Football365

Tottenham are thinking about sacking Igor Tudor before the weekend after Spurs were well beaten by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Tudor’s side found themselves 3-0 down inside 15 minutes at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano with Atletico Madrid taking advantage of a couple of mistakes from Tottenham goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.

Tudor took the decision to haul off Kinsky following the third goal with Tottenham managing to limit the damage from there with both sides scoring two more goals as the game ended 5-2.

The interim boss was heavily criticised for his decision to start Kinsky in such a big match and the defeat means Tudor has now lost all four of his first four matches in charge of Tottenham.

And talkSPORT claim that Spurs ‘are considering sacking’ Tudor ‘before the weekend’ with Tottenham now facing a crucial match against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

The report adds: ‘The club’s hierarchy could already pull the plug on Tudor and look for a third manager of the season.

READ: Tudor ‘kills’ another Spurs career besides his own as Kinsky becomes humiliated collateral damage

‘talkSPORT understands Spurs owners the Lewis family have been left disillusioned by Tudor’s impact, or lack of.’

While it’s understood that the Tottenham hierarchy will hold a meeting with the players ‘to determine Tudor’s future at Spurs’ after the interim boss’ disastrous start.

Tottenham are now likely to go out of the Champions League unless they overturn the three-goal deficit at home and Spurs face a battle to stay in the Premier League too, as they sit just a point above the relegation zone.

Tudor has been labelled “a fraud” by former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara with Spurs overall summed up as “nothing short of a disgrace”.

O’Hara said on talkSPORT: “I’m absolutely embarrassed to be a Spurs fan. I’m embarrassed to be affiliated with this football club. It is nothing short of a disgrace. The manager is a fraud.

“The manager needs to go, sack him at half time. It’s a disgraceful performance from the players.

“The tactics, unthinkable. To set up 3-4-3 against Atletico Madrid is embarrassing. We cannot play that formation.

“He said it’s about experimenting. You cannot experiment in the Champions League playing 3-4-3 and to pick Kinsky….

MORE TOTTENHAM COVERAGE ON F365…

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

* ‘Boring’ Arsenal pile-on continues as Tottenham flop sides with Arne Slot: ‘I’ll tell you the truth’

“Everyone’s saying all of a sudden they’re feeling sorry for this guy… he’s a professional football player. He’s a professional goalie. It’s his job. He can’t kick the ball.

“It’s their job to look through to wear the right footing. Put some studs on, you’re falling over the ball. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

O’Hara added: “I honestly cannot believe I’m sat here watching this garbage. [Micky] Van de Ven should’ve been sent off. He doesn’t want to be out there. They give us a sympathy vote VAR by not sending Van de Ven off.

“This could be 9-0, and to be honest, I hope we get pumped because this manager has got to go and the only saving grace out of anything is that we get pumped tonight.

“The Tottenham board might do something for once and actually sack this guy because he is absolutely shocking. I could do a better job at managing this football club.

“They can’t even pass a ball. They cannot string two passes together. This club is absolutely gone. The players are absolutely gone.

“”They don’t want to be there. They don’t want to play. for this manager. It is nothing short of a disaster. We are going down.

“This club is finished right now, and this is an absolute embarrassment to even watch.”

Continuing his rant, O’Hara said: “What has happened to this club? I can’t watch this anymore!

“I can’t believe how bad we are…this manager is a fraud, he’s the biggest fraud I’ve ever seen, who appointed this guy?”

O’Hara rounded off his outburst by claiming: “It’s a disgrace, the way this club is set up and run.

“He’s got to go, he’s got to get sacked tonight…I want it, if he’s not sacked, I won’t watch Spurs again, the team he picked, it’s an absolute joke.

“You’ve got Kinsky in goal…my nan could tell you that he’s not good enough to play in the Champions League in goal.”

In ordinary circumstances, it might seem bizarre to start a post-mortem of the latest Spurs defeat with a Mikel Arteta quote about Arsenal goalkeepers from September 2023.

But a) ordinary circumstances and Spurs are entirely incongruous, and b) in this of all seasons, there is every chance that an ongoing obsession with the superior half of north London inspired one of the most remarkable turns of events in modern football history from an entirely unserious institution that honestly must be stopped at this point and protected from itself.

“I’m a really young manager,” said Arteta two and a half years ago. “I have few regrets, but one of them is that on two occasions, I felt after 60 minutes and 85 minutes of two games in this period to change the goalkeeper in that moment.

“I didn’t do it, I didn’t have the courage to do it. Someone is going to do it, and maybe [people will say] that’s strange. But why not? Tell me why not. You have all the qualities in another goalkeeper to do something, you want to change the momentum, do it.

“It’s a regret that I have.”

‘Hold Thomas Frank’s Arsenal-branded coffee cup,’ said Igor Tudor, who flogged that absurd notion to within a millimetre of its already flimsy pretence in a season-immolating 90 minutes which equally underlined why Spurs will probably simply double or quits last campaign’s combination of a European trophy and 17th by winning the Champions League while finishing 20th.

It was an evening which, as Ally McCoist had it, likely rendered Antonin Kinsky’s time at Spurs “finished” – and a game which emphasised how fortunate the 22-year-old would be if that is indeed the case.

Not since Loris Karius in the 2018 final has such seemingly irreversible damage been done to a single player’s career. The hope is that Kinsky can recover from this in a way his Liverpool counterpart never really could, but it will be a long road, and one which absolutely must not involve Tudor in any way.

“You’ve got to stick with him at least until half-time,” said Peter Schmeichel afterwards. “He’s absolutely killed his career.

Tudor’s decision to drop Guglielmo Vicario for Kinsky in a Champions League game away at Atletico was curious in the first place. His call to remove the Czech after 17 of the most chastening minutes imaginable was ruthless. But Tudor’s choice to completely ignore Kinsky as he was consoled by players and staff all the way from the pitch to the tunnel was despicable.

Steve McManaman dubbed it “man management at its very, very worst”. A “heartbroken” Joe Hart was “flabbergasted” at the lack of any semblance of care or empathy. McCoist and Darren Fletcher were speaking like they had just witnessed a live death, they really were.

And in a way they had: of Tudor at Spurs; of Kinsky at Spurs; of whatever Spurs’ Champions League hopes were. It was uncomfortable viewing but impossible to look away. A complete and utter car crash in every sense.

Kinsky, on his third appearance of the season – and first outside the opening rounds of the League Cup – miskicked for the first goal and slipped for the third, as did Micky van de Ven for the second.

The perennial head-loss at Spurs was matched only by a forfeiture of balance at what was apparently the Metropolitano ice rink. The sheer amount of slips suffered by members of the visiting team was farcical, to the point it was assumed by many that it must have been the result of a deliberate #darkarts ploy from Diego Simeone to drench the playing surface but advise his squad to wear quadruple-length studs.

Tudor did not acknowledge any of the five players he brought off in fairness/a damning indictment of his tough guy act in which he’s actually just being a bit of a kn*b. If there is any footage of what Fletcher described on commentary – Djed Spence coming off, sitting on the bench, getting up again, tapping Tudor on the shoulder and making a point to shake his hand in a lesson on basic manners – it should be released in conjunction with the news of the manager’s demise.

There was a fifth goal for the hosts, expertly converted by Julian Alvarez on a quick break triggered by one of a great many ludicrously brilliant Antoine Griezmann touches.

But that goal was itself born from an excellent Jan Oblak save from a Richarlison header as Spurs, even while tripping over their own shoelaces, lurched in the general direction of the finish line.

Pedro Porro scored a wonderful team goal before setting up Dominic Solanke to close the deficit somewhat with a fine finish. Both sides had 11 shots in a game which ended 5-2. Spurs are honestly just so f**king stupid.

And they do appear to have accidentally called a pyromaniac instead of a firefighter to this unrelenting dumpster blaze.

It is the worst start for a manager in Spurs history. It is the first time they have ever lost six consecutive games in all competitions. And now Tudor, not quite content with torching an already doomed club’s season and his own hopes of managing at a relevant level again, has resorted to taking players’ careers down with him.

Tottenham Hotspur forward Mathys Tel has backed Liverpool manager Arne Slot in his brutal assessment of the state of the Premier League, as Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta sticks to his plan and continues to blow everyone away.

While Arsenal are the favourites to win the Premier League title this season for the first time since 2004, Liverpool, who became the champions of England in the 2024/25 campaign, may not even finish in the top four and Tottenham could get relegated.

Arsenal have not been very pretty to watch this season, with Arteta focusing on set pieces and being very professional in open play.

The Gunners have scored 16 goals from corners this season, with many criticising their tactics.

Earlier this month, Liverpool manager Arne Slot complained about the Premier League getting too boring because of set pieces.

BBC Sport quoted Slot as saying on March 2: “You have to accept it.

READ: Ranking all 31(!) Premier League managers this season: Mikel Arteta off top spot

“I think it’s mainly here in the Premier League. If I watch other leagues I don’t think there’s so much emphasis on set-pieces.

“If I watch an Eredivisie game, which I still do, I see goals being disallowed and fouls on goalkeepers being given and I think ‘wow, that’s a big difference’.

“Here, you can almost hit a goalkeeper in his face and the referee still says ‘just go on’.

“Do I like it? My football heart doesn’t like it. If you ask me about football, I think about the Barcelona team from 10, 15 years ago.

“Every Sunday evening, you were hoping they would play.

“Now, most of the games I see in the Premier League are not for me a joy to watch but it’s always interesting because it’s so competitive.

“That is what makes this league great because there is so much competitiveness. Everyone can win against everyone.”

Tottenhamforward Tel has now sided with Slot in his assessment of the Premier League and believes that the English top flight is boring.

Tel, who has been a huge disappointment for Tottenham and has started just seven Premier League games for the north London club this season, has lamented the lack of Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe in the Premier League.

Maxi Foot has quoted Tel as saying to podcaster Zack Nani: “I’ll tell you the truth, yes, it’s not exciting.

“It’s boring to watch; it’s really just a clash between two teams with their own ideas.

“There’s less spectacle, there’s no Vinicius pulling off a sombrero flick, no dribble, no Kylian (Mbappe) accelerating past you.

“Here, I’d say it’s more structured, maybe too much so, with clear ideas, all those set pieces, little details that can sometimes make the difference.

“But sometimes you think it might be too much.

“I told the assistant coach in charge of set pieces, ‘Don’t put me on that one’. Because it’s a zoo.

“We’re all bunched together, everyone’s pushing, knocking each other to the ground, holding onto each other… Forget it. The goalkeeper can’t get out, he can’t see.”

Slot and Tel may moan and groan as much as they would like, but Arteta is not going to mind winning the Premier League title the ugly way.

Arsenal have proven to be very efficient using the corners like they have, and the Emirates Stadium faithful will not mind a bit if that continues and makes the Premier League boring, as long as the Gunners win the title this season.

Mauricio Pochettino is demanding four summer signings from Real Madrid if they want him to take over as head coach in the summer, according to reports.

Los Blancos are looking to replace Alvaro Arbeloa in the summer after the Spaniard has failed to impress in his short time as Real Madrid head coach.

Arbeloa took over from Xabi Alonso in January after the former Bayer Leverkusen head coach was sacked by Real Madrid following their defeat to arch-rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup.

Real Madrid immediately appointed Arbeloa but did not specify how long the Spaniard would be in charge and now there are rumours that he will leave at the end of the season.

One report on Monday even claimed that he could be sacked before the international break after losing two of his last three matches in La Liga.

Former Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp has perhaps been the most heavily linked with the job, while Aston Villa’s Unai Emery, Zinedine Zidane and Benfica’s Jose Mourinho have also been mentioned.

READ: Liverpool return mooted for Klopp as he ‘wants’ one Reds star in Real Madrid demand

Pochettino is one long-term option, with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez known to be a big admirer of the former Tottenham head coach, who is also being linked with a return to Spurs.

Real Madrid and Tottenham would both have to wait until after the World Cup in the summer to appoint Pochettino as he leads the USMNT into the competition.

And now reports in Spain claim that Pochettino is demanding two midfielders and two centre-backs in order to ‘agree’ to sign as new Real Madrid head coach.

The report adds: ‘The club’s biggest wish would be to sign Cuti Romero from Tottenham , their favourite centre-back for Real Madrid, but his price tag is currently exorbitant at €80 million.

‘Pochettino also wouldn’t be opposed to bringing [Marco] Verratti back to European football, as he’s playing exceptionally well; he’s the player who has impressed him the most [at PSG], and Pochettino believes that, for a relatively small fee, and despite being 33 years old, he would significantly improve the team, along with a second midfielder, who could be [Alexis] Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, [Adam] Wharton, or Vitinha.’

READ: Liverpool star’s ‘future lies with Chelsea’ as Real Madrid are beaten; Reds identify ‘chosen one’

Spanish journalist Jorge Picon insists that Como head coach Cesc Fabregas is a ‘dark horse’ to take over as new Real Madrid boss in the summer.

Picon told El Desmarque: “But there’s another coach who hasn’t been talked about as much, and he’s the one I wanted to mention. Well, I haven’t read anything about him myself, but he’s a coach who’s very much to the liking of some of Real Madrid’s top executives.

“His name is Cesc Fàbregas , a young coach, but with leadership qualities. He was already very popular as a player, and they wanted him when he was at Arsenal. But despite having been at Barcelona, ​​he’s a coach they believe has charisma and knowledge, and they see him as having the potential to coach Real Madrid in the future.

“Real Madrid has never lost sight of the coaching market. Arbeloa was brought in with the idea of ​​a transition period, and he’s a club man and will always have a place at Real Madrid, but it’s true that there are already important people at the club who are putting forward the names of coaches. Zidane, obviously, is Florentino’s dream whenever these things happen.

“He’s the number one option, but another option that’s very appealing is Klopp, and there have been contacts to find out about his situation.”

The sacking of Igor Tudor before the end of this season is reportedly ‘inevitable’ on one condition and Spurs have a ‘most realistic’ replacement.

Tudor has had a nightmare start at Spurs, losing his first three Premier League games in charge against Arsenal, Fulham and Crystal Palace.

The former Juventus boss was drafted in to make an immediate impact and guide Spurs to safety, but his arrival has arguably made them even worse as their relegation fears have increased in recent weeks.

The north London side have the distraction of a Champions League round of 16 first leg against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, but the Premier League is far more important and they travel to face Liverpool at the weekend.

Spurs are currently only one point clear of the relegation zone and could be forced to change their manager for a second time this year if their results under Tudor do not improve soon.

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

Over the weekend, a report from The Telegraph claimed Spurs are ‘looking at appoint a second manager in a month’ and would make a change if there is not an improvement in the four remaining games before the international break following the home match against Nottingham Forest on March 22.

Now, a report from Football Insider claims Tudor’s exit from Spurs before the season is over is ‘inevitable’ if there is not an improvement in this timeframe.

The report explains:

‘Alarm bells are already ringing over his appointment from within the Lilywhites’ hierarchy, and the two-week international break is seen as the ideal time to bring in his successor, if needed.

‘That timescale is seen as a clear opportunity by the board to give a new man some time with his squad, and sources say that if results do not improve by then, a change in the dugout will be “inevitable.”’

The same report names former Spurs player and coach Ryan Mason, who was recently sacked by Championship strugglers West Brom, is the ‘likely’ and ‘most realistic’ replacement for Tudor before the club look to appoint a long-term successor in the summer.

However, a report from our pals at TEAMtalk has named club legend Robbie Keane as an alternative, with the up-and-coming manager sad to be under consideration to replace Tudor.

In the meantime, it is Tudor’s job to spark an upturn and he has acknowledged that they are prioritising the Premier League over the Champions League.

“Every game is important,” Tudor said.

“[A] totally different mentality aspect can be used in this kind of game, so maybe this can help us see which problems we have, and to switch the right way. But always focus on us, to grow as a team, to do things better.

Tudor added: “We need to do our best in terms that we need to grow. Our first aim is the Premier League – this is something that needs to be said publicly. It’s a normal thing.

“[The Champions League] is something extra, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to pass and don’t want to go to the next round.”

Arsenal have been hit with a ‘title race twist’ and ‘manager decision’ bombshell after landing another plum, Quadruple-tempting FA Cup draw.

Said FA Cup needs to be ‘REDONE’ really, because Joe Hart looked down.

And there is a ground-breaking Spurs ‘admission’ from the entirely beleaguered Igor Tudor.

Hot Rod

‘Rodri discovers his punishment for his comments on ‘bias’ referees in Premier League title race twist’ – MailOnline.

The ‘title race twist’ appears to be that Rodri will be free to continue playing for Manchester City while being £80,000 worse off.

Kasper the friendly ghost

Once they have recovered from that shocking turn of events, Arsenal will have to come to terms with this news too:

‘Bayer Leverkusen manager decision revealed on eve of Arsenal Champions League clash’ – Daily Mirror website.

‘Bayer Leverkusen make manager decision ahead of Arsenal Champions League tie’ – Daily Star website.

‘Doubts emerge over Bayer Leverkusen manager just days out from Arsenal Champions League clash’ – Football.London.

Long non-story short: Bayer Leverkusen will hold an end-of-season manager review with Kasper Hjulmand, much like most if not all football clubs.

So their ‘manager decision’ is that they have obviously not yet made a decision because that would be mental.

Admission impossible

And there is a really quite stunning development to report on from the other side of north London, brought to us by the Daily Mirror website:

‘Igor Tudor finally makes Tottenham relegation admission as priority clear’

This should be good. Has he admitted Tim Sherwood would have been a better choice? Or that he simply cannot override the history of the Tottenham? Or that they might actually finish below Wolves?

‘Igor Tudor has admitted that avoiding relegation is the top priority for Tottenham this season as he prepares to face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.’

Oh for fu…

Paul the other one

It is a quiet old news day but no, Daily Mirror website, Paul Scholes continuing to be a bit daft on social media and messaging Michael Carrick to clarify something does not even nearly constitute any Manchester United badge-cracking action.

Howe about that?

Oliver Holt takes his turn going to bat for Eddie Howe on Tuesday morning, on the eve of “the biggest game” in Newcastle’s history.

‘Maybe Newcastle United will beat Barcelona at St James’s Park on Tuesday evening,’ he writes in the Daily Mail. ‘Barcelona are a better team with better players but the atmosphere at Newcastle’s magnificent old stadium is the best in England now. It can create magic, particularly on a big night under the lights.’

There is not enough time in the day to go into his faux surprise at there being an ‘Eddie Howe out’ element of the Newcastle support while they sit 12th in the Premier League table not far off five years after appointing him.

The owners should face plenty of criticism for that too, sure. And they do. But it does feel as though the manager who spent £55m on Anthony Elanga ought to come in for the most flak there.

But yeah, ‘the atmosphere at Newcastle’s magnificent old stadium is the best in England now’ and ‘can create magic, particularly on a big night under the lights’.

It is just a weird thing to say about a team which has lost five of its last eight games at home, being knocked out of two cup competitions in the process and losing further ground in the Premier League, while barely beating Qarabag.

Good to see St James’ Park being bestowed Big Night Under The Lights status, mind.

Bore draw

Mediawatch is painfully aware that banging the ‘supposedly credible media outlets probably shouldn’t be even vaguely indulging in the idea that professional football competition draws are rigged’ drum makes far less noise than, well, vaguely indulging in the idea that professional football competition draws are rigged.

But we have covered the click-laundering nonsense of hiding those claims behind a thinly-veiled wall of sh*te and no-mark social-media posts before, and will continue to scream into that void.

The Sun website really have stumbled upon a lucrative headline trend here, as evidenced by this:

‘Fans claim FA Cup quarter-final draw is ‘RIGGED’ with final already decided as Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea learn fate’

It just doesn’t feel like ‘certain sets of fans were not overly pleased with the draw and speculated the process might have been rigged’ should be the basis for a news story really.

Fair play for a URL of ‘fa-cup-draw-rigged-arsenal-man-city-chelsea-liverpool’, though. That has presumably worked a treat.

And it should definitely take until the tenth paragraph to get this nonsensical reveal:

‘Of course, none of the fans could offer any proof for their claims and it is not known whether or not they were being serious or not.’

Would it matter or not if they were or not?

Elsewhere on the same website:

‘Fuming Liverpool fans claim FA Cup quarter-final draw needs to be REDONE after what Joe Hart did with their ball’

Sit down for this one, dear reader, for Hart ‘appeared to briefly glance down into the bucket before picking out his selection’ and ‘targeting Liverpool’.

Quite why a former Manchester City player would deliberately draw them to face Liverpool is unknown. But this is what happens when The Sun closes the blinds, sticks tin foil on its head and refuses to answer any phone calls for fear of the Illuminati listening in.

Carney slang

With apologies to those who still harbour ambitions of England winning the World Cup this summer…

‘England lose highly-rated former Chelsea star, 22, to rival nation three months before World Cup’

Break it to us a little more gently next time, The Sun website. This can’t be how we find out that England have ‘lost’ a ‘Chelsea star’ – 32 appearances, of which five were starts – in Carney Chukwuemeka.

Can you ‘lose’ something that was never yours in the first place? It’s almost as if England had numerous opportunities to do something to ‘keep’ Chukwuemeka over the last few years but specifically chose otherwise because they have slightly better options.

According to reports, Tottenham Hotspur have only been able to draw up a list of nine players they want ‘to keep’ beyond this season.

Spurs find themselves in a dire situation as they are only one point clear of the relegation zone in the Premier League with nine games of the campaign remaining.

Head coach Igor Tudor has been drafted in to replace Thomas Frank, tasked with guiding Spurs to safety after a positive short-term impact at Juventus and other clubs.

However, the north London club have arguably looked worse under Tudor, who has lost his first three games in charge, than Frank. They remain winless in the Premier League this year.

Spurs have a distraction of a Champions League round of 16 first leg against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, but they return to Premier League action on Sunday as they visit Liverpool.

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

Regardless of whether they survive in the Premier League, there is set to be big changes at Spurs in the summer.

A new report from The Telegraph has revealed details about Tottenham’s ‘plan’ to overhaul their squad in the summer, with most of their players at risk of being offloaded.

As per the report, Spurs have drawn up a nine-man list of players they want ‘to keep’ heading into next season.

‘[Spurs] accept that the squad needs an overhaul, with a greater focus on experience, leadership and character in their recruitment.

‘Those whom Tottenham would ideally like to keep are thought to include Micky van de Ven, Dominic Solanke, Conor Gallagher, Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, youngsters Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, and James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, who are both yet to play this season because of injuries. There have, however, been suggestions that Van de Ven could be open to leaving.’

The report also claims that three ‘high-profile’ players could be sold in the summer, with club chiefs ‘open to cashing in’ under the right conditions.

Regarding Tottenham’s revamped transfer policy moving forward, it is also noted that their failed move for Liverpool star Andy Robertson is an ‘example’ of their ‘future strategy’.

The report says the club will be looking to recruit ‘players in their mid-20s and over’, with Robertson said to be deemed as ‘the type of player they believe could make a difference – on the pitch and off it’.

Spurs could yet rekindle a move for Robertson in the summer as the Liverpool defender is yet to pen a contract extension beyond the end of this season.

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…

* Vinicius Junior demands Real Madrid signing from Liverpool: ‘Seems to have a very close relationship’

* 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.”

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.”