[ad_pod ]Crystal Palace failed to hold onto their half-time lead on Wednesday night as Southampton came back via James Ward-Prowse – despite the Eagles’ numerous opportunities in front of goal, their finishing was once again lacklustre and they paid the price.Wilfried Zaha was a menace throughout and fired his side in front in the first half, but lost his head late on and was sent off for sarcastically applauding the referee after being booked – a gesture for which he will be reprimanded by the FA.Despite the big striker having scored against Spurs in the FA Cup last weekend, Roy Hodgson elected not to start Connor Wickham and instead gave the nod to Jordan Ayew – the Ghanaian worked hard but never looked too threatening, as has been the theme throughout the season.The Saints equalised with 13 minutes of regulation time remaining, at which point Hodgson may have felt it necessary to bring on a fresh pair of legs up front – instead, the former England boss stuck with Ayew until the final whistle and one can’t help but feel that, had Wickham or Christian Benteke been on the field, the Croydon outfit could have secured all three points.Negative substitutions and tactics have been a point of controversy for Palace this season and this surely isn’t the first time the Selhurst Park faithful felt that Hodgson’s game management was poor.The 71-year-old’s post-match comments did nothing but make it worse – here’s how the Palace fans reacted on Twitter…

According to a recent report from Italian media outlet Repubblica, Liverpool have submitted an informal offer for Napoli talisman Lorenzo Insigne.

What’s the word?

Jurgen Klopp made no secret of his reluctance to sign new players in the January window, but it appears the club are already laying the groundwork for the summer just days after the January window reached its conclusion.

The report from Repubblica claims that Liverpool have submitted an informal offer worth €70m (£61.2m) for Insigne, but Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis has refused to give the offer a moments consideration.

Insigne is valued at £67.5 million, as per Transfermarkt, but it seems an offer well in excess of that particular valuation will be needed to convince De Laurentiis to even consider offloading Napoli’s crown jewel.

Insigne’s arrival could make Firmino unstoppable

If Liverpool are ultimately able to strike a stunning deal with Napoli it could have a transformative effect on Roberto Firmino.

Within the current campaign, the Brazil international has not quite managed to discover the scintillating form which saw his reputation catapult into the footballing stratosphere on Merseyside last season.

That can be explained in part by Mo Salah’s move into a new look central role in attack, a move which has forced Firmino to operate slightly deeper.

However, even though Firmino is inclined to drop deep to collect the ball, his best performances arrive when he is deployed at the spearhead of the attack, and Insigne’s arrival could facilitate another change to Liverpool’s set-up.

With Sadio Mane firmly established on the left side of the attack, Klopp would be inclined to deploy Insigne at number ten, pushing Firmino into centre-forward and dragging Salah back out to the right-wing.

The sheer pace and flair which Insigne could provide would be perfect for Firmino, with the former’s desire to burst beyond him and into the space behind the opponents back line lending Firmino an apt opportunity to utilise his vision and outstanding link-up play.

A free-flowing front two comprising of Firmino at the tip of the attack with Insigne operating behind him would be one of the most frightening partnerships in the Premier League, but prising the electric Italian away from Naples will be far from straightforward.

أفادت تقارير صحفية إيطالية، أن خاليدو كوليبالي المدافع السنغالي لفريق نابولي، سيبقى مع البارتينوبي، ولن يرحل خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية الجارية.

كوليبالي ارتبط بشدة بالانتقال إلى مانشستر سيتي، وكانت المفاوضات رسمية بين النادي الإنجليزي ونظيره الإيطالي، ولكن لم يتوصلا لاتفاق.

طالع أيضًا.. جوندوجان: مانشستر سيتي يحتاج 100 نقطة لمنافسة ليفربول على الدوري الإنجليزي!

صحيفة “لا ريبوبليكا” الإيطالية، قالت إن السعر المطلوب لشراء كوليبالي، لا يزال مرتفعًا جدًا بالنسبة لـ مانشستر سيتي، وكذلك باريس سان جيرمان.

الصحيفة الإنجليزية، أكدت بأن السعر المطلوب، يبلغ 80 مليون يورو، ولن يتنازل نابولي برئاسة دي لورينتيس، عن مطالبه.

وبحسب ما ورد من التقارير الإيطالية، أن مانشستر سيتي كان قد وافق على الشروط الشخصية للمدافع، لكن النادي الإيطالي رفض تمامًا تخفيض السعر المطلوب.

وشددت على أن كوليبالي سيبقى تحت تصرف المدرب جينارو جاتوزو، ولن يرحل خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية.

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A long-winded transfer window fuelled by rumours linking Che Adams with a move away from Birmingham City, including this one from The Mirror, eventually ended in the best possible manner for the playoff-chasing side.

What’s the word?

Adams, unsurprisingly, has attracted his fair share of media attention in recent months. Players who score goals for fun in the Championship naturally draw interest from goal-shy top-flight clubs and Adams has proven no exception to the rule this season.

The 22-year-old has been in electric scoring form and his performances have been a key reason behind Garry Monk’s success, with Birmingham threatening to break into the top-six of late.

Adams has been the talk of the town in recent weeks and the club’s former player, Paul Devlin, has weighed in with his own assessment of the rising star, per Birmingham Mail.

“But in the long-term, he is 22, the kid is only going to get better.

“You would have to think he will get at least 20-25 goals this season if he carries on the form he is in.

“And then who knows? It might be impossible for the club to keep him at the end of the season if they get a ridiculous bid for him.

“Anyone that scores 20-plus goals in the Championship there is going to be a lot of interest in, especially with him being a home-grown young kid as well.”

While Devlin is understandably reluctant to plaster the writing on the wall for Birmingham fans, Adams’ form suggests he could leave for a bigger challenge in the summer window.

As Devlin has alluded to, Adams has everything a top-flight club could ask for in a potential centre-forward acquisition: he is home-grown, has plenty of scope for development and a clinical record in front of goal.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

Could Birmingham benefit from Adams’ sale?

If we are to assume that a continuation in Adams’ form will ultimately result in his sale, then the powers that be at Birmingham should already be working diligently to form a contingency plan.

Losing him would undoubtedly represent a short-term blow but, if the club prepare for his departure effectively, it could actually provide them with the financial resources to clinch promotion.

Lukas Jutkiewicz may not be on the same level as his teammate, but he possesses a decent level of firepower so Birmingham would not be completely devoid of quality in the centre-forward position following Adams’ departure.

If Monk could use the money from the sale to sign another decent goalscorer and a handful of strong players to bolster his strength in depth, he would be well placed to lead his side to promotion.

With Adams in sensational form the Blues boss may yet be able to help Birmingham sneak into the play-offs this season, but the sale of the club’s talisman could facilitate the squad revamp which is needed to challenge for automatic promotion in the 2019/20 campaign.

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Following their fantastic 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on Wednesday night, Tottenham now look to have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals as the Bundesliga leaders would need four goals without reply to progress in the second leg.

Given the injury problems faced by boss Mauricio Pochettino, his work in getting his side this far in Europe’s greatest club competition should not go unnoticed, as it is a tremendous feat.

The last Spurs side to make it as far as the quarter-finals was managed by Harry Redknapp, spearheaded by the likes of Peter Crouch and Aaron Lennon amongst a whole host of other names whose fortunes in football have changed significantly from that illustrious tie against Real Madrid back in 2011.

So, eight years on from that 5-0 aggregate loss to Los Blancos, where are some of Spurs’ Champions League heroes from that season now?

Peter Crouch

Now at 38 years of age, a then 30-year-old Crouch scored four goals and recorded three assists in Spurs’ Champions League run back in 2011, including a famous winner against AC Milan.

Nowadays, however, the former Liverpool man finds himself at Burnley having signed for the Clarets from Stoke in a player-plus-cash deal for Sam Vokes – he will be sure to get a good reception when Spurs take on Sean Dyche’s men later in the season.

Aaron Lennon

Another one of Tottenham’s stars from that Champions League run also finds himself at Burnley.

Lennon’s mesmeric run and assist for Crouch’s late goal at the San Siro, which handed Spurs a 1-0 first leg lead over AC Milan, will live long in the memory of Tottenham fans, even if Turf Moor is turning into somewhat of a retirement home for Spurs legends.

Jermaine Jenas 

The man who was out-jumped by Emmanuel Adebayor for Real Madrid’s opener in the second leg has done little on the pitch since Spurs crashed out at the quarter-final stage in 2011.

Jenas only managed three more seasons before retiring as a result of injury problems, and has since appeared for ITV, BBC and BT Sport as a pundit.

Heurelho Gomes

The 37-year-old will always be remembered for dropping some absolute clangers in a Spurs shirt, most notably in the aforementioned quarter-final against Real Madrid in what was a huge high profile error.

Gomes, a former Brazilian international, is currently at Watford, where he is the Hornets’ number two stopper behind the in-form Ben Foster.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto

The charismatic left-back, who used to wear different boots on either foot, is currently without a club after leaving French club Metz at the end of last season, where he became embroiled in an ongoing spat with Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe.

Strangely, the former Cameroon international, who headbutted teammate Benjamin Moukandjo at the 2014 World Cup, has even said that he has been contacted by the porn industry as an option for work after his football career ends.

It’s safe to say that he is truly one of a kind.

Manchester United’s season has picked up massively since the introduction of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and they are firmly on course to make the top four come the end of the campaign.

The Red Devils will be hoping to maintain their current form in the short-term, while long-term there are issues to sort including the future of Solskjaer, as well as if the club are going to act in the summer and make some big money signings to mount a real title push next term.

The January window passed for United without any movement, and although they are playing well, there are still a few gaps in the squad which, when you look at the other clubs in contention around the league, could be improved upon.

We here at the Tavern think that United do indeed need to make some splashes in the market if they are to get to the point of challenging for the title once more, and signing a couple of big name stars might be just the way for the Old Trafford club to lift themselves back to their former status.

With that in mind, we’ve looked at TWO world class players who United should be looking to make a move for this summer…

Paulo Dybala

The Juventus forward is still regarded as one of the top talents in world football, but with Cristiano Ronaldo on the books in Turin, Dybala might fancy being the main man elsewhere.

While United do have attacking talent in abundance, both Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez have struggled this term, meaning a space could well open up in the summer for a new forward at Old Trafford.

Dybala fits the bill perfectly then, with his talent, match winning ability, and potential to get even better all likely to appeal to the men in charge at United.

Philippe Coutinho

Would it really be too awkward for the Red Devils to bring in former Liverpool man Coutinho? We think not.

The Brazilian has struggled to find his best form for the Catalan club since making a big money move, but he would slot in nicely at Old Trafford one would assume.

Capable of slotting in a number 10 role or in one of the wide forward areas, Coutinho would bring skill, goals, and assists to a team who have fine attacking players, but sometimes maybe lack someone like Coutinho who can unlock a defence out of nothing.

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Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to react after it was revealed that Georginio Wijnaldum was absent for the trip to the London Stadium to face West Ham, after suffering a knee injury.

The Dutch international has been one of the Reds’ best players so far this season, making 22 appearances in the league and providing a calm, composed approach to Jurgen Klopp’s midfield.

Wijnaldum has been immense at controlling the midfield, and nipping in to intercept the ball and frustrate opponents – he is pivotal to Klopp’s gegenpressing system and will be a huge miss for the Reds if he is out for any extended period of time.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

Liverpool fans were especially nervy towards the game against the Hammers, as Manuel Pellegrini’s side have a number of players who could hurt their weakened defence still missing Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Wijnaldum’s injury didn’t do anything to alleviate those worries, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Dele Alli’s arrival at Tottenham is easily identifiable as the gold standard for Premier League transfers. Signed for just £5.97 million (as per Transfer Markt) the Englishman has since turned into one of Europe’s best midfielders, and his present market value of £90 million (as per Transfer Markt) proves that his growth has been exponential.

He’s now one of Tottenham’s best and most important players, and Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino deserve a lot of credit for bringing him in. However, he doesn’t even break the surface when considering all of the fantastic signings that have been made at Tottenham over the years.

Indeed, there’s a case for many of their other recent captures being the most important in recent memory, and that’s certainly the case for Son Heung-min. Signed for £27 million (as per Transfer Markt), the South Korean international hasn’t always been effective, but over the last two years, he’s emerged as one of Tottenham’s biggest and best players.

He proved that once again over the weekend, and not for the first time. A week removed from a Man of the Match performance against Watford, he followed up with another winning goal against Newcastle. He was, once again, one of the best players on the pitch, and his impact speaks for itself. With Harry Kane currently out injured, Son has needed to step up to the plate, and he’s done that and more.

In a wider context, Son has been instrumental in Tottenham’s recent success. He’s bagged 36 league goals over the last three seasons, alongside 17 assists – and he’s on course for his best season yet, despite missing part of it due to his international commitments. Given that Dele Alli has bagged just 5 goals this season, there’s no denying who is more important at present.

Sure, Tottenham wouldn’t be able to sell Son for 20 or 30 times what they bought him for like they likely could with Dele Alli, but he’s emerged as the man for the big moment and the ultimate game-changer for Spurs; and you can’t put a price on that. Tottenham have done some incredible business over the years; and Son’s arrival is up there with the best of it.

Thoughts?

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Tottenham have been handed a huge boost in the title race, as Harry Kane is expected to return to the pitch well ahead of schedule.

What’s the word?

Tottenham fans probably feared their shot at the title had evaporated when Kane went down with an ankle injury after the defeat to Manchester United, only for Dele Alli to join him in the treatment room seven days later.

While Kane was initially feared to be looking at a March return though, Mauricio Pochettino has said that the talisman could be ready to play Burnley on February 23.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he would have snubbed Tottenham for Arsenal if they’d come knocking in 2005…

“He’s doing well, fantastic. You know him well, we need to stop everyday because he wants to be ahead of his recovery. He’s very optimistic and his determination to play as soon as possible is unbelievable,” the boss said on Friday, per Football.London (13:34).

“He’s doing well, he’s nearly ready to play but we need to be realistic too and in between all the areas to take the best decision.

“I think he’s so close to come back. Not for Sunday or Wednesday, but we will see after.”

Look out Arsenal and Chelsea

Well, the Lilywhites will definitely be without Kane for the clash with Leicester this weekend, and it seems unlikely that he will be ready for next week’s huge Champions League encounter against Borussia Dortmund.

However, Spurs will face Chelsea and Arsenal within seven days of the clash against Burnley, so with the title a more realistic ambition than winning the Champions League, those three contests are surely the priority.

In fact, given Kane’s history of persistent injury problems, Pochettino would be wise to rest him further against Burnley, as unleashing him against their major London rivals could have much larger effects on the title race.

The Premier League clubs had polarizing journies in the UEFA Champions League, with Tottenham Hotspur proving their quality with a 3-0 thrashing of Borussia Dortmund. While Mauricio Pochettino’s tactics worked to perfection, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s ones didn’t work against a superior Paris Saint-Germain side, who beat them 2-0 at Old Trafford.

In this “tussle” with Solskjaer for the Manchester United job – if indeed there is one (as per Forbes) – then Pochettino absolutely leapt ahead. Even without big stars Harry Kane and Dele Alli, Spurs produced another clinic at Wembley thanks to their positive approach and the Argentine’s brilliant tactics.

After being outdone in the first half, Pochettino read his opponents thoroughly to deal the lethal blows in the second half. Spurs came out fighting, scoring the opener through Son Heung-Min a minute into the half thanks to high pressing on the left-flank.

With Dortmund in panic mode, they later added two more through Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente, capitalizing on BVB’s ineptitude dealing with crosses. Playing a rare 3-5-2 formation, Pochettino produced an adjustable system, allowing freedom for his wing-backs to go forward and capitalize on Achraf Hakimi and Abdou Diallo’s inexperience. The Argentine realized Dortmund’s defensive frailties and kept pushing his side forward.

Tottenham’s high-pressing mixed with sleek, incisive movement created problems for Dortmund. In the end, Pochettino’s ability to tap into the maximum potential of certain players proved fruitful as unexpected heroes in Vertonghen, Serge Aurier and Llorente emerged to give them a cushioned lead.

Pochettino did everything that Solsjkaer couldn’t manage to do against PSG in the second half. If Ed Woodward was watching, he’d definitely be impressed.