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Manchester United have held internal talks over signing Everton forward Richarlison, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Richarlison’s season

The Brazilian forward, valued at €50m by CIES Football Observatory, has contributed to ten Premier League goals in a struggling Everton side this season.

Richarlison has scored six times and provided four assists under both Rafa Benitez and Frank Lampard while playing mostly as a centre-forward or a left-winger.

He’s still under contract at Goodison Park for a further two years, but with the Toffees flirting with relegation, it looks as if United are keeping tabs on the forward’s situation.

The Latest: United talks

Romano shared an update on Richarlison on Thursday afternoon, sharing details of an agency switch for the 24-year-old.

The transfer guru revealed that the Red Devils have spoken about Richarlison internally, along with Benfica’s Darwin Nunez.

“Everton striker Richarlison and his Velasco Sport Group have now officially signed with CAA Base agency.

“Been told Manchester United have discussed Richarlison internally, alongside Darwin Nunez and other options.

“Of course no talks now – he’s totally focused on Everton.”

The Verdict: Ten Hag involved?

Erik ten Hag looks likely to be the next manager at Old Trafford and wanted to be involved in talks over signings, outgoings and new contracts.

However, it is unlikely that he’ll know about these talks regarding Richarlison as he is preparing his Ajax side for a Dutch Cup final this weekend.

Should the 52-year-old want Richarlison, then a summer move could be explored, especially if Everton suffer relegation, however, for now, it seems to be a case of United chiefs drawing up a list of potential targets for their soon to be new boss.

In other news: ‘Brilliant…’ – Sky Sports man buzzes at who Ten Hag may now bring to Man Utd; it’s ‘important’. 

Loads of Wolves fans have been left wowed as some training footage has emerged of Ruben Neves.

As shared by the official Twitter page of the Midlands club, the central midfield player was put in goal for a training session and managed to pull off some decent saves, while also being able to handle crosses into the box.

Of course, he is not a conventional ‘keeper, and Jose Sa will continue in between the posts for Bruno Lage’s team, but nonetheless it was very impressive to see how well Neves did in goal, considering that he is a such a technically skilled player in the heart of midfield.

Neves will likely line up in the middle of the park again vs Brentford at Molineux on Saturday lunchtime, and in a freak scenario where WWFC have no goalkeepers available in the game, perhaps he may be the perfect candidate to pull a Kyle Walker and step up.

Wolves fans on Neves footage

These Wanderers supporters were wowed by the footage as it was shared on Twitter:

“The man can do everything”

Credit: @gmwalters27

“Omg”

Credit: @BadWolfJon

“The man’s got the lot”

Credit: @RobbieMeakin

“Is there seriously anything this man can’t do?”

Credit: @shellwwfcsankey

“I just do love this man”

Credit: @Alfiewwfc_

“No wonder Man United wanted him he’s clear of De Gea”

Credit: @WolvesNumber37

In other news, find out what shocking transfer news has Wanderers talking here!

Manchester City right-back Yan Couto has turned down the chance to sign for Celtic, according to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo, translated by Sport Witness.

The Lowdown: Couto saga

Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas has been on top of the Hoops’ pursuit of Couto, claiming last Wednesday that Celtic still had hope of signing the Brazilian.

The 19-year-old attended Celtic Park last Thursday for Celtic’s Europa League qualifier against Jablonec and was reportedly pleading for a Glasgow loan after receiving the VIP treatment.

However, Thomas revealed on Monday that Celtic have now turned their attention to Legia Warsaw’s Josip Juranovic, admitting the push to sign Couto came to nothing.

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The Latest: Portuguese report

According to O Jogo, relayed by Sport Witness, Liga Nos side Braga are close to signing Couto.

The report claims that the teenager actually turned down the chance to join Celtic.

He now looks set to join Braga, who won’t have the option to make a loan move permanent next summer.

The Verdict: Celtic snubbed

It seems as if Couto snubbed CEO Dominic McKay when it came to joining Celtic, despite reports admitting he was desperate for a move to Scotland.

It shouldn’t come as a major blow, as the club have now made strides in their pursuit of Juranovic.

A £2.5m fee has been agreed for the Croatia international, who now looks set to fly to Scotland on the weekend to tie up a Parkhead move.

Ange Postecoglou wanted a right-back before the end of the window, and even though Couto turned down the chance to join the club, at least they will be getting one in Juranovic.

In other news: ‘I’m told’ – Anthony Joseph’s negative Celtic transfer update. 

Fabrizio Romano has dropped an update on Aston Villa transfer target Rafinha, and he could well be an exciting upgrade on Marvelous Nakamba.

What’s the story?

According to reports in Spain, Paris Saint-Germain are ready to let the midfielder leave this summer in order to raise some funds for their own signings, with Dean Smith’s side possibly coming in for the Brazilian.

Writing on Twitter, Romano has said: “There’s nothing between Rafinha and Fenerbahçe – not even contacts or talks. All parties involved are denying. And there’s no chance for Turkish or Russian clubs to sign Rafinha: he’s decided to stay at Paris Saint-Germain until January. #PSG #Fenerbahçe #transfers”

He’s a Nakamba upgrade

Talking about the 27-year-old, his former Barcelona team-mate Andreu Fontas once said: “Rafinha is a great player. Physically, he is a beast and, technically, he is superb.”

As per WhoScored, Rafinha boasted an impressive 90.9% pass accuracy in Ligue 1 last season (considerably better than any Villa player with more than one start), while he also averaged 2.3 tackles per match (only Matty Cash fared better in Smith’s squad with 2.5).

The £13.5m-rated technician could bring that same fearlessness and intensity both on and off the ball to Villa Park should Smith land his man this summer.

Aside from averaging far more tackles than Nakamba’s 1.9 in the Premier League, his ability to dictate the play means that he looks a perfect fit to anchor the midfield and also provide the springboard for attacks.

His Brazilian connection with Douglas Luiz could also help him hit the ground running, and they could strike up a formidable partnership in the middle of the park with Nakamba in the shadows.

Meanwhile, Preece has also confirmed this major Aston Villa boost…

Liverpool are reportedly one of the clubs in the mix to sign AS Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.

What’s the story?

This comes after Italian media outlet Tuttosport (via Sport Witness) recently published an article claiming that the Merseyside club, fellow Premier League side Chelsea and Serie A giants Juventus are currently interested in signing the midfielder at some point in the future.

A replacement for Wijnaldum?

In terms of recent incoming transfer activity at Liverpool, the latest summer transfer window saw the Reds bring in defender Ibrahima Konate for a fee of £36m from German club RB Leipzig.

Regarding Tchouameni, the player joined Monaco back in the 2020 January transfer window from fellow French club Bordeaux for a fee of £16.2m.

Since then, the 21-year-old, who is currently valued at £27m according to Transfermarkt, has made 60 appearances for the club across all competitions in which he has managed to score five goals and provide four assists along the way.

Given how Liverpool saw Georginio Wijnaldum leave the Merseyside club for a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain over the summer, it’s understandable why the club would be interested in signing Tchouameni. He represents a long-term midfield option at a crucial point with Liverpool possessing the likes of Jordan Henderson and James Milner in their squad over the age of 30.

In his latest appearance for Monaco in their recent 3-0 Ligue 1 victory over Bordeaux, Tchouameni certainly showed what his previous club were missing.

He put in a near-perfect all-round display, demonstrating the type of qualities that Wijnaldum so regularly brought to Anfield.

Tchouameni scored a goal, hit the woodwork, made five tackles and won a whopping 13 of the 18 duels he was involved in. ultimately earning himself a very impressive overall match rating of 8.7/10, making him Monaco’s highest-rated player on the day according to SofaScore.

This alone shows why the likes of Liverpool, Juventus and Chelsea are apparently interested in snapping him up.

Looking ahead to the future, if Liverpool are keen on strengthening their midfield either in the upcoming January transfer window or the next summer window, we feel that Tchouameni should definitely be an option to consider bringing in.

However, with other big boys of European football also pursuing him, it could end up being rather difficult to sign the midfielder, but one that could be very beneficial for the club for the next few years.

In other news: Klopp masterstroke: £50k-p/w Liverpool gem has seen value rise by £49.5m in 3 years – opinion 

Champions League outfit Atalanta are interested in Everton winger Alex Iwobi, according to Tutto Mercato Web.

The report states that a move for Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham has been abandoned, but Atalanta remain interested in acquiring a Premier League attacker.

They have made enquiries for Liverpool’s Takumi Minamino, Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traore and Manchester United’s Daniel James, but ‘above all’ they’re keen on Iwobi.

One possible ‘hitch’ in any move, though, would be the player’s salary. He may have to agree to a pay cut if he’s to make the move to Serie A.

Iwobi has struggled to live up to Everton price tag

Everton signed Iwobi from Arsenal ahead of the 2019/20 season for a fee of up to £34million.

The Nigerian has gone on to make 65 appearances for the Blues, scoring only four goals and providing four assists.

His contract runs for another three years and he’s valued at £19.8million by Transfermarkt.

Fan feed Toffee TV relayed TMW’s report, and here’s what supporters made of it.

These Everton fans hopeful of Iwobi sale

“I’m free, I’ll pick him up in 20 mins”

Credit: @CharlesJones96

“Best news all day. Been bad since day 1. Gives nothing to the balance of the team. When he plays what is our W/L ratio?”

Credit: @waynec83efc

“Please lord be true”

Credit: @liamtownson

“Don’t get my hopes like this”

Credit: @_ch1878

“He’s all yours”

Credit: @DanielE25044152

“It could be the Atlanta Falcons and I’d still drive him there.”

Credit: @pauldaley73

In other news, Michael Ball has urged Everton to make this move.

Celtic have told Ewan Henderson that he can leave during the January transfer window, according to The Scottish Sun.

The Lowdown: Hibs links

The midfielder is into the final six months of his current Parkhead deal and has recently been linked with a move to Hibernian, whose new manager Shaun Maloney (once a Hoops player) is thought to be keen on bringing the 21-year-old to Easter Road on a long-term deal.

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Exits appear to be inevitable at Celtic Park over the coming weeks, which could then fund further winter additions.

John Hartson said it was ‘very special’ after Henderson scored his first goal for Celtic last month, and it seems as if that strike against Real Betis could be his first and last as a Hoops player.

The Latest: Monday update

The Scottish Sun seemed to share an update regarding Henderson’s Celtic future on Monday morning.

Within their live transfer blog, they said that Ange Postecoglou is considering offloading fringe players such as Henderson, Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide. They added that Henderson has ‘been told he can leave’, with his deal expiring at the end of June.

The Verdict: The right call?

If Postecoglou isn’t convinced about Henderson, then looking to move him on this month is the right call. January will be the last time that the Hoops can receive any money for the midfielder, who will become a free agent in the summer should his situation remain the same.

He has featured just once all season, taking his total appearance tally for Celtic to 11, so it may be best for all parties involved if he leaves permanently and plays regular first-team football, with Celtic then putting any money they receive for the 21-year-old towards further signings who may have a brighter future at the club.

In other news: Celtic may swoop for 6 foot 1 beast who had Sadio Mane in his ‘pocket’ 

A report from 90min at the beginning of the month claimed Everton had joined the race for Zenit St.Petersburg forward Sardar Azmoun, with the 26-year-old set to be available for free next summer.

However, with the January window now just days away, it would be a good idea for the Toffees to further their interest next month.

Dubbed previously as ‘the Iranian Messi’, the £22.5m-rated forward has scored ten goals in 21 appearances across all competitions for Zenit so far this campaign, including a goal against Chelsea in the Champions League recently.

Furthermore, having joined Zenit from Rubin Kazan three years ago, Azmoun has a prolific record of 62 goals and 23 assists in 104 appearances for the Russian giants. A goal contribution every 1.2 games.

The Iranian has reportedly attracted interest from Everton owner Farhad Moshiri, who is of Iranian decent, and, according to a previous coach of Azmoun, Moshiri previously contacted him and “tried to negotiate a transfer.”

The Russian Premier League side may have no choice but to sell the 26-year-old next month in order to receive a fee, with his contract set to expire in just seven months time.

The Toffees have appeared stuck all season, sitting in an underwhelming 14th place in the Premier League and are in desperate need of some extra firepower to propel them up the table in order to avoid any nervy moments in the second half of the campaign.

Luckily, signings that initially received a mixed reaction from fans in the summer have exceeded expectations with Demarai Gray (five goals) and Andros Townsend (three goals) helping to fill the void left by star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Moreover, with the lack of goals from Rondon who has netted only once, Rafa Benitez’s side’s attacking output could’ve been much worse.

Alas, extra options in that department will be welcomed with open arms by the Everton faithful, and a possible deal for Azmoun would be shrewd business given his goals record for Zenit.

The only doubt would be the fact that the Iranian hasn’t played professional football outside of Russia, and therefore the jump up to the Premier League may prove a tricky one…at least initially.

AND in other news, Time to go: Benitez should axe EFC’s “reckless” £18m-rated dud, he’s not good enough…

Steven Bergwijn endured a disasterclass as Tottenham Hotspur’s second-string were embarrassingly beaten by Dutch outfit Vitesse.

Nuno Santo left the bulk of his first-team stars back in north London ahead of this weekend’s crunch match with local rivals West Ham United in the Premier League but it was a call which failed to pay dividends.

The Lilywhites picked up their first defeat in the UEFA Europa Conference League and slipped to third in Group G, which means they have it all to do to secure qualification into the next round.

Whilst players like Harry Kane and Heung-min Son did not travel, several senior professionals did, including the Dutch international, but he struggled to repay his manager’s faith on his return to the side.

Valued at £26m by CIES Football Observatory, Bergwijn was one of the more costly players in the starting XI in the Netherlands, so you’d expect him to have stepped up and been counted – even more so as he was given a full 90 minutes on the pitch.

Instead, he was absolutely anonymous and offered Spurs very little in attack. 17-year-old striker Dane Scarlett struggled at his young age but that was largely due to a lack of service, so the 5 foot 10 winger also failed his teammates.

As per SofaScore, Bergwijn recorded the second-fewest touches (36) of any starter – even goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini (38) had more – which isn’t an encouraging sign as one is between the sticks and the other is an attacking threat.

Elsewhere, the 24-year-old failed to register a shot on goal and wasn’t successful in any of his two dribbling attempts, which has to be a worrying sign considering the quality of opposition, who on the day were much the better side, of course.

He was also weak in possession, losing the ball 11 times from those 36 touches, whilst he won just two of his six duels (33.3%).

Alasdair Gold at football.london was far from impressed with the winger, who returned to his home country, handing him a 4/10 in his post-match ratings column.

Overall, on the above evidence, the 13-time international endured a shocker at the GelreDome on Thursday night. Nuno will be far from pleased with what he witnessed.

AND in other news, Forget Lo Celso: £27m-rated Spurs lightweight who lost 89% duels failed Nuno yet again…

Leeds United have picked up a bit of form at just the right time, and having picked up seven points from a possible nine, they head into tomorrow’s clash against Watford with a whole lot more confidence.

Jesse Marsch’s side picked up some much-needed victories over Norwich and Wolves before drawing 1-1 to Southampton at Elland Road last time out.

Their trip to Vicarage Road may prove to be a stern test given that Roy Hodgson’s men are currently battling for their lives in the Premier League relegation battle, and Marsch will have some big calls to make on his starting line-up.

One decision he might be compelled to make is dropping Diego Llorente.

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The Spain international has found himself in and out of the side in recent weeks and months, with niggling injuries disrupting him from really putting together a run of consistent games together.

After being forced off inside the first half against Wolves at Molineux in mid-March, Llorente made an immediate return against the Saints last weekend, but he looked off the pace and nervy on occasion.

As per Sofascore, while he made a team-high six tackles, he also committed the joint-most fouls, finding it difficult to balance being aggressive and playing on the edge, and sometimes losing his cool and composure. In fact, this season has seen him lose 80 duels in total in the Premier League, while winning only 97.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for Leeds Live, Beren Cross gave him a five, saying: “Can be unconventional, but brilliant at times or just verging on calamity in the backline. Armando Broja gave him a difficult afternoon without dominating him.”

Those sentiments were echoed by The Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth, who awarded him a six, before adding: “Brought an element of drama at times that felt unnecessary, some mixed moments of defending and in possession.”

Pascal Struijk was the man to find himself out of the team following the return of club captain Liam Cooper, and the Scot was partnered with Llorente in central defence.

While the Dutchman may have had a difficult time of late, at just 22 he remains a big part of the future of this Leeds team, and he would surely learn a lot more from playing rather than sitting on the bench.

Indeed, speaking earlier this year, Cooper himself said of Struijk: “Pascal has absolutely everything to be one of the best centre-backs out there, he really has. He’s unbelievable on the ball, he’s strong, good in the air. I always knew. We all know now. His improvement speaks for itself.”

Bringing the youngster into the line-up and having someone as experienced as Cooper alongside him should see him return to much better form, knowing that he has someone to fall back upon and organise the defence rather than feeling the pressure to do so himself.

Valued at £12m by CIES, Llorente should be dropped from the starting line-up against Watford, with Struijk coming back in to take his place and resume his fledgling partnership with Cooper.

AND in other news – Signed for £5m, now worth 700% more: Orta struck dream Leeds deal with “quality” 22 y/o