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Newcastle United have now been backed to sign Dele Alli by Football Insider pundit Frank McAvennie.

The Lowdown: Alli on Newcastle’s radar

As per Football Insider, the Magpies are already making plans to bring three new faces to the northeast in the January transfer window.

One of those will reportedly be a central midfielder, as a recruitment source told Football Insider that Alli is one player listed for that position.

It remains to be seen whether Tottenham Hotspur would let the 25-year-old go to a Premier League rival, but it looks as if the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium will try their best to lure him to Tyneside.

The Latest: McAvennie reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, former Premier League striker McAvennie has urged the Magpies to sign Alli, admitting that it is a move he can see happening. The 61-year-old said:

“I think Dele Alli would be the ideal signing for Newcastle.

“If he went there, there would be nowhere to hide. He would play every game and maybe that pressure would help him find his form.

“He’s not played a minute under Conte so maybe he’s not convinced by him yet.

“Newcastle have this money to spend. Alli might be on his way out.

“If they want Premier League quality players, look no further. He’s brilliant on his day.

“Eddie Howe might have issues with his attitude. But if you can solve those issues, you have one hell of a player on your hands.

“I can see that happening if Alli doesn’t work his way back in at Spurs, which is entirely possible.”

The Verdict: Avoid

Alli is not the player he once was. He was absolutely top-class for Spurs between 2015 and 2018 in particular, when he managed 37 goals and a further 29 assists over three consecutive seasons in the Premier League, but those kind of numbers have since dried up for him (Transfermarkt).

Now he is not played a single minute yet under Antonio Conte.

With players like Allan Saint-Maximin, Miguel Almiron and Joe Willock at Eddie Howe’s disposal, it is unclear how Alli would fit into the Newcastle team, so spending on him in January could turn out to be a real waste of money.

With the likes of Adrien Rabiot and Philippe Coutinho also being linked, there are plenty of other midfield options out there for the Magpies to consider.

In other news, a former EPL goalkeeper has been speaking about this potentially ‘big’ NUFC transfer news

2022 is nearly here, which means the January transfer window is soon on the horizon.

Tottenham Hotspur have had mixed success in the market, especially during the winter.

Will Antonio Conte get the backing he needs to steer this sinking Spurs ship around? That remains to be seen.

Some of the Lilywhites’ signings over the years have etched their way into folklore, whilst others… the less said, the better. But how many of these obscure signings from yesteryear can you actually name?

If you think you’re a die-hard Spurs fan, old or new, then this quiz will certainly be a tricky test for you.

So sit back, enjoy your Christmas dinner and take on this not-so-very festive transfer quiz from us here at Football FanCast.

There are ten players to get right, so do you know your Grzegorz Rasiak from your Heung-min Son?

We’ll be surprised if you get more than 70%. Go on, give it a go…

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side currently have the largest squad in the SPFL, with 32 players in their senior ranks – according to Transfermarkt.

Having had a massive overhaul during the summer and winter transfer windows, the 56-year-old manager was given the opportunity to shape the team in his image.

And, with the next market now in sight, it seems as though a clue has already been dropped regarding one deal that could take place at Lennoxtown this summer.

What’s the talk?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist and transfer insider Pete O’Rourke had this to say about Tom Rogic and his future at Parkhead.

He said: “I’m sure, behind the scenes, Celtic’s powerbrokers will be looking at Rogic’s contract again. He’s out of contract in 2023, so he’s not got that long left on his current deal.” 

Since becoming a Celtic player back in January of 2013, the midfielder has gone on to make a total of 266 appearances for the Hoops in all competitions, scoring 46 goals and providing 49 assists along the way.

With 27 league appearances under his belt in this campaign, the 29-year-old has provided six assists for his teammates and scored six goals – the same number of times he’s hit the back of the net over the three previous campaigns.

This highlights just how impressive the midfielder has been under Postecoglou in terms of his attacking play, so much so that only three other Hoops players have racked up more shots at goal in the league than Rogic.

The midfielder has also drawn more fouls (35) than any other Celtic player in the current campaign, showing how tricky he can be to play against.

Taking all of this into account, hearing that the Celtic hierarchy are looking to extend the Australian’s time as a Hoops player is certainly news that will leave Postecoglou and supporters alike buzzing.

As O’Rourke states, the £1.35m-rated gem’s contract is set to expire in the summer of 2023, meaning that, if he doesn’t put pen to paper on a new deal before then, the club would be at risk of seeing him leave on a free transfer, something that would come as a huge blow to the Bhoys.

AND in other news: Signed for 7 figures, left for peanuts: Celtic had a mare on “unplayable” £15k-p/w dud

With the Premier League set to get back underway soon, Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa will be desperately hoping that his side incurs far fewer injuries and illnesses than they did in the first half of the season.

The Whites were among the most affected clubs in the top flight, with numerous star players ruled out for considerable amounts of time – Kalvin Phillips is still out of action now.

While Bielsa will be eager to keep his thin squad together for as long as possible, there may well be increasing opportunities for some of his club’s brightest young prospects.

Joe Gelhardt has already seen some first-team action in recent weeks and months, but it’s Nohan Kenneh’s potential exposure into the side which could cause the most excitement.

Describing himself as someone who is “aggressive and hard-working who likes to break down play”, but also likes “getting forward and scoring long-range goals”, Kenneh seems like he could thrive in the anchor man role if given the chance by Bielsa.

Speaking on The Roaring Peacock Youth Pod, Matty Ingham said: “One of the biggest prospects in the academy if we’re being honest. Big, physical presence, can carry the ball and he’s powerful and quick.”

The teenager has already admitted to modelling himself on Phillips, while he also added that he is a fan of Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira, saying: “Currently I look up to Kalvin Phillips as (we) both play in a similar position, but I occasionally watch videos of Patrick Vieira for his qualities in midfield.”

He also has a big fan in The Athletic’s Phil Hay, who dubbed the 19-year-old “supremely gifted”, while he has been a permanent fixture in the under-23s, predominantly playing at centre-back.

Standing at an imposing 6 foot 3, he seems to have the physical attributes to hold his own at Premier League level; and given his versatility of being able to play in defence and as an anchor man in midfield, seems like he could be a perfect squad option for Bielsa going forward.

While the excitement surrounding Gelhardt is understandable, Kenneh could be the kind of hidden gem who makes the biggest mark at Leeds.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has dropped an exciting Leeds United transfer update…

According to reports by UOL Deportes in Brazil (as relayed by Sport Witness), Ajax have rejected a £12.5m bid for reported Everton transfer target David Neres as they seek a valuation of £16.7m.

Despite this, it is ‘expected’ that the 24-year-old will be sold during the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Neres in poor form

The winger has seen his productivity decline in recent times. During the 2017/18 league campaign, the Brazilian produced an emphatic 14 goals and 14 assists in 32 appearances for the Amsterdam club.

However, this electric form seems to have dried up for Neres since then, who has scored three goals and set up another two in 15 Eredivisie games this season, although three of those goal contributions came in Ajax’s 9-0 win over Cambuur.

This poor recent form has led to the 24-year-old being dropped from the starting line-up, and he was an unused substitute in two of the last three league games. Shockingly, Neres is ranked 18th in the Ajax squad for shots averaged per game (0.6), an extremely poor indictment for an attacking player.

The Latest: Everton interested in Neres

Previous reports have linked Everton with the Brazil international, with claims that the club are ‘interested’ in the player arising as former director of football Marcel Brands was a keen admirer of the Dutch league.

According to reports by UOL Deportes in Brazil (as relayed by Sport Witness), Ajax have rejected a €15m (£12.5m) bid from Shakhtar for Neres. The Dutch champions are said to value the attacker at a minimum of €20m (£16.7m), and it is ‘now expected’ that Neres will be sold this month, with the player being ‘kept on Ajax’s negotiable list’ for now.

Everton will need to move swiftly if they are to bring the winger to Goodison Park, as Shakhtar are set to go back in with another bid to try and get their man.

The Verdict: Transfer could be hit or miss

Neres has made an impression across Europe, with the prolific winger netting 47 goals in 180 appearances for Ajax. Indeed, Jose Mourinho previously awarded him the highest of compliments, saying: “As far as I am concerned, David Neres fully reflects what a Brazilian footballer stands for. For me he is the best of this new generation.”

With Everton keen on bringing in a new right winger to the club, the 24-year-old’s relatively cheap price-tag could prove to be a gamble worth taking, if they are to get the player that Ajax originally signed.

However, if he produces the kind of form we’ve seen this season, it could be a move to earn unwanted comparison with that of Davy Klaassen, who flopped on Merseyside after moving from the Amsterdam giants for £23.6m in 2017. It’s hard to predict which way a potential Everton move for Neres would go.

In other news: Goodison Park exit could beckon for Everton ace dubbed ‘one of the best in Europe’

Football is a sport based around constant progression and that means that squads are constantly changing and evolving, and Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has overseen plenty of development on the pitch in his time at Ibrox.

He has brought in the likes of Ryan Kent, Ianis Hagi and Connor Goldson to Ibrox from other teams in the transfer market, but buying ready-made stars is not the only way to go about improving your team. Utilising the academy set-up can be a profitable and worthwhile method of acquiring talented players and Gerrard has been able to bring through young defender Nathan Patterson.

The 20-year-old has emerged as a first-team player over the past 18 months and is currently competing for the first-choice right-back spot with captain James Tavernier.

At the start of the year, Transfermarkt valued him at a measly £225k. This was after he made a couple of cameo appearances in the first-half of the 2020/21 campaign, with Gerrard easing him into the first-team picture slowly.

The Gers coach has been able to pull off a masterclass with the full-back by integrating him into the team bit by bit in 2021. Patterson has now made 20 first-team appearances in the Premiership, cup and Europa League to date and recently started and picked up an assist in a crucial 2-1 win over Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership. This has also led to him being capped five times by Scotland at international level.

Head of academy Craig Mulholland once heaped praise on the young full-back, saying: “Nathan has been fantastic for us this year.

“Again, we started the project five, six, years ago to get a level of player that we felt could go and compete in the Europa League, could go and compete in Old Firm games.

“And if you go and look at Nathan in the last 16 of the Europa League, if you look at him in the Old Firm game, it’s a great example for all the young players in here of what we’re trying to achieve.”

At the time of writing (18/10/2021), Transfermarkt value Patterson at £1.17m. This is a 420% increase from his initial £225k valuation back in January, perfectly illustrating his meteoric rise over the course of the year whilst working with Gerrard at Ibrox.

Therefore, the ex-Liverpool player and coach has pulled off a masterclass with Patterson. He has turned a talented young player into a serious first-team option and someone who could either earn the club a healthy payday, with Manchester United one of the clubs reportedly interested in the 20-year-old.

It is down to the Scottish international to keep working hard and ensure that he is constantly putting pressure on Tavernier. If he can earn a regular starting position in the team then his development could accelerate with the experience gained from minutes week-in-week-out.

AND in other news, Major update emerges on key Rangers figure that’ll leave fans worried…

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Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to react after Jurgen Klopp revealed that he tried to bring Jadon Sancho to Anfield from Manchester City, before Borussia Dortmund swooped in to sign the teenager.

The Bundesliga leaders signed the Citizens academy graduate back in the summer of 2017 for a fee in the region of £10m, and even handed the little-known forward the number seven shirt vacated by the then-Barcelona-bound Ousmane Dembele.

Since then, the England international has lit up the Bundesliga and is now one of the most precocious talents in world football. Sancho has scored eight goals and recorded 10 assists in all competitions for Dortmund so far this season, helping them stay above Bayern Munich in the table and on course for a first title since 2012.

Speaking on the matter, Klopp said: “Buying English players is a smart idea because we would never have a chance to get Sancho.

“We are not blind – we saw him, we liked him and then we think ‘can we get him?’ No. Because English clubs don’t sell them to other English clubs. I don’t know exactly what the reason is for that but they don’t do it.”

Understandably, Liverpool fans will have been gutted to hear that they missed out on Sancho, and have reacted to the news on Twitter…

Everton ended their eight-game winless run in dramatic style, securing a 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the Premier League thanks to Demarai Gray’s stunning injury-time strike.

On a miserable night in Merseyside, the visitors took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Martin Odegaard steered home Kieran Tierney’s cross after an uneventful and uninspiring opening 45 minutes.

Things improved in the second period, though. Star striker Richarlison twice had efforts ruled out for marginal offsides before the Brazilian finally levelled things up via a well-taken header.

And under-fire manager Rafa Benitez saw his struggling side secure all three points just minutes before the final whistle blew when Gray rifled home a stunning strike from 20 yards out.

The end result could have been different if Eddie Nketiah hadn’t hit the post with a gilt-edged chance when the scores were level and if substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had been able to slot home with the final kick of the game.

But, in truth, the Toffees deserved a slice of luck for their battling and determined to display after a torrid run of form in recent weeks.

Despite Gray’s last gasp heroics, it was arguably Richarlison who really stepped up to the plate in what felt like a critical moment in Benitez’s Goodison Park tenure.

As per SofaScore, the 24-year-old received a match rating of 8 out of 10, the highest total awarded to any Everton player that featured on Monday night.

During his time on the pitch, Richarlison won a whopping eight duels, made four key passes to his grateful teammates, completed three of his four attempted dribbles and also pulled his weight defensively, making three tackles.

And Liverpool ECHO journalist Adam Jones was also impressed with the versatile forward’s eye-catching showing.

“Put a lot of effort in and affected the game well, particularly when dropping back in and looking for possession. Finally his goal came and it was well deserved after two unfortunate offside calls,” wrote Jones after awarded him an eight out of 10.

After picking up their first three points since 25 September, Everton and Benitez will be able to breathe a huge sigh of relief after their win over the Gunners, and Richarlison was instrumental in their victory.

And, in other news…“My understanding is”: Alan Myers drops Everton DoF update that’ll have fans intrigued

After narrowly missing out on securing three points in their previous Premier League match against Watford at St James’ Park last weekend, when a late goal from Joao Pedro snatched a point for the away side, Newcastle United are back in action today with an away clash against Leeds United. 

Ahead of the clash at Elland Road against Marcelo Bielsa’s side,  Magpies boss Eddie Howe revealed that Newcastle will still be without Callum Wilson, Federico Fernandez and Isaac Hayden through injury, as well as potentially Matt Ritchie. Howe added in his pre-match press conference that Jeff Hendrick and Dwight Gayle returned to training this week. 

With that in mind, here’s how we feel Newcastle could line up to take on Leeds this afternoon, with two changes anticipated from the XI which started against Watford a week ago.

In goal, we think Howe will stick with Martin Dubravka after the Slovakian made four saves against Watford.

For the defence, we think the Newcastle boss will stick with the same back four which started against the Hornets, with Kieran Trippier at right-back, Paul Dummett on the left, and Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles occupying the centre-back positions.

In midfield, we can see Howe sticking with Jonjo Shelvey and Joelinton, but Joe Willock comes back in to see if he can pull off something special as Sean Longstaff drops out. The ex-Arsenal youngster hasn’t hit the heights of last season this time around, but with Longstaff offering little attacking threat last week, he could be the fall guy for Willock today.

In attack, it would be hard to not see Allan Saint-Maximin occupying his usual left-wing position to see if he can wreak havoc on Leeds’ defence and potentially add some goals or assists to his record for the season and, more importantly, secure a win for his team. 

With Wilson still out, it would seem likely that Howe will stick with January signing Chris Wood to see if he can also cause the Whites some problems at the back and haunt his former club. 

On the right, we think Howe will put Miguel Almiron back into the team, with Ryan Fraser – who is currently picking up £63k-per-week according to Salary Sport – dropping out to freshen up the attack. The Scot pays the price for going 17 games without a goal so far this season.

Whether or not Howe goes with the starting XI that we have suggested, this will still be a big game in terms of their hopes of avoiding relegation this season, and one they might be capable of winning given Leeds’ less than stellar results so far in this campaign. 

In other news – Terms agreed: NUFC could land masterstroke with gem whose “shorts look like underwear”…

Celtic failed to capitalise on an opportunity to move top of the Premiership as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Livingston on Saturday.

The Hoops had the chance to overtake their Glasgow rivals at the summit ahead of their clash with Motherwell on Sunday, but instead they now sit one point behind the Gers – potentially four points by tomorrow afternoon.

Giorgos Giakoumakis could have sealed the win in injury time when he placed the ball down on the spot after Celtic were awarded a penalty. However, the Greek striker’s tame effort was easily saved and the Hoops had to share the points with Livingston.

Whilst the 26-year-old may take the flak for missing a penalty, with some criticism deserved as he fluffed his lines with a pivotal moment in the match , another player who let Ange Postecoglou down badly was Jota.

The Portuguese forward put in a frustrating performance with which the manager will surely be disappointed, potentially more so than with his starting number nine. Despite missing that penalty, Giakoumakis showed some good signs as he created one chance, won two of his four ground duels and only lost possession five times in the match.

Meanwhile, Jota struggled in almost every aspect of the game. Defensively, he was a lightweight for Celtic.

As per SofaScore, he lost six of his 10 ground duels and failed to make a single tackle, interception or block for his team. This suggests that he did not put in the hard work to win the ball back for the Hoops, whilst he was also too weak to win the majority of his individual battles.

On the ball, he was a disaster. As per SofaScore, he gave possession back to Livingston a whopping 25 times and created zero chances. He also failed to register a shot on goal, whilst failing with 10 of his 12 attempted crosses. This shows that he was nowhere near good enough with the ball at his feet, losing the ball 20 times more than Giakoumakis and not providing a single key pass, unlike the Greek international.

Therefore, Jota was the one player who let Postecoglou down badly, despite Giakoumakis missing the decisive penalty in the game. Moments in matches are important, but the overall standard of a player’s performance should be taken into account and the Portuguese summer signing’s display was simply not good enough for a Celtic winger.

AND in other news, Nicholson must sanction Celtic swoop for prolific 24 y/o beast, he’s Edouard’s heir…