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Everton loanee Anthony Gordon put in a man-of-the-match display for Preston North End in their 0-0 draw with Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday night.

Speaking in his post-match interview, manager Alex Neil was full of praise for the England U20 international, dubbing him as an ‘excellent talent’ who has ‘got the quality’.

Gordon certainly showcased what he is capable of against QPR in a MOTM performance from the 19-year-old.

Gordon was excellent for Preston

Gordon was nothing short of excellent for the EFL Championship club, winning six of his duels in the game, the joint-third most won out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch, as he also recorded two shots on target, the most out of any player (Sofascore).

The winger also completed two successful dribbles, two key passes and four accurate crosses, earning him a very decent 7.2 overall rating on Sofascore, the fourth-highest out of his teammates.

If he continues to put in good performances such as these, then Gordon will certainly start to catch the eye of Carlo Ancelotti if he has not already.

The Englishman will now be hoping to build on his development so he can break through into the first team with the Goodison Park faithful come the start of the 2021/22 term.

In other news, find out which other Toffees loanee was slammed for his display here!

West Bromwich Albion fans were far from happy with the performance of Matheus Pereira during their 1-0 defeat to Everton on Thursday.

The Baggies were beaten 1-0 at the Hawthorns by the Toffees, with Richarlison scoring the only goal of the game. It was a close affair, with both sides having three shots on target (SofaScore), but Sam Allardyce’s side were unable to get anything from the match after a late equaliser was disallowed for offside.

The defeat leaves them nine points from safety with just 11 games left to play (Sky Sports).

Pereira was far from at this best against Carlo Ancelotti’s side. He won just two of his seven duels and lost possession a whopping 24 times throughout the game, the joint-most of any Baggies player.

Despite being one of West Brom’s most creative players, he has too often been a passenger this term.

The Baggies supporters were not scared to share their thoughts on the 24-year-old, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Pereira below

“Pereira has been absolutely awful he’s only still on the pitch because we don’t have anyone good enough to replace him”

Credit: @DexWBA_

“How did pereira play 90 mins today he was awful”

Credit: @liamopatel_

“He’s not been the same since Krov left, just got gradually worse. I would drop him, till he gets his head right.”

Credit: @DannyJTurner2

“Decent performance that can’t be to disheartened but if there’s one negative it’s pereira been shocking lately and we as albion fans massively over hype him #wba”

Credit: @chr1s_williamsc

“what? pereira was by far the worst player on the pitch”

Credit: @ftblEthann

Token point but in games like this where you need a bit of directness and goal threat at the death, can’t fathom why Robinson didn’t get minutes over HRK and Pereira who needed to be hooked #wba”

Credit: @sjpatel212

In other news, West Brom fans love news on this defender.

Speaking to football.london, Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed the latest team update surrounding Giovani Lo Celso and his comeback from injury – with the Portuguese boss stating he will miss Dinamo Zagreb this evening due to ‘some back pain’.

While his absence, by Jose Mourinho’s own admission, is nothing too serious and not related to his previous injury, the Lilywhites manager has confirmed he will miss Thursday’s clash as his comeback is delayed.

Mourinho confirms Tottenham update on Lo Celso

The Tottenham boss seemed fairly optimistic last weekend of a potential return to action for Lo Celso tonight in the Europa League, with the club website relaying it was the probable return date, but Mourinho has now confirmed his comeback will be delayed further.

“Gio is not ready but it’s nothing to do with his previous important injury, from which he’s totally recovered,” explained the Lilywhites boss.

“But with his accumulation of work his feelings are not the best at the moment, a little bit of some back pain so he’s had to stop working the way he was doing. So not for this match.”

Transfer Tavern take

His return to training recently was lauded as ‘good news’ by Mourinho, with the Tottenham boss branding him ‘magnificent’, but it appears he will not be featuring tonight.

Time will tell when he does return, but Spurs fans will be hoping this minor setback won’t delay him too long given that his creativity could provide even more threat to the ferocious attacking stars.

In other news: Tottenham gifted this electric youngster an opportunity, find out more here.

Gary Mabbutt has told Football FanCast that Harry Kane has gone from being doubted at youth level to becoming one of the best strikers in world football.

The Tottenham Hotspur striker has been in absolutely electric form this season, with Spurs attempting to claw their way back into the Champions League qualification race and also attempting to break a trophy drought that stretches back to 2008.

Kane has been central to everything Spurs have done well, scoring 26 goals in all competitions and also laying on 16 assists. That’s 42 goal involvements in 37 games.

The 27-year-old turned in another virtuoso display against Crystal Palace on Sunday as Spurs won 4-1.

Kane scored twice, including a brilliant curling strike from the edge of the box, and also laid on two assists as Spurs won their third successive top flight game, before he followed it up with another brace against Dinamo Zagreb.

Of course, Kane was doubted earlier in his career as he failed to make his way into the Spurs team and went on various loan spells, playing for the likes of Millwall, Norwich City, Leicester City and Leyton Orient.

He only scored 16 goals across those loan spells in 60 games, but he has been prolific since his breakthrough at Spurs, netting 212 times in 323 games.

Kane has never scored fewer than 15 goals in a single Premier League season and Mabbutt believes he has now earned his place as one of the single best strikers in world football.

He told FFC: “Harry himself is somebody that, at times, in his younger days there were questions being asked about would he make it from development level to first team level. Now he’s up there with the best strikers in the world.

“Obviously he’s a goalscorer, he creates goals, causes havoc in defences. I’ve seen him a lot over the years in training and I’ve been fortunate to play with some of the best strikers in era and Harry’s certainly up there amongst them.”

Mabbutt is particularly impressed with the way Kane scores his goals, insisting that he has a particular technique that flummoxes both goalkeepers and defenders.

He added: “His finishing is phenomenal. Harry has this unbelievable skill of being able to basically have a very short backlift before getting a shot in and that catches out goalkeepers, defenders and everyone around him.

“He’s one of the best strikers in the world.”

Leeds United have had a brilliant first season back in the Premier League.

The Whites are comfortably sitting in mid-table and have secured their safety ahead of the next campaign. Victor Orta and Andrea Radrizzani can, therefore, breathe a huge sigh of relief.

On the chalkboard

There have been plenty of positives to Leeds’ play this season. Raphinha has proven to be a vibrant addition while very few would have expected Patrick Bamford to score double figures and find the net with such regularity.

Yet, one of the huge negatives has been in midfield. Kalvin Phillips is as reliable as ever but when the England international doesn’t play, Leeds struggle.

Pascal Struijk has looked every bit a Premier League defender but when he’s operated in a defensive midfield role, he hasn’t looked the part.

Indeed, Struijk was dragged off at half time in Leeds’ FA Cup defeat to Crawley at the beginning of the year, failing to win a single ground duel. Then, against Brighton, the Dutchman surrendered possession 13 times and was 8% down on his average pass success rate.

Those areas are pretty fundamental when playing in a holding area but he has been found wanting too often. Noel Whelan has been one of Struijk’s critics when featuring in that part of the field, saying: “I think Struijk looks out of place, playing Kalvin’s role.”

It’s hard to argue against that point given the unfavourable aggregate scoreline of 15-6 when the youngster plays in midfield.

The solution

One easy way of ending the Struijk experiment would be to sign another midfielder. Lille general Boubakary Soumare has been linked with a move to Elland Road in recent months while French wonderkid Edouardo Camavinga has too.

The Yorkshire Evening Post revealed their interest in the midfielder at the start of the month, only for Phil Hay to laugh off claims that he could move to Yorkshire.

That being said, with the money Radrizzani and the 49ers possess, alongside the lure of Bielsa, it could be an attractive proposition for Camavinga.

Still only 18 years of age, the thought of the France international lining up alongside Phillips in the Leeds midfield is a mouth-watering prospect.

After all, this is a player highly thought of in France and deemed the next big thing. He’s been compared to N’Golo Kante and been given consistent high appraisals. Former Rennes academy boss Landry Chauvin once told Bleacher Report (via Planet Football):

“He has this simplicity that brings the ball to life. He touches the ball as much as anyone else, but sparingly. He doesn’t need to carry it. He passes the ball, he makes himself available; he passes, he makes himself available.”

Assess the stats and you can envisage what a midfield pairing of Camavinga and Phillips would look like. The teenager has amassed 2.7 tackles per game this term, a tally which coincidentally amounts to the same number as Leeds’ ever-improving midfielder.

With those two in the middle of the park, they’d have the potential to break up even the highest quality of teams when they try to attack.

Rated at £45m, it would be a hugely expensive deal. That being said, if a chance arises, they must secure his signature. Camavinga is too good to ignore.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Meslier: Leeds gem who made just 10 passes is becoming a huge issue…

Adam Forshaw has paid a huge compliment to Leeds United colleague Joe Gelhardt, likening him to two former Manchester United heroes.

The Whites completed the signing of Gelhardt last August, snapping him up from Wigan Athletic and beating a host of clubs to his signature.

The 18-year-old has predominantly played in Leeds’ academy this season but he could potentially feature for the first team before May, having impressed in recent months.

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Bamford compared Gelhardt to Man United pair

Someone who is clearly taken by the youngster is Forshaw, who continues to work his way back from a painfully long injury absence.

Writing for On The Ball [via Leeds Live], Sam Stewart confirmed that the Leeds midfielder compared Gelhardt to United legends Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, in terms of his playing style:

“Through the week he remarked that the likes of Joe (“Joffy”) Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood and Charlie Cresswell continued to impress – with Joffy showing a small but strong bulldog personality and playing style reminiscent of Carlos Tevez or Wayne Rooney.”

Transfer Tavern take

While Leeds and the Red Devils having a bitter rivalry, making it hard to complement anything the other club does, there is no denying that Rooney and Tevez were great players, as evidenced by their personal records and trophy hauls at Old Trafford.

For Gelhardt to be likened to the duo is exciting from a Whites perspective, with the teenager a footballer with a huge amount of potential, as is clear from Forshaw’s comments.

It will be interesting to see if he earns some playing time under Marcelo Bielsa this season, or perhaps becomes more of a fixture in the squad in 2021/22.

In other news, Leeds’ interest in an exciting midfielder has allegedly been confirmed by a reliable source. Read more here.

Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for Mikkel Damsgaard this week, according to emerging reports…

What’s the word?

Club Doria 46 claimed that the north Londoners are ‘always watching him with interest’ ahead of the summer transfer window and, whilst Sampdoria have no intention of selling the winger, the player himself would like to play in the Premier League.

It’s also suggested that Damsgaard’s value has already tripled from €6m (£5m) to €20m (£18m) in the space of a year.

In the past, Spurs have been said to be ‘crazy’ about the 20-year-old sensation, as per La Repubblica (via Sport Witness).

Forget Bale

Speculation surrounding the wide positions at Spurs is only going to increase as we head towards the end of the season. Jose Mourinho could lose two players in the position, in Real Madrid loanee Gareth Bale as well as Erik Lamela.

The latter has been linked with a return to the Serie A, with Bologna confirming their interest in the past week, whilst Bale’s future is a little more unclear. He has one year to run on his current contract at the Bernabeu and cast doubt over a potential return to Spurs next season.

“My plan is to go back, that’s as far I have planned. I think the main reason I came to Spurs this year was to play football first and foremost. Going into the Euros I wanted to be match-fit,” said the Wales international.

Damsgaard would be an intriguing contender to sign instead. Under the guidance of Premier League-winning manager Claudio Rainieri, the Danish dynamo has thrived and emerged as one of the most promising attackers in Italy right now.

In just 13 starts, the 20-year-old has delivered six direct goal contributions (two goals, four assists) and sits amongst Sampdoria’s highest-rated players (6.67), as per WhoScored.

The former Leicester boss believes his winger has a “big future” in the game, whilst he’s not the only fan – international teammate and ex-Spurs star Christian Eriksen collared him after their encounter with Inter Milan for a chat.

Damsgaard revealed in an interview with TV2: “We talked together after the match. He praised me for the situation around my assist. He is a really nice person and really sweet to talk to. It was just nice that he wanted to talk to me after the match.”

The 20-year-old gem has a nice skillset which should fit Mourinho down to a tee. Not only is he a threat against the opposition in the final third, where he averages a squad-high 2.9 successful dribbles per 90 minutes, he can also contribute defensively, managing an average of 2.6 completed tackles per 90, via WhoScored.

TV2 SPORT’s football expert Martin Mikkelsen lauded such ability, claiming Damsgaard was a “magical” player who is “dynamic and can go both ways,” and is “creative.”

You can forget about a return for the £600,000-per-week Bale – Spurs chairman Daniel Levy should pull out all the stops for the Sampdoria hotshot instead.

AND in other news, Sold for £17m, now worth just £1.8m: Levy played a blinder over 26 y/o Spurs disaster…

Aston Villa must surely make a move for Norwich starlet Max Aarons this summer after a major transfer update on his situation.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks and months have suggested that Dean Smith’s side are one of a number of clubs interested in signing the England U21 international, and now there has been a major update on his future.

According to The Telegraph (via The EDP), the Canaries are expected to demand a fee of around £30m to part ways with one of their prized assets, with European giants Milan and AS Roma the latest sides to be credited with an interest in the full-back.

Dean Smith would love him

Canaries boss Daniel Farke has spoken glowingly about the £18m-rated gem this season, saying: “Max is outstanding in many topics. I can’t praise him enough for what he has done since his first appearance. You watch some of our games now and the opponents go man-for-man on him. That is crazy for a player who is a full-back but it says a lot about his reputation. He is just a special player and he has an unbelievable future.”

While a record of one goal and three assists in 38 Championship games this season is hardly something to write home about, that just doesn’t tell the whole story of Aarons’ influence on this Norwich side.

As per Whoscored, the full-back ranks fourth in the entire Canaries squad for key passes per game this campaign with 1.3, and his tally of 1.4 dribbles per match ranks him third.

Then, when you factor in that he has played every single minute in the Championship this season, you can clearly see just how much of a reliable and effective performer he is for Farke.

Given his attacking exploits from full-back and the fact he’s one of those players who just plays week-in and week-out, Aarons just seems like the kind of golden signing that Smith would surely love at Villa Park.

Meanwhile, Villa struck gold with this player signed by Suso…

Former referee Keith Hackett has described Marcelo Bielsa’s act of sportsmanship against Aston Villa as ‘absolutely remarkable’.

Bielsa has been an incredible manager for Leeds United, becoming a true hero to the fans and guiding the Whites back into the Premier League.

He has great respect from other managers around him and he has been the catalyst for arguably the best period in Leeds’ recent history.

Back in 2018/19, Bielsa’s sporting side came to the fore as Leeds came up against Aston Villa in a crucial Championship clash. The Whites manager allowed Villa to walk the ball into net after his team had unfairly scored at the other end, earning him the FIFA Fair Play award in 2019.

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Hackett hails Bielsa’s sportsmanship

One ex-referee who was clearly impressed by Bielsa’s decision was Hackett, who recently told MOT Leeds News all about his respect for the Argentine:

“I thought it was absolutely remarkable. We had Arsenal v Sheffield United in the FA Cup if you remember, when there was a player injured and play went on. Eventually, they replayed that game thanks to Arsene Wenger.

“I thought it was a magnanimous act that really shows the passion of Bielsa, a passion for fairness. I think they gave Paolo Di Canio an award for what he did and it was good that Leeds were given the same recognition by FIFA.

“It could have developed into a really difficult scenario for the referee. The players were unhappy and I think he probably prevented an escalation of the problem.

“It was an act that was good for the game. I think the referee made a mistake in that game and should have found a reason to stop it. You’ve got to apply common sense.”

Transfer Tavern take

It was an amazing moment which summed up why Bielsa is loved by so many, with his human side coming through rather than just the football obsessive.

Other managers could easily have said “tough luck” to the opposition, but the Leeds boss showed with this gesture that he is a classy individual, as Hackett has suggested, and it earned him immediate respect in the English game.

In other news, a pundit believes this is a huge few months for one Leeds player – find out who it is here.

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit and BBC regular Noel Whelan has reacted to the emergence of a report linking Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld with a possible exit as the former Premier League striker claims that losing him is a ‘scary’ prospect for Spurs.

Alderweireld has been the subject of speculation surrounding his future at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the Belgian currently at the centre of interest from Club Brugge.

Whelan reacts to Alderweireld report

Voetbal 24 reported recently that the Jupiler Pro League side have made contact over a potential summer transfer for the Lilywhites defender as Whelan claims the prospect of losing him and other big names comes as scary for Spurs supporters and manager Jose Mourinho.

“It’s actually really scary as a Tottenham fan. They’ve got real problems at centre-half,” explained the BBC pundit to Football Insider.

“Sanchez is not working and Dier has been very inconsistent. Alderweireld has been there as part of the furniture and fixings for a long, long time now.

“However, if you lose a big, big player like that, you’re going to have to pay millions. Millions of pounds.

“I’m not sure whether they can because they’re not going to entice players of that calibre.”

Transfer Tavern take

Time will tell whether the 32-year-old could opt for a return to his homeland in the summer, or indeed elsewhere, but Whelan may be correct that Tottenham would need to have a replacement in mind.

Spurs have been linked with numerous centre-backs recently, with reliable correspondent Alasdair Gold claiming that the Lilywhites are keeping tabs on Joachim Andersen, Nikola Milenkovic and Lewis Dunk in particular (football.london).

Regardless, it could be hard to replace an experienced figure like Alderweireld if exit links come to fruition.

In other news: Tottenham have been dealt a potential Harry Kane blow, find out more here.