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Everton have emerged in recent hours as contenders to sign Miralem Pjanic in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Davies may be leaving

As per Football Insider, Southampton have reignited their interest in signing Tom Davies after failing to lure him away from Goodison Park in last summer’s window.

A source from the Saints has told the news outlet that they will make a move to sign the 22-year-old midfielder if they are given any sort of encouragement by the Merseyside club.

If Davies were to leave, then Toffees would need to find a replacement, and that could well be Pjanic.

The Latest: Everton eye Pjanic

As per Fichajes, Everton have emerged in recent hours as showing their interest in signing Pjanic, but Barcelona will not listen to any offers below €35m (£30.1m) if they wish to sell him.

It is up to the Toffees now whether they are willing to match the asking price requested by the La Liga club, as the story should develop over the course of the window.

The Verdict: Everton must avoid Pjanic

Even though a deal for Pjanic could sound quite tempting, given that he has been a big name in European football over the last few years, making 80 appearances in the UEFA Champions League for the likes of Barcelona, Juventus and Roma, Everton must avoid that temptation.

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At 31 years of age, the Bosnia international is coming into the closing chapters of his career and he could struggle to cope with the physical demands of the Premier League.

A fee of £30.1m is certainly way too much to be spending on a player of his age, and so the Toffees should really be looking at other targets in the central midfield position.

In other news, find out what big Blues transfer claim has been dropped!

Former Everton defender Michael Ball has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that Real Betis right-back Emerson is the sort of player he can see his old side and Marcel Brands targeting this summer.

The 22-year-old, who is currently on loan at the Benito Villamarin from Barcelona, was heavily linked with the Merseyside club last year.

Max Aarons was thought to be high on Everton’s list in their search for a long-term successor to Seamus Coleman, but it was recently reported by Fabrizio Romano that they have pulled out of the race to sign the Norwich City player.

It leaves manager Carlo Ancelotti and director of football Brands needing to look elsewhere. For Ball, that could mean turning to Emerson, who he believes fits the necessary criteria for the latter.

Speaking exclusively to FFC about the Brazilian full-back, the ex-Everton player said:

“Emerson, for Real Betis, a Brazilian. Everton have got a lot of Brazilians at the football club. Whether that’s a link, I’m not too sure. It’s a position I think would be a priority for the club.

“Moving forward for the next couple of years, we need to sort of filter Seamus out and bring the next generation through.

“[Emerson’s] got the potential and it’s the right fit for a Marcel Brands type of signing. Young, got resale value in the future, but also got the quality to make an impact straight away.”

Coleman has been a great servant for Everton over the years, but turning 33 this year, the Toffees probably do need to start thinking about a succession plan – which could come in the form of Emerson.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie believes Barnsley boss Valerien Ismael is the kind of manager who would bring aggressiveness and energy to Crystal Palace.

Ismael is currently being linked with the Palace job, with Football Insider claiming that the south London club’s director of football Dougie Freedman is pushing to bring him in ahead of Frank Lampard – Steve Parish’s preferred choice.

This, of course, comes after Palace confirmed that Roy Hodgson would be stepping down as manager after four years at Selhurst Park.

And for Hendrie, Ismael could be a good candidate to replace the Englishman. The Sky Sports pundit told FFC in an exclusive interview:

“He wants that aggressive style. He’s got a very good, young squad at Barnsley and done absolutely brilliant this season with what he’s had at Barnsley. I’ve got to say that, for sure.

“I say he likes that aggressive style, but he likes that energy and he plays football in the right way.”

Certainly, Ismael has done a fantastic job in the Oakwell dugout this term, taking Barnsley to the Championship play-offs.

The Tykes also enjoyed a good FA Cup run under the former Palace player, giving finalists Chelsea a real game in their 1-0 defeat in the fifth round of the competition.

Nottingham Forest are preparing a summer bid for Gillingham central midfielder Kyle Dempsey, according to reports.

What’s the word?

That’s according to Football Insider, who claimed that a recruitment source has revealed Chris Hughton’s side have reignited their January interest in the 25-year-old in an attempt to bring him to the City Ground this summer.

It is also reported that Gillingham would be looking for a fee between £500,000 and £750,000 in order to part with the midfielder, and when the news of Forest’s interest was relayed on Twitter, many fans of the club seemed delighted by the prospect of the 25-year-old’s signing.

Astute signing

So far this season, Dempsey has been in remarkable form over his 38 League One appearances for Steve Evans’ side, scoring eight goals and providing four assists for the Gills. He has also averaged 1.2 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 1.2 key passes per game, culminating in an average WhoScored match rating of 7.00 – ranking him as the club’s joint sixth-best performer in the third tier.

This attacking influence from the middle of the park is something which has sorely been lacking at Forest this season, with James Garner, Ryan Yates, Samba Sow and Filip Krovinovic managing just six goals and four assists between them in the Championship.

Furthermore, with Forest paying the likes of Garner around £17,000 per week, Sow £18,000 per week, and Krovinovic £14,000 per week, it would appear as if the modest £3,000 weekly wage of Dempsey would be well worth the cost for Chris Hughton and his side, even when taking into account the reported asking price for the player who Gillingham assistant manager Paul Raynor dubbed a “winner”.

Raynor also claimed that Dempsey’s creativity was something that he believed the Gills had lacked prior to his arrival from Fleetwood Town back in August of last year – something which could easily be applied to Nottingham Forest at present.

As such, Hughton should do all he can to get a deal over the line for the 25-year-old midfielder this summer, as Dempsey has a proven track record of providing the creative spark to lift his team out of a slump.

In other news: Marinakis must cash in on Nottingham Forest “leader” this summer as big update emerges – opinion

Celtic rejected a bid from a German club back in January 2020 for midfielder Ryan Christie, it has been revealed, via the Scotsman.

The Lowdown: Christie’s contract

Christie has been a regular for the Hoops this season, however, he could well end up leaving the club for nothing in less than 12 months’ time.

That’s because his contract, which Transfermarkt has down to expire in May 2022, actually runs out in January 2022.

That’s according to the Daily Mail, cited by the Daily Record, who revealed the Scotland international could use this summer’s European Championship’s as a shop window opportunity.

Should his situation remain the same, Christie can speak to club’s outside of Scotland in the summer and pen a pre-contract agreement for a free transfer in January 2022.

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The Latest: Celtic rejected Christie bid

The Scotsman recently ran a story on the midfielder and dropped a claim that the Hoops actually turned down a bid from a German suitor back in January 2020.

It is thought that, at the time, a move to Germany appealed to Christie, and it seems as if Celtic may live to regret that decision.

The news comes as a shock, as, at the time, a bid from Europe for the £7,700-a-week midfielder never came out from the club or in the media.

The Verdict: Peter Lawwell made a huge mistake

In our opinion, looking back, Peter Lawwell made a big transfer blunder.

Since the bid came in, Celtic only had a few months remaining of the 2019/20 season before the national lockdown, and they haven’t exactly thrived with Christie in the side this season.

He’s been criticised regularly by some Hoops fans for his displays, so accepting the bid last year could have been the better move in hindsight.

Unfortunately, now, it looks as if there is a real chance the Hoops may end up receiving nothing for Christie’s services and may have to work out what to do with him during the first half of the 2021/22 season, should he pen a pre-contract agreement elsewhere.

In other news: Alan Nixon shares what’s holding up Eddie Howe deal, find out more here. 

Roy Keane has the ‘personality’ required to lead Celtic going forward, according to former Hoops manager Martin O’Neill.

O’Neill, who led Celtic to three Scottish titles and a UEFA Cup final over five years in Glasgow, was speaking to BBC Scotland Sportsound.

Betting was suspended on Keane’s potential appointment on Friday, but The Times reported two days later that the Manchester United legend was ‘unlikely’ to take up the post.

O’Neill seems to fear that it would be a mistake to overlook the 49-year-old, who has worked under the ex-Hoops boss as assistant manager in the Republic of Ireland and Nottingham Forest setups.

£30m Champions League prize on the line for Celtic

“Next season is really big because it’s automatic qualification for the Champions League,” O’Neill said.

“That’s a massive extra prize. It’s the 30 million. Maybe it bolsters the argument that Celtic are taking their time – that whoever is in there is able and capable of facing Rangers in the big contest.

“Roy Keane’s got the personality, for a start. A massive player, iconic figure in the game. He’s also very strong-willed. But he’s got the capacity to motivate the players.

“Roy’s learned a great deal over the years. Dermot [Desmond, Celtic’s principal shareholder] is a strong-willed man himself. He’ll know what is necessary.”

Keane has been out of the managerial hotseat since 2011, when he left Ipswich Town.

Whoever succeeds Neil Lennon at Celtic Park faces a daunting task. The Hoops trail their arch-rivals Rangers by a full 20 points in the table, and Steven Gerrard’s men have not lost a league game all season.

Transfer Tavern verdict

With £30m potentially on the line as O’Neill has outlined, Celtic probably shouldn’t be taking this big a gamble on their next manager.

Eddie Howe, who did a remarkable job at Bournemouth and is now the favourite for the job, would appear a more sensible appointment, given his impressive track record at Premier League level in recent times.

In other news, what will the new boss have to say about this potential transfer?

Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that he wouldn’t be surprised to see Danny Rose return to Leeds this summer.

Rose, who’s a product of the Leeds’ Academy, although he never ended up making a first-team appearance prior to his move to Tottenham, is out of contract this summer and will be available on a free transfer.

The England left-back was previously one of the most feared full-backs in the Premier League, but hasn’t appeared since playing for Newcastle on the day final of last season, with his only two outings this term coming for Tottenham Under-23s.

Rose spent the second half of last season on loan with the Magpies and was expected to leave Spurs in both the summer and then January, but a move never materialised, which saw him left out of Jose Mourinho’s 25-man Premier League squad.

But with the defender’s contract running out in June, he’ll finally leave the north London outfit, and Windass said he could see him return to Leeds, almost 14 years after his Elland Road exit.

He told Football FanCast:

“I could see that. If you were talking about a David O’Leary they would bring back players like Danny Rose and James Milner, but Bielsa is a tough nut to crack.

“But if you put Danny Rose in the team now at Leeds United, there would be no problems. He can get up and down, he’s a fit lad, and maybe he wants to go back to Yorkshire with his family and settle down.

“If you said to me Danny Rose is signing for Leeds United, I would say good signing, but will Bielsa want him? That’s the thing.”

Alasdair Gold could only slam the display of Serge Aurier as Tottenham Hotspur lost 3-0 away at Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Europa League, with the journalist dropping his player ratings after the match.

The bad result after extra time meant that Spurs went out of the competition after winning the first leg 2-0 at home, with plenty of players to point the finger at in the North London club’s dressing room.

Gold was particularly critical of the performance of Aurier, who was given a torrid time down his side by Mislav Orsic, who ended up scoring a quite sublime hat-trick for the Croatian outfit.

Writing in his latest player ratings piece for football.london, the journalist claimed that Aurier ‘struggled’ down his flank and gave Orsic ‘so much time and space’ to score his first goal.

Gold also pointed out that the former Paris Saint Germain man was ‘sloppy’ in attack as well, as he let Orsic breeze past him to complete his treble, giving him a mere 3/10 overall rating, the joint-lowest out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch along with Dele Alli.

Aurier struggled all night

As Gold points out, Aurier struggled to deal with Orsic, and his overall game was not the best at all for such an experienced player.

The Ivory Coast international lost out on three of his duels and also failed to block any shots or make any key passes in the match, while also losing possession of the ball no fewer than on 20 separate occasions, the fourth-most out of any Lilywhites player (Sofascore).

Nonetheless, he will have to perform much better than that if Jose Mourinho is going to keep him in the side in the longer term.

In other news, find out which global star Daniel Levy will be offered a chance to sign here!

It may be five years since Aston Villa sold Adama Traore to Middlesbrough, but there can surely be no questioning that the Midlands club got the wrong end of the bargain.

It was Roberto Di Matteo who was in charge at Villa Park when the decision was made to let Traore go, with Albert Adomah arriving in the opposition direction instead.

At the time, Di Matteo seemed to be thrilled with the club’s business, saying: “Albert is a player I’m really happy to have brought to the club and like others he knows what is required to win promotion from the Championship. He is an attacking player who creates goals and I’m confident he will be an impressive addition to the group.”

But since then, it’s Traore who’s really had the last laugh.

Now, a five-cap Spain international, the 25-year-old has firmly established himself as a Premier League star, and has kept that X-factor that really made him stand out as a youngster.

As per Whoscored, his average of 4.2 dribbles per game in the top-flight this season ranks him as the most prolific dribbler in the division, while he also ranks in the top six for earning the most fouls per match too (2.2).

Dubbed as “unplayable” by Jurgen Klopp following an impressive display against his Liverpool side, Traore also has a fan in Graeme Souness, with the Sky Sports pundit saying: “He is now not only a winger anymore, he keeps the ball, holds the ball and sets up goals, obviously. That makes it so difficult, each ball you lose is 100 per cent a counter-attack and half a goal.”

CIES now value him at a whopping £35m, and that’s a testament to just how much he has grown since leaving Villa Park, with the Spaniard now very much a key part of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side at Wolves – he’s now played well over 100 times for the Molineux based club.

Given how much he has progressed over the years since his departure, Villa must surely look back at Traore’s exit back in 2016 as one they got completely wrong.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa played a blinder in signing this star… 

Carlo Ancelotti should look to rotate his squad and unleash Alex Iwobi on West Bromwich Albion on Thursday night, with Everton in action three times in the space of eight days.

The Toffees hosted and beat Southampton 1-0 on Monday but return to the field at the Hawthorns, before travelling to Stamford Bridge for a clash with top-four rivals Chelsea next Monday.

Taking points in south west London may prove crucial to the Blues’ hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, with Thomas Tuchel’s club currently above Everton by a single point ahead of their midweek visit to Liverpool later on Thursday following the Baggies affair.

Sam Allardyce’s Hawthorns natives will not be expected to present as much of a threat to Everton as Chelsea will, with the relegation-threatened side claiming only their third win in 26 games with a 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.

West Brom were winless in their previous seven home Premier League fixtures, while Ancelotti’s Blues are one of the top-flight’s best travelling sides with only Manchester City, Leicester and Manchester United claiming more points on the road this season.

Ancelotti will look to keep Everton’s record going on Thursday but should have an eye toward Monday’s trip to the capital, and look to rest and rotate his options.

The Italian has not named an identical starting line-up in any of the Toffees’ last 22 Premier League games, with the last fixture to feature an unchanged side being Everton’s 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on September 26th.

Iwobi has played a minimal role in the Blues’ recent top-flight ties, with the 24-year-old only featuring for a mere seven minutes over two substitute outings against Liverpool and Southampton.

The £23m-rated winger had opened last month’s 3-1 loss to Manchester City for his fourth and most recent start of the calendar year, having only opened three of the previous six available games after sitting out New Year’s Day’s defeat to West Ham United through injury.

Iwobi had been a regular of Ancelotti’s plans before the Irons visit to Goodison Park, starting the Toffees’ prior eight matches across all competitions, and should now be afforded what has become a rare opportunity for the versatile dynamo to feature.

Ancelotti will be loath to lose one of his favoured trio, Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin or James Rodriguez, for Everton’s trip to Chelsea, but he can take confidence in the displays Iwobi produced prior to the turn of the year.

The former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss described Iwobi’s efforts at the tail end of 2020 as being among his best performance during his tenure, after providing a real grit to his displays.

“It’s his best moment since I arrived. He is showing confidence, is really good in one-versus-one situations and is working hard. The key is to work hard – the team is working hard,” Ancelotti said, via quotes by Royal Blue Mersey.

Iwobi is yet to build on his sole goal or two assists registered in the Premier League this season since striking the back of the net against Wolverhampton Wanderers in January, but has provided a key pass in each of his last two starts.

He also displayed his intent to drive Everton up the field during his brief cameo at home to Southampton on Monday, with Iwobi attempting a game-high six dribbles – more than double his average 2.5 per top-flight outing.

Fitness should not be a concern given his lack of recent action, either, so Ancelotti should have no reason to not start Iwobi at West Brom on Thursday night.

AND in other news, Everton are tracking a prolific 15-goal winger backed to reach another level…