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After a hugely disappointing 0-0 draw away to a relegation-battling Bournemouth side on Thursday night, it was no surprise to hear some pundits take aim at Tottenham.

One man in particular, Roy Keane, certainly didn’t hold back in his assessment of the Lilywhites.

Speaking whilst on duty for Sky Sports, the former Manchester United captain said (as quoted by The Daily Mirror): “Tottenham were poor tonight. When you analyse Tottenham, and watch Tottenham closely you shouldn’t be surprised. They’ve got that type of performance in their make-up, we’ve seen it regularly over the years.

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“They went to Sheffield United last week, Mourinho’s spoken about it, they didn’t show any fight. He had to make changes at half-time. That is in Tottenham’s DNA, they will constantly disappoint you. When you look at the table, the table doesn’t lie at this moment in time. Tottenham are ninth in the table, that’s where they deserve to be.”

It was a particularly scathing verdict, and one that certainly rings true. No trophies to show for well over a decade, and multiple instances of slipping up at the final hurdle, whether it’s the Champions League or a race for the Premier League title.

And whilst the early months of Mourinho’s reign in north London has hardly been in inspiring, Daniel Levy absolutely made the right call in getting rid of Mauricio Pochettino and appointing him.

This change in mentality, and ‘DNA’ that Keane talks about, isn’t going to change overnight. For all the trophies he has won throughout his illustrious managerial career, Mourinho is no magician, capable of waving a magic wand and ridding Spurs of all their bad habits.

The structure of winning that the Portuguese man has almost always built at the clubs he has been at, takes time to develop and consolidate. For all the great work that Pochettino did in establishing Spurs as a Champions League regular, he could never get them over the trophy hump.

And that was precisely why Levy chose to bring in Mourinho. Speaking at the announcement of his appointment, the Spurs chairman said: “In Jose we have one of the most successful managers in football. He has a wealth of experience, can inspire teams and is a great tactician. He has won honours at every club he has coached. We believe he will bring energy and belief to the dressing room.”

If allowed the funds to bring in the players he wants this summer, and shape the squad in his image, then Mourinho stands a far better chance of delivering Spurs what they want.

Keane’s comments were searing, but they proved that Levy took the right gamble in trying to change the club’s DNA.

Chelsea have been linked with a surprise move for Manchester City’s John Stones this summer.

According to Football Insider, the Blues are on the hunt for a new centre-back and the England international has appeared on the radar.

Despite their blistering attack, Chelsea have leaked goals throughout this Premier League season, almost causing them to miss out on a Champions League spot. Kepa Arrizabalaga has shouldered most of the blame, but the Blues seem to want to bolster their defensive options across almost all positions.

Lampard has been unable to settle on his ideal centre-half partnership, with Kurt Zouma, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen almost constantly being changed throughout this term.

Stones has gathered dust towards the back end of this season after falling drastically down Man City’s pecking order. His career could be salvaged though, if Chelsea decide to take their interest in his services up a notch.

Lampard enjoys working with English talent and has done well to develop the likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Reece James. Adding another England international to the mix could be another exciting project for the 42-year-old to take on.

Stones has made just 16 Premier League appearances this season and 24 across all competitions. Pep Guardiola left the 26-year-old out of the senior squad 13 times in the league without any explanation (via Transfermarkt). After City’s second place finish, they will want to return to action next campaign and reclaim their crown, so Stones could slip even further out of mind.

A move to Chelsea could benefit both parties, with the Englishman desperate for game time, he will want to prove himself in front of a ruthless manager like Lampard. Chelsea are in need of a fixer-upper in defence and a man hungry for minutes and the urge to impress could be the right fit.

City signed Stones from Everton in 2016 for a fee of £47.5million, a world record fee at the time (via BBC Sport). However, given the current financial climate, the Citizens may accept a lower amount, perhaps closer to his Transfermarkt value of £32.4m.

Would you like to see Chelsea sign John Stones this summer? Join the discussion in the comments below!

Wolves are reportedly interested in signing Eredivisie ace Oussama Idrissi this transfer window.

The Morocco international has been linked to the Premier League outfit by El Desmarque (via Sport Witness), who claim an offer of €16million (£14.4m) could be tabled for his services.

Wanderers aren’t the only ones in pursuit of Idrissi, though. The report states that both Sevilla and Napoli also have their eye on the 24-year-old forward.

How would Idrissi fit in at Wolves?

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side looked on course for a place in the top six last season but fell just outside of the margin on goal difference to Spurs. Their main attacking threat was undoubtedly Raul Jimenez, who notched an impressive 17 goals in 38 league appearances.

Next behind the Mexican was Diogo Jota with seven goals, followed up by Leander Dendoncker with four (via Sportsmole). The gap between Jimenez and the rest of the team in terms of goals scored is difficult to ignore. Wolves’ top scorer needs more support in attack if the team are to push up the table this season.

Signing Idrissi would pad out Nuno’s roster and provide more options when breaking down the opposition.

Could Oussama Idrissi replace Diogo Jota?

The AZ Alkmaar man tallied some superb numbers with the Dutch outfit last season. In 25 league appearances, Idrissi found the back of the net 13 times and provided a further five assists. His overall count for the term finished on 17 goals and ten assists across all competitions (via Transfermarkt).

The 24-year-old also operates on the left wing, which is a perfect match to fill the Jota-shaped hole left in the Wolves squad after the Portuguese moved to Liverpool.

Although Nuno experimented with his squad last season, Jota put in some strong performances and was the difference between a loss and a draw, and a draw and a win on several occasions. Losing him to Liverpool definitely makes the left wing an area of importance to strengthen.

With Idrissi’s numbers and international experience, for the low price of £14.4million, it’s a no brainer for Wolves to snap up the Moroccan before the window closes.

In other news, Leeds can land the perfect De Paul alternative in Erick Pulgar

Former West Ham United striker Carlton Cole has shed some light on his relationship with the club’s fans, in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

What did he say?

Cole spent nine years at West Ham between 2006 and 2015, managing 68 goals in 293 appearances in all competitions.

During that time he built quite a relationship with the fans and he remains a supporter himself to this day.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said the relationship was at its best during the club’s 2011/12 promotion campaign.

Cole said: “The fans knew I had taken a 50% pay cut just to play that season [2011/12 Championship season] and I knew that if I’d stayed and gave my all they’d respect me for that.

“I always gave my all, I always tried my very best. I wasn’t the captain but I tried to be a captain in my own way, I tried to leave everything on the field and even played through injury. That’s when I think the fans realised I was with them through thick and thin.

“I realised as well, as long as you give your all the pitch for the club, because that’s what any fan would do, then they’ll take you in as one of theirs. It’s all they ask.

“No matter what any footballer says, they always want a home. I’d left West London with Chelsea, that was my main home, but when I came to West Ham I had it good. I put in the years there as well, so I didn’t want the fans to think I was only there for the money – I’ve got too much pride to do that.

“The West Ham fans soon realised I was one of them, I had a good rapport with them. I always tried to speak to them, sign autographs, I did a lot in the community with the locals. I’m one of the fans now and I don’t think that’s ever going to change because I’m like part of the furniture!”

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Despite Jose Mourinho’s purported reluctance to place his trust in youth, it seems like Tottenham are very much interested in bringing in one of European football’s brightest talents to north London this summer.

Football.London journalist Alasdair Gold recently revealed that Spurs “certainly like” Ajax starlet Sergino Dest, and that he “wouldn’t be surprised if they look at whether he’s viable financially this summer”, further adding that Spanish giants Barcelona are also interested in him.

And even at just 19-years-old, it’s clear to see why Mourinho’s side would be so interested in luring Dest away from the Netherlands. The teenager was an ever-present for Ajax in the Eredivisie, and registered an impressive record of five assists in just 20 league games.

Is it Mido or Pedro Mendes? This Spurs quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…

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Right-back is a major area of concern for Spurs given that Serge Aurier continues to be a liability with his defensive howlers and giving away of penalties, and also the very fact that they let Kyle Walker-Peters go on loan to Southampton in January.

But in Dest, Mourinho could transform Spurs’ future by landing a starlet that could go on to dominate the position for most of the next decade.

And when you look at the kind of praise and accolades he has already got in his fledgling career, then it just makes the case for Spurs to sign him this summer even stronger.

According to his Ajax teammate Quincy Promes, Dest is a “big talent”, and those thoughts were echoed by his manager, Erik ten Hag. Speaking after the American won the club’s young player of the year award, he said to the full-back: “You came like a comet. You played a lot of games in Ajax 1, including in the Champions League. You showed your potential. This is well deserved.”

With Spurs already boasting one talented attacking full-back in Ryan Sessegnon, the north London side stand to boast an impressive future if they can bring in Dest.

Sessegnon can maraud up and down the left-flank, whilst Dest does the same from the right-hand side. The Lilywhites could quite reasonably argue that they have the best up-and-coming full-back combination in the Premier League, and Mourinho could help develop the duo and put to bed any notion that he doesn’t develop young players.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Jamie O’Hara has slammed Tottenham’s players over their lack of action amidst the controversy surrounding the club.

What did he say?

It’s fair to say it’s not been the greatest of weeks for Spurs. The north Londoners came under heavy fire for their decision to furlough some of the club’s non-playing staff, and whilst O’Hara labelled it as “stupid”, he did take aim at the players themselves too.

He said: “I’m disappointed in the players. They’re the money-earners there. Come on now, if you’re a big player at Tottenham you look after your own and for me, it’s the first and foremost thing you should be doing in this situation, so I’m surprised.

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“Maybe Daniel Levy is put in a bit of a situation where he’s waiting for the players to take pay cuts, so he’s got to do something and try to save money as he’s a businessman. If I was there I’d be asking that question and hopefully some of them are, like Harry Kane and Dele Alli. They’re big players at the club and earn a lot of money – they should be looking after the staff.

“Tottenham is not just about the players, it’s about everyone at that football club – the financial team, the corporate side, the marketing, the stewards, the chefs – everything about what makes the club great is all the people that work there, so the players should be the first people to make sure they’re looked after.”

Responsibility

Levy of course will have to take the brunt of the blame that has accompanied his decision, but the players themselves as O’Hara suggests, should be trying to fight the corner of the club’s staff.

With the increasingly ridiculous amounts of money being pumped into football, and the astronomical wages players earn nowadays, the entire profession is just completely out of touch with normalcy.

Situations like these simply reinforce the divide, and it’s why Spurs’ players can send a major statement by publicly voicing their frustrations and taking a strong stance on the matter.

Meanwhile, Alasdair Gold has provided an update on Spurs’ interest in this Premier League starlet.

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…

Harry Kane could be set to break even more records at both club and international level.

The England international scored against Kosovo at the weekend as the Three Lions won 4-0, meaning that he became the first player in English football history to score in every single qualifier for an international tournament, this one being Euro 2020.

It also took his tally for his country to 32 goals in 45 caps.

Wayne Rooney, who scored 53 goals in 120 caps, currently holds the all-time scoring record.

Football FanCast has crunched the numbers, both at national and club level, and one has to feel that Kane can break both the national team record and the Premier League one held by Alan Shearer, who hit 260 goals during his time in the top-flight.

As it is, Kane has scored a goal every 0.7 games at international level. He needs 22 more goals to pass Rooney’s record, meaning he needs to win roughly 32 more caps.

That would take him to 77 – more than achievable for a player who is currently the captain of Gareth Southgate’s side.

Indeed, in his last 11 caps, Kane has scored 13 goals. If he were to keep up that record, he would break the record within his next 21 appearances for England, meaning he would be their all-time goalscorer after just 63 outings.

At Premier League level, the hill is higher and harder to climb.

Thus far, the 6 foot 2 striker has scored 131 Premier League goals and is 13th in the list of the league’s all-time top scorers.

He has averaged 18.7 goals per season so, if we round that up to 19, we can get a clear picture of how long it will take the Spurs striker to break Shearer’s long-standing record.

Now, it must be said, that Kane could well leave for a club like Real Madrid or PSG but let’s assume that he stays in north London or joins a rival Premier League club like Manchester United or Man City.

If he continues at his current rate of scoring and hits 19 in every single season, it will take him until the 2025/26 season, when Kane is 32, to break Shearer’s record. At that rate, he would reach 264 goals by the end of 25/26. A 19-goal season in 2019/20 would take his tally to 150, equal with ex-Liverpool star Michael Owen.

Yet there is hope that it could be reached quicker.

Kane’s zenith came in 2017/18, when he hit 30 goals. Now, if he were to score 30 goals in every season hereafter, he would smash Shearer’s record by 2023/24.

The amazing thing about these numbers is that they are achievable for Kane.

He is a goalscorer, first and foremost, and has proved that he can hit the net with regularity in a variety of different Spurs and England teams.

The stats point to the realisation that Kane could well become both the best goalscorer England have ever had and also the best goalscorer the Premier League has ever seen.

It would be quite a career for a player who spent 2011 on loan with Leyton Orient.

Just a few days after he suffered the wrath of Sheffield Wednesday fans for his performance against Birmingham, Steven Fletcher well and truly silenced the doubters with an important brace on Saturday afternoon.

The Scotland international opened the scoring against Charlton in their Championship clash, before scoring a penalty in the 80th minute to restore the Owls’ lead after an equaliser from Macauley Bonne.

Atdhe Nuhiu wrapped up the points with a third, but the man on everybody’s lips was undoubtedly Fletcher. As per Sofascore, his 8.7 match rating was the highest of any player on the pitch, whilst he also showed he is more than just a goal-scorer with two key passes too.

And after seeing his fine display, Wednesday fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts about the striker.

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Many supporters hailed the veteran for his goal-scoring efforts, with one fan in particular labelling his first goal as “pure class”.

Check out some of the reaction of Sheffield Wednesday fans below:

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Liverpool fans have been clashing with a number of England fans on Twitter as Three Lions supporters ripped into Trent Alexander-Arnold after his performance against Kosovo.

Fans of the national team didn’t hold back in their criticism of the right-back as they slammed him for his underwhelming showing against the eastern European outfit.

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Below is a selection of tweets about Alexander-Arnold’s performance on Sunday evening.

Understandably, Liverpool supporters didn’t take too kindly to seeing their young star criticised in this way on Twitter.

The Anfield faithful banded together to jump to the defence of the 21-year-old as they fired back claiming that their man is the best right-back in the world.

It was quite endearing to see Reds fans defending their man.

Even though his performance against Kosovo wasn’t his best, it didn’t warrant such a fiery response from England fans.

Here’s what the Anfield faithful have been saying on social media…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

West Bromwich Albion face a trip to Hull City this afternoon as they look to continue their spell at the top of the Championship table.

Slaven Bilic’s men currently have a two-point cushion over a trio of teams in second place, including Leeds United, who are the only team to put a loss on the Croatian’s record this season.

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The Baggies will want to extend the gap at every opportunity, and on Monday, they showed they are more than capable of thriving despite the pressure of needing three points.

Goals from Matty Phillips and Hal Robson-Kanu secured a 2-0 win at managerless Stoke City, and one man highlighted his increasing worth to the team.

On the Chalkboard

Conor Townsend has been very much a forgotten man in the west Midlands at times this season.

Former Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs began the season as Bilic’s first choice in the role before his injury saw versatile starlet Nathan Ferguson switch from the right-hand side.

He has impressed since breaking through into the first-team from the academy, so much so that he’s been linked with moves to Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur.

Against Charlton Athletic, he showed signs that he still has a lot of maturing to do as his horror challenge on Chris Solly saw him pick up a red card and a subsequent three-match ban.

In his absence, Townsend has quite remarkably stepped up to the mark, as seen on Monday night.

Per SofaScore, the 26-year-old recorded two interceptions, one tackle, and one successful dribble while contributing to only their third clean sheet of the season.

As the more natural left-back, it would make perfect sense for him to continue to operate in the role until anything significant happens – even on Ferguson’s return.

Townsend hasn’t just impressed against the Potters, as fans noticed with his game-changing impact in Albion’s draw over Barnsley a few weeks ago.

Ferguson should have to fight to regain his place amongst the Croatian’s starting line up as a lesson for such recklessness, especially as summer signing Darnell Furlong has been more than astute at right-back.

He has averaged 1.7 tackles and 1.6 clearances per game, where he ranks third in the Baggies squad for both metrics.

It would just be too harsh to drop Towsend after his surprise rich vein of form – he had only played for 19 minutes on the opening day until featuring in three straight matches, per Transfermarkt.