According to The Chronicle journalist Lee Ryder, the issue of piracy has “clearly” been the fact that has “caused tension” behind Newcastle’s proposed takeover.
What did he say?
One of the key reasons behind the Magpies’ takeover still not going through has been the problem brought by the beoutQ channel, and Ryder has revealed that the Premier League is now facing a major dilemma as to whether Saudi Arabia is given an “invitation to the top-flight”.
He said: “People close to the bidding side will still say that this could be approved at any time, but as I mentioned earlier there are fans who are starting to question the length of time. The Premier League are refusing to comment and Newcastle chiefs have said nothing on the record from the boardroom.
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“Having had legal issues with Saudi Arabia before, it appears the Premier League are now facing the dilemma of handing them an invitation to the top-flight. Assurances from those in the Middle East that they will stamp out piracy have been forthcoming. But it is clearly pirate channel beoutQ that has caused tension around this deal. Further reassurance from Saudi Intellectual Property Authority on Tuesday also arrived via another statement but again how much sway this has on the Premier League remains to be seen.”
More waiting
As Ryder points out, the consortium are trying to make it abundantly clear to the Premier League that the issue of piracy is something they are keen to “stamp out”.
The fact that this whole process has now dragged on for months suggests those responsible for deliberating over the plans are still yet to be wholly convinced.
Ryder further added that despite the delay, the message remains the same that they are still optimistic over the deal eventually going through, but that opposition from MPs and Hatice Cengiz, have ensured the Premier League have had to respond to those claims.
It’s finally happened. After years and years of toiling away, Leeds United have secured their return back to the promised land of the Premier League.And in the end, they were helped over the line thanks to a massive slip-up from their fellow Championship contenders West Brom.The Baggies fell to a 2-1 defeat to struggling Huddersfield Town on Friday night, and it meant that Leeds have guaranteed a top-two spot, and thus automatic promotion.And following the confirmation, The Times journalist Henry Winter delivered a powerful verdict on the Whites, and their long journey back to the top.
As Winter points to, it has been a long period of suffering and hardship for Leeds fans, who have had to watch them stumble through seasons and even fall at the final hurdle – last season alone felt like a bitter pill to swallow.
But Bielsa and his players have got it absolutely spot-on this time around, and know that they can go into their remaining fixtures in this division with an air of celebration.
It may have taken a while, but Leeds are finally back in the big time.
Glasgow Rangers continued their fantastic pre-season form on Wednesday in their latest warm-up match.
The Gers played Motherwell at Ibrox – albeit after a two-hour delay as the 54-time Scottish champions waited for their test results to come in – and they put their rivals to the sword with a 4-0 victory thanks to goals from Ryan Kent, Ianis Hagi, Joe Aribo and an own goal. This win follows their success in the Veolia Trophy, where they beat Lyon and Nice 2-0, whilst they also defeated Hamilton 2-1 before their visit to France.
In this game, Aribo was in stunning form, and his goal was fantastically well taken – he showed his impressive control inside the box before he coolly slotted past the keeper. The Gers fans were clearly taken aback by his display overall, and they were quick to wax lyrical about the 24-year-old – one fan even said he was worth £20m whilst another compared him to fellow midfielder Paul Pogba, suggesting he is the ‘player Paul Pogba wants to be’.
They took to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.
With the start of the new season just weeks away – the summer transfer window has never been as important. West Ham finds themselves in dire straights, after a disappointing season last time around, the Hammers will be hoping that David Moyes and the club will invest wisely in some all-important signings, to try and push the club back up the league table.
Despite the current financial climate, clubs are still attempting to go about their business as normal – and Moyes will have his eye on any players that he feels could make their way through the door at the London Stadium, and make a difference to the team that finished in a woeful 16th place.
With players likely to leave the club over the next month – the Hammers board will need to be tactile in their attempts at securing new players, and not overspend on players that won’t quite hit the mark as they have previously.
The club has made some great signings over the last few years – with Issa Diop, Lukasz Fabianski, and Felipe Anderson to name a few, but will need to pull their finger out to try and emulate that transfer success once more – so who could the club realistically sign?
Eberechi Eze
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder has been in fine form for QPR, and last season scored 14 goals as well as registering 8 assists, with an average WhoScored rating of 7.36 after 46 games in the Championship.
QPR recently declined a bid of £12 million from fellow London club Crystal Palace, with the R’s valuing him at £20 million. The Hammers would likely pay this, and the player would be a great addition in the club’s midfield alongside fellow attacking midfielder Pablo Fornals.
West Ham have been monitoring the situation with Eze, and the possibility of signing the player for cheaper than the valuation is also likely due t the effects of COVID-19.
Saïd Benrahma
The Algerian winger took the Championship by storm over the last two seasons with Brentford. Benrahma joined the club in July 2018, and since then has 27 goals and 23 assists to his name in just 84 games at Left Wing.
The Hammers are reportedly prepared to sell players such as Yarmolenko and Anderson to fund a move for the Algerian, with a bid of around £25 million being a benchmark that Brentford would accept.
Benrahma would be a great addition to the Hammers’ side alongside Michail Antonio, who recently stepped up in the goalscoring department after the club found themselves struggling for goals before the Premier League’s restart at the beginning of June.
Ben Godfrey
After Norwich’s relegation at the end of the season, it is likely that the club will have to let some of their best players go.
This could be the case for 22-year-old Ben Godfrey, who was a regular performer at the club last season averaging 2.2 aerial duels won and 4.9 clearances per game, could move on to another club, and find his way back in the Premier League if the Hammers were to make a move.
The defender has been linked with AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen as of late, and Norwich have valued him at around £30 million – so West Ham would have to move fast if they were to try and sign the young Englishmen.
Aaron Ramsdale
With the relegation of Bournemouth – the club may be forced to sell some of their best players to try and raise some much-needed funds during these difficult financial times. The 22-year-old performed really well for the club last season, averaging 3.4 saves per game after 37 league games.
The Hammers current No.1 performed relatively well but did find himself making the odd game-changing mistake in some games – with the Polish shot-stopper making a total of 3 errors leading to goals, compared to Ramsdale’s 1.
As well as this, Ramsdale made 129 saves during the 2019/20 season, much more than Fabianski’s 72. With a current market value of £11.25 million, the Hammers could get the player even cheaper given Bournemouth’s current circumstances.
Youcef Atal
Current Right-Back Ryan Fredericks looks likely to leave the club this summer, and the clubs attempt at signing Gonzalo Montiel from River Plate stalling with Leeds showing interest in the player – and Algerian Youcef Atal could actually be a better alternative.
Comparing the stats of both players, Atal actually averaged more interceptions per game, as well as more successful dribbles – Atal also averaged a better WhoScored match rating overall this season, with a 7.15 compared to Montiel’s 7.02.
Atal is also very versatile, playing in 4 different positions for Nice this season. With a market value of £18 million, the Hammers could comfortably make a move for the player this summer.
Tottenham Hotspur have been offered the chance to sign one of Europe’s in-demand defenders this summer…
What’s the word?
According to Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the north London outfit have been handed an opportunity to clinch Real Madrid left-back Sergio Reguilon.
He was speaking to the Last Word On Spurs podcast on Wednesday evening but revealed that the club were yet to engage in talks over a potential deal.
Whilst reports in Spain have suggested that Manchester United have submitted an offer with last season’s loan club Sevilla also keen.
They also claim that he could cost in the region of €25m to €30m – which is around £23m to £26.5m.
Upgrade on Davies
The 23-year-old enjoyed an impressive spell at Sevilla this season which culminated in the La Liga outfit winning the Europa League once again.
Per WhoScored, Reguilon provided three goals and five assists whilst averaging 1.8 tackles, 1.5 dribbles, 1.3 key passes and 1.2 interceptions per game – this suggests that he likes to contribute at both ends of the pitch.
He could be the perfect solution to some of Jose Mourinho’s biggest problems. His side leaked 47 goals last term, the second-most of any top seven side whilst Ben Davies failed to record a single goal or assist.
Spurs’ first-choice left-back also averaged fewer tackles, interceptions and key passes, so there’s no denying that the Spaniard would be a major upgrade to the role.
Reguilon is described as a player that relies on his pace to get up and down the wing as well as someone who likes to beat his man to whip in a cross by FootballBH.
Back in April 2019, Mourinho lauded the Spaniard’s impact in the El Classico, so we know he’s already a huge fan of his.
Daniel Levy should absolutely sanction a move for Reguilon at the reported £23m, he’d be a tenfold improvement down the left flank.
AND in other news, Spurs may live to regret missing out on aggressive £25m marksman…
With the new season just around the corner – there has been plenty of action in the transfer market this summer despite the financial difficulties that the world is facing during the Coronavirus outbreak. Clubs up and down the country are gearing up for the start of the Premier League on 12th September, with many teams looking to reinforce their squads ready for a very unique and different look at the game we know and love.
Previous transfer windows have seen mega-money spent by the big clubs in the league, with plenty of Premier League teams breaking world transfer records multiple times over. With that being said, all clubs operate on different budgets, and transfer records can differ greatly between them – but of all the current Premier League clubs, what are all their record signings?
Here, we are going to rank every current Premier League club’s current record signing from lowest to the highest amount spent according to the website Transfermarkt – many of which could even be broken this summer…
20. Burnley – Ben Gibson, £15.21 million
Burnley signed Ben Gibson from Championship side Middlesbrough in the summer of 2018 for £15.21 million – and since then has only played one game for the club.
The 27-year-old had enjoyed a great season at Middlesbrough during 2017/18, but his career at Turf Moor has failed to take off, and Gibson has found himself on the bench for most of it due to the form of James Tarkowski and Ben Mee.
It is unlikely that this record will be broken this summer, with Burnley not linked with any big-money signings.
19. West Bromwich Albion – Salomón Rondón, £15.30 million
The Venezuelan joined the Albion in the summer of 2015 for a fee of £15.30 million – and hit the ground running at the Hawthorns. In his three seasons at the club – the now 30-year-old scored 24 league goals in 108 games, but after the club’s relegation in 2018, he joined Newcastle United.
Since then, Rondon has gone on to play for the Chinese Super League side Dalian Professional FC, where he still plies his trade. West Brom doesn’t look on course to break this record this summer, after the permanent signing of Matheus Pereira for £8.19 million.
18. Brighton & Hove Albion – Adam Webster, £20million
The 25-year-old defender joined Brighton from Championship side Bristol City at the start of last season and has had a great impact on the club since. Webster made 31 league appearances last season – averaging 1 tackle, 1.5 interceptions, 3.5 clearances, and 3.6 aerial duels won per game.
The defender has been a worthy record signing for Brighton, and this form will likely continue – and the club likely won’t break the record anytime soon.
17. Southampton F.C. – Danny Ings, £20 million
Since his move to St Mary’s at the start of the 2018/19 season – Danny Ings has revitalised his career and regained his goalscoring form from his time at Burnley.
The club signed the striker for £20 million from Liverpool F.C. and last season finished the campaign with an impressive 22 goals. Ings’ time at Southampton so far has been a big hit, and he has warranted his club-record signing status for the Saints.
Recently, however, the club has been linked with a move for Schalke 04 midfielder Weston McKennie, in a deal that could exceed £20 million, making the USA international the club’s new record signing.
16. Sheffield United – Sander Berge, £22 million
Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge joined the Blades from Belgian side Genk during the January transfer window this year, for a fee of £22 million – and has since gone on to make 14 league appearances for the side, including a goal and an assist from defensive midfield.
The 22-year-old has a big career ahead of him, and Sheffield is a great club for him to take the next steps in his career in the Premier League. The club has only been linked with a move for Nottingham Forest right-back Matty Cash, but not for a price that would break the club’s record signing.
15. Aston Villa – Wesley, £22.50 million
The Brazilian striker joined the Villans at the start of last season from Belgian side Club Brugge for a fee of £22.50 million and started his career at the club positively.
After his first 8 league games, the striker had scored 4 goals but was injured at the start of January and missed the rest of the season. Despite the setbacks, I believe that Wesley will be an overall success for the club next season, and will be well worth the fee that the club paid for him.
The club has been linked with a move for Brentford striker Ollie Watkins this summer, and if the deal is agreed, it would make him the club’s new record signing with Brentford wanting £25 million for Watkins.
14. Leeds United – Rodrigo Moreno, £27 million
The newest player on the list – Spanish international Rodrigo Moreno recently signed a four-year deal for the striker, for a fee of £27 million, surpassing the previous record signing of Rio Ferdinand for £23.40 million back in 2000.
The striker had a moderate season for Valencia last time out, scoring 4 goals with 7 assists in 27 league games – and realistically has only had one great season back in 2017/18, scoring 16 goals.
His move to England could prove me wrong, however, and Leeds fans will be hoping he will be a hit for the club in their first season back in the Premier League for 16 years.
13. Fulham F.C. – Jean Michael Seri, £27 million
The Ivorian midfielder joined the London club back in 2018 from the French side OGC Nice, for a fee of £27 million. After spending last season on loan at Turkish side Galatasaray, Seri will be joining back up with the Fulham squad after their promotion back to the Premier League.
His first season with the club saw him play 32 league games, scoring 1 goal with 2 assists, but has always been a great passer of the ball, and bring a great influence once again to the squad given the step up from the Championship to Premier League football.
Fulham has been linked with a move that would bring back Ryan Sessegnon to the club, but only on loan, meaning that there record transfer signing won’t be broken this season.
12. Crystal Palace – Christian Benteke, £28.08 million
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The Belgian striker joined Palace from Liverpool back in August 2016, with the London club spending £28.08 million on the player. During his first season for the Eagles, Benteke scored 15 league goals – a stellar first season with the club and seemed well worth the price tag that Palace paid for him.
Since then, however, Benteke has only scored 6 league goals in the past three seasons. The club is close to sealing a deal for QPR’s Eberechi Eze, but only for £19.5 million, nowhere near the record-breaking fee for Benteke.
11. Wolverhampton Wanderers – Raul Jimenez, £34.20 million
The Mexican striker initially joined the club on loan from Benfica in 2018 and left a great impression that the club signed him permanently for £34.20 million at the start of last season.
Since joining Wolves, Jimenez has gone on to score 30 league goals in 76 appearances – more than certainly warranting the record-breaking money that the club signed him for.
It doesn’t look as though the record will be broken by the club this window – with the only definitive transfer so far reportedly being Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Arsenal.
10. Newcastle United – Joelinton, £39.60 million
Last summer, the Magpies broke their transfer record to sign Brazilian forward Joelinton from German club Hoffenheim, for a fee of just under £40 million. Since joining the club, the striker has only managed to score 2 goals with 2 assists from 38 league games.
As of yet, Joelinton has failed to live up to his value, but net season ould prove pivotal for his career at St James’ Park. The club doesn’t look set to break their transfer record this summer, having spent big last summers ahead of the previous season.
9. Leicester City – Youri Tielemans, £40.50 million
The Foxes secured the signature of Youri Tielemans from the French side AS Monaco for a fee of £40.50 million after a successful loan move with the club at the start of 2019. Since making his debut for the club, Tielemans has scored 6 goals with 10 assists for the club and has been a regular starter for Leicester ever since.
At just 23-years-old, the Foxes have found themselves a real gem and a worthy record transfer.
The club may be linked with a move for Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico as a replacement for Chelsea bound Ben Chilwell, but for nowhere near the fee paid for Tielemans.
8. Everton F.C. – Gylfi Sigurdsson, £44.46 million
Everton broke their transfer record for Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson back during the 2017 transfer window for a fee of £44.46 million. His first season at the club was difficult and failed to initially find the form he had showed at Swansea the season before.
The 2018/19 season was his best in an Everton shirt, scoring 13 goals with 6 assists, and was starting to look as though he was worth every penny. Last season was a tough one for Sigurdsson, scoring just twice with 3 assists – and hasn’t really warranted the price that the Toffees paid for him. The club has been linked with a move for Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez – and it is likely that the signing of James would beat the current record set by Sigurdsson.
7. West Ham United – Sebastien Haller, £45 million
The Hammers signed the French striker from German club Eintracht Frankfurt for £45 million – and the forward enjoyed a modest start to his career at West Ham. In his first 32 games for the London club, Haller scored 7 goals with 1 assist.
So far the striker hasn’t lived up to the price that West Ham paid for him – but not all transfer kick-off to the best starts in their careers at new clubs, so there is plenty of time for the player to prove himself. After the impact of COVID-19, the club doesn’t look likely to break this record this summer.
6. Tottenham Hotspur – Tanguy Ndombélé, £54 million
Spurs completed the signing of the French midfielder Tanguy Ndombélé in the summer of 2019 from French side Olympique Lyonnais, for a fee of £54 million – and had started the season with the club relatively well under then-manager Mauricio Pochettino, but after the Argentinian’s sacking and the introduction of Jose Mourinho as the club’s new manager, appearances started to slow down for Ndombélé.
With just 2 goals and 2 assists to his name, the midfielder has been linked with a move away from the club, but Spurs are willing to give the player another chance.
5. Manchester City – Kevin De Bruyne, £68.40 million
Arguably one of the best signings the Premier League has ever seen, let alone just at Manchester City – the Belgian midfielder maestro joined the Citizens from German side Wolfsburg back in August 2015 and has gone on to prove himself as one of the best players in the world since.
Last season just proved how important a player he has been for the club, registering 13 goals and 20 assists, as well as winning the PFA Player of the Year award. De Bruyne has well and truly been worth every penny for the club – and it would be unlikely for the club to break their transfer record this summer.
4. Arsenal F.C. – Nicolas Pépé, £72 million
The Gunners signed Ivorian winger Nicolas Pépé from French club LOSC Lille last summer for £72 million and has proved to be a hit with the Arsenal faithful. In his first season at the club, Pépé scored 5 goals with 6 assists in the Premier League and proved to be an influential player in their starting XI.
It would be unlikely for Arsenal to break this record this summer, but the Gunners have been very active in the transfer market this month, already signing Willian from Chelsea, and close to completing the signing of Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhães from Pépé’s former club Lille.
3. Chelsea F.C. – Kepa Arrizabalaga, £72 million
Chelsea signed Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga for a world-record fee of £72 million for a goalkeeper – and the player has had a turbulent career at Stamford Bridge since joining. His first season at the club showed glimpses of the ability that he has and showed great promise for the future – but midway during Frank Lampard’s first season at the club, Kepa was dropped as his No.1 after a poor run of form.
He has since regained his No.1 spot, but the club is reportedly looking for a new goalkeeper in the current market – with reports linking them to Jan Oblak, a move that could see there transfer record and the world record broken once again, with the Slovenian’s current market value at £72 million.
2. Liverpool F.C. – Virgil van Dijk, £76.19 million
Calm as you like. The Reds broke their transfer record in January 2018 and has gone on to become one of the best defenders in the world – the club paid £76.19 million for van Dijk from Southampton, and has since helped Liverpool win the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup, and Premier League in the past two seasons, ending their 30-year wait for the league title.
Van Dijk has been worth every penny that was paid for him, and will likely see the rest of his career out with the club. It is unlikely the Reds will break this transfer record any time soon, with Liverpool’s usual transfer policy not allowing for such astronomical money to be spent very often.
1. Manchester United – Paul Pogba, £94.50 million
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The Red Devils had originally sold Pogba to Italian side Juventus for free in 2012 – but signed the midfielder back for a then world-record fee of £94.50 million, after growing to become one of the best players in the world with the Old Lady. Since joining the club, Pogba’s form has been mixed, with difficulties between himself and the managers the club have had in his time there.
Pogba is no doubt one of the best players in the world, and United should do everything in their power to keep hold of him. Pogba is a fine talent, and can easily flourish with the club to help them back to the pinnacle of English football once again.
The club came close to breaking their transfer record after signing Harry Maguire last summer from Leicester for £78.30 million, but look unlikely to break the record this summer given the current financial climate.
According to The Times’ Paul Hirst, Everton are one of the clubs interested in signing Manchester City starlet Tosin Adarabioyo.
What’s the word?
The 22-year-old has yet to break through into the City first-team at the Etihad, making just eight appearances for the senior side. Last season, he spent the entire campaign on loan at Championship outfit Blackburn, establishing himself as a key part of the team, featuring 34 times in the league alone.
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Now, Hirst claims that Adarabioyo has told Pep Guardiola’s team that he wants to leave the club in this summer transfer window, and is already attracting interest from the likes of Everton, Fulham, West Ham, Brighton and several leading Championship clubs.
A new Koulibaly for Ancelotti?
Standing at an imposing 6 foot 5, Adarabioyo is already a physically imposing defender, but his teammate at Blackburn last season, Darragh Lenihan, insisted he has far more to his game.
He said: “He’s brilliant. His distribution is excellent, he’s quick, he’s big, he has all the attributes. I’ve said to him that he has all the attributes to play for Manchester City in my opinion. He’s here to learn, and help us out, but he’s a fantastic player.”
Ancelotti of course knows all about managing elite defenders over the course of his career in the dugout, with his former side Napoli boasting one of the world’s best in Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Senegal international is a difficult opponent for players to get past, boasting a higher than 55% success rate in both ground and aerial duels last season in Serie A. Adarabioyo is of a similar mould, and whilst of course people shouldn’t get too carried away with his numbers due to it being done in the Championship, it’s still incredibly impressive – he won 60% of his duels on the ground, and a whopping 70% of those contested in the air.
If Marcel Brands can work his magic and fend off the reported competition in Adarabioyo, Everton could be onto a winner.
West Bromwich Albion boss Slaven Bilic could be reunited with one player he once signed for a club-record £18m if reports are to be believed…
What’s the word?
According to Ghana SoccerNet, the Baggies are keen on bringing Swansea City winger Andre Ayew to the Hawthorns before the transfer deadline this summer.
They claim that the Championship outfit could be interested in offloading the 30-year-old due to the £80k-per-week wages he’s reportedly on at the Liberty Stadium whilst Ayew himself would like to play in the Premier League.
He has started both of the Swans’ opening two matches this term and is valued at just £4.32m by Transfermarkt.
Another winger?
It would be an interesting prospect to see Ayew swap the second tier for another venture into the top-flight but do West Brom even need another winger?
The veteran was largely ineffective in the two matches against the Baggies last season, failing to contribute during a 5-1 thrashing or the 0-0 draw.
Although he is a player that Bilic knows really well, speaking back in 2017 following a shock win over Spurs, the Croatian boss said: “It’s me who wanted Andre to join us from Swansea. I rate Andre very highly. He’s a great player. He was the game-changer.”
Whilst summer arrival Conor Gallagher enjoyed a loan spell alongside him at Swansea during the second half of last season and the Ghanian believes the young Chelsea prospect is fit for the Premier League.
During that campaign, Ayew provided 16 goals and seven assists whilst averaging 2.6 shots, 2.1 dribbles and 0.9 key passes per game, via WhoScored.
That’s six more goals than what Charlie Austin and Hal Robson-Kanu could manage and only Grady Diangana managed more dribbles per appearance.
The Baggies could probably do with a new goal threat after appearing rather lacklustre in front of the sticks so far this campaign, so perhaps a move for the Swansea veteran would be a shrewd addition this close to deadline day.
AND in other news, Albion must win race to sign “skilled” starlet who “causes defenders nightmares”…
Tottenham Hotspur could end the summer transfer window on a sour note if emerging reports are to be believed…
What’s the word?
According to talkSPORT sources, both Liverpool and Everton are interested in a move for Spurs’ third-choice goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga on deadline day.
Jurgen Klopp could be without his first-choice Allison Becker for six weeks and after a humiliating drubbing by Aston Villa on Sunday evening, no one would blame the Reds boss for losing faith in back-up Adrian.
Whilst Carlo Ancelotti appears to be desperate to sign genuine competition for Jordan Pickford with Man Utd’s outcast glovesman Sergio Romero also a name mooted.
Could prove to be costly
Despite dropping down the pecking order following the arrival of Joe Hart in north London, the departure of Gazzaniga to one of Spurs’ rivals could prove to be a costly mistake.
Liverpool are the defending champions and are a shoo-in to finish inside the top four this season whilst the Toffees look every bit like genuine contenders for a place in Europe next season.
Therefore, strengthening either team could come back to hurt Spurs later in the season. They should know better after last season’s near-disaster as outside the top two, it was rather close.
Jose Mourinho’s side were three points from breaking fifth place whilst only five points split sixth to tenth.
And it’s not like Gazzaniga is a bad option to have at the club either having kept ten clean sheets in 37 appearances, per Transfermarkt.
The Special One has previously lauded the 28-year-old too, calling him “magic hands” after his display at Wolves in December whilst former boss Mauricio Pochettino, who brought him along from Southampton for just £2.5m, always believed that he had “the potential to be [a] top [goalkeeper].”
CIES Football Observatory value him as high as €7m (£6.4m), so is he really worth selling in the long-run? Probably not.
Levy simply can’t afford to risk this unforgivable blunder.
AND in other news, No Alli, Bale or Winks: How Spurs’ XI may look if Levy delivers Milan Skriniar
Glasgow Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has some big decisions to make with no fewer than seven players out of contract at the end of the campaign.
One of which is former Birmingham City striker Greg Stewart, who was arguably never going to be the first name on the team sheet, but the 30-year-old has been somewhat of a surprise package at the club he has supported since he was a boy.
After arriving at Ibrox from Birmingham in 2019 as a free agent, Stewart signed a two-year-deal with Rangers, with wages which are reportedly worth £6,200-per-week.
Last term, the Scottish centre-forward played 16 games in the Scottish Premiership, with the majority of his appearances coming from the bench, whilst he scored three goals and supplied three assists, via Transfermarkt.
Stewart has dropped down to the bottom of the pecking order after the arrivals of Ianis Hagi, Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe in the summer transfer window, as he has been restricted to only three appearances this season so far.
It’s worth remembering that he provided an assist in the 5-0 win over Lincoln Red Imps in the Europa League qualifying round last month.
Since then, Stewart has hardly featured at all, whilst he was axed from the Scottish Premiership squad altogether for three out of the Gers’ past four games.
Quite why former director of football Mark Allen decided to give him a deal we will probably never understand, as Jermain Defoe hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down anytime soon.
In fact, it’s fair to say that Stewart hasn’t really impressed at this level since he left the Blues, whilst some eyebrows were raised when he joined the Ibrox outfit in the first place. And Kris Commons has recently described him as an “outcast” which is a pretty accurate assessment.
The veteran actually ranks as the second-worst amongst the rest of the Rangers squad, as he has received a rating of 6.13 – to put that into context, only George Edmundson has averaged a lower rating, via WhoScored.
Let’s face it, Steven Gerrard is hardly short of options, especially when you consider the fact that Roofe has recently recovered from injury as well. If the Light Blues want to keep him for the rest of the season, fair enough. But it would be an inexcusable error from Ross Wilson if he gives him a new deal. Get him gone, Gers.
AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers ace Joe Aribo could soon overshadow Ryan Kent at Ibrox…