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Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action this weekend following the international break and manager Nuno Santo is left with plenty of tough dilemmas.

The Lilywhites head to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon and they know that they could be in for a tricky encounter as it’ll be the first game since the Magpies were finally taken over by a Saudi-backed consortium.

Nuno has had the benefit of the fact that not all of his Spurs stars have been on national team duties over the past week, with names like Dele Alli and Eric Dier remaining at Hotspur Way, and it’s the latter who he could have a big call to make on.

His defensive teammate, Joe Rodon, has excelled for Wales once again and after just one league appearance off the bench this campaign, it could be time to see the £11m signing in action more often.

After missing the start of the 2021/22 campaign through injury, the 23-year-old colossus has only been restricted to opportunities in the UEFA Europa Conference League, starting against Stade Rennes and NS Mura.

The former Swansea City defender has the difficult task of usurping two long-serving members of the current squad in Dier and Davinson Sanchez, as well as summer signing Cristian Romero, but he needs to be given an opportunity to impress as he regularly delivers on the big stage for Wales.

Earlier this week, the young centre-back was named as Rob Page’s star man in their narrow victory over Estonia on Monday night. WalesOnline described him as ‘leading the way under pressure’ and that he is ‘quickly becoming one of the first names on the team sheet.’

He also started all four of their matches at Euro 2020.

There is some sort of cruel irony in the fact that he’s nailed on to start for his country but not for his club.

Many supporters saw their man in action and took to social media to express their desire for him to start, with many asking Nuno to play him over the aforementioned Dier.

Rodon has been likened to both Rio Ferdinand and John Terry in the past, whilst his international teammate Chris Mepham believes he is “very calm and composed on the ball” and “very dominant in the air.”

Indeed, his only Premier League appearance saw him notch seven clearances, one more than what he managed against Estonia this week, where he also won two aerial duels and recorded one block, as per WhoScored.

Also dubbed a “real asset” by ex-manager Steve Cooper, Rodon could be a real Rolls-Royce of a defender for Spurs over the coming years.

He’s clearly good enough to start and it might be in Nuno’s best interests to start him regularly over those that have remained inconsistent for several weeks, if not months.

Given their defensive record and lack of clean sheets, it’s time for the Portuguese to unleash the towering 6 foot 4 titan, starting with this weekend’s trip to Newcastle.

AND in other news, 12 passes, 80% duels lost: Spurs star endures int’l nightmare, Nuno must be worried…

Tottenham Hotspur are tracking Harry Souttar ahead of a potential swoop, according to reports…

What’s the word?

The Stoke Sentinel claim that the north Londoners have previously sent scouts to watch the Australian colossus, with former manager David Pleat even taking in a game at the bet365 Stadium.

However, if Spurs’ interest is genuine, then they will be facing competition from one of their Premier League rivals after Everton were linked to the young centre-back this week.

The Sun’s Alan Nixon claimed Toffees assistant Duncan Ferguson was sent to watch the 22-year-old ahead of a possible move to replace Yerry Mina, though it remains to be seen exactly how much he could command.

Transfermarkt currently value Souttar at just £3.6m, whilst ex-Potters star Mike Pejic believes he’s worth in excess of £20m.

“If I had been in a Premier League club, I would have bid £20m this summer because who knows what it would cost to get him now. I was delighted when the transfer window shut and he was [still] at Stoke,” he told Football League World.

Dawson 2.0

Souttar could well be the next big thing from the Championship, and that’s not just because he stands at a whopping 6 foot 5 inches.

Once described as a “Rolls-Royce” by Stoke legend Ryan Shawcross, the Aussie defender has been compared to a whole host of names, ranging from Harry Maguire to Alan Hansen, and even Virgil van Dijk.

Tottenham’s most recent signing from the English second-flight, Joe Rodon, is yet to hit the ground running in N17 but he has shown enough glimpses of promise to be encouraged.

But perhaps Souttar could step up to be their next Michael Dawson – arguably their best signing from below the elite level when he arrived in 2005 from Nottingham Forest. He won the League Cup, was named captain and picked up caps for England during his time at White Hart Lane.

Two of the 22-year-old’s former managers have spoken glowingly about his credentials.

During a loan stint at Fleetwood Town, Joey Barton dubbed him “outstanding” whilst Martin O’Neill told local press:

“He’s a player blessed with great natural attributes. Obviously his height but also he’s got good game intelligence and he’s a great user of the ball as well. That’s something which I think will set him apart from the other defenders in this league.”

Indeed, those words still ring true today.

He’s averaging 2.1 interceptions and 1.8 tackles per game in the Championship this season, via WhoScored, which goes to show just how smart he is when his side are out of possession and of course, his towering physical presence is a major plus too, managing 4.6 aerials won each outing this term.

Spurs must continue to monitor Souttar’s situation, especially with other Premier League teams in the frame for his signature. In him, sporting director Fabio Paratici, chairman Daniel Levy and co could well discover the next Dawson to grace the pitch in north London.

AND in other news, Spurs fans will be buzzing as Nuno Santo contract news emerges…

Dean Windass has sensationally claimed Newcastle United could be the perfect move for £400,000-a-week man Aaron Ramsey to revitalise his career, even if a huge cut in wages would be required.

The Welshman left the Premier League for Juventus two years ago, but following a disappointing two seasons in Serie A, has been linked back to England this summer.

Ramsey enjoyed a successful period with Arsenal and has a proved record of 40 goals and 46 assists in the top-flight, but has found the net just six times in more than 60 appearances for the Old Lady.

Despite links with Tottenham and Arsenal, according to Goal, the Magpies have made a shock move and asked Juventus about Ramsey’s availability as they look to improve on their 12th-place finish last season.

Newcastle are already on the verge of re-signing Ramsey’s former Arsenal teammate Joe Willock on a permanent deal, and Windass doesn’t see any reason as to why the midfielder would turn down a move to St James’ Park, especially with fans returning this season.

He exclusively told Football FanCast:

“Newcastle would suit him. Why wouldn’t he go there? It all changes, the supporters coming back, get your career back on track. He will play in that attacking midfield role.”

Steven Gerrard is intent on reuniting with Rangers left-back Borna Barisic at Aston Villa, according to The Mirror (via Daily Record).

The lowdown

According to WhoScored, the 29-year-old has been Rangers’ fourth-best performer this season, averaging a rating of 7.16/10.

He has 2.3 chances per 90 minutes in the Scottish Premiership, second only to full-back colleague James Tavernier (3.9) at Ibrox. He exceeds every Aston Villa player for that metric, with Douglas Luiz leading the way in the Midlands with 1.6 key passes per game.

Croatia team-mate Josip Brekalo has hailed Barisic’s performances as ‘excellent’, describing him as a ‘high-quality player’.

He isn’t the only Gers player with whom Villa have been linked since Gerrard took over, with Glen Kamara also reported to be a target if the 41-year-old chooses to raid his former club.

The latest

The Mirror claimed (via Daily Record) that Gerrard would like to improve upon his existing options at left-back.

Barisic has emerged as a target, with an £8m move potentially on the cards when the January transfer window opens.

The verdict

What’s interesting is that incumbent left-back Matt Targett seemed to make a positive first impression in Gerrard’s first game against Brighton on Saturday.

He was the SofaScore man of the match after an 8.1/10 display which saw him win 80% of his ground duels (and 75% overall), make seven tackles and create three chances.

However, the new manager still feels the need to strengthen that area of the squad, suggesting that Targett may need to keep producing top performances if he is to retain his place.

In other news, this Villa trio struggled on Gerrard’s managerial debut

There aren’t any guarantees that Liverpool and Mohamed Salah will reach an agreement over a new contract, according to The Athletic’s James Pearce. 

Salah has been with the club since 2017, and has gone on to score 125 goals in 203 appearances for the Reds, scarcely believable numbers in a hugely impressive spell to date with the Premier League side.

The 29-year-old is contracted with Liverpool until the summer of 2023, although it remains to be seen as to whether he’ll commit his future to the club anytime soon.

Pearce reports that agreeing a new contract with Salah remains Liverpool’s biggest priority out of their current front-three options, but it is not set in stone.

Liverpool are set to get their 2021/22 league campaign underway on Saturday 14th August, when they take on newly-promoted Norwich City at Carrow Road.

Many Liverpool fans took to social media to voice their frustrations after this update on Salah’s future at Anfield heading towards the 2021/22 campaign.

Take a look at the best of the reaction from Twitter below….

Reds fans fume at Salah uncertainty

“We’re finished club.”

Credit: @lfcxtn

“Trying to force him out lol this club is beyond pathetic.”

Credit: @cavaalli_lfc

“FSG are an embarrassment to football.”

Credit: @GazWiIIiams

“We are owned by billionaires. Stop spending money on your 4000th yacht and pay Salah and Henderson what they ask for to keep them at the club.”

Credit: @goncalvesfc2

“If they are at this sort of nonsense now imagine we had missed out on top 4.”

Credit: @Corballyred

“We can not fumble this.”

Credit: @lewinh0_

“We’re going to lose everyone.”

Credit: @CraigYB1989

A major update has emerged about Sunderland forward Charlie Wyke, regarding Celtic’s hopes of landing the Englishman.

What’s the talk?

According to the Northern Echo, Sunderland are on the verge of losing top scorer Charlie Wyke to Scottish Premiership side Celtic. Wyke is out of contract at the end of the month and Celtic are confident that the attacker will reject Sunderland’s attempts to keep him in order to seal a move to Scotland.

The report claims that Celtic are preparing their contract offer for Wyke and will submit it to his agent this week. Celtic are increasingly confident that Wyke will put pen to paper on a deal with them instead of staying at the Stadium of Light.

Earlier this year, Lee Cattermole hailed the “on fire” forward, claiming that Sunderland need a striker of Wyke’s calibre to get out of League One. He told Sky Sports, as relayed by Sunderland Echo:

“If you want to try and get out the division, you need your number nine doing what Charlie is doing for the club.

“Suddenly you’re going out into the game thinking you’ve got a chance.

“If you keep a clean sheet you know you’ve got a guy on fire. It breeds confidence throughout the whole squad as well. Hopefully other people start chipping in as well.”

Fans will be livid

Sunderland fans will be livid as Kristjaan Speakman is heading for a disaster with Wyke. Speakman has been in talks with Wyke since the end of the season over a new contract and Sunderland offered him fresh terms last week, according to the Northern Echo.

However, it appears as though Speakman has not done enough to entice Wyke to commit his future to the club, with Celtic now set to pounce and snatch the goal machine away from Wearside.

As Cattermole said earlier this year, having a number nine who scores a bucketload of goals is crucial to getting out of League One. Hull had two players score 18 league goals – Mallik Wilks and Josh Magennis – and Peterborough had the league’s top scorer in Jonson Clark-Harris, who found the back of the net 31 times. Wyke was the second-top scorer in the division with 26 goals, but Lee Johnson’s side did not have the pieces around the centre-forward to see out their promotion chances.

The £6.4k-per-week ace could, therefore, be a major loss for Sunderland. Grant Leadbitter, with seven, was Sunderland’s next highest scorer and the midfielder is also set to leave the club at the end of the month.

This places further emphasis on the impact Wyke’s exit could have as Sunderland do not have any other players who appear as though they could immedately replace the goals the club are poised to lose. Therefore, the fans will be fuming if Speakman is now unable to pin him down to a new deal.

AND in other news, Stance revealed on £3k-p/w Sunderland target with “real talent”, Speakman must act now…

Relaying an announcement by the club, and one that arguably went under the radar on deadline day, Tottenham Hotspur journalist Alasdair Gold has lavished praise on a ‘great move’ for talented but barely-seen youngster J’Neil Bennett (Twitter).

The Lowdown: Bennett announcement made…

As confirmed by Tottenham, the 19-year-old has joined League One side Crewe Alexandra on loan until January, going out to gain some much-needed experience at senior level.

The teenager has featured just once for Spurs’ first team, making a brief nine-minute cameo in the Europa Conference League Qualifiers (Transfermarkt).

Now, Gold has heaped praise on this news as Tottenham allow Bennett to gain some valuable experience elsewhere.

The Latest: Gold praises ‘great move’…

Taking to Twitter, the Spurs journalist has lavished praise on both Bennett and Spurs whilst claiming this is a ‘great move’ for the youngster.

“One Spurs loan from the academy does get done tonight,” he explained on deadline day when sharing the announcement.

“Great move for J’Neil Bennett until January.

“The 19-year-old has got plenty of talent. Really looking forward to seeing what he can do with first team football.”

The Verdict: Exciting times for the Spurs academy…

Amid the plethora of young stars coming through in north London, including the likes of Nile John, Oliver Skipp and Dane Scarlett, it appears Tottenham may have even more on the horizon.

Bennett has been a regular in Spurs’ academy since the beginning of 2018/2019 but arguably needs to ply his trade at senior level to give Nuno Espirito Santo something to think about.

The left-winger could well thrive in England’s third tier as Tottenham seemingly continue to grow their brilliant crop of youngsters.

In other news: Spurs chiefs left seething over N17 exit gaffe as Alasdair Gold drops behind the scenes reveal, find out more here.

Celtic left-back Boli Bolingoli is not considered a viable option by Ange Postecoglou, according to Kieran Devlin.

The Lowdown: Scales deal edges closer

Celtic have already made eight signings this summer, and it seems as if a ninth addition is imminent in Shamrock Rovers’ Liam Scales.

Scales, who can play as a centre-back, left-back and left-midfielder, is set to cost the Hoops around £500,000.

That deal looks like it could push Bolingoli further down the pecking order at Parkhead, according to Devlin.

The Latest: Devlin’s claim

Devlin, Celtic’s correspondent for The Athletic, shared a story on Wednesday regarding where the Hoops need to strengthen.

Within his report, he admitted that Bolingoli isn’t in Postecoglou’s plans and added that Scales’ arrival is considered crucial due to his versatility.

Devlin was then asked by a fan in the comments for more details on Bolingoli, to which he said:

“Having trouble finding out specifics on the Boli situation but it does seem he’s out of the picture with their pursuit of Scales. Nothing concrete on Boli potentially outgoing yet though.”

The Verdict: Time to sell?

With the 26-year-old, described as ‘strong’ by Alex Bruce, not in the frame in Glasgow, it could be wise to cash in on the Ivorian in the final days of the window.

The left-back still has two years left on his Celtic contract and was linked with a move to Turkish side Altay SK earlier in the window, so the Hoops could recoup some of the £3m they paid for him two years ago.

He hasn’t featured under Postecoglou and has been on the bench on three occasions, so if the club can find a buyer, it might be best to cut ties with the full-back for good.

In other news: Celtic now looking at late swoop for ‘fantastic’ defender alongside Scales move.  

Celtic have reportedly won the race for Scunthorpe United youngster Joey Dawson.

The Lowdown: Dawson’s record-breaking past

Dawson, who appears to be on his way to Parkhead, became the youngest player in Scunthorpe’s history back in 2019.

He was just 16 years, 75 days old when he played in the Carabao Cup for the Iron.

Dawson, who can play as an attacking midfielder or a striker, is also the nephew to Tottenham Hotspur hero Michael Dawson, who made 325 appearances for Spurs between 2005 and 2014.

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The Latest: Dawson passes Celtic medical

According to Iron Bru, Dawson has rejected a long-term deal at Scunthorpe.

He was attracting interest from a number of Championship clubs but has now reportedly passed a medical ahead of a proposed move to Scotland.

The Hoops will have to pay a fee for Dawson, but he appears to be a player who fits the club transfer strategy of being a UK-based prospect available for a nominal fee.

The Verdict: Howe’s first signing?

Reports have suggested that Eddie Howe has agreed to become the new Celtic manager, with an official announcement possibly spilling into next week.

With Howe agreeing on a Celtic Park deal, you’d expect he would be fully aware of a move for Dawson.

So, it appears as if the teenager could become Howe’s first signing as Hoops boss, should the 43-year-old be announced prior to Dawson.

Celtic have already secured the services of Sheffield Wednesday’s Liam Shaw on a pre-contract, and with the pending arrival of Dawson, it appears as if the Hoops are looking at building for the future.

In other news: Olivier Ntcham contract speculation refuted, find out more here. 

Newcastle United have reportedly looked at Benfica striker Darwin Nunez ahead of the summer transfer window, according to Sky Sports’ Keith Downie.

What’s the story?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the Sky Sports reporter said: “Nunez is someone they’ve looked at, they’ve watched. I think a proven goalscorer on the European stage will be one of the main priorities, if not the priority in the summer.”

It was recently reported by The Athletic that Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain were the current frontrunners for Nunez’s signature. However, Newcastle could find themselves in the mix.

The Magpies will certainly seek to add at least one new striker to their ranks this summer with £25m January signing Chris Wood finding the back of the net just twice thus far whilst Callum Wilson is still sidelined but could return before the end of the season.

Moreover, with the upcoming transfer window being PIF’s first at the helm of Newcastle United, big names are expected to be linked with the Toon Army seemingly having bottomless pockets at their disposal.

Therefore, there’s little surprise that a forward of the Uruguayan’s calibre has been linked.

Supporters will be excited

With the summer window the first of the PIF dynasty, Newcastle supporters will be beside themselves regarding potential transfers with the possibilities seemingly endless, at least in the media.

Adding Nunez to his ranks would single-handedly revolutionise Howe’s side with the forward one of Europe’s current hottest properties and is valued at around £60m.

The Benfica hotshot has scored 31 goals in 37 matches across all competitions, including an impressive 25 strikes in 25 league games in the Portuguese top flight.

At just 22 years of age, Nunez has already scored in the Champions League against the likes of Barcelona, Ajax and Liverpool, alerting some of Europe’s juggernauts to the Uruguayan’s talent.

In fact, the striker netted twice against the Reds, in both legs of their recent quarter-final, with manager Jurgen Klopp purring over the Benfica man’s ability.

“Really good, really good. I knew before, of course, but he played pretty much in front of me with his tough battles with Ibrahima Konate,” the German said.

“He was physically strong, quick, was calm around his finish. Good, really good. I always say in these situations if he is healthy, it’s a big career ahead of him.”

With a mouth-watering transfer kitty ready to spend, Newcastle will certainly be keen to add a top-level centre-forward to their roster and Nunez certainly meets the requirements.

AND in other news: Howe and PIF are now heading for their first big NUFC error, it would be a disaster