Manchester United have made an approach to the representatives of Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, Fabrizio Romano reports.

What’s the latest news on Man United and Mac Allister?

The Red Devils are on the hunt for a new midfielder and forward this summer, looking to build on a successful first season under Erik ten Hag.

Mac Allister has emerged as a real target in recent weeks, with journalist Steve Bates recently claiming that Ten Hag has held transfer talks with director of football John Murtough, technical director Darren Fletcher and chief executive Richard Arnold.

The Argentinian is thought to be on the manager’s radar, and it looks as if the Red Devils have made a first move for the World Cup winner.

Romano took to Twitter in the last 48 hours to share what he’s heard on Mac Allister. He said that the Red Devils, along with Premier League rivals Chelsea and Liverpool have all approached Mac Allister’s camp, with the player expected to depart the south coast over the coming months.

“Alexis Mac Allister, expected to leave early this summer — understand there are three clubs in the race: Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United.

“These clubs have approached player’s camp to discuss the project. BHAFC will decide price tag soon.”

What would Mac Allister bring to Old Trafford?

We think Mac Allister could offer plenty to Ten Hag, with the 24-year-old turning out in defensive, central and attacking midfield roles during the current campaign.

He has contributed to an impressive 12 goals in 29 games, showing that he has ability in the final third as well as contributing defensively. As per WhoScored, Mac Allister ranks highly for tackles and shots per 90 in the Seagulls' squad and has recently been hailed as 'world class' by members of the media.

Having won the World Cup in the winter and had his best season in front of goal for Brighton this term, he appears to be at the peak of his powers so could come in and immediately make an impact alongside the likes of star midfielders Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes.

Ten Hag will be able to get a closer look at his summer target later this month in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, and who knows, he could be turning out under the Dutchman next season, should United pip two of their rivals to his signature over the coming months.

Manchester United took one step closer to securing Champions League qualification last night, but could have made it a certainty had they fought off a late resurgence from Tottenham Hotspur.

Having led 2-0 at the break, Ryan Mason's revitalised Lilywhites had halved the deficit just over ten minutes after the restart. The home support were back onside, and it would take until the 79th minute until they would finally claim their equaliser.

Heung-min Son finished off what would be his third goal in four Premier League games, as the game ended 2-2.

This leaves the Red Devils still four points clear of Spurs with two games in hand, with an equally sizable lead on all those below despite the varied situation regarding games played. Last night was a must not lose, but the manner of the draw will frustrate Erik ten Hag.

His team were clearly feeling the effects of their recent 120-minute slog fest with Brighton and Hove Albion, which told in his rotation and substitutions throughout their latest clash.

However, from earning widespread accolades for his showing at Wembley, Aaron Wan-Bissaka returned to the disappointing dud that has instead drawn criticism in the past. Scared to push forward and even shaky at times defensively, the former Crystal Palace ace had a night to forget in north London.

How did Aaron Wan-Bissaka play vs Tottenham Hotspur?

To drop from a 7.4 Sofascore rating in an FA Cup semi-final to the 6.6 showing of last night could be chalked down to fatigue, but it does not excuse the fact that the £90k-per-week dud very nearly let his manager down on numerous occasions.

Having been booked late in the first half, it always felt like Wan-Bissaka was one mistimed tackle away from receiving his marching orders. As such, his Dutch boss saw fit to withdraw him early as to protect him.

Across his 71 minutes on the pitch, the full-back would record just 47 touches and an 83% pass accuracy. Creatively anonymous, the 26-year-old would not find anyone with his three attempted crosses, whilst also being unsuccessful in his two attempted dribbles too, via Sofascore.

Such a lack of influence on the game is further highlighted by the fact that even David De Gea recorded more touches of the ball (48).

However, and perhaps most shockingly, the usually-imperious defender proved that he can also be a "liability" at times – as he has previously been dubbed by journalist Andrew McDonnell.

Indeed, he lost 66% of his six duels; alarming for someone who is often so reliable in one-on-one situations. It was this shakiness that encouraged his boss to get him off before he truly let his team down.

Whilst he would claim tiredness played a factor in such a sluggish performance, their continued battle on numerous fronts means this is far from a valid excuse. Wan-Bissaka was just not his usual self last night.

Last year’s beaten finalists Surrey are up and running in the Royal London Cup after easing to a six-wicket victory over Sussex Sharks at Guildford

ECB Reporters Network14-Jun-2016
ScorecardLast year’s beaten finalists Surrey are up and running in the Royal London Cup after easing to a six-wicket victory over Sussex Sharks at Guildford.On a fast-scoring ground, a Duckworth-Lewis target of 235 in 43 overs always looked attainable, although Surrey briefly wobbled when they lost three wickets for six runs in 11 balls.But from 99 for 4 the innings was rebuilt by Rory Burns and Ben Foakes, who put on an unbroken 136 in 18.3 overs, although Burns rode his luck early in his innings when he was twice dropped by Ajmal Shahzad, once off his own bowling and then at mid-off, before he reached 30.Burns prospered thereafter and finished on 70 not out (59 balls) with five fours and two sixes, one of which landed in the road next to the ground. Foakes was undefeated on 61 from 60 deliveries (9 fours) as victory came in the 34th over.Sussex had been bowled out for 239 with nine balls unused after their innings was reduced to 45 overs following an hour-long stoppage because of morning rain.The Sharks, who had claimed their first win in the competition against Middlesex on Sunday, lost Chris Nash (0) to the third ball when he was squared up by Tom Curran and Ed Joyce (21), who was caught low down at second slip off Ravi Rampaul, having just hit the West Indian for successive fours and a six.Phil Salt (21) spooned a catch to mid-on in Stuart Meaker’s first over and Meaker struck again to end a promising innings by Harry Finch (31), who fatally chased width and was caught at slip.Sussex lost their fifth wicket in the 22nd over when Ben Brown (10) was smartly stumped by Foakes aiming to hit Zafar Ansari through leg, but from an unpromising 100 for 5 the innings revived thanks to two partnerships involving Chris Jordan.Both he and skipper Luke Wright struck the ball cleanly as they put on 69 in 11 overs before Wright was athletically held by the diving Jason Roy at point for 42. Jordan was then joined by South African David Wiese, who was making his competition debut as replacement overseas player for the injured Ross Taylor.Wiese is regarded as a bowler, but he struck the ball impressively while Jordan was moving to his maiden List A half-century. The England international hit six boundaries in his 55 from 60 balls only for his innings to end in a tame clip to midwicket off Matt Pillans.Kumar Sangakkara took a juggling catch on the midwicket boundary to remove Wiese for 41 off 31 balls (6 fours, 1 six) as Sussex’s last three wickets fell in 11 balls for the addition of just nine runs, Rampaul finishing with 4 for 47.Jason Roy and Steven Davies launched Surrey’s response with 65 in nine overs either side of a rain stoppage before Roy (32) was held on the mid-wicket boundary in George Garton’s first over.Shahzad bowled Kumar Sangakkara (20) off an inside edge and had Ansari caught behind for a duck the ball after Garton had picked up his second wicket when Davies (36) holed out to deep mid-wicket. But it was plain sailing for Surrey thereafter as Burns and Foakes posted a new fifth-wicket record against Sussex in List A games, beating the 89 between Graham Thorpe and Adam Hollioake at Horsham in 1995.

There are many outrageous Roses takes told long into the night and Jordan Clark and Kyle Jarvis have produced another one with a resounding last-wicket stand at Old Trafford

Paul Edwards14-Aug-2016
ScorecardJordan Clark is better known for his white-ball exploits•PA Photos

Lancashire’s former players met for their annual reunion on the second day of this match and over thirty of the old boys turned up for the bash. No doubt tales were told and mayhap some had grown in the telling. “An’ you know what they said / Well some of it was true!” sang Joe Strummer, although probably not too many of the ex-cricketers meeting in the Emirates Old Trafford pavilion this warm Sunday will be familiar with The Clash’s rich oeuvre.But however outrageous the stories of white on green might have been as the late-morning claret slipped down they would have been tall indeed to eclipse events taking place in the middle. For as if to heighten the strangeness of Lancashire’s rapid subsidence on Saturday evening, the home side’s last three wickets added 195 runs in 37.2 overs during an extended session in which both Jordan Clark and Kyle Jarvis made career-best scores and the pair broke the county’s tenth-wicket record for Roses matches.That mark was established in 1991 when Peter Martin and Ian Austin added a very rapid 82 at Scarborough, partly, so another tale goes, to expedite a rapid return home in a game Lancashire were going to lose. As it turned out, the visitors went down by a mere 48 runs.Clark and Jarvis’s stand was worth 107 when the latter was leg before to Adil Rashid for 57 and the partnership was thus a single run shy of the tenth-wicket record in all Roses matches, which was set at Old Trafford by Lord Hawke and Lees Whitehead in 1903. Yet as the historians remembered long-dead cricketers and the former players recalled their own days of glory, the crowd – well, most of them, anyway – enjoyed the excitement offered by a morning which had begun when Clark and Arron Lilley rattled off a series of boundaries against an attack which pitched the ball up without employing, or maybe perfecting, the yorker.Lancashire’s eighth-wicket pair put on 87 in a mere 13 overs and they established a completely fresh tempo for their side’s innings. Instead of calling on Rashid – “Henry the Hoover” is just one of the leg spinner’s domestic appliance nicknames – to clean up Steven Croft’s later batsmen, Yorkshire bowlers had to cope with two perfectly capable stroke-makers who employed the old tailender’s maxim, “if it’s up, it’s off” to very good effect.And even after Lilley had been caught behind off Patterson for 45 when attempting an uppercut to third man and Buck had been leg before to a full length delivery from Bresnan five balls later, Yorkshire had to deal with the galling frustration that always comes when an attack believes its work is done, only to discover that an hour’s irritiation lies ahead.One man’s irritation is another’s joy, of course, and so it was at Old Trafford late on the second morning of this game when Jarvis hit Rashid for a couple of big sixes over long on during an innings in which he took an equal share of that last-wicket stand with Clark.Yet the exuberant hitting and the uninhibited sense of fiesta during the morning session threw the rest of the day into sharp relief as Yorkshire’s batsmen made their way carefully to a 136 for two off 62 overs against an accurate attack and in a typically lively Roses match atmosphere. The only successes enjoyed by Lancashire bowlers were the dismissals of Adam Lyth, who was leg before to Jarvis for 25 and Jack Leaning, who was caught at slip by Liam Livingstone off Tom Smith for seven two balls after being dropped by Lilley, also in the slip cordon. Lyth walked across his wicket and hardly waited for the umpire’s decision while Leaning was discomfited by a little extra bounce.For the rest of the day Alex Lees and Andrew Gale accumulated runs in a fashion and tempo much more recognisable to those watching from the pavilion and, indeed, to Lord Hawke as well. A morning session that had seen 195 runs scored at 5.22 runs an over was followed a few hours later by an evening in which Lees and Gale, perfectly understandably, managed 61 in 35 overs, a rate of 1.74.Yorkshire have their eyes on the follow on target which lies a distant 209 runs away; Gale may also be relieved to score what would be only his second fifty of the Championship season, although it is probably three figures that he craves rather more and the return of the famous pennant most of all. Lancashire know that the new ball is only 18 overs away and are still nursing fond hopes of what would be their first victory in a four-day Roses match at Old Trafford since 2000.

There may be more impressive individual performances and more action-packed days in the next two or three months but, in the context of this Pakistan tour, this was an almost perfect start.

George Dobell at Taunton03-Jul-2016
Scorecard2:10

‘Good to start the tour on a high’ – Younis

There may be more impressive individual performances and more action-packed days in the next two or three months but, in the context of this Pakistan tour, this was an almost perfect start.On a benign pitch, in front of a good natured crowd, Pakistan were able to ease their way into a tour that promises some tough moments on and perhaps off the pitch, with a low-key day – a wonderfully low key day from a Pakistan perspective – of gentle cricket.It wasn’t like this the last time they were here. The last time Pakistan were in Taunton, in September 2010, they were besieged. It was only days after the story had broken and, as helicopters hovered over their hotel and journalists waited in the car-park, the atmosphere inside the squad was anything but low key and gentle.The Pakistan camp remain nervous, probably unnecessarily so, about the reception that awaits them on this tour. So to have started this trip with three weeks training out of the spotlight and then enjoy a relatively uneventful day during which nearly all of their top six enjoyed a decent amount of time in the middle represented an ideal start.Not for the first time, Pakistan were grateful to the composure and class of Younis Khan. The 38-year-old, who missed the 2010 tour having fallen out of favour with the team management, finished the day unbeaten on 99 having added 179 for the fifth-wicket with Asad Shafiq.It was not a flawless innings. Younis was reprieved on 20 (a tough chance wide to Marcus Trescothick’s right at second slip) and again on 75 (when Alex Barrow was unable to cling on to an even tougher chance offered via the inside edge). But, in between times, he began to settle into the pace of pitch and the movement in the air and unveiled many of those familiar strokes – the devastating sweep, the flamboyant cut and the pleasing drives off front and back foot – that have already brought him more than 9,000 Test runs and 31 centuries.”It’s not easy for any team when they come to England,” Younis said afterwards. “But we have come to the country very early and we are very well prepared. I think this may be the first time that Pakistan have batted well at the start of a tour. We nearly all had 50 or 60 balls in the middle.”It would be fantastic for me if my performances helped the team do well. It would make me the happy man of the earth.”Shafiq was no less impressive. Joining Younis with the side on 132 for 4 and in just a little trouble, he survived an early run out chance but then was admirably compact and watchful in steering his side into a safer waters. While he may reflect he squandered an excellent opportunity to register a century – he sliced a somewhat wild drive off a wide one that turned a little – he will have taken confidence from this start.The one man to miss out was the captain. Misbah-up-Haq felt for his second ball, a delivery some way outside off stump, without any foot movement and edged to slip.Tougher challenges remain, of course. The days when county teams looked upon these matches as an opportunity to make a name for themselves are largely gone, especially for bowlers. So here Somerset, resting the Overton brothers and Lewis Gregory, fielded an attack that included three men with one Championship cap for the club between them including a first-class debut for 18-year-old off-spinner, Dominic Bess, who moved from Sidmouth to Exeter a couple of years ago to ensure him of more opportunity at club level.They bowled tidily enough. Paul van Meekeren, a Dutch international who has been playing club cricket for Benwell Hill near Newcastle, has just signed until the end of the season and did himself no harm with a whole-hearted effort. After Mohammad Hafeez missed a straight one, van Meekeren produced a beauty that draw a stroke from Azhar Ali but left him to take the edge.Tim Groenewald also finished with two wickets. Two balls before Misbah’s departure he had seen Shan Masood fall across a straight one as he tried to whip the ball through the leg side.But Josh Davey, the Scotland international, was less fortunate. After dropping a relatively simple caught and bowled chance offered by Masood on 17, he was also the unlucky bowler on both occasions that Younis was reprieved. On another day, he might also have won a leg before shout against Hafeez before the batsman had scored.Masood, especially efficient off his legs, and Hafeez, who pulled successive sixes when the medium-paced Davey dropped short, may both feel they missed out on the chance to cash-in against this inexperienced attack. But, in terms of gaining time at the crease ahead of the serious business part of this tour, this was a pleasing start for Pakistan.

Chelsea are expected to hold fresh talks with their main managerial target, Julian Nagelsmann, having recently introduced Frank Lampard as interim boss.

Who will be Chelsea's next manager?

Life under Lampard did not get off to the start in which Todd Boehly would have been hoping for on the weekend after they tasted defeat on the road.

Chelsea travelled to a struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers and they were sent back to west London without any points after Matheus Nunes' goal sealed the win for the hosts.

There have been reports to suggest that Chelsea could potentially consider Lampard as an option for the permanent role if he was to impress until the end of the season.

However, on the back of the display at Molineux, it does feel as if he has an uphill task in the upcoming games in both the Premier League and Champions League.

A number of names have been linked as potential candidates for the vacancy at Stamford Bridge with the former Bayern Munich manager, Nagelsmann, being one of the big names.

And speaking on his Here We Go podcast, Fabrizio Romano has claimed the Blues are expected to hold a fresh round of talks with the 35-year-old over potentially becoming their new boss:

(5:00) "And what I can say is that, from what I understand, also in the last few days, the last few hours Julian Nagelsmann remains 100% open to speaking to Chelsea.

"There will be a new round of talks. So Nagelsmann remains the favourite candidate, from what I understand, to get the Chelsea job."

Should Chelsea hire Nagelsmann?

Nagelsmann's time at Bayern ended in disappointment with the board sacking him in favour of Thomas Tuchel despite being second in the Bundesliga table.

With this in mind, it will be interesting to see if the German would actually be open to working under Boehly given he is an owner who has proven a lot in his short time at the club.

Since arriving last year, Boehly has already made two managerial sackings in Tuchel and Graham Potter which could potentially prove a big red flag for the German boss.

Nagelsmann is a manager who has a lot of admirers across Europe with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid believed to be potential suitors ahead of the summer.

The 35-year-old – hailed a "master tactician" by Sky Sports' Adam Smith – is believed to be open to hearing the Chelsea proposal and their long-term project at Stamford Bridge.

But it will be intriguing to see whether the young manager can be convinced to work under the Chelsea owner on the back of the early issues under his tenure.

Boehly has undoubtedly backed his managers during the transfer windows, however, Nagelsmann may not view those players as what he needs to succeed at Chelsea.

Potter had his issues with trying to manage the huge squad in west London and it could potentially prove an unwanted headache for some managers.

ScorecardColin Ingram is making up for lost time•Getty Images

A rain affected game in Cardiff was dominated by a fantastic innings from David Lloyd who made a career best 97 not out as Glamorgan posted a formidable total of 175 for 4 from the 16 overs available to them. Lloyd put together a partnership with Colin Ingram that was worth 132 in less than 10 overs that settled the match.A rate in excess of 11 an over from the outset was a mountainous task for Kent and when Dale Steyn claimed three early wickets there was only one winner as Glamorgan claimed victory by a massive 55 runs.Lloyd, promoted to open in limited-overs cricket this season, has gone from strength to strength. He made his maiden List A fifty against these same opponents last week and here he breezed past his previous best Twenty20 score of 31 in no time and accelerated from there.While it will be Lloyd’s near-hundred that gets most of the plaudits, the efforts of Ingram, who is making up for lost time after injury forced him out of the first stage of the season, cannot be overlooked. When he came to the crease Glamorgan were 12 for 1 and David Griffiths was finding swing and seam movement.Ingram had made 95 not out and 85 in his last two innings and his 60 here was a continuation of that fine form. He brought up his half century of just 21 balls and struck four sixes. It was in pursuit of another maximum that he fell, attempting to hit James Tredwell over long on, well caught by Alex Blake.Glamorgan looked set for even more than their 175 with Lloyd marching towards a maiden century, but late wickets curtailed their scoring. No batsmen other than Lloyd and Ingram found a way to make run scoring look easy on this Cardiff pitch.When Kent came out to bat they needed to get off to the best possible start and they had the opposite. Dale Steyn conceded just one run, a wide, and took the wicket of Daniel Bell-Drummond who was dismissed for a five-ball duck.Steyn bowled three consecutive overs from the River Taff End and claimed a victim in each of them as Kent stumbled to 30-3 at the end of the fifth over.Things only got worse from there for the visitors as Joe Denly and Darren Stevens fell cheaply. A spirited innings of 30 from Alex Blake held up the inevitable for a time, but when he fell attempting to hit an Ingram long hop into the stands only to find the waiting hands of Graham Wagg at midwicket, all hope was lost.This was a chastening defeat for Kent who have relished big chases like this one in the NatWest T20 Blast so far this season, but in truth they never came close to challenging the target that they had been set.Glamorgan remain top of the South Group with just one loss in six matches and a net run rate superior to any other team in the group. If they keep up this T20 form over the coming weeks a home quarter-final will be beckoning.

Lancashire revived their Royal London Cup campaign with an impressive all-round display that sealed a 27-run North Group victory over Derbyshire at the 3aaa County Ground

ECB Reporters Network27-Jul-2016
ScorecardLiam Livingstone made his highest List A score after returning from Lions duty•Getty Images

Lancashire revived their Royal London Cup campaign with an impressive all-round display that sealed a 27-run North Group victory over Derbyshire at the 3aaa County Ground.Chasing 282, Derbyshire were well placed through Billy Godleman’s 91 from 98 balls and Hamish Rutherford’s 47 but they collapsed from 177 for 2 to 254 for 9 with Kyle Jarvis taking 4 for 31.Liam Livingstone’s one-day career best 98 from 98 balls and Steven Croft’s 68 from 75 balls took Lancashire to 281 for 8, which they then defended with accurate bowling and tigerish fielding to deal a blow to Derbyshire’s quarter-final hopes.Lancashire struggled on a sluggish pitch after electing to bat, scoring only 34 in the first 10 overs with Alviro Petersen dismissed cheaply by Ben Cotton. The South African was lbw playing across the line at the fast bowler, whose disciplined opening spell also brought him the wicket of Karl Brown, leg before half-forward to one that nipped back.Livingstone gave the innings momentum by cutting consecutive balls from Shiv Thakor for four before edging the seamer to the third man boundary but Tom Smith never got going and was run out by Alex Hughes’s throw from mid-on in the 19th over.At the halfway stage of their innings, Lancashire were 101 for 3 but Livingstone and Croft began to accelerate with Livingstone driving Thakor over long-off for six to reach 50 from 54 balls.Croft pulled Matt Critchley for six and in the 29th over the Falcons had to replace wicketkeeper Harvey Hosein who went to hospital for an X-ray which showed a fracture to his left thumb with Wayne Madsen taking over. But Derbyshire’s immediate concern was restricting the flow of runs which increased as Croft and Livingstone both dispatched Critchley for sixes in the 33rd over while Cotton was clipped over the midwicket boundary by Livingstone when he returned at the City End.Croft pulled Tony Palladino for another maximum and the game was threatening to run away from Derbyshire when Livingstone tried to turn Hughes through midwicket and was lbw.Croft failed to clear deep square leg in the 44th over but Luke Proctor and Jordan Clark added 49 in five overs to post a competitive total which Godleman put a dent in by taking three fours from Saqib Mahmood’s second over.Jarvis bowled Ben Slater but Godleman and Rutherford played patiently against some tight bowling before Godleman twice straight drove Clark for six on his way to a 49 balls 50. The pair were starting to assert themselves when Rutherford sliced Stephen Parry to backward point but Godleman was the key and he drove Smith for consecutive fours as Derbyshire went into the last 20 overs needing 139.Livingstone took a superb catch at deep midwicket to remove Madsen with the score on 177 and Lancashire struck another blow five balls later when Godleman came down the pitch and was bowled by Croft.With 84 needed from 10 overs Jarvis returned to bowl Thakor and after Wes Durston missed a drive at Clark, sustained bowling and a climbing run rate proved too much for Derbyshire.

Arsenal are reportedly already looking ahead to the summer transfer window as the 2022/23 campaign comes to a close later this month.

The Gunners have enjoyed an expectation-exceeding season, with a top-two finish and Champions League football confirmed, Mikel Arteta’s side can still win the Premier League title, should Manchester City drop points in their remaining fixtures.

Not many at the club would’ve predicted the success this year would bring, however a lot of room for improvement remains, with a lack of squad depth seriously tainting title hopes in north London following defensive injuries.

The absence of Takehiro Tomiyasu and particularly William Saliba left Arteta with little cover in defence and a lack of quality to fill the void the Frenchman left in central defence.

Ahead of the summer transfer window, the Gunners have been linked to a number of potential signings, with news emerging this week that another former City star could join the ranks in north London.

What’s the latest on Joao Cancelo to Arsenal?

According to 90min, Arsenal are one of the clubs monitoring Joao Cancelo’s future in the summer.

Currently on loan at Bayern Munich after making a swift exit from Pep Guardiola’s plans at the Etihad, the £250k-per-week star is 'unlikely' to be reintegrated into the Spaniard’s squad next season.

The Bundesliga champions are reportedly against paying the €70m (£61m) fee to sign the right-back on a permanent basis, according to renowned transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

90min, meanwhile, understands that Arteta is a fan of the versatile defender, who he believes would 'slot nicely' in his plans and tactical system heading into next season.

What could Joao Cancelo bring to Arsenal?

Once lauded by former City man Paul Dickov as “sensational” and being “right up there” with the best full-backs in the world, there is little doubting the quality Cancelo can produce.

After a tough year of unexpected change and being in and out of squads, the Portuguese has maintained a high level of performance among Europe’s elite, as shown by his numbers below, via FBref.

In terms of fitting into Arsenal’s young team, the experienced full-back could challenge the similarly versatile Ben White for a spot at right-back, and fits Arteta’s plans of having an attack-minded maestro, capable of playing as an inverted full-back in central midfield – a la Oleksandr Zinchenko but on the right.

As speculated by Football Insider, the Spaniard reportedly has an idea for a central role for the English defender mapped out, potentially leaving a vacancy at right-back for a player such as Cancelo to fill.

The 28-year-old wide player has similarities to White’s game, as shown through his statistics per 90 this season, as per FBref.

White averages 1.76 tackles per 90, as well as a huge 7.18 progressive passes per 90, showing his involvement going forward and transitioning play.

Cancelo top’s the England star for both, with 2.12 tackles per 90, as well as reading the game as an attacking full-back expertly by averaging 7.20 progressive passes per 90 – placing him in the top 3% for this area among Europe’s top five leagues in his position.

There’s no denying the talent the Portuguese star has in his locker, can Mikel Arteta be the one to settle the full-back after a challenging year?

That remains to be seen, though what is clear is the fact that Cancelo can be a mighty signing for the Gunners during the off-season and one that could either rival White or aid their defensive frailty.

Tottenham Hotspur are back in action Premier League action today, as they welcome Crystal Palace to north London in the hope they can claim just a second victory since early March.

Times have been tough for Spurs of late, with manager upheaval and disappointing results tarnishing what could have easily been a half-decent season. However, it seems that their dip in form has come at the worst possible time, and top-four now seems all but out of their reach.

Regardless, caretaker boss Ryan Mason still has other levels of European football to compete for that could prove imperative in deciding the calibre of manager they attract, the quality of players he can then bring in, and whether Harry Kane sticks around.

However, today marks a tougher challenge than it would suggest on paper, as Roy Hodgson has worked wonders since returning to Selhurst Park.

The Eagles have won four of their last six matches, scoring 13 times in the process. They are a free-scoring outfit already safe from the drop and enjoying their football once again, whilst the Lilywhites are a club in turmoil.

To claim victory would be huge not just for confidence but also their league position as the season draws to a close.

Whilst Eric Dier often acts as a lightning rod for criticism, having earned a meagre 6.3 rating or lower in three of his last five league matches, there is another player that has arguably been just as culpable for their recent shortcomings.

To give themselves the best possible chance, Dejan Kulusevski simply cannot be allowed to start again alongside the English defender.

How has Dejan Kulusevski played this season?

Upon first signing for Spurs in January of 2022, many thought that the Swedish winger had already proven himself an immense bargain. A tally of five goals and eight assists in just 18 league games had fans excited for what a full season might bring.

However, after 26 games this campaign, the 23-year-old has just two goals and six assists. What makes this even more frustrating is that his last strike came in mid-January, emphasising his barren run.

Such miserable underperformance has led the £110k-per-week dud to uphold a similarly torrid run of form as Dier, as his last five ratings have not surpassed a 6.8 rating.

This has not gone unnoticed too, with former Brighton and Hove Albion striker Glenn Murray telling BBC Radio 5 Live (via TEAMtalk):

"Kulusevski has been blowing hot and cold. I would say he hasn’t hit the heights we saw him hit when he came in last season."

Mason has plenty of big decisions to make in his pursuit of a first victory since taking over this squad again, and today marks a fine chance to do so.

But with Richarlison having finally broken his goalscoring duck in the Premier League last week, this personnel switch surely marks a no-brainer for the interim head coach.