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With Raphinha facing a race against time to make it for Leeds United’s Premier League clash against Southampton today, Marcelo Bielsa has a big decision to make on whether he starts the Brazilian if the 24-year-old is available.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the Leeds manager said: “There’s no doubt that there’s a short turnaround but the options that he has to participate in the game on Saturday depends on whether he plays this final game tonight, how many minutes he plays, how he finishes the game after he’s participated in it, how efficient the rest he can have in the next 36 hours is, considering that a third of those hours he will spend flying and if there’s any risk that fatigue will cause injuries then we won’t risk him.

“There’s so many aspects to consider that I can’t offer you any certainties either way.”

If the Leeds talisman isn’t able to pass a late fitness check, then Bielsa surely has to call upon Jack Harrison against the Saints.

Former Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson has waxed lyrical about what Harrison brings to the table earlier this summer and insisted that he has become a key figure under Bielsa.

The 41-year-old said: “I think the player he has developed into, not just on the field, but his stature and physical fitness, I think he’s becoming an all-round key component of this Bielsa side.

“I like Jack, he’s got a lot of talent, he’s got speed, he’s direct, scores goals, creates goals and for that price tag, I think it’s an absolute no-brainer. They have to make that signing.”

Robinson added that the £13.5m-rated Harrison “creates, he scores, (and) he offers Leeds something else”, and indeed he was one of Leeds’ most prolific campaigners last season with eight goals and eight assists in 36 Premier League games for the club.

While his start to the current campaign has been disappointing to say the least – no goals or assists in his five top-flight appearances thus far – his recent little spell on the sidelines as Dan James got the nod could just have lit the fire that he needed.

The 24-year-old, who was dubbed as “exciting to watch” by Noel Whelan, could be the man to fill Raphinha’s boots today against the Southampton if the Brazilian cannot feature.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has delivered an encouraging pre-match boost about Kalvin Phillips…

With Southampton still searching for their first Premier League win of the season, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are set to take on Leeds United at the weekend once the international break has ended.

Ahead of the match against Marcelo Bielsa’s side, who are only two points ahead of the Saints in the league table, Southampton could be without one of their regular players for the clash.

What’s the news?

It has recently been reported by the Daily Echo that Adams has been ruled out of Scotland’s World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands and is also a doubt for Southampton’s match at the weekend, which surely won’t make Hasenhuttl happy.

Southampton signed Adams back in the 2019 summer transfer window from Championship club Birmingham City on a five-year deal for a reported fee of £15m.

Since then, the 25-year-old, who is currently valued at £18m according to Transfermarkt has made 83 appearances for the Saints across all competitions, managing to score 13 goals and provide ten assists in the process.

Even though Adams has yet to score a goal for the Saints this season across all competitions and has only managed to provide one assist, we still feel Adams will be a big miss for the club if he can’t play against Leeds.

With the striker racking up 1.4 shots per game, the joint-third highest of any Southampton player in the league so far this season alongside James Ward-Prowse, he has still been an attacking threat. Follow that up with his 1.4 key passes per game, the joint-highest also alongside Ward-Prowse, and it demonstrates why his absence would be felt hard by the boss this weekend.

If Adams does end up being unavailable for the match at the weekend, we feel that Hasenhuttl should give Armando Broja a chance to start. He managed to score in midweek for Albania in their World Cup qualifier against Hungary so is in good form.

However, the manager will undoubtedly be hoping that Adams’ injury is not a serious one so he will be available for selection as soon as possible. The Saints need that first win of the season in order to climb away from the relegation zone.

In other news: Ralph must unleash “perfect” £9m-rated Southampton gem, he’s a real game-changer – opinion

Everton have submitted a ‘loan proposal’ for Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira, according to Brazilian outlet TNT Sports. 

The lowdown

After earlier spells in La Liga with Granada and Valencia, Pereira was loaned to Serie A outfit Lazio last season. He was limited to just three league starts, making a further 23 substitute appearances.

The Brazilian has racked up 75 career appearances for United and directly contributed to nine goals (scoring four and assisting five).

His versatility is a real asset: he’s predominantly played as an attacking midfielder but can also adopt a deeper role or operate on either flank.

The latest

Everton have made an offer for Pereira and it includes an option to buy at the end of the season.

That sets them apart from rival suitors like Flamengo, who are pursuing a straight loan.

Flamengo are also hopeful that United will agree to pay a portion of the Brazilian’s salary, which stands at £30,000 per week.

The verdict

It’s true that Everton don’t have much financial leeway this summer, and so loan moves may be their best chance to strengthen the squad in the remaining weeks of the window.

But does Pereira represent a significant upgrade on the options they already have? Probably not.

At best, he would be handy squad player given his capacity to play multiple positions. At worst, he would continue the trend of mediocre arrivals from the biggest clubs (see Alex Iwobi, Andre Gomes and Fabian Delph).

We feel this is one the Toffees would do well do avoid.

In other news, fans were buzzing over this development. 

Leeds United will be looking for only their third win of the Premier League season when they welcome Crystal Palace to Elland Road this evening, and manager Marcelo Bielsa could be tempted into some changes.

His side drew to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday evening in a game that they were awfully lucky to return to Yorkshire with anything from.

But how might the Whites lineup this evening? Here’s what Football FanCast are predicting…

There could be two changes from the weekend, though we’re still unlikely to see either Luke Ayling or Patrick Bamford involved after featuring for the U23s on Monday.

Illan Meslier should remain between the sticks, though with a switch of tactics, we could see alterations to the backline.

At left-back, Junior Firpo is surely facing the axe after the 25-year-old’s nightmare display against Tariq Lamptey, so we could see a return for 6 foot 3 colossus Pascal Struik, who excelled against Leicester City.

Meanwhile, Liam Cooper and Diego Llorente keep their place in the middle, with Stuart Dallas reverting back to the right, in the continued absence of the vice-captain.

It does mean Kalvin Phillips moves out of defence into his natural defensive midfield role as Adam Forshaw and Rodrigo take up more advanced positions in the engine room.

Raphinha is probably one of the first names on the teamsheet, so he should line up on the right and he will be joined in attack by Jack Harrison on the left.

United lacked a cutting edge in the final third at the Amex Stadium, so we could see young academy striker Joe Gelhardt get the nod as an actual no.9. That decision would see a big call in dropping club-record signing Daniel James, who has scored just one goal in 12 appearances this term.

Predicted Leeds XI (4-1-4-1): Meslier; Struijk, Cooper, Llorente, Dallas; Phillips; Harrison, Forshaw, Rodrigo, Raphinha; Gelhardt.

AND in other news, Orta must secure Bielsa’s dream transfer at Leeds with “powerful” £18m-rated beast…

Southampton have been linked with a move for Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey recently, and it would be a real statement of intent by Martin Semmens if he could bring him to St Mary’s.

What’s the word?

According to 90min journalist Graeme Bailey, Southampton have joined the race to sign the 23-year-old winger this summer, with the likes of Aston Villa, Leicester City, Wolves and Everton also linked with the Jamaica international.

The report claims that the Bundesliga side would demand more than £25m for Bailey after his impressive performances in recent seasons and that Villa have not baulked at that fee, although it would be a huge signing by Southampton if they were to pay that amount to bring him in.

Would Bailey be a good signing for Southampton?

Ralph Hasenhuttl suggested ahead of the transfer window that Southampton’s budget meant that they would target players for £10m or less this summer, which suggests that they are unlikely to pay more than double that in order to prise Bailey away from the BayArena.

Southampton’s big-money signings in recent seasons have been less than successful, with the likes of Guido Carillo, Sofiane Boufal, Mario Lemina and Wesley Hoedt all sold for significant losses in recent years, which may well put them off the idea of breaking their transfer record for a player with no experience in the Premier League.

However, after a brief flirtation with relegation last season, Southampton have done little to strengthen their squad ahead of the new campaign, with the relatively unproven Romain Perraud arriving as Ryan Bertrand’s replacement at left-back. Theo Walcott has also joined on a permanent deal after spending last season on loan at St Mary’s, so you could argue that the Saints are no stronger than they were in the 2020/21 campaign.

Therefore, it would be a real statement of intent by Semmens and the Southampton board to go all-out for Bailey this summer, and his performances in the Bundesliga in recent seasons certainly suggest that he would be an excellent addition at St Mary’s.

Last season saw the pacey winger contribute nine goals and eight assists in 30 league appearances, averaging an impressive 7.26 rating from WhoScored for his performances, which was better than any Southampton player.

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431”]

Bailey is slowly moving on from his reputation as a wonderkid, following former Leverkusen coach Heiko Herrlich’s proclamation in 2017 that the Jamaican “can do anything”. He could prove to be a superb addition to Hasenhuttl’s squad, so Semmens should definitely consider bringing him to Southampton this summer, as it would be a huge statement of intent ahead of the new season.

In other news… Southampton look set to miss out on their next Sadio Mane as agent drops transfer update

Flocking to Twitter, many Tottenham Hotspur fans are talking after Fabrizio Romano shared managerial news involving Paulo Fonseca.

Fonseca is now the overwhelming favourite to take over at Spurs and succeed former boss Jose Mourinho, potentially bringing the long wait for a new boss to an end.

Tottenham have been without a manager since dismissing Mourinho at the end of April, with many names entering the fray since then.

Julian Nagelsmann and Brendan Rodgers started out as top contenders for the role, but their lack of interest prompted the club to turn towards Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte.

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Complications with both candidates resulted in Spurs missing out, but talks seem to be progressing nicely with Fonseca.

The former AS Roma boss, as explained by Romano, is now in talks on the final details with Tottenham.

Romano also claims that Fonseca is set for a drastic move behind the scenes in changing his entire backroom staff around, coming after his Roma team suffered consistent injury issues.

As such, there have been no shortage of diverse verdicts from Spurs supporters in reaction to this news – with a handful worried by the development.

Find out a flavour of their opinions from social media, in reply to both Hotspur Related and the Spurs Express, down below.

Romano’s news has many Spurs fans talking

“We are finito”

Credit: @ftbljamie

“This is concerning. JM changed some of his staff coming to Spurs and I never felt they were a tight team who knew what was required. Poch came with his established team and they knew their game plan perfectly. I hope this doesn’t bite us”

Credit: @MattyFrench82

“We are pathetic”

Credit: @Craig1Osullivan

“Unbelievable, so not only do we get a 6th choice manager he will come with loads of new people he’s never worked with”

Credit: @DianeGreen_thfc

“Not even his main assistant? Strange.”

Credit: @COYSeminoles

“Bloke will literally be our Manager until Poch is available. Talk about a cheap stop gap.”

Credit: @LGW77

“In other words – he’s getting the backroom staff Levy is giving him”

Credit: @Adam_James2206

“Questionable”

Credit: @thfckieron

In other news: ‘Have now been told’…Alasdair Gold shares transfer development coming out of Spurs, find out more here.