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Tottenham Hotspur’s midfielder-turned-defender Eric Dier is finally back in the England equation after missing the majority of their Euro 2020 qualifiers last year.

The 26-year-old has started three of the Three Lions’ last four international matches with his absence being in the only friendly of the lot – a 3-0 win over Wales.

However, his performance in their most recent victory over Belgium in the UEFA Nations League is a major cause for concern going into the Premier League’s return.

Jose Mourinho ought to be more worried about Dier’s display than Toby Alderweireld, who was on the receiving end of goals from Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount.

The English colossus was named in a back three, playing alongside former Spurs teammate Kyle Walker and another returning name in Harry Maguire.

There was even a place for another ex-colleague as Kieran Trippier, who played out of position at left wing-back, though Harry Kane was rested until the 66th minute.

However, Dier performed the worst of any England defender, notching a lowly 6.4 rating by SofaScore.

Aside from four clearances and one tackle, the Spurs star also conceded a penalty by foolishly bringing down a rampant Romelu Lukaku in a rather brainless act when he didn’t need to go to ground, whilst he even lost 75% of his duels and lost possession five times.

The Sun gave him a scathing review in their post-game ratings too, they said: “Brainless, clumsy foul on Lukaku to give away penalty after 15 minutes which gave Belgium the lead. Looked jittery from then on and Conor Coady should be disappointed if he is not given a chance in Dier’s place next time out.”

It’s not the first time that Dier has been rather lackadaisical in defence either, think back to the foul on Paul Pogba on football’s return post-lockdown or when fans blasted him for being a “liability” against Everton not too long ago.

Given that Spurs had the second-worst defensive record of any top seven Premier League team last season, Mourinho should certainly be worried by a dip in form, especially as the club have failed to sign additional numbers in central defence despite losing both Jan Vertonghen (free) and Juan Foyth (loan).

Whilst the £19.8m-rated brute probably gets the nod alongside Davinson Sanchez against local rivals West Ham on Sunday, he shouldn’t feel completely comfortable as Spurs’ first-choice starter going forward, not at least with performances as dire as this one.

AND in other news, Levy made a major mistake this summer over £28m target who’s a “constant nuisance”…

Tottenham Hotspur ace Serge Aurier is set for a shock exit from the club this summer.

Just days after his brother Christopher was murdered outside of a nightclub in Toulouse, recent reports have suggested that the defender is expected to push for a move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer.

According to the Evening Standard, Spurs didn’t receive any approaches for the Ivorian last year but they are more likely to listen to offers when the transfer window opens.

Aurier, who was signed by former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, has entered the last two years of his contract and has shown no interest in agreeing a new deal.

The Ivory Coast international hasn’t had it easy in the past few weeks, following the news that his younger brother was tragically shot dead in France, not long after the Spurs player was forced to apologise for breaking UK government guidelines during the nationwide lockdown for a third time.

Jose Mourinho is short of options at right-back, as Aurier is the only natural player in that position who is still at the club while Kyle Walker-Peters is out on loan at Southampton.

If Aurier leaves, this could open up an opportunity for Japhet Tanganga to stake his claim in the starting lineup. Tanganga has been one of the few success stories in a difficult season for Spurs. His versatility has enabled him to play across the back line and he impressed Mourinho in his debut against Liverpool.

The 21-year-old could save the club millions if he is given the chance to prove himself on the flank. The Englishman has developed a reputation for putting his body on the line, as is evident by his characteristics, and this physicality is exactly what Mourinho has been seeking in his players at Tottenham.

Tottenham fans, should Daniel Levy let Serge Aurier leave? Let us know in the comments below!

Name: Eberechi Eze

Club: Queens Park Rangers

Date of Birth: 29 June 1998

Position: Attacking midfielder

EBERECHI EZE – HIS CAREER SO FAR

The London-born Eberechi Eze is turning out to become quite a prospect in English football. The 22-year-old attacking midfielder is currently plying his trade over at Queens Park Rangers in the Championship but seems to be on the radar of quite a few other clubs, which suggests a move is definitely on the cards for the youngster. Still, at such a young age, it goes without saying that he hasn’t exactly had a rich career so far.

At the very beginning, Eze would try his luck in various youth setups of different English clubs, ranging from stints at Fulham, Arsenal and all the way to Reading and ultimately Millwall, where he finally settled for a while. All of that happened in a relatively short span of time too, somewhere between 2011 and 2014 as his first years in football were quite nomadic, to say the least.

The following two years were spent at Millwall but only in the youth sides as he was registered with their U18 team. In 2016, Eze was released and subsequently picked up by his current club, Queens Park Rangers. And they were indeed the first team to actually put some trust in the younger and watch him develop into a really good young footballer. On 7 January 2017, Eze made his first-team bow in an FA Cup clash against Blackburn Rovers but QPR would ultimately lose the game 1-2.

Still, it would take him some time to cement his place in the team and later on that same year, the youngster was sent out on loan to Wycombe Wanderers and there, he ended up playing a total of 21 games, scoring five goals in the process as well. It was a decent start and the potential was starting to show.

Upon his return to Queens Park Rangers, Eze soon became a regular, even inheriting the no.10 shirt after the arrival of Steve McClaren, ultimately warranting the gesture with a total of 20 goals and 13 assists across 112 games for the team. Now, the future looks bright for the 22-year-old as teams are slowly but surely start to notice him.

It will be interesting to see what the next step in his career is going to be.

TRANSFER LATEST

At the moment, there are quite a few transfer rumours and transfer news surrounding Eze and none as loud and constant as the links with West Ham United. It seems that David Moyes is seriously interested in acquiring the services of the young Queens Park Rangers talent and could make his move in the ongoing summer window.

In some other West Ham United transfer news, it seems that the youngster is valued at around £20m and needless to say, that’s quite a sum for a club that doesn’t exactly have a warchest to play with on the market.

Still, given his talent and potential, the 22-year-old could be worth it.

PLAYER PROFILE

Eze is mostly used as an attacking midfielder for Queens Park Rangers, slotting just behind the striker(s) and being a creative outlet for his team. Interestingly, he can also operate on both flanks so pushing him wide is also an option, making him an incredible asset to have in any squad.

One other thing that can describe his player profile is flexibility both on and off the ball. We’ll see Eze move around the final third and even drop deeper to assist the build-up when necessary. He has a keen eye for a pass and successfully combines with his teammates in tight spaces with short passes and across the pitch with long passes.

With a mean dribble and good spatial awareness, Eze is a big threat in the final third and could develop into a star player soon.

Newcastle United’s takeover may have hit a problem, according to the Telegraph’s Luke Edwards.The Magpies reporter has regularly provided supporters with updates throughout this whole process and this week he issued his thoughts about the situation on talkSPORT and it makes for worrying news.A clip from his interviews was posted to Twitter, which can be viewed below, but the journalist went on to say that he believes there ‘obviously is a problem’ in regards to the Premier League’s owners and directors test.

Edwards also claims there has been an air of anxiety in the Magpies fanbase as a result of differing reports coming from different camps, he said: “the longer it goes on, you naturally start to worry that they’ll find a way to block it and I think that’s where we are at the moment.”

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

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It’s hardly an encouraging piece of information from someone in the loop.

The £300m takeover by a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium appears to be rumbling on into yet another week, meaning it is quickly approaching two months since news first broke that Mike Ashley was finally prepared to sell the Magpies.

AND in other news,ÂNewcastle fans fume over Jim White takeover claim

Liverpool failed to win at Anfield for the first time this season on Saturday, and the frustration of being unable to break Burnley down was evident across the fanbase on social media.

Jurgen Klopp’s side weren’t at their best on Saturday afternoon, but to be fair to them it wasn’t full strength XI.

Indeed, the gaffer rotated his side a little bit, and in doing so he gave 19-year-old Neco Williams a chance to start his second Premier League game.

Unfortunately, things didn’t exactly go to plan for Williams, he didn’t fill the large boots left behind by Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, delivering just one accurate cross and one key pass throughout the game.

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Despite this only being his fifth senior league appearance, some of the Anfield faithful were unwilling to cut him any slack, taking to social media to criticise the young Welshman.

Others weren’t as harsh on the 19-year-old, and while they didn’t praise the youngster, they did attempt to give him some constructive criticism.

One of the main things fans were unhappy about was his wastefulness, and you have to say that they’ve got a point.

The youngster had three shots while playing at right-back, and not a single one of them were on target.

Another thing Liverpool fans weren’t best pleased with were Williams’ corners, as numerous supporters made a point about his deliveries not being effective.

All in all, it wasn’t an impressive performance from the teenager, but at his age, you can’t put too much credence into a pretty meaningless game against Burnley where the title is already wrapped up for Liverpool.

Hopefully, things only get better from here for the right-back.

Several Tottenham Hotspur supporters have been discussing their former player Adel Taarabt after footage from his time at the club emerged on Twitter.

The Spurs Web posted a short clip of the Moroccan international showing him doing some brilliant skill, putting his foot on the ball before nutmegging an opposition player. The level of skill is highlighted by the reaction of his teammate Anthony Gardner, who turned away with his head in his hands, perhaps disbelieving what he had seen.

Despite having talent, Taarabt never made it at the north London club and in total he managed to make just 15 appearances overall whilst at White Hart Lane (Transfermarkt).

He did enjoy a good time at QPR where he scored 34 goals and provided 42 assists in 164 appearances, but his talent failed to shine through in spells with the likes of AC Milan, Genoa and Fulham. However, he is currently performing well for Benfica where he has played 40 games so far (Transfermarkt).

The 30-year-old has been labelled as a ‘maverick’ and his attitude has been questioned plenty of times during his career. After seeing the clip of Taarabt, many Tottenham fans were left reminiscing about him with quite a few saying that he wasted his talent and never fulfilled his potential, with one describing him as a ‘playground legend’.

Here is what some had to say…

Missing football!? There’s still plenty of Spurs discussion going on in the Vital Tottenham Forum! Click here to get involved!

Newcastle United’s players have returned to training this week ahead of a possible resumption to the Premier League season and Magpies defender Paul Dummett couldn’t contain his excitement as he tweeted following the announcement.

It has sparked mass reaction from sections of the St James’ Park faithful but many clearly had the club’s prospective takeover on their mind.

The 28-year-old has been a long-serving member of Steve Bruce’s squad having some through the academy system. He has gone on to feature 185 times in the black and white stripes since making his senior bow against Manchester City in 2013.

Dummett is able to play at both left-back and centre-back, though it is the latter position he has filled in at the most this campaign, playing 13 of his 16 matches in the Premier League there, via Transfermarkt. Although, he has missed a fair share of matches after being ruled out for the season through injury.

The former Wales international is valued at £4.95m and still has two years to run on his current contract.

Here’s how fans reacted to his tweet…

Who the heck is that?! Can you name all 25 of these obscure Newcastle signings…

AND in other news, Five players Newcastle United must try to sign this summer…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Southampton striker Danny Ings has been speaking to The Daily Echo about his fellow forward Che Adams, and the 23-year-old’s difficult start to life at St Mary’s.

Adams arrived on the south coast after Southampton agreed a £15m deal with Birmingham for his services, after a stunning 2018/19 campaign in which he scored 22 Championship goals.

However, since arriving at Southampton, Adams is yet to find the back of the net in nine Premier League appearances – he also hasn’t found the back of the net in two Carabao Cup outings either.

However, Ings has hinted at one positive thing that Adams has supplied.

What did he say?

Ings said:  “If any club didn’t have any competition with the strikers, it wouldn’t be healthy – you would be more worried. Any player that comes to a club wants to play. Che is very hungry to play. You can see it. He is strong, powerful and quick.

“We are different types of strikers that can also play a factor and I saw myself on the bench for a few games at the start of the season which was frustrating.

“You want to put the shirt on, do well and score goals but you have to respect the manager’s decision.”

Despite not scoring, Adams has helped

Before Adams’ arrival, who did Ings have to give him a kick up the backside and motivate him?

Well, there was Manolo Gabbiadini, who scored just one Premier League goal last season before being shipped off to Sampdoria in January.

There was also Charlie Austin, who scored two league goals but ended up being frozen out by Ralph Hasenhuttl and was eventually sold the West Brom for £4m back in the summer.

Perhaps not solely because of the aforementioned pair’s poor form – although it could be a factor – Ings netted just seven league goals in 24 appearances.

To put that into context, the former Liverpool man already has five goals in 12 league appearances – on that note, it could definitely be argued that Adams has motivated Ings, something that the England international somewhat alludes to when he says that it was “frustrating” to be on the bench whilst Adams was starting.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

It was one of the biggest transfer sagas of the summer. Wilfried Zaha once again front and centre of conversations linking him with a move away from Crystal Palace, and yet again, the Ivory Coast international was denied. It was suggested the Eagles were looking to command a fee in excess of £100m, and based on his truly horrific performances so far this season, that valuation really does look incredible.

The 27-year-old has played 13 times across all competitions, and has yet to find the back of the net, mustering just two assists. Roy Hodgson has predominantly used him from the right-hand side which arguably completely negates his ability to cut inside onto his stronger foot from the opposite flank. But the key to unlocking the Zaha that Palace fans have come to see at Selhurst Park, is perhaps moving him into the central position as a number nine.

Against Liverpool on Saturday afternoon, despite scoring the equaliser for the Eagles, the 27-year-old once again looked completely devoid of any real service. As per Sofascore, he touched the ball just 49 times, with goalkeeper Vicente Guaita himself only registering three fewer touches than that. He did however complete his three attempted dribbles, and that provides some evidence that he is not far off from being a real threat once more.

And as per Understat, moving him into the striker role may be the trick to kick-starting his season. In the time he has played up front, he has an expected goals per game ratio of 0.27 – the highest of any position he has played in the Premier League. And, just as significantly, his expected assists per game ratio is at 0.17 – the second-highest of any position.

If Hodgson uses him further infield and closer to the opposition box, Zaha will undoubtedly find more chances coming his way. And particularly in games where Palace are relying on the counter-attack, having him high up the pitch can allow the Ivorian to simply concentrate on bringing attacking rewards to his side, rather than having to focus on tracking back.

It’s a tactical switch that Hodgson should consider in order to fully unleash his star man’s capabilities.

Gary Neville believes Manchester United would jump at the chance to sign Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen in January despite his performances dipping this season.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

After six years with the club, the 27-year-old announced his intention to seek a ‘new challenge’ at the beginning of the summer.

The Daily Mail reported that Real Madrid was one of the potential locations the Denmark international mentioned, with Eriksen apparently claiming Los Blancos to be a ‘step up.’

However, while the admiration was clearly there, Madrid were busy focusing on recruiting the likes of Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo, a haul estimated to be in the region on £276m – hence the predicament Tottenham and Eriksen currently find themselves in.

With Eriksen’s contract due to expire at the end of the season, other clubs will have the opportunity to sign him on a Bosman deal, that is – for free, and United, who are currently juggling their own wantaway midfielder in Paul Pogba, who also claimed to be in search of new challenges at the beginning of the summer, may choose to pick up from where they left in the summer – despite apparently cooling their interesting due to the player’s desire to move to Spain.

Speaking about Eriksen’s future, Neville said: “He’s acting like a kid who didn’t get the sweets he wanted in the shop.

“He wanted to go to a club, and he didn’t get what he wanted.”

When asked whether top clubs would still be interested in his, particularly United, the Old Trafford legend claimed: “absolutely – they’d take him tomorrow.”