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Newcastle United enter the Christmas period as an inconsistent outfit, with their recent Premier League draw against Chelsea keeping them in the bottom half of the standings.

A two-goal lead after Nick Woltemade’s quick brace was not enough to seal three points at St. James’ Park, and with away form still leaving so much to be desired, there are real problems for Eddie Howe to solve.

These are more than just a few wrinkles across the Magpies’ fabric. There are systematic issues to overcome.

While defensive issues abound, with injuries piling up and United now without a clean sheet in ten top-flight fixtures, there’s a sense that attacking additions might be needed too, especially on the right flank.

Why Newcastle need a right winger

Newcastle solved their interminable right-sided problem this summer when they signed Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest for £55m, but the Sweden international has been anything but effective this season.

Elanga’s Last Two Premier League Seasons

Stats (* per game)

24/25

25/26

Matches (starts)

38 (31)

17 (7)

Goals

6

0

Assists

11

1

Shots (on target)*

1.1 (0.6)

0.5 (0.2)

Pass completion

78%

79%

Key passes*

1.3

0.5

Big chances created

9

1

Succ. dribbles*

0.7 (39%)

0.2 (17%)

Ball recoveries

2.3

0.9

Tackles + interceptions*

0.7

0.5

Duels (won)*

3.0 (45%)

1.5 (33%)

Data via Sofascore

He’s regressed. Big time. Luckily, Jacob Murphy continues to play an industrious role, but his potency has been severed along with the link to Alexander Isak, and it’s looking more and more likely that Howe will need to convince PIF to dig into their pockets once again.

According to TEAMtalk, Newcastle are long-term admirers of Jarrod Bowen and would be ready to bid for the West Ham United talisman if he were to become available in 2026.

Irons owner David Sullivan is desperate to keep his club’s captain and has made it clear that he is not for sale this January, though it’s felt a £100m fee would be enough to get the deal done.

That, of course, is a huge sum, and one that suitors would not be happy to pay.

Why Newcastle should sign Jarrod Bowen

Howe and Newcastle have had Bowen on their radar for several years, and with relegation-threatened West Ham potentially skipping from the Premier League this season, there might just be a chance to secure the 29-year-old’s signature.

Bowen is no spring chicken, but he’s one of the most experienced wingers in the Premier League and has been a shining light in an otherwise dim Hammers system, their top scorer with five goals from 17 matches this season. It’s pertinent to note that he has only missed two big chances, as per Sofascore, and given his positional skill and ability to arc inward and into the danger area.

His kind of clinical quality would see him slot right into Newcastle’s starting line-up, shoving Elanga to the sidelines. The 23-year-old is only firing on goal once every two matches this season, and he’s hitting the target even less.

As per FBref, the £150k-per-week star ranks among the top 9% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for non-penalty goals scored per 90, and that tells a convincing tale of Bowen’s expertise and how he might thrive in a Newcastle set-up with a greater capacity to fire on all cylinders.

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But Bowen isn’t only a sharpshooter. He’s a “superstar”, as has been noted by writer Paddy Keogh. The Three Lions man has averaged 1.5 dribbles and 4.6 duels per league game this year, and he has long been well regarded for his ability as a playmaker, capable of whipping in mean crosses and using his intelligence to link up with strikers in the box.

There’s no question that Bowen is a cut above Elanga, who simply hasn’t been at the races since joining during the summer. And considering the inconsistent form the Tyneside club find themselves embroiled in this year, this could be a statement signing to propel Howe’s project back into the ascendancy.

Related Better signing than Woltemade: Newcastle struck gold on star who is "back"

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Thisara Perera picked up his maiden T20 five-for•AFP

An inspired Comilla Victorians crushed Rangpur Riders in a 72-run win to qualify to the BPL final. They not only withstood Thisara Perera’s five-wicket burst and a threatening start from the Rangpur openers, but also shrugged off their own injury-ravaged roster. Rangpur will now have a second shot in the second Qualifier on Sunday, facing the winner of the Eliminator.Comilla missed the services of Shoaib Malik due to a finger injury and used Nuwan Kulasekara, who bowled with a shoulder injury. The most heart-warming sight was to of the captain Mashrafe Mortaza, carrying a Grade-1 right hamstring tear, sending down four overs for only 13 runs, taking one wicket.Comilla batted well in two patches either side of Perera’s wickets. Imrul Kayes cracked 67 at the start and Ashar Zaidi slugged two sixes in a 15-ball 40 to power them to a total of 163.Rangpur began the chase in perfect manner. In the third over, Soumya Sarkar struck Shuvagata Hom for a reverse-swept four before Lendl Simmons added three more boundaries through the leg-side. Andre Russell then dropped Soumya, pedalling back from mid-off in the fifth over. But Rangpur’s fall began the very next ball.Running from deep midwicket, Shuvagata made up for his 17-run over with a superb catch at the square-leg boundary to get rid of Soumya, who made just nine. Abu Hider then made it two wickets off two balls when he removed Simmons with a stunning yorker, the batsman falling over and the ball ricocheting off his pads and into the stumps.Zaidi bowled a maiden in the sixth over, and Mortaza gave away just a single off the next over, his first in the tournament since December 8. The pressure told, as Zaidi had Mohammad Mithun stumped and Shakib Al Hasan caught at deep midwicket off the next ball. Mohammad Nabi struck a six and a four but fell to Mashrafe in the 11th over before Hider came into the picture again, this time with a running catch to get rid of Jahurul Islam. At 62 for 6, Rangpur were well past gone in the chase.Hider came back to bowl his second over and saw Ahmed Shehzad drop a simple chance at long-on off Perera’s bat before clean bowling him a ball later. Zaidi’s fourth wicket was of Darren Sammy in the 16th over, the arm ball capping a stunning all-round display. Hider then picked up another to bag his second four-for in the tournament and become its highest wicket-taker with 21 scalps.Put in to bat, Comilla waited till the end of the third over to find the boundary, Kayes swatting Arafat Sunny through square-leg. Liton Das struck one four in a labored 37-ball 28 but Kayes kept the run rate up with two fours each off Shakib and Mohammad Nabi in the fifth and sixth over. A Kayes blast over cover, off Al-Amin Hossain, then brought up Comilla’s highest opening stand in the tournament as well as the longest opening partnership from a team batting first this season.Liton fell to a beautiful delivery from Saqlain Sajib in the eleventh over before Kayes reached his first fifty of the season, and his second overall in the tournament.Mashrafe’s promotion of himself and Andre Russell to No 3 and No. 4 didn’t work, and the captain’s wicket began the Perera show. The Sri Lankan seamer then dismissed Russell and had Kayes caught and bowled, ending a 48-ball knock that included seven fours and two sixes. Both those sixes came off Shakib, who also had a stumping missed by Mithun when Kayes was on 58.When Shehzad was trapped leg-before for a golden duck at the end of the 16th over, Perera had picked up his first T20 four-for and although he didn’t complete the hat-trick in the next over, he finished with 5 for 26 from his four overs with the wicket of Alok Kapali. Courtesy of Zaidi’s 15-ball 40 in the last 4.3 overs, Comilla took their score to 163 for 7. He struck four fours and two sixes, one a straight blast off Sunny and the next a hit over midwicket off Nabi who gave away 18 runs in the last over.

Mark Davies hopes to get overs under his belt at Nottinghamshire © Getty Images

Durham have loaned medium-pacer Mark Davies to Nottinghamshire for one month. Davies will make his Notts debut in the Pro40 match against Essex on Wednesday.Davies played six County Championship matches this season and has taken 16 wickets. “I’m looking forward to getting involved in Nottinghamshire’s campaigns, both in one-day and Championship cricket,” Davies told Sportinglife.co.uk. “It will be good to get some more competitive one-day games under my belt, especially if Durham need me later on in the season.”Notts were hit by injuries to several of their bowlers and had already loaned Nadeem Malik, from Worcestershire, and Kyle Hogg from Lancashire this season.Durham chief executive David Harker said: “We appreciate that Mark is keen to play competitive first-team cricket in both forms of the game and due to the current strength of our bowling attack Mark’s appearances have been limited to Championship matches. We are able to recall Mark at any time should we need him, so this gives him a great opportunity to play at first-team level.”

Dalmiya has reason to believe there is more than meets the eye © Getty Images

In another rejoinder to Sourav Ganguly’s scathing email, Jagmohan Dalmiya has claimed it was a witch-hunt devised by his detractors in the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA). Dalmiya has accused Inderjit Singh Bindra, the PCA president and a friend-turned-rival, of attempting to alienate and neutralise him.Speaking to , Dalmiya highlighted his far-from-amicable relationship with Bindra. “Isn’t it an open secret? This is nothing but a witch-hunt,” he said. “I know who is behind all this. Mohali is the epicentre of all my troubles. He [Bindra] tried to implicate me in a false case, accusing me of financial irregularities. We are witnessing a blatant misuse of power.”Since last year’s BCCI election, where Dalmiya’s candidate for the president’s post was defeated, Dalmiya has found the going tough even in his home city of Kolkata. With the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) set to hold elections soon, Dalmiya has labeled Ganguly’s attack as “pitiable”.”I can’t believe it’s genuine…if it is then it’s very sad,” he said. “When I was in power I tried to help him as much as I could. The Board appointed top lawyers to hear his appeals against match referees. I don’t know much about this e-mail, but if he [Ganguly] indeed feels I have ruined his career, it’s pitiable. In my entire career as cricket administrator, I have never harmed anyone knowingly, nor have I resorted to any witch-hunt something that is going on against me. I will surely bounce back.”Dalmiya even questioned Bindra and Lalit Modi, the BCCI vice-president’s, ascendancy to power. “Let us not get into the ways used by them to grab power,” he said. “Everyone [in the Board] knows what ethical and unethical ways they used to woo voters.”Bindra, in response to the accusations, said: “If Dalmiya feels Mohali is the epicentre of his troubles, he should not forget that he was the epicentre of our troubles. After having gone through so much, I will be the last person to get vindictive. It was Dalmiya who claimed that he can never lose a BCCI election as he knew all about manipulating the voters. I don’t think he should be talking about this.””It is surprising that of all people Dalmiya is talking about ethics. I just want to tell him one thing – he must understand that if he has any sympathiser left in the BCCI, it is Inderjit Singh Bindra,” he added. “At any stage, if he wants my help, I shall readily do so for the sake of an old friendship.”In regards to the legal action taken against Dalmiya earlier this year, Bindra was cutthroat: “Where have the Board accounts disappeared? Why is he not submitting them? It was he who threw me out of the BCCI because I spoke in my personal capacity about match-fixing – among others things – something that was later proved by the Central Bureau of Investigation. He stopped the Board money that was due to PCA. Was that not witch-hunting?”

Unforgettable: England appeal for Michael Kasprowicz’s caught behind © Getty Images

Australia’s two-run Ashes defeat brought back awful memories for Jeff Thomson, the No. 11 dismissed in another heart-breaking loss to England at the MCG in 1982-83. Michael Kasprowicz expects to see the ball that ended Australia’s spectacular victory push forever, and the moment Thomson edged to Geoff Miller via Chris Tavare with his side four short of victory left him speechless.”It took me years to be able to talk about it I was so upset,” Thomson told . “I took that very badly. If anyone mentioned it to me I’d become ropeable.” Thomson said he couldn’t believe they lost then, and he expected Kasprowicz to be “absolutely shattered” now.While Kasprowicz and Brett Lee were aware of the target dropping rapidly during their 59-run stand, Thomson, who was batting with Allan Border, didn’t bother about the scoreboard. “It was only when I looked up and realised we had got so close that I thought I’d push a single and let AB hit the winning runs,” he said. “Ian Botham bowled a half-tracker which swung away a little bit and I tried to just sort of glide it. I should have played a baseball shot and hit it for four to win the game.”

Abhijit Kale will face a disciplinary committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India for his final hearing on April 29. Kiran More and Pranab Roy, two national selectors, alleged that Kale offered them bribes in order to be selected in the Indian team.The panel that will hear Kale’s case is headed by Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, and includes Kamal Morarka and Ranbir Singh Mahendra, two vice-presidents of the board. Kale had earlier replied to the board’s show cause notice with a 17-page letter.The Press Trust of India reports that SK Nair, the secretary of the BCCI, said, “It’s going to be an in-camera meeting and no details can be divulged at this juncture.” The same report adds that Kale has confirmed receiving the notice.

Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe:Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) needs 73 runs to complete 9000 ODI runs
Grant Flower (ZIM) needs 45 runs to complete 6000 ODI runs
Grant Flower (ZIM) needs 3 wickets to join the 100 ODI-wicket club
Marvan Atapattu (SL) needs 96 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Hashan Tillakaratne (SL) needs 117 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Grant Flower (ZIM) need 19 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Heath Streak (ZIM) needs 174 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) needs 10 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club
Heath Streak (ZIM) needs 5 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club
Aravinda De Silva (1028) needs 56 runs to become the second leading WorldCup run-getter, current second place record holder is Javed Miandad (1083)Australia v Kenya:Damien Martyn (AUS) needs 156 runs to complete 3000 ODI runs
Ricky Ponting (AUS) needs 165 runs to complete 6000 ODI runs
Andy Symonds (AUS) needs 36 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
Hitesh Modi (KEN) needs 147 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
Ricky Ponting (AUS) needs 162 runs to complete 1000 World Cup runs
Adam Gilchrist (AUS) needs 14 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Darren Lehmann (AUS) needs 178 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Steve Tikolo (KEN) needs 38 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Maurice Odumbe (KEN) needs 67 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Kennedy Otieno (KEN) needs 89 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Ravindu Shah (KEN) needs 128 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Thomas Odoyo (KEN) needs 192 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Glenn McGrath (AUS) needs 9 wickets to join the 50 World Cup wicket-club
Maurice Odumbe (KEN) needs 7 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club
Thomas Odoyo (KEN) needs 10 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club

Despite frequent interruptions for rain England manoeuvred themselves into a dominating position on the second day, only to find themselves once again dragged back into the mire by their old tormenter-in-chief Shane Warne.Five wickets for Warne, four of them late in the day, plus another high-quality all-round performance from Adam Gilchrist ensured that the Australians weren’t about to surrender their initiative in the series without a fight.At the close of the second day the home side, in their second innings, were on 144-6, leading overall by 139 runs, with 4 wickets in hand.Marcus Trescothick and Michael Atherton gave their side a solid platform by putting together a stand of 57 at the start of England’s second innings but then Warne struck in unusual fashion. Trescothick, on 31, struck the spinner firmly to leg but unluckily saw it rebound off the shin-pads of the close-in fielder Matthew Hayden. ‘Keeper Gilchrist threw himself forward to scoop up the catch.Mark Butcher made only one before Brett Lee trapped him lbw and the same bowler then had Mark Ramprakash caught behind off a no-ball. Lee, in a fiery burst, had earlier struck the grille on Atherton’s helmet with a delivery clocked at 91.8mph. Atherton also looked fortunate to survive a shout for lbw from Glenn McGrath, whose premature celebration took him beyond the striker.In the evening gloom Atherton and Ramprakash took their stand to 50, from 93 balls, with both batsmen hammering delightful shots through the offside from the bowling of Jason Gillespie. Atherton’s own half-century came with a push through the covers off Warne. On 51, though, it appeared as if he was given out incorrectly for the second time in the match. Replays seemed to indicate that he clipped his pad as he pushed forward to Warne but umpire Venkat gave him out caught behind.Having been very much on the ropes Australia bounced back with another wicket in Warne’s next over, as Alec Stewart chopped his second delivery onto his stumps.Ramprakash, still with something to prove at this level, had moved competently to 26 but then a rush of blood persuaded him to charge at Warne and Gilchrist completed the most routine of stumpings. The leggie had picked up 3-5 in nine balls and he collected yet another five-wicket haul in the final over as Steve Waugh dived to hold a bat-pad catch off Craig White.During the morning session Australia were again indebted to Adam Gilchrist, whose 54 ensured that the visitors picked up a narrow first innings lead. Bowling honours went to Alex Tudor who collected the last three wickets to fall, to finish with figures of 5-44, his first five-wicket haul in Tests.

Pundit Frank McAvennie has now unleashed on Everton after they posted their financial accounts.

The Lowdown: Accounts published

The Goodison Park faithful have now published their official accounts for the 2020/21 season on their website.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-news-3/” title=”Everton news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

They have recorded a total loss of £120.9m, with some of that down to the financial impact of the global pandemic.

However, the Merseyside club have remained in a secure position thanks to Farhad Moshiri, who has given them more than £600m since he first bought shares in 2016.

The Latest: McAvennie reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie has unleashed at the Toffees over their financial losses, and the 62-year-old added that relegation from the Premier League is now a ‘real worry’:

“You can spend all the money in the world but it’s the decisions that are letting them down.

“Hiring Benitez was such a huge mistake, no amount of money can help when you do that.

“A lot gets made of that hire but the transfers have been pretty bad too.

“Everton need to invest in people who make football decisions, people who know what they are doing because the current guys are clueless don’t know what they are doing.

“They are such a big club and I don’t want them to get relegated.

“But you look at the club’s position and it’s a real worry.“

The Verdict: Relegation catastrophic

If the Blues were to go down to the Championship, it would be nothing short of a catastrophe.

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They are already recording big financial losses, and without the security of wealth that the top flight brings through the likes of TV deals and sponsorships, they could be in real trouble come this time next term.

Of course, whether the pandemic will have as much of a financial impact is another question, but relegation still seems unthinkable at this moment in time, and so Frank Lampard and his team must push all the way to make sure that they stay up.

In other news, find out what ‘massive’ update will now have EFC ‘buzzing’ here!

Nottinghamshire 180 for 4 (Taylor 77, Franklin 3-26) trail Middlesex 374 (Malan 182*, Harris 73) by 194 runs
ScorecardBrendan Taylor led a steady Notts reply•Getty Images

The odds against Yorkshire retaining the title may be shortening every day but Middlesex ought not to be discounted as contenders just yet, even though Andrew Gale’s team clearly have some momentum. A win for Middlesex here would take them above Durham into second place, albeit having played a game more than the leaders.Yorkshire, moreover, would have a comfortable lead (assuming they go on to beat Warwickshire at Edgbaston). Yet if Middlesex can stay in touch there is the possibility that Yorkshire’s visit to Lord’s in the penultimate round in September could be a title decider. Yorkshire won by four wickets at Headingley in June but it was a close contest in which the champions needed another outstanding performance from Jonny Bairstow to give them the edge.Middlesex strengthened their first-day position by adding 62 runs before Nottinghamshire could claim the final three wickets. The eighth-wicket partnership that turned Sunday in Middlesex’s favour was broken in the eighth over of the morning by a Brett Hutton inswinger. Toby Roland-Jones fell to another swinging ball from Hutton to which he offered no shot but his runs and those of Tim Murtagh were valuable in helping Dawid Malan extended his career-best to 182 not out as Middlesex claimed a fourth batting point for only the second time this season.Nottinghamshire announced the highest membership numbers in the county’s 174-year history, revealing a 15 per cent increase to 8342 for 2015, during the afternoon. Those members need to show some forbearance at the moment, as their team struggles to recover from a poor couple of months in Championship cricket and Twenty20, which has clearly been a key driver in their popularity boom. The win over Worcestershire last week was a step in the right direction in their bid to avoid relegation in the Championship, which would clearly have negative consequences for membership next year. Yet the shortcomings that have undermined them in the last couple of months remain.Alex Hales, whose compelling start to the season brought him 639 runs from his first eight first-class innings, has only 90 from his last seven, the latest ending on 18 when he went to cut a ball from Harris but succeeded only in chopping it down on to his stumps. Michael Lumb, still feeling his way back after missing the first two months of the season following an arm operation, pushed tentatively at a ball from James Franklin and was caught behind.Franklin, the veteran former New Zealand left-armer, was the only Middlesex bowler who managed to make the ball swing to any noteworthy degree. It was the first over of his second spell, from the Pavilion End, that undermined Nottinghamshire’s progress towards a more substantial reply after Brendan Taylor and Steven Mullaney had added 71 for the third wicket. He bowled Taylor with an inswinger that the former Zimbabwean captain played all round and, two balls later, took a return catch in his follow-through as Riki Wessels tried to flick the ball away on the leg side.Taylor made 77, his second half-century in as many matches and his fifth all told in the Championship, three of which he has converted to hundreds. He has 742 runs for the season so far, which is a fair return given that his signing brought Nottinghamshire more criticism for importing another batsman at the expense of home grown talent, although with Jake Libby injured after his impressive introduction last season there were extenuating circumstances. Only Jonny Bairstow and James Hildreth have scored more Division One runs than Taylor.Speaking afterwards, Taylor said he felt he owed his team-mates some runs after putting down two chances in the slips on the first day. “I’ve been fairly consistent in the slips over the years but I’ve dropped a few too many this season,” he said. “It’s been a little different catching Duke balls to Kookaburra ones but they’ve been very catchable chances I’ve put down. There’s no excuses.”Samit Patel cannot cite unfamiliarity with the make of ball as an explanation for his two misses at point on Sunday, which between them cost 162 runs, nine to Harris and 153 to Malan. He had carefully cleared 12 of his personal deficit by the close, with Mullaney, who batted impressively under some pressure, unbeaten on 57, his second half-century of the season, although with 45 more needed to reach Nottinghamshire’s first target, of avoiding the follow-on, the two will need to work with equal diligence on the third morning.