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Fulham have moved in with a pre-January offer to sign a Man City forward who Pep Guardiola has likened to Phil Foden, according to reports.

Marco Silva is keen to strengthen his attacking options next month and avoid a repeat of last summer’s transfer failures, with only Aston Villa ending the previous window having spent less money.

The Portuguese has also made clear his desire for fresh faces in the winter, telling Sky Sports in November that January signings are an absolute necessity.

Reports suggest that Fulham have already held talks with Raheem Sterling and his representatives ahead of January, with Silva looking to offset the major losses from AFCON.

Defender Calvin Bassey, midfielder Alex Iwobi and winger Samuel Chukwueze have all departed to represent Nigeria at the tournament in Morocco, leaving Fulham even more short of quality across multiple positions.

Silva endured considerable frustration during the summer when marquee signings Chukwueze and Kevin both arrived on deadline day, by which time Fulham had already stuttered through their opening three games without a single win.

The delayed arrivals prevented Fulham’s new players from integrating properly into the squad during pre-season preparations, and Silva openly voiced his frustration at the club’s recruitment policy.

Now, with Adama Traore heavily linked to joining West Ham next month, the need for a new forward in particular is pretty evident.

Fulham make pre-January offer for Man City forward Oscar Bobb

According to CaughtOffside, the player most likely to depart Man City next month is Norwegian international Oscar Bobb, and it could well be to Craven Cottage.

The 22-year-old represents another attacking talent to have lost prominence under Guardiola following his return from a serious leg fracture that derailed his entire 24/25 campaign.

A loan move has been heavily touted for the winger, and Fulham have apparently tested the water already.

It is believed that Bobb has an offer ‘on the table’ from Fulham ahead of January, but they face stiff competition from Crystal Palace, Borussia Dortmund and Seville, who have also made proposals.

Subscribe to our newsletter for sharper transfer insight Get deeper transfer context – subscribe to the newsletter for expert analysis, player profiles and tactical insight that clarify moves like Oscar Bobb’s potential loan and illuminate club squad-building decisions.

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He was expected to have even more minutes under his belt at City by now after making his senior debut over two years ago, but that crushing leg break last summer really put his development on hold.

Now, a host of sides, including Fulham, are offering him the chance to build his career elsewhere.

Despite being tipped for the exit door, Bobb is a player who Guardiola rates very highly.

Related Fulham now readying £31m bid for "incredibly prolific" Champions League striker

The Cottagers are preparing an offer for a centre-forward.

Posts ByDominic Lund

Half-centuries from Dinesh Karthik and Ganga Sridhar Raju and a five-wicket haul from fast bowler Aswin Crist helped Tamil Nadu thump Tripura by 262 runs at DRIEMS ground in Cuttack to recording their fifth win in six matches and top Group B. Chasing 338, Tripura lasted just 18.2 overs and were shot out for 75 to finish with three wins and as many losses.Sent in to bat, TN started cautiously through a 71-run opening stand between Kaushik Gandhi and Raju (77) in 14.5 overs. B Aparajith built on the platform with 41 during the course of a 99-run second-wicket stand before the dismissal of both set batsmen in the space of three balls reduced TN to 166 for 3 in the 30th over. Karthik, who had struck a century and two fifties coming into the match, got into his groove straightaway; hitting 11 fours and two sixes in his 63-ball 81 to help TN more than double their score in the last 20 overs.Vijay Shankar, M Mohammed and Washington Sundar also came up with sprightly cameos to shore up the total. Smit Patel, the wicketkeeper, was one of three Tripura batsmen to get into double digits; his 22 at the top of the order being the highest of the innings. Crist was complemented by Mohammed and R Rohit, who picked up two wickets apiece.Returning to the side after being left out earlier in the tournament, Unmukt Chand finished with two back-to-back fifties•PTI

Unmukt Chand’s 78, the highest score of the match, helped Delhi sign-off with a 112-run win over Uttar Pradesh at KIIT ground in Bhubaneswar. Delhi, who were bowled out for 220, also found a hero with the ball in Kulwant Khejroliya. Playing in just his fifth List A game, fast bowler Khejroliya took 5 for 22 to skittle UP for 108. Both sides ended their campaign with three wins and three losses.Delhi, who were tottering at 85 for 4, were rescued by Chand and Himmat Singh’s 86-run stand before losing their last six wickets for 49. Ankit Rajpoot, the fast bowler, was finished with best figures – 3 for 32 – for UP. In reply, they slumped to 16 for 5 in the seventh over, before Rinku Singh (43) and Praveen Kumar (28) swung their way through to delay the inevitable.Sanju Samson was one of three half-centurions for Kerala•BCCI

Half-centuries from Mohammed Azharuddeen (73), Vishnu Vinod (93) and Sanju Samson (51) helped Kerala end a disappointing campaign on a winning note at the Barabati Stadium they finished with one win in six matches. Kerala, who posted 297 for 9, overcame a late fightback from Himachal to squeeze a 42-run win.Fabid Ahmed, the offspinner, first sent back the well-set Ekant Sen (43), and then returned to dismiss Sumeet Verma (59) and Pankaj Jaiswal off successive deliveries to tilt the scales in Kerala’s favour. He finished with 4 for 38 off 10 overs.Himachal were bowled out for 255 in 47.1 overs to end the tournament with a solitary win. Opener Prashant Chopra, who struck 50, was one of their bright notes, finishing the tournament as the sixth-highest run-getter, with 329 runs in six matches.

	Adam Gilchrist received his baggy green from Bill Brown, who he says “was just so respectful of the modern players” © Getty Images

Bill Brown, who has died aged 95, epitomised the Australian cricket ethos and was an invaluable role model for the younger generations of Test cricketers, according to Steve Waugh. It was during the Waugh era that Australia’s players embraced the team’s history and Brown was called on to present baggy green caps to modern stars Adam Gilchrist and Michael Hussey.”I reckon that if one person could have their picture beside the baggy green cap to illustrate what it stood for, it should be Bill,” Waugh told the . “Bill was the man who my generation really looked up to. I say that all the time at corporate functions.”For us he was the embodiment of everything great about the baggy green cap. He had everything – strength, great ethics, character and wonderful stories from the past and yet still had great respect for the modern game.”The remarkable thing about him was he was so sharp. You never had to repeat anything. Nothing got past him. You felt as if you were talking to a 30-year-old. He was always putting himself down. He used to say his best shot was a leg glance and that he was just the guy who used to bat at the other end [to champions like Don Bradman].”Gilchrist said cricketers of the past decade adored Brown’s willingness to keep up with the game and appreciate the newer generation of Australian Test representatives. “He was just so respectful of the modern players,” Gilchrist said. “You never heard Bill complaining about modern bat weights or covered wickets.”Sam Loxton, who is now one of only four surviving members of the 1948 Invincibles touring squad, said Brown was a good friend. “Bill was a great fellow and a terrific player,” Loxton said. “He was always fun to be with.”Creagh O’Connor, the chairman of Cricket Australia, said Brown would be remembered as a first-rate batsman of the 1930s and 1940s. “Bill was a fine cricketer, good enough to carry his bat while making a double century at Lord’s,” O’Connor said. “But those of us who had the good fortune to meet and know him in more recent years will also remember him with great affection as an impish wit and good-humoured servant of the game, always ready to lend his assistance.”

John Bracewell isn’t quitting © Getty Images

Following New Zealand’s exit from the World Cup semi-final, Stephen Fleming, the Test captain, is hopeful their coach John Bracewell will stay on after his contract expires next month. “I think Braces should stay on, I think he’s a fine coach, he’s worked well with this side,” Fleming said in The Press.Bracewell, who is expected to submit a detailed performance appraisal of the squad to New Zealand Cricket (NZC), said a review of the World Cup campaign would determine his future. He was recently under-fire from Martin Crowe, the former New Zealand captain, who suggested that he should resign.However, Bracewell hasn’t given any indication he would join the mass exodus of international coaches and said the priority would be to sort out the player contracts for the forthcoming season. “Once we’ve gone through that review process I’ll make that decision on whether to continue, or that decision will be made for me,” Bracewell told .”Ric Charlesworth [the NZC high performance manager] has a lot of things on the table when we get back in terms of the development plan. We have a month of hard cricket ahead of us, not in terms of playing, but players’ contracts have to be sorted out. There’s a lot of work to do.”New Zealand impressed through the group stages but faltered towards the end of the event. They were exposed in all departments in the semi-final against Sri Lanka, raising questions about their ability to lift their performance in knock-out games. This was their fifth semi-final loss in World Cup history.Though NZC were non committal on Bracewell’s future, Justin Vaughan, the newly-appointed chief executive, was also hopeful that he would continue. He said the off-season would be ideal time for the players to reflect on their performances. “They have been going at it since the series against Sri Lanka in December so they deserve the chance to sit back and reflect on things,” Vaughan said.Reflecting on his side’s showing in the tournament, Bracewell said they had performed above expectations, but admitted they were completely undone by a far superior side in the semi-final. “We were as well prepared as any side that’s has been put together,” he said. “We really have to put our hands up and say we didn’t perform on the day. A good dose of Test cricket will do us the world of good – players like Ross Taylor and Peter Fulton need it to continue their development.”

A hike in monthly pensions for former players, plans to boost support to other sports, and venues for the 2006 Champions Trophy were some of the issues discussed in the BCCI’s working committee meeting in Mumbai on Sunday.Showing the money
Players who have figured in 25 Tests or more will receive up to Rs35,000 as pension amount while those who have played in less than 25 will get Rs25,000. The widows of Test cricketers will also receive the same amount. Former cricketers who played for India in Tests and ODIs after December 31, 1993 and all international umpires will receive a sum of Rs10,000 per month.Sharing the booty
Sports other than cricket will also benefit from the BCCI’s largesse, after they decided to set up a corpus fund worth Rs50 crore (approx US$11 million) to boost budding talents in the under-15 age group in various sports. “It’s the responsibility of the BCCI to support young talent in sports that figure in the Asian Games and Olympics,” Sharad Pawar, the president of the BCCI, said about this initiative. “The BCCI will pick the No.1 in the under-15 age group and help them in training in India and abroad. The modalities have to be worked out and the BCCI constitution has to be amended for this purpose. We will set aside Rs50 crores and add the proceeds of one off-shore match every year [around Rs40 crores] to build the corpus.”Ground work
The board, after negotiations with the ICC, confirmed four venues — Cricket Club of India, Mumbai, Jaipur, Mohali and Ahmedabad — for the Champions Trophy to be held in October-November this year. “The ICC has agreed to reduce the compensation money from US$1 million to under 200,000 dollars for the fourth venue,” informed Pawar. “The ICC rejected Chennai and Bangalore because of the threat of rain and the Cricket Association of Bengal informed the BCCI that it was not in a position to conduct the Champions Trophy games.”Pawar will choose eight venues in India for the 2011 World Cup and the “eight centres will have to send the compliance letter soon,” reported BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan. Also, a special committee headed by Chirayu Amin, the vice president, and comprising Arun Jaitley of the Delhi District Cricket Association, Lalit Modi, Bindra and Ajay Shirke, Maharashtra Cricket Association president, had been formed to come up with proposals to develop the 30 acres of land given by the Delhi Development Authority to the board.To cap it all
Agreeing with Sunil Gavaskar’s views on the India cap, Pawar announced that only the national players will wear the cap with the BCCI’s crest on it, while the support staff will not be allowed to wear it.Searching for talent
A special committee headed by former chief IS Bindra will give suggestions about optimum usage of the board’s funds, and will also offer recommendations on the Talent Research Development Wing (TRDW). “The committee will submit a preliminary report on all the related issues, including the scraping of the TRDW and the change in the format of the national selection panel [from five members to three],” said Pawar. Gavaskar had earlier criticised the proposed move to scrap the TRDW, asserting that the increase in the number of players from smaller towns was due to this system. He felt it would be a “big mistake” to scrap such a successful system.

Charl Langeveldt: a memorable game but a forgettable fine © Getty Images

Makhaya Ntini and Charl Langeveldt, the two South African fast bowlers, have been fined part of their match fees for breaching the International Cricket Council’s Code of Conduct during the third one-dayer against West Indies in Barbados. Both bowlers were found guilty of “excessive appealing” by Jeff Crowe, the match referee, in a hearing after the game finished at Bridgetown on Wednesday.Langeveldt, the hero of South Africa’s one-run triumph with a last-over hat-trick, was fined 20% of his match fee as he was found to have breached 1.5 Level 1 of the ICC Code. He was penalised for his actions after the fifth ball of the final over, when he celebrated the dismissal of Corey Collymore, the last batsman, before the umpire had given the decision. Crowe added, “Charl, albeit emotional in the dramatic moment, simply did not turn to appeal to the umpire for an lbw decision and pleaded guilty to the breach.”Ntini, who incurred a 25% fine on his match fee, was also found guilty of celebrating the dismissal before the umpire’s verdict in the 11th over of the West Indian innings. “At the ODI pre-series meeting, team management was advised by the Playing Control Team that no tolerance would apply for these actions,” Crowe said. “Makhaya was apologetic after the event and pleaded guilty to the breach.”All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50% of a player’s match fee. The charge was brought to Crowe’s notice by Darrell Hair, Eddie Nicholls and Billy Doctrove, the three match umpires.

Streak: ‘Cricket needs to find a way of keeping itself attractive and interesting’ © Getty Images

Heath Streak, Zimbabwe’s captain, believes one-day internationals should consider new rules and fresh ideas to maximise its interest and appeal.Talking ahead of Zimbabwe’s opening game of the VB Series against Australia at Sydney on Sunday, Streak said: “One-day cricket is a fantastic advert for the game, but there is a risk that unless a tight finish is involved, the game can be predictable for players and fans.”Spectators now have dozens of sports and entertainment to choose from on their TV screens, so cricket has to find a way of holding its own in a crowded market.”Streak had a few ideas of his own on how to shake things up a bit. “For example, as a captain, I’d support the idea of being able to change the current fielding restrictions from the first 15 overs of a match, when you have to have two catchers and only two fielders outside of the circle.”If I could use the 15 overs in blocks of, say, five overs each, it would allow me to experiment more with my bowlers and have new options to try in the field. That might help change the quiet period you often get in games between overs 16 and 40.”He also suggested the introduction of international Twenty20 cricket, the 20-over format introduced in England last season. “We saw the instant impact that Twenty20 cricket had in England when we toured there in the last northern summer,” he said. “Perhaps the ICC could experiment with an international version of Twenty20, which I think would pull in spectators and be an attractive formula for telecasters.”Streak, who has played 172 one-dayers for Zimbabwe, warned that the game needs to keep coming up with new ideas. “With 11 countries playing limited-overs internationals there is plenty of scope to experiment with some fresh thinking,” he said. “Cricket needs to find a way of keeping itself attractive and interesting. Test cricket should always be there as the purest form of the game, but one-day internationals provide the perfect opportunity for some creative thinking.”

The scene of the three match unofficial Test series between Sri Lanka A andKenya now moves to the coastal town of Matara where the visitors will bestriving hard to win the second four-day match and keep their chances ofwinning the series alive. But the home team, meanwhile, will be lookingforward to executing the knock out blow, to seal the series at the UyanwattaCricket Stadium, Matara.Batting made all the difference between the two sides in the firstunofficial Test Match in Colombo. While most of the frontline Sri Lankanbatsmen notched up half centuries, the Kenyan camp failed to provide thegoods with big names like Steve Tikolo and Maurice Odumbe failing with thebat.”Our batting failed in the match in Colombo. Myself, Steve (Tikolo) and theother front line batsmen really didn’t get going,” admits Kenyan skipperMaurice Odumbe.He continues,” It’s even disappointing when you analyse the way we’ve beengetting out. We’ve been getting out going for our shots,”However Odumbe feels that his side can bounce back, “We can pickourselvesup. We know what we are doing wrong. We are going for too many shots veryearly in the innings. So we got to cut down on our shots and got to occupythe crease and bat on,””Occupying the crease,” is the answer to square the series Odumbe feels. TheAfrican nation seems to be ill at ease with the four-day game being moreused to playing one-day games. But this tour is to learn and with noquestion on their ability the visitors might spring up a surprise by doingthe essentials right.Meanwhile Sri Lanka A coach Roshan Mahanama commended his side for a goodperformance with the bat in Colombo, but expects them to start afreshtomorrow.”When the top five make runs it’s a good sign and that eases the burden onthe bowlers, but on the other hand I told the boys that one of them shouldhave gone on and made a big hundred which they didn’t do. So here in Matarathey’ve got an opportunity,” says Mahanama.This is the first real challenge that has come Mahanama’s way from the timethat he took on the post of coach cum manager of the Sri Lanka A team inlast September. He believes in the young guns that have been entrusted tohim and expects a series win here from them.”In Colombo the boys bounced back after a bad start on the first day to winthe match against odds like rain and if they continue the good form we canwin the series here,” believes Mahanama.Both the sides are to decide on the final eleven on the morning of thematch. However it’s felt that the Kenyans will play 25-year-old mediumpaceman Peter Ochieng instead of fellow paceman Lameck Onyango who had arelatively bad game in Colombo.The Sri Lankans have dropped Kaushalya Weeraratne from the side that playedin the Colombo match and have brought in Pulasti Gunaratne.The Uyanwatta Stadium pitch looks a good batting track with a bit of grassthat should help the seamers early on.But if the grass on the track is further pruned on the final day morning itlooks as if Sri Lanka will go with a three men spin attack with RanganaHerath coming in to support skipper Upul Chandana andMutumudalige Pushpakumara.The teamsKenya (from):Maurice Odumbe (capt), Steve Tikolo, Ravindu Shah,Kennedy Otieno, Hitesh Modi, Thomas Odoyo, MartinSuji, Otieno Ondik, Lameck Onyango, Sorongo Ababu,Brijal Patel, David Obuya, Joseph Angara, PeterOgondo,Collins Obuya, Muhammed Sheikh.Sri Lanka A (from):Avishka Gunawardene, Ian Daniel, Michal Vandort,Chamara Silva, T.M. Dilshan, Upul Chandana, PrasannaJayawardene, Muttumudalige Pushpakumara, PrabathNissanka, Ruchira Perera, Rangana Herath, UpekaFernando, Gayan Wijekoon, Pulasti Gunaratne.

Northern Districts was 91-3 at the end of day three of the opening round of the Shell Trophy. They require 82 tomorrow if they are to open their defence of the title with a win.This was a day characterised by tense, no quarter given, cricket, both sides aware that small mistakes could cost them the game.The tension was reflected in some aggressive appealing and over reaction to umpiring decisions which resulted in a complaint from the umpires to ND skipper Robbie HartThe first hour of the day saw yet another batting collapse, with four key wickets falling to ND’s pace trio. Joseph Yovich continued to bowl fast and short, while Simon Doull and Graeme Aldridge concentrated on accuracy, letting the pitch do as much of the work as possible.Tama Canning and Aaron Barnes led a fightback with a fifty partnership. They combined caution with a willingness to get after the bad ball. Each hit a six off one of the spinners, Bradburn and Martin.An otherwise quiet phase of play was enlivened by a warning for verbal abuse after umpire Barry Frost had refused an appeal for a catch at short leg by Hood off Bradburn, even though the ND players had begun their celebrations for the fall of the wicket.A mid-wicket conference between Bradburn, ND skipper Robbie Hart and the two umpires was convened a couple of overs later when the officials felt the need to express their displeasure at comments made following the decision. There may be repercussions in terms of disciplinary action, depending on the contents of official reports.On several occasions during this game players on either side have run to congratulate those involved in the `dismissal’ without bothering to wait for official judgment.Umpires see this as intimidation. In the next English season players will be required to stay in their fielding positions until the outcome of an appeal is known. This may be an idea that will spread to the game worldwide.The Canning/Barnes partnership ended just after lunch, the three remaining wickets following in fairly short order. Richard Morgan struck a few blows to take the Auckland total over 200, setting ND 173 to win.Aldridge finished with four wickets, giving him nine in the match. This, along with his last wicket heroics yesterday, means that he is now firmly established as a member of the ND first class squad. When Darryl Tuffey returns from South Africa and Scott Styris is back to full fitness the depth of ND fast and medium fast bowling will be formidable.Yovich has looked impressive throughout the game, generating real speed from a responsive surface. He deserved more than the four wickets that were his match haul.Doull also performed well, a bowler insufficiently fit to go to South Africa, but who is fitter than than those who are there…He has cut down his pace, but more than compensates with guile and experience. His international career may have been written off prematurely.The spinners, Bradburn and Martin, also took wickets at important times, though Martin gave away a few more runs than ND would have wanted, given the low-scoring nature of the match.ND suffered the early loss of Michael Parlane, lbw to Morgan. Marshall and Bailey put on 62 for the second wicket before Marshall failed to clear midoff. Neal Parlane also went quickly before Bradburn joined Bailey to see ND through to the close.Bailey is the key figure for ND. He faced 145 balls for his unbeaten 43, surviving numerous lbw appeals from Haslam, unflustered. Haslam bowled unchanged from tea to the close, conceding just 20 runs from 17 overs, but was unable to make the breakthrough.ND remain favourites to take the game, but the pitch continues to be less than totally reliable, so Auckland will remain confident that the match can still be theirs. Tomorrow promises to be a gripping, if short, day’s cricket.

The BCCI is contemplating appointing separate head coaches for Test and limited-overs formats for the India team. Its official position, as revealed by board secretary Anurag Thakur, was that it would appoint a coach before the South Africa series in October and the cricket advisory committee has been given the freedom to decide on the structure of the coaching staff, but ESPNcricinfo understands the position may be split.According to board insiders, the BCCI over the last month has approached at least half a dozen overseas candidates. None of them have been forthcoming to accept the full-time role, primarily for two reasons: most of them are associated with a Twenty20 franchise or league and wouldn’t like to part ways with a lucrative short-term assignment.The other factor that has worked against attracting an overseas candidate is the BCCI’s emphasis on not letting a foreign coach get assistants of his choice. Instead, the BCCI has stressed that the head coach will have to work with Indian assistant coaches.It has resulted in eligible overseas coaches being apprehensive of taking charge. The BCCI is understood to have been in touch with three recently-retired cricketers – all of whom have assumed coaching responsibilities with T20 franchises. The high-profile cricket advisory committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman is likely to interact with them over the coming fortnight.Thakur hinted that team director Ravi Shastri would remain in contention, but stressed it would be up to the advisory committee to formalise the structure and the number of coaching staff required.”I think it is very important to have a full-time coach for any team. We have taken some time to decide and most probably in the month of September, we will finalise the coach,” Thakur said in a chat with Sanjay Manjrekar and Sunil Gavaskar during the lunch break of India’s second Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday on .”[Ravi] Shastri is holding the position of the director for the last few months and he has done well with the Indian cricket team, the boys have given us a good feedback about him, so the only issue is if we want a full-time coach then what would be the set-up. We can’t be having 10 people with the Indian cricket team.”So we have left it to the cricket advisory committee to decide how many people will be required, how many coaches will be required, whether a bowling coach, a batting coach, a full-time coach or a director. Let them take a call, come back to BCCI in September and before the South Africa series, I can assure you that we will take a call on that.”Shastri continues to be a contender for one of the positions. Thakur and Shastri, team director for almost a year, are believed to have discussed the roadmap in a meeting in Colombo on Thursday. With Shastri having developed a good rapport with India Test captain Virat Kohli, he could well continue to look after the Test team while the new coach may be in charge of ODIs and T20s.