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Liverpool have submitted a £53m offer for a Tottenham Hotspur star, and they are confident it will be accepted, with talks now progressing.

Reds survive late scare to secure win at Tottenham

With Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike scoring to give the Reds a 2-0 advantage at 10-man Tottenham on Saturday afternoon, Arne Slot’s side appeared to be cruising to an easy victory in north London, but they ended up making hard work of it.

Richarlison’s goal just minutes after being brought on as a substitute offered the hosts a route back into the game, and they continued to push right until the very end, despite captain Cristian Romero being given his marching orders in injury time.

It wasn’t a vintage performance, with Slot’s men recording an xG of just 0.66 throughout the match, but the three points is what matters, and the victory means the Merseysiders have now moved up to fifth in the Premier League table.

Having got one over on Thomas Frank’s side, Liverpool are now looking to sign one of Spurs’ stars, according to a report from Spain, which states they have submitted an offer of €60m (£53m) for Lucas Bergvall, and they are confident it will be accepted.

As such, although talks are still at an early stage, negotiations are now progressing, with the north Londoners not completely opposed to cashing-in on the central midfielder, who they signed from Swedish side Djurgården back in 2024.

Bergvall is now considered a priority target for the Reds, and they are trying to move ahead of the other clubs in the race for his signature by submitting a mega-money bid.

"Super creative" Bergvall could be future star

Scout Ben Mattinson has provided an overview of the Swedish maestro’s key strengths, saying: “The Swedish playmaker has great football IQ. A super creative midfielder who loves to pass through the lines and has top vision to play key passes/through balls to advancing teammates.”

The 19-year-old’s ability to create chances has been on display this season, registering four assists in 21 matches for Spurs across all competitions, with perhaps his best performance coming in a 3-0 win against West Ham United, during which the youngster scored one goal and created another.

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The six-time Sweden international is exhibiting very promising signs, and he could be a future star, but there are doubts over whether Liverpool need to bring in another central midfielder, given the number of options Slot already has at his disposal.

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In the summer, Harvey Elliott had to join Aston Villa, having been unable to displace the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister in the starting XI, while Liverpool also have Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch on the books, so Bergvall could struggle for game time.

ScorecardNick Compton took on the extra pace of Uxbridge, and Steve Finn, with aplomb•Getty Images

When Nick Compton was dropped by England, it was suggested that his batting was too slow and stodgy. He didn’t have enough shots and, with Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott also in England’s top three, the side would get stuck.It always seemed a slightly peculiar logic. And slow batting was hardly England’s problem during the Ashes series in Australia.In the first innings Compton scored 94 off 278 balls. Laborious, perhaps, but without those runs – or if he had been taken by Paul Stirling at second slip on 16, when Eoin Morgan was off having been stung be a bee – Somerset may well have lost this game.If Compton felt the need to show Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s director of cricket and the watching England selector, that he could play more expansively, he took the opportunity the last day at Uxbridge presented. He pulled particularly pleasingly, displaying a relish for the short ball that those in England’s Test side have sometimes lacked.”He’s at his best when he’s facing the likes of Steven Finn on these type of pitches when there’s a bit more bounce and a bit more pace,” Marcus Trescothick purred.For Chris Rogers, the upshot of Compton’s defiance was to reflect once again on his declaration. He set Somerset 390 in 72 overs, which sounded on the cautious side, though he had a rapid outfield to consider as well as the memory of Nottinghamshire’s heist of 385 last month.”Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Maybe we could have pulled out a bit earlier but we had a hard loss a few weeks ago and that’s in the back of our minds. I think if we were to lose this game we’d probably fall off that chasing group so it was probably important that we didn’t lose.”Both sides retain title pretensions. Somerset are in third, and have both their games against Northamptonshire to play, while Middlesex go to Scarborough next week to play Yorkshire. “I think they’ll be a bit wary of us and hopefully we can pull off an amazing win and then we’ll be right up there,” Rogers said.The spectre of a drab final day, for all the fine cricket in the match, also prompted discussion over the lack of disintegration in the pitch. “I was hoping for a bit more up and down on day four but it didn’t really do that. It was essential you used the new ball but after that it became a bit lifeless,” Rogers said.”With the sun out the wickets here become a bit dead and then it is hard to bowl teams out, particularly as they don’t seem to be breaking up that much. I’m sure groundsmen are trying their best. They probably just need a bit of rain!”If the crowd felt underwhelmed at the spectre of early handshakes, at least they had a morning of pyrotechnics to enjoy. Paul Stirling, promoted to number five, bristled with stocky intent. He followed an uppercut off Lewis Gregory for six with a bludgeoned straight drive and reached 50 in only 37 balls.It was his fourth in five Championship innings in 2014, seemingly rendering his years marooned in the 2nd X1 all the more curious. But not to Rogers.”He was still developing his own game and he’d be the first to say he had no form with the red ball but he’s come round and he’s doing very well,” Rogers said. “It’s great to say we should have picked him early in hindsight but that’s a rubbish call. I’m just really happy he’s doing well.”Rogers’ new opening partner is also in fine form. Nick Gubbins reached 95, including lofting George Dockrell for six over midwicket, but was run-out after a mix-up with Stirling. Still, on the evidence of his composure and mature shot selection, Gubbins’ maiden first-class century will not be long in coming.Somerset’s prospects of threatening their target always depended inordinately upon Trescothick, especially with Craig Kieswetter missing this game because of a family funeral.He flickered briefly, swatting a few trademark late cuts, but when Eoin Morgan smartly took him at second slip a meandering draw seemed inevitable. With a lively spell that accounted for Chris Jones and Alviro Petersen, Toby Roland-Jones briefly offered the prospect of Rogers being vindicated.But James Hildreth made a second silky half-century of the game, adding 93 with Compton. As he accelerated, unfurling a reverse-sweep, Somerset may have entertained fanciful notions of a run chase. He was caught at long on to end those. No matter: Compton remained unperturbed.

	Charl Langeveldt won’t be on the three-Test tour of India © Getty Images

Charl Langeveldt, the South Africa fast bowler, has opted out of the Test series in India beginning next week, saying the controversy over the selection of the squad so upset him he feels he won’t be in the right frame of mind for the matches.Langeveldt was picked ahead of Andre Nel in the 14-man squad for the three-Test series, a move seen by many as pandering to Cricket South Africa’s transformation policy. Nel was reportedly disappointed after his exclusion, and there was speculation over his future with South Africa.Gerald Majola, the CSA chief executive, said Joubert Strydom, the convenor of selectors, had accepted Langeveldt’s request to withdraw from the touring party, and that the selectors were considering a replacement.”Charl Langeveldt called me today in an emotional state saying he wanted to withdraw from the tour of India so that he can consider his international future in the right frame of mind,” Majola said. “He said that the public controversy over the selection of the Proteas team to tour India had upset him to the extent that he would not be in the right frame of mind to tour India and do his best.””Charl said he wanted to use this time instead to consider his future in international cricket in a cool and calm manner.”I have assured Charl that he is very much in the plans, and is regarded as one of our best fast bowlers in both ODI and Test cricket.”We will have in-depth discussions with him, and hopefully he will continue to be available for international selection.”No replacement has been named as yet for Langeveldt in the squad, which arrives in India later this week.

Scoreboard
Sri Lanka A held the advantage going into the final day of the second four-day match against Bangladesh A at the Colombo Cricket Club. Chasing a target of 341, Bangladesh A finished on 16 for no loss at stumps, 325 runs away from victory.Bangladesh A resumed on the third day on 201 for 7, trailing by 194 runs. Rangana Herath, the left-arm spinner, ran through the tail to restrict Bangladesh A to 239 and give Sri Lanka A by 156 runs. Herath finished with impressive figures of 5 for 45 in 25.2 overs.Sri Lanka A sought to build on their lead and their openers, Kanchana Gunawardene and Mahela Udawatte, gave them a solid start by adding 86 for the first wicket. Udawatte added 43 and Gunawardene 51 before Mosharraf Hossain dismissed both of them in quick succession. Hossain checked Sri Lanka A’s momentum by taking wickets at regular intervals. None of their middle-order batsmen, with the exception of Jehan Mubarak who was unbeaten on 51, got going and Sri Lanka A declared on 184 for 6. Hossain ended with 5 for 69 in 27 overs.Chasing 341 is a daunting task but Bangladesh A managed to reach stumps on 16 for no loss and gave themselves a strong chance of drawing the game.

Faisalabad were left with only 76 runs to win the opening match of the 2005-06 Pentangular Cup Cricket Championship, when they bowled out Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for 283 in their second innings at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.After having dismissed PIA for a pathetic 69 runs on the opening day, Faisalabad had gone on to make 277 in their reply, which gave them a first innings advantage of 208 runs. Although PIA did considerably better in the second innings, with two full days to go, their effort has not been enough.The depleted PIA team once again faltered against the relentless medium-fast attack of Samiullah Niazi and Asad Ali. Samiullah captured 4 for 74, taking his match haul to 8 for 105. Asad Ali’s 3 for 71 gave him an analysis of 7 for 90.Following his first innings duck, Agha Sabir made a worthy 44 off 93 balls for PIA with eight fours. Captain Yasir Hameed, the Pakistan discard, hit 10 boundaries in his 55 off 90 balls. Veteran Mahmood Hamid (47), young allrounder Jannisar Khan (44 not out) following his bowling figures of 5 for 63, and offspinner Tahir Khan (34) contributed substantially but PIA, batting one man short due to an injury to Aizaz Cheema, were all out before the day’s close.The season’s Patron’s Trophy champions National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) ran up an impressive total of 357 for 6 on the opening day of their match against national champions Sialkot at the Multan Cricket Stadium.Captain Naumanullah scored his eighth first-class hundred, as he compiled the day’s top score of 142. He stayed at the crease for five hours 24 minutes, facing 213 deliveries and hit 25 fours.With Hyderabad’s Faisal Athar, his second-wicket partnership was worth 112 runs. Faisal scored 72 that came off only 94 balls with 15 boundaries. Later, allrounder Mansoor Amjad capped off a satisfying day with an unbeaten 62, having faced 110 balls with eight fours.Incidentally, three Sialkot players are assisting National Bank in this match. Imran Nazir, Shahid Yousuf and Mansoor Amjad are on the Bank’s rolls and thus unavailable for their home region’s cricket team.

The painful injury that forced Matthew Hayden to miss three ODIs has healed in time for the first Test© Getty Images

Matthew Hayden will play in the first Test against New Zealand on Thursday after recovering from a shoulder injury suffered two weeks ago at Christchurch. Hayden was passed fit after completing four net sessions over the past two days and will open with Justin Langer at the same ground in the match starting on Thursday.”He’s pulled up well without too much discomfort, and is now set to play,” Alex Kontouri, the team physiotherapist, said. Hayden strained the AC joint taking a diving catch from Chris Cairns on February 22 and the slow-healing injury forced Australia to keep Mike Hussey on the tour once the one-day matches finished.Hussey will return to Brisbane to play in Western Australia’s vital Pura Cup match against Brisbane at the Gabba on Thursday. Brad Hogg, who was part of Australia’s 5-0 series victory, has also been selected in the Warriors squad. Hayden’s recovery clears up one place in the order, but there is still doubt over the make-up of the bowling attack with Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz battling for the two spots alongside Glenn McGrath.

Heath Streak: up for the challenge © Getty Images

Heath Streak, Zimbabwe’s captain, has insisted his side are not in the VB Series to simply make up the numbers. He is aiming to qualify for the finals, despite injury worries over Craig Wishart and Stuart Carlisle.On their one-day tour of Australia so far, Zimbabwe scraped home by eight runs against Australia A last week, but went down to Western Australia by 70 runs at the weekend, and were comfortably beaten by Australia A today.Their preparation hasn’t been helped by Wishart’s knee injury he suffered against WA, and by Carlisle’s blow to the thumb while fielding today. However, Streak is still confident Zimbabwe can make an impact. “We haven’t come here to be a third playing nation, we’ve come here to make the finals,” he told . “We’re going to be all out to win every game.”Streak also had a word to say regarding the Australian team, claiming that they were right to be introducing younger players into an ageing squad. “When you look at the Australian team, you know, they’re not the youngest now,” Streak said. “Some of them are getting a bit long in the tooth.”Someone told me that the Australian bowls team is a younger average age than the cricket team. I don’t know how true that is, but it’s good for them to have a look at the youngsters.”Obviously they’re being looked at and I think it’s a wise decision by the Australian selectors to start blooding some of the youngsters. I was very impressed with a lot of the youngsters. Obviously Shaun Tait had a good outing against us and we are very impressed – he’s got pace.”Zimbabwe’s first game of the VB Series is against Australia on Sunday, January 11, at Sydney. The opening game, between Australia and India, starts on Friday at Melbourne.

BRISBANE, Dec 17 AAP – Veterans Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart pushed England towards the first victory of its dreadful Australian tour when they tucked into Sri Lanka’s bowlers in the tri-series one-day clash at the Gabba today.England’s bowlers will determine whether the tourists break the drought after the batsmen posted 292 from 50 overs in warm conditions in Brisbane in their third match of the series, following two losses to Australia.It was England’s third-highest total in a one-day match in Australia and history suggests it will be enough to ensure Hussain’s team wins its first match since arriving in October.The West Indies posted the highest successful run chase at the Gabba in 1996-97, scoring 3-284 against Australia, and Sri Lanka was fortunate not to face a higher chase tonight after England suffered a late collapse.Andrew Caddick was out from the final ball of the innings as England stumbled through the final overs, losing 5-14 in 25 balls.But the damage had already been done on Sri Lanka’s bowlers after Hussain (79 from 106 balls) and Stewart (64 from 61) combined for a 72-run stand while Hussain and Paul Collingwood (37 from 45) added 77.Hussain, Stewart and Collingwood were all on the ground when Hussain was dismissed in the 42nd over, run out by a direct hit from Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya.Collingwood was running for Hussain, who was believed to be suffering from cramp, when Jayasuriya struck.Their bowlers struck early, removing Marcus Trescothick (27 from 27) in the seventh over, but England’s openers had already set the tempo with an enterprising start.Nick Knight (29 from 29) helped overcome another poor innings from Ronnie Irani (one from three) while Collingwood showed energy in his first match in Australia.

Ousted Sri Lanka Cricket Board (BCCSL) chief Thilanga Sumathipala said that he had no confidence in the probe committee appointed by Sports Minister Lakshman Kiriella to investigate alleged misdeeds and financial malpractices during his term of office.Sumathipala expressed his displeasure over the individuals in the committee in a letter sent to the Minister through his lawyers."I have reasonable doubts about the qualification of the five members of the committee," said Sumathipala, alleging that some of them had reason to be biased against him.The displaced president said that he would not anwer any questions by the committee or appear before them if he was asked to do so because he had no confidence in them.The committee comprises Hemantha Warnakulasuriya (chairman), Maxi Wijetilleke, Sunil Abeyratne, Priyantha Algama and M. Sivaratnam.Sumathipala said he had no objection to the appointment of a qualified committee to probe his term in office."We have been unfairly accused of financial mismanagement in the last few months. This is a plot to fix us," he said.Sumathipala and his committee was ousted last month by the Sports Minister when he dissolved the BCCSL and appointed an interim committee to run cricket accusing the Sumathipala administration of financial mismanagement.Since then Sumathipala has gone to courts challenging the validity of the interim committee.

Diogo Dalot called Bruno Fernandes’ injury a “massive” blow and said the Manchester United skipper would not have left the game without a serious injury.

The ever-impressive 31-year-old has started every Premier League game for the Red Devils this season, scoring five goals and providing seven assists along the way.

But United boss Ruben Amorim fears Fernandes will now be ruled out for “a while” due to a soft tissue injury that led to his withdrawal at half-time of Sunday’s 2-1 loss at Aston Villa.

Bruno injury must be bad – Dalot

Dalot, who took the captain’s armband from his compatriot, told MUTV the players were sad and know Fernandes would not go off if it weren’t serious.

While the prognosis is unclear, Amorim has already ruled Fernandes out of United’s Boxing Day clash against Newcastle.

Natural replacement Kobbie Mainoo is also set to miss out with a calf issue sustained in training on Saturday, meaning United could be without seven first-team players in their next match.

Amad Diallo, Bryan Mbeumo and Noussair Mazraoui are at the Africa Cup of Nations while Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire have missed recent games, which has seen Amorim turn to the academy.

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Jack Fletcher, son of United favourite Darren, and Shea Lacey came on for their senior debuts at Villa Park and other academy talents are knocking on the door.

“This is the moment,” Dalot said. “I mean, we have so many players missing that this is the opportunity for those who didn’t have so many chances to step up now and show that they deserve more minutes.

“I’m very happy that they could make their debuts and hopefully in the next games they are available and they can help us as well.”

United head into Christmas seventh in the Premier League, whereas Sunday’s victors Villa are third – just three points behind leaders Arsenal – having racked up a 10th-straight win in all competitions.

Rogers "playing the best I’ve ever played"

Morgan Rogers was the star man on Sunday as he followed up last weekend’s impressive brace at West Ham with another matchwinning pair to help Unai Emery’s side over the line.

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“I feel like I’m playing the best I’ve ever played,” the in-form England international told VillaTV.

“I’m the most confident but that’s also within the team. The team is the most confident it’s been since I’ve been here.

“It’s no surprise individual performances rise when we’re doing well as a collective.

“We’re all confident in each other, the manager’s confident in us and we go out there and we feel like we’re going to win every game.”