talkSPORT

Everton’s proposed takeover by Daniel Friedkin is set to hand under-pressure Sean Dyche a stay of execution - at least in the short term.

Dyche could be forgiven for fearing the sack after current owner Farhad Moshiri agreed on Monday to sell his shares to Friedkin after the American brutally axed Roma legend Daniele De Rossi.

The Italian's termination at the Stadio Olimpico comes just four games into the season, prompting fierce criticism from former players including Paolo Di Canio.

But talkSPORT understands Friedkin intends to follow the example of Sir Jim Ractliffe by conducting a thorough performance review of the Toffees.

This includes manager Dyche with Friedkin keen to not rush into any knee-jerk decisions following Everton’s poor start to the season.

If Dyche fails to convince he can turn their fortunes around after taking just one point from their first five games, ex-Everton boss David Moyes is expected to be considered for a return to the Toffees hot-seat.

The Scot is keen to get back to work after leaving West Ham

at the end of last season.

Ex-Chelsea and Brighton chief Graham Potter and recently-departed England boss Gareth Southgate are other potential targets.

He's our Man

Manchester United are ready to step up their interest in Sunderland whiz-kid Chris Rigg.

United are among a number of Premier League clubs who have been following the progress of the 17-year-old, who is widely considered as the best youngster to emerge in the Championship since Jude Bellingham.

The Tyneside-born midfielder only enhanced that reputation by scoring a stunning solo goal in Saturday’s derby win over Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light.

Sources close to Rigg have told talkSPORT that United could make their move for Rigg as early as the January transfer window to fend off competition from rivals including Newcastle.

He perfectly fits the profile of young player INEOS want to build their Old Trafford revamp around.

In your Face

Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface went viral after an outrageous double nutmeg followed by a no-look pass helped set up a goal in Bayer Leverkusen’s Champions League thrashing of Feyenoord last week.

The Nigerian could have been showing those silky skills in a Tottenham shirt had this summer’s transfer window worked out differently.

talkSPORT understands Spurs approached Leverkusen over Boniface’s availability, before signing Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth for a club-record £65million fee.

If the 23-year-old keeps pulling off pieces of magic like we witnessed in Rotterdam, then Tottenham won’t be the only Premier League club on his trail, particularly with the global dearth of forwards.

Leverkusen are braced for interest and value Boniface around the £50m mark.

Stuck in the Mud

Mykhailo Mudryk is determined to battle for his Chelsea future.

The 23-year-old is in danger of becoming the Blues’ forgotten man following the summer signings of Pedro Neto, Joao Felix and Jadon Sancho.

But the Ukrainian, who has started just one Premier League game under new manager Enzo Maresca, still believes he can be a success at Stamford Bridge.

talkSPORT has been told Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali is desperate for Mudryk to come good after leading the charge to sign him from Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth up to £88.5m.

Tottenham are hoping to put their previous Europa League nightmare fully behind them when they return to the competition on Thursday.

Spurs face Azerbaijan outfit Qarabag in Europe's second-tier tournament in north London on Thursday night - live on talkSPORT 2.

Having spent last season out of Europe following a dismal eighth-placed finish in the 2022/23 season, Ange Postecoglou helped guide his side to a respectable fifth-placed finish last term.

And just three years on from their last appearance in the Europa League in March 2021, their squad is almost unrecognisable.

Just one player remains from the starting XI that suffered a shock 3-0 defeat away at Dinamo Zagreb in the last 16 second leg.

Spurs seemed destined to reach the quarter-finals following a 2-0 first leg victory, with Harry Kane helping himself to a double.

But he drew a blank in the return fixture away at the Croatian side, having been denied twice by goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

His misses proved costly, with a hat-trick from Mislav Orsic compounding Spurs to an embarrassing exit from what was expected to be a comfortable win.

Their performance left then-boss Jose Mourinho to issue a heartfelt apology to the club's supporters, while also lamenting the attitude from his men.

Meanwhile former skipper Hugo Lloris hit out at his teammates, as he said: "I think we are more than disappointed, it is a disgrace. I hope everyone in the changing room feels responsible."

Before adding: "We have a lack of basics, fundamentals, our performances are just in relation of that. Mentally we should be stronger, more competitive."

Here talkSPORT.com takes a look at Spurs' starting XI from that fateful night in Croatia, with ten of those players no longer on their books.

Goalkeeper

A club icon, Lloris made 447 appearances for Spurs during his 12-year stay in north London.

But mistakes soon began to creep into his game during the end of his time, which led to the Frenchman being frozen out of the squad following Postecoglou's appointment last year.

He is currently plying his trade in America with Los Angeles FC.

Defenders

Left-back Ben Davies is the only player still on Spurs' books from their clash against Zagreb.

However the Welshman is no longer a key player, with the 31-year-old yet to feature in any of the club's Premier League matches this season.

Serge Aurier started as Tottenham's right-back, but the Ivorian joining Villarreal shortly after the Zagreb loss following inconsistent performances.

A centre-back pairing consisted of Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez, both of whom were shipped out by Postecoglou.

Dier was allowed to join Bayern Munich in the 2024 winter transfer window, while Sanchez was sold to Galatasaray last summer.

Midfielders

A double pivot saw Harry Winks partner Moussa Sissoko in the heart of the midfield.

Just two years earlier, they had also started in Spurs' Champions League final defeat to Liverpool.

Dele Alli then featured in the No.10 role, but failed to impress on what was one of Spurs' most humiliating nights in Europe.

Winks left Spurs last year to join Leicester having been deemed as surplus to requirements.

Meanwhile, Sissoko joined Watford following the 2020/21 season, with Alli, who is currently unemployed, making the move to Everton in 2022.

Forwards

Featuring on the right wing was Erik Lamela, who scored an incredible rabona goal away at Arsenal just days before the clash with Zagreb.

Having never reached his full potential for Spurs, he was offloaded to Sevilla in 2021.

As for left winger Lucas Moura, he was released just before Postecoglou took over after five-and-a-half-years at the club.

Meanwhile Kane, who would go on to become Spurs' all-time top scorer, departed last year for Bayern Munich in his quest for silverware.

That has so far eluded him in Germany, though his goalscoring exploits has seen him regarded as one of the world's top centre-forwards.

Tottenham Hotspur Women star Amanda Nilden has been left with a black eye after their 4-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Spurs won their first Women's Super League game of the season with ease against the newly-promoted Eagles.

Head coach Robert Vilahamn was forced into a number of signings of the summer with high-profile stars Grace Clinton and Celin Bizet both leaving.

England international Clinton was a key player last season but was on loan from Manchester United so returned to her former club, while Bizet, who formed a close bond with the midfielder, then signed for the Red Devils.

However, that blow was swiftly remedied with Bizet's replacement, Hayley Raso, putting in a brilliant showing on debut against Crystal Palace at Brisbane Road.

She got the Tottenham opener with a low drive across goal, before Jess Naz, Drew Spence and Olga Ahtinen, with a rocket, made it a comprehensive win for the hosts.

The Eagles, embarking on their first ever WSL season definitely made an impact though.

And Spurs' Swedish left-back Amanda Nilden can certainly attest to it.

After just eight minutes gone in the clash, Palace star Josie Green went for a high ball along with Nilden while leading with her elbow.

The collision, prior to the ball getting to the pair, left the Swede laid out on the floor but referee Amy Fearn allowed play to go on before realising the extent of the injury.

Treatment lasted for three minutes, but Nilden managed to complete 87 minutes before being substituted, with Charli Grant replacing her.

However, after the match, Nilden showcased the results of the incident.

On Instagram, she posted a picture of herself with black eye and a blood-soaked plaster where it appears a stitch or two has been administered.

On the story, she wrote: "3 points and a black eye (celebration emoji) Great start to the season (four white heart emojis)."

After the game, Vilahamn was delighted with the win but admits, despite netting four, his team will be working on their finishing.

He said: "I think I've learned that we shouldn't be stressed in half-time if the press doesn't work or if we don't really get the goals.

"If you keep going and keep going for 90 minutes, we are that good that we can create chances against the opponent.

"But also perhaps we also need to practice how to finish even more clearly because the goalkeeper was amazing. But we can actually be a little bit better there.

"But on the other hand, first game, next game is Aston Villa away. It's going to be a really tough one. So we cannot be too happy about this.

"We need to analyse this and make sure we have a good performance next week."

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Ivan Toney sent a clear message to his doubters after scoring twice for Al Ahli - his first goals for his new club.

The England striker was making his third appearance for the Saudi Pro League side and grabbed a brace and an assist in a 4-2 win over Damac.

Toney showed that he was more than just a goalscorer inside 15 minutes when he drifted to the right wing before playing a perfect pass to Gabri Veiga who gave Al Ahli the lead.

Damac drew the game level in first half stoppage time, but Toney didn't have to wait long to find the net himself.

Almost immediately after kick-off in the second half, Veiga turned provider as he found the 28-year-old in the box.

Toney showed his poaching qualities as he prodded the ball home to make it 2-1 with his first goal for the club.

He then celebrated by putting his hand over his mouth and putting his finger in his ear.

The striker was denied the chance to open his account earlier this week when Riyad Mahrez claimed a penalty against Persepolis in the AFC Champions League. - only to miss from 12 yards.

Damac drew the game level, before ex-Liverpool star Roberto Firmino put Al Ahli back in front in injury time.

Amazingly, 15 minutes into added on time, Toney got his second of the game after VAR ruled that he was not offside for his poacher's effort that wrapped up the win.

The result means that Al Ahli now have seven points from four games, putting them closely behind Saudi's elite.

Toney's stunning goalscoring bow came on the same day that Ange Postecoglou spoke out on Tottenham's pursuit of the player.

Spurs were heavily linked with a move for the Brentford forward, but ultimately decided to pay £65million to sign Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth instead.

Explaining Tottenham's decision not to sign Toney, Ange Postecoglou said in his press conference: "We looked at him, but the reality was that Dom [Solanke] is the one that I wanted.

“It took the whole summer to get him in, but he was the one that fitted the profile that we wanted.”

Solanke is currently without a goal in three appearances for Tottenham, but his move to north London paved the way for Toney to complete his £40million move to Al Ahli.

After the same number of games for his new club, Toney now has a goal and an assist to his name.

Based on his performances so far, it feels like Toney is going to be very popular indeed in Saudi Arabia.

Ange Postecoglou has explained the reason for not signing Ivan Toney, saying that he wanted Dominic Solanke more.

Toney was heavily linked with a move to north London as uncertainty over his Brentford future grew over the course of the previous Premier League campaign.

In the end Spurs opted to sign Solanke from Bournemouth in a deal worth £65million.

This came after he racked up 21 goals in all competitions for the Cherries last term.

That paved the way for Toney to complete a lucrative move of his own, joining Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli for a fee of £40m.

Explaining Tottenham's decision not to sign Toney, Postecoglou said: "We looked at him, but the reality was that Dom [Solanke] is the one that I wanted.

“It took the whole summer to get him in, but he was the one that fitted the profile that we wanted.”

While Toney will be hoping to make a success of himself in Saudi Arabia, Solanke is still bedding into life in north London.

Solanke has endured a tricky start to life with Tottenham, with his new team winning just one of three fixtures he's played in.

Without a goal to his name, the 27-year-old will be desperate to open his account for the Lilywhites when they face Brentford on Saturday evening - LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on talkSPORT 2.

But discussing Solanke, Postecoglou only had positive things to say.

“He’s settled in really well,” Postecoglou said in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

“There’s plenty more to come from him, because he got injured. He’s only played two-and-a-bit games for us.

“He just needs to get some games under his belt.

"But what I’ve seen in the games he has played, he’s going to be a real asset for us.

"I’ve got no doubt he’ll be a great contributor.”

Jamie O’Hara has jokingly called for Ange Postecoglou to bring him back to Tottenham after pulling off a flip flap in a game of 5-a-side.

When he’s not hosting talkSPORT shows, the former Spurs midfielder and boyhood fan still gets his boots on.

And in his latest Instagram post, the 37-year-old showed he’s not afraid of showboating still, posting a clip of him doing his opponent with a move Ronaldinho would have been proud of.

Passing the ball round the defender and fooling him by darting the other way round him to reach it, O’Hara won the ball and crossed it across the box for his teammate to fire into the net.

“I’ve still got it,” O’Hara wrote as the caption along with three crying laughing faces.

“Sent him for a hotdog, they still can’t deal with the flip flap.

“Ange give me 4 weeks to get fit I’ll do job.”

O’Hara, if you couldn’t tell, was pretty chuffed with himself.

And he had a huge grin on his face as the camera panned in on him after the goal.

Fans in the comments of his video loved it, too.

“Straight in to the Tottenham 11 in place of madders,” one fan wrote, joking Spurs should bring O’Hara in to replace James Maddison.

A second added: “Sign him up.”

“Sent him for a Hotdog in a f******* taxi,” a third added.

O’Hara came through Tottenham’s youth ranks after switching from Arsenal.

He made his senior Spurs debut in 2005, going on to make 56 appearances.

The midfielder bagged seven goals for his club, as well as four assists.

After a series of loans, left permanently for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2011 for a reported fee of £5million.

Wearing the Tottenham shirt is currently too big of a prospect for Dominic Solanke amid his recent struggles.

That's the view of talkSPORT's Gabby Agbonlahor, who has called for the striker to rediscover his Bournemouth form in north London.

Spurs signed Solanke from Bournemouth this summer in a club record deal worth £55million plus £10million worth of add-ons.

Despite being the Premier League's joint-fourth highest scorer last season on 19 goals, he is yet to net for his new club.

Solanke was unable to make an impact in his third Spurs outing on Wednesday night in their late 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Coventry City.

As a result, talkSPORT's Agbonlahor believes he needs to regain his composure and replicate his scoring success from Bournemouth.

"You know with Solanke, Solanke has just got to like, have a chat with the manager and just calm down," he said to Alan Brazil on Breakfast.

"He looks like he's... the shirt's too big for him at the moment.

"Just remember what you did last season for Bournemouth, you were outstanding, think about the things you were doing last season.

"Holding the ball up, making runs, being strong, being aggressive, getting in the box because, he doesn't want to be that player that you go two or three games without scoring.

"When you're at a new club, the pressure comes on. He got brought off last night again, perfect game at the weekend for him against Brentford at home [live on talkSPORT 2 on Saturday] to hopefully get off the mark."

He added: “The big advice I’d give him is that you’re a top player and there’s a reason why you were bought for big money.

“At Bournemouth he was a menace, he was bullying defenders and putting his body in the way. Just don’t think to yourself that you are at a bigger club now at Spurs that the pressure is on.

“He just needs that first goal now. Ange needs to keep playing him."

Former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood has also offered words of encouragement for Solanke and believes that once he finds his first goal, he'll be 'off and running'.

"Just keeping playing, you know? You're going to play. I would say to him, 'Who else is there at the moment to play ahead of him?'

"Paid big money for him, just give him a conversation and say look, 'No matter what happens today, you're in the team next week. I'm going to persevere with you, I want you to get strikes at goal, be yourself, be like you were when you played for Bournemouth.

"'You've been at big clubs,' he's been at Chelsea, he's been at Liverpool, he never got the opportunity. It's easy to play for Bournemouth, with respect, you know, the teams that are around the mid-table in the Premier League.

"It's a lot harder playing for big clubs but I believe he's got the capability, certainly got the tools to be able to do it, he just needs a goal, get some confidence and he's off and running."

Solanke, who scored 77 goals in 216 appearances for Bournemouth, had an encouraging performance on his Spurs debut in their 1-1 draw against Leicester City.

However, he missed their 3-0 victory over Everton and 2-1 defeat at Newcastle due to an ankle injury.

The 27-year-old returned to the starting XI for the 1-0 north London derby loss to Arsenal as well as their midweek trip to Coventry.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou opted to substitute him for Heung-min Son in the 62nd minute before his side turned the tie around.

Their Championship hosts took the lead through Brandon Thomas-Asante and came close to sealing a shock victory.

Spurs levelled the scoring in the 88th minute though thanks to Djed Spence before Brennan Johnson netted their stoppage-time winner.

Tottenham start their pursuit of silverware this season with a trip to the Midlands to face Coventry City in the Carabao Cup, and it's live on talkSPORT 2.

Spurs haven't won anything since lifting the EFL trophy in 2008, but their manager Ange Postecoglou has boldly claimed he will win something this season.

The Australian always wins silverware in his second season at a club, winning league titles with South Melbourne (1997/98) and Brisbane Roar (2010/11), the Japanese league with Yokohama F Marinos (2019), as well as his domestic dominance at Celtic.

Even as Australia's national coach, he claimed the 2015 Asian Cup two years after he took over, with the only exceptions to his streak coming at teams he failed to see out the full two seasons in charge of.

In truth, Spurs could do with a win to boost confidence, never mind think about winning a trophy, after back-to-back league defeats ensured they've made their worst start to a campaign in nine years.

Meanwhile, Coventry reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup last year and were only beaten by Manchester United on penalties, so they will fancy a shock.

However, the Sky Blues haven't started their Championship season very well, sitting in 15th with just one win.

Coventry vs Tottenham: Toothless Tottenham

Tottenham have played four Premier League games so far this year, and the statistics are pretty damning.

They have averaged 68 per cent possession and, bar battering Everton 4-0, have little else to show for it.

In games against Leicester, Newcastle and Arsenal, Postecoglou's side fired in a combined total of 49 shots and walked away with just two goals to show for it, one of which was an own goal.

As a result of this failure to turn possession into goals and results, Tottenham's high line and weakness from set-pieces has been exposed, leaving them with four points.

There is still a long way to go in the season for things to turn around, but Tottenham need to be more clinical.

Coventry City and Spurs have met five times previously in the League Cup, with the Londoners progressing three times to the Sky Blues’ two. Their last meeting was in 2003-04, a 3-0 Spurs win at Highfield Road in the second round.

Tottenham have won their last four games against Coventry in all competitions without conceding a goal, although this is their first clash since the third round of the FA Cup in 2012-13, a 3-0 Spurs victory.

Coventry vs Tottenham: Date and how to follow

This Carabao Cup third-round clash is set to take place on Wednesday, September 18.

Kick-off at the Ricoh Arena is scheduled for 8pm.

talkSPORT 2 will have live coverage of the match, with commentary coming from Ian Danter and former West Ham striker Dean Ashton.

talkSPORT.com will also have all the reaction.

To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

Coventry are looking to reach the League Cup fourth round for the first time since 2007-08, when they beat Man Utd 2-0 in the third round. Their only appearance in the third round since then was in 2012-13, losing 6-1 to Arsenal in Mark Robins’ first spell as manager.

Spurs have progressed from 16 of their last 17 League Cup ties against sides from outside the Premier League, the exception in the 2019-20 third round when they went out on penalties to Colchester after a goalless draw. The last non-Premier League team to eliminate them without penalties were Grimsby Town in September 2005, a 1-0 win.

Coventry vs Tottenham: Team news

The hosts expect to have Ben Sheaf and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto back in training this week, but they won't make the game.

Joel Latibeaudiere came off at the weekend against Watford with cramp but is expected to be fine to take part.

But Josh Eccles is doubtful after an awkward landing potentially damaged his shoulder.

Richarlison is still absent with an unspecified injury picked up in training, and Spurs will still be without Yves Bissouma.

The Mali international missed the north London derby defeat to Arsenal after sustaining a groin problem while away with his country, but he's expected back at the weekend.

Elsewhere, there could be rotation, with Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner among those hoping for a start.

Coventry vs Tottenham: What has been said?

Spurs boss Postecoglou has defended his comments about winning trophies - which stretch back to pre-season when he said he said he 'usually' wins trophies in his second season.

Speaking to Sky Sports on Sunday, he said: "I'll correct myself - I don't usually win things, I always win things in my second year. Nothing's changed."

He was then asked about those quotes in his pre-match press conference and said: "It's amazing, isn't it? I just stated a fact. Am I supposed to just lie or just say it never happened?

"But do you really think it's me sort of boasting?

"It's just confusing to me that people are making a big deal out of something. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to answer something that is true.

"I've just said something that's true, and it seems like it's upset a lot of people for some reason."

Another Bayern Munich match, another record broken by Harry Kane.

Days after beating Erling Haaland's record for the quickest time to reach 50 goal involvements in the Bundesliga - he's at it in the Champions League.

The German giants were handed a clash with Dinamo Zagreb on matchday one and Kane was in no mood to mess about.

He equalled Wayne Rooney's record of 30 goals - the most by an English player in the competition - and in 40 games less.

Having already scored 21 times in the competition for Tottenham, and on eight occasions last season, Kane was on 29 prior to the home match with the Croatian champions.

In his 45th Champions League match, he rounded out that number from the penalty spot.

Aleksandar Pavlovic was bundled over in the box and although Serge Gnabry put the ball in the net, he was offside.

That allowed the initial challenge to be analysed and given as a penalty for Kane to fire high into the net.

Kane is proving to be a fine asset after his £86.4million transfer from Spurs in 2023.

Although Bayern Munich failed to win a trophy last season, Kane managed to score 36 league goals in 32 matches, winning him the European Golden Shoe.

That was a record in itself, meaning Kane has the most strikes in a debut season, adding to a hefty collection.

He was already Tottenham and England's record goalscorer prior to his big transfer to the Bundesliga behemoths.

Kane's creativity shouldn't be forgotten either, he's assisted nine Champions League goals.

What makes Kane's record even more impressive is that Rooney scored his 30 over 85 matches.

Although, Manchester United's record goalscorer did assist 21 in that time too.