Fernando Llorente joined Tottenham Hotspur knowing that regular first-team football was going to be unlikely.

Harry Kane is the star of Spurs’ show and is expected to be leading the line up front for years to come (unless he leaves).

Since Llorente made the switch to North London from Swansea City, he has made 13 Premier League appearances, but only one of those outings was from the starting spot.

In 22 games in all competitions, the Spaniard has scored just two goals and created an assist, but he has played a full 90 minutes just once this season.

The match was a 3-0 win over Champions League opponents APOEL, in which Llorente scored and created a goal.

A recent report by The Independent claims that Chelsea are considering reigniting their interest in the striker.

The Blues were rumoured suitors of Llorente in the summer before he opted to join Tottenham, and now this latest report suggests that manager Antonio Conte is considering another attempt this month.

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Spurs fans have been giving their say on the speculation via Twitter.

West Ham United announced on Friday afternoon that they had completed a deal for Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario.

The Portugal international has joined the Hammers on loan for the remainder of the season.

Manchester United were previously linked with a move for the 25-year-old, but it is West Ham that have brought the Euro 2016 winner to the Premier League.

It would be fair to say that the versatile midfielder, who is valued at £23.4m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has struggled at Inter since joining the club from Sporting Lisbon, but he has plenty of talent.

Mario told West Ham’s official website that he was ‘really happy’ to have joined the Hammers.

The Portuguese is expected to make his West Ham debut in Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round clash at Wigan Athletic, and the club’s supporters cannot wait to see their new man in action.

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Unveiling new signings on social media has become a thing over the last 12 months or so, and West Ham had something up their sleeve for the announcement of Mario.

A selection of the reaction to the announcement can be seen below:

As reported by The Scottish Sun, Celtic are set to be boosted by the return of Stuart Armstrong before the club face-off against FC Zenit in the UEFA Europa League.

What’s the story?

The Hoops are suffering something of a injury crisis right now with established stars from back to front suffering from injury lay-offs that have or will keep them out of multiple matches at a crucial time of the season.

One player on the mend and set to return soon though is midfielder Stuart Armstrong, who has been recovering from a hernia operation.

That’s according to The Scottish Sun, who say he is in line to return for the Hoops’ massive match against Russian Premier League side FC Zenit next Thursday evening.

With experience of scoring at this stage of the UEFA Europa League previously against Inter Milan, Armstrong’s presence is a big boost to Brendan Rodgers’ depleted first team.

Stumbling on

Celtic’s latest defeat to Kilmarnock undone the good work done in the early part of 2018 after faltering form in December, at a time when supporters thought Rodgers’ side were entering a new, extended period of good results.

However poor the performance was away to Killie, you’d have the say the Hoops have been exceptionally unfortunate with injuries with formerly key players like Mikael Lustig, Patrick Roberts, Tom Rogic, Craig Gordon and Leigh Griffiths all out of action.

It worsened during the match at Rugby Park too, with Dedryck Boyata and Kristoffer Ajer both having to go off with problems.

Rodgers badly needs established stars like Armstrong back as soon as possible, or their season risks being de-stabilised further.

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The midfielder may not be replicating his form of the 2016/17 season so far this term, but he can still play a big role when the Russians come calling.

West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian has told the club’s official website that Manuel Lanzini is ready to return to the team.

What’s the latest?

The Hammers have been without the influential Argentine since January 20 when he suffered a hamstring injury in a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.

It was arguably the worst time for the club to lose Lanzini given that he had started to link up well with Marko Arnautovic.

The Austrian returned with a bang at the weekend following his own injury spell as he scored in West Ham’s 2-0 win over Watford at the London Stadium.

While speaking to West Ham TV, Adrian revealed that Arnautovic and Lanzini could be linking up again soon.

“Marko is a great player, everyone knows that, and you absolutely miss this kind of player [when he is out injured] and you have to adapt and work in a different way, but now we have Marko back and Manu is ready to come to the team.”

The East London outfit will have a break this weekend while FA Cup games are played, but it seems that the creative star could be available for the following Saturday’s clash against Liverpool.

Will his return make a difference?

Since Lanzini has been on the sidelines, West Ham have drawn one, lost one and won one in the Premier League.

David Moyes’s side were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Wigan Athletic during the midfielder’s absence.

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Arnautovic’s return last weekend gave the team a massive boost, and Lanzini is sure to provide the same reaction.

Having the Argentine back for any game would be welcomed by West Ham fans, but if the 24-year-old is available for the Liverpool clash, then it would be even better.

Manchester United stunned the Premier League when they swooped under Manchester City’s nose to snatch Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal.

The Chile international had been heavily tipped to join Pep Guardiola’s side, but in the end, he left the Gunners to sign for Jose Mourinho’s team.

The 29-year-old was one of Arsenal’s key players during a three-and-a-half-year spell at the Emirates.

During his time at the club, Sanchez netted 60 Premier League goals, and even though the attacker has only been at United for a few weeks, questions have been raised about his form.

The former Barcelona star has made eight appearances in all competitions, and in that process has netted once.

The main issue at the moment is positioning, with many fans questioning why the attacker has been placed on the left of a midfield three.

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Sanchez was one of the under-performers in Wednesday night’s goalless draw with Sevilla in the first leg of their last-16 tie in the Champions League.

Now, United fans have been discussing the predicament surrounding the Chilean.

With centre-back Eric Bailly slowly being nursed back from injury by Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, conversation has turned to who the best player is to partner up with the Ivorian at the heart of United’s back line.

Mourinho has been unsatisfied with the Phil Jones and Chris Smalling combination that took the field in the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle, and has sought to chop and change his centre-half pairing in recent weeks with Victor Lindelof seeing action in place of Jones for the win over Chelsea on Sunday.

Who is the long term partner for Bailly though? Phil Jones completely lost track of his man against Newcastle on February 10th, allowing Matt Ritchie to claim three points against the Red Devils.

Chris Smalling isn’t exactly Mourinho’s flavour of the month either, with the England international linked with a move to Arsenal in January.

Lindelof is a viable option, but having only played a handful of times this season, the question remains whether he is able to step up to the Old Trafford plate on a regular basis.

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What do Man United fans think? Have your say by voting below…

Jake Livermore’s presence in yet another England squad, despite not even being a guaranteed starter for a West Brom side on course to finish rock bottom of the Premier League this season, sums up how dire the situation has got in the Three Lions’ midfield, and how Gareth Southgate has inevitably had to think outside of the box to find a solution.

The key problem is how compartmental English midfielders appear to have become, especially with Southgate seemingly keen to at least attempt a 3-4-3 setup at some point during the World Cup.

While the likes of Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier and Livermore offer energy, physicality and defensive protection, the creative elements of their passing games leave much to be desired. Likewise, although Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jesse Lingard can add much more to England going forward, they can easily become lost in deeper capacities and lack the same level of proven discipline.

What England truly need is a deep-lying midfielder who can hold shape well but also start attacks from the base of the engine room. That’s where Jack Wilshere, a 34-cap international who hardly got a kick at Euro 2016, suddenly becomes so important to the England cause.

Criticised for lacking output for such an offensive-minded player in his younger years, Wilshere’s influence on attacking play now seems more obvious, not least because he’s currently enjoying arguably his best form for Arsenal since that stunning breakthrough season in 2010/11.

The 26-year-old’s greatest gift is how he links attacks by driving forward from deep midfield positions, and Arsenal’s 3-1 win over AC Milan last night provided even more evidence of that, completing four dribbles and 95% of his passes in another impressive performance – albeit that resulting in just one chance created throughout the ninety minutes.

That’s precisely what this England side needs next to Henderson or Dier; rather than an unspectacular workhorse like Livermore, someone prepared to take the ball from deep and deliver it to an England front line that – assuming all will be fit – boasts as much quality and promise as any other that will be involved in the tournament in Russia.

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Wilshere’s reminded everybody this season that he can be that lynchpin for the Three Lions; the big question now is whether he can stay fit for when the World Cup comes around.

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According to Belgian media outlet Het Laatste Nieuws (HLN), Tottenham Hotspur have admitted defeat in their bid to keep contract rebel Toby Alderweireld at the club and are ready to sell him this summer, and Spurs fans have been quick to react to the rumour.HLN report that the gap between what the north London outfit are willing to offer the 29-year-old and what he is demanding is a gap that is too big to bridge, and they could let him go if they receive an offer of €50m (£44m) this summer, with the Wembley faithful reading between the lines that this latest development was on the cards.The Belgium international spent three months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury between November and February – before suffering a setback after making two appearances in the FA Cup – with Davinson Sanchez and Jan Vertonghen forming a strong partnership at the heart of the defence since.Tottenham supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the story, and while one offered a solution to Mauricio Pochettino and Daniel Levy by telling them to “literally get rid of Sissoko and Llorente and pay Toby”, another said “he definitely wants out”.Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…[ad_pod ]

Arsene Wenger is looking to reinvigorate his Arsenal squad with a £35m move for Benfica starlet Joao Felix, as per O Jogo. 

The Portuguese midfielder has been capped at Under-21 level by his country but is yet to play a first-team game for Benfica, so it would be premature for Wenger to spend such a high amount of money on him.

What’s the story, then?

Felix is only valued at £900k by Transfermarkt. He reportedly has a £52m release clause but Benfica would accept bids in the region of £35m for the youngster.

Several European giants are reportedly in pursuit of the wonderkid’s signature, and they are rumoured to include Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco and AC Milan.

That means there is no shortage of competition for Wenger in his chase for the player’s services and it also underlines his growing reputation.

Wenger shouldn’t spend big on Felix

It would be a huge gamble if Wenger spend the amount of money being discussed on a player who hasn’t even played a first team match.

For that kind of money, the Frenchman needs to be bringing in players who can make an immediate impact on the Gunners starting eleven, preferably by strengthening the spine of the team.

He needs a new central defender, another holding player and potentially a new long-term goalkeeper much more urgently than he needs to nurture another young player through his development.

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This is a deal Wenger needs to stay well clear of and if he does complete it, it will once again show that his priorities are well wrong.

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To suggest that the West Ham United fans were pleased with Arthur Masuaku’s performance against Southampton at the weekend is perhaps the understatement of the year.

Before the Saints match, Masuaku had not been seen in a West Ham shirt since picking up a red card in the FA Cup against Wigan Athletic towards the end of January.

The spitting incident saw Masuaku receive a six-match suspension, and the 24-year-old missed a lot of football during a key point of the season.

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The full-back was back in the team against Southampton, however, and his overall performance at the London Stadium showed the West Ham supporters what they had been missing.

The defender’s standout moment came in the first half when he produced an absolute dream of a cross for Marko Arnautovic to send the home side 3-0 ahead.

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There is no question that Masuaku has his limitations as a player, but he is very dangerous down the left for the Hammers, and the club’s fans were absolutely delighted with the return of the former France youth international on Saturday.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below: