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Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel has said he would ‘love to play for Spurs’ despite joining AC Milan in the January transfer window on a six month contract. The veteran midfielder terminated his contract at Bayern Munich ending his four and half year spell at the German champions. Despite having talks with Spurs in January nothing materialised, but van Bommel said he wouldn’t rule out a move in the summer. Would signing van Bommel for next season be a worthy signing for Tottenham Hotspur?

It could be a signing that is too little too late with the fact that van Bommel turns 34 in April and although he would provide valuable experience, he may not have the fitness for the Premier League. However, the same was said of Patrick Vieira upon his return to England with Manchester City, but he’s looked competent when keeping up with the play. Perhaps the signing of van Bommel at Spurs would’ve been done had the player been eligible for the Champions League this season?

The positives for Tottenham to signing the player would be the experience he will provide in the centre of midfield. If the north London club are going to continue their progress and qualify for the Champions League for a consecutive season then they will need to have players with van Bommel’s experience. A prime example would be the signing of William Gallas who’s been solid at the back for Spurs since joining last August.

Van Bommel could be persuaded by fellow Dutchman Rafael van der Vaart into joining Tottenham in the summer, but would the White Hart Lane faithful want a player like van Bommel at the club? Personally I believe it is too little, too late – a player of his quality several years ago would be a significant signing for Spurs and their ambitions. However, he would provide valuable experience in the squad despite his age and the likes of Tom Huddlestone and Sandro would learn from him.

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Everton have made an impression in the Premier League this term and now look poised to try and tempt an exciting offensive talent to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Everton pushing to land January arrivals

Despite a frustrating defeat to Brentford last weekend, Everton are still on course for a successful campaign and remain in the mix for European qualification at the halfway point of 2025/26.

Nevertheless, there is a feeling signings will be necessary for the Toffees to kick on under David Moyes, especially through the middle as Thierno Barry and Beto struggle to find their feet consistently in front of goal.

With that in mind, reports suggest that Everton have been offered the chance to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand Larsen. However, they may need to compete with the likes of Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur for his services.

Concerning their defence, Blackburn Rovers star Ryan Alebiosu could be on his way to Merseyside as Moyes looks to find a long-term successor to club captain Seamus Coleman.

Watford captain Imram Louza is also wanted at Everton, though again, it remains to be seen whether the Premier League outfit stump up enough cash to tempt the Hornets into a mid-season sale.

Truthfully, January is a difficult window and clubs are notoriously hard to deal with as they don’t want to lose their best players. Regardless, the Friedkin Group have work to do, and they will be keen to show that Everton are capable of reaching significant heights under their stewardship.

Now, they could be set to make their move for a star who is thriving on the continent, potentially providing competition in the wide areas for Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye.

Everton enter race to sign Zuriko Davitashvili

According to Foot Mercato, Everton have entered the race to sign Saint-Etienne winger Zuriko Davitashvili, who is also on the radar of Besiktas and Fenerbahce after his excellent start to the campaign.

Further reports from Georgian outlet, Geo team suggest that Everton “will try to sign” him throughout the next few weeks. Besiktas have already seen a bid of around £10m knocked back.

Scoring nine times and laying on an assist in his first 17 appearances this campaign, he has earned comparisons to the likes of Marcus Rashford and Pedro Neto, via FBRef.

So good have his performances been that it has caused concern among key officials at the Ligue 2 outfit as they fear he may leave during their promotion bid to reach the French top-flight.

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Benfica are also keen to land the Georgia international, though his current employers have made it clear that he won’t be sold during the January window, providing a theoretical deterrent to keen suitors.

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Nevertheless, elite clubs circling may prove too lucrative to ignore for Saint-Etienne, who will know more than anyone that every player has their price in the modern market.

Everton aren’t short of attacking talent, though you can never have too many technicians when looking to carve sides open, hence why Moyes may be making a move for another wide reinforcement.

Everton have now reportedly launched their first move to sign a Premier League striker, whose price-tag has just plummeted.

Moyes has "no complaints" about Brentford thrashing

It was about as bad as it could get for Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium when Brentford raced into a 3-0 lead, before eventually sealing a 4-2 victory.

The Toffees felt the full impact of their absentees, with Iliman Ndiaye a particular miss once again, and David Moyes admitted that he could have “no complaints” about the result against the Bees.

The veteran manager told reporters: “I’m disappointed we didn’t play better. We were just a bit short in some areas. We were disappointing defensively today and not as strong as we have been.

“We are short on a lot of cour creative players which showed at times. [But] we didn’t do our defensive duties as well as we could have done.

“When your centre forwards score goals that’s what we want. Today they didn’t have the support and back-up. If we’d kept a clean sheet we could have won. But no complaints, Brentford deserved the victory.”

Looking at any potential silver lining, the defeat at least exposed the problems that the Friedkin Group still have to solve in Merseyside. This is still a squad lacking in depth, especially going forward, and one which also need a reinforcement at right-back.

With that said, Friedkin have plenty of time to act in the January transfer window and a number of potential targets have recently emerged as a result.

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This includes the likes of Ivan Toney, who is reportedly a dream signing for Everton, and now Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Jorgen Strand Larsen.

According to TeamTalk, Everton have made contact to sign Strand Larsen, who is now available for just £40m just months since Newcastle were told to pay around £60m to secure his signature.

Everton make contact to sign Strand Larsen

The Wolves striker has struggled ever since failing to get his move in the summer and has far from helped his side’s attempt to avoid the drop. As things stand, after picking up their first victory of the season over West Ham United last time out, the Midlands club are 12 points adrift of safety.

It’s times like these that sides near the bottom so often turn towards their best players, but Strand Larsen has scored just one Premier League goal all season and looks a shadow of the player who netted 14 times in his debut campaign.

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Whilst Wolves desperately need him to get back to his best form, the Norwegian desperately needs a move away that Everton could offer him this month.

Despite his current form, the context of Wolves’ season should be considered before Strand Larsen is judged too harshly and this wouldn’t be the first time that Moyes has got players back to their best form.

For just £40m, Everton could land an instant upgrade on Beto and Thierno Barry, especially if they find a way past his £95,000-a-week wage demands.

Chelsea shocked the football world on New Year’s Day by parting company with manager Enzo Maresca following a spectacular breakdown in relations between the Italian and senior figures at Stamford Bridge.

The 45-year-old’s eighteen-month tenure ended following his decision to step down after feeling his position had become untenable, though disputes currently rage over whether he resigned or was dismissed by the club.

Sky Sports report that Maresca endured several disagreements with Chelsea’s medical department regarding player workload and availability throughout his spell in charge, with particular tensions surrounding captain Reece James’ minutes despite his history of hamstring injuries.

The situation exploded publicly when Maresca stunned reporters following December’s victory over Everton by claiming he had experienced “the worst 48 hours” at the club and stating “many people didn’t support us,” comments which shocked his own close circle and prompted agent Jorge Mendes to contact the hierarchy seeking explanation.

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Maresca missed his post-match press conference following Tuesday’s chaotic 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, which was officially attributed to illness.

Supporters booed the team off while chanting “you don’t know what you’re doing” when he substituted Cole Palmer, highlighting the lack of fan backing despite winning the Club World Cup and Conference League titles alongside securing Champions League qualification last term.

Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior has now emerged as the overwhelming favourite to replace Maresca following impressive work at the French club owned by Chelsea’s parent company BlueCo.

The 41-year-old nearly guided Hull City to the Championship play-offs before joining Strasbourg, where his possession-based philosophy mirrors Chelsea’s preferred style.

He’d also be a relatively straightforward appointment considering Rosenior is already under the BlueCo umbrella, yet reports suggest that Chelsea are also considering alternatives.

Now, according to one Spanish media source, the Blues have been offered a big name in the form of legendary former boss Jose Mourinho.

José Mourinho prepared to join Chelsea after Maresca exit

Indeed, it is believed that Mourinho is willing to return to Chelsea after Maresca’s departure, and has offered himself to the club as an alternative to Rosenior.

The 62-year-old, who has won almost every major honour as a manager including multiple Premier League titles in west London, guided Chelsea through one of their most successful periods near the start of this century.

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Mourinho only took charge of current club Benfica last September, but the Portuguese is now prepared to strike what would be his third Chelsea reunion and come back to England.

Given Mourinho is already in work and will likely cost a compensation package to buy him out of his current Benfica contract, it would still be a surprise to see the ex-Man United and Tottenham boss back at Cobham — especially with Rosenior already in talks.

However, as we’ve already seen at Chelsea this year with Maresca’s shocking and sudden departure, you can never say never.

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	New Zealand will be looking forward to Tim Southee to deliver the goods against India in the semi-final © Getty Images

New Zealand’s hopes of upsetting India’s World Cup campaign will hinge on how quickly their medium-pace attack – especially new-ball bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult – adjust to unfamiliar conditions at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur. The semi-final will be New Zealand’s first game at the venue, having played all their group matches in Johor and the quarter-final at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala LumpuSouthee is the leading contender for Man of the Tournament, with 13 wickets, while left-arm medium-pacer Boult has ten including the best figures of the competition, 7 for 20 against Malaysia. Dav Whatmore, India’s coach, singled out the pace attack as New Zealand’s strength.”We [India] have a sense of understanding why New Zealand have made the final four. It’s because they have a strong medium-pace attack and their fielding. We’ve got a very good economy-rate as a group [bowling attack] but they are better than us. They consistently bowl better in terms of economy.” None of New Zealand’s regular bowlers have conceded more than four runs per over. Southee and Boult, who are both from Northern Districts, have gone forless than three.However, New Zealand’s games in Johor were on pitches that were damp earlyon and assisted the fast bowlers. Boult felt that the ball swung a lot more in the air in Malaysia while back home the assistance was primarily movement off the pitch. Southee agreed, and said that getting accustomed to the swing was the only major adjustment that the bowlers had to make.”Obviously with the white ball and humidity here, it swings around more than it does in New Zealand,” Southee told Cricinfo. “The wickets have generally been pretty good though the one yesterday [against Sri Lanka at Royal Selangor Club] was quite slow and quite low. It was quite uneven as well: I got the odd one to kick through but there were a few that kept low. I bowled the opening batter with one that crept under his bat. I think we had the better of the batting conditions yesterday and it got tougher to face the pace bowlers in the afternoon.”None of the New Zealand players, apart from Southee, have played under lights before and that could prompt them to bat first so that their batsmen don’t have to face a run-chase for the first time under lights. If that is the case, Southee and Boult could avoid bowling in the searing heat and gain additional assistance with the white ball moving around in the evenings.Dipak Patel, the New Zealand coach, said the team that handles the “mental pressures” of such a tense encounter better would emerge victors, while pointing out that for most players on both sides, the stakes have never been higher. Southee, however, has played on a larger stage – two Twenty20 internationals against England in front of packed houses in Auckland and Christchurch. He held his nerve and did well for himself – taking 1 for 38 and 2 for 22. How he, and Boult, fare against the Indian top-order could make or break it for New Zealand.

Trent Johnston enjoys part of his breezy cameo © Getty Images

Grand Old Duke of York
There was more than a frisson of worry in the England camp when Trent Johnston and Andrew White started to find the boundaries late in the innings. Michael Vaughan turned to Andrew Flintoff, and he settled it, spearing the ball into the blockhole to devastating effect. One-day tactics have evolved constantly down the years, but there’s still no match for the yorker at the death.One for the auld enemy
The wicket of Flintoff – chopping one on – and two sixes in a breezy cameo would have been satisfying for most allrounders, but perhaps Johnston relished it a little bit more because of his New South Wales roots. He tries to play it down now that he’s Irish captain, but some old rivalries linger.Look who’s clucking now
Johnston had unveiled the chicken-dance celebration when he dismissed Mohammad Yousuf in the famous victory against Pakistan, and there was a reprise as Flintoff became another prized victim. Chickens don’t fly though, and England plucked his feathers ruthlessly, with 47 coming from the last five overs he bowled.SuperColly
The ICC rankings may have Kevin Pietersen at the top, but Paul Collingwood’s the man in prime form. A soaring six over midwicket was one of three that he hit as 56 came from the last 31 balls that he faced.Palm Pilot
No, we’re not agents for Johnston, but he had a hand, literally, in the day’s exceptional fielding moment as well. Collingwood was on course for a century when Andrew White’s throw from mid-on came arrowing in. Stationed in front of the stumps, Johnston palmed it on with his left hand.I’m an Irishman, get me out of here
For Ed Joyce, this was a day to forget. Boyd Rankin got him shouldering arms to one that nipped back, and Ireland’s top scorer in the 2005 ICC Trophy trudged off with just one to his name. Later, with Niall O’Brien on 9, Joyce appeared half-asleep when he grassed a high chance at midwicket off Sajid Mahmood. O’Brien cashed in to the tune of 54 more runs. Joyce’s two matches against his old mates have now fetched him 11 runs. Ouch.Seen and heard
During a slow phase of play, the roaming cameras zoomed in on a little fella in an orange vest. Perhaps aware that millions of eyes were on him, he took guard and executed a textbook loft over midwicket. Not content, he took guard again and bent low for a sweep shot, holding the pose for about five seconds. The gloves were a size too big, but he certainly looked the part.

Herschelle Gibbs, for all his absurd talent, has endured a poor run of form this summer © Getty Images

Herschelle Gibbs, the South Africa batsman and Garnett Kruger have been dropped for the remaining two Tests against New Zealand. South Africa won the first Test at Centurion by 128 runs last week, but Gibbs put in another disappointing performance with a match aggregate of eight runs.In his last ten Tests, he has made just 437 runs at an average of 25.70. His last hundred was made against England over a year ago.”Herschelle and I had a meeting yesterday (Friday), and we agreed that a break and a fresh start next season will do him a world of good”, Haroon Lorgat, South Africa’s convenor of selectors, said. “Garnett is most unfortunate to have picked up a shoulder strain when he was set to play in the first Test at Centurion.”With the outstanding performances of Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn in this match, and with Andre Nel in reserve, we have decided to release him.”Lorgan confirmed that South Africa will not be replacing Gibbs or Kruger.”At the start of the series we had carried an unusually large squad of 16 players. This was designed to take into account the fact that there was no domestic cricket being played,” he said. “With one Test completed, we are now able to reduce the squad to 14 players and will reduce it further to 13 for the last Test at Liberty Life Wanderers.”South Africa team (from):Graeme Smith (capt), Jacques Kallis, Boeta Dippenaar, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher (wk), Shaun Pollock, Nicky Boje, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn, Andrew Hall, Jacques Rudolph, Hashim Amla

Barry Richards: forward looking © Getty Images

Barry Richards, the former South African batsman, has said that Twenty20 should become a global competition featuring teams from a number of cities.”If you had 16 or 20 sides you could float it around the world and you could sell it into America and Canada,” Richards told BBC Sport. “You could have a team from Toronto, a team from Miami, teams from Cape Town and London. You could have the best players, not representing a country but a town.”It would be the 200 or 300 best players in the world and it’s up to the franchise-holders to decide who are the best players. You always associate Test cricket with the best players but it’s not the case anymore. If you’ve got 15 in each side then we can see all the Australians that are not playing that are good enough to play Test cricket.”Richards comments are hardly likely to be warmly received by the authorities in some countries, but the rapid growth and remarkable popularity of the format where it has been tried means that his ideas are not as far-fetched as they might have been even a year ago.Richards has been at the forefront in recognising the need for the game to appeal to new markets and audiences if it is to prosper. At the Cowdrey Lecture in 2003, he urged the authorties to consider where cricket would be in 20 years, and said that it had to revise traditional thinking in favour of new concepts that stimulated the young.

Darren Gough’s international career could yet be revived in the West Indies, despite his scathing criticism of the England selectors in a Sunday newspaper.In an interview in the Sunday Telegraph, Gough had made it known in no uncertain terms how disappointed he was not to be selected for the winter tours to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and West Indies. “I feel like I’ve been sh*t on, to be honest,” was his frank admission. But David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, has revealed that Gough remains very much in England’s thoughts.”Darren can blame us as much as he likes,” Graveney told the Daily Mail. “But we have had a perfectly legitimate concern about what has been a very serious knee injury. I would rather players get angry when they’re dropped, than take it lying down. What he has to do is show he’s fit.”Gough has taken 188 wickets at 24.96 in 121 one-day internationals, and was Man of the Match in his most recent outing, the NatWest Series final against South Africa at Lord’s last summer. That fact has not been lost on Graveney, who intends to add two fasting-bowling options to the 13 men already selected for the one-dayers in the Caribbean.”You look at fitness and who might be available,” added Graveney, “and you don’t have to go too far before you come to the name of Darren Gough.”

HOBART, Dec 19 AAP – An assault on one of cricket’s most dismal records was the lowlight of a slow day as Queensland grafted to a solid position in the Pura Cup match against Tasmania in Hobart today.Opener Brendan Nash’s morning snail impersonation, plus a continuing Martin Love affair with Bellerive Oval, ensured the Bulls survived a difficult wicket and reached 4-249 at stumps on the first day after opting to bat.Love was 127 not out and Lee Carseldine 19.Chief culprit was Nash, the 25-year-old lefthanded opener, who was at the wicket for 88 minutes before he opened his account with an inside edge that squirted to square leg.That was only nine minutes less than the world record 97 minutes it took England’s Godfrey Evans to break his duck in the 1946-47 Test in Adelaide.It took Nash another 33 minutes to get his second, just after lunch. Then he accelerated modestly before being bowled for 34 shortly before tea. He was there for 223 minutes, faced 174 balls and hit four boundaries late in his innings.Nash said it was hard to score on the two-paced wicket.He said the record was “not something you’d really want”, but he’d not felt too bad about not scoring and Love had helped him get through the period.In fairness to Nash, the wicket was tough. The bowlers, moreover, sprayed a lot that had to be left, especially before lunch.This led to some extraordinary figures, notably for Shane Jurgensen, who at tea had conceded only one run off the bat from 15 overs — but had also produced four wides and three no balls.The morbid interest in Nash overshadowed Love’s performance, yet it was a good indicator of the difficulties.Love is a class act who loves Bellerive and only last month hit a double century for Australia A against England in less time that it took him to reach three figures today.In the morning, the Love affair was rocky. His timing was astray and he regularly played and missed. But survival gradually became assurance and his innings was the critical one.He has batted for 367 minutes, hit 20 fours and given one tough chance, on 103.Queensland progressed by increments — a mere 35 in the first session, 78 in the session and a healthy 136 in a long third.Stuart Law (21) and Andrew Symonds (29) provided a little late zing, but couldn’t capitalise on their starts.Damien Wright (2-59) was the only multiple wicket taker in an attack that didn’t fully capitalise on its opportunities, but also had little luck with edges — many either just missing or just falling short of the slips.