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Everton could benefit from the potential sale of Adrien Rabiot by Juventus, according to Calciomercato.

As per the news outlet, the central midfield player may be sold along with former Arsenal ace Aaron Ramsey in order to try and fund a transfer move for Sassuolo star Manuel Locatelli.

Carlo Ancelotti reportedly has a ‘real passion’ for Rabiot and of course has managed the France international before when he was playing for Paris Saint Germain a few seasons ago.

Everton should sign Rabiot

The Goodison Park faithful should snap up the opportunity to sign Rabiot in the summer transfer window in order to boost their current options in midfield.

Given that Ancelotti is an admirer of the 25-year-old and has managed him before, the Italian boss will know how to get the best out of him, and Rabiot too should have no real problems adapting to playing under his former coach.

Solid in both attacking and defensive areas, his current manager – and a legend in the midfield position – Andrea Pirlo described Rabiot as a ‘complete player’ back in November of last year, and for a player who is currently valued at £28.8m by Transfermarkt, the Frenchman could well be available at a cut price with the Serie A giants reportedly willing to sell.

In other news, find out which ex-Blue Toffees are in agreement over here!

Tottenham Hotspur could be looking to bolster Jose Mourinho’s midfield armoury, if recent reports are to be believed.

According to French outlet Jeunesfooteux, Spurs are considering a summer swoop for Sheffield United powerhouse Sander Berge, with the Blades staring down the barrel of a likely relegation.

The 23-year-old became their club-record signing for around £22m when joining Bramall Lane in January 2020, and could now be available for just €26m (£22.5m).

Berge, when fit, has been one of the only shining lights for the struggling Sheffield giants this season and he possesses all the attributes to potentially become an ideal partner for the impressive Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in a formidable duo that could become Spurs’ best since that of Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama.

Indeed, the Danish summer arrival has remained a constant in Mourinho’s starting XI having played from the off in all 28 league fixtures, but he’s been joined by a plethora of names throughout the campaign, ranging from Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele to Harry Winks.

Neither offer the best skillset to be a true box-to-box option alongside the more defensively-minded Hojbjerg.

In terms of his ability in Spurs’ own third, Berge is impressive off the ball having averaged 1.6 tackles (2019/20) and 1.2 tackles (2020/21) per game, via WhoScored, since swapping Genk for the Blades.

Both returns see him well-placed amongst the current Spurs squad – by comparison, his 1.4 average across both seasons matches Ndombele (1.4), and eclipses that of Sissoko (one) and Winks (0.8). It’s even more central defender Eric Dier (0.8).

This shows that he’s prepared to put in the hard graft to win the ball back for his side, which should please Mourinho as his other options in the role aren’t doing that to the same standard.

Whilst in the attack, Berge likes to roam forward – averaging 1.5 dribbles, 0.9 key passes and 0.8 shots per game this term alone.

It means the Norwiegen is only behind Harry Kane and Heung-min Son for creativity, managing to make more chances than supposed no.10s Giovani Lo Celso (0.8 key passes) and Ndombele (0.5), whilst he’s accrued more dribbles than the aforementioned duo – perhaps a surprise given Son’s ability on that left flank.

Spurs know too well about his presence in the final third as he fired United into the lead back in their embarrassing 3-1 defeat in July 2020.

Berge’s box-to-box capabilities were summed up by his recently-departed boss, Chris Wilder, who told VG: “I just have to say it: Sander has been unique. He is the one who has stood out for us. He is a complete midfielder. He can play as an 8 and as 6. He can play in different formations.”

On the above evidence, the midfield monster – valued at £35m by CIES Football Observatory – would be a fine addition to Mourinho’s squad.

Imagine him alongside Hojbjerg, with an Ndombele, Lo Celso or Dele Alli having the freedom to operate as they like further up the pitch.

Daniel Levy could seal a formidable engine room for the future by swooping for the 6 foot 5 Blades sensation.

AND in other news, Mourinho could find his own Van Dijk in £13.5m-rated “role model”…

According to recent reports, Tottenham Hotspur will have to pay €50m (£42.8m) should they wish to sign Franck Kessie this summer.

The report by Milan Live (via Sport Witness) claimed that AC Milan are attempting to tie Kessie down to a new deal at the San Siro which would see the 24-year-old remain with the Rossoneri until the summer of 2026.

This is said to be an effort to deter a potential summer move to the likes of Tottenham, Arsenal and West Ham United, who are all reported to have “shown interest” in the central midfielder.

However, even if Jose Mourinho’s side were to put forward an offer to match Milan’s €50m (£42.8m) valuation of Kessie, the Serie A side are claimed to have no intention of allowing the Ivory Coast international to leave.

Transfer Tavern Take

So far this season, Kessie has been in excellent form over his 25 Serie A appearances for Stefano Pioli’s side, scoring nine league goals and providing two assists, as well as averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.05 – ranking him as the fifth-best performer in a side who currently occupy second place in the Italian top flight. His goal tally in Serie A is one more than Gareth Bale and Lucas Moura (both wingers) combined in the 2020/21 Premier League.

As such, it is easy to see why Tottenham are said to have an interest in the 24-year-old. However, considering that Milan are preparing to offer the Ivorian a new deal, as well as placing a rather significant price tag on him, a deal for Kessie won’t be easy to complete for Spurs this summer.

In other news: Tottenham are also monitoring this attacker, find out more here.

Real Madrid maestro Lucas Vazquez delivered Everton a statement by producing a complete performance against Atalanta BC in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Los Blancos won 1-0 on their travels to their Serie A outfit thanks to an 86th-minute winner from full-back Ferland Mendy, ensuring Zinedine Zidane’s side took a first-leg lead back to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real appeared set to leave Italy on the back of a frustrating visit against a well-organised Gian Piero Gasperini line-up, until Mendy curled his effort home to bag an away goal and snatch the strike that Remo Freuler had denied him in the first half.

Zidane was without a number of his top talents at the Gewiss Stadium with Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard and Dani Carvajal all absent from the matchday squad.

Vazquez took over Carvajal’s duties at right-back and delivered a top-draw performance at both ends of the pitch, to warrant Everton’s recent speculated interest.

It is thought that the Goodison Park natives are monitoring the £113,000-per-week forward’s situation in the Spanish capital with his contract due to expire in the summer, and no further talks being scheduled between Vazquez and the Madrid hierarchy.

The 29-year-old snubbed the offer previously tabled to remain with the Galacticos, feeling that the terms did not represent a player as important to Zidane having started 15 of his 18 La Liga outings and six of Real’s seven Champions League ties thus far this term.

Vazquez now wants to see his future resolved in March, per Cuatro, as he does not want to wait until June to know where he will be playing next season, so will soon sit down and review all proposals received to assess which is the most interesting option.

Vazquez’s performance at the Gewiss Stadium will have certainly raised a few eyebrows from those monitoring developments back at Goodison Park, as the £13.5m-rated maestro dominated on the right-flank to help dictate proceedings in Real Madrid’s favour.

Atalanta’s defence often withstood the danger posed from Real’s attacks, and did well to head clear Vazquez’s teasing cross in the closing stages minutes before Mendy produced his moment of magic to curl home from close to 25-yards out.

That chance denied Vazquez his sixth assist of the season across all competitions, with just one of his three crosses able to reach a Madrid player having been given a licence to push forward from full-back, per SofaScore.

Eighty-one of his 90 ground passes found a Los Blancos player, leading to one key ball, as Vazquez helped pull the stings thanks to a mammoth 122 touches – only Toni Kroos (155) took more touches for either side.

Vazquez further won six of his eight ground duels, and battled hard to win possession back during Atalanta’s mere 31% share of the possession with three successful tackles, two interceptions and two clearances.

The nine-cap Spain international has only averaged 1.5 tackles, 0.7 interceptions and won 4.5 ground duels with a 45% success rate per game in the Champions League this season.

Vazquez efforts against Atalanta would be enough to rank third for tackles, first for interceptions, seventh for clearances and second for ground duels won at Everton, based on performances produced per game in the Premier League this season.

He would further offer the joint-third most key passes and second-most accurate crosses, with only Lucas Digne (1.63) producing a higher number of successful deliveries among those called on more than once by Carlo Ancelotti to date.

If Vazquez is still unhappy with the offer tabled by Real and open to leaving Madrid amid Everton’s interest, his Champions League masterclass will have come at the perfect time.

AND in other news, Everton face European competition to sign a £35m target this summer…

Glasgow Rangers have been strongly linked with a move for Fashion Sakala in recent months, and a report from The Daily Record claimed that a move to Ibrox could be on the cards. However, it now appears he is close to signing a new contract with his current club KV Oostende, according to reports.

Sakala, who has been a part of Oostende’s first team since 2018, has risen to prominence over the past year alone, having made 23 Jupiler Pro League appearances with 13 goals and 2 assists to show for his 22 starts.

Oostende sporting director Gauthier Ganaye recently admitted that he is resigned to losing the 23-year-old in the summer, but it seems he has performed an abrupt U-turn in a dramatic twist, with Sakala himself all but confirming he will be extending his contract and staying at the Diaz Arena, which will be a mammoth blow for Steven Gerrard.

The Rangers manager’s desire to sign the 5-cap Zambia international was one of the worst-kept secrets in Scottish football back in January, with Gerrard said to be keen on securing a pre-contract move for the striker, but it’s now likely he will be forced to rethink his transfer plans for the future.

However, if we’re being honest, the attack is one area of the field that Rangers are not in dire need of strengthening, with Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Kemar Roofe among the options currently available to Gerrard.

Just like Sakala, Roofe’s versatility means he can be used at the top of the pitch or on either flank, with Kent a shoe-in on the left wing. In terms of statistics, however, Sakala trails the 24-year-old by quite some margin.

Kent is currently averaging two key passes per 90 in the Scottish Premiership this season and attempts more dribbles (2) than the Zambian, which suggests that he poses a greater counter-attacking threat.

Upon reflection, it’s unlikely the Ibrox boss will lose much sleep over Sakala penning a new contract if they end up stopping Celtic from winning an unprecedented ten in a row. If he intends to find a long-term replacement for Morelos, he will be forced to look elsewhere in all likelihood.

AND in other news, Steven Gerrard must unleash Rangers striker Cedric Itten on Kilmarnock…

With Celtic stuck in a rut, some big decisions are needed from the Hoops’ hierarchy.

Their woes were made worse on Saturday when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to St Mirren. It heaped further pressure on Neil Lennon, a manager who has engineered just nine wins from the club’s last 24 matches.

It has been a torrid time for Celtic, but despite protests at Parkhead, Lennon is refusing to budge.

He revealed a few weeks ago that he won’t leave until he’s sacked but given the protection he’s received from those above him, that doesn’t seem like a viable option at this time.

Though, if the Bhoys are to have any chance of turning things around, they need a change in management. One player tipped with the hot seat has been Frank Lampard, a man sacked by Chelsea last week.

Pat Nevin is one pundit to have discussed the option of Lampard arriving in Glasgow, telling 67hailhail: “He’s [Lampard] not a bad fit.”

Nevin added: “He’s going to have to take a step away from the top level in England. I think Celtic’s a big ask at that point in time. It would be one hell of a chance to take.”

Considering what he did with a limited budget when Chelsea had a transfer ban, he’d certainly be a good appointment for the Hoops. He took them to Champions League football despite not making a single signing but it was the policy he developed that could be game-changing at Celtic.

He took it upon himself to take Chelsea in a completely new direction, forgetting about expensive recruits in his first season and promoting from within. Within a matter of months, Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Reece James and Fikayo Tomori had all become key to his plans.

It was out with the old and in with the new, a strategy that could hinder a number of Celtic favourites down the years. One man who could suffer the most if Lampard moved to Celtic and followed a similar strategy is Scott Brown.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-celtic-manager-stories” title=”Read this week’s latest Celtic news!”]

The Scot has already started to be phased out by Lennon, who now prefers Ismaila Soro at the base of his midfield. To sum things up, since the New Year, Brown has only played 23 minutes of football. He is out of favour and his Celtic career is slowing falling away. Thus, the appointment of Lampard could only heap further misery on the 35-year-old.

At one point last season, the former England international fielded a starting XI with the average age of just 24.3. That happened to be the fourth most inexperienced side in the whole top-flight for 2019/20.

For more context, the 42-year-old coach had just four players over the age of 30 feature for him last term; Willian, Pedro, Olivier Giroud and Willy Caballero.

It was an incredibly young squad but one that Lampard was able to take to a new level. Willian and Pedro both left at the end of the season – moves that further emphasised the manager’s will to phase out older players.

Lampard has been described as “special” by Nevin for the connections he has within the game, but it could be what he does with players already at the club that has the biggest impact – rather than incomings.

Brown has hardly been a pillar of consistency this season so if you combine that with a manager who prefers to blood fresh talent, it doesn’t bode well.

It would be a major blow to the midfielder and his career if Lampard did arrive and chose a similar strategy in Glasgow. The skipper might be hoping that Dermot Desmond doesn’t have his eyes on the former England midfielder.

AND in other news, Celtic could have their Frimpong heir in rarely-seen 20 y/o with “excellent pedigree”…

Despite their reluctance to splurge on the January transfer market, Leeds will undoubtedly be looking to the summer to strengthen their ranks. They are currently struggling with injuries to their defence and options in attack are very limited.

On top of making it a priority to secure Jack Harrison on a permanent deal, the Whites must also bring in reinforcements to counter their ongoing injury woes. They have been linked to 20-year-old rising star Mikkel Damsgaard, but other clubs are also on his scent.

Tottenham Hotspur are amongst those watching the youngster’s progress according to the Daily Star. Southampton and West Ham are also amongst the clubs looking to strike a deal with Damsgaard, despite the face he hasn’t long signed for current club Sampdoria.

Should Leeds sign Damsgaard?

The hot prospect joined the Italians last summer and has since tallied two goals and four assists in Serie A this season, according to Transfermarkt. It is thought that Damsgaard’s price tag has already soared from the £5.2m Sampdoria paid for him to a hefty £15m.

His performances have attracted a lot of attention, with current manager Claudio Ranieri tipping him and teammate Kristoffer Askildsen for a “big future”.

Should Andrea Radrizzani and Victory Orta decide to pursue a move, they could be recruiting a fine protege for club icon Mateusz Klich.

The Poland international has been a stalwart in the Leeds engine room since he joined the club in 2017. The 30-year-old has 19 goals and 19 assists to his name for the Whites and boasts versatility that has helped Marcelo Bielsa out of some tough spots – he’s played in five different positions under the Argentine.

Comparing the two players, a lot of their statistics are similar. According to WhoScored, the pair have a similar goal and assist return for this season and whilst Klich leads the way in terms of key passes and shots taken per game, Damsgaard averages more successful dribbles and is fouled more often.

With ten years between them, Klich could pose as the perfect mentor to Damsgaard, who is just as versatile as the Polish veteran. Whilst the 20-year-old Denmark international isn’t a midfielder by trade, he is comfortable being played in the heart of the engine room. He dominates the left-wing and can also be deployed as a striker.

The versatility he could offer to Leeds could be a huge coup for Orta, who will be eyeing up his next big deal. Landing a potential heir to Klich would tick all the right boxes.

In other news, Gaetano Berardi injury news may not be the boost many believe it is…

Many Arsenal fans have been left slamming the first half display of Eddie Nketiah during their FA Cup tie away at Southampton.

While Gabriel looked very shaky to say the least in the opening minutes of the game, with a quite unfortunate own goal to top it off, it was the first half performance of the 21-year-old that flattered to deceive several members of the Emirates Stadium faithful.

He was left pretty anonymous for large periods of the first half, with fans perhaps wondering whether Alexandre Lacazette would need to be brought on off of the bench to be a bigger threat for Mikel Arteta’s team going forward, given that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been left out of the squad altogether for personal reasons.

Arsenal fan reaction to Nketiah display

These Gooners slammed his first half performance on Twitter, with one AFC fan even going as far as to describe him as ‘useless’ while another claimed that the English striker ‘needs to do more’:

“Watching Eddie Nketiah play football should be a crime”

Credit: @zohino3

“Nketiah is useless”

Credit: @victorcoimbra

“Nketiah gets knocked off balance very easily at this level. Quite often he’s first to the ball but he can’t retain.”

Credit: @galway89

“I’m actually done with Nketiah, he’s actually not good”

Credit: @Forbesy15

“20 mins in and I just remembered Nketiah is on the pitch. He needs to do more to get involved and link up the play.”

Credit: @SDGoonerCap

“Nketiah never drops back and gets involved. Disappearing act once again”

Credit: @gunnerbeeks

In other news, find out which Premier League star has been linked with a move to Arsenal here!

When Tottenham and Leeds came to blows on Saturday it was an unrelenting difference in style.

Jose Mourinho has become about scoring an early goal and then defending what you have. For Leeds, it’s all about attacking from minute one until the final kick of the game.

Even in matches against the top sides, Marcelo Bielsa’s men have utilised that strategy but it didn’t particularly pay off this weekend. It may not have been the 6-2 drubbing they were on the end of at Old Trafford but they were still played off the park in a 3-0 defeat.

Spurs were excellent and once again it was Heung-min Son and Harry Kane that put the opposition to the sword.

However, the true hero wasn’t anyone in Mourinho’s attack. Instead, it was left-back Ben Davies.

The former Swansea man hasn’t exactly had the best of seasons and that’s typified by quotes from pundit Noel Whelan, someone who tore the defender apart for his performance against Liverpool.

“That’s embarrassing for any senior pro, appalling, really, even against a side who dominate possession and pen you into your own half all the time,” he said.

That being said, Davies has bounced back and now looks a man reborn, putting in a number of convincing displays for the Lilywhites. He was assured in the draw with Wolves but was even better on this occasion.

Compared to Matt Doherty on the right, the Welshman dealt with the Leeds attack competently and won a colossal 85.7% of the duels he contested – meaning he lost just one.

Everything Raphinha threw at him, he seemed to deal with. Davies also completed 87% of his passes and produced two key passes, proving a threat in the left-hand channel.

His impact in that third of the pitch could have been better but what was most pleasing, was that his defensive display was impressive when Sergio Reguilon was missing.

The left-back hasn’t always been particularly well-received but he’s now starting to find more consistency. Long may it continue.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Toby: Levy must seal Spurs swoop for £6.5m “diamond” who silenced Son…

After seeing Celtic’s Scottish Premiership campaign crumble in front of his very eyes, Peter Lawwell will desperately be searching for ways to hit the reset button and kick-start a new era of dominance.

The Hoops have endured a nightmare first-half to the season thus far, finding themselves 21 points behind leaders and Old Firm rivals Rangers.

If planning for next season isn’t already under way at Parkhead, then there is something seriously going wrong at the club. But, according to The Daily Mirror, the Bhoys do seem to be looking at ways of setting up a more exciting future, with it being suggested that Wigan teenager Kyle Joseph is someone who they’re looking at potentially signing.

The report claims that Celtic are not the only ones tracking the Scotland U19 international, with Rangers, Tottenham and Sheffield United all in the race to sign him too, although their hopes are boosted by the fact his contract with the Latics comes to an end in June.

And whilst the sample size is small – he’s played just 13 games of senior football at Wigan so far – he’s already shown signs of being a really impressive young talent.

The 19-year-old bagged a hat-trick in Wigan’s last game in League One, when they beat Burton Albion 4-3. Despite the Latics being near the foot of the table, Joseph’s goals showed that he’s got the mentality to continue playing his way, and that kind of fearlessness is something Celtic would surely love to add to their side.

His teammate, Kal Naismith, said he has a “great appetite for the game” and works hard, insisting that “he’ll be a top player”. At 19, Joseph isn’t going to come in at Celtic and hit the ground running or be the saviour to topple Rangers next season.

But he can be a major building block for their future as they start afresh, and Lawwell would do well to fend off competition to bring him to Scotland.

Meanwhile, Celtic can get an Edouard replacement in this 27-goal striker…