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Napoli are set to offer Victor Osimhen a new contract, with a potential release clause in excess of £100m according to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), after Tottenham registered their interest in signing the Nigeria international.

THE LOWDOWN: SPURS EYEING POTENTIAL HARRY KANE REPLACEMENT

It’s likely to be an interesting summer transfer window ahead for Spurs, with star striker Harry Kane being linked with a summer departure.

If that were to occur, then Tottenham are likely to be in the market for a swift replacement, with Gazzetta dello Sport previously reporting (via Sport Witness) that Osimhen was a potential transfer target for the Premier League side.

The 22-year-old netted ten goals in 30 appearances for the Azzurri in the 2020/21 season, and it appears as though his strong performances in front of goal haven’t gone unnoticed.

THE LATEST: NAPOLI SET TO TAKE ACTION

According to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Tottenham’s interest in signing Osimhen ‘worries’ Napoli, and that is likely to prompt the Serie A club into swift action.

It is claimed that the Azzurri want to offer the forward a new contract in the near future, which would include a release clause exceeding £100m.

THE VERDICT: THIS COULD PRICE SPURS OUT OF AN AGREEMENT

If this agreement were to be finalised between player and club, then Spurs could potentially be priced out of a move for Osimhen this summer, and it’s no surprise to see Napoli looking to act swiftly in their efforts to tie down the Nigerian to a new deal at the earliest opportunity.

The 1.86m (6 foot 1) striker has impressed in recent seasons, and Spurs could see him as the ideal replacement for Kane if the England international is to depart the club this summer.

Osimhen has shown that he can score goals at a high level in Serie A with Napoli as well as Ligue 1 with Lille, and he could be decent addition to the north London club ahead of the new league campaign if they can lure him to England.

However, if Napoli were to secure a fresh agreement with the forward, you would imagine that Spurs will cool their interest in signing him and look at an alternative option as pre-season ticks ever closer.

In other news, one Tottenham player has been linked with a move to his native country.

Leeds United ambassador Noel Whelan has backed Diego Llorente and Robin Koch to start at centre-back together against Burnley this weekend.

The Lowdown: Leeds host Burnley

The Whites get their 2022 action underway on Sunday afternoon, with the Clarets making the trip to Elland Road. It is a crucial game at the bottom of the table as Marcelo Bielsa’s side desperately look to find some form and pull themselves clear of danger.

Leeds have been injury-plagued at centre-back throughout the season but Llorente and Koch are both fit for the weekend showdown, with the pair in contention to start.

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The Latest: Duo backed to start at centre-back

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan backed the duo to face the Clarets on Sunday in the absence of the injured Liam Cooper, saying:

“This is what we bought them for. We bought these players to be our regular centre-halves.

“It’s only due to injuries when they first came into Leeds United. You’ve had Struijk who came into some really good form and started pushing and competing for these places.

“I would love to see the two of them start together. I think a lot of the fans will love to see that partnership try and develop over a space of time, especially when you’ve got Liam Cooper out.

“You can get yourself Luke Ayling back to the right wing-back role, which is fantastic. That’s where he’s got all the energy. Then pop Dallas back into that central midfield area, where we know he loves to play in that position.

“I think you’ve got to look at those two. You’ve got to stop putting round pegs in square holes here and play two quality, international centre-halves together.”

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The Verdict: Form a partnership

Having a settled centre-back pairing is crucial to any team’s success, laying the foundations and allowing two players to build a strong on-pitch relationship.

Llorente and Koch may well be tasked with doing that in the coming months, with Cooper expected to be out until March, and Sunday could be the first test of their credentials.

Both players have suffered injuries of their own this season – they have only started 15 league games between them – but now is the time for them to show their worth, hopefully playing their part in Leeds rising up the table.

In other news, Leeds have suffered another big injury blow. Read more here.

Jack Pitt-Brooke has revealed that Tottenham Hotspur are now eyeing four major signings this summer.

The Lowdown: Champions League uncertainty

Spurs are not guaranteed to finish in the UEFA Champions League places this season, given that they are currently three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand on their North London rivals.

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It would be more difficult to attract the calibre of player that they would want should they miss out, and they could also potentially lose some of their best players, with the likes of Harry Kane now being linked to big-spenders Newcastle United.

The Latest: Four signings eyed

Writing in his latest piece for The Athletic, Lilywhites journalist Pitt-Brooke has revealed that Antonio Conte’s team are now looking to make four major signings in the summer.

They reportedly want to bring in a new left-sided central defender, two wing-backs, and a back-up to Kane.

The Verdict: Exciting

It is certainly exciting for THFC fans that they seem to be looking to go on a spending spree this summer.

The likes of Omar Marmoush and Lautaro Martinez have been linked as striker options, while Ben Davies could become more of a squad member next season, meaning that a more natural centre-back will likely take his position on the left of a three-man defence.

Djed Spence has been strongly linked with filling in the right wing-back position at Tottenham, while at left wing-back, Sergio Reguilon has not always been in favour under Conte.

Nonetheless, it could be a new-look Spurs side built in Conte’s image by the end of the summer transfer window, which should surely excite the Lilywhites faithful.

In other news, find out who THFC have now held talks over signing here!

‘Another’ blow for Leeds United as defender Robin Koch will be out for a month yet, BBC’s Adam Pope has confirmed from Marcelo Bielsa’s press conference.

The Lowdown: Leeds’ injury storm

The Whites have been struck by what The Athletic’s Phil Hay describes as a ‘perfect storm of injuries’ in recent weeks, with the likes of Raphinha, Kalvin Phillips, Patrick Bamford and several defenders all missing matches.

And while the Brazilian is expected to be fit and raring to go this weekend against Wolves, Bielsa shared some troubling news on Koch in his Thursday press conference, as the issues in defence persist.

The Latest: Another month for Koch

As shared by BBC’s Pope, the German defender ‘has another month to go’, meaning Bielsa will still be struggling for depth at the back for at least four more weeks.

Liam Cooper has been chastised for his form this season, while the likes of Luke Ayling and Diego Llorente have also been hit by injury issues.

The Verdict: Big blow to Bielsa’s depth

While the Whites’ defence has improved slightly in recent fixtures, conceding just once across their last two games, the extent of Koch’s injury continues to be a big blow for the manager.

The 25 year-old is capable of playing in the heart of defence, at right-back, or even in defensive midfield,which means his absence hurts Bielsa’s options in multiple positions.

He has also been hailed as a ‘leader’ and ‘magnificent’ by former Elland Road man Noel Whelan, and with Cooper struggling for form the side could certainly use some of that leadership.

Now facing a Wolves team who sit eighth in the expected goals department this season, with the numbers showing Bruno Lage’s side are actually creating far more chances than their goals scored suggests (Understat), Saturday’s meeting could be a real uphill battle for Bielsa and co.

In other news, see exactly what one talkSPORT pundit had to say about Cooper’s showings this season…

Sky Sports News have shared the latest injury update on Tottenham Hotspur full-back Matt Doherty live on air.

The Lowdown: Doherty’s rise to prominence

The 30-year-old has risen to prominence at Spurs in recent weeks, having become a key player in Antonio Conte’s starting XI. The Irishman has recently produced two goals and three assists in  the space of six league matches, which has added to the Lilywhites’ push for a fourth-place finish in the Premier League table.

However, Doherty’s contributions for the current campaign have now seemingly come to an end after the defender sustained a knee injury against Aston Villa on Saturday, forcing Conte into an unwanted substitution in the 21st minute.

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The Latest: Sky Sports News drop on-air Doherty update

Reporting live on air, Sky Sports News have revealed that Doherty is out for up to 12 weeks following the injury he sustained against Villa, which means that he will now miss the remainder of the Premier League season.

With the on-air clip shared via Twitter, Sky reported: “BREAKING: Tottenham’s Matt Doherty is out for up to 12 weeks.”

The reporter delivering the update referred to it as “bad news for Tottenham”, with the Irishman having “really found form lately”.

The Verdict: Huge blow for Conte

Conte has struggled with finalising his starting options at wing-back this season. However, Doherty has made the step up in recent weeks and has since featured in the starting XI in Tottenham’s last seven Premier League games.

Consequently, this news will come as a huge blow to the Spurs manager, who will now have to rely on Emerson Royal as the only fit right wing-back available for selection for the remainder of the season. It’s a cruel blow for Doherty, too, who was just hitting his stride after a difficult start to life in north London.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano drops Dejan Kulusevski transfer claim

Celtic’s woes in the Europa League continued last week as they were hammered 4-0 by Bayer Leverkusen on their own turf.

This came after they lost 4-3 to Real Betis in their opening group stage match, with Ange Postecoglou’s side now facing an uphill battle to qualify for the knockout stages.

One player who has struggled in Europe in recent seasons and featured against Leverkusen is defensive midfielder Nir Bitton. In 24 minutes against the Bundesliga side, the 29-year-old lost half of his duels and won possession back once, whilst giving the ball away six times.

The Israel international has been a terrific servant for Celtic over the years. He joined from Ashdod in 2013 and has made 241 appearances for the club in the subsequent eight years, including 153 times in the Scottish Premiership for the Hoops.

A major issue he has had throughout his career in Scotland is his availability. He has been out of action for 12 different reasons since joining Celtic, ranging from the ongoing pandemic to groin injuries and problems with his knee. This has restricted him to less than 20 Premiership appearances in each campaign since the 2016/17 season.

Despite that, his value from August 2018 to January 2019 stood at a respectable £1.80m, according to Transfermarkt. Less than three years later, however, Bitton’s value now stands at £720k and has been steadily declining in the intervening period – dropping four times since January 2019.

This means that his value has plummeted by 60% in under three years, despite being in what should be the prime years of his career as a holding midfielder. It’s hardly a surprise, therefore, that he’s been dubbed a “walking joke” by popular Celtic platform, Bhoys Analytics.

His performances in the Europa League, along with his injuries, may have played a part in his valuation flopping in recent years. He averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.72 across five games in the 2019/20 edition of the competition, making one tackle and interception combined per game.

The following year, he averaged a score of 6.63 in three appearances as the overall quality of his displays lowered, despite him averaging 2.7 tackles and interceptions per match. This suggests that he was not performing to a high enough standard in the Europa League, irrespective of any accomplishments domestically, and that could hint at why his price has been falling.

He has struggled on the pitch in Europe and off the pitch in terms of his availability and there are no signs to suggest he is on the way back up. Could it be time for Celtic to part ways with the midfielder?

AND in other news, Postecoglou provides fresh injury update that should excite Celtic supporters…

Rangers slumped to back-to-back defeats in all competitions following a hugely disappointing 1-0 defeat at the hands of Dundee United this afternoon.

The Gers were hoping to bounce back from Tuesday night’s loss in the first leg of their Champions League third round qualifying tie against Malmo, but it wasn’t to be for Steven Gerrard’s charges.

After an evenly-contested opening 45 minutes at Tannadice, the reigning Scottish champions were dominant in the opening exchanges after the break. However, a lucky bounce of the ball presented Dundee United left-back Jamie Robson with a golden opportunity to put the hosts ahead, and the 23-year-old made no mistake.

Despite Rangers’ desperate efforts to find an equaliser, their forward line looked blunt and way below its best, producing just two shots on target all afternoon.

Unfortunately for Alfredo Morelos, the Colombia international was the most underwhelming attacker in his first appearance of the new campaign.

As per SofaScore, Rangers’ star striker had just 29 touches in the 82 minutes that he was on the pitch, two fewer than goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin. Morelos also lost six of his 10 duels against the Tangerines, had just one shot on target and lost possession eight times.

The £10.8m-rated forward has let Gerrard down before, although it’s usually for his ill discipline rather than poor displays in front of goal.

El Bufalo will be forgiven for his poor showing by Rangers fans given his previous exploits for the club, but they, alongside Gerrard, will be hoping for a much-improved showing next time out from the 25-year-old.

He was perhaps thrown into the starting XI too soon by the manager considering that he only returned from his homeland a few days ago, yet Morelos would still have been expecting to put in a better performance than what he did today.

In other news… Gerrard must unleash “special” 25 y/o vs Dundee Utd, he could be Rangers’ game-changer 

After ending Dean Smith’s reign at Aston Villa with a 1-0 win over the Midlands club prior to the international break, Southampton have the chance to get his time at Norwich City off to a bad start when they travel to Carrow Road this weekend for their latest Premier League match.

In terms of which players Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl could pick to face the Canaries on Saturday afternoon, one man who we think deserves to be in the starting XI on this occasion is centre-back Lyanco.

Why Lyanco must start for Saints

Since joining the south coast club back in August on a four-year deal from Torino in Serie A, the Brazilian has only started two games for Southampton, which both came in the Carabao Cup.

the defender, who has been labelled as a “fantastic character” by Hasenhuttl, made his Premier League debut when he came on as a late substitute during their 1-0 win over Watford before playing the last 34 minutes of their 1-0 victory against Villa.

During his time on the pitch against Smith’s former employers, Lyanco showed what a useful defensive unite he can be for the Saints by blocking two shots and making one tackle, one interception and one clearance, whilst winning three of his four duels. He ultimately earned himself a solid overall match rating of 7/10 from SofaScore, despite only playing just over half an hour.

With this in mind, and Hasenhuttl recently revealing that he will be making changes to his team and giving some fringe players the chance to prove themselves in the coming weeks and months, the game against Norwich could be a great opportunity to give Lyanco his first start in the Premier League against a side who have only scored five goals in 11 games.

In terms of who the 24-year-old could replace in the starting XI, he could come in ahead of someone like Jan Bednarek, who played the full 90 minutes in Poland’s recent 2-1 defeat against Hungary earlier in the week and could arguably need a rest. He has also played every minute of league action for Southampton since their 0-0 draw against Manchester City in September.

If Hasenhuttl does start Lyanco against the Canaries and the Brazilian manages to put in another solid performance throughout the full game, he could well cement his place in the team for the time being and prove why the club were right to bring him to St Mary’s.

In other news: Southampton handed huge fitness boost ahead of Norwich clash, fans will be buzzing

Frank McAvennie has claimed that Ange Postecoglou’s backroom staff are now ‘hindering’ him after the Celtic boss won October’s Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month.

The Lowdown: Deserved award

Earlier this week, the 56-year-old was awarded the manager of the month (MOTM) award for the Scottish top flight, but he was pictured claiming it alongside his backroom staff.

He guided Celtic through an unbeaten month, picking up four wins and a draw in the Premiership, as well as a 2-0 win against Ferencvaros in the Europa League group stage (BBC).

The award was well-deserved for Postecoglou, who has taken on a big job to try and beat Rangers to the league title this time around.

The Latest: McAvennie reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, former Hoops striker McAvennie has been left disappointed by how his former club chose to present Ange’s award, with the inclusion of his backroom staff in the images striking the wrong note with the 61-year-old. He raged:

“It’s big for Ange. He’s had a good month and we have gone unbeaten, you can’t ask for more than that.

“Did you see the pictures? He was stood there with the award with his backroom staff.

“I’m not having that. They have done nothing. This is all down to him.

“I have said many times that Ange should have been allowed to bring his own team in when he joined.

“I think they are hindering him if anything. The club wants to show a united front, I get that.

“But this should be a moment for Ange to cherish, he’s doing so well at the moment.

“It’s his award, no one else’s.”

The Verdict: Results down to Ange

We’re with McAvennie on this one. Postecoglou’s backroom staff may have helped him along his Celts journey so far, but the recent run of results are mainly down to him as the players now seem to be performing for him on the pitch.

Celtic are now just four points behind Rangers in the Premiership after it looked like they were going to be cut adrift once more at one point. Their 30 goals in the league and nine conceded are the most scored and fewest let in out of any other team so far (BBC), suggesting that their attack and defence are clicking.

Postecoglou finally looks to be getting a tune out of his players, and long may it continue if they are going to catch their bitter rivals at the top of the table.

In other news, Celtic have been dealt a transfer blow over this midfielder

Frank McAvennie has claimed that Glasgow Rangers may be making a ‘mistake’ if they end up signing Joey Veerman in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Veerman wanted

As per The Athletic, Veerman is one of the top targets for Steven Gerrard’s team to sign this summer.

However, the Dutchman feels as if he is being priced out of a move from Heerenveen, claiming that they are making it ‘very difficult’ for him by demanding a ‘crazy’ £8m (Scottish Sun).

The Latest: McAvennie on Veerman

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie, a pundit who of course played in the Scottish Premiership, has claimed that Veerman will leave, but doubts that the Ibrox faithful will be able to spend £8m on him, and added that they do not need to sign him anyway:

“The boy will leave.

“Even Celtic with their finances, will they go out and spend £8million on a player?

“I’m not sure Rangers can do that. I don’t think they have the financial strength. It could be a mistake.

“They have enough midfield players, that’s one position they don’t need to spend £8million on.

“A forward or a centre half I can understand, they are overwhelmed there.

“I don’t think the fans will be happy if they spend £8million, a huge fee, on a player who might only be a bit-part.”

The Verdict: Avoid

Having already brought in John Lundstram from Sheffield United, the Gers already have an abundance of options in the centre of midfield, and so signing Veerman, especially for £8m, would seem like a waste of money.

The 22-year-old would end up being their third-most expensive signing of all time, when really RFC should be looking to spend their money in other areas of the pitch.

Nonetheless, a deal may not easily be done anyway given the club’s stance on the player, and so Rangers should not be looking to waste their time with the new 2021/22 season fast approaching.

In other news, find out what club announcement has Gers talking here!