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Former Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has spoken to Newcastle target Charles De Ketelaere following links of a move to St James’ Park.

The Lowdown: Newcastle links

Nicknamed ‘King Charles’, the creative 21-year-old midfielder appears to be on Newcastle’s radar ahead of the summer transfer window.

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Reports have linked the Magpies with a move for the Club Brugge star, suggesting that they were in the picture for a potential €40m (£33.3m) deal at the end of the season.

De Ketelaere has been in fine form in recent months, contributing to 26 goals in 41 games in all competitions in 2021/22, with Pep Guardiola impressed by the Belgian’s display against Manchester City in the Champions League during the autumn.

The Latest: Mignolet’s comments

Sport Witness relayed comments from De Ketelaere in a story on Saturday.

The 6 foot 3 midfielder was told by former Sunderland goalkeeper Mignolet that ‘there’s not much to do in Newcastle’, with the 34-year-old possibly trying to put him off a move to England.

The Verdict: Shrewd target

De Ketelaere appears to be a star of the future and has impressed in the Jupiler Pro League with plenty of goals and assists.

The Magpies will have the funds for a big-money transfer following their takeover, so it could be a realistic deal to pursue, so long as the player isn’t put off by a move to Tyneside after Mignolet’s comments.

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Newcastle have just two attacking midfielders on the books at this moment in time, so bringing in a third could be a shrewd move in the long run.

In other news – Deal agreed: Lee Ryder drops big Newcastle update during international break on ‘hard-working’ gem

	Aakash Chopra scored an unbeaten 130 off 140 balls in Delhi’s big win over Punjab © Cricinfo Ltd

North Zone
Unbeaten centuries from Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan gave Delhi a massive ten-wicket win over Punjab at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. Ravi Inder, Uday Kaul and Ankur Kakkar scored half-centuries to take Punjab to a competitive 274. But Chopra and Dhawan scored at more than six an over to chase the total with 39 balls to spare. Punjab used six bowlers and none of them conceded less than five an over, with Manpreet Gony and Kakkar going for more than seven each.Vishal Bhatia took 4 for 32 with his left-arm spin as Himachal bowled out Haryana for 193 and chased the target with six overs to spare at the Harbax Singh Stadium in Delhi.Jammu & Kashmir collapsed to a 96-run defeat against Services in Delhi’s Palam A Ground. After Jasvir Singh (73) and Soomik Chatarjee (71*) steered Services to 281 for 6 in 50 overs, Rakesh Kumar removed the openers in the first over. Ian Dev Singh and Huwaid Ronga led a brief recovery of 59 runs but after Ronga was run out for 21, J&K kept losing wickets at regular intervals. A Kush, playing in only his second List A match, took 3 for 37.East Zone
Bengal needed only 29 overs to wrap up a nine-wicket win against Assam at the North-East Frontier Railway Stadium in Guwahati. S Sharath scored an unbeaten 80 from 148 balls but with absolutely no support from the rest of the batsmen – the next highest score being 14 – he could only push Assam’s total to 147. Arindam Das and Anustup Majumdar added 89 runs in 19 overs but after Majumdar’s dismissal, Das and Wriddhiman Saha knocked off the remaining 59 required from 60 balls to gain a bonus point for Bengal.Sourav Dubey’s 106-ball 93 wasn’t enough for Tripura to get their second win in a row as Orissa chased Tripura’s 260 with four wickets spare at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. Pinninti Jayachandra and Preetamjit Das took three wickets each as no other Tripura batsman scored more than 39. Three half-centuries from top-order batsmen – Bikas Pati, Payas Ranjan Sinha and Halhadar Das – gave Orissa their second win of the tournament.West Zone
After chasing 358 against Baroda at the same venue just a day before, Mumbai fell 46 runs short of Gujarat’s 307 at the Deccan Gymkhana Ground in Pune. Mumbai bowlers Ajit Agarkar, Rohan Raje and Murtuza Hussain went for more than six and a half an over as four Gujarat batsmen helped themselves to half-centuries. Medium-pace bowler Abhishek Nayar was taken for 19 runs in his two overs. Mumbai were in trouble when they lost four wickets for 94 runs. Anup Revendkar and Aditya Tare got fifties but having lost those early wickets Mumbai couldn’t pick themselves up for a fightback.Kedar Jadhav ensured Maharashtra successfully chased Saurashtra’s 327 by hammering a 97-ball 124 at the PYC Gymkhana Ground in Pune. Cheteshwar Pujara added 68 with Sagar Jogiyani and 107 with Shitanshu Kotak to take Saurashtra to a big total in their opening game of the tournament. Maharashtra scored at 6.8 runs an over and lost only five wickets in getting to the target.

True to the newly-found unpredictability of Zimbabwe domestic cricket, Southerns have clinched the country’s first-ever inter-provincial Twenty20 series after beating host province Easterns by five runs in the final in Mutare at the weekend.Southerns comprise largely of the old Masvingo, a province which in the old set-up, had no first-class status. It only contested the “B” Division of the Logan Cup, the country’s premier first-class tournament. Their victims in the final, Easterns, are the new champions of the Faithwear one-day series which ended in Harare last week.The historic Twenty20 tournament took place in the border town of Mutare over three days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The final was a rain-affected match reduced to eight overs a-side, and Southerns were 73 for 7 in their 8 overs with Man of the Match Norman Mukondiwa smashing 20 off nine balls. Young spin bowler Timycen Maruma, who played in Zimbabwe’s first and only Twenty20 match against South Africa last year, took 2 for 21.Easterns were 68 for 7, managing only 12 of the 17 they needed from the last over, with Blessing Mahwire doing the damage with 3 for 18.Southerns won through to the final after topping the group stage. Easterns finished level on points with Westerns, but secured their place thanks to a superior run rate. Northerns came fourth while Centrals, who lost all four of their matches, came bottom.

The Pakistani internationals, Shahid Afridi and Saqlain Mushtaq, will make their debuts for Ireland in Dublin at the end of the month, after being named in a 12-man squad for the C&G Trophy match against Hampshire at Clontarf on April 23.David Langford-Smith from the Phoenix club in Dublin also features in the squad, and is in line to win his first cap, following his impressive bowling display in the non-capped friendly match against Loughborough UCCE on Saturday.Also included is Dominick Joyce, the brother of the Middlesex batsman, Ed, and Eion Morgan, who starred in the recent Under-19 World Cup. Clontarf’s Trent Johnston will captain the side.Hampshire are the current holders of the title. They are expected to include Shane Warne and Kevin Pietersen in their ranks, for a match that will be televised live on Sky Sports.Ireland’s selectors have also named a 14-man squad for the EurAsia Series challenge in Abu Dhabi, which runs from April 22 until May 5. The tournament features the A teams of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Holland and Ireland, with the full UAE side completing the line-up.The Ireland A team contains seven players who have played for the senior side, including the former captain, Jason Molins. Paul Mooney was ruled out of contention due to injury, while Ralph Coetzee and Greg Thompson weren’t available. The side will be led by 21-year-old William Porterfield.C&G Trophy squad Trent Johnston (Clontarf, capt), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Andre Botha (North County), Jeremy Bray (Eglinton), Peter Gillespie (Strabane), Dominick Joyce (Merrion), David Langford-Smith (Phoenix), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Kyle McCallan (Waringstown), Adrian McCoubrey (Saffron Walden), Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan), Andrew White (Northamptonshire).EurAsia Series squad William Porterfield (Rush, capt), Conor Armstrong (North County), Trevor Britton (Bready), Kenneth Carroll (Railway Union), Martinus Fourie (Phoenix), Mark Hutchinson (Bangor), Gary Kidd (Waringstown), Jason Molins (Phoenix), John Mooney (North County), Kevin O’Brien (Railway Union and MCC Young Cricketers), Boyd Rankin (Bready and Derbyshire), David Simpson (Lisburn), Roger Whelan (Railway Union).

Graham Thorpe: heading Down Under © Getty Images

On the eve of England’s first Test against Bangladesh, Graham Thorpe has sprung a major surprise – and given further evidence of his impending retirement from international cricket – by signing a contract to play for New South Wales in the coming Australian season.”At this stage of my career, it makes sense to start planning for the future and this is an excellent opportunity for me to develop my career in a new environment,” said Thorpe in a statement. “I will be using the time to enhance my coaching qualifications and looking to contribute as much as I can to their cricket on-and-off the field.”It is quite common for Australian cricketers to come over to England in the final years of their career, but it is virtually unheard of for English players to go in the other direction, and it is further evidence of the high regard in which Thorpe, 35, is held Down Under. In 16 matches against Australia, Thorpe averages 45.74 with three centuries, but for various personal and fitness reasons he has played in just one of England’s last 14 encounters.Thorpe will be available from January 2006 until the end of the Australian domestic season in March, in which time he will be playing for a Sydney Grade club side, assist the NSW coaching set-up and be available to play for NSW if required. In theory, it means he will still be available for England’s tour of Pakistan in November and December, although it would rule him out of the trip to India in the new year.But, by ruling himself out of one tour, Thorpe has almost certainly ruled himself out of both, if the precedent set in 2001-02 still stands. On that occasion, Darren Gough and Alec Stewart opted to miss the pre-Christmas India leg, but found themselves on the sidelines for the New Zealand tour as well, as Fletcher stamped his authority on the selection process.Retirement is far from Thorpe’s thoughts for the time being, however, as a busy summer of international cricket gets underway at Lord’s tomorrow. “I informed Duncan Fletcher and David Graveney of my plans yesterday and have also assured them that as far as this summer is concerned, I will be giving all my attention to the forthcoming npower Test Series against Bangladesh and Australia.”

Sourav Ganguly takes a dig at the Pakistan bowling © AFP

Many psychological battles are raging ahead of India’s upcoming tour to Pakistan. While Sourav Ganguly has proclaimed that the Pakistan bowling attack is not as formidable as its predecessors, Javed Miandad and Rashid Latif have delivered counter-punches.Speaking at a corporate function in Delhi, Ganguly said, “They have a good bowling department. But just being fast doesn’t help. They should have quality. The present lot of Pakistani speedsters are not of the class of Wasim Akram who could swing the ball both ways. We have little to worry from them.” A few days back Ganguly had gone to the extent of saying, ” … even if we play [at] 60% of our game, we will win the Pakistan series.”But Ganguly has to contend with fierce salvos from the other side. Miandad has never been one to shirk a mental joust and the build-up to the series has him in the thick of things. When asked if the Pakistan team needed a bowling or fielding coach or a psychologist to assist them, Miandad said, “I don’t need anybody’s help now because I believe no one can perform miracle[s] in such a short time.”Miandad added, “All the cricketers have come through a process and now they don’t need training of a preliminary level.”Miandad is not alone in this regard. Latif, the former Pakistan captain, branded the Indian team as “under-achievers”. Latif told , “They are not the favourites for this series. If you look at their recent record, they have not achieved anything notable in Tests and in one-day internationals, they have choked in the big matches.”And he also said that the Indians, at times, tended to take a negative approach. “You can count the number of occasions when they have bowled out sides twice in a Test. Which is why they have not won many Tests or series. Plus they are prone to playing negative cricket.” He spoke about how India did not have the confidence to enforce the follow-on after scoring 700 runs at Sydney, “even though Australia was struggling with its bowling”.”In comparison, look at Pakistan’s record. It may be an unpredictable team but it has won more Tests and ODIs in the last four five years simply because it has had the bowling to bowl out sides twice. Secondly, Pakistan has no big superstar but plays like a unit with every player capable of turning in a match winning performance.”He finished with a flourish as he said, “Pakistan has another edge over them [India] — Inzamam-ul-Haq commands his place in the team on pure performance alone and not simply because he is the captain.”

The Valley, Anguilla Having surrendered their cup title, Barbados will try to restore some pride over the next four days.They will be seeking a place in the semifinals of the International Shield when they oppose the Leeward Islands in a sixth round Busta Series match at the Ronald Webster Park starting today.Barbados, sixth among the eight teams in the standings with 24 points, face a tall order if they are to progress to the International Shield, which is contested by the top four teams at the end of the preliminary phase.They will need to beat the Leeward Islands this weekend and the West Indies ‘B’ next weekend and then hope that other results go in their favour.Leewards, second on 39 points, have always been one of the most feared teams at regional level, but recent history points to Barbados having a chance in the Leewards’ backyard.Last season, when Barbados were desperately trying to stay in contention for the cup, they toppled the Leewards at Grove Park in Nevis, with Ryan Hinds, known more for his batting, setting up the victory with a regional record match haul of 15 wickets.Two seasons earlier, Barbados beat the Leewards at Webster Park, with another left-arm orthodox spinner, Winston Reid, snatching a career-best eight-wicket haul in the first innings.The Leewards have had a tendency to have difficulties against spinners who turn the ball away from right-handed batsmen, and Barbados are likely to recall left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn in place of off-spinner Ryan Austin.Fast bowler Tino Best, who was asked to sit out the last match against Bangladesh ‘A’ following the return of four West Indies selectees, is also tipped to feature in Barbados’ first four-pronged fast bowling attack in a few seasons.Barbados will also be closely monitoring the other matches.They will be hoping that Jamaica, the cup champions-in-waiting, secure maximum points against fourth-placed Trinidad and Tobago.Barbados will also want bottom-of-the-table Bangladesh ‘A’ to deny fifthplaced Windward Islands and for seventh-placed West Indies ‘B’ to avoid defeat against Guyana.Standings:Jamaica 51, Leeward Islands 39, Guyana 36, Trinidad and Tobago 33, Windward Islands 30, Barbados 24, West Indies ‘B’ 12, Bangladesh ‘A 10.

North West had put themselves in a commanding position by the end of the second day of their home encounter with Northerns, reducing the visitors to 152 for seven after piling up a first innings total of 327.Garth Roe and Jan Dreyer grabbed two wickets each, but it was a team effort for North West, which sent Northerns reeling to finish 175 behind and still 26 runs off avoiding the follow-on. Northerns may be through to the Super Eight phase of the Supersport Series and North West still bidding to make absolutely sure of their passage, but the visitors will not want to lose the match as their hosts would carry the points from this encounter forward to the next stage.Only opener Rudi Steyn, with 45, made much of an impression as the visitors’ wickets tumbled on Saturday.Earlier, Morne Strydom had been the mainstay of the home side’s innings with an unbeaten 89, including 14 fours, made off 177 balls, but there were useful contributions from the middle order and the tail. Mark Lavine, 48 not out overnight, made only one further run, but then Craig Light made 47, Alfonso Thomas made 31 and his partner in a record-equalling 10th-wicket stand earlier this season, Garth Roe, made 21. Clearly they have been out to show that stand of 174 was not a flash in the pan.

Everton grabbed a vital three points in the Premier League on Thursday night with a 1-0 win at home to Newcastle United.

Alex Iwobi scored the winner deep into injury time after the match was delayed for several minutes when a protester tied himself to one of the goalposts at Goodison Park.

It was not plain sailing for the Merseyside club by any stretch of the imagination, though, as the visitors had more possession of the ball and more shots on goal. The Transfer Tavern have used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst performers (to have played at least 45 minutes) were for the home side on the night:

Demarai Gray (6.7)

Given a 6.7 rating, Gray ranked as the Toffees’ third-worst player.

The winger lost out on six of his seven duels and failed to record a single shot on target, while he also gave the ball away 10 times.

Struggling to make any major impact, Gray was substituted off for Dominic Calvert-Lewin with the score still at 0-0.

Abdoulaye Doucoure (6.6)

Admittedly tied as Everton’s worst starter in terms of overall rating (6.6), Doucoure ranks second here as he at least kept a clean sheet as a defensive midfielder.

However, the Frenchman lost a player-high 13 duels and never managed a shot on target, successful dribble, interception or key pass, losing the ball on 13 separate occasions.

He also committed four fouls, again more than any other player on the pitch.

Richarlison (6.6)

With a 6.6 rating, Richarlison ranks as the Blues’ worst performer on the night.

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The Brazilian was unsuccessful in a mammoth 12 of his duels, while he managed no shots on goal at all and lost the ball 15 times, committing three fouls in the process.

In other news, find out why Anthony Gordon ‘fumed’ at Ben Godfrey

	Tim Southee: called up in his first full season © Getty Images

Jesse Ryder is in line for his New Zealand debut after he was called up for their Twenty20 and one-day series against England. Paul Hitchcock, the medium pacer who last played for New Zealand in their ODI tour of Pakistan in 2003-04, has been recalled, while the uncapped Tim Southee was named in the Twenty20 squad.Ryder, a hard-hitting batsman and handy seamer, has been on the fringes of the national squad for some time but was frustrated by not being selected sooner. He didn’t turn up for Ireland last UK summer, was considering playing for England, and refused to attend the training camp for New Zealand’s initial 30-man World Cup group. He made himself unavailable for last year’s New Zealand A tour of Australia, but he has finally won an opportunity.”Jesse has the potential to provide an explosive start alongside Brendon McCullum at the top of the innings in both forms of the game,” Richard Hadlee, the selection manager, said. “Tim will join the squad for the Twenty20 leg only. He is an impressive young bowler and the Twenty20 internationals present an ideal opportunity for him to step into the senior fold. He will then rejoin the New Zealand Under-19 World Cup squad for the World Cup.””Off the field I have had a few problems in the past but this year has been great,” Ryder told the New Zealand Herald. “You have to grow up sooner or later if you want to make the big time. It’s taken me a little longer than I had hoped.”Southee, 19, a right-arm fast bowler, made his debut for Northern Districts late last season. In his most recent first-class match, in December, he collected 6 for 68 in a losing side. He will be joined in the Twenty20 attack by Hitchcock, 33, who played 13 ODIs from 2002 to 2003.”Paul Hitchcock is an experienced bowler whose style is well suited to New Zealand conditions and venues,” Hadlee said. “He also gives greater depth to the batting order and a versatile range of bowling skills. Michael Mason replaces Tim Southee for the ODI series, with Jeetan Patel bringing the squad to 13.”New Zealand play two Twenty20 matches against England, the first on February 5, and then five ODIs. The squad announced today will be reviewed after the third one-dayer.Twenty20 squad Brendon McCullum (wk), Jesse Ryder, Jamie How, Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori (capt), Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Paul Hitchcock, Chris Martin.ODI squad Brendon McCullum (wk), Jesse Ryder, Jamie How, Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori (capt), Kyle Mills, Michael Mason, Jeetan Patel, Paul Hitchcock, Chris Martin.