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According to a recent report from The London Evening Standard, Vincent Janssen looks set to be dragged back in from the cold at Tottenham. The 24-year-old made the move to the Premier League outfit back in the summer of 2016 after impressing at Dutch side AZ, only to struggle to replicate that goal-scoring form in England to thus see him fall down Mauricio Pochettino’s pecking order.

Yet a recent report from The London Evening Standard suggests that Pochettino will add the striker to his Premier League squad for the rest of the season, which represents the most important few weeks of Janssen’s time at Tottenham, as getting it wrong would almost certainly spell the end of his stint in the capital.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, it has been nothing short of a disaster for the Dutchman ever since making the move from AZ two-and-a-half years ago, what with the striker since then appearing just 39 times in all competitions for Pochettino’s side, netting on only six occasions.

And with a loan spell at Fenerbahce last season, it’s pretty clear just how far down the pecking order Janssen was at Spurs, to the point that even Fernando Llorente, who hasn’t exactly pulled up any trees during his time in North London, was seemingly more prominent in Pochettino’s thinking.

And with no senior appearances for Tottenham this time round either, it looked for all the world that the 24-year-old would be on his way out of the club during January, only to remain and perhaps earn one final chance to salvage his career at the Premier League title chasers.

Ultimately, the recent injury to Harry Kane has left a gaping hole at the top end of the pitch which certainly needs filling, and while Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura have done that in recent times, the sheer volume of football the former has played, alongside the latter’s struggles in the role, suggests that Pochettino may well shake things up as February progresses.

And with Llorente himself not always convincing despite netting once and laying on two assists in his last two Premier League appearances, the door may well be open for Janssen to earn game time – game time he simply has to put to good use.

Clearly, there is a very talented striker in Janssen given the amount of goals he bagged at AZ, netting 31 times in 49 appearances in his one and only season at the Dutch outfit, and he surely won’t get a better opportunity to prove to Pochettino and indeed the Spurs fans that he can be a striker the club can call upon in the coming years.

And with Kane out for at least a few more weeks yet, but big games coming thick and fast for the North Londoners between now and the end of February, the next few weeks are without doubt Janssen’s most important of his Spurs stint to date.

Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Rangers have been linked with young striker Roko Simic recently and the 17-year-old, who has been likened to Erling Haaland, could add a new dimension to Steven Gerrard’s side next season if he moves to Ibrox.

According to the Daily Record, the Light Blues have been linked with the teenage forward recently as a result of his impressive performances with Lokomotiva Zagreb this season.

Rangers already have Borna Barisic and Nikola Katic in Gerrard’s squad, and the son of one-time AC Milan defender Dario Simic could add to the impressive Croatian contingent at Ibrox next season should the teenager make the switch.

His performances have certainly caught the eye of another Croatian former Rangers player in Nikica Jelavic, who sang his praises recently after playing alongside Simic this season, saying: “Roko is certainly one of the greatest talents in Croatian football! That’s for sure, he’s a young and decent guy, brilliantly brought up and he’s a real rough diamond.

“He is gaining experience, I played with him and as one of the older players, we helped him along.

“Everyone knows who he is because of his famous father, but that’s a burden that will shortly be off his back because he’s good enough to write his own story.

“I am convinced that Roko will make a great career and that he will be a world-class striker, I really haven’t seen a more talented player than Roko for a long time.”

In 22 appearances for Lokomotiva Zagreb, the teenage striker has already hit three goals, which is a respectable return for someone so young.

Considering that Jelavic managed 36 goals and 15 assists in just 56 appearances for Rangers, he clearly knows a lot about what it takes to succeed in the Scottish Premiership, and he evidently believes that Simic would be a hit at Ibrox.

It certainly seems as if the youngster is destined for a big future in football and therefore Rangers should perhaps be looking to bring him in as soon as possible, rather than waiting until his performances begin to attract elite clubs from across Europe.

In other news… Rangers handed major transfer boost with 23 y/o dubbed “the best”, Wilson must deliver

Many Middlesbrough fans hailed the performance of Everton loanee Yannick Bolasie in their 3-1 home win over Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.

The DR Congo international grabbed the opening goal of the Championship clash on Saturday afternoon, which left numerous Boro supporters begging for him to be signed on a permanent deal once his loan spell from the Toffees expires.

Bolasie had a very good game aside from the goal, also managing to register an assist, while he had five shots on goal in total, the most of any player to set foot on the pitch, and also made the joint-most clearances (four) for Neil Warnock’s side despite playing up top (Sofascore).

Middlesbrough fans on Bolasie display

These Boro fans lauded his performance on Twitter, with one claiming that the 31-year-old Everton loanee was ‘excellent’:

“Please stay forever @YannickBolasie x”

Credit: @tom_mcgarry17

“He actually is the best player in the league”

Credit: @Kai22_x

“Give the man everything he wants”

Credit: @MercilessMendez

“Never leave us. A decent attacking set up bought for next season, goalkeeper and Neil Warnock will celebrate his last year as a manager with promotion.”

Credit: @andrewduffy505

“Head and shoulders above anything at the club, struggle to keep hold of him next season!”

Credit: @storrzy_10

“I actually quite enjoyed that today! I know it was poor in terms of quality football but plenty of goalmouth incident and a few goals is always nice to see. Bolasie excellent get him signed up! And of course well done @Jcoburn06 #oneofourown #UTB”

Credit: @wallsendredicko

In other news, one Everton man’s performance Arsenal was slammed by many supporters.

Tottenham Hotspur are in need of a squad overhaul this summer, irrespective of whether or not Jose Mourinho remains in charge.

However, the reality is that the Portuguese is likely to keep his job given he’s one of the highest-paid managers in world football and remains under contract until 2023 without a break clause, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.

A mega-money payout is probably the last thing Spurs chairman Daniel Levy wants to do and you also have to consider the fact that much of this squad was inherited, so many of Mourinho’s problems have been lingering long before he arrived.

And as such, the Telegraph’s Matt Law believes a rebuild could happen at the end of the season, with many players facing an unlikely future…

Dele Alli

One name mentioned is, of course, Dele Alli.

The 24-year-old midfielder saw a move to Mauricio Pochettino’s Paris Saint-Germain collapse in January and is still struggling for game time under Mourinho.

Indeed, Alli has played only 964 minutes in all competitions this campaign; an average of 43 minutes per outing, via Transfermarkt.

As a result of him festering away on the bench and often on the sideline, his overall transfer value has plummeted 71% in the space of two years, with CIES Football Observatory now rating his worth at just €30m (£26m).

Now Football Insider claim that PSG could come back in for him in the summer.

Alli certainly has a lot to prove after the international break, though his route into the starting XI looks rather difficult. Tanguy Ndombele is now a first-team regular, and Giovani Lo Celso has recently returned from injury.

It seems hard to imagine that his Spurs career is done for at just 24, but if he can make a point to Mourinho in training in the coming months, then who knows what can happen.

He’s certainly going to have to fight for his future in north London, if he wishes to remain.

Harry Winks

Another name mentioned by the Telegraph is Harry Winks, who has gone from a trusted and highly-rated marshall in midfield under Pochettino to a forgotten man.

He too has been linked with interest ahead of the summer transfer window – Sport (via Sport Witness) claim the 25-year-old will insist for a move this summer amid likely interest from La Liga.

It would be an interesting move to make as he was once dubbed England’s Andres Iniesta by the ex-Spurs boss.

“Harry has the profile of the perfect midfield player,” explained Pochettino to the Evening Standard. “His characteristics are perfect. When we talk about midfielders like Xavi and Iniesta, he’s like this type of player.”

However, Winks has played only 24 times this campaign, of which only seven appearances are starts in the Premier League. And just one of those has come since the middle of January, as per Transfermarkt.

And just like Alli, his value has sunk from £36m in December 2019 (Transfermarkt) to €30m (£26m) in March 2021 (CIES).

As a graduate from the Hotspur Way system, you’d imagine there is nothing he’d like more than to feature but again, just like Alli, he’s out of the England fold and may need to move onto pastures new.

He’ll have to make a big statement if given an opportunity to do so before the end of the season.

Serge Aurier

A third name mentioned by the report is Serge Aurier. Perhaps the most surprising, given his turnaround in form this season.

The £18m-rated defender looked set to be replaced in the summer when Spurs clinched Matt Doherty for £15m from Wolves but if anything, that only spurned the Ivorian on, as he’s often been preferred at right-back.

Darren Bent once lambasted Aurier as a “liability” whilst Mourinho was seen telling the former PSG man that he was afraid of his ‘poor’ defending during Amazon’s ‘All or Nothing’ docuseries last year.

Maybe that still grates on his mind and with the £70k-per-week star soon-to-be entering the final year of his deal, it’s easy to see why he may be moved on.

He’ll need to keep performing at a higher level to Doherty in these coming months to remain in N17 for the long-term. He too must be playing for his Spurs future alongside Alli and Winks.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Rodon: Spurs can build defence for the future with £22.5m-rated “leader”…

A sports lawyer has dropped some promising insight on the recent Newcastle United takeover case launched by Mike Ashley.

The Lowdown: Ashley launches anti-competition lawsuit

The club owner has recently launched an anti-competition lawsuit against the Premier League with regards to their decision-making process on the failed deal between him and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

This comes after the Magpies confirmed last week that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) were discontinuing their investigation into their taxes, which in turn prompted Ashley to refer to ‘dark forces’ which were preventing the Tyneside club from becoming the ‘powerhouse that the fans deserve’.

The Latest: Sports lawyer drops promising insight

Speaking to The Chronicle, sports lawyer Daniel Geey has given some promising insight into the case launched by Ashley. He said:

“Where I think it’s of some value (to analysts) is it goes specifically into what the club thinks the Premier League has done wrong.

“The summary talks about ‘the decision the Premier League reached when they failed to apply their rules in fair, objective and non-discriminatory fashion’ and that it ‘used its powers to rule for an improper purpose of promoting its own commercial interests and its business associates’.

“The reason why that’s quite interesting is that those arguments are what they’ll use in the Premier League arbitration as well.

“What the CAT is there for is a very specialist arbitration body which has very special competition law judges to be able to rule on nuanced competition law arguments. So the club must feel that they are in a strong position and have strong arguments from a competition law perspective, I think especially the fair, objective and non-discriminatory fashion of failing to apply the rules.”

The Verdict: Newcastle in ‘strong position’

As Geey has claimed, Newcastle must feel that they are in a ‘strong position’, not just for this latest case against the Premier League, but their arbitration hearing as well.

The Magpies clearly feel as if they have enough strong evidence to present in court against the Premier League, given that there are now two cases launched against them in relation to the failed takeover.

The club could well turn out to be successful in both cases, and if so, a pathway could be cleared for the original bid to be revived.

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The results of the two cases will no doubt be interesting ahead of the new season as Newcastle aim to make a big stand in English football.

In other news, find out which ‘immense’ ace could have joined NUFC!

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has revealed that Raphinha is a “major doubt” for Leeds’ clash against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

The Brazilian missed the 1-1 draw against Liverpool last time out in the top-flight after being forced to limp off in the closing stages of the game against Manchester City.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side secured an impressive result against the Reds without him, but there no doubt would have been major hopes that he could make his return for the visit of United.

However, Hay has now revealed via Twitter that the winger is yet to actually train with the first-team since picking up his injury, and is now considered a major doubt for the game at Elland Road.

Given that he is yet to get at least some kind of training in before United, it seems highly unlikely now that Bielsa will be able to count on Raphinha, who has been an absolute revelation for the Whites this season.

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson said: “He’s full of energy, he’s got a (good) work ethic as well where he works for the team, he just does everything right.

“I’m a big fan of his and the recruitment there to find that player, because for £17m, there will be people now scratching their head going ‘why didn’t we get him?'”

Raphinha’s performances even led to teammate Patrick Bamford raving about him after the game against Crystal Palace earlier this year, saying on Sky Sports: “I think, to be honest, he has been a steal for Leeds. I am surprised. As soon as he came in, you saw him in training, you know sometimes with players whether they are good or they are top class, and he really was. He stood out straightaway.

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“I am surprised that bigger teams, more established Premier League teams I should say, haven’t taken a punt on him because he really is someone special, and he is young.”

Given that he is set to miss out yet again for Leeds, Bielsa will no doubt be gutted that his talisman isn’t available to play against United this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Leeds must unleash this “absolutely outrageous” U23s starlet…

The search for Celtic’s new head coach is like looking for a needle in a haystack. No matter how hard the Bhoys try, they can’t seem to lure anybody to Parkhead.

A number of names have been thrown in the hat to replace Neil Lennon but the Hoops are stuck with an interim manager for now.

What’s the word?

Roy Keane is back among the contenders for the vacant position at Paradise but Eddie Howe is still thought to be the favourite. Celtic are relaxed about the 43-year-old’s situation despite a number of complications, but they received a real boost in their pursuit on Thursday.

Tottenham have just sacked Jose Mourinho and, as such, there is a big opening for the Englishman in north London. However, Football.London reported this week that Howe isn’t expected to be in the frame for the Spurs job.

Desmond surely buzzing

With Celtic already facing such stern competition for his signature, this will come as sheer delight for Dermot Desmond. The majority shareholder has not had it easy in the last few weeks with Howe playing Celtic around on a regular basis.

He doesn’t want to return to football until the summer, which has enabled both Crystal Palace and Brighton to join the race for his services.

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Peterborough director of football Barry Fry told This is Futbol last week that Howe was stalling over the job at Parkhead because he didn’t view it as a big enough challenge.

When Tottenham fired Mourinho, therefore, it would have been easy to look towards Spurs as his next destination. They are a big club at this moment in time and have an attractive new stadium.

With that in mind, Desmond would have been fretting over the worst-case scenario. At last, the opportunity for which the former Bournemouth manager had been waiting was staring him right in the face.

He isn’t too keen on moving his family to Scotland, while the manager’s representatives think he can still get a job in the English top flight.

Although it may be a personal setback to the Englishman to be out of contention for the Spurs job, it will come as music to the ears of those at Celtic.

Perhaps negotiations with Howe will now improve? Only time will tell in this unpredictable chase for a new manager at Parkhead.

AND in other news, Forget Harkin: Celtic could find their new Van Dijk by appointing title-winning 39 y/o…

Daniel Farke’s Norwich City are interested in a summer move for Joshua King.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claimed that a recruitment source has revealed the Canaries are actively pursuing a deal for the Everton striker, who is set to become a free agent this summer.

The report claims that Farke is looking to add top-flight experience to his squad ahead of their upcoming Premier League campaign, with King emerging as a prime candidate.

Webber must move

While the 29-year-old did not exactly set the world alight after moving to Goodison Park in a deal in the region of £2m back in February, failing to score or register an assist for the Toffees over his 11 Premier League appearances for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, there is nevertheless an argument to be made that King would be a fine addition to the Norwich squad.

Although he did feature in 11 top-flight fixtures for Everton this season, none of these came as starts, with the £9m-rated forward averaging a mere 14 minutes on the pitch per game – significantly reducing the Norway international’s chances of having a real impact on proceedings.

However, in previous seasons, King has more than demonstrated that he is capable of finding the back of the net in the Premier League, with the £45,000-per-week striker scoring 48 goals and registering 15 assists over his 161 top-flight appearances while at Bournemouth.

Furthermore, with Farke considerably lacking in backup to and competition for Norwich’s 26-goal predator Teemu Pukki –  Jordan Hugill has managed just five goals over 34 appearances since joining the club last summer and injury-plagued 20-year-old Adam Idah still seems some way off being ready for regular first team football – a move for a centre-forward would appear to be something of a priority for the Canaries this summer.

As such, Stuart Webber should be doing all he can to convince King of a move to Carrow Road, as the 29-year-old – whom Eddie Howe previously dubbed as the “complete package” – would be a relatively cost-effective move for the sporting director to get over the line, as well as one who would bring a considerable amount of Premier League goalscoring experience to the Canaries.

In other news: Forget Skipp: Webber must seal Norwich deal for “fantastic” £6.3m-rated star – opinion

Celtic could be heading one step closer to appointing Eddie Howe as their next manager in a landmark move…

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Record this week, newly-appointed CEO Dominic McKay is set to start his role earlier than expected, as the Hoops’ massive rebuild gets underway.

McKay was due to start on July 1st, when Peter Lawwell will step away after 17 years in charge of the Scottish giants. But with major decisions needing to be made on their future, he is expected to quit his current job at the SRU.

It’s thought this move could be announced as early as Tuesday morning, with the Stock Exchanges reopening after the Easter break, some three months early than McKay was originally planned to take the helm.

Incoming manager?

This surely means that the Bhoys’ next managerial appointment is in sight, having ‘sacked’ Neil Lennon over a month ago.

The aforementioned report goes onto claim that McKay has already held talks with Howe over the vacant role at Parkhead, meaning this latest update should see that come to fruition before the end of the current campaign.

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Celtic are also looking for a new Director of Football to replace Nick Hammond, and it’s believed that Howe has already suggested his former AFC Bournemouth counterpart, Richard Hughes.

This all appears as if the next era at Celtic Park is coming to a head. If McKay does indeed start his new role this week, then the Hoops faithful can begin to get very excited following what has been a turgid and failed campaign.

Given the sheer size of the clearout at the 51-time league champions, we’re certainly about to embark on a landmark occasion – new CEO, new manager, new DOF and likely a shuffle in playing squad too, with club captain Scott Brown already on his way out.

That’s exactly why the Scottish outfit cannot rest on their laurels and why McKay will begin to set the foundations early.

Only a few days ago, reports surfaced suggesting that Howe was the front-runner for the Parkhead job, with The Sun claiming that the ex-Cherries boss had met with Dermot Desmond.

Now with McKay likely through the door this week, we can surely expect the 43-year-old to follow suit shortly after. Excitement should start to increase ahead of the summer for the loyal Bhoys army.

AND in other news, Fresh twist emerges in Celtic manager hunt…

Jose Mourinho has dropped a triple injury blow for Tottenham Hotspur ahead of their game away at Everton in the Premier League.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match against Carlo Ancelotti’s men, the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss has confirmed that Ben Davies, Matt Doherty and Dane Scarlett will all be missing from his squad for the trip to Goodison Park.

Triple Tottenham injury blow

With the defence of the Lilywhites looking very shaky at the moment to say the least, having conceded five goals in their last two games in the top flight to Newcastle United and Man United respectively, a change in the defence may have been a wise idea, as both Davies and Doherty could have come back into the full-back areas.

In terms of the attacking end of the pitch, Scarlett is a promising young talent who needs to be playing as much football in the first team as possible, with a mere three senior appearances made in total over all competitions so far in the 2020/21 term (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, THFC will have to try and find a way to win without these players in what could be a pivotal game in the race to qualify for European competition for the next season.

In other news, find out what worrying behind-the-scenes claim on Harry Kane has emerged here!