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Everton Director of Football Marcel Brands has an easy call to make on Deadline Day regarding the future of outcast winger and Middlesbrough target Yannick Bolasie.

What’s the word?

According to Sky Sports, Neil Warnock’s Boro are looking to lure Bolasie to the Riverside Stadium two years after he snubbed a potential move to the North East.

Bolasie favoured a deal to join Aston Villa in the second-tier at the time, but would now be keen to join Middlesbrough after preliminary talks were held with the Championship side.

Boro would need to finalise terms on a transfer with Everton by 17:00 on Friday with the domestic transfer window nearing its end, and would require the Toffees subsidising a large proportion of the 31-year-old’s £75,000-per-week contract, per Sky Sports’ Keith Downie.

Bolasie spent last season on loan with Sporting CP, scoring twice in 25 appearances before returning to Goodison Park after the Liga NOS giants opted against triggering a €4.5million (£4m) option to buy clause.

His last of 32 appearances for the Toffees came in May 2018 before joining Aston Villa, KRC Genk and Sporting on loan deals, having missed much of the 2016/17 season through a cruciate ligament rupture.

Boro have begun their 2020/21 Championship campaign with one win from four games, yet sit just two points outside of the Play-Off places after claiming a 2-1 victory over the winless Barnsley prior to the international break.

A simple task for Brands

Everton offloading Bolasie to Boro on Deadline Day is a simple task for Brands, as the Dutch chief will be well aware that Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti has no place in mind for the attacker.

Ancelotti told reporters earlier this month, via quotes by the Liverpool Echo, that the DR Congo international will not feature in Everton’s 25-man squad for the Premier League season.

“Bolasie is doing well, he’s training well and properly. He’s a professional,” said Ancelotti. “He is not part of the squad. He can train with us if he’s not able to find a club until the end of the market, and if he stays here of course we are going to train him.

“But I said to him that we have a big squad, and unfortunately there is no space for him.”

Brands, therefore, must entertain the idea of loaning Bolasie to Middlesbrough even if Everton are required to pay a large per cent of his £75k-p/w contract, as Boro covering any part of his deal will ease the financial commitment being made to a player deemed surplus to requirements.

Bolasie being a part of the domestic Deadline Day is the real shame for the winger, having been signed from Crystal Palace for £25million in 2016 only to see his career nosedive since arriving at Goodison Park.

His knee ligament injury played a great role in the decline seen, but former Everton boss Sam Allardyce could still see the threat Bolasie offered following the blow.

“The team has been crying out for what he offers,” Allardyce said, via quotes by The Guardian in 2017. “Yannick is blessed with dynamic movements and pace that cause defenders great concern. He probably occupies two players when he’s at his best because he’s such a danger in possession.”

Warnock will be hopeful that Bolasie can offer his Boro side that level of offensive threat, having netted just twice in 21 Championship appearances for Aston Villa during his half-season stint in Birmingham.

AND in other news, Everton have made a decision on the future of a £3million outcast.

After suffering relegation back in 2004, very few could surely have imagined a scenario where Leeds still wouldn’t be in the Premier League 15 years later.But the Whites have finally managed to make their return to the promised land, and it has been a journey full of highs, and even bigger lows.Marcelo Bielsa’s arrival as manager at Elland Road seemed to spark new life, and but for a late season collapse last year, they would have already been in the top-flight.But this time around, the Whites have had no such slip-up, and they can finally call themselves a Premier League club again.And taking to Twitter, The Athletic journalist Phil Hay revealed the people the club must thank for their top-flight return.

Bielsa no doubt deserves a large amount of credit for getting this team to perform on the pitch, but the work done behind the scenes by the likes of Andrea Radrizzani and Victor Orta, amongst others, has been equally important.

It’s been a collective effort from top to bottom, and the fans have played their part in it too. They may not have seen their team play Premier League football for a number of years, but still Elland Road has been packed to the rafters.

It took everyone mucking in to get over the line, but Leeds United can finally look forward to top-flight football once more.

Tanguy Ndombele and Tottenham Hotspur. It’s been one rocky ride for the Frenchman since a club-record £55m move last summer.

The 23-year-old has only started four Premier League matches since Jose Mourinho was appointed as Spurs boss back in November and there have been plenty of stories surrounding his future at the club.

Inter Milan are reportedly keen on securing him whilst last month there were claims that Ndombele was ‘determined to leave’ north London, though this was quickly downplayed.

Next season could be a fresh start for all those concerned, especially as the box-to-box midfielder undoubtedly has quality.

During his final season at Lyon, Ndombele notched three goals and seven assists whilst averaging 2.4 dribbles, 1.1 key passes and 1 shot per game, via WhoScored, thus impressing Spurs’ scouts enough to splash a record fee on him.

Even despite managing just 49 minutes per appearance this season, the French international has still provided two goals and four assists.

Meanwhile, in other news, Moussa Sissoko could be on the chopping block, which may be game-changing for Ndombele if true.

According to Corriere dello Sport, Inter seek the long-serving Mauricio Pochettino favourite as a potential alternative to Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante.

If the Serie A outfit do come forward with a bid this summer, then Mourinho should absolutely accept as the fellow Frenchman isn’t really the right fit for the system the 57-year-old is trying to play.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is edging closer to joining the north Londoners as their new defensive midfield lynchpin, meaning Sissoko is going to find life hard in the middle as the two options in front of the Dane will have to be energetic box-to-box sorts – something that he’s not.

Per WhoScored, the 30-year-old has averaged a mediocre 0.6 key passes and 0.5 shots per game this term, which isn’t good enough.

His departure would open up one of those central midfield spots and thus, Ndombele can swoop in and stake his claim at long last with the other spot going to either Harry Winks, Giovani Lo Celso or Dele Alli depending on the opposition.

Sky Sports pundit may have once lauded Sissoko as “sensational” with Winks also describing him as “phenomenal” – but that really doesn’t appear to be the case anymore given the aforementioned numbers.

It’s time for Ndombele to shine at Spurs and the exit of his £18m-rated native compatriot would open the doors for that to happen.

AND in other news, Mourinho swoop for 13-goal winger would be shades of Ginola at Spurs…

Leeds United have been long linked with a potential takeover of the club, especially if they earn promotion to the Premier League at last.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay was asked by one supporter in a recent Q&A session if there was any news on that front, to which he responded with a fresh update.

Paris Saint-Germain’s ownership group, QSI, are the party constantly mooted with a move but Hay claims that any deal ‘sounds nowhere near being close’ – although he didn’t downplay its prospects long-term.

He said:

Earlier in the season, current United owner Andrea Radrizzani revealed just how much money he pumps into the club in order to keep it ticking over – at least £1m-per-month.

That’s simply not sustainable, especially if the west Yorkshire outfit are to become established in the top-flight. Thus, additional investment may be required even if it’s involving a takeover of the club.

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PSG’s riches are well-known given the way president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has run the club in recent years, bringing the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar to the French capital.

Their ownership could catapult the Whites into a financial superpower in the top-flight, which would surely delight those that have been deprived of elite football for the past 16 years at Elland Road.

AND in other news, Leeds fans brush off Noel Whelan’s transfer claim on PL goalkeeper…

Manchester United seem to have lost the race to sign Jude Bellingham, as Borussia Dortmund are close to signing him from Birmingham City. 

Bellingham, who broke the record previously held by Trevor Francis as Birmingham’s youngest player, will now follow in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho.

The Blues star has been linked with the likes of Chelsea and the Red Devils but he will move to Germany in the summer instead.

According to German publication BILD, via @ManUnitedZone_, Bellingham’s proposed move to Dortmund is reportedly a done deal already.

BBC Sport reports the transfer is yet to be completed, although a five-year-contract and a transfer fee of £20m are in place to allow him to switch to the Signal Iduna Park.

Bellingham has played 35 games in the Championship, scoring 4 goals and creating 2 assists as well as averaging 1.1 shots per game and making 2.3 tackles on average (WhoScored).

This will be a bitter blow for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as Man United rolled out the red carpet to try and tempt the teenager to move to Old Trafford, including a personal tour of Carrington with Sir Alex Ferguson.

Unsurprisingly, many United fans slammed Bellingham’s transfer update, with one supporter angrily admitting the “monster” would have been “wasted” at the Theatre of Dreams, while another added his departure is a “big loss.”

Scroll through the scathing reactions so far…

United fans, do you think the board will regret missing out on Jude Bellingham? Let us know down below!

With rumours of a takeover bid from Saudi Arabia heating up, The Chronicle’s Mark Douglas has offered fresh insight into what Amanda Staveley originally wanted at Newcastle United. 

The British businesswoman has spearheaded multiple attempts to pry the Tyneside club away from the grasp of owner Mike Ashley in the past. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Public Investment Fund, which previously spent millions on heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr, is the latest front-runner tipped to succeed the controversial chairman.

Douglas reports that “despite her own on-the-record denial (you see where heads start to spin here) it was an open secret that she was involved in an attempt to raise funds for a second crack at buying Newcastle while Benitez was in the final months of his deal at United: she had hoped to make enough progress to halt the Spaniard from leaving, or at least persuade him to sign a short extension to let her takeover attempt play out.”

“He demurred, her attempts continued and last week, the Premier League was handed documents announcing the intention to move on.”

According to the article, all of Staveley’s hopes rested entirely on the shoulders of iconic manager Rafa Benitez and his departure threw a real spanner in the works. The Spaniard’s exit left a bitter taste in the mouths of several Geordies (Chronicle).

The PIF is one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world and was founded to invest in projects and events across the globe. Last week, The Telegraph revealed a proposed £340m offer appears to have taken a step towards signing the dotted line, with the governing body having been informed of a formal approach.

Many Newcastle fans have driven themselves crazy over any tiny mention of a potential suitor so many times throughout the years, and it is fair to say plenty will be preaching caution and patience.

Ashley has been subjected to harsh criticism from fans and pundits alike after a series of high profile blunders during the coronavirus pandemic and the billionaire has admitted he will sell the club if the price is right.

However, there is no doubt a large section of the Toon Army will remain sceptical, as his tenure in charge of St. James’ Park has been dogged by links to megastars like Floyd Mayweather ever since the Englishman bought the Magpies from Sir John Hall all the way back in 2007.

Missing football!? There’s still plenty of Newcastle discussion going on in the Vital Newcastle Forum! Click here to get involved!

Many Aston Villa fans have reacted to a tweet mentioning Scott Hogan’s future plans with the striker recently saying he would like to move to Birmingham City.

After gaining promotion with Sheffield United on loan last season Hogan would have hoped for a chance to shine in England’s top flight upon his return to Villa, but the striker was deemed surplus to requirements and sent out on loan to Stoke City.

A rather lacklustre spell at the bet365 Stadium saw Hogan return to Villa Park in January, before being allowed move to St. Andrews and join arch-rivals Birmingham.

Since joining the Blues, the former Brentford man has been in superb form, netting an impressive seven goals in nine league appearances.

Villa’s own top-flight status could see them drop down to the Championship if they fail to move off 19th place in the Premier League.

With such good form and seemingly little chance of returning to the first team fold at Villa, Hogan has recently revealed a desire to make a permanent move across the city of Birmingham.

This was relayed on Twitter by @astonforza, with the account asking fans how much they would sell him for. In response, many gave an opinion on Hogan’s future…

Let us know what you think below…. Where will Hogan play his football next season?

Many Tottenham Hotspur fans have been reacting on social media to reports by TEAMtalk, after the North London outfit were linked with FC Metz striker Habib Diallo.

It is understood that Spurs, along with Chelsea, Watford, Newcastle, Leicester and Norwich City, have watched Diallo in recent weeks, and could present a big-money offer for the 24-year-old in January.

The forward has been a mainstay of Vincent Hognon’s side at the Saint-Symphorien Stadium this season, playing the full ninety minutes in 12 of his 13 Ligue 1 appearances.

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Diallo has scored eight times in the French top-flight, and captained Metz on three occasions as Les Grenats beat AS Saint-Etienne and FC Nantes while being held to a draw at home to Toulouse.

Only Olympique Lyonnais’ Memphis Depay and AS Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder have scored more goals in Ligue 1 than Diallo so far this season, leading to Metz placing a price tag of around £10million on the Senegal forward.

Diallo’s haul of goals accounts for 73% of Metz’s total strikes so far this season, as they sit 17th in the table and one point above the relegation play-off spot currently occupied by Dijon FCO.

Metz secured their promotion into Ligue 1 last season after Diallo struck 26 goals in 37 second-tier fixtures, and made his international debut last November before earning his second cap against Brazil this October.

Here are some of the reactions shared to TEAMtalk’s report…

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

According to Italian media outlet Tuttomercatoweb, Southampton are one of a number clubs keeping tabs on Sassuolo left-back Alessandro Tripaldelli, and they may have finally found their long-term Ryan Bertrand replacement in the process.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Tuttomercatoweb report that Saints, along with Crystal Palace, Manchester United, Levante, Valencia, Fiorentina, Bologna and Atalanta are all watching the 20-year-old, who has two-and-a-half years remaining on his contract with the Serie A outfit.

The report says that scouts from the south coast outfit have been spotted looking at the Italy U21 international, who is described as having the pace that would make him suitable for the Premier League.

Despite all of the interest, he has actually found first-team minutes hard to come by so far during the 2019/20 campaign, featuring for just 135 minutes in total and often having to settle for being an unused substitute.

Long-term Bertrand replacement?

Despite his lack of first-team minutes for Sassuolo this term, the fact that clubs of the stature of Manchester United and Valencia – as well as the fact that he has been capped at U21 level by his country – suggest that Tripaldelli has something about him.

The left-back position has become a real problem for Southampton in recent seasons, and while Bertrand has been a top performer for the club in the past, he certainly hasn’t been anywhere near as consistent or effective in more recent seasons as the club has battled relegation.

One of the reasons for that could well be complacency given he has had little competition for the spot, with Matt Targett obviously failing to convince Ralph Hasenhuttl of his ability having been sold to Aston Villa during the summer transfer window.

The Austrian manager has also preferred to use the likes of Cedric Soares, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Moussa Djenepo out of position at left-back and left wing-back rather than place faith in youngster Jake Vokins when Bertrand has been absent, which suggests that he also may not be up to the task of eventually replacing the former Chelsea man.

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That will need to happen sooner rather than later with the England international now 30 years of age and not having the ability to get up and down the pitch like he once did, and Tripaldelli’s pace in particular sounds promising in that respect.

A potentially promising deal for Saints, then.

In other Saints news, fans have been reacting after Gao’s January transfer plans were revealed…

Sunderland showed exactly what they have to offer with the 5-0 hammering of Tranmere in midweek, and another display of attacking intent will likely yield a positive result again.

Phil Parkinson will likely bear than in mind as his squad travels to Shrewsbury, and though there are some notable absentees, the Black Cats should feel confident.

Sam Ricketts’ side have just one win in five, and in Aiden McGeady, who returns after serving a one-match suspension, Sunderland have one of their most creative outlets back.

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The Irishman has four goals and three assists this term, and his presence should make up for the injured Gooch, who got on the scoresheet in midweek.

With his team impressing against Rovers, Parkinson will likely stick with much the same team, but since Duncan Watmore has only just returned from a long injury lay-off, he may be rested after featuring in the last two fixtures

As a result, here is how the new manager will likely line-up on Saturday.

Watmore’s omission may disappoint fans after his brilliant display last time out, but it is for the best.

Sunderland need him to be fit for the full season and therefore his recuperation must be managed carefully. After all, he did suffer two ACL injuries in as many years.

Furthermore, if the Black Cats are struggling to break down Shrewsbury, his pace could be a very effective weapon from the bench, and Parkinson could use him in that way to run in behind a tiring defence – just like he did for his goal on Tuesday.

Marc McNulty could be the man to replace him, likely under instruction to join Will Grigg in the box in order to get on the end of chances, and in doing so create more space for the Northern Ireland international to operate in.

Grigg scored his first league goal of the season against Tranmere, and he could be key to his team this year. Another strong performance would do him the world of good, and McNulty’s presence in the box could help him score again, as he would be able to run onto crosses from deep.

Parkinson therefore has a few options at his disposal. He has shown already that he knows how to use them, and that should put Sunderland in a strong position on Saturday.