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      Chelsea boost with N’Golo Kante ‘set to return from injury before Champions League last 16 clash vs Borussia Dortmund’

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      N’GOLO KANTE is reportedly set to return from injury for Chelsea’s Champions League last-16 clash with Borussia Dortmund.The first leg of the Blues’ European tie will take place in Germany on February 15, before the return leg three weeks later on March 7.
      N’Golo Kante could return from injury as early as FebruaryCredit: AFP
      And Graham Potter’s men are hoping Kante could be available for the away leg, although the return fixture is more realistic.
      This is according to a report in L’Equipe, with Chelsea’s midfield currently decimated by injuries.
      Kante, 31, Denis Zakaria, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have all been plagued with fitness issues during the first half of the season.
      Meanwhile, Jorginho has been out of favour since Potter took over from Thomas Tuchel.
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      And while Enzo Fernandez was linked with a January move from Benfica, that transfer now seems highly unlikely this month.
      These selection problems have given Conor Gallagher an opportunity to start for Chelsea in recent weeks, although he has done little to establish himself as a long-term solution.
      Now, though, Kante is closing in on a return at a crucial point of the season.
      The France international has not featured since the Blues’ 2-2 draw with Tottenham at Stamford Bridge back in August.
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      But he could prove to be a key figure in Chelsea’s clash with Dortmund.
      And being crowned European champions may be the team’s best way of qualifying for the competition next season.
      Chelsea currently sit 10th in the Premier League table, 10 points adrift of Man Utd in fourth.
      Meanwhile, the Blues are hopeful they will tie Kante down to a new deal.
      The ex-Leicester midfielder is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.
      But the West London outfit have “increasing confidence” around securing an extension. More

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      Harry Kane expects to begin talks over a new Spurs contract in coming months – and hopes Antonio Conte signs fresh terms

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      HARRY KANE expects to begin talks over a new contract in the coming months but maintains all his focus is on finally landing his first trophy this season.While the England captain, who equalled Jimmy Greaves’ Spurs record of 266 goals by scoring the winner against Fulham on Monday, hopes boss Antonio Conte signs fresh terms.
      Harry Kane celebrates after equalling Jimmy Greaves’ Spurs recordCredit: Reuters
      Kane is into the last 18 months of his present deal.
      Manchester United and Bayern Munich are among those who admire the 29-year-old, who would need to be convinced of Tottenham’s ambition if he is to renew.
      Asked about his contract situation, Kane replied: “I’m sure there will be conversations over the coming months.
      “But to be honest I’m just focused on this season and doing my best for the team.
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      “There’s still a lot to play for, trying to get in the Champions League, we have the FA Cup and the Champions League still to win. My focus is on that.
      “I know there’s going to be rumours, a lot of talk and speculation about my future but I’m just focused on what I can do.”
      Kane is a rarity in that he is a one-club man – if you discount loan spells earlier in his career.
      But despite hitting 266 goals in 415 games for his boyhood club, his trophy cabinet remains bare.
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      He pushed for a move to serial silverware-winners Manchester City in the summer of 2021 which did not come off.
      And now England’s joint-highest scorer must weigh up whether he wants to commit further to the club where he made his name and risk ending up potless.
      Yet when asked if he still wants to succeed with Spurs, his reply was unequivocal.
      Kane said: “Of course, I still want to win trophies for Tottenham Hotspur. 
      “That’s been my goal since I started playing first team football with them. It hasn’t happened.
      “I’ve been open about [how I feel about] that but I’ll continue to try to achieve that. 
      “We have a really good squad, a fantastic manager and there’s no reason why we still can’t be successful this season. We’ve just got to put everything we can into it and see where we are come May or June.”
      Spurs have had an up-and-down season both in terms of performances and results.
      Yet Monday’s 1-0 victory at Craven Cottage means they are only three points off the top four, are through the last 16 of the Champions League and have a winnable fourth-round FA Cup tie at Preston on Saturday.
      Conte’s future still very much hangs in the balance though, with his contract up at the end of the season.
      Tottenham have the option to extend it by an extra campaign, but would be unlikely to do so if they felt the Italian wanted out.
      Spurs’ win at Fulham moved them to within three points of the top fourCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
      Antonio Conte was delighted with his team’s victory at Craven CottageCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
      Some have suggested that Conte’s decision whether or not to sign a new deal could hinge on if Kane pens fresh terms – and vice versa.
      Quizzed over whether the manager committing his future would make a difference to his own, Kane replied: “I’m not going talk about the manager’s future. That’s down to him. 
      “I’m sure he’ll have conversations with the club and assess where we are as a team. 
      “He’s had a lot going on, on and off the pitch, so he probably needs time to assess it all. From my point of view, I really enjoy working with him and it would be fantastic if he did stay.”
      Conte held a team meeting in the week, having conceded 21 goals in their last ten league games.
      It was rewarded with a clean sheet and three points – while Tottenham’s team seemed to take on his advice of “getting nastier” with some full-blooded tackles.
      Kane added: “(Being nasty) comes in different ways. all fighting together, the clean sheets, grinding out those 1-0 wins, winning fouls at the end. 
      “We’re playing in a tough league so it’s about doing what we can. 
      “We don’t have to win every game two- or three-nil. One-nil is enough. 
      “We’re playing against a really good side last night away from home and I think we showed really good character to win.
      “We have meetings every week anyway but it was more just talking amongst all of us and voicing our opinions on getting back to keeping clean sheets, being strong, compact, fighting, digging deep if a fixture is like last night was.
      “There’s still a lot of games to play in the Premier League, we have an important FA Cup game at the weekend and the Champions League starts again in February. 
      “In football, things can turn around really quick and all of sudden you can be right in amongst two competitions and fighting for Champions League spots.
      “When we looked at where we were last year and managed to get in the Champions League, anything’s possible still.”
      Kane missed a chance to break Greaves’ record when Bernd Leno made a fantastic save from his header in the second half.
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      It is just a matter of time before he breaks it – and there is a good chance it happens at Deepdale on Saturday.
      Kane added: “I had a couple of chances there in the second half but I’ll be ready for the next game.” More

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      Mbappe scores FIVE in 7-0 win over non-league side whose captain is PSG Ultra who questioned whether to tackle Frenchman

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      KYLIAN MBAPPE scored FIVE goals in a 7-0 win against sixth tier French minnows Pays de Cassel, whose captain is a Paris Saint-Germain ultra who feared injuring the France star.Pays de Cassel, an amateur side from a village in French Flanders, near the Belgian border, won three ties against regional sides to earn the right to take on the Ligue 1 juggernauts.
      Kylian Mbappe scored five goals in PSG’s 7-0 win over Pays de CasselCredit: EPA
      Captain Alexis Zmijak is a PSG ultra and got Mbappe’s shirt at half-timeCredit: Twitter
      Club captain Alexis Zmijak was the man who secured his team a date with the dominant French champions, scoring the winner in the last round.
      But incredibly, Zmijak is a PSG ultra and leads the cheers for Christophe Galtier’s side at the Parc des Princes.
      He even admitted prior to the game that he was petrified to tackle PSG star man Mbappe, in case he injured the 23-year-old ahead of the club’s Champions League last-16 tie with Bayern Munich next month.
      He told Le Parisien: “If Mbappe goes through on goal, do I tackle him or not?
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      “Do I say to myself: ‘Wait, he has to play Bayern Munich in the Champions League soon’. I have no stress before this game.
      “We have nothing to lose, it’s the meeting of a lifetime for us. And for me, personally, it’s great to find myself in this situation.
      “I joined the CUP (Collectif Ultras Parisiens) two years ago. I wanted to be among the ultras, because for me, football is lived with passion.
      “I want to go all out, not just watch the game. When I go to the Parc, it’s not to go to the presidential gallery.”
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      And Mbappe’s health was never at risk… as centre-back Zmijak got nowhere near him for 90 minutes.
      Well, except for the half-time interval, when Zmijak’s hero handed him his shirt.
      Mbappe, who captained PSG for the first time, made it look easy as he netted a first-half hat-trick.
      Neymar got in on the act next, sending the Parisians in at the break 4-0 up.
      PSG added three more goals in the second half to run out 7-0 winners.
      Mbappe grabbed another two – a goal shy of a double hat-trick – and Carlos Soler got the other. More

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      Tottenham ‘keen on Maurizio Sarri as they consider replacing Antonio Conte with THIRD former Chelsea manager in 4 years’

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      TOTTENHAM are considering former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri as a potential replacement for Antonio Conte, reports say. The current Spurs boss has yet to sign a new deal with his contract set to run out at the end of the season.
      Maurizio Sarri is an experienced coach who came to prominence after his three impressive years at Napoli before a stint at ChelseaCredit: Getty
      Antonio Conte has been in charge of Spurs since November 2021Credit: Reuters
      Conte has appeared frustrated in recent press conferences amid Tottenham’s dodgy run of form in 2023.
      It is still not clear if the Italian intends to stay on for another season in North London.
      Now, Italian publication Il Messaggero report that the club already have a replacement in mind.
      Sarri, currently in charge of Lazio, is believed to be among the frontrunners to replace Conte.
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      The 64-year-old managed Chelsea in the 2018-19 season, having replaced Conte on that occasion at Stamford Bridge.
      He left after one campaign to take charge of Juventus where he would lead the club to their ninth Serie A title in the Covid-hit 2019-20 season.
      But he would be sacked just a month later after Juve were dumped out of the Champions League during the delayed knockout tournament in August.
      Sarri has bounced back since and is now leading a team Lazio who are fighting for a Champions League spot against Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
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      Both clubs have been helped by Juventus’ 15 point deduction which appears to have taken the Old Lady out of the running.
      If Tottenham were to move for the Italian, he would be the fourth ex-Chelsea boss who would take charge of the club in the last decade and the third since 2019.

      Along with Conte, Andre Villas Boas has also made the jump from Stamford Bridge to White Hart Lane in 2012.
      While Mourinho took charge of Chelsea twice before landing at Tottenham in 2019.
      Sarri had a mixed time at the Blues before being replaced by Frank Lampard.
      He led the club to a 3rd-place finish and won the Europa League during his one season in charge.
      That campaign also arguably saw Eden Hazard’s best season at Chelsea.
      But sizeable sections of the fanbase did not warm to Sarri and criticised the style of play and his use of N’Golo Kante in a more advanced midfield role. More

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      Antonio Conte slams Tottenham flops and claims his Spurs are defending like a relegation-calibre team after City shocker

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      ANTONIO CONTE warned Tottenham are defending like a team scrapping in the relegation zone right now.Spurs have shipped 21 goals in their last ten league games – including four in Thursday’s 4-2 defeat at Manchester City – and have conceded two or more in nine of those fixtures.
      Spurs’ bumpy form has put their hopes of a top four place in perilCredit: Getty
      It is proving to be their Achilles heel which is overshadowing the progress Conte feels the team is making at the other end of the pitch when taking on the bigger opponents.
      The Italian said: “The positive situation is I think we have improved a lot to face important opponents like Manchester City. 
      “On one side, we are doing progress. On the other, compared to last season, we are doing less. 
      “To concede 21 goals in the last ten games, this is usually for a team that fights in the relegation zone.
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      “To turn the season, we have to improve when conceding a goal easily. To concede at the moment at least two goals every game, we have to turn this into a positive.”
      Spurs have kept just five clean sheets in the league compared to 13 last season after Conte had arrived.
      The North Londoners have conceded 31 goals in total in the league, which is five and six more than Everton and West Ham respectively, both of whom are in the drop zone.
      Their form in the last five games is worse than relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest and Wolves.
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      Asked how he can solve his defensive problems, Conte replied: “I think we have to improve the spirit, the collaboration, the will, the desire, the feeling to suffer.
      “Maybe we have forgotten to suffer and to understand that if we want to win the game then maybe you have to stay there, to suffer like last season. 
      “You have to defend the result, the will and desire not to concede a goal.”
      The poor run in the last ten fixtures has left Spurs five points off the Champions League spots, having played a game more than fourth-placed Newcastle.
      While defeat to Fulham on Monday would see the in-form Cottagers leapfrog them in the table.
      Conte feels it will take another “miracle” to finish in the top four – which was how he described last season’s achievement of doing exactly that.
      But he added: “We want to be realistic but at the same time in myself I dream. 
      “I dream, I want to play Champions League. There are 18 games in the Premier League.”
      “There is another competition in the FA Cup and for sure in our mind we need to dream of something important.” More

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      Arsenal could clinch Champions League football in just seven games as stats show average points needed for Europe

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      ARSENAL could clinch Champions League qualification in just seven games, according to recent history.And another 39 points may well secure their first Premier League title since 2004.
      Bukayo Saka and Mikel Arteta are dreaming of Champions League footballCredit: PA

      The Gunners have enjoyed a stunning first half of the season, dropping just seven points from 18 matches.
      They sit top of the table with 15 wins, two draws and just one defeat.
      And ahead of facing Manchester United at the Emirates on Sunday, Mikel Arteta knows his side are well on course for a successful season.
      In fact, the Gunners’ current record of 2.61 points per game would see the club finish on a whopping 99 points come the end of May.
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      But SunSport has crunched the numbers and worked out what is usually required for each significant place in the Premier League.
      We worked out how many points was enough to secure first, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and 17th – for the various European places and to avoid relegation – by taking the points tallies for the place below in each of the last season and adding one then averaging it out.
      So to finish top of the league, the winners needed one more point than second place – so 82 in 2017-18, 98 in 2018-19, 82 in 2019-20, 75 in 2020-21 and 93 in 2021-22.
      That averages out at requiring 86 to pip second place to top spot.
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      For fourth and Champions League qualification, the average points for fifth is 67 points over the last five years so 68 would guarantee a top-four finish.
      That is just 21 points more than Arsenal’s current total, meaning seven wins and 68 points could be wrapped up by early March, securing a first Champions League campaign for the Gunners since 2016-17.
      Lower down, 63 is statically on average enough for fifth and 59 for sixth to get into the Europa League.
      And 55 points – just eight more than Arsenal have after 18 games – works out as the benchmark to seal the final European spot in the Conference League.
      Arsenal, though, are already five points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand on the chasing pack.
      And last weekend’s North London derby win means they are 14 points clear of fifth-placed Spurs.
      At the other end of the table, 34 points tends to be enough to avoid relegation.
      However, just 29 was needed in 2020-21 but 36 was required last season.
      A whopping seven teams are still on 17 points or fewer this season – of those, only Leeds are yet to reach the midway mark of 19 games – so will be desperately hoping they can find some form in the second half of the season to ensure survival.
      The Gunners are well on track for a superb and successful seasonCredit: Getty
      Arsenal have not played in the Champions League since March 2017Credit: Getty Images – Getty More

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      Chelsea facing HUGE Champions League headache as only THREE of six new signings from £188m transfer binge can play

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      CHELSEA’S January spending splurge has left boss Graham Potter facing TWO major selection dilemmas.And even a major squad clear-out in the final days of the winter window will only solve one of them.
      Graham Potter faces two major selection dilemmasCredit: Getty
      Chelsea have made six January signings including Joao FelixCredit: Getty
      Latest signing Noni Madueke could be left out of Chelsea’s Champions League squadCredit: Getty
      The Blues have landed PSV winger Noni Madueke as their SIXTH signing of the mid-season window.
      With the £35million arrival of the English former Spurs trainee, the Chelsea hierarchy will have sanctioned a remarkable £181m transfer outlay since the turn of the year.
      But Champions League rules mean that only THREE of the new recruits can be registered to play in the competition when Chelsea take on Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 next month.
      While Prem rules are different, allowing wholesale squad changes in the mid-season window, Chelsea have to stick to the required eight “home-grown” players and can only register a maximum of 17 overseas stars.
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      That means Potter must confirm a list of exits or have a host of players who are unable to play first-team football for the remainder of the season.
      And the different regulations deployed by Fifa and the Prem will make things even tricker.
      It certainly means hard decisions that will have to be taken when the dust settles on the exact make-up of the Blues squad on February 1.
      Joao Felix, signed on loan from Atletico Madrid, is a certainty to be the first of the chosen trio for Europe.
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      But that would mean Potter having to then add just two from defender Benoit Badiashile, £62m-plus Ukrainian schemer Mykhailo Mudryk, Ivory Coast striker David Datro Fofana, Madueke and £18m Brazilian recruit Andrey Santos, who is more likely to be loaned out for the remainder of the campaign. 
      And even that is not as “simple” as it appears.
      Joao Felix would normally be a straight swap for the stricken Armando Broja, with the Albania striker ruled out for the rest of the campaign.
      But Slough-born Broja, a Chelsea player since joining the club’s set-up as a schoolboy, is on the “B” list of players who were under-21 at the start of the season and, more pertinently, “locally-trained”.
      It could therefore mean he must replace another player – which suggests sales or loans out from the core squad are inevitable.
      Madueke, as an English player, will count as home-grown for the Prem but not for Uefa, which demands at least eight players who spent three years between the ages of 15 and 21 at a club in the same country. He left Spurs for Holland at 16.
      The assumption is that Badiashile will come in for the injury-plagued Wesley Fofana, at least for the Uefa list, as well as Mudryk.
      But that would leave no place for striker Fofana or Madueke, although they have both been signed for the long-term.
      And in the Prem, while under-21 players do not count, Chelsea’s current homegrown list is made up of third-choice keeper Marcus Bettinelli, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Trevoh Chalabah, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher and Raheem Sterling.
      Effectively, none of them can leave the club unless they are replaced by an English-qualified player.
      So far, only three of the new recruits – Joao Felix, Badiashile and Fofana – have made their Chelsea debuts.
      But the new arrivals – and there is continuing talk of a potential seventh signing, possibly Brighton’s Ecuadorean midfielder Moises Caciedo – mean Potter’s squad currently has 28 senior players, three more than the maximum permitted.
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      Prem rules give a hiatus to those regulations during January, allowing them all to be registered and play.
      But that moratorium ends when the window closes, meaning Potter and the Chelsea board have slightly more than a week to get their outgoings sorted and prevent omitted players having the right under Fifa regulations to move for nothing. More

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      Declan Rice is guaranteed to leave West Ham… and Arsenal and Man Utd are his most logical transfer destinations

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      DECLAN RICE has a massive decision to make this summer — and it does not involve  staying at West Ham.Every team in Europe is keen to sign the future England captain at the end of the season, although very few can afford him.
      Manchester United and Arsenal both want to sign Declan Rice this summerCredit: Rex
      But even the handful of clubs who can meet the Hammers’ demands will present a dilemma for Rice as he  considers all his options.
      Because how do you choose when you have got Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester City all queueing at your door?
      The fact that West Ham still have an option to extend his contract to 2025 is immaterial.
      Whether they stay in the Premier League or not, they know their best player is leaving. Rice virtually confirmed that last month when he said that he is  desperate to play in the Champions League.
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      Because that ain’t going to happen at West Ham any time in the foreseeable future.
      That’s why he has already rejected an offer of a new EIGHT-YEAR contract from the club who would happily make him their highest paid player in the blink of an eye.
      There are about a dozen players at the London Stadium currently earning more than Rice, including left-back Emerson Palmieri, Ivory Coast winger Max Cornet and reserve keeper Alphonse Areola.
      But that’s often the case with players who have graduated through the academy rather than signing on big money from another club.
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      Yet it’s not about the money for Rice. It’s about competing at the very highest level and squeezing every last drop from his career.
      He will have seen how his 29-year-old England team-mate Harry Kane — who signed for Tottenham way back in 2011 — is still waiting to win his first major trophy at the club after committing himself to a lucrative long-term contract five years ago.
      And he is not going to make the same mistake with West Ham.
      He will also have noted how his pal Jack Grealish, 27, gave up being a big fish in a small pond at Aston Villa to win the Premier League in his very first season with Manchester City.
      So now it is simply a question of which club can offer him the best opportunity to maximise his talent  during the peak years of his career.
      Having just turned 24, he has the potential to become one of the best defensive midfield players in the world over the next decade.
      It was only last April that David Moyes said that West Ham would not consider selling their captain for less than £150million.
      But now the consensus is that he could go for little more than half that amount, particularly if the Hammers are relegated to the Championship.
      Yet with so many serious clubs  wanting his services, there’s plenty of potential for a bidding war taking that fee to British record levels.
      Chelsea, despite having released Rice from their academy at 14, would have no shame in breaking the bank to bring him back.
      But, like Liverpool, there’s every chance that they won’t be able to offer him Champions League football next season, even though the two are the last English clubs to win it.
      City only play with one holding midfielder and already have Rodri and Kalvin Phillips on their books.
      Newcastle are clearly an emerging force and have the resources to outbid anyone if they can secure a top-four finish this season.
      But it’s Arsenal or Erik ten Hag’s United who offer the most logical career path for Rice and, with both clubs apparently on the up, it could be a straight shootout between the resurgent giants this summer.
      Either way, West Ham fans should make the most of their best player while they still can.
      UTD MAY SMELL RAT
      MANCHESTER UNITED fans are understandably excited by the news that ‘Britain’s richest man’ is trying to buy the club from the Glazers.
      The fact that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been living abroad as a tax exile is not going to curb their enthusiasm.
      Yet financial experts have calculated his personal fortune at £6billion — and the Glazers want at least £5bn.
      That does not leave a lot of spare cash for someone who clearly hates the idea of frittering his money on such avoidable expenses as income tax.
      And after he lost out in the bidding for Chelsea last spring, United should not hold their breath waiting for the takeover.
      GONE POTTY
      CHELSEA manager Graham Potter says they cannot keep trying to spend their way out of trouble or else they will end up with a 30-man squad.
      I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Graham, but the matchday programme for last week’s game against Crystal Palace already listed 33 Blues players.
      And that did not even include the club’s £88million new-boy Mykhailo Mudryk.
      Potter joked he hopes he is still in a job when Mudryk’s remarkable new contract finally expires in 8½ years.
      Good luck with that. Me? I just hope I am still alive in 2031.
      REFFING MAD
      BRITAIN’S top referees have been tying themselves in knots trying to justify Manchester United’s equaliser against neighbours City last week.
      But they’re defending the indefensible because anyone who knows anything about football could see Marcus Rashford was offside and the goal should never have stood.
      And if the laws of the game say differently because he wasn’t interfering with play, then the law is an ass.
      RAMS-FAIL
      SPURS are threatening to issue a lifetime ban to the supporter who kicked Aaron Ramsdale during Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat by Arsenal.
      More than 500 season ticket holders have already claimed responsibility.
      BLATT TO THE FUTURE
      FIFA have claimed five billion people ‘engaged’ with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
      What does that even mean?
      But then very little coming out of world football’s governing body makes sense any more.
      According to reports, TV companies covering the winter finals were ordered to show at least one shot of Fifa president Gianni Infantino at every match.
      But they weren’t allowed to film him on his phone, nor below knee height when he was sitting next to any of his dodgy dictator mates in the plush stadiums out in the desert.
      Come back Sepp Blatter, all is (almost) forgiven.
      GARETH FAIL
      A MOVE to rename the Severn Bridge the Gareth Bale Bridge has been KO’d by a House of Lords committee.
      Presumably they were worried the bridge — which connects England and Wales — would be out of action for nine months every year.
      EMMA’S MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
      TENNIS star Emma Raducanu has defended her commitment to the sport by declaring: “I give 200 per cent in everything I do.”
      That probably explains why the British ace, 20, has suffered so many injuries — she’s been trying to do the impossible.
      KAM OFF IT
      ICE skater Kamila Valieva has been cleared by the Russian anti-doping agency — despite her positive test before last year’s Winter Olympics.
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      They announced that although the 16-year-old had taken banned heart medication, she bore ‘no fault or negligence’ for the offence.
      And who could possibly doubt the word of such a trusted organisation? More