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Tottenham Hotspur have been told how much it’ll cost to land one of their mooted summer transfer targets…

What’s the word?

It’s thought that Spurs are battling Premier League rivals Wolves for the signature of Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Palhinha but they will have to stump up €60m (£51m), which is thought to be his release clause.

That’s according to Portuguese newspaper Record (July 12th, page six), who first linked the North London outfit to the 26-year-old last month after making his major tournament debut at Euro 2020.

O Jogo (via Express & Star) suggested Nuno Santo was interested in the six-cap Portugal international last year, so this latest link should come as no surprise.

Nuno’s next Neves?

Perhaps most interestingly, Wolves’ reignited interest boils down to the future of Ruben Neves, who has been linked to the Lilywhites’ North London rivals Arsenal in recent months.

According to journalist Pedro Sepulveda, who was speaking on Fabrizio Romano’s Twitch stream this week, Palhinha will only be targeted by Wolves if his fellow countryman leaves and as Football FanCast have previously outlined, he’d be a perfect like-for-like successor.

Therefore, it isn’t unfair to suggest that if Spurs win the race, then Nuno may well get his own Neves on the hallowed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium turf next season.

Both players are quarterback-like presences in the engine room.

For instance, the Wolves star managed an 84.4% passing accuracy, whilst also recording an average of 2.4 tackles per game in the Premier League.

By comparison, Palhinha managed just shy of that in terms of passing, recording 83.4% and better tackling returns, with an average of 3.3 tackles per outing. That increased to 4.5 at Euro 2020, too, via WhoScored.

Nuno may already have a defensive beast in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg but during his time at Wolves, he wasn’t afraid to double up on such an influence as Leander Dendoncker, who can also play at centre-back, was often deployed alongside Neves.

He could look to repeat this anchorman tandem by signing Palhinha, only further bolstering those potential comparisons.

Sporting boss Ruben Amorim claimed the 26-year-old powerhouse is a “special player” to MaisFutebol (via Manchester News Today), whilst Portuguese football expert Marino Peixoto added further weight to that argument, suggesting that he has had a “simply phenomenal season” for Lisbon last term.

A Transfermarkt valuation of £16.2m may be some way off his whopping £51m release clause but if he’s a player that Nuno wants, then it’ll be on Fabio Paratici and Daniel Levy to make it happen.

In Palhinha, the 47-year-old could well discover his new Neves.

AND in other news, Paratici could finally replace Dembele with Spurs swoop for “complete” £26m “machine”…

Everton arguably have one of the best left-backs in the Premier League, especially in the final third with Lucas Digne’s crossing second to none, however links suggesting that they could move for Marcelo this summer is a concern for former defender, Michael Ball.

Digne is hugely effective for the Toffees in the final third with his seven assists last season proving to be the most in the entire squad, and five of those came from crosses into the box – something that he has become well renowned for since joining from Barcelona.

Despite Digne being so important for Everton and more specifically, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the Toffees are being linked with Marcelo who could see his game time severely limited next season with Ferland Mendy performing very well for Real Madrid last season at left-back.

Marcelo is still a very good left-back despite being in the twilight years of his career now but it would not be a signing that seems necessary unless Digne was to leave this summer, something that concerns Ball, who spoke exclusively to Football FanCast:

“The Marcelo links surprised me and also concerns me. Obviously, he’s 33 and was a fantastic full-back in his prime and I could probably see that happening if Ancelotti was still the manager.

“It concerns me because does it mean that Digne could be on his way out and ready to move on? So that concerns me about Marcelo because why bring him in if you’ve got Digne and two young left-backs in the squad who are ready to pounce if Digne’s not available.”

There is no doubting that Marcelo is a top-class full-back and his trophy cabinet speaks for itself really but if Everton are to get anywhere near the top seven and qualify for Europe, a 33-year old left-back is not the way to go about it.

With fresh reports suggesting that Rafa Benitez is no longer going to be in the dugout for Everton next season, their search for a new manager continues and thus, new signings will be put on the back burner.

Les Reed told Football FanCast that Daniel Levy would not be scared to appoint Scott Parker as the next Tottenham manager.

The Spurs chairman is reportedly a fan of the Fulham boss, and has been watching his progress at Craven Cottage over recent months.

Parker might have two relegations on his CV but has produced some impressive work in west London despite his failure to guide the Cottagers to Premier League safety this season.

At one stage, his Fulham side looked good to avoid the drop, but two points from their previous 10 matches saw them made an immediate return to the Championship.

Those two points came at Old Trafford and the Emirates, whilst Fulham’s last league victory came at Anfield, proof that Parker can rub it with the best.

High-profile names like Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte appear ahead of Parker in the pecking order to replace Jose Mourinho, but Reed exclusively told Football FanCast that Fulham’s struggle this season won’t put off Levy:

“I could see Daniel putting faith in Scott Parker.

“Daniel is brave, so I could see him not worrying about Fulham, but looking at how did Fulham play? They got off to a bad start, what changes did he make? He changed the entire back four. I think he would look at that and say ‘he’s not afraid of making decisions’.

“All of those things will be really positive because he was a popular player, popular coach and did really well, which is why Daniel was comfortable with Ryan Mason holding the reins.”

Birmingham City remain locked in talks in a bid to keep Alen Halilovic at St. Andrew’s this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Birmingham Live, who claim that Lee Bowyer’s side are working to tie the 24-year-old attacking midfielder down to a new deal at the club, with his current contract due to expire at the end of the month.

It had previously been reported that the Croatia international is attracting interest from clubs in Turkey, Italy, Spain and England this summer, although Birmingham Live claim that there has actually been little speculation surrounding Halilovic in recent weeks.

Fans will be buzzing

Despite having featured sparingly for Birmingham since joining the club on a free transfer back in November, something that was not helped by the midfielder picking up a couple of injuries over the course of the season, Halilovic’s trickery and creativity appears to have already made him something of a fan favourite at St. Andrew’s.

Over his 17 Championship appearances last season, only nine of which came as starts, the £720k-rated midfielder scored one goal – a spectacular 25-yard winner against Queens Park Rangers – as well as taking an average of 0.9 shots and making 0.6 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the 24-year-old earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.65, ranking him as Bowyer’s 19th-best performer in the second tier last term, however, this rating was undoubtedly impacted by the former AC Milan man’s lack of regular game time.

As such, with a full pre-season behind him, improving both his fitness and his tactical awareness of Bowyer’s system, we would not bet against the man whom Miroslav Bicanic dubbed a “phenomenal” player proving a roaring success at Birmingham next season, if the club are indeed successful with their attempts to tie him down this summer.

Either way, Bowyer’s desire to keep the Croat at the club this summer is sure to leave fans buzzing, as the midfielder’s re-signing would very much appear to be a further step in the right direction under the 44-year-old manager.

In other news: Forget San Jose: Bowyer must sanction BCFC summer swoop for “complete” £38k-p/w beast

Tottenham Hotspur have been told exactly how much it’ll cost to land mooted summer transfer target Mikkel Damsgaard…

What’s the word?

“Did you see that Damsgaard goal? I’ll tell you [his] fair price, today at least 30 million but if he scores again he will reach 40,” claimed Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero to Italian newspaper Il Secolo XIX (via Calciomercato).

Spurs have been linked with the 20-year-old gem regularly over the past few months and, just last week, Club Doria 46 reported that their interest was ‘strong’, although the north Londoners face competition from their Premier League rivals West Ham and Leeds.

Moura upgrade?

If the Denmark international continues to excel at Euro 2020, that asking price could genuinely increase, just as his club’s president says.

Damsgaard has emerged as a potential Danish star of the future in the absence of former Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen. His wonderstrike kickstarted a 4-1 rout over Russia to seal their place in the knockout stages of the competition.

The Sampdoria attacker received the ball from current Spurs midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and, on the half-turn, he shifted the ball onto his stronger right foot before curling a phenomenal strike into the top corner.

As per SofaScore, Damsgaard is among the best-performing attackers in the competition right now. He has recorded six successful dribbles, four shots and two key passes, earning a 7.25 average rating on top of his wonder goal.

Considering it was on such a big stage, it was the first real glimpse of the young 5 foot 11 dynamo living up to his hype. It’s no surprise that his former manager Claudio Ranieri, who won the Premier League at Leicester, dubbed him a “child prodigy” with a “big future.”

These performances at Euro 2020 merely build on his impressive domestic form from the 2020/21 campaign, where he registered two goals and four assists, but those numbers do not do his performances justice as the £11.7m-rated Dane proved to be an exciting and versatile talent, displaying immense levels of work rate.

Damsgaard played in no fewer than seven different positions across 37 appearances in all competitions and averaged 1.2 tackles and 1.5 successful dribbles per game in the Italian top flight.

With the future of current Spurs winger Lucas Moura in doubt, the “magical” and “dynamic” gem could well be a perfect long-term upgrade for whoever takes the dugout in north London next season.

Last season, the long-serving Brazilian managed only 1.1 successful dribbles per game, whilst he isn’t as industrious as Damsgaard either, having averaged a lower 1.1 attempted tackles each league outing, as per WhoScored.

Between September and February, the first-choice winger only delivered one goal in the Premier League, which emphasises his inconsistencies in a Spurs shirt.

Fabio Paratici must look to sign Damsgaard now that his asking price has been revealed and, in the process, the north Londoners can move on from the faltering Moura.

AND in other news, Paratici can seal Spurs’ dream Kane replacement in “complete” £36m-rated goal machine…

Ryan Bertrand will not start at Leicester City or Arsenal, claims former Southampton midfielder Carlton Palmer.

Bertrand, who was earning £70,000 a week at St. Mary’s, is a free agent this summer and continues to be linked with various clubs.

Arsenal and AC Milan are both said to have an interest in the 31-year-old left-back, but Leicester look to be leading the race for his signature. In fact, according to Football Insider, he has already agreed to join the FA Cup winners.

Palmer, however, is not convinced that a move to any of those teams is a good decision in regards to playing time. He told FFC in an exclusive interview:

“He’s leaving, probably his last big contract, to go and get big money, but he’s not guaranteed first-team football. Why would you do that? Why would you do that?

“I don’t see him playing at any of those places. Any of those teams, he’s just cover and very good cover. But surely you’d want to play?”

As a free transfer, Bertrand has the chance to pick up a large signing-on fee. And at Leicester, he will also have the chance to play in Europe and compete for trophies if this season is anything to go by.

But up against Timothy Castagne, Luke Thomas and James Justin once he is fit again, there certainly are no guarantees that he will be starting week in, week out at the King Power.

Former Leeds United defender Danny Mills believes that Helder Costa may have played his last game for Leeds United ahead of a potential summer exit from Elland Road.

The Lowdown: Costa out for the season

The Whites picked up an impressive 3-1 win over Tottenham on Saturday afternoon as their excellent first season back in the Premier League continues. Stuart Dallas, Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo scored the goals for Leeds yesterday to put them ninth place in the table.

Costa was unavailable for the match, having been ruled out for the rest of the season with a back problem.

The Latest: Mills tips Costa to leave

Speaking to Football Insider, Mills gave a bleak outlook on the future of the £32,500-per-week-earning winger, admitting that he might not play again for Leeds:

“When you’re looking at the other players on the scene, the likes of Raphinha if he stays fit, he’s pretty much going to be one of the first names on the team-sheet.

“You’ve got Jack Harrison on the other side who’s been very, very consistent. You’ll be looking to add to the squad. Obviously, when Rodrigo comes back to full fitness, he’ll be there as well.

“My question would be, where does Helder Costa fit into that? And where does he play in the current system that Leeds have?

“I’m trying to work out who he is better than at the moment with a fully-fit squad. Off the back of that, if you bring in better players over the summer that pushes him further down the pecking order. He may not play again for Leeds.”

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The Verdict: Time to move on

In truth, it may benefit all parties for Costa to move on to pastures new this summer, considering he doesn’t appear to be a key part of Marcelo Bielsa’s plans. He has only managed 13 league starts out of a possible 35 this season, and when everyone is fit, it is hard to envisage that changing.

If anything, he could feature even less should a new signing arrive to provide more competition out wide, such as Leeds-linked winger Noa Lang from Club Brugge.

Costa’s current contract doesn’t expire until 2024, so Leeds should be able to receive a healthy fee for him in the summer, which could then be spent on reinforcements who may have a greater impact.

In other news, some Leeds fans have been heaping praise on one player after Saturday’s 3-1 win over Spurs. Read more here.

After securing an impressive win against Spurs last weekend, Leeds United return to Premier League action when they take on Burnley on Saturday afternoon.

Goals from Stuart Dallas, Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo were enough to seal a 3-1 win against the north Londoners and Marcelo Bielsa will be hoping to make it back-to-back wins when his side make the journey to Turf Moor.

With the season winding down, the manager may feel that these last couple of games present him with the perfect opportunity to take a look at some of the club’s best young talent.

While the Leeds boss will be keen to see some of his returning first team stalwarts back in the starting line-up, there may be a chance for one or two academy boys to make their mark.

With that in mind, here is a look at how Leeds might line up when they make the trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley.

In goal, Illan Meslier will once again keep his place, and while club captain Liam Cooper could be back from injury and suspension respectively, Bielsa may feel that the likes of Pascal Struijk and Diego Llorente deserve to keep their places.

With Gjanni Alioski’s long-term future at Elland Road not yet resolved, and all indications pointing to him leaving the club in the summer, Bielsa may feel that now is the time to look ahead.

Niall Huggins was a part of the successful under-23 side which clinched the Premier League 2 Division 2 title, and the 20-year-old left-back will be hoping to make his full Premier League debut against Burnley – he made a cameo appearance off the bench against Arsenal earlier this year.

Elsewhere, Kalvin Phillips, Rodrigo and Raphinha all came off the bench last week to continue their progress from injury, and they should all now be ready to make a start – that could see both Mateusz Klich and Tyler Roberts dropped to the bench.

Bielsa also confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Joe Gelhardt is out injured, so any hopes of him making an appearance in the first team in the Premier League this season are pretty much over.

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With the young striker ruled out, Patrick Bamford will once again lead the line, hoping to pick up where he left off last week after his goal against Spurs.

Predicted XI: Meslier; Ayling, Llorente, Struijk, Huggins; Phillips, Raphinha, Dallas, Rodrigo, Harrison; Bamford.

Meanwhile, Leeds source drops exciting update on club’s transfer plans…

West Ham United star Declan Rice and 2020/2021 loanee Jesse Lingard have been included in England’s 33-man provisional squad for UEFA Euro 2020 – with many Hammers fans erupting as this ‘amazing news’ was confirmed this week.

Both men were arguable standouts for West Ham over a campaign which saw them qualify for the 2021/2022 Europa League.

Indeed, David Moyes’ men smashed expectations by securing sixth spot just one season after finishing a lowly 16th in 2019/2020.

Both Rice and Lingard were crucial cogs in that achievement, with the former starting 32 top flight matches and averaging the most interceptions per 90 out of any Irons player with more than 15 appearances (WhoScored).

Meanwhile, Lingard signed on loan from parent club Manchester United in January and racked up an incredible nine goals and four assists in just 16 starts for West Ham (WhoScored).

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As a result, both men have been rewarded with a shot of making Gareth Southgate’s final 26-man squad for the Euros which will be announced on 1 June.

West Ham fans, flocking to this update, had their say on the ‘amazing news’ – find all of their best verdicts from a social media down below.

West Ham fans praise Rice and Lingard provisional squad inclusion

“That is amazing news! Congratulations Declan and Jesse a well deserved honour to play for your country yet again”

Credit: @ZaynafamilyMary

“No brainer”

Credit: @Richard59824563

“IRONSSSS”

Credit: @lozza3man

“Great to see Rice & Lingard in the provisional England squad”

Credit: @supersonic_mark

“Fair play to both of the boys. Fully deserved”

Credit: @MarshyBoy26

“Lingard through David Moyes showing faith in him makes the Euros, lets hope he returns the favour and shows faith in West Ham for the next chapter in his career, could be a very interesting match and maybe keep Rice on board.”

Credit: @WHUFCpubtalk

“Rice and JLingz to carry us to the final, inject it”

Credit: @T_Roberts99

“The boys”

Credit: @TomFrase10

In other news: BBC pundit thrilled by this ‘brilliant news’ for West Ham, find out more here.

Former Tottenham Hotspur star Graham Roberts has told Football FanCast that Jose Mourinho has to stop chopping and changing his defence and begin adding some consistency to his selections.

The club have really struggled this season and are currently seventh in the Premier League table.

The loss to Manchester United at the weekend has left the club six points behind fourth-placed West Ham United and clinging on to any hope of qualifying for the Champions League by their fingertips.

Against United, Eric Dier and Joe Rodon played at centre-back; versus Newcastle United, it was Rodon and Davinson Sanchez, as it was against Aston Villa, while against Arsenal, Mourinho picked Toby Alderweireld to partner Sanchez.

He has also rotated between Matt Doherty, Serge Aurier, and Japhet Tanganga at right-back, and Ben Davies and Sergio Reguilon at left-back, and Roberts believes that such uncertainty is leaving Spurs without a proper defensive understanding.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “The bottom line of it is that we have to get some consistency. We know the team gets changed every week. And you can’t have an understanding in a team, the goalkeeper doesn’t know who’s in front of him most weeks because it changes every week.

“So how’s he supposed to get an understanding with them? I think that’s been the let-down this year.

“We haven’t had a settled side that we could put out and play every week.”

Indeed, there are just two players that have played every minute of every Premier League game this season: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.