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Tottenham Hotspur have ‘extra’ cash to spend in January thanks to their last 16 Champions League qualification, says ‘expert’ John Wenham.

The Lowdown: Spurs sail through…

Over what was a dramatic Champions League group campaign for Antonio Conte’s side, Spurs sealed top spot of Group D on the very last matchday to the delight of Lilywhites supporters.

The north Londoners sealed a dramatic comeback against Ligue 1 side Marseille after going 1-0 down in France, courtesy of a Chancel Mbemba goal on the stroke of half time.

Tottenham’s resolve was tested but Clement Lenglet’s strike on 54 minutes handed the Premier League side some second-half momentum to grab a winner. Five minutes into added time, mainstay midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg nicked Tottenham’s victory-clinching goal with the last kick of the game – sending Spurs’ dugout into raptures.

The 2-1 victory at Marseille will gift sporting director Fabio Paratici a financial windfall as the Italian draws up his transfer plans ahead of January.

The Latest: Paratici set for ‘£8.2 million’ Spurs boost…

The exact fee, as shared by Spurs ‘expert’ Wenham, could potentially provide a small assist for Spurs and Paratici in the transfer market.

Conte arguably needs some mid-winter additions given their wave of injury problems and an ever-congested fixture schedule, largely due to the World Cup.

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“The game against Marseille was so important,” explained Wenham to Football Insider.

“The fact we have two league games before the World Cup in Liverpool and Leeds at home, to me, Marseille was the bigger game.

“Not only does it give us something to build upon and look forward to in the second half of this season, let’s call it a restart.

“It also gives us impetus in the January transfer window when we go to make new signings. We can offer Champions League football to whoever we want to sign.

“We will have an extra £8.2million, I understand that is the figure we earned for qualifying. So we have put ourselves in a really good position to grow as a club.“

The Verdict: Crucial game for Spurs…

Tottenham’s heroics have indeed put the club in a ‘really good position’, not least for the extra pulling power, £8.2m financial windfall and the potential to earn even more revenue in the knockout rounds.

Conte will also want to stay in charge of a Champions League regular, so their win in Europe could potentially be looked back on as one of their most important of the calendar year.

West Brom have moved onto the formal interview stage with former Huddersfield Town manager Carlos Corberan.

The Lowdown: Another defeat

Caretaker Richard Beale failed to back up an away win at Reading on the weekend after falling to a 2-0 home defeat to Bristol City on Tuesday evening.

The Baggies could fall back into the relegation zone this evening, should results go against them, with Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett believing the midweek loss will accelerate the club’s plans to bring in Steve Bruce’s successor.

The Latest: Baggies interview

Reliable reporter Gregg Evans shared a West Brom update for The Athletic on Wednesday morning.

He said that Corberan is the first manager to be interviewed for the job, with Ron Gourlay and Ian Pearce now working their way through a number of applicants with more interviews likely to be conducted in the coming days.

The Verdict: Top target?

Corberan, hailed as ‘very talented’ by Marcelo Bielsa, could well be the club’s top target considering he is the first to be interviewed over the role.

He impressed with Huddersfield last season, leading them to the Championship playoff final against Nottingham Forest. The Spaniard, who averages two points per game against West Brom, resigned in the summer and spent just 11 games in charge of Olympiacos.

The 39-year-old likes to play an attacking 4-3-3 system and is currently a free agent, so it will be interesting to see if the Baggies go back to him after speaking with other shortlisted candidates.

Glasgow Rangers have endured a slow start to their 2022/23 campaign, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side currently trailing the Premiership leaders by two points and sitting bottom of their Champions League group after three comprehensive defeats.

Indeed, the Light Blues offered extremely little going forwards in their latest European outing – a 2-0 defeat at Liverpool – with the visitors taking a total of just six shots at goal, with only two of these attempts being on target.

It was a similar story in the 3-0 loss to Napoli – taking ten shots, three of which were on target – and the 4-0 hammering by Ajax – taking four shots, with one hitting the target – making it easy to see why Gers are yet to find the back of the net in the competition.

Furthermore, with the Ibrox outfit also having scored seven fewer goals than Celtic domestically so far this season, it is evident that Van Bronckhorst is somewhat lacking in the attacking department, something Ross Wilson could have addressed this summer.

Indeed, the sporting director was linked with a host of forwards over the course of the summer transfer window, with one of the 38-year-old’s targets reported to have been the 20-year-old Leeds United right-winger, Crysencio Summerville.

However, while a deal for the Netherlands U21 international failed to materialise, Wilson’s decision not to strongly pursue a move for the attacker already looks to have been something of a mistake, as the youngster is very much a player on the rise.

The £2.7m-rated talent is becoming an increasingly prominent part of Jesse Marsch’s first-team squad at Elland Road, having made three Premier League appearances for the Whites in 2022/23 – already half of the number he made throughout 2021/22.

Although, it was undoubtedly the flying Dutchman’s performance in a recent Premier League 2 meeting with Southampton that made many sit up and take notice of the £8.4k-per-week winger, as the 20-year-old was a continuous threat for the Whites.

Indeed, the starlet dubbed a “speed merchant” was arguably the standout performer in the 6-2 win, ending the fixture with a hat-trick of assists, winning a penalty after being brought down during a driving run into the Southampton box and finding the back of the net with an extremely composed finish of his own.

This performance saw Leeds Live’s William Jackson award Summerville a nine in his player ratings following the match, while the journalist also stated of the 20-year-old display:

“Clearly too good for this level. He bullied Southampton’s left-back all night with his ball control and skill. Scored Leeds’ second of the game with a smart finish before winning the penalty that led to Bamford’s second of the game.”

As such, with Rangers desperately in need of added creativity and threat in the final third, Summerville very much looks as if he could well have been the perfect addition to Van Bronckhorst’s attacking arsenal, as well as a huge talent for the future – leading us to believe that Wilson had something of a shocker when failing to move for the starlet this summer.

Glasgow Rangers enjoyed a busy summer of business in the transfer window as Ross Wilson looked to improve a number of positions in the team.

The Light Blues sporting director backed Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the market by signing John Souttar, Ridvan Yilmaz, Malik Tillman, Ben Davies, Tom Lawrence, Antonio Colak, and Rabbi Matondo.

This means that they brought in a player in every position other than right-back and goalkeeper, with the latter perhaps coming as a surprise after Allan McGregor’s performances last season.

The veteran shot-stopper showed signs of his age catching up with him in the Premiership in 2021/22 as he made four errors directly leading to shots or goals and only saved 66% of the shots against him, compared to one error and a save percentage of 85% in the title-winning campaign the year prior to that.

His form dropped massively between those two seasons and, after turning 40 in January, supporters could be forgiven for thinking that he should have been replaced in the window.

Instead, he was handed a new contract and made the number two behind Jon McLaughlin, who was already at Ibrox, for the start of this season.

The former Burton man failed to step up to the mark in the first six outings in the Scottish top-flight this term as he averaged a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.50 and made one error directly leading to a goal whilst conceding from 50% of the shots against him.

With question marks over both McLaughlin and McGregor, it is time for van Bronckhorst to finally unleash 24-year-old Robby McCrorie between the sticks.

He was recently called up to the Scottish national squad and manager Steve Clarke claimed that he is “improving” as a player, despite being in a difficult situation as the third choice at Ibrox.

Journalist Josh Bunting tipped him to be Scotland’s future number one and described him as a “big talent” last year, which he showed signs of when he was called into action against Celtic with Steven Gerrard at the helm at the start of last season.

The 6 foot 4 colossus kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win in the Old Firm, saving all three of the shots against him and earning a SofaScore rating of 7.4. He also kept a shutout in a Europa League qualifier, which means that he has not conceded a single goal in any of his first-team appearances for the club.

Therefore, the £3.7k-per-week gem must finally be given an extended run in the team to show that he has what it takes to be a consistent number one for the club.

McGregor and McLaughlin are struggling between the sticks and it could be time for a natural changing of the guard in goal for the Light Blues, with the Scottish youngster taking over the gloves this season.

Following the departure of Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal this summer, much was made about who Manchester City would bring in as the Ukrainian’s replacement.

Despite being a natural right-back, Joao Cancelo has been Pep Guardiola’s first-choice at left-back for some time now, with Zinchenko filling in there on occasion last term.

Guardiola needed a back-up to the Portugal international on the left-hand side and the Citizens were linked with a host of names such as Borna Sosa, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Raphael Guerreiro after they missed out on Marc Cucurella to Chelsea.

Eventually, Guardiola brought in Sergio Gomez from Anderlecht, but reports have suggested that he could leave on loan once the manager has had time to assess the 21-year-old.

However, should Gomez leave on loan and Cancelo get injured, Guardiola would still have one more trick up his sleeve in the form of Josh Wilson-Esbrand.

The 19-year-old academy graduate was a regular in pre-season for City and has been name-checked by Guardiola a number of times when discussing defensive options.

After an impressive performance in the 1-0 win against Bayern Munich in pre-season, the 51-year-old was full of praise for the teenage defender, saying: “He’s aggressive to win the duels and with the ball is so clever, he has a good 1 v 1 defender and doesn’t feel the pressure with the ball.

“Today was an example of how our back four were pressed but didn’t lose much of the ball. He did a really good game. If we can control his injuries, we will have a full back for many years.”

The fact that Wilson-Esbrand is comfortable in possession and ‘clever’ with the ball immediately suggests that he could perform a similar role to the attack-minded Cancelo in the future.

The England under-20 international managed just 14 appearances in Premier League 2 last season due to the aforementioned injury issues but has clearly impressed, starting on the bench in each of City’s games so far this season.

His only senior appearance came in the 6-1 win against Wycombe Wanderers in the Carabao Cup last term, so he will be hoping for more appearances in cup competitions in the current campaign.

While we are unlikely to see Wilson-Esbrand usurp Cancelo at left-back anytime soon, the Englishman clearly has a bright future and is highly rated at the Etihad Stadium, so fans may be hoping to see a lot more of him this season.

Considering that Kyle Walker will turn 33 during the campaign, we could see Cancelo revert to right-back once the ex-Spurs defender leaves City, which could open the door for Wilson-Esbrand to take over from the former Juventus ace on the left-hand side of defence.

With a “hectic” end to the window in store for Scottish champions Celtic, according to manager Ange Postecoglou, the likelihood is that the Parkhead outfit will be adding to the seven major deals that they have already completed this summer.

One of those potential signings could be Maccabi Haifa midfielder Mohammad Abu Fani, with the 24-year-old having been heavily linked with a move to Glasgow throughout the last few months.

While previous reports had suggested that a move would be unlikely, a more recent update from the Daily Record suggested that the Israel international is a ‘live option’ for the Premiership champions, having been watched on ‘several occasions’ by club scouts.

The 14-cap menace has scored 11 goals and provided seven assists in 104 games for his current club so far in all competitions, while also offering a robust and physical presence from his midfield berth, despite his diminutive frame.

The 2021/22 campaign saw the midfield maestro – who still has four years remaining on his existing deal – particularly impress, as he laid on 12 goal contributions in 44 appearances across all fronts.

Not just a creative asset, Abu Fani also clearly has something of a tenacious side after racking up 14 yellow cards in all competitions last term, while his streetwise nature was also illustrated by a viral clip which showed him time-wasting late on in a clash against Maccabi Tel Aviv in January.

Such a figure could well become a real cult hero for the Hoops, while his prospective addition could also pave the way for the departure of a player who has failed to make his mark for the club so far in James McCarthy.

The 31-year-old, who signed on a free transfer from Crystal Palace last summer, is yet to feature this season having been resigned to a bit-part role under Postecoglou in his Celtic career so far. He made just 22 appearances last term, with only six of those coming from the start.

The Republic of Ireland international has endured a “frustrating” time of it so far in Scotland, in the words of former Hoops striker Frank McAvennie, and it’s no real surprise that there are already reports that he could be on his way out this summer.

Unlike Abu Fani, the £14k-per-week midfielder has shown little of an attacking threat in recent times, having recorded just one assist and failed to score in all competitions last term, while his average match rating of 6.72 saw him rank 26th in the Celtic squad for the 2021/22 season, as per SofaScore.

Such a dismal record is an indicator of just what a nightmare spell it has been for the 42-cap dud so far at Parkhead, and it seems that he might need to move on to try and revive his career, even with three years left on his contract.

That is the view of journalist Pete O’Rourke – speaking in an interview with Football FanCast – as he stated: “Obviously Celtic did a lot of business late on in the last summer window and McCarthy was among those signings. It hasn’t worked out for either party, really.

“McCarthy hasn’t played enough games and maybe Ange Postecoglou hasn’t seen the best of him. So maybe if McCarthy is looking to play regular first-team football he might have to leave Celtic.”

Postecoglou could well hasten that potential exit by bringing in the younger Abu Fani in the coming weeks, with it hard to see the former Everton man having much of a role to play for the Hoops going forward.

Burnley match-winner Ian Maatsen left journalist Alex James wowed after the Clarets’ Championship campaign got off to a triumphant start.

The Lowdown: Winning start for Burnley

Vincent Kompany started life as Burnley boss with a trip to Huddersfield Town on Friday evening, which looked like a tricky opening fixture on paper.

The Clarets impressed throughout the evening, however, and their eventual 1-0 win was more than deserved – the hosts didn’t muster a single shot on target.

It was Maatsen who scored the only goal of the game, finishing well with his weaker right foot, and that’s the way the scoreline stayed until the final whistle.

The Latest: Maatsen praised after victory

Taking to Twitter during the game, Lancs Live’s James delivered a simple four-word verdict assessing the left-back’s performance:

“Maatsen superb for me.”

Maatsen received an 8.2 rating from Sofascore – the highest of any Burnley player – and he made two tackles and clearances apiece, while also racking up 94 touches, the fourth-most on the pitch.

The Verdict: Promising early signs

This was a promising evening from a Burnley perspective, and while early wins can sometimes be deceiving, the manner in which they dominated Huddersfield on their own turf bodes well.

Maatsen wasn’t the only player who stood out, with almost everyone doing their bit for the cause and James also calling Josh Cullen ‘excellent’, and Kompany seems to have his players heading in the right direction.

Consistency is the key in the Championship and Burnley must now back up this win with more positive performances in the coming weeks, but it is an ideal way to start the season.

Liverpool have been heavily linked with a move for Jude Bellingham this summer and now a new update has emerged on the club’s stance on signing the player.

What’s the latest?

According to the Liverpool ECHO, the Merseyside giants would not be put off by a significant fee in order to sign the Borussia Dortmund star who has a reported £103m price tag.

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As per the report, it is confirmed that Bellingham is a player Liverpool are interested in signing and plans to sign a midfielder now appear to be put on hold until next summer when the club will have the opportunity to sign the youngster.

Imagine him & Thiago

There is no doubt that Liverpool are now in a position to add depth and inject youth into their midfield over the next few transfer windows, and it was reported that the club would be making the centre of the pitch their next key area to strengthen.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner are all Liverpool midfielders who will be out of contract in June 2023, so there is definitely now an opportunity for FSG to start identifying new recruits to come in and make the impact needed for the Merseyside giants to continue to compete for trophies.

Bellingham is one of the hottest young prospects in world football, the recently turned 19-year-old has been making impressive strides in his development with the German side, and last season proved yet again that he could be a valuable asset to Jurgen Klopp.

The Englishman who was hailed “extraordinary” by Marco Rose scored three goals, delivered eight assists and created 10 big chances, making 1.3 key passes, 1.6 tackles and 1.3 interceptions on average per game, as well as winning the majority of his duels (51%) and successfully completing 57% of his dribble attempts.

Bellingham’s output last season over 32 Bundesliga appearances proves that he really is a complete midfielder that can offer both defensive and attacking attributes that would have a huge positive impact and influence in the Liverpool team of the future.

Klopp could even develop a fantastic partnership at Anfield between Bellingham and midfielder Thiago Alcantara, combining the England star’s raw talent and work ethic with Thiago’s experience and precision in the centre of the pitch could be a nightmare for opponents.

With that being said, if FSG can convince the young midfielder to make the move to Merseyside next summer and offer Dortmund the asking price they desire, it would be a major coup for Liverpool and could set up their midfield for success in years to come.

AND in other news: James Pearce reveals big Liverpool transfer exit update that’ll delight supporters

Aston Villa have already been rather busy in terms of their business in this summer’s transfer window.

In addition to securing permanent deals for former loanees Philippe Coutinho and Robin Olsen, the Midlands club have also brought in new faces in Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara.

Another name with whom the Villans have been linked this summer, and who Steven Gerrard knows very well, is Rangers centre-forward Alfredo Morelos.

After scoring 46 goals and delivering 13 assists in 62 appearances for HJK Helsinki, the 26-year-old joined the Scottish club five years ago.

Since then, the Colombian has found the net 113 times in 224 appearances for the Ibrox outfit. With 294 club career appearances to his name, the striker has 159 goals and 64 assists on his CV.

Taking this into account, it’s safe to say that Morelos – who has been described as being “brutally ruthless” on the pitch by HJK chief executive Aki Riihilahti – knows how to be a dangerous and consistent goalscorer.

Another club with whom Gerrard has a significant connection is fellow Premier League outfit Liverpool, who have been just as busy as Villa in terms of their summer transfer business.

In fact, the Reds recently caught the headlines by splashing out a club-record £85m to sign Darwin Nunez from Benfica. The fact that they chose to shell out such a significant sum of money to bring him to Anfield just goes to show how highly they rate the 23-year-old.

Having scored 67 goals in 138 club appearances, it’s easy to see why the Uruguayan has been included on a list of similar players to Morelos by Football Transfers.

With all this in mind, the prospect of linking up with Morelos once more and getting what could be his own version of Nunez at Villa Park would surely be an exciting prospect for Gerrard.

If the Villa manager can use his connections at Ibrox to help thrash out a deal which would see the Colombian move to England in the coming weeks, this could be a smart bit of business from the Midlands club.

Given his record of being able to score on a regular basis, the 26-year-old would certainly be a useful asset for Villa in front of goal.

In other news: Aston Villa now in the mix to sign “elegant” £106k-p/w machine, imagine him & Carlos

Alasdair Gold has dropped an update on the future of Tottenham Hotspur central midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, the football.london journalist revealed that, despite recent reports suggesting that Antonio Conte could look to cash in on the central midfielder following Fabio Paratici’s £25m signing of Brighton & Hove Albion’s Yves Bissouma, Spurs currently have no plans to move the 26-year-old in the summer transfer window.

In his tweet, Gold said: “Spurs have no plans to sell Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this summer.”

Supporters will love Gold’s update

Considering just how impressive Hojbjerg has proven himself to be for Spurs ever since his £15m move to north London back in the summer of 2020, Gold’s claim that Conte and Paratici currently have no plans to sell the Denmark international is sure to be news the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful will love.

Indeed, over his 36 Premier League appearances in 2021/22, the £60m-rated talent was imperious in the heart of Conte’s side, scoring two goals, providing two assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.9 shots, making 0.6 key passes and completing 1.2 dribbles per game.

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The £100k-per-week midfielder also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 2.2 tackles, 1.4 clearances, completing 63.1 passes – at a success rate of 90% – and winning 5.1 duels per fixture.

These returns saw the great Dane average a rather extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.19, ranking him as Tottenham’s fifth-best performer in the league.

As such, while it is true that the middle of the park is an area of the pitch in which Conte’s side is now incredibly well-stocked, the news that Hojbjerg will not be moving onto pastures new this summer is undoubtedly fantastic news for everyone involved with the club, as the 26-year-old more than proved his worth to Tottenham over the course of the last Premier League campaign.

AND in other news: Bid made: Paratici now working on fourth Spurs summer signing, Conte will be buzzing