Sam Preston Archives: 02/2019

Fatigue in the wake of the World Cup has hampered Tottenham’s small squad all season but a mid-season break may come at the perfect time ahead of the run-in.

Jed Steer could be thrust onto centre stage for Aston Villa if Lovre Kalinic hasn’t recovered from concussion in time to face Stoke tomorrow.

Defender Antonio Raillo says Nottingham Forest wanted him last month to boost their promotion push but he turned the opportunity down.

Rafa Benitez is playing a political game with Mike Ashley at Newcastle United and interest from Leicester may give him the upper hand.

Matteo Guendouzi has made a good impact at Arsenal this season but selling him in a big-money deal to PSG could give Unai Emery the money he needs to reshape his Gunners squad.

Celtic performed admirably against Valencia last night despite losing 1-0 and exiting the Europa League, and Scott Bain caught the eye.

Sergio Rico wants to come back to England next season but has hinted that he doesn’t want it to be with Fulham if they get relegated.

Celtic already had a mountain to climb when they travelled to Valencia 2-0 down from the first leg and the first-half dismissal of Jeremy Toljan made the task even tougher.

Aston Villa let Callum Robinson go as a raw young player and he is now showing his former employers what they’re missing, despite being sidelined for much of the season.

Rafa Benitez and Mike Ashley are still at an impasse over who will be the manager of Newcastle United next season but relegation would mean it isn’t the Spaniard.

Adama Traore has been underwhelming since his summer transfer to Wolves but he is not a centre-forward, which is where Nuno Santo wants him to play.

Barcelona and Liverpool are both potentially trying to replace Philippe Coutinho with Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar.

Real Madrid want to use Gareth Bale as a bargaining chip to land Christian Eriksen, but Tottenham should do all they can to keep the Dane.

Calum Chambers has been playing in midfield for Fulham but hopes that experience can help him improve as a central defender.

Marko Arnautovic’s January transfer wrangle puts the emphasis on Manuel Pellegrini to find other creative influences he can rely on.