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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 has teased a transfer drive as Glasgow Rangers target more success in the future – namely playing in the Champions League.

Gerrard teases transfers

Last Sunday, Glasgow Rangers’ status as Premiership champions was confirmed as Celtic could only draw 0-0 with Dundee United. Finishing top of the league means they have a chance of reaching the Champions League group stages, and they may even qualify automatically depending on their European results for the rest of the campaign.

Speaking following Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Slavia Prague in the Europa League, Gerrard revealed the Ibrox outfit will aim to recruit ahead of the new term. He said (via The Daily Record):

“Let’s hope so. It’s obviously been the dream since day one and I’d love nothing better than to try and deliver that for the supporters.

“What’s important is there will be private conversations. Recruitment never stops here, we all understand that football is all about levels and to keep progressing and moving forward you have to keep fine tuning and adding.

“Everyone’s on the same page, top to bottom. Everyone is sharing the dream, everyone wants to continue to add to the success.

“Everyone is hungry to keep improving things here, that is the message that everyone needs to hear.”

Needed

The Gers have been in fantastic form so far this campaign. They have lost just one game in all competitions (Sky Sports) – in the League Cup against St. Mirren – and have been by far the best side north of the border. However, the Champions League is a whole different kettle of fish.

If the Gers want to be successful in that competition, they must bring in new faces during the summer. The rise in quality will be sharp, and therefore improvements must be made. Gerrard and Ross Wilson have a busy summer ahead of them.

In other news, Rangers fans react to this Sky Sports news.

Crystal Palace have reportedly opened talks over a Bosman move for exciting young defender Radu Dragusin.

What’s the word?

According to The Evening Standard, Dragusin could yet be persuaded to leave Juventus with his representatives holding initial talks with Roy Hodgson’s side over a summer move.

The Romanian centre-back, 19, is out of contract at the end of this campaign, having made four appearances across all competitions this season thus far, per Transfermarkt.

Dragusin, who made his debut in Juventus’ 3-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League last year, has caught the eye in recent weeks, with Premier League rivals Newcastle and Tottenham also said to be interested in his services.

Planning for the future?

The highly-rated teenager certainly looks like a big prospect for the future, and he could be an exciting addition for Palace, with The Evening Standard claiming they’ve already started discussions about bringing him to Selhurst Park.

Despite his age, Dragusin cuts a tall and imposing figure, and has cited Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk as a source of inspiration.

With interest in the Romania U19 international starting to heat up, it seems like Palace are starting to plan for the future, amid rampant speculation over Hodgson’s future.

It’s no secret that the Eagles have the oldest squad in the Premier League, with every single centre-back currently above the age of 30.

Whilst admittedly very little is known about the Romanian, his manager Andrea Pirlo has made no secret of his admiration of the young defender, saying:

“He’s physically very strong. He’s very young and must develop on a technical level, but he will have time to do it, training every day with great champions.”

This sort of physical strength would be most welcome in south London and to be able to nab a prospect with so much potential could be a shrewd bit of business by Steve Parish if he can beat other Premier League clubs to this up-and-coming talent.

Given his age, Dragusin could be Palace’s starting centre-back for years to come if Parish can bring him to Selhurst Park and he is able to hit the ground running.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace suffer significant injury setback with Roy Hodgson unsure when Wilfried Zaha will return…

Spurs return to Premier League action on Saturday afternoon as they face a tough trip to the Etihad to face league leaders Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s side have now won 15 games in a row in all competitions and are comfortable at the top of the Premier League, so Spurs will have to be at their best if they want to avoid defeat against the Citizens.

Jose Mourinho’s side triumphed in the reverse fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, winning 2-0 despite the visitors dominating the game, which will give them confidence ahead of Saturday’s late kick-off.

However, the 5-4 defeat against Everton in midweek suggests that changes are likely, as the Portuguese manager is unlikely to have been happy with his side’s defensive efforts at Goodison Park.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Mourinho to line his side up at the Etihad, with three changes from the side that started against Everton…

Hugo Lloris keeps his place in between the sticks, despite struggling in midweek against Everton.

There are two changes to the defence, as Serge Aurier looks to be in contention to return at right-back after missing the game against the Toffees through injury, and he replaces Matt Doherty.

Eric Dier replaces Toby Alderweireld at the heart of the defence, in the hope that he can tighten things up alongside Davinson Sanchez, who deserves to keep his place after scoring a brace against Everton.

Mourinho should not be afraid to attack at City and should therefore go with a double pivot of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Tanguy Ndombele, with Lucas Moura playing ahead of them as a central attacking midfielder, a role he excelled in against West Brom recently.

In the final change, Erik Lamela drops to the bench, with Harry Kane starting up front, and the Englishman is supported by Heung-Min Son and Steven Bergwijn on the wings.

And, in other news… Spurs striker’s future in doubt after WBA omission; Jose has had enough

Jurgen Klopp’s injury woes look to have eased somewhat after it was revealed that Diogo Jota could return to action this month, despite it having been previously suggested that he could be out until February.

The Portuguese winger made a superb start to life at Anfield following his summer arrival from Wolves, grabbing nine goals for the Reds in all competitions.

The 24-year-old was perhaps expected to be a back-up to the front three at first but clearly won over Klopp with his excellent form and he quickly established himself as a starter at the Merseyside club.

However, disaster struck when he was injured in the Reds’ final Champions League group fixture against FC Midtjylland, with a knee problem reportedly set to keep him out until February.

Fortunately for the German manager, who has seen his side slip to consecutive draws against West Brom and Newcastle, journalist James Pearce has now confirmed that Jota is making good progress with his injury and could be back in action by late January.

The Reds were desperate for some quality from the bench against Newcastle and West Brom recently but with Klopp reluctant to turn to Divock Origi, Xherdan Shaqiri and Takumi Minamino recently, it seems clear that he is desperate for Jota to make his return.

Following his signing from Wolves, assistant manager Pep Ljinders was full of praise for the £36 million-rated winger, saying:

“Diogo, what can I say? His technical level is on the same as our front three.

“He has so much future in the game and he will have a great pathway inside our club. He’s like a pressing monster, so he will fit in straight away.”

Certainly, when Jota returns, Klopp could return to a 4-2-3-1 formation that would allow him to accommodate the Portuguese international as well as Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in the Reds attack, which could be the key to solving their lack of goals in recent fixtures.

And, in other news… Liverpool can sign their next Salah in “perfect” 51-assist ace

Wolves suffered an agonising defeat in the West Midlands derby this afternoon as rivals Aston Villa managed to scoop all three points for themselves with a last gasp penalty.

The stats will certainly interest the neutrals – with a whole number of yellow cards dished out and both teams eventually being limited to ten men. But despite the Villans losing Douglas Luiz first, they managed to cling on and draw a penalty, which killed the game off in the fourth minute of injury time.

Joao Moutinho was the man given his marching orders for Wolves after a second yellow card offence, but one player who disappointed just as much as the midfielder was Fabio Silva.

Fabio Silva’s stats vs Aston Villa

With Raul Jimenez injured, the £80,000 per week summer signing has been propelled into the limelight and made just his second Premier League start for his new club today. Whilst the West Midlands derby was not a match Nuno Espirito Santo would have liked to deploy Silva up front, his hand was forced.

Unfortunately for the 18-year-old, he was kept silent by the Aston Villa defence, who limited him to just 12 accurate passes the entire game. The teen also failed to complete any dribbles and he mustered up just the one shot on target (via Sofascore).

Filling in for a clinical goalscorer like Jimenez is not an easy task, especially for a young up and coming player. Unfortunately, Silva was easy meat for the Villans this afternoon and he posed absolutely no threat to them in front of goal.

It will be a tough result to take after conceding a late penalty, but focus now shifts to Chelsea, where Nuno will hope to catch the attack-minded Blues on the counter-attack.

In other news, Wolves boss Nuno needs to start playing Rayan Ait-Nouri more often…

Harry Wilson starred for Wales in Wednesday’s Nations League clash against Finland as Ryan Giggs’ men rode out a comfortable 3-1 win. The Liverpool ace – currently on loan with Cardiff City – struck first to give his country the opener just before the half hour mark.

According to Sofascore, Wilson also contributed a key pass, one tackle and drew three fouls as the Finnish struggled to deal with his attacking threat. Shrewsbury Town midfielder and former Wales international Dave Edwards took to Twitter to praise the 23-year-old, branding his performance as “unplayable”.

The Whites were linked to a move for the winger over the summer, but no move materialised as several other clubs also eyed up his services. However, now he appears to be completely out of favour at Liverpool, Leeds could have an opening to reignite their interest.

Should Leeds sign Harry Wilson?

Wilson was originally part of a £40million plan devised by Michael Edwards to raise cash for their spending during the transfer window. The attacker was named alongside Marko Grujic, seemingly valuing each player at £20million each as the Reds looked to fund moves for big targets.

Neither men left the Merseyside permanently outfit though, and Wilson returned to his native to represent Cardiff for the remainder of the season on loan. He has already gotten off the mark for the Bluebirds, bagging two goals and an assist in five Championship appearances. His spell with Cardiff could become another club he shines for.

Wilson’s best loan stint came during his time with Derby during the 2018/19 season. The versatile attacker scored 15 Championship goals for the Rams and contributed a further three assists – totalling 18 goals and six assists for the season (via Transfermarkt).

Wilson also has a mean long-range shot and could certainly add a whole new attacking dynamic to Leeds’ team. Rather than playing short passes to target man Patrick Bamford, the Welshman’s ability to pull the trigger from outside the box could catch the opposition off-guard and make the Whites all the more lethal.

The Liverpool man’s current £60,000 per week contract runs out next summer, which could be very attractive to Victor Orta and co.

In other news, Signing Dele Alli would be a huge boost to Patrick Bamford’s game…

Glasgow Rangers fans were absolutely delighted with the display of Ryan Jack for Scotland against Israel on Wednesday.

The Tartan Army were beaten 1-0 away from home, meaning they failed to earn promotion in the UEFA Nations League. However, despite the defeat, the Ibrox midfielder was in top form for his country. He completed 96% of his passes, and lost the ball on just three occasions throughout the clash.

With the international break now over, the 28-year-old will return to the Gers, and Steven Gerrard will be hoping he can continue this stunning form at club level as Rangers go for their first piece of major silverware since 2011.

Rangers fans may not have the best relationship with the national side, but they were delighted with Jack’s display against Israel. They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his showing.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Jack below

In other news, Glasgow Rangers fans had plenty of praise for this club icon.

According to a report from Football Insider, Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho looks set to snub an Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld partnership in central defence for the season, with alternative options like Davinson Sanchez and summer signing Joe Rodon preferred. 

Dier, who is currently out injured, has been utilised as a makeshift centre-back in recent months alongside the rotating pair of Sanchez and Alderweireld, but Mourinho is now set to avoid the same mistake at ‘all costs’.

Mourinho snubs Dier and Alderweireld

Indeed, the Englishman and Alderweireld will apparently not be paired together at the back for Spurs except as a ‘last resort’, according to insiders from the club via Football Insider. 

In recent matches, Sanchez and the Belgian have been paired due to Dier’s injury, with Mourinho set to keep that partnership even upon the latter’s return to the side.

Both will play separately beside either Sanchez or Rodon, but staff at the club are looking to avoid a Dier-Alderweireld partnership, mainly due to a lack of pace.

Transfer Tavern take

Given Spurs’ failure to land Milan Skriniar in the summer, Mourinho will have to improvise and find an adept centre-back pairing which can propel his side to silverware this season.

Most recently, the Lilywhites capitulated at home to West Ham in a 3-3 draw, and with Burnley looming on Monday, Mourinho needs to think of the best way to organise Spurs’ defence – even with Dier injured.

In other news: Spurs missed out on this young star in the summer despite his family ‘rooting’ for a move, find out more here and don’t forget to comment below with your views. 

Loads of Everton fans have reacted as former Toffees player Ademola Lookman missed a penalty for Fulham versus West Ham United in the Premier League.

Indeed, the England U21 international decided to take the spot-kick away from the usual taker for Scott Parker’s team, Aleksandar Mitrovic, and his effort was comfortably saved by Lukasz Fabianski.

Lookman attempted a Panenka penalty in the last minute of the game and a goal would have made the score 1-1 and earned a precious point for the Cottagers, but instead, he was made to look rather embarrassed.

Supporters of the Goodison Park faithful will remember Lookman’s pretty barren spell at the Merseyside club, in which he only managed to score a mere four goals and make just two assists in a total of 48 matches in all competitions over three consecutive seasons (Transfermarkt).

Everton fan reaction to Lookman miss

These EFC supporters reacted to the miss from Lookman on Twitter, with one Blue even claiming that it was ‘terrible’:

In other news, find out which Everton player must do better according to an ex-Toffee here!