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Newcastle United are reportedly dreaming of hiring Jose Mourinho as their next manager.

The Lowdown: Manager merry-go-round

Even though Steve Bruce is now set to take charge of his 1000th game as a manager at St. James’ Park on Sunday afternoon when his team play Tottenham Hotspur, it is expected that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium will bring in a new face to replace him before too long.

Lucien Favre, Frank Lampard and Ralf Rangnick have all been named as potential candidates in recent days, and it will no doubt be interesting to see who they pick.

The Latest: Mourinho a ‘dream’

As per La Repubblica, Mourinho is a ‘dream’ for the North East club, as they are looking for a ‘technician able to start the technical revolution’.

However, they also report that the former Tottenham Hotspur manager is not expected to leave his role at Roma.

The Verdict: Worth a shot

Even though Mourinho may have left Spurs with a dimmer on his reputation, his spells at the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Inter Milan show that he is more than capable of handling big players and mass riches.

With a staggering 37 trophies to his name, including winning the ‘World’s Best Club Coach’ four times (Transfermarkt), the Portuguese boss could attract top players to Tyneside, and Ledley King, who of course worked closely with him at the Lilywhites, believes that he is still ‘one of the best managers around’.

It may take a lot to persuade him to leave the Serie A and return to the Premier League once more, but Mourinho would be a great face to have to advertise the new project.

In other news, find out which ‘phenomenal’ manager is also being considered here!

According to Football Insider sources, Tottenham Hotspur have set their sights on Peterborough United prodigy Ronnie Edwards.

The Lowdown: Highly-rated defender

Edwards, just 18, has already made seven senior appearances for Peterborough United, starting two games in last season’s League One promotion season.

The teenager joined Posh from National League side Barnet in August 2020 and is highly-rated within the club.

Edwards has made two appearances this season – one in the cup and one in the league – while Spurs have previously shown their trust in young talent from the Football League with the likes of Dele Alli and Joe Rodon.

The Latest: Spurs keen to sign him

In the report by Football Insider, transfer sources reveal Fabio Paratici and Tottenham have set their sights on signing the young defender, with a number of top clubs across the country tracking him after he burst on the scene last season.

Spurs sent scouts to watch Edwards play for Peterborough under-23s against Watford last week, with the view to a potential transfer to bring the Englishman to the Premier League.

Edwards’ involvment with the first team this season would see his price tag drastically increase and Spurs will be monitoring him as the season goes on.

The Verdict: Another Rodon

The 18-year-old prodigy is yet to cement himself in Darren Ferguson’s side above the experienced Frankie Kent and Mark Beevers. And with Spurs’ nature of recruiting players for the first team of the future, it would be hard for Edwards to say no.

Rodin meanwhile has appeared for Spurs 15 times so far and is showing great promise, hailed as a ‘special player’ and ‘flawless’ by Wales Online journalist Ian Mitchelmore.

The arrival of Edwards will be a bonus for the under-23s side and a statement of thinking ahead for the future of the club.

With Japhet Tanganga and Rodon already options at the back, it could be a very youthful Spurs defence in the years to come with the arrival of Edwards.

In other Tottenham news, an offer has been tabled for ‘extraordinary’ midfielder. Find out more here.

Crystal Palace right-back Joel Ward is unbeaten in nine appearances against Brighton, as stated by the Eagles’ official Twitter channel on Wednesday.

Unsurprisingly, a number of Palace supporters have taken to social media to praise the defender following the tweet.

The 31-year-old made his 280th Palace appearance in the 1-1 draw with Brighton on Monday evening, keeping up his record of featuring in every minute of Premier League action under Patrick Vieira. Unfortunately, Ward and his defensive partners couldn’t hold on to the lead heading into injury time, with Neal Maupay equalising for the visitors with seconds remaining.

However, the draw means that Ward is still yet to lose to the Seagulls in nine meetings as a Palace player, the club confirmed.

Palace fans react

@CPFCtransfersHQ shared a post on Ward, with Palace posting a similar tweet on their official account a few hours later.

Here is what these Eagles fans had to say in reply, with many praising Ward. One labelled it a ‘great stat’ and another called the defender ‘immense’.

“Build him a statue with his testimonial.”

Credit: @alex_westry

“Record is fantastic. 4-5-0. 17 points from 27.”

Credit: @jonnyjkyle

“Great stat and Wardy continues to perform consistently well for us.”

Credit: @NSymonds2012

“unsung hero imho. immense Monday night. how he controlled the ball in 2nd half by the main stand effectively sitting on it was pure skill or luck. but the tenacity”

Credit: @collisonmre

“Best value player for Palace ever. Period.”

Credit: @SidViscous9

“Very underrated player ~ all the mugs that call for Clyne instead of him are just dumb”

Credit: @garyspencerr

In other news: ‘Wanted this to happen for so long’ – Many CPFC fans buzzing as news emerges on £25k-p/w ace. 

Former Newcastle United defender Steve Howey believes that Freddie Woodman is a very good goalkeeper.

Woodman spent last season out on loan at Swansea City, where he kept 22 clean sheets in 52 games in all competitions. It was Woodman’s second loan spell with the Swans, as he spent the previous season also on loan at the Liberty Stadium, where he played 43 games and kept 12 clean sheets.

The 24-year-old was tipped to go out on loan again this season, with AFC Bournemouth touted as the destination for Woodman, but after injury to Martin Dubravka, which saw the shot-stopper require surgery, Woodman has remained at St James’ Park this summer.

Woodman featured in the Magpies’ first Premier League match of the season against West Ham United last weekend, saving a penalty, and Howey was full of praise for the shot-stopper

“I think he’s done his kind of work away from the club, I haven’t seen much of him at Newcastle, but apparently at Swansea last season he was excellent. Everybody has been touting him for years, he will be a very good goalkeeper and I think he is a very good goalkeeper,” Howey exclusively told Football FanCast.

When all are fit, Newcastle United have four good goalkeepers amongst their ranks with Dubravka, Darlow, Gillespie and Woodman, so there is going to be healthy competition for the number one jersey at St James’ Park this season.

An update has emerged on Leicester midfielder Hamza Choudhury, regarding Newcastle’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to Telegraph reporter Luke Edwards, Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury is closing in on a loan move to Newcastle on deadline day.

It was reported by John Percy on Monday that the holding midfielder is expected to depart from the King Power on a temporary deal, with Newcastle now poised to sign him.

Delight

Leicester fans will be delighted by this news as it means that Choudhury will finally be sealing his exit from the club. The Englishman wanted to leave in the winter window during the 2020/21 campaign, before ultimately staying and fulfilling his role as a squad option for Brendan Rodgers.

Earlier this year, Rodgers admitted that the player wanted to leave the club in January. He claimed that Leicester were prepared to let him leave if they signed a replacement, although that failed to materialise and he remained in the Midlands. Rodgers said:

“I said earlier in the window that he wasn’t a player that we wanted to lose. He’s a very important player for our squad, but of course, all players want to play.

“We were going to grant him that possibility if we could get someone in.

“I said to him on the Monday after training and framed it for him: ‘You may not get out, and if you don’t, you’re playing on Wednesday night, and that shows you how important you are to us, you’re going to play in our next Premier League game.”

This shows that Choudhury has had an exit on his mind for a while and the fans will not want to see a player in the squad who does not want to be there.

It is in the best interests of everyone involved to get him out of the door, albeit only on a loan deal at this point, as there is no point in keeping an unsettled player at the club as it could lead to issues in the dressing room.

Last season, the 23-year-old only played 10 games in the Premier League and averaged a dismal WhoScored rating of 6.19. The previous campaign was only slightly better for Choudhury, as he averaged a score of 6.35 in 20 league matches for the Foxes. This shows that he has not been able to perform to a high enough standard when given the chance, which is another reason why Leicester fans will be delighted that he is being shipped out on loan.

If he fails to catch the eye on loan at Newcastle then there could be a decision to make for Leicester next summer in terms of his long-term future at the club. A permanent exit could be the ideal move for all parties if he does not have a realistic chance of breaking into Rodgers’ XI.

—

UPDATE: As per Luke Edwards, this deal for Choudhury may not be signing. He tweeted at 11:11am: “Someone now appears to be briefing that Choudhury is not signing and business is done in this window. That would mean Bruce has been denied a loan he thought he could have. Whatever you think of him, this is scandalous. Leicester thought this was happening. So did player #nufc”

And in other news, Leicester agree a Deadline Day deal for star forward… 

West Ham United are keen on signing Luka Jovic this month…

What’s the word?

According to Eurosport, the Irons are considering turning their attention to the Real Madrid striker, who is said to be a long-term target.

It’s claimed that Jovic is not in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans for the new season, so the La Liga giants are prepared to let him leave before the transfer deadline on August 31st.

David Moyes and co have struggled to find a new forward and are desperate to find competition for the injury-prone Michail Antonio.

However, the Hammers face competition for the 23-year-old from at least three Bundesliga sides. It remains to be seen just how much Jovic will command, with both Transfermarkt and CIES Football Observatory valuing him at £18m.

 A statement signing

Whilst the 6-foot Serbian has struggled to make much of an impact at the Bernabeu since a €60m (£50m) move in the summer of 2019, even returning to his former club Frankfurt for a loan spell last season, he would still be quite the coup for the East Londoners.

During the 2018/19 season, Jovic bagged a whopping 27 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions, via Transfermarkt, also striking up quite the partnership with Sebastien Haller, whose own exploits saw him make the switch to the London Stadium.

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His form, particularly that year, earned glowing acclaim from teammate Filip Kostic, who described the talisman as “just unbelievable” to Bundesliga.com.

Furthermore, Jovic has been likened to Radamel Falcao, largely due to his ability to use either foot, as well as his head, to find the net. It’s perhaps why another former teammate, Kevin-Prince Boateng dubbed him a complete striker.

“He has everything to become [a world-class striker]. You see that in training. He has football in his genes, he’s a street footballer, and he has a nose for goal,” Boateng said. “He scores with his head, right or left foot. He is technically good and can shoot well with both feet. He just has everything a striker needs.”

Also lauded as “fast, robust and technically savvy” by Haller, it’s easy to see why Madrid splashed the cash on the 14-cap Serbia international and you could forgive him for not living up to the expectations and pressure that comes with playing for Los Galacticos.

Hammers boss Moyes should absolutely consider a move for Jovic before the end of the month. Given his impressive goalscoring record and experience across Europe, he could be exactly the sort of signing that takes the club.

The self-proclaimed “fox in the box” is well worth a late punt to solve the Scot’s striker nightmare.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Antonio: West Ham must seal move for “special” £31.5m-rated goal machine…

Writing on Twitter, SIC Noticias reporter Pedro Sepulveda has dropped a Tottenham Hotspur transfer claim involving Villarreal star Pau Torres.

The Lowdown: Spurs eyeing Torres move…

As per reliable sources like Veronica Brunati and The Times, Spurs are indeed eyeing a move for the Spain international as they seek to add at least two new centre-backs to Nuno Espirito Santo’s ranks.

They have already secured a deal for 2020/2021 Serie A MVP award-winner Cristian Romero but are yet to find his complimentary centre-half partner or back up option.

Now, Sepulveda has brought an update on Tottenham’s pursuit of Torres.

The Latest: Sepulveda drops Torres claim…

Writing on Twitter, the reporter has shared some Spurs news involving the 24-year-old and Fabio Paratici’s advances.

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He believes that Villarreal ‘accepted an offer’ from Tottenham amounting to around €45 million (£38.2m) plus an extra €5 million (£4.2m) in add-ons, but Torres himself has swiftly rejected the move.

“Pau Torres refused to go to Spurs,” he explained on social media.

“Villarreal accepted an offer of 45 million euros + 5 million in goals but the defender refused to join the English club.

“Pau Torres says he wants to play in the Champions League.”

The Verdict: Blow for Spurs?

While a move for the 6 foot 3 powerhouse was always an uphill battle, we believe losing out on Torres is a blow for Nuno.

Former Arsenal boss Unai Emery, now manager of Villarreal, is certainly a huge fan – with the 49-year-old head coach branding Torres ‘amazing’ in an interview with football.london.

The centre-back was also a mainstay and one of the stars of Spain’s run to the semi-finals of Euro 2020.

Still in his early 20s, Torres also would’ve came with the potential for a big sell-on value in years to come.

In other news: Agreement reached: Tottenham confirm another N17 exit in social media announcement, find out more here.

Frank McAvennie has slammed Glasgow Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos as he has only just returned to Scotland ahead of the new campaign.

The Lowdown: Morelos taking a break

Morelos spent the summer competing at the Copa America with Colombia, with his country reaching the semi-finals before finally finishing in third place.

Following the end of the tournament, Morelos returned to his homeland Cerete for a break. He arrived back in Glasgow over the last couple of days, and Steven Gerrard said he is due back “at some point” without giving a specific time frame.

The Latest: McAvennie slams Morelos

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie has hit out at Morelos. He said:

“I don’t know what’s happening with Morelos.

“He’s a law unto himself that boy. He’s not come back yet, has he?

“Stevie Gerrard doesn’t know when he’s coming back yet, does he?

“That is an utter embarrassment to Rangers. It’s a terrible situation and terrible from a player.

“I think he may find Gerrard will just lose interest in him. I have no idea how that will play out.

“It must be affecting the whole club. Can they cash in on him just to get rid of him.

“If some of the prices I’m seeing in the papers are right, he’ll be gone.

“You can’t be doing that, it’s an embarrassment to Rangers. He’s not bigger than the club.”

The Verdict: Harsh

Over his time at Rangers, Morelos has certainly not helped himself at times, even with a goalscoring record of 92 goals in 184 games for the club (Transfermarkt).

He has received seven red cards during his spell at the 55-time Scottish champions, and has therefore come in for plenty of criticism. However, in this case, it seems McAvennie is being overly harsh.

Morelos had played a long (and impressive) season in Glasgow and then went straight to compete with his country. While he may not have been a regular starter for Colombia, he was still in a high-pressure, competitive environment, and could not rest.

Gerrard looked frustrated at the constant questions surrounding the 25-year-old’s future rather than when he arrived back in Glasgow. In this case, Morelos deserves a bit more slack.

In other news, Rangers fans were livid with this man’s article criticising the club.

Jon Newsome has urged Daniel Farke to stick to his Norwich City philosophy and strengthen his options ahead of the Premier League season getting underway.

The Canaries sealed an immediate return to the top flight after getting their hands on the Championship title last term.

However, Norwich suffered a heavy blow after talisman Emiliano Buendia was sold to Aston Villa for a club-record fee just a matter of weeks after the jubilant scenes at Carrow Road.

Farke – who moved into the Canaries’ hotseat four years ago – has responded by welcoming 14 signings to the club, including Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour on a season-long loan and Milot Rashica in a £9million move from German outfit Werder Bremen.

Norwich suffered relegation to the Championship after conceding 75 goals during their last season in the Premier League, but ex-Canaries defender Newsome has called for the newly-promoted side to trust their instincts.

He also hopes Farke will add more strength in depth before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month.

Newsome exclusively told Football FanCast: “I think the biggest thing about the Premier League is you need to have some strength in depth.

“If you’ve got a fantastic first 11 but your reserve team players aren’t quite at that level, you still get found out in the Premier League. It’s a massive step up so I can see the club investing. I don’t think they will go crazy and splash the cash because that’s not the Norwich way.

“We need to strengthen in certain areas and I would like to see Norwich still play with the same philosophy of attacking football.”

An update has emerged on Aston Villa’s pursuit of Metz midfielder Pape Sarr… 

What’s the talk?

According to the Birmingham Mail, Villa have decided to back out of the race to sign Metz midfielder Pape Sarr this summer.

The report claims that Villa’s interest in the 18-year-old midfielder has been cooled and that they are currently focussed on signing a number 10 as they also look set to miss out on a deal for Arsenal talent Emile Smith-Rowe.

Fans will be gutted

Director of Football Johan Lange is facing a disaster with this decision and Villa fans will be gutted as Sarr could have been a much-needed arival for the club.

At this moment in time, no alternative targets have been named and supporters will have every right to be frustrated that a promising young talent will not be arriving at the club.

Dean Smith lacks strength-in-depth in the central midfield positions and the signing of Sarr could have helped to alleviate that issue. Marvelous Nakamba is the current backup defensive midfield option for the former Brentford coach and he struggled throughout the 2020/21 campaign. The 27-year-old averaged a dismal WhoScored rating of 6.52 in the Premier League as he made 13 appearances.

This suggests that Villa are in need of an upgrade on the Zimbabwe international. Sarr could have been that upgrade given his performances for Metz in Ligue 1. The teenager averaged an impressive WhoScored rating of 6.92 in 18 starts as a central midfielder, whilst making 3.2 tackles and interceptions per game.

Metz manager Frédéric Antonetti heaped praise on the young midfielder earlier this year, claiming that he “will go far” in the game.

He said:

“Pape Matar Sarr is elegance in the midfield, it’s talent, it’s making others play.

“He will be able to go as far as he wants to go. He must work, be as he is there, modest, regular, hardworking. He must continue to love football and he will do like the great players, he will go far. I think he will go very far.”

This shows why the £9m-rated gem could have been a very good signing for Villa, as he has the quality to fill a gap in Smith’s squad.

At the age of 18, he also has the majority of his career ahead of him to develop as a player and improve to potentially become a key cog in Villa’s XI.

Smith could have worked with him closely on the training pitch to nurture his game, but that now appears to be a distant memory with Lange now looking elsewhere. Villa fans will surely be gutted at this update.

AND in other news, NSWE must avoid grave £30m mistake with “Mr Conservative”, Villa fans would be fuming…