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Manchester United have now made contact with a January target who could become their record signing, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Fabrizio Romano reveals Man Utd talks to sign £100m star

INEOS weren’t shy when it came to backing Ruben Amorim in the summer and it seems as though they may show similar intent in the January transfer window.

The former Sporting Club boss has improved in the current campaign, but a new midfield problems has arrived and after INEOS rebuilt Man United’s attack in the summer, they must do the same for the heart of their side.

Those problems have especially been on show as of late with Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo sidelined, forcing Lisandro Martinez to play out of position. As such, to no surprise, a number of potential targets have emerged.

That includes names like Ruben Neves, Conor Gallagher and even young star Christos Mouzakitis in what could be another impressive overhaul at Old Trafford.

Having his say on potential January arrivals recently, Amorim told reporters: “The transfer window is not going to change. We have no conversations in this moment to have any change in the squad.

“There’s a process, there’s an idea that is going to continue. We are near the places of the Champions League, but we are near also for like eight teams behind us so let’s focus on the next game. Just that. Our focus is to win the next game.”

Those “conversations” could include the topic of Carlos Baleba. According to transfer expert Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel on Saturday evening, Man United have now held talks with Baleba and his camp as they look to land a big-money deal this month.

£100m Baleba would transform Man Utd

As transformative signings go, Baleba would be right up there with the best that Man United could land. He’d instantly end Manuel Ugarte’s run in the side and hand Amorim a solution for his problems for years to come, given that he’s still just 22 years old.

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Speaking about Man United’s pursuit of the Brighton midfielder, Romano told his YouTube channel: “Man United remain in contact with the player. It’s not a secret since August, I’ve been telling you, that Carlos Baleba would love to move to Man United.

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“Man United are on it. Baleba remains one of the main names on their shortlist. But in terms of making a deal happen in the January transfer window, from Brighton the message is very clear – they want to keep hold of Baleba in January. So I think the only way to make a deal happen in January would be a very big, crazy proposal.”

Previous reports have claimed that Baleba could cost any potential suitor in January as much as £100m this month and that would break Man United’s transfer record – highlighting the lengths they’ll have to go to if they want to get their man.

	Robert Key: another chance to take on the Kiwis© Getty Images

Robert Key has been given a golden opportunity to enhance his case for an England recall, after being named as captain of a strong England Lions squad to face New Zealand in their final four-day warm-up at the Rose Bowl on May 8.Key dominated the Kiwi attack at Canterbury on Monday, milking them for an unbeaten 178 out of a first-day total of 324 for 1, which follows on from the twin centuries he scored against them on their last tour of England in 2004. He was also named as England A captain in the 2006 home season, when he scored a hundred against Pakistan.”Robert Key enjoyed an excellent season for Kent last year, was recently named in the England Performance Squad and he will bring his experience of leading his county to the captain’s role,” said England’s selector, Geoff Miller.Key’s goal is a place in the first Test at Lord’s on May 15, but first he must overcome the claims of Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara, both of whom toured with the Test team this winter, and who have also enjoyed flying starts to their summer. They have been named alongside him in a strong 12-man squad, which also includes two up-and-coming batsmen in Hampshire’s Michael Carberry and Sussex’s Luke Wright.The bowling front is no less competitive. There is no place for Steve Harmison, but Matthew Hoggard has forced his way back into the reckoning with his eight-wicket haul for Yorkshire against Hampshire this week. Also included is the Hampshire seamer Chris Tremlett, who came close to an England recall in New Zealand this winter, but pulled up injured after a five-over spell in the Test warm-up fixture in Dunedin.”Matthew Hoggard was left out of the last two Test matches in New Zealand but he is a fighter and he will not want to give up his England place easily,” said Miller. “He has started the season with a strong performance for Yorkshire and this will be another chance for him to show what he is capable of against an international side.”The wicketkeeper for this fixture is another recent England reject, Matt Prior, who was ruthlessly axed following the tour to Sri Lanka in December. He impressed with the bat on that trip, and came close to saving the first Test at Kandy in a bold rearguard, but his glovework proved too fallible for the selectors’ comfort. Nevertheless, he has started the season strongly for Sussex, and has a prime opportunity to restate his credentials.”In choosing this squad we were keen to show consistency by giving further opportunities to players who were involved with either the Test or one-day squad during the winter or the England Lions,” said Miller. “There is intense competition for places in the senior squad at present and all of these players will be keen to make an impression on the selectors ahead of the international season.”One notable absentee is Andrew Flintoff, who has been bowling with pace, accuracy and intent since the start of the season, and also found a hint of form with the bat in the Friends Provident victory over Scotland at the weekend. But he is not being risked just yet, as he continues his rehabilitation from a fourth bout of ankle surgery.England Lions squad
Robert Key (Kent, capt), Ravinder Bopara (Essex), Michael Carberry (Hampshire), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire), Steven Kirby (Gloucestershire), Matt Prior (Sussex, wk), Graham Onions (Durham), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Chris Tremlett (Hampshire), Luke Wright (Sussex)

March 18 – Pervez Mir, Pakistan team’s media manager, announces news of Bob Woolmer’s death. “Bob Woolmer has passed away. I am speaking from the hospital and all the team management is also at the hospital. Doctors have pronounced him dead. Bob has passed away and it is very shocking news to all of the team and the team management.”March 21 – Mark Shields, deputy commissioner Jamaican police, announces that authorities are treating the death as suspicious. “Having met with the pathologists, our medical personnel and investigators, there is now sufficient information to continue a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Woolmer, which we are now treating as suspicious.”March 22 – Gill Woolmer, Bob’s widow, admits her husband might have been murdered. “I suppose there is always the possibility. I mean some of the cricketing fraternity, fans are extremely volatile and passionate about the game and what happens in the game, and also a lot of it in Asia, so I suppose there is always the possibility that it could be that.”March 23 – Karl Angell, a Jamaican police spokesman, confirms Woolmer was strangled. “The pathologist’s report states that Mr Woolmer’s death was due to asphyxiation as a result of manual strangulation. In these circumstances, the matter of Mr Woolmer’s death is now being treated by the Jamaica police as a case of murder.”March 27 – Jamaican police test Woolmer’s last meal to check whether it was drugged. According to Shields, Woolmer was “a big man, and unless he was drugged or impaired it would perhaps have been difficult to restrain him. We are looking at whether his food was drugged.”March 28 – Shields denies newspaper reports that Woolmer may have died after falling heavily against the bathroom sink and that a second autopsy was being ordered. “I can assure you there is no post mortem, there is no planned second post mortem.”March 30 – Shields tells media that Woolmer could have been strangled with a towel as there were no marks found on his neck. “If it’s some form of manual strangulation and there are no physical marks on the neck of the victim, therefore there may have been something between the hands of the assailant and the neck of the victim.”April 17 – says samples taken from Woolmer’s blood, stomach and urine have shown the presence of a foreign substance and has quoted an unnamed government official as saying that the substance could have been poison. Shields, however, decides not to comment on the report till all investigations are over. “We have some results from toxicology now, but they will require further investigation and analysis, and therefore it would be totally inappropriate for me to elaborate any further on that.”April 23 – Information relayed to the Woolmer family by Jamaican police suggest Woolmer may have been drugged with snake venom. According to Neil Manthrop, a South African commentator, “The detective told Gill they believe it must have been a natural poison, such as a snake venom, which leaves the body fairly soon afterwards.”April 27 – Police rule out the possibility that snake venom was involved. Shields, who is leading the investigation, told the BBC that there was no evidence to support that theory, and he also hit out at “wild” rumours which continue to surround the case, saying they were “causing a lot of distress” to Woolmer’s family.April 30 – A BBC investigation programme confirms that Woolmer was poisoned before being strangled and that that there is evidence of a drug being present in his system that would have incapacitated him. “It now seems certain that as he was being strangled, he’d already been rendered helpless, leaving him unable to fight back,” said Adam Parsons, the show’s producer. “The specific details of that poison are now very likely to offer a significant lead to finding his murderer.”May 7 – Newspaper reports suggest Woolmer may have been poisoned by a weedkiller, high concentrations of which were alleged to have been found in his stomach and on the outside of a champagne glass. Police sources confirm the presence of weedkiller in the glass while Pervez Mir reveals tht Woolmer was presented the bottles by travelling fans.May 8 – Inconclusive evidence leads a Pakistani investigator to suggest that Woolmer’s death was not a murder. According to Zubair Mahmood, one of the detectives sent to Jamaica, “Several tests have been sent to Scotland Yard and the results are awaited. And the most I can say [is] that the investigation … is inconclusive.”May 20 – A report in reveals that police in Jamaica have privately admitted that Dr Ere Seshaiah, the Kingston pathologist, was wrong to say that Woolmer had been strangled. Angell, however, said that the matter was still being handled as a murder investigation. “That will remain our position until such time as the results of the investigation are known; including the forensic and pathology analysis.”June 4 – Speculation grows that the pathologists’ findings were faulty. Shields, for the first time, hints at doubt on the finding of murder. “Usually we investigate a murder and we look for suspects but on this occasion, because of the lack of evidence to support the pathologist what we’ve done is gone out to prove it’s not a murder. We have to go with what the pathologist gives, and if I’d ignored it and it had turned out to be true I would have been lambasted for not treating it seriously.”June 12 – Jamaican police announce that Woolmer’s death was due to natural causes, not murder and closes the investigation.

Tyron Henderson, the East London allrounder, is set to leave South Africa for a stint with English county Kent. Kent recently released Justin Kemp in order for the South African allrounder to recover from niggling injuries and be fit for future one-day assignments as well as the 2007 World Cup, and in his place has stepped Henderson.Henderson, the Standard Bank Pro20 cricketer of the year in 2004-05, has a reputation of being a destructive batsman with a strike rate of 152.22 in Pro20 cricket. His canny fast-medium bowling has been seen as a plus. Against Western Province, he finished with the outstanding figures of 2 for 8 off four overs, the best figures by any bowler in Pro20 cricket. He has even represented his country’s A team as well as in the Hong Kong Sixes last season.Henderson has been slated for a Twenty20 debut against Essex at Canterbury on Tuesday, followed by games against Surrey at The Oval and Middlesex at Lord’s later in the week. Kent have also reported that he may play certain Pro40 limited-overs matches and the eight remaining county games.Henderson, who made his first-class debut for Border in 1998-99, has signed a contract to play for the Highveld Lions next summer.

Marvan Atapattu: ‘We don’t go on the park to lose’© CricInfo

Marvan Atapattu has admitted that the critical comments made by Ashantha de Mel, Sri Lanka¹s selection chief, spurred his team on during their Paktel Cup final victory against Pakistan.”That can be one reason for our performance. It was a big motivation factor for us to show everyone what we are capable off,” Atapattu said after his team¹s emphatic 119-run victory. “But the guys were very keen to do well and we play to win anything around the world. We don’t go on the park to lose.” But Atapattu refused to be drawn into a public slanging match with de Mel although obviously angered by the comments.de Mel had earlier launched surprise attack in the media last week, accusing Sri Lanka¹s team management of holding back the development of young players and labelling the senior players as selfish, suggesting they were more concerned about their own averages than the team’s long-term health.”It has come to a stage that the selection committee felt that we have to reduce some of the options in order to get the team management to play them,” said de Mel, referring to the lack of chances for the young players. “We send the youngsters saying that we are going to groom them, but they are never given a chance to play on the tour. They come back and by the next tour they are left out.”We sent [Thilina] Kandamby on the Pakistan tour to get some sort of exposure internationally, but unfortunately he has not been given a chance to play even against a weak opposition like Zimbabwe.”If Kandamby, for instance, was promoted up in the order and was given to bat at No. 3 like they did with [Tillakaratne] Dilshan against Zimbabwe, we may have got a chance to see what his potential is. He has shown potential at A-team level and in the domestic tournaments but we need to find out for ourselves whether he actually has it in him to make it to the top. Whether he is worth investing for the future. The same applies to the other young players as well.”de Mel insisted that the inexperienced players needed to be given opportunities against lesser teams to allow them to gain exposure. Otherwise, he warned, Sri Lankan cricket would go the way of the West Indian team, with the senior players retiring, and the next lot not being good enough to fill in.

Weakened by internal politics and the departure of their top players, Zimbabwe are to host an India A team expected to provide strong opposition. Indian board officials confirmed that the tour in August would consist of three four-day matches which would take place after the tri-series against Kenya and Pakistan A in Nairobi.In June, Zimbabwe had agreed to stop playing Test cricket until 2005, so it has enough time to sort out the quality of its team. The move was provoked by threats to ban Zimbabwe from international cricket after a terrible showing against Sri Lanka at home – the two Test defeats were among the heaviest of all time. The matches against India A are thus crucial to Zimbabwe’s future.And if the ICC accepts Bob Woolmer’s proposed restructuring of the international cricket hierarchy, only eight nations will play Tests. This means Zimbabwe, along with Bangladesh, will be relegated to a lower rank, competing with the likes of Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.India A itineraryJuly 22-25 v Zimbabwe XI at Harare Sports Club, July 29-August 1 v Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club, August 5-8 v Zimbabwe at CFX Cricket Academy

Graeme Hick will be out of action for up to six weeks after breaking a bone in his left hand while batting for Worcestershire against Glamorgan last Sunday.The news is a big set-back for Worcestershire, who immediately felt its effect when they were deprived of Hick’s services for their Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy quarter-final against Leicestershire. Club doctors were hoping Hick would be available for the game, but it was confirmed shortly before that he has in fact broken a bone and is likely to be sidelined for four to six weeks.Worcestershire are currently riding high at the top of Division Two on the back of three consecutive wins, and Hick has contributed 424 runs in six Championship games at an average of 50. Along with the injured Nantie Hayward, who has a damaged ankle, he will be sorely missed in their bid for promotion.

A dogged opening partnership of 152 between Zimbabwe’s openers AlistairCampbell and Dion Ebrahim gave Zimbabwe an excellent start in a shortenedfirst-day’s play in the Second Test match against South Africa at QueensSports Club in Bulawayo.Just before bad light stopped play, though, theyfell for 77 and 71 respectively, leaving Zimbabwe on 154 for two wickets.The weather in Bulawayo was most uncharacteristic for September: cold,overcast and with a strong blustery wind. Noel Peck’s Queens pitch was muchmore characteristic, looking a beauty for batting, and he did not expect itto give undue assistance to the spinners. Heath Streak won the toss forZimbabwe this time and was delighted to be able to bat.Indeed there were no early problems for openers Alistair Campbell and DionEbrahim, who quickly broke Zimbabwe’s previous record opening partnershipagainst South Africa – of 13. Campbell got off the mark by driving ShaunPollock wide of mid-on for four, and practically the only appeal of thefirst hour came when Ebrahim tried to emulate his second-innings dismissalin Harare by padding up to Pollock.The 50 partnership was raised in 87 minutes, but runs then came moreslowly as South Africa put back their field and adopted a less attackingapproach. They were still together at lunch, Campbell with 40 and Ebrahim28, having done all their team could have asked of them.After lunch, left-arm spinner Claude Henderson tied down the batsmen,especially Ebrahim, but Campbell finally cut him backward of point to reachhis 50. It took another 50 minutes after lunch before the hundredpartnership came up; in this the fifth Test match between the two countries,it was the first time at any point that Zimbabwe could claim any advantage.This, one would expect, would be the time for the batsmen to open upsomewhat, but they were unable or unwilling to do so, preferring to continueto graft in traditional Test-match fashion. With the total on 116, theyplayed out four maiden overs in succession before Ebrahim finally reachedhis 50 in just under four hours. Realistically, though, it could well bethe best game plan for their side, as it is hard to imagine Zimbabwe’sbowlers, massacred in Harare, bowling South Africa out twice on this pitch;once would be a major achievement.Campbell had not added to his 67 at tea when South Africa believed they hadhim caught at the wicket off Makhaya Ntini, between bat and pad; replays appeared toshow that umpire Kevan Barbour had made an excellent decision in declaringit not out as it had apparently touched only pad. Minutes later Ebrahim on59 clipped a ball straight at Herschelle Gibbs at square leg and the chance went down.Campbell (77) finally fell to a half-hearted drive, Gibbs making up for hisdropped catch by holding this one off Lance Klusener’s off-cutters at backwardpoint. The opening partnership of 152, off 80 overs, was Zimbabwe’sthird-best. Then Ebrahim, stuck on his hoodoo score, fell for 71 for thethird time in his Test career, as a ball from Henderson turned sharply andhad him caught at slip.As Stuart Carlisle arrived at the wicket, the umpires offered the batsmenthe light, ending play 40 minutes early. The weather had remained gloomyall day, and more of the same unpleasant conditions are forecast for themorrow.Leg-spinning all-rounder Paul Strang returned to the Zimbabwe team; he lastplayed in India in November last year, when he suffered a recurrence of anarm injury during the First Test at Delhi. He replaced pace bowler DouglasHondo, whose performance in Harare seemed to indicate that he is not yetready for Test cricket.In another change, Craig Wishart had the predictability of the selectorsconfirmed when he found that, yet again, one bad Test has cost him hisplace. Carlisle, injured against West Indies, replaced him in theZimbabwean team. South Africa have kept their winning side.

ScorecardJames Vince led the way as Hampshire kept hopes of qualification alive•PA Photos

Hampshire kept their NatWest T20 Blast hopes alive following a thrilling four-run victory over Sussex at Hove.James Vince made an unbeaten 90 and Adam Wheater a quickfire 51 as Hampshire amassed 204-3 after being put in to bat but Sussex looked on course to pull off an unlikely win when Chris Nash and Luke Wright put on 98 for the opening wicket inside ten overs.Nash fell for a career-best 88 in the 17th over but successive sixes from Craig Cachopa in the penultimate over got the equation down to ten from the last six balls. But former Sussex bowler Yasir Arafat came back to haunt his old club with a brilliant final over to restrict Sussex.It means Hampshire can still secure a quarter-final spot if they win their final game against Somerset on Thursday while Sussex missed out on the chance of guaranteeing their progress.Vince and Wheater laid the platform for Hampshire’s biggest total for five years after Michael Carberry was well caught by Ollie Robinson off the bowling of Chris Liddle for 14. Wheater dominated a stand of 93 from 53 balls but could have been out without scoring as he survived a close run-out appeal.

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For much of this season Hampshire’s progress towards qualification was serene. More recently they have struggled and have not strung consecutive wins together since early June, but this win keeps them in contention for the quarter-finals heading into the final week. Wickets win matches. At least that’s what Sussex’s run-chase suggested. For the first 15 overs of the chase, the run rate remained steady at 10 – and then wickets started to fall. Sussex lost four wickets in their final four overs as they cracked under pressure. Hampshire live to fight another day.

The wicketkeeper pulled his fourth ball for six off Robinson and also cleared the ropes off the bowling of Will Beer and Liddle. He brought up his 50 with his fourth four off Chris Nash but was out the very next ball when he mistimed a pull and was caught at midwicket by Liddle.Wheater’s departure did not slow Hampshire’s momentum, however, as Owais Shah blasted a quickfire 40 in a stand of 72 from 36 balls.Vince also survived a scare when Robinson put a tough chance down on 41 and made the most of the reprieve. He brought up his 50 from 38 balls but was left short of a first Twenty20 century.Sussex needed to make a quick start and in-form opening duo Nash and Wright provided it. Nash smashed Will Smith for two sixes in the opening over as the Sharks raced to 66-0 at the end of the Powerplay.Nash brought up his 50 – from 28 balls – with a delightful inside out cover drive but was denied a third century partnership of the season with Wright when the Sussex skipper was bowled for 42 by Yasir Arafat. Legspinner Mason Crane picked up the wicket of Matt Machan in the next over to swing the momentum back in Hampshire’s favour.A partnership of 65 from 39 balls between George Bailey and Nash kept Sussex very much in contention until both fell in the space of three balls. Nash holed out to former Sussex player Joe Gatting at long-on off Chris Wood for 88 and then Bailey was well caught right on the rope by Gatting for a 21-ball 33.Sussex needed 35 runs from 19 balls at that point but there hopes seemed to have disappeared when the equation became 22 from eight balls. Successive sixes from Cachopa off Wood got it down to ten from the final over but Arafat produced a brilliant final over to deny his old club.

	The ICL’s next event is a Twenty20 tri-series involving India, Pakistan and a World team © AFP

The Indian Cricket League has announced that its next tournament will feature international sides, as first reported by Cricinfo. The event called ICL 20s World Series 2008 is a Twenty20 tri-series that will have a team comprising Indian players, one with Pakistan players and a World side taking each other. Previous ICL competitions have all been contests between city-based sides.The ICL 20s World Series 2008 lasts for a week starting from April 9 and will be held at the Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium in Hyderabad. The competition, the fourth to be conducted by the ICL, involves seven matches, with each team playing against each other twice, followed by the finals.Inzamam-ul-Haq, currently captaining the Lahore Badshahs, will lead the Pakistan team while Chris Cairns will captain the World team. Moin Khan, John Emburey and Steve Rixon will coach the Pakistan, World and India sides respectively.Kapil Dev, chairman of the executive board of the ICL, said the Indian squad will be selected after the semi-finals of the ongoing Twenty20 tournament. The captain of the Indian team is also yet to be announced.