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William Porterfield, Niall O’Brien and Gary Wilson have returned to Ireland’s squad for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe after missing the recent trip to Canada.The 14-man squad will head out to for an Intercontinental Cup tie against a Zimbabwe XI starting September 20, which is followed by three one-day internationals against the full Zimbabwe team.Niall O’Brien returns after surgery on his finger while captain Porterfield and Wilson are both released from county duty to play in the full tour.The trio’s inclusion is particularly important with senior paceman Boyd Rankin out with a recurrence of his foot injury and Alex Cusack also recuperating following surgery on his leg muscles. Both hope to be back by the end of the year for Ireland’s tour to the subcontinent.Ireland are currently languishing in the middle of the Intercontinental Cup table – 25 points adrift of leaders Afghanistan – but Phil Simmons, the Ireland coach, thinks his side still has a chance of challenging for the title.”It’s an important trip for a variety of reasons,” he said. “We’re currently ranked 10th in the world above Zimbabwe, and we want to not only keep our position but close in on, and possibly overhaul Bangladesh. We haven’t given up hope of still qualifying for the final of the Intercontinental Cup. A full points win would keep us in with a chance, so we’ll be striving all out to achieve that.”The World Cup is now only five months away, and for the fringe players these fixtures represent a mammoth opportunity to convince me and the selectors that they should be on the plane to Bangladesh and India. I hope that they take their chance and make a name for themselves .I have most of the squad in my mind, but there’s still a few places up for grabs.”There was good news elsewhere for Ireland after Trent Johnston climbed up to 20th place in the ICC’s ODI bowling rankings – the highest of any Associate bowler – while Paul Stirling is in 37th place in the batting after his epic 177 in Ireland’s ODI victory over Canada earlier this month.Ireland squad: William Porterfield (captain), Andre Botha, George Dockrell, Allan Eastwood (Pembroke), Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien (wkt), Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Albert Van De Merwe, Andrew White, Gary Wilson (wkt).

Sharing news midweek, 90min journalist and ‘insider’ Graeme Bailey now has a major player update for Manchester City supporters out of Eastlands.

The Lowdown: Sky Blues in contract flurry…

City sporting director Txiki Begiristain and the club have seemingly been renewing contracts left, right and centre over 2021/2022 as Pep Guardiola aims to tie down both future and first team stars.

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The likes of John Stones, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, James McAtee and Ederson, to name a few, have all put pen to paper on fresh terms in the past 12 months.

According to reports, Guardiola and co aren’t done there, with the likes of Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan also tipped to receive the option.

Superstar playmaker Phil Foden is yet another, and if Bailey is to be believed, a major development has come to light on City’s attempts to tie down the England international.

The Latest: Bailey shares Foden development…

Taking to Twitter, the 90min insider says Man City are now closer to agreeing a new deal for the 21-year-old.

“Man City close to finalising Phil Foden contract extension,” he explained.

“Talks have been ongoing since last year but Premier League champions confident their prized asset will re-sign by end of the season.”

The Verdict: Absolutely huge…

As perhaps best summed up on Tuesday night, Foden looks set to be an absolutely crucial player for City for years to come.

The Sky Blues struggled to break down a resilient Atletico Madrid side in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final tie in Manchester, but thanks to their homegrown starlet’s cameo off the bench, Guardiola’s men eventually found a way through.

Foden’s delicate through ball to Kevin De Bruyne, who subsequently fired home past Jan Oblak, gifted City a 1-0 aggregate advantage as they gear up for their Wanda Metropolitano visit next week.

The midfield gem’s introduction was a crucial one and this is just one example of his importance at the Etihad Stadium.

As City take one step closer towards tying him down further, it’s safe to say this midweek update could be looked back on as massive for years to come.

In other news: Blues now preparing bid to sign ‘special’ £67m star alongside Haaland! Find out more here.

Everton are interested in a late window swoop for Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek as they look to make some new signings before deadline day next week.

What’s the story?

The Toffees have already made a couple of additions in this January transfer window, and despite having no new permanent manager in place, are continuing to push ahead with their plans for recruitment.

According to The Daily Mail, England international Loftus-Cheek has emerged as a potential target for the club, although Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is keen to keep him at Stamford Bridge.

The report adds that Everton are desperate for some midfield reinforcements before the close of the window next week.

Imagine him and Doucoure

While Abdoulaye Doucoure may currently be out injured, the prospect of seeing the marauding Frenchman with someone equally as imposing as Loftus-Cheek is a potentially mouth-watering one.

Standing at 6 foot 3, the England ace would bring some extra physicality to the Everton engine room, but crucially would add a real goal threat to the side from midfield too.

It was only in 2018/19 that Loftus-Cheek netted ten goals and provided another five assists from midfield in one season, with BT Sport pundit Owen Hargreaves lauding him as an “unstoppable force” during that campaign.

And, his former boss at Fulham, Scott Parker, raved about him during his loan spell there just a couple of seasons ago.

He said: “His self-belief is right there, his self-belief has to be there, he’s playing in the best league in the world and at times is unplayable in the best league in the world against teams and against players who are world-class.

“You look at his career and other than the period at Palace there hasn’t really been a sustained period (of first-team action), he was at Chelsea for a long time, probably had a few bit-parts, never really had a consistent run of games so I think that’s helped as well.”

The £18m-rated star would be a shrewd signing by the Toffees.

Meanwhile, Moshiri could make a surprise signing by landing this man…

Aston Villa are determined to sign Joe Gomez from Liverpool before the end of the January transfer window, according to Football Insider. 

The lowdown

The 24-year-old finds himself fourth in the Reds’ centre-back pecking order following the arrival of Ibrahima Konate last summer. He has played just 12 minutes of Premier League football so far this season and only started four games in all competitions.

The Londoner’s trophy haul at Anfield includes the 2019/20 Premier League title and the previous year’s UEFA Champions League.

Gomez’s £75,000-per-week contract runs until June 2024 and he is valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt. Notably, he is represented by the same agency as Villa captain Tyrone Mings.

The latest

Football Insider claimed that Villa have ‘not given up hope’ of landing Gomez before next Monday’s transfer deadline.

The Midlands club enquired about the English defender earlier this month, with Gerrard intent upon strengthening his backline, and a Villa source has now told the publication that they plan to make ‘another move’ for the player this week.

Gerrard is described as a ‘huge admirer’ of the 24-year-old and remains optimistic that a deal can be done in the next seven days.

The verdict

A previous report from The Athletic suggested that Gomez ‘would not be leaving Anfield this month’, but significantly Football Insider claimed here that Liverpool are ‘likely to offload one senior centre-back’ in the next week.

The expectation has been that Nat Phillips will leave, but the Reds are struggling to find a suitor who will meet their asking price of him. That only adds to the ‘uncertainty’ around Gomez’s future.

Perhaps there’s a scenario here where Liverpool allow the ex-Charlton defender to join Villa on loan for the remainder of the season, as Jurgen Klopp might recognise the benefits of the defender consistently starting Premier League matches.

It could help him to regain maximum sharpness after he missed most of the 2020/21 season with a serious knee injury, while also giving Villa a much-needed boost to their centre-back options for the remainder of this campaign.

In other news, many Villa fans reacted to links with this Ligue 1 beast

تلقى المدرب الفرنسي هيرفي رينارد خبرًا حزينًا بغياب أحد لاعبيه عن صفوف المنتخب السعودي في كأس العالم 2022 في قطر.

وبحسب صحيفة “سبورت” السعودية تأكد غياب حارس مرمى المنتخب السعودي ونادي الشباب “فواز القرني” عن صفوف فريق المدرب رينارد في مونديال قطر بعد تأكد إصابته بقطع في الرباط الصليبي للركبة.

اقرأ أيضا..هيرفي رينارد يستعيد أبرز أوراقه الرابحة مع السعودية قبل كأس العالم 2022

وينتظر أن يخضع الحارس الدولي لعلمية جراحية الأسبوع المقبل، ما يعني غيابه عن الملاعب لفترة لن تقل عن 6 أشهر.

وينتظر أن يعول رينارد في كأس العالم على ثلاثي حراسة المرمى محمد العويس، محمد الربيعي ونواف العقيدي.

ويتواجد منتخب السعودية في المجموعة الثالثة بمونديال قطر 2022 بجانب منتخبات الأرجنتين والمكسيك وبولندا.

وكان الأخضر السعودي فاز وديًا بهدف نظيف أمام مقدونيا الشمالية في بداية معسكره في أبوظبي، وهو الهدف الذي سجله صالح الشهري بينما يخوض الأربعاء مواجهة ودية جديدة أمام منتخب ألبانيا، وهي مباراة سوف تقام خلف الأبواب المغلقة على غرار مواجهة الأخضر أمام مقدونيا الشمالية.

With the likes of Robin Olsen, Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho having made their way to Aston Villa to join up with the rest of Steven Gerrard’s squad, this highlights how busy the Midlands club have been during the current January transfer window.

Now with just a week left before the window closes, it seems as though the Villans have their eye on bringing another player in that would strengthen Gerrard’s squad further.

What’s the latest?

According to a recent Twitter post from journalist John Percy, Atletico Madrid striker and Gerrard’s former Liverpool teammate, Luis Suarez, has provided the Villa manager with a “glowing reference” on reported transfer target Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus.

He is apparently now the club’s first-choice for a new defensive-midfielder after seeing a £25m bid for Yves Bissouma rejected by Brighton & Hove Albion.

In full, he said: “Luis Suarez has provided Steven Gerrard with a glowing reference on #avfc target Rodrigo Bentancur. Juventus midfielder & Uruguay international now #1 choice at DCM after Villa’s £25m bid for Yves Bissouma rejected by Brighton. Talks to continue this week, as per @TomCollomosse.”

As a product of Boca Juniors’ youth system, Bentancur eventually joined Juventus back in the 2017 summer transfer window and has since gone on to make a total of 181 appearances for the Italian club across all competitions, scoring three goals and providing 18 assists along the way.

Fans will be thrilled

With Suarez having played with a number of top talents throughout his playing career such as Gerrard and Coutinho as well as the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Andres Iniesta among many others, it’s safe to say that a glowing reference from him will mean a lot and thus, will surely excite a lot of Villa fans about the possibility of Bentancur joining the club.

However, with the Uruguay international having played in 26 games for Juventus so far this season across all competitions, Villa could find it difficult to sign him if Juventus are reluctant to let him go.

Moving forward, if Villa were able to sign the 24-year-old in the next few days before the end of the month, this would surely be another big transfer move from the Midlands club.

That’s when you consider the experience Bentancur has of playing in one of the top teams in Europe in competitions such as Serie A and the Champions League while winning a number of trophies in the process.

It really does feel as though Gerrard is flooding his team with as much elite experience as possible; an exciting proposition for any fan at Villa Park in 2022.

In other news: Journalist drops latest Yves Bissouma transfer update

قال التونسي أنيس بوجلبان إن الفترة التي لعبها ضمن صفوف فريق الكرة الأول بالنادي الأهلي، كانت مميزة في حياته، مشيرًا إلى أن القلعة الحمراء تضيف الكثير لأي لاعب.

وأضاف بوجلبان في مداخلة هاتفية ببرنامج “اللعيب” عبر  قناة “إم بي سي مصر”: “اتمنى في يوم من الأيام أن أعمل في فريق الأهلي، الذي يعد له فضلًا كبيرًا عليّ”.

طالع | أحمد ناجي: محمد عواد يملك إمكانيات جيدة لكن يحتاج أمرًا واحدًا

وأردف: “فوز الزمالك بالدوري لموسمين متتاليين لا يعني أنه متفوق تاريخيًا أو حتى في الوقت الحالي على الأهلي”.

وتابع: “علي معلول أكثر تأثيرًا من سيف الجزيري، لأن الأول متواجد لمدة 5 مواسم مع الأهلي، وأفضل مدافع في إفريقيا، خلال الفترة الأخيرة ظهر عليه بعض الإرهاق، لكنه قدم مسيرة مميزة مع الأهلي”.

وواصل: “الجزيري قدم موسمًا كبيرًا في الزمالك وإن شاء الله يفعل مع الزمالك مثلما فعل معلول مع القلعة الحمراء”.

وأكد بوجلبان: “علي معلول أفضل لاعب تونسي احترف في مصر”.

وأتم: “خسارة الصفاقسي التونسي في نهائي إفريقيا أمام الأهلي كانت صدمة، كنا قريبين جدًا من تحقيق اللقب ومشاركة عالمية في كأس العالم للأندية”.

واختتم: “قاضية محمد مجدي أفشة أقوى من قاضية محمد أبو تريكة”.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Mushfiqur Rahim played straight until he committed an error•AFP

A brain freeze from the Bangladesh lower order squandered the initiative that a 108-run seventh-wicket stand had secured them. With Bangladesh throwing away their last four wickets and falling behind by one run, India didn’t look the gift horse in the mouth and went on to extend that lead to 123 with nine wickets in hand.From 98 for 6, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim had carried Bangladesh past 200 when common sense deserted them. Mushfiqur, who had survived an edgy period early on, threw it away by slog-sweeping an innocuous-looking Amit Mishra from wide outside off. No. 9 Shahadat Hossain came out swinging like the climax of a Western, as opposed to giving the strike to Mahmudullah, who was already past his maiden Test fifty by then.In the last over before tea, Shahadat chipped Mishra straight to cover. Back after the break, Mahmudullah smote the first ball for four, but when he lofted the fifth ball of the over over mid-on, he came back for two – any other settled batsman would have taken a single and seen out the whole of the next over. Under pressure to take a single next ball, he opened the face and edged Sreesanth to Dinesh Karthik. In the next over, Shafiul Islam got off the mark in Tests with a mowed six, but sliced the next ball to point. Just like that, a golden opportunity of keeping India in the field till about stumps had passed Bangladesh by.They lost wickets in clusters: the last four for 36 runs, and the first six for 45. Of those six, three came early on the third morning. Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma continued from their impressive spells from the second day and the batsmen kept obliging. There was slight seam movement and bounce in the pitch, enough to make the batsmen regularly play down the wrong line.Mohammad Ashraful was all at sea, playing Zaheer away from the body, and getting squared up by Ishant. The ever so slight holding of the line from Ishant, and a shade of extra bounce, was enough to awkwardly square up Ashraful and take the shoulder of the bat. Shakib Al Hasan looked to counterattack, hitting four boundaries in the next four overs. Again, all it took was a slight straightening of the ball, and a slash at a wide delivery was flying over gully when Virender Sehwag intercepted it perfectly.When Zaheer and Ishant were taken off simultaneously, their partnership had resulted in five wickets for 59 runs, during the 23 overs they bowled on the trot. Sreesanth came back to end Raqibul Hasan’s resistance, who too played inside the line of a straight delivery, and edged.The seventh-wicket partnership stopped the procession of dismissals to outside edges and made India go wicketless for almost a full session, leading Bangladesh to a first-innings lead at the same time. Zaheer, the pick of the bowlers, struggled for support, with Sreesanth warned once for running on the pitch and over-stepping almost every second delivery. Mishra was not looking effective at all and Mahmudullah got stuck into him. Between them, Sreesanth and Mishra bowled 12 no-balls.The duo didn’t entirely abort the shots that had proved to be fatal for the earlier batsmen, but were slightly more sensible. They did get away with plays and misses to begin with, but when they chased the wide ones, soft hands meant the ball didn’t fly towards slips. In fact, the third man area leaked eight boundaries.The other big difference the two made was the running between the wickets. They ran hard, and they ran more often, which meant neither of the batsmen got stuck at one end for too long. Nineteen boundaries had been hit before the two came together and 14 came during their stand.As the stand grew bigger, the batsmen grew surer. Mahmudullah started targeting Mishra, driving him through the covers, lofting him over mid-on, and paddling him to alternate the strike. But then, Bangladesh chose to display their lack of experience.Coming into bat one run ahead, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were more circumspect than in the first innings. They saw off the aggressive Shahadat without much adventure, and punished the other fast bowers, Shafiul and Rubel Hossain. With eight of their overs going for 55, Shakib had to bring himself on early again. By then, almost nonchalantly Sehwag and Gambhir had added 56 in 10 overs.Sehwag stayed quiet against his first-innings nemesis for a bit, and had taken only five off 16 Shakib deliveries when he stepped out and launched him over long-on. Four balls later the slog-sweep against the turn consumed Sehwag. Sent in originally as nightwatchman, Mishra reversed roles, and got his own back at Mahmudullah, dancing down the track and lofting him over mid-on twice on the way to an unbeaten 24 off 21 deliveries. He subjected the other spinners to three other boundaries, taking his tally to one more than Gambhir’s, who had seemed inconspicuous and yet scored 47 off 56.