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Some Tottenham Hotspur fans on Twitter are feeling pessimistic about the club’s chances of signing Paulo Dybala from Juventus following his Champions League display on Tuesday night.

Spurs failed in a bid to bring the Argentina international to north London on the final day of the summer transfer window, with image rights issues the main reason for the deal collapsing, according to Goal.

However, The Daily Star reported earlier this month that Mauricio Pochettino is still keen to bring the 25-year-old to the capital in the upcoming January window, although the fact he is starring for the Serie A outfit may make that difficult.

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Indeed on the same night that Tottenham put five goals past Red Star Belgrade on their own turf, Juve needed a brace from Dybala to come from behind and beat Lokomotiv Moscow in Turin.

The attacker produced two brilliant finishes on the night, and his exploits didn’t go unnoticed by Spurs supporters.

While one said they were “gutted Levy didn’t do his job and sort Dybala out”, another individual said “no chance of him now”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

The 5-3-2 system in which Mark Warburton sets his QPR side up in hasn’t always been the formation used by the R’s boss.

Interestingly, the former Rangers and Brentford manager used a 4-2-3-1 system in the early parts of the current campaign, before switching to the current 5-3-2 for the trip to Sheffield Wednesday at the end of August.

The move merited a 2-1 win, with Jordan Hugill scoring both goals for QPR on a day that served to suggest the on-loan West Ham man might be well-suited to the new system.

However, since the trip to Hillsborough, the former Preston forward has struggled.

Last time out in the 3-0 defeat to Cardiff, the 27-year-old could not add to his five Championship goals as he delivered an extremely poor performance against the Bluebirds, despite Warburton switching back to a 4-2-3-1.

Hugill failed to have a single shot, and also failed to complete a key pass as he looked lost against Neil Warnock’s side.

The 6-foot striker also had a game-high six unsuccessful touches, leading to WhoScored handing him an underwhelming 5.63 match rating – the lowest of any player to start the game at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Hugill’s goalless display continues a worrying trend.

Since the aforementioned game against Sheffield Wednesday – in which he scored twice – Hugill hasn’t scored a single goal, while you only need to compare his match ratings from the fixtures since to see that he was struggling in Warburton’s 5-3-2 system but could also not return to his best despite a move back to 4-2-3-1.

Having earned an 8.49 match rating against the Owls, Hugill then received a 7.19 rating in the following fixture against Luton.

He then went on to be handed a 5.67 rating in the 2-0 defeat to West Brom on Saturday, before being given the aforementioned 5.63 against Cardiff – with each passing game, Hugill’s ratings are getting lower and he still isn’t finding the net.

The formation change seemed to work as a whole, with QPR winning four games in a row before losing to the Baggies, but Hugill, in particular, seems to be struggling in it despite early signs of promise.

Loads of Tottenham Hotspur fans on Twitter have called for the club to re-sign Gareth Bale after he and current Spurs defender Ben Davies linked up for Wales’ goal in their 1-1 draw against Croatia on Sunday.

The left-back found himself in an unusual position in the centre of the pitch before sliding a ball through to the Real Madrid attacker, who showed composure to finish into the far corner to earn his country a draw in their EURO 2020 qualifier.

The 30-year-old, rated at £54m by Transfermarkt, has endured some tough times with the La Liga outfit and has even been booed by the Bernabeu faithful on occasion, but he has still scored two and assisted two more in seven appearances in all competitions for Zinedine Zidane’s men this term.

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Of course, he shone for the north London outfit previous to his move to Spain as well with 56 goals and 58 assists in 203 matches in total for Tottenham – something that clearly hasn’t been forgotten by supporters.

While one said “these two should be linking up at Spurs”, another individual demanded they “sign Bale and make that duo real”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

[ad_pod ]Let’s face it, Manchester United are rubbish at the moment.We thought we’d seen it all last season when Jose Mourinho’s third season curse struck the club with a vengeance, but we hadn’t. Not even close.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may have been happily sat at the wheel when he first arrived, guiding the club on an eleven game unbeaten run, however since that dream night in Paris, the tyres of whatever vehicle he was driving have been stolen, the engine has burnt out, the springs are popping out of the seats and Ed Woodward has been sat in the back the entire time repeatedly asking if they are there yet.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Sunday’s 2-0 defeat against West Ham United at the London Stadium means the Red Devils haven’t won a single competitive game away from home since February. Now, with just two wins in six games, they are officially worse off at this stage in the season than they were under Mourinho, who received his p45 in December after a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool.

The Portuguese had his say on the “sad reality” at his former home…

Claude Puel made a handful of shrewd signings during the 2018 summer transfer window and one of those players, Ricardo Pereira, is rapidly beginning to establish himself as one of the bargains of the Premier League season. 

Leicester secured the signing of Pereira from FC Porto last summer in a deal which cost them £19.8 million. Puel wasted no time in integrating him into the squad and he was immediately thrown into the first-team, providing an assist for James Maddison on only his second outing of the season.

Embracing one of the most fundamental characteristics of a modern day full-back, Pereira’s attacking prowess immediately caught the eye; his defensive quality, on the other hand, was less clear cut.

With the ball at his feet Pereira looked composed, confident and a constant threat in the final-third, regardless of whether he was dribbling towards the byline or lining up a whipped cross into the danger zone.

But perhaps the truest indicator of Pereira’s suitability for the demands of the Premier League arrived on Merseyside on Wednesday evening, where he was exceptional against Liverpool.

His reputation amongst the Foxes faithful was already beginning to snowball after he powered home an emphatic winning goal against Manchester City on Boxing Day, but the maturity of his performance against the league-leaders was a genuine indicator into the extent of his development this season.

Pereira was, typically, always available as an outlet moving forward, striving to support Leicester on the breakaway down the right flank, but his ability to contribute defensively to a stellar effort from the back-four would have delighted the supporters.

His attacking quality has always been obvious but, as is so often the case for full-backs in this day and age, his defensive attributes evoked cause for concern.

But, after undergoing a transition period at the King Power Stadium and adapting to the speed of a new style of football, Pereira has established himself as a reliable defensive asset.

While Manchester City are far from your average benchmark for transfer fees, that Pereira only cost £19.8 million – £30.2 million less than City paid for Walker, £32.2 million less than they paid for Benjamin Mendy and £6.7 million less than they paid for Danilo – justifies his status as one of the bargains of the season.

Leicester fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

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Georginio Wijnaldum is impressing in his appearances for the Netherlands and Liverpool fans are pleased with what they have seen from him during the latest international break.

The 28-year-old seems to have been given greater freedom by national team manager Ronald Koeman than what he usually enjoys at Anfield, and that has resulted in two goals in matches against Germany and Estonia.

He appears to be enjoying his time away with the national team, too, and will arrive in Merseyside bang in form ahead of the Reds’ clash against his former side Newcastle at the weekend.

Some Liverpool fans wish he’d display a similar kind of goalscoring form at club level, whilst one fan has compared him to previous Netherlands great Clarence Seedorf.

Wijnaldum has scored 12 goals in 56 games for his country, helping them to the UEFA Nations League final in June alongside his club teammate Virgil van Dijk.

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By comparison, he has scored just one more goal for the Reds in 145 games, which explains why fans are so impressed by his recent displays, as evidenced by the reactions below.

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Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa won the FIFA Fair Play award at The Best awards on Monday night.

The Argentine’s decision to allow Aston Villa to score after some unsavoury scenes at Elland Road last term played a part in that as his good gesture was rewarded by football’s governing body.

However, it didn’t please some pundits on BBC Radio 5 Live who struggled to hold back their laughs as they were left dumbfounded by the news.

Their reactions provoked quite the response from Leeds supporters who were left angry by what they’d said about the 64-year-old.

One fan labelled them muppets while a further individual claimed it was biased and unprofessional.

Another supporter suggested they needed to get over themselves as it was also noted that they could never recognise Bielsa’s integrity.

The Leeds manager donated £1.9m to his former club Newell’s Old Boys last October but was, of course, also involved in the controversial spygate incident where he eventually paid a £200k fine using his own money.

That situation where Leeds sent a spy to watch Derby train was presumably in the back of the pundit’s minds when they were told the news.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

Crystal Palace have the opportunity to finish in the top half this season, currently just two points behind Leicester City and Aston Villa, but with Patrick Vieira planning for his final push in the remaining Premier League fixtures to secure a top finish, he may have been delivered a huge setback.

What’s the word?

As reported by Daily Mail, Wilfried Zaha had to sit out of the international friendly against England last night after suffering a grade two hamstring injury in training with the Ivory Coast.

The Crystal Palace forward is now very unlikely to be available for selection in Monday’s clash at Selhurst Park against Arsenal, as he reportedly was given an X-ray that has revealed the extent of an injury causing problems.

The Ivory Coast manager, Patrice Beaumelle, revealed further that “if it gets worse it is maybe six weeks or two months out.”

If it is that bad, it may mean that Zaha doesn’t play again this term.

Vieira will be gutted

With only nine Premier League fixtures remaining for the Eagles, the French manager will surely be gutted to have potentially lost one of his most reliable and experienced attacking threats in the team.

The 29-year-old has scored ten goals in all competitions for Palace already this season, with some of his strikes making an important impact on points won for the side. For example, there was a crucial second half goal scored against Norwich that pulled back a point, and a penalty scored against Wolves to seal a comfortable victory recently away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Palace also have a hugely important clash in the FA Cup coming up at Wembley against Chelsea in just over three weeks, and losing the attacker for the monumental clash that has taken Palace to their first FA Cup semi-final since 2016, could be a disaster for Vieira.

There will surely more clarity on the seriousness of the injury when Zaha returns to his club and is further assessed later this week, and the Eagles boss will likely call upon his other attacking players to complete the difficult challenge against the Gunners at Selhurst Park this weekend, no matter the outcome.

In other news: Vieira set for huge howler as CPFC plot bid for “terrible” £91k-p/w dud who’s “so bad”

As per a report in the paper edition of Mundo Deportivo, via Sport Witness, there has been an update on Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele.

The Lowdown: Dembele contract winding down…

The Frenchman’s current deal in Catalonia is set to expire in 2022 as things stand with his club running out of time to secure the player to fresh terms.

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Dembele is free to negotiate pre-contract summer moves with Spurs managing director Fabio Paratici having long been linked with a swoop.

It has been claimed that the Tottenham transfer chief is eyeing ‘quality players at zero cost’ for Lilywhites boss Antonio Conte with Barca’s ace firmly on the agenda (Mundo Deportivo via Sport Witness).

The Latest: Spurs ‘push hard’…

In an update on Dembele’s situation, Mundo (via SW) have made a claim involving Spurs – going on to state that they are trying to ‘push hard’ for the 24-year-old.

Despite interest from European heavyweights Paris-Saint Germain and Bayern Munich, ‘everything indicates’ a move to England for the attacker.

As well as this, Paratici is a personal admirer of Dembele and it is believed that the Italian ‘already tempted’ Barca’s player to join Juventus during his tenure at the Allianz Stadium.

The Verdict: Right move?

As the international’s future in Spain remains a point of contention with many clubs apparently interested (90min), we believe he actually wouldn’t be the most ideal capture for Conte at N17.

Even though Spurs would be signing him on a free transfer, Dembele’s reported salary demands in excess of around £200,000-per-week could be too much financially – especially considering his worrying fitness record.

The former Borussia Dortmund sensation’s long history of hamstring problems should certainly be taken into consideration with pundit Carlton Palmer perhaps best summing it up.

Speaking to This is Futbol, the former England international warned Spurs against a move for Dembele – citing his possible wages and extensive injury history as reasons why he would be a ‘crazy signing’ for the club.

Indeed, taking these factors into consideration, Tottenham are perhaps best looking elsewhere for low cost upgrades in the winter window.

In other news: ‘Absolute no-brainer’…Sky Sports pundit thrilled by ‘exciting’ transfer news out of Spurs, find out more here.

Rangers have received a boost with the news that Borna Barisic is happy at the club, as per Football Scotland. 

The lowdown

The Gers have already lost one full-back this month, with Everton snapping up Nathan Patterson.

Barisic has also attracted Premier League interest, this time from Watford, who tabled a £2m bid last month which was promptly dismissed by the Scottish champions.

The Croatian’s £18,000-per-week contract, signed in January 2020, still has two-and-a-half years to run.

The latest

Football Scotland reporters Mark McDougall and Euan Robertson wrote that Barisic is ‘enjoying life in Glasgow’, and it would apparently take a bid of £5m for Rangers to even consider letting him go.

The report added that the Light Blues are in ‘a strong negotiating position’ after the club-record sale of Patterson last week.

The verdict

Keeping Barisic would be a big boost for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Rangers, and it would also illustrate the benefits of parting with Patterson.

The Croatian is a trusted lieutenant, selected for 12 Premiership games and all six of the Gers’ Europa League group stage matches this season.

He has also been the team’s third strongest performer according to SofaScore metrics, with an average rating of 7.3/10. Indeed, in the Light Blues’ squad, only James Tavernier (3.4) has created more chances per 90 minutes than Barisic.

His former manager Steven Gerrard hailed him as a “top player” back in 2019, praise which is merited judging by the above statistics, so to hear that the 29-year-old is quite happy to remain at Ibrox despite Watford’s interest should come as a real fillip to everyone associated with Rangers.

In other news, many Rangers fans flocked to this double exit claim