Christian Eriksen has said that he felt like a “black sheep” at Tottenham Hotspur as he ran down his contract prior to his January transfer to Inter Milan, per BBC Sport.

What’s the word?

The Denmark international had attempted to exit the club in the summer, outlining his desire to take on a new challenge, with sources saying that he was hoping to join either Real Madrid or Barcelona.

No move materialised, however, and he instead joined Inter in January, sealing a reported £16.9m transfer to the San Siro.

Eriksen had made 20 appearances in the Premier League prior to his switch and he has now revealed that he felt like an outsider in his final months at the club.

He said: “If you have a short contract, you will be the black sheep. Of course, I did the interview. I was very honest. I felt I had to be honest.

“I didn’t want to hide like a lot of players do. Everyone is different. I was honest. I wanted to say it out loud.

“I did get the blame for a lot of stuff, for being the bad guy. I read I was the bad person in the changing room, that ever since I said I wanted to leave, it was no good me being there.

“To be honest, over the last few years, if anything came up, any player would think about leaving but I was the guy who said it publicly.”

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Keep playing well, then

Eriksen wasn’t seen as the black sheep because he wanted to leave the club.

Spurs players can be understood for wanting to step up to the likes of Real and Barca but he downed tools after his failure to leave.

Per WhoScored, of all players to start 10 games in the Premier League, only Danny Rose had a lower average rating than Eriksen – 6.49 to 6.51. It is no surprise that both were allowed to leave, with the left-back moving to Newcastle United on loan.

Had Eriksen kept his performance levels up and managed to provide more than two assists from attacking midfield, perhaps he wouldn’t have felt like so much of a black sheep.

He brought this on himself and has no one else to blame.

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A number of Leeds United fans have taken to social media to react to an article published by The Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth regarding the club’s new signing Jean-Kevin Augustin.The 22-year-old, who is on loan at Leeds from RB Leipzig, has not been involved in the Championship for his new club thus far, missing the clashes with Millwall and Wigan Athletic despite technically being available to play.The attacker featured for the club’s U-23 side against Sheffield Wednesday U-23s on Monday, though, playing the opening 45 minutes of the contest.

Smyth wrote in his piece that Augustin “looks like a player who likes to dart in behind”.

However, a number of the Leeds fans were not overly pleased with what they saw from the attacker during his first minutes for the club, albeit in an U-23 clash.

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However, others feel that the January arrival was not given much service in the opening half of the clash with Sheffield Wednesday’s second team.

Meanwhile, a number of the Leeds fans have also had their say on the performance of another player who featured in the Under-23s clash.

With the mid-season winter break now over, all eyes will be back on Premier League action.

For Mikel Arteta, the couple of weeks away no doubt gave him precious time with his Arsenal players to work on a few things and get his ideas across a bit more clearly.

That extra time will surely stand the Gunners in good stead heading into their clash with Newcastle at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon.

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Despite there still being a couple of absentees from injuries – the likes of Kieran Tierney and Calum Chambers for example – the Arsenal head coach appears to have a strong squad to choose from.

Below is a look at how the north London side might line up.

In front of first-choice goalkeeper Bernd Leno, Daviz Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi should be given the chance to impress as a centre-back partnership once again following their shut-out against Burnley.

That will mean the Gunners’ loan signing of Pablo Mari will have to wait a little longer to make his debut for the club, with the Europa League tie against Olympiacos in mid-week a potential place for him to do so.

The north London side also confirmed Bukayo Saka has shaken off the knock that caused him to go off at half-time at Turf Moor last time out, whilst Hector Bellerin should keep his place on the opposite flank at right-back.

Arteta could opt to bring in Lucas Torreira for Matteo Guendouzi in central midfield, and thereby partner Granit Xhaka – a player who has remarkably turned around his career at the Emirates.

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Further ahead, Mesut Ozil’s inclusion in the starting line-up continues to baffle, with the German still failing to find the back of the net this season. A home game against Newcastle should surely tempt Arteta into handing Dani Ceballos a chance to shine in the number ten role.

And with Alexandre Lacazette unfortunately out of form at the moment – he has not scored in his last eight Premier League matches – the Gunners boss may finally axe him from the line-up. That could see Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang move into a central role, with Gabriel Martinelli and the returning Nicolas Pepe out wide.

Meanwhile, Arsenal must tie down this youngster to a new contract.

Having only managed to sign Pablo Mari on a loan deal from Flamengo, it’s understandable Arsenal are seemingly keen on bringing in a centre-back on a permanent basis this summer.

According to German journalist Christian Falk, the Gunners are interested in Bayer Leverkusen ace, Jonathan Tah, who has a release clause of €40m (£33.2m).

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After hearing about their links to the Germany international, Arsenal fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on their reported transfer target.

A couple of fans took issue with particular aspects of his game, with one questioning his use of the ball, and another slamming his pace and ability to turn.

Some supporters of the north London side compared Tah to Gunners defenders both past and present, with a couple saying he is simply another Shkodran Mustafi, whilst one suggested he is another Johan Djourou.

Despite only being 24, Tah has already built up a considerable wealth of experience in the Bundesliga, playing 143 games in the competition.

That level of experience would no doubt help to settle him into a pressure-cooked environment like at Arsenal, where trying to achieve Champions League qualification is high up the list of priorities.

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It remains to be seen however whether the Gunners end up going for Tah, or for someone else.

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Tottenham’s decision to loan out Danny Rose to Newcastle in January likely raised some eyebrows around north London. Not only was this a player who started for Spurs in last season’s Champions League final, but he was also one of just two natural left-backs at the club, alongside Ben Davies.

But in truth, Rose’s performance levels haven’t quite been what they should be for some time now. Between the 2013/14 and 2016/17 Premier League seasons, Whscored’s average rating for the left-back was always upwards of 7. In the three top-flight terms since, his highest performance rating has been 6.84.

And whilst some Spurs fans may have been wishing the club gave Rose one more chance as they watched Davies struggle in a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday – the Welshman completed just 54.3% of his passes – the Magpies defender’s display at Selhurst Park was even more harrowing.

Despite Newcastle having the majority of the possession, Rose failed to record a single dribble or key pass from left wing-back, whereas defensively he mustered up just one tackle, alongside no interceptions, no clearances and no blocks. He also didn’t win any headers, and could only complete 71.4% of his passes.

His performance was so bad that Newcastle fans have already turned on the January signing, with supporters claiming he’s past his best and even that he looks overweight.

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Inevitably, Spurs’ squad would be stronger with one more experienced body for Jose Mourinho to choose from, even if it’s just for the odd cup game here and there. But Rose is already proving that he probably would have been as much a liability as an asset for the Lilywhites as they look to rectify a slow start to the season.

At least for the time being, Rose’s wayward form is somebody else’s problem – Mourinho can concentrate on the players who are going to pull their weight in the Premier League.

Noel Whelan has spoken about Jordan Pickford’s mistake during Everton’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United, as reported by Football Insider.

What did he say?

Carlo Ancelotti’s side had been given an absolute gift in the early stages of their match against United, as David De Gea took an age before eventually smashing his clearance against Dominic Calvert-Lewin and seeing it fly past him and into the net.

The last thing they will have wanted to do is give United a gift in return, but that is exactly what Pickford did.

Bruno Fernandes had hit a strike from outside the box that should have been saved with relative ease, but the England international allowed it to slip through his fingers.

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Whelan gave his opinion on the incident: “There have been a lot of mistakes and he knows he should be saving them. It is one he will look back on and he will be pretty embarrassed about.

“He is England’s number one goalkeeper. We have seen a mistake from Spain’s number one as well. Both goalkeepers, international players, horrendous, schoolboy errors.

“It is a great strike for Fernandes but you have got to be saving that and he was running off like he scored a wonder-goal. Most of the goalkeepers in the league would have saved that shot but for some reason, it has gone under his body. He is better than that but he is making too many mistakes. I think it was a game Everton could have gone on and won as well.”

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Hard to argue

Pickford showed in that very same game that he can be a goalkeeper who comes up with impressive moments, when he sprung across his line to deny Odion Ighalo.

However, he cannot afford to keep making mistakes such as the one that led to him conceding against the Portuguese midfielder.

As impressive as the 25-year-old can be, he needs to kick out these mistakes if he is to keep the number one jerseys for England and Everton for years to come. According to the official Premier League website, only Martin Dubravka has made more errors than Pickford that have directly led to a goal for the opposition.

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Sunderland head into this weekend’s huge tussle with Coventry having lost just once in their last 15 outings.

However, this will be one of their biggest tests yet as they face a side also gunning for promotion from League One.

Coincidentally, the Black Cats’ only major hiccup in the last couple of months has been against a side in and around them, suffering defeat against Portsmouth.

But who will start in this weekend’s clash? There might well be a few changes in store.

On the chalkboard

The old adage is don’t fix what ain’t broke and that should be the mantra for the Mackems on Sunday – to a certain degree anyway.

Charlie Wyke and Lyndon Gooch are both slight doubts for the encounter but there should at least be one change that isn’t enforced on Sunday lunchtime.

Denver Hume has been rather inconsistent of late and his performances have done little to warrant a constant starting berth.

Sunderland have been in terrific form, keeping eight clean sheets in their last ten games but he has been one of the few players to underperform.

Journalist Phil Smith claimed he looked “off the pace” during their 1-1 draw with Fleetwood in midweek and this could be as good a time as any to drop him.

The solution

One of Hume’s stand out moments this season was the strike against Wycombe but he’s failed to show a similar sort of threat since that moment. His pass success rate has failed to clear the 77% mark while he’s won just three tackles and played eight successful crosses in nine matches, according to WhoScored.

For someone playing as a wing-back, you’d want them to be providing more in the final third. On top of that, Hume has also lost possession regularly. Via SofaScore, the 21-year-old lost the ball 21 times in midweek.

With that in mind, now seems like an ideal time to hand Declan John his debut. The left-sided player featured in a behind closed doors game on Wednesday, playing 60 minutes in a 5-2 win for the Black Cats over Carlisle.

John had yet to pull on a Sunderland shirt until that moment but he’s now received minutes and got up to speed rather nicely. Manager Phil Parkinson noted last week that he’d been unfortunate to miss out, primarily because he needed other options from the bench.

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However, Hume’s disappointing displays should lead to John finally getting an opportunity.

The Swansea loanee was assured with his passing in 2018/19, recording a success rate of 85.8%. John is also a more prolific tackler, winning 1.3 challenges in the Championship last campaign compared to Hume’s 0.8 this season.

Coventry may be a baptism of fire but he’s already proven his qualities at a higher level.

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Celtic icon John Hartson has tweeted a hilarious eight-word message involving other Hoops greats – Chris Sutton and Henrik Larsson.

Larsson – who netted an astonishing 242 goals in 313 games for the Scottish giants before leaving for Barcelona – played alongside both Hartson and Sutton at Celtic Park, while even naming the latter as his preferred strike partner live on BT Sport!

On Sutton’s birthday, a Twitter page – @1STAR88 – posted a graphic of the iconic Swede alongside the birthday boy, donning their respectively famous No.7 and No.9 shirts.

However, after Hartson caught wind of this graphic which doesn’t include him, the Welshman took to Twitter to complain about not being involved in hysterical fashion.

The 44-year-old tweeted an eight-word message asking if he could be squeezed in the middle of the pair in a jokingly-desperate attempt to be involved.

You can see what Hartson tweeted in full below:

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According to The Athletic journalist James Pearce, Pepijn Lijnders could be considered as a potential replacement for Jurgen Klopp when the German eventually decides to leave his position as Liverpool manager.

There are certainly no indications that Klopp is considering his future at Anfield having only recently signed a new deal, but Pearce said that a replacement might be needed in the summer of 2024.

The journalist claimed that Lijnders – currently assistant manager of the Reds – could be a part of the conversation should the job become available.

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Meanwhile, Pearce also claimed that RB Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann would be considered if the 32-year-old continues to impress.

Some of the Liverpool fans would welcome Lijnders being given a chance.

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However, others would prefer Nagelsmann, who left Hoffenheim to take charge of Leipzig last summer, to be given the chance to replace Klopp.

Their preference for Nagelsmann is by no means surprising. He was linked with Spurs as a potential replacement for Mauricio Pochettino and is overseeing a fine season a Leipzig.

As well as being third in the Bundesliga, they’ve just progressed from the first knockout round of the Champions League.

Meanwhile, a number of Liverpool supporters have been reacting to an update surrounding one of their key midfielders.

When Manuel Pellegrini was being pushed out of the London Stadium exit doors, there were plenty of managers who were being touted to take over from him.

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Carlo Ancelotti is one of those who were in contention to fulfil the role of Hammers manager, as reported by The Daily Star in December.

Of course, this move did not come to fruition, as he eventually joined Everton, who are currently sitting 12th in the table on 37 points.

Meanwhile, West Ham appointed David Moyes, who has struggled to bring about much of an upturn in form, as West Ham are above the relegation zone on goal difference alone.

FFC has predicted the starting XI that Ancelotti may have been using if he had joined West Ham.

One big difference between the two managers since they took their respective posts is that Moyes has switched things round a lot, while Ancelotti has had real conviction with his formation. This is best highlighted by the fact that the Scotsman didn’t use the same formation consecutively in any of his first seven league games, while the Italian has played 4-4-2 in each of his last eight league matches.

This will have arguably allowed his team to settle better, as they will be far more familiar with what is required of them.

Regardless of who is manager, it is pretty likely that Lukasz Fabianski would be the man between the sticks for West Ham.

Ancelotti won’t have had much choice at right-back, as Ryan Fredericks has been injured and Pablo Zabaleta has struggled, so it is likely Jeremy Ngakia would have still got his chance.

The Italian has put his trust in Mason Holgate since moving to Goodison Park, as shown by his new five-year contract, so it is likely Issa Diop – another young and talented centre-back – continues in the team, alongside Angelo Ogbonna.

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Aaron Cresswell is selected ahead of Arthur Masuaku, showing a similar style to Lucas Digne, as he is able to produce special strikes such as his free-kick against Manchester United.

We have included the January signings made in this lineup, meaning that Jarrod Bowen starts on the right flank.

There is no Mark Noble in the side, as Tomas Soucek’s energy in the middle could be vital to making the 4-4-2 work, while Declan Rice is an ideal defensive figure to have in this formation, having averaged 3 tackles, 2.1 interceptions and 1.4 clearances per game.

Ancelotti has shown that he is not afraid to use a left-winger that isn’t the paciest, with Gylfi Sigurdsson playing that role in each of Everton’s last three games. With this in mind, Pablo Fornals may have been given game time quicker under Ancelotti, starting just twice in Moyes’ first eight games.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison have been enjoying life under Ancelotti, recording eight and four goals respectively. It would have been hoped that he could have a similar impact on Sebastien Haller and Michail Antonio, while there could also be a temptation to convert Felipe Anderson to a striker now that he is back from injury.

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