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Alan Pardew describes Demba Ba"s agents as sharks

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Bunch of sharks! Pardew slams middlemen chasing 5m from Ba sale

PUBLISHED:

22:30 GMT, 31 December 2012

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UPDATED:

22:56 GMT, 31 December 2012

Alan Pardew has torn into the agents chasing a staggering 5million in commission for the sale of Demba Ba, branding them 'sharks'. 'I think Demba's becoming a victim of a few sharks around him,' said the Newcastle boss.

Chelsea's attempts to make the Newcastle striker their first signing of the January transfer window hit trouble on Monday after 'unproductive' talks with Ba's representatives.

It is understood they are miles apart on the financial terms of any deal. That has left Pardew preparing to pick Ba against Everton on Tuesday with supporters angry at the Senegal forward for wanting to leave St James' Park.

Angered: Alan Pardew still hopes to hang onto his star striker Demba Ba

Angered: Alan Pardew still hopes to hang onto his star striker Demba Ba

Pardew turned his guns on the middlemen chasing levels of commission that could oblige the buying club to invest up to 28m in a 27-year-old who has a 7m release clause in his current contract and wants 90,000 a week.

Pardew added: 'I feel a little bit sorry for Demba because I think people (claim to) represent him who are not actually representing him.

'People out there are fuelling this who are not actually involved. But they want to be involved and that is the sort of world we are in.

'I can't remember a situation like this, with this level of speculation and information being put about. That's a frustration for us as a club, massively.'

Pardew believes Ba, scorer of 13 Premier League goals this season, is mentally tough enough to handle any abuse from Newcastle fans.

'Demba is as mentally strong a player as I have come across,' said Pardew. 'He's had to cope with injury earlier in his career and disappointments with the way some clubs have treated him. He can't be disappointed with the way we've treated him so I hope he rewards us by staying with us for the next couple of years.

'It's difficult for our fans to feel Demba is solid with the team, amid everything else that's going on. When he's played he's never represented that, he's always represented his full commitment to the team. 'But having said that our fans want loyalty. This is a big club and I think perhaps he needs to make a statement at some point.'

Pardew urged Ba to make up his mind soon about Newcastle's offer that remains on the table. 'He needs to make a decision fairly early,' he said.

Hitman: The prolific striker could be on his way to Chelsea

Hitman: The prolific striker could be on his way to Chelsea

Shake on it: Pardew tore into his agents for chasing the 5million commission

Shake on it: Pardew tore into his agents for chasing the 5million commission

'For everyone's sake, most of all himself. And especially for our fans – they need to know if he's going to be with us to the summer or not.

'We've had a few discussions but if he feels our offer isn't right for him, what can I do He has never said he wanted to leave the club.

'We've coped with it before and we'll cope with it again but ideally we want him to stay. In this window and in the situation we're in, I'd like to think he will stay. But that will be his decision.'

Lille defender Mathieu Debuchy is due at St James' Park tomorrow to complete his 5.5m move. He will be in the squad to face Brighton in the FA Cup third round on Saturday after Danny Simpson broke a toe at Arsenal last weekend.

Pardew added: 'A player of his quality will boost everybody. Defensively, we are so short.'

'Victim': Pardew believes Ba has surrounded himself with sharks

'Victim': Pardew believes Ba has surrounded himself with sharks

Stuart Lancaster England coach watches son play rugby

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Eight days after beating the All Blacks, England coach Lancaster is back to basics

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UPDATED:

22:30 GMT, 9 December 2012

Stuart Lancaster was back in matchday mode on Sunday. Eight days after his England team stunned the All Blacks, he was savouring the warm afterglow on a cold morning.

From the noise and euphoria of Twickenham, this was a different kind of home fixture; West Park Leeds Under 12s versus Doncaster in the Yorkshire Cup.

From a Test match before 82,000 spectators and a worldwide TV audience, this was local grassroots rugby, with 50 wind-whipped fans watching the young players — including Lancaster’s son Daniel at fly-half.

Grassroots: Stuart Lancaster at West Park Leeds RFC watching his son Daniel

Grassroots: Stuart Lancaster at West Park Leeds RFC watching his son Daniel

Grassroots: Stuart Lancaster at West Park Leeds RFC watching his son Daniel

They know Stuart well at the club and there were plenty of warm words from parents who relished seeing New Zealand beaten.

‘There are a lot of Manu Tuilagi fans among the lads here now, although there always were,’ said Lancaster.

‘So many mums and dads have already been talking about where they were watching the game, shouting at the telly. It’s been fantastic — the performance captured the imagination of the rugby public, which is great. My son played a school game yesterday at Nottingham High School, and I went down to watch. It really brought it home to me the impact that one result has had on so many people. I was even asked to do a motivational team talk for one of the sides there, who were struggling at half-time.

Grassroots: Stuart Lancaster at West Park Leeds RFC watching his son Daniel

Grassroots: Stuart Lancaster at West Park Leeds RFC watching his son Daniel

Young guns: Lancaster addressed the team, including his son Daniel (right) who was also in action

‘I turned up to training here on Wednesday and afterwards, I got a nice text from one of the parents. He said that, after training, his son was saying, “After watching the game on Saturday, I just want to play rugby all the time now”.’

Lancaster may be head honcho with England, but at West Park, he is assistant to Graham Chadwick. Once Daniel’s side had won comfortably, he acted as ball boy for Leeds v Pontypridd in a British & Irish Cup game. Then father, son and daughter Sophie were going home, so Lancaster could watch Leicester play Treviso.

The last result was glorious but the work goes on.

Steven Finn says England will bounce back from India hammering

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Don't panic! Finn says England will bounce back from India hammering

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UPDATED:

08:49 GMT, 25 September 2012

England's grand plan for the defence of their ICC World Twenty20 crown will survive their record defeat against India.

Stuart Broad's team are refusing to
panic, or give up on the principles worked out over many hours in the
nets on how to play spin, after just one setback.

Positive: Steven Finn, right, celebrates dismissal of India's Irfan Pathan

Positive: Steven Finn, right, celebrates dismissal of India's Irfan Pathan

Many have interpreted their 90-run loss at the Premadasa Stadium – in which they were bowled out for their worst Twenty20 score of just 80, in under 15 overs – as an ominous blow to their aspirations as defending champions here.

But inside the camp, as they move from their Group A campaign in Colombo on to three Super Eight matches at Pallekele, a steely resolve remains to press on with Plan A.

The consolation of Sunday's defeat, and England's hapless batting against Harbhajan Singh in particular, was that it came in a fixture which had no direct consequence – between two teams who had already qualified for the next stage.

As England prepared for the four-hour road trip to Kandy – their first match at Pallekele will be against West Indies on Thursday – fast bowler Steven Finn made it clear they will be sticking to their guns.

'We don't have to do anything different than we've done,' he said.

Focused: England captain Stuart Broad

Focused: England captain Stuart Broad

'We've had one one bad game – we know that – but we move on from it.

'We brush it under the carpet; we learn from our mistakes, and we get better from it.'

West Indies were last night confirmed as England's first Super Eight opponents, after a rainy no-result in Colombo which spelled the end of Ireland's unlucky tour.

The Windies have yet to win a match, having come off worst against Australia in their Group B opener but recorded a superior run rate to Ireland's.

Their captain Darren Sammy spent much of last summer losing to England in all formats, but he is optimistic of gaining telling revenge. 'We have a strong belief in ourselves,” he said.

'The first hurdle is overcome – then the real business starts.

'We've got England in our first game and we're looking to start off very well.

'We've played them a few times in the last few months and we believe we can go out and beat them – we have a good twenty20 record against them.'

The Windies lost a one-off match at Trent Bridge in June against England in the sprint format, but a year ago drew 1-1 in a short series at The Oval.

Previously, they had to watch while England claimed their first International Cricket Council global trophy, right under their noses – winning the 2010 World Twenty20 title by beating Australia in the final in Barbados.

'England are defending champions, and we will not under-estimate anybody,' added Sammy.

'They won a tournament in the Caribbean when the wickets were also assisting spinners.

'So we have to go out there and bowl properly. We hope our spinners can play a big part.'

CAPITAL ONE CUP LIVE: West Ham v Crew, Sunderland v Morecambe and more second round ties

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CAPITAL ONE CUP LIVE: Follow Tuesday's second round action as it happens

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UPDATED:

17:34 GMT, 28 August 2012

Follow Sportsmail's coverage of the Capital One Cup as the Premier League teams make their entrance into the second round of the competition. There are 23 ties to take place up and down the country with many Football League sides looking to cause an early season cup upset. Send all your thoughts to me at dan.ripley@dailymail.co.uk or contact me on Twitter @Ripinho.

*Follow live coverage from 7pm*

Enter the big guns: Sunderland, West Ham, Wigan and Aston Villa feature in the second round

Enter the big guns: Sunderland, West Ham, Wigan and Aston Villa feature in the second round

Manchester United and Arsenal to watch Victor Wanyama again

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United and Arsenal to watch 7m-rated Celtic ace Wanyama in action again

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UPDATED:

21:31 GMT, 31 July 2012

Manchester United and Arsenal are stepping up interest in Victor Wanyama with another check on the Celtic midfielder planned for Wednesday night.

Scouts from both clubs are due to watch the 7m-rated Kenyan play for Celtic in their Champions League qualifier with Helsinki which will be the third time in recent weeks.

Representatives from both clubs also watched him against Norwich and Inter Milan where he impressed in his preferred midfield role. QPR are also in the running for the 21-year-old.

Wanted: Victor Wanyama (right) is attracting interest from the big guns

Wanted: Victor Wanyama (right) is attracting interest from the big guns

The Open 2012: Rory McIlroy vows to stick to his guns after some harsh lessons at Royal Lytham

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Peeved McIlroy vows to stick to his guns after some harsh lessons at Royal Lytham

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UPDATED:

15:20 GMT, 21 July 2012

A frustrated Rory McIlroy became an Open Championship also-ran, falling to five over par with a third-round 73.

After eight birdies in his first 25 holes at Royal Lytham the world number three has had only one in his last 29.

'I got off to a bad start and couldn't really do much from there,' said McIlroy, who had already dropped four shots by the time his only birdie of the day came on the 336-yard 16th.

The 23-year-old came into the week having missed four of his last six halfway cuts, but with top-10 finishes in the other two.

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Crammed: Punters watch McIlroy teeing off at the 14th

'Just lack of consistency with my swing,' McIlroy said when asked what the problem was.

'Whenever you're not confident in the shots that you're trying to hit then it is tough to sort of trust it.

'I was up for it this morning trying to go out there and post a good score, but after playing the front nine like I did you're just trying to shoot the best score you can. And for me today that was only a 73.

'I'm frustrated, but that's the way it is – that's golf. You just have to get on with it and keep trying and keep practising and stay patient until it turns around.

'It was good and then all of a sudden I just started not to really trust it yesterday. It just sort of spiralled from there.

'To be honest I'm getting used to it. The last few weeks haven't been so great. Every tournament or every major that you don't play well in or you don't win is a chance missed.'

Watchful: McIlroy's game has taken a nose-dive in recent months

Watchful: McIlroy's game has taken a nose-dive in recent months

Playing with Dubliner Padraig Harrington for the first time in a major – they had not played a tournament together until Memphis last month – McIlroy's slide on the day started when he three-putted the fourth.

He then failed to get up and down from short of the next, rolled off the green at the eighth and could not get up and down either at the short 12th.

Harrington, meanwhile, remained two over after two birdies and two bogeys, including one on the last after he had driven into a bunker.

'The 70 was a steal – and 69 would have been a miracle. I was really at sixes and sevens with my game.

'It was a big struggle. I didn't show much trust, faith or confidence in anything out there, so it was nice that my short game saved me.

'The first two rounds I just didn't hit my wedges very well. I was sorting that problem out and it certainly got in my head. I wasn't settling on any good thoughts.'

Problem shot: McIlroy says he must work on his swing

Problem shot: McIlroy says he must work on his swing

On McIlroy he added: 'At the end of the day Rory was looking for a fast start and he didn't get it.

'Things went against him. It's not much fun when you're two or three over par and you're looking to be four, five, six under.'

Harrington now has only a slim chance of qualifying for the Bridgestone world championship in a fortnight.

He intends playing a smaller event in Nevada instead if need be as he strives to earn a seventh Ryder Cup cap.

The 40-year-old does have the USPGA Championship the following week – that was where the last of his three majors came in 2008 – but, contrary to what he thought, cup points are not on offer at the first of the FedEx Cup play-offs in the last week of August and that makes it more likely that he will need a wild card again.

Barcelona to go back in for Daniel Agger

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Liverpool's Agger interesting Barcelona after Spaniards balk at Martinez value

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UPDATED:

21:50 GMT, 17 July 2012

Barcelona are set to revive their interest in Liverpool defender Daniel Agger.

Coach Tito Vilanova wants a defender who can also play in midfield, with the other alternative, Athletic Bilbao’s Javi Martinez, too expensive.

The 27-year-old Agger, about whom Barca enquired in January, would represent much better value for money.

Reign in Spain: Daniel Agger is attracting interest from La Liga big guns

Reign in Spain: Daniel Agger is attracting interest from La Liga big guns

Spanish rivals Real Madrid have themselves made tentative enquiries about the Dane, who excelled at Euro 2012.

Agger himself is not agitating for a move, but is still getting used to live under new Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers.

Barcelona returned to training on Tuesday.

Swansea in for Michu, like Manchetser United and Liverpool

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Laudrup hopes to beat United and Liverpool to Michu after lodging 1.7m bid

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UPDATED:

21:50 GMT, 16 July 2012

Swansea have made a 1.7m bid for Rayo Vallecano’s Michu but face competition from Premier League big guns.

The midfielder was scouted by Liverpool and Manchester United this season after scoring 15 goals but Vallecano are struggling financially and need to sell.

Up for grabs: Rayo Vallecano are looking to offload Michu

Up for grabs: Rayo Vallecano are looking to offload Michu

In March Sir Alex Ferguson sent his brother, Martin, to run the rule over the 26-year-old.

Oviedo-born Michu, full name Miguel Perez Cuesta, was also watched directly by Ferguson.

Sevilla also made an offer and may loan him back.

Eden Hazard handed Chelsea No 17 shirt

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Keep your shirt on, Eden! Hazard snubbed for No 10 as 32m man is handed Bosingwa's old 17

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UPDATED:

10:20 GMT, 13 July 2012

Eden Hazard has been handed the No 17 shirt at Chelsea despite insisting he wanted 10 on his back.

Juan Mata is the owner of the No 10 and 32million man Hazard has failed to budge the Spaniard.

The Blues won the race for Hazard when he left Lille at the end of the season with Manchester rivals City and United also hoping to land the Belgian.

Pick a number: Eden Hazard will wear 17 for Chelsea next season

Pick a number: Eden Hazard will wear 17 for Chelsea next season

Hazard made the Premier League big guns wait as he weighed up where to go but one thing he was set on was the jersey he would be wearing in 2012-13.

He said at the time: 'I have always dreamed of playing the No 10 role and wearing that number on my back, and you can see what a difference it makes from how many goals I have scored and set up for others. That will be a consideration when I decide on my club.'

But it's Jose Bosingwa's old number for Hazard while his fellow Belgian Kevin De Bruyne takes the No 14.

Marko Marin is the new No 21 following the departure of Salomon Kalou.

Manchester United and Real Madrid fight to sign Sao Paulo"s Lucas

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United and Real Madrid lock horns in battle to capture Sao Paulo's 12m-rated Lucas

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UPDATED:

05:39 GMT, 26 April 2012

Manchester United and Real Madrid are locked in battle to sign Brazilian wonderkid Lucas – the 19-year-old sensation who has already been capped 11 times by his country.

United are pulling out all the stops to entice the Sao Paulo attacking midfielder to Old Trafford and fends off the interests from the Spaniards.

They plan to invite Lucas' dad to the North West of England for talks and hope they can lure him to the Barclays Premier League for next season.

Battle: United want Lucas... but so do a number of Europe's big guns

Battle: United want Lucas… but so do a number of Europe's big guns

The English champions will have to shell out a figure in the region of 12million for the midfielder, according to reports in The Mirror.

Lucas, a small but super-skilled midfielder, who has been described as the next Neymay made his debut 18 months ago and has clocked up 70 senior appearances already for Sao Paulo.

United will have to move quickly, though as Madrid are already in talks with Lucas' representatives and a number of Europe's big clubs are monitoring the situation closely.