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Tottenham Hotspur came back from a goal down to secure a 1-1 draw with their bitter rivals Arsenal in the north London derby at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon. A second half Harry Kane penalty cancelled out Aaron Ramsey’s early strike.

However, for a long time, it looked as though the goal that Spurs so desperately needed would never come.

On the chalkboard

For much of the match the Gunners were able to contain Mauricio Pochettino’s side with relative ease. Spurs’ midfield pairing of Moussa Sissoko and Victor Wanyama brought plenty of defensive diligence and physicality to the middle of the park, but they lacked forward drive, creativity and penetration in the final third.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Ben Senior will never win the Champions League for one reason only. Find out what in the video below…

The hosts struggled to carve out genuine goalscoring opportunities and looked devoid of ideas. The back three system was hampering them as it deprived them of an extra attacker. However, in the 59th minute, with his side chasing the game, Pochettino made the chance that would turn the tide of the match by replacing Wanyama with attacker Erik Lamela.

Following this substitution, Lamela joined the front line and Spurs switched to a back four, with left wing-back Danny Rose taking up a central midfield berth and centre-back Jan Vertonghen filling in at left-back.

Changing the game

Rose is not known for his ability to thrive in the middle of the park. However, the 28-year-old brought the kind of pace, drive and dynamism that had previously been lacking for Spurs in this part of the pitch. 

All of a sudden, Spurs were able to commit more numbers forward, whilst in the midfield they had a player in Rose willing to surge forward with pace and directness. This transition into a more aggressive approach brought on the pressure that ultimately led to Kane’s penalty. It was all facilitated by Rose’s change in role though, which Pochettino deserves huge credit for instigating.

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According to a report in The Daily Mail, Leeds United have postponed new contract talks with top goalscorer Kemar Roofe until the summer when he will only have 12 month remaining on his deal, and they will live to regret it.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Daily Mail says that owner Andrea Radrizzani could be forced to sell unless the Yorkshire outfit win promotion this term, but their financial concerns with the Yorkshire outfit reportedly going “all in” on going up is behind the club policy to delay contract talks.

As a result, the Whites are clearly willing to let Roofe’s deal continue to run down rather than acting and rewarding him for his performances this season now.

The 26-year-old has scored 14 goals in 26 Championship appearances for Leeds during the current campaign, although he is out for the foreseeable future after suffering a knee injury.

What happens in the summer?

Well, according to The Daily Mail report it seems clear that the attacker’s situation will be resolved when it is clear what division the Yorkshire club find themselves in for the 2019/2020 season.

It is hardly a good sign for Roofe however that such an important player finds himself with just one year remaining on his contract come the summer, and there are certainly more than a few parallels to the fiasco regarding Chris Wood in the summer of 2017, when he was offered new terms on a soon-to-be ending deal before leaving for Burnley.

In addition, the marksman was linked with a number of Premier League teams including Newcastle United during the January transfer window, and whether the Whites return to the ‘promised land’ or not come what May, he could be tempted to take one of them if there is still interest later this year.

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Tottenham are one of a number of teams linked with a summer move for ex-Liverpool starlet Suso, but would the Spaniard be a good fit in north London?

What’s the word?

According to Corriere dello Sport, Tottenham and Arsenal are both interested in signing Suso.

The 25 year-old attacker has transformed his career since leaving Liverpool, and has racked up 21 goals and 34 assists in 121 games for Milan.

He is in contract with the San Siro club until 2022, but the report from Corriere dello Sport claims that he has a €40m (about £35.3m) release clause.

Milan are keen to hold on to the crafty playmaker, and the report claims the player himself is happy where he is, but could he be tempted to replicate the career path of Mohamed Salah?

Something to prove

Of course, Salah and Suso are nothing alike in terms of their style of play, barring the fact that they are both left-footed attacking players.

While Salah’s game is based around speed, intelligent movement and pure ruthlessness in front of goal, Suso’s game is centred on craft, guile and vision.

Still, he has followed the Salah path so far, struggling at a big Premier League club (he scored just once in 21 Liverpool games) before moving to Italy, where his end product has skyrocketed.

Like Salah, the four-cap Spanish international was too lightweight during his first stay in England, but the intensity, physicality and tactical genius on show in Serie A has helped him develop into a complete winger.

Suso can just as easily beat his man and cross with his right foot as he can come inside and shoot with his left, and he has the work rate and versatility to function in a Mauricio Pochettino side.

The AC Milan ace may not have quite the same impact Salah has had at Liverpool – the Egyptian has scored a ridiculous 64 goals in 86 appearances, undoubtedly one of the Premier League’s greatest ever signings – but around £35m for a supremely gifted player with the desire to keep improving could be an absolute snip for Spurs this summer.

It’s fair to say Sami Hyypia will go down in Liverpool history as one of the finest and most decorated defenders to ever play for the club.

The former Finland international arrived on the red half of Merseyside back in 1999 from Dutch outfit Willem II, and enjoyed a stellar spell at Anfield, lifting numerous trophies and forming a formidable partnership with fellow Reds icon Jamie Carragher at centre-back.

All in all, Hyypia won the Champions League, two FA Cups, two League Cups, one UEFA Cup and four UEFA Super Cups – quite the trophy cabinet for the man who played a whopping 464 times for the club.

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Now, The Athletic journalist Simon Hughes has suggested Hyypia should go down as “one of the best” and spoke about how he represented superb value for money.

And after hearing about Hughes’ comments, Liverpool fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on his verdict.

One fan meanwhile pointed to his class and professionalism when the captaincy was handed to Steven Gerrard, and how his response “showed the measure of the man”.

There certainly won’t be too many Liverpool fans arguing against Hughes’ verdict on Hyypia.

The Finnish man was a brick wall at the back for the Reds in his time at the club, and is rightfully seen as a Liverpool stalwart.

The Merseyside club have some truly iconic defenders littered throughout their history, and for his achievements, Hyypia certainly ranks among them too.

Meanwhile, Liverpool fans react to James Pearce’s article about this midfielder.

Aston Villa could probably do with a striker before the January transfer window closes.

Their first-choice number nine is out for the remainder of the season, and they’ve had to play Anwar El Ghazi out of position as a striker in recent weeks.

Striker’s have been linked with a move to Villa Park as rumours surrounding Davie Selke have most recently been doing the rounds.

However, the most interesting story this month has been around the potential return of Christian Benteke, and David Ornstein provided us with the latest update on his situation.

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What’s been said then?

The journalist was contributing to The Athletic’s live deadline day transfer blog, and one user asked about Villa’s hopes of landing another striker.

“I was told last Friday that Villa’s business was almost certainly done. My colleague Gregg Evans will know more and has suggested another striker could arrive. Crystal Palace probably haven’t given up hope that Villa could take Christian Benteke off their hands, but I’ve not heard anything to suggest that is happening.”

Shouldn’t do it

The fact that Palace are hoping that Villa come in for the Belgian tells you all you need to know about this move.

Benteke has scored just four goals over the past two and a half seasons, and that simply isn’t a good enough record.

Was he brilliant at Villa first time around? He netted 19 goals in one season so of course he was, but the Birmingham based outfit shouldn’t let blind nostalgia allow them to walk into signing a poor player.

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West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini did little to reassure fans who were worried about Marko Arnautovic’s future at the club, after the striker reacted poorly to being substituted in just the 19th-minute of the Hammers’ 2-0 win over Birmingham in the FA Cup.

What did he say?

When quizzed on what happened between himself and the Austrian international upon his withdrawal from the game, Pellegrini said: “He felt a pain in his back at the beginning. He wanted to continue after that, but it was not good to take a risk. He played 90 minutes on Wednesday, the previous game 65 minutes, so it was important for him to be replaced.”

However, the more telling aspect of the Chilean’s post-match quotes came after he was asked if Andy Carroll – who replaced Arnautovic in the match and scored his first goal since April – and the former Stoke hitman would be at the club come the end of January.

Pellegrini answered: “I don’t know what will happen but I think both players will stay here.” Hardly reassuring to say the least.

What do his words mean?

Well, one would assume that the former Manchester City manager wouldn’t needlessly stir the pot by plunging Arnautovic’s future into question, so there must be something going on behind the scenes.

His reasons for withdrawing his star man are understandable, but the ensuing rift between the pair would suggest that there are underlying issues at bay.

Why would Pellegrini want to get the fans on his back over nothing? If he was convinced of Arnautovic’s future, he most likely would’ve just said outright that he’s going nowhere, given his importance to the side.

“I don’t know what will happen”, smacks of a man who perhaps knew the answer to the question that was being asked, but did not want to give it as it would not have gone down well with the fans.

Whatever is going on, it won’t have filled the Hammers’ supporters with much confidence.

Newcastle United supporters have been pretty downbeat in recent times after seeing their side suffer a sixth Premier League loss of the campaign at the weekend.

Rafa Benitez’s men went into their clash with Manchester United off the back of picking up just two points from their opening seven league games of the season, and thus sat precariously in the bottom three. And that is where the Magpies remain despite racing into a two-goal lead at Old Trafford through Kenedy and Yoshinori Muto, with goals from Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, and Alexis Sanchez sealing a remarkable 3-2 comeback victory for Jose Mourinho’s Red Devils.

Thus, there have been many disappointed Newcastle fans up and down the country in recent times, several of whom have taken to Twitter to bemoan Gareth Southgate’s decision to again opt against calling up Jamaal Lascelles to his England squad, with Brighton’s Lewis Dunk getting the nod.

And having somehow failed to earn a place in the squad at any point last season, those Newcastle fans are so right to express their disappointment for the 24-year-old, with his recent snub just as baffling as those that have gone before.

Ultimately, the former Nottingham Forest defender was an absolute rock in the heart of Benitez’s backline last season in helping the Magpies ship just 47 goals from their 38 Premier League matches, which was fewer than every side that finished below seventh place in the division.

And while Benitez certainly got the best out of his defensive unit last term, it was Lascelles’ authority and overall leadership qualities which seriously helped the North East giants throughout the course of the campaign, while the centre back also came up with some crucial goals in victories over Swansea City and Stoke City to underline his influence in both boxes.

In fact, it was arguable that there were few better English centre backs than Lascelles for large parts of last season, which made his exclusion from every single one of Southgate’s squads, including that for the World Cup, absolutely baffling.

And while Brighton’s Dunk does indeed deserve a chance on the international stage, 24-year-old Lascelles is another who has started the season reasonably well to also earn that opportunity – he may not have performed as well as he did last term, but nor have Newcastle.

And with the likes of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling struggling for form at United, Gary Cahill having retired, and an injury to Burnley’s James Tarkowski, this was as good a chance as any for Lascelles to make his way into Southgate’s reckoning, which makes it all the more baffling as to why he isn’t in the squad for Nations League games against Croatia and Spain.

As such, those Newcastle fans are right to bemoan Lascelles’ exclusion from the recent England squad, as it is indeed absolutely baffling.

Newcastle fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Borussia Dortmund have decided to cash in on outstanding prospect Christian Pulisic for £65m, and Liverpool are in amongst the chasing pack, according to the Daily Mail.

What’s the story, then?

The Mail report that the German giants want £65m for the American starlet and have decided to sell after his stock rose further with some impressive pre-season performances.

They claim that there are a host of clubs in the hunt and that if Jurgen Klopp is to land his former club’s top talent, he will need to get ahead of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

Klopp may hope that his Dortmund connections can see him steal a march but the report claims that German champions Bayern are the current favourites for Pulisic’s signature.

One more attacker to add variety would give Liverpool title-winning depth

Much has been made of Liverpool’s need for greater attacking depth, which would allow Klopp to bring in quality replacements when Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino need a rest.

What is not mentioned so much is how a variety of attacking options would help the German unlock the massed defensive ranks the Reds sometimes struggle to unlock, which 12 league draws last season bear out.

If Klopp had the quality of Pulisic and Xherdan Shaqiri in his armoury to take on the myriad challenges the Premier League throws up, it would elevate Liverpool towards being genuine title contenders.

They already look set to make an outstanding start to the season, building on the feel-good factor around the club and the fact that not too many of their key men went deep into the World Cup and Pulisic’s arrival could genuinely create a two-horse race.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”273048″ player=”12034″ title=”Has Klopp just cranked up the pressure on himself”]

According to reports from Sky Sports, Newcastle United are on the verge of signing Stoke City forward Joselu in a £5million deal.

They’re said to have already agreed personal terms with the Spaniard, who has completed a medical ahead of his expected move to St. James’ Park.

The Magpies are clearly in need of more options, particularly in attack, if they’re to comfortably stave off the threat of relegation this season.

But is Joselu the right man for the job? The 27-year-old’s only full season at the Bet365 Stadium produced just four league goals, whilst he managed five in 20 appearances on loan at Deportivo last term.

At first glance, the former Real Madrid man doesn’t particularly improve on what Newcastle already have, namely last season’s top scorer Dwight Gayle and target man Aleksandar Mitrovic.

So, Newcastle fans, do you view Joselu as a smart signing or a flop in the making? Let us know by voting below…

After falling to fifth in the table, Liverpool are in desperate need of a win in a tough match-up against Tottenham, who have arguably the best defence in the Premier League.

Goals are going to be hard to come by for a Reds team that has only scored seven in ten matches in the New Year, so they are going to have to count on a strong performance from their goalkeeper at the other end to ensure they don’t need too many.

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Klopp’s side have two options in Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius and the German will have a tough decision to make. Mignolet has been their man since December, getting the last nine starts in Premier League play, however, after letting two goals from his last four shots on target, Klopp might be looking to make a change and revive a stagnating Liverpool side.

Mignolet played in both previous matches against Tottenham including a 1-1 draw and 2-1 victory.

In a match that may decide the fate of the Reds’ season, should Klopp go with Mignolet or look to make a change with Karius?

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