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Alan Hutton has tipped Southampton to be amongst the clubs interested in Tottenham’s Harry Winks during the January transfer window.

Winks on the move

The 24-year-old England international has played just four Premier League matches this term for Spurs, which could see him move on during the January window.

Former Rangers player Hutton certainly believes he should move on in a couple of months. Not only that, he has listed the Saints as a potential destination when talking to Football Insider. He said when asked whether he could make a move to Leeds:

“Of course, Leeds – even at the moment you look at the likes of Southampton or Leicester – teams that play football the way he would want to play football.

“When you talk about these sort of teams, there’s competition there already. So this is the thing, he’s gonna want to play minutes.

“If he goes down a notch to say a lower half team, is he going to show his potential as much as he would like if he’s doing a little bit more defending rather than maybe getting on the ball and all the pretty things that he likes to do? That’s why I say it’s a hard decision because it is.”

Interesting move

Winks may not be a guaranteed starter under Jose Mourinho, but he is still a player with plenty of quality. He has eight caps for England, for example, and former Tottenham academy coach Russell Small previously compared Winks to none other than former France World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane. Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino was also a fan, calling him “amazing”.

With the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Oriol Romeu and Will Smallbone in central midfield, a new player in the middle of the park does not appear to be something Ralph Hasenhuttl desperately needs. Currently valued at £25.2m (Transfermarkt), it remains to be seen whether the south coast side do make a move for Winks.

In other news, Southampton fans laud this current Saints star.

Key information about Furness Building Society Stadium

Furness Building Society Stadium was opened in 1909 and is now the home of National League’s Barrow AFC. The ground is located in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria and is now actually known as Progression Solicitors Stadium for sponsorship reasons, as well as simply Holker Street.

Its current capacity stands at 5,045, but with only 1,000 places being seated, and it has a pitch that measures 110 by 74 yards. The surface is covered with natural grass but it has no undersoil heating installed nor a running track surrounding it.

The record attendance of 16,874 at Furness Building Society Stadium was set in January 1954 when Barrow hosted Swansea Town in the FA Cup third round with the game ending in a 2-2 draw.

A history of Furness Building Society Stadium

The current site of the stadium was first owned by Furness Railway and before it was actually converted into a football pitch by Hindpool Athletic football club, it was used as a rubbish tip. Still, originally, there wasn’t much to be seen of Holker Street back then since the ground could only boast a practically unfinished pitch with a bit of grass and no stands to speak of.

Barrow were founded in 1901 and they would spend the following eight years moving from ground to ground inside the city in a nomadic style before finally taking a five-year lease at Furness Building Society Stadium from Furness Railway in 1909. The first game to be played at their new home was the Lancashire Combination league clash against Eccles Borough and it finished in a 5-2 win for the home side.

In the following years, the first developments of the stadium started with the stand being erected in 1912 and further facilities following suit by 1921 with fully covered terracing for the three remaining sides, changing rooms and turnstiles. Even though by that point the stadium was already starting to look good, further improvements would have to wait until after the second World War.

This is when the wooden stands were replaced by terracing and Barrow’s attendance was also soaring. In fact, despite their capacity of just over 5,000, in 1954 there were around 16,874 people all crammed into the ground to watch the FA Cup clash against Swansea Town. Of course, this number hasn’t been eclipsed ever since and it’s highly unlikely that it will ever be.

In 1963 floodlights were erected but what followed were years of financial struggling and relegation, forcing the club to build a speedway track around the edge of the football field in an attempt to raise funds. This, of course, impacted the overall facilities at the stadium since the Steelworks End had to be demolished and other terraces also lost their front rows. Luckily for the club, the track would only last two years before it was removed.

The club’s non-league era brought more trouble for Furness Building Society Stadium as the remaining stands also had to be demolished for security reasons while the terraces were moved closer to the pitch once the speedway track was removed. The CrossBar leisure club and bar were built and still remain a dominant feature of the stadium.

Among other developments, the all-seater Main stand was erected and opened in 1998. Still, their financial issues were far from over and following some sketchy business and police interventions concerning money laundering and ownership of the ground, the club actually entered administration after their former owner withdrew all his financial backing as a result of being investigated by the police.

Needless to say, no further major refurbishments were done since then as Furness Building Society Stadium remains a modest, traditional and old-fashioned ground, much like it was throughout the years.

Tickets to watch Barrow AFC at Furness Building Society Stadium

All tickets to watch Barrow AFC at Furness Building Society Stadium can be found and purchased on the club’s official website. The price varies depending on the stand chosen and the age group of the buyer but the cheapest adult ticket costs £13.

Barrow AFC also offer a season ticket scheme and more information can be found on the aforementioned website.

Related links

https://www.barrowafc.com/ – Official website of Barrow AFC

According to The Daily Express, Tottenham have reignited their interest in VfL Wolfsburg striker Wout Weghorst.

What’s the word?

After the disappointment of losing their opening Premier League game of the season against Everton last weekend, Spurs have enjoyed a very successful week both on and off the pitch, first beating Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the Europa League, and then securing the return of Gareth Bale.

Is it Mido or Pedro Mendes? This Spurs quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…



World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

Now, The Daily Express claim that the north London side still have hopes of adding a new number nine to their ranks before the close of the transfer window next month, and that having an expressed an interest in signing him in January, Spurs are back in for Weghorst.

The report adds that the Netherlands international is valued at around £27m, but Wolfsburg are willing to sell at the right price and are open to accepting a payment plan for him.

Perfect for Mourinho

For those Spurs fans who watched the All or Nothing documentary, then the episode featuring the club’s chase for a new striker in the January transfer window revealed both Steve Hitchen and Daniel Levy revealing that Jose Mourinho wanted a specific type of forward ie. someone strong and physical.

In the 6 foot 6 man-mountain that is Weghorst, Spurs would be getting exactly that. The powerhouse naturally won his fair share of battles in the air last season in the Bundesliga, winning 58% of those duels. But whilst he’s built like an old-fashioned target man, there is more to his game.

His teammate at Wolfsburg, Admir Mehmedi, said: “He runs a lot for the team and has a really strong mentality. I can’t think of another player who is so crazy, in a positive way.” One of the big concerns for Mourinho from last weekend’s defeat to Everton was the kind of “lazy” work Spurs did when trying to get the ball back from the opposition, but Weghorst would bring that work-rate and energy.

And just like one of Mourinho’s former strikers, Didier Drogba, Weghorst also has a clinical touch to go with his power-based game. He scored an impressive 20 goals in 43 games last season across all competitions, and as someone to ease the burden on Harry Kane, he could give the Spurs boss that something different he is said to be looking for.

Rotherham United manager Paul Warne has revealed that the club have received just one offer for striker Jerry Yates.

With the League One season coming to an abrupt end, Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson will be looking to bring in some new faces after failing to gain promotion to England’s second tier.

The Black Cats had been cited with interest in former Swindon Town striker Yates and various other clubs have also emerged in the race to sign the 23-year-old, with Blackpool the only club to table a bid for him.

Yates netted 13 goals in 31 games on loan with the Robins in League Two during the 2019/20 season before returning to parent club Rotherham, whose manager Warne revealed that, despite growing interest, only one club has made an offer for the striker.

“There has been no bid from Swindon to my knowledge as we speak on Tuesday morning. I’m aware only that Blackpool have put an official bid in. There might have been a few phone calls here and there (from other clubs), but they’re the only ones to put an official bid in.

“If they reach the technical board’s valuation, then Jerry will be gone, so to speak. In the meantime, he is training with us and training really well. Because of the type of people we are, we will continue to train him as if he’s staying here.

“I’m well aware of the fact there are a lot of clubs interested in him and we’ll see how that progresses. At the moment, the bid hasn’t reached our valuation so he stays with us.”

As per The Gazette, Yates’ contract at Rotherham expired at the end of June but the club activated a one-year extension which has now allowed them to potentially cash in on the £90,000-valued striker.

It seems that Sunderland’s chances of signing Yates are slim, given that Blackpool have apparently stolen a march by submitting an offer for him.

The Black Cats have done little to improve their squad as of yet and it remains to be seen if Parkinson has the funds to bring in the players that he may want this summer.

Do you think Yates would be a good signing for Sunderland if they could get him? Let us know in the comments section below…

Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan have entered the race to sign Manchester United defender Chris Smalling this summer, reports say. 

The 30-year-old defender has spent the past season on loan with AS Roma and impressed Paulo Foncesca during his time at the Stadio Olimpico.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, as per @utdreport, Inter are considering signing Smalling in the summer, which would make him the fourth Man United player in 12 months to swap Old Trafford for the San Siro (Daily Mail).

Roma are ready to renew their efforts to sign the United outcast, despite the fact the Serie A side are strapped for cash.

The Red Devils are reportedly demanding £23m for the 31-cap England international, who has fallen out of favour with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Smalling made 28 appearances in the Italian top flight last term, scoring two goals, supplying two assists, completing two interceptions and over four clearances per game (via WhoScored). However, Solskjaer deems him surplus to requirements, and he will be allowed to leave Old Trafford if the right offer arrives in the summer.

Unsurprisingly, lots of United fans gushed over the news surrounding the “deadwood” on social media, with some supporters praising Conte (formerly of Chelsea) for his efforts to try and sign the veteran. One fan urged the board to “erect a statue” while another added “Mourinho in the mud” in reference to the fact the Italian has signed several players who were unwanted by the former boss.

Scroll through some of the scathing reactions so far…

United fans, should Woodward sell Smalling in the summer? Let us know down below!

Phil Parkinson hasn’t had much success since his arrival in the north-east but he has also experienced very little luck too, and that was evidenced once again last Saturday.

A brilliant goal by Blackpool made the three points difficult, particularly after going several matches without a win, but Parkinson’s system and his trust in Charlie Wyke allowed them to get an equaliser.

They could have got the win if George Dobson didn’t make a reckless challenge which resulted in a red card, and that epitomised the way players just aren’t doing what Parkinson wants right now.

Dobson’s actions will have a long-term effect, too, as he will miss key games over a busy festive period coming up, including matches against Fleetwood and Doncaster – two teams near Sunderland in the table.

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Parkinson has varied his formations since his arrival but after operating with a 5-2-3 formation in the previous two matches, and seeing improvement, he could look to maintain the style.

Dobson has been important to the success of the new formation. He made three tackles against Blackpool, the second-most of any player in the side, while his 84% pass accuracy gave the Black Cats a foothold in the match.

The new formation relies on a player to provide that combativity in midfield, otherwise, there is a risk of the opponent overloading the middle of the park, and without Dobson the team could suffer.

Max Power has started regularly this term but his displays have declined significantly with each passing game, and it is a worry that Sunderland only have Grant Leadbitter to call upon to play alongside him.

Whose Line Is It Anyway: Roy Keane, Graeme Souness or Adrian Durham?

The only silver lining for Parkinson is that Sunderland don’t have a match this weekend, and that means he has several days available to prepare his squad for the Boxing Day fixture against Bolton.

That should give him adequate time to increase his players’ understanding of his style, and what he wants them to provide, which in turn could lead to the Black Cats’ first win after eight without one.

Leadbitter and Power will be important to making that a reality, and if they seize their chance with the former slotting in well, then Sunderland may start to turn a corner.

Meanwhile, fans have had cause for excitement and many are pleased to see David Jones join the club as a non-executive director.

As per TEAMtalk, Glasgow Rangers are interested in signing Charlton Athletic’s Lyle Taylor.

Taylor’s contract runs out at the end of this current campaign, which would leave the Montserrat international able to depart The Valley on a free transfer.

As such, the Gers are said to be eyeing a deal, but they will not be the only outfit with the 30-year-old on their radar. Burnley, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Stoke, Preston and Middlesbrough are all mentioned in the report as potential suitors.

Taylor has proven himself to be a quality marksman so far in his career, and particularly over the past few seasons. He has scored at least 10 league goals in each of the past five seasons, twice breaking the 20-goal barrier, and has managed 36 strikes in 67 matches for the Addicks.

In Scotland, too, he has proven himself in the past, scoring 41 goals in 78 matches combined during spells at Partick Thistle and Falkirk. As such, he is a proven entity up front, and on a free transfer, he would be an absolute bargain, despite his age.

The future of Alfredo Morelos remains uncertain amidst transfer interest, whilst Jermain Defoe, at the age of 37, cannot be relied upon to lead the line on his own. A new recruit would be welcome in that position, and Taylor is a far better bet than Florian Kamberi, who has also been linked with a permanent switch to Ibrox – he managed just one goal in nine matches during his loan spell there.

Let us know what you think below!

Newcastle should be well prepared for the visit of Manchester City on Saturday as they have utilised a defensive formation for the entire season so far, and have developed an understanding of how to cope without possession.

Steve Bruce will be more than happy to concede possession against the Champions, having done so in every Premier League game so far, boasting just 38% average possession as a result.

He has more often than not gone with three up-front, with the wingers still performing a defensive duty, but with their lack of success against lowly Aston Villa, particularly Miguel Almiron’s lacklustre display, Bruce may make a sacrifice to bolster the defence.

The Paraguay international offers the least in the attacking final third since he is yet to score or assist a goal since January, and with Allan Saint-Maximin proving he can hold onto the ball with four successful dribbles per league game, he is the most effective counter-attack option.

Success on the breakaway is likely the only route available to the Magpies if they want to take something from this fixture, though goals from defenders against West Ham and Bournemouth show they possess a threat from set-pieces too.

The focus this week has likely been on defensive preparation and team shape, and with that in mind here is how the home side could line-up at St James’ Park on Saturday.

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Saint-Maximin doesn’t often occupy a central role but given how the game is likely to pan out, with the visitors dominating possession, giving him the freedom to close down opponents and take up areas he wants should get the best out of him.

It means he should always be able to provide an outlet on the break and if he is found in the opponent’s half then he could pose a danger by taking players on.

The return from suspension of Sean Longstaff is a big bonus for the Magpies and he should help to limit space in the middle, as well as providing passes to the front two – 1.4 average key passes per league game indicate he is more than capable of that.

Behind him, Isaac Hayden will be key and if he can display his usual tenacity in the tackle – averaging 2.9 per league game – he could be key to stopping the threat of Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva.

Most important is perhaps the return from injury of Fabian Schar. He made the bench against Villa and with Newcastle suffering on the pitch Bruce may be inclined to pick the Switzerland international this time around in his only change.

He started the 27-year-old in every game prior to his injury, which suggests he has taken a likening to the defender, and if Schar plays to the best of his ability then his skills and leadership could prevent the Citizens from scoring.

The absence of Sergio Aguero may give Bruce’s side a psychological boost but Schar will still need to be at the top of his game to keep Gabriel Jesus quiet.

After a scare in the first half against RB Salzburg, Liverpool have now booked their place in the next round of the Champions League.

The Austrian team had six shots on target before the interval, but they were unable to hit the back of the net. In the second 45 minutes, the Reds were by far the better team, with Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah securing a 2-0 win for Jurgen Klopp’s men.

Now, the focus will turn to the Anfield outfit’s next match, which will be against Watford in the Premier League. As it is their last match before the Club World Cup in Qatar, it will be interested to see exactly what team the 52-year-old boss puts out for the match.

It appears the fans are torn. There are a number of supporters who want to see the former Borussia Dortmund manager play a full strength side against the Hornets.

Indeed, a win here would keep the Reds at least eight points clear at the top of the table as they go off in search of another trophy in Qatar.

However, Klopp has already insinuated how important the inter-continental trophy is to him, and his squad selection for the tournament says it all. As such, a number of fans are expecting to see a slightly weaker side for Saturday’s clash.

It would make sense for the starting XI to be rotated, just as it has been in previous weeks. With the games coming thick and fast, Klopp will want his players to be as fresh as possible, for as long as possible.

Can you name the result these iconic Liverpool images belong to? Give it a go now…

It remains to be seen what team lines up in each fixture.

In other news, Liverpool fans love this man’s performance against RB Salzburg.

Kurt Zouma spent the 2018/19 campaign on loan at Everton before returning to parent club Chelsea over the summer.

The Frenchman has been a regular for the Blues this season, making 17 appearances in all competitions, including the full 90 minutes against Ajax on Tuesday night.

Zouma was part of a defence that shipped four goals against the Dutch champions, who had two players sent off in what was an incredible game of football.

Wayne Rooney puts himself forward for the Everton job in the video below…

There was a standout moment for the 25-year-old at Stamford Bridge, though, when he decided to embark on a quite wonderful run before firing over the crossbar.

The final effort was not exactly fantastic, but it was excellent work from Zouma as he powered through the middle of the park.

A number of Everton fans took to social media to comment on the central defender’s rush of blood to the head, and a selection of the Twitter reaction is available to view below: