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The latest injury news from Tottenham Hotspur ahead of Thursday’s visit to Premier League rivals Bournemouth.

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It has been a season of mixed emotions for Spurs as they remain on the verge of the battle for a place in next season’s Champions League - despite never really finding consistency and suffering some poor defeats during the first four months of the season.

For Ange Postecoglou, the main frustration will be an ongoing injury crisis that continues to rob him of the services of several key players throughout the campaign. For large parts of the season, the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario have all watched on from the sidelines as a depleted Spurs squad have struggled to put together a strong run of form.

A trip to Bournemouth is next on the agenda for the former Celtic manager and his side - but could any of his injury stars return to contention for the visit to the Vitality Stadium?

Wilson Odobert

The summer signing suffered a hamstring injury and underwent surgery earlier this month to rectify the issue. However, there is no set date for a possible return to action and the winger will continue to be monitored by Spurs medical staff. Possible return date: Unknown.

Archie Gray

The former Leeds United midfielder picked up what was confirmed as a dead leg on Sunday and is a doubt for Thursday night’s visit to Bournemouth. Possible return date: Thursday 5th December.

Dominic Solanke

The England striker missed Sunday’s draw with Fulham after suffering an illness after being sent home prior to the game. There is some hope Solanke could return to face his former club on Thursday. Possible return date: Thursday 5th December.

Cristian Romero

The Argentina defender has been out of action for Spurs last two games after suffering a toe injury. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s draw, Postecoglou said of Romero: “Romero is closer but probably unlikely. I'm not ruling him out. He's got to get through a few things today, and then there's a session tomorrow.” The defender missed the game but could return later this week. Possible return date: Thursday 5th December.

Mikey Moore

The academy product is suffering from an illness and Postecoglou has already confirmed he is unlikely to return for another fortnight. Possible return date: Mid-December.

Micky van de Ven

The Dutch international has not appeared since he suffered a hamstring injury in the Carabao Cup win against Manchester City in October. A pre-Christmas return to contention was suggested at the time and that still appears to be the target. Possible return date: Mid-December.

Richarlison

The Brazil star has endured a difficult season and has found his involvement limited to just seven appearances in all competitions. His latest blow came in the 4-1 win against Aston Villa as he suffered a hamstring injury that meant he missed games against Ipswich Town, Manchester City and Fulham. Speaking last month, Postecoglou said: “Richarlison, hopefully, he'll be back in the New Year but, again, similar to Micky (van de Ven), we've got to be careful every step of the way.” Possible return date: Mid-January.

Guglielmo Vicario

The Italian goalkeeper has become an integral part of Postecoglou’s plans since he joined Spurs in the summer of 2023. That is why his recent ankle injury was a major blow for the Australian, who confirmed the stopper would be out for months. He said: “It's not going to be weeks. It'll be months. With surgery, there are certain timelines. I don't like giving timelines so early in the process, as it puts undue pressure on the player... Once he starts getting [on the training pitch], we'll have a clearer idea.” Possible return date: March 2025.

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Our verdict on the latest Premier League transfer rumours, featuring news from Spurs, Man Utd, Liverpool, Aston Villa and more.

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Welcome to Thursday’s run-through of the biggest – and wildest – new Premier League transfer rumours. We’ve got news for fans of Liverpool, Manchester United and more coming up later, but we’re going to kick things off with a report that might interest Tottenham Hotspur supporters.

Sport Witness have caught us up with some claims from former Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthäus which suggest that Leon Goretzka is going to be offered to a new of clubs – including Spurs.

The 29-year-old Goretzka has fallen out of favour under new head coach Vincent Kompany and the German giants are “clearly desperate to get rid of him”, amid constant reports that Bayern are looking for a suitable buyer. Matthäus named Spurs, Inter Milan, Manchester United and Atlético Madrid as potential destinations.

The 3AM Verdict: It’s worth noting that while Matthäus’ involvement at Bayern means he almost certainly has some degree of an inside track, he is a pundit and not a club official, so a pinch of salt has to be taken with everything he says here. There’s also no mention of a transfer fee – but this would surely represent a pretty exciting buy anyway, and it’s likely Goretzka has plenty left to offer.

Liverpool’s left-back bid

Next up, a story which suggests that Liverpool are looking for a long-term replacement for left-back Andrew Robertson, who at 30 may be starting to enter the twilight of his career. TeamTalk reckon that the Reds have identified Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez as the answer to that issue and they are now “pursuing him.”

That quote comes via Sky Sports Germany reporter Floran Plettenberg but TeamTalk also claim that their own sources suggest that Bournemouth would demand a minimum of £40m for the young Hungarian’s services. Apparently Manchester United, who have been linked with Kerkez several times over recent months, are interested but he’s far enough down their shortlist that they wouldn’t stand in Liverpool’s way.

The 3AM Verdict: Kerkez is having a fine season and seems to be developing nicely – in particular, he’s starting to be more productive in the final third and generating a healthy volume of chances, so we’re not shocked to see him linked with the biggest teams. Manchester United seem to be prioritising Alphonso Davies and Theo Hernández (as we discovered in yesterday’s column) so this all checks out.

Premier League trio target Bremen boy

Last up today, a story from TBR Football which suggests that three Premier League clubs are in hot pursuit of 24-year-old Werder Bremen attacking midfielder Romano Schmid – namely Aston Villa, Fulham and Southampton.

The Austria international would apparently set a suitor back no more than £10m, too, which isn’t bad for a player who’s been a Bundesliga regular for the past few seasons. A contract which only runs until 2026 may partly explain the relatively low asking price.

The 3AM Verdict: A creative and versatile midfielder who generates plenty of chances and works hard off the ball, he fits the bill for most Premier League squads even if he doesn’t score a ton of goals – just six in his 93 Bundesliga games. These reports seem to be nice and fresh, too, which makes it hard to know how much truth there is them. He’s the kind of player who’s affordable in January, which might push him up a few shopping lists.

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Tottenham signed James Maddison for £40m and needed him for their vital Man City win.

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Tottenham Hotspur made mincemeat of Manchester City at the Etihad over the weekend. The Lilywhites thrashed the Premier League defending champions 4-0, with the opener and second goal coming from James Maddison, who, until the game against City, had been playing in a more withdrawn role.

Having set up his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation in his first season at Tottenham, Ange Postecoglou ditched the setup for a 4-3-3 this season. Dejan Kulusevski, who was previously known as a right winger, has been playing as a right central midfielder, while James Maddison has taken on the role of left central midfielder. This makes the team an ultra-attacking side, but Maddison, despite his impressive goal contributions, has not been playing close enough to goal.

The defeats to Galatasaray and Ipswich led Postecoglou to tweak his formation back to a 4-2-3-1, and it worked wonders against a formidable side like Manchester City. With Maddison at number 10, Spurs had an efficient player positioned closer to goal. The two goals he scored against City were no fluke. This is what you get when you play him near the action.

The same formation also ensures that there is a traditional central midfielder next to the defensive midfielder. This cover is vital for a team with attacking fullbacks like Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie. Pape Matar Sarr covers for Yves Bissouma, and Bissouma in turn provides support for Porro.

Although Kulusevski has excelled in central midfield in the 4-3-3 formation, the Swede is at his best as a right winger, where he has the space to dribble, cut inside, and deliver dangerous crosses, like the one that assisted Maddison’s opener at the Etihad.

The former Juventus winger is among the best in the league in his preferred position. In just one game back on the right wing, he showed the football world that he can go toe-to-toe with the best.

He created two big chances, more than any other player in Gameweek 12, and completed four successful dribbles, the highest in the game week.

Sticking to this formation would likely mean Brennan Johnson would no longer be a starter. The Welshman might not be happy with this, but Spurs fans would be content knowing they have a quality winger on the bench who can make a positive impact in games. After all, all good teams have strong depth in their squad.

Tottenham needed the win after what was truly a difficult 10 days given they lost to Ipswich and the pressure mounting on the boss but so did Manchester City who had lost all their four games and needed a response.

The way Postecoglou did and how Maddison responded is the way to go if they are to rediscover themselves and go all out at leats get the fourth to get back to Champions League football.

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Our take on the latest Premier League transfer rumours, with news from Manchester United, Spurs, Liverpool and more...

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Welcome to Wednesday’s round-up of all the biggest and boldest Premier League transfer stories currently making their merry way around the rumour mill – we’ve got news for fans of Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City coming up, but today we’re going to get started with a story for the red half of Manchester.

According to Sport Witness, who cite the Italian press as their source, Manchester United are “serious” about trying to “tempt” Napoli’s superstar winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Old Trafford, and have prepared a wage package worth €9m (£7.5m) per year in order to make the move happen.

Napoli are keen to sign their best player to a new contract but haven’t been able to agree a deal yet, and could sell up if United fork out a hefty €100m (£83.4m). The good news for United’s bean counters is that the Italian side would apparently be happy to come up with a payment plan. Klarnatskhelia, if you will.

The 3AM Verdict: This clashes with recent claims suggesting that United plan to curb their spending next summer, which is when we assume a move would have to happen due to the Premier League’s financial rules – and United get linked with every big-money move going, in the way of these things, which makes us rather sceptical. That said, there’s a lot of specific detail here, which often hints that a story is properly sourced rather than pure hearsay, so you never know…

Spurs in for Serie A star

On to North London now, with a story from TeamTalk – who reckon that Tottenham Hotspur “have prepared a bid” for Inter Milan and Italy midfielder Davide Frattesi with an eye on a January move.

The midfielder, who can play as a number ten or in a deeper central role as has 25 caps for his country, is apparently unhappy to find that he’s been relegated to the bench just a few months after making a loan move from Sassuolo permanent, and as such is pushing for a move. Inter would accept a “significant” fee of around €35m (£29.2m), allegedly.

The 3AM Verdict: The players Frattesi is losing time to are Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Nicolò Barella, so being benched is hardly an indication that he isn’t good enough – Frattesi is creative and very dangerous in the final third. He isn’t, however, a great defensive asset and doesn’t force many turnovers, which is something Ange Postecoglou seems to prize in his midfielders. We’ll see.

New contenders in for Liverpool target

Lastly today, we’re going to return to an old favourite of transfer columns everywhere – the future of Real Sociedad midfielder Martín Zubimendi, who famously turned Liverpool down this summer after deciding that he liked life in the Basque Country too much to leave.

Since then, there has been plenty of speculation suggesting that the defensive midfielder regrets his decision following Sociedad’s poor start to the season, and that Liverpool might try again – which, according to Caught Offside, they will, but they’ll have some competition.

With Sociedad “ready to listen to offers” for the Spain international, Arsenal are also ready to make a bid of around £50m, which Manchester City “could be one to watch” as they wonder whether to replace Rodri in January.

The 3AM Verdict: Whether Zubimendi sincerely regrets his decision or not, he probably won’t stay put forever – but we doubt that Arsenal will spend so much on another central midfielder when they already have Declan Rice and Mikel Merino, and we doubt that Manchester City will make a big move this January, all of which would leave Liverpool in the clear if they want to go back. We’ll see, but we aren’t expecting him in the Premier League until next summer, anyway.

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The latest Tottenham Hotspur injury news ahead of matches against Fulham and Roma.

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Tottenham Hotspur may have just earned one of their most impressive wins in recent memory with a 4-0 thrashing of Manchester City at the Etihad, but with two important home matches coming up this week, a recent spate of injuries remains a serious concern.

AS Roma are the visitors in the Europa League on Thursday while Fulham make the short trip across the capital at the weekend for Spurs’ next Premier League match, and Ange Postecoglou will once again be forced to make do without several key players – and will be left sweating on the fitness of centre-half Cristian Romero.

We’ve collected all of the latest injury news and updates for Tottenham below, along with the stricken players’ expected return dates when available.

Cristian Romero

The Argentine centre-back missed the big win in Manchester thanks to an ankle injury sustained on international duty – Romero was forced to leave the field early against Peru due to the swelling.

Ahead of Saturday’s win, Postecoglou confirmed that Romero would be unavailable but added that he would “hopefully” be back for the following weeks matches. He remains a significant doubt for both games, especially the European tie against Roma.

Micky van de Ven

Romero’s centre-back partner has missed the last three Premier League matches with a more serious hamstring issue, and won’t be involved this week as a result. He is back in light training but Postecoglou told the media on Friday that he would be out for “a good couple of weeks” and that it was hoped that he would be match fit again by mid-December. That means the Dutchman will likely be unavailable for at least four more games.

Richarlison

The Brazilian forward has endured an injury-ravaged campaign, and has only been able to start one game all season courtesy of multiple serious injuries – and while some reports had suggested that he could return in December, it now looks likely that he will have to wait longer to contribute, with Postecoglou saying that he would be “back in the New Year”. No more specific date is available, but the Australian head coach suggested that Spurs would take his return to first-team action slowly to avoid further problems.

Wilson Odobert

The former Burnley man hasn’t had an ideal start to life at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – immediately after coming back from a hamstring injury sustained in September, Odobert suffered a recurrence which has required surgery. The procedure took place on 15 November and he is currently being monitored by the medical team. No return date has yet been set, and he is expected to miss significant time.

Mikey Moore

The young winger has had an impressive impact in his handful of appearances this season and may well feature against Roma if he can recover in time from the illness which kept him out of the game against Manchester City. Apparently he has been “hit pretty badly” by a virus, and while he is “back in the building” he remains a major doubt for this week’s fixtures, with Postecoglou emphasising that the club would “take our time” with his recovery.

Rodrigo Bentancur & Will Lankshear

Although not injured, both players will miss time this week – Lankshear is suspended for the Europa League game against Roma having been sent off in the previous fixture against Galatasaray, while Bentancur has served one match of a seven-game ban for the use of a racial slur. The club are appealing the severity of the ban. He will be available for the European match against Roma, however, as the ban only applies to FA competitions.

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Tottenham head to the Etihad this weekend with their backs against the wall and needing a response.

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Inconsistency has been a real issue for Tottenham Hotspur, and it's frustrating because when they are good, they are very good. The Lilywhites have somehow managed to lose to the likes of Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town, but have also beaten top teams like Manchester United and Aston Villa.

Last season, at this same stage, they were sitting second in the league table. Although their campaign eventually faltered due to injuries and players fading in form, no club has scored more goals than Ange Postecoglou's team this season - yet they find themselves in 10th place in the league table. They are as excellent as they have been poor. Now, Ange Postecoglou must find a way to get the team to produce one of its best performances. Ahead of the game, here is the line-up we anticipate he will choose.

Goalkeepers and Defenders

Guglielmo Vicario has returned from international duty and will need to be at his best to keep Manchester City from scoring. He has the ability, and the defense is likely to feature Cristian Romero, who, despite picking up a knock while on international duty, will be paired with Radu Drăgușin. It may come too soon for Mickey van de Ven, while the left-back position will likely go to the promising young Destiny Udogie, and Pedro Porro will keep his spot at right-back.

Midfield

This is where it gets tricky. Only one player is a certainty in the midfield, and that is Dejan Kulusevski, who has been by far Tottenham's best player this season. Beyond that, it’s difficult to predict. Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended, so he is out of the equation. This opens the door for Yves Bissouma, who will likely be supported by the energetic Senegalese youngster Pape Sarr.This is the midfield I think will give Postecoglou the best chance to win the game.

Forward

This is where the damage will be done. Brennan Johnson deserves his spot in the team, given his form this season. His pace and legs will be valuable, while captain Son Heung-min is always a threat against Manchester City. He will join Dominic Solanke, who is expected to lead the attack.

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Tottenham head to the Etihad this weekend with their backs against the wall and needing a response.

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Inconsistency has been a real issue for Tottenham Hotspur, and it's frustrating because when they are good, they are very good. The Lilywhites have somehow managed to lose to the likes of Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town, but have also beaten top teams like Manchester United and Aston Villa.

Last season, at this same stage, they were sitting second in the league table. Although their campaign eventually faltered due to injuries and players fading in form, no club has scored more goals than Ange Postecoglou's team this season - yet they find themselves in 10th place in the league table. They are as excellent as they have been poor. Now, Ange Postecoglou must find a way to get the team to produce one of its best performances. Ahead of the game, here is the line-up we anticipate he will choose.

Goalkeepers and Defenders

Guglielmo Vicario has returned from international duty and will need to be at his best to keep Manchester City from scoring. He has the ability, and the defense is likely to feature Cristian Romero, who, despite picking up a knock while on international duty, will be paired with Radu Drăgușin. It may come too soon for Mickey van de Ven, while the left-back position will likely go to the promising young Destiny Udogie, and Pedro Porro will keep his spot at right-back.

Midfield

This is where it gets tricky. Only one player is a certainty in the midfield, and that is Dejan Kulusevski, who has been by far Tottenham's best player this season. Beyond that, it’s difficult to predict. Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended, so he is out of the equation. This opens the door for Yves Bissouma, who will likely be supported by the energetic Senegalese youngster Pape Sarr.This is the midfield I think will give Postecoglou the best chance to win the game.

Forward

This is where the damage will be done. Brennan Johnson deserves his spot in the team, given his form this season. His pace and legs will be valuable, while captain Son Heung-min is always a threat against Manchester City. He will join Dominic Solanke, who is expected to lead the attack.

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The latest Premier League transfer rumours, with news from Liverpool, Spurs, Manchester City and more.

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It’s time for Thursday’s round-up of the biggest and wildest Premier League transfer rumours currently doing the rounds - we’ve got some news for Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Fulham and West Ham United fans to come, but we’re going to start things off with a report which suggests that Liverpool might be closer to a huge transfer deal than we previously thought.

There’s nothing new in a story connecting the Reds with a bid for Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, of course, but a new story from Football Transfers hints that a deal could be more advanced than we appreciated, with officials from the two clubs allegedly set to meet next Wednesday ahead of the Champions League match between the sides.

Apparently, Liverpool are “close” to a deal for the midfielder, whose Real future has been the subject of constant speculation as Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t see him as a starter at present. As a result, Liverpool “plan to sign him in the new year”, although whether we’re talking about January or the summer remains to be seen.

The 3AM Verdict: This seems to be a bit of second-hand gossip rather than a story with much to back it up, so we’re sceptical that any negotiations are as advanced as this story implies, but the transfer in general seems very plausible at this point – although we suspect that a summer deal is more likely than a January move. Quite a few outlets have been covering this rumour lately, and we’re definitely at the ‘no smoke without fire’ stage.

Spurs among suitors for Spanish starlet

On to another story connecting Premier League clubs with a move for a La Liga player now – Sport Witness cite Spanish outlet Super Deporte when they report that Spurs, Manchester City and Liverpool are all following the development of Real Valladolid’s 21-year-old winger Raúl Moro.

Apparently Moro, who has three goals in 13 games so far this season, would be available for around €10m (£8.3m), which sounds like a bit of a bargain. The plan for any of the teams chasing his signature would likely be to loan him out after buying him to help him get some game time.

The 3AM Verdict: This does sound like a bargain – Moro has been inconsistent so far and his decision-making needs some polishing, but there’s definitely talent there. We do wonder if he’s quite up Manchester City and Liverpool’s standards, but with Spurs looking for a long-term replacement for Son Heung-Min, an argument could be made that he should be on their radar.

Clubs queue up for Man City star

For our last story today, we’ll look at a report which has Manchester City youngster and England Under-21 star James McAtee moving on, with minutes hard to come by under Pep Guardiola. According to Caught Offside, Fulham and West Ham are among the clubs exploring a move – but they’re certainly not alone.

No fewer than ten other clubs are namechecked in the story, ranging from Premier League teams to Celtic and Leeds United all the way over to European sides like Lille and Girona. In other words, McAtee should have no shortage of options – and a fee of around £20m should seal the deal.

The 3AM Verdict: Given how well Cole Palmer and Liam Delap are faring after leaving Manchester City, we’d expect a lot of teams to want to make this deal happen, and we don’t disbelieve any aspect of this story. As for exactly where he’ll wind up, and whether he moves in January or waits until the summer, we wouldn’t care to guess. The odds are we’d only get it wrong...

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Tottenham have some really important players out with injury ahead of the trip to the Etihad.

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It all comes down to how Tottenham Hotspur perform at the Etihad Stadium this weekend, with pressure mounting on manager Ange Postecoglou following the surprise home defeat to Ipswich Town before the international break.

The games are coming thick and fast now, and there are no excuses with the cold weather setting in. The manager will need to respond in grand style. Spurs have scored more goals than anyone else in the league, but they are 10th, which tells you everything you need to know. One of the biggest challenges for Postecoglou so far has been changing the mentality of the team. However, he will be hoping to recover some key players before they face a Manchester City side who are also without a win in their last four games.

Below is the list of injured players and their potential return dates:

Cristian Romero

He was forced off while playing for his country, and reports from Argentina suggest it's a foot injury. Romero has dealt with similar issues in the past, but Postecoglou will be hoping the withdrawal was a precautionary measure rather than something more serious.

Potential return date: Unknown

It has been an injury-hit campaign for Richarlison so far. He sustained another knock when setting up Dominic Solanke’s second goal against Aston Villa, shortly after coming on as a substitute. Addressing the latest setback on social media, he wrote: “It’s a difficult moment, again. I was very happy working hard and playing, but now I am injured again. It’s difficult to say what I’m feeling right now, just pray for me… I hope God will protect me.”

Potential return date: December 2024

Wilson Odobert

The 19-year-old was forced to undergo surgery, and Spurs confirmed that he has had the procedure. It’s still too early to say when he will return, but he is certainly ruled out for this weekend's game and the one after that.

Potential return date: Unknown

Micky van de Ven

The speedy defender last played against Manchester City in the League Cup and was impressive before picking up another hamstring injury. Since then, Spurs have been inconsistent, showing flashes of quality but struggling to dominate lesser teams. It's still unclear if Van de Ven will be fit for the trip to Manchester City, but he’s getting closer to a return.

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The 3AddedMinutes take on the latest transfer speculation from the Premier League and beyond.

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Spanish giants Real Madrid have reportedly put two Premier League stars on their wish-list as they look to replace club legend Dani Carvajal.

The 32-year-old has spent the last 11 years with Real and has won an incredible 26 major honours during that time including six Champions League Finals wins, four La Liga titles, two Copa Del Rey Final wins and five FIFA Club World Cups. However, the veteran full-back is set to be out of action until next season after suffering an ACL and LCL injury in a game against Villarreal last month. Real have extended Carvajal’s contract by an additional year but are also said to be considering a long-term replacement.

Spanish news outlet Fichajes have claimed Tottenham Hotspur star Pedro Porro and Liverpool wing-back Trent Alexander Arnold are both on Real’s list of targets - although it is the latter that is their ‘preference’ as he prepares to enter the final months of his deal at Anfield.

The 3AM Verdict: “Both Porro and Alexander Arnold can be viewed as two of the very best right-backs in the Premier League and across Europe. Given the latter’s current contract situation, it would be no surprise if the financial aspect of the led Real to make a move for the England international ahead of Porro.”

Villa consider shock move for former Leeds United man

Aston Villa are reportedly keen to add to their squad during the January transfer window and have already identified their defence as a main area of priority.

Despite Tyrone Mings now being back in contention after a long-term injury, Unai Emery is considering his options as he looks to build on the progress of qualifying for the Champions League last season. Football Insider have claimed Villa are ready to make a move for a former Leeds United star that is now plying his trade in La Liga after securing a summer move away from Elland Road. Spanish defender Diego Llorente joined Real Betis in the close-season after struggling to make an impact at Leeds and is now said to be on Villa’s radar after impressing during the early months of his time at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.

The 3AM Verdict: “It would be something of a surprise to see Llorente back in England after he really struggled to shine with Leeds. However, Unai Emery is getting the best out of a number of players within his squad and it would be no shock to see him do similar with the defender if he was to make a move in January.”

Hammers star could be ‘difficult to keep’

Former Republic of Ireland international Tony Cascarino has named a number of Premier League players he feels could be in line for big money moves over the coming months - and his comments are sure to annoy supporters of Fulham, Brentford, Bournemouth and West Ham United.

Speaking on talkSPORT, the former Millwall striker suggested Antoine Semenyo and Bryan Mbeumo could leave Bournemouth and Brentford respectively after the in-form forward duo were linked with moves to the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Newcastle United in recent weeks. However, Cascarino turned his focus towards one of West Ham’s key figures as he said: “I’d also add in Kudus at West Ham. He’s signed a long contract but there are clubs who’d pay really good money for him. Antonee Robinson at Fulham is another.”

The 3AM Verdict: “In Cascarino’s defence, the four players he mentions have been strongly linked with moves away from their current clubs in recent weeks. However, West Ham will be absolutely determined to retain the services of Kudus, who continues to be one of their main hopes in what has already been a challenging season.”