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According to Football.London journalist Alasdair Gold, Tottenham would consider selling Erik Lamela this summer if a “decent bid” came in for him.

What did he say?

The Argentine has struggled with injuries during his time in north London, whilst he has found himself in and out of the starting line-up in the past few games of the Premier League season – since the end of December, Lamela has completed the full 90 minutes just once in the top-flight.

Now, Gold has claimed that with Spurs well-stocked in the attacking positions, there could be a chance a player could be moved on to help raise finances to spend elsewhere. And the journalist has revealed Lamela could be the man on the chopping block.

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He said: “The prime candidate for such a departure would appear to be Erik Lamela. The Argentine has always served Tottenham well when he’s been fit and has impressed Mourinho this season.

“However, getting him out on the pitch regularly has always been the biggest issue and despite Lamela’s love for Spurs, if Tottenham received a decent bid – with Serie A sides always looking at bringing him back to Italy – then Levy would no doubt consider it for the 28-year-old.”

Priorities

The attacking midfield positions just behind the lone striker is an area in which Spurs have plenty of options to choose from, Lamela included.

But with other areas of concern for Jose Mourinho, namely the likes of a centre-forward, full-back and even in goal if Hugo Lloris leaves, Spurs could do with better refining their squad.

Cashing in on Lamela to help fund a move for a proven back-up to Harry Kane would be the kind of astute business that Daniel Levy must pursue in the summer.

Lamela – valued at £14.4m by Transfermarkt – may be one of the more high-profile casualties of the upcoming transfer window as Mourinho looks to rebuild and reshape the Spurs squad in his own image.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans reminisce about this former star’s time in north London.

وجه محمد صلاح نجم ليفربول، التهنئة لنظيره هاري كين لاعب توتنهام، بعد فوز الأخير بجائزة الحذاء الذهبي في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، موسم 2020/21.

وتنافس الثنائي بشراسة على لقب هدافي موسم الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز حتى الجولة الأخيرة.

وحصل هاري كين في النهاية على جائزة الحذاء الذهبي بعدما سجل هدفًا اليوم خلال مواجهة ليستر سيتي، ليرتفع رصيده التهديفي إلى 23 هدفًا. هدف هاري كين أمام ليستر سيتي

أما محمد صلاح، فقد تجمد رصيده عند 22 هدفًا، حيث لم يسجل اليوم أمام كريستال بالاس (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا).

وكتب محمد صلاح لـ هاري كين عبر موقع “تويتر”: “تستحقها عن جدارة، تهانينا”.

Very well deserved! Congratulations! — Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) May 23, 2021

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…

Although Aston Villa’s summer transfer business saw 12 new players arrive at the club with over £130m shelled out in a bid to galvanise the newly-promoted side’s re-arrival in the Premier League, there can be no hiding that Dean Smith’s squad remains vulnerable.

Last Sunday’s defeat to Wolves saw captain Jack Grealish, centre-back Bjorn Engels and keeper Tom Heaton all absent from the match-day squad, and although the West Midlands side possesses relative depth, whether it is capable of withstanding a season in the top-flight remains to be seen.

Ezri Konsa stepped in at centre-back with a sense of maturity well beyond his 22 years of age, completing one tackle and an interception whilst Jed Steer was unfortunate to leave the field of play inside 10 minutes with an injury.

But with January on the horizon and Villa’s squad looking precariously placed to deal with the latter stages of the current campaign, Smith and owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens must sacrifice more of their finances to the transfer window. In doing so, it may help to nullify any potential fears of an immediate relegation from the top-flight.

With reports of a potential move for Rangers forward Alfredo Morelos, Villa appear to be aware of their lack of goalscoring back-up to club-record signing Wesley, and prioritising the front-line as well as further defensive recruits could be vital in their bid to avoid relegation. After all, Jonathan Kodjia has rarely been seen this term because of injury himself.

But most importantly, despite spending so heavily in the summer, shelling out in January could be essential in ensuring Villa’s re-arrival in the Premier League is not short-lived.

Sawiris and Edens will be all too aware that their summer onslaught of the market has the potential to heavily damage the club’s long-term sustainability, especially if they were not to remain a top-flight team for the 2020/21 campaign.

It may seem non-sensical to further jeopardise the club’s finances, especially considering the situation that arose with former owner Tony Xia in sanctioning heavy spending to then be issued with a winding-up petition from HMRC, but it is simply crucial that depending on the injuries that are present when the transfer window arrives, Villa are willing to act.

Smith may have to make movements in the market if Villa’s squad depth is to not be overly tested and the promising performances that have been seen, most notably against the top-six, are not in vain.

It could be time for Villa to roll the dice ahead of the upcoming transfer window – a small price to pay if Premier League safety can be ensured for the West Midlands outfit in 2020 and beyond. 

As the international break takes place, many young English talents have a rare chance to shine and play 90 minutes of football. The likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Mason Greenwood, who would not typically start on a regular basis in the Premier League, now have a chance to really show what they can do.

One man in particular who will be heading into the international fixtures full of motivation and intent is Phil Foden. The young Manchester City star has established himself as one of the brightest young talents in the country under the guidance of Pep Guardiola.

Now, as he is likely to start for England U21s against Albania, Foden has a real chance to stake a claim for a starting role under the Spaniard. The 19-year-old is yet to start a league game for City this season and has had to settle for EFL Cup games for his chance to shine.

Foden has, however, played in two Champions League games, where he has scored and assisted for the Citizens. If the academy graduate can replicate the type of performance that saw him thrive in the 5-1 win over Atalanta, where he created four big chances, Boothroyd’s side will have a great chance of collecting a victory.

City’s playmaker-in-chief, David Silva, was back in the squad for the defeat to Liverpool, although a solid performance from Foden could put him in contention for a starting berth against Chelsea. Up next for the champions is the visit of the Blues before they face off with Shakhtar Donetsk, where a win would see them qualify for the next stage of the Champions League.

After this City face trips to Newcastle United and Burnley, where the youngster should certainly be considered.

In truth, with a positive performance on Friday, Foden should be chosen for the Shakhtar clash, as City already have some breathing space in Group C.

There is also the inevitable departure of Silva, who stated in June that he will leave the Etihad Stadium after ten glorious years in Manchester.

Now, Guardiola has the chance to see Foden get plenty of action for England and the City boss, and the supporters, would be wise to keep an eye on his performance.

Southampton are now only outside of the Premier League relegation zone on goal difference following their 4-1 home defeat to Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

The Saints actually started quite well against Frank Lampard’s side but conceded the first goal in the 17th minute courtesy of a finish from Tammy Abraham.

The referee needed goal-line technology to confirm that Abraham’s effort had crossed the line with Maya Yoshida doing his best to clear.

Angus Gunn hardly covered himself in glory as the goalkeeper came to confront Abraham and ended up getting nowhere near the ball.

To be honest, there might not even have been a chance for the Chelsea forward had the Southampton goalkeeper not decided to leave his goal.

Gunn also dropped a clanger in the defeat to Bournemouth last month, and it seems that the club’s fans are fast losing patience with the 23-year-old.

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Indeed, many of the Southampton supporters took to social media during the defeat to Chelsea to criticise the Englishman.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

At last. Wolves finally picked up the first win of their Premier League season.

The league’s rock-bottom side, Watford, were in town as the west Midlands side sent them back down the M1 with further woes.

Nuno Santo stuck with the 3-4-3 formation that he deployed at Crystal Palace only last week meaning Matt Doherty kept his place at right wing-back with Adama Traore playing further forward yet again.

The 27-year-old opened the scoring early in the first half after being expertly teed up by Pedro Neto, who perhaps was a surprise inclusion as a replacement for the injured Diogo Jota.

Doherty then turned semi-provider as his whipped ball into the box was headed on by Morgan Gibbs-White with the ball being diverted home via Watford defender Daryl Janmaat.

Neto’s performance should give his fellow countryman plenty to think about in the coming weeks as he looked electric on the left side of the front three.

Even though he was given just 57 minutes to showcase his talent, the 19-year-old set up their opener and created two big chances on top of that with defence-splitting key passes.

The assist in itself showed just a glimpse of what Neto can offer the squad.

Starting along the left flank, the winger’s dynamic turn of pace gave him enough time and space to fizzle a ball across the face of goal to allow Doherty to slot home the easiest of finishes.

It is that sort of attacking nous that has been absent to date as Wolves had only scored seven goals in the six league games previous to this one.

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Now that the £6.3m-rated winger has repaid the faith shown in him by being handed his first Premier League start of the season, Neto should continue to be played even if it means at the expense of other key stars amongst the team.

He’s young and hungry, and hasn’t had much game time at all – players like Raul Jimenez have played over 40 times this calendar year alone and could do with a rest here and there, especially with games coming thick and fast on both the European and domestic front.

The Wolves boss would be a fool not to utilise Neto more this season.

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

When Crystal Palace travel to West Ham this Saturday, they will be slight underdogs given how things have turned out so far this season.

The Hammers have lost just once in seven Premier League outings, and that defeat came against Manchester City of all teams – Manuel Pellegrini’s side have been excellent so far and rightly sit 5th in the table.

The Eagles haven’t been much worse, in fairness. A solid start to the campaign has Palace sat 9th, just one point off the Irons.

Roy Hodgson’s men, in that respect, must take advantage of one glaring weakness in the West Ham side.

What is the weakness?

Pellegrini had to watch on against Bournemouth as his No.1 and reigning Hammer of the Year Lukasz Fabianski went down injured, with the Pole now set to be out for just under three months in a cruel blow to the club’s ambitions for the season ahead.

His replacement? Summer signing Roberto.

The 33-year-old has only made three appearances for the club since signing, with two of those coming in the Carabao Cup and one after replacing Fabianski off the bench – not so impressively, he has conceded five goals and kept his only clean sheet against League Two Newport County.

The Spaniard also doesn’t have the best record at some of his previous clubs.

Roberto conceded a whopping 132 goals in 88 appearances for Real Zaragoza – picking up 10 yellow cards as well – while he also shipped 51 goals in 34 games for Malaga.

How can Palace take advantage?

Simply make life difficult for the experienced stopper.

Pummel his goal with shots and follow in, just in case he spills the ball.

Crowd him at corner kicks, perhaps sticking Cheikhou Kouyate or another physical presence in his way to make things hard for him.

Roberto’s last start saw him concede four goals to Oxford, where he didn’t even dive for any of the shots that went in.

Hodgson really should be making the Spaniard a key topic of his pre-match instructions, for there is quite obviously a glaring weak spot in the Hammers’ XI.

[ad_pod ]This article is part of Football FanCast’s Injury News series, which considers the impact of the latest updates on players’ fitnessAlisson Becker is making “steady progress” in his injury recovery but there is still no fixed date for a possible return, per the club’s official website.

What’s the latest?

The Brazilian has played only 39 minutes in the Premier League so far this campaign after pulling up with a calf injury against Norwich in the opening game of the season.

It was first believed that the injury was likely to keep him out for up to six weeks, and given that the aforementioned time span is nearing its expiry, some fans may wonder why he is not closer to a return.

Alisson returned to training at Melwood last week but physio John Achterberg refuses to place a time frame on a possible comeback date, preferring to take each day as it comes.

He said: “He has made steady progress, but it is difficult to say how long it will take or how it will progress. It needs time and we cannot look too far ahead, so we take each day as it comes, see how he feels, and then make progress from that.â€

However, the Liverpool No.1 has been partaking in catching, footwork and passing drills over the summer break, and it may be a case of rebuilding his fitness ahead of a possible return, which may not be too far away.

Boost for the squad

Fortunately for the Reds, the Brazil international has not been missed as much as first feared, as Adrian has filled in and performed well in each of his appearances, conceding only three goals, although he did gift one to Southampton in his first Premier League appearance for the club.

The form of the Spaniard will come as a welcome relief to Jurgen Klopp, who now knows he has a reliable back-up in the event that Alisson is unavailable again.

Despite Adrian playing well, a player of Alisson’s quality returning to the first-team is likely to be a big lift for the defence, both in their confidence and morale, with him keeping 21 clean sheets in the league last term – the most in the top-flight.

It is also positive to see the Reds take their duty of care with the player seriously, and that means he should be as fresh as a daisy when he is back between the sticks.

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Lots of QPR fans have taken to Twitter to point the finger at Yoann Barbet once again, after the Frenchman’s alarming lack of awareness saw Portsmouth score a simple second goal in their 2-0 Carabao Cup win.

The R’s supporters on Twitter have already slammed the summer signing from Brentford for his dismal performance in the recent 3-1 loss to Swansea, and they have wasted no time in hurling criticism at the 26-year-old once again after a quite shocking piece of defending against Pompey – if you can even call it defending, that is.

Marcus Harness had an easy tap in to score Portsmouth’s second goal in just four minutes as the 6ft 2 defender was caught jogging back whilst watching the ball, a mistake – or lack of desire depending on your interpretation – that allowed Harness to easily sneak into the box and slot home with ease.

It was a quite shocking lack of quality from a professional footballer which would even have drawn criticism in Sunday League football, let alone for a Championship side in the Carabao Cup.

Watch the video below to find out how CR7 achieves some his best skills…

Quite rightly, lots of QPR supporters on Twitter have heavily criticised Barbet for the glaring error…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s One to Watch series, which focuses on those players we think are particularly worth keeping an eagle-eye on as the 2019/20 season unfolds.

Sofiane Boufal is Southampton’s one to watch this season as the Saints prepare for their first full season under Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The story so far

Boufal could be looking to rediscover his best form for Southampton and live up to the expectations that arose in tandem with his 2016 arrival.

The winger signed from Lille in 2016 for £16m after an impressive final campaign in Ligue 1 which saw him net 11 goals and grab four assists in 29 league games. Having played a key part in Lille’s 5th place finish, he earned his move to the Premier League.

His first season in England was relatively underwhelming. He made 24 Premier League appearances, 12 of which were starts, but he only contributed one goal in that time.

In his second season Boufal played 26 league games, scoring two goals and registering two assists, but one goal stood out in particular.

Against West Brom, the Moroccan winger picked up the ball inside his own half, turned past Allan Nyom and began running at the defence. He skipped past another 3 players en route to the 18-yard-box, leaving players so dumbfounded that they actually collided with one another, before curling a sumptuous effort into the bottom right corner.

It was a moment to remind all why exactly why Boufal was signed, and though we haven’t seen that level of flair regularly enough, there’s certainly evidence that there is a talent waiting to be fully unearthed.

The winger spent last season on loan at Celta Vigo, where he played 35 games, scoring three goals and assisting four in 25 La Liga starts.

It was hardly groundbreaking but there was enough end product to suggest that the change of leadership that has served a handful of Southampton players so well could ultimately benefit Boufal this season.

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What’s in store for Boufal this season?

Southampton have improved significantly since the appointment of Hasenhuttl and one man in particular who’s particularly transformed is Nathan Redmond.

The winger had failed to score or provide an assist before the new managerial appointment, but he finished the season on six goals and four assists in the league and managed a further three goals in the FA Cup as well.

With one winger already improved under the new boss, there’s reason to suggest Boufal could follow the same path.

Southampton have brought in Moussa Djenepo but they are hardly blessed with a surplus of options in wide positions, so the Moroccan may fancy his chances of playing his way back into the starting XI this season.

The Austrian, however, may yet decide to play with a back-three and wing-backs to provide the width, in which case he could be in direct competition with Redmond for a starting berth in a more central role.

Those outside the club may not be expecting much from Boufal this season but murmurs from those working closely alongside him have painted a different picture.

Jan Bednarek, who grew into the 2018/19 campaign and established himself as an important player, said on Boufal, per Daily Echo: “You need to be ready because he can do anything that he wants. You need to keep your legs shut so that you don’t get nutmegged.

“Sofiane is a very good player. I think it’s really difficult to defend against him and I think he could cause a lot of problems for Premier League defenders.”

What would constitute a good season for Boufal?

Boufal needs to force his way into the starting XI this season.

This probably represents his last chance at proving himself on the south coast, and failure to do so could be terminal for his Premier League ambitions.

He should target (all competitions)

Appearances: 35

Starts: 22

Goals: 5

Assists: 7

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