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Everton saw out a 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in their latest Premier League game at Goodison Park at the weekend, placing them in 11th place in the league table with 15 points alongside Crystal Palace and Leicester City who also have 15 points on the board heading into the latest international break.

With a two week interval before the Toffees take on Manchester City away from home in their next league fixture, it seems as though Everton could be welcoming back one of their key players just in time to take on Pep Guardiola’s side, which we feel will leave a lot of fans buzzing.

What’s the news?

Speaking after the draw against Antonio Conte’s side, Everton manager Rafa Benitez revealed he is “optimistic” that defender Yerry Mina will be able to return to training in the next few days.

The Spaniard suggested that he is “very close” to a return to action after missing their last three Premier League matches because of a hamstring problem.

Not only will it be good to have Mina back available for selection against City, but it seems as though his return will be coming at the best time. Mason Holgate will be banned for the game against the Manchester club after he was red-carded in the late stages of the match against Tottenham so a replacement will evidently be required.

Since joining the Merseyside club from Barcelona back in the 2018 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £28.5m, the 27-year-old, who is currently valued at £18m according to Transfermarkt, has made 83 appearances for the Toffees across all competitions, chipping in with six goals in the process.

In the six Premier League games he’s played in for Everton so far this season, Mina has managed to rack up an average of four clearances per game, 1.5 interceptions per game and one tackle per game, highlighting just how much of a defensive unit he can be for the Toffees.

This also says to us that Mina could well be a vital figure for Everton when their match against City comes around. They have managed to score 22 goals so far this season in the league and have made more passes than any other top-flight team with 7095 made across 11 games.

With this in mind, if the defender does manage to get back to training in the next few days and use his time to fully recover and prepare himself for the City game, his presence will give Everton a great chance of securing a positive result against the reigning league champions. That’s something that will undoubtedly leave supporters delighted.

In other news: Forget Holgate: £90k-p/w Everton dud with fewer touches than Pickford let Rafa down – opinion

Everton have had an awful 2021/22 campaign thus far – with the Toffees embroiled in a tough relegation battle, and Frank Lampard trying everything he can to keep the club from dropping into the Championship next season.

Many players have already been linked with moves away from Goodison Park following their disappointing campaign in the Premier League, with Richarlison, in particular, heavily speculated to leave the club this summer.

With that being said, the Toffees boss must exercise some damage control when it comes to keeping the team together – no matter the outcome at the end of the season – and now another player is reportedly being lined up for a move away from the club.

The Daily Mail reported this week that Manchester United are targeting the Everton centre-back for a move to Old Trafford, with the youngster catching the eye of the 20-time Premier League title winners.

The 19-year-old has made just six appearances for the senior team across all competitions this term, with his most notable performance coming in his first Premier League outing of 2021/22 – scoring in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge under Rafa Benitez.

Branthwaite was hailed “fabulous” by Glen Hoddle following this display, and Benitez was also full of praise for the young defender, stating: “He showed character and he’s a player who has potential. Always with the young players, you have to be careful but you have to give them a chance if it is possible.”

Since Frank Lampard has taken over from the Spaniard, Branthwaite has been given three opportunities to prove he has what it takes to compete for a spot in the Everton backline, and his defensive statistics speak for themselves.

The 6ft5 tank has understandably used his height to impose himself on opponents, winning 67% of his aerial duels, as well as making an average of 3.3 clearances and 0.8 tackles per game.

He has also averaged an 81% pass accuracy inside his half, proving he can be a threat and offer presence for the Toffees.

Ultimately, Lampard must avoid a disaster in losing the £5.1k-per-week defender this summer, as sanctioning the sale of one of the club’s most promising up and coming talents may well be a decision that the Goodison Parkfaith never forgive the 43-year-old for.

AND in other news: Huge blow: Everton dealt fresh injury setback ahead of Liverpool, Lamps will be gutted

Brighton and Hove Albion correspondent Aden-Jay Wood reckons that Dan Ashworth is likely to join Newcastle United as their new Director of Football (DoF). 

The lowdown

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported on Monday that the Seagulls had given Newcastle permission to speak to Ashworth about fulfilling the position.

Initial contact has been made, and formal talks are ‘likely to happen in due course’. It apparently isn’t the ‘style’ of the south coast club to deprive their employees of appealing opportunities when they arise.

Newcastle have previously been linked with former Chelsea and AS Monaco technical director Michael Emenalo. The Telegraph reported (via Sky Sports) that he had turned down The Magpies, although co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi insisted this was not the case.

The latest

Wood took to Twitter to provide the latest on Ashworth being linked with the DoF role at St James’ Park and is resigned to the 50-year-old departing Brighton.

He tweeted: “If Dan Ashworth goes (which I think he will), it will be a huge shame. Ashworth has almost singlehandedly changed Brighton’s approach both on and off the field and would be very, very difficult to replace.”

The verdict

Perhaps in an ideal world, Newcastle would have got their new DoF installed in time for the start of the January transfer window, but that appears very unlikely now.

They have at least managed to appoint Nick Hammond, the former Celtic and Reading director of football, in a temporary consultancy role. He may oversee signings designed to try and keep the Magpies in the Premier League, with Ashworth then taking the reins to guide them forward from thereon.

Ashworth did tell The Athletic in February 2020 that he hoped to be at the Amex Stadium for ‘many years to come’, but perhaps the Newcastle project would simply be too good to turn down given the sheer extent of wealth at their disposal.

In other news, Newcastle have offered this Brazilian beast a contract

Leeds United are keen on signing Derby County midfielder Jason Knight in the January transfer window, along with a number of other Premier League clubs.

The Lowdown: Knight impressing for Derby

Despite still only being 20 years of age, the youngster has already become an important player for the Rams, making 16 starts in the Championship this season and captaining the team.

The eight-cap Republic of Ireland international has chipped in with two goals and two assists in the league, with his manager Wayne Rooney seeing comparisons with himself in Knight from his playing days.

It now looks as though the midfielder could leave the crisis-stricken Championship club this month as speculation over a move continues to grow.

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The Latest: Leeds interested in Knight

According to The Times, Leeds are eyeing up an imminent move for the midfielder, whose current Derby contract expires in the summer of 2023.

The Whites aren’t alone in showing an interest, with Burnley and Newcastle United also mentioned in the report amid pressure on the Rams to sell their most valuable players or risk further points reductions, unless they can show proof of funding for the remainder of this season.

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The Verdict: Added midfield depth

The need for a new midfielder at Leeds in January is clear to see, with the absent Kalvin Phillips a huge loss with a hamstring injury and not set to return until March, along with a scarcity of alternatives in the middle of the park

Knight may not possess any Premier League experience but his maturity is highlighted by the fact that he is already captain of a Championship club at the age of just 20 and has eight senior international caps, so he could add much-needed depth in the middle of the park.

He has won 1.5 aerial duels and 1.1 tackles per game in the league this season, and Rooney’s high praise for him speaks volumes about the player that the 20-year-old can become, given the England legend’s standing in the game.

There seems no obvious reason for Leeds not to make a concerted effort to try and capitalise on Derby’s woes by luring Knight to Elland Road.

In other news, a journalist has made a key claim regarding Leeds’ transfer business. Read more here.

Tottenham Hotspur are confident of sealing a move for Luis Diaz before the January transfer window deadline on Monday night…

What’s the word?

That’s according to ever-reliable football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, who delivered a very exciting claim to his YouTube channel, where he suggested it was now a more likely deal than Adama Traore, at this stage.

“The latest I understand on that situation is there’s a growing hope that they might be able to get this deal done,” he said.

“They are throwing everything at it. That’s their priority right now. I understand at the moment, and I must stress at the moment, Spurs are more hopeful of this one happening than Adama Traore.”

Major coup

The Antonio Conte era in north London would be truly underway if Spurs manage to secure a move for the FC Porto star as he’s one of the hottest talents in Europe right now – that much is evident from the interest of Premier League rivals Manchester United and Liverpool.

Diaz has been in electric form this season, having provided the Portuguese giants with 16 goals and five assists across 24 appearances in the Primeira Liga and Champions League, primarily from left-midfield. That works out to be a direct contribution of once every 96.7 minutes, via Transfermarkt.

It builds on from his exploits at the Copa America, where he shared the golden boot with none other than Lionel Messi.

The 5 foot 10 winger has earned plenty of praise during this impressive run of form and that should only raise excitement from those around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium right now.

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He has been lauded as “phenomenal” by journalist Alex Goncalves and dubbed a “livewire” by presenter Manas Singh, though one of the most glowing endorsements has come from Portuguese football expert Marino Peixoto, who claimed the £36m-rated dynamo was “genuinely frightening” following a screamer against Vitoria this season.

Valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, it’s thought that Porto are asking for a fee in the region of €60-65m (£55m), which would equal Spurs’ club-record fee.

On the above evidence, he would be quite the signing indeed and supporters should be very excited by Gold’s recent claims.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Dele: Spurs plot swoop for £18m-rated “extraordinary talent” who’s like Zidane…

Liverpool have had no issues when it comes to scoring goals in their latest Premier League season.

With 30 league games played, the Reds have found the back of the net 77 times, which is more than any other top-flight side have managed to score in this campaign.

One figure, in particular, that has contributed a lot towards Liverpool’s attacking power over recent months is winger Mohamed Salah.

Having appeared in 28 league games, the 29-year-old Egyptian has scored 20 goals and provided ten assists along the way, which is more league contributions than any other Reds player has been able to deliver.

Despite the 29-year-old’s deadliness in front of goal, it seems as though the Merseyside club could be looking to bring in another attacking talent that could potentially dethrone the iconic Liverpool star in the near future.

What’s the news?

According to journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, West Ham United winger Jarrod Bowen is one name on a list of players identified by the Reds for a potential summer transfer move.

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Since arriving at the east London club back in the 2020 January transfer window from Hull City, the Englishman has scored 22 goals and provided 21 assists in 93 appearances across all competitions, prior to their Europa League clash against Lyon.

‘Massive’ signing for Liverpool

With nine goals and eight assists to his name in 29 league appearances in this campaign, the 25-year-old has earned himself an overall performance rating of 7.23/10 from WhoScored, making him the highest-rated player in David Moyes’ squad. With that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that he was dubbed a “massive” player for the club by Pablo Fornals.

To highlight how much of an attacking threat the £75m-valued former Hull star is, he has managed to rack up more shots on target this season (29) than the likes of Diogo Jota, Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling among many others.

While Salah may have more goal contributions than Bowen, the West Ham figure has proven himself to be a much more defensive-minded attacker by making 55 tackles and 45 interceptions more than the £90m-rated gem.

Having been labelled as an “unbelievable” player by Klopp in the past, as well as being a “special” talent by Sporting Index, Bowen would certainly be a solid addition to Liverpool’s already attack-heavy squad.

Taking into account how the Hammers star is a few years younger than Salah, he could well be a potential replacement for the Reds winger if his contract situation doesn’t sort itself out and he ends up leaving.

In other news: Liverpool now plot bid for £144m-rated “phenomenon”, he’s even better than Salah…

Marcelo Biela’s Leeds United go in search of their second Premier League win of the season as they face Norwich at Carrow Road today.

The Whites are up against a Norwich side who sit bottom of the table and lost 7-0 to Chelsea in their last league match. Meanwhile, Leeds lost 2-0 to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup in their last game, exiting in the last 16 of the competition.

How many changes will Bielsa make to his side for today? Here is our predicted XI for the match…

We are predicting that he will make five alterations to the team from midweek, with Junior Firpo, Liam Cooper, Mateusz Klich, Raphinha and Joe Gelhardt all coming in.

Starting at centre-back, Cooper could return in place of Pascal Struijk. The Leeds captain has started every league match this season and his place on the bench against the Gunners yielded a much-needed rest for the Scotland international.

Bielsa has ruled Luke Ayling, Robin Koch and Patrick Bamford out of contention, whilst admitting that Firpo, Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips are set to be available for selection. He told The Athletic: “There is no precise return date for the injuries of Ayling, Bamford and Koch.

“(Junior) Firpo and Raphinha are likely to be available. (Jamie) Shackleton is likely to be available. (Kalvin Phillips) is fine to return.”

We published an article explaining why Firpo should start at left-back, with Stuart Dallas having struggled against Arsenal. The 30-year-old lost 70% of his duels in the match and had a 0% success rate from his attempted dribbles and crosses throughout the game.

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Out wide, Raphinha could replace summer signing Dan James. We have outlined why the 23-year-old flop should be axed from the team, and Bielsa could now start the Brazilian ahead of him against Norwich, with Jack Harrison switching over to the left. Raphinha has three goals in eight Premier League matches this season and could add to his tally today against a struggling Canaries side.

Finally, we are predicting that Klich and Gelhardt will play ahead of Tyler Roberts and Adam Forshaw in midfield. The latter duo failed to impress in midweek and were replaced by the former pair before the 60th minute, perhaps indicating that Bielsa is looking at them to start against Norwich. It could be a huge chance for young Gelhardt to prove his worth if he is handed a place in the starting XI.

AND in other news, Sold for £10m, now a Championship outcast: Leeds had a blinder with “special” 24 y/o…

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte could be without one of his key first-team stars this afternoon…

What’s the latest?

Spurs welcome Newcastle United to north London as both teams return to Premier League action following the international break, and the Italian will be hoping to maintain ground in the race for a top-four finish.

But ahead of kick-off, some worrying news has emerged as Sergio Reguilon could be a surprise absentee after pulling up in training on Thursday, as revealed by football.london reporter Alasdair Gold.

‘football.london understands that Sergio Reguilon pulled up in training on Thursday with a problem and had to leave the session,’ he wrote.

Huge blow

Whilst not in the best of form, the absence of the Spanish wing-back would still be something of a major blow to Conte and the Spurs squad, especially as this game will be too soon for his alternative, Ryan Sessegnon, to return.

“The good news is that [Oliver] Skippy and Sessegnon are very close to being back with the team, to having training sessions with us. They are not yet ready for the game against Newcastle, but they are improving,” the Italian revealed in his pre-game press conference.

The prospect of playing the Magpies without an out-and-out left wing-back is certainly cause for concern, even more so given the fact that Conte’s system relies so heavily on attacking influence in the role.

Reguilon is amongst Spurs’ most creative options, averaging 1.3 key passes per game, a feat only bettered by frontline duo Heung-min Son (two) and Dejan Kulusevski (1.7), as per WhoScored.

Elsewhere, the former Real Madrid dynamo has been a key influence defensively too, where he has registered an average of 1.6 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game; numbers that exceed that of Sessegnon.

If unavailable, it leaves Conte with little options.

Matt Doherty could switch across to the other flank, something he has done only three times across his last 50 competitive appearances in all competitions, whilst there could be a change in formation that sees Ben Davies deployed in his natural left-back role amongst a back four, rather than three.

That’s something the Italian has done just once since being appointed as Nuno Santo’s successor, resulting in a 2-0 defeat to his former club, Chelsea.

Without Reguilon, Conte will be handed a late dilemma over team selection and that will surely leave him absolutely gutted, if not fuming as injuries show no sign of easing up at Hotspur Way.

AND in other news, Forget Davies: Conte must start £27m-rated Spurs “beast” today, it could be game-changing…

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard will run the rule over loaned-out Frederic Guilbert in the summer, The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece says. 

The lowdown

Villa paid £4.5million to sign Guilbert, a right-back, from SM Caen back in 2019, and he made 25 Premier League appearances during their first season back in the top flight.

Last January, half a season on from the arrival of Matty Cash from Nottingham Forest, he sealed a loan move to RC Strasbourg.

That spell in Alsace was extended in the summer and will run to the end of the 2021/22 campaign.

Guilbert, who’s valued at £5.4million by Transfermarkt, has featured in the Ligue 1 outfit’s last 17 games, starting 14.

His £40,000-per-week Villa contract has 18 months left to run.

The latest

Preece was asked in a fan Q & A whether Gerrard would give Guilbert a chance to challenge Matty Cash ahead of the 2022/23 season.

“He’ll have a good look at him in the summer before a decision is made,” he replied. “He’s been doing well in France!”

The verdict

Guilbert could be worth a try. Since his switch to Strasbourg a year ago, he’s impressively laid on seven assists in 33 matches.

Compare that to Cash, who’s in the midst of something of a barren run in that department. His last Premier League assist came way back in December 2020.

Gerrard may want more production from full-back, which was a key part of his success at Rangers.

And that could open the door for the 27-year-old, who may still harbour hopes of resurrecting his Villa career.

In other news, Tyrone Mings reacts to this huge Villa boost.

Aston Villa players are enjoying the new management of Steven Gerrard and his backroom team at Villa Park.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Rio Ferdinand, with the former England international revealing in recent comments cited by Birmingham Live that the Aston Villa squad have been highly impressed with the training sessions and structure Gerrard and his team have put into practice at Bodymoor Heath since their arrival at the club earlier this month.

Speaking about Gerrard’s influence at Villa, Ferdinand said: “I’m hearing some really good, good vibes that are coming out of Villa, the way that they’re training. They’re super impressed with his coaching staff.

“The clarity with which they’re training, they’ve got a clear idea what they’re going to do. [They’re] enjoying the sessions and getting the results right now, so there’s some positive stuff right now.”

Fans will be delighted

Considering that, prior to Gerrard’s arrival, Villa were on a run of five consecutive Premier League defeats, the fact that the 41-year-old has secured back to back wins in his first two league fixtures would indeed appear to suggest that the Aston Villa squad are buying into the former Liverpool captain’s methods.

Indeed, there is one of Gerrard’s backroom staff who followed him from Ibrox to Villa Park, Michael Beale, who has a particularly impressive reputation on the training ground, with the Villa manager himself stating during his time at Rangers: “It would take me 15-20 years to become as good as Michael Beale as an on-pitch coach, delivering sessions on a daily basis, so I let Mick be Mick because he’s the expert.”

Furthermore, Danny Mills claimed that Gary McAllister, Gerrard’s assistant manager at both Rangers and Villa, is also an excellent figure to have around the club, with the former Leeds United defender stating:

“Villa fans should be delighted his whole backroom team is coming. Gary McAllister – part of that as well – he’s been there, seen it and done it at big clubs in the Premier League. There’s great experience coming with Steven Gerrard.”

And, considering Villa’s results on the pitch under the leadership of the 41-year-old, it would indeed seem as if Gerrard and his team deserve the substantial amount of praise being lavished upon them, with things very much looking on the up at Villa Park at present – something that will undoubtedly delight fans of the club.

In other news: “I’m sure”: Journo drops Jan update on 24 G/A “phenomenon”, Villa fans will be buzzing