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Marcel Brands can look to save Everton millions of pounds in the summer transfer market by urging Carlo Ancelotti to use Joao Virginia over signing SSC Napoli’s Alex Meret.

The Toffees have been linked with a potential move to sign Meret at the end of the season amid doubt in his future at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Meret is thought to have grown somewhat unsettled in southern Italy as Gennaro Gattuso has shown a preference in ex-Arsenal shot-stopper David Ospina.

Ancelotti was claimed to be showing a strong interest in being reunited with Meret following his time in Naples as Everton are likely to be in the market for a new goalkeeper this summer, with doubt in AS Roma loanee Robin Olsen sealing a permanent move from the Serie A side after his home was recently broken into by machete-wielding burglars.

Ancelotti had been keen to agree on a deal with Roma to sign Olsen permanently, as the Sweden international has kept Jordan Pickford on his toes by offering the Italian an option to rotate his choice between the sticks.

That choice may soon be unavailable and in his place could sit Meret, with Il Romanista claiming that the Italian wants out but that a move to Roma – where he sits atop of Paulo Fonseca’s shopping list – is challenging as Napoli would demand no less than €20m (£17m).

Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis had been behind Meret’s move to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in 2018 when he paid SPAL €22m (£19m) and in doing so, went against Ancelotti’s wishes as he wanted the signing of Alphonse Areola instead.

Everton’s Director of Football, Brands, should now do the opposite of De Laurentiis and overlook a deal for Meret, and urge Ancelotti to use Virginia as Pickford’s understudy if a deal for Olsen cannot be agreed.

Virginia delivered an impressive performance against Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-final last weekend, with the Portugal U21 international producing a number of pivotal saves to keep Everton in the tie until the closing stages.

It was a remarkable showing from the 21-year-old who had only played 137 minutes of first-team football for Everton previously, having been given an unscheduled Premier League debut against Burnley a week prior following an abdominal injury for Pickford.

Virginia was undoubtedly one of Everton’s stars of the day, having pulled off a fantastic fingertip save to push Raheem Sterling’s effort around the post. He smothered most of what the Citizens threw at him, in fact, until Ilkay Gundogan headed home in the 84th minute.

Ancelotti was pleased with Virginia’s efforts, telling BT Sport via quotes by The Guardian after the game: “Virginia did really well. He has no experience, but he is quality. I think he deserves the compliments.”

And the compliments kept coming, with Ben Godfrey telling EvertonTV: “I was massively impressed by his performance. He works hard every day in training.

“Some of the saves he made to keep us in the game were outstanding. I’m over the moon for him and, as long as he keeps working hard and trying to improve, then there will be plenty more appearances to come.”

Brands should urge Ancelotti to ensure Godfrey’s prophesy comes true, as Virginia is surely now a no-brainer that could emerge as the Italian’s Olsen replacement and save Everton millions of pounds.

AND in other news, an “exceptional” Everton figure is being eyed by a Premier League rival…

Very few club figures have been able to get away with Celtic’s diabolical season. Neil Lennon has already paid the price while it’s perhaps driven Peter Lawwell to retirement too.

The boardroom figure will depart Parkhead in the summer and with it, he will leave behind a number of mistakes; one of which was ensuring that Lennon stayed for so long.

On the chalkboard

Celtic are on the verge of losing their grasp on the SPFL title to their biggest rivals and there are a number of reasons why.

On the field of play, the primary reason has been their defence. Individual errors have plagued their backline with the Bhoys conceding many more goals than Rangers in the league. They also shipped a haul of 19 strikes in just six Europa League outings.

It has been a dismal campaign for a host of defenders, no less than the likes of Shane Duffy whose loan spell from Brighton has not gone according to plan. The Irishman has been littered with mistakes but so have the goalkeepers.

Vasilis Barkas was branded “awful” by Frank McAvennie for some of his mistakes, claiming the club’s recruitment needed to be looked at as a result. He cost £4.5m in the summer but has been shocking on a number of occasions. He conceded four against AC Milan and was especially poor for the opener, somehow letting a free-kick find the net on his side of the goal.

Scott Bain has arguably been no better. The stopper was another to have a horror show in Europe. When Celtic were battered and bruised by Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic, it was Bain who was at fault.

He let the ball roll across his six-yard box for the second goal and then for the fourth and final strike, the goalkeeper came racing out and failed to clear.

Youngster Conor Hazard has also had his difficulties. He was the hero in the Scottish Cup final back in December by saving a succession of penalties in the shoot-out. His performance in normal time, however, was shocking. He was bullied from a corner for Hearts’ second and then for their third, he came out and failed to punch; an action that led to a simple concession.

A solution?

It’s been difficult to find a solution between the sticks. Of course, losing Fraser Forster at the start of the term was a huge blow. Following his loan spell, he headed back to Southampton.

Though, they also lost another stopper in Craig Gordon. The 38-year-old was offered a new deal but would have to have taken a significant pay cut in order to stay in Glasgow.

Instead, he moved to Edinburgh to play for Hearts. He was second fiddle last season but was unquestionably better than all three of Celtic’s current options between the sticks. He has proven Peter Lawwell wrong in the last few months, demonstrating why he should have been offered far greater terms to stay.

You only need to look at words from Steven Naismith for evidence. Speaking earlier this season, the Hearts forward noted: “I said when we got him that he would be the best signing we’ve made by a country mile, just for his pure quality.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-celtic-manager-hunt-stories-wagner-marsch-martinez-lennon-news” title=”The last stories on Celtic’s hunt for a new manager!”]

Naismith added: “He’s worth eight points a season on his own. He’s won us this semi-final – with having him in the goal we’re in the final. He played a bigger part than anybody else.”

Gordon exudes confidence and has made Hearts a better side. He has won games on his own for the Jam Tarts, something Celtic could have unquestionably benefited from this season.

After all, their goalkeeper’s have lost the Hoops a number of matches in 2020/21 alone.

AND in other news, Forget Harper: Celtic should swoop for 5-goal gem who’s been “on top of the world”…

Leicester City will be aiming to make it back-to-back Premier League victories on Sunday afternoon as they take on bottom club Sheffield United at the King Power Stadium.

Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes managed to edge past Brighton & Hove Albion last time out, with Daniel Amartey scoring a late winning goal at the Amex Stadium.

With a few key returnees, how many changes could the Northern Ireland native be tempted to make to his starting XI?

There should only be slight tweaks and alterations to the team, with predominantly the same side which beat the Seagulls selected again, although there could be a couple of changes.

Rodgers has appeared to have found his preference with three at the back, so Kasper Schmeichel will once again be shielded by a familiar backline.

Caglar Soyuncu will take his place alongside last weekend’s matchwinner Amartey. However, with Jonny Evans returning to fitness, he could replace £24.3m-rated Wesley Fofana after his somewhat uncomfortable display against the Seagulls.

Just slightly further forwards should be Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemans, Ricardo Pereira and Timothy Castagne.

One alteration, however, could be the fit-again Dennis Praet coming into the midfield in place of youngster Sidnei Tavares. The Belgian has been missing since pulling up against Stoke City in early January.

Meanwhile, the attack should stay the same with Jamie Vardy supported by Kelechi Iheanacho. The Nigerian is gunning to score in three consecutive Premier League matches for the first time in his career after strikes against Burnley and Brighton and Hove Albion.

In more news, take a look why it is crucial for Brendan Rodgers to make his move for a long-term target now…

Everton’s Premier League match with Aston Villa being postponed will come as an unlucky break for Abdoulaye Doucoure.

According to The Guardian, the Birmingham-based outfit were hopeful of seeing the game, originally scheduled for Sunday, delayed as Dean Smith’s entire squad is currently in self-isolation after nine players and backroom staff tested positive for Covid-19.

The outbreak forced Villa to name a team consisting of Under 23 and Under 18 players for their FA Cup clash with Liverpool at the weekend, and are not due to have their senior figures available again until Sunday at the earliest.

Villa were said to be concerned about the prospect of heading straight into a top-flight clash with Everton having not trained for almost two weeks, though delaying the match will mean the claret and blue side will have played three fewer fixtures than some clubs.

The Premier League opting to delay Everton’s trip to Villa Park will be a frustrating late decision for Carlo Ancelotti and his side, who were looking to move back inside the top-four places with a win after Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday night demoted them to fifth.

Everton are also enjoying a strong run of form in the top-flight, with the Blues’ 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham United on New Year’s Day their sole loss in seven league fixtures.

Doucoure, who earns £75,000-a-week according to Spotrac, will be dealt a personal blow by the postponement, too, having been set to miss the West Midlands affair through suspension after being shown a fifth yellow card of the campaign during his side’s 2-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this month.

Being given an additional week’s rest would have come as a lucky break for Doucoure had he not been suspended, as Ancelotti has begun to worry that the 28-year-old is being overused having playing the full 90 minutes in 10 of the Toffees’ last 11 Premier League fixtures.

“He is a key player, it was a fantastic signing in the summer,” said Ancelotti. “He is a fantastic guy and fantastic professional. I think he deserves to rest.”

The Villa fixture being postponed will instead see Doucoure sit out Everton’s home game with Leicester City on January 27, in a crunch fixture for the Toffees as they are currently competing with the Foxes for a Champions League spot.

Brendan Rodgers’ King Power Stadium natives currently sit above Ancelotti’s side on goal difference alone, having scored just three times more than Everton after the opening 17 games.

Ancelotti will likely have preferred to see Doucoure miss the Villa game with Smith’s men not match sharp and being without a league win since Boxing Day, while Leicester are unbeaten in four games and have lost just once on the road all season.

Doucoure has also been an instrumental figure on the pitch for Ancelotti, with the midfielder offering the third-most passes (862) by any Everton player in Premier League fixtures – only defenders Michael Keane (1064) and Yerry Mina (960) see more of the ball, per WhoScored.

The former Watford ace has also offered the fourth-most key passes (12) and fifth-most shots (13), showing the offensive threat Ancelotti will now lack against a Leicester side who give up the fourth-least efforts on goal when away from home with 10.4 allowed a game.

AND in other news, Everton must refrain from making a knee-jerk decision to sign a £9m-rated target…

Rangers-linked John Lundstram has refused to be drawn on his future, saying that “it’s the same situation, everything’s still on the table.”

What’s the word?

Reports in recent months have suggested Rangers are one of several clubs across Europe keen on landing Lundstram from Sheffield United as Steven Gerrard seeks to bolster his midfield options, with The Athletic claiming that the Ibrox side are “admirers” and are “waiting in the wings” with the midfielder’s contract coming to an end this season.

It is understood the Ibrox boss was interested in signing a central midfielder as well as a playmaker last year, with Bongani Zungu and Lewis Ferguson being identified as the club’s main targets.

However, Rangers did manage to sign Zungu on loan during the extended summer transfer window, but it seems Gerrard is still keen on Lundstram as he looks to complete an overhaul in midfield.

The in-form midfielder, 26, made the remarks before Sunday’s clash with Chelsea at Bramall Lane.

He said: “It’s the same situation, everything’s still on the table. We’ll see what happens.”Of course, (speculation) is bound to happen but I’m here and while I am here I’m committed, as you’ve seen in my performances.”I’m 110 per cent and no-one can question that. Who knows what will happen but while I’m here, I’ll give everything.” Better than Bongani Zungu?

With Steven Davis’ contract coming to an end in the summer, the 36-year-old’s long-term future at Ibrox still remains uncertain, despite Gerrard’s insistence that the board should offer him a new deal.

Meanwhile Zungu has done very little to suggest that he deserves to stay at Ibrox on a permanent basis, with the Rangers boss giving him just 149 minutes of football in the Scottish Premiership.

In the £4k-a-week earning Lundstram, however, Gerrard could find the perfect replacement for the 124-cap Northern Irish international.

He really burst onto the scene last season, making 34 top-flight appearances for the club predominantly from the midfield, with five goals and three assists to show for his 26 starts. By comparison, Zungu has scored just twice in the past four seasons alone across all competitions, which suggests that he’d offer a far greater attacking threat than the Bafana-Bafana midfielder.

His captain at Bramall Lane, Billy Sharp, has spoken highly about his teammate’s physicality, athleticism and technique. He said:

“He gives us a lot of energy and he got an assist as well, which is important.“He’s got all the attributes. He runs so much in a game, he provides assists and goals. He’s a real menace to other teams and a great player to have.”

Ross Wilson, therefore, should capitalise Lundstram’s uncertain future and contract status at Sheffield United by bringing the soon-to-be free agent to Ibrox when his contract runs out at the end of this season.

AND in other news, Rangers will regret letting Nathan Young-Coombes leave as he ‘closes in’ on Ibrox exit…

Newcastle United have been tipped to sign Ahmed Elmohamady from Aston Villa by Darren Bent as he heads into the final six months of his current deal.

Speaking to Football Insider, the former AVFC, Spurs and Sunderland striker has claimed that the Egypt international will probably end up at the St. James’ Park faithful given how much he has played under Steve Bruce:

“Knowing him, he’ll probably end up at Newcastle because he seems to follow Steve Bruce absolutely everywhere, so it would not surprise me if he joins Newcastle.

“He took him to Sunderland, he took him to Hull City, took him to Villa I’m telling you now, I guarantee you, he’s gonna end up at Newcastle. Listen, he’s been a great servant, I played with Elmo back in the day, a great guy, really nice guy.

“He’s lasted a lot longer than potentially I thought he would have done. I thought maybe he might struggle a little bit but he hasn’t done that.

“He’s got a great delivery, one thing about him, when he gets the ball out his feet and he puts a cross in, it’s absolutely top, top quality.

“It is a big decision for him to make but listen, I still think he’s got a couple years in him, he looks after himself, still looks really fit and superb, I’m glad that he’s still going.” 

Bruce knows how to get the best out of Elmohamady

If anyone can still get the best out of Elmohamady despite him being 33 years of age, it is most likely Bruce, given how many games he has played under him before.

Elmohamady has played in no fewer than 285 matches in all competitions over eight separate terms under the Geordie for Sunderland, Hull City and Aston Villa, scoring 14 goals and making a further 37 assists (Transfermarkt).

He certainly has a lot of experience under his belt, and as Bent rightfully points out, his delivery from crossing positions can still be ‘top quality’, a valuable asset that the Magpies could well utilise if they were to sign him up.

A player capable of playing both at right-back and on the right-hand side of midfield, Elmohamady could certainly be a decent squad player for the Toon to have around in the future.

In other news, find out the the hopeful takeover update that has been given here!

Manchester City picked up an important three points with a narrow 1-0 win against Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday evening.

Phil Foden’s first-half goal proved enough to beat the Seagulls, whilst Raheem Sterling blazed a late penalty over the bar for the hosts.

Whilst the 20-year-old Englishman will earn a lot of the plaudits after his goal an impressive performance, it was perhaps the display of Oleksandr Zinchenko which will have delighted Pep Guardiola the most, as it was only the Ukrainian’s third appearance on the season in the top-flight.

As per SofaScore, the 23-year-old earned a solid 7.3 rating for his display. Foden and Kevin De Bruyne, by comparison, earned 7.8 and 7.9 ratings for their performances.

The left-back was perhaps City’s most involved player during the game, as he had 121 touches of the ball and completed 97/104 of his passes, which was easily the most of any Citizens player and more than double the amount of passes played by De Bruyne, who you would normally expect to be Guardiola’s chief creator.

When City were on the back foot at times on Wednesday evening, Zinchenko was also impressive from a defensive point of view.

He won five out of eight of his duels against the Brighton players, which is a solid return when you consider the physical threat that the Seagulls pose in the air, but the left-back more than held his own.

He impressively won three tackles and made five interceptions, which is far better than the numbers he posted in the Premier League last season, when he averaged 1.6 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game, emphasising just how impressive he was against Graham Potter’s side.

The Brighton left wing-back, Bernardo, in comparison, would complete just 17 passes of the ball and made just two interceptions during the game earning a much less impressive 6.6 rating for his performance.

Joel Veltman, who was playing at right wing-back for Brighton, was unable to cross the ball once during the 90 minutes, which again highlights that the Ukrainian international was well on top on Wednesday evening as he was one of the main reasons why the Seagulls couldn’t string together many attacks down their right-hand side.

Although Phil Foden will perhaps steal the limelight after his match-winning performance, we have perhaps come to expect that level of display from the City academy graduate recently given how well he’s played as of late.

For Zinchenko, after his lack of appearances this season, it was a surprise to see him stand out so much, given how much better he performed compared to some of his previous displays during the last campaign, and this game came on the back of him hardly getting a look in during the current campaign.

And, in other news… Guardiola must swoop for “unbelievable” £90m-rated beast; he can break Aguero’s Man City record

Newcastle’s summer transfer target, Moussa Marega, is in no rush to sign a new contract at Porto, and could leave the club on a free transfer in 2021.

What’s the story?

Reports over the summer transfer window suggested that the Mali international was on the radar of a number of Premier League clubs, including Newcastle.

However, with his agent insisting that his client was happy in Portugal, a move away seemed to be put on hold. Now, Portuguese publication Record claim that Marega is once again attracting interest from elsewhere, and that he could potentially leave Porto when his contract expires next summer.

Though the new report doesn’t specifically mention which clubs are keen on the striker, there’s no questioning the Magpies could land themselves an absolute bargain by revisiting their interest in the 29-year-old.

Bargain for Steve Bruce

Whilst his start to the new season has been rather slow with just three goals in ten games, Marega has proven himself to be a prolific finisher in his time in Portugal.

Last season saw him bag 15 goals, whilst the two years before that saw him net 21 and 23 times respectively. Hailed as a “rough diamond” by one of his former managers, Marega’s rise from relative obscurity into playing for a Champions League-playing side has seen him draw comparisons with Leicester City star Jamie Vardy.

And as Vardy has shown, age is just a number, and if the quality is there, then clubs shouldn’t feel any problem at playing them week-in and week-out. With Marega also potentially available on a free transfer next summer, the Magpies would be making a smart decision by throwing their name into the hat once again.

Johan Lange must hold firm in Aston Villa’s demand of £100million for Jack Grealish after Steve Nicol claimed Manchester United are “crying out” for a player like him.

What’s the word?

While speaking with ESPN FC, Nicol has reacted to reports by The Telegraph which claimed Villa would demand £100m for Grealish by stating the England international is worth just 60 to 65 per cent of the fee being quoted.

Manchester United were said to have been interested in signing Grealish during the summer window, but baulked at having to pay the Villans’ £80m asking price for the talismanic midfielder.

Nicol is adamant Red Devils chief Ed Woodward would be wise to sign Grealish in the future, but questions the fee needed to land the deadly left-sided maestro.

“I’m not going to say he’s a £100million player, I don’t think it’s £100m. But I think he’s certainly worth around the £60m-65m mark,” Nicol said. “I questioned last year whether he was just a good player in a bad team, and they stuck it out but what we’re seeing from him not only in an Aston Villa jersey but an England jersey, this guy is actually a player.

“He’s fantastic at keeping the ball, he almost slows the game down to where he’s the guy that is in control of it. His goals and assists this season are out of this world. You talk about raising your game to another level, Jack Grealish has done that. Any team in the Premier League would be delighted to have Grealish on their team.

“Manchester United lack consistency and they need to get players who are not only consistent but who are consistent at a real high level that will take a club like United to where they think they belong, which is fighting for leagues and for European titles.

“Jack Grealish can do that. I think absolutely United are crying out for a Grealish, a guy who keeps it, who will do his bit defensively, we talk about with [Paul] Pogba, United not being able to defend – Grealish does everything.”

Lange must hold firm

While Nicol suggests every side in the Premier League would be delighted to have Grealish in their team, Lange must hold firm in demanding £100m in order to see the potential suitors lining up at the midfielder’s door fail in their efforts.

Grealish has once again been one of the stars of Dean Smith’s squad at Villa Park this season, recording the 10th-most goals in the Premier League (5), plus the third-most successful dribbles (29), the joint-most key passes (27), creating the second-most big chances (7), winning the most ground duels (83) and penning the second-most assists (5) across the division after 10 games, per SofaScore.

His partnership with Villans summer signing Ollie Watkins is among the best in the top-flight, as well, with only Harry Kane (7) providing more assists to Heung-Min Son than Grealish’s direct involvement in three of the former Brentford star’s six goals.

Lange would struggle to find a player able to offer half what Grealish brings to the table let alone replace the five-time England international, who earned his debut under Gareth Southgate this September.

Villa can point to his international status and Southgate lauding Grealish’s “outstanding” performance against Belgium when demanding their fee, too, as he surely established himself as a Three Lions regular by leaving the England boss unable to “speak highly enough” of his display.

AND in other news: “I think Villa could” – Exclusive: Pundit makes bold Premier League claim about Aston Villa.

Leeds United seem to still be in the market for one more signing.

Todd Cantwell has been the name that has consistently cropped up over the past two weeks, and with Louie Sibley also being mentioned, it is quite clear that Leeds think they need a new attacking midfielder.

However, Leeds may want to reconsider their transfer stance, especially after the eye-watering fee Norwich want for Cantwell was revealed.

The Canaries apparently want £25m for their talisman, and although he is probably one of the best attacking midfield options available to Leeds at the moment due to the fact they can only buy players from the EFL, they shouldn’t be spending that much on a man who has just one Premier League season under his belt.

Fortunately, Leeds do have another option.

The pause in the football calendar earlier this year has led to the 2020/21 season starting later than anyone ever anticipated, and there are only 77 days between the end of this domestic window and the start of the January window, and that 11-week spell could be a huge blessing for Leeds.

United have a squad strong enough to tide them over until January, after all, they have seven points from their first four games this term, and rather than splashing out on Cantwell, they should take stock and use the 77-day gap between the transfer windows to sniff out a bargain in the same position who could prove to be even better than Cantwell for a cheaper fee.

January isn’t far away and if Leeds get to winter and feel that they still need a new attacking midfielder their options will be a lot more varied than they are right now as they will once again be able to operate in the international market, while also having the option of taking players from other Premier League sides.

Victor Orta would be better off saving Andrea Radrizzani £25m and re-assessing the situation in January.