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Steve Parish can deliver Crystal Palace their next Patrick van Aanholt in Marseille defender Jordan Amavi.

What’s the word?

According to L’Equipe, Marseille are worried about Amavi’s future at the Orange Velodrome as he is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

The 26-year-old uncapped former France international has been linked with a possible move to Selhurst Park as the Eagles are tracking a number of potential replacements for Patrick van Aanholt, with his contract set to run out in the summer.

Palace prioritised several other positions in the off-season as Parish sought to bolster Roy Hodgson’s arsenal of attacking options in the summer after Alexander Sorloth left the club for RB Leipzig.

With the winter transfer window fast approaching, Marseille coach Andre Villas-Boas is believed to be concerned that the club are running out of time to sell one of their valuable assets before his contract expires, which is something that Parish could look to exploit.

Perfect PVA replacement

If Parish can get a deal over the line in January, Hodgson could see the Eagles land their next Van Aanholt, with the former Aston Villa starlet once described as a “terrific” talent after he signed a five-year deal at Villa Park.

Amavi spent two years at Aston Villa before joining Marseille in 2017, helping the Olympians reach the Europa League final a year later.

It goes without saying that he has become one of the top players in Europe in his position, with Villas-Boas recently heaping praise on the 26-year-old in an interview with La Provence.

The former Chelsea boss said: “Amavi is one of the players who has improved the most. He has a great frame of mind.”

His ability to break up attacks, combined with his ability to dribble past players as well as being a strong threat in the air, is something that sets him apart from the rest of his competitors, as Marcos Alonso has often been criticised for his lack of pace.

Valued at £9m via Transfermarkt, in eight appearances in Ligue 1, the left-back has scored one goal so far this season, whilst he is averaging 1.4 tackles, 3.3 interceptions and 2.9 clearances per game, via WhoScored.

In contrast, even Van Aanholt has only mustered 1.3 tackles, 0.5 interceptions and 0.8 clearances on average per game in the Premier League this season so far, as per WhoScored.

Suffice it to say the young Frenchman would be an upgrade on the 30-year-old, who didn’t cover himself in glory against Newcastle United last month, and is arguably entering the twilight of his career.

AND in other news, Parish masterclass: Crystal Palace struck gold by signing Eberechi Eze from Queens Park Rangers…

Leeds United appear to be finding their feet in the Premier League, mixing it with the big boys superbly.

A narrow defeat to Liverpool and a 1-1 draw with Manchester City is certainly an encouraging sign that perhaps they’ll be looking towards the top half of the table rather than staring down the barrel at an instant return to the doldrums of the Football League.

We witnessed a thrilling game in the rain at Elland Road on Saturday evening with Marcelo Bielsa duelling his student, Pep Guardiola, but we also got a glimpse of an old issue.

City’s new-look backline, which included £64.3m record signing Ruben Dias, practically rendered Patrick Bamford ineffective as the Whites talisman failed to make much of an impact upfront.

Despite winning the Championship last season, Leeds had one of the worst chance conversion rates in the division, scoring just 12.5% of their opportunities (fifth-worst) and with Bamford starting all but one of their matches, he was certainly one of the problems.

Yes, the 27-year-old has begun the season in red-hot form banging in three goals in their opening three matches but the game last night displayed a little cause for concern that this streak isn’t likely to continue.

Bamford lost 100% of his four duels, touched the ball just 20 times, failed to score from four shots and missed one big chance, as per SofaScore.

The visiting duo of Dias and Aymeric Laporte silenced Leeds’ solitary striker for the first time this season.

Supporters at Elland Road have always been a bit divisive on the Englishman, especially as he once cost a decent-sized £10m chunk, so it’s only a matter of time before those contrasting opinions enter the fray once again.

Bamford is among the club’s highest earners on a reported £35k-per-week and it’s this figure that’ll put him under well-deserved scrutiny whenever he fails to make an impact.

Maybe it’ll be a one off, maybe it won’t. Those in Yorkshire will not want to see another lightweight display from their star man again.

AND in other news, Leeds need to stay away from ONE costly transfer target before Monday’s deadline…

West Ham United must come out on top in the emerging Premier League tussle for Silkeborg defender Frederik Alves, now noted to be a possible transfer target for Leeds.

What’s the word?

According to BT, Leeds are now in contention to sign Alves in the upcoming January market, reviving efforts to land the 20-year-old after seeing an offer rejected this summer.

It had been expected that Alves would be moving to the London Stadium come the turn of the year after Bold claimed the Denmark U21 international was close to agreeing on a deal, following successful negotiations between the two sides.

West Ham were said to have struck an agreement at 10million Danish Krone (£1.2m), after Silkeborg confirmed they expected to announce a rise in their financial results to that sum through negotiations to sell Alves in January.

The sale was noted to be contingent on individual reservations but expected to be finalised before the end of 2020, after Alves agreed on personal terms earlier this month.

Leeds may now scupper West Ham’s plans to sign Alves, who BT claim was also the subject of several rejected bids from Russian side FK Rostov this summer and is a potential target for Dinamo Zagreb plus clubs in Germany and Austria’s top divisions.

Alves has started all seven of Silkeborg’s NordicBet Liga fixtures thus far this term, in which the Danish second-division side have kept three clean sheets and taken five wins.

GSB must beat Leeds

During their failed efforts to sign Alves this summer, Rostov are thought to have submitted a top offer worth €1m (£903k) but could not come to an agreement as the NordicBet Liga side did not wish to part with the 20-year-old who is under contract through to 2024.

Silkeborg rate Alves highly, with former Southampton striker Kent Madsen – now a director at Silkeborg – telling BT in July: “There is quite a lot of interest in Alves, and you can understand that.

“Especially in the second half of the Superligaen season, he has just been getting better and better. He is a player that we believe can benefit from further development with us. We really want to keep him and also have a long agreement with him.”

Alves started 21 of his 22 Superligaen appearances last season but could not help Silkeborg avoid relegation as they sat rooted to the bottom of the table throughout the campaign, but impressed his potential suitors with an average 6.0 clearances, 5.5 duels won (2.7 ground, 2.8 aerial), 2.5 interceptions, 1.8 tackles and 77.2 touches a game, per SofaScore.

The promising Danish talent also completed 92% of his passes in Silkeborg’s half of the pitch for 40.7 accurate attempts a game, while offering 3.1 long balls, 0.3 key balls and only being dribbled past 0.5 times a match.

Alves still has much room for development and needs to taste football at a higher level than the Danish top-flight, but his record shows a player worth courting – especially at a bargain fee of close to £1m – and one West Ham could regret allowing Leeds to sign.

AND in other news, West Ham frustrated a rival club with one of their summer deals and could spark greater anger by reviving efforts to sign a 6 ft 1 ace.

Football.London reporter Alasdair Gold has dropped a major transfer claim this week as Tottenham Hotspur gear up for a busy summer of activity.

What’s the word?

According to the Spurs journalist, the north London outfit have Norwich City midfielder Todd Cantwell on their radar following the Canaries’ relegation from the Premier League.

It’s also believed that Jose Mourinho could test the water with the Championship newcomers with young right-back Max Aarons also a player that the Portuguese manager admirers.

What sort of fee the English talent would command very much remains to be seen – Transfermarkt value Cantwell at £18m whilst the Daily Star have mooted £10m amid interest from Sheffield United.

Eriksen successor

Spurs have plenty of positions that are in need of revamping but Mourinho still hasn’t found a true number ten akin to Christian Eriksen at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

He’s often gone to Giovani Lo Celso, who seemingly is better suited to a box-to-box role, and Dele Alli, who has been in and out of the side since the 57-year-old’s appointment in November.

Cantwell can be the man to fill that void, especially as he’s been dubbed the next Alli.

And it’s easy to see why.

Per WhoScored, the 22-year-old has provided six goals and two assists whilst averaging 1.3 dribbles, 1.1 shots and 0.9 key passes per game for a side rock-bottom in the PL. Imagine what he could do with the likes of Heung-min Son, Steven Bergwijn and Harry Kane around him.

In a similar vein to Spurs’ Englishman, Cantwell is often the man to provide late bursts into the box – another trait that was akin to Eriksen, who bagged ten goals in his final full season in north London.

The promising attacking midfielder has regularly received raving reviews, ranging from being the “most gifted” in Norwich’s system to having “god-given” abilities.

At just £10m, it presents extremely low-risk, so Daniel Levy would be foolish not to make the most of another’s misfortune here. Cantwell would be a most welcome addition in north London.

AND in other news, Spurs can land £10m bargain in reported striker transfer target…

Jadon Sancho is unconvinced by the prospect of moving to Manchester United.

Sancho has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford for a number of years now, but Man United seem to be no further forward.

According to Bild, as per @utdreport, Sancho wants to wait and see if United can qualify for the Champions League, before making his final decision.

The 20-year-old, who is the Borussia Dortmund’s top scorer this season, moved to the Signal Iduna Park in 2017 after rejecting a contract at the Etihad.

Although Sancho has told Dortmund he wants to return to England, the Red Devils must reach the top four if they are to secure his services for next season.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are fifth in the Premier League, and are currently enjoying an unbeaten run stemming all the way back to a 2-0 defeat to Burnley back in January. At the moment they are only two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with everything left to play for in the five games remaining.

Missing out on Sancho would be a big blow for Solskjaer, as he has made it clear he remains his top priority, while he lost out to Dortmund in a battle for his teammate Erling Braut Haaland last year.

With that being said, the Red Devils romped to a 5-2 victory over Bournemouth, thanks to the heroics of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood. The trio have formed a formidable front three in recent weeks and whether or not Solskjaer actually needs Sancho is another matter altogether.

Naturally, many United fans slammed Sancho’s decision, with one supporter branding his verdict “nonsense,” while another added “Greenwood is better.”

Scroll through some of the scathing reactions so far…

United fans, should the board sign Jadon Sancho this summer? Let us know down below!

Newcastle United simply cannot afford to upset their loyal fans in the post-takeover era by letting Matty Longstaff go after transfer news emerged from The Times that the central midfield player is poised to move to Serie A after talks about extending his contract at the Tyneside club reportedly broke down this week.

As pet the report, Longstaff is still on the first professional terms that he signed in July 2018, a contract which is worth about £800 per week and runs out at the end of this month.

Udinese are apparently the front-runners to sign the midfielder. The Italian side are believed to have offered a five-year deal on better terms than the Magpies were prepared to give and have plotted a career development plan that they believe will help the player become a full international.

Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie also gave some insight into the deal on his official Twitter page, claiming that Longstaff has been offered £30,000 a week but apparently wants to stay. Udinese are the only team to have made a concrete offer so far but, due to the takeover situation at the Toon, talks have reached an impasse.

Newcastle cannot afford to upset the supporters in the post-takeover era by letting one of their own go, as Longstaff has progressed through the Magpies’ Transfermarkt.

Many supporters will perhaps want a loyal player from the pre-takeover era to take them through the journey under the proposed new ownership and the Englishman could well fit the bill, so they should look to keep him at all costs.

Geordies, would you potentially break your wage structure to keep Matty Longstaff? Comment below with your views!

A recent report from the Telegraph has left plenty of Tottenham Hotspur fans in agreement over one thing – They do not want Chelsea winger Willian at the club next season.

They claim that the north Londoners will battle their arch-rivals, Arsenal, for his signature with his contract set to expire at Stamford Bridge imminently.

Both clubs are resigned to the fact that they will not be able to spend much money due to financial implications following the pandemic and signing the Premier League veteran on a free transfer could aid things somewhat.

And as you can see from this supporter, the idea of Willian finally being in Spurs’ white strip is clearly too much of a grim thought…

The 31-year-old has been quite the regular under Frank Lampard this term, providing seven goals and six assists in 37 appearances in all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

He could arguably still do a job at this level given that it is his best goal tally since the 2017/18 campaign and his versatility to play anywhere behind the striker.

Cameo Clubs: Which obscure teams did these football legends play for?

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Although, Spurs fans clearly still don’t want him as part of Jose Mourinho’s squad next term…

One possible angle for this agenda could be the fact that the Brazilian wide man once ditched Spurs’ transfer negotiations to join London rivals, Chelsea, instead back in 2013.

Whilst further members of the Spurs faithful may have their sights set on other reported targets, such as AFC Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser, who too is available on a free this summer.

At 26, he poses a long-term advantage for the club whether that’s an entire career in north London or creating resell value remains to be seen.

Only time will tell where Willian will end up but as above, many at Spurs will be hoping it’s not with them.

AND in other news, Spurs fans react to reported interest in emerging La Liga TALENT…

Liverpool signing Tanguy Ndombele would certainly be one of the big talking points of the upcoming summer transfer window.

The Frenchman has endured a difficult debut campaign at Tottenham this season, making just 19 appearances in the Premier League, and struggling with both form and fitness.

It all came to a head back in Spurs’ clash against Burnley at Turf Moor, with Jose Mourinho unleashing on the midfielder in his post-match press conference.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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Reports in recent weeks had suggested Barcelona are keen on luring him away from north London, but now, French publication Foot Mercato claim Liverpool have joined the race to sign him.

And after hearing about their rumoured links to the midfielder, fans of the Merseyside club took to Twitter to voice their thoughts.

One Liverpool fan seemed to have issue with Ndombele’s questionable record with injuries and questioned whether the club are looking for someone to keep Naby Keita company in the treatment room.

Whether Spurs would even sell Ndombele is one thing, but why Klopp would consider a player like the Frenchman is another.

The Reds have built a side based on aggression, intensity and drive, and it’s helped them to Champions League success last season, and on the verge of lifting the Premier League title this.

Ndombele has shown himself to be none of those in his short time at Spurs, so the links with him are certainly eye-brow raising to say the least.

Southampton fans have taken to Twitter to react after Ralph Hasenhuttl confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Sofiane Boufal is a major doubt for the Watford game this Saturday.What’s wrong with the Moroccan?

He hasn’t trained for three days after stubbing his toe in the kitchen at home. Seriously.

Along with the Boufal news, Hasenhuttl also confirmed that Stuart Armstrong would miss the trip to Vicarage Road and may be out for around two weeks after having a few problems with his hamstring.

However, much of the focus has been on Boufal’s bizarre injury, which has left him with a swollen toe.

One fan said that they thought the news was a “wind-up” until they saw that it had been tweeted by the reliable Adam Blackmore of BBC Radio Solent.

Another supporter called Boufal “clumsy” and questioned whether the former Lille man wants to succeed.

Let’s take a look at some more of the Twitter reaction…

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In other news, Southampton needn’t worry about being rejected by this transfer target who is no better than Cedric…

A selection of West Ham United fans took to social media during their loss at home to Newcastle United on Saturday to share their thoughts on Manuel Pellegrini replacing Mark Noble with Albian Ajeti at half-time.

The Irons entered the break two goals behind at home to the Magpies, after centre-half duo Ciaran Clark and Federico Fernandez fired past Roberto Jimenez.

West Ham had held more of the possession when they returned to the dressing room, but had only turned two of their five shots on target, while the Toon hit six of their seven efforts on target from just 31.7% of the ball, per WhoScored data.

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In search of something to inspire a comeback, Pellegrini made a double change at half-time with Ajeti coming on for Noble and Manuel Lanzini replacing Andriy Yarmolenko.

Only Sebastien Haller and Declan Rice had spent less time on the ball for West Ham from their outfield players in the opening 45 than Yarmolenko, while Noble marginally eclipsed Pablo Zabaleta.

Despite his reduced time in possession, Noble had attempted (26) and completed (21) more passes than almost all of his teammates before being replaced, with Felipe Anderson the only other non-Irons defender to complete more than 20.

Noble rarely made an impact in the final-third, though, as just eight of his passes were made in Newcastle’s defensive part of the pitch, while also offering little defensively with no interceptions or clearances and won just one tackle from three attempts.

Yet West Ham fans were not impressed by Pellegrini’s half-time switch, going by some of the reactions shared…