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Tottenham Hotspur have told Inter Milan they will not sell Jan Vertonghen in January as the Italian club consider a move for the defender next summer, per The Guardian.

What’s the word?

The Belgium international’s contract expires at the end of the season and the report claims that he is unsure as to what his next move will be.

Inter are keen to secure Vertonghen, however, and will attempt to convince him to sign on a free transfer next summer.

The Serie A giants are said to be willing to offer the 32-year-old a three-year deal, which is longer than any extension that is likely to be on offer in north London.

Nevertheless, Spurs are hopeful he will commit to fresh terms as they sweat over a number of expiring contracts; both Toby Alderweireld and Christian Eriksen have deals that run out following the conclusion of this campaign.

Clean break

Spurs would be better off cashing in on Vertonghen, recouping a fee and reinvesting the money.

Otherwise, there will be a lingering uncertainty over the 117-cap Belgian’s future during the business end of the season and a question of will he or won’t he when it comes to his extension.

Of course, Vertonghen has been an excellent servant to the club, making nearly 300 appearances and playing in the Champions League final last season.

But at the age of 32, one has to believe that he has passed his peak; handing him a new deal would feel more ceremonial than genuinely vital.

After all, Vertonghen didn’t even start a Premier League game until September at the beginning of this season, and has since been involved in heavy losses to Brighton and Bayern Munich.

Davinson Sanchez is already at the club, waiting to be trusted on a permanent basis, and Spurs will merely need to find him a long-term partner.

Doing business in January isn’t easy, but Alderweireld can bridge the gap until the end of the season if necessary – although there’s an obvious argument to Spurs cashing in on him too.

And should the decision be taken now, one feels that the club’s scouting team would be able to identify a replacement in defence.

It is in everyone’s best interests that Vertonghen is moved on, even if that means making a u-turn on the club’s current stance.

Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves has been linked with a move away from the club in January with Real Madrid reportedly looking to make him a member of Los Blancos, according to Spanish outlet Don Balon.

The reports suggest that super-agent Jorge Mendes would be key to any deal, and it is thought that €50m (£44.9m) would be enough to secure the defensive midfielder.

Mendes has solid links to the west Midlands club, having been the man to bring most of their Portuguese contingent to Molineux.

His first-ever deal was actually that of Wolves boss Nuno Santo back in 1996 while some of his bigger deals include Jose Mourinho to Chelsea in 2004 and James Rodriguez’s move to Madrid for £63m ten years later.

Watch Wolverhampton Wanderers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Neves has played an enormous part in Wolves’ successes over the last few seasons after joining the club in the summer of 2017 – he has gone on to feature 97 times, scoring 13 goals and assisting six more, per Transfermarkt.

Several fans have taken to social media to try and play down the links with one claiming that anything less than £100m would be bad business, calling the 22-year-old the ‘best deep-lying playmaker in the world.’

Another supporter said Neves was better than Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane as one other questioned when the La Liga giants would ‘pay the other half’ of the reported €50m figure.

Here’s more of the reaction:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Tonight is a big night for Real Madrid. Los Blancos will face Galatasaray in their third match of the 2019/20 Champions League campaign and it’s a must-win one for the team from Spain. With that in mind, Sergio Ramos took it upon himself to rally the troops in the pre-match press conference.

What did he say?

Strangely enough, Real Madrid are already in a “do or die” situation over in Europe.

After their first two clashes against Paris Saint-Germain and Club Brugge respectively, the Whites are sitting bottom of the table with just a point to their names.

It’s a situation we’re not really that used to seeing but it perfectly describes what’s going on in the club.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Still, not all is lost and a victory would still put the Galacticos in a decent position to get out of the group. With that in mind, Ramos decided to share some strong and optimistic words looking ahead to the game and it seems he believes the team is ready to turn a new leaf and start winning again.

Here’s what he said in full:

“What’s on Madrid’s mind, despite everything that’s gone on, is to win. That’s the word that best defines this club and, following our recent results, it’s what we want to do tomorrow. We want to prove a point, the Champions League is back and after our last result, we’ve got to win, there are no two ways about it. What madridismo asks of you is that we give our all out on the pitch and then anything can happen. Having the right attitude is unnegotiable.”

It’s all in the head

Zinedine Zidane’s troops are very much used to winning – a lot.

But at this moment in time, they really need a good pat on the back and more importantly, they need a leader who will take them out of their slump and back to the mountain’s peak.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

Ramos, without any doubt, is one of the most influential figures at the club and as their captain, it is his duty to stand up for his squad and lift the morale.

For once, it seems that Real Madrid are the ones that need their faith and their morale restored.

In the past, it used to be the other way around – even during times when they weren’t playing the best football of their lives, they still believed that victory could be achieved.

During their historic Champions League run when they won three crowns in a row, they didn’t always seem like the best team in Europe but they believed they were and that ultimately pushed them over the finish line.

Tonight’s clash is far from a Champions League final but it could be the first step towards restoring that mindset. Let’s see how the squad responds to their captain’s words.

Celtic legend Henrik Larsson has been offered a job as a manager in England, according to reports.

The man the Celtic fans called The King of Kings has not had a great time of it since his managerial career got underway, with spells at various clubs ending badly.

His last management job was at Helsingborg; it was his second time at the club where, like Celtic, the man is an idol. And just like the first spell there, he left the club under a cloud when he resigned last month after receiving mountains of abuse online after he oversaw a humiliating cup knockout.

Over the years many have mooted a return to Celtic Park – indeed there was much speculation that Lennon would bring him to Parkhead in a coaching role – but if what he craves is the manager’s job itself one day, it couldn’t be contemplated at the moment.

But a successful spell in the dugout somewhere could be a game-changer for the Swede.

Now Southend have come in with a potential offer; they have been without a boss since Kevin Bond left following a bad spell that left them second bottom of League One with only Bolton, who suffered a points deduction, behind them.

It’s a big job, a difficult job, but Larsson might feel that he has what it takes.

A lot of managers do not do well at the clubs where they were icons; there is a unique pressure that goes with that which many find difficult to bear. Frank Lampard has had a stuttering start at Chelsea, for example, and everyone in Scotland knows what happened to Ally McCoist at Ibrox.

Helsingborg might not have been the right club for Larsson … a spell in England might be more what he needs to cut his managerial teeth before an even more spectacular homecoming can be mooted, far less discussed as a serious prospect.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

James Milner continues to defy the years at Liverpool.

On the chalkboard

The veteran midfielder is 33 and was the oldest player in the Reds’ matchday squad for their clash with Leicester City on Saturday.

And yet he played an absolutely vital role in their narrow 2-1 win at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp’s men squeaked past the Foxes thanks to their elder statesman and Sadio Mane.

The Senegal international opened the scoring after a delicious ball through from his English team-mate. Milner collected the ball in his own half and curved it into Mane’s path, and he ran through, one-on-one, to score.

The roles were reversed later on, as Mane won a late penalty, which Milner dutifully converted.

That doesn’t really tell the whole story though.

Throughout the 90 minutes, Milner had 70 touches of the ball, three shots on goal, a pass completion rate of 87% and won two tackles, while also making one interception.

This was an all-action display.

The engine

Milner just seems to get better and he’s absolutely vital to the way Liverpool play.

He has the energy to get up and down the pitch and is also creative enough to both score and provide.

Indeed, the Reds started the game with Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum alongside him in midfield and Milner ran the show, picking up a 7.7 rating from WhoScored, higher than both of his team-mates.

It bears repeating that he’s 33 and his inclusion actually saw Jordan Henderson, their usual captain, benched.

Amazingly, he wasn’t missed.

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Despite largely struggling to displace Mark Hughes’ preferred central-midfield duo of Mario Lemina and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oriol Romeu has become a mainstay in the position under current Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The Spaniard once again started in the 2-0 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, and his performance perhaps wasn’t up to the standard that Saints fans have been used to from him previously.

The former Chelsea man is there to put pressure on the opposition and break up the play, as well as winning the ball back and generally protecting the backline – his role becomes even more important when the middle centre-back, Jack Stephens in recent weeks, brings the ball out of the defence.

Romeu certainly did his bit in terms of the former as he made two tackles and three interceptions, but his distribution from the 48 passes he had was a real negative – a success rate of less than 69% followed as the 27-year-old struggled when in possession.

Yes, the south coast outfit were largely under pressure against when of the better teams in the Premier League, but he should have been doing better.

Attentions turn to the huge clash against Fulham at St Mary’s on Wednesday when the hosts will be looking to pick up a crucial three points that could move them out of the relegation zone.

Hasenhuttl has preferred to stick with a five-at-the-back formation in recent times but the fact he switched to four at half-time against the Gunners proves that things may be changing, and sacrificing a centre-back could also lead to midfield changes.

The 51-year-old used the former system that some people would conceive as negative in the reverse against Cardiff City, using Romeu, James Ward-Prowse and Hojbjerg in the centre.

It wasn’t a tactic that worked and when you are trying to break down an opponent and a side that could come to St Mary’s for a draw, you don’t need those three players.

In fact, Ward-Prowse is showing the aggression in his game that is one of his Spanish teammate’s strengths, and he and Hojbjerg are good enough to do a job against Claudio Ranieri’s men alone, allowing Hasenhuttl to bring in another much-needed attacking player to the starting XI.

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Everton lost for the second time in the Premier League this season as they went down 3-1 at Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon.

Victory for the Toffees would have seen them join second-placed Manchester City on 10 points after five matches of the 2019/20 campaign.

However, it proved to be a tough afternoon for Marco Silva’s side.

And a number of Everton fans have taken to social media to criticise the performance of Fabian Delph in the middle of the park.

The 29-year-old joined the Merseyside giants in a £9m deal from Manchester City during the summer transfer window.

Delph helped his team overcome Wolverhampton Wanderers before the international break but found it difficult to build on that performance on Sunday.

Watch one of the best freestylers in the world attempt some of football’s hardest skills with fruit in the video below…

Indeed, according to WhoScored, Delph’s passing statistics were relatively low at 81%, whilst he struggled to offer much in the final third of the field.

There was also that terrible moment for Bournemouth’s second when he deflected Ryan Fraser’s attempt into the bottom corner.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Everton fans can be seen below:

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At just 20 years of age, Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer is already a well-known figure amongst the first team, having made his Premier League debut this campaign.

Moreover, a hat-trick against Barrow and a goal against Chelsea in the EFL Cup, as well as six goals in four EFL Trophy appearances for the U23s, has shown that the Englishman is on the verge of regular game time for the Villa first team.

There has been evidence of youngsters becoming first-team regulars for Villa, with 20-year-old midfielder Jacob Ramsey an excellent example.

To ensure that his progress isn’t stunted though, the West Midlands outfit sent the youngster on loan to Championship outfit Preston North End for the remainder of the season, and the striker has already made a big impression.

Within minutes of coming off of the bench on his debut for the Whites, Archer netted against one of Villa’s fierce rivals in West Bromwich Albion, securing a 2-0 win for his loan side.

Since then, the 20-year-old has started Ryan Lowe’s side’s following two league matches, blanking in a 2-2 draw at home to Bristol City and scoring the sole goal last time out away at Hull City.

Following the loanee’s debut, Lowe said: “He’ll just get better in terms of our style, he’s just got to adapt, it’s a little bit different to how they play at Villa.

“What we’ve got to do is make sure we get him in the right areas, in the first half we didn’t get him in the right areas, we didn’t slide many balls down the sides of them. Fantastic performance, really pleased for him, the more games he plays, the better he will be.”

Three games in and two goals to show for it, the opening weeks of Archer’s loan spell have gone exactly to plan, with the striker’s temporary move having the potential of being a masterstroke for both clubs.

For Preston, they are still well in with a shout of securing a finish in the playoff places, with Lowe’s side sat in 11th with 41 points, four off sixth-placed West Brom, all though the Baggies do have a game in hand.

With the Englishman’s goals, the Lancashire outfit could propel up the table and find themselves breathing down the necks of the second tier’s elite.

As for Villa, the hope will be that Steven Gerrard will be receiving a striker with much more experience of playing senior football at a high level who can then be integrated into his squad as and when he’s needed.

To think that the 20-year-old could be leading the line for Villa as early as next season seems a rather tall ask, however, Ollie Watkins’ future is uncertain, with Arsenal continuously linked with the 26-year-old whilst Danny Ings hasn’t had the most impressive start to his Villa tenure.

The main hope will be that Archer will return to the West Midlands as an improved player who can properly break through in Gerrard’s side next campaign, potentially saving the club millions on a Watkins replacement in the process.

In other news: Steven Gerrard drops exciting injury update that’ll have Villa fans buzzing

Celtic forward Johnny Kenny returned to action for Ireland’s under-19s following an injury scare earlier in the week.

The Lowdown: Stretched off

The 18-year-old made the move to Parkhead in January, arriving from Sligo Rovers in a deal worth an initial £135,000.

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He has had multiple setbacks in Glasgow already and is still awaiting his senior Hoops debut, although he did score on his Celtic B debut earlier this month and is currently away with Ireland’s under-19s.

Unfortunately, the teenage striker had to be stretched off, holding his knee against England on Wednesday with what looked to be a knee problem.

The Latest: Goalscoring return for Kenny

Irish broadcaster RTE shared a match report from the Ireland under-19s’ 4-1 defeat to Portugal on Saturday evening.

They shared details of Kenny opening the scoring in the first half, making a swift return to action from what appeared to be a nasty injury.

The Verdict: Good news

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou already has concerns over both Tom Rogic and Daizen Maeda during the international break, and news of Kenny being stretched off during the week wasn’t ideal. However, it is positive to know that his issue wasn’t serious and that he could return to action within a few days.

Hopefully the 18-year-old will continue to find the net with regularity for Celtic’s B team over the coming months, which could lead to a breakthrough into Postecoglou’s senior squad next season.

In other news: Sources close to Celtic drop positive Karamoko Dembele update as contract deadline looms

An exciting update has emerged on Newcastle United’s pursuit of Sevilla defender Diego Carlos…

What’s the talk?

According to The Telegraph, the centre-back is keen on a move to St. James’ Park and talks are ongoing between the two clubs over a deal for the Brazilian.

The report claims that the Magpies are hoping to wrap up negotiations for the £40.5m-rated titan by the end of this week as they attempt to bolster Eddie Howe’s squad.

Delight

The ex-Bournemouth boss will surely be elated with this news as it is an exciting update on the club’s efforts to land Carlos. Their belief that they can have the deal done within the next seven days indicates that talks are going well and they are confident that he will be a Newcastle player sooner rather than later.

Carlos could be an exceptional addition to the squad and Howe will be buzzing with the prospect of being able to select him in his starting XI for the rest of the Premier League season. This latest update suggests that the head coach will be able to work with him on Tyneside this term, but what sort of player could he be getting?

Spanish football analyst Domagoj Kostanjšak previously outlined the defender’s key attributes and hailed his quality in La Liga, saying:

“He’s a really physical player – he’s built like a tank and they don’t call him ‘The Beast’ for no reason. He’s really good in the air and he’s decent on the ball as well – you have to be under Julen Lopetegui.

“He’s been in my top three or four centre-backs in Spain this season, along with Raphael Varane and Inigo Martinez – he’s been a bit of a revelation. He’s playing the best football of his career and he immediately settled in. I would say there is a shade of Kalidou Koulibaly about him – not the same quality, of course, but I would compare him to him.”

In the Spanish top-flight this season, Carlos has averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.14 – winning 64% of his duels overall. Meanwhile, Federico Fernandez’s score of 6.77 is the highest of any Newcastle centre-back this term, suggesting that the Sevilla man would come in and be a major upgrade in that position.

Therefore, Howe will be delighted with the news that the Magpies are hopeful of securing a deal for the Brazilian by the end of this week as he could provide an extra level of quality to his Premier League side.

AND in other news, “They’d like to sign..”: Reporter delivers big NUFC transfer claim, it’ll excite Howe…