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Following the news of Chelsea’s transfer ban, which will run for the next two windows, a number of clubs who were hoping to buy one of the Blues’ loanees have been handed a blow.

The west-London based side will not be allowed to bring anyone in until the summer of 2020, but will be allowed to sanction departures from the club – exits seem unlikely, however, as Chelsea will have no means of replacing them.

How will this affect the Eagles?

As a result, Crystal Palace, who are currently enjoying having Michy Batshuayi on loan at the club after his deadline day arrival, will find it much harder to secure the Belgian international on a permanent deal in the summer.

Maurizio Sarri’s current options are 32-year-old Olivier Giroud and 31-year-old Gonzalo Higuain, the latter of whom is only on a loan deal which can be extended until June 2020 for £15.6m, or made permanent for £31.3m.

As a result, Batshuayi will most likely be needed at Stamford Bridge.

It’s not all bad news

Every cloud has a silver lining, however, and Chelsea’s transfer ban should give their hopes of keeping Aaron Wan-Bissaka at the club a real boost.

The Blues have been credited with an interest in the England Under-21 international in recent times.

Given the Eagles’ financial struggles in recent windows, where they have had to make do with loans and free transfers amongst the odd fee splashed here and there, the most plausible way in which they could’ve afforded Batshuayi would probably have been to allow Wan-Bissaka to go the other way.

It will be disappointing for Palace that their lengthy search for a striker will likely have to resume when the summer window opens, but they will at least be buoyed by the fact that one of the clubs sniffing around their most precocious talent has been left inactive in the transfer market.

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Harrison Reed has been a fine servant to Blackburn Rovers so far this season. The 24-year-old Southampton loanee’s work rate, diligence and commitment to the Championship outfit’s cause has seen him become a favourite of Tony Mowbray’s at Ewood Park.

However, Mowbray must now recognise the need to take the versatile midfielder out of the firing line. The Englishman has been a regular for Rovers this season, and has racked up three goals and five assists over the course of the campaign so far, but he has looked off the pace recently.

He has started four of the club’s last five league matches. Whilst, on each occasion, he has worked hard and covered plenty of ground, little of what he has tried has come off. A break for a few games would now be the best thing for Reed so that he can regroup and recover.

Mowbray could potentially then give 21-year-old Harry Chapman the opportunity to prove his worth out wide in Reed’s place.

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Brighton beat Crystal Palace for the second time this season on Saturday, and Roy Hodgson’s performance on the day was nothing short of abysmal.

Selhurst Park has seen just three league victories for the Eagles all year, and Saturday’s clash against Brighton didn’t exactly go to plan either.

The Seagulls took the lead in the first half when Glenn Murray capitalised on a mistake from James Tomkins, but Luka Milivojevic levelled from the spot for the hosts.

Anthony Knockaert decided the outcome of the match with a stunning strike though, cutting inside Patrick van Aanholt and curling a wonderful effort into the far top corner.

While the visitors deserve immense credit for taking the few chances that fell their way, the blame for the Eagles should be place entirely on Hodgson, whose team selection and game management were downright absurd.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he often received racist abuse after North London Derbies – Check out the video below…

The wrong midfield

It didn’t take a genius to work out that Brighton would set up defensively in south London, but Hodgson clearly didn’t figure it out.

His side had 63 per cent of the ball, eight more corners and spent most of the match in the opposition’s half, per Whoscored, yet the boss opted for a midfield three without an ounce of creativity.

With all due respect, Milivojevic, Jeffrey Schlupp and James McArthur wouldn’t break down a deep, organised defence if you gave them all year, but Hodgson waited until the 77th minute to introduce Max Meyer.

A 4-2-3-1 formation, with Milivojevic and Cheikhou Kouyate offering Meyer the freedom to roam around in the number ten role, could have caused absolute havoc between the Brighton lines of defence.

Ridiculous decisions

If the gaffer’s starting XI and system were completely wrong, his in-game decisions were even worse.

Aforementioned, he took way too long to make changes. On top of that, when the change eventually did come, it coincided with a switch to a 4-4-2, a switch that ultimately took Palace’s best player out of the game.

Sticking Zaha out wide in a 4-4-2 formation in the hope of launching crosses in towards two strikers is the sign of a manager going backwards, not forwards.

Change required

With the likes of Michy Batshuayi, Zaha, Milivojevic, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Mamadou Sakho, the Eagles have some of the best players in the league outside of the top six.

As long as Hodgson is at the helm though, they will continue to play uninspiring, rigid football.

The ex-England boss did a superb job rescuing the club from the mess left by Frank de Boer, but providing he does little more than steady the ship until the end of the season, he should be sacked this summer.

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Celtic are reportedly in the chase to sign Red Star Belgrade defender Srdan Babic, but is he really the standard the Bhoys should be looking to set?

What’s the story?

Celtic could be set to undergo a bit of a defensive overhaul this summer, as first team players like Jack Hendry, Mikael Lustig and Kristoffer Ajer have massively underperformed at times this season while Dedryck Boyata is yet to sign a new deal.

Well, according to CNN Turk, Serbian Under-21 international centre back Babic is on their wish-list for the summer, but they will face competition from Besiktas, Nice and Feyenoord.

The towering 22 year-old has scored three times in 14 league appearances in Belgrade this season, but his performances in the Champions League show he would be a sideways signing for Celtic.

Sideways move

Will all due respect to the rest of the teams involved, Celtic have dominated the Scottish Premier League with relative ease for most of the last decade, and they are well on their way to both the “treble treble” and a remarkable ten league titles in a row.

However, they have not been able to muster the type of European effort that Ajax showed last week is fully possible, only ever managing to take a big scalp in the group stages in recent years.

For the Bhoys to truly progress and be a serious contender in the knockout stages, they need signings that are better than what they have now, not just about the same level.

Babic has performed well playing at the back for a team who are seven points clear in their league with a goal difference of +54, but his European performances were woeful.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he often received racist abuse after North London Derbies – Check out the video below…

He played three times in the Champion League this season, conceding six times against PSG, four times against Liverpool and three against Napoli. In case you weren’t keeping count, that’s an average of over four goals conceded per game.

Babic may be a young defender with bags of potential, and if the Bhoys are signing him to develop and use as depth for the time being then it may be a worthy move.

However, if this is the type of move the club are plotting to jump that final hurdle and give fans what they really want – European success – then they are in for a rude awakening next season.

When the Champions League draw for the Round of 16 was made in mid-December, not many would have expected what was about to unfold.

Current holders Real Madrid were embarrassed by an Ajax side that showed shades of the same club that won three consecutive Champions League trophies in the 70s, Manchester United became the first side in the history of the competition to overcome a 2-0 home defeat as Ole’s men won 3-1 against PSG, and most impressive of all, Spurs didn’t ‘Spurs’ it up against Borussia Dortmund in a 4-0 aggregate win.

For the first time since 2008, there will be four English teams in the Champions League quarter-finals, and for the first time since 2011 will, one of those teams be Tottenham.

The north London side have been one of the surprise teams in Europe this season, snatching a second-place spot in their group from Inter Milan when it looked like Mauricio Pochettino’s side were destined for a Europa League placing, and then putting Dortmund to the sword in the RO16 rounded off a stunning change in fortunes for Spurs.

And with Premier League title hopes crushed way before anything really started and no domestic cups to worry about due to the lack of not being in any, why aren’t Tottenham making the Champions League a priority?

With half the remaining teams in the competition being English and a further two being Ajax and Porto, two sides that are being viewed as the teams the other six want to be drawn against, it’s not crazy to suggest that Tottenham have a genuine shot at winning the Champions League.

Of course, this is Tottenham we’re talking about. We have seen this club stumble and fall at many obstacles that on the surface looked easy enough to overcome, with last weekend being a prime example of this.

Any sign of pressure and Pochettino’s side seem to crumble into obscurity, but with some luck of the draw, Spurs might just pull it off.

Most competitions these days are won on the basis of not how you play, but who you play. This is how England made it to the semi-finals of the World Cup last summer and you could even argue this is how Liverpool made the Champions League final last season.

The luck of the draw now plays a bigger part in football than ever, and this luck might just be what Spurs could need to claim the most surprising Champions League win since Chelsea in 2012.

As well as luck, Spurs need to actually turn up against these teams, and this season we have Poch’s side do some genuine damage to some of the biggest teams on the continent.

We all saw what happened in the first leg against Dortmund. A Dortmund side that at the time were top of the Bundesliga and playing some of the best football in all of Europe and a Dortmund side that finished top of a Champions League group with the likes of Atletico Madrid and AS Monaco.

If Tottenham can emulate the determination and quality the displayed against Dortmund, Spurs will be a deadly team to come up against in the Champions League and easily the dark horse for the competition.

Spurs fans, do you think Tottenham have what it takes to win the Champions League?

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A 2-2 draw for Newcastle at Bournemouth on Saturday set up a remarkable statistic that shows just how brilliant Rafael Benitez truly is.

Newcastle were extremely unlucky at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, as were many people who had Bournemouth in their William Hill bonus code bet, as the Magpies should really have played the majority of the match against ten men after Jefferson Lerma’s first half horror tackle.

Salomon Rondon put Newcastle in front with a perfect free kick, before a brace from Josh King flipped the game on its head, only for Matt Ritchie to equalise in stunning fashion late on.

The win leaves the Toon Army on 35 points after 31 games, seven clear of the drop zone.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….

On the chalkboard

It has been said several times throughout the season that the Magpies’ campaign was following a similar trend to their last, starting off horribly before picking up form thanks mainly to some fantastic home performances.

The similarities are greater than you could ever imagine though. At this point last season, the Tyneside outfit had nine wins, eight draws and 14 defeats with 31 goals scored and 40 conceded.

Right now, Benitez’s men have nine wins, eight draws and 14 defeats with 31 goals scored and 40 conceded. They are quite literally exactly where they were at the same point last season.

To many fans that statistic may be a worrying indicator of stagnation from the boss, but delving deeper into the numbers shows just how impressive it is.

Of the teams above the Magpies, every single one bar Tottenham Hotspur spent more money than them last summer. Of the teams below them, only Crystal Palace spent less, per TalkSPORT.

To achieve consistency while all the teams around you in the table splash tons of cash to improve their squads is a true marker of just how special Benitez is, and it also makes you wonder just how good Newcastle can become under the Spaniard with even a little bit of backing from upstairs.

Whether it be under the infamous Mike Ashley or, as Newcastle fans will hope, with someone new at the helm, Benitez is more than capable of leading a charge for the top eight with some genuine backing this summer.

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At the beginning of the week, Sky Sports came together to list their best signings of the season. Speaking to pundits, Ron Walker was under the opinion that Wolves’ Raul Jimenez deserved to be in the conversation.

What’s been said?

A major reason behind Walker’s claims appears to be just how pivotal he has been to the Midlands club fantastic season, with Nuno Santo’s men sitting in seventh.

Signing on loan from Benfica, he has been a revelation but despite a slow start to the campaign, the Sky Sports pundit has explained that his form over the middle months of the season means he’s been one of the best signings of 2018/19.

Here’s what Walker said about the Mexican striker.

“Despite scoring 82 goals on their way to promotion to the Premier League last season Wolves’ top-scoring striker, Leo Bonatini, netted only 12 times in all competitions. Enter stage left Raul Jimenez, the latest in a long line of imports from Portuguese clubs, and having a difficult time of it at domestic champions Benfica.

“A season-long loan to Molineux took its time to get going, with three goals in Jimenez’s first 13 Premier League games.

“But the Mexican has got his mojo back and his quality as a traditional number nine, as well as the 15 goals he has scored for his loan club, have both played a big part in their success this season.”

Is he right?

It’s incredibly hard not to admire the way Wolves have played this season. They’ve become one of the best teams to watch in the Premier League and are without a doubt one of the most impressive newly promoted sides ever seen.

Jimenez has played a major part in that and without him, Wolves would be far worse off. That means he should easily be in the discussion for the best new player to arrive in England’s top flight.

We’ve found Raul Jimenez’s No. 1 fan and… it’s a little scary. Check out the video below to see for yourself…

He hasn’t necessarily been the best signing this term but he’s scored some crucial goals this campaign which have made him an instant hit in Wolverhampton. Finding the net against Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea provides evidence of just how influential he’s been.

The players in behind the 27-year-old, such as Diogo Jota and Ruben Neves, means that he is able to flourish and the club simply has to make his temporary loan move into a permanent one this summer.

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Billy Sharp has had quite the season. At 33 years of age, he’s vying for a place in the Premier League with Sheffield United, is second top scorer in the Championship and has now been nominated for a major award.

He was fortunate enough to be named among the Championship Team of the Year released this week and was further nominated for the Player of the Year award.

But he wasn’t the only Blades star to receive recognition as Oliver Norwood was part of the 11 names to make the Team of the Year too.

Reacting on Twitter, Sheffield United fans were quite rightly buzzing with their inclusions.

One supporter claimed Norwood is the one who had made the team stick this season whilst another individual suggested Sharp is like a fine wine and has been playing like a man ten years his junior.

Who would make a combined Sheffield XI? Ingood Nick makes his picks in the video below…

2018/19 represents Sharp’s best scoring season in the Championship, netting 22 in 34 games to date. Norwood meanwhile has three goals and eight assists in 35 appearances.

Here’s what Sheffield United fans have been saying about the pair.

It’s safe to say Naby Keita hasn’t lived up to his price tag since arriving at Liverpool.

Signed for a then club-record fee of £48 million, Keita was widely seen as the heir to Steven Gerrard at the club, but seven months into his debut season, the former RB Leipzig star hasn’t exactly set the Premier League alight.

Since his move to Merseyside, the Guinea midfielder has six goals and assisted another five in 27 Bundesliga appearances alone.

Of course, you can point to factors as to why Keita hasn’t done well in England from the dramatic change in teams he has played against to the pressure of being dubbed the heir to Gerrard after taking the latter’s iconic shirt number, but there are no two ways about it, the midfielder has had a stinker of a debut season.

With Liverpool chasing City in the league and Keita seemingly benched, Jurgen Klopp’s plan to bring the midfielder in as the true heir to Gerrard at Liverpool hasn’t gone to plan, but an answer for the German isn’t far away from returning.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, you remember him right? The English midfielder has been out of action since his knee injury against AS Roma in last season’s Champions League, but with former Arsenal man returning to first-team football soon, there is a good chance the 25-year-old could be back in time for some Premier League minutes this season.

Chamberlain was a success with Liverpool last season, flourishing in the midfield three and looking likely to be a part of England’s World Cup team, but of course his knee injury through those plans out the window, but with his return imminent, the versatile midfielder now has a chance to show his worth again in the team.

Unlike Keita, Chamberlain has been able to put up the numbers that matter for Liverpool, scoring five and assisting eight in all competitions for the Reds last season, and it won’t be a surprise to see Klopp decide to bring the English midfielder back into the first-team next season as the true heir to Gerrard.

Liverpool fans, would you rather have Chamberlain in the first-team over Keita? Let us know!

Ricardo Vaz Te is a player who’s etched into the history books of West Ham, but it’s easy to forget he even played at the club.

Signed by Sam Allardyce on deadline day in the January transfer window of 2012, the Portuguese attacker joined a Hammers side top of the Championship and looking set to gain automatic promotion to the Premier League just a season after the east London side were relegated dead last in the English top-flight.

A journeyman both in and out of England, West Ham was Vaz Te’s fifth British team after starting his career at Bolton under Big Sam, the versatile attacker had spells at Hull, Panionios in Greece, Hibernian and Barnsley before settling permanently in east London with Allardyce again.

It is his five months in the Championship with the Hammers that fans remember most and what places Vaz Te in the history books of the club. 10 goals in 15 games for West Ham wasn’t enough to secure the east London side an automatic promotion spot, but it set the club up nicely for the play-offs, and it is here where the Portuguese attacker showed his quality.

An assist and goal against Cardiff City over both legs in a 5-0 aggregate win sent West Ham to Wembley, where they would face Blackpool, the team Vaz Te scored his first Hammers goal against.

Their first Wembley Stadium appearance in over 30 years, West Ham head into £100 million game the heavy favourites, and after Carlton Cole put the Hammers up just before half-time, it looked like Allardyce’s side were on course for promotion to the Premier League.

Of course, nothing is ever easy with West Ham, and Tom Ince equalised for Blackpool shortly after the break, forcing the game into a dogged affair with both teams coming close with chances but unable to get that vital winning goal.

And then five minutes before full-time, Vaz Te struck. A spilt Matt Gilks save 12-yards out left the Portuguese attacker with a simple finish to send Wembley into madness, and to fire West Ham back into the Premier League.

Although his impact on the Hammers side sent them back to the English top-flight, Vaz Te wasn’t able to have as big as an effect in the Premier League as he did in the Championship.

The winger only managedeight in the following campaign.

Out of favour with Allardyce and clearly not suited for the Premier League, Vaz Te’s time with West Ham came to an end in the winter transfer window of 2015, where the attacker was released by the club to join Turkish side Akhisar Belediyespo.

Another spell in England with Charlton in the 2015/16 season, where Vaz Te was released after only six months, and a return to Akhisar Belediyespo led the striker to where he is now, playing in China with Henan Jianye at age 32.

Vaz Te’s time at West Ham might have ended poorly, but there is no doubt that the club would not be where they are now without his goals and impact in 2012.

West Ham fans, what is your favourite memory of Vaz Te? Let us know!