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Tottenham Hotspur could be set to sack Antonio Conte and it is believed their former manager, Mauricio Pochettino, is pushing like mad to be the Italian's successor.

Will Conte make it till the end of the season?

A fiery press conference on Saturday could well have turned the tide for the Italian manager in north London with reports claiming the Spurs board are discussing his future.

And there is now a belief that Daniel Levy could be set to relieve the 53-year-old of his duties before the end of the week as Spurs' results fail to pick up on a consistent basis.

On the back of the reports on Monday, journalist Shaun Custis has told TalkSport that the Argentine is keen to make his return to north London after being sacked in 2019:

"As much as Pochettino's been pushing like mad to try and get this job back, Daniel Levy seems very reluctant to admit he made a mistake in the first place, or to bow to the pressure that's on him to have Pochettino back."

Is it time for Pochettino to return to Spurs?

A huge summer feels like it is closing in on Tottenham with, perhaps, the main concern being over the future of their talisman Harry Kane.

The striker's future is under significant questioning ahead of the summer as his current deal runs down towards its final year in north London.

Reports have even suggested recently that the 29-year-old is looking to leave the club over the coming months with Manchester United believed to be one of the interested parties.

And if Kane is to leave in the summer, then the project at Spurs which a new manager will take on will immediately become a much different task.

Pochettino became a favourite among fans during his time in north London, however, losing Kane in the summer could have a huge effect on the London side going forward.

In Kane, the club has a reliable source of goals every season and he has dragged a struggling Spurs side through their struggles this season.

Pochettino's time at Spurs was largely a success in terms of securing regular top-four football but without a player of Kane's quality, it would be interesting to see whether the Argentine could achieve similar success.

On the back of the reports, it would be interesting to see whether the 51-year-old's potential return could be something that could persuade Kane into staying put.

A lot could be set to unfold for the north London side in the coming months and it could certainly leave Pochettino with a major task to get Spurs back to challenging at the top end of the table.

Wolves will be looking to further distance themselves from the Premier League’s bottom three when they travel to take on Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.

Julen Lopetegui’s side picked up another vital three points in their battle against relegation when they beat Tottenham 1-0 at Molineux but they face another tough test against another top-four hopeful this afternoon.

However, with Eddie Howe’s side having struggled of late, while the Old Gold have looked much improved following the World Cup break, there is certainly the opportunity to leave St James’ Park with something.

How will Wolves line up against Newcastle United?

Here is how Football FanCast expects the Spanish manager to line his side up on Sunday, with three changes from the side that started against Spurs.

Sa, Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Ait-Nouri, Neves, Lemina, Nunes, Traore, Sarabia, Jimenez.

After another clean sheet against Spurs, Jose Sa looks unlikely to lose his place in between the sticks for the visit to Newcastle.

Similarly, Craig Dawson and Max Kilman will continue their blossoming partnership in the heart of the Wolves defence, with Nelson Semedo keeping his place on the right, while Rayan Ait-Nouri comes in for Jonny on the left to provide some more attacking impetus.

Ruben Neves, Mario Lemina and Matheus Nunes have the makings of an impressive trio for the Old Gold and Lopetegui looks unlikely to change the midfield three that has worked well for his side in recent weeks.

After scoring the winner against Spurs, Adama Traore should be handed a start, coming in for Pedro Neto after the Portuguese winger struggled to have much impact on his return from injury last time out, producing no shots or key passes.

Pablo Sarabia also keeps his place in the side but moves to the left to accommodate Traore, and he supports the previously described “world-class” Raul Jimenez – as he was dubbed by Ilkay Gundogan – in attack.

The Mexican made another positive impact from the bench against Spurs and is set to start this time out due to Diego Costa’s injury ruling him out.

Although it’s been a year since a striker scored for Wolves in the top flight, Jimenez has shown he is more than a goalscorer with industrious and hard-working displays against Fulham and Spurs, so he should be given the nod at St James’ Park this afternoon.

Journalist Jacque Talbot has been speaking about the rumoured interest from Newcastle United in Folarin Balogun.

The Lowdown: Newcastle need more goals

After flying high in the top three earlier in the season, Newcastle and Eddie Howe have been brought crashing back down to earth in 2023 having slipped outside of the top four and lost in the Carabao Cup final.

Newcastle have failed to score two or more goals in a Premier League game since Boxing Day when they beat Leicester City 3-0, so Howe must start getting his attacking players to click in the final third if they are to rediscover their early-season form.

That is quite amazing to be saying, however, as Newcastle spent £63m on Alexander Isak last summer and £45m on Anthony Gordon in January. But to be pushing for the top four, they need quality and depth – which someone as young and talented as Arsenal loanee Balogun could provide.

The Latest: Balogun for both the present and the future

Talbot has been speaking on his YouTube channel about Newcastle’s interest in Balogun, who’s been tearing up Ligue 1 this season with 15 goals to his name.

He said: “I am bouncing off a report by Steve Kay, Balogun – he’s over at Reims, I think, doing very well in Ligue 1. Newcastle have got a bit of an eye on him, something that I heard as well, but again, he’s just one to consider, one to watch.”

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The Verdict: A youthful option could be useful

While Talbot doesn’t appear to consider Balogun as a transfer priority for Newcastle, given that the Magpies already have two strikers within their ranks who will be itching to start every week, recruiting someone a lot younger such as Balogun, who could learn from and eventually replace Callum Wilson, could be a smart move.

Wilson is exploring a tough time of things, with his body seemingly not able to cope with the demands of the Premier League having missed nine games this season, so the club may have to start looking towards the future.

Balogun is still very young and unlikely to get much game time back at Arsenal given they have Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah on the books, but a departure could likely anger Arsenal fans, especially legend Ian Wright, who believes the youngster has ‘a lot of hype’ surrounding him following his stunning Ligue 1 season.

Tony Scott has admitted on the All Together Now podcast that Everton’s lack of goals and options off the bench could see them relegated.

The Lowdown: Relegation is a real possibility

Everton may well have thought they were creeping towards safety with Sean Dyche at the helm as well as two wins and two clean sheets from his opening three games in charge, but a crushing defeat against Aston Villa has seen them drop back into the bottom three.

The Toffees now face a tough fixture away to Arsenal this midweek and given they have scored just two goals since Dyche took over and both have come from defenders, it looks increasingly hard to see them getting anything from the game.

A lack of goalscorers in the Everton team with Dominic Calvert-Lewin continuing to be absent from first-team action is what could well see Everton drop down into the Championship after narrowly avoiding that fate last season.

The Latest: A lack of goals is worrying

Scott has slammed the lack of cutting-edge Everton have in the final third as they once again, failed to find the back of the net in the league.

He said: (9:15) “Arsenal is a write-off if you’re asking me, I think that is a free hit, it’s Nottingham Forest on Sunday which is the big one where it’s [about[ fine margins.

“If Nottingham Forest have got Chris Wood to call upon or Morgan Gibbs-White or whoever it may be off the bench and we’ve got five defenders and Tom Davies and Ellis Simms we’re done and these are the fine margins that will keep teams in the Premier League and relegate them.

“It looks as though, looking at our bench and what we’ve got to call upon to score us goals, Greg we’ve scored two goals from open play since October, it’s obvious why we will probably go down because we can’t score a goal for love nor money.”

The Verdict: Everton will continue to struggle with a lack of conviction

The fact that Everton’s main goal threat is a striker that’s started just 24 league games since the beginning of last season and over the last three seasons has found the back of the net just 22 times shows just how they’ve ended up in this position.

Calvert-Lewin simply can’t stay fit and Everton can’t pin their hopes on him to keep them up, Neal Maupay has one goal to his name since joining in the summer and Ellis Simms has never scored a first-team goal for the Toffees.

Therefore, it’s very obvious how Everton must be considered one of the favourites to go down because without a recognised goal scorer then they will always be relying on their defence to keep things tight before trying to steal a 1-0 win from a set piece perhaps.

Journalist Aaron Stokes has claimed he could see Newcastle United cutting their ties with kit manufacturers Castore very soon.

The Lowdown: Newcastle making moves off the pitch

It has been well-documented that Castore has made numerous mistakes when it comes to delivering suitable merchandise to Newcastle fans since supplying the club’s teamwear – and that may well cost them their contract.

There have been reports and suggestions that a return to Adidas could be on the cards now that Newcastle are pushing at the right end of the table and looking to make moves both on and off the pitch.

However, it will likely be difficult for the club to negotiate their way out of the current contract with Castore as it’s not widely known how long the deal is set to last, with Newcastle claiming it was a ‘multi-year deal’ when it was announced in July 2021.

The Latest: Castore could be coming to an end

Stokes dropped an exciting take on the Loaded Mag YouTube channel, claiming he could see a scenario where PIF can cut their ties with Castore in the not-too-distant future.

He said: “I think you only have to look on social media to see how many problems they’ve had with this deal. Peter Silverstone – who’s come in at the club as the new chief commercial officer – very, very good partnership with Arsenal when he was at that club [with Adidas], so you can easily see why the links are there.

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“I wouldn’t be too surprised if they did end that [Castore] deal early.”

The Verdict: PIF looking to take the next step

While Newcastle’s progress on the pitch has been clear for everyone to see, the work they are doing behind the scenes is perhaps going unnoticed, and providing fans with a more reliable kit manufacturer in the form of Adidas would be a huge step in a positive direction.

Having a lucrative deal with a major brand like Adidas, which currently provides kits for five other Premier League clubs, could have a transformational knock-on effect on Newcastle’s fortunes.

For example, the German apparel brand’s deals with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United are thought to be worth around £75m per season. In contrast, the Magpies’ current Castore agreement only rakes in about £5m annually. Therefore, it is easy to see how Newcastle could use such a tie-up to their advantage on the pitch.

The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards has recently reported that Yasir Al-Rumayyan has been on Tyneside recently to conduct performance reviews with senior members at the club to see how he can help keep the club progressing.

If Newcastle wish to do so and earn a spot among the country’s elite, they will have to ensure they get things such as kit manufacturers and sponsorships right, as that is how they start to globalise as a club.

Leeds United are bracing themselves for the departure of Kalvin Phillips during the summer transfer window, according to The Athletic. 

The lowdown

Leeds midfielder Phillips is attracting interest from some of the top sides in the country.

Premier League champions Manchester City have reportedly identified him as their primary target to replace the departing Fernandinho. Runners-up Liverpool, meanwhile, are also said to be eyeing the 26-year-old.

And Manchester United are even supposedly ‘working on a deal’ too, having picked out Phillips as a cheaper alternative to West Ham’s Declan Rice.

The Englishman has two years left to run on his contract at Jesse Marsch’s side, but no significant progress has been made towards an extension.

The latest

Writing in a mailbag piece, journalist Laurie Whitwell shared insight from figures close to Leeds – ‘sources say’ Leeds are increasingly resigned to losing Phillips in the next couple of months.

There is, at least, a ‘strong sense’ that a move to ‘bitter rivals’ Man. United is off the table.

Phillips apparently knows that making the switch could effectively ruin his reputation at Elland Road.

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The verdict

This is worrying for Leeds fans given Phillips’ importance to the side.

Last season may have been heavily disrupted by injury, but he started all but five games when he was fit and available.

Marsch says it was clear from the moment he arrived that Phillips has a positive ‘effect on the group’ because of ‘his personality, his quality [and] what he means to being part of Leeds United’.

And the club’s supporters voted him their second-best player of 2021, only behind Raphinha.

The reality is that Phillips, England’s reigning Player of the Year, may want to be playing European football, rather than battling for survival as he did with Leeds last season.

The challenge for Leeds now is to extract the maximum price tag – they apparently want £60million – and to nail the replacement. Work is already underway, with Marc Roca of Bayern Munich identified as a possible successor.

In other news, read this expert’s reaction to two big Leeds transfer developments.

Tottenham Hotspur are thought to be among the teams interested in Richarlison…

What’s the word?

That’s according to the Daily Mail’s Sami Mokbel, who delivered a fresh update on the Brazilian’s status at Everton heading into the summer transfer window.

European heavyweights Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are also mooted by the report as the 25-year-old faces an uncertain future in Merseyside.

Richarlison has two years to run on his current £90k-per-week deal, so the Toffees will be in no rush to sell their star man; and given his importance to Frank Lampard’s side, it remains to be seen if they’d even let him go and for how much.

He is currently valued at £45m by Transfermarkt and may well represent an opportunity to bolster their transfer budget due to financial constraints.

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Shades of Lautaro Martinez

Antonio Conte’s quest to find another option up top has certainly taken a surprising twist, with the Everton frontman a potential candidate to either provide back-up to Harry Kane or play alongside him.

It could suggest that the Italian may be keen to replicate his successful tactics at Inter Milan, where he secured the Nerazzurri their first Serie A title in over a decade in 2020/21.

At the San Siro, Conte enjoyed a free-scoring duo of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, two very different profiles of strikers. The former is more of a brute force, a target man, whilst the latter is shorter, quicker and can cause trouble in behind the defensive line.

Kane is a far superior striker to the Chelsea marksman, as he can drop deeper and act as a playmaker with his impressive passing range, so the prospect of a proven attacker like Richarlison playing off him is certainly an intriguing one.

He is also the perfect fit for the 52-year-old Lilywhites boss – as per FBRef, the Brazil international ranks inside the top 1% for blocks (1.71 per 90), top 5% for tackles (1.43 per 90) and top 8% of pressures (21.05 per 90) when compared to his positional peers across Europe’s ‘Big Five’.

This suggests he has an impressive work rate in the final third and will help the side defend from the front, thus retaining possession in dangerous areas, where he or Kane can then wreak havoc.

He bagged ten goals in a struggling Toffees side last season, taking his total for the club to 53 across 152 appearances, via Transfermarkt.

Also lauded as a “complete” player by his former manager Carlo Ancelotti, the 25-year-old could well emerge as Conte’s next Martinez should Spurs follow up their interest with a firm offer.

His versatility to play on either flank would also provide further cover for the likes of Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski, so on the above evidence, Richarlison would indeed be a fine addition to Tottenham’s frontline.

AND in other news, Paratici could unearth the next £100m talent as Spurs now eye “unbelievable” signing…

Everton have had a disappointing season in the Premier League with the side narrowly avoiding a drop into the Championship by just four points, and Frank Lampard will now be tasked with identifying players that can improve the squad ahead of next season.

The Toffees have struggled at both ends of the pitch, but their defensive performances have come under harsh criticism over the campaign, with the side conceding the fifth-most goals in the league and 23 more than they scored.

In fact, Everton centre-back Michael Keane has come under scrutiny for his inconsistency and poor performances in the back-line this season, with Gabby Agbonlahor branding the defender “absolutely dreadful” in an interview with Football Insider.

With that being said, the Toffees now have the best opportunity to go into the market and sign upgrades to improve the defence this summer and one player who has been heavily linked is recently relegated Burnley’s James Tarkowski.

The centre-back is available on a free transfer this summer and could be the second coming of Phil Jagielka if Everton can secure a deal for the player who was hailed “outstanding” by Sean Dyche.

This season, Tarkowski has been the highest-rated player in the entire Burnley squad according to SofaScore, and it’s not hard to see why when you look at his overall performance for the club.

The £17k-per-week defender has scored one goal and contributed two assists, making 1.8 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and an impressive 5.2 clearances on average per game.

He’s also won the large majority of his aerial and ground duels combined (68%) and been successful in completing the majority of his dribbles (71%), proving that he is a solid defender with the capabilities to offer an attacking threat too.

Not only that Tarkowski ranks first for blocked shots, first for pass interceptions, and second for aerial duels out of every player in the Premier League so the signing would be a major coup for Everton whilst saving millions in the process as he is currently out of contract.

A solid and reliable defender who brings an old-fashioned approach to his defending, it’s clear to see why he evokes memories of Jagielka. He wasn’t blessed with the most pace but used his reading and understanding of the game to outmuscle and outwit Premier League strikers.

Therefore, Farhad Moshiri and Frank Lampard must secure a deal for Tarkowski. They cannot pass on the opportunity to sign such an experienced defender that could massively improve their squad and their defensive record next season.

AND in other news: Everton plot bid to sign “sloppy” £20m dud, another Dele Alli disaster is on the cards…

Everton were unable to see out their disastrous season with a win on the final day at the Emirates and will be thankful that their tight relegation battle didn’t go down to the last day after today’s performance.

Frank Lampard secured safety in the Premier League with the Toffees earlier in the week at Goodison Park against Crystal Palace, so going into today’s game there was no pressure on the side to take all three points from the game in North London against Arsenal.

Everton were completely dominated by the Gunners throughout with only 29% possession, 20 fewer shots on goal and over 400 fewer accurate passes than Mikel Arteta’s side who went out to win to compete with Tottenham Hotspur for the fourth spot but failed at the final hurdle despite their overwhelming 5-1 win.

It was a free for all in terms of scoring goals, Alex Iwobi gifted Arsenal their first opportunity with a handball inside the box leading to Gabriel Martinelli opening up the score-line 27th minute of the game.

After the hosts got their first goal they found their way to kill the game with Eddie Nketiah, Cedric Soares, Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Odegaard all finding the back of the net to take their victory.

However, one returning player did make his mark on the game with Manchester United loanee Donny van de Beek finding the back of the net in the final moments of the first half, but it wasn’t enough for Everton to bow out with a positive result.

One player who failed to take his opportunity to prove his worth today was Dele Alli, who has already been linked with a move away from the club following a disappointing five months since signing on Deadline Day in a deal believed to be worth £40m.

According to SofaScore, Alli who was dubbed a “waste of space” by Simon Jordan made just six passes, losing 100% of his aerials duels and losing 80% of his ground duels. He also lost the ball every 2.7 touches before being brought back to the bench by the Toffees boss in the 67th minute.

With that being said, Farhad Moshiri must let Alli go this summer and invest in players that can be effective when they are called upon as major improvement is needed next season to ensure Everton doesn’t find themselves in a similar situation they have been in during the current campaign.

AND in other news: Lampard plotting Everton bid for £158k-p/w dynamo, he’d be a “joy to watch”

Manchester United have appointed their new manager Erik ten Hag who will take the reigns at Old Trafford imminently and he could be about to bring some of his players over with him from Ajax.

What’s the latest?

According to Portuguese news outlet UOL (via Sport Witness), the Red Devils are battling with fierce rivals Liverpool to sign Brazilian winger Antony this summer.

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The report suggests that the two Premier League clubs are in ‘dispute’ over the signing as both have made an approach to put the feelers out on whether the player would be open to a move to join them.

It is believed that Antony would favour a move to the English league over La Liga after a further approach was reportedly made by Barcelona.

Ten Hag needs him

Manchester United would surely have an advantage on other clubs interested due to the fact they have recently hired Antony’s former manager, and when you look at the current forward line at Old Trafford it is clear that Ten Hag needs him.

There have been issues with Marcus Rashford this season who has had a complete drop of in form and with reports of the winger considering a move away from his boyhood club in the North West due to a lack of game-time, it could be the perfect opportunity for the club to inject a fresh perspective and a new creative outlet into the attacking positions.

When you compare Rashford to Antony this season, it is clear that the £50m Brazilian would be a huge upgrade on the current Man United winger, scoring four more goals, creating 28 more big chances, with over twice as many shots on target and over 20% better crossing accuracy compared to his position competitor, according to Squawka.

Ten Hag recently claimed Antony was “top-class” when discussing the 22-year-old’s future in an interview (via The United Stand):

” If Antony were to go, it would be a loss for Ajax. He is top class,” the Dutch coach admitted.

With that being said, if Ten Hag can beat the competitors to secure the signing he could be onto something special with a player he knows how to get the best out of already, meaning he can be an instant hit and thrive at Old Trafford alongside Cristiano Ronaldo next season.

AND in other news: “Close sources”: Sky Sports journo “told” big MUFC update that’ll excite Ten Hag