Tottenham Hotspur sporting director Fabio Paratici enjoyed an impressive summer window having secured eight major deals, although one figure who the Italian could not land was that of current Newcastle United star, Alexander Isak.

Reports as far back as May had suggested that the Sweden international was a player on the radar of the Lilywhites, following his impressive displays at former club Real Sociedad where he netted 44 goals in 132 games for the La Liga side.

As it proved, the north London outfit ultimately secured a £60m deal for Everton talisman Richarlison, with Isak instead opting to secure a late move to St James’ Park, with the Magpies forking out a reported, club-record fee of around £59m for the 22-year-old.

Although the decision to land the Brazilian from Goodison Park has paid off for Antonio Conte’s side – with the versatile forward having scored twice and registered two assists already this term – there may well be a sense of regret at not also splashing the cash on the promising Swede.

Conte himself has only recently voiced his frustration at not having made further investment over the summer, with the serial-winning coach suggesting that a gulf still remains between his side and the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.

The addition of Isak could well have helped to provide even greater competition for places in the forward ranks at N17, with there likely to still be concern if leading man Harry Kane is struck down by injury in the near future.

The highly-rated youngster has already caught the eye in his early stint with the Tynesiders, having scored twice in just three league outings under Eddie Howe, including firing in from the penalty spot in the recent draw with Bournemouth.

The £45m-rated asset had notably impressed on debut in the narrow defeat at Anfield, lashing in a devastating effort past a helpless Alisson to give the visitors a shock early lead, before showing remarkable composure to fire in another clinical finish after the break, only to see the goal subsequently chalked off for offside.

Such a display showcased just why the 37-cap menace has been lauded as “unplayable” by ESPN’s David Cartlidge, having also been dubbed an “exceptional talent” by pundit and former Spurs striker Gary Lineker last year.

The 6 foot 4 powerhouse looks likely to go on to play a pivotal role for the northeast side both this season and beyond, with those back in the capital likely to be left ruing their failure not get him in the door at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

As talkSPORT’s Jason Cundy recently suggested, he could well go on to be worth £100m in the near future.

West Ham United’s triumph over plucky Danish outfit Silkeborg on Thursday evening saw defender Craig Dawson make his first start of the season, with the Englishman having only recently made his return from a thigh injury.

The former Watford man’s sole outing prior to that had come as a late substitute in the win over FC Steaua Bucharest a week earlier, with it having been a welcome sight to see the 32-year-old come out unscathed during last night’s victory.

The typically reliable centre-back marked the occasion with a header late in the first half to put the Hammers firmly in control, with that effort eventually proving vital as the visitors were forced to hold off a late rally to claim a hard-fought three points.

Such an impact has seemingly become the norm for the old-fashioned “warrior” – as described by manager David Moyes – with the £2.7m-rated man having recorded an impressive haul of nine goals in 76 appearances for the east Londoners since his arrival just over two years ago.

While something of an unglamorous addition at the time, the £42.5k-per-week colossus has since become a real cult figure among the club’s support, having notably played a crucial role in the surge to the Europa League semi-final last season – earning a place in the UEFA Team of the Season as a result of that impressive form.

His importance to the side has also been illustrated as a result of his absence in the early weeks of the season, with the London Stadium outfit having picked up just four points from their opening six league games, with the defence having been a particular issue thus far.

An injury to summer signing Nayef Aguerd during pre-season left Moyes distinctly short of options at the heart of the backline, with veteran gem Angelo Ogbonna only recently returning from a long-term injury, while Issa Diop sealed a switch to newly-promoted Fulham.

Although Thilo Kehrer has somewhat eased those concerns after joining from Paris Saint-Germain, there still appears to be a real need for Dawson in the side, with it having been a wise decision from sporting director Rob Newman not to sanction his departure over the summer.

The one-time West Bromwich Albion man had seemingly been keen on a return to the Midlands and appeared close to making a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers on deadline day, only for West Ham to pull the plug after failing to secure a replacement in the form of Jan Bednarek.

That failed move has seemingly proved a blessing in his disguise, with Moyes badly needing a fully-fit Dawson back in his side on a regular basis.

Newcastle United have had a mixed start to the 2022/23 Premier League campaign as Eddie Howe’s side currently sit 11th in the table after six matches played.

The Magpies have only won one of their games this season but have also lost only once, with four draws taking them to seven points as it stands.

One of their standout performers in the top-flight so far has been Brazilian central midfielder Joelinton. The enforcer has averaged a superb SofaScore rating of 7.23, making 4.5 tackles and interceptions per game.

This comes after he averaged 3.1 tackles and interceptions per match in the 2021/22 campaign. He was converted into a midfielder midway through the season by Howe, after struggling whilst playing out wide or as a striker, and has been a machine in the middle of the park ever since.

Newcastle could now land their next Joelinton by securing a January deal to sign Vasco de Gama midfielder Andrey Santos, who is a reported target for the club ahead of the next transfer window.

The Brazilian outfit are said to be demanding a fee in the region of £30m for the teenager and that the Magpies may be willing to meet that price tag heading into the second half of the campaign.

Santos is a defensive-minded battler in the middle of the park, like Newcastle’s Joelinton, and has shown great promise in his short career to date. In Serie B in 2022, the 18-year-old has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.17 across 24 appearances – making 3.7 tackles and interceptions per match.

The gem has won 60% of his individual duels, showing that he is not bullied by experienced professionals in spite of his age, and has also chipped in with five goals.

He would also suit Howe’s style of play at St. James’ Park. The Toon boss wants his team to press aggressively and high up the pitch and football talent scout Jacek Kulig described him as a “pressing machine”, whilst also dubbing him a “fantastic” talent.

This suggests that he is capable of operating effectively in that position for the Magpies as his style suits the way that Howe wants his side to play out of possession.

Joelinton is a similar player in the sense that he also excels at this part of the game. Journalist Chris Waugh stated that he “was everywhere” against Manchester United earlier this year and Mark Douglas named him as one of the Newcastle players who made the team’s pressing a “joy to watch”.

Therefore, Dan Ashworth and Howe could unearth their next tough-tackling, high-intensity, Brazilian presser in midfield by signing Santos in January.

Everton confirmed another exit yesterday as Brazilian midfielder Allan joined United Arab Emirates club Al-Wahda on a permanent move away from Merseyside, and now Frank Lampard can concentrate on the next few months ahead in the Premier League.

Allan’s future at the club was hanging in the balance after the player failed to make a single appearance over the season so far, and it was clear his days were numbered after the club signed several new midfielders over the summer.

Amadou Onana, James Garner and Idrissa Gana Gueye all joined the Goodison Park outfit to compete for spots in the centre of the pitch in Lampard’s team and now that Allan is out of the picture, it could be the perfect opportunity for former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Gueye to lead the midfield.

Both Onana and Garner are just 21 years old and finding their feet in their positions, so having a senior player in the central role to not only guide them over the season ahead but offer experience and leadership will be an absolute dream for Lampard.

The Toffees boss has already gushed over the signing of Gueye hailing the 33-year-old following the player’s appearance in the Merseyside Derby:

“Idrissa Gana Gueye immediately displayed the experience and quality he will give us in his substitute appearance,” said Lampard.

“He’s fitted in like he’s never been away and will be a big player for us.”

The talented AFCON winner who was dubbed a “machine” by Mauricio Pochettino last season, ranks in the top 3% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for pass completion, as well as ranking in the top 10% for pressures and passes attempted.

With that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that the Liverpool Echo’s Joe Rimmer once claimed he is “absolutely everywhere,” as he galivants about the pitch in swashbuckling fashion.

Over his two appearances for Everton so far, Gueye has tallied up a 94% pass completion rate in his half, making 2.5 interceptions and one tackle per game, as well as winning the large majority of his ground and aerial duels combined (83%).

With that being said, now that Allan has left the club Lampard must finally unleash Gueye in the team to allow him to build solid midfield partnerships with Onana, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Garner over the season ahead. Indeed, he could be a really effective presence and influence for Everton.

West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek desperately needs to recapture his excellent past form to aid the Hammers’ struggles, according to journalist Paul Brown.

The Lowdown: Soucek suffers dip

The Czech has been a superb signing for the east Londoners overall, arriving from Slavia Prague in 2020 and becoming a hugely influential figure. Declan Rice has called him ‘unbelievable’ in the past, such is his quality.

That being said, Soucek’s performances of late have been a far cry from his former displays, with only one goal coming his way so far this season, and his all-round ability flattering to deceive.

It has undoubtedly played a negative role in West Ham sitting 18th in the Premier League table, in what has been a poor start to the campaign.

The Latest: Journalist makes plea

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Brown said Soucek needs to get back to his best in order to help the Hammers get over this current slump:

“He really needs to start producing. Because they didn’t sign a major name in his position, I don’t think his position is too under threat now at West Ham.

“Maybe that’s a bit too cosy and safe for him, but he certainly needs to start performing.”

The Verdict: He will be back

All footballers are only human, so Soucek’s noticeable dip is something that can happen to anyone and it shouldn’t lead to overreactions from supporters.

There is no doubt that the 27-year-old is a shadow of the player who netted 10 league goals in 2020/21, however, with opponents struggling to handle his physicality and aerial dominance.

Soucek is too good a player not to return to his peak level at some point – David Moyes will certainly be hoping it is soon, though, as pressure grows on him by the week.

Aston Villa mustered just their second Premier League win of the season in their last outing, with a 1-0 victory over Southampton easing the mounting pressure on Steven Gerrard heading into the international break.

There were huge levels of anticipation before the season started, with Johan Lange and Gerrard working well together to bring in a number of quality players. Indeed, the likes of Boubacar Kamara, Diego Carlos and Philippe Coutinho all arrived at Villa Park on permanent deals this summer.

These signings didn’t automatically translate into excellent performances, however, with Gerrard’s side winning just once from their opening six league matches.

And, with the 42-year-old having just two senior strikers to call upon in Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins – who have scored only three goals between them all season – missing out on signing a centre forward in the summer could come back to haunt the club.

Lange left red-faced after not signing Gabriel Barbosa

Villa have been linked with Gabriel Barbosa for close to a year, with 90min reporting that the Midlands side were keen on signing him midway through last season.

However, a move ultimately did not materialise, and with the Brazilian highly impressing over the last few seasons with Flamengo, the Villa Sporting director must be red-faced after deciding against a move for the Brazil international.

Barbosa moved from Inter Milan to Flamengo on a permanent deal in January 2020 and has scored for fun during his spell at the club.

The 26-year-old has netted a truly staggering 109 goals in just 178 matches, leading the team to the Brasileirao title in 2019 and 2020, as well as scoring two goals in just three minutes to help secure Flamengo’s first Copa Libertadores title for over 40 years back in 2019.

Brazilian icon Zico has lavished praise on the player, saying: “I think Gabigol has everything to be the greatest striker in Flamengo’s history. It’s getting there. His performance got better and better, consolidating himself as one of the greats.”

There’s no doubt a move to the Premier League could take his performances to the next level if he was utilised correctly.

His performances are certainly showing Aston Villa what they are missing, and with Gerrard having to rely on Ings and Watkins for goals, it would appear an extremely wise move for Lange to regitnite his interest come the January transfer window.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has revealed a possible inclusion for winger Bryan Gil in tonight’s Champions League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Lowdown: Lack of game time

Having joined Spurs on a permanent deal last summer, the Spaniard was sent out on loan to Valencia for the second half of last season, where he made 13 appearances in La Liga.

The 21-year-old was seemingly set to return to Spain again this season, but a deal fell through at the last minute.

Consequently, stuck at Hotspur Way, the winger is yet to play a single minute of football for Tottenham thus far this season.

The Latest: Conte’s news

Ahead of Spurs’ Champions League clash against Frankfurt, Conte took to his press conference to give his assessment of Gil, revealing he may play a part in the fixture.

As quoted by football.london, the Italian admitted:

“Still in the squad, Bryan Gil. Tomorrow he is the first option for our attack. Kulusevski is out. Moura is out. Moura will be out for a long time. It was the same for Kulusevski. We are talking about a young player a good prospect. We wanted to send him on loan to Valencia but the situation has changed. I trust in him, he is working very well. If we need the possibility to give him time, I trust him. He could play.”

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The Verdict: Good prospect for the future

When looking at Gil’s underlying stats for the past year, it is fair to say the youngster has shown glimpses of promise for the future.

As per FBRef, compared with positional peers across Europe, the winger ranks in the 94th percentile for pressures per 90 and in the 88th percentile for dribbles completed, implying he is finally adding the physicality and directness Conte wants alongside his obvious technical skills.

With statistical comparisons to the likes of AC Milan’s Brahim Diaz and Everton’s Anthony Gordon, the 21-year-old certainly has the attacking flair to make it at the top level of European football.

Therefore, if Conte does end up giving him minutes against Frankfurt this evening, this will be a huge opportunity for the youngster to show Tottenham fans what he can do.

Tottenham Hotspur star Ivan Perisic has been criticised after his ‘poor game’ in their 0-0 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.

The Lowdown: Spurs share spoils…

The Premier League side were forced to share their spoils after 90 minutes of struggling to find any sort of breakthrough.

Chances weren’t exactly hard to come by, but on a night of mis-firing, the likes of Son Heung-min, Harry Kane and Richarlison couldn’t quite find the finishing touch.

Indeed, Antonio Conte’s side racked up 11 attempts at goal in total but only two of them were on target (SofaScore), summing up the away side’s lack of cutting edge in the final third.

As such, Spurs remain level on points with Frankfurt in Group D but currently sit second due to their superior goal difference.

The Latest: Perisic criticised…

Taking to social media, football writer Andrew Gaffney has criticised summer signing Perisic for his ‘poor game’ against the German side on Tuesday evening.

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He explained:

“I thought Sess did well when he came on as Perisic had a very poor game.”

The Verdict: Off-day…

The Croatia international was withdrawn for Ryan Sessegnon with just under 20 minutes remaining, being the first of Conte’s array of subs in an effort to change the game (SofaScore).

That tactical change from the Spurs boss perhaps sums up an off-night for Perisic, who lost possession 16 times in total and found success with just one out of five crosses from out wide (SofaScore).

It appears the 33-year-old, who has been a brilliant acquisition for Spurs overall since joining from Inter Milan, was lacking that bit of ruthlessness as well as Kane, Son and Richarlison.

Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth has provided an update on Brendan Rodgers’ future at Leicester City.

The Lowdown: International break rumours

The Foxes headed into the international break rock bottom of the Premier League with six defeats from seven.

A 6-2 defeat to Spurs led to speculation of Rodgers being sacked during the international break, with Fabrizio Romano stating there would be internal discussions at The King Power Stadium.

As we know, Rodgers is still in charge, with reports suggesting that it could cost the club £10m in compensation to part ways with the Northern Irishman.

The Latest: Sheth’s comments

Talking to GiveMeSport, Sheth said he’s been ‘told’ by a ‘source’ that it will actually be ‘very difficult’ for the club to part ways with Rodgers due to their ‘financial issues’.

“One source has told me that it will be very difficult to actually sack Brendan Rodgers anyway because Leicester have got a lot of financial issues, which Brendan Rodgers even alluded to during the transfer window.

“We all know what happened with Leicester during the transfer window as well. Even though they brought in so much money by selling Wesley Fofana and getting Kasper Schmeichel’s wages off the bill, they only brought in one outfield player for a cost of around £12-15million. It was a really, really quiet transfer window as far as Leicester are concerned.”

The Verdict: Final life?

The Foxes only recently escaped sanctions from UEFA regarding financial fair play, so their off-field worries may have saved Rodgers’ job.

However, if there are no immediate improvements, then the club may decide to pull the plug no matter what the cost, leaving Rodgers on his final life.

The likes of Sean Dyche, Thomas Frank and Rafael Benitez have all been linked as possible Rodgers replacements, but it seems as if he’ll be in the dugout against Nottingham Forest next Monday.

Crystal Palace haven’t had the best start to their Premier League campaign and could end up in the relegation zone if Nottingham Forest beat Leicester City tonight as Patrick Vieira’s side lost to Chelsea on Saturday.

The Palace boss will be trying to find the solutions in his squad to start picking up points over the season ahead, but he may now need to wait until the January transfer window to fix some of the problems at Selhurst Park.

Last season Crystal Palace broke club records for their defensive performances in the Premier League, conceding a record-low number of goals over the campaign (46) and kept a joint-club record of 12 clean sheets too.

However, over the campaign so far the Eagles have only kept one clean sheet out of their first seven outings and their regular concession of goals is leaving them teetering on the edge of the relegation zone already.

As a result, the powers at the club could regret their decision not to complete the signing of Manchester United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka as the season progresses.

The £83k-per-week defender was linked with making a move back to his former club this summer with Sky Sports reporting that Palace were interested in reuniting with the player on loan, however, nothing materialised before the transfer window slammed shut at the beginning of September.

Wan-Bissaka ranks in the top 3% of his positional peers over the top five European leagues for interceptions, blocks and dribbles completed, as well as ranking in the top 20% for pass completion. Indeed, he proved last season that he could be the perfect man to replace Joel Ward.

The 24-year-old outperformed the Palace right-back in many attributes including shot-creating actions per 90 (1.56 v 0.62) and blocked shots (56 v 53).

He also had a better pass completion rate (83.5% v 80%) despite playing eight fewer league games.

It shows that Wan-Bissaka isn’t just more creative, but he’s also more composed in possession of the ball, two elements of the game that are crucial to optimising Vieira’s exciting style of play.

The talented defender has been the recipient of high praise with Ole Gunnar Solksjaer labelling Wan Bissaka “top-notch”, whilst Wes Brown waxed lyrical over him in an interview with Sky Sports, saying:

“What else can you say about Aaron Wan-Bissaka? I’ve not really seen many like him and that’s the honest truth. Defensively, in one-on-ones, he’s definitely one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

With that being said, Vieira might get a second chance at signing Wan-Bissaka when you consider that Erik ten Hag has only given him one appearance this season. Thus, if the opportunity arises in January, Crystal Place must do everything to bring the player back to Selhurst Park. He would be a seismic upgrade on Ward and a player that could take the Eagles to the next level.