All posts by h716a5.icu

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte is keen to sign Weston McKennie this month.

According to Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, the 52-year-0ld is pushing sporting director Fabio Paratici to bring his former Juventus signing to north London before the transfer deadline in under two weeks time.

The American international has excelled under Massimiliano Allegri and has clearly caught the eye of the ex-Bianconeri manager as he is said to be a big fan of the midfielder.

It’s believed that despite his breakthrough at the Allianz Stadium, the Serie A giants could still be willing to let him go for the right price, so if Conte wants him, then Paratici and Spurs should be all over it.

That’s because they could well deliver the Italian head coach his new midfield beast. At Chelsea, where Conte won a Premier League and FA Cup, he had an absolute animal in N’Golo Kante.

Never is he truly spectacular but he certainly is consistent and always, always delivers. The diminutive Frenchman does the dirty work with aplomb and has a knack for carrying the ball forward with ease.

The World Cup winner, who cost the Blues around £32m from Leicester City, was one of Conte’s first signings at Stamford Bridge.

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“In my opinion, he can play in every position in midfield. We are talking about an amazing player, a top player,” Conte once told Sky Sports (via Goal.com).

“He is amazing with and without the ball. When you have N’Golo in your team, you can think you are playing with one player more. You can find a smile on his face every day. He is a very positive guy. He is one of the best players I have had in my career as a coach.”

There are some similarities to make with McKennie, who has also been lauded for his ability to play in a multitude of midfield roles.

His former Schalke 04 boss David Wagner not only described him as a “leader” but also an “outstanding talent” to Bundesliga.com.

“In the No.6 or No.8 position he has the mentality, a real working mentality that you need. And he’s brave on the ball as well. He can be one of the best midfielders in the Bundesliga.”

The 23-year-old, once dubbed a “rock” by Andrea Pirlo, has averaged 1.4 interceptions, 1.1 tackles and 1.1 dribbles per game in the Serie A this campaign, via WhoScored. Such numbers aren’t that far off what Kante is achieving this campaign either.

Therefore, it would be an intriguing decision to land the £22.5m-rated McKennie this month and in the Juventus star, Conte could well discover his next Kante.

AND in other news, Spurs already have Conte’s dream Ndombele replacement in £18m-rated “fantastic talent”…

Glamorgan opener Mark Cosgrove made his fourth century of the season to ensure the County Championship match with promotion rivals Gloucestershire remains evenly balanced at Cheltenham

31-Jul-2010
Scorecard
Glamorgan opener Mark Cosgrove made his fourth century of the season to ensure the County Championship match with promotion rivals Gloucestershire remains evenly balanced at Cheltenham.Cosgrove’s entertaining 123 included 19 fours and Glamorgan ended the second day’s play on 283 for 7 and with an overall lead of 256. In the morning session, James Franklin (59) and Chris Dent (45 not out) had been chiefly responsible for taking Gloucestershire from an overnight 145 for five on to 243 all out and a first-innings lead of 27.Jim Allenby took three of the final five Gloucestershire wickets to finish with a career-best return of 5 for 59. Glamorgan had to wait 10 overs for their first wicket of the day, which came when nightwatchman Steve Kirby was lbw as he played forward defensively to left-arm spinner Dean Cosker.Franklin progressed to a 108-ball half-century, with seven fours, and had looked in no trouble until he holed out to Tom Maynard at long-on off Robert Croft. Allenby dismissed Jon Lewis and Vikram Banerjee, caught behind and lbw respectively, in quick succession, but Gemaal Hussain helped Dent add 24 for the last wicket before he too was lbw.Dent’s unbeaten 45 came from just 42 balls and contained three sixes, one hit straight down the ground off Croft and the other two picked up over square leg and mid-wicket off Cosker. Glamorgan made a poor start to their second innings as Franklin won an lbw verdict against Gareth Rees and bowled Tom Maynard to make it 23 for 2 in 10 overs.But Cosgrove looked in superb form as he took advantage of the short square boundaries and quick outfield to score a high percentage of his runs in boundaries. Ben Wright helped the Australian left-hander put on 61 before he got trapped on his crease and fell lbw to Lewis.Glamorgan’s revival continued with a partnership of 99 for the fourth wicket between Cosgrove and skipper Jamie Dalrymple. Cosgrove reached his 103-ball century just before tea when he cut a delivery from Kirby to third man for three runs. And, such was his dominance of the innings, he had scored 102 out of Glamorgan’s 150 for three at tea.The total had moved on to 183 when Gloucestershire got the breakthrough they badly needed when Cosgrove chopped a delivery from Hussain on to his stumps. Hussain claimed his 48th wicket of the season in his next over when Dalrymple was bowled while attempting an off-drive, and it became 219 for 6 when Kirby had Allenby taken at second slip by Dent.Kirby struck again when he had James Harris leg before, the 12th lbw of the match, but Mark Wallace and Croft negotiated the remaining nine overs and an exciting finish looks likely on the third day.Wallace reached a 63-ball half-century in the penultimate over when he struck Lewis for four behind square. He finished on 51 and had put on 42 for the eight wicket so far with Croft, who has 17.

MS Dhoni said at the pre-match press conference that they were toying with the idea of picking a specialist batsman in place of the struggling Ravindra Jadeja

Siddarth Ravindran27-Aug-2010India are considering playing an extra batsman in Saturday’s final following a slew of collapses in the tri-series. MS Dhoni said at the pre-match press conference that they were toying with the idea of picking a specialist batsman in place of the struggling Ravindra Jadeja.”If we feel the wicket is dry and not hard then Jadeja will get a spot,” Dhoni said, “but if we feel it won’t help the spinners and we feel like playing an extra batsman then Jadeja will have to miss.”Allrounder Jadeja has been the preferred option at No. 7 for the past couple of months, but he has not contributed much with the bat on the difficult Dambulla tracks either in the Asia Cup or the current tri-series. The absence of Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, both of whom are capable batsmen, has weakened India’s ability to resist down the order when the specialists fail.”In this tournament the lower order looks completely different because you don’t have Harbhajan Singh who bats at No.8 and you don’t have Zaheer Khan who bats at nine,” Dhoni said. “They are two batsmen who can score a few runs. When it comes to the four batsmen who we have right now… they have not been able to score, but it won’t be justified to put the blame on them because they are in the side for their bowling and they are doing that job.”Virender Sehwag has been the architect of both of India’s victories in this tournament, scoring nearly as much as the rest of the team. “I don’t want to put pressure on Sehwag since he is a free-flowing cricketer,” Dhoni said. “He is a natural aggressive cricketer. So he should back himself and bat the way he bats.”India reached the final after their pumped-up quick bowlers demolished New Zealand’s batting on Wednesday. “Last game there was lot of intensity and we are hoping that in tomorrow’s match also there is enough intensity,” Dhoni said. “First 15 overs and last 10-12 overs and Powerplay is important. In the middle if the intensity drops down a bit it is okay but at the start of the game it sets up the tone for the whole match.”Right through the tournament, Dhoni has stressed on the need to give the opposition bowlers respect in the initial stages of the innings. “I think this has been a series of ups and down not only for our batsman but for all the three teams that have participated. The new ball spell has been important. It will be crucial not too lose too many wickets early. How you do that is not important, whether it looks good or doesn’t.”On Saturday, Dhoni will be looking to win his fifth successive one-day series in Sri Lanka as captain. Calling correctly at the toss helps. “We have won many tosses; in the series before the Asia Cup when we had come to Sri Lanka, at the Premadasa, we won four tosses out of five,” he said. “Before it we had played the initial part of a series in Dambulla, where again we won several tosses. In this tournament we have seen that the toss is not the factor like in the earlier series.”

Newcastle United have reportedly now made ‘official enquiries’ over Mitchel Bakker ahead of a potential move before the January transfer window shuts.

The Lowdown: Defence needs work

The St. James’ Park faithful did well to bring in Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid earlier on in the window to fill the right-back position, but now they need to strengthen in the centre of defence and at left-back.

They have conceded no fewer than 43 goals in the Premier League so far this season, the second-most behind Norwich City, and so the defence needs to be tightened if they have any hopes of avoiding relegation down to the Championship.

Bakker is a player who is comfortable at centre-back and left-back, and so it is no surprise to see the North East club strongly linked with him.

The Latest: Bakker enquiries

Craig Hope reported this week that a deal looks ‘unlikely’, but according to De Telegraaf (via Sport Witness), the Tyneside outfit have now made ‘official enquiries’ with regards to a potential move for Bakker, and he has ‘been informed’ of their interest.

Bayer Leverkusen are apparently asking for a price of €12m (£10m) to let him go, lower than the £16m tag first reported by Hope, and if a deal is agreed, this report claims the player would be ‘willing’ to discuss terms with Eddie Howe and the Magpies.

The Verdict: Bargain

If the new owners can get Bakker in for just £10m, then it would certainly be a bargain.

He is playing at a high level in the Bundesliga, having also played for established European clubs in PSG and Ajax, and at 21 years of age, he still has so much potential left to fulfil.

Described as someone who has ‘pace and strength’ as well as ‘footballing ability’ (via The Chronicle) by Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller, Bakker has everything needed already for a modern day full-back, and the fact that he can play at centre-half too makes the deal a no-brainer for the Toon, who are in desperate need of both.

In other news, find out what big transfer twist involving two NUFC targets has emerged here!

Celtic could look to bring in further January signings on transfer deadline day.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Mark Guidi, with the Daily Record journalist stating during an interview with The Go Radio Football Show (via Vital Celtic) that a late move by Ange Postecoclou in the winter market should not be ruled out.

Speaking about Celtic’s potential last-minute transfer business, Guidi said: “You never say never.”

Fans will be dreaming

With Celtic having been linked with some extremely exciting players this month, such as Ahmed Kendouci, Fernando Henrique and Mehdi Ghayedi, as well as it being reported that the Bhoys could look to tie up the permanent signings of both Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers, there would still very much appear to be irons in the fire for Postecoglou on deadline day.

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And, should the 56-year-old indeed manage to seal any one of these aforementioned deals, it would cap a rather extraordinary winter window for the Hoops, who have already landed the signings of Matt O’Riley, Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi, Daizen Maeda and Johnny Kenny this winter.

Indeed, should the Greek-Australian manager wish to give his side the best possible chance of reclaiming their Premiership crown this season, it would look to be a smart move to keep a very close eye on the movements of the market on deadline day, as one of the Bhoys’ targets could very easily become available on a late deal.

However, at present, it looks as if it is a case of wait and see for the Parkhead faithful, although Guidi’s update will have left many fans dreaming of one last Celtic splurge this January.

In other news: “I’ve been told”: Joseph drops teasing deadline day claim, Celtic fans will be excited

The Champions League kicks off on Friday but struggles to gain attention after two weeks of serious scandal in England

The Preview by Sidharth Monga09-Sep-2010Match factsFriday, September 10
Start time 17.30 (15.30 GMT)Kieron Pollard’s career took off during the previous Champions League•Indian Premier LeagueBig PictureCricket is not known to ask itself the question whether and why the show must go on. The show just keeps going on. The last two weeks have been serious scandal: players have looked back suspiciously at certain events in certain matches, fans have wondered if they actually follow a sport, cricket writers have asked themselves if the great strategic moves they wrote about were indeed strategic moves and not “spot-fixes”, and the ICC has deemed three men unfit to represent cricket until they are cleared.The show perhaps has no choice but to go on. Sponsors have paid the monies, broadcasters have set up the cameras and the stump microphones, the teams have flown in and the second season of Champions League Twenty20 is upon us, though once again without teams from the country that holds the World Twenty20 crown.On then to Highveld Lions v Mumbai Indians, which seems a hopeless mismatch on paper. It’s Tendulkar, Pollard, Malinga, Zaheer, Bravo, Harbhajan v Alviro Petersen and lesser-known friends. It’s also the classic tussle between the powerful and the underdog. One team is the triumph of money, a rich, powerful ensemble, most of them bought in an auction, but also a unit that has learned to play well enough as a team to have dominated the IPL. The other team is largely a collection of homegrown talent, who have stayed together through good times and bad, winning the inaugural domestic Twenty20 competition in South Africa, then struggling for three years before finishing runners-up last year.The Lions play as a team day in and day out, across formats; Mumbai’s superstars gather for a month or so every year just for Twenty20s, and their being together next year depends on another auction. This is the first time Mumbai are coming across a team that is not similarly acquired at an auction. At the same time Mumbai are one of the IPL teams to have invested wholeheartedly in domestic talent, in the likes of Ambati Rayudu, R Sathish and Saurabh Tiwary. Lions don’t have much else other than domestic talent to work with. Petersen is the only current international in the squad, Neil McKenzie the most experienced, and Zander be Bruyn and Vaughn van Jaarsveld the nearly men. A clash of Twenty20 philosophies is a good way to start the Champions League with.Watch out for…Kieron Pollard is the ultimate modern T20 freelancer. Played for Trinidad & Tobago in last Champions League, is representing Mumbai now, could be wearing the South Australian Redbacks shirt next year. Recently had his face busted open by a Dominic Cork bouncer in the English domestic Twenty20. The last time he played for Mumbai, he was held back for too long, potentially costing them the IPL crown. Do Mumbai now know how best to use him?Robert Frylick topped the wicket charts in the South African domestic Twenty20 competition, and also managed to bowl two maiden overs. His 14 wickets in eight matches, at 16.21 per, carried Lions into the final. He is known to be a deceptive medium-pacer.Key contestsSachin Tendulkar v Ethan O’Reilly Tendulkar is known to make young unknown bowlers famous. O’Reilly fits the bill perfectly: a young, quick bowler, drawing attention for his deceptive pace, against the master who has seen it all. A bit of trivia: most unknown bowlers who have dismissed Tendulkar bowled have gone on to represent their national side. Ask Piyush Chawla, Sreesanth and R Vinay Kumar.Stats and trivia Between them, Pollard and Bravo have played T20 cricket for eight teams at a serious level: West Indies, T&T, Mumbai Indians (both of them), Essex, Victoria, Kent (Bravo), South Australia and Somerset (Pollard). Between them, they have taken 151 T20 wickets. Pollard, with 81 of those, is No. 13 on the all-time list. van Jaarsveld has scored the most runs at the Wanderers, the venue for the tournament-opener. His 405 runs in Johannesburg have come at an average of 50.62 and a strike-rate of 142.60. Quotes”After having played for such a long time, I’m playing in South Africa in September for the first time in my career, so conditions are slightly different.”
Sachin Tendulkar finds himself in a situation he hasn’t been before in more than two decades of playing international cricket“Nerves are a funny thing – it’s always good to have some heading into a game. Just being totally laidback is not a good thing.”

Australia must turn around their form in the three one-day internationals against Sri Lanka so they can enter the Ashes with some momentum, according to Michael Clarke

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2010Australia must turn around their form in the three one-day internationals against Sri Lanka so they can enter the Ashes with some momentum, according to Michael Clarke. The Australians opened their home season with a demoralising seven-wicket loss to Kumar Sangakkara’s men in Sunday’s Twenty20 at the WACA, less than a month from the first Ashes Test.It was Australia’s first Twenty20 loss at home, and their fifth consecutive defeat across all formats, stretching back to July’s Test series against Pakistan. That is hardly the form they want heading in to the battle to regain the urn and Clarke, who captained the Twenty20 outfit, said it was important to use the ODI series to change their fortunes.”You want to win every game you play, in all three forms of the game,” Clarke told reporters in Perth after the game. “I was told in the press conference we had won 10 out of 10 in this form of the game in Australia, so it is disappointing to lose our first Twenty20 game in Australia.”It is important that we play good cricket and win these games against Sri Lanka to build momentum into the Test series against England. We need to improve, there is no doubt about it. We are not getting the results we would like in all three forms and we need to get better and keep working on our game, individually and as a team and keep working on the areas that aren’t as good as they need to be.”Clarke opened the batting at the WACA and battled to 16 from 19 balls, which contributed to the team’s below-par total. However, he was far from alone and it wasn’t until Brad Haddin and Steven Smith combined for a counter-attacking sixth-wicket stand that the Australians began to find some touch.”I thought it was the right decision for the team,” Clarke said of opening alongside David Warner. “I made that decision, unfortunately we didn’t score enough runs tonight. I felt good. Both Dave and I hit six balls in the first three overs out of the middle of the bat, but straight to the field, which was a little bit disappointing. If they find the gap we are off to a decent start.”Australia rested Michael Hussey and Mitchell Johnson, who instead turned out for Western Australia in a Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval. It wasn’t an enjoyable experience for Hussey, who made a golden duck, and the pair will rejoin the limited-overs squad for Wednesday’s first ODI at the MCG.

A worrying update has emerged on Newcastle United attacker Allan Saint-Maximin ahead of the club’s clash with Brentford.

What’s the latest?

Magpies boss Eddie Howe has stated that they will make a “late call” on the forward and that the knock will not keep him out for a significant period of time.

Alistair Magowan quoted him as saying: “He’s been away getting intensive treatment. He said when he suffered the injury, it wouldn’t be long term. So we will keep our fingers crossed on him.”

This comes after he was absent for the 1-1 draw with West Ham, having picked up a blow against Aston Villa in the previous outing.

Newcastle will be gutted

Newcastle fans will surely be gutted by this news as Saint-Maximin being ruled out of this match would be a big blow to the side.

Only Callum Wilson (six) has scored more goals for the Magpies than the Frenchman (five) this season and the ex-Bournemouth striker is currently sidelined through injury. The club’s next top scorer is Jonjo Shelvey with just two Premier League strikes and this suggests that losing Saint-Maximin would be a major blow to the side’s chances of scoring.

Not only is he a goal threat himself but he is also the chief creator. His tally of three assists in the top-flight is more than any other player in the squad has managed and his 4.6 dribbles per game place him 3.2 clear of any other in the team, highlighting how impressive he has been in comparison to his teammates.

This shows that Howe would be missing out on a player with a huge attacking threat and someone who can counter quickly with the ball at his feet. Saint-Maximin’s exciting ability to take the ball past defenders on the dribble opens up so much space for himself and others and they would sorely miss that if he is unable to play today.

Therefore, the news that it will be a “late call” over his fitness is worrying for the supporters as it suggests that he could miss out on the XI and his talent in the final third will not be on show against Thomas Frank’s side. They may also be concerned that he could end up playing through pain and causing more damage, although Howe will surely not want to risk losing him for an extended period of time.

AND in other news, Howe could unearth Coloccini 2.0 in “commanding” NUFC tank, he’s “captain” material…

The USA has an abundance of natural talent but its development and cricketing future face several roadblocks, says ICC’s Americas Development Performance Officer Andy Pick

Peter Della Penna13-Oct-2010The USA has an abundance of natural talent but its development and cricketing future face several roadblocks, including funding, that need to be addressed more effectively by the USA Cricket Association (USACA). That’s the opinion of Andy Pick, the ICC’s Americas Development Performance Officer, who is working with the association to streamline things.”I think they have an abundance of natural talent, which is one of the things that is leading to them winning,” Pick told ESPNcricinfo in a recent interview. “If I’m brutally honest, they have at the moment little framework beneath it to continue providing and developing their best players. That is part of my role, to try to work with the US to see if we can help rectify that situation.”Pick, who worked for the ECB for 10 years prior to taking up his current position and also coached Canada at the 2007 World Cup, says that while the USA faces many logistical roadblocks to get players together to train, not much is being done by USACA to deal with them.”My concern would be when that natural talent retires and some of the older players aren’t playing – how they are going to look to replace those players? I went to the Under-19 World Cup and they’ve got some talent in their Under-19 team, a couple of 19-year-olds but also three or four under-17s who will be available for the next World Cup, and it’s disappointing in a way that nothing has been done to develop those players. USACA itself is not doing anything to help develop those players. There are no coaching courses. There are no elite player programs. It’s down to funding.”Pick is concerned that the window of opportunity for developing several of USA’s players for the next U-19 World Cup is closing. Five players who were part of the 2010 squad in New Zealand are eligible to participate in 2012: Salman Ahmad, Abhijit Joshi, Greg Sewdial, Hammad Shahid and Steven Taylor. Joshi played league cricket in England this summer while Taylor spent time training in Jamaica before joining the senior team in Italy for WCL Division 4. However, Pick feels not much else has been done to chart anyone’s progress through a programme.”I don’t doubt for a minute that they won’t put together a programme,” said Pick. “I would imagine that Don [Lockerbie, the chief of USACA] has probably got a draft programme ready to go because he will have given it some thought, because it’s reliant on funding. But you can’t afford for nothing to be happening while you’re chasing the funding. How long has it been since the World Cup, seven or eight months? The young players who starred at the World Cup, especially the Under-17s who could be stars at the next World Cup, have had no coaching. So depending on what they’re getting from home, wherever they live and whatever coaches are available to them there, invariably they could be standing still.””That’s where the USA will lose out next time because in other countries, those 17-year-olds that played in the previous World Cup will have developed and come through and be really dominant players at the next one,” said Pick. “If you don’t do anything to improve your dominant players over that two year period, that’s when you don’t make the progress. That experience in New Zealand will count for nothing unless some work is put in in the meantime.”Pick is also hoping that more of the U-19 players are able to graduate into the senior team in the near future. Opportunities need to be presented to them or else he fears there could be a drastic drop off once the current group of senior players start to exit.The victorious USA team at the World Cricket League Division 4•International Cricket Council”If they go to the World Cup in 2015, how many of these players will be there? They need to have a timeline and look to start drafting some people in.” The perfect example, he said, was Ryan Corns, who beat Ireland’s Paul Stirling to be named Player of the Tournament at the 2009 U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Canada. While Stirling has a contract with Middlesex and is a regular in Ireland’s senior squad, Corns has never played for USA’s senior team. In September, the 20-year-old posted the highest score of anyone at USACA’s 2010 Senior Conference Tournaments with 119 off 77 balls.”Ryan was talked about to me as if he was the next great player coming through yet it worries me to see that he doesn’t make it on the trip to Bermuda and not made it [to Italy]. If he is a quality player, then he should at least be able to find his way into a 14-man squad. You’ve got to play and got to develop because you won’t always have this naturally talented bunch of players and USA, they only have to look as far as Bermuda to see what can happen if a large part of your team all come to the end of their careers at the same time.”Another major issue peculiar to the USA – and Canada – is the geographical spread, making travel difficult and expensive. “Geographically it’s huge and financially to cover that amount of area, if you want to get players together, you’ve got to fly players. It’s not like in England where they get in a car and drive for two hours and everybody gets together. So that’s difficult.”Pick met with USACA CEO Don Lockerbie and the vice-president of operations Manaf Mohamed over the summer in Toronto and says he stressed the importance of outlining and implementing plans to make sure players get the training they need. While there aren’t too many opportunities to bring a team together all at once for a training camp, he feels there are equally effective ways to do it on a regional basis.”If you’ve only got seven players in a region, but they’re all in with a chance of hopefully developing into players that will play at national level, you have to provide them with development,” said Pick. “If you don’t, then you’re just leaving them and they’re not going to develop. So instead of thinking in terms of the bigger picture, where you’ve got to get a camp of 20 players down to Florida, let’s look at it differently. Look at doing the work in the regions initially. By all means, if you can get them to Florida once a year for a camp, great. But because you can’t get everybody down there, that’s not a reason to not do anything.”Pick is hoping to set up two pilot projects in America for this winter, as part of which the ICC will help USACA run an elite player program in two separate regions, based upon which regions are able to supply the most players for the program, making it cost efficient.The junior and senior nationals next month in Florida will provide key preparation for USA’s upcoming international fixtures. USA will be participating in the ICC World Cricket League Division 3 in Hong Kong next January while an U-19 team will be selected to begin the path towards qualification – for the second successive time – for the 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup by playing at the Americas Qualifier.As USA aims to qualify for WCL Division 2 on their rise towards potential World Cup qualification, Pick is hopeful that the team can continue the success they’ve had in 2010 after winning the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 title in Bermuda as well as WCL Division 4 in Italy. However, they need to be prepared to meet the demands of the increased level of competition that they will encounter going forward.”It could be a really exciting time for US cricket. They’ve got a talented bunch of players at the moment who are getting cricket on the map,” said Pick. “As they get bigger and they get to a higher level, they will eventually come up against teams where they’ll get beat more often than they win and that’s when having a structure and a framework underneath it to support it will be critical.”

Newcastle United defender Emil Krafth was an unsung hero for manager Eddie Howe in their win over Leicester City in the Premier League.

The Magpies’ fine run of form under the Englishman continued as they took another big leap towards safety with a 2-1 victory over the Foxes, courtesy of a last-gasp winner from winter signing Bruno Guimaraes, who bagged a brace on the day.

He cancelled out Ademola Lookman’s 19th-minute opener on the half-hour mark before heading home a bounced ball from Joe Willock in stoppage time late in the second half at St James’ Park.

The Brazilian powerhouse will take much of the plaudits but it really was a team effort from Howe’s men, with the Swedish defender arguably standing out amongst his peers.

He was an absolute colossus defensively and tried to contribute going forward from the right-back role, too.

Shields Gazette reporter Dominic Scurr waxed lyrical about Krafth’s input in his post-match ratings column, where he graded the 27-year-old an eight out of ten – the same as Guimaraes, and wrote:

‘Had a couple of shaky moments but more than made up for them with some crucial blocks and challenges to keep Leicester at bay. His best performance of the season. Booked.’

Indeed, no Magpies player had more touches than the former Amiens man as he registered 61 touches, some eight more than the next best, Joelinton (53).

Meanwhile, further back, Krafth registered a whopping seven tackles, which was more than anyone else on the pitch in the northeast, and he also recorded three interceptions, one clearance and he won 80% of his battles, as per SofaScore.

The £57k-per-week ace also drew further praise from other journalists following the match – Newcastle World reporter Liam Kennedy dubbed him “immense”, whilst ChronicleLive’s Mark Carruthers claimed he had a “really solid game” up against “two tricky opponents.”

On the above evidence, the Sweden international was certainly one of the unsung heroes for Howe against the Foxes. He, and the Magpies faithful, can be proud of that display, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Bid made: PIF in negotiations for £83m “diamond”, he’d be a huge coup for Newcastle…