Tottenham Hotspur have had a good record when it comes to producing players via their academy in recent years.
Of course, the most high-profile player to have come through the ranks at the club of late is Harry Kane, who has gone on to make 278 appearances for them so far, scoring a ridiculous 181 goals in that time (Transfermarkt).
There are other examples of players from the academy who have made it, too. Harry Winks has racked up 132 appearances in all competitions for Spurs (Transfermarkt), whilst Japhet Tanganga has recently broken into the team under Jose Mourinho, starting in four of their last six Premier League games (Transfermarkt).
Another youngster who they have at the club is midfielder Oliver Skipp. He was a favourite of former manager Mauricio Pochettino and it looked as though he would become another successful graduate when the Argentine handed him 12 appearances in all competitions last term (Transfermarkt).
However, he has failed to build on that and this season he has played just 117 minutes of football, 35 of which have come under Mourinho (Transfermarkt).
Tottenham fan account @COYS_com asked supporters if they thought that Skipp would make it at the club but they couldn’t come to a majority verdict. Some feel that he will eventually come good, with one even suggesting he will be “better than Winks”, whilst others can’t see him ever becoming a regular first team player in north London.
Here is what some had to say…
Spurs fans, do you think that Oliver Skipp will make it at the club? Let us know below…
Leeds are on track to finally return to the Premier League after 16 years away from the top-flight.
A lot has changed in England’s top division since Leeds were last in the big leagues.
There are new teams, new stadiums and new technologies, but the biggest thing that has changed is the financial power of every team.
Watch Leeds United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
We’re living in an era where newly-promoted sides are able to spend in excess of £100m, and United must be licking their lips at the prospect of the huge financial windfall they receive upon promotion.
However, Leeds may actually end up spending a lot of their cash without actually strengthening their squad.
United are already committed to spending £15m on Helder Costa this summer, and they will have to outlay another £8m if they want to keep hold of Jack Harrison, which is pretty likely according to one journalist.
Add into this the fact that their options to buy Jean-Kevin Augustin and Illan Meslier become obligations (also dependent on appearances for Meslier) upon promotion, and Leeds will be forced to spend €27m (£22.6m) on the French pair if they go up.
Phil Hay has also stated that Leeds will want to get involved in the tussle to sign Ben White, but the journalist also claimed that Liverpool could be in for him. Add into that the fact that he’s recently been linked with a £25m move to Chelsea and get an idea of much United will have to outlay to sign the Brighton loanee.
If United get the centre-back for £25m, then they may end up spending £70.6m just to keep their current team together.
Spending that much to not even improve what you currently have sounds preposterous, but those are the dangers of relying too heavily on the loan market and installing big-money clauses.
In other news, Saturday should have acted as a wake-up call for Victor Orta.
West Brom youngster Rayhaan Tulloch made his third senior appearance of the season in midweek but question marks over his long-term future at the Hawthorns still remain.
The Athletic have hinted the Baggies may let the 19-year-old leave at the end of his contract this summer while Football Insider claim SPFL side Rangers have interest in clinching him.
After his four-minute cameo against Newcastle United in the FA Cup in midweek, Tulloch took to Instagram to post a photo of him in action and some of his teammates, both past and present, have replied.
Jonathan Leko, who recently returned from a loan spell at Charlton, described the youngster as a “star boy” while ex-youth product Morgan Rogers, who is now at Manchester City, replied with “what a man”.
The 17-year-old joined the Premier League giants this summer and Tulloch’s dubious future could see a damning trend continue in the west Midlands as the club often lose their brightest and best youngsters.
Who the heck is that?! Can you name all of these obscure West Brom players…
See Louie Barry, Izzy Brown and Chris Wood as examples.
And in other news, West Brom saved themselves millions in January by not signing former FAVE…
West Brom have to be recognised as one of the strongest teams in the Championship.
The Baggies have been at the top of the division for the majority of the campaign, and although they dropped down to second place this weekend they’re still in a good position to go on and get promoted.
The problem is that the rest of the division have wised up to how good the Baggies are, and Steve Cooper gave a glowing review of Slaven Bilic’s team after their game today.
What’s been said then?
The Swansea manager was speaking to the press after his side’s 0-0 draw with the Midlands outfit.
Watch West Bromwich Albion Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
“I think that we are never going to be 100% happy drawing a game at home, but I think we need to respect the game it was – opposition, top of the league, ridiculously strong squad, massive investment,” Cooper claimed.
“They had large parts of the game where they had more of the ball, but they’ve had one shot on goal. Clean sheet…if Jay [Fulton] scores, then it’s like ‘what a result!’
“I’m not going to sing and dance about drawing, but there are a lot of positives which will help us in the run-in.”
Respected
The Baggies aren’t being underestimated by any side in the division, and that could be something of a negative for Albion.
Swansea are by no means a poor side, but Cooper seemed quite pleased with a draw against Bilic’s outfit.
The fact that managers have this view of West Brom isn’t a good thing as they will be turning up against the Baggies and trying their damndest to take points off a team they perceive to be one of the best in the division.
Hopefully, Albions’ quality can get them through to the end of the season.
In other news, West Brom’s summer priority has become apparent.
Lots of Arsenal’s problems lie within their inability to provide defensive solidity.
This season, they have conceded 36 goals in the Premier League – only three sides in the top 10 have shipped more. David Luiz’s arrival from Chelsea last summer appears to have done little to make the Gunners stronger at the back.
With the summer transfer window to be here before we know it, adding to that area of the pitch is likely to be one of Mikel Arteta’s prime objectives.
According to The Daily Mirror, West Ham’s Issa Diop is on the Emirates outfit’s radar. They are the latest top side to be eyeing the 23-year-old – Manchester United were said to be interested in him last year. However, there are plenty of reasons why he is not the answer to Arteta’s problems.
Watch Arsenal Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
First and foremost, it is worth looking at the Hammers’ own defensive record this season. They have conceded 50 goals in the top flight – only three sides have shipped more than David Moyes’ side, and Diop has played 23 of those fixtures to date.
Not only that, but Diop is arguably no better than what Arsenal already have at their disposal. Shkodran Mustafi is not exactly the most popular figure in north London, but he actually leads the Frenchman in a number of areas – he has won 68% of his duels compared to 64%, whilst he has given just 0.8 fouls away per game compared to one.
Not only that, his side have kept two clean sheets in the six games he has started – West Ham have just three in 22 with Diop in the starting XI.
Currently valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, he is unlikely to be a cheap option, either. Of course, defensive recruitment is a necessity for the club moving forward, but that does not mean that Diop is the answer. The Arsenal hierarchy must go back to the drawing board and look elsewhere for the solution to their problems.
Meanwhile, Arsenal target this Premier League rival in red-hot form.
For all the flack Garry Monk has been getting from Sheffield Wednesday fans over the past few months, one thing that he can’t be criticised for is handing out chances to his youth players.
Indeed, the Owls haven’t hesitated to look towards the youngsters this season with the likes of Osaze Urhoghide and Alex Hunt getting first-team chances.
Usually, it takes years for that sort of faith to be repaid, but in Monk’s case, it may be about to literally be repaid.
Indeed, amid the ongoing crisis, the EFL have announced their futures fund will have an additional £1m added to it.
The futures fund is an initiative that rewards clubs for handing young homegrown players a chance, and the Sheffield Star are reporting that Wednesday stand to benefit from that due to their usage of Hunt and Urhoghide.
Watch Sheffield Wednesday Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
An extra £1m to be split amongst a load of clubs doesn’t sound like all that much in football, but with matchday revenues halted this could be vital in going towards keeping behind-the-scenes staff in employment, and there will be many grateful for the fact that Monk has chosen to hand chances to the young players this term.
The Sheffield Star state that these funds will be made immediately available to any club’s eligible, and that should be a massive boost considering there aren’t too many ways for these teams to raise funds at the moment.
Of course, manager’s aren’t making team selection decisions based on the EFL futures fund, and this is just a coincidental bi-product of Monk’s faith in the Owls’ young players, but it’s certainly going to be a welcome cash injection. In the end, it shows that Wednesday are lucky to have a manager who is willing to hand out these chances.
In other news, Sheffield Wednesday should start their summer rebuild with this move.
Tottenham Hotspur’s season is currently on hold with the world of football under lockdown for the foreseeable future – probably a good thing given their fortunes.
Jose Mourinho and his men have crashed out of all cup competitions and have sunk to seven points adrift of the top four in the Premier League.
However, fans have been given something to cheer about this week as the north Londoners have been linked to Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
According to Tuttosport, via TuttoMercatoWeb, Spurs have their sights set on raiding the Serie A outfit for the 25-year-old as well as their shot-stopper Thomas Strakosha.
But fans have been reacting to the news over Savic, in particular, here’s what has been said…
Savic has been a major influence for Lazio this term, directly contributing to eight goals in the league whilst also averaging 1.6 tackles, 1.6 clearances, 1.2 key passes and even two shots per game, via WhoScored.
It remains to be seen if Spurs need another central midfielder, but on the figures above, you couldn’t really say no, especially as Mourinho is reportedly chasing a defensive-minded one for his armoury.
Calling all FFC readers! Raise money for charities and bring together communities this Saturday the 28th at 3pm by taking part in the #FLYTHEFLAG campaign. Click this banner to find out how you can get involved.
One supporter was desperate to see the Serb alongside Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele whilst some believed it could spell the end for the Frenchman or maybe Dele Alli in north London.
Plenty of others had their reservations over his price – and it is hard to disagree with €100m (£90m) the regularly-touted fee, as seen on Sky Sports Italia, via Football Italia.
Quickfire Questions – Early title winners: Can you get all 13 right in 2 minutes?
AND in other news, Harry Kane tweet has lots of Spurs fans talking…
When Gordon Strachan handed Sunderland £3.25m for Kevin Phillips in 2003, it seemed like Southampton had completed a marquee signing of real glitz and glamour.
After all, the striker had only recently won the European Golden Shoe award in 1999/2000 after notching 30 goals for the Black Cats, so Strachan appeared to have landed one of England’s best forwards – even if he had only managed to score six goals for Sunderland as they were relegated.
However, amidst all the glitz of this marquee deal, the signing of Phillips turned out to be a poor investment from the Saints.
Calling all FFC readers! Raise money for charities and bring together communities this Saturday the 28th at 3pm by taking part in the #FLYTHEFLAG campaign. Click this banner to find out how you can get involved.
The man who won eight caps for England admittedly had a fine goalscoring record for Southampton, netting 25 goals in 71 games which works out at an average better than a goal every three games.
Despite that, Southampton didn’t really get much for their money.
The ex-Watford frontman only spent two years at St Mary’s before joining Aston Villa in a deal worth £1m, meaning that Southampton took a £2.25m loss on their investment and had very little to show for it.
In today’s money, the Saints’ £3.25m capture of the striker in 2003 would be worth £5,177,188.20.
Ultimately, Phillips cost the club £130k per goal, which isn’t awful value for money to say the least.
However, it was the hefty loss that the Saints took when losing the European Golden Shoe winner that makes this deal look like a poor investment, and also the fact that he didn’t manage to score enough goals to keep them in the top-flight as they were relegated under Harry Redknapp in 2005.
It was a signing with good intentions at the time, although one perhaps clouded by Phillips’ mesmeric goalscoring achievements in 1999/2000 – in that respect, you can’t blame Strachan too much for this one.
Having said that, it cannot be denied that the Scot made a blunder when this deal is viewed in hindsight.
From non-League to the Premier League: Where did these top-flight stars begin their careers?
In other news, what does the future hold for this promising Southampton man after his disappointing season?
Leeds United needed to stave off a shock relegation back in 2003 as they headed to Highbury to face Arsenal. The Gunners, by comparison, were attempting to defend their Premier League title.
What happened next? The Elland Road club, naturally, pulled a miraculous victory from somewhere and ensured that Arsene Wenger’s men would not be crowned champions.
Indeed, as financial troubles off the field began to take hold of the club, Leeds suddenly plummeted from a Champions League final two years previous and a fifth-place finish the season before to scrapping it out at the foot of the table, eventually finishing in 15th – just five points above the relegation zone.
Leeds still had a number of stars, such as Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell, while Arsenal entered the most important game of that season without several key players, namely Patrick Vieira, Sol Campbell, Lauren and Freddie Ljungberg. Accordingly, a new centre-back partnership of Martin Keown and Oleg Luzhny was formed, with Kolo Toure lining up at right-back.
Leeds’ star duo were quick to take advantage, particularly Kewell. Just five minutes in, a lofted pass from Jason Wilcox was caught on the chest by the Aussie attacker as he powered between Arsenal’s unfamiliar centre-halves in the left-hand channel.
Isolation Busters: The only quiz you need to cure your boredem
One step later and Kewell had rifled the ball on the half-volley, one of the sweetest strikes you’ll ever see in the Premier League, sending it fizzing through the air and crashing into David Seaman’s right inside netting. The Gunners stopper never stood a chance, and Leeds were unexpectedly one-nil up at Highbury.
Arsenal had plenty of attacking quality too in Denis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry, one of the Premier League’s most iconic strike-forces, and hit back after half an hour. A then-incredibly young Paul Robinson could only parry Ray Parlour’s speculative effort from midfield onto the post with his fingertips, leaving Henry to head home a rebound as the ball bounced out. It wasn’t the most stylistic goal Arsenal had scored that season, but a vital one at the time nonetheless.
A few minutes later, Parlour – still searching for his first goal of the campaign – had an effort – almost a carbon copy of the first – cleared off the line by Michael Duberry. And a few minutes after that, a long-ranger from Thierry Henry once again connected with the post. But as Sylvain Wiltord rose to convert the rebound in identical style, the linesman raised his flag for offside.
Arsenal would draw level once again in the second half, after an Ian Harte free kick took knicks of Ashley Cole and Gilberto Silva to trickle past Seaman – marking three seasons in a row in which the then-Ireland full-back had hit the net at Highbury. There was a little more precision to Arsenal’s second equaliser, Robert Pires and Henry combining to unleash the former in the box, where he quickly laid the ball back to Bergkamp, who stabbed it past Robinson with the outside of his boot.
That created a last half an hour in which Arsenal needed to score another to give themselves a chance of catching up with United before the end of the campaign and Leeds knew the home side were there for the taking, a consequence of the questionable defending they’d shown throughout the afternoon and the cauldron of pressure Highbury had become.
There was plenty of to-and-thro, not least including the most beautiful play of the day – Parlour stepping over a lay-off from Henry to allow Bergkamp the chance for a curler from just outside the box, which unfortunately continued to spiral instead of dropping into the top corner of the net – and Henry stepping in from the left, in typical Henry style, before once again booming a shot off the woodwork. It was later followed by a low cross travelling across the six-yard box, going begging.
Football – FA Barclaycard Premiershp – Arsenal v Leeds United – 4/5/03 Mark Viduka – Leeds United celebrates his goal against Arsenal Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Alex Morton
Then, at the other end, the telling moment came in the 88th minute. Leeds captain Dominic Matteo, finding himself free in midfield for the first time of the afternoon, launched a long pass to Viduka, who was standing in yards of space in Arsenal’s half – too much space in fact; replays would show the Leeds front-man had run back from an offside position.
Nevertheless, Viduka charged towards the penalty area from the right-hand side, beautifully stepped over the ball to place it onto his left foot and curled it past a once again helpless Seaman into the right corner.
In a jackpot or bust fixture for both sides, it was Leeds who came out on top by the skin of their teeth, preserving their Premier League status for another season and clinching their old rivals, Manchester United, the title. Yet, Arsenal fans will argue fate played them a cruel hand that day; the Gunners hit the post four times, had a goal ruled out for offside and were caught by two stunning goals on the counter-attack, alongside a free kick that took a wicked double-deflection.
However, that epitomises why this game should be remembered as a Premier League classic. From efforts cannoning off the woodwork and cleared off the line to controversial offside calls, the difference in every area of the pitch and eventually the scoreline was a matter of mere inches. On another day, this game could have panned out entirely differently.
While Arsenal went on to become the Invincibles in the following season, however, Leeds could resist relegation no longer, plummeting into the second tier from which they are yet to return.
And if anybody doubts why we need Leeds back in the Premier League, they only need to look back at this incredible all-or-nothing game.
They’re a big club bursting with ancient rivalries, and have an incredible knack of showing up on the big occasions.
A lot of Crystal Palace fans are raving over highlights posted by the club on Twitter which show the great victory back in May 2017 in the Premier League against Hull City.
It was a big game at the back end of the 2016/17 campaign for both sides as Hull were in the bottom three and needed not to lose to take the relegation battle to the last day of the season, whilst the Eagles could mathematically confirm their safety in the top flight, via BBC Sport.
Palace secured safety emphatically as they thrashed the Tigers 4-0 to cap off a great first season in management at the club for Sam Allardyce. Wilfried Zaha set the wheels in the motion early on as he scored in the third minute, and the away side couldn’t recover from the early blow as further goals came from Christian Benteke, Luka Milivojevic and Patrick Van Aanholt.
It was a great day in the sun for fans of the South London club, and a historic one as they continued their record of staying in the top flight for their longest period, via Premier League.
Here is what fans had to say following the tweet:
Palace fans, were you worried before that game that the club could be relegated? Comment below!