BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks claims that he believes Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish is better than Tottenham Hotspur’s Dele Alli.

On the chalkboard

Selecting his Team of the Week after Grealish scored in Villa’s 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, Crooks picked the midfielder and explained his reasoning.

He said: “What I want to know is when is Grealish going to be spoken about in international terms? Between Dele Alli, James Maddison and Grealish I’m having Grealish every time. Come on Gareth Southgate – start giving this lad some encouragement and the occasional mention in the press.”

But do the statistics bear this out?

Per WhoScored, Grealish has made 22 appearances in the Premier League this season, while Alli has made 17.

The two have scored the same amount of goals, both netting seven times in 2019/20. Grealish has registered five assists, while Alli has three to his name.

Offensively, the Villa man averages 2.1 shots per game, 2.6 key passes, 2.3 dribbles, while he is fouled 4.8 times. Defensively, he makes 1.1 tackles per game, 0.5 interceptions, and 0.3 clearances. He also has a passing accuracy of 85.2%.

Alli, by comparison, averages 1.7 shots, 1.2 key passes, 1.6 dribbles and is fouled 1.3 times. He also averages 1.4 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, and 0.6 clearances, with a passing accuracy of 77.2%.

The big fat Tottenham quiz of 2019 – how much do you remember about the last year at Spurs?

What a missed opportunity

Spurs must be cursing their luck.

Grealish has thrived in the Premier League this season but they could have had both he and Alli.

Spurs made a bid for the Villans star in August of 2018 after the Midlands club had been taken over by wealthy new owners. Had they made the offer just weeks prior, the then-Championship club would have had no choice but to cash in.

Chairman Daniel Levy dithered, though, and Villa were able to reject the bid and keep their prized asset.

Crooks is right to pick Grealish over Alli – the stats prove that he is a far better option in the final third, though he does not quite muck in as much in his own half as his countryman – but the numbers simply emphasise what a mistake the club made.

They should have moved heaven and earth to bring the attacking midfielder into the club and then perhaps we could have seen the two playing together, rather than being compared like this.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans have debated the potential signing of a global megastar!

Time is running out for Steven Gerrard to bolster his Rangers squad ahead of the transfer deadline on Friday.

With the exception of Jermain Defoe, who had already been on loan with the club since January 2019 before he signed a pre-contract agreement to join permanently in the summer, the Gers have failed to bring a single new face into the club this month and it seems unlikely that any major business will be concluded before the deadline passes.

However, the club are reportedly considering the possibility of allowing Brandon Barker and Jordan Jones to leave this week in order to free up resources for an incoming signing, per Daily Record.

The report claims both players are considered surplus to requirements at Ibrox and clubs south of the border have been alerted to their availability.

While both players have found themselves on the fringes of the senior squad this season – with Jones starting just 2 SPFL fixtures so far – playing the fans seem particularly disgruntled by the prospect of Jones’ departure.

In response to the reports, these fans suggested Barker is welcome to leave but insisted they want to see Jones remain in Glasgow.

This fan, meanwhile, took a seemingly more tongue-in-cheek approach to the situation, suggesting that Jones’ departure could cost the club the league.

Or perhaps he was being deadly serious after all…

Another fan simply expressed their bewilderment at the report and hinted Gerrard could be about to make a very foolish decision indeed.

Finally, another fan claimed that Rangers should be looking to offload Sheyi Ojo and send him back to Liverpool instead of getting rid of Jones.

Given the former has played 13 more SPFL fixtures than Jones this season, it would be a huge surprise if Gerrard made a u-turn before the transfer deadline.

Duncan Wright of The Sun has issued an update on Crystal Palace’s chances of signing Jordon Ibe.Earlier on deadline day, the same journalist broke an exclusive which revealed that the south Londoners had turned their attention to the Bournemouth winger after seemingly losing out to West Ham in the race to sign Jarrod Bowen from Hull City.

Jack Rosser of The Evening Standard also mentioned that the Cherries are ‘desperate’ to get rid of Ibe before the end of the transfer window.

However, Wright has now revealed on his Twitter account that he has been told any deal between Crystal Palace and Bournemouth seems ‘unlikely’.

The former Liverpool attacker has made just two Premier League appearances this season, while also embarking on two Carabao Cup outings – none of these showings have led to a goal involvement.

Who on earth is that?!?! Can you name all of these obscure January signings?

It means that, as things stand, Roy Hodgson has only welcomed one new face for the first-team through the door in Cenk Tosun, who joined on loan from Everton earlier in the month.

You can see what Wright tweeted down below:

In other news, Slaven Bilic has provided an update on Nathan Ferguson’s move to Crystal Palace…

Jean-Kevin Augustin hasn’t played a single game for Leeds United after signing.

The Frenchman joined on loan in the final week of the January transfer window, and despite the Whites playing twice since he’s arrived, the 22-year-old is yet to even make the bench for the Yorkshire club.

So, why is this? Well, Marcelo Bielsa has said himself that his fitness isn’t quite up to standard yet, but fortunately, the Yorkshire club have wasted very little time when trying to tackle that issue.

What’s been said then?

As always, Phil Hay was the man providing insight into Leeds United.

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The journalist was talking about Augustin’s fitness, and he stated that he went to Thorp Arch on the day the 22-year-old signed, and he saw him doing one thing.

“The things that Bielsa puts the greatest weight on are your body fat levels and the weight, and the targets you have for all that. Also the ability to do the running sessions that he asks of you,” Hay said (The Phil Hay Show 7/2/20 14:20).

“When I went up to Thorp Arch on the Monday when he signed the first thing he was doing was running around and around the track that Bielsa had installed at Thorp Arch, and it was very much a case of welcome to Bielsa’s Leeds.”

Good to see

While fans have been frustrated by Bielsa’s choice to leave Augustin out so far, he’s explained his reasoning quite well.

The Argentine has stated that his fitness isn’t up to scratch, and Graham Smyth has also commented on the fact that a few supporters said he was fat after his U23 performance on Monday.

Fortunately, Leeds are wasting no time in tackling the issue as they made him continuously run around the specially-made 1km running track that Bielsa had installed last summer.

Hopefully, Augustin is fit enough to play sooner rather than later.

In other news, Marcelo Bielsa may have just handed one Leeds youngster a massive lifeline.

Sheffield Wednesday’s season has taken a turn for the worst as the Owls sit six points outside of the playoff zone with just one win in nine to their name.

Garry Monk has chopped and changed his side perpetually, especially at the back which had previously been his foundation to success but in most part, this has been enforced due to injuries.

Liam Palmer, Morgan Fox and Moses Odubajo have all faced time on the sidelines since the turn of the year, resulting in a constant carousel of personnel.

Last weekend, commanding centre-back Dominic Iorfa was forced to play right-back whilst the likes of Tom Lees and Julian Borner have been in and out of the side for months.

If Monk can’t decide who should play at the back, then there should be no harm in giving an opportunity to David Bates, the rarely-seen Hamburg loanee.

The Scotsman joined the club in the summer under caretaker Lee Bullen and has only been able to feature in one Carabao Cup game all season, keeping a clean sheet against Rotherham United.

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He arrived at Hillsborough with high acclaim, he’s been regarded as the Ginger [Sergio] Ramos by Rangers fans and has even been compared to Bayern Munich powerhouse Niklas Sule by the Bundesliga official website.

Bates’ former teammate Kenny Miller described him as a “great lad who works very, very hard. He’s a good defender, very quick, strong. If he gets the nod, I’m sure he won’t let anyone down.”

In the Bundesliga 2 last season, the 23-year-old won an average of 3.7 aerial duels, recorded 1.4 tackles and 4.8 clearances per game as well as an 82.8% passing success rate, via WhoScored.

This would suggest that he’s more than capable of featuring for the Owls, but we’ll never know until he’s handed a chance.

Calling all FA Cup experts: Name the season these historic giant-killings took place…

The 6 foot 4 colossus hasn’t even been named in a matchday squad since Monk’s second game in charge either.

Maybe it is time to give him this opportunity, especially if the 40-year-old Wednesday boss is going to continue to chop and change his defence around – they have only kept two clean sheets in their last eight league outings, after all.

While in other news, Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk issues response to boo boys…

Leeds United’s January additions haven’t had too much of an impact on the Whites’ season.

Jean-Kevin Augustin has played just 49 minutes since joining last month, while Ian Poveda and Elia Caprile are still awaiting their debuts.

United did exactly what they wanted to do in January as we were told at the start of the window that they wanted a striker, a winger and a goalkeeper, and that’s exactly what they got.

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However, there is an argument to be made that they needed another player through the door, and Phil Hay believes that they made a mistake.

What’s been said then?

The journalist was talking about Leeds’ midfield on the latest edition of The Phil Hay Show.

“I do think that it was a mistake not to sign another midfielder in January, it’s not necessarily a mistake that will cost them the season, but we’ll see in May,” he said (The Phil Hay Show 20/2/20 9:40).

“It did look like a fairly obvious area if Forshaw was absent, which he now is, for bringing somebody in and bringing in a bit more depth.

“I kind of thought that they were short of options even when Forshaw was fit, and they certainly look short of options without him.”

Spot on

It’s hard to argue that Hay isn’t right about this.

At the moment Leeds have very few fit senior central midfielders, and it could even be argued that they only have Mateusz Klich who is 100 per cent suited to that role.

Stuart Dallas has spent most of his career on the flanks, while Pablo Hernandez is seemingly more comfortable on the wing.

Bringing in a new player wouldn’t have only strengthened United’s depth, but it would have allowed Dallas and Hernandez to move back to the spots they’re more effective in.

In other news, Leeds’ January U-turn could prove decisive in the coming weeks.

A number of Hibernian supporters hope that Rangers will sign on-loan striker Florian Kamberi permanently given the form shown by Greg Docherty, who made a loan move in the opposite direction at the end of January.

Kamberi had scored eight goals in 27 matches for the Easter Road club prior to sealing a loan switch to Ibrox last month and he opened his scoring account for Rangers in Sunday’s draw at St Johnstone, also setting up Joe Aribo for his goal at McDiarmid Park. However, the 24-year-old has yet to start a match for Steven Gerrard’s side.

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Docherty had gone more than five months without a first team appearance at Ibrox before joining Hibernian on loan but has started well under Jack Ross, scoring once and setting up three goals in the  recent Scottish Cup win over BSC Glasgow as well as netting in the win over Kilmarnock and setting up Christian Doidge’s goal in the weekend draw against Livingston.

These Hibs fans on Twitter are hoping that a permanent swap deal can be arranged whereby Kamberi stays at Ibrox and the Edinburgh outfit hold on to Docherty:

Hibs fans, would you be happy to see Kamberi leave altogether if it means signing Docherty permanently? Comment below with your views!

According to The Evening Standard, Liverpool are “set to poach” Manchester City physio, Steve Lilley.

What’s the word?

The Merseyside club appear to be undergoing a restructuring of the medical staff, with head of medical services, Andy Massey, set to be replaced by current Arsenal doctor, Gary O’Driscoll, next month.

And now, with Reds physio Richie Partridge leaving the club in March to join up with the Qatar national team, The Evening Standard claim the Anfield side are moving swiftly to get a replacement in.

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The report suggests that Lilley, who has also previously worked for fellow Premier League side Norwich, is set to be lured to Liverpool.

More misery

Just when City thought things couldn’t get any worse.

Hot on the heels of the Etihad side being thrown out of the Champions League for the next two years, Liverpool are looking to inflict more pain and suffering on the current Premier League champions.

Pep Guardiola of course has already seen some major disruption to his backroom staff this season with the loss of assistant coach, Mikel Arteta, to rivals Arsenal.

Premier League Inflation: You won’t believe how much these famous transfers would cost today…

And now, losing their physio to the team they are directly competing against at the summit of English football, would be another bitter pill to swallow. Jurgen Klopp’s side are simply being ruthless and pressing home their advantage this season.

Whilst they may not be players, members of the backroom staff can play a pivotal role in the day-to-day running of things and keeping spirits high. If the Reds can manage to lure Lilley to Anfield, then they would be under-lining their status as top dogs right now.

Meanwhile, Liverpool can save millions by giving this academy youngster a proper chance.

Tottenham Hotspur’s season has hit crisis point in March and talkSPORT’s Danny Kelly has hit the nail on the head with his remarks this weekend.

What’s he said?

Jose Mourinho’s side were beaten in a five-goal thriller by Wolves on Sunday, making it three successive defeats – but the wider picture is that they are now five points from the top four and have it all to do in Germany as RB Leipzig carry an away goal in their Champions League tie.

Speaking on Simon Jordan’s Final Word after the match, Kelly slammed several key figures ranging from chairman Daniel Levy, former boss Mauricio Pochettino and their current Portuguese chief.

He said:

“The barometer – and there’s no other word for it now – the mess that Spurs have got themselves into and I include Daniel Levy in that, Pochettino to some extent for his ridiculous comments before the Champions League final that he might quit if they won it and subsequently the panic to get Jose Mourinho in there.

“Spurs were in the Champions League final nine months ago. Think about Inter Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid – the kind of teams that make the Champions League final. Today [Sunday 1st March], they started with two players who started in Madrid – Harry Winks and Dele Alli.

“So the team has through injury, departures, and strange selections been absolutely blown up. Whether by circumstance or by choice of management – you have a situation where Wolves’ front two, [Diogo] Jota and [Raul] Jimenez are as good as anybody away from Liverpool’s as of right now and he [Jose Mourinho] chooses to leave out his most experienced defenders, sling Eric Dier whose form since his illness just makes him look like he isn’t a professional footballer anymore, against [Japhet] Tanganga who’s trying to make his way. I don’t know what he’s thinking of here.

“I tell you what he’s thinking of actually – I’m gonna say it and he can sue me if he wants – he’s thinking I’ll keep all these fresh for Norwich during the week because I need to win a trophy here and the FA Cup is my best route to it.”

Amounting issues

Spurs’ troubles just don’t seem to be ending anytime soon, which is surprising considering they had been unbeaten in seven matches until their European first-leg last month.

Kelly is right to blame Levy – his lack of investment has contributed to their downfall substantially, and potentially most of all. Yes, he sanctioned moves for Gedson Fernandes and Steven Bergwijn, but it wasn’t enough – they needed that backup striker.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Heung-min Son joining Harry Kane on the treatment table has shown just how poor a decision that has been.

Pochettino’s comments before the UCL final were simply baffling too as if that was going to motivate players in any form – “here guys, win this and I’m leaving” is not a good look at all.

Meanwhile, Mourinho has hardly helped himself with his chopping and changing of team selection and tactics, and he could probably be braver in selecting teenager Troy Parrott as at least he’s an out-and-out striker and not a midfielder or winger playing as a makeshift centre-forward.

Money talks: How much did Levy pay for each of these Spurs stars?

And in other news, Spurs witness what they have been desperate to see for first time in 85 days…

Growing up in Edo, Nigeria, Odion Ighalo had a dream. It was a simple one too – to play football for Manchester United.

Remarkably, he has achieved that ambition. Coming via Norway, Italy, Spain, China and Watford, it’s not your usual career path but Ighalo is now very much part of the furniture at Carrington.

He has settled into life at Old Trafford with aplomb, even if at first glance it looked like a peculiar signing.

United are renowned for making hefty expensive acquisitions. The very fact they broke the record paid for a defender to land Harry Maguire is fine evidence of that. The £89m addition of Paul Pogba is another example.

Yet, here was Ighalo, arriving for a loan fee of just £3m after plying his trade in the Chinese Super League. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men needed attacking cover for Marcus Rashford but this was certainly an unorthodox way of going about it from Ed Woodward.

However, despite bucking a trend, it’s already beginning to become somewhat of a masterclass from United’s executive vice-chairman.

That’s if you compare it to one of the biggest earners still on the books of Manchester United – Alexis Sanchez.

The Chilean is a classy player on his day, registering 24 Premier League goals for Arsenal in one season but his move from the Gunners which essentially cost £35m (the price United valued Henrikh Mkhitaryan at) has been nothing short of a disaster. On £350k a week, he’s scored just five times in 45 outings and is now out on loan at Inter Milan. Once again, he’s flopped.

Sanchez has scored just once in Italy all season and is now due back in England in the summer. However, would United not benefit from a permanent deal for Ighalo more? It’s hard to tell, but the answer should be yes.

Although they possess no option to sign the Nigerian at the end of his loan, the financial power and the lure of United would surely be enough to bring him back.

If you compare the two, there are some stark differences. For a start, Ighalo is on £250k less than Alexis and has already started producing at a better rate.

Only on temporary terms, the 35-capped striker has found the back of the net on just two fewer occasions despite only being there for a matter of weeks. The fact he’s scored a goal every 77 minutes is damning compared to Sanchez.

The Chile international has been extremely poor in front of goal, taking 556 minutes at a time to beat the goalkeeper. Considering his wage and price tag, it’s seriously concerning.

Ighalo’s signing, however, has proven to Woodward that sometimes you don’t need to spend a considerable sum to find a good player. His wage is still colossal but the decision to bring him in has proven to be a piece of genius compared to previous failings in Manchester.

How well do you really know the Premier League’s greatest ever manager? Find out below…

Whether this causes a major policy shift at United remains to be seen, but it’s surely worth evaluating by the club’s chief operators.

Meanwhile, United’s pursuit of a £34m-rated star is a THROWBACK to the SAF era…