that we are better than what we are.” Smith spoke as though a period of assessment for his team had ended and they were satisfied with the result. “The majority of our Test side has been very successful over the last few years.”In some ways, this series does mark the end of an era for the South Africa Test side. It is Corrie van Zyl’s last series as coach of the national team. The next series is scheduled for September, against an Australia in decline and there will be a new set-up in place. “The next Test is nine months away and we’ll have new coaching staff. Hopefully it will be someone who can challenge us and take us to the next level.”

Leeds United have been dealt yet another blow ahead of their upcoming Premier League meeting with Arsenal this weekend.

What’s the latest?

In comments made after the 2-1 victory over West Ham United on Sunday (via Leeds Live), Mikel Arteta revealed that Bukayo Saka – who appeared to be withdrawn in the 87th minute of the clash with a knock – should be available for selection for Sunday’s fixture at The Emirates, as the 20-year-old was only suffering from fatigue.

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Concerning the fitness of the England international, Arteta said: “Bukayo was fine, he was really fatigued and he has been through a little injury as well.”

Marsch will be fuming

Considering just how impressive Saka has been for Arsenal this season, the news that the winger looks as if he will be fit to face Leeds this weekend is sure to have left Jesse Marsch fuming.

Indeed, over his 34 Premier League appearances this term, the £58.5m-rated forward has been in electric form, bagging 11 goals – one of which came against Leeds – registering six assists and creating eight big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.5 shots, making 1.9 key passes and completing 1.1 dribbles per game.

These returns have seen the £30k-per-week sensation average a SofaScore match rating of 7.09, ranking him as Arteta’s best player in the top flight of English football.

As such, it is clear for all to see that, should Saka indeed be fit to face the Whites this weekend, it will undoubtedly come as a huge blow to Marsch’s chances of leaving north London with all three points in tow.

And, following the injuries sustained by both Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas last weekend, the suggestion that Saka will be lining up against Leeds on Sunday is yet another setback the 48-year-old manager and his side have to find a way of dealing with in their fight to secure Premier League survival this season.

AND in other news: Victor Orta could “pick up a real gem” with Leeds bid for “complete” 17 G/A sensation

At the very last chance to test their combination before the World Cup, India will field their full-strength batting line-up in a 50-over game for the first time in 15 months

Siddarth Ravindran in Chennai15-Feb-2011At the very last chance to test their combination before the World Cup, India will field their full-strength batting line-up in a 50-over game for the first time in 15 months. The batsmen had faltered against Australia on Sunday but will be bolstered by the return of Sachin Tendulkar against New Zealand.Tendulkar had missed that warm-up game because of a niggle but will play on Wednesday, in what will be his third one-day match since his double-century against South Africa in Gwalior a year ago. He had a long batting session on Tuesday morning during India’s practice, and also spent time working on his fielding, showing no signs of the hamstring injury that forced him to return home midway through the one-day series in South Africa a month ago.Tendulkar will displace Gautam Gambhir from the top of the order to No. 3, the position at which Virat Kohli had much of his recent success. Kohli’s form swept him to second spot in the ICC one-day rankings, but even that hasn’t ensured him a place in the starting line-up. Wednesday’s game will give Kohli a chance to show his prowess lower down the order, perhaps at No .6, a position where another contender, Suresh Raina, is considered a better bet.The other player in India’s squad to miss the first warm-up, Zaheer Khan, will sit out of the sold-out game against New Zealand as well. MS Dhoni was quick to emphasise that Zaheer, who has been injury prone, would be fit in time for the World Cup opener against Bangladesh on February 19. “He has a very, very mild groin strain, nothing to worry about,” Dhoni said. “We can give him rest, so we are giving him rest, and will use him when the proper tournament starts.”Zaheer didn’t bowl in the nets on Tuesday, though he batted for 45-minutes and also tested himself with a series of short sprints under the supervision of physiotherapist Nitin Patel. Zaheer is the only fast bowler guaranteed a starting place, and his absence gives the others – Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth and Munaf Patel – who had little work against Australia another opportunity to audition for the World Cup.India had sneaked to victory two days ago despite the below-par score and the initial ineffectiveness of the seamers because their spinners demolished the Australian batting. Piyush Chawla, the legspinner who was the most debated selection in India’s World Cup squad, was the star, ripping out the middle-order during a spell of 5-0-9-4. Under Dhoni, India have generally played three-seamers and one-specialist spinner, with a spinning allrounder and part-timers combining for the remaining ten overs. Another strong performance from Chawla will leave Dhoni pondering the inclusion of two specialist slow bowlers, especially on turning tracks, and only two quicks.In the previous World Cup tune-up at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, South Africa had crushed Zimbabwe by eight wickets after bundling them out for 152. Their captain, Graeme Smith, had been critical of the pitch, terming it “slow and dead” and “under-prepared”, and called for better surfaces in the actual tournament. Dhoni wasn’t sure how the Chennai track would play but urged the Indian side to lift their performance. “We need to pick up a bit of intensity on the field,” he said. “This being the last warm-up game, the intensity should be a bit up on the field [compared to the game against Australia].”

These are the major outstanding issues at Eden Gardens which forced the ICC to pull the plug on the venue

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Jan-2011Following are the outstanding issues at Eden Gardens which forced the ICC to pull the plug on the venue. These are some of the salient points listed in the final Venue Inspection Report (a copy available to ESPNcricinfo), dated January 25, prepared by the inspection panel of Ratnakar Shetty, Campbell Jamieson, Chris Tetley and Professor Eugene van Vuuren.
Major works to complete
Completion of roof structure
Installation of bucket seating
Removal of workers’ accommodation units from within the venue
Completion of corporate boxes
Completion of security perimeter fencing
The precinct around the entire venue along with the security perimeter requires a concerted effort to complete.
Confirmation of lighting levels post construction of new roofing structures
Installation of entry gates
Extension to both main camera gantries which would provide sufficient space for all cameras required to cover a game, and to cover both pitches that will be used.
New midwicket camera position to be constructed since the previous location is now obscured by the new stand construction and the replay screen
No plans have been provided as to the building program for the venue
No certification of any aspects (health and safety, disaster management) of the venue has been submitted or offered
There is no acknowledgement of the agreements relating to ICC ticket requirements and to providing suitable hospitality facilities for ICC sponsors.
The corporate suites on both sides of the main stands need to be finished.
New electronic replay screens are to be installed as there is one manual scoreboard at the moment.
The position of the radio commentators on the lower level must be reconsidered as the commentators will constantly be under pressure from the spectators in front of them and having police to manage crowds is not viable.
With regards to the power supply, at the moment the stadium uses generators as back-up in an emergency. It should instead be changed to UPS.

Tim Bresnan has said he is confident England’s attack will get better in the wake of Sunday’s high-scoring tie with India in Bangalore

Brydon Coverdale in Bangalore01-Mar-2011Tim Bresnan is sure England’s attack has plenty of improvement left in it after Sunday’s high-scoring tie with India in Bangalore. Bresnan was the lone star in the England bowling group with 5 for 48, to that point the best figures in this World Cup by a fast bowler, but India still managed to post an enormous 338.England could also benefit from having Stuart Broad back after he was confined to bed over the weekend due to illness, and tweeted about his headaches and upset stomach. A much-improved Broad trained at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday, although it remains to be seen whether England will rush him back for the Ireland game at the same venue on Wednesday, or allow him to rest until they meet South Africa on Sunday.One of the concerns for England against India was the continued poor form of their main strike bowler, James Anderson, who took 1 for 91, the equal second-most expensive analysis ever by an England player in an ODI. Anderson had also leaked 72 from his ten overs against the Netherlands in Nagpur, but despite his struggles, England have still managed to open the tournament with a win and a tie.”There’s not a lot of margin for error on these wickets,” Bresnan said. “The Holland pitch was a very good wicket and the one the other night was probably the best we’ve ever seen to play on, I mean 330 plays 330, you can’t really argue with that. Jimmy [Anderson] will be disappointed with his performance but he’s a quality bowler and I know he’ll bounce back from that and we’re all backing him to bounce back. That’s where the improvement lies, if we gel as a bowling unit.”Tim Bresnan was the only England bowler to have success in the game against India•Getty ImagesAnderson was unlucky in the opening over against India, when he curved the first ball away from Virender Sehwag and Graeme Swann dropped a sharp chance at slip, before two more leading edges nearly went to hand in the same over. But the swing disappeared quickly and it was only Bresnan, with his subtle changes, who looked dangerous later in the innings.”It’s not swinging a great deal up the top and it’s not really moving off the seam, so it’s quite difficult to take wickets without using variations,” he said. “You’ve just got to mix it up as much as you can and try to create pressure and get wickets that way.”You can’t really get away with anything wide of off stump. Even on off stump is still wide to some players. Different players have their different areas and it’s quite difficult to keep it in an area where they can’t score. Especially up top and in the Powerplays, when India took it the other night with the new ball, it skidded on nicely.”A day out from the Ireland clash, the pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium looked a little green, but after 676 runs were scored at the ground on Sunday, it’s unlikely there will be much assistance for the bowlers by the time the game starts. But as Bresnan showed, the rewards for hard work are still there.

Leeds United correspondent Phil Hay has revealed that forgotten left-back Laurens De Bock will leave Elland Road this summer.

The Lowdown: De Bock’s Leeds career

De Bock made the move to Yorkshire back in 2018 from Club Brugge in a deal worth £1.53m. Since then, the 29-year-old has made just seven appearances for the Whites, heading out on loan to four different clubs.

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The Belgian, on £15,000-a-week, is currently back in his native country with Zulte Waregem where he has been a regular as captain. His deal with Leeds is set to expire in the summer, and it looks as if he’ll finally leave the club for good.

The Latest: Hay’s claim

Hay contributed to a story for The Athletic on Tuesday, looking at free agents this summer across the Premier League.

When it came to Leeds, Hay said that many would have forgotten that De Bock was still under contract with the club, adding that he will ‘leave quietly at the end of the season’.

The Verdict: Finally

De Bock was never in the picture under Marcelo Bielsa, so it’s a shame the club failed to move him on for good in recent years. Doing that may have brought in a small fee, but he’ll now depart for nothing in the summer.

Left-back has been an area of the pitch where Leeds have struggled to improve in recent years, and De Bock is just another who failed to fit the bill at Elland Road and won’t be remembered in years to come.

Should the Whites go down, Jesse Marsch could be on the hunt for another new left-back, especially with Junior Firpo struggling in his first season and Stuart Dallas out for the foreseeable with a broken leg.

In other news: Leeds working on cheap deal for ‘outstanding’ 24 y/o; may replace ‘horrible’ flop. 

Tillakaratne Dilshan wants to become the first Sri Lanka captain to secure a Test series victory in England after leaving the IPL early to lead his team

Sa'adi Thawfeeq07-May-2011Tillakaratne Dilshan wants to become the first Sri Lanka captain to secure a Test series victory in England after leaving the IPL early to lead his team. Although they famously won the one-off clash at The Oval in 1998, when Muttiah Muralitharan took 16 wickets, their best results in a series on English soil is the 1-1 in 2006 which was again secured thanks to a matchwinning effort by Muralitharan Trent Bridge.This time there is no Muralitharan, but Dilshan has promised not to take a backward step over the next month. “Beating England in their own conditions in the early part of summer is not going to be easy, we have to play very good cricket to do that,” he said. “But I am really confident with our boys. As a team we can give England a good run. It’s a good challenge for everyone. Before the team leaves for England I will have a word with my players. We are going there with only one intention – to win the series. We are not going there just to draw or to survive in England we want to beat them. We are going to England with that mindset. I am seriously looking forward to the upcoming series.”How determined Dilshan is with his new responsibility can be gauged by the fact that he has made himself available to lead his team for the three-day tour opener, against Middlesex, starting on May 14 which meant cutting short his commitments with Royal Challengers BangaIore in the ongoing IPL tournament in India.Unlike past captains Dilshan does not have the luxury of matchwinning bowlers of the calibre of Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga all of whom have retired from Test cricket. However, he is confident with his new look bowling line-up, headed by Dilhara Fernando whose experience stretches to only 35 Tests and 90 wickets from a career spanning ten years, and believes team can match England, if not defeat them.”We have to give the chance to youngsters and this is a good opportunity for them to prove how good they are at international cricket,” he said. “As a captain I have a lot of confidence in my young bowlers that they can do a good job. I know the England batting line-up is very strong but I have faith with my fast bowlers and spinners that they can handle this batting line-up. I am sure these young fast bowlers will put their hands up and give their best to the team.”We have only one experienced bowler in Dilhara but the others have the ability to deliver what they’ve got. With the help of fast bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake, and all the senior players who have played in England before, they can share their experience on how to adjust to the conditions in the early summer. This is a good challenge for me going with a set of young fast bowlers. As captain I have the fullest confidence that they can do a good job for Sri Lanka.”The bowlers picked to support Fernando are left-armer Chanaka Welegedara (six Tests, 12 wickets), Suranga Lakmal (two Tests, three wickets) and the uncapped pair of Nuwan Pradeep and Thisara Perera. Considering the career figures Sri Lanka’s fast bowling looks pretty short of experience in comparison to the spin department. In Muralitharan’s absence it will be handled by left-armer Rangana Herath (24 Tests, 78 wickets), Ajantha Mendis (15 Tests, 61 wickets) and Suraj Randiv (three Tests, 14 wickets).Dilshan admitted that batting will be Sri Lanka’s forte. “We have the same strong batting line-up we’ve had for the past four or five years in Test cricket. The only thing is the bowling unit is new and inexperienced. Our strength is batting but overall I am really happy with the 16-member squad. I have allrounders, spinners, fast bowlers and good batsmen. This team can turn out to be a good one in the future.”Dilhara Fernando is Sri Lanka’s most experience pace bowler on the tour•Associated PressDilshan’s way of looking at everything positively is certain to rub off on the team. “I don’t want to change my approach or attitude towards the game because I am captain. With my positive batting I have been very successful. I am not going to change too much from what I have been doing in the last three or four years. I have to adjust and take decisions in the middle which is the only change I foresee from what I have been doing. I am a positive character and I enjoy playing the game. I may sometimes take decisions which others might be surprised with. I think I can do a good job.”Already the responsibility of captaincy has brought a change in Dilshan. He has discarded his earring and done away with the tint in his hair. “As a captain I have to set an example for the youngsters. I have to maintain discipline both on and off the field. As captain I want to set a high standard on the field all the time. We are ambassadors of our country.”The last few years we have played very good cricket, we have been runners up twice in the 50-over World Cup and once in the World Twenty20. We are a very consistent cricket team and I want to carry that forward by adding a few small things of my own. I need to discuss it with the new coach and coaching staff.”Dilshan’s appointment as captain to succeed Kumar Sangakkara who stood down after the World Cup final defeat against India did come in for universal approval, but Dilshan isn’t worried about winning any popularity contests. “If you take five people you can get five different views. Everyone can say different things about me but the Cricket Board and the selectors had the confidence to appoint me as captain,” he said.”As a cricketer it’s a great achievement to captain your country. I think I am capable of leading this team and at the same time enjoy my captaincy. I am going to get 100 percent out of the players. As captain I may take surprise decisions for that’s the kind of player I am. I am going with a positive frame of mind. I might turn out to be a different captain for Sri Lanka,” said Dilshan.Dilshan has still not celebrated his appointment as Sri Lanka captain, but wants to keep it until the end of the England tour. “I was a little bit excited when I first heard of my new appointment when I got a call from the cricket board. I was in India at that time and I spoke to my family and everyone was happy. I want to first finish the tour of England before celebrating the occasion.” If Sri Lanka beat England he will have every right for a huge party.