JACK GREALISH came close to signing for Tottenham, claims the North Londoners’ former technical director Steve Hitchen.

Grealish, 29, left Aston Villa for Manchester City for £100million in 2021.

Rex

Jack Grealish nearly joined Tottenham in 2018[/caption]

X @DecisionMakrs

Steve Hitchen previously worked as Tottenham’s technical director[/caption]

Three years earlier, however, Spurs failed in a £25m bid.

In September 2018, Grealish even admitted: “I thought I was leaving. Before the new owners, Villa needed the money so I kind of accepted that me going would save the club.”

Hitchen played a major role in Tottenham’s recruitment at the time, before going to leave in 2022 following Fabio Paratici‘s arrival.

Recently appearing on the Decision Makers podcast, the 48-year-old relived Spurs’ failed bid for Grealish.

He said: “We were very close to getting Jack Grealish, which would have been probably one of the best signings.

“Jack Grealish was a ‘Tottenham player’. He would have set the place alight.

“He had the skills, he would have got the fans off their seat. He would have been a difference in that time.

“We had Dele at that time and I think those two would have pushed each other as well.

SUN BINGO GET £50 BONUS & 50 FREE SPINS TODAY

Grok AI

How Grealish could have looked at Tottenham[/caption]

Getty

Hitchen, right, was previously a big part of Spurs’ recruitment team[/caption]

“To miss out on that player was massive in that period.”

Astonishingly, Tottenham did not sign a single player in that 2018 summer transfer window.

They then failed to recruit anyone in January 2019, despite Mousa Dembele leaving for Guangzhou R&F.

Hitchen went on to reveal that Spurs nearly pulled off a huge deal for a Dembele replacement.

He added: “We were really close to getting Frenkie de Jong.

“I think Frenkie de Jong, again, is a ‘Tottenham player’. I think he would have made a big difference for us.

“We had to replace the irreplaceable in Dembele. Probably Frenkie could’ve gone into that position and really succeeded at Spurs.”

Since leaving Tottenham, Hitchen has become director of football at talent agency Unique Sports Group (USG).

USG represent several high-profile stars, including the likes of Reece James, Anthony Gordon, Marc Guehi and Brennan Johnson.

Rex

Frenkie de Jong was on Spurs’ radar in 2019[/caption]

AS we grow older, it’s natural to notice a few extra lines on our faces that weren’t there the year before.

With countless potions and lotions on the market, it can be overwhelming to figure out what actually works and what doesn’t.

Tiktok/@wonderfacefit

And with the cost-of-living crisis tightening its grip on our purses, testing every product out there isn’t always an option.

Facials and cosmetic treatments can be just as pricey, leaving many searching for affordable alternatives.

However, one expert has revealed a simple anti-ageing trick that won’t cost you a penny.

The woman, known as ‘Wonderfacefit’ on TikTok, recently shared a video on her social media page, claiming that her beauty hack can deliver visible results in just 14 days.

Speaking to camera whilst demonstrating her trick, she says: “If you got droopy cheeks, no worries, we’re gonna fix that.

“Fill your mouth with air as if you want to rinse it. 

“Push the air down to tighten the lower muscles of your cheeks. 

“Swipe from right to the left.

“Continue doing it for 50 seconds and enjoy how your cheeks get lifted.”

In the caption of the video, she continues to explain her instructions in more depth. 

She wrote: “Keep your back straight, relax your neck, train your face muscles.

“Due to excessive tension in the neck, poor posture, and weakening muscles, our skin begins to sag.

“By training certain muscle groups, we strengthen them and lift the skin along with them.”

Her video gained 21,000 likes with many people rushing to the comments section to ask questions, and share their thoughts. 

Tiktok/@wonderfacefit

One commented: “Doesn’t that just stretch it more and make it worse?” 

But the beauty expert replied with: “Nope, we tighten the face muscles through the resistance to become thicker and stronger.” 

Whilst others simply “thanked” her for sharing the hack. 

GLADIATORS fans have spotted a major shake-up to the show after a series of horrifying injuries.

Nikki Billingham, a wedding celebrant from West Yorkshire was competing against gym owner Keeva from Belfast in the physically challenging game show.

BBC

Some fans have spotted a major shake-up to prevent the number of contestant injuries[/caption]

Instagram

Nikki Billingham was forced off the show during The Edge challenge[/caption]

However, Nikki was injured during the third event, The Edge, a criss-cross grid and was forced off the show – leaving her with a painful injury and a month long recovery.

Some eagle-eyed viewers have now noticed that producers appear to be putting new measures in place to “safeguard” the contestants.

One pointed out: “You can see when they fall now they grab the net to stop themselves rolling and colliding.”

While someone else said : “I never want to see anyone get injured but I hope the Gladiators are not being told to go easy. I do fear someone being pushed so hard off The Edge that they miss the net altogether. There have been a few falls that were scarily close to the side of the net.”

This person replied: “I’ve thought that too! I hope it’s a matter of perspective and the close calls aren’t as close as they look!”

While someone else said the net appears to be bigger compared to series one.

They wrote: “The net looks wider now in series 2 than it did in the first series.”

Some fans pointed out the various injuries that have happened on the show since the reboot.

And this fan said: “”They look like they’re actively trying to avoid it [dangerous games] for that very reason.”

Forced off

Nikki was badly injured during The Edge, The Edge, a criss-cross grid in the air that contestants have to run across while gladiators try to push them off.

Dynamite, a weightlifter called Emily Steel, pushed Nikki off the rail and she fell on the safety net below in the TV show The Gladiators.

However, as Dynamite checked in on her, Nikki winced in pain and the commentator said: “There’s some concern from Dynamite, Nikki looks like she’s got herself injured.”

As the clip replayed, the commentator added: “Well it looks like there was something in the landing, let’s hope Nikki is okay.”

Shockingly, Host Bradley Walsh was then forced to halt the show and he urged Nikki to get medical help.

Dynamite then expressed how absolutely amazing Nikki had done so far in the game and said: “No matter what happened up there and how she’s feeling right now, she (has) done so well to come this far, and she should be really proud of herself”.

Later in the show Bradley announced: “Earlier on we saw Nikki sustain an injury on ‘The Edge’.”

His son and co-host Barney added: “She’s been checked over by our brilliant medical team but unfortunately she will not be able to compete in the Eliminator.”

Now, Nikki has explained how bad her injuries were and that it took a while for her to feel better again.

Taking to social media after her elimination, Nikki began by explaining that being on the show was a childhood dream and that she’d had the best experience.

She explained: “You know what you are letting yourself in for and potential risks involved and unfortunately I did sustain an injury.

“When @dynamite_thegladiator did exactly what she was supposed to do and tackled me off the edge unfortunately when we landed, we landed together and my neck and arm took the brunt of it.

“I lost feeling in my arms, compression of my spine and it took a few weeks to come back and a few months to get fully back to where I was.”

But Nikki explained that she’s now back to full strength after hard work and gym sessions.

“Obviously I am gutted I didn’t get to do the eliminator, the most iconic part of the show!!

“I loved Gladiators as a kid growing up and to get on the show literally is a dream come true!.”

She praised the Gladiators in the show as super inspirational and amazing role models before finally thanking everyone.

“Thank you to everyone for your support and all the messages I have received. What a show!!” she said.

Nikki is not the only contestant to be injured.

Games have had to be paused a number of times for medics to rush to assist an injured contestant, with some being forced to withdraw.

Instagram

Nikki spent a month recovering[/caption]

Instagram

The celebrant said she ‘gutted’ she ‘didn’t get to do the eliminaton’[/caption]

BBC

Games have had to be paused a number of times for medics to rush to assist[/caption]

ANDROID users have been told to update their phones immediately to fix two bugs that allowed hackers to hijack devices.

One bug, which meant hackers could install malware or steal files from devices without even needing a password, was already exploited in the wild before Google fixed it.

Getty

The February 2025 security update fixed nearly 50 cybersecurity flaws discovered in the previous Android software.[/caption]

Google said it was a “high security vulnerability”, and the most severe out of all the cyber flaws found.

“The severity assessment is based on the effect that exploiting the vulnerability would possibly have on an affected device,” Google explained in a recent security bulletin.

The second bug allowed cyber crooks to control phones and make them crash from afar.

Fortunately, Google patched this before hackers spotted it.

The February 2025 security update fixed nearly 50 cybersecurity flaws discovered in the previous Android software..

Mobile phone owners are strongly advised to install the latest security update as soon as it becomes available.

“Exploitation for many issues on Android is made more difficult by enhancements in newer versions of the Android platform,” added Google.

“We encourage all users to update to the latest version of Android where possible.”

Google Pixel devices will receive the update immediately.

While Android phones from other manufacturers, like Samsung or Motorola, will receive it later.

Android owners should check their Settings, and look for either the the 2025-02-01 and 2025-02-05 security patch levels.

The Android security team closely monitors suspicious apps and files through Google Play Protect.

The feature, first introduced in 2022, checks apps to see if they’re safe before you download them.

Google Play Protect has been beefed up with new AI-powered threat detection tools in recent years, which helped it block more than 2.36million apps from joining the Google Play store last year.

Google

You can activate this feature under Play Protect > Settings.[/caption]

How to check if Google Play Protect is on

Open the Google Play store app and then tap your profile icon in the top right.

Next, tap Settings, and then look under About to see if your device is Play Protect certified.

To turn it on or off, open the Play store and then tap the profile icon.

Tap Play Protect > Settings and then turn Scan Apps With Play Protect on or off.

You can activate this feature under Play Protect > Settings..

Будь-які припущення про те, що Північоноатлантичний альянс може існувати без Сполучених Штатів Америки, не працюють з багатьох причин. Про це сьогодні у Брюсселі під час спільної пресконференції з прем’єр-міністром Великої Британії Кіром Стармером заявив генеральний секретар НАТО Марк Рютте, повідомляє кореспондент Укрінформу. «Будь-які припущення про те, що НАТО може існувати без США, не працюють, з […]

Benedict Cumberbatch is considering a controversial previous role of the screen – one that “would not have done” now. In ...

Read more

Chrissy Teigen enjoys being a member of a short hair crew! On Monday, February 3, the author of the model ...

Read more

0 Верхом кулінарної майстерності та визнаним шедевром домашньої випічки вважається торт «Наполеон». Хто так вирішив невідомо, але приготувати його можна і за лінивим рецептом. Є думка, що цей рецепт має низку переваг над оригіналом і торт виходить не таким вже нудним. Для приготування потрібно: печиво листкове 65 шт; літр молока; 4 яйця; 150 гр олії […]

Власники Tesla у деяких країнах масово відмовляються від своїх електромобілів Причини різні. Серед них – дороге обслуговування, дефіцит запчастин, кліматичні умови, які не підходять електромобілям. Але є не лише експлуатаційні, але й ідеологічні причини. У Польщі, наприклад, відмова від електромобілів Tesla пов’язана з нещодавніми заявами Ілона Маска. Польські політики та громадські діячі закликають бойкотувати продукцію […]