The Chronicle

United should keep when they’re scout

POTENTIAL TARGETS COULD SHINE ON WORLD CUP DUTY

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CHRIS Rushworth took five wickets as Durham completed an improbable comeback against Derbyshire with a 95-run victory in their Specsavers County Championsh­ip Division Two match at Emirates Riverside.

Rushworth finished with figures of five for 47 and Matt Salisbury took four for 69 to dismiss Derbyshire, resuming on 69 for four in pursuit of 268, for 172.

It was a brilliant comeback from the hosts, who looked down and out after their first innings when they were bowled out for 96. Derbyshire appeared to be within sight of victory on day two when they had Durham six down, with a lead of only 46.

However, an inspired effort from Gareth Harte turned the course of the game as he notched his maiden first-class century to turn the momentum in favour of Durham.

Derbyshire were unable to respond as Rushworth along with the rest of the Durham pace attack were able to wrap up the victory and claim their second championsh­ip win of the season.

Derbyshire began the final day in need of a huge effort from their middle and lower order.

Their plans were disrupted almost immediatel­y when Rushworth made the first breakthrou­gh of the morning, removing Callum Brodrick with a fine delivery that just took the outside edge before travelling through to Ryan Davies.

Daryn Smit was dropped first ball by Michael Jones in the slip cordon, but he only lasted another four deliveries before he was pinned lbw by Salisbury.

Ben Slater remained composed at the other end, reaching his fifty off 93 balls. However, he lost another partner when Hardus Viljoen was bowled by Nathan Rimmington for 10.

Rushworth returned to the attack before lunch and forced a mistake from Tony Palladino, but Will Smith could not hold the catch at gully. However, Salisbury’s return was greeted with the crucial strike of Slater, bowling the Derbyshire opener for 68.

Rushworth notched his fourth wicket as he bowled Alfie Gleadall for two to bring the home side within one wicket of victory.

The seamer was initially denied a five-for as Smith dropped Duanne Olivier, facing his first ball. Olivier and Palladino scored late boundaries to frustrate Durham, but Rushworth ended the game with the milestone when he had Olivier lbw. NEWCASTLE United fans may not have many Magpies to watch at the World Cup in the coming weeks, but there are some players who have been heavily linked with a move to St James’ Park who will be on show.

Aleksandar Mitrovic is the only current Newcastle player who feature in any of the 32 squads, and he will be sold this summer, while exUnited winger Florian Thauvin is the only former Magpie among the other 735 players who will feature in Russia.

But there are still players Newcastle fans can cast their own eyes over as they sit back and enjoy the world’s premier football tournament over the next month – and NUFC Writer Chris Waugh has picked out eight to watch out for... ALEKSANDR GOLOVIN (Attacking midfielder) The 22-year-old attacking midfielder has been scouted by a host of Premier League clubs, with Arsenal and Brighton and Hove Albion among the English sides linked with his signature.

But Golovin’s agent, during an interview with a Russian website, name-checked both Newcastle and Southampto­n as the two Premier League clubs he believes hold an active interest in signing the 19-cap Russia internatio­nal this summer.

Rafa Benitez is understood to have made signing an attacking-midfielder a priority, and his recruitmen­t team have been scouting a number of targets in recent months – but whether Golovin is high on that list remains to be seen.

If Newcastle do want to sign Golovin this summer, then the Magpies may need to break their transfer record in order to secure a deal, with Golovin’s agent claiming CSKA Moscow want £17.6m (€20m) for the midfielder.

Golovin has been the poster boy of Russia’s World Cup campaign and fans should be able to see him from the tournament’s opening match against Saudi Arabia tomorrow.

(Forward) Benitez identified the Denmark internatio­nal as his top January striker target and the Magpies made two bids for the forward.

However, United never came close to matching Feyenoord’s £20million asking price for the striker, and instead Newcastle signed Islam Slimani on a half-season loan deal from Leicester City on deadline day.

Once his move failed to materialis­e, Jorgensen’s form dipped dramatical­ly – and the striker endured a threemonth goal drought. Benitez still wants to recruit a centre-forward this summer, but it unclear whether Jorgensen remains his top target – given that Feyenoord are still expected to demand close to £20m for his signature.

With eight goals in 28 appearance­s for Denmark, the 6ft 3in striker is likely to find the back of the net in Russia, too. (Forward) He may have failed to make an impact at Leicester following a £9m move in 2015, but Kramaric’s career scoring record remains very impressive – and Newcastle are understood to have watched him extensivel­y over the past 12 months. Since joining Hoffenheim in 2016, the Croatia internatio­nal has scored 28 goals in 68 appearance­s for the Bundesliga outfit, and he is still believed to be earn another opportunit­y in the Premier League. But, with Hoffenheim guaranteed a place in the Champions League group stages for next season, the 26-year-old will require an enticing offer to return to England. Given the competitio­n Croatia have up front, Kramaric is not always an automatic starter, but the former Dinamo Zagreb striker has scored nine goals in 31 appearance­s for his country.

(Forward) A striker who United considered during the final days of the January transfer window, Finnbogaso­n has scored 22 goals in 46 Bundesliga games for FC Augsburg – the German side who Newcastle host at St James’ Park in their final pre-season friendly in August.

Having scored 53 goals in 65 league goals for Heerenveen between 2012 and 2014, Real Sociedad took a risk on the forward – but he struggled to find the back of the net in Spain, and was loaned to Olympiacos before eventually moving to Germany.

But over the past two seasons, the 6ft-tall Iceland striker has shown he can cut it in a physical league – and, given that he has a similar playing style to Jorgensen, he is someone who should be considered.

At 29 years of age, however, Newcastle may deem Finnbogaso­n a little too old to sign this summer – but it will be intriguing to see if he can add to the 13 goals he has scored in 47 appearance­s for his country.

(Forward) Someone who is far from a household name in England, but Muto has certainly impressed in the Bundesliga over the past few seasons.

With 20 goals in 65 league appearance­s for Mainz, the forward has helped his club steer clear of relegation trouble in the last couple of years.

Though his record for Japan is farfrom impressive – he has two goals from 21 caps – Muto is not always his nation’s starting striker.

The 25-year-old has regularly been linked with the Magpies in recent months, and Newcastle have had several scouts watching matches in Germany over the last couple of seasons.

 ??  ?? Aleksandr Golovin (right) of Russia
Aleksandr Golovin (right) of Russia
 ??  ?? Croatia’s Andrej Kramaric
Croatia’s Andrej Kramaric

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