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Newcastle should be relieved that they didn’t end up signing Thiago Silva in the summer.

What was the story?

Following confirmation that he would be leaving PSG at the end of his contract, 90min suggested that a number of Premier League clubs were interested in signing him on a free transfer.

Along with Newcastle, it was claimed the likes of Arsenal, Everton, Wolves and West Ham were all looking into the prospect of making a contract offer for the veteran Brazilian.

Hilariously obscure Premier League players – Can you name them all?

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But, it was fellow Premier League side Chelsea who swooped in at the last moment to sign him before the end of the deadline.

Expensive disaster for Steve Bruce

Despite his abundance of top-level experience with PSG, it just wouldn’t have made sense for Newcastle to snap up Silva on a free.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed that Chelsea signed the centre-back on a two-year deal worth €6m a season, which amounts to £105k-a-week.

For someone who just turned 36 in September, that is a ridiculous sum of money, and there would have been a serious question mark on whether he was looking for his final pay-cheque.

And following his outspoken comments on how he had been treated by PSG, French pundit Daniele Rioli tore into him, saying: “We just realise that like Cavani, Thiago Silva especially had a very misplaced pride: ‘Oh no, the proposal had to be made to me before, now it’s too late, blah blah blah…’

“Yet he had agreed for a long time with Chelsea. He’s like, ‘I’m crying, I’m hurt’. It is always the blow of heightened emotion. Thiago Silva is unbearable!”

And on the pitch, he’s already had some nightmare moments in a Blues shirt, with his horror showing against West Brom in which he played a major part in gifting the Baggies a goal, seeing him come under criticism from former Chelsea man Alan Hudson.

He said: “This is a player expected to bring some solidity to a poor looking back line and what a beginning, horrendous. He’s been outstanding, but here he looked like he had never played the game before.”

Steve Bruce made the right call in not following up on their interest in the defender.

Moussa Djenepo was able to repay Ralph Hasenhuttl’s faith in him on Friday night, with an impressive display in the 2-0 win against Newcastle.

The winger was trusted to start by his manager for the first time in more than a month and he produced the goods against the Toon, picking up an impressive 7.34 rating for his display.

It was arguably a surprise that the Malian was given the nod to start on the left-wing when you consider that natural centre-back Jack Stephens was being played out of position at left-back and perhaps could have done with a more experienced head, such as Nathan Redmond, available to track back and help him out defensively.

However, Djenepo was able to do an excellent job defensively during the game, making seven tackles and winning 10 out of 15 of his ground duels (per SofaScore).

The 22-year-old was signed from Standard Liege in the summer of 2019 and has gone on to make 26 appearances for the Saints since then, contributing three goals and two assists (per Transfermarkt).

When he first joined the club, he was likened to Liverpool winger Sadio Mane and called a “handful” by talkSPORT journalist Tony Cascarino, so if he can go on to have the same sort of impact that the Senegalese international has had at both Southampton and Liverpool, then he will surely prove to have been an excellent signing indeed.

So far this season, the £11.7 million-rated man has averaged a 6.75 rating for his performances in the Premier League, compared to Redmond’s more disappointing 6.48 average, so you could certainly suggest that Djenepo made the most of his opportunity to start on Friday. Really, it would be a surprise to see Redmond come back in for their next game against Wolves following the international break.

Therefore, you could certainly argue that the English winger, who earns £60,000-a-week according to Spotrac, will perhaps be frustrated that Djenepo performed so well against the Toon, as he will surely have to improve on his own performances if he wants to re-establish himself in Hasenhuttl’s starting XI for their upcoming fixtures.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho isn’t known for handing youth a fair opportunity, having passed on the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah during his spell at Stamford Bridge.But the Special One may have tweaked his mentality in recent times as we’ve frequently seen some of Spurs’ current U23 squad feature amongst the substitutes bench in both the Premier League and Europa League.Former Leeds winger Jack Clarke, who has reportedly wowed staff in training, and young left-back Dennis Cirkin, who was kept at the club over the out-on-loan Ryan Sessegnon, are just two names who appear to be very close to making a senior bow in the near future.And Spurs could be onto a winner with their academy teammate, Harvey White, a player that has built up a reputation as being one of the most versatile players at the club after featuring in no fewer than five different roles – left-back, a centreback, and in the no.6, 8 and 10.The north London outfit finally signed a midfielder to fill the void left behind by Mousa Sissoko in the summer – that being Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg, and whilst he’s been as integral to their fortunes as Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, it could actually be the 19-year-old defensive midfielder that proves to be the true long-term heir.We’re not talking anytime soon, but in two, three, maybe four years time. It may be White pulling the strings in the heart of the engine room.

Mourinho told Football.London last season that the youngster would start to be more involved with the senior set-up, he said: “Even in relation to Cirkin and Harvey White, I already told the club that I would like them to be with me next season in the first team squad.”

White is described as a “tidy” player as well as one that is “very comfortable on the ball and confident in his ability with it in tight situations.”

Whilst The Athletic have claimed that the teenager has often been the “heartbeat” of the U23 side as his “bravery and energy” stands out, which very much puts him in the same bracket of Dembele, who was always Mauricio Pochettino’s industrious talisman.

What makes him carry the potential to be even better long-term is his set-piece ability, 15 goals and 14 assists across Spurs’ youth teams tells the story of him being a solid goal threat too.

Hojbjerg, who is noted as a leader, ought to take him under his wing sooner rather than later.

AND in other news,ÂSpurs must point blame at “absolute freak” as defensive issues continue…

Jose Mourinho will face his former side this evening as Chelsea play host to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The Lilywhites will be hoping to chase down their top spot after Liverpool’s draw against Brighton saw them leapfrog into first place.

Although Spurs boast Harry Kane and Son Heung-min who are in red-hot form, they will be without senior defender Toby Alderweireld. The Belgium international picked up a groin injury in their win over Manchester City and is set for several weeks out on the sidelines.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Gary Mabbutt discussed the impact of the 31-year-old being ruled out ahead of Chelsea.

“Obviously it was awful when you saw him go down,” the Spurs icon said. “You could see by the way he looked that it was going to be a groin injury. I’ve had a few of those before – abductor injuries – and they are very sore.”

In Mourinho’s press conference before their 4-0 Europa League win over Ludogorets, the boss clarified that Alderweireld’s injury would involve “between two and four weeks” fo recovery time as opposed to months. Whilst this is a piece of good news, Spurs could struggle to fend off the likes of Tammy Abraham and Timo Werner.

After Davinson Sanchez started against Ludogorets, Mourinho could hand Joe Rodon his first Premier League start alongside Eric Dier. The summer signing has made just two cameo appearances for the north Londoners since he joined, so starting against Frank Lampard’s attack-minded Blues will be a big test for the former Swansea ace.

A win, or even a draw today will see Tottenham return to the top of the Premier League as they continue their blazing form.

In other news, This Spurs transfer target could be perfect Son protege…

Manchester United need a new right-winger with the club failing to properly replace Alexis Sanchez in the summer, and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward can make amends in the January transfer window.

What’s the word?

United signed Amad Diallo and Facundo Pellistri on deadline day, but the teenage duo have yet to feature for the first team, with Pellistri starting to find his feet at Carrington and Diallo remaining with Atalanta.

Reports in recent times revealed the Red Devils remain interested in Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey, who was linked with Old Trafford in the summer.

Premier League rivals Arsenal, Everton and Tottenham are also keen on landing the diminutive 5 ft 8 speed demon.

The 23-year-old has been in prolific form since the start of the season, having supplied seven goals and six assists in 15 appearances, via Transfermarkt.

Get it done, Woodward

Sanchez left the club on a free transfer to join Inter Milan on a three-year deal, but United have struggled heavily on the right flank for a number of years now, as they have been left to pay the price for failing to properly replace Angel di Maria, who was widely considered to be one of the best right-wingers in the world prior to his arrival at Old Trafford.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made it clear that Jadon Sancho was his top priority in the summer, but Borussia Dortmund remained steadfast in their £100m valuation of the England international.

Woodward may be best served to sanction a move for Bailey as not only would he be a cheaper alternative to the 20-year-old, as he is currently valued at €40m (£36m) via the CIES Football Observatory, but the versatile wide option would also be able to provide competition and cover for Marcus Rashford on the left wing as well.

In nine games in the Bundesliga this season, Bailey has scored two goals and supplied three assists, whilst he is averaging 2.3 shots, 1.6 key passes and 1.6 dribbles per game, via WhoScored. By comparison, even Sancho has failed to score a single goal in the top flight this term, as he averages fewer shots per game, as per WhoScored.

Bayer Leverkusen boss Peter Bosz praised the Jamaican beast for his performances last month, saying: “I see that he gets better with every game – physically, but also in terms of his football.”

Whilst Ronald de Boer once labelled him a “very rare” find due to his lighting quick speed and dynamic attributes.

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This kind of physicality could give United the cutting edge on the right wing, as Daniel James has been criticised in recent weeks, whilst Mason Greenwood has only recently recovered from injury and Juan Mata isn’t getting any younger.

AND in other news, Man Utd striker Marcus Rashford was woeful against Man City…

Manchester City return to Premier League action on Boxing Day with a home game against Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United.

City were in fine form in midweek, as they comfortably beat Arsenal 4-1 at the Emirates to secure their spot in the Carabao Cup semi-finals, despite Guardiola making a lot of changes to his side.

However, despite the impressive performance, we feel it’s likely he will pick a side similar to the one that saw off Southampton in City’s last Premier League fixture, although on current form, Guardiola may opt to rest some of his key players against the goal-shy Toon.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects the Spanish manager to line his side up at the Etihad, with eight changes from the starting team that beat Arsenal…

Ederson reclaims his place in goal after Zak Steffen earned a rare start against the Gunners, with the Brazilian no doubt hoping to improve on his excellent clean sheet record from so far this season.

There are three changes in defence, with Benjamin Mendy replacing Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back, as this match should allow the Frenchman to push forward a lot, whilst John Stones should return at centre-back, despite Aymeric Laporte’s goal in midweek.

Kyle Walker replaces Joao Cancelo at right-back, with the Englishman still clearly an important part of Guardiola’s side, with the Spanish manager having heavily praised him earlier in the season, saying:

“It was an incredible signing for Man City. I want to thank the club for bringing him here.”

Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne return in midfield, in place of Fernandinho and Phil Foden, who are perhaps both unfortunate to miss out after impressive performances, although Guardiola will surely want to rotate as much as possible over Christmas to try and avoid injuries.

Finally, in attack, Gabriel Jesus keeps his place after breaking his goal-scoring duck at the Emirates, whilst Ferran Torres and Raheem Sterling replace Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva on the wings.

And, in other news… Man City can save millions on Aguero replacement with prolific academy striker impressing in training 

Joao Cancelo has established himself as a regular under Pep Guardiola so far this season and his performance against Newcastle United on Boxing Day emphasises that he is quickly becoming the Spanish manager’s most important player at Manchester City.

The Portuguese right-back, who was signed from Juventus in the summer of 2019, struggled for regular game time in his first full season with the Citizens, making just 17 appearances in the Premier League, with Kyle Walker regularly keeping him out of the side.

However, this season, the 26-year-old has been a mainstay in the City team, having made 10 appearances in the top-flight, averaging a superb 7.28 WhoScored rating.

This is enough to rank him as City’s second-best performer in the Premier League, behind Kevin De Bruyne.

Guardiola has found a way to accommodate both Cancelo and Walker, with the Portuguese international regularly featuring as a left-back but recently, he has been preferred to the Englishman at right-back.

With the former Tottenham Hotspur man missing the Boxing Day fixture against Newcastle United, Cancelo was trusted to start at right-back and he produced another sensational display which was a testament to just how important he has become under Guardiola.

As per SofaScore, the former Valencia man, who earns £80k per week at City, earned an impressive 7.9 rating for his display, which was the best of any player on the pitch.

He was given license to push a lot further forward throughout the game and produced a creative display that De Bruyne would have been proud of, as he made three key passes and had a role to play in both goals, with his pass to Raheem Sterling leading to Ilkay Gundogan’s opener, whilst his cross found its way, via a defender, to Ferran Torres for City’s second.

The right-back was unfortunate not to pick up more assists, however, as both Sterling and Sergio Aguero squandered excellent chances after pinpoint crosses from the Portuguese international.

Following the game, Guardiola was full of praise for Cancelo, saying:

“He’s a player with incredible quality. His regeneration, physicality is incredible. He could play tomorrow!”

Whilst Walker missed this match after testing positive, it seems unlikely that he will reclaim his starting spot in Guardiola’s side if Cancelo keeps up this current form, unless he switches back to left-back in future matches.

Either way, Saturday’s masterclass really emphasises just how important Cancelo has become in this City side of late, which could well spell trouble for Walker’s long-term future at right-back.

And, in other news… Manchester City leader who completed 116 passes was Guardiola’s true hero vs NUFC

If ever there was a game that typified the kind of roller-coaster of a ride Leeds United’s first season back in the Premier League would be like, then Saturday’s defeat to Tottenham was exactly that.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have shown they can absolutely blow teams away at this level, just like they did against West Brom last time out. But when that clinical edge deserts them, and they make those silly mistakes at the back, they can be on the receiving end of some heavy score-lines too.

It might not have been as bad as the 6-2 drubbing at the hands of Manchester United, but the Whites fell to a 3-0 defeat away at Spurs.

The Whites had a number of decent chances in the opening period of the game, not least when Patrick Bamford just couldn’t rise high enough to nod home from a delicious cross from Raphinha.

And whilst the latter had flashes of brilliance, it simply wasn’t enough for the Whites.

As per Sofascore, he lost possession 23 times over the course of the game, which was by far the highest of any Leeds player on the day. And as well as that, he also struggled to deal physically with Spurs getting up tight to him whenever he got the ball and tried to spin – he lost a whopping 13 of his 16 total duels.

Raphinha’s disappointing day certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying, and on another day, he might have got himself an assist and the story would be different.

But given he arrived in the summer for a decent fee, and with Victor Orta having only just recently praised him as a “complete player”, it just wasn’t good enough for a player of his obvious natural talent.

Bielsa would have been hoping that he could be his game-changer, but instead, he just didn’t quite get up to speed.

With Leeds on a run of three straight defeats in all competitions, investing in the playing squad would surely be a good idea.

What’s the word?

According to The Daily Mail, the Whites are one of a number of teams interested in signing Swansea midfielder Yan Dhanda.

The 22-year-old is attracting various suitors with Marseille, RB Leipzig and Atalanta, as well as Leeds, all chasing his signature.

Clearly, a move will not be easy to pull off for United, who are apparently aiming to land the £5k-per-week earner this month.

The report states that Leeds could make room for Dhanda by consequently selling Tyler Roberts.

Fixing a problem

Roberts was chased by Derby during the summer and in recent months, has been touted with a switch to Bournemouth.

If Leeds do indeed sign Dhanda then it would surely be the final nail in the coffin for Roberts’ stay at Elland Road.

The Welshman has started just two Premier League outings all term and is clearly out of favour with Marcelo Bielsa. Thus, the addition of another creative spark in midfield would surely bring his stint in Yorkshire to a conclusion.

This wouldn’t be a bad thing, though, especially when you consider the qualities Dhanda can bring to Leeds. He hasn’t played a great deal of senior football under Steve Cooper and thus, has managed just two goal involvements this season.

However, pivotal to Dhanda’s play is his ability to break down teams. That was apparent when the Swans took on QPR. The young midfielder carved out a wonderful defence-splitting pass in behind that helped to break down the low block of the Rs.

As we saw against Brighton, Leeds struggle to create chances against teams who sit back. The Whites didn’t have a single big chance to find the net.

That was largely down to a lack of cutting edge. They managed only four key passes in the entire match – two of which came from the boot of Luke Ayling, something that sums up how bad they were in the final third.

Evidently, Bielsa is in need of more creative flair and Dhanda has demonstrated he can provide that for Swansea this term.

Leeds must wave farewell to Roberts and secure this move.

AND in other news, 11 passes all day: Leeds ace endures nightmare display, Ayling was fuming with him…

When Sunderland travel away from the northeast under Lee Johnson, they appear to be a formidable force.

Their 1-0 win over Ipswich means that Lee Johnson is yet to taste defeat on the road since taking over The Mackems.

Although they need to improve at the Stadium of Light, it will bring them enormous confidence that they can go away and defeat fellow promotion hopefuls. Their 4-0 win over Lincoln was eye-catching but their ability to grind out a 1-0 victory at Ipswich should also be applauded.

Of course, they were helped by the red card to Ipswich’s Kayden Jackson who was given his marching orders after an appalling challenge on Bailey Wright, but they were good value for their win despite that.

Charlie Wyke was once again in the right place at the right time as he took his League One tally for the campaign to 12 strikes as he got the only goal of the game. The tall striker has been indomitable in recent weeks and is finding the net with superb regularity.

Though, it was arguably his supplier that was Johnson’s true hero on Tuesday night. Max Power delivered an inch-perfect cross that Wyke was able to get on the end of to prod the ball home.

Since moving to right-back, Power has defined his own surname. He is a force on the flanks and uses tremendous energy to get up and down. He linked well with Aiden O’Brien, particularly for the goal.

The winger beat his man and then put the ball into the path of the rampaging Power who provided the cross.

Coincidentally, that was just one of four balls into the area – two of which were successful. For context, his completion rate was better than anyone in the entire Mackems squad.

He was also keen to get on the ball and the very fact he touched it on 122 occasions goes to show what a threat the right-back was. Power had 66 more touches than the highest haul registered by an Ipswich player and managed 31 more touches than the next best for the Black Cats.

His influence was mighty, winning more aerial duels (3) than anyone besides Bailey Wright and Jordan Willis for Sunderland. Josh Scowen, meanwhile, was the only person to win more ground duels (4) than Power (3).

This was an all-action display but we shouldn’t be surprised. After all, he delivered a similar showing against Port Vale in the Papa John’s Trophy a few weeks ago.

This, however, was a far more important game with promotion aspirations on the line and Power delivered the goods.

AND in other news, Sunderland must swoop for 20 y/o gem who terrorised £44m worth of talent last month…