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Graham Roberts believes Tottenham miss Christian Eriksen after the Denmark international moved to Inter Milan in January of 2020.

The Lowdown: Eriksen departure

Eriksen made the move to Spurs from Ajax in 2013 and ended up becoming one of the side’s best players, scoring 69 goals and providing 90 assists in 305 games (Transfermarkt).

However, he made it clear he wanted to depart, and moved to Inter in January 2020.

The Latest: Roberts thinks Spurs miss Eriksen

On Twitter, a Spurs fan said the club miss Eriksen.

Roberts answer was short but sweet and straight to the point. He simply said:

“Agree”

The Verdict: Never replaced

It is hard to disagree with this statement. After all, the £36m-valued 29-year-old (Transfermarkt) was an integral part of the side for seven years and even helped Spurs reach the Champions League final in 2019, which they ultimately lost to Liverpool 2-0 in Madrid.

It was after that match that he stated his desire to seek a new challenge (The Guardian).

Since then, things have not gone well for either. Spurs have only played one more Champions League campaign, while Eriksen has managed just eight goals in 60 games for Inter. Unfortunately, the Lilywhites fan favourite has not played since he suffered a cardiac arrest playing for Denmark this summer (Sky).

Perhaps a reunion of the two parties would not be the worst thing in the world if the playmaker’s health allows him to return to action.

In other news, this man has been urged to leave Tottenham.

Celtic are interested in a deal to bring Callum Styles to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Alan Nixon, with The Sun journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side are keeping a very close eye on the Barnsley left-back ahead of a potential swoop in the winter market.

In response to a fan asking whether the rumours concerning Celtic’s interest in the 21-year-old were true, Nixon said: “Watching closely. Talented player, very attack-minded.”

Subsequently, in response to a further question asking whether the youngster would suit Postecoglou’s brand of football, the journalist continued: “Very much. Great feet. It’s just whether he can defend at times.”

Bye-bye Bolingoli

While Barnsley have struggled in the Championship so far this season, picking up just 14 points from their 23 games played, Styles has nevertheless been one of the Tykes stand-out performers in the second tier of English football.

Indeed, over his 21 Championship outings, the £2.7m-rated left-back – who can also play further up the left-wing and in central midfield – has scored one goal, provided one assist and created three big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 0.9 key passes and taking 0.7 shots per game.

The versatile defender has also completed an average of 27.4 passes per fixture, as well as making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 2.2 tackles, 0.9 clearances and winning 4.4 duels in each outing.

These returns have seen the player who Cauley Woodrow claimed is a “massive talent” who “the sky’s the limit” for average a SofaScore match rating of 6.73, ranking him as Barnsley’s ninth-best performer in the league.

As such, it would indeed appear as if a move for Styles would be a fantastic deal for Celtic to pull off in the winter window, as the £3.4k-per-week man would undoubtedly make an excellent addition to Postecoglou’s options either on the left-hand side of defence or in central midfield, especially with Boli Bolingoli looking as if he is heading for an exit from Parkhead in the January transfer window.

In other news: Imagine him & Moffat: Celtic must seal deal for 13 G/A gem with a “hunger for success”

Manchester United are targeting River Plate’s “rising star” Enzo Fernández this summer and he could slot straight into the team ahead of Brazilian midfielder Fred.

What’s the story?

United are set for a huge overhaul of their under performing squad before next season and according to The Daily Star, up to four midfielders could leave.

This would leave room for plenty of new additions with one target being Argentinian Fernández.

He currently play’s in South America for River Plate but could be persuaded by the lure of one of Europe’s biggest clubs. However, the Red Devils face competition for him from Real Madrid and local rivals Man City, with the player said to have a £20.6m release clause in his contract.

He’s better than Fred

One of the midfielders he would be competing with, or potentially replacing, at Old Trafford would be Brazilian star Fred. He has had a rollercoaster of a career at United and at 29 years old isn’t getting any younger.

The signing of Fernández could provide the perfect alternative, and if he impresses, the 21-year old could be a mainstay at the Theatre of Dreams for years to come.

He has made 36 appearances for River Plate and in his time at the club has been directly involved in 12 goals from midfield.

When you compare his statistics in the league to that of Fred’s, he excels in most categories. The average number of passes he makes per game is 55.3 compared to the Brazilian’s 48.9.

Fernández is also more of a threat in the air with him winning 1.1 of aerial duels per game compared to Fred’s 0.6.

If United are successful in their bid to sign the Argentinian youngster then it’s likely that he will be one of Erik ten Hag’s first singings as manager at Old Trafford.

The Dutchman is reportedly close to agreeing a deal to take the hot seat at the club and signing Fernández would be the perfect start to his tenure.

He’s known for giving young players a chance having developed some star players during his time at Ajax. It’s a same tradition that is part of the fabric at United and if he was signed it would be a signal of the start of a new era under Erik ten Hag.

IN other news: Manchester United: Anthony Elanga was important in crucial win…

After not playing for a couple of weeks over the Christmas period, Leeds United are finally back in action when they take on Burnley at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side’s last Premier League outing came when they were beaten comprehensively by Arsenal in mid-December, and they face a Clarets outfit who are also in a perilous position near the bottom of the table.

The Whites were handed a significant boost ahead of the game, though, with Bielsa confirming that centre-back Diego Llorente is fit and available again for selection. If he comes through any late fitness checks, he surely must start against Sean Dyche’s side.

The “imperious” Spaniard became a regular in Leeds’ defence in the final few weeks of the 2020/21 season, starting 13 of the last 14 games in the top flight and coming up with some impressive performances, not least netting a late equaliser against Liverpool.

He earned a WhoScored match rating of 6.90 for that campaign, which marked him out as the Whites’ second-best centre-back after Cooper, who was also the only player at the club to win more headers per game than Llorente’s 2.2.

Former Leeds striker Noel Whelan raved: “He looked every bit that leader and that quality centre-half that we were all expecting when he signed for the football club. There was great excitement about him it took a long time to get to see him consistently.

“But when we did, we saw him grow and grow and grow. We saw him get stronger and better as the games went on. If you ask any Leeds United fan who watched him in that second part of the season and ask them who would be the first centre-half on the team sheet, they would say Llorente.”

With the Whites shipping an abysmal 11 goals in their past two Premier League games – albeit against Manchester City and Arsenal – having Llorente back could go a long way to restoring a bit of calm and composure in defence.

The £16.2m-rated ace could well be the game-changing return in defence which swings things back in Leeds’ favour heading into tomorrow’s clash against Burnley.

Meanwhile, this Championship ace “would jump” at the chance to join Leeds…

West Bromwich Albion secured the permanent signing of striker Daryl Dike on New Years Day, with the 21-year-old making his Baggies debut against QPR on Saturday.

Although the USA international’s first game for the West Midlands outfit didn’t go to plan, with Albion losing 1-0, there will be plenty of excitement regarding what the former-Orlando City man can do based on his previous spell in the Championship on loan at Barnsley last season.

Under current West Brom manager Valerien Ismael, Dike scored nine goals in 22 appearances for the South Yorkshire outfit, helping them to secure a play-off place.

The 21-year-old returned to the MLS outfit, where former Manchester United star Nani had played, with the Portuguese labelling Dike “a special boy.”

Now at The Hawthorns, the £9m-rated striker will be looking to go one better than last season and secure promotion to the Premier League. What is for sure is that if the American can replicate similar form to that of last term, the Baggies’ bid for promotion will certainly be boosted.

Ismael’s side are currently fifth in the Championship, seven points off of the automatic promotion places and in need of an extra goal source.

The Black Country club are the league’s best defenders, having conceded just 20 goals. However, they’re the second-tier’s joint-tenth top scorers with 31 goals. First place Fulham have scored more than double with 64 in one game less.

It’s a major issue that needs to be resolved immediately. In fact, the Baggies haven’t particularly had a recognised goal scorer they could rely on for a handful of seasons now, with former loanee Romelu Lukaku enjoying the most fruitful campaign since the Belgian made the temporary move to The Hawthorns from Chelsea.

The striker scored 17 goals in the 2012/13 campaign, helping Albion to an eighth-placed finish. Similarities can certainly be drawn between the two strikers.

After all, his former teammate Jordan Williams once said: “Daryl has got a rocket of a right foot. I think he’s similar to Lukaku. He hasn’t scored as many goals yet, but he can hit a ball just as hard.”

Stood at 6 foot 2, Dike is only four centimetres shorter than the Belgian, with the use of their respective physicality a major part of both players’ games.

Of course, if Dike was to evolve into a world-class talisman-like Lukaku, Albion fans would be delighted. However, it is certainly realistic to expect the American to score double digits by the end of the season.

If so, the Baggies may have an improved shot at an instant return to the Premier League.

AND in other news, West Brom eye swoop for “dominant” £5.4m-rated beast, he’s miles better than Hugill…

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Spurs came back from one down to emerge 2-1 victors over Watford on Wednesday night thanks to goals from the returning Heung-min Son and Fernando Llorente, after the Hornets took the lead before half-time through Craig Cathcart.

Llorente had blocked Adrian Mariappa’s effort and the resulting corner was whipped in by Jose Holebas, missed by Spurs ‘keeper Lloris and duly nodded home as the visitors capitalised on what was far from the Frenchman’s first mistake between the sticks.

He may be a World Cup winner but Lloris’ decision making and positional sense can be questionable and the 32-year-old should count himself lucky that the Lilywhites attack was on song to secure the three points in the end.

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin may be out for the season but it’s given him a chance to show off his new accesory. Check out the video above to see for yourself…

Despite the occasional mistake, Lloris’ ownership of the number 1 shirt has hardly been challenged since his arrival at White Hart Lane in 2012, although, in his compatriot Paulo Gazzaniga, Mauricio Pochettino now has a viable replacement for the captain should he continue to mess up.

Former Southampton man Gazzaniga has impressed in Lloris’ stead – mostly in cup clashes – and it may not be too long before the 27-year-old snatches the gloves.

Here’s how Spurs fans reacted to Lloris’ performance on Twitter…

Rangers centre-back Leon Balogun sent a strong message to sporting director Ross Wilson on Sunday as he put in a sublime performance against St Mirren.

Steven Gerrard admitted that the centre-back was a doubt heading into the game after he suffered an injury against Brondby last Thursday.

He told The Herald: “We are hoping we have got to it before there is a tweak or any muscle damage.

“We are hoping it is a little bit of tightness and we will know in the next 24 hours. I will certainly be praying tonight. He felt something in his hamstring. That’s what he came off with, but he wasn’t sure if he felt something or whether it was a bit of tightness.

“We will work that out in the next 24 hours and hopefully he will pull through because he is important for us. I thought his performance was top tonight as well.”

The Nigeria international was able to pull through and produce an excellent display at the back alongside Connor Goldson to ensure the Gers won 2-1 and it should serve as a reminder to Wilson that he has a big decision to make.

Balogun is out of contract at the end of the season and the club hold an option to extend it by one year. Firstly, Wilson must trigger this extension and ensure that he stays for another season at least. Secondly, the Gers chief must negotiate a longer-term deal and keep him at Ibrox in the long-run.

At the age of 33, he is still going strong and producing consistently impressive performances in the Scottish Premiership. This suggests that he is not slowing down, despite his age, and could have more than one year left in the tank.

The defender recorded a SofaScore rating of 7.0 against St Mirren and was a rock at the back in front of Jon McLaughlin. Per SofaScore, he won nine of his 14 duels, whilst making two tackles and four clearances throughout the game as no opposition player managed to dribble past him. He also completed 89% of his passes, highlighting the quality he provides in possession as well as out of it.

This was not a one-off performance from the experienced battler. He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.10 in the Premiership this term, winning 62% of his duels and completing 86% of his passes over the course of the campaign so far.

He is proving that age is merely a number and Wilson must act now to ensure that he does not end up leaving Rangers and weakening Gerrard’s squad. His departure would be a huge blow for the club, given the nature of his performances on the pitch, and that is why they must act now to secure his future in Glasgow.

AND in other news, Forget Roofe & Morelos: Rangers beast with 82% duels won was immense vs St Mirren…

While Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side overcame a rather large hurdle in the Premiership title race on Thursday evening, securing a 1-0 win over third-placed Hearts, the victory came at quite a significant cost for the 56-year-old manager and his side.

Indeed, Jota, Stephen Welsh and Anthony Ralston all had to be substituted due to injury, while Carl Stafelt also appeared to finish the fixture with a knock to his knee.

As such, it looks as if Celtic will travel to Dundee United today with something of a depleted squad. However, speaking after the Hearts game, Postecoglou suggested that the injuries picked up by a number of his regular starters will, in turn, provide an opportunity for those who are yet to get many games under their belt this term.

The 56-year-old said: “We saw on Thursday night that Adam Montgomery had to come on and he has not played for four or five weeks. We still have a fair chunk of important games coming up after [Real] Betis so it makes sense to get some minutes into some of the other guys so that when we call on them they will have played in this period.

“James McCarthy, Mikey Johnston, Liel Abada and Nir Bitton all come into that category. There is an opportunity to get some minutes into their legs and have them ready when required.”

Postecoglou must unleash Johnston

One of the players Postecoglou mentions above, Mikey Johnston, would appear to be in more need than most for regular first-team minutes, as, since his return from injury earlier this season, the 22-year-old has started just once for the Hoops.

Indeed, the winger has endured a frustrating last couple of years at Celtic, with the £900k-rated man featuring in just 10 fixtures last season due to injury, as well as missing a large portion of the start of the current campaign with a knock.

However, the former Scotland U21 international has proven that, when he is fully fit, he can be an extremely useful player in the Bhoys’ attack, scoring six goals and registering six assists over 22 appearances back in 2019/20, as well as bagging five goals and one assist over 23 appearances in 2018/19.

Furthermore, Celtic captain Callum McGregor is quite clearly convinced of the £7.9k-per-week forward’s ability, with the 28-year-old midfielder stating: “He’s such a brilliant talent, bags of ability, bags of potential and he’s one as well that the manager’s asking a lot of him physically.

“He’s responding really well and the guys are doing some great work with him in the physio department and sports science to really get him to a level where he can go and make that impact. Against Hibs, I thought he was sensational.”

As such, with it being clear that Postecoglou simply must begin rotating his side more frequently if he is to avoid a catastrophic injury crisis at Parkhead, the 56-year-old must unleash Johnston against Dundee United this afternoon, as the winger could well prove to play pivotal in Celtic’s Premiership push this season – if given the chance.

In other news: Ange must seal Celtic deal for “prominent” £13m-rated beast who “stole the show” in EL

Rangers have had the pleasure of enjoying the talents of some greats of the game over the years at Ibrox, as they have been able to watch a selection of quality players in Glasgow.

The likes of Rino Gattuso, Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup all represented the Gers throughout their careers, to varying degrees of success, but what about the players who almost joined the club?

One player who came close to arriving at Ibrox in 1997 was legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazario, with Rangers one of three clubs attempting to sign him.

He had established himself as a hugely prolific scorer by that point, scoring 54 goals in 57 matches for PSV Eindhoven and 47 times in 49 outings for Barcelona.

His agent Giovanni Branchini confirmed the three teams who were interested in the forward, saying: “The clause in his contract was a novelty at the time and it scared a lot of clubs off. The three who were really interested were Inter, Lazio and Glasgow Rangers, who followed negotiations all the way.”

The Gers had a nightmare as they failed to convince the then-Barcelona attacker to make the switch to Scotland. He signed for Italian giants Inter Milan for a fee of £23.8m (Transfermarkt) and went on to win the Ballon d’Or later that year.

This was the first time he received the accolade as he was crowned the best player in Europe, with his manager Fabio Capello dubbing him a “phenomenon”.

After moving to Italy, he found the back of the net 59 times in 99 appearances for Inter before Real Madrid snapped him up in the summer of 2002.

In his debut campaign for the Spanish giants, he scored 29 goals in 42 games across La Liga and the Champions League. This led to him winning the second Ballon d’Or of his career as he became Real’s main man at the top end of the pitch.

He ended his time at the Bernabeu with 103 goals and 34 assists in 177 matches – a stunning return for the injury-ravaged centre-forward.

Ronaldo had spells at AC Milan and Corinthians before calling time on his playing days. He ended his career with a whopping 362 goals for club and country, with 67 goals in 104 caps for the Brazil national team/Olympic squad.

These statistics illustrate why Rangers had a nightmare in 1997 as they missed out on the chance to enjoy watching one of the best players in the world lead the line for the club. He was deemed to be the best player in Europe on two occasions and the Gers fans could have been watching him in blue.

One that got away…

AND in other news, Insider drops worrying behind-the-scenes Ibrox claim, it’s very bad news for Rangers…

Liverpool are weighing up a possible move for Porto midfielder Otavio in the summer, according to a transfer rumour which has emerged.

The Lowdown: Otavio laying on assists

The 27-year-old has once again flourished for Porto this season, registering 11 assists in 25 Primeira Liga starts, also chipping in with three goals.

Otavio was team-mates with Luis Diaz prior to the Colombian’s move to Liverpool in January, and he came up against the Reds in the Champions League earlier this season.

Speculation is now surrounding his future ahead of the summer transfer window, and it could be that Liverpool once again look to snap up a gem from Porto after Julian Ward’s move for the Colombia winger.

The Latest: Liverpool keen on summer move for Otavio

According to A Bola [via Sport Witness], new transfer guru Ward is not done ‘shopping at the Dragons’ after Diaz and has ‘referenced’ Otavio regarding a potential move. His characteristics as a player are thought to ‘please’ FSG.

Paris Saint-Germain are also keen on signing the attacking midfielder, whose current deal expires in the summer of 2025 and, according to A Bola [via Daily Mail], contains a release clause of €60m (£50m).

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-26/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Strong midfield target

While Liverpool’s squad looks as good as it has been in the Premier League era, midfield appears to be the main area to focus upon this summer.

James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Thiago are all at the veteran stages of their career, while there is no guarantee that the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita will be at Anfield beyond the expiry of their contracts in 2023.

Otavio could bring a sprinkling of magic to Liverpool’s midfield, as highlighted by his assists tally – he has set up 61 goals for Porto overall – coming in at peak age and hitting the ground running immediately.

He can play centrally or out wide, often being deployed on the right-hand side this season, so he could also act as a strong backup to Mohamed Salah in that position in Jurgen Klopp’s attack.

In other news, a key Liverpool transfer update has emerged. Read more here.