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Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino’s comments following his side’s 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Fourth Round were baffling to hear, and would’ve been sure to offend a number of the club’s supporters who are desperate to see their beloved Spurs win some silverware.

However, there are also arguments in favour of what the Argentine said, that could also suggest that what used to be considered an achievement in football is now taking a backseat for financial prosperity.

As quoted by Sky Sports, following the loss at Selhurst Park, the former Southampton manager said: “We are going to create a debate that to win a trophy is going to help the club. I don’t agree with that. That only builds your ego. In reality the most important thing is being consistently in the top four and playing in the Champions League.”

For a manager of one of England’s top clubs to say this must be extremely demoralising for those fans who pay their money to travel all over the country to watch their club, all with the slim hopes of seeing their heroes lift a trophy or two at the end of the season.

But Pochettino has his reasons for setting such targets. For a start, just by qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League, a grand total of £13.34m falls into Spurs’ bank account (as per the BBC). In stark contrast, winning the FA Cup final lands just £3.6m (as per the FA).

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin may be out for the season but it’s given him a chance to show off his new accessory. Check out the video below to see for yourself…

For Pochettino to be able to land the best players around, he needs to be able to afford them with the extra revenue, along with being able to offer them Champions League football, which is where every top player wants to be.

However, once such players arrive at the club, along with the world-class players already at his disposal such as Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen, they will want to litter their personal cabinets with medals, along with the memories that they contain.

In that respect, it is a bit of a ‘Catch 22’ for most top clubs – abandon the chance to win trophies in order to satisfy the bank account, or abandon the chance to offer your players the top level of European football so the club can fill the trophy cabinet. Of course, managing both in the same season would be nice, but that is starting to prove an impossible challenge – the last three FA Cup winners, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, all failed to finish in the Premier League’s top four as they lifted the trophy.

More than ever, it’s starting to feel as though the FA Cup has become the biggest victim of the Champions League’s relentless rise. But one thing’s for certain; the barometer of success is changing in football – filling the bank account now takes precedent over filling the trophy cabinet.

Liverpool are close to completing a summer move for exciting Fulham youngster Fabio Carvalho, journalist James Pearce has confirmed.

The Lowdown: Almost joined in January

The Reds had a productive January transfer window by signing Luis Diaz from Porto but they were also strongly linked with a move for Carvalho.

It looked as though a deal would happen at the eleventh hour, but instead, the young midfielder ended up staying put after the necessary paperwork couldn’t be completed in time.

It certainly felt likely that Liverpool would go back in for Carvalho after Jurgen Klopp said they would be ‘crazy’ not to, and now that looks to be the case.

The Latest: Pearce confirms imminent deal

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Pearce confirmed that new transfer chief Julian Ward is on the verge of making the 19-year-old his second signing after Diaz:

“Fabio Carvalho will join #LFC this summer. Deal agreed. Fell through on deadline day due to time constraints on paperwork but move always looked likely to still happen. Exciting youngster who is relishing the chance to work with Jurgen Klopp.”

Ward was largely responsible for the capture of Diaz in the winter window as he looks to pick up where Michael Edwards leaves off, and it looks as though he has already wrapped up another great talent before the next window has even opened.

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The Verdict: Great signing for Reds

This is a mouthwatering piece of business by Liverpool, with Carvalho a huge talent, playing a starring role for Fulham this season as they cruise back into the Premier League. He has registered seven goals and assists apiece in the league.

It is imperative that Klopp builds for both the present and the future, and the youngster is someone who could be a future superstar at Anfield, along with the likes of Ibrahima Konate, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott, once the current crop of key men age and move on.

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has called Carvalho a ‘perfect’ signing by Liverpool and looks as though Ward is set to have a similar impact to Edwards at the club.

In other news, a fresh Liverpool transfer claim has emerged. Read more here.

Everton suffered a big blow in their hopes of avoiding relegation as they were beaten 3-2 away at Burnley in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

Maxwel Cornet broke Toffee hearts with a late winner after Richarlison’s two penalties looked to have secured at least a point for the visitors, but some sloppy defending ensured that they went home with nothing.

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Using statistical experts SofaScore, The Transfer Tavern have now analysed who the Goodison Park faithful’s three worst performers were on the night, with Frank Lampard surely looking at some changes to his XI ahead of the clash with Manchester United…

Ben Godfrey

Given a 6.1 overall rating, Godfrey ranked as the Merseyside club’s third-worst player, surely putting his place in doubt when Michael Keane returns from suspension this weekend.

The Englishman lost two duels, and of course made the vital error that led to Cornet’s winning goal.

He was also guilty of losing the ball 12 times, and struggled in particular with his passing, misplacing all seven of his long ball attempts, while he only managed to record a mere 54% overall pass accuracy.

Mason Holgate

Holgate ranked as their second-worst performer with a 6.0 rating.

Asked to play in the heart of the midfield by Lampard, the central defender lost out on six of his duels, and failed to record any tackles or key passes.

He was also inaccurate with eight of his long balls, recording just 37% accuracy with his passes, while he gave possession away 23 times, the second-most out of any of his teammates.

Jordan Pickford

After conceding three times, Pickford was given the lowest rating at a 5.9.

The goalkeeper struggled with his distribution throughout, misplacing 16 of his 26 long ball attempts, while he lost possession 16 times, hardly ideal from your man between the posts.

Pickford was successful with just 38% of his passes in total, meaning that collectively the three players averaged a mere 43% passing accuracy between them.

In other news, find out which ‘awful’ dud Adam Jones slammed after the game here!

According to the Daily Mail, Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite is a transfer target for Manchester United. 

The lowdown: Star in the making

Flourishing as part of the set-up at Finch Farm since 2020, the 19-year-old has burst onto the scene in the last 12 months having made the switch from League Two side Carlisle United.

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Since arriving on Merseyside the teenager has represented England at Under-20 level and has made 11 first-team appearances for the Toffees.

However, the Blues could now face a battle to keep one of their most precocious talents.

The latest: Man United interested

As per the report from the Daily Mail, Manchester United are ‘keen’ on the talented centre-back and could look to make a move should Erik ten Hag be appointed as expected at Old Trafford.

It’s claimed that the Premier League giants are ‘monitoring’ the one-cap youth starlet who is under a fresh contract at Goodison Park until 2025 (Transfermarkt).

The report also states that Everton would be ‘reluctant’ to lose the powerful 6ft 5in ace who was described as being a ‘really skilful’ defender by former Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti.

The verdict: No deal

This is yet another case of the club needing to pull out all the stops in order to keep its brightest prospects.

Albeit Branthwaite is yet to earn a regular place in Frank Lampard’s side, the English teenager has certainly shown glimpses of an ability that has clearly caught the eye elsewhere in the Premier League.

So far this season, Branthwaite has made just six senior appearances, but was a star performer with the goal, two tackles and one interception (SofaScore), as a young Everton side held on for an unlikely 1-1 draw against Chelsea back in December.

In other news, Everton linked with Bundesliga midfielder. Find out more here!

Former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie has hailed the ‘brilliant’ news that Georgios Giakoumakis is fit for the Hoops’ clash with Ross County.

The Lowdown: Giakoumakis impresses for Celtic

The Greek has enjoyed an impressive first season at Parkhead, having arrived from VVV-Venlo during last summer’s transfer window.

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Giakoumakis may only have been limited to 16 appearances to date but he has scored nine goals in that time, proving to be a ruthless performer for Ange Postecoglou’s side.

Celtic head to Ross County for a key Scottish Premiership clash on Sunday afternoon and it has been confirmed that the 27-year-old is fit for the game after recovering from injury.

The Latest: McAvennie hails ‘brilliant’ news

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie revealed his happiness at the news:

“Having Giakoumakis back is brilliant news. I think we really missed him last weekend. Kyogo wasn’t really at it when he came on but he has missed so much football.

“Giakoumakis has only missed a week or so, so he should be good to go because he is the man in form. He is scoring for fun at the moment and if he is fully fit, you would back him to grab a few more before the end of the season.

“These are big games and big players need to step up if we are going to win the title. That’s all you can do when there are players like Kyogo sniffing around.

“Just keep scoring. In fairness, that’s what he’d been doing.”

The Verdict: Massive boost

Whether or not Giakoumakis is deemed fit enough to start against Ross County remains to be seen but having him back in the fold is an almighty boost.

Rangers’ 3-1 win away to Motherwell on Saturday means the Hoops are now only three points clear of their rivals at the top of the table, highlighting the importance of this match.

Giakoumakis’ aforementioned goalscoring record this season shows how clinical he can be and it could be that he ends up being the difference between the two sides, making a huge contribution in the title race.

In other news, Celtic are reportedly in talks to sign one player. Find out who it is here.

Newcastle United are reportedly now ready to make a ‘huge offer’ to sign Jesse Lingard in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Developing story

The Daily Mail journalist Craig Hope has recently revealed that the St. James’ Park faithful are now ‘working’ on a loan deal for Lingard, but sources are saying that Manchester United are apparently ‘reluctant’ to let him leave at this moment in time.

However, with just over a week of the window left, both clubs will have to come to a decision over the player, and Lingard’s lack of game time may just be a factor in whether or not he moves to the North East.

The Latest: Offer ready

As per 90min journalist Graeme Bailey, the Tyneside outfit are now readying a ‘huge offer’ for Lingard, and the Red Devils are ‘likely to accept’ their approach.

However, it is not clear if the player himself would be willing to move this month, or wait until the summer, when his contract at Old Trafford expires.

The Verdict: No-brainer

If the Magpies can get Lingard in before the January deadline hits, then it is surely a no-brainer for all parties.

With seemingly no route to regular first-team action in the northwest, Lingard will surely be desperate to play, and the Toon should jump at the chance of bringing a player of his quality in.

Described as ‘phenomenal’ by talkSPORT pundit Adrian Durham during his time on loan at West Ham United last season, Lingard showed what he can do when given his opportunity, scoring nine goals and making a further five assists at the London Stadium.

Nonetheless, he would offer another dimension to their attack, and could be the difference in turning draws like the one they picked up against Watford into wins.

In other news, find out which ‘unplayable’ ace Lionel Messi called ‘frightening’ NUFC are now eyeing here!

Manchester United are always the trending topic in football.

Whether it’s the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson and their subsequent collapse in recent years, the controversial nature of Paul Pogba or Cristiano Ronaldo, United are never far from the back pages.

Now that they’ve hired Erik ten Hag, you can expect them to dominate the tabloids even more.

What’s the word?

This summer will play host to several transfer sagas. There is, of course, the futures of Erling Haaland, Mo Salah and Kylian Mbappe to address.

However, in Portugal, a certain Darwin Nunez deserves just as much attention.

The striker has caught the hearts and minds of many throughout the European continent this season and as a result, there is a fierce race for his services. Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle are interested in praising him away from Benfica.

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Yet, the Red Devils are also in the hunt and fresh reports, via AS in Spain, suggest that Man United’s new manager is in love with the forward and has personally requested that he be signed this summer.

The trouble is he may cost somewhere in the region of €130m (£111m) if anyone can stump up the cash.

A major coup

Considering that not only Liverpool, a potential quadruple winning side, but their top-four rivals Arsenal are both in the picture to sign Nunez, this would be a considerable coup from United should they complete a move.

Combine that with the fact that the 20-time English champions are currently in free fall and it would be a hefty surprise if Nunez was wearing red in Manchester next season, as opposed to Merseyside or north London.

Valued as highly as he currently is, it would take a rather brave sporting director and owner to pay what’s required but given his potential and already mesmeric ability, he’d surely be worth the cash.

If anything, it’s United and Ten Hag who are most in need of him too.

Ronaldo has found the net on 22 occasions this term but there is a lack of help beyond that with the club’s second top scorer – Bruno Fernandes – scoring nine times.

Therefore, in Nunez, the new Dutch coach would seal somebody who is capable of improving their offence tenfold.

In Liga NOS this season, the Uruguayan attacker has racked up a mammoth haul of 25 goals in 26 outings, while across all competitions he has found the net 33 times from 39 outings.

Furthermore, the young centre-forward ranks in the top 1% among similarly positioned players across Europe for goals per shot on target. He also ranks in the top 5% for progressive carries and then in the best 1% again for carries into the penalty area. Based on that it’s safe to say that Nunez is considerably tricky when in possession.

Of course, the Portuguese top-flight is somewhat off the Premier League in terms of overall quality but it’s hard to disagree with the statement that the 22-year-old would be a seriously impressive capture.

With United in decline, it is imperative that ten Hag gets his recruitment spot on. If he is already drawing up a shortlist of targets then Nunez must surely appear right near the very top.

Described as a “diamond” by Steve McManaman, he’s certainly the rare item of splendour that United require to get themselves back on track.

AND in other news, MUFC plot bid to sign “unstoppable” 30-goal “nightmare”, he’d become ten Hag’s Salah…

Tottenham Hotspur have been tipped to make a move for Nicolo Zaniolo in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Virtus Entella sporting director Matteo Superbi, who claimed in a recent interview with Calciomercato (via Sport Witness) that the Serie A side could be tempted into selling the 22-year-old this summer.

Superbi went on to state that, despite the Italy international having suffered a number of injury setbacks in his career, the likes of Tottenham, Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus would all be interested in a move for the versatile winger – for whom Roma could demand a figure of around €50m (£42.5m).

Speaking about Zaniolo’s future, the 53-year-old said: “I think a [player born in] ’99 of that level could be worth €50m; I don’t think I’m saying the wrong thing. It will be more a choice of Roma, who will decide what to do with Zaniolo – but that’s the value.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was bought by a top English team; the real unknown is that despite being very young, he has already had two major operations. I wish him well and that he has given his all in terms of injuries.

“Nicolo has excellent technique but great physicality. The ball is in Mourinho’s court and Roma’s court. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were clubs like Juve, Tottenham or Manchester interested. It’s still an investment for big teams.”

Forget Dybala

While it is true that, despite clearly possessing an enormous amount of ability, Zaniolo’s career has started to stagnate at the Stadio Olimpico somewhat, should Antonio Conte believe he can be the manager to help the 22-year-old go on to fulfil his undoubted potential, the Italian would be a fantastic signing for Spurs.

Indeed, after making a €4.5m (£3.8m) move to Roma back in 2018, the £29.7m-rated forward went on to score four goals and provide three assists over his 27 Serie A appearances in 2018/19, before following this campaign up with returns of six goals and two assists over 26 league outings in 2019/20.

This level of performance led to the youngster being showered with considerable praise, none less so than from Giallorossi legend Francesco Totti, who said of the attacker back in 2018: “Zaniolo is explosive and he plays with an unusual ease. If he continues this way he could become a great player.”

However, a cruciate ligament rupture saw the £75k-per-week Italian miss the entirety of Roma’s 2020/21 campaign, with Zaniolo only returning to the pitch at the beginning of this season.

And, despite still struggling with the odd injury here and there, the player who Mourinho claimed “there are few out there with this amount of potential” has started to show glimpses of his talent over his 23 Serie A appearances in the current campaign, scoring two goals, providing two assists and creating three big chances for his teammates, as well as completing an average of two dribbles per game – the joint fifth-most of any player in the top flight of Italian football.

As such, while Spurs have been heavily linked with a move for another Serie A sensation in the form of Paulo Dybala in recent weeks, it would appear extremely advisable for Conte to first consider a move for the Roma starlet this summer.

Indeed, not only would Zaniolo’s impressive positional versatility make him a much better fit for the 52-year-old manager’s system at Spurs, but the fact the nine-time capped international is six years Dybala’s junior also means he is a player with a much higher ceiling, not to mention a much more sellable asset further down the line.

AND in other news: Conte could unearth a £100m-rated talent in THFC sensation who can “always turn it on”

Everton have had a hectic January transfer window, making three signings early in the month and sacking their manager, Rafa Benitez, soon after, with all the attention firmly on the appointment of the next manager, Moshiri could be lining up a last-minute bid that could add a fourth new player to the squad.

What’s the word?

According to TEAMtalk, Everton are one of the three Premier League clubs interested in signing Armando Broja, who is currently on loan at Southampton from Chelsea.

The Toffees reportedly join Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the race to sign the 20-year-old striker, with just four days left to go in the January transfer window.

The report claims that Southampton are keen to keep Broja with them at St Mary’s, but with many Premier League clubs now showing interest in the youngster, it could be a challenge for them to hold onto him.

Lukaku 2.0

Everton are no strangers to attracting young Chelsea talent, with the potential signing of Broja similar to the £28m club-record signing at the time of Romelu Lukaku back in 2014, when the Belgian goal machine was just 21 years old.

Lukaku was a huge success at Everton, scoring 87 goals and bagging 29 assists in just 166 appearances for the club, with a goal involvement every 120 minutes for the Toffees, so the club could be onto their next Chelsea swoop to potentially emulate the success of their former striker.

The £8.1m-rated monster who was hailed “dangerous” by his current manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, has been making his mark on the Southampton team with 21 appearances and seven goals, five of those have been scored in the Premier League.

However, goals aren’t the only attribute that Broja has been excelling in, according to One Versus One the youngster has been using his 6 foot2 stature to impose himself on opponents, making 170 aerial challenges this season so far, and ranking 8th in the Premier League for completing aerial duels, proving that he is not afraid to get stuck into the game away from just scoring goals.

There has been real upset and aggravation amongst fans with a protest staged last night at Goodison Park, so bringing in young players with bags of potential could be a move for Moshiri that could potentially settle the current outrage.

That’s especially if Broja could come in and make an instant impact in changing the fate of the Toffees nightmare season, and helping the side climb back into a safe position in the Premier League table.

In other news: David Ornstein drops major Everton manager update

Craig Hope has revealed that Newcastle United are now eyeing up a move for Gleison Bremer in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Third signing pending…

With both Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood already through the door at St. James’ Park, it looks as if the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium are now working on their third signing of the month.

Interestingly, Bremer shares the same agent as both players, and so there could be an easier route to signing him.

Nonetheless, with bringing in a new central defender the ‘priority’ for the new owners, this is certainly a deal to keep an eye on as the days progress – the Magpies have the second-worst defensive record in the league.

The Latest: Bremer eyed

As per Hope, the North East club are now eyeing Bremer as their potential new centre-back, but The Daily Mail journalist has warned that he may be ‘expensive’:

“Another name to add to list of centre-back options… Torino’s Gleison Bremer.

“Seems like another expensive one but I’m told NUFC have taken a look at 24-yr-old Brazilian.”

The Verdict: No-brainer

Bringing in Bremer would be a no-brainer, as he would immediately be an upgrade on their current options.

He is currently averaging more tackles and interceptions and completed passes at a higher success rate than Ciaran Clark, Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles in their respective domestic leagues so far this season (WhoScored), and so would instantly slot into Eddie Howe’s side.

Described as ‘powerful’ by Serie A expert Conor Clancy, the six-foot-two Brazilian is a beast, and at 24 years of age, he will only get better.

Nonetheless, the Magpies should look no further if they want to sign a solid centre-back for the second half of the campaign.

In other news, find out what transfer claim Pete Graves has dropped from the new owners here!