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According to a recent report, Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy is set to be “all over” Paris Saint-Germain this summer as the French club are linked with a number of Spurs players.

The report by Football Insider claimed that sources have revealed Levy will be keen to do business with the Ligue 1 side in the summer market, as the Spurs chairman looks to fund a rebuild of his club’s current squad, as well as attempting to recover some of Tottenham’s predicted losses of £150m, caused by the absence of fans from their stadium this season.

Indeed, since Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment at PSG, the French side have been linked with a number of Tottenham’s stars, with Football Insider mentioning Dele Alli, Hugo Lloris and Serge Aurier as potential candidates for departures, while also suggesting that the Parisians are “one of the few clubs in the world” who could afford a move for either Son Heung-min or Harry Kane this summer.

Transfer Tavern Take

With it being reported earlier this year that Levy is prepared to offload one of Tottenham’s star players this summer, the news that the club’s chairman is looking to do business with PSG is not overly surprising, as the Qatari-backed side are likely to have not suffered as great financial losses due to the global pandemic as other big clubs.

However, whether this news will be pleasing to the ears of a Tottenham fan remains to be seen, as it is not difficult to imagine a scenario in which Kane – for example – is sold simply to cover the club’s mounting debt, a move which would surely enrage many of the Spurs fanbase.

In other news: Tottenham have identified a potentially ‘perfect’ heir to Mourinho – find out more here!

Real Madrid right-back Dani Carvajal could be fit for his side’s Champions League clash with Liverpool next month.

The Reds have a mouthwatering two-legged clash on the horizon as they come up against the La Liga giants in the quarter-finals. Jurgen Klopp’s men will be out for revenge following their heartbreak in the 2018 final, but they will have their work cut out to get past Zinedine Zidane’s star-studded side.

It promises to be a fascinating match-up between two of the most successful clubs in European football history.

Carvajal could be fit for Liverpool clash

Real Madrid have been without long-time regular Carvajal of late, with the Spaniard not featuring since the 2-0 win over Valencia on February 14.

According to Marca, however, the 29-year-old defender is now back in training and could face Liverpool in the first leg meeting on April 6.

Transfer Tavern take

This news will come as a big boost to Real Madrid, with Carvajal such a solid performer for years now, possessing great experience and consistency at right-back. He is nine games shy of the 300 mark for Los Blancos and has almost always started when available during an injury-hit 2020/21 season.

As per WhoScored, he is among the six best performers statistically in the current campaign for Zinedine Zidane’s side, illustrating his importance to the Spanish giants.

If he plays, his likely tussle with Sadio Mane could be a fascinating one as Liverpool look to make it into the semi-finals and hopefully go on to seal an unlikely Champions League triumph this year.

In other news, Liverpool are reportedly closing in on a shock Premier League signing – find out who it is here.

Plenty of Aston Villa fans have been reacting to Christian Purslow’s European Super League comments on social media.

The Villa chief executive had plenty to say about the proposal on Monday, which has rocked the world of football in recent days.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham were among 12 clubs who agreed to join a new ESL.

However, following plenty of backlash from supporters all across the country, those six clubs have now all withdrawn from the proposed competition.

Talking to the media prior to the Premier League clubs pulling out of the tournament, Purslow had plenty to say.

As reported by Express & Star, Purslow described the ESL as ‘grotesque concept’.

“These proposals (European Super League) do away with sporting merit. It would enable a small number of clubs to be in this competition come what may &, for millions in football, that goes against everything the sport means & stands for.

“The idea is that the uncertainty that comes with sport, that makes it so compelling, that we all love, is actually damaging to the business models of these huge clubs. So the scheme is designed to take away that uncertainty.

“To give predictability to their businesses so that, if they’re badly managed or have a poor year, they’re still in the premier tournament. Does that sound like sport or football to you? To me it sounds a grotesque concept.”

Villa fans react

@villareport shared Purslow’s comments on Twitter on Monday lunchtime, which, as to be expected, received plenty of interaction from a number of Villa supporters.

These fans were full of praise for Purslow, with one labelling his thoughts as ‘brilliant’.

“My CEO what a guy”

Credit: @LukeKing_

“The words of someone who respects the integrity of the game, the clubs and most importantly the fans. Proud to be a villan but today we all should be one club.”

Credit: @LionsMinnesota

“Couldn’t ask for a better CEO, this is what you call a football club”

Credit: @BevanRachael

“Brilliant so proud of my club @AVFCOfficial”

Credit: @helz83

“Purslow speaking facts”

Credit: @BenKavanagh_7

“Love Purslow”

Credit: @villa_sol21

In other news: Plenty of fans full of praise as brilliant gesture from Aston Villa ace emerges, find out more here. 

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, ex-Sunderland frontman Kevin Phillips has praised Lee Johnson for getting the best out of striker Charlie Wyke ahead of the Papa John’s Trophy final on Sunday.  

Prior to Johnson’s arrival in December, the former Bradford City man had been struggling in front of goal, netting just 14 League One goals in two-and-a-half seasons since his move from Valley Parade.

However, the appointment of Johnson has seen Wyke spark into life – with his opener in Wednesday’s victory at Pompey his 16th league goal in 17 matches under the previous Bristol City boss, taking him level with Peterborough’s Jonson Clarke-Harris in the race for the Golden Boot.

Wyke has scored 25 goals in all competitions – including five in the Papa John’s Trophy – and will be looking to improve his tally when Sunderland take on Tranmere Rovers in the final on Sunday.

Phillips told Football FanCast:

“Before Lee came in, he would start a few games and get left out for a couple. I think Lee has come in and gone ‘bang!, you’re my main man’.  

“It helps when a manager will put your arm around you. I heard Lee speaking the other night saying how are you getting the best out of Charlie.

“He said ‘I’ve just been talking to him, pulling him to one side for a chat, it might not be about football, it might be about his life’. It gives you a boost as a player, it makes you relax on the pitch. For this league he’s ideal – he’s big and powerful, he gets inbetween defenders. At times his hold-up could be better, but that’s probably the league he’s playing in.”

But Phillips also believes that the role of winger Aiden McGeady has helped Wyke’s goalscoring form. McGeady has already registered 11 assists since returning to the side, four of which all came for Wyke in the same game when Sunderland thrashed Fleetwood last month.

He added: “It does help when you’ve got someone like McGeady whipping crosses in, sometimes you can’t not score, but credit to Charlie for getting the amount goals. Not matter what league you’re in, when you’re scoring that amount of goals, you’re doing something right.”

Kevin Phillips will be a studio guest for Quest’s highlights of the Papa John’s Trophy Final on Sunday. Stream on discovery+

One of West Brom’s out-of-contract stars is being eyed up ahead of the summer transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Baggies stalwart Kieran Gibbs is attracting interest from David Beckham’s Inter Miami side as well as other MLS teams, rivals from the Premier League and clubs in Turkey too.

It’s claimed that the Midlands outfit were willing to let the 31-year-old leave the Hawthorns last month as he’s among their highest earners and has recently been usurped by Conor Townsend.

But an initial offer from Miami did not suit Albion or Gibbs himself. As he’s out of contract at the end of the season, this is something that may well be revisited.

Let him go, let him go

Indeed, West Brom shouldn’t think twice about allowing the former Arsenal man leave as he’s been a complete waste of money since arriving for £7m under Tony Pulis in 2017.

In that time, he’s racked up 100 appearances in a Baggies shirt, but the fact that Townsend, who had never played above League One before joining the Baggies, has taken control at left-back speaks volumes.

Earlier this season, his disappointing time on the pitch was epitomised in a silly sending off against Everton, a game where Albion embarrassingly went onto lose 5-2. The majority of goals came in the second half with ten men.

Then-boss Slaven Bilic slammed him as “stupid” while Danny Mills told Football Insider that it was a “daft decision” and claimed it was “idiotic.”

Unfortunately for Gibbs, he’s not been in Sam Allardyce’s good books either, and that’s outside of the obvious point that he’s now the back-up option.

The Athletic’s Steve Madeley revealed at the start of January that the club were looking to seal an exit for him as an injury withdrawal prior to their game against Leeds ‘is understood to have angered Allardyce.’

Not that he’s been performing well either. In terms of average WhoScored rating for the season, he ranks 15th, but when factoring in nine or more league starts, that makes him fourth-worst.

With Charlie Austin out on loan, it’s thought that Gibbs is Albion’s top earner on £55k-per-week as per Spotrac, meaning he has cost the club around a total of £16.9m since arriving from the Gunners when factoring in fees and wages.

That would certainly put him among the most expensive flops the Hawthorns has ever seen, especially when you consider the fact that Oliver Burke cost £15m and Nacer Chadli around £13m too.

The Baggies must let Gibbs loose in the summer, even if they are to lose out on a fee. He simply has no future at the club.

AND in other news, West Brom could unearth a perfect Pereira heir in 20 y/o prodigy who’s a “real talent”…

Newcastle United have been dealt a big double injury blow ahead of their away trip to West Brom in the Premier League on Sunday lunchtime.

As per the official website of the St. James’ Park faithful, both Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron will be out of action until April after they picked up injuries in the 1-1 home draw with Wolves on Saturday night.

Almiron picked up an injury to his knee and had to be replaced at half time, while Saint-Maximin suffered a groin injury midway through the second half of the game.

The North East club have now confirmed that both players have undergone scans and will continue their rehabilitation with the medical team.

Newcastle losing Saint-Maximin and Almiron a big blow

The fact that the Tyneside club will have to play not just against the Baggies, but for the rest of the month without two of their key players is no doubt a big blow to Steve Bruce’s team as they look to avoid getting relegated from the Premier League down to the EFL Championship.

Saint-Maximin has contributed two goals and three assists in the top flight so far in the 2020/21 term, while also averaging 3.3 successful dribbles and one key pass a game (Sofascore). Without him, the Magpies really struggle to progress the ball up the pitch.

Almiron has played in no fewer than 24 of the 26 matches in the division so far this season, with his four goals and an assist (Sofascore) also showing his influence on the attacking side of the pitch for the Magpies.

Nonetheless, the Toon will have to try and find a way to cope without them for their next set of fixtures, starting off against Albion at the weekend.

In other news, find out what claim a finance guru has dropped on the potential takeover here!

According to a report by Claret & Hugh, West Ham United manager David Moyes is set for a decision over striker Joshua King this summer as the Norwegian looks likely to become a free agent at the end of the season. 

King was reportedly at the centre of intense Hammers interest before his move to Everton in January, with talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook claiming Moyes was working on a deal ‘behind the scenes’.

Moyes set for West Ham call over King

The 29-year-old was also ‘desperate’ to join the east Londoners according to Crook, but Moyes now looks set to pass on the international striker as he turns his attention to younger and more talented targets, according to Claret & Hugh.

Despite being lauded as an ‘exciting player’ by pundit Noel Whelan before the new year (Football Insider), King hasn’t managed to replicate that tag for the Toffees since signing for them from Bournemouth on a six-month contract (Sky Sports).

This has resulted in Moyes withdrawing his West Ham interest despite being heavily linked both before and during January, with the King saga looking set to end this summer.

Transfer Tavern take

Premier League suitors for the forward are apparently in short supply, and West Ham have now chalked their name off the list with Moyes set for this transfer call.

Despite his possibly soon-to-be free agent status, this could be a good move by Moyes – with the likes of Youssef En-Nesyri and Abdallah Sima debatably better options.

In other news: West Ham are eyeing this 6 foot 3 powerhouse, find out more here.

David Sullivan is barking up the wrong tree with a potential West Ham United move to sign AS Monaco flop Henry Onyekuru in the January transfer window.

What’s the word?

According to Sabah, the Irons have shown an interest in launching a move to sign Galatasaray and Fenerbahce target Onyekuru and end the Nigerian’s Ligue 1 nightmare.

The 23-year-old has not trained with Niko Kovac’s first-team squad this month after holding discussions with Galatasaray over a potential return to the Turk Telekom Stadium, but is yet to receive a formal offer from the Super Lig giants.

Galatasaray would be Onyekuru’s favoured destination after winning the Turkish top-flight title with them whilst on loan during the 2018/19 season, before joining Monaco from Everton in a £12m deal without playing a single game for the Goodison Park natives.

Fenerbahce are not yet thought to have made an official approach to sign Onyekuru, who Monaco are now willing to part company with in a €1.5m (£1.3m) loan deal that carries a €5.5m (£5m) option to buy in the summer.

Onyekuru struggled to establish himself in the Principality last season, starting only two of four Ligue 1 outings, before joining Galatasaray on loan for the second half of the campaign. He returned to Monaco last summer but has again lived life on the fringes, only opening two of four French top-flight appearances.

The 11-cap international has not featured in any of Kovac’s matchday squads since November, when left an unused substitute in a 4-0 rout of FC Girondins Bordeaux, with his last appearance coming in September as an 83rd-minute substitute at Stade Rennais.

Sullivan should walk away

While Onyekuru is still young and could prove to be a cheap pick up in the January transfer window, Sullivan would be wise to walk away from any potential deal to sign the Monaco flop.

Onyekuru failed to make a single appearance for Everton during his two years as a Toffees player, as the Merseyside outfit continually failed to obtain a work permit for the forward as he was not a regular fixture of the Nigerian national side.

That picture will not have changed since with Onyekuru only earning three of his caps for the Super Eagles in the past two years, and the 23-year-old often being left on the bench.

But beyond any issues in obtaining a work permit, Onyekuru would struggle to obtain a place in David Moyes’ squad as his efforts in France are desperately underwhelming.

He is yet to score a single goal over his eight Monaco outings across all competitions, and struggled to find any consistency once on loan with Galatasaray with one strike finding the back of the net in 12 games.

Onyekuru failing to cut it at Monaco should raise serious alarm bells in east London, as Kovac has one of Ligue 1’s best offences with only Paris Saint-Germain scoring more than the Principality side.

West Ham do not boast the same honour, with Moyes’ squad scoring 27 goals in 19 games for the 10th-best record in the Premier League – lower than Aston Villa and Everton, who have played three and two fewer fixtures respectively, and Leeds United, who are nine points behind the Hammers in the table.

Moyes may need attacking reinforcements after the sale of Sebastien Haller, but Onyekuru will not be the Scottish coach’s answer.

AND in other news, West Ham are considering a £15.5m-rated striker without a goal since October to replace Seb Haller…

Duncan Watmore was a player who when he first broke through had the world at his feet.

Kevin Phillips spoke highly of him and his sheer pace was enough to scare some of the best defenders in the Premier League.

In 2015, the former striker said: “In John Stones, Watmore was up against a defender that Chelsea were prepared to pay more than £35m for in the summer.”

He continued: “But Watmore caused Stones all kinds of problems, and was unlucky not to score at Goodison Park.”

However, his career, much like Sunderland as a football club has only plummeted.

Watmore was a talent who was tipped to go to the very top but after a succession of brutal injuries, has found life difficult.

In the last few years, the 26-year-old has had a wretched time with his fitness – predominantly because of a knee issue.

In 2016/17, he missed 36 games and 286 days of football but it went from bad to worse. The following season and into 2018/19, Watmore was absent for a period of 54 outings and 372 days.

He made his return in November but in March 2019, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season with an ankle problem.

In total, the tricky attacker played just five times under Simon Grayson and didn’t get to play at all under Chris Coleman.

For Phil Parkinson and Jack Ross, meanwhile, he managed just 38 outings.

It has been a torrid time for the former Sunderland man and it was unsurprising that he was finally released last summer. With financial constraints and his medical history, it certainly made sense, but did Stewart Donald jump the gun too early?

Watmore has now signed for Middlesbrough and on Wednesday evening, he proved what an asset he still is. For Boro in the Championship, he scored twice in what was a ruthless display from a man who was once described as someone who “finishes expertly.”

He was rarely involved in the play against Swansea, touching the ball 14 times and completing just seven passes, but unlike Danny Graham when he’s anonymous, Watmore actually found the back of the net.

Scoring goals at the level above Sunderland should be an enormous kick in the teeth. After all, neither Graham nor Will Grigg have found the net at all this season.

Watmore is already outperforming them, and he is doing so in a better league.

The decision to release him might actually come back to bite Sunderland and their promotion hopes.

In other news, Will Grigg could transform himself if the Black Cats hire THIS manager…

Wolves have had a topsy-turvy few weeks heading into the festive period and now just require a sense of stability.

However, with yet another transfer window on the horizon, that could be anything but the case.

What’s the word?

Nuno Santo’s men are switching formations at the moment and experiencing mixed results.

They drew with Southampton and beat Arsenal with a four-man backline, but then lost to Liverpool and Aston Villa.

Though, after moving back to a three-man defence, they beat Chelsea 2-1. What they could do with now is potentially a few more bodies to enable that four-man defence to thrive.

One player they were linked with towards the back end of November was Jorge Mendes client Renato Sanches.

The 23-year-old who currently plays for Lille was catching the eye of Wolves and now they’ve been handed a boost in their pursuit of the Portuguese.

That’s because according to Get French Football News, his club are in dire straits financially with debts racking up close to €200m (£179.7).

Thus, the report suggests that the idea of Sanches leaving Lille has not been excluded. An English club supposedly bid €70m (£62.9m) for his services last summer.

According to Transfermarkt, the midfielder is rated at just £18m at the moment.

A phenomenal player

Sanches had a terrible stint on loan at Swansea in the Premier League during the 2017/18 season. He started nine times and failed to contribute to a single goal.

However, his football has come on leaps and bounds since, especially in the last two years.

After signing for Lille, he has been supremely effective in a box-to-box midfield role, contributing to four goals in 19 appearances last term. This season he has scored only once, but his overall game has been excellent.

Described as someone with “the strength of a WWE heavyweight” by the Bundesliga website, he possesses qualities to his game that few in Wolves’ midfield have.

For instance, he’d bring a greater ball carrying ability to the middle of the park. He has amassed 2.1 dribbles per game in Ligue 1, a tally that usurps Joao Moutinho, Ruben Neves and Leander Dendoncker.

The first two players have only achieved dribble rates of 0.2 and 0.1 respectively this season – he would clearly be a superb signing if they can secure him for a reasonable price.

Sanches is the real deal.

In other news, Move over Moutinho: Wolves artist with 94 touches will have left Nuno jumping for joy…