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Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action later this evening as they look to bounce back from their midweek FA Cup exit at the hands of Everton.

Although, a tough task now stands in the way of Jose Mourinho as he takes his side to Manchester City, a team that has won 15 matches in a row in all competitions.

All of Spurs’ defensive frailties were fully on display up in Merseyside on Wednesday night as the north Londoners shipped five goals, so there will surely be a change at the back tonight.

Mourinho opted for a pairing of Davinson Sanchez, who bagged himself a brace, and Toby Alderweireld, who was particularly calamitous as he had a desperate part to play in three of the Toffees’ five goals.

Perhaps it’s time to throw a lifeline to Joe Rodon…

On the Chalkboard

It is evident that the Portuguese boss doesn’t trust his current options having constantly rotated them about every week. It’s even been reported that he wants a ‘transformative’ centre-back signing in the same ilk of a Virgil van Dijk or Ruben Dias.

So that speaks volumes.

It may now be the right decision to bring the inexperienced Welshman back into the fray – let’s face it, at only 23, he can learn from his mistakes unlike Mourinho’s supposed leaders Alderwerield (31) and Eric Dier (27).

Rodon has only started four of his seven Premier League appearances so far this season but has largely given a good account of himself, especially in his first start against Chelsea, helping the side to a clean sheet and more recently, against Sheffield United.

After that draw with the Blues, Paul Robinson told Football Insider: “Outstanding. I really thought he was brilliant,” before adding: “The biggest compliment I can pay him is that Tottenham did not miss Alderweireld.”

The 6 foot 4 man-mountain even drew glowing praise from Roy Keane, which is hard enough to achieve. He told Sky Sports, via Wales Online:

“It’s a tough place for him to go for his debut, he got a busted lip for his troubles as well, but yeah, done really well, nice composure, nice body language, he looked composed out there.”

Last season whilst at Swansea, the £13m-rated man earned a lofty comparison. Speaking on the Sky Sports EFL podcast, Andy Hinchcliffe likened him to one of Mourinho’s former leaders, John Terry. He said:

“He’s right up there in terms of position for his age. I think what you tend to do with young centre-halves is look at the greats of the Premier League. You look at Ferdinand and Terry and there are elements of both in Rodon’s game. What I want from a centre-half is someone who loves to defend.”

In his first season at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho handed the captaincy to Terry aged just 24, and they went onto win the league, so why not repeat that feat now?

If mistakes are going to consistently crop up in Spurs’ backline, then it’s only right to let Rodon be involved to learn from them and then subsequently improve on them – it’ll benefit the club in the long run albeit for a short-term and temporary sacrifice.

Also dubbed “quick” by Wales boss Ryan Giggs and “brave” by Mourinho himself, the 23-year-old could be best-equipped in dealing with a tricky City frontline.

Rodon is yet to be dribbled past in his seven appearances, as per WhoScored, whilst he’s putting in more tackles per 90 (1.9) than either of Alderweireld (1.7) or Dier (0.6).

He must start at the Etihad tonight, he could well be the game-changer in stopping this Spurs rot.

AND in other news, Mourinho could already have his Reguilon replacement right under his nose…

Many Wolves fans heaped praise on Joao Moutinho after his side’s 2-1 win over Arsenal on Tuesday night.

The 34-year-old made his 16th start of the season alongside Ruben Neves in the holding midfield role and hit a stunning 30-yard strike to earn the Black Country club the three points.

Moutinho has been criticised by segments of the Molineux faithful at times during the 2020/21 campaign but answered those critics in the best possible way.

Per Fotmob, the Portuguese midfielder made five ball recoveries, played six crosses, two key passes and accumulated a pass success rate of 93%.

For his goal alone, supporters showered Moutinho with praise on Twitter after the full-time whistle, despite some controversial decisions being made during the game from referee Craig Pawson, who sent off two Arsenal players.

Moutinho the star of the Wolves show

“I will say this, Moutinho recently had negative criticism by some of the fans. Tonight, the performance was great and the 30-yard goal was superb. It’s a shame because of lockdown, Molineux didn’t have fans in to see it. The atmosphere would have been awesome.”

Credit: @kevtheman10

“Jose looks a proper centre forward. He has a corking right foot on him too. Vitinha looks better each time he is on. Moutinho was back to his best, I had doubts. Now we have to keep Maddison quiet on Sunday.”

Credit: @gjp12775

“Fully agree with the MOTM award too, Moutinho was immense in that second half #wwfc”

Credit: @molineuxman1977

“Blimey, what a crazy game that was. Still think we are better with three at the back but right now, I couldn’t care less because we’ve finally won. Hopefully, this is the turning point of the season. What a strike and performance by Moutinho by the way”

Credit: @Conal_56

“Joao Moutinho. Form is temporary. Class is permanent #WWFC #WolvesAyWe”

Credit: @RobJCook1

“João Moutinho The best I’ve ever seen in a Wolves shirt his first 18 months with us. I wrote him off and wouldn’t have played him tonight. So glad to be wrong.”

Credit: @TomHiggsWWFC

In other news, Willian Jose backed to hit the ground running at Molineux.

Even the most optimistic of Arsenal fans surely couldn’t have imagined the kind of instant impact Gabriel Martinelli would have on this team.

The Brazilian starlet had been out of action for about nine months with an injury picked up earlier this year, and only returned to competitive first-team action against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup.

And after being handed a starting spot against Chelsea on Saturday night in the Premier League, he took his opportunity with both hands, and has left boss Mikel Arteta with no room to hide going forward.

The £22.5m-rated dynamo was just a relentless ball of energy, always hustling the Chelsea defence and pressing from the front, whilst also showing his willingness to take risks and try things with how direct he was on the ball.

As per Sofascore, he had four total attempts on goal, and was desperately unlucky not to get on the score-sheet himself when his effort was well saved by Edouard Mendy.

And defensively, he was superb, with his work-rate seeing him make three tackles (a joint team-high), and win five of his eight ground duels.

His performance led to BBC Radio journalist Nick Bright to say that “Martinelli must start every game from now”, and it’s difficult to argue with that assessment given just how much he lifted spirits at the Emirates.

It’s been a gloomy first-half of the season for the Gunners, but the Brazilian youngster’s return to action has brought a much-needed and welcome breath of fresh air.

Make no mistake about it, if he’s fit, Martinelli just has to play. Whilst Bukayo Saka may have been the one to earn the man of the match award, it was Arsenal’s other superstar talent that left the big impression.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former England international Steve Howey has said that Andy Carroll would have been a fantastic signing for West Bromwich Albion this month.

Carroll would have been a big help

The Baggies were linked with a move for the Newcastle United forward towards the start of January (The Daily Mail), but since then, we’ve not heard much in terms of a possible bid.

While Howey has admitted that he would be surprised to see Carroll move to the Hawthorns this month, he did compliment the former Liverpool forward. He said:

“I’d be surprised at that (a move to West Brom). I like Andy Caroll, I’ve always liked him. I think he’s an old school, horrible centre forward that nobody wants to play against. On his day, so difficult to play against, but it’s just keeping him fit. If you can keep him fit, you’d get a massive amount of help from him.

“I do really really like him. But I suppose, you know, everybody has their opinions. There’s a lot of people that say he’s useless. I just think he causes plenty of trouble in a box in and around the centre-halves, so (defenders) do not like the physicality of somebody like him. That’s why he causes problems.”

Past his best

Carroll is far from a striker without any attacking qualities. He does have 54 goals throughout his career in the Premier League (Transfermarkt), and he has represented and scored for England at a European Championships. However, injuries have been a consistent problem for him.

In the last three complete seasons in the top flight, he has just three goals to his name. West Brom are a team that are struggling at the wrong end of the table, and that is partly down to their offensive failings – they have scored just 15 times, which is better than only two other sides (Sky Sports).

What they need is someone who is prolific to get them out of trouble, and perhaps Carroll just doesn’t quite have that in his locker at the moment.

In other news, West Brom enter talks for this 26-year-old.

Leeds United have a tough hurdle to clear this evening as they prepare to host Newcastle at Elland Road in their midweek Premier League fixture. The Whites are coming off the back of two frustrating defeats, one against Chelsea and the latest against West Ham.

Despite scoring in both matches, Leeds couldn’t do enough to take anything away from either outing. Tonight will be viewed as a must-win by Marcelo Bielsa and his men, but they will be missing several senior players from their roster.

Speaking to Football FanCast correspondent Tom Ward, Carlton Palmer discussed the news that Robin Koch will be sidelined for up to three months following a knee injury sustained against Everton.

“It’s always going to be a massive blow, ” the pundit said. “Any top player that gets injured for any club is going to create a problem.”

Joining Koch on Bielsa’s injury list is fellow centre-back and summer recruit Diego Llorente, who has made just one Premier League appearance for his new club (via Transfermarkt).

In the absence of the duo, Luke Ayling has been forced to step up and take on the centre-back role. Whilst he has been one of the Whites’ more impressive performers, his hard work isn’t being reflected in their recent results.

Whilst Bielsa will be pleasantly surprised to be ahead of Arsenal in the league table, they have a tough run ahead. After 16 years away from the Premier League, it would be crushing for fans if Leeds face relegation at the end of this season.

Palmer believes that there’s very little chance of the Championship winners facing the drop, but they must start banking more points. As it stands, Leeds are just six points outside the relegation zone. A poor run of form and some positive results from the likes of Fulham and West Brom could rapidly turn Bielsa’s dream season into a nightmare.

In other news, Radrizzani must move for free agent Danny Rose next summer…

For the first time in Nuno Santo’s Wolves tenure, he moved to a four-man defence against Southampton a few weeks ago.

He then continued that theme when they travelled to Arsenal, sweeping aside the Gunners 2-1.

In 166 of his 166 matches prior to the clash against the Saints, he had gone with three at the back but Nuno is now unbeaten since changing things up.

However, with a match against Premier League champions Liverpool to come, they would arguably be taking a risk by not setting up with a more familiar system.

Thus, we’re tipping the manager to go back to his three-man defence, with the following XI predicted: Patricio, Semedo, Boly, Coady, Kilman, Marcal, Neves, Moutinho, Neto, Traore, Silva.

We think that Nuno will go back to the formation in order to give his side a bit more cover against a free-flowing Liverpool attack.

The man sacrificed to make this work is Daniel Podence. He scored against Arsenal but with no number 10 needed, unfortunately drops out on Sunday.

Ruben Neves missed out last weekend but comes back in for Leander Dendoncker to offer an extra layer of security on the ball in the middle of the park.

The final change we think could occur is at the back where Max Kilman comes in to play as the left centre-back.

Raul Jimenez is ruled out after fracturing his skull. He was involved in a nasty collision with David Luiz and thus, will miss an extended period of time.

Therefore, Fabio Silva faces his first run in the side.

Wolves’ big-money signing is yet to start in the Premier League so this will be a real test for the young Portuguese.

Having cost the club £35.6m, these are the occasions where he has to show up.

In other news, Wolves are interested in signing a player with enormous physicality… 

Aston Villa return to competitive action for the first time this season later tonight as they head to League One outfit Burton Albion in the EFL Cup second round.

Dean Smith’s side are yet to feature since the Premier League’s return this weekend, so it will be an interesting selection conundrum for the Villans boss to overcome.

In six days time, they’ll face Sheffield United to kickstart the 2020/21 campaign where they’ll be hoping to avoid another relegation dogfight.

So with that in mind, here’s how Villa could lineup this evening…

Smith could use this opportunity to bring up the match fitness of several players – both key members of the starting XI as well as those on the fringe.

Between the sticks, it looks like it’s Jed Steer’s spot until Emi Martinez signs on the dotted line. Tom Heaton isn’t expected back soon either whilst Orjan Nyland isn’t preferred.

In defence, it could be the back-up four, meaning Neil Taylor and Frederic Guilbert are at full-back with Kourtney Hause and Bjorn Engels through the middle.

The likes of Matt Targett, Tyrone Mings and new signing Matty Cash shouldn’t feature.

Marvelous Nakamba is likely to get the nod over Douglas Luiz with the Brazilian expected to start next Monday whilst a runout could be given to John McGinn – at the very most an hour on the pitch to get back up to speed with things.

He could partner young talent Jacob Ramsey in the centre. The 19-year-old wasn’t involved for the U23s yesterday, so he’s certainly going to be featuring in some form tonight.

Out wide, starting places are given to likely backups Anwar El Ghazi and Jota whilst perhaps surprisingly, Smith hands a debut to Ollie Watkins to lead the line.

He’s in need of vital game time ahead of the new campaign, so just like McGinn, an hour could do him the world of good.

It, of course, means there is no place for skipper Jack Grealish. The £36m-rated playmaker will be the first name on the teamsheet against the Blades.

AND in other news, Lange could be making one huge mistake with £14m swoop for “dangerous” man…

As confirmed by the club’s official website, Newcastle star Allan Saint-Maximin has penned a new six-year contract to stay at the club.

What’s the word?

The Frenchman has been a revelation at St James’ Park since arriving from Nice in the summer of 2019, lighting up the Premier League with some virtuoso individual performances – no Newcastle fan will forget his incredible hat-trick of assists away at Bournemouth at the back end of last season for example.

Now, the club have confirmed that Steve Bruce’s side have taken a major step in ensuring Saint-Maximin’s best days are on Tyneside, with a bumper new contract all signed.

The Daily Mail had earlier revealed that there had been interest in the winger, but Bruce himself knows that keeping the 23-year-old happy on and off the pitch at St James’ Park is crucial to the side.

Some redemption for Mike Ashley

Mike Ashley will never be a fan favourite at Newcastle, and rightly so given the way the club has stagnated over the years – no European football has been seen at St James’ Park since the 2012/2013 campaign. But his part in helping to strengthen the first-team squad over the course of the summer transfer window have been important in ensuring Bruce can help the Magpies kick on.

But more than the amount of money he could put into the club to help bring new signings, getting Saint-Maximin to commit his future to the club and shelve interest from elsewhere may go down as the best piece of business Newcastle could do this year.

The Frenchman has made himself a talismanic figure for the Magpies, and that’s clearly shown in how they perform when he’s on the pitch, as opposed to when he’s not. In the 15 Premier League games they have played without Saint-Maximin in the starting line-up, they have won just one match. In contrast, in the 26 games he has been, they’ve won almost half, with 12.

So for all the positives in signing Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser and Jamal Lewis, among others, getting Saint-Maximin to stay tops the lot.

In other news, Newcastle dodged a bullet by not signing this Premier League ace.

According to Voetbal 24, Rangers remain interested in Anderlecht attacker Kemar Roofe.

What’s the word?

With Alfredo Morelos’ long-term future at Ibrox still fairly uncertain, Steven Gerrard will surely be in the market for a new striker. And according to Voetbal 24, the man they seem keen on bringing to Scotland, is Roofe.

The report claims that Anderlecht may be willing to cash in this summer in order to bring in some money of their own and reinvest, and that Rangers have not given up the fight in signing him.

Can you name every one of the Rangers’ top goalscorers from the past 15 seasons? It’s a tricky one…

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It also claims the Gers would have to pay at least €6m (£5.4m) in order to convince their Belgian counterparts to part ways with him.

Much-needed striker

Speaking after a 4-0 pre-season triumph over Motherwell, Gerrard admitted that Jermain Defoe’s injury could mean they further step up their interest in a new centre-forward.

He said: “First and foremost we just need to stay calm and find out the extent of the injury. I went on record last week to say I’d like to add in that area in terms of having extra fire power so who knows? It might push us even further in that direction to try and get something done.”

With seven goals in 16 games in the 2019/2020 season for Anderlecht, Roofe has proven that he can be a reliable goal-getter. And with his experience of playing for the likes of Leeds United in English football has given him the kind of pedigree that could see him acclimatise to Rangers with ease.

His former manager at Leeds, Thomas Christiansen spoke glowingly about what Roofe can bring to the table late last year. He said: “Kemar is able to push forward, defend with it and still turn up in the sixteen. His height seems a disadvantage, but that is it is not. Kemar is strong and jumps high. He will score with his head. He is a goal-getter. He will score at least twenty. Kemar is cold-blooded for the goal. And he can also finish with his left and right.”

If Gerrard needed any more convincing that Roofe could be his man, then Christiansen’s words should surely act as a seal of approval. The 27-year-old should be Rangers sporting director, Ross Wilson’s first port of call when looking for a new centre-forward.

Tottenham haven’t had the best of times as of late, but they finally had something to cheer on Sunday as they secured a precious win over their bitter rivals Arsenal, beating them 2-1 courtesy of goals from Heung-min Son and Toby Alderweireld.

While a win over the Gunners is always cause for celebration for Spurs supporters, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the white half of north London.

Indeed, the fanbase still had some grievances to air, namely about the performance of Serge Aurier.

Spurs’ 2017 signing had a day to forget, his pass accuracy was barely above 80 per cent, and of the five crosses he attempted, not a single one of them found their desired target.

On top of that, he had more unsuccessful touches than any other Tottenham player, so you can understand exactly where these complaints are coming from.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Tottenham have been able to call right-back their problem position.

Last season it seemed as though Spurs supporters’ favourite activity was to bash Kieran Trippier, but some fans thought Aurier was that bad on Sunday that they actually started to miss the Atletico Madrid man.