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Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho faced the potential of squad unrest last month, it has been revealed by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare.

What’s he said?

The Spurs boss’ comments on club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele caused a divide of opinion amongst the dressing room after he twice commented on the 23-year-old’s injury situation in the public eye.

Following the New Year’s Day defeat to Southampton, Mourinho described the Frenchman as “always injured” before adding fuel to the fire several weeks later by suggesting “he was not injured but not feeling in a condition to play” after defeating Brighton & Hove Albion.

It has now been divulged that several members of the squad were unhappy with his remarks, whilst others were supportive, thus causing a split of opinion.

Eccleshare said this week:

“Publicly calling Ndombele out did not go down well with some members of the squad, The Athletic understands. Those uncomfortable about it felt that Mourinho would have been better off dealing with the issue privately and that it should have been more of a discussion between the head coach and the club’s medical staff.

“Others at the club, however, were supportive of Mourinho’s position and felt concern at Ndombele’s lack of conditioning and general fitness levels.”

Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic.

Divisive figure

It’s not the first time that the £55m midfielder has caused a divide at Spurs as fans have been regularly discussing his impact – or lack of – this campaign.

Many were pointing out his lack of fitness against Southampton in their FA Cup fourth round replay this week while some saw the long-term potential in his locker.

His performance against Norwich City, the game in between Mourinho’s two remarks, also drew serious praise on social media with supporters talking him up.

Eccleshare even alludes to members of the Spurs hierarchy being of the same belief as the fanbase as neither party can work out the puzzling debate surrounding the box-to-box midfielder.

Ndombele has played 22 matches this season but has averaged just 54 minutes per game, even despite starting 15 times, per Transfermarkt.

Mourinho’s erratic nature in the press often leads to him becoming a viral figure on social media, but as seen with this debacle, it could potentially toy with the harmony amongst his Spurs squad as well.

And in other news, Spurs chasing Serie A hotshot once likened to former target Pablo Dybala…

In a video only recently gone viral on social media, David Luiz takes up the role of court jester by pranking several of his teammates on the coach.

It’s a part of the silliness and fun-loving nature of the Brazilian that has seemingly made him part of the furniture at the Emirates just a few months after joining the club in a £8m deal in the summer.

The centre-back has no doubt had a rocky spell on-the-pitch, getting run ragged by Mohamed Salah as he conceded a penalty against Liverpool, and getting sent off against former side Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

But under Mikel Arteta, he appears to be thriving as one of the side’s main leaders, and his performances have gone up a notch too.

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In the Gunners’ stand-out victory so far under their new Spanish head coach, Luiz was at the heart of the back-line that kept United’s attack quiet. As per Whoscored, he finished with a 7.19 match rating, made one tackle and interception apiece, and delivered 11 accurate long balls too – the latter stat being a season-high.

As well as his more assured displays at the back, Luiz is also seemingly playing a key role in the development of Arsenal starlet Gabriel Martinelli. The teenager arrived from Ituano last summer, and has enjoyed an astonishing start to life in north London with ten goals to his name across all competitions.

Whilst the winger himself can no doubt take most of the credit, Luiz has surely played a part in how quickly he seems to have settled in. In a video posted on the club’s official Instagram account (via Football.London), Martinelli can be seen embracing his Brazilian compatriot, before re-sharing the footage with the caption “thank you for everything big hair”.

Can you get full marks on the Ultimate Arsenal Quiz? Test your knowledge below…

It’s an older-brother like mentality that Arteta has insisted he is keen to further grow and utilise. He said: “He’s a player that has won more trophies than anybody else in that dressing room. We have to use that in a very powerful way. I wanted him to step up, I wanted him to put all his qualities – his personality and his experience – towards the team and he made a big step forward. I am very, very pleased with him.”

His years of title-winning experience at the likes of PSG and Chelsea, and his jovial personality, has already made him a key part of the dressing room at Arsenal. After losing the likes of Petr Cech, Aaron Ramsey, Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal last summer, Luiz has helped to fill a massive void in his own unique and inimitable way.

Meanwhile, this Arsenal star has delivered an update on his future.

The end of every season usually sees at least one Premier League newcomer sink back from whence they came, and significantly, only three previous Premier League years – 2002, 2012 and 2018 – have seen every promoted Premier League team survive. In all of the other seasons, the usual rhetoric from experts and fans alike has inevitably been about why said team(s) failed – and, in some cases, how the system is still lopsided against those that rise from the depths of the Championship.

Nurture over nature key to survival

Last year, it was this fate which befell promoted duo Fulham and Cardiff, neither of whom could buy a win for vast swathes of the 2018/19 campaign, thanks mainly to being shambolic in defence and attack respectively. Additionally, the third team joining them through the trapdoor was Huddersfield Town, who were themselves in only their second-ever Premier League campaign, and paying the price of their inability to attract the calibre of talents required.

While many people will point to case studies like the Fulham team of last year, the West London club were financially well-equipped to build a top-half squad, even before reaping the prize money from the 2018 promotion playoff final. Ultimately, positive coaching and shrewd recruitment is itself a priceless asset, and one which does not necessarily hinge on whether a team is established or a newcomer to the Premier League. In that respect, 2019 saw Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo take a huge bow, with his squad standing in glorious contrast to the other promoted clubs.

Compared to Fulham, Wolves did not particularly buy big at the start of 2018/19, but simply stuck to the attack-minded football that had emphatically delivered the Championship trophy. With Wolves aptly fronted by Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez, it was a gamble that paid off, and illustrated that dropping deep out of respect for the Premier League’s big guns is now an antiquated way of operating.

Can the Blades sustain their momentum this season?

Frequently praised in Premier League prediction blogs run by experts, Sheffield United are the second of two teams that have gained plaudits against the odds in as many years. However, they could yet do even better than Wolves did last year, and are still in with a shot of becoming the first newly-promoted Premier League club since Nottingham Forest in 1995 to score a top-four finish. While the Blades’ philosophy is based more around organisation than playing at a high tempo, Chris Wilder’s men have been one of the most difficult teams to beat, further underlining the belief that the Championship is finally catching up with the Premier League.

Amongst the Blades’ best traits is the ability to graft for points, with 70% of the ten league wins they took into their winter break arriving by just a one-goal margin. Additionally, Sheffield United’s tally of nine PL clean sheets was bettered only by Liverpool ahead of their 2-1 victory over Bournemouth on 9 February. As a result of that win, Sheffield United are also still unbeaten in home league games where they have found the net since August.

Are more or less teams going down these days?

Only one previous Premier League season (1997/98) has seen all three promoted clubs drop straight back down. Nonetheless, the sense of vulnerability that comes with promotion is a constant, with three of the last five complete seasons seeing two newcomers immediately drop.

The last five complete seasons have thus seen an average of 1.4 newly-promoted clubs suffer relegation, equating to nearly a 47% rate of newcomers undergoing immediate demotion. Though that same period has witnessed Wolves’ surge into Europe, and Leicester winning the title in just the second campaign of their current top-flight stint, it still represents a small but notable rise in relegation amongst newcomers.

In the five seasons prior to that sequence (between 2009/10 and 2013/2014), only five newly-promoted teams out of fifteen dropped straight away. In practice, that means just one promoted team per-season going down on average over the stated period.

Are big clubs more or less immune to the drop?

With such an increase in newly-promoted casualties over the past ten years, the default deduction would be that ‘big’ clubs are more immune to the drop than ever. However, that itself has proven false, with 2016 marking the first relegation of a (then) Premier League ever-present (Aston Villa), twelve years after Leeds United lost their own ‘ever-present’ status.

Indeed, the Leeds squad of 2004 is just one of several prime examples of how being an established Premier League club has no divine right to survival. The year before that, a West Ham side containing fringe England internationals like Michael Carrick, Joe Cole and Jermain Defoe had gone down, doing so with a 38-game high of 43 points – enough to survive in any other 38-game season.

The definition of a ‘big club’ does, of course, vary between fans. In the context of top-flight longevity, six clubs – Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Everton – are in a very exclusive circle by dint of having never missed a Premier League season. Collective trophy haul aside, that alone asserts their claims to inclusion in football’s perceived ‘big society’, but all of them have experienced dismal periods over the past ten years.

Liverpool, for instance, dabbled with doom early in 2010/11 under Roy Hodgson. Then came abysmal title defences for Manchester United and Chelsea – in 2013/14 and 2015/16 respectively – with the latter spending the Christmas of said campaign dangerously close to the bottom three. Everton’s high managerial turnover since 2013 is also well documented, with the club’s newfound resources under Farhad Moshiri yet to bear real fruit after a dreadful start to this campaign.

Meanwhile, the North London ever-presents, Tottenham and Arsenal, are suffering from hangovers after defeat in their respective European finals last May. Damningly, even Arsenal are still not quite safe from relegation under the regime of a rookie boss. Though Arsenal’s relegation price is currently well into the hundreds against, the sight of them this low in the table provides justification for the belief in a seismic shortening of the gulf between England’s two topmost divisions.

Would current Championship high-flyers survive?

At this time, West Bromwich look like the only certainties to go up, and have shown impressive character under Slaven Bilic after a difficult Christmas period. Defensively astute in most cases, they went into their recent match against Nottingham Forest having kept a clean sheet in four of their last five wins across all competitions. The Baggies had also led at half-time in each of those four wins, proving their resolve under pressure as well as their attacking prowess.

Naturally, teams like Sunderland’s infamous class of 2005/06, and potentially Daniel Farke’s Norwich squad of this campaign, demonstrate that winning the Championship at a canter offers no promises. Yet, such is the potentially lower-than-average points threshold for Premier League safety this term, with teams in the bottom half struggling for consistency, any newcomers in 2020/21 should at least see the eventual survivors currently in the Premier League’s relegation mix as fair game.

Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard has got fans talking this week after he reacted to one of his own outrageous strikes on Twitter.

The 22-year-old reacted to his free-kick against Hearts last season with an emoji of a dartboard, quite an apt choice considering how good the strike was.

Edouard has been a prolific presence at Celtic Park ever since joining from Paris Saint-Germain in 2018, he has found the net 58 times in 122 appearances, per Transfermarkt.

Here’s what fans have been saying about him…

The Frenchman was lauded as a “superstar” as well as a sniper, while a couple of supporters noted how he fired home the set-piece right on cue as he was announced as Man of the Match at the very same time.

Edouard has continued his rich vein of form into this season, where he has found the net 25 times and even provided 17 assists in all competitions.

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It has led to several clubs holding transfer interest in him, including Leicester City where ex-Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers is now at, Newcastle United, Everton and even Manchester United, per the Daily Record.

Plenty of fans have been begging him to stay as a result…

“Stay forever” and “never leave” summed up the feelings of those who were desperate not to lose him.

There were also comparisons made to a former Bhoys striker, a legendary one at that, in Henrik Larsson as one member of the Celtic Park faithful claimed he is the best since the Swede graced the hallowed turf in Glasgow.

Edouard was also described as a “king.”

From Jay-Z to Tom Hanks: Do you know which clubs these famous celebrities support?

And in other news, this Patryk Klimala decision is looking more and more strange by the day…

Currently stuck in the Premier League’s relegation zone, Aston Villa will play in the League Cup final against Manchester City on Sunday.

It is actually their second visit to a domestic cup showpiece in the last 10 years, although they will be hoping to avoid a repeat of their 4-0 loss against Arsenal in the 2015 FA Cup final. In that match, they were the clear underdogs, and they will be again this time round against the Citizens. Pep Guardiola’s men, after all, are the Premier League champions, and are also the holders of this very trophy having beaten Chelsea on penalties at Wembley last season.

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Whilst they will be up against it in London, history says that the favourites do not always prevail.

Here are three cases from which the Villans can draw inspiration as they look to lift the trophy.

Wigan 1-0 Manchester City, FA Cup final, 2013

Seven years ago, City were still getting to grips with their new-found wealth after Sheikh Mansour had completed his takeover over the club in 2008.

Although they were not as accustomed to success they are now, they were still expected to brush aside a Wigan team that was struggling to stay in the Premier League. Going in to the match, they were actually in the bottom three, and it seemed that they may have one eye on their final two fixtures in the league rather than the match against City.

The Manchester outfit lined up with £38m signing Sergio Aguero and £25m Yaya Toure, whilst Roberto Martinez, then manager of Wigan, fielded Arouna Kone, who was the most-expensive player in his starting XI at £2.7m. The gulf in quality could hardly have been any greater.

In all fairness, it was a close affair – City edged possession with 52% to 48%, whilst both sides had 15 shots. The two could not be separated, and it looked as though it would be going to extra time.

However, Pablo Zabaleta’s late red card gave Wigan the momentum and, in the first minute of stoppage time, Ben Watson wrote himself into the history books by scoring the winner. The Lancashire outfit lifted the trophy, but their campaign didn’t end on a high – they were relegated a week later.

Still, a trophy and a Europa League campaign in 2013/14 probably made up for it for the supporters.

Birmingham 2-1 Arsenal, League Cup final, 2009

It may not please to many Villa fans to take inspiration from their fierce city rivals Birmingham, but they caused an upset of their own during the 2008/09 season. The Midlands outfit reached the final of the League Cup as they struggled at the bottom of the Premier League table, and they were in 16th place going in to the match. Arsenal, meanwhile, were second, with only Manchester United ahead of them.

Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri and Tomas Rosicky were amongst those to line-up for the Gunners, whilst Nikola Zigic, Sebastian Larsson and Liam Ridgewell played for Birmingham. It was Arsenal who dominated proceedings, with 58% possession to 42% and 12 shots to seven, but van Persie was needed to cancel out Zigic’s opener.

The match looked to be heading towards extra-time until Wojciech Szczesny and defender Laurent Koscielny got their communication all wrong in the 89th minute, allowing Obafemi Martins to tap into an empty net. It was another example of Arsenal’s lack of bottle, whilst Birmingham earned themselves a European tour – and, unlike Wigan, it didn’t come at the price of their top-tier status either.

Wimbledon 1-0 Liverpool, FA Cup final, 1988

The mother of all FA Cup final shocks.

Liverpool were undoubtedly the best team in the country at the time – they had won the league five times that decade by the time they faced Wimbledon, including during the 1987/88 season, and had won the FA Cup four times as well. The Dons, meanwhile, had been in the Fourth division 10 years earlier, with them having just finished their second-ever top flight campaign.

Wimbledon were known as the “Crazy Gang”, with their squad consisting of hard-men such as Vinnie Jones, John Fashanu and Dennis Wise, and Jones’ crunching tackle on Steve McMahon less than five minutes into the match set the tone.

Liverpool were unable to play their usual dominating football, instead being dragged down to Wimbledon’s level. Lawrie Sanchez gave his side the lead shortly before half-time, and that was how it stayed – Dave Beasant even made history by becoming the first goalkeeper to save a penalty in a Cup final.

After the final whistle, John Motson uttered the immortal words: “The Crazy Gang have beaten the Culture Club” as Wimbledon lifted the trophy for the first – and only – time in their history.

Steve Grant of the Total Saints Podcast (March 1st, 14:15) has slammed the performance of Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg against West Ham United.

What’s he said?

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men lost 3-1 to the Hammers on Saturday.

Hojbjerg played the entire 90 minutes as goals from Jarrod Bowen, Sebastien Haller, and Michail Antonio gave David Moyes’ men all three points.

His central midfield partner, Will Smallbone, was substituted in the 78th minute but Grant believes he was the better of the two central players.

He said: “Smallbone I actually thought was, to be honest, the better of the two central midfielders.

“Hojbjerg had an absolute shocker.

“His pass completion rate must have been way below 50% for yesterday. He was just absolutely dreadful.”

Are you a true Saints expert? Test your knowledge on these famous academy graduates…

Just wrong

Grant has got this completely wrong.

Per WhoScored, Hojbjerg had a match rating of 7.3, the third-highest of any player to start for the visitors at the London Stadium.

He had 77 touches of the ball, a pass completion rate of 79%, while registering one key pass. Smallbone did have a higher pass accuracy, with 88%, but he didn’t manage a key pass.

The 24-year-old, who has been linked with a summer move to Tottenham Hotspur and was interesting Everton in January according to Sky Sports, also completed four dribbles, the joint-highest of any player on the pitch, made two tackles, and won two aerial duels.

This was actually an impressive performance from the Saints skipper; the podcast contributor simply saw something different on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Southampton fans have slammed another man!

Former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can recently revealed he rejected a move to Old Trafford in January due to his Merseyside affiliations. 

Can told German outlet Kicker “I had three offers from the Premier League alone, including from Manchester United, but I didn’t think about that for a second because of my Liverpool past.”

The German international enjoyed a four-year spell at Anfield, scoring 14 goals and registering 12 assists in 167 appearances in all competitions for the Reds, before joining Serie A giants Juventus in 2018. His market value stands at £27m via Transfermarkt.

Can made 45 appearances for the Italian side but only provided 4 goals and just 1 assist and struggled to nail down a place in the first team under former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri. After failing to make the Old Lady’s Champions League squad, the 26-year-old switched to Bundesliga challengers Borussia Dortmund in a loan move for the rest of the season (Goal).

In comparison United’s January transfer signing Bruno Fernandes has made an instant impact since moving to Old Trafford, notching 2 goals and 3 assists in 5 games in the Premier League so far, earning himself the PFA Player of the Month for February in the process.

Plenty of Red Devils fans have shared their views on Twitter, with many blasting the German’s comments.

Check out some of the angriest reactions we could find…

United fans, are you happy Emre Can rejected a move to Old Trafford? Let us know in the comments below!

Tottenham have reignited their interest in Geoffrey Kondogbia as they prepare their summer recruitment strategy, report Sky Sports News.

What’s the word, then?

Spurs chief scout Steve Hitchen is a big fan of the midfielder and may look to bring him to North London in order to bolster a squad which has declined this season.

The Frenchman has been scouted by the club since Mousa Dembele’s departure in January 2019 and is believed to be high on a list of potential Tottenham recruits as Jose Mourinho looks to sculpt the squad in his image.

Mourinho has identified the need for a defensive-minded midfielder in the January window, with the pursuit of Southampton Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg an attempt to address that issue.

Offers more than Ndombele?

It is clear to see that the Portuguese boss must identify defensive improvements in the summer, following a return of 41 goals conceded in 26 games and just three clean sheets recorded, per Transfermarkt.

That is very out of character for a Mourinho side, and his constant change of midfielders indicates that he is less than happy, with Eric Dier replacing the ridiculed Tanguy Ndombele of late.

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The Frenchman has struggled to adjust to the Premier League since his move from Lyon last summer and has repeatedly been singled out for criticism by fans.

One area where Kondogbia would improve upon the 23-year-old is in protecting the defence. The Valencia man, who is now rated at £25.2m, has achieved an average of 2.6 tackles and 2.3 interceptions per game.

That highlights the efficiency with which he breaks up play, and he clearly outshines Ndombele who has averaged 1.2 and 0.7 per league game in each respective department. That goes some way to explaining why Spurs have been too easy to push over.

A true test for any Spurs fan: Can you match these iconic images with the right results?

Kondogbia excels elsewhere, too, managing 83% pass accuracy this term. It is little surprise, therefore, that former Valencia boss Marcelino once suggested that he is “better than Paul Pogba”.

Based on what he has shown in Spain, the 27-year-old could be the midfield enforcer that Mourinho craves, and he could perhaps slot in alongside Harry Winks, a player Mourinho also seems fond of after handing him the captain’s armband against Wolves. This would be an inspired piece of business from Hitchen providing he can get it over the line.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans found one positive from their recent embarrassing display in the Champions League…

Kristoffer Ajer has been in the limelight recently after his agent said he was looking for a move away, and Alan Hutton has shared his belief that Neil Lennon dealt with the situation in an appropriate manner.

What did he say?

Lennon has given Ajer a more senior role in the current Celtic side. The Norway international has started 28 league games in the heart of defence and looked assured in doing so.

The Bhoys have lost just once in those fixtures, and that could be what provoked Tore Pedersen, Ajer’s agent, to state last Friday that his client would not be signing a new deal and would instead look for a move away in the summer.

That put pressure on Lennon to respond as Ajer’s current deal expires in 2021, which means the Glasgow outfit risk losing him for a fee below his value.

Despite that, the Celtic boss gave a steadfast response, declaring that no player could hold the club to ransom and ultimately it will be Celtic who decide whether Ajer stays or leaves.

Hutton was impressed with Lennon’s command of the situation, and told Football Insider:

“I think Lennon, he’s probably done the right thing. He’s come out and said: ‘Look, this is just agent talk. It’s nothing to do with the player, he’s happy, we’re happy.’

“The baggage that comes with agents, I do, in a way, understand what they’re doing. They say they’re trying to do the best for their client but when you act like that it’s going to affect everybody.”

Great leadership

Lennon has proved himself to be a no-nonsense type of character on and off the field, and he has had to deal with far more troublesome events in his Celtic career than this, certainly in his first spell.

In recent years Celtic have lost several good players who have gone on to perform to a high standard across the continent, yet they have been replaced and success has continued.

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The best examples are perhaps Virgil van Dijk and Moussa Dembele. A few years have passed since the former left but Celtic have a strong centre-back pairing of Ajer and Christopher Jullien, and that will likely remain the case if one leaves.

Odsonne Edouard scoring 27 goals this term in place of Dembele tells a similar story.

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As a result, Lennon has no need for concern and is dealing with things however he sees fit. That means if an appropriate bid comes in they made consider Ajer’s sale, and if not he will stay and help the Bhoys to try and maintain their unblemished domestic record of recent years.

Elsewhere, our writers have been debating whether the club should take up the option to sign a current loanee on a permanent basis…

James Pearce has shared his thoughts on Liverpool teenager Neco Williams, during a Q&A on The Athletic.

What did he say?

The Reds’ youngsters have had their fair share of opportunities to impress this season in the cups, as Jurgen Klopp has taken a youthful approach to some games.

This is best embodied by the fact that the side was entirely filled with youngsters during the Carabao Cup loss against Aston Villa and FA Cup win against Shrewsbury Town.

One of those who have taken their chance to show what they are capable of is Williams, as Pearce said: “I rate Neco very highly. He’s had a brilliant season and all the coaches at the academy speak well about him. He’s really impressed Klopp with his attitude and the way he has adjusted to training at Melwood. I think he’s shown in the cup games that he could be trusted to play in the PL if Trent needed a breather.”

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Exciting prospect

It says a lot about how well he has performed that Pearce has suggested the 18-year-old could be in line for Premier League minutes.

So far, he has made five first-team appearances in the cups – which have all come this term – and impressively, already has three assists to his name.

He has also featured on the bench seven times in the league now, so it is fair to say that he isn’t too far away from making the next big step in his career.

No clues: Can you name the season these iconic Liverpool images belong to?

Alongside the likes of Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott, Williams’ development will be seen as a seriously encouraging sign for Klopp, who has also helped Trent Alexander-Arnold become a key player at Anfield.

With this in mind, Klopp could find himself in a position where he has two talented academy products looking after the right-back position for years to come.

Meanwhile, a figure despised by those at Anfield has admitted their love for Liverpool.