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Gennaro Gattuso has revealed he was distraught to miss out on the Tottenham Hotspur job before Nuno Espirito Santo was given the role.

The Lowdown: Gattuso a target

Former AC Milan and Napoli boss Gattuso was approached by Spurs to take over from Jose Mourinho (via TEAMtalk), who was sacked in April.

However, after discussions had progressed, Daniel Levy and co decided to go in another direction (via The Daily Mail).

The Latest: Gattuso shares disappointment

Speaking to Italian outlet Il Messaggero (via theworldgame.sbs), Gattuso shared his disappointment at being overlooked. He said:

“It was a huge disappointment, but I wasn’t described the way I am and there was nothing I could do,” Gattuso told Il Messaggero.

“I am sorry I could not defend myself and explain that I am not the person they were talking about in England.

“I had to accept a story that hurts more than any defeat or dismissal, in a moment when we don’t want to understand how dangerous the internet can be.”

The Verdict: Spurs went with safer choice

As a player, Gattuso was one of the best midfielders in the world, winning countless trophies with AC Milan as well as the World Cup with Italy in 2006. While his managerial career has not yet hit the same heights, he has still done relatively well, even managing to win the Coppa Italia with Napoli.

The 43-year-old is outspoken – just as he was as a player – and he has rarely settled at any club of which he has been in charge (sportskeeda.com). Nuno, meanwhile, appears to be the safer choice. He has managed in the Premier League and has not been followed by controversy. Only time will tell whether Levy made the right decision.

In other news, Tottenham make a bid for this Euro 2020 winner.

Crystal Palace left-back Patrick Van Aanholt has been linked with a move to Arsenal on a free transfer, as reported by journalist Chris Wheatley on Twitter.

Facing a mass rebuild after 22 first-team players left the club following the conclusion of the 2020/21 season [Tribal Football], the Eagles are expected to lose Van Aanholt upon the expiration of his contract at the end of June [Transfermarkt].

One side that have been heavily linked with the Netherlands international is Arsenal, as they look to acquire a back up left-sided defender [The Sun].

Speaking to his followers on Twitter, football.london reporter Wheatley echoed this sentiment, claiming Arsenal are looking for a younger profile left back but van Aanholt ‘could still be an option’ later in the window.

Van Aanholt made 23 appearances for Crystal Palace in 2020/21, notching a solitary assist [Transfermarkt].

Upon hearing the rumours, loads of Crystal Palace diehards took to Twitter to discuss his potential exit from South East London.

Crystal Palace fans react:

Replying to Wheatley’s post, here is how some Palace fans summarized their take on these latest developments, look away now Patrick…

“His level”

Credit: @SellyMenace”I would love to see the reactions of AFTV to his defending”Credit: @foursixzer0″Imagine DT reacting to his defending omggggg”Credit: @BDCPFC”My word, he cant keep getting away with this”Credit: @rileyeagles”Good luck Arsenal fans, you’ll need it”Credit: @DrizzyCPFC”The LWB position at the euros doing him wonders”Credit: @palacealfieIn other news, Crystal Palace fans are ecstatic over a Lucien Favre update.

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly started negotiations with Bologna over a potential deal for Takehiro Tomiyasu, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano. 

THE LOWDOWN: SPURS EYEING DEFENSIVE REINFORCEMENTS

Tottenham Hotspur have recently been credited with interest in signing Bologna defender Tomiyasu.

The 6ft 1inch defender has been with Bologna since 2019, and has made 63 appearances in total for the club, and it appears as though his strong performances haven’t gone unnoticed this season.

Spurs are evidently keen to add to their defensive options ahead of the new Premier League season, although it remains to be seen as to whether a bid has been officially lodged for his services.

THE LATEST: NEGOTIATIONS UNDERWAY WITH IN-DEMAND DEFENDER

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Spurs have started negotiations with the Italian side.

It remains to be seen as to how much a potential agreement could be worth, and Tottenham might not have it all their way, with Atalanta also making a bid for him according to Romano.

“Negotiations started also with Bologna for Japanese CB/RB Takehiro Tomiyasu [Atalanta made a bid for him too],” he tweeted.

THE VERDICT: SPURS HAVE A BATTLE ON THEIR HANDS TO LAND HIS SIGNATURE

He’s a player who would add much-needed depth to their defensive options this summer, due to his ability to play both centre-back and on the right.

Spurs aren’t exactly blessed with a considerable amount of depth in their squad heading into the 2021/22 Premier League campaign, so Tomiyasu could turn out to be a solid signing for that purpose exactly.

He has played centre-back 96 times in his career so far (Transfermarkt) and right-back 42, even popping up in defensive midfield on 16 occasions and left-back twice, which could make him a shrewd signing.

The Lilywhites are likely to face tough competition to land his signature though, with Italian side Atalanta able to offer the player immediate Champions League football. Daniel Levy, Fabio Paratici and co may have to pull out all the stops if they want this one done.

Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham is nearing a permanent Parkhead exit after agreeing personal terms with Greek side AEK Athens, according to the Daily Record.

The Lowdown: Celtic face losing key players ahead of 2021/22

As the Celts get their ducks in a row ahead of 2021/22, it now seems that the Frenchman will become a fall guy as their summer rebuild continues to take shape.

Celtic have been linked with moves for the likes of Mathew Ryan and Kaoru Matoma in recent times.

Despite this, prospective departures seem to be taking centre-stage amongst the Celtic squad. Odsonne Edouard has been linked with a move to Leicester City [Sky Sports], whilst Kristoffer Ajer is being targeted by Bayer Leverkusen, Newcastle United and Norwich City [Glasgow Times].

However, it looks as though Ntcham could be the first casualty of the Celtic reconstruction after spending four years in Glasgow [BBC].

The Latest: Ntcham agrees personal terms with AEK Athens

As per reports, the 25-year-old is said to have agreed personal terms with the Greek side [Daily Record].

So far, it is unclear whether any such agreement has been reached between the two clubs. Nevertheless, Celtic are said to be considering waiving the final year of the midfielder’s contract which is due to expire in May 2022 [Transfermarkt].

Ntcham endured an unsuccessful loan spell at Marseille in the second half of 2020/21, making just four Ligue 1 outings [Transfermarkt].

The Verdict: Right time for Celtic and Ntcham to part ways

All things considered, it may be the correct decision for Celtic and the former Manchester City youth to part ways this summer.

Signing from the Citizens in 2018 [BBC], the roaming playmaker made 147 appearances for the Hoops; recording 24 goals and 13 assists [Transfermarkt]. Contributing effectively to the Celtic set-up, he has aided the Scottish giants to eight trophies across his Parkhead stay [BeSoccer].

After he fell out of favour under Neil Lennon, the Hoops may be best suited to maximising any potential revenue they can obtain for his signature as it looks like the player had no intention of staying in Glasgow, so a move is the best option for all parties.

In other news, Celtic have been linked with a move for an international goalkeeper.

West Bromwich Albion have been dealt yet another blow in their bid to appoint a new manager at The Hawthorns this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett, who revealed in a post on Twitter that Michael Appleton has informed the Baggies hierarchy that he does not wish to take on the vacant role at The Hawthorns.

According to Dorsett, the 45-year-old Lincoln City manager wants to remain with his current side in order to see through his ongoing project with the Imps, who narrowly missed out on promotion to the Championship under the former West Brom U23 coach last season.

Silver lining

It’s been rather challenging to keep up with all the managers who have reportedly turned down the offer of becoming Sam Allardyce’s successor at The Hawthorns this summer, with Appleton being the latest addition to a list that includes the likes of Roy Hodgson, Frank Lampard and David Wagner.

In addition to this glut of rejection, the club’s owner, Guochuan Lai, and the Baggies chief executive, Xu Ke, now appear to be conducting the search for their next manager on their own, following the recent departure of the club’s sporting and technical director Luke Dowling.

However, when looking for a positive in all this mess, one thing that stands out is the rapidly reducing size of Lai’s shortlist, with the businessman ruling out the likes of Swansea City’s Steve Cooper and Barnsley’s Valerien Ismael due to the fact he would have to pay compensation to bring them to the club.

As such, one of the only viable candidates left remaining is the former Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder, a candidate whom the West Brom owner had originally vetoed the Championship side making a move for.

However, the possibility of Lai making a u-turn on his decision regarding the 53-year-old could well be put to the test in the coming days, and likely depends on how firmly against paying a fee to bring in the club’s next manager the owner really is.

If he sticks to his guns, in addition to all of the other available managers rejecting the club’s advances, Lai may not have a choice to appoint Wilder at The Hawthorns, something that would very much appear to be a considerable silver lining to Appleton’s rejection.

In other news: Lai could have just made his biggest West Brom mistake to date, fans are rightly livid

Speaking in a football.london Q&A, reliable Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has dropped a claim on Ajax boss Erik Ten Hag.

The Lowdown: Ten Hag linked to Spurs…

The Dutchman has been touted as a name on chairman Daniel Levy’s list of Tottenham managerial candidates for some time, with reports as far back as last month detailing him as a possible appointment (Fabrizio Romano).

This came after Spurs suffered setbacks in regards to former top targets Julian Nagelsmann and Brendan Rodgers, with the former officially set to become the next Bayern Munich manager and the latter publicly dismissing a move to north London.

Ten Hag is a manager who fits the mould of an attack-minded, possession-favouring coach allegedly wanted by Tottenham as they seek an heir to Jose Mourinho.

The Latest: Gold drops Ten Hag claim…

Amid the noise surrounding Mauricio Pochettino and a potentially sensational return to Tottenham, reliable correspondent Gold has provided an update on Ten Hag.

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Indeed, the 51-year-old is apparently seen as an alternative, with the journalist refusing to rule him out of the running.

“Everything depends on how willing PSG are to let Pochettino go and perhaps how their fans feel about the Argentine,” explained Gold (via football.london) when asked for the latest.

“It’s certainly not a done deal in any shape or form. I wouldn’t rule Conte out of the Tottenham job either or Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, who has similar characteristics to Pochettino.”

The Verdict: Exciting alternative…

The notion that Ten Hag is ‘similar’ to Pochettino, as explained by Gold, makes him the perfect alternative should PSG make life difficult for Spurs to appoint their former manager.

Recently lauded as ‘one of the most exciting coaching talents in Europe’ by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, Ten Hag is also famed for his ‘Cruyffian influence’ (Planet Football).

Given that Spurs are after somebody who can reinstall an exciting brand of football at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, this claim on Ten Hag could come as music to the ears of some supporters.

In other news: Alasdair Gold also says Spurs could now swoop for this ‘incredible’ colossus, find out more here.

West Bromwich Albion have been dealt a blow to their hopes of bringing Valerien Ismael to The Hawthorns this summer.

What’s been said?

In a recent interview with Barnsley’s official website, their CEO Dane Murphy revealed that there have been no approaches made for the club’s 45-year-old manager so far, in addition to stating that he fully expects Ismael to remain at Oakwell for the club’s upcoming Championship campaign.

It has been reported that both West Brom and Crystal Palace have been keeping tabs on the Frenchman ahead of a potential move to appoint him at their respective clubs this summer.

However, Murphy appears confident that neither club will be successful in their attempts, with the Barnsley CEO stating: “We’ve heard the rumours, we’ve seen the headlines, but we haven’t had any direct approach for Valerien.

“Of course there is going to be rumour and interest after the season we’ve just had. What Valerien put together with our club was incredible. But I am extremely confident, the club is extremely confident that he will return and he’s going to continue to be the leader of our team.”

“I don’t envisage a situation where we aren’t looking at season 2021/22 without Valerien Ismael as our head coach.”

Fans will be furious

Considering just how impressive a job Ismael has done at Barnsley since taking over at the club last October, the likelihood that West Brom will be unable to poach the 45-year-old from Oakwell this summer is sure to leave Baggies fans furious.

Indeed, over his 39 Championship fixtures as the Tykes’ manager, Ismael guided his team to 23 wins, five draws and 11 losses, picking up a whopping 74 points along the way.

This form saw Barnsley comfortably qualify for a place in the play-offs, finishing the regular season above Bournemouth in fifth place in the Championship standings and just 13 points behind Watford in an automatic promotion spot.

Although the Tykes narrowly missed out on a shot at promotion in the play-off final following their 2-1 aggregate loss to Swansea City in the semis, considering the club were predicted to finish in 18th place by FourFourTwo before a ball had been kicked last season, the argument can easily be made that Ismael has worked something of a miracle in his short time at Oakwell.

Aside from his obvious coaching talents, with the 45-year-old being described as a “young, ambitious” manager by the club’s CEO, these are both traits which – following West Brom’s relegation from the Premier League under Sam Allardyce – the Baggies’ hierarchy will undoubtedly be seeking in their next coach.

As such, Ismael does not seem to be far off being the ideal candidate as West Brom’s next manager, but following Murphy’s recent comments, the Baggies very much appear to have an uphill battle on their hands if they are to land the Frenchman this summer.

In other news: West Brom handed transfer boost over “fantastic” £8m beast that’ll have fans buzzing

West Ham United have another new striker on their shortlist ahead of the summer…

What’s the word?

According to Eurosport, the Irons are tracking Atalanta forward Duvan Zapata ahead of the upcoming window as they fear Tammy Abraham could be out of reach financially.

It’s claimed that David Moyes will have around £35m to spend on a new forward but that is still short of Chelsea’s £40m valuation, and that’s on top of his desired £140k-per-week wages.

Zapata provides an interesting alternative and sits alongside Brentford talisman Ivan Toney and Sparta Prague’s Adam Hlozek on Hammers’ priority list.

Sign him up

If Abraham is too expensive, then Moyes should absolutely target the Serie A goal machine instead. It’s no secret that his squad needs another forward and at the very last that’s one extra frontman.

GSB never replaced Sebastian Haller after sanctioning his exit during the January transfer window after just 18 months at the London Stadium, meaning the Scottish manager was left with an injury-prone Michail Antonio as his only senior option.

The 30-year-old powerhouse has proven to be a prolific marksman in Italy throughout his career and this season he has been in fine form, providing 18 goals and 12 assists in all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-west-ham-transfer-rumours-gossip-team-injury-news-gsb-update” title= “Read the latest West Ham news, transfer rumours, gossip and more!”]

That has taken his overall tally for Atalanta to a whopping 65 strikes in only 126 appearances, which is around a goal every other game.

His physical attributes make for the most appeal as at 6 foot 2, he has the stature to cause many Premier League defences nightmares, and that is something that his former teammate, Papu Gomez, alluded to last season.

Speaking on Instagram (via Goal), he claimed:

“Zapata’s shorts look like underwear, he is so big. Sometimes I don’t even want to get close to him in a match because he’s a beast and it hurts. When he is feeling good he’s like a train – you throw the ball forward and ‘ciao!'”

Furthermore, ex-Colombia boss Jose Pekerman praised Zapata after his international debut and suggested that they “need him with his power.” He has since gone onto land 16 caps for his national side.

It remains to be seen how much of that £35m would be eaten up by a move for the Atalanta sensation but given CIES value him at €30m (£26m), he should certainly come a lot cheaper than Abraham, who is yet to deliver as consistently as Zapata.

Moyes will also finally get another option up front, ending the nightmare of the last few months.

AND in other news, Huge blow: Moyes handed injury setback, Irons star “may not play again this season”…

Despite just being relegated immediately back down to the Championship and finishing 13 points from safety, the West Brom job will still be an attractive one for many people, according to former Wigan Athletic manager Paul Jewell.

The Baggies are on the hunt for their third manager in less than 12 months having already parted ways with Slaven Bilic last December after earning a 1-1 draw away to Manchester City, and it was reported last week that Sam Allardyce would not be remaining as the club’s manager in the Championship.

Reports have suggested that West Brom will target Chris Wilder this summer but may face an uphill battle as the former Blades manager is reportedly willing to hold out for a Premier League job either this summer or into next season.

It is still a massive club that will attract a lot of managers despite now being in the Championship and set to potentially sell their star players, Matheus Pereira and Sam Johnstone. That’s according to Jewell, who spoke exclusively to Football FanCast:

“It will be a well sought after job and I know Chris Wilder has been mentioned, because he did a great job, getting Sheffield United up through the leagues as well as in the first season in the Premier League. So I’m sure his name will pop up.

“It will be a job that a lot of people are interested in because, I worked there very briefly and it’s a huge football club with great supporters, great fan base and good facilities. So it’s got all the infrastructure to be a Premier League club so it will attract a lot of suitors.”

Allardyce was brought in as West Brom manager back in December as they looked to address any relegation fears early on and give the former England manager a transfer window to improve the squad but for the first time in his career, Allardyce saw his side relegated from the Premier League.

West Brom’s Achilles’ heel this season was their defensive frailties having conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season having leaked an amazing 76 goals in just 38 games.

After seeing Matty Cash get sent off in Aston Villa’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League, Dean Smith must surely now look to unleash academy starlet Kaine Kesler.

Speaking after the game, the Villa boss made it clear that Cash cost his side the chance of a potential victory, saying: “He will be down, especially with the earful he got off me in the dressing room after.

“He will learn. He is a young lad in his first Premier League season and I think he will be a super player. But he was reckless and stupid. We won’t have many better chances of going and beating a team like Manchester City.”With Cash set to be suspended for Villa’s next game against West Brom at home on Sunday, it’s surely the perfect time for Smith to turn to one of the club’s brightest academy prospects: Kesler.Speaking to The Athletic, one source said: “He looks like he’s got a real chance of featuring for the first team in the future. His speed is frightening and that could set him apart.”And writing for The Athletic, Gregg Evans revealed that “senior players have been taken back by his blistering pace and his desire to make an impression when called upon”, and that “Smith rates the rapid right-back highly”.The 18-year-old could provide the injection of energy and dynamism that Cash usually brings when on song, and rather than handing a rare chance to someone like Ahmed Elmohamady, Kesler would get much more out of it.With Villa still chasing a surprise place for European football next season, these kinds of opportunities are going to be few and far in between.[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-aston-villa-transfer-rumours-and-news-copy-copy” title=”Latest Aston Villa transfer rumours and news”]It’s exactly why Smith must turn to the explosive Kesler this weekend in Cash’s absence.Meanwhile, this Villa star let Dean Smith down vs Man City…