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The January transfer window will officially be open for business by the time that Tottenham Hotspur play their next match in the Premier League.

Thomas Frank’s side claimed a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday in their last game of 2025, thanks to a header from Archie Gray.

It will be interesting to see what the Lilywhites do when the transfer window opens because attacking reinforcements should be a priority, with Antoine Semenyo one name that has already been linked with a move to North London.

Premier League side in talks to sign Antoine Semenyo

Journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed that a Premier League side are in talks with Bournemouth to complete a deal for the Ghana international next month, but it is Manchester City.

The reporter added that Liverpool and Arsenal would only consider moves for the former Bristol City man at the end of the season, which has left City in the driving seat.

This update comes a matter of days after David Ornstein reported that Spurs proposed an attractive wage offer to the Bournemouth superstar, only for the 25-year-old attacker to ‘politely’ turn down their advances.

This suggests that the Cherries left winger, who has produced nine goals and three assists in the Premier League this season (Sofascore), is not interested in signing for the Lilywhites at this moment in time.

Unfortunately, shortly after that frustrating transfer update, a current Spurs player has shown exactly why the club needed to sign a player like Semenyo to bolster their attack.

Why Spurs need to sign a player like Antoine Semenyo

Despite beating Palace 1-0, Frank’s side failed to impress at Selhurst Park on Sunday, as they only created one ‘big chance’ and 0.84 xG in 90 minutes, per Sofascore.

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Randal Kolo Muani was selected to start on the left flank ahead of Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert, but failed to reward the manager’s faith in him with a positive performance.

The £150k-per-week loanee from Paris Saint-Germain, to his credit, did win the first of two flick-ons before Gray’s close-range winner, but his general play was largely poor.

Per Sofascore, the France international did not register a single cross or shot on goal and failed in all four of his attempted dribbles, whilst he did not create a single ‘big chance’ for the side.

Kolo Muani, who lost five of his six ground duels (Sofascore) in the game, was incredibly ineffective on the left wing, as he failed to create anything for the team or for himself from open play.

25/26 Premier League

Kolo Muani

Semenyo

Appearances

11

17

xG

1.19

6.11

Goals

0

9

Big chances missed

4

5

Key passes per game

0.7

1.4

Big chances created

0

4

Assists

0

3

Dribble success rate

29%

44%

Stats via Sofascore

Unfortunately, as you can see in the table above, Kolo Muani’s lack of threat at the top end of the pitch has been a theme throughout his performances in the Premier League this season.

The French flop has been thoroughly outperformed by Spurs target Antoine Semenyo, as the PSG loanee has not delivered a single goal contribution in 11 appearances and nine starts in the top-flight this season.

That is why Tottenham needed to sign the Ghana international, who has now rejected them, and why they need to go out and find an alternative to him in the January transfer window.

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Kolo Muani, whose only two goals for Spurs in 17 games came against his parent club, has not offered enough in the final third to justify a continued inclusion in the starting line-up.

The fact that the French flop has started nine of his 11 Premier League appearances, despite failing to provide any goal contributions, illustrates how dire the club’s attacking options are at this moment in time.

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Therefore, Frank must push the club to bring in a new option on the left wing to replace Kolo Muani before the January transfer window closes.

SuperSport Series

Dale Steyn might have a bad game one of these days, but don’t count on it. Having eviscerated the New Zealanders by taking 20 wickets in two Tests, Steyn’s next trick was to grab 14 scalps for the Titans against the Eagles at Bloemfontein. Granted, the pitch must have made the bowlers think the summer solstice celebrations had come early when 20 wickets fell on the first day. But Steyn’s haul of 14 for 110 – the sixth-best analysis in a senior South African domestic first-class match – remains a remarkable achievement and one that will have added a furrow to the brows of the approaching West Indians. The Titans were dismissed for 118 in their first innings, but Steyn’s career-best return of eight for 41 snuffed out the Eagles for a measly 89. Conditions eased on day two, and the Titans’ second innings endured into the third day before they were dismissed with a lead of 385. Re-enter Steyn to take six for 69, including the first hat-trick of his career, as the Titans surged to victory by 231 runs.Play was significantly more stoic at Paarl, where the Cobras and the Warriors circled each other like tranquilised sharks before settling for the draw. Johan Botha, who scored 91 not out and 69, and Robin Peterson, who made 55 and 48, twice steered the Warriors out of trouble. In the first innings the visitors were 187 for six before Botha and Peterson put on 103, and they had dwindled to 180 for six when the same pair added 62. Doughty efforts though those were, they also helped dull the contest. Andrew Puttick’s 104, JP Duminy’s 71 and half-centuries by Ashwell Prince and Vernon Philander, who also took seven wickets in the match, bolstered the Cobras’ first innings.Rain allowed just 29 overs on the first day at Durban, where the Lions were put in to bat by the Dolphins and reached 77 for three. Not a ball was bowled for the next two days while the rain lashed down, rendering Kingsmead sodden and the match irrelevant. The sun came out on Sunday and the Lions declared at lunch on 210 for nine. The Dolphins’ hearts weren’t in their reply, and they were dismissed for 147. Scorecard watchers might be interested to know that Doug Watson batted at No. 11 because of a stiff neck.Player of the week – Dale Steyn
We try to shine the spotlight on lesser known players, but in this case that would be as silly as John Cleese trying not to be funny. So, take a bow Dale Steyn. It’s good to know that he doesn’t reserve his nastiness for foreigners. Then again, everyone’s a foreigner if you’re born to Zimbabwean parents in the mining dust of Phalaborwa.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts
Eagles	6	3	1	0	2	0	71.16
Dolphins	6	3	1	0	2	0	64.88
Warriors	6	1	2	0	3	0	46.9
Titans	6	1	1	0	4	0	42.98
Cape Cobras	6	0	2	0	4	0	35.18
Lions	6	0	1	0	5	0	35.12

‘With 32 wickets in two days, it’s either extremely bad batting, wonderful bowling or something slightly wrong with the pitch’ says Bob Woolmer © AFP

Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, has expressed surprise over the pitch at Newlands on which the fourth innings was being played at the end of day two.At stumps South Africa were at 36 for 2 needing 125 more to win. With day three certain to produce a result, Woolmer agreed South Africa were favourites but he insisted Pakistan would certainly be trying. “We would be stupid to come here tomorrow thinking we had lost the game.”On the first day Pakistan were bowled out for 157 with Makhaya Ntini and Jacques Kallis getting four wickets each. South Africa batted for the 39 overs remaining in the day and lost five wickets.On the second day 17 wickets fell as Pakistan wrapped up the South African first innings in 14 overs and then proceeded to be bowled out for 186 inside 52 overs themselves. Graeme Smith was at the other end when Paul Harris, the nightwatchman, was trapped leg before by Danish Kaneria off the last ball of the day.”With 32 wickets in two days, it’s either extremely bad batting, wonderful bowling or something slightly wrong with the pitch,” said Woolmer. The pitch was not reported to the ICC, Woolmer said, because it hadn’t turned dangerously. He also felt that though the pitch was difficult Pakistan had batted poorly in the second innings.”The odd ball is unplayable and then you get out trying to score runs off a ball that is pretty mediocre. You don’t often get these games. Specifically in Test cricket you shouldn’t get these games because in Test cricket you should be more disciplined in the way you bat.”Woolmer said that though he was an advocate of results in Test cricket he understood that financial implications were high when there was no cricket for two-and-a-half days.Dale Steyn, the South African fast bowler, was optimistic about South Africa’s chances of winning the series. “All we need tomorrow is one or two semi-partnerships and one decent partnerships and we should wrap it up soon after lunch.”

Inzamam-ul-Haq disagreed that his side rely on him for consistent runs: ‘Salman Butt, Mohammad Yousuf and Kamran Akmal have batted well in recent matches’ © AFP

Pakistan’s captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has tipped India as favourites in the forthcoming Test series, claiming home advantage and Pakistan’s recent series win over England would count for little. India arrive on January 5 and start the tour with a three-day match against Pakistan A on January 7.”We will need to work extra hard. For me, India will be favourites in the series,” Inzamam said. “The win against England is a thing of the past now, and since there is not much difference in pitches and other things in India and Pakistan, there will be no home advantage. India has a strong batting line up and with Sourav Ganguly’s return it has further strengthened. Although Rahul Dravid does not have experience as a captain he is a wise batsman and will mature as captain,” he said.”We are not weak in the spin department because we have Danish Kaneria, Arshad Khan, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi so we can match India who have Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.”I am thankful to Wasim Akram for advising us to prepare hard pitches keeping in view the good form of our bowlers in the series against England,” said Inzamam, who will meet groundsmen on Monday to devise a strategy.He disagreed that Pakistan rely heavily on him in batting – he scored 431 runs against England in three Tests this winter – and Shoaib Akhtar in bowling. “Salman Butt, Mohammad Yousuf and Kamran Akmal have batted well in recent matches, so has Afridi and in bowling we also have Naved, Kaneria and others who have done well.”

Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag have been appointed as captains of the India Senior, India A and India B sides to contest in the Challenger Trophy one-day tournament to be held in Mumbai from February 7. All teams will play each other once before the best two contest in the final at the Wankhede Stadium on February 10.Barring Sachin Tendulkar, all the first-choice Indian players will feature in the tournament. Lakshmipathy Balaji will return to competitive cricket after a five-month layoff while Ashish Nehra will also be returning after a break.MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel were picked as the three wicketkeepers and each team also includes youngsters who have shone this season. Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu and Rudra Pratap Singh – all of whom played in the Under-19 World Cup last year – will get a chance to make an impression.When India Senior take on India A, there is a good chance of Irfan Pathan bowling to his elder brother Yusuf, also an allrounder, who gets a chance after a string of impressive performances in the Ranji Trophy this year.India Senior
1 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 2 MS Dhoni (wk), 3 Yuvraj Singh, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Venugopal Rao, 6 Niraj Patel, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Anil Kumble, 9 Lakshmipathy Balaji, 10 Gagandeep Singh, 11 Rajesh Pawar, 12 Shikhar Dhawan.India A
1 Rahul Dravid (capt), 2 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 3 Satyajit Parab, 4 Dheeraj Jadhav, 5 Mohammad Kaif, 6 Dinesh Mongia, 7 Murali Kartik, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Rudra Pratap Singh, 11 Yusuf Pathan, 12 Robin Uthappa.India B
1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 Parthiv Patel (wk), 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 VVS Laxman, 5 Sridharan Sriram, 6 Rohan Gavaskar, 7 Ramesh Powar, 8 Joginder Sharma, 9 Ashish Nehra, 10 Shib Shankar Paul, 11 Amit Bhandari, 12 Ambati Rayudu.

The XXXX Queensland Bulls will stick with an unchanged line-up for Friday night’s ING Cup clash with Victoria at the Gabba following their opening win of the season against Tasmania.The Queensland selectors have also shown faith in the one-day line-up by naming the same twelve players for the Bulls opening Pura Cup match against the Bushrangers starting on Sunday at the Gabba.The Pura Cup selection means that former Tasmanian and Western Australian representative Shane Jurgensen is set to make his first class debut for his home state.If Jurgensen plays, he will become the 13th player to represent three States in Australian first class cricket.University of Queensland batsman Steve Farrell, who was 12th man in the four-wicket win over the Tigers, is also a chance to making his first class debut while left-arm paceman Mitchell Johnson is in line to play his first Pura Cup match since 2001.The Bulls players will take to the field against Victoria in their opening first class match of the summer with their initials and their order of selection for Queensland featured on their playing shirts.Friday’s ING Cup match starts at 2.30pm, with gates opening at 1.30pm.A crowd in excess of 10,000 is expected, with the game being promoted as Volunteers’ Day.This is the third season in a row that Queensland Cricket, Volunteering Queensland and the Brisbane City Council have combined for a “thank-you” to the hard-working volunteers and voluntary organisations of Queensland.Volunteering Queensland have provided complimentary tickets to their registered volunteers and organisations, with the BCC providing free Council buses to the game.ING Cup, Friday, October 31 (D/N).
XXXX Queensland Bulls v Victorian Bushrangers: Stuart Law, Daniel Payne, Martin Love (c), Clinton Perren, Lee Carseldine, James Hopes, Wade Seccombe, Nathan Hauritz, Mitchell Johnson, Joe Dawes, Shane Jurgensen, Steve Farrell (12th man to be named).Pura Cup, Sun Nov 2 – Wed Nov 5:
XXXX Queensland Bulls v Victorian Bushrangers: Stuart Law, Daniel Payne, Martin Love (c), Clinton Perren, Lee Carseldine, James Hopes, Wade Seccombe, Nathan Hauritz, Mitchell Johnson, Joe Dawes, Shane Jurgensen, Steve Farrell (12th man to be named).

A lot can happen in 12 months.This time last year, the national team’s form was a thing of wonder. It had just completed an undefeated run through an entire Australian summer; had extended an amazing streak of consecutive Test wins to 15; and a Test series win in India loomed as a likelihood on the impending tour of the subcontinent.And Mark Waugh stood out as a clear favourite for the Allan Border Medal.That Waugh’s potential slice in history actually went his brother’s way instead; that the India series turned expectation on its head; and that the national side now finds itself under challenge from the media rather than the subject of its admiration, adequately paints the tale that nothing is a certainty in Australian cricket.Which is why – even though he’s a standout choice to win the Allan Border Medal in its 2002 incarnation – Queenslander Matthew Hayden’s chances of winning the award shouldn’t ever ascend to unbackable odds.By any measure, Hayden’s last year has been outstanding.He was not only Australia’s leading Test run scorer of 2001, but no player in the world accumulated runs so prolifically. Across the 14 Tests that his nation played between March 2001 and January 2002, the left handed batsman collected an eye-opening 1509 runs in total at the average of 71.86.It was a remarkable assertion of his qualities as a Test cricketer after an unstinting campaign to confirm his abilities in the top flight.Before losing his spot late in the Australian season, the powerful opener also began to make important inroads in the one-day international arena over the last year, complementing his ravenous haul of Test runs with an authoritative limited-overs series in India.Yet, all this being as it is, the presence within national ranks of a range of consistently high-performing players makes Hayden no outright certainty to claim Australian cricket’s highest individual accolade in Melbourne tonight.Representing a particular challenge will be the form of Western Australia’s Damien Martyn. Like Hayden, Martyn used 2001 as the year in which he crowned his re-emergence as an accomplished international player after previous efforts at cementing a permanent Test berth had proved unsuccessful.Martyn was not a part of the eleven that played out the fateful series in India, but gained the nod for the First Test on Australia’s tour of England; marked his return with a century; and never looked back.At a mark of 70.45 over the course of his 11 Tests during the voting period, his average represented only a fractionally less successful return than for Hayden.Adam Gilchrist, whose Test centuries at Mumbai and Edgbaston represented arguably the two most distinguished innings played by an Australian at international level in 2001, should also poll well.The potential of Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Michael Bevan, Mark Waugh and Steve Waugh to claim maximum votes from a number of games clouds the issue further.And, if it had not been for a suspension incurred during the recently-completed VB Series of one-day internationals against South Africa and New Zealand, then inaugural winner Glenn McGrath may have been another to challenge.Under the complex system of counting in operation for the award, votes have been cast by players, umpires and members of the media after each of the 14 Tests and 19 one-day internationals played by Australia over the period between 12 February 2001 and 4 February 2002.The individual votes of the players have been combined after each match and a collective 3-2-1 vote has been calculated. The votes of the umpires and the media have also been combined with a collective 3-2-1 vote cast for the group. Under this system, a player can receive a maximum of six votes from any one match.The votes have also been weighted to reflect the notion that fewer Tests have been played over the voting period than one-day internationals. The effect of this provision is to afford both Test and one-day international players equal opportunity to win the medal.When the counting begins – at a glittering black-tie ceremony – Hayden should establish a significant early lead on the back of his remarkable individual Test and one-day series in India.But Martyn and Gilchrist can each be expected to head a charge that will see significant inroads made into that advantage as the votes for the country’s twin one-day and Test tours of England are counted.If any of those three players wins, then they will carve another slice of history for themselves too. Having been awarded to McGrath and Steve Waugh in its two previous years of existence, this may be the year in which the medal heads outside New South Wales for the first time.

Nick Knight – his hundred took Warwicks into NatWest Trophy semi-final Photo © CricInfo

Nick Knight gained some consolation for his omission from the England squadfor the next Test Match against West Indies by hitting a match-winning century for Warwickshire against Glamorgan in their NatWest Trophy quarter-final match at Birmingham.The left-hander, who in spite of being recognised as a limited-overs specialist had missed the recent NatWest Series triangular tournament through injury, struck 118 runs in the victory by 81 runs. His 123 runs third-wicket partnership with Dominic Ostler (63) was the foundation of the 273-7 total.Glamorgan’s hopes were dashed by a break-down of the middle-order against host captain Neil Smith who took 3-37 from his 10 overs. With the loss of Matthew Maynard (36) at 130-6 Glamorgan collapsed to the extent that at one point five wickets fell for 53 runs in 12 overs.Adrian Shaw (32) and Robert Croft (30 n.o.) hit out at the end but the visitors were dismissed for 192 with 32 balls remaining. Allan Donald (3-29) cut through the lower order. David Hemp did not have a happy game against his former county in that having been dismissed to the first ball he failed to catch Keith Newell in the slips off Ed Giddins with the opening delivery of Glamorgan’s reply.That early break-through was achieved, however, when Matthew Elliott steered a ball from Dougie Brown to Michael Powell. From 9-1 then Newell (35) and Steve James (27) took the score to 68. Then two swift blows reduced them to 77-3: James was run out as he hesitated and shortly afterwards Newell missed his stroke at a sharply-turning off-break which bowled him.Maynard started by hitting three fours from his first five deliveries but his partner, Adrian Dale, was stumped smartly by Keith Piper off Smith at 99. The run-rate was almost seven-an-hour but wickets were starting to fall including that of Maynard who was bowled while cutting.Earlier with Warwickshire put in to bat two wickets fell for 25-2 as Alex Wharf took 2-9 in six overs – then Knight hit his century with 11 fours from 143 balls in his innings overall. Ostler provided firm support in hitting seven boundaries and Trevor Penney scored his 42 runs at more than one-a-ball.Knight had just hit 16 in an over from Darren Thomas when he lobbed a catch to Maynard from Owen Parkin’s slower ball. Nevertheless his innings had not been without blemish as he was missed at both square-leg and, more blatantly, at the wicket.

Wolves had no issue putting their disappointing run of form in the Premier League behind them after comfortably beating relegation battlers Watford 4-0 at Molineux on Thursday night.

Raul Jimenez opened the scoring for the Old Gold after 13 minutes before two goals in the space of five minutes put the hosts 3-0 up with just 21 minutes on the clock.

As the final whistle was approaching, Neves added even more misery on Roy Hodgson’s side by getting his name on the scoresheet with a beautiful chipped goal to wrap up what was a very pleasing night for the home supporters.

While Jimenez may have scored his sixth league goal of the season, and his first since their 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur last month, it was the Portuguese midfielder who stole the show for Bruno Lage’s team last night.

With 110 touches of the ball, Neves – who has been praised in the past by Tim Spiers for his “sensational” eye for goal – racked up an impressive pass accuracy percentage of 96%, with 94 passes completed out of 98 attempted. He also completed 19 accurate long balls, one cross and one key pass, as per SofaScore.

Despite the hefty scoreline, Wolves only had one more shot at goal than the Hornets (9) throughout the game, but thankfully their Portuguese midfield maestro did his bit to help the Old Gold keep another clean sheet. with three tackles and one interception made, also winning five out of his eight duels.

This display ultimately earned the 24-year-old an impressive overall match rating of 8.4/10, making him the highest-rated player on the pitch last night according to SofaScore.

Birmingham Live also picked up on Neves’ solid performance by labelling him as the “best player on the pitch,” along with being “absolutely everywhere in midfield” and “a million miles too good for his Watford counterparts”.

Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that the £36m-rated star stole the show on this occasion and played a massive part in his team’s victory.

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If every Wolves player can deliver a similar level of performance like the one Neves gave against Watford, they would certainly give themselves a great chance of climbing up the table and securing European football for 2022/23.

In other news: Lage must now unleash “threatening” 19 y/o Wolves prodigy who’s “growing all the time”

The coroner’s inquest into the death of former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has been extended by another week, with coroner Patrick Murphy to continue his summation of the evidence on Monday.The inquest in Kingston, Jamaica, heard evidence from 57 witnesses and statements from seven other persons. The 11-member jury is expected to deliver its verdict within a week.Woolmer died hours after he was found unconscious in his Jamaica hotel room on March 18, a day after Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat to Ireland at the World Cup. Dr Ere Seshaiah, the government pathologist who conducted the post mortem, declared that Woolmer was murdered but three independent pathologists all concluded later that Woolmer died due to natural causes.