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Fabrizio Romano has raised the possibility that Aston Villa’s Anwar El Ghazi could be included in a deal to sign Lucas Digne. 

The lowdown

According to the Italian journalist via Twitter, the Villans have been ‘working for days’ to agree a deal for the Everton left-back, whose future appears to lie away from Goodison Park after he had a row with Rafael Benitez and the Toffees went into the market to sign a £17m left-back in Vitaliy Mykolenko.

Meanwhile, El Ghazi – who joined Aston Villa permanently from Lille in 2019 after an initial loan spell – is into the final 18 months of his £31k-a-week contract. Transfermarkt value the Dutch winger at £9m.

The latest

Taking to Twitter to reveal the latest on the future of the two players, Romano outlined: “Aston Villa have been working for days to sign Lucas Digne. They’ve always been frontrunners – Chelsea out of the race.

“Talks on, not 100% agreed yet between clubs. El Ghazi also been discussed – nothing agreed on this point as Everton want cash. Next week will be key.”

The verdict

Is it a surprise that Villa are considering parting with El Ghazi?

Based on last season, yes. He was the club’s second-top goalscorer with an impressive 13 strikes in all competitions, inferior only to Ollie Watkins (17). Such form led to ex-Villa defender Alan Hutton praising him as “unstoppable”.

Steven Gerrard doesn’t seem to be convinced, though. Since the 41-year-old took over from Dean Smith in November, El Ghazi has only played 33 minutes of Premier League football.

On another note, having signed two wide attacking players last summer in Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray, will Benitez really want another at Everton in January? According to The Daily Mail, he’s more focused on strengthening in central midfield and up front.

In truth, El Ghazi may not be an effective bargaining chip from Villa if they want to execute a deal to sign Digne.

In other news, many Villa fans reacted to this move from Gerrard over the weekend  

Many Everton fans have been flocking to some off-field updates from Phil Kirkbride.

Writing in his latest piece for The Liverpool Echo, Kirkbride has revealed that the Goodison Park club are now planning to find two new board members after both Marcel Brands and Sarvar Ismailov left their posts recently.

Further additions to join Bill Kenwright, Denise Barrett-Baxendale and Grant Ingles at the table have not been ruled out, as they are set to lead a ‘strategic review’ of the Merseyside club’s football structure.

There is not expected to be a ‘radical’ overhaul of their scouting and medical operations, but the board are looking at ‘streamlining’ how they work.

While some of the changes have been welcomed, given that the Toffees had gone eight games in the Premier League without a win before tasting victory at home to Arsenal on Monday night, some supporters feel as if there should be an overhaul to their scouting and medical systems – especially as they have spent lots of money on transfers in the last few years but have seen little success come from it, finishing no higher than seventh in the top flight since 2016/17.

Everton fans on off-field news

These Everton fans flocked to the news as it was shared on Twitter:

“If it means Kenwright has 0 role in the recruitment process then”

Credit: @otrochris

“If this stops us taking a month to sign a player we target I’m all for it”

Credit: @GaryChr21501647

“The club’s scouting system is pathetic, if that’s not worrying then I don’t know what is!”

Credit: @Luke_M20

“We got booed for walking out yesterday and not tolerating the same old rubbish like THIS…”

Credit: @WillNSNO

“Lol”

Credit: @BT_1878

“It’s called kicking the can down the road – we need more information with timescales”

Credit: @StevenRoche2

In other news, one Benitez decision has had these Evertonians talking

West Ham United will no doubt be linked with a number of players in the January transfer window due to their injuries in defence as well as the need to find more goals to support Michail Antonio, and one man who has been heavily linked with a reunion to his former loan club is Jesse Lingard.

Lingard was monumental to the success of West Ham last season and their ability to secure European football, when he was brought in to the side during the January transfer window at the beginning of 2021, scoring nine goals and bagging five assists in just sixteen appearances for the Hammers.

David Moyes has made no secret of his interest in the 29 year old, but claimed that the team had “moved on” when asked about a potential return for Lingard.

“All I can say is we really enjoyed having Jesse, he made a great contribution to the team and he’s helped the team.

“The team’s moved on, we’ve kicked on again so, look, Jesse is a Manchester United player and it’s up to them to decide what he does.”

However, another player who has been linked with a move to West Ham is Dele Alli, with Danny Mills claiming that it would be a “good move” for the Tottenham Hotspur outcast.

“If Dele Alli is prepared to work hard then there is no better manager than David Moyes. They need that sort of player, they need that sort of attacking player in their ranks. That would be a good move.”

Alli has struggled to make a consistent impact on his Spurs side over the last few seasons, with only 15 Premier League appearances last season and just eight league appearances this season so far, without a single start since Antonio Conte arrived – the former wonderkid is expected to be offloaded in January as he is not in the Italian’s plans.

Despite his inconsistencies in form, Alli has offered moments of magic for Spurs and scored plenty of goals in his time at the club, with 67 strikes and 61 assists in 265 appearances.

The £27M-rated midfielder was hailed as a “machine” by ex-Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand after noticing physical qualities in Alli’s game against Crystal Palace at the start of the season.

“Physically he can overpower, he can dominate, he can outrun most players around,” Ferdinand said. “Physically he is a machine, he is a specimen.”

Compared to Lingard this season, Alli matches him for goals and assists in all competitions, and for all the questions marks over the latter’s decline, Lingard has actually started six less top flight matches.

Another notable difference in the pair is age – Alli is four years younger than Lingard and could offer a more long term investment for the West Ham hierarchy, and it could make signing the 25 year old Spurs player a more attractive signing for Moyes too, granting the manager plenty of time to figure out exactly what needs fixing to bring back the Alli of old.

Either way, West Ham will be hoping to finish in an even stronger position this season as they chase down top four, just one point adrift from a Champions League spot currently, and moves made by Moyes in the January transfer window could play a big part in giving West Ham the ability to compete for those coveted places in the elite.

In other news: West Ham United must move for Darwin Nunez in January

Given how Mohamed Elyounoussi is the only Southampton winger to have scored a goal in the Premier League this season, it’s safe to say that Ralph Hasenhuttl has not been able to rely on his wide players to find the net for his team at this point in the campaign.

With this in mind and the team as a whole scoring just 10 goals in the league, it seems as though the Saints could do with some extra firepower in their line-up to push them further up the table.

In his recent press conference ahead of Southampton’s Premier League clash against Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday, Hasenhuttl claimed that a number of fringe players will get their chance to prove their worth in the team to help Southampton get through the busy winter schedule.

One such player is Nathan Tella, who coincidentally made his senior debut for the Saints in June 2020 in their 3-0 win at Norwich after joining the club’s youth ranks from Arsenal in April 2017.

During his time at Southampton, the 22-year-old winger, who is currently valued at £1.8m by Transfermarkt, has made 45 appearances for their B team, scoring 12 goals and providing seven assists.

Tella, who pundit Owen Hargreaves has previously said “fancies himself” in terms of the pace he has to get past defenders, has not had many chances to shine in the first team so far this season – particularly in the Premier League, with just one start and two very short substitute appearances under his belt.

Now that Hasenhuttl has said that fringe players like Tella will get some decent minutes under their belts in the coming weeks and months, this could be exactly what the winger needs to really kick on with his career in the first team and prove to the manager that he has what it takes to be a regular figure for the Saints in the future.

Also, with Theo Walcott having very little attacking impact this season and his current contract at St Mary’s set to expire in the summer of 2023, this period now could be Tella’s chance to prove to the club that he can be their long-term replacement for the 32-year-old and save them millions in potential transfer fees for when Walcott eventually leaves. However, the youngster will need to make sure he adds some goals and assists to his tally before then – he has scored just twice in 29 senior appearances up to now.

In other news – Forget Bednarek: Ralph must unleash Southampton’s rarely-seen “fantastic character”

The search for Ralf Rangnick’s long-term successor at Manchester United has already begun, with Italy manager Roberto Mancini emerging as a ‘wildcard candidate’.

What’s the story?

Rangnick is yet to take charge of his first United game after arriving at the club as an interim manager until the end of the season before taking up a consultancy role for the subsequent two years.

However, talk has already turned to who could replace the 63-year-old next summer, and The Telegraph’s James Ducker has revealed that Mancini is one candidate under consideration from the Red Devils’ hierarchy.

He tweeted: “Roberto Mancini has emerged as a wildcard candidate to take over at #mufc next summer depending, among other things, on how the situation with Italy unfolds. They have the World Cup play-offs to navigate in March.”

Man Utd could find perfect Rangnick heir

Current Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino appears to be one of the favourites to take over the reins following the conclusion of 2021/22 due to the Argentine tactician having many admirers at Old Trafford.

Nevertheless, Mancini could be the perfect heir for Rangnick when he moves to the boardroom and has far more experience and boasts a more impressive CV than his South American counterpart.

The 57-year-old has managed an array of elite-level clubs, including United’s local rivals Manchester City between 2009 and 2013, winning a whopping 14 major honours throughout his illustrious managerial career.

Mancini’s trophy collection contains the European Championship, three Serie A titles, four Italian Cups, one Premier League crown and an FA Cup.

In comparison, Pochettino has only claimed one French Cup and one French Super Cup with PSG, failing to win the Ligue 1 title last term despite having a fair superior playing squad and budget.

For a large portion of the Old Trafford outfit’s fanbase, Mancini’s ties with the Citizens may be hard to forget, but his credentials as a top-level coach cannot be overlooked.

And the Azzurri’s eye-catching displays during Euro 2020 showcased how the Italian has updated his previously defensive-first approach into the modern era.

Italy constantly pressed their hapless opponents high up the pitch and attacked with verve, with full-backs Leonardo Spinazzola and Giovanni Di Lorenzo often appearing to play more like wingers.

Therefore, Mancini could prove to be the ideal candidate to continue working towards Rangnick’s vision next season even if some supporters find it hard to forgive his previous connections.

And, in other news…Forget AWB: Ralf must seal Man Utd swoop for “electric” £16.2m-rated “constant threat” 

Even though Liverpool currently have a hefty number of central-midfielders in their senior squad at the moment, some of them, such as Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson and James Milner have all hit or gone past the age of 30.

One player that the club currently have in their youth system that we feel could well go on to be a suitable replacement for one of those previously mentioned senior midfielders is 18-year-old Tyler Morton.

As a product of Liverpool’s youth academy, Morton, who is currently valued at £270k according to Transfermarkt, has made 23 appearances for Liverpool’s U18 side in which he has managed to score six goals and provide seven assists in the process.

Morton has also made 24 appearances for Liverpool’s U23 side, scoring five times and supplying four assists along the way, proving himself as a rather useful attacking option from midfield.

The midfielder made his senior debut for Liverpool during their 3-0 win over Norwich City in the Carabao Cup last month in which Reds manager Jurgen Klopp said Morton put in a “confident” performance in his first senior outing for the Merseyside club.

Opening up on the midfield general, the German boss explained: “Tyler, really, he gave us the opportunity to connect again, because he just played simple, passed the ball in the right spaces, defended the right spaces.”

In addition to this, Morton was given an overall match rating of 7/10 for his performance against Norwich from the Liverpool Echo who said that he “slotted into the defensive midfield role impressively” after replacing Naby Keita.

The teenager has managed to rack up an average of three key passes per game based on the two performances he’s put in for Liverpool’s U23 side in the Football League Trophy this season, which is considerably more than Henderson (1.1 key passes per game) has done in the Premier League so far this season.

We feel that if Morton continues to play well for the youth team and take any opportunity that comes his way to play in Klopp’s side, such as their upcoming Carabao Cup clash against Preston North End later this month, then he could well see himself as a possible regular first-team player in the next few years, in the same way Curtis Jones has done.

Looking ahead to the future further down the line, even though he signed a new deal over the summer, we could see Morton potentially being a long-term replacement for Henderson if he ends up leaving when his current deal expires given his age.

Like the skipper, he is defensively astute and capable of carrying the ball forward. He’s certainly one to watch.

In other news: Imagine him & Thiago: Klopp must secure LFC move for “incredible” £36m-rated machine – opinion

Reliable Celtic reporter Kieran Devlin has answered a question on rumours linking Yokohama F. Marinos forward Daizen Maeda with a move to Parkhead.

The Lowdown: Celtic confident…

A report earlier this month from The Times suggested that the Hoops are confident of securing the 24-year-old’s services in the January transfer window.

Maeda currently plies his trade with Ange Postecoglou’s former employers and is under contract until 2024, but well-placed Japanese sources expect a move to Scotland to go through.

He netted 18 times and registered three assists in 31 J1 League appearances last season, and Devlin has now weighed in with what he knows about a potential move.

The Latest: Devlin’s response…

The journalist conducted a Q&A on The Athletic on Saturday morning ahead of Celtic’s clash with Livingston.

He was asked about the links to Maeda, to which he replied: “They are credible, yes. Unless something dramatic happens that will need addressing, Monday’s article will be a tactical profile of Maeda and how he might fit in at Celtic.”

Devlin then went on to label Maeda as a possible ‘upgrade’ on a player like Liel Abada and hailed the Japan international’s ‘very quick, great movement’, describing him as a ‘tireless worker off the ball’.

The Verdict: Over to Nicholson…

Celtic appear to be confident of bringing Maeda to Glasgow in the New Year, so it looks as if it’ll be over to interim CEO Michael Nicholson to get a deal over the line, with the club having no director of football or head of recruitment in place.

Following Saturday’s performance, with a front three of Giorgos Giakoumakis, Jota and Abada firing blanks against Livingston, a move for the 24-year-old appears to be even more important.

The Hoops can’t rely on Furuhashi in every single game, so adding Maeda – who can play centrally or out wide and has an impressive goalscoring record in the last 12 months – could be a wise move.

In other news: ‘People I speak to’ – Devlin shares ‘incredibly odd’ Celtic situation Ange now needs to resolve. 

Aston Villa gem Cameron Archer bagged a stunning hat-trick as the Midlands outfit defeated Burton Albion in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night.

The 19-year-old was in ruthless form at the Pirelli Stadium, delivering an absolute goalscoring masterclass in front of first-team manager Dean Smith, his assistant Craig Shakespeare and sporting director Johan Lange.

Having gone two goals down, it was the young forward who kickstarted the comeback ten minutes before the break.

The Walsall-born teenager fired a low-driven effort past the home goalkeeper before doubling his tally to put Villa into the lead just after the hour mark. He beat the Brewers’ backline with a nicely-timed run before slamming the ball into the net once again.

He completed his hat-trick with less than 20 minutes to go, it was yet another clinical and impressive finish from the striker.

BirminghamLive reporter Ashley Preece described Archer’s display as “absolutely sensational” in his post-match ratings column.

“It was finishing of the highest order with Archer being applauded off by Smith, Shakespeare, Danks and Lange in the stands. Archer was levels above here, whacking home his trio past Balcombe in the Burton net,” he added. “Villa need to get his contract sorted now. His development since the summer has been staggering. The boy’s some finisher.”

It merely continues his electric form in 2021/22, having been given a proper opportunity for the senior side in the Carabao Cup, where he bagged another hat-trick against lowly Barrow and a magnificent header against the Champions of Europe, Chelsea.

The Claret and Blue Army have witnessed many a young talent break through the system and become regular first-team stars over the years, with the likes of Gareth Barry and Jack Grealish being prime examples.

But it’s been a while since a proper frontman went onto become a hero at Villa Park – perhaps the last being Gabby Agbonlahor. Whilst Archer and the former Lions star aren’t like-for-like, the young prospect could well be the man to break the trend.

Archer has “genuine pace” but is also “stocky”, according to Preece, so he can combine sheer speed and physicality to dominate opposing defences for years to come, and just like Agbonlahor, he had to go out on loan to the lower divisions before getting his chance.

The 19-year-old marksman enjoyed a successful stint at local side Solihull Moors, where his former boss Jimmy Shan waxed lyrical about his ability.

“He’s a centre-forward. His movement is excellent but it’s his pace that makes him such a threat,” he said. “He was rapid, let me tell you. He doesn’t look quick but he just pulls away from defenders with ease. He’s a bright and intelligent guy and very inquisitive.”

Also described as a “major talent” by Guardian journalist John Brewin, Villa boss Smith could genuinely unearth the next big thing in the Midlands by unleashing Archer more frequently.

The teenage sensation could be the first homegrown talent since Agbonlahor to go onto greatness in the senior side.

AND in other news, “Sources confirmed…”: Gregg Evans drops Aston Villa update that’ll really worry fans…

Some Everton fans have been left buzzing as some transfer news emerged on Marcus Thuram.

As per Calciomercato, the Goodison Park faithful are now interested in signing the Borussia Monchengladbach ace, but will face competition from both Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund for his signature.

Thuram has had a exceptional past couple of seasons, reaching double figures in terms of goals in all competitions, while also achieving no fewer than 21 assists (Transfermarkt), very impressive numbers indeed for a wide player.

At 24 years of age, the France international has likely not yet reached his full potential, and perhaps now would be the best time for the Merseyside club to pounce.

Nonetheless, he would certainly give competition to the likes of Andros Townsend and Demarai Grey for a starting spot on the wing.

Everton fans on Thuram transfer news

These Blues supporters were left buzzing as the transfer news on Thuram was shared by Toffee TV on their Twitter page:

“Inter were about to sign him but signed Correa who was about to sign for us. So we are going to sign the player that inter was about to sign (hopefully)”

Credit: @hmmmm123456543

“Inject this into my veins pls.. the pace… the power…”

Credit: @KevinNguyen_89

“Yes please”

Credit: @duncfergie9

“Good”

Credit: @Raffathegaffa_

“Yes”

Credit: @CBobblers1878

“So am I”

Credit: @blue_toffees

In other news, find out what news involving one Premier League club has Evertonians raging here!

Kalvin Phillips knows he will leave Leeds United for another club in the near future, according to former West Ham striker Frank McAvennie.

The Lowdown: Phillips continues to shine

The Whites may have made a poor start to the season, but Phillips has again been a key performer, shining in the middle of the park.

His status as a player has grown so much since his performances at Euro 2020 for England and he possesses an aura and respect in midfield now that only comes when you perform on a big stage like that.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359346″]

The Latest: Midfielder tipped to leave

Leeds could find it extremely difficult to keep hold of the £36m-rated (Transfermarkt) Phillips in the long-term, and speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie, 61, claimed he would leave soon, with the offer of a new deal a way of Leeds protecting themselves:

“It’s a very sensible move. He could always run his contract down and no one wants that. He’s a Leeds boy and he knows he’s going to move.

“It’s a great idea. He had a cracking Euros and we all know how good he is. We know there is interest and when the time comes Leeds are protected a bit more now.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-18/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Inevitable?

In an ideal world, Phillips would spend the rest of his career at Leeds, going on to potentially become one of the greatest servants in the club’s history.

The brutal truth is that the 25-year-old will be eyeing up playing Champions League football and winning big trophies, though – something the Whites may not be able to offer him.

Whether it’s next summer or beyond, Leeds may have to accept that life without Phillips isn’t too far away, and penning him to a new deal is certainly the best way to ensure the club wins a big profit if he does depart.

In other news, one Leeds player has signed a new deal. Find out who it is here.