All posts by z3u9t.icu

Tottenham Hotspur’s managerial search took another worrying twist last week, leaving chairman Daniel Levy running out of viable options.

According to the Telegraph, the North London outfit abandoned their pursuit of Antonio Conte after both parties had major doubts about the fit for one another.

It’s thought that the 51-year-old – a nine-time major trophy winner – wasn’t sure if Spurs could match his ambitions, whilst the club didn’t believe he would give enough of an opportunity to their young prospects, with the likes of Oliver Skipp and Ryan Sessegnon due to be involved next season.

The Lilywhites are now back at square one but as per the Mirror, they could revisit their interest in Ajax supremo Erik ten Hag, who the club distanced themselves from after he signed a contract extension at Ajax.

This could be the last chance that Levy has to show some ambition and get a coach that could genuinely revive the faltering North Londoners, especially when considering the uninspiring other names involved.

Spurs have already missed out on the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Julian Nagelsmann, and even Mauricio Pochettino – on top of Conte.

It’s previously been claimed by The Athletic that the Dutchman is among a four-man shortlist in which disastrous ex-Everton boss Roberto Martinez, Brighton’s Graham Potter and the unemployed Ralf Rangnick feature.

After clinching his second Eredivisie title at the Dutch giants, ten Hag could be intrigued by a new challenge in the form of Spurs and he ticks a whole lot of boxes for Levy.

His two main criteria appear to be a) an attack-minded system, and b) a willingness to commit to developing the club’s emerging talents.

You can put two big green ticks against the 51-year-old’s name as he’s renowned for both of these facets.

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Ten Hag has created his brand of football having drawn inspiration from the likes of Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff.

As explained by former Manchester United star Daley Blind: “Johan Cruyff’s philosophy and spirit still flows around in this club. Erik ten Hag is doing very well now. He wants us to play attacking football but most of all without any fear.”

At Ajax, the Dutch coach has won 74% of his matches, bringing home a whopping 2.34 points and 2.71 goals per game, via Transfermarkt, which has earned him the most glowing of endorsements from Jurgen Klopp.

“Erik is rightly regarded as one of the most exciting coaching talents in world football at the moment because of the work he does with Ajax,” claimed the Liverpool boss.

Meanwhile, plenty of young players have come through the academy set-up under ten Hag before going onto be sold for mega fortunes, with two prime examples being Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus (£65m) and Frenkie de Jong to Barcelona (£65m).

“What he is managing to do with such young players is remarkable,” former striker Pierre van Hooijdonk told TV station NOS in May 2019 (via Planet Football). “The likes of De Ligt, De Jong and Van de Beek have only just come out of the academy and are already playing like veterans. Ten Hag deserves huge credit.”

On the above evidence, Levy won’t be able to find a better choice to take the helm at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – barring a surprise U-turn of Conte or a new name emerging from the shadows.

He must go for broke on the Dutch gem or risk facing the consequences from the Spurs fanbase.

AND in other news, Levy risks unmitigated Spurs disaster by hiring 62 y/o who’d “clash with the players”…

Frank Lampard has emerged as a leading contender to replace Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace this summer…

What’s the word?

That’s according to the Telegraph’s Matt Law, who claims that the former Chelsea boss would be amongst the top candidates to be offered the Eagles job should they move on from the 73-year-old next month.

It is thought that Palace have been deliberating over whether or not to make a change and Lampard should be available as he is not interested in taking a up the vacant position as the next England U21 boss.

The report also suggests that the 42-year-old would likely want assurances he would be given the opportunity to progress the southeast Londoners up the Premier League table after several seasons languishing in midtable.

Fans will be buzzing

This development is a really interesting twist as Hodgson’s tenure moves ever closer to coming to a conclusion after four years.

In that time, the veteran coach has helped establish Palace as a regular and stable top-flight side, though they have never finished above 11th under his stewardship.

And with young names coming through like Tyrick Mitchell as well as the club targeting players with plenty of potential such as Eberechi Eze, it could well be time to move on for all parties involved.

Especially given recent fan reaction suggesting that under Hodgson, the Eagles were never showing any ambition and that he should retire, which can be read in full here.

The 73-year-old has only won 33% of his matches in charge of the club, whilst at Stamford Bridge, Lampard brought home a win rate of 52%, and even that wasn’t enough for him to keep his job.

Lampard would be a fresh change in the dugout and one that could see them transition nicely into next season, with those aforementioned players and aims being a crucial part of their long-term future.

The former Chelsea player brought through the likes of Mason Mount and Reece James, both of which have gone onto become first-team regulars under Thomas Tuchel and both are likely to be competing in the Champions League final.

Furthermore, the report claims that his presence could bolster their chances of clinching Tammy Abraham or Billy Gilmour, who have both been linked with moves in the past.

Steve Parish could do very little wrong in hiring Lampard to be his next manager, it would certainly appease the fanbase and would kickstart an exciting era at Selhurst Park.

AND in other news, 40 y/o tipped for Crystal Palace job, Parish must now act…

Writing on Twitter, sharing his piece for football.london, reliable correspondent Alasdair Gold has listed the Tottenham Hotspur players who ‘could be sold’ this summer as part of a rebuild – with winger Erik Lamela making the list.

The Lowdown: Servant to Spurs…

Lamela signed for Spurs as a member of ‘The Magnificent Seven’ brought in to replace Gareth Bale after he completed his sensational £85 million move to Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2013.

Since then, the Argentine has stood out as the longest serving member of that player influx and has gone to make 257 appearances for Spurs in all competitions (Transfermarkt).

He has scored 37 goals and has assisted his teammates 47 times over this period (Transfermarkt), but a combination of disciplinary issues and a poor injury record have somewhat marred his stay in north London.

The Latest: Lamela ‘could be sold’…

Spurs need to adopt a sell-to-buy policy in a difficult market, especially considering their documented financial troubles, and Gold has revealed that Lamela ‘could be sold’ this summer.

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Dele Alli, Lucas Moura, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Moussa Sissoko, Juan Foyth, Harry Winks, Serge Aurier and a centre-back could also be offloaded, according to the football.london journalist.

Lamela is apparently a ‘popular figure’ within Tottenham and ‘loves’ the club himself, but his fairly lofty salary combined with a lack of Premier League starts this season could mean his eight-year stay in the English capital may be coming to an end.

The Verdict: Time to go…

There have been points over 2020/2021 where Lamela showcased his true quality, most notably the sensational rabona against Arsenal during Spurs’ 2-1 north London derby loss.

However, during that same game, the 29-year-old was sent off for a second yellow card after aggressively fending off Kieran Tierney – perhaps summing up his Tottenham career overall.

It’s no doubt that the Argentine can turn it on, as evident by former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson calling him a ‘fantastic player’ earlier this season (Football Insider), but it may be time for Lamela to be shown the door.

In other news: Spurs could now be offered this ‘phenomenal player’ for Kane, find out more here.

With Xisco Munoz guiding Watford back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, Cristiano Giaretta now faces the challenge of bringing in additions to the Hornets’ squad, players who can help the club retain their top-flight status at the end season.

One position that appears to be in particular need of improvement is up top, as none of the club’s out and out centre-forwards have so far managed to break double figures for goals scored in the Championship – with Joao Pedro scoring nine, Troy Deeney bagging seven and Andre Gray netting four.

And, with The Athletic reporting that Brentford’s Ivan Toney would fit the bill for Xisco’s side, we’ve take a look at how we think the £16.2 million-rated hitman would get on at Vicarage Road.

Deeney’s heir

After joining Peterborough United from Newcastle United in what was a £351,000 deal back in the summer of 2018, Toney immediately proved worth the fee in his debut season at London Road, scoring 16 goals and providing seven assists over his 44 league appearances for the club, with Posh narrowly missing out on a place in the play-offs at the end of the season.

The centre-forward followed this campaign up with an even more remarkable season, bagging an astonishing 24 goals, providing five assists and creating eight big chances, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.64, over his 32 League One fixtures, with Peterborough once again being unfortunate to miss out on a play-off spot – this time on a point-per-game basis after the season was curtailed.

This form saw Toney secure a £5.04 million move to Brentford in September 2020 – when Watford were also reported to be interested in a move – and, despite a hefty price tag for a third-tier player, the 25-year-old has once again gone on to prove himself as a remarkable signing.

So far this season, the £21,000-per-week striker has somehow managed to improve further on his goalscoring record despite taking the step up in division, scoring 30 goals, providing 10 assists and creating nine big chances over his 44 Championship appearances, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.38.

As such, it almost goes without saying as to why Toney would make a fantastic signing for Watford this summer, as the forward has cleared every challenge he has faced so far in his professional career with ease – and we would not bet against him doing so once again in the Premier League.

And, despite Troy Deeney’s recent protestations that he does not want to be a bit-part player for the Hornets next season, the fact remains that the Watford talisman is getting older, as well as having suffered a number of long-term injuries in the last couple of years.

Furthermore, when looking at Deeney’s individual output in terms of goals and general creativity this season, there is simply no comparison to be done with Toney – as the Brentford man blows the 32-year-old out of the water in almost every metric.

So, with Watford back in the big time once again, it would seem highly advisable for Giaretta to spend whatever it takes to land Toney in the upcoming transfer window, as the man Barry Fry dubbed an “exceptional” goal scorer seems to very much have the potential to take over as Watford’s star striker this summer, while Deeney takes a backseat.

In other news: Encouraging update emerges on “important” £30k-p/w Watford star, fans will be buzzing – opinion

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Paul Stewart, who made over 160 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur, has backed Oliver Skipp to have a big season when he returns from his loan spell at Norwich City.

Skipp has started all but one league game for the Canaries this season having racked up an impressive 6.90 WhoScored rating as he has been an important player in the club’s title-winning campaign.

The 20-year old could look to impress whoever comes in as manager at Spurs this summer with his parent club experiencing an indifferent and unsuccessful campaign this season.

Speaking on if he expects Skipp to play for Spurs next season and how this loan spell has really helped his development, Stewart told FFC:

“I think he comes back to us next season and it’s been a good move for him. Spurs sent him to an ideal club in Norwich because of their style of play and I think what it’s done for Skipp is provided him with game time and allowed him to develop.

“I’ve been watching him so I genuinely think he will be a revelation when he does come back.”

Skipp made his debut for Tottenham in 2018 but this loan spell with Norwich is his first time being away from Spurs in his career having been with the under 23s and on the bench for the first team often.

Spurs are likely to appoint a new manager before deciding on anyone’s future at the club to give the new boss a chance to decide who he wants to keep. That would be good news for someone like Skipp, who barely featured under Jose Mourinho.

Many Arsenal fans have slammed the performance of Calum Chambers in their 3-0 home loss to Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday night.

The former Southampton man, who is primarily a central defender by trade, was run ragged at right-back by Sadio Mane all night as Jurgen Klopp’s men cruised to victory in the end at the Emirates Stadium.

Although there were some pretty poor performances in a Gunners shirt on the night, Chambers was especially off-colour. He lost out on 10 of his duels, the most of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch, and he also made no interceptions or tackles and lost the ball on 19 separate occasions (joint-most of any Arsenal player), earning him a measly 5.7 overall rating on Sofascore, the lowest out of anyone involved on the night.

Arsenal fans on Chambers display

These Gooners slammed his performance on Twitter, with one supporter even going as far as to claim that the 26-year-old is a ‘midtable footballer’:

“Might be good this in long run. Chambers, Holding, Ceballos, Elneny not good enough. Add Pepe, Auba, Laca to that maybe. Very poor.”

Credit: @RobWoodfin1

“#ARSLIV | Holding and Chambers beaten aerially by a guy shorter than the both of them. Embarrassing. 0-1 #AFC”

Credit: @HighburEE0304

“We expect top 4 again with Holding and Chambers starting games still in 2021! #afc”

Credit: @johnh1886

“One thing we learned is Chambers isn’t the answer he is a midtable footballer and he joins the vast collection of midtable trash masquerading as Arsenal players!!! #ARSLIV”Credit: @stevegroves2004″The only time Chambers and Holding play is for Arsenal, they aren’t good enough to be on the bench for England. Shows how out of class we are. Pathetic manager, pathetic players. Bring it on Thursday! #ARSLIV”Credit: @msleeplessagain”If Chambers was awarded a penalty he would probably pass it back to his keeper #ARSLIV”Credit: @stephen_peelIn other news, find out what Martin Odegaard news has left these Gunners buzzing!

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson has recently admitted that he wants to take Rangers youngster Glenn Middleton back on loan next season but, after a lack of playing time with The Saints this season, Ross Wilson and Steven Gerrard should reject any approach which would see him return to McDiarmid Park next term.

The highly-rated winger joined Davidson’s side on loan in January but has been limited to only six appearances in the Premiership since then, totalling just 151 minutes of action.

Before the season split, all of Middleton’s appearances for St Johnstone had been brief cameos from the bench, but he earned himself a start in the first game after the international break against Aberdeen, having scored the winning goal against Ross County to earn his team a place in the top six.

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As a result, Davidson is clearly keen to bring him back to the club on loan next season, as he recently admitted: “Glenn has had to be patient but he’s come off the bench against Ross County and scored the goal that got us into the top six. That’s some achievement.

“He’s worked really hard from the day he arrived and the more I get him involved, the better he’ll be. He’s great about the place, he wants to learn and has a really positive attitude. So we’ll be looking to have a conversation with Rangers about next season. I think Glenn is at the stage in his career where he now needs sustained game time.”

However, there is clearly no guarantee of first team football for Middleton at McDiarmid Park; and given that he has contributed five goals and five assists in 29 appearances for Rangers so far in his career, he has shown that he could be considered by Steven Gerrard for a place in the champions’ first team squad next season.

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If the Ibrox outfit decide to send him out on loan again next term, they should find somewhere that is willing to give Middleton regular first team football, as unfortunately his lack of starting appearances in Davidson’s side means that it has been something of a disastrous loan spell in Perth, and he deserves more scope to show what he can do in 2021/22.

In other news… Gerrard could sign his dream Helander heir at Rangers in 26 y/o beast

Writing for football.london, reliable Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has tipped promising barely-seen youngster Alfie Devine for more minutes next season as one of the Lilywhites talents who could save chairman Daniel Levy millions.

Amid the tough financial outlook for Spurs brought upon by coronavirus, Gold explains in his piece that blockbuster summer dealings may prove challenging – with manager Jose Mourinho possibly having to adopt a sell-to-buy policy.

Gold tips Tottenham nod for Devine

Shedding light on a possible silver lining for Tottenham, Gold has listed the Hotspur Way talents who could shine over 2021/2022 and save the club millions in transfer fees.

One of the starlets he has tipped for a nod next season is Devine, especially as he explains that the 2020 summer signing is in fact too young to be sent out on a loan spell.

As a result, Gold touts that he is likely to get more game time next season and could potentially shine for Spurs – with the 16-year-old having already broken a club record.

He became the club’s youngster ever goalscorer after firing home in a 5-0 demolition job away to Marine in the FA Cup, and the journalist explains that may just be the start.

Transfer Tavern take

The teenager has had no shortage of plaudits, either, with Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher calling him ‘top class’ on Twitter just before Spurs completed his signing.

Meanwhile, fellow youngster Japhet Tanganga recently lifted the lid on his energy behind the scenes – praising him as a ‘real spark’ when he gets picked to train with the senior side (football.london).

Time will tell whether Devine could save Levy millions, but it seems like there is definitely potential there for him to do so.

In other news: Tottenham have been urged to sign this Premier League ace, find out more here.

Celtic will demand a ‘big money’ permanent deal for Odsonne Edouard or ‘nothing’, Italian transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano has told Give Me Sport.

Romano says that Inter Milan pursued a loan move for the French striker last summer but were rebuffed by Celtic.

Edouard is approaching the final year of his contract at Parkhead, having signed for a club-record fee in 2018.

2020 Inter move was ‘impossible’ for Edouard

Romano expects the former Paris Saint-Germain striker to push for a move, with no shortage of suitors.

“Last summer he close to leaving Celtic but decided to stay, but now it’s time to decide for a new club probably,” the journalist said.

“Let’s see if the right bid will arrive, we have to respect Celtic because they’re doing an amazing job with him.

“Last summer Inter were thinking of Edouard as a backup option for Lukaku, but then it was impossible because Celtic wanted a permanent deal and they were offering a loan with an option to buy.

“Also Roma are interested in him… so there are a lot of opportunities for him.”

‘At the moment there is not a price’ for Edouard, Romano says

Celtic apparently have no set fee in mind for the 23-year-old, who has scored 16 goals in 12 caps for France at under-21 level, but a ‘big and important’ bid will compel the Hoops to sell him and duly enable them to reinvest in their squad.

“If someone wants the player they have to arrive and negotiate, but at the moment there is not a price they have decided because they are happy with the player,” Romano said.

“Normally you put a price when you want to sell a player, they would love to keep him, but probably with big and important bids, they need to sell him.”

Transfer Tavern verdict

How much, then, Celtic will eventually demand?

At the start of March, the Daily Mail reported that Leicester City had set their sights on the Scottish Premiership’s top scorer and that a £15m deal was in the offing.

Reacting to those claims, Celtic’s interim manager John Kennedy said the quoted figure was ‘far too cheap’. Partly because Edouard’s contract is running out, Transfermarkt only value him at £13.5m.

Celtic are under some pressure to sell given that, from next January, the player would be free to negotiate a free transfer with other clubs. However, what may aid them is added competition potentially leading to a bidding war.

Romano named Inter and Roma as prospective suitors, but alongside Leicester, there is also said to be Premier League interest from Liverpool and Arsenal.

This could theoretically push offers close to £20m.

You can view the full interview with Fabrizio Romano on Give Me Sport here!

Plenty of Crystal Palace supporters have been sharing their positive thoughts on social media regarding teenager David Omilabu after he signed professional terms with the club on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old, who has been with the club’s academy since the age of eight, has been in fine form for the Eagles’ youth sides this season.

Omilabu in free-scoring Palace form

Omilabu has netted nine goals in as many games for the Under-18 side in recent months, while also recording a goal and an assist for the Under-23’s in his opening two appearances.

The young attacker’s displays for the Under-18’s have helped them to top spot in the Under-18 Premier League South, while his first strike for the Under-23’s was the winner against Burnley.

Palace shared the news on Omilabu’s professional deal on their official Twitter page on Wednesday afternoon.

This is what these fans had to say to the update, with plenty delighted and one happy to label it as ‘excellent news’ for the club.

Palace fans full of praise for Omilabu

“Excellent news, got some very talented youngsters coming through at academy level – David is one of them”

Credit: @cpfc7791

“ABSOLUTE SCENES”

Credit: @HLTCO

“great news this, looks the real deal this lad”

Credit: @APftbl

“Yesssssssss”

Credit: @Adam_Palace

“If we can perfect the transition from academy to first team, were gonna mean serious business in a few years time”

Credit: @Beniesta_

“Stick him in the first team now please”

Credit: @Twentyfour7Sanj

In other news: Fans have slammed one Premier League star after his comments on Wilfried Zaha, find out more here.