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Tottenham and West Ham are both weighing up moves for Adama Traore, according to The Telegraph.

The Lowdown: Summer links

This isn’t the first time that Spurs have been linked with a move for the Wolves winger. Back in the summer when Nuno Espirito Santo was the man in charge at Tottenham, Daniel Levy had two offers rejected for the Spain international.

Traore, who shares the same agency as Spurs right-back Matt Doherty, has made 19 appearances this season prior to Wolves’ trip to Manchester United this evening but is yet to register a goal or an assist. However, it appears as if Antonio Conte is very keen for Spurs to go back in for the ‘electric’ winger once again.

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The Latest: £20m Traore claim

The Telegraph’s John Percy provided an update regarding Traore’s future on Sunday lunchtime.

He claimed that Spurs and West Ham are both keen on signing Traore, and the London duo believe that an offer in the region of £20m could be enough to persuade Wolves to do business.

The Verdict: Smart move?

Traore has just 18 months remaining on his Wolves contract, and it seems as if Spurs feel they could take advantage by signing the winger for a fee which would be £5.2m less than his Transfermarkt valuation. Conte also has just Lucas Moura and youngster Jack Clarke as right wingers, so a swoop for Traore would help to balance his options on either flank.

The only thing lacking from Traore’s game appears to be his end product, with Jurgen Klopp describing him as ‘unplayable’ back in 2020, while Pep Guardiola feels that no one can ‘handle’ his speed.

If Conte can bring the best out of Traore when it comes to improving his output of goals and assists, a £20m move could prove to be a bargain, especially when you consider that Wolves wanted £70m for him just 18 months ago.

In other news: Spurs will be offered chance to sign 84-goal ace once likened to Zidane in the next 14 days

Paul Harris was a completely different bowler today. In Nagpur his sole aim, especially in the second innings, was to clamp down on India’s batsmen. He went about doing so by pitching consistently on leg stump or outside and turning the ball into the right-handers from the rough. The Indian batsmen played him conservatively from the crease. They played into Harris’s hands and he succeeded in stemming the run flow. His attempt today had drastically different results.On a harder pitch, which didn’t take much turn from the rough, Harris tried to apply the same leg-side suffocation but was punished by Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, as well as umpire Ian Gould.Umpires have taken flak for not taking a firmer stand on the indiscretions of the players but Gould exercised his power and penalised Harris each time he bowled a straighter delivery behind the batsman’s legs. Harris, however, refused to change his line and forced Gould into calling the ball wide on 12 occasions.Corrie van Zyl, the South African coach, accepted Gould’s decision but said his spinner suffered only because the ball was not turning. “You can see it as a negative line and the umpire did think so, too, and obviously those were called wides,” he said.About five years ago, the standard playing regulations for Test matches were amended in an effort to prevent negative leg-side bowling. Law 25.1 – Judging a Wide – states: “For bowlers whom umpires consider to be bowling down the leg side as a negative tactic, the strict limited-over wide interpretation shall be applied.”An ICC spokesperson admitted that in order to prevent bowlers from easily adopting leg-theory to stem the run-flow, the law needed to be updated. “Some bowlers like Shane Warne used leg-side bowling as an attacking option, while some have used it negatively to frustrate batsmen and stem scoring-rates. It’s usually pretty obvious when it is attacking because there is a short-leg in place and the ball is turning, so it becomes difficult for batsmen to survive, let alone score runs.”Another factor that thwarted Harris’ plan was the way Sehwag and Tendulkar dealt with him. They were happy to deflect him to the on side whenever there was no fielder at short leg. Otherwise they let the straighter ones go, confident the ball would not turn. Sehwag even slog-swept for a six over deep midwicket and then reverse swept when Harris tried to cram him.van Zyl said Harris could have been more diligent in his approach. “Some of them did turn out of the rough and some of them didn’t. But Harry [Harris] did a good job for the team, but it was a lot tougher than it was in Nagpur, where there was some assistance.”

Sunderland sit fifth in the League One table after 19 games played following their 1-1 draw with Oxford United at the weekend.

Lee Johnson’s side have games in hand over Wycombe and Plymouth above them and are two points off top of the table as it stands.

They host Morcambe at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night as they hope to move further up the division and closer to the automatic promotion spots.

Axe him

Heading into the game, Johnson may begin to ponder potential changes to his starting XI. With fixtures coming thick and fast heading into the festive period, it could be worth making alterations and one player who should be brutally axed from the side after his performance against Oxford is central defender Bailey Wright.

The Australian international struggled at the weekend and could benefit from sitting on the bench and having the chance to recoup. He may just be in need of a rest in order to recharge and be 100% ready to go again in the next match.

As per SofaScore, he gave possession away a whopping 29 times from centre-back. He completed just 53% of his attempted passes, including three of his 15 long balls. This shows that he was abysmal with the ball at his feet and failed to play out of the back with efficiency as he continuously handed possession straight back to Oxford with his dreadful distribution.

Therefore, Johnson should allow him to rest up in midweek ahead of next weekend’s clash with Plymouth, offering another player an opportunity to come in and perform. Sunderland cannot afford to be so loose with their passing if they want to continue pushing up the table to achieve promotion and the head coach should not easily brush past Wright’s struggles on the deck.

The defender has shown that he has the quality to put in quality performances at this level, having previously been compared to Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.

Black Cats legend Kevin Phillips previously said of him:

“He’s been a great signing. I don’t know the player, but I just get the feeling that he’s a leader and a voice in the dressing room.

“Sometimes the manager can only say so much and then you want of your senior experience players to pipe up and put a few people in their place and give encouragement and be a leader. He seems like that.

“The stats just show what an important player he is. He’s almost to Sunderland what van Dijk is to Liverpool at the moment with those incredible stats.”

This is why resting the £13k-per-week dud for a game could be beneficial in the short and long term. If Johnson can get the player who Phillips believed to be important to the side in League One then it could be a boost to the squad, but the player who turned up against Oxford did not show those same qualities and that is why he must be brutally axed from the XI.

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side bounced back from their 3-2 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen with a 2-1 win over Aberdeen this afternoon.

Goals from Jota and Callum McGregor sealed the three points for the Hoops, keeping them within four points of the Premiership summit.

The scores were level at half-time after Liel Abada conceded a penalty to the away side, which Lewis Ferguson duly converted, before McGregor won the match in the second half.

Forget McGregor

McGregor picked up a goal and an assist and could take the bulk of the plaudits from today, but another player who is deserving of applause is centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The £20k-per-week gem was an unsung hero at the back as he put in a superb display to keep Aberdeen at bay and ensure that the Hoops came away with all three points. It is easy to see the attackers scoring goals and getting assists and think that they were the stars of the show, but defenders are equally as important as their actions decide whether or not their teammates’ contributions in the final third ultimately make a difference.

Defensively, the American was a rock. As per SofaScore, he won three of his four duels (75%) on the pitch, making two tackles, one interception and four clearances. He also ended the match without being dribbled past once and committed zero fouls. This shows that he was reliable at the back for Postecoglou and that Aberdeen were unable to get past him throughout the game, with Abada’s concession of a penalty the only blot on the defensive copybook.

On the ball, Carter-Vickers was composed and assured. As per SofaScore, he had a whopping 91 touches of the ball and completed an impressive 95% of his attempted passes. This included six of his 10 longer pass attempts and he only gave possession away four times in the entire match, highlighting how crucial he was to Celtic controlling the game as he was not a liability with the ball at his feet. It could have caused issues for the Hoops had he been sloppy with his passing and handed Aberdeen chances to break.

Therefore, he provided a platform for the attackers to build upon and was pivotal to the final result. Whilst others also deserve praise for their individual displays, Carter-Vickers was an unsung hero and should be given immense credit for his performance.

AND in other news, Celtic closing in on key deal for 24y/o midfielder…

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEoin Morgan peppered the boundary with some mighty blows in a thrilling display•Getty Images

England’s new fearless batting approach, led by an audacious 45-ball 85 from Eoin Morgan, got their international winter off to a winning start, but it required an accurate over from James Anderson to secure England the opening Twenty20 international. After posting 202 for 6, their highest score in Twenty20s, England turned the D/L equation into their favour after South Africa had been in the winning position an over before and when a thunderstorm arrived at the Wanderers the home side needed to be 129 after 13 overs, but Anderson had conceded just six from his third over to put England ahead of the rate.Although England will happily take the result it was an unfulfilling end to a match packed with powerful hitting as Morgan led the way, with England’s highest individual Twenty20 score, adding 98 in nine overs with Paul Collingwood who clubbed 57 off 32 deliveries in a full-blooded batting performance. They certainly lived up to the promise of not taking a backward step after coming out of their shells during the Champions Trophy.South Africa responded through Loots Bosman as he cracked 58 off 31 balls, adding 97 for the first wicket with Graeme Smith in 8.3 overs, before England claimed crucial wickets. Collingwood deserves credit for making the right call in recalling Anderson to the attack, after South Africa moved ahead of the D/L target when Albie Morkel swung Graeme Swann for six.Alastair Cook pulled off a vital diving save at backward point to prevent a certain boundary from Anderson’s second ball back and after conceding a wide he responded by going for two off the next three balls. When AB de Villiers could only club a single to midwicket England were ahead and the heavens opened.When Bosman and Smith were together South Africa were making rapid progress towards the target in a similar manner to how they chased down 206 to beat West Indies here during the opening match of the 2007 World Twenty20. England’s quicks tried to mix up their deliveries but overdid the variety; Tim Bresnan’s second over went for 14 and Sajid Mahmood’s second cost 19 as South Africa had 67 on the board after six overs. Bosman’s 26-ball fifty was the second fastest for South Africa, but when Smith carved to deep cover England started to claw back. Collingwood held a steepler to end Bosman’s charge and Mahmood trapped JP Duminy lbw for 6.Following the bowler-friendly conditions of the Champions Trophy, this was the Wanderers back in more familiar form as boundaries flowed across and over the boundary with regularity. Even though the game lost seven overs, 17 sixes were hit which is enough to make the bowlers question their vocation.The first-ball dismissal of Joe Denly (his second in two Twenty20 internationals) meant an early arrival to the middle for Jonathan Trott for the most hyped homecoming since Kevin Pietersen. After a predictable first-ball bouncer he made England’s first statement of the tour with four consecutive boundaries off Dale Steyn’s first over.Collingwood made his intent clear when he launched Morkel for a leg-side six and despite the two early wickets England’s fifty was up inside the six-over Powerplay. The team was certainly living up to the new positive approach instilled by Andy Flower and the absent Andrew Strauss. It wasn’t dull.Trott’s contribution was ended when he chanced a single to backward point and was beaten by a sharp return even though the bowler, Roelof van der Merwe, almost messed up his attempt at breaking the stumps. However, it brought in another in-form batsman.Morgan has provided the middle-order with the power for so long lacking in England’s limited-overs side and this display was another demonstration of his awesome striking ability. One six over the leg-side went out of the ground, off Steyn no less, leaving gasps of amazement from those watching. Yes, the Wanderers is at altitude. Yes, the pitch had the pace and bounce batsmen enjoy. But it was a monumental blow nonetheless.He followed up by dispatching the struggling Morkel for 14 off three balls before Collingwood made it 21 from the 14th over with a thumping six over long on. Smith made regular bowling changes, moved his field around all over the place, but was powerless to stop the onslaught.Both Collingwood (27 balls) and Morgan (29 balls) reached their half-centuries in the 15th over and by the time Collingwood carved to deep cover the pair had added 98 in 9.1 overs. Briefly South Africa slowed the charge with three wickets in 15 balls, but Morgan kept his head to regain the momentum and took 29 off his last seven balls with his full array of drives, deflections and mighty blows. In terms of whetting the appetite for the tour ahead, this certainly wasn’t a bad start.

Liverpool suffered their first real setback in their chase for the Premier League title after picking up their first league defeat of the season in their recent match against West Ham United that saw Jurgen Klopp’s side lose 3-2 thanks to goals from Kurt Zouma, Pablo Fornals and an own goal from goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

One player that featured in the match that managed to get on the scoresheet to give the Reds some hope of grabbing a positive result off the substitutes bench was striker Divock Origi who replaced Diogo Jota after 76 minutes.

Opportunity knocks

The fact that Jota failed to register a shot on target against David Moyes’ side and the fact that fellow Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino is out for the next few weeks with a hamstring injury,  means it could be a great time for Klopp to give Origi a run in the team from the start rather than bringing him off the bench to get their season back on track after the current international break.

Liverpool signed Origi, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £60k-per-week according to Spotrac, back in the 2014 summer transfer window from French club LOSC Lille in a deal worth a reported fee of £10m before he eventually moved to the Merseyside club in 2015.

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Since then, the 26-year-old, who is currently valued at £10.8m according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of 164 appearances for the Reds across all competitions in which he has managed to score 38 goals and provide 16 assists in the process, showing that he does have a knack for scoring goals in him.

So far this season, the Belgian has managed to score three goals and provide two assists in seven appearances across all competitions but has had very little chance to shine in the Premier League, playing just two minutes of action prior to the West Ham clash.

Origi, who has been described as “unreal” by fellow Reds teammate Caoimhin Kelleher in the past, has also shown that he has the ability to pop up and score at critical moments for Liverpool such as the brace he bagged in their famous 4-0 win over Barcelona back in May 2019 and their last-gasp 1-0 win over Merseyside rivals Everton in December 2018.

Taking all of this into account, if Origi was given the chance to play consistently in the Premier League moving forward and start scoring regularly, we feel that he has the potential to push Liverpool closer to the title with his knack for scoring goals alongside the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.

It’s time for Klopp to forget about Jota and the injury-stricken Firmino and unleash his devastating Belgian dynamo instead. It could well solve the severe blow that the Brazilian suffered last week.

In other news: Forget Salah: £67.5m-rated beast making 3.3 key passes P/G has been “fabulous” for LFC – opinion

Newcastle United are reportedly now interested in signing Nicolas Pepe in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Move away likely

With the emergence of England international Bukayo Saka on the right-wing, Pepe has become more of a bit-part player at the Emirates Stadium this season.

The former Lille star has only managed to make seven appearances in the Premier League so far, with two of those coming off of the bench (Transfermarkt). And with no European competition for Arsenal this season, there are fewer opportunities for fringe players to see regular minutes.

Considering this, a move away from north London in the winter, whether that would be on loan or on a permanent deal, appears likely for a player who cost the Gunners a club record £72m, and so would surely be expecting more game time.

The Latest: Newcastle interest

As per French outlet Jeunes Footeux, the St. James’ Park faithful are one of three teams in the top flight now ‘interested’ in signing Pepe, along with both Everton and Crystal Palace.

This would be on an initial loan deal in January, with the option to buy the Ivory Coast international in the summer.

The Verdict: Worth a punt

Pepe’s career in North London may not be all that impressive considering his price tag, given that he has only managed 25 goals and 18 assists in 98 matches in total over all competitions across the last three seasons (Transfermarkt).

However, he did not choose how much he was going to cost, and a loan deal with an option could make sense for the Magpies.

The 26-year-old will have a point to prove, and could make the right-wing spot in the North East his own with his ability to cut in on his left foot, with Allan Saint-Maximin coming in on his right from the opposite flank.

Even if things are not quite working out for Pepe, he still works hard on the pitch, as Mikel Arteta hailed his ‘phenomenal’ work ethic at the end of the last campaign. That is what the Toon Army expect from any player who dons the black and white stripes, and the winger certainly has the capabilities of getting them up off of their feet with his pace and directness.

Incidentally, he never lost a game against Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth side, and so the Tyneside boss may already know plenty about him, and perhaps relish the chance to work with him rather than against him.

In other news, find out which £125.9m-rated poacher NUFC are in the mix to sign here!

Noel Whelan says the prospect of Jesse Lingard signing for Everton is ‘mouthwatering’. 

The former Leeds United forward was discussing the future of the Manchester United ace with Football Insider.

The lowdown

The publication reported on Saturday that, should United agree to let Lingard leave in January, Everton would be at the front of the queue.

West Ham, who had him on loan for the latter half of the 2020/21 campaign, and Newcastle United are also said to be keeping tabs on his situation.

However, Everton have a key advantage in that Lingard would prefer to remain in the north-west of England.

Lingard netted nine goals in 16 appearances for the Hammers but has been limited to 55 minutes of Premier League action this season (via WhoScored).

Significantly, the Englishman’s contract is up in the summer, meaning United could be tempted to cash-in at the mid-point of the season.

The latest

Whelan says that Lingard could represent a belated replacement for James Rodriguez, who left in September.

He reckons that the 28-year-old would elevate Everton’s entire frontline.

“I think Everton are missing that number 10, absolutely,” he said to FI. “Now that [James] Rodriguez has gone, you’re missing that X factor, that one player that can produce, that can open up the doors.

“Think about the players on either side of what he could have as well, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison. It’s a mouthwatering prospect thinking about the front four they could have.

“Jesse Lingard could be that missing piece of the puzzle. He could bring the best out of that front three. There’s no doubt in my mind if he did go to Everton, West Ham, wherever, he would be a success.”

The verdict

It was a little surprising if Lingard didn’t wind up at West Ham, because it seemed like a move that made sense for all parties.

Geography played its part, but surely he would have also expected to feature more prominently for the Red Devils?

It’s hard to see him committing his peak years to United given his current squad role. Everton could well be wise to pounce.

In other news, could this midfielder go the other way?

Sunderland travel away to Hillsborough to face Sheffield Wednesday in League One tonight as they look to bounce back from a 5-1 defeat to Rotherham.

The Black Cats were swatted aside by Paul Warne’s side at the weekend as the Millers ran riot against Lee Johnson’s men.

Ross Stewart did manage to make it 1-1 in the first half, but Rotherham were able to score enough four goals to ensure an emphatic victory.

How many changes will Johnson make to the side? Here is our predicted XI…

We are predicting that he will make five alterations to the team, with Frederik Alves, Bailey Wright, Lynden Gooch, Aiden O’Brien and Corry Evans coming in.

After such a disappointing afternoon, Johnson could bring in these five changes to bring some freshness to the team whilst getting rid of the negativity that could fester if the same XI played again.

Rotherham’s first four goals all came from crosses into the box, either via open play or set-pieces, and Johnson will surely be furious with the marking from his central defenders. Therefore, Alves and Wright could be called in, with Tom Flanagan and Callum Doyle both being axed from the XI for their part in the drubbing.

In central midfield, Evans could come in for Dan Neil. His vast experience may be needed to steady the ship after such a disruptive result, with the ex-Blackburn man having played over 300 games in the Championship and League One throughout his career. It will also give Neil, 19, the chance to have a rest ahead of next weekend’s FA Cup tie with Mansfield.

In the number 10 position, Embleton could lose his place in the team. Johnson should offer Lynden Gooch the chance to stake his claim for a regular starting spot in the XI, after Embleton lost five of his six duels and created zero chances against Rotherham.

Finally, Aiden McGeady will be unavailable after being shown two yellow cards on Saturday, which opens the door for Aiden O’Brien to return on the left wing. The Irishman did not get a single minute against Rotherham, but has five goals and two assists in all competitions this season and could offer a goal threat down the left-flank against Wednesday.

Stewart could keep his place in the number nine role after scoring at the weekend. He has now scored 10 goals in 14 League One games for the Black Cats and will be hoping to add to his tally against the Owls tonight.

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has confirmed that Leon Bailey will once again be missing from action ahead of their match against Spurs in the Premier League.

What’s the story?

The Jamaica international has had a mixed start to life at Villa Park following his summer move from Bayer Leverkusen, with injuries causing him to miss a couple of games in late August.

After making his recovery, Bailey showed exactly what he could bring to the table with an electric cameo against Everton, scoring one goal and setting up another as Villa ran out 3-0 winners.

However, after being forced off though injury just minutes after coming on against the Toffees, the 24-year-old looks set to be ruled out until after the international break; and speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of today’s fixture, Smith has delivered an update on the winger.

The manager said: “I’m hopeful that he will start training during the international break, and we will assess him then.”

Villa fans will be gutted

After initially seeing Bailey go down with injury, former Villa defender Alan Hutton responded by saying: “He’s a little bit different to some players because he’s so explosive. That’s kind of a red flag. You need to be careful, especially if you’re coming back from a hamstring injury or things like that. He’s that quick off the mark that he needs to be right.

“The intensity of the Premier League is massive so it’s always going to put strain on your body. They’re going to have to be careful with him, he is playing catch up.”

Hutton concluded: “I’m sure over the coming weeks, depending on how bad he is, they’ll take their time with him and try bed him in really slowly.”

Bailey’s display against Everton showed just why he can be a real game-changer for Villa with his sheer pace and skill, and coming up against a struggling Spurs side, he surely would have relished today’s contest.

Villa fans will no doubt be gutted at seeing him miss out today.

Meanwhile, Gregg Evans has dropped an Aston Villa transfer update…