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Writing for Eurosport, journalist Dean Jones has lifted the lid on a possible blow for new Tottenham Hotspur boss Nuno Espirito Santo involving star striker Harry Kane.

The Lowdown: Kane wants to quit…

As per Sky Sports, who originally broke the news, Kane has informed Spurs of his desire to leave north London this summer – with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea all interested from the Premier League.

The 27-year-old has just enjoyed a fine Euro 2020 with England despite not being able to clinch the trophy at Wembley, which could potentially increase demand for him this summer.

The Latest: Jones shares Kane blow for Nuno and Spurs…

Writing for Eurosport, Jones has lifted the lid on a possible blow for Nuno as he drops a Spurs update involving Kane.

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Indeed, as per the reporter, Kane is expected to reiterate his desire to leave Tottenham this summer following his major tournament campaign with the Three Lions.

He also claims that ‘discussions are expected’ between the star striker, Spurs and Nuno before the end of his post-tournament break.

While Tottenham have no intention to sell, a stance which will be explained to the player himself, Kane is still understood to hold reservations over whether the club can indeed fulfil his ambitions.

On top of this, Jones believes that the Spurs superstar will publicly reiterate his desire to leave N17 when he receives assurances that suitors Man City are ‘serious’ about moving forward with a ‘significant’ bid.

The Verdict: Blow for Spurs…

It appears Nuno may have a huge battle on his hands to keep Kane at Tottenham this summer.

A disastrous start to his reign would be failing to keep hold of a forward who was pivotal to Spurs’ 2020/2021 campaign and by some way their most impressive player.

Averaging a phenomenal 3.9 shots on goal per 90, more than any other player in the Premier League (WhoScored), Kane also bagged a head-turning 23 goals and 14 assists over 35 English top flight appearances (WhoScored).

Indeed, news that he is expected to reiterate his desire to leave comes as a possibly devastating blow for Nuno as he begins his reign at Spurs.

In other news: ‘Yes yes yes yes’, ‘Oh jeez…’ – Many Tottenham fans erupt as Levy allegedly eyes ‘great signing’, find out more here.

Dele Alli’s time at Tottenham Hotspur could soon be coming to an end after the club were linked with a move for a new attacking midfielder…

What’s the word?

According to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Football Italia), Spurs will battle their north London rivals Arsenal to sign the Juventus outcast during the January transfer window.

It was the Lilywhites’ sporting director Fabio Paratici who signed him for the Serie A giants, so they could well be leading the race to seal his signature, in which Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are also keen.

The Bianconeri appear to be willing to sell the 20-cap Sweden international for a minimum of €35m (£30m) to €40m (£34m) next month.

Bye-bye Alli?

The 21-year-old dynamo, who is capable of playing anywhere along the frontline, has dropped down the pecking order at the Allianz Stadium under Massimiliano Allegri this season.

Just four of his 21 appearances this term have been starts, whilst he has provided one goal and four assists from just 724 minutes of action, per Transfermarkt.

Last season, he enjoyed a lot of success as he delivered 14 direct goal contributions across 47 matches. What made that even more impressive was the fact that he did so whilst playing in at least seven different roles. A very versatile talent, indeed.

If that isn’t enough to suggest that he’s a perfect fit for Antonio Conte and his system, then perhaps praise from others in and around the game is.

“Kulusevski is an explosive player who likes to challenge his direct opponent,” once claimed ex-Sweden striker Marcus Allback to The Sun. “He likes to dribble with the ball, play the short passes and he is very good on the through balls. He’s quick and would cause a lot of trouble for most of the teams he plays.”

Whilst experienced Italian coach Pierpaolo Bisoli believes there are shades of Mohamed Salah about him “He has incredible physical strength. He reminds me of a young Salah for the way he shakes off opponents in the first ten metres,” he said.

On the above evidence, the fact that he is versatile and hugely dynamic, Kulusevski could well be a better fit for Conte at Spurs than Alli, whose best position is still undetermined.

Furthermore, there have been reports suggesting that Tottenham could finally be open to selling the 25-year-old amid his long-term struggles on the pitch.

Once dubbed a “freak of a talent” by former Lilywhites star Darren Anderton, Alli has failed to hit the heights of his past glory, managing only one goal and one assist this season.

Therefore, the £27m-rated dynamo could offer Conte and co a lot more than the Englishman, so if they are able to secure a move for him in January, then the club absolutely must do all they can to pull it over the line.

Spurs’ new boss could finally bin Alli with a move for the exciting Swedish sensation.

AND in other news, “Serious chance”: Romano drops teasing Spurs transfer update that’ll have fans buzzing…

Eddie Howe has been handed a fresh Newcastle United injury lift over one of his first-team stars…

What’s the latest?

Callum Wilson has revealed that his season is far from over as he is hoping to be back out on the pitch for the Magpies before the end of the month.

He has been out of action since suffering a knock against Manchester United in December and is now seemingly closing in on his return to action.

The Daily Mail quote him as saying: “I aim to be back by the end of April or the beginning of May.”

SJP faithful will be delighted

This update from the striker will surely delight the fans as it means that they will be able to see him play for the club again in the coming weeks.

They would have to wait until July/August to see him in the flesh if he was ruled out for the rest of the current campaign and that would mean a seven/eight-month gap between his last game for the side and his next.

Instead, they will, hopefully, be able to watch him in the final few matches of the current campaign. Newcastle are currently 12 points clear of the bottom three and can head into the rest of their games without the pressure of a relegation battle, which means that it could be the perfect time to bring Wilson back into the fold.

They can now afford to give minutes to the forward as he recovers from injury and gets back up to speed as they are not in a desperate position where they need to be at their very best in every match to scramble themselves out of the bottom three. Howe can, therefore, experiment with his side in the coming weeks to find out more about his squad ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

For example, he could play Wilson up front alongside Chris Wood to see what their link-up is like. It will be interesting to see how they complement each other on the pitch, with the latter’s strong hold-up play potentially allowing the former to feed off flick-ons.

Wood has won a whopping 7.8 aerial battles per match and this shows that he has the ability in the air to provide a focal point at the top end of the pitch.

Meanwhile, Wilson has scored six goals in 14 Premier League starts and is the club’s top scorer, with the New Zealand international’s presence alongside him allowing him to focus more on getting into the box to finish off chances. His lethal nature in front of goal is why his return this season is a big boost that the fans will be buzzing with.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Dubravka: Newcastle’s £72k-p/w passenger went missing in LCFC win…

Many Everton fans have been left reacting to some news on Head of Medical Danny Donachie.

As per The Athletic, he has now left Goodison Park after Rafael Benitez led a review of the injuries suffered to key players while he has been in charge.

The Merseyside club are currently missing Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Andre Gomes, Yerry Mina and Abdoulaye Doucoure through various injury problems, and it is ‘unknown’ when the England striker will return (evertonfc.com).

It is certainly starting to take its toll on the pitch, as the Toffees have not won a game since September and have recorded three losses in their last five matches (evertonfc.com).

The news had a lot of supporters talking, with some not surprised that Donachie has left, while others felt as if it was the right decision given the spate of injuries at the club on his watch.

Everton fans on Donachie news

These Toffees fans gave some decidedly mixed reactions as the news was shared on Twitter, with one Evertonian claiming that it was ‘interesting’:

“Wow”

Credit: @COYB224

“Interesting”

Credit: @Thomas33466234

“It’s been a long time coming but the draining of the swamp finally begins. Too many charlatans have got off with a free pass within the club for too long now and we need a manager who is going to lead the cull”

Credit: @bluesofgoodison

“Not surprised in Rafa making a few changes, more players get injured at Finch Farm than actually playing in the Premier League games.”

Credit: @tomperry51

“Maybe we can field a proper first team back end of this season”

Credit: @Hauswerks

“NSNO”

Credit: @otrochris

In other news, find out what Lucas Digne revelation has left these Toffees fans fuming

Newcastle United have reportedly now sent a scout to watch centre-back Goncalo Inacio, and even made a bid for the player in January, according to reports in Portugal.

The Lowdown: Solid season

Inacio is having another solid season in Lisbon with Sporting CP, having won the title last campaign.

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His performances attracted praise from Portuguese media, and he was even nicknamed the ‘Portuguese boss’ despite only being 19 years of age at the time.

Now 20, Inacio has also been a second place in the Primeira Liga table, where they will be hoping to catch FC Porto in first.

The Latest: Official sent, bid revealed

As per A Bola (via Sport Witness), the St. James’ Park faithful sent an official to watch Inacio play in a 3-1 win at Tondela on Saturday, as he found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season.

They apparently had a €30m (£24.9m) bid rejected by Sporting in the January transfer window, but the player does have a €45m (£37.4m) release clause.

The news outlet hints that the North East club must be ‘really interested’ in Inacio, as usually teams from the Premier League send their scouts over to Lisbon or Porto to watch players from the top flight, but the Tyneside outfit sent theirs to Tondela.

The Verdict: Get it done

The fact that Inacio has a release clause should encourage the Magpies to get a deal done.

Having had a £33m bid rejected by Lille for Sven Botman, added to talk of an increased £67m release clause for January target Diego Carlos, £37.4m may be the sweet spot for the Toon to sign a central defender in Inacio who may well have a higher ceiling at just 20 years of age.

Nonetheless, Sporting have a history of selling players to Premier League clubs for big money, and so this is a move that is very possible.

In other news, find out which ‘world-class’ ace NUFC have now held talks over signing for free here!

Southampton finally secured their first Premier League win of the season last weekend with a 1-0 victory over Leeds United thanks to a second half goal from Armando Broja. 

Their next league fixture sees them take on Burnley at St Mary’s this afternoon to see if they can pick up another three points and climb further away from the relegation zone.

Ahead of the match against Sean Dyche’s side, who are now one of the three teams still without a league win, Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl revealed in his latest press conference that only Jack Stephens will miss the game through injury, with Che Adams back available after recovering from a muscle injury.

Taking all of this into account, here’s how we feel Southampton will line up against Burnley, with two changes from the team which started last Saturday.

In goal, having played every minute of league action so far this season, it’s safe to assume Alex McCarthy will retain his place in the team this afternoon.

For the defence, given how Southampton managed to keep a clean sheet against Leeds last weekend as well as stopping the visitors from having even one shot on target throughout the whole game, we think Hasenhuttl should stick with the same back four of Valentino Livramento, Jan Bednarek, Mohammed Salisu and Romain Perraud to see if they can keep another clean sheet this time around against a Burnley side who have only managed to score five goals so far this season.

In the central midfield positions, with club captain James Ward-Prowse still serving his three-game ban, we think Oriol Romeu and Ibrahima Diallo will partner each other to try and dominate the midfield.

On the wings, we reckon Mohamed Elyounoussi, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £60k-per-week according to Spotrac, will drop out of the team as a result of his poor performance against Leeds. That allows Stuart Armstrong to come back into the starting XI on the right after he came on as a substitute in the second half last weekend.

On the left wing, we can see Hasenhuttl taking Moussa Djenepo out of the side, with Nathan Redmond moving back to that position from centre-forward to allow the potentially potent Adams to come back in the team to partner Broja up top.

In other news: Saints could unearth ideal Romeu heir with “excellent” 18 y/o ace, Ralph is a big fan – opinion

Former Ipswich Town player David Norris believes that Portman Road is a great place for Louie Barry to develop and play some games.

Barry signed a season-long loan deal with the Tractor Boys earlier this month and has featured three times for Ipswich so far, twice in League One and once in the Carabao Cup.

The 18-year-old featured for Villa’s youth teams on 25 occasions last season, scoring 19 goals and providing five assists, and also scored for the first team at Villa Park in the FA Cup against Liverpool.

And David Norris believes that a loan move to Portman Road will benefit Barry, telling Football FanCast: “A great place, good big club, get some games.”

Ipswich Town have made 16 summer signings so far in the transfer window, with Tom Carroll the latest to put pen-to-paper on a deal at Portman Road, but the Tractor Boys have struggled in their opening four League One matches, picking up just two points from a possible 12.

Whilst it’s not been the best start to the season, Paul Cook and everybody connected with the football club will be hoping that the new signings click and gel quickly and that they can start moving up towards the promotion end of the League One table.

Crystal Palace have been considering a contract extension for Jordan Ayew, but could it be time to let him go?

Despite making 114 appearances for Crystal Palace overall, he has only scored 12 goals for the Eagles, and his performances haven’t improved in the current season either, with zero goals in 15 appearances.

According to SofaScore, Ayew has missed two big chances and not created any for his team-mates in the Premier League this season – for a centre forward, these stats will be worrying for Vieira. In fact, the Ghanaian has failed to find the back of the net in his last 41 games, dating back to November 2020.

With that being said, contract talks are imminent to extend the 30-year-old’s deal at Selhurst Park, which currently ends next summer, as Vieira hinted that the talks would take place. The Eagles manager will be conscious of the importance of having a forward line which will not only scores goals but also offer creativity to their team-mates in winning points in the Premier League, giving Palace the best chance of staying safe from relegation this season.

“We will get the time where we will find the right time to talk about it. But at the moment, the concentration and focus that I want from the players is about the next game,” the Frenchman stated.

There is now a perfect opportunity for Vieira to move on from the £35k-p/w forward and sell for a cut-price fee in January, before he becomes available on a free in the summer, especially since he will be participating at the Africa Cup of Nations in the next few weeks. Palace could easily sign and integrate a worthy replacement into the team who can offer more goals and more creativity to ensure that they have a comfortable second half of the season and beyond.

Palace will host Everton this weekend, and after losing their last three games, it could be an ideal time to make a change in the attacking third, removing Ayew from the starting line-up.

It is likely that Eberechi Eze could be available, which would be a welcome boost to the attacking prowess of the team.

The 23-year-old has been out for a while after sustaining a nasty Achilles injury in the last week of the 2020/21 season but has since made his slow return to full fitness and will be hoping for a start in the first team. He certainly deserves a chance ahead of Ayew, who has consistently failed to produce the goods throughout the last 12 months.

In other news: One man has benefitted hugely from a Selhurst Park summer exit

Aston Villa have not approached Rangers over Borna Barisic, according to Heart & Hand. 

The lowdown

It’s been claimed that former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard is keen on bringing Barisic south of the border, having taken over at Aston Villa.

A report suggested that an £8million January transfer was a genuine possibility. Gerrard regards Barisic as a ‘fantastic player’ who’s ‘really, really consistent’.

Barisic is under contract at Ibrox until May 2024 after penning a new £18,000-per-week deal in January 2020 (via Transfermarkt) however, meaning the Light Blues are in a fantastic negotiating position.

The latest

Heart & Hand, an official media partner of the football club, tweeted that they had ‘asked’ about Barisic and ‘been told’ that there was no contact between Rangers and Villa.

“Any reports to the contrary are false,” they added.

The verdict

It seems that Gerrard and Villa have other targets in mind at left-back. For example, a recent report suggested that they are keen on Stuttgart’s Borna Sosa, a compatriot of Barisic.

This is very good news for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Rangers. According to WhoScored, Barisic has been the team’s third-best performer this season, behind only Joe Aribo and 10-assist right-back James Tavernier.

But there remains a possibility that Gerrard looks to raid his former club for a player he believes can make the step-up to the English Premier League.

Indeed, The Daily Mail (via Birmingham Live) have reported that Ryan Kent is very much on his radar, so while the Gers have seemingly won the Barisic battle, they may have many more to come with their former gaffer.

In other news, could Rangers add competition for Barisic at LB?

West Ham United star Declan Rice is itching for a move to a Premier League club readying themselves for another season of Champions League football, according to Dean Windass.

Rice was one of West Ham’s most consistent performers last term as they registered a club record Premier League points tally to qualify for the Europa League.

After making 35 appearances for the Hammers last term, Rice went on to start all of England’s fixtures as they reached the Euro 2020 final before falling agonisingly short of being crowned champions of Europe.

Rice has been heavily linked with making a move back to Chelsea, where he enjoyed time in the youth academy before moving onto West Ham following his release at the age of 14.

Manchester City have also kept tabs on the 22-year-old, while Manchester United have been told it would take a bid close to £100million for the Hammers to entertain selling Rice.

The defensive midfielder has rejected two new contract offers made by West Ham and ex-Premier League striker Windass is certain Rice feels ready to compete in club football’s leading European competition.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, he said: “You want to play at the highest level for the best clubs in the world.

“Declan was one of England’s pluses at the Euros and the big hitters will come calling. He is a London boy and who wouldn’t want to play for the likes of Chelsea?

“If you turned around to Declan and asked if he wants to go and play in the top four, he’s not going to say no.”