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Daniel Levy is risking further fury from the Tottenham Hotspur faithful as his search for their next manager appears to be drawing to a close…

What’s the word?

According to The Times’ chief sports correspondent Matt Lawton, Spurs are in advanced talks with Paulo Fonseca over their vacant role and is now thought to be the first-choice candidate to become the head coach.

The 48-year-old is believed to be the chosen option of incoming sporting director Fabio Paratici, who is set to be announced in the coming days after his departure from Juventus, where he won 19 trophies in 11 years.

Fonseca recently departed AS Roma after they hired Jose Mourinho as his successor in May.

Worse than Gross

Spurs have certainly struggled in their pursuit to find their next permanent manager.

The North London outfit were initially linked to Julain Naglesmann, who opted to join Bayern Munich from RB Leipzig and then to Brendan Rodgers, who would prefer to stay at FA Cup winners Leicester City.

They also held talks with ex-manager Mauricio Pochettino over a sensational return, whilst Antonio Conte was on the verge of becoming their next boss before a move collapsed at the 11th hour over numerous concerns from both parties.

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This appointment is a monumental one as Levy and the club’s hierarchy have come under intense pressure from supporters in recent months, all kickstarted by their botched plans to form a European Super League.

Since that fell through, many have protested against the chairman, as well as the ENIC Group, and this has merely been the culmination of underperformance, underachievement, and a lack of ambition on their part.

It seems that plenty of these fans are against the idea of Fonseca, which means there’s a serious risk of further apathy around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season. Things could quickly turn sour if they do not get off to a good start, especially if Harry Kane seals his desired exit.

On social media, the Lilywhites faithful have been reacting to the news that the Portuguese looks set to become their next manager and it’s led to some calls suggesting that this would be an even worse appointment than Christian Gross in 1997.

Perhaps there are some similarities to be had with then, to now, as Fonseca has never managed in the Premier League yet has won titles and silverware in countries like Ukraine and Portugal.

Gross had won two Swiss league titles prior to his arrival but was a bizarre choice from Alan Sugar as he looked to follow Spurs’ arch-rivals Arsenal and Chelsea with foreign appointments.

One Tottenham supporter said the potential arrival of Fonseca was “worse” than when Gross was hired, claiming that the club was a “joke,” whilst “embarrassing” and “cheap” were other phrases used to describe the news.

The 48-year-old has just left Roma having failed to guide them past fifth place in the Italian top-flight, they were also well-beaten by Manchester United in the Europa League, and he won just 52% of games in charge – the same as Mourinho at Spurs.

On the above evidence, Levy is about to open a can of worms in North London, with a manager that has recently been described as “abysmal.”

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold issues major claim on Spurs’ manager search that’ll leave fans furious…

Everton made a huge transfer mistake all the way back in 2009 when they failed to capture the signing of midfielder Ever Banega. It’s one that they will surely regret.

At the time Banega had just finished a loan spell with Atletico Madrid when Everton were interested in signing him on a permanent basis from his parent club Valencia.

Now 33 years old he would have been 20 at the time and a young prospect with a bright future ahead of him. However, according to The Daily Mail, the move fell through at the last minute with the Spanish club reluctant to let Banega leave after they had failed to secure a replacement for him.

He went on to stay at Valencia until 2014 making 185 appearances for the club and being directly involved in 41 goals before moving to Sevilla for £2.35m. It was here where he achieved a tremendous amount of success, winning the Europa League three times in two separate spells, lifting the trophy in 2015, 2016 and most recently 2020.

Arteta 2.0

At the time he was close to signing for the Toffees, he was compared to their star midfielder at the time Mikel Arteta, with special notice paid to his quality in possession and his playmaking ability.

Everton did have playmakers of their own under David Moyes such as Marouane Fellaini and Steven Pienaar, but Banega could have made a huge difference in the middle of the park sitting alongside Arteta.

After failing in their attempts to sign the Argentine “maestro” in the words of WhoScored when he was rated at just £7.2m, the Toffees subsequently had to rely on youngster Jack Rodwell at the time. The Englishman was 18 during that season and played 28 games for the club in the Premier League. He went on to have a good Everton career but at the time had much less ability than Banega.

Ultimately this is a signing that would have improved Everton greatly, with the 65-cap Argentine eventually going on to be worth a high of £18m. However, if the player had left he wouldn’t have gone on to achieve anywhere near as much as he did with Sevilla.

Although they got close, Everton didn’t win a trophy during Moyes’ time at Goodison Park and have gone without silverware since 1995.

Banega now plays in Saudi Arabia for Al-Shabab who he joined on a free transfer in 2020.

IN other news: More misery: Alan Myers drops four-word Everton claim that’ll leave supporters fuming…

In an exclusive interview with The Transfer Tavern, former Wigan Athletic manager Paul Jewell has claimed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could still perform for a team like Southampton in the Premier League.

Liverpool are reportedly willing to let Oxlade-Chamberlain leave this summer with the Reds looking to get £17 million for the midfielder, and Borussia Dortmund are the early favourites to sign him.

The 27-year old impressed at Southampton when they were in League One which persuaded Arsenal to sign him back in 2011, and a move to Liverpool came in 2017 with him since winning both the Premier League and Champions League.

Speaking on if Oxlade-Chamberlain could perform at a club like Southampton and if his injuries could hold him back, Jewell exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“There’s no doubt about it he could do it for Southampton, he’s just been unlucky with injuries has Oxlade-Chamberlain which has been unfortunate for him and I think it was against Roma when he got a really bad knee injury.

“That would have been really hard for him to come back from but he’s still young enough so I’m sure he could do a job in most Premier League teams.”

The Liverpool winger missed their Champions League final defeat against Real Madrid because of a knee injury that was sustained against Roma in the semi-final.

Since he joined Liverpool, Oxlade-Chamberlain has missed a total of 493 days through several long and short term injuries.

Liverpool could secure their ideal heir to Jordan Henderson this summer after being linked with a move for Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella.

What’s the story?

According to Italian outlet Calciomercato (as relayed by TheHardTackle), the Reds are keen on signing the Italy international over the coming weeks as manager Jurgen Klopp looks to strengthen his engine room options.

With Gini Wijnaldum departing for French giants Paris Saint-Germain and the future of club captain Henderson far from secure, Liverpool are believed to be searching for added reinforcements in the centre of the pitch.

However, they will reportedly face competition for Barella’s signature, with fierce rivals Manchester United also credited with an interest in the Inter ace.

He’s better than Gini Wijnaldum

The San Siro could be the ideal destination to pick up a superstar this summer as the reigning Serie A champions look to address their financial troubles. Achraf Hakimi has already departed the Nerazzurri for PSG, while Romelu Lukaku is the subject of intense interest from Chelsea.

And Barella could be the next key figure to depart in the current window after several standout performances for club and country over the last couple of campaigns.

After playing a pivotal part in Inter’s first league title victory in 10 years, the box-to-box beast continued to excel on the international stage for Roberto Mancini’s Italy.

Barella bagged one goal and provided two assists for his teammates in six outings as the Azzurri claimed the European Championship trophy in impressive fashion, catching the eye of several onlookers, including Gary Lineker.

The Match of the Day presenter tweeted his admiration for the midfielder after his crucial goal in the quarter-final against Belgium, saying: “Barella the fella as Italy lead with a cracking goal. Superb game this.”

And his figures for the 2020/21 campaign reveal he could even prove to be an upgrade on Wijnaldum, should Klopp pull off an ambition swoop for the former Cagliari gem.

While the Dutch international and Barella both bagged three goals last season, the Inter man laid on a magnificent 13 assists in all competitions, while Wijnaldum failed to record any all campaign.

As per fbref.com, Barella’s underlying attacking figures were also far superiors, with the 5 ft 6 dynamo producing 52 key passes and 2.66 shot-creating actions per 90 to Wijnaldum’s tallies of 23 and 1.50, respectively.

And it wasn’t just in the final third where the Italian excelled, completing 1.33 tackles per 90 and 0.91 interceptions to Wijnaldum’s 0.75 and 0.75.

Whether Liverpool can afford the £58.5m-rated Barella remains doubtful, though, but if Director of Football Michael Edwards can continue to shift the club’s unwanted fringe players, then his excellent negotiating skills may be able to get this transfer over the line.

And, in other news…Liverpool receive boost in their pursuit of £21.3m “livewire”, Klopp would love him 

Crystal Palace reporter for The Athletic, Matt Woosnam, believes that the versatility of new signings Marc Guehi and Michael Olise is a plus for the Eagles.

Guehi signed a five-year deal at Selhurst Park and is comfortable playing as a centre-back, but has also featured as both a left and a right-back throughout his career. The defender was an important player for Swansea City last season as he featured in 45 games for the Swans in all competitions.

Olise also has a lot of first-team experience as he featured for Reading 46 times in all competitions, scoring seven goals and creating a further 12, and only didn’t feature in two of the Royals’ Championship fixtures last campaign against Luton and Preston where he was on the bench.

The 19-year-old is comfortable playing off either wing, as well as playing more centrally in an attacking midfield role, and also signed a five-year deal with Palace.

Woosnam believes that the versatility that both Guehi and Olise offer is a plus for the club, telling Football FanCast: “I think versatility is something that Palace would probably benefit from. I think to some extent Marc Guehi is a relatively first style defender he can play in a back five or three and also a back four.

“Michael Olise, again he wasn’t signed for that purpose but he can play on the right, I think he played there quite a lot for Reading sort of coming inside from the right or he can play centrally.”

Patrick Vieira has been busy in the summer window since taking charge of Crystal Palace, as alongside Guehi and Olise, Palace have also completed deals for Jacob Montes, Joachim Anderson and Conor Gallagher.

Watford have been handed a blow in their bid to bring Josh Doig to Vicarage Road this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Ekrem Konur, with the journalist posting on Twitter that Arsenal are now keeping a close eye on the Hibernian left-back ahead of a potential summer move.

Watford were recently reported to be in talks regarding the transfer of the 19-year-old, for whom it is thought that a deal would cost around £4m.

Giaretta will be gutted

With it previously appearing as if Watford had something of a free shot at a deal for Doig, if recent reports are to be believed, the news that Arsenal are now very firmly in the race for the highly-rated youngster is likely to come as gutting news for Watford’s sporting director Cristiano Giaretta.

The Hornets are in particular need of reinforcements at left-back following the confirmation that Achraf Lazaar has departed the club just three months after joining, and the SWFA Young Player of the Year very much appears to be an exciting prospect in the position.

Over his 28 Scottish Premiership appearances this term, the defender scored one goal, registered three assists and created two big chances for his teammates, in addition to helping his side keep four clean sheets and making an average of 0.8 interceptions, 1.5 tackles and 1.1 clearances per game – culminating in a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.65.

While these metrics would be impressive for an established left-back, the fact that the £450k-rated man is turning in these numbers at just 19 years of age would appear to indicate that he has an extremely bright future in the game, something that Jack Ross clearly agrees with, as he has dubbed the youngster an “excellent” talent.

As such, if Arsenal’s apparent interest does turn the head of the Scotland U19 international away from a move to Vicarage Road, Giaretta will have to begin his search for an addition in the position all over again – something that would undoubtedly come as a huge blow for the sporting director and his side.

In other news: Massive Watford contract development emerges which will surely have fans buzzing – opinion

Aston Villa have been handed a huge boost in their attempts to sign Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Villa’s interest

Football Insider suggested at the end of June that Villa registered their interest in Tuanzebe, with Dean Smith looking to sign a centre-back following Bjorn Engels’ move to Royal Antwerp.

They hold a ‘concrete’ interest in Tuanzebe, who can play at centre-back and right-back, and would make a move if given encouragement by United.

They have been handed just that, according to a recent report, with links to the Englishman, who has already made 35 appearances for Villa during a loan spell, heating up.

The Latest: Source shares update

According to Football Insider, who were informed by a Villa source, the club have been given encouragement over a potential deal for Tuanzebe.

United are planning to part ways with the 23-year-old this summer and Villa have held talks over a transfer.

The Red Devils will listen to offers for the defender who Gary Neville hailed last season, if they land a replacement.

One centre-back who has been linked with a move to Old Trafford is Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane, and it seems as should a deal go through, Tuanzebe could well return to Villa Park.

The Verdict: A great move

With just Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Kortney Hause Villa’s only senior centre-backs, a fourth could prove to be a shrewd move by Smith.

He’s already worked with Tuanzebe in the Midlands, so will know just what he would add to the squad. A £7m fee was touted as possibly being enough back in May, and should that still be the case, it could turn out to be a bargain in the long run.

Tuanzebe’s current Transfermarkt valuation stands at £7.2m, so signing him for £200,000 less than that appears to be a no brainer for a versatile defender who already has Premier League experience and still has plenty of years to develop further.

In other news: Emile Smith Rowe update emerges, Villa’s patience could be about to pay off, find out more here. 

A number of Aston Villa supporters have laid into Tyrone Mings’ erratic performance in the first half away to Arsenal.

Dean Smith’s side have had a week to reflect on their shock 3-2 defeat at home to Wolves last Saturday, on a day when it looked as though three points were in the bag.

Instead, Villa suffered one of their most disappointing Premier League losses in recent memory.

Smith’s men are back in league action this evening, making the trip to north London to face an Arsenal side still flattering to deceive under Mikel Arteta.

The Gunners were the better team from the off however, and one player who struggled to impress in the opening 45 minutes at the Emirates was Mings.

The England international was diving into tackles, completed a poor 71 per cent of his passes and was eventually booked for a mistimed challenge on Alexandre Lacazette.

Aston Villa fans react to Mings’ first half

These Villa supporters gave their thoughts on Mings’ display on Twitter.

“Mings carries on just like he finished last week”

Credit: @brian_seadon

“Mings try not to hoof the ball challenge!”

Credit: @YoungArevalo

“Mings is struggling”

Credit: @jimmydoris1986

“I love Tyrone Mings but he is TRASH in a back 3”

Credit: @avfcPJR

“Omg Mings no”

Credit: @JamieeAVFC

“Mings is so reckless. Incredibly naive at times “

Credit: @SandbrookNick

In other news, some Villa fans have slammed a piece of Premier League news that has emerged. Read more here.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left blasting the display of Kemar Roofe in their 2-2 draw at home to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership.

An Alfredo Morelos goal and a late James Tavernier penalty were enough to give the Light Blues a point in the end after being 2-0 down through goals from Christian Ramirez and Scott Brown.

A striker by trade, Roofe was asked to play a wide role by Steven Gerrard at Ibrox, but was largely a ghost throughout, recording a mere 20 touches of the ball in total, fewer than goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin (SofaScore).

The Jamaica international also lost out on two of his duels and failed to record a single shot on target, as he was hauled off in the 77th minute for Fashion Sakala (SofaScore).

Rangers fans on Roofe display

These Teddy Bears supporters blasted his performance on Twitter, with a couple of Gers even going as far as to claim that he was ‘anonymous’:

“Play Patterson further forward. Roofe was terrible tonight – very poor. Hagi needs to play centrally for me.”

Credit: @L41RD_

“I actually forgot Roofe was playing”

Credit: @JJ271099319

“Roofe was so bad tonight and Wright should be in the starting 11”

Credit: @bIadeefan69

“Roofe has been anonymous”

Credit: @__Scobra__

“Aribo, Hagi, Roofe, Kamara all anonymous”

Credit: @Aaron_mone

“What does Roofe do?”

Credit: @knocks_john

In other news, find out whose display against Aberdeen was also slammed here!

Crystal Palace are interested in a move for former Liverpool defender Ozan Kabak, according to The Guardian’s Ed Aarons.

And, as to be expected, a number of Eagles fans have been sharing their thoughts on a possible swoop on social media.

According to Aarons, Palace are one of several Premier League clubs interested in a permanent deal for Kabak, who made 13 appearances under Jurgen Klopp last season.

The Reds decided against making Kabak’s Anfield loan a permanent transfer this summer, but it seems as if the Schalke defender could be heading to England for good after all.

Aarons claims Schalke are likely to ask for £12m for the 21-year-old, who has 12 caps for Turkey to his name. He is valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt and still has three years left on his contract, so a £12m move could be a shrewd piece of business by the Eagles in the long run alongside their recent swoop for Marc Guehi.

Palace fans react

Aarons’ social media post on Tuesday evening regarding Palace and Kabak received plenty of positive interaction from a number of Palace supporters. This is what some had to say in reply…

“Guehi and Kabak? My god the rebuild”Credit: @Kevbartleyy”This window is something special.”Credit: @Scrivum”Okay we are moving mad now”Credit: @NAL_UK”Would be unreal”Credit: @unIocaIpIa9tic”Please”Credit: @FPLWILSON”Guehi and Kabak partnership is unreal”Credit: @joelcpfc_

In other news: Pundit has exclusively backed a Crystal Palace pursuit of a reported target.