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Everton are in talks to complete the signing of an "outstanding" Premier League player on loan who could replace Neal Maupay.

Everton transfer news

The Blues find themselves in a grim position just weeks into the new season, with two heavy defeats coming their way in their opening couple of league games, at home to Brighton and away to Tottenham. Sean Dyche is under increasing pressure, given the nature of the performances, and fans showed their unhappiness towards the players at the train station after the loss to Spurs.

Dyche may feel that more signings are imperative between now and deadline day slamming shut on Friday, but it remains to be seen if the club's owners will stump up the money to bring in fresh faces. There are rumours doing the rounds at least, though, which could give supporters an element of encouragement.

Everton are believed to have made a late approach to sign Sevilla right-back Gonzalo Montiel, who enjoyed a spell on loan at Nottingham Forest last season and is known best for scoring the winning penalty for Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final shootout against France.

The Toffees have also been boosted in their pursuit of Chelsea striker Armando Broja, due to Ipswich Town's move for him potentially being on the verge of collapse. It remains to be seen if the Merseysiders will push to sign him in the coming days, but their hopes of getting him have at least increased a little.

Eyeing eyeing "outstanding" Premier League ace on loan

According to a fresh claim from TEAMtalk, Everton have "held talks" with Chelsea over the loan signing of forward David Datro Fofana this week.

The report states that "work is being done on deals behind the scenes" to snap up the £30,000-a-week Ivorian, adding that the Blues are looking to "move on Maupay" at the same time, days after he criticised his own supporters on social media after their aforementioned train station antics.

Fofana could be a strong addition for Dyche between now and Friday to replace Maupay, giving them an option in attack, following no goals scored in their opening two Premier League matches.

Granted, it would only be a loan switch, but the 21-year-old could be desperate to prove his worth to Chelsea, which could benefit Everton at the same time. He is a young attacker with lots of promise, with Vincent Kompany hailing him during their time together at Burnley last season:

"We will need performances like the performance he gave against West Ham. He was outstanding. The entire performance from Fofana was outstanding and we’ve needed it. Hopefully he can continue like that from now until the end of the season."

He's a dream for Harrison: Everton make approach for late signing

Sean Dyche could be a busy man before the transfer window slams shut…

By
Ross Kilvington

Aug 26, 2024

Fofana scored four goals in just 10 league starts for Burnley, outlining his attacking ability, and he is also a three-cap Ivory Coast Under-21 international, finding the net once in that time.

Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold has made up his mind regarding a summer move to Real Madrid and has informed the Reds he intends to leave.

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• TAA tells Liverpool about departure
• Will not extend his contract at Anfield
• Set to join Real Madrid on free transfer

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Alexander-Arnold has been a major target for Real Madrid over the last few years as Los Blancos look to improve on the ageing Dani Carvajal. A potential move has been talked about since then and the Liverpool star is now set for a move finally to the European champions next summer following the end of his contract at Anfield.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  has now revealed that Alexander-Arnold has let Liverpool know that he does not plan to stay and extend his contract at Anfield this season. The England international reportedly decided to tell the club in advance that he will not continue as the Reds bosses wanted to find a final resolution to his contract situation before the start of the January transfer window.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  The 26-year-old had the option to move to Madrid in the January transfer window for a small transfer fee as Liverpool hoped to make any sort of profit on the full-back's departure. However, he has decided not to do so as he wants to have a proper farewell season at Anfield.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR ALEXANDER-ARNOLD?

  The Liverpool star is looking to win his second Premier League title before he leaves Anfield. He will be in Premier League action for the Merseyside club next when they take on West Ham on December 29.

Cole Palmer admits his Chelsea side did not expect to be challenging at the top of the Premier League after their last-gasp loss to Fulham.

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• Chelsea lose 2-1 to Fulham
• Palmer scores in defeat
• "We are not title contenders"

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Palmer scored his 26th goal in the Premier League in 2024 but it was not enough as Fulham secured a remarkable comeback win at Stamford Bridge on Thursday. After the loss, the 22-year-old stressed nobody expected the Blues to be "title contenders" at the start of the campaign and perhaps the defeat to the Cottagers underlines that.

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  WHAT COLE PALMER SAID

  He told Amazon Prime: "To lose at the end is difficult. In the first half we played well, controlled the game and had quite a few chances. Second half we lost a bit of control. They are a good transition team and direct. We got caught up in their game and paid the price. We turned it into a game they are better than us at. It is fine, we have another game in a few days. Keep going. We knew we were not going to win every game we play. Everyone said from the start we are not title contenders. The manager said it was an opportunity to learn, we will look back on it and rest and recover. It is football and it happens. We lost control for 20 minutes and the scored two, so well done Fulham."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Chelsea missed the chance to pull to within one point of league leaders Liverpool with the defeat to their London neighbours, plus the Reds have two games in hand. Head coach Enzo Maresca has previously said his team are not in the Premier League title race and if these results continue, they certainly won't be. However, the Italian has done an excellent job so far.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Palmer's Chelsea round off their 2024 when they travel to Portman Road on Monday to take on lowly Ipswich Town in the Premier League.

Celtic will be competing in the quarter-final of the League Cup later this year after they beat Scottish Premiership rivals Hibernian 3-1 at Parkhead on Sunday.

The Hoops had already beaten their cup opponents in the top-flight the previous weekend at Easter Road, with goals from Nicolas Kuhn and Callum McGregor securing the win.

Daizen Maeda was tasked with leading the line in the League Cup tie on Sunday and struck twice inside the opening 20 minutes to put his side 2-0 up, before Kuhn scored against them for the second time in as many games to make it 2-0.

One good moment from the second half was the reception the Parkhead crowd gave Adam Idah when the striker came on as a substitute to make his second debut for the club.

The Ireland international recently joined the Bhoys on a permanent deal from Norwich City for a reported fee of £8.5m with a further £1m in add-ons.

He did not get himself a goal in that cameo but it was a little run-out to re-introduce himself to the crowd after his loan spell in Glasgow during the second half of the 2023/24 campaign.

Adam Idah's loan form for Celtic

It is fair to say that Idah did not arrive at Celtic to much fanfare when the club announced his arrival on a loan from the Canaries at the end of the winter transfer window earlier this year.

The 23-year-old attacker had only scored 17 goals and provided four assists in 115 appearances for Norwich as a centre-forward, which may not have filled supporters with bounds of excitement.

However, you should never judge a player before they have played for their new team and Idah quickly showed that his goalscoring record with the Yellows may have been more to do with his situation there, being behind Teemu Pukki and then Josh Sargent in the pecking order, rather than his quality.

The 6 foot 3 marksman produced an assist on his debut as a substitute against Aberdeen, teeing up Kuhn for an equaliser in a 1-1 draw, and then scored twice in a 2-1 win over Hibernian on his full debut in the next match.

As you can see in the table above, Idah went on to rack up eight goals in 15 appearances in the Premiership, despite only starting five of those games.

The Irish forward proved that he can find the back of the net on a regular basis in the Scottish top-flight, using his physicality, his movement, and his quality in front of goal to be a constant threat to opposition defences.

Idah also popped up in big moments for the club with a goal in a 3-3 draw with Rangers and a 90th-minute winner in the League Cup final against the Gers at Hampden Park.

Hopefully, the Norwich academy graduate will now enjoy a successful time at the club on a permanent basis and Brendan Rodgers could make a dream signing for Idah by swooping for one of Celtic's reported transfer targets.

Celtic's interest in MLS magician

Earlier this month, Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph claimed that the Hoops have Philadelphia Union central midfielder Daniel Gazdag on their radar.

The reporter claimed that the Bhoys have a list of targets to improve their midfield options, potentially to replace Matt O'Riley if he moves on before the end of the month, and the MLS star was one of three named.

Southampton's Shea Charles and Venezia's Tanner Tessmann are the other two players who are said to be on the shortlist alongside Gazdag.

The summer transfer window slams shut at the end of this month and this means that the Scottish giants have less than two weeks to get a deal done for a new midfielder.

Sky Sports went on to post an update on Celtic's pursuit of Gazdag, as they revealed that Turkish side Trabzonspor have held talks over a potential swoop for the Hungary international.

The outlet added that it would also take an offer in the region of £10m to tempt Union into parting ways with the midfield magician this summer.

Why Daniel Gazdag would be a dream for Adam Idah

The 28-year-old star would be a dream for Idah at Parkhead because he is a quality midfielder who can create chances for his teammates whilst also providing a goal threat.

Gazdag produced 1.4 key passes per game and created four 'big chances' in 19 starts in the MLS this year, having made 1.7 key passes per match and assisted six goals in 35 outings in 2023.

His creativity has been on show in the Leagues Cup over the last month or so, with three assists – and one goal – in five appearances in the competition.

These statistics show that the right-footed whiz has the quality to be an excellent provider from the middle of the park, which means that he could create plenty of chances for Idah to find the back of the net at Parkhead this season.

Another reason why Gazdag would be a dream signing for the Irishman is that he is a terrific goalscorer from midfield, and that could take a lot of the pressure off the striker to be a consistent scorer – particularly in his first full year at the club when patience may be required.

As you can see in the table above, the Hungarian maestro has fired in an eye-catching 29 goals in 56 appearances in the MLS since the start of 2023, from a central midfield position.

This shows that the Union star, who was described as being "invisible" in the way he ghosts into goalscoring positions by manager Jim Curtin, can provide a huge threat in the final third for the Hoops if he can translate that form over to Scotland.

Therefore, Gazdag would be a dream signing for Idah due to the creativity he could bring to the table to create chances for the striker, as well as the pressure the £10m-rated ace could take off the forward with his goalscoring quality.

Forget about Maeda: Celtic's 9/10 magician was the real hero vs Hibs

The Hoops attacker enjoyed a terrific afternoon at Parkhead in the League Cup.

By
Dan Emery

Aug 18, 2024

Everton have received an injury blow to a big player while away on international duty, meaning he could now miss the upcoming Premier League clash with Aston Villa.

Everton hit new low under Dyche

The Blues have suffered a miserable start to the new season, having begun it with hopes of an improvement being on show after three successive relegation battles in the top flight. Instead, Everton have lost all three of their opening Premier League matches in 2024/25, starting with a 3-0 defeat at home to Brighton and added to by a 4-0 trouncing away to Tottenham.

The real nadir came last Saturday, however, as Sean Dyche's side blew a 2-0 lead at home to Bournemouth late in the day, eventually losing 3-2 at Goodison, with two of the visitors' goals coming in stoppage time. It was one of the bleakest defeats that the Blues have suffered in years, and they arguably look like the worst team in the league currently.

In terms of Dyche's future as manager, the Englishman doesn't appear to be in danger of losing his job right now – Graham Potter has been mentioned as a possible replacement if that time comes – but it's fair to say that many Everton supporters are now running out of patience with him, following such a dreadful start to the season.

Now, the Blues boss has been hit with an additional headache to contend with, following an injury to an established and popular figure.

Everton hit with injury blow to "amazing" player

According to Liverpool World, Everton ace Seamus Coleman is an injury doubt for next weekend's clash with Aston Villa after picking up a fitness issue in the Republic of Ireland's 2-0 defeat at home to England on Saturday evening.

The right-back was forced off in the UEFA Nations League clash at Dublin's Aviva Stadium, being replaced by Blues teammate Jake O'Brien after 57 minutes, and he is now facing a race against time to be fit for another crucial Premier League game.

Admittedly, Coleman isn't the force he was at the peak of his powers, but he is still good enough to be starting for his country, and his vast experience is badly needed during such a tumultuous period at Goodison.

The 35-year-old certainly has his admirers, including former Everton manager Frank Lampard, who said of him earlier this year: "Seamus [Coleman] was amazing from the first time I sat with him, so now I messaged him the other day because he made his way 15 years ago. That was incredible, and what a player as well, by the way."

The hope is that the £55,000-a-week-earning Coleman is back in time for the trip to Villa next Saturday, having only started once in the league so far this season, with his character in the dressing room so priceless during such a challenging spell.

AC Milan legend Alessandro Costacurta was left "annoyed" at Zlatan Ibrahimovic after seeing the Swedish striker break a notable Serie A goal record.

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• Ibrahimovic netted penalty in 2023
• Was 41 years of age at the time
• Oldest goalscorer in Serie A history

• Getty
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Enigmatic frontman Ibrahimovic returned to San Siro for a second spell in 2020. Injuries would eventually force the legendary forward to hang up his boots, but not until his remarkable career had been extended well beyond a 40th birthday celebration.

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  Ibrahimovic was aged 41 years, five months and 15 days when converting a penalty for Milan against Udinese in March 2023. Said strike saw him become the oldest player to score in the Italian top-flight – eclipsing the efforts of Costacurta, who scored a spot-kick of his own on the final day of the 2006-07 campaign at the age of 41 years and 15 days.

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  WHAT COSTACURTA SAID

  Iconic defender Costacurta has told of seeing Ibrahimovic erase one of his entries in the history books: "It annoyed me because I wanted to remain in Milan’s history and Zlatan took that from me. I played until 41 because I was lucky never to have a serious injury – I just broke my knee once. Otherwise, I was very careful about my body, what I ate and drank, and how I slept. There were no incredible secrets."

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Ibrahimovic retired at the end of the 2022-23 season, with over 500 goals recorded at club level, and he now fills an advisory role with Milan that sees him working with USMNT stars Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah and Portuguese winger Rafael Leao.

Kyle Walker is said not to have travelled with the Manchester City squad to face Brentford on Tuesday as speculation grows over his future.

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• Walker looking to leave Man City
• Guardiola chose to keep him out vs Brentford
• Defender might make move to Serie A

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to theWalker did not travel with Pep Guardiola’s squad for their match away at Brentford, further intensifying rumours of his impending departure. This decision follows his absence from the weekend's FA Cup fixture against Salford City, where Guardiola disclosed that the player had requested to "explore the option" of continuing his career abroad.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  It has been reported that both AC Milan and Inter are interested in acquiring Walker’s services. The clubs are exploring a loan agreement with the possibility of converting it into a two-year permanent deal. Such an arrangement would offer Walker the chance to continue competing in Europe.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  In addition to interest from Italian giants, Walker remains a target for several top-spending clubs in Saudi Arabia, including Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, and Al Ahli. A move to the Middle East would likely come with a substantial financial package, mirroring the path taken by his former City team-mate Riyad Mahrez, who joined Al-Ahli.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WALKER?

  Walker’s time at City has been nothing short of remarkable. Since joining from Tottenham in 2017, he has been instrumental in the club’s success, helping them secure six Premier League titles, multiple domestic cups, and the Champions League.

Well, that was just a little bit stressful, wasn’t it?

With the country watching and without his first-choice midfield, Mikel Arteta has just led Arsenal to their third win away at Tottenham Hotspur in as many years.

It wasn’t a game full of attacking quality, but the Gunners put in another defensive masterclass, and as if it was scripted, Gabriel Magalhães nodded home the winner from a Bukayo Saka corner.

However, as brilliant as the Brazilian was and as deserving of the plaudits that he is, there’s another starter who deserves just as much praise.

Gabriel's game in numbers

Yes, just like last season, Arsenal exploited Spurs’ inability to defend setpieces and scored their winning goal from the head of Gabriel, who was awarded the Player of the Match award.

That said, while the former LOSC Lille ace was the only name on the scoresheet, he would’ve still been in with a shout for the award had he not scored, as alongside William Saliba, Ben White and Jurrien Timber, he helped to keep Ange Postecoglou’s attackers relatively quiet.

The 26-year-old was so impressive that the Standard’s Simon Collings gave him a 9/10 after the match, writing that as well as his ‘thumping header’, he ‘made so many important blocks’. While it’s a high rating, it’s more than justified by his statistics from the match.

In his 95 minutes of action, he scored one goal, made seven clearances, two tackles, and one interception, won three of four duels, lost the ball just six times, blocked two shots, and took 40 touches.

In all, the 6 foot 3 “beast”, as dubbed by journalist Robert Lutesich, was the match winner and fully deserved the adulation, but one of his teammates was just as good.

David Raya's performance in numbers

Yes, one of the other standout performers from today’s victory is Spanish goalkeeper David Raya, who is proving his manager more and more right every game this season.

Now, while the former Brentford ace wasn’t peppered with shots, thanks to his defence in front of him, he was alert and ready to brilliantly deal with the ones that made it through, and on top of that, his ability to command his space was in stark contrast to his opposite number.

For his efforts between the sticks, Collings gave the 29-year-old an 8/10, writing that he ‘made several good saves early on and was solid all afternoon’ and that he now has ‘a real presence about him.’

Unsurprisingly, his statistics from the match are seriously impressive as well, as in his 95 minutes of action, he made five saves, four of which were inside the box, prevented 0.33 goals, ran out once and was successful in doing so, made two claims, took 48 touches, made two clearances, won 100% of his duels and won a foul to boot.

Ultimately, the Spaniard’s “astonishing” performance in goal, as described by one Arsenal journalist and content creator, won’t get quite the same attention as Gabriel’s match-winning goal, and understandably so, but it was arguably just as important, and if Raya can keep up this sort of form then he’ll be the favourite to win the golden gloves for a second season running.

Arteta let Arsenal star walk away on a free, now he's outscoring Saka

The goalscoring sensation was incredible last season.

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By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Sep 12, 2024

Lionel Messi is perhaps the best footballer to ever walk the planet and Aston Villa may well have had the new version of the great Argentine once upon a time. Fancy that, eh?

Scoring 737 times at club level with 109 goals for his country, and winning eight Ballon d’Or trophies, he was pretty damn good. The Barcelona legend finally won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, with many marking this occasion as the moment he became the undisputed best of all time.

With such high-profile names, many young players coming through the pipeline at the same club get bundled with expectation to become “the next” version of that player, which often hurts their progression, and puts an unfair pressure on young shoulders.

This has happened to many Premier League youngsters in recent years, with Charly Musonda at Chelsea, Adnan Januzaj at Manchester United, and even Rhian Brewster at Liverpool.

However, there’s one example who played at Villa Park many moons ago…

The early years of Adama Traore

Adama Traore is another player that suffered from this early labeling as “the next Messi”, being at Barcelona.

The 20-year-old (at the time) was compared to Messi when coming through the Barcelona ranks, and was told he was “the fastest in the club”.

First Impressions

What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast's 'First Impressions' series has everything you need.

The “speed king” as he was dubbed by the Daily Mail, showed huge promise at a young age, beating players at his own peril. However, the end product had to improve to take a step forward, as Traore made the move from Barcelona to Aston Villa aged 20, for a reported £7m fee.

The winger only managed 12 appearances for the Villans’ first team, scoring once and assisting once in his 262 minutes played.

After not only being at the club for a year, the Spanish winger made the switch to Middlesbrough, joining them for around €8.25m (£7m), which is less than Villa bought him for just one year prior.

Adama's Traore's numbers since leaving Villa

Since leaving Villa back in 2016, Traore’s main problem has always remained, he has all the ability and physical traits to beat his man and get into dangerous areas, but the decision-making and final product continue to lack quality.

Traore has played for several clubs since leaving Villa Park behind, enjoying a two-year stay with Middlesbrough, before moving to Wolves, where he found a home for five years, making 194 appearances, scoring 14 goals and providing 18 assists.

The 28-year-old also spent a short loan spell on loan with Barcelona during 2022, returning to his ex-club, before leaving Wolves permanently in 2023, to join Fulham on a free transfer.

As you can see from the stats, Traore always struggled to put up consistent goal/assist numbers, only achieving 10+ in two seasons, the highest after that being five G/A in multiple seasons (20/21, 21/22, 23/24). His best season came for Wolves in 19/20, scoring six goals and providing 12 assists in 3,838 minutes.

Looking at the career Traore went on to have, Villa won’t be too disappointed about their decision to sell him, but there will always be a huge “what if” factor around the rapid winger, if he could have added extra quality to his end product, to match that frightening build and speed.

Sold for £15m: Aston Villa hit gold over star who's now worth millions less

They sold him for just £15m

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By
Joe Nuttall

Sep 26, 2024

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has gone viral after reacting angrily to a BBC reporter's question about his side's performance against Everton.

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• Spurs lose 3-2 to Everton
• Postecoglou reacts angrily to defeat
• Spurs sit 15th in Premier League

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Spurs succumbed to yet another dismal defeat in the Premier League as they lost 3-2 to Everton at Goodison Park – prompting calls for the Australian to be dismissed. The hosts stormed into a 3-0 lead before the whistle for half-time was blown and, despite a couple of late consolation goals, sealed the result for David Moyes' first win back in charge of the Toffees.

  Speaking to after the game, the Spurs boss was asked: "Ange, familiar story, what are your assessments of that performance, please?”

  Postecoglou fired back, asking: "Familiar story?”

  The reporter clarified he meant "in terms of defeat," before the Spurs boss said angrily: "Yeah okay, great way to start an interview.”

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• WHAT POSTECOGLOU SAID ABOUT THE GAME

  On the result, Postecoglou added: "It was a tough result for us. Obviously in the first half we struggled to get control of the game. I made some changes in the team that probably weren't helpful in the end. I had players struggling to come to terms with it. Everton then capitalised on it. In the second half, the players put in the right response and you know, credit to them but we fell short."

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  Spurs have struggled with injuries throughout the season, particularly in the centre of their defence, but Postecoglou will know he is on borrowed time. Their victory over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final has given the Australian a sliver of hope, but defeat in the return leg and elimination from the competition could prove to be the final nail in Postecoglou's coffin. Of course, there is every chance that Postecoglou will not be in charge by the time of that game on February 6.