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Writing on Twitter, journalist Alasdair Gold has claimed that ‘those within the club believe’ Tottenham can lift a first Premier League crown this season, with Gareth Bale making players and staff ‘excited’ in training. 

Bale, who is apparently ‘raring to go’ after his injury rehabilitation, has impressing players and staff members in training after he returned to north London last month in a headline-grabbing deal. 

The 31-year-old was consistently linked with a move back to Tottenham, but Real Madrid’s asking price along with the Welshman’s lucrative salary had been stumbling blocks.

Gareth Bale could be a serious coup for Spurs

However, when reports surfaced that the Galacticos were willing to subsidise half of his wages, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy couldn’t resist a swoop and managed to negotiate arguably one of the summer’s best deals.

After the Welshman’s progress behind the scenes at Hotspur Way, there is a ‘real belief’ Tottenham can lift their first league title since 1961.

Bale is joined by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Joe Hart, Matt Doherty, Sergio Reguilon and Carlos Vinicius in signing for the north Londoners during the summer transfer window.

Arguably Spurs’ best summer window in years, club figures are apparently in dreamland over what they could achieve this season, including a Premier League triumph, despite finishing 40 points behind champions Liverpool in 2019/2020. 

talkSPORT pundit Darren Gough described the feat as a would-be ‘absolute miracle’, but Tottenham are under the belief they can certainly challenge and do the unthinkable, according to Gold.

Transfer Tavern take

Of course, strengthening in key areas was a major factor over the summer, with Levy doing particularly well to shore up the weakened left-back and striker positions.

Spurs appear to have captured an ideal blend of youth, quality and experience, including free agent Hart who provides a winning mentality that he garnered at Manchester City.

Whether or not Mourinho’s men properly push for the title remains to be seen, but judging by their fine start to 2020/2021, it’s certainly possible.

Lilywhites, will Spurs win the Premier League this season? Have your say in the comments section below…

World Cup winner Mario Gotze can be David Moyes’ new trophy piece in midfield if the Scot turns attentions to the German after Club Brugge captain Hans Vanaken snubbed a potential move to West Ham United.

What’s the word?

According to Het Laatste Nieuws, via Sport Witness, West Ham have been unsuccessful in their efforts to lure Vanaken to the Premier League after seeing a bid worth in excess of €15million (£13.5m) turned down.

Brugge felt the sum tabled was insufficient to match Vanaken’s value to the Jupiler Pro League champions, while the limited time remaining in the summer window would have made finding a replacement challenging, with the Belgian’s having no immediate option currently in the squad.

But the Irons would have stood to miss out on Vanaken regardless of Brugge’s stance, as the 28-year-old has no intentions of moving to east London and would have snubbed the chance to play alongside the likes of Pablo Fornals and Tomas Soucek.

Moyes had identified Vanaken as his “dream” option to bolster the creative side of his midfield, as the five-cap Belgium international twice voted Belgian Footballer of the Year boasts an insane record of scoring 10 or more times in a campaign for the last seven seasons.

Attention must now turn elsewhere if West Ham are to sign a creative midfielder this summer, with former Borussia Dortmund ace Gotze one potential avenue the Irons can explore following his release.

Moyes’ new trophy piece

Gotze departed Dortmund at the end of last season at the expiration of his contract and remains a free agent having yet to sign for a new side.

Hertha Berlin are said to be lining up the 28-year-old as a late window addition to Bruno Labbadia’s side, with Sport Bild reporting that BSC Sporting Director Arne Friedrich and General Manager Michael Preetz are assessing the viability of a move for the £9.45m-rated creator.

Labbadia has previously stated he is a “big Gotze fan” while Friedrich recently confirmed Hertha’s interest, noting: “Of course that’s a name that we were concerned with.”

West Ham, therefore, would have a slim window to snatch Gotze and bring the 2014 World Cup winner to England, in a deal that would add a true trophy piece to Moyes’ plans despite departing Dortmund following a campaign of scarce appearances.

Lucien Favre only awarded Gotze starting roles in five of his 15 Bundesliga appearances, for an average of 35 minutes per game in 2019/20, yet the five-time Bundesliga champion still achieved an average of 24.7 touches, 15.3 accurate passes, 0.7 key balls and 1.6 duels won, whilst creating three big chances for teammates to score and getting three goals himself, per SofaScore.

Scale those numbers up as a regular starter, and Gotze would be creating chances left, right and centre for the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Sebastien Haller to score. Or even from the bench, the German would offer a vastly talented option to rest Fornals and co.

AND in other news, West Ham risk unsettling David Moyes’ plans with a move to sign a 39-cap player once signed for £47.5million.

Celtic have regained their footing at the top of the Scottish Premiership table temporarily following a 2-0 victory over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Sunday afternoon, but it wasn’t an easy three points by any means.

In fact, the defending champions looked particularly poor as substitute duo Leigh Griffiths and Patryk Klimala came off the bench to salvage the win in injury time.

The Hoops had three shots on target all game as Neil Lennon persisted with a 3-5-2 formation which was pronged at the top by Odsonne Edouard and Saints loanee Mohamed Elyounoussi –  and the latter’s display may highlight a massive cause for concern.

In 76 minutes of action, the Norweigen attacker failed to record a single shot, successful dribble or cross. He also lost possession 12 times and won just 21% of his duels both aerially and on the ground, as per SofaScore.

Whilst playing as a striker is not his natural position, he can still deliver the goods as shown in outings before this one – he’s bagged two goals from four games in this role.

But with Griffiths back in the mix and Klimala pushing for a place in the team too. His days starting could be numbered, especially within this system as Greg Taylor is preferred at wing-back.

Lennon is even in the market for a new left-sided player too, according to reports, so it could certainly spell trouble for Elyounoussi very soon.

The 26-year-old winger is valued at £8.55m by Transfermarkt, which is only bettered by Edouard within this Bhoys squad and whilst it remains to be seen how much he’s making here at Parkhead, he was on £60k-per-week wages at the Premier League outfit.

Given their financial problems this summer, they surely wouldn’t have let him return to Scotland if Celtic weren’t paying a substantial chunk of his pay packet.

So if Elyounoussi’s performances continue to be as poor as this one, then the lightweight is immensely letting down his manager and the club.

AND in other news, Nick Hammond cannot afford to have a John McGinn 2.0 scenario over EFL “diamond”…

Manchester United are considering Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele as an alternative to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s top target Jadon Sancho this summer, according to reports. 

Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc dismissed all speculation surrounding Sancho’s potential transfer to Old Trafford when he told reporters that the winger will be staying at Signal Iduna Park for the 2020/21 Bundesliga season.

According to ESPN, as per @utdreport, Man United have held informal talks with Barcelona to sort out a possible deal for Dembele, despite the fact that the 23-year-old has not played a competitive game since November.

Solskjaer has made it clear that Sancho remains his top priority, but the Red Devils are ready to renew their interest in the 21-cap France international if Ed Woodward can’t make a breakthrough in negotiations with Dortmund.

After arriving at the Nou Camp for £135m from the Bundesliga runners-up, the La Liga giants had high hopes for the right winger, but his time in the Spanish top flight has been plagued by a string of persistent injury problems. The French attacking midfielder only managed nine appearances in all competitions last term before his season was prematurely cut short.

It is understood that the Blaugrana are prepared to listen to offers and both clubs have been discussing a potential season-long loan.

Naturally, many United fans slammed the “rubbish” transfer news on social media, with one fan branding him a “flop”, while another added that the report must be “nonsense” due to his injury record.

Scroll through some of the scathing reactions so far…

United fans, should Ed Woodward sign Ousmane Dembele? Let us know your views in the comments below!

It was a man they wanted back when Mauricio Pochettino was in charge, but it appears Tottenham could finally be set to land Geoffrey Kondogbia this summer.

With the current situation affecting the world taking its toll on football clubs too, Spanish giants Valencia appear to be hit harder than most. According to French publication Foot Mercato, their failure to qualify for the Champions League next season, and deepening financial problems, are set to lead to a major firesale of players.

The report claims that Kondogbia is one of the names who is likely to be shown the exit door, and Foot Mercato claim both Spurs and Premier League rivals Manchester United have a keen eye on the midfielder.

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It was suggested back in the summer of 2018, that the Lilywhites were interested in Kondogbia, but a deal failed to materialise. But now, two years later, Daniel Levy has the perfect chance to sign the 6 foot 2 man, at a likely lower cost than it would have taken before.

And when you look at the kind of player Spurs would be getting, it seems like it could be one of the smartest signings of the window. Strong and physical, Kondogbia also has very impressive technical ability too, almost in the mould of former Lilywhites favourite Mousa Dembele.

Both are left-footed, and have this natural gift at gliding past players with ease when in their stride. Kondogbia has a career average of 1.4 dribbles per game, whilst Dembele is at 2.4. The duo are also equally capable of getting off a shot on goal, with the former averaging one per match, and the latter 0.8.

With his physicality and height, Kondogbia does seem like the archetypal midfielder Mourinho loves to sign – you only have to look at how he brought Nemanja Matic to Chelsea, and then to Manchester United in his time in charge of both clubs.

And now both Levy and Mourinho could be set to profit thanks to Valencia’s problems.

According to the latest reports, Leeds are keen on bringing in Tottenham defender Danny Rose this summer as they look forward to their first season in the Premier League after more than a decade.

The Daily Star claim that Marcelo Bielsa’s side are keen on bringing some top-flight experience ahead of the new campaign, and has been handed a significant transfer kitty by Andrea Radrizzani to spend.

As well as targeting a move for Everton midfielder Fabian Delph – who could well strike up a great partnership with Kalvin Phillips – the Whites are interested in bringing Rose back to Elland Road as well.

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But whilst Leeds could potentially sign Rose for a reasonable fee, he simply isn’t the kind of player he was in his prime at Spurs a few seasons ago.

Such has been his decline, that Jose Mourinho even allowed him to join fellow Premier League side Newcastle on loan. When Spurs were at their best under Mauricio Pochettino, the likes of Rose and Kyle Walker would be flying up and down the left and right-flanks and creating dangerous attacking situations.

But at 30-years-old, his form has dropped off considerably. As per Whoscored, he averaged just 0.3 key passes and 0.5 dribbles per game in his time on loan with Newcastle this season, and managed only 0.2 crosses per match too.

Compare that to Stuart Dallas, and it becomes clear that Victor Orta would be heading for a £60k-per-week nightmare with Rose.

In Leeds’ Championship-winning season, Dallas averaged 1.7 shots, one key pass, 0.6 dribbles and 0.4 crosses per game, and proved his attacking instincts with five goals and three assists.

Simply put, Rose just isn’t the kind of upgrade that would make a move for the hometown man a necessity. Orta would just be wasting Leeds’ money and letting Bielsa down with a player who isn’t at the required level anymore.

Tiemoue Bakayoko has been attracting a lot of Premier League attention, with Newcastle and Watford named amongst the potential suitors.

According to Le10 Sport (via Sport Witness), the Chelsea castaway is being monitored by the English duo, as well as West Ham who are also keen on his services.

Newcastle and Watford have reportedly made ‘first approaches’ towards potentially signing the France international.

Bakayoko has fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea over the years and has spent the last two seasons on loan with AC Milan and Monaco respectively. In his 43 appearances for the Blues, the midfielder has scored just three goals and provided three assists (via Transfermarkt).

Frank Lampard now has the choice of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Ross Barkley, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and young Billy Gilmour in the middle of the park, meaning a permanent move away for Bakayoko is all but nailed on.

The 25-year-old’s current Transfermarkt value is £22.9million, which is by no means a large sum in today’s climate. Chelsea could even name a lower asking price in order to clear him from their books.

Newcastle are arguably one of the most exciting looking Premier League teams at the moment as they look to enter an entirely new era. Takeover talks continue to swirl around the Tyneside club, which go hand-in-hand with transfer rumours.

Should the Toon swoop for Bakayoko, they could make him the focal point of their midfield and he could replace Matty Longstaff, who has been linked with a transfer to Udinese (Sky Sports).

A move for Bakayoko could be an ideal place to start before Newcastle think about spending mega cash on some of the bigger name they have been linked to. If they come knocking with a good enough offer, it’s likely Chelsea with snatch their hand off.

Do you think Bakayoko will leave the Bridge this summer? Have your say in the comments below…

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…

So with the international break now over, Arsenal are back in Premier League action against Southampton on Saturday afternoon, knowing that anything but a win against the relegation battlers will suffice.

The Gunners have been on a wretched run of form in recent weeks, and are without a win in their previous five games across all competitions. And with their north London rivals Tottenham taking decisive action over Mauricio Pochettino in the build-up to this weekend, the pressure has well and truly gone up on a notch on Unai Emery.

The Arsenal manager has a lot of key decisions to make on how best to deliver a victory, and below is a look at just how the Spaniard may plan on doing just that.

Having returned to a back-three against Leicester before the international break, Emery may well stick with the formation against the Saints on Saturday. Though the Gunners eventually succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Brendan Rodgers’ side, they did keep the Foxes out for 68 minutes (which probably says a lot about the state the north Londoners find themselves in).

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An injury doubt over Rob Holding could mean Sokratis gets drafted in, whilst Kieran Tierney’s absence from the Scotland squad was again down to helping him build up his fitness with the Gunners. In midfield, is where things could get really interesting with Emery’s potential decision-making.

The ex-PSG boss revealed in his pre-match press conference that he is keen to reintegrate former club captain Granit Xhaka back into the mix, saying “he is coming back better in his mind, his mindset is better to help us and to be closer to playing when we need him.” If the Swiss man were to return, it would be his first appearance in a Gunners shirt since the now infamous altercation with the Emirates fans against Crystal Palace.

Up front, the use of both Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as a strike partnership could once again see the club’s record signing Nicolas Pepe miss out, whilst Mesut Ozil will be hoping he will be the beneficiary of Emery desperately needing a win.

Manchester United secured their first away win since beating Paris Saint-Germain last season but it was no thanks to Marcus Rashford.

After his heroics against Liverpool, which handed United their mandatory single goal, fans might have been expecting the 21-year-old to kick on – especially facing substantially weaker opposition in Partizan Belgrade. But you’d be wrong, and that’s worrying.

Replacing Anthony Martial on the hour mark, who was making his first start since August, Rashford proceeded to demonstrate exactly why some – including his former boss Jose Mourinho – have questioned his ability to play in the all-important centre-forward position, an increasingly dynamic role in the modern game.

Marauding down the pitch in typical United counter-attacking style, Rashford had the perfect chance to finish the game off in injury time – all he needed to do was find the key pass that was staring at him in the face…

United are reportedly interested in signing Juventus’ Mario Mandzukic in January and, after Rashford’s latest act of incompetency in the striker role, it’s easy to see why.

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…

Leroy Sane could leave Manchester City for Bayern Munich, hints The Athletic’s Sam Lee.

What did he say?

Sane has been subject of heavy transfer speculation regarding a return to Germany for a few months now. Over the summer, Bayern had to squash the rumours that the winger was set to join the club, but recent reports state they are still after him.

Sky Germany reported that the Bundesliga champions will go in for Sane, with City lining up Mikel Oyarzabal as a replacement. Now, reliable journalist Lee has said in his Q&A with The Athletic that he believes the German will leave.

When asked whether Sane’s lack of online engagement since his injury is anything to worry about, Lee Said: “There’s probably something in that tbh.

“I do think he’s leaving, and I think he probably would have done had he not got injured,” he added.

“City had/have a chance to convince him during his injury, buy I’m not sure how that’s going – but I have been told they are looking at options (well, one in particular) if he does leave, so I would say at this point that it’s quite likely he will – just don’t know when. (The player I’ve heard isn’t Sancho btw, although I couldn’t rule it out 100%).”

Looking likely

There is no doubt that Bayern are the leaders of German football. They are the behemoth outfit of Bundesliga and are renowned for pinching the best talent around Germany from big clubs like Borussia Dortmund.

So, all the signs do point to Sane joining the gargantuan club. The 23-year-old has has thrived in Manchester, but the idea of returning home, living by his native language and playing for the country’s top dog is perhaps too much to turn down.

Sane is out injured and will miss most of what could be his final season at the club.