Everton are looking to replace Wayne Rooney with Norwich City’s James Maddison, according to the Mirror.
What’s the story?
Maddison joined the Canaries in 2016 and the 21-year-old was named the club’s Young Player of the Season and was nominated for the Championship’s award as well.
The versatile midfielder racked up 14 goals and eight assists last season in a fine campaign for the youngster.
According to the report in the Mirror, Everton’s new boss Marco Silva is looking to replace Wayne Rooney who will likely head to the USA, and Norwich want £25million for their man.
However, Everton are offering £18million plus add-ons and they are facing competition from Leicester City and Fulham for his signature.
Is he worth it?
Anyone touted as a replacement for Wayne Rooney must possess serious talent, even if England’s record goalscorer is nearing the end of his career.
Maddison had a fantastic season for Norwich and it is no surprise that top-flight clubs are interested as he looks a real gem.
Clubs will be hoping he can replicate others who have enjoyed success making a big move to the Premier League like Dele Alli and Chris Smalling, and Maddison is showing the qualities to succeed at the top level.
Comfortable as a central midfielder, attacking midfielder or winger, Maddison averages 2.8 key passes per game and 2.6 shots per game which shows his willingness to get forward and influence the game.
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The money being talked about is a lot for a player with one good season to his name, but Maddison looks like he could make the jump with ease and be a star for England and Everton for the coming years.
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According to Italian media outlet GazzaMercato, new Arsenal manager Unai Emery is keen to be reunited with Sevilla midfielder Ever Banega this summer, but head of recruitment Sven Mislintat would be mad to sanction a move for the Argentina international, rated at £10.8m by Transfermarkt.
What’s the word, then?
Well, GazzaMercato reports that Banega’s agent Marcelo Simonian is going to travel to London this week to discuss a possible move for his client to the north London club, with Emery keen to link up with the 29-year-old again having signed him for Sevilla back in 2014.
The need for a new central midfielder has certainly increased following Jack Wilshere’s announcement on Tuesday night that he will be leaving the Emirates Stadium when his contract expires at the end of the month, but the imminent arrival of Sampdoria ace Lucas Torreira should fill the void.
How did Banega do last season?
Following one year with Inter Milan, the 29-year-old returned to Sevilla last summer and was once again a key man for them, making 50 appearances in all competitions and scoring five goals and providing a further six assists from central and central attacking midfield positions.
As well as playing at the top level in La Liga, the Argentine also has plenty of playing in European competition too, as shown by his nine Champions League outings for the Spanish outfit last term.
Why would Mislintat be mad to sign him?
Well, firstly Banega is a bit of a maverick and he made headlines for all of the wrong reasons back in 2012 when he injured his foot after being run over by his own car, while he has also been known as a bit of a party animal in the past.
However, the main reason that the Gunners, whose fans don’t want the club to sign another £47m World Cup star following his nation’s first group game, should avoid signing him is because they don’t really need anyone else in the centre of the park, especially if they do sign Torreira.
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With the Uruguay international, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey and Ainsley Maitland-Niles already among the names available in that area, it is hard to see how there is room for a player that turns 30 years of age at the end of the month, and Mislintat should concentrate on positions that are in greater need of strengthening instead.
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Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren is no stranger to criticism, particularly when it comes from his own fans.
Ever since his switch from Southampton in 2014, the 28-year-old has struggled to impose himself as a solid presence in the back four.
Lovren has had spells in and out of the team due to his form, but last season he found a more steady rhythm following the arrival of Virgil van Dijk.
The Dutchman signed for Liverpool in January after forcing a move from Southampton and he was swiftly thrown into the deep end.
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The centre-back slotted in seamlessly, and his assured performances at the back bred confidence through his teammates, including Lovren.
Even though the Croatian’s displays have been better, he is still susceptible to errors, which has led to questions about whether or not the club should try to sign another defender this summer.
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On Saturday, Lovren was part of the Croatia team that earned a 2-0 victory over Nigeria in their World Cup Group D match.
On Twitter, Liverpool fans praised the performance of the defender, with some suggesting that he deserves to continue playing alongside Van Dijk next season.
West Bromwich Albion are considering making a move for Newcastle United winger Rolando Aarons due to the likely departure of James McClean, according to Wednesday’s transfer blog via The Mirror.
What’s the word?
The Baggies have been linked to numerous players since suffering relegation to the Championship at the end last season.
However, manager Darren Moore is yet to add a new face to his squad.
There have been a handful of departures, though, and one who could be on his way out of the club is James McClean.
If the Irishman leaves then the Baggies require a replacement, and according to The Mirror, Aarons is a potential target.
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Is he good enough?
The 22-year-old has been at Newcastle since 2012 where he developed his game before making his first-team debut two years later.
There was a lot of hype around the left-sided winger, who can also play on the right when required.
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However, he has been unable to fulfil his potential at the North-East outfit, which suggests that a move would be beneficial.
Last season, Aarons joined Hellas Verona in January on loan and made just 11 Serie A appearances.
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There is no reason why the winger could not thrive at West Brom, but it is a risk due to his lack if game time.
Many Arsenal supporters would love to sign Ever Banega after watching him in action for Argentina at the World Cup this weekend.Banega was part of the side that suffered a narrow 4-3 defeat to France on Saturday in a World Cup knockout stage classic.In a back and forth match, France’s quality eventually shone through but Bangea stood out as one of his team’s top performers, creating his second assist of the tournament.The 30-year-old has been linked with a move to the Gunners in recent weeks, with The Sun reporting that he could be set for a reunion with boss Unai Emery after working with him at Valencia and Sevilla.A tenacious midfield all-round, plenty of fans feel he could be exactly what they need in the middle of the park this summer to compete towards the top end of the English Premier League next season.These supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts on a potential switch after watching him this weekend…
It’s fair to say it hasn’t really been Dele Alli’s season so far.
The England international has struggled to find his best form on a consistent basis, and has found the back of the net just once in his past nine games in the top-flight.
On Wednesday night, the 23-year-old was handed the most advanced role in the Spurs attack, but failed to really grasp his opportunity.
As per Sofascore, he managed no shots on goal whatsoever, failed to complete any dribbles, lost ten of his 14 total duels, and conceded possession on 21 occasions.
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After seeing his disappointing performance, Spurs fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the attacking midfielder.
A couple of Spurs supporters seemed stunned at how long Alli stayed on the pitch, with the Englishman eventually making way for Troy Parrott in the first-half of extra-time.
Another couple of fans simply insisted that Alli looks like a “shadow” of his former self, with one supporter in particular suggesting injuries may have taken its toll on him.
The injuries to Harry Kane and Heung-min Son clearly haven’t helped Alli’s cause.
Playing as a number nine quite clearly doesn’t bring the best out of him, and his performance against the Canaries on Wednesday proved that to a tee.
Can you remember how much each of these transfer icons cost? Only experts will get 100% on our quiz…
It will be up to Jose Mourinho to decide whether Spurs are simply better off dropping Alli further back, or whether he can eventually become more accustomed to it.
Meanwhile, Tottenham were denied the chance to sign this Champions League playing centre-back in January.
Manchester United’s famous Class of ’92, the group of players that won the 1992 FA Youth Cup and formed the fabric of United’s 1999 treble winning season, are heralded and viewed as living legends.
They were a self-produced unit that formed a lineage with the Busby Babes within United folklore. Their generation’s symbol of United’s enduring policies and standards. Twenty three years later the United family may have to accept there’ll never be another Class of ’92 to carry on that tradition.
The gap between the Babes and Fergie’s Fledglings may have been decades but the ethos was always in place. Alex Ferguson’s first youth players came in the guise of Clayton Blackmore, Russell Beardsmore and two players that paved the way further, Mark Robins and Lee Sharpe. The Class of ’92 weren’t far behind. They proved that it was possible to win with youth. More than this, they demonstrated how to dominate with products from a healthy youth policy.
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The list of names from that era show how far away the modern game is from producing domestic talent. The two Nevilles, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes were the standout performers that stood the test of time.
Even those that never quite reached the sustained level of success, like Keith Gillespie and Terry Cooke, would excite within the ranks of a Premier League side today such is the dearth of home grown players.
It can’t even be argued that the Class of ’92 were so successful because the technical standards of the Premier League were lower, that the game was evolving and there was less talent on these shores, because they conquered Europe. They were the real deal.
Yet something went wrong with this perfect blueprint. The game at home continued to grow into the financial monster it is today. Higher fees were paid for players and youth found doors harder to open. Since the class of ’92 it’s possible to count on one hand the number of talented players that United’s youth system has produced rather than needing a couple of team sheets to keep a tally.
Fergie famously ranted about the United way in response to Manchester City’s increased spending on transfer fees and wages, claiming United would never go down this path. Those words are hollow now. They were the first to pay a player in excess of £300,000-a-week and have recently matched anyone’s spending in the market.
More worrying is how this coincides with the apparent abandonment of youth development. Players like Danny Welbeck were sold to make way for expensive loan deals with foreign players. And the young players that feature in the team have been sourced in from elsewhere. Perhaps this trend started with Rio Ferdinand and continued with Wayne Rooney.
From Phil Jones we went on to see United splash £30m on Luke Shaw. After his horrific injury they didn’t look within for a replacement but were immediately linked with West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell. Another young player getting his chance after a large transfer is £58m signing Martial. If there’s any hope these imported youngsters will compliment United’s own talent then this week’s League Cup game at home to Ipswich must have been crushing. One youth player started, Andreas Pereira.
Some will point to the number of youngsters on the bench at various times, or players like James Wilson or Paddy McNair getting game time. But all the evidence now points to these being necessary evils until Louis Van Gaal brings in the players he really wants. Instead of giving promise the next generation is finally arriving, they are the dying embers in a fire that hasn’t been properly tended to.
The signs aren’t great for future managers that want to emulate Fergie’s Class of ’92. In a recent U14s derby Manchester City beat United 9-0. City’s youth teams across all age groups are routinely thrashing sides. This doesn’t mean City are on the cusp of a long line of youth players that walk into the first team and win trebles. But their abundance in wealth at junior level means the famous club in the neighbouring borough of Trafford look to Manchester and see a bag of stolen treasures.
Painfully highlighting the point is how former Reds are sending their own children to City rather than keeping it in the family. Andrew Cole sent son Devante to City, Andy played in red and blue but he’ll always be closer associated on a personal level with the red devils. Shaqueel van Persie carries his father’s famous name on at City as does Phil Neville’s son, Harvey. Even those close to United lack confidence the club leads the way with youth development.
Sir Alex fashioned a team around youth. Now the United way is to shape future teams around a familiar transfer policy their greatest manager once scorned. In doing so United is ruining youth development and any chance of seeing another Class of ’92.
Selhurst Park is rocking this year. The Eagles are flying high so far, their position of 8th in the rapidly-developing Premier League table a reflection of how consistent they’ve been so far this season.
Palace have achieved some memorable results in the last few months, including an away win at Chelsea back in August, and last weekend’s deserved 2-1 victory at Anfield.
Their manager, local hero Alan Pardew, is adored by the fans and credited with bringing joy back to the style of football Palace play, after Tony Pulis and Neil Warnock, who the supporters never quite adored so much.
As usual, the fans have backed their team every step of the way, vociferous in support of the Eagles and taking huge support all over the country.
So what exactly has their excellent form so far this year been down to? Let’s take a look at what we think are the main five reasons…
Pardew’s style of play
Football – Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur – Barclays Premier League – Selhurst Park – 10/1/15Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew celebrates after the gameMandatory Credit: Action Images / Andrew CouldridgeLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account repr
Everything else springs from this really. Pardew has instigated a style of play that incorporates defensive solidity (with two defensive central midfielders), along with flying wingers and a centre forward whose main role is to bring others (Bolasie, Zaha, Puncheon, etc) into play.
So far it has been rather impressive, as shown in their almost perfect away performances at Stamford Bridge and Anfield. Yohan Cabaye (more about him later on) and James McArthur perform the sitting role admirably, and the whole team is now a well-drilled, effective unit that will never give an opposing team an easy game.
Yohan Cabaye
Without any doubt, signing Yohan Cabaye from PSG would have to be classed as one of the signings of the summer, possibly along with West Ham’s signing of Dimitri Payet.
Cabaye has been masterful for the Eagles so far, providing a cultured presence in midfield that frankly would not be normally associated with a Premier League mid-table side.
His range of passing, expert penalty taking and all round class means that Palace can now either control games through his passing, or use him as a conduit to initiate fast breakaways, whichever suits the specific game they’re in.
He has been a revelation so far.
Defensive expertise
The Eagles have rapidly become a redoubtable defensive unit. First drilled into them over and over again by Tony Pulis, Pardew has continued that good work and the back five is often an impregnable barrier.
Scott Dann, Damien Delaney, Joel Ward et al are doing a fine job at the back, where their no-nonsense style defending has proved successful against the very best this year – Diego Costa and Wayne Rooney are amongst the strikers who have failed to get the better of the rugged centre back pairing.
Getting the home crowd on side
It’s not like Selhurst Park is a library when things are going badly, as it plays host to arguably the Premier League’s most passionate, noisy and fanatical supporters – the ‘Holmesdale Fanatics’ who occupy a corner of the ground and make an awful lot of noise.
However, one can sense that the whole stadium is now firmly behind Pardew, a local boy done good who answered their SOS call in January and has been on an upward curve with them ever since.
When the fans are all behind the manager and feeling good about their team, there is no more intimidating, raucous ground in the league.
Flying wingers
Wilf Zaha and Yannick Bolasie are not, by nature, models of professional consistency as Premier League players.
They both had a slight tendency to go missing at points in certain games last year, and neither produced quite as much end product in the first half of last season as they would have probably liked.
However, all that changed when Pardew took over, and now both are flying. Zaha is now looking like the player who helped get Palace promoted before his ill-fated sojourn at Manchester United, while Bolasie has steadily improved his performances and consistency since last winter.
They are unstoppable on their day – and that is more often than not at the moment.
The punters here in the Transfer Tavern have adored this season’s Premier League so far this season. When you are entertained by the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Sergio Aguero, only the most ardent pessimist would disagree.
It is not just the usual superstars that catch the eye either. Newboys such as Anthony Martial and Kevin De Bruyne have caught the eye, while emerging young talent such as Delle Alli and Jesse Lingaard are starting to interest many.
Even some of the dunces in the Premier League provide us with entertainment, the whole Aston Villa and Sunderland team make us glad that we don’t support these outfits.
The likes of Younes Kaboul and Alan Hutton continue to fill us with a mixture of joy, but also confusion as to why they continue to steal livings as Premier League footballers.
But while this mixture of talent and… lack of talent makes the Premier League what it is, there is always that same group of players who fan’s think are worthy of the Ballon D’or, but quite simply wouldn’t last five minutes on the biggest stage.
Indeed, it is those players who because of one good game, all of a sudden become £50m. Below, are the five most overrated players in the top flight.
Hit the image below to see the FIVE most overrated Premier League players
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Eden Hazard
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Though Hazard isn’t exactly playing brilliantly this season, it wasn’t long ago that Jose Mourinho claimed that the Belgian was a better player than Cristiano Ronaldo.
Though Hazard had a fine season last year and picked up the PFA player of the year award with his Premier League medal, he is simply nowhere near on the same level as Real Madrid’s superstar.
Furthermore, the likes of Harry Kane, Alexis and Cesc Fabregas all ran Hazard very close for his PFA award, whereas if he was ‘better than Ronaldo’, there wouldn’t even have been any doubt over it!
Jack Wilshere
In fairness to Wilshere, he is a fine fine player, but Arsenal fans simply need to accept that he is not the player that he was hyped up to be.
Of course, Wilshere has struggled and struggled with injuries, and we may never know what he could have achieved, but at this current moment in time, he would actually arguably struggle to get in an Arsenal midfield that have been sublime this year.
As an England fan, one truly hopes Wilshere can have an uninterrupted career soon, and he is a very very good player, just not a world class one.
Philippe Coutinho
Coutinho has been great in the last two games, and again is a fine player for Liverpool, but he is not as world class as they think.
Last year it was bemusing to see Coutinho in the team of the season, despite only contirbuting a handful of goals and assists.
Of course, stats aren’t everything, but if Coutinho was the world class attacking midfielder he was billed up to be, he would be contributing far more.
Erik Lamela
To be fair to Lamela, he has really improved after a slow start at White Hart Lane, but Tottenham Hotspur fans still seem to be convincing themselves that he is finally showing why he is thirty million.
As I say, Lamela has played well this season, but he has hardly set the world alight. At times, he can still be guilty of making silly mistakes, and quite simply is not the top dog in this exciting Spurs side.
Yaya Toure
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For me, Manchester City could have done well to get rid of Toure last season and move on, the Ivorian continues to be a passenger in the side, and for me will go down as a good midfielder, but not a great one.
Toure has had some great seasons in the past, but now simply does not do enough work for the team. Once David Silva is back from injury, Toure will have a genuine fight on his hands.
Now I’m not one to rant, moan, whinge, complain, berate or give off when things don’t go my way…
BUT WHAT THE ACTUAL **** ???!?!
The FootballFancast team again came in over the average, but it could have been a lot better had decisions gone our way.
EXAMPLE 1: MORENO DISALLOWED GOAL
The Fantasy Gods decided to laugh at us this week and laugh loudly as they allowed an absolute screamer of a goal from Liverpool’s Alberto Moreno to be deemed as offside.
I felt @JohnOC1991 summed up my feelings quite eloquently:
“You can accept some bad luck in FPL, but this morning I watched Moreno’s disallowed goal again. “Lampard vs Germany? Mendes vs Man Utd?
“Screw those, they didn’t cost me valuable points.
“Moreno was so, so clearly onside, and goal-scoring defenders tend to take maximum bonus.” he told FantasyYIRMA.com.
EXAMPLE 2: GARETH BARRY STOLE MY DEULOFEU ASSIST
I watched the game, I even cheered the goal because despite not having Romelu Lukaku in the FFC team he deserved a goal after hitting the woodwork what felt like half a dozen times. I then later found that the assist had been given to Barry… Gareth-Bloody-Barry and not our very own Gerard Deulofeu?!
Having watched the replay multiple times I was utterly convinced that we could be looking at the first case of a fantasy football assist via flatulence because Barry couldn’t have did any more than fart on the ball as he appeared to jump over the cross from Delulofeu.
I ran through the available options. E-mailing the Premier League wasn’t one of them. Since starting the FantasyYIRMA.com website more than 3 years ago I’m pretty sure they blocked me after asking them for additional bonus points for Tim Howard’s ridiculously fine looking beard.
I then considered running a twitter poll to ask what people thought about this despicable act of gross negligence from the points allocation team, but then realised that polls can be manipulated.
So I did… nothing… I picked myself up, dusted myself down, swore blindly that I would not send Barry a Christmas card this year and moved on. It also helped when six hours later I saw this picture which helped me make peace with the whole episode.
So the bottom line is that the FFC team was screwed over this week and the important thing is that I am not bitter… sort of… Okay I’m bitter – shut up! 😉
Anyway my rant is now over and we have Gameweek 16 to contend with so putting aside my grievances I will move on.
Although Micah Richards is still in the Football FanCast team we have to change Matteo Darmian who limped out of Manchester United’s Champions League clash in Wolfsburg. The Italian is valued at £5.6m, which leaves us with £6.9m to spend. Here are four options, and we want YOU to choose the one you want.
· Erik Pieters, Stoke £4.9m – Last five games have saw Big Eric register an impressive average of 6.4 points per game.
· Christian Fuchs, Leicester £4.7m – Low ownership, playing in a strong Leicester team and let’s face it – if he scores past Chelsea this week a backpage headline reading “Leicester Fuchs over Chelsea” would be hysterical.
· Toby Alderweireld, Spurs £5.6m – A rock in the Tottenham team and second to only Chris Smalling in terms of points scored for a defender.
· Aleksandar Kolarov, Man City £6.4m – Attack-minded and lethal from set pieces.
As always feel free to follow us on Twitter @FantasyYIRMA where we take an unorthodox look at fantasy football and I have genuinely asked my Mrs what she thought of the name “Ighalo Mahrez Yirma” as an option for our first born child…