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Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp has said he is a fan of Brighton defender Tariq Lamptey and believes that the youngster “made the right decision” in moving to the Amex Stadium.

The 19-year-old joined the Seagulls on a permanent deal from Chelsea in January of this year and has broken into Graham Potter’s line-up recently, starting against Leicester and Manchester United.

Speaking on Sky Sports alongside Patrice Evra last night, Redknapp said of the teenager [via Sussex Live]: “I like him. Me and Patrice were talking about him before the show and Patrice is a fantastic full-back, so he’ll know better than anybody.

“He was in the Chelsea Youth Cup-winning team. He’s made a big decision, because he could probably have stayed at Chelsea with all of his mates getting in the first team.”Redknapp added: “I like watching him play. It’s a massive decision for a player to maybe stay at Chelsea or perhaps go to another club and play. He’s made the right decision for him right now because he’s in the first team.”Lamptey may have been questioning his wisdom about leaving Chelsea for Brighton earlier in the year when he wasn’t even getting into Potter’s matchday squad, let alone obtaining game-time. However, his patience has been rewarded with starts in their last two matches, with his Seagulls debut against Leicester seeing him named as Sky Sports’ man of the match.At Stamford Bridge, Frank Lampard has shown plenty of faith in the Blues’ young prospects, with Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount playing regularly while the likes of Fikayo Tomori, Billy Gilmour and Reece James have also forged a way into the first team (as per TransferMarkt).Lamptey may well have thought himself capable of following suit but, having made just three senior Chelsea appearances before his January move, he now has two for Brighton and will almost certainly add a few more to that total in the remaining weeks of this season.Also, at just 19, he still has ample time to maybe return to Chelsea in the future as an established Premier League player who got his break at Brighton because he appreciated the value of senior game-time, something he is now getting with the Seagulls.Brighton fans, was Lamptey right to leave Chelsea? Have your say by commenting below!

Leeds United beat Barnsley on Thursday in a game that all but clinched promotion for the Whites.

Unfortunately, their 1-0 win in the Yorkshire derby wasn’t the only thing that made headlines as Kiko Casilla’s return to the squad was a big talking point.

The Spaniard returned on the bench after an eight-game ban for racially abusing Jonathan Leko earlier this season, and with the footballing community coming together to support the Black Lives Matter movement, giving him a place on the bench was a somewhat controversial move.

Understandably, questions were asked about this decision, and Phil Hay was quick to give his view on the matter.

What’s been said then?

After the Barnsley game, people were quick to flock to Hay’s post-match Q&A on The Athletic to ask about the 2019 signing, and the journalist was very frank in his views on the matter.

“I’ve been clear in my view on this, I don’t think he should be involved. The written verdict was not flattering and there’s been no contrition/apology from him or the club. I really think the club need to move him on.” Hay replied when asked about what he thinks of Casilla’s involvement.

Action needs taking

Whether Leeds want to keep Casilla or not, some form of action needs taking.

As an outsider looking in, it looks as though United haven’t reprimanded the former Real Madrid man for his comments earlier in the season.

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No apology has been penned, no fine has been issued and he’s come straight back into the squad after his ban from the FA was over.

In any other line of work, you would be seriously disciplined if you used such language in the workplace, and Casilla shouldn’t be an exception to the rule.

Players in similar situations have come back to play for their club again after learning their lessons, and if Casilla shows remorse for his actions there is a chance that fans will accept him again, but right now, nothing has changed since supporters called for him to be sacked if he was found guilty.

After 185 games for the club, Dejan Lovren is inching ever closer to the exit door at Liverpool this summer.

The Croatia international joined the Merseyside club from fellow Premier League side Southampton, but has found himself out of favour this season – in total, he made just 15 appearances across all competitions, with only ten of them coming in the top-flight.

Reports in recent days have suggested that the 31-year-old is closing in on a £11m move to Russian side Zenit St Petersburg, and that of course has prompted speculation over where the Reds will be entering the market for a replacement.

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The Evening Standard have claimed that Brighton defender Ben White – who has been on loan at newly-promoted Leeds this season – is “highly-rated” by the recruitment team at Anfield, although there are concerns whether they would have to pay a premium for him considering he is an English player.

But if Michael Edwards can get a deal over the line for White, then Liverpool could be looking at someone who could form a major part of their back-line for the years to come.

His teammate at Leeds this year, Adam Forshaw, waxed lyrical about his abilities, saying: “He’s unbelievable. He literally hasn’t put a foot wrong. He’s so cool on the ball and he’s clever. He might not be the most physical centre back but he’s just clever. He nicks it, times his headers really well and looks like a top, top player. We’re lucky to have him.”

That idea of White being a “clever” player is backed up by former Premier League defender Danny Higginbotham who paid tribute to his reading of the game. He said: “One of the biggest compliments I can give White is that I don’t know how quick he is because he is rarely out of position and forced to step up a gear.”

Higginbotham’s remarks are eerily similar to how most people may describe Virgil van Dijk. The towering Dutchman never looks he’s ruffled by opposition players, and simply looks like he’s playing in cruise control, rarely bothered by anything.

White appears to be in the same mould, and is exactly why Liverpool must clinch his signing this summer.

Rangers chief Ross Wilson could be about to cause the club to misfire on yet another winger at Ibrox…

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Record, the Scottish giants are keeping tabs on Newcastle United ace Jacob Murphy over a possible summer transfer.

It’s claimed that the 25-year-old is on a list of potential targets should Steven Gerrard offload some of the fringe players on the wage book.

Murphy cost the Magpies £12m back in 2017 and has had to go out on loan to Championship duo West Brom and Sheffield Wednesday in the last 18 months.

Ojo 2.0

This has all the hallmarks of being a typical wide man mistake at Ibrox – and although Wilson isn’t culpable for the past, he would be if he pushes ahead with a move to sign Murphy.

He’s a player that has struggled to break into the senior setup at St James’ Park whilst United have in the Premier League and it was only this season that he had started to show glimpses of why they splashed eight-figures to sign him.

Although the former England U21 international has hardly been prolific throughout numerous loan spells – per Transfermarkt, he’s only surpassed a tally of ten goals for the season once and that was at League One outfit Coventry City.

His attempt of nine goals this season for the Owls was a solid effort but could be an anomaly when looking back in years to come.

Murphy only shoots 1.7 times per game and is also dispossessed 1.3 times per match too, via WhoScored.

His lack of exposure to the top-flight hints that this one could be similar to last season’s move for Sheyi Ojo, who was dubbed one of the worst players by supporters.

The Liverpool man was another player to go out on many loans, including a temporary spell at Ibrox where he managed to score just one goal all season.

Murphy’s final ball and composure in the final third has been dubbed as “erratic” by Yorkshire Live, which only emphasises the worry of inconsistency surrounding the winger.

Wilson simply has to avoid this move at all costs.

AND in other news, Rangers ace has been Steven Gerrard’s unsung hero

Burnley have confirmed that striker Rob Harker has signed a new deal at the club, committing to the Clarets for another year.

The club’s official website confirmed that the 20-year-old has extended his contract by 12 months, keeping him on the books at Turf Moor until the end of the 2020/21 season at the earliest.

Harker, who signed for Burnley from Bury two years ago, spent the second half of last season on loan at Hartlepool in the National League, making seven appearances before the campaign was ended prematurely amid the global pandemic.

While he is yet to make a senior appearance for the Clarets, he scored seven goals for their under-23 side last term before his loan move to the northeast and could get his chance to impress in Premier League 2, with Burnley set for their inaugural campaign in that division.

The striker is among several young prospects bubbling under the surface at Turf Moor, with the likes of Mace Goodridge, Jimmy Dunne, Josh Benson, Anthony Glennon and Bobby Thomas all being included among the first team squad for Premier League matches towards the end of the 2019/20 campaign.

However, it was telling that Sean Dyche did not deploy any of those in the English top flight, suggesting that he prefers to be patient with youngsters and only give them a chance when he feels they are ready instead of throwing them straight in at the deep end.

On that evidence, it seems likely that Harker will have to wait another while before seriously being considered for the first team at Turf Moor.

However, his contract extension is a sign of the club’s faith in him, while he could use either Premier League 2 or a potential loan move to a team in the Football League to gain further experience and give himself the best chance of eventually getting the call from Dyche.

Burnley fans, do you have high hope for Harker at Turf Moor? Comment below with your views!

Lionel Messi has been linked to several Premier League clubs amid shocking talks of a Barcelona departure. 

The Argentinian, who has spent his entire senior career with the Catalonians, is reportedly looking for a way out of his boyhood club. According to Fabrizio Romano, Messi wants to leave Barcelona immediately, which will force any interested clubs to pay an astronomical €700million (£623m) to activate his release clause.

Frank Lampard’s ex-international teammate Rio Ferdinand believes Chelsea are interested in bringing the Barcelona legend to Stamford Bridge amid a very successful transfer window so far.

The former Manchester United man tweeted: “Just heard Frank Lampard is now in for Messi. Some window this if Lamps pulls this off!!”

Indeed, bringing Messi to the Premier League would write Lampard’s name in history. However, both Manchester City and United are also monitoring the situation, with others including Paris Saint-Germain also interested in a move for the 33-year-old (according to Onda Cero Radio, via Metro).

Romano also reported that Barca are eager to keep hold of their star forward, but the player has made up his mind. Messi allegedly ‘wants to change’ clubs and the Italian journalist believes there will be a battle commencing surrounding his future.

Chelsea have already proven they aren’t shying away from spending big bucks this summer. Roman Abramovich has given his blessing for Lampard to splash a minimum of £50m on securing each of Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Ben Chilwell. With Havertz reportedly going to cost the club a hefty £90m, the Blues are looking at a bill of at least £190m for the trio.

However, even the team who have endured a two-window transfer ban may find Messi’s release clause too steep. Indeed, the Argentinian will become a free agent next year upon the expiry of his contract, but he wants to leave the club now.

With Man City lurking, Chelsea may be forced into splashing an unheard of amount of cash to add Messi to their ranks this summer.

Do you think Chelsea could sign Lionel Messi? Join the conversation in the comments below!

It is really difficult to find a weak spot in the well-oiled machine that are Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. But even the reigning Premier League champions need to refresh their squad to stay at the top.

Of course, this is easier said than done in the current climate but often, the best time to revamp and try to improve is when you are at the top. The Reds will surely need to innovate if they are to continue their dominance.

At least that’s what Manchester United icon Gary Neville thinks. The pundit discussed Liverpool’s situation for Sky Sports and touched upon their chase of Bayern Munich’s star midfielder, Thiago Alcantara.

Here’s what he had to say, as quoted by Goal: “It wouldn’t be ridiculous to suggest there will be a slight drop-off, if they don’t somehow stimulate that squad by doing something to give them that lift again.

“Thiago would be the big one. He is world-class and would give them a world-class presence in an area of the field where they don’t have one. Liverpool are not perfect. They have a world-class goalkeeper, centre-back and strikers. They have really good midfield players with good work ethic but with Thiago would be another step. He would control the game with that weight of pass, that nous.”

Klopp has been after Thiago for quite some time now but money, as usual, is the problem. Even though the midfielder is slowly but surely running out of contract, Bayern still want a formidable sum the Reds are unwilling to pay.

Neville, however, believes they really should invest in the Spaniard.

Verdict

It has to be said that Neville does have a point. If Liverpool are to continue playing at such a high level, they will have to reinforce the squad and keep pushing.

Last season was incredible, to say the least, but there’s no guarantee the next one will follow suit.

Tottenham Hotspur are formulating a new offer for Internazionale centre-back Milan Skriniar, according to Italian outlet TUTTOmercatoWEB.

Inter are said to want between €50m and €55m for the centre-back, but Spurs are so far unwilling to meet the Serie A side’s valuation.

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Daniel Levy and his team have now made a fresh offer for the Slovakia international, and are suggesting an initial loan move, which is to include an obligation to buy him for €40m upon its completion.

It can be suggested Skriniar is currently being left out in the dark by Inter boss Antonio Conte, as he was left on the bench for the entirety of their 4-3 win against Fiorentina in their return to Serie A action.

This game saw Alessandro Bastoni, Aleksandar Kolarov and Danilo D’Ambrosio operating in Inter’s back three for the full 90 minutes, while Skriniar watched on.

It is said within the report that it is now down to Inter whether they will accept this offer and let the 25-year-old move on, but their stance is not yet known.

Conte has openly stated that Skriniar could leave Inter if a good enough offer is to come in for him, so there is definitely scope for the situation to develop.

Leeds United’s top priority at the start of the summer transfer window was to bring in some centre-backs.

At one point, United had just one fit senior centre-back in their squad after Gaetano Berardi’s ACL injury and Ben White’s return to Brighton, and it was up to Victor Orta to fix this mess.

Understandably, his first port of call was to try and sign White on a permanent deal, but with Brighton holding out for more than £30m, Leeds had to look elsewhere.

In the end, they signed German international Robin Koch and La Liga ace Diego Llorente to plug the gap left by White, and those decisions have already been justified.

Signing two players with experience of playing in a top European league ahead of a man who had only ever played in the Championship and League One seems like a no-brainer on the surface, but after his heroics last season, Leeds were willing to spend big on White.

Luckily, they didn’t splash out on the centre-back as his early season performances indicate that he isn’t quite ready to be a Premier League star at this point in his career.

Brighton have conceded 10 goals in four games, and while that is one better than Leeds’ record of 11, United haven’t yet played Llorente, while they’ve seen marked improvement as the weeks have gone by, conceding just once in their last two games, despite having to face one of the best teams in the world in the shape of Manchester City.

White has been culpable for some of Brighton’s woes at the back, he was torn to bits by Marcus Rashford against Man Utd as he left the 22-year-old on the floor, not once, but twice, before he fired past the Seagulls’ goalkeeper last week, and white was powerless to stop the Everton onslaught as the Toffees netted four over the weekend.

The defender has played just 349 minutes in the Premier League, and he already doesn’t look like the commanding centre-back he was in the Championship last term, averaging just one clearance and 1.3 successful tackles per match. Leeds should feel quietly pleased with themselves for not offering any more than £30m to land their man.

Writing on Twitter, journalist Alasdair Gold has issued an unexpected update on approved Tottenham plans to build a Gladiator-style amphitheatre outside Enfield Centre.Â

Claiming that it’s ‘something I didn’t expect’, Gold dropped a surprising update that an amphitheatre will be structured outside Tottenham’s training facility in an effort to encourage community and team bonding.

Tottenham surprises keep coming

Spurs apparently applied to build the amphitheatre in August, with the planning department approving their submission last month as construction looks set to begin (Football.London). The structure will be put in place to offer groups the chance to gather in a more informal setting, something which may help encourage team bonding as well as communal spirit.

Encouraged as a use for educational purposes, this project looks likely to benefit the wider Enfield area as well as the Tottenham playing squad, with Hotspur Way already boasting a wide range of facilities.

Containing a multimillion-pound players’ lodge and 15 grass pitches, the amphitheatre will now be added as part of an already impressive set up at the north London club (Tottenham Hotspur). It will also seat around 60 people, encouraging the purpose of large gatherings in a setting that may help with overall communal and team communication.

Planning to sink the build 0.45m below ground level, the 11-metre-wide dome will apparently not impact the visual area either, but as of yet there has been no confirmed date on when this project will be completed.

Transfer Tavern take

Having already invested significantly in the squad, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy’s latest move now puts emphasis back on outside investments which could benefit the Lilywhites long-term.

After 18 months at their state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs players and supporters alike can now expect another grand project to be completed in the coming year.

Spurs fans, will you be visiting the amphitheatre upon completion? Have your say in the comments section below…