At previous times the situation had seemed a little different, but with Postecoglou now being very aware how much cover he’ll need for injuries, and how helpful Lo Celso can be generally, an exit just wouldn’t make a lot of sense.

That slant, though, isn’t one being taken by the Catalan media.

Monday’s edition of Sport reports the ‘pressure’ is building on Xavi Hernandez to sign Lo Celso in the January market. Gavi is out injured for around nine months, and it’s though Lo Celso could help Barcelona’s attack become less predictable.

However, Barcelona would want the Argentina international on a loan basis, and it’s not clear why this would be in any way attractive to Tottenham.

Lo Celso may well be tempted by a move to Barcelona, many players are, but there’d surely have to be some kind of mutiny at Spurs from the player to push any move through.

And even then… it feels ambitious.

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Erik ten Hag has been reluctant to back down with the former England international, and Sancho has been training away from his teammates.

A January transfer has looked inevitable, with various clubs linked in recent weeks. There’s been Italian reports of interest from Juventus, and the Turin club are likely eyeing a bargain loan which would see little or no fee and Manchester United continuing to pay a percentage of his wages.

The whole football world knows the situation so there’s little chance of Manchester United getting a good deal, even on a loan basis.

Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg has taken to Twitter X to give his view on how the situation currently stands.

He says a loan with an option to buy is the most realistic scenario and that there’s no fixed price. All of that goes without saying, and isn’t really anything to write home about.

However, Plettenberg also adds that Sancho is first waiting to see what happens before January with regards to the club and the ‘owner etc’.

The assumption there would be he hopes a new shareholder could tell Ten Hag to pick him, or indeed move for a new manager.

That’s probably still not going to go down well with many supporters.

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Indeed, it’s likely one of the reasons he’s now at Aston Villa. Pretty much ostracised at AS Roma after months of issues, which certainly weren’t all of his own making, Zaniolo was sold to Galatasaray.

That then saw his summer move to Aston Villa, in a deal which is initially a loan but expected to be turned into a permanent transfer.

The recent gambling drama in Italian football inevitably involved Zaniolo, but his insistence that he only gambled on non-football related issues, and no evidence suggesting otherwise, has seen him escape a ban.

Italy’s latest Zaniolo drama is claiming he’s been prepared to move to Napoli in the past, and therefore an insinuation that he could in the future.

Experienced journalist Claudio Vigorelli is covered by AreaNapoli, and it’s stated the idea of a move to Napoli ‘did not displease’ Zaniolo or his family.

The player’s family are often featured in the Italian media and believed to have a big say on his career.

Regardless of all of that, it’s Aston Villa who hold the power for now, even if the Italian media are keen on another drama.

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Sent to the Serie A side for the season after Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League, things went wrong very quickly for the right sided player.

Soon after arriving at Roma, Kristensen was left out of the club’s UEFA squad and therefore unable to play in Europe. Then the Italian media started taking aim over the little use and positive contribution he was having since his arrival from Leeds United.

At the beginning of November he was labelled a ‘flop’ who hadn’t yet managed to adapt to Roma or Italian football. Later that same month it was declared he was ‘not up to par’ and wasn’t able to help Jose Mourinho through an injury crisis.

Well, Sunday was a very good day for Rasmus.

In 45 minutes of action he scored a goal and contributed an assist, being a big part of Roma’s 2-1 victory over Sassuolo.

That’s obviously seeing him receive lots of praise from the media around the Rome club, and will hopefully be a confidence boost after a difficult time.

Such a positive new slant can only be good for Leeds United and the player’s future prospects.

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There’s the potential for that to reach €12.5m eventually, although that’s still seen as a bargain and there’s a reasonable chance the player will have been sold for a huge profit before then.

A Bola report on the interest coming specifically from Premier League sides, and how the defender could end up being one of the club’s biggest sales of all time.

Pep Guardiola’s side are credited with interest, with A Bola stating ‘the giant Manchester City’ are one of those clubs hovering for the signing.

That means there’d have to be movement in defence at Manchester City, and would be one of the reasons why a summer transfer is likelier for Diomande than in the winter.

A Bola go on to say that Sporting would point to the player’s €80m clause for a winter move. That would still be the price in the summer, however, there may be the chance to make up part of that via bonuses.

Manchester City are just one of several Premier League clubs to have been linked, and it remains to be seen whether the hype turns into a move to England.

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There was anger with officials, but the annoyance will be more widespread than that. Whilst City’s quest to retain the Premier League title isn’t going badly, it doesn’t really feel like it’s in full swing yet.

Jeremy Doku has been one of the bright points for Guardiola so far this season, so seeing him go off injured against Spurs will have been something of a blow.

Belgian newspaper HLN cover the situation today, and say that whilst the Manchester City manager didn’t want to say anything after the match, there were voices around the club talking about tests in the ‘coming hours and days’.

Those tests will determine how long Doku is out of action for.

HLN rightly point to worry given the attacker had injury issues at Rennes, and keeping him fit had been a big part of Manchester City’s success so far with the signing.

Now it’s a case of wait and see.

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Having left Wolves in August of this year, following disagreements over how the club would be moving forward, the Spaniard has been out of work since.

In Spain, there’s been repeat claims that the work he did at Wolves has left him with a good standing in the Premier League, and that should be helpful in the coming weeks.

AS now report that Lopetegui has rejected the chance to take over at Al Ittihad.

Despite obviously receiving a very attractive financial offer and the opportunity to work with players including Karim Benzema, the manager has other ideas for the near future.

According to the Spanish newspaper, Lopetegui is planning a quick return to the Premier League, with AS very much making it sound like he’s eyeing this season.

The report states there are already ‘several teams’ who could offer him a deal in the short term. That would clearly be related to sides struggling and thinking twice about their manager.

Again, it’s stated Lopetegui is held in high regard in England following his time with Wolves.

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During the transfer guru’s period with AS Roma, he was repeatedly linked with a return to the Spanish club and, with no real shock to anyone, that’s where he ended up.

Despite this time leaving under a cloud for Aston Villa, and there being some controversies since he left, there still remains the assumption among some that Monchi will one day be in charge at Sevilla again.

Obviously that won’t be in the near future.

Things are too raw, recent reports in Spain have made it clear that Monchi started to implode somewhat in his final months and the huge controversy with Isco, who revealed fights with the Aston Villa man, is too recent.

Isco doing so well at Sevilla’s rivals Real Betis, isn’t helping that situation much.

Nevertheless, board member José María del Nido Banavente has been asked about the possible return.

Quoted by Mucho Deporte, he said: “Monchi cannot return. He has a contract with an English team that makes it impossible for him to leave, with a large settlement.”

Not one for the near future, then.

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Moving to the Genoa club from Leeds United in summer 2018, there were big hopes around the youngster, but it didn’t take long for things to start to unravel.

There were fitness issues and other problems, and during his time with Samp, Vieira has been involved in loan moves to Verona and Torino.

Both those loans included options to buy, and neither club went through with it. A return to Leeds United was rumoured to be a possibility on several occasions, and there were even claims around a failed transfer to Sheffield United.

Repeatedly, there’s been calls for Sampdoria to give up, but they’ve continued giving chances and ClubDoria46 report Ronaldo Vieira has ‘finally taken charge’ of the Genoa club.

Andrea Pirlo is manager at the Serie B side and he’s found a system to get the most out of the former Leeds United player, who was ‘never so good’ since his time at Elland Road.

He’s played 11 games in a row, starting the last six, and things are finally looking up for the 25-year-old, thanks to ‘Pirlo’s trust’ and work the player is doing to prevent injuries.

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Yet to appear for Jurgen Klopp’s side this season, the 31-year-old also had multiple injury issues during the last campaign. Whilst the Spaniard’s talent has rarely been questioned, he’s had repeat fitness issues and that’s a big argument against a renewal.

Other clubs may be more optimistic, and TuttoJuve report Inter Milan are keen, with Juventus ‘keeping an eye on things’.

For Inter Milan, it’s stated the player’s ‘salary is scary’, whilst for Juventus the figures involved would be ‘out of reach’.

Despite that stance, it’s clear Thiago won’t be able to demand the same type of package he’s on at Liverpool should he want to stay in European football.

A move elsewhere in the Premier League feels unlikely, again for fitness issues, and the salary level would likely be even more of an issue for most clubs in Spain than it would be for Inter Milan.

So unless Thiago fancies Saudi Arabia or similar, top Italian sides may be able to compete on offer, despite their current pessimism.

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