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With the January transfer window now open for business, this will give Rangers and their manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst the chance to make any changes to their squad that they feel will be beneficial and give them the best chance to secure the Premiership title once again this season.

One potential deal with which the club have been linked this month is a loan move for Leeds United winger Crysencio Summerville.

With nine goals and eight assists in 24 appearances for Leeds’ under-23 side, the 20-year-old certainly has some attacking talent in him. He could be given the chance to flourish at Rangers considering that he has only made five appearances in the Premier League for Marcelo Bielsa’s team so far this season, all coming off the substitutes’ bench.

Taking into account Summerville’s clear attacking abilities on the pitch in terms of scoring and creating goals, his potential move to Ibrox this month could give Van Bronckhorst the chance to create a deadly attacking duo of him and Alfredo Morelos, who has 13 goals and four assists in 29 appearances this season across all competitions.

If Rangers were able to secure the signature of Summerville this month and get him delivering similar returns to those in Leeds’ under-23 side alongside Morelos, this could be just what Van Bronckhorst could need to lead the Light Blues to a second consecutive league title.

Labelled a “bag of tricks” by his former manager Chris Powell, Summerville could be an exciting prospect for Rangers fans to see at Ibrox for the remainder of the season.

However, with recent reports suggesting that English Championship club Blackburn Rovers are also interested in signing the Dutchman on a loan deal this month, this could scupper Rangers’ hopes of signing him, especially if Leeds feel he could be better off staying in England rather than experiencing Scottish top-flight football.

With that in mind, Rangers will need to act quickly to convince Summerville and Leeds that he will be better off at Ibrox and get the opportunity to play regularly, which is presumably what all parties would want if the winger were to leave Elland Road on a loan deal in the coming weeks.

In other news: Van Bronckhorst could save Rangers millions with “magnificent” 21 y/o, he’s a “manager’s dream”

With Antonio Conte’s career as Tottenham Hotspur manager having got off to an impressive start – picking up seven points from a possible nine in his first three Premier League fixtures – the 52-year-old will undoubtedly be hoping for yet another three points when Norwich City visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

However, while it has undoubtedly been less of a problem since the Italian’s arrival in North London, Spurs’ inability to put the ball in the back of the net has been a rather worrying issue for the club so far this season – with their 13 league goals scored ranking them as the joint third-worst attack in the league.

And, while it is has been well documented that Tottenham are in the market for a new centre-forward in the January transfer window, perhaps Conte already possesses a player whose introduction to the side could change Spurs’ fortunes in front of goal – in the shape of Tanguy Ndombele.

Conte must unleash Ndombele

While a performance against the lowest-ranked side in the UEFA Europa Conference League may not be the best barometer of a player’s creative and attacking capacity, particularly as it was a fixture that Tottenham ultimately lost, there was nevertheless clear evidence in the 2-1 defeat to NS Mura that the 24-year-old could well be the missing link between Spurs’ midfield and attack.

Indeed, over his 76 minutes on the pitch, Ndombele enjoyed 81 touches of the ball, made one key pass and completed five of his seven attempted dribbles, very much appearing to be the player who was most likely to make something happen for his side on the night.

The £40.5m-rated man also made one tackle, two interceptions, blocked one shot and won six of his nine attempted duels, proving that he is also not afraid to do the dirty work in the middle of the park.

His efforts saw the player who Jose Mourinho dubbed both “magnificent” and “phenomenal” earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.0, ranking him Tottenham’s second-best player to start the fixture.

As such, with bottom of the table Norwich City up next, now would very much appear to be the time to unleash the France international in the middle of the park, as the 24-year-old could well prove to help light the spark that is needed in front of goal for Spurs.

In other news: Huge blow: Spurs dealt injury setback ahead of Norwich clash, Conte will be gutted

Newcastle United are reportedly now targeting a move for Moussa Dembele in the January transfer window alongside both Kieran Trippier and Sven Botman.

The Lowdown: Goalscorer

Wherever he has been, Dembele has always been a goalscorer, as he has found the back of the net on no fewer than 119 occasions in total for various clubs over the course of his senior career so far, and has even notched up 23 strikes at youth level with France (Transfermarkt).

He first started to catch the eye at Celtic, which then got him his big £19.8m move to Lyon. At the Hoops, Dembele scored 51 times and made a further 18 assists in 94 games over all competitions across three consecutive seasons at Parkhead (Transfermarkt), and even received high praise from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who once dubbed him ‘exceptional’.

Nonetheless, after a largely unsuccessful loan spell at Atletico Madrid last term, in where he winning the La Liga title, the striker could well be on the move again.

The Latest: Targeted

As per The Daily Mail, the St. James’ Park faithful are now targeting a move for Dembele in the January transfer window, alongside pursuing Trippier and Botman.

However, due to their involvement in a relegation battle in the Premier League, they may only be able to strike a loan deal, with an option to buy at the end of the campaign once they learn their fate.

Lucas Digne is another player who has been discussed, but the Everton left-back is reportedly holding out for other teams to show interest.

The Verdict: Perfect on loan

A loan deal for Dembele would be perfect, as if they do get relegated, the North East club could just then send him back to Lyon.

Nonetheless, he would offer a viable alternative to Callum Wilson, who needs help up front as their top scorer this season with six goals.

The 25-year-old could also link up well with another former France youth international in Allan Saint-Maximin, and given that he has the experience of playing in English football already with Fulham, he should be able to hit the ground running straight away.

In other news, find out which new Director of Football candidate has emerged here!

Sunderland were held to a 1-1 draw in a frustrating clash away at Shrewsbury Town in League One on Tuesday night.

The Black Cats sit sixth in the table and five points off league-leaders Rotherham, albeit they have one game in hand on the Millers.

Lee Johnson’s side went into half-time against Shrewsbury with a 1-0 lead and the hosts down to 10 men, following Luke O’Nien’s opener and David Davis’ dismissal. However, a second-half equaliser from Daniel Udoh ensured that the points were shared.

Forget Pritchard

Alex Pritchard caught the eye in the number 10 role as he provided the assist for O’Nien’s opener. It was his second assist in 14 league matches this season and he created three chances in total throughout the match. However, another player stole the show for Sunderland in the midfield – Dan Neil.

The 19-year-old from South Shields put in a sublime performance in the middle of the park and ran the game for the Black Cats. Whilst Pritchard managed an assist and showed off his creativity in the hole behind the striker, Neil managed to outshine him with his display.

On the ball, he was excellent. Per SofaScore, the wiz had a whopping 91 touches of the ball and completed 96% of his passes as he created four chances for his teammates – one more than Pritchard. He also completed an impressive 11 of his 13 attempted long passes, showing off his passing range along with his ability to set up his teammates.

His control of the match was highlighted in his possession statistics. He completed a high percentage of his attempted passes and enjoyed a huge number of touches, with his chance creation and long pass attempts also showing that he was not playing simple, easy, passes to boost his numbers.

Defensively, he was also solid. Per SofaScore, he won six of his 11 individual duels and made three tackles during the game, whilst only being dribbled past once. He also made one clearance and committed one foul in the 90 minutes, proving that he can perform well at both ends of the pitch – defending his own goal and driving forward to make an impact in the final third.

Therefore, his complete performance ensured that he ran the game for Johnson and is why he was the real star of the show over Pritchard. Hopefully, the youngster will continue to produce displays of this standard throughout the rest of the season and will be able to lift the club further up the table.

AND in other news, Sunderland must unleash “dynamic” 21 y/o beast in 2022, he could save Kld thousands… 

Steven Gerrard will be looking forward to and feeling confident ahead of Aston Villa’s fixture against Crystal Palace this weekend, thanks to a fantastic win in his debut game as the new manager against Brighton.

The side stole the show in the final ten minutes of the game with both Ollie Watkins and Tyrone Mings finding the back of the net in the last moments of the game to secure a 2-0 victory and the Villans first three points in five games.

Crystal Palace away will be no easy challenge for Gerrard’s side as he’s set to come up against former playing rival, Patrick Vieira.

The pair were competing in the league they now manage in, almost two decades ago as players for their respective clubs, Liverpool and Arsenal, so it will be an interesting battle of two Premier League legends turned football managers, which we imagine will be a competitive spectacle in the Selhurst Park dugout.

Gerrard will be buzzing with a fantastic injury boost as Douglas Luiz is back in training and available for the clash with the Eagles this weekend.

The popular Brazilian took to Twitter on Tuesday to confirm that he was back to full fitness.

He posted a picture of himself training and wrote; “It’s so good to be back.”

The midfielder was sidelined with a hamstring injury, which meant he missed the last three games for Villa, and unable to make his mark upon Gerrard’s arrival a fortnight ago.

That said, it represents a wonderful early boost for the Liverpudlian as Luiz had started every game this season bar one before the injury blow, demonstrating his importance to the team. As a result, he will be expected to make an appearance in the starting lineup on Saturday, should the manager feel that he is ready to play.

So far this term, he ranks as Villa’s highest-graded player in the whole team according to WhoScored, so his return will be huge.

Another player that has made his return from injury this week is Egyptian winger, Trezeguet, who was also spotted in training sessions in the run-up to the 3pm kick-off on Saturday.

Aston Villa will be hoping to take all three points from the game against Crystal Palace to move even further away from the relegation battle that they could easily get caught up in if they don’t pick up a good number of points before the new year.

In other news: Luke Hatfield drops Aston Villa January transfer claim

Leeds United pair Patrick Bamford and Luke Ayling have been ruled out of the Premier League clash with Wolves, Phil Hay has confirmed.

The Lowdown: Leeds host Wolves

Marcelo Bielsa’s side are back in action on Saturday afternoon, welcoming Bruno Lage’s Wolves side to Elland Road.

Leeds will be hoping to bounce back from their disappointing 1-0 defeat at Southampton last weekend, looking to get their season back on track.

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The Latest: Pair of injuries confirmed

The Whites will once again have to make do without two key figures, however, with Hay confirming in a short and sweet update on Twitter that Bamford and Ayling are absent for the next two matches, following Bielsa’s press conference on Thursday:

“Both out, for the next two games.”

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The Verdict: Massive game for Whites

Bamford and Ayling were two of Leeds’ standout performers last season, not only shining in their performances but also starting 75 out of a possible 76 league games between them.

For that reason, there is no doubt that their respective absences are a big blow and the Whites need them back again as soon as possible.

Saturday’s game is vital for Bielsa’s men, with a draw or a defeat further raising question marks about their start to the season.

In other news, one manager has been tipped to be a potential Bielsa replacement at Leeds. Read more here.

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that Nuno Espirito Santo has been sacked as the club’s manager.

The Lowdown: Spurs struggling

Despite winning their first three Premier League games (Sky Sports), Spurs have had an overall miserable campaign to date.

As it stands, they are eighth in the top-flight table and have won just two of their last seven league matches. Calls have been made for the manager to be relieved of his duties, and Daniel Levy has now made a decision.

The Latest: Nuno gets Spurs sack

As such, Nuno has this morning been sacked as Tottenham manager, with the Daily Mail’s Sami Mokbel breaking the news shortly before it was confirmed by the club.

His job was not deemed to be under threat before Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Manchester United, but the nature of that performance appears to have left Levy and Fabio Paratici with no choice but to part ways with the 47-year-old.

The Verdict: Next decision must be right

Nuno was far from Spurs’ first choice to become the club’s new manager in the summer. The likes of Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso were all higher up the list but, for one reason or another, none of them made the move to north London.

After four months in charge, the Portuguese has been let go, leaving Tottenham in a poor position in the table. It is vital that Levy and co get the right man through the door to replace him after jettisoning a second manager in less than seven months, otherwise this could be an unstable season of struggle for Spurs, who already face an uphill battle to return to the Champions League.

In other news, Tottenham want to sign this up-and-coming defender

Everton are reportedly eyeing up a move for Stoke City defender Harry Souttar as new manager Rafael Benitez looks to freshen up his backline.

What’s the story?

According to reports, assistant manager Duncan Ferguson has scouted the highly-rated 22-year-old ahead of a potential move.

The report states that Souttar has been identified as a potential replacement for Yerry Mina after the Colombian centre-back expressed his desire to leave Goodison Park next summer.

It’s believed that Mina has his heart set on a move to Serie A with both Inter and Fiorentina keen to secure his services, while Souttar is continuing to impress in the Championship.

Benitez would love him

After departing boyhood club Dundee United to join Stoke back in September 2016, the youngster has enjoyed multiple loan spells away from the Bet365 Stadium.

A 12-month stay at Fleetwood Town during 2019/20 proved to be the turning point in Souttar’s career to date, though, and his eye-catching performances at Highbury Stadium were enough to secure a place in Michael O’Neill’s first-team plans.

“We drip-fed him in using the cup games to begin with and he found his way into the starting XI,” said O’Neill. “I said to him that he just has to keep up the levels he’s been doing. Sometimes young players drop off a little bit. He can’t allow that to happen.

“He’s a player blessed with great natural attributes. Obviously his height, but also, he’s got good game intelligence, and he’s a great user of the ball as well. That’s something which I think will set him apart from the other defenders in this league,” he concluded.

Souttar made 38 league starts for the Potters last term as he found his feet at the heart of defence and has continued his good form into the current campaign, making ten Championship outings as Stoke sit fourth in the second-tier table.

As a result, Everton’s director of football, Marcel Brands, must sanction a move for the Australian starlet if Mina departs for Italian football.

Benitez would surely relish the opportunity to work with such a talented young player, providing the Merseyside outfit with a solid defensive foundation for many years to come. After all, the Spanish coach has already been keen to blood young players in his team this season.

Jarrad Branthwaite, Anthony Gordon and Lewis Dobbin have all become more regular parts of the furniture this season. Souttar must join that talented crop coming through at Goodison Park.

And, in other news…Everton may find their new Rodriguez by signing £22.5m-rated gem, he’s a “big player” 

Southampton currently have a significant number of players in their squad that have worked their way through the youth system at the club such as Theo Walcott and James Ward-Prowse, who have a total of 648 Premier League appearances between them.

One other player currently in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad that has made his way through Southampton’s youth academy is centre-back Jack Stephens, who currently has 114 league appearances under his belt.

Looking at him, in particular, the 27-year-old defender made his senior debut for the Saints back in January 2012 in an FA Cup victory over Coventry City before making his Premier League bow for the club in their 3-0 defeat against Everton in January 2017 under former Southampton manager Claude Puel.

Overall, Stephens has made 139 appearances for Southampton across all competitions, chipping in with six goals and five assists along the way after working his way through the club’s youth system after signing from Plymouth Argyle in a deal worth a reported fee of £150k back in 2011.

So far this season, Stephens had played 90 minutes in all of Southampton’s Premier League games before picking up a serious knee injury during their 0-0 draw against Manchester City, ultimately ruling him out for 12 weeks according to Hasenhuttl, which is not only very unfortunate for the player, but for the team as a whole given how prominent he was for them beforehand.

In terms of his market value, in February 2017, shortly after making his Premier League debut for the Saints, Transfermarkt had his value listed as £675k, whereas it now stands at £7.2m, highlighting a significant rise over recent years.

This also shows just how much of a good purchase he was all those years ago for such a low price and how much the club have developed Stephens, who has previously been described as “excellent” by former Saints captain Steven Davis, to become a regular first-team figure for them.

Looking ahead to the future, if Stephens can fully recover from this unfortunate knee injury and get back to playing regularly for the Saints, we see no reason why his market value can’t go on and rise even further than it has done recently.

In other news: Southampton may be set for big blow after Saints news emerges, Ralph surely gutted – opinion

Not too many issues have emerged since Rafa Benitez took charge of Everton but if we really want to criticise an aspect of their play, you don’t need to look too much further than their defence.

They have kept just one clean sheet in the league so far and even conceded to Championship opposition in dismal fashion during a Carabao Cup game.

On the chalkboard

With plenty of defensive injuries, you can hardly blame a few indifferent performances at the back.

Yet, a pairing of Mason Holgate and Michael Keane was never going to go down too well.

The former made a horrendous mistake against Aston Villa towards the back end of last season when he was caught in possession after turning back towards his own goal which allowed Ollie Watkins to find the net.

A similar error occurred with Keane this term as well. Too slow to turn just beyond the halfway line, Patrick Bamford stole in and then supplied Mateusz Klich’s strike in the clash with Leeds.

They didn’t concede against Brighton but with an encounter against Burnley to come on Monday evening, they need some stronger players physically.

This is where Yerry Mina comes in. The Colombian missed the game with the Seagulls a fortnight ago and hasn’t been a pillar of solidity himself this term.

He endured a pitiful clash with Bamford in that draw with Leeds where he was ultimately described as an “embarrassment” by Jeff Stelling and “pathetic” by Michael Dawson on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday.

Yet, his profile will be extremely important against a team that play in the way Burnley do. Standing at 6 foot 5, the centre-back is a colossal presence and can consequently use that to his advantage.

Last term, the £135k-per-week earner won 2.8 aerial duels per game which was the second-highest value of any central defender at Goodison Park.

So far this season, no other team has played more balls above shoulder height in the Premier League per 90 minutes than Burnley. Despite playing one fewer game than everybody else barring their Monday opponents, the Clarets have registered 118 high balls per 90.

They have also won more aerial duels per 90 (26.7) than every other team in the Premier League. For context, Everton have only been victorious in 15.7 over the same metric.

With that in mind, Mina simply has to start on Monday night. Using the height he possesses, he could be the difference in preventing Burnley’s long-ball game.

AND in other news, Forget Keane: Everton must unleash “powerful” £68k-p/w beast, he’s Rafa’s game-changer…