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According to Dan Sheldon of The Athletic, another loan spell at Southampton is unlikely for Broja, but a permanent move is possible in the summer.

The Lowdown: Broja’s outstanding form at Southampton

The 20-year-old has quickly established himself as one of Southampton’s most important players since arriving on a season-long loan from Chelsea.

The striker has made 17 Premier League appearances this season, nine of which have come as part of the starting XI.

Broja has scored five goals and produced one assist under Ralph Hasenhuttl, which makes him Saints’ second top scorer in the league behind James Ward-Prowse.

The Latest: Broja permanent transfer possible

Hasenhuttl has previously stated that talks are taking place between Martin Semmens, Southampton’s club’s chief executive, and Marina Granovskaia at Chelsea over the Albanian’s future.

According to fresh reports from Dan Sheldon and The Athletic, ‘as it stands’, another loan move for Broja is unlikely. Therefore, this means that the loanee will either leave Chelsea on a permanent transfer this summer or will remain at Stamford Bridge in a bid to fight for his place in Tuchel’s side.

This is fantastic news for Saints fans, as it is also said that Broja is enjoying his time at Southampton and that he has developed a good relationship with Hasenhuttl, meaning if a fee can be agreed the player certainly seems keen to stay put at St. Mary’s.

The Verdict: Massive for Saints fans

The possibility of a permanent deal coming to fruition will arouse excitement amongst the Saints fanbase, who are desperate to keep hold of the 20-year-old beyond the summer.

Broja is scoring a top flight goal every 175 minutes this season, a fantastic rate for a player who had rarely stepped foot on a Premier League pitch before 2021.

The fact that the player has a good relationship with the manager will give the club a big boost in negotiations over a permanent transfer, as this could influence Broja into pushing for a return move.

Hasenhuttl would clearly love for the striker to return, having described the striker as ‘dangerous’ in front of goal. Therefore, it likely all depends on whether Southampton have the finances needed to meet Chelsea’s asking price.

Antonio Conte will have plenty to think about in the next ten days with the bulk of his Tottenham Hotspur squad away on international duty.

And the Italian has several issues to solve, notably their problems in the final third, where they are amongst the poorest in the Premier League…

Conte’s tactical dilemma

It’s been touted that the 52-year-old will alter his formation in the coming weeks and this could well be to accommodate a more attacking figure in midfield.

“There’s an expectation within the club that the starting XI and formation will change over the coming weeks,” claimed football.london reporter Alasdair Gold this week.

“I think the width from the wing-backs negates the need for wingers up front as well, so I think we’ll see a shift to a 3-4-1-2 and yes I reckon two or three faces in the team will be different within a month’s time.

“As for converted wing-backs, [Sergio] Reguilon and Emerson (as well as [Ryan] Sessegnon and [Matt] Doherty) have the ability to carry out the role so I’m not sure he needs to convert anyone particularly but who knows what the future holds for Lucas [Moura] and [Steven] Bergwijn if he did go down that route.”

The introduction of a ‘no.10’ or a similar type of role could help Spurs create more chances for Harry Kane and Heung-min Son to feast upon, especially as they have not registered a shot on target in nearly four hours of league football.

Similarly, no team in the Premier League is averaging fewer shots each outing than Spurs (10.1) – not even rock-bottom Norwich or the other two teams in the dropzone.

Harsh on Moura

However, one unfortunate consequence of this change in tactics would see Lucas Moura axed from the starting XI as the need for wingers will no longer be necessary.

There’s an argument to be made that they aren’t anyway as Conte deploys two really advanced wing-backs on either flank.

The Brazilian has arguably been one of the Lilywhites’ standout performers this campaign.

Only Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (7.15) has recorded a better average WhoScored rating than Moura (7.04) after 11 matches. And he’s started and played the full 90 in all of them.

The 29-year-old wide man, who is now valued at £18m by CIES Football Observatory, does lead the way for dribbles per game (three) – by quite some margin too, with Tanguy Ndombele (1.6) the next best and Emerson Royal (one) the pick of the wing-backs, as per WhoScored.

Moura is also quite an industrious presence right across the pitch, so perhaps he could stake a claim at right wing-back. It would be familiar territory for Conte, that’s for sure.

Moses-like role?

The Italian converted struggling Chelsea flop Victor Moses into an astute option on the flank and he could well do the same with Moura.

As per WhoScored, the former Paris Saint-Germain star is also averaging 1.1 key passes per game, which is the second-most in the squad, as well as 1.5 shots, 1.3 tackles and 1.2 clearances per outing too.

This shows that he likes to get everywhere on the pitch and does more than just simply attack. He can contribute defensively, to a very good standard, having averaged more tackles than even centre-back Eric Dier (0.2).

It is no wonder the Englishman once dubbed his teammate a “nightmare” to train against, you only have to look at those numbers to see that.

On the above evidence, there is certainly a case to be made for Moura becoming Conte’s next Moses. It would definitely be one way to keep him in the starting XI, just as he deserves.

It would then be unfortunate for Emerson but you won’t be able to keep everyone happy in north London.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano reveals Conte’s potential plans for January…

A major update has emerged on Rangers’ search for a new manager, regarding Italian coach Gennaro Gattuso…

What’s the talk?

According to a report from Sky Sports, the Gers are not considering a deal to bring the ex-Napoli boss to the club to replace Steven Gerrard.

Derek McInnes and Gattuso have both been ruled out as Rangers continue to consider appointing Dutch manager Gio van Bronckhorst instead.

Gutting

This update from Sky will surely leave Rangers fans gutted as Gattuso could have been an interesting appointment at Ibrox. The retired midfielder, who previously played for the club, is reportedly interested in the role and we published an article explaining why it could be a great move.

However, it now appears as though the Gers have made a decision not to approach the 43-year-old and will continue their search for Steven Gerrard’s replacement without looking at the former Milan and Napoli head coach. This is a major update that rules him out of the running and could leave supporters disappointed that he is not being considered.

Ex-AC Milan and Brazil midfielder Kaka previously lauded his controversial former teammate and said:

“Gattuso? It was great to see him coaching for the first time with my own eyes. He’s the same as he was as a player in terms of energy and motivation.

“He spent the whole time motivating the team and demanding the best, but that’s not all. Rino is very good, he’s managed to study and prepare well, and all these things make him a phenomenon.”

Gattuso has 122 games of managerial experience in the Serie A with Napoli and Milan under his belt, winning an impressive 1.86 points per game in that time. He never finished below seventh in his four seasons between the two Italian giants, finishing fifth twice, and he won the Italian Cup with Napoli in the 2019/20 campaign – showing that he has the quality as a coach to win silverware.

This shows that he is a talented manager who has proven himself at the top level in Italy, as he was able to successfully manage two huge clubs in Milan and Napoli who like the Gers, traditionally have higher expectations. Therefore, he could potentially have been a good appointment by Rangers and that is precisely why fans will be gutted that the club are not interested in exploring a deal for him.

AND in other news, Davis 2.0: Rangers could sign new metronome in gem who “quietly impressed” ex-EPL boss…

Much to the relief of Eddie Howe and the club’s fans, Newcastle United finally secured their first win of the season at the 15th attempt with a 1-0 defeat of Burnley at St James’ Park this afternoon thanks to a goal from Callum Wilson.

With the 29-year-old on the scoresheet and the defence able to keep a clean sheet, another man who impressed on the day was Jonjo Shelvey.

In his 90 minutes on the pitch, the midfielder had 62 touches of the ball, making 35 accurate passes, three key passes, three crosses and seven long balls, highlighting his range of passing ability. The midfielder also had two shots at goal and completed one dribble, showing his attacking prowess as well.

From a defensive point of view, Shelvey made one clearance and won three out of his six duels, helping his side to keep their first clean sheet of the season.

This latest performance for the Toon earned the midfielder an overall match rating of 7.6/10, making him the second-highest rated player on the day after Wilson according to SofaScore.

Labelled a player who Howe feels could be an “important” one for the Magpies, Shelvey certainly repaid the faith put in him by his manager on this occasion.

With some Newcastle fans previously sharing their criticism of the 29-year-old in the past for his performances, with some even calling for him to leave the club altogether, it seems as though Shelvey could be starting to get some of the doubters back on side with this performance against Burnley.

Moving forward, if he can continue playing regularly for the Toon and putting in this sort of solid display in an attacking and defensive sense, whilst adding some goals and assists to his tally, he could potentially save Newcastle from relegation and finally prove himself to the club and their new owners.

However, with Newcastle having to face off against the likes of Leicester City, Liverpool and the two Manchester clubs this month, Shelvey and the rest of his teammates will need to be at the top of their game to build on today’s breakthrough victory.

In other news: PIF must seal dream NUFC move for “exceptional” 114-goal magician who Howe would love…

Former Premier League striker Marlon Harewood has given the thumbs up to Rafael Benitez to Celtic in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

Following the resignation of Neil Lennon last month, Celtic are in need of a new permanent manager, and Benitez is just one name that has been linked with the job.

The 60-year-old Champions League-winning boss is currently available after leaving Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Professional earlier this year, so he would be free to join the Bhoys in a move that would be massive for the club, according to Harewood.

Speaking of the possibility of Benitez in the Celtic Park dugout, the ex-Aston Villa and West Ham forward exclusively told FFC:

“It’d be good if they can get him. Wow, that’d be a massive appointment for them. Obviously, it’s hard when you talk about [Scottish] football [to ignore] Celtic. Everyone looks forward to the Celtic-Rangers games.”

Harewood, however, did question whether the Glasgow club could convince the ex-Liverpool manager to join. He added: “It’s hard to get a manager to go up there and be excited, so they obviously have to get a package together for him to go up there.”

After losing the SPFL title to rivals Rangers and missing out on 10 in a row, Benitez is exactly the type of manager Celtic could do with.

With experience in England, Spain and Italy, winning multiple trophies during his time in those three countries, the Spaniard has the kind of pedigree that could help Celtic wrestle the title back from his former player and progress in Europe.

It remains to be seen just how interested Benitez would be in the gig at Celtic Park if at all but, even so, he is an option that surely has to be considered.

Tottenham Hotspur have seemingly made pre-summer contact over signing a brand new defensive target with Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly now in their sights.

The Lowdown: Conte eyes new centre-half…

According to The Telegraph, Spurs’ head coach is placed a central defender on his summer transfer wish-list among his five other requests to the club board.

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As well as a centre-back, it is believed that Conte has his eyes on a reserve goalkeeper, right-wing-back, two midfielders and a new forward.

Of the defenders linked, there have been many, with recent claims heavily linking Tottenham and transfer chief Fabio Paratici to Torino’s star man Gleison Bremer.

However, as per Il Mattino (via Calcio Napoli 24), it appears a new target is now in their radar in colossal Napoli man Koulibaly.

The Latest: Tottenham make pre-summer Koulibaly move…

It is reported that Tottenham have now made contact for the 30-year-old and have started knocking on the door alongside Everton and Newcastle United.

It is believed that the Lilywhites sent a ‘request’ to sign Koulibaly, but for now, all discussions have been postponed until the end of the season.

The Verdict: Come back again?

Out of all Tottenham’s targets, we believe the Senegal international comes as a surprising one given his age and possible price tag – with Transfermarkt valuing him at around £40.5 million.

He’s also on a reported £183,000-per-week, wages that would put Koulibaly in and around Spurs’ top earners.

These could be heavy financial prices to pay from a Tottenham perspective given the 57-cap star doesn’t exactly come as a long-term solution to Conte’s lack of centre-back depth.

His quality cannot be denied, with former Salernitana manager Stefano Colantuono branding him an ‘extraordinary’ player earlier this season, but we believe Paratici may be best looking elsewhere for a cheaper and younger option.

In other news: ‘That’s for sure’ – Sky Sports reporter now backs big transfer news out of Tottenham, find out more here.

DeAndre Yedlin was Steve Bruce’s real star as Newcastle United produced a defensive masterclass to secure a point at home to Liverpool on Wednesday night.

Bruce welcomed Jurgen Klopp’s champions to St. James’ Park and saw his players prove resilient in the face of danger to record the first goalless league draw between the Magpies and Reds since February 1974, 69 meetings ago.

The result also saw Liverpool fail to score in a Premier League fixture for the first time in 21 matches, having been denied throughout by a sublime display from Karl Darlow to prevent Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Liverpool had a string of chances during their time on Tyneside to end the year on a high and move five points clear at the top of the table, yet were forced to accept a stalemate with Fabian Schar saving Darlow’s clean sheet 10 minutes from time by clearing off the line after a fortuitous rebound for Sadio Mane.

Yedlin often had Mane, plus Reds full-back Andrew Robertson, in his back pocket as he continued to hold down honours at right-back in Bruce’s plans, after taking over the role at home to Fulham.

The 27-year-old, who continues to be linked with a move away from St. James’ with his £30,000-per-week contract due to expire next summer, has now started Newcastle’s last three league games and proved against Liverpool why the position has become his.

Yedlin continually brought exuberant overlapping runs in partnership with Jacob Murphy down United’s right-hand channel, while contributing an array of vital tackles and coming close to only his fourth-ever Toon goal when his 17th-minute effort was deflected wide.

Salah fell victim to the 62-cap USA international, whom Rafa Benitez once declared “I love this player” for, late in the first-half when Yedlin timed his challenge to perfection to snatch the ball as the Egyptian sought to release the trigger.

Yedlin saw out the midweek meeting with two successful tackles to his name in total, while registering two interceptions and six clearances, per SofaScore.

He additionally won five of his six ground duels, never committed a foul, was successful with his only attempted dribble and provided one key ball from 11 accurate passes, despite failing to connect with a Magpies teammate with his only cross of the night.

Javier Manquillo may have returned to the matchday squad at Manchester City on Boxing Day, while Emil Krafth once again took a seat on the bench at home to Liverpool, but both will struggle to displace Yedlin from the starting line-up should he maintain his current form.

AND in other news, an “unplayable” £75k-p/w Newcastle United player is in-demand ahead of the January transfer window.

Tottenham Hotspur witnessed the sensational return of Gareth Bale in 2020, though his impact thus far has been far from that.

Of course, nobody was expecting the Welsh superstar to his the dazzling heights of his former spell in north London considering he’s 31, but he’s barely shown any signs of why the Premier League outfit should keep hold of him past the summer.

Injuries have somewhat blighted Bale’s spell, restricting him to just 598 minutes in all competitions; he isn’t likely to usurp Heung-min Son or Harry Kane either.

Eurosport journalist Dean Jones believes both Jose Mourinho and Daniel Levy are enticed by the idea of keeping the Real Madrid star around despite all of the doubts – something that would certainly please the La Liga giants as it would get his enormous salary off the wage bill.

Spurs are thought to only be paying 40% of his £600k-per-week wages, luckily.

Whilst it would be a fairytale to see Bale back to his best in a Lilywhites shirt, it is probably time to move on from that dream and accept that it just hasn’t worked out.

And they needn’t worry as they have a ready-made replacement waiting in the wings – or at least, waiting over in Germany as Ryan Sessegnon continues to impress during his loan spell at Hoffenheim.

The 20-year-old is getting valuable game time and has quickly become their first-choice left wing-back, the very position where Bale made his name.

In nine Bundesliga starts, he has contributed to four goals and has also made 12 dribbles, 16 interceptions and 24 tackles, per WhoScored.

We’re finally starting to see why Spurs paid £25m for him in 2019. It would be silly to not give him an opportunity upon his return.

Already, he’s been likened to Bayern Munich dynamo Alphonso Davies, whilst Hoffenheim sporting director Alexander Rosen has dubbed him “highly talented.”

Even before his arrival in north London, Sessegnon was drawing. comparisons to Bale, so it seems only right that the transition is made with the Welshman now back at the club.

The “huge talent” – now valued at £18m – is doing everything asked of him out on loan and will present far better value than whatever Spurs will have to pay to keep hold of their former generational talent.

AND in other news, Fresh injury BLOW a cause for concern for Spurs boss Jose Mourinho…

Many Glasgow Rangers fans are livid with comments from journalist Graham Spiers made on Saturday.

Many Gers supporters have had problems with journalists, including Spiers, for the way they feel their club has been portrayed in the media. Last year, Club 1872 won an IPSO complaint against the Daily Record for false allegations in an article, while both Jordan Campbell and Andy Walker (Glasgow Times) have been banned from Ibrox for their coverage of the 55-time Scottish champions.

Spiers has now attracted the wrath of some Gers supporters. On Twitter, he shared a video of Sir Alex Ferguson, who was discussing an interaction he had with an official at Ibrox many moons ago. The former Manchester United manager said he was asked whether he and his wife were married in a chapel or not.

Spiers called it an “utter embarrassment”, seemingly alluding to a previous unwritten rule in the Rangers code that they could and would not sign Catholic players. However, this incident was said to have taken place more than 50 years ago, and Rangers have been openly signing Catholic players for more than 30 years.

The comments were shared on Twitter by Spiers, and these Gers fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about Spiers’ comments

“Get a grip Spiers”

Credit: @Tunnocks17

“Embarrassing take”

Credit: @alanmillar91

“You really love a pop at Rangers Graham despite Alex Ferguson talking about something said by a director in 1967. The world has changed including in Glasgow since then. Try focus on the good and positive changes in Scottish football and not on the past. You prefer to be negative.”

Credit: @KidKiddr

“Posting something that happened more than half a century ago is just as embarrassing!”

Credit: @Steven53448760

“Oh do behave Graham – you cannot compare the club then with the club now. SAF actually accepted that because most people did at the time – not saying it was acceptable btw. We’re accepting of everyone and anyone”

Credit: @darren_cairns

“Not even remotely relevant to the Rangers of today, or for decades to be honest, but for people like yourself it has to be kept alive, it’s what your industry has traded on.”

Credit: @JHC17626935

In other news, this ex-Rangers man has expressed his delight since leaving Ibrox.

Lots of Southampton fans have been left angry by Jack Stephens’ performance in their club’s loss to Manchester City.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men fell to a 5-2 defeat to Manchester City, as Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez grabbed a brace each. Ilkay Gundogan also scored for Pep Guardiola’s men. The Saints were level at 1-1 at one point in the game, but City then ran away with it before the end of the first half (As per the Guardian).

Hasenhuttl used a 4-4-2 shape with Stephens deployed in midfield instead of playing in the back four. The Englishman though, didn’t come up with a good performance, as he picked up a rating of only 5.86 (Whoscored).

Stephens made just a single tackle in the game, making one interception and a single clearance only. He did win two aerial duels – the joint-highest in the game for the Saints (Whoscored).

It was Stephens’ first appearance in midfield this season and it was only the second time he’s played in defensive midfield in his Saints career.

The 27-year-old’s performance though, drew the attention of many angry Southampton fans, who made their views clear about him.

What did Southampton fans make of Stephens’ performance?

“Jack Stephens just watching the world go by in midfield. Can never play for us again.”Credit: @Too_Jazzee”Please Jack stephens leave the club. His work ethic is horrific and honestly doesn’t do anything other than make us worse. Completely useless on the ball, may as well planted a lamppost in centre mid. And done tell me he’s a CB because he’s just as bad there.”Credit: @southampton_fc “Didn’t even realise Jack Stephens was playing today until we subbed him off…”Credit: @StMarysMusings”Hope tonight shows jack Stephens at CDM/CM is thought that shouldn’t ever be mentioned again.”Credit: @shl0ngsfc”When will Ralph realise that Jack stephens is truly horrific player and everyone knows that when he plays we lose heavily.. Stephens seems to be an unlucky omen for the whole club. I hope he’s sold in the summer. League 1 is probably the best he’s suited to.”Credit: @Ian01553114″If people take one thing away from tonight, let it be that Jack Stephens is not a DCM.”Credit: @matt_kempezIn other news, many Southampton fans have been discussing a news update about Wesley Hoedt – read more here.