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Southampton have been willing to allow either Angus Gunn or Fraser Forster to leave the club before the end of the transfer window, but the pair’s wages have been a stumbling block.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has been keen to allow one of his back up goalkeeping options to leave the club, with Alex McCarthy firmly established as the club’s first-choice between the sticks. However, it could be that it will be fourth choice stopper Harry Lewis who is allowed to leave on loan, as per the Daily Mail.

Hasenhuttl facing choice over Saints number two

The Saints have been in talks over the prospect of allowing either of one of their main back up keepers to leave the club before the window shuts, as per the Daily Mail. Forster spent last season out on loan at Celtic helping them pick up their ninth successive league title. Gunn, meanwhile, has seen himself drop down the pecking order despite starting last term as number one.

Southampton were considering making a swoop for Stoke City’s Jack Butland in a move which could have seen Gunn head in the other direction. It now seems unlikely that deal will go ahead with time running out before the window slams shut, as per the Daily Mail.

Although, Gunn could still potentially move to the Potters if Butland’s move to Crystal Palace goes through, as per The Athletic reporter Dan Sheldon.

Forster still has two-years remaining on his £70,000-a-week deal, per Spotrac, and he has been the Saints’ number two behind McCarthy so far this term. Gunn, meanwhile, still has three years left to run on his deal worth around £40,000-a-week, per Spotrac. Those wages have put off some potential suitors.

Gunn and Forster too good to be sitting on the side-lines

Gunn was once called up by England ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, while Forster has been capped six times by the Three Lions. That type of pedigree suggests both are too good to be stuck as third or second choices behind McCarthy.

For Gunn in particular after being labelled as a player with a ‘big future’ by Hasenhuttl to be now third choice is a major blow. However, he did concede 2.5 goals per game in the Premier League last term (via Sofascore). The 24-year-old would potentially benefit from a move to Stoke if it can go through before the deadline.

Saints fans, who should be the backup behind McCarthy? Let us know your thoughts below!

With Arsenal struggling to pull the finances together to fund a deal for Thomas Partey, they are looking elsewhere and they now know the price they will have to pay if they want to acquire Danilo Pereira from FC Porto.

According to O Jogo (via Daily Mail), the Gunners will have to pay around £27m if they want to buy the 28-year-old. However, this valuation has not gone down well with the north London side, who only want to pay a maximum of £18m for the Portugal international.

Pereira featured 37 times in all competitions last season including in the Champions League and seems to be a solid defensive midfielder as he has managed 1.1 interceptions and 1.2 tackles per game, via WhoScored.

Pereira has experience of major competitions at both club and international level – indeed, he was a Euro 2016 winner with Portugal and has two league titles with Porto – which suggests that Arsenal would  get a very strong calibre of player if they were to sign him.

It is understandable, however, with the current financial struggles at the club that Mikel Arteta does not want to spend nearly £30m on Pereira; and despite his quality and experience, the Gunners might have to look for a cheaper alternative so that they have funds to spend on multiple players this transfer window.

They cannot afford to just splash the cash on one player despite winning the FA Cup, as they finished eighth in the Premier League this year and therefore require greater squad depth and quality if they are to push for a return to the Champions League.

Gunners fans, is Porto’s asking price for Pereira excessive or should Arsenal roll the dice and pay it? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

Tottenham are eager to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic this summer, according to Foot Mercato as per @TalkingTHFC.

It is no secret Jose Mourinho wants to sign a new striker, as Harry Kane has only recently recovered from a hamstring injury that ruled him out of a large chunk of the season.

Football journalist Santi Aouna reports Mourinho is “dreaming” of signing Milinkovic Savic in the summer.

The Serbian has emerged as one of Europe’s hottest talents after establishing himself at Lazio, and a move would surely benefit Spurs in the long run.

Milinkovic-Savic is arguably one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the world.

The Serb dominates the midfield with his imposing frame, as he stands at 191cm (6’2 feet) tall, and his physicality sets him apart from some of his more notable contemporaries.

After arriving at the Stadio Olimpico from Genk for £16.2m, the 25-year-old has played 27 games in Serie A this season, scoring 5 goals, creating 4 assists, taking 2 shots per game, averaging 1.2 key passes, and completing 1.2 dribbles.

Meanwhile, Tanguy Ndombele has made the headlines for all of the wrong reasons.

The club’s record signing has been embroiled in an ongoing dispute with Mourinho which has shown no signs of stopping anytime soon.

At the moment, all the evidence points towards Ndombele leaving the club in the near future. Barcelona are keeping a close eye on the situation, while Mourinho has never been one to back down from confrontation.

Indeed, the Portuguese famously banished Bastian Schweinsteiger during his time in charge of Manchester United, as the German midfielder caused disruption by leaving the country for surgery multiple times.

If Ndombele ends up leaving, Milinkovic-Savic would surely be the perfect replacement. In fact, the Serbia international has earned a higher WhoScored rating than his French counterpart for his performances this season.

The Biancocelesti are willing to let him leave, but only if the price is right, and he is currently valued at £57.6m via Transfermarkt.

Whether or not Daniel Levy will splash the cash is another matter entirely.

Tottenham fans, should the board sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic before the start of next season? Join the discussion in the comments section…

A recent update into Newcastle United’s prospective takeover has angered many supporters at St James’ Park this week.

The Independent’s chief football writer, Miguel Delaney, wrote an article claiming that a decision could be made in “mid-June” and that the entire process continues to “unsettle many” involved.

And this hasn’t gone down well with sections of the Magpies faithful with some opting to slam the reliable reporter on social media, calling him a “rat” as well as suggesting that he knows very little himself.

Many believe that Delaney has some sort of agenda against the club after he voiced his concerns over Saudi Arabia’s influence.

Other fans were quick to aim their frustrations more generally, rather than at Delaney, as the length of time this has already taken is clearly starting to grate on some.

It’s been over two months since reports first emerged linking Mike Ashley with the sale of the northeast outfit to a Saudi-backed consortium, and since then, there has been a wrath of claims putting doubt on the situation.

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The most recent of which came from the Guardian, who revealed a report from the World Trade Organisation into pirate TV service beoutQ. They claim that the Saudi state is behind the illegal streaming of sports events, including the Premier League, but the public investment fund, who is behind the Magpies’ takeover bid is a different entity to the government.

It’s all a bit complicated, which is why supporters have simply had enough.

In addition to their annoyance has been anxiety and worry. This latest piece from Delaney hasn’t helped matters at all with a couple of fans believing that the deal could be rejected.

If his claims are accurate though, the United fanbase will soon learn their fate.

AND in other news, Newcastle fans react to neutral venues claim…

According to The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder, there is still a confidence that Newcastle’s proposed takeover will eventually go through.

What’s the word?

Despite an agreement being reached for PCP Capital Partners to buy Newcastle back in April earlier this year, the green light for everything to be formally ratified and confirmed has yet to be given.

The Premier League are continuing to do their due diligence on some of the opposition raised to the Saudi consortium’s bid, including the top-flight’s chief executive Richard Masters insisting in June that they would “fully consider” Hatice Cengiz’s objections.

Now, Ryder has said: “At the end of the day Richard Masters calls the shots. He’s the man in charge. The Premier League played down it was a decision for a committee. I’m sure there will be meetings but Masters is the face of the league and he will be the one who eventually has to talk in public about it one way or another.

“I have spoken to people close to the deal and they maintain – as they always have – that the would-be buyers still believe they can do it. But it’s really a Premier League thing.”

Clarity

As Newcastle boss Steve Bruce said just last month, a bit of insight into where the whole thing stands on the part of the Premier League, would be very welcome.

Think you’re a big Magpies fan? Can you name these former players by looking at their careers? Go on, give it a go…

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Bruce urged: “For everybody, we need a bit of clarity. If I’m led to believe it’s the Premier League that is holding these negotiations, then they have got to come and make a decision sooner or later because it’s not healthy for anybody.”

Ryder’s suggestion that those close to the deal are still confident of it going through, is encouraging, but that of course does nothing to settle the nerves of those Newcastle fans who have been waiting patiently to finally see Mike Ashley’s tenure come to an end.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Sheffield Wednesday’s season has ticked like an erratic metronome.

There were majorly positive signs when Garry Monk finally took the reins in September, losing just one game in eight matches, but his tumultuous tenure so far has seen continuous problems arise.

Some in his control, some not.

Maybe the January transfer window will be his saviour, should they go relatively unscathed from the EFL.

At the start, the 40-year-old was faced with his skipper Tom Lees being out injured alongside a lengthy six-game suspension to two-time top scorer Fernando Forestieri.

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Reliance on this season’s goal-getter Steven Fletcher then became the next issue, not that it has even been resolved yet while in the grand scheme of things, the Owls have the oldest squad in the division, so giving youth a runout every now and then can’t exactly hurt, can it?

Now the club have been charged by the EFL for financial misconduct over the sale of Hillsborough to owner Dejphon Chansiri as he tried to offset any debts during the 2017/18 season accounts.

One football finance expert believes that a 12-point deduction will be the minimum punishment dealt by the Football League, which would turn Wednesday’s season from being in with a chance of reaching the playoffs into a relegation dogfight.

As of right now, it would sink them to second-bottom in the division.

Meanwhile, Monk heads into this weekend without two key members of his defence as Liam Palmer, and now Julian Borner, are suspended – failure to pick up all three points against a Charlton Athletic side that will struggle to field a competitive team would be inexcusable.

The former Swansea City legend inherited this squad in its entirety from his predecessor Steve Bruce and then caretaker manager Lee Bullen, and given the circumstances off the field, he should be cut some slack.

January could see him bring in some players of his own, which may allow him to set up his side exactly how he wants, while later this summer, a vast rebuild task could be on his hands as over ten first-team players see their contract expire at the end of the season.

Give Monk time, see how the EFL play things out, and then reassess his impact around this time next year. Perspective.

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In other news, Wednesday fans have slammed one surprise member of the starting line up….

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…

Speaking to Sky Sports, Arsenal defender Rob Holding has issued a rallying cry to his teammates as they look to arrest their poor run of form.

What did he say?

Unai Emery’s side have endured a miserable start to the current campaign, finding themselves in sixth place in the Premier League, and already languishing eight points behind Manchester City in fourth.

The Gunners are currently on a five-match win-less streak across all competitions, and were beaten 2-0 by top-four rivals Leicester before the international break. Ahead of their upcoming clash against Southampton, Holding insisted the club are not at a “crisis point”, and simply insisted that a couple of wins would turn things around considerably.

He said: “We just need to string a couple of wins together and I think that will lift the confidence again and hopefully set us off on a run. We just need to stay calm and stay positive. We’re sixth, we’re not a million miles off it. We’re going into a busy Christmas period now where there’s going to be three Premier League games a week.

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“We’re eight points off the top four but if we have three wins in a week we’re back up within touching distance so it’s not crisis point by any stretch of the imagination. We need to keep calm, keep positive and keep working on what we need to improve on.”

Ignores the big problem

While the 24-year-old’s words of inspiration are understandable, and even admirable, they simply do not address any of the underlying issues that have caused the Gunners’ season to unravel to this point. Emery’s men have faced a staggering 16.4 shots per game on average – a statistic that is only better than newly-promoted Norwich and Aston Villa respectively.

Their lack of defensive stability means they are always feeling the pressure of needing to score multiple goals in a football match to win. Keeping a clean sheet has become such a rare phenomena, that their last away shut-out in the top-flight came in their opening game of the season against Newcastle. So whilst Holding may do his best impressions of a public motivator, those words will simply fall on deaf ears until they set about fixing their shocking back-line.

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…

Speaking to Norwegian publication Nettavisen, former Tottenham ace Erik Thorstvedt has labelled Christian Eriksen’s current situation at the club as a “disaster”.

What did he say?

The Denmark international has been the subject of intense transfer speculation in recent months, with reports earlier in the summer suggesting he was of interest to the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid.

However, a move to either club failed to materialise before the end of the deadline, although his current contract with Spurs is still set to expire at the end of the season.

Now, Thorstvedt has slammed the north London side’s handling of the entire saga, and delivered an ominous warning as to how things may finally end.

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He said (as translated by Football.London): “There has been a lot of talk that it was good that they got to keep Eriksen – yeah right. It is a disaster for Tottenham to be left with the beard in the mailbox as they now do. A player with that value they must sell if he does not want to be in the club.

“He might have hoped that one of the big clubs in Spain would pick him up, but that didn’t happen. I think Tottenham had an offer for Eriksen, but he refused to go to the clubs that would bid on him and which Tottenham would sell to. What has been a fantastic Tottenham chapter for Christian Eriksen ends in a sour way. I don’t think there will be any doubt about that.”

The end is near

As the months continue to whittle down on the last embers of the Dane’s contract, Spurs should really already be planning for life without their instrumental play-maker. The 27-year-old has scored 67 times and provided a further 87 assists in 289 appearances across all competitions for the club, and he has been worth every penny of his £11.5m transfer fee for Pochettino’s side.

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

But if they knew that the former Ajax man had no real intent on signing a long-term deal with the club, then they really should have acted upon it earlier on in the summer. Instead, they have been paying the price for their indecision, and risk letting one of they key performers in recent years join another club on a free transfer.

Harry Maguire has posted a message to fans after Manchester United’s draw against Liverpool at the weekend.We saw a side of United that we haven’t witnessed for some time now; they were resilient, hardworking, passionate, quick and decisive, and generally looked like they were capable of denting the league leaders with their first defeat of the season.The draw, albeit disappointing after such a solid display, was enough to deny Liverpool from equalling Manchester City’s consecutive Premier League wins record. Small petty victories.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Maguire, who signed for United at the beginning of the season for a world record fee for a defender, was arguably helped by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to utilise a three-man defence – the very system that Gareth Southgate favoured during England’s World Cup run in 2018, where the big centre back boosted his global profile and began his journey to stardom.

Despite registering a point against Liverpool, we mustn’t forget that United have won just three games in all competitions. So, with Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League fast approaching, Maguire took to Twitter rally the troops ahead of the chaos that lays in front of them…

Impressive picture from a born leader.

Chris Sutton and Andy Robertson both took to social media to praise and thank the Hammers man for his international career, while Kenny Miller told him to enjoy his retirement.

The Liverpool left-back stated that Snodgrass has supported him throughout his career, adding that he’d been particularly helpful after he was given the captaincy.