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Tottenham Hostpur have been handed a boost in their bid to bring Lautaro Martinez to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Corriere della Sera (via Sport Witness), who claim that Inter Milan have lowered their asking price for the centre-forward, with the Serie A side now believed to be willing to accept an offer of between €60-€70m (£50m-£58m) for the 24-year-old.

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The report goes on to state that both Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid have declared their interest in signing the Argentina international – for whom Inter were thought to be demanding around €100m in order to part with last summer – ahead of 2022/23.

Conte would love Martinez

Considering how prolific Martinez was under the management of Conte last season, it is not difficult to see why the 52-year-old would be keen on a deal to bring the striker to north London this summer.

Indeed, over his 38 Serie A appearances last time out, the £63m-rated forward played a starring role in Conte’s Scudetto-winning side, scoring 17 goals, registering 10 assists and creating nine big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.9 shots – the most of any Inter player – and making one key pass per game.

These returns saw the £177k-per-week hitman who Roberto Rojas dubbed an “absolute goal machine” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.17, ranking him as the Nerazzurri’s third-best player in the Italian top flight.

Furthermore, it is clear that Tottenham’s managing director, Fabio Paratici, is also a huge fan of the 24-year-old, with Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio recently stating:

“I think Tottenham will go after Lautaro because they wanted him last summer. They want another forward to play with Kane or plan for the future without Kane. Lautaro Martinez is one of the players that Fabio Paratici loves. I think it could be Lautaro’s summer and Atlético Madrid or Tottenham could be the perfect destinations for him.”

As such, with £58m very much being an asking price Tottenham could afford this summer, it would indeed appear a highly advisable move for Daniel Levy to launch an offensive for the striker come the end of the season, as it is clear that it would be a dream for both Conte and Paratici to bring the Argentine to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

AND in other news: Paratici must seal Spurs deal for £350k-p/w “monster” who would “go to war” for Conte

Manchester United will be aiming to bounce back from consecutive defeats when they host Villarreal in Group B of the Champions League this evening.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s charges suffered a shock loss on the opening day of Europe’s elite cup competition, going down 2-1 against Young Boys following Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s early red card.

And United haven’t responded to that result in the manner that they would have hoped, losing two of their following three fixtures since.

A calf injury picked up by captain Harry Maguire last time out is set to add to the Red Devils’ woes, but the club’s hierarchy are hopeful that left-back Luke Shaw will have recovered in time to feature from the off.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects Solskjaer to line up at Old Trafford, with two changes from the side that started against Aston Villa over the weekend…

In goal, David de Gea’s spectacular return to form sees him keep his place between the sticks, meaning Dean Henderson is set for another frustrating evening watching on from the sidelines.

Ahead of the Spanish shot-stopper is set to be a much-changed back four. Maguire’s injury has ruled the £45m-rated beast out of action, while Wan-Bissaka’s suspension means Diogo Dalot and Victor Lindelof will accompany Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw in the backline.

The engine room will have a much more familiar feel to it, though. Solskjaer is expected to persist with a double pivot of Fred and Scott McTominay, despite recent criticism, in an attempt to provide stability to United’s midfield.

In attack, World Cup-winner Paul Pogba is set to take up residency on the left wing with Mason Greenwood on the opposite flank and Bruno Fernandes just behind compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo.

It’s a front four that should strike fear into any defender’s heart, but they failed to find a breakthrough against Villa and will be desperate to put things right in midweek.

And, in other news…Man Utd suffer major injury blow ahead of Villarreal, Ole will be gutted 

Watford secured their spot in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night as they edged out fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace at Vicarage Road.

Ashley Fletcher’s late goal on his Hornets debut was enough to separate the two sides, with Watford fans set to find out their third-round opponents on Wednesday evening.

Xisco Munoz made plenty of changes from the side that were beaten 2-0 against Brighton last weekend, with Ben Foster, Jeremy Ngakia, Francisco Sierralta and Danny Rose all making their first starts of the season.

Crystal Palace named a fairly strong side but were unable to capitalise on their chances at Vicarage Road, with new manager Patrick Vieira yet to see his side find the back of the net in the three games he has taken charge of thus far.

Although Fletcher will rightfully earn a lot of credit for his goal, it was perhaps the man who assisted him – Cucho Hernandez – who was the star performer on the night.

As per SofaScore, the Colombian winger would earn a solid 7.0/10 rating for his performance against the Eagles and looked dangerous going forward, whilst also helping out Rose at left-back to deal with the threat of the Palace wingers.

The young winger would win five out of 12 duels during the game and whilst he only completed 12 passes, he was the difference-maker in the end as his cross was inch-perfect for Fletcher to score at the back post.

The Watford Observer were particularly impressed with his work rate in the win, as they sang his praises after the game, writing:

“Worked his socks off throughout and played a great ball for the goal.”

After coming off the bench in each of Watford’s Premier League games thus far, which included him scoring a screamer within seconds of coming on against Aston Villa in the opening game, the 22-year-old took his chance to impress from the start on Tuesday night.

Therefore, he should surely be in contention to start Watford’s next game, which sees them take on Tottenham Hotspur away from home on Sunday.

And, in other news… Watford transfer saga is finally over as Nixon confirms huge news

Celtic return to domestic action this weekend with a few scars after a dramatic night for the Hoops in Europe a few days ago.

The Bhoys were exceptional in the final third as they scored three times against one of the most dominant teams in La Liga on Thursday night. However, the opposition’s quality against Celtic eventually told when Real Betis won the game 4-3.

Ange Postecoglou’s side travelled to Spain with an injury-hit squad but the Australian should have a few faces back when they face Livingston on Sunday afternoon.

It’s a game they should be winning but how will they line up? Here’s what we’re predicting…

We are tipping Celtic to make three changes from the side which lost to Betis in the Europa League.

The first change is on the flanks, where Liel Abada comes back into the team at the expense of Adam Montgomery.

Abada missed the clash in Seville due to religious reasons but is all set to play this weekend and should take the Scottish teenager’s place in the team.

A further alteration is in the middle of the park where Postecoglou is optimistic about Callum McGregor’s chances of returning.

He didn’t play on Thursday night because of a small knock but the £20k-per-week earner has now seemingly recovered and should come in for Ismaila Soro.

The Ivorian was withdrawn early last time out after a number of tackles saw him fortunate not to be red-carded. Therefore, McGregor’s return should be a welcome boost.

The final change is in defence, where Carl Starfelt is axed after an increasing number of dodgy performances. Stephen Welsh returns to partner Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Postecoglou is likely to resist the temptation of moving Josip Juranovic to his favoured role at right-back.

Anthony Ralston did score against Betis but was woeful from a defensive point of view. However, he should have an easier ride against Livingston, and after his impressive start to the season, he plays again.

Albian Ajeti keeps his place in attack with Kyogo Furuhashi still ruled out through injury. The Swiss striker has been in good form, with three goals in his last two outings.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Jota: Celtic must unleash “dangerous” £2.7m-rated Hoops dynamo today…

Sunderland will be looking to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to Charlton on Saturday as they travel away to face QPR in the League Cup on Tuesday.

The Black Cats succumbed to a loss at the weekend as Jayden Stockley scored the only goal for the Addicks, sending Sunderland down to fourth in the table.

They now have a chance to regain momentum and gain some confidence as they face a Championship side in QPR, with the chance of progressing through to the fifth round of the competition.

Lee Johnson could make some changes to his team to freshen the team up and give other players a chance to show that they deserve to start in the league. As part of this, one player he must ruthlessly axe from the team is attacking midfielder Alex Pritchard.

The former Huddersfield and Norwich playmaker recorded the joint-lowest SofaScore rating (6.4) for Sunderland against Charlton as turned in a worrying display in midfield. Per the same source, he lost 85.7% (6/7) of his duels on the pitch, whilst failing to make a single tackle, interception, block or clearance.

This shows that he was a lightweight in his 50/50 battles and did not put the hard work in defensively to win possession back and get his side back on the front foot.

On the ball, he was inconsistent. Via SofaScore, he created three chances for his teammates as he showed off his quality to open up defences in the final third. However, he also had a dribble success rate of 0% and gave possession away 20 times from 52 touches, whilst also completing three of his eight attempted crosses and long balls.

Therefore, he was not able to prove that he can be reliable off the ball or on the ball. Despite showing flashes of quality, the overall standard of his performance was not good enough and that was reflected in the final score as Charlton won the match.

Johnson must axe Pritchard from the XI for the encounter with QPR after proving himself to be a liability to the team, giving him the chance to get his head down in training and focus on next weekend’s League One game against Rotherham. Hopefully, it will fuel the fire inside the midfielder and encourage him to up his levels ahead of playing a starring role against the Millers.

AND in other news, Possession lost 18x: Sunderland dud with 25% dribble success had a ‘mare vs Charlton…

Fulham have made the first move in their bid to bring Michael Obafemi to Craven Cottage this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claimed that Tony Khan has made an approach to Southampton regarding the availability of the 21-year-old striker ahead of a potential move for the Republic of Ireland under-21 international in what remains of the summer transfer window.

Indeed, talkSPORT’s Alex Crook recently claimed in a post on Twitter that Blackburn Rovers, Bournemouth and Fulham, as well as a host of other Championship clubs, are interested in the striker, with whom Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are believed to be willing to part ways this summer.

However, following Football League World’s latest update, it would seem as if the Cottagers could be leading the race for Obafemi.

Fans will be buzzing

With Khan having already landed two impressive signings in the shape of Harry Wilson and Paulo Gazzaniga in the summer transfer window, reports that Fulham’s director of football appears intent on continuing the Cottagers’ business in the transfer market – particularly for a player as exciting as Obafemi – are sure to have the Craven Cottage faithful buzzing.

Indeed, despite starting just eight of his 21 Premier League appearances back in 2019/20, the £2.7m-rated centre-forward still bagged three goals, provided two assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 0.6 shots and making 0.5 key passes per game.

As such, taking into account that the £12k-per-week Obafemi is still just 21 years of age, the man who Hasenhuttl dubbed a “quality” player would very much seem to be an incredibly exciting prospect.

If Khan can follow up on his initial contact with an acceptable offer for the striker, the prospective signing of the Southampton starlet certainly appears to have the potential to go down as something of a transfer masterclass by the Cottagers co-owner.

In other news: Bye-bye Seri: Khan must seal Fulham deal for £518k-rated gem, he won’t cost a penny

Arsenal have submitted an offer for Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic, according to reports in Italy…

What’s the word?

La Repubblica claim that the Gunners have bid around €70m (£58.5m) for the 21-year-old and La Viola president Rocco Commisso is now prepared to let him leave Florence this month.

The Fiorentina supremo has grown impatient with Vlahovic’s attitude and the behaviour from his representatives after it was confirmed back in October that he would not be signing a new contract.

In recent weeks, the Daily Mail revealed how his transfer could cost a total of £150m when factoring in wages and other fees, so the north London giants will have to pay a premium to see him arrive at the Emirates Stadium before January 31st.

Get it done!

Arsenal are in desperate need of reinforcements this month, that much is obvious following Sunday’s north London derby postponement.

With virus cases on the increase, players at the Africa Cup of Nations, Granit Xhaka suspended and other injuries mounting up, Mikel Arteta has been left with a threadbare squad this week.

There is a longer-term issue emerging, though.

Alexandre Lacazette’s contract is up at the end of the season and there has been no incline that he’s prepared to extend his current deal, so right now, the French veteran is set to leave, whilst Pierre-Emerick Aubamyang’s future is by no means certainly after he was stripped of the captaincy.

It means a new frontman is needed and Vlahovic would surely be a dream signing for the young Spanish head coach.

The Serbia international has been in electric form in front of goal this season – as per Transfermarkt, he’s delivered 19 goals in 23 appearances, meaning he’s found the net once every 102.5 minutes.

That builds on his impressive form for Fiorentina last season, where he bagged 21 goals in the Serie A.

He has since been lauded as a “complete number nine” by Italian football expert Conor Clancy, whilst his former coach Ivan Tomic dubbed him a goalscoring “monster” with shades of Zlatan Ibrahimovic about him.

Valued at £63m by Transfermarkt, the Gunners would do very well to secure him for just £58.5m. He’s a player that Arteta desperately needs, so it’s on Edu Gaspar and co to seal a move for him at all costs before the end of the month.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Partey: Arsenal can find new Santi Cazorla in £49.5m-rated “outrageous talent”…

Celtic have the opportunity to take a step closer to securing the Premiership title this afternoon as they welcome St Johnstone to Parkhead for their latest league outing.

Last weekend saw the Hoops open up a six-point gap at the top of the league table after defeating their Glasgow arch-rivals 2-1 in the latest Old Firm derby.

The Bhoys now have the chance to secure their fifth league win in a row by securing victory against the Saints, who are currently 10 places and 49 points below the Hoops in the league table.

Speaking in his latest press conference ahead of today’s clash, Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou revealed that winger James Forrest is the only player in his squad who will be unavailable to play due to injury.

With that in mind, here’s how we feel the home side could line up this afternoon, with three changes expected from the team which started last Sunday’s win at Ibrox.

In goal, having played in all but three of Celtic’s league games this season, it seems highly likely that Joe Hart will keep his place in the team.

For the back four, we think Postecoglou will stick with the centre-back duo of Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers, who ended up scoring the Bhoys’ winning goal in the derby last weekend.

In the two full-back positions, we predict that Greg Taylor will start once again on the left but Anthony Ralston, who the Hoops boss described as a “warrior”, will come in for Josip Juranovic on the right. Having been criticised for his “really poor” role in Rangers’ goal last weekend by Ally McCoist, Postecoglou may decide to take the Croatian out of the team on this occasion.

Moving to the midfield, having also found himself on the scoresheet last time out, we think Tom Rogic will start alongside club captain Callum McGregor.

However, next to those two, we can see David Turnbull coming in for his first start since December after being out of action for an extended period of time with a hamstring injury, leaving Reo Hatate as the man to drop out following a relatively subdued performance last weekend.

In attack, we imagine that the 56-year-old Hoops manager will stick with Jota and Giorgos Giakoumakis but bring Liel Abada back into the starting XI in place of Daizen Maeda, who completed the fewest passes of any Celtic starter six days ago.

In other news: Celtic handed fresh injury setback ahead of today’s clash, Ange will be fuming

West Ham are expecting fresh investment in the club in the coming week, according to an inside source…

What’s the word?

It’s widely believed that Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, who is the co-owner of Sparta Prague, will purchase a 27% minority stake in the Irons but the deal was thrown into doubt amid reports from 90min.

They claimed that the east London outfit were awaiting government approval so they could finalise matters. However, this does not appear to be the case, as revealed by a club insider to Claret and Hugh this week.

A deal is instead expected to go through in the next seven days after the 46-year-old was spotted in the directors’ box at the London Stadium for the Hammers’ phenomenal 3-2 win over Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Exciting times

This latest update should alleviate any fears that may have brewed from those initial reports and there won’t be a better time to announce such a move, with the bulk of David Moyes’ squad on international duty.

It is also right before the January transfer window, where the Scotsman will undoubtedly be looking to bolster his playing squad, instead of resting on their laurels.

A striker is likely to sit high on his priorities as Michail Antonio, 31, remains his only senior option in the role and he has dealt with plenty of injury problems in the past.

Whether Kretinsky’s investment helps pay any debt or is used for first-team business certainly remains to be seen but either way, it’s going to provide West Ham with a healthy cash injection that’ll benefit them in many different ways, and that has to be an exciting prospect for the Irons faithful.

The Hammers are clearly a club on the up after they moved to third in the Premier League standings at the weekend, whilst they have qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League just days earlier.

Only 18 months ago, they were battling relegation, having avoided it with just one game to spare. Now, they’re arguably in the greatest position they have ever been in.

The Athletic have also claimed that this deal would spell the beginning of the end for GSB. That’ll only delight many supporters even more as they have regularly demonstrated and protested against their ownership.

It’s certainly an exciting time to be a West Ham fan and this development will only thrill those around the London Stadium even more.

AND in other news, Completed just 11 passes: West Ham’s £80k-p/w “bundle of energy” destroyed Liverpool…

Rangers turn their attention to the Scottish Cup today as the Ibrox giants look to make their way to the final of the competition.

The Gers secured a place in the semi-finals of the Europa League during the week and now have the chance to progress in another cup competition to cap off a fine week for Gio van Bronckhorst’s side.

They face off against their arch-rivals at Hampden in this semi-final clash and will be hoping to use the momentum gained from their 3-1 win in Europe on Thursday night to get them over the line this afternoon.

Despite their fine victory against Braga, van Bronckhorst may look to make some changes to keep the team fresh after 120 minutes of action at Ibrox a few days ago. One player he must bring back into the starting XI is central defender Leon Balogun.

Calvin Bassey and Connor Goldson played the full match in Europe and the head coach must rest the former to avoid burning out his centre-back options. Filip Helander has been ruled out for the rest of the season and this means that the Gers cannot afford to risk any further injuries in that area of the pitch, which is why Balogun must now come in.

The £14k-per-week Nigerian machine was previously dubbed as “important” by Steven Gerrard and ex-Gers full-back Alan Hutton hailed him as  “outstanding”, which shows how highly he is rated by those who have worked with him or watched him play.

He has averaged SofaScore ratings of 6.98 and 7.01 in the Premiership and Europa League respectively.

This shows that he has been performing to a high level on a consistent basis throughout the campaign in multiple competitions, using his experience to make himself a reliable option for van Bronckhorst this term.

Who should he come in for?

Against Braga, Bassey lost two of his three aerial battles and failed to make a single clearance, block or tackle whilst making one interception – as per SofaScore.

Meanwhile, Goldson won nine of his 10 aerial battles, made five clearances, one block and two tackles – suggesting that he carried the youngster through the game from a defensive standpoint.

Therefore, Balogun’s compatriot should be the one to drop out for this game, with the experienced duo of Balogun and Goldson tasked with keeping the likes of Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi at bay this afternoon.

AND in other news, GvB starts “superhuman” gem & axes “exhausted” dud in big changes: Rangers predicted XI -…