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Tottenham ace Dele Alli has been banned for the Premier League game against Manchester United for a post on social media about coronavirus, the BBC understands. 

Ex-Spurs star Paul Robinson believes the Englishman will be a “big miss” for Jose Mourinho as he prepares to face his old club.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former White Hart Lane goalkeeper insists Alli will have wanted to build upon his fine run of form before the nationwide lockdown was imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The forward has been also fined £50,000 and ordered to take an education course, and he will miss the clash with the Red Devils as a result.

Spurs are currently seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and head into the game knowing they must win if they are to meet Mourinho’s top four ambitions.

When asked if he thinks Alli would have started against United, Robinson said: “I would have thought so because he was just coming into form before the break. He will be a big miss. He just started playing well under Jose. If Spurs are without him and Lo Celso it will be a big blow.

“Clubs will have to utilise their whole squad throughout this period though and if we are playing three games a week, he would not have played all three anyway. Mourinho will have to shuffle his squad.”

It is difficult to disagree with Robinson on this one, as Alli has a strong record against the Red Devils. Indeed, the England international has won five out of the 10 matches that he has played against them and he has bagged three goals against United so far (Transfermarkt).

Furthermore, the 24-year-old is the club’s third-highest goalscorer this season, closely behind Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, as he has scored nine goals in all competitions.

Spurs have lost the last two meetings between the teams, which could be cause for concern for Mourinho as his side must win to keep their realistic chances of Champions League qualification alive.

To compound the difficulty of the task, Alli has been suspended, and the Portuguese could be forced to call upon Erik Lamela instead. The Argentine has arguably struggled for consistency up until now and is surely a downgrade on the Englishman, as he has averaged fewer shots and dribbles per game than his teammate, via WhoScored.

As it stands, Alli’s absence will no doubt be a bitter blow and Tottenham may come to regret his earlier indiscretion if they are beaten on Friday night.

Tottenham fans, do you think Alli’s presence will be missed against Man United? Let us know in the comments below!

In the end, it was Tottenham and Jose Mourinho who enjoyed the last laugh after a thrilling north London derby against Arsenal.

Just days after one of their lowest points of the season following a drab draw away at Bournemouth, Spurs turned the emotions around by walking away with the bragging rights thanks to a 2-1 win over their fierce rivals.

And whilst Toby Alderweireld might go away with a lot of the fans’ appreciation for his winning goal, it was Lucas Moura who really inspired the Lilywhites’ Mourinho masterclass on Sunday.

Can you name every one of Spurs’ top goalscorers from the past 15 seasons? It’s a tricky one…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

The Brazilian lined up on the left-hand side of the Spurs midfield, and with both Hector Bellerin and Nicolas Pepe trying to make inroads for Arsenal, it was Lucas who stuck to his defensive task with no fuss and no complaints.

As per Sofascore, he made a quite ridiculous ten tackles, which was actually just one short of the total that the rest of his teammates combined for (11), and also won a staggering 16 total duels.

The typical ‘Mourinho masterclass’ has always been about soaking up the pressure, working hard to deny the opposition, and being clinical when in front of goal. Having a more forward-thinking player like Lucas buy into that philosophy rather than worrying about how he could create some magic with the ball, was key to Spurs’ triumph.

His 8.4 match rating was the highest of any player on the pitch, and aside from his defensive contributions, showed his superb vision and craft in trying to set up his teammates too.

He completed three of his five attempted dribbles, provided two key passes, and created two big chances too – including one sumptuous through ball that Harry Kane failed to lift over an onrushing Emiliano Martinez.

If Mourinho demanded an all-action performance, then he certainly got it from his players. And none more so than from his winger come defensive unit, Lucas.

Everton fans have been unconvinced by the performances from summer arrival Alex Iwobi this season, so much so that some would like to see him sold already.

One account on Twitter posed the question ‘keep or sell’ in regards to the 24-year-old and much of the Toffees faithful have been responding in their masses.

Iwobi joined the Goodison Park-based outfit in a deal worth £34m from Arsenal back in August and has gone on to feature 22 times this campaign, starting just twice under new boss Carlo Ancelotti.

He doesn’t have much to show for it either, having only scored one goal and provided two assists in that time, via Transfermarkt.

In addition, the Nigerian wide man averages 1.2 shots and dribbles per game but also loses possession 0.7 times and has 1.7 unsuccessful touches each match too (WhoScored).

Hilariously obscure Premier League players – Can you name them all?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

His poor form has been reflected in his Transfermarkt valuation which now sits just under £23m – the fourth highest in the Everton squad.

Here’s what some supporters have been saying about him…

AND in other news, Everton fans react to STUNNING £3m exit report…

One of the hottest properties in European football, Erling Haaland has lit the footballing stage alight. The Norway international has struck an incredible 26 times in 18 games this season, and that form has seen the likes of Manchester United, Juventus and Barcelona, amongst others, continue to monitor his progress.

With such intense competition for his signature, trying to be the team that eventually seals his signature will undoubtedly be a tall order. And in an update from Norwegian outlet Dagbladet, United are the side that are currently “far ahead” in the race to sign the 19-year-old.

After hearing the development on their pursuit of the starlet, fans of the Manchester side took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.

Many Red Devils supporters revealed their absolute delight at the update, with one fan in particular claiming that he would be the perfect replacement for Romelu Lukaku, who left the club earlier in the summer.

Another fan insisted that they simply cannot miss out on a potential superstar like Haaland, claiming that he is a “generational talent”.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Leeds came up against former loan man Izzy Brown in their narrow victory over Luton Town and it is fair to say that several fans were left impressed by his performance.

The on-loan Chelsea midfielder has been in good form for the Hatters this season, producing six assists in nine league starts and putting in positive displays which show what Leeds missed out on through his injuries last term.

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On Saturday he registered five key passes and two successful dribbles which meant that he was a thorn in the side of Marcelo Bielsa’s team, and with a bit more luck he could have made an assist to dent the Whites’ promotion ambitions.

Fortunately for the Yorkshire side he didn’t haunt them too much, and they were able to find a goal in the last minute to win the game.

Nevertheless, some supporters have recognised his impressive performance, stating that he caused problems for the Leeds defence and that the opposition looked worse once he was substituted.

Here are some of the reactions to Brown’s showing.

In other Leeds United news, journalist Phil Hay gave his verdict on the possible signings of Dwight Gayle and Matej Vydra.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Leeds United have been linked with a  £7.5m move for Matej Vydra (The Mirror, 22/11, page 74).

The Whites have struggled in front of goal this season, as their xG tally shows, so signing a former Championship golden boot winner ought to ease a number of those problems.

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However, signing the Czech may add another problem to the squad that Marcelo Bielsa would have to deal with.

As the above infographic shows, Vydra’s last season in the Championship was exceptional as not only did he score more goals than anyone else, but he also made the most of his chances as he only had 75 shots throughout the campaign.

However, Vydra’s best position is quite clearly not as a lone forward as he started the majority of his games at Derby as a second striker just behind whoever was playing centre-forward. In fact, he’s scored 21 times in 42 games from that very position, per Transfermarkt.

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The problem is that Leeds’ current system doesn’t allow for a player like that. United usually play a 4-1-4-1 or a 3-3-1-3 depending on how their opposition lineup, and neither of those tactics incorporate a second striker.

The closest thing Leeds currently have to that is Tyler Roberts, but his game isn’t heavily based around scoring goals as he’s netted just four in his last two seasons.

The fact of the matter is that Vydra is much more effective in his second striker role as his goal contribution ratio is 0.63 while playing there whereas when he plays as a more traditional number nine that drops to 0.36.

Bielsa’s frontline would undoubtedly be bolstered by the arrival of the 27-year-old, but figuring out how to best utilise him would be another added problem for the Argentine.

Luckily, Vydra isn’t the only attacker Leeds are after as they’re also chasing another Premier League forward…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

The scoreline may have only been 2-1, but don’t be fooled – Liverpool dominated their match against Genk in the Champions League and fully deserved their victory.

Once the game had finished, they had 71% of the ball compared to their opponents’ 29%, whilst they had 28 shots to six. It was as straightforward a victory as one can expect in this most elite of club competitions, and the Belgian side can be thankful that the Reds were not in more clinical form.

Jurgen Klopp rang the changes to his side for this clash – six to be exact, whilst he also used some players in different positions. One of those was James Milner, who appeared here at left-back as Andrew Robertson started on the bench.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It is a position he has played in just 44 times – as per Transfermarkt – but he looked comfortable there against the Belgian champions.

Going forward, he proved to be a constant threat to De Smurfen, creating a game-high five chances for his teammates. Only four crosses were landed throughout the match, but the 33-year-old landed one of them. He also made 86% of the passes he attempted.

Defensively, he also proved to be solid, winning two tackles and making one clearance. Also, he was not beaten even once by the visitors’ players, whilst he also prevailed in six of the seven duels he contested.

Considering he is seen as Mr. Reliable, we perhaps shouldn’t be surprised that he excelled in an unfamiliar position, or at least less familiar than elsewhere.

However, with Robertson needing to be fresh before the huge Premier League match against Manchester City, Klopp used the only real alternative he has in that position.

That is why, even at his age, £13.5m-valued Milner – as per Transfermarkt – is worth his weight in gold.

It is hard to think of a more versatile player in England, and there is surely nobody who will play in a different role with minimum fuss and such competence. As the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah grab headlines, the former England international goes about his game calmly and professionally. Although he is not a guaranteed starter, he is amongst the most indispensable players in the whole squad.

On Monday morning, Everton’s official Twitter account posted an image of Lucas Digne’s statistics from Sunday’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

It was the France international who provided the assist for Cenk Tosun to snatch a point for the home side in the final exchanges of the Premier League clash.

However, it would be fair to say that the Everton supporters were not in agreement with the post which was praising Digne’s performance on the afternoon.

Wayne Rooney puts himself forward for the Everton job in the video below…

The word “dominant” was used by the club’s Twitter account, but that was not quite what the Blues fans saw during his 90 minutes on the field.

There is a sense of frustration surrounding the club at the moment, but Digne has come up with four assists from left-back this season, which is far from disastrous when considering that Everton have won just three Premier League matches this term.

A selection of the Twitter reaction to the tweet is available to view below:

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

Tottenham Hotspur are tracking West Bromwich Albion youngsters Rico Richards and Nathan Ferguson, per The Sun.

What’s the word?

A number of Premier League clubs are said to be interested in 16-year-old Richards, with Manchester City and Liverpool both scouting the teenager.

He has won one cap for the England U17 side, scoring on his debut, and has made two appearances for the Baggies’ U18 team in the U18 Premier League.

Per The Sun, Richards’ contract expires next year and the Championship club are keen to keep him around, with vultures circling.

Ferguson, too, is just 19 but is already playing for Slaven Bilic’s first-team, making 13 appearances in the Championship in 2019/20. He was first linked with the club in October by a separate Sun report.

A defender who can play at both right-back and left-back, he scored in the 2-0 win over QPR in September and also registered an assist on his debut against Nottingham Forest.

The English youngster has been suspended for the recent games against Stoke City and Hull City after being sent off in the 2-2 draw with Charlton Athletic.

Admirable but not needed

This is the kind of scouting that Spurs thrive on.

They have routinely brought in youngsters with a high upside, the likes of Jack Clarke from Leeds United, Dele Alli from MK Dons and Juan Foyth from Estudiantes.

Yet one feels that, right now, they need to focus on bigger issues.

Spurs have won just three times in the Premier League and one has to ask why they are tracking potential stars of the future when what they need is ready-made players who can come in and immediately alter their fortunes.

Indeed, the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen all have contracts that expire in the summer. They are proven Premier League players who will need direct, established replacements – not potential successors who may or may not make the grade at Tottenham.

There are also a number of excellent youth prospects already waiting in the wings; the likes of Oliver Skipp and Troy Parrott have already made their senior debuts and are just 17 and 19 respectively. In terms of potential future gems, the club is well-stocked already.

So with the January transfer window looming, projects aren’t needed; solutions are.

Bringing in two proper centre-backs who can immediately slot in and fill the void left by the Belgians could be required, as could an attacking midfielder who can replace the guile that will disappear if the Dane leaves.

This feels like the wrong time to be looking at players like Richards and Ferguson, then. Spurs already have an abundance of talent in reserve and face a shortage of first-team players, not academy prospects.