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Luka Modric has just bagged a brand new trophy for his already stacked cabinet.

Real Madrid have now officially confirmed that their Ballon d’Or winner has also won the 2019 Golden Foot award, which recognises the best player who is also aged over 28 and who stands out on account of their on-field achievements.

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Even though Modric hasn’t really been a standard part of Los Blancos’ ongoing 2019/20 campaign, having only tallied 484 minutes across all competitions so far, his overall influence on the club cannot be disputed and this award serves as proof enough.

And of course, it didn’t really take long for many of Real Madrid fans to swarm their social media and Twitter accounts with great messages of support, with the majority showering Modric with praise in the process.

Some were calling him a legend and wishing for him to retire at the club while others stated that he has fully deserved this trophy.

You can see some of their comments down in the collection of tweets below:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Former Crystal Palace man John Salako has spoken to Love Sport Radio about his views on Roy Hodgson.

Salako made 68 appearances for Crystal Palace, scoring six goals across a nine-year stint at Selhurst Park.

The man who has coached the Eagles’ U16 team, and was also the first-team coach under Alan Pardew in the 2015/16 season, is supportive of Hodgson and believes that the 72-year-old is the right man for the job.

Palace are doing fairly well this season, amassing 15 points from their first 12 Premier League games, although only Watford have scored fewer goals than the Eagles’ ten.

What did he say?

Salako told Love Sport Radio: “He is absolutely the right man to be in charge. We’ve had a horror run of fixtures, but Roy has done well.

“In the Premier League, you have to look at games in batches and know which games you’re going to pick up points in. The wins against the likes of Manchester United are bonus points, but you can’t expect him to beat the big boys every time.

“He’s got them disciplined, organised, and believing in the team ethic. Everyone knows their jobs, and it’s all going fantastically according to plan. We’ll pick up points over Christmas, and hopefully we won’t flirt with relegation this time!”

Salako is right – Hodgson is the right man for the job 

Surviving in the Premier League is more lucrative for a football club than it has ever been before, and due to club chairman Steve Parish’s plans for Palace, it is even more imperative for the south Londoners to have a manager who can keep them in the top-flight.

Palace earned just over £114m for staying in the Premier League last season. That money is important for the club anyway, but Parish has recently revealed plans to build a new £15m-£20m academy in Bromley, and also has the £100m redevelopment of the Main Stand at Selhurst Park to think about.

In order for these plans to go as smoothly as possible, while still keeping some money around for signings, having Hodgson in charge – a man who comes across as a surefire figure to ensure Premier League survival – is invaluable to Palace.

As Salako states, every player does know their job under the former England manager – while the football may not be mouth-watering nor exciting, Parish can’t afford to have anyone with a question mark over their head in charge as he attempts to complete his plans.

Celtic fans were left drooling over the performance of young Jeremie Frimpong on Saturday afternoon.

The 18-year-old was one of the star men as Neil Lennon’s side comfortably beat Livingstone 4-0.

Goals from Odsonne Edouard, Scott Brown and a double courtesy of James Forrest ensured the Hoops went home with all three points.

On another day, Frimpong might have had a couple of goals himself but he did play a part in Forrest’s opening strike. He tested Livi’s ‘keeper before the winger fired home the rebound.

The Dutchman’s performance was full of attacking energy and supporters couldn’t help but rave about him at the full-time whistle.

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Two fans compared him to the recently departed Kieran Tierney as his composure was hailed by one individual. A further supporter labelled him phenomenal while another suggested he’d already cemented his place in the side.

Frimpong has played just three times in the Scottish Premiership this season but that number is likely to rise significantly after this display.

Signed from Manchester City in the summer, he looked more than assured in attacking phases.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Son Heung-min was in poor form despite Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-2 win over Olympiacos on Tuesday evening.

On the chalkboard

The South Korea international has usually been such a reliable presence on the left flank – he has scored nine goals in all competitions this term – but flattered to deceive under Jose Mourinho against the Greek giants.

Spurs, of course, fell 2-0 behind but rallied to win 4-2 thanks to goals from Dele Alli and Serge Aurier and a Harry Kane brace.

Per WhoScored, Son had 45 touches of the ball throughout the 90 minutes but completed just one dribble, despite attempting four, and was also dribbled past on two occasions.

He was dispossessed on three occasions and had just one shot on target throughout the encounter, while he did inadvertently assist Serge Aurier’s sweet half-volleyed strike, as his attempted header fell into the path of the right-back.

This was a disappointing display from a player who can be so electric going forward.

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A passenger

Mourinho showed that he can be as ruthless as ever on Tuesday as he substituted Eric Dier after just 29 minutes to replace him with Christian Eriksen.

It remains a surprise then that Son was not hooked later on, too.

He did not do anything of note as he repeatedly attempted to move the ball forward, failing to beat his man on repeated occasions and never finding himself in a position to really trouble Jose Sa in the Olympiacos goal.

This is something of a one-off, though, with Son having scored against West Ham United at the weekend.

Mourinho will surely be hoping that this is merely a blip but Son has certainly blotted his copybook with this placid display.

He can ill-afford to fall into a rut under his new manager.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans have laid into another player for his display against Olympiacos.

Loris Karius’ career at Liverpool never really went to plan.

The German was signed from Jurgen Klopp’s former club Mainz 05 in 2016 to provide competition/back-up for Simon Mignolet, the number one at the time, and after making 10 appearances during his first campaign at the club, he made 19 in the league during the 2017/18 season.

It was in the Champions League that term where he made his biggest mark – although not for the right reasons. In the final against Real Madrid, he gave away two goals as Los Merengues won 3-1, and he left the field in tears.

That was to be his last Reds appearance, with the 26-year-old being sent out on loan to Besiktas in August 2018. Now, it seems he is so desperate to stay in Turkey, he is willing to take a pay-cut, as per A Spor.

This has got the Liverpool fans talking – one fan even called him a sham – and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Can you see Karius playing for Liverpool again? Let us know in the comments!

Neutral fans will always accuse Tottenham of wasting the Gareth Bale money all those years ago, but since then they’ve not done too badly in the transfer market, but that’s only when they’ve even bothered trying to make signings.

They famously became the first club in Premier League history not to sign a player in two consecutive transfer windows, but Spurs fans will argue that why should they need to when they’ve quality players like Harry Kane and Harry Winks coming out of the academy.

Some of the more recent signings haven’t been too bad. Lucas Moura will always be a Spurs hero for his Champions League heroics against Ajax, while the likes of Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld and Heung-min Son will go down as bargains in years to come.

But it’s not always been like that at Spurs, with many players coming through the White Hart Lane doors over the years who just have not been good enough to wear the white shirt in North London.

So we’ve taken a look at some of the biggest transfer flops at Spurs in the Premier League era, although we probably could’ve named a lot more…

Gilberto

Of the two Gilberto da Silvas to have plied their trade in north London, Tottenham certainly had the lesser one in Gilberto da Silva Melo.

The left-back turned up at White Hart Lane initially in January 2008 with some pedigree in the form of 30 Brazil caps and four strong years in Germany with Hertha Berlin but could never adapt to the pace of the Premier League and left in July 2009 a complete flop.

Sergei Rebrov

The first of a fair few strikers to feature on this list, Ukraine legend Sergei Rebrov managed a mere 16 goals in a depressing four-year spell with the Lilywhites.

What makes it worse is that Glenn Hoddle threw away a gut-busting £11m, we are talking in 2000, to bring him in based on his form with Dynamo Kyiv – although it’s far from the last waste of money we’re going to be looking at today.

Paolo Tramezzani 

Speaking of foreign players who just couldn’t get to grips with English football, Paolo Tramezzani was a calamitous left-back if there ever was one.

Pictured above with fellow Italian Premier League failure Nicola Berti who’s bizarrely wearing a t-shirt from the Four Seasons hotel in New York to training, Tramezzani would make just six forgettable appearances in north London.

Bobby Zamora

Bobby Zamora would go onto enjoy an accomplished Premier League career with the likes of West Ham United, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers, but not before his own sorry spell at the Lane.

The Lilywhites were the team to give the future England man his big break when they signed him for Brighton & Hove Albion for a lofty £1.5m in summer 2003, however, he would only contribute the one goal for Spurs before being shipped off as part of the deal that saw the legendary Jermain Defoe arrive in N17.

Mbulelo Mabizela 

Remember him?

Prior to the 2003/2004 season, the Lilywhites decided to sign ill-disciplined centre-back Mbulelo Mabizela based on a performance he put in for Orlando Pirates against them in a friendly, it worked out just about as well as it sounded it would.

David Bentley

What did David Bentley ever really do in a Spurs shirt apart from score THAT goal against his former club in the North London derby?

Well, you could list any number of hilarious off-field pranks and incidents.

But it’s what happens on the pitch that really matters and the ex-Three Lions star never really lived up to his potential or his £15m price tag at White Hart Lane before bizarrely retiring at the age of 29.

Bongani Khumalo 

The picture above more or less sums up Bongani Khumalo’s Tottenham career, as the former South Africa captain looked so out of his depth on loan at the likes of Preston, Doncaster and Colchester and in matches for the reserves that he somehow managed to not make a single competitive first-team appearance for the entirety of his four-and-a-half-year spell.

Spurs haven’t had much luck with South Africans, have they?

Roberto Soldado

A striker who doesn’t play too badly and works hard for the team but is also hampered with an uncanny inability to score goals, sounds odd, though Roberto Soldado was that very thing for Tottenham.

It will still send shivers down the spine of Spurs fans that their club flushed £26m of their Gareth Bale money down the toilet on the Spaniard for him to score 16 times in 76 games for them.

Need we say anything more?

Calum Davenport

When the Lilywhites beat others in the race to sign England U21 international defender Calum Davenport from Coventry City in 2004, they would have thought they’d unearthed a real £1.3m gem.

However, the centre-half embarked on a bizarre career that would never see him get close to the level he was once thought to have the potential to reach – he appeared a mere 20 times for Spurs.

Paulinho

After an impressive 2012/2013 campaign for Corinthians in his native Brazil, Paulinho was noticed in Europe by Andre Villas-Boas and another chunk of the Bale money would be allocated to obtain his signature.

It would take the Lilywhites two seasons to work out the Brazil man just wasn’t up to Premier League standard after he was only able to register nine-goal involvements in 45 matches and he was disposed of by Mauricio Pochettino in one of the early lucrative Chinese Super League transfers.

Members of the Tottenham faithful will most recently remember him being oddly brought back to the continent in 2017 by Barcelona.

Michael Brown has claimed that Kalvin Phillips loves Leeds United “more than anything” amid reported interest in the midfielder from Liverpool, in an interview with Football Insider.

What did he say?

According to Bleacher Report, Premier League leaders Liverpool are interested in the signature of Phillips this summer.

The 24-year-old has been outstanding for the Elland Road club this season and has helped them climb to the top of the Championship table.

Asked whether he thought Phillips would stay, former Leeds midfielder Brown said that he loved the club and was focused on promotion.

“I think what’s great for Kalvin Phillips is that he’s had a wonderful season, he’s a great talent as we all know,” he told Football Insider.

“As a young, British player who can play in loads of positions, are there going to be clubs looking at him? Of course they are. What’s great is he loves Leeds United, he loves Leeds United more than anything else.

“He’s enjoying his football and all he’ll be looking at is trying to get the season over the line, get promoted and why not? He’s getting all the plaudits everywhere and it’s great, he’s a great kid.”

Promotion or bust?

Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds will be under huge pressure to earn promotion this season, with Phillips and a number of other players set to attract plenty of interest.

If they can return to the top flight, Leeds have a chance of keeping the youngster for at least another year, but otherwise it is hard to see him resisting the temptation to move on.

There has even been speculation that Phillips could be set for an England call-up and international representation will be easier to come by if he moves to the Premier League.

Dejan Lovren’s career at Liverpool appears to be fast approaching its end.

The Croatia international made the switch to Anfield in 2014 for the fee of £20m, and has since made 184 appearances in all competitions, scoring eight times in the process. During that spell, he has won the Champions League, being part of the squad to make both finals in the past two seasons, and has also featured this term as the Reds have opened up a 25-point gap at the top of the Premier League.

However, it looks as though he may well be on the move soon. According to Gazzetta dello Sport (via SportsMole), AS Roma are interested in signing him, and the Italian outfit believe that their good relationship with the Anfield club – they sold both Mohamed Salah and Alisson to them – could see them get him for a reduced price of €5m (£4.4m).

Despite his current Transfermarkt value standing at £14.4m, the club’s supporters are clearly happy that they could pick up such a fee. They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Let us know what you think!

Tottenham are set to launch a bid for Southampton star Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, according to The Daily Star.  

The Saints skipper is out of contract next year and the club are willing to let him leave if the right offer arrives.

Earlier this year, Sky Sports reported that Jose Mourinho has identified Hojbjerg at the top of his shortlist of summer targets.

However, Daniel Levy faces stiff competition from Everton for his signature.

Spurs were initially interested in signing the midfielder in January, but the Saints decided against selling him after some deliberation. Chief executive Martin Semmens has admitted that Southampton are ready to offload him in the summer.

He recently said “if there’s a club out there that can win the Champions League and they think Pierre can improve their team, if they can pay for him then, in the end, we have to let him go.”

Having moved to St Mary’s from Bayern Munich for £13.7m in 2016, Hojbjerg has played in 28 games for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side this season, creating one assist, making 2.4 tackles per game, averaging 1.5 interceptions and completing 1.7 clearances on average (WhoScored).

As it stands, a move for Hojbjerg may benefit all parties involved. Indeed, the Danish international has made it clear that he wants to win the Premier League and play in the Champions League, which matches Mourinho’s personal ambitions.

Moreover, The Daily Star recently revealed the Saints are in dire straits as Chinese owner Gao Jisheng is desperate to sell his majority stake in the club. The 24-year-old is currently valued at £10.8m via Transfermarkt, and Southampton could cover the costs by offloading valuable players when the transfer market opens.

Furthermore, it is unlikely the Hampshire club will be able to offer him European football in the near future, whereas Spurs made it to the Champions League final last season, which will no doubt appeal to the Dane.

The Lilywhites may even offer Kyle Walker-Peters as part of an exchange, which could sweeten the deal for the Saints, as Ralph Hasenhuttl admires the youngster.

Tottenham fans, do you believe the board should sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the summer? Let us know what you think down below!

Tottenham fans were left concerned with Harry Kane after his performance in their 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Friday.

Kane, who was making his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury against Southampton on New Year’s Day, which forced him to miss almost three months of action, looked out of sorts against the Red Devils – with his 36 touches the fewest of any outfield player that played the full 90 minutes.

The England skipper understandably looked short of fitness given so long without competitive football and could only muster up one registered shot during the match, and that was a disappointing strike from a long-range free-kick that was easily blocked.

Kane has been Tottenham’s talisman for a number of seasons now and despite missing a large chunk of the campaign, is still the club’s top goalscorer with 17 goals, but will have to improve dramatically if he wants to add to that tally against West Ham on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old remains highly popular amongst the Spurs faithful, but they were far from happy with his showing against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men.

Many took to Twitter to express their frustration towards Kane and you can see the best below…

And even this Man United fan wasn’t impressed with Kane’s performance…