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Gareth Southgate is one of the latest names to be linked to the newly-vacant managerial post at Tottenham Hotspur…

What’s the word?

According to the Guardian’s Dave Hytner, the England boss could emerge as a potential candidate after the European Championships this summer.

It’s claimed that the 50-year-old, who has only managed Middlesbrough briefly at domestic level, would like to return to the club game at some point and is only under contract at the Football Association until 2022.

There is a further suggestion that his involvement with Harry Kane could be a positive factor as the pair are said to have an excellent relationship.

Disaster?

What is most interesting, however, is the claim that Daniel Levy is plotting a move for an attack-minded manager after handing Jose Mourinho his marching orders following a tumultuous and negative few months in north London.

Hytner goes onto state that the Spurs chairman is ‘keen for the replacement to be modern in outlook and have strong credentials in the development of young players.’

Kind of in the mould of Mauricio Pochettino.

Southgate somewhat has the latter attribute on his side, having won the 2016 Toulon tournament with the Three Lions’ U21 side but in terms of attractive football, he doesn’t pass the test whatsoever and that could not only be counter-productive towards his desire to change the culture at Spurs, but too could put many more supporters off.

One game that emphasises the dull, drab football on offer under our country’s leading boss was that dreadful goalless draw with Denmark last year. That kind of epitomised his recent gameplan since World Cup heartache in 2018.

Three central defenders, two holding midfielders yet the team has plenty of attacking talent like Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho to accompany Kane.

“Negative and protective system” is how the BBC’s chief football writer Phil McNulty described it after the game, whilst Barney Ronay lambasted it a “tactical flaw and a turn-off for viewers” on the Guardian.

Not much has changed since, with England only just scraping past Poland in their most recent outing at the end of March.

On the above evidence alone, the appointment of Southgate in north London would be more Mourinho than Pochettino, and that should be enough to have Levy searching elsewhere.

If he were to appoint the former Palace and Villa defender, then he deserves every bit of criticism that would undoubtedly come his way.

AND in other news, this latest ESL update could spell trouble for Spurs and Kane…

Plenty have been calling for Tottenham Hotspur to appoint Marcelo Bielsa as Jose Mourinho’s successor this week…

What’s the word?

The ‘Special One’ was sacked after 17 months at the helm, with former midfielder Ryan Mason taking the reins until the end of the season, when Daniel Levy will look to appoint a permanent replacement.

Several names have been linked with the vacant role, ranging from mooted number one target Julian Naglesmann to Brendan Rodgers and even Athletic Bilbao’s Marcelino, but it is Bielsa’s name which is on the lips of many.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Dean Windass claimed the Leeds United boss “would be the one on the lips of Daniel Levy” and he’s not the only one thinking this.

Former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara stoked the fire even more when he told talkSPORT: “I think he’d be absolutely brilliant and the fans would love him. If you can try and prise him away form there it’d be unbelievable.”

Meanwhile, according to Tony Cascarino in his column for The Times, Bielsa “could regenerate Tottenham”.

Could ruin Kane

The 65-year-old is a very intriguing option to consider, but there must be a few question marks over whether or not he’s actually the right fit for Levy and Tottenham.

He has exceeded expectations at Elland Road and has delivered a strong maiden season back in the Premier League, especially as he’s largely been deploying what is the bulk of his Championship title-winning squad.

They sit tied on points with Arsenal in 10th place and have won away to Manchester City and Leicester, who occupy two of the top three spots.

Mauricio Pochettino is a huge admirer of his, having played under him at Newell’s Old Boys. “For me, he’s a person I will always admire,” revealed the former Spurs manager. “He’s a genius. A person with charisma and a personality very different from us normal coaches, and that’s what makes him special.”

However, the bulk of this success has come down to the 65-year-old’s philosophy – a relentless press, the mantra of putting the side before self, and working on the method before the result.

This means a lot of work is put into training, such as his ‘murderball’ sessions which Leeds’ top scorer Patrick Bamford recently described as “about ten times harder than a [Premier League] game.”

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It’s also claimed that Bielsa’s teams suffer from burnout in the final thirds of the season due to built-up fatigue because his high-intensity system places such serious physical demands on the players.

Ultimately, this may well spell serious trouble for Harry Kane, who suffered another ankle injury this week.

In 2019, BT Sport presenter Gary Lineker expressed his fears over the England skipper in an interview with Goal. He said: “It is always a worry when you get a recurring injury and there is clearly a little weakness in there,” adding: “The more you do it, the more you worry the weakness will become a problem.”

Given Bielsa’s ruthless training sessions, let alone his intense pressing from the front in matches, you’d have to have major concerns over the 27-year-old talisman if the Argentine replaces Mourinho.

Spurs rely heavily on the goalscoring and creative exploits of Kane; he has accounted for 60.7% of their 54 league goals this term through either scoring or setting them up.

There’s one other factor which should put Bielsa down the pecking order, as his Leeds side has often suffered from profligacy. Despite winning the Championship last term, the Whites ranked amongst the five worst teams for goal conversion at just 12.5%.

That hasn’t really risen in the Premier League, with Leeds only converting 8.1% of their 614 shots at goal, as per Transfermarkt. In some games they find the net three, four, even five times, but in others they draw a serious blank despite creating so many chances – Kane could well suffer as a result of that, too.

If Levy listens to the aforementioned calls, then he would risk ruining his superstar striker. As good as Bielsa is, he just isn’t the right man to replace Mourinho in N17.

AND in other news, Levy would be appointing Mourinho 2.0 in “stubborn” 62 y/o flop…

A number of Liverpool fans have been calling for the Reds to sign Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma following another impressive performance from him.

Jurgen Klopp may be expected to be in the market for new players this summer, adding fresh blood to his squad after a disappointing season. Defensive reinforcements look to be at the top of the agenda, but additions in midfield shouldn’t be ruled out either.

With Gini Wijnaldum’s future still up in the air, not to mention James Milner now being 35 and question marks over Naby Keita’s worth, it could be that Klopp eyes up a new face in that area.

Bissouma has been linked (ESPN) with a move to Liverpool as a Wijnaldum replacement, as he continues to shine in the middle of the park for Brighton this season.

He was excellent in the Seagulls’ 0-0 draw at home to Everton on Monday night, taking home the Man of the Match award in the process and earning praise from Jamie Carragher in the form of being called “a top-quality player”.

Liverpool fans want to sign Bissouma

These Liverpool supporters took to Twitter to talk up the idea of the 24-year-old heading to Anfield this summer and called for the club’s FSG ownership to try and land the ‘brilliant footballer’.

“How is Bissouma still at Brighton? Brilliant Footballer this lad. Can improve any Top team. Good age. Great injury record. LFC do something”

Credit: @Lunga_WeeeSiba

“Bissouma with a fantastic tackle from behind to stop an Everton counter-attack! Didn’t rate him much when he was initially linked to a move to us but steadily he’s impressing me more and more”

Credit: @Kloppista_LFC

“Wouldn’t mind Bissouma at Liverpool”

Credit: @EntireDesign_

“Come to Liverpool”

Credit: @LFC_Kareem_YNWA

“Bissouma is such a Klopp-type of player, won’t be surprised if he tries to sign him soon”

Credit: @Deji500

“Bissouma please, FSG”

Credit: @JamieHolme

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been buoyed by a Real Madrid injury update. Read more here.

Having previously signed Naby Keita from RB Leipzig, Liverpool could potentially be looking to sign another of the German club’s midfielders in the form of Marcel Sabitzer.

The Austrian has long been linked with a move to Anfield among other clubs in the Premier League, and has now conceded that he could “imagine” a switch to the English top flight at some point in the future.

He could be the perfect addition to Jurgen Klopp’s squad on Merseyside.

Since arriving at the Red Bull Arena from Rapid Vienna, Sabitzer has established himself as one of the most consistent midfield operators in the German top flight and indeed Europe.

He has made 137 Bundesliga appearances, scoring 30 goals and providing 26 assists, with seven of those strikes coming during the 2020/21 season alone. As a matter of fact, Sabitzer has not scored fewer than five goals in a single campaign since his breakthrough season with Admira Wacker in 2010/11 – remarkable consistency for a midfielder.

The Austrian has also made a further 21 appearances in the Champions League, again proving to be an extremely accomplished player on the European stage. Rated at £37.8m by Transfermarkt, whichever club elects to move for Sabitzer would certainly be getting a midfielder of supreme quality.

That is where Liverpool could come in. Heading into 2021/22, the Reds could potentially need a midfield player.

Georginio Wijnaldum looks set to depart upon the expiry of his contract in June, whilst the ever-reliable James Milner may not be able to contribute as much at the age of 35.

Sabitzer has also had a huge impact against English clubs in the past, having won three out of six meetings against Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, racking up two goals and an assist in the process.

Having previously signed fellow midfielder Keita from RB Leipzig, the Reds should certainly try to profit from that relationship once again and make a move for Sabitzer as soon as this summer, especially with the Austrian soon to be in the final year of his contract.

AND in more news, Fabrizio Romano has revealed the huge mistake that FSG and Michael Edwards could be making this summer…

Rangers’ decision to sign Alfredo Morelos in 2017 has certainly turned into a masterstroke, with the Colombian having established himself as a top-quality forward during his time working under Steven Gerrard at Ibrox.

The striker was signed from HJK Helsinki in the summer of 2017, with Transfermarkt suggesting that the Ibrox outfit paid just £1.08m for his services, which has obviously turned into an excellent deal from both a financial and a footballing point of view.

In 176 appearances for the Gers, Morelos has contributed an impressive 93 goals and 42 assists, including an impressive 16 goals and 12 assists in all competitions so far this season.

He also became Rangers’ leading scorer in European competitions earlier this season, with his goal against Benfica seeing him overtake Ibrox legend Ally McCoist.

Following that game, Gerrard was full of praise for the 24-year-old, saying: “It’s fantastic for him from a personal point of view. Alfredo’s a top-class player, a top-class goalscorer, and it’s fantastic that he’s still here.”

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His performances in recent seasons have seen his market value go through the roof and, although any Rangers fan would be disappointed to see him leave, they can be safe in the knowledge that the club should make a serious profit on the Colombian international if he does depart.

According to Transfermarkt, the 24-year-old is now valued at £10.8m, which is ten times the fee Rangers reportedly paid for him, emphasising how well the then-sporting director Mark Allen did to sign him for so little.

Should Rangers manage to keep hold of their star striker this summer, then you would imagine that his market value will only continue to rise further, as he will undoubtedly want to continue his impressive record in Europe when Rangers return to the Champions League next season.

[freshpress-quiz id=“588789″]

Therefore, Allen deserves an immense amount of credit for bringing him to Ibrox in 2017 as he has been excellent for the club ever since.

In other news… Rangers may already have their McGregor heir in 17 y/o wonderkid training with the first team

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who is a Newcastle United Hall of Famer, believes Steve Bruce is doing all he can as Newcastle manager and doesn’t believe Pep Guardiola would be able to do any better if he was at the helm.

Bruce claimed he wanted to match Rafa Benitez’s top-half finish which he achieved in 2017/18, however the Magpies find themselves 17th in the Premier League and just two points ahead of the bottom three.

Despite this not being achievable anymore, Lee believes Bruce keeping Newcastle up would be a successful season and claims if Guardiola was Newcastle’s manager his remit would be just to avoid relegation, too.

Speaking on what fans expect from Bruce and what kind of job the 50-year-old Spaniard could do on Tyneside, Lee told FFC exclusively:

“You could get Pep Guardiola as manager and say to him, ‘there you go Pep, you can sell any player you want and I’ll give you £20 million’. For one, he wouldn’t take the job and two, he’d fail.

“I think Pep Guardiola said it himself, at Man City he’s got the best team because he’s got the most money and that’s just football these days.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/rob-lee-exclusive-newcastle-united-premier-league-steve-bruce” title=”Exclusive! Rob Lee’s thoughts on Newcastle”]

“If you give any club £500 million to spend on players and wages, I guarantee you they’ll be up at the top and that’s regardless of what club it is because it’s all about money. Unfortunately, at Newcastle, we’ve got an owner who’s not going to put any into the club.”

Until Mike Ashley sells Newcastle United their fans may well expect more relegation battles much like this season, should they stay up.

They’ve fallen off a cliff from the Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson entertainers and Champions League era, with many Newcastle fans now only knowing the Ashley era.

Liverpool have been boosted in their potential quest to sign Kylian Mbappe this summer, with the Frenchman reportedly rejecting three contract offers from Paris Saint-Germain.

The 22-year-old is among the most exciting players in world football at the moment, wreaking havoc for PSG, both domestically and in Europe.

Mbappe has scored 115 goals in just 156 appearances for the Ligue 1 champions, also chipping in with 56 assists for good measure.

Liverpool and Real Madrid have long been considered the front-runners to snap up the Frenchman this summer, should he decide to have a fresh challenge.

Reds boosted in Mbappe pursuit

According to Cadena SER [via Sport Witness], Mbappe has rejected three separate offers from PSG, as they look to tie him down for the long-term future.

It is even stated that the youngster ‘doesn’t want to renew’ at his current club, potentially paving the way for Liverpool to snap him up.

The Reds’ financial situation could play a part in whether or not a deal takes place, however, especially if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

Transfer Tavern take

The idea of Mbappe in a Liverpool shirt is certainly an exciting one, but it is hard to envisage Jurgen Klopp having all of Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota to call upon.

It appears as though the only way Mbappe will be at Anfield next season is if one of their other attacking superstars leaves.

In other news, Liverpool fans have been reacting to Steven Gerrard’s comments on Klopp’s future. Read them here.

Celtic look ahead to their fixture against Aberdeen this afternoon in their bid to finish their season on a positive. They have slumped their way through this campaign due to their on and off form and Rangers’ unstoppable Premiership streak. They will ultimately lose out to their desired tenth consecutive league title, as their Glasgow neighbours lead them by a mammoth 18 points.

Celtic’s last fixture in the league was against Ross County, which ended in a disappointing 1-0 loss. The defeat stopped their run of five wins, in which they managed to score an impressive 13 goals and conceded just two. However, the squad’s frailties have snuck up on them again and it’s now back to trying to redeem their form once again.

Football FanCast has predicted how interim manager John Kennedy will line up in his first match in charge of the Hoops…

Although Neil Lennon is no longer at the club, it’s unlikely Kennedy will stray far from the Irishman’s usual set up. With just three fixtures left, the Celtic camp will want to hurriedly draw a line in the sand on this season and look ahead to the next.

With Greg Taylor injured, it paves the way for a return to the squad for Diego Laxalt. The AC Milan loanee hasn’t started a match since January, in Celtic’s 0-0 draw against Livingston. But with the new favourite Taylor out of action, this is a good chance for Laxalt to prove himself and push to make his £22,000 per week contract permanent at Parkhead.

In the midfield, the likes of David Turnbull should remain untouched. He has contributed seven goals and five assists in the Premiership, showing off his ability to pull the strings in the engine room. He’ll likely be joined by captain-to-be Callum McGregor and Ryan Christie, with Ismaila Soro replacing Scott Brown in a deeper role.

Odsonne Edouard will be hoping to find the back of the net against Aberdeen after being kept quiet vs Ross County. Kennedy could opt to give Mohamed Elyounoussi another chance to shine after he slipped down the pecking order under Lennon. The two have operated in a striker partnership together before now and it ended with the Southampton man bagging himself a goal against Livingston. This could be a route that is revisited in order to end this turbulent season on somewhat of a high.

In other news, Rafa Benitez has dropped a potential hint amid new Celtic manager link…

Yerry Mina was a disappointment for Carlo Ancelotti despite Everton’s amazing 5-4 FA Cup victory at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.

The Colombian was recalled to the starting line-up for the Goodison Park affair having been rested at Manchester United last Saturday, but was unable to demonstrate why he was right to be brought back into the side.

Everton were far from a resolute unit in defence against Spurs and needed goalkeeper Robin Olsen to produce two sublime saves to deny the visitors a 3-0 lead in the first-half, having seen those in front of the AS Roma loanee frequently leave him wanting more.

Mina was particularly suspect in the second period when he gifted Erik Lamela a chance to test Olsen once again, with the Argentine maestro able to play a quick one-two with Heung-Min Son to get in behind and lift the ball into the back of the Blues’ net.

The former FC Barcelona defender positioned himself to go with Lamela’s run only to be caught flat-footed when Son played an instant pass through, leaving the towering 6 ft 5 titan desperately trying to stick a foot out to no avail.

Gylfi Sigurdsson had found himself at fault for two of Tottenham’s goals on Wednesday night when he failed to contain Davinson Sanchez at corners, yet atoned for his errors by producing a vastly influential display to have a hand in four of the five goals Everton struck.

Alex Iwobi also left supporters underwhelmed by his performance, as a quick search of his name on Twitter shows, with the Nigerian unable to create many chances and eventually taken off for Bernard moments after Richarlison put the Toffees 4-3 up.

Yet Mina was worse than Iwobi, having failed to make amends for his role in Lamela’s strike and often prove to be a target for Tottenham to exploit.

Mina and Iwobi shared SofaScore’s lowest match rating among those who started for Everton at 6.2 out of 10. Yet the £18m-rated Colombian saw his night end with even less merit with WhoScored, who marked him at a game-low 5.4 thanks partly to his role in Lamela’s goal.

That’s because he also failed to offer any successful tackles having not attempted to win possession in a challenge once, and made no interceptions while Lucas Digne broke up Spurs’ play on three occasions, Michael Keane once, Ben Godfrey twice, Abdoulaye Doucoure once and Tom Davies twice.

Ancelotti can usually rely on Mina to at least attempt one tackle a game with the £120,000-per-week centre-half winning 1.1 of 1.3 per outing in the Premier League this season, along with offering 1.1 interceptions.

Mina additionally lost four of his five total duels in the midweek affair, with the 26-year-old unable to live up to his usual standards of 4.9 won a game with a 63% success rate in the top-flight over 18 outings thus far this term.

The defender now faces an anxious few days before Everton host Fulham on Sunday, when his place in the side could once again come under threat.

AND in other news, Everton face heightened competition for a 17-y/o talent seen as the heir to a £101k-p/w colossus…

Lucas Moura has found himself on the fringes of Tottenham Hotspur’s first-team squad at times this season, perhaps due to the competition for places on the wing in Jose Mourinho’s side.

The former PSG man has also struggled for form; having averaged a disappointing 6.34 rating across his 17 appearances in the top-flight, although 12 of those appearances have come from the bench, with Mourinho often preferring Steven Bergwijn on the right-hand side.

However, the Brazilian showed in his performance against West Brom that he can still be an influential player with the North London club, as he earned a solid 6.9 rating from SofaScore for his display against the Baggies, contributing his first assist of the Premier League season by playing in Heung-Min Son for Spurs’ second goal of the afternoon.

The 28-year-old was deployed as an attacking-midfielder by Mourinho and he looked far more dangerous in his new position, as it allowed him to pick up the ball in central areas and run at the Baggies defence, which led to Son’s goal in the second half.

Moura would also play two key passes during the game against Sam Allardyce’s side, which is a serious improvement on his season average of just 0.2 key passes per game in the Premier League.

The Brazilian took the fight to the Baggies constantly, trying to inject that extra little bit of speed from central areas, with West Brom having to foul him four times – more than any other Spurs player.

And despite the rough treatment, Lucas just got up and dusted himself off, winning seven of his 13 duels, which again was the most of any player in a white shirt.

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While Moura has done well in the Europa League so far this season (he scored three and made one in the group stages), his performances in the Premier League have been far too inconsistent, and according to WhoScored, his 7.17 rating against the Baggies was his second-best in the top-flight this season, with only his goal-scoring performance against Newcastle earlier on in the season rated higher.

Spurs have been far too reliant on Harry Kane and Son to create chances in their side at times this season, so deploying Moura as an attacking midfielder, where he can get more involved, could prove to be a game-changer for Mourinho, with the Portuguese manager under pressure after a poor run of recent form.

Other than Kane and Son, no Spurs player has averaged more than one key pass per game in the Premier League this season, which emphasises that Moura was influential against West Brom last weekend, and this new position could be the key to unlocking the 28-year-old, who has never really consistently contributed goals and assists in this Tottenham side.

It will be interesting to see if Moura, who earns £80k per week at Tottenham, continues to feature in this new position in Spurs’ upcoming fixtures. If Mourinho sticks with this little tactical tweak for the Brazilian, it could prove to be a real game-changer as the north London side find another dangerous outlet outside of the familiar double act of Son and Kane.

And, in other news… “It’s pointless” – Exclusive: Pundit drops verdict on Dele Alli’s Spurs future