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Tottenham are showing a ‘serious’ interest in signing Kalidou Koulibaly this summer, according to Il Mattino via @RickSpur. 

Earlier this year, Gianluca di Marzio tipped Koulibaly to join Spurs and the Italian outlet claims that the Lilywhites are keen to sign the defender in the upcoming window.

Jose Mourinho has made it clear that he wants to plug the gap in a leaky defence, as his side have conceded more goals in the Premier League this season than their rivals Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.

There is no doubt Koulibaly would be an extraordinary signing, as he has established himself as one of the highest-rated defenders in the world ever since he joined Napoli in 2014. Indeed, the 28-year-old has played 15 games in Serie A for Gennaro Gattuso’s side this season, as well as featuring in six matches in the Champions League, making 2.2 tackles per game, averaging 1.5 interceptions and completing a staggering 5.2 clearances on average in the European competition (WhoScored).

However, the report adds that the player’s future is not entirely within his control as he will need to find a club that can pay his substantial wages and give Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis the fee he will demand.

His market value is estimated at £50m via Transfermarkt, which surely falls outside of Mourinho’s limited budget. The manager has previously stated that the club will not be spending “rivers of money” on new signings, so it is unlikely that the Senegal international will end up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium anytime soon.

The Lilywhites have also been linked with Atletico Madrid star Stefan Savic, although the Napoli star has earned a higher WhoScored rating than the Montenegro international.

Understandably, a whole number of the Spurs faithful reacted to the transfer update on social media, with one fan tweeting Koulibaly is “better than Savic”, while another added that he is “just what we need.”

Take a look at some of the Tottenham fans’ reactions so far…

Tottenham fans, should the board splash the cash to sign Kalidou Koulibaly in the transfer market? Let us know down below!

Whilst it may not turn out to be the big summer of spending Jose Mourinho may have been hoping for at Tottenham, the Portuguese boss will no doubt be keen to further stamp his authority on the first-team squad in north London.

And according to the latest reports, Real Madrid winger Lucas Vazquez is firmly within Spurs’ sights ahead of a potential summer move. As per The Daily Mirror (via The Daily Express), the Lilywhites have been offered the chance to sign the 28-year-old for a relatively affordable price, said to be around £16m plus add-ons.

Can you name every one of Spurs’ top goalscorers from the past 15 seasons? It’s a tricky one…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

The report further claims that with Vazquez’s deal at the Santiago Bernabeu coming to an end following the conclusion of next season, Los Blancos have made it clear that he is available for an exit this summer.

After hearing about their links to the Spaniard, Spurs fans took to Twitter to share their reactions to the news.

Some Spurs fans couldn’t quite believe that the club are targeting another right-sided winger, with one supporter in particular suggesting that it would be a “waste of money” and that they “might as well get Fraser”.

At 28, Vazquez is arguably in the prime years of his career, and whilst he hasn’t had too many opportunities this season (he has played just 18 times across all competitions), he comes with bags of top-level experience.

With the market this summer likely to be unlike any other, finding shrewd bargains is going to be the real defining test. And at potentially just £16m for a player who has won multiple Champions League trophies with Real Madrid, and still has at least a few more years in the tank, could be right up Spurs’ alley.

So whilst a few fans are annoyed at the prospect of another winger joining, Vazquez has got the credentials to slot straight into the Spurs squad and offer them more squad depth in those attacking positions.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho will have to work with a reduced transfer budget this summer, according to reports, as the north London side try to financially cope post-pandemic.

It means Spurs could see themselves restricted to free transfers and swap deals just one year after the club broke their record transfer fee to land French midfielder Tanguy Ndombele in a £55m coup.

One target that fans seem to be pleased with is Ryan Fraser – the AFC Bournemouth winger is set to leave the Cherries at the end of the season following the expiry of his contract.

The 26-year-old hasn’t had the best of campaigns, scoring just once in 32 appearances albeit with four assists, too but the south coasters have endured a tough season overall.

The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?

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Although last term, Fraser enjoyed a fruitful spell, bagging eight goals and 15 assists, via Transfermarkt.

Which is why many in north London appear to be happy over the thought of clinching the Scotsman on a free, especially instead of Willian and even over Erik Lamela.

Here’s what the Spurs faithful have been saying about the potential move…

AND in other news, Spurs fans react to fresh Milinkovic-Savic reports…

Concern is growing at Real Madrid over Jesus Vallejo’s time at Wolves according to a report from Defensa Central.

Reports in Spain suggest they are unhappy with the amount of game time he’s received during his stay in the Premier League, with the possibility of recalling him very much on the table.

It’s news that has left Wolves fans absolutely elated as they took to Twitter to discuss the report and whether they’d be keen to see him go.

A number of supporters were simply buzzing as one called him a poor man’s Danny Batth, urging Madrid to recall him when the winter transfer window opens in just over a months time.

A further individual said it looked as though the Spaniard had come through the youth academy at Wimbledon in the 1990s, as opposed to one of the greatest clubs on the continent.

Since entering the Midlands, Vallejo has started just one Premier League game and has even found himself behind Leander Dendoncker and Romain Saiss in the defensive pecking order.

He’s accumulated just 162 top-flight minutes in what has been a rough time for the 22-year-old.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

A selection of West Ham United fans have offered up a surprise name to potentially replace Manuel Pellegrini as head coach of the club, with Leeds United’s Marcelo Bielsa emerging as a name in the conversation.

The Hammers are on a really rotten run of form at the moment, failing to win any of their last seven in the Premier League.

Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur made it three straight league defeats, and it is not as if it gets any easier as they prepare to head to Chelsea this weekend.

West Ham have reportedly held talks with Pellegrini about the alarming drop of form.

And some of the London club’s supporters think that they might have the solution to their problem.

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Indeed, when Leeds United boss Bielsa, 64, was named as a potential incoming at the London Stadium, some of the fans suggested that it would be a very good idea.

Leeds would surely fight tooth and nail to keep hold of the Argentine, although the lure of the Premier League would be very strong indeed.

With the Whites in the ascendancy and chasing promotion from the Championship, though, it seems unlikely the Hammers would be able to persuade him to move to east London in mid-season.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Meanwhile, amid the team’s struggles, Pellegrini seems to be fast losing faith in one player in particular.

Newcastle travel to Aston Villa on Monday and could be without Ciaran Clark for the visit to Villa Park, but several fans aren’t too concerned that he might not be available.

That is mostly because the pair of Florian Lejeune and Fabian Schar could be in line to make a comeback from injury, two players who a lot of fans consider to be amongst the team’s best centre-backs.

Clark, however, has played well of late in Newcastle’s three-match unbeaten run, scoring in two of those games, and probably would be in line to start had he not picked up a knock whilst on international duty for the Republic of Ireland.

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The fact some supporters are disappointed that they may have to play without Clark shows how important he’s been of late, with a few raising concerns that they have lost not only a solid defender, but a goal threat too.

Despite also being without skipper Jamaal Lascelles there is still not too much concern amongst the fanbase, and that highlights the strength the Magpies have at centre-back.

Here is some of the reaction to the news that Clark may be unavailable for Monday’s clash.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Seeing as it’s Halloween, you could put this under ‘the luck of the devil’.

There has been a little bit of a drop in terms of production from Joe Lolley, according to the man himself, and the emphasis is on the word ‘little’, so it’s not entirely disastrous, but still a cause for concern.

By this time last season, Lolley had scored four goals and contributed three assists, whereas so far he’s only managed to chip in with two goals and one assist (all via Transfermarkt).

What’s he said?

Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, Lolley noted how being inconsistent is part and parcel of playing out wide and that sometimes it just comes down to luck whether or not he finds the back of the net:

The winger stated:

“I wouldn’t say I’ve been at my best this season, but you’re always inconsistent as a winger. If I score every game, I probably wouldn’t be here. For me, I’m one goal back from this stage last year. I wouldn’t say I was maybe playing as well as last year, but it’s one goal.

“Against Hull, I had a chance in the last minute, their guy heads it away – it looked like a goal from where I was. If that goes in, then I’d have the exact same statistics as this time last year.”

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He’s right

Lolley does have a point. There’s a reason he’s a decent Championship winger right now, and that’s because he can’t find the back of the net every game.

However, that doesn’t mean he can use it as some sort of excuse.

With Forest now going through what might be called a ‘rough patch’ of two consecutive defeats after their ten-match unbeaten run, it falls upon guys like Lolley, particularly after he set such high standards last season by winning Player of the Season, to try and sort things out.

Yes it might be harsh on him to expect him to score in every match, and nobody is expecting him to. But his levels last year were good enough to get Forest just outside the playoffs, so if he wants the club to take a step forward, he is going to have to take a step forward as well.

After all, he has far more quality than he has shown in 2019/20. Last term the 27-year-old was involved in 22 goals.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

West Brom somehow remain atop the Championship table after a week where they failed to record a victory.

Slaven Bilic’s men currently sit two points ahead of second-placed Preston North End after 14 matches in the league while also keeping the accolade of being the only side with just the one defeat.

Saturday’s game against Charlton Athletic was marred by controversy as the visitors were handed a 94th-minute penalty to salvage a draw at the Hawthorns, not before the referee almost sent off the wrong Baggies player earlier in the match.

Charlie Austin’s struggles in front of goal continued as it is now the ten appearances with only one goal to show for it while Hal Robson-Kanu netted a scorcher off the bench for the second time in three games.

On the Chalkboard

Getting the best from his strikers has been Bilic’s biggest issue of the season so far, which seems hard to believe, considering only one team has scored more goals than they have.

The Baggies have netted 26 this term, with their strikers contributing to less than 20% of that figure – Robson-Kanu (two), Kenneth Zohore (two), Austin (one), per WhoScored.

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Their biggest threat has come from their number ten Matheus Pereira and winger Matty Phillips, so why doesn’t the Croatian utilise one of these two in the forward position.

Instead of being an out-and-out sole striker, a role that isn’t naturally suited to a winger’s frame, they can play as a false nine in what would appear to be a deadly formation.

Albion are practically playing without a main forward anyway as Austin’s contribution has been few and far between for so long.

The aforementioned duo and Grady Diangana as your main three in attack is a scary prospect, considering they account for 12 goals and nine assists between them.

Let’s face it not having a significant presence upfront is going to make too much, if any, of a difference as Austin only has one assist on top of that, meaning he has failed to contribute in that area also.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Georginio Wijnaldum has been in stunning form for the Netherlands recently, but there are two reasons he will never replicate that form for Liverpool.

The names of those two reasons? Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson.

Wijnaldum left Reds fans baffled as to how he can look like two completely different players again during this latest international break, as he scored twice in a Dutch victory over Belarus.

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His first strike was a deft header after some clever movement, and his second was an absolutely thunderous effort from outside the box.

He now has six goals and three assists in his last 11 international appearances after only scoring 14 in 151 Liverpool games, leaving some fans to wonder why on Earth he doesn’t replicate that form at Anfield.

Quite simply though, the £25m man will never produce those sorts of numbers for Liverpool because Jurgen Klopp’s system does not allow him to.

As has been pointed out in the past by Sky Sports, Liverpool’s style under Klopp relies heavily on the creativity of Robertson and Alexander-Arnold, leaving the midfield trio to string things together, switch the play, trigger counter attacks and stop opposition counters.

While it would be harsh to say Robertson and Alexander-Arnold racked up a combined 28 assists last season due solely to their advanced positions in Klopp’s formation, they certainly could not have produced those sorts of numbers if they were forever having to stay back because Wijnaldum or the other midfielders had ventured too far forward in search of goals.

The heat-maps below show Liverpool’s full-back duo’s average touch position across their last three wins, against Leicester, RB Salzburg and Sheffield United (WhoScored).

Not only do the pair rack up over 200 combined touches in all three games, they get on the ball in very advanced positions, almost playing as if they are wing-backs in front of a back three. They are only able to do this because the likes of Fabinho and Wijnaldum shield the centre-backs and prevent counter attacks.

In Wijnaldum’s two-goal display against Belarus, his full-backs were Daley Blind and Joel Veltman, hardly the type to bomb forward and rack up assists, playing much further back than the Liverpool pair and allowing their midfield trio to be more adventurous.

Of course, Winaldum did score at Bramall Lane due to a goalkeeping error, but if any Liverpool fans are hoping that is going to become a regular occurrence because of his international form, they are sadly mistaken.

Klopp’s system forces the former Newcastle ace to be more conservative, and with the Reds sitting top of the league with 24 points from 24, a certain saying about not fixing things that aren’t broken comes to mind.

Switzerland succumbed to defeat on Saturday evening as they lost 1-0 to Denmark in their Euro 2020 Group D qualifier.

RB Leipzig striker Yussuf Poulsen netted the only goal of the match in the 84th minute after Christian Eriksen picked out an audacious through ball despite having his back towards goal some 35 yards out.

The defeat sees the Swiss sink further away from the top two in the group, though they do have a game in hand against Gibraltar to come.

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Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka picked up his 78th cap for his nation and a number of Gunners fans took to Twitter to react to the terrible showing.

One supporter said that he was “Mustafi-ing” his career while another said his display was a “disasterclass.”

Others believed the 27-year-old midfielder is almost a completely different player for Switzerland than he is for the north London side.

A further international fan even claimed that it was saddening because he could actually be a good player for Arsenal if he had the right midfield partner.

Here’s the best of the reaction: