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[ad_pod ]Tottenham Hotspur confirmed that left winger Georges-Kevin N’Koudou had joined AS Monaco on loan for the remainder of the season on Thursday, via a tweet from their official account.

What’s the word?

N’Koudou has struggled for minutes since joining Spurs in 2016Âand spent a portion of last season on loan at Burnley.

Despite being given a chance by Mauricio Pochettino in recent weeks – N’Koudou played against Fulham and Crystal Palace, as well as against West Ham United in October of last year – the Frenchman will now head back to Ligue 1.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

Spurs signed the 23-year-old from Marseille, as per the BBC, but he has struggled to stamp his authority on the left flank and remains behind Son Heung-Min in the pecking order.

He will now spend the second half of this season in France, with Monaco looking to turn around a season that has threatened to implode; the club are currently second-from-bottom in Ligue 1.

Son set for burnout?

Spurs now have a very weak looking left-hand side.

Son Heung-Min has returned from the Asian Cup but he cannot do it all on his own.

Christian Eriksen has the ability to play on the left flank but it seems as though Pochettino is betting on The South Korea international remaining fit for the remainder of the season.

It is a bold strategy, given some of the injury issues Pochettino has had to deal with already this term.

Manchester United will reportedly consider the appointment of Spain manager Luis Enrique after the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over the weekend.

What’s the story?

According to Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett, the Red Devils have identified a lengthy list of potential successors to Solskjaer, but the 51-year-old is the favourite candidate choice of Cristiano Ronaldo.

He tweeted: “Cristiano Ronaldo is keen for Luis Enrique to become the new #mufc manager, I’m told. The Spain boss likely to be considered for the role along with out-of-work Zinedine Zidane and Erik Ten Hag, the #ajax manager. Pochettino and Brendan Rodgers are long shots currently.”

Man Utd fans will be ecstatic

News that Enrique is set to be considered for the Old Trafford hot seat will leave large sections of the club’s supporters feeling elated, given his reputation and previous achievements in the game.

During a three-year spell in charge of Barcelona between 2014 and 2017, the Spaniard recorded a remarkable points per game total of 2.41.

As a result, Enrique guided the Catalan giants to one Champions League crown, two La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys, one FIFA Club World Cup and one UEFA Super Cup.

And his style of play would also satisfy the fanbase’s thirst for entertaining and attacking football.

At both Barca and Spain, Enrique has successfully implemented a possession-based side that demonstrates an understanding of positional play, attacks relatively directory and vertically and presses from the front.

His favoured 4-3-3 would also take little time for the United players to adapt to, and therefore, he could be an ideal candidate to come in and rescue the Red Devils’ campaign.

However, whether he would be keen to take on such a challenge remains to be seen. Enrique has just led his national team to the Qatar 2022 World Cup, and it’s likely that he would want to remain in charge for the tournament next winter.

It remains to be seen if United chiefs attempt to prize Enrique away from La Roja, yet his appointment is one that would surely be popular amongst the player and fans alike.

And, in other news…”New name” emerges in Man United manager hunt, he’s an ideal Rodgers alternative

Leeds United have been linked with a move for in-form FC Basel striker Arthur Cabral, although Barcelona are also believed to be keen on signing him.

The Lowdown: Cabral in sensational form

The 23-year-old has enjoyed an incredible start to the season, scoring 13 league goals in just 12 starts, with 16 goals in 19 appearances across all competitions.

His form has helped Basel to second place in the Swiss Super League, and other clubs have been monitoring his progress.

Leeds have already been linked with a move for the Brazilian, and now another significant report has emerged.

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The Latest: Leeds set to battle Barca?

According to Sport [via Sport Witness], the youngster’s recent impact at Basel has ‘caught the attention’ of the Whites as they eye up attacking reinforcements.

It may not be easy for Leeds to snap him up, however, with Barcelona reportedly opening negotiations to potentially bring him to Camp Nou in January.

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The Verdict: Hugely exciting prospect

It clearly won’t be easy for Marcelo Bielsa to bring in Cabral given Barca’s interest, but he could be exactly what the Whites need.

Patrick Bamford’s ongoing injury absence is becoming a concern, and while he should be back by January, it could take a while for him to find his best form again.

Cabral could come in and add firepower to a Leeds attack which has only scored 12 goals in as many league games so far this season – the same tally he has managed on his own for Basel.

In other news, Leeds are also reportedly tracking another in-form striker. Find out who it is here.

Wolves remain interested in signing towering Lille centre-back Sven Botman in the January transfer window, according to a fresh report.

The Lowdown: Botman a past Wolves target

Wanderers have been linked with the Dutchman in the recent past as Bruno Lage eyes up January and summer reinforcements. The 21-year-old may still be a very young player but he is already a hugely important figure for Lille, making 12 starts in Ligue 1 so far this season.

It looks as though Botman could still be on the move next month, though, with an encouraging update provided from a Wolves perspective.

The Latest: Interest in defender remains

According to Tuttomercatoweb, Wanderers and Roma are both interested in acquiring Botman’s signature and they continue to track the 21-year-old, with AC Milan and Newcastle also now joining the race for his services.

However, the Lille defender’s current deal with the reigning French champions doesn’t expire until the summer of 2025, so a hefty free may be required to prise him away.

The Verdict: Fantastic potential signing

While centre-backs Max Kilman, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss have all impressed for Wolves this season, the opportunity to sign Botman should not be dismissed. The monstrous defender has averaged 2.3 successful headers and 4.6 clearances per game in the league in 2021/22, with only Saiss (2.6) averaging more aerial duels won among those in Lage’s squad.

The Moroccan is also the only Wanderers player to outdo Botman in terms of clearances (5.2), highlighting how good a signing the Dutchman could be in making competition for places even stronger at Molineux.

In other news, some Wolves fans have fumed over a transfer update. Read more here.

Sky Sports News’ Dharmesh Sheth says that Aston Villa are negotiating with West Ham United over a potential deal for goalkeeper Darren Randolph. 

The lowdown

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans reported on Friday, following confirmation that a loan deal had been agreed for Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho, that Villa also wanted to sign a goalkeeper in January.

Randolph,  who is currently third choice at West Ham behind Lukasz Fabianski and Alphonse Areola, appears to be a primary target. The 34-year-old has 18 months left on his £42,000-per-week contract and is valued at £900,000 by Transfermarkt.

A move to Villa Park would see him provide further competition and cover for incumbent first-choice Emiliano Martinez, the club’s Player of the Season for 2020/21.

The latest

Speaking live on The Transfer Show on Sky Sports [via Football Daily], Sheth revealed that discussions were underway between the two clubs. He added that the prospective signing of Randolph could trigger the departure of current Villa deputy Jed Steer.

The journalist outlined: “We’re told they’re in talks to sign the West Ham United goalkeeper Darren Randolph. If a deal can be struck between Aston Villa and West Ham United, then Villa could allow their second choice keeper Jed Steer to move on loan so that he can get more regular first team football.”

The verdict

Randolph may be well down the pecking order at West Ham, but he is a solid goalkeeper with plenty of experience, including 34 Premier League games to Steer’s three. He also enjoyed a lengthy stint as Republic of Ireland’s number one, a post he held during Euro 2016, and he has racked up half a century of caps overall (via Transfermarkt).

He’d arrive with the endorsement of former Villa and Ireland boss Martin O’Neill, who called him a ‘very fine’ goalkeeper after an ‘excellent’ performance in a 2017 World Cup play-off clash against Denmark.

Furthermore, Ryan Shotton, a team-mate of Randolph’s at Middlesbrough, dubbed him ‘unbelievable’ and capable of making ‘ridiculous’ saves’.

As backups to Martinez go, Villa would do an awful lot worse than bringing in the Irish veteran from West Ham.

In other news, Villa are also in talks over this potential signing

Tottenham Hotspur cannot train ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with Brighton and Hove Albion, putting the game in serious doubt…

What’s the word?

That’s according to ever-reliable football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, who revealed late on Wednesday evening that the club had further positive cases at Hotspur Way, resulting in a complete shutdown of the training ground.

It means Antonio Conte’s already-depleted squad cannot face Stade Rennes in their final Europa Conference League group game this evening and now, it appears as if postponing Sunday’s encounter at the Amex Stadium will be a mere formality at this stage.

Big blow

Spurs have been hit by a flurry of positive cases in recent days and the number keeps increasing as each day passes by.

The Italian head coach revealed in his pre-game press conference that eight players and five members of staff were absent and that another player had tested positive by the end of training, as relayed by football.london.

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“I think this is a serious problem, and it’s a pity because during the press conference I’d like to talk about football and the next game and not about Covid,” he told reporters.

“But the situation is serious. Every day we are having positives. Today one player and one member of staff. I think the worst is we don’t know and we continue to have contact with people that the day before weren’t negative. For sure this is not a good situation. We have a training session to prepare for the game against Rennes, but it’s very difficult.”

Not only do the north London outfit have the Burnley postponement to fit in but they will now have to slot a rearranged encounter with Rennes in before December 31st, which may be tricky with the Ligue 1 outfit due on winter break by Christmas day, and then there is likely to be another game to manoeuvre with this weekend’s clash against the Seagulls likely to be called off in due course.

This deals Conte another blow as his tenure in N17 has been ever so stop-start since taking over a month ago, having also had to contend with numerous injuries and the international break, too.

It also means that Spurs will have a substantial backlog of fixtures heading into 2022 and that could harm their chances of breaking into the top six, let alone the top four, and that’s got to be troubling news for the Lilywhites faithful, who will now not get to witness their team in the near future.

AND in other news, Spurs may have just signed their next Danny Rose…

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left reacting to some manager news involving Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

As per The 4th Official, sources close to the Dutchman have now confirmed that talks over potentially becoming the new manager at Ibrox have gone ‘very well’, and that the expectation is that those talks will continue.

This comes after The 4th Official revealed that ‘really really positive’ initial talks were held on Saturday, and that an announcement could be made soon, suggesting that GvB is highly likely to become the next Light Blues coach – some fans praised the outlet’s coverage of the saga so far down below.

Van Bronckhorst is loved by many Teddy Bears supporters, and also has an impressive managerial CV, guiding Feyenoord to their first Eredivisie title in 18 years back in the 2016/17 season (BBC), in addition winning four other major trophies with the Rotterdam club.

Thus, it is no surprise to see so many Gers eager to get a deal done.

Rangers fans on van Bronckhorst manager news

These RFC fans gave their reactions to the manager news as it was shared on Twitter:

“Get it done.”

Credit: @VaticanRSC

“ANNOUNCE GIO”

Credit: @shanewatson95

“Very good source throughout the manager search and it looks like Gio is nearly here”

Credit: @EveryOtherSatu1

“Much as we all seem to want the same man, and it looks highly likely it will be him, I’m glad the club are still doing it all properly.”

Credit: @let55go

“56 with ease”

Credit: @IbroxLive

“Just hire the man already”

Credit: @38821090G

In other news, find out what international footage has Gers gushing here!

A significant Rangers transfer update has emerged regarding Scott Arfield’s future at Ibrox… 

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Mail, Turkish duo Hatayspor and Alanyaspor are both in talks over a deal to sign the midfielder this month.

The report claims that negotiations are ongoing between all parties, with both Turkish clubs willing to offer a small fee to the Gers instead of him leaving on a free transfer in the summer once his contract expires.

Fans will be delighted

Rangers fans will surely be delighted with this news, as it offers the club the perfect opportunity to part ways with the veteran midfielder.

Whilst Arfield is a useful player to call upon, he is out of contract in the summer and the Gers now have two clubs willing to offer fees to sign him this month. This could increase Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s own spending power to go out and add further players to his own squad, without majorly weakening his preferred XI.

The Gers have already strengthened their options in the middle of the park this month. James Sands has arrived on an 18-month loan from New York City FC, and he could scoop up all the minutes that Arfield would accrue in the second half of the campaign.

Sands averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.91 and won 1.5 tackles per game in the MLS last year and could slot in as one of the holding midfield players at Ibrox. This would then free up Aribo or Glen Kamara to play further forward in Arfield’s role, or it could allow someone like Ianis Hagi to get minutes in the number 10 berth.

This season, the Canada international has produced only two goals in 13 league games for the club, averaging a SofaScore rating of 6.78. In that time, he has missed a whopping five ‘big chances’ to score and only created 0.6 chances per game, whilst also losing 65% of his duels, suggesting that the time is right for him to be moved on as his performances have left plenty to be desired.

Therefore, Rangers fans may well be buzzing with the interest in Arfield, along with the news that negotiations are ongoing over a potential deal for him to leave this month. His exit in January would avoid the club missing out on a transfer fee if he left for nothing at the end of the season, and it appears to be the best possible solution for parties involved.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Hagi: Rangers could find new creative maestro in £1.2m-rated gem with 31 G/A…

Southampton have joined a clutch of Premier League teams in the race to sign FC Koln defender Timo Hubers this summer.

The Lowdown: Hubers’ career so far

In 2015, the 25-year-old left the Hannover 96 under-19s to join FC Koln II, before returning to Hannover the following year. The 6 foot 2 defender played five seasons for Die Roten before rejoining Koln, but this time for the latter’s first team.

Hubers has made 15 appearances in the Bundesliga this season and has left a great impression on Steffen Baumgart’s defence. As a result, WhoScored have ranked him as Koln’s best player this season, having averaged a 7.13 rating.

However, at the end of the season, Hubers will enter into the final 12 months of his current contract.

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The Latest: Saints interested in Hubers

According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle, Leeds and Crystal Palace are all understood to be closely tracking the 25-year-old centre-back, whilst West Ham, Southampton and Championship promotion favourites Fulham are also monitoring his situation.

It is said that the Hammers and the Saints are likely to prioritise bringing in a centre-back during the summer transfer window, with Hubers set to command a £6m fee.

The Verdict: Good for rotation…or maybe more

The central defenders currently at Ralph Hasenhuttl’s disposal are Mohammed Salisu, Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens and Lyanco. Furthermore, the Saints also have Dynel Simeu, who joined from Chelsea last summer, and his loan deal with Carlisle United is set to expire at the end of May.

However, with Lyanco and Stephens only featuring sporadically this season and with another loan deal potentially in the offing for Simeu, Southampton may well be looking to reshuffle their options at the back in search of more first-team quality.

Therefore, the addition of Hubers could provide Hasenhuttl with a stronger option for rotation – or possibly an immediate first-team starter, with the 25-year-old reportedly tailor-made for the Saints manager’s preference for playing the ball out from the back.

In other news: Dan Sheldon has criticised one Saints player during the 1-1 draw at Leeds

West Brom have been pretty active in the transfer market in the past, having splashed out significant sums of money on players like Karlan Grant, Jay Rodriguez and Nacer Chadli among others.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but one figure the club will now be wishing they had made a move to sign is Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.

According to an article from the Express & Star, the Dutchman “came on the Baggies’ radar – along with a host of other clubs – while he was at Celtic.”

The article also adds that the former Hoops man “was extensively scouted and recommended to Tony Pulis,” but the club didn’t make a move to bring him to the Hawthorns before he eventually moved to Southampton in 2015.Former Baggies midfielder Darren Fletcher also revealed that he had recommended the Midlands club to sign Van Dijk, but they weren’t too keen to pay the money that was being touted for the defender at the time.During his time with the Saints, the centre-back scored seven goals in 80 appearances across all competitions following a £13m move. That was before making his mega-money journey to Liverpool in the 2018 January transfer window for a fee of £75m.Since becoming a Reds player, the 30-year-old has been a revelation for Jurgen Klopp’s side, making 168 appearances in which he’s found the back of the net 16 times as well as winning the Premier League and Champions League.To further highlight the defender’s rise to football’s upper echelons, he won the 2018/19 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award, beating the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. With that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that Roy Keane dubbed him a “beast of a man” back in 2020.Labelled as a player that has “got everything” in his game by Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, the £49.5m-rated defender has once again shown what a formidable defensive unit he is for the Merseyside club by making more clearances (119) than any other player in Liverpool’s squad as well as winning an impressive 88.9% of the tackles he’s made.According to Salary Sport, the 6 foot 4 defensive titan is currently picking up a weekly wage of £240k-per-week, making him the highest earner at Liverpool, which is understandable given what he’s done for the team since his arrival.From a West Brom point of view, it’s hard to see this being anything other than a howler from Pulis by not making the most of the recommendations that were sent his way about Van Dijk, leaving the Midlands club to have nothing but nightmares about what could have been.In other news: WBA heading for disaster over “powerful” 30-goal “diamond”, supporters will be fuming