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Tottenham Hotspur manager and big name Antonio Conte is now eyeing an unceremonious exit at the end of the season, according to reports.

The lowdown: Conte’s tenure so far

Appointed in November 2021 following the dismissal of Nuno Espirito Santo, Spurs fans had cause for optimism when the 52-year-old taskmaster arrived in north London.

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Conte arrived with Tottenham in ninth place and some five points adrift of the Premier League top-four pacesetters. Since then the Lilywhites’ have enjoyed an upturn in fortunes and the January arrivals of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur have provided a much-needed boost to the ranks.

However, currently sitting fifth and with UEFA Champions League qualification still in the balance, the ex-Italian national team boss could already be debating his options.

The latest: A worrying claim…

As per Grenier on Twitter, relaying a report from Le Parisien, Conte is believed to harbour a desire to take over the hot seat at Paris Saint Germain should Mauricio Pochettino be relieved of his duties in the French capital.

Former Spurs boss Pochettino has come under fire in recent weeks after PSG were eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid and it appears that potential replacements could already be lining up.

Le Parisien go as far to state that Conte has set his sights on a move to Paris, speaking about it to their club chiefs and becoming confident he can take over from Pochettino.

As shared by Grenier, the outlet claim: “Antonio Conte dreams of coaching PSG next season. He spoke about it to employees, showing himself confident about the feasibility of a transfer. He has let emissaries from Qatar know he is interested, but he is not the first choice. (The Parisian).”

The verdict: Big blow

Given Conte’s track record of only spending small periods of time in any one job and an initial 18-month deal, it was only ever likely to be a short term love affair at N17 but having all but won the managerial lottery with the appointment of the decorated Italian, Tottenham will no doubt be reluctant to cut ties with Conte so prematurely.

Albeit Spurs haven’t pulled up any trees just yet with the new man at the helm, there has been incremental improvement in recent months and with a full summer transfer window under his belt, it appears to be an exciting proposition moving forwards.

Whilst the club would be steadfast against the idea, should the PSG interest from all parties materialise then it may not be out of the realms of possibility that the eternally linked Pochettino finally makes an eagerly anticipated return to north London.

In other news: Tottenham officials dispatched to club as they allegedly eye ‘unbelievable’ £33m man for Conte! Find out more here.

Lee Ryder has now dropped a promising claim on Newcastle United’s recent takeover case.

The Lowdown: Newcastle threatened

As cited by BBC Sport, Daniel Jowell QC revealed that the Premier League had threatened to expel the St James’ Park club from the top flight in their Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) case against the division over the stalled takeover deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

To come out with such an outrageous threat suggests that the Premier League are feeling the pressure when it comes to arguing their case.

The Latest: Ryder on CAT

Replying to a Newcastle fan in a Q&A session when asked about his thoughts on the CAT case for The Chronicle, Ryder claimed that it ‘went well, arguably better than expected’.

The journalist added that he thinks that there is a ‘good chance’ that it will carry on from where it left off on Wednesday instead of being thrown out, which was the Premier League’s aim in the hearing.

The Verdict: Promising

The opening day of the CAT claim did seem like a promising one for Mike Ashley and Newcastle United. The Premier League did seem desperate at times, as exemplified by their threat, and suggested that the Tyneside club may have a stronger case.

They also got a definitive date for the separate arbitration proceedings in 3 January 2022, and that step is likely to be pivotal in determining the direction of where the prospective takeover is heading.

In other news, find out what sources close to Ashley have now said about Steve Bruce’s future

Daily Record journalist Anthony Haggerty believes that Celtic still need to sign as many as three new players in this transfer window.

The Scottish giants have embarked on an aggressive summer of recruitment to strengthen the squad of new boss Ange Postecoglou.

The club have brought in left winger Kyogo Furuhashi from Vissel Kobe, centre-back Carl Starfelt from Rubin Kazan, right winger Liel Abada from M Petah Tikva, right-back Josip Juranovic from Legia Warsaw, goalkeeper Joe Hart from Tottenham Hotspur, midfielder James McCarthy on a free transfer, and midfielder Liam Shaw and defender Osaze Urhoghide from Sheffield Wednesday.

The club have opened their season with a mixed bag of results, being knocked out of the Champions League at the qualifying stage, and winning two and losing one of their Premiership games.

Haggerty thinks more is needed in defence, while there is also the requirement to sign a striker to prepare for the potential loss of Odsonne Edouard, amid links with the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace.

He said: “They still need a centre-half and a right-back. Christopher Jullien is still a bit away from coming back into the fold, I still think they need another centre-back, even though Stephen Welsh and Carl Starfelt are doing okay, there’s still that worry that that’s maybe the weakest link in the Celtic team.

“Another midfielder would be a bonus but they certainly need another striker to offset the potential of Edouard leaving.”

Aston Villa suffered an agonising defeat in the third round of the Carabao Cup as Chelsea knocked them out on penalties.

Dean Smith’s side fell behind early in the second-half thanks to a strike from Timo Werner, before academy graduate, Cameron Archer, had the away end rocking with an equaliser just ten minutes later.

And while a penalty shoot-out was always going to be a lottery, one man who missed, and endured a nightmare display at Stamford Bridge, was Ashley Young.

The veteran of course arrived in the summer on a free transfer to help add a bit of vital cover in the full-back areas and provide Smith with some experience in the dressing room.

But against Chelsea on Wednesday night, he showed nothing of the necessary footballing ability to suggest he could still be a reliable performer for Villa going forward.

As per Sofascore, he lost every single one of the five duels that he was involved in on the night, the worst record by far of any player on the pitch in west London.

Add to that the fact he had just 40 touches of the ball – even goalkeeper Jed Steer had more – lost possession eight times, and committed four fouls as he tried to keep up with Chelsea’s pacy forwards.

The fact he ended up missing in the shoot-out essentially captured what was a difficult night on the whole for Young.

And, writing in his post-match player ratings for 7500 To Holte, Cole Pettem gave him a five, saying: “Struggled to make an impression on Wednesday evening, with a number of misplaced balls and failed to provide much positive link-up play with Anwar El Ghazi.”

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece was a lot kinder, however, noting: “Skippered Villa’s second string here and did well up against the jet-heeled Hudson-Odoi. It was an experienced showing from the 36-year-old as he dished out orders to the likes of El Ghazi, Archer and others to keep Villa focused out of possession knowing Chelsea could break at any moment.

“Tired a little as the game went on as Hudson-Odoi got some joy out of him but it was a good shift from the Villa captain. Booked and missed a crucial Villa penalty as he cracked the crossbar.”

While Preece was a bit more lenient in his assessment of Young’s performance, the 36-year-old simply didn’t show Smith why he would be a genuinely viable option at full-back to cover for the likes of Matty Cash or Matt Targett at Premier League level.

It was a performance that really let Smith down.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa have another exciting academy starlet in this teenager…

Southampton currently have a significant number of players in their squad that have worked their way through the youth system at the club such as Theo Walcott and James Ward-Prowse, who have a total of 648 Premier League appearances between them.

One other player currently in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad that has made his way through Southampton’s youth academy is centre-back Jack Stephens, who currently has 114 league appearances under his belt.

Looking at him, in particular, the 27-year-old defender made his senior debut for the Saints back in January 2012 in an FA Cup victory over Coventry City before making his Premier League bow for the club in their 3-0 defeat against Everton in January 2017 under former Southampton manager Claude Puel.

Overall, Stephens has made 139 appearances for Southampton across all competitions, chipping in with six goals and five assists along the way after working his way through the club’s youth system after signing from Plymouth Argyle in a deal worth a reported fee of £150k back in 2011.

So far this season, Stephens had played 90 minutes in all of Southampton’s Premier League games before picking up a serious knee injury during their 0-0 draw against Manchester City, ultimately ruling him out for 12 weeks according to Hasenhuttl, which is not only very unfortunate for the player, but for the team as a whole given how prominent he was for them beforehand.

In terms of his market value, in February 2017, shortly after making his Premier League debut for the Saints, Transfermarkt had his value listed as £675k, whereas it now stands at £7.2m, highlighting a significant rise over recent years.

This also shows just how much of a good purchase he was all those years ago for such a low price and how much the club have developed Stephens, who has previously been described as “excellent” by former Saints captain Steven Davis, to become a regular first-team figure for them.

Looking ahead to the future, if Stephens can fully recover from this unfortunate knee injury and get back to playing regularly for the Saints, we see no reason why his market value can’t go on and rise even further than it has done recently.

In other news: Southampton may be set for big blow after Saints news emerges, Ralph surely gutted – opinion

West Ham United are reportedly interested in making a swoop for Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie, as reported by Tuttosport.

Contributing effectively last term for the Old Lady, the American registered nine goal contributions in 46 appearances for his current employers; six goals and three assists [Transfermarkt].

Now, he could be on his way to East London if reports in the Italian media are to be believed.

Tuttosport claim that McKennie is garnering attention from Everton, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham.

Juve are open to replacing the United States international, with Borussia Dortmund man Axel Witsel identified as a more suitable fit for new manager Massimiliano Allegri’s system.

In light of the Hammers’ alleged interest in McKennie, loads of West Ham United supporters took to social media to comment on the latest news.

West Ham United fans react:

Replying to West Ham Central as well as various Hammers news outlets, here is what some fans had to say about the rumours:

“Weston McKennie on a loan to buy would be absolutely incredible business! A 3 of McKennie, Rice & Soucek to choose from would be fantastic”

Credit: @WhufcSloth”JAJAJAJAJAJAJAAJA NO WAY THEY DON’T MENTION TOTTENHAM”Credit: @SaidTalks”100% YESSSS”Credit: @leestirling17″This geezer is unreal, defo won’t happen will cost too much”Credit: @olliebruton”The speed with which I will buy a West Ham McKennie jersey”Credit: @JesseLarch”PLEASE”Credit: @danielluker10In other news, West Ham United fans react as their club rejects the opportunity to sign a striker. Find out more here.

Crystal Palace have been enjoying a great run of form, picking up points in 13 of their last 20 games, putting them in 11th, just outside of the top half of the table.

With Patrick Vieira steering the club in the right direction he now goes into his second transfer window, and there is already an incoming and an outgoing transfer rumoured.

What’s the word?

Journalist, Robin Bairner, has confirmed that Jean-Philippe Mateta will be leaving Crystal Palace this January in a recall to Mainz and then a loan move to Saint Etienne.

Bairner Tweeted:

“Jean-Philippe Mateta is set have his Crystal Palace loan terminated and will instead join Saint-Etienne.”

“Le Progres reports that Mainz (who own him), Palace and Sainté have come to an agreement over the striker.”

According to the report from Le Progres, the £30k-per-week flop is set to commit to a loan deal with the Ligue 1 side imminently, after falling out of favour at Palace.

Replacement ready to sign for Palace

Mateta has only featured in two starting line-ups in the Premier League this season, and has clearly fallen out of favour at the club, so Vieira would likely be relieved to get the centre forward off the books to make way for a much more reliable goal-scorer in Eddie Nketiah.

The £9m-rated Arsenal star who was hailed “electric” by former Leeds United player Tony Dorigo, has been heavily linked with a move to Palace in January, and he seems like he would be the perfect fit for the club when you compare him to the signings Vieira has already made.

The French manager signed two young attacking players in midfielder Conor Gallagher, and forward Odsonne Edouard in the summer, with both enjoying success in the side, and it would make sense for Nketiah to join the pair at Selhurst Park as he fits the same profile, as a promising offensive player.

Despite not being given too many chances to shine in the top-flight, with just three appearances so far this season, the striker has showcased his talents representing Arsenal in the three EFL Cup games he has played in, where he has scored five goals already, helping the Gunners to secure a spot in the semi-final.

The Eagles will be hoping to continue to pick up points in the second half of the season, and adding a prolific goal-scorer could help the side gain more wins to gain a top half finish at the end of the campaign, which would be an incredible achievement for Vieira in his first term.

In other news: Vieira could make first mistake with Aaron Ramsey signing

Celtic-linked goalkeeper David Marshall has dropped a massive transfer claim ahead of the winter market.

What’s the talk?

In recent comments made while speaking to the Go Radio Football Show (via 67hailhail), the 36-year-old shot-stopper, who was heavily linked with a move to Celtic last summer, suggested that he is desperate to secure a move away from Derby County in January.

Indeed, the Scotland international has once again been tipped as a potential target for Ange Postecoglou’s side, with Barry Ferguson stating his belief that Marshall would make an excellent addition to the Bhoys squad this winter.

Speaking about a potential move away from Derby, the ‘keeper said: “I’m desperate to get out in January. Obviously [it’s] difficult with Derby’s situation, with the club going into administration. So it’s a difficult time and sometimes these things are taken out of your hands as a footballer.

“I was disappointed how [a failed move] happened in the summer, [it] never really gave me enough time to get somewhere. Obviously, the knock-on of that is you lose your spot in the Scotland squad.

“So I’m looking at the minute to try and get something sorted for January, but nothing yet. I’m sure the closer it gets there will be a few options there. I’m training with the first team every day. There’s not been an issue that way. I’ve not had any fitness issues, so hopefully early January something will come.”

Celtic must act

With recent reports suggesting that both Vasilis Barkas and Scott Bain are expected to leave Celtic in the January transfer window, it would seem absolutely essential for the club to bring a new player in the position to Parkhead this winter.

And, while it is true that Marshall has not had much of a look in at Derby so far this season, the 36-year-old nevertheless proved last term that he would be a brilliant, as well as cost-effective, signing for Michael Nicholson to get over the line when January comes around.

Indeed, over his 33 Championship appearances last time out, the £225k-rated ‘keeper kept nine clean sheets, in addition to making an average of 2.3 saves per game.

These returns saw the man who Ole Gunnar Soskjaer dubbed an “outstanding” goalkeeper average a SofaScore match rating of 6.79, ranking him Wayne Rooney’s 11th-best performer in the league last season.

As such, should the £8.4k-per-week shot-stopper be able to refind this form after a potential switch to Celtic in January, he would more than be capable of filling the spot as Joe Hart’s number two, and perhaps even push the former England international for his starting spot between the Bhoys sticks.

In other news: Nicholson must seal Ange’s dream Celtic signing with move for “top class” £60k-p/w ace

Everton haven’t had much to shout about throughout their latest Premier League season, having won just eight of the 30 games that they’ve played.

They have only scored 33 goals along the way and conceded 52, with far from ideal tallies for either metric.

Even though there are still some critical games left to play for the Toffees until the season ends and the summer transfer window opens, it seems as though an update has emerged which will have everyone at Finch Farm concerned.

What’s the news?

According to a recent tweet from an Italian journalist, Richarlison’s new agent Frank Trimboli will look to secure a move away from Everton for the Brazilian in the upcoming summer transfer window.

Since arriving at Goodison Park back in 2018 in a deal worth a reported £50m, the Brazilian has gone on to make 145 appearances across all competitions for the Toffees. In that time, the 24-year-old has scored 49 goals and provided 13 assists along the way, showing just how important he is to the team in the final third of the pitch.

Fans will be sweating

With 23 league appearances made in the current campaign, the Brazilian has provided more goal contributions than any other Everton player, with six goals and four assists to his name.

In addition to his incredibly useful goals and assists, Richarlison’s overall performances have earned him a season rating of 6.87/10 from WhoScored, making him the highest-rated player in Frank Lampard’s squad.

To highlight how much of a nuisance the Brazil international is for opponents, no other Everton player has enjoyed as many touches in the attacking penalty area (110) or drawn as many fouls (65) as Richarlison.

Taking all this into account, having the attacker’s agent reportedly looking to move him out of the Merseyside club in the summer will be a massive issue for the Toffees, especially if they end up waving goodbye to him when the transfer window opens.

This could surely have a number of Everton supporters sweating, and given how they will already be worried about whether or not their team will avoid relegation, it will only be another concern for them in this difficult period for the club.

In other news: Everton must launch move for “outstanding” 25-year-old “Wolverine” as insider claim emerges

Now that the dust has settled on another January transfer window, Wolves can focus on getting ready to tackle the remainder of their Premier League campaign as new manager Bruno Lage looks to end his debut season at Molineux with a place in Europe.

In terms of their business throughout the recent winter market, the Midlands club saw some new faces come in and some of their current players move elsewhere.

One particular deal that took place towards the end of the window that had a lot of coverage was on Adama Traore’s loan move back to his previous club Barcelona after being at Wolves since the summer of 2018.

Now that Lage will have to make do without the Spaniard for the remainder of the season, this could pave the way for one of their incoming January signings to make a name for himself at the club and potentially fix Lage’s issue of not having Traore in his squad.

On the chalkboard

Wolves secured the £3m signing of 21-year-old winger Chiquinho from Estoril earlier in the window before Traore left.

In 84 combined appearances for Estoril’s youth and senior sides, the attacker managed to rack up a total of 20 goals and ten assists, highlighting the attacking talent he has.

Now that Traore has departed and the fact that Pedro Neto is still out injured, the next few weeks could be a pivotal time for Chiquinho, especially if Lage gives him a chance to shine in the Premier League and he’s able to make the most out of any opportunities he gets.

However, given how young he is and the fact that he has only just joined the Midlands club, moving away from Portugal for the first time in his career, it could take him longer to settle in, not just at Wolves but in England and the Premier League. Fortunately, though, he does have time on his side.

Additionally, he’s a hugely exciting player, something that Estoril U23s head coach Vasco Botelho da Costa explained: “As a player, he’s the same as his personality. You don’t see players like him a lot these days. That magic, that improvisation, he has a lot of it.”

Having been an unused substitute in Wolves’ 2-1 win over Brentford last month, this is a sign that Lage sees the £900k-rated winger as a squad option for the first team, which will be positive for the player, especially if he can get some minutes under his belt before the end of the season and then gets his first pre-season with the club underway.

In other news: “I’d expect..”: Spiers drops behind-the-scenes Wolves claim, fans surely delighted – opinion