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Former Premier League striker Dean Windass loves the idea of a Tammy Abraham and Callum Wilson strikeforce at Newcastle United.

Falling out of favour at Chelsea following the arrival of Thomas Tuchel, £36m-rated Abraham continues to be linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge.

According to The Northern Echo, St. James’ Park could be a possible destination for Abraham, with Newcastle said to be keen on bringing the 23-year-old forward and team-mate Billy Gilmour to the club.

For Windass, if Steve Bruce can pull it off and pair Abraham up front with Wilson, the Magpies could have quite the attack.

“I know Steve likes to play three at the back, so that means you can get two up top with Callum Wilson and Tammy Abraham,” the ex-Hull City star said to TT. “What a strikeforce that’d be in the Premier League.”

Indeed, it could be a very prolific forward line when you look at the records of the two strikers.

Wilson finished the 2020/21 season with 12 Premier League goals despite missing a lot of action due to injury, while Abraham was able to score 18 goals in all competitions back in the 2019/20 campaign when he was a regular under Frank Lampard.

Tottenham Hotspur remain interested in Nicolo Zaniolo with sporting director Fabio Paratici eyeing up a swoop this summer…

What’s the word?

Calciomercato.it have once again linked Spurs with interest in the AS Roma midfielder but they face competition from Serie A rivals Juventus and AC Milan, as well as from Atletico Madrid and Sevilla.

It’s believed that the Rome outfit are looking for a fee in the region of €60m (£50m) to €70m (£58m) but they are said to be more likely to receive between €40m (£33m) to €50m (£41.5m).

It also remains to be seen whether manager Jose Mourinho would accept a sale or push for the board to try and renew the 22-year-old’s contract.

Bye-bye Ndombele

Lilywhites manager Antonio Conte recently hinted of his intentions to sign a new no.10-like player during the off-season to help the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski, so it’s no surprise to see the north Londoners mooted with a move for Zaniolo.

You’d have to then wonder what the future holds for Tanguy Ndombele – Spurs’ disappointing £55m club-record signing – as he is currently on loan to former club Lyon.

During his time at Hotspur Way, the Frenchman has been lambasted as being “very lazy” and as having a “bad attitude” by pundit Alan Hutton, as well as “disgraceful” by Sky Sports man Jamie Carragher last season.

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Meanwhile, despite persistent injury troubles, the Italy international remains one of the hottest prospects in his age bracket with Transfermarkt valuing him at £29.7m, which was higher than Kulusevski, 21, at the time of his departure from Juventus this winter.

The versatile attacking midfielder, who can also play on the wing, has featured in 36 matches this term, where he has delivered seven goals and eight assists, including a recent hat-trick in their Europa Conference League quarter-final win over Bodo/Glimt.

In terms of attacking output, Zaniolo is only tracking 0.1 shots per game behind top goalscorer Tammy Abraham at the Stadio Olimpico, whilst he leads the squad for dribbles (2.2 successive attempts per outing), as per WhoScored.

His ability and form in the Italian capital once caught the eye of legendary Roma striker Francesco Totti, who lauded the young maestro as “explosive” before also suggesting that he “plays like a veteran,” via the BBC.

Some have even likened him to Premier League greats Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, suggesting that he’s a more box-to-box beast that can contribute in the opposition’s penalty box, too.

As such, any Zaniolo arrival could finally force Ndombele out of the exit door at long last – at least, Conte would then have a valid reason to cash in on Spurs’ club-record disaster.

Paratici and co must look to sign the Italian this off-season.

AND in other news, Spurs “keeping tabs” on PL star that would excite the Lilywhites faithful…

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has admitted that he is worried about his old side losing Jack Grealish this summer.

The 25-year-old attacking midfielder has had a bright campaign, scoring six goals and creating a further 10 in the Premier League, and is now attracting interest from other clubs.

In fact, according to Football Insider, Grealish is Manchester City’s top target for the next transfer window, with the player said to be open to the idea of joining Pep Guardiola’s side.

It has now left Hendrie fearing the worst, with the ex-Villa player sharing his concerns in an exclusive interview with FFC.

When asked whether the Villans are at risk of losing some of their star names this summer like Ollie Watkins, he said:

“There’s always that element of do you lose your big players [once they reach England international level]. To be honest with you, out of that Villa squad, I’m more worried about losing Jack Grealish. That’s the main one because I feel that he sets the bar really for that whole Villa squad.”

Manchester United are another club who are said to be admirers of Grealish, meaning there could be a real transfer tussle for the England international if Villa do decide to sell in the summer.

Nahitan Nandez would be ‘one of the signings of the summer’ if Leeds United manage to snap him up, according to journalist Conor Clancy.

The Lowdown: Leeds linked with Nandez move

The Whites have been linked with a number of players during the summer transfer window, but Nandez’s name has appeared in more stories than most.

The Cagliari midfielder has been tipped to come in and bolster Marcelo Bielsa’s options in the middle of the park, having won 41 caps for Uruguay.

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The Latest: Journalist excited by potential move

Speaking to Football FanCast, Serie A expert Clancy, editor at Forza Italian Football, spoke about Nandez’s quality and said he would be a fantastic signing for Leeds:

“If Leeds could get him, that would be one of the signings of the summer in the Premier League.

“But I do see it as increasingly unlikely that the deal will be done now.”

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The Verdict: Would be a huge coup

It doesn’t look likely that the Whites will get their man this summer, as Clancy alludes to – Inter Milan seem to be front-runners – but they should keep trying to sign the 25-year-old.

Nandez registered two goals and assists apiece in Serie A last season, but it is off the ball where he arguably stands out most, averaging 1.8 tackles and 1.5 clearances per game.

The Uruguayan could be a strong alternative to Kalvin Phillips, or someone who could partner him in midfield. The England international is such a crucial component for Bielsa but there are fears he may be relied upon too much, so we feel Leeds should pull out all the stops to sign Nandez.

In other news, one Leeds player may have appeared for the Whites for the last time. Find out who it is here.

Flocking to Twitter, many Tottenham Hotspur fans have erupted over the official announcement of third major summer signing Cristian Romero after long talks.

Spurs have been attempting to sign the Argentine from Atalanta over these last two weeks with the Serie A side having remained stubborn in negotiations for a period.

However, news broke recently of an agreement between the clubs as Tottenham now finalise his signing and make an announcement.

Romero has joined the Lilywhites as Nuno Espirito Santo’s third major summer signing after deals for both Pierluigi Gollini and Bryan Gil, but his arrival in particular finally puts an end to Spurs’ long, long search for a star centre-half.

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Tottenham have been trying to sign a colossal defensive presence since last summer, sending Steve Hitchen out to negotiate with Inter Milan for the attempted signing of Milan Skriniar in 2020 (Alasdair Gold).

Romero, though, is arguably worth the wait given his credentials – having won the Serie A MVP award for best defender over 2020/2021.

Here’s how Spurs fans went wild for the big announcement, flocking to reply to the club’s official Twitter account.

Spurs fans erupt over Romero signing

“YES YES YES”

Credit: @GCSportsBetting

“Buzzing with this, don’t know much about the lad till we linked few weeks back.. The way players and football reporters talk about him u can only be excited.. Voted best defender in Serie A, just off back of Copa America victory.. Hopefully he hits the ground running.” 

Credit: @Lee88Jay

“Absolutely beautiful”

Credit: @conkhailou12

“Let’s goooooooo”

Credit: @EWF423

“So happy with this signing! Think this could be a game changer”

Credit: @Rozzi_B

“Top signing, and what we’ve been crying out for. Hopefully more to come”

Credit: @JasonKeatley

“A proper CB, tears in my eyes”

Credit: @WilliamsDan61

“Paratici masterclass”

Credit: @PaaaarthD

In other news: Alasdair Gold shares ‘further good news’ for Spurs involving Paratici target, find out more here.

A number of Liverpool supporters have been reacting with glee to footage of Jordan Henderson continuing his injury recovery.

The Reds have had a disastrous season in the injury department, with the centre-back situation particularly dire. Jurgen Klopp has had to make do without Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip for many months, which has played a big part in their struggles during the campaign.

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Henderson has also been a noticeable absentee, with the captain not featuring since the 2-0 defeat at home to Everton back in February. The 30-year-old has been a huge loss, both in terms of quality and leadership, and he faces a race against time to be fit for Euro 2020 this summer.

However, footage has emerged of Henderson stepping up his recovery from his groin problem [via Watch LFC], working in the gym and returning to the training pitch.

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Liverpool fans love Henderson video

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to provide their thoughts on the video, with much positivity in the air at seeing the captain step up his recovery.

“Missed this earlier! So excited to see Hendo again!!!”

Credit: @lfccxt

“Ahhhhh yeahhhhh”

Credit: @LFCSai7

“Captain fantastic”

Credit: @satriafaisal

“My idol”

Credit: @Cellextine72

“Nice to see the Cap on the road to recovery”

Credit: @red_klopp

“My captain”

Credit: @OJITRIPUOJI

In other news, Liverpool have been linked with a move for a world-renowned player with endless trophies. Find out who it is here.

Pete Graves has dropped some interesting Newcastle United insight on who the takeover consortium wanted as their new manager.

The Lowdown: Takeover fail

Last summer, it was reported that the proposed deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group had failed.

If the bid had gone through, it is likely that the consortium would have wanted to appoint their own manager to take them forward, meaning that Steve Bruce would have had to leave.

There is still a chance that the takeover can be revived, providing a positive result for the St. James’ Park faithful in their upcoming arbitration case against the Premier League.

The Latest: Consortium insight

Replying to a Magpies fan who suggested that Mauricio Pochettino was coming to the North East to be their next boss, Sky Sports journalist Graves shared: ‘That’s who the consortium wanted.’

The Argentine has of course since become the coach at Paris Saint Germain, having left Tottenham Hotspur in November 2019.

The Verdict: What could have been

It certainly would have been a statement by the consortium to appoint Pochettino as their next manager if the original takeover deal went through.

Although his personal trophy cabinet is very bare, having never won a league title, the 49-year-old still has credentials, and has still achieved a lot in his managerial career so far, most notably guiding Spurs and PSG to a UEFA Champions League final and semi-final respectively (Transfermarkt).

Lauded as ‘unbelievable’ by Dele Alli back in February, and a ‘football genius’ by former Lilywhites goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes in October, he has no shortage of admirers when it comes to players he has managed.

Another former THFC player Andros Townsend even went as far as to claim that he is ‘the best manager in the world’ in April, and ‘Poch’ is certainly up there among the elite.

Nonetheless, he would have certainly been an upgrade on Bruce, and could have done special things at the Toon.

In other news, find out what ‘huge’ NUFC transfer claim has been dropped on one ‘brilliant’ Premier League target here!

Celtic enjoyed a 2-0 win at Motherwell in the Premiership on Saturday afternoon thanks to goals from Jota and David Turnbull.

However, not every player put in the kind of performance that they would have liked, and The Transfer Tavern have picked out the three worst Hoops players based purely on Sofascore statistics (players must feature for at least 45 minutes in order to be considered).

Joe Hart

Statistically, Hart was Celtic’s third worst player on the pitch.

This seems very harsh considering that he managed to keep a clean sheet in between the sticks. However, as a ‘keeper who likes to come out of his goal at times, emphasised by his one successful dribble and one ground duel won (Sofascore), he may have been disappointed to not play any key passes and only have 43 touches of the ball in total.

Sofascore decided to give him an overall rating of seven out of ten.

Liel Abada

Abada was the Celts’ second worst player with a 6.8 rating on Sofascore.

The Israel international lost out on two of his duels and also failed to record a single dribble, key pass or accurate cross, the latter from seven attempts (Sofascore).

Abada was also guilty of losing possession on 12 separate occasions throughout the match, and recorded just 40 touches of the ball in total, the second fewest out of any Bhoys player to have started the match (Sofascore).

Kyogo Furuhashi

Despite his heroics so far this season, Kyogo was statistically the worst player in Ange Postecoglou’s starting XI at Fir Park, with a 6.6 overall rating.

The 26-year-old lost three duels and failed to record a shot on target, dribble or key pass during his 82 minutes on the pitch (Sofascore).

He also had a mere 16 touches of the ball, nine fewer than substitute Nir Bitton, who only featured for 17 minutes (Sofascore). That highlights how isolated the Japan international was up top at times.

In other news, find out who could be back for Celtic in the ‘next couple of weeks’

While it would be rather harsh on Valerien Ismael to suggest that his West Bromwich Albion side have not started the season well, as the Baggies have picked up 25 points from their opening 12 games of the campaign, there have nevertheless been some rumblings of discontent at The Hawthorns this term.

One issue has been the club’s lack of an out and out number nine, an issue which it was apparent Ismael believed he had solved with the signing of Norwich City centre-forward Jordan Hugill on a season-long loan deal.

However, after eight games played for West Brom, the 29-year-old striker is yet to find the back of the net – something which has reignited the debate as to whether Albion need to splash the cash on a new forward in the January transfer window if they are to have any chance of securing a top-two spot this season.

Although, with Ismael having earned something of a reputation for developing younger players during his time at Barnsley, perhaps the Frenchman could already hold the answer to his side’s goalscoring woes in the shape of Rayhaan Tulloch.

Indeed, the 20-year-old has consistently proven that he is a player who knows how to hit the back of the net during his time in the Albion youth setup, having scored 23 goals over 38 appearances for the U18s and 16 goals in 53 appearances for the U23s.

The player who Jonathan Leko dubbed a “star boy” has also already broken into the West Brom first team, making six appearances for the senior side, although a series of injuries have seen the former England U18 international’s appearances limited so far this season.

However, considering the fact that Tulloch was included in Ismael’s matchday squad for the Baggies’ first three Championship fixtures of the season, as well as making a substitute appearance in the 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers back in August, it would indeed appear as if the 46-year-old manager is planning to call upon the youngster when he regains match fitness.

And, considering Hugill’s woes in front of goal so far this term, there would not appear to be much to lose for Ismael to place his trust in Tulloch over the coming months, as the 20-year-old certainly looks to possess the potential to make a real difference in the Baggies attack – something that could save the club millions of pounds in January transfer fees.

In other news: Ismael drops promising West Brom injury update after Blues scare, fans will be buzzing

If Ange Postecoglou didn’t already have selection issues heading into Celtic’s first competitive fixture next week, he certainly does now.

The Hoops drew 0-0 with their pre-season opposition on Wednesday evening but it was a clash marred with injuries.

On the chalkboard

Mikey Johnston earned a rare opportunity but had to be withdrawn early in the first half while Odsonne Edouard also sustained an injury against Charlton.

The Bhoys were already missing James Forrest due to his self-isolation period and he remains a doubt for their match with Midtjylland next week.

They could also be without Vasilis Barkas. The Greek stopper was injured in the warm-up and had to sit on the sidelines for the entire game.

He was pictured sitting next to the pitch with his fingers on his right hand severely strapped up.

The extent of his problem isn’t known but Celtic already have somewhat of a headache in his position.

Barkas missed a great deal of last season after he suddenly became number 2 to Scott Bain. His first campaign in Glasgow wasn’t an easy one as he was subject to a number of individual errors.

However, Bain and third choice ‘keeper Conor Hazard weren’t a pillar of solidity either, making their own mistakes.

Their £4.5m signing from last summer had been entrusted between the sticks against Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton but now faces a race to be fit for next week.

The solution

One of the areas Celtic needed to look at strengthening this summer was their goalkeeping department.

They’ve been linked with moves for Benjamin Siegrist and Mat Ryan but the latter has now departed Brighton for Real Sociedad instead.

Another target has been Freddie Woodman but there could be complications regarding a swoop for the Newcastle stopper.

Leeds are also interested in the 24-year-old but he was on the verge of joining Bournemouth on loan before the Magpies realised that Martin Dubravka had sustained an injury.

This may give Celtic an opportunity to weigh up a bid themselves and if they can conclude a deal, it would surely fix Postecoglou’s biggest headache.

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The new head coach would have a reliable man to replace Barkas next week and potentially aid their leaky backline throughout the entirety of 2021/22.

The £9m-rated Woodman has previously been described as “unbelievable” by Lee Clarke who coached him at Kilmarnock and it’s easy to see why; he’s a very safe pair of hands.

He didn’t miss a single game last season for Swansea, keeping 21 clean sheets during his 48 outings for the Championship side.

The Newcastle goalkeeper’s form in recent campaigns has also earned calls for him to be included in Gareth Southgate’s England set-up.

Clearly highly thought of, he’d be a wise signing for Postecoglou and co.

AND in other news, Celtic expected to launch bid for 23 y/o who “terrifies defenders”, he’s a big upgrade…