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Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast this week, former Newcastle man Rob Lee has claimed that Dele Alli would be an ideal signing for the Magpies.

The Tottenham attacking midfielder has been out of Jose Mourinho’s plans for the vast majority of the season after failing to secure a move to PSG last summer.

A move to the Parisians looked to be on the cards in January too, but now it appears as though he could well stay in north London unless Spurs can find a replacement.

However, Newcastle are another suitor who have reportedly pondered a move for the England international.

That was something that Lee was quizzed on this week and when asked by FFC whether he’d be a good acquisition at St James’ Park, he commented:

“I’d love to see him at Newcastle. I think he’d be ideal. They need a creative player and they can have Wilson upfront with him (playing) off.”

Whether Steve Bruce’s side would be able to afford Alli’s wages is a point of debate as the England international, who is valued at £34.2m by Transfermarkt, is on a pretty hefty salary.

The 24-year-old currently earns £100,000 a week in London. That being said, if Newcastle have ambitions of improving their wretched 11-game streak without winning, they may need to bring these type of players to the northeast.

A further issue, meanwhile, is that Dele apparently isn’t too keen on the move himself. Consequently, it’s difficult to see this one going through before the transfer deadline passes on Monday, as much as Lee would like to see it happen.

The attacking midfielder has played just four times in the Premier League this season so if he’s to have any chance of making a late dash towards Gareth Southgate’s plans for the Euros, he will almost certainly need to find a move.

For Alli, he’d likely be a regular under Bruce. Perhaps he ought to rethink his decision of not fancying the Magpies in the closing days of the window?

AND in other news, Bruce should urge Newcastle swoop for £1.9k-p/w prospect, he could solve a key failing…

Carlo Ancelotti hopes Allan will be fit for this weekend’s Merseyside Derby after the Everton midfielder sat out Wednesday night’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.

The Brazilian had been expected to feature against Pep Guardiola’s title-chasing side after recovering from a hamstring injury but was given an extra day’s rest to ensure he can contend for a starting role at Liverpool on Saturday.

Allan returned to Ancelotti’s matchday plans against Fulham last weekend following a two-month lay-off, though only took a seat on the bench and was not risked having missed eight Premier League fixtures.

Everton were also without top-scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin against Manchester City as the Toffees succumbed to their sixth top-flight defeat in 12 games at Goodison Park this season, with the striker nursing a minor hamstring injury.

But Ancelotti is confident the £40.5m-rated forward and Allan will both be fit to feature on Saturday.

“We preferred to give Allan one day training instead of staying on the bench,” the Italian said following Wednesday’s defeat to Guardiola’s Sky Blues.

“He trained today, and we hope he will be available for Saturday – to start.

“Also, Calvert-Lewin, I think, can start.”

Calvert-Lewin has missed Everton’s last two Premier League games after limping off the field during the FA Cup fifth-round win over Tottenham Hotspur, in which he scored his 18th goal before providing his third and fourth assists of the campaign across all competitions.

Allan returning to the side at Liverpool for his 13th top-flight outing since joining Everton for £21m from Serie A side SSC Napoli last summer could spell curtains for Tom Davies in Ancelotti’s plans.

Davies made way for James Rodriguez early in the second half of Wednesday night’s 3-1 defeat. Ancelotti felt Gylfi Sigurdsson could occupy the second holding midfield role beside Abdoulaye Doucoure after starting the match in-behind Richarlison.

The £25k-per-week Blues product had tried to offer a combative presence in the engine room and broke up Manchester City’s play well, recording a game-high four interceptions – more than any Everton player has offered per game in the league this term, per WhoScored.

He further matched Doucoure for clearances (one) and was never dribbled past for a 100% tackle success rate, while Sigurdsson took possession with 50% of his and Doucoure 40%. Yet Davies could only register a WhoScored match rating of 6.57, his third-worst of the league season when starting.

Ancelotti’s decision to remove Davies from the action shows where the Italian places the 22-year-old in his pecking order, which is bound to also be behind Allan with the Brazilian already confirmed as starting should he stay injury-free before Saturday.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti is willing Everton to pay £26.5m for a £176k-p/w gem…

After seeing a resurgence in form from Gareth Bale, it’s now time for Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho to unleash forgotten star Dele Alli in the final third of this campaign.

The league season has not gone to plan for Spurs overall.

They find themselves eighth in the Premier League table, six points behind the top four and behind all but one of their main rivals, though they have advanced into the last 16 of the Europa League and have a genuine shot at winning silverware with the Carabao Cup final on the horizon.

But this means that games will be coming thick and fast every week, and thus, the Portuguese stalwart will need his entire squad to be at the races.

Bale had barely featured for the north London club until recently – indeed, the Welsh superstar has only played 1,000 minutes in all competitions for a total of 20 appearances (just 12 starts), as per Transfermarkt.

But in his last four appearances, the 31-year-old has delivered four goals and three assists to help arrest the poor run of form Spurs had found themselves in.

This, ultimately, needs to be the masterplan for Alli to refind his feet in N17.

The 24-year-old, who is valued at €30m (£26m), has played fewer minutes (737) but he too showed flashes of his old ability in their 4-0 win over Wolfsberger last week, delivering one goal and a brace of assists.

SofaScore graded that display a 9.2, his highest since a win over Bournemouth in December 2019 (9.0).

After the game, the Spurs boss waxed lyrical about the rarely-seen playmaker, he said (via the Evening Standard): “He is playing very well” before adding: “The goal was beautiful, but the meaning of the assists and hard work for the team means more to me. That work of continuity in the performance is what makes me really happy.”

Mourinho has largely relied on the goalscoring exploits of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son as the duo account for xx% of their league goals this term, whilst no player has stepped up to fill the void left behind by Christian Eriksen in the no.10 role.

And with Tanguy Ndombele being deployed in a deeper position, alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, there is a spot up for grabs alongside Bale, Son and Kane.

Both Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela have been deployed there, but it is Alli who is the better and more natural fit – just imagine him and Bale if he manages to rediscover form.

The £100k-per-week midfielder was once dubbed a “freak of a talent” and compared to the likes of Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes by ex-Spurs star Darren Anderton in an interview relayed by Goal.com.

In three of his last six Premier League campaigns, Alli has delivered at least nine goals and seven assists and throughout his Spurs and competitive England career, the attacking maestro has averaged 1.4 key passes per game, even despite playing only 138 minutes this season, via WhoScored.

By comparison, Moura averages only 0.7 in the role, while Lamela can only muster up 0.4 per game across all positions played. Similarly, Kane and Son are the only players managing above one key pass per league outing.

There is evidently a need for creativity, and this is something Alli can provide, if Mourinho can get him back to his best and considering Bale’s drastic turnaround, it is certainly possible.

Alli must now be unleashed alongside Bale, Kane and Son. That’s a front four capable of striking fear into any side.

AND in other news, Mourinho must make U-turn over “special” £18m-rated Spurs gem who’s “better than ever”…

Many West Ham United fans have been left to laud some news involving Frederik Alves following a report from Football Insider.

As per the news outlet, the East London club are lining up the Denmark U21 international for a role in the first team in the 2021/22 term.

A source at the Hammers has said that he has made a big impression since his arrival and some members of the coaching staff have earmarked him for a more prominent role in the senior side as of next season.

David Moyes and his backroom staff have no doubt that the central defender is capable of playing in the Premier League, with four games for the U23s under his belt so far in this campaign.

Nonetheless, it seems as if several members of the Irons faithful are more than happy for the 21-year-old to get his chance to step up.

West Ham fan reaction to Alves news

These WHU supporters lauded the news upon learning about it on Twitter, with one fan even going as far as to call it ‘excellent news’:

“Natural squad replacement for Balbuena. I like it.”

Credit: @gdizzle1981

“Takes some pressure off our current first-team defence if they know they have a promising cb like him to step up in their absence”

Credit: @_WhuBill

“Excellent news.”

Credit: @RichardGSBOUT

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear”

Credit: @Con5Sim

“Great to hear. Was worried he would be a Cardoso/Haksabanovic/Doneil Henry”

Credit: @l0ganchin

“Yeah looks the part”

Credit: @DanOCon23169711

In other news, find out what goalkeeper West Ham are reportedly eyeing here!

Many Everton fans have been left in agreement with Jamie Carragher after he did some analysis on the Goodison Park faithful on Monday Night Football.

The Liverpool legend said (via Toffee TV) that it would be a ‘disappointment’ if the Merseyside club do not qualify for European competition for the start of the 2021/22 term due to the quality of manager they have in Carlo Ancelotti, but thinks that the Toffees will fall short of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

The Blues are currently sitting in seventh spot in the Premier League table at the moment on 43 points, just two off of fourth-placed West Ham United with a game in hand (BBC Sport).

While qualifying for Europe’s elite competition is of course a possibility for Ancelotti and his side, they still have the likes of reigning champions Liverpool and big spenders Chelsea to compete with, while also potentially looking over their shoulder for more challengers.

Everton fan reaction to Carragher analysis

These EFC supporters agreed on Carragher’s analysis on Twitter:

“No he’s absolutely right there. Let’s not forget this is Carlo’s first full season, what he’s done already is lay the foundations for the future.”

Credit: @IanG1878

“Completely agree!”

Credit: @james_page26

“Spot on for me, after this season I’ll be disappointed if we don’t get Europe.”

Credit: @PfftSwifti

“Think he has a point to be fair. Our priority is Europa, anything else is a bonus.”

Credit: @nickgartland

“He’s spot on tbh”

Credit: @Yaboiholo

“Think he’s right tbf, but you never know”

Credit: @scousemouse56

In other news, find out what Fabrizio Romano transfer update has been lauded by Everton fans here!

Leeds United had a noticeable name missing from the squad on Monday night in Pascal Struijk, and Phil Hay has revealed why he was not involved against West Ham United.

The latest on Struijk

The Athletic journalist spoke to Whites manager Marcelo Bielsa following the defeat at London Stadium and updated followers on Twitter that “Struijk had a knock”.

This is a worrying update from Bielsa

Struijk brings versatility to the squad and we saw this during a time when Diego Llorente and Robin Koch both suffered injuries (the latter is not back yet), as the young Dutchman provided Leeds with cover and showed he could do a job in the back line. He has also played in defensive midfield when Kalvin Phillips was injured (Transfermarkt).

In his 17 appearances in the Premier League this term, he has been a solid defensive-minded player as he has averaged two successful tackles, two interceptions and 2.7 clearances per game (WhoScored). His averages for the latter two metrics are beaten only by Liam Cooper among his team-mates (WhoScored).

Gerry McNamee from the LS11 podcast piled praise on Struijk a few weeks ago as he said: “I think with [Marcelo] Bielsa, you’ve got to earn your place back and we probably don’t mention him so much because he doesn’t put a foot wrong, his passing, his interceptions everything else in the last two games, he’s been excellent.”

With the Dutch youngster impressing so highly, it is worrying to hear Hay’s update about him having a knock, with no indication of the nature or duration of the injury. Hopefully it does not see him ruled out for a lengthy period.

In other news, one Leeds prospect has seen his good performances receive notable recognition – have a read here!

Plenty of Sunderland supporters have been reacting to Callum McFadzean’s performance against Tranmere Rovers in the EFL Trophy Final on social media.

The 27-year-old made his 23rd appearance in all competitions this season in the capital, with Lee Johnson making four changes from the 2-0 win over Portsmouth last time out.

McFadzean, who missed just one game during Sunderland’s road to Wembley, kept his place in the team from Tuesday’s League One victory, however, he didn’t make a positive impression with several fans.

The left-back has been criticised by many Sunderland supporters already this season, and his display against Keith Hill’s side didn’t appear to win them over on Sunday. Apart from one block on the stroke of half-time, the 27-year-old had a largely quiet afternoon at Wembley, per Chronicle Live.

He lined up alongside Luke O’Nien, Tom Flanagan and Max Power in a back four and took a nasty kick to the face early on, which needed attention for the physio.

Here is what these Black Cats fans had to say about McFadzean’s display, with one describing it as ‘dreadful’.

Sunderland fans react

“McFadzean has clearly won a raffle to become a footballer. Awful.”

Credit: @MrMaps

“McFadzean has got to be the worst Sunderland player ever”

Credit: @_niallshort

“Eeeeeeee McFadzean is absolutely dreadful”

Credit: @tomm_shannon

“McFadzean, Flanagan and Leadbitter have been painful to watch”

Credit: @dannyveng

“McFadzean is a competition winner I swear. No way he’s a real footballer”

Credit: @KevinBridges82

“Not usually one to dig out players on social media but McFadzean makes me ill. I typed this out on about 22 minutes. Still relevant.”

Credit: @easygoingmaloy

Aston Villa have been handed a major boost ahead of their Premier League clash against Tottenham, with Bertrand Traore set to be fit for action.

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans confirmed via his official Twitter account that Traore is on painkillers and should be available to play against Spurs – this followed on comments from Dean Smith about the Burkina Faso international.

Speaking about the 25-year-old in his pre-match press conference, the Villa manager said: “He got a whack in the rib when he took a tumble over the billboards at Newcastle and was in a lot of pain.

“He went to hospital but thankfully there is no bleed and he’s just had painkillers for it so he should be available on Sunday.”

Dubbed an “immense talent” by Smith, Traore hasn’t really set Villa Park alight with his performances this season, and has been fairly streaky with his form – after going on a run of four goals and an assist in six Premier League games over the course of December and January, the winger has found the back of the net just once in his last ten top-flight matches.

Despite the lack of end product recently, Traore remains the kind of player who can create a moment of magic out of nothing, and has been one of Villa’s most potent creative forces this season.

As per Whoscored, the winger’s average of 1.5 shots and 1.2 key passes per game in the Premier League ranks him fifth in both categories among all Villa players.

His performance against Newcastle earlier this calendar year was particularly impressive, and starkly showed the kind of devastating impact he can when things are going well for him.

It’s exactly why Smith will surely be buzzing at the positive injury update on the £55,000-a-week earning Traore, and why once again he will be counting on the Burkina Faso native to try and conjure a piece of brilliance against Spurs today.

Meanwhile, Villa should unleash this academy talent…

According to recent reports, Leeds United goalkeeper, Illan Meslier, is attracting significant interest ahead of the summer transfer window.

So far this season, Meslier has been one of Marcelo Bielsa’s stand out performers in the Premier League, with the 21-year-old keeping nine clean sheets and making a total of 115 saves over his 28 league appearances, averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.12 – ranking him as the club’s fourth-best performer in the top flight.

Seemingly as a result of these impressive displays, a recent report published by Football Club de Marseille (via Sport Witness) claims that Olympique de Marseille are interested in a move for the £26,000-per-week shot-stopper this summer, as Jorge Sampaoli views the 21-year-old as Steve Mandanda’s successor.

However, it is also claimed that the €17 million (£14.6 million) asking price of Meslier is something that will likely prove a stumbling block to any move by Marseille, as well as the fact that several unnamed English clubs are also thought to be keen signing the Frenchman this summer.

Transfer Tavern Take

There are a number of factors within Football Club de Marseille’s report that would not appear to make a great deal of sense from the perspective of Leeds.

Firstly, having only signed the ‘keeper permanently last summer, in what was a £5.85 million deal, it would appear incredibly unlikely that Marcelo Bielsa’s side would be willing to part with the young Frenchman so soon after his arrival.

Secondly, it would appear even less likely that, even if the Whites are open to selling the 21-year-old this summer, that they would be demanding a figure as low as £14.6 million, considering how impressive he has been for the club this season, as well as the fact that the quoted figure that is less than his current Transfermarkt valuation of £15.3 million.

As such, unless an offer is made that Leeds simply cannot refuse, it would appear more than likely that Meslier will not be making the move to Marseille this summer.

In other news: Leeds United have been urged to sign this “highly sought-after” £31k-p/w star this summer – find out more here!

All in all, it was a pretty successful day of international football if you’re an Aston Villa fan.

Ollie Watkins marked his England debut by scoring in a 5-0 thrashing of San Marino, while Tyrone Mings also featured in the drubbing of the minnows.

However, one man who arguably outshone Villa’s Three Lions contingent was John McGinn.

The £34m-rated midfielder was the star of the show as Scotland rescued a late 2-2 draw at home to Austria on Thursday night, with the Villa man scoring an incredible overhead kick in the final few minutes.

It wasn’t just his superb goal which saw McGinn really stand out for the Tartan Army, with the 26-year-old really showing a defensive nous and in holding down the midfield alongside Scott McTominay.

As per Sofascore, his tally of four interceptions was the highest of any player on the pitch, and he could be often seen shuttling across the pitch to close down the passing lanes into Austria’s two-man strike force.

McGinn was also a threat at the other end of the pitch, with his usual energy and dynamism seeing him pop up in the opposition box, as he did for his goal – his total of three shots on goal were the joint-most of any Scot.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for The Scottish Sun, Kenny MacDonald gave McGinn a seven, noting: “30th cap for the Villa man started in an oddly withdrawn midfield role before being freed when McGregor came on – and responded with fabulous technique to level with eighth international goal.

The display sent a huge message to Villa manager Dean Smith about what McGinn can bring to the table, with the midfielder facing added competition for places at Villa Park thanks to the arrival of Morgan Sanson in the January transfer window.

With the likes of Douglas Luiz and Marvelous Nakamba also battling out for those all-important midfield spots, McGinn’s Scotland masterclass will have been a timely reminder to Smith of his qualities.

Meanwhile, Gregg Evans has delivered a major transfer update on Aston Villa…