Inside Futbol

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Ligue 1 club Nice have been ‘exploring’ a move to bring in Tottenham Hotspur defender Ben Davies, but the deal is seen as not straightforward.

The Welsh defender is very much part of the furniture at the north London side and he has been at the club for more than eleven years.

The left-footed defender is currently 32 and not a regular part of the current Spurs squad under Thomas Frank, who has a wealth of centre-back options and Destiny Udogie and Djed Spence as left-backs.

Tottenham have won seven and lost seven of their 18 Premier League games so far, with the defender featuring in only one match.

He has mostly been injured and played his first and only league game against Nottingham Forest in a 3-0 loss earlier this month; he played for only 31 minutes.

Spurs activated the one-year contract extension option last summer in Davies’ deal, with his current deal set to run until the end of the current campaign.

He won the Europa League trophy last season with Tottenham under Ange Postecoglou, but was keen to urge the side to move on from the Australian after he went.

Club Years Swansea City 2012-2014 Tottenham Hotspur 2014- Ben Davies’ career history

The Welsh defender can play as a centre-back or a left-back, and according to French sports daily L’Equipe, Nice are ‘exploring’ a move to bring him to France.

Nice have multiple significant injury issues in their backline at the moment and they feel that Davies could be the ideal fit at the Allianz Riviera.

However, the operation is not going to be easy for the French outfit, as the Welsh defender is on good money in England, and he will earn that until the end of the season.

And it has been suggested that the 32-year-old wants to secure a long-term contract, if and when he leaves Tottenham next month.

Claude Puel has returned to Nice as their new boss and his appointment could see some changes in the club’s approach in the upcoming winter window.

Nice ‘seriously considered’ signing Davies last summer and could have landed him on a free transfer if Tottenham had not extended his deal.

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Crystal Palace ‘may now be forced to commit’ if they are serious about signing Brennan Johnson after Bournemouth joined the race, according to journalist Alan Nixon.

Tottenham Hotspur are willing to let Johnson move on in the January transfer window and his availability has alerted a number of sides.

Bournemouth, who could lose Antoine Semenyo in January, are keen to take Johnson to the south coast as they battle an alarming slide in their Premier League form.

Richard Keys has admitted he expects to see Semenyo become one of the first to move in the January transfer window.

Johnson though is also on Crystal Palace’s radar, with the Eagles admirers of what the former Nottingham Forest man can do.

Tottenham want £35m to let Johnson go and it is suggested that Bournemouth would like to do a deal quickly.

The onus then is on Crystal Palace if they are serious about signing Johnson and the Eagles ‘may now be forced to commit’.

Whether Palace would be willing to meet Tottenham’s asking price for Johnson remains to be seen and it would represent a substantial outlay for the Selhurst Park side.

Earlier this season, Johnson was criticised by former Spurs star Danny Murphy, who suggested he needs to be more proactive in the defensive aspect of his game.

Ex-Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou said last year that he believed Johnson had much more growth in his game to come.

Whichever club land Johnson will get a potent attacking weapon, in the view of one former top flight striker, who believes not only does the attacker have ‘pace to burn’, but he can also ‘play anywhere across the front line’.

Johnson came through the youth ranks at Nottingham Forest and broke into the first team at the City Ground, shining brightly.

Spurs forked out close to £50m to take him to north London and it remains to be seen if they can achieve their £35m asking price for the 24-year-old.

A bidding war would likely help Tottenham get the maximum return possible.

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Tottenham Hotspur sporting director Fabio Paratici is set to spark a ‘revolution’ when he takes a senior position at Serie A strugglers Fiorentina.

Paratici is expected to leave Tottenham and return to his homeland to become the new Fiorentina sporting director.

As recently as before Christmas, Tottenham had not received an approach for Paratici, but the Italian is heading to Fiorentina.

He was at Tottenham’s win at Crystal Palace on Sunday, but according to Italian daily Corriere dello Sport, he has ‘already taken the reins’ at Fiorentina.

Paratici is expected to be at Fiorentina in an official capacity next week.

And when he arrives, ‘it will be a revolution’ at the Serie A club, with vast changes expected to the Fiorentina squad.

Fiorentina sit rock bottom of the Serie A standings and have only won one of their 17 league matches so far.

Paratici is a renowned deal-maker and should be in his element doing transfers in the January transfer window.

He did a number of top deals for Tottenham and was praised by Destiny Udogie’s agent last year for the way he landed the left-back.

Paratici played a big role in Tottenham signing Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, backing both to make an impact in the Premier League.

Paratici could well look towards Tottenham for possible reinforcements for Fiorentina in the January transfer window.

Centre-back Radu Dragusin has been linked with a return to Italian football in the approaching window

It is suggested that Paratici could well drive an interest in Dragusin and a loan move, to hand the Romanian regular game time after his recovery from a cruciate ligament injury, might well make sense for Tottenham.

Fiorentina next play in 2026, with Cremonese set to lock horns with La Viola in Serie A.

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Former Premier League midfielder Darren Ambrose has called for perspective when assessing Tottenham Hotspur this season under manager Thomas Frank, insisting that the club could have been relegated last term.

In June, after a disappointing league campaign under Ange Postecoglou that saw Tottenham finish just one spot above the relegation zone, despite winning the Europa League, Frank was appointed head coach.

Tottenham finished the campaign with 22 losses under the Australian coach and accumulated a measly total of 38 points, securing 17th place in the league.

Frank was appointed to revive Spurs’ form, and has recently likened his role to his first managerial stint at Brondby, where he inherited a club that had narrowly avoided relegation.

The 52-year-old made a steady start to the campaign, suffering just two defeats in nine games to sit firmly in the top three after nine matches, while remaining realistic by flatly dismissing any talk of a title challenge.

A recent slump has seen the Lilywhites collect just seven points from their last seven games, leaving them eleventh on 25 points after 18 matches.

With the Premier League more competitive than ever, the gap between fourth and 15th is just ten points, meaning a handful of results could quickly alter the standings.

Ambrose urged perspective on Tottenham’s season, highlighting improvement on last year’s league struggles and recalling how narrowly the club avoided serious trouble, with their 17th-place finish in many other seasons potentially leading to relegation.

While stressing that the Europa League success remains a deserved and untouchable moment for supporters, he pointed to Spurs sitting just four points off fifth place and potential Champions League qualification as evidence of progress, arguing that despite up-and-down form, the club are in a far stronger position than last season.

Ambrose said on talkSPORT (4:31): “We need to remember, as Spurs supporters, how poor it was last season in terms of the league campaign.

“17th. If it was not for three of the poor teams that got promoted from the Championship, Spurs would be in the Championship this season.

“In the majority of other seasons, they would have got relegated.

“Yes, they won the Europa League, which nothing can take that away from them.

“I think, as Spurs supporters, we deserved that moment.

“It’s been a long time coming.

“But to be sat four points off fifth place, a potential Champions League spot, which I think will go down to the top five again this season, I think you would have taken that.”

Focus now turns to Frank’s return to the Gtech Community Stadium on 1st January, where Spurs face Brentford once again.

The Dane will be aiming to replicate December’s comfortable win, secure back-to-back league victories for the first time since the opening weekend, and build the consistency he admits is not a “quick fix.”

The Lilywhites will hope to use the fixture as a springboard to climb the table and carry momentum into the new year.

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Fixture: Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur

Competition: Premier League

Kick-off: 16:30 UK time

Thomas Frank has picked his Tottenham lineup vs Crystal Palace for this afternoon’s Premier League clash at Selhurst Park – match preview here.

Spurs have now lost back to back Premier League games and languish in the bottom half of the table, which has put some pressure on Frank.

Even beating Crystal Palace today would only push Tottenham up from 14th to eleventh and Spurs need a consistent run of wins to change the scenario.

Frank has revealed he sees similarities between the job he has on his hands at Tottenham with that his did at Danish side Brondby.

One former Premier League winger though feels that Frank is struggling to cope with the size of Tottenham as a club.

Frank is unable to select Cristian Romero today, as he is suspended, but the Tottenham boss has sought to ease worries over the Argentine and insisted he is working to add coolness to his game.

Crystal Palace pose a tough test for Tottenham today and Frank has admitted in the run up to the match that Oliver Glasner has done a superb job with the Eagles.

The last meeting between the two sides resulted in Crystal Palace winning 2-0 at Tottenham.

Guglielmo Vicario is between the sticks in the Tottenham lineup vs Crystal Palace today, while in defence Frank goes with Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence.

Whoever can get the upper hand in midfield will have a big boost and Spurs go with Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, while Mohammed Kudus, Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani lead the attacking threat.

Frank can change his Tottenham lineup vs Crystal Palace by looking to his bench and his options include Kota Takai and Mathys Tel.

Tottenham Hotspur Lineup vs Crystal Palace

Vicario, Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence, Bentancur, Gray, Bergvall, Kudus, Richarlison, Kolo Muani

Substitutes: Kinsky, Dragusin, Palhinha, Tel, Johnson, Takai, Odobert, Davies, Scarlett

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Fixture: Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur

Competition: Premier League

Kick-off: 28th December, 16:30 UK time

Crystal Palace welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Selhurst Park with two despondent teams entering the fray, coming off the back of a week of unfavourable results.

The Eagles began with a defeat to Manchester City before drawing against KuPS with a much changed line-up in the Conference League. The rotation came to nothing though, as the players they tried to keep fresh imploded against Leeds United, before suffering elimination from the EFL Cup on penalties at the hands of Arsenal.

Palace, against Leeds and Manchester City, conceded the most and joint-second most goals they have for this season, with a familiar defensive strength turning into a frailty. Against Leeds, Palace conceded four times from set pieces, with the Whites taking advantage of the full complement of their repertoire of long throws, corners and free kicks despite having an open play xG of 0.14.

Tottenham Hotspur followed up an embarrassing 3-0 away defeat to Nottingham Forest, with an abject home defeat to an out-of-sorts Liverpool. Spurs somehow managed to look more jittery than a visiting Liverpool side on tenterhooks all game.

Those in white also seemed to have read the remit of leaving their all on the pitch as leaving a mark on their opponents, as the game witnessed a slew of rash challenges. For all their endeavour, Spurs finished with nine men, as reckless tackles earned Xavi Simons a straight red, and Cristian Romero a second yellow.

The lack of discipline saw journalist Alex Crook state that the players are not giving Thomas Frank ‘the respect he deserves’, as one former Spurs player insisted Frank ‘is not for Spurs’ while another former Premier League player suggested the Dane is struggling with the size of the club.

Oliver Glasner’s already stretched squad saw another casualty in Chris Richards, after the American international was stretchered off in the loss to Arsenal. Though Glasner said that the injury was not as bad as feared, Richards is a doubt for Sunday.

Frank will be without the suspended pair of Simons and Romero. The Dane has no fresh injury concerns, but long-term absentees Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski are still not close to a return.

Predicted Lineups

Crystal Palace Tottenham Hotspur Henderson Vicario Lacroix Porro Guehi Danso Lerma Van de Ven Clyne Udogie Hughes Bentancur Wharton Gray Mitchell Bergvall Nketiah Kudus Pino Richarlison Mateta Kolo Muani Predicted lineups

Recent Form (league)

Crystal Palace: LLWWL

Tottenham Hotspur: LLWDL

Key Men

Crystal Palace

Marc Guehi has created the most chances from defence, bar Reece James and Nico O’Reilly – five each, with four. Guehi looks certain to depart Selhurst Park in the new year, be it in January or the summer, and the Palace captain will want to leave the home support a parting gift over the festive period.

Maxence Lacroix was the pantomime villain on Tuesday evening against Arsenal as the centre-back scored an own goal before subsequently missing his spot kick, knocking Palace out.

Dean Henderson had a post-shot xG to goals conceded difference of 4.9 only a week ago, but it has decreased to 1.8 after the seven goals conceded against Manchester City and Leeds. Henderson will know that Palace’s strength is built from a strong defensive base and the England international will want to return to top form, especially after Walter Benitez’s strong showing against Arsenal.

Tottenham Hotspur

Mohammed Kudus, who was electric against Slavia Prague at home in the Champions League, has not scored or assisted in the Premier League over the past three weekends. Kudus and Frank will want a strong domestic showing soon.

Randal Kolo Muani proved a handful for Ibrahima Konate and might have proved more effective had Spurs been able to play with all eleven men against the Reds. Kolo Muani will be raring to go against a tired and injury hit Palace defence.

Kevin Danso is likely to be the replacement for Romero, and with Danso only afforded starts in an intermittent fashion, the Austrian will want to make the most of the opportunity.

Result Competition Tottenham 0-2 Crystal Palace Premier League Crystal Palace 1-0 Tottenham Premier League Tottenham 3-1 Crystal Palace Premier League Last three meetings

Match Prediction

Glasner will have been pleased with how side withstood the barrage of long-throws and set-pieces, thanks in no small part to Walter Benitez, after saying that they ‘were bullied from set plays’ against Leeds.

With one fewer distraction to contend with, all his focus will be on the league, as Palace hope to finish in the European spots come the end of the season.

Glasner, who bemoaned that his lineup was predictable ahead of the Leeds fixture, will again have little room for rotation or to spring a surprise on his opponents, with the side pretty much picking itself, with Frank being the beneficiary this time around.

Crystal Palace have underperformed their xG while Spurs have outperformed their expected goals by almost ten goals with 26 goals scored from 16.14 xG. Palace though have a shot accuracy at 42.15 per cent, which is markedly higher than Tottenham’s 32.63 per cent.

The encounter could be a tight and cagey affair, with both sides likely to favour efficiency, especially with squad options running out.

A jaded Palace might still prove to have too much fight for Tottenham on the day, lifting the mood in south London once again.

Inside Futbol Score Prediction

Crystal Palace 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Where To Watch?

Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League will be live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra HDR for a 16:30 kick-off in the UK.

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Florin Manea, the agent of Tottenham Hotspur defender Radu Dragusin, has revealed that the Romanian is looking even better than before physically and needs to get a certain number of games under his belt now.

The 23-year-old is now back at the disposal of Tottenham boss Thomas Frank, following a lengthy absence due to a cruciate ligament injury.

Dragusin has not been able to nail down a starting spot during his time at Tottenham and that situation has seen him regularly linked with a move back to Italy.

Roma are one of a number of Italian sides showing interest ahead of the January transfer window and could consider making a move for him if Tottenham open up to the prospect of allowing him to leave on loan with an option to buy.

His agent, who previously insisted that Dragusin is one of the few players who is not focused on money, is clear that his client is in good physical condition and now needs game time.

Manea thinks that Dragusin has even improved and believes that he looks stronger in a number of physical attributes, which he hopes the Romanian gets the chance to demonstrate.

“He’s in very good condition. I saw him in a friendly, where he played 90 minutes”, Manea told Digisport (via Area Napoli).

Club Coach Fiorentina Paolo Vanoli Napoli Antonio Conte Roma Gian Piero Gasperini Potential destinations for Radu Dragusin

“He seems stronger, faster and more flexible. He told me he’s ready.

“He’s been called up for the match against Liverpool, so he’s fine.

“He needs a few games.

“He doesn’t have to play them all, but he needs to have a certain number of games.”

In the absence of Dragusin, Tottenham signed Kevin Danso from Lens, beating Wolves to his signature, and Frank has a host of options he can play at centre-back.

Young Archie Gray is also capable of operating in the heart of defence, though Frank has been clear that he sees the former Leeds United man as primarily a midfielder.

If Italian sides do make firm approaches for Dragusin in the January transfer window then Tottenham may well have a decision to make.

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Tottenham Hotspur have still not received any approach from Serie A strugglers Fiorentina for the services of deal-maker Fabio Paratici, according to journalist Michael Bridge.

The Italian was first appointed by the north Londoners back in 2021 and he continued at the club until being forced to serve a ban in 2023.

The 53-year-old received a 30-month ban from the Italian Football Federation for inflating transfer fees.

His ban was lifted in July of this year, and back in May, it was suggested that Spurs had not finalised anything regarding his return to the club.

Paratici, however, finally made a comeback to the north Londoners in October, as one of the two sporting directors at Tottenham.

The 53-year-old was appointed to the joint sporting director role alongside Johan Lange, but he has been tipped for a quick return back to Italy.

Fiorentina have been looking to take Paratici back to Serie A and it has been suggested in Italy that the deal for that to happen is all but done.

However, Tottenham have not received any approach from Fiorentina for Paratici yet.

Spurs will need to agree to let their sporting director depart if a move to Fiorentina is to happen for Paratici.

The 53-year-old started his journey with Sampdoria, before he went on to spend eleven years with Serie A giants Juventus.

La Viola are currently massively struggling in the Serie A, as they sit 20th in the table, but at the weekend they won their first league match of the season.

Fiorentina smashed Udinese by a 5-1 scoreline and they are likely keen to make use of Paratici’s expertise in the January transfer window.

Former Tottenham supremo Daniel Levy appointed Paratici four years ago and he has been rated highly for his deal-making abilities.

It remains to be seen if Spurs will look to replace Paratici or if Lange will serve as the only sporting director at the club if the Italian does go to Fiorentina.

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Italian giants Roma ‘could consider’ signing defender Radu Dragusin from Tottenham Hotspur ‘if the English club were open’ to a loan with an option to buy agreement.

The Romanian centre-back, who joined Tottenham from Genoa in January last year, has found life hard in north London with a cruciate ligament injury keeping him away from action for a lengthy period of time.

Dragusin has now managed to recover from the injury and is back at the disposal of new Tottenham boss Thomas Frank.

In Dragusin’s absence, Tottenham did strengthen their centre-back options, notably by signing Kevin Danso, beating Wolves to his signature and leaving the Molineux outfit only learning of the hijack at the last minute.

Spurs have Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Ben Davies and Archie Gray also in the squad as centre-back options.

Tottenham could be open to doing a deal to let Dragusin go and the defender’s stock in Italy remains high.

Roma are admirers of what Draguson brings to the table and, according to Italian outlet Tutto Mercato Web, ‘could consider’ making a move for him under certain conditions.

The Giallorossi would like to sign Dragusin on loan with an option to buy and ‘if the English club were open’ to that sort of deal, it could be done.

Club Coach Fiorentina Paolo Vanoli Napoli Antonio Conte Roma Gian Piero Gasperini Potential destinations for Radu Dragusin

Tottenham are thought to likely want an obligation to buy if they do agree to loan Dragusin out in January.

Napoli remain fans of the defender and were beaten by Tottenham to his signature, while they then looked at potentially signing him again in the summer of 2024.

Whether Napoli would consider a fresh move for Dragusin in next month’s transfer window remains to be seen.

There could also be possible interest from Fiorentina, who have been sucked into a relegation battle in Serie A.

La Viola are in the process of bringing Fabio Paratici back to Italy and a swoop on Spurs for Dragusin is not being ruled out as a possibility.

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Former Premier League winger Perry Groves is of the view that Thomas Frank is struggling with how big a club Tottenham Hotspur are.

Spurs decided to sack Ange Postecoglou after the end of last season, despite the Australian delivering a major trophy in the shape of the Europa League.

The success put Tottenham into this season’s Champions League which would likely have boosted their chances of appointing a high profile manager.

Tottenham though turned to Frank and lured him from Brentford to take over in north London.

The appointment of the Dane has failed to convince a number of Spurs fans and he has the club in the bottom half of the Premier League table at Christmas.

One journalist has suggested the Tottenham players are not giving Frank the respect he deserves, while there have also been question marks over his team selection and use of substitutes.

At Brentford, Frank was used to working in an environment with lower expectations, albeit there was still the demand to keep the Bees away from a relegation scrap.

Game Competition Crystal Palace (A) Premier League Brentford (A) Premier League Sunderland (H) Premier League Tottenham’s next three games

Groves thinks that Frank is struggling with the massively increased expectations of the Tottenham job and the extra focus on everything happening at the club.

He believes there are big egos in the dressing room, namechecking Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Djed Spece, which Frank is also struggling to control.

Groves said on talkSPORT (21st December, 15:18): “It’s a completely different scenario when you are managing Tottenham Hotspur [to managing Brentford].

“It is amplified twenty fold for how big a club that they are.

“I think he is struggling to come to terms with how big the club is.

“I think he is struggling with the big egos there, the Romeros, Van de Ven, Djed Spence when he walked off.”

Frank’s former club Brentford are above Tottenham in the Premier League table at the moment, one point better off than Spurs after 17 games.

There are only two more games to go before the season reaches its halfway point and if Spurs are still in the bottom half of the table then, Frank will likely come under even greater pressure.

The Dane may be looking to do some business in the January transfer window, which opens in just ten days’ time.