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Tottenham Hotspur will still be without Steven Bergwijn this weekend, according to reports…

What’s the latest?

football.london claim that the 23-year-old winger is “unlikely” to feature in Sunday’s north London derby against Arsenal in the Premier League.

The 13-cap Dutch star missed the midweek trip to Wolves, where Spurs boss Nuno Santo revealed the extent of the injury he picked up during their 2-2 draw with Rennes in the UEFA Europa Conference League last week.

The manager revealed: “He has an injury on his foot, a sprain, he twisted his ankle. It’s very, very painful and the decision was to protect his foot and at the same time keep doing upper body workouts and try to maintain as fit as possible.”

Lilywhites insider John Wenham has since provided a further verdict on the situation, claiming that it is a “massive blow” to Spurs and that the first-choice right winger is likely to be out for over a month.

“When you see a protective boot, you are really looking at a month on the sidelines minimum,” he told Football Insider. “For us, that is a huge blow. You only have to look at our bench against Chelsea.”

Massive blow?

Indeed, with Lucas Moura also facing time on the sidelines, it is a gutting setback for Nuno and Spurs, especially ahead of such a huge occasion.

Bergwijn may not have set the world alight this season but his importance to the Portuguese head coach must not be understated as he started their opening three league games, in which they recorded successive 1-0 victories.

In his absence, the north Londoners are yet to win, having registered back-to-back 3-0 defeats in the league to Crystal Palace and Chelsea. It may be a mere coincidence but the £19.8m-rated dynamo does a lot more than just provide goals.

Despite not playing in their last two outings, Bergwijn is currently Nuno’s most creative option in the squad, having averaged 1.3 key passes per game, via WhoScored. He has also managed an average of 1.3 dribbles and 2.3 shots, which actually more than Harry Kane at the moment.

Earlier this week, The Athletic revealed that Spurs had the lowest expected goals (4.42 xG) of any team in the English top-flight, even lower than the likes of Norwich City and Burnley in the relegation zone.

Nuno’s side has also recorded the second-fewest shots and created only two big chances from those opening five games, so for Tottenham not to have one of their most creative outlets available is certainly a killer blow.

It should leave the Portuguese coach extremely worried heading into the derby, even more so with the Gunners back in form.

AND in other news, Spurs fans will be furious as major Fabio Paratici claim emerges…

Former Premier League striker Dean Windass believes that Odsonne Edouard is a real coup for Crystal Palace. 

Edouard completed a deadline day move to Selhurst Park from Celtic in a deal reported to be worth £14m, which could rise to £18.5m according to Sky Sports. The report also states that the 23-year-old has put pen to paper on a four-year deal with an option of a further 12 months.

Whilst with Celtic, Edouard scored 39 goals for his teammates.

The striker had a successful spell at Paradise as he helped the Hoops to three Scottish Premiership titles, three Scottish Cups and three Scottish League Cups, while he picked up the individual accolade of Player of the Year in 2019/2020.

And Windass believes that the signing of Edouard is a real coup for Crystal Palace, telling Transfer Tavern: “I’ve watched him when Josh was at Glasgow Rangers, as you say he’s a natural finisher. Listen it’s a positive move by Patrick Vieira and I’m sure once he gets up and going and he can get his first goal because he is a good player and that’s what Patrick brought him in for.”

Edouard was Crystal Palace’s seventh signing of the summer, with Marc Guehi, Michael Olise, Jacob Montes, Joachim Anderson, Conor Gallagher and Will Hughes all penning deals at Selhurst Park.

Celtic were keen on securing a late deal for striker Kevin Nesbit but baulked at Hibernian’s £4million asking price, according to The Celtic Way reporter Anthony Haggerty.

Ange Postecoglou, who was appointed as the Bhoys’ new manager in June, brought in a host of fresh faces during the transfer window and was also eyeing Scotland international Nesbit all summer.

According to PLZ, via the Daily Record, Celtic also sounded out the possibility of being able to clinch Nesbit’s services with former Hibs frontman Leigh Griffiths and cash going in the opposite direction.

However, Hibs boss Jack Ross rubbished claims of a transfer being in the offing a matter of days before the deadline and, while Griffiths has joined Dundee on loan until the end of the season, Nesbit has remained with his current employers.

The 24-year-old has already scored three goals this season and Haggerty insists Celtic were interested but unwilling to meet the frontman’s valuation.

He told The Transfer Tavern: “They quite like Kevin Nesbit but they didn’t know if he was worth the £4million Hibs were looking for in terms of a transfer fee.

“There was talk of Celtic offering cash plus a player on loan and I thought there might have been a deal to be done there.”

Aston Villa announced on Saturday morning that Tyrone Mings is the new club captain, and unsurprisingly a number of Villa fans were quick to share their thoughts on the news via social media.

Villa had an opening for a new permanent club captain after Jack Grealish sealed a £100m move to Manchester City earlier this month.

Mings skippered Villa in 12 successive Premier League games last season when his England team-mate was out injured, and he has now taken the armband on a full-time basis under Dean Smith. The 28-year-old still has three years remaining on his Midlands deal and is eight appearances shy of reaching 100 for Villa.

His first game as permanent captain came against Watford on Saturday, with Villa slipping to an opening weekend defeat at Vicarage Road, but the defender still gave a decent performance as he won six duels against the Hornets.

Villa fans react

Villa shared the news on Mings on their official Twitter page. Here is what these Villa supporters had to say in reply, with one labelling the update as ‘excellent’.

“Things we love to see”Credit: @JoshBuzzard”ahh finally they announced it!! so happy”Credit: @kacey04661760″Excellent choice.”Credit: @yellowmarlin”It would be impossible for someone to deserve it more than Mings does. Everything a captain should be, one of the best leaders the club has had in years. Excellent news, this.”Credit: @rad_nauseam”BOOM!!!!!!”Credit: @IanMcGr42738303″Filed under: things you love to see”Credit: @SheldonLT

In other news: ‘I’m actually done’ – Many AVFC fans react as ‘worrying’ news is confirmed.

The Celtic Way reporter Anthony Haggerty believes Albian Ajeti will be rejuvenated following Ange Postecoglou’s appointment as the Scottish giants’ new manager.

Ajeti joined Celtic from Premier League side West Ham United in a £5million deal last August.

The move came after the Swiss frontman failed to score in any of his 12 appearances for the Hammers.

Ajeti also struggled to find the back of the net regularly during his first season in Glasgow as he notched six goals in 30 appearances.

However, the former Basel striker has vowed to take advantage of his second opportunity to prove himself at Celtic, which has been granted by Postecoglou.

It comes after the Bhoys missed out on top transfer target Charlie Wyke, who opted to join Wigan Athletic from Sunderland rather than heading north of the border earlier this month.

Haggerty believes the 24-year-old Ajeti could prove to be like a new signing after what was a disappointing first campaign at Celtic Park.

He exclusively told Football FanCast: “I think Postecoglou is going to give Ajeti that chance so it’s up to him to grab it. He scored a couple of decent goals when he first broke in last August.

“It’s those consistency levels at a club like Celtic that you need. Strikers at Celtic are always judged on their goals return.

“This is another player we shelled a lot of money out for so they’re going to give him every chance to claim that jersey.”

Crystal Palace are close to agreeing terms for Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson, according to a report from TEAMtalk.

And the recent transfer update has had a number of Eagles supporters talking on social media.

Reliable reporter Alan Nixon stated at the end of July that Patrick Vieira wants to secure a loan deal for Nelson.

The 21-year-old is top of Palace’s list when it comes to reinforcements out wide, and TEAMtalk claimed on Wednesday that the club were close to agreeing terms over a transfer.

However, TEAMtalk add that whilst Palace were exploring a temporary deal, they may now look at a permanent move instead.

Nelson, who has made 47 appearances for the Gunners, has two years remaining on his Emirates deal.

Palace fans react

@CPFCtransfersHQ shared TEAMtalk’s claim on Nelson on Twitter on Wednesday morning. This is hat these Palace fans had to say in reply, with many keen to see a deal go through.

“I really, really hope we make this happen.”Credit: @liamb0117″A perm for Nelson would honestly be top top business”Credit: @Kevbartleyy”please get him in”Credit: @localpla7tic”If this is true I’ll be relatively satisfied with that. He’s actually a specialist right winger and still extremely young. Like lookman he proved himself in the Bundesliga, just needs a chance somewhere”Credit: @unIocaIpIa9tic”get him in”Credit: @ryanwebb0″I think he’d do really well with us”Credit: @TalkCPFC

In other news: ‘Only we would do this’ – Lot of Palace fans react to ‘epic’ club post. 

Tim Spiers has delivered a killer blow with an update on Wolves star Pedro Neto’s injury situation.

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic’s Tim Spiers, Wolves winger Pedro Neto has suffered a setback in his recovery from a dislocated kneecap and is now due to be out until February 2022.

The report claims that he was initially expected to return to training in October, following the injury that he sustained in April of this year. He is now set to watch on from the sidelines for the rest of the year and the start of 2022.

Lage will be gutted

Wolves boss Bruno Lage will be gutted with this news as he will surely want to work with the best possible players this season and Neto was one of the club’s top performers in the Premier League last term.

The Portuguese attacker averaged a phenomenal WhoScored rating of 7.11 across 30 starts and was the club’s top scorer and assister, with five goals and six assists. This suggests that Wanderers have lost their biggest goal threat as well as their most prolific creator in one fell swoop

He also won five WhoScored Man of the Match awards last term, the most by any Wolves player, whilst his two key passes per game topped the charts for creativity. These statistics highlight how important he was to Nuno Santo and why Lage will be devastated that he now has to potentially wait six months before he is able to utilise his talents on the pitch.

Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer hailed him as a huge talent after he scored against Southampton in the Premier League last season. He said.

“A huge talent who is having a fine season. He changed the game and scored a great goal.

As Shearer explained, Neto changed the game with his goal. He is a match-winner, as shown by him scoring and assisting more goals than any other Wolves player, and that is what makes him difficult to replace for Lage. The Portuguese head coach needs his other forwards, like Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore, to step up in his absence and start picking up the load in front of goal.

If they struggle to do that and Wolves go on a barren run in terms of scoring, it could be a long wait for February to roll around. Although, it must be stressed that there is no guarantees that Neto will be able to hit the ground running instantly after such a serious injury, so the club should not rush him back.

AND in other news, Lage must avoid first Wolves howler over £77k-p/w “monster”, fans would be livid…

Sharing some big news on live TV (via Football Daily), Sky Sports have dropped a transfer development involving Tottenham Hotspur and exciting Sevilla youngster Bryan Gil.

The Lowdown: Paratici on the move…

It has been quite an eventful last few days for Tottenham in the transfer market as new managing director of football Fabio Paratici is starting to show exactly why he was appointed by Daniel Levy.

The Italian transfer guru is working on deals to sign both Pierluigi Gollini and Cristian Romero according to reliable Spurs reporter Alasdair Gold, and it appears he hasn’t stopped there.

As per Sky, sharing the latest on live TV, Tottenham and Paratici have another major transfer in the works.

The Latest: Sky Sports drop big live TV development…

The broadcaster has now dropped news that Tottenham are close to finalising a swap deal for Los Nervionenses starlet Gil this summer, which will see winger Erik Lamela head the other way.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-updates/” title=”Tottenham latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Sevilla, as well as receiving the Argentine, also stand to gain £21.6 million from the transfer as Tottenham look to add Gil to Nuno Espirito Santo’s ranks.

“Just some breaking news regarding Tottenham,” Sky explained.

“They are close to finalizing a swap deal with Sevilla that will see them sign the young winger Bryan Gil and Erik Lamela move to Spain.

“Our colleagues at Sky Italy are reporting that Spurs will also pay £21.6m for the 20-year-old.

“Gil is a promising Spain international, he’s had three caps, and Lamela is set to join Sevilla on a three-year contract – bringing an end to his eight-year stay at Spurs.”

The Verdict: Exciting move…

The dazzling attacker has drawn comparisons with Brazilian superstar Neymar (football.london), so it’s safe to say this is quite an exciting development coming out of Spurs.

Gil spent last season shining on loan at La Liga side Eibar, where he started 26 matches whilst scoring four goals and assisting three others (WhoScored).

He also stood out as Eibar’s most creative attacking outlet, making the most key passes per 90 (1.8) whilst averaging more completed dribbles (2.4) than anyone in their squad (WhoScored).

Indeed, it looks like Paratici is about to sign quite the gem for Tottenham.

In other news: ‘Amazing’, ‘Please’, ‘This is huge’…Many Spurs fans erupt as Sky reporter reveals talks, find out more here.

Some Manchester City fans were livid after it was revealed that the Citizens could sell Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez if they manage to complete the signing of Jack Grealish this summer.

There is likely to be plenty of business at the Etihad Stadium in the coming weeks after they lost the Champions League final 1-0 to Chelsea in Porto, and Grealish appears to be one of the Citizens’ main targets this summer. It has been reported that the Premier League champions are even prepared to break the British transfer record to sign the Aston Villa man (The Telegraph).

Taking the England international to Manchester City would surely mean that Pep Guardiola would need to offload one or two attacking players. According to The Daily Express, City will look to sell both Mahrez and Sterling if they are able to complete the signing of Grealish.

The Algerian has 39 goals and 37 assists in 142 appearances for the Cityzens, while the England winger has 114 goals and 87 assists to his name in 292 games over his six years at the Etihad.

The news was shared on Twitter by @City_Chief, and it attracted plenty of attention from supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the report

“Worst news so far”

Credit: @OfficialLiLix

“Letting Mahrez go would be a big mistake… Jack is not better than Him.”

Credit: @KetaaClinton

“If Mahrez is sold, there won’t be any difference between Man City and Tottenham. Rotten brains”

Credit: @BashiAzar

“After everything they’ve done for us.”

Credit: @MirrorMan1996

“Why is Mahrez being offloaded? Sterling I can understand. We are not a serious club”

Credit: @Mike_MCFC_

“Am I the only one who thinks this would be terrible business in City’s part?”

Credit: @Yazee_official

In other news, Man City fans are delighted with this Aymeric Laporte news.

Tottenham Hotspur have finally found their new manager, just in time for pre-season.

Nuno Espirito Santo has been appointed on a two-year contract and he begins work next week as he looks to transform the north London outfit’s fortunes following a disappointing 2020/21 campaign.

When he gets into the office vacated by Jose Mourinho since mid-April, he’s likely to be faced with a mountain of problems.

The 47-year-old must get to work on a tactical system and he has to do so with several players missing on international duty. Then there are his likely transfer targets, incoming coaching staff and much, much more to consider.

That’s not to mention the biggest issue of them all, resolving the future of wantaway striker Harry Kane.

It’s also believed that the club are willing to listen to offers for several of their first team stars, in which Serge Aurier is thought to be one, as per the Evening Standard.

If Nuno is to stand a chance at improving the club, then he must look to offload the Ivory Coast right-back as early as possible. He has let Spurs down for years and should play no part in this new era.

Since joining in a £23m deal from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, Aurier’s time in N17 has been marred by controversy off the pitch and shocking performances on it. For example, the £18m-rated star was fined for breaching the UK government’s lockdown regulations last year for the third time, whilst he’s publicly expressed his desire over leaving the club.

Meanwhile, on the pitch, his performances have often carried the tag of being a “liability.”

After Spurs suffered yet another final defeat, losing to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher slammed the 28-year-old as he said: “Aurier is maybe one of the biggest liabilities in Premier League football and is a player who would possibly put you off management with the amount of crazy decision he makes.”

Similarly, former Spurs midfielder turned talkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara dubbed him an “absolute liability” back in May, some two seasons after Darren Bent described him in a similar manner.

Considering that Aurier is also amongst the highest earners at Hotspur Way, reportedly raking in around £120,000 per week, it’s time for Nuno to show no mercy and move him on so that he has one less problem to deal with next season.

AND in other news, Dier, Doherty and 3 new signings start in 4-3-3: Predicting Spurs’ XI under Nuno Santo…