Spurs are looking like they are set to make their new home a fortress to be reckoned with based on their performances there so far.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men have been putting on some displays for their home fans, and are on the brink of a place in the Champions League semi-finals if they can ensure they do the business in the return leg against Manchester City.

However, the summer looks set to once again be a big one for the club, with a host of their top stars being eyed up by some of Europe’s biggest and best clubs.

One man who could be on his way out if Manchester United get their way is midfielder Christian Eriksen, who could be set to be offered triple his wages if the Old Trafford club can convince Spurs to agree to the sale of the Denmark star.

We here in the Tavern though feel that Spurs need to be meeting any approaches for Eriksen with a resounding no if they are to continue to build and grow as a serious force in the Premier League.

Eriksen has been in superb form ever since he made the move into the English game, and he has really developed his craft to become one of the finest attacking midfield players in all of Europe.

If he was to move on to United, there is little doubt he would settle in nicely and improve things for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men, but it would be Spurs who would be left counting the cost of seeing one of their brightest and best talents being lost to a rival.

Some players are simply irreplaceable, and Eriksen falls right into this mould for Spurs given everything he offers to the cause.

خضع حسين الشحات لاعب فريق الكرة الأول بالنادي الأهلي، لفحوصات طبية على يد محمد أبوالعلا طبيب منتخب مصر الأول.

وجاء ذلك بناءً على طلب حسام البدري، من أجل تحديد موقفه من الانضمام لمنتخب مصر لمعسكر مواجهتي توجو في التصفيات المؤهلة لنهائيات أمم افريقيا 2021.

ويسعى الجهاز الطبي لـ منتخب مصر لمعرفه مدى تطورات إصابته الأخيرة التي لحقت به وأبعدته عن لقاء فريقه في ختام مسابقة الدوري الممتاز.

ومن المنتظر أن يعلن البدري عن قائمة منتخب مصر من لاعبي الأهلي والزمالك خلال الساعات القليلة المقبلة، قبل انطلاق المعسكر في التاسع من نوفمبر الجاري.

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Leeds United fans on Twitter have been slamming Stuart Attwell after his disaster of a refereeing performance at Elland Road on Sunday.

The clash between the Whites and their fellow playoff contenders Aston Villa was one of the most heated games of the season, and Attwell struggled to deal with the feisty nature of the clash.

Supporters of the Yorkshire club have commented on his lack of ability to control the game and his failure to spot alleged simulation from Jack Grealish.

In all fairness to the referee he didn’t have the easiest job – a brawl broke out after Leeds’ opening goal due to its controversial nature and he had to hand out one red card and five yellows in a game that proved almost impossible to officiate.

Attwell utterly lost control early on and the controversy after the goal didn’t help matters either.

Despite being an established Premier League official the 36-year-old looked out of his depth when officiating at Elland Road.

Here’s what Leeds fans have been saying on Twitter…

Leeds United’s academy has produced its fair share of talented players in recent years.

The likes of Danny Rose, James Milner, Aaron Lennon and Jonathan Woodgate have all come through the ranks at Elland Road before achieving distinguished careers at the highest level. Therefore, the excitement surrounding the current crop of players is understandable as it could easily be a start of another golden generation for the Whites, especially if they are promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season.

Jack Clarke, Jamie Shackleton and Bailey Peacock-Farrell have all been handed their debuts by Marcelo Bielsa during the current campaign whilst Ryan Edmonson and Clarke Odour could be the next players to break through to the first team squad.

However, despite the abundance of prospects in the club’s academy, Leeds are on the verge of signing one of Motherwell’s brightest teenagers. According to Football Insider, Stuart McKinstry is expected to join the Championship club in the summer for a fee expected to be in the region of £400,000 after agreeing personal terms earlier this week. The wonderkid has yet to make his bow in senior football but has been very impressive for the Steelmen’s youth sides with his performances earning him a call up for Scotland’s U-17’s outfit in February.

McKinstry will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Gary McAllister who also began his career at Motherwell before winning the First Division title with Leeds in 1992. Unfortunately, though for the 16-year-old, a move to the Whites may end up being disastrous for his development.

If Marcelo Bielsa’s side seal promotion to the top tier in May, McKinstry will have to fight off an intense level of competition in order to make his way into his new manager’s plans for the immediate future. Clarke, Shackleton, Stuart Dallas and Pablo Hernandez have all operated in the wide areas this season for Leeds and a top-two finish for the club could see them strengthen further in the summer.

With this in mind, McKinstry must approach a move to Elland Road with caution as if he gets lost in the system, he may not fulfil his potential.

What do you think Leeds fans? Is McKinstry taking a risk by moving to your club? Are you confident that he will be giving the chance to impress by Bielsa next season? Let us know below.

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Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn scooped both players’ and supporters player of the year at the Villa awards dinner this week.

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McGinn was signed from Hibernian last summer and has proved to be an excellent signing.

He also seems to have made a positive impression on the squad, as James Chester’s comment indicates.

The nickname of meatball shows signs of affection from within the Villa squad and indicates that the Scot has settled well into the team.

McGinn also won supporters player of the year and the 24-year-old has endeared himself to the Villa faithful, especially after a goal of the season contender against Sheffield Wednesday.

The Villa players have clearly been impressed by the Scottish international and he has deservedly taken the award after registering six goals and ten assists.

The Villa man is a a key part of the team and, if The Villains are to go up via the playoffs, they will need him to be at his best in the midfield.

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Tottenham Hotspur could miss out on the signing of Ryan Sessegnon from Fulham, with Juventus set to enter the bidding for the teenager, per the Daily Express.

What’s the word?

Fulham have endured a difficult season and have already had their relegation to the Championship confirmed.

Sessegnon, though, remains on the shortlist of a number of clubs ahead of the summer.

Along with Spurs and Juve, Manchester United, Liverpool and PSG have also been credited with an interest in the full-back-turned-winger, per the Express.

The 18-year-old has scored twice and laid on six assists in 35 appearances in all competitions.

Still a teenager, Sessegnon has made over 110 appearances for the Cottagers but the Express report that he is certain to depart when the transfer window reopens.

Fulham are keen to recoup £40million for the player, with his contract set to expire at the end of next season.

Juventus are unlikely to be deterred by that asking price, however, and are keen to bring in new blood to their squad, having won the Serie A title already this season.

Spurs need to get ahead

Mauricio Pochettino needs to sign Sessegnon, it’s really that simple.

Spurs need to invest in their squad for the first time since January 2018 and bringing in an excellent young full-back who offers the ability to play on the wing as well would be a major win for the Argentine.

A fee of £40m is not small change but it is an investment in the future and offers Pochettino the opportunity to work with one of the best young talents in English football.

He has done it before; the likes of Luke Shaw, Dele Alli and Harry Winks have thrived under his management.

Sessegnon, then, has the opportunity to potentially link up with the best possible boss for his development.

Spurs had better hope that Sessegnon sees that and opts to reject the advances from Italy.

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Lille president Gerard Lopez has revealed that Nicolas Pepe looks likely to leave the French club in this summer’s transfer window.

The 23-year-old is enjoying a fine season, managing 20 goals and 14 assists in 35 appearances for his Ligue 1 side in all competitions. There will likely be widespread interest in the attacker this summer.

The Liverpool fans have been on social media commenting on the Ivory Coast international.

And a number have called on the club to bring 6 ft Pepe to Anfield ahead of the 2019-2020 campaign.

The Reds would surely face competition from a number of clubs if they decided to make a bid, especially when considering that Pepe has had an outrageously good season for Lille.

The other key question is where Pepe would fit in at Anfield, facing competition for a role in the front three from Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

But Liverpool fans are certainly keen on a summer swoop – a selection of the Twitter reaction from Reds supporters can be seen below:

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It’s not often you’ll hear Sheffield Wednesday and £105m valued player uttered in the same sentence, but after the club emerged on a list of names that had sent scouts to watch Benfica take on Frankfurt in the Europa League, fans on Twitter amusingly speculated they were about to sign Joao Felix.

The Portuguese wonderkid scored a hat-trick on the night and is one of the most sought after players in Europe, but he has a huge release clause in his contract.

Of course, Wednesday could have been there to watch any one of the 22 players on show, but Felix is the main name to catch the eye over the course of the night.

After seeing the news, one fan simply wished them good luck, whilst another said they’d have to sell the club to have any remote chance of bringing the hot talent to Hillsborough.

Who would make a combined Sheffield XI? Ingood Nick makes his picks in the video below…

The reaction from football fans just about summed up how ridiculous individuals can be on Twitter but would have provided amusement for Wednesday fans nonetheless.

They currently sit tenth in the Championship but are six points behind Bristol City in the race for a play-off place.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

رفض المدرب النرويجي، أولي جونار سولشاير، انتقاد بول بوجبا، لاعب وسط فريق مانشستر يونايتد، بعدما تسبب في خسارة فريقه أمام آرسنال، أول أمس، الأحد؛ مُشيرًا إلى أنه ينتظر منه المزيد في المباريات القادمة، وذلك قبل مباراة باشاك شهير في دوري أبطال أوروبا.

مانشستر يونايتد هُزم على أرضه في “أولد ترافورد”، أمام آرسنال بهدف نظيف، حيث سقط لأول مرة على ملعبه ضد الجانرز، مُنذ 14 عامًا، بسبب ركلة الجزاء التي ارتكبها بوجبا.

وقال سولشاير في تصريحات خلال المؤتمر الصحفي الخاص بمواجهة باشاك شهير: “بوجبا؟ كل لاعب يشعر بالإحباط من نفسه ويُصاب بخيبة أمل بعد الهزيمة”.

اقرأ أيضًا..  بوجبا عن تسببه في ركلة جزاء آرسنال: عانيت من ضيق التنفس.. وارتكبت “خطأ غبي”

وأضاف: “بول في ركلة الجزاء كان يُمكن أنّ يتعامل بشكل أفضل، ولكن هذا هو الحال في كرة القدم، تتطلب سرعة عالية وشدة، وكلما كنت أكثر لياقة، يمُكنك القيام بالمزيد، وهذا ينطبق على أي لاعب في العالم”.

وأتم تصريحاته قائلًا: “نحن بحاجة إلى أداء ثابت من كل لاعبينا، بول كان يمرّ بفترة صعبة بعد الإصابة في الموسم الماضي، ثم إصابته بـ كورونا، والآن يعمل على استعادة لياقته البدنية بشكل كامل، لقد رأينا الكثير من الإيجابيات مؤخرًا، ولذا نأمل أنّ يستمر ونرى المزيد”.

يُذكر أنّ مانشستر يونايتد يحل ضيفًا على باشاك شهير، مساء غد الأربعاء، على ملعب “باشاك”، ضمن لقاءات الجولة الثالثة من دور المجموعات لدوري الأبطال.

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Names like Virgil van Dijk, Raheem Sterling, Sadio Mane and Eden Hazard have frequented conversations regarding who should be nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award and, regardless of comparative achievements, it’s hard to get a look in if you aren’t at a top-six club.

For Stuart Pearce, though, there is one man who deserves to be in the running even though his side aren’t challenging for the league title or Champions League places. Speaking on Sky Sports’ The Debate on Monday, the pundit had this to say (quotes from 22:27):

“I would say Van Dijk, Sterling and Hazard have arguably been the best three (in the Premier League).

“I’d also throw in Ben Foster, I think he’s been outstanding for Watford”.

Indeed, the former West Brom man has been nothing short of brilliant for the Hornets and has been a big part of their meteoric rise to becoming one of the best teams outside the top six – if not the best.

Wolves Fan TV place the blame for Wolves’ FA Cup semi-final collapse on John Ruddy in the video below…

The custodian might be well into the twilight of his career at 36-years-old but, like a fine wine, he seems to be getting better and better with age. There is no doubt that the Watford number 26 has been one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the league this term but throwing him in with the aforementioned stars is bold to say the very least.

The credibility behind Pearce’s claim may stand up if Watford were to conquer Manchester City in the FA Cup final, although the 6 ft 4 shot-stopper has played second fiddle to Heurelho Gomes in that competition.

He has also said he would refuse to replace the Brazilian when Watford meet the Premier League champions at Wembley.

Regardless of whether Pearce has taken his assessment of Foster’s stellar season a tad too far, there is no doubt that the veteran ‘keeper has earned recognition this term and Watford fans will surely love that he is getting some attention from pundits in the mainstream media.