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In a recent interview, Kevin Phillips stated his belief that on-loan Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Oliver Skipp should leave Spurs once again this summer.

So far this season, Skipp has highly impressed across his 33 Championship appearances on loan at table-toppers Norwich City, with the 20-year-old averaging of one interception, two tackles, 0.9 clearances and 48.7 accurate passes per match, culminating in an average SofaScore match rating of 7.02 – ranking him as Daniel Farke’s 10th-best performer in the second tier.

However, despite the recent revelation that Jose Mourinho would not be allowing the £24,000 per week midfielder to leave the club once again this summer, Phillips told Football Insider that a move back to Carrow Road would hugely benefit both Skipp and Tottenham.

He said: “I would send him back to Norwich next season. Is he going to get into that Tottenham side? You have got players like Harry Winks not playing regular football. Mourinho has lots to choose from in that area.

“If I was Skipp I would not be thinking about Tottenham next season. I would make sure Norwich gain promotion and then push to rejoin them on loan again next season. He will be playing week in, week out at Norwich. At Tottenham, even the experienced players get rotated.

“I am not saying he is not good enough, far from it, but I think for his development another season at Norwich would be best. He should learn his trade while playing week in, week out.”

Transfer Tavern Take

Indeed, as Phillips points out, Mourinho does has a number of options to choose from in the middle of the park, with the likes of Harry Winks, Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Moussa Sissoko and Dele Alli all being candidates for the central midfield position – which could lead to Skipp’s playing time at Spurs being limited.

Also, should Norwich go on to secure promotion to the top flight this season, allowing the 20-year-old to return to the Canaries this summer would, in theory, allow the midfielder to continue developing in familiar surroundings, while also playing at Premier League level.

As such, it would appear as if the logic behind Phillips’ suggestion is sound. However, whether Mourinho holds the same point of view is another question altogether.

In other news: Tottenham have been sent a warning over Harry Kane – find out more here!

Steven Gerrard was handed a huge boost at Rangers over the weekend as Steven Davis agreed a one-year extension to his contract to ensure that he will remain at Ibrox next season.

The former Southampton man has been a hugely important player for Rangers this season as they earned their 55th league title, so it is a big boost that the 36-year-old will be available for Gerrard for the next campaign.

Davis has made 30 appearances in the top-flight, in which he has averaged an impressive 6.99 rating, which emphasises that he remains a vital part of the Rangers midfield despite his age.

After signing the new deal, Gerrard was full of praise for the Northern Ireland international, saying:

“Steven embodies professionalism and continues to set the standards required to be a Rangers player. He has been instrumental this year, playing a key role in our league success.

“He is a role model to his teammates and continues to strive to be a better version of himself. I am very pleased to have a player with Premier League and international experience on board as we look towards next season.”

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The £900k-rated midfielder’s experience could be vital next year as the Gers make their return to the Champions League, whilst they will also obviously be looking to retain the title they have so impressively won this season.

Earlier in the campaign, Gerrard dubbed Davis a “wonderful footballer”, so he clearly holds him in high regard and will be delighted that he opted to extend his stay with Rangers further, considering his deal was set to expire this summer, before the extension.

Davis has been an integral member of Gerrard’s squad since returning for his second spell, originally on loan in 2019, and has now made 302 appearances for the club, in which he has impressively contributed 23 goals and 67 assists.

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The 36-year-old is undoubtedly a leader on and off the pitch for Rangers, so it is a huge boost that they have managed to secure his services for what promises to be an exciting 2021/22 campaign.

And, in other news… Rangers could sign their ideal Defoe heir in £6.3m-rated beast

John Murtough’s days at Manchester United are numbered, with the Red Devils reported to be “definitely” lining up a new football director.

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• Britain's richest man set to acquire Red Devils stake
• Changes being planned behind the scenes
• Premier League giants moving in a new direction

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Sweeping changes are being drawn up at Old Trafford ahead of Sir Jim Ratcliffe – Britain’s richest man and founder of chemicals company Ineos – acquiring a sizeable stake in the club from the unpopular Glazer family ownership group.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  It has already been confirmed that Richard Arnold is to step down from his role as chief executive, with the now claiming that Murtough is “definitely going”. The Red Devils will scour the market for a new figurehead in their football department.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Ratcliffe has held virtual meetings with co-chairman Joel Glazer regarding his plans for the club and personnel changes that need to take place, while Ineos sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford has made additional visits to the club’s Carrington training base.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Murtough will form part of the clear-out, bringing his 10-year association with United to a close. He was named the club’s inaugural football director in March 2021 and oversaw the appointment of Erik ten Hag as manager. While the Red Devils savoured Carabao Cup success last season, progress on the field has not met expectations – with big money being invested across several transfer windows.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says he is under no extra pressure following Sir Jim Ratcliffe's partial takeover of the club.

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• Ratcliffe completes partial United takeover
• Ten Hag says he's not under extra pressure
• He and new co-owner have same "targets"

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  United announced the sale of a 25% stake of the club to Ratcliffe's INEOS group in December but it was only this week where the deal was officially approved. With the 71-year-old stating it is imperative the Red Devils are competing for the top honours, manager Ten Hag says the two have the "same ambition" and does not feel under the cosh any more now than he did before.

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  WHAT ERIK TEN HAG SAID

  The Dutchman told reporters on Friday: "We speak a lot, there are many conversations with him [Ratcliffe], with Dave Brailsford about this club, about this team, about the structures, we are very aligned, it totally fits with ambitions I have, ambitions I had when I came in. I'm 19 months in and I see we are going in the right direction. We have had setbacks in the second season but you see the team coming, the squad developing, work hard on the training pitch, work hard during games, it's important to have players fit but also to construct the squad, we will be strong and we will be even stronger when we add to this squad even more qualities."

  He added: "Nothing. No more pressure because we have the same ambition, we have the same targets."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  While Ratcliffe is saying all the right things if you are a United fan, the Premier League giants are a long way from competing for silverware at present. Although they have won four on the spin in the English top-flight, they still sit five points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa in sixth, and suffered early exits in this season's Carabao Cup and Champions League. Success in the FA Cup and a top four finish are still possible, but United never seem too far away from a "crisis" – and Ten Hag's future may not be that secure if results worsen.

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Now the £1.3 billion ($1.6bn) takeover is finalised, United return to on the field matters on Saturday when they host mid-table Fulham at Old Trafford in the Premier League. To round off the month, they travel to Nottingham Forest in round five of the FA Cup on Wednesday.

Ex-Liverpool and England star Michael Owen has hit back at criticism suggesting he failed to challenge Howard Webb on 'Match Officials: Mic'd Up'.

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• Owen appears alongside Webb on show
• Criticised for failing to challenge PGMOL chief
• Ex-forward called out online "scumbags"

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The ex-professional and current head of PGMOL, the Premier League's governing body for referees, presents the show each week, which looks to review and explain the significant calls from the last weekend's league action. In the most recent episode, Webb and Owen touched on a number of dubious incidents, includingNewcastle's controversial winner at home to Arsenal.

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  Other discussion points included Christian Romero's sending off in Tottenham's 4-1 loss to Chelsea, as well as Scott McTominay's disallowed goal for Manchester United against Fulham. But despite the polarising nature of some of the decisions, some supporters felt Owen's analysis was passive and that the 2001 Ballon d'Or winner failed to push Webb on why such decisions were made.

• WHAT OWEN SAID

  In response to such critics, which were collocated by , Owen took to Twitter and said: "You’re just scumbags. Always have been. Trawl through a load of messages until you find a couple of negative ones and then create an article. Most people thought the show was insightful and educational. Which is our aim."

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Owen is one of four English players to win the esteemed Ballon d'Or award for the best player in Europe, alongside Sir Stanley Matthews (1956), Sir Bobby Charlton (1966) and Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979).

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Gary Mabbutt has admitted that some of Tottenham’s youngsters should look at Harry Kane’s development as an example, while also urging patience over the key decision of when to blood them regularly in the first team.

Kane is now one of Europe’s most prolific strikers, but it hasn’t always been so straightforward for the England captain.

Despite making his debut as a teenager under Harry Redknapp, Kane didn’t become a regular in the first-team until three years later, which came after he spent time out on loan with Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City.

Spurs currently have no fewer than 15 players currently out on loan – with the likes of Oliver Skipp, Harvey White and Ryan Sessegnon, three of Tottenham’s hottest prospects, all currently performing well at their respective clubs.

And Mabbutt said that Spurs must be patient with some of their youngsters – using Kane’s pathway as a prime example. He told FFC:

“I mean, you know, we’ve got some great youngsters coming through. If we talk about our players that we’ve got out out on loan – Oliver Skipp at Norwich, fantastic, having a great season. Troy Parrott.

“And players that we’ve got on loan that maybe didn’t quite initially do it at Spurs, Juan Foyth, we’ve got Cameron Carter-Vickers, Ryan Sessegnon, a number of players that are out on loan, who when you look at what happened to [Harry] Kane, some players don’t develop straight from a 16-year-old/17-year-old straight into a first-team player, there are players that develop a little bit later, take a little but longer to get into that mode.

“I mean, Harry Kane, I remember being at the club and with the coaching staff, and there was a lot of debate going on. ‘Can he make that move from development level up to first-team level?’ He was given outings in the Europa League, and didn’t really work for him, went back out on loan somewhere, comeback again, an outing in the League Cup, didn’t really work for him, back out on loan again, it happened on three or four occasions, until he finally got the opportunity.”

Tottenham really do have reason for optimism here.

Skipp has been one of the standout players in the Championship this term, White recently netted his first senior goal at Portsmouth and prior to his injury, Sessegnon has been gaining valuable experience with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.

But as shown with Kane, patience is going to prove key.

Nigel Adkins took over from Lee Bowyer when the former Blues midfielder took the job in January and former Charlton Athletic manager, Les Reed, admits he is delighted to see Adkins as the club’s manager.

Charlton just missed out on the play-offs this season despite beating champions, Hull City 1-0 on the final day of the season but they were helpless as Oxford United thrashed Burton Albion 4-0 to secure the final spot.

Adkins had been out of management since he decided not to renew his contract at Hull City back in 2019 and when he was announced as Charlton’s new manager, it certainly took former midfielder, Rob Lee, by surprise.

Charlton are slowly but surely getting the right culture and feeling back around the club, something Adkins has helped with, they are the thoughts of Reed, who spoke exclusively to Football FanCast:

“I’m a Charlton fan so I was delighted with that appointment because I’ve worked with Nigel in the past and he’s a perfect fit for the club.

“There is now a good environment and culture at Charlton, which is slowly coming back as it was lost under Roland Duchatelet, for various reasons.”

Before Adkins took charge at The Valley, Bowyer had overseen a promotion via the play-offs and then an immediate relegation the following season back into League One.

Charlton appear to be in more sensible hands with Thomas Sandgaard now owning the club and appearing to be willing to pump some money into the club, not least their women’s team who he recently also bought.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s decision to quit Wolves last week came as a big shock.

He seemed happy and content with the direction in which the Old Gold were heading but, following a dialogue with Jeff Shi, he decided to hand in his resignation.

You can hardly blame him, either. The Portuguese was going to have small resources to work with this summer and they would have to sell their best players in order to spend big.

The Molineux outfit have consulted Jorge Mendes in their bid to find a new coach, with former Benfica manager Bruno Lage the frontrunner. Paulo Fonseca has also been in the frame but, according to Wolves legend Steve Bull, they should consider Julen Lopetegui.

When questioned by Football Transfer Tavern about whether he would be a good appointment, Bull commented: “I think so, I think so. There’ll be names bandied left, right and centre. If [Jose] Mourinho was free, you would have dropped him in the hat as well. But, you know, it’s just a lottery at the moment.”

Lopetegui has had an interesting couple of years in management. He was set to lead Spain at the 2018 World Cup but was relieved of his duties on the eve of the tournament after agreeing to become Real Madrid manager after the competition had finished.

Following a string of bad results, he was sacked in October of that year after just a matter of months at the helm.

He has enjoyed a fabulous renaissance with Sevilla, however, winning the Europa League with the Spanish outfit in 2020.

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Lopetegui developed a system which involved wing-backs and turned the Andalucians into a defensive powerhouse. Considering how poor Wolves were at the back this term, he could prove beneficial in leading them back up the table.

The Old Gold kept just ten clean sheets from their 38 league games this term, letting in goals on a regular basis. In 14 league matches between October and January, they only maintained two shut-outs during a wretched run of form.

Lopetegui could ensure that this drastically improves. His Sevilla team kept an incredible haul of 25 clean sheets in 54 matches this season.

The 54-year-old dubbed Nuno a “great coach” when the two teams met last season in the Europa League and has enjoyed great success with a defensive duo of Jules Kounde and Diego Carlos. Those two defenders arrived during his first summer in charge, proving that Lopetegui knows what he’s looking for in the transfer market.

Basing his philosophy on a possession-based brand of football, that would suit a Wolves team with plenty of ball-playing midfielders and defenders in their team.

Lopetegui endured a turbulent year in 2018 but has since shown great dedication and focus at Sevilla. He should definitely be considered by Jeff Shi and Fosun.

AND in other news, Wolves eye swoop for “outstanding” 25 G/A beast, he could be their new Traore…

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Dedryck Boyata could give Celtic a welcome injury boost by returning to face Hibs on Wednesday night after missing the Scottish champions’ last four matches.

Sunday’s win at St. Johnstone was a costly one for Brendan Rodgers with Mikael Lustig, James Forrest, Ryan Christie and Odsonne Edouard joining the list of the walking wounded.

Lustig’s Achilles injury made it a clean sweep of the first-choice back four with Boyata, Filip Benkovic and Kieran Tierney already sidelined.

Benkovic has been ruled out for at least another month but Chris Davies was able to deliver some good news on the fitness of his defensive partner.

“Boyata trained today having been out for a couple of weeks,” the Celtic assistant said, as quoted by The Evening Times. “We’ll see how he reacts to that and then see what his availability is like for Wednesday night.

“As he’s been injured for a couple of weeks we’ll have to see. He’d a slight groin issue so we’d [need] to get that right.”

Celtic fans will have to wait until 6.30pm to find out if Boyata is fit to make his second appearance since the turn of the year, teaming up with Jozo Simunovic in the centre of defence.

Jack Hendry or Nir Bitton are the other options available for the visit of Hibs, with either likely to be capable of keeping the Edinburgh side at bay.

Next week’s Europa League tie with Valencia is a different matter. The return of Boyata and any of the injured stars is desperately needed if the Hoops are to stand a chance of reaching the last 16 of the competition.

Writing on Twitter, the Sun journalist Charlie Wyett has dropped an enticing transfer claim and has backed reports of West Ham United eyeing Brentford sensation Ivan Toney – going on to say that the 25-year-old would be a ‘perfect signing’ for David Moyes. 

The Lowdown: Toney on GSB’s radar

Links with the red hot striker are nothing new, with reliable sources like ExWHUemployee recently claiming that Toney has been on the West Ham agenda alongside other candidates like Adam Armstrong, Youssef En-Nesyri and Tammy Abraham.

Moyes has been on the hunt for a new forward since the beginning of January and even admitted himself that bids had been submitted (Claret & Hugh).

This is largely due to their over-reliance on mainstay Michail Antonio (The Athletic), who doesn’t exactly have the most clean injury record, with GSB and co looking at alternative options to bolster West Ham’s attacking line.

The Latest: Journalist backs reports with enticing Toney claim

Now, the Sun reporter Wyett has dropped an enticing transfer claim involving Toney and has backed reports of West Ham’s previous interest.

It is said that the Irons have joined Chelsea in a transfer race for the Championship hot shot and are ‘desperate’ to beef up their striking options for the 2021/2022 campaign – one which could see them playing in Europe.

Wyett has also lifted the lid on Toney’s price tag, and it’s safe to say GSB will have to invest considerably in an attempt to sign him this summer.

He believes that Brentford’s asking price will be at around £35 million, but even for that demand, he could arguably be worth it.

“West Ham are looking at Brentford’s Ivan Toney,” he explained on Twitter.

“Even at £35m, I think he would be a perfect signing for them.”

The Verdict: Toney could be worth every penny

Scoring a phenomenal 30 goals in 43 second tier starts for the Bees this season, assisting his teammates 10 times on top of that (WhoScored), it’s safe to say Toney could be worth the investment.

He has been dubbed by members of the media as ‘unplayable’ and ‘can’t be stopped’ for his stellar form over 2020/2021 (David Cartlidge, ESPN), and the fact he is still young and homegrown comes as another incentive to make a move.

Indeed, he could be a brilliant alternative to fellow linked strikers like Abraham and exactly what West Ham need – so we agree with Wyett that Toney could indeed be the ‘perfect signing’ for Moyes.

In other news: ExWHUemployee sheds light on another West Ham injury blow, find out more here.