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Back in December, The Telegraph revealed that Derby’s Jayden Bogle was being targeted by four Premier League clubs ahead of a potential winter swoop for the youngster.

West Ham, Brighton, Burnley and Crystal Palace were the top-flight sides interested in landing the right-back, who was believed to be rated at £7m by The Telegraph when their original article was written.

However, no such move for the 19-year-old materialised and he remained with the Rams, where he has delivered some excellent performances of late which will presumably have caught Crystal Palace’s eye.

The teenager’s last three Championship starts have seen Phillip Cocu’s men grab wins against Stoke and Swansea, while a narrow defeat was suffered at the hands of Bristol City – he began the last outing against Huddersfield on the bench.

In that victory over the Potters, Bogle was superb. He managed to grab a goal, while also embarking on a huge five successful dribbles – the most of any player on the pitch.

Against Swansea, he registered two dribbles, while the defeat to Bristol City saw him complete three more.

In total across his last three Championship starts, the Englishman has won a WhoScored Man of the Match award, completed ten successful dribbles, made four tackles as well as three blocks, while also netting one goal.

The Derby No.37 is delivering some fine performances for the Rams, and his excellent displays mean Crystal Palace’s Sporting Director Dougie Freedman should definitely look to go back in for the right-back this summer, as he seems to be going from strength to strength at Pride Park.

He now has one goal and four assists this season, having grabbed two goals and nine assists last term as Frank Lampard’s Derby lost to Aston Villa in the playoff final.

If Freedman has been down at Pride Park to watch the Eagles’ January target play, then he will surely have been left impressed.

From non-League to the Premier League: Where did these top-flight stars begin their careers?

In other news, this former Crystal Palace star has sent an eight word message to Aaron Wan-Bissaka on Instagram…

Loads of Newcastle fans are drooling over footage of supporters wildly celebrating Allan Saint-Maximin’s match-winning effort at St. Mary’s shared by the club’s official Twitter account. 

The speedster latched onto a mistake from Southampton defender Yan Valery and laced the ball into the net, prompting scenes of utter jubilation in the away section.

Saint-Maximin has now scored 3 goals and created 4 assists for Steve Bruce’s Black and Whites across all competitions in this season so far. The 22-year-old’s market value stands at £22.5m via Transfermarkt.

The French winger’s superb finish has lifted the Magpies above their Premier League rivals into 13th before the Tyneside club face Sheffield United at St James’ Park on Saturday.

Many Newcastle fans will be hoping he can provide another moment of magic if Bruce’s side are to beat a Blades team who are exceeding all expectations in the English top flight. Despite only being promoted from the Championship last year, Chris Wilder’s squad find themselves in the mix for European football and are currently in 7th place (Premier League).

Take a look at some of the best Twitter reactions to the away end’s celebrations…

Newcastle fans, what do you make of the footage? Were you celebrating just as wildly when Saint-Maximin scored the winner? Let us know in the comments below!

Tottenham Hotspur could be in line for an overhaul this summer as manager Jose Mourinho will be wanting to stamp his own mark down on the north London outfit.

They have also suffered hugely this campaign, just nine months after making the Champions League final, a competition they are set to be without next season following exit from all cups and sinking to seven points adrift of the top four.

Over the past few weeks, Spurs have been linked to an array of full-backs, including Norwich City’s Max Aarons, Nice’s Youcef Atal and Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell, per the Express, while Benfica’s Alex Grimaldo has been touted by Alasdair Gold.

What side of the defence does Mourinho need to strengthen most? and who is the best candidate to do so? Our writers each give their verdicts on the matter below.

But what do you think?

Viji Jeevathayalan

“Out of the two, left-back may be the more pressing area of concern for Spurs. Danny Rose’s career in north London looks set to be over following his return from loan at Newcastle, whilst Ben Davies is hardly the definition of a modern-day full-back with just 17 assists in 181 total games for the Lilywhites. The fact Jan Vertonghen has had to do a job on that side speaks volumes of how desperately short of good options Spurs have.

“It may be a long-shot, but a swoop for Ben Chilwell would ease Mourinho’s fears. He has proven himself to be a consistent performer at Premier League level with Leicester, and luring him away from the King Power would be a statement of intent. Strong going forward as he is going back towards his own goal – he averages 1.6 tackles and 1.2 key passes per game in the top-flight this season – he is the perfect heir to Rose’s throne.” 

James Beavis

“I don’t think either full-back position is particularly strong at Tottenham, but from a defensive point of view I would trust in Ben Davies far more than I would Serge Aurier on the opposite flank even if he has shown an improvement in recent months – a new right-back has to be the priority this summer.

“For me, it is a no-brainer for Spurs to make a move for Max Aarons. The 20-year-old has been solid, if unspectacular, for Norwich City in the Premier League this season, but given his still tender years he looks to have a big future ahead of him – he has played the full 90 minutes in all 27 of the top-flight fixture he has been available for during 2019/20 to date.

“Aarons will surely only get better and at 20 years of age, he has the time to improve and develop at a big club like the north London outfit are.

“Tottenham signed another young English right-back in Kyle Walker from Sheffield United when he was 19, and Aarons could easily be another Walker for them.”

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Danny Lewis

“If Spurs are serious about moving forward under Mourinho, then they really do need to improve both full-back positions. Aurier specialises in calamitous defending, while Davies has been injured far too often to be relied upon – starting just seven Premier League games this term. In an ideal world, they could address one position and come back to the other later, but no team has kept fewer Premier League clean sheets than Spurs this season, and this problem is definitely a contributing factor.

“There is a real premium on young British Premier League players in terms of pricing, so with that in mind, it may be worth trying to get the funds together for both Youcef Atal and Alex Grimaldo. While this would not be cheap by any means, they can’t afford to just concentrate on one side and leave the other to remain vulnerable for at least another six months, so looking outside of the top leagues may allow them to address both areas.”

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Lewis Blain

“Spurs won’t be able to complete deals for two new full-backs unless Daniel Levy wants to splash the cash, and given their left-back spot being the weakest right now, they shoud start there. Serge Aurier will do for another season at least with Kyle Walker-Peters as backup.

“Ben Davies isn’t the best defender for a side that should be competing in the Champions League, so they should opt for Benfica’s Alex Grimaldo. Via WhoScored, an average of 2 tackles, 1.4 clearances and 2.2 key passes per game in all competitions this season is an impressive return. His release clause at €60m (£54.5m) should be considerably lower than what teams will command for English talent like Ben Chilwell (Leicester) and Max Aarons (Norwich).”

From non-League to the Premier League: Where did these top-flight stars begin their careers?

AND in other news, Spurs fans blast Walker-Peters’ Pochettino comments

There will have been to be a few raised eyebrows at Elland Road when the team news came out at 2pm on Saturday afternoon.

We were all expecting the same 18 that travelled to the KCOM Stadium to face Hull to be present at the John Smith’s Stadium after Marcelo Bielsa’s press conference earlier this week.

However, when the team was announced, Kalvin Phillips was nowhere to be seen, and of course, that was a bit of a cause for concern.

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The logical explanation was that the Yorkshire Pirlo wasn’t fully fit after there were questions about his fitness when the Whites played the Tigers last week.

As always Phil Hay was quick to clear up any speculation around the 24-year-old as he gave an update on his fitness.

What’s been said then?

The journalist was hosting a post-match Q&A session on The Athletic, and as you’d expect one of the biggest talking points was Phillips’ absence.

Hay was asked for an update on Phillips, to which he replied:

“Same injury as he had before. Late decision yesterday after treatment earlier in the week. A good chance he’ll be fit for the Cardiff game, according to the club.”

Good news

With Leeds on the verge of promotion to the Premier League this is exactly what they’ll have wanted to hear.

The Yorkshire club managed to get over the line without their star man on Saturday, but it has to be said that their performances dip when he’s not on the pitch, losing two of the three games he was out for after his red card against QPR earlier this season.

The midfielder has previously been hailed as the best player in the Championship, so having him back as soon as possible will be music to the ears of every United supporter.

Fingers crossed the club are right with their diagnosis and they aren’t rushing him back too quickly again.

In other news, Leeds fans have been drooling over one man.

It seems that Liverpool will have to be content with the Premier League trophy from now until the end of the season.

The Reds lifting that title is now inevitable. They are currently 25 points clear at the top of the table, meaning they need just six points – two wins – to confirm their status as champions.

The same cannot be said of their FA Cup and Champions League aspirations though – they have been knocked out of both, by Chelsea and Atletico Madrid respectively.

Back-up goalkeeper Adrian has had a negative impact for the Reds in both matches. First, he palmed Willian’s shot into the back of the net against the Blues last week when it was straight at him, a game in which he was given the chance to shine by Jurgen Klopp.

Then, after being named in the starting XI by necessity because of Alisson’s injury, he gifted the ball to Joao Felix against Los Rojiblancos, allowing him to play in Marcos Llorente who then put the ball in the back of the net.

In the space of seven days, Adrian has derailed the Reds’ treble hopes. Having joined at the start of the season, his arrival already looks like a mistake, even if there have been some more positive moments.

Unfortunately for the Reds’ hierarchy, this is just the latest goalkeeper who has failed to live up to the required standards. Ever since Pepe Reina departed for Bayern Munich in 2013, they have struggled to replace him. The two names that particularly stand out are Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius.

The former made several high-profile mistakes during his time at Anfield – only five players in the Premier League have made more errors that have led to goals than his 18 – whilst the latter has never recovered, it seems, from making two terrible blunders in the 2018 Champions League final. Others such as Brad Jones, Charles Itandje, Diego Cavalieri, Daniele Padelli and Alexander Doni all failed to make any kind of impact.

In fact, only Alisson is an exception to that apparent trend. The Brazil international was signed from AS Roma for a world-record fee for a ‘keeper in 2018, but he has proven to be a revelation. Last year, he even won the Yachine Award, given to the best goalkeeper on the planet.

Now valued at a huge £81m by Transfermarkt, Klopp will have wished he could have been between the sticks against Atletico instead of Adrian. Still, at least one new arrival in that position over the last 10 years has proven his worth.

Meanwhile, this famed youth academy could provide Liverpool with their eventual Sadio Mane replacement.

Ex-Liverpool boss Roy Evans made an enquiry to sign Ronaldo while he was playing for PSV Eindhoven, per The Athletic.

What’s the word?

The Brazilian sensation became a legend throughout his playing career, as he scored a ridiculous number of goals, won the World Cup, twice, and played for some of Europe’s elite clubs.

History, though, could have been very different.

The Athletic reports that, before Liverpool signed Stan Collymore in 1995 for £8.5m – then a club-record fee – they asked about the potential of signing Ronaldo.

At the time, he was with Dutch club PSV, where he would ultimately score a staggering 51 goals in 54 outings.

The enquiry didn’t pay off, of course, and Ronaldo eventually joined Barcelona for a world-record fee of £13.2m.

Changed the course of history

Liverpool’s long wait for a Premier League title would have surely been over swiftly after Ronaldo’s arrival had Evans’ enquiry paid off.

Collymore ultimately flattered to deceive somewhat, scoring 35 goals in 81 games, while Ronaldo enjoyed perhaps the greatest debut season in history during his time at Barca.

He was only there for one campaign but he scored 47 times in 49 games, while also registering seven assists, even scoring in 10 successive games, as well as in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final against PSG.

Call yourself a Liverpool expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?

It became something of a theme. At Inter Milan, he scored 59 goals in 98 outings, while at Real Madrid he hit 104 in 177.

Add into that 62 goals in 98 Brazil appearances and you have a truly fearsome striker who, had it not been for injuries, would probably be regarded as the greatest out-and-out forward to ever play the game.

Evans clearly spotted the potential in him at PSV but he believed, per the report, that Collymore was just as good. Nobody was, not at that time.

And had the Brazilian ended up on Merseyside, even if it was for just a season, one has to think that the Premier League trophy would have ended up at Anfield too.

Meanwhile, a Liverpool flop could be on his way!

With just 37 goals to their name in the Premier League, Everton have been out-scored by eight other teams in the top-flight.

The Toffees boast two strikers in Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison who have enjoyed a decent time of things since Carlo Ancelotti’s appointment as manager, with the former netting eight times under the Italian, and the latter on four occasions.

But recent reports suggest the current Everton boss could be eyeing up an audacious swoop for Lazio centre-forward, Ciro Immobile. According to 90min, whilst the striker is happy with the Italian side at the moment, his performances this season have “put him on the radar of Europe’s elite”, and that the Toffees are “keen to fight it out for his signature”.

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The report further adds that “Ancelotti will be hoping that their Italian connection may be enough to convince the 30-year-old to join the blue half of Merseyside this summer”, and that he has “Immobile as the man to fire ​Everton towards European football in the coming years”.

And when you look at his goal-scoring record from this season, then you can absolutely understand why Everton may be intent on securing yet another striker. He has scored an astonishing 30 goals in just 33 games across all competitions, and that is something you simply cannot ignore, regardless of the kind of options you may already have.

Immobile quite crucially has also proven himself at European level, scoring 15 times in 29 games in both the Champions League and Europa League over the course of his career. That kind of profile and reputation is what can take Everton to the next level, and really lay down a marker that they are competing for the very best of players.

Did he really play for us?! No Everton fan has managed to name all of these obscure Toffees players….

But naturally, that will raise questions about where Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison fit into all of this. The latter could potentially find a home out wide, but the former is more of a natural through the middle. Immobile’s arrival could land Everton a feared marksman, but it could also prove to be a hindrance to Ancelotti’s use of one of his star players in the early weeks and months of his management.

A swoop for the £45m-rated Immobile has both its strengths and weaknesses.

Meanwhile, Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti is missing a trick with this ace.

Tottenham Hotspur have come under fire in recent days for their decision to cut wages of all 550 members of their non-playing staff while others have been furloughed where appropriate.

Daniel Levy has naturally taken plenty of stick himself, and football.london journalist Alasdair Gold has provided some key information on how the club chairman views the current situation and the criticism that has arrived with it.

What’s the word?

Gold has provided his insight and opinion on Spurs’ recent, much-maligned decision in a recent column for football.london.

Liverpool also followed suit with a similar policy over the course of the weekend and they have also been criticised for a decision that most of the general public are seemingly failing to sympathise with.

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Former White Hart Lane hero Gary Lineker has publicly spoken of his disapproval of Spurs’ decision, while Jamie Carragher has been equally scathing of Liverpool’s decision to furlough non-playing staff.

Amid the recent narrative, the highly respected Gold has provided an insight into Levy’s thought process at this stage and suggested the 58-year-old is not concerned by how his actions are perceived in the public eye, per football.london.

“While very different men, neither Mike Ashley and Levy appear to particularly care what the public opinion is of them.

“For the Spurs chairman, his belief is that he is always doing what is in the best interests of Tottenham Hotspur and admitted so at last month’s meeting with the supporters’ trust.

“”Daniel Levy explained that the board has had to take a long-term view to protect the club. He said he takes lots of criticism and has broad shoulders, and needs to have in his position,” read the minutes from the meeting.”

Ruthless businessman

There are certainly questions to be asked of Premier League clubs who utilise the furlough scheme – one which enables businesses to survive during a period of sudden and unexpected financial turmoil – and the criticism from the public and a multitude of high profile names is certainly justifiable.

However, from Levy’s perspective, as Gold alludes to, he is merely protecting the jobs and futures of the employees who represent the fundamental yet unseen cogs that make the club what it is.

He is protecting the livelihoods and futures of those he can influence, and while that does not necessarily excuse him from criticism, it’s clear that he does not pay any interest in what is being said about him in the media.

The ruthless streak underpinning his decision, however, is exactly what we’ve come to expect from Levy down the years.

Many Sheffield United supporters are fawning over Chris Basham after Sky Sports tweeted a breakdown of the veteran’s incredible statistics.ÂÂ

It is fair to say Basham has run his legs off all over the pitch, with the versatile Englishman leading most of the defensive charts ahead of his closest rivals.

After arriving at Bramall Lane from Blackpool on a free transfer in 2014, the 31-year-old has been with the Blades from the very depths of League One all the way through to the lofty heights of the Premier League. He has made 28 appearances in the English top tier so far.

His impressive displays at the back have helped Chris Wilder’s side storm their way to the top half of the table in an unpredictable fashion.

In recognition of his vital contributions throughout the campaign, ‘Bash’ has been featured as part of Sky Sports’ brand-new series on the division’s unsung heroes.

Unsurprisingly, the post was swamped with lots of replies from the SUFC faithful. One fan dubbed the defender as “the English Beckenbauer” and another added he is a “top player.”

Scroll through some of the best reactions down below…

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Newcastle United’s prospective takeover is still yet to be confirmed but that seemingly hasn’t stopped them from preparing for next season as fresh reports suggest the Saudi-backed consortium will look to replace Steve Bruce with one man in particular.

According to Le 10 Sport, former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is very close to becoming the next Magpies manager with negotiations said to be ‘at an advanced stage.’

They also suggest that the Argentine is their number one priority for the role, currently favourite with punters using their BetWinner bonus code even with Rafa Benitez’s name in the hat.

ESPN recently claimed that Pochettino would cost a whopping £12.5m for any club willing to take him on as Spurs included such terms as part of his departure in November.

However, this is thought to expire next month, so if the Magpies’ new owners want to land him in May, they’ll have to fork out a fortune.

Bruce is also still under contract for the next two years, meaning they would have to pay him off at least £2.25m as the 59-year-old is reportedly on £20k-per-week at St James’ Park.

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And then there is, of course, the wage packet that Pochettino would clean up for taking the job. Last week there were suggestions that he could land himself £19m per year according to Sky Sports, but it remains to be seen what sort of wages the 48-year-old would command.

It’s reasonable to suggest that it would be well above Bruce’s current offering.

All in all, if Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, led by Amanda Staveley, want to clinch the Champions League finalist this month, they are going to have to spend at least £15m – or more.

WHILE in other news, Newcastle fans react to Craig Hope takeover update…