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As per SofaScore, Tottenham Hotspur trio Ben Davies, Steven Bergwijn and Giovani Lo Celso struggled for Nuno Espirito’s Santo’s side as we analyse the number’s from their 1-0 Carabao Cup victory over Burnley.

Spurs edge into quarter-finals…

Lucas Moura bagged the eventual winner as Spurs edged into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday evening, easing some pressure off the under-fire Nuno following a regrettable week of action.

Defeats to both Vitesse and bitter London rivals West Ham had attracted heavy fire but the Lilywhites’ victory against Burnley ensures they remain fighting on all fronts for now.

Here, we take a take a statistical look at Tottenham’s three worst players from the night with the trio of Davies, Bergwijn and Lo Celso sticking out in particular.

Giving away the ball 50 times, losing 19 duels and spurning one big chance in total, it’s safe to say they didn’t enjoy the best outings.

Steven Bergwijn: 6.4/10

The Dutchman had been one of the Spurs players actually looking revitalised under Nuno at the start of the season, attracting praise from the Portuguese in particular as a ‘very talented’ and ‘unique’ asset.

However, since returning from his injury lay-off, you could make an argument that he hasn’t hit those same heights and it showed against the Clarets last night.

Coming in as Tottenham’s worst player on the night to start and play the majority of the game, being hauled off after 66 minutes, Bergwijn was handed a 6.4/10 match rating having lost possession 17 times whilst losing half of his duels and three in total (SofaScore).

Giovani Lo Celso: 6.7/10

Lo Celso is one player who has attracted criticism over the beginning of 2021/2022 and it’s safe to say his performance was once again in question last night.

The 25-year-old hasn’t evolved into that Christian Eriksen-type creative figure badly needed by Spurs and Nuno with Lo Celso’s numbers, again, hardly worthy of celebration.

He ranked in as Tottenham’s second-worst performer behind Bergwijn, again having started and played the majority against Burnley.

While he did make two key passes in the final third, Lo Celso also spurned a big chance to get on the scoresheet – giving away possession 16 times and losing the vast majority of his duels, seven out of nine to be exact (SofaScore).

 Ben Davies: 6.8/10

The best of the worst, Davies still didn’t particularly enjoy a great evening against Sean Dyche’s men and it would have done little to silence his critics.

The Wales international, being ranked a 6.8/10 and playing the whole game for Tottenham, was dribbled past twice on that flank and lost nine of his duels.

As well as this, Davies gave away the ball 17 times and recorded no accurate long balls or crosses from out wide (SofaScore).

In other news: Talks ongoing…Sky Sports journalist makes exciting Spurs transfer claim involving ‘phenomenal’ star, find out more here.

Sheffield Wednesday had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Cheltenham Town on Saturday after conceding a stoppage-time equaliser.

The Owls seemed to have done enough to take all three points after Cheyenne Dunkley and a Matty Blair own goal turned things around for the visitors, but Blair redeemed himself by grabbing a goal at the right end for a share of the spoils for the Robins.

The result means it is now four draws in a row for Wednesday, with a number of their fans discussing Moore’s change at the interval.

The Owls manager set his team up in a 3-4-1-2 system against Cheltenham and brought off defender Jack Hunt for centre-forward Florian Kamberi at the interval. That saw regular forward Callum Paterson filling in at right wing-back, according to Yorkshire Live’s Dom Howson, with many Wednesday supporters not exactly thrilled over the tactical switch.

Moore admitted after the game that Hunt was fine and that he wanted to make an attacking change for the start of the second half.

Wednesday fans react

Here is what these Wednesday fans had to say in reply to Howson’s tweet regarding the half-time substitution, with a number of supporters unimpressed at Moore moving players out of position as they blasted the already under-fire manager.

“Paterson to what…???!!??? Don’t want to jump on bandwagons but, I’m sorry, Darren’s done.”

Credit: @NeonBrown10

“What a joke of a formation. I don’t understand why we consistently play people out of position, it’s becoming a joke”

Credit: @RichOverett

“Surely not? When in doubt move someone else out of position?”

Credit: @PeterBu1981

“Bizarre”

Credit: @AnOwlTweets

“Wow”

Credit: @gaz_s6

“he’s lost the plot..”

Credit: @chrisday3107

A number of Rangers supporters have been reacting in delighted fashion to a key update ahead of the Europa League clash with Lyon next week.

Steven Gerrard’s team open up their Europa League group stage account with the visit of the Ligue 1 giants next Thursday, in what promises to be a real test of the Gers’ credentials.

A key update has emerged ahead of the game, however, with three Lyon players set to miss out after representing their countries during the international break.

According to journalist Robin Bairner on Twitter, the Scottish Government has not given permission for Lucas Paqueta, Bruno Guimaraes and Tino Kadewere to take part in the match, having played in ‘high-risk’ countries during the international break.

It is an undoubted boost for Rangers, especially because Paqueta – arguably Lyon’s key man – will miss out.

The Brazilian playmaker has scored four times already this season for club and country, and is the man who links midfield and attack for the Groupama Stadium outfit.

Rangers fans love pre-Lyon update

These Gers fans took to Twitter to react to the news, with many joking that they are big fans of the current Scottish leadership…

“Always liked the SNP”

Credit: @StuPollock1

“Brilliant from Sturgeon always been a big fan of her work”

Credit: @Bjc1999_

“The SNP will do ANYTHING to get the Blue Vote”

Credit: @R11Loading

“This might be the first time I ever say this but cheers @theSNP”

Credit: @Fahdy824

“SNP – Scottish National Protestants helping Scotland’s premier club in Europe”

Credit: @jaket1872

“The establishment is back baby!”

Credit: @AndTheNew55

In other news, one Rangers player is set for a spell on the sidelines. Find out who it is here.

With four Premier League games played and three won under Antonio Conte, Tottenham Hotspur have had a fairly successful run of results under the Italian.

In addition to this, Spurs have only conceded one goal in those four league games since Conte came in after conceding 16 in their opening 10 league games of the season under Nuno Espirito Santo’s short-lived guidance.

Even though they’ve not been leaking many goals under Conte, it seems as though the 52-year-old and Tottenham’s current sporting director Fabio Paratici have their eyes on signing a player in the upcoming January transfer window who could strengthen the Lilywhites’ defence even further.

According to Corriere di Puglia e Lucania (via Sport Witness) Spurs are eyeing up a move to sign Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic next month and are apparently “ready to enter in negotiations” for the player.

With current Spurs defender Cristian Romero sustaining a serious hamstring injury playing for Argentina in last month’s World Cup qualifier against Brazil and not expected to be available again until some point in the new year, the signing of Milenkovic could be a masterstroke from Paratici, adding real quality depth and ensuring they are well-stocked upon Romero’s return.

Since joining Fiorentina back in the 2017 summer transfer window from FK Partizan Belgrade, the 24-year-old, who is currently valued at £22.5m according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of 149 appearances for the Serie A side across all competitions, chipping in with 13 goals and one assist along the way.

Having drawn comparisons in the past to former Manchester United centre-back Nemanja Vidic by former Serbia coach Mladen Krstajic, Milenkovic has shown this season how much of a defensive unit he is.

In the 14 Serie A games he’s appeared in for Fiorentina so far this season, Milenkovic has managed to rack up an average of 2.9 clearances per game, 1.9 tackles per game and 1.3 interceptions as well as winning 66% of the duels he’s been involved in.

To put those numbers into perspective, Romero boasts 2.4 clearances, 2.3 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per Premier League outing, suggesting the Serbia star is right up there alongside Spurs’ summer signing.

With all of this in mind, it could be a great move for Spurs to add Milenkovic to their squad in January to add a bit more strength and depth to Conte’s squad at the back, which would be useful considering Spurs have played with three at the back with two wing-backs in the games that Conte has been in charge.

In other news: Harry Kane linked with another move away

Leicester City are one of three Premier League clubs to have been linked with a move for Barcelona forward Philippe Coutinho.

What’s the story?

According to The Sun (as relayed by the Leicester Mercury), Coutinho has been ‘offered’ to Wolves and West Ham United as well as the Foxes, with the player’s agent Kia Joorabchian in talks with the trio over a possible loan deal.

The report claims Coutinho will be available on a temporary basis, and that the loan club are expected to pay at least 60 percent of his wages, while Barca will fund the remaining 40 percent of his £21m-per-year salary.

It’s believed that the Catalan giants want an answer from potential suitors by this coming Friday as the club’s hierarchy are desperate to cut their expenses due to their dire financial situation.

Brendan Rodgers would love him

Coutinho cultivated a reputation as one of football’s best playmakers while working under Brendan Rodgers during their time together at Liverpool.

They came close to winning the Premier League title together in 2013/14, and the Brazil international continue to move from strength to strength following Rodgers’ departure.

In a previous interview, Reds striker Roberto Firmino lauded his compatriot and former teammate, saying: “He’s phenomenal. You simply can’t say that he’s not a magician. He has magical powers. He produces plays that don’t exist, that you couldn’t make up.”

Coutinho’s impressive performances on Merseyside earned him a £142m move to the Camp Nou in January 2018, with Liverpool receiving a British record fee for the South American.

However, the creative talent has been unable to replicate his form at Anfield for Barca and found himself loaned out to Bayern Munich for the 2019/20 campaign.

He enjoyed a relatively successful 12-month stint with the Bundesliga giants, scoring 11 goals and providing nine assists in 38 appearances as Bayern won the treble, but the bad luck continued for Coutinho upon his return to Spain.

A serious knee injury ended his campaign in December after just 14 uninspiring outings, and Ronald Koeman’s charges are now desperate to offload Coutinho from their wage bill.

On his day, he’s a top-class operator, capable of playing for the world’s best teams, but unfortunately for him, those days have been few and far between since he left English shores three-and-a-half years ago.

Having said that, though, Rodgers would surely welcome a reunion with one of his former stars. With James Maddison’s future still up in the air and Dennis Praet reportedly eager to move on, signing Coutinho on loan could be a risk-free way of ensuring Leicester continue to progress.

If Maddison does end up joining Arsenal, then bringing in the £27m-rated Brazilian magician could ensure Rodgers still has someone who can be a chief creator for the side.

And, in other news…Sky Sports reveal intriguing transfer update which could leave Leicester fans gutted 

Celtic might not have removed all of the rubble from a dismal 2020/21 campaign at Parkhead but Ange Postecoglou’s Bhoys team look like they’re on the right track again.

The Hoops have secured three consecutive wins, scored 13 goals in the process and kept successive clean sheets. They have also moved into the next round of European qualifying after a 7-2 aggregate win over Czech opposition Jablonec.

The performance last week in their 4-2 victory was swashbuckling, but while the offensive play was again dominating on Thursday night, it was a more professional performance at the back in their 3-0 win.

Joe Hart made some top-class saves to prove his worth to the club after arriving from Tottenham, and together with Carl Starfelt, they look like they could be a phenomenal partnership.

Starfelt hasn’t had the easiest of rides since arriving at Parkhead but the big Swedish defender showed signs of stealing the show last night, putting in a combative and elegant performance.

He’s attracted criticism in his opening few matches in Glasgow, with a bizarre back pass towards Scott Bain almost costing Celtic a goal in their defeat to Hearts.

The Swede was fortunate not to give away a penalty against Jablonec this week, but otherwise it was an impressive display.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-transfer-news-larsson-lovric-thomas-henry-diego-costa-postecoglou” title=”Read the latest Celtic transfer news!”]

We know that Starfelt is a fantastic passer of the ball and that was apparent on Thursday evening as he completed a whopping 91% of his passes in front of a raucous Parkhead crowd. Furthermore, the centre-back won back possession on nine occasions, the second-highest number by a Celtic player.

Speaking at full-time on A Celtic State of Mind, Paul John Dykes was keen to praise him: “Starfelt had his best game in a Celtic jersey so far,” he began.

“He might have given away a penalty and got away with that one but he’s starting to look like the player we thought he was when he first came in.”

Dykes concluded: “He’s got a bit of Tony Mowbray about him. He reminds me of Tony Mowbray with the way he moves about the park.”

Although there was a slight mishap, the Swede was much improved beyond that and looks as though he could be a real find for the Hoops.

After a turbulent start to the new campaign for Nir Bitton, it will delight Postecoglou that he can now rely on Starfelt and Stephen Welsh to set the tone at the back.

AND in other news, Celtic must sign 25-goal “great talent” who could become “better” than Henrik Larsson…

The Daily Record journalist Keith Jackson believes that an offer of £10m would be enough for Glasgow Rangers to part ways with Glen Kamara.

The Lowdown: Kamara attracting interest

The 25-year-old spent the early part of the summer away with Finland at Euro 2020, starting all three of his country’s games at the competition (Transfermarkt).

That has only seen interest in his services increase, with the likes of Arsenal (The Daily Record), Watford and Leeds (TEAMtalk) all linked with a move for his services.

The Latest: Jackson discusses Kamara

Jackson and a number of other reporters were taking part in a Q&A for The Daily Record and they were asked whether the Gers would accept selling Kamara now they have signed John Lundstram. Jackson said:

“That’s seven players fighting for three starting paces so it does look as if the Rangers squad is now top heavy. Kamara has been an excellent signing but it makes sense to cash in now so long as the price is right. A bid of around £10m should do it.”

The Verdict: Not necessarily a replacement

The signing of Lundstram (rangers.co.uk) means Steven Gerrard has a lot of options to choose from in midfield. Along with Kamara, Rangers also have Joe Aribo, Steven Davis and Scott Arfield, while Ryan Jack is another option when fully fit. While the Gers may well play a large number of games next term, you still feel there are too many players and not enough slots.

Kamara is clearly the player in that position with the biggest sell-on value, and £10m would represent a huge profit on the £50,000 they originally spent to sign him from Dundee. Still, whether Gerrard would be willing to get such an important player depart is another question.

In other news, many Rangers fans slammed this man’s pre-season performance against Tranmere.

Many Everton fans have been left buzzing as news emerged on Abdoulaye Doucoure.

As per the Merseyside club’s official website, the former Watford ace has won the Davanti Tyres Everton Goal of the Month award for August as the vast majority of supporters voted for his strike in their 3-1 win at home against Southampton.

His effort was a clear winner with 74.6% of the vote, while Demarai Gray’s goals against Brighton and Hove Albion and Leeds United came in second and third respectively.

The award is certainly well deserved, and Doucoure will be hoping to add more goals from midfield to his game, with just four so far in total from 38 matches over all competitions across the past two seasons (Transfermarkt).

Everton fans on Doucoure’s award

These Toffees fans were buzzing as the news was shared by the club on Twitter, with one Everton supporter describing it as ‘fantastic’:

“Great goal, let’s give Andros his for this month now too, although what a time to be a fan if that’s somehow topped before the end of the month”

Credit: @Mikey1981

“What a goal, congrats”

Credit: @_jennifer1878

“Well deserved!”

Credit: @ronnie_watters

“Rightly so”

Credit: @nikkiharg

“Fantastic”

Credit: @annmckenzie67

“Get in Doucs”

Credit: @jonesyp964

In other news, Everton had shown an interest in this Premier League and Champions League winner

As confirmed by the club, exciting Manchester City starlet Cole Palmer has just signed a new deal which will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2026.

The 19-year-old was handed his debut by manager Pep Guardiola in the Carabao Cup against Burnley back in September, going on to impress in midfield next to star man Kevin De Bruyne.

Palmer also made a Champions League cameo for the Sky Blues when he came on for De Bruyne during their 3-0 group stage victory at Marseille.

Guardiola has already heralded the teenager as ‘incredible’ (Manchester Evening News), and it’s hard to argue going by his phenomenal numbers in the Premier League 2 division over 2020/2021.

Indeed, the towering 6 foot 2 attacker bagged a brilliant 13 goals and six assists for Man City’s Under-23s (Transfermarkt) – and the club have now rewarded him with a bumper new deal.

Palmer puts pen to paper on a five-year contract extension with the Citizens until 2026 and it’s safe to say plenty of supporters are raving over the news.

Widely seen as one of the most promising academy products City have produced in years, it’s little wonder Sky Blues flocked in excitement to both the official club account and City Xtra to drop their verdicts.

Find all of their best ones down below, as one supporter called it ‘incredible news’.

Man City fans overjoyed by Palmer announcement

“YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS”

Credit: @privvcal

“Let’s goooooo”

Credit: @mbaalthani8

“Great news”

Credit: @Komps4

“Unreal news”

Credit: @TheDiasDynasty

“BIG NEWS THIS”

Credit: @croooo21

“HUGE”

Credit: @Blue_Llou

“Big business is finally getting done!!”

Credit: @JSRFootball

“Incredible news”

Credit: @okayokay12321

“Let’s go he’s an absolute baller”

Credit: @mcfcleo_

In other news: ‘Ooooo’…Man City fans also flocked to this ‘very interesting’ development, find out more here.

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.