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According to an exclusive update courtesy of 90min, Tottenham Hotspur have had an approach to sign AS Roma starlet Nicolo Zaniolo rejected – with the Italian club’s newly found takeover meaning they’re no longer looking to offload one of their most prized assets. 

Back in early August, US billionaire Dan Friedkin completed a £530 million buy-out of Roma from ex-majority shareholder James Pallotta – injecting some financial stability and ultimately changing their stance on selling star players.

Previously, the Serie A side had been tipped to negotiate an exit for Zaniolo as they looked to finance new additions in weakened areas, and Spurs allegedly lead the race ahead of Juventus and Inter Milan.

The Lilywhites, who have been tracking the attacker since 2019, seemed to have a fair chance of landing him – with manager Jose Mourinho reportedly looking to add some fresh final third options ahead of a 2020/2021 Champions League qualification push.

However, following Friedkin’s move to buy Roma, Spurs will no longer have the chance to sign Zaniolo as per 90min – with the club now reluctant to let go of the 6ft 3 creative force.

This news should come as a hammer blow to chairman Daniel Levy and the club board, especially considering Tottenham have so far failed to land a successor for ex-hero Christian Eriksen.

Indeed, Mourinho’s side have an abundance of midfielders who play in slightly deeper roles, having also recently acquired Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton. 

However, Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn appear to be their only attacking midfielders who are debatably adept at playing through the middle – with Zaniolo previously seen as a player who can fill that mould. 

Described as ‘incredible’ by Italian footballing icon Daniele De Rossi, Spurs’ rejected approach for the starlet simply must prompt the club to search elsewhere for alternatives before the start of next campaign.

Spurs fans, are you disappointed that Zaniolo looks unlikely to join the club? Let us know below…

Wolves have often relied on the influence of super-agent Jorge Mendes, though their latest move could be a step too far this transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to Tuttosport, the Midlands outfit are a potential destination for Juventus winger Douglas Costa as he edges closer towards and exit from the Serie A champions.

They claim that Mendes is trying to bring the 30-year-old to Molineux as a potential successor to Diogo Jota, who departed for Liverpool last week.

Costa is currently valued at £18m by Transfermarkt having cost the Italian giants €40m in the summer of 2018. He’s thought to be on £190k-per-week wages, too.

Absolute nightmare?

Wolves have a lot to thank Mendes for, without him, there’s a chance they wouldn’t have signed the likes of Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho or Rui Patricio and perhaps not even their manager Nuno Santo either.

But having lost a key star in Jota, his replacement certainly shouldn’t be a 30-year-old injury-prone misfit, especially when both Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence appear ready to fill that void.

The Brazilian winger started just seven matches in Serie A last season, scoring one goal and providing four assists whilst averaging 1.9 dribbles and 1.3 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

It remains to be seen how much he’d cost, but to even consider playing a fraction of his extortionate £190k-per-week wages would be one hell of a gamble from Jeff Shi.

Once labelled the next Ronaldinho for the way he “loves to play just behind the forward-line and loves to beat people with his exceptional skill and close control,” it appears his days at the very top are numbered.

“He’s a very strong player, naturally left-footed but can play on the right too. And he is ruthless and unstoppable when cutting in from the wings”

said Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu.

Having been described as someone who had “electric pace” whilst at Bayern Munich, it seems that injuries have very much caught up with him – he’s had eight different issues since his move to Juve alone.

Shi is on the verge of making a major blunder with this one. Costa must be avoided at all costs.

AND in other news, Wolves could land another defensive flop in La Liga outcast…

West Ham United clinched their first points of the new Premier League season with an impressive 4-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the London Stadium.

Irons boss David Moyes will no doubt be delighted with his team’s display, even if he had to watch from home with Alan Irvine in charge.

Jarrod Bowen bagged a brace either side of the break with goalscoring midfielder Tomas Soucek and substitute Sebastien Haller kickstarting their campaigns with a pair of strikes.

The three points lifts the Hammers away from the drop zone and plenty of supporters were delighted with the performance of one man in particular.

Lining up at left wing-back Arthur Masuaku enjoyed a game and a half, assisting the final goal of the game, and here’s how some of the West Ham faithful reacted…

The 26-year-old was tasked with the tough test of defending against Adama Traore, the player who recorded the most take-ons (183) during the 2019/20 season – by comparison, the fifth-best was Nathan Redmond with just 79 as per Squawka.

Masuaku recorded three tackles, one clearance, one interception and four key passes. He also won seven duels and had a crossing accuracy of 100% via SofaScore.

The Wolves star, on the other hand, failed to register a single shot or key pass, failed with all eight of his crossing attempts and also lost possession 18 times.

It’s ever so clear to see who won that battle and that’s something many Irons fans have reacted to on Twitter…

There were plenty of comments aimed at his teammate Aaron Cresswell too, the usual first-choice at left-back. Some were pleased at his introduction as it allowed the Englishman to perform at left centre-back.

Whilst others were quick to claim that the DR Congo international was the better option in the role.

AND in other news, West Ham could land a new Ferdinand with a swoop for rival star…

A number of Manchester United supporters have been reacting to reports that the Red Devils have been working on proposals to re-shape the Premier League along with one of their biggest rivals .

The proposals being mooted by United and Liverpool, dubbed ‘Project Big Picture’, would see the Premier League reduced from 20 clubs to 18. This would be done to free up the domestic calendar and bring an end to the parachute payments issued to relegated clubs, with an immediate £350m rescue package offered to EFL clubs, as per The Telegraph.

These new proposals would also see relegation and promotion slots altered, with the Premier League changing to two automatic relegation spots. Two sides would still be automatically promoted from the Championship, but the 16th-placed Premier League side would face the play-offs against the third, fourth and fifth-placed Championship teams, as per The Telegraph.

It is also thought that, under these proposals, the League Cup and Community Shield could be scrapped, while the one-club, one-vote principle would be abolished, meaning the threshold of 14 votes needed to pass through any regulation changes would be reduced, according to The Telegraph.

Many Manchester United supporters were not in favour of these changes, with a lot of them suggesting that these measures would be unfair for smaller clubs. One fan even described such changes as a “disaster waiting to happen”.

United fans react to Premier League proposals on Twitter

United fans, what do you make of these new proposals? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

After finally seeing a positive resolution to contract talks in the summer, Newcastle fans will surely have been relieved at seeing one of their own in Matty Longstaff commit his future to the club.

The midfielder looked set for an exit from St James’ Park as negotiations continued to get delayed, with reports even linking him with a move abroad to the Serie A, to join Udinese.

But since putting pen to paper, Longstaff has been unable to step onto the pitch for the start of the new Premier League season, with a recurrence of a thigh injury. It left Newcastle boss Steve Bruce very concerned, who admitted that the issue was proving “very problematic”, and expressed hope that they could eventually see a breakthrough in that.

And the timing of Longstaff’s recovery from injury could not have been better. It was revealed that first-choice midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has now been ruled out of action for at least a month, and will undergo a hernia operation.

That has opened the door for the younger of the two Longstaff brothers to stake his claim for a first-team spot, especially after his making footballing comeback for the U23s last week against Fulham.

Described as simply “talented” by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp, the 20-year-old showed in that stunning goal-scoring performance against Manchester United that he has the ability to be a top-draw player for the Magpies.

In fact, speaking after that game, Arsenal icon Martin Keown declared: “The young lad should be knocking on Steve Bruce’s door and saying ‘Why didn’t you play me sooner?’ It was almost to say to the boss, ‘Hey, look at me, you have overlooked me for too long.’

“It was like a Paul Scholes…I know that’s big praise and they are big boots for him to copy, but him and his brother – Carrick, Scholes…you know, they did very well. And this is an important ingredient now in this Newcastle team, yes they were more disciplined but those two definitely won them the  game.”

Shelvey’s injury is unfortunate, but it may be a blessing in disguise for Longstaff and Newcastle.

Bailey Wright was one of the stars of the show as Sunderland were held to a draw away to Rochdale on Tuesday night, yet his performance alongside his Black Cats defensive partners left manager Phil Parkinson “disappointed”.

Sunderland travelled to the Crown Oil Arena looking to bounce back from their first defeat of the season after a 3-1 loss at home to Portsmouth over the weekend, and begun the League One clash in fine fashion through Charlie Wyke after 15 minutes.

The Black Cats’ lead lasted just 10 minutes, however, as Matty Lund struck his first of the night to pull the game level, something the Northern Irishman would again do just before half-time once Wright had restored the visitor’s advantage.

Lund was able to poke home his fourth of the third-tier campaign thanks to generous defending by Sunderland, leaving Parkinson saddened to see his side’s once superior defensive record further slump having previously allowed just one goal to be scored over the opening six matches.

“I’m disappointed with the two goals we conceded tonight, of course I am,” said Parkinson, via quotes by the Chronicle. “We have been waiting for the goals to come, [but] the bedrock of the team has been in our defensive third.

“I’ve just said to the lads that they need to make sure that is in place, don’t let the frustration of not killing teams off and converting chances stop us defending properly. Prior to the Portsmouth game we were doing so well, we’d only conceded one goal all season, but there was an undercurrent of ‘we’ve got to score, we’ve got to score’.”

While Parkinson was rightly frustrated to see Sunderland ship two goals at Rochdale on Tuesday night, Wright’s efforts in the centre of the Black Cats’ line of three centre-halves surely would have left a positive impression on his boss.

Wright, who has opened all eight of Sunderland’s League One games this term, achieved SofaScore’s highest match-rating for a visiting player against Rochdale at 7.8 out of 10, only trailing the host’s double-scorer Lund (8.3/10).

The North East outfit’s 28-year-old defender warranted his side’s highest match rating thanks to an impressive tally of 82 touches while completing 57 of his 68 passes, both of which were game-high figures.

He further stood out with a match-high eight clearances and blocked two shots, made one tackle, won four of eight duels, found teammates with 15 of 26 attempted long passes and scored with his only shot of the night.

Wright is now one of just six players to have scored for Sunderland in League One this season, highlighting the Black Cats’ need for goals but also demonstrating how he’s helping the Stadium of Light natives to keep a mostly tight unit at the back.

AND in other news, a promotion rival has pinpointed a major flaw in Phil Parkinson’s tactics that could spell dire consequences for Sunderland.

Whilst Ademola Lookman may the focal point of a lot of Fulham fans’ anger following his failed panenka penalty attempt in Saturday’s defeat against West Ham, Antonee Robinson should not escape criticism for his disappointing display.

The left-back, who was signed from Wigan Athletic during the recent summer transfer window, made just his fifth appearance in the Premier League at the London Stadium but struggled throughout the game.

As per SofaScore, the USA international picked up a disappointing 6.6 rating for his display, managing to lose possession an extraordinary 26 times, which was the most of any Fulham player on the night.

Although the 23-year-old won five out of nine of his ground duels, and both of his aerial duels in the match, it was his attacking play that seemingly let him down as he completed just 31 out of 45 of his passes.

Scott Parker was clearly angry with Lookman after his penalty miss cost the Cottagers a point on Saturday but looking at Robinson’s stats, he will surely be frustrated that his left-back was so profligate with the ball.

The young defender has been one of Parker’s better players in the Premier League thus far, having averaged a 6.94 rating across his five appearances, which rates him as their fourth-best player in the top-flight so far this season (per WhoScored).

Therefore, it would perhaps be unfair to criticise the summer signing too much for his performance against the Hammers, as his overall performances since joining have been fairly impressive.

However, he will surely need to work on his passing in particular and ensure that he doesn’t lose possession as much if he is going to keep his place in Parker’s side going forward.

It will be interesting to see if the USA international keeps his place for Fulham’s next game against Everton following the international break.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Tottenham Hotspur legend Gary Mabbutt has expressed his disappointment over not seeing Jack Grealish competing in a Lilywhites shirt.

During the summer transfer window in 2018, the north London outfit had the opportunity to sign the Aston Villa skipper on the cheap as they battled with the prospect of administration, as per The Sun.

However, Spurs supremo Daniel Levy thought he could drive a lower fee than their £6m asking price but as he made his way to the United States for a pre-season tour, Villa had been brought out and saved.

Since then, Grealish’s career has come on leaps and bounds for his boyhood club, and his phenomenal form has even earned him recognition for Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

And Mabbutt believes he would have been an ideal signing for Spurs, he told FFC:

“I’m a big Jack Grealish fan, I have been for a long time. When I was told a couple of years ago that we had the chance of buying him, I think I made it publicly clear that I thought he’d be a great player for Spurs.”It was two years ago, Aston Villa was struggling financially. They need they needed the money to pay tax bills, etc. And it did look like Grealish was available and could come to Spurs. I think obviously, conversations took place.”In the end, it didn’t happen. And I believe that Grealish himself was, at the time, extremely disappointed that a deal was not struck.”So for me, I was very disappointed to see how well he’s done. And I knew that the quality that he had, he is a Spurs style player. What I’m saying is that I’d love to have signed him two years ago.” The 25-year-old has contributed to nine goals in just eight games in the Premier League this season, continuing on from last term where he finished as the runner-up to Kevin De Bruyne for chances created in the top-flight.Grealish is averaging 2.9 shots, 2.6 key passes and 2.6 dribbles as the main focal point of Dean Smith’s resurgent Aston Villa side, via WhoScored.Transfermarkt now value him at £40.5m whilst reports in the media have speculated fees in excess of £80m, so clearly, Levy made one disastrous mistake in not signing him for a fraction of the price two years ago.It’s no wonder Mabbutt is bitterly disappointed.AND in other news, Mourinho must unleash one man over his biggest liability against Chelsea…

Many Everton fans have been slating the decision by Carlo Ancelotti to start Tom Davies versus Leeds United in the Premier League.

A central midfield player by trade, the local lad started the fixture against Marcelo Bielsa’s side at wing-back, with the likes of Lucas Digne and Seamus Coleman missing for the Toffees through injury.

The Italian boss opted for Jordan Pickford in between the posts, with Mason Holgate, Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey making up the three central defenders.

Alex Iwobi is filling in as the other wing-back, such is the crisis in those positions for the manager, with Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure in the centre of the park.

James Rodriguez, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison of course make up the front line for the Goodison Park faithful, with Jonas Lossl, Fabian Delph, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Yerry Mina, Cenk Tosun, Bernard and Andre Gomes only good enough for the bench.

Nonetheless, it is the inclusion of Davies that wound up several supporters of the Merseyside club.

Everton fan reaction to Davies inclusion

These Toffees slated the decision by Ancelotti to pick the England U21 international to start from the off against Leeds on Twitter:

In other news, find out which former top flight ace has said that the Blues do not have a single weakness here!

Manchester City picked up a 3-0 win against Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday night and whilst it might be the City attackers who pick up the plaudits, the performance of Fernandinho should not go unnoticed.

Goals from Ferran Torres, Sergio Aguero and and own goal from Alvaro Gonzalez sealed a comfortable win for Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad in what was their final group stage game of the 2020/21 Champions League campaign.

As the game was something of a dead rubber for the Citizens, as they had already secured top spot in Group C, it was no surprise to see 35-year-old Fernandinho handed a rare start by Guardiola.

The Brazilian, who has now made 324 appearances for Manchester City in his career, showed no signs of his age in the win, as he produced a superb display.

As per SofaScore, the defensive midfielder picked up a strong 7.4 rating for his display against Andre Villas-Boas’ side, which was only bettered by Aymeric Laporte, Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden.

Fernandinho enjoyed 107 touches of the ball during the 90 minutes, demonstrating the key influence he can still have in this Manchester City side, and he was also extremely effective with his passing, with 87/95 of his attempted passes finding a City teammate.

The experienced midfielder only lost possession on nine occasions during the game, whilst five out of six of his long balls were accurate, emphasising that the quality of his passing shows no signs of dropping.

He also showed his class by making three tackles, whilst he was dribbled past on just two occasions, suggesting that despite his age, he still has the quality to play in this Manchester City side.

Unfortunately for fans, with Fernandinho’s contract set to expire at the end of the season, they may not have much longer watching the Brazilian in a City shirt, however, this display emphasises that he can still perform at the highest level when relied upon by Guardiola.

And, in other news… Garcia heir apparent: Guardiola must promote “exceptional” teenager to his first-team