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An update has emerged on Everton forward Richarlison, regarding Real Madrid’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to the Echo, there is a belief at Everton that Real Madrid are preparing an offer for Brazilian forward Richarlison this summer. Carlo Ancelotti is a big admirer of the man he managed at Goodison Park and could launch a bid to bring him to Madrid.

The report claims that the La Liga side value him at £90m, but it remains to be seen whether or not they are willing to make an offer in that region.

Fans would be livid

Marcel Brands must avoid a nightmare scenario by keeping Richarlison at the club this summer. The attacker is a key player for the Toffees and losing him, having already lost Ancelotti to Real, would be a bitter blow that would leave fans livid heading into next season.

Supporters would be furious if Richarlison departed from the club to go and join Madrid, unless a ridiculous transfer offer came in for his services. It would need to be a mega fee, possibly the £90m touted, for fans to understand Brands cashing in. Therefore, anything less than that would be a disaster for the Toffees chief and should be avoided at all costs.

Earlier this year, whilst he was still in charge at Goodison, Ancelotti lavished praise on the Brazil international.

He told GOAL:

“Richarlison is a modern striker, a complete striker, because he works really hard. His physical statistics are really high, like a midfielder – but he has speed and he is really clinical in the box.

“He is fantastic with the head and clinical in front of the goalkeeper and his movement without the ball is really good.

“I think he can be one of the top strikers in Europe. I’m sure he can because he has all these kind of qualities and he doesn’t have a specific position on the pitch. He is really complete.”

This shows how highly the Madrid coach rates the £90k-per-week gem and illustrates why he now wants to bring him to Spain. Richarlison managed seven goals and three assists in the Premier League last term for Everton, having provided 13 goals and three assists in the previous campaign.

His first appearance at the Olympic Games also showed the confidence running through his veins as he scored a hat-trick in the opening 30 minutes of a 4-2 win over Germany.

This proves that he can perform at the top level and be a threat in the final third, which is valuable for what the club want to do next season. Therefore, fans will want him to be kept hold of and that means Brands needs to reject any offers from Real, unless they reach truly dizzy heights.

AND in other news, Greg O’Keeffe drops Everton update that should leave fans buzzing…

West Bromwich Albion are interested in a deal to bring Emiliano Marcondes to The Hawthorns this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Express, who claim that Valerian Ismael is keen to add more firepower to his Albion side in the summer transfer window, with the out of contract Brentford attacking midfielder thought to be a target of the 45-year-old.

It is reported that Ismael had been considering a move the former Denmark U21 international in his time at Barnsley, with the Frenchman believed to have retained his interest following his move to Albion.

Ismael must move

Having joined Brentford from FC Nordsjaelland back in January of 2018, Marcondes went on to feature 97 times for Thomas Frank’s side, scoring seven goals and laying on 13 assists for his teammates.

Last season, the £2.52m-rated man once again impressed over his 31 Championship appearances for the Bees, scoring one goal, registering two assists and creating three big chances, as well as taking an average of 0.8 shots and making 0.7 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £12k-per-week 26-year-old earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.75, playing a huge part in Brentford going on to achieve promotion to the Premier League.

As such, with Ismael undoubtedly hoping to build a side in the summer transfer window that is capable of going on to secure an immediate return to the top flight of English football next season, the addition of a player Frank dubbed a “fantastic” talent would appear to provide the Baggies with a huge boost to their chances of going on to achieve this feat.

Furthermore, with the attacking midfielder being available on a free transfer, he would also represent something of a bargain signing for the club, something that will allow Ismael to bring in a greater number of his transfer targets this summer – leading us to believe the Frenchman should do all he can to get a deal over the line for Marcondes.

In other news: West Brom dealt transfer blow over “confident” £8k-p/w machine, Ismael will be gutted

West Ham United are ‘one of the best positioned’ clubs in the race to sign Barcelona full-back Junior Firpo, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.

The lowdown

Firpo’s future is said to lie away from the Nou Camp, two years on from his £27.5million arrival from Real Betis.

He’s made 41 appearances for the club, but only featured in seven La Liga matches during the 2020/21 season.

The 24-year-old is predominantly a left-back but can also play on the right side of the defence or as a winger.

Firpo, a Spain Under-21 international, has three years left on his contract and is valued at £7.2million by Transfermarkt.

The latest

Barcelona are apparently intent on negotiating a Premier League move for Firpo.

Southampton and West Ham are the ‘two open fronts on which the Catalan club is advancing’.

Crucially, the report notes, the Hammers can offer the player European football at the London Stadium.

David Moyes’ men are set to feature in the Europa League in 2021/22 after finishing sixth in the table, while Southampton wound up down in 15th.

AC Milan are also said to be interested, but they’re proposing a loan deal with an option to buy and Barcelona would prefer a permanent sale as they have an immediate need to raise funds for recruitment.

The verdict

West Ham already have a number of strong full-back options on their books, so it is a little surprising to see them targeting another.

Firpo, though, is impressively versatile as he can play in a number of postions, and furthermore, he could be available for a relatively low fee.

Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of this report, though, is that the Hammers already appear to be reaping the rewards of qualifying for Europe.

They’re setting themselves apart from mid-table transfer rivals.

In other news, West Ham fans were buzzing as this transfer claim emerged. 

Moussa Sissoko has been linked with an exit from Tottenham Hotspur this summer, just weeks after providing an update on his future…

What’s the word?

According to Sky Sports Italia, Serie A outfit Napoli are expected to open negotiations with the North London outfit over a potential move for the French midfielder, who is currently with his national side for the European Championships.

It’s thought that newly-appointed Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti wants a new central midfielder and as a result, the Italians are readying a bid for Sissoko.

Two weeks ago, the 31-year-old remained coy on his future at Spurs, telling Foot Mercato (via GFFN):

“Now, I am a person who does not close any doors. If a new challenge presents itself, we will see what I do. But today, I do not close any doors concerning my future, because as I said, it was a difficult year for me at the club. I also want to see what the club will decide.”

Time to go

The Lilywhites will soon embark on a completely new era.

Fabio Paratici has been appointed as their first director of football since 2015, whilst ex-Roma boss Paulo Fonseca is expected to be announced as Jose Mourinho’s successor some this week.

It’s time for them to refresh things on the pitch too and the midfield veteran must sit atop the list of deadwood candidates that must be moved on.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-spurs-news-transfer-gossip-rumours-manager-update-fonseca-paratici-levy” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, manager gossip, transfer rumours, injury updates and more!”]

After 259 matches in the Premier League and over 200 appearances in a Spurs shirt, the 68-cap international has shown some signs of regression in the past 12 months or so.

Sissoko started only 15 times in the Premier League, his lowest since his debut campaign in 2016/17 but during his time in N17, he’s flattered to deceive. WhoScored have not rated him better than a mediocre 6.75 in those five seasons since.

A lot of his career has been built on his dynamism, pace and power in the engine room but as he has gotten older and suffered more injuries, he has lost what made him that attractive £30m signing from Newcastle United.

For example, Sissoko averaged 1.4 dribbles per outing during the 2019/20 season. That halved to 0.7 during the last campaign. Similarly, the number of key passes provided dropped by 0.4 attempts per game, and he averaged fewer tackles per match too, via WhoScored.

He’s only holding Spurs back now, as he often has done since that move. Sissoko has been widely regarded as a massive “flop”.

Fonseca can call upon the likes of Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso in midfield instead and Paratici must show no mercy and offload him because the club shouldn’t stump up his reported £90k-per-week wages if he’s not a regular player.

For context, he’s currently earning more than starters Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (£65k-per-week) and Toby Alderweireld (£85k-per-week).

As The Athletic pointed out, Sissoke was often lauded as an “underrated” workhorse as well as being “big and powerful’ but that’s all in the past.

His performances at Spurs have not been good enough and he’s held the club back. It’s now time to move on from the ageing midfielder. Paratici has to be ruthless this summer.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Moura: Paratici must seal Spurs swoop for “dangerous” £31.5m-rated speed demon…

Some West Ham United fans have been left fuming as a transfer update emerged on Felipe Anderson.

As per Italian football journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Lazio are ‘progressing’ in talks to sign the Brazilian, adding that personal terms are ‘already agreed’.

Anderson was shipped out on loan to FC Porto in the 2020/21 season but never really made an impact, playing a mere 10 games across all competitions and supplying just one assist (Transfermarkt).

His best season in east London was his debut campaign in 2018/19, scoring a respectable 10 goals and supplying a further five assists from the wing (Transfermarkt), and with David Moyes’ team now in the Europa League, they will need a bigger squad to cope with the extra workload which awaits.

Anderson could be an ideal squad player for West Ham to have, and it seems that some Hammers are furious that the club could be letting him go.

West Ham fans on Anderson transfer update

These Irons supporters fumed as Romano’s update was shared on Twitter:

“Embarrassing.”

Credit: @_ghzst

“NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”

Credit: @raphtweetr

“Pathetic.”

Credit: @The_BoleynBoys

“Smh”

Credit: @JayWHU

“Sigh we’re so stupid”

Credit: @KlDSSEEGH0STS

“We suck”

Credit: @Pfinch215

In other news, find out which ‘phenomenal’ striker West Ham are eyeing!

Manchester United have been linked with a move for Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez as the summer window approaches.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet Marca (as reported by TeamTalk), the Red Devils have enquired about the 26-year-old maestro ahead of a possible transfer.

Saul is set to enter the final 12 months of his contract at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium and is reportedly keen for a new challenge in his career after falling down the pecking order with the capital club.

Fans will be buzzing

The box-to-box midfielder made 33 league appearances for Diego Simeone’s men last season as Los Rojiblancos defied to odds to secure their first La Liga crown since 2014.

However, Saul is thought to have become frustrated at various points throughout the campaign after making just 22 starts, largely due to the highly impressive form of Marcos Llorente.

His subsequent absence from Luis Enrique’s Spain squad for Euro 2020 is believed to have convinced the Atleti academy graduate that it’s time for a move away from his boyhood club, alerting several of the continent’s top clubs.

The likes of Juventus, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain have also been outlined as potential suitors for Saul, but the Red Devils are believed to be in pole position in the race for his signature.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have long been linked with a move for the instrumental figure, with ex-United star Rio Ferdinand previously suggesting him as a possible replacement for Paul Pogba.

Ferdinand told a live Q&A on Instagram last year (via TeamTalk): “I don’t want Pogba to go but if he does go I’d take Saul Niguez all day long. Not like-for-like, but still a top player. What a player. I’ve been harping on about Saul Niguez for a few years now.

“I think he’s a major player. He’s composed, calm, great left foot, lovely conductor, he can score goals, tactically he’s very aware. You can see (Diego) Simeone, he gets his teams really well set up, and he’s in the middle orchestrating and dictating things.”

In the past, it was been believed that only a fee in excess of £100 million would be enough to prize Saul away from Atleti, but it appears as though that figure has now dropped significantly.

Due to the Spaniard’s contract situation, a new price tag of just £43m is thought to be enough to acquire his services.

With the 20-time English champions requiring added quality to close the gap on Manchester City, Ed Woodward must swoop for Saul this summer and acquiring the ”conductor’ for his reported price would represent a final masterclass from the departing chief executive.

And, in other news…Man Utd could make for massive transfer mistake over 5-goal liability, Ole must avoid 

Celtic haven’t exactly had much luck on the injury front this season.

Of course, it would be hard to put the blame for the Hoops’ disastrous campaign on that alone. After all, their on-field displays at Parkhead have been rather pathetic.

That being said, make any team have to deal with an injury to a player as important as James Forrest and they’d struggle.

The Scot missed a period of 157 days and 35 matches with an ankle problem from September to February and has only just returned from another injury to the same part of his body.

It will be a welcome boost to have the winger in full flow again but one player they’ll definitely be without this week is Scott Bain.

The goalkeeper has been ever-present since John Kennedy was named interim manager but he will miss the clash with St Johnstone on Wednesday due to a finger issue.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Kennedy commented: “Scott Bain picked up a finger injury in the previous game against Rangers. We’re not taking any risks with that. There’s one or two others, again, who we won’t risk. But nothing major, we’re pretty much working with the same squad give or take one or two.”

Bain may not have been the most comfortable between the sticks this term but it still represents a huge blow to have him absent.

The stopper was at fault during Celtic’s battering in Prague during their dreary Europa League run while he could have done a lot better in the recent Old Firm derby.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-howe-favre-mcgregor-mccann-tierney” title=”Read the latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

As Alfredo Morelos bullied Scott Brown to one side and sent a rasping effort towards goal, Bain was beaten all ends up. It was a powerful effort but it still crashed straight through him.

Unfortunately, his absence means that Vasilis Barkas will come into the XI. The Greek has deserved a second opportunity for a while now but he’s hardly been a consistent figure either.

Barkas has also been a calamity in goal and was another to pick up a slice of the blame in Europe.

When Celtic suffered defeat to AC Milan at the San Siro, the ‘keeper somehow let a Hakan Calhonoglu free-kick fly into the side of the goal that he was standing in.

Barkas has lacked authority and thus, the Bhoys defence shouldn’t be overly confident with him behind them either. This will his first start since January so expect him to be a little rusty too.

Kennedy will likely be gutted to lose someone he’s placed so much faith in since being handed the reins.

AND in other news, McKay must wield the axe on 5ft9 Celtic dud, Sutton dubbed him the “new Ryan Christie”…

Watford are interested in a move to bring Josh Doig to Vicarage Road this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Watford Observer, who claim that the Hornets have opened talks with Scottish Premiership club Hibernian regarding the transfer of the £450,000-rated 19-year-old.

The report added that, although no price has been agreed between the two clubs as of yet, a figure of around £4m is expected to be enough to get a deal over the line for the Scotland under-19 international, who has also been linked with a move to Arsenal.

Giaretta must move

Following the confirmation that Achraf Lazaar, who only joined up with Xisco Munoz’s side in February, will be leaving Vicarage Road at the end of his contract in the coming weeks, the Hornets appear to be in need of reinforcements at left-back ahead of their upcoming Premier League campaign, with only Adam Masina as an out-and-out option in the position at present.

Considering how impressive Doig was for Hibernian this season, it would very much seem as if the 19-year-old would be a hugely astute signing for Cristiano Giaretta to complete this summer.

Over his 28 Scottish Premiership appearances for Jack Ross’ side this season, the SFWA Young Player of the Year scored one goal, registered three assists and created two big chances, as well as helping his side to keep four clean sheets and averaging 0.8 interceptions, 1.5 tackles and 1.1 clearances per game – culminating in an average SofaScore match rating of 6.65.

What makes these returns all the more impressive is just how young Doig still is, with the defender appearing to possesses enormous potential that he looks on course to fulfil in the coming years.

This is something with which Rangers manager Steven Gerrard clearly agrees as, following a fixture between the Gers and Hibs back in April, the 40-year-old stated his belief that Doig has “huge potential,” while his own manager claimed that he is already an “excellent” player.

As such, Giaretta should be doing all he can to get a deal over the line for Doig this summer, as the left-back is a player who could not only play a huge role in Watford’s future, but also in the club’s bid to remain a Premier League side beyond next season.

In other news: Watford gain huge transfer boost over “outstanding” £3k-p/w gem, Xisco will be buzzing – opinion

Former Tottenham Hotspur star Graham Roberts has urged the club to try to bring Kieran Trippier back this summer.

The right-back was sold by Mauricio Pochettino and left the club in 2019 to join Atletico Madrid for a fee of £20m.

He has gone on to win La Liga with Diego Simeone, becoming another player to depart Spurs and win a trophy.

Trippier spent four years at Spurs, emerging as their first-choice right-back following the departure of Kyle Walker to Manchester City.

In total, the ex-Burnley defender made 114 appearances for Spurs, scoring twice and laying on 24 assists.

Roberts thinks that Spurs need to sign a right-back this summer, after Matt Doherty’s struggles in 2020/21, and Serge Aurier claiming that he has come to the end of his time in north London.

Trippier has been linked with an exit from Atletico, with Manchester United seen as a possible landing spot, but Roberts thinks that the club should insert themselves into the race and try to bring the 30-year-old back to north London.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Roberts said: “A decent right-back is going to cost you £30 million or £40 million.

“If I was a coach now, I would say to Kieran Trippier, ‘come back’, he knows how to be a right-back.”

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Sheffield United striker Brian Deane expressed his surprise over the dismissal of Jose Mourinho as Tottenham manager.

The north London club announced on Monday morning that the 58-year-old had been relieved of his duties just days before their Carabao Cup final clash against Manchester City at Wembley.

It makes the timing of Mourinho’s exit strange but, with seventh-placed Tottenham likely to miss out on the top four this season and no longer in the Europa League, chairman Daniel Levy clearly felt he had to do something.

Discussing Levy’s decision to act, Deane told FFC in an exclusive interview:

“You’ve just got to wonder whether or not it’s got something to do with this announcement [European Super League] that’s been made and they want to go in a less pragmatic direction when it comes to Tottenham as a product.

“I think with the owners down there, they’re not going to sack somebody unless they’ve got somebody lined up. It is a surprise to me but, you know, managing players, managing expectations is changing all the time. I think that what we’re starting to see is that people want instant gratification everywhere.”

Tottenham may very well have their Mourinho successor in mind, with RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann the strong favourite for the job.

According to The Telegraph, the German is currently Levy’s preferred option to take over. The Premier League outfit, however, could face competition from Bayern Munich as they draw up their own managerial succession plan to replace the outgoing Hansi Flick.