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Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a golden opportunity to bring Leonardo Bonucci to north London this January.

That’s according to a number of recent reports from Italy (via The Express), which claim that, having fallen out with Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri, the 35-year-old has now asked to leave the Serie A side in the winter transfer window.

Further reports have claimed that the centre-back could link up with his former manager, Antonio Conte, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in January, with the Italy international said to be available on a cut-price deal.

Conte’s dream signing

With Conte having attempted to sign Bonucci for both Chelsea and Inter Milan, should the defender indeed be available in the January market, it would appear extremely likely that the 53-year-old will instruct Fabio Paratici to do everything he can to bring the veteran centre-back to the club this winter.

And, considering the success the Italian manager has enjoyed with Bonucci in the heart of his defence in the past, it is not difficult to understand why Conte is such a big fan of the 118-cap international, nor why he would like to add the Juventus captain to his current central defensive options at Tottenham.

Indeed, during Conte’s three-year spell in charge at the Allianz Stadium, the manager and Bonucci won three Serie A titles and two Supercoppa Italiana trophies – with the £5.4m-rated defender playing a crucial role in all five titles, featuring a total of 112 times under the management of the 53-year-old.

Furthermore, Conte has himself admitted his admiration for the 35-year-old, suggesting that his current central centre-back, Eric Dier, could go on to enjoy as impressive a career as the Italian stopper, as well as claiming that the 28-year-old England international should look up to Bonucci, stating:

“If you compare him with some of these important central defenders, don’t forget Eric started his career as a midfielder. In modern football, it means you can use him as a central defender but also as a No4. With the ball, Bonucci can be a really good example for him.

“But Bonucci did a lot in his career. Eric has just started this process, but for sure Leo is a really good example for him because we are talking about an important player. He won a lot with Juventus and the national team. I hope Eric can have this type of career.”

As such, should Paratici indeed have the opportunity to bring the £200k-per-week player who Maurizio Pistocchi dubbed a “leader” and Marco Messina labelled “unreal” to north London this winter, he simply must do all he can to do so, as Bonucci would undoubtedly be a “dream signing” – in the words of Ives Galarcep – for Conte.

Manchester United sprung to life against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening, winning 2-0 and putting in a performance that will soon come to be expected under Erik ten Hag as time progresses.

The victory moves United up to fifth in the Premier League table, just a point outside of the Champions League places.

A visit to Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening to take on a rejuvenated Chelsea will be another difficult task for the Dutchman and his team, however, he should be ready to unleash Fred against the London side, as he had arguably his finest performance this season against Spurs.

On the chalkboard

It’s safe to say that Fred has largely underperformed this season before he took to the field against Spurs, averaging a rating of just 6.65 in his previous four Premier League matches.

Against Antonio Conte’s men, however, Fred was a different animal. The midfielder scored the opening goal while also creating a further big chance and playing three key passes during the match, displaying his attacking nous.

The defensive side to his game could be improved, with the player losing possession 15 times against Spurs but he did make two interceptions, one tackle and one clearance to ensure that the Red Devils would come away with a vital three points.

His United career has been very much stop-and-start, with the Brazilian coming in for some criticism last season by two former United icons, Roy Keane, and Paul Scholes.

Keane suggested Fred was “sloppy and lazy” while Scholes claimed the midfielder was “lacking fight” but the performance against Spurs has shown Ten Hag exactly what the 29-year-old dynamo can offer when he is at the top of his game.

Manchester Evening News writer Samuel Luckhurst was full of praise for Fred at halftime on Wednesday, describing him as “superb” and the United faithful will be hoping that this positive display can be the catalyst for him to finally prove himself at Old Trafford.

He was the game-changer on Wednesday, and the Dutchman should give him the opportunity to replicate this against Chelsea as United look to continue their recent upturn in form.

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has criticised the Hoops’ ‘bang average’ finishing in the 1-1 draw at home to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

The Lowdown: Celtic finish bottom of group

Ange Postecoglou’s side hosted the Ukrainian outfit on Tuesday evening, knowing that victory was essential if they were to have a chance of qualifying for the Europa League.

In what was a frenetic contest, Giorgos Giakoumakis opened the scoring for Celtic before half-time, only for Mykhaylo Mudryk to equalise after the break.

The result means the Hoops will finish bottom of Group F regardless of what happens on matchday six, in what has to be considered a big disappointment.

The Latest: Sutton critical of finishing

Taking to Twitter after the game, Sutton bemoaned some of the finishing on show from Celtic, as endless chances came and went:

“Well done to Shakhtar Donetsk. Celtic out of Europe. Missed opportunities did for Celtic in the Champions League this season. Some good performances. Good chances created but bang average finishing. But I like what Ange Postecoglou is building.”

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The Verdict: A harsh lesson

Celtic may be the kings of the Scottish Premiership currently but this Champions League group stage has been a sobering reminder of the jump up in quality in Europe.

Such a lack of ruthlessness simply isn’t good enough when you come up against teams who will punish you at the other end, and that has summed up the Hoops’ European campaign.

There have been some reasonable performances in the group stages, but when the crunch moments have arrived, Postecoglou’s men ultimately haven’t been good enough. They will learn from it and hopefully come back stronger next season.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has had plenty of success in the transfer market in his relatively short time with the Scottish giants so far.

The likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota and Kyogo Furuhashi have all come through the door, since the Australian arrived, and thrived in Glasgow, becoming key players on the pitch.

Another Celtic boss who had his fair share of glory in transfer windows was Neil Lennon, who has had two separate spells in charge of the club.

During his first time in the dugout, the Northern Irishman brought in English striker Gary Hooper as one of his first signings. The attacker joined the club from Scunthorpe for £2.4m in the summer of 2010.

He subsequently went on to enjoy a phenomenal career with Celtic as he plundered 82 goals and provided 30 assists in 138 matches in all competitions. This included 63 strikes in 95 Premiership outings and seven goals across various European competitions.

The marksman, who midfielder Elliott Bennett once dubbed “clinical”, scored 19 goals or more in all three of his seasons in the Scottish top-flight for the Hoops and was eventually sold to then-Premier League side Norwich City for a fee of £5m in the summer of 2013.

Whilst it appeared to be a huge loss at the time, given his fantastic record for the club, it turned out to be a blinder of a decision by Celtic and Lennon as his career failed to kick on at the top level.

Hooper only scored six goals in 32 Premier League matches for the Canaries as they were relegated down to the Championship, which shows that he was unable to replicate his goalscoring success in Scotland down in England.

He did produce 12 goals and six assists in 30 appearances as Norwich won promotion back to the top flight in the following campaign but did not do enough to convince Alex Neil that he was ready to play at the top level.

The ex-Celtic man only played twice in the Premier League at the start of 2015/16 before being shipped out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday and they have turned out to be his last outings in a major European league to date.

After an 89-game spell with the Owls, Hooper played for Kerala Blasters in India and Wellington Phoenix in Australia before joining Omonia Nikosia in Cyprus earlier this year, linking up with Lennon once again.

Hooper’s career after leaving Celtic shows that they played a blinder by selling him for £5m as he was never able to kick on and become a regular goalscorer at the top level.

Journalist Pete O’Rourke believes that Aston Villa could hold an advantage in the race to sign Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson.

The Lowdown: Jackson rumours

Reports have suggested in recent days that new Villa boss Unai Emery has ‘instructed his new club to move quickly and try to sign’ Jackson.

The Villans aren’t the only Premier League club to be linked with a move, though, with Everton and Newcastle also name-checked as possible suitors.

The 21-year-old’s current contract with the La Liga side is set to expire next summer, and O’Rourke has been having his say on a potential switch to Villa Park.

The Latest: O’Rourke’s comments

Talking to The Transfer Tavern, O’Rourke was asked if Emery’s arrival could give Villa an advantage in the race to sign Jackson, with the journalist believing that could well be the case.

He stated: “Yeah, I think so, it’s the obvious link. It happens all the time in football when a manager comes into a new job, he likes to be reunited with players that he’s worked with before. He knows he can trust them, he knows what they can offer, so that’s why this Nicolas Jackson link has come about.”

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The Verdict: Pre-contract agreement?

Should Jackson’s contract situation remain the same, Villa will have the chance to discuss a possible pre-contract agreement with the forward ahead of a free transfer next summer.

That could be something which may appeal to all involved, or Emery may even want NSWE to seal an immediate January transfer.

The 21-year-old appears to be a key target for the new Villa boss, and we agree with O’Rourke in believing that Emery’s arrival in the Midlands could give the Villans a better chance of sealing a deal for him.

When Glasgow Rangers signed defender Fabio Cardoso from Vitoria Setubal in the summer of 2017, many would have hoped that was going to be a key part of the Ibrox club’s defence for the next few years.

Then-manager Pedro Caixinha lavished praise on the centre-back, saying: “He is a player who everyone describes as having big potential to be one of the centre-halves of the future with the Portuguese national team.”

Despite this admiration for the defender, it turned out to be a disastrous spell for him in Glasgow as he featured just 18 times in total, and only once after January 2018.

Cardoso suffered a horrible facial injury which didn’t help his cause either, but when the Light Blues announced Steven Gerrard as their new manager in May 2018, the player soon left on a free transfer and returned to his homeland.

He thrived back in Portugal, making joined European heavyweights Porto in 2021, marking a stunning turnaround from his failed adventure in Glasgow.

It’s safe to say that Gerrard had a nightmare over the player, with the 28-year-old impressing in the league for Porto last season, averaging a solid rating of 6.9/10 as per SofaScore while ranking third in the squad for clearances per game (2.3) and fourth for pass success rate (92%), proving that he has what it takes to perform at the highest level.

This season, he has taken his performances to another dimension, starring in the Champions League with an average rating of 7.03 across three group stage matches, helping his team to keep two clean sheets while winning 59% of his duels.

Cardoso is now rated at €3.7m (£3.2m), and this value will surely continue to increase with every excellent performance.

With Giovanni van Bronckhorst going through a defensive injury crisis at the moment, what he would do to have someone like Cardoso marshalling his backline?

Maybe he was the right player for the club, but he simply arrived at the wrong time, and the Ibrox side are paying for that now.

West Ham United’s owners are not looking to get rid of David Moyes following their 2-0 defeat against Leicester City in the Premier League at the weekend. 

The Lowdown: West Ham’s poor form

This recent defeat against the Foxes was the Hammers’ fourth from their last five top-flight outings. As a result of this disappointing form, the 59-year-old has reportedly found himself under pressure, particularly from sections of the fan base.

However, with the Premier League now on a break to accommodate the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, an update has emerged regarding Moyes’ position at the London Stadium from club sources.

The Latest: West Ham owners backing Moyes

According to a report from BBC Sport on Sunday, the east London club’s hierarchy are backing the Scotsman to get West Ham back on track and out of their current rut.

The report also adds that, while there is concern over the form of the team, senior sources at the club believe Moyes deserves the right to turn the situation around.

The Verdict: West Ham should stick with Moyes

After 15 league games of the current campaign, West Ham have won four, drawn two and lost nine, leaving them with 14 points on the board in 16th place.

Bearing in mind how Moyes brought in several new players to the club during the summer transfer window, getting these to settle into life in east London and into the rhythm of what the manager wants could be a reason why the Irons have had such a mixed run of results in the league this season.

In our view, the club’s hierarchy are right to back their manager through this poor spell of form, and hopefully the World Cup break will help the 59-year-old to refresh things and get his players back on track for when the league resumes at the end of next month.

However, if results don’t start going their way throughout the second half of the season, we feel that the club’s owners may then need to reconsider their loyalty to Moyes for the sake of the team.

West Ham United have been dealt a potential blow as Gianluca Scamacca has dropped out of the Italy squad through injury. 

The Lowdown: West Ham’s recent injury blow 

The Hammers were recently given a concern as Emerson Palmieri was forced out of Roberto Mancini’s squad with an injury issue. 

Having not qualified for the 2022 World Cup, the Italians are set to play Albania and Austria in a couple of friendly matches. 

However, it appears that another player at the east London club has been forced out of their international squad. 

The Latest: Scamacca injury concern 

According to a recent report from Football London, Scamacca is ‘thought to have withdrawn over a minor muscular issue and will look to use the World Cup break to return to full fitness’. 

With that in mind, it appears that Italy will have to get through these upcoming games without the two West Ham players in their squad. 

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The Verdict: Worrying for West Ham

So far this season, the 23-year-old has made 21 appearances for David Moyes’ side across all competitions, scoring six goals in the process. 

Having started all of West Ham’s previous eight league games, it’s safe to say that the Italian has become an important figure for Moyes, who could now be sweating over his fitness. 

Across his 13 league appearances this term, the centre-forward has taken the third-highest number of shots at goal (25) and landed the second-highest number of shots on target (seven).

Even though this report has claimed that the striker has only picked up a minor issue, it will still be a worry for everyone at West Ham. 

With the Hammers not in action until the end of next month, this should at least give Scamacca plenty of time to overcome this injury issue and get back to full fitness when domestic football resumes. 

Chelsea are ‘closing in’ on a deal to sign RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku next summer, according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Agreement in place

The Frenchman still has four years remaining on his contract at the Red Bull Arena, but having been a standout performer under Marco Rose this season, Graham Potter’s side have been heavily linked with an interest in bringing the Frenchman to the Premier League.

CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs recently revealed that the two parties have an agreement in place for the 25-year-old to move to Stamford Bridge in 2023, which has now been backed up by further reports.

The Latest: Chelsea waiting on Nkunku

Taking to Twitter, Romano confirmed that Chelsea have completed all of the background details involved in the deal and are simply waiting for Nkunku to sign on the dotted line.

He wrote: “Chelsea are closing in on Christopher Nkunku deal. Medical did as reported in September, agreement in place with Leipzig for more than €60m clause/easier payment terms.

“Long term deal agreed starting from June 2023. Time to sign contracts then… here we go.”

The Verdict: Aubameyang upgrade?

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang isn’t getting any younger at 33, and after not making the start to life at Stamford Bridge that the Gabon striker would have hoped for, Nkunku could be a great long-term successor.

The Bundesliga striker has clocked up a remarkable 14 goal contributions in 15 league matches this season and has the versatility to operate in five different positions (Transfermarkt).

This contrasts with Aubameyang’s return of four goal contributions in 12 appearances for Chelsea, a disappointing rate considering how freely he scored at Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal (Transfermarkt).

Potter will surely find Nkunku’s scoring touch an enticing attribute, and with the 25-year-old having been labelled a ‘monster’ by Jacek Kulig, he will be a hugely exciting arrival next summer, assuming there are no late hitches with the proposed move.

Arsenal are interested in a deal to bring Carlos Soler to The Emirates in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by French media outlet France Bleu Paris, who claim that, despite having only joined Paris Saint-Germain from Valencia CF in a €20m (£17.2m) deal this summer, due to the Spain international’s lack of game time at Le Parc des Princes, the central midfielder could be on the move once again this winter.

The report goes on to suggest that Mikel Arteta’s side are one club keeping a close eye on the situation of the 25-year-old, with the Premier League leaders weighing up a potential move for the playmaker in the January transfer window.

Santi Cazorla 2.0

Considering just how talented a player Soler undoubtedly is, coupled with central midfield being an area of the pitch in which Arsenal currently lack any real depth, should Arteta have the chance to launch a move for his compatriot in January, it would appear extremely wise for the 40-year-old to do so.

Indeed, despite featuring in just seven Ligue 1 fixtures – only four of which have come as starts – so far this season, the £43m-rated talent has still managed to catch the eye, having already scored two goals, registered one assist and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 0.6 key passes and taking 0.4 shots per game.

These returns have seen the 25-year-old average an extremely impressive Sofascore match rating of 7.13, not only ranking him as Christophe Galtier’s ninth-best performer in the league but also as the 35th-best player in the top flight of French football as a whole.

However, it was undoubtedly over the playmaker’s 32 LaLiga appearances for Valencia last season that Soler most caught the eye, with the £95k-per-week talent scoring 11 goals, providing five assists and creating five big chances, in addition to taking an average of 1.3 shots, making 1.7 key passes and completing 0.6 dribbles per match.

These metrics saw the 13-cap international who Semra Hunter dubbed “unbelievable” average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.15, not only ranking him as Che’s best performer in the league but also as the joint 15th-best player in the Spanish top-flight in its entirety.

Furthermore, the player who has been likened in style to former Arsenal star Santi Cazorla has also impressed for Spain at the Qatar World Cup this winter, scoring one goal and averaging an extremely impressive Sofascore match rating of 7.30 in La Roja’s 7-0 demolition of Costa Rica in their opening fixture of the tournament.

As such, it would very much appear as if Soler would represent a fantastic addition to the more defensively-minded Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka in the middle of the park at The Emirates, with the Spanish sensation very much looking to possess the potential to become the Gunners’ next Cazorla-esque talent in north London.