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It is no secret Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho is keen to strengthen his squad in the summer. 

Mourinho has made it clear he wants to sign a new centre-back, right-back and midfielder.

The Spurs head coach knows he will need to make additions to his defence, as Jan Vertonghen and Juan Foyth are seemingly set to leave, while Japhet Tanganga has been ruled out for the foreseeable future.

According to Fichajes, as relayed by Ricky Sacks, Tottenham have now submitted a 30 million euro (£27m) offer for Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes.

It is pretty obvious Spurs have serious problems at the back, as they have conceded more goals in the Premier League than Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool, as well as Crystal Palace and Sheffield United.

Gabriel, who has been recognised as “one of the top five central defenders in Europe” by Lille president Gerard Lopez, has made 24 appearances in Ligue 1 this season, scoring 1 goal, making 1.7 tackles and averaging 3.3 clearances per game via WhoScored.

The Spanish outlet revealed Mourinho has personally requested that Spurs sign Gabriel.

Previous reports claimed the Lilywhites had failed to meet Lille’s demands but that no longer appears to be the case.

The Brazilian has been linked with a move to the Premier League as Arsenal and Everton made offers for the defender in January. Spurs have a close relationship with the Mastiffs though, which could work in their favour.

Indeed, Mourinho plundered their ranks for his assistant manager and goalkeeper coach, and is friends with sporting director Luis Campos.

While Vertonghen has signed a short-term extension, he will leave the club as a free agent once the season is completed. The Belgian, who was a favourite of Mauricio Pochettino, has been a loyal servant for many years.

His departure will leave space in the squad and the 22-year-old could be the perfect fit in his place.

Tottenham fans, should Daniel Levy sign Gabriel Magalhaes? Let us know down below!

Sheffield United’s dream return to the Premier League faces its next big test this weekend as Frank Lampard’s in-form Chelsea side visit Bramall Lane.

Chris Wilder has overseen an outstanding first season back in the top flight for the Blades, who have given themselves a huge opportunity of competing in Europe next term. The Blades currently occupy seventh in the standings and could leapfrog Wolves into the top six with a victory here.

Sheffield United have already enjoyed a record Premier League season, ensuring their highest ever finish – which had stood at 14th – and a record points total from a 38-game season, which initially stood at 38, and now they’re on the verge of making Europe for the first time in their history.

Chelsea have been outstanding since the restart, with the only blemish being their 3-2 defeat at West Ham, and are looking good for a top-four finish with four matches still to play in 19/20.

The Blues’ win over Crystal Palace earlier in the week ensured they leapfrogged Leicester City into 3rd and while catching 2nd placed Manchester City might be too much of an ask with four games left, victory at Bramall Lane will strengthen their position in the top four as they head into final run of fixtures.

Form

Despite their lofty league position and continued hopes of a top-six finish, Sheffield United have been a bit unpredictable since the restart. Launching with a goalless draw at Aston Villa, Wilder’s side then suffered back-to-back 3-0 defeats to Newcastle and Manchester United respectively.  But they’ve since found their feet to reignite their dreams with wins over Tottenham and Wolves sandwiching a respectable away point at Burnley.

Chelsea are indeed one of the form teams in the Premier League right now, having lost just one of their previous eight league outings. Since the restart, they’ve been difficult to beat and look devastating in attack, averaging 2.4 goals-per-game.

Interestingly enough, the Blues’ away form has been impressive this season. Chelsea have scored a league-high 37 away goals this term and have secured 30 points on the road, with only Liverpool winning more on their travels.

Team News

John Fleck and David McGoldrick will both undergo late fitness tests after missing the Blades’ midweek victory over Wolves, while Oli McBurnie’s place in the starting XI could be reconsidered after fatigue forced him off after just 49 minutes in midweek.

Billy Gilmour (knee) and N’Golo Kante (hamstring) are both doubts for Chelsea but Mateo Kovacic has returned to first-team training. Fikayo Tomori is still unavailable for selection.

How to Watch

Sheffield United’s bid for glory continues against Chelsea on Saturday 11 July, witch kick-off scheduled for 5:30pm at Bramall Lane.

Fans can make sure they don’t miss a kick by tuning in to live streams online or flicking over to Sky Sports Main Event.

Leeds United don’t have long to prepare for their Premier League return.

With games starting up on September 12th, the Whites have just six weeks to assemble a squad ready to compete in the division, and as you can imagine they’ve already got a few ideas in mind.

While it’s good to see that the club already have a blueprint of what they want to do this summer, it seems as though their ideas aren’t as well thought out as they need to be.

Watch Leeds United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Graham Smyth provided an update on what Leeds want to do this summer, and it doesn’t look to be enough.

What’s been said then?

The Yorkshire Evening Post journalist was asked on Twitter what Leeds want to bring in this summer.

“As you’d expect, competition/back-up for Bamford, the same for Hernandez, at least one CB, another midfielder. If Kiko Casilla goes (still an if) then another keeper will have to come in.” He replied.

Not enough

Surely United can see that this won’t be enough to steer them clear of a relegation battle.

Patrick Bamford has had trouble converting his chances all season and his record in the Premier League speaks for itself, netting just once in 27 outings in the top-flight.

United need a Bamford replacement rather than a backup, and unfortunately, the same has to be said about Pablo Hernandez.

Now, nobody is claiming Hernandez isn’t a class player, he’s won Leeds’ Player of the Year award three times in a row, but he’ll be turning 36 next season, and he didn’t exactly light up the Premier League last time he was there with Swansea, hitting just five goals in 57 appearances.

The Kiko Casilla situation is obviously complicated with the racial abuse incident, with fans calling for him to be sacked in the past, but even if United look past that, he’s not good enough for the top-flight, making numerous errors against the likes of Wigan, Nottingham Forest and Brentford this term.

Of course, Leeds also have Illan Meslier as a goalkeeping option, but hanging your hopes on a man with just 10 Championship appearances to his name is risky to say the least.

FIFA has announced there will be two new Chelsea additions to their Ultimate Team ‘Icons’.

The 21st edition of the game will see Blues legends Ashley Cole and Petr Cech receive honorary places in the game. The duo will appear in the FIFA Ultimate Team mode as Icons – the most prestigious status of playable cards on the game.

Chelsea have uploaded sneak peeks of Cole and Cech’s FUT cards to their official Instagram account. Many supporters are excited to see them given the nod, but a lot are wondering why the club ignored the fact that two more of their ex-players had been given Icon status.

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Indeed, both Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o were added to the latest edition of the game but despite both strikers having spent time at Stamford Bridge, there was no mention of them on the Instagram post.

Former Blues goalkeeper Cech left Stamford Bridge in 2015 to pursue a move to London rivals Arsenal (via BBC Sport). After half a decade with the Gunners, Cech is now back with Chelsea and operating as the club’s technical and performance advisor.

The former Czech Republic international played a big part in helped the Blues secure the signing of Timo Werner earlier this summer.

Frank Lampard and his men have now completed their 2019/20 season and will be looking ahead to upcoming term. One which promises to be full of twists, turns and excitement.

How do you feel about these new FUT Icons? Join the conversation in the comments below!

If Tottenham Hotspur are to land Jose Mourinho one of his summer targets, then Daniel Levy may need to fork out a little extra money to do so…

What’s the word?

According to Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), AS Roma have rejected bids of €50m (£45m) from several teams, one of which are Spurs and have claimed that another €10-20m (£9-18m) will be needed in order to secure his signature.

There’s also a suggestion that the Serie A club’s owners have taken the Italian playmaker off the market unless their valuation is met.

Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona are the other interested parties.

Shades of Lampard

Zaniolo is one of Europe’s hottest talents right now having picked up five caps already by the age of 21 whilst domestically this season alone, he’s provided eight goals and four assists.

The versatile all-rounded midfielder also averaged 2.3 dribbles, 1.7 shots and one key pass per appearance across the Europa League and the Serie A, via WhoScored.

He’s able to play in both the number eight and number ten role as well as out wide, so it’s no surprise to see him likened to some pretty outstanding legends of the Premier League – one who Mourinho has managed before.

Ex-Inter head coach Stefano Vecchi dubbed him a “modern mezzala” before describing him as a “[Steven] Gerrard, [Frank] Lampard-type” during an interview with Goal.

Such endorsements are intensified by Roma hero Francesco Totti, who said: “He has explosive strength and technique, and everything it takes to become a truly great player.”

€60m (£55m) is a lot of money in this current transfer market, but if Levy can pull out all the stops, then there’s no denying that the north Londoners would be getting a generational talent.

Just look at Lampard’s impact under Mourinho all those years ago, he could well land himself a similar player who could transform their underperforming midfield.

AND in other news, Spurs keen on £80m-rated “special” talent who tore apart Aurier…

Glasgow Rangers have had a positive start to the new Premiership campaign.

The Gers currently sit top of the table after winning three and drawing one of their first four matches. So far, they are yet to even concede a goal, and have impressed in 3-0 victories over both St. Johnstone and St. Mirren, whilst they are currently six points clear of their fierce city rivals Celtic.

However, the goalless draw against Livingston on Sunday was their first real hiccup of the campaign, and it seemed they missed Joe Aribo’s creativity in the middle of the park – it is no surprise that the one game he missed in the league was the one match they have so far failed to win.

A photo shared on Twitter of the Nigeria international by the club’s official account has given the Gers fans the opportunity to wax lyrical about the 24-year-old. Indeed, he is already averaging three key passes, 2.3 dribbles and two shots per game in the league this term.

Many took to Twitter to share their thoughts, one even described him as the “guy Messi wants to be”, perhaps tongue in cheek given his strong start to the season. You can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Let us know what you think!

Coventry City have confirmed the return of Sam McCallum on a loan deal from Championship side Norwich City via their official website.

The 20-year-old defender proved to be an excellent performer for Mark Robins’ side last season, contributing to the what proved to be a title winning campaign in League One for the Sky Blues.

Such good form saw the young defender agree a permanent move to Norwich City, who were relegated from the Premier League last term.

Despite a January move, McCallum returned to Coventry on loan for the back end of the 2019/2020 campaign.

With the new season underway, McCallum’s future with Norwich has now been addressed and it has been confirmed that he has now once again returned on loan to Coventry.

“We are delighted to welcome Sam back to the Club on loan until the end of the season,” Coventry boss Robins told the club’s official website.

“Sam is a player with great ability and potential who was an important part of our League One winning side, so when this opportunity came about we were very pleased to be able bring Sam back.

“He is a great lad, and his qualities both defensively and going forward will add to our squad significantly in the Championship. We look forward to working with Sam again between now and the end of the season.”

Valued at £675,000 by Transfermarkt, McCallum has made 43 appearances in total for Coventry thus far, chipping in with three goals and three assists.

A good move back to Coventry for McCallum and he will now test his ability in the Championship. It does however, beg the question for the youngster whether or not he has a future with Norwich City.

Perform well for the Sky Blues and who knows what the future holds.

Do you think McCallum will feature regularly for Coventry this season? Let us know in the comments section below…

Aston Villa have already added a winger to their ranks this transfer window but it appears they aren’t finished there…

What’s the word?

According to France Football, the Midlands outfit have entered the race to sign relegated Watford star Ismaila Sarr and have an advantage over Liverpool in the fact that they can offer him a starting spot.

They claim that the Senegalese winger is available for between €35m (£32m) and €40m (£36.5m) and that his wages could exceed €6m-per-year (£5.5m-per-year), which is around £115k-per-week.

The 22-year-old has not been named in any of the Hornets’ opening four matches across the Championship and EFL Cup.

Speedy threat

Sarr was one of Watford’s few bright sparks during their relegation campaign last year, providing six goals and six assists, per Transfermarkt.

The tricky winger averaged 1.7 dribbles, 1.6 shots, 0.9 key passes and 0.6 crosses per game, via WhoScored.

Perhaps it’s no surprise to see Dean Smith interested after Sarr ran riot against his Villa outfit back in December. He scored one goal from a total of five shots and also recorded one key pass, one dribble and won ten duels – Matt Targett was terrorised all afternoon.

In the return fixture, he was absent and Villa clinched the victory – coincidence?

Given his nationality and position, Sarr has drawn comparisons to Liverpool’s Sadio Mane with him even describing the Watford star as “very rapid.”

His former teammate Abdoulaye Doucoure, now an Everton player, has previously waxed lyrical about his potential, he said: “I’ve told him as a joke that he’s a Champions League player, but I really think it’s because I know he has exceptional qualities. He’s not just quick, he’s incredible at finishing, he can find space, keep the ball and I hope he’ll go very far.”

Sarr outperformed both Trezeguet and Anwar El Ghazi for goal contributions as well as dribbles per game. He’d certainly be an upgrade – a huge one at that.

Imagine a front three of Bertrand Traore, Ollie Watkins and Sarr with Jack Grealish in behind. Wow.

AND in other news, Lange would be making a huge mistake by selling £9m ace this window…

The speculation over talks between Liverpool and Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland continue to swirl as the EFL transfer window deadline looms. The Reds are desperate to bring in an upgrade on the disappointing Adrian, who recently shipped a mammoth seven goals in their latest Premier League match.

First choice goalkeeper Alisson is currently out of action with a shoulder injury and could miss as much as six weeks’ worth of important games. After Adrian’s dismal display against Aston Villa, it seems Liverpool have hit panic stations and don’t trust the Spaniard to fill in for such a long amount of time.

Signing Butland wouldn’t just be a smart big of business from the league champions, but it would equally benefit the player himself.

Liverpool and Butland: Perfect match

The England international is yet to play a single game for Stoke this season. Butland has been left on the bench for the four Championship matches so far and wasn’t even named in the Potters’ EFL Cup run. In fact, the 27-year-old was dropped for 11 league games last season, with Adam Davies proving to be the preferred choice at the moment (via Transfermarkt).

Liverpool look set to send youngster Caoimhin Kelleher out on loan which leaves the senior squad with just Alisson and Adrian in the ranks. But the Spaniard’s Villa nightmare isn’t the first of his disastrous performances. Adrian was at fault in Jurgen Klopp’s FA Cup and Champions League run last campaign, making huge costly errors against Chelsea and Atletico Madrid.

Not only will Liverpool lift Butland out of a very frustrating situation and potentially start him in every game until Alisson returns, but the player should deliver more convincing performances for the club than Adrian. He has long been viewed as a solid performer in goal, with former Stoke boss Mark Hughes branding him as “excellent” when he was just 20-years-old.

The former Leeds United man has experience of both the Premier League and Championship and has also made four appearances in the FA Cup (as per Transfermarkt). His hunger to get back into the action will no doubt spur on some inspired performances and help kick Liverpool back into winning ways.

In other news, New proposed FSG investment will take Liverpool to the next level…

It’s fair to say it’s been a bit of a struggle for Joelinton since joining Newcastle in the summer of 2019.

The Brazilian endured a difficult first campaign in English football, managing just four goals in 44 games across all competitions. The start to the new season has been equally as difficult, although in the Premier League, Steve Bruce has opted to permanently station him out wide.

The new role has seen him yet to score in the top-flight, with his only goals coming in the Carabao Cup thrashing of Morecambe, when he bagged a brace.

Against Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday, the 24-year-old never looked like getting into the game, and he looked completely lost in the system.

As per Sofascore, he lost possession an eye-watering 17 times in the 73 minutes that he was on the pitch, whilst he lost 11 of his 15 total duels too.

He also had no attempts on goal whatsoever, and made just ten successful passes – to put that into context, Miguel Almiron, who came on in the 88th minute for Jeff Hendrick, managed exactly half that in the short amount of time that he was on.

With Ryan Fraser and Miguel Almiron amongst Bruce’s options for players who can play out wide, it’s surely the time for Joelinton to be taken out of the firing line for the time being.

The Newcastle boss’ insistence on playing the Brazilian through his bad form and just hoping that he catches fire one day continues to frustrate, and shows a real lack of quality management.

Whilst Joelinton himself can take some of the blame for his anonymous performance, a lot of the responsibility for it comes down to Bruce. Whether it’s tweaking his tactics or his side’s mentality for games, or simply putting players in the side who are in form – Fraser scored for Scotland in mid week for example – the Magpies boss desperately needs to take action, and fast.