Tottenham Hotspur will have to take on Real Madrid, Liverpool and Arsenal for the signature of Borussia Dortmund star Christian Pulisic, according to Transfermarketweb.

What’s the word?

The USA international has caught the eye of many since breaking into Dortmund’s first team last year.

Despite being just 19 years of age, the attacking player has become a regular figure, making 64 appearances in total, scoring 10 times and creating 14 assists.

Transfermarketweb reports that Pulisic, who has 16 international caps to his name, is a target for Tottenham, Liverpool, Arsenal and Real Madrid.

The teenager’s current contract at the Westfalenstadion does not expire until 2020.

Do Tottenham have a chance?

Given Mauricio Pochettino’s proven track record of developing young players, the North London club would be a suitable destination for Pulisic.

If the midfielder does decide to move on from Dortmund, then he will need to think of progression rather than choosing the biggest club.

Moving to Madrid would be a huge risk as he is unlikely to be handed regular playing time and if he does not hit the ground running, he could end up fading away.

Tottenham would be able to offer more first-team football, as well as guidance to help develop Pulisic’s game.

However, if Arsenal and Liverpool are also sniffing around, then Pochettino will need to do what he can to convince the USA midfielder to choose Spurs.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks received his first England call-up on Monday, and West Ham United fans weren’t impressed that he had been picked over Mark Noble.

Following Fabian Delph’s withdrawal from the squad due to injury, Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate needed to pick a midfielder to replace the Manchester City man ahead of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Lithuania.

But rather than look for an experienced player like Noble – who is yet to receive a call up for his country – Southgate opted to promote Winks from the Under-21 squad despite the fact that he has played just 301 minutes of football for Spurs this term.

West Ham supporters were quick to have their say on the new via social media, and while some believe it will have sent Noble “over the edge”, others simply said it was an “absolutely shocking” decision by Southgate.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

England rounded off their 2018 World Cup qualification campaign with a 1-0 win over Lithuania on Sunday night.

It was another lacklustre performance from the Three Lions, but it was another victory as Harry Kane, who netted from the penalty spot, made the difference for the second successive match.

It was Kane’s Tottenham Hotspur teammate Harry Winks that made perhaps the biggest impression, however, with the 21-year-old handed his international debut.

Winks was a late call-up to the squad after both Phil Jones and Fabian Delph dropped out, and Southgate handed him the chance to impress on Sunday night.

It is difficult to get too excited about England’s hopes ahead of the World Cup, but Winks at least provided some quality in the middle of the park.

The midfielder took to Twitter after the match to reveal his delight, and the Tottenham supporters were out in force to pay tribute to ‘one of their own’.

A selection of the best Twitter reaction can be found below:

According the the IB Times, Southampton and Newcastle are chasing former Leeds United star Alfonso Pedraza, who is currently playing with Alaves in La Liga.

What’s the Story?

Considered one of the most promising young players to come out of Villarreal’s academy in a number of years, Alfonso Pedraza is being watched closely by Newcastle and Southampton, according to latest reports.

Technically still a Villarreal player, Pedraza has been loaned out to Alaves for the season, his third such move in just 12 months. The 21-year-old spent time with CD Lugo at the start of the 2016/17 before moving to Leeds on a temporary deal in January.

How good has Pedraza been this season?

While the young winger failed to make an impression at Elland Road, his performances for Alaves this season have generated interest around Europe. Pedraza has thrived in a left-back role, something that was never in his repertoire until his move to the Babazorros.

Featuring in 9 games for Alaves, Pedraza has been able to demonstrated his untapped defensive potential while never losing his phenomenal attacking threat. Despite his current club lying in 19th position, the Spanish youngster has been a revelation, which is why Premier League clubs are chasing his signature.

Southampton or Newcastle?

Valued at just £900k by Transfermarkt, Pedraza would be affordable for both Southampton and Newcastle.

The Spaniard will likely want to join the club who can offer more first-team football. With Ryan Bertrand an almost immovable fixture in the Saints team, it seems that Newcastle may be a more appropriate destination for the 21-year-old.

It has now been more than three weeks since Everton sacked Ronald Koeman following a poor start to the season, yet they appear to be no closer to appointing the Dutchman’s long-term successor.

The 54-year-old was relieved of his duties after the 5-2 home defeat by Arsenal last month, with David Unsworth placed in temporary charge to presumably give the Toffees hierarchy more time to make the right decision on should be the new manager.

While Unsworth will have seen it as his opportunity to stake his claim for the job, three successive defeats against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup, Leicester City in the Premier League and Lyon in the Europa League – which led to the club’s early exit from the competition – look to have ended the chances of that happening.

While the incredible turnaround that saw Everton come from 2-0 down to beat Watford 3-2 at Goodison Park before the international break could prove to be a turning point, they shouldn’t really have found themselves in the original position anyway.

It seems unlikely that Unsworth will be handed the job on a full-time basis – although he could be in charge for the visit to bottom-of-the-table Crystal Palace this weekend considering the lack of progress made.

Sky Sports reported on Tuesday that Sam Allardyce was out of the running after the Merseyside outfit refused to give him a deal beyond the end of the season, while they also haven’t had any talks with Burnley’s Sean Dyche despite the fact that he has been one of the bookmakers’ favourites from the start.

Everton suffered their latest setback on Monday when The Independent revealed that an approach for Watford’s Marco Silva had been rejected, and the Hornets expect the matter to now be closed considering the 40-year-old reportedly doesn’t have a release clause in the contract he signed when he was appointed in the summer.

That will certainly be a huge blow for the Toffees but it does seem to highlight the lack of organisation and forward planning from the majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright.

Surely the duo should have had a good idea of who might be available and whether potential candidates like Silva had a release clause before they wielded the axe on Koeman?

It appears not though, and the longer the uncertainty continues the more it could affect performances on the pitch, and they certainly don’t need that in what is a huge game against Roy Hodgson’s side on Saturday.

It seems to be more and more likely that Everton will either pay through the roof for Silva, or they will be forced to give the job until Unsworth until May.

To be honest it all stinks of bad planning and it goes back to their transfer dealings during the summer, when they failed to bring in a Romelu Lukaku replacement – which was absolutely crucial considering the number of goals he scored last season – as well as adding some much-needed pace or significantly boosting an ageing defence.

They also brought in three players – Gylfi Sigurdsson, Davy Klaassen and Wayne Rooney – that all want to play in the same No 10 role and were often shoehorned into wide positons – while other additions like Cuco Martina and Sandro Ramirez have failed to make the grade.

Considering the money they spent, it has not proven to be a good investment when you look at the Premier League table.

The lack of preparation and poor decision-making on recruitment of players and a new manager certainly suggest that Everton are a long way away from competing with the top six clubs in the Premier League on a regular basis – which is ultimately Moshiri’s aim.

While you would expect them to make mistakes on their way to that point, it has certainly not been a good start and their squad as it stands would be lucky to finish in the top-half, let alone the top six.

With a poor defence, no cohesion up top, some poor summer additions and no manager, Everton have a lot of improvements to make over the next couple of seasons if they want to make an impact at the right end of the Premier League table, and the planning from the very top must improve significantly if they are to achieve that goal.

Manchester United are now unbeaten in 38 matches at Old Trafford after a dominant win over Newcastle United in the English Premier League on Saturday.

The Red Devils had to come from behind but outclassed their opponents in the second half, eventually winning comfortably with a 4-1 scoreline.

Saturday’s late kick-off was all about the returns of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimivic after lengthy injury lay-offs with the Frenchman starting for the first time in over two months and the Swede coming off the bench to make his first appearance of the season.

Jose Mourinho’s side looked like a different animal with Pogba in the heart of the midfield and he scored the third goal that put the game beyond Newcastle after Anthony Martial and Chris Smalling had cancelled out Dwight Gayle’s opener. There was even a goal for Romelu Lukaku who had previously gone seven matches without hitting the back of the net.

Fans were absolutely delighted with Pogba’s return and took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his performance…

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Despite playing just six minutes of Premier League football all season, Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was named in the starting XI as the south coast outfit faced Everton at St Mary’s on Sunday.

The Denmark international hadn’t featured from the beginning of a game for the first team since the win against Middlesbrough in May, and it was a rare opportunity for the 22-year-old to impress in the middle of the park with Oriol Romeu suspended and Mario Lemina deemed only fit enough for a spot on the substitutes’ bench on his return from injury.

The former Bayern Munich man certainly took his chance and he was voted as the man of the match by the fans afterwards for his display in midfield, and he will be hoping to have sent manager Mauricio Pellegrino a huge message.

Meanwhile, West Ham United find themselves in a relegation battle right now and new boss David Moyes may be looking to make additions to his squad during the January transfer window in order to try and get his side away from the bottom three.

While the Irons have already been linked with potential deals for the likes of Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho and Bournemouth’s Harry Arter, making a move for Hojbjerg instead could prove to be a very shrewd move.

Here are three reasons West Ham should look to sign the Dane in the New Year…

His Everton performance

The links to the likes of Carvalho and Arter in The Mirror suggest that Moyes is looking for a new central/defensive midfielder, and he would have been impressed if he saw Hojbjerg’s performance against Everton.

The 22-year-old seemed to be everywhere on the pitch and as well as using his strength and tackling abilities to win the ball, he also showed the quality he has while he is in possession of it, too.

Southampton posted his match stats on their official Twitter account on Sunday, and it showed that he had an accuracy of 92% from 96 attempted passes, while he made four tackles, three interceptions and gained possession on 19 occasions in what was a fantastic all-action display.

His future is uncertain

While he may have impressed against Everton, the fact that was just his second appearance of the season and the fact that he appears to be behind Oriol Romeu, Mario Lemina and Steven Davis in the central midfield pecking order mean his future is still up in the air.

Speaking to the Southern Daily Echo after his man-of-the-match performance against the Toffees, Hojbjerg hinted that he could look to leave Southampton if he doesn’t get regular playing time soon, and that should give West Ham and Moyes some hope that they could bring the Dane to the London Stadium.

Potential

Because of the maturity he has on the pitch and when he is conducting interviews off of it, it is easy to forget that Hojbjerg is just 22 years of age and younger than the likes of Jack Stephens, James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond.

You certainly don’t play for Bayern Munich and under Pep Guardiola unless you have something about you, and while things may not have gone right for the Denmark international over the last couple of years there is little doubt at the potential he has to go on and improve.

Having showcased his all-round midfield abilities against Everton, West Ham could be pulling off a huge coup if they manage to sign him in January.

Do you agree, Irons fans? Let us know below.

Rangers face one of their toughest tests of the season tonight, travelling away to Hibernian at Easter Road in the Scottish Premiership. The Light Blues are in the midst of their best form of the season having won three matches in succession but Neil Lennon’s side are sure to provide stern opposition.

Graeme Murty has named his side to face the Hibees and there are a few surprises for supporters.

The interim boss has made two changes from the weekend with Alfredo Morelos and Jamie Barjonas coming into the starting line-up in place of Daniel Candeias and Carlos Pena.

Ross McCrorie also makes the match, having been an injury doubt this week.

Fans are delighted to see Barjonas play. The 18-year-old hasn’t started a game all season, last being trusted back in May in an away win against St Johnstone.

Can he impress enough to retain his place in the side?

Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

The Tottenham Hotspur fans in the Transfer Tavern are hoping that Mauricio Pochettino and Daniel Levy will use the club’s resources wisely this summer, but recent reports from the Daily Mirror suggest questions need to be asked about the current strategy. 

The Breakdown

According to a recent report from The Daily Mirror, Tottenham are interested in signing one of the star’s of the World Cup so far, namely Benjamin Pavard. The French marauding right-back has impressed throughout the international tournament with his assured defensive displays and willingness to support the attack, however, his breathtaking equaliser against Argentina in the last-sixteen was his most eye-catching moment so far.

At just 22-years-old, Pavard looks set to develop into one of the finest defenders on the continent in the years to come, but with Serge Aurier, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker-Peters already on Tottenham’s books, the club need to ask themselves: is the signing of Pavard really necessary?

Considering the strength in depth they possess in that position, the answer can only be a resounding no. A fair counter argument would point towards the fact that he predominantly plays at centre-back for Stuggart, but with Juan Foyth knocking on the door for a chance in the first-team there’s little place for another centre-back in Tottenham’s squad – unless Toby Alderweireld leaves of course.

Either way, Spurs should turn their attention towards the second-striker conundrum and find a player who can support Harry Kane at the spearhead of the attack.

Both Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen have failed to perform whilst playing the role of Kane’s understudy – a notion which suggests Pochettino should sign a versatile attacker rather than a natural centre-forward this summer.

Tottenham’s fluid style of play allows for interchanging in the final-third so the presence of a natural centre-forward is not pivotal to their success.

With that in mind, Tottenham should make a bid to sign Anthony Martial (valued at £58.5 million by Transfermarkt) this summer rather than splurging huge sums of cash Pavard.

Martial has been linked with a move to Tottenham for a number of months but no official bid has yet materialised. His Transfermarkt valuation suggests that Levy will need to break the club’s transfer record to bring him to North London and, although that will certainly go against his natural instinct, it’s a decision which would pay dividends in the long-term.

There’s no doubt that Martial has desperately underachieved so far in his career; he is a brilliant technical talent with bags of potential and devastating pace to bring to the table, but he has failed to demonstrate his true ability on a consistent basis.

His goal-scoring record of 36 goals from 136 Manchester United appearances serves to prove that he has plenty to improve upon in the penalty area but, under a manger of Pochettino’s expertise, Martial should be well-placed to realise the full extent of his potential.

A quality back-up for both Son on the left-wing and Kane at centre-forward, Martial represents Tottenham’s perfect transfer target this summer, so the club should prioritise his signature over Pavard’s to ensure they utilise the full extent of their financial resources.

Tottenham fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

West Ham fans in the Transfer Tavern can’t wait for the new season to begin to watch their new stars in action.

Manuel Pellegrini has been extremely busy since taking over from David Moyes in the West Ham dugout. The Chilean has sealed three signings thus far – landing Ryan Fredericks on a free transfer as well as Lukasz Fabianski and Issa Diop for £7m and £23m respectively. To our punters’ amusement, the latest reports have linked the Hammers with a sensational move for former star Dimitri Payet.

With Manuel Lanzini sidelined for around six months, signing a new playmaker may be top of Pellegrini’s priority list. However, adding a new forward should also be high on his agenda. Javier Hernandez has failed to impress and needs to be replaced if the Hammers are to challenge for Europe.

Instead, they should attempt to sign Liverpool forward – Divock Origi. Valued at £9m by Transfermarkt, the Belgian spent last season on loan at Wolfsburg. He endured a dismal spell in Germany, scoring just six goals in 31 appearances. Therefore, the 23-year-old will not be challenging Roberto Firmino for a starting berth at Anfield any time soon.

With just one-year remaining on his deal on Merseyside, Klopp may decide it’s time for Origi to move on and West Ham should look to put themselves at the front of the queue for his signature. He remains a forward with plenty of potential and his spell in Germany is not indicative of his talents.

He netted double figures in his final season with the Reds, highlighting the danger he could pose to Premier League defences. A fresh start at the London Stadium could be just what he needs to rediscover his best form.

West Ham fans, thoughts?