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West Brom followed on from their disappointing 2-0 defeat against Preston North End in midweek with yet another loss by the same scoreline, this time in their away clash against Millwall on Saturday.

A brace from striker Benik Afobe secured the win for the east London club and handed the Baggies their fourth defeat in their last six league games.

One player who stood out for West Brom today, but for all the wrong reasons in terms of his performance, was full-back Darnell Furlong.

Furlong did Ismael no favours

In his 90 minutes on the pitch at The Den, the 26-year-old – who is currently picking up £15k-per-week according to Salary Sport – had 46 touches of the ball but lost possession 25 times whilst making just seven accurate passes out of the 20 he attempted, as per SofaScore.

Things weren’t much better for him off the ball either, with Furlong losing seven of his 12 duels and failing to make even one interception or clearance.

This display ultimately earned the Englishman an overall match rating of 6.2/10, making him the lowest-rated outfield West Brom player on the day according to SofaScore, showing just how much of a liability he was against Millwall.

Birmingham Live also picked up on his underwhelming performance by giving him a match rating of 4/10 and saying that his “sloppy challenges often disrupted the flow of play”.

Given West Brom’s disappointing run of form over the past few weeks, with Ismael reportedly clinging on to his job amid speculation that he would be leaving The Hawthorns after their midweek defeat at Preston, this latest disappointment could have sealed the Frenchman’s fate in terms of his future in charge of the club.

With that in mind, the pressure will be on Furlong and the other Albion players to start performing and get their season back on track if they want to have any chance of securing promotion by the end of the campaign.

If that doesn’t happen, they could well cost Ismael his job at West Brom and force the hierarchy to seek yet another new manager to take charge of the team – and potentially end up navigating another season in the Championship.

In other news: West Brom must launch late transfer swoop for “humble” £5.5k-p/w gem, Ismael needs him

Yorkshire amassed 304 for 2 on the first day of their match against Durham

Jon Culley at Headingley 27-Apr-2010
ScorecardAnthony McGrath ensured no let up for the Durham bowlers as he progressed to an unbeaten half-century•Getty ImagesDurham have won back-to-back titles despite their emergence as a supply line for England’s international teams yet there is a limit to how far even their resources stretch. They have coped with having Paul Collingwood, Stephen Harmison and Graham Onions missing simultaneously at times but that trio are not their only current absentees.Nigel Kent, the Durham physio, who has been tending to back injuries afflicting Harmison and Onions, is also treating Mitch Claydon for an abdominal strain and must now add Callum Thorp to his list of patients after the Australian suffered a strain during the warm-up.It was not nearly so dramatic as James Hildreth’s mishap at Taunton, where a pre-match game of touch rugby ended with a gashed knee and a trip to hospital. However, Hildreth was at least able to take his place in Somerset’s XI after treatment.Durham, who had nominated 23-year-old seamer Chris Rushworth for his first-class debut in place of Claydon, turned to leg-spinner Scott Borthwick to fill in for Thorp, reasoning that a dry pitch would probably suit the slow bowlers as the match evolved. Yorkshire, too, named two spinners in Adil Rashid and David Wainwright.Sunderland-born Rushworth, a cousin of Phil Mustard, took seven wickets for his home-town club side on Saturday and made his senior competitive debut for Durham in Sunday’s 129-run win over Hampshire in the Clydesdale Bank 40, taking 2 for 29 from seven overs. He was asked to open the bowling with Mark Davies here but has been used sparingly so far.Will Smith might look back and wonder if he should have given him a little more responsibility, given Liam Plunkett’s waywardness. If Rushworth was inclined to feed too many balls to Adam Lyth’s appetite for driving through the covers, Plunkett supplied still more easy pickings, conceding 62 runs in his first dozen overs as the Yorkshire left-hander led opening partner Joe Sayers on a romp through the opening session.Lyth’s strokeplay was sublime, worthy of applause whatever the quality of the bowling. He reached his half-century in a hurry, hitting 11 fours in 74 balls, most of them sumptuously despatched through the off side off the front and the back foot.It was only after Ian Blackwell replaced Plunkett at Kirkstall Lane end, where the new pavilion is nearing completion, that the flow of runs was arrested. The left-arm spinner was by some distance the best of the Durham bowlers, maintaining a consistently troublesome accuracy that eventually earned him the wickets of both openers.Lyth, who is developing a frustrating tendency to set himself up for a century and then fail to see the job through, perished this time on 85, caught in two minds about whether to play forward or back to the former Somerset all-rounder and in the end really doing neither, edging the ball to Michael di Venuto at slip as a result.It had been a lovely innings, illuminated by 16 fours, but after hitting 90, 84 and 85 in his last four visits to the crease it was no surprise that he looked hacked off with himself as he wandered back to the dressing rooms. Sayers, whose contribution to Yorkshire’s third century opening stand in four days had been more patient but scarcely less valuable, soon followed, caught off bat and pad by Smith at short leg. Yorkshire’s 146 for 0 had become 179-2.Nonetheless, any hopes Durham might have had of taking a grip were short lived. Having won the right to bat first on a placid surface, Yorkshire were clearly determined to continue their fine start to the season. Jacques Rudolph looked in good touch from the outset, defending immaculately against Blackwell and picking off boundaries with real authority.By the close, he and Anthony McGrath had reasserted Yorkshire’s control, Rudolph reaching 50 off 110 balls, McGrath a little more circumspect at first, needing 147 deliveries to reach the same milestone, with eight boundaries.If there is a disappointment, it is that the pitch has so little pace that there will be a price to pay in bonus points, unless they can find some phenomenal acceleration in the first 10 overs of day two. The regret for Durham is that their bowling was not restrictive enough. Dale Benkenstein’s wobbly medium pace was tidy enough and Mark Davies, who has not enjoyed the best of starts to the season, will draw some encouragement from his control. Rushworth came back better with the second new ball but Plunkett conceded more than five runs per over.If it had not been for Blackwell, who totted up 12 maidens in 27 overs and rarely bowled a bad ball, Yorkshire, who have been talking up their title chances even at this early stage of the season, might have ended the day feeling still more pleased with themselves. With no Tim Bresnan and no Ajmal Shahzad, however, they do not know yet how their own back-up bowling will stack up, although the West Indian Tino Best makes his county debut in this match.

Bangladesh more than held their own on the second day at Lord’s, reaching 172 for 2 at the close – 134 runs away from the follow-on – after Shahadat Hossain’s 5 for 98 saw England bowled out for 505 with Jonathan Trott hitting 226

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill28-May-2010Close
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Shahadat Hossain picked up 5 for 98 to deny England the honours on the second day at Lord’s•PA PhotosBangladesh more than held their own on the second day at Lord’s, reaching 172 for 2 at the close – 134 runs away from the follow-on – after Shahadat Hossain’s 5 for 98 saw England bowled out for 505 after Jonathan Trott hit 226. Imrul Kayes and Tamim Iqbal added 88 for the first wicket before Junaid Siddique guided the visitors to the close with a determined, unbeaten 53 alongside Jahurul Islam.England had been expected to dominate the day when they started on 362 for 4 but it didn’t quite transpire that way even though Trott reached a career-best first-class score and equalled Kevin Pietersen’s 226 as England’s highest Test score since Graham Gooch’s 333 in 1990. Shahadat’s effort kept Bangladesh in the game and also made him the first Bangladesh cricketer to be included on the honours board at Lord’s.Tamim then shrugged off concerns about his injured left wrist with a half-century compiled in his own inimitable fashion after the visitors came out to bat midway through the second session. He got going by slashing Tim Bresnan over the slips and hammering a pull through square leg from consecutive deliveries, but also flashed wildly every so often to keep the bowlers interested.Kayes was found out by the short ball during England’s tour of Bangladesh, and it wasn’t long before Bresnan and James Anderson were testing his technique. But as the shine started to come off the ball, things became easier and Bresnan was removed from the attack after Tamim took to him with three marvellous strikes in one over.Tamim brought up his fourth half-century in five Test innings against England with a powerful pull through midwicket. He celebrated with a superb pick-up over square leg off the front foot, but two balls later took on Kevin Pietersen’s arm with a risky single and was run out for 55 by a direct hit from point.With his wicket, Bangladesh suddenly seemed more vulnerable, having collapsed after similarly promising starts countless times before, but this time they showed they have the grit and determination as Kayes and Siddique built another solid partnership. However, Steven Finn’s pace and bounce eventually proved too much for Kayes to handle, as he gloved a nasty, neck-high bouncer to be easily caught by Andrew Strauss at first slip for 43.Again, England felt they had their opening, but Siddique and Jahurul buckled down and defied everything the hosts could throw at them. Siddique had started aggressively, striking four boundaries before he had reached 30, but reined himself in after Kayes’s departure while Jahurul, determined to survive until the close, was in no hurry at all.Siddique passed fifty with a firm push to the midwicket boundary off Swann and as the end of the day approached both batsmen retreated into a defensive shell. They had some luck too, as the odd ball nipped past the outside edge and an inside edge from a tentative prod by Islam shot just past the stumps in the final over, but Bangladesh will be mighty pleased with their efforts.They had desperately needed a good start after a weak showing on the opening day, and Shahadat responded with a determined opening spell as he found movement through the air with a newish ball and kept tight off-stump line to trouble the batsmen. He was quickly rewarded with Eoin Morgan’s wicket – edging a flat-footed push to be well caught by a tumbling Mushfiqur Rahim behind the stumps – and also hurried both Trott and Matt Prior’s defences with his probing line.Bangladesh were gifted their second breakthrough by some witless running as Trott placed the ball through the covers and Prior charged back for a second run, only to see his partner wasn’t responding. Unperturbed, Trott progressed in much the same vein as he had on Thursday.However, Shahadat continued to impress after lunch to break a 63-run partnership between Trott and Bresnan, changing his line of attack to round the wicket and forcing Bresnan to push away from his body at a delivery angled across him to edge a catch to Siddique at a wide first slip.Graeme Swann wasted no time in getting going, but Bangladesh struck again when Trott opened the face of the bat to guide a ball straight to backward point to end his 349-ball stay before Shahadat secured his pride of place on the away dressing room wall by rattling Anderson’s stumps. Bangladesh left the field with a spring their step and ended the day in equally high spirits.

The hosts overcame Ireland pretty comfortably in their opening match and should face a much sterner test against an England side desperately hoping to break their duck in global tournaments

The Preview by Sahil Dutta02-May-2010Match FactsMonday, May 3, Providence
Start time 1330 (1730 GMT)West Indies will need Kieron Pollard to recreate his IPL form against England•Indian Premier LeagueThe Big PictureWest Indies overcame Ireland pretty comfortably in their opening match and should face a much sterner test against an England side desperately hoping to break their duck in global tournaments. Ottis Gibson will have plenty of inside knowledge about this England team and has regular captain Chris Gayle back from injury to implement every devious plan he makes.On the stodgy surfaces we have seen so far at Providence, the spinners play a key role and how the West Indies batsmen deal with England’s spinners could prove crucial. Against Ireland they were almost embarrassed by 17-year-old left-arm-spinner George Dockrell, so Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy should feel confident.England will be testing out yet another opening partnership in Twenty20 cricket and with Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb they feel they have finally stumbled on a combination powerful enough to boss the early overs. Quietly England have developed a competitive limited-overs side that, with Eoin Morgan there to finish an innings, appears to have all its bases covered.Form guide (most recent first)England LWLWA
West Indies WLLLW
Watch out for…While Chris Gayle’s performance usually dictates West Indies’ fortunes, Kieron Pollard is another with a brutal ability to clear the ropes. His outings in the IPL were short and severe, clubbing boundary after boundary on his way to 273 runs at a strike rate of 185.71. If he gets hold of England’s medium pacers, the Providence ground may not be big enough.The World Twenty20 is littered with stars, many still swirling in their IPL riches. Michael Yardy is not one of them. Yet in the sticky conditions, his nagging left-arm-spinners have proved a revelation in the warm-up games, taking five wickets over the two games at a meagre economy rate. He could throw sand in the wheels of West Indies’ middle order and chip in with lower-order runs if England get in trouble.Team newsWest Indies expect to welcome their captain after he missed the Ireland game with a stiff buttock, meaning one of hit-or-miss slugger Andre Fletcher or Narsingh Deonarine will drop out from the team that beat Ireland. Sulieman Benn remains doubtful with his shoulder injury as does Jerome Taylor.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Kemar Roach.England are on baby-watch with Kevin Pietersen looking forward to his first-born, but he’ll be available for this opening match and with Lumb expected to keep Ravi Bopara out of the side the top-order is settled. Their fast-bowling options are more muddled with Ryan Sidebottom’s excellent form prompting calls for his elevation into the side, but it would be hard for him to dislodge one of James Anderson or Stuart Broad.England (probable) 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Craig Kieswetter, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood (capt), 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Michael Yardy, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.Pitch and conditionsThe cheap boundaries that tend to epitomise Twenty20 cricket should be harder to come by on the Providence wicket. In sweltering conditions the ball should grip on a sluggish surface for the spinners and make any maximums altogether more memorable than normal. It’s unlikely the pacemen will have much to draw from the wicket and it will be sweaty work for all the fielders in the heat.Stats and trivia West Indies have an excellent T20 record against England winning three of four encounters, most recently in the last World Twenty20 when they knocked England out of the tournament England will try out their 16th opening combination but if Lumb does indeed join Kieswetter there will be the added twist that both openers are on debut.Quotes”I’m sure they come out here with blood in their eyes and want to beat us.”
“Ottis is a very close friend to all of us, but we have a job to do, to go out and win this match.”

Wolves are interested in signing Mexico and Napoli winger Hirving Lozano in the summer transfer window, according to a latest report.

The Lowdown: Lozano in-and-out at Napoli

The 26-year-old has found himself in and out of Napoli’s team this season, with injuries and illness holding him back at times but the wide man still managing to contribute.

Lozano has chipped in with four goals and assists apiece in Serie A, in just 16 starts, and he has helped them compete in a tense title race with AC Milan and Inter Milan.

The Mexican’s current deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2024, but according to a fresh update, a move to Molineux could be on the cards.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/all-the-latest-from-wolves-3/” title=”All the latest from Wolves!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Wolves keen on move

According to Napoli Today [via Sport Witness], Wolves have been ‘following’ Lozano ‘for some time’, as they weigh up a potential summer move.

The idea of him staying pout at Napoli is ‘not entirely a foregone conclusion’, which further gives Wanderers hope of sealing an exciting signing.

[freshpress-poll id=“388780″]

The Verdict: Audacious swoop by Wanderers

Lozano has proven himself on the biggest stage of all, catching the eye for Mexico at the 2018 World Cup, registering one goal and assist each and standing out with his pace and directness.

For that reason, it is hugely exciting to see Wolves being linked with a move for him and he could be someone who takes their attacking game to the next level in the Premier League.

With Adama Traore likely to leave permanently this summer and Francisco Trincao expected to leave, too, Lozano could fill the void out wide, and much more, becoming the latest attacking hero at Molineux.

In other news, a journalist has dropped an exciting Wolves transfer claim. Read more here.

When Tim Paine, 25, sets foot on Lord’s for his debut next Tuesday as the youngest Australian Test gloveman since Ian Healy, he will appreciate his good fortune

Brydon Coverdale10-Jul-2010Talented Australian wicketkeepers can spend a lifetime waiting for a shot at Test cricket. For some, like Brad Haddin and Graham Manou, it has come only after a 30th birthday; for others like Wade Seccombe and Darren Berry, it never arrives. So, when Tim Paine, 25, sets foot on Lord’s for his debut next Tuesday as the youngest Australian Test gloveman since Ian Healy, he will appreciate his good fortune.Haddin’s elbow injury has given Paine two Tests to cement his place as the country’s No. 2 behind the stumps. Competition is strong – Manou played Test cricket a year ago, Matthew Wade has grabbed his chances with Australia A, Luke Ronchi will continue to push for selection and Chris Hartley is a perennially accomplished gloveman – and Paine knows this is his window of opportunity.”I’m absolutely thrilled to be given the opportunity to play Test cricket,” Paine said. “It’s a pretty rare thing for a wicketkeeper. I realise I’m very fortunate, to get it before you normally would. It’s definitely a bit of an audition, if you can perform well in these two Tests, it puts me clearly as number two going down the track and if anything happens to Brad or he’s rested or when he retires, performing well in these Tests will hold me in good stead.”But there are challenges. If he drops a few catches, or looks out of his depth, he could be overtaken next time Haddin is absent. Haddin didn’t find Lord’s an easy place to keep wicket during last year’s second Ashes Test, when he let through 31 byes, and the famous slope of the venue is hard to get used to.Then there’s the red Duke ball, which behaves slightly differently to the Kookaburra Paine is accustomed to at home. Until the tour match in Derby, Paine had never before kept to the red Duke and he dropped Chris Rogers down leg side, although shortly afterwards he pouched a catch and felt much better for it.”To have my first catch with the Duke ball was good,” Paine said. “To get that away and not cop one on the end of my fingers was good. It’s a slightly different ball. It feels a little bit heavier when you catch it, but apart from that, a red ball’s a red ball.”I’ve spoken to Tim Nielsen about it [the ball and the Lord’s slope] and I’m trying not to read too much into it. I know if I’m watching the ball and am nice and relaxed, if it does swing or dip, I’ll catch the ball no matter what it does. I’ve enjoyed keeping at Lord’s with the slope in one-day cricket.”It is in ODIs that Paine initially made his mark at international level. Last year, he was given several chances and thrived in the format, making his maiden century at Trent Bridge. During this year’s one-dayers in England he has been less fluent opening the innings, although his results have been far from terrible, with 54 at Lord’s and 44 at Old Trafford.The rate of his scoring was the main concern during the limited-overs games, and he believes his slower batting style will be better suited to Test cricket. In the tour match, he finished unbeaten on 52, and it was a valuable innings for his confidence.”I was trying to keep it nice and straight and keeping it simple,” he said. “I felt I was batting reasonably well through the one-day series, it was just the forced pressure to score quickly was what was getting me out at times. In Test cricket you haven’t got any of that, so my batting is in a good place and I’m looking forward to trying to bat for a very long time.”Perhaps the most pleasing aspect for Paine ahead of his Test debut, from a personal perspective, will be the presence of his grandmother Elizabeth Shaw, who is in her eighties. She has watched Paine’s career closely from the sidelines and to have her in the stands at Lord’s alongside his parents will make his debut all the more memorable.

South African left-arm spinner Paul Harris has spoken out against the criticism spinners get in the country if they don’t perform to expectations

Cricinfo staff12-Feb-2010Paul Harris, South Africa’s left-arm spinner, has spoken out against the criticism spinners get in his country if they don’t perform to expectations. Harris, whose four wickets played an important role in the innings victory against India in Nagpur, said the negative press in the recent home series against England had upset him.Harris began the four-Test series with a five-wicket haul in Centurion but he took only four wickets in the next two games. He was dropped for the final game at the Wanderers, which South Africa won to square the series 1-1.”South African spinners are always under the spotlight and I thought my treatment was a little harsh,” Harris told . “I took a five-for in the first Test against England (at Centurion) and then two Tests later everyone’s calling for me to be dropped. It was a bit disappointing considering what I have done for the team in the last few years, the results I have produced.”England played me well and I lost some consistency, which irritated me. In fact, it really upset me.”In the Nagpur Test, Harris sparked India’s collapse in the first innings when he foxed MS Dhoni with sharp turn from the rough from over the wicket. Dhoni shaped to leave the ball but it lobbed off his glove to the keeper. In the second innings, he got the vital wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, bowled while trying to sweep. Harris said the strategy of bowling on the rough outside the leg stump was paying off.”It’s probably not the most fashionable plan, but frustrating them out was the key. It’s more a patience game, but the Indian batsmen have big egos against spin,” Harris said. “They will kick it away for five overs but then try something in the sixth over. You know they’re going to come at you, especially because of all the media hype.”My strengths are consistency and patience, and I get a bit of bounce. My job is to keep the batsmen quiet, keep it as tight as possible and make it hard for them to score. My skill is being able to bowl over the wicket. It’s something you have to learn if you’re going to do well in Test cricket. It wouldn’t be your first-choice line of attack and if the pitch is doing a lot you’d go around the wicket. But going over, they don’t get runs and you get the odd wicket. Getting a batsman out caught at deep square leg is as good as having him caught at slip.”He said he wasn’t aware the Indians were practicing the leg-stump line in Nagpur. Were they? That’s a surprise,” he told . “But look, they could not score off me because of the situation. You can’t bat for three days under pressure. They are known to be aggressive. I would imagine they would be a bit more aggressive in their planning.”However, the bigger matchwinner was Dale Steyn, who took ten wickets. “It was Dale Steyn’s Test match. He showed how good he is and it was pretty spectacular taking 10 wickets on that deck,” he said. “He makes the spinner’s job easier, because I’m talking to the batsmen, telling them that if they don’t come after me, Dale’s going to take their heads off later on.”The tour was preceded by the drama of coach Mickey Arthur’s sudden resignation and the revamping of the selection panel. Harris said that contrary to predictions that the off-field events would distract the team on tour, it only made them a closer, fighting unit.”I hold Mickey in the very highest esteem, he was the guy who gave me a chance and backed me. He’s up there with the best coaches and a champion man, he’s sent me about a million text messages since we’ve been in India,” Harris said.”But it’s probably true that a change is as good as a holiday and it’s meant the players are now trying to impress the new management, you can see it in the intensity. When we are apprehensive about something, we stick together, it’s a great South African trait. The boys are a lot closer, we’re all real good mates and that’s made the new management’s job easier. I have to say Corrie van Zyl (the new coach) has been very good and Kepler Wessels (batting consultant) has been superb.”

Crystal Palace have been linked with an ambitious move for Atletico Madrid defender Kieran Trippier ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

The 31-year-old appeared set for a switch to Manchester United last summer after it became clear he was keen to return to his homeland, but the Old Trafford outfit refused to match his release clause, meaning the player stayed put.

But now, according to 90min, Trippier is attracting the attention of several Premier League clubs once again ahead of the winter window.

“Manchester United are continuing to be kept informed of his situation while we understand that Everton, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are willing make a move too – if Atletico show an appetite to sell,” reads their report.

Previous reports have claimed that Atleti are set to demand £25 million for the versatile full-back over the coming months, with Newcastle United also a potential destination, although there’s no guarantee he’ll depart in January.

Patrick Vieira can continue his revolution

Over the summer, new manager Patrick Vieira began his Palace revolution by overseeing a mass overhaul of the first-team squad, welcoming the likes of Odsonne Edouard, Michael Olise and Marc Guehi to Selhurst Park.

However, one position that was neglected was right-back. Experienced campaigners Joel Ward and Nathaniel Clyne offer steady if uninspiring options in that position at present.

Trippier’s arrival, though, would change that, providing Vieira with an attacking threat from full-back and adding an established England international to his ranks.

In recent years, the £77,000-per-week gem has claimed the La Liga crown with Atleti and cemented his place in Gareth Southgate’s national team setup, impressing the Three Lions boss with a string of eye-catching performances.

“He (Trippier) is a very underrated player,” claimed Southgate after England’s victory over Croatia at Euro 2020.

“People are still looking at the player from a few years ago and not at the one who is at Atletico Madrid and playing like a warrior in the last few seasons. He is a big part of what we’ve done over the last few years, and he gave a really good performance.”

And it wasn’t the only time that Southgate has lauded Trippier, dubbing him ‘outstanding’ back in 2018: “Kieran has outstanding quality, and that kind of profile in that position is very important,” he said.

With Trippier producing six assists last term, 1.27 key passes per 90 and putting in 2.40 crosses, compared to Ward’s tallies of one, 0.28 and 0.60, respectively, there’s no doubt that his arrival would continue Palace’s progression under Vieira.

And, in other news…Palace must seal move for “phenomenal” £33k-p/w ace who “gets the crowd on their feet”

On Thursday night, David Moyes handed yet another professional debut to one of West Ham’s promising youngsters – something which has been a recurring theme since he returned for a second stint at the club.

The Irons continued their impressive form in the Europa League with another win and clean sheet, taking them way clear at the top of Group H.

Genk threatened early on in the match but the tide turned just before the break when Craig Dawson nodded home from an Aaron Cresswell delivery. The left-back provided again in the second half, this time Issa Diop heading to the net, before Jarrod Bowen wrapped things up with a fine solo strike.

With the game more or less over by the hour mark, the Scotsman made changes to his starting XI, in which young academy gem Dan Chesters came on for his maiden senior appearance.

The 19-year-old midfielder came on for Manuel Lanzini in the 89th minute, joining a whole host of names to make their debut since Moyes’ comeback, including Harrison Ashby, Emmanuel Longelo, Jamal Baptiste, Nathan Trott, Oladapo Afolayan, Aji Alese, Mipo Odubeko and Jeremy Ngakia.

Chesters is an exciting attacking midfielder, who offers pace and creativity in the final third.

West Ham’s official website describe him as ‘a livewire attacking midfielder capable of opening up the tightest of defences’. He is also capable of playing as a no.8, no.10 or out wide.

His impressive form for the U18s earned quite a lofty comparison to one of the Premier League’s very best.

“He’s a bit similar to Jack Grealish, claimed ex-Hammers midfielder Jack Collison to The Athletic.

“He takes people on and he’s lovely on the ball; really nice to watch. He’s one of the most exciting kids to watch in terms of what he can do when the ball’s at his feet.”

Meanwhile, Moyes waxed lyrical about his potential after the game. He told reporters, via football.london: “He has speed, he has trained well with the first team last week, when we were in the international break and he’d been quite impressive.

“We were a little bit short of attacking players today so it gave us a chance to get a couple of young players on the bench. Dan has been doing well and when he came on he showed his endeavour to stop them a couple of times.”

Perhaps he could go on to become the next Joe Cole at the London Stadium. His versatility and skillset certainly provide clues into the two having plenty of similarities.

With the Irons still in every domestic cup competition, we should expect to see Chesters’ name on the teamsheet more often as Moyes looks to deal with a congested workload over the coming weeks and months.

The 58-year-old may have just discovered the club’s next Cole.

AND in other news, 97% pass accuracy, 89 touches: West Ham’s £60k-p/w “freak” stole the show against Genk…

Ian Bell has extended his contract with Warwickshire by two years, which will now run till the end of the 2012 season

Cricinfo staff05-Feb-2010Ian Bell has extended his contract with Warwickshire by two years, which will now run until the end of the 2012 season.Commenting on the news, Ashley Giles, the Warwickshire coach said, “We are delighted to have Ian committed to the club for a lengthy period. He is a quality player and is a Bear through and through. His experience of both domestic and international cricket make him a great role model for the younger members of the squad and a great asset to [captain] Ian Westwood when he is available to play for us in the summer.”Bell was happy about the extension and expressed optimism over his future with the club. “I have been a Bear since I was a boy and I have no desire to play anywhere else, Warwickshire is my cricketing home and I love playing at Edgbaston and with the Bear on my chest,” he said.”I think the future of the club is hugely exciting under Ashley and I hope to be able to make a significant contribution to the success I believe we can achieve under him over the next few years.”