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Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has broken the habit of a career by sending Leeds United academy product Jack Clarke back to Yorkshire on loan.

The winger became the club’s first signing in over a year on Tuesday after Spurs agreed a reported fee of £10m with Leeds United.

He has signed a contract until 2023 but will immediately return to the Championship club on loan for the duration of the 2019/20 campaign, as the Whites once again attempt to win promotion to the Premier League.

Yet this feels out of character for Pochettino.

Indeed, it must be noted that Marcelo Bielsa, a coach revered by Pochettino, manages Leeds; the pair have a storied connection. A fabled tale goes that before Bielsa signed Pochettino at Newell’s Old Boys when the Spurs boss was 13, he asked to see his legs while he was sleeping, to see if he was likely to be good enough to play for the club. He thought they were and signed him.

And yet, loans are not often utilised by Spurs. The likes of Oliver Skipp, Kyle Walker-Peters and Harry Winks could all have gone out on loan in recent seasons, as could Juan Foyth, with all four players having played through periods when they were deemed good enough to be around the first-team but not quite at the point of featuring regularly.

At most top clubs, that is when a loan is arranged, and the player will join either a mid-table Premier League club or a Championship side, as they look to gain minutes and experience – Derby’s decision to loan Liverpool’s Harry Wilson and Chelsea’s Mason Mount last season attests to that.

At Spurs, though, it’s more a case of loans being for those players who will eventually be discarded, when there isn’t actually a buyer to be found.

Look at the list of players who spent the 2018/19 season out on loan: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Samuel Shashoua, Marcus Edwards, Connor Ogilvie, Joshua Onomah, Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, Anthony Georgiou, Shayon Harrison, Kazaiah Sterling and Tom Glover.

Ogilvie has already been allowed to join Gillingham permanently, while Glover has been released. Carter-Vickers is 21 and has played four times for the club at centre-back; Shashoua is 20 and has never had a sniff of the first-team; Edwards is talented but his attitude has been questioned; Onomah has already been tipped to join Sheffield Wednesday permanently; N’Koudou does not have the required ability to play for the club; Georgiou, Harrison and Sterling are all 20 or over and have played a combined 18 minutes at the top level.

That Clarke is going out on loan, then, is a ceding of control from Pochettino.

He usually nurtures the young players who are coming through, slowly exposing them to first-team action before eventually being able to bed them in when they are ready.

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Perhaps he does not deem Clarke to be in the same category as the likes of Skipp or Walker-Peters yet; perhaps this deal was merely done to get a jump on the competition and ensure that a talented player is on the books at Spurs before he becomes a star in the Championship.

That, of course, is the hope for him next season, that he can thrive at Elland Road and return to Spurs ready to make a breakthrough.

Pochettino has broken his habit with this deal. He had better hope it pays off.

Sciver wins as stand-in captain as bowlers share New Zealand wickets around

Valkerie Baynes01-Sep-2021A batting showpiece by Tammy Beaumont led England to an emphatic 46-run victory over New Zealand in their opening T20I at Chelmsford.Beaumont scored 97 off 65 balls and, assisted by a neat cameo from Amy Jones, pummelled an apparently undercooked New Zealand into submission as England reached a lofty 184 for 4. The hosts capitalised on some ordinary fielding by New Zealand, who haven’t played for five months and who never really got going in the run-chase as Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn claimed two wickets apiece.With regular captain England Heather Knight ruled out by a hamstring injury she picked up during training on Monday, Emma Lamb made her international debut just four days after being drafted into the England squad when uncapped duo Maia Bouchier and Charlie Dean were ruled out of the first match as possible Covid contacts. Lamb made it to the crease when Beaumont fell on the penultimate delivery but did not face a ball.Tash Farrant, match-sharpened after an excellent Hundred campaign where she was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker and a key member of the winning Oval Invincibles side, struck with her fourth ball – the 10th of the run-chase – to remove Sophie Devine. And when Brunt dismissed Suzie Bates in the next over, the reformation of New Zealand’s powerful top order was short-lived and the target looked close to insurmountable. Amy Satterthwaite did her best to keep New Zealand afloat with a fighting 43 off 31 but when Brunt had her caught by Mady Villiers in the deep, they were six wickets down and still more than 100 runs adrift.Beaumont bosses it

Beaumont looked in fine touch from the start, clipping the second ball she faced through midwicket for four, followed by another through the covers. Danni Wyatt had sealed her place in the side with a match-winning 89 not out at the same ground in England’s previous match – the third T20I against India in mid-July. But, after hitting Leigh Kasperek for three consecutive fours in the third over, Wyatt’s innings ended on 14 when she charged at Kasperek and was stumped by Katey Martin.Nat Sciver, England’s stand-in captain, fell for 14, having struck a glorious six off Hayley Jensen over long-off only to see the same bowler peg back her middle stump. Beaumont carried on though. She unfurled 13 fours in total, all round the ground, bringing up her fifty with a lofted drive through the covers off Kasperek and immediately helping herself to three more through point, backward square and again clearing the covers.Beaumont was let off on 26 when Devine missed a caught-and-bowled chance and again on 64 when she hit a Satterthwaite delivery straight to mid-on where Devine shelled the chance. She brought up England’s 150 with a six off Kasperek that split deep midwicket and long-on. Devine dropped another off Satterthwaite when Sophia Dunkley, on 10, skied the ball to cover but it popped out of Devine’s hands as she went to ground.Devine brought herself back into the attack in the 19th over, only to see Beaumont cart her to the rope twice in a row, over cover and mid-off. Beaumont finally fell in the last over, caught by Brooke Halliday at short third attempting to bring up her hundred with a reverse scoop off Jensen.Jones, Dunkley chime in

Jones set off smartly with five fours in the space of nine deliveries, four of them coming off one Satterthwaite over with the first beating two scrambling fielders as she pierced midwicket and the last through the same region to bring up England’s 100. Her sixth four also came off Satterthwaite, glancing through deep third before she finally fell advancing to the same bowler and was stumped by Martin.On the eve of the match, Dunkley had stated her ambition to break into England’s top four, having spent 18 months on the edges of selection just hoping to get back into the side this time last year. Knight’s absence meant Dunkley, third highest run-scorer in the Women’s Hundred, shuffled up to No.5 and she joined in Beaumont’s clinical display, scoring an unbeaten 23 off 17 balls and hitting the last ball for four.Rusty Kiwis
It was a tough return for Devine, the New Zealand captain back in the side after stepping away for a break in March. Her comeback, along with that of Suzie Bates, playing her first match since last November after undergoing shoulder surgery, meant that New Zealand’s vaunted top three were back together. But when they were both out in single figures within the first three overs, it fell to Satterthwaite to salvage what she could. It was understandable that there would be some, in Devine’s words after the match, “rust” given that New Zealand’s last match was in April. And so there was, in the field and with the bat. Their challenge is to turn a lack of match play around ahead of Saturday’s second T20I at Hove, with one more at Taunton before both sides ramp up their preparations for next year’s 50-over World Cup in New Zealand with five ODIs.Maddy Green combined well at No. 4 with Satterthwaite for a time before falling for 19 to a spectacular catch by Farrant at deep backward square off Ecclestone. It was reminiscent of Farrant’s brilliant effort for the Invincibles in the Hundred eliminator, where she also took four wickets to propel her side into the final.

They were notably down on confidence at the Champions Trophy in 2013 but the changes in mindset since then have taken them all the way to the World Cup final

Daniel Brettig in Melbourne27-Mar-2015A World Cup campaign that will end at the MCG on Sunday began in the Hampshire town of Southampton in September 2013. So did Aaron Finch’s.Following an awful Champions Trophy for Australia, of which neither Finch nor the coach Darren Lehmann were a part, both men found themselves in the set-up that convened after the loss of a third consecutive Ashes series in England.Finch’s place in the Australian limited-overs squad had been transient up to that point: he was initially not selected for the 50-over component of the trip. But a barnstorming innings of 156 in the opening T20 match at Ageas Bowl saw him retained for the rest of the tour, and he has been in the team ever since.It is easy to forget how inept Australia had appeared during the Champions Trophy, lacking sorely in any confidence to take the game on and, it was later to be revealed, squabbling among themselves. It was the final straw for the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland and team performance manager Pat Howard, who sacked Mickey Arthur and replaced him with Lehmann for the Ashes.If the Test series showed small shoots of growth, it was the limited-overs assignments following them that illustrated how Lehmann wanted his men to play. Finch’s efforts in Hampshire set a template for top-order batting, and Mitchell Johnson would later put the frighteners on England’s batsmen with pace bowling of high class and undeniable venom.Eighteen months later, Finch looked back on that time as a significant one for him and the team. It was a period in which a group of players scarred by the India Test tour and the “homework” fiasco were coaxed back into a more aggressive mindset, imbued with belief by Lehmann and permitted to make mistakes.”I doubted whether I was going to actually be in that touring squad, luckily I got that 150 in the Ageas Bowl game,” Finch recalled. “That’s probably what might have tipped them over the edge to keep me in the squad. To come in then was really nice, it was a fresh attitude and new coaching staff and everything.”I think I’d got 150 against Queensland at the Gabba one time when Boof was coach of the Bulls, so hopefully small things like that add up and he remembers them.”The mindset differences between Australia at the Champions Trophy and Australia after it were quickly apparent. Finch’s hitting at the Ageas Bowl showed what was possible when he was allowed to unleash the more destructive side of his cricketing nature, bludgeoning perfectly respectable bowling to all parts of the ground.Others were similarly liberated, from George Bailey, who excelled in India on the following tour, to Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell. At the same time the likes of Maxwell and Steven Smith were encouraged to make the most of their outlandish talent, even if it meant playing a shot an over rather than one a ball.”I think what’s important from the coach and the captain is you’ve got so much confidence in when you tell them how you think you’re playing and the strategy you’re going with, they back you 100%,” Finch said of Lehmann and Michael Clarke. “That does give you a lot of confidence, because you know if you miss out a couple of times that you’re not just going to be moved to the side and, I suppose, go back to Shield cricket and try and work your way back up.”They have confidence in you and confidence in your game plan. You’ve seen that in the way Australia have played over the past two years. It’s attacking, it’s taking the game on. When the game’s there to be won, it’s generally the team that attacks the most generally wins…”Finch has been repaid for his earlier efforts by the fact he has been retained throughout this tournament, even if his form dipped badly after an opening hundred against England. At the SCG, he played an uncharacteristically muted innings, but in doing so helped Smith to spread his wings.”It wasn’t my most fluid innings, but it was nice to get through that,” Finch said. “They bowled well early and then I felt like I hit a lot of fielders in that middle part, but to get through that and contribute to big a partnership… Smithy was going so well, he took a lot of pressure off and allowed me to keep just chipping away.”It was a bit of a struggle the whole way through, to be honest. To be able to keep chipping away and not throw it away when it probably would have been easier – there were a couple of times I felt a bit of pressure and wanted to go after one. Just keep soaking it up and make sure we were there as far as we could was satisfying.”Finch at the SCG was Australia at this World Cup: not quite fluent, but ever powerful, and unfailingly determined to see the job through. They, and he, are almost there.

West Indies have been a pretty ordinary ODI team recently, and the absence of some frontline players – especially bowlers – could hit them hard in the World Cup

Bishen Jeswant02-Feb-20159 West Indies’ frontline batsmen (Nos. 1 to 7) have been scoring a duck every nine innings, on average, since 2013. This is the most frequent rate of scoring ducks for batsmen from Test-playing nations. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe batsmen only score a duck every 11 innings, while Indian and Australian batsmen score one every 18 and 16 innings respectively.4 West Indies players from the current World Cup squad who have played more than 100 ODIs each: Marlon Samuels (167), Chris Gayle (263), Denesh Ramdin (120) and Darren Sammy (119). Six of the remaining players have played less than 50 ODIs each, with Jonathan Carter and Sheldon Cottrell having played only five and two respectively.52 Percentage of West Indies’ total wickets since 2013 taken by Dwayne Bravo (53), Sunil Narine (36), Ravi Rampaul (27), Tino Best (15) and Kieron Pollard (6). They have taken 137 of 266 wickets taken by West Indies in this period, but none of them are part of the squad for the upcoming World Cup.45 Marlon Samuels’ batting average in 25 ODIs since 2013, the highest for any West Indian batsman. He has also scored three centuries, the most. However, Darren Bravo has scored the most runs (1098), having played nine more ODIs than Samuels.

1 Number of frontline West Indian bowlers in the current squad who have 100-plus wickets; Jerome Taylor, with 106 wickets, is the only one. Chris Gayle has 158 wickets from 263 ODIs bowling his part-time offspin. Among available bowlers, their highest wicket-taker since 2013 is captain Jason Holder with 37 wickets.

18.7 Chris Gayle’s batting average since 2013, the poorest for any frontline batsman (Nos. 1 to 7) who has played at least 20 innings in this period. Each of the other 60 batsmen who have played at least 20 innings in this period average more than 20.1 Number of times West Indies have made it to the semi-finals in the last seven editions of the World Cup. Every other top-eight nation, except England, has played in at least three semi-finals. England have played in two (1987 and 1992), winning both, but going on to lose both subsequent finals.16-16 West Indies’ win-loss record in the last five World Cups. Every other top-eight nation has won more matches than they have lost.8 West Indies’ bowlers concede a boundary every eight balls, when bowling in the last ten overs of an ODI innings (since 2013). This is the lowest frequency at which bowlers from any Test-nation concedes boundaries at this stage of an ODI. England, Bangladesh and New Zealand concede boundaries most frequently.28.6 Average opening stand for West Indies since 2013, the second worst for any Test team after New Zealand (21.2). They have eight 50-plus stands in this period, with only New Zealand (5) and Zimbabwe (4) having fewer.

Lee Carsley has been praised for the England team he selected to play the Republic of Ireland and the tactical tweaks he made in the 2-0 win.

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• England beat Republic of Ireland 2-0
• Carsley praised for team selection
• Interim boss lauded for tactical tweaks

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Following England's Nations League win over Ireland on Saturday, former Arsenal striker Ian Wright praised interim boss Carsley for selecting left winger Anthony Gordon and encouraging the Newcastle United man to run in behind the defence – something he believes the Three Lions have been lacking.

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  WHAT IAN WRIGHT SAID

  He said on ITV Sport: “Very, very impressive from England. I thought Ireland would have be a lot tighter to them. But saying that, they have been passing into areas. Passing it with pace and passing it through the lines. You saw with the first goal, it was a brilliant run from Anthony Gordon. Even with Harry Kane in the middle. You are seeing somebody who is willing to run in behind, which is something we haven’t had in a while. Then you flood the box, good effort from Harry Kane, but then Declan Rice, who has been making that late break into the box all day, making those late runs, has come in again. It’s the run from Gordon. The fact that Trent Alexander-Arnold has got so much time on the ball (to play a ball over the top). I think Gordon should score this (one-v-one). He did a great interview (before the game) about what he wanted to do and those chances he has to take. In the end, they got the ball back in and then bam, Declan scores a fantastic goal.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  After Gareth Southgate's England tenure – which brought the Three Lions the closest to winning a major trophy since their 1966 World Cup triumph – expectations are high for caretaker boss Carsley to hit the ground running with this talented group of players. If he does well, he could be given the job on a permanent basis.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Carsley's England side continue their Nations League campaign on Tuesday against Finland, before taking on Greece and the Finns again on October 10 and 13 respectively in the same competition.

Lionesses star Lucy Bronze has revealed the 'fate' conversation that led her to Chelsea, a move she believes has pleased England boss Sarina Wiegman.

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• Bronze joined Chelsea from Barcelona this summer
• England star explains conversation that led to move
• And why Lionesses boss Wiegman is 'happy'

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Bronze joined the Blues this summer after leaving Barcelona, where she won two Champions League titles in two seasons. Reports suggested that both the player and the club wanted to continue together when her contract came up in Catalunya, but Bronze's desire for more game time led her elsewhere.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  It was a surprise move in some ways, because Chelsea already have two top-level right-backs in the squad, in Eve Perisset and Ashley Lawrence. However, Bronze has now revealed the conversation she had with the Blues' new head coach, Sonia Bompastor, and her assistant, Camille Abily, when they were in charge of the Lyon side that faced Barcelona in the Champions League final in May, one which persuaded her to move back to England.

• WHAT BRONZE SAID

  "I was ready for a new challenge. I hadn't really thought too much about my future. No matter who I play for I'm 100 per cent focused on it to the end," Bronze told . "It was at the Champions League final I spoke to Cammy and Sonia, people I'm friends with. I'd heard the rumours [about them going to Chelsea] and said, 'Oh, I hear you want to live in London'. I said you'll love it in England and Chelsea's such a great team – and they were like: 'Why don't you come?'

  "I said they didn't need me, but they said they'd love to have me come in. 'It would help us; you've just won the Champions League and we want to bring that to the club.' A couple of days later, I was like: 'Let's go. Get me the plane ticket, get me the shirt, I'm sold.' It was fate."

  Arsenal, in 2007, are the only English club to have been crowned European champions on the women's side. However, Bronze is hopeful that the experience she, Bompastor and Abily have of winning the Champions League – the latter two having done so as both players and coaches with Lyon – can end that wait for another English champion.

  "Bringing the Champions League back to this country would be a huge success and would make women's football even better," she said. "The team's good enough and adding Sonia and Cammy's experience as both coaches and players that have won it is a huge thing. They aren't afraid to talk about it and make the demands it takes to get to a final so hopefully this is the year we break that brick wall down."

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  When Bronze had to leave an England camp early to have her medical with Chelsea, she initially teased Lionesses boss Wiegman by not telling her which club she was signing for. "I told her, 'You'll find out like everyone else'," she said. But the defender believes her national team coach is "happy" that she is back in her home country because "the more England players are playing together, the better".

Chelsea bounced back from a disappointing 2-2 draw away to bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United to beat struggling Everton 6-0 in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge emphatically.

It was a ruthless performance from Mauricio Pochettino’s side from start to finish, with the Blues 4-0 up at half-time, thanks to a perfect hat-trick from Cole Palmer, and a very well-taken goal from Nicolas Jackson.

The second half saw Chelsea add a fifth from the penalty spot thanks to Palmer once again before boyhood Chelsea fan Alfie Gilchrist scored his first goal for the club.

From an Everton point of view, their misery continues, with their only win in 2024 coming last weekend against Burnley. They are now just two points clear of the relegation zone, and a huge crunch match against Forest next weekend at Goodison Park.

“10/10” Palmer continues to shine

After Monday night's display, it is easy to see why Chelsea’s number 20 is nicknamed ‘Cold’ Palmer; he was the calmest man in Stamford Bridge, despite a hectic first half an hour when he scored his hat-trick.

All four of his goals were well taken for different reasons. The first was individual brilliance, nutmegging the defender before cutting inside and finishing well into the far corner. His second was a header, and whilst it may seem like an easier goal, he showed good attacking instinct to sniff out the chance and finish a good team move.

To complete his perfect trio of goals, Palmer pounced on a loose pass from Jordan Pickford before audaciously lobbing him from 35 yards. His fourth was a penalty, which was well finished into the bottom right corner, but it was not so simple to stay focused, with Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson both arguing their case to be the taker.

Aside from his four goals, Palmer ran the show, completing three out of four dribbles, and winning five out of eight ground duels, according to Sofascore.

He also completed the most final third passes on the pitch, with 15/19, as per Stats Zone, with the young English talent showcasing his skill and creativity, as well as his instinct in front of goal, to put in one of the best performances by anyone in the Premier League all season.

It was probably the easiest 10/10 rating anyone will give out this season. Goal.com’s Matt O'Connor-Simpson described Palmer’s performances as “such a pleasure to watch” and explained how he showed he “has the finishing touch” to his game.

It was a perfect performance from Palmer, who is making a strong case to win both Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year in the Premier League.

He now has 20 goals and nine assists in the Premier League this season, and an incredible 15 goal involvements in his last seven Chelsea games in all competitions. Palmer is now level with Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot and does not seem like slowing down any time soon.

Not only was Monday’s game memorable for Palmer, but it is a night that will live long in the memory of Chelsea’s young defender, Gilchrist.

Alfie Gilchrist also deserves the hype

A boyhood Blues fan, Gilchrist has had a few first-team opportunities under Pochettino this season but this was his biggest impact yet, sensationally managing to register his first goal for the club, as well as completing 100% of his passes after appearing from the bench in the dying embers of the game.

It was a well-taken finish, following in a rebound and driving a volley past Pickford and into the back of the net for Chelsea’s sixth. Cue incredible celebrations from the 20-year-old, who ran over to the corner flag to celebrate with the equally ecstatic fans.

It was summed up perfectly by football presenter Dougie Critchley on X when he described the moment as a “mad, unhinged, sweet release of emotion, where you lose control of your body and inhibitions for a few seconds."

It was an incredibly emotional moment for Gilchrist, a chance for him to show all his love and passion for Chelsea Football Club, and what it means to score for his club. That is exactly what football is about. There are many dark moments in a player’s career, but to experience a high like that must be an incredible feeling, and Gilchrist did not hold back with his incredible celebration.

It was a fabulous late showing from the youngster and aged just 20, he could be the next hyped-up youngster to emerge from the Chelsea ranks. That said, a start next time around unfortunately seems unlikely.

Indeed, next up for the Blues is the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City, where they will be hoping to reach their second final under Pochettino and right the wrongs of their Carabao Cup final defeat in February. They are certainly going into the game full of confidence, and one of the Premier League’s best players.

Victor Osimhen is linking up with Galatasaray on loan, but the Nigeria international could still join Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool in January.

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• Nigerian striker severing ties with Napoli
• Has agreed switch to Turkish heavyweights
• Break clause can be triggered by 10 clubs

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Nigeria international is taking on a new challenge in Turkey after deciding to bring an end to his Serie A title-winning spell at Napoli. Osimhen has dominated gossip columns across several transfer windows, with a number of potential landing spots being speculated on.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  He was linked with teams in England and Saudi Arabia over the summer, but Napoli’s demands saw no deals done. The 25-year-old will now join Galatasaray on an agreement that sees them paying all of his £176,000-a-week wage in return for stumping up no loan fee.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Osimhen has been given a raucous welcome to Turkey, but claims that he could be gone in a matter of months. That is because the Nigerian frontman has requested that a break clause be inserted in his loan contract that can be activated at the start of 2025.

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• WHAT NEXT?

  It is claimed that 10 clubs will be able to trigger that clause – as Napoli drop their asking price demands to £63 million ($83m) – with Premier League giants Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool among those that can step in and lure a proven performer away from Istanbul. Osimhen would also welcome the opportunity to link up with Bayern talisman Harry Kane in Germany if the Bundesliga giants expressed interest.

Rangers legend Ally Mccoist has admitted that he was shocked his former side opted not to move for a true number nine in January following their issues in front of goal this season, likening current front man Cyriel Dessers to Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson.

Rangers striker options split opinion

It is no secret that Philippe Clement is not blessed at the top of the pitch as it stands. Dessers has been hit and miss since his arrival, with 13 goals in 30 Scottish Premiership appearances but a better record across all competitions. It led to Rangers drafting in Fabio Silva on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers in January, but he has also struggled.

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Though his endeavour cannot be questioned, his return of two goals in 13 games certainly can be, and with Rangers struggling to find the back of the net with concerning regularity this season, change seems inevitable this summer.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast on behalf of talkSPORT BET, Rangers legend Ally McCoist weighed in on the situation, admitting that the fans are split on their current no.9 options.

"I think the fans are kind of split. Silva's work rate is first class and Dessers scored two goals at the weekend [against Hearts]. His goal return has actually been good, but I think a lot of the fans perhaps feel that in many ways, he's maybe a wee bit like Nicolas Jackson at Chelsea whose goal return is acceptable but could be greater."

McCoist picks Shankland alternative

There was plenty of speculation that Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland would be making the switch to Ibrox in January, with McCoist labelling it the "obvious choice" for the Glasgow giants. Shankland leads the goalscoring charts this season, with 28 goals in all competitions for Hearts, and has forced his way into Steve Clarke's Scotland squad ahead of this summer's European Championships.

"I'll be honest, I thought that if they were going to sign another centre forward, they should probably have done it in the [January] window, and I think that Lawrence Shankland would have been the obvious choice", he told FFC.

"Shankland I think this season he's sitting on 28 goals or 29 goals, which is a fantastic return and I was a little bit surprised, I've not been privy to the financial knowledge at the club, maybe they couldn't afford it I don't know, but at that particular time in the window it seemed the sensible move for Rangers to make."

But though McCoist bemoaned Rangers' failure to move for the marksman, he did also identify an alternative this summer in the form of free-scoring Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski, who he labelled "terrific".

Though less prolific than his Hearts counterpart, Miovski has nonetheless managed to notch up 24 goals this season across all competitions, including four in Europe. Four years younger than Shankland, could he be the man Rangers opt for this summer to ease their goalscoring woes?

Tottenham are thought to have "tempted" a £47 million star ahead of the summer window as an "affordable" transfer presents itself to chairman Daniel Levy.

Spurs tipped to sign new attacker for Ange Postecoglou

The £15 million buy-option in Timo Werner's loan deal is expected to be triggered, but that hasn't stopped Spurs from looking elsewhere to bring in even more attacking options.

Sky journalist – £60m defender ready for transfer and could join Tottenham

Ange wants to bolster his backline even more.

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Emilio Galantini

Apr 10, 2024

The German will reportedly be one of multiple new forwards Spurs may look to sign for Ange Postecoglou this summer, as the Lilywhites and technical director Johan Lange seek to bring in more avenues threat.

Fabrizio Romano, speaking to JD Football last month, claimed that a priority for Tottenham is bringing in a player who can make a real contribution to goals and assists in the final third.

“Look, a player they appreciate for a long time is Raphinha from Barcelona. We know the financial situation at Barcelona is not easy, so he could be one of the names. They will look at that kind of player," said Romano on Tottenham's forward targets.

"Another player they appreciate is Pedro Neto, but he has this issue with his injuries, so I’m not sure Liverpool, Tottenham or the other clubs following the player will be prepared to play big money for Pedro Neto this summer. That kind of player is the priority for Tottenham, I see them going for that kind of winger, a quality player to help with goals and assists."

Alongside the aforementioned Neto and Raphinha, who's been regularly mentioned via the press, another player to have entered Spurs' radar lately is Athletic Bilbao starlet Nico Williams.

The 21-year-old, who's bagged three goals and eight assists over his 24 La Liga appearances this season, appears to fit into Tottenham's transfer policy. His young age is another enticing draw, as Williams showcases plenty of potential and serious re-sale value.

Following links to the winger, another update has come out of Spain.

Williams tempted by Tottenham as "affordable" option emerges

According to newspaper AS, via Sport Witness, he is seen as "affordable" for Spurs chairman Levy and other interested sides – with his release clause coming at around £47 million.

Tottenham are said to have "tempted" Williams alongside both Liverpool and Aston Villa, as the race for his signature heats up before this summer window opens.

Pundit John Wenham, speaking to Tottenham News, described the youngster as a player who gets involved in "big games" and possesses "real pace".