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Former Premier League manager Lawrie Sanchez has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that Eddie Howe needs to prove himself if he wants to become a top-six manager.

The 43-year-old has been a free agent since leaving Bournemouth following their relegation to the Championship at the end of last season.

But Howe hasn’t been short of interest, with the ex-Cherries boss strongly linked with Celtic and Crystal Palace, whilst Newcastle have also been mentioned.

Howe’s agent has said that he won’t been back working until the summer, but he remains the number one candidate to replace Neil Lennon at Parkhead.

We quizzed Sanchez whether Howe would be a suitable fit for Southampton, with Ralph Hasenhuttl under pressure following just four Premier League victories since early-December, but he believes that he should shy away from another club that could be involved in a relegation battle.

He told The Transfer Tavern: “It’s a revolving door. I’m sure during his time at Bournemouth he finished above Southampton, so, what is he improving, beyond being local for him?”

Sanchez also said that Howe should take a leaf out of Brendan Rodgers’ book, who went away and managed Celtic following his dismissal at Liverpool and has worked his way back to the top with Leicester.

He continued:

“At one stage he was being talked about as a top-six manager, and to become a top-six manager he needs to follow Brendan Rodgers’ route.

“Short-term that [Celtic] would be beneficial for him, and then if he wants to come back to Southampton then he can always come back to them, but if he goes there and they have a bad year and they get relegated then you think, where does he go from there?”

On the fifth-year anniversary of his last job in the Premier League coming to an end, Roberto Martinez continues to be linked to the managerial vacancy at Tottenham Hotspur.

According to Football Insider, the former Everton boss is making a ‘huge play’ behind the scenes for the Spurs job ahead of the summer.

It’s claimed that the 47-year-old is prepared to quit his role as Belgium national team boss after the European Championships and is now thought to be a strong contender to replace Jose Mourinho.

On May 12th 2016, the Spaniard was relieved of his duties at Goodison Park, ending a very disappointing reign.

Despite leading the Merseysiders to the semi-finals of the FA and League Cup that season, they had slipped to 12th in the Premier League and back-to-back defeats to Leicester City and Sunderland sealed his fate.

As Eurosport reported at the time, it was a ‘story of failure’ as Martinez ‘promised so much’ and ‘delivered so little’ – that being the prospect of becoming an established side in Europe, particularly the Champions League but ultimately sinking to mid-table obscurity.

Jonathan Wilson believes many of the problems are through his stubbornness to change and adapt. “The problems seem systemic – what went wrong at Wigan is going wrong at Everton,” he claimed. “And there’s no evidence Martinez is able to fix it.”

Furthermore, Lyndon Lloyd, the editor of popular Everton fansite ToffeeWeb, told IBTimes UK similar reasoning.

“The main reasons for the underachievement as a whole probably stem from the lack of focus on solidity at the back and a stubborn mentality to see out matches when the team was ahead,” he claimed. “Over the past two seasons Martinez’s tactics, formations, substitution policy and the fitness of his players have all come into question and, ultimately, undermined his position.”

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That stubbornness to play a system that doesn’t match the squad’s quality is quite similar to Mourinho’s tenure, too. And that must be avoided.

Three months after leaving, he took control of Belgium and has kept them atop the FIFA rankings ever since but a third-place finish in the last World Cup is surely an underachievement considering the plethora of talent on offer – ranging from the likes of Toby Alderweireld and Kevin De Bruyne to Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard.

If you’re not cleaning up trophies with that side, then something is amiss. Perhaps those “systemic” problems are the cause?

His overall record in the Premier League is far from inspiring either, winning just 30% of his 261 matches in charge. There’s only so much longer he can ride the crest of that fortuitous FA Cup triumph at Wigan Athletic.

An appointment like this would not only leave fans underwhelmed, and probably furious, but it would certainly make Levy’s job harder in keeping Harry Kane, who wants to cap off his phenomenal goalscoring career with a few trophies.

The Spurs chairman might as well wave goodbye to his leading talisman this summer if Martinez were to be hired.

“I want to be winning the biggest prizes there are to offer and we are not quite doing that,” Kane said after their Carabao Cup final heartbreak last month.

Both Manchester giants, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Real Madrid have all been mooted with interest in the 27-year-old striker, so he certainly won’t be short of suitors and he is very much more likely to add silverware to his trophy cabinet at any of those teams than in North London.

Spurs won’t be contending any time soon if they hire Martinez and that may well spell trouble for their chances of seeing Kane remain in a Lilywhites shirt for much longer.

Levy must avoid the Belgium coach at all costs, otherwise, their future will look even bleaker than it already does.

AND in other news, Levy spends £60m, no Eric Dier: How Spurs’ XI could look if Scott Parker is hired…

Former Premier League manager Lawrie Sanchez has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that he believes Steve Bruce will stay on at Newcastle next season.

Bruce recently told talkSPORT that he never came close to leaving but has faced several problems on and off the pitch during a challenging campaign at St James’ Park.

Not to mention the failed takeover bid, the Magpies have suffered some major injuries to key players, whilst the head coach was involved in a training ground bust-up with experienced midfielder Matt Ritchie.

Despite those setbacks, Bruce masterminded Newcastle to Premier League safety once again, and even picked up the April Premier League Manager of the Month award for his efforts following impressive results against Tottenham, West Ham and Liverpool before their recent victory at Leicester all but secured their topflight status.

Newcastle continued their improvements against Manchester City on Friday, although this time it didn’t show in the points column, but a strong end to the campaign could still result in a higher bottom-half finish.

And Lawrie told The Transfer Tavern that the 60-year-old will still be there next term:

“I don’t think he will call it a day. He’s near 1000 games. He’s done a cracking job at keeping them up there.

“He will always get a job because he will always get you promoted or keeps you up – that’s his forte.

“Being a Newcastle boy, he would like to be given a chance with a bit of money to spend, but as we all know, we saw it with West Ham, they get rid of the English manager and bring in a foreigner to spend it and then have to go back to the English manager to sort out the problem afterwards. I would imagine that’s what will happen with Newcastle.”

When the summer transfer window opens, the new manager of Celtic should only have one thing on his mind at Parkhead; adding more to his attack.

This is a period where it looks increasingly likely that Odsonne Edouard will depart the Hoops and if he does, a replacement will be needed.

Edouard spoke excitedly of his desire a year ago to win ten in a row but after a dismal season for the Bhoys in 2020/21, it looks as though he’s finally had enough.

A move to Leicester City appears to be on the cards but with Leigh Griffiths also potentially leaving, it could leave Celtic particularly light in attack.

One option in the market could be Hibernian striker Kevin Nisbet.

He finished as the second top scorer in the Premiership this term with 14 goals to his name, making a big splash under Jack Ross at Easter Road.

As a result of his promising performances, he’s been linked with a move to Celtic.

It’s not the most appealing of moves on paper, especially if you’re trying to replace Edouard. Though, you only need to take a look at the impact players like Kris Boyd or Stuart McDonald have had since making similar switches to one of the Old Firm clubs.

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Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show this week, reporter Mark Guidi was speaking about Nisbet and a potential move to Paradise:

“He knows his way about this league, he can score goals. When you think back, we’re going back 15-20 years. When you’ve got goalscorers like that, I think they can step up. If you look at the classic example – Kris Boyd, Kilmarnock to Rangers for £400k, more than 100 goals,” he said.

“Scott McDonald – Motherwell to Celtic, £600k, handled it, no problems. So if you’ve got Kevin Nisbet available, he’s been linked with Celtic, I do think that for sure he’ll be on a list of names presented to Eddie Howe to look at and go and do his homework on,” Guidi added.

McDonald was a roaring success at Parkhead after making the leap from the Steelmen in 2007.

The Australian bagged 59 goals in 117 outings, proving that forwards can flourish after moving from a side lower down the table to Celtic.

Like McDonald, Nisbet had a habit of scoring goals throughout Scottish football before making his mark in the Premiership. The Celtic target has now had a fabulous two years, netting 23 in 33 for Dunfermline during 2019/20.

The Bhoys had similar success with Leigh Griffiths. After he scored 38 in 78 for Hibs, he made the move to Glasgow and has beaten the ‘keeper on 123 occasions in Celtic colours.

Nisbet wouldn’t just offer goals to the team either. According to Alan Archibald, the 24-year-old has plenty of qualities. Talking about his time at Partick Thistle, the coach said: “He had everything to his game; touch, strength, physicality and he was quick when he opened up as well.”

This proves they don’t necessarily need to spend big in order to replace Edouard this summer; there are plenty of jewels in the Premiership for them to lap up.

AND in other news, Report claims £7.2m “horror show” will never play for Celtic again, fans surely elated…

Writing for football.london, reliable Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has now claimed that the Lilywhites and chairman Daniel Levy ‘could return’ for Inter Milan star Milan Skriniar this summer.

The Lowdown: Skriniar and Spurs, the saga…

The Slovakian was a big name during Spurs’ last summer transfer window, with links to the north Londoners seemingly never-ending when former manager Jose Mourinho was on the hunt for a centre-half.

As reported by Gold last year, chief technical performance director Steve Hitchen flew to Italy in an attempt to negotiate a deal for the defender but hit a snag when Inter and Spurs could not agree on the price.

The Latest: Spurs ‘could return’ for Skriniar

Bringing an update on Tottenham’s transfer plans, reliable correspondent Gold believes that due to Inter’s financial woes, Spurs could lodge an attempt to sign him this summer.

“Tottenham had a strong interest in Milan Skriniar last summer but would not meet Inter Milan’s £43m valuation of the player,” he wrote for football.london.

“With the Serie A side’s current financial struggles, the north London outfit could return for another run at the 26-year-old Slovakian, who has two years left on his contract.”

The Verdict: Do it Levy…

As Spurs aim to possibly bolster their backline this summer with the addition of star names, they can do absolutely no better than Skriniar as a target.

He continued his brilliant form for Inter over the 2020/2021 season, making 31 starts for the Serie A giants, averaging an impressive 92.2% pass accuracy out from the back (WhoScored) on path to their first league title since 2010.

This may display a cool head mixed with a winning mentality and that is exactly what Tottenham need for a new centre-half.

Lauded as an ‘incredible defender’ by former teammate Adam Zilak (La Gazzetta dello Sport), he could be the ideal defensive signing for Spurs and especially if his current club are potentially forced to sell below the asking price.

In other news: ‘Could be sold’ – Alasdair Gold says Levy could axe this ‘fantastic player’ who loves Spurs, find out more here.

Mauricio Pochettino will reportedly not be the next Tottenham Hotspur manager unless anything drastically changes in the near future…

What’s the word?

That’s according to the Telegraph’s chief football correspondent Jason Burt, who has delivered a series of updates on Twitter this week.

“Having spoken to Paris Saint-Germain, they are adamant that Mauricio Pochettino has not told them or club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi that he wants to leave,” he said, before adding: “Pochettino’s contract at PSG also now has two years left to run. It all points to him staying.”

Burt then concluded: “Unless something very dramatic and unexpected happens Pochettino is staying at PSG.”

The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke first broke the news that Spurs and Pochettino had held talks over a sensational return to the club, some 18 months after he was sacked by Daniel Levy but now that does not appear to be possible.

Frustrating news

This won’t sit well with Levy or the Spurs fanbase as it seems both were desperate to see the 49-year-old back in North London this summer.

It’s believed that the Lilywhites chairman has privately admitted to those around him that sacking the Argentine boss was the worst mistake of his career, since holding a position at the club, as per The Sun.

The fact that he’s admitting this is quite unusual, considering it took him only a few months after Champions League final heartache to pull the trigger.

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It also suggests that he’s willing to show it was a massive blunder in public as he’s spoken to Pochettino and tried to lure him back.

When the news first broke that talks had happened, much of the Spurs faithful were elated, with many struggling to contain their excitement. For example, via This is Futbol, one member of the fanbase claimed he was “going to pass out” whilst another suggested it was “like Christmas Eve.”

A small sample size but not many wouldn’t want arguably their greatest modern era manager back in the dugout. After all, he led them to three successive top-three finishes and a Champions League final – since then, it’s all gone a bit downhill for Spurs.

Last season’s sixth-place earned the North Londoners a spot in the Europa League, where they were embarrassingly knocked out by Dinamo Zagreb.

Interim boss Ryan Mason then scraped seventh place, which means Spurs will be in the newly-formed Conference League, whilst teams like West Ham and Leicester City finished above them.

Burt’s latest claim only piles further misery onto Spurs and their quest to find a viable successor to Jose Mourinho and Levy won’t be happy that he is unlikely to get the chance to rectify his error.

AND in other news, Spurs can wave bye to Harry Kane if 48 y/o with 52% win rate is hired…

Aston Villa have been handed a major boost in their transfer pursuit of Norwich City star Emi Buendia this summer.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks and months have suggested that the Argentine is a target for Dean Smith’s side, with Buendia helping to fire the Canaries back into the Premier League for next season.

Sky Sports recently claimed that both Villa and top-flight rivals Arsenal are ready to renew their interest in the diminutive playmaker, with both clubs making enquiries about potentially signing him this summer.

And despite the significant competition from the north Londoners, Football Insider claim that it’s Villa who have gone ahead in the race to land Buendia, and that they have made progress on his signing since the season ended.

Fans will be buzzing

The £20,000-a-week earner enjoyed a superb campaign for the Canaries, scoring 15 goals and providing an incredible 17 assists in the Championship.

His teammate Max Aarons has raved about Buendia’s abilities, saying: “He’s not really a player who will get on the ball and take you on as a full-back. His game is more about getting into pockets, playing neat passes and creating things.

“When you’ve got someone, who wants to run at you, then it’s easier to lock them down whereas someone like him is quite intricate so it’s hard to get near him. He’s tenacious and very strong. He’s got a lot of attributes.”

Dubbed as a “very special talent” by Norwich’s Ben Gibson, the early signing of Buendia would be absolutely huge news for the club’s fans who will be keen to see their team get off to a good start in the transfer market.

Villa had some fantastic success in last summer’s window with the likes of Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez, and it helped Smith no end that Villa got those targets in early doors.

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What makes this potential deal for Buendia even sweeter is the fact they would be beating one of the Premier League’s heavyweights in landing him – a major sign of the progress that Villa have made under Smith.

The latest update on Buendia should have fans buzzing.

Meanwhile, Villa are facing a major transfer nightmare…

Matheus Pereira has reportedly spoken to Leeds United over a potential summer move to Elland Road following West Brom’s relegation.

The Lowdown: Leeds linked with Pereira

The Whites could be set for a busy transfer window as Marcelo Bielsa looks to bring in new players all over the pitch. One individual who has been linked with a move to Leeds is Pereira, who excelled for the Baggies despite their relegation last season, scoring 11 goals and registering six assists in the Premier League.

It seems unlikely that the 25-year-old will be playing Championship football next year, and a fresh update has been provided regarding his future.

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The Latest: Journalist provides key update

According to The Mirror’s David Anderson on Twitter, Pereira has ‘spoken to Leeds’ over a move, as well as a number of other clubs.

However, it is also stated that the Whites are ‘not following up on his offer to open transfer talks’, which suggests that a transfer is still a long way from happening.

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The Verdict: Sign him, Marcelo

The Brazilian would be an ideal signing for Leeds this summer, bringing youth, creativity and end product to an already vibrant attacking side. His aforementioned numbers in the top-flight last season in a struggling side speak volumes about how productive he could be playing under Bielsa alongside superior players.

While a move doesn’t appear too likely at the moment, Leeds should do all they can to try and bring Pereira to Elland Road, allowing him to dovetail with the likes of Raphinha, Jack Harrison and Patrick Bamford.

In other news, another Premier League club could be set to pip Leeds to a summer signing. Find out who it is here.

Many Wolves fans have been left to fume as a transfer update emerged on Ruben Neves.

As per the Daily Express, Arsenal are reportedly considering using Ainsley Maitland-Niles as a makeweight in any deal to try and bring the Portugal international to the Emirates Stadium.

Neves has been a key player for the Molineux faithful over the past few years, from being part of the squad which won promotion up to the Premier League from the EFL Championship back in 2018 and then being a mainstay in the side ever since.

The central midfield player averaged more tackles (2.4), interceptions (1.8), shots (1.9), passes (54.9) and long balls (5.3) per match in the top flight than both Leander Dendoncker and Joao Moutinho in the 2020/21 term (WhoScored), further highlighting his importance.

He also averaged more tackles, interceptions, blocks, shots, key passes and long balls than Maitland-Niles while he was on loan at West Brom (Whoscored), and while the Englishman would fill a void left in midfield, he simply does not compare to Neves.

Wolves fans on Neves transfer update

These WWFC supporters fumed as the transfer update was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it would be an ‘awful’ deal for them:

“No no no and no.”

Credit: @leeb1977

“Please nooooo!!!!!!!”

Credit: @BertieBaugh

“No way”

Credit: @RobertH48660018

“That ship has sailed. AMN isn’t anywhere near good enough.”

Credit: @southbanklaffs

“This would be an awful deal for us.”

Credit: @amarsmusicshow

“Maitland-Niles is garbage. He should fit in nicely with useless youngsters like Nouri, Silva & Vitinha!!”

Credit: @SteveWiles20

In other news, find out who is the Wanderers’ number one target this summer here!

Manchester United could move for Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele this summer if they fail to secure the signature of Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho.

What’s the story?

The England international has been a long-term target for United, and progress is reportedly being made to get that deal over the line, but Dembele is viewed as an alternative option if the 21-year-old stays put.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s charges were keen on the Barca man 12 months ago and still hold an interest in him to this day, according to transfer expert Duncan Castles (as reported by The Express).

Solskjaer must avoid

United enjoyed fans saw their team progress last season, achieving consecutive fourth-place finishes in the Premier League for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

However, they also witnessed their side crash out of the Champions League group stages and fall to defeat in the Europa League final, extending their longest trophy drought in over 30 years.

With Liverpool already making moves in the transfer market, strengthening their backline with the acquisition of Ibrahima Konate, and Chelsea bidding for the highly-rated Achraf Hakimi, the Red Devils need to bolster their ranks over the coming months.

The Transfer Window podcast host Castles has claimed that United may do so by bringing in Dembele, ending his four-year Camp Nou nightmare.

“Man United turned to Dembele at the end of the last transfer window when they couldn’t get (Jadon) Sancho,” he revealed.

“They made a number of bids and (held) extensive negotiations with FC Barcelona. (It’s) something they had in play from early in last summer’s transfer window.”

“They’re not working in the same way with Dembele this summer, but they have asked to be kept informed of what Dembele does and if he becomes available,” Castles continued.

“He is a back-option, and they’ve done a little bit of work on (a possible deal).”

The £210,000-per-week flop has failed to hit the heights during his time with the Catalan giants. A string of serious injuries have limited the 24-year-old to just 118 appearances in all competitions since his arrival back in 2017.

And although he’s shown glimpses of his top-class quality, Dembele has failed to hit double figures in either goals or assists during his four La Liga campaigns.

If United are going to close the 12-point gap to Premier League champions Manchester City next term, then Solskjaer needs to bring in someone with a far greater output than the Barca ace.

And, in other news…Woodward heading for huge transfer mistake over “very clever” Man Utd maestro