Dele Alli 'very disappointed and sad' for red card in Spurs' loss to Gent

Dele Alli sent off for a challenge in the first half of Thursday's Europa League draw.

Mauricio Pochettino says Dele Alli is "very disappointed and sad" after the midfielder was sent off as Tottenham crashed out of the Europa League against KAA Gent on Thursday.

Alli picked up a straight red card for a horror tackle on Gent's Brecht Dejaegere in the first half and the match finished 2-2, with Gent progressing 3-2 on aggregate after their 1-0 win in Belgium last week.

Manchester United face St Etienne in Europa League, Spurs play Gent

The first legs will take place on Feb. 16, with the second legs on Feb. 23.

Manchester United will take on St Etienne in the Europa League's round of 32, while Tottenham Hotspur will face Gent and Villarreal have been drawn against Roma.

United, who finished second in their group behind Fenerbahce, come up against a side sitting eighth in Ligue 1 as they attempt to win the trophy for the first time in their history.

The two sides have met twice before in the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1977, with United emerging victorious over the two legs with a 3-1 win.

Paul Pogba could come up against his older brother over the tie, with Florentin Pogba a defender for St Etienne.

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba's brother Florentin plays for St Etienne.

Spurs' Champions League campaign ended in disappointment after they could only finish third in their group, but they will hope to make more of a mark on the Europa League this term, starting with their tie against Belgian side Gent.

Roma's reward for topping their group is a tricky tie against Villarreal.

Roma, who remained unbeaten throughout the group stage and who currently sit second in Serie A, have been drawn against a Villarreal side that finished second in their pool behind Osmanlispor and who lie sixth in La Liga.

Borussia Monchengladbach, who finished third behind Barcelona and Manchester City in their Champions League group, have been handed a tough test against Serie A club Fiorentina.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva, who qualified at the expense of Southampton and Inter Milan, will play Turkish club Besiktas.

Champions League and Europa League draw: This is who English teams could face

The Gunners could face Bayern Munich or Real Madrid despite beating the odds to finish first in their group.

Usually, topping your group is the best way to avoid facing a nightmare draw because you cannot face another group winner in the last 16.

But holders Real and German champions Bayern both finished second, meaning they could play Arsene Wenger’s men.

Arsenal could also be drawn against Europa League winners Sevilla – but a kinder draw would pit them against Porto, Benfica or Bayer Leverkusen.

The one big plus for Arsenal is that as group winners they are seeded and will play the second leg of their tie at home, which is usually an advantage.

Manchester City will avoid the likes of Real, Bayern and Barcelona but could still face tough opposition.

Last year’s runners-up Atletico Madrid and Italian giants Juventus are both potential opponents, along with Napoli, Monaco and Borussia Dortmund.

And it doesn’t get any easier for Leicester either despite them topping their group.

Claudio Ranieri’s men could face Real, Bayern, Sevilla, Paris St-Germain, Benfica or Bayer Leverkusen.
No team can be drawn against an opponent from their own country, or an opponent from the group stage.
All three teams will learn their fate from 11am on Monday when the draw begins in Nyon, Switzerland.
The first legs will take place on February 14/15 and 21/22, with the return legs on March 7/8 and 14/15.

Who will Manchester United and Tottenham draw in the Europa League?

Manchester United and Spurs will also learn their opponents in the last 32 of the Europa League.
Spurs are seeded having dropped out of the Champions League and will play the first leg on February 16 away. They could face the likes of Borussia Monchengladbach or Villarreal.
United are unseeded and could be drawn against the likes of Ajax, Roma, Schalke or Besiktas. The second legs will be played on February 23, which is just before United’s possible EFL Cup Final date should they beat Hull in the semis.

PSG line up £50m for Dele Alli

Dele Alli signed a new five-year contract at Tottenham Hotspur in January, and then a new six-year-one in September, so it could not possibly be anyone associated with him who has put about today’s story that Paris Saint-Germain are ready to offer him an enormous pay rise in order to lure him to France. But somehow the Daily Mirror has got wind of a plot by the Parisians to offer Spurs £50m for the pleasure of driving the midfielder’s wages even higher.

What is more, the Mirror say that Real Madrid are also eyeing up Alli. Fortunately, Alli seems a level-headed enough sort of chap to not let such speculation distract him, despite being unbalanced enough, when in a penalty area, to be knocked offer by an imperceptible gust of wind.

Speaking of which, Everton are contemplating making an offer to Manchester United for Ashley Young. The loss of Yannick Bolasie to serious injury has forced Ronald Koeman to draw up a wish list of new wingers and he has narrowed it down to about 186 names. Young is on there, and so is his United team-mate Memphis Depay, along with Leicester City’s Demarai Gray and Watford’s Nordin Amrabat.  

Eveton aren’t only hunting wingers, of course, they are also plotting a swoop for Napoli’s Manolo Gabbiadini and keeping tabs on Monaco’s 17-year-old striking prodigy Kylian Mbappé, who’s also being monitored by Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United. And even West Ham are watching the youngster, just in case they decide to deviate from the policy they tried last summer, which is possible, because signing mostly rubbish players hasn’t worked out.

Real Madrid have told Borussia Dortmund to let them know if they want to sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Julian Weigl or Ousmane Dembélé. Dortmund don’t, at the moment.

Leicester’s Leonardo Ulloa is considering the merits of some fascinating project proposals from Chinese clubs. So is Carlos Tevez, who, at 32, is nearing the end of his time at Boca Juniors.

Chelsea, Spurs and Juventus have had scouts watching 19-year-old Atalanta midfielder Franck Kessié. And now that everyone knows that, there will be many more scouts at his next game.

Finally, Branislav Ivanovic has let it be known that he will not leave Chelsea in January. His recent performances, indeed, have confirmed that he is going nowhere fast.