Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou remained tight-lipped on potential transfers before their trip to Burnley but did pay tribute to Hugo Lloris ahead of his anticipated departure on Friday.
Spurs are set for a busy end to the summer transfer window with frantic negotiations taking place on a number of incoming and outgoings.
Ex-captain Lloris made clear back in June his desire for a new challenge after 11 years at the Premier League club, and there is a growing expectation he will leave Tottenham before the 11pm deadline, the PA news agency understands.
Talks have taken place with Lazio this summer and there has been interest from the Saudi Pro League, while Roma have been speculated as a possible destination this week.
Lloris only has one year left on his contract and if no suitor can be found before the English transfer window closes on Friday night, PA understands the Frenchman may depart Tottenham by mutual consent with the final 12 months of his deal likely to be terminated.
When asked about the 36-year-old, Postecoglou said: “I have only been here a couple of months but Hugo has been excellent throughout the whole process.
“There is no doubt he has had an outstanding career and contribution to this football club. He has been the captain for quite a long time and been very professional, obviously working with (Rob) Burchy and the other goalkeepers.
“He has been helping the others, Vic (Guglielmo Vicario) being the new goalkeeper, so I have nothing negative to say about him and I wouldn’t.
“There has been nothing other than him being very, very professional about everything.”
Lloris is one of several players set to leave before 11pm, with Sergio Reguilon joining Manchester United on a season-long loan, which includes a break clause in January.
Centre-back Japhet Tanganga has agreed to sign for Bundesliga new boys Augsburg on loan, with an obligation to make the switch permanent for £6million euros if they stay in the German top flight or the defender makes a certain number of appearances.
Talks have taken place with Fulham over Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s departure while Tottenham will listen to offers for Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez, Tanguy Ndombele and Bryan Gil.
Meanwhile, an agreement has now been reached with Nottingham Forest for the signing of attacker Brennan Johnson, who has been given permission to travel for a medical, PA understands.
Johnson will sign in a £45m deal but Postecoglou stayed tight-lipped on any activity, adding: “I’m in a position where other people are in control of incomings and outgoings.
“I’m not really in the loop until things are concluded. For me to talk about potential players, where that’s ins or outs, when it may or may not happen is not my place.
“The countdown clock says nine or 10 hours. We’ll find everything out in the next short period and we’ll go from there.”
While Spurs are eager to trim their bloated squad by 11pm, some will fail to secure moves and may find themselves left out of the club’s 25-man list, which will need to be submitted to the Premier League on September 25.
Postecoglou was adamant the door is not closed on anyone, saying: “No one’s not been integrated, no one hasn’t been training with the team. I’m not isolating anyone at the moment.
“Players have got their own reasons for making these decisions but ultimately, come the deadline, we’re going to have to name a 25-man list and we’ve got more than that at the moment, so some people are going to miss out.
“It’s up to them to decide the next step. From my perspective, we haven’t excluded anyone from training.”
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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