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Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to end a 13-year wait for silverware on Sunday afternoon as they prepare for battle with Manchester City at Wembley in the 2020/21 Carabao Cup final.

It’s been a turbulent week of mixed emotion in north London, that’s for sure. Jose Mourinho was sensationally axed after 17 months in charge of the Lilywhites, then the European Super League fiasco was brought to an abrupt end.

Newly-appointed interim head coach Ryan Mason, a former midfielder at Tottenham, steered the club to a massive three points against Southampton in the midst of all the adversity to put their top-four pursuit back on the right path.

It was finally an encouraging step in the right direction, especially given that he had less than 48 hours to prepare and instil his own mark on this struggling Spurs squad.

However, in the absence of Harry Kane through injury, the Londoners looked toothless in attack despite dominating possession against Southampton.

Again, there were further signs of positivity that Mason had quickly eradicated Mourinho’s passive tactics of sitting back as Spurs held 61% of the ball, which increased as high as 64% in the second half when chasing the game.

Both goals were a little fortuitous, too. Gareth Bale pounced on a loose ball following a defensive error before Heung-min Son slotted home a match-winning penalty in the game’s dying embers.

If you took away both goals, Spurs would have had only one shot on target for all of that possession. That’s not going to be good enough against a team like Manchester City.

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It leaves Mason with plenty to ponder, even more so with Kane’s involvement still in doubt. Perhaps it is time for a lifeline to be gifted to Dele Alli, who could feel rejuvenated since the exit of his tormentor, Mourinho.

Under the so-called ‘Special One’, the 25-year-old playmaker has been restricted to just 232 minutes of Premier League action all season. However, in short appearances in the Europa League, he has still contributed towards seven goals in total.

It was only in 2016/17 that Alli found the net 18 times from midfield (and had seven assists), earning a second Young PFA Player of the Year record and also gaining numerous plaudits. Former Spurs midfielder Darren Anderton compared him to Premier League greats Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard before going onto suggest that he was “a freak of a talent” and a “real joy to watch.”

When given regular game-time, Alli has always proven to be a huge threat in attack, managing above 0.9 key passes and 1.6 shots per game in every Premier League season since his debut, barring this tumultuous stint under Mourinho.

If Mason needs a game-changer in attack, with or without Kane, then he must turn to the £26m-rated dynamo.

An Alli remontada in a cup final to bring Levy his first trophy in over a decade – it couldn’t happen, could it?

AND in other news, Spurs could find their own Marcelo Bielsa in ‘demanding’ La Liga boss…

Kevin Phillips has been discussing Patrick Bamford’s substitution against Manchester City, admitting it was no great surprise.

Leeds United enjoyed a memorable victory on Saturday afternoon, winning 2-1 away to the soon-to-be Premier League champions. Beating City in any scenario is impressive enough, but Marcelo Bielsa’s men did it with 10 men following Liam Cooper’s red card just before half-time.

It was Bamford who was sacrificed by the Leeds manager straight after the incident, in order for the Whites to be set up in a more defensive manner.

[freshpress-quiz id=“351040″]

Phillips understands Bamford sub

Speaking to Football Insider, former Premier League Golden Boot winner Phillips claimed that the writing was on the wall for the Leeds striker, even though it was no doubt frustrating for him:

“It would have been frustrating for Bamford.

“I know the feeling because it happened to me. Whenever a man got sent off when I was playing, I was the one who was sacrificed. Sadly, you just knew what was going to happen.

“He will have been angry and disappointed but it is no surprise he got taken off, especially away from home.

“Bielsa could have taken off a wide player but they can tuck in and make you hard to break down. Almost like defending with a five and a four.

“The wide men have a lot of energy and the hope is, when you get possession, that they can carry the ball forward and give an outlet.”

Transfer Tavern take

No player wants to be replaced at any point during a match, so Bamford’s annoyance at coming off would have been completely understandable. However, bringing on Pascal Struijk made Leeds harder to break down and the decision ultimately paid off handsomely as Bielsa’s men picked up a famous win.

Had Bamford stayed on, he may have become increasingly isolated and wouldn’t have offered the same defensive work as Struijk, potentially affecting the whole team in the process.

In other news, one Leeds player has been praised for his performance against Man City – find out who it is here.

Brendan Rodgers reportedly has Gerard Moreno in his sights for a possible transfer to Leicester City, according to Fichajes.

As per the news outlet, the former Liverpool and Celtic boss would be interested in signing him because he is capable of playing in a front two with Jamie Vardy, aside from the sheer number of goals that he can score.

Moreno has scored no fewer than 23 goals and made a further eight assists in 32 games in total over all competitions so far in the 2020/21 term (Transfermarkt), averaging just shy of a goal or an assist a match.

Playing in the UEFA Champions League is his ‘main dream’, and the East Midlands club could well offer him that next season.

Leicester should sign Moreno

It would do no harm to the Foxes at all if they were to add another striker to their squad, and Moreno could the perfect man.

The Villarreal ace, currently rated at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, clearly knows where the net is, and would certainly ease off the goal scoring burden off of both Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho.

At 29 years of age, the Spain international is in his prime years as a football player, and may favour a move to LCFC if they are able to qualify for the Champions League come the end of the campaign.

In other news, find out whose display against Manchester City was blasted here!

With suggestions that Leeds United are after a new centre-half in the summer transfer window, Marcelo Bielsa may be better off thinking again, and looking to one of the club’s burgeoning academy prospects: Charlie Cresswell.

Reports in recent days and weeks have claimed that the Premier League side are interested in Torino centre-back Nicolas Nkoulou, whose contract with the Italian team is set to expire come the end of the season, thus allowing him to join on a free transfer.

But, rather than bringing in a soon-to-be 31-year-old, Leeds could in actual fact unearth their next Ben White, in Cresswell.

White was a huge presence for Leeds in their promotion-winning campaign last season, playing the full 90 minutes in every single game in the Championship.

In Cresswell, he appears to be tailor-made to step into those shoes given his style of play as a ball-playing centre-half.

Speaking about Cresswell earlier this season, Noel Whelan was glowing in his praise about the youngster, saying: “He is the future, he’s one for the future. At that centre-half position he’s got great attributes, he’s very calm on the ball, a great size to him, he’s quick, he can head, he can pass. He’s the modern-day, young centre-half.”

The 18-year-old is one of the rising stars of the Whites’ academy system, and only penned a new contract with the Elland Road side back in November, signing a new two-and-a-half year deal.

And, after the U23s beat Fulham 7-1 this term, Leeds Live hailed the centre-back in their post-match player ratings: “His security on the ball was convincing, even indulging in a Cruyff turn inside his own defensive third to evade danger in the second half.

“Perhaps the best action of his during the game was the frequent interceptions he made. Cresswell read the play excellently, seizing on forward passes as Fulham looked to break, turning the visitors’ attacks into countering opportunities for the Whites.”

That ability to read the game and make interceptions is somewhat reminiscent of White’s performances at Elland Road last season, who averaged 2.5 interceptions per game in the Championship.

So, rather than bringing in another centre-back into the ranks, Bielsa could be pleasantly surprised by promoting Cresswell into the fold. He’s got all the attributes that made White a big success at Elland Road, in terms of being the “modern-day, young centre-half” as Whelan says.

Now is just about being given an opportunity to shine at the highest level.

Meanwhile, Leeds could hire Bielsa’s dream successor in this 36 y/o…

MatériaMais Notícias

Jogando fora de casa, o Campinense não tomou conhecimento do Salgueiro nesta quinta-feira e venceu por 2 a 0 ficando mais próximo da semifinal da Copa do Nordeste. Time visitante contou com grande noite de atacante Jussimar, no Estádio Cornélio de Barros. Jogo de volta será no domingo.

O jogo

O primeiro tempo de jogo foi de total domínio do time visitante, que chegava com perigo sempre que ia ao ataque. Aos 19 minutos, Jussimar fez boa jogada com Rodrigão e abriu o placar para o Campinense. O Salgueiro até tentava o empate, mas pecava na hora da finalização. Equipe pernambucana foi para o vestiário perdendo por 1 a 0.

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A segunda etapa começou com tudo e logo aos nove minutos, Jussimar tirou do goleiro Mondragon para fazer o segundo Campinense. Os donos da casa quase empataram com Paulinho Mossoró, mas jogador bateu para fora. Com a vantagem, o time visitante só administrou o placar e esperou o apito final para garantir a vitória na noite desta quinta-feira.

Domingo acontece o jogo de volta,em Campina Grande, o Campinense pode perder até por um gol de diferença. O Salgueiro precisa vencer por dois gols de diferença para seguir na Copa do Nordeste. Jogo será às 19h, no Estádio do Amigão.

Lee Charnley should seal a deal for Eintracht Frankfurt full-back Jetro Willems to return to Newcastle United amid speculative interest from the St. James’ Park outfit.

What’s the word?

According to Chronicle Live, the Toon are interested in bringing Willems back to Tyneside just over a year since his loan spell at the club was cut short due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

United are said to have made contact with relative parties to discuss a deal for the Dutchman to join Steve Bruce’s squad in the final days of the January transfer window, as the Magpies look to harden the head coach’s position despite being winless in 11 games.

Willems only returned to the Eintracht matchday squad for their 5-1 demolition of Arminia Bielefeld last weekend, but is understood to be fully fit and match-ready after 12-months out after rupturing his anterior cruciate in Newcastle’s 1-0 victory over Chelsea last January.

The £4m-rated beast is now inside the final six-months of his £35,000-per-week contract at Frankfurt after turning down the offer of a new deal, and is noted to have snubbed a move to PAOK this month as he favours a return to St. James’ Park.

Willems made 20 appearances for the Toon during his loan stay in the 2019/20 campaign, scoring twice and providing three assists, with Bruce saying “he did very well for us”. He is yet to play a single minute in any competition this season.

Eintracht had expected to sell Willems for between €10-12m (£9-10.5m) last summer but will now be forced to accept a cut-price fee to avoid losing him for nothing at the end of the season, with the left-back now able to discuss pre-contract agreements.

Should Newcastle bring Willems back?

Just a month before his injury, Willems was determined to give Newcastle “no choice” but to buy him at the end of his season on loan. And while a year out of action will ensure there are no guarantees he is the same player, United should not hesitate to bring him back.

Willems had just begun to build a strong relationship with Allan Saint-Maximin on the left-hand of Bruce’s side before his blow, with the combination proving most lethal against Manchester United when they toyed with the Red Devils before the wing-back teed Matty Longstaff up to score the winner.

Willems and Saint-Maximin are also noted to be close off the pitch, and a return to St. James’ Park may do wonders for the squad’s morale with Bruce confirming that confidence is low after a run of six-straight defeats.

Newcastle have also struggled to see the best from £15m summer signing Jamal Lewis, whose form in black and white has often been at a lesser level than what the Toon saw from Willems in his Premier League appearances for the club.

Across 19 top-flight outings, Willems helped the Magpies keep two clean sheets after breaking up opposition attacks with 0.9 interceptions and 1.9 successful tackles a game. Lewis, after 17 games, has also helped to keep two shut outs, but his involvement has been less evident with 0.4 interceptions and 1.5 successful tackles, per SofaScore.

Willems kept things simple and cleared his line 2.0 times a game to Lewis’ 1.4, too, yet still brought play forward to offer support in attack with 1.1 successful dribbles with a 66% success rate to the former Norwich City full-back’s 0.6 with a 52% success rate.

Lewis’ efforts in the current campaign do not lag behind Willems’ from last season in every regard, with the 23-year-old currently offering 0.6 accurate crosses with a 34% accuracy rating to the Dutchman’s 0.3 with a 16% accuracy rating.

The pair are also well matched for times they have lost possession, caught opponents offside, errors committed that led to shots, touches of the ball and total passes played. Willems only marginally eclipses Lewis for shots (0.5 to 0.4) and key passes (0.8 to 0.6), too.

But if Willems is still the player he was a year ago, Newcastle Managing Director Charnley should see very few reasons why he should not bring the Frankfurt man back to Tyneside this month, as the upside to a bargain deal far outweigh the negatives.

AND in other news, Newcastle have landed a huge boost in their pursuit of a £4m-rated beast…

Liverpool’s hopes of signing Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig in the summer look to have suffered a huge blow, after it was reported that Bayern Munich have agreed a deal for the French international.

The centre-back has established himself as one of the hottest young properties in Europe during his time with Die Roten Bullen and always looked likely to depart at the end of this season, due to a release clause in his contract with Julian Nagelsmann’s side.

Liverpool were one of several Premier League sides to be linked with a move for the 22-year-old but it now seems as if he will be staying in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich after sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic confirmed the signing earlier this week.

Since joining Leipzig in January 2017 from RB Salzburg, Upamecano has gone on to make 139 appearances for the German side, contributing four goals and three assists.

He was a big part of Leipzig reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League last season and produced some memorable displays in that competition, which earned him the praise of Rio Ferdinand after he was superb in the 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid.

The former Manchester United man said:

“Upamecano was the best player tonight he was formidable on the pitch.”

He also suggested that the French defender “manhandled” Diego Costa, which is certainly no easy task.

So far this season, the young centre-back has been superb for Leipzig, averaging a solid 6.94 rating across 19 Bundesliga appearances, helping Nagelsmann’s side to 10 clean sheets in the top-flight games he has featured in – only six other players have earned a higher average match rating than Upamecano among his teammates.

Therefore, with Liverpool’s lack of depth in defence clear to see this season, the 22-year-old would surely have proved to be an excellent addition to Klopp’s side in the summer, and missing out on him will likely be a cause of frustration for the German manager.

Especially when you consider the Reds had to scramble around on deadline day for a couple of new centre-back additions.

And, in other news… LFC beast was extremely wasteful vs Leicester; he lost possession 45 times

A lot of Sheffield Wednesday fans have flocked to Twitter following the sacking of Tony Pulis to share that they want to see former Owls player Nigel Pearson appointed as the Yorkshire club’s next manager. 

Pulis has been sacked just over a month after assuming the Hillsborough hot seat. Per the Owls’ official website, the 62-year-old guided Wednesday to just one Championship win during his short time at the club. 

In a statement, The Owls’ owner and chairman Dejphon Chansiri justified his decision to sack Pulis by explaining that he felt his record at the Yorkshire club was ‘not acceptable.’ 

So, what have these Sheffield Wednesday fans been saying about Pearson?

When asked about potentially returning to Hillsborough as manager one day in 2019, Pearson declared that he wouldn’t want to put his and his family’s quality of life in the city of Sheffield “at risk for a job” but he didn’t categorically rule it out and some Owls fans have been making it very clear that they want Chansiri to approach the renowned ‘escape artist’ to try and save Wednesday, who currently sit in the Championship’s relegation zone.

“Paul cook or Ryan lowe. Start building a team whether we if we go down or not proven we’ll have a proven league one manager and a manger that would actually care and would ultimately be backed by the fans. That or give Pearson a blank cheque #swfc”

Credit: @liamward_6

“Pearson surely? #swfc”

Credit: @Beardhiker

“@segz__ Pearson for me”

Credit: @DScatts

“Pulis sacked No surprise dismal record P10 W 1 D 4 L5 Didn’t score over a goal a game – Bring in Nigel Pearson The game goes on let’s hope for a brighter New Year #swfc #wawaw #football”

Credit: @skylineowl

“Its a joke! Get Pearson in to shake it up”

Credit: @davidjamesct

“Tony pulis was the wrong appointment to start with. Nigel Pearson is the man to take us forward. Uto.”

Credit: @Ozzie7L

“It would be a superb appointment but he’d been destined for the same outcome unfortunately. Chansiri will prevent any long term success.”

Credit: @fittall1987

In other news, some Sheffield Wednesday fans reacted negatively to Pulis’ praise for Joey Pelupessy earlier this month.

Now that Leeds United have returned to the Premier League, the rumour mill surrounding their potential January business is working overtime. The Championship title winners have recently been linked to a move for Liverpool’s fringe striker Divock Origi by Football Insider pundit Kevin Phillips, after he has slipped drastically down the pecking order since the arrival of Diogo Jota.

Whilst Leeds already boast one of the most clinical strikers in the league, they are severely lacking creativity in other parts of the team. If they moved to sign Origi, he would not only pair up nicely with Patrick Bamford, but he would bring experience in abundance to pass on to the likes of Joe Gelhardt and Tyler Roberts.

Why Leeds should sign Origi from Liverpool

Marcelo Bielsa is stubborn when it comes to his starting lineups and seldom strays from his 4-1-4-1 formation. However, bringing in a talent like Origi would warrant a change in his tactics.

The striker has 29 caps for Belgium and has spent five years with Liverpool. In that time he has won the Premier League, Club World Cup, Super Cup and played a huge part in their sixth Champions League title in 2018.

This is experience that no money can buy and it will be invaluable to a side like Leeds who were out of the Premier League for 16 years before their recent promotion. Origi has made a total of 145 appearances for the Reds and has scored 35 goals (via Transfermarkt). He has come up against the toughest opponents and has been a part of Jurgen Klopp’s high-intensity tactics, which could inject a new sense of creativity into Bielsa’s team.

His knowledge and experience would also help out the younger forwards who are vying for time in the senior Leeds squad. Plus, being valued at £14million, he wouldn’t cost Andrea Radrizzani too much to sign.

Liverpool will likely be looking to let the Belgian leave and would be happy to take anything in excess of the £10million they paid to sign him from Lille in 2015. Although Jurgen Klopp is a fan of the “outstanding” 25-year-old, he simply cannot find room for him in the squad.

In other news, Bielsa could bag three points following West Ham injury blow…

David Moyes will throw Said Benrahma under the bus if the West Ham United boss plans to use the Brentford loanee as a striker against Leeds on Friday night.

Benrahma is yet to start a Premier League fixture since moving to the London Stadium on a season-long deal, with Moyes firm in his stance that the Algerian must wait for his opportunity as Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen continue to excel on the wings.

Fornals offered a tame showing in West Ham’s last top-flight outing as he struggled to make his chances count before Manchester United came from behind to win, yet it is not the £67,308-per-week playmaker who could miss out on facing Leeds but rather Sebastien Haller.

According to Claret & Hugh, Moyes will be without Michail Antonio at Elland Road as the striker is continuing to train alone before featuring for the Under 23s as he bids to make his comeback from a second hamstring injury.

The blow allowed Haller to move back into the starting line-up against Manchester United, but a goalless display from the Ivory Coast international has raised the potential for Benrahma to lead the line against Marcelo Bielsa’s Championship title-holders.

Moyes would be throwing Benrahma under the bus if he were to award the Brentford loanee his maiden West Ham start at striker, as the “outstanding” forward Lee Hendrie is confident has top-flight ability has only played in a centre-forward role seven times throughout his senior career.

Only four times has Benrahma opened the action as a striker, too, which returned his only two goals in the position – each coming in a Ligue 2 fixture against Stade Brest back in May 2018 whilst with LB Chateauroux.

Brentford boss Thomas Frank only saw fit to hand his star forward central duties twice, as well, with one of which coming against Leeds for the final 11 minutes as he chased a late goal to avoid defeat at Elland Road.

The strike did not come and Benrahma returned to the left-wing, where he would pen each of his 17 goals and 10 assists during the 2019/20 season on route to defeat in the Play-Off Final with Fulham.

Speculation of Moyes considering Benrahma as a central option is not too far-fetched with the Scot initially favouring AFC Bournemouth’s Joshua King this summer, a player who was keen to play as a No. 9 as opposed to on the flank.

But using Benrahma in the manner King would have occupied would be an absurd plan to make use of the 25-year-old his side brought in on a £5million loan deal that features a £20m obligation to buy and a further £5m possible in add-ons, meaning it could rise to £30m.

AND in other news, David Sullivan can redefine David Moyes’ West Ham with a winter swoop for a £4.95m-rated maestro.