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Tottenham Hotspur left-back Danny Rose is keen for a loan move to Paris Saint-Germain according to The Sun.

What’s the story?

The 28-year-old joined Spurs back in 2007 and has gone on to make over 100 league appearances for the club.

The England international suffered a serious injury in 2017 and was limited to nine Premier League starts last season as Ben Davies cemented the left-back spot in Mauricio Pochettino’s first XI.

Rose had been linked with a loan move to Schalke but according to the latest report, the Tottenham star is holding out for a move to PSG instead, with the French champions in the hunt for a new left-back.

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Late mover

Even though the English transfer window has closed without Tottenham making a signing, they are still at risk from foreign clubs picking up their players.

While it would be good for Spurs to keep Rose on their books this season with little cover for Davies, it seems the star is set on a move away.

It may be best in the long run to give him the time he needs away from the club and he could come back next summer an improved player intent on staying at Spurs in the long run.

Liverpool have had a very positive summer transfer window, arguably the best out of the top four clubs in the Premier League so far.Manager Jurgen Klopp has recruited Fabinho, Naby Keita, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alisson, who has become the most expensive goalkeeper in the world following his switch from Roma.The pressure is on the Merseyside outfit to win a trophy this season due to the impressive squad that Klopp has now put together.Former Liverpool defender Phil Thompson is feeling optimistic about the club this season, but he believes that they are one centre-back short of being serious contenders.While writing a preview forÂSky Sports, the TV pundit urged the Reds to ‘snatch’ Leicester City defender Harry Maguire from under Manchester United’s noses.[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255848″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Liverpool’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]According to a recent report fromÂSky Sports, the Red Devils are preparing a world-record bid for the England international, who starred at the World Cup in Russia.Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk is currently the world’s most expensive centre-back following his £75m switch from Southampton in January.Some Liverpool fans have been tweeting their thoughts on Thompson’s claims, and a handful are not convinced by Maguire’s quality.

According to Spanish media outlet El Desmarque, Tottenham Hotspur winger Lucas Moura is a target for La Liga club Real Betis before the Spanish transfer window closes on August 31.

What’s the word, then?

Well, while the English window closed with Spurs being the only Premier League club not to sign a single player, other windows across other European leagues are still very much open meaning those clubs can still bid for Tottenham stars.

El Desmarque report that Betis are keen to bring Moura to Spain even though he only joined the north London outfit from Paris Saint-Germain in January in a £25m deal.

While the 26-year-old started in Mauricio Pochettino’s men’s opening day top flight win against Newcastle United at St James’ Park last weekend, he often found himself on the substitutes’ bench in the second-half of the 2017/18 campaign.

What should Pochettino do?

If Betis produce an offer that allows Tottenham, whose fans on Twitter are split on the potential August exit of another first-teamer, to recoup most of the money they paid for the Brazilian at the start of the year, then they should cash in.

The Argentine boss would have been expecting the pacy attacker to have made more of an impact than he has, and the fact that he only played 208 minutes of Premier League football last term proves that Pochettino didn’t feel Moura was showing enough in training or on the pitch.

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While it can take time to adapt to a new league and country, if Spurs and Pochettino don’t feel that the 26-year-old is going to make the grade then there is no point persisting with him, and they should take advantage of any big-money offers in the next few days and weeks.

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According to ChronicleLive, Newcastle’s top summer target was Nice’s Alassane Pléa, a deal that obviously never went through. But Newcastle should breathe a sigh of relief at that failed business. 

In the end, Pléa joined Bundesliga outfit Borussia Mönchengladbach for a fee of £20.7m, a price that some Newcastle fans believe their club would never pay.

The former France under-21 international (valued at £16.2m on Transfermarkt.co.uk) scored 16 goals in 34 Ligue 1 appearances last season, which, by most people’s standards, is a good return. Therefore, at first, this seems like The Magpies missed out. But they definitely didn’t. The alternative that they ended up signing on loan, Salomón Rondón, will prove to be a much, much more valuable player this season.

How often have fans of the Premier League seen a high profile player come from another European league, particularly France, and simply fail to cope with the rigours of England’s top division. Even Alexandre Lacazette, after scoring 28 goals in 30 league games for Lyon, struggled to adapt to the Premier League somewhat. Pléa has that characteristic written all over him.

Pléa would have lacked the pace or physicality to make an immediate impact in the northeast, which will be desperately needed this season. Rondón (valued at £11.7m on Transfermarkt.co.uk), on the other hand, is a proven forward in the Premier League. He won’t need a few months to get running in the league; he can be an instant success when he gets his first start.

Although Rondón’s goal return in the Premier League isn’t fantastic, he was at a struggling club last season, at a better club he could be a major success. Newcastle will need goals this season, in light of some fans’ fears of where they will end up in the table, and Rondón will prove to be a much better purchase than Pléa.

Leeds fans have been revelling in the brilliance of their attacking play at Norwich, but it’s one of the defensive displays that shows the true brilliance of Marcelo Bielsa.

While much of the focus around Bielsa is on his tactical expertise, his man management skills are second to none.

The charismatic new Leeds boss withdrew Kalvin Phillips after just 28 minutes in the 2-2 draw at Swansea last week, and whatever he said to the midfielder between then and Saturday clearly worked to perfection.

Phillips was one of the main scapegoats last season, as his midfield partnership with Eunan O’Kane under Paul Heckingbottom was quite simply a disaster.

The 22 year-old has been a different animal so far this season though, and he had his best performance yet in the 3-0 win at Norwich on Saturday.

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Despite wonderful performances from attackers like Pablo Hernandez and Ezgjan Alioski, Whoscored.com actually gave Phillips the highest rating of anyone on the pitch, and deservedly so.

Playing in what some might call “the Mascherano role”, the young midfielder was absolutely everywhere, winning three aerial duels and three tackles, as well as making three interceptions, ten clearances and an incredible four blocked shots.

To put those numbers in perspective, no other player on the pitch registered more than eight clearances, and the four blocks are even more remarkable, as the rest of the 27 players who took part combined for just three blocks.

Phillips wasn’t just a beast without the ball, and his distribution has improved massively since the arrival of Bielsa. The young midfielder completed 87 per cent of his passes at Carrow Road, including four successful long balls, the joint-most of any outfield player.

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So, Leeds fans, how impressed have you been by Phillips so far? Who else has improved massively under Bielsa? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…

After a great start to the season, Aston Villa have had a tough last two games as they’ve lost to Burton Albion and Sheffield United. 

Tipped as one of the favourites to gain promotion this season, Villa currently sit 12th in the table but can’t be ruled out of getting into the automatic promotion spots just yet.

Over the summer, Steve Bruce struggled to bring in too many players to help him in his promotion push. However, towards the end of the loan transfer window, Villa managed to bring in Yannick Bolasie, Anwar El Ghazi and Tammy Abraham to heavily bolster their attacking options.

Speaking of their attack, it’s been reported by the Daily Mail that out of favour striker Ross McCormack is poised to join Australian side, Central Coast Mariners on loan.

The Breakdown

Once regarded as one of the bet most prolific strikers in the Championship, McCormack has fallen out of favour at the club and looks set to be sent out on loan for the season.

During his time at Fulham and Leeds, the 32-year-old was a superb goalscorer, scoring 28, 17 and 21 goals respectively in the three seasons before he joined Villa, but since making his move to the Midlands, he has found it hard to replicate that form and only scored three goals in 20 games in the Championship in his first season.

In the second-half of last season, he was sent on loan to Melbourne City. He did well there but in reality, he has no place at Villa and shipping him off to the A-League seems a great move.

What do you think Villa fans?

From the day he arrived it was obvious that Steven Gerrard was going to bring good times back to Rangers Football Club. Over the last few months, that’s exactly what he’s done.

From the thousands turning out to greet him at Ibrox and his first press conference to immediately strengthening the squad with excellent signings to qualifying for the UEFA Europa League group stages, he’s ushered in a new era that demands more from the club.

The Liverpool icon has never settled for second best and he’s brought that determination to Glasgow. He offers the Light Blues a badly needed ambition that has lain dormant for too long now. He may well be the first credible challenger to Celtic in nearly a decade.

However, much of the optimism and progress so far will mean little if they again capitulate to a weakened Hoops side at Celtic Park on Sunday.

With transfer drama and European exits dominating headlines across the city, Brendan Rodgers and his squad are vulnerable for the first time since he arrived in Glasgow. Everyone knows this; Rangers, pundits, fans and even Celtic themselves.

The great strides that this Rangers team have taken compared to last season’s side is in defence. They’ve gone from a team that conceded more goals than any other side in the top six of the Scottish Premiership last season to one that on Thursday, managed to keep a Russian Premier League side at bay with nine-men available.

This new defensive solidity has come at a cost. Millions of pounds have been spent on the fourteen summer signings that have been made at the time of writing. It’s spending perhaps beyond what even Rangers fans expected at the start of the transfer window. To put a spin on a famous cliche though, with great spending comes great responsibility.

The first tangible reward for Gerrard was qualification for the UEFA Europa League and while fans are obviously celebrating that, the thing they want to see most is the theoretical gap being closed on Celtic.

A win would surely provide the Gers with the spark they need to launch a sustained title bid. Flip the coin though and a loss would be the latest critical mental blow to the club in their desire to win major honours.

Demanding a win against Celtic is of course silly but a good performance is required at Celtic Park to sustain the momentum that Steven Gerrard has been building. He needs to have something to hang onto to demonstrate that the fight will be brought to the Hoops across 2018/19.

Can the Rangers boss inspire his side and show that again, in this new phase of his footballing career, the concept of second best does not enter into his thinking?

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Arsenal will face Newcastle at St. James Park when the international break is concluded.

The Gunners have racked up back-to-back wins in the Premier League after a difficult start to the Unai Emery reign. Arsenal were beaten by both Manchester City and Chelsea before responding with victories over Cardiff and West Ham. With the Magpies languishing in the relegation zone, they will be confident on inflicting further pain on Rafael Benitez’ side.

Despite returning to winning ways, the form of Mesut Ozil will be a concern for the former PSG boss. The German was invisible against both City and Chelsea as well as being ineffective against Cardiff. The ex-Real Madrid man was dropped for the win against West Ham and Emery may be tempted to search for a replacement when the January transfer window rolls around.

One man he could target is Marseille playmaker – Dimitri Payet. Valued at £19.8m by Transfermarkt, the France international is no stranger to life in the Premier League following a glistening spell with West Ham back in 2015. Payet was shortlisted for the PFA Player of the Year award in 2016 as a result of his exceptional performances in England.

Despite becoming a key player for the Hammers, Payet returned to Marseille in January 2017 following the takeover by American businessman Frank McCourt who sought to bring their best players back to the club. His terrific showings continued in France with Payet hitting ten goals and registering 24 assists in all competitions last season. The 31-year-old continued his form into the new campaign with two goals against Toulouse as well as creating one during the 3-2 win against Monaco.

Payet has the quality to unlock defences and has already proven he has what it takes to be a success in the Premier League. Reports earlier in the summer suggested he had been offered the chance to return to England – Arsenal should do all they can to sign him in January and finally replace Ozil.

Arsenal fans, thoughts?

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Tottenham Hotspur are fighting Roma for the signature of 21-year-old Ajax starlet David Neres, according to CalcioMercato.

What’s the word?

After a summer transfer window that saw Mauricio Pochettino fail to sign a single player, Spurs encountered problems in recent weeks by suffering three consecutive defeats before returning to winning ways on Saturday against Brighton.

It is clear that improvements to the squad are needed in January though and Pochettino is already on the hunt for new additions, with his attention caught by 21-year-old Ajax starlet David Neres – who has attracted plenty of interest.

CalcioMercato report that Spurs face competition in the market from Roma for the services of the youngster, who told the De Telegraaf via CalcioMercato that he was also aware of Borussia Dortmund’s interest.

What was said?

“I’m going to focus on the interest of other clubs only when my agent will say that Ajax are ready to negotiate.

“I’ve read about the interest of Borussia Dortmund but, as I said, I am not focused on it. I am only thinking about Ajax at the moment. I am flattered by the interest of such a big club, I’m honored that they want to invest a lot of money to sign me, that means I’ve taken the right path.

“Ajax have offered me a contract extension and that’s another proof of my good work here. It shows that the club appreciate what I do and that’s an incentive for me to work harder and keep improving.”

What can he provide?

Another gem developed by Ajax, the Brazil U20 international has enjoyed a meteoric rise since making the move to the Eredivisie giants from Sao Paulo in 2017 – making 43 league appearances and hitting the net on 17 occasions.

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Neres is yet to open his account in the league this season but has proved his worth Champions League, scoring in the victory over Standard Liege during the qualifying stages and contributing an assist in the 3-0 Group Stage victory over AEK Athens last week.

Neres’ biggest asset is his versatility as he is capable of playing in central midfield or on the flanks, which would prove to be a huge boost to Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs side – and fans can get excited about how the young South American would develop under the guidance of the Argentine boss.

Oliver Burke moved to West Bromwich Albion from RB Leipzig in 2017.

The winger arrived at The Hawthorns with plenty of promise, but he started just two Premier League games and came off the bench in a further 13.

The Scotland international suffered with fitness issues and was unable to help the Baggies stay in the top flight.

Many would have assumed that the 21-year-old would get more minutes following the club’s drop into the Championship.

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However, this season the 21-year-old has played just 14 minutes of league action and has featured in the EFL Cup twice.

For the majority of the campaign so far, Burke has had to settle for the Under-23s and on Monday night he impressed by scoring a goal and bagging an assist.

His performance led some fans to question why he is not a regular in Darren Moore’s squad, while others believe that Burke is not quite good enough to break into a team that boasts an attack of Dwight Gayle, Jay Rodriguez and Harvey Barnes.