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Tottenham Hotspur boss Nuno Santo is now under intense pressure as concerns behind-the-scenes from both parties have seemingly emerged…

What’s the word?

According to Sunday Times journalist Duncan Castles, the north Londoners are already looking at potential replacements for the Portuguese, who was only appointed 91 days ago, whilst the 47-year-old himself is far from pleased with his own circumstances at the club.

Speaking on ‘The Transfer Window’ podcast this week, the reporter said:

“The information I have is that Tottenham are already considering replacements for Nuno and this is not necessarily a unilateral process, in the sense that Nuno is not happy with his own circumstances at Tottenham.

“It’s not what he expected when he came into the club, so there’s discontent on both sides.

“The most likely solution to the problem is to be hiring another new coach.”

Time running out?

Nuno wasn’t Tottenham’s first-choice to replace Jose Mourinho back in April, so it’s hardly a surprise that this relationship is heading for the rocks.

It took over 70 days to find his successor and the Lilywhites only fell on the former Wolves boss as talks with Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Paulo Fonseca and many more fell through – or it just simply wasn’t able to happen.

They surely don’t want to risk the same scenario happening but they also cannot let this situation build up, especially as the fans are starting to turn against the manager – plenty were never even for the appointment anyway.

This major development will undoubtedly leave them a little excited as Castles not only suggests that chairman Daniel Levy and sporting director Fabio Paratici are looking for a new boss but also that Nuno himself isn’t happy, and that could make key decisions a little easier.

Spurs started the new Premier League season with three straight 1-0 victories but have since fallen to three successive defeats, all of which has seen them leak three goals, highlighting major defensive issues, on top of their problems in attack too.

No team has averaged fewer shots per game (9.3) than the north London outfit, whilst they rank second-worst for expected goals (5.47), so the brand of football on offer is hardly inspiring.

It’s no wonder much of the Hotspur faithful are against the current regime.

Spurs and Nuno appear to be hanging by a thread and with a potential banana skin in Europe on Thursday and the small matter of Aston Villa on Sunday right before the international break, we could soon see the situation come to a head.

Either way, plenty around N17 will be buzzing by this news.

AND in other news, “exciting” £26m-rated flop in danger of becoming Spurs’ next Adel Taarabt…

The Nuno Santo era could not have got off to a more perfect start for Tottenham Hotspur.

They sit top of the Premier League standings heading into the first international break of the season and have made it through the qualification stages of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

After sacking Jose Mourinho in mid-April, chairman Daniel Levy was reportedly on the lookout for an attack-minded head coach – one that can develop the club’s young prospects at the same time.

It’s still early days but Spurs are the lowest scorers in the top ten, though they are yet to concede a single goal after three successive wins. Nuno has also given an opportunity to payers like Japhet Tangana and Oliver Skipp, so there is that balance that Levy was looking for, in some respect.

You could argue that the Portuguese is lacking the sort of creative presence that can elevate Spurs’ game even more and perhaps he can kill two birds with one stone by looking to one of their more promising youth products.

Once again, it’s Harry Kane that sits near the top of the creativity charts, despite being their striker and only starting one game. Only one other player has averaged more than one key pass per game, as per WhoScored.

Nuno has trusted Dele Alli to start in a more advanced role in midfield but he’s yet to provide a key chance and is still some way off his 2016/17 form that saw him register 18 goals and seven assists in just one season.

Spurs’ next Alli could be found in Dilan Markanday, who just last week scored a hat-trick for the U23 squad.

According to the club’s official website, the 20-year-old gem is a ‘clever attacking midfielder who normally plays on the right’ – in some ways, this is similar to the Englishman under Mauricio Pochettino.

Furthermore, Markanday has earned a comparison to former academy star Marcus Edwards.

“Markanday has looked bright today. Have always felt he has a very similar running and dribbling style to Marcus Edwards,” football.london’s Alasdair Gold said. He also praised him when Spurs’ U19s faced Inter Milan in 2018.

“Inter are struggling to deal with Dilan Markanday. His dribbling and passing ability is pulling their defence and midfield all over the place.”

Spurs have only scored three goals in their opening three games, so it’s this sort of presence that is required in the no.10 role. Nuno should consider unleashing the U23 sensation and in doing so, he may well discover the next Alli in north London.

AND in other news, Paratici masterclass: Spurs eye “extraordinary” £34m-rated gem, he won’t cost a penny…

An update has emerged on West Bromwich Albion centre-back Dara O’Shea’s injury.

What’s the latest?

According to a report by the Express & Star, O’Shea has been ruled out of action for around six months, after it was revealed the defender had fractured his ankle, as well as sustaining ligament damage, during the Republic of Ireland’s 2-1 defeat to Portugal last week.

Initial reports had claimed that it was actually the 22-year-old’s knee that had sustained injury, while also suggesting the knock would keep O’Shea out for four months, however, these reports now appear to be wide of the mark.

Ismael will be devastated

Considering just how impressive O’Shea has been for West Brom so far this season, the fact that the centre-back looks set to miss up to half a year of first-team action, rather than the four months previously reported, is sure to have left Ismael devastated.

Indeed, over his five Championship appearances, the £2.7m-rated defender has helped his side keep two clean sheets, as well as making an average of 2.2 interceptions, 2.4 tackles, 3.6 clearances and winning 10.2 duels per game.

The man Dan Watts dubbed a “fantastic” player has also impressed going forwards, bagging two goals and taking an average of 1.2 shots per match.

These metrics have seen the Irishman earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.26, ranking him as the club’s third-best player in the second tier so far this term.

As such, it would certainly appear as if the sooner O’Shea recovers the better for West Brom, however, with Ismael recently sealing the signing of free agent Kean Bryan, at least the club have made attempts to replace the 22-year-old in the Frenchman’s squad.

In other news: Ismael drops hint on “exceptional” £7.2m-rated ace, West Brom fans will be buzzing

Rangers have been handed a big boost ahead of their Champions League tie against Malmo at Ibrox this evening after Steven Gerrard confirmed that Fashion Sakala is fit to feature.

What’s the word?

The Gers face Malmo on Tuesday night hoping to turn around a 2-1 deficit from the first leg, and fortunately for the Scottish champions, it seems as if the Zambian will be fit enough to make an appearance despite missing Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against Dundee United.

In his pre-match conference, Gerrard confirmed: “Sakala is fit and will be involved in the squad as is Alfredo. A real positive update.”

A huge boost for Gerrard?

The 41-year-old manager will undoubtedly be relieved to have his new signing back fit in time for tonight’s clash, especially as Kemar Roofe will miss the game through suspension after his red card in the Europa League against Slavia Prague last season.

Whilst you would expect Alfredo Morelos to start up front after he made his return to the team at Tannadice on Saturday, Sakala can offer Gerrard a different option from the bench with his pace.

The Zambian forward has already won over a lot of Rangers fans with his performances in pre-season, scoring the equalising goal in a memorable 2-1 win against Real Madrid, and he will surely have a part to play if Rangers are to turn the tie around against Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side on Tuesday evening.

Saturday’s defeat against Dundee United saw Rangers look devoid of ideas in the final third, with Gerrard turning to Jermain Defoe and Cedric Itten as his striking options from the bench late on, and neither of those possess the pace to trouble defenders late on in a game.

Sakala, on the other hand, has pace to burn and will be a great option for Gerrard either from the start of from the bench, as he can feature up front or on the wing if required.

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776”]

Therefore, the Liverpool legend will be delighted to have the summer signing available for this hugely important game, as it would be very disappointing if Rangers fail to qualify for the Champions League group stages or even make the play-off round.

In other news… Gerrard could be set for huge boost with “class act”, fans will be buzzing

Sunderland fans were livid with the performance of Lynden Gooch during their 1-0 defeat to Burton Albion on Tuesday.

The Black Cats had started the season well, winning each of their first two games 2-1 (Sky Sports). As such, they will have been confident of getting a result against Burton, but they were defeated by a single Jonny Smith strike.

As it stands, Sunderland are eighth in the League One table after three matches.

Gooch was selected to start on the right flank of an attacking midfield three behind striker Ross Stewart. However, the USA international did not put in his best performance, failing to have any real impact going forward for the north-east side. Lee Johnson will be looking for him to improve as soon as possible.

The Sunderland fans were far from happy with what they saw from the 25-year-old ace, and they took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on his showing.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Gooch below

“We deserved that loss, geads was awful, gooch was awful. We don’t take our chances first half and it comes back to bite us, who would’ve say that coming Only positives was Pritchard, had a couple decent shots Stewart was miles offside, can’t believe people see different.”

Credit: @safc28

“Mcgeady doyle and gooch were wasteful”

Credit: @KezzaSAFC

“Lyndon Gooch is just not good enough he has 1 good game In 5.”

Credit: @TheRealGarrigle

“Seen a lot of people talking about Mcgeady and needing a rest, for me the weak link last night was Gooch every time, giving the ball away hitting the first man and blazing shots over the bar, he had a terrible game last night and it cost us.”

Credit: @LeeGamble1973

“Also Flanagan was excellent again last night. He has been very good this season so far. My worries are macgeady, leaves left back exposed should have scored 2 last night and Gooch and his massive inconsistency and his need to have 12 touches when 1 will do. Cross it early!!!”

Credit: @Tony_young78

“Be interesting to see if we signed Broadbent to play as a forward or someone to go out wide and put decent crosses in. I hate saying it but I’m going to continue to say it unless I see consistency. Service from Lyden Gooch out wide is not going to get us out of this league”

Credit: @JacobKirkbride

In other news, Sunderland fans were far from happy with these club struggles.

Derby County would consider a move to bring Jack Wilshere to Pride Park this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Times (via Richard Cusack), who claim that the out of contract central midfielder is currently training with Wayne Rooney’s side, with the 35-year-old thought to be assessing whether or not he should offer the 29-year-old a deal ahead of the upcoming Championship campaign.

However, when questioned about the potential signing of Wilshere, Rooney denied that the former Arsenal man had been training with his side, although did nothing to dampen his club’s links to the England international.

As cited by Derbyshire Live, the manager said: “I played for England with Jack, he is a fantastic player. No, Jack has not been in with us, he hasn’t trained with us. You never know what develops, we will see what develops. I am open to any players coming in.”

Big mistake

While it would be naive to claim that Wilshere is not a player who boasts a substantial amount of ability as a footballer, with the midfielder having once bossed a Barcelona midfield consisting of Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, the 29-year-old has not exactly proven his talent in recent years.

Indeed, over a two-year spell at West Ham United, the £2.25m-rated man featured just 19 times in all competitions for the club due to a number of different injuries, all while reportedly earning a whopping £100k-per-week in east London.

After being released by the Hammers, Wilshere then spent a few months away from the game, before joining Championship side Bournemouth in January this year.

At the Vitality Stadium, the midfielder started just nine Championship games – making a further five appearances from the bench – over which he scored one goal and registered one assist, as well as taking an average of a mere 0.1 shots and making 0.6 key passes per game.

These returns saw the 29-year-old earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.70, ranking him as the Cherries’ joint ninth-worst player in the second tier of English football last season.

As such, when taking into account his diminishing level of performances, his shocking injury history and his most likely big wage demands, the argument that Wilshere could well prove to be Rooney’s worst signing for Derby is not an overly difficult one to make – with the prospect of the 35-year-old offering the washed-up player a deal sure to leave many fans of the club livid.

In other news: Morris could be heading for grave Derby County transfer error, fans would be fuming

Liverpool are in ‘advanced talks’ with Alisson Becker over a contract extension, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The lowdown

On Friday, it was confirmed that right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has extended his deal until 2025.

Alisson still has three years to run in his current contract, having joined Liverpool in 2018 for £67million – a record fee for a goalkeeper at the time (via Sky Sports).

He’s gone on to make 130 appearances for the Reds, keeping 59 clean sheets and earning a host of individual honours including the Golden Glove and Best Men’s Goalkeeper Award in 2019.

Alisson memorably helped Liverpool secure a top-four finish last season with a stoppage-time winner against West Bromwich Albion after coming up for a corner.

The Reds’ assistant goalkeeping coach Jack Robinson has raved about his ‘unbelievable’ ability with the ball at his feet, suggesting that ‘he’s like [Andrea] Pirlo’ (via Liverpool Echo).

The latest

On the back of the Alexander-Arnold announcement, Romano suggested Alisson could be next to agree new terms.

The 28-year-old Brazilian ‘wants to stay’ at Anfield and is said to be deep into negotiations.

The verdict

It’s a little surprising to see Liverpool prioritise a new deal for Alisson, even though he’s arguably the best all-round goalkeeper in world football. The likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Fabinho are into the final two years of their deals, so you’d think they’d be ahead in the queue.

But it might just indicate the ease of the negotiations. Alisson has won the Premier League and Champions League with Liverpool and surely hasn’t even considered the possibility of moving elsewhere – fans will likely be delighted if he extends his deal even further.

In other news, fans fumed at this update on an attacking target.

A French football expert from Get French Football News says Liverpool should keep tabs on exciting winger Jeremy Doku – but not make a move just yet.

Doku caught the eye during Belgium’s run to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020, with him putting in a stunning performance in the narrow defeat to eventual finalists Italy.

His call-up came after making 44 appearances for French side Rennes last season, with him scoring four goals and contributing eight assists in the process.

Doku’s impressive form has resulted in Jurgen Klopp taking a keen interest, with Liverpool reportedly submitting an enquiry ahead of potentially making a bid.

Rennes will be keen to hold onto the 19-year-old, but a big-money offer may result in the French club being willing to negotiate a deal.

Adam White, who has seen a lot of Doku in the early stages of his career, believes a move to the Premier League this summer would hamper his development.

Speaking to Football FanCast, he said: “He’s still very young and Rennes spent more than £20million on him. For a club like Rennes, that’s huge.

“If I’m Doku, I want to be playing. If he goes to Liverpool, he won’t be starting games any time soon. As a teenager, he needs that development. 

“Doku is on that trajectory and it’s a level he should be aiming towards given his talent, but he hasn’t got the end product yet or shown the consistency with Rennes to warrant a move to Liverpool any time soon. It would stunt his growth. He needs at least one more year but is a player Liverpool should be keeping an eye on.”

Southampton have been linked with a move for Manchester City midfielder Yangel Herrera recently, and the Venezuelan could be a superb addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad this summer.

What’s the word?

According to The Telegraph, Southampton are expressing an interest in the 23-year-old, who has spent the last two seasons on loan with Granada in La Liga.

Crystal Palace and West Ham are also said to be interested in the midfielder, who could cost as much as £20m, as City look to raise funds in order to afford big-money moves this summer, with top targets Jack Grealish and Harry Kane both likely to cost north of £80m.

Would Herrera be a good signing for Southampton?

During his time at Granada, Herrera has made 82 appearances, contributing 10 goals and five assists, and was a key part of their run in the Europa League last season.

During the 2020/21 campaign, the Venezuela international would make 32 appearances in La Liga, contributing three goals and one assist to his name, averaging a solid 6.79 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

He was also very impressive for Diego Martinez’s side in the Europa League, managing two goals and one assist in just 10 appearances, averaging a 7.00 rating from WhoScored, which suggests that he would add some quality and experience to Hasenhuttl’s midfield.

Considering the Saints struggled last season in the absence of Oriol Romeu, adding more depth in midfield should be something of a priority for the Austrian manager this summer.

Herrera has won a lot of plaudits in the past, winning the praise of Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira during his time at New York City, with the Frenchman saying:

“He’s a tactically intelligent midfielder who is strong in the tackle and reads the game well. Yangel also has good passing range and spatial awareness, which is crucial for a player in his position.”

Therefore, he could be an excellent addition to Hasenhuttl’s squad both now and for the long-term future, so Martin Semmens should definitely look to bring him to St Mary’s.

And, in other news… Semmens should seal Saints swoop for gem with “a taste for the big games”

An update has emerged on Leicester winger Rachid Ghezzal, regarding Besiktas’ pursuit of the forward.

What’s the talk?

According to Turkish outlet Fanatik, Besiktas are in talks with Leicester over a permanent deal for Rachid Ghezzal and are attempting to haggle down his price tag. The winger spent the 2020/21 campaign on loan to the Turkish giants and is now being lined up for a second spell with the club after impressing in the Super Lig.

The report claims that Leicester want a fee in the region of £5.1m (€6m) for Ghezzal and Besiktas are trying to land him for less. Besiktas are also working hard to reduce his £3m-per-season (€3.5m) wage demands to line up with their finances.

Fans would be fuming

Leicester fans will be gutted if Jon Rudkin ends up sanctioning a sale for Ghezzal for less than £5.1m. If he allows Besiktas to haggle down a fee of £3m or £4m, for example, it could represent a terrible piece of business by the club off the back of an excellent season from the winger in Turkey. Fans would be angry at the Foxes for not being able to profit off his performances by garnering more money for his services, not less.

The 28-year-old was directly involved in 25 goals in 30 starts for Besiktas in the league, with eight goals and 17 assists from out wide. This shows that he was able to find his form and Turkey and consistently produce quality at the top end of the pitch, with a sensational average WhoScored rating of 7.65, which is what he was seemingly expected to do in the Midlands.

Upon his arrival in England, Ghezzal was hailed an exciting signing for the club by former Leicester boss Claude Puel. The Frenchman said that he would add creativity to the ranks following his move from Ligue 1 side Monaco on a four-year contract.

He told Leicester’s official website:

“I’m very pleased to welcome Rachid to Leicester City Football Club. He’s an exciting addition to our group who will bring creativity and competition ahead of an important season for us.”

Therefore, Leicester should be trying to maximise their profit from his impressive form and cash in on the wing wizard whilst they can.

Rudkin must avoid making a grave error by lowering his demands and accepting any low-ball offers from Besiktas. Fans will not want to see the club getting fleeced by another side for one of their players, especially given how well he performed for the European side last season.

AND in other news, Rudkin must axe “excellent” Leicester £77k-p/w maestro, Rodgers doesn’t need him…