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With Tottenham enjoying a decent return to Premier League action with one win and a draw from their opening two games, Jose Mourinho’s side are still very much in the hunt for Champions League football.

The Portuguese boss will head into the summer transfer window hoping to further strengthen his squad, and according to reports in recent weeks, Thomas Meunier was seen as a potential option on a free transfer.

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But after it was confirmed that the Belgium international will be heading to Borussia Dortmund instead, French publication L’Equipe (via Sport Witness) have revealed why the full-back didn’t make the switch to north London.

The report claims that even despite receiving a call from Mourinho himself, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was not convinced by Meunier’s signing, and that with him being in charge of transfers, that was the end of the deal.

And after hearing about the update, Spurs fans flocked to Twitter to share their reactions.

And whilst Levy has been the subject of controversy over these past couple of months – the Lilywhites ended up back-tracking on their furlough decision for the club’s non-playing staff – he was roundly praised by fans for stepping in and snubbing Meunier.

If L’Equipe’s report is accurate and Levy did indeed intervene, then it does raise the major question of how Mourinho and him can co-exist. The latter is well-known for being outspoken, and having someone dictate the club’s transfer policy may not sit well with him.

It promises to be an intriguing summer transfer window at Spurs as it becomes clearer who is calling the shots.

After scraping a win against Norwich City in the Premier League, Chelsea shift their focus to their FA Cup run.

The Blues travel to Wembley to take on Manchester United in a battle for their place in this season’s final. Frank Lampard’s side were successful in knocking out Leicester in the previous round after one goal separated the teams at the King Power Stadium.

Chelsea are involved in an intense battle to finish in the Premier League top four, but they will also want to push for their ninth FA Cup and their second in three years.

Transfer Tavern has predicted how Lampard might set up to face Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men this evening…

There’s no need to tamper with a front three that has been so clinical together since the restart. Olivier Giroud, Christian Pulisic and Willian have a combined 15 goal contributions in eight matches played (via Sofascore). Lampard will be hoping that at least one of them will find the back of the net tonight.

Ross Barkley was the man of the hour in the previous round after his goal put the Blues through to the semi-finals. The England international has also been in good form since the restart and may be called upon again to work his magic from midfield. Mason Mount could also return to the starting XI after being an unused substitute against Norwich, which would see £32.4m-valued Mateo Kovacic dropped.

After earning a low Sofascore rating of 6.9 and losing possession 13 times against the Canaries, Lampard may opt to drop Marcos Alonso in favour of pushing Cesar Azpilicueta onto the left. Reece James could fill the absent right-back role after starting against both Crystal Palace and Watford earlier this month.

It could be a cagey affair as two sides who know each very well (they have already met three times this season) will lock horns for their place in the final, but who will come out on top?

How do you think Chelsea will line up against Man United, Blues fans? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Even though he is under contract with Leicester City until 2024, the 23-year-old left-back Ben Chilwell will allegedly tell the Foxes he wants to quit so he can secure a transfer to Chelsea, according to the Daily Mirror.

The young defender seems to be a very hot prospect on the market and if the same outlet is to be believed, the attacking full-back sees his long-term future at Stamford Bridge and under Frank Lampard’s tutelage. The Blues’ coach would, of course, make him his a starter in the team, which is certainly an appealing prospect for Chilwell himself.

But if Mirror’s story is true, this decision was not done on a whim and the 23-year-old’s desire to leave Leicester is not a reflection on them finishing behind Chelsea in the final Premier League standings, nor does it have anything to do with Champions League football not being secured by the Foxes. In fact, it’s a decision that simply aligns with the player’s long-term plans and development.

At Chelsea, he seems to believe, he can improve even more and this would ultimately help him nail down the England left-back spot for the upcoming Euros that were postponed after the recent outbreak.

However, the Foxes’ owners, Mirror state, are in no rush to sell him, although the squad is moving to a new £100m training ground this year and that could potentially play a part in any negotiations that are bound to take place.

Verdict

Needless to say, losing such a young and promising asset will come as a big blow to Brendan Rodgers and after they had lost Harry Maguire in a huge deal that saw the defender move to Manchester United, the same could very well happen to Chilwell as well. Only he would move to London instead.

But one thing is for sure, if Lampard wants to get his man, he will have to give his all. This, of course, means the fee that would be enough to take Chilwell away from the King Power Stadium and to Stamford Bridge is going to be anything but small.

As for the player himself, he missed the team’s last five games with a foot injury but was still a big part of their overall 2019/20 campaign.

Losing him would be a tough pill to swallow for Rodgers.

Glasgow Rangers target Lyndon Dykes is close to completing a move to Queens Park Rangers.

The Gers had been heavily linked with a move for the Australian, who scored 12 goals and provided a further 10 assists for Livingston in all competitions last term. However, the forward is now on the verge of completing a switch to Loftus Road, with the Championship side expected to pay £2m for his services.

As Steven Gerrard looked for a striker earlier on in the transfer window, it looked as though Dykes was a prime target – there were even suggestions that the 24-year-old was issuing a come-and-get-me plea with some of his comments on a potential move to Ibrox.

However, it looks as though the Gers quickly moved on from the striker, and they have since been busy in that area of the pitch with the arrivals of Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe. Those two join Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe as the options already available to Gerrard – the need for another forward has been dramatically reduced.

As such, Dykes was no longer a necessity – the Gers should not feel too disappointed that he has decided to move to London instead of Glasgow.

Let us know what you think below!

Alfredo Morelos’ future at Glasgow Rangers remains up in the air.

As it stands, he is still a Gers player, but that may not be the case for too long. The Colombia international has been the subject of intense interest from Lille, with him even reportedly having agreed personal terms with Les Dogues, whilst he has also admitted that he would be open to a move away from Ibrox to a more prestigious league.

Steven Gerrard clearly hasn’t been too happy with his star man recently, with him even dropping him for the clash against Kilmarnock last week. The 54-time Scottish champions travel to Hamilton this weekend, and Gerrard was asked about Morelos and whether he will be included. Whilst he refused to say whether he will be in the squad or not, he did admit that Morelos had done well in training, and that he will select players based on how they perform leading up to the clash.

This has attracted plenty of attention from the Gers supporters, and it appears they are far from happy – it seems they believe the £13.5m-valued Colombia international’s (as per Transfermarkt) head has been turned and they therefore do not want him to be involved.

Several took to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Let us know what you think!

According to reports, Tottenham can potentially sign Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira this summer.

What’s the word?

As clubs across Europe continue to feel the pinch of having no fans at stadium and the finances involved with that, a lot of teams are proactively trying to offer a whole host of their first-team players in a bid to raise some much-needed crash.

And now, Gazzetto dello Sport has claimed that Juventus’ sporting director, Fabio Paratici, traveled to London earlier this week to meet with high-ranking officials from Premier League clubs, with the first supposedly being Tottenham.

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The report claims that the likes of Douglas Costa, Federico Bernardeschi and Alex Sandro were on the table during those discussions, with another Italian publication, Sport Media Set, claiming that Sami Khedira was another player amongst that group.

The key to unlocking Tanguy Ndombele

As the Tanguy Ndombele saga continues to rumble on, Khedira’s arrival at Tottenham might well be the key to unlocking the Frenchman’s true potential at the club.

The former Real Madrid man has seen it and done it all at club and international level, winning multiple Champions League and domestic titles whilst at the Santiago Bernabeu, and lifting the World Cup trophy with Germany back in 2014 too.

Having that kind of presence and leadership around a talent like Ndombele can help bring the best out of him, making sure he’s applying himself in the right way during training and in matches. You only have to look back to Mourinho and Jamie Carragher’s stinging criticism of the midfielder’s professionalism and application during the Premier League clash against Burnley last season to see that it’s an attitude he needs to change quickly.

And just like the recent signing of Joe Hart, Spurs can bring in a player with trophy-winning experience to a squad that has a complete lack of it. It no doubt helps that Khedira himself has recently insisted in the last couple of months that the most “impressive” coach he has worked under remains Mourinho, and that he still has an “amazing relationship” with him.

Out of the players Juventus’ sporting director may have raised during his meeting with Spurs, the 6 foot 2 Khedira may be the kind of unsung signing that could reap rich rewards for the north Londoners.

Jason Burt does not think that the whole takeover saga with Newcastle United is over just yet after he reacted to an official statement made by the Tyneside club on his official Twitter page.

As per the tweet from The Telegraph journalist, Burt claimed: “I knew they were trying to get the takeover back on… it does not sound like it is the end of the matter either.”

Indeed, he was reacting to a statement that was released by the Magpies about the proposed £300m deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabian (KSA) group.

According to the statement, the Toon confirmed that the Premier League had rejected the takeover bid made by the Saudi-led consortium, which consisted of the Middle Eastern crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), his country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), businesswoman/head of PCP Capital Partners Amanda Staveley and the billionaire Reuben brothers, originally from India but now based in London.

Newcastle claimed that this conclusion had been reached despite the club seemingly providing the Premier League and its chief executive Richard Masters with overwhelming evidence and legal opinions that PIF is independent and autonomous of the KSA government.

The statement added that the club and its owners do not accept that the EPL and Masters have acted appropriately in relation to this matter and will be considering all relevant options available to them.

As Burt suggests, perhaps this is not the end of the takeover saga just yet as Newcastle ponder challenging the decision from the EPL.

Whether this will reverse it is another question, but the saga does not seem to be over quite yet.

Geordies, do you think the takeover could be resurrected? Comment below with your views!

Everton’s flying start to the 2020/21 Premier League season continued on Saturday as they continued their 100% winning record, overcoming Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park.

There were no prizes for guessing the goalscorers for the Toffees, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin continued his incredible start to the season, while his strike partner Richarlison found the net from the penalty spot.

The two forwards were getting into good positions all day, managing to get five shots off between them, finding the net twice, meaning they had a conversion rate of 40%.

With those two in red hot form, it has come as something of a surprise to see the Merseyside club linked with another striker this week, with reports claiming that they’re in the race to sign Arkadiusz Milik from Napoli.

While the Pole would be a handy addition after netting 11 goals in Serie A last season, you can’t help but feel that Marcel Brands would be better off allocating the club’s remaining transfer budget towards other areas in the squad.

Yes, Everton could probably do with a backup to Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin, but it’s hard to imagine a Champions League regular who has his 28 goals in his last two seasons is going to come cheaply, and if the Toffees have one big transfer still up their sleeve, it should be used to plug another area.

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Another centre-back wouldn’t go amiss, and with the club linked with the likes of Fikayo Tomori and Jean-Clair Todibo, it would be silly to go out and spend big money on Milik before that area is adequately covered.

Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin are one of the most deadly duos in England at the moment, and Everton shouldn’t be looking to upset the fine balance that they have struck there.

Deadline day may have come and gone last Monday, but we still have a few days of the domestic transfer window to go.

Leeds don’t seem all that likely to do any business, but if they are to get someone in, it looks as though it will be a midfielder.

Todd Cantwell remains the only real concrete link, while it’s clear that it’s a position that the club want to bolster after their failed pursuit of Michael Cuisance.

However, we can’t help but feel that Leeds are looking to strengthen the wrong area.

Yes, there is room for improvement in the midfield, but the depth there is fine, with Mateusz Klich, Adam Forshaw and Jamie Shackleton all having plenty of experience in playing that role under Bielsa.

However, when you look across to right-back, there is the potential for a dangerous situation.

Now, nobody can argue that Luke Ayling has done anything but a stellar job in that spot so far this season, because he’s been fantastic, earning an average WhoScored rating of 7.21, but if he gets injured or suspended, things start to look troublesome.

Leeds no longer have the safety net option of Gaetano Berardi who could slot in comfortably at right-back, so if Ayling was to go down with a problem, their options would be to play Shackleton out of position, in a role he’s only played 13 times at Championship level, or to call upon Cody Drameh, a man with no first-team experience.

If Leeds are looking to strengthen their squad before the domestic deadline, then the first port of call should be at right-back as there is seemingly a disaster waiting to happen in that spot if Ayling finds himself unavailable for selection.

Victor Orta needs to get into gear and find the club an adequate back-up in that position, even if it’s just on loan until January where he can start to look abroad again.

Crystal Palace were plagued by defensive issues last season, which has been compounded by an injury crisis this season. Roy Hodgson’s side have been ravaged by injury, which has meant that Joel Ward has moved to the right.

What’s the word?

According to an exclusive from TEAMtalk, Palace are keeping close tabs on Reading captain Liam Moore, amid interest from a number of other Premier League clubs including Leicester City, Newcastle United, Southampton, West Ham and Wolves.

The Reading skipper has been in sensational form this season as the Royals have stormed to the top of the Championship table, with four wins in their past five games. So, it’s perhaps hardly surprising that the Eagles are interested in signing Moore, given the gravity of the situation, as they picked up several injuries during the international break.

Bargain buy?

Moore, 27, who can play as a centre-back or as a right-back, is exactly the type of versatile player Hodgson desperately needs, if he decides to switch to Selhurst Park.

Whilst Ward has done a fine job on the right flank, as he has made five appearances in the Premier League this season, it’s worth considering the fact that Gary Cahill isn’t getting any younger, and there will come a time when Palace will need to start pruning their aging squad.

The Leicester City academy graduate has played seven games in the Championship this season, supplying one assist, whilst he has made 1.1 interceptions and 4.3 clearances per game, via WhoScored. By comparison, Mamadou Sakho has failed to register at least one interception per game in the English top flight so far, whilst only Ward has made more clearances than Moore.

Recently described as a “fantastic” player by Veljko Paunovic for his defensive display in the 3-0 win over Rotherham United at the Madejski Stadium, Moore made 43 appearances for Reading last term, scoring one goal, whilst he made 1.1 tackles, 1.2 blocks and 4 clearances per game, as per WhoScored.

He is currently valued at £4.95m via Transfermarkt, which, if anything, is all the more reason to get a deal done to avoid a bidding war at all costs.

For roughly £5m, what an absolute steal that would be!

AND in other news, Crystal Palace ace Jairo Riedewald dominated the midfield battle against Fulham…