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According to Football Insider, Tottenham have offered Son Heung-min a new blockbuster contract worth £200,000-a-week, prompting Sky Sports pundit and former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson to welcome the ‘amazing news’. 

Son, who has struck up a devastating partnership with striker Harry Kane so far this season, with the South Korean international currently sitting top of the Premier League scoring charts, is reportedly being offered a new deal worth far more than his current wages.

Spurs look to tie down Son

According to Spotrac, the 28-year-old is currently on £140,000-a-week, and this new offer will increase the winger’s weekly earnings by around £60,000.

In an effort to tie him down and warn off any potential interest, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is now looking to make sure the new deal is an offer Son cannot refuse, with Robinson going on to claim that this could be ‘amazing news for Spurs’.

Lauding Son’s ‘outstanding’ form from the very first day, the ex-England ‘keeper believes that the attacker’s presence in the dressing room and on the training pitch is reason enough to hand him a new contract.

“It’s amazing news for Spurs if he signs a new deal,” explained Robinson to Football Insider.

“He has been outstanding from the first day he walked into the building.

“He brightens up the place when he comes through the door and his performances on the pitch match his attitude off it. He is brilliant to have around the club. Son is always happy, always smiling and always has time for people.

“He has been as good if not better at times than Harry Kane.

“Over the years he has made himself one of the first names on the team sheet because he is so consistent. He deserves every single penny of his new contract.”

Transfer Tavern take

Judging by his brilliant run of form so far this season, Son appears to be most deserving of a fresh deal – and according to recent reports, Spurs may not be done there.

As per The Athletic, Lloris is next in line for a bumper contract; and if Levy can tie up all these loose ends, it’s safe to say this has been quite the year of business for Tottenham.

In other news: Dele Alli’s situation at Spurs has just taken a positive turn, find out more here.

Glasgow Rangers face a fight to keep the ever-reliable Ryan Kent if recent reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to The Yorkshire Evening Post, Victor Orta said the Scottish giants were difficult to deal with, which is why a move for Kent failed to materialise in the summer. However, he refused to rule out a return for the Rangers star in the future.

It’s claimed that Leeds could come back for Kent in January after the transfer market has re-opened. The 23-year-old has caught the eye at domestic level and has gathered a host of admirers across Europe over the past few years.

Keep Kent at all costs!

The former Liverpool winger, who reportedly earns wages which are worth £20,000-per-week, has been in impressive form this season and is highly rated by Steven Gerrard. The Ibrox boss has heaped plenty of praise on Kent in the past, calling him a “game-changer” following the Europa League victory over Willem II at the start of the season.

Kent has scored 5 goals and supplied 5 assists in 18 games in all competitions so far, whilst he is averaging 2.9 shots, 2.2 key passes and 2.2 dribbles per game in the Scottish Premiership this season, via WhoScored.

By comparison, even Ianis Hagi has only managed 1.8 key passes and 0.7 dribbles per league game in the Scottish top flight, as per WhoScored.

Despite interest from a number of Premier League sides, Kent decided to join the Gers in a £7.5m deal in 2019 after a successful spell on loan in Scotland. He made his debut in the 1-0 win over NK Osijek in the Europa League. Since then, he has bagged 19 times and 18 assists in total, via Transfermarkt.

He recently received praise from former Leeds and Aberdeen striker Noel Whelan, who compared the wizard to Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling, and insisted he’s “got everything” in an interview with Football Insider, which is high praise indeed, especially when you consider the fact that Sterling is arguably one of the best players in the Premier League, winning the FWA Player of the Year award in the 2018/19 season.

These kind of numbers are incredibly hard to come by at the best of times, least of all during a period of such uncertainty. It’s perhaps hardly surprising that Gerrard is desperate for the board to give him new and improved terms as it’s fair to say that finding a suitable replacement for the right price wouldn’t be an easy task. Get it done, Gers, or face serious consequences.

AND in other news, Bassey & Balogun start, no Helander: Glasgow Rangers Predicted XI vs Hamilton…

Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster returned to the South Coast this summer following an impressive loan spell with Celtic, with the intention of challenging for a first-team spot in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

Celtic were heavily linked with a return for the 32-year-old over the summer before Martin Semmens confirmed that he was set to stay with the Saints, where he would challenge Alex McCarthy and Angus Gunn for a spot in the first-team (per Daily Mail).

However, the former England international has failed to make an appearance this season, with Southampton opting to send Angus Gunn out on loan to Stoke City instead, leaving Forster to sit on the bench.

This looks to have been an expensive decision by the Southampton board, as, despite his lack of appearances, Forster is one of the top earners at the South Coast club, as he currently earns £70,000 a week with the Saints, which is joint-second with Ryan Bertrand.

Only Danny Ings earns more than the shot-stopper, suggesting that he is a very expensive option to just have sitting on the bench and perhaps the club should look into bringing in a cheaper second-choice during the January transfer window.

Celtic have recently been linked with a January move for the Englishman, so Southampton could raise some funds by selling the £4.05 million-rated ‘keeper.

After his impressive loan spell there last season, you would expect the 32-year-old to be guaranteed first-team football with the European giants, meaning a deal could benefit both parties.

During his time with the Bhoys, an impressive performance in the Europa League against Copenhagen, in which he saved a penalty, earned him glowing praise from manager Neil Lennon.

He said: “He’s brilliant, but that’s down to the work that he and (goalkeeper coach) Stevie Woods do behind the scenes.

“Credit to Fraser he’s done brilliantly with a magnificent save. I think it would have been really harsh on us if we’d lost the game with the amount of chances we had, especially in the first half.” (per Daily Mail)

Therefore, considering Forster’s considerable wage and his lack of minutes at Southampton so far this season, there doesn’t seem many reasons why the South Coast club should deny him a permanent move to Celtic should they reignite their interest in January.

Former Leeds United goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell has not seen his career progress in the way he might have hoped since joining Burnley, suggesting that Leeds’ director of football Victor Orta did extremely well to sell him for the price he did.

After making 41 appearances for the Whites, in which he conceded 53 goals and kept 11 clean sheets, the shot-stopper completed a move to Sean Dyche’s side in the summer of 2019.

Since then, he has managed just three appearances for the Clarets’ first-team, one of which came in their recent 5-0 defeat against Manchester City, where the 24-year-old produced a disappointing display, earning a 4.72 rating for his performance.

Whilst he has managed to establish himself as a regular in the Northern Ireland team, with 14 caps to his name, the former Leeds man has struggled for game time at Burnley, which is perhaps partly due to the superb form of Nick Pope in recent seasons.

Considering Leeds received £2.5 million for Peacock-Farrell, whilst he is now valued at just £1.08 million by Transfermarkt, it looks as if Orta did superbly in his negotiations.

When you consider the form of 20-year-old Illan Meslier so far this season, who Leeds were able to sign for just under £6 million, the deal Leeds got for Peacock-Farrell looks even better.

It seems unlikely that the 24-year-old will be able to establish himself as first-choice at Burnley anytime soon but hopefully, for the former Leeds man, he can prove himself as a Premier League goalkeeper in the future.

The young ‘keeper did earn some praise from Marcelo Bielsa after saving a penalty in the 1-0 win against Reading in 2018, with the Argentinian saying after the game:

“I’m very happy for him and I’m very happy for the team.”

“We had an intervention which resolved the game. He has a very big influence.”

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However, his form this season suggests that Orta sold him to Burnley at the perfect time and that Leeds won’t be having any regrets about letting him leave.

And, in other news… Carlton Palmer claims Leeds shouldn’t “rush into” contract decision for Bielsa favourite

Speaking exclusively to FootballFanCast, Rob Lee has touted Henrik Larsson as a potential contender to replace Neil Lennon as Celtic boss.

The Hoops are in the midst of a hugely troubling season, already 13 points behind rivals Rangers as their quest for a tenth successive Scottish league title appears to be going up in smoke.

That’s naturally led to speculation about Lennon’s long-term future at the club, and the potential names that could be considered to replace him in the dugout.

Stuck in lockdown? Our mega footy quiz will cure any boredom…

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Lee – best known for playing over 300 times for Newcastle and 21 times for England – claimed that along with someone like former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, Larsson could be someone for the Bhoys to think about.

He said: “Henrik Larsson’s a legend, [an] absolute legend there.”

With over 200 games played for the club, and a ridiculous total of 175 goals scored, Larsson is a true Celtic icon for his time at Parkhead. The Swede is currently learning his trade as assistant manager to Ronald Koeman at Barcelona, and it remains to be seen whether he would leave such a high-profile position to try and rescue his former side.

If he does, you better believe that Celtic Park will be absolutely rocking at seeing the king return home.

It’s fair to say that under Stewart Donald, Sunderland’s transfer strategy hasn’t been particularly great.

They’ve lost a host of academy stars including the likes of George Honeyman and Josh Maja, while the recruitment has been rather shambolic. Thus, supporters will be hoping that new owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is far more adept in the market.

Of course, the brunt of transfers will now be sorted out by Kristjaan Speakman but it will be up to the owner to provide the funds and then green light any move.

One of their first assignments will be to sign someone capable of stretching the play and scoring goals. Certainly, that’s what new manager Lee Johnson wants in his side.

The tip of the iceberg in terms of Donald’s recruitment was Will Grigg, someone capable of stretching teams but unfortunately not forthcoming in terms of goals. The Black Cats signed him for £4m in January 2019 but just months later missed out on a sublime free transfer.

The player in question is Lawrence Shankland, a striker now plying his trade for Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership. The Scotland international admits that Sunderland watched him in action but for some reason, a deal wasn’t offered.

That was a colossal mistake from Donald because with the Mackems struggling for goals, all of their problems would have been solved with Shankland.

The 25-year-old is as natural as they come in front of goal and surely would have set the Stadium of Light on fire. In the last two years, he has scored 65 goals, bagging 34 in 2018/19 and then following that up with 28 last term.

He only has three goals this season but if he’d found that sort of prior form in the north-east, promotion surely would have been on the cards.

After all, Grigg has only scored eight in his entire Sunderland stay – Shankland is clearly better at this point in their respective careers.

Of course, we’re looking at this in hindsight, but it was clearly a huge howler not to offer him a contract when he was a free agent in the summer of 2019.

AND in other news, Speakman can find another Semenyo if SAFC swoop for £6k-p/w gem with “lots of pace”…

Crystal Palace take on defending champions Liverpool at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon as they aim to improve their standings in the table after a 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Wednesday.

Christian Benteke gave the Eagles the lead, before he was sent off for a second yellow card after Sebastien Haller scored an overhead kick, which saw Roy Hodgson’s side slip to 12th in the table, a point adrift of Aston Villa, who have two games in-hand.

The Eagles have only won one of their past five games, though they are unbeaten in their last three in the league, but Hodgson will be well aware his side will have to be at their very best if they are to beat the league leaders, who are three points ahead of second-placed Spurs.

Palace will be without Benteke, while Martin Kelly, Mamadou Sakho, Connor Wickham, Wayne Hennessy and Nathan Ferguson remain sidelined due to injury.

Here is Football FanCast’s best guess for the predicted starting line-up, which sees Hodgson make four changes to the team that drew with West Ham.

The Palace boss rang several changes for the trip to West Ham, which means some key players should be fresh for today.

Vicente Guaita is expected to start, whilst Gary Cahill could come back in for Scott Dann, whilst the same goes for Nathaniel Clyne, who will most likely replace Joel Ward at right-back. Patrick van Aanholt and Cheikou Kouyate have started the past seven consecutive domestic games, and we’re backing the duo to start again on Saturday afternoon.

Jairo Riedewald came off the bench against Spurs, and is yet to feature since, but we reckon he will be back today, forming a partnership with club captain Luka Milivojevic in the engine room.

Upfront, things could get a little more interesting, as Hodgson may decide to hand Michy Batshuayi a rare start, despite the Chelsea loanee failing to find the back of the net in the past eight games in the Premier League in a row.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson must recall Jairo Riedewald to face Liverpool…

Crystal Palace cruised to a comfortable victory over Sheffield United thanks to a sensational goal from Eberechi Eze as the Premier League strugglers’ resolve crumbled in a 2-0 win at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.

Jeffrey Schlupp’s early goal and a stunning solo run from Eze inflicted a decisive blow on Chris Wilder’s hopes of his side avoiding relegation.

Roy Hodgson’s side dominated proceedings for large parts of the game, and now find themselves 12th in the table, although they have played one match more than Arsenal and Wolves.

Inconsistency has plagued Palace under Hodgson’s reign and, as he approaches his 74th birthday, his side still remain very much a work in progress.

Hodgson has arguably transformed the Eagles into a solid defensive unit, although this has come under increasing strain since the start of this season.

However, we have to give credit where credit is due: Eberechi Eze delivered one of the finest performances we’ve seen in a Palace shirt for some time.

Eze brought a youthful exuberance and energy after he replaced Schlupp in the first half during his 16th appearance of the season thus far.

After arriving at Selhurst Park from Queens Park Rangers in the summer, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder has barely skipped a beat, and has hardly looked out of place at all alongside the likes of Schlupp and Wilfried Zaha.

In what can only be described as one of the most iconic moments of the season so far, Eze doubled the lead shortly before the half-time whistle blew, picking up the ball inside his own half and scoring from outside the box after dodging a few half-hearted tackles from Blades players.

But that’s not all – SofaScore graded the left-winger with a statistical score of 7.2 out of ten – which was higher than Schlupp himself – as he made one key pass, took one shot on target and completed one of his two dribble attempts successfully.

Eze, who earns £30,000-per-week at SE25, also helped Palace retain possession, as he only lost control of the ball on just six occasions, provided 17 out of his 21 passes (81%), and made one clearance as well.

This is the kind of performance Palace fans have come to expect from the England U21 international, but that shouldn’t take the shine from his heroic individual display.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace can sign their next Wilfried Zaha in Rabbi Matondo…

According to La Nazione (via Sport Witness), Leeds are now preparing to make a loan offer for Fiorentina’s Erick Pulgar.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days and weeks have suggested Marcelo Bielsa’s side are on the look-out for an new central midfielder, with Pulgar’s name consistently being linked with a switch to Elland Road.

Now, Italian publication La Nazione has claimed that Leeds are ready to make their move for the Chile international, proposing a loan move until the end of the season and without an obligation to buy at the end of it.

Answering Bielsa’s prayers

Leeds only have to look back to twelve months ago to see the perils of bringing someone in on loan during the January transfer window and having an ‘obligation’ to buy at the end of it – the Jean-Kevin Augustin ordeal is still fresh in the memory.

So by ensuring they don’t have that fixed attachment in a deal to sign Pulgar, would mean if his short spell in the Premier League doesn’t quite work out, Leeds can simply wave goodbye to him at the end of it all.

Bielsa has a really dearth in options in that Kalvin Phillips role, with Pascal Struijk really the only player who the Leeds boss has used in that all important holding midfield role.

Whilst Pulgar can play a bit further forward too, the 6 foot 2 machine may be seen by Bielsa as someone to provide vital cover to his talisman, Phillips.

Injuries and suspensions will really take their toll over this long Premier League season, and if Phillips was to miss a significant period of time, it could spell major trouble.

Pulgar on a six-month loan would go a long way to addressing that, and given they are set to only target him on loan and not permanently, it would give the Whites a security blanket if things don’t work out. It really would be a Victor Orta masterclass.

Meanwhile, Leeds United are facing a transfer battle for this Serie A sensation…

Frank McAvennie believes that Glasgow Rangers’ move for Jack Simpson could be them pre-empting an exit of one of their senior centre-halves this summer.

Simpson move may lead to an exit

The Gers have been heavily linked with a move for 24-year-old, with some reports indicating that a pre-contract deal has already been agreed (The Daily Record).

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie has suggested this could mean one of the Gers’ central defenders may leave Ibrox in a few months. He said:

“A lot of clubs have got four centre-halves, and four good ones.

“If they can get the boy Simpson on a free contract, he will fancy his chances of getting into that Rangers side next season. He would come in and straight away he’d be ready to fight for the team.

“They could be pre-empting an exit. That way if they were to lose a centre-half in the summer, it would not be a big problem.”

Not impossible

Simpson, who is set to come in from Championship outfit Bournemouth, will not be moving north of the border to take up a bit-part role at Ibrox – he will no doubt want to play on a regular basis. However, adding him to Steven Gerrard’s squad would mean they would have five options in the centre-back position along with Connor Goldson, Filip Helander, Leon Balogun and Nikola Katic – and that is not even including George Edmundson, who appears to have ruined his chances of making it with the 54-time Scottish champions after breaking coronavirus regulations and picking up a seven-game ban (BBC).

This quartet are valued at £8.91m (Transfermarkt) – the Gers would not doubt be able to recover a decent fee if they were to part ways with one of them. In fact, bringing in someone for free and selling another could be a fantastic piece of business as long as the quality remains the same.

In other news, Rangers fans don’t want this man to stay at Ibrox.