“Manchester City face relegation” — Former financial adviser claim
Former financial adviser for Manchester City, Stefan Borson, has agreed that the club amidst allegations facing the club over Financial Fair Play rule breach that the club could face only one outcome if found guilty.
According to Borson, that means relegation for the Pep Guardiola led side if the alleged 115 breaches charges come out negativity for the club.
The charges, brought forth by the Premier League in February last year, span a period from the 2010/11 to the 2017/18 seasons.
While Premier League chief Richard Masters did not confirm the exact date of the hearing during a recent questioning by a Select Committee, he did acknowledge that the case was progressing.
The potential consequences of the charges, if proven, range from points deductions to the drastic step of relegation from the top division.
However, Spurs could land their answer to Haaland with swoop for £30m “machine”
The Lilywhites have been linked with an interest in the “prolific” marksman this month.
The January transfer window has been open for business for over two weeks and Tottenham Hotspur have been one of the busiest sides in the division.
Ange Postecoglou has not wasted much time in going about his work to bolster the playing squad after a host of injury issues during the first half of the season.
Despite losing a number of key players, including James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, to injury, Spurs remain in the hunt to secure a top four finish in the Premier League.
Tottenham, however, still lack an out-and-out number nine to consistently find the back of the net, since Harry Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich last summer.
Richarlison, who has also been deployed in a wide role at times, has shown promise with six goals in his last six Premier League matches – to take his tally to seven in 18 outings.
However, the Brazil international has only scored 11 goals in 55 appearances for Spurs since his move from Everton and is yet to prove himself to be a reliable centre-forward for the club.
Football Insider recently claimed that Tottenham are one of a number of clubs considering a swoop to sign Santiago Gimenez from Feyenoord in the summer transfer window.
The outlet reported that Spurs, Arsenal, and Fulham are all eyeing up a possible deal to bring the Mexico international to the Premier League.
Although, it was also stated that West Ham are stepping up their efforts to snap up the lethal marksman this month as David Moyes looks to bolster his attack.
Football Insider claimed that it would take at least £30m, and possibly up to £40m, to secure his services and that Feyenoord would prefer to cash in on him in the summer, rather than sell to the Hammers midway through their 2023/24 campaign.
This suggests that Spurs are safe to wait until the end of the season to make their move for Gimenez and they may not be forced to accelerate their plans this month.
Whether it happens in January or the summer, Postecoglou could unearth his own version of Manchester City and Premier League star Erling Haaland in a swoop for the impressive finisher.
Erling Haaland’s record-breaking brilliance
The Norway international returned to his country of birth at the start of last season when he was signed from Borussia Dortmund by Pep Guardiola.
Haaland had plundered an eye-catching 86 goals in 89 appearances for the German side in all competitions and there was no guarantee that he would be able to translate that outstanding form over to English football.
The Leeds-born superstar has done exactly that with a staggering 71 goals and 14 assists in 75 matches for the Cityzens over the past 18 months.
Erling-Haaland-Manchester-city
His debut season in England was an extraordinary one as the 23-year-old dynamo broke the record for the most goals in a single Premier League season with 36 goals in 35 matches during the 2022/23 campaign.
Haaland also became the fastest player in the history of the English top-flight to reach 50 goals this season as he did it in 48 games. The previous record-holder was former Manchester United forward Andy Cole, who made 65 appearances en route to 50 goals in the league.
The former Dortmund ace fired City to the treble – the Champions League, the Premier League, and the FA Cup – last season and has started the 2023/24 campaign with 19 goals and five assists in 22 outings in all competitions.
These statistics show that Halaand has been incredibly prolific for the Cityzens over the past 18 months and Spurs could now unearth a player with the potential to be Postecoglou’s own version of the impressive number nine.
Santiago Gimenez’s “prolific” record for Feyenoord
Scout Antonio Mango hailed Gimenez as the most “prolific” striker in Europe earlier this season and it is not hard to see why when you look at his statistics.
Talent scout Jacek Kulig, who once described the Feyenoord star as a Mexican “machine”, claimed that he is similar to Erling Haaland -with both players being lethal left-footed strikers – and his record backs that up.
Gimenez has plundered an impressive 44 goals and eight assists in 68 matches for the Dutch side to date, and been in particularly eye-catching form this season.
The Mexico international has racked up 21 goals and five assists in 23 appearances in all competitions, which includes 19 goals in 17 Eredivisie outings.
As you can see in the table above, the Feyenoord marksman has outperformed Postecoglou’s current forward options in front of goal so far this season.
He has produced 19 goals from 15.08 Expected Goals (xG) in the Eredivisie and this suggests that the Argentine-born star is a terrific finisher who does not waste many opportunities to find the back of the net.
Gimenez is an efficient finisher who scores at an exceptional rate, just like Haaland for City in the Premier League, and this is why the potential is there for him to be Postecoglou’s own version of the Norway international next term.
There is no guarantee that the 22-year-old forward will be able to translate his form over to English football but that guarantee was not there with Haaland either and Spurs should take a gamble on him for £30m, as the reward could be spectacular.
Tottenham could end up with their own prolific centre-forward who could help them on their way to competing for titles and trophies in the years to come under the Australian head coach.
Daniel is an experienced football writer and editor, having worked in the football media industry for almost a decade.
After initially writing for Fresh Press as a volunteer for two years in 2015, helping to build and establish the Read brand, Daniel started a part-time job with Fresh Press that later turned into a full-time writing and editing role.
Daniel then spent just shy of a year writing and editing for Anfield Watch, which included conducting and/or transcribing interviews with Liverpool goalkeeping coach John Achterberg, former Wycombe striker Adebayo Akinfenwa, and journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Since the summer of 2021, Daniel has worked for Snack Media and been a contributor to Football FanCast, on a freelance and full-time basis along the way, as a writer and editor.
Daniel is also a big Norwich City fan and season ticket holder. He has been heard on B
BC Norfolk and helped DAZN with research for their commentary due to his knowledge of the club, along with being featured in several local papers across the country, including the Coventry Telegraph and the Liverpool Echo, for Norwich-related content.
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