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Tottenham Hotspur have produced a number of exciting talents over the years, with the likes of Jamie Redknapp, Nick Barmby, Sol Campbell, Ledley King and Harry Kane having all graduated from the Hotspur Way setup before enjoying fine careers in the professional game.

However, while Kane – who has gone on to score 255 goals in 396 appearances for the club – is arguably one of Spurs’ best-ever youth products, there was another player in the 29-year-old’s age group who many of the Tottenham Hotspur faithful had even higher hopes for – Alex Pritchard.

Indeed, after highly impressing in the various youth age groups at Hotspur Way, the attacking midfielder was loaned out to Swindon Town for the 2013/14 campaign in order to provide him with valuable first-team minutes to continue his development in the professional game.

And, after scoring six goals and providing ten assists over seven outings in the EFL Trophy and League Cup, it very much appeared that Pritchard was indeed an exhilarating prospect.

This notion continued after a further spell away from north London the following season, with the forward bagging 12 goals and providing seven assists over Brentford in 2014/15 – helping the Bees reach the play-off semi-finals that year.

However, following a less successful loan at West Bromwich Albion in 2015/16 – playing just two senior appearances for Tottenham, Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino decided that, when Norwich City made an £8m offer for the midfielder in 2016, the time was right for Spurs to cash in.

Following this deal, the former England U21 international shared his delight at securing a move away from north London, stating in an interview with The Mirror: “It was a bit disappointing to finally leave Spurs. But in the end, I couldn’t wait to get out of there. They just never gave me a chance.”

Although, despite a bright start to life after Tottenham at Carrow Road – scoring eight goals and registering 12 assists over £10m move to Huddersfield Town in January of 2018 marked a devastating turning point in his career.

Indeed, scoring just injury-laden three-and-a-half-year spell at The John Smith’s Stadium, Pritchard would ultimately leave the Championship side on a free transfer at the end of the 2020/21 campaign, before taking a further step down the footballing pyramid to join League One Sunderland that summer.

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And, while the 29-year-old has started to show signs of life at The Stadium of Light – scoring four goals and registering 16 assists over his 58 fixtures in all competitions, helping the Mackems seal promotion in 2021/22 – it is abundantly clear that Pritchard simply did not have what it takes to make it at the very top of the English game.

As such, with the midfielder currently boasting a Transfermarkt value of just £1.8m – a whopping 78% lower than the £8m Levy sold him for back in 2016 – it is clear that the Tottenham chairman very much hit the jackpot when parting with Pritchard, as the once so promising youngster has failed to ever live up to early expectations.

Manchester United have reportedly made an approach to sign Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, having previously been linked with the Slovakia international back in January.

What’s the word?

That’s according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, with the respected journalist writing on Twitter about that interest:

“Manchester United have made an offer to sign Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. Proposal is to take 33yo Slovakia int’l on loan as competition for De Gea. No agreement, talks ongoing”

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has since revealed that the temporary deal could also include a potential buy option of around £5m, with United turning their attention toward the 33-year-old following reported target Kevin Trapp’s decision to stay at Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Red Devils were reportedly keen on bringing in Dubravka back in January as part of a deal that would have seen Dean Henderson head in the other direction, although the Magpies man is said to have rejected the proposal.

Ten Hag needs him

That should not be an issue this time around, however, with Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth revealing that the former Sparta Prague man wants to make the move to Old Trafford, after four and a half years on Tyneside.

A new goalkeeping addition has been something of a priority for new boss Erik ten Hag this summer, with the club having allowed the aforementioned Henderson to join Nottingham Forest on loan, with the 25-year-old stating his ambition to depart after ‘wasting’ a season on the sidelines back at his parent club.

The absence of the Englishman has left the former Ajax head coach with veteran ace Tom Heaton as the only senior option in reserve to that of first-choice stopper David De Gea, with the youthful pair of Matej Kovar and Nathan Bishop likely to head out on loan.

In Dubravka, the 52-year-old would be able to secure the arrival of a player who can certainly push the Spaniard close, with De Gea having distinctly underwhelmed in the early weeks of the season – notably fronting up to his costly errors in the 4-0 defeat to Brentford.

The Newcastle ace provides a wealth of Premier League experience having racked up 127 appearances in the top-flight thus far – including 26 last term – keeping 37 clean sheets for the northeast side in that time.

The 29-cap gem, who earns around £38k-per-week, has fallen down the pecking order under Eddie Howe following the arrival of Nick Pope earlier this summer, although had previously proven himself an “inspirational signing” for the St James’ Park outfit, in the words of Paul Robinson.

The hope will be that he can have a similar impact at the Theatre of Dreams, with Ten Hag in need of a figure who can offer genuine competition to De Gea, as well as the quality cover needed to feature in both domestic and continental cup competitions.

West Ham United have made a bid for Sporting CP star and Portugal international Matheus Nunes with the club receiving a reply.

The Lowdown: Hammers not done…

The signings of Nayef Aguerd, Flynn Downes, Alphonse Areola, Gianluca Scamacca and Maxwel Cornet may not be the sum of West Ham’s transfer business this summer.

Reports claim that the east Londoners want to strengthen manager David Moyes’ options with the additions of a new central defender, attacking midfielder and a number six (ExWHUemployee).

In terms of the midfield, Premier League starlet Conor Gallagher is thought to be of interest to West Ham with news now emerging on another midfield maestro in Nunes.

The Latest: West Ham make Nunes bid…

Indeed, the Hammers have apparently made a ‘bid’ to sign the 23-year-old after his brilliant 2021/2022 campaign with Sporting in the Portuguese top flight.

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However, as confirmed by Moyes (via Fabrizio Romano), Nunes ‘chose not to come’ despite West Ham’s offer to bring him to England.

The Verdict: Blow for Moyes?

Missing out on Nunes, who is thought to have a £51 million release clause, could be seen as a blow for the east Londoners.

Called ‘unbelievable’ by Goncalo Santos, an ex-teammate, the numbers certainly back this theory to no end.

As per WhoScored, Nunes finished 21/22 as one of Sporting’s best players overall – ranking in as one of their top five best performers by average match rating.

The starlet also completed more successful take-ons per 90 than any of his teammates and proved what a tricky player he can be for a variety of opponents.

Moyes will now be looking to sign alternative midfielders of his calibre before September 1.

Journalist Pete O’Rourke has now claimed that Arsenal giving Bukayo Saka a new deal would ‘be a huge statement’.

The Lowdown: Arsenal ‘confident’

It was reported earlier this week that the Gunners are ‘confident’ that the 20-year-old will sign a new contract at the Emirates Stadium.

The Sun claimed in March that the club want to increase his wages from £30,000 per week to a whopping £125,000 per week in order to fend off interest from the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.

The Latest: ‘Huge statement’

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, O’Rourke has claimed that Saka signing a new deal would ‘be a huge statement’ by Mikel Arteta’s side, adding that they would be ‘going places’ if they can tie down the youngster.

The journalist said: “It’ll be a huge statement of intent to the fans and to everybody connected with the team that Arsenal are going places and they want to keep hold of their best players, because that’s been a criticism in the past that they’ve lost and sold some of their best players to their rivals, so keeping Saka would be a huge statement that Arsenal do plan on keeping hold of their top players.”

The Verdict: Get it done

Given that Saka only has two years remaining on his current contract, Arsenal need to tie him down as soon as possible.

They have been guilty of selling their best players to Premier League rivals in the past, notably the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Robin van Persie to Manchester United, and Emmanuel Adebayor and Samir Nasri to Manchester City.

Saka scored two goals as the Gunners thumped Sevilla 6-0 at home in the Emirates Cup on Saturday, and he is looking in good shape ahead of the start of the new season away to Crystal Palace on Friday night.

As O’Rourke says, Arsenal tying down the 20-year-old for the next few years would send a big statement of intent to their rivals.

Aston Villa youngster Carney Chukwuemeka has been linked with a move to Serie A champions AC Milan this summer as his future remains up in the air.

The Lowdown: Chukwuemeka a special talent

The 18-year-old is one of Villa’s most prized young assets, having recently won the European Under-19 Championship with England and been named in UEFA’s Team of the Tournament.

However, Chukwuemeka’s future is uncertain after not yet signing a new deal and being linked with a move away from Bodymoor Heath during the summer transfer window.

A move to one of Europe’s most prestigious clubs is now being mooted.

The Latest: Milan eye up Chukwuemeka move

According to Gazzetta dello Sport [via Sport Witness], ‘nobody should be surprised’ if Chukwuemeka ends up at Milan next season, with their interest in the midfielder very much genuine.

They are ‘serious’ about signing him and he is described as a ‘concrete target’ for the Serie A champions this summer.

The Verdict: Worrying for Villa

The thought of Villa losing Chukwuemeka this early in his career is a worrying one, considering how much he has to offer and what a force he could become over the years.

He won the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award last September and has been described as ‘outstanding’ by Paul Merson.

In truth, the likelihood is that the 18-year-old will move on at some point, but to lose him at this age would be particularly bad for Villa, especially as they wouldn’t even receive as big a fee as they probably would further down the line.

The hope is that Chukwuemeka ignores Milan’s advances, and other clubs for that matter, signing a new deal and committing his future to Villa for several years at least. Unfortunately, that looks most unlikely at present.

Celtic have reportedly been handed a potential boost to their chances of securing a transfer deal for Manchester City defender Ko Itakura.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from BILD (via Daily Express) the Manchester club are looking to bump up their £5m price tag for the defender this summer, which could put an end to Schalke and Borussia Monchengladbach’s pursuits of Itakura.

This could therefore give the Hoops the green light to launch a move to sign the Japanese international.

Having started his career in Japan, the 25-year-old signed for City during the 2019 January transfer window.

After two loan spells with FC Groningen, the centre-back spent last season on loan with Schalke, helping them get back to the Bundesliga.

In his 31 league appearances in 2021/22, the defender racked up the second-highest number of interceptions (38) and the third-highest number of successful tackles (31) in Schalke’s squad.

He also ended the campaign with the third-highest average of clearances per game (3.0) at the club, once again highlighting his defensive talents, in addition to being described as being “incredibly fast” by Hans Kraay Jr.

This shows that he certainly played a big part in getting the club back to Germany’s top division.

Postecoglou will be buzzing

Taking into account how the Bhoys have been linked with the City outcast since the last summer, it would surely have Ange Postecoglou buzzing if the club are finally able to get the player through the door at Parkhead this summer.

Bearing in mind how the Hoops boss has brought in several Japanese players since his arrival at the club such as Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi, this could make it easier for Itakura to settle into life at Celtic if he were to make a move there in the coming weeks.

Also, with the Hoops having made deals with the Manchester club in the past over players such as Patrick Roberts, Jason Denayer and Dedryck Boyata, this connection between the two sides could give the Hoops an advantage when it comes to potentially working out a move for Itakura.

Moving forward, if the two German clubs are out of the race to sign the centre-back this summer, then Celtic should have no doubts over launching a move to strike a deal for him.

AND in other news: Ange could land Roberts 2.0 as Celtic plot bid for £12k-p/w wizard who wowed Guardiola

A transfer tease has emerged over the future of Newcastle United target Christian Eriksen as the summer window gets underway… 

What’s the talk?

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the Magpies target will be deciding on his next club in the imminent future.

He Tweeted: “Brentford have submitted a serious, important personal terms offer to Christian Eriksen – but the player is considering his options with many clubs interested. Eriksen will make his decision on the future club in the coming days.”

Jacque Talbot recently reported that Newcastle boss Eddie Howe was set for talks with the Denmark international over a move to St. James’ Park, with the club ready to challenge the Bees for his signature.

Supporters will be nervous

Toon supporters will now be nervously awaiting the player’s decision as they will surely be keen to see him playing in black and white next season.

He is a proven Premier League performer who would come in and provide Howe’s team with a massive lift in terms of creativity.

The 30-year-old made an astounding return to England in January, months on from suffering a cardiac arrest in the European Championships, and was sublime for Brentford.

In 11 top-flight outings, Eriksen scored one goal and provided four assists as he created an eye-catching 2.8 chances per match. This shows that he was creating openings for his teammates at a phenomenal rate, given that Allan Saint-Maximin only managed half of that return (1.4 per game) for the Magpies.

At his best, the Dane was regarded as one of the best in the world with ex-Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter saying: “He is an unbelievable player — a world-class player — he deserves all the credit he gets in the Premier League and international-wise.

“We’re going to have to stop him from trying to do what he does, but it is important not to just concentrate on him. To concentrate on ourselves is probably the most important thing and then try to take care of them.”

The 30-year-old has played in eight separate Premier League seasons and has not averaged a SofaScore rating lower than 6.84 in the six campaigns they have data available for.

In 236 outings in the English top-flight, Eriksen has plundered 52 goals and 71 assists for Tottenham and Brentford combined. He knows exactly what it takes to make a big impact in the division and that is why he would be an excellent signing for the Toon.

Therefore, Newcastle supporters will now be nervous as they wait to hear who the midfielder has decided to join ahead of next season.

AND in other news, NUFC can find their own Paqueta in deal for “glorious” £64m gem with “no weaknesses”…

The Athletic’s Rangers correspondent Jordan Campbell has detailed the latest financial situation at Ibrox, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst prepares for his second season in charge of the Teddy Bears.

The Gers have obviously endured their fair share of financial issues in the past but Campbell suggests that they are in a good place right now and should find themselves ‘in the black’ in the near future, so long as they can earn a spot in the Champions League group stages next season.

Van Bronckhost’s side narrowly missed out on an automatic group stage place when they lost on penalties against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League semi-final last month but will be hoping to replicate their strong European performances when they enter the qualifying stages at the third round next month.

Things were looking bleak for the Ibrox outfit in the wake of the pandemic as they posted £23.5m in losses but after a full season of capacity crowds, Europa League runs and player sales, they are back in a strong position.

Campbell confirmed that, if Rangers do fail at the qualifying stage, then a player may need to be sold in order to balance the books.

He writes:

“It is thought that with the money generated from the sale of Nathan Patterson to Everton (although it isn’t all up front), the compensation for Gerrard and his team joining Aston Villa and the Europa League revenue, it will see Rangers in the black for the first time in over a decade.

“That is where they need to be, but they also need to put a winning team on the park — and that means there will be movement this summer.”

Supporters will no doubt be glad to hear that their club is in a strong financial position and will be hoping that Champions League qualification allows them to be active in the summer transfer window.

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If the worst happens, then Rangers have a number of saleable assets including Ryan Kent, Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo, so there seems to be little danger of the Ibrox outfit slipping back into the red.

And, in other news… Rangers dealt transfer blow, Gerrard will be gutted

Liverpool have taken their Premier League title challenge with Manchester City down to the last day of the season after taking all three points from St Mary’s last night.

Jurgen Klopp made the decision to rest key players like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold for their penultimate league game after a tough 120 minute FA Cup Final on Sunday against Chelsea where the club picked up their second trophy of the season.

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Luckily for the German coach his decision to rest players paid off. Although the game was tight between the two teams, Liverpool pulled through and prevailed in their efforts winning 2-1.

Despite the tight scoreline, the Kopites dominated in every area of the game with 71% possession, 20 more shots, over twice as many accurate passes and winning more duels than Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side on Tuesday evening.

The goal-scoring started with Southampton taking an early lead when Nathan Redmond found the back of the net in the 13th minute of the game, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Liverpool’s FA Cup and Carabao Cup top scorer Taki Minamino who delivered a defiant response by equalising in the 27th minute.

In the second half, the hosts struggled to contain their visitors and Joel Matip managed to put one past Alex McCarthy in the 67th minute to kill the game and ruin Manchester City’s Premier League title party and take their title chances all the way to the final day of the season.

One player who didn’t get on the scoresheet but remained resilient and put on a solid performance to become Klopp’s unsung hero in the game was James Milner.

According to SofaScore, the 36-year-old midfielder was supreme in possession, making 123 touches, 86 passes, six key passes and successfully delivering 100% of his long balls.

The former £150k-per-week England international was also superb from a defensive point of view, winning 80% of his duels whilst making four tackles, one interception and producing a clearance, proving that he was a huge presence in the centre of the pitch.

With those kinds of statistics in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that writer Taj Ali took to Twitter to describe the veteran as a “beast.”

The Liverpool vice-captain is currently negotiating a new deal with the club after Jurgen Klopp reportedly wants to keep the former Man City star at the club for next season, and spoke out on Klopp and his current contract situation recently in an interview with Alan Shearer for The Athletic:

“He’s one of the very best managers in the world and if he wants me here for another year, it would be silly not to play, wouldn’t it?”

The Merseyside giants will have to hope Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa can steal the game from Man City on Sunday if they have any chance of winning the league but Klopp’s side have done their job in making sure they can stay involved with the challenge which is all the manager can ask from his side ahead of their Champions League final clash with Real Madrid at the end of the month.

AND in other news: Liverpool eyeing bid for “complete” £36m-rated colossus, he’s even better than Fabinho…

Trinbago Knight Riders reap rewards for continuity, and Andre Russell stands up for more “home” games for Jamaica Tallawahs

Peter Della Penna18-Sep-2018Continuity pays off for TKROne of the most amazing things about Trinbago Knight Riders’ third CPL title in the space of four seasons is how they’ve done it, by virtue of a settled core to maintain team chemistry. The draft and auction regulations for many of the world’s T20 franchise leagues can lead to excessive chopping and changing from season to season, making some teams unrecognizable from one season to the next, but that hasn’t been the case for the Knight Riders.Twelve squad members who took the field during their 2017 title run were back again in 2018. When newcomers were forced to be chosen, due to the unavailability of Shadab Khan and Ronsford Beaton, management chose their replacements shrewdly as Fawad Ahmed and Ali Khan were the team’s top two wicket-takers in 2018, helping TKR to repeat as champions. Unsurprisingly, the team with the second-fewest changes – Guyana Amazon Warriors with nine players retained – was TKR’s opponent in the final, showing the value of keeping faith in a strong nucleus.Associate stars shining brightThe CPL has been a trailblazing league when it comes to offering opportunities to Associate players. Since the 2016 season, there has been a mandate to draft at least one North American player from an Associate country as part of the squad. That commitment to helping develop players beyond the Test world continues bearing fruit.USA’s Timroy Allen was the main beneficiary in 2016, serving as a key role player in six matches for the champion Jamaica Tallawahs. Steven Taylor had been part of Barbados Tridents squad as an ICC Americas pick for Barbados Tridents before parlaying exposure from the Regional Super50 into a handsome USD 30,000 contract in 2017 with Guyana Amazon Warriors, while Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi also fetched high-priced draft slots for Guyana and St Kitts & Nevis Patriots respectively before Afghanistan got Test status later in the year.In 2018, Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane and USA’s Khan continued the trend in spectacular style. Lamichhane was one of the standout bowlers over the first two weeks of the tournament, taking seven wickets in five matches with a sparkling 6.23 economy rate. Forget Associate status, few from any country were better than Khan for TKR this season as he finished joint-third with 16 wickets, vaulting him to the top tier of bowlers in demand for 2019.Russell stands up for JamaicaTallawahs captain, and very proud Jamaican, Andre Russell earned himself plenty of brownie points in his homeland when he stated in no uncertain terms what he thought of team ownership’s decision to shift home games from Sabina Park to the Central Broward Regional Park (CBRP) in Florida. Following the first of what would be three straight “home” losses in Florida, Russell went on full blast to slam the decision to play those games away from Jamaica, essentially conceding home-field advantage.Jamaica Tallawahs captain Andre Russell chats with coaches Mark O’Donnell and Ramnaresh Sarwan during training•Peter Della PennaTallawahs won two matches in front of sellout weeknight crowds of 15,000 at Sabina Park. When Russell and his charges moved to Florida later that weekend to finish off their home slate, they were greeted by hostile crowds, heavily in favour of Amazon Warriors and TKR. Their final match was played in an eerily quiet setting with just 700 fans in attendance to see Tallawahs lose in stunning fashion to Barbados Tridents, despite seven wickets in hand.It was hard to tell which was a worse atmosphere was for Tallawahs in Florida, the roar of the opposition fans in the first two games or pin-drop silence through the third. Regardless, Russell and team owners – Worldwide Sports Management Group – may have a tricky decision to make this offseason in light of WSMG’s agreement with the CBRP guaranteeing at least three major cricket events at the stadium per year. If Russell has his way, the CPL may go back to using Lauderhill as a neutral site venue, shared equally by teams as it was in 2016 and 2017, rather than a “home” away from home for Tallawahs.Sandpapergate curse continuesThe summer of franchise barnstorming for Steven Smith and David Warner has not gone as planned for either player. Smith was a headline selection in the inaugural season of the Global T20 Canada, but his Toronto Nationals side finished in last place. His presence in the Barbados Tridents side produced equally dismal results as the 2014 champions continued their streak of missing the playoffs for a third consecutive year, notching just two wins to finish with the wooden spoon in CPL 2018, and Smith himself missed the end of the tournament due to injury.Warner had a horrid time with the bat playing for Winnipeg Hawks in Canada, but at least he could say that his team made the playoffs. However, in the CPL, another wretched start for St Lucia Stars doomed them to miss the playoffs for the second year in a row, and Warner only managed one half-century in his nine innings. Perhaps his most significant contribution was highlighting how poor the umpiring was at times during the league phase as his glove-before-wicket dismissal provided an early catalyst for DRS to be brought in for the semi-final and final.DRS for 2019At least a dozen doozies were missed by the umpiring crews during this season. CPL administrators finally conceded that the issue had become an epidemic when the decision was made to use DRS technology for the semi-final and final. Even that was a curious call as it meant the first half of playoff matches in Guyana were without it, which cost TKR in their qualifier loss to Amazon Warriors when a pair of lbw decisions against Brendon McCullum and Denesh Ramdin inside the Powerplay stood a very high probability of being overturned.The IPL and PSL have already instituted DRS across the entire season. Bringing DRS in for the last two matches of the CPL 2018 playoffs was a positive step forward. Instituting it for the entire season in CPL 2019 will be even better.