All posts by n8rngtd.top

Carlo Ancelotti will be anxiously awaiting the return of Ben Godfrey from international duty after the Everton defender failed a late fitness test.

That’s according to the Liverpool Echo, who note that Godfrey and Tom Davies were both unable to represent England’s Under 21s against Croatia on Wednesday.

The Young Lions medical team carried out late checks to see if either of the Toffees duo could feature in the Euro 2021 win, which dumped Aidy Boothroyd’s side out of the competition at the Group Stage.

Godfrey had played the full 90 minutes as England faced Portugal on Sunday to earn his ninth U21s cap, but required treatment during the 2-0 loss.

The 23-year-old centre-back had featured for the full fixture as England were beaten 1-0 by Switzerland last Thursday, too.

Only Tottenham Hotspur’s Oliver Skipp and Swansea City’s Marc Guehi also played all 180 available minutes among England’s outfield options over the defeats to Switzerland and Portugal.

Davies had started each loss but was withdrawn early in the second half against Switzerland and approaching the final quarter of an hour against Portugal, when earning his 23rd Young Lions cap.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-everton-news-gossip-and-views” title=”The latest Everton news and views!”]

Ancelotti will now be very concerned over the prospect of being without Godfrey and Davies when Everton host Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on Monday, looking to end a three-game losing streak across all competitions.

The Toffees have only won one of their last five games at home thanks to a 1-0 result over Southampton on March 1, while losing to Fulham, Burnley and Manchester City twice.

Ancelotti goes into the Eagles clash without star summer signing Abdoulaye Doucoure after the £20m former Watford midfielder was ruled out likely for the remainder of the season with a fractured foot.

Fabian Delph has also been sidelined of late and while Jean-Philippe Gbamin has returned to training, it remains to be seen if the 25-year-old will be called on to play his first game since August 2019.

Losing Godfrey will come as a huge blow to the Toffees in defence, having started nine of the Merseyside outfit’s last 10 fixtures in the heart of the backline – including eight of the last nine Premier League matches prior to the international break.

Everton have kept three clean sheets in the 11 top-flight matches that Ancelotti has fielded Godfrey in a centre-back role this season, which came in a three-game run against Liverpool, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion.

To now be without the former Norwich City enforcer will be particularly problematic for Ancelotti, who is said to consider the Toffees’ £20m summer signing as the best of his central defensive options.

Ancelotti will be expected to call on Michael Keane, Mason Holgate or Yerry Mina to protect Jordan Pickford’s goal against Crystal Palace, should Godfrey fail another fitness test.

AND in other news, Everton are tracking a £17m striker with “a wealth of talent”…

Premier League side Everton have been linked with a move for Roma central defender Gianluca Mancini.

Recently, Italian outlet Leggo had reported that Everton are monitoring the situation of Mancini and along with Inter, they had expressed their interest in the defender. Fresh reports now are stating about the Toffees’ interest in the 6 foot 2 Italian, who has played for the national team already.

Everton ‘like’ Mancini

A report from Italian outlet Calciomercato has stated that Mancini’s performances for Paulo Fonseca’s Roma have left multiple parties impressed. Everton are one of the clubs that like the Italian but recent performances have caught the attention of Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea too, while Bayern Munich asked for information about Mancini in the January transfer window.

Apart from them, Antonio Conte also likes Mancini and Juventus see the defender as an ideal Italian defender in the mould of Leonardo Bonucci and Georgio Chiellini.

Roma had initially signed Mancini from Atalanta on a loan deal but the move was made permanent for a fee of £11.70 million this past summer. He recently scored against Genoa and has already scored four times in the league.

Mancini would be an excellent signing for Everton

Mancini has picked up a rating of 6.98 in Serie A this season, also impressing in the Europa League. He has been Roma’s fourth-highest rated player in the league campaign, which shows that he has had quite a good season under Fonseca (as per Whoscored).

Everton do have four out-and-out centre-back options currently, even though Yerry Mina is injured. Mancini would add more depth and quality to the side and would offer European experience, so it is easy to see why the Italian would be a very good signing for the Toffees.

In other news, Everton could part ways with a key midfielder – read more here.

Fans of Aston Villa have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relayed the ‘significant’ news that Jaden Philogene-Bidace has put pen to paper on a new deal with the club.

According to a statement on the club website, Philogene-Bidace has signed a new deal with Dean Smith’s side that will see him remain at Villa Park until the summer of 2024.

The 19-year-old forward, who is yet to make a senior appearance for Villa, is said to have highly impressed for the club’s U23 side this season, bagging five goals and providing two assists over his 11 appearances.

And, after the club relayed the news of the England U19 international’s new contract on Twitter, fans of Villa flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing delighted at the prospect of  Philogene-Bidace remaining at their club for the foreseeable future.

So, what exactly did these Aston Villa fans have to say in reaction to the news regarding Jaden Philogene-Bidace?

“Our club is doing all the right things. This kid is special.”

@hill_hilly18

“Fantastic news!! I love the approach our club is taking to promoting youth and building for our future!”

@jamesupnorth

“YESSSSSSSSS UTVVVVV.”

@Finleydb10

“Fantastic news! A lot of big clubs been sniffing round him, one to watch for sure.”

@TheWillRoss

“This is great news. Chukwuemeka next, hopefully.”

@SimonLRead

“Class news.”

@vill1874

“Outstanding. This club is amassing all the best young talent out there. Well done Jaden. Great choice.”

@EvoflashUK

“This is super, super news and shows the ambition and pull of the club – up the villa!!! Aaron Ramsey next!!”

@StephenArnold78

“Superb Jaden.”

@gazswain

“Excellent news. Future star! Massive statement on intent by Villa.”

@tonywoots69

“Incredible.”

@DOUGLASLUlZ

“This is significant. Congratulations.”

@richallen10

In other news, these Villa fans are loving this crazy statistic – find out more here!

Steve Bruce has confirmed that Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson will face six to eight weeks on the sidelines with a “devastating” hamstring injury.

That’s according to the Mirror, who quote the Toon boss as revealing that his £20m summer signing from AFC Bournemouth will miss the best part of the next two months.

Wilson could miss up to seven Premier League fixtures as a result of the issue, starting with Monday night’s trip to Chelsea and subsequent meetings with Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and potential relegation rivals Wolves, West Brom and Brighton.

Wilson sustained a deep hamstring tear during last weekend’s 3-2 win over Southampton, that also saw United lose Javier Manquillo for multiple weeks and Fabian Schar for several months.

Manquillo is now expected to miss around six weeks with a muscular injury, while Bruce has confirmed that Schar underwent surgery on Tuesday after sustaining knee ligament damage that the defender will hope does not rule him out of this summer’s Euros.

As for Wilson, the striker underwent scans to assess his hamstring injury earlier this week after being forced to limp off the field during the first-half of last week’s win over the Saints, which returned sombre news for Bruce.

“Unfortunately for Callum, it is a tear to the hamstring and that could be six to eight weeks,” the Toon boss said. “The aftermath of a fantastic victory has blighted us. Losing the centre-froward for weeks is a bitter pill to swallow.

“We hoped it was a grade on two to three weeks, but it is worse than that. We have to be without him for six-eight weeks, but we won’t put a time scale on it. It is devastating news for us. It takes time, when you are pace and power as Callum is. His rehab will have to be spot on. We need him back as quick as we can.

“His performance at Everton [last month] was terrific. We are all struggling with muscle injuries, the sheer number of games and no rest between. Without Callum, it will be hard core. He has been terrific. It will be difficult to replace him.”

The scale of the task now facing Bruce is colossus, with Newcastle left with a mammoth obstacle in their way toward securing Premier League survival for another season.

No Magpies player has been as involved in United’s attacks this term than Wilson, who has offered 2.0 shots a game over his 21 top-flight appearances, in a side that has only offered on average 9.7 each league fixture played to date, per WhoScored.

His efforts have also returned the most goals (10), while Miguel Almiron’s brace against Southampton was enough to move the Paraguayan second on the scoring chart at St. James’ Park with four – only Jeff Hendrick, who’ll be suspended against Chelsea, has also scored twice or more.

Jonjo Shelvey, who boasts one goal to his name, has taken the second-most shots per game with 1.6 but only 0.5 of those have come inside the box, where Wilson is the only player to have offered over 1.0 among those who have featured more than once for Bruce thus far.

Joelinton, who has also only scored once, has taken 1.2 shots a game over his 17 outings, while fellow strikers Andy Carroll (1.1) and Dwight Gayle (0.7) will hope to improve their output in Wilson’s absence.

AND in other news, Newcastle have an ace up their sleeves in efforts to sign a striker valued at £30m earlier this season…

Everton held Manchester United to a thrilling 3-3 draw at Old Trafford on Saturday to deny Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side a return to the top of the Premier League table, just days after the Red Devils inflicted a devastating 9-0 defeat on Southampton.

Goals from Edinson Cavani and Bruno Fernandes put United ahead in the first half but the Toffees hit back in style, capitalising on some sloppy defending from the hosts to smash two goals to tie the game in the second half. Scott McTominay’s header looked to have sealed all three points for United but Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s late, late strike rescued a draw for The Blues.

United have now dropped points for the second time in three games following the goalless draw with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium at the end of last month.

While Victor Lindelof, who has previously been subject to criticism from fans, players and pundits, may seem like an obvious target, Harry Maguire was actually one of the main culprits who was at fault for the dreadful defensive performance.

Indeed, SofaScore graded him as one of United’s worst players with a low 6.1 rating, second only to the hapless David de Gea (5.1).

Given Calvert-Lewin scored with the final kick of the game as Maguire seemed to play him onside, it’s fair to say that the Englishman struggled to cope with the pressure as he was a bit of a liability at the back. He recorded zero tackles, which was two fewer than Lindelof himself, and also showed a lapse in concentration as he didn’t win a single duel on the ground and made one error leading to a shot, via SofaScore.

Not only did he endure an extremely difficult evening up against the rampaging Calvert-Lewin, who won five out of his eight duels overall (62%), he was also rather wasteful in possession, as he produced just two accurate long balls from four attempts.

His errors in the build-up to Calvert-Lewin’s late equaliser summed up his frustrations on the night after Lucas Digne’s free-kick caused chaos inside the box.

United missed a real opportunity to go joint-top of the Premier League table as a result and are now two points behind Manchester City, who have two games in hand over their arch rivals as they prepare for the trip to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

AND in other news, What Man Utd fans can expect to see from Amad Diallo…

Many Everton fans have been left lauding a transfer update involving their former player Morgan Feeney.

As per the official website of Carlisle United, the 21-year-old has joined the EFL League Two team on a short-term deal which keeps him there until the end of the 2020/21 term.

Feeney left the Goodison Park faithful on a free transfer to sign for Sunderland back in August of last year, and now he has left the Black Cats to join Carlisle.

The central defender won the U21 Premier League twice with the Merseyside club, and made two appearances in the first team in the group stages of the UEFA Europa League in the 2017/18 season.

It never really quite worked out at the Toffees, but that did not stop the Goodison faithful from showing their support for the move.

Everton fan reaction to Feeney transfer

These Blues lauded the transfer on Twitter, with one EFC supporter branding it as ‘wonderful’ while another even went as far as to claim that he is an ‘outstanding’ young player:

“He is a really good player and a leader too. Pathway blocked at Everton but an outstanding young player.”

Credit: @DavidHoward5

“You’ve got yourselves a good potentially great player there…Best of luck Morgan…”

Credit: @vaughanieno10

“Congratulations Morgan. Win them that league!”

Credit: @DaveMbootlebuck

“Good luck Morgan cracking player”

Credit: @Sungy_1878

“Best of luck to Morgan in his new adventure. He’s a top Toffee too.”

Credit: @CheersColin

“That is wonderful”

Credit: @toffeemanUSA

In other news, find out what transfer update has been lauded by Everton fans here!

West Brom need incomings this January if they are to stand a chance of surviving in the Premier League, and one name has emerged as a potential target this week…

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail, Baggies boss Sam Allardyce is eyeing a ‘cut-price’ move for AFC Bournemouth forward Josh King as he looks to add more firepower to his faltering squad.

The 28-year-old is entering the final six months of his contract, so it is the final chance for the Cherries to cash in on his services before he’s allowed to leave for free.

They rejected bids of £7m and £13m for him during the summer transfer window, though King has barely featured this campaign with the Championship outfit third in the division.

Shades of Peter Odemwingie

Albion are the Premier League’s leakiest side, conceding a whopping 39 goals – six more than anyone else – in 17 matches, so some defensive reinforcements were surely on the agenda.

That was until Karlan Grant got ruled out for six weeks with a broken foot, though it’s not as if the goals were coming thick and fast at the Hawthorns anyway.

Only Burnley and rock-bottom Sheffield United have scored fewer than the Baggies’ 11 goals this term.

King’s arrival would certainly bolster their fortunes in front of the net as he’s a vastly-experienced and proven star in the Premier League.

In five straight seasons, the Norway international has scored at least six times with a career-best 16 goals coming during the 2016/17 season, per Transfermarkt.

His versatility adds an extra dimension too, one that won’t halt the progress of Grant whenever he returns from this latest set-back. King can play anywhere along the front-three. He also averaged 1.2 key passes per game in the Cherries’ final season before relegation.

It’s no wonder that his former boss, Eddie Howe, lauded him the “complete package” to Match of the Day (via The Football Faithful), adding: “Josh is outstanding physically, technically and mentally.”

The 6 foot 2 talisman bears some similarities to former Baggies legend Peter Odemwingie – not too much difference in height, an ability to play in a multitude of positions, and undoubtedly an underrated record in the big time (55 goal contributions in 129 matches).

Allardyce must convince Luke Dowling to sanction a move for the £9.9m-rated sensation.

AND in other news, Big Sam can resolve their biggest problem with swoop for “extremely talented” beast…

Said Benrahma has left David Moyes powerless to omit the Algerian forward after the Brentford loanee excelled in West Ham United’s victory over Leeds on Friday night.

Moyes opted to hand Benrahma his first start in claret and blue following a late injury to Arthur Masuaku, which forced West Ham to deviate from the five-man defence which has inspired their solid form this season.

Benrahma had featured for just 78 minutes of Premier League football before the Hammers took to the pitch at Elland Road, as Moyes struggled to see a reason to bench his favoured attackers Pablo Fornals or Jarrod Bowen, believing the pair were playing “really well”.

In the end, Masuaku’s injury and a move to a four-man defence allowed Moyes to introduce Benrahma to his starting plans in behind striker Sebastien Haller to provide an added level of creativity beside Fornals and Bowen.

Benrahma upstaged his more established teammate Fornals with a game-changing display as the Hammers clinched a 2-1 win to move up to fifth in the table, with more points beside their name after the opening 12 games than early high-flyers Everton and title-hopefuls Manchester City.

Former Irons defender Anton Ferdinand was among the hordes to applaud the 25-year-old for his performance, seemingly confident that only good things can come from the £5million loan signing who West Ham are obliged to buy for £20m next year.

“Benrahma looks like he could be a maverick for us,” Ferdinand shared in a post on Twitter. “Loves the ball at his feet, very comfy and loves to make things happen!”

VAR stole the show at Elland Road when Mateusz Klich was allowed to retake his penalty after Lukasz Fabianski was deemed to have been off his line whilst making the initial save, but Benrahma’s performance ensured a spotlight focused on him as well.

The six-time Algeria international may not have registered a third assist of the season to pair with his game-winning involvement in goals against Fulham or Aston Villa, and may still be without a maiden goal for West Ham, yet achieved what Moyes tasked him with being. A nuisance for Leeds star Kalvin Phillips.

West Ham often found themselves without possession while Benrahma was on the field, as Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites controlled 65.7% of the ball before Moyes opted to introduce Mark Noble six minutes from time to instil an added defensive presence in the engine room.

Yet Benrahma still recorded the joint-second-most touches by a visiting player with 45, only Aaron Cresswell (52) took more, and played one key ball from 15 accurate passes, per WhoScored.

Benrahma came into his own when with an eye for goal, as he unleashed a game-high six efforts on Illan Meslier’s net, though only forcing the Leeds’ shot-stopper into making a save once.

Only Bowen could match his 100% dribble success rate, too, among any Irons player to feature, with Benrahma able to beat his marker with each of his three attempts as the £23,077-per-week forward won five of nine ground duels, per SofaScore.

Moyes will no doubt like to see Benrahma fine-tune his shooting, but is now powerless to omit the 25-year-old from his starting plans after seeing what he can bring to the side having bided his time for a chance to shine.

AND in other news, a £27m-rated West Ham dud is playing on borrowed time after a shocking showing at Leeds United.

The news coming from Turin will catch many pundits by surprise. Juventus are prepared to let Ronaldo go at the end of the season. Why would they want to do that when it is clear he is central to their expected success? If true, the unconfirmed rumours could see one of the costliest transfers and perhaps make Ronaldo the oldest highest paid athlete.

Is there some truth to these rumours? Football pundits say it’s a classic case of making hay while the sun shines. Ronaldo is still a prolific goal machine even as he turns 36 next year.  Juventus could be looking to sell him while they can still make some money out of him.

Ronaldo is being linked to a range of clubs at different bookmakers. Which one do you predict he will end up at? Place your predictions using the best betting offers UK to maximize your winnings.

Why is Ronaldo Leaving?

The big question still is, why would Juventus let their star scorer go? The grapevine has it that Andrew Pirlo thinks Ronaldo is a bit selfish and too much of an attention seeker. While it is true that Ronaldo has been consistently delivering the goals, his magic may not rub off on the rest of the team.

Juventus were beaten 2-0 by Barcelona in UEFA Champions League group stages. The team is wallowing at fifth in the Serie A table. The Bianconeri have to rediscover their magic fast if the season is to go their way.

The Torinese had spent an eye-watering €100 million to buy the star striker from Real Madrid in 2018. There were high hopes that he would help them lift the elusive UEFA Champions trophy. But Juventus is yet to lift the trophy. Maybe the club feels that this  investment has not had the expected returns.

Ronaldo’s salary is another pain point for the club. He signed up for a £28million (€31 million) a year. It is twice higher than the next most paid player, Matthijs de Ligt. The club would be happy to see this hefty bill off their books. There is a feeling that there are younger and upcoming strikers who will cost less and deliver just as well, with a bit of nurturing.

There is a very real financial incentive for Juventus to sell Ronaldo before his contract ends in 2022. The terms of the contract were that he walks free after the contract. Juventus could be trying to pre-empt this loss by selling him before the contract ends.

Where Would he go?

Which club will be willing to pay top dollar for a striker at the tail end of his career? There are few takers for a 36-year old striker, but this is no ordinary striker. Ronaldo has crunched up very impressive stats in his career. Ronaldo was instrumental in his club taking Serie A last season.  His international role has also been stellar, with 101 goals for Portugal. This is the combined tally for Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie, the second and third placed top European scorers.

His total score was 31 goals for Juventus in the last season. This has made him one of the only two players to ever  net more than 30 goals in five different European leagues. He has scored 130 goals in UEFA Champion games. With five Ballon d’or awards, he has earned his place among the world’s best footballers of all time.

Potential Suitors

PSG has been rumoured to be interested in signing him up. For one, the French club has deep pockets that will be required for such a transfer. PSG sports director, Leonardo Araújo, is reported to have said that PSG still can pull off such a transfer. He opined that PSG would be ready to ‘enter the circle’ if Ronaldo becomes available.

Manchester City is also mentioned in the same breath. It is no secret that the Emirati owned club has bottomless pockets and is not afraid to spend. It is also true that this season is not going very well for the Citizens. They need someone to replace the injury-prone Sergio Aguero.

Man City was looking to move on Messi when the Barcelona striker announced his unexpected exit at the season’s end. But rumour has it that they think Ronaldo is a better bargain. For City, it would also be another chance to upstage their bitter rivals, Manchester United. Ronaldo was once United’s blue-eyed boy, and it would be immensely cathartic to field him in Old Trafford.

So is Ronaldo on the move again? Only time will tell.

Liverpool look to have made a mistake in releasing Pedro Chirivella during the summer when you consider the current injury crisis at the club.

The Portuguese midfielder was not handed a new contract by the Merseyside club and joined Ligue 1 side Nantes, where he has been a regular so far this season, making 10 appearances in the French top-flight.

However, with the likes of Thiago, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner now all sidelined, whilst usual defensive-midfielder Fabinho is filling in at centre-back, you could definitely argue that the Reds could have done with someone like Chirivella available in their side.

During his time with Liverpool, the 23-year-old would make 11 first-team appearances, in which he contributed no goals and one assist (per Transfermarkt), suggesting that he was always on the fringes of the squad but never able to nail down a starting spot.

He also enjoyed decent loan spells with the likes of Willem II and Go Ahead Eagles during his time at Liverpool but it seems that he was keen for a new challenge this summer, perhaps after being reassured he wasn’t going to be a regular in Klopp’s side anytime soon.

Chirivella started in a youthful Liverpool side that beat Shrewsbury Town 1-0 in the FA Cup last season, and fellow youngster Leighton Clarkson was full of praise for his Portuguese teammate following the game, saying:

“Pedro is an absolutely fantastic player. He was the oldest player in our team against Shrewsbury and he is only 22! He has been at Melwood during a lot of his time at Liverpool so he has learned from the best.

“With his communication on the pitch and his leadership, it’s very good to have next to you, especially for me and Jake as we were quite nervous, but with him behind us he was phenomenal.”

Therefore, the young midfielder was clearly highly rated by those at the club and could have been the man to fill in during the current injury crisis, as he had accumulated a decent amount of experience in that defensive-midfield role, so it could definitely be argued that the club made a mistake in releasing him.

And, in other news… Klopp should cash in on 23 y/o wizard while his stock is high; impressing on loan