Clarets Chasing KRC Genk Attack Midfielder Mike Tresor Ndayishimiye
According to reports in NinetyMinutes Magazine, five Premier League clubs including Burnley Football Club are targeting Mike Tresor Ndayishimiye in the summer transfer window, with the KRC Genk attacker making eighteen assists in the league which is more than the likes of Kevin De Bruyne (twelve), Lionel Messi (thirteen) and Neymar (eleven).
The twenty-three year old has been one of Europe’s best creators, emerging as perhaps the best player in Genk’s run to the Jupiler Pro League title. Considering Tresor recently admitted that he may have to play abroad to make the grade for Belgium’s squad in the future. This could well be a sign that he may be considering a summer move himself.
Now, it has been reported that the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion, Leicester City, Brentford, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest and Burnley have been watching transfer target Mike Tresor. As his KRC Genk contract is set to expires in June 2025, it could be the right time for clubs to make a summer exit in the transfer window.
Under Vincent Kompany, promotion bound Burnley have built one of the most exciting up and coming projects in Europe but Mike Tresor may be tempted by a transfer to Brighton Hove Albion. While the Clarets can pitch an excellent plan to Tresor that could surpass the efforts of the other clubs in question, Roberto De Zerbi’s side operate at a level envied by several elite sides as well. If given the choice the Belgian midfielder may understandably side with the Seagulls as his next destination after KRC Genk.
Sergio Gomez Interested In Joining Clarets Summer Transfer Window
Pep Guardiola is reportedly considering a move for Borussia Dortmund defender Raphael Guerreiro in a deal which could help pave the way for Sergio Gomez to join Burnley. The Clarets boss Vincent Kompany’s side gained promotion to the Premier League and are looking to add to their squad with a player which he managed at Anderlecht.
According to reports in the Daily Mail, Guardiola is considering making a move for Guerreiro as the twenty-nine year old sees his contract at Borussia Dortmund expire this summer. However, there is plenty of interest from elsewhere and Bayern Munich could provide strong competition for the Portugal star.
The report continues to state that any deal for Guerreiro would open the door for Gomez to depart. The Spaniard has only featured ten times this season and is not thought to be in the short-term plans at The Etihad. A loan deal would not be possible if Burnley extend Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ loan from City in the summer, so it remains to be seen as to whether any potential move for either player would be on a permanent basis.
Ian Maatsen has been impressive for the Clarets as they won the Sky Bet Championship, but Mauricio Pochettino is yet to assess the Dutch left-back. Gomez can play a variety of roles, including left-back, as Burnley look to add to their squad.
It remains to be seen as to whether a deal can be strucked to see Guerreiro move to Manchester City. It is believed that his versatility is what is particularly attractive to Guardiola and Man City as they look for a replacement for Joao Cancelo. The defender is set to return to Manchester City after his loan move with Bayern Munich expires, but there is no desire to keep him past the summer as all parties will seek a new club.
Clarets & Luton Town Chasing Cody Drameh From Leeds United
Burnley and rivals Luton Town are in a race for the signature of Leeds United defender Cody Drameh this summer, the Hatters are keen to secure him on a permanent basis after he helped them secure promotion to the Premier League. However, the loan move to Kenilworth Road had no obligation to buy opening up the possibility of rival clubs to bid.
This has proven to be the case with Burnley, who have made an approach to the player’s representatives as they look to bolster their squad ahead of a return to the top-flight. Both clubs will now hold talks with Leeds United in the coming days as they look to strike a deal for the England U21 international.
Drameh made sixteen Sky Bet Championship appearances in Luton Town’s successful promotion push after joining the Hatters in January. Coventry City who were beaten by Luton Town in last week’s Play-Off Final, have also expressed an interest in signing Drameh this summer.
However, Football Insider understands that the lure of Premier League football is likely to prove decisive as the defender plans his next steps. Luton Town boss Rob Edwards made no secret of his desire to keep hold of Drameh when asked about the topic back in April.
He said, “It’s a difficult one to talk about that at the moment. Clearly, we really like him, that’s obvious. He’s playing every week for us and playing really well. We are always looking to the future and that’s part of my job as well, along with people I’m working with above and the recruitment team and everyone. I think his future will get sorted out. He’s not going to be short of options, if it’s not Leeds United, but we’ll see.”
Tommy Hutchinson Talks About Scoring At Both Ends In FA Cup Final
It was an FA Cup final moment which, former Manchester City winger Tommy Hutchison says, “turned me into a Peter Pan”. Yet none of City’s players of today nor indeed any from Manchester United would wish to emulate Hutchison when Pep Guardiola’s team meet the Red Devils in this season’s final on Saturday.
In the cup final of 1981, Hutchison scored a first-half header to put City ahead against Tottenham Hotspur. But eleven minutes from time, the ex-Scotland international inadvertently delivered a Spurs equaliser, when he attempted to block Glenn Hoddle’s free-kick but only succeeded in diverting the ball into his own net. Tottenham would go on to triumph in the replay these were the days before cup final penalty shootouts thanks to Ricky Villa’s brilliant winner.
Hutchison played more than 1,000 league games in a remarkable career which continued well into his forties and featured spells in five different countries, as well as a World Cup appearance for Scotland in 1974. Yet Hutchison, now seventy-five years old, accepts that he will be remembered for the day he scored for both teams at Wembley. “If you ask people who scored the winning goal in cup finals, they will struggle. But if you ask them who scored an own goal in the cup final, they will tell you, That turned me into Peter Pan.”
Hutchison had put City in front with what looked like a fine header which flew inside the near post, although he insists he was trying to flick Ray Ranson’s cross on and “never meant to score”. The own goal came when he dropped back from a defensive wall in an attempt to help out goalkeeper Joe Corrigan. Hutchison was left with head in hands after the ball, which had been heading towards Corrigan’s near post, hit his shoulder and sailed into the opposite side of the net.
Hutchinson said, “The problem was I knew what Hoddle was going to do, If I’d tried to watch what he had done, then gone, it would have been all right. I read it too quickly. I got there too early, I had run past it and it clipped my shoulder.” After he finally retired as a player more than a decade later, his last Football League club being Swansea City would visit schools in South Wales as part of his role as a football development officer.
“I would say I played for Manchester City, I played for Scotland. The kids hadn’t a clue who I was, none of them would mention anything about the cup final. Yet when he returned for a second visit that would invariably change. “You’d know they’d gone home and been asked what did you do today at school? and when they said Tommy Hutchison came in today, their dads all said ask him about the cup final”.
“That question got asked of me every second event with a school that I ever went to. But it never bothered me. I think maybe it would have if there hadn’t been a replay, because we were ahead in the replay as well. The own goal wasn’t the decisive moment.”
Hutchison’s professional career had begun at Alloa Athletic, before he joined Stan Mortensen’s Blackpool in 1968. He played in the top flight for Blackpool before joining Coventry City, where he spent eight happy years playing First Division football. Then came the spell at Maine Road, before stints playing in the US and Hong Kong preceded a return to these shores, with Hutchison spending two years at Burnley and then joining Swansea City at the age of thirty-eight.
He would spend six years at Swansea, making his European debut with the Welsh side shortly before his forty-second birthday they qualified via the Welsh Cup and playing his final professional game when aged forty-three, before three further seasons in the Southern League with Merthyr. Of all his achievements, Hutchison is most proud of his seventeen international caps, hence the cover of his book, Hutch, Hard Work and Belief, features a picture of him in Scotland colours.
He made two substitute appearances at the World Cup, setting up a late equaliser for Joe Jordan against Yugoslavia, as Scotland exited at the group stage after drawing their three games. “The problem for me was that if they were going to play me, they were going to have leave Kenny Daglish out,” Hutchison says. “That wasn’t going to happen.” Hutchison will have an eye on the cup final this weekend and on a Manchester City side who are “a lot different” to the team fighting to avoid relegation he joined in 1980.
When asked if he would like to have played for Pep Guardiola he replied, “I don’t know if I would suit him because I run with the ball, whereas they tend to just pass it and play in little triangles, I had a problem with Billy Bremner because he would pass you the ball and want it back, same with Alan Hudson when I was in America, they only leant you the ball to get it back. They soon realised if they gave it to me, they were going to have run and join me, because I am only going one way. For me, that’s what the fans wanted.”
Steve Cotterill Departs From Sky Bet League One Shrewsbury Town
Steve Cotterill is said to have resigned as manager of Sky Bet League One club Shrewsbury Town, Radio Shropshire reports, the fifty-eight year old was appointed in November 2020 and guided Shrewsbury Town to twelfth last season, the club’s best finish for five seasons.
Shrewsbury Town were eight points off the top six with ten games to go but lost eight of those matches as any hopes of a late promotion charge faded. It’s understood Steve Cotterill has not been sacked, but has chosen to leave. The former Birmingham City and Bristol City boss missed the second half of the 2020-21 season with Covid-19, which saw him spend thirty-three days in hospital and later say he was lucky to still be alive.
Cotterill’s impending departure comes a month after Shrewsbury chief executive Brian Caldwell left the club after seven years in the role. At the time, Steve Cotterill said his reaction to Caldwell’s exit was “sadness”. He told BBC Radio Shropshire “The club has lost a good guy, I will miss him without a shadow of a doubt. When I came here two and a half years ago, the chairman said he wanted me and Brian to work closely together and we did just that. He was very supportive, especially when I had Covid.”
It might be a one-and-done season for Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Fabián Ruiz as the twenty-seven year old arrived in the French capital from Napoli (Italy) in last summer transfer window but he could be heading to the English Premier League for next season.
According to reports in the French football magazine Foot Mercato today Burnley Football Club have made Fabián Ruiz a priority of theirs to sign as they’ve earned promotion back into the Premier League, PSG will agree to part with him if there is a reasonable offer is made by a club. However, the Spaniard has already said that he would like to stay in Paris.
PSG paid an initial fee of €21.5 million so if they can get a significant sum and profit from what they paid, sporting advisor Luis Campos might have to listen and take the proposal. Ruiz’s season has been a year of adjustment, but the midfielder has come alive towards the end of this season, he has been the star man in the last few games of the 2022-23 season.
If Messi and Neymar Jr. do leave PSG it will allow for Ruiz to be more of an attacking player next season if he stays. Nonetheless, if Burnley wants to overpay, it should be welcomed with open arms as Campos revamps the PGS squad.
Settle Cricket Club v Salesbury Cricket Club (North West Cricket League)
Last weekend Marshfield witnessed a special weekend as senior player Tom Davidson got married before holding a private wedding reception at the ground on Friday evening in a marquee. The following afternoon Settle Cricket Club return to action against Lancashire rivals Salesbury Cricket Club in the North West Cricket League as the bride and groom continued their wedding celebrations with a BBQ for everyone at the club.
The only change to the starting eleven from last Sunday’s defeat to Read Cricket Club was the return of Tremaine Dowrich who came back into the starting eleven replacing the newly married Tom Davidson. The match itself was one of the most exciting matches
Will Davidson and Peter Richardson (Captains) joined the umpires at the crease to make the toss, Settle Cricket Club won the toss and elected to bat first sending Archie Phillipson & John Davidson to the crease as the pair built a solid opening partnership. However the first wicket to fall was John Davidson who was dismissed for forty one runs from sixty four balls, which included seven (4’s) before being caught by Callum Boardman off the bowling of Joshua Bristol to leave the score 79-1.
Ashen Silva (Club Professional) then joined Phillipson at the crease as the pair added a further four runs to the scoreboard. Archie Phillipson was the next to be dismissed by Oliver Wetton as the ball nipped back of the pitch and cleaned bowled the batsman for thirty-three runs off seventy-two deliveries, which included four (4’s) and one (6).
Tremaine Dowrich (Oversea’s Young Player) was next into bat joining Ashen Silva at the crease as the home side looked to put some addition runs onto the scoreboard. However, the pair only managed to add ten runs before Ashen Silva was caught by Zunaed Siddique off the bowling of Joshua Bristol for seven runs from ten balls with included one (4) as the home side reached 93-3.
The home side then had a mini collapse as Robbie Davidson was dismissed in the same over after just two balls at the crease, once again caught by Zunaed Siddique at square leg off the bowling of Joshua Bristol for a duck. Then in the very next over Tremaine Dowrich was trapped LBW off the bowling of Oliver Wetton for five runs off twenty-three balls to leave Settle Cricket Club 98-5.
Will Davidson (Captain) and James Snowden were the next two batsmen at the crease as the home side looked to build another strong partnership, together they added a further fifty-three runs to the scoreboard before Will Davidson was caught Zunaed Siddique off the bowling of Oliver Wetton for forty-one runs off thirty-one balls which included four (4’s) and one (6).
Eddy Read then joined the action and was next into the middle to partner James Snowden at the crease, however the partnership didn’t last long as James Snowden left his crease looking for the big shot to the boundary, but he was stumped by wicketkeeper Tom Stones off the bowling of Oliver Wetton for sixteen runs leaving the home side 156-7.
The last three wickets fell quickly with Eddy Read making eight runs from twelve balls before being caught by Callum Grantham off the bowling of Oliver Wetton. Next into bat was Callum Mathew who was caught behind by Tom Stones off the bowling of Wetton for four, before Ben Hulse was run out for three runs leaving John Tarbox not out as Settle Cricket Club finished on 172 all out from their forty-five overs.
Salesbury Cricket Club bowling attack consisted of four bowlers the best of which was Oliver Wetton who’s figures were 14.5 overs, 2 maidens, 6 wickets for 48 runs, Joshua Bristol had 10 overs, 3 wickets for 54 runs, Callum Boardman had 11.5 overs, 1 maiden, 0 wickets for 36 runs, whilst Elliott Simpson had to cut short his bowling spell due to injury after 8 overs with 0 wickets for 29 runs.
Having been set a target of 173 runs to win the match, the visitors opened the innings with Liam Parkinson and Connor Dale at the crease. Salesbury’s opening partnership created a solid base as they faced 114 balls, the partnership came to an end when Connor Dale was caught and bowled by Ashen Silva for twenty-three runs off thirty-one balls which included two (4’s), leaving the visitors 51-1.
Tremaine Dowrich then turned the match on its head when he clean bowled the visitors captain Peter Richardson for a golden duck. Salesbury Cricket Club then sent club captain Zunaed Siddique to the crease, he attempted to taking the game to Dowrich but his shot went straight to the hands of Callum Mathew to dismiss the Siddique for another golden duck leaving Tremaine Dowrich on a hat-trick and the visitors on 57-3.
Jack Stones then joined the Liam Parkinson at the crease for the visitors as they duo looked to build another partnership in the middle, the pair added a further twenty-fives runs to the scoreboard before opening batsman Liam Parkinson was caught behind by Robbie Davidson off the bowling of Tremaine Dowrich for thirty-seven runs off eighty three deliveries, which included five (4’s) leaving the visitors on 82-4.
Joshua Bristol was next to the crease to face Silva and Dowrich alongside Jack Stones and together they added some valuable thirty-three runs to the scoreboard before Dowrich clean bowled Jack Stones for twenty-five runs off sixty-five balls which included one (6). After taking five wickets, Settle had another change of bowlers with captain Will Davidson coming on for Tremaine Dowrich whilst Ashen Silva continue from the other end.
Salesbury wicketkeeper Tom Stones then joined Joshua Bristol in the middle as the pair added another twenty-four runs to the total before Will Davidson took his first wicket of the match that of Joshua Bristol who found Archie Phillipson for twenty-nine runs from thirty-two balls which included two (4’s) and one (6) as the visitors reached 139-6.
The visitors now required just thirty-three runs for victory with four wickets in hand as Will Davidson collected his second wicket of the match dismissing Tom Stones for eleven runs as he was caught in the deep by Callum Mathew. Next into bat was Oliver Wetton who lasted one over before being caught behind by Robbie Davidson off the bowling of Eddy Read for two runs, leaving the visitors 146-8.
Settle Cricket Club continued to put the visitors under pressure and five balls later the pressure told as as Elliott Simpson was run-out by Ben Hulse for just one run leaving the visitors requiring twenty-five runs from twenty-fours with just one wicket remaining.
Callum Grantham was joined at the crease by Callum Boardman as the visitors added just seven runs from the next two overs, leaving Settle Cricket Club favourites to win the match as the visitors required eighteen runs from twelve balls. The match then took another twist as Will Davidson’s first two balls of the next over were sent over the boundary rope for two sixes leaving Salesbury needing twelve runs from the final ten balls.
The final over of the match was both exciting and very tense as the visitors required just three runs off the last six balls with were delivered by Eddy Read. We eventually got to the final ball of the match with the visitors on 172 runs needing just one run to win, whilst Settle needed either a dot ball or a wicket to draw the match. Eddy Read bowled at Cullam Boardman which managed to get the ball away to mid-week and started their run, the ball was collected by Ben Hulse who through and hit the stumps to run Boardman out leaving the match a tie sparking massive celebrations from the Settle players and supporters.
Settle Cricket Club will return to action this weekend when they visit Feniscowles Cricket Club (T20) Birtwistle Cup fixture on Friday evening, before the club travels to Brinscall Cricket Club in the North West Cricket Premier League on Saturday afternoon. The club then return to Marshfield on Sunday for a match against Cherry Tree Cricket Club in the Hamer Cup on Sunday afternoon.
Sunderland star Jack Clarke is the latest player to be linked with a move to Burnley who have reportedly tabled a bid for the wide man. Journalist Fabrizio Romano claims that the Clarets, Brentford and Crystal Palace have all ‘submitted bids’ for the player. Sunderland are currently ‘negotiating a new deal’ for. It’s said that the Black Cats view Clarke as ‘vital’ to next season’s promotion bid, after the Black Cats lost in the 2022/23 play-off semi-final.
Clarke made the permanent move to the Stadium of Light last summer after a successful loan spell over the second half of the previous campaign, which ended in Sky Bet League One promotion. Sunderland paid an undisclosed fee to land Clarke from Tottenham Hotspur who paid a reported £10million to sign him from Leeds United.
There were loan spells at Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City as well as back to Leeds United for Clarke. But last season saw him produce the best numbers of his career so far with the winger scoring eleven goals and twelve assists in his fifty appearances. Clarke was a key part of an exciting attacking Sunderland side along with Patrick Roberts and Manchester United loan sensation Amad Diallo. His Black Cats contract runs until the summer of 2026, so Sunderland would be in a strong position to ask for a sizeable fee should they wish.
Burnley Football Club face a battle to land Georges Mikautadze this summer with a report from Footmercato stating that AC Milan are also ready to launch a bid for his services. The Georgia International is currently playing for FC Metz in the French Ligue 2
The Clarets have had a superb Sky Bet Championship campaign under boss Vincent Kompany with the former Manchester City man taking the side to the top of the table in his first season. They stormed their way to glory racking up 101 points and losing only three matches all season.
Now with the club gearing up for life back in the Premier League, Vincent Kompany will be on the look out for players that can help keep this upward trajectory going. One of the names that has already emerged as a potential target for Burnley is Georges Mikautadze.
According to Footmercato, the Clarets have been “won over” by the player’s performances this season but they could now face a struggle to sign the FC Metz ace. That’s because AC Milan are now also in the race to land the fourteen cap Georgia International and could offer €10m (£8.7m) in order to secure his signature.
The striker currently plays for FC Metz in France and has had a sensational season with the club, scoring twenty-three goals in thirty-three appearances, including a current run of nine goals in eight games. In addition he has eight assists, which led to a per-90 goal contribution rate of 0.96. It’s a large part of the reason why FC Metz are third in Ligue 2.
He’s also been gathering plenty of admirers along the way with football talent scout Jack Kulig calling him “The Georgian Killer.” That’s because of his goal rate for the side and considering his age he is just twenty-two years old, it makes his record more impressive.
It’s not the first time he has hit double-digit goal figures, either, having managed 19 goals when he was in his teens in Belgium. It means that this campaign is not a one-off for the striker and if he does join the Clarets and repeat the feat, it could go a long way towards keeping the club in the Premier League.
Milton Keynes Dons have confirmed former Clarets full-back Graham Alexander as the new first team manager.Alexander, a two-time promotion winning manager arrives at Stadium MK having most recently been at the helm at Motherwell, who he led to Europa Conference League qualification in 2021/22.
The fifty-one year old has taken charge of 439 games in his managerial career, including 370 in English football across spells with Fleetwood Town, Scunthorpe United, Salford City. He has a 44% career win percentage in England and has reached the Play-Offs with all three EFL clubs he has managed, he is also a seven-time Manager of the Month winner.
Alexander is a former Scottish international who is one of only two outfield players in English football history to have made 1,000 professional appearances. He spent all his playing career south of the border, representing Scunthorpe United, Luton Town, Burnley and Preston North End.
Speaking about being appointed MK Dons manager Graham Alexander said, “I am delighted to be here and to be named manager of MK Dons. I’m grateful to the Club for showing faith in me and providing me with this fantastic opportunity. This is of course a club with great potential, though we know we need to win on the pitch to justify everything we’ve got off it. That is what me and Chris are here to do, it will require a lot of hard work but we are both committed & driven to try and bring success to MK Dons.
I am a manager who is adaptable in my approach, it’s the players who go out onto the pitch and win games so it’s about analysing what they are best at and creating a framework which allows them to flourish. Ultimately, though, I’ve always set my teams out to score goals without doubt that’s something we’ll be looking to bring to this job. Coming off the back of a difficult time for the Club, I fully understand what the supporters will want and expect from their team. We want them to be able to look forward with positivity and belief. For all of us, nothing gets better than winning on a Saturday and we will work every single minute to give the MK Dons supporters a team that can be successful.”
Graham Alexander will be joined at Stadium MK by Chris Lucketti, who will take on the role of Assistant manager. Lucketti is a former defender who amassed over 600 career appearances for clubs such as Bury, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End, Sheffield United and Southampton. As a coach, Lucketti has worked alongside Alexander at each of his managerial appointments – Fleetwood Town, Scunthorpe United, Salford City and Motherwell. He has also managed 15 games himself, five as caretaker of Fleetwood and 10 while in charge of Bury between November 2017 and January 2018, he is also a UEFA PRO Licence Holder.
Graham Alexander, 51, began his football career with Scunthorpe United and went on to play for them, Luton Town, Preston North End and Burnley, before retiring from the game in 2013. He made over 1,000 career appearances in total and finished his career third all-time for league appearances in English football with 833. On an international level, he also earned a total of 40 international caps for Scotland.
Alexander got his first taste of management with Preston North End during the 2012/13 season, following the departure of Phil Brown. Along with David Unsworth, he took caretaker charge of five games, the first of which was against MK Dons, and lost only once. Appointed Preston’s Head of Youth Development following his retirement, Alexander was soon recruited by Fleetwood Town to be their manager. Following his appointment in December 2012, he spent close to three years on the Fylde coast, leading the Cod Army to promotion from League Two in 2014.
Alexander left Fleetwood in September 2016 and, later that campaign, returned to management as boss of Scunthorpe United. He guided the Iron to the League One Play-Offs in his first full season in charge but left the role in March 2018, finishing with a win percentage of 47% and with his team fifth in the table. Two months later, Alexander was named the manager of National League outfit Salford City and, in the 2018/19 campaign, his Ammies team won promotion to the EFL via the play-offs. The following season, his side established themselves in League Two and also reached the EFL Trophy Final.
Alexander parted company with Salford in October 2020, despite the Greater Manchester club sitting within the League Two play-off places and with Alexander boasting an impressive win percentage of 48% across 112 games. He was soon approached by Motherwell, who made him their Head Coach in the following January. Alexander guided the Well from joint-bottom of the SPL upon his arrival, to a fifth-place finish in the 2021/22 campaign, ensuring qualification for the Europa Conference League. However, he would depart Fir Park in July 2022.
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