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Leeds could send a huge message to Marcelo Bielsa about their future ambitions by signing Udinese star Rodrigo De Paul this summer.

What’s the story?

Reports last summer suggested that Leeds were very much interested in bringing the Argentina international to Elland Road, and The Athletic’s Phil Hay meanwhile recently indicated that the midfielder wants to come too.

Now, according to TuttoAtalanta, Atalanta have joined the race to sign De Paul this summer, and that Udinese are open to selling him.

The report adds however that Leeds’ interest remains strong after going after him last year, while there are several clubs from both La Liga and the Premier League who are also keeping a close eye on the situation.

Sending Bielsa a message

Speaking last summer, former goalkeeper Paul Robinson raved about the prospect of De Paul’s arrival, saying: “Rodrigo De Paul can play across all of the midfield positions but he’s capable of unlocking doors like Hernandez. He’s a clever player, he can see a pass going forward and it just shows you the level the club are at that they’re going for players like this.

“They’re not afraid to be paying £20m-£30m for these sorts of players. It shows that Leeds are back in the big time and I have no doubt that footballers like De Paul will come to Leeds because of Bielsa.”

And that last sentiment about being “back in the big time” is what should have Andrea Radrizzani all over a deal for De Paul.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Latest Leeds transfer rumours and news”]

Tying up a big-money deal for the Argentine would send a hugely important message to Bielsa that Leeds mean business and that they are not in the Premier League to just make up the numbers.

A signing of the £34.2m-rated De Paul’s calibre, and at his cost, would go a long way to convincing the Leeds boss that the club are intent on taking a big step forward.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano delivers a major Leeds United transfer update…

Many Everton fans have been left to laud Jordan Pickford as the former Sunderland ace spoke about his “good” form lately.

Speaking to evertontv, with his comments relayed by the official website of the Goodison Park faithful, Pickford also claimed that mentally he is “in a very good place” after finding himself out injured for a while in February, as he looks ahead to the Merseyside club’s next game at home to Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday evening.

The England international has been in very good form recently, despite conceding the penalty away at Chelsea as Carlo Ancelotti’s team lost the match 2-0. Before that game, in which he made a number of decent saves as well, he had kept three clean sheets in a row in the top flight, helping his side claim nine points and really aid their push to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the start of the 2021/22 term.

Everton fan reaction to Pickford comments

These Toffees supporters lauded Pickford on Twitter after reading his comments, with one Blues fan even going as far as to claim that the 27-year-old goalkeeper has been “outstanding”:

“He’s been simply outstanding”

Credit: @CBobblers1878

“Been great”

Credit: @_jennifer1878

“Been in phenomenal form lately. Keep it going lad”

Credit: @alexdsmiff

“My MOTM the last few games”

Credit: @Nirosta

“Been superb”

Credit: @Upper__Gwladys

“Much improved lately, hopefully can continue. Showing people why he’s Everton and England No1”

Credit: @PaulAshcroft8

In other news, find out what early news before Burnley has left fans fuming here!

Leicester City will once again be aiming to take their Premier League form into the FA Cup as they vie with Manchester United for a place in the semi-finals.

Brendan Rodgers’ men welcome the Red Devils to the King Power Stadium fresh off the back of a 5-0 thumping of Sheffield United, a game in which Kelechi Iheanacho bagged a hat-trick.

So, will the Northern-Irishman be tempted to make many changes against Man United? Here’s the XI we think he’ll select…

There might only be a couple of alterations to the Leicester side this weekend, with one of those switches being enforced.

Kasper Schmeichel is set to remain in goal despite missing out in each of the last two rounds of the FA Cup.

Meanwhile, Wesley Fofana, Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu all came through the clash against Sheffield United unscathed so will once again line up as a back-three.

One of those aforementioned alterations forced upon Rodgers is Ricardo Pereira, with the Portuguese set to be out with a “strain”. Timothy Castagne will consequently be moved over to the right in his absence.

This could see Luke Thomas be introduced into the side to deputise on the left-hand side.

The midfield pairing of Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans has served Leicester extremely well this season so they will likely be deployed once again.

However, another slight change could occur in midfield. £16.2m-rated Ayoze Perez was reportedly playing through injury against the Blades so despite scoring his third goal of the season, he could drop out for the fit-again Dennis Praet.

Meanwhile, the Foxes’ attack should look the same. Iheanacho will remain following his treble, whilst Jamie Vardy is surely set to be included after his hat-trick of assists last weekend.

AND in more news, have a look at which bargain transfer the Foxes need to avoid in the summer…

Tottenham Hotspur take a break from league action this evening when they head to top-flight rivals Everton for an FA Cup fifth-round clash at Goodison Park.

Jose Mourinho will need to consider rotation with the Europa League set to return next week, meaning fixtures are going to mount up quickly for the north Londoners.

Last time out, the Lilywhites saw off relegation-threatened West Brom with a 2-0 win, which ended a barren run of three straight defeats, whilst Spurs needed a late comeback to find a way past Championship strugglers Wycombe in this very competition.

So, what sort of side could we see in Merseyside tonight? Here’s the XI we’re predicting along with the latest team and injury news from the Spurs camp…

Mourinho is unlikely to have the services of Giovani Lo Celso and Sergio Reguilon, and it’s claimed by the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick that Serge Aurier is a “major doubt” for this encounter.

It means we could see Matt Doherty come in at right-back in one of three defensive changes – Eric Dier and Joe Rodon are also in line to come back into the lineup, taking the place of the £36m-rated Davinson Sanchez and Belgian international Toby Alderweireld – the latter could be rested with the volume of matches on the horizon.

Ben Davies and Hugo Lloris should keep their places from the win over the Baggies.

In midfield, £15m summer bargain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is another who should remain but we may see a return for Harry Winks to partner him as he started and scored against Wycombe.

It would allow Tanguy Ndombele to be deployed further forward in an advanced role, though it means Mourinho has made a big call over Dele Alli, who returned to training this week as he’ll have to settle for a place on the bench once again.

The Spurs boss handed rare starts to Erik Lamela (seventh of the season) and Lucas Moura (fifth in league) on Sunday but with the quick turnaround, we’re expecting Steven Bergwijn to come back in on the right for the fifth and final change.

Whilst both Heung-min Son and Harry Kane should both start given the importance of the competition, so the likes of Carlos Vinicius and Gareth Bale will have to wait for their opportunity, perhaps from the bench.

AND in other news, Mourinho must ruthlessly axe £85k-p/w Spurs dud tonight, Dier dubbed him a “nightmare”…

Many Arsenal fans were unhappy with the display of Bukayo Saka in their 1-1 away draw at Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.

An early opening goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was cancelled out by some rather calamitous defending involving both Bernd Leno and Granit Xhaka on which Chris Wood managed to capitalise a few minutes before the break as the game finished 1-1 at Turf Moor.

Saka was guilty of missing a glorious chance in the first half to put the Gunners 2-0 up, and was also booked in what was overall a frustrating afternoon for the England international.

He lost out on 10 of his duels in the match, the most of any player to have set foot on the pitch, and also failed to record a single shot on target, all while losing possession of the ball no fewer than 12 times (Sofascore).

Arsenal fan reaction to Saka display

These Arsenal supporters slammed his performance on Twitter, with one Gooner even going as far as to claim that the 19-year-old winger is ‘overrated’:

“Both Saka and Xhaka had a horrible match against Burnley. (EPL refs are jokers anyway) #BURARS Arsenal #afc”

Credit: @OneAFCguy

“Poor performance & result after LCFC win, disappointing. 2nd half we were very poor until last 10 mins & prob should have won it. The run of games we have, dropping pts today is not good – European spot looks tough ask again. Partey Saka & Willian weren’t good enough today. #afc”

Credit: @RobWoodfin1

“Saka has been so poor. How has he played 90 mins? #BURARS #COYG #afc”

Credit: @SSnetwoork

“Saka’s had a really poor game so far, Think it’s time to replace him with Pepe in this game! #BURARS #Arsenal #AFC #COYG”

Credit: @strangequark77

“Gareth Southgate should not be entering a stadium when Saka plays!!! #BURARS”

Credit: @RIJOIACE

“@Arsenal is an average team, I wonder why it’s not in the relegation zone, with overrated @BukayoSaka87 and @Thomaspartey22 this team is doomed. @m8arteta may not be the coach the team should have had, poor tactics #BURARS”Credit: @bett_TruthIn other news, find out who else was slammed for his display here!

Alasdair Gold was left slamming the display of Davinson Sanchez despite Tottenham Hotspur winning 2-0 at home versus West Brom in the Premier League.

Harry Kane netted the opener for Spurs on his return from injury inside the opening 10 minutes of the second half before Heung-Min Son sealed the win to give the North London club a much-needed three points.

Although there were some very good performances for Jose Mourinho’s team, Sanchez’s display flattered to deceive Gold.

Writing in his latest piece for football.london, the journalist claimed that the former Ajax ace was ‘fortunate’ that Hugo Lloris saved a header from Mbaye Diagne in the first half which could have proved costly for the Lilywhites.

Gold also highlighted his general struggles at trying to contain Diagne, as he gave him a 6/10 overall rating, the joint-lowest out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch.

Sanchez did not have his best game for Spurs

Sanchez certainly did not have his best game for THFC, as the Colombia international lost out on no fewer than eight of his duels, the second-most lost out of his teammates (Sofascore).

He also failed to make a single interception and lost possession of the ball four times in the match (Sofascore).

Sanchez will be happy with the clean sheet, but the 24-year-old central defender can certainly perform better for his side.

In other news, find out who one pundit thinks will be replaced long-term at Spurs here!

Steve Bruce has confirmed Newcastle United are facing a string of injuries ahead of their trip to Aston Villa on Saturday night.

The Toon are striving to end a nine-game winless run across all competitions when they visit Villa Park, where Bruce has not won as a manager since January 2011 whilst in charge of Sunderland.

Newcastle have further only manged to score one goal in their last seven fixtures, coming in a 2-1 defeat at home to Leicester City, with top-scorer Callum Wilson enduring his longest drought in front of the net since moving to St. James’ Park for £20m in the previous window.

So, with Bruce likely to be forced into changes from the XI which lost 3-0 at Arsenal on Monday night, here’s a potential line-up the Magpies could name against Aston Villa…

Goalkeeper Karl Darlow once again proved a rare positive for Newcastle as the Toon were beaten at the Emirates earlier this week, and will expect to retain his place in goal after opening all 18 Premier League fixtures played to date.

But Bruce may be forced into altering the back-four which started in north London, with the Magpies boss confirming doubt over the fitness of centre-backs Fabian Schar and Ciaran Clark alongside the absence of Federico Fernandez.

“Fernandez won’t be available,” Bruce said. “Schar might be [fit]. Ciaran Clark is a doubt. Fernandez has hamstring and muscle problems, and is still going to be a while off.”

Newcastle’s wealth of issues at the back may force Bruce into utilising Isaac Hayden at centre-back once again, having called on the midfielder to drop into defence for five of his 16 appearances across all competitions this season.

Emil Krafth may also lose his place in the Newcastle backline though, rather than through injury, the Sweden international – courted by Istanbul Basaksehir – will fall out of the XI for DeAndre Yedlin through his underwhelming form.

As will Jonjo Shelvey, who Chronicle Live claim went missing at Arsenal after failing to offer a threat at either end of the pitch, allowing for Matty Longstaff to be joined in the engine room by his brother, Sean, against Villa.

Sean Longstaff has started only two of Newcastle’s last five Premier League fixtures, with the £25,000-per-week enforcer overlooked at the Emirates, Manchester City and at home to Liverpool.

Joelinton was another to badly let Bruce down at Arsenal on Monday night and will count himself fortunate if he is not axed, with Matt Ritchie no doubt pushing for minutes in his natural wide-midfield role after offering more key passes per game (1.6) than any other Newcastle player in the Premier League this season.

Bruce will be expected to retain a frontline pairing of Callum Wilson and Andy Carroll against Aston Villa, with the United boss yet confirming Dwight Gayle has overcome the illness that ruled him out of the Gunners encounter.

“Gayle has been unwell, but his Covid tests were negative,” he noted.

AND in other news, Newcastle face a fight to sign a £7m-rated target who “destroys” danger.

Marcel Brands has landed a huge break in his bid to finally rid Everton of Yannick Bolasie with Middlesbrough reportedly reigniting their drive to sign the unwanted winger.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, Neil Warnock’s Boro are putting plans in place to bring Bolasie to the Riverside Stadium in January having failed to get a deal over the line this summer.

Everton were believed to have agreed on terms with the Championship side ahead of the window slamming shut, but saw the move collapse on Deadline Day as the paperwork needed to register the DR Congo international was not processed in time.

Warnock is a big admirer of Bolasie’s talents following their time together at Crystal Palace and has stated previously a determination to reunite with the forward in January, feeling the 31-year-old is the type of player who can make a difference in their push for promotion.

Boro sit six-points outside the Play-Off positions after the opening 17 games of the campaign thanks to one of the second-tier’s most evenly-balanced records, featuring six wins, six draws and five defeats, but a tame offence with just 16 goals scored thus far.

Bolasie has not featured in any competition this season after Carlo Ancelotti informed Everton’s £25million signing that he was surplus to requirements at Goodison Park upon returning from a season-long loan with Liga NOS powerhouse Sporting CP.

Millions on millions wasted

Middlesbrough reigniting their efforts to end Bolasie’s Goodison Park nightmare is a huge break for Everton’s Director of Football Brands, who has shouldered the burden of removing Steve Walsh’s disastrous signing since arriving on Merseyside in 2018.

Bolasie has been completely frozen out at Everton since the appointment of Ancelotti, but his horrors date back further with a serious knee injury in December 2016 – just months after his arrival – the start of what has proven to be a long road to nowhere.

The blow brought short a campaign of little promise with four assists and one goal in 13 Premier League appearances, and forced Bolasie to miss more than a year out before offering one goal and no assists in 16 games under Sam Allardyce upon his return.

Bolasie’s seven-minute run out in Everton’s 3-1 loss to West Ham United on the final day of the 2017/18 season remains his last for the club and with his £75,000-per-week contract due to expire next summer, Brands must do all he can to ensure the Lyon-born forward’s record scratches to its final halt this winter.

Everton have already wasted millions on millions through Ronald Koeman’s decision to sign Bolasie and Walsh’s call to pay £25m, as his total salary to date has pushed the Blues’ outlay to £41.87m and will only continue to climb until he says his last goodbyes.

AND in other news, Everton already have their answer to a 48-goal target “every coach wants”.

Steve Bruce has landed a huge boost ahead of Newcastle United’s meeting with Liverpool on Wednesday night with Jonjo Shelvey set to make his return.

The Toon were without Shelvey for their 2-0 defeat at Manchester City on Boxing Day after Bruce opted to omit the 28-year-old from his travelling squad, with the midfielder showing signs of serious fatigue following last week’s Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat at Brentford.

But according to The Northern Echo, Shelvey should only miss the Citizens affair with the former Liverpool beast expected to be fit and ready to go for when Newcastle welcome the Reds to St. James’ Park.

Shelvey’s return will be a welcome boost for Bruce as he looks to orchestrate United’s first Premier League win in four games at home to the champions, following defeats to Leeds and Man City while settling for a point with newly-promoted Fulham.

Shelvey has started all eight of his top-flight appearances thus far this season and captained the Magpies on four occasions, but endured a horror show against Scott Parker’s Cottagers while his struggles at Brentford have since been put down to his chronic fatigue.

Nonetheless, the £13m-rated midfielder has been among Newcastle’s most influential players across the Premier League campaign, with only Matt Ritchie (1.6) playing a higher number of key passes per game than Shelvey (1.4) to date, per WhoScored.

Shelvey, who plays the most total passes per game (54) by Newcastle players, additionally ranks second only to goalkeeper Karl Darlow for accurate long balls with 6.5 a game, almost double third-ranked man Fabian Schar (3.3).

Bruce lauded Shelvey for his passing range toward the end of the prolonged 2019/20 season, with the Magpies chief only able to wax lyrical over the 6-cap England international.

“He can see a pass that other people can’t, he can deliver a pass, he can score a goal,” Bruce said, via quotes by the Chronicle. “Physically and mentally, he’s bought into everything we’ve tried to put over to him and fair play to him.

“At the minute, he’s reaping the benefits of how good he looks, and of course he’s playing at the top of his game, which is always good to see because he has been outstanding in the last few games.”

If Shelvey has overcome his fatigue with a week’s rest, Bruce should expect to see the 28-year-old’s recent struggles fade away and be able to utilise his ability on the ball against Liverpool.

AND in other news: Steve Bruce has been dealt a huge blow, leaving Newcastle United with a titanic task vs Liverpool.

Brazil boss Tite has hailed Richarlison for delivering some “needed help” in their World Cup qualifying win over Uruguay amid fears of a potential injury for the vital Everton virtuoso.

Richarlison opened the action as Brazil beat Uruguay 2-0 on Wednesday night to end the November international break top of the CONMEBOL table with a two-point lead over rivals Argentina, as the only country with a 100% winning record after the opening four games.

The 23-year-old played a key role in Brazil’s success over Uruguay with his side’s second strike of the night, with Richarlison heading home moments before the break for his eighth senior international goal in what was his 23rd appearance.

Tite was full of praise for Richarlison’s efforts in the absence of Neymar, having lost the Paris Saint-Germain star without a ball being kicked through a thigh strain.

“The story of today’s game was different from the one against Venezuela,” he said, via quotes by Globo Esporte. “We knew we would be demanded more defensively, but we would have space offensively. We needed help on the left and Richarlison did it.”

But Everton chiefs were left sweating after the match, as a red-card foul by Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani raised fears Richarlison had sustained an injury that would prevent the £90,000-per-week ace from making his Premier League return away to Fulham on Sunday.

Richarlison was forced to be subbed off as a result of Cavani stamping on his ankle, though is confident he will be able to feature at Craven Cottage after missing the Blues’ last three top-flight fixtures through suspension following last month’s sending off in the Merseyside Derby.

Carlo Ancelotti will be buoyed to have Richarlison back available after losing all three Premier League games the forward has been absent for, and will be hoping to see a similar gain from Everton’s £50million man that Tite witnessed with Brazil against Uruguay.

Yet Richarlison’s performance was far from perfect at the Estadio Centenario where a goal from Juventus’ Arthur opened the scoring, as the former Watford winger lost 72% of his total duels before being replaced in the 70th-minute, per SofaScore.

Richarlison attempted a total of nine ground duels and contended five aerial battles, but was only able to emerge triumphant in three of his ground duels and one of his aerial battles.

He further lost possession 15 times, made just one successful dribble from three attempts, could not deliver an accurate cross, misplaced 38% of his 21 passes, scored from his only shot on goal and committed one foul.

Tite was able to see Richarlison aid defensively against a side in Uruguay he suspected could peg Brazil back in their own territory, as the Everton gem offered two interceptions and one tackle as he racked up a large per cent of his 42 touches deep on the visitor’s left-hand channel while restricting Cavani and co. to zero shots on target.

Everton expect Richarlison to return to their Finch Farm training ground in the next 24-36 hours, at which point Ancelotti will either land great or worrisome news ahead of facing Fulham.

AND in other news, seriously naïve comments from a Premier League hero show a “fantastic” Everton ace is criminally underrated…