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Tottenham Hotspur will still be without Heung-min Son when they return to Premier League action against Aston Villa later this evening…

What’s the latest?

The talismanic 28-year-old was substituted in the first half of the North London derby after picking up a hamstring injury and did not feature in midweek as Spurs embarrassingly crashed out of the Europa League.

Speaking ahead of their clash with Zagreb, Jose Mourinho claimed there was “no chance” he would play, and now according to football.london, he won’t be making the trip to Villa Park tonight.

In fact, respected journalist Alasdair Gold even suggested that there was a chance Son could feature against Villa, so it’ll be a blow to Spurs to not have the Korean star available.

However, it is rather telling that the South Korean sensation has now withdrawn from international duty ahead of the upcoming break, after initially being called up by his national team.

Therefore, the £76.5m-rated Spurs star may not be as close to a return to fitness as first thought, despite football.london reporting that injury isn’t as serious as Spurs initially thought.

Gutting setback

The fact that Son will not play a competitive game for a few weeks will come as a huge blow to Mourinho and his chances of putting an end to what has been an absolute nightmare of a spell for Tottenham.

Son is one of Spurs’ most important players, having directly contributed towards 46.8% of their goals in the Premier League (13 scored, nine assists), via WhoScored.

Only Harry Kane has delivered more, with 16 goals and 13 assists to his name, and a lot of these involvements are the dangerous duo combining. Indeed, the pair are on for a monumental year in the English top-flight.

Earlier this month, they combined for the 14th time this season to break a 25-year-old Premier League record for goal contributions held by Chris Sutton and Alan Shearer.

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Football Insider pundit Danny Mills believes that not having Son is a big blow for Spurs, he said: “When you talk about attitude, he sets the tone,” before adding: “He’s that leader, not from being vocal but his attitude shows people.”

This very much echoed the thoughts of Dean Windass, who exclusively told Football FanCast ahead of Thursday night’s match that it is a “massive blow to Tottenham” when the 28-year-old is absent.

Erik Lamela is also serving a suspension after his red card against the Gunners, so it leaves Mourinho with a choice of Steven Bergwijn, Lucas Moura or Gareth Bale.

The aforementioned trio have only scored eight goals between them, some five short of Son’s individual returns, and they all too have their own doubts.

Moura has been playing in the no.10 role, rather than out wide, so there’s a chance a decision has to be made over Dele Alli’s involvement if the Brazilian reverted back to the flank.

Bergwijn is heavily out of form and has not scored since June 2020, when he bagged the opener against Manchester United in Spurs’ first game of ‘Project Restart.’

Whilst Bale underwhelmed at Arsenal, resulting in him being substituted after just 57 minutes. Nor could he make an impact on Thursday night despite being brought on for another hour.

You can just see how big an influence Son has on this side, so his absence against Villa tonight is certainly one huge blow Mourinho will surely be gutted that one of his star men is now in a race to be fit when the international break ends. Even if he does manage to recover, his lack of gametime could be a big worry too.

Villa could move to within one point of Spurs with a win, and that would seriously hinder their chances of making the top six, let alone the top four, as it puts another rival closer to overtaking them. Spurs need Son back fit and firing as soon as possible, so they’ll surely be worried that not only has he been ruled out of today’s gam, he’s also been deemed not fit enough to go away with his national team.

AND in other news, Mourinho must axe “exposed” Spurs liability ahead of tonight’s match…

Many Glasgow Rangers fans loved seeing a photo of Alfredo Morelos’ daughter and wife prior to the Old Firm derby on Sunday.

The Gers faced their Glasgow fierce rivals for the third time this season and came away with a 1-1 draw as they remain unbeaten in the Premiership (BBC). Mohamed Elyounoussi opened the scored, but Morelos levelled things up with what was his first goal against Celtic (Transfermarkt). With one game left against the Parkhead outfit this term, he will be hoping to add to that tally.

With fans unable to enter the stadium, Morelos’ young family were forced to watch the game at home. It seemed they were still enjoying themselves, though, as Yesenia held up daughter Leonela to their television screen when £10.8m-valued Colombia international Alfredo appeared as the Gers warmed up.

The photo was shared on Twitter by @RangersClips, and it is fair to say that the image melted the hearts of many Gers supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the picture of the Morelos family below

“If ever their was a picture that melted my heart!!”

Credit: @runcornbear

“Too emotional”

Credit: @kyler1872

“Brilliant Alfie absolutely gorgeous just love this photo”

Credit: @Jack1872Royal

“That’s superb”

Credit @1petti

“Brilliant photo.”

Credit: @robbielogan72

“Ok this is adorable”

Credit: @rachlizziexx

In other news, many Rangers fans slammed this man’s performance against Celtic.

Former Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana has admitted that he felt like a ‘rabbit in the headlights’ during his cameo in the 2018 Champions League final.

The Reds lost to Real Madrid in the showpiece in Kyiv three years ago on what a heartbreaking night for Jurgen Klopp and his players. Liverpool were actually the better team for much of the first half, but Mohamed Salah’s injury put paid to their chances and they were eventually beaten 3-1.

It was Lallana who replaced Salah – scorer of a seismic 44 goals that seasson – with just 30 minutes on the clock in the final, having suffered an injury-plagued campaign for the Reds.

Lallana admits he was ‘petrified’ in Kyiv

Speaking to the Super 6 Podcast [via This Is Anfield], Lallana gave an honest take of that cameo in the Ukrainian capital, admitting that it wasn’t a pleasant experience:

“Looking back now, I was petrified. Maybe petrified is a bit of a strong word, but looking back I feel like I’m in a position now where I can maybe say that.

“I had a terrible year, it was my first year when it was kind of one injury after another, and I just couldn’t find any sort of rhythm in terms of being on the pitch.

“So I’d just come back from a big, big hamstring injury, I think I’d played 15 minutes of the last game of the [Premier League] season, and I just had no rhythm, no form.

“We’d lost the Champions League final, and I remember kind of after it finished just being relieved I got through the game.

“I couldn’t get near anyone. I couldn’t get near Modric, I couldn’t get near anyone. I was just running around. I felt like a rabbit in the headlights.”

Transfer Tavern take

It is both refreshing and sad to hear the 32-year-old speak with such honesty, highlighting just how crucial confidence is to a player’s form and effectiveness.

Injuries proved to be Lallana’s downfall so many times at Liverpool – he was limited to 178 appearances across six years, at an average of less than 30 per campaign, in all competitions – and in the end, he arguably never reached his full potential at Anfield, where he was regarded as a fans’ favourite.

Asking him to thrive in that final after playing so little football in 2017/18, up against world-class players, was always asking too much.

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been reacting to a Real Madrid injury update ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash at Anfield. Read more here.

Everton have been dealt a blow in their hopes of signing Adrien Rabiot in the summer transfer window.

Speaking to Tuttosport, Vincenzo Morabito – who is a historic FIFA agent and international mediator specialised in the Premier League – has claimed that the central midfielder is a target for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but insists that ‘he will not leave Juventus’.

Everton were reportedly ready to make an offer for him in February, but now it looks as if the Merseyside club will miss out on his signature.

Everton set to miss out on Rabiot

The Toffees look set to miss out on what would be a decent acquisition for them. Rabiot has been solid in Serie A so far in 2020/21, winning no fewer than 4.9 of his duels per game and also averaging 2.1 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, 1.1 successful dribbles, one shot and one clearance per match (Sofascore).

Italian football legend and Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo described the France international, currently valued at £28.8m by Transfermarkt, as a ‘complete player’ in November of last year, and with solid statistics in both attacking and defensive areas, it is hard to argue with the 2006 World Cup winner.

Carlo Ancelotti also has the benefit of managing him before, but it looks as if the Blues are going to miss out on signing the 25-year-old at least in the summer.

In other news, find out what development affecting some Everton stars has been lauded by many fans!

He’s in the best form of his Tottenham Hotspur career right now, which is good news for Jose Mourinho heading into tonight’s competitive Premier League encounter with Liverpool.

Tanguy Ndombele has fully turned around his Spurs career in north London, and he can cap it all off with a performance against the defending champions at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The 24-year-old monster was benched for their FA Cup fourth-round win over Championship minnows Wycombe on Monday night, but it was his influence from the bench that swung a turgid game in their favour.

He must come straight back into the starting XI this evening as he could be the man to exploit the Reds’ biggest weakness right now…

On the Chalkboard

Jurgen Klopp’s men aren’t putting up the best title defence as they find themselves in fifth place, some six points behind league leaders Man City, who’ll have a game in hand after this evening.

Spurs can leapfrog them into fourth place with a victory and Ndombele could prove vital towards their chances of picking up those three points.

Indeed, the club-record signing is finally showing signs of why Daniel Levy sanctioned a whopping £55m on his signature – in his last two outings, he’s scored three goals, taking his total to six for the season on top of three assists, per Transfermarkt.

He has usurped his two goals and four assists from last campaign and surpassed the 1,446 minutes he played throughout the entire duration of his tumultuous maiden season in N17.

He’s fit, firing and in red-hot form right now.

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Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has missed their last two Premier League fixtures. While he returned to training on Tuesday, he will be assessed before a decision is made on whether or not he can start in north London tonight.

If absent, it means there’s no real defensive midfield presence as Fabinho is a shoo-in to continue at centre-back given their mounting injury list.

Ndombele can exploit that void by being deployed as a no.10 and even if the Reds skipper is back, given the form the Frenchman is in, he could still punish Henderson on his first start back.

The €40m-rated (£36m) maestro tops the charts for dribbles per 90 minutes at Spurs, managing 2.9, which is almost double the next best for players that have played at least ten times with Harry Kane (1.5), Heung-min Son (1) and Lucas Moura (1), per WhoScored.

It means he’s capable of breaching the opposition’s block and press with relative ease. He has a 100% take-on success rate from the defensive midfield spot and an 85% success rate in the advanced role too.

His work-rate off-the-ball has also increased tenfold – he’s now able to play longer than an hour. Indeed, he’s surpassed 70 minutes in their last four league outings, while he’s almost quadrupled the number of high-intensity sprints from 32 in 2019/20 to 124 in 2020/21.

It’s this energy that makes him such a crucial part of Mourinho’s counter-attacking game, something that will need to be achieved to a tee to defeat Liverpool tonight.

During Monday’s win, Joe Hart turned to the BT Sport crew and delivered his verdict mid-game on Ndombele, dubbing him a “world-beater” and “unplayable,” as revealed by Rio Ferdinand in their post-game analysis.

Now ranking fourth in the Spurs squad for average WhoScored rating, Ndombele has fully transformed his career in north London and has become their game-changer in recent weeks.

He should be the first name on the team sheet tonight.

Mourinho must unleash the box-to-box dynamo on Liverpool for their best chance of picking up a result.

AND in other news, Spurs can find their next Alli in £25m “god-given” talent…

Lyndon Dykes’ barren run for Queens Park Rangers continued on Wednesday night as Mark Warburton’s side could only muster up a point at struggling Preston.

The 25-year-old, who earns a reported £8k-per-week at Loftus Road, has failed to score in 15 straight league games, even during their impressive spell of form, which has seen massive victories against promotion-chasers Brentford, Bournemouth, Blackburn and Watford.

He was once again found wanting as the Rs could only fire two shots on target at Deepdale.

Dykes accounted for one of those two attempts but ranked as QPR’s worst player on the night, receiving an abysmal 6.4 rating as per SofaScore.

It means the former Livingston forward has struggled to surpass 6.9 in back-to-back Championship outings and thus, is starting to continuously let Warburton, and his relentless faith in him, down.

Todd Kane took plenty of flak on social media with supporters taking fire at the right wing-back for a subdued display – for example, one fan labelled him “absolute dross,” whilst another claimed he made himself look like a “fool.”

But it was Dykes who was arguably worse on the night.

No other visiting player attempted as many duels as the seven-time Scotland striker, but the £1.8m-rated lightweight could only win four of those battles (30%), the second-worst of any Rs starter, via SofaScore.

Kane was marginally better at 33%.

Dykes was also the only footballer to miss a big chance on the night, and that ultimately may have cost Warburton the chance to pick up another three points.

He even had the fewest touches of any outfield starter (21), even less than QPR goalkeeper Seny Dieng (45), only proving just how ineffective and anonymous he was throughout the match.

When Dykes did get the ball, though, he lost possession once every 2.6 touches, again proving to be a hindrance to QPR on the whole.

It’s no wonder he was the first player to be hooked off the pitch in the 67th minute when replaced by Chris Willock.

Given his diabolical run of matches without scoring, Dykes must be facing the axe ahead of the weekend, when QPR head to Birmingham City for another Championship clash.

AND in other news, should Warburton have played THIS starting XI at Deepdale?

According to a report from TEAMtalk, West Ham United and GSB are in talks to sign young Fulham defender Ibane Bowat as his current deal expires in June – with negotiations having been ‘ongoing’ over the last few weeks as the Hammers attempt to snap him up.

Bowat has been a mainstay for Fulham’s Under-18s side since putting pen to paper on a two-year scholarship back in 2019, assisting the Cottagers in their Premier League South title win last campaign.

West Ham in talks for Bowat

As a result, Fulham are keen to keep hold of the ‘classy’ 6 foot 2 defender and have offered him a professional deal to sign in June – but now West Ham are eager to take him away and are in talks over a move.

The Irons are one of a number of clubs that are in contact, with Brighton, Arsenal and Everton all having talks recently as well as German side FC Koln – even though it is understood the Bundesliga side could not agree terms.

Transfer Tavern take

Predominantly a centre-half, the versatile 18-year-old can also play left-back upon requirement, a prospect of his game that may have attracted the Irons.

Despite signing fellow promising centre-back Frederik Alves from Silkeborg in January, West Ham are now in conversation with another defensive starlet, and it remains to be seen whether they will win the race for his signature.

In other news: West Ham fans erupted over this news, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur have begun discussions over signing a new winger, according to emerging reports this week…

What’s the word?

The Athletic’s David Ornstein claims that Spurs have entered preliminary talks to sign VfB Stuttgart winger Nicolas Gonzalez, who was linked with a move to Premier League rivals Leeds United throughout the summer.

It’s claimed that Jose Mourinho may look to bolster his wide areas depending on the club’s departures this window and whilst the 22-year-old wide man does not have a release clause, the Bundesliga outfit would be looking for a fee in the region of €30m (£27m).

Serie A giants Juventus have also held tentative discussions over Gonzalez too.

Bye-bye Lamela?

Of all the positions you’d expect Mourinho to sign this winter, out on the attacking flanks is probably not among the first few priorities.

It could mean bad news for one of his current options – most likely, Erik Lamela given his age, profile and persistent injury troubles.

After breaching the government’s lockdown regulations over the festive period, the long-serving Argentian was once again snubbed from the travelling squad for their FA Cup clash with Marine on Sunday.

Lamela has been restricted to just 524 minutes of action in all competitions as a fifth major injury has stalled his playing time.

According to Eurosport’s Dean Jones, the Andre-Villas Boas signing is expendable this window if a suitable offer comes in, and even Kevin Phillips believes it’s time to move him on, he told Football Insider: “If there is an opportunity for Mourinho to offload him in this window, I think he will do it.”

Indeed, Gonzalez – a fellow South American – would be a suitable replacement, if not an instant upgrade.

After a fine season in the German second-tier where he bagged 14 goals last term, the 22-year-old gem has continued his impressive form despite promotion to the Bundesliga, scoring five and assisting two in just six starts, per WhoScored.

He’s also averaged a whopping 3.2 shots per game, the fifth-best in the division and is more than the likes of Heung-min Son and Gareth Bale – Lamela hasn’t even managed anywhere near that in eight seasons at Spurs, his best effort being two shots per game in an injury-hit 2016/17 campaign.

The official Bundesliga website likened him to the late Diego Maradona as his early career followed a similar path as well as former Madrid man Raul Gonzalez due to his ‘pace, finesse, intelligent movement and classy left foot.’

Current Stuttgart coach Pellegrino Matarazzo waxed lyrical over his qualities. He said: “He’s got a lot of qualities, but what I like best about him is that he’s a winner. He wants to win at all costs. He always gives 100 per cent and gets stuck in. He’s very important for us.”

This sounds like a Mourinho player all over, and evidently, he’d be a better long-term option over Lamela going forward. If Spurs chairman Daniel Levy can afford to, then he should absolutely sanction this £27m swoop as soon as possible.

AND in other news, £27m “leader” could become Mourinho’s next John Terry…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast’s James Beavis, Tottenham Hotspur legend Gary Mabbutt has paid tribute to Diego Maradona following his death at the age of 60 on Wednesday.

The Argentina icon will probably be best remembered in terms of football for his performances during the 1986 World Cup as the South American nation won the competition held in Mexico.

Maradona scored 34 goals in 91 caps for his country before retiring from international football in 1994, while he also managed them from 2008-2010.

Reminiscing about his memories of the attacker, including when the superstar featured in Ossie Ardiles’ testimonial at White Hart Lane, Mabbutt told FFC:

“I was very lucky, I got to meet him a number of times. He was one of the best friends of Ossie Ardiles who’s one of my best friends. When he came over [to England] he used to stay with Ossie and he used to come to matches.

“I played alongside him in Ossie’s testimonial match. There was quite an unusual midfield – we had myself, Ossie Ardiles, Glenn Hoddle and Diego Maradona. It wasn’t a bad player to have alongside me!

“Alongside Pele, he was one of the greatest players in the world. His performances in the 1986 World Cup for Argentina and the way that he plays, he was a maestro who could make the ball dance to his tune. He could do anything with the ball.

“It’s very, very sad, he was obviously still very young. Diego was a world superstar. Rest in peace Diego because you brought the world a tremendous amount of pleasure watching him play.”

Speaking about what Maradona was like at Ardiles’ testimonial, Mabbutt added:

“He was a great character and it was a pleasure to be alongside him. On the night he had a great touch, great skills, great ability. And this is a person who came over from Argentina because Ossie asked him if he could play in this game. He came over all at his own expense to play the game for one of his best friends. So that showed what sort of person he was off the field as well.”

Argentina are currently undergoing three days of mourning following the loss of their greatest ever player.

Liverpool return to Premier League action on Sunday as they face Wolves at Anfield, with the Reds hoping to pick up three points to keep the pressure on Tottenham Hotspur, who are currently ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s side at the top of the table on goal difference.

The Merseyside club picked up an important 1-0 win against Ajax in midweek to secure their place in the Champions League knockout stages.

One man who will be key to whether or not Liverpool can secure all three points at Anfield is Scottish left-back, Andrew Robertson.

The former Hull City man did go down injured during midweek but completed the full 90 minutes, with Klopp suggesting in his press conference earlier this week that he would be most likely be fit to play against the Old Gold.

If he does start, the 26-year-old will have to be at his best if he wants to keep the Wolves attackers quiet during the game at Anfield.

Robertson was singled out for praise by former Liverpool defender Fabio Aurelio earlier this year, with the Brazilian saying:

“He’s kind of the complete player because physically he’s well capable of going forward and going back he defends very well.

“He’s quick, so his one-v-one is good and defensively that’s very important in the scheme Klopp plays. He goes forward very easily.” (per Liverpool FC)

Wolves boast a plethora of attacking options on the wing, despite Diogo Jota joining the Reds this summer, with Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence and Adama Traore all capable of causing problems for the Liverpool defence.

Traore in particular, caused a lot of issues for Liverpool in their 2-1 win at Molineux last season, with Klopp full of praise for the Spanish winger after the game, saying:

“[Traore] is unplayable in moments, it’s unbelievable. What a player – it’s not only him but he’s so good.” (per Goal)

His performance in that display earned him an impressive 7.7 rating despite the defeat, whilst Robertson picked up a 6.42 rating as well as a yellow card, so it could definitely be argued that Traore got the better of the Liverpool left-back on that evening.

Whilst the 24-year-old has been nowhere near as impressive as last season so far this campaign, with no goals or assists in his 10 top-flight appearances, he has still averaged a solid 6.85 rating for his performances, so is still likely to be a threat on Sunday if he plays.

However, if Robertson can play to his best ability and keep Traore quiet on Sunday afternoon, then there’s no reason why the Reds can’t extend their unbeaten home run in the Premier League.

And, in other news… Bye Bye Gini: LFC must sign £11.7m beast who will “get better and better”