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Tottenham Hotspur have been told how much it’ll cost to land one of their mooted targets this summer…

What’s the word?

According to The Star, Sheffield United are expected to demand in excess of £35m for midfielder Sander Berge amid interest from their rival Premier League clubs.

It’s claimed that the Norway international appears destined to leave Bramall Lane at the end of the season, with the Blades heading back to the Championship after two seasons in the big time.

They also believe that claims United would consider a fee of £28m, a mere £6m return on the investment they made to land the 23-year-old a little over a year ago, are wide of the mark.

Liverpool and arch-rivals Arsenal are two other teams interested in his signature.

Fellaini 2.0

Built like a towering centre-back at 6 foot 5 inches, Berge offers a unique presence in midfield, particularly as his ability on the ball is far greater than what you’d expect from an absolute man-mountain.

And this sort of threat is something that Spurs do not have amongst their squad but is one Jose Mourinho has utilised before in Marouane Fellaini.

Originally signed by David Moyes at Old Trafford, the Belgian colossus quickly became a favourite under the Portuguese. “He is a player and a person I like and the person is more important. He will always have my trust and protection,” once said Mourinho.

The Spurs boss relied on Fellaini for his aerial dominance and could only often get into the match when the ball was played up to him, though this is where Berge differs as an impressive box-to-box presence.

In terms of defensive ability, the 23-year-old brute is averaging 1.2 tackles per game this season, a decrease on his 1.6 per match from last campaign, as per WhoScored. He’s also chipping in with 1.4 clearances and 1.2 aerials won.

Only Tanguy Ndombele and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg are more productive when compared to Spurs’ current central midfield options.

Clearly, Berge can read the game well and is prepared to put in the hard work to stop the opposition.

Whilst in attack, he’s averaging 1.3 dribbles per game, proving to travel with the ball up the pitch, and 0.9 key passes per match, too. Again, only Ndombele and Harry Kane have pulled off more successful dribbles, and he would rank third in the Spurs squad for creativity too.

It’s no wonder ex-Blades boss Chris Wilder has lauded the powerhouse as a “unique” and “complete midfielder” in the past.

Given CIES Football Observatory currently value Berge at €40m (£36m), Levy could well seal the north Londoners a nice bit of business if he sanctions this deal in the summer.

In return, Mourinho would get a new weapon to play with. Almost similar to that of Fellaini but almost certainly an improvement. Berge would be a fine addition under the ‘Special One.’

AND in other news, The £70m worth of talent now fighting for their futures under Mourinho…

Leeds could sign a potential upgrade on Patrick Bamford by landing Espanyol’s Raul de Tomas.

What’s the story?

According to Fichajes, the Whites are battling fellow Premier League clubs West Ham and Leicester in the race to sign De Tomas, with Bielsa keen on bringing another centre-forward to alternate with Patrick Bamford.

The report added that the departure of Spain international Rodrigo could help facilitate the arrival of De Tomas at Elland Road this summer.

Better than Bamford

Dubbed as a “pacey, competitive and technically-gifted goal-scorer”, De Tomas appears to have all the tools in his locker to be a real upgrade on Bamford at Elland Road.

In a bio written by his former club Real Madrid, it read: “A born-finisher with a great eye for goal, he is comfortable in any situation and lethal in both dead-ball situations and one-on-ones. Raúl also stands out for his mobility and the ease with which he can pass a player. His pace and technique make him a very complete striker.”

When you look at both De Tomas’ and Bamford’s figures from this season, then you can see why Leeds are so keen on fending off the competition to sign the former.

As well as scoring more league goals than the Leeds marksman this campaign (16 to 14), De Tomas’ underlying numbers in all the key attacking areas are far better than Bamford.

As per Sofascore, the Spaniard has missed far fewer big chances than Bamford despite playing the same number of league games, and also averages more key passes, more dribbles and more crosses per match.

The £9m-rated De Tomas appears to be the kind of perfect all-round striker with whom Bielsa would surely enjoy working at Elland Road, and it’s exactly why Victor Orta could sign a real upgrade on Leeds’ current number nine.

Meanwhile, Leeds could sign a perfect midfield partner for Kalvin Phillips in this star…

Noel Whelan has claimed that Roberto Martinez would ‘be a fool’ to take the manager’s job at Newcastle United if Steve Bruce were to leave.

This comes after it was reported that the former Everton, Swansea City and Wigan Athletic manager is the leading contender to replace the Geordie if he were to exit St James’ Park.

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan has urged Martinez not to take the job in the northeast if it were offered to him. The former Leeds man said:

“He’d be a fool to leave Belgium to go to Newcastle.

“With the current owner, no money to spend – he’s a manager, not a magician. If you’re going to leave a setup like Belgium, you’re going to need reassurances that you’re going to have a lot of money to spend.

“He’s not going to get that from Mike Ashley, he’s just not. Why would you leave something so successful right now? With the players he has at his disposal, why would you go into a club that is in turmoil?

“They’re in turmoil with the players, the manager and with the board.

“The fans must be so frustrated by what is going on here because they’re teetering on the edge. There’s no way he’s taking that job if it’s in the Championship.” 

Martinez would be a good appointment by Newcastle

If Bruce were to leave the Tyneside club, then they should look no further than trying to appoint Martinez, providing that they can avoid being relegated from the Premier League.

The 47-year-old has a lot of previous experience managing in the English top flight, famously guiding Wigan to an unlikely win against Manchester City in the 2013 FA Cup final. He has also guided Belgium to number one in the FIFA World Rankings, and he would certainly be a high-profile appointment by the Magpies.

However, there would likely be a question mark over whether the Spaniard would be interested in taking the job, especially if Newcastle were to find themselves relegated at the end of the season.

In other news, find out which former fan favourite is on NUFC’s radar!

Glasgow Rangers are livid at journalist Angela Haggerty after she shared her opinion on the Gers boycotting social media to continue their fight against racism.

The Gers have decided to boycott all of their social media platforms for seven days as they try to combat racism (via Sky Sports). This comes after Glen Kamara accused Ondrej Kudela of racial abuse during the match between Rangers and Slavia Prague at Ibrox last month – Kudela has been provisionally banned for one game as UEFA continue to look into the allegations (via espn.com).

The reason for the boycott is to try and bring an end to racism in the sport, especially on social media platforms. Haggerty, however, has used it as an opportunity to score points, saying that while it is good Rangers are taking action, racism would actually decline on social media if the Gers fans themselves also boycotted.

The comments, which were shared on Haggerty’s Twitter account, did not go down well at all with the Gers supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the comments from Haggerty below

“A quite unbelievable take, once again anyone who should happen to read this – do better than the below, take a moment to educate yourself and look at the progressive steps being taken, the accountability on display and reflect on whether this is reciprocated by your own club.”

Credit: @whoisalasdair

“She’s that one person in school, that no matter the situation, she makes it about herself. Talking about racist abuse to our black players, and you bring up that you’re Catholic. Weird, but ok.”

Credit: @LiamL72_

“Anybody who adds a “but” to the stand against racism, is part of the problem.”

Credit: @BatuMack

“Always about them I don’t know how they manage it.”

Credit: @NLBear

“There is simply no excuse for this. No one denies or support sectarianism but in trying to demonise Rangers fans – once again – she is hijacking a very serious and specific point.”

Credit: @RTVWOW

“Really sums up the problem in Scotland, that a club standing against Racism be twisted into whataboutery. With idiots like this having the platform that they do, we’ve no chance”

Credit: @TheGallantFew1

Plenty of Crystal Palace fans have been giving their thoughts on the club’s financial accounts, posted by football finance expert Kieran Maguire on Twitter over the weekend.

Maguire shared the document on Saturday morning just hours prior to the club’s 4-1 defeat at home to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea. The major talking points in the accounts running from June 2019 to July 2020 were a £58m loss and 93% of the income going on wages.

Palace have 12 players out of contract in the summer, as well as manager Roy Hodgson, and it seems as if a huge club rebuild will get the green light over the coming months. Reports elsewhere recently have linked Wilfried Zaha with a move to Arsenal, whereas The Telegraph claimed that the Eagles could go on a £50m summer spending spree.

Palace fans react

Here is what these Palace fans had to say in reply to Maguire’s post over the weekend, with many sharing their concerns as one opined that chairman Steve Parish “missed a trick” in some aspects.

“93% of income spent on wages. An average player salary of approx £57k per week. Yikes.”

Credit: @theunusedsub

“This means #RoyIn doesn’t it?”

Credit: @80scorpio80

“Roy extension imminent”

Credit: @Upsided0wncpfc

“We’re gonna have to let every person out of contract walk, no way we should be putting 90% of our income on wages alone”

Credit: @cpfc_WH

“What makes the high wages worse is the fact that we’ve got one of the oldest squads in the league (depreciating assets) & some of the high earners haven’t contributed nowhere near the level they make. Summer couldn’t come sooner.”

Credit: @diyar_kurnaz

“Should’ve put the players on furlough for those 3 months of lockdown last year and got the taxpayers to pay them. Parish missed a trick here”

Credit: @Selhurstboys

In other news: Many CPFC fans fume at latest setback to Palace ace, find out more here. 

An expert in football finance has dropped quite a big claim on Everton and Alisher Usmanov.

Speaking to Football Insider, Kieran Maguire thinks that it is not out of the question that the Russian billionaire may one day formalise his investment in the Goodison Park faithful:

“I think at present, he’s very happy with the relationship he has with Farhad Moshiri and the money being invested in the club.

“There’s no doubt at a future time, if Farhad Moshiri needed additional equity investment then Usmanov would be his first port of call.

“They have worked together, they know each other well, they understand each other.

“It’s a case of Moshiri being quite happy as majority owner to the extent that he is at the moment, but never say never in business.

“He could be the person to take them to the next level in due course.

“Moshiri is wealthy but we have high net worth individuals and then ultra-high net worth individuals. Usmanov is in the latter camp.”

Usmanov and Moshiri could be formidable for Everton

A full on partnership of Usmanov and Moshiri could be a very formidable one for the Merseyside club if it were ever to come into fruition.

With the plans to move into the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock going ahead, the two tycoons could take the Toffees into a brand new and potentially successful era.

If Carlo Ancelotti’s team want to truly compete at the top of the Premier League, then a lot of investment is likely to be needed, and Usmanov would help provide the finances for that.

It was reported back in March that the 67-year-old could invest in the Toffees after they were told that they could proceed with the plans to build their new ground, and the links between him and the Blues do not seem to be going away any time soon.

Nonetheless, there would be pretty exciting times ahead for EFC if he decided to partner with Moshiri and invest.

In other news, find out what transfer plans have left Toffees fuming here!

Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that Manchester United could plot a move to sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin from Everton this summer.

Edinson Cavani, who has 8 goals in 21 Premier League appearances this season, is out of contract, whilst Windass has previously said that he believes United’s other senior recognised striker, Anthony Martial, will be sold at the end of the campaign.

Marcus Rashford has previously played centrally, although should one of Martial or Cavani not extend their respective stays at Old Trafford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might be forced to dip into the market.

And Windass thinks that Calvert-Lewin, who’s currently enjoying the best goal return of his career having scored 19 goals in all competitions, could be a potential replacement for either.

He told Football FanCast that the England striker wouldn’t turn down a move to Old Trafford should an opportunity come his way, with the opportunity of joining a club who look set to compete in the Champions League next term – providing they aren’t hit with any big Super League fallout sanctions.

“Could he be a Man United player?” Windass said. “Could he be a number nine that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking for? Yes, Everton would love to keep him, but does Calvert-Lewin as a young boy want to play for one of the big clubs? Yes, without a shadow of doubt.”

Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that Dele Alli should have taken up the opportunity to leave Tottenham in January.

Prior to the window opening, Alli has been enduring a wretched campaign having fallen out of favour under Jose Mourinho, and had played just 74 minutes in the Premier League, with his only start coming on the opening-day.

Following his lack of opportunities, former manager Mauricio Pochettino was keen on bringing the £100,000-a-week attacker to the French capital on loan to improve his chances of being named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the Euros.

But Tottenham blocked the move at the last minute because they were unable to find a replacement, meaning Alli was forced to remain in north London for the remainder of the campaign.

He’s appeared 11 times in all competitions since the window closed, but having made only one Premier League start since, Windass believes the former MK Dons youngster will regret staying.

He told Football FanCast:

“I think he should have left. If the rumours were true about PSG under Poch, then I would have gone on a loan deal.

“If Dele Alli had that chance then I would have gone because I’d want to play games and I knew the manager would have trusted me.

“We don’t know what happens in training. Is he sulking? These are the questions no one can answer.”

West Bromwich Albion host their arch-rivals in what could be a pivotal Black Country derby later this evening.

It is a must-win game for Sam Allardyce’s men as they sit 11 points adrift of safety with only five games left to play, so a defeat would all but confirm their relegation back to the Championship.

The 66-year-old, who is yet to have such a dismal feat on his CV, will have to get his team selection spot on and they will be buoyed by the fact that they defeated Wolves when the two teams last met.

After turning a corner defensively since the January transfer window slammed shut, the Baggies have looked awfully susceptible at the back once again, leaking five goals in their last two outings.

The right-side of Big Sam’s back four looked particularly weak in both matches, so the Albion boss must consider a change there with Darnell Furlong surely facing the axe.

The 25-year-old has been inconsistent throughout the campaign, grading as their ninth-best player (6.65) as per WhoScored ratings but in these last two games, he has performed below that mean, picking up a disastrous 6.06 against Leicester City and a 6.61 last time out against Villa.

Against the Foxes, he was particularly wasteful in possession, losing the ball a whopping 25 times – comfortably the most on the pitch – and making only 36% of his 25 passes, as per SofaScore.

This was then repeated at Villa Park, where the former QPR star made just eight passes throughout 90 minutes on the pitch. That’s just one every 11 minutes.

BirminghamLive’s Joseph Chapman claimed that he struggled with the threat on offer by Anwar El Ghazi, and that could happen again with the likes of Adama Traore and Daniel Podence at Nuno Santo’s disposal.

The Baggies cannot afford to keep leaking goals when there is so much ground to cover in so little time. Perhaps it would be a wiser decision to opt for the more defensively sound Dara O’Shea, who is versatile enough to play through the middle and on the right.

Ex-Albion boss Slaven Bilic, who handed the young Irishman his debut, heaped praise on him, once claiming: “Dara is the future, and he can be present. Dara is one of the reasons why when I came to the club we didn’t sign another defender,” via BirminghamLive.

Furlong is currently holding West Brom back, so Big Sam must look to show no mercy and axe the £9m-rated right-back this evening.

AND in other news, “I’ve heard”: Pundit drops West Brom managerial claim, Dowling will surely be buzzing…

Former Rangers star Michael Ball has told The Transfer Tavern that Tottenham Hotspur will want to interview Steven Gerrard over their managerial vacancy, but he doubts that he will want to make the move.

Spurs sacked Jose Mourinho last week and the club have appointed Ryan Mason as their interim head coach in his stead.

Mason managed the club against Southampton in the Premier League, becoming the league’s youngest manager in the process, as Spurs came from behind to win 2-1.

They lost to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, however, and they are on the hunt for a new boss to take over once the season is out.

A number of managers have been linked with the post, including Leicester City’s Brendan Rodgers, RB Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmann, and England manager Gareth Southgate.

Ball, who played for Rangers between 2001 and 2005, thinks that Gerrard will be on the shortlist for Spurs and chairman Daniel Levy, but he doesn’t think he will be willing to leave the Scottish club.

Rangers have already won the Scottish Premiership title and have yet to lose a game domestically this term.

Speaking exclusively to TT, Ball said: “I think Steven probably is settled at Rangers, big clubs will be looking at him.

“And it’s no surprise that Tottenham will probably ask him for an interview to see what he thinks. But to be fair, I think Steven’s happy where he is right now.”