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Tottenham Hotspur secured a hard-earned point against title-chasing Liverpool on Saturday evening with the Champions League finalists needing a deflected goal to salvage a draw at Anfield.

Heung-min Son opened the scoring for Spurs in the 11th minute after Ryan Sessegnon squared the ball across the face of goal for the South Korean to slot home his 20th goal of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign.

The 29-year-old was among the Lilywhites’ standout performers in Merseyside, hardly a surprise given there have been few better than him this season.

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However, some of his teammates certainly fought for the cause and arguably, Eric Dier was one of the names to steal the show against the 2020 champions.

The English colossus was a big part of why the north Londoners held on amid a barrage of late attacks from the home outfit.

He registered a whopping match-high 11 clearances, on top of a further three blocks and two interceptions with the latter two figures only being beaten by one other player in the match, as per SofaScore.

It’s no wonder he was described as “very impressive” by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare at full-time. The praise didn’t stop there as much of the local press waxed lyrical about his performance.

The Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick wrote in his post-match ratings column: ‘An imperious display in the heart of the back three. Superb in the air and led Spurs’ brave approach to playing out [from the back].’

Indeed, just three of the Reds’ 22 shots were on target and they failed to convert any of their 11 corners, further proving the £18m-rated titan was an absolute rock at the back for Conte.

Elsewhere on the pitch, he was equally adept with the ball at his feet, averaging an 83% passing accuracy despite attempting seven long balls. Dier also won three of his five duels (60%).

Once lauded as “sensational” by former Spurs midfielder Jermaine Jenas, Dier was certainly an absolute animal up at Anfield this weekend. Those sorts of performances could well put him back in Three Lions’ reckoning before the winter’s World Cup in Qatar.

AND in other news, Conte could land his own Jorginho in Spurs swoop for “extraordinary” £45m-rated titan…

Zander de Bruyn, the former South Africa allrounder, has joined Surrey on a one-year deal for the 2011 English season after spending three summers at Somerset.At Somerset he scored 2,497 first-class runs at an average of 38.41 and added a further 1,656 in one-day cricket, averaging 53.41. In all, he scored seven centuries and 32 fifties in all competitions. He joins as a Kolpak player but is one year away from securing a British passport and his wife is a British Citizen.de Bruyn will link up with Surrey in early April after his South Africa season with the Lions finishes. “I’m obviously excited and looking forward to the new challenge at Surrey, especially getting a chance to play regularly at a Test ground with the quality players that they have in the squad,” he said.Surrey cricket manager, Chris Adams, said: “The experience of a man like Zander de Bruyn will be utterly invaluable in our dressing room. Although I am convinced we have some of the finest young talents in the country in our squad, playing alongside someone with the knowhow of Zander will be hugely beneficial in all areas.”Also, with the recent injury to Mark Ramprakash making his situation relatively unclear for the start of next season, it was vital we had an experienced batsman to turn to and provide a steady hand and this gives us exactly that.”Rory Hamilton-Brown, Surrey captain, added: “We have a really exciting and very young squad at the moment, so adding someone of the quality and experience of Zander de Bruyn was an absolute must. It’s really exciting to have someone like him coming into the Club and being with us all season.”His presence will also play a huge part in helping our younger players learn, just by watching someone of his class going about his day-to-day business.”

Crystal Palace correspondent Matt Woosnam hailed left-back Tyrick Mitchell during the 4-1 win over Watford on Wednesday night.

The Lowdown: Eagles’ first league win of 2022

The Eagles were winless in six Premier League fixtures in 2022 prior to the trip to Vicarage Road.

Patrick Vieira’s side finally claimed three points in the top flight against their former boss Roy Hodgson, with goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta, Conor Gallagher and two from Wilfried Zaha.

The victory takes Palace into 11th place after 26 games, and Woosnam was full of praise for Mitchell.

The Latest: Woosnam praise for Mitchell

The 22-year-old provided an assist for Gallagher to put Palace back into the lead shortly before the interval, and Woosnam took to Twitter to shower the full-back with praise following the goal, labelling Mitchell’s crossing as ‘so good’.

He gushed: “Mitchell’s crossing has been so good this evening. He’s having a good game going forward and when he gets the overlap to put it in Palace look dangerous.”

The Verdict: Impressive

Behind Zaha, Mitchell was staistically Palace’s second-best performer against the Hornets, ending with a 7.6/10 match rating. [SofaScore]

The 22-year-old made four tackles, won 80% of his ground duels, provided an assist and wasn’t dribbled past all night.

It was an impressive display from the youngster, and hopefully Palace can now kick on after securing a long-awaited Premier League victory.

In other news: Journalist reveals Palace stance as rivals eye huge deal for ‘magic’ star

Rangers enjoyed a productive January transfer window as Ross Wilson completed a number of deals to reshape Gio van Bronckhorst’s squad.

Nathan Patterson left for a club-record fee and the sporting director made the most of that sale by snapping up fresh talent.

Aaron Ramsey, Amad Diallo, James Sands and Mateusz Zukowski all came in, with John Souttar also agreeing a pre-contract deal with the Glasgow giants to join on a free transfer at the end of the season.

The Welsh loanee from Juventus, Ramsey, has scored two goals in his last two Premiership outings as he is starting to show why he was brought to the club. However, Sands, Diallo and Zukowski are all yet to make their breakthrough in the first-team.

They may not be at their sparkling best right now but that does not mean that they are all poor signings by Wilson and the club.

In fact, the Gers have played a blinder with the addition of Zukowski at right-back as he is a player who has the scope to develop into a quality player for the club.

Upon the right-back’s arrival, Wilson claimed that he has “high potential” and his soaring market value over the last 12 months reflects that. Transfermarkt valued him at a measly £180k in May 2021 and his form for Legia Gdansk led to him being valued at £2.25m at the time of his switch to Scotland, which means that his value has risen by 1150% in less than a year.

In the Ekstraklasa this season, he averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.84 across 18 appearances. He managed two goals and one assist from full-back, whilst making an outstanding 3.9 tackles and interceptions per game – winning 5.4 duels per match, with these performances causing his stock to rise.

Meanwhile, Tavernier has made 2.9 tackles and interceptions per game in the Premiership. This suggests that, if he can carry his form over to Scotland, he may be more active defensively than the skipper, although it is unlikely that he will match the Englishman’s six goals and 11 assists.

The Gers veteran turns 31 later this year and could be heading into the final throes of his Ibrox career, with Zukowski lined up to take over from him at right-back in the future.

Whilst the Ibrox faithful may not be seeing the full benefits of this move yet, everything indicates that it is only a matter of time before he shows what he is capable of for the club as they have picked up a gem who is on the up and has room to grow. Wilson played a blinder by picking the 20-year-old up as his value continues to soar and, hopefully, he will be able to fulfill his potential in the coming years.

AND in other news, Gvb now plotting Rangers swoop for “exceptional” monster, he’d be a bargain “diamond”…

Aston Villa made the surprise signing of Steven Gerrard’s former Liverpool teammate, Philippe Coutinho, from Barcelona in January, and not only will his talent and ability surely have a fantastic impact on the side’s Premier League season, but he could also become hugely influential to the players around him.

The 29-year-old has already scored for the Villans on his debut in the eventful 2-2 draw to Manchester United at Villa Park last month, where he helped the side secure a point after going 1-0 down in the first half, scoring his goal just 13 minutes after coming onto the pitch in the 68th minute.

One player who also shone in the game against Manchester United is Jacob Ramsey, who not only opened the scoring in the second half for his team but also assisted Coutinho in his first Premier League goal in over four years.

Ramsey has been going from strength to strength at Aston Villa, with the current manager at the club being one of his biggest fans.

Gerrard hailed the £15k-per-week gem “outstanding” following his wondergoal scored against Norwich at Carrow Road in a 2-0 victory, and his progression at the club can only enhance with the arrival of Coutinho, something we saw glimpses of against Man United.

Ramsey has the world at his feet, being described as a “big talent” by scout Jacek Kulig, and as a midfielder, not only having one of the greatest central players to grace the game as his manager, but the opportunity of playing alongside Coutinho who has experience on the left wing and in attacking midfield positions, racking up 102 goals and 75 assists in his career so far.

The £13.5m-rated Birmingham born youngster was instantly put into Gerrard’s Villa first team when he took over in November, with the side now picking up 16 points from just ten games in the league since the Liverpudlian took the reigns.

Ramsey has also offered an attacking output from his position that puts him in the top 18% of Premier League goal scoring midfielders, with 0.23 goals per 90 and an xG of 0.14 per 90 minutes.

Evidently, Gerrard now has a scary duo for Aston Villa going forward, with the 20-year-old being given the best opportunity to develop into a fantastic player working with Coutinho’s influence and experience.

He can learn a lot and become part of a formidable attacking threat with the Brazilian by his side to lead the team to greater things in the future.

It will be interesting to see how the pair progress over the remaining months of the season, and how far the former Rangers boss can take his players in the future with new additions being integrated into the existing Villa squad and the continued development of young players like Ramsey.

In other news: Gerrard already planning to pounce for Bissouma

Rangers being without several key figures for Celtic’s crucial Scottish Premiership clash at Ibrox is a big boost for Ange Postecoglou’s side, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Huge game at Ibrox

On Sunday afternoon, all focus will be on the potentially season-defining clash, as the Hoops visit their most bitter rivals.

Games between the pair are always hugely important of course, but this one has extra significance, with Postecoglou’s side just three points clear in the title race.

It is a match that could be decided by fine margins and injuries could be key, injury doubts surrounding key Gers trio Aaron Ramsey, Fashion Sakala and Alfredo Morelos, with the latter now definitely confirmed as out.

The Latest: Journalist on Celtic boost

Speaking to Give Me Sport after hearing the news, O’Rourke claimed that it is impossible to deny that Celtic would be boosted by the absence of key Ibrox stars:

“When key players are missing, it’s always a lift to the opposition when they see the teamsheet, so it does give you a lift in that respect.”

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The Verdict: Undoubted positive

This is an undoubted positive for the Hoops ahead of arguably the most hotly-anticipated Scottish Premiership clash in years, with so much on the line at Ibrox.

Despite this, it is still imperative that Postecoglou and his players focus on their own game, however, knowing that destiny is still in their hands and victory would arguably put one hand on the trophy.

Morelos’ absence is arguably the biggest plus point for Celtic, as even though he has not always thrived in the derby the Colombia international is still the Light Blues’ top scorer this term.

In other news, two Celtic players could start against Rangers. Find out who they are here.

Lots of Everton fans were critical of the performance of Jonjoe Kenny in their 1-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday.

With Nathan Patterson unavailable and Seamus Coleman dropped to the bench, Kenny was left to play at right-back, and he seemed to struggle throughout the game up against both Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho.

The 24-year-old lost out on three of his duels and failed to make a single dribble, tackle or cross, while he also lost possession of the ball on 24 different occasions in total, the most out of any of his teammates (SofaScore).

He did not do enough to warrant keeping his starting place ahead of Coleman and Patterson, and Duncan Ferguson now has a selection dilemma to ponder ahead of Everton’s next match.

Everton fans blast Kenny

These Toffees fans on Twitter blasted Kenny’s performance against Aston Villa on Saturday:

“Kenny can’t pass a ball 5 feet”

Credit: @blackhurst92

“Can’t believe Kenny was playing today, offers nothing with the ball. No Gordon as well was baffling. Heading for the Championship after years of squad mismanagement, fully deserved”

Credit: @MarkWood17

“Kenny and Holgate starting. 2 lightweights in midfield. Wingers having to cut back all the time. No cohesion. Absolute shambles of a club.”

Credit: @nsno1878

“Jonjoe Kenny, who’s he conned into making him a pro footballer?”

Credit: @JoelBeckett93

“Jonjoe Kenny is atrocious”

Credit: @paddy55304510

“Jonjoe Kenny is dead set one of the worst players I’ve ever seen.”

Credit: @LDand_13

In other news, find out whose display against Villa was also slammed by many Evertonians

Sharing yet more exit news out of Tottenham Hotspur, reliable reporter Dan Kilpatrick of The Evening Standard has made a big claim on Twitter involving Dilan Markanday.

The Lowdown: Markanday on the move…

Tottenham’s promising young forward seemingly has one foot out the N17 exit door, with Championship side Blackburn Rovers now close to sealing an agreement (Sky Sports).

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Markanday’s contract expires in the summer, meaning he can leave for free at the end of this season, potentially prompting transfer chief Fabio Paratici and manager Antonio Conte to cash in now.

The 20-year-old isn’t the only Lilywhites player to be linked with a move away from the club, with reports claiming that Tanguy Ndombele, Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn could all be on the way out (Sky Sports).

As more exit news emerges out of north London, Kilpatrick has made a major Markanday claim on social media.

The Latest: Deal ‘could be announced next week’…

According to his information, Blackburn and Spurs could announce the agreement ‘next week’ in a deal which could rise to more than £1m including add-ons.

He tweeted: “Per @SkySportsLyall, Blackburn & Spurs close to agreeing permanent deal for Dilan Markanday. Fee around £500k up front but could rise to over £1m with add-ons & includes significant sell-on clause. Deal could be announced next week. @standardsport”

The Verdict: Right call?

Conte’s three-at-the-back system arguably limits Markanday’s chances of first team football given that the homegrown ace is an out-and-out winger.

Therefore, we believe this move is best for all parties, as the Spurs starlet seeks to gain first team experience and kickstart what should be a promising career.

He has come on leaps and bounds for Tottenham this season, making his senior debut in the Europa Conference League whilst racking up a brilliant 12 goals and five assists in just 14 Premier League 2 appearances.

Lilywhites supporters may be wondering what could have been with Markanday, and it will be interesting to see how he develops under Tony Mowbray in England’s second tier.

In other news: ‘This will get Tottenham fans excited’…Sky Sports drop major N17 transfer update on live TV, find out more here.

Wolves have received a boost in their bid to sign Barcelona midfielder Riqui Puig this month, with journalist Pete O’Rourke talking up a potential move.

The Lowdown: Puig linked with Wolves move

Things are still relatively quiet at Molineux ahead of next Monday’s deadline day, barring the ongoing saga of Adama Traore’s likely move to Tottenham.

One player who has been linked with a move to Wolves is Puig, who has struggled to make an impact at Barca this season under both Ronald Koeman and Xavi.

The one-time La Liga champion has only started once in La Liga in 2021/22 to date and it looks as though he is not in the manger’s plans, potentially opening the door for a move.

The Latest: Wanderers given further boost

Speaking to Give Me Sport, O’Rourke claimed Francisco Trincao’s move to Wolves means they have good relations with Barca, possibly improving their chances of signing Puig:

“Wolves already have Trincao from Barcelona, so there’s obviously open dialogue there between the clubs and good relations.

“That would boost Wolves’ chances of getting him.”

The Verdict: Potentially exciting signing

Puig may not be a regular at Barca but he is still an excellent footballer with many years ahead of him, so Wolves would be wise to snap him up this month. He has been compared to Spain legend Andres Iniesta, which speaks volumes about his ability and composure on the ball.

The young Spaniard has proven that comparison to be fair too with an incredible 93.9% pass completion rate in La Liga this season, albeit across just 294 minutes, showing that he could excel in a similar manner to Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves. The Wolves duo actually both complete passes at a lower success rate.

Bruno Lage could perhaps then mould Puig into a long-term replacement for Moutinho, ensuring the club continues to grow into the future, acting as a statement signing from a huge club at the same time.

In other news, Fabrizio Romano has given a key Wolves transfer update. Read more here.

Rangers have fielded an approach from Newcastle United for striker Alfredo Morelos, according to 90min. 

The lowdown

The Gers have already lost one player to an English Premier League club this month, with Nathan Patterson sealing a £16m move to Everton; while Morelos said publicly back in September that he hoped he would ‘soon’ be given the ‘opportunity’ to take the next step in his career.

The Colombian is into the final 18 months of his £33,000-per-week contract and is valued at £11.7m by Transfermarkt.

The latest

The report from 90min states that Morelos is one of the names Newcastle who have ‘asked about’, with Magpies manager Eddie Howe potentially looking to bring in two forwards this month.

Other targets include Liverpool’s Divock Origi, Manchester United’s Anthony Martial and Flamengo’s Gabriel Barbosa.

The verdict

Rangers might not want to part with Morelos midway through the campaign. If they sell him in the summer, they would at least have more time to find a replacement for him, and the new man would also have more time to bed in during the off-season.

Cashing in at the end of the campaign could be wise, though. Based on those comments from September, the 25-year-old is unlikely to sign a new contract at Ibrox, and as the expiry date of his current deal draws nearer, Rangers’ negotiating position becomes weaker.

Moreover, across his Ibrox career, Morelos has scored once every 1.97 games, but this season that has dropped to one goal every 2.2 matches.

He has been dubbed a ‘genius’ by the Heart & Hand podcast, but you can understand why Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge argued that he’s not the ‘ultimate must-stay’ anymore, given the Colombian’s decline in form this season.

In other news, Rangers have received a boost in this transfer chase