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La Liga expert Euen McTear believes that Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres would fit perfectly at Manchester City.

The 24-year-old has quickly established himself as a key part of the Yellow Submarines’ backline and made 44 appearances in all competitions last season as they won the Europa League.

Torres’ impressive form has seen him become a regular for Spain, too, and he started their opening European Championships game against Poland on Monday and looked solid as they kept a clean sheet.

His international colleague, Aymeric Laporte, could be on the way out of the Etihad, meaning Torres could come in as his replacement, although City face competition from several Premier League sides, including rivals Manchester United.

But McTear reckons that Torres’ experience of playing in possession-based sides like Villarreal and Spain would put him in good stead should he sign for Pep Guardiola’s team this summer.

He exclusively told Football FanCast:

“Manchester City would be the perfect situation because they’re a team that need their centre-backs contributing going forward.

“In terms of being in a team that are going to be defending a little bit more, I don’t know. He hasn’t been in a team where he’s been asked to make three last-ditch tackles in a game or clear seven or eight crosses in a game. He’s more of a classic possession-based Pique kind of centre-back.”

Guardiola already has two excellent in Ruben Dias and John Stones, but with City likely to be fighting on all four fronts again, they’ll need at least four centre-backs, meaning Laporte will need to be replaced, which could open the door for Torres.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are said to be eyeing a move for Benfica winger Rafa Silva this summer.

What’s the word?

That is according to A Bola (via Sport Witness), who believe Wolves are the “most concrete” club in pursuit of the 28-year-old.

The 25-cap Portugal winger’s contract expires in 2024, though a figure of €50 million (£42m) quoted by Jeunesfooteux could be enough to convince the Lisbon-based side to cut ties with Silva.

A source of goals

Silva is a versatile forward and has proven himself as a goalscorer throughout his six-year stint at Benfica, with 94 strikes in total throughout his professional club career.

He is the antithesis of Barcelona loanee Francisco Trincao, who has failed to set the world alight at Molineux.

In fact, their stats this season are almost incomparable, with Silva enjoying a much more fruitful spell in the opponent’s final third, on a much more consistent basis.

28-year-old Silva, who has been described as “exceptional” by host Jack Collins via Twitter, has 16 assists.

In contrast, Trincao has just eight during his final season at Braga in the 2019/20 campaign.

Silva’s calibre as a forward offers Wolves an option to completely level up their attack and serves as a more direct variant, operating in a similar fashion to a striker.

His passing stats paint a picture of his straight to the point style, as he tends to progress the ball through dribbling, rather than passing, with his average of 19 passes completed per 90 on the lower end of the percentile in comparison to positionally similar players across the top 5 leagues.

His performance in the first leg of the Champions League against Liverpool will have made Lage sit up and take notice, as the Portugal-man bagged an assist in his side’s 3-1 defeat.

This is not a surprise, as his 15 assists in Liga Portugal is a league-leading total. Based on the above, he’d certainly be an exciting signing in the Midlands.

In other news: £36m-rated “serious talent” who Wolves need drops a major hint on his future, supporters will be buzzing…

Harvey Elliott has been described as ‘certified special’ by a Blackburn Rovers team-mate following a superb spell at the Championship club.

The Lowdown: Elliott shines at Blackburn

The 18-year-old moved to Ewood Park back in October, with Jurgen Klopp failing to guarantee him regular playing time at Liverpool.

While some young players can get eaten up by the physical nature of the Championship, Elliott has excelled, scoring seven goals and registering a hugely impressive 11 assists.

The forward has now completed his stint at Blackburn and will return to Liverpool ahead of pre-season training in the summer.

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The Latest: Enormous praise for Reds youngster

Elliott has clearly impressed those around him at Ewood Park, not least Rovers captain Elliott Bennett, who has waxed lyrical over the Reds man [via Anfield Watch Academy on Twitter] as he said:

“This kid is certified special. Good luck brother. Stay hungry. Stay humble. Keep shining.”

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The Verdict: Very special talent

Some young players stand out from the rest, possessing outrageous technical ability and a swagger about their game, both of which apply to Elliott. To have ripped up the Championship at just 18 years of age is a standout feat and he appears to have a huge future in the game.

It would be reckless to begin calling for Elliott to start regularly at Liverpool next season given that he has rarely featured for the club, but Klopp must surely consider making him a part of the Reds’ matchday squads.

With the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi possibly moving on, the teenager could take their places as he continues to mature into a potential future Anfield star.

In other news, Liverpool have been given a major boost in their quest to sign a Premier League player this summer. Read more here.

According to The Daily Mail, Southampton are to battle fellow Premier League club West Ham United in their attempts to sign Nice defender Flavius Daniliuc.

The Lowdown: Saints boost defence

The Saints are preparing for the new campaign – they are now just ten days away from their season opener with Everton on Saturday 14 August 14.

So far, they have made three new signings – two of them, in Romain Perraud (southamptonfc.com) and Danyl Simeu (chelseafc.com), are natural defenders; while the other, Valentin Livramento, has played regularly at right-back at youth level.

The Latest: Saints eye Daniliuc

It now seems that the Saints are looking to bring in another defender in £5.4m-valued Nice centre-back Daniliuc (Transfermarkt).

With plenty of competition for places at Les Aiglons, he could be allowed to leave the French club this summer.

The Verdict: Right area to target

Even at the age of just 20, Daniliuc has already been on the books of European giants such as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid (Transfermarkt). Last season, he made 26 appearances in all competitions for Nice (Transfermarkt), showing his talent and ability. He also has five Austria under-21 caps to his name.

In 2020/21, Southampton conceded 68 goals in the Premier League (Sky Sports). Only relegated West Bromwich Albion, with 76 goals shipped, had a worse record. The Saints have already looked to sort out that problem at the back this summer, and they seem willing to bring in even more reinforcements in that area of the pitch if they are going after Daniliuc having already signed several new defenders.

In other news, many Southampton fans are delighted with this new arrival.

Many Sunderland fans are far from happy with the club’s online ticketing system as they aim to secure seats for their match against MK Dons this coming weekend.

The Black Cats’ campaign is already underway and they started in the best possible manner as they picked up all three points thanks to a 2-1 victory over Wigan on the opening day of the league season. Tonight they play Port Vale in the first round of the Carabao Cup before traveling to Milton Keynes this weekend for their next League One fixture.

With stadia now allowed to be full across England, Sunderland fans have the chance to travel down south for the match. However, judging by social media reaction, many supporters appear to be experiencing issues buying tickets as the interest in attending is naturally high.

The club announced the sale of tickets for the clash on Twitter, and that attracted plenty of attention from disgruntled supporters who encountered problems with the “pathetic” ticketing system. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the ticketing problems

“How the heck ordering 1 ticket do I get the message – Unfortunately, the items you have selected do not have a common delivery method assigned, please purchase them separately??? No hope in getting through to the ticket office either.”

Credit: @mrbowena

“Been trying for 3 hours but keep getting this error despite being a season ticket holder”

Credit: @timmyward

“Been trying to get tickets but the site and the phone lines are a shambles”

Credit: @johno31_safc

“I would love to.. been trying since 12pm and I’m well and truly peeved now”

Credit: @woodybp26

“System is pathetic & not fit for purpose..I have been trying for over 3 hours”

Credit: @justpassing73

“Been trying to all morning like many other people”

Credit: @numberoneskitz

In other news, many Sunderland fans lauded this man’s display against Wigan.

There has been widespread speculation that Bruno Lage is the man Jorge Mendes and Wolves want to succeed Nuno Espirito Santo and he certainly has big boots to fill but he could be up for the job according to Wolves legend, Steve Bull.

Lage has only ever been the manager in a top league once and that was from 2019 to 2020 with Benfica, but he did manage to guide them to the Liga Nos title and only lost two out of the 48 games he was in charge for from when he was appointed in January 2019.

Whoever arrives at Molineux will have a huge task on their handsm especially if reports are to be believed that the club are wanting to sell Ruben Neves for £35 million this summer so that they can raise some funds.

Lage would be a relatively risky appointment given his lack of experience as both a manager and in England but that was also the case for Nuno as he had never managed in England, so Bull thinks he could be a good appointment as he exclusively spoke to Football FanCast:

“We’ve got all these Portuguese players and ex-Benfica and Porto players that Mendes has brought in so he could be a good shout.

“I’ve not read too much into all of these managers and what they’ve done because it’s all come as a shock to me.”

Nuno had some rotten luck this season in terms of injuries having had to cope with a number of high profile players spending time on the sidelines such as Raul Jimenez, Pedro Neto and Willy Boly.

The Fosun group reportedly want to cut back on their spending at Wolves heading into this summer and it also emerged that they were looking to invest in Bordeaux, which could be a huge reason why they aren’t as hands-on at Molineux now.

Leeds have made a €12m (£10.3m) offer for Lyon’s Maxwel Cornet, but it doesn’t meet the demands of the Ligue 1 outfit, according to Olympique et Lyonnais.

The lowdown

The 24-year-old has made 251 appearances for his club, scoring 51 goals and providing 29 assists. Last season, he was directly involved in 10 goals (four goals, six assists) in 39 appearances across all competitions.

The Ivorian was predominantly used as a left-back but also operated in more advanced positions on that flank. That could make him an ideal replacement at Leeds for Ezgjan Alioski, who has reached the end of his contract.

After Cornet scored twice in a 2-2 Champions League draw against Manchester City in 2018, Pep Guardiola admitted to being ‘very impressed’ by him. Indeed, he has scored four goals against City in the competition, most recently opening the scoring in last August’s quarter-final upset.

The latest

The report from Olympique et Lyonnais said that Leeds are ‘following Maxwel Cornet with interest’ and that they made a formal bid a ‘few weeks ago’.

However, it didn’t ‘correspond to the expectations’ of Lyon, who have the left-back under contract for another two years. The French club are now waiting to see if Marcelo Bielsa’s side will return with an improved offer.

The verdict

Young and versatile, with a reputation for scoring on the big occasion, Cornet would seem to be an exciting addition at Elland Road if he makes the move.

Leeds missed out to Southampton in the race to sign Romain Perraud recently, but Cornet can offer a similar attacking threat from the full-back position.

With French football in the midst of a financial crisis, perhaps Lyon’s demands will ultimately be quite reasonable, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Leeds return to the negotiating table.

In other news, Kevin Phillips has dropped his verdict on this Leeds target. 

Speaking to West Ham Zone, former Irons striker Frank McAvennie has reacted to some news involving star striker Michail Antonio.

The Lowdown: West Ham take action…

As reported by The Sun, it appears West Ham have taken some action in an effort to prevent any serious injuries to Antonio as he pledges his international services to Jamaica.

Indeed, as shared by the outlet, club doctor and head of medical services Richard Collinge was sent out with the 31-year-old on his last round of duty with the Reggae Boyz.

This was to ensure he could cope with the extra physical exertion on international duty and to watch over Antonio’s fitness levels amid concerns over his past injury record.

The Latest: McAvennie reacts…

Speaking to WHZ, McAvennie has shared his take on the development and ‘can’t believe’ the measures clubs and players are taking nowadays to maintain fitness levels away from the country.

“It’s not just Antonio, but I’ve heard people going on holiday and taking a fitness coach,” he explained.

“I mean, really? I just can’t believe that goes on.

“I know the game has changed, but come on, you work all year and you go on holiday, you deserve a break. If you don’t drink, fine, but you still deserve a break away from football.

“I just don’t get it but maybe it’s the best thing for Antonio because of his fitness problems, his hamstring issues.”

The Verdict: Necessary?

Given just how crucial the forward is at the moment to manager David Moyes, not to mention how well he has started the campaign, we believe this is a shrewd precaution.

Antonio’s involvement with the Jamaica national team will have raised many eyebrows from both inside and outside West Ham and it’s safe to say the extra games will be a concern.

He will also be travelling plenty of miles when called upon so it’s little surprise the club wish to take whatever measures they deem fit to keep him at 100 per cent.

In other news: ‘Incredible’, ‘Bargain’…Pundit blown away as West Ham eye ‘very, very good signing’, find out more here.

Lots of Everton fans have been left buzzing as the Goodison Park faithful released their new Hummel third kit ahead of the 2021/22 season.

The kit is now available to but on their official website, and boasts a predominantly white colour, with a blue stripe running down the middle with yellow outlines.

Shirt sponsor Cazoo is located in the middle with the Toffees crest and Hummel logo either side in what is a very aesthetically pleasing jersey overall.

Rafa Benitez’s team may not be able to wear the kit that much in the new campaign given that it is the third strip, but when they do, it will come as a treat to the Blues supporters.

The new Premier League season is only a matter of weeks away, and releasing the new shirt has added to the excitement.

Everton fans on third kit

These EFC fans buzzed as the kit was shared on Twitter, with one Evertonian even going as far as to claim that it was ‘amazing’:

“Oh my dayyyys that amazing that’s actually up there with the best kits”

Credit: @efcowen1

“That’s a beauty!”

Credit: @IanG1878

“Insane”

Credit: @five15design

“Fantastic kit, very happy with that.”

Credit: @UpperGwladysBlu

“Wow”

Credit: @SP0RTSEDlTS

“Top class”

Credit: @Roundhouse1878

In other news, find out what Bramley-Moore Dock update has been lauded by Toffees here!

Divock Origi was simply omitted from Liverpool’s squad at the weekend rather than being injured, according to reliable journalist James Pearce.

The Lowdown: Origi left out of squad

The Reds were superb away to Leeds on Sunday, cruising to a 3-0 win, although the victory was marred by a serious injury to Harvey Elliott.

Origi played no part in proceedings, having not even made the substitutes’ bench, leaving Liverpool with no out-and-out attacker to call upon in reserve. Thankfully, none were needed given the visitors’ dominance at Elland Road.

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The Latest: Pearce provides update on Origi

Speaking in a Q&A for The Athletic before the game, Pearce confirmed that the Belgian didn’t make the squad because Jurgen Klopp couldn’t justify a place for him in it, offering the succinct five-word update of: “Origi not injured I’m told”.

In reply to an earlier query as part of the Q&A enquiring whether the 26-year-old was out with injury, the journalist responded: “Not injured I’m told. Klopp clearly thinks if he needs to make a change in the frontline he will bring on Oxlade today.”

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The Verdict: Surplus to requirements

It was a surprise that Origi didn’t move on in the summer transfer window given his rarity of action, and his latest omission only strengthens that argument.

The fact that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is now seemingly considered a better option in attack speaks volumes, considering that the 28-year-old is renowned for being a midfielder. Then again, his Belgian team-mate hasn’t scored a senior goal in almost 12 months since a Carabao Cup rout at Lincoln.

Origi is still searching for his first snippet of senior action this season and it is hard to see where opportunities will arrive, apart from potentially in domestic cup competitions.

The sooner the 26-year-old leaves, the more beneficial it will be for everyone. His totally voluntary omission by Klopp yesterday, in the absence of any other reserve centre-forwards, was damning.

In other news, some Liverpool fans have hailed a pundit’s support of one Reds player. Find out who it is here.