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Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld is hopeful of leaving the club this summer, according to a recent report from The Athletic. 

The lowdown: ‘Phenomenal’ servant

Alderweireld has been with Spurs since 2015, and has gone on to make 236 appearances in total for the club over the years, which includes 35 appearances in the 2020/21 season, as they finished seventh in the Premier League in a frustrating campaign for the club’s supporters

Speaking in an interview with Football Insider back in December 2020, former Leeds United forward Noel Whelan labelled the Belgium international as a ‘phenomenal player’ and the club’s best defender.

“Alderweireld is the best defender at that club. He’s a phenomenal player and it’s great to see him playing so well again.”

Alderweireld’s contract with Spurs is set to expire in the summer of 2023, but it now looks as though he won’t see out that deal.

The latest: Alderweireld makes decision on his Spurs future

The Athletic report that Alderweireld has set his sights on a summer move away from Spurs, and he’s confident that a move can be completed after the European Championships.

It’s also claimed that Tottenham are unlikely to stand in his way over a potential exit either, with a rebuild likely to be in place for newly-appointed manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

Alderweireld is currently on international duty with Belgium though, and there won’t be any move taking place in the immediate future, with Roberto Martinez’s side set to take on Italy on Friday evening in their quarter-final clash at Euro 2020.

The verdict: A frustrating update for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side

He’s likely to leave a sizeable void in the Spurs defence if his departure was confirmed this summer.

Alderweireld has been a fantastic servant to the club over the years, having signed from Atlético Madrid back in 2015, whilst they were under the management of Mauricio Pochettino.

It will be a summer of change at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium though, with newly-appointed Nuno looking to add some his own players who are better suited to his system.

At the age of 32, some Spurs supporters might argue that Alderweireld has still got something to offer them this term though, and his experience playing in a back three with Belgium would certainly suggest he can thrive under Nuno’s preferred system.

An update has emerged regarding Newcastle United’s pursuit of Atletico Madrid right-back Kieran Trippier…

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic’s Chris Waugh, the Magpies are confident of being able to agree a deal to sign the former Tottenham full-back next month.

The report claims that the player is keen on a return to England and is open to arriving at St James’ Park in the January window.

Fans will be delighted

Newcastle fans will be delighted with this update from Waugh for several reasons. Firstly, it indicates that the player is interested in a move, which surely improves their chances of being able to sign him. This does not appear to be a situation where the club are desperately trying to convince him to join.

Supporters will also be buzzing that the club are confident of sealing a deal, as it suggests that they believe they can tempt Atletico into parting ways with the 31-year-old. This could duly allow them to bring him in early in the month instead of it dragging out through to deadline day, which means that he can potentially play a part in some of Newcastle’s Premier League games in January.

Finally, the Toon Army will surely be delighted as he could be a terrific addition to the squad. England manager Gareth Southgate once lauded the defender for his form in Spain since leaving his home country, saying: “What Kieran has, firstly, is hugely underestimated. People are still seeing the lad that was at Spurs a couple of years ago and not the defensive animal that has grown at Atlético Madrid, trusted by one of the best and most successful coaches in the world.

“He gets his distances right on cover, he’s good one-v-one to stop crosses and his talking is really good. There was always going to be changes to our back four and we felt that communication and organisation was an important part.”

Trippier averaged an impressive WhoScored rating of 7.20 last season in La Liga. He made 3.6 tackles and interceptions per game, also chipping in with six assists.

This suggests that he could come in at Newcastle and offer a balance between defence and attack at right-back, bolstering Eddie Howe’s squad and possibly improving their chances of avoiding relegation.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Lewis: PIF can seal dream NUFC signing with £25m “monster” who can “win games”…

Leeds United will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing draw at home to Wolves at the weekend as they face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup tonight.

The Whites travel to the Emirates Stadium after drawing 1-1 at home to Wolves, which followed on from a 1-0 defeat to Southampton the previous weekend.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side scored a last-minute penalty on Saturday to secure a point, and a win against the Gunners in the cup competition could provide some much-needed positive momentum.

How many changes will Bielsa make to his side? Here is our predicted XI…

We are predicting that he will make five changes to the team from Saturday, with Charlie Cresswell, Crysencio Summerville, Kalvin Phillips, Joe Gelhardt and Tyler Roberts all coming in.

Across the goalkeeper and back four, we are predicting one change to the team as Cresswell comes in to give Diego Llorente a rest. We published this piece explaining why the young defender deserves to start, with this potentially being a huge opportunity for him to catch the eye and work his way into the Premier League setup.

In midfield, Kalvin Phillips could make his return from injury. He was named on the bench against Wolves and he could line up in the holding midfield position, allowing Bielsa to revert back to his favoured 4-1-4-1 formation against the Gunners.

Ahead of the England international, Pascal Struijk could retain his position and find a new partner in the form of Rodrigo. The Spaniard might drop back from his centre-forward role to play in central midfield, a position where he played for Leeds on 13 occasions last season.

Out wide, Summerville and Roberts could play ahead of Jack Harrison and Raphinha. We published an article explaining why the former should be axed from the team, as the £40k-per-week ex-Man City dud struggled at the weekend. The latter suffered an injury against Wolves and we expect that he will be rested ahead of the Premier League clash with Norwich on Sunday.

The final change we are predicting comes in the number nine position. We ran this piece stating that Bielsa must unleash Gelhardt against Arsenal after his impressive cameo against Wolves. The teenage attacker could provide energy and enthusiasm in the final third and should be motivated to work his socks off in an attempt to catch the manager’s eye with a view to further first team outings.

AND in other news, It’s time: Bielsa must unleash 19 y/o Leeds colossus, he’s a “leader”…

According to reliable journalist Gianluca Di Marzio (via City Xtra), Manchester City have made a sensational offer to Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland ahead of the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Haaland’s career

Whilst the season may not have gone exactly as the Norway international had planned due to a number of injuries which forced him to the sidelines for ten of Dortmund’s league games, the 21-year-old has remained lethal in front of goal, having scored an incredible 16 goals in 19 Bundesliga matches.

When combined with his staggering overall record of 56 goals in 62 German top-flight games, Haaland has become one of the most sought-after players across the whole of Europe.

As a result, Manchester City and Real Madrid have emerged as the frontrunners in the race for his signature.

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The Latest: City’s offer

According to Di Marzio, as relayed by City Xtra, the Sky Blues have proposed an offer to Haaland. Taking to Twitter, City Xtra shared:

“Man City have presented an offer to Erling Haaland: An annual salary of around €30M per season for five years. The offer presented by the Man City also includes the release clause of €75M plus agent commissions equal €70M. [via @DiMarzio]”

The Verdict: Would be a magnificent signing

City boss Pep Guardiola is a keen admirer of Haaland, having hailed the 21-year-old as an “exceptional striker”.

As a result, director of football Txiki Begiristain has seemingly been doing anything he can to secure the Norwegian, given his side’s failure to secure Harry Kane last summer.

With such an efficient goalscorer in Guardiola’s side, City’s attacking threat could dominate Premier League defences.

Therefore, Haaland’s arrival at the Etihad could prove to be a magnificent bit of business if Txiki can get the deal over the line.

In other news: Manchester City: Guardiola without another player alongside Ruben Dias for Liverpool clash

Many Everton fans have been left lauding some footage that has emerged involving their Academy player Francis Okoronkwo.

As shared by Everton Academy’s official Twitter page, the winger cut inside the defender neatly before unleashing a curling effort into the opposite corner past the goalkeeper from outside of the box.

The Merseyside club’s U18 team were playing Sheffield United at Goodison Park in the FA Youth Cup on Friday night, and that goal put them 1-0 up.

The game finished 2-1 in the end, and so the U18’s went through into the round of 16, where they will now play Manchester United away from home.

Nonetheless, a lot of Toffees supporters were left in admiration of Okoronkwo’s strike in particular, and gave their reactions.

Everton fans on Okoronkwo goal

These Blues were left lauding the footage as it was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it was a ‘sublime’ goal:

“The way he set himself up for that. Sublime!”

Credit: @MontagueStreet

“What a baller this kid is”

Credit: @EFCFrostyy2

“What a finish!”

Credit: @the_street_end

“Gerrrin”

Credit: @edgyt10

“This kid will go right to the top, right to the very top”

Credit: @BillEvram

“Massive massive potential this lad, could be an absolute cracker”

Credit: @danny1878c

In other news, find out what fresh injury blow EFC have suffered here!

Manchester City fans want to sign Dusan Vlahovic after it was revealed the Fiorentina striker’s contract talks with the Serie A club have collapsed.

The Citizens have so far had a relatively good start to the campaign – they are just two points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea after a momentous win over the Blues last weekend (Sky Sports).

However, results such as the 0-0 draw with Southampton indicate the Citizens are struggling to convert chances without a reliable centre-forward after failing to capture Harry Kane during the summer.

They were also linked with Vlahovic during the transfer window, but he ended up staying in Italy. As per Fabrizio Romano, the Serbia international’s contract talks have now fallen apart.

His current contract is set to run out in 2023, meaning Fiorentina could be open to selling him the next year rather than lose him for free the following term.

The news was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Vlahovic news

“January and we’ll win the Champions League.”

Credit: @jofer_ms

“Get him in!!”

Credit: @MCFCYoungboy

“January”

Credit: @shaunyb3000

“Get him in jan”

Credit: @_KawaiiKayky

“Yes. Sign him.”

Credit: @WayneJa01355301

“Sign him in January!”

Credit: @King_Kevin100

In other news, Man City fans have been reacting to this transfer news.

Sunderland have kicked off their season in style with back-to-back wins in the 2021/22 campaign, beating both Wigan and Port Vale.

The Black Cats beat the Latics 2-1 on the opening day of the League One season, before progressing through to the second round of the Carabao Cup by defeating Port Vale by the same score.

They now travel away to face an MK Dons side who recently lost their manager Russell Martin to Swansea and have conceded eight goals in their first two matches – five to Bournemouth in a 5-0 Carabao Cup loss and three to Bolton in a draw in their first league outing.

On the Chalkboard

Despite Sunderland’s strong start to the season, Lee Johnson has a major issue within his side. Young central midfielder Dan Neil has been deployed as a left-back and struggled against Wigan last weekend whilst playing out of position.

Neil received a tame WhoScored rating of 6.40 as he failed to win a single tackle and only made one clearance in the 90 minutes. He also completed 62% of his passes – the third-lowest in the team – and did not create any chances going forward from the back.

This suggests that the experiment of playing him at full-back has not been successful for Johnson, which means that a natural defender should take his place in the team against MK Dons. Prior to this week, Sunderland did not have a natural full-back option to slot in, but they have since announced the signing of Dennis Cirkin on a permanent deal from Premier League side Tottenham.

Johnson hailed the 19-year-old as a top talent upon his arrival at the club. He told Sunderland’s official website: “To get a player of Dennis’ quality at 19 speaks wonders in terms of what we’re trying to do because he is a top talent and he’s very highly regarded within the game.

“We have been really happy with the signings we have made so far and we will bank this one, but we will continue our work quietly and efficiently to try and get a couple more over the line.”

This shows that Johnson rates the defender highly and that is why he should be thrown straight in at the deep end against MK Dons. Whilst there is not much evidence to prove that he will be a quality option immediately, as he has not made his debut in senior football as of yet, it is worth the gamble as Neil has shown that he is not up to the task of playing out of position.

Therefore, Johnson may not have any other choice but to risk it and hand Cirkin his debut on Saturday. Hopefully, the exciting young full-back will be able to repay the faith shown in him by the club and demonstrate why he is so highly-rated, as it would give the former Bristol City coach a specialist left-back option instead of having to put square pegs in round holes.

AND in other news, Alan Nixon drops claim on £13k-p/w Sunderland “leader”, Lee Johnson will be relieved…

Giorgos Giakoumakis’ latest injury setback may only strengthen Ange Postecoglou’s desire to bring in Daizen Maeda in January, The Celtic Way’s Tony Haggerty writes.

The lowdown

Summer signing Giakoumakis missed Saturday’s Scottish League Cup semifinal against St Johnstone after struggling with a knee issue during the international break.

The Greek international has been limited to just two league starts since joining from VVV-Venlo.

And Celtic have begun looking for alternative forward options, with Yokohama F Marinos striker Maeda on their radar.

The £990,000-rated 24-year-old has banged in 21 goals in 38 appearances this season (via Transfermarkt).

The latest

Giakoumakis’ knee problem will, Haggerty reckons, ‘set alarm bells ringing with Ange and the supporters’.

In his opinion, it makes Postecoglou all the more likely to request the signing of Maeda in the mid-season market.

It would be ‘no surprise’ to see him join the Celtic ranks at the turn of the year, generating ‘stiff competition’ for places.

The verdict

Celtic are aware of what Giakoumakis is capable of. They brought him in off the back of a 26-goal, Golden-Boot winning campaign in the Netherlands.

But that ability will count for little without availability, and this week’s setback is by no means the first for Giakoumakis.

The worry now, if this transfer materialises, is that he slips to third in the pecking order behind Kyogo Furuhashi and Maeda, meaning he might struggle to get the run of games he needs to build up sharpness.

In other news, the Hoops are still keen on this EFL target. 

Antonio Conte clinched his first Premier League win in charge of Tottenham Hotspur as his side narrowly defeated Leeds United on Sunday evening.

Spurs were perhaps a little fortunate to walk away with all three points, having been largely dominated by the visitors in the first half and still, they did manage more of the ball and recorded more attempts at goal, too.

The victory sees the north Londoners leapfrog Manchester United, who sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer earlier in the day, into seventh place and firmly back into the conversation for European qualification.

Rare second-half goals from midfield enforcer Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and left wing-back Sergio Reguilon sealed the come-from-behind win.

A passionate Conte was absolutely delighted at the full-time whistle, celebrating with all four sections of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as well as every member of the squad.

However, when he has time to reflect and watch back, he may be less than impressed by the performance of Emerson Royal at right wing-back as he struggled for large parts of the encounter.

The Brazilian, signed from Barcelona for £25m in the summer, was skinned and nutmegged by Jack Harrison for Leeds’ opener right before half-time as the former Man City dynamo was given acres of space and time to find Dan James at the back post.

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Press Association Sport journalist Jonathan Veal soon tweeted that “Harrison made a mug of Emerson” during that moment and truth be told, that was the story of his game.

Despite registering a whopping seven tackles, three more than any other player, the 22-year-old won just 50% of his 14 duels, both in the air and on the ground, and also lost possession 12 times from 53 touches – once every 4.4 times he had the ball, as per SofaScore.

Emerson received a yellow card for his troubles, too, which only goes to show how big a nightmare he had up against Marcelo Bielsa’s left flank.

Elsewhere, he struggled to contribute in the final third, providing just one accurate cross from four attempts (25%), no key passes or shots, and overall, managed just 19 passes – he usually manages around 32 per game this term.

The Evening Standard were pretty scathing in their review of his performance, claiming that he was ‘skinned by Jack Harrison for Leeds’ goal and failed to make a significant impact in the final third.’

All in all, the £22.5m-rated lightweight endured a tough, tough evening despite the encouraging result.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano drops huge Dele Alli claim at Spurs…

Neco Williams has set out his ambition to get ‘good game time’ under his belt at Liverpool this season.

Speaking on the club’s live broadcast after their 1-0 friendly win over Mainz, the right-back said he wants to be ‘pushing’ Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez for a starting role.

Williams was limited to just three Premier League starts last season, making a further three appearances off the bench (via WhoScored).

Will Williams stay at Liverpool?

Goal journalist Neil Jones reported in June that Williams may be open to leaving the club in pursuit of more opportunities.

Liverpool are apparently willing to sell him if an interested club, like Southampton, Burnley or Leeds United, meet their £10million asking price.

Williams was called up to the Wales squad for the summer’s European Championships but a miscued clearance in the Round of 16 defeat to Denmark gifted the eventual semifinalists a second goal.

Fan feed Anfield Watch relayed his comments, and here’s what supporters made of them.

These Liverpool fans doubt Williams will realise ambitions

“You aren’t getting anywhere near Trent’s spot mate”

Credit: @lfcalexx6

“Hopefully we’ll get him sold…”

Credit: @ektelfc_petter

“That’s the right attitude but…”

Credit: @mwmeyerson

“I feel bad for him but it’s never gonna happen”

Credit: @patrickmlfc

““Get good game time” – Is this guy being serious?”

Credit: @lfcibou

“Who’s going to tell him?”

Credit: @Emmyylfc

“Was Neco drunk when he gave this interview?”

Credit: @Rayted_Are

In other news, fans were buzzing after this transfer update.