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Tuesday’s Everton transfer roundup highlighted interest in a Barcelona winger, talks with a Ligue 1 captain and the pursuit of a former Blackburn Rovers man. Today’s edition tells you of the potential departure of an Irish midfielder, news on an England international and Championship eyes on a 22-year-old.

Everton open to McCarthy sale

According to Football Insider, Everton are ready to sell James McCarthy this summer if their £10m-plus valuation of him is met. The 28-year-old Republic of Ireland international has made 133 appearances for the Toffees since signing in 2013.

City want to keep Delph

Metro is reporting that Manchester City are keen to hold on to Fabian Delph this summer. The 29-year-old will need to force a move if he is to leave the Etihad Stadium, the report also says, with the Citizens willing to let the last year of his contract run out. Everton have been linked with the former Aston Villa man.

Dowell attracting Championship interest

Derby County have their eyes on midfielder Kieran Dowell according to The Derby Telegraph. The England U21 international spent the second half of last season on loan at Sheffield United, and now the Rams would also like to take him to Pride Park on a short-term basis.

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Wednesday’s Everton transfer roundup divulged information on the potential departure of a 28-year-old, news on the pursuit of an England international and Championship eyes on a midfielder. Today’s edition shares interest in a Ligue 1 star, a former Chelsea striker’s future and talks on a new contract for a young goalkeeper.

Everton after Pepe

According to The Telegraph, Everton have expressed an interest in Lille’s Nicolas Pepe. The Ivory Coast international, who scored 23 goals for the French outfit last season, would apparently cost a club-record fee of around €65m (£58.3m).

Costa open to Premier League return

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa is prepared to return to the Premier League according to the Sun. The Toffees have previously been linked with the 30-year-old who spent three-and-a-half years with Chelsea from 2014 to 2018.

New contract talks for Virginia

The Liverpool Echo is reporting that Everton are in talks with shot-stopper Joao Virginia in regards to a new contract. The 19-year-old Portuguese signed a three-year deal with the Goodison Park team after joining from Arsenal last year.

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Wolves’ pre-season got off to the ideal start after Nuno Santo’s men won the Premier League Asia Trophy on Saturday afternoon.

The Midlands outfit defeated Newcastle 4-0 last week before then beating Manchester City in the final on penalties after the score finished 0-0.

One of the star performers was Ruben Vinagre, who after being introduced on 63 minutes proved a handful for Man City.

At one point he ghosted past a marker with a pirouette before going on to score in the penalty shoot-out too.

And his display had Wolves fans drooling over him on Twitter after the game.

One supporter tipped him to be a Ballon d’Or contender in the next ten years whilst another said he could be the catalyst for a lot of goals next season.

The 20-year-old received widespread praise as a further supporter said he’d light up the competitions he plays in. One fan simply said they were lucky to have Vinagre.

The Portuguese only started seven matches in the Premier League last term, featuring ten times as a substitute.

However, on the evidence of supporters, it appears as though they want him to play more often in 2019/20.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking on talkSPORT, former Chelsea star Joe Cole has tipped Arsenal to potentially fall out of the Premier League’s top six next season.

What did he say?

The Gunners missed out on Champions League football for the upcoming campaign after finishing fifth in the Premier League and falling short in the Europa League final. Despite Unai Emery’s side seemingly opening up the chequebook this summer to improve their squad, Cole believes that the club could slip away from the proverbial ‘big six’.

He said: “I can’t really see anyone breaking into it, but I could possibly see Arsenal falling out of it, because there doesn’t seem to be enough harmony around the club. At Manchester United he (Ole Gunnar Solskjaer) seems to be getting his act together a little bit. I like the signings they’ve made – they’ve been good additions.

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“Arsenal possibly could, but it depends on the last few days of the window. It’s not like this is something new. If they do fall out of the top six it will be because of the policies that are in place at the club. They’ve been crying out for 10, maybe 15 years, to strengthen defensively and bring the right characters in. If they don’t do that they’ll keep conceding goals from set-pieces and conceding too many goals in general.”

A little over the top

The Gunners’ defensive issues are certainly public knowledge, but there can be no getting away from the fact that Emery’s side still boast some of the best attacking firepower in Europe with the likes of Alexandre Lacazette and last season’s Premier League Golden Boot winner Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang.

The strike duo alone should keep Arsenal in and around contention for the Champions League places, whilst their summer additions are also likely to address some of the issues they faced last season, and we haven’t even talked about £72m man Nicolas Pepe.

If anything, United’s struggles over trying to sign Harry Maguire and Sean Longstaff, and the continued drama surrounding the futures of Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku, would indicate the Red Devils are the side with question marks over their “harmony”.

How much money could you make busking for a week as a freestyle footballer? Find out in the video below…

Whilst Cole certainly has a point in saying that the final week of the transfer window could be pivotal in what happens next season, barring an unpredictably disastrous campaign, the Gunners should once again finish inside the top six.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Tottenham Hotspur have been quoted a fee of £23m for Napoli right-back Elseid Hysaj, per Goal.

What’s the word?

Spurs have sold Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid in this transfer window and are subsequently short of bodies at right-back.

Mauricio Pochettino planned to utilise Juan Foyth in the position for the 2019/20 season but an injury sustained in the pre-season Audi Cup tournament has cast some doubt over those plans, while Serge Aurier has not played in a single friendly due to a wrist problem.

As such, the club’s main option at right-back now is Kyle Walker-Peters, though Spurs are reported to be interested in Hysaj.

Napoli are said to be keen to sell him, per the report, and Spurs could try to negotiate the price down to around £18m.

An unloved position

There haven’t been all that many links with right-backs throughout Spurs’ transfer window.

Of course, Pochettino’s plan to implement Foyth as a right-back could be the reason but one feels that another body could be needed following Trippier’s departure.

A deal for Hysaj would not be easy given the time constraints placed upon Tottenham – the English transfer window closes at 5pm on Thursday – but it would be a solid acquisition.

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The Napoli star is captain of Albania with 47 caps, as well as racking up loads of club experience at the very highest level.

While not a headline-grabbing acquisition in the mould of Giovani Lo Celso or Paulo Dybala, this could be a shrewd move.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Crystal Palace attacker Wilfried Zaha came on as a second-half substitute in his side’s opening day goalless draw against Everton at Selhurst Park on Saturday, the team he reportedly wanted to join just a few days earlier.

The Toffees were heavily linked with a move for the Ivory Coast international in the period leading up to the deadline on Thursday and it became something of a saga, with a significant cash-plus-players bid rejected on Wednesday according to Sky Sports.

The Independent had previously eported that the 26-year-old expected to seal a move to Goodison Park before the window slammed shut, but it never came to fruition with The Sun saying that he reluctantly agreed to remain with the Eagles.

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He had to settle for a spot on the substitutes’ bench against the Merseyside outfit, before replacing Jordan Ayew in the 65th minute.

However, he wasn’t able to help the hosts find a breakthrough even after Morgan Schneiderlin was sent off for the visitors, with the spoils shared.

As happens after all matches, the opposition players and managers shake hands or acknowledge each other, and it was no different as Zaha and Marco Silva were photographed together on the pitch following the full-time whistle.

Of course after what has happened in recent days this particular interaction had more focus on it than it usually would, although neither gave too much away as you can see.

It remains to be seen whether Everton will renew their interest in the forward in January.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

After being one of Liverpool’s heroes last season on their road to a Champions League triumph, Divock Origi’s summer got that little bit better by signing a new long-term contract at the club.

The Belgium international has had an inconsistent career whilst at Anfield, ranging from netting a dramatic winner against Everton in the Merseyside derby, to spending time out on loan. But in the Reds’ opening Premier League game of the season against Norwich, Jurgen Klopp’s tactical tweak could help allow Origi stay in the first-team fold at Anfield for years to come.

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Despite predominantly being a striker, Klopp started Origi from the left-wing on three occasions last season. On Friday night, the Reds boss made the decision to play the versatile attacker there once more, and boy did he reward his manager with a fine performance.

Liverpool’s first goal of the night came courtesy of some fine trickery from Origi when facing up against Norwich full-back Max Aarons, and his ball into the box was diverted into the back of the net by Grant Hanley. The piece of skill from the Belgian is the kind of unpredictability that could mark him out to be a dangerous winger. Sometimes it appears he himself doesn’t quite know what he’s doing, so how on earth do you expect the defender to?

His goal later in the first-half showed he still retains the movement and experience of playing as a central striker. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ball was inch-perfect, but Origi ghosting in to head home was clinical. As Liverpool look to maintain a push on all fronts this season, his greater versatility could help Klopp ease some of the burden on his much-vaunted front three.

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The Belgian can find the net and has the pace and skill to play out wide or upfront. After his cameos last season, it is perhaps easy to just think of Origi as a super-sub. But if Klopp deems that he needs to give Mane or Mohamed Salah a rest, playing the 24-year-old from the flanks would give him a goalscoring winger whose unpredictable style can cause all sorts of problems.

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Independent Liverpool Twitter account Anfield Edition posed an interesting question on Tuesday, and it was one that produced a surprise reaction from lots of Reds fans.

Supporters were asked who they would pick if they had to sell one of their four key defensive players in Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold or Andrew Robertson.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the big Dutch defender received no attention whatsoever when it came to being forced to move one of the quartet on, but the Brazilian goalkeeper did attract plenty of votes.

Given how important he has been following his arrival in the summer of 2018, including conceding just 22 goals in the Premier League last term and playing a major role in the Merseyside outfit’s Champions League success, it was perhaps a little surprising that so many of the Anfield faithful would be ready to move him on ahead of the likes of Alexander-Arnold and Robertson.

Of course, the South American stopper is currently on the sidelines because of injury, and while his back-up Adrian was the hero in the Super Cup last week, it was his dreadful error that led to Danny Ings finding the net for Southampton at the weekend.

Perhaps the following Liverpool fans are underestimating his important a little, then.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Aston Villa are given a break from the Premier League on Tuesday night as they face League Two outfit Crewe Alexandra in the Carabao Cup.

Top-flight teams that aren’t in European competitions this season enter at this early second round stage but it may be an opportunity for Villa to rest a number of their key players with a trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The sheer gulf in talent between the Premier League and League Two is enough to suggest that Dean Smith’s fringe players should complete the job required of them on Tuesday night.

But who will feature? Here’s what we are predicting:

There could quite easily be an entire shift in the starting XI but we expect one or two may keep their places – most notably Trezeguet who is still yet to record a goal or assist so if he could get one in this match that would certainly give him confidence going forward.

Speaking of forwards, Wesley may be given a rest in favour of Keinan Davis who has impressed the Villa boss during pre-season whilst Anwar El Ghazi’s goal on Friday night may give him the edge over Jota to start.

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Defensively, a number of debuts could be given.

Matt Targett is yet to start a match for his new club after joining from Southampton in the summer, he may replace Neil Taylor in a move that could be seen as a ‘go out and show why you should be starting.’

Ahmed Elmohamady could come back into the starting XI after being dropped for Frederic Guilbert on Friday.

Ezri Konsa, a £12m addition, hasn’t been able to feature yet this season and last season’s loan man Kortney Hause is in a similar scenario so these two could replace Bjorn Engels and Tyrone Mings with Jed Steer, who saved a penalty in the playoffs, being handed the shot-stopping responsibilities.

Jack Grealish, John McGinn, and Douglas Luiz are all unlikely to be risked for a fixture like this so Marvelous Nakamba could also earn his debut with Conor Hourihane and Henri Lansbury coming back into the starting lineup.

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Many may have forgotten about the 20-year-old Martin Odegaard who is still officially a Real Madrid player.

But currently, he plays his football on loan at Real Sociedad and he has impressed his new team so much that they have named him their player of the month, which is not a small achievement by any stretch of the imagination.

We still don’t know what exactly will happen with this talented young player in the future but it seems that many Real Madrid fans like the kid and want to give him a shot in the first team at Los Blancos.

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Shortly after the award was announced on social media, some of them rushed to Twitter to both congratulate Odegaard on his success and shower him with praise and messages of support.

You can see some of their replies in the collection of tweets posted below.

Regardless of whether Real Madrid think there’s a place for him in the team or not, the fans were pretty much in unison on this one.

Check out what the fans had to say…

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