Chelsea poised to get their man

Chelsea are expected to finalise the signing of Bolton Wanderers defender Gary Cahill later today. Chelsea agreed a fee with Bolton last month, but have yet to conclude personal terms to bring the England international to Stamford Bridge.

Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas previously revealed that the two parties were 'miles apart' and that had prompted speculation Cahill was reconsidering the chance to move to West London. Reports also suggested that Premier League champions Manchester United were ready to make a late bid to hijack the deal, while Tottenham Hotspur have held a long-term interest in Cahill.

However, the centre-half is now poised to finalise his departure from the Reebok Stadium, where he is out of contract at the end of the season. Cahill's expected arrival at Chelsea will boost Villas-Boas' options at the back after Brazil international Alex handed in a transfer request at the start of December.

Villas-Boas is also weighing up whether to add one further player to his squad during the January transfer window after allowing Nicolas Anelka to move to China.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa remain optimistic Los Angeles Galaxy striker Robbie Keane will join them on loan. The Republic of Ireland captain is poised to join Villa for two months and is already training with the midlands club.

The eight-hour time difference between Birmingham and Los Angeles means any announcement will probably happen later today after the expected completion of the paperwork. Villa boss Alex McLeish would like Keane to be available for Saturday’s home Premier League clash with Everton.

Sources close to the club are confident a temporary deal for Keane will still go through. Keane has indicated he wants to join Villa and is conscious of retaining his match sharpness before rejoining Galaxy in March with the Euro 2012 finals in June.

Keane’s expected arrival is well timed with fellow striker Emile Heskey sidelined for up to a month with an Achilles injury.

Ipswich have agreed a deal with Leicester for Irish centre-back Sean St Ledger and are now waiting for a decision from the 27-yea-old as he weighs up a couple of other options. The 27-year-old has failed to have the desired impact at the King Power Stadium, making just eight league starts over the first half of the season.

Ba camp claims Man Utd interest

Demba Ba's representatives claim the Newcastle star is attracting interest from Manchester United, but have stressed there have been no offers.

Senegal international Ba, who is currently on Africa Cup of Nations duty, has enjoyed a stunning impact since joining Newcastle on a free transfer from West Ham United last summer.

He has scored 15 goals in the Premier League this season and has netted in both of the Magpies' games against reigning champions United.

Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain have also been linked with the 26-year-old amid reports Ba has a release clause that could allow him to leave St James' Park for under £10million.

Armand Doorn, who is a member of Ba's management team headed by the player's brother, confirmed there is interest in the forward, but there is 'nothing concrete' to report.

"A lot of clubs are calling for Demba. At this moment, we are doing it [transfer negotiations] with his brother, before we did it alone and now we do it with his brother," Doorn told the IBTimes UK.

"Obviously he is doing very well at Newcastle, he's not injured and a lot of clubs are showing interest, but there is nothing concrete at this moment.

"It is true Manchester United, it's true, but nothing concrete.

"No manager [has] called me and said, 'Armand, can we sit down' and everybody is asking how much his release clause is, but nothing concrete.

"There is a clause, but it is not simple. Newcastle knew when they signed him that it was in his last [contract].

"PSG did show some interest, maybe more concrete too, but this is because I know there are a lot of new people on the board there and a lot of people know Demba already, since he was young.

"So it is easier for them to talk to the brother, to the family and yes there is a possibility, but again, there is nothing concrete. We haven't sat down with anybody yet."

Cook stars after another England batting wobble

PCB XI 23 for 0 trail England 269 for 9 dec (Cook 133, Shah 5 for 76) by 246 runs

Alastair Cook carried his form of last year into 2012 

 with the first century of England's UAE tour. Cook's 133 was a vital knock as five wickets for Yasir Shah restricted England on the opening day of their final warm-up match in Dubai.

Shah's legspin removed England's middle order as Ian Bell and Eoin Morgan recorded further low scores. England were reduced to 121 for 5 before Matt Prior made 46 from 57 balls. Graeme Swann's 24 also helped England to a competitive total.

But England were indebted to Cook's 36th first-class hundred. In 2011 he scored 927 Test runs at 84.27 and, after 76 in the first-innings against an ICC Combined XI, he continued in that vein, marshalling England after Mohammad Talha had reduced them to 14 for 2. Captain Andrew Strauss was caught behind for 3 before Jonathan Trott fell leg before for a third-ball duck. Ian Bell was also dismissed for a duck - part of Shah's haul of 5 for 76.

The legspin of Shah removed England's middle order. Kevin Pietersen, who took 10 balls to get off the mark, had got England moving with five fours in his 38 but he was bowled in the first over after lunch having shared a stand of 83 with Cook. Bell was then trapped leg before second ball and Shah also removed Morgan, whose 11 was his third failure of the tour after 1 and 3 against the ICC XI.

With England in trouble, Prior got a partnership going with Cook and the pair added 90. Cook went past 50 from 92 balls while Prior was his breezy self, striking seven fours before Tahla returned to have him caught behind.

Swann, who underwent a scan on his quadriceps after the first warm-up match, played a useful part in making 24 as he and Cook put on 46. But when Swann fell caught behind off Shah, England's innings came swiftly to an end. Shah completed his five-for by having Graham Onions caught for 1 before Cook was caught behind off Tahla and England declared.

There was time for eight overs of the PCB XI innings and Onions, playing the first time for England since January 2010 against South Africa, took the new ball. He conceded 13 in his three overs. Chris Tremlett, having recovered from his eye infection, sent down two overs and there was also time for a brief appearance from Swann and Monty Panesar.

Amla ton pushes South Africa to 301

50 overs South Africa 301 for 8 (Amla 112, Kallis 72, de Villiers 52, Malinga 5-53) v Sri Lanka

South Africa's batsmen enjoyed themselves in Paarl despite the scorching heat as they ran up 301 on an easy-paced track. Hashim Amla highlighted why he's the world's top-ranked ODI batsman with his ninth century, and his two big partnerships with Jacques Kallis and new captain AB de Villiers powered South Africa on a pitch where both seam and spin proved elusive. Lasith Malinga then underscored his value to Sri Lanka, with a five-for that reined in South Africa towards the end of the innings.

It was Kallis who provided the impetus early on, as Amla searched for his customary fluency. Amla had several outside edges and mistimed pulls, but Kallis had few of those problems. A 15-ball spell that yielded only two runs was broken by an imperious Kallis six over long-on.

The pressure on Amla was also eased by Dilhara Fernando's wayward first over - after Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara had kept South Africa to 25 for 1 in six overs. Fernando sprayed a delivery for five leg-side wides and then presented a short ball, which Amla slashed to the point boundary in an over which cost 15.

Both batsmen used the steer to third man and the clip to square leg efficiently to keep the singles coming. They had sauntered to 69 for 1 in 15 overs before opening up in the bowling Powerplay, off which they took 37 runs. Ajantha Mendis proved ineffective as Amla, shaking off the early edginess, lashed him for three boundaries in two overs.

With Amla starting to unleash his trademark crisp drives through the off side, and Kallis carrying on from his double-century in the third Test, South Africa opted for the batting Powerplay unconventionally early. Kallis took consecutive cover-driven boundaries off Malinga to suggest a glut of runs while the fielding restrictions were on, but Kallis was run out soon after by a direct hit from Mahela Jayawardene at cover. There had been a similarly dangerous single attempted a few overs earlier as well, but on that occasion Amla survived as Tillakaratne Dilshan missed from point.

There was hardly a lull after Kallis' exit. Amla and de Villiers put together a 19-ball streak of singles before de Villiers became more enterprising, powering South Africa ahead with a series of lofted shots over cover and extra cover for fours. On a surface where the new batsmen needed time to get in, de Villiers raced to 50 off just 36 deliveries. Amla, meanwhile, calmly moved on to his century, celebrating the achievement with a gentle wave of the bat and helmet.

At 241 for 2 after 40 overs, South Africa seemed headed for at least 320. A Kulasekara yorker, though, removed the rampant de Villiers, before Malinga worked his magic to rip through the lower middle order. Albie Morkel's cameo, which included a stunning pull for six off Fernando, was halted at 25, Amla edged to the keeper and Faf du Plessis was bowled as the final six overs produced only 34 runs.

It still presented Sri Lanka's experienced batting a huge challenge, especially as the track was expected to slow down in the evening. There had also been concerns over the quality of floodlights at Boland Stadium, which could be another factor working against Sri Lanka.

Cricket-India break under pressure, says Australia's Haddin

The Indian cricketers are the most vulnerable in the international game and wilt when subjected to sustained pressure, Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said on Tuesday ahead of the third test between the two countries.


In a fresh salvo at the visitors, who are already facing flak back home for their meek capitulation in the first two tests against Australia, Haddin said the tourists were "as fragile as any team in the world".


India, ranked number one in the test rankings until August last year, were whitewashed in England 4-0 in their last away series and trail 2-0 in the current one against Australia after heavy losses at Melbourne and Sydney.


"We spoke about a bit of that when we were batting," the Australia vice captain told Sky Sports Radio Australia on Tuesday.


"The longer we could keep them out on the field the bigger chance we had of breaking them.


"We know this side can be as fragile as any team in the world if things aren't going their way and they can turn on each other and the media turns on them pretty quick.


"We knew if we could keep them out there and put the numbers like we did on the board we knew we'd get the rewards because they break quicker than anyone in the world."


Haddin was referring to Australia's mammoth first innings total of 659 for four declared in the Sydney test, which India lost by an innings and 68 runs for their sixth successive overseas defeat.


India's Sachin Tendulkar, who has been chasing his 100th international century, has looked most accomplished at the crease for the visitors but Haddin said the Australians have identified a chink in the master batsman's defense.


"What we have found is if we can build enough pressure on him he wants to score and he wants to feel bat on ball and he wants to get into a rhythm," Haddin said.


"We find if we can push him a little wider, make him feel for the ball a bit we can build enough pressure to get a chance and it's worked in the last two tests."


The penultimate match in the four-test series starts in Perth on Friday with the last and final test in Adelaide from Jan. 24. 

Barcelona the best by far, says Sir Alex Ferguson

SIR Alex Ferguson has praised Barcelona as "by far" the world's best club team who should win the Champions League again this season.

"I can't see anyone taking the trophy from them," said Ferguson, whose Manchester United team lost 3-1 to Barcelona in a memorable final last May.

Ferguson's comments ahead of FIFA's annual awards ceremony suggest he expected the Spanish giants to triumph even if his own team had remained in the competition.

"Sometimes in football you have to hold your hand up and say, yeah, they're better than us," said the veteran United boss.

Ferguson's tribute to the Spanish, European and Club World Cup champions was made while sitting alongside Barca coach Pep Guardiola at a pre-event news conference.

Guardiola went on to beat Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho and Ferguson to be named the world's best coach in 2011.Ferguson, whose team failed to advance from the Champions League group stage last month, said Madrid were now "probably the nearest" to Barcelona.

Barcelona resumes the title defence away to Germany's Bayer Leverkusen in a Round-of-16, first-leg match on February 14. Real go to Russia one week later to face CSKA Moscow.

In Ferguson's 25-year reign at Old Trafford, he has guided Man United to two Champions League titles before meeting Barcelona in two finals in three seasons.

Lionel Messi scored both times and inspired the Catalan side to victory - 2-0 in Rome in 2009 and 3-1 at London's Wembley Stadium last season.

"We have experienced two years of it," Ferguson said of Barcelona's excellence. "It's not a crime and it's not a weakness in my belief in my own team.

"It's just plain facts that the Barcelona team just now, particularly with Lionel in their side, are just an extraordinary team."

Ferguson smiled at the suggestion that Guardiola would be a worthy successor when he steps down as planned in three years' time.

"Why would Pep want to leave Barcelona first of all?" he said. "If I was in his position, I would firmly stay where I was."

 

Bayern Munich gears up for India

European soccer giant FC Bayern Munich has expressed confidence that they would outplay the Indian team in their friendly match today. This match would mark the farewell for India's favourite soccer hero and skipper Bhaichung Bhutia. Reiterating his coach's words, club captain and German national team member Philipp Lahm added that Bayern would be showcasing attractive football skills in the match A dominant force in the German Bundesliga, winning six of the past 10 league titles and four time UEFA Champions League winners, Bayern Munich would definitely post the biggest challenge the Indian soccer team has faced in recent years

AC Milan & Inter hit form at perfect time to set up mouthwatering derby

The two giants have awoken from early slumbers, and all of a sudden this coming weekend's clash at San Siro has become one of the most eagerly-awaited in recent years.It was beginning to feel a lot like the biggest clash between AC Milan and Inter in January might be in the transfer market. With the champions playing catch-up behind Juventus and the Nerazzurri going through a real meltdown, the early season form of the two suggested that this month’s most interesting saga would be played out over Manchester City's Carlos Tevez. But with the derby now just six days away, both teams are in the top five, in top form, and are geared up for what should be a magnificent clash at San Siro.While Claudio Ranieri’s side have recorded the more notable upturn, chalking up five straight wins and seven in eight since the home defeat to Juve which saw them finish October in 17th position, so too have Milan put together an excellent run of form. Having started the same month in 15th following their own reverse against the Bianconeri, the Scudetto holders have since won 10 and drawn two in 12 to return to the top of Serie A.

And individually there have been significant improvements made on either side of the divide, too. Diego Milito’s brace in the 5-0 spanking of Parma on Saturday backed up his goal against Lecce before the break to well and truly banish a spell which had seem him record just one strike in 11 games. Meanwhile, the Rossoneri’s own talisman, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, became the club’s first player since Andriy Shevchenko to score in five successive matches when netting against Atalanta on Sunday.

But the recent form of the two sides goes beyond more than mere numbers. While three months ago Massimiliano Allegri’s team looked devoid of any real creativity, they have since scored 32 goals in a dozen games off the back of a more settled line-up’s ability to make incisions from every angle. At times recently, they have looked as good as at any stage in their title-winning campaign of last term.