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Ben Davies has not featured for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League since the team’s 1-0 home defeat to Manchester United on January 13.

The Wales international has had a lot of criticism this season, but the Tottenham fans are pleased to see that the left-back has returned to the training field.

Indeed, after missing the games against Watford, Newcastle United and Leicester City, the Spurs supporters are now asking if Davies might be available to face Burnley this weekend.

Tottenham have won their last four games in all competitions, including a 3-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on February 13.

Jan Vertonghen has been playing left wing-back in the absence of Davies, but head coach Mauricio Pochettino now has another option in a key area of the field.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

Davies’ form this season has not always been terrific, but Tottenham need a strong squad at this stage as they are fighting on two fronts.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Spurs supporters can be seen below:

Alasdair Gold has delivered the latest on Tottenham’s plans for the summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

During a Q&A for football.london, he said: “I think, with the current state of the game, Paratici will certainly be looking at free transfers and more loan to buy deals. He loves the latter in particular, as we’ve already seen at Spurs. Funnily enough I’ve just started watching the Amazon All or Nothing series on Juventus last season, where you see Paratici having to work within pandemic hit financial constrictions.

“I should stress that I do think Spurs will look to spend some money, not just frees or loan deals, although it’s also worth pointing out that they’re going to have to shell out around £65m on making Romero and Kulusevski’s deals permanent. It doesn’t make much financial sense to take the latter on his second season of loan rather than making him a Spurs man this summer.”

Great news for Conte

After seeing deals for the likes of Luis Diaz and Adama Traore fall through in the January transfer window, it was no surprise to see Antonio Conte express his disappointment at the club’s work in the market.

The 52-year-old said: “Four players left in January – four important players for Tottenham. Two have arrived, so even numerically, instead of reinforcing yourself you may have, on paper, weakened.

“Then precise choices were made for many reasons, but I certainly never expected that in January four players who I still considered important would change their shirts for a thousand reasons. This shows the difficulty.”

However, the north Londoners did manage to bring in Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski, both of whom have managed to clinch a first-team place reasonably quickly, but the summer transfer window represents the big crossroads moment for both Conte and Daniel Levy.

The Italian will know that he has the fan support behind him to make strong demands of the club’s board, given that he is a marquee name in managerial terms and is a serial winner wherever he goes.

Gold’s news that Spurs will “look to spend some money” should be music to the ears of Conte, who will be keen to get this Spurs side challenging for trophies sooner rather than later.

AND in other news – Left in 2019, now worth £50m: Levy suffered shocking Spurs howler over “insane” star

An update has emerged regarding Newcastle’s interest in Philippe Coutinho, who is currently on loan to Aston Villa from Barcelona. 

What’s the talk?

According to Sport, the Magpies are interested in a deal to sign the Brazil international and are willing to offer him more money in wages to turn down a permanent move to Villa Park.

The report claims that the Midlands club can sign him for €40m (£34m) this summer as part of their loan agreement, with the Toon now hoping to swoop in ahead of them.

Cabaye replacement

Callum Wilson is Newcastle’s top scorer in the Premier League with just six strikes in the top flight, with Allan Saint-Maximin (five) their only other player with more than two goals.

The Toon have struggled to find goals across the pitch and lack attacking quality in the middle of the park. No Magpies central midfielder has more than three direct goal contributions this season, which suggests that they are still looking for their Yohan Cabaye replacement.

In two-and-a-half seasons with the Tyneside club, the Frenchman produced 17 goals and 10 assists from midfield as he proved that he had the quality to be a difference-maker in the Premier League. The statistics from the current campaign show that no-one has been able to take on his mantle this term, but Eddie Howe can now finally replace him with a deal for Coutinho.

As you can see from the graphic above (with stats via WhoScored and the Premier League), both players are similar in terms of their actions on the pitch. They both like to create chances for their team-mates on a regular basis, whilst also taking plenty of shots themselves.

Both players are deadly from set-piece situations, with Cabaye’s four Premier League free kicks and Coutinho’s five showing that they can be a danger from a dead ball. Bringing in the latter would duly add another weapon to Howe’s attacking armoury.

Roberto Firmino previously dubbed the Brazilian “phenomenal” and claimed that the 29-year-old has “magical powers” and Coutinho’s statistics back up that high praise. The former Liverpool midfielder has 45 goals and 38 assists in his English top-flight career, proving that he can score and set up goals at the top level, creating moments of magic in the final third with his quality on the ball.

This means that Newcastle can find their new attacking threat from midfield, a Cabaye 2.0 if you will, by signing the Brazil gem this summer. PIF must splash the cash to make sure that they can bring him in ahead of Villa to bolster Howe’s squad.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano drops major Newcastle United transfer claim which will excite supporters…

This is part of The Transfer Tavern’s Talking Tactics series, where we analyse two changes the manager should make in their upcoming fixture.

The Lowdown: Spurs return to action…

Tottenham take on Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup fourth round today after a near-two week hiatus as Antonio Conte’s side look to kick off February with a win.

Lilywhites supporters will be hoping that their side’s arguably lack-lustre January transfer window, in which the Lilywhites fell short of delivering Conte’s alleged demand of three major signings, won’t came back to haunt them.

The two signings Spurs managed to get through the door, Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus, are in fact available but Conte has confirmed neither will start.

Regardless, if the latter man does get to make his debut off the bench today, we believe Spurs could finally unearth an heir to former club favourite Christian Eriksen if Conte takes a gamble and deploys Kulusevski in an attacking midfield role.

Kulusevski…Eriksen 2.0?

The Sweden international is highly versatile and has played in a variety of positions across midfield, both out wide and through the middle (Transfermarkt).

Conte himself as raved over Kulusevski’s ability to slot in many different roles, including as a number nine or number 10, whilst also hinting he could be deployed as a wing-back (Twitter).

We believe, however, that the 21-year-old could come as the surprise heir to Eriksen and replicate his creativity in an attacking midfield role.

While Conte hasn’t really chosen to use a 3-4-1-2 at Spurs, today could be the perfect time to revisit that tactic with Kulusevski’s arrival, especially considering the player himself admitted in 2020 that he sees himself as a ‘trequartista behind the strikers’.

Indeed, he has been described in past seasons as an ‘athletic phenomenon’ and ‘advanced playmaker’ with ‘above average intelligence and decision making’ in the final third by Football Talent Scout Jack Kulig.

As well as this, during his best season in Serie A for ex-club Parma over 2019/2020, the attacker averaged a brilliant 2.2 key passes and 2.1 completed dribbles per 90 according to WhoScored.

These numbers somewhat replicate that of Eriksen’s best years in north London, and taking this into account, a Conte gamble with Kulusevski as a 10 could end up being a huge win.

Lucas Moura…a RWB ‘monster’?

While Conte has hinted the Scandinavian could play right-wing-back after Tottenham missed out on Adama Traore for that specific role, we believe Spurs’ boss has actually had the perfect solution all along in Lucas Moura.

The Italian is clearly looking for a threatening outlet for Spurs in that area, as evident by transfer chief Fabio Paratici wanting Traore, who averaged a phenomenal 4.2 successful take-ons per 90 for ex-club Wolves in the Premier League (WhoScored).

This is a higher number than any of Conte’s current crop, but with current winger Lucas, Tottenham could also win the lottery with another gamble by trying him at RWB.

The Brazilian’s numbers in terms of completed dribbles, while not as impressive as Traore’s, still trump that of any Lilywhites man in the Premier League this season.

Indeed, Lucas has averaged a noteworthy 2.4 successful take-ons per match whilst also attracting the second-most fouls behind compatriot Emerson Royal (WhoScored).

The 29-year-old also ranks third in terms of shots at goal and key passes per 90 out of Spurs’ squad (WhoScored), highlighting his obvious threat.

Tottenham legend Graham Roberts has even endorsed him for this role before, and we believe Conte could certainly strike gold by utilising Lucas as a wing-back.

Leeds United playmaker Raphinha has even called Lucas a ‘monster’, coming as yet more evidence the South American potentially has what it takes for a makeshift new position.

In other news: ‘A question of when’…Source close to ENIC makes Spurs sale claim after what Levy has ‘said’, find out more here.

Former Scotland manager Alex McLeish has pinpointed one key area which has made Celtic so impressive in the 2021/22 campaign so far. 

The lowdown: Domestic domination for Celtic?

Having relinquished a nine-year stranglehold on the Premiership title in 2021, the Hoops have regained their poise under Ange Postecoglou and appear to be heading towards a 52nd top-flight crown.

A mixture of smart recruitment at Parkhead, along with changes in personnel at Rangers, has meant that Celtic sit six points clear of their Glasgow rivals with five games to go, with the Scottish League Cup already in the bag too.

As the Bhoys prepare to do battle with their fiercest rivals in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, ex-Gers boss McLeish believes that the attacking prowess at Parkhead could ultimately be the deciding factor on Sunday…

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The latest: Too much firepower…

Speaking to Football Insider, the 63-year-old claimed that the wealth of options at Postecoglou’s disposal has been crucial to his success so far at Parkhead.

McLeish stated: “With Celtic, you don’t know where the next goal is going to come from. At Rangers, it’s ‘I wonder when Morelos or Roofe will get that chance’.

“That’s not the case at Celtic. There are five or six different goalscorers every week.

“The thing for Furuhashi is he will probably be wondering how he gets back in. I think he’ll either start or he will come on and that will bring the energy he has so much of. I think he’s ready for that.”

The verdict: Goals from everywhere

Going into the Hampden Park showdown, Celtic have nine players with five goals or more to their name this season, including Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Adaba and Jota with 10 or more.

In addition, January arrivals Matt O’Riley, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate have all hit the ground running in front of goal and will be staking a claim to start in Postecoglou’s side for the crunch semi-final.

Meanwhile, 16-goal top scorer Furuhashi will certainly be in line to make a first start since Boxing Day as Giorgos Giakoumakis faces a race against time due to a hamstring injury.

It’s little wonder, then, that McLeish is in awe of the attacking options at Postecoglou’s disposal.

In other news, one pundit has reaced to Ange Postecoglou’s transfer claim. Find out more here.

A number of Liverpool supporters have reacted negatively to a claim that Roberto Firmino hasn’t decided if he will stay put at Anfield or not.

The Brazilian has been a wonderful servant for the Reds, joining from Hoffenheim in 2015 and becoming one of the poster boys of the Jurgen Klopp era.

Firmino has made 311 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 94 goals and registering 73 assists, proving to be the perfect foil for Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

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At 30, the striker is not getting any younger, however, and his current Reds deal expires in the summer of 2023, with little sign of a new contract being agreed.

According to journalist Florian Plettenberg on Twitter, Firmino will be the man to decide over whether or not he stays at Anfield, with talks taking place in the coming months.

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Liverpool fans react to Firmino claim

It suggests that a Liverpool exit isn’t out of the question and these fans reacted negatively to that possibility on Twitter.

“Never want to see Bobby leave, whatever his role in the squad becomes I hope he retires here”

Credit: @JoshuaKekana

“It will be a sad, sad day when Bobby moves on. He might not be quite what he was but the integral part he’s played can’t be overstated and his personality and selflessness has been invaluable to the culture and success of the side. One of my favourite ever #LFC players”

Credit: @reid1892

“I want Bobby to stay at Liverpool”

Credit: @JuniArga2

“Really hope we keep Bobby. Legend such a great player”

Credit: @MartinT_LFC75

“He’s a legend whatever decision he takes”

Credit: @supermanelfc

“HE CANNOT GO ANYWHERE”

Credit: @dantewillz

In other news, some Liverpool fans are excited after a transfer claim emerged. Read more here.

As Aston Villa approach their first summer transfer window under the leadership of Steven Gerrard, there is certainly excitement around Villa Park regarding the top talents that could make their way to the West Midlands this summer.

The Villans have already been linked with big-money moves for midfielders Yves Bissouma and Kalvin Philips and could well have an emphatic window.

However, it’s worth remembering that some of Villa’s recent purchases for lower sums have actually turned out to be bargains, with the £12m deal to bring centre-back Ezri Konsa from Brentford in 2019 to Villa Park now seeming a very much worthwhile deal three years on.

When the Villans bought Konsa, the defender had just finished 11th in the Championship with the Bees whilst Villa were victorious in the playoffs.

Having already worked under then-manager Dean Smith, the deal certainly made sense, although £12m seemed to be a hefty fee for a player with no Premier League experience.

Moreover, as recently as 2018, the Englishman had been playing in League One with Charlton Athletic.

According to Transfermarkt, Konsa was valued at £3.15m when swapping Griffin Park for Villa Park, making the £12m transfer fee seem colossal and heavily inflated.

However, since bringing the defender to the Second City club, Villa has seen their asset’s value appreciate drastically.

By September 2019, the 24-year-old’s value had more than doubled to £7.2m but then fell slightly to £5.85m in April 2020 due to the outbreak of the viral pandemic.

However, once Premier League survival was confirmed for Smith’s side, Konsa’s valuation rose to its then-peak point of £8.1m and has only increased since.

Labelled as “unflappable” by Mat Kendrick, the £72k-per-week Englishman is now reportedly worth £22.5m after almost three years of experience in the English top-flight under his belt, nearly double what was paid for him in 2019.

In that time, the 24-year-old has helped his side keep 23 clean sheets over 86 Premier League appearances and, this season, has averaged 44.5 touches, completed 87% of his passes and made 0.5 interceptions, 0.8 tackles and 2.6 clearances per league fixture.

Granted, Konsa nor fellow centre-back Tyrone Mings’ places in the side will be safe going into the summer with Gerrard planning a revolution at Villa Park.

However, it must be remembered that the deal to bring the Englishman to Villa Park three years ago was nothing but a bargain and shrewd business.

AND in other news: Get rid: Aston Villa must part ways with £59k-p/w lightweight who’s “hard to watch”

Sharing transfer news out of Tottenham Hotspur, journalist Michael Bridge of Sky Sports has dropped an update on the Lilywhites’ pursuit of Sofyan Amrabat.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye move…

Before Tottenham reliably closed in on the signings of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus (Sky Sports), it was believed that transfer chief Fabio Paratici had his eye firmly on Fiorentina’s midfielder.

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Reports even suggested that the Lilywhites had reached an agreement for Amrabat as Antonio Conte set his sights on midfield additions.

Sharing news out of Spurs, Bridge has revealed the latest update involving the Morocco star.

The Latest: Bridge shares Amrabat update…

Speaking to GiveMeSport, revealing what he knows, the Sky Sports reporter believes that the big development on Bentancur and Kulusevski has had an impact on this transfer. Indeed, he says that Amrabat will not join the Lilywhites this January.

When asked if a Spurs move for the Moroccan is now off the cards, he responded: “That’s what I’m told. I think Amrabat was someone who they knew they could get as a Plan B, so that looks like it’s not happening now.”

The Verdict: Big loss?

As Bentancur, who shone at the 2018 World Cup, reportedly makes his way to N17, we believe Amrabat isn’t exactly a big loss despite former Palermo sporting director Rino Foschi calling him a ‘bargain’ player.

As the alternative, Bentancur has averaged an impressive 2.8 tackles per 90 in the Champions League this season, the joint-most out of any Juventus player in the competition (WhoScored), and we think it is clear that the Uruguay international is a more than adequate choice for Conte’s midfield.

In other news: Spurs now prepared to pay £49.8m release clause for 54-cap star! Find out more here.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Glasgow Rangers side head into Sunday’s Premiership clash knowing that they simply must secure all three points if they are to give themselves any chance of retaining their domestic crown this season.

Indeed, with their Glasgow arch-rivals currently leading by nine points in the league, the Light Blues cannot afford any slip-ups if they are to push the table-toppers as far as possible over the remaining five games of the 2021/22 campaign after today’s clash.

As such, while a trip to Stephen Robinson’s 10th-placed St Mirren should not cause the Europa League quarter-finalists too many problems, Van Bronckhorst must nevertheless ensure that he gets his team selection spot-on against the Buddies in order to secure victory.

While it is true Leon Balogun had something of a shocker in the 1-0 defeat to Sporting Braga last time out, it would appear as if Fashion Sakala is the most likely candidate for the chop on Sunday afternoon, as the 25-year-old well and truly fluffed his big chance leading the line for Rangers on Thursday.

Van Bronckhorst must axe Sakala

Indeed, over his 62 minutes on the pitch in Portugal, the centre-forward cost his side dearly through his wastefulness in front of goal and extremely poor hold-up play. The £3.6m-rated striker missed the target with both of his shots at goal – one of which was deemed a big chance – completed just three of his seven attempted passes and enjoyed just 20 touches of the ball.

The £10k-per-week forward also lost all 10 of his duels, committed two fouls, was flagged offside once and lost possession 11 times, meaning he gave the ball away with every 1.8 touches. These returns saw the 25-year-old earn a hugely disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.1.

Furthermore, the Daily Record’s Andrew Newport also awarded the Zambia international a five in his own player ratings, stating of the centre-forward’s display: “Given the unenviable task of filling Alfredo Morelos’ boots but missed two huge chances to give Rangers the lead. Hold-up play was hopeless.”

As such, with Rangers needing to ensure that they take their chances on Sunday afternoon, Van Bronckhorst simply must axe Sakala from his starting XI, as the player who Tom Stoltman claimed “doesn’t cut it” could very well end up costing his side their Premiership crown against St Mirren.

AND in other news: Van Bronckhorst can axe £10k-p/w liability as Rangers eye “frightening” £8.4k-p/w “bag of tricks”

Charlie Nicholas has dropped a claim on Celtic’s potential business over the remainder of the January transfer window.

What’s been said?

Writing recently in the column for The Scottish Daily Express, the former Celtic centre-forward stated his belief that, despite recently missing out on the signing of Riley McGree and claiming that he has nothing currently in the pipeline regarding transfers, Ange Postecoglou is not done yet this month – particularly if the 56-year-old can cut loose a number of the Bhoys’ fringe players.

Regarding Celtic’s transfer business, the former Sky Sports pundit wrote: “Ange said last week he has nothing else in the pipeline as it stands. I still think he will do more business before the window closes, especially if he could get players out as well.”

Fans will be delighted

While it is true that Postecoglou has already secured the arrivals of four fresh faces this winter – with all of Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi, Daizen Maeda and Johnny Kenny making a move to Parkhead – considering just how much success the Greek-Australian coach has had with almost all of his signings for Celtic so far, the claim that there could yet be more additions made to the first-team squad this month is sure to have delighted Bhoys fans.

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Indeed, since his arrival last summer, the 56-year-old has brought in the likes of Jota – who has scored eight goals and registered six assists over his 19 appearances for the club – and Kyogo Furuhashi – who has bagged 16 goals and five assists over 26 outings.

That’s as well as Cameron Carter-Vickers, Josip Juranovic and Carl Starfelt – who are averaging highly impressive SofaScore match ratings of 7.46, 7.29 and 7.28 in the Premiership respectively.

Furthermore, both Hatate and goalscorer Maeda highly impressed during their Celtic debuts in the 2-0 over Hibernian on Monday evening, with the duo looking to be yet another two signings that will massively improve the Hoops squad.

As such, considering his rather remarkable record with incoming signings, should the Bhoys’ winter business not be over yet, as Nicholas suggests, it is undoubtedly hugely exciting news for the Parkhead faithful.

In other news: Sky Sports journalist reveals fresh Parkhead development which will worry Celtic fans