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Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong has joined Championship club Charlton Athletic on loan until January.

The Ghanaian midfielder has recently returned to full fitness after recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury that he picked up last season while on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The 20-year-old has been restricted to just the two first team appearances for the Gunners this season, both coming in Capital One Cup victories against Coventry and Reading.

“We’re really happy that he’s coming in to join our squad, and we welcome him to the club,” Charlton manager Chris Powell told the club’s official website.

“We’ve had our eye on him for a while, and with the busy Christmas period to come, I felt it was right to make sure that we are covered in all areas. We hope that he does very well for us in the red or black of Charlton.”

Frimpong joins a side who are on the back of a three match winning streak and the signing is somewhat of a coup for Charlton who have struggled in the transfer market this season when pursuing ‘big name’ targets.

The midfielder was rumoured to be heading back to Wolves where he spent time last season but will now stay in the capital in his quest for first team football.

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Arsenal and Charlton fans alike won’t forget the last time a player headed to the Valley from the Gunners, as former Addicks loanee Alex Song returned from his time in South London to became an integral part of Arsene Wenger’s midfield before leaving for Barcelona in the summer.

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Tottenham Hotspur could potentially put themselves in a decent position to sign Matthijs de Ligt if they allow Juan Foyth to join Ajax this summer.

What’s the word?

On Tuesday, Dutch publication Voetbal Primeur cited Radio La Red as claiming that Eredivisie giants Ajax are interested in signing Foyth on loan.

The 20-year-old moved to the North London outfit from Estudiantes just last year, but he is yet to work his way into the first team.

Over the course of last season, the Argentine made seven appearances in Mauricio Pochettino’s team, and all were either in the EFL Cup or FA Cup.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]

At the moment, it does not look as though Foyth will play a significant role at Tottenham, but it remains to be seen whether the club are willing to let him leave for a season.

Could this help with De Ligt pursuit?

Last Wednesday, football.london reported that that Spurs have no plans to move for Ajax teen De Ligt, who has been attracting attention from numerous clubs over the last few months.

The 18-year-old, who is valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, was ever-present in Ajax’s backline, making 39 appearances in all competitions and even contributing with three goals and two assists.

Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United have also been linked with a move for the centre-back, which shows the level of competition for his signature.

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If Spurs are not prepared to enter a bidding war, they should maybe re-think, particularly if Foyth joins the Dutch outfit.

The club have done business with Ajax before but giving them a player will only help their case if they decide to revive a pursuit for De Ligt.

According to reports in the Daily Mail, talks between Tottenham Hotspur and key defender Toby Alderweireld, rated at £31.5m according to Transfermarkt, over a new contract have stalled because of his wage demands, and Spurs fans have been quick to have their say on the rumour.

The Daily Mail says that the 28-year-old, who turns 29 next month, is demanding a five-year deal with wages in excess of the club’s £110,000-a-week ceiling, and as things stand there is little chance of a compromise being found.

The Belgium international has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League since joining the north London outfit in 2015, and he has become a real favourite with the Spurs faithful in that time because of the quality of his performances.

Tottenham supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the story, and while one said “time will tell but I believe he’s going”, another described him as “irreplaceable”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Name: Guillermo Ochoa

Country: Mexico

Club: AC Ajaccio (soon to be a free agent)

Age: 28

International Caps: 60

Position: Goalkeeper

Ochoa became something of an overnight internet sensation after his Man of the Match performance in the recent 0-0 draw with Brazil. At times, the 28 year old’s heroics single-handedly kept Neymar and company at bay. A free agent this summer, the goalkeeper has been linked with a number of La Liga sides as well as Arsenal and Liverpool. The Mexican will likely have to be on top form again this afternoon if his country are to progress this afternoon against the Netherlands.

Somewhat bizarrely for a goalkeeper, Ochoa enjoys something of a celebrity following in his homeland. With this superstar status and talent from an early age, the 28 year old has been linked frequently with Europe’s elite sides before and even after his move to the French minnows.

The Mexico has impressed in his time in Ligue 1, establishing himself as one of the leading shot-stoppers in the division. Boasting remarkable reflexes and great flexibility, Ochoa has often proven the difference in grinding out draws or victories for Ajaccio. The 28 year old has also proven himself to have the useful knack of saving penalties. Ochoa’s stop from Neymar’s header at the World Cup went viral on social media and was dubbed by many as a wonder save.

Despite all of this current overwhelming praise from the worldwide media, it should be noted that the Mexican is human after all and has been guilty of costly errors in his time in France. Those stumbling over themselves to label him as a “superman” should perhaps watch the mistakes committed against Lille and Nantes recently before lavishing such praise.

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Nevertheless, Ochoa’s form for Ajaccio and now for Mexico on the biggest stage has quite rightly attracted attention. With Simon Mignolet and Pepe Reina currently on Liverpool’s books, a move to Arsenal would seem a more logical fit for both parties. After Lukasz Fabianski’s departure, the Gunners’ are in need of another goalkeeper and the Mexican would provide a strong challenge to Wojciech Szczesny to the number one spot at the Emirates Stadium.

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Whilst many of us readers would love to have the lifestyle of a Premier League footballer – the adrenaline rush of playing in front of thousands of adoring fans, the tens of thousands going into their account every Friday, driving into three hours of training in an Aston Martin – life always has a way of teaching us that you can’t always have it all in this world.

What the following Premier League footballers have in ability, they lack in hair follicles. They may be superstars for their teams, but they can’t boast to waxing their before going to work in the morning.

So here is the list of the ultimate Premier League bald-headed XI, past and present, who have an abundance of skills, and an abundance of wigs.

Click on Jaap Stam to unveil the greatest ‘Bald XI’

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Leicester City have stolen ahead of Everton in the race to seal the signature of Norwich City starlet James Maddison, according to the Daily Mail. 

What’s the story, then?

The Mail report that the 2015/16 Premier League winners have agreed a £24m fee for Maddison with the Canaries as they look to freeze out Marco Silva’s Toffees and seal a quick deal for the young English playmaker.

They claim that Everton hold an interest in the Foxes target but have yet to make a formal bid to bring Maddison to Goodison Park and Claude Puel’s side are lining up a medical in the coming days.

They also report that Maddison would move closer to his Coventry roots if he made the switch to the King Power Stadium.

Everton would suit Maddison better

As much as a return to the Midlands may appeal to Maddison from a personal perspective, from a football one, Everton is the better choice.

Marco Silva will look to bring an enterprising, attacking brand of football to Goodison Park and a sharp, young number 10 could make all the difference to a side that will look to play with the ball after the dour style under Sam Allardyce.

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Meanwhile, it looks as if Maddison would be a Riyad Mahrez replacement at Leicester. The two are not the same kind of player at all and he may also look at the stagnation of Demarai Gray as another factor to put him off joining the Foxes as a young, English talent.

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Everton failed to land Espanyol defender Mario Hermoso in the January transfer window, according to Sport.

What’s the story?

The Merseyside club managed to strengthen their attacking options with the arrival of Cenk Tosun and Theo Walcott.

It was another area of the pitch, though, that the fans were keen for the Toffees to address.

With Leighton Baines injured, Cuco Martina has been filling in at left-back, but the right-footed player has struggled to make an impression.

In the end, Everton did bring in a left-sided player in the form of Manchester City’s Eliaquim Mangala, but he plays as a centre-back.

Now, according to Sport, it has emerged that the Premier League club tried to recruit Espanyol’s Hermoso, but their £7.1m offer was not enough for the La Liga club to accept.

Is the Spaniard one for the summer?

At the age of 22, the defender still has many years left to develop, which means that if he did arrive at Goodison Park in the summer he is unlikely to be the finished product.

The fee could also be an issue as Sport claim that Espanyol expect Hermoso’s value to rise as the season progresses.

That indicates that the Spanish club could put up a fight in negotiations and could eventually cost Everton more than they are willing to pay.

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Despite this, it is worth keeping an eye on the defender, particularly as he has experience playing at left-back, which is an area that the team need help in.

Daniel Levy may be weighing up his next move in appointing Tottenham’s managerial successor to Tim Sherwood, but the Spurs chairman should first look to re-evaluate his own expectations.

An ambitious Tottenham is good for the continued growth of the Premier League. The team were applauded for their attacking adventure under Harry Redknapp and the chairman is praised, most of the time, as one of the game’s toughest negotiators.

But Levy hires and fires with such regularity that not only can Spurs never develop any consistency, you also start to get the feeling that Levy holds a sense of entitlement for the top four. If a manager fails to reach the Champions League, it’s deemed his failing rather than the club as a whole accepting that it was simply out of reach.

Tottenham have the sixth biggest wage budget in the Premier League, so it’s natural to think that their standing is a Europa League place. Over the past few seasons, Tottenham have finished fourth twice, with Harry Redknapp punching above his weight to get the club in a final league position that bettered Manchester City and then Chelsea.

The problem is Levy expects the top of the mountain to be reached at first time of asking. There was an unrealistic expectancy that Andre Villas-Boas would hit the ground running with the wave of new players bought with the Gareth Bale money last summer. The Portuguese manager didn’t always make life easy for himself, but ultimately he was failing to meet Levy’s expectation for a place at least in the top four.

What will Levy’s expectation be for either Frank de Boer or Mauricio Pochettino? The former has never been a head coach away from Ajax and has no experience of English football from his playing days. The latter has done well with Southampton in a much more relaxed environment, but has no history of finishing in a Champions League position, either in England or Spain.

Money won’t guarantee instant success. In addition, Tottenham don’t have another £100 million to squander this summer or in the coming years. Levy wants top European football, which is understandable. But does he ever take into account what’s going on around his club in the Premier League? Tottenham aren’t serial top four finishers, and yet he sets the same target each year no matter the manager, or the club’s transfer activity, or the strength of other teams in the league. When the inevitable happens, a good manager is let go.

Tottenham have a good structure and good players. What they lack is a strong leader, a leader who can resist the temptation to hand out dismissals when the team hits a rough patch.

Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Liverpool will strengthen this summer. One of them won’t be in the top four next season, yet each of them are better placed to finish in those positions than Tottenham.

Levy understands the importance of a modern stadium and the revenue it provides. Tottenham have neither that nor the sponsorships that can match those other five teams. It’s far from a failure if Spurs can’t overcome those odds and simply remain in regular contention for Europa League football. A failure, a catastrophe even, would be a six-position fall similar to that of Manchester United.

In the absence of financial strength, the club should be focusing on consolidating their current position, so as when the opportunity does arise to push on, it won’t feel as though they’re starting from scratch. Bring in a manager who will be allowed to stay in the job for three or four years and build a team. That of course necessitates the hiring of the right manager and not just someone who has done well elsewhere.

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Tottenham can finish in a Europa League place with ease. They’re the strongest team in the league outside of those five previously mentioned. So wouldn’t a strong cup run do the club a lot of good? Juande Ramos was brought to Tottenham in 2007 because of his success with Sevilla. That club came close once but ultimately couldn’t challenge Barcelona or Real Madrid, yet they still saw plenty of success in cup competitions.

Would the White Hart Lane faithful really say no to back-to-back Europa League titles, a European Super Cup and a couple of domestic trophies? Levy needs to know where the battle can be won.

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Demba Ba’s own goal four minutes from time rescued a point for Sunderland in a feisty Tyne Wear derby with bitter rivals Newcastle, who had Cheick Tiote sent off.

Martin O’Neill’s men trailed to Yohan Cabaye’s early strike but pegged the Magpies back at the death as John O’Shea’s header deflected off an unfortunate Ba to send the ball past a bemused Tim Krul.

It was harsh on the visitors as they held on for more than an hour with 10-men after Tiote was harshly given his marching orders following a late challenge on Black Cats striker Steven Fletcher.

A point was the least Newcastle deserved for their organised defensive efforts, underpinned by the return of goalkeeper Tim Krul and captain Fabricio Coloccini to the back line for the first time since September.

And any nerves prior to kick off were allayed when Cabaye slotted home from just inside the area after Simon Mignolet pushed Ba’s low cross into his path. Sunderland struggled to gain a foothold in the game and barely troubled Pardew’s measured Magpies with Cabaye going close to doubling his tally with a long range free kick that was tipped over by Mignolet.

But Newcastle’s honeymoon period didn’t last long as Tiote, under pressure from Jack Colback, lost control of the ball and caught Fletcher high on the shin prompting referee Martin Atkinson to show him a straight red card, forcing Pardew to send James Perch on for Shola Ameobi soon after.

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Sunderland controlled proceedings after the break but couldn’t break down their North East counterparts with Sebastian Larsson, James McClean and substitute Louis Saha all wasting good chances. But their pressure finally paid as Larsson floated a free kick into the area and O’Shea saw his header bounce into the net off Ba’s chest to salvage a draw.

As reported by The Scottish Sun, Rangers are interested in signing Roma prospect Umar Sadiq on loan this summer.

What’s the story?

The Ibrox side have already been busy in the transfer market this summer, confirmed five signings so far in the Steven Gerrard era.

However, the Anfield legend knows that more work is still to be done if he is to build a squad with the kind of quality and depth that can challenge for silverware in Scottish football next season.

One player on his radar is Roma forward Umar Sadiq.

That’s according to The Scottish Sun, who say that Rangers are interested in a loan move for the player.

Rated at £1.6m by Transfermarkt, he has limited playing experience at senior level, but can the Scottish Premiership be a good learning ground for the Nigerian?

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]

Who is he?

Still just 21 years of age, Sadiq was signed by Roma in 2015 after banging in a barrel-load of goals for Italian team Spezia’s youth side. He’s made six appearances for the Italian giants since then, scoring two goals.

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Much of his time recently has been spent out on loan, most recently to Eredivisie side NAC Breda last season where he scored five goals in 12 appearances, in the second half of 2017/18.

That demonstrates he might be be ready for more regular first team action and with Rangers needing more depth in attacking to support Alfredo Morelos, Rangers could be the perfect destination.