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Chris Waugh has insisted on Pod on the Tyne that Anthony Gordon will become a Newcastle United regular sooner than perhaps expected.

The Lowdown: Howe now has options

For a long time during the first half of the season, Eddie Howe was rather limited when it came to his team selection, with the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin, Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson spending time on the sidelines.

However, following the arrival of Gordon from Everton for £40m and Saint-Maximin returning to full fitness, the Magpies now have choices in the forward areas.

Their January arrival was indeed handed his debut against West Ham United and almost made an instant impact when he slipped Wilson through on goal, only for the No 9 to see Nayef Aguerd race back and make a last-ditch tackle, although the striker did praise Gordon for his substitute cameo, claiming he has a ‘bright future’ ahead of him.

The Latest: Gordon will soon be a starter

Despite having just 22 minutes under his belt as a Newcastle player, Waugh was indeed impressed and believes the winger will be a starter for Howe sooner rather than later.

He said: “I thought that he looked like a very Eddie Howe-style player – he’s tall, he’s physical, he gets around the pitch, he presses and he can play in several different kinds of positions, he’s adaptable, will do exactly what is needed for the team, but will add that little bit of flair.

“That’s almost like the ideal Eddie Howe player, combining those factors, and he certainly brought it [against West Ham]. I think he injected something into the game and into that Newcastle side which had been lacking, and it will be fascinating to see how he’s used going forward.

“I think he may come into the side slightly quicker than some of the other players previously – people are referring to how long it took for Bruno Guimaraes and Sven Botman.

“The plan initially was he wasn’t going to be in the team as quickly, but Gordon is Premier League-experienced and I think sooner or later, he will be getting into that side more regularly than not.”

The Verdict: Competition for places will be a good thing

PIF will likely be keen to see their latest expensive signing getting regular minutes under Howe, but they will also understand that the Newcastle boss knows how to get the best out of his players, so will leave him to his job.

However, after Saint-Maximin failed to make an impact on Saturday against West Ham – completing just one take-on and only managing a single progressive pass in 68 minutes (FBref), it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him dropped for Gordon this weekend.

Given that Gordon is cup-tied for the Carabao Cup final, it would make sense to use him a lot in the Premier League while keeping the likes of Miguel Almiron and Saint-Maximin fresh for their trip to Wembley at the end of the month.

Leeds United cruised into the FA Cup fourth round with a 5-2 victory over Cardiff City at Elland Road on Wednesday evening.

Jesse Marsch’s side atoned for the first encounter nearly two weeks ago which saw the Whites need a second-half comeback to even grasp a replay, with a rampant showing in west Yorkshire – led by summer signing Wilfried Gnonto.

The young Italian’s wonderstrike after just 26 seconds set the tone for the night as he went onto notch a brace, with fellow forwards Rodrigo and Patrick Bamford also getting on the scoresheet.

In fact, it was the first sign that the latter had shaken off his frustrating injury problems in what was a striker’s masterclass up top. Indeed, he put in an absolute clinic in the 45 minutes he was on the pitch, having been subbed on at the break.

After replacing the aforementioned Spaniard, Bamford bagged a five-minute brace, starting in the 71st minute when he evaded the Bluebirds’ offside trap to slot home an impressive left-footed volley.

With club-record signing Georginio Rutter watching on in the stands, the England international then bagged an outside-of-the-boot effort after playing a neat one-two with Joe Gelhardt, who had come on in place of undoubted ‘Man of the Match’, Gnonto.

What was most remarkable was the fact that was seemingly business as usual for Bamford, who has missed so much game time over the past 18 months.

As per Sofascore, he had just 20 touches of the ball, in which he made nine accurate passes and had three shots. Both of his two attempts on target found the net.

Clinical.

Whilst Gnonto’s audacious effort and stunning display will be talked about for weeks – if not for the ages – the return of Bamford in this light is certainly a reasonable source of excitement as he has just proven that he still has a lot to give in Marsch’s frontline and in this system.

In the words of LeedsLive reporter Beren Cross, the 29-year-old talisman was “teasing what might be ahead” if he can remain fit and available.

Also lauded in the past as a “goal machine” by ex-Guardian journalist Charlie Phillips, both Marsch and the Whites faithful will be hoping that the 17-goal Bamford from the 2020/21 season is on his way back and Wednesday night was a little glimpse at exactly that.

AND in other news, Orta must land “exciting” Harrison upgrade in Leeds move for “unstoppable” 27 y/o…

Nicolo Zaniolo is reportedly a transfer target for Tottenham Hotspur – and Sky Sports man Nubaid Haroon believes he would be a great fit for Antonio Conte’s side.

The Lowdown: Conte wants to be backed

Despite Conte’s public pleas to Daniel Levy and the Tottenham board that he needs to be backed in more transfer windows if the club are to be pushing at the right end of the table and looking to pick up silverware.

Spurs are yet to make a breakthrough in the transfer market which won’t have the Italian manager very happy, although according to reports out in Italy they are said to have lodged a bid for Roma ace Zaniolo. And, according to TMW, Spurs are the most likely destination.

It was reported last summer that Spurs were keen on Zaniolo, who’d just netted in the Europa Conference League final and while nothing ever came to fruition, that could soon change.

The Latest: Zaniolo would suit Conte

Given that Zaniolo is a player that’s extremely versatile and can play in a number of positions he would be someone that Conte would likely love to have and that’s what Nubaid Haroon has been speaking about live on Sky Sports.

He said: “He comes in as this sort of attacking player/second striker sort of role, maybe a little bit too similar to Son in terms of positioning in this Conte system, but when he first came on the scene in Italy, he was heavily built as the future star of Italy and then he’s had a few injuries at Roma, few off-the-pitch issues.

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“I think he’s now ended up being a little bit of a villain for Mourinho and for Italian fans in Rome, he probably needs a change of scenery. I think if you can bring someone like this in that Conte system, he’s devastating on the counterattack.

“I think back to the Atalanta game last season when he and Tammy Abraham tore Atalanta to shreds because he has got this ability to pick a pass and he can see things that other Spurs players probably can’t at the moment.

“I do wonder how much game time he would get, and if you pay £35m for a player, he’s going to have to play, but it is a Conte sort of player and a Conte sort of signing.”

The Verdict: Levy must seal the deal

If Levy wants to sign a young player with potential and for a low fee, while also handing Conte someone he will know from his time out in Italy so would likely trust, then Zaniolo is the perfect player for him.

With reports claiming that Roma are indeed open to selling Zaniolo, even on an initial loan deal, that should be exactly what Levy needs to hear to get this deal over the line and hand Conte another attacking option.

However, one thing that could be a big worry for Spurs and suggest why they may be coy on moving for Zaniolo is that he has a shocking injury record for someone so young, but with a loan deal option on the table, Spurs could essentially try before they buy.

Football writer Charles Watts has slammed referee Andy Madley after his questionable performance in the most recent Arsenal game.

What’s the word? In their most recent Premier League outing, the Gunners had to settle for a point at the Emirates against rivals Newcastle United as their clash finished 0-0.The game, however, was a pretty feisty affair with four Arsenal players picking up a yellow card, while four away team players were booked too (as well as Jamaal Lascelles despite not even getting on the pitch).On top of that, the Gunners were also denied two penalties, with Mikel Arteta dubbed ‘scandalous’. While talking about the first possible foul – when Dan Burn seemed to pull Gabriel Magalhaes’ shirt in the box – Watts weighed in with his thoughts on it all.While talking on YouTube the journalist said Madley had a ‘shambolic’ day but blamed VAR for the key penalty decision instead of the referee.He said: “I mean, how is that not a penalty? He had got away from Dan Burn, he was ahead of him and he got pulled back, plain and simple.”Andy Madley, it was a shambolic refereeing performance. He was awful from start to finish.”But I don’t really blame him in that position because it’s really hard. It’s a congested box, the ball is coming in, you can’t see everything, it is difficult.”But how VAR do not just say: ‘Hold on we’ve got another look at this, there is a pretty blatant shirt pull in this, maybe you want to go and have a look.’ That’s who I’m blaming for that exact decision.”Depth needed?Without that penalty decision going their way – as well as the shout for another during stoppage time when Granit Xhaka’s cross hit Jacob Murphy’s arm – it’s safe to say it just wasn’t Arsenal’s day.However, it seems as though the referee failed to win over either team with his performance. Indeed, former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer took to Twitter to question some of the calls during the game too.He wrote: “Every foul doesn’t have to be a yellow card, referee.”At least the referee wasn’t being biased then…Still, whenever two teams near the very top of the table meet, you want a top performance from the officials, too. And on this occasion, it really feels as though that wasn’t the case.

Tottenham Hotspur have deen dealt a huge blow in their pursuit of centre-back Josko Gvardiol.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Ryan Taylor, with the Daily Express journalist stating his belief in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT that, despite Antonio Conte being heavily linked with a move for the RB Leipzig defender in recent weeks, the 20-year-old is already out of Tottenham’s price range – with the Bundesliga side thought to be demanding around €100m (£87m).

Regarding Spurs’ interest in Croatia’s World Cup star, Taylor said: “I think there was an acceptance last summer that he was already out of Spurs’ price range because Chelsea had a proposal worth about €80m (£70m) rejected by Leipzig, which included him spending a year back on loan at the club, so he’s out of Spurs’ league.”

The “chosen one”

While £87m is undoubtedly a colossal amount of money to spend on the 20-year-old centre-back, considering just how impressive Gvardiol was in Qatar this winter, the argument that Conte simply must do everything in his power to land the defender in January is an extremely easy one to make.

Indeed, over his seven appearances in the competition, the £113.5m-rated talent was an absolute rock at the back for Croatia, helping his country keep two clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.6 interceptions, 1.3 tackles, 5.3 clearances and winning 2.7 duels – at a success rate of 51% – per game.

The £18k-per-week wonderkid also impressed going forwards, hitting the back of the net once, in addition to playing an average of 3.4 long balls, 2.6 chipped passes and completing 66.1 total passes – at a success rate of 90% – per match.

These returns saw the Leipzig starlet who Taylor dubbed a “gladiator” average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.16, ranking him as Zlatko Dalić’s fifth-best performer in the tournament – playing a key role in Croatia going on to secure a remarkable third-place finish in the biggest competition in world football.

Rather unsurprisingly, these displays saw Gvardiol earn a considerable amount of praise, none more so than from Shakhtar Donetsk coach Igor Jovicevic, who said of the 20-year-old in a recent interview with Marca:

“He had a personality unbefitting his age. He reminds me of Sergio Ramos. If he misses, he picks himself up. I’m a coach who believes in young players. If you see a player with that potential you have to stick with him at any cost, even if the price is that you get sacked.

“He had total control of the game. He was physically strong and made decisions with little effort. You could see what you see now: a solid, intelligent defender, who anticipates well and who is very strong in the clash. You see him play and it looks like he doesn’t even sweat.

“Tell me, at the age of 20, what defender can you find with that solidity and that mentality, who offers immediate performance and, at the same time, has so much potential for improvement?

“And, on top of that, he’s left-footed, which there aren’t many. He can play as a centre-back in a line of three and in a line of four, as a left-back… he comes out driving and almost gets into the opponent’s box. He is a ‘chosen one’.”

As such, considering just how exciting a prospect Gvardiol has very much proven himself to be, coupled with just how much scope for further improvement the Leipzig starlet possesses, it would indeed appear wise for Conte to do all he can to land the 20-year-old this summer, as the Croatian could well prove to become the “chosen one” under the Italian’s management.

Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring Alexander Djiku to Elland Road in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Jonathan Pearce, with the BBC commentator stating live on air during Ghana’s 3-2 victory over South Korea on Monday that the Whites have been “linked” with a move for the RC Strasbourg Alsace centre-back ahead of the winter market.

This would appear to back up an earlier claim this month made by Ed Aarons, with The Guardian journalist suggesting in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT that Victor Orta could be “looking at” the 28-year-old during the Qatar World Cup before potentially launching a move in January.

“Incredible” signing

Considering just how impressive Djiku has been for both club and country so far this season, it is not difficult to understand why Orta could be interested in a deal to bring the Ghana international to Elland Road this winter.

Indeed, over his 14 Ligue 1 appearances in the current campaign, the £5.6m-rated talent has been in exceptional defensive form, helping Strasbourg keep one clean sheet, as well as making an average of 2.1 tackles, 1.9 interceptions, 3.7 clearances and winning a whopping 5.9 duels – at a success rate of 65% – per game.

The £14k-per-week defender has also impressed going forwards, scoring one goal, registering one assist and creating one big chance for his side, in addition to playing an average of 6.0 long balls, 6.1 chipped passes and completing 44.1 total passes – at a success rate of 82% – per match.

These returns have seen the 28-year-old average a simply sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.07, currently ranking him as Julien Stéphan’s second-best performer in the top flight of French football – a quite remarkable feat for a centre-back playing for a team who sit 19th in the league standings.

The 20-cap international has also seriously impressed over his two outings at the Qatar World Cup, demonstrating that he more than has what it takes to shine on the biggest of stages, something that bodes particularly well if he moves to the Premier League.

Indeed, he has made an average of 0.5 tackles, one interception, 4.5 clearances and won 2.5 duels – at a success rate of 100% – over the course of Ghana’s 3-2 loss to Portugal and 3-2 victory over South Korea – with his displays being dubbed “wonderful” by Ayishatu Zakaria Ali “incredible” by Olele Salvador.

As such, considering just how solid Djiku is at the back, coupled with the defender starring for Ghana on the greatest stage of world football this month, it is indeed easy to see why Orta would be interested in a move for the 28-year-old in January, as the centre-back would undoubtedly represent an incredible addition to Jesse Marsch’s current defensive options in LS11.

Wolverhampton Wanderers will be aiming for a new lease of life under newly appointed manager Julen Lopetegui.

The Old Gold find themselves second bottom of the Premier League table, scoring just eight goals and winning only two matches league matches since the start of the season.

The Spaniard has a massive job on his hands in order to maintain the club’s top-flight status, and there will be certain players who might soon find themselves out of the team.

Following on from another poor performance in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion, Joao Moutinho could soon find himself making way for another player in the starting XI.

On the chalkboard

Against Brighton, the midfielder looked a shadow of his former self, with Express & Star’s Liam Keen noting of his display that in “similar fashion to other games this season, the game largely passed Moutinho by”.

Indeed, the Portuguese made just 25 passes and took 38 touches of the ball during the match, failing to exert his experience or influence in a Wolves side that played the whole second half reduced to ten men.

His overall SofaScore rating that the 36-year-old has achieved this season is a more than respectable 7.01/10  however, certain performance indicators suggest he is having less of an impact on the team.

Last season, on average, Moutinho took 68.5 touches of the ball per match, but this season that has dropped to 58.9 per match. Meanwhile, he has made only 50% of his attempted dribbles so far this campaign, compared to an impressive figure of 76% last year.

Even defensively, his numbers have dropped with fewer interceptions (1.0 to 0.8) and clearances (0.9 to 0.6) this season already and this may have played a small part in the Molineux side’s shoddy defensive record this season, conceding 22 goals in 14 matches.

Those numbers are perhaps even more damning when you consider the Old Gold have had more defending to do in 2022/23.

In September, the £100k-per-week midfielder was left out of the Portugal squad with writer Zach Lowy claiming that “he’s dispensable now”, especially with the quality of players that Fernando Santos has available to him, such as Otavio, former Wolves man Vitinha, and Joao Palhinha. With a World Cup kicking off in a matter of days now, it’s hardly ideal timing for the former Monaco man.

If the veteran doesn’t start contributing more effectively for Wolves, Lopetegui might just feel that he can be dispensable for his club too, with plenty of youngsters aiming to break into the starting XI and take his place.

Newcastle United have been blessed with some exceptional strikers over the years as fans have enjoyed the likes of Les Ferdinand, Papiss Cisse, Callum Wilson and, of course, Alan Shearer.

The Magpies faithful have seen their fair share of clinical goalscorers over the years and they will be hoping that summer signing Alexander Isak, who joined from Spanish side Real Sociedad, will be the next cult hero for the club in that position.

Dan Ashworth splashed out a club-record transfer fee of £63m to snap up the Sweden international but money does not guarantee success, as Newcastle have found out over the years with bargain signings and expensive flops.

One acquisition the club played a blinder with was Demba Ba, who moved on a free transfer from West Ham United in the summer of 2011 when Alan Pardew was in charge.

He had scored seven goals in 12 Premier League matches for the Hammers in the previous campaign and that was enough to convince the Magpies to secure his services.

Pardew heaped praise on the striker’s instincts at the time of the move, saying: “He’s a player that has a natural eye for a goal, my connections at West Ham are very good and I know everything about him.”

The forward had failed medicals with Stoke and Stuttgart and it was reported that there were doubts over whether or not Newcastle would go through with a deal due to concerns over a long-term knee injury.

Instead of backing out of the transfer due to potential injury complications, Pardew decided to go through with the signing and the English manager’s decision paid dividends with that call as Ba went on to be a terrific player for the club.

In his first season on Tyneside, the Senegal international plundered 16 goals and four assists in 36 Premier League outings. He followed that up with an impressive 13 goals and four assists in 20 top-flight appearances in the first half of the 2012/13 campaign, which attracted interest from Chelsea.

The Blues activated the attacker’s £7m release clause and snatched him away from the Magpies after 18 months of the supporters enjoying his performances up front.

Former Chelsea TV journalist Jake Heasman once described him as a “lethal” forward who “bangs in goals” at the time of his move to Stamford Bridge in 2013 and his aforementioned statistics at St. James’ Park back that up.

Whilst it was far from ideal for Newcastle to lose Ba midway through a season for £7m, Pardew played a blinder with the attacker as the club made a £7m profit off a free transfer and received a year and a half of outstanding performances after initially doubting whether to bring him to the north east.

Their gamble paid off both in terms of the financial and footballing benefits it brought and the now-retired marksman should be looked back on fondly by supporters.

The Saurashtra Cricket Association [SCA] has announced signing Robin Uthappa as the team’s professional player for the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy season, although the senior batsman is yet to confirm the development. ESPNcricinfo understands Uthappa, 31, does not wish to preempt the announcement before the paperwork has been processed and sent by the BCCI to the SCA, after an earlier deal with Kerala, which he had been on the verge of signing, did not go through.The SCA, though, has issued a statement welcoming Uthappa. “SCA feels confident that Robin will add strength to [the] strong Ranji Team of Saurashtra with his vast experience and commendable performance,” the association’s media manager, Himanshu Shah, said in a press release. “Robin Uthappa has completed all necessary formalities to BCCI, Saurashtra Cricket Association and Karnataka State Cricket Association.”In any event, the move has brought the curtain down on Uthappa’s 15-year association with Karnataka. He led Karnataka to the final of the 2009-10 Ranji Trophy, where Mumbai snatched a six-run win. Uthappa was also part of the Karnataka side that did the double-treble, winning the Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup and the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2013-14 and 2014-15. Last season, however, he had a middling run, tallying 328 runs from seven Ranji Trophy games, with only one fifty-plus score. Uthappa was subsequently left out of Karnataka’s quarter-final clash against Tamil Nadu, which the latter won.Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary Sudhakar Rao said the association had tried to persuade Uthappa to stay on. “We had two meetings, but he stuck to his words. He said he wanted a change. We can’t stop him,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “He is a senior player and he wants to go. So, we issued an NoC (No Objection Certificate) and wished him all the best for his comeback to the national side.”Uthappa has scored 8793 runs from 130 first-class matches at an average of 41.28, including 21 hundreds. He has turned out for India in 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is.

Scottish champions Celtic slipped to a shock 2-0 defeat at St Mirren on Sunday afternoon, with the Parkhead outfit seeing their 38-game unbeaten run in the league come crashing to an end following what was a dismal display in Paisley.

364 days on from their last defeat in the top-flight – with that having come away at Livingston – Ange Postecoglou’s men produced a rare below-par performance against a courageous Buddies outfit, with the title-winning coach left to rue his decision to heavily rotate his side.

One of the only real injury-related alterations for the clash with Stephen Robinson’s side saw Stephen Welsh come in to replace the stricken Cameron Carter-Vickers, with that change ultimately proving costly as the American’s absence left a notable void.

The former Tottenham Hotspur man – who signed for the Old Firm side on a permanent deal over the summer – has been in imperious form over the past 12 months or so in Glasgow, having formed an “immense” partnership with teammate Carl Starfelt at the heart of the backline.

With the Sweden international also unavailable due to a knee issue, it saw a relatively untested pairing of Moritz Jenz and the aforementioned Welsh start in defence, with that youthful duo subsequently failing to deal with the imposing, physical presence of both Jonah Ayunga and Curtis Main.

The latter man, in particular, proved a real handful as he simply “bullied” the Hoops defence, in the words of journalist Josh Bunting, with the visitors’ backline having looked a real “mess” on the day.

The defensive axis of Jenz and Welsh had looked “all over the place” – as per Bunting – although it was the Scotland U21 international who particularly disappointed, having been “weak” in attempting to defend Ayunga’s second-half effort, according to Sky Sports commentator Andy Walker.

The 22-year-old appeared to fling himself to the ground after minimal contact from Main inside the area in the build-up to the hosts’ second goal, with it hard to imagine Carter-Vickers having been so easily outmuscled.

The academy graduate also showed his failure in possession as he lost the ball on ten occasions, with the £1.35m-rated man having done little to stake his claim for a more regular starting berth on what was just his second league outing of the season so far.

With Postecoglou now having the international break to ponder his team selection for the upcoming clash against Motherwell on 1 October, it would well be a surprise if the 57-year-old were to name Welsh in his starting lineup, with the £10.5k-per-week youngster having distinctly underwhelmed yesterday.