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Crystal Palace and Tottenham are just two of several clubs credited with a recent interest in Hatayspor striker Aaron Boupendza.

According to a report from 90min, Palace, Spurs and six other Premier League sides are all interested in the Gabon international.

Celtic and Rangers also keen

Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers are also thought to be keen on the 24-year-old, with the report claiming that it is the forward’s wish to move to the Premier League.

Hatayspor are reportedly willing to do business, should their £8.5m valuation be matched.

Boupendza has only been with the Turkish side since the summer and has already made a major impact, scoring 18 times goals in 26 Super Lig appearances.

Transfer Tavern take

Palace have lacked real firepower up front in recent years, relying too much on wide man Wilfried Zaha for goals at times, so bringing in Boupendza could be a shrewd piece of business.

Christian Benteke is out of contract in the summer, Michy Batshuayi will return to Chelsea at the end of the season and Jordan Ayew turns 30 in December, so this upcoming transfer window could be the perfect time to splash the cash on a striker.

It seems as if the Eagles will face plenty of English competition for Boupendza’s services, though, but guaranteeing game time at Selhurst Park could possibly work out in Palace’s favour.

In other news: Plenty of Palace fans have been reacting to one scout’s presence at Selhurst Park on the weekend, find out more here. 

According to The Athletic, Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes is in no rush to sign a new contract at Old Trafford, and that he is is motivated by the desire to win trophies.

What’s the word?

Fernandes has been nothing short of a revelation since joining the Red Devils on a five-and-a-half year deal from Sporting Lisbon, scoring 30 goals and supplying 20 assists across all competitions.

The Portuguese is desperate to push the club forward following a top-four finish in the previous Premier League campaign.

However, The Athletic claim he is holding off on committing his future to Manchester United as he will wait and see how this season will play out before deciding whether or not to sign a new deal, with silverware the thing that “fuel(s) his fire” .

Over to you, Ed Woodward

While a lot of eyes will be on what United do in terms of Paul Pogba’s future at Old Trafford in the summer, Fernandes must be their top priority, as Ed Woodward will surely be keen on extending his contract.

It’s fair to say that Pogba doesn’t necessarily represent the long-term future of the club as he has made no secret of his desire to leave the Red Devils in recent times. On the other hand, Fernandes – who is one year his junior – is everything that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should look to build his side around.

His latest display against Everton on Saturday was further proof he has added another dimension to the United midfield, in a similar manner to his fellow countryman Cristiano Ronaldo, who the club did not adequately replace at the time.

Fernandes is currently averaging more shots (3.4) and more key passes (3) per match and commits fewer fouls (1.1) than Pogba in the Premier League, which suggests that he poses a greater attacking threat, albeit from his favoured position as a central No. 10 behind the striker.

United legend Rio Ferdinand was effusive in his praise for the 26-year-old after United’s draw with Liverpool last month, saying: “The geezer’s output has been phenomenal.”

It may be early in his United career in terms of appearances, but the £180k-a-week earning star has taken to life at Old Trafford like a duck to water and Woodward can’t afford to let him slip through his fingers, especially with the lack of attacking depth in the midfield areas.

Convincing Fernandes that he can win trophies at Old Trafford, whether that’s through better on-pitch performances or marquee signings in the summer, is absolutely crucial to whether United actually lift silverware. The Portuguese star has quickly become the talisman of this side, and he surely has to be  Woodward’s priority.

AND in other news, Woodward must sanction Man Utd swoop for Aston Villa star Jack Grealish…

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Carlton Palmer has warned that Darren Moore could face a similar problem to Tony Pulis following his recent appointment as Sheffield Wednesday manager.

Moore arrives as a permanent successor to Pulis, who was dismissed at the end of last December before Neil Thompson stepped in on a caretaker basis, and will now be tasked with ending Wednesday’s bad run of form as they battle to stay in the Championship.

The Owls currently sit in 23rd and have lost their last four games in English football’s second tier, leaving Moore with a lot of work to do.

For former Wednesday player Palmer, Moore faces a tough challenge, with the retired midfielder suggesting the squad is not good enough, an issue that Pulis also had to deal with.

Palmer exclusively told FFC:

“They were 2-0 up against Luton and they ended up losing the game. I’m not too sure that the squad of players are good enough. And it’s a difficult one now because it’s after the transfer window, so there’s little he [Moore] can do. I think that was the problem with Tony Pulis [as well].”

With the transfer window closed, Moore will have no choice but to work with what he has got.

The now-former Doncaster Rovers manager comes in at a time where there are still a lot of games left, though, potentially giving him the chance to experiment as he looks for a winning formula.

And given Wednesday’s dire run of form, it may be worth trying different things and different players.

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has provided an injury update on Polish midfielder Mateusz Klich after he limped off against West Bromwich Albion.

Bielsa’s comments on Klich

Speaking via Leeds Live, Bielsa said: “He received a knock to his thigh and this didn’t allow him to continue, but this hasn’t been evaluated just yet.”

This could be a big blow for Leeds

The Polish midfielder has definitely been a vital asset for Leeds this season. When you break down his stats, you can see that he has been contributing at both ends of the pitch. He has picked up three goals and five assists (WhoScored), managing 1.9 key passes a game. Meanwhile defensively, he has managed an impressive 1.3 tackles per game.

Overall in his career, he has scored 45 goals, with 19 of those coming at Leeds. (Transfermarkt). With players like Klich in the side, Leeds should have enough quality to avoid the drop this campaign. With Tottenham up next, it might be best for Bielsa to rest the midfielder so that he has fully recovered from this minor injury in time for what will be a busy January for the Yorkshire-based club.

In other Leeds news, Simon Jordan has launched a tirade on the club. Have a read of it here!

Ross Wilson must answer Steven Gerrard’s call to action and secure Steven Davis’ future at Ibrox with a new contract for the Glasgow Rangers midfielder.

What’s the word?

As it stands, Rangers are heading for a king-sized change of the guard in the summer, with seven players set to be out of contract, including Leon Balogun, Jermain Defoe and Davis.

Davis is in the final year of his contract at Ibrox and they reportedly have yet to offer him a contract extension.

But Gerrard has urged the board to tie the 36-year-old down to a new deal.

Speaking before the Premiership clash with Motherwell at Fir Park, Gerrard told Sky Sports: “He’s extremely important both on and off the pitch. He sets standards that we try and match on a daily basis.

“The level he’s playing at, his consistency, his hunger for the game is still there.

“He’s a top professional so a lot of people look up to him and follow what he does.

“For me, it’s an absolute must that he’s here beyond this season.

“But now is not the time to talk about that.

“We’ve got three points to win and we’ll come to that at a later date.”

Keep Steven Davis at all costs

Gerrard’s latest comments should be words of encouragement for Rangers fans at a time when they risk losing the Northern Irishman for free.

Despite his age, Davis has been a vital cog in Gerrard’s side since regaining his place in the starting line-up last season, having made 21 top-flight appearances this term, the same amount as the ever-reliable left-back Borna Barisic.

Just like Barisic, Davis – who earns around £18,000-per-week at Ibrox – has become one of the club’s most consistent performers, as his performance levels have barely dropped below a 7.0 rating this season so far.

Only Barisic (8.0), Glen Kamara (7.6) and James Tavernier (7.5) scored a higher SofaScore rating for Rangers during the 1-1 draw with Motherwell last Sunday, as Davis was a holding presence in the midfield, winning five out of his seven duels overall (71%) with two tackles and two clearances as well.

His performances this season have overshadowed many of his teammates, too, as he ranks the ninth-highest among all of the Rangers players, averaging the third-highest amount of tackles and interceptions per game, as per WhoScored.

If you take a closer look at the numbers, Davis overshadows both his rivals in Ryan Jack and Bongani Zungu in almost every area, whilst he is often tasked with dropping deep to pick up the ball and bring others into play.

It would be a big blow for Gerrard, and for Rangers in general, should he depart Ibrox in the summer as a free agent, which is precisely why Wilson shouldn’t think twice about offering him a contract extension to fend off any potential suitors.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must swoop for Siriki Dembele after his latest masterclass…

Wolves suffered an agonising defeat in the West Midlands derby this afternoon as rivals Aston Villa managed to scoop all three points for themselves with a last gasp penalty.

The stats will certainly interest the neutrals – with a whole number of yellow cards dished out and both teams eventually being limited to ten men. But despite the Villans losing Douglas Luiz first, they managed to cling on and draw a penalty, which killed the game off in the fourth minute of injury time.

Joao Moutinho was the man given his marching orders for Wolves after a second yellow card offence, but one player who disappointed just as much as the midfielder was Fabio Silva.

Fabio Silva’s stats vs Aston Villa

With Raul Jimenez injured, the £80,000 per week summer signing has been propelled into the limelight and made just his second Premier League start for his new club today. Whilst the West Midlands derby was not a match Nuno Espirito Santo would have liked to deploy Silva up front, his hand was forced.

Unfortunately for the 18-year-old, he was kept silent by the Aston Villa defence, who limited him to just 12 accurate passes the entire game. The teen also failed to complete any dribbles and he mustered up just the one shot on target (via Sofascore).

Filling in for a clinical goalscorer like Jimenez is not an easy task, especially for a young up and coming player. Unfortunately, Silva was easy meat for the Villans this afternoon and he posed absolutely no threat to them in front of goal.

It will be a tough result to take after conceding a late penalty, but focus now shifts to Chelsea, where Nuno will hope to catch the attack-minded Blues on the counter-attack.

In other news, Wolves boss Nuno needs to start playing Rayan Ait-Nouri more often…

Liverpool will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing draw against West Brom at Anfield last time out by picking up three points when they travel to St James Park to face Newcastle on Wednesday evening.

The Reds were nowhere near their best against the Baggies, and with rivals Manchester United now just two points behind Jurgen Klopp’s side, three points are a must against the Toon.

Joel Matip’s injury on Sunday means he is certain to miss out, whilst it looks as if the game will come too soon for both Naby Keita and Thiago. It has also been suggested that Andrew Robertson could be rested in the near future, with James Milner perhaps likely to come in as his replacement.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Klopp to line his side up against Newcastle, with three changes from the team that started against West Brom…

There are two changes in the Liverpool defence with Rhys Williams coming in for Matip, as he did when the Cameroonian was injured against West Brom.

Meanwhile, Milner gets the start at left-back in place of Robertson, with the Scottish international rested ahead of the Reds’ tough away game against Southampton next week.

The former Hull City man was heavily praised by former Reds man Fabio Aurelio recently, with the Brazilian stating:

“He’s kind of the complete player because physically he’s well capable of going forward and going back he defends very well.”

Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum keep their place in midfield, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replacing Curtis Jones, with the former Arsenal man having looked dangerous in his brief cameo on Sunday, so he may earn his first start of the season.

Considering the gravity of the game, Klopp should select his strongest attack in Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino in the hope that they can do the damage against Steve Bruce’s side but it would not be a surprise to see the likes of Takumi Minamino or Xherdan Shaqiri appear from the bench if the Reds are comfortable at St James’ Park.

And, in other news… Jurgen Klopp must unleash “outstanding” £120k p/w beast against Newcastle…

Wilfried Zaha stole the show in style as Crystal Palace cruised to a 2-1 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon.

Zaha, 27, scored a goal and supplied an assist as Roy Hodgson marked his triumphant return to his former club.

Palace took the lead almost immediately after Zaha slipped a sublime pass for Jairo Riedewald to open the scoring with a clinical finish inside the post.

Scott Parker’s side nearly bounced back but Ademola Lookman hit the woodwork twice, before Michy Batshuayi picked out Zaha with a pass for a simple tap-in by the back post to secure the victory.

The 17-cap Ivory Coast international, who earns wages worth £130,000-per-week and was once labelled a “genius” by Ian Holloway, has now scored five goals in his past six Premier League games for Palace, which is more than he managed in the entire league campaign last season.

SofaScore gave him a high grade of 8.8 –  he took three shots on target, completed seven out of eight dribble attempts (87%), and won nine out of fifteen ground duels (60%), whilst he created two big chances, took 51 touches of the ball, and was fouled twice. If you look at his heatmap, you can see a hub of activity in the opposing half, particularly on the left-hand side of the box, which suggests that he continued to cause the Cottagers all sorts of problems by cutting in from the left wing.

Sky Sports rated him at 9/10, whilst football.london went one lower, insisting he “was a constant threat in the first half, back to his best and got a deserved goal in the second half, tapping home from close range despite a collision with the post.”

Palace have had a promising start to the season, including an incredible 3-1 win away at Manchester United, as he scored twice against his former club. However, their performances had taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks, with consecutive defeats to Everton and Chelsea before the international break.

With that being said, Hodgson’s side seem to have discovered a resurgence in form, as Zaha put in another impressive performance. One thing’s for sure, they will need him to be at his very best if they are to avoid the relegation battle this season. The Palace boss must keep his most prized possession at all costs, despite growing concerns over his commitment to the club.

AND in other news, Hodgson’s heir apparent: Crystal Palace must return for Burnley’s Sean Dyche sooner rather than later…

Celtic are reportedly on the market for a new goalkeeper after struggling with both Vasilis Barkas and Scott Bain this season. According to 90min, the Premiership outfit have been identified as a potential destination for Dean Henderson, who recently returned to Manchester after a successful loan spell with Sheffield United.

The 23-year-old was given a new contract upon his return to Old Trafford, seeing him extend his stay with the Red Devils until 2025. The new terms now see Henderson earn a handsome £100,000 per week, more than fellow goalkeeper Sergio Romero (£70,000), who he appears to have usurped in the United ranks (via Spotrac).

However, the man who was solid in the net for the Blades is still struggling to get near David de Gea’s spot. Henderson is yet to appear in the Premier League under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this season, despite United having conceded one of the highest amount of goals so far.

Because of this – and the fact that Gareth Southgate has implored him to find regular playing time – Henderson could be looking at another loan move come January.

Should Celtic sign Dean Henderson?

Nick Hammond brought new shot-stopper Barkas to Parkhead in the summer for a fee just shy of £3million. However, his performances have left a lot to be desired and Celtic are currently struggling in both the Premiership and the Europa League.

The Greece international dropped several lacklustre performances in his new colours before Neil Lennon demoted him to the bench. Bain has instead stepped into the action and has started the last five matches for the Hoops.

Now, with the club linked to a potential big money move for Henderson, it hints that tensions are high between Barkas and the manager. With Celtic trailing by nine points to rivals Rangers in the league, the 26-year-old has not done the job he was brought to Glasgow to do. If Hammond strikes a deal for the Man United man, paying even half of Henderson’s wages will make him one of the most expensive player at the club. Footing the whole of his earnings will see him rise beyond the £59,000 Mohamed Elyounoussi is currently on (via salarysport.com).

The 23-year-old will certainly be an improvement on Lennon’s current options and could really help dig Celtic out of a hole. But for Barkas, the future already looks bleak if his new club are being forced to explore new options less than six months after signing him.

In other news, Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard makes dramatic comeback with France U21s…

When you win 5-2 away from home, it seems counter-intuitive to start picking out the worst bits in a team’s performance. But whilst Carlo Ancelotti will no doubt have been left shaking his head at some of Everton’s calamitous mistakes defensively, there was one man who once again delivered a disaster-class: Gylfi Sigurdsson.

The Toffees eased past Fleetwood Town in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, but there were some familiarly disappointing performances.

Jordan Pickford produced a typical Pickford display with a couple of clangers, but even in a display that saw the Merseyside club score five times, midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson was arguably the biggest let down for Ancelotti.

How big of an Everton fan are you? Can you spot Mikel Arteta from Graham Stuart? This quiz will test your knowledge, try it if you’re brave enough…



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The Iceland international has endured a really difficult time at Goodison Park since joining the club, scoring just 24 goals and providing only 16 assists in 116 games across all competitions.

And against Fleetwood, he showed exactly why he must be considered as a huge transfer flop for the Toffees.

As per Sofascore, his 6.2 overall match rating was the worst of any outfield player for Everton, and when you look at some of the statistics behind that, it’s easy to see why.

He lost possession 18 times over the course of the game – the most of any Toffee – won zero duels, missed the target with every single one of his six attempted crosses, and provided just one key pass. To put that last stat into context, even centre-back Michael Keane, and susbtitute Moise Kean delivered one key pass.

With Ancelotti having completely revamped his midfield with the likes of James Rodriguez, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure, it’s difficult to see how Sigurdsson can possibly justify a place in the starting line-up in the Premier League for Everton anytime soon.

Whilst the Toffees made light work of Fleetwood in the end on Wednesday, it was no thanks to Sigurdsson.