Mixed opinions: Tottenham fans offer views on Toby Alderweireld quotes

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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Toby Alderweireld has been speaking about his future to Sky Sports.

Alderweireld said that he is ‘very happy at Spurs’, but also admitted that he is not looking beyond the end of the current season.

It is perhaps dangerous to read too much into what the centre-back has said, but one thing is for certain; his current contract at Tottenham expires at the end of next season.

A £26m release clause will come into effect this summer, though, and Manchester United have been strongly linked with a move.

The Tottenham fans have been on Twitter offering their views on the 30-year-old’s words.

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Whilst there are those who have been encouraged by the latest developments, others feel that the Belgium international will be moving on this summer.

It will be very, very interesting to see how this one plays out.

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

Sheffield Wednesday fans as Liam Palmer receives first ever Scotland call up

[ad_pod ]Sheffield Wednesday have confirmed that Liam Palmer has received his first ever call up to the Scotland senior squad for their upcoming EURO 2020 qualifiers against Kazakhstan and San Marino.

The 6 foot 2 full-back will join Wednesday teammate Barry Bannan in Alex McLeish’s squad, who will be looking to add to the 27 Scotland caps he already has to his name.

27-year-old Palmer, meanwhile, will be hoping to make his first senior appearance at international level. He has only previously represented his country at under-19 and under-21 level, amassing twelve caps for the junior age groups in total.

Palmer has earned the call up with his consistently impressive performances at Hillsborough throughout this campaign.

The defender has been a first team regular for the Owls, having started 25 of his 26 Championship outings this season, as per Transfermarkt’s stats.

Following the announcement, plenty of Wednesday fans took to Twitter to congratulate the full-back and wish him well…

Newcastle fans react to reports of Leicester appointing Rodgers

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Leicester City have chosen to appoint Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers as Claude Puel’s successor, as confirmed by the club’s official website.

The Bhoys boss has returned to English football for the first time since 2015, when he left Liverpool.

News of Rodgers’ appointment comes about after reports that Rafael Benitez was also under consideration.

The Newcastle United manager is attempting to steer the Magpies away from the relegation zone and they are currently 15th in the Premier League, four points clear of 18th-placed Southampton.

Ironically, the club are also just four points behind the Foxes, who dispensed with Puel after a 4-1 loss to Crystal Palace at the weekend.

But fans of the Magpies insist that they were never worried that Benitez would depart St James’ Park in the middle of the season, with Rodgers foregoing the chance to win his third successive SPL title in Glasgow to take the reins at the King Power Stadium.

When The Chronicle revealed earlier in the day that Rodgers was set to take the job, Newcastle fans responded by claiming there was never any need to panic…

Ikechi Anya would lift backsides off seats at Fratton Park

Portsmouth finally got back to winning ways in League One which has since rekindled hope they could gain promotion this season. As every Pompey fan reading this know, the South Coast side really don’t make things easy, do they? Painful. Oh so painful. 

Still, Kenny Jackett’s side remain in fourth position and have a real chance of still getting in the automatic places, having also made the Checkertrade Trophy final at Wembley.

That will delight manager Jackett, whose team have battled hard to earn a place at Wembley and stay in contention for promotion. Offered this at the start of the season, that surely would have sounded good. So, imagine just how bad things must have been of late to even ruin that.

Clear, although there is still so much to play for this season, Portsmouth need to start planning how they will get better next season. If they plan correctly, they can build on the obvious blocks in place to really mount a sustained return to the upper echelons of the English footballing system.

Transfers are the main way to do that and a player who’s now surplus to requirements at Derby is Ikechi Anya, a versatile player who would be a very good capture for Pompey. Anya, (who is valued at £1.3 million on Transfermarkt) has found game-time under Frank Lampard extremely hard to come by, which would be the reason behind a move away from Derby.

The 31-year-old at this stage of his career would have hoped to be settled with a club and helping them regularly but that hasn’t been the case this season. Pace and power, the Scotland international would thrill Fratton Park, bombing up and down the wings to lift backsides off seats.

With just four appearances this season, of which all were for the development side, Ikechi Anya has been cast aside and needs to move away to restart his career. Portsmouth are a team who would certainly be strengthened with the Scotsman’s arrival, seeing as he can play anywhere from left-midfield to left-back or even right-back.

Pompey must consider all the experience Ikechi Anya has and although he may be nearer the end of his career than the start, he could still make a brilliant signing and be a welcome addition at Fratton Park.

Portsmouth fans, would you back a move for Anya? If so, why not? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

Michy Batshuayi’s arrival may have just secured Crystal Palace another season in the Premier League

As per the club’s official website, Premier League outfit Crystal Palace sealed a last-gasp move for Michy Batshuayi late on in the January transfer window. The 25-year-old had been playing his football at Spanish club Valencia on loan from Premier League giants Chelsea in the first half of the season, only for struggles in front of goal at the Mestalla to call into question his future at the club as the winter window progressed.

And it was Roy Hodgson’s Palace who officially sealed a Deadline Day move for the striker as they sought the reinforcements they desperately needed in the final third of the pitch, with the arrival of the Belgium international potentially going some way to securing the Eagles another season of Premier League football.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, while one look at the Palace squad suggests a side full of talent and one that shouldn’t be in relegation trouble, their evident struggle for goals means that the Londoners are indeed embroiled in a battle near the bottom, what with Hodgson’s men currently sat 15th in the table and just four points clear of safety.

And their meagre tally of 24 goals from their 24 matches is without doubt a key factor in their struggles to put daylight between themselves and danger this term – after all, their top-scoring striker this season is on-loan man Jordan Ayew with a paltry two goals to his name.

But with supremely talented attackers in Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend, the Eagles are always likely to create ample goal-scoring opportunities just waiting to be converted by the predatory and lethal striker the club have been crying out for – and they may finally have that man in Batshuayi.

Yes, the 25-year-old has endured a tricky time in Spain recently with only one La Liga goal to show for his endeavours in Valencia, but one only need look at his goal-scoring record at Chelsea, Marseille, and Borussia Dortmund to suggest that Palace appear to have pulled off something of a masterstroke.

The Belgian ace has netted 19 times in just 53 appearances for Chelsea following his move from Marseille back in 2016, which given his lowly number of starts at Stamford Bridge equates to a goal every 93 minutes of action – that is a staggering return.

And with 33 goals in only 78 appearances in France for Marseille, and then nine goals in 14 games for Dortmund last season, it’s pretty clear that his time at Valencia was a one-off – on the whole, the 25-year-old will more often than not have an impact when on the field.

And that ability to get into the right place at the right time in the penalty area, and thus get on the end of goal-scoring opportunities, is exactly what Palace need to start moving up the Premier League table – it’s difficult to see where the goals were coming from were they not to sign the striker.

As it happens, the 25-year-old made the Deadline Day move to Selhurst Park, in turn equipping Hodgson with the goal-scoring forward the Eagles so desperately need to move clear of danger – thus, his arrival might well have just saved their season.

Crystal Palace fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Sheffield Wednesday face battle to sign Spurs starlet Troy Parrott on loan

According to the Evening Standard, Sheffield Wednesday are one of several Championship teams trying to secure Tottenham Hotspur prospect Troy Parrott on loan.

What’s the word?

It is believed that the Owls hold interest in the 17-year-old striker as they are set to battle Charlton Athletic and Queens Park Rangers to clinch him for the rest of the season.

Parrott will sign a contract extension at Spurs on his 18th birthday next week and is keen on gaining valuable match experience.

The same source claims that Jose Mourinho’s stance on a potential temporary exit has softened throughout January, but any deal may depend on their ability to sign a striker in the absence of injured top goalscorer Harry Kane.

Fletcher’s replacement, at last?

Wednesday have a dire need to bolster their frontline following a cataclysm of recent events – 12-goal talisman Steven Fletcher is out with a knee injury until at least March while the side have lost five of their last six matches in the Championship.

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Garry Monk has tried all of his available options since the 32-year-old was forced onto the treatment table with none of them being able to prove their worth.

Jordan Rhodes has done little since scoring a hat-trick and could leave on loan after interest from Wigan, Sam Winnall has been preferred but he’s far from the target man type Monk’s system needs, and then there’s Atdhe Nuhiu who is merely used as a battering ram these days.

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Parrott, who has been likened to Robbie Keane in the past, is described as being “big, strong, skilful and very brave.” That’s got a young Steven Fletcher written all over it.

He may only be 17 years old, but with less than 72 hours left in the transfer window, things are getting pretty desperate, and there can’t be many better options out there than the understudy to England’s leading striker.

And in other news, Sheffield Wednesday could consider bids for Fernando Forestieri says one journalist…

Revealed: 53% of Southampton fans do not want Elabdellaoui

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Earlier this month, Sdna.GR claimed that Southampton were monitoring Omar Elabdellaoui ahead of a potential move before the end of the month.

Elabdellaoui, who has also been linked with Celtic by the Daily Record, currently turns out for Greek giants Olympiacos.

The 5ft 10in ace actually joined Manchester City at the age of 16, but did not make a first-team appearance for the Citizens before leaving in 2013.

The defender has experience of Premier League football, however, having turned out on eight occasions for Hull City during the 2016-17 campaign.

The 27-year-old is also a 34-time Norway international and it has been suggested that he could be available for £4m, which would be a real bargain.

With that in mind, we asked the Southampton fans whether they would be interested in a move for the right-back during the January transfer window.

But 53% of those polled revealed that they were against a bid being made.

The full results of the poll can be seen below:

Capturing Aaron Ramsey would be Marcel Brands an instant Everton hero

After a summer in which Everton spent close to £90 million, the club hasn’t had the best of starts to the season and currently sit 11th in the table.

In what will come as worrying news for Everton fans, the Merseyside club is about to embark on a tough run of fixtures which sees them play Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool in their next six games.

For a club that made such a statement in the transfer market and who’s targeting a top seven finish, Everton will need to start getting some form together and Marco Silva needs his new signings to help carry them through. Speaking of new signings, The Sun is reporting that Everton are contemplating a move for Arsenal midfielder, Aaron Ramsey, who’s contract runs out next year.

The Breakdown

Despite bringing in Andre Gomes over the summer, Everton’s midfield still lacks quality in depth and signing Ramsey would be a huge move by new Director of Football, Marcel Brands.

The Dutchman was in charge of the club’s summer splurge and with Farhad Moshiri’s money, the former PSV man could well be given licence to spend again in January and a move for the Arsenal would be some excellent business.

While defensively he may not be the best, what he does give you is energy going forward and crucially, goals. At Arsenal it doesn’t look like he’s going to be a part of Emery’s long-term plans but at Everton he could be a key figure in pushing the club towards Europe and would be a huge coup by Brands.

Mateo Kovacic would help Tottenham forget about Mousa Dembele

Time is running out in the transfer window for Tottenham Hotspur in their bid to strengthen ahead of the new season, but a recent report from Spain suggests they have failed to recognise a rare opportunity to secure a perfect replacement for Mousa Dembele.

According to the Spanish media outlet Marca, Mateo Kovacic remains determined to leave Real Madrid this summer in search of first-team football, with Man City, Man United, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Liverpool all lining up to secure his signature.

There is no explicit mention of Tottenham’s interest within the article, but based on the potential of the Croatia international there’s plenty of reason to suggest that they should join an array of Europe’s most prestigious clubs in the race for his signature.

First and foremost, the timing of Kovacic’s availability could not have arrived at a better moment for Spurs: the 24-year-old should be able to step straight into the first-team to replace Mousa Dembele if he departs before the end of the window, and the fact they have a new awe-inspiring stadium to present to Kovacic could play a crucial role in swaying his decision.

Naturally, Madrid’s asking price could prove to be too extortionate for Daniel Levy, but as the window develops the Spanish giants could be tempted to slash their asking price in order to steer clear of the prospect of having an unhappy player disrupting the club next season.

Interest from some of Europe’s top clubs will also provide Levy with some stiff competition, but Kovacic has strongly expressed his desire to play first-team football next season and, considering Tottenham are likely to need a new midfield lynchpin to replace Dembele, they would have a fantastic opportunity to fend off interest from elsewhere.

Kovacic’s stats from last season do not depict Kovacic in a particularly impressive way as, like Demebele, he struggles to make a decisive impact in the final-third. But there are plenty of qualities which stats cannot illuminate which Kovacic can bring to the table: a tremendous engine to move play a box-to-box midfield role, an extensive range of passing, the willingness to drive at opponents with the ball at his feet, defensive solidity and, above all, an enormous potential to grow into one of the most effective midfielders in world football.

Times of change are looming on the horizon for Tottenham Hotspur, so it’s about time Levy secured a huge coup for the club and proved Spurs mean business ahead of the new season with the signing of Kovacic.

Tottenham fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Chelsea fans react as Antonio Candreva links take an unexpected turn

In a bid to land Inter star Antonio Candreva, Chelsea are willing to offer defender Andreas Christensen in a player plus cash deal.

According to Tuttosport (via the Daily Express), Conte is keen to land the 30-year-old, who is valued at £17million by Transfermarkt, and sees him as the perfect right wing-back for his now famous 3-5-2 system.

Andreas Christensen, the man who could reportedly be sent to Inter in exchange for Candreva, has spent the last two season on loan in Germany, at Borussia Monchengladbach. The 21-year-old was a regular feature in the Bundesliga and performed with the maturity and confidence of a player far beyond his years of experience.

However, for some reason, the Danish international is not deemed to be part of Antonio Conte’s plans and it seems that Inter could well be his destination this summer.

Upon hearing the news, Chelsea fans took to social media to express their thoughts…

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