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Lots of Everton fans have been lauding a transfer link to former Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum.

As per a report from earlier in the week by 90min, which has since been shared by EFC Daily on their Twitter feed, Rafael Benitez is now ready to battle his former club Newcastle United to sign the Paris Saint-Germain player, of whom he is a ‘big fan’.

Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Leicester City and Aston Villa are other Premier League clubs believed to be interested in signing Wijnaldum in the January transfer window, should he be made available by the Ligue 1 leaders.

Even though he is a former Liverpool player, the Netherlands international would likely improve Benitez’s team given his pedigree in the game, having won both the Premier League and Champions League with the Reds and earned 85 caps for his country.

He has shown that he is more than capable of adding goals and assists from midfield in the English top flight, with 43 such contributions in 217 games in the division (Transfermarkt), and he could be a very shrewd addition at Goodison Park.

Everton fans on Wijnaldum transfer news

These Everton supporters lauded the transfer news as it was shared on Twitter, with one of them hailing the Dutchman as a “proper player”:

“DU DU DU DU DU DU GINI WIJNALDUM”

Credit: @EFC_Martin1

“He would be perfect for Everton tbh. A shame he played for Big Red but his legs and energy with Doucoure would be class”

Credit: @gregofallgregs

“Who knows, I think he would be a good signing if the interest is genuine”

Credit: @AidyDews

“He’s quality mate, it’s a no-brainer on loan”

Credit: @Richlloyd1984

“Finally, a proper player to add to the team”

Credit: @chefmainia

“Job for the boys”

Credit: @askEvertonian08

In other news, find out which official club post has left these Toffees fans buzzing

West Ham recorded a crucial 2-1 victory over Everton in the Premier League this afternoon as goals from Aaron Cresswell and Jarrod Bowen secured three points for the Hammers in the quest for European qualification.

The left-back scored an excellent free-kick to give David Moyes’ side the lead going into half-time before defender Mason Holgate volleyed a deflected equaliser past Lukasz Fabianski in the second half.

However, Bowen, on return from a month-long injury layoff, scored the decisive goal, tapping into an empty net after Michail Antonio’s strike was parried by Jordan Pickford.

To make matters even worse for Frank Lampard’s relegation-threatened side, captain Michael Keane was shown a second yellow card, the third consecutive league game in which Everton have seen a man sent off.

Although the English duo scored the goals, fellow countryman and midfielder Declan Rice was a rock in the middle of the park for the East London outfit at the London Stadium.

According to SofaScore, the Englishman recorded a 7.2 match rating after making 95 touches and enjoying a 94% passing accuracy against the Merseyside outfit.

Moreover, the 23-year-old won half of his ground duels whilst contributing one key pass, losing possession just nine times, an average of every 10.6 touches.

From a defensive point of view, the colossus showed just why he’s been dubbed an “explosion” and a “revelation” by his manager, contributing three interceptions as well as two blocks and one tackle.

It’s no surprise that West Ham’s prize asset was impressive, particularly against one of the top-flight’s biggest strugglers in Everton.

Rice has been repeatedly subject to a potential big-money move away from East London this summer, with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola labelling the 23-year-old as “an exceptional player.”

However, Moyes has recently stated that the midfielder isn’t for sale and that a fee north of £150m would be the minimum asking price if he is to depart.

The Irons are now back into the Premier League’s top six after their important league victory, however, seventh-placed Manchester United are level on points and have a game in hand.

Next up for the Hammers is the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Lyon, another crucial game that Moyes will need all of his players to step up for. A performance similar to that of today’s from Rice certainly won’t be objected to by those associated with the Stratford side.

AND in other news: Moyes can finally axe “shocking” WHU dud as claim emerges, supporters surely buzzing

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has claimed that he doesn’t think “there are any doubts” over the Eagles looking to extend the contract of Wilfried Zaha.

What’s the story?

Speaking to the South London Press, Parish said: “We love Wilfried to bits, but that is a situation that we will discuss with him and his people. We will try and find the right answer for everybody at the right time.”

The Eagles star has enjoyed his best season in front of goal this term with 12 to his name, but the 29-year-old’s current deal is set to expire next summer.

Supporters will be ecstatic

With the Ivorian being a vital cog in the Palace set up for the best part of a decade, supporters will be delighted at the prospect of the club offering him a new contract.

Of course, from Parish’s perspective, attempting to extend the stay of one of the club’s best-ever players is a no brainer. Ultimately, it will come down to whether or not the 29-year-old will want to stay at Selhurst Park.

Zaha has attempted to force transfers away before, with the winger handing in a transfer request back in 2019 in an attempt to join Arsenal, having signed a five-year deal the year before.

However, the Ivory Coast international has since remained in the Palace setup and has seen manager Patrick Vieira enjoy the best of the winger in the Frenchman’s first season in charge at Selhurst Park.

This could well be a contributing factor to attempting to convince the forward to extend his stay.

Since graduating from the Crystal Palace youth set-up in 2010, Zaha has gone on to make 424 appearances for the south Londoners, with a brief spell at Manchester United ultimately proving unsuccessful before a return to Selhurst Park.

In that period, the winger has scored 80 goals for Palace alongside registering 73 assists, making him the Eagles’ 12th highest all-time goalscorer.

Besides the efforts of Zaha and Conor Gallagher, who is expected to return to Chelsea this summer, goals from other sources have been limited with the likes of Odsonne Edouard (six), Jean-Philippe Mateta (six), Christian Benteke (four) and Jordan Ayew (two) all scoring no more than half of the 29-year-old’s current tally for the campaign.

Therefore, the prospect of the Palace star signing a new deal will have supporters ecstatic.

AND in other news: CPFC plotting bid for “incredible” £9m-rated talent, he’s “extraordinary at his age”

Many Wolves fans have been enjoying comments made by Joao Moutinho before they play Liverpool in the Premier League this afternoon.

Speaking to the club’s official website, the Portuguese midfielder was asked about his good form so far this season, replying: “I try to do my best, I hope they [the fans] enjoy my football, I’m enjoying a lot playing for Wolverhampton and I’ll do my best with quality, experience, ability to show and to give them something to appreciate.”

Indeed, Moutinho has been one of Wolves’ best performers so far this season, ranking highly among his teammates in terms of average tackles (1.8), interceptions (1.1), clearances (1.1) and key passes (1.4) per game in the Premier League, while he also has the highest pass success percentage (89.1%) out of any of his teammates (WhoScored).

Nonetheless, it is great for the supporters to hear how much he is enjoying playing for the club and indeed in front of them, as he looks to put in a stellar performance against Jurgen Klopp’s team this afternoon.

Wolves fans on Moutinho comments

These Wolves fans loved the comments from Moutinho as they were shared on Twitter:

“Extend the deal”

Credit: @cal_wolvesfc

“Legend man.”

Credit: @XXXTANNERTACION

“Unreal player”

Credit: @Reecey_21

“One of, if not the best, to have ever worn the Old Gold and Black.”

Credit: @dmarsden1988

“Love to watch you playing for Wolves, you and Ruben in the centre of the park are phenomenal!!”

Credit: @cope_vanessa

“Best player in my time to put on the Old Gold and Black”

Credit: @wolfmatt97

In other news, find out which ‘incredible’ star Wolves almost signed

Crystal Palace have the opportunity to finish in the top half this season, currently just two points behind Leicester City and Aston Villa, but with Patrick Vieira planning for his final push in the remaining Premier League fixtures to secure a top finish, he may have been delivered a huge setback.

What’s the word?

As reported by Daily Mail, Wilfried Zaha had to sit out of the international friendly against England last night after suffering a grade two hamstring injury in training with the Ivory Coast.

The Crystal Palace forward is now very unlikely to be available for selection in Monday’s clash at Selhurst Park against Arsenal, as he reportedly was given an X-ray that has revealed the extent of an injury causing problems.

The Ivory Coast manager, Patrice Beaumelle, revealed further that “if it gets worse it is maybe six weeks or two months out.”

If it is that bad, it may mean that Zaha doesn’t play again this term.

Vieira will be gutted

With only nine Premier League fixtures remaining for the Eagles, the French manager will surely be gutted to have potentially lost one of his most reliable and experienced attacking threats in the team.

The 29-year-old has scored ten goals in all competitions for Palace already this season, with some of his strikes making an important impact on points won for the side. For example, there was a crucial second half goal scored against Norwich that pulled back a point, and a penalty scored against Wolves to seal a comfortable victory recently away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Palace also have a hugely important clash in the FA Cup coming up at Wembley against Chelsea in just over three weeks, and losing the attacker for the monumental clash that has taken Palace to their first FA Cup semi-final since 2016, could be a disaster for Vieira.

There will surely more clarity on the seriousness of the injury when Zaha returns to his club and is further assessed later this week, and the Eagles boss will likely call upon his other attacking players to complete the difficult challenge against the Gunners at Selhurst Park this weekend, no matter the outcome.

In other news: Vieira set for huge howler as CPFC plot bid for “terrible” £91k-p/w dud who’s “so bad”

Claude Puel made a handful of shrewd signings during the 2018 summer transfer window and one of those players, Ricardo Pereira, is rapidly beginning to establish himself as one of the bargains of the Premier League season. 

Leicester secured the signing of Pereira from FC Porto last summer in a deal which cost them £19.8 million. Puel wasted no time in integrating him into the squad and he was immediately thrown into the first-team, providing an assist for James Maddison on only his second outing of the season.

Embracing one of the most fundamental characteristics of a modern day full-back, Pereira’s attacking prowess immediately caught the eye; his defensive quality, on the other hand, was less clear cut.

With the ball at his feet Pereira looked composed, confident and a constant threat in the final-third, regardless of whether he was dribbling towards the byline or lining up a whipped cross into the danger zone.

But perhaps the truest indicator of Pereira’s suitability for the demands of the Premier League arrived on Merseyside on Wednesday evening, where he was exceptional against Liverpool.

His reputation amongst the Foxes faithful was already beginning to snowball after he powered home an emphatic winning goal against Manchester City on Boxing Day, but the maturity of his performance against the league-leaders was a genuine indicator into the extent of his development this season.

Pereira was, typically, always available as an outlet moving forward, striving to support Leicester on the breakaway down the right flank, but his ability to contribute defensively to a stellar effort from the back-four would have delighted the supporters.

His attacking quality has always been obvious but, as is so often the case for full-backs in this day and age, his defensive attributes evoked cause for concern.

But, after undergoing a transition period at the King Power Stadium and adapting to the speed of a new style of football, Pereira has established himself as a reliable defensive asset.

While Manchester City are far from your average benchmark for transfer fees, that Pereira only cost £19.8 million – £30.2 million less than City paid for Walker, £32.2 million less than they paid for Benjamin Mendy and £6.7 million less than they paid for Danilo – justifies his status as one of the bargains of the season.

Leicester fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Manuel Lanzini was one of the few bright sparks as West Ham United were held by Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday afternoon.

It puts a big dent in the Irons’ hopes of Champions League qualification as it brings them ever so much closer to the chasing pack and so much further away from Chelsea, who they defeated last weekend, in third place.

The Clarets were resolute in restricting the Hammers to just three shots on target from 16 attempts all game, dealing a struggling Michail Antonio with another frustrating outing.

As is often the case, England international Declan Rice reaped a lot of the plaudits for his performance and it is true that he was one of the best-performing players. However, plenty of credit must go towards Manuel Lanzini, who delivered another statement-like display.

The Argentine has now started back-to-back matches and looks a scratch above the likes of Antonio and Said Benrahma, with the pair turning stale in recent outings.

In the 80 minutes he lasted on the pitch, the £9m-rated playmaker made 94% of his 47 passes, the best of any player on the pitch, so evidently, he was showing for the ball and trying to create chances, in which he made two key passes.

Elsewhere on the pitch, he fired off two shots, put in one tackle and registered 59 touches, leading to The Evening Standard’s Jack Rosser describing his performance as “very impressive” on social media.

That was echoed by football.london reporter Tom Clark in his post-match ratings column, where he claimed: ‘West Ham’s best performer in the first-half with the Argentine finding pockets of space to work in. Influence waned as the match went on but a decent display from the No.10.’

So forget about Rice, you can expect that sort of display from him week-in, week-out. It was the £69k-per-week Lanzini who arguably stole the show for the visiting Irons and perhaps means he was the one silver lining in what was a frustrating affair in Lancashire.

AND in other news, Rob Newman could sign Moyes’ next Jarrod Bowen in West Ham swoop for £12m “special talent”…

As per a report in the paper edition of Mundo Deportivo, via Sport Witness, there has been an update on Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele.

The Lowdown: Dembele contract winding down…

The Frenchman’s current deal in Catalonia is set to expire in 2022 as things stand with his club running out of time to secure the player to fresh terms.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-updates-5/” title=”Spurs latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Dembele is free to negotiate pre-contract summer moves with Spurs managing director Fabio Paratici having long been linked with a swoop.

It has been claimed that the Tottenham transfer chief is eyeing ‘quality players at zero cost’ for Lilywhites boss Antonio Conte with Barca’s ace firmly on the agenda (Mundo Deportivo via Sport Witness).

The Latest: Spurs ‘push hard’…

In an update on Dembele’s situation, Mundo (via SW) have made a claim involving Spurs – going on to state that they are trying to ‘push hard’ for the 24-year-old.

Despite interest from European heavyweights Paris-Saint Germain and Bayern Munich, ‘everything indicates’ a move to England for the attacker.

As well as this, Paratici is a personal admirer of Dembele and it is believed that the Italian ‘already tempted’ Barca’s player to join Juventus during his tenure at the Allianz Stadium.

The Verdict: Right move?

As the international’s future in Spain remains a point of contention with many clubs apparently interested (90min), we believe he actually wouldn’t be the most ideal capture for Conte at N17.

Even though Spurs would be signing him on a free transfer, Dembele’s reported salary demands in excess of around £200,000-per-week could be too much financially – especially considering his worrying fitness record.

The former Borussia Dortmund sensation’s long history of hamstring problems should certainly be taken into consideration with pundit Carlton Palmer perhaps best summing it up.

Speaking to This is Futbol, the former England international warned Spurs against a move for Dembele – citing his possible wages and extensive injury history as reasons why he would be a ‘crazy signing’ for the club.

Indeed, taking these factors into consideration, Tottenham are perhaps best looking elsewhere for low cost upgrades in the winter window.

In other news: ‘Absolute no-brainer’…Sky Sports pundit thrilled by ‘exciting’ transfer news out of Spurs, find out more here.

Rangers have received a boost with the news that Borna Barisic is happy at the club, as per Football Scotland. 

The lowdown

The Gers have already lost one full-back this month, with Everton snapping up Nathan Patterson.

Barisic has also attracted Premier League interest, this time from Watford, who tabled a £2m bid last month which was promptly dismissed by the Scottish champions.

The Croatian’s £18,000-per-week contract, signed in January 2020, still has two-and-a-half years to run.

The latest

Football Scotland reporters Mark McDougall and Euan Robertson wrote that Barisic is ‘enjoying life in Glasgow’, and it would apparently take a bid of £5m for Rangers to even consider letting him go.

The report added that the Light Blues are in ‘a strong negotiating position’ after the club-record sale of Patterson last week.

The verdict

Keeping Barisic would be a big boost for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Rangers, and it would also illustrate the benefits of parting with Patterson.

The Croatian is a trusted lieutenant, selected for 12 Premiership games and all six of the Gers’ Europa League group stage matches this season.

He has also been the team’s third strongest performer according to SofaScore metrics, with an average rating of 7.3/10. Indeed, in the Light Blues’ squad, only James Tavernier (3.4) has created more chances per 90 minutes than Barisic.

His former manager Steven Gerrard hailed him as a “top player” back in 2019, praise which is merited judging by the above statistics, so to hear that the 29-year-old is quite happy to remain at Ibrox despite Watford’s interest should come as a real fillip to everyone associated with Rangers.

In other news, many Rangers fans flocked to this double exit claim

Paul Robinson has confessed he is ‘so surprised’ that Frank Lampard has been overlooked for the Rangers job.

The lowdown

According to The Daily Record’s Robbie Copeland, the Rangers hierarchy held ‘brief talks’ with Lampard, but he didn’t make their final three-man shortlist for the position vacated by Steven Gerrard.

Lampard has been out of work since January when he was sacked by Chelsea after a run of one win in five (via BBC Sport).

The former England international previously had a spell at Derby County, during which he led the Rams to the Championship playoff final at Wembley.

Norwich City showed an interest following the recent sacking of Daniel Farke, but Lampard ultimately withdrew himself from contention (via BBC Sport).

The latest

Robinson, one of Lampard’s England team-mates, assumed Lampard was Ibrox-bound after the Norwich move didn’t materialise.

He thinks the 43-year-old has the credentials to be a success in Glasgow, drawing particular attention to his track record with young players.

“I’m so surprised Frank Lampard is not being heavily backed for the job,” he told Football Insider.

“He had talks with Norwich and pulled himself out. Surely everything points to Rangers.

“The job Lampard did at Chelsea was a decent one. I think people forget that.

“He is a good manager who can develop young players in the same way Steven has done. I’m sure Frank could go in and do a job.

“I’m surprised he is not one of the favourites to take the job. I think he’d be a great appointment for them.”

The verdict

How good a job did Lampard do at Chelsea? Well, in his first season he creditably navigated a transfer ban and led the Blues to Champions League qualification.

But then, with the shackles off, the club invested in £222million worth of new talent, and they seemed to go backwards. They were ninth in the table when Lampard was shown the door.

So it’s a mixed CV, but in fairness the same applies to a firm candidate in Giovanni von Bronckhorst. For all his success at Feyenoord between 2015 and 2019, he ended his tenure at Guangzhou R&F after just eight wins in 23 matches.

It’s all about establishing the relevance of prior successes and failures, and perhaps Lampard’s early time at Stamford Bridge suggests he would have been perfect under a tighter budget.

In other news, an announcement may be imminent.