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Wolves could be set for a busy summer transfer window in terms of moving some of their players around that are currently either out on loan or have their contracts running out at the end of the season.

Looking ahead to this period, it seems as though the Old Gold could be in luck when it comes to the future of one of their key players currently in Bruno Lage’s squad.

What’s the talk?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist and transfer insider Pete O’Rourke had this to say about the future of Wolves defender Romain Saiss, whose current contract at Molineux is set to expire in the summer.

He said: “I know Saiss has had interest from other clubs all across Europe and outside of Europe as well.

“But I think he wants to stay playing at the highest level and the Premier League is probably the best league to be playing in right now, so that boosts Wolves’ chances of keeping him.”

Supporters buzzing

Since arriving at the Midlands club back in the 2016 summer transfer window from French club Angers, the defender has racked up a total of 202 appearances across all competitions, scoring 15 goals and providing three assists along the way.

This season has seen the 31-year-old show how pivotal he is for the Midlands club by starting 27 of their 29 Premier League games as well as racking up more blocks (51), interceptions (69) and clearances (158) than any other Wolves player in 2021/22.

In addition to his impressive defensive capabilities, the Moroccan has also managed to earn himself a solid overall season rating of 6.99, making him the joint-third highest rated player at the club to have started more than two league games in this campaign according to WhoScored.

Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to suggest that the Wolves fans would be delighted if the defender chose to put pen to paper on a new deal at the club and continued his journey with them, rather than join a club like Sevilla, who have been linked with him previously.

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With O’Rourke now suggesting that Wolves’ status in the Premier League could keep Saiss at Molineux for the foreseeable future, they should definitely offer the centre-back a new deal to keep him out of the clutches of any other club that would almost certainly benefit from having him in their side.

In other news: Fosun must surely regret huge Wolves howler over £67.5m-rated title-winning “rock”

Ireland have announced their 15-man squad for the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia in February.Greg Thompson leads the side in his third World Cup, following the tournaments in Bangladesh in 2004, and Sri Lanka in 2006. Three others have experience from 2006 – James Hall, Richard Keaveney and Gavin McKenna – while of the rest, seven are under 17.Ireland have been drawn in Group D, along with England, Bangladesh and Bermuda and they will be based in Kuala Lumpur. Ireland open their campaign against England on February 17. The last time these sides met in this competition, England won by four runs.The team will have at least two warm-up games prior to the start of the tournament, against Namibia and Nepal.Irish coach Brian O’ Rourke is happy with his squad. “The players have been working hard in training, and are eagerly awaiting the start of the World Cup,” he said. “We have a very strong batting line up, with Stirling and Dougherty being particularly impressive over the past few seasons. Ben Ackland has been over at Northants, while Graham Mc Donnell, Andrew Balbirnie, James Hall, James Shannon and Shane Getkate are all very talented players.”We have plenty of options in the bowling department, and the squad is full of allrounders. We are particularly strong in the spin department, which I feel will be crucial, given the type of pitches we are likely to encounter in Malaysia.””With both England and Bangladesh in our group, the standard of cricket we are likely to face is very high, but it will be the experience of a lifetime for the boys.”Squad Greg Thompson (capt), Ben Ackland, Balbirnie, Andrew Britton, Christopher Dougherty, Shane Getkate, James Hall, Richard Keaveney, Theo Lawson, Graham McDonnell, Gavin McKenna, Lee Nelson, Stuart Poynter (wk), James Shannon, Paul Stirling.

Something to shout about © Getty Images

James Anderson is a man of few words at the best of times. Given that these are the worst of times for England’s cricketers, it is hardly surprising to learn that he was at a loss to explain his side’s latest meltdown. Paraded in front of the media as a pyrrhic success with figures of 3 for 98, he could do little more than shrug at the futility of it all.”It’s hard to put your finger on it,” he said, when asked how England had let a position of apparent parity in morning session slide away to a position of ignominy. Australia were 260 for 6 and then 318 for 7, before a tail inspired by Shane Warne’s 71 added 75 match-turning runs.”We thought at the time we had a good chance to get three quick wickets, but obviously there were a few play-and-misses,” added Anderson. “If we bowled wide of the stumps he missed it, but if it was on the stumps he hit it.”You just have to bowl more or less as you do to any other batter, really. With Shane you always think you’ve got a chance, because there will be a few mistimed shots, but that’s just the way he plays. He hasn’t played differently to how he has normally.”Anderson did at least have three wickets to ease the pain of impending defeat, and he added that he hadn’t been surprised to be entrusted with the new ball, despite his late call-up. “I learned on the morning of the game,” he said, “but I’m not really surprised. Steve [Harmison] has not taken it for a while. I replaced Hoggy and I consider myself a new-ball bowler, so I was more than happy to take it.”Anderson was the weakest link in England’s attack in the first two Tests at Brisbane and Adelaide, but he felt he had improved throughout the tour, citing the two-day warm-up match at Perth as his best performance. The same could not be said of England’s tail-end batting, however. On this occasion their last five batsmen made four runs between them.”Obviously we need to put up a good fight tomorrow,” Anderson added. “We need our tail to wag like theirs did, and if Kevin [Pietersen] stays there for a while, hopefully we can do a similar job. We have nets like any other batters, and throw-downs as much as we want. We need to sort it out like Clark and Warne and get a few runs. That was the difference between a 30-run lead and a 100 lead.”

Bad planning by the local association makes sights like this not uncommon in Chennai © Getty Images

A petition has been filed in a Chennai Court seeking an interim stay against the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) holding the first Test between India and Sri Lanka, starting December 2.The petition, filed by Suresh Babu of Gummidipoondi, a suburb of Chennai, contends that the October-December period is when the Northeast monsoon settles over peninsular India. Babu’s written petition contends: “It is pertinent to point out that the MA Chidambaram stadium, where the India-Sri Lanka match is to take place, is located less than 500 metres from the Chennai coastline. The respondent, TNCA, knowing fully well about the pattern of rainfall in India, more particularly Tamil Nadu, has made it a habit of deliberately hosting the matches in the monsoon season, with the intention to deceive the gullible public after collecting huge sums of money running into crores of rupees and without refunds of the same.”While seeking a stay on the sale of tickets for the Chennai Test, Babu also stated that he purchased a ticket for the India-South Africa one-day international on November 22 – worth about US$41 – which was eventually called off due to rain. “On three occasions the respondent held the matches in the season and if it had been held in the non-rainy season, I could have watched the matches.” Babu has further contended that “the association has now proclaimed that it is going to conduct India-Sri Lanka Test match from December 2 to 6 despite the warning by the Meteorological Department that there is a low pressure formed over the Bay of Bengal.”A severe cyclonic storm – Cyclone Baaz – building up in the Bay of Bengal has threatened to curtail the Chennai Test. Cyclone Baaz is expected to hit the southeastern coast of India later on Thursday amidst fears of heavy rain in this cricket-mad metropolis already reeling under bad weather over the past month. The South Africa match apart, one-day internationals between India and New Zealand in 2003 and the second Test against Australia in October last year were disrupted due to rain, and Babu’s petition pleading for no more matches in Chennai comes at a critical time.I Pandurangan, a second assistant civil court judge, ordered notice to the TNCA and posted the case for hearing on December 1.

Zaheer Khan subjected all the batsmen to a searching examination on the first day at Kolkata© Getty Images

The loss of five wickets for 227 notwithstanding, Graeme Smith soundedpositive at the post-day press conference, saying that his team had somebatting still to come, and that they needed to push on on day two. Smithinterpreted the success of Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan as a promisingsign for South Africa. “It’s good for us that the pacemen took wickets,”he said. “We only have the one spinner in Justin Ontong, and the rest ofit is an all-seam attack, so that could work to our advantage. We’veworked very hard on our preparations for this tour, and I think we aremuch better prepared than the last time we toured the sub-continent.”Smith also praised the contributions of Jacques Kallis and JacquesRudolph, and noted that Hashim Amla had made a confident start to his Testcareer, even if he had got only 24. “I was impressed by how calm he was,”he said. “Playing your first Test on the subcontinent is a daunting task.He came in when the ball was reverse-swinging and looked solid. I expecthe will be even more hungry in the second innings.”Irfan Pathan, India’s representative at the press conference, also evincedsatisfaction at how the day had gone, both personally and for the team. Hepointed out that the wicket was good for batting, and that India had donewell to take five wickets and also restrict South Africa to 227.Pathan said he was pleased that Zaheer Khan had bowled so well, observingthat it is always easier for a bowler when somebody is bowling well at theother end. “Often it happens that the bowler who bowls best ends up nottaking the most wickets, but he builds up pressure for the other bowlersto exploit. I think the whole attack bowled well today, even if thespinners didn’t take any wickets. We didn’t bowl too many loose balls andSouth Africa never got away.The morning session tomorrow is veryimportant, and we will be looking to get South Africa out as soon as possible.”

All Today’s Yesterdays – September 12 down the yearsSeptember 11 | September 131937
The first of West Indies’ great postwar fast bowlers was born. With his gold chain bouncing at his throat, Wes Hall made the ball do the same to opposition batsmen. After one of the longest run-ups in Test cricket, he bowled genuinely fast – and he could do it all day, as in his marathon spell in the famous Lord’s Test of 1963, when he bowled unchanged for over three hours on the last day. His partnership with Charlie Griffith on that tour was the stuff of English nightmares. Hall enjoyed the dramatic moment as much as anyone: he bowled the last over of the first tied Test, at Brisbane in 1960-61. He took 192 wickets in 48 Tests (exactly four a game), with best figures of 7 for 69 against England at 1959-60, when he was at his frightening fastest. It’s still a mystery that he was never chosen as one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year.1901
Although his performance was upstaged by Gilbert Jessop’s typically explosive 233, it was Charles Fry who set a record that hasn’t been broken. Playing for the Rest of England against Yorkshire at Lord’s, CB scored 105 (“a beautiful innings” according to the ). It was his sixth consecutive first-class century, setting a record equalled only by Don Bradman in 1938-39 and Mike Procter in 1970-71. The Rest made 526 and won by an innings.1948
If Lillee and Thomson were the tormentors-in-chief in the mid-1970s, batsmen didn’t get much respite when Australia’s first-change came on. Max Walker, who was born today, was known as Tangles because he bowled off the wrong foot – but no-one chuckled at his relentless support bowling. And when the terrifying twosome were injured, Tangles was an effective front-line bowler in his own right. On the Caribbean tour of 1972-73, for example, he took 26 wickets to help win the series 2-0. In the sixth Test at Melbourne in 1974-75, he took 8 for 143 in an England innings of 529. His best Test figures were also the most expensive eight-for in international history, but typical of Walker, who never said die. It was opposition batsmen who were usually in a tangle.1925
In the season in which he passed WG Grace’s total of 126 first-class hundreds, Jack Hobbs set another record right at the end. Playing for the Rest of England against the champions Yorkshire, he made 106 in the first innings. It was The Master’s 16th first-class century of the season, a record until Denis Compton hit 18 in 1947.1932
Birth of classy strokeplayer Waqar Hassan, whose only Test century was a big one: 189 against New Zealand at Lahore in 1955-56. His partnership of 308 with wicketkeeper Imtiaz Ahmed was Pakistan’s first 300-run stand in Tests and is still their highest for the seventh wicket against any country. Pakistan won by four wickets. Waqar made six other Test fifties, including 97 at Calcutta in 1952-53.1979
A partnership of 222 between Allan Border (162) and his captain Kim Hughes (100) made up the bulk of Australia’s first-innings total of 390 at Madras. In his first bowl in Test cricket, slow left-armer Dilip Doshi finished with figures of 6 for 103, which set him on the way to a rare little record. He and Clarrie Grimmett are the only bowlers to take 100 Test wickets after starting their international careers when they were over 30.Other birthdays
1924 LA (Lawrence Anderson) “Fish” Markham (South Africa)
1968 Richard Snell (South Africa)
1977 Nathan Bracken (Australia)

Promising Canterbury batsman Shanan Stewart has been named in Canterbury’s squad of 13 for the State Championship which starts next Monday with the first game of the summer, against Wellington at Rangiora.The New Zealand Under-19 batsman and Academy player this year will be surrounded by experienced quality batsmen as Canterbury looks to regain the winning formula, not only in one-day cricket but also the four-day variety, under the leadership of the experienced Gary Stead.Stead is set to play his 50th game for the province and is only one run short of 2500 runs for Canterbury at an average of 37.29 – an average only bettered by Graham Dowling, Walter Hadlee and Chris Harris among those to have scored more than 2500 runs for the province.Chris Harris, until One-Day International requirements take him out of the scene, will be another to provide some security for the younger batsman.Canterbury’s attack also shapes as promising with the experience of pace man Warren Wisneski available again and surrounded by able support in Stephen Cunis, Wade Cornelius and Ryan Burson among the pace bowlers with Paul Wiseman, Harris and Aaron Redmond to look after the spin demands.Canterbury selection convener Craig Thiele said tonight he felt the side named had the potential to compete.While Canterbury had performed consistently in the one-day game, reaching the finals of the competition it had dominated last year, it had not performed in the four-day game over the last two summers.Thiele said he wanted to see more emphasis on the longer version of the game.The State Canterbury side for the State Championship is: Gary Stead (captain), Brad Doody, Jarrod Englefield, Michael Papps, Chris Harris, Aaron Redmond, Shanan Stewart, Gareth Hopkins, Paul Wiseman, Warren Wisneski, Stephen Cunis, Wade Cornelius, Ryan Burson.The Canterbury Draught A training squad to prepare for country match starting on December 1 is: Robbie Frew, Robbie Miller, Marcel McKenzie, Peter Fulton, Darren Reekers, Tim Papps, Mark Hastings, Ben Yock, Chris Sowden, Cleighten Cornelius, Carl Anderson, Andrew Ellis, Brendan Diamante, James Ward, Michael Davidson.

Celtic may well be without Giorgos Giakoumakis for this evening’s clash with St Mirren.

The Lowdown: Still no Turnbull or Furuhashi

Ange Postecoglou is already without key attacking players in David Turnbull and Kyogo Furuhashi due to hamstring problems, with the pair last seen prior to the winter break.

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Giakoumakis, who scored a hat-trick against Dundee last month, was absent from the draw with Hibernian on Sunday as the Hoops failed to break down Shaun Maloney’s side.

Daizen Maeda was the only centre-forward to make the trip to Easter Road and had an afternoon to forget, and it seems that could be the same this evening at Parkhead.

The Latest: GG 50/50

@PodTims relayed Postecoglou’s comments from his pre-match press conference on Tuesday on Twitter.

When it came to Giakoumakis, he is thought to be ‘50/50’ after an illness over the weekend, with Sky Sports believing he could miss out.

The Verdict: A blow

With Turnbull and Furuhashi showing no signs of an imminent return, being without Giakoumakis for another game isn’t ideal for Postecoglou.

Labelled as ‘class’ by teammate Josip Juranovic, the Dutch striker appeared to be finding his feet with four goals in two games against Raith Rovers and Dundee.

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Postecoglou may well have to rely on Maeda once again when it comes to leading the line, but hopefully, the Hoops will be able to score for the first time since Giakoumakis’ late winner against Dundee.

In other news: Ange can finally fix big Lennon blunder as Celtic now hold talks for ‘dangerous’ star – opinion. 

Rajesh Pawar, in partnership with Yusuf Pathan, decimated the Bengal batting © AFP

Bengal 370 and 86 (Pathan 5-36, Pawar 4-23) lost to Baroda 515 (Solanki 186, Yusuf 183) by an innings and 59 runs
Scorecard
After his super quick 186 on the third day, Yusuf Pathan teamed up with left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar to run through the Bengal second innings to take Baroda to an innings win in their first match of the season. The two spinners had taken the new ball on the third day and Pathan had struck in his first over itself.On the fourth today, they continued in the same vein as they reduced Bengal to 13 for 5 in 13 overs. A sixth-wicket partnership of 36 runs between Wriddhiman Saha and Rana Chowdhary provided some resistance, but the spinners struck again to skittle Bengal out for 86. The spinners bowled accurately as the four lbw and two bowled dismissals show.Delhi 244 and 295 for 2 dec. drew with Saurashtra 213 and 254 for 9 (Pujara 148*, Sangwan 4-70)
Scorecard
Cheteshwar Pujara got invaluable support from Sandeep Jobanutra and Sandip Maniar, the Nos. 10 and 11, as Saurashtra hung on for a miraculous draw against Delhi. After Delhi declared overnight, setting Saurashtra a target of 327 runs, Saurahstra lost their first eight wickets for 106 runs.That’s when Jobanputra joined Pujara and they made Delhi wait for 157 minutes and 35.5 overs to get their next wicket. Jobanputra scored a patient 35 in a partnership of 119 and left Pujara and Maniar another 16.2 overs to negotiate.Maniar hung in for 5 off 32 balls as bad light made Saurashtra’s task easier – play was called off with five overs to go. Pujara stayed unbeaten on 148 and was responsible for the one point that Saurashtra gained from the match.

Ravi Teja got to his century on the final day of the drawn game between Punjab and Hyderabad in Mohali © AFP

Uttar Pradesh 298 and 297 for 6 dec. (Kaif 122*, Shankara Rao 4-72) drew with Andhra 326 and 213 for 4 (Reddy 103*, Varma 89)
Scorecard
LNP Reddy and ASK Varma punished the Uttar Pradesh bowlers for the second time in the match, but they did not get enough time to get the target of 270 runs in a minimum of 48 overs. After UP had fallen behind in the first innings, their captain Mohammad Kaif scored a brisk unbeaten century to give themselves another chance in the game. UP got off to a good start, as Sudeep Tyagi got Hemal Watekar in the first over.After that, however, Reddy and Varma took the attack to the bowlers and it was UP who were looking to hang on for a draw and not vice-versa. Reddy got his second century of the match with a boundary off the last ball of the day. Varma had to stay content with a second half-century as he got out for 89 in the penultimate over. Tyagi was on a hat-trick in the last over, but Gnaneshwara Rao first denied him and then took a single to get Reddy on the strike for the last ball.Hyderabad 379 and 276 (Ravi Teja 111, Ladda 4-30) drew with Punjab 356 and 75 for 4 (Yadav 3-32)
Scorecard
Hyderabad, after they secured a first-innings lead on the third day, chose to play safe as they set Punjab a target of 300 runs in 33 overs and even though Punjab lost four wickets the result was always going to be a draw.Ravi Teja followed up the 55 in the first innings with a century in the second; when he got out in the 53rd over, he had scored 111 out of Hyderabad’s 160 then.Considering how quickly Punjab lost four wickets (in 28 overs), a competitive target set by Hyderabad would have made the end of the match interesting.

A violent electrical storm stopped play at Brisbane during the 1st Test in the 1998-99 Ashes series © Getty Images

Capacity 41,000
Record Tests 17, Australia 8, England 5, Drawn 4
Weather
Cricket coincides with the storm season in Queensland. The thunder and lightning are spectacular but the heat means things dry out very quickly. A remarkable electrical storm prematurely ended the Test in 1998-99 and in 1992-93 Dean Jones, Australia’s 12th man, wore a helmet to protect himself from hailstones.What to expect
Traditionally, this is a fast-bowlers’ pitch although under Kevin Mitchell junior, the second-generation curator, it has become one of the fairest in the world. The fast men get a good chance on the first day, the batsmen enjoy the flat surface on days two to four, and Shane Warne loves the extra bounce.What they players think
Matthew Hayden – “The pitch is great and it’s been passed through generations of curators, from Kevin Mitchell senior to Kevin Mitchell junior. It’s the thing I enjoy about the ground because it is the same – everything else about the ground has changed since I first started playing.”Devon Malcolm – “This is my favourite place in Australia. But the best part of it is not the Test ground but the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane. In 1990-91, we played in Carrara – when David Gower had his Tiger Moth ‘buzz the ground’ moment: it is beautiful, the beach stretches for miles, there are nice places to eat and drink – it was a pity we had to play cricket! As for the Gabba, it is a good place to play. They have extended the changing rooms – the last time I was there we had 16 players plus management stuck in a corner. There is usually a big crowd and, as in most places in Australia, if you do well and compete, the crowd are more generous. I can’t remember going to a place in Brisbane that I didn’t like. It was a clean city, with good places to eat. There was freshly-cooked Chinese food on the street outside our hotel. I roomed with Chris Lewis who eats irregularly – he’d have a sleep, then at 11.30pm pop downstairs and have fresh Chinese food. It was great.”

Matthew Hayden: ‘The pitch is what I enjoy about the ground because it is the same – everything else about the ground has changed since I first started playing’ © Getty Images

Ground history
The city’s second Test ground – the Exhibition Ground was used until 1928-29 – it is situated in the Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba – it’s shortened to the Gabba – and has gone through some drastic redevelopment during the last decade. The grassy banks, Moreton Bay figs and dogtrack have been replaced with modern, concrete stands, which may have removed some charm, but mean the ground offers superb facilities for the players and public. However, the most famous moment on the ground is one firmly from the past. The image of the deciding run-out in the tied Test of 1960-61, between Australia and West Indies, is one of the best known cricketing images of all time. In more recent times it has become a favourite haunt of Shane Warne, with the extra bounce from the often excellent wickets helping his legspin. In early 2006 a record crowd of 38,894 watched the first Twenty20 international in the country. This mark was promptly beaten six days later when Australia played South Africa in a full ODI. If everyone who has bought tickets turns up, the record aggregate attendance of 92,863 for England’s 1932-33 Test, will be surpassed on the third day.Ashes momentsAlthough traditionally home to the first Test of the series, Brisbane’s inaugural Test was the fourth in the 1932-33 Bodyline series – England secured the Ashes in a tight match notable for Eddie Paynter rising off his hospital bed to score 83 and rescue his side from a crisis. The 1946-47 series got off to a controversial start when England claimed Don Bradman was caught at slip when he had made a scratchy 28 – he stood his ground, the umpire gave him the benefit, and he went on the to score a big hundred and Australia won by an innings. In 1974-75 a beach bum called Jeff Thomson blew England away with some ferocious fast bowling, and in 2002-03 Nasser Hussain stunned a nation when he inserted Australia and watched his bowlers flogged into submission.Ashes stats
In both 1954-55 and 2002-03 England captains – Len Hutton and Hussain – won the toss, sent in Australia and lived to regret it. England’s last win – in 1986-87 – came when Australia stuck them in and ended up losing by seven wickets. So win the toss and bat seems to be the mantra.Where to go after play?
Matthew Hayden – “The Queensland boys enjoy going to the Story Bridge Hotel. There’s a good publican there and the Bulls popped in after their last Pura Cup victory.”