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A source from Tottenham Hotspur has revealed that Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso and Emerson Royal all flew up to Newcastle for today’s Premier League clash.

The Lowdown: Uncertainty

Nuno Espirito Santo revealed to the media in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match that he would make a late decision on the selection of Romero, Lo Celso and Emerson, as well as Davinson Sanchez, following their exploits during the international break with their respective South American countries.

They had reportedly been expected to miss out because of the travelling involved, and the fact that some of the games in which they played were in the early hours of Friday morning UK time.

The Latest: They travelled

Speaking to Football Insider, a Spurs source has revealed that Romero, Lo Celso and Emerson all flew up to St James’ Park with the rest of the squad on Saturday evening.

That now puts them in contention to play against the Magpies when the fixture kicks off at 4:30 this afternoon.

The Verdict: Big boost

It will certainly be a big boost for Spurs to have all three players available, especially if they can play from the start.

Emerson is currently averaging the most tackles (three) per Premier League game out of his teammates, while he also averages a mammoth five clearances per match, exceeded only by Joe Rodon (seven) in his one appearance so far (WhoScored).

Romero also ranks highly in terms of tackles (1.7) and clearances (2.7) (WhoScored), and the Lilywhites will no doubt be eager to see more of their summer signings in action.

Lo Celso offers a creative spark in midfield, averaging one key pass per game and an 81.5% passing accuracy rate (WhoScored), and he could well be the difference in unlocking what may be a stubborn Newcastle defence.

In other news, find out who has called Daniel Levy ‘pathetic’ after one recent development

Liverpool have been dealt a late injury setback ahead of their upcoming Champions League meeting with Benfica this evening.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to Dylan Terry, with the Independent journalist revealing in a recent article that, despite returning to training ahead of the Reds’ trip to Portugal, Nabby Keita remains a doubt for the quarter-final first-leg tie on Thursday night.

In his piece, Terry writes: “Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to return for Klopp’s side after missing the win over Watford on Saturday. Curtis Jones and Joe Matip are set to be available, but Naby Keita remains a doubt. The rest of the Liverpool squad are all fit and ready for the game.”

Klopp will be gutted

While it is true that Keita has not exactly been a first-team regular at Anfield this season, the fact that the midfielder remains a doubt for the trip to Benfica is nevertheless sure to have left Jurgen Klopp gutted.

Indeed, despite having missed a host of games already this season due to injury, the £27m-rated dynamo has still managed to impress over his 15 Premier League outings, scoring two goals, registering one assist and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 0.7 key passes, 0.7 interceptions, 2.5 tackles and winning 3.7 duels – at a success rate of 53% – per game.

These returns have seen the £130k-per-week Guinea international average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.15, ranking him as Klopp’s ninth-best performer in the top flight of English football.

As such, the news that the 27-year-old could well be set to miss out once again on Thursday evening is sure to have caused the German coach and his backroom staff a great deal of frustration – as it is clear that a fit and firing Keita is a fantastic option for Liverpool to be able to call upon.

AND in other news: Liverpool now plotting bid for “unplayable” £58m machine, it could be bye-bye Salah

Southampton fans were delighted at a video of Kami Doyle scoring a free-kick for the club’s U18 side against Birmingham City at the weekend.

At St. Mary’s Stadium, they have one of the best free-kick takers in the Premier League in midfielder and captain James Ward-Prowse. He has found the back of the net directly ten times for the Saints from such situations (Transfermarkt), while his set-piece ability is a true threat for the south-coast outfit all over the pitch.

If a recent video is anything to go by, he is also teaching the club’s youngster how to strike the ball perfectly from such situations. A clip of Ward-Prowse and Doyle taking free-kicks together at the club’s training ground has emerged, and Doyle then went on to find the back of the net against Birmingham from a similar area.

The video was shared on Southampton’s official Twitter account, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Doyle free-kick below

“Love love love this!!!”

Credit: @_Firebirding

“Call him up rn”

Credit: @sfc__Jay

“This is SO good”

Credit: @RhysThomas2014

“This is what our club is about”

Credit: @andreift9

“Kami Doyle – remember the name. An absolute star in the making.”

Credit: @DH4Teen

“This is brilliant, the head down from nipper and then the look from Prowsey.”

Credit: @TYSONDURAN

In other news, Southampton fans were delighted with latest Martin Semmens move.

Tottenham Hotspur could land one of their mooted transfer targets for a massive bargain this January, according to emerging reports…

What’s the word?

Since the end of the summer transfer window, the north London outfit have been strongly linked with a move for AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie ahead of 2022.

One report even suggested that Spurs could use wantaway club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele as a makeweight in any potential future deal.

But now an exciting development has emerged.

According to Italian outlet Calciomercato, the Ivory Coast international could be available for as little as €9m (£7.5m) as it will be the last chance the Serie A giants can sell him for money before he leaves for nothing later in the summer.

It seems rather unlikely that Kessie will renew his current contract at the San Siro, though the Lilywhites aren’t the only team interested, with Premier League rivals Chelsea also linked.

Paratici must swoop

Make no bones about it, if the Milan midfielder is available for as little as that, then Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici and the rest of the club’s hierarchy would be foolish to not try and sign him.

After all, Transfermarkt currently value him at a whopping £49.5m – and they’ll be getting him for 85% cheaper than his supposed worth.

Although, they shouldn’t only be making a move from a purely financial sense as the player himself is actually a massive talent that could bolster Nuno Santo’s engine room instantly.

Kessie is a powerful and industrious box-to-box beast that can also take a mean set-piece.

He ended last season as Milan’s fourth highest-rated player (7.15) and their second top goalscorer (13) behind only Zlatan Ibrahimovic (15), as per WhoScored.

In addition to that, he averaged 1.4 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 1.2 dribbles per league outing.

Kessie’s current boss, Stefano Pioli, waxed lyrical about the Ivorian’s ability earlier this year, claiming that “Franck is a complete player” who gives his side “physicality, energy, quality, protects the defence and knits the moves going forward too.”

This merely echoed the thoughts of another manager who once stood in the San Siro dugout, Vincenzo Montella, who described the midfielder as an “extraordinary player” with “sublime intelligence.”

In the need to add more goals to the side, Nuno could really do with a player like Kessie as he can contribute in the final third just as much as he can in the team’s own half.

If Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is in need of a solid partner, then it should be the Milan monster they turn to, especially given the astounding claims mentioned in the report.

AND in other news, £75k-p/w dud must never play for Spurs again, had fewer touches than Lloris yesterday…

Leeds United winger Raphinha may have become even more crucial for the Whites than Kalvin Phillips, according to journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Raphinha excels on Brazil debut

The 24-year-old has been superb for Leeds since arriving from Rennes in 2020 and he has taken his form with him to the international stage.

Raphinha registered two assists on his Brazil debut on Thursday evening, helping them to a 3-1 victory away to Venezuela in a World Cup qualifier.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375277″]

The Latest: Hay hails winger

It was a performance that summed up Raphinha’s brilliance, and taking to Twitter on Friday morning, The Athletic‘s Hay admitted that he could be the first name on Leeds’ team-sheet, ahead of even Phillips:

“One of the questions in the mailbag was ‘Is Raphinha Leeds’ most important player?’ and even though Phillips is the player Leeds really miss, you could easily make an argument for Raphinha.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-19/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Phillips still the key man

Raphinha is a wonderful footballer who is unquestionably one of Leeds’ star men, but Phillips is still the player they miss the most when he isn’t there, losing seven out of the nine fixtures he was absent for in the top flight last term.

That was highlighted in the 5-1 defeat at Manchester United on the opening weekend of the season when the Whites’ midfield fell apart without him in the team.

Phillips has averaged 2.3 tackles per game in the Premier League this season – only Liam Cooper (2.7) has more – as well as an 84.6 percent pass completion rate.

The England international brings so much energy, quality and all-round influence in the middle of the park that he has the edge over Raphinha, which isn’t to diminish his own class as a footballer.

In other news, one Leeds player has been tipped to make a ‘breakthrough’. Find out who it is here.

Manchester United have reportedly ended their interest in Eduardo Camavinga, Saul Niguez and Ruben Neves, with Paul Pogba now set to remain at the club, but it could be another midfielder who has the biggest impact at Old Trafford in the years to come.

What’s the story?

According to the Daily Mail, French giants Paris Saint-Germain can no longer afford to sign Pogba this summer following their shock move for six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi.

However, the report claims that the highly-rated 28-year-old is expected to depart United as a free agent for the second time in 12 months’ time, meaning current understudy Donny van de Beek should have an ideal opportunity to shine.

The Netherlands international arrived in Manchester for £40 million prior to the 2020/21 campaign following two standout seasons with boyhood club Ajax, yet he struggled to settle on English shores, limiting him to just four Premier League starts.

Now though, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must place his faith in the technically gifted maestro, potentially saving the club millions when it comes to finding Pogba’s successor.

Fans would love to see him flourish

After scoring 41 goals and providing 34 assists in 175 games for Ajax, as well as winning a domestic double in 2018/19 as they reached the Champions League semi-finals, Van de Beek arrived at Old Trafford with high expectations.

Nevertheless, the new environment and physical, fast-paced nature of the Premier League often looked a bit too much for the midfielder to take in last term, although he did show his true potential on occasions.

One such time was against Istanbul Basaksehir while on European duty, and his impressive showing drew praise from former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves.

“I thought Van de Beek was close to perfect. He is so unselfish, he can just fit in and play the right balls everywhere,” said the BT Sports pundit.

The technically gifted midfielder has embarked on physical transformation over the summer months after injury meant he had to pull out of Hollands Euro 2020 squad, improving his strength, balance and agility.

“He’s put on a bit of muscle,” Solskjaer said of the Van de Beek “He’d had last season to learn about English football, and he’s used the summer well.

“You never know how players from abroad come in. Some players need a year. You see Fred’s development, but there are other players that just come in and take to it straight away. It depends.”

And now it’s time for Solsjaer to reward Van de Beek’s dedication with a string of regular starts, allowing him to showcase his true, top-class quality on a consistent basis.

With Marcus Rashford sidelined until October through injury and Jesse Lingard unavailable after testing positive for Covid, Pogba could take up residency on the left-wing for the first few weeks of the new campaign, allowing the Dutchman a chance to prove that he can be the World Cup-winning star’s natural heir.

Every club’s fans love a comeback story, but no side is more associated with them than United, and the fanbase would surely love to witness Van de Beek begin his this season.

And, in other news…Journalist drops intriguing Man Utd transfer update, fans will be delighted

An update has emerged on Newcastle United’s interest in Freiburg centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck…

What’s the talk?

According to reporter Dharmesh Sheth on Sky Sports’ transfer show, via Bavarian Football Works, the Magpies are looking at the defender as a possible alternative to Lille’s Sven Botman as the Ligue 1 side are demanding £60m for the Dutchman this month.

The report claims that German giants Bayern Munich also have Schlotterbeck on their radar and could compete with the Toon for his signature.

Treat

Eddie Howe could seal an “absolute treat” for Newcastle by bringing Schlotterbeck to the club this month as he could be an excellent signing for the club.

The 22-year-old German has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.31 in the Bundesliga this season, showing that he is capable of delivering consistently high-quality performances on the pitch. This could make him a dream signing for the Magpies as they have conceded the most goals (42) in the Premier League this term and are in need of defensive improvements.

Writer Jacque Talbot has commented on the defender’s statistics this season, comparing him to a German legend in the process. He Tweeted: “The absolute state of Nico Schlotterbeck. Some Franz Beckenbauer level attacking percentiles. Newcastle would be in for an absolute treat if they can persuade Freiburg to let him go.”

Talbot accompanied his Tweet with a screenshot of the Freiburg man’s percentile ranks in a number of statistical categories across Europe’s top five leagues, per FB REF. He is in the 92nd percentile or higher in dribbles completed, progressive passes and touches for centre-backs, whilst he is in the 91st and 92nd percentile for tackles and interceptions respectively.

He is also naturally left-footed. This means that he can add balance to Newcastle’s possession game by being able to comfortably play on the left side, opening up more options on the ball instead of needing to shift it to his right foot before playing out from the back.

Therefore, the monster could be a sublime addition to Howe’s team as he has the quality in defending to improve the team whilst his capabilities on the ball could help the side to play more expansive football to entertain the fans.

The ex-Bournemouth boss must now ensure that he can get a deal over the line for Schlotterbeck before Bayern are able to make their move, if they are to make one at all.

AND in other news, Howe can brutally axe £40k-p/w NUFC dud by signing “deceptive” gem who’s a “nightmare”…

Newcastle United have seen many players join the Tyneside club over the years on permanent transfers or loan deals.

The previous January transfer window showed just how capable the Magpies and their new owners are when it comes to spending significant amounts of money to bring in new faces to try and strengthen their squad and push the team forward.

Taking a look back down the years, one figure that the club were supposedly pursuing on two different occasions that they will undoubtedly regret not buying is Luka Modric.

According to Planet Football, former Toon boss Kevin Keegan was eager to sign the midfielder back in 2008 when Modric was at Dinamo Zagreb. They also claimed that Sam Allardyce wanted to sign the Croatian a year prior during his tenure at St James’ Park.

The former Magpies and Everton manager said: “I was then on the way to getting Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb, but by then, Mike saw the scale of the full debut and put the clamps on, so I had to make do with Geremi from Chelsea.”

After scoring 22 goals and providing 21 assists in 73 appearances for Dinamo Zagreb, the midfielder did end up making a move to England, but it was Tottenham Hotspur who secured his signature in the summer of 2008 rather than Newcastle for a fee of around £20m.

Having played in 160 games for the Lilywhites across all competitions, finding the net 17 times and delivering 26 assists, the midfielder found himself on the move again, this time to his current club Real Madrid in 2012.

During his time in Spain, the 36-year-old has scored 31 goals and provided 69 assists in 427 appearances, winning four Champions League titles among many other trophies including numerous individual awards such as the Ballon d’Or and UEFA’s Best Player in Europe, both in 2018.

Labelled an “extraordinary” player by Carlo Ancelotti and a “mental monster” by journalist Dermot Corrigan, Modric has been sold for a combined total of just over £51m throughout his time in football according to Transfermarkt and racked up 186 goals and assists throughout what has been a shining career.

Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that Keegan and Allardyce both had howlers over not convincing the hierarchy at Newcastle to launch a substantial move for the midfield maestro when they were pursuing him before his move to Spurs.

In other news – NUFC dealt yet another crushing injury setback; it’s bad news for Howe

Many Southampton fans have been slamming the performance of Ibrahima Diallo in their 2-1 loss at Norwich City on Saturday.

After a promising start with Che Adams giving the Saints the lead inside the first four minutes, the visitors were almost immediately pegged back by Teemu Pukki, before Grant Hanley gave the hosts all three points with a header from a second half corner kick.

Diallo started the match well but badly tailed off in the second half. Asked to play as a right midfielder by Ralph Hasenhuttl, he failed to record a shot, lost six of his 12 duels and made only one accurate cross throughout the match, while he was also guilty of losing possession 12 times, the joint-sixth most out of any of his teammates at Carrow Road (SofaScore).

Southampton fans slam Diallo

These Southampton supporters slammed the 22-year-old’s performance on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that he was ‘hopeless’ against Norwich:

“Our squad is still not good enough. Theo Walcott coming onto the pitch in 2021 is a horrifying indictment of the state of the club. So is not having a single option to switch a Diallo who had an absolute nightmare of a second half”

Credit: @DanJean09

“McCarthy is the first player who needs to be dropped, closely followed by Bednarek and Diallo. I hope Walcott never puts a #saintsfc shirt on again. Can’t wait for his contract to end”

Credit: @miserygutscoop

“Walcott, Broja, Diallo all hopeless in 2nd half”

Credit: @L1minus10

“#saintsfc undoing all of their good work from the first half. KWP neutered, Diallo not getting it right, too many misplaced passes. Norwich have wanted it more and will get the result. Also, how Theo is stealing a living is beyond me. Poor Nathan Tella”

Credit: @TomParker81

“Diallo’s passing today has been some of the worst I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure how he’s still on the pitch”

Credit: @wilcoryce

“#SaintsFC pushing our luck again in the 2nd half – same against Villa. Someone remind Diallo we’re playing in red.”

Credit: @RedondoSaint

In other news, find out whose display against the Canaries was also slammed by many Southampton fans

Everton have had a difficult season which can be partially blamed on their poor transfer business at the club ever since the arrival of Farhad Moshiri, and lessons must be learned with new manager Frank Lampard heading into his first full transfer window this summer.

It has been reported that the Toffees will need to axe up to 10 players this summer to recoup some of the financial losses incurred during Moshiri’s reign at Goodison Park, and there are many candidates that are worthy of the chop following a series of poor performances over this season.

One player who has seen a revival in his Everton career since Frank Lampard took over is Alex Iwobi, who has had a less than positive impact since he joined the club back in 2019, with the winger offering up just seven goals and six assists in 89 appearances over the last three years.

Despite the Everton boss giving the Nigerian international his opportunity to redeem himself in the second half of this season, it is too little too late for the player who has been part of a squad that has led to the demise of the club, putting them in a position to be relegated for the first time ever from the Premier League.

In one of Moshiri’s biggest transfer howlers to date, Iwobi cost the club up to £34m and following his unsuccessful spell at Goodison Park has seen his market value diminish to over half that amount, as the attacker is now worth just £16.2m.

Indeed, over his two and a half seasons at Goodison Park, the £100k-per-week flop who Michael Ball claimed plays in “panic mode” has earned seasonal SofaScore ratings of 6.75 in 2019/20, 6.74 in 2020/20 and 6.73 so far this term, ranking him as Everton’s 11th-best, ninth-worst and 14th-best player in each respective Premier League campaign.

And, when you consider that the 25-year-old winger is on one of the highest wages at the club, selling up this summer could save Everton millions on the two years left on his contract – something which could be reinvested into players who can offer something more influential on the pitch.

Lampard has some big decisions to make this summer and must be ruthless with rebuilding his squad if the Toffees are to improve upon their incredibly disappointing campaign this time out.

AND in other news: Everton must launch move for “outstanding” 25 y/o “Wolverine” as insider claim emerges