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Tottenham Hotspur’s unbeaten streak continued on Monday evening as they edged past a resolute Burnley side at Turf Moor.

Jose Mourinho and his side haven’t lost since their opening day defeat to Everton and have now picked up successive clean sheets after the 1-0 triumph in the north-west.

It sees Spurs move into fifth in the Premier League table, just two points behind the Toffees.

And the Special One has that red-hot duo of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son to thank for a late winner as they combined for the 29th time in the Premier League.

The 27-year-old vice-captain swung in a ball for the South Korean to head him his eighth goal of the season in the 72nd minute – although on another day, it could’ve been a different story.

Ashley Barnes had a strike ruled out for offside before Kane denied fellow Englishman James Tarkowski with a goalline clearance.

The Clarets were arguably the better side, recording more shots (13) and creating more big chances (one) than the visiting Spurs side.

Aside from Son and Kane, there was another Spurs player that deserves to take the plaudits as was quite the unsung hero throughout the match – Moussa Sissoko.

It was another excellent and underrated showing from the French powerhouse – he doesn’t completely stand out with so many flashier players around him, but boy does he do the basics superbly.

Per FotMob, the 31-year-old made three recoveries, recorded four interceptions and notched a 94% accuracy from 50 passing attempts. He only lost possession four times from 60 touches too, and even committed four tactical fouls that broke up any swift Burnley attack.

Hotspur HQ graded the midfielder a 7.5/10 and said: “Sissoko is an extraordinary athlete, and he covered a lot of the Turf Moor pitch Monday evening. Between Sissoko and Højbjerg, nothing really troubled the defence too greatly and the flexibility to play inside and out affords the team to get creative with positioning.”

Sissoko’s industrious display allowed the likes of Tanguy Ndombele, substitute Erik Lamela and the prolific duo of Son and Kane to thrive further up the pitch.

No one was getting past him on Monday night. The €20m-valued (£18m) monster is certainly an underrated cog in Mourinho’s system.

AND in other news, ANONYMOUS £80k-per-week Spurs star massively let Mourinho down in Burnley win…

Noel Whelan thinks that Richarlison will be a big miss for Everton versus Newcastle United in the Premier League.

Speaking to Football Insider, the former Leeds United striker believes that the Brazil international may have been a key player for the Goodison Park faithful in getting all three points at St. James’ Park and also tipped Bernard to come in as his replacement instead of Alex Iwobi:

“Richarlison for me is one that is a massive loss. Iwobi didn’t take his opportunity so Bernard might come in, I think, on that side, linking up play.

“Iwobi, for me, has done nothing since he’s come to Everton and he’s not pushed Richarlison or any of the front three, to be honest with you. If he starts the game, I’ll be very, very surprised, I think it might be an opportunity for somebody else.

“Richarlison is going to be a massive miss.” 

Richarlison is a ‘standout’ player for Everton

Indeed, Richarlison has been and still is a ‘standout’ player for the Merseyside club, and thus could be greatly missed by Carlo Ancelotti’s team against the Magpies as Whelan suggests.

The 23-year old has scored no fewer than 33 goals and made a further eight assists in 86 games in all competitions for the Toffees over the last three consecutive terms (Transfermarkt).

His eye for a goal could have been vital in a tough away game in the top flight, but he will miss the match versus the Toon through suspension following his straight red card against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby.

Richarlison has been great so far this season

Indeed, Richarlison has been brilliant so far this season, winning a quite staggering 9.6 of his duels per game in England’s highest division, as well as averaging 3.2 successful dribbles and 2.2 shots per game (Sofascore).

However, he will not be able to carry on his fine form in the versus Newcastle tomorrow afternoon, and as Whelan has claimed, the striker may well turn out to be a huge loss for the Blues.

In other news, find out which EFC transfer target may leave in January here!

Many Liverpool fans were pleased to hear that referee David Coote was removed from VAR duties for the Reds’ Premier League game against Leicester City this weekend.

Coote was the man in charge of VAR during the 2-2 draw against Everton last month, where Jordan Pickford escaped punishment after a high tackle on Virgil van Dijk, leaving him needing surgery on a serious knee injury.

After Liverpool contacted the Premier League to question the failure in scrutinising Pickford, no further action was taken as it was not deemed to be a red card offence at the time (via BBC Sport).

With little explanation, the Premier League themselves announced that there was a change to the officials’ line-up for Matchweek Nine, which will now see Andre Marriner make decisions on the proceedings at Anfield.

With this in mind, supporters were delighted with the news, with the injustice of Van Dijk’s injury still looming like a dark cloud over their heads.

Fans hail decision to drop Coote

In other news, Darren Bent believes Liverpool will avoid repeat of 2016 transfer event after recent reports.

Johan Lange can redefine his vision for Aston Villa by ensuring Dean Smith utilises the “immense potential” of Lamare Bogarde, after a successful summer fighting off premier competition for the Netherlands Under 16 international.

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic, Villa were aggressive in the summer market striving to lock up the services of a string of 16-year-olds ahead of the impact Brexit will have on signing youth players.

Premier League clubs will no longer be able to sign players under the age of 18 from overseas clubs as of January 1, while only able to add three aged under 21 this winter and six per season after that.

The new framework has been introduced to help ensure the future competitiveness of the England national side post-Brexit, as the Football Association believe now presents a chance to boost the selection hopes of homegrown players.

Villa sought to get ahead of the restrictions by spending vast time scouting youth talents this year, leading to the eventual additions of Vitesse Arnhem defender Sil Swinkels, St. Patrick’s Aaron O’Reilly and Bogarde from Feyenoord.

Landing Bogarde’s signature was a considerable coop for the Birmingham-based outfit, as the defensive midfielder is now said to have been a target for top-six Premier League duo Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Redefine Lange’s vision for AVFC

Beating Arsenal and Tottenham to Bogarde’s signature has offered Lange the chance to redefine his vision for Aston Villa by turning the claret and blue side into one future stars look positively on, knowing homegrown talents will soon carry even more importance and value.

Lange has got off to a strong start by edging premier competition for Bogarde this summer but will need to see first-team boss Smith utilise those in the academy for his vision to take place

Smith has so far only awarded 14 minutes of Premier League football to 19-year-old Jacob Ramsey, who is the only player aged under 21 to feature for the Villans in the top-flight thus far this term.

Bogarde is a player academy manager Mark Harrison lauds for his “immense potential”, and has already displayed his emerging brilliance in claret and blue with two goals and an assist in four Premier League U18 appearances before stepping up to the Under 23s.

If he can establish himself in Mark Delaney’s young side, which sits just three points off table-toppers Middlesbrough after nine PL2 fixtures, it will not be long before Bogarde is banging on Smith’s door demanding his senior debut.

AND in other news, Johan Lange and Aston Villa must bite the bullet on one-time £40k-p/w Dean Smith favourite.

Aston Villa squandered a chance to move into the Premier League’s top seven as they couldn’t find a way past Burnley at Villa Park.

Dean Smith’s side were held to a goalless stalemate despite registering a whopping 27 shots throughout the 90 minutes, and even hit the woodwork twice.

Ahmed Elmohamady had an attempt cleared off the line by former Villan Matt Lowton before Nick Pope’s heroics saw the England shot-stopper tip a shot from Anwar El Ghazi onto the crossbar.

Despite not picking up the victory, the Midlands outfit recorded a sixth clean sheet of the season, more than any other top-flight team.

Ollie Watkins was one home player that found the game difficult as he was largely anonymous and wasteful in what chances he did have.

Per SofaScore, the 24-year-old won just three of 18 duels (16%), failed to score from four attempts on goal, and lost possession 14 times.

For large spells the visiting partnership of James Tarkowski and Ben Mee kept the £33m summer signing at bay, even with Jack Grealish sitting behind him in the no.10 role for the first time this season.

Watkins also made just eight passes all match at an accuracy rate of 64%, which was fewer than goalkeeper Emi Martinez, which only goes to show how little of an impact he had at the other end of the pitch.

His performance was summed up by the five out of ten rating handed to him by BirminghamLive in their post-match review. They said:

“Spurned a few chances early on, and didn’t seem completely on his game. Worked tremendously hard to find a Villa opener, but seemingly lacked the clinical striking ability that has defined his best performances in a Villa shirt.”

It’s now four straight matches in which Watkins has failed to score and at Villa Park on Thursday night, the £75k-per-week frontman clearly let Smith down badly with a shocking performance.

AND in other news, Lange handed big boost in AVFC hunt for £16.2m-rated star, he “makes scoring look easy”…

Liverpool face Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Wednesday night with the aim of returning to the top of the Premier League with a win against Jose Mourinho’s side.

Both sides dropped points away from home at the weekend, with the Reds struggling to a 1-1 draw against Fulham, whilst Spurs failed to take all three points with the same scoreline against Crystal Palace.

Joel Matip was forced off with injury during the game at Craven Cottage, so could miss out on the game against the North London side, potentially leaving Klopp with no fit senior centre-backs in his side.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Klopp to line his side up against Spurs at Anfield, with two changes from the team that started against Fulham…

Alisson keeps his place in goal after impressing on his return to the side against Fulham last weekend, as he made a number of important stops to keep the Reds in the game.

There’s one change in defence, as Nathaniel Phillips is handed his third start of the Premier League season, replacing Matip in defence after his injury on Sunday.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson will be key if they can push forward and be dangerous with their crosses, although they must be strong defensively against this prolific Spurs attack.

There’s one change in midfield, as, despite his excellent display at the weekend, Curtis Jones drops out in place of Takumi Minamino.

The Reds will need a disciplined midfield and the former RB Salzburg man’s energy could be beneficial against this Spurs midfield, especially if Harry Kane drops deep to try and influence the game, so having someone like Minamino to break things up could prove vital.

Earlier this season, Klopp praised the 25-year-old for his impact against Ajax in the Champions League, saying:

“Taki is a machine. He’s everywhere, he defends like a devil and then offensively he’s really involved. Nice one-twos together with Diogo on the side where they came into the box.”

Therefore, the German manager may be tempted to start the Japanese international, who earns £75k per week at Liverpool, on Wednesday, due to his impressive work-rate off the ball.

Unsurprisingly, the front three stays the same after it was revealed that Diogo Jota could be out until February with a knee injury, so Klopp will be hoping that the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino can do the damage at Anfield.

And, in other news… Forget Matip: Klopp should recall £70k-p/w beast loved by Carragher, he can thwart Kane

What Sunderland do in the January transfer market will be fascinating to witness.

One thing’s for certain, Lee Johnson and Kristjaan Speakman will look to sign a player that’s competent in attacking scenarios.

What’s the word?

Speaking last week about what he needed in his side, Johnson admitted that he could do with a player capable of stretching the play a bit more.

Of course, Jack Diamond’s introduction has helped somewhat with that but signing a more experienced professional certainly wouldn’t go amiss.

While this is all going on, Sunderland also have a takeover happening in the background. Prospective buyer William Storey outlined that if he sealed the deal, he’d look to bring in some Premier League players from respective U23 sides.

Thus, The Sunderland Echo have compiled a list of targets that could be available. One such player is Southampton’s Josh Sims.

The winger is currently on loan at Doncaster in League One but his deal with the club expires in January so may be available to move on loan elsewhere.

This deal depends on a host of things. Whether the Saints want to loan him again, or whether he just stays at Donny. Currently, Sims is rated at £1.4m.

The new Williams

Sunderland need to sign quick players in January and in Sims, they’d have their missing ingredient.

Speaking about the 23-year-old winger, Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “I think the system’s perfect for him. And he’s not so easy to defend, because he’s small, quick and has good movement.”

That must be music to the ears of supporters at the Stadium of Light, people who became accustomed to some laboured build-up play under Phil Parkinson.

However, most promisingly is his similarities to Jonny Williams. The Charlton attacker spent a period of time on loan with the Mackems in 2017/18 but unfortunately endured most of the season out injured.

That being said, when he did play, he demonstrated immense qualities with the ball at his feet. He was a creative spark and if he’d been fit all season, the Black Cats may have stayed in the Championship.

Sims has six strikes this season and has also created eight goals, and if we compare the two players more closely, there are clear similarities.

For Sunderland, Williams averaged one dribble per game while Sims is currently averaging 0.9 for Donny. Furthermore, they are both fouled with great regularity. The former was brought down 1.4 times a game during his spell in the north-east. Sims, on the other hand, is fouled 1.7 times a game.

Combine that with the fact they can play on either wing or through the middle and you have two creative players who can magic something out of nothing.

Sims would be an astute capture if Speakman can pull off a deal.

AND in other news, Storey would be staring at INSTANT disaster if Sunderland sign ace with “big energy”… 

According to The Scotsman, Lille remain interested in a move for Glasgow Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos.

Lille monitoring Morelos

Lille, who are currently second in Ligue 1 on goal difference and are still in the Europa League, were heavily linked with a move for the Colombia international during last summer’s transfer window – they were said to have agreed personal terms with the £13.5m-valued 24-year-old (Transfermarkt), while they also had a £16m bid rejected.

The Scotsman has been discussing players who will attract interest this January, and while they admit it is unlikely Morelos will depart this month, Lille are still monitoring his situation north of the border.

May be worth selling

Given his impressive scoring record at Ibrox – he has 85 goals in 164 games for the 54-time Scottish champions – the Gers were eager to hold on to Morelos as they resisted the temptation to sell last summer. However, this campaign, the striker has just eight goals in 26 games despite the Gers losing only once in all competitions.

His temperament has got the better of him on occasion, as well. He has been involved in altercations with Scott Brown in both Old Firm derbies, while Steven Gerrard has spoken out against his attitude when being substituted. It is getting to the point where he is becoming far more trouble than he is worth – another £16m offer could well force Ross Wilson’s hand.

In other news, Rangers fans hammer this politician’s lack of respect.

When Leeds travelled to League Two Crawley Town on Sunday afternoon, they did so with plenty of confidence.

The Whites have played some swashbuckling football in the Premier League this season and after Marcelo Bielsa chose to field £30m summer signing Rodrigo up top, there really should have only been one winner.

However, the hosts defied the odds to win 3-0. It was one of the biggest upsets we’ve seen in the competition over the last few years with 64 places separating the two sides in the football pyramid.

Leeds were abject but Crawley were superb, playing wonderful counter-attacking football that put Bielsa’s side to the sword.

Kiko Casilla started ahead of Illan Meslier in goal but he failed to cover himself in much glory, putting in a pathetic performance between the sticks – one that rather sums up how his spell at Elland Road has played out.

The Spaniard let the ball through his hands for the first goal and then somehow allowed it to slip between his legs for the second.

However, if we’re looking at outfield players who disappointed, then Kalvin Phillips has to take the blame. The England international was picked at centre-half and clearly wasn’t very comfortable playing in that position.

Alongside Casilla, he was also at fault for the first goal. Nick Tsaroulla dashed past two Leeds players, including Phillips, who didn’t get tight enough to his man and allowed the shot on goal. Had the 25-year-old been more mobile, then he could have blocked the effort or at least made it harder for the player to go beyond him.

That wasn’t the peak of his problems though. Clearly lacking the competency to play at centre-back, he lost possession a mammoth 24 times and completed just 78% of his passes.

For someone like Phillips, a player usually so reliable in possession, this was incredibly surprising to see. The midfielder is normally a robust individual but he also struggled with the physical side of things.

The academy graduate won only six of the 15 duels he contested and was also given a yellow card for his troubles.

Phillips is traditionally one of Leeds’ most reliable players but on this occasion, he let Bielsa down. For someone with ambitions of playing more regularly for England, this display will have done himself no favours.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano hints at possible “opportunity” for Leeds, it would usurp Rodrigo deal…

According to Hammers insider and reliable source ExWHUemployee, David Moyes wishes to develop West Ham United’s scouting network behind the scenes ahead of future seasons – with the Scotsman and GSB reportedly deciding to appoint Shane O’Gorman as a scout, who is currently player pathway manager at Leyton Orient. 

The club have already shown strides in developing their potential stars for the future, evident by the signing of young centre-half Frederik Alves, who was scouted from Danish side Silkeborg (West Ham United).

ExWHUemployee shares Moyes plan

West Ham youngster Mipo Odubeko is also displaying huge promise, as evident by the manager’s praise (football.london), with Moyes apparently rating the youngster alongside fellow rising stars like Jamal Baptiste (ExWHUemployee).

Now, in an effort to further aid the club’s youth development, Moyes is allegedly set to appoint O’Gorman as an academy scout following his experience at League Two side Orient – and the new member of staff is expected to arrive in early February.

Indeed, as per ExWHUemployee, there has already been some new appointments in this area at youth level – with Moyes seemingly planning an academy overhaul as he seeks to grow young stars for the future.

Transfer Tavern take

Despite plenty of links to signing a centre-forward, Moyes appears determined to shape the academy and plan ahead for the future – which could come as a good sign for supporters.

The Irons boss has already enjoyed a great season at the Hammers helm so far, with his side sitting pretty in the Premier League top six, but Moyes is refusing to rest on his laurels as he steadily integrates an academy restructure.

In other news: West Ham fans lavished this ace with praise for his performance against Crystal Palace, find out more here.