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Aston Villa are preparing to make a bid for River Plate starlet Julian Alvarez as they search for Emile Smith Rowe alternatives.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days and weeks have claimed that Fernando Hidalgo, the agent of the 21-year-old, is set to meet with Villa’s representatives over a move to Dean Smith’s side ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

Following news of Smith Rowe’s contract extension at Arsenal, it appears that Smith now has his sights set on another South American just like Emi Buendia.

According to TNT Sports (via HITC), Villa look set to step up their interest in Alvarez by lodging an official offer for the versatile attacker in the next couple of days.

Fans will be excited

The River Plate youngster is someone who can play anywhere across the frontline, and after a highly impressive campaign in his native Argentina, he was named as part of his country’s Copa America squad this summer.

Like Smith Rowe, he is very much a creative attacker who can play behind the striker, bagging four goals and setting up another seven in just 20 appearances last season – including a couple of games where he plundered a hat-trick of assists against Godoy Cruz and Central Cordoba respectively.

Marcelo Gallardo, his manager at club level, has previously hailed the young Argentine as someone who “every coach would love to have.”

After missing out on Smith Rowe’s signature, a move for the equally highly-rated youngster Alvarez seems like the dream alternative for Villa.

From being potentially disappointed at Smith Rowe staying put to the excitement of possibly landing another talented prospect in Alvarez, this latest development should have fans buzzing.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa could sign their new Tony Daley in this star…

An update has emerged on midfielder Dennis Adeniran, regarding Sunderland’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to Yorkshire Live, Sunderland are one of the clubs interested in signing Dennis Adeniran on a free transfer following his exit from Premier League side Everton. Blackpool, Luton, Hull and Sheffield Wednesday are also said to be keen on the midfielder.

The report claims that Sheffield Wednesday have already held talks with the 22-year-old over a move to Hillsborough and Darren Moore’s team are currently leading the race for his signature ahead of the Black Cats as it stands.

He won’t cost a penny

Kristjaan Speakman must swoop for the out-of-contract midfielder this summer to bolster Lee Johnson’s squad. Adeniran was released by Everton earlier this month and will not cost a penny in transfer fees, which means that Sunderland can avoid needing to spend a decent chunk of money to bring him to the club and will only need to worry about his wage demands.

This could free up funds for them to pursue players in other positions to bolster their squad, as they do not have to take any money out of what they are budgeting to spend on transfer fees.

Adeniran could be a good addition to Johnson’s squad ahead of the 2021/22 campaign given he was playing at a higher standard earlier this year. Adeniran spent last season on loan at Wycombe in the Championship and Gareth Ainsworth hailed him as an “exciting” talent

He told Wycombe’s official website:

“Dennis is an exciting young talent who has all the attributes to become a really important player for us this season.

“He’s a really energetic, box-to-box midfielder, and comes here eager to learn and develop his game, which we believe he can do just like many other young loanees who’ve joined us early in their careers.”

The £2.4k-per-week beast played 21 matches in the Championship for Wycombe as they narrowly missed out on survival in the final weeks of the campaign. He showed off his combative streak in the second tier as he averaged 2.6 tackles and interceptions per game in midfield, whilst also completing one dribble per game. This shows that he was able to break up opposition attacks and then move the ball in transition, which could make him a valuable asset in Johnson’s midfield in League One.

Therefore, Speakman needs to act swiftly and seal a swoop for the free agent to stop Sheffield Wednesday from winning the race. The Owls may be in front at the minute but that should not stop Sunderland from being able to swoop in, as nothing is over until he puts pen to paper on a deal.

AND in other news, Speakman dealt a blow over 21 y/o with “bright future”, Sunderland fans will be gutted…

Glasgow Rangers fans have been reacting to comments from deputy chairman John Bennett, who said the Gers will not need to sell players to repay outstanding loans.

The Gers enjoyed a marvelous past campaign as they won the Premiership title – they did so without losing a single game (BBC). In fact, they lost just three matches in all competitions (Sky Sports). The title win has put them in with a chance of qualifying for the Champions League group stages as well.

If they want to do that, they will need to hold on to their star players, but there had been suggestions that they would need to move on one or two players to remain financially stable. However, Bennett has now revealed on the Price of Football Podcast that the Ibrox outfit will not need to sell players to repay their outstanding loans.

The news was shared on Twitter by the podcast’s Twitter page, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the comments from Bennett below

“Brace yourselves, incoming financial experts from the east end approach.”

Credit: @stef5512

“But, but, admin 2.”

Credit: @JStukka

“Here we go… No need to sell players this Summer”

Credit: @FarvaRangers

“Announce meltdown”

Credit: @DavAnd12

“Very interesting comments, champs league groups 2 years in a row really would see a huge swing of power.”

Credit: @RangersBanter17

“Absolute breath of fresh air to listen to John Bennett He’s a highly respected man in the world of finance. Knows exactly what he is talking about & has put his money where his mouth is! I value what he says & makes those bloggers utterly comedic”

Credit: @MBS1872

In other news, Rangers have been urged to sign this 23-year-old.

In a recent interview, former Southampton sporting director Les Reed has confirmed that Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy was once on the Saints’ transfer radar.

Speaking to The Transfer Tavern in an exclusive interview, Reed confirmed that Vardy is one of a number of Leicester players who was admired by Southampton during his time at the club.

Since signing from Fleetwood Town in 201,2 the striker has well and truly established himself as a legend at the King Power Stadium, playing a key role in their shock title win in 2015/16.

In 352 appearances for the Foxes, he has contributed an impressive 147 goals and 61 assists, whilst he also earned 26 caps for England.

Whilst he is now 34-years-old, he shows little sign of slowing down, as he managed 15 goals and nine assists in 34 Premier League appearances last season, earning a superb 7.11 average rating from WhoScored for his performances.

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Although Southampton have a talismanic striker of their own in Danny Ings, the former Liverpool man has hit just 55 Premier League goals in his career, which is significantly fewer than the 118 scored by Vardy.

That Southampton were interested in the “unbelievable” Vardy during his time at Fleetwood, when he cost Leicester just £1m, then he surely would’ve proven to be a superb bargain signing at St Mary’s had they made a move for him,

It is difficult to know whether he would’ve enjoyed the same almost inconceivable success he has managed with Leicester City with the Saints, but it’s hard to think he wouldn’t have justified that £1m, at worst, so looking back with hindsight, Reed not managing to bring him to St Mary’s looks like a bit of a disaster.

And, in other news… Semmens signs Danjuma, no Djenepo: How Southampton could look under Hasenhuttl next season

Everton haven’t been afraid to spend vast sums of money over the last few years and with Rafa Benitez now at the helm, that isn’t expected to change.

The Toffees hierarchy have promised him money to spend, presumably as one of the terms of his appointment.

What’s the word?

Everton have been linked with a number of defenders since the transfer window opened with Denzel Dumfries on their radar and Ben White catching their attention.

The latter could join in a deal worth up to £55m but their spending isn’t likely to stop there.

The Merseyside club have been linked with a move for Norwich’s Max Aarons in recent months as they try to provide competition to Seamus Coleman.

Speaking to This is Futbol last weekend, former Everton striker Marcus Bent gave his assessment on any potential deal.

He said: “I think as a 21-year-old, he [Aarons] still has a lot of learning to do.

“He knows Coleman is there, but if the club have spoken to him and said ‘that’s your place when Coleman moves on’, I think he would be happy with that.”

Imagine him & White

If Everton can secure a deal for the two young Englishman then their defence could be set up for years to come.

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The Toffees didn’t struggle for goals with Dominic Calvert-Lewin leading the line last term but they were inconsistent from a defensive point of view.

They shipped five strikes on the final day of the campaign as Manchester City ran riot at the Etihad while Mason Holgate was guilty of numerous mistakes towards the end of the season.

As such, a defensive quartet of Lucas Digne, Ben Godfrey, White and Aarons is mouth-watering for Everton supporters.

White is a wonderful ball-playing centre-half while Aarons, who may cost £30m, would provide a rampant set of traits on the right-hand side of defence.

Described as “outstanding” by Canaries boss Daniel Farke, the youngster is a fabulous attacking full-back. He contributed to four goals in the Championship last season and provided 1.4 key passes per match.

On top of that, Aarons was adept at beating his marker, completing 1.4 dribbles per game.

If we compare those numbers to the players already at Goodison Park, it makes for impressive reading. Only Lucas Digne and James Rodriguez were more creative while only Alex Iwobi, Richarlison and James managed more successful take-ons per match.

Considering Aarons is a defensive player by nature, those numbers bode well for the future of their right-hand side.

Coleman has just a year left remaining on his deal at Goodison so after 12 months under Aarons’ belt, the Norwich star should be ready to fill in permanently.

AND in other news, Forget Gordon: Rafa must seal Everton move for “remarkable” £13m “serious talent”…

According to The Sun, Tottenham are to be offered Raheem Sterling by Manchester City as they attempt to sign Harry Kane.

The Lowdown: Kane wants to leave Spurs

The 27-year-old dropped a bombshell on Spurs in May as he revealed to the club that he wants to leave for pastures new this summer (Sky Sports).

The Citizens have been heavily linked with a move for the England captain (The Guardian), and there have been suggestions there could be a part-exchange offered.

The Latest: City could offer Sterling

It is now being suggested that City could offer Sterling, along with Gabriel Jesus, to Tottenham as a sweetener to capture Kane’s services.

Pep Guardiola is prepared to let both players go as he aims to freshen up his squad following the 1-0 Champions League final defeat to Chelsea.

The Verdict: Interesting deal

Losing Kane will be a hammer blow for Spurs, of that there is no doubt. In 336 games for the club, he has scored 221 goals (Transfermarkt), and he picked up the Premier League Golden Boot for the third time this season (premierleague.com). He is Tottenham’s best player and, quite frankly, he will be all but impossible to replace.

If he does leave, however, Tottenham must secure the best possible deal. While £81m-valued Sterling (Transfermarkt) has not enjoyed his best season, he still managed 15 goals and 12 assists in all competitions. Throughout his career, he has found the back of the net 137 times – he is still only 26 and predominantly plays as a winger.

Along with Jesus, Spurs could be getting themselves two top players with plenty to prove – their potential arrival would more than cushion the blow of Kane’s departure.

In other news, Spurs eye this league-winning manager.

Many Everton fans have been left to blast the display of Seamus Coleman in their 0-0 draw away at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Thursday evening.

The Goodison Park faithful missed a great opportunity to take all three points to strengthen their hopes of European qualification, but a lot of players underperformed, including Coleman.

The Republic of Ireland international lost out on three of his duels, and also failed to record a single blocked shot or interception in the game (Sofascore).

Recording a mere 28 touches of the ball in total, he failed to have any real impact on the match, as he was also guilty of losing possession on 10 different occasions (Sofascore), meaning that he lost the ball every 2.8 touches on average.

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Everton fans on Coleman display

These Toffees supporters blasted his performance on Twitter, with one Blues fan even going as far as to claim that the right-back was ‘awful’:

“Coleman has been so poor today #EFC”

Credit: @_Michael42

“Coleman’s crossing is abysmal. Has been for years. Absolutely abysmal. #AVLEVE”

Credit: @Callumefc

“Coleman was poor today, particularly his distribution. Iwobi, like Gomes and Sigurdsson, is beyond last chance saloon but someone needs to show a bit of quality here”

Credit: @EFCNovaScotia

“Coleman has been shocking tonight. Not been able to pick an Everton shirt out”

Credit: @JohnMag21824761

“Both Coleman and Doucoure have been poor so far. Sigurdsson also. Everton need to make a change here. Davies, King and Bernard for me”

Credit: @TransfersToffee

“Coleman and Richarlison have been awful. It looks like we don’t have a plan, just cross the ball at any opportunity… it’s not always going to work.”

Credit: @WDR573

In other news, find out whose display was also slammed versus AVFC here!

Chelsea could try and sign Tottenham striker Harry Kane this summer in a move that would cause uproar, that is according to former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie.

Sky Sports reported last week that Kane has reiterated his desire to leave Tottenham, with the north London club failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Meanwhile, ESPN are claiming that Chelsea are willing to offer players plus cash, which could include Tammy Abraham and Kepa Arrizabalaga, for the England captain.

Given the Blues’ struggles in front of goal this season, with their top scorer in the Premier League finishing with just seven goals, Hendrie believes a play for Kane could certainly be on the cards.

Speaking exclusively to FFC about Kane’s future, the Sky Sports pundit said:

“You look at Chelsea and they haven’t scored enough goals in that centre-forward area. Could it be one of them? I’m not saying it would because I feel that if Harry Kane was going to go from Spurs to Chelsea, it would cause uproar.

“But you do feel that these days it is one of them where if people are going to pay the big money and they’ve got the big players, it’s certainly a big attraction.”

While it probably would not be a surprise to see Chelsea try their luck, as Hendrie alluded to, it is a transfer that would cause too much controversy, so this looks like a non-starter.

And if the west London club are going to be offering their fringe players like Abraham and Kepa, who have barely played, then shocking proposals like that probably have no chance of even being entertained.

A major update has emerged about MK Dons’ pursuit of Sunderland striker Will Grigg.

What’s the talk?

MK Dons’ sporting director Liam Sweeting has confirmed that he would like to sign Grigg from Sunderland this summer. Grigg joined MK Dons on loan in February, having played for the club earlier in his career.

Sweeting has said that his club thinks highly of Grigg and will be keeping their ear to the ground on his situation as they prepare a potential swoop for the Northern Ireland international. He told MKfm:

“That will be down to me and Russ, obviously Griggy is a player we think really highly of but he doesn’t belong to us, he belongs to Sunderland.

“We don’t have as much control over that one as we might have another target, but for sure we’ll be informed on that situation.”

Current MK Dons striker Charlie Brown praised Grigg earlier this year. He labelled the Sunderland man as an “absolute beast” and admitted that he is learning from him. He told the MK Citizen: 

“He’s brilliant on and off the pitch, I get on really well with him. We’ve got a good connection and when I’ve played with him, I’ve really enjoyed it.

“I’m learning from all of them. When Cammy was playing, I was watching him thinking he’s an absolute beast, and it’s the same with Griggy now.”

Sunderland fans will be buzzing

Sunderland fans will surely be buzzing with this news. It shows real intent from MK Dons to pursue a deal for Grigg as they want to be kept in the loop in regards to his situation at the Stadium of Light. This suggests that they are ready to sanction a bid for the 29-year-old should Lee Johnson decide that he does not want him as a part of his squad for the 2021/22 League One campaign.

Grigg has been a flop since arriving at Sunderland from Wigan for a reported £3.07m. In 61 competitive appearances for Sunderland, the forward has managed a meagre eight goals and three assists, figures that simply do not justify his large price tag. He has not been able to catch the eye at the Stadium of Light and this summer could be the perfect time to move him on, especially if MK Dons are now keen on bringing him in.

His sale could come as music to the ears of Sunderland fans, as the club would be getting rid of a player who has struggled to perform for them in recent years. In the first half of the 2020/21 campaign, Grigg failed to score a single goal in 12 appearances for the club in all competitions. Fans had to watch Grigg falter in front of goal consistently for the club, which is why they will surely be buzzing that there is genuine interest from a club looking to take him away.

AND in other news, Speakman must seal deal for “tremendous” £800-p/w beast, Sunderland fans would love it…

While the pre-match and post-match headlines have been understandably dominated by the European Super League, Leeds produced a spirited display in the midst of all that in their Premier League clash against Liverpool on Monday night.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side earned a hard-fought point against the reigning champions thanks to a header from Diego Llorente, but it wasn’t a display where everyone was at their best.

Tyler Roberts in particular showed flashes of his potential, but once again, the Wales international really struggled to make things count when it actually mattered during the game.

He was guilty of missing arguably the best chance of the game when he found himself unmarked inside the box, but could only fire his shot straight at Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson when he had the entire goal at his mercy.

His overall influence on the game was virtually non-existent too apart from a couple of bright moments, and he managed just 34 touches of the ball over the course of the game – in fact, goalkeeper Illan Meslier had far more of the ball with 55.

He also struggled to keep hold of the ball on occasion, conceding possession ten times, and it led to Sky Sports’ co-commentary Andy Hinchcliffe to remark that Roberts should be “very frustrated” with his performance and that he had wasted his “golden opportunity” when he was eventually replaced by Pablo Hernandez.

And, writing in his post-match player ratings for The Yorkshire Evening Post, Graham Smyth said: “Struggled to make his mark on the first half, showed more in the second half. Still needs to grab games by the scruff.”

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Given that he was linked with a move away in January, and uncertainty over his long-term future come the summer, Roberts’ lack of cutting edge on Monday night, and all season – he still hasn’t scored in the Premier League – surely mean it’s time for him to go.

Meanwhile, this Leeds star let Marcelo Bielsa down vs Liverpool…