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According to an update by Sport Italia TV journalist Gianluigi Longari, Tottenham Hotspur have now had ‘positive first contacts’ with Brighton and Hove Albion manager Graham Potter.

The Lowdown: Spurs still searching…

It’s been over two months now since Spurs opted to sack former boss Jose Mourinho and the club are still yet to announce a replacement despite numerous talks.

The Lilywhites have seen discussions with a plethora of managerial candidates, including the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso, fall flat in the last few weeks alone (BBC).

Non-international Spurs players return for pre-season training on July 5 and time is running out for chairman Daniel Levy to find his new man for the helm.

The Latest: Tottenham have now made Potter contact…

As per Italian reporter Longari, Spurs have now made ‘positive first contacts’ with Brighton boss Potter as Levy whittles down his shortlist of managers for the job.

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The 46-year-old had been mentioned as a possible target previously but talks for Pochettino and Conte appeared to overshadow his links to the job.

Fabio Paratici’s arrival also saw Tottenham turn to Serie A-experienced coaches Fonseca and Gattuso, but Longari believes Potter is back on the radar and contact has now been made.

As well as the Englishman, it is believed that former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo remains a ‘valid’ candidate.

The Verdict: Solid option…

A swoop for Potter after just holding discussions with the likes of Pochettino and Conte could look tame by comparison, but he actually ticks plenty of boxes for Tottenham.

In line with Levy’s originally sought-after profile of manager, as detailed in his end of season letter to supporters, the Seagulls head coach encourages an open, attacking brand of football whilst being adept at operating with limited resources.

He has garnered no shortage of praise for his job on the south coast, with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola in particular having been blown away by Potter.

The Spaniard called Tottenham’s managerial candidate the ‘best English manager’ and even went as far as to say he would have loved to play under Potter as a player (Brighton & Hove Independent).

Speaking to Sky Sports, via Tribal Football, Brighton midfielder Adam Lallana also heaped praise on his boss – lauding Potter as a ‘world class manager’.

In other news: Levy offered chance to sign ‘extraordinary’ £120,000-per-week star in Tottenham transfer talks, find out more here.

Many Southampton fans are far from happy after they were linked with a move for out-of-contract midfielder Robbie Brady.

With the Premier League season now over, the Saints can prepare for the 2021/22 campaign. With Ryan Bertrand leaving on a free transfer (southamptonfc.com) and plenty of interest in striker Danny Ings (Sky Sports), it is likely to be a busy summer at St Mary’s as the south coast outfit look to get their squad ready for August.

According to the Daily Mirror (Thursday 15:27 in live blog), [via Football FanCast], Southampton are interested in signing Brady.

The 56-cap Republic of Ireland international has had a solid career but he made just 19 appearances in the Premier League for Burnley last term and managed only one goal and one assist (Transfermarkt), so he would hardly seem an inspired signing. He has also been plagued with injuries in recent years since starring at Euro 2016.

The news was shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from Saints supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the transfer speculation, and they were less than impressed.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Brady links

“We really are at a low”

Credit: @saints_josh2

“Oh dear”

Credit: @SfcHarveyy

“Wow, we really are going down aren’t we”

Credit: @OliWren_

“What a tinpot signing that would be. Odds on we go for Danny Rose now he’s been binned by Spurs”

Credit: @James90044529

“I joked to myself today when I saw he was being released and thought I wouldn’t be surprised if we became interested. Laughable”

Credit: @Taylor1993White

“This time last week we were being strongly linked with Thomas Delaney, 1 week down the line and it’s Robbie Brady, this club never fails to amaze me…”

Credit: @MRankin8_

In other news, Southampton are interested in this ace who was previously compared to Lionel Messi.

Manchester United’s transfer plans have suffered a major blow after it was revealed that Ajax appear to have beaten them to the signing of FC Nordsjælland forward Kamaldeen Sulemana.

What’s the story?

According to De Telegraaf journalist Mike Verweij (as reported by Soccer News), the Eredivisie champions have seen off competition from the Red Devils for Sulemana’s signature.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is attempted to assemble a title-winning squad after finishing second in the Premier League last season, but he’ll have to do so without the 19-year-old sensation.

Solskjaer will be gutted

The Old Trafford outfit made decent progress in the recently concluded campaign, achieving consecutive top-four finishes for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

However, there is still a lot of work left to be done if the 20-time English champions want to return to their former glories.

A big summer is, therefore, expected in the red half of Manchester, with the likes of Harry Kane, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane regularly being linked in recent weeks.

Another name that has reportedly attracted strong interest from the United hierarchy is Sulemana. The Ghana international had an impressive 2020/21 campaign, bagging 10 goals and providing eight assists in just 30 appearances for Flemming Pedersen’s side.

Trusting young players in the starting XI and rewarding them with regular game time is part of United’s identity, and under Solskjaer, that characteristic of the club has come back to the fore.

Several academy graduates such as Mason Greenwood, Brandon Williams and Dean Henderson have made their senior debuts under the Norwegian’s reign, but it seems as though Sulemana has opted for Amsterdam instead.

His decision is likely to leave Solskjaer gutted as the £8.1 million rated prodigy could have added some strength in depth at a very reasonable price.

With the pandemic limiting the club’s transfer kitty, picking up any potential bargains could be crucial to United’s success next season, and they’ve already missed out on the first one of the window.

Bringing in Sancho would more than compensate for this particular disappointment, although it’s possible Sulemana could develop into a superstar with similar status at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

And, in other news…Major revelation emerges over MUFC target with an “amazing future”, Ole will be gutted 

West Brom’s relegation back to the Championship was confirmed last weekend but with three games still left to play, they ought to go down with their head held high.

Of course, it has been a disastrous season at The Hawthorns and things could quickly get worse with Liverpool in town as they look to bolster their top-four claims.

However, Sam Allardyce’s men caused them a lot of trouble up at Anfield in the reverse fixture back in late December and will be wanting to do the same here.

Given that they know their immediate fate, the 66-year-old could do with keeping one eye on next season. The Express & Star believe he is in line to stay at the Baggies, so he should look to some out-of-favour stars here this afternoon.

Some big-name players have struggled for minutes under Big Sam, particularly since the January transfer window, where Albion’s squad was bolstered by plenty of loan additions – but none of them are likely to be around next season, so there is very little point in playing them.

One star that has quickly become a forgotten man in the Midlands is £18m summer signing Grady Diangana.

The 23-year-old dynamo started up in Merseyside but has only played in four league games since, in which just two have been starts. In fact, the former West Ham academy gem has played only 85 minutes in 2021, as per Transfermarkt.

Diangana, who is now valued at just £9m, was one of West Brom’s star performers in the Championship last season, providing eight goals and seven assists.

He earned rave reviews as an “explosive” threat that is a “total nightmare” to defend against and considering the Baggies are heading back there, Big Sam must give him a run-out in these remaining matches to prove he’s worthy of redemption next term.

Interestingly, the 5 foot 11 wide man put in a very industrious and solid showing against the Reds last time, so perhaps he can be the man to give Jurgen Klopp and his team those ‘nightmares’ once again.

As per SofaScore, Diangana made three tackles, registered two interceptions and picked up two free-kicks, helping his defence thwart the threat on offer from Mo Salah and co, which would have undoubtedly left the German boss a little frustrated.

If West Brom want to cause a major upset and end their season on a high, then Allardyce could do no harm in unleashing a player with a big point to prove.

The rarely-seen gem must be part of the starting XI later today.

AND in other news, Albion given big manager update amid Allardyce claim, Dowling now has tricky dilemma…

Tottenham Hotspur are still looking to formally select their next managerial appointment and it’s believed that Erik ten Hag is still in the running…

What’s the word?

That’s according to The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke, who claims the 51-year-old is ‘a leading contender’ for the Spurs job despite signing a new two-year contract at his current club, Ajax.

This ties in with information from Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

He suggested that the Dutchman did not reject an approach from the North London outfit after their attentions turned to him following setbacks over Julian Nagelsmann and Brendan Rodgers.

Dream appointment?

Pitt-Brooke also states that the other names in the running are former RB Leipzig man Ralf Rangnick, current Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez and Graham Potter of Brighton.

Of all these candidates, it is easy to see why ten Hag would be a front-runner. He’s certainly a mouth-watering prospect for what Levy is looking for – he could even be his dream hire.

The Guardian believe the Lilywhites chairman is on the lookout for an ‘attack-minded’ coach that has ‘strong credentials in the development of young players.’

Almost as if they were looking for Mauricio Pochettino, mark two.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-managerial-latest-update-transfer-rumours-gossip” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, managerial gossip, transfer rumours and more!”]

Ten Hag has just clinched his second Eredivisie title in Amsterdam, where he holds a mightily impressive 73.6% win rate since being appointed in December 2017.

His playing style has been described as ‘Total Football 2.0’ and takes inspiration from two huge influences on his coaching career, Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff.

That would certainly tick one box for Levy.

The 51-year-old has also seen the progression of many a young player, and eventually raking in huge profits for Ajax, as a result.

Frenkie de Jong (£65m to Barcelona), Matthijs de Ligt (£67.7m to Juventus) and Donny van de Beek (£35.7m to Man Utd) are just three prime examples, so it would be another tick next to ten Hag’s name.

Furthermore, he has received glowing praise from Liverpool’s title-winning boss Jurgen Klopp, who described the Dutchman as “one of the most exciting coaching talents in world football.”

All in all, on the above evidence, it’s no wonder that Spurs see the Ajax chief as their best candidate now.

He matches so many of Levy’s requirements.

So if he can tempt ten Hag to swap the comforts of the Champions League-bound Dutch side for the faltering North Londoners, then he could well be onto a winner.

AND in other news, Forget Reguilon: £26m-rated Spurs lightweight who lost possession 21x betrayed Mason vs Villa…

In an exclusive interview with The Transfer Tavern, Steve Howey, who made 150 appearances for Newcastle United, claims that on-loan midfielder Joe Willock is not worth £20 million.

It has been reported that the Gunners are open to the midfielder leaving permanently this summer for a price tag of £20 million, which would make him the club’s joint fourth-most expensive signing in their history, behind Joelinton, Michael Owen and Miguel Almiron.

Since the international break, Steve Bruce has changed his formation, opting for three centre backs and just two centre midfielders which has seen Willock make a goal-scoring cameo against Tottenham Hotspur, however he didn’t feature at all in their win against Burnley.

Speaking on if £20 million is too much for Joe Willock and if the midfielder has warranted that price tag based on his performances since arriving in January, Howey told The Transfer Tavern:

“No, I think that’s too much but then again, you look at how much players get bought for in this day and age and it’s absolutely ridiculous. Bang average players getting that much money spent on them.

“£20 million, not for me because he’s played about 10 games, so no.”

Willock has been impressive since arriving on-loan on deadline day. He got a goal on his debut during the 3-2 win against Southampton and his late runs into the box have made a difference to Bruce’s usually static midfield.

The £20,000 per week midfielder has come through Arsenal’s academy but was mainly being used in the Europa League under Mikel Arteta before his move to Tyneside.

As confirmed by Pep Guardiola before Manchester City take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup final today, both Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne have trained ahead of the Wembley encounter, and many Sky Blues supporters are buzzing over this ‘awesome news’.

Both players have been missing from the last few matches for City and they have arguably missed De Bruyne’s influence in particular at times. Before his knock, the Belgian was influential over two legs in the Champions League quarter-finals against Borussia Dortmund and was arguably returning to the stunning form he displayed last term.

Many City supporters are optimistic that he could feature today after this news, with De Bruyne’s possible inclusion not being the only boost.

Aguero has also trained ahead of the clash with Spurs at Wembley today and, despite the Argentine struggling to cope with fitness issues over the season, City supporters will surely be glad to at least have their all-time top scorer potentially back as an option.

While Guardiola was cryptic over the duo’s actual involvement, reports indicate that they have both travelled with the squad to London (Lucas Scagliola).

Flocking to this news, many Sky Blues supporters erupted – find some of their verdicts below.

Man City fans erupt over Carabao injury news

“SIUUUUUUUUUUUUU”

Credit: @Matbru5

“YESSSSSSSSSSSS THE UCL AND CARABAO IS COMING HOME”

Credit: @Silva_Spectacle

“Can’t Wait!”

Credit: @GuillemCluFaja

“LET’S GOO”

Credit: @Toni2841

“This is awesome news”

Credit: @mrmcfc22

“Huge”

Credit: @Tom08007690

“Awesome. I really hope Aguero can get on the field.”

Credit: @joshuacv3t

“Siuuu”

Credit: @mohamedamiin2

In other news: Man City fans also flocked to this ‘huge’ club announcement, find out more here.

Many Liverpool fans have been left raging at Richarlison after the Everton ace appeared to make a mockery of their 3-1 loss to Real Madrid on Tuesday night.

As shared by LFC Transfer Room on their Twitter page, the Brazil international shared a photo with his international teammate Vinicius Junior on his Instagram story straight after the latter scored two goals against Jurgen Klopp’s men in order to make Los Blancos favourites to go through into the UEFA Champions League semi-final stage.

Although it could just be perceived as a bit of banter between tow rival clubs, several Reds supporters did not take the post well at all, and made their feelings known over what they thought of it.

Liverpool fans on Richarlison mockery

These Reds slammed Richarlison for his mocking post on Twitter, with one member of the Anfield faithful even going as far as to claim that it was ‘disgusting’ while another labelled the 23-year-old as a ‘jokeman’:

“Never even played a Champions League match but thinks he can try and cuss us? Jokeman”

Credit: @Kjmcnamee045

“Disgusting”

Credit: @embea_

“Hate him so much, he doesn’t half get me rattled though proper gets under my skin”

Credit: @hpedderplatt1

“Hasn’t played a Champions League match in his life and tweets and talks about us constantly . There are levels to this ya know.”

Credit: @emilnikolov_

“Watford reject”

Credit: @frocjohn

“Wow the pigeon trying to be relevant”

Credit: @TheMJones1

In other news, find out what enquiry for one ‘insane’ maestro has been lauded by Reds here!

As is often the case for Tottenham Hotspur this season, it was another game in which they dropped points from a winning position.

Jose Mourinho has seen his Spurs side now drop a whopping 18 points having led in 21 of their 31 Premier League outings after they were defeated 3-1 by Manchester United in north London.

In an attempt to put a stop to the frequent mistakes in his backline, the Portuguese turned to Eric Dier, in what was his first appearance in the top-flight for six outings.

The England international came in for Davinson Sanchez, who was at fault for Newcastle’s late equaliser a week ago.

Dier simply failed to repay the faith put in him by his manager, and as a result, he badly let Mourinho – and Spurs – down with a shocking performance.

He was awfully lucky that Edinson Cavani’s first strike was ruled out through VAR as the lethal United striker had beaten him all ends up with sublime movement.

That was a recurring theme for the 27-year-old midfielder-turned-defender as he never really knew where the opposition was – he was again caught napping for the second, leaving the Uruguayan once again, and for the third goal, he was far too static as Mason Greenwood rounded off a calamitous afternoon.

The warning signs were there pre-game, too, as Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane told supporters in the build-up to kick-off that Dier is “not good enough” to play centre-back.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-april-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-and-more” title=”Read this week’s latest Spurs news, April transfer rumours and more!”]

His subsequent figures would back that up.

Alasdair Gold was particularly scathing in his post-match ratings for football.london, ranking Dier amongst Spurs’ worst performers with a 5/10. No other home defender was given worse.

Whilst, as per SofaScore, the £22.5m-rated disaster has a big influence on how this side plays, managing the third-highest number of touches with 67 throughout the 90 minutes but from that, he lost possession 16 times, the second-most of any Spurs player.

It means Dier effectively gifted possession back to a rampant United side once every four touches, and once every five-and-a-half minutes.

Similarly, he was equally wasteful with the ball at his feet, making just 74% of his 53 passing attempts, which is below his season average of 82%. Not only is that underwhelming but instead of playing it out from the back to good effect, he made just four of 14 long balls (28.5%).

It’s no wonder the Red Devils dominated possession (54%), particularly in the second half (59%).

There is a reason Dier was axed from Mourinho’s starting XI for six straight league games and now the Spurs boss will be thinking again before trusting him.

That performance saw his faith completely betrayed. Perhaps it’s time to throw the dice to Toby Aldwereireld, who must be wondering what he must to do garner a start in this side.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Gary Mabbutt claims Spurs miss one man after huge transfer decision…

According to a report by club insider Claret & Hugh, West Ham United medics and backroom staff have ‘growing confidence’ behind the scenes that star defender Angelo Ogbonna could soon be available for the game against Leicester City or ‘certainly’ away to Newcastle United.

West Ham insider shares big Ogbonna injury boost

Ogbonna, who has been out of match action recently after suffering an ankle injury, is said to be making progress in his rehabilitation at Rush Green with his comeback potentially coming soon after the international break.

The Italian limped off just 16 minutes into West Ham’s FA Cup defeat away to Manchester United last month, but Irons insider Claret & Hugh has provided a positive update.

It is understood by the outlet that medics and backroom staff have ‘growing confidence’ Ogbonna will return shortly after the international interval and could be available again for the home game against Leicester.

Barring that, C&H relay that West Ham officials believe the 32-year-old will ‘certainly’ be back for the trip to St. James’ Park soon afterwards.

Transfer Tavern take

This is a big injury boost for manager David Moyes – Ogbonna was a mainstay under the Scotsman and one of the first names on his team sheet before an untimely absence – starting 23 Premier League games in total (WhoScored).

As well as this, out of all the first team regulars with 14 league starts or more over 2020/2021, Ogbonna has averaged the most league clearances per 90.

News that he could return very soon after the international break will delight Moyes, especially as the Hammers chase an unprecedented finish in the European qualifying spots.

In other news: West Ham fans flocked to this footage, find out more here.