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Gary Mabbutt has told Football FanCast that he would welcome Luka Modric back to Tottenham Hotspur with “open arms”.

The Real Madrid midfielder has gone from strength to strength since leaving Spurs in 2012.

Since then, he has won La Liga twice, the Champions League four times, and captained Croatia to the World Cup final in 2018. He also became the first player to break the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly on the Ballon d’Or, winning the individual award in the same tournament as his country’s appearance in the final.

He has been with Real for nine years at this point, but Spurs still hold an affection for their former player.

They signed Modric for £16.5m in 2008 from Dinamo Zagreb, the team they play in the Europa League last-16, and Spurs’ official Twitter account posted a tweet with Modric’s best bits ahead of the game.

Gareth Bale, of course, made a sensational return to Spurs from Real in the summer, joining on loan, and Mabbutt would love to see the same happen with Modric, who earns £210,000-a-week.

Sport Witness carried a report from Spain in December claiming that Spurs boss Jose Mourinho had been in contact with Modric over a possible return.

And while Mabbutt is unsure if it will actually happen, he admits he would love to see the midfielder back in north London.

He said: “I’d welcome him back with open arms.

“I don’t think that is the current situation of where he is though. He was with us before Christian Eriksen and I thought Christian was a great player for us.

“At Spurs, we’ve always been a club that if we see a player that’s available, that we believe could actually enhance the good players that we have, then we will be interested in those players.

“Whether, when push comes to shove, we can actually get those players remains to be seen.”

Modric has a contract that expires at the end of the season so he could well be available if he does not put pen to paper.

It remains to be seen if Spurs will try to bring the 35-year-old back, but he can certainly play!

Aston Villa have suffered a major blow ahead of their Premier League clash against Newcastle on Friday night, with Jack Grealish once again ruled out of action.

The England international has missed the last four Premier League games for Villa after picking up a lower leg injury last month, with the club picking up just four points in those matches in his absence.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the clash against the Magpies, Villa boss Dean Smith said: “Jack has been making really good progress and we are happy at where he’s at but, unfortunately, he won’t make it (Friday’s game).

“He has been ill this week so he’s been off for a couple of days as well, but we’re hopeful for the Tottenham game now, that’s for sure. Jack is still in and around the training ground. He takes part in the meetings. He’s got a voice and an opinion, which is good.”

Given how badly have Villa struggled without him in terms of their results, Smith will no doubt be gutted that the 25-year-old will once again be missing from first team action.

Grealish has been one of the shining lights of what has been an impressive Premier League campaign for Villa, scoring six goals and providing 12 assists.

It’s no surprise that, in the games that he has missed, Villa have lacked creativity and an eye for goal, finding the back of the net just twice in his absence.

The rest of his teammates will have to try and step up once more when they visit St James’ Park to take on Newcastle on Friday night.

Meanwhile, Villa could land a new Tyrone Mings in this ace…

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa favoured Helder Costa over Jack Harrison against Aston Villa last week and Noel Whelan has been discussing both the players ahead of their next match.

Whelan comments on Leeds duo

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan was asked whether Harrison would could back into the starting XI and said: “Absolutely. Look, people are given an open door to come in and take your opportunity as Helder Costa was. I think Jack Harrison had been quiet for three games prior. Helder Costa’s come on and made some influence on a game from the substitutes’ bench.”

“I felt he deserved the opportunity. However, I was very, very disappointed once again with his contribution from the start to the time he came off.

Costa needs to start impressing

Harrison has had a good season as he managed six goals and four assists, whilst also managing 1.3 shots and 1.7 key passes per game (WhoScored).

However, Costa has failed to set the division alight this campaign. He has managed three goals and three assists, but has only averaged 0.8 shots and 0.5 key passes a game (WhoScored). The £10.8m-rated ace has made 64 appearances for the club throughout his career, but only has seven goals and 11 assists to his name (Transfermarkt), so it is obvious to see why he has only started nine games in 2020/21. He was hauled off after 64 minutes against Villa last week, having played just 18 passes in that time (WhoScored).

His former manager Nuno Espirito Santo heaped praise on him in recent months as he said: “So that season was not the best for him, but in the first season we were in the Premier League, Helder was immense and had a huge impact on the team.

“He’s a very talented player, but things happen naturally, players move from here to another place. It happens in football. Honestly, I’m delighted he’s showing his quality and enjoying his football.”

Hopefully we can see Costa’s quality start to shine more as he tries to help Leeds finish in the top half of the table.

In other news, a Leeds transfer target could be available in the summer!

Having not managed to sign a central midfielder in the January transfer window as per Brendan Rodgers’ apparent wish, Leicester City could potentially try again in the summer.

It already appears that the groundwork has been made on a potential deal, with Tuttomercatoweb suggesting that the Foxes hold a “serious” interest in AC Milan’s Tommaso Pobega, who is currently in the midst of a very productive campaign on-loan at Spezia.

So far this term, the Italy under-21 midfielder has played 16 times in all competitions for his adoptive employers, scoring three goals and providing two assists, managing to find the net against the likes of Napoli and Juventus throughout the campaign.

Interestingly, at the age of just 21, Pobega is getting close to the numbers accumulated by current Leicester midfielder Dennis Praet, who is five years his senior.

According to WhoScored, the current Spezia man completes marginally more passes per game than the Belgian with 21.8 compared to 20.4, whilst he also attempts slightly more shots per game with 0.8 versus 0.6 for the Foxes ace.

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Whilst Pobega is narrowly beaten on key passes, he loses possession far less frequently than Praet, being dispossessed on just 0.2 occasions per match in Serie A compared to the Belgian’s 0.6.

Although it could be argued that there is not actually that much difference between the two players, hence Pobega would not actually be adding much to the current Leicester squad, his young age should lend him towards considerable improvement in the future.

In fact, that is a sentiment which is echoed by Spezia’s director Mauro Peluso, who has suggested that Pobega already has an “international profile”.

Rated at just £4.5m by Transfermarkt, his arrival would also be relatively affordable for Leicester; and considering that they would be receiving a player of such promise and potential, they must make a move to try and land his signature.

AND in more news, find out why Danny Ward’s new Leicester contract could be a huge clue for the future…

Just over a week ago, Sunderland looked like they’d achieve automatic promotion at a canter.

Lee Johnson’s side were unbeaten in 14 games in all competitions and had been the most in-form team in League One.

With two games in hand, they could have risen to first place and taken command of the race for a Championship spot.

However, they have now failed to take three points from their last trio of games. They drew 1-1 with Peterborough and have suffered back to back defeats against Charlton and Wigan.

You can forgive the result against the Addicks but losing to a relegation-threatened side this week was woeful to say the least.

As they lost 2-1, Johnson’s men were made to rue a succession of defensive mistakes from set-pieces. After breaking up the partnership of Dion Sanderson and Luke O’Nien at the back, the Mackems were all over the shop when Wigan came forward.

Johnson revealed at full-time that he felt let down by some of his players but one individual who did turn up – as he usually does – was Jordan Jones.

The Rangers loanee has been scintillating since penning temporary terms in January and it would be a crime if they failed to go up with him in the team.

Jones is the definition of a classic winger; beat your man and then whip in a cross. He has done that to devastating effect since arriving at the Stadium of Light and Charlie Wyke has feasted as a result.

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He is reaping the rewards from having Aiden McGeady on one side and Jones on the other. The former has been outstanding this term and has registered 13 assists.

That being said, it’s Jones who deserves the praise on this occasion. Against Wigan, he was a menace down the right-hand side and spent the vast majority of the game in the right-hand corner of the pitch.

He supplied six key passes during the course of the match, taking his tally of chance creations in a Sunderland shirt to 22 at 1.7 per game.

Jones was so impressive on Tuesday evening that Mackems reporter James Hunter said he was “torturing” the opposition.

Indeed, Wigan aren’t the first to receive a schooling by the flying winger this term. He made Oxford United full-back Jamie Hanson look dazed and confused after beating him with a brilliant bit of trickery in their win a few weeks ago.

The 26-year-old showed similar quick feet in the defeat to Wigan. Although he couldn’t stop his side from losing, the attacker performed two dribbles and provided ten crosses.

Only McGeady managed more take-ons but no one on the whole pitch managed more balls into the box than Jones.

If Sunderland are to have any chance of sealing promotion, they will need to count on the Rangers winger. He delivered on Tuesday night but wasn’t ably backed up by those behind them.

He can only carry the workload with McGeady and Wyke so much.

AND in other news, Sunderland graduate saw value rise by £15.5m after leaving, he’s a “manager’s dream”…

Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen has been as "the biggest signing" in modern Brentford history by Bees boss Thomas Frank.

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• Eriksen joined Brentford for a brief spell
• Moved to Man Utd for a bigger challenge
• Frank would welcome him back to the Bees

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Danish midfielder suffered an on-pitch cardiac arrest during Euro 2020. During his treatment, he was implanted with a cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) device. This forced him to leave Inter due to Serie A regulations regarding such devices and he chose to settle in England with Brentford in January 2022.

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• WHAT THOMAS FRANK SAID

  Frank's admiration for Eriksen goes a long way as the duo forged a personal connection during their time together in the Denmark Under-17 national team. Speaking on an episode of 'Moments That Made Me', Frank recounted how he rekindled that connection and convinced the player to join Brentford.

  "Probably the biggest signing in the modern Brentford history," Frank said of Eriksen. "I've got a personal connection with him, I coached him when he was 15 or 16 in the Denmark U17 national team for a year.

  "A good story as well is that my son called me in October and said: 'Dad, you should call him' and I said: 'Yeah, maybe you're right'. At that stage, he hadn't announced what he wanted to do, and then he announced it I think in early December that he wanted to play football again. And then my son called me again and said: 'Dad, it's now'. Okay.

  "When you see a player who I coached when he was 16, follow, talk with him, see him with the national team and then he walked in the door 14 years later, 30 years old. Experienced, confident, humble, a leader in his way. That was a very good experience."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Eriksen subsequently got a transfer to Manchester United in the summer of 2022. However, the 32-year-old has struggled to nail down a starting berth under Erik ten Hag and finds himself way below the first-choice candidates in the pecking order at Old Trafford.

  But if Eriksen wants to shift base in search of regular minutes, Frank claimed that Brentford would always welcome him back.

  "He will always be welcome back, Christian – always. I think he knows that. And we know that he had a good time here," he told Danish publication Tipsbladet earlier in February.

  "I understood well why he went to United back then, and I've said that publicly. I also think he's done well. Of course, he had an injury before Christmas for a while. But if Christian wants, he's very welcome."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Frank's sentiments underscore the enduring respect and admiration that the manager has for Eriksen. He has a contract with United until 2025 and it remains to be seen if the Dane will retrace his steps to the Gtech Community Stadium in the summer to reunite with his childhood coach.

Virgil van Dijk says he will never take moments like winning the Carabao Cup for granted after securing his first trophy as Liverpool's captain.

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• Liverpool beat Chelsea 1-0
• Reds win Carabao Cup
• Captain Van Dijk revels in win

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The centre-back scored a towering header in extra-time to beat Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley to secure the Reds their first trophy of the season. And after the game, the 32-year-old, who replaced Jordan Henderson as skipper at the start of the campaign, described how much this victory meant, his matchwinner, and outgoing manager Jurgen Klopp.

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  WHAT VIRGIL VAN DIJK SAID

  When asked how much this meant, the former Celtic man told Sky Sports: "So much. All the young boys on the pitch, in extra time. It's incredible, I'm so proud of the team. "Intense game for both sides, they had chances we had chances. Amazing. First trophy as Liverpool captain, it's all for the fans so let's enjoy it."

  On his goal, he added: "It's emotion, it's everything I am so proud of the boys. All of the young boys playing their part in what we achieved today it's incredible and on to more."

  And when asked about savouring this triumph with Klopp as manager, he said: "You should always savour the good moments, this is definitely one of them. Listen, we will never take things for granted and you see today it could have been the other was as well that we lost but we did a job, even with all the problems we have had before the game. I'm so proud, proud to be part of this club and especially proud of the boys."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Liverpool's bid to win four trophies this season, including the FA Cup, Premier League, and Europa League, is now on following their Carabao Cup triumph. With Klopp stepping down this summer as manager, Van Dijk and his team-mates will savour moments like these and try to give the German the perfect send-off.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Liverpool, who have a hefty injury list, don't have long to recover from this one as they face Championship side Southampton in round five of the FA Cup on Wednesday at Anfield, before taking on Nottingham Forest on March 3 in the Premier League.

The summer transfer window saw a late, late move for Fulham's Joao Palhinha to Bayern collapse, and the midfielder has now spoken on his future.

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• Palhinha move to Bayern failed in summer
• Asked if he would consider move again
• Bayern would be ready to approach player again

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Portuguese had already travelled to Munich and started taking pictures with the Bayern jersey before the deal was called off by Fulham due to their inability to sign a replacement. The German champions have been asked multiple times afterwards if they would still be interested in signing the 28-year-old, and they have always hinted that he remains a target.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  After his attempt to join Bayern Munich failed, Palhinha ended up signing a new deal with Fulham, where he will remain until 2028 with a one-year option. If Bayern do end up trying to sign the Portuguese again, they will definitely have to shell out some extra cash for the midfielder, thanks to the contract extension.

• WHAT PALHINHA SAID

  When asked about a potential future move to Bayern ahead of Portugal's Euro qualifiers against Liechtenstein, Palhinha told: "I don’t know what will happen in the future. Obviously, it’s really affected me and my family, but that’s all in the past, I don’t want to think about it too much. It’s a great source of pride, you know what happened. In my life everything that has happened has been for a reason, I like to think of it like that,” said Palhinha, insisting there’s still a lot of time for him to shine."

  He added: "The future will tell me whether what happened was really what had to happen or not, but only the future will show me that. I want to keep going the way I’ve been going, nobody has given me anything throughout my career, and everything I’ve achieved is down to my worth, my work. I hope it stays that way. I’m 28, but I know I can go higher and I’m looking to the future with that ambition."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR PALHINHA?

  While it seems unlikely that a move in the winter is possible for Palhinha, it could be very possible that Bayern may approach Fulham once again in the summer of 2024, with a renewed hope of signing the midfielder.

Chelsea duo Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer appeared to get into an argument over who should take a penalty against Arsenal on Saturday.

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• Palmer and Sterling argued over penalty
• Enzo stepped in to decide taker
• Palmer converted to give Blues the lead

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Blues were given a penalty early on in the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge and Palmer seemed eager to take the spot kick as he picked up the ball.

  Sterling stepped in and argued that he should be the one to take the penalty and a brief spat unfolded.

  Enzo Fernandez stepped in as the peacemaker before long, giving the young summer signing the nod to take it.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  After refusing his older team-mate's request to take it, the pressure was on Palmer to deliver the goods in the London derby.

  Fortunately for the 21-year-old, he made no mistake from the spot and sent it past David Raya to open the scoring.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Palmer, who joined from Manchester City at the end of the summer transfer period, now has two Premier League goals to his name from six matches for Chelsea in the English top-flight. He had opened his account with a penalty in the 4-1 win against Burnley before the international break. At the age of 21 years and 168 days, Palmer also becomes the third-youngest player to score a penalty in back-to-back Premier League appearances, behind only Bukayo Saka (20y 230d) and Peter Ndlovu (21y 50d).

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  After Saturday's match against the Gunners, Chelsea will take on Brentford in the Premier League on October 28.

Many Aston Villa fans have been reacting to Rico Henry’s comments on social media, with the left-back revealing his experiences with the club as a youngster.

Recent reports have suggested that the Brentford ace remains on Dean Smith’s transfer radar ahead of the summer window.

Henry a possible Taylor replacement?

Smith worked with Henry in London prior to moving to Villa Park, and the 23-year-old has gone on to make more than 120 appearances for the Bees.

Should a move to Villa go through, Henry could come in to replace the ageing Neil Taylor, with the Welshman – who has made just one league appearance this season – out of contract at the end of the campaign.

Henry, talking to Brentford’s YouTube channel (as cited by Birmingham Live) shared his story of how he started out as a Villa fan before switching his allegiances to Birmingham City.

“You know what, people don’t know this. (I supported) Aston Villa because my dad supported them.”

“I went on trial at Villa and didn’t get signed so my dad stopped supporting them. So we were kind of forced to watch Birmingham. It was crazy.”

“I’m quite detached now. Brentford is my team and you don’t want to think about other clubs. Now I don’t really support anyone.”

@AVFC_News shared the story on social media on Sunday morning, which – as to be expected – received plenty of attention from numerous Villa supporters.

Here is what they had to say regarding Henry, with one fan describing him as an ‘excellent’ left-back.

Villa fans react

“This to me if true sounds like he’s hinting that he would love to play for us. The fact that he said he don’t support anyone hints he would snap our hands off if we came crawling. I say sign the kid, He’s a very good left-back and would do very well for us”

Credit: @joebaker_1998

“It’s a whole different story when wages of 40k+ come into it”

Credit: @WatkinsOffside

“Think that wound soon change if we signed him”

Credit: @AV7689983427

“Love the part where he says after he stopped supporting Villa they were “kind of forced to watch Birmingham” Clearly not the most favourable option.”

Credit: @JackJenningss_

“Just because he didn’t get signed, they switched to the rivals. Bit daft”

Credit: @JBulman24

“Still an excellent LB, who he supports won’t matter if Smith & Lange really pushed hard enough, we’ll soon see, but our club’s signings tend to come from where we least expect, but I’d like to see n have said for a while is Dwight McNeil”

Credit: @OgeeDj68

In other news: Villa learn price for in-demand Premier League midfielder, find out more here.