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After a major announcement on Tuesday afternoon, with AS Roma officially appointing ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho for the 2021/2022 season, journalist Dan Kilpatrick has reacted on social media whilst claiming it is ‘potentially good news for Spurs’ (Twitter).

Journalist reacts as ‘potentially good news for Spurs’ emerges

Mourinho, who was sacked by the Lilywhites last month after nearly a year and a half in the job, was then placed on gardening leave and the club could have been forced to keep on paying his reported £10.5 million-per-year salary for up to 18 months (football.london).

However, in an announcement which could greatly benefit Tottenham financially, AS Roma have announced that they have hired Mourinho for the 2021/2022 campaign – with the Portuguese’ time on gardening leave now set to be short.

Journalist Kilpatrick, of the Evening Standard, was stunned by the promptness of the appointment and also believes this comes as a boost for Spurs – writing an emphatic message on Twitter in reaction to the major news.

“Wow – Jose wasting no time getting back in work,” he explained.

“And potentially good news for Spurs in terms of a payoff.”

Transfer Tavern take

In uncertain times, chairman Daniel Levy and the club will be grateful for any financial break given the toll caused by coronavirus over this past year.

Spurs announced an ‘irrecoverable’ £63.9 million loss late last year (Evening Standard) and still haven’t found a lucrative deal for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium naming rights – with chief commercial officer Todd Kline understood to be working behind the scenes (football.london).

Tottenham will apparently only have to keep paying Mourinho’s full salary until he starts the job at Roma this summer, and it certainly comes as a boost given his wages would have been a considerable drain on the club’s kitty until next summer.

In other news: Tottenham enter race for this electric defender, find out more here.

After Steven Gerrard’s appointment as Aston Villa manager was confirmed, attention has turned to potential signings from his former club Rangers.

The Birmingham Mail’s Richard Cusack has been considering the possibility of a swoop for Ryan Kent. On Friday, Daily Record journalist Scott Burns reported that the winger and Glen Kamara would be ‘at the top of Gerrard’s list’ if the 41-year-old were to launch a raid on Ibrox.

Ryan Kent profiled

Kent joined Rangers in September 2019 in a £6.48m move off the back of a loan spell in Glasgow the previous season. He has made 139 appearances for the Gers, scoring 28 times and notching 33 assists. Six of those goal contributions – one goal and five assists – have come in his 11 outings so far this season.

The 25-year-old’s contract is up at the end of the 2022/23 campaign and he is valued at £12.6m by Transfermarkt.

Twitter account @AVFC_News asked supporters if they would like Kent to move to Villa, and here’s how these fans responded negatively, believing that the winger wouldn’t be an upgrade on their current abundance of options out wide.

Liverpool gave him just one senior appearance before loaning him out several times prior to his permanent move to Rangers, something which may also discourage some Villa supporters.

These Villa fans unimpressed by Kent

“No Rangers players are better than what’s there”

Credit: @mickmcg81

“Surely we can do better?”

Credit: @kinglandranger3

“Not really. No better than what we have. That’s not where he should be looking, far from it.”

Credit: @AVFCAL79

“Don’t want Rangers players, he’s plenty of money to get better quality players”

Credit: @waynipoos1

“Not for me. Better value in U23 and around Europe”

Credit: @SpeakReason

“We have plenty of wingers though”

Credit: @BernardKeavy

In other news, many Villa fans react to this Neil Cutler update

Liverpool were unbeaten in all competitions the last time they had a game in the Champions League. Since then, they’ve only lost to West Ham but made up for it in an incredible performance that saw the side score four goals against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

The Reds remain unbeaten and at the very top of the tree in their Champions League group, with the maximum 12 points and seven points clear of second-place Porto, who coincidentally are their opponents on Wednesday evening.

This unbeaten run in Europe has put Liverpool through to the last sixteen, and for this reason, we expect a much different side to the starting eleven we saw against Arsenal on Saturday evening.

Jurgen Klopp confirmed in his press conference that we would see changes in tonight’s game;

“We always respect the competition but we have to think about ourselves, our schedule and the situation of our players first,”

With that in mind, here is Football Fancast’s predicted XI for Liverpool vs Porto…

With seven changes to the starting line up, we predict that Liverpool will bring in many players that we only see in domestic cup tournaments, but Klopp will leave an element of first-team experience in each line of play, with Joel Matip, James Milner and Diogo Jota all starting.

The changes will see fan favourites like Sadio Mane, Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah axed from the line up, in an attempt to give them a rest before an important Premier League game against Southampton at the weekend, where Klopp’s side will look for an opportunity to close the gap on Chelsea and Manchester City.

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Taki Minamino will take the place of Mane, and will be hoping to have further impact on Liverpool’s season after he scored the fourth goal of the game against Arsenal at the weekend.

We expect to see some young players get minutes as well this evening, with Ibrahima Konate, 19-year-old Tyler Morton and Neco Williams predicted to join the side. All three will be hoping to make an impact to impress their German coach in the game.

Klopp will certainly not go into this game with the mentality of allowing a loss, so it is likely we could see him strengthen the side with more experienced players like Trent Alexander Arnold or Jordan Henderson in the second half, but only if the starting team is getting eaten alive by a Porto side who are in need of a win to push Atletico Madrid and AC Milan further away from qualification.

In other news: Liverpool must secure new deal for Sadio Mane

Crystal Palace shared a picture of Will Hughes in action ahead of the trip to Manchester United this weekend.

And a number of Palace fans have been giving their thoughts to the official club post regarding the £60,000-a-week midfielder

Hughes was brought in over the summer from Watford in a deal worth £6m, however, he’s had to remain extremely patient for a chance under Patrick Vieira.

The 26-year-old has been on the bench for eight Premier League games but finally made his Eagles debut against Leeds United in the week.

The central midfielder replaced Jeffrey Schlupp for the final 10 minutes at Elland Road as Palace conceded in stoppage time to suffer back-to-back defeats under Vieira for the first time.

Palace fans react

Palace posted a picture of Hughes in action on Twitter on Thursday evening, with some fans wanting to see the midfielder feature at Old Trafford this weekend. Here are what some fans had to say in reply…

“Santa came just in time for Christmas”

Credit: @cpfctristan

“For £5mil hopefully bargain if the season”

Credit: @keithwhitfieldk

“Hughes was a big positive for us in that last match. Hopefully starts Sunday”

Credit: @R41n4llTh3T1m3

“Looked promising & a great option with Macca out. Ran hard, worked hard & made a difference. In short time on pitch put in best corner that have seen in ages.”

Credit: @HC15OnTour

“Needs more game time I think. Could be a key part of the team while McArthur’s out”

Credit: @kade_bladeSE25

“Beautiful man”

Credit: @CPFCMax9

In other news: Many Palace fans slammed this ‘droppable’ ace vs Leeds. 

Plenty of Southampton fans have been reacting to the news that 20-year-old Kayne Ramsay has penned a new contract at the club.

Ramsay has so far made just three appearances for the club (Transfermarkt), but that has not stopped the Saints from getting him to commit his future. The defender has signed a two-year deal which will keep him at St Mary’s Stadium until 2023.

The youngster will be hoping to have a big future on the south coast, and the news of his signature has attracted plenty of attention from Southampton fans after the confirmation was shared on the Saints’ official Twitter account. Some fans have now demanded that he plays regularly – with Kyle Walker-Peters out injured, Ramsay would be the natural replacement for him at right-back.

These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Ramsay below

“What’s the point? Centre back picked over him in his own position constantly, about time he’s given a chance!”

Credit: @jaydenatk13

“A right back. A right back that should be playing while KWP is out. Have a word with yourself Ralph.”

Credit: @we_8_pompey

“Play him then”

Credit: @TheTrueFraudie

“Is this a joke?! Why don’t we play him then and give him a chance to prove himself?!”

Credit: @McKeeChristian

“Hang on though… he isn’t good enough to play is he? we play at centre back at right back instead? makes no sense.”

Credit: @HackedOffStuart

“Sounds like Ralph still has faith in this guy then. Get him in the side gaining experience! Can’t be any worse than Bednarek at RB”

Credit: @ewanwhite1999

In other news, many Southampton fans react to a tweet on this former player.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Southampton midfielder Carlton Palmer has backed Ralph Hasenhuttl after a turbulent couple of months at St Mary’s.

After a bright start to the Premier League season, a poor run of form has seen Southampton drop into the bottom half of the table. They have also been on the opposite end of a humiliating 9-0 defeat to Manchester United, a repeat of the 9-0 massacre against Leicester City last term.

It has certainly been a difficult period for Southampton and Hasenhuttl; however, Palmer is still backing the Austrian manager, praising the overall job he has done since arriving at the south coast club.

Speaking exclusively with FFC, the retired Premier League footballer said:

“I don’t like the bashing of the manager. I think he’s a very good manager. I think he’s done a fantastic job there and they’re just going through a difficult time at the moment.

“You know, you’re seeing that with Liverpool. Liverpool are going through a difficult time at the moment. That doesn’t mean Jurgen Klopp’s not a good manager. He’s not all of a sudden a bad manager because Liverpool are going through a difficult situation. Same with Jose Mourinho, these are good managers. All teams go through difficult periods.”

While Southampton are struggling at present, it has not been all doom and gloom at St. Mary’s this season. The Saints have put in some good performances, including in the 1-0 win over Premier League champions Liverpool, and have reached the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Hasenhuttl’s side take on Championship outfit Bournemouth in the competition, with the Cherries the only thing standing between them and a trip to Wembley. Ultimately, there is still a possibility that Southampton could make success of the current campaign.

Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur side will make the short trip from north to west London this afternoon as they take on Brentford at the Brentford Community Stadium, looking to boost their top-four hopes with a victory.

The Italian’s outfit are currently fourth in the Premier League but have very close competition from arch-rivals Arsenal, who are behind on goal difference alone.

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Spurs had been on a good run of four consecutive victories in the league before last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Brighton.

Now, they’ll be looking to make amends for that loss by getting back to winning ways against the Bees.

However, after last weekend’s slip-up, Conte could be tempted to make changes to his side and axe some of those who let him down against the Seagulls, with left-wing-back Sergio Reguilon certainly a culprit.

On the chalkboard

Prior to Ryan Sessegnon’s hamstring injury, the Spaniard had lost his place in the side to the 21-year-old with the Englishman offering plenty of attacking flair in the final third.

The 25-year-old was left out of the starting lineup by Conte for six out of seven league matches between late January and early March, only coming back into the side when Sessegnon was withdrawn in the 5-0 victory over Everton.

Ironically, Reguilon did score in that match and has missed just one game since with a knock.

However, Sessegnon has since recovered from his injury and has been on the bench for Spurs’ last two matches. Whether Conte has kept the £68k-per-week Spaniard in the starting lineup for tactical reasons or concerns over the 21-year-old’s fitness is unknown.

What is known though, is that Reguilon is walking on a tightrope in terms of keeping his place in the side after coming back into the starting lineup last weekend for the injured Matt Doherty, who is now out for the season.

The Spaniard, who has made 25 Premier League appearances so far this term, averages just 24.3 accurate passes a match – at an accuracy of 79% – whilst winning just over half of his duels at 52% with 4.6 a game.

However, against Brighton last weekend, the wing-back was well below par for his standards.

The 25-year-old completed just 17 passes with an accuracy of 63% and couldn’t manage to complete a dribble, attempting just one.

Moreover, it was a timid performance defensively, offering 0 clearances, blocks or interceptions whilst making just one tackle. The only positive was a 70% duel win rate.

Speaking to Football Insider, Spurs insider John Wenham recently labelled the wing-back as “average” whilst also stating that “he’s the worst of the bunch.”

With Reguilon’s popularity amongst the Tottenham faithful at a low, now is the time for Conte to axe the Spaniard with the Italian unable to make mistakes if his side are to secure Champions League football for next season.

AND in other news: Conte must finally unleash “absolutely fantastic” Spurs sensation, he’s a “big talent”

Wolves fans heaped praise on defender Romain Saiss despite their side’s 1-0 defeat against Manchester United on Tuesday night.

The 30-year-old started in a back three alongside captain Conor Coady and Max Kilman as the Black Country side came out second best at Old Trafford after a last-gasp winner from Marcus Rashford.

Despite this, the Molineux faithful found positives from the game as the versatile Moroccan put in an impressive display.

Per Whoscored, Saiss was given a match rating of 7.35, managing to get two shots on goal, making 12 clearances and accumulated a pass success rate of 89.7%.

With this in mind, supporters were delighted with his showing and many reflected on that despite the manner of the defeat.

Fans laud Saiss

“Got to look at the bright points – Saiss was Magnificent. Ki-Jana Hoever has given Nuno a really difficult decision to make on Sunday, he was excellent. Vitinha very good as well. Kilman, excellent. We need player(s) for the now in January, but our future is very exciting #wwfc”

Credit: @WolfInDerby

“Devastating Stoppage Time Goal…deserved a point here today. Bright side is deflection aside, Saiss continues to impress, the kids played well and that was Moutinho and Neves best game in weeks. Team just needs to find goals, somewhere, somehow. #wwfc”

Credit: @Jello224

“Romain Saiss Superb. You didn’t deserve that lad”

Credit: @LeamWolves

“Saiss awesome tonight for #wwfc. Probably our best player this month”

Credit: @garyjohnfraser

“Romain Saiss MOTM. Absolutely. Been brilliant tonight #wwfc #MUNWOL”

Credit: @wellygoggs

“Saiss has been immense tonight #wwfc #MUNWOL”

Credit: @MrAndyLowe

In other news, Jamie Redknapp makes huge claim about Wolves star who can go all the way “to the top.”

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan believes Rodrigo de Paul could be an exceptional addition to the Whites’ midfield this summer.

The Lowdown: Midfield addition required for Leeds

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have enjoyed a triumphant return to the Premier League this season, sitting 11th in the table and rarely looking relegation-threatened.

The aim to is to keep moving forward as a team, however, and there have been times when Leeds have looked a little light in midfield, with Kalvin Phillips arguably relied upon too much – they have lost seven of the nine matches without him in the top flight.

De Paul is one player the Whites have been linked with helping solve that issue, having shone for Udinese this season, registering eight goals and assists apiece in Serie A as a box to box dynamo with some serious creative flair.

The Latest: Whelan waxes lyrical over De Paul

Someone who clearly wants to see the 26-year-old in a Leeds shirt is Whelan, who told Football Insider that the £34.2million-rated Argentine could be the perfect man to come in and add competition in midfield:

“We need another midfielder. Someone with a bit of tenacity who can provide assists and goals. We need a player that is a level above what we currently have if we want to progress further.

“There has been so much talk about Rodrigo de Paul coming to Leeds last summer and I did not think for one second that he would be a player we forgot about. They seemed desperate to get him on board. It does not surprise me to hear we might be making a second move for him.

“What a player, he would definitely improve the team. I have seen clips of him and he has bags of energy, a great eye for a pass and can score a goal as well. He would provide really strong competition in the middle.

“I am sure the club recognise it is a position we need to strengthen in this summer.”

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The Verdict: Leeds should seal De Paul move

De Paul ticks all the boxes, in terms of an ideal summer signing for Leeds, possessing quality and end product from midfield, but also averaging 1.3 tackles per game in the league this season.

He is an all-round midfielder in the mould of Phillips, but in a more forward-thinking sense, as his aforementioned goals and assists tally highlights.

Not only that, but 19 caps for Argentina also speaks volumes, and working alongside his countryman Bielsa could take De Paul’s game to another level.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly interested in a move for a winger this summer – find out who it is here.

Many West Ham United fans are unhappy after it was revealed that Jesse Lingard could return to Manchester United for good at the end of the season as the Hammers cannot afford to sign him permanently.

The £13.5m-valued maestro, who made the move on loan to the London Stadium in January, has been a revelation under David Moyes. In 13 Premier League games, he has helped himself to nine goals and four assists (Transfermarkt), and his arrival gave the Irons a boost as they attempt to qualify for the Champions League for the first time.

It has been suggested previously that Lingard would set West Ham back £20m if they signed him permanently (Eurosport). However, according to the Daily Mail, the England international could start next season back at Old Trafford as West Ham are unsure whether they will have the funds required to sign him on a permanent basis.

The news was shared on Twitter by @WestHamViews_, and it attracted plenty of attention from Hammers fans. These supporters took to the social media platform to share their thoughts, with one taking aim at the club’s much-maligned GSB ownership for their apparent reluctance to stump up the necessary funds for a permanent capture.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Lingard news below

“I’m on my last straw .”

Credit: @dondeccers

“GSB out can’t afford to run the club!”

Credit: @daledwhu

“There will be riots”

Credit: @IamGuiseppeDave

“IF true then the goodwill generated for some fans will be gone of the back of a decent season & next season #GSBOUT will be back with a vengeance as the club is held in a chokehold with GSB unable to invest, support or grow WHU without significant outside investors or selling”

Credit: @mhare641

“Can’t find the funds despite the extra £15m + extra we will make finishing in Europa League compared to where we finished last season”

Credit: @AndyWHU1987

“IMAGINE MY SHOCK”

Credit: @Dennis_WHW

In other news, many West Ham fans slammed this man’s performance against Everton.