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Chelsea and Todd Boehly by extension could be forced to sell a "clever" star in January, even if Mauricio Pochettino "may be keen" for him to stay.

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The west Londoners spent £397 million on the signings of Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Robert Sanchez, Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Djordje Petrovic, Angelo and Deivid Washington in the summer transfer window, but it hasn't exactly been a wonderful start to the new Premier League season.

Pochettino's men have dropped points against Liverpool, West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and, most recently Aston Villa – despite creating a host of chances against Unai Emery's side last weekend. The Blues slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge, with the Chelsea boss giving a damning assesment of his squad who need to "grow up".

“We need to grow up like a team, not only in an individual way,” Chelsea’s head coach said.

“I think players like Nico who are so young and feeling the Premier League, they need time. In this type of game, we are competing and want to win and football is about winning. But also players, when they are young, need to learn, and experience and make mistakes. That’s why we feel disappointed as there are too many situations like this.”

Next up, Chelsea take on Fulham in a west London derby clash at Craven Cottage on Monday, and supporters will be hoping they can turn their dismal form around sooner rather than later.

What's the latest Chelsea transfer news?

On the field, things aren't going to plan at the moment, but off the field, there could be some interesting developments. Indeed, Pochettino's side are reportedly one of the teams plotting a January move for Brentford star Ivan Toney, while certain squad members could face the axe.

Left-back Marc Cucurella is being linked with a Stamford Bridge exit, and despite his good form under Pochettino, another player who could depart is young Dutch ace Ian Maatsen in the same position. The 21-year-old has been introduced on four separate occasions by Pochettino this season, and the coach is actually a big admirer of him.

"I am so happy with him," said Pochettino in a recent press conference. "He is a player that can play in different positions. He has quality, he understands the game, and he is such a clever player. So far, he is in my plan, yes. I am so pleased with him, as I’ve said, because of his attitude, commitment and his understanding of the game."

However, according to journalist Matt Law of The Telegraph, Chelsea could actually be forced to listen to offers for Maatsen in January if he doesn't sign a contract extension – coming after they had agreed a fee with Burnley in the summer window. Given Cucurella could well depart the club, Pochettino "may be keen" for Maatsen to remain where is given the lack of cover in that position.

Maatsen could also be a crucial player in the next two games, as Malo Gusto, Reece James and Ben Chilwell are all out right now.

Southampton return to action in the Championship this afternoon as they host Leeds United at St. Mary's in the televised early kick-off.

The Saints come into this match off the back of four straight league defeats under Russell Martin and they are now in desperate need of a positive result to change the mood.

They were beaten 2-1 by Middlesbrough, despite taking the lead through Adam Armstrong, in their last match and now have to face Daniel Farke's Whites, who are unbeaten in their last six Championship outings.

What's the latest Southampton team news?

Martin has confirmed that Scotland international Ross Stewart will not be available to make his debut but is out on the training pitch and doing shooting drills ahead of his return.

The head coach did not reveal any other new injury concerns during his pre-match press conference but he could look to make some changes to his side in order to return to winning ways today.

Will Samuel Edozie start against Leeds?

Southampton's manager must now unleash Samuel Edozie from the start against the Yorkshire-based outfit as he could cause them problems alongside Che Adams in attack.

The 20-year-old wizard came off the bench against Middlesbrough last weekend and caught the eye with a Sofascore rating of 7.3 as he created one chance for his teammates.

He has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.04 across eight Championship matches so far this season and has contributed with two goals and zero 'big chances' created.

The former Manchester City man has been able to drive the team up the pitch with his ability to take the ball past opposition players, with 1.8 successful dribbles per clash.

Ryan Fraser, who started against Middlesbrough on the left flank, has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.7 across five league games for Southampton and is yet to contribute with a goal or a 'big chance' created.

The Scotland international has also only completed 0.4 dribbles per match and has not proven himself to offer more than Edozie, as an attacking threat or as a ball carrier to push the team forward in counter-attacking situations.

How many goals has Che Adams scored this season?

Martin must now unleash the 5 foot 10 hotshot ahead of Fraser to start alongside Scottish marksman Adams, who has scored three goals in seven Championship clashes this term.

The former Birmingham number nine has struck three times from just four league starts and has been able to showcase his ability to tee up his fellow attackers with three 'big chances' created.

His ability to provide assists, of which he has two this season, along with his goalscoring threat makes the 27-year-old ace the perfect foil for the 20-year-old magician to play with.

Adams could provide the ex-Manchester City prodigy with the chances he needs to add to his tally of two goals whilst he also has the finishing ability to potentially get on the end of any passes and crosses that the winger could produce.

Therefore, Edozie, who was once hailed as "exciting" by Martin, and the Scotland international could cause Leeds problems at the top end of the pitch this afternoon and should both start in attack alongside Adam Armstrong.

Mary Earps has grown accustomed to collecting major awards, with the Manchester United and England star revealing which mean the most to her.

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• European champion is also a World Cup finalist
• Won BBC Sports Personality of the Year and an MBE
• Back-to-back FIFA Best prizes for Lionesses star

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Over the course of the last 12 months, the European Championship winner has gone back-to-back in The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper department, picked up Golden Gloves in the WSL and Women’s World Cup, been named BBC Sports Personality of the Year and collected an MBE for her services to sport.

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  WHAT EARPS SAID

  It has been quite the year for Earps, with the 31-year-old goalkeeper telling United’s : “I feel like they’re [the awards] all special in different ways. I think the last year has been insane in terms of the awards I’ve won, I could have never even imagined winning like a tenth of them. It’s just been ridiculous and I’m so grateful for all of them in different ways. I think winning Goalkeeper of the Year back-to-back was really special, being the first goalkeeper to do that. I think Sports Personality of the Year was really special as well. Those two are the ones that really stand out, but it’s crazy really because this time last year, the FIFA Best Goalkeeper of the Year, that was the first individual accolade that I ever won and then I could have never have imagined the 12 months after that. And then to pick it up again this year was just crazy really, so I’m incredibly grateful and I just want to keep pushing on.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Earps is determined to ensure that she remains on the trophy trail in 2024, adding on her ambition: “I’m always looking at what I want to achieve next, always looking at how I can improve, how I can develop. I guess people probably look at these achievements and probably think: ‘She must be all right now, she must just think it’s job done.’ And it’s really the opposite. When you get to the top of the mountain, it’s like you get this taste for something and nothing else really compares to it, and you just want to keep going and achieve even more. That’s kind of where I’m at. I feel like I’m just fighting to stay at the top and when you win these awards, I think then there’s people chasing you and trying to hunt you down, but I’m just concentrated on how I can push to the next level, how I can improve myself even more as a goalkeeper, how I can add even more value to the team and how we can achieve team goals, titles, trophies, cups, everything – I want the lot.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR EARPS?

  There has been talk of Earps making a move away from Manchester, but she remains tied to United for now – as they remain in the hunt for FA Cup glory – and is also a key part of the England squad that is preparing to open the defence of their continental crown when Euro 2025 qualification gets underway in April.

How will Celtic react to suffering a rare defeat?

On Saturday, the Hoops were beaten 2-1 by Hibernian at Easter Road, with Daizen Maeda’s late equaliser controversially disallowed, because VAR adjudged that the ball had gone out of play; images are certainly inconclusive.

Nevertheless, no damage was done because, for just the fifth time in 15 years, Rangers and Celtic were both beaten on the same Premiership weekend, with St Mirren 2-0 winners later in the day on Saturday.

Brendan Rodgers’ side remain 13 points clear at the top, ahead of Aberdeen’s visit to Parkhead on Tuesday.

The main reasons behind that defeat? Well, VAR were perhaps to blame but left-back Greg Taylor, who was subbed at half-time didn’t cover himself in glory and the midfield was too lightweight with record signing Arne Engels slammed for a “passive” display by Glasgow World’s Ben Banks.

How they could have done with someone like Scott Brown or Victor Wanyama in the middle…

Victor Wanyama's Celtic career

Wanyama arrived at Celtic from Belgian club Beerschot for a reported fee of £900,000, and would leave two years later as a cult hero.

The Kenyan made 91 appearances in hoops, winning two Premiership titles and the Scottish Cup, earning wide-spread acclaim for his performances, with Ewan Murray of the Guardian praising his ‘string of high-level displays’ in the Champions League.

The most high-profile and famous of these came when Celtic beat Barcelona 2-1 at Parkhead in November 2012; Wanyama rising highest to head home the opener, while Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian notes that, up against Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Lionel Messi, Wanyama was ‘the best player on the pitch’.

This saw the Celts sell the midfielder for £12.5m to Southampton in 2013, representing an enormous profit, before he then joined Tottenham for £11m in 2016.

During four years at Spurs, Wanyama made 97 appearances for the club, described by Harvey Byrne of Football Insider as ‘fantastic’, while Charlie Eccleshare of the Athletic believes he enjoyed the best form of his career in a Tottenham shirt, realising the potential Celtic supporters always knew he had.

Now 33-years-old, he’s a free agent, departing Club de Foot Montréal following the conclusion of the most recent MLS season in October having, as Joe Lowery of Total Soccer Show puts it, offered the Canadian club basically nothing, despite being their highest-paid player.

So, while the Kenyan now finds himself in the wilderness, the same can certainly be said of an ex-Celtic midfielder, once touted as the next Wanyama.

What happened to Celtic's forgotten midfielder

Eboue Kouassi joined the Hoops from Russian Premier League side Krasnodar for £2.8m in January 2017, with Graeme McGarry of the Herald expecting the defensive midfielder to ‘walk into the Celtic first team’, believing he could be the next Victor Wanyama, adding the club are likely to see a huge return in their initial investment.

He wasn’t the only one, with manager Brendan Rodgers claiming the Ivorian reminded him of £108m mega star Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling, stating “within 10 seconds you see his talent.”

Well, suffice to say this did not come to pass, with Kouassi making just 22 appearances in hoops, only 12 of which were starts, totalling less than 1,000 minutes.

This is largely due to the fact he ruptured his ACL during a League Cup semi-final victory over Hearts at Murrayfield in October 2018, never seen in hoops again, and joined Genk, initially on loan, before being sold for £1.3m.

Where Are They Now

Fair to say Kouassi’s career has never recovered from that moment, as this table outlines.

The Ivorian did rediscover some form and fitness at Arouca, albeit he didn’t make a single appearance for them during the first half of this season, so joined second-tier Portuguese side União de Leiria during the January transfer window.

Now worth just £600k, according to Transfermarkt, he made his Liga Portugal 2 debut earlier this month, before being an unused substitute against Marítimo on Saturday.

Now 27, Kouassi should be in the prime of his career, so few could’ve forecast he’d be struggling for minutes in the Portuguese second tier when he first landed in Glasgow to so much hype and expectation.

Celtic hit the jackpot selling 'best since Larsson' who's now in PL exile

Celtic striker once described as the “best since Larsson” now in Premier League exile; thankfully the Hoops cashed in.

By
Ben Gray

Feb 21, 2025

Phil Parkinson has explained why he is ignoring Wrexham’s League Two rivals, with there “no benefit” to be found in constantly checking results.

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• Red Dragons riding high in League Two
• Aiming to secure a top-three finish
• Hollywood co-owners watching on

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Red Dragons are looking to chase down back-to-back promotions in 2024, with Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney continuing to make the funds available that allow a meteoric rise up the EFL ladder to be enjoyed.

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  WHAT PARKINSON SAID

  Wrexham have 10 games left on their League Two schedule, as they sit third in the table, and Parkinson has said of turning a blind eye and deaf ear to events outside of his control: “At this stage of the season, there is absolute no benefit in me knowing the results elsewhere because every game, if we are drawing we are going to try and win it anyway. I always say when you are at the top and you come off the pitch, expect the top teams in the main to have won because that is what happens. The top teams win so we have got to keep winning and do everything in our powers to keep ourselves in there.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Parkinson did take to shuffling his promotion-chasing pack in February, but has settled on a favoured starting XI again in Wrexham’s last two games. He added on the importance of stability and continuity: “We freshened the team up in that run we had in February, which we had to do because it's unrealistic when you have got six games in 21 days to expect the same players to keep going. I didn't feel we needed to do that on Saturday [against Morecambe]; the team was in a good rhythm and the lads who played last week had trained well so everyone deserved the chance to go again.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Wrexham’s next two games will be at SToK Racecourse, against Harrogate and Tranmere, and they continue to boast the best home record in the division – which bodes well as they seek to deliver on the ambition of Reynolds, McElhenney and an excited fan base.

Former Spanish federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales has spoken out after his house was raided by authorities amid corruption allegations.

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• Rubiales' house raided by officials
• Former president under investigation
• Potential corruption involving Saudi Arabia

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  As part of an investigation into claims of corruption and money laundering, police have raided the apartment of the Spanish Football Federation's previous president and arrested at least six persons. Rubiales, who made international headlines for his uninvited kiss after Spain won the Women's World Cup and defiant refusal to stand down, was not one of those detained on Wednesday, Spanish police confirmed to the Associated Press. Rubiales was one of five other persons who were formally placed under investigation, according to a source with knowledge of the operation.

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• WHAT RUBIALES SAID

  Speaking to the media, Rubiales said [via AS]: "I am absolutely surprised by all of this. I have been working here for months, in the Dominican Republic. I've been doing it for more than a month straight. And in fact, my family was going to spend Easter with me."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The raids were connected to an inquiry that was started in 2022 into Rubiales's choice to change the Spanish Super Cup's format and relocate it to Saudi Arabia as part of an agreement that reportedly cost the federation €240 million (£205m/$260) over six years.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR RUBIALES?

  The operation on Wednesday, according to Spanish authorities, was a component of a larger probe into claims of money laundering, inappropriate asset management, and corporate misconduct.

  Rubiales resigned in September, three weeks after he brought Jenni Hermoso towards him and kissed her on the lips during the medal ceremony at the World Cup in Sydney. The top criminal court in Spain is looking into allegations of coercion and sexual abuse against Rubiales. Rubiales has refuted any misconduct.

Former Celtic head coach Ange Postecoglou enjoyed a fantastic time in charge of the Scottish giants over the course of his two years at the helm.

The Australian tactician, who arrived during the summer of 2021, asserted his dominance in Scotland with five domestic trophies, out of a possible six, in two seasons.

He won the domestic treble in the 2022/23 campaign and that led to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur swooping in to secure his services earlier this year.

The 58-year-old manager, however, was not a miracle worker and, therefore, did not go through his entire tenure at Parkhead without any regrettable moments.

One decision that he, or rather the club now that Postecoglou has moved on, look back on and regret is the sale of Giorgos Giakoumakis earlier this year.

The Greek international left the Hoops in January and Celtic moved to sign Hyeon-gyu Oh as his replacement. However, the current evidence suggests that the Scottish giants would have been better off if they had kept hold of the former Bhoys star.

How many goals did Giakoumakis score for Celtic?

After his move from VVV-Venlo in the summer of 2021, the 6 foot 1 marksman went on to score 26 goals in 57 appearances for the club in all competitions.

As you can see in the table above, Celtic swooped to sign the talented finisher after his incredible campaign in Dutch football with his former club.

Postecoglou brought him in to bolster his attacking options and it proved to be a shrewd move by the former Hoops boss as Giakoumakis enjoyed an excellent debut season in Scotland.

The Greek attacker plundered 13 goals and one assist in 11 Scottish Premiership starts, alongside a further ten appearances off the bench, during the 2021/22 campaign.

He finished the term as the club's top goalscorer in the league, with one more strike than Kyogo Furuhashi (12), and could have had more assists if his teammates made the most of his creativity as he managed one assist from four 'big chances' created.

Giakoumakis followed that up with an impressive return of six goals and one assist in four Premiership starts during the first half of the 2022/23 season.

This means that the 28-year-old gem, who scored six goals in six domestic cup outings for the club, produced an eye-catching 19 goals and two assists in 15 league starts for Celtic in 18 months at Parkhead.

He proved himself to be a consistent and reliable performer in front of goal in spite of his lack of starts and minutes on the pitch at Premiership level under Postecoglou.

Kyogo's stunning return of 27 goals in 31 starts last season, however, meant that the manager already had a prolific centre-forward performing week-in-week-out and the club and player ultimately decided to part ways in January of this year.

Celtic reportedly splashed out a fee of £2.5m to sign Oh from Suwon Bluewings and then sold Giakoumakis to Atlanta United for a reported £4.3m a couple of weeks later.

How many goals has Oh scored for Celtic?

The 22-year-old striker has scored seven goals in 28 matches in all competitions for the Scottish giants since his move to the club at the start of the year.

He arrived in Scotland after a return of 14 goals in 53 games for Bluewings and all 14 of those strikes came across 38 K League 1 appearances during the 2022 campaign.

His form for his last club came after his record of five goals and four assists in 33 K League 2 outings on loan to Gimcheon Sangmu in 2021.

Oh had a solid, if unspectacular, first five months at Celtic with six goals and zero assists in 16 Premiership appearances throughout the second half of the 2022/23 season.

The young marksman has followed that up with zero goals and zero assists in seven Scottish top-flight and Champions League games combined so far this season.

His overall return of seven goals in 28 clashes means that Oh has averaged one goal every four matches for Celtic throughout 2023 so far. Whereas, Giakoumakis' 26 goals in 57 appearances means that he averaged one strike every 2.19 outings.

How many goals has Giakoumakis scored for Atlanta?

The Greek international has hit the ground running in America with 15 goals for Atlanta since his £4.3m switch to the MLS earlier this year.

He has produced 15 goals and created three 'big chances' for his teammates in 26 MLS appearances, which has included 20 starts, in 2023, from an xG of 11.47.

These statistics show that Giakoumakis has been lethal in front of goal for the American outfit and has proven himself to be a reliable and consistent performer at the top end of the pitch in yet another league.

The 28-year-old ace scored regularly for VVV-Venlo and Celtic before his move to Atlanta, and is now showcasing his quality week-in-week-out at a third club.

Whereas, Oh is yet to prove himself to be an outstanding scorer who can be relied upon for a significant period of time. If Kyogo picked up an injury or moved on in January, the evidence does not suggest that the South Korea international would be able to step up and be a regular scorer for the Scottish giants.

Whereas, Giakoumakis could be relied on to step in and score goals at an impressive rate for Celtic and provided Kyogo with big competition for his place in the side.

The former Hoops star, who was once hailed as a "phenomenon" by ex-Dutch international Ronald de Boer, knows how to find the back of the net frequently and the Hoops did not replace him with a player of similar quality.

Therefore, Postecoglou and Celtic had a howler with the sale of Giakoumakis, who is an upgrade on Oh based on current and previous form, at the start of this year.

They should have convinced him to stay and utilised him and Kyogo as two superb centre-forward options, or at least brought in a number nine with the requisite quality to replace the Greek titan.

Manchester United are in the process of completing a partial takeover, and a report in the last 48 hours has revealed the exact timeline of when the first stage of the deal is expected to be completed.

Man United takeover news

The Red Devils were initially put up for sale by the Glazers in November 2022, who were reportedly looking to receive £6B in order to sell up, and there has only ever really been two main contenders who were seriously interested in splashing the cash.

The Old Trafford outfit had attracted interest from Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, with the former even having plans to offer David Beckham a role as a club ambassador (TalkSPORT), but a huge recent development put an end to his pursuit.

The Qatari businessman has recently withdrawn from the process following a breakdown in talks despite having had a new bid prepared, meaning that the INEOS chairman and chief executive officer Ratcliffe has automatically jumped into pole position to reach an agreement with the Premier League giants.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's takeover timeframe

According to Football Insider, Ratcliffe will complete part of the takeover before January at Man United.

“Sir Jim Ratcliffe is on course to complete the first stage of his Man United takeover within weeks and before the start of the New Year, sources have told Football Insider.

"There are no concerns from the Premier League about Ratcliffe’s source of funding via INEOS. Once the final details are agreed upon by both parties, the takeover process is set to accelerate quickly and Ratcliffe is expected [to join] United’s board by the end of the year.”

Should Ratcliffe’s proposal be accepted, there’s no doubt that the £1.4B would help the club financially, especially when it comes to Erik ten Hag receiving more backing with regards to being competitive in the transfer market and pursuing his top targets, having missed out on several stars in the past to some of his rivals in the top-flight.

Man United’s prospective new investor also appears to have other plans in the form of wanting to expand the stadium to a capacity of 90,000, a plan which he's already looking to accelerate as quickly as possible (The Mirror), alongside appointing a new sporting director with Paul Mitchell being the primary name mentioned so far.

However, supporters are likely to have been hoping that Jassim was the one to be joining the hierarchy considering that he wanted to complete a full takeover, meaning that fans would have finally seen the back of the Glazers, but it’s now a case of what could have been.

April Fool's Day has long been celebrated by the footballing world, and 2024 has brought around some more gags, some more believable than others.

April Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. No one is quite sure as to how the ritual began in the first place, however, it has become a heavily celebrated day in media, and the footballing world always has excelled at it over the years.

The below information is part of the April Fool's Day custom and should not be taken seriously.

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  Gemany will not allow England captain Harry Kane to play at Euro 2024

  Gareth Southgate's England squad will head to Germany as one of the favourites to win their first major international trophy since 1966. However, Telegraph reporter Lirpa Loof has reported that the Deutscher Fussball-Bund (DFB) are looking to activate an old but still active clause in the rule book to stop the Bayern Munich striker from appearing for the Three Lions. As per the Foreign Nationals (Football) Act, passed by the Bundestag in 1898, players can only represent the country in which they are resident.

  The DFB have made the demand that they would not activate the clause to stop Kane, if England agreed that the ball did not cross the goal-line during the 1966 World Cup final against Germany, a goal which gave them the win. They also demand that a replay be scheduled for the clash to decide the winner of the 1966 World Cup.

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• The FA will finally introduce the Video Assistant Referee to the Championship

  The Second Tier Podcast revealed an announcement by the EFL that there will be an official introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (EFL) in the Championship, the second tier of English football, starting next season. It was soon pointed out by the disappointed fans that the post was nothing more than an April Fool's prank with the first letter in each line of the press release reading 'APRIL FOOLS'.

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  Kylian Mbappe to reject Real Madrid and join Manchester United

  French World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe has decided to join Manchester United according to @centregoals on X. The Frenchman has been heavily linked with a move away from Paris Saint-Germain in the coming summer, with Real Madrid being the number one option for the summer move as a free agent. However, the 25-year-old forward has now decided to swerve Los Blancos yet again and join the Red Devils.

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• Puma and Adidas to collaborate after years of rivalry

  The feud between Puma and Adidas is very well known after the dispute between brothers Rudolf Dassler and Adolf Dassler created the two brands. However, as per FootyHeadlines, the two companies have decided to put aside their differences to create a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration named 'Adidas x Puma 'dasLA' Collab Collection'.

  The collaboration would include a special boot called the 'dasLA Hybrid Predator King' which would combine the two companies' special leather boot collection. They would also form a special fourth kit for AC Milan and Marseille as the two clubs have switched between the two rivals as their shirt sponsor previously.

Tottenham's current crop of first-team talent are more than delivering this season so far, yet to lose in the Premier League with Ange Postecoglou's appointment as manager an inspired decision by the Spurs hierarchy after ex-boss Antonio Conte had killed team morale with a number of critical outbursts.

Key individuals such as Heung-min Son and James Maddison have enabled Tottenham to head into November still unbeaten in the league, with Son nearly matching his entire 2022/23 season total in Spurs' first ten games – scoring eight times already, ten goals managed last campaign for the South Korean overall in the Premier League.

But, with Tottenham's star man now 31 years of age, the winger will only be able to play at the peak of his powers for another few seasons before his football career begins to naturally wind down.

Thankfully for Postecoglou, Spurs have a number of exciting young talents developing in the set-up at north London with some even excelling away from the club at this moment in time.

In particular, Alfie Devine is sticking out on loan with Port Vale in League One. The 19-year-old is scoring at a better rate than Maddison in the lower reaches of the EFL, a surprising fact with the ex-Leicester City man standing out as a key performer in this new-look Spurs team currently.

Maddison's numbers this season

The former Foxes midfielder has been instrumental to the early season success Spurs are experiencing, assisting twice on the opening day versus Brentford to kickstart his Tottenham career.

In total, the five-time England senior International has contributed to eight of Tottenham's 22 top-flight goals so far – having a direct part to play in nearly half of the goals Spurs have managed to score, hitting the back of net himself three times whilst assisting five goals.

Maddison will hope he can keep up this red-hot personal form over the course of the full campaign, as will Devine at Port Vale who has taken to senior football at Vale Park like a duck to water after coming through the youth set-up in north London.

Devine's numbers this season

Netting the same amount of goals as Maddison for the Valiants – in slightly less time than his counterpart – Devine has become a firm fan's favourite for the Stoke-on-Trent-based club despite only just joining in August.

Labelled as an "exquisite" future talent by scout António Mango, Vale fans are loving Devine for the impact he's making now for their side.

Recently, the 19-year-old attacking midfielder scored an acrobatic goal after being found by Valiants defender Nathan Smith in the box to put Vale 1-0 up in League One action versus Cheltenham

This superb strike wasn't enough unfortunately for Vale to pick up a win on the day, losing 2-1 with the Robins mounting a comeback.

Spurs' top teenage talent would net again in his last outing for his new employers, this time scoring the decisive goal to send Port Vale to their first-ever Carabao Cup quarter-final with a slender 1-0 victory over Mansfield Town – hitting a fierce effort into the back of net in foggy conditions.

His overall display against Mansfield was very impressive, the classy 19-year-old successful in all five of his dribbles on the night whilst winning all seven of his attempted ground duels per Sofascore in this highly competitive encounter.

Possessing that golden goalscoring touch at the moment, whilst also demonstrating his commitment to his new team by running himself into the ground, Devine has a very bright future at Tottenham and could be given opportunities in the first-team mix when this current loan switch runs out.