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Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has suffered a potential setback in his recovery from injury, posing further selection headaches for manager Rafa Benitez.

What’s the word?

The England international hasn’t featured since the 2-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion on 28 August due to a broken toe and thigh problem.

Although the Toffees are yet to name an exact date for Calvert-Lewin’s expected comeback, there are growing concerns over a setback in his recovery.

A recent report in the Liverpool ECHO expressed such worries, claiming the versatile attacker could be on the treatment table for up to three months.

The report states that: “Rafa Benitez had hoped to be in a position to recall Calvert-Lewin to the squad in the coming weeks, but it is believed the 24-year-old may have suffered complications in his rehabilitation.

“Everton were asked about Calvert-Lewin’s fitness by the ECHO, but the club have yet to respond. There are some fears that the No9 could be sidelined for up to 12 weeks, but there is hope his absence will not be as long as that.”

Rafa Benitez surely devastated

News that Calvert-Lewin could face an extended spell on the sidelines will surely leave Benitez feeling absolutely devastated.

He has been their star man for a considerable period of time now, bagging 21 times last season and scoring three goals in his opening three outings this term. That was sandwiched by a place in England’s Euro 2020 squad as he played second fiddle to Harry Kane in the Three Lions side that reached the final a few months ago.

A fast start to the season from Everton is threatening to be unravelled due to a series of injuries to several key players, with midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure the latest to pick up a fresh problem.

The Goodison Park outfit suffered their first home defeat of the campaign last time out against West Ham United, and Benitez must fear more underwhelming results are inevitable as the list of absentees continues to grow.

And, in other news…Everton could be hit with a hammer blow after concerning report, fans surely worried 

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has revealed that Aston Villa striker Wesley will be leaving the club on loan in this summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

The Brazilian missed Dean Smith’s side’s 6-0 thrashing of Barrow in the Carabao Cup second round, and it now appears that he missed the game due to an imminent move away.

And now, in a tweet posted after Villa’s victory over the League Two side, Evans revealed that the striker will now be heading back to Belgium to join Club Bruges on a season-long loan.

Villa fans will be worried

While Danny Ings’ arrival certainly puts Wesley down the pecking order at Villa Park, it’s a bit of a questionable decision from Smith to let the Brazilian go this summer, even on a temporary basis.

Ollie Watkins was a man of steel last season in the Premier League, only missing the one match all campaign, but whether that level of fitness can hold up for a second successive campaign remains to be seen.

Add to that the fact Ings missed several games last season for Southampton with a knee injury, and of course has ruptured his ACL previously, and Villa could be left really short up front if they suffer some misfortune.

Standing at 6 foot 3, and with a real aerial presence, he offers something completely different to the hard running and movement of Watkins, and gives Villa a different dimension either to come off the bench or even to start when Smith wants to rest his main striker.

With Keinan Davis also already gone out on loan, Smith is certainly taking a gamble by letting another one of his squad options go before deadline day closes.

Villa fans may be very worried if Wesley departs, and the club suffer some injury problems – especially considering Watkins has already missed some game-time already this campaign.

Meanwhile, Villa are plotting a late swoop for this star…

Everton could make a move for Brentford centre-back Pontus Jansson in January, according to The Guardian’s Ed Aarons. 

The lowdown

Rafael Benitez is keen to strengthen his defence at the first opportunity after seeing his team concede 28 goals in their first 16 matches. Only Watford, Norwich City and Newcastle United have a poorer defensive record in the Premier League.

Everton already have Michael Keane, Ben Godfrey, Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate on their books as centre-back options, but Godfrey has had to move to full-back in recent games after Lucas Digne fell out with the manager, while Mina is struggling with injury.

Jansson’s £25,000-per-week contract is up at the end of the current campaign and his estimated market value has fallen to £4.5m (via Transfermarkt). Intriguingly, the Sweden international has been likened to a Bond ‘villain’ by his manager Thomas Frank, who also noted the 30-year-old’s “swagger and confidence”.

The latest

According to Aarons in The Guardian, Jansson is wanted by Everton when the transfer window opens in the new year. He has caught the eye with his ‘outstanding’ performances for the Bees, who are halfway to 40 points after just 16 matches in their first Premier League season.

Leicester City and Newcastle are also admirers of the Swede, and while Jansson’s contract situation theoretically puts Brentford in a weak position, they would most likely ask for a ‘hefty fee’ in January.

The verdict

Could Jansson help to shore up Everton’s defence? His individual stats are solid but unspectacular, averaging 4.8 clearances and 1.4 interceptions per game while winning 58% of his ground duels and 51% of his aerial battles (via SofaScore). To add some context to those figures, Mina has won 79% of his duels overall.

However, it should also be noted that Jansson is the captain of Brentford, so maybe Benitez would value his leadership in the heart of the backline.

Would this be a smart move? It all depends on the extent to which the Bees intend to play hardball in January. Everton should only look to sign the 30-year-old on a cut-price deal considering his age and his performance stats in relation to current options at the club.

In other news, many Everton fans were buzzing over this news from the club

Manchester United managed to perform one of the most unconvincing wins of the Premier League season yesterday against Norwich, and whilst three points will be very much welcomed by the fans, there is clearly so much work to do at Old Trafford.

Cristiano Ronaldo managed to win a penalty in the 75th minute of the game that allowed the Red Devils to walk away from Carrow Road with three points, but the performance, in general, was flat and Jamie Redknapp scathed the team for their lack of effort after the game.

He told Sky Sports, via The Daily Mail:

“From United’s point of view, this is what I expect from them at the moment there’s a few problems with the system, set-up, it will take time for the manager to bed in what he wants and it’s going to be a case of giving him weeks or months to do that as a lot of United players have bad habits.”

One player who stuck out in the game is Bruno Fernandes, with a performance the Portuguese star will want to forget.

Pundit, Paul Merson, suggested Fernandes has become a bit of a problem, commenting:

“He’s lost confidence. When you lose confidence it doesn’t matter who you are – we all lose confidence – it’s a different game.

“He’s not touching the ball in the game now, he’s not touching it 60, 70 or 80 times.

“Everything went through Fernandes, everything. It’s not that case now, everyone’s looking for Ronaldo now. This needs to change.”

The £180k-per-week midfielder has flopped this season when you compare it to the season he had last year where he was the stand out star at Man United that lead to the side finishing second in the Premier League.

In the 2020/21 season, Fernandes scored record-breaking achievement for the midfielder, who was expected to emulate this season in the current one with his Portuguese teammate, Ronaldo, joining the side in the summer. Instead, he’s only registered three assists all campaign so far in the league.

Ralf Rangnick is currently setting up with a 4-2-2-2 and it may be wise to axe Fernandes in the upcoming game on Tuesday against Brentford by trying Donny Van De Beek and Jadon Sancho in the two behind the strike force. It would give the Portuguese midfielder either a rest or a realisation that he needs to start picking up his performances.

Fernandes is struggling to find consistency in his game, although he does have 26 times against Norwich on Saturday.

In other news: Magpies ‘make contact’ with Manchester United over Jesse Lingard

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered an update on Leeds United’s pursuit of Club Brugge starlet Noa Lang in this summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to recent reports from The Telegraph, Marcelo Bielsa’s side have been been watching the 21-year-old, although they are set to face intense competition to try and land him.

And now, writing on Twitter, Hay said: “They like Lang and that’s a genuine link but they haven’t actually made a concrete move for him.”

The journalist did however leave the door open to a potential move for a new winger later on in the transfer window though, by adding: “Hard to say. It’s been floated all summer but was always a case of doing it if the right option came up at the right price.”

Bielsa would love him

Able to play anywhere across the frontline, Lang has shown he has a real eye for goal in his loan spell at Brugge last season, bagging 17 goals and providing a further 11 assists in just 37 games, including netting in the Champions League.

With the volume of goals and assists that Lang delivered last season, and with him still being very much in the infancy of his career, a move for the youngster would surely be the kind of exciting one that has Bielsa buzzing.

Called a “phenomenon” by Belgian journalist Peter Vandenbempt, the winger made history when he became the first player in 60 years to mark his debut with a hat-trick for Ajax, while his teammate at Brugge, Cyriel Dessers, has insisted that Lang is ready to shine in English football, even backing Leeds’ interest in him.

He said: “He is absolutely ready for the Premier League. He was fantastic last season. Then it is logical that there is a next step.  I would love to see him in the Champions League with Club Brugge, but he has shown that he is one of the best footballers in Belgium.

“He is a graceful footballer, but he also works very hard. I often sat on the bench, so I could keep an eye on him there. But the way he works, I didn’t know he had that in him. He has really taken a step. The interest does not come out of nowhere. I know how Leeds work.”

Victor Orta should be pulling out the chequebook and making a move for the £19.8m-rated Lang before the close of the transfer window this summer.

With his versatility, end product and willingness to work hard too, Lang fits the Bielsa bill to an absolute tee, and the Leeds boss would surely love to have him at Elland Road.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay reveals Leeds United’s summer transfer plans…

Despite holding talks with Nuno Espirito Santo, Tottenham Hotspur are said to also admire three other options as the search for their next manager rumbles on…

What’s the word?

According to The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, Spurs have spoken to the former Wolves boss about their managerial vacancy, discussing his style of play, Harry Kane’s future and Heung-min Son’s new contract.

However, it has been revealed that he isn’t the only man under consideration, as other targets include Rangers’ Steven Gerrard, Italy head coach Roberto Mancini and Brighton boss Graham Potter.

The 47-year-old left Molineux by mutual consent after four years following the end of the 2020/21 season and many supporters have been opposed to his potential arrival.

Fresh twist in the tale?

Therefore, they will be very happy to learn that Nuno isn’t the only candidate being considered by the north London club’s hierarchy.

It’s been a long nine weeks since Jose Mourinho was sacked by chairman Daniel Levy but, with pre-season only ten days away, a decision must be made soon, and it’s one which has a lot of pressure riding on it after protests from supporters in recent months.

The need to get the appointment absolutely correct has been ramped up tenfold as, with each passing week, it seems as if a new name has rejected the job, so perhaps it’s a good thing that all their eggs aren’t in Nuno’s basket – yet.

Initial targets Julian Nagelsmann, who opted to join Bayern Munich, and Brendan Rodgers, who wants to remain at Leicester City, were quickly ruled out of the running.

Spurs even held talks with their former boss Mauricio Pochettino over a sensational return before they appeared to be close to sealing Chelsea’s title-winning head coach Antonio Conte. Neither were appointed.

Then there was former Serie A duo Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso, who were thought to be pursued by new sporting director Fabio Paratici, but once again moves for both collapsed at the 11th hour.

Nuno is the latest name to be considered the ‘leading candidate’ for the Spurs job, but given what’s happened in this process so far, you’d have to take it with a pinch of salt.

What is clear, however, is that much of the Lilywhites faithful do not want him in charge next season, so reports that the likes of Gerrard and Mancini have emerged as new contenders should come as hugely encouraging news.

AND in other news, Predicting Spurs’ XI in 2021/22 under Graham Potter: Kane stays, Alli starts and Brighton star one of three signings…

When Rafa Benitez first became the manager of Everton, it looked as though the Toffees hierarchy would arm him with more finances than he received during his last venture in English football.

Sadly, the Merseyside outfit would go on to spend a measly £1.7m on five new players. It was a strange transfer window for a club which has spent so much money in recent years.

Last season they spent around £67m, and in the campaign prior to that, Everton saw a mighty £108m come out of their bank accounts.

There have been some strange investments, particularly in the last five years. Alex Iwobi was signed for £34m from Arsenal and he has since scored just five times in two years.

However, one of the poorest pieces of recruitment has to be the £27m they spent on Turkey’s Cenk Tosun, who arrived back in January 2018 after scoring 41 times in 96 Turkish Super Lig games.

Sadly, the striker hasn’t been able to replicate that form after heading to England. In fact, he’s been nothing short of a shambles since stepping foot in Merseyside.

Tosun has found the net just 11 times in 58 appearances, meaning that he has cost Bill Kenwright and Farhad Moshiri £2.4m per goal in terms of his transfer fee. Loan spells with Crystal Palace and Besiktas have followed but he netted just one league goal for the south Londoners.

He did find form back in Turkey last season with three strikes in four appearances but he has not been able to impress Rafa Benitez since returning to Finch Farm.

Tosun has been injured and is now back in training but has fallen even further down the pecking order after Salomon Rondon signed for Everton.

It feels like only a matter of time before the Turk decides to pack his bags and leave Everton for good.

After all, he simply isn’t good enough for the Premier League. Speaking amid the attacker’s poor form, Andy Gray commented: “He’s not shown anything right now, certainly in the time he’s been at Goodison, where he suggests to me that he could command the centre forward or the striker position at Goodison – I don’t think he could. I think he’d be a squad player.”

His ability has deteriorated so much that he is now worth just £4.5m by Transfermarkt. That’s a massive plummet of £22.5m in transfer value over the course of the last three years.

That is probably the least surprising eventuality about Tosun’s time in England.

AND in other news, 38% pass success: Everton dud who lost the ball every 1.6 touches let Rafa down v AVFC…

Southampton have been handed a potential boost in their pursuit of West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone…

What’s the talk?

According to The Sun, Southampton transfer target Sam Johnstone has put talks over a fresh contract at West Brom on hold to focus on Championship action, with his deal set to expire at the end of the season.

The Saints are reportedly interested in a swoop for the England international as Ralph Hasenhuttl goes in search of a new number one, as is expected.

Get it done

Southampton chief Martin Semmens must ensure that he can get a deal over the line for Johnstone in 2022 and this update could hand him a boost in his efforts.

As it stands, West Brom are top of the Championship after six games. This suggests that an immediate return to the top-flight could be on the cards for the club, which could persuade Johnstone to ignore interest from elsewhere to remain in the Midlands, but there is still hope for the Saints as it is still very early in the season.

There is plenty of time for the Baggies to wobble and Johnstone stalling on talks over a new contract opens the door for Southampton to move for him if West Brom do start to struggle.

The £28k-per-week beast has already proven that he can excel at Premier League level. Former West Brom boss Sam Allardyce hailed Johnstone as ‘one of the best’ last season and praised his impact on the side. He said:

“He’s one of the best. I think that’s pleasing to see as he’s one of the two most important people in your team.

“The goalscorer is the first and your goalkeeper is the second.

“He’s right up there at the right level and he’d already saved more shots than anybody before yesterday.

“The defence was so good yesterday that Sam had little or nothing to do. That one brilliant save was a magnificent save when we needed it, but we limited Liverpool to hardly any shots on target and we had more than them.”

Last season, Alex McCarthy conceded 8.1 more goals than he was expected to based on Expected Goals Against. Johnstone, meanwhile, prevented 4.1 goals as he performed to a higher level than the average goalkeeper was expected to.

This suggests that the West Brom man could be a sizeable improvement on McCarthy, as he showed last term that he is a vastly superior shot-stopper.

The Saints must do all they can to snap him up for free in 2022.

AND in other news, Gao must avoid Saints nightmare over key decision as report reveals club’s intentions…

Noel Whelan suspects Spurs have struggled to attract a ‘big-name’ manager because of Harry Kane’s potential departure.

The former Leeds United forward was speaking to Football Insider.

The lowdown

Spurs are set to appoint Paulo Fonseca as their new boss, nearly two months on from the sacking of Jose Mourinho.

Fonseca led AS Roma to an underwhelming seventh-place finish in Serie A last season, and was not offered a new contract.

The London-based club were previously said to be in talks with Antonio Conte, a title winner at Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan.

But those negotiations broke down, and Conte was said to harbour ‘major doubts’ about taking up the role at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Meanwhile, Kane, who won the 2020/21 Golden Boot with 23 Premier League goals, is reportedly pushing to leave the club.

The latest

Whelan thinks that Spurs may have wound up opting for Fonseca because other candidates have been left ‘questioning their fight’.

Without the sure knowledge that Kane will stay put, the job is far less ‘enticing’.

“It looks like a desperate option in many people’s eyes,” he said.

“They’ll also be wondering why they can’t attract big-name managers these days. Well, they’ve got the stadium and they’ve got the training facilities.

“But are they going to have the team? The managers are questioning their fight and what they want to do with the club.

“It doesn’t get any bigger than Harry Kane, unfortunately.

“I think that would probably be one enticing factor for any manager coming in, having a world-class striker.”

Whelan says taking over a post-Kane Spurs would be a daunting task, with the deficit between them and the title-chasing sides only widening.

“You might not have him, so how would you replace him? It makes the task even more difficult,” he said.

“It doesn’t seem an appealing project to many of these managers.

“They feel like they’re not going to be anywhere near Man City, Liverpool and Man United. Maybe missing out on the top four again.”

The verdict

We shouldn’t be overly quick to write off Fonseca as a ‘desperate’ appointment. He’s the preferred choice of Fabio Paratici, the club’s new general manager, and a strong relationship between the two could be hugely beneficial.

Moreover, he was battling against some tricky circumstances in Rome, with the club in the midst of a ‘difficult restructure’.

Still, you don’t sense that this is an appointment that will ambitious enough to leave Kane with second thoughts about moving on.

And if he was to depart, not only would it be a monumental blow to Spurs’ hopes of a Champions League return, but it might also lead other stars to push to follow him out the door.

In other news, this Serie A outfit could launch a move for a Spurs midfielder. 

Alasdair Gold has dropped an update on the future of Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte.

What’s the latest?

In a recent video posted on his YouTube channel, the football.london journalist revealed that, despite a number of reports claiming that the 52-year-old Spurs manager would be tempted by a move back to Juventus should Massimiliano Allegri be relieved of his duties, the Italian is currently happy in north London – suggesting that an imminent departure is not on the cards.

Gold went on to state that, even if the Serie A side were to make an approach for their former manager, Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici hold an option to extend Conte’s current contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – which is set to expire at the end of the current campaign – for a further year – something that provides the club with an extra layer of protection regarding the coach.

Regarding the future of the former Chelsea, Inter Milan and Italy manager, the journalist said: “Digging around, I’ve got confirmation today that it’s Tottenham that hold this option. So Tottenham are the ones who can decide to extend, and they can do so whenever they choose to do it before the end of the contract.

“So that gives Conte a little bit more protection, and if a side like Juventus do come in, they’d have to pay a lot more money. But from what I understand, Conte seems to be quite happy at the moment. He seems to be quite settled.”

Great news for Spurs

Considering the rather remarkable job Conte has done at Tottenham since his appointment in November of 2021, Gold’s claim that the Premier League side hold an option to extend the 52-year-old’s current deal for a further year, in addition to his suggestion that the Italian appears to be happy in north London, is undoubtedly great news for Spurs.

Indeed, following his arrival at the club, the tactician achieved an astonishing turnaround in form, with Tottenham winning 17, drawing five and losing just six of their 28 Premier League fixtures under his management, despite having won five and lost five of their opening 10 games of the season while Nuno Espírito Santo was at the helm.

These results saw Spurs climb from ninth in the table prior to the 52-year-old’s appointment to fourth by the end of the 2022/23 campaign, with the Italian ensuring that Tottenham would be playing Champions League football for the first time since 2020 – beating north London rivals Arsenal to fourth with a 5-0 win over Norwich City on the final day of the season.

Furthermore, Conte has also overseen a sensational start to Tottenham’s 2022/23 Premier League campaign, with the Lilywhites currently sitting third in the top flight standings – having won five, drawn two and lost none of their seven league fixtures so far this season – just one point behind the Gunners in first and level on points with reigning champions Manchester City in second.

However, the 52-year-old’s impact is even more impressive when looking at the bigger picture as, since the beginning of 2022, only Liverpool and Manchester City (60) have picked up more Premier League points than the Italian’s side, with Tottenham currently sitting in third on 58 points – while City (71) are the also only team to have outscored Spurs (65) this year.

As such, considering the fact that Conte has achieved these results despite having only been at the club for a little under 11 months, the prospect of the 52-year-old staying on for a further year and a half is sure to be an incredibly exciting one for everyone involved with Spurs – proving why Gold’s latest update is undoubtedly great news for the club.