Football365

Liverpool will have to pay ‘huge money’ to sign Alessandro Bastoni from Inter Milan in the summer with a deal for a Tottenham player ‘more likely’, according to reports.

The Reds have struggled in the Premier League this season with Arne Slot’s side, who won the title last term, currently in sixth place and in danger of missing out on Champions League qualification.

Their plans at centre-back were destroyed early on in the season with Marc Guehi, who now plays for Manchester City, failing to complete a move to Liverpool after Crystal Palace pulled the plug on the deal at the last minute.

After losing out on Guehi, Liverpool then had to deal with news in September that new centre-back signing from Parma, Giovanni Leoni, would miss the rest of the season through injury.

That has left them with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahim Konate, who haven’t been on top form, as their main options at centre-back, while injury-prone Joe Gomez has also filled in there.

Konate now looks like he could leave Liverpool in the summer on a free transfer with Real Madrid looking to tie up a deal for the France international.

READ: Big Midweek: Newcastle v Barca, Arteta, Mamardashvili, Chelsea, Tudor, Manchester City

Jeremy Jacquet will join from Rennes in the summer but the Reds will need at least another signing in that position to be ready for next season.

Inter Milan centre-back Bastoni has emerged as a possible option for Liverpool in recent months but Football Insider journalist Pete O’Rourke has warned that the Reds will need to pay ‘huge money’ to land the Italy international.’

It is understood that ‘bids in excess of £80million will be required just to bring Inter to the negotiating table’ while a deal ‘depends on whether he is keen to explore a new challenge in his career’.

In a potential boost to Liverpool, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently revealed doubts that Barcelona could compete financially for Bastoni.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “When discussing Barcelona’s plans for the summer, one of the dream targets in defence remains Alessandro Bastoni. Barcelona really appreciate Bastoni and they admire his profile as a defender.

“However, I continue to repeat that for Inter he is an absolutely crucial player. He is not just another squad member. He is one of the most important players in the team and also an Italian international, so it would be a very complicated deal.

“The interest from Barcelona is genuine because they like Bastoni a lot, but everything will depend on their financial priorities and how much they decide to invest in different positions.

“We must remember that Barcelona will likely spend around €30 million to sign Marcus Rashford on a permanent transfer. In addition to that, the club are also looking for a number nine.

MORE LIVERPOOL COVERAGE ON F365…

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* Alonso ‘agrees’ three-year deal at Liverpool but there is still one way Slot can ‘nullify’ deal

* ‘Big decision’ – Shearer, Richards tell Slot to drop Liverpool summer signing vs Galatasaray

“So the key question is whether Barcelona will still have the budget to afford Bastoni. That is why they are monitoring several alternatives and keeping different options open.”

O’Rourke adds in his report that a deal to sign Tottenham centre back Micky van de Ven is ‘more likely for Liverpool’ with the Reds ‘leading the race’ to sign the Netherlands international.

The report in Football Insider continues: ‘Van de Ven is expected to seek a move away from Tottenham in the summer, and as a result, he is a more likely candidate to join Liverpool than Bastoni is at the moment.’

Van der Ven was seen snubbing Thomas Frank in the aftermath of a defeat to Chelsea earlier in the season and former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson doubts those kind of actions will endear him to potential suitors in the summer.

Johnson said: “Managers need to know that ability alone isn’t enough.

“Players need to be willing to do what their teammates, the manager, and the team require in games.

“It’s not nice to see someone publicly disagreeing with in-house decisions like Micky van de Ven did.

“Disagreeing in the dressing room or on the training ground is fine, as you want the best for everyone.

“But to do it publicly is off-putting. It gives the impression that a player is better than the rest. And maybe he is, but that’s not the point. You don’t want to see that.

Johnson added: “Van de Ven at Liverpool or Manchester United? There’d probably be a lot of (Tottenham) players that people would want to look at, but the ones they are looking at are still the players who are in this team and in a relegation battle.

“So there would be a couple of gems you could get on the cheap, for sure. But, as I say, if they were that good, they wouldn’t be in this position.”

Pedro Porro insists Tottenham interim boss Igor Tudor was not the focus of his anger after being subsituted in their 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.

Tensions are high at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Spurs now in serious danger of being relegated to the Championship unless they turn their dreadful form around.

Tottenham are yet to earn a point under Tudor, losing all three of his first three matches as interim boss, with Spurs just one point ahead of West Ham, who occupy the final relegation spot in the Premier League.

Porro clarified his relationship with Tudor after being seen punching a dugout chair following his substitution against Crystal Palace and appearing to shout something towards the Tottenham interim boss.

Porro told reporters at a pre-match press conference ahead of their clash with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League: “I just want to make it clear it was not about the manager. I am a player who gives it all on the pitch, 200%, and we never like losing. It is just about that.

“Since I found out he was coming to the club, I knew he was going to be a manager that would help us a lot. All of the players know that we need to be on the right path with him. This is a tough situation, but the most important thing right now is to focus on tomorrow’s game.”

READ: Who will be the next Spurs manager? Dyche, Redknapp and Mason among the frontrunners

Tudor believes that their last-16 match against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night can help boost their chances in the Premier League.

He said: “I believe that these kinds of games can help us to switch in the right way.

“This is a normal thing that this [Champions League] is something extra, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to pass to the next round. Of course, it’s very important. It’s important. We have to grow, so it can be an opportunity. A totally different mentality can be used in this kind of game. Maybe this can help us to see which problems we have. I believe that these kinds of games can help us to switch in the right way, but always focus on us, to grow as a team, to do things better and that’s the point.”

MORE TOTTENHAM COVERAGE ON F365…

* Tottenham blow as Pochettino is chosen as top ‘candidate’ for Real Madrid job; Zidane hopes fade

* Tottenham identify ‘likely’ Igor Tudor replacement over Keane, De Zerbi

* Igor Tudor set for Premier League infamy after impossibly making Frank’s Spurs worse

On Cristian Romero returning to the squad, Porro added: “Well, Cuti is a very important player for us. We know it, everyone in the squad knows it. He makes all the difference, and we missed him a lot, because he can give a lot to the team and we were missing him, so we are delighted to have him back. He is hugely important for us, and this is all I can say.”

Real Madrid could choose to move to Mauricio Pochettino this summer in a potential big blow to Tottenham, according to reports.

Los Blancos sacked Xabi Alonso in January after they lost to arch-rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final, while there had been rumours of dressing room discontent over the Spaniard’s tactics and team selection.

Alvaro Arbeloa was immediately appointed as Alonso’s successor but there are already rumours that he could be replaced at the end of the season.

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, Aston Villa’s Unai Emery, Benfica’s Jose Mourinho and former Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane have all been linked with replacing Arbeloa.

And now sources have told ESPN that USMNT boss Pochettino is ‘on the shortlist of candidates’ to become the new Real Madrid head coach.

Arbeloa was ‘never really considered a long-term solution’ at Real Madrid and the Spaniard would now need ‘a miracle’ to keep the job after losing two of their last three La Liga matches.

READ: Who is the top scorer of 2026? Harry Kane out in front as Mbappe loses ground

The report adds: ‘Sources say that Madrid are evaluating different candidates to lead the new sporting project and that Pochettino is one of the coaches highly regarded by president Florentino Pérez.’

Their hopes of potentially luring Zidane back to the Bernabeu are fading with reports that he has agreed to become the new France national team boss after the World Cup.

Pochettino has also been heavily linked with a move to Tottenham as their new manager after a disastrous campaign in the Premier League.

Thomas Frank was sacked earlier this year and replaced by interim boss Igor Tudor, who has lost all three of his first three matches in charge, and there are already rumours the Croatian could be replaced before the end of the season.

READ: Big Midweek: Newcastle v Barca, Arteta, Mamardashvili, Chelsea, Tudor, Manchester City

Tottenham are just one point above the relegation zone in the Premier League and dropping down to the Championship would definitely end their chances of appointing Pochettino next season.

Fabrizio Romano brought an update on Pochettino potentially going to Tottenham in the summer with the transfer expert rating the chances of that happening as 40 per cent.

When asked if Pochettino could leave the USMNT, Romano replied: “Now Pochettino is completely focused on the USMNT.

“It’s obviously an incredible opportunity to be the coach at the World Cup in the U.S. He’s aware of interest from Tottenham.

“At the moment, if you ask me, I think it’s really, let’s say, 40-40 between Roberto De Zerbi and Mauricio Pochettino, and then we leave a 20% to eventual other managers who can appear in the shortlist in the next weeks and months.

“But Pochettino is aware about the situation, aware about Tottenham fans that are still chanting his name. So for sure, there is an interest from Tottenham and the environment is still thinking of Mauricio Pochettino. But at the moment, full focus on the USMNT.”

Tottenham have identified a manager who’s a “good fit” to replace Igor Tudor as interim manager until the end of the season.

Tudor has overseen three defeats in three games after taking caretaker charge of Spurs following the sacking of Thomas Frank and is already at risk of losing his job.

Our friends at TEAMtalk insist that Tudor ‘has escaped the sack, for now’ and are expected to wait until after the match against Liverpool in a week before potentially making any change.

The report from earlier this week adds that Spurs ‘are preparing to remove Tudor in the near future’ and have moved to identify candidates who could replace the former Juventus head coach.

Former Tottenham forward Robbie Keane and ex-Brighton and Napoli boss Roberto De Zerbi are thought to be the two top candidates, although the latter is ‘less enthusiastic about the prospect of stepping into an interim situation’.

TEAMtalk are keen to stress that ‘no final decision has yet been made’ over whether to sack Tudor or not – but they are giving themselves the best possible chance of a smooth transition if they do decided to make a change.

READ: Tudor sacked after triple loss as Tottenham caretaker’s final straw at former clubs remembered

But according to Football Insider, Tottenham have instead identified former caretaker boss Ryan Mason as a ‘likely candidate to take the reins, due to his previous experience in the role’.

Mason has held the interim role on two previous occasions, in 2021 and 2023, winning six and losing six of his 13 games in charge, including the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City after Jose Mourinho’s sacking.

Despite being sacked by West Brom in his first senior managerial role in January after the consecutive away defeats in the Championship, the report claims Spurs still see the 34-year-old as a ‘good fit’ for them in a relegation battle should they send Tudor packing.

It’s been suggested that Harry Redknapp could make a vibe-boosting return 14 years after leaving the club as manager and the man himself admitted he would take on the challenge if asked after claiming Spurs are now “favourites” to be relegated.

When asked if he would accept an offer from Tottenham to return as manager if they asked him, Redknapp responded: “Of course I would have to, wouldn’t I? But it’s not going to happen.

“No, I can’t see that happening. I think I’ll be at Cheltenham on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.”

Even an entertaining FA Cup weekend is still an FA Cup weekend, and that means stretches and reaches must be performed to make things interesting.

It might be pretending that Max Dowman is about to get a Walcottesque England call-up, or that Igor Tudor has been booting Spurs players out of training, or that literally anyone outside his immediate family cares about whether or not Luke Shaw is allowed to chop down a cherry tree.

What a Monday morning.

Max power

Don’t think we’re speaking out of turn in saying that Mirror man Andy Dunn might have got slightly overexcited by the sight of Max Dowman playing quite well in an unconvincing Arsenal victory against League One Mansfield in the FA Cup at the weekend.

Arsenal star Max Dowman will soon be a player Thomas Tuchel finds impossible to resist

Just in case you thought this might be a headline-writer stitch-up, don’t worry. It isn’t.

Watching Max Dowman tame a treacherous pitch and opposition in Mansfield, it was hard not to envisage him in a full England jersey.

With all due respect to Mansfield, they are Mansfield. Max Dowman is very obviously a prodigiously talented young footballer among a collection of prodigiously talented young footballers at Arsenal. But he is absolutely nowhere near the England squad. As even Dunn knows.

Probably not as soon as World Cup 2026, obviously. A teenage masterclass at the One Call Stadium is not enough to get the one call from Thomas Tuchel.

Not sure we need that ‘Probably’. Mediawatch will eat several of its large collection of hats if Max Dowman goes to the World Cup.

We’re not even sure about this bit.

Considering the demanding nature of Arsenal’s schedule over the next eleven weeks, Dowman could well play a significant part in the Gunners’ four-pronged challenge.

He is at best third-choice on the right wing for Arsenal. Does also feel like it’s potentially worth noting that both the men in front of him are very much in Thomas Tuchel’s England squads.

And having suggested the idea remains fairly preposterous, there remains time for Dowman to give Tuchel cause for some serious thought, even though the England manager has already warned of the dangers of putting too many demands on the Arsenal player.

You can’t just keep saying ‘It won’t happen, obviously, but also it might’. This is getting so weird now.

Sure enough, we now get to the inevitable.

But Dowman is clearly exceptional, in the same way Lamine Yamal was exceptional when he made his debut for Spain at the age of 16 years and 57 days.

Chucking Lamine Yamal’s name around in the very next paragraph after noting that Tuchel has ‘warned of the danger of putting too many demands on the Arsenal player’ is magnificent.

It’s also b*llocks. We mean this as no slight on Dowman, but he is no Lamine Yamal.

When Spain gave a 16-year-old Yamal his debut in September 2023 he had already broken through and established himself in the first month of the new season as a La Liga starter for Barcelona. In the season he made his Spain debut, he ended up with 37 La Liga appearances and 10 more in the Champions League.

Dowman has made two brief substitute appearances in the Premier League – a grand total of 29 minutes on the pitch – and one in the Champions League. That’s still extraordinary for a 16-year-old, and it would have been more but for injury, yet it also just highlights how much of an outlier Yamal actually is.

It’s entirely unhelpful to compare almost any other young player to Lamine Yamal, because almost no player in history has been Lamine Yamal at 16 years old.

Where comparisons do feel closer to the mark is where Dunn chooses to start his pitch. But that’s not really a good thing.

Almost 20 years ago, Sven-Göran Eriksson made a World Cup selection so left-field that the player himself thought it was a practical joke. Theo Walcott was actually taking the theory section of his driving test when his name appeared on Eriksson’s list and refused to believe it when his dad told him the news.

Were we about to spend several hundred words arguing for the possible World Cup selection of an entirely untested, unproven teenager from Arsenal over multiple currently superior and more seasoned contenders, we’d probably accept that we had to mention Theo Walcott at some point but we think we’d try not to lean so heavily from the outset on such a similar gamble that proved so utterly pointless.

Dowman has at least played for Arsenal, but the fact an England manager made what remains an inexplicable choice 20 years ago absolutely doesn’t mean another should do it now. The opposite, if anything.

When Walcott made his international debut – before his Arsenal debut – in a friendly against Hungary in May, 2006, he became the youngest player in England history.

That mark of 17 years and 75 days still stands. Dowman will almost certainly not get the type of shock call-up that Walcott got, but he will surely be breaking his record before the year is out.

Mediawatch is sat here scratching its head at where precisely Dunn thinks the certainty and doubt lie in these projections.

Five will make you go down

The Tottenham Crisis has become a fascinating case study for Mediawatch. Because what it’s revealed is that there is absolutely nothing real that is sufficiently bad for the tabloids not to feel they need to add a dose of sh*thouse mischief on top.

Here you have a Premier League Big Six team that is currently the worst in the Premier League and, barring a dramatic change in their own form and that of teams around them, heading for relegation.

Tottenham going down is now enormously likely and would be the most absurd Premier League event since Leicester winning the league; there is absolutely no need to over-egg a pudding that already contains such vast quantity of egg.

It is almost impossible to overstate how bad Spurs are, or how bad their transfer business and managerial decisions over recent years, or even how the scale of the shambles off the field matches that on the field.

Things really are very, very bad indeed at Spurs in almost every conceivable way. And yet the tabloids just can’t help themselves.

Last week we had revelations about Brennan Johnson’s rule-breaking before his Tottenham exit, which turned out to be a) stupid fake Australian rules that aren’t real and b) 18 months before his exit.

Now thanks to the Express we have this.

Igor Tudor kicked five players out of training as Tottenham concerns grow

Now we know and you know that the presence of the ‘as’ there already tells us something is afoot, but there really is only one fair and reasonable interpretation of that collection of words: that Igor Tudor has kicked five players out of Tottenham training.

Obviously, that’s not it at all.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Igor Tudor encountered turmoil and squad discord at previous club Marseille that resulted in five players being expelled from training.

Sake. This made us laugh, though.

The Croatian has been defeated in all three of his fixtures at the helm thus far and his nightmarish stint somewhat mirrors the ill-fated period he experienced in France between 2022 and 2023.

Does it?

Despite guiding Marseille to third place in Ligue 1…

That’ll be a no, then.

Cherry joke

It’s only been a couple of weeks since we had to remind The Sun that a story only really qualifies as an EXCLUSIVE if you’ve beaten everyone else to get a story they all wanted. Being the only ones who have it because nobody else is bothered doesn’t really count.

Yet we must once again tap the sign after today’s Currant Bun brings us this scoop.

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has been given the go-ahead to chop down a “dangerous” cherry tree at his £5million Cheshire mansion.

There are simply not enough Partridge shrug gifs in the world.

Tottenham Hotspur reportedly remain at the front of the queue when it comes to signing on-fire West Ham forward Crysencio Summerville this summer, having failed with their efforts to land the player in the winter window.

The 24-year-old Netherlands attacker has been in outstanding form for West Ham in recent weeks, scoring seven goals and providing one assist across his last 10 appearances, as he almost single-handedly looks to pull Nuno Espirito Santo’s men away from the threat of relegation.

However, his performances have not gone unnoticed in Premier League circles, as Summerville continues to push for a place in the final Netherlands squad for this summer’s World Cup.

Sources over at our friends at TEAMtalk have confirmed that Tottenham retain ‘strong interest’ in the Dutch forward. Indeed, it was revealed back in January that the north London outfit were ‘exploring a winter window swoop from Summerville’.

That interest from north London stems from Spurs failing to replace club legend Son Heung-min’s output from the left flank after the South Korean moved to MLS last summer.

Several options have tried and failed to produce from the position for Tottenham this season, with perhaps the best of those, Wilson Odobert, now ruled out until the end of the year after suffering an ACL injury in February.

MAILBOX: Was watching Liverpool and Arsenal more fun in the ‘pants’ years?

However, both Spurs and West Ham currently have their focus firmly fixed on trying to escape the current campaign without dropping into the Championship. Only after can they begin to fully flesh out their summer recruitment plans.

The report also adds that several other Premier League sides are tracking Summerville’s progress closely.

Those clubs include Aston Villa, Brentford, Everton and Bournemouth, although interest is not just limited to England.

On the continent, Marseille, Napoli, Atalanta and Villarreal are all understood to be monitoring Summerville’s situation with ‘genuine intent ahead of the summer’.

However, much could depend on how West Ham’s season concludes.

READ: Porro nails why Tottenham have f**ked it this season – ‘Arsenal, Liverpool… you just can’t’

Indeed, the report adds that if the Hammers successfully retain their place in the Premier League, the club will ‘have no intention of entertaining offers for one of their most in-form players’.

Should circumstances change, though, Summerville’s stunning form since the turn of the year means there will be no shortage of takers when it comes to the summer market.

The explosive attacker is set to be back in action for West Ham when they host Brentford in the FA Cup fifth-round on Monday night, looking to book their place in the quarter-finals.

Pedro Porro offered his explanation as to why Tottenham have endured a nightmare campaign that could still get worse, and his primary reason is difficult to argue with.

Any Tottenham fan who believed the Europa League triumph would be a springboard to bigger and better things was quickly brought back down to earth this season.

Spurs crashed out of both domestic cup competitions in the early rounds. They’re just a point above the drop zone in the Premier League and staring down the barrel of a first relegation since 1977.

Results have been rosier in the Champions League, however, and ahead of Tottenham’s Round of 16 clash with Atletico Madrid, right-back Porro spoke to the Spanish press about precisely what’s gone wrong in north London this term.

The biggest issue for Tottenham this year – at least in Porro’s mind – has been their mind-boggling injury list.

The fact some of their best and most senior players (a certain Argentine) can’t keep the red cards and suspensions at bay is only exacerbating the problem.

Porro told Radio Marca: “It’s difficult, because when you’re competing in four competitions under these circumstances… we already had that bad experience last year in the Premier League with so many injured players, and you just can’t compete.

“We have young players coming on strong, and looking at this season, it’s basically the same.

“You’re going to play against Arsenal, City, Liverpool, or Chelsea, and you just can’t.”

Spurs aren’t alone in nursing a lengthy injury list, but what sets them apart is the sheer number of starters who are sidelined, and for how long.

Looking at just the forward line, in an ideal world Tottenham’s best front four would consist of Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Mohammed Kudus and Dominic Solanke.

Kulusevski and Maddison haven’t made a single appearance all season, while Solanke has been limited by his own injuries to just 601 minutes of league action. Kudus hasn’t played since suffering a serious thigh injury at the beginning of January.

READ NEXT: Arsenal ‘risk-averse meat-grinder-style’ will be default in fun-free Premier League

Summing up the dire straits Spurs find themselves in, Porro added: “We could field a starting eleven of injured players that might even be stronger than the eleven that’s currently playing, and it’s not out of disrespect to anyone, but that’s basically the reality.

“We have to think and maintain a positive mindset. I’ve told my teammates, it’s difficult to compete like this, but we always have to give 100 percent, even though things aren’t going well in the Premier League, just like last year.

“We’re going to approach the tie with the same ambition we’ve shown so far in the Champions League.”

Man Utd could be forced to pursue other manager targets as Tottenham hold talks with Roberto De Zerbi about taking over from Igor Tudor, according to reports.

The Red Devils made a poor start to the new Premier League season but have turned things around in recent weeks under new interim boss Michael Carrick, who replaced Ruben Amorim in January.

Carrick has won six, drawn one and lost one of his first eight matches in charge with Man Utd flying up to third in the Premier League table and leaving fans dreaming of a Champions League return next season.

It had seemed like INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe would opt for the former Man Utd midfielder as their permanent boss in the summer following his incredible start in the interim role.

However, shortly after their defeat to Newcastle in the Premier League, former CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs insisted that Carrick is not the “frontrunner” for the job and revealed the names of other candidates.

Jacobs said on The United Stand: “I don’t think we can call Michael Carrick the frontrunner for the job.”

MAILBOX: Was watching Liverpool and Arsenal more fun in the ‘pants’ years?

He added: “Roberto De Zerbi, Julian Nagelsmann and Roberto Martinez are names being discussed at the moment.

“Mauricio Pochettino and Kieran McKenna are still appreciated, but are not expected to be frontrunners for the job.”

Man Utd want to appoint their next permanent manager before the World Cup starts on June 11 and GiveMeSport have claimed that De Zerbi is ‘one of United’s preferred external managerial candidates’.

De Zerbi is the obvious candidate as Nagelsmann and Martinez both have World Cup commitments with Germany and Portugal, and Tottenham ‘could stun Man Utd’ by hiring the Italian.

But Tottenham could now ruin the Red Devils’ plans if they choose to sack Igor Tudor, who has lost all three of his first three matches as interim boss in north London.

READ: Tudor sacked after triple loss as Tottenham caretaker’s final straw at former clubs remembered

GiveMeSport add that Spurs ‘could be forced to make a permanent hire earlier than that if Tudor’s poor form continues’ with De Zerbi ready to ‘hold face-to-face talks’ with Tottenham.

Former Man Utd defender Wes Brown insists that there is “no doubt” that Carrick is “in contention” for the permanent gig after his great start.

Brown told BetMGM: “I think if something is working then why change it? You can’t say if Michael [Carrick] will get the job permanently now but there’s no doubt he’s in contention for it.

“He was very much brought in as an interim for the rest of the season and I think we all expected that would be how it would go. However, he’s seriously in the conversation now after what he’s done since he’s come in.

“It’s a seriously hard job – you just have to look at the managers that have come in before him and how much they’ve struggled for evidence of that. He’s managed to get the players playing well again and in doing so they’ve won matches, and, at the end of the day, that’s what the Premier League is about.

“In the past people might have had questions about whether he’s a big enough name for the job but I don’t think they can really do that now,” he added. “Manchester United have gone for big names before and they’ve failed, so I think the fact Michael understands the club and knows what’s expected of the players make him a very strong candidate.

“He knows that more than pretty much any manager they could go for and that’s got to count in his favour. He’s got that experience under his belt now as well and there’s always a case that if they do go down another path and it goes wrong, they’ll look back and realise they made the wrong decision.

“Don’t get me wrong, he still hasn’t been there for very long but I don’t think there are many managers that could have done any better than Michael has done.”

Liverpool are hoping to replace Andy Robertson with Inter Milan left-back Federico Dimarco in the summer transfer window, according to reports.

The Reds improved that position in the summer transfer window when they brought in Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth in a deal worth around £40m.

Kerkez has pushed Robertson down the pecking order at Anfield and the Scotland international is expected to leave Liverpool when his contract expires at the end of the season.

There was a lot of interest from Tottenham in the January transfer window but the Reds ended up holding onto their experienced Scot.

Robertson is unlikely to end up at Spurs if they are relegated from the Premier League, which is becoming to be a real possibility, and the Liverpool defender insists he never lost focus while there was speculation around his future.

Robertson told reporters: “There was obviously interest [from Tottenham] — there was discussions had with both sets of clubs.But the decision was that I wanted to stay. We stayed at Liverpool and that was the decision made.

READ: Liverpool immediately knocked back in attempt to snatch two PSG superstars

“I was never not committed. I’ve been committed to Liverpool for the last eight and a half or nine years now and I’ll be committed until I’m no longer needed.

“That’s always been my mindset. This club has given me everything and I’ve given this club everything. It’s been a fantastic relationship so hopefully that continues and obviously January happened, but it is now gone.

“Now we move forward and like I said, my focus never came off trying to help the lads on the pitch and in training. Whatever was happening behind the scenes happened, and all I can say is that I kept focusing on football.”

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And now reports in Spain claim that Liverpool have ‘already found Robertson’s replacement’ and the name ‘generating the most interest is Federico Dimarco’.

The report adds: ‘Liverpool FC believe Federico Dimarco could adapt well to the Premier League style of play. The Italian is a full-back with a great ability to join the attack, good crossing quality, and a strong performance in offensive situations.’

Inter Milan are looking to negotiate a new contract for Dimarco to keep him out of the clutches of other European giants with Arsenal, Manchester United and Real Madrid linked recently.

When Robertson’s departure is confirmed, Liverpool ‘could seriously accelerate their offensive to try and convince’ Inter to sell the Italy international.

Tottenham have identified two potential replacements for interim head coach Igor Tudor if they decide to sack the Croatian, according to reports.

The north London club are on a terrible downward trajectory and have failed to improve after sacking former Brentford head coach Thomas Frank last month.

Tudor took over from Frank to become interim head coach until the end of the season but there are already huge doubts that he will last the season.

The Croatian has overseen three losses from his first three matches in charge against Arsenal, Fulham and Crystal Palace, and now faces a Premier League match against Liverpool at Anfield sandwiched in between a Champions League double-header against Atletico Madrid.

Tottenham are now just one point away from the relegation zone after West Ham beat Fulham 1-0 on Wednesday and Spurs lost 3-1 to Crystal Palace on Thursday.

Our friends at TEAMtalk insist that Tudor ‘has escaped the sack, for now’ and are expected to wait until after the match against Liverpool in a week before potentially making any change.

READ: Tudor sacked after triple loss as Tottenham caretaker’s final straw at former clubs remembered

The report adds that Spurs ‘are preparing to remove Tudor in the near future’ and have moved to identify candidates who could replace the former Juventus head coach.

Former Tottenham forward Robbie Keane and ex-Brighton and Napoli boss Roberto De Zerbi are thought to be the two top candidates, although the latter is ‘less enthusiastic about the prospect of stepping into an interim situation’.

TEAMtalk are keen to stress that ‘no final decision has yet been made’ over whether to sack Tudor or not – but they are giving themselves the best possible chance of a smooth transition if they do decided to make a change.

Spanish website AS claims that Richarlison is ‘packing his bags’ ahead of a summer departure from Tottenham that could see him return to Brazil.

MORE TOTTENHAM COVERAGE ON F365…

* Tottenham: Tudor ‘close’ to sack as stay of execution revealed; club legend ‘keen to step in’

* ‘It would be catastrophic’ – Defoe reveals Spurs relegation disadvantage vs West Ham, Nottm Forest

* Arsenal are ‘cardboard’ but Spurs will only get promoted on three conditions as seven players must go

Another player who’s likely to leave in the summer, even if Tottenham stay up, is Guglielmo Vicario with Tuttosport insisting that the Italian goalkeeper is ‘drained’ from his time in north London.

Vicario has a ‘less than idyllic relationship’ with new interim boss Tudor and ‘hopes to return’ to Italy and play for Juventus in the summer market.

Former Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp reckons Spurs “could even be favourites” of them, Leeds, Nottingham Forest and West Ham to go down.

Redknapp told talkSPORT on Friday: “Four or five weeks ago I really couldn’t see Tottenham being involved in a relegation scrap.

“Every week has gone by it’s got worse. West Ham are now playing very well which is great, Forest picked up a big point the other night, the only other side getting sucked in now is Leeds, they’ve got sucked into that battle as well, I thought they were clear because they’ve had a good season, played ever so well.

“But Tottenham are bang in it now, must be truthful. They’re looking like they could even be favourites out the four to go, it’s that desperate.”