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Tottenham Hotspur may have bounced back from an opening day defeat with an emphatic victory on Sunday afternoon but there was still a major issue bubbling above the surface.

Jose Mourinho’s men, well the duo of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, rocked Southampton with a 5-2 thrashing at St Mary’s with the pair combining for the handful of strikes.

However, Danny Ings twice found the net by pouncing on crucial mistakes in the Spurs backline, raising the question does Mourinho need a new centre-back before that back-up striker spot?

Davinson Sanchez was handed a start over Toby Alderweireld and it didn’t really pay off with the Colombian colossus losing possession a whopping 20 times as well as recording a disappointing 64% passing accuracy. He was also dribbled past once and committed one foul, per SofaScore.

For someone that cost the club £42m and is on wages of around £65k-per-week, it just isn’t good enough.

Perhaps following the fan-happy signing of Gareth Bale, Spurs’ recruitment team can look to bolster their defence instead of finding someone willing to play second fiddle to Kane.

The addition of the Welsh legend could open the door for Son to play in a more-advanced role whilst the England talisman showed signs of why he could be an ideal number ten with four assists and four key passes (50% of his total all game).

Tottenham conceded 47 goals in the Premier League last season, the second-most of any top seven team but only the wide areas have been improved with the additions of Matt Doherty and Sergio Reguillon, who are undoubtedly in for their attacking prowess more than anything.

You’d have to be worried if you were a Spurs fan going into the season with Eric Dier, Alderweireld and Sanchez as your three senior options in the heart of defence.

The 24-year-old badly let Mourinho down, though it’s not his fault. A new centre-back should be their number one priority now.

AND in other news, Spurs could find Mourinho’s next Ibrahimovic in £27m colossus…

Having signed Wesley for a club-record fee of around £22m from Belgian side Club Brugge, Aston Villa were no doubt hoping that the Brazilian could be the man to fire the club to Premier League safety.

Whilst Dean Smith’s side managed to avoid relegation on the final day of the season, it wasn’t down to Wesley’s efforts. The 23-year-old endured a difficult debut campaign in English football, managing just five goals in the top-flight.

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Then to really make matters worse, he suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in early January, an injury that has kept him out of action ever since. Now, Italian publication Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness) claim that Wesley’s time at Villa Park may already be up.

The report suggests Serie A giants Lazio are interested in signing him this summer, with their sporting director supposedly a big fan of the striker.

And after hearing about the rumours surrounding their number nine, Villa fans took to Twitter to share their reactions.

One Villa fan suggested that giving Wesley another chance would simply be a dran on their wage bill, and that they would just end up with an even bigger loss on their finances.

Another supporter suggested that Villa fans’ appreciation of Wesley seemed to be living off one game against Burnley when he scored in a 2-1 win at Turf Moor.

Whilst Wesley may not have set the Premier League alight in his first campaign with the club, Villa fans shouldn’t be took quick to judge the Brazilian.

After all, you’ve only got to look at the likes of Adama Traore and Idrissa Gueye, who were both at Villa few years ago, but now find themselves starring for the likes of Wolves and PSG respectively.

Wesley leaving for Lazio could see another player prove that with a bit of time and patience, he could have been more than good enough for Villa too.

In our Transfers that shook the club feature, Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at deals that many may not have seen coming and the impact that they had during their time by using statistical data and pundit remarks.

Kevin Keegan is a name that makes the hairs stand up on the necks of Newcastle United fans around the world.

A fine player for the Magpies, the now 69-year old scored a rather impressive 48 goals in 78 games in English league football between 1982 and 1984, according to Soccerbase.

Many supporters of the Tyneside club would have therefore relished the appointment of Keegan as manager ahead of the 1993/94 season, when he won 24 of his 43 matches in carge, with his team scoring 89 goals in the process, as per Transfermarkt.

The 1994/95 season would see his record dip slightly, as the Englishman won 23 of his 47 games as coach, with his side managing to score nine fewer goals (via Transfermarkt).

However, it was arguably not until the 1995/96 campaign that Keegan really made his mark. Finishing just a mere four points off of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in the Premier League table, the Geordie guided his team to a quite respectable second place. On the other hand, this could remarkably be seen as an ultimate failure, with the Magpies being 12 points clear at the top of the table in February.

Ultimately, Keegan’s tenure at St. James’ Park came to an end in the January of the following year, as the Toon Army still ponder what might have been.

However, little did they know back then that this was not the end of the Messiah. Indeed, the silver fox returned as manager in the northeast in January 2008 in what may have come as a shock.

Unfortunately, Keegan only managed to win four out of his 17 games in charge during his second spell in charge (per resigning after only eight months in the job, which left the club searching for a new boss very early in the campaign.

With all of this in mind, it cannot really be said that the return of King Kev was all that successful, and so fans may still be cursing their luck that his reign could be deemed ultimately as another failure, with flashbacks of the 1995/96 Premier League title collapse still fresh in their minds.

Geordies, was Keegan’s return to Newcastle a failure? Comment below with your views!

Tottenham are holding talks with Southampton to sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the summer. 

Jose Mourinho has identified Hojbjerg as his top target to transform the side that he inherited from Mauricio Pochettino.

Hojbjerg has made it clear he wants to leave Southampton as he is looking for a new challenge. He will be out of contract next year and this summer could be the last chance for Ralph Hasenhuttl to cash in on his former captain.

According to Football Insider, Spurs are negotiating with the Saints over a possible move, with Tottenham confident that they can complete a deal for the Dane this summer. The Saints were demanding £35m for the ex-Bayern Munich ace but he could be available for a cut-price deal worth £20m as they are eager to get rid of him as soon as possible.

Although Daniel Levy is infamously tight-fisted, the club believe that they will be able to reach an agreement with Southampton in a matter of weeks.

Hojbjerg was stripped of the captain’s armband after refusing to sign a new deal with the Saints and a move is surely in the interests of both parties involved.

Spurs have borrowed a huge sum of money from the Bank of England, as Levy has taken out a £175m loan to cover the costs of these uncertain times. However, the club have held early discussions with his agent Pini Zahavi to sort out conditions of the contract.

Everything seems to be working in Tottenham’s favour, as Zahavi has a strong relationship with Mourinho, which should in theory smooth things over.

As it stands, Spurs should easily be able to afford the asking price, as they splashed the cash to sign Tanguy Ndombele last year. However, clubs are working under extreme conditions, so fans will have to wait and see what deals can be made before the transfer window closes.

Tottenham fans, should Daniel Levy sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the summer? Let us know down below!

Some Aston Villa fans have debated whether or not Dean Smith should stick with one striker up front or go with a two.

Villa sit 19th in the Premier League table as things stand and will restart the 2019/20 season with a game in hand over the other relegation battlers, which takes place against Sheffield United next Wednesday.

After promotion to the top flight a year ago, an inconsistent season in the Premier League so far has seen Villa perform well at times, reaching the Carabao Cup final earlier this year, and Smith will be looking for similar performances from his team to get themselves out of the bottom three.

Playing the majority of the season with one striker, a debate is now emerging on whether or not the Villa boss should change to a two-man front line. Gregg Evans from The Athletic has penned an article looking into the potential of playing two up top, mentioning youngster Keinan Davis, Mbwana Samatta and the injured Wesley.

Debating the potential of Smith going with two up front, some Villa fans gave their thoughts on how the attack should line up…

Should Dean Smith start with two strikers up front? Let us know in the comments section below…

Newcastle United arguably has one of most passionate fan bases in the country, with the locals creating an intimidating atmosphere at St James’ Park – the Toon faithful appeal for absolutely every decision and are dumbstruck when it fails to go in their favour.

Unfortunately, for all their protestations, you do get the feeling – looking in as a neutral – that the Magpies generally get the wrong end of the decisions from referees and linesmen when it comes to 50-50 decisions. Some would call it a conspiracy, some simply see it as par for the course of being a Newcastle fan in an era where they seem to see injustices both on and off the pitch.

Sir Bobby Robson once claimed that a referee’s job is one of the toughest around. However, it is hard not to believe that some officials favour some clubs over others. We all know those individuals in question, but it appears those at the top will always get the decisions at the detriment of the teams that are struggling.

So, which referees really have it in for Newcastle United and who are those that represent a lucky omen for them? The good people at TOFFS have compiled some top-line research that analyses the data from officials and gives football fans a definitive overview of which refs have it in for their clubs.

Will the Toon army be surprised at the results?

You can see the full report compiled by Abbey Green at TOFFS here.

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The EFL and Leeds United agree that the season should be played to completion when it is possible to do so, but time is running out and doubts are rising.Phil Hay made an interesting claim earlier today when responding to one fan’s question about whether the Championship season would resume.

Are you a Championship expert? How much did each of these big-money signings cost?

The Athletic journalist believes that Leagues One and Two won’t be finished, and the second flight has a better chance of doing so, but he has ‘real doubts’ over that happening.

He said:

It comes after Rick Parry, the chairman of the EFL, said he hopes the campaign can be completed on all 71 grounds. However, he also revealed a deadline of July 31st, so time is rapidly expiring.

The longer this goes on, the less likely that a ball will be kicked again at Elland Road, you’d imagine. Then it would come down to the wider issue on whether or not Leeds have done enough to warrant a promotion to the Premier League.

Which will be murky waters as the big wigs will ultimately have the final say.

AND in other news,ÂLeeds fans want one man as their new number one…

One of the big decisions Newcastle will have to make if and when this proposed takeover goes through, is the future of current manager Steve Bruce.

The Magpies boss took over the reins on a permanent basis from Rafa Benitez after the Spaniard’s departure last summer, and to his credit, has ensured the Tyneside club have steered well clear of the relegation zone – at the time football was postponed, they were eight points clear of 18th-placed Bournemouth.

But whilst Bruce has done a respectable job in ensuring Newcastle will once again be playing Premier League football next season, the prospect of new owners and larger investment means the yardstick will surely be changed in terms of ambition.

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If the club do go on to make big-money signings, then there will be a sense of hope and expectation that challenging for European football may become the new objective – and Bruce simply doesn’t have the gravitas or credentials to be leading a side like that, despite recent claims that the players are keen for him to stay.

Bruce’s resumes of clubs isn’t the most awe-inspiring, whilst he doesn’t have any experience of managing a team in the Champions League.

Reports in recent weeks have linked the Magpies with the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri – the kinds of managers who have built up considerable experience at the helm of some of European football’s biggest sides, and competing for titles.

Keeping Bruce as Newcastle look to build a new era would be somewhat of a cowardly decision that would send out completely the wrong message and intent about what the Tyneside club hope to achieve.

Players like Barcelona superstar Philippe Coutinho have been linked, and it’s been claimed that he would only move to Newcastle if Pochettino takes charge – that in itself is an indication of how simply having money to splash will not be enough to entice the biggest and best players.

The club needs an inspirational or well-recognised figurehead a la Carlo Ancelotti at Everton to inspire this revolution. And Bruce simply isn’t that man, and why the Magpies would be making a huge mistake if they kept him on board.

Meanwhile, Newcastle fans react to an update on Steve Bruce’s future.

Think you know Sir Alex Ferguson? You may well find yourself thinking again by the end of this ultimate 25-question quiz on the legendary manager!

Fergie started out as a moderately successful footballer bouncing around the various professional divisions in Scotland during a 16-year career and earning international recognition, somewhat, with the Scottish national team.

As he dove straight into management after the end of his playing days, nothing overly spectacular was expected from the 32-year-old Glaswegian.

What would follow was perhaps the greatest football management career of all time.

The maverick was quickly able to work his way to the top of Scottish football in charge of Aberdeen, with whom he was able to complete the spectacular achievement of European success.

And even when a stint in charge of his national team didn’t work out off the back of his Pittodrie exploits, bigger fish would be waiting to be fried at Manchester United.

Taking over from Ron Atkinson in 1986, Ferguson embarked on an incredible 26-year spell at Old Trafford, picking up a mind-boggling 38 trophies.

Premier Leagues, UEFA Champions Leagues, FA Cups, FIFA Club World Cups, you name it, he won it with the Red Devils, even signing off with an English top-flight title a few weeks before his retirement at the end of the 2012/2013 season.

If it was ever in doubt, a damning piece of evidence that displays just how important this pioneer was to the success of arguably the world’s biggest football club is how they’ve fared since he hung his suit up for good!

It’s all included in our quiz, from those early days in Scotland to his 1,500th and final match at the helm of United, a felicitous 5-5 draw with West Bromwich Albion.

Whether you’re a die-hard Red Devil or just a general Fergie or football fan, find out how knowledgable you are on one of the game’s most iconic figures!

A number of Liverpool fans have taken to social media to hail Trent Alexander-Arnold as the academy product continues to go from strength to strength.

The 21-year-old made his 16th club appearance of the season against Genk on Tuesday night as the Reds recorded a 2-1 win at Anfield.

Alexander-Arnold has contributed four assists and one goal in 16 outings this term, whilst he has not missed a minute of the club’s Premier League campaign to date.

His consistency when it comes to availability is impressive in itself, but the Englishman’s ability was once again on display earlier this week.

Against Genk, the right-back had two shots, made three tackles and had a pass success rate of 84%, according to the statistics provided by WhoScored.

Alexander-Arnold has become an incredible outlet down the right for Jurgen Klopp’s side, and a whole host of Liverpool supporters have been keen to hail him on social media: