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Taking to Twitter, Portuguese transfer journalist Pedro Almeida has now dropped an exciting transfer claim as Celtic eye a permanent deal for Jota.

The Lowdown: Jota shines at Parkhead…

Since signing on loan from Benfica in the summer, the 22-year-old has gone on to dazzle at Parkhead under Ange Postecoglou, and there have been reports speculating whether Celtic will trigger his €7.5m (£6.2m) option-to-buy clause in the deal.

Indeed, rumours from Portugal indicate that Postecoglou and the Hoops are eager to do so, as they have until the end of this season to decide whether to take him on permanently.

A Bola believe that Celtic are ‘willing to do so’ given they are ‘satisfied’ with the performance of Jota, with reporter Almeida now backing this claim as he drops an exciting Twitter transfer message.

The Latest: Almeida drops exciting Jota claim…

Taking to social media, the reporter believes that Postecoglou and co will now ‘advance’ to Jota’s ‘definitive’ signing from Benfica on a permanent move as he explained:

“Celtic will advance to the definitive signing of Jota from Benfica for €7.5M”

The Verdict: No-brainer…

It is no secret that the 22-year-old has been a revelation for Celtic in Scotland and we believe that the club would be remiss not to try and make his stay in Glasgow permanent.

A real statement of intent for £6.2m, a deal which would place Jota in the club’s top ten most expensive signings of all time (Transfermarkt), he is arguably worth every penny.

From a performance perspective, the Portugal under-21 international is currently Celtic’s joint-second top scorer in the Scottish top flight, while only David Turnbull has averaged a higher rate of attempts on goal per 90, marking Jota out as a true threat in the final third (WhoScored).

The attacker has also received garlands galore from Scottish pundits, including Celtic legend John Hartson, who branded him ‘dynamite’ and a ‘very special’ player (Daily Record).

It seems likely that Jota is only going to get better and better judging by his young age, not to mention the potential for a seismic sell-on value if he continues to impress in Scotland.

Taking all this into account, securing his signature indefinitely must surely be a priority for Postecoglou and Celtic.

In other news: Source reveals Celtic plan to cash in on record-breaker in January; replacement ready

Cricket Canada is confident that it can overcome the loss of sponsors Scotiabank as its prepares for a busy year of international cricket and plans to host a global limited-over event that will put Canadian cricket at the centre of the world’s calendar

Sahil Dutta30-Dec-2009Cricket Canada is confident that it can overcome the loss of sponsors Scotiabank as it prepares for a busy year of international cricket and plans to host a global limited-over event that will put Canadian cricket at the centre of the world’s calendar.Canadian cricket has been on the verge of crisis after it emerged in November that a $500,000 deal with Scotiabank had collapsed but Ranjit Saini, the board’s interim president, told Cricinfo he is confident Canada can rebuild and perform well next year.”We’re on the edge of a year of success,” he said. “Despite the shoe-string budget we’re on, we have the combination of players, coaches and administrators to find success. I believe we’ve turned the corner and are now on our way to becoming a well respected associate nation.”With associate nations like the Netherlands and Ireland having enjoyed good recent outings in international tournaments, and Ireland even pushing the ICC for full-member status, Saini has set clear targets for Canada’s on-field progress next year.”Qualifying for the Twenty20 World Cup is important and we want the Under 19s to progress to the Super Eights stage in the World Cup in January. Also the women’s team qualifying for the World Cup, which is very likely, would represent a good year and be a big morale booster to everyone involved in Canadian cricket.”But the loss of Scotiabank, especially given the circumstances where the company labelled Cricket Canada’s performance as “unsatisfactory”, overshadows on-field achievements. Saini, however, was at pains to point out the deal had not ended acrimoniously despite evidence to the contrary.”Scotiabank were going to sponsor us for a further three-year agreement and they wouldn’t have done this if they were unhappy with the previous one. The proposal was, however, difficult for us to take up. They had a set of requirements, which we would be unable to meet without extra funding.”Scotiabank, he continued, were looking for greater exposure and wanted Cricket Canada to commit money up-front for a domestic tournament alongside an expanded grassroots programme, but Saini said that this would have been impossible.”The geography of Canada is enormous, moving people around the country requires a lot of time and a lot of money. To run six teams for Under-19 cricket and six teams for a senior tournament would a cost a bare minimum of $300,000 – that’s just the minimum.”If you then had to deliver the schools programme in addition there’s a further $200,000 to $250,000. The ICC funding, once you have paid the players’ salaries and the mandatory costs that come up, would not be enough – you’ll have players on a contract but no grounds to play on, you’ll have a coach but no money to buy the balls. So it’s a sad story but there is nothing we could do about it.”Even though the board’s income is now without Scotiabank’s cash, Saini insisted it had taken on board what happened and was developing new plans to attract finance to the game, which could see a multitude of sponsors getting on board.”We have developed a different strategy; we will look for smaller, local sponsors for $5000 each, and see if we can build from that. And then we’re looking at government sponsors as well, and now we’ve learned our lesson, we could plan differently and do proper costing from the beginning; if a big sponsor came along we could accept that.”

The previous summer transfer window was a rather busy one for Sunderland that saw the Wearside club bring a number of players in on free transfers such as Alex Pritchard and Corry Evans, as well as loan deals for players like Callum Doyle, Leon Dajaku and Nathan Broadhead among others.

However, it seems as though there could have been another new player at Sunderland this season that Black Cats manager Lee Johnson will now be wishing the club managed to secure.

According to Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley, Sunderland were interested in signing Millwall right-back Mahlon Romeo during the previous summer window before he eventually joined Pompey on a season-long loan deal.

Taking into account how Sunderland have a lot of their current defensive players out injured and the fact that Romeo has managed to play the full 90 minutes in all but one of the 15 League One games he’s appeared in for Portsmouth so far this season as a right-back and right-midfielder, he could have been a really useful player for the Black Cats this season.

In those league appearances, Romeo has shown just what a capable defensive unit he has been for Portsmouth by racking up an average of 2.7 tackles per game, 1.5 clearances per game and 1.3 interceptions per game, whilst winning 62% of the duels he’s been involved in.

Sunderland have managed to concede one more goal in the league than Portsmouth at this point in the season, despite Pompey having played two more games than the Black Cats, Romeo could have added some strength and depth at the back for Sunderland.

Labelled as an “aggressive” player by Millwall manager Gary Rowett, Romeo, who is currently valued at £1.8m according to Transfermarkt, has certainly proved himself to be a solid performer in League One during his time with Portsmouth.

With this in mind, if Sunderland see an opportunity to secure the signing of Romeo when his loan deal at Pompey ends, he’d be an incredibly valuable signing if they are indeed still interested.

If their defensive problems have persisted too, he could just prove to be a worthy solution to the club’s woes heading into a new season.

In other news: Johnson must unleash SAFC’s £3.6k-p/w “leader”, he may be a catalyst for change – opinion

Peter Siddle has been one of Australia’s busiest players over the past year but he is not looking for a break any time soon

Brydon Coverdale19-Jan-2010Peter Siddle has been one of Australia’s busiest players over the past year but he is not looking for a break any time soon. Mitchell Johnson, another overworked fast man, is being rested for the first three ODIs against Pakistan but Siddle is looking forward to the series as a chance to cement his place in the one-day international side.For all his importance in the Test attack, Siddle has not yet made himself a must-pick player in the shorter formats. Until the ODI series in England last September, Siddle had played only one 50-over match for his country. He was finally given a run of opportunities in the Champions Trophy and in India, before being sent home with stiffness in his side.Australia are cautious about the workload for their young fast men with Ben Hilfenhaus already battling a long-term knee injury. Siddle has had few spare days at home since he became a regular in the Test side and a fringe member of the limited-overs outfit but he believes the best way for him to keep up his form is to bowl as often as possible.”We have played a lot of cricket in the last year or so,” Siddle said. “When I was a little bit sore and missing those matches I was glad for the rest, but you don’t realise you miss it that much and you do want to be out there playing all the time. For me, playing as much continuous cricket as I can is the best way forward for me and the best way to stay in good form, with good rhythm through the crease when I’m bowling.”I was comfortable with how I finished off the Champions Trophy, the last few games I played over there I started to get used to the [one-day] game and how to play them. It’s going to be good fun to get back into those and hopefully have a bit more success there and keep rolling along how we’ve been going.”It has been a challenging summer for Siddle, who has been part of a successful attack but has seen all his bowling colleagues end up with far better figures than he has. In the home Tests, Siddle took 11 wickets at 43.09, which was less than half the victims claimed by each of Johnson, Nathan Hauritz and Doug Bollinger, and fewer even than the allrounder Shane Watson.Ricky Ponting has maintained all along that Siddle’s position has not been under threat as he has been performing the vital “bullocking” work that has kept up the pressure on opposition batsmen. When Siddle was eventually given a chance to bowl with the wind – a rare occurrence for him this summer – at Bellerive Oval, the wickets began to flow and he finished the Test with five.Siddle believes he is bowling as well as he ever has at Test level, in part due to the discipline he has displayed over the past few months. Australia’s attack is getting better at bowling teams out and in all six Tests of the home summer – even the draw in Adelaide – they collected 20 wickets a match. He insisted he was never tempted to change his style in the search for more personal success, despite managing only six victims in his first four Tests of the season.”Where it worked best for us this summer was when I wasn’t getting the wickets I stayed patient, I kept working hard and did my job from my end,” he said. “In the end we took 20 wickets in every Test. All five or six bowlers or however many we have in the game can’t all take five or six wickets a match. You just have to bide your time and keep working at it and your chance will come.”

Manchester United have potentially been handed a late selection setback ahead of their Premier League clash with Norwich City at Carrow Road this evening.

What’s the story?

In Friday’s press conference, new interim manager Ralf Rangnick addressed the current fitness status of his first-team squad, admitting that there are a handful of doubts going into today’s intriguing encounter.

“Yeah, we have two or three question marks behind players, but since they haven’t shown up as yet, we only train at two o’clock, we have to wait until after the training session, or at least before the training session, and the Doctor and medical department can tell me what the current situation is like,” he said.

Rangnick is unlikely to be able to call upon the services of Aaron Wan-Bissaka after the defender left the Old Trafford pitch on a stretcher in midweek, but it’s the potential absence of Nemanja Matic which will come as a late blow.

“Aaron, as you said, received one or two knocks in the game, there is still a question mark behind Nemanja Matic, he had sort of a cold, I wouldn’t call it a ‘flu, but he was negatively tested with COVID, so I am still hoping he can be available, but we have to wait until we see how he feels today,” the German revealed.

Rangnick will be gutted

News that Matic may not be able to play any part against Norwich will likely leave Rangnick feeling gutted, given the versatility and experience that the Serbian midfielder brings to the side.

The 33-year-old showcased his leadership skills by captaining the team against Young Boys on Wednesday night, putting in a stellar performance in an unusual position after being asked to fill in at centre-back.

The Serbia international has also showcased his usefulness throughout the current campaign in his eight top-flight outings to date. As per WhoScored, he has averaged 1.4 tackles, 0.8 interceptions and 0.6 clearances per league game, while achieving a pass completion ratio of 86.2% and providing two assists.

Therefore, Rangnick will be hoping that the 6 foot 3 beast can recover from his illness in time to travel to Norwich, providing United with the know-how they might need in order to overcome a tricky opponent.

In other news… Man United eye move for “unbelievable” £77k-p/w “soldier”, Rangnick needs him

David Warner and Steven Smith have been named as part-time scholars for the 2010 Centre of Excellence intake in Brisbane

Cricinfo staff05-Mar-2010David Warner and Steven Smith are two of Australia’s brightest international hopes but they are being sent back to school this winter by the national selectors. Warner and Smith, who are both in the Twenty20 side, have been named as part-time scholars for the 2010 Centre of Excellence intake in Brisbane.Warner, who was sent home from the Academy in 2007, has played seven ODIs and 13 Twenty20s while Smith made his debuts in both formats this summer. Jason Krejza, the two-Test offspinner, Moises Henriques and Jon Holland are other players who have been chosen in Australian squads to be included in the 11-man part-time unit. They will spend four weeks in Brisbane and be available for the Academy’s matches.The 14 full scholars include a group of fast bowlers who have already made marks with their states and John Hastings, the impressive Victoria allrounder. Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Luke Feldman and Ben Cutting have caused trouble on the domestic scene this summer while the batsman Luke Pomersbach’s rehabilitation from a drink-driving incident continues after he was given a spot.”I’m excited about this group, which has a good mix of under-19 young guns and experienced players with first-class experience,” the head coach Greg Chappell said. “The lists highlight the depth of talent in Australia and shows that the next generation of Australian cricket is in good hands.” The full scholars will complete an 18-week programme that includes the Emerging Players Tournament and a training camp in India.Centre of Excellence 2010 squad Nic Maddinson (NSW), Jason Floros (Qld), Luke Pomersbach (WA), Nicholas Buchanan (Qld), Mitchell Starc (NSW), James Pattinson (Vic), Nathan Coulter-Nile (WA), John Hastings (Vic), Luke Feldman (Qld), Ben Cutting (Qld), Nathan Brain (NSW), Glenn Maxwell (Vic), Ryan Carters (Vic), Ben Dunk (Qld).
Part-time scholars Usman Khawaja (NSW), Moises Henriques (NSW), David Warner (NSW), Steven Smith (NSW), Jason Krejza (Tas), Mitchell Marsh (WA), Josh Hazlewood (NSW), Jon Holland (Vic), Peter George (SA), James Faulkner (Tas), Alister McDermott (Qld).
Development scholars Alex Keath (Vic), Sean Abbott (NSW), Luke Doran (NSW), Adam Zampa (NSW).

Plays of the day from the third day of the New Zealand-Australia Test in Hamilton

Brydon Coverdale in Hamilton29-Mar-2010Slow Kat
After scoring New Zealand’s fastest Test hundred, Ross Taylor said the Seddon Park boundaries were so small that he’d back himself to mishit the ball and still clear it. There was no such confidence from Simon Katich, who had statisticians reaching for the record books again to find out whether the slowest fifties or centuries were in danger. He lifted his rate enough to avoid all such comparisons but he did make heavy work of his first few hours and didn’t strike a boundary until his 138th delivery. The first session, which was half an hour longer than usual due to lost time the previous day, featured 197 dot balls.UDRS: Upset Daniel, relieved Shane
The cards haven’t fallen New Zealand’s way during this series in regards to the umpire decision review system and that continued on the third day in Hamilton. The second ball of the morning brought a confident lbw appeal from Daniel Vettori against Shane Watson, which was granted by the umpire Asad Rauf. Watson initially looked set to accept the decision but after a chat with Katich, he asked for a review, out of hope more than anything. The ball had gone on with the arm from around the wicket but Virtual Eye revealed Watson had been struck fractionally outside the line of off stump while playing a shot. He was on 28 at the time and went on to post 65.An unexpected change
Mathew Sinclair entered the match having only ever bowled four overs in his Test career, all of which were delivered in Johannesburg ten years ago. It was a surprise, therefore, when Vettori called on Sinclair shortly before the new ball was due. His casual run-up suggested slow-medium and that was the case, but his line and length were immaculate. He beat the bat of Michael Hussey and thrust his head into his hands, wishing for his first Test wicket. It didn’t arrive but Sinclair did end up with the very respectable bowling figures of 3-2-1-0, with a single to deep point from Hussey the only run.The axed man cometh
The official New Zealand Cricket profile photo of Peter Ingram shows him sporting a Chopper Read-like handlebar moustache and having been dropped from the Test side he went back to Central Districts and butchered the Northern Districts bowlers today in Napier. Ingram utterly dominated the opening partnership with Jamie How, having scored 85 of the 94 runs on the board when he fell. Meanwhile, in Wellington, Jesse Ryder made a century in his first game back after a long injury lay-off.

While Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United side went into Tuesday evening’s Premier League fixture against table-topping Manchester City as huge underdogs with totalizators and in a poor run of form, as well as being in the midst of a major injury crisis, the 66-year-old manager would have in no way expected the final result shortly ahead of kick-off.

However, a dominant City performance saw Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne (x2), Riyad Mahrez, John Stones and Nathan Ake seal a 7-0 win at the Etihad, a scoreline which leaves Bielsa’s side very much in danger of being dragged into a relegation fight come the turn of the year.

As is to be expected after such a result, there were practically no performances turned in by the Leeds players that warrant praise, while there were plenty who will be coming in for a bit of stick on Wednesday morning, with Jamie Shackleton, Raphinha and Diego Llorente all having evenings to forget – although no one will be more disappointed with their own display than Daniel James.

Seven passes completed

Once again being started in a central attacking position, having also done so in the 3-2 defeat Chelsea on Saturday, the 24-year-old was very much a passenger against Pep Guardiola’s side, failing to ever really hold up the ball effectively – something which often led to City being immediately on the attack once more.

Indeed, over the course of his 45 minutes on the pitch, the £16.2m-rated man enjoyed a mere 13 touches of the ball, completed just seven of his nine attempted passes, lost 100% of his duels and gave away possession of the ball on four occasions – meaning he lost the ball with every 3.3 touches.

These returns saw the player who Darren Bent dubbed as “headless” earn an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.4 – before being hooked by Marcelo Bielsa at halftime.

As such, it is perhaps not surprising that Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross awarded the Wales international a score of two in his own player ratings, as well as stating of the 24-year-old’s performance: “Another match and another failed experiment in the striker’s role.”

Indeed, with James now having been largely absent in two outings at centre-forward, it is clear that the winger has failed his manager’s test up top – and it would certainly not be surprising were the £52k-per-week forward to lose his place to 19-year-old Joe Gelhardt when Arsenal visit Elland Road on Saturday.

In other news: “Never seen an injury like that” – Bielsa drops big Leeds update that’ll terrify fans

A round-up from the 13th round of the Logan Cup

Cricinfo staff28-Mar-2010Mountaineers’ Logan Cup ended in disappointment as they fell to an eight-wicket defeat to Mid West Rhinos in three days at Mutare Sports Club. Mid West Rhinos will now take on Mashonaland Eagles in the final, at Harare Sports Club on March 30.Mountaineers had struggled to 212 in their first innings after being put in to bat by Rhinos, with Timycen Maruma’s 59 the highest score of the innings. Malcolm Waller’s 117, along with half centuries from Vusi Sibanda and Graeme Cremer overshadowed Tendai Chatara’s maiden five-wicket haul as Rhinos reached 338 in their first innings.Mountaineers managed another scratchy effort in the second dig, and started day three at 62 for 3, still 64 behind Rhinos’ first innings total. Stuart Matsikenyeri, who suffered a drastic dip in form on Zimbabwe’s tour of the West Indies, was soon dismissed by Ed Rainsford. With his team struggling, Hamilton Masakadza dug in, taking over an hour to get off the mark before he finally forced a ball through the covers for four.Timycen Maruma played on to Rainsford for 4 as Mountaineers slipped to 75 for 5, and they could have been six down soon after, but Prosper Utseya was dropped off a sharp chance at second slip before he had scored. He went on to add 62 with Masakadza, erasing the deficit just before lunch as Mountaineers went to the break with their hopes of saving the game lifted.The afternoon session all but extinguished their hopes, as Utseya was quickly caught in the gully off Rainsford for 32, and Masakadza, who had batted with the utmost restraint for 37 off 135 balls, pushed at a ball moving away outside off stump to edge a straightforward catch off the same bowler.With Mountaineers tottering at 144 for 7, Shingi Masakadza and Natsai Mushangwe laid into the bowling with abandon, sharing the highest partnership of the innings as they added 73. Although Mushangwe managed his maiden first-class fifty, both were dismissed in quick succession and Mountaineers’ innings closed on 230, setting Rhinos 105 to win.Mid West have shown some fragile batting this season, and Mountaineers went on the attack from the start. With the pitch taking spin, Utseya opened the bowling, and with close fielders positioned, the Rhinos openers were rendered strokeless. Bothwell Chapungu was clean bowled by Utseya for 2, and Friday Kasteni was pinned lbw by the younger Masakadza, but Brendan Taylor seized back the momentum by swinging successive balls from Utseya over the pavilion for six.Taylor raced to his fifty from just 34 balls, but it was an off-driven four by Sibanda, followed by four byes from a wild delivery down the leg side, that finally took Mid West to a well-earned victory and a place in next week’s Logan Cup final against Mashonaland Eagles.

Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst could make a major blunder in the January transfer window amid Watford’s reported interest in Borna Barisic.

What’s the story?

According to The Athletic, the Premier League side have got their sights set on the £15k-a-week earning Barisic, and that they have shown an initial interest in signing him.

The report does add, however, that his price tag may be a bit prohibitive for a move, and that with two years left on his contract at Ibrox, he could demand a fee in the region of £5-8m.

Would ruin Rangers’ title momentum

One half of the Gers’ incredible full-back double act with James Tavernier, Barisic has been an outstanding provider and scorer of goals for the club since he made the switch to Ibrox.

The Croatian flyer racked up 14 assists in 50 games across all competitions last season, including enjoying an impressive Europa League campaign too – he bagged three goals and set up another three as the Gers made it to the last 16.

Former Rangers full-back Steven Smith has previously waxed lyrical about the Croatian, saying: “When you have got him on one side and the numbers that Tavernier is producing on the other side, I think when people tell you the numbers it is scary. You are talking about forward players and strikers not even reaching those numbers so the two of them have been outstanding.”

His start to the current campaign has been much more disappointing, with no goals and just the two assists, but the fact he’s played in 21 games across all competitions and only missed matches through injuries, shows just how important he still is.

Selling him in January, when the Scottish Premiership title race remains wide open – the club have got a six-point lead over rivals Celtic right now – would ruin a lot of the momentum that has been built up at Ibrox.

It would be a major call and gamble to sell one of your starting XI players, and it would surely leave Gers fans fuming.

Meanwhile, Rangers are eyeing a move for this Championship star…