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Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Paul Robinson thinks Lucas Moura is “well within his right” to leave and said his former club would be “silly” not to offer the forward a new contract.

The Lowdown: Moura’s season so far 

So far this season, the Brazilian has made 11 appearances for the Lilywhites across all competitions but only started two of them.

This shows that the 30-year-old is not currently at the top of the pecking order at Tottenham under Antonio Conte.

With that in mind and the fact that his current contract at the club is set to expire in 2024, it seems as though the player has been backed to move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Latest: Moura backed for Spurs exit

Speaking to Football Insider, former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who contributes to Sky Sports, had this to say about Moura’s current situation and his future at the north London club.

“Lucas Moura has cult hero status. He is well within his right to leave if he is not happy with the bit-part role that he has at the moment. He would leave with every Spurs fan’s blessing I’m sure.

“It seems as if he is way down the list. He is behind Richarlison, [Dejan] Kulusevski and [Heung-min] Son. He is not getting many minutes.

“If there is not the offer of a new contract, nobody would begrudge him running down his contract and leaving on a free. Everyone understands that he will want to play.

“If he signs a new deal he will not be playing that much. The question is, is that a role he is willing to accept? From Spurs’ point of view, it would be silly not to offer him a new contract.”

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The Verdict: A big decision for Spurs

Across the 98 minutes of Premier League action he’s had this season, Moura has racked up five shot-creating actions, leaving him with the second-highest rate of shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (4.59) at the club.

Having also picked up a combined total of nine tackles and interceptions, which is four more than Harry Kane has this season despite playing significantly more minutes, this further highlights just how useful the Brazilian can be when called upon.

Taking all of this into account, it seems as though a decision will have to be made at some point in 2023 between the club and the player regarding whether or not a new contract will be offered to Moura and whether or not his current role in the squad is something he’d want to continue with.

It’s no secret that Arsenal technical director Edu is keen on enticing Ukrainian winger Mykhaylo Mudryk to the club, with a report from The Sun last month claiming that the Gunners are among a number of Premier League clubs – which includes Everton, Newcastle United and Brentford – in signing the player.

Ligue 1 side Nice were willing to pay £25m for the winger, although Shakhtar Donetsk are looking for double that figure. His Champions League performances this season have been impressive, as he has scored three times and registered two assists on the elite European stage, suggesting he could shine for a bigger club than Shakhtar.

The price tag may put Edu off, though, and Mikel Arteta could land a potential alternative in Villarreal winger Alex Baena, who was linked with the club in September.

The 21-year-old has a release clause of £31m, which makes him a much more affordable candidate than Mudryk.

Baena has also significantly impressed for the Spanish club this season, scoring eight goals in all competitions while chipping in with a further four assists.

It’s his displays on the continent which have allowed the winger to really showcase his talent, and this has perked up the interest of potential suitors.

In just five Europa Conference League matches, he averaged a sensational SofaScore rating of 7.8/10 and registered five goal contributions (four goals and one assist) for Villarreal.

By making two key passes per match and creating two more big chances, Baena has a creative spark which allows him to provide opportunities for others, and he has shown wonderful maturity in his performances at just 21 years of age.

The Spaniard is currently the highest-rated player in the Europa Conference League this season, and this could well be a sign of things to come from him in the future.

If Arsenal are priced out of a move for Mudryk in the near future, then Baena is the ideal alternative, and he could excel in the Premier League.

Liverpool have offered Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister a £150k-per-week contract to try and lure him to Anfield, according to reports.

What's the latest on Mac Allister to Liverpool?

The Reds have ruled themselves out of the running to sign Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham so are on the hunt for other midfield alternatives, and being Roberto De Zerbi’s top-performing offensive player and second best overall with a WhoScored match rating of 7.09, Mac Allister has been made a target by Jurgen Klopp.

Football Insider have reported that the Argentine does want a move to the Premier League giants, with Sky Sports since claiming that the Seagulls are expected to demand an asking price of £70m to sanction his sale while some reports have even claimed a deal has already been reached.

TalkSPORT recently suggested that the Merseyside outfit are yet to make any kind of official contact regarding a deal for the 24-year-old however despite outlets stating otherwise, though it would now appear they have taken the first step towards changing that.

According to Football Insider, Liverpool have “offered” Mac Allister a “huge” £150k-per-week contract which is triple the £50k-per-week he earns at Brighton. The Reds are “making progress” on the deal, with club officials having already “met” the midfielder’s agents for “face-to-face talks”, which is when they submitted their proposal.

Klopp would like FSG to have signed his target in time for the start of pre-season and he views him as an “amazing” player and one that could “instantly” slot into the first-team. The Anfield side have “not yet secured an agreement”, but are “increasingly confident” of doing so with the World Cup winner the “most advanced” of their possible new signings.

Should Liverpool cash out on Mac Allister?

During the World Cup, Mac Allister was dubbed an “unsung hero” by Argentina reporter Roy Nemer and he’s continued his excellent run of form since returning from Qatar so Liverpool should empty their pockets to wrap up a deal in the weeks and months ahead.

The Seagulls' talisman has posted 14 goal contributions (12 goals and two assists) in 35 appearances across all competitions this season and has recorded a total of 75 shots since the start of the term, which is higher than any other member of his squad, as per FBRef.

A versatile operator, Mac Allister has the additional flexibility to play in a wonderful seven various positions across the pitch, including five in the midfield, out wide on the left wing and even at centre-forward, so he would be the perfect candidate to put pen to paper at Anfield.

Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman made a splash in the transfer market over the summer as he attempted to improve the squad ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

The likes of Jack Clarke, Edouard Michut, Daniel Ballard and Ellis Simms, among others, all came through the door to bolster then-manager Alex Neil’s team.

It remains to be seen whether or not they will be successes or failures on Wearside, either joining the list of flops or heroes in Sunderland folklore.

There are also players, however, who the Black Cats have wanted to sign over the years and failed to do so, with the club either looking back on them with regret or relief.

One talent who slipped from their grasp was centre-back Toby Alderweireld during Gus Poyet’s tenure at the club in the Premier League.

Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws, via talkSPORT, reported in the summer of 2014 that Sunderland had agreed a deal with Atletico Madrid to sign the Belgium international, with a view to talks over a permanent move the following year.

Unfortunately, Poyet was unable to convince the defender to make the move to the Stadium of Light as Alderweireld ended up rejecting the transfer.

He ended up signing for Southampton on loan and played 26 Premier League games for the Saints in 2014/15, which attracted interest from Tottenham and the London club snapped him up on a permanent deal from Atletico in 2015.

The enforcer, who was once described as “outstanding” by journalist Michael Bridge, went on to enjoy a fantastic career with Spurs as he made 236 appearances – including 25 in the Champions League – for the club in all competitions over the course of six years.

In his six seasons with Tottenham, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year once and played his part in Hugo Lloris keeping 76 clean sheets in that time.

Alderweireld, who was previously dubbed a “leader” by Paul Robinson, has also been capped 123 times by Belgium at international level and is currently playing for Royal Antwerp in his home country.

His statistics and achievements since making his first move to England in 2014 speak for themselves and show that Sunderland missed out on a chance to sign a top-quality, Champions League-level player under Poyet.

The then-Black Cats head coach was unable to persuade the Belgian machine to make the move and endured a nightmare as he had to watch on as the defender forged a terrific career for himself at Southampton and then Tottenham, instead of strutting his stuff at the Stadium of Light for the fans to enjoy his defending.

One that got away…

Huddersfield Town are set to make a move for Rotherham manager Paul Warne, according to Football League World.

The Lowdown: Crucial win

Danny Schofield was relieved of his duties as Huddersfield manager in midweek following a 2-1 defeat to Wigan. The club announced that Narcis Pelach and Paul Harsley would take temporary charge for Saturday’s league game against Cardiff City, which they won 1-0 thanks to Jordan Rhodes’ early goal.

The victory takes the Terriers to within three points of climbing out of the Championship relegation zone, with Dean Hoyle continuing the search to find Schofield’s replacement.

The Latest: Warne linked with Huddersfield

According to Football League World, Huddersfield are set to make a move for Warne after being knocked back in their pursuit of Plymouth Argyle head coach Steven Schumacher.

The report adds that Huddersfield will find it ‘very hard’ to persuade Warne to join, with the Rotherham boss admitting after his team’s draw with Middlesbrough on Saturday night that he is yet to receive any contact from the Terriers.

The Verdict: Time is ticking

The 49-year-old is approaching 2,000 days as Rotherham manager and appears to be extremely happy with his current employers. Therefore, a move to the John Smith’s Stadium appears to be a fairly ambitious one, but it looks as if the Terriers will try their luck.

Hoyle and co now have the international break to bring in a new manager, and hopefully Schofield’s successor will be in the door by the time Huddersfield travel to Reading on October 1.

Tottenham Hotspur have received a big boost in their pursuit of Ruslan Malinovskyi…

What’s the word?

According to Italian outlet Corriere Bergamo, Ligue 1 outfit Marseille have dropped out of the race to sign the 30-year-old midfielder after the player made it clear that he favoured a move to Spurs.

Sergio Reguilon could be offered in some sort of swap deal, though Atalanta values the Ukraine international at €20m (£17m).

Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest recently saw a €15m (£12.7m) bid rejected by La Dea for Malinovskyi and it remains to be seen whether they will launch another move.

Conte will be buzzing

This latest update should leave manager Antonio Conte absolutely delighted as one of their rivals in the hunt for the Ukraine star has dropped out of the running and not only that, the player wants to come to north London too.

Malinovskyi would offer the Italian a superb depth option in midfield and perhaps something they are lacking.

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After providing Atalanta with ten goals and seven assists last campaign, it’s clear that the 5 foot 11 maestro is capable of adding threat from midfield in the final third.

Spurs have missed that sort of presence ever since Christian Eriksen left Hotspur Way for Conte’s Inter Milan in January 2020. The Dane delivered a goal or assist every 151 minutes for the club and nobody has been able to match that since.

During his time in Bergamo, Malinovskyi – once dubbed a “playmaker” by Evening Standard journalist Simon Collings – has scored or assisted every 114 minutes, which for someone entering their thirties is pretty respectable indeed.

As per FBref, the former Genk star has also averaged 0.32 expected assists and 4.99 shot-creating actions per 90 over the last year, which ranks him amongst the top 5% and 7% of fellow attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe.

This is surely the sort of player that Conte would love to have at Spurs right now, having struggled to break down Wolves this weekend. Their only big chance created resulted in the game’s only goal as neither of his starting midfield duo of Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg managed to provide a key pass, via SofaScore.

With only Spurs now in the race for Malinovskyi, sporting director Fabio Paratici must push ahead to try and seal him before it’s too late, with less than ten days left in the summer transfer window.

AND in other news, Levy’s £22m transfer mistake over “fantastic talent” is coming back to haunt Spurs…

Wolverhampton Wanderers could be left to rue their inability to move on Ruben Neves this summer, according to talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook.

What’s the word?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the respected source suggested that the Midlands side are now facing a potential “problem” this summer, with fewer funds set to be available as they are yet to cash in on the Portuguese midfielder.

Crook stated: “That’s a bit of a problem for Wolves because at the start of the summer, when there had also been interest in January from Manchester United and Barcelona, they almost built their business plan around selling Neves for decent money.

“The fact that nobody has come in has obviously left them a bit short stocked.”

The Molineux outfit have been left somewhat in limbo with the 25-year-old – who has been the subject of interest from clubs across Europe – also yet to agree a new deal at the club, with just two years remaining on his existing contract.

Summer disaster

That fact has ensured that Wolves could be forced to sell the playmaker on the cheap next summer if he does not agree to an extension, with that a far from ideal scenario for a player whom manager Bruno Lage previously insisted could demand over £100m.

Bringing in something close to that fee would no doubt have enabled the former Benfica boss to rebuild the squad in his image, with key areas of the pitch undoubtedly in desperate need of bolstering.

While the club have signed the forward pair of Goncalo Guedes and Hwang Hee-chan on permanent deals this summer – the latter man having spent last season on loan under Lage – there is still arguably the need for a genuine, out-and-out centre-forward, particularly with Raul Jimenez currently sidelined with injury.

Equally, in a more general sense, there have long been concerns over the lack of squad depth at the club, with those fears potentially heightened having seen the likes of Roman Saiss and Conor Coady depart, despite also bringing in Nathan Collins from Burnley.

Recouping valuable cash with the sale of Neves would no doubt have helped Lage and co bolster their positions of weakness and fill such notable voids, although now it would appear that they will be lumbered with a player whose value is only set to depreciate the longer his contract saga drags on.

Not that supporters nor the club will wish to see the 30-cap gem depart, with the £58k-per-week ace having been so influential in the team’s rise in recent years, scoring 24 goals and providing 12 assists in 214 games in all competitions since joining on back in 2017.

That being said, it is seemingly the natural order of things that such an impressive figure is typically snapped up by an elite club, with Wolves likely having been banking on that fact, as Crook alluded to.

As it is, Lage will likely have to continue to field a player whose future remains particularly unclear, with it set to prove something of a disaster if his non-sale does impact potential incomings.

Manchester United have found out how much it will cost to bring Benjamin Sesko to Old Trafford this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Mirror, who claim that, following Fabrizio Romano’s recent tweet revealing that Erik ten Hag’s side are “well informed” on the Red Bull Salzburg centre-forward, United will have to part with a figure in the region of £55m in order to prise the 19-year-old away from the Red Bull Arena ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

It would give Klopp nightmares

Considering just how exciting a prospect Sesko very much appears to be, it isn’t difficult to understand why Ten Hag would be interested in a deal to bring the Slovenia international to Manchester before the summer transfer window slams shut on September 1.

Indeed, the £9m-rated talent was in devasting form over his 29 2. Liga appearances for Salzburg’s feeder club FC Liefering in 2020/21, scoring 21 goals and registering six assists in the second tier of Austrian football, with this form seeing the teenager called up to Matthias Jaissle’s side last summer.

Despite the striker playing second fiddle to the likes of Karim Adeyemi and Junior Adamu for Die Roten Bullen, the youngster still managed to catch the eye over his 37 appearances – only 14 of which came as starts – in 2021/22, bagging 11 goals and providing seven assists in all competitions.

Furthermore, the player who Dan Sansom dubbed a “serious talent” has started Salzburg’s 2022/23 campaign like a house on fire, having already scored two goals and registered one assist in his scored the winner – and generally terrorised opposition defenders – in a 1-0 friendly win over Liverpool on Wednesday.

As such, not only would the signing of Sesko this summer very much look to set up Manchester United and Ten Hag at centre-forward for many years to come, the prospect of Liverpool facing the 19-year-old on a regular basis could also give Jurgen Klopp nightmares.

That is even more incentive for the Red Devils to seal a £55m deal for the Slovenian sensation in the coming weeks.

AND in other news: Transfer insider reveals MUFC are “interested” in £17m talent, it would be an “unreal” signing

West Ham United have made an excellent start to this summer’s transfer window, signing no fewer than three players who will all add quality to the first team.

David Moyes appears to be working tirelessly to rebuild his squad ahead of another crucial season in which he will look to guide the club to another deep European run and a top-eight finish in the Premier League.

It looks likely that there will be more arrivals at the London Stadium in the next few weeks, with Moyes looking at adding a striker to bolster his attacking options.

Chelsea frontman Armando Broja appears to be his first choice, although an alternative deal for a forward who plays in Serie A might become viable depending on a potential move for the Albania international.

Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness) claims that West Ham are keen on making a move for Justin Kluivert, and a fee of €15m (£13m) may be enough to secure his signature ahead of next season.

The Dutchman earned a move to Roma following a breakthrough season at Ajax in 2017/18 where he scored 11 goals in all competitions, however it’s fair to say he hasn’t lived up to his potential in Italy.

The left-winger has only scored nine times for Roma during his spell at the club, although he has impressed in a loan spell at Nice last season, netting six times and providing six assists as he looked to get his Ajax form back.

With Nick Mercadante saying that “his talent is nearly limitless”, Moyes might have an opportunity to sign someone who could offer something slightly different to the West Ham attack.

Imagine Jarrod Bowen on the right and Kluivert on the left, all the club needs now is a striker who can score 20 plus goals a season and they might have a great chance of doing better than last season.

For £13m, it’s a risk worth taking on the Dutchman as he looks to build on his early promise.

AND in other news: In talks: Moyes given green light for £10m West Ham deal, he’s “absolutely everywhere”

West Ham United are interested in bringing in Juventus’ 23-year-old left-back Luca Pellegrini.

What’s the word?

That is according to a report by Italian publication Corriere Dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who claim that the Hammers have now made an “important offer” for the young Italian, with their efforts said to have scared off the competition.

As stated in the report, Pellegrini was said to have been holding talks with David Moyes and co just last week and it was said that an agreement was needed on what type of deal would be made.

And now, it is said that the 23-year-old has been made an “important offer” and as a result, other suitors “consider it difficult” to sign the Juventus starlet because of the effort level shown by West Ham in securing his services.

Supporters will be buzzing

Quite simply, the news surrounding West Ham’s pursuit of Pellegrini will have left the Hammers faithful buzzing.

Aaron Cresswell has been a mainstay in the side ever since his transfer from Ipswich Town back in 2014, with the Englishman making 26 or more appearances for West Ham in seven out of the eight seasons he has played in the Premier League.

Whilst he has been both reliable and effective from left-back, at the age of 32 years old, one does wonder how long he can keep up his consistency at the very top.

As such, it would be wise for Moyes to provide competition and cover for Cresswell, with an understudy bound to help the three-cap England international out in terms of game time, whilst also enabling West Ham to future proof their side with his contract set to expire this time next year.

The “remarkable” – in the words of Paolo Nicolato – Pellegrini is capable of attacking returns himself, having shown a healthy bout of end product back in the 19/20 season when he was on loan at Cagliari. He managed a total of previous two campaigns.

However, the potential is there and he will serve as a more than viable option under the tutelage of Moyes.

AND in other news: Moyes eyeing West Ham swoop for 21 y/o gem with “huge potential”, imagine him & Bowen