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Tottenham Hotspur face a tough challenge on Saturday, as they travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley.

Sean Dyche’s side have been in fine form recently and are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League outings. Former Liverpool defender and BBC Sport pundit Mark Lawrenson believes that the Clarets will extend their run this weekend, despite being up against Mauricio Pochettino’s third-placed outfit.

What he said

In his regular predictions column for the BBC, Lawrenson has predicted a 1-1 draw between these two sides on Saturday. Speaking of Burnley’s much improved recent form, Lawrenson says that “a big improvement in the Clarets’ defence has played a big part in that and I don’t think they will give much away on Saturday either.”

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

Whilst a draw away to Burnley, where Dyche’s side can be notoriously tough to beat, isn’t a terrible result in itself, it would be disastrous for Tottenham’s title hopes.

A chance to make history

The north London club are currently outsiders for the Premier League title. If Liverpool were to be beaten by the in-form Manchester United on Sunday – which is eminently possible – then three points would take Spurs to within just two of top spot.

At that stage, Pochettino’s side would have to be considered very much in the race. A first Premier League title triumph would be a historic moment for the club, and this season offers them a great opportunity to really push for that dream.

However, failure to win at Turf Moor would likely extinguish their chances altogether, potentially leaving them eight points off the top if Liverpool beat their bitter rivals.

If they really want to do something incredible this year then they cannot afford to slip up on Saturday.

After impressing Ronny Deila on a week-long trial at Celtic back in January of 2016, the Norwegian manager’s decision to recommend that the Bhoys offer Kristoffer Ajer a long-term deal at Parkhead proved to be something of a masterstroke by the 46-year-old

Indeed, after the Hoops paid IK Start £540k for the centre-back’s services the following summer, the 17-year-old did not take long to establish himself as a first-team regular at Celtic Park, making 50 games in 2019/20.

However, it was undoubtedly over his 35 Premiership outings in 2020/21 that the £15.3m-rated defender well and truly cemented his place as one of the best centre-backs in Scotland, helping his side keep 17 clean sheets, scoring two goals and registering three assists, as well as making an average of 1.5 interceptions, 1.2 tackles, 3.3 clearances, 64.8 passes and winning 5.7 duels per game.

These returns saw the Norway international who Neil Lennon dubbed both “outstanding” and “faultless” earn a quite remarkable seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.15, ranking him as Celtic’s seventh-best player in the top flight of Scottish football last time out.

As such, it was perhaps no surprise that a number of Premier League teams were reported to be interested in the 23-year-old – who Alex McLeish once dubbed Celtic’s “Roy of the Rovers” – last summer, before the Scandinavian sensation went on to seal a £14.13m move to Brentford – being awarded a five-year deal on a reported £35k-per-week.

And, while losing a player as talented as Ajer will have undoubtedly come as a gutting blow to Ange Postecoglou, when considering the fact that the Hoops sold the defender for 2517% more than their initial outlay on the Norwegian, it is abundantly clear that Delia struck gold when advising Celtic to hand the centre-back a deal at Parkhead.

AND in other news: Celtic handed huge Old Firm boost as fresh update emerges, Postecoglou will be buzzing

Tanguy Ndombele has edged one step closer to leaving Tottenham Hotspur before January 31st…

What’s the word?

As relayed by Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the French midfielder is in talks with Paris Saint-Germain over a potential loan move, which would include an option to buy.

“Talks ongoing between Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain for Tanguy Ndombele – confirmed. Player keen on the move, clubs in direct contact as per @JackPittBrooke.

“Negotiations in progress for [a] loan move, PSG could include a buy option. Salary coverage now discussed,” he said on Twitter.

Bye-bye Ndombele?

The 25-year-old cost the Lilywhites a club-record fee of £55m back in the summer of 2020 and over the two-and-a-half years he’s been at the club, he has struggled for consistency.

Indeed, Ndombele has never really cemented his place down in north London and it appears his disappointing time as a Spurs player is coming to an end, just weeks after he was booed off the pitch by supporters.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-transfer-gossip-rumours-conte-paratici-levy-premier-league” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

The former Lyon dynamo trudged off at a snail’s pace after being substituted by Antonio Conte during their FA Cup third-round triumph over League One minnows Morecambe.

As the jeers got louder, Ndombele got even slower and that was certainly a damning moment in his Spurs career as the side were 1-0 down at the time. He went off and straight down the tunnel before the team mounted a three-goal comeback in his absence.

The Frenchman has not been seen since and some reports have suggested that he’s even been training alone at Hotspur Way.

Ndombele has failed to deliver on his hefty price tag, providing only ten goals and nine assists across 91 appearances. That’s one direct contribution every 271.5 minutes (once every three games), via Transfermarkt.

That’s just not good enough from an attack-minded player with that sort of technical ability, let alone one that has cost more than any other signing in Spurs’ history.

Given the fans’ reaction nearly two weeks ago, they must be absolutely delighted to hear this latest development from Romano.

AND in other news, Fabio Paratici could land Conte his next N’Golo Kante in Spurs swoop for £22.5m-rated “rock”…

West Ham United have made an offer in a bid to bring James Tarkowski to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee, with the club insider revealing on a recent episode of The West Ham Way podcast that David Moyes and his West Ham transfer team are very much interested in a deal for the England international this month.

They are even thought to have launched an offer of around £7m-£8m in a bid to test the waters with Burnley regarding the sale of the centre-back.

Speaking about the Hammers’ interest in the 29-year-old, Ex said: “We definitely want him. Moyes is definitely interested in him. We bid £30m for him in the summer, we definitely are interested now. I think we might have even put in a £7m or £8m bid already, just to test the water.

“However, there’s no rush to sign him as such. I mean, I know there is in the sense that we’ve got games and the Europa League and the FA Cup to compete for, but in terms of the bigger picture, he’s a free transfer in the summer.”

Moyes desperately needs him

While Kurt Zouma looks as if he is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a hamstring injury sustained towards the beginning of December, the fact remains that West Ham will be without the services of Angelo Ogbonna for the remainder of the season.

That means that, should Moyes wish to give his side the best possible chance of securing Champions League football at the London Stadium next season, the 58-year-old simply must sign a new centre-back this January.

It would appear as if this is an opinion the manager himself agrees with, with the Scot recently stating: “We could probably do with some more cover after Angelo Ogbonna’s season-long injury. If I can get Kurt back quickly that eases the pressure in central defensive areas. But we are always looking to strengthen here, we are always looking to find players who can help us or improve us.”

And, considering just how impressive Tarkowski has been for Burnley so far this season, the 29-year-old would appear to make a fantastic addition to Moyes’ current options in the heart of his West Ham defence.

Indeed, over his 16 Premier League outings in the current campaign, the £19.8m-rated defender has helped his side keep two clean sheets, scored one goal and registered two assists, as well as making an average of 1.4 interceptions, 1.6 tackles, 5.1 clearances and winning 7.3 of his duels per game.

These returns have seen the £70k-per-week man average a SofaScore match rating of 7.15, ranking him as Sean Dyche’s second-best performer in the league this season.

As such, while the early return of Zouma will undoubtedly come as a huge boost to West Ham’s top-four hopes, it is undeniable that Moyes desperately needs a fresh face at centre-back if he is to break into the Champions League places this season, with the player who Dyche dubbed an “outstanding” talent appearing to be an excellent option for the Hammers.

In other news: Moyes identifies £43k-p/w “monster” as new Newman target, he could be WHU’s next Payet

Wolverhampton Wanderers could be dealt a colossal blow as the January transfer window nears completion with captain Conor Coady subject to interest from Premier League rivals Newcastle United.

What’s the story?

According to The Daily Star, Newcastle are plotting a late bid for the Wolves defender and could offer in the region of £25m to bring the Englishman to Tyneside.

With the window set to close on Monday, United would have to move quickly to get a deal for the 28-year-old over the line.

The Magpies’ seemingly unlimited funds that have come as a result of their Saudi-backed takeover in October are well documented and are still reportedly keen to spend on reinforcements as they look to secure Premier League survival.

Eddie Howe’s side are the Premier League’s second-worst defenders behind Norwich City, having shipped a whopping 43 goals in 21 top-flight matches so far this campaign.

Coady has enjoyed an excellent campaign for Bruno Lage’s side thus far and a departure mid-season could have seriously dire consequences for the West Midland’s outfit.

Wolves must keep Coady

Not only is Coady a hugely popular and influential figure at Molineux, but he’s arguably Wolves’ best defender, something that means the club’s fanbase would be fuming to see him depart.

The Old Gold are the Premier League’s second-best defenders behind league leaders Manchester City, having conceded just 16 goals in 21 matches with Coady proving highly influential in securing that feat.

The 28-year-old hasn’t missed a Premier League match all season, keeping eight clean sheets in 21 appearances as well as scoring twice.

Moreover, the centre-back is now firmly in the picture of England manager Gareth Southgate’s plans, having made his debut for the national team in September 2020 and has eight caps to date.

Wolves are targeting a top-six finish but, by parting ways with Coady, Lage would be losing a major presence and influence as well as a kingpin and catalyst for his excellent start to life as a Premier League manager.

As a result, his side’s ambitions of European qualification could suffer a disastrous blow should they lose him.

In other news: Wolves could land perfect Traore replacement in “exceptional” £27m-rated “phenomenon”

With 2021 coming to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on the year that Wolves have had a fairly eventful year, firstly under the guidance of Nuno Espirito Santo before Bruno Lage came in during the summer to take charge of the Old Gold.

After ending the 2020/21 season in 13th place in the league table with just 45 points, Wolves made the managerial change after Espirito Santo took on the role as Tottenham Hotspur manager.

Prior to Wolves’ upcoming Premier League away clash against Arsenal, Lage has managed to deliver a very mixed bag of results with seven wins, four draws and seven defeats.

After a disappointing campaign last time out, it would be a great boost for everyone at Wolves if Lage and the players were able to finish in a European place this time around, which they are well in the running for.

How well do you remember Wolves’ 2021? Test your knowledge with our Big Fat Wolves quiz of the year to find out!

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left buzzing as the club announced that they have now hired Dave Vos to be their new assistant manager.

As per the club’s official website, he will now act as assistant to Giovanni van Bronckhorst after joining from Ajax’s prestigious Academy, where he was working as manager of the under-18s.

Vos has also previously been the assistant manager of Jong Ajax and worked at the Dutch FA, so he has plenty of experience in developing and improving young players.

Ajax’s Academy is one of the best in the world, as they aim to have three players progress into the first team every two seasons, and some of football’s finest superstars, including the likes of Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten, have come through the ranks in Amsterdam (Player Scout).

Given that the Light Blues have a B team as well, Vos certainly promises to be an inspired appointment in the longer term.

Rangers fans on Dave Vos appointment

These Rangers fans were delighted as confirmation of the appointment was shared in an official post on the club’s Twitter channel, with one supporter calling the news ‘superb’:

“Superb”

Credit: @dylanm1872

“Brilliant appointment!”

Credit: @ScottLavery1872

“This is a massive appointment for us.”

Credit: @55andCounting87

“Exciting appointment. Club clearly identified that we were missing a Beale-type in the coaching team.”

Credit: @_darrengreen_

“Fantastic appointment”

Credit: @pendy_c

“Perfect appointment, especially for the younger players to progress. Can’t do much better than the Ajax youth set up.”

Credit: @SamMill01557985

In other news, some Gers fans slammed this man’s display against Sparta Prague

Pundit Paddy Kenny has been reacting to an update regarding Newcastle United forward Allan Saint-Maximin, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Summer exit?

Saint-Maximin has been a regular for the Magpies this season, making 30 appearances in all competitions.

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The 25-year-old has been deployed as a left-winger under Eddie Howe and has contributed to eight Premier League goals.

However, according to The Daily Mail, his days at St. James’ Park could be numbered. They believe that Newcastle are ready to sell the French forward over the coming months and would accept a bid in the region of £50m.

The Latest: Kenny reacts

Talking to FI following the update on Saint-Maximin, Kenny labelled £50m as ‘crazy money’ and admitted he’d be ‘surprised’ if the Magpies didn’t accept an offer in that region, should one arrive.

“£50million, that’s crazy money.

“For a man who has scored five goals this season? For an attacking player, it’s not good numbers.

“I know Newcastle don’t need to £50million but if that offer was on the table, they would take it.

“You can invest that in a player who will provide more goals and assists.

“I would be surprised if Newcastle didn’t accept an offer like that.

“There are quality players out there who you could get for £50million who will get you more goals than that.

“I know he’s good to watch but you need results in this business and that is a lot of money to turn down.”

The Verdict: Keep?

A £50m move away would make him Newcastle’s most expensive departure of all time, surpassing the £36.9m fee Liverpool paid for Andy Carroll.

However, Saint-Maximin appears to be a key player for the Magpies, with Howe admitting in the week that he has a ‘great relationship’ with the attacker, adding that he ‘has a long-term future at the club’.

The 25-year-old appears to be at the peak of his powers with a career-high Transfermarkt valuation of £28.8m, so the best of Saint-Maximin could yet be to come, possibly making him a key player to build a team around in an attacking sense.

In other news: ‘At the moment’ – Transfer insider says NUFC ace will only be a ‘rotation’ player next season. 

Crystal Palace travel a short distance to pay a visit to their arch-rivals Brighton and Hove Albion tonight on the south coast, with this being the first Premier League fixture for Patrick Vieira’s side since New Year’s Day.

The rivalry between the two clubs stems from the 1970s after a series of controversial clashes caused a feud between Brighton manager Alan Mullery and Eagles boss Terry Venables.

Current Palace manager Vieira will be hoping to take all three points from the game at the Amex Stadium and move above Leicester City into 10th ahead of the Premier League weekend.

The Frenchman confirmed in his press conference that he is without five senior players for the trip, with James McArthur still out following a hamstring injury from which the £55k-p/w star is yet to recover, despite hope that he would have made a speedier return.

Speaking ahead of the match, Vieira addressed the 32-year-old’s injury and timeframe on a possible return, saying: “There is still a long way to go. I think we’re talking about a couple of weeks.”

Wilfried Zaha, Jordan Ayew and Cheikhou Kouyate are all away with their national teams at the Africa Cup of Nations, while James Tomkins has sustained an injury and the club are waiting on more news as to how long he will be sidelined. However, Vieira is “hopeful” that 6 foot 3 first-choice goalkeeper Vicente Guaita will be available for tonight.

With that being said, we expect two changes to the line-up we saw against the win over Milwall in the FA Cup last weekend, and we think it will look like this…

Despite having only five appearances for Palace this season, we expect that Vieira will give Eberechi Eze the opportunity to remain in the starting line-up after an exemplary performance in the cup win over Milwall.

In terms of the two changes, we can see Jean-Philippe Mateta being swapped out for star striker Odsonne Edouard, who was rested in the cup clash at The Den.

The other change sees Guaita replace Jack Butland in the side, as the Spanish goalkeeper has recovered from a dislocated finger he sustained last month, which ruled him out against Milwall six days ago. The ex-Stoke netminder could have been facing the chop anyway after his goal-causing blunder in Bermondsey.

The rest of the side should stay the same, and Vieira will be hoping that Palace can pick up just their second away league win of the season. A repeat of last year’s 2-1 victory at the Amex wouldn’t go amiss.

In other news: Vieira was dealt this double blow ahead of tonight’s clash

Many Wolves fans have criticised the performance of Francisco Trincao in their 1-0 loss at Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday.

To be fair to the Barcelona loanee, he only had a brief spell to impress Bruno Lage after coming onto the pitch for the final 10 minutes or so in place of Ruben Neves, but he failed to make any sort of real impact.

Trincao lost out on all three of his duels and never managed a shot on goal, successful dribble, key pass, cross or long ball in his time on the pitch. The winger also lost possession with five out of his nine touches of the ball in total (SofaScore), summing up his frustrating cameo on the day.

The 21-year-old’s loan spell in the Black Country has not been fruitful, with 12 Premier League appearances failing to yield a single goal, his solitary strike coming in a Carabao Cup tie (Transfermarkt).

Wolves fans slam Trincao

These Wolves fans slammed Trincao’s latest performance on Twitter, with one supporter even going as far as to claim that he is a ‘waste of space’ as his Molineux woes continue:

“I am very very sick of Trincao now”

Credit: @StephenPotts96_

“Trincao offers nothing that says he’s worth £25m+”

Credit: @Shu2600

“Please don’t sign Trincao, OMG what a waste of space”

Credit: @Vargas12Com

“Trincao is god awful”

Credit: @xGJHP

“Can we send Trincao back, he’s absolutely useless”

Credit: @csayers83

“Trincao will go down as one of the worst Fosun era signings in the Prem, woeful player.”

Credit: @SamW160

In other news, find out what injury news has left these Wolves fans buzzing