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Until the transfer window closes, the future of Arsenal star Mesut Ozil will continue to be discussed. However, we now know the German’s stance on his future as he gave an interview to David Ornstein and committed to staying until his contract runs out next summer.

The obvious issue here is the fact that the former World Cup winner is not fancied at all by Mikel Arteta, and this has been emphasised by the fact that Ozil has not made a single appearance for the club since football returned in June.

Many have been discussing the situation, including Joey Barton. The Fleetwood Town manager was speaking on talkSPORT, via The Boot Room, and was asked what he would do if the problem was his to sort out.

He replied: “It’s a tough one. Everyone knows what everyone is on [wages] and it affects the dressing room. If the big-paid players aren’t performing and those on less are playing, it creates an ill-feeling. He’s a World Cup winner, an unbelievable player and I would be trying to get the maximum out of him.”

There is no doubting Ozil’s quality, which has been proven by his rich CV, which includes a La Liga title at Real Madrid, four FA Cups with Arsenal and the World Cup and European Under-21 Championship with Germany, per Transfermarkt.

However, this quality was not often on show last season as the player, who is on a reported £350,000-a-week, only managed one goal and two assists in all competitions, per WhoScored.

With the 31-year-old costing the club around £18.2m annually, Barton has a point in saying that Arsenal should try to make the most out of him. However,  with the Gunners winning the FA Cup without calling on him, Arteta’s decision to continually overlook him seems justified; and if there is no way into the team for Ozil, perhaps it is best for Arsenal to move him on.

Gunners fans, do you agree with Barton’s verdict on Ozil? Let us know your views in the comments below!

Barcelona are no longer interested in Tottenham star Tanguy Ndombele. 

According to Sky Sports, as per Ricky Sacks, Barcelona’s interest in Ndombele has now cooled after they signed Miralem Pjanic from Juventus.

Ndombele, who is the club’s record signing, has a strained relationship with Jose Mourinho, and the pair are currently embroiled in a public spat, via Football Insider. According to The Athletic, they just don’t understand each other, as the Frenchman has reacted angrily to Mourinho’s offer to train together.

Daniel Levy has made it abundantly clear the French international will not be sold in the summer and has personally reached out to his representatives to try and resolve the situation.

Mourinho has developed a habit for losing control of a dressing room on multiple occasions and Ndombele appears to be following a similar path to Manchester United maverick midfielder Paul Pogba.

Both sides are too stubborn for their own good and Levy has turned peacemaker in an attempt to find a peaceful resolution.

Barca’s decision is a massive transfer boost for Tottenham, as it is hard to imagine anyone else will be able to afford the £46m-valued ace under the current circumstances, but it is bad news for Mourinho.

The 23-year-old, who has been compared to Chelsea star N’Golo Kante, has struggled for consistency this season, and has now picked up an injury.

To add insult to injury, he has only played 64 minutes of football since the Premier League restart, and has finished four of the past games on the bench as an unused substitute.

Nevertheless, Levy is adamant Ndombele is not up for sale, despite Mourinho’s obvious misgivings. Whether or not this ongoing saga will be resolved before the start of next season remains to be seen, but if the club opts to persist with Ndombele, can they also persist with Mourinho as well or will one have to go?

Tottenham fans, do you think Mourinho should give Tanguy Ndombele another chance? Let us know down below!

One thing Celtic may need this summer is a new striker.

Interest in Odsonne Edouard from some of Europe’s elite clubs has been heavily documented, and if the Frenchman is to leave Celtic Park, the Glasgow outfit will need a capable replacement if they are going to reach the goal of winning 10 league titles in a row.

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Luckily, it seems as though they have a target in mind, but the Hoops’ first bid for Ivan Toney was some way short of what they may have to pay, and Kieran Devlin gave an update on what Celtic will have to cough up to land their man.

What’s been said then?

The Athletic journalist was hosting a Q&A session ahead of the new season, and as you would expect, a number of questions were asked about the Scottish champions’ transfer business, and Devlin had the answers.

“Celtic had a bid of £5 million for striker Ivan Toney turned down, with Peterborough seemingly wanting a fee for around £10 million. Apart from that, plenty of rumours but not sure how much substance is to them.”

Not good enough

Later in the Q&A Devlin would state that he doesn’t see why Celtic would sign Toney unless he was going to be Edouard’s replacement, and you have to question whether or not he’d actually be good enough to fill that void.

Toney may have scored 24 goals this season, but that’s at League One level, and that surely isn’t really where Celtic want to be shopping around.

This is a club that will be in the Champions League again next season, and if they have aspirations of getting out of the Group Stages or even dropping into the Europa League by virtue of finishing third in a group, they need more than a League One striker spearheading their attack.

On top of that £10m for a player from that level is outright preposterous, especially when you consider Peterborough sold Jack Marriott to Derby for an initial £3m after scoring 27 goals in the division, three more than Toney managed this term.

Newcastle United’s prospective £300m takeover appears to still be some way off being complete this week after journalist Paul Smith delivered this latest update.He claims that the Premier League still haven’t given any confirmation over the deal and those involved remain “completely in the dark” over the situation.Smith tweeted this afternoon:

This is rather a cause for concern that the relevant parties involved haven’t received the slightest bit of information regarding the owners and directors test. The claim also suggests that both the buying and selling side know as much as the fanbase right now.

It’s been around two months since the news first broke about the Magpies potentially being sold to a Saudi-backed consortium. Several reports have created doubt on the situation in recent weeks, which wasn’t helped by Premier League CEO Richard Masters barely giving anything away in an interview on Friday.

Best of the Decade: Top scorers & creators – Can you name them?

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The truth is, no one really knows when – and even if – the takeover will go through, especially with ‘Project Restart’ being centre of attention for the top-flight at the minute.

AND in other news, Newcastle fans react to update on season tickets…

Newcastle United are reportedly interested in signing the highly-rated 16-year old prospect Ilyes Zouaoui from Olympique Marseille as the French club are looking to secure him on a new deal, according to The Daily Mail.

As per the outlet, Zouaoui is out of contract in the summer and is in danger of being snapped up for free in the upcoming transfer window.

However, he has also attracted interest from several European giants with Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Olympiakos among the teams thought to have scouted the youngster.

They had apparently been impressed with his ability to cut in from the left-hand side and score off of his right foot.

Zouaoui had scored 15 goals and made 14 assists in just 16 games for Marseille’s under-18s side prior to youth football being suspended due to the global pandemic, and he is also an established U17 international for France.

These are highly impressive stats at any level, and the fact that Zouaoui is still so young and other big heavyweights are chasing his signature should give NUFC at least some incentive to consider signing him up.

In addition, the Frenchman will already have a mentor to learn from in fellow countryman Allan Saint-Maximin. The 23-year old was also signed from French football and plays in a similar position.

ASM has averaged the highest rating (7.18) in the Premier League so far out of his teammates this season, and also averages 4.4 dribbles per match, the most by far (via Whoscored).

Signing Zouaoui on a free transfer would be low-risk and he still has so much time in front of him to grow into a potential fans favourite.

Geordies, would this be a good signing? Comment below!

Newcastle United fans were dealt a blow earlier this week after it was announced that the imminent takeover of the club would be delayed further by the Guardian.They state that new evidence has been submitted that will mean the owners and directors test with the Premier League takes a little longer.However, Chronicle Live editor Mark Douglas has put a promising spin on things with a fresh update from the buying side, who he claims remain “positive”.He also believes that despite “a lot of noise” that the deal will eventually pass all checks and become official in due course.In response to a fan on Twitter, Douglas said:

It appears as if there are only two hurdles left to overcome – firstly, getting approval from the Premier League, who themselves have other things to focus on right now such as ‘Project Restart,’ and then secondly, the transferrable of funds, which could be a process in itself given the mooted £300m fee.

Premier League Inflation: You won’t believe how much these famous transfers would cost today…

Either way, it’s very encouraging to see local press believing it’ll still get the go-ahead, especially given their experience with the umpteen failed attempts during Mike Ashley’s tumultuous 13-year reign.

AND in other news,ÂChris Waugh details why Newcastle approval could take months..

Ahead of the inaugural NHS Charities Together Cup, we spoke to Chris Kamara, who will be co-hosting the all-star FIFA 20 tournament alongside Ben Shephard. The Sky Sports pundit spoke in-depth about the benefits of the competition which will feature sporting heroes such as John Terry, Ben Stokes and Justin Rose.

Alongside the sports stars will be various other famous faces, including Love Island’s Chris Hughes and eight-year-old YouTube star Tekkerz Kid. All proceeds will go towards the COVID-19 Urgent Appeal charity, with a tournament goal of raising £10million to help support the NHS.

FFC: What made you want to get involved in this charity FIFA 20 tournament?

Chris Kamara: “It’s a great cause, these absolutely fantastic people who have been asked to be involved have given up their time, which is great. It’s easy for people to sit at home and say ‘they’ve got nothing better to do’, but they have. We’ve all got families that we want to look after and spend as much time as possible with, because the one silver lining out of all of this is the family time.”

FFC: Is it important that content like this is still available for fans amid the current lockdown situation?

CK: “Very much so. I’ve been watching re-runs of old football matches. There are people out there who want to watch celebs competing against each other. Although it’s not on any of the main channels, it will be streaming live so we’re hoping that a lot of people join in and help us raise a bundle of money for the charity.”

FFC: Speaking of the lack of sport, what do you think will happen to English football’s 2019/20 season?

CK: “What do I think will happen? I’m not sure. I’m going to leave that to the authorities because this is a difficult decision. Whatever decision they make won’t please everybody. My personal opinion is, what’s the rush? The season was supposed to end in May but we’ve been on lockdown, so does it really matter when we finish it – between now and January? With the World Cup coming up in Doha, why can’t we start in the middle of January?

“These are special circumstances. I understand why people want to end the season, and if I was at a club at the bottom of the league then I would want it to end as soon as possible. That’s human nature. Even though it’s not about football at this moment in time, you would hope the authorities would do like Holland have done. But I don’t care when we start, I hope we start in June – I’ve heard the Premier League players might be going back into training on May 10. So I’m hoping that’s the case.

“I think if we get to July and nothing is happening, then we need to say ‘end of’ because we might not be able to start up again in January. It’s a really difficult question to answer and I’m just hoping whatever decision is made, everyone is in agreement.”

FFC: How do you feel about the likes of Leeds who may not be rewarded for their incredible season?

CK: “That would be a mega shame. From September, people were saying West Brom and Leeds will go up automatically, and that didn’t change, even when they had sticky periods.

“It would be a terrible situation for them, but once again, they’ll be around the table, they’ll be involved with the leagues making the decision. Liverpool at the top of the Premier League will be at the heart of it as well, and they’ll all be hoping that they come to the right decision and all the clubs are in agreement. But from a Leeds point of view, after banging on the door for as long as they have been now, it would be heartbreaking for them if the season was declared null and void. But we haven’t reached that point yet so who knows.”

FFC: How do you think the fans would react to a null and void season?

CK: “It’s hypothetical at the moment so we’re going to have to wait and see. We don’t know what’s going to happen or how the fans feel about it, but the fans should be involved in the decision-making, that’s one thing I know for sure. Whether we come back behind closed doors, come back with crowds or we don’t come back at all, the fans should have a voice in all of this.

“One of the things that make the Premier League great above all the other leagues in the world is the atmosphere in our stadiums. Atmospheres which other countries can only dream of. They’ve got their big games, Real Madrid vs Barcelona, PSG vs Marseille… but we have a big game every single week and these games always have a full house. For the fans not to be included in the decision-making would be wrong.

“With all the money that’s poured into the Premier League, the reason is the full stadiums and the atmospheres they create, so let’s not forget the people who matter.”

FFC: Are there any particular fixtures you’re looking forward to in the NHS Charities Together Cup?

CK: “Like I normally am when I’ve got my Soccer Saturday hat on, or my commentator hat on, I just look forward to every single game and I want to watch it like a fan. This is slightly different but I’m going to be as neutral as I possibly can be and get excited about what’s good and rip them to bits about what’s not so good.”

FFC: Do you think the tournament will hit the donation target of £10million?

CK: “I do a lot of charity work and the generosity of the people in the UK amazes me. So if we got £1million I’d be thankful, if we got £10million, that would be unbelievable – to coin a phrase!

“Never underestimate the charitable people in the UK. If you’d have said to captain Tom that he would reach more than £28million, he’d have laughed. So we’re in a situation where £1million would be fantastic, anything better would be incredible.

“It’s hard for the charities at the moment as well, because they’ve also got the future to think about. One of the biggest losses for Marie Curie was March, which is usually their big fundraiser that keeps the hospices and homes going. So to lose all that money is a travesty. But these Charities Together will hopefully help towards everybody’s funding.”

For more information on the NHS Charities Together Cup and how you can donate, click here.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Paris Saint-Germain are a club that are still trying to prove themselves to the world.

And despite having a total monopoly over Ligue 1 back in France, the Saints haven’t really been firing on all cylinders in Europe, specifically in the Champions League.

Even though they have eight French crowns under their belts already, their cabinet still doesn’t have a single European trophy apart from the one Cup Winners Cup from 1995/96.

But despite all of that and their club still being somewhat fresh in the conversation of the biggest teams on the planet, they still managed to attract superstars like Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to their squad.

However, N’Golo Kante recently spoke to French television channel Canal Plus (as quoted by Metro) and revealed that he turned Paris Saint-Germain down in the past due to “sporting reasons”.

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He went on to say that he likes the current project at Chelsea and that’s one of the reasons he decided to stay but it could also indicate that, despite all the money and the glamour, PSG are still lacking the type of pulling power you typically associate with an elite club.

With Neymar Junior, arguably their biggest star alongside the aforementioned Mbappe, pushing for a move away from the French capital in a soap opera that was active throughout the whole summer, there just might be something behind Kante’s words after all.

A similar thing happened with Marco Verratti, a midfielder who was also pretty close to leaving the club a couple of years back, when he received a more tempting offer from Barcelona, but he ended up staying in Paris.

Maybe the biggest statement the French giants can actually make is somehow making sure Mbappe stays put and doesn’t leave in the not so distant future, but even that looks unlikely with Real Madrid constantly on the prowl.

So despite having those superstars now and their links with great players such as Kante, it still feels like they still have trouble attracting or simply keeping them in their squad.

And that in itself could be a sign they are not yet at the level they would probably want to be.

Meanwhile, Graham Roberts has suggested a bold idea to Spurs that involves two big stars and the fans seem to be divided on the matter.

The latest update in the Leeds United and QSI saga has come with a rather intriguing twist in the story.

Indeed, the PSG owners have now put a price on what they think the club is worth, and it isn’t what you may have expected.

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The Qataris said that a valuation between €60-80m (£51.6-£68.9m) isn’t wrong, and that number is a little surprising.

Leeds have been a Championship team for the past 15 years, but at the same time, they’re still one of the biggest clubs in England and their reputation is global.

It’s a tough one, as a businessman the last thing you’d want to do is overpay, but football is unlike any other venture as promotion to the Premier League is worth such a huge amount of money, and with Leeds knocking on the door of the top-flight they may well get promotion and the treasures that come with it.

We asked our team of writers to give their verdicts on whether or not Leeds are being undervalued by QSI.

Harry Sherlock

“The valuation isn’t wrong. 
“Leeds are in the Championship and have wilted whenever they’ve had a proper chance to climb out of the doldrums and into the Premier League. 
“Under Marcelo Bielsa last year, they looked nailed-on for promotion but then the wheels fell off and they remain in the second-tier. 
“They cannot expect to be valued any higher than the QSI price until they actually show that they can make some substantial progress. 
“As it stands, they are just your run-of-the-mill Championship club. One with a lot of history, yes, but still. Unless that changes with a promotion, they’ll be valued between €60 and €80m.”

Vijievan Jeevathayalan

“So QSI apparently value Leeds United – a Champions League semi-finalist in the 21st century – at €60-80m (£51.6-£68.9m). Or to put it in currency we can all understand, less than one Harry Maguire. Or, if you want an even more depressing take on it, less than seven Patrick Bamfords (he somehow cost the Whites £10m).

“To put it mildly, it is a staggeringly low valuation of a club that is still one of the most high-profile and recognisable sides English football has to offer.

“It is perhaps a reflection of the Yorkshire club’s continued presence in the Championship, and how they have now been away from the glitz and glamour of the Premier League since the 2003/2004 campaign.

“So whilst it may be understandable to be up in arms over QSI’s reported valuation, it is unfortunately the bitter truth. Promotion this year has never looked more important.”

Lewis Blain

“In this current day and age, it is hard to quite gauge what something is worth in football. Transfer fees are extraordinary now – had Virgil van Dijk turned out to be a flop, people would be blasting the record £75m spent on him.

“And the same goes for how much a football club is worth. Whatever QSI think Leeds United is worth, they can’t be too far off it.

“PSG have won the title every single year under them barring one in 2016/17 and have overseen two monumental deals in the £158m for Kylian Mbappe and £198m for Neymar. The Whites have barely shown their financial clout in recent times, often opting for loan signings but that could well change if they act on the QSI interest. Some may see it as undervaluing, but it could well transform the club if it comes off, so it’s worth pursuing even at those figures.”

Charles Jones

“I think that the pricetag set on Leeds United by the Qataris is borderline insulting. According to Transfermarkt their squad is actually worth more than what they are offering, and that doesn’t even begin to think about the cost of the training ground or the stadium.

“There are no two ways about it, Leeds are a global team with a huge fanbase, and although they’re in the Championship, you’re only ever one good season away from untold wealth and fortune in the Premier League.

“That pricetag is ludicrous and there is no way that Andrea Radrizzani should even think about accepting an offer around that mark.”

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier has found first-team minutes hard to come by under Mauricio Pochettino this season, with his first Premier League start of the season not coming until the clash against Brighton and Hove Albion prior to the international break.

Following the disappointing 3-0 defeat at the Amex, a report emerged in The Times that the England international tops the list of players his Argentine manager is looking to move on during the January transfer window, as he looks to shake up his squad.

Judging by that, the 47-year-old wants the versatile player – who can feature in midfield or defence – gone in the New Year, but he certainly made an impressive cameo from the substitutes’ bench against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night.

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The north London outfit ran out comfortable 5-0 winners against the Serbian outfit at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the former Sporting Lisbon man on the pitch for the final 23 minutes – coming on and getting up to speed can be difficult in games like that.

However, impressively all of his 26 passes were accurate, while he also had a shot at goal too, according to WhoScored.

Perhaps what was most impressive was the range of passing he showed, with one particularly impressive long ball forward finding a teammate, which is exactly the type of quality Spurs require from those central positions.

Given the 25-year-old now faces competition from the likes of Tanguy Ndombele, Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko for a spot in Pochettino’s central midfield, he certainly has an uphill task ahead of him.

However, unlike those three he can act as an out-and-out defensive midfielder who can sit and protect the backline, and perhaps that is what they need having conceded seven times at home to Bayern Munich with the aforementioned trio playing instead of him, for example.

Pochettino may want to axe him, but Dier showed there could still be life in him at Tottenham yet with his impressive display against Red Star.