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Tottenham are in the hunt for the Premier League title this season and with the January transfer window now upon us, they have the perfect opportunity to strengthen.

So, where will they do so?

What’s the word?

One area that Spurs could look to improve this month is in an attacking sense. Heung-min Son and Harry Kane have scored 75% of their goals this term so some added help could go down a treat.

Diego Costa has been linked on a free transfer but there is a younger man now in the frame to move to north London.

That happens to be Wigan forward Kyle Joseph, someone catching the eye in League One this season.

According to The Sun, Spurs are plotting a move for the 19-year-old after initially having a bid of £150,000 rejected last summer.

Joseph turned down both the Lilywhites and Sheffield United but that isn’t preventing them from moving again in the winter.

Wigan are still in administration so face losing a number of their players in the coming weeks.

Forget Parrott

When it comes to the Tottenham academy, the jewel in the crown at the moment is Troy Parrott.

The Irishman is a fabulous young talent but after struggling to breakthrough under Jose Mourinho, is now on loan at Millwall.

The 18-year-old has been pretty unimpressive in Bermondsey, though, failing to score in his nine Championship outings.

Joseph, however, has been exceptional for Wigan and already has more senior goals than the Spurs academy graduate.

Speaking about the teenager earlier this season, Latics forward Kal Naismith commented: “He’ll be a top player, a really, really good player and he works his nuts off not just in the games but all week in training as well, he has a great appetite for the game and a great attitude – I enjoy playing with him.”

In all senses of the word, Joseph is a dream to play with. By winning 2.3 aerial duels per game this season he brings others into play but he is only getting better.

He scored a sublime hat-trick against Burton in Wigan’s last match and is just going from strength to strength having netted four times this season.

Daniel Levy must ensure he’s a Tottenham player at the end of the window.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Son: Levy must seal Spurs swoop for “very rare” gem who made 7 dribbles…

Despite boasting a flurry of exciting new signings over the summer, one man Liverpool missed out on is Jamal Lewis. The former Norwich man has attracted a lot of attention over the past year, and as a result was eventually snapped up by Newcastle.

The Reds certainly did try for the 22-year-old, but the Canaries looked to be playing games. Hoping to lure the Premier League champions into an increased bid, they knocked back their offer of £10million for the left-back.

The Magpies eventually paid £15million for Lewis, which isn’t far off the £11.7million fee Liverpool paid for Kostas Tsimikas. A crucial buy for the summer was to provide Andy Robertson with backup, but after just one appearance for his new club, the Greece international is out with an injury.

Should Liverpool have signed Jamal Lewis?

Whilst Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold play beautifully together and have magnificent camaraderie, there’s always the burning question of ‘what if…?’

After transforming the Scotsman into a £67.5million-valued world beater, Jurgen Klopp undoubtedly has one of the best left-backs in the world on his team. But could he be tempted to jump ship if a mega money offer came in for him? It’s unlikely, but when you climb as high as Liverpool, you must be prepared to feel the impact of a hefty fall.

Bringing Lewis to Anfield could have created an interesting partnership between him and Alexander-Arnold and indeed, competition for the starting role. The two are pacy full-backs who will compliment each other in areas of weakness. For example, the Newcastle ace isn’t confident in his long balls, which Alexander-Arnold excels at. Having TAA pinging in crosses and long passes could allow him to stay further back whilst Lewis meanders further up the field.

Lewis is a little more conservative though with his attacking contributions. On the flip side, this is turn could help TAA get forward without the extra risk of exposure from two attacking full-backs. According to Sofascore, his performance against Everton saw him complete three tackles, three interceptions and 4/9 of his attempted duels.

He is very much a work in progress but the foundations are there for him to become a solid defender. Lewis’ former manager Daniel Farke lauded his performances and branded him as having a “magic” left foot. Klopp would certainly get the best out of him and he could link up with Alexander-Arnold nicely whilst waiting for his chance to challenge Robertson.

In other news, Jurgen Klopp midfield switch could pave the way for Curtis Jones…

Leeds United won 3-0 against Aston Villa on Friday night and there’s only one man that is likely to get the plaudits for that victory.

Indeed, Patrick Bamford’s hat-trick has been the talk of the town in the wake of United’s third Premier League win of the season, and we can absolutely understand why as the Grantham-born forward was on fire against the Villans.

However, what shouldn’t be forgotten is that the game could have easily swung the other way.

Indeed, in the first 20 minutes, Villa were the better side and Leeds looked as though they were in trouble with Pascal Struijk on the pitch.

The 21-year-old looked like a walking red card, picking up his first yellow within 10 minutes before making two more dangerous challenges that could have seen him issued his marching orders.

After 20 minutes, Marcelo Bielsa had seen enough and he made a change that may have won the game for Leeds.

He brought Shackleton on for Struijk, negating the risk of the red card and allowing Leeds to once again play with the intensity and aggression in the midfield that they’re renowned for.

If Struijk had been sent off and Leeds had been forced to play over an hour with 10-men, it’s hard to envisage United running away with the game in the same manner in the second half.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to us that Bielsa has the footballing mind to make these type of game-winning changes early on, he has been lauded as the best coach in the world in the past.

Hooking a 21-year-old in their first start in a new position after just 20 minutes may look harsh, but Bielsa needed to do it and he didn’t beat around the bush in pursuit of a victory. That’s to be expected from a man described by his own players as “relentless” and “passionate”, winning is the most important thing in football and Bielsa certainly knows how to do it.

Celtic have been dealt a rather big blow in their pursuit of Mattia De Sciglio as Anthony Joseph has tweeted that sources at SkySport have said that the Juventus ace has ruled out a move to Scotland.

According to the tweet from the football journalist, Neil Lennon’s team have made an enquiry to sign him on loan for the rest of the 2020/21 term before the summer transfer window shuts.

However, De Sciglio has ruled out a move to Scottish football, as the Old Lady remain open to offers for the 27-year old, with talks between European clubs PSG and AS Roma to have stalled for now.

Indeed, signing De Sciglio on loan for the rest of the season would have arguably been a shrewd bit of business from the Hoops. He has won the Serie A title no fewer than on three separate occasions with Juve and has also claimed several domestic trophies to his name, as per Transfermarkt.

The winning mentality of the Italy international could have been vital in the dressing room as the Celts look to win the Scottish Premiership yet again while also trying to do well in the UEFA Europa League.

De Sciglio was limited to just nine games in Italy’s top flight in the 2019/20 campaign, but still managed to win a relatively impressive 3.3 of his duels per match and also averaged 1.6 clearances, 1.1 tackles and 1.1 successful dribbles a game (via Sofascore).

Nonetheless, it looks as if the Bhoys will miss out on loaning him in and will now have to look at pursuing other targets before the market officially closes.

Hoops fans, would De Sciglio have been a good signing? Comment below!

Everton could have put any and all transfer interest in Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha in the rear-view mirror, but the Goodison Park natives will now be rueing their failure to sign Fiorentina’s dynamic dribbler Gaetano Castrovilli this summer.

What’s the word?

While speaking with Gazzetta dello Sport, Castrovilli has revealed that he is now eying a new contract with his Serie A side that he hopes will run until 2025 after catching the attention of several European clubs this summer.

Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti was said to have been one of the many admirers to have coveted the midfielder’s acquisition in the transfer market, per Calciomercato, but was informed along with Inter Milan, Juventus and unnamed Bundesliga outfits that he had been deemed unsellable following a three-goal, two-assist campaign in the Italian top-flight.

Fiorentina’s opposition to a deal eased somewhat as the window progressed with FC Inter News later claiming Castrovilli could fetch between €40m (£36m) and €50million (£45.1m), with RB Leipzig, SSC Napoli and Tottenham Hotspur now sniffing around the creator whom Inter were very hot to.

But no deal was ever made and Castrovilli clearly has no ill-feeling to the failure, having now stated that he wishes to impress his manager Giuseppe Iachini and take Fiorentina into Europe.

“My dream is to play in Europe with Fiorentina,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “It’s nice that the top clubs have shown appreciation, but I only think of the Viola.

“Can I renew [my contract] until 2025? I’d like to. I’m fine in Florence, Fiorentina is like a family for me, so if the opportunity arises, I would certainly be happy [to stay].”

Forget Zaha

Everton could have forgotten all about their long-standing interest in Crystal Palace forward Zaha had Director of Football Marcel Brands orchestrated a deal to bring Castrovilli to the Premier League this summer.

The Toffees were touted to renew their efforts to sign Zaha by The Mirror in July following two failed bids in 2019, with Ancelotti backed as a big admirer of the Ivorian speedster whom Marco Silva refused to pay the Eagles’ £100m asking price for last year.

Blues hero Louis Saha continued to laud the potential of Zaha at Goodison Park in August, telling the Football Index podcast via The Express: “Zaha is a player who is capable of playing everywhere, he’s such a good player.

“If you want to improve your game, the foundations are there at Everton for you to achieve this. When I joined Everton, I found players and staff around me who had a desire to win trophies and improve the club’s infrastructure. Zaha would feel the same way if he joined Everton.”

Castrovilli would have been the better purchase, though, and Brands will be rueing not being able to add the 23-year-old to Ancelotti’s squad after he began the 2020/21 season with four goals and one assist in five Serie A appearances.

The 6-foot midfielder is also averaging 4.4 ground duels won (47%), 0.4 accurate crosses (100%), 1.6 shots, 0.6 key balls, 2.0 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and 0.8 clearances a match in the Italian top-flight, per SofaScore, showing the level of skill he could have brought to Goodison Park.

His efforts in the centre of the pitch also led Football Whispers to laud his dynamic ability last season, having attempted an average of 4.48 take-ons per 90, of which he completed 3.38. Only four players in the Serie A were more successful than the one-time Italy international, who ranked tenth for attempts.

Now, Everton will likely watch on as Castrovilli takes his game to another level in years to come, knowing they missed an absolute gem in the 23-year-old midfielder who makes the left-hand side of the pitch his playground.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands can repeat his summer masterclass by landing an Everton-linked £76k-p/w powerhouse.

Things may be a little big gloomy at Tottenham at the moment after their opening day loss against Everton, but they have made three of the most exciting signings of this transfer window.

Gareth Bale’s talents are obvious to all due to his incredible trophy haul and individual honour roll, but there are two other intriguing signings Jose Mourinho’s side have made this summer.

On the Chalkboard

Spurs’ signings of Sergio Reguillon and Matt Doherty have certainly raised a few eyebrows as the London club have spent a combined £45m on two areas that could easily have been pinpointed as weaknesses in the past.

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However, no matter how talented these players are, they will only flourish if the roles they’re asked to play in suit their skillset, and it’s quite obvious to see that both players are a modern mould of wide defender in that they love to go forward.

Doherty’s 16 goal contributions in the past two seasons from right-back show how much he likes to get up the pitch, while Reguillon’s eye-catching displays in the Europa League consisted mainly of him bombing down the wing, with the Spaniard completing 1.6 dribbles per game in the league last season.

Therefore, Mourinho needs a system to get the best out of these two, and it seems rather obvious as to what that should be.

5 at the back

Mourinho has often operated with a back four with sturdy defensive full-backs, think of Ashley Cole and Paolo Ferreira at Chelsea, but with the game evolving around him, he has to change tact.

With the talent he has at his disposal moving to a five at the back would make the world of sense, it would allow him to use Doherty and Reguillon as more attacking options, while also opening up the opportunity for Ryan Sessegnon to work his way into the wing-back spot.

It will also allow Eric Dier to play in his preferred centre-back spot, while also retaining some of the ball-playing responsibilities of a holding midfielder and not having to take on as much defensive responsibility as he would if he was playing as a part of a back four.

Once Reguillon is up to speed, it will be interesting to see how the former Chelsea manager lines up his side, but it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him switch to a back five.

Glasgow Rangers’ Alfredo Morelos has been a stunning signing for the club.

Since making the switch to Ibrox in 2017, the Colombia international has been lethal in front of goal, scoring 77 goals in 137 matches – 29 of those came in the previous campaign despite the Scottish season being brought to an end prematurely with nine matches for the 54-time Scottish champions still to play.

However, his form has led to interest from clubs around Europe – Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund have been mentioned as clubs interested in his services, whilst Everton are also said to be planning a bid. It has even been reported that the ‘Gers expect him to leave this summer.

The latest move from his agent Michael Gorman, therefore, does not appear to be too popular amongst some ‘Gers supporters. On Twitter, he has shared a graphic showing that Morelos has scored the most goals per 90 minutes of any player in the Europa League along with Bruno Fernandes this campaign.

These ‘Gers supporters are far from happy with the tweet, as they appear to think that he is trying to sell the forward – one fan even called the move “desperate”. Some supporters have taken to the social media platform to share their thoughts and you can see some of the best comments below:

‘Gers fans, were you dismayed by Gorman’s tweet about Morelos? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

According to The Athletic’s Greg O’Keeffe, Everton have “monitored” Espanyol’s Marc Roca as a potential alternative to their pursuit of Allan.

What did he say?

One of the big names to be linked to be with a move to Goodison Park this summer has been Napoli midfielder Allan, but a deal for the Brazilian has yet to materialise.

Now, O’Keeffe has suggested that if the Toffees can’t lure the 29-year-old away from Naples, they could turn their attentions to Roca, who was a mainstay for Espanyol with 44 appearances across all competitions last season.

How big of an Everton fan are you? Can you spot Mikel Arteta from Graham Stuart? This quiz will test your knowledge, try it if you’re brave enough…

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He said: “Ancelotti has also been interested in luring another Brazilian, his former Napoli charge Allan, to Merseyside. If not Allan, who at 29 would have no sell-on value, the remit for their new midfielder remains a dynamic, box-to-box player with leadership abilities; something Everton have visibly lacked.

“One who fits that bill, and has been monitored by Everton scouts, is Espanyol’s Marc Roca. The 23-year-old made 35 La Liga appearances for the Barcelona club last season and impressed despite their relegation after finishing bottom of La Liga. Again though, Arsenal are rumoured to be interested and, according to reports in Spain, so are Real Madrid.”

Better value than Allan

At 23, Roca is considerably younger than Allan, and would give Everton a better chance of recouping their money if they were to sell him down the line.

The Spaniard is also still a couple of years away from reaching his peak, and would be the kind of midfield talent that Carlo Ancelotti could really build around at Goodison Park.

The 6 foot ace is a midfield powerhouse, averaging 2.3 tackles per game in La Liga last season – to put that into context, only Djibril Sidibe managed more in Everton’s squad. Having a player like him to break up the play and protect the back-four will be crucial to ensuring the Toffees don’t concede cheap goals.

If Everton can’t secure Allan for Ancelotti, then Roca seems like a very decent alternative.

Newcastle United loanee Danny Rose has made an interesting transfer claim that has riled up some of the Magpies faithful this week.

The Spurs man was in conversation with The Lockdown Tactics podcast where he revealed that he would like to work with Brendan Rodgers before he retires.

He said: “Getting to work with him for two months was brilliant,’ said Rose. ‘As an 18 or 19-year-old, I had never experienced training sessions like that before. His ideas in training, it was brilliant and I have always said that he is somebody I would love to play for again.”

And he then joked that “someone will have to buy Ben Chilwell first” (quotes sourced from the Daily Mail).

But this hasn’t gone down well with supporters at St James’ Park with many claiming that they don’t want to see him stay after his loan spell – and that they’d probably rather land the Foxes left-back instead.

Rose still has a year to run on his current deal in north London, meaning the northeast outfit would have to fork out a transfer fee if they decide to keep him following this temporary switch.

The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?

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The 29-year-old has made six appearances at United and looked to have become Steve Bruce’s first-choice left-back until football was halted.

Some fans would even have Jetro Willems over the Englishman despite his injury problems this campaign.

Here’s what has been said…

AND in other news, Neil Custis hints possible date of Newcastle takeover announcement…

Liverpool fans have responded to Jamie Carragher’s question on Twitter regarding the future of Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.

England captain Kane is currently nursing an injury on the sidelines which had been expected to see him miss the remainder of the season, but with the current standstill in football – the striker could return to action.

One of European football’s top strikers, Kane has amassed over 180 goals during his career in North London with Tottenham Hotspur. Despite his goalscoring efforts, the Englishman has failed to win any silverware, and talk of a summer move is now starting to gain pace.

Speaking to fans during a recent Q&A session, Kane remained coy on his future, saying that he would consider a move elsewhere if silverware could be won.

With such talk, it has since been reported that Spurs have put a £200m price tag on Kane, which they hope will see off interest from the likes of Manchester United.

A whole host of European sides are expected to show interest in Kane, and former Liverpool defender turned pundit Carragher has given his thoughts on the striker’s future.

Carragher’s question of Kane’s value and age prompting a response on Twitter and below are is just some of the reaction:

Is Kane too good for Spurs? Join the discussion by commenting below…