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Kevin Campbell has claimed that Leeds United “could still sign” Huddersfield Town midfielder Lewis O’Brien despite him recently signing a new contract with the Championship side.

What’s the story?

Reports over the course of the summer transfer window suggested O’Brien featured prominently on Marcelo Bielsa’s side’s shortlist, but a deal failed to materialise before the deadline, with suggestions that the Whites’ final offer failed to meet Huddersfield’s demands.

Since then, the 22-year-old has put pen to paper on a new contract to stay with the Terriers, but Campbell has been quick to insist that it may not stop a move to Elland Road in the near future.

He said: “No, no, he could still sign for Leeds next year. He has signed a new contract to up his money and make sure that Huddersfield can get the fee that they want. If Leeds come in they are going to have to come in correct.

“At the end of the day it is easy to say he shouldn’t have signed a new contract but if Leeds really want him they will come in with a bid that satisfies Huddersfield. Listen, he has done the right thing by signing a new contract. If Leeds want him they will get him. Let’s see how it goes.”

Second time lucky for Leeds

Having refused to kowtow to Huddersfield’s asking price for O’Brien, knowledge that the midfielder has signed a new contract with the club shouldn’t be something to overly disappoint Leeds fans.

As Campbell says, if the Whites feel they need the 22-year-old, then a potential move for him could be on the cards in the January transfer window.

A new contract has simply protected O’Brien’s value from Huddersfield’s perspective, but what it doesn’t do, is make him untouchable when it comes to selling him.

Victor Orta and co will surely know what the asking price is for the midfielder given the fact they reportedly had four bids for him rejected, and it will be more a case of whether Bielsa feels he needs his club’s transfer chiefs to push the boat out a little more to strengthen his options.

It could well be second time lucky for Leeds.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has delivered his verdict on Leeds’ transfer business…

Cricinfo’s preview for the fifth one-day international between South Africa and Australia in Johannesburg

Cricinfo staff17-Apr-2009Match factsMakhaya Ntini has been recalled for the final match•Associated PressApril 17, 2009
Start time 2.30pm (12.30GMT)Big PictureSouth Africa and Australia have faced off in six Tests, four Twenty20 internationals and nine ODIs over the past four months. The end is in sight. However, the final match is a dead rubber after South Africa wrapped up the series in Port Elizabeth and the best Australia can hope for is a victory that would give them some momentum heading to the UAE to take on Pakistan. South Africa have a 7-2 advantage in the nine ODIs this year and have deservedly retained the No. 1 one-day ranking. Australia have slipped so far that they now sit third behind India, although victory in Johannesburg would bump them back up to second.The Wanderers will bring back incredible memories for both teams and anyone who watched the previous ODI between the sides at the venue. It was March 2006. It was the decider for a series locked 2-2. Australia posted 434 for 4 – the first time any team had passed 400 in a one-day international. Their new record stood for only a few hours as South Africa defied all expectations to chase down the total and finished with 438 for 9 when Mark Boucher slammed a boundary off Brett Lee to win with a ball to spare. It’s too much to ask for a repeat, or anything close to it, but a tight, hard-fought match would be an appropriate way to end this long and competitive summer.Form guide (last five ODIs, most recent first)South Africa WWWLW
Australia LLLWN
Watch out forOn his day, Herschelle Gibbs is the most dangerous batsman in South Africa’s side. He had one such day three years ago, when his 175 from 111 balls made their total of 438 a possibility. He had another triumph on Monday, when he scored his 21st ODI century to set up another South African series victory in Port Elizabeth. The combination of an in-form Gibbs and a match at the Wanderers should sound alarm bells for Australia.Australia’s leading run scorer during the series has been Brad Haddin, who has looked more comfortable in the opening role than his partner Michael Clarke. A powerful top-order striker, Haddin has made two half-centuries during the series and with Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh both waiting for their opportunities to arrive in the UAE from next week, he will be keen to put one last stamp on the opening position before it once again becomes a wrestle for the job.Team newsSouth Africa have decided to rest Johan Botha after his bowling action was reported by the umpires in the previous game and he is likely to head to Perth in the coming days to undergo testing. Wayne Parnell has also been left out after struggling in the past two matches to recapture the brilliant form he displayed in collecting 4 for 25 in Centurion. But the attack won’t be significantly weakened with Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel named as the replacements.South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Roelof van der Merwe, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Albie Morkel, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Makhaya Ntini.Australia could have used the dead rubber to throw an opportunity to their unused members of the squad but Marcus North and Cameron White will remain drinks-waiters at the Wanderers. Neither man is in the touring party for the Pakistan series, which starts next week. Ben Laughlin is in that group and for the Johannesburg match has replaced Shane Harwood, who has resumed training with the Rajasthan Royals after his brief flirt with ODI cricket. “We feel with Ben Laughlin being in our squad for Dubai as well as Stuart Clark, this would be a good opportunity for Ben to have another good solid hit-out,” Ricky Ponting said. “Stuart has been here for a few days and he has got a bit of bowling under his belt. But we have decided to go with Ben ahead of him for this game.”Australia 1 Brad Haddin (wk), 2 Michael Clarke, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 David Hussey, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Callum Ferguson, 7 James Hopes, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Ben Laughlin.Stats and TriviaBetween the two sides, ten men who played in the 438 match will take the field on Friday – four from Australia and six from South AfricaThe two highest scorers from each team in that game – Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Ponting and Michael Hussey – will all be part of the rematchIt’s often assumed that Mick Lewis had the worst economy rate in that match as his ten overs cost 113 but in fact the honour belongs to Jacques Kallis, who bowled six overs for 70 – or 11.66 runs per overGibbs needs 44 runs to become the second South African after Kallis to reach the 8000 figure in ODIsQuotes”If we can make it 8-2 over the summer it’s pretty much a clear-cut victory”
“I don’t see that there’s a great need to make a lot of changes right now. What this last game becomes all about for us is having some pride in our individual performances and our team performance.”

تكثف المنظمة المصرية لمكافحة المنشطات “النادو” تواجدها في مباريات الدوري المصري الممتاز لكرة القدم، بالتزامن مع الجولات الأخيرة من نهاية الموسم الحالي، للقيام بدورها عن طريق سحب العينات العشوائية من لاعبي الفرق المختلفة للكشف عن المنشطات.

وقال الدكتور حازم خميس، رئيس مجلس إدارة المنظمة المصرية لمكافحة المنشطات، إن المنظمة تتواجد باستمرار في مباريات الدوري الممتاز لكرة القدم، وذلك حسب الخطة الموضوعة في بداية الموسم وطبقًا لجدول المباريات من خلال الدكتورة هانم أمير المدير التنفيذي للمنظمة وفريق العمل، مع تكثيف التواجد في أكبر عدد من المباريات تزامنا مع الجولات الأخيرة من عمر بطولة الدوري.

طالع.. وزير الرياضة يعلن استضافة مصر لاجتماعات الوكالة الدولية لمكافحة المنشطات

وأضاف خميس: “حسب تعليمات الوكالة الدولية لمكافحة المنشطات، يتواجد مندوب المنظمة المصرية في المباراة المقرر تواجده بها، ثم يتسلم قبل بداية المباراة من إداري الفريقين قائمة بأرقام اللاعبين الأساسيين والاحتياط في المباراة، وبين الشوطين يتم اختيار اثنين من لاعبي كل فريق بشكل عشوائي في وجود مندوبي الفريقين ودون معرفة أي مندوبي الفريقين أو مندوب المنظمة بالأرقام المختارة، وكل رقم يُسحب يوقع عليه مندوب الفريقين ومندوب المنظمة على الظرف من الخارج، وقبل دقائق من نهاية المباراة يفتح مندوب كل فريق ظرف الأرقام أمام مندوب المنظمة لمعرفة أسماء اللاعبين الذين وقع تم اختيارهم، وفور نهاية المباراة يتم اصطحاب اللاعبين إلى غرفة الكشف عن المنشطات لأخذ العينات في زجاجات خاصة يغلقها اللاعب بنفسه ولا يمكن فتحها مرة أخرى إلا بجهاز خاص في معمل الكشف عن المنشطات في برشلونة، والزجاجات مستوردة من مصنع وحيد في سويسرا، وحين يتم شحن العينات يتم تتبعها من مطار القاهرة حتى تصل إلى المعمل في برشلونة ويقوم المعمل باستلام العينات، وكل ذلك متابع إليكترونيا على نظام “أدامس” ADAMS، وتكون الوكالة الدولية لمكافحة المنشطات “وادا” والاتحاد الدولي “فيفا” والمنظمة المصرية لمكافحة المنشطات “النادو” متابعين للعينة لحظة بلحظة، وعند ظهور نتيجة العينة توضع كل النتائج عبر نفس النظام الإلكتروني، وذلك طبقا للمعيار الدولي لسحب العينات والتحريات”.

وأوضح خميس: “بخلاف اللاعبين الذين يتم اختيارهم بشكل عشوائي، فإنه في حال حصول أي لاعب على كارت أحمر وطرده من المباراة، يتم إخضاعه لكشف المنشطات حتى لو لم يكن من بين الأرقام التي وقع عليها الاختيار العشوائي، وذلك تحسبًا لتناوله مادة منشطة تكون أثرت على سلوكه داخل المباراة”.

وأكد خميس أن المنظمة المصرية لمكافحة المنشطات تغطي باستمرار كل الأحداث الرياضية المصرية أو الدولية التي تقام على أرض مصر في جميع الرياضات، وشهدت الفترة الأخيرة نشاطا ملحوظا للمنظمة من خلال التواجد في بطولات إفريقيا للجمباز وكأس الأمم الأفريقية لكرة اليد وبطولة العالم للسلاح وبطولة العالم للخماسي الحديث، وغيرها من الأحداث الرياضية.

اقرأ أيضًا | تشكيل الزمالك أمام بيراميدز في الدوري.. أوباما أساسيًا

جدير بالذكر أن المنظمة المصرية لمكافحة المنشطات هي الجهة المسئولة عن التخطيط والتنسيق والتنفيذ والمراقبة والدعوة للتحسينات في مجال مراقبة تعاطي المنشطات في مصر، والتعاون مع المنظمات والوكالات الوطنية والدولية ذات الصلة ومنظمات مكافحة المنشطات الأخرى، وكذلك التخطيط والتنفيذ ورصد المعلومات الخاصة بمكافحة المنشطات وبرامج التعليم والتثقيف والوقاية.

West Bromwich Albion manager Valerien Ismael has dropped an update on the condition of injured Albion defender, Dara O’Shea.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Birmingham Live, the Baggies boss revealed that the centre-back, who has been ruled out of action for between four and six months with a fractured ankle, is making great progress in his recovery from injury, as well as being in high spirits despite his setback.

On the defender’s condition, the Frenchman said: “I saw him [on Thursday], he’s good, he’s fine, positive. It will take a long time but at least from the mindset he has the focus to come back. He’s giving great signs.

“I didn’t see a player who is negative or feels bad about the situation, completely the opposite – very smiley, very happy. Now he can focus on recovery. He will need time, he must be patient because it will take a long time.”

Fans will be buzzing

While O’Shea’s return to first-team action is still some way off, the news that the 22-year-old is in a positive place regarding his recovery is undoubtedly good news for the club, as the centre-back’s attitude and application in working towards achieving full fitness will certainly influence how quickly he makes it back.

And, considering just how impressive the Republic of Ireland international has been for West Brom so far this season, it would certainly appear as if the sooner he returns the better for the promotion hopefuls.

Indeed, over his five Championship appearances this term, the £2.7m-rated man has helped his side keep two clean sheets, as well as making an average of 2.2 interceptions, 2.4 tackles, 3.6 clearances and winning 10.2 duels per game.

The player who Kevin Phillips dubbed one of Albion’s “most consistent players” has also impressed in an attacking capacity, scoring two goals and taking an average of 1.2 shots per match.

These returns have seen O’Shea earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.26, ranking him as the club’s best performer in the league.

As such, the news regarding the £4.4k-per-week centre-back’s recovery is sure to have fans of the Baggies buzzing, as, should the Irishman make it back in time for the club’s run-in, he could well be the difference between promotion and another year in the Championship.

In other news: Forget Grant: £36k-p/w West Brom “leader” who made just 2 passes failed Ismael v Stoke

In many places it has become fact that Brendan Nash is about to become the first white West Indian to play a home Test

Peter English04-Feb-2009
Brendan Nash is about to appear in his first home Test for West Indies © Getty Images
In many places it has become fact that Brendan Nash is about to become the first white West Indian to play a home Test since Geoff Greenidge in 1973. It makes him sound like an old-fashioned colonial who has arrived to assume his place by birth instead of merit. Nash, a 31-year-old who was born in Australia, is a light West Indian.While not sensitive about the topic of Nash’s “record breaking”, his parents Paul and Andrea mention an article from Michael Holding, an old family friend, to support their point of view. “It has been said that Brendan is the first white player to represent the West Indies since 1973 but that is rubbish,” Holding wrote on SkySports. “If he is considered white, what was Larry Gomes who played throughout the 1980s?”Nash’s parents are mixed race – in Jamaica they would be called “browning” – and the cricketing world has been carried away by the fairness of their boy’s skin. During Nash’s Test debut in Dunedin the cameras spent time focussing on his parents as they discussed the white claim. His dad compares his son’s complexion with that of the French tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.During Nash’s early trial games for Jamaica there were shouts from the crowd of “go home, white boy, you’re no good” and the tag has remained. Coming from Australia did not provide Nash, who has now appeared in two Tests and nine ODIs, with an easy ride, but he quickly progressed into the international squad.”He has a silent determination,” Paul said. “He’s got a much stronger character than we knew, and he faced the fire and brimstone for several months.”Nash’s mother was seven months’ pregnant when the family landed in Perth in 1977 and Brendan travelled back to Jamaica regularly during his childhood. A junior player with Queensland, he progressed into the senior team but couldn’t hold a long-term spot and after visiting the Caribbean for the 2007 World Cup decided he wanted to go home. Paul wished he had made the move earlier.Both parents have flown from Brisbane to Jamaica to see Nash in Wednesday’s first Test against England at Sabina Park. Paul was an Olympic swimmer, competing in Mexico in 1968, and was more interested in the pool and badminton than cricket when he was growing up on the island.He has spent some days at Sabina Park, including watching Brendan’s 91 not out versus Guyana in his first season – the best he had seen his son bat. Andrea was the cricket fan – Garry Sobers was her favourite – and will probably to be too nervous to watch during the Test.”It’s the happiest time for me that he’s living and playing in Jamaica, I couldn’t hope for more,” Paul said. “They’re not just my roots, they’re his roots too.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Tudo é novo para Levir Culpi no Santos. Tirando um nome mais conhecido ou outro, como Lucas Lima, Vanderlei, Renato, Ricardo Oliveira e outros, a maioria do elenco é desconhecida para o treinador. Por isso, começar de novo virou a esperança para muitos jogadores do Peixe, principalmente para Jean Mota.

Titular do Alvinegro neste sábado, contra a Ponte Preta, ás 21h, no Pacaembu, pela 8ª rodada do Brasileirão, Jean Mota se apresenta como lateral-esquerdo. Tudo para convencer Levir Culpi de que pode sim ser o dono da posição, já que Zeca está lesionado e pode perdes espaço com o novo chefe.

-Hoje, sou lateral. É a função que faço. Se olharem para a lateral esquerda, vão ver o Jean Mota.Não me converti, ainda sou meia, até porque, se tiver uma chance no meio, vou querer. Mas é a oportunidade que estou tendo e quero aproveitar. Por enquanto a chance é na lateral e quero me firmar – diz, em entrevista ao LANCE!.

Mas nem só de esperanças foram os últimos seis meses para o camisa 39. Foi preciso tirar forças de onde não tinha para seguir em busca de uma chance. E olha que Jean está acostumado a esperar, já que enfrentou o desemprego na breve carreira como jogador de futebol.

Mas em 2017 ele viveu o pior drama de sua vida. A esposa, grávida de três meses, não teve condições de saúde para concluir a gestação de três meses. E tudo isso aconteceu quando Jean Mota enfim tinha conseguido uma chance de jogar.

-Eu fui para o jogo contra o Novorizontino sabendo que minha noiva estava no hospital. Eu era titular. Entrei sabendo, mas procurei não pensar. Fiz o jogo e fui direto para o hospital e fiquei a noite toda lá. Ela ficou internada e não pude treinar – comenta.

Passado o pior, o momento é da busca por um novo caminho. Seja como marido ou lateral-esquerdo, a ambição está com ele.

RelacionadasSantosSem retornos, Levir deve repetir escalação do Santos contra a PonteSantos16/06/2017SantosSem levar gols há três jogos, Santos melhora ‘na base da conversa’Santos16/06/2017

BATE-BOLA COM JEAN MOTA, LATERAL-ESQUERDO E MEIA DO PEIXE

O nome do Zeca é um dos mais comentados para ser vendido no meio do ano. Se vê pronto para substituir ele ou até para pegar a vaga?

Aqui é um clube grande, sempre vai ter briga por posição. É bom para o treinador ver a qualidade do elenco. Vamos sempre brigar pela posição.

Como foi a conversa com o Levir Culpi sobre você?

O Levir teve pouco tempo para trabalhar. Disse que não ia mudar muito o time e eu estava na lateral já com o Elano. Na preleção ele falou que eu era meia mas me deu continuidade.

Como se recuperou do drama que viveu em relação ao seu filho?

São coisas que acontecem que a gente não entende. Fiquei triste, mas procurei me firmar. Tudo tem um propósito, se aconteceu assim, Deus quis. Fiquei abalado, sim. Procurei dar suporte para minha noiva e procurei não deixar isso entrar em campo. Eu não estava tendo oportunidades em campo, mas não quis misturar as coisas. Tentava sair alegre daqui para levar alegria para a casa.

Uma das diferenças com a sua entrada foi a bola parada. Você assumiu essa condição junto com o Lucas Lima. Como decide quem bate a falta?

O Levir, nos treinamentos, me deu confiança para treinar faltas. Eu vinha treinando isso, mas nesse ano não estava tendo oportunidades. Converso com o Lucas Lima em campo, tem lugares que ele tem mais facilidade para colocar a bola na área O chute dele é mais colocado, o meu, mais forte. No primeiro pau, a minha batida é mais forte, melhor, a dele é mais viajada, para o segundo pau.

Australia are prepared for a smoggy start to the crucial third Test starting on Wednesday due to the expected lingering smoke from the Indian festival of . Fireworks and firecrackers are a major feature of the “festival of lights” and if the weather is overcast on the morning of the match, which it has been for the past couple of days, the haze could lead to a delay.”If it is like it was yesterday [Monday] or worse we might be starting late,” Ricky Ponting said. “By the time we got down to the ground, which was 9.30am, it was still touch and go whether you would start on time. If it is smoggy in the morning I don’t think there is really much you can do about it. I don’t think it will really change the way the game is played.”India lead the four-match series 1-0 and Australia might have to force the pace if there are too many disruptions. “Tomorrow [Wednesday] might be an exceptional day as well with all the haze hanging around from the fireworks tonight,” he said. “We will assess that as we go and if it does get to the stage where we need to do things differently, to take in calculations about losing some time and some light, then we will do that to try and force a result.”The Australians have altered their training to cope with the haze, particularly with their fielding. “We made the guys do a lot of high balls,” Ponting said. “Brad Haddin started off doing high balls and said it was definitely different to catch the ball – harder to pick up and judge things – so all the guys made sure they got that work done.”The third Test was originally scheduled to start on Tuesday but was pushed back a day so the match did not begin on , which is a public holiday. Ponting is also wary of the potential for bad light to shorten the match.”It has been getting dark quite early as well, but then I noticed last night that it held out a bit longer and we could have been playing easily at five o clock,” he said. “We will factor that sort of stuff in if the first few days of the game are going that way.”

Cricinfo previews the clash between the Dhaka Warriors and the Royal Bengal Tigers

Cricinfo staff24-Oct-2008Match factsOct 25, 2008
Start time 7.30pm (1400 GMT)
Team owner Mithun Chakraborty and coach Darryl Cullinan would hope Royal Bengal Tigers get back to winning ways © ICL
Big PictureIt’s the battle of Bengal. Royal Bengal Tigers, from Kolkata, started the ICL’s second season with a bang, winning three games on the trot, but suffered a ten-wicket mauling at the hands of the Ahmedabad Rockets in their previous game. Not very far from Kolkata is Dhaka, and the Warriors would be looking to continue from their win over the Delhi Giants, having lost their first two games.Bengal have relied heavily on their overseas stars so far in the tournament. The batting has largely revolved around New Zealanders Hamish Marshall and Craig McMillan, their captain, while Sri Lankan legspinner Upul Chandana has been their strike bowler. After an impressive start, however, matters fell apart for against Ahmedabad. As a positive, McMillan might think his team have got that one bad game behind them.Dhaka’s batting, apart from a sparkling hundred by Alok Kapali, was disappointing in their first two games. They managed to fire in unison against Delhi, rattling up a total of 174 – the best so far this season. On the bowling front, it’s the two left-arm spinners, Mohammad Rafique and Mosharraf Hossain, who have kept the opposition batsmen in check. However, the medium-pacers have been unable to tie down the runs; there have also been reports that the ICL have approached other players to further boost the Dhaka roster.Players to watchLance Klusener has gone about his job quietly in the tournament, with nothing spectacular yet, but one man is all praise. “He is as fit as a fiddle and is playing as good cricket as I have seen him play,” Darryl Cullinan, his former South African team-mate and now coach at Bengal, wrote in the . “He ran a brilliant bleep test — an athletic test during which a players runs continuous shuttles between two markers 20m apart. The time allowed between each shuttle becomes progressively shorter. It is murderous and designed to bring you to your knees. At the age of 37 Klusener got to a brilliant level 13. I wonder how many of our national players achieve this?”Nazimuddin’s 54 set up Dhaka’s win over Delhi, and more of the same would be expected of him against Bengal. Opening the innings, he could again set his Dhaka up with the right momentum. In his first international tournament for Bangladesh, he had made a 50-ball 81 against a Pakistan attack that included Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar.Habibul Bashar has scored 33 runs in three innings so far, at a not-so-impressive strike-rate of 94.28. Surely, something better is needed to lead from the front.With the overseas players stealing the show so far, the time is right for the likes of Rohan Gavaskar to step up. He hit 30 off 12 balls against the Mumbai Champs – it proved to be crucial later – but maybe a promotion up the order is needed.Quotes”I am satisfied with my captain [Craig McMillan] and coach [Daryll Cullinan]. I hope they carry on their form till the very end.”
“I am looking to him to produce some vintage Klusener stuff and further convince me that South Afria could do with him to plug a hole or two in their limited-overs squads.”
Cullinan can’t get enough of Klusener