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Liverpool could be set for another summer transfer window of lavish spending due to their financial success off the field.

The Reds recently posted record-breaking profits highlighting the immense work going on behind the scenes at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp’s run to the Champions League final last year significantly added to their finances as well as Philippe Coutinho’s transfer to Barcelona. After choosing not to spend in January, perhaps Klopp could be handed another transfer war chest in the summer.

The evolution in the Liverpool squad is plain to see – they now boast one of the strongest squads in the Premier League. However, there have been times throughout the season where they have lacked some magic in the midfield. After failing to sign Nabil Fekir in the summer, the Reds could dip back into the market for a playmaker when the summer transfer window opens.

One man Liverpool should be attempting to sign is Lyon maestro Houssem Aouar. Valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, the youngster is the latest star to progress through the club’s youth academy into the first-team. Aouar is now one of the first names on the team-sheet and has been ever-present for the French side this season making 34 appearances in all competitions.

It’s interesting to note that, back in 2016, the club were interested – yet he decided against the move. Clearly, then, the Reds are aware of this talent.

The 20-year-old has been lethal in front of goal, netting six as well as registering five assists for his team-mates in all competitions. Blessed with wonderful technical ability, Aouar oozes class when on the ball and constantly carves open defences; the Frenchman has averaged 1.3 key passes and 2.3 successful dribbles per game this season (as per WhoScored).

Liverpool’s midfield, at present, plays host to a lot of quality. They’ve got great energy between Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita, great defensive work with Fabinho and James Milner, and great creativity with Gini Wijnaldum and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. That’s already better than most of the other teams in England, but it lacks something, in contrast, to say, Man City – who can call upon players like Bernardo Silva and David Silva.

Simply put, Liverpool’s midfield does lack a spark on occasion, and Aouar could provide it.

Paired with Liverpool’s famed front three, he could take his game to the next level. Klopp has a reputation for developing youngsters – Aouar could be the next star to thrive under his leadership.

uarLiverpool fans, thoughts?

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Tottenham Hotspur’s loss to Burnley could not have come at a worse time.

A trip to Turf Moor should have been a guaranteed three points for a team still in with a shout of winning the Premier League title.

But theirs was a stodgy, defensively naive performance against a bruising Burnley side who played the role of spoilers to perfection. Goals from Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes put paid to Spurs’ hopes of turning up the heat on both Liverpool and Manchester City.

It would be churlish to claim that Spurs’ title hopes are over; there are 11 games of the season left and they still have to play Jurgen Klopp’s side and Pep Guardiola’s champions.

But the fixture pile-up they are currently facing is no picnic. Spurs travel to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to face a Chelsea side still bruised from their Carabao Cup final defeat to City on penalties, before facing Arsenal at the weekend. Those games are before a Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund in Germany. Afterwards, Spurs play Southampton and Crystal Palace before a trip to Anfield.

Now, winning every single game would do a lot to enhance Spurs’ reputation and ensure that they are still in the conversation at the top of the league, and would also see them cruise through to the Champions League quarter-finals.

But the inverse – a run of defeats, particularly against Chelsea and Arsenal – could see the club looking over their shoulder instead of up the table.

Spurs are eight points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United and seven ahead of the Gunners.

Losses to both the Blues and Arsenal – Unai Emery’s men play AFC Bournemouth on Wednesday – could see that lead chopped to one point in the blink of an eye.

This is, of course, is purely hypothetical. There is every chance that there could be two wins for Spurs or two draws – the latter could still see the lead down to four.

Tottenham have a history here. They have twice before blown a lead of seven points over the Gunners, and most recently, when they were battling Leicester City for the title, Spurs ended up third, a point behind Arsene Wenger’s side. Arsenal were never considered contenders.

Past Tottenham, Arsenal face only one other top-four contender before May, in Manchester United. United, meanwhile, still have to play City and Chelsea.

But the gap could close in on Harry Kane & Co if they cannot regain their form quickly.

It would be remiss not to mention the fact that Spurs enjoyed a run of five successive league victories before their defeat to Burnley, but they lost to Arsenal at the Emirates earlier this season and also went down to both City and Liverpool at Wembley.

History suggests, then, that there may not be too much fruit to bear from their upcoming run of games.

With the title race coming to a crunch period, Spurs face a defining week. Win both games, and beat Dortmund, and the ship is righted, the challenge at the top of the league still feasible.

But lose to both of their London rivals and they may well be reinserted into the race for the top four, watching both Liverpool and City battle it out for the title in the front row, powerless to jump the barricade and involve themselves in the fight.

There is, to put it bluntly, absolutely no room for error.

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Mauricio Pochettino has been handed a touchline ban by the FA after an altercation with referee Mike Dean.

The BBC report that he has been suspended for two matches, against Southampton and Liverpool, and has been hit with a £10,000 fine after squaring up to the referee following Spurs’ clash with Burnley.

Tottenham lost at Turf Moor in a game that derailed their title hopes – they would lose to Chelsea later in the week, all but ending their challenge – and Pochettino was involved in a heated confrontation with Dean following the final whistle.

The referee, who was set to be the fourth official for the clash with the Blues, was withdrawn from that role while the Argentine refused to contest the FA charge.

He has now been handed what may be seen as a harsh punishment; he will be in the stands at St Mary’s Stadium and at Anfield, meaning assistant Jesus Perez is likely to take on the managerial role for each encounter.

And fans have reacted to the news with a mixture of shock and horror, with many insisting Dean was the instigator of the incident. Take a look at the best of the reaction on Twitter below!

After falling out of favour under Mark Hughes, James Ward-Prowse has come back into the reckoning at Southampton following the arrival of Ralph Hasenhuttl, coming up with some big performances for his new boss.

As a result, the 24-year-old could now be set for an England call-up, something which would undoubtedly be deserved.

The Breakdown

The Daily Mirror reports that Ward-Prowse, watched by England No. 2 Steve Holland in Southampton’s shock win against Tottenham, is now being considered by Gareth Southgate for games versus the Czech Republic and Montenegro.

And looking at England’s current midfield options, the Southampton man would not be a bad choice.

In the Three Lions’ last few fixtures, the likes of Harry Winks, Eric Dier and Ross Barkley have all performed well with that UEFA Nations League game against Spain coming to mind.

However, with Dier having not played a lot of football of late, Winks struggling for fitness and Barkley not in the best of form, there should be an opportunity for Ward-Prowse who could bring a lot to the next England squad.

The Southampton academy graduate’s ability on the ball is exactly the sort of thing Southgate could make good use of in his more technical Three Lions side.

Southampton fans, does Ward-Prowse deserve to be included in Southgate’s next England squad? Join the discussion by commenting below. 

Only a club like Arsenal could be favourites for two of the most exciting sporting directors in world football and end up with nothing.

In a double-punch blow for Unai Emery, neither Monchi and Marc Overmars will be making the move to north London this summer, with the former Roma sporting director heading back to his former club in Sevilla and the Dutch legend committing his future to Ajax by signing a new long-term contract with the Amsterdam giants.

Arsenal now must look elsewhere for the man that will be tasked with bringing in the players to propel the Gunners back into the Premier League elite. Although there are still a plethora of candidates that could fill out the role including former scout Francis Cagigao and current heady of youth recruitment Steve Morrow, it might be ideal for the north London hierarchy to look away from internal figures and search away from England.

Enter Ben Manga.

Currently the chief scout of Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, Manga’s work has been credited as a reason for the German side’s recent meteoric rise from surviving the relegation play-offs in 2016 to now being underdogs for the Europa League.

Manga, who joined the club shortly after Frankfurt’s Bundesliga survival, has been responsible for bringing the likes of Ante Rebic, Sebastian Haller and Luka Jovic to the club, three players who have been revelations in Germany’s top flight.

As well as being able to identify exciting young talent, the 45-year-old former midfielder has been smart when it comes to adding experienced heads in the dressing room.

Kevin-Prince Boateng and Jonathan de Guzman were both brought in on free transfers and were essential clogs in Frankfurt’s DFB-Pokal win in 2017/18, their first major honour for nearly 30 years.

It’s understandable why Arsenal were keen to bring in Monchi or Overmars to fill out the role of technical director, but in Manga, the Gunners have a chance to appoint one of the most promising figures in the game, and someone who can take the north London club back to the level they want to return to.

Arsenal fans, would you take Manga as the technical director?

[ad_pod ]Tottenham Hotspur fans have expressed their indignation at Everton manager Marco Silva avoiding a touchline ban, per Sky Sports, for a confrontation with match officials following his side’s loss to Newcastle United.The Toffees boss confronted Lee Mason and his assistants in the wake of the Toffees’ dramatic defeat, in which they threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2.

Silva claimed after the game, per Sky Sports, that as many as five players were offside in the build-up to Ayoze Perez’s winning goal.

But he has avoided a touchline ban and has instead been fined £12,000 after accepting a charge of improper conduct.

Spurs fans have been quick to point out the inconsistency that comes with that punishment after Mauricio Pochettino was handed a two-game suspension for a confrontation with Mike Dean following a 2-1 loss to Burnley.

Pochettino was fined £10,000 too and sat out his first game before the international break, as Spurs were beaten by Southampton. He will again be in the stands against Liverpool when the Premier League resumes.

And fans have urged the FA to start showing some uniformity in their discipline.

Take a look at the best of the reaction to Silva’s punishment below!

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According to CalcioMercato, Manchester United are tracking 22-year-old Sampdoria defender and Danish youth international Joachim Andersen with a possible summer move in mind.

What’s the word, then?

The Red Devils’ Premier League rivals Arsenal also have their eye on the centre-back, reportedly valued at £22 million by his current Serie A club.

Both sides are clearly looking to bolster their defences in the summer transfer window, with United also linked to a series of other defenders across Europe by various different football media outlets.

Andersen is a tall (6 ft 4) physical centre-half who has represented Denmark at every youth level between under-16 and under-21 and made 37 Sampdoria appearances since a move from FC Twente, capturing the attention of some of the finest clubs in European football in the process.

The ideal man to complete United’s backline

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team could look to sign more than one central defender at the end of 2018/2019 and Andersen is the perfect player to complement a real marquee signing in that area.

Tottenham’s Hotspur’s Toby Alderweireld and Kalidou Koulibaly of Napoli have been the main two names mentioned for the Old Trafford club at centre-half in the summer.

Both are big-name stars over the age of 27 who could bring plenty of experience and quality to the table, but Ed Woodward is unlikely to be able to afford both.

This means a secondary centre-back addition should be highly considered and a little younger than Alderweireld and Koulibaly, Andersen is the man.

The Danish powerhouse will especially need to be considered if the Red Devils are going to let any central defenders leave before the start of 2019/2020, even if it’s just to make up the numbers.

Andersen has great potential and could go grow into a Premier League regular once he reaches the prime years of his career, United will want to make sure it happens with them and not the Gunners by signing a young centre-half who would round off the summer defensive spending rather nicely.

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Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has said that Kemar Roofe will be available to make his return from a knee injury in the clash with Birmingham City on April 6.

What’s the latest?

The Yorkshire Evening Post quotes Bielsa as saying:

“Roofe is not going to be ready against Millwall but he’ll be available after that.”

Roofe has been on the sidelines since the middle of last month with a knee problem.

Earlier this week, the striker took to social media to reveal that he was in the latter stages of his recovery, which led to excitement amongst the Leeds supporters.

Roofe made no mention of when he would return, but Bielsa, speaking at his press conference on Thursday, revealed that the 26-year-old will miss Saturday’s clash with Millwall, but should be fit to face Birmingham on April 6.

The attacker has found the back of the net on 14 occasions in the Championship this season and his return will come at the perfect time for the Whites.

What do Leeds have left this season?

Eight Championship matches. Well, regular season matches, anyway. Leeds will hope that it is just the eight as they battle for a spot in the top two.

Bielsa’s side are currently in third, though, one point off Sheffield United, who recorded a 1-0 victory at Elland Road before the international break.

Roofe has missed his team’s last six Championship matches and that will become seven this weekend, but there is still plenty of football left to play.

In April, Leeds will face Millwall, Birmingham City, Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday, Wigan Athletic, Brentford and Aston Villa, before travelling to Ipswich Town on the final weekend of the 2018-19 campaign.

It is shaping up to be a fascinating battle to secure a top-two finish, but the return of Roofe at this stage of the campaign is a huge boost.

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The signing of Dele Alli will be eternally regarded as a masterstroke from Daniel Levy – a transfer which finely encapsulates and illustrates his shrewd negotiating skills. Levy is a maverick in the modern game, and much has been made of his remarkable success in following his peculiarly unique approach to the transfer market.

Spurs signed 18-year-old Alli from MK Dons in January 2015 for a fee of just £5 million, and he was immediately loaned back to the promotion-chasing League One outfit. Now 22, Alli is one of the most phenomenal young English talents to emerge in recent years.

That he has already scored 53 goals and provided 46 assists at the club and is now worth £90 million, per transfermarkt, attests to the genius behind the 2015 transfer.

It’s no surprise then that Alasdair Gold has previously revealed Spurs are interested in raiding the lower leagues once again this summer for hidden elite talent. Jarrod Bowen, Che Adams, Luca Connell, Max Aarons and Jack Clarke are all on their radar, per football.london.

The intention is seemingly to bolster what is a thin homegrown quota in north London, with the arrival of precocious English players representing the nucleus of Levy’s transfer strategy.

There is no doubt that this aspect of the long-term strategy is shrewd and progressive, but Spurs will continue to fall short of their true potential if they fail to add players boasting genuine pedigree.

The last signing Spurs made saw Lucas, a player with rich experience in European football, arrive for a fee of just £23 million. While his spell has been frustratingly tempestuous so far, his glowing performance at Anfield on Sunday was another big-game showing to add to a growing collection of excellent performances on the big stage.

The Brazilian notched important goals in the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona more crucially, while his scintillating brace at Old Trafford in the Premier League on matchday three proved that he is tailor-made for high-magnitude fixtures.

Pochettino will certainly demand more from the electric attacker this season and beyond as his inconsistency has restricted his progress since joining the club, but there have been enough sporadic glimpses of class against high-calibre opponents to give Levy something to ponder over.

The key for Tottenham’s Chairman is to use the success of the Moura deal to construct his policy for the upcoming summer window. A drive to recruit high quality players who have been neglected or cast aside at top clubs could prove incredibly fruitful.

Andre Gomes, who has often played with the swagger, verve and composure of a Nou Camp maestro during his loan spell at Everton this season, is a prime example of the type of affordable and prestigious talent Spurs should be targeting.

Jarrod Bowen, Max Aarons and the rest of the young English contingent of Spurs-linked players fit the profile of the type of Alli-esque deals which Levy would be wise to pursue, but it’s imperative they are also supplemented with Moura-esque deals.

Those hidden or, in Gomes’ case at least, perhaps not so hidden gems, who have already acquired experience at the top level and are available for cut-price fees, could represent the difference between yet another top-four battle and a genuine title push.

Some Moura that please, Mr Levy.

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West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice has proven himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League this season, but he was certainly shown up against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.

On the chalkboard

It was always going to be a hard task for the Irons in west London given they had lost two of their previous three top flight fixtures, and it proved to be the case.

Manager Manuel Pellegrini started Rice alongside Mark Noble in a 4-2-3-1 system, with the former expected to protect the backline – as he has done on so many occasions throughout the current campaign.

The 20-year-old has excelled in that role time and time again with his ability to intercept and win the ball back, but it was a different story against Maurizio Sarri’s men as he was overrun and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in particular ran rings around him in the opening 45 minutes.

Tables have turned

Rice has had his praises sung constantly and received an England call-up this term, whereas Loftus-Cheek has found first-team starts hard to come by for the Blues.

Perhaps their respective fortunes are beginning to change now though, with the former hardly impressing against a big team on this occasion given he has been linked with moves to Manchester City and Manchester United.

While the 23-year-old does play in a more advanced position than his fellow Three Lions man, he showed a couple aspects of his game that if the Irons starlet took on, would allow him to reach the next level.

He used his strength, power and work rate when on the ball to create problems for his opponents, and it is something that Rice probably doesn’t utilise enough.

He certainly has the height and muscle to do this, but for whatever reason he tends to play it safe – perhaps no surprise given his age.

The youngster is clearly a great player in the making but by no means the finished article, and if he looks at his international teammate’s display on Monday he may just get there.