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Writing on Twitter, the Sun journalist Alan Nixon has provided an update on the Tottenham Hotspur managerial situation and claims the club are biding their time and assessing which bosses in work would take the job – and he believes that the Lilywhites would be ‘daft’ not to consider the recently linked Nuno Espirito Santo.

Journalist drops managerial plea involving Nuno

Nuno has guided his side to two seventh-placed Premier League finishes, the FA Cup semi-finals and Europa League quarter-finals since the beginning of his Wolves reign, recently emerging as a candidate for the Tottenham vacancy.

Indeed, a report from the Daily Express last month stated that chairman Daniel Levy is a ‘major’ admirer of the 47-year-old – with Nuno being thrown into the managerial mix alongside a plethora of other names.

A fan asked Nixon on social media who he believes Spurs should appoint as an heir to Jose Mourinho and the reporter dropped his take while sharing the latest from Hotspur Way.

“They are buying themselves time,” explained Nixon on Twitter.

“While checking what bosses in work would take it, would be pretty daft if they didn’t consider Nuno among them.”

Transfer Tavern take

Given his plaudits over the Wolves tenure, we believe he is certainly a sound managerial candidate for Tottenham and one that could come cheaply given his current deal is worth a reported £4 million-per-year (sportekz.com).

Chairman Daniel Levy will debatably want to avoid a lucrative deal for any new boss he appoints given the financial toll brought upon by coronavirus over this last year.

Nuno could come as a bargain yet reasonably qualified coaching option given what he has managed to achieve with Wolves before injuries ravaged their current campaign.

Former Wolves keeper Matt Murray, speaking to This is Futbol recently, lauded the boss as a ‘genius’ and even compared him to Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa.

So, Levy could certainly do worse as he weighs up some outside candidates for the role.

In other news: Tottenham enter race for this electric defender, find out more here.

In an exclusive interview with The Transfer Tavern, Steve Howey, who made 157 appearances for Newcastle United, has revealed that he wanted the Magpies to sign Danny Ings when Steve McClaren was the manager.

Ings moved to Liverpool in 2015 when his contract expired, however, after several injuries over the years he managed just 25 appearances for the Reds and was eventually sold to Southampton for £20 million.

The £75,000 per week striker has been linked with a move to Manchester City, who are looking for someone to replace Sergio Aguero with the striker set to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Speaking on why he wanted Newcastle to sign Danny Ings and how much he was telling them to pay for the striker, Howey told The Transfer Tavern:

“I’ve always liked him. I said when McClaren was manager to buy him and I think it was £10 million they wanted, and then it went up to £15 million, but I was still saying buy him.

“I think the club thought that was too much but he’s been in devastating form the last few seasons so it doesn’t surprise me that he’s been linked with Man City.”

Ings has suffered more injuries this season with his latest one seeing the 28-year old come off against Tottenham Hotspur after scoring earlier in the game.

Southampton enjoyed a great first half of the season which saw them sit top of the table, however after another 9-0 defeat safety ended up being the priority.

Marcus Rashford is an injury doubt for Manchester United ahead of their Premier League clash with Leeds United this weekend.

The Whites are back in action on Sunday afternoon, welcoming their Mancunian rivals to Elland Road in what has the potential to be an entertaining contest.

Leeds have taken four points off Manchester City and Liverpool in their last two matches and they should be confident heading into the game.

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Rashford a doubt for Leeds-Man United clash

While Marcelo Bielsa will have to make do without attacking duo Raphinha and Rodrigo, their opponents could also be missing a key man.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Rashford hasn’t trained all week, and while he will return on Saturday, it gives him little time to prove his fitness.

Transfer Tavern take

Rashford being out would undoubtedly act as a boost for Leeds, considering the 23-year-old goal’s threat, invariably from the left-hand side. He has scored 10 goals and registered eight assists in the league so far this season, highlighting his pedigree in the attacking third.

Indeed, he has been hailed as a “role model” by none other than England team-mate Phil Foden, who himself is having a season to remember.

Luke Ayling will be a relieved a man if Rashford doesn’t play, although there is the potential of Paul Pogba playing out on the left instead, giving the Leeds right-back a different kind of challenge.

In other news, Leeds have suffered a double injury blow ahead of the Man United game. Read more here.

With Aston Villa enjoying a remarkable Premier League season thus far, Dean Smith will no doubt be incredibly proud of the work he and his players have done.

The Villans lie just outside of the top ten in the table, but have a game in hand on both Leeds and Arsenal above them, with a win being enough to seeing them leapfrog the two into ninth place.

But while Smith has done a fantastic job in turning things around so impressively since last season – Villa, of course, only managed to avoid relegation back to the Championship on the final day of the campaign – there is one major criticism that should be levelled at him.

A report conducted by CIES Football Observatory collated data from clubs all across the Premier League, to find out the “percentage of domestic league minutes by footballers who had not yet turned 21 at the time of the matches played this season”.

In it, Villa have the eighth-worst record in terms of giving minutes to it’s U21 players, with just 1.4% being taken up by those who fit that criteria – in comparison, Wolves, who have the best record in the division, have handed out a whopping 16.2% of their minutes to U21s.

It’s a report that exposes a worrying trend at Villa, and one that should have Smith ashamed given the incredible number of young talents coming through at the club via the academy system.

You only have to look at how Villa’s youngsters captured the imagination in their FA Cup third round defeat to Liverpool to see that the club have got a real golden generation coming through, while the side are also competing in the latter stages of the FA Youth Cup this season.

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The likes of Louie Barry, Aaron Ramsey and Kaine Kesler to name but a few have surely shown that they are worth bringing into the first-team fold and being handed minutes here and there.

With the modern game seeing more and more British-based youngsters heading abroad to seek out first-team opportunities – the likes of Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham at Borussia Dortmund spring to mind – Villa desperately need to start mapping out a better plan for their crop of talented youngsters.

Meanwhile, Villa must regret their howler over this “frightening” star…

Marcelo Bielsa has provided an important injury update on Adam Forshaw, Raphinha and Rodrigo ahead of Leeds United’s clash with Liverpool.

The Whites are back in action on Monday night, looking to add another famous victory to their collection, following their 2-1 win at Manchester City last time around.

Leeds welcome reigning Premier League champions Liverpool to Elland Road, in what looks set to be an entertaining game on paper.

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Bielsa gives injury update on Leeds trio

Bielsa has a number of injury concerns going into the game, however, and on Thursday, he provided an update on the current situation.

In what was the most positive news of the day, the Leeds manager confirmed (via Phil Hay) that Forshaw will play for the Under-23s against Aston Villa on Friday, as he continues to recovery from a long-term hip problem.

Meanwhile, Raphinha is still considered a doubt for the Liverpool clash and Rodrigo looks set to miss out, with a muscular issue keeping the latter sidelined.

Transfer Tavern take

The Forshaw news is heartwarming, considering the 29-year-old hasn’t featured for Leeds since the early months of the 2019/20 season.

There is clearly no chance of him playing against Liverpool, but it would be a wonderful moment to see him play for the first team again before the campaign finishes.

Raphinha’s potential absence is a big blow for the Whites though, with his trickery and end product – six goals and assists apiece in the league this season – capable of causing a makeshift Reds defence problems.

His fellow Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior caused the Reds lots of problems for Real Madrid in the Champions League, and Raphinha boasts a similar ability to drive at players one on one and make things happen out of nothing. Losing that would definitely harm Bielsa’s chances of getting a result.

In other news, a huge name has left the door open regarding a move to Leeds this summer. Read more here.

Frank McAvennie has exclusively told Football FanCast that he doesn’t have a problem with West Ham’s goalkeeping situation amid Lukasz Fabianski’s recent contract extension, but he expects the 6 ft 3 star to only be there one more year.

The former Arsenal shot-stopper has been the Hammers number one ever since his arrival from Swansea in 2018, missing just 15 Premier League games in total.

His contract at the London Stadium was set to expire at the end of the campaign, but the Pole recently extended his deal by an additional year.

It’ll be a huge relief for West Ham, who felt Fabianski’s absence last season when Roberto endured a disastrous spell in the team, but the Spaniard was sold in the summer, meaning 35-year-old David Martin and Darren Randolph have been fighting for the number two spot.

Randolph is currently out injured, and former striker McAvennie is content with both Fabianski and Martin, who only has five Irons appearances under his belt, as the two senior stoppers, despite the former making the occasional mistake this term.

He told Football FanCast:

“Goalkeepers are always going to make clangers somewhere. He makes more saves than he drops. There are not many goalkeepers that are going to come in and challenge. The boy Martin, Alvin’s son, will be keeping him on his toes.

“I think Fabianski will be there another year, although Martin may come in and get a couple of chances.”

Fabianski has been a highly-reliable goalkeeper for West Ham in recent seasons, so it’s no wonder the club were keen on keeping him around for another 12 months.

And if the Hammers keep picking up results, then Fabianski’s fourth and final campaign at the London Stadium might be in Europe.

Former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer has warned Celtic about moving for David Moyes in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

According to GiveMeSport, the former SPFL champions have sounded out the 57-year-old West Ham manager as they look to replace Neil Lennon following his exit last month.

Moyes has done a sublime job at the Hammers this season, guiding them to fifth in the Premier League and just three points behind a Champions League spot with a game in hand. Bearing that in mind, Palmer is not too convinced by the idea of Moyes switching the London Stadium for Celtic Park, believing he has found his place in east London.

Speaking on Moyes and Celtic, the retired England international told FFC:

“Celtic is a massive club, a massive club. But I just say sometimes you’ve got to be careful. David Moyes did a fantastic job at Everton then ended up going to Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson, which was always going to be a tough gig, and then for a while he lost his way. He’s a very, very good manager, but he lost his way.

“He seems to have found his niche at West Ham. I think he’s found his little spot there and they’re doing exceptionally well.”

Moyes’ contract at West Ham expires at the end of the season, which could bode well for Celtic. However, with their former player doing so well with the Hammers this term, you would expect the club’s board to get him tied down to a new deal, meaning Celtic are probably going to have to look elsewhere.

That could come in the form of Roy Keane, who is one of the latest names to be linked with the job in the Celtic Park dugout.

Fans of Aston Villa have been reacting to a post on Twitter, in which Gregg Evans relayed recent comments made by Dean Smith regarding Morgan Sanson’s progression at the club.

Since joining Villa from Olympique Marseille in what was a £14.22 million deal back in January, Sanson is yet to be awarded a start in the Premier League, with the midfielder’s four appearances for the club all coming as a substitute.

However, speaking prior to the club’s clash with Sheffield United on Wednesday evening, the 49-year-old Villa manager provided a rather positive update on the development of the £18 million-rated 26-year-old, suggesting that the Frenchman could be in line to start a fixture in the near future.

He said: “He’s starting to show what he’s about in games when he’s been coming on. But he’s an ambitious young man who wants to start games and I’m confident enough now that he can start games for us and I have no doubts putting him in.”

And, after Evans relayed Smith’s comments on Twitter, fans of Villa flocked to have their say on the matter, with many urging their manager to play Sanson from the off against the Blades.

So, what exactly did these Aston Villa fans have to say in reaction to Dean Smith’s comments regarding Morgan Sanson?

“Then start him, Dean.”

@WatkinsOffside2

“That comment suggests it’s Nakamba – McGinn – Sanson tomorrow then, I’m fine with that.”

@WWE__History

“It’s fantastic that we have the opportunity to do that this season. Whereas last season we had to chuck all new signings straight in without a slow introduction. It really showed what a difference it made, after last seasons lockdown, how important it is to have a steady introduction.”

@stegzy80

“I think we are easing him into premier league life perfectly tbh. He will become more of a major player for us as time goes by. He looks decent.”

@coleman83avfc

“I can see Sanson / Barkley starting as a 10 tomorrow in place of Ramsay. Maybe he will save Sanson for Wolves on Saturday though.”

@avfcsarco

“Get in! SANSON STARTING CONFIRMED?!”

@trickytargett

“I like this talk.”

@GaryBolton91

In other news, these Villa fans are loving this crazy statistic – find out more here!

Former Premier League striker Marlon Harewood has given the thumbs up to Rafael Benitez to Celtic in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

Following the resignation of Neil Lennon last month, Celtic are in need of a new permanent manager, and Benitez is just one name that has been linked with the job.

The 60-year-old Champions League-winning boss is currently available after leaving Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Professional earlier this year, so he would be free to join the Bhoys in a move that would be massive for the club, according to Harewood.

Speaking of the possibility of Benitez in the Celtic Park dugout, the ex-Aston Villa and West Ham forward exclusively told FFC:

“It’d be good if they can get him. Wow, that’d be a massive appointment for them. Obviously, it’s hard when you talk about [Scottish] football [to ignore] Celtic. Everyone looks forward to the Celtic-Rangers games.”

Harewood, however, did question whether the Glasgow club could convince the ex-Liverpool manager to join. He added: “It’s hard to get a manager to go up there and be excited, so they obviously have to get a package together for him to go up there.”

After losing the SPFL title to rivals Rangers and missing out on 10 in a row, Benitez is exactly the type of manager Celtic could do with.

With experience in England, Spain and Italy, winning multiple trophies during his time in those three countries, the Spaniard has the kind of pedigree that could help Celtic wrestle the title back from his former player and progress in Europe.

It remains to be seen just how interested Benitez would be in the gig at Celtic Park if at all but, even so, he is an option that surely has to be considered.

Many Arsenal fans were left to slam the display of Pablo Mari in the first half away at Leicester City in the Premier League at Sunday lunchtime.The central defender was partially at fault for the early goal that was scored by Youri Tielemans as he failed to close down the Belgium international in the box, who ended up having a free shot on goal and thus blasted the ball past Bernd Leno into the far corner of the net.It made Mikel Arteta’s quest of taking all three points away from the King Power Stadium that much harder as they found themselves 1-0 down very early on again, following an early goal conceded last week at home Manchester City through a Raheem Sterling header.Nonetheless, it is a piece of defending that Mari will not want to look back on.

Arsenal fan reaction to Mari display

These Gunners supporters slammed his performance in the first half on Twitter, with one Gooner even going as far to say that the 27-year-old Spaniard was ‘abysmal’:

“@YankeeGunner one for the Mari haters that! Shocking goal to concede. Terrible from Xhaka, Willian and Mari”
Credit: @BradleyPowell04
“Mari man what are you doing brother?”
Credit: @NotZuZmeister
“Mari’s positioning was horrendous”
Credit: @soundnajib

“How do Mari and Elneny just watch Tielemans run 30+ yards and let him get a shot off?? Bad!”

Credit: @capitalgunner

“That’s abysmal by Mari and Elneny.”

Credit: @afcsidd

“Awful defending…. Elneny or Mari need to get out and shut that down… Xhaka is never going to catch him on that recovery sprint.”

Credit: @DanArsenalHQ1

In other news, find out whose display was slammed versus Benfica here!