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Dominic Calvert-Lewin could be a ‘great signing’ for Newcastle United, Kevin Phillips has told Football Insider.

The lowdown

The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath reported last week that Everton striker Calvert-Lewin featured on a KSA shortlist of targets following Newcastle’s takeover.

He’s only played three Premier League matches so far this season, with a quadriceps injury sidelining him, but last term he netted 16 goals in 32 Premier League starts.

Only Golden Boot winner Harry Kane (19) scored more non-penalty goals than Calvert-Lewin in 2020/21 (via The Daily Star).

The 24-year-old Englishman signed a new contract last year, ostensibly committing him to Everton until 2025. That contributes to a Transfermarkt valuation of £40.5million.

The latest

Phillips reckons there would be comparisons between Calvert-Lewin and Newcastle’s all-time leading goalscorer if he moved to Tyneside.

He hailed him as a complete striker and a smart long-term investment.

“Calvert-Lewin is a big powerful striker and I’m sure he’d be compared to Alan Shearer if he went there,” the former Sunderland man said.

He later added: “He has shown at Everton and England that he is improving all of the time. He is a striker who has a bit of everything.

“I think Newcastle could get a good six or seven years out of him. It would be a good investment. He could turn out to be a great signing for them.”

The verdict

Calvert-Lewin is an instinctive goalscorer, but the question is whether he’d be open to making the move.

In all likelihood, Everton will finish in the top half this season, while Newcastle are languishing in the relegation zone after nine games.

And with a top manager in the form of Rafael Benitez at Goodison Park, the Blues may actually be playing European football sooner, despite the Magpies’ riches.

So will Calvert-Lewin see it as a backwards step, or look at the long term and decide that financial powerhouses Newcastle have a higher ceiling?

In other news, talks are underway with this CL star’s camp. 

Celtic have announced that right-back Anthony Ralston has put pen to paper on a new deal at Parkhead.

What’s the latest?

In a statement posted on the Celtic website, the club confirmed that the defender has signed a new contract that will keep him in Glasgow until at least the summer of 2025.

The 22-year-old had already signed an extension with the Bhoys this summer, however, but the club claim that the new deal is a reflection of the former Scotland U21 international’s impressive start to the current campaign.

In the statement, the Bhoys said: “Celtic are delighted to announce that Anthony Ralston has signed a new contract which will see him remain at the club until the summer of 2025. In the summer, he signed an extension with Celtic, but the new contract is a reflection of his contribution to the team this season.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering the rather remarkable form Ralston has been in so far this season, the news that the club have tied the defender down to a new long-term deal is sure to have left the Parkhead faithful buzzing.

Indeed, over his 10 Scottish Premiership appearances this term, the £270k-rated man has already scored three goals, provided two assists and created six big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.5 shots and making 1.8 key passes per game.

The player who Mark Wilson dubbed an “outstanding” right-back has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, helping his side keep five clean sheets, in addition to making 0.4 interceptions, 2.3 tackles, two clearances and winning 7.9 duels per match.

These returns have seen the 22-year-old earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.83, ranking him as the Hoops’ best performer in the league of players who are still part of Ange Postecoglou’s first-team squad.

Indeed, the £7.5k-per-week defender’s overall level of performance has even seen him start ahead of summer signing Josip Juranovic on the right-hand side of the Celtic backline, with the Croatia international often being deployed at left-back.

As such, the news that Ralston looks set to remain at Parkhead for a good while longer yet is undoubtedly positive for the club, as the academy graduate is quickly proving to be one of Postecoglou’s most important players.

In other news: Ange must ruthlessly axe 26 y/o “phenomenon” on Thursday, he could cost Celtic dearly

Kevin Pietersen has admitted that he was losing his love for cricket before he was ruled out of action with an Achilles injury

Cricinfo staff09-Oct-2009Kevin Pietersen has admitted that he was losing his love for cricket before he was ruled out of action with an Achilles injury. Pietersen missed the final three Ashes Tests and is still recovering ahead of the tour of South Africa, but he believes the enforced break was what he needed to freshen up after a challenging year.In January he lost the captaincy after the fallout with Peter Moores less than six months after taking over the role and after that didn’t look the same player. He was rarely happy on the tour of West Indies and his form at the start of the 2009 season was unconvincing.After limping through the Lord’s victory against Australia he went off for surgery and although initially the hope was he could return for the Champions Trophy, an infection in the wound meant his recovery has taken longer than expected. However, that time on the sidelines has allowed Pietersen to clear his head of the lingering annoyance of how the year began.”It was frustrating,” Pietersen told the . “I put into writing all my suggestions, as I was asked to, and [Andrew] Strauss has got the benefit of all that.”I’ve just had to watch it unfold this summer, which has been extremely hard for me, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise for me to be injured and away from everything so I could try to get my hunger back, because it certainly was dwindling.”Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower have formed a strong bond as captain and coach with the pair making some tough selection calls – such as the omissions of Steve Harmison and Ravi Bopara for the South Africa tour – a level Pietersen didn’t reach with Moores.”He [Strauss] has a coach he can work with,” he said. “I never had that. I didn’t have the power or authority to run the team. I never had that as England captain. I loved it, I enjoyed it [the captaincy], but now I leave it to Strauss, who’s doing such a great job. Mentally I’ve left it. I respect Strauss too much to talk about the captaincy.”Pietersen’s slow recovery from his Achilles surgery seemed to put his place on the South Africa in doubt, but the England management are increasingly confident that he will be available for at least part of the one-day series followed by the four Tests.Pietersen announced himself on the world stage on the 2004-05 tour when he hit three centuries in the one-day series, but had to endured plenty of abuse from the crowds. This time Pietersen is likely to be one of four of England’s top six born in South Africa – along with Strauss, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior – and although he still expects some reaction from the home fans he thinks it will be different from four years ago.” I take that as a compliment, the same as Ricky Ponting does when he comes here. I enjoy it, actually,” he said. “But in 2005 it was extremely abusive and my mum and dad were very upset, especially my mum.”That doesn’t bring fond memories, even though I scored three hundreds and was man of the series. But I don’t expect it to be as bad this time. I think people in South Africa respect me now for what I’ve done.”

Aston Villa could be interested in a deal to bring Glen Kamara to Villa Park in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by The Athletic journalist Jordan Campbell, who revealed in the comments section of a recent article of his that the Rangers midfielder could well be a target of the 41-year-old this winter, as the 26-year-old is a player who Gerrard is extremely fond of.

In response to a question asking whether the Villa boss could make a move for Kamara, Campbell said: “I would not be surprised if he came in for him as he loves him as a player.”

Villa must move

Considering just how impressive a player Kamara has developed into under the leadership of Gerrard at Ibrox, in addition to the fact that the midfielder would help facilitate a switch from Dean Smith’s favoured 3-5-2 setup to the 41-year-old’s preferred 4-3-3 formation, it would appear highly advisable for Johan Lange and his Aston Villa transfer team to make a move for the Finland international in January.

Indeed, over his 33 Scottish Premiership appearances last season, the £5.4m-rated midfielder scored one goal, registered one assist and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as making an average of 60.6 passes, 1.1 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and winning 4.1 duels per game.

These returns saw the player who Gerrard himself dubbed a “fantastic” talent earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.99, playing a crucial role in the Light Blues’ unbeaten title-winning campaign.

Aside from Kamara’s impressive level of performance, Gerrard’s squad is also somewhat light of senior options in the middle of the park, something that could lead to the 41-year-old struggling to implement his 4-3-3 setup – another reason why Kamara would be an intelligent signing and a dream one for the new Villa boss in January.

However, whether or not Rangers will be willing to part with one of their most influential players this winter is another matter although, particularly when taking into account the Finnish star only signed a new deal that runs until 2025 in September.

In other news: Gerrard must seal first AVFC signing with swoop for “dangerous” £12.6m-rated machine

Leicestershire have confirmed that batsman James Taylor has signed a three-year contract extension and will remain with the county until the end of the 2012 season

Cricinfo staff17-Nov-2009Leicestershire have confirmed that batsman James Taylor has signed a three-year contract extension and will remain with the county till the end of the 2012 season.Leicestershire chief executive David Smith said he was “delighted that James had signed a new contract”. “He has been through our age-group system and started playing for Leicestershire Under-11s in 2002,” Smith said. “This is exactly the young-player development pipeline that the club is trying to produce and sustain.”Following James’ success last season and inclusion in the ECB winter training and development camps, we wanted to give James a new contract that reflected his outstanding performances in both four-day and one-day cricket last season.”Taylor was named the Cricket Writers’ Club Young Cricketer of the Year, after a prolific 2009 season, in which he scored 1177 first-class runs in 16 matches at an average of 58.85. That haul included three hundreds and six fifties, with a highest score of 207 not out against Surrey at The Oval in July.

The ICC task force looking into reviving Pakistan’s reputation as an international cricketing host met in Dubai on Saturday, a meeting which ECB chairman Giles Clarke has called “constructive and purposeful.”

Cricinfo staff06-Dec-2009The ICC task force looking into reviving Pakistan’s reputation as an international cricket host met in Dubai on Saturday, a meeting which ECB chairman Giles Clarke has said was “constructive and purposeful”. Clarke leads the five-member team which discussed how the PCB could fulfill its commitment under the Future Tours Programme given the security problems in Pakistan.”The objective of the meeting was to come up with possible solutions in consultation with the PCB to ensure that the cricketing talent remains attached and attracted to the sport despite the PCB’s inability to host international cricket at home in the near future,” Clarke said. “The PCB made an impressive and strong presentation in which it sought ICC’s assistance in retaining its position as a competitive team in world cricket and a self-sustaining and revenue-generating organisation.”The task force, which also includes the ICC’s general manager for cricket, Dave Richardson, former international captains Mike Brearley and Ramiz Raja, and ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle, will now put together a report which will be submitted to the ICC’s board in February 2010.Several countries have refused to tour Pakistan due to security fears. Cricket in the country was dealt a severe blow when the Sri Lankan team’s bus was attacked in Lahore in March this year, killing eight people and injuring five visiting players. The 2009 Champions Trophy was moved out of Pakistan to South Africa and the country lost its share of 2011 World Cup matches later.

A big twist has emerged on Rangers’ search for a new manager, regarding former Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman

What’s the talk?

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, the Dutchman is ‘one step’ away from taking over at Ibrox to replace Steven Gerrard in the dugout.

The report claims that he is the favourite for the position, following Sky Sports’ claim that Gio van Bronckhorst has held positive talks with the club.

This marks a remarkable twist in the saga with a new coach suddenly leapfrogging previous candidates to become the favourite.

Elation

Rangers fans will surely be over the moon with this update as it suggests that Koeman could be Gerrard’s replacement at Ibrox. The experienced Dutch coach recently left Barcelona and is available as a free agent, with this report now claiming that he is on the verge of accepting the job to compete for the Premiership title this season.

Supporters would surely love to see him in the dugout as he has an impressive C.V spanning a number of years, whereas van Bronckhorst is still in the early stages of his own coaching career.

The 46-year-old won an Eredivisie title with Feyenoord and averaged 2.03 points per game across 136 league matches for the Dutch club in four seasons, whilst he also spent a short spell in China.

Koeman, meanwhile, has managed 342 Eredivisie games and averaged 2.06 points per match. This included time with Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV and Vitesse and he won three league titles in that time. He has won nine trophies in his career as a head coach, showing that he knows what it takes to win silverware – with more experience in the game than van Bronckhorst.

The ex-Barca man has also experienced coaching in Britain. He finished seventh, sixth and seventh in three full seasons with Southampton and Everton earlier in his career which shows that the 58-year-old has proven himself in multiple countries with several clubs. Van Bronckhorst’s C.V, however, is based on his four years at Feyenoord in his home country.

Therefore, fans will surely be over the moon with the prospect of Koeman becoming the club’s new manager. With all due respect to van Bronckhorst, Koeman has a better background, as shown by his managerial statistics, and could be a terrific appointment for the club as he has a track record of success over a prolonged period of time. It is now down to Ross Wilson to ensure that he can get a deal over the line that would surely elate supporters.

AND in other news, Time’s up: GVB could become an instant hit at Rangers by axing £1.8m-rated dud…

The West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) approved a 15-point plan for the development of cricket in the region, and appointed Larry Romany as their chief operations officer

Cricinfo staff10-Dec-2009Larry Romany, the current President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, has been appointed chief operations officer of the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA). The decision was taken at a board meeting on Wednesday, where a 15-point plan for boosting the development of West Indies cricket was also approved.The WIPA approved a team of professionally qualified experts to look at the developmental aspect of the game in the region, and authorized it to audit the structures and programmes currently in place and make recommendations for improvement if need be. The first-class season, it suggested, should consist of two rounds of matches with a minimum of 12 four-day games each season played alongside international series.It recommended the yearly schedule be agreed well in advance for players to be aware of their commitments, and singled out as its immediate priority the appointment of a Director of Cricket to handle all cricketing matters. The WIPA also termed the establishment of a Cricket Academy and its satellite centres as a matter of “extreme urgency”, and proposed the allotment of a fitness manager and a physiotherapist, in addition to a coach and manager, for teams at all levels of the game – from schoolboy to Test cricket.WIPA also called for an improvement in facilities at the first-class level, suggesting that matches at practice sessions be held at international venues or those of an equivalent standard. In an attempt to make the first-class game mirror international cricket, it also proposed adequate preparation for regional as well as national teams ahead of their matches, and the use of the same cricket balls at both levels.The WIPA and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) were involved in a bitter dispute surrounding player contracts in July, when senior players, including Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, boycotted the Test series against Bangladesh, leading to a second-string team – which lost the series – being picked. However, the two sides reached a truce in October, enabling the selection of a full-strength squad for the ongoing tour of Australia.

Southampton have yet another away clash on their hands today against Liverpool after losing 2-1 to Norwich City at Carrow Road last weekend.

Speaking ahead of the clash against Jurgen Klopp’s side in his latest press conference, Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl revealed that Moussa Djenepo and Nathan Redmond will be available for the match at Anfield after missing the Norwich defeat. The Austrian added that Jack Stephens and Stuart Armstrong will be unavailable through injury.

With this in mind, here’s how we feel the Saints could line up against Liverpool this afternoon, with two changes from the loss to the Canaries.

Having played in every league game so far this season, we can see Hasenhuttl sticking with Alex McCarthy in goal, despite conceding twice to a struggling Norwich side.

Similarly to McCarthy, even though he had a shaky performance last weekend, we think the Austrian will keep Valentino Livramento in the team at right-back given how he’s played in every league game for Southampton so far.

As for the two centre-backs, we think Jan Bednarek and Mohammed Salisu will partner each other again to see if they can stop Liverpool’s attacking players from running riot.

In the left-back position, we reckon Hasenhuttl could axe Kyle Walker-Peters – who is currently earning a  wage of £50k-per-week according to Salary Sport – after he failed to impress against Norwich, to see if Romain Perraud would have a better chance of keeping Mohamed Salah quiet.

In midfield, we think the Saints boss will stick with his trusty duo of Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse in the central roles and keep Ibrahima Diallo in on the right-hand side to see if he can give some extra defensive stability to the team.

On the left, however, we can see Hasenhuttl putting Redmond back in the starting XI ahead of Mohamed Elyounoussi to see if he can pose more of an attacking threat. Worryingly, the Norwegian has gone nine league matches with a goal contribution, while the English winger comes back into contention following the birth of his child a few days ago.

Up top, we think Che Adams and Adam Armstrong will start together once again to try and cause some issues for Liverpool’s defence.

Whatever team Hasenhuttl picks today, Southampton will need to ensure they stay strong defensively if they are to have any chance of coming away with a positive result, given how Liverpool have scored more league goals (35) than any other team in the league.

In other news: Hasenhuttl can unearth Southampton’s new Van Dijk in £9m-rated tank, he’s a “big talent”

A round-up of the fourth day’s games of the HRV Cup

Cricinfo staff06-Jan-2010Jacob Oram starred with the ball to seal a nerve-wracking one-run victory for Central Districts over Otago. Oram scythed through the Otago middle order in a sensational spell of medium-pace bowling that yielded 5 for 14 in four overs. It was the best ever Twenty20 return for a New Zealander, bettering Iain O’Brien’s 5 for 23 for Leicestershire last year. Central Districts needed all of Oram’s class and experience to muster the victory after their batsmen put up a dismal 116. The score was a major disappointment after Ross Taylor hit 40 off 19 balls to set up the innings. The rest of the line-up failed in the face of incisive bowling from Ian Butler and Yasir Arafat who picked three wickets apiece. Otago’s response was stunted by the regular loss of wickets, Oram being the chief destroyer, with no batsman going past Craig Cumming’s 22. In the end, Butler and Warren McSkimming were left to score 12 runs off the last over and fell short by the smallest possible margin.Owais Shah’s blitzkrieg 65 off 29 balls converted what appeared to be a tight chase into a walk in the park as Wellington romped home by seven wickets with 14 balls to spare against Canterbury at Basin Reserve. Wellington’s decision to field first reaped immediate dividends when James Franklin got rid of the in-form Rob Nicol and Peter Fulton early. Michael Papps and Johann Myburgh steadied the ship before Shanan Stewart launched a spectacular attack on the hosts, striking five sixes in his 33-ball 57. Andy McKay went for 38 runs, but snared four scalps including Stewart’s to peg the visitors back in the end overs. Wellington’s top three started the chase in quick fashion, adding 70 runs in 8.2 overs before Shah took over. In a brutal spectacle of power hitting, he scored 65 of the 90 runs that were added in the 9.2 overs when he was at the crease. He hit seven sixes and two fours in his unbeaten innings that spared no bowler except Nicol, whose wicketless four overs went for only 18 runs.