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Inter Milan are ready to rival AS Roma and raid Manchester United for Red Devils defender Chris Smalling this summer, reports say. 

The 31-cap England international spent the past season on loan at the Stadio Olimpico, where he impressed Roma boss Paulo Foncesca despite falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

Recent reports revealed Smalling is willing to sit and wait for his parent club to decide his fate before considering the next stage of his career.

And it appears the centre-back may not have to wait too long, as he has attracted attention from Serie A giants Inter, Juventus and Roma.

According to Sportmediaset, as cited by Sport Witness, Antonio Conte’s side are keen to steal a march on their close rivals by matching Man United’s asking price for the former Fulham man.

Ed Woodward slapped a €25m (£22m) price-tag on his head, as the Premier League side were well aware there would be interest from overseas, and the club look certain to reap the rewards.

It is understood that Conte believes that Smalling’s experience and desire could play a key part in mounting a successful title challenge next season.

The English veteran started 29 games in Serie A last term, scoring three goals, supplying two assists, registering 1.9 interceptions and a staggering 4 clearances on average per game (via WhoScored).

Former Red Devils Romelu Lukaku, Ashley Young and Alexis Sanchez have all swapped Old Trafford for the San Siro in the past year, and Smalling may be about to follow suit.

A player who was once deemed Rio Ferdinand’s heir is now considered surplus to requirements by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and cashing in on the Englishman while they still can seems to be a sensible decision by the board.

For whatever reason, it has never quite worked out for him at the Theatre of Dreams, as he was often criticised by Jose Mourinho for failing to play through the pain barrier for the team.

Despite his age, Smalling showed he is still a quality defender during his loan spell, and Conte may be the man to get the best out of him, as he worked miracles with David Luiz during his time in charge of Chelsea.

United fans, do you think Woodward should sell Smalling this summer? Let us know down below!

As clubs all across Europe feel the financial pinch of football being postponed and fans having to stay away, the upcoming summer transfer window may be one of the most low-key on record.

And according to Football Insider, Tottenham are “convinced” that scouring France “can be a fruitful market for them as they eye bargain deals”.

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The report claims that with French football suspended until September, Spurs are hoping to “exploit the changed French market to lure some players at knockdown prices”.

After hearing about the report, fans of the north London side flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.

A few Spurs fans however seemed far less optimistic about the news, and claimed that as well as this being Daniel Levy being his typical frugal self, they have just not had much success with players bought from the French league.

Understandably, some Spurs fans don’t seem entirely thrilled with the idea of turning back to the French market for some new signings this summer.

Ndombele’s disastrous debut campaign that has seen his form and fitness questioned by his own manager has left a bit of a bad taste, but if Spurs can look past that, there may very well be some really shrewd deals to be done.

Tottenham fans feared the worst as Bruno Fernandes fell under an apparent challenge from Eric Dier to give United a last gasp chance to take the points on Friday night.

Luckily VAR intervened given the lack of contact that was made and spare the blushes of Jon Moss for his incorrect judgment call. The Sunderland born official has past form in giving penalties against the North Londoners. I mean, who can forget he once awarded Manchester City three penalties in one game against Spurs back in 2014?

The standard of referring in this country has for a long time been a constant cause for debate as the continued inconsistencies frustrate supporters far and wide. Whilst VAR isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it certainly goes some way in amending the wrongs that seemingly refs make on a match by match basis.

Over the years there have been many fans that believe there are certain refs that favour clubs over others, albeit it has previously been impossible to prove; however, the good people at TOFFS have compiled some top-line research that analyses the data from officials and gives football fans a definitive overview of which refs have it in for their clubs.

Unsurprising for Tottenham fans, the aforementioned Jon Moss’ record for them in matches doesn’t sit favourably. It isn’t as bad as Lee Probert, though…

You can see the full report compiled by Abbey Green at TOFFS here

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Daniel Levy has been Tottenham chairman since February 2001 and since then, he’s overseen, orchestrated and administered almost countless incomings and outgoings at the north London club, always remaining a central figure in transfer matters.

And on the most part, it’s hard to dispute with the work he’s done. Tottenham’s recent rise to Champions League finalists is often seen as Mauricio Pochettino’s hard work alone but really, Levy’s been at the epicentre of a transformation that’s taken a whole lot longer.

Come the end of the first season in which Levy was at the helm, Spurs finished 12th. In the time since there have been peaks and troughs (fifth place in 2006/07 followed by 11th the year after, for example) but ultimately, Tottenham have been on a continuously upward trajectory throughout his tenure.

Much of that has indeed owed to Levy’s dealings in the transfer market. His knack for buying young players, selling them on for considerably more and then reinvesting a fraction of the profits has worked a treat time and again.

A true test for any Spurs fan: Can you match these iconic images with the right results?

Levy secured massive markups on the likes of Gareth Bale, Michael Carrick, Luka Modric, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker and Dimitar Berbatov, while there have been plenty of incremental gains as well. Benjamin Stamboui was at Spurs for just one season and yet Levy still secured over £2m in profit on him.

But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing and even the best at what they do make mistakes. Many will point to how Levy re-invested the Bale money in summer 2013, when Etienne Capoue, Roberto Soldado, Paulinho, Nacer Chadli, Vlad Chiriches, Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen were brought in. Only the latter pair went on to any longevity at the club, the other five being little short of absolute flops.

But that summer, Levy at least made a profit of over £11m for Spurs and brought in Eriksen for just under £13m. He’d go on to make over 300 appearances for Tottenham, bagging 69 goals and 89 assists, before being sold this January at an eventual profit. Lamela is still at Spurs as well.

And that’s the case with most of Levy’s windows at Spurs. Whether it’s simply the net spend surplus, like during the two transfer windows in which Tottenham famously signed nobody, or the odd gem amongst an otherwise uninspiring rabble of signings, there is usually always one or two positives to take from Levy’s dealings.

But last summer remains a real exception to that as things stand, and may well go down as his worst ever transfer window at Spurs – not least because he veered so far away from the usual script, without anything of genuine note to show for it so far.

First and foremost, Spurs uncharacteristically produced a negative net spend of over £80m last summer, albeit somewhat justified by the fact they’d gone almost 18 months without signing anyone. But secondly and more important is the worrying lack of value for money within the cohort that arrived.

Of course, time may go on to paint a different picture, but the near £35m spent on youngsters Ryan Sessegnon and Jack Clarke doesn’t look like good business akin to low-cost punts on the likes of Dele Alli or Walker, or even for that matter Kyle Naughton and Lewis Holtby.

Clarke has failed to make any sort of impression on loan at Leeds and QPR already this season, whereas Sessegnon has gone from making eight Premier League goal contributions at Fulham last term to starting just four top flight games for the Lilywhites, despite Tottenham struggling for bodies at left-back for most of the campaign.

But perhaps the even bigger concern is Tanguy Ndombele. Again, Levy broke usual habits by splashing out a huge £54m fee, but the big gamble hasn’t paid off. He’s been left with a club-record signing who’s only been able to make 12 Premier League starts and appears to be completely at odds with his manager. Jose Mourinho has criticised him in public more than once, most recently after hooking him off at half-time against Burnley.

That leaves the loan swoop for Giovani Lo Celso as the only silver lining in Tottenham’s summer, but even that remains somewhat tenuous considering he’d only made three Premier League starts before being signed permanently on January 28th. Really, the first half of the season was just an extended trial, one that actually cost more than £15m in loan fees. Again, hardly fantastic value for money considering they then paid another £27m to acquire him full-time.

No doubt, a lot can change in football very quickly. Clarke and Sessegnon could go on to become key figures at Spurs in the coming years, and Ndombele may well turn out to be a talent worthy of club-record status.

But as things stand, it’s hard to see what Spurs have really gained from last summer’s spending apart from a significant transfer deficit and a number of potential duds, and this was acquired with the added luxury of just reaching a Champions League final – something that should’ve given them extra pulling power in the transfer market.

Last summer has all the makings of being remembered as Levy’s worst window for Spurs.

Speaking to Football Insider, former Leeds midfielder Michael Brown has hailed Kalvin Phillips as a “wonderful talent”.

What did he say?

Phillips has been an ever-present for Marcelo Bielsa’s side this season, featuring 34 times across all competitions, scoring once and providing two assists.

And after recently reiterating his commitment to staying at Elland Road for the coming years, Brown lavished praise on the Whites midfielder.

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He said: “He is a wonderful talent and he loves Leeds United. What I like about him is that he is such a level headed kid. Brilliant to talk to. He is a proper Leeds supporter and how can he play!

“Kalvin can play so many positions. Central defence, in a three, holding midfield and he can even play more advance in a number eight. He has a bit of everything in his play – short and long pass, a tackle when needed, energy, competitive – a proper player.”

Leader

Whilst Liam Cooper may be the club captain, Phillips certainly has everything in his locker to become the Whites’ next skipper.

The £10.8m-rated ace has now played 175 times for his hometown club, and judging by his recent comments, looks set to play a whole lot more too.

Having those local heroes create their legacies can help form close connections with the fans, and with Leeds finally looking like they’ll be heading back to the Premier League, Phillips can lead the way for them.

He’s a player they can rely on to stay with them through both the bad and the good times at Elland Road, and success is built on those types of characters and personalities.

Meanwhile, Leeds fans react to Phil Hay’s report on the club’s finances.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Paulo Dybala has quickly gone from zero to hero over in Turin.

The player’s future was much discussed in the summer and the Argentine was reportedly close to actually leaving the club amidst interest from the likes of Manchester United, as was actually confirmed by his agent, per Tuttosport (via Football Italia).

But with recent developments, he might now be shaping up to become their saviour in their time of need.

Or at least that’s the narrative that we can see developing as of late.

The 25-year-old’s late winner against AC Milan just further solidified that statement and of course, without any real surprise, shortly after that we started seeing talks of a possible contract renewal for the Argentine jewel.

But apart from stating the obvious and highlighting Juventus’ willingness to change their tune about their gem, Corriere Dello Sport (via Calciomercato) also suggest Dybala might offer some resistance to that potential renewal.

And it’s quite easy to see why.

After all, Juventus were reportedly ready to offload the 5 foot 10 man to the Premier League just a couple of months ago and despite emerging to the scene in recent weeks, Dybala hasn’t really been the first name on Maurizio Sarri’s teamsheet.

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But despite tallying just 717 minutes in a total of 14 games across all competitions, the Argentine still managed to bag five goals and assist further three under his belt in the process.

The quality is certainly there for everyone to see and in hindsight, Sarri’s team should be glad any potential move abroad failed to materialise.

Now, leaving Turin could actually turn into a step backwards in his career, which should also come as a huge relief to the Bianconeri.

Juventus are a team with great history of dominance in Italy and even though they are yet to taste victory in Europe, Sarri is still fresh at the helm and the sporting project looks promising, to say the least.

Currently, Dybala doesn’t seem to be confident in his role in the squad but with clear signs that Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be an untouchable figure, considering the Portuguese superstar has been subbed off in the last two games, we just might see the Argentine get a nod far more often than he used to.

Making a big change right now could unbalance things and would give him no guarantee of success.

Being patient at a team he knows inside out and in a league he’s familiar with seems like a better choice at the moment.

The times are changing and the tables could turn pretty soon.

Ronaldo, for all his brilliance, cannot go on forever and with the love and respect of the fans giving wind to his sails, Dybala is bound to succeed at Juventus.

But only if he can weather this transitional period and stay put until his chance arrives.

It is coming, however, and sooner rather than later it will knock on his door.

Once that happens, he will be the one to lead the Italian giants. All he needs is a little bit of patience.

And Juventus? They can only look back at how they almost threw their future into the wind and work hard to keep him right here where he is now.

Safe and sound behind the black and white flag.

Right where he belongs.

Following the 3-2 loss against Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United didn’t tweet a thing for over 24 hours.

This is presumably due to the fact that they knew any post would be met with an endless stream of negative comments about Manuel Pellegrini, Roberto and the team in general, as they extended their run of games without a win to eight in all competitions.

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When they did eventually come out of their brief hibernation, the admin did so with a video of the U23s’ impressive win over Aston Villa.

Unlike the first-team, the U23s have been in superb form this season, winning every Premier League 2 game they have played, aside from a 2-2 draw against Manchester United.

With this in mind, many Hammers fans feel that the young players should be given a chance to impress in the first-team.

Nathan Holland is among the most popular options Manuel Pellegrini should be choosing from, with it being questioned what he has to do to be included for a league game.

The video has only intensified that feeling, as it shows him getting a goal and two assists.

However, most aren’t being especially picky about who it is, as long as they see the academy products bringing something fresh to the first-team.

However, there has also been the opinion given that the achievements of the U23s should not be used in order to cover up for the first-team’s shortcomings.

Whether it be through calls for Pellegrini to be sacked or condemnation of the performance against Spurs, some were keen to hold the team to account.

One fan even suggested that the U23s should be given their own Twitter account, so they weren’t used as an excuse for the seniors’ failures not to be recognised.

In other news, the potential sale of a veteran could see one youngster get the opportunity he has been waiting for.

Both Liverpool and Reading fans have been reacting to Ovie Ejaria’s performance during the Royals’ 2-2 draw against QPR at Loftus Road on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old was one of the bright sparks for the visitors as Reading took a point back to Berkshire, but they still remain in 20th in the Championship table.

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Ejaria provided the assist for George Puscas’ equaliser in the first half and played a big part in his side’s performance. He accumulated a pass success rate of 74%, made four successful tackles and won seven of his 13 ground duels.

The Liverpool loanee will spend the season at the Madejski Stadium, with a view to a permanent move.

Supporters of both Liverpool and Reading were pleased to see the former Rangers man performing the way he did.

One Liverpool fan said that he has a playing style similar to the Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, while another said that he would be a big loss if he leaves the Reds for good.

Here you will find some of the best responses from Liverpool fans: