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As confirmed by the club’s official website, Jota has left Aston Villa just a year after joining the club.

What’s the word?

The Spaniard was one of a number of signings made by the club’s former sporting director, Suso, in the summer of 2019, but ended up making just 16 competitive appearances at Villa Park.

Now, the club have confirmed that they have reached a mutual agreement with the 29-year-old to terminate his contract, just days before the end of the transfer window in the Premier League.

A reminder of Suso’s Villa disaster

Well, that was certainly a surprise. Given that Jota had featured twice in the Carabao Cup this season – albeit as a second-half substitute – the termination of his contract has come out of the blue.

But when you look at his overall contribution – and that word is used very lightly – it’s just another reminder of how badly Suso got it wrong last summer. Reports suggested that Villa paid around £4m to sign him from rivals Birmingham, and when you factor that into the £25k-a-week wages he was earning for more than a year, the club shelled out a total of £5.7m for Jota.

Dean Smith’s side spent big money as they embarked on their first season back in the Premier League, and were it not for a late season rally and a truly huge victory over Arsenal, they would have been playing Championship football again.

Despite their rise to safety, Suso’s mistakes in the transfer market shouldn’t be forgotten. The fact that he was replaced by Johan Lange earlier in the summer is a testament to that.

But having been around for just one year, Jota is the ultimate symbol of the former Villa sporting director’s failings whilst at the club.

Speaking to Football Insider, Sky Sports pundit Noel Whelan has been wowed by Spurs and how strong they have been without Christian Eriksen – going on to drop a claim that they may not need him after all following rumours of a return. 

The Dane, who left north London for the San Siro last January after a long transfer saga, is struggling for game time under Antonio Conte in Serie A – resulting in reports suggesting he could look to leave.

Reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed that Tottenham are interested in taking Eriksen back, with news emerging recently that the transfer is definitely possible.

However, as explained by Romano, Spurs won’t be able to bring him back on loan due to Inter’s unwillingness, but they could in fact secure a permanent deal. 

Eriksen claim dropped by Whelan

Whelan, speaking to Football Insider, has gone against the grain with Eriksen – claiming that Tottenham are in fact stronger without the playmaker and outcast Dele Alli.

“The defence isn’t the best but they are still good players,” explained the Sky pundit.

“This is a team that will score lots of goals. I can’t believe how they can freeze out Dele Alli and sell Christian Eriksen and be even stronger.”

Transfer Tavern take

While manager Jose Mourinho benefitted from a stellar transfer window, securing seven marquee signings including a return for club hero Gareth Bale, landing Eriksen would arguably be the icing on the cake.

Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso have been utilised in a more central attacking midfield role, but having Eriksen back would gift Spurs that extra creative spark.

In other news: Levy could bag this ‘massive signing’ in January, find out more here. 

Rangers are back in league action once again this evening as they welcome St Johnstone to Ibrox – and a win could take them top of the Scottish Premiership, some five points clear of their arch-rivals.

Last time out, Steven Gerrard’s side breezed past St Mirren 3-0 to keep their 100% record intact. It was certainly one way to bounce back from their Europa League exit last week.

But will the 40-year-old stick or twist with his winning side? There are matches coming thick and fast so rotation could well be needed.

Here’s how we predicted the Gers will lineup tonight…

Gerrard could make as many as two changes following Sunday’s victory but there still won’t be any place amongst the matchday squad for summer signing Kemar Roofe.

Rs number one Allan McGregor is set to return to the starting lineup despite Jon McLaughlin’s impressive debut. Following the match, the Rangers chief claimed that the 38-year-old should be fit to face St Johnstone.

The back four is expected to remain much the same despite Filip Helander needing some game time, so it means Borna Barisic and James Tavernier continue on the flanks with Conor Goldson partnering the industrious Leon Balogun once again.

In midfield comes the other change as Glen Kamara drops to the bench at the expense of veteran Steven Davis, who sits alongside Ryan Jack in the Gers engine room.

Gerrard has often gone to others over the Finnish international and that could repeat itself here. It remains to be seen if Kamara has a future in Glasgow with Ligue 1 outfit Marseille keen on signing him for around €10m (£9m).

Ryan Kent and Joe Aribo will be deployed on the wings again with Ianis Hagi sitting in the hole.

Whilst upfront, Alfredo Morelos is likely to continue after two goals and two assists from as many matches this season.

AND in other news, The new Mo Salah claims Rangers want to sign him this summer…

MatériaMais Notícias

O treino deste sábado na Cidade do Galo deu bons indícios de qual time do Atlético-MG enfrentará o São Paulo, no dia 19, pela 35ª rodada do Brasileiro. Levir Culpi comandou uma atividade em campo reduzido e indicou que o lateral-direito Patric novamente será utilizado do outro lado do campo.

A improvisação acontecerá por conta da suspensão de Douglas Santos, titular da posição. Além do lateral-esquerdo, o Galo não terá Leonardo Silva, também suspenso. Tiago formará a zaga ao lado de Jemerson, que está a serviço da Seleção Brasileira, que joga terça-feira em Salvador, contra o Peru.

No treino deste sábado, o técnico do Galo ainda não contou com as participações dozagueiro Edcarlos e o volante Josué, ambos em tratamento no departamento médico.

Assim, o Atlético-MG deve entrar com a seguinte formação no Morumbi na próxima quinta-feira, às 22h:Victor; Marcos Rocha, Jemerson, Tiago e Patric; Leandro Donizete, Rafael Carioca e Giovanni Augusto; Luan, Dátolo e Lucas Pratto.

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MatériaMais Notícias

O ex-jogador Juninho Pernambucano disparou contra o Superior Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva por meio de sua conta oficial no Twitter, nesta quarta-feira. A publicação do comentarista da Rede Globo foi feita no dia seguinte do julgamento de Emerson Sheik, do Flamengo, que pegou um jogo de suspensão após xingar o árbitro da partida entre o Rubro Negro e o Vasco, pelo jogo de volta das oitavas de finais da Copa do Brasil.

– S T J D = somos torcedores julgando desportistas. Ops vou pegar 6 meses. Não, 2 jogos ou até nada dependendo do torcedor julgador – escreveu Juninho na rede social.

Em sua mensagem, o ex-jogador deixou a entender que a pena foi branda porque o caso foi julgado por torcedores.

Na ocasião que gerou a punição, Sheik ofendeu o árbitro na saída para o intervalo da partida no Maracanã. Questionado sobre o que Fla precisaria mudar para o segundo tempo, o jogador falou que primeiro tinha que arrumar o juiz, que era uma m…

Carrow Road plays host to one of the biggest games of the Premier League weekend on Saturday afternoon, with Norwich City and West Ham going head-to-head in what is expected to be a tense battle between two relegation-threatened clubs.

Many will have already written the Canaries’ chances off, with Daniel Farke’s men 10 points adrift of safety with just four games left to play, and defeat to West Ham this weekend will indeed confirm their immediate return to the Championship for a fifth time – which would be a Premier League record.

It will, of course, bring an end to what started as a promising campaign for Norwich, who had shown glimpses of having enough to stay up when they recorded victories against the likes of Newcastle and Manchester City in August and September, and only missed out narrowly Chelsea.

But victories have since been hard to come by for the Canaries and since football restarted in June, they’ve lost five games on the spin and only managed to find the net once.

West Ham, on the other hand, have Premier League survival firmly in their own hands and can put a six-point gap between themselves and the bottom three with a win here.

David Moyes’ side had initially looked prepared to pull away from relegation danger sooner rather than later with victory over Chelsea and a draw away at Newcastle, but Wednesday’s 1-0 home defeat to Burnley means they’re still looking over their shoulder with four games to play.

Form

Since Norwich’s 1-0 home victory over Leicester City at the end of February, the Canaries have recorded six consecutive defeats, scoring just once during that run. With just five league wins on the board in 19/20 and only two of those coming since November, Daniel Farke’s men are unsurprisingly the worst form team in the division right now.

The Hammers have endured similar struggles of late but have won four points since the restart to give themselves a strong chance of staying in the division. However, David Moyes has only overseen three wins since returning to the club in January, all of which have come at home.

West Ham are currently on a run of eight games without a victory on their travels, dating all the way back to the middle of December, and they have conceded 17 goals in that run.

Team News

Todd Cantwell may face a late fitness test for the hosts after missing the midweek defeat to Watford but they will definitely be without sidelined quartet Sam Byram, Grant Hanley, Moritz Leitner and Christoph Zimmermann.

Record signing Sebastien Haller is on course to make his first West Ham start since the restart after overcoming a hip injury but Moyes will still be without Felipe Anderson and Robert Snodgrass due to injuries.

How to Watch

Norwich’s latest attempt at sparking a great escape kicks off at 12:30pm on Saturday 11 July.

The game will be shown live on BT Sport and fans will also be able to catch the action via football live streams.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho will have to work with a reduced transfer budget this summer, according to reports, as the north London side try to financially cope post-pandemic.

It means Spurs could see themselves restricted to free transfers and swap deals just one year after the club broke their record transfer fee to land French midfielder Tanguy Ndombele in a £55m coup.

One target that fans seem to be pleased with is Ryan Fraser – the AFC Bournemouth winger is set to leave the Cherries at the end of the season following the expiry of his contract.

The 26-year-old hasn’t had the best of campaigns, scoring just once in 32 appearances albeit with four assists, too but the south coasters have endured a tough season overall.

The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?

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Although last term, Fraser enjoyed a fruitful spell, bagging eight goals and 15 assists, via Transfermarkt.

Which is why many in north London appear to be happy over the thought of clinching the Scotsman on a free, especially instead of Willian and even over Erik Lamela.

Here’s what the Spurs faithful have been saying about the potential move…

AND in other news, Spurs fans react to fresh Milinkovic-Savic reports…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to ESPN, Manchester United are considering making a January move for AS Roma centre-forward Edin Dzeko.

What’s the word?

The Red Devils have attracted some serious criticism this season for allowing the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez leave the club in the summer, and their goal-scoring troubles have simply compounded the issue. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have mustered just 16 goals in their first 12 Premier League games, with even 17th-placed Aston Villa finding the back of the net more times (17).

Reports in recent weeks have claimed United are keen to address this issue by swooping for a striker when the winter window opens up, with Mario Mandzukic and Callum Wilson said to be high up on the short-list. Now, ESPN claim the Red Devils are keen on former Manchester City star Edin Dzeko after “identifying the need for experienced reinforcements to the squad’s attacking options”.

The report adds that following Mandzukic’s lack of game-time – he has yet to play for Juventus this season – United have turned to Dzeko as an option considering his Premier League experience, with Ed Woodward ready to “sanction the signing of a seasoned forward”.

Proven quality

While some United fans have expressed their approval behind a possible move for Mandzukic, Dzeko would be an undeniable upgrade on the Croatia international. The 6 foot 4 powerhouse has a remarkable goal-scoring record for a number of different clubs throughout the years, including the likes of VfL Wolfsburg, AS Roma and City.

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And it is his experience with the latter that makes a swoop for Dzeko incredibly shrewd. In his time at the Etihad, the Bosnia and Herzegovina international racked up an impressive 72 goals in 189 games – particularly fine work considering Sergio Aguero’s presence in the squad.  Of his total goal tally, 50 of them came in the Premier League alone, and the 33-year-old’s first-hand knowledge of the top-flight would stand him in good stead at Old Trafford.

The veteran wouldn’t need to adjust to the different pace and intensity from arriving from Italian football like Mandzukic would – the Croatian hasn’t even’t kicked a ball yet this season, let alone playing in England. Dzeko meanwhile has already played 15 times, whilst his previous City experience would allow him to hit the ground running in mid-season for United. It would mean Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wouldn’t need to worry about slowly bedding him in, and as such, it’s a move that makes perfect sense for the Red Devils.

QPR fans have been reliving a fond memory after the club posted a video of a goal from a clash with Middlesbrough back in 2010.

The club is building up to the match-up between the two clubs, and they could certainly do with the goalscorer and assist maker for that goal on Saturday – Hogan Ephraim and Adel Taarabt.

Watch Queens Park Rangers Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Supporters have enjoyed the flashback to what some think were better times, with numerous praise of the R’s team back then.

It is easy to see why they think of that team with cherished memories, as QPR won the Championship with 88 points that season, with Taarabt picking up the Football League Player of the Year award after tallying 19 goals.

They ran out 3-0 winners on that day, a return Mark Warburton will certainly be hoping for on Saturday, and considering Boro’s abysmal form it is not beyond the realms of possibility.

Here are some of the fan reactions to the brilliant link-up play between the two former R’s players.

Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to show their love for an interview from club legend Darren Ambrose.

To make the situation all the more special for those who hold the south London club close to their hearts, the man who scored that famous goal at Hillsborough was chatting to another club legend in Wilfried Zaha.

Ambrose – who previously played for Palace’s south London rivals Charlton before arriving at Selhurst Park – scored 37 goals and recorded 23 goals in 124 appearances for the Eagles.

In Zaha’s case, the Ivorian is held in extremely high regard at Palace for a number of reasons, having scored the winning goal against arch-rivals Brighton in the playoff semi-finals while also making nearly 350 appearances for the club.

So, to see both of them involved in the same interview presumably makes for an exciting watch if you’re a Palace fan.

These Eagles supporters on Twitter certainly seemed to enjoy what they saw…