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Oliver Skipp: Leicester City sign midfielder from Tottenham

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Leicester City have announced the signing of midfielder Oliver Skipp from Tottenham for an undisclosed fee.

The 23-year-old has signed a five-year deal at the King Power Stadium that runs through until 2029.

The deal is understood to be worth £20m plus a further £5m in add-ons.

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Speaking to LCFC.com, Skipp said: "I'm really excited to sign. I've got the feeling that it's a good group of people and a good group of players. I'm sure that we've got a squad capable of challenging in every game. You look around the squad and there are lots of exciting players who have played in the Premier League and I'm really excited to see what this group can achieve.

"I had conversations with the people here and they gave me a feeling of warmth and that they were excited to have me on board. As a player, when you feel that excitement, that's something you can use to develop your game. The staff here know me as well - Steve [Cooper], I have worked with at England so there's definitely a good relationship there and I'm keen to push on and show what I can do."

Leicester host Tottenham in the first Monday Night Football of the season at the King Power Stadium. Skipp will be in attendance but will not face his former side. He will be available to make his Leicester debut on Saturday August 24 at Fulham; kick-off 3pm.

An academy graduate at Spurs, Skipp went on to make 106 appearances in all competitions for the north London club.

He featured for England up to U21 level and helped the Young Lions claim the UEFA European Championship in 2023.

Skipp was managed by Leicester City boss Steve Cooper when he played for England U17s and U18s.

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Premier League Predictions & best bets: Dominic Solanke to make instant impact for Tottenham at Leicester

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Our football betting expert Jones Knows is back to provide his insight and best angles on every game as the Premier League returns.

Leicester vs Tottenham, Monday 8pm, live on Sky Sports

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I just love the Dominic Solanke signing. He could be the final piece of the jigsaw for Ange Postecoglou as he's the perfect modern-day centre-forward that is a great penalty-box finisher and links the play expertly.

I think Postecoglou and his methods can take him to the next level - and boy is he going to get chances playing as the focal point in this Tottenham attack.

Solanke scored 19 goals last season at Bournemouth with only two of them coming from the penalty spot - I'm fully expecting him to surpass those numbers with the level of service improving wide from areas. It's those finishes from cutbacks from wide areas he does excel with and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him get off the mark against who I have down as the most likely to prop up the division this season.

The 4/1 with Sky Bet for Solanke to score first is begging to be backed.

SCORE PREDICTION: 1-3 | JONES KNOWS' BEST BET: Dominic Solanke to score first (4/1 with Sky Bet - part of the 14/1 weekend treble!)

Jones Knows' best bets...

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Transfer Centre LIVE! Latest updates on Conor Gallagher, Ivan Toney, Marc Guehi and more...

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Ange Postecoglou exclusive: Tottenham boss targeting silverware in his second season in charge

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"Usually in my second season I win things."

Ange Postecoglou's words will be music to the ears of Tottenham fans, who have been starved of silverware for more than 16 years.

The Australian's hopes of winning Spurs' first trophy since 2008 appear to have been significantly heightened following the club-record signing of Dominic Solanke.

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His £65m arrival from Bournemouth finally fills the Harry Kane void and gives Postecoglou the No 9 he sought to move the team forward.

Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports two days before Solanke's signing, Postecoglou was already in an optimistic mood ahead of his second season in charge as he discussed how his team can improve from their fifth-placed finish, James Maddison's form and the summer transfer window...

What did you get from this pre-season?

"Definitely a growth in the players. Their understanding and their embracing of the way we train and the way we do things. It was all very new to them last year, it's fair to say. It was a fairly drastic departure from what they'd been used to.

"Whenever you have that change, there's always a little bit of uncertainty. They look more comfortable this year in embracing what we're going to do and what we have been doing. Again, that's good for me and the other coaches because it allows us to say we've now got to challenge them and ourselves to make sure what we're delivering is at a bigger level than it was last year."

How do you feel about your second season in charge?

"I guess I'm not the shiny new thing anymore, so there's other new managers. People can go off and discover them and their childhood and not have to speak about mine anymore.

"Usually in my second season I win things. That's the whole idea. First year is about establishing principles and creating a foundation. Hopefully the second year is going onto win things. Of course it's easier said than done, particularly in the Premier League and the competition we're in. That's always the way I've looked at it, is that the second year you should be in a position where you can push on, depending on how the first year has gone.

"Last year we had some really good moments, obviously we had some tough moments. I think we learnt as much from the tough moments as we did from the good stuff and hopefully that means we're in a good place. We're definitely a better-prepared team than we were last year."

What's the next step for this team?

"What we really found last year, and it was no surprise, was that whenever we had disruptions, whether that was injuries or suspensions, we lacked some discipline, we really struggled to maintain the levels of football that we established when everyone was up and running.

"Invariably in any year you're going to have some challenges. It's about coping with that better. Having a better squad hopefully copes with that. A better understanding of, through that time, what we need to focus on. That means to me that we're better prepared for the challenges that are always there.

"It doesn't matter which team you are or how you did last year, every team will go into this season knowing there's going to be a challenging period for them. And hopefully with what we went through last year, what we learnt and the development of players... because we're still a very young group and a lot of them it was their first year in the Premier League or their first year at Tottenham. When you're looking at a benchmark I think most of them left a pretty decent one last year, so if we can improve on that that will put us in a pretty good space."

Which specific aspects do you think need some polishing?

"I think in all aspects. The first thing is, have I got a group of players who believe in what we're trying to do? I really do believe that. That's the first part of any sort of process. We've bought into the way we want to play because it's challenging. You've got to be brave. You've got to be able to do things a little bit differently, positionally, or in the way we approach games. You've got to have an open mind about that. The first year is about trying to get people to believe in that.

"Probably because we got off to such a great start, that there wasn't too much resistance. The players bought into it, they enjoyed it and they wanted more of it. But now it's about doing that on a more consistent basis and not allowing, whether that's oppositions or outside influences, to take us off the road we're on. I thought it happened too often last year where there was an opposition tactic, or something we did self-inflicted - whether that was a lack of discipline or we had injuries and we had to shuffle the team around. We didn't stay as consistent in our approach. But I think for the most part, the players still tried to do what we wanted them to do. Hopefully we execute better."

After James Maddison's England omission for Euro 2024, did you have a chance to speak to him about it?

"I haven't had an extensive chat with him. But again, I think that's part of a footballer's journey. I've often said that I think sometimes we see things in such a linear sort of way where we think that everything is going to be great and it never is. You could be the greatest at something but there's going to be challenges, there's going to be stumbles along the way and it's how you react to them, what you do about them. How you embrace the next challenge that comes along.

"For Madders I'm sure he was enormously disappointed in missing out because he'd been a part of that team that went on that journey. But he's still got plenty of football in him and there's still challenges there for him. It's how you deal with that. Do you kind of just write it off or do you use it as motivation moving forward? Do you use it as maybe a time of self-reflection to say, well, could I have done anything better? When you're honest with yourself and ask those questions, you might find that, no, actually I'm still on the right path. But you need to do that and use that moving forward.

"He's been great since we got back. His season last year kind of reflected ours. He was unbelievable when he was up and going and then he had injuries. It was a bit of a grind when he did get back and that was kind of us as a team, so hopefully the way we've learned as a team he's learned about as an individual - because he's a big part of our side. We've got a very young team and he's one that has that experience, has that quality and one we'll be looking for to guide us through it."

How much do you rely on signings to visualise a new season?

"It's an important part of the process and I think it comes back to what I've often said - part of recruiting is understanding you're not recruiting footballers, you're recruiting people. What kind of person are they? Why do they want to come to Tottenham? Are they ambitious? Do they have an open mind? Are they prepared to take on the enormous challenge of creating something special at the club that has that success? All these kinds of things, and hopefully the stuff that they've already identified so that when they come here they feel like it's the right place for them.

"Hopefully they walk into a dressing room of like-minded individuals who all have that kind of mindset. That helps them then visualise what we're trying to build. It's probably an easier process for guys, new players coming in this year because they walk into a dressing room and the guys will have absolute clarity and give them absolute clarity of what they're all trying to do. Whereas last year it was more about me trying to create that environment, me trying to paint those pictures to everyone, not just the players and staff, but everyone at the football club.

"Hopefully this year, for the guys we've brought in so far, they walk into a dressing room and they can feel exactly what we're trying to do."

In technical terms, what do you look specifically at in an attacking player?

"Whether it's an attacking player or any player, what I think people have hopefully understood is that we have a real identity to how we play our football. You kind of know when Tottenham plays, we're going to have two wingers out there, we're going to be very, very good at taking players on, being really aggressive with their play, being able to press.

"If I'm looking for a left winger, they're the kind of attributes that are pretty clear that we need to see in them because ultimately there's fantastic footballers all over the world. You can pick any one of them and they'd be unbelievable, but I've got to see them in my team in the way we want to play. They've got to have those attributes.

"In one way that makes the process easier, but it's also challenging because it's a much smaller field that you're looking at. In today's market, it's not easy to get that squad of players when it's so competitive. For me, whether that's an attacking player or any player, it's do I see them in our team tomorrow with the attributes they have? Obviously we've got to coach them and help them through the process. Do they have those qualities that I see them playing in our team? If they tick that box, then that's a big part of us saying, 'Well okay, I think you'll be a good fit'."

What can you say to those fans who are anxious during the summer transfer window? (Speaking before Spurs announced the signings of Dominic Solanke and Wilson Odobert)

"I understand that anxiety because every transfer window is your only opportunity to improve your playing personnel and your squad.

"I like to think in every window so far we have strengthened. Certainly last year we brought in some fantastic footballers. In January, we brought in Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner. We've brought in two young guys - Archie Gray, who's a fantastic young talent, and Lucas (Bergvall) joins us, even though we signed him in January, but we still have work to do. There's no doubt about that. That's the nature of the transfer market.

"For me, I have just as much anxiety because it's the part of the year I have least control over. It would be great if I had total control over everything, including what other clubs did, but that doesn't happen.

"I understand where the fans sit with it. My role within that is to try and stay calm, stay disciplined and make sure that come the end of the window, which is the most important time, we've had another positive window in that we've made our squad and our team stronger."

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Paul Merson's Premier League predictions: Spurs to impress, Pedro Neto to shine at Chelsea and Strictly Come Dancing hopes

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The Premier League is back and so is Paul Merson, who is looking ahead to an exciting new season on Sky Sports.

We put 'The Magic Man' firmly to the test ahead of the opening week of the season as he picks his champions, predicts a top-four surprise and names his signings of the summer

There is even some dancing chat as we ask the newly-announced Strictly Come Dancing star about his dancefloor credentials!

Read on for Merson's season predictions in full...

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Who will win the Premier League title?

I can't see past Manchester City.

If Arsenal do bring in a centre-forward, I can see them pushing City all the way, potentially even winning it. They definitely need a 20-goal merchant.

However, it's difficult to back against City doing it again.

Will there be any top-four surprises?

I do [think there will be a surprise]. Tottenham will finish in the top four.

Dominic Solanke is a really good buy. They needed an out-and-out striker with pace, and he's that. He's a presence up there leading the line and he will suit the way Spurs play under Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs were unlucky last season. They started brilliantly and then lost to Chelsea. They had two players sent off that day but they lost so many to injury as well that week. We just talked about Arsenal winning the league, if you took the key players Spurs lost away from Arsenal, or anybody else bar Man City, it would be a struggle.

So, if Spurs can keep their players fit, I think they can spring a surprise or two this season.

Which summer signing do you think will have the most impact?

I've pretty much answered that in Solanke. At Spurs, Richarlison is a good player on his day, but you need more than on your day.

Solanke could be that difference because teams were starting to push up on Spurs and suffocate them, but Solanke's pace and his threat in behind, that can help stretch the game for Postecoglou's side.

That could in turn help James Maddison, who didn't get much space at all when he returned to the team after his injury. But Solanke will help him get space and, with time and space, Maddison can pick out anybody.

Is there any other transfer business that has impressed you?

The fee Man City got for Julian Alvarez. Wow, that was impressive.

Player to watch out for this season?

Someone else who I think can do really well is Pedro Neto at Chelsea.

At the start of the summer, I thought he'd be a great signing for Arsenal. He suits them down to the ground and is a player that could have taken the load off Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.

So, that deal shocked me. If Chelsea can keep him fit, I think it is an incredible signing.

With transfers like Matthijs de Ligt to Man Utd, I think that's a deal you have to wait and see on before judging. Is he going to be a 'Rolls Royce' defender or another signing where we question why United got him? Only time will tell on that one. The jury is definitely still out.

Who will be the top goalscorer in the Premier League?

No one will be looking any further down the list than Erling Haaland.

What did he miss last season? Two months? He still won it.

He's the only striker in the league who can score three, four, five goals a game regularly.

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Which team will be this season's underachiever?

What are Man Utd's achievements meant to be? I'm not sure anymore.

I think it is definitely 'watch this space' in regards to Chelsea and Man Utd. At the moment, I can't see anything but them being cup teams this season. They both have players that can turn it on on any given day, but I'm not sure they can do it on a consistent basis.

For both teams, we are now talking about top four being a success, but it is not long ago that top four would have been a disaster.

It will be interesting to see where both clubs end up come May. You never know what could happen with a fast start.

Will the newly-promoted teams stay up this season?

All three newly-promoted teams played in a certain way last season. The style of football from Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton was very good on the eye.

However, coming into the Premier League, they now have to be flexible. They have got to be able to change things up when needed.

The way they played last season worked a treat but they were playing against a different calibre of opposition.

Last season, look at Burnley, we all know what they have to do and we know they have to get the ball away from their goal and not keep on playing it out from the back. However, they kept doing it and they ended up being relegated.

Vincent Kompany got the Bayern Munich job by playing in the right way but it didn't help Burnley. The new managers in the Premier League need to look at that and be flexible. You cannot open the game up every week. Sometimes you need to sit in and be disciplined.

The difficulty might be the fact that I expect a team like Everton to be more competitive this season. They were fighting relegation last season but I don't expect that to be the case this year. That rules out a potential team to go down so it will be difficult because it's a ruthless league.

But start well, build some confidence and you never know.

And finally, will you make it to Blackpool on Strictly?

Who knows! It won't be for a lack of trying or a lack of effort.

I try not to look that far forward. That's not how I look at my life. I try and just take things for how they come and see where that takes me.

But it's going to be interesting, that's for sure. Let's give it a go and see where we get to!

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