According to a recent report from Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List, Tottenham have made a move for midfielder Marcelo Brozovic. The 25-year-old currently plays his football in Italy with giants Inter Milan and has done so since 2015, with the midfielder also playing a key part in helping Croatia reach the World Cup final earlier in the summer, although they lost 4-2 to France in the showpiece.

And Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham have reportedly made a €40 million (£36 million) move for the midfielder, and with reports suggesting that they are just £9 million away from meeting his release clause, the North Londoners must seek to up the ante to salvage something from a disappointing summer, and potentially replace wantaway star Mousa Dembele.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, it has been a testing summer for Pochettino’s side given they have so far failed to strengthen their squad, despite being linked with a whole host of names over the course of the close season.

And while no players of note have left the North London outfit this summer, Dembele is one who looks likely to, even if not before the close of the English transfer window at 5pm this evening.

And given just how influential he has been to Spurs in recent seasons, not least in forming a sensational partnership with Victor Wanyama in their run to second place in the Premier League back in the 2016/17 season, Pochettino simply must be prepared to replace him in the last knockings of the transfer window, at the same time salvage something from the summer window.

And £31.5 million-rated Brozovic (as per Transfermarkt) appears to be the ideal man to do just that.

The 25-year-old enjoyed a fine season at Inter last time round in netting four goals and laying on nine assists for the Italian heavyweights in their run to fourth place in Serie A, before backing that up with several fine displays to help his country surprise many by reaching the World Cup final in Russia.

Thus, it seems as though Brozovic is enjoying the best spell of his career and appears to be exactly what Tottenham may need in the middle of the park were Dembele to leave, what with the Croatian equally adept in a more defensive-minded midfield role and indeed an advanced role to underline his suitability in the middle of the park.

Yes, reports suggest that Pochettino’s men are still £9 million away from triggering Brozovic’s release clause, but with the English window shutting earlier than the rest of Europe, and much of the interest in Dembele coming from the continent, the Belgium international still seems likely to leave North London.

As such, Spurs must up the ante in pursuit of Brozovic, not only in a bid to potentially replace Dembele, but also to strike a deal which would go some way to salvaging a disappointing summer for Pochettino’s side.

Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Fantasy Football has become a huge rage and many fans of the sports are engaging in this activity. While it is not considered a form of gambling, fantasy football leagues do offer payouts and some companies that support the activity will offer great rewards for winners. Fantasy football is a virtual form of managing a team of professional players from the league. Members can choose players and design rosters and can even take part in drafts. All members of real life football leagues are available and those who engage in fantasy football will collect points that are based on the performance of the players they have listed on their roster.

There are two types of fantasy football. Traditional is usually enjoyed by amateurs and the competition can last for the entire season or multiple seasons. There is also daily fantasy football and this involves contests that are for short periods of time, usually one day or one week. There are may companies that offer daily fantasy football action, such as FanDuel and DraftKings and with these, fantasy football fans can actually win money from having the best performing team.

Is Fantasy Football Gambling?

This is a topic of much dispute, especially when it comes to daily fantasy football. Since there are sites that do offer payouts, some consider this to be a form of gambling. However, fantasy football does not involve any skill and it is not a skill based game as other forms of gambling online. For this reason, legally, fantasy football is not considered to be a form of gambling even though there is money to be won.

For an activity to be deemed gambling, there has to be some type of skill involved. Some compare fantasy football to playing poker. Players who enter a poker game will have skills that are used to win. With fantasy football, it all comes down to the performance of real athletes, so there is no skill involved at all by those who manage virtual teams.

Gambling Online vs Fantasy Football

While it is possible to win money with fantasy football, those that are looking to win on a regular basis may be more interested on sports betting or casino games that are offered online. There are hundreds of legal sites that offer real money gambling action and these can provide a way for sports enthusiasts and gamblers to win payouts on a regular basis.

In regards to sports betting, the leading sites online will offer coverage of all major sports, so there will be plenty of ways to place wagers on football games and leagues from all over the world. These sites often have amazing odds and even provide bonuses that can offer free cash to place additional wagers. Online sports books are often found in combination with online casinos, so players can enjoy the best of both betting worlds.

For those that are strictly seeking casino action, there are many amazing sites like Casumo that offer hundreds of titles that support a variety of wagers. Here, players can enjoy themed slot games, thrilling table and card games, specialty games and even live dealer games. As mentioned, some of the top rated casinos in the industry also support sports bets using the same account, so those that like to wager on football and do not wish to get involved with the management of a virtual team like with fantasy football can enjoy the action of the game and benefit from many opportunities to collect real money payouts on a regular basis.

Celtic have missed out on a huge prize pot after being knocked out of the Champions League.

The Hoops have failed to secure a place in the Champions League group stage for the first time under Brendan Rodgers’ leadership following a 3-2 aggregate defeat to AEK Athens. Celtic failed to gain the advantage during the home leg at Celtic Park and paid the price with Athens winning the return fixture. Rodgers will not benefit from the considerable prize money on offer to clubs who reach the group stage and will instead drop into the Europa League.

One man who faces an uncertain future after the defeat is Dedryck Boyata. The Belgian was targeted by Fulham earlier in the window and was declared fit to play by Rodgers. However, Boyata claims he was injured, but fans aren’t convinced and are eager to see the defender leave the club.

To replace him, Rodgers should launch a bid for Everton youngster – Mason Holgate. Valued at £6.3m by Transfermarkt, the 21-year-old made 15 appearances in the Premier League last season during a disappointing season for the Toffees. Marco Silva has strengthened his defence significantly, adding Yerry Mina and Kurt Zouma to his squad. As a result, Holgate has fallen down the pecking order, and a loan move could be best for his development.

Rodgers is known for bringing the best out of young players, and the Northern Irishman could bring the best out of the defender. Holgate impressed when called upon last year and would be a serious upgrade on Boyata. His presence in the back four would provide some much-needed solidity to the Celtic back line.

If Celtic can land Holgate on a temporary basis, they would get their season back on the right track.

Celtic fans, thoughts?

Loads of Liverpool fans have been reacting to Manchester United’s shock defeat on Sunday, and they’re all bashing the performance of Eric Bailly.

Of all the bizarre phenomenon to emerge from social media’s incredible impact on sport, one of the most prevalent is the constant comparison between rival players.

It’s almost impossible to comment on a player these days without comparisons being drawn to a rival player in that position, and Liverpool fans are bashing Manchester United fans for putting Bailly in the conversation with Virgil van Dijk.

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Manchester United fans would be the first to admit their centre back options are not up to scratch, but many feel that Bailly is a star in the making.

The 24 year-old has excellent pace and strength, and his reading of the game is improving from week to week.

However, he had an absolute nightmare in the 3-2 defeat at Brighton, caught out of position on several occasions before giving away a penalty with a really rash challenge.

Liverpool fans don’t think the Ivorian international belongs in the same conversation as their towering Dutchman, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Loads of Celtic fans have been reacting to a shock transfer rumour, as reports claim Moussa Dembele has missed training amidst exit links.

According to The Daily Record, Dembele was absent from Celtic training on Wednesday morning ahead of the Hoops crunch clash in the Europa League.

Brendan Rodgers side welcome Lithuanian side Suduva to Celtic Park on Thursday, after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.

Fans have of course been growing impatient with the lack of transfer activity, but this is definitely not the sort of activity they wanted.

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According to the report, both Marseille and Lyon are chasing the French striker, with Lyon in particular considering a bid of more than £15m.

Dembele has scored nearly a goal every two Premiership games since joining Celtic, as well as some memorable Champions League goals, and losing him on the eve of the transfer deadline would be a huge blow.

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Fans are relating his absence from training to Dedryck Boyata’s refusal to play in the Champions League clash against AEK, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Manchester United’s miserable start to the season continued last weekend as they were well and truly humbled by Spurs at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils look all at sea at the moment, and preparing for a crucial game at Lancashire rivals Burnley today, manager Jose Mourinho will be well aware that the pressure is one to start getting some results and climbing the Premier League table.

Even though the window has only just closed in England, eyes from some United fans will already be on the January market, and here at the Transfer Tavern, we think that a defender has to be on the agenda for the Old Trafford club.

One man we think they should be looking to sign is AC Milan ace Alessio Romagnoli, who is valued at a hefty £40m by Transfermarkt.

The former Sampdoria man has become a mainstay of the team in Milan, and with nigh on 100 appearances to his name for the Rossineri, he has become one of the most well respected defenders in Europe.

Unfortunately for United, the likes of Jones, Smalling, and Lindelof just don’t see up to scratch, but signing someone like Romagnoli would go a long way to plugging that leak at the back.

The Italian is a quality operator, and would be exactly the sort of defender who Mourinho would love to welcome to his squad.

United fans, what do you think? Good signing? Let us know in the comments!

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Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground is fairly bare at the moment, with a number of the club’s players away on international duty.

However, those not included are currently working hard as Tottenham build towards their next Premier League match against Liverpool on September 15.

Harry Winks, Victor Wanyama and Erik Lamela have all had their injury problems, but all three were present in the training-ground pictures posted on the club’s official Twitter account.

Winks might have been in with a shout of making the England squad had be been fully fit, but the midfielder is still recovering from an ankle problem.

Wanyama’s knee troubles are a concern, meanwhile, and he has been ruled out of Kenya’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ghana.

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Lamela has also only played once for Tottenham this season due to injury, but the Argentine was present during training on Thursday afternoon.

The Spurs fans have been on social media expressing their views on the images, and a selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Liverpool made a bold move into the transfer market last summer as they parted with £35 million to secure the services of Alex Oxade-Chamberlain from Arsenal. 

Despite a bumpy beginning to life at Anfield which culminated when Oxlade-Chamberlain was ridiculed on social media following a woeful performance against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup, Liverpool’s decision to sign the Ox turned out to be incredibly shrewd.

The promise which the England international had sporadically flashed in glimpses throughout his Arsenal career became a thing of the past and his unpredictability was replaced by a series of consistently excellent displays in the centre of Liverpool’s midfield.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s attitude both on, and off the field – where he honourably defended Philippe Coutinho in a post-match interview when questioned about his future – has made him a firm fan-favourite on Merseyside.

Although it’s a decision which would certainly raise a few eyebrows, Liverpool should consider emulating the success they have enjoyed since signing Oxlade-Chamberlain by signing another Arsenal player in 2019, namely Aaron Ramsey.

The 53-cap Wales international has been a mainstay in Arsenal’s midfield in the past half-decade but with less than 1-year remaining on his current contract there is plenty of reason to believe that he is ready to embark on a new challenge.

Ramsey will be 28 by the time his contract expires next summer so there’s no doubt his decision will be at least partially based on the potential of claiming silverware.

And whilst Liverpool are in the ascendancy in their bid to usurp Manchester City at the summit of English football, it’s fair to say the Reds’ silverware credentials are far stronger than Arsenal’s.

The only grievance Ramsey may have regarding a move to Liverpool is the breadth of options which Klopp currently has available but, James Milner will be 33 next summer and the Welsh playmaker is clearly a notable upgrade on both Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson, so plenty of opportunities would be forthcoming if he was willing to fight hard for his place.

Liverpool pulled a masterstroke by signing Oxlade-Chamberlain last summer and they should use their past success as motivation to add another fantastic box-to-box midfielder to their ranks by offering generous terms to Ramsey when his contract expires in 2019.

Liverpool fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Everton fans on Twitter didn’t have much to be happy about after their 3-1 defeat at home to West Ham on Sunday, but some at least did find solace in the wonderful header scored by Gylfi Sigurdsson on the stroke of half-time.

The Toffees had gone two goals down thanks to two strikes from West Ham’s summer signing Andriy Yarmolenko on his first start for the club, and although his second was an impressive finish it was largely thanks to a mistake by Jordan Pickford, piling more misery on for Everton fans.

However, when young right-back Jonjo Kenny swung in a cross after two minutes of added time in the first half Sigurdsson was there to power home a header from beyond the penalty spot past the helpless Lukasz Fabianski in the Hammers net.

Unfortunately for Everton, West Ham again came out firing in the second half and Marko Arnautovic got the goal that killed the tie. Check out some of the best tweets below in reaction to Sigurdsson’s header.

[ad_pod ][ffc_insert title=”Check out the Big Interview with Ben Dinnery & Johnny Wilson” name=”Fixture In Focus Podcast Special” image_ link=”https://fixtureinfocus.podiant.co/e/369d9b4fb86294/” link_text=”Click here to play”]Arsenal fans have reacted to new signing Bernd Leno’s first performance for the club. Leno started in goal on Thursday evening in Arsenal’s 4-2 win in the Europa League over Ukrainian side Vorskla.Gunners fans expected the 6ft 3in tall 26-year-old to get the nod ahead of Petr Cech at the start of the season but Cech has been captaining the side in all five of their Premier League matches so far.Leno looked comfortable with the ball at his feet on Thursday, although he wasn’t really tested until the final 15 minutes of the game. Despite conceding two goals in that final stage of the game, the club’s fans have continued their support for the German, saying he should be used in the Premier League as well.Cech has been struggling to adapt to manager Unai Emery’s tactics of playing out from the back, where as Leno looks as if he is used to playing that style of football.Here are some of the Twitter reactions by Arsenal fans, following Thursday night’s match:

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