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According to Alasdair Gold, Tottenham are interested in appointing Erik ten Hag as their new manager.

Spurs eye Ten Hag

Following the sacking of Jose Mourinho, it had been suggested that Julian Nagelsmann was heavily on Spurs’ radar (Daily Mail). However, he has now been confirmed as the new Bayern Munich manager.

In a Q&A for football.london, Gold revealed THAT Ten Hag is one of a number of managers on the north London outfit’s shortlist.

Fantastic option

With the likes of Bayern (Sky via bulinews.com) and Barcelona (Sport) being previously linked with the Dutchman, it is perhaps a surprise that he is still at Ajax. He has done a marvellous job in Amsterdam – he is closing in on his second Eredivisie title at the Johan Cruyff Arena, has averaged 2.32 points per game during his time at the club (Transfermarkt) and also took them to the Champions League semi-finals in the 2018/19 season.

He also has a reputation of developing younger players, with the likes of Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong flourishing under his tutelage. Quite frankly, there are few better coaches in Europe that Daniel Levy could target, and he certainly seems attainable.

In other news, this Spurs hero has thrown his hat into the ring for the vacant position.

Rangers will be looking to challenge for the Scottish Cup this season. Their next fixture sees them take on League One side Cove Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday evening and it seems likely that Steven Gerrard will make plenty of changes to his line-up.

Although the international break means that plenty of Rangers’ first team have had a welcome break before the final few fixtures of the season, there were also several regulars such as Glen Kamara, Filip Helander and Borna Barisic who have featured heavily for their national teams over the past two weeks.

Therefore, it seems likely that Gerrard will rotate his team heavily for game at Ibrox on Sunday, although he will have to be wary of the threat of Paul Hartley’s side, who have already knocked out Championship opposition in Alloa Athletic en route to the third round.

Here’s how we think Gerrard will line his side up on Sunday, with six changes from the team which started in the Old Firm derby last time out…

Jon McLaughlin makes a rare start in between the sticks as he comes in for Allan McGregor, who is handed a deserved rest.

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There is one change in the defence as Jack Simpson makes his first Rangers start in place of Filip Helander, who is rested, whilst Leon Balogun and Borna Barisic continue at full-back due to both Nathan Patterson and Calvin Bassey being suspended.

There’s one change in midfield as Scott Arfield replaces Steven Davis, who should probably sit this one out after playing 90 minutes in both of Northern Ireland’s games against Italy and Bulgaria recently.

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Finally, it’s all change in attack as Kemar Roofe starts on the right in place of Ianis Hagi, whilst the “constant threat” of Ryan Kent will hopefully be replaced by Scott Wright, who also makes his first start in Rangers colours, with Cedric Itten starting ahead of Alfredo Morelos in Gerrard’s final change.

In other news… Gerrard handed huge boost with “world-class” beast who was vital to number 55

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who scored 34 Premier League goals, claims Newcastle United fans being in attendance for their final home game against Sheffield United could prove to be either very good or very bad for the team.

Newcastle have been labelled as “wild” by former manager Graeme Souness and Lee claims every team knows if you can silence the crowd for the first 10-15 minutes then the Newcastle fans can turn on their team.

There have not been any fans inside St James’ Park for over 12 months now as they’ve had to sit and watch their team freefall closer to the relegation zone on their TV screens every week, but the Premier League are hoping they will be back for the clash against the Blades in May.

Speaking on how having fans back could impact the Newcastle players and the one bit of advice Kevin Keegan used to give his players, Lee told FFC exclusively:

“I think it could go either way but the fans will 100% be behind the team from kick-off. However, Sheffield United will know if they go there and can quieten the crowd then it could be detrimental to the Newcastle players.

“Kevin Keegan used to say to us in the first 10-15 minutes go out and entertain the crowd and get them on your side and then they’ll be behind you for the entire match.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/rob-lee-exclusive-newcastle-united-premier-league-steve-bruce” title=”Exclusive! Rob Lee’s thoughts on Newcastle”]

“That’s what Newcastle fans want to see right from the off their team flying into players, pressing the opposition and creating chances and then they’ll get behind you.”

Newcastle fans will be looking at their final two games of the season and will be hoping they are safe before that as they face the Blades and Fulham.

The relegation battle appears to be between Fulham, Newcastle, Brighton and Burnley, with the latter two starting to put positive results together when it matters.

Carlo Ancelotti will be anxiously awaiting the return of Ben Godfrey from international duty after the Everton defender failed a late fitness test.

That’s according to the Liverpool Echo, who note that Godfrey and Tom Davies were both unable to represent England’s Under 21s against Croatia on Wednesday.

The Young Lions medical team carried out late checks to see if either of the Toffees duo could feature in the Euro 2021 win, which dumped Aidy Boothroyd’s side out of the competition at the Group Stage.

Godfrey had played the full 90 minutes as England faced Portugal on Sunday to earn his ninth U21s cap, but required treatment during the 2-0 loss.

The 23-year-old centre-back had featured for the full fixture as England were beaten 1-0 by Switzerland last Thursday, too.

Only Tottenham Hotspur’s Oliver Skipp and Swansea City’s Marc Guehi also played all 180 available minutes among England’s outfield options over the defeats to Switzerland and Portugal.

Davies had started each loss but was withdrawn early in the second half against Switzerland and approaching the final quarter of an hour against Portugal, when earning his 23rd Young Lions cap.

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Ancelotti will now be very concerned over the prospect of being without Godfrey and Davies when Everton host Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on Monday, looking to end a three-game losing streak across all competitions.

The Toffees have only won one of their last five games at home thanks to a 1-0 result over Southampton on March 1, while losing to Fulham, Burnley and Manchester City twice.

Ancelotti goes into the Eagles clash without star summer signing Abdoulaye Doucoure after the £20m former Watford midfielder was ruled out likely for the remainder of the season with a fractured foot.

Fabian Delph has also been sidelined of late and while Jean-Philippe Gbamin has returned to training, it remains to be seen if the 25-year-old will be called on to play his first game since August 2019.

Losing Godfrey will come as a huge blow to the Toffees in defence, having started nine of the Merseyside outfit’s last 10 fixtures in the heart of the backline – including eight of the last nine Premier League matches prior to the international break.

Everton have kept three clean sheets in the 11 top-flight matches that Ancelotti has fielded Godfrey in a centre-back role this season, which came in a three-game run against Liverpool, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion.

To now be without the former Norwich City enforcer will be particularly problematic for Ancelotti, who is said to consider the Toffees’ £20m summer signing as the best of his central defensive options.

Ancelotti will be expected to call on Michael Keane, Mason Holgate or Yerry Mina to protect Jordan Pickford’s goal against Crystal Palace, should Godfrey fail another fitness test.

AND in other news, Everton are tracking a £17m striker with “a wealth of talent”…

MatériaMais Notícias

O que era para ser uma partida tranquila entre Chapecoense e Flamengo, neste domingo, foi um jogo marcado por polêmica. O time catarinense reclamou que o árbitro Caio Max Augusto Vieira errou ao não dar pênalti a seu favor, no início do segundo tempo. O técnico do Versão do Oeste reclamou que sua equipe levou quatro cartões amarelos, e o Flamengo nenhum. O juiz relatou na súmula xingamentos do técnico Caio e uma garrafa arremessada no campo.

– Após o término da partida foi expulso o técnico da equipe da Chapecoense, sr. Luiz Carlos Saroli, por se dirigir em direção ao trio de arbitragem e com o dedo em riste proferir as seguintes palavras para o assistente 1: “Você é covarde! Assume! Vou acompanhar sua carreira! Você é um covarde!”. O mesmo ainda empurrou o escudo dos policiais tentando chegar até o trio de arbitragem, sendo contido e retirado por companheiros de sua equipe – escreveu o juiz, complementando.

– Informo ainda que no momento em que nos retirávamos do campo de jogo, protegidos pela polícia, foi arremessada para dentro do campo uma garrafa plástica com líquido dentro. O objeto partiu da arquibancada onde estava posicionado a torcida da Chapecoense, não atingindo a equipe de arbitragem. O responsável pelo arremesso foi identificado.

March was certainly not a kind month to reigning Premier League champions Liverpool.

The Reds’ title defence continued to falter, wit them winning just one of their three Premier League games and suffering consecutive defeats at Anfield once again. However, one slight saving grace was their progression to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals at the expense of RB Leipzig.

One player encapsulated Liverpool’s struggles throughout the month and that was right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The England defender started in three out of the four matches throughout the month, coming on as a substitute in the 1-0 defeat against Fulham.

Throughout his minutes on the pitch across the four games, he could only average a 6.74 WhoScored rating as Liverpool only notched one clean sheet in the Premier League. Whilst not the worst rating in the world, compared to his usually lofty standards, it was a very poor number.

For context, throughout Liverpool’s hugely successful 2019/20 campaign, the 22-year-old racked up an average score of 7.04, indicating his huge drop off throughout the past month under Jurgen Klopp.

It is not just in his ratings that Alexander-Arnold has taken a hit. Having notched a huge 15 assists from right-back last season, he has only got five this season, with none of those coming in March.

His defensive contributions also took a huge nose-dive throughout the month, too.

He only averaged 0.75 tackles and 0.5 interceptions per game throughout March which is hugely lower than his season averages of 1.6 and 1.2 respectively in the Premier League.

That poor form has certainly been noticed by Gareth Southgate. Having omitted the Liverpool man from his latest England squad, the Three Lions boss said that Alexander-Arnold has not hit the level “he found in the last few years” – a statement that is tough to disagree with.

With a couple of weeks’ break between now and Liverpool’s Premier League clash against Arsenal, the £90m-rated right-back and manager Klopp will be hoping he regains his form sooner rather than later after an extremely tricky March.

Alexander-Arnold let his manager down throughout the month, he’ll be keen to put that right in April.

AND in more news, read about which clinical striker Liverpool must move for this summer…

Speaking exclusively with Football FanCast, former England international Steve Howey has stated that speculation claiming that Graeme Jones has effectively taken over from Steve Bruce at Newcastle United is nonsense.

Jones joined Bruce’s coaching staff from AFC Bournemouth last month, at a point where the Magpies had lost their last five Premier League games during an 11-match winless run.

The Toon instantly won their next top-flight fixture 2-0 away to Everton, while Jones was in the stands against Crystal Palace before making his way down into the dugout as the Eagles began to establish control.

Bruce faced questions from the media after the match suggesting Jones was a threat to his position as Newcastle’s head coach, though shrugged off the questions and hit back at the “conspiracy theories” surrounding the arrival of the former Luton Town manager.

“No, I have had this thrown at me,” Bruce said, via quotes by Chronicle Live. “It has been talked about weeks ago, about bringing in someone extra. He was mine, my, first choice.

“All these conspiracy theories, I wish I could put them to bed. Against Crystal Palace, Graeme wanted to have a look at first 10-15 minutes, up a height, in the stands, then he came down and was in the dugout like he was against Everton. I was surprised [at the fuss].”

Howey, who played 149 times for Newcastle between 1989 and 1999, believes Jones has done a great job at helping turn United’s fortunes around, but firmly believes that Bruce is still the one in control.

“I’m really pleased for him. People look at what have you done before you come in here. And the situation was, apart from being with [Roberto] Martinez and Belgium, the other stuff that Graeme had done hadn’t been massively successful – Luton and stuff like that,” he told FFC.

“I think there was a list, and it was ‘being relegated’, ‘was relegated’, ‘was relegated’ but I’ve always heard that he was a very good coach, a very good organiser. So, he could be the best coach in the world.

“Ultimately, if your players are not with you, or of a standard when you’re at the standard, then you’re always going to struggle. He’s come in, he’s put on some training sessions, the boys must have just clicked with it straight away, which can happen. And obviously, results have certainly improved.

“The speculation and people sort of saying he’s taken over from Steve Bruce. I’ve got no doubt in my mind that Steve Bruce is the manager. And that’s it, and Graeme’s helping out. And at the moment, it seems to be going quite well.”

Newcastle reportedly made calls to a handful of candidates to strengthen Bruce’s backroom team before the appointment of Jones, having first looked into a coaching hire after Steve Agnew tested positive for coronavirus and Stephen Clemence’s father, Ray, died.

Jones had worked with Bournemouth as the club’s Technical Coach since last August after taking a step back after 41 games in charge of Luton, while previously working as an assistant coach at Swansea, Wigan and Everton before the Belgian national side.

Newcastle have beaten Everton and Southampton since hiring Jones, while looking a much-improved side in defeat to Crystal Palace compared to the performances seen in the preceding weeks.

AND in other news: Exclusive – Pundit drops verdict on Joseph DaGrosa takeover claim…

According to a recent report, West Ham United could be presented the opportunity to sign Jesse Lingard permanently this summer, as the attacking midfielder may be used as a makeweight in a move for Declan Rice.

The report by Eurosport claims that West Ham originally attempted to include a £15m purchase clause in their loan deal for the Manchester United midfielder in January, but the Red Devils rejected the proposal.

The report added that, should Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side allow the sale of Lingard this summer, they would be looking for around £20m to part with the 28-year-old.

However, it is also claimed that Manchester United could attempt to use the £9m-rated man as a makeweight in their pursuit of Declan Rice, who would cost ‘at least £50 million’.

Transfer Tavern Take

While Lingard has certainly impressed in his short time at West Ham – scoring three goals and providing one assist over his five Premier League appearances for David Moyes’ side thus far, as well as being dubbed as “outstanding” by Paul Merson – whether the east London club would sign the midfielder permanently at the expense of parting with Rice is extremely debatable.

However, with Lingard believed to be enjoying his time at the London Stadium, perhaps the midfielder, along with West Ham, could convince Manchester United to allow a permanent move to the club without the caveat of Rice being involved in any potential deal.

In other West Ham United news, many fans wanted this Premier League ace after a contract claim – find out more here!

Liverpool continue to be linked with a move for PSG forward Kylian Mbappe and the Frenchman could be the man to take Jurgen Klopp’s side to the next level.

What’s the word?

According to Spanish news publication Sport (via Express) Klopp has been in contact with the 22-year-old in the hopes of convincing him to make the move to Anfield, having dreamed of signing him for a long time now.

The former Monaco man’s contract with PSG is set to expire in the summer of 2022 and if no extension is agreed, Mbappe could well be made available for transfer by Les Parisiens.

The man to evolve Liverpool’s attack?

Liverpool’s attack has won a lot of praise in recent years, with the trio of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino often referred to as the best front three in world football.

The summer arrival of Diogo Jota only improved this attack further, with the Portuguese international starting his Reds career in sensational form before his unfortunate injury.

Firmino is, of course, integral to this Liverpool side and is brilliant at the job he does but it could definitely be argued that Klopp is lacking an out-and-out striker such as Mbappe who can cause problems with his incredible pace.

It did seem as if the Merseyside club were in the market for this sort of forward, as they were heavily linked with Timo Werner before his move to Chelsea, although based on current form they might be glad they avoided him.

However, Mbappe’s superb record with PSG speaks for itself, as in 142 appearances for the club, the £162 million-rated striker has managed 104 goals and 57 assists.

Fellow superstar Neymar was full of praise for the young striker after he scored an incredible four goals in 13 minutes when he was just 19-years-old, saying:

“For me he’s a phenomenon. I hope it will continue like that for several years because football will thank him.”

Certainly, in recent fixtures, Liverpool’s attack has definitely been missing a spark that someone such as Mbappe could provide, as they have managed just one goal against West Brom, Newcastle and Southampton.

Firmino will turn 30 this year and the Reds must start looking to the future, as they did with the signing of Jota, and the French World Cup-winner could prove to be a top player for the Merseyside club for the next decade.

Therefore, sporting director Michael Edwards must do everything he can to bring Mbappe to Anfield, as it’s clear that Klopp is a big fan of the Frenchman, and he could definitely evolve this Liverpool attack.

AND, in other news, Bye-bye Phillips: Edwards can solve LFC crisis with £13.5m “leader” likened to Vidic…

While speaking exclusively with Football FanCast’s Tom Ward, Carlton Palmer has urged West Ham United to sign Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud in the upcoming January transfer window.

The Irons have been linked with a move for the outcast Frenchman recently, but are said to trail Inter Milan in the emerging race with the Serie A giants believed to be ahead of a clutch of sides including Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Miami and Paris Saint-Germain.

Giroud has often found himself frozen out of the starting line-up at Stamford Bridge this term, as his start in Wednesday night’s Champions League victory over Sevilla was only his second inclusion in one of Frank Lampard’s opening squads across all competitions this term.

Giroud lit up the stage against Sevilla with a game-winning haul of four goals, taking his tally for the season to six in 10 games despite playing just 273 minutes to date.

Adding four to his UEFA account at Sevilla on Wednesday also moved the £110,000-per-week ace into third-place on the leaderboard for goals scored in the Champions League since the start of the 2018/19 campaign, with only Robert Lewandowski (26) and Lionel Messi (18) netting more often (16).

Palmer believes Giroud will have his pick of clubs in the winter market should he leave Chelsea, after the forward suggested he may have to quit the south west London side amid concerns his outcast status will impact his hopes of representing France in the postponed Euro 2020.

“I think I know if he was available a whole host of clubs would sign him,” Palmer told Football FanCast. “I think Lampard has gone on record as saying that he wants him to stay and that he’ll get game time.

“He’s a terrific player, a terrific hold-up player. He doesn’t get the [amount of goals], obviously does for France [but he doesn’t] get the volume of goals for Chelsea. But his link-up play, his hold-up play is bringing other people into the game, his teamwork is phenomenal. So yeah, of course, if West Ham could get him he’d be an absolutely fantastic signing.”

Blues boss Lampard was full of praise for what Giroud brings to the table after his game-winning haul at Sevilla on Wednesday night, featuring a perfect hat-trick, telling reporters how the 34-year-old made a strong case for starting at Leeds United on Saturday.

“It’s not just his performance but when you play him and utilise his strengths and his speed, there’s a real balance in the rest of the team,” Lampard said, via quotes by TEAMtalk. “[It was an] amazing solo performance from Olivier.

“Olivier is reliable, full stop. Not just for us but his international goals for France, he’s up there with great French individuals.”

Lampard’s praise and chance to start in the Champions League may be too little too late to save him from losing Giroud, who has played just 47 minutes in the Premier League thus far this season over five cameo outings.

Giroud’s situation has alarmed France boss Didier Deschamps, who hinted the striker may need to leave Stamford Bridge in the winter or risk missing out on a place in his Euro 2020 squad.

“The situation is not good for him,” Deschamps claimed, via quotes by Goal. “It is for him to see, he will decide. But in terms of the France team, psychologically and physically for him, he has every interest in having playing time. I hope that by January he will have more playing time.”

And in other news, David Moyes must solve a £19m West Ham star’s alarming issue ahead of facing Manchester United.