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According to The Sun, Chelsea are plotting a surprise £40 million move to bring Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake back to Stamford Bridge, and Everton’s chances of signing Kurt Zouma permanently would surely be boosted if a deal happens.

What’s the word?

Ake only left the Blues in 2017, when he joined the Cherries. The 23-year-old has since impressed consistently for Eddie Howe’s side. 

A return to the London club could now be on the cards for the 10-cap Netherlands international, who certainly has the ability to feature for a top six side

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However, the knock on effects of Ake’s return to Chelsea could be significant, and the consequences could play directly into Everton’s hands. 

Were Ake to return to Chelsea then Kurt Zouma’s place in Maurizio Sarri’s squad would be cast into doubt. Currently on loan at Goodison Park, the signing of the Dutch defender could force Zouma out on a permanent basis.

Domino effect

Marco Silva would surely love to make the 6ft 3in colossus a permanent fixture his Everton squad given how well the 6’3” centre-back has played this season. A move for Ake to Stamford Bridge could open the door for the Toffees to launch such a bid.

What’s more, a permanent move to Everton would probably be the best thing for Zouma too. The 24-year-old needs to be playing week in, week out, which is unlikely to happen for him under Sarri. Under Silva, however, Zouma could be the lynchpin of the back line for years to come, especially with the likes of Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams ageing. 

A permanent switch to Everton really could be the making of Zouma.

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Arsenal will not rush into signing a replacement for right-back Hector Bellerin, according to the London Evening Standard.

The Gunners defender appeared to sustain a ligament injury during the 2-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday, with the club fearing he may miss the remainder of the season.

What’s the word?

Bellerin was stretchered off during the game against the Blues, and the Spaniard faces nine months out if he has sustained the same anterior cruciate ligament injury that Rob Holding suffered earlier this season.

Nevertheless, the club do not intend to dip into the transfer market to replace the 23-year-old.

Utility man Ainsley Maitland-Niles could be entrusted with the position, while Stephan Lichtsteiner is another option for Unai Emery.

The Standard also claim that the Gunners could now block the departure of Carl Jenkinson, who had previously been made available for transfer.

Bellerin was making his first start for the Gunners since December, when Arsenal lost 3-2 to Southampton. He had missed four games but made his comeback in the 1-0 defeat at West Ham.

Pennies pinched

Arsenal do not appear to have much money to play with.

Emery had previously claimed that the Gunners could only loan players this month, telling reporters, as quoted by The Guardian: “We cannot sign permanently.

“We can only loan players. I know the club is working on possibilities of which players can help us with big performances like we need now. I cannot say more.”

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This injury blow could prove to be a test of Emery’s words, particularly if Bellerin is ruled out until the end of the season, but Arsenal do not appear to be making any moves to bring in defensive reinforcements.

And that may well worry Gunners fans, who have grown used to the club spending less than the majority of their big six rivals.

Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer policy is one of the most talked about in the Premier League and calls for Daniel Levy to get his cheque book out are a firmly established component of the ongoing narrative, but a recent report suggests that Mauricio Pochettino is far from a victim in the dynamic between manager and chairman. 

Rightly or wrongly, Levy is often depicted as a tight-fisted dictator who deprives Pochettino of his needs and wants in the transfer market. With less than half of the January transfer window remaining, an injury to Harry Kane in mind and the threat of a second successive window without a new signing edging closer to becoming reality, the pressure is mounting on Spurs to bring a new talent to north London.

According to The Independent, however, if it was not for an unfortunately timed injury to Kane, Spurs would likely draw another blank in the transfer window, with Pochettino’s reluctance to bring a new player into the squad mid-season representing a notable concern for the Argentine, but Kane’s absence has changed the situation.

Pochettino’s reluctance to disrupt his squad in January is perfectly understandable given how well Spurs have coped after a summer without signing a single new player, but the fact his stance aligns so well with Levy’s is putting some of their rivals to shame.

Sure, managers at Chelsea and Manchester United are perhaps under more pressure to claim silverware than Pochettino is at Spurs, but the attitude adopted by both Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho – two managers who publicly slated the transfer policies of Chelsea and United during their time in charge of the respective giants – serves to underline the classy and professional manner in which the north London club have conducted themselves in recent years.

Acting like a pair of spoiled brats on more than one occasion, Mourinho and Conte both sucked an element of credibility out of their clubs with media rants and a willingness to undermine their colleagues and peers in the public eye.

Pochettino, on the other hand, has accepted the decisions being made above his head and focused on utilising his resources rather than begging for new ones; the rise of Moussa Sissoko is a testament to how Conte and Mourinho would have been better off expending their energy on the training ground rather than in-front of the press.

In an age defined by greed and unfathomable sums of money, especially in top level sport, Pochettino is setting an example of how a manager ought to conduct themselves in the public eye.

The coordination of the transfer policy from Levy through to Pochettino is clearly one defined by harmony and a mutual understanding of the clubs limitations and qualities and, with their transfer policies continuing to lack coherence, the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea should take a leaf out of Tottenham’s book.

Tottenham fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Tottenham Hotspur have allowed Georges-Kevin N’Koudou to join AS Monaco on loan, per a tweet from their official Twitter account.

The left winger departs after struggling to make a first-team breakthrough in north London over the past season.

N’Koudou, per Transfermarkt, has made three appearances for the club this season, playing 90 minutes once, in the FA Cup defeat to Crystal Palace.

He joined the club from Marseille in 2016 for a fee of around £9m and, having spent part of last season on loan at Burnley, will now return to Ligue 1 as he looks to get his career back on track.

The deal is the second departure Spurs have sanctioned this month after allowing Belgian midfielder Mousa Dembele to move to China earlier in the window.

However, they have yet to make a new signing themselves, and Spurs fans cannot understand why N’Koudou has been allowed to leave, such has been their inactivity in the transfer window.

West Ham completed just the one signing in January and that may lead to another big spending spree this summer as Manuel Pellegrini aims to take his side to the next level.

The Hammers haven’t been at their best recently and that led to them dropping down to 12th position, a position that doesn’t justify how good they’ve been at times this campaign.

However, West Ham have to maintain those performances at every time in the season and so their aspirations of finishing in 7th place are looking harder with every game that goes by.

To solve that issue, simply put, West Ham need some better players in the summer transfer window, with a number of players not good enough to take the Hammers forward.

Another midfielder will be key to their success and a man who could really help is Borussia Dortmund’s Mahmoud Dahoud.

The Dortmund star, (who is valued at £16.2 million on Transfermarkt) is a player who would bring a great deal to the London Stadium, having proven himself to be a great player in the Bundesliga over the last few seasons.

At just 23-years-old, Dahoud has established himself in the Bundesliga but has struggled to get himself on the team-sheet consistently, having only started five league games this season.

Yet last season and his first with Borussia Dortmund, he was a regular and played in 34 games, where he does his best to provide six assists.

Dahoud has great vision and a solid passing range. Not only that, he has a good amount of pace which means he could be utilised in a more box-to-box role, helping things happen in-front of goal and giving a hand defensively as well.

West Ham would do well to acquire such a player, who could complement the likes of Mark Noble and Declan Rice even more.

Do you agree… Let us know!

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Celtic fans have taken to Twitter to react after Scott Sinclair bagged a hat-trick against St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup to send the Bhoys into the quarter-finals.

The former Manchester City forward displayed ice-cool composure in front of goal to bag a treble, with James Forrest and an unlikely scorer in Scott Brown – whose wonder goal was his first in two years – rounding off a dominant victory.

Sinclair’s hat-trick helped Brendan Rodgers’ men to what was their 24th consecutive domestic cup win as they aim to complete another treble, and signals a remarkable turnaround in form after being slated by Celtic fans earlier in the season.

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The former Swansea star has now hit 16 goals across all competitions so far this season, displaying an unerring composure to his finishing which is to be vital if Celtic are to beat Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title.

Fans of the Scottish giants on Twitter were in awe at Brown’s screamer, but also took time to commend Sinclair on his match-winning performance and potency in front of goal…

Newcastle United are going to have to be at their very best later this evening if they were to have any sort of say on proceedings when they square off with Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium.

The high-flying Wolves have been in devastating form in recent matches and have been clinical in front of goal, which could be a big ask from Rafa Benitez’s men to handle if they were to get anything from the encounter.

While Wolves put Everton to the sword at Goodison Park last weekend with an impressive 3-1 victory, Newcastle pushed Tottenham Hotspur all the way at Wembley, mainly down to a good defensive display by the likes of Florian Lejeune and midfielder Isaac Hayden.

Despite eventually going down to Spurs through an 83rd-minute strike from Son Heung-min, the Magpies put in a solid shift to keep Mauricio Pochettino’s men out for the majority of the match.

And, they will need to make use of the same type of defensive approach heading into Monday’s clash with Wolves, who will pose a real attacking threat.

The 27-year-old Lejeune has brought some much-needed guile to the Newcastle defence since returning from injury at the beginning of January. With him in the side, the Frenchman is a wonderful foil for the likes of Jamal Lascelles, Fabian Schar and Federico Fernandez.

He has also been getting better with every match that he’s played and his presence has certainly lifted the team in terms of setting up an effective defensive structure.

Since his return to the first-team, Newcastle have looked much more organised and given the fact that they’ve played teams such as Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham in that time, Benitez will have reason to be positive heading into the match with Wolves.

Newcastle, though, should try to keep it tight in the midfield and not allow players like Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho too much time on the ball. That, in turn, should allow Lejuene to have a better choice of passing lanes when the away side look to spring a counter.

At the back, Lejeune should be in the faces of Jota and Raul Jimenez and not give them any space to work with.

The centre-back did that brilliantly in the match against City, while his physicality proved to be a problem for Lucas Moura last weekend.

If the Frenchman makes an early mark on the match then Newcastle could be in a good position to get a result out of the encounter.

Having gotten his first win of his fledgling reign as interim head coach against West Ham last Monday night, Freddie Ljungberg will be hoping for an early Christmas miracle when his Arsenal side take on Premier League champions Manchester City.

The Gunners proceeded to draw their next game after the Hammers result when they travelled to Belgium to face Standard Liege in the Europa League on Thursday, but they did achieve their main objective by finishing top of their group. And having rested several of his key first-team stars for that clash, Ljungberg will no doubt be looking to recall as many of them as possible for Sunday afternoon.

Below is a look at just how the Gunners might line up to face Pep Guardiola’s side.

When Arsenal arrived at the London Stadium last Monday to take on West Ham, they had both Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney pencilled in to start. By the end of the night however, both would be injured, with the latter reportedly out for the next three months with a dislocated shoulder. That will mean Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac keep their places at full-back, with Sokratis and Chambers in-field of them.

Granit Xhaka no doubt would have expected to have featured against City, but an injury update earlier in the week has ruled him out of the contest with concussion, thus allowing Matteo Guendouzi to reclaim his place in the Premier League side.

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And whilst Nicolas Pepe was also noted down to be a doubt for the contest, Ljungberg will surely wait until the last moment before definitively deciding on the Ivory Coast international who scored his first goal from open play for the club last time out. Having publicly hailed his performance in the Hammers win, Gabriel Martinelli appears to also be nailed on for another Premier League start, meaning the Gunners’ front-four could be unchanged.

Meanwhile, Arsenal fans are buzzing with David Ornstein’s update on the club’s search for a new manager.

It’s been a while since we last saw Hugo Lloris on the pitch and defending the colours of Tottenham Hotspur between the sticks.

Of course, this is solely due to the unlucky elbow injury he sustained back in October which he’s yet to fully recover from.

In his stead, Spurs have deployed Paulo Gazzaniga but the Argentine goalie hasn’t won over everybody at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Lloris, on the other hand, seems to have the fans on board as they quickly swarmed the club’s official Twitter account with all sorts of positive messages to celebrate his birthday, which fell on Boxing Day.

They were calling him a “legend” and one fan even said he is among the top two goalkeepers in the Premier League…

And it didn’t really come as a surprise to hear the fans were eager to see their no.1 goalkeeper back in the squad and fully fit.

Many of them were saying that they miss him badly and that they would like him to return as soon as possible.

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Lloris has so far only played a total of nine games for Spurs across all competitions this season, conceding 17 goals in the process, which, to be fair, is far from an outstanding record, but it seems that many of the fans still hold him in high regard.

Meanwhile, many Spurs fans were discussing one player’s contributions to the team…

Ayoze Perez had an enjoyable time on his return to his old stomping ground as he opened the scoring in Leicester’s 3-0 demolition of Newcastle, celebrating in his traditional style which irked some fans.

The 26-year-old scored the most goals for Newcastle in the previous decade with 48 but there was no love lost between him and some sections of the crowd, who decided to boo him even before he had begun celebrating.

It is a little strange that they took such action considering Perez was a good servant to the club. He stayed with the Magpies through relegation and was one of their best players last season with 12 goals and two assists, earning himself a move to a club with more ambition – as their second place in the league indicates.

Watch Newcastle United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

The club got a decent fee for him too. However, some fans felt the celebration was unwarranted and therefore their booing was justified, as the reactions below show.

Not all supporters share that sentiment, however, with some still appreciative of the service he provided the club in his five-year stint in the north-east.

The former Magpie has been defended as one fan believes he was well within his rights to join a club like Leicester, with another even suggesting he was poorly treated during his time in the north-east.

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He is now a first-team player in a side which looks destined to play Champions League football next season, so he clearly made the right decision to move, and if he maintains his recent form – with one goal and two assists in his last two games – then he could become pivotal for the Foxes.

Newcastle fans were also vocal in their criticism of one of their own players against Leicester, after he failed to deliver for the team yet again this season.