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Carlo Ancelotti can bring another Allan-type to Goodison Park in rumoured Everton target Matias Vecino, as the midfield powerhouse reconsiders his future with Inter Milan.

What’s the word?

According to FC Inter News, Vecino intends to stay at the San Siro to fight for his Inter future under Antonio Conte but will consider leaving in January should the former Chelsea boss push him to the exit door.

Vecino has been unavailable for all of Inter’s fixtures this term as he continues to overcome a knee injury, and has been the subject to speculation regarding a swap deal with Torino for Armando Izzo.

Torino have struggled to reach an agreement with the 29-year-old, though, as the Serie A outfit have a strict salary cap in force which Vecino would eclipse on his current terms.

Vecino would also prefer to join a top-tier club that competes in Europe should he leave Inter this winter and could be offered his chance by Sevilla, where Sporting Director Monchi is an admirer, or from Roma or the Premier League, where Chelsea and Everton have previously sought his services.

Neither the Stamford Bridge nor Goodison Park outfit are currently said to be planning revived approaches, with Everton’s interest noted to have come from Ancelotti following the Italian’s appointment as Marco Silva’s successor.

The future for Vecino at the San Siro is very unclear, as he bids to make his comeback appearance next month and secure his future under Conte.

Another Allan-esque import

While Everton are not currently thought to be considering another bid to sign Vecino, the Uruguayan could serve Ancelotti well as another Allan-esque import from the Serie A 12-months on from the Italian’s original efforts to sign him.

Gazzetta dello Sport, via Sport Witness, claimed back in January that the Toffees were driving Inter to lower their asking price having been informed the 41-cap international could be signed for €20million (£18m), with later reports by Corriere dello Sport suggesting that a max offer worth €12m (£10.8m) plus bonuses was made.

Vecino has since continued to live life on the fringes under Conte, with a meniscal problem sustained during the postponement of Serie A fixtures preventing the 29-year-old from making more than two appearances before a knee injury brought his season to an end.

Everton could use Vecino’s injury plights to lower whatever Inter’s valuation would be in January, and in doing so strive to improve Ancelotti’s midfield with the ideal cover for Allan.

Unlike Fabian Delph, who has played 64 minutes of Premier League football this season and averaged 1.6 tackles, 0.4 key balls and zero shots a game last term, Vecino won 3.2 of his duels, was successful with 71% of his dribbles, provided 0.8 key balls and took 1.1 efforts on goal each Serie A appearance in 2019/20, per SofaScore.

Vecino, who earns £76,000-a-week according to Salary Sport, would not be a starter ahead of Andre Gomes, Abdoulaye Doucoure or Allan, but will be a midfield powerhouse capable of providing Ancelotti with the depth the Italian currently lacks.

Ancelotti will certainly be loath to lose Allan for any considerable period of time, after the Brazilian proved himself a hit on Merseyside since a £21.7m move from SSC Napoli with Everton’s most tackles (20) and third-most ground duels won (30) in the Premier League so far.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti must take care as £40.6m ace once dubbed a “weak-link” is wanted at Everton.

According to The Athletic journalist Gregg Evans, Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz will be “hot property in the weeks ahead”.

What’s the word?

The Brazilian only arrived from fellow Premier League side Manchester City last summer, and has established himself as a key part of Dean Smith’s starting eleven – he started the last 14 top-flight games for Villa, and missed just two games in the competition all season.

And now Evans has claimed that the midfielder has hugely impressed him, particularly following the Premier League’s restart, and suggested that he even looks ready to take a step up.

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He said: “Since June, he has been sensational. If there was a Project Restart team of the season, Luiz would be sitting pretty in the midfield alongside the top-flight royalty of David Silva and Bruno Fernandes.

“That he was able to maintain such high levels in all 10 of Villa’s remaining games shows the level he’s now at. The 22-year-old will be hot property in the weeks ahead and it wouldn’t be overselling it to say that he now looks ready for an elite club.”

Keeping hold of star players

Jack Grealish may be the man on everybody’s lips at Villa, but Luiz has certainly proven that he is also a vital part of the first-team at the club.

Having survived relegation from the Premier League on the final day, Smith will be hoping that he can keep the core of his squad together. Seeing both Grealish and Luiz however would raise serious concerns about whether Villa can take a step forward next season.

Grealish might dominate the headlines this summer, but keeping hold of Luiz could be just as important.

Juventus are likely to sell some of their players in the ongoing summer transfer window. And this does not only concern the ‘deadwood’ but also applies to some of the bigger names in the lockerroom. Alex Sandro, for example, has been linked with a move to the Premier League for quite some time and now, it seems he’s back on the English teams’ radar.

According to the latest report from Calciomercato, Manchester United have reignited their interest in Bianconeri’s left-back and could indeed make an approach in the ongoing window.

Alongside Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men, Chelsea are also mentioned as someone who were interested in the past so there could be a battle ahead of us on the market. The same source, however, claims Juventus are likely to demand a figure in the region of £36m for the Brazilian as he still has three years left on his current contract at the Allianz Stadium.

The full-back is also not the only player Manchester United are targeting in Turin as Douglas Costa could also be on the agenda. No one seems safe at Juventus with the legendary Andrea Pirlo taking over the reins and immediately wanting to implement changes to the squad.

The Red Devils should also be busy this summer and it seems they have other targets lined up apart from Jadon Sancho.

Verdict

£36m doesn’t sound like an incredibly huge amount for Man United but seeing how Sandro is 29 years of age, albeit with still three years left on his contract, maybe the Reds can indeed negotiate a better deal.

This, of course, is also under the assumption Juventus are willing to let the Brazilian go this summer. One way or the other, both teams could have an interesting window ahead of them.

With no football to enjoy over the past few months, it’s been a time of reflection for a lot of football fans, and one man who has been talked about a lot is Paul Scholes.

Curtis Woodhouse had the guts to go out on a limb and publicly discredit the former Man United man, and that led to a lot of angry Red Devils supporters hitting back, with some making unbelievable claims about Scholes being one of the best to ever play the game.

Unfortunately, this point of view isn’t new.

Ever since his retirement, people have spoken about Scholes as if he is some sort of footballing demi-god, who could never misplace a pass and apparently there’s no doubt that he’s amongst the best Premier League midfielders ever.

Unfortunately, that’s just not true.

Scholes was by no means a bad player, his trophy haul is outstanding, and he was a decent midfielder, but he was never at that elite level that people now claim he was.

If Scholes was indeed one of the best midfielders of all time, why did he never even win his own club’s Player of the Year award?

Ok, Manchester United have had a lot of remarkable talent over the years, but when players like Gabriel Heinze and Javier Hernandez are able to work their way onto that roll of honour, you have to question why this supposed all-time great, was never even considered the best player on his own team.

It’s not just his own club that didn’t recognise him. The former Oldham Athletic manager never received a single Ballon D’or vote in his entire career, and during Scholes’ pomp it didn’t take much to get a Ballon D’or vote with the likes of Nihat Kahveci, Jamie Carragher, Papa Bouba Diop and El Hadji Diouf all getting at least one vote from 2002 to 2005.

The Ballon D’or isn’t the be-all and end-all either, but there is a third metric you can look at that shows Scholes just wasn’t all that during his playing days.

He made just two PFA Team of the Years during his career, a record he shares with the likes of Dele Alli, David Batty, Ashley Young, Danny Rose and Stephen Carr, but nobody is claiming any of the above players as all-time greats.

Many of the arguments you hear about Scholes’ greatness always lead back to what other players said about him, with Xavi giving him a fair bit of praise a few years ago and Zinedine Zidane also admiring him, but former pro’s opinions should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

Arguably the greatest player of all time, Pele, would have had you believe that Nicky Barmby was on a par with Paolo Maldini, and it wasn’t too long ago that Eric Cantona was trying to tell us that Javier Pastore was a better player than Lionel Messi, so it’s not too wild to believe that these greats of the game are quite simply wrong about Scholes’ brilliance.

The reality is that at some point it became so fashionable to call Scholes underrated that he actually became one of the most overrated players in Premier League history.

Tottenham meet Arsenal in the first ever north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend.

Spurs will know they face an uphill battle to reach the top four and beating their arch rivals on Sunday would be a major step in the right direction.

However, they will have to face the Gunners without Dele Alli, who has been ruled out of the clash.

Speaking to a press conference before the game, Jose Mourinho revealed he has not recovered from a hamstring injury in time and will not take part.

The Portuguese has already suffered a setback, as Eric Dier has been banned for four games, meaning he will miss the weekend fixture as a result, although this one will also sting.

Indeed, Mourinho has been hit by a huge blow, as Alli is the club’s third-highest goalscorer this season.

The 24-year-old, who moved to White Hart Lane for £5m from MK Dons, has a solid record against the Gunners, as he has scored 2 goals and supplied 2 assists in 9 previous derbies so far.

Alli had started strongly since the Premier League restart, as he was part of the side that thumped West Ham 2-0 at home, after missing the draw with Manchester United due to suspension.

Spurs have only won one out of the last four games against Arsenal, with their most recent victory dating back to a League Cup win in 2018, which will give Mourinho cause for concern, as he needs to pick up as many points as possible to keep their realistic chances of Champions League qualification alive.

Mourinho may be forced to rely on Erik Lamela instead, which is unlikely to fill him with much confidence. Lamela has struggled for consistency all season and is evidently a downgrade on the Englishman, as he has received a lower WhoScored rating for his performances so far.

Tottenham fans, do you think Alli’s presence will be missed against Arsenal? Let us know down below!

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Norwich City centre-back Ben Godfrey in the January transfer window, that is according to Football Insider.

The 21-year-old has been a regular for the Canaries this season, starting in each of their first 15 Premier League fixtures (Transfermarkt).

According to the report, Spurs had been interested in the centre-back in the summer, but he ultimately chose to stay at Carrow Road, signing a new five-year deal.

However, it is believed that Godfrey remains firmly on the club’s radar and they could well go back in for him when the transfer window reopens in January.

Norwich reportedly value the 21-year-old between £20-£25 million and it is likely that it will not just be Tottenham that show an interest in the player.

The England under-21 international joined the Canaries from York City back in 2016 and played a key role in their promotion from the Championship last season, featuring 31 times (Transfermarkt).

On paper, this looks like an ideal signing for Tottenham Hotspur, who could look to start reshaping the squad in January under new manager Jose Mourinho.

With both Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen out of contract at the end of the season, a new centre-back should be a priority for Spurs.

Alderweireld is two years younger than his compatriot, so Mourinho could look to prioritise keeping hold of him, as he is more of an asset when it comes to building to the future.

That means that they could be looking for a left sided centre-back to replace Vertonghen.

Whilst Godfrey is right footed, his regularly plays on the left for Norwich (Transfermarkt) and, therefore, could well be a perfect replacement for the Belgian international.

Added to that, he is also English which means Spurs would be adding a player who would count towards their home-grown quota.

Vertonghen is popular in north London and for good reason, but a successful swoop for Godfrey could be the end of the road given his age and contract situation.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Leeds United have relied heavily on loanees this season, but next summer represents a chance for the Whites to make some of those moves permanent.

The Yorkshire club are already tied into a deal that will see them pay £15m for Helder Costa at the end of this season, while they also have an option to buy Jack Harrison at the end of the campaign.

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It’s unknown how much United’s option to buy the winger will cost them, but Phil Hay has suggested that Harrison could be available for around the £10m mark.

This is a deal that Leeds simply have to do, no matter whether they go up or not.

Of course, if they are promoted the financial aspects of the deal won’t be a problem, but even if they don’t it’s a signing they should look at making, even with their limited room for spending in regards to FFP.

Ok, FFP may not allow the Whites to outlay £10m on one player this summer as they’re already committed to spending £15m on Costa, but there is a small loophole that Leeds could benefit from.

The higher-ups at Leeds could do worse than following Wolves’ example from a few seasons ago when they triggered Benik Afobe’s option to buy, only to sell him a few days later for a profit.

If Harrison is indeed available for the price Hay mentions, Leeds would be foolish to not trigger his option to buy, even if they just sell him on.

Man City valued the 23-year-old at £10m coming off the back of a season where he contributed to just eight league goals, and that value is likely to have increased as he’s contributed to that many efforts in just his last 11 games, scoring four goals in total this term.

It’s not too far-fetched to say that the winger’s actual value could be well north of Leeds’ current reserve price if he continues the form he has been showing in recent weeks.

If Harrison keeps up his good form, Leeds simply must trigger this clause, regardless of whether it’s financially viable for them to keep him or not.

In other news, one Leeds man has openly criticised a Championship referee on social media.

Tottenham Hotspur have entered a period of serious upheaval.After all, Jose Mourinho is now officially at the helm of the club, replacing the sacked Mauricio Pochettino in the process.Watch Tottenham Hotspur Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

And the Special One’s first game as the new Spurs boss was a victory over West Ham at the weekend.

Still, it seems that despite a new era dawning at the club, many fans and even some key players are still heavily attached to Pochettino.

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A recent report from The Telegraph stated that Harry Kane paid his former boss a visit after he had been sacked and the pair spent two hours together as the Englishman wanted to properly say goodbye to a man who had such a huge influence on his career.

Needless to say, upon seeing this update, many Spurs fans were touched and feeling emotional.

They praised Kane for this gesture and were proud to call him their captain.

You can see some of their replies down below:

In other news, Spurs might have to fight to keep one of their young prospects at the club with many European giants reportedly on the prowl.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Newcastle’s defeat against Aston Villa marked yet another game where their two wingers remained goalless, while also having a limited influence on proceedings.

On the chalkboard

Allan Saint-Maximin displayed his trickery throughout in typical fashion in what was a fierce battle with Villa right-back Frederic Guilbert, as it was always likely to be.

His compatriot won eight tackles but the Magpie was still able to create space in the attacking final third due in part to his seven successful dribbles, only to let himself down with his final ball – producing zero key passes.

Miguel Almiron had a little more luck in that department with two key passes, but throughout the match there was a sense that both wingers would have had an easier time of things had they swapped wings.

Too often both players had to cut back onto their stronger foot to make a cross or a pass, and that allowed the defenders to cover and also disrupted Joelinton’s runs in the middle.

In fact, one of Newcastle’s best opportunities was Christian Atsu’s late header, which came from a cross which Saint-Maximin fizzed in from the right flank, where he spent too little time during the match.

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Playing to their strengths

Despite whatever else the pair may bring to the Magpies, there is no getting away from the fact that their failure to produce in the final third is a big concern – with zero goals and one assist between them this term.

Worse still, Steve Bruce seems to think they are going to find form out of nowhere, as he has done very little to enable them to find a goalscoring touch or take up more promising positions.

A simple change which could make both more effective is making them swap flanks.

That would mean Almiron plays on the left and Saint-Maximin on the right, according to their stronger foot, thus enabling them to fire over a cross after they run and beat a man.

Their pace, and for Saint-Maximin his skill, is what makes them so lively and dangerous, but their momentum is lost in having to cut back onto their preferred foot.

They also lose their unpredictability when that happens, which has been key for them so far, and the Newcastle attack could benefit hugely from regular crosses player into the box – Joelinton would certainly love it.

Such a change may be all they need to get off the mark, and once that happens the confidence boost could see them become a key threat for the remainder of the season.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are underperforming in another area, but Mike Ashley rather than Steve Bruce is perhaps most to blame for that.

Le Serpent? Ah, we’re only joking. Granit Xhaka.