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Everton reportedly remain keen to sign Porto forward Luis Diaz over the coming months after missing out on him over the summer.

What’s the story?

The Toffees were heavily linked with a move for the 24-year-old in the previous window after identifying him as a top transfer target prior to Deadline Day.

It was claimed that Everton wanted to sign Diaz as part of a deal that would have seen James Rodriguez move in the opposite direction and return to the Portuguese club.

However, no deal ever came to fruition, and Rodriguez ended up joining Qatari side Al-Rayyan after being deemed surplus to requirements by new manager Rafael Benitez.

But now, according to Correio da Manha (as relayed by the Liverpool ECHO), the Goodison Park outfit could land the winger for £43m in January.

Marcel Brands must sanction Everton move

The Colombia international arrived at the Estadio do Dragao from his homeland back in 2019 and quickly established himself as a key player for the Dragons.

In 107 appearances for Sergio Conceicao’s charges, he has bagged 31 goals and provided a further 14 assists for his teammates, playing a pivotal part in their domestic double in 2019/20.

His impressive performances at club level have earned Diaz 26 caps for his country, and the youngster featured heavily for his nation last summer in the Copa America, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with four strikes.

After netting the winning goal for Colombia as they won 3-2 in their third-place play-off with Peru, former Chelsea ace Juan Cuadrado showered his teammate in praise, insisting that Los Cafeteros wouldn’t have won without the skilful forward.

“We won because of Lucho, he has an excellent level, and he will achieve great things,” Cuadrado said after the game.

With summer signing Demarai Gray currently excelling in a central role with four goal involvements and Richarlison out injured, 20-year-old Anthony Gordon was deployed on the left-wing last time out against Manchester United.

And although the youngster performed admirably at Old Trafford, helping his side claim a much-deserved draw, Diaz would undoubtedly present an upgrade on the academy graduate.

Therefore, Everton’s director of football, Marcel Brands, must sanction a move for the highly-rated South American in the winter window, adding some extra quality to Benitez’s charges as they go in search of European football.

And, in other news…Benitez plots swoop for “scary” £27m-rated magician, Everton fans will be buzzing 

Manchester City travel to face Leicester City on Saturday as they return to Premier League action following the international break.

Whilst having a two-week break from action after back-to-back 5-0 wins was not the ideal situation for Pep Guardiola, it has given some of his players time to get themselves fit and firing to be ready for selection.

John Stones was a crucial member of the team at centre-back next to Ruben Dias last season, but is yet to make his first appearance in the Premier League this term. Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte have filled in alongside the Portuguese beast, but now could be the time for Guardiola to bring in the England international for his first start of the 2021/22 campaign.

The £100k-per-week enforcer started two of England’s three games over the international break, with his side conceding once in those two matches. This shows that he picked up some valuable minutes ahead of his return to Manchester, which could put him in good stead for a start having been left on the bench against Spurs and Arsenal and omitted from the matchday squad against Norwich (Transfermarkt).

Bringing Stones into the starting line-up could help to deal with the threat of Leicester striker Jamie Vardy. The Foxes forward has scored two goals in three games this season and ended the previous campaign with 15 league strikes.

In the 2020/21 campaign, Laporte averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.99 and won 66% of his duels in the Premier League. Stones averaged a score of 7.22 and won 70% of his duels in the top flight, suggesting that he is the superior option for Guardiola out of the two centre-backs as he proved over the course of an entire league season.

Therefore, the 27-year-old could be the man to come in and deal with Vardy, with the help of Dias, on Saturday. Vardy is renowned for his speed and Stones is no slouch. The former Everton defender’s return could be a huge boost if he is able to recapture his form from last season to make an impact against the Foxes, helping to keep Vardy quiet throughout the afternoon at the King Power Stadium.

This is why Guardiola must hand him a start and offer him the chance to show that he is capable of continuing his fine form from 2020/21 and carrying it over to the current campaign. Whilst it may be harsh on Laporte, the full-time result against Leicester will hopefully prove that it is the correct decision.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Steve Howey raves over Man City star in new role, labels him “devastating”…

Lee Johnson’s Sunderland head into Saturday’s League One fixture at the Stadium of Light in fine form, having picked up 16 points from their opening seven fixtures of the season, as well as securing their passage to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup in midweek.

In this cup fixture, despite ringing the changes to his starting XI, Johnson saw his team put in a dominant performance in a 2-0 victory over League One leaders Wigan Athletic, with a number of the Black Cats’ fringe players turning in very impressive displays.

One such man was 23-year-old Everton loanee Nathan Broadhead, with the centre-forward scoring one goal, making two key passes, winning two tackles, completing two dribbles and winning five duels over the course of his 90 minutes on the pitch.

These returns saw the £1.9k-per-week man receive a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.4, ranking him as the third-best player to feature in the match.

The performance of the player who David Unsworth dubbed a “terrific” talent is sure to have given Johnson something of a selection headache ahead of the visit of Bolton Wanderers this afternoon, as Broadhead’s fellow centre-forward Ross Stewart has also been in remarkable form so far this season.

Indeed, over his seven League One appearances this term, the 25-year-old has scored five goals and averaged a SofaScore match rating of 7.36, ranking him as the Black Cats’ best performer in the third tier.

As such, it would appear unlikely that Broadhead will replace Stewart as the Mackems’ lone striker against the Trotters. However, with the £450k-rated youngster stating that he is more than capable of operating from the left wing, there would appear to be a way for Johnson to unleash the 23-year-old alongside Stewart in Sunderland’s attacking line up – a move which would likely strike fear into the Bolton defence.

In other news: Alan Nixon drops fresh claim on “excellent” 21 y/o gem, it’s good news for Sunderland

Many Southampton fans are desperate for the club to sign Gary Cahill after they were linked with a move for the former England defender.

The Saints kicked off their season at Goodison Park against Everton on Saturday. They started well, with debutant Adam Armstrong opening the scoring (Transfermarkt), but they were unable to hold on to their lead and eventually lost 3-1. The result and performance showed that while there were some positives to take from the game, Ralph Hasenhuttl has plenty of work to do if Southampton are to improve on their 15th-placed finish from last season.

Perhaps in a bid to shore up their defensive line, the Saints are interested in signing Cahill, according to The Telegraph. The 61-cap England international is a free agent since leaving Selhurst Park earlier this summer and could therefore prove to be a solid new arrival.

He boasts the experience of winning two Premier League titles, the Champions League and Europa League with Chelsea and has played almost 400 times in the English top flight, with the 35-year-old boasting an impressive CV.

The news was shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra and it attracted plenty of attention from Southampton supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts, with some of them praising Cahill as the “leader” that the Saints need.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Cahill link

“Yes, yes, yes please”

Credit: @BigBishop2020

“Leadership…no brainier”

Credit: @mrkvh7

“SIGN HIM!!!”

Credit: @JackHStubbs

“I think he would be perfect. Sign Delaney as well and I think we would be sorted for the season. Great experience and leadership on the pitch.”

Credit: @AndrewLeakey57

“Get this leader in immediately”

Credit: @josefsfc

“Experienced defender and a leader. Just what we need”

Credit: @Dixon1970Darren

In other news, many Southampton fans were shocked at these comments on Gao Jisheng.

Tottenham Hotspur legend Graham Roberts insists Ryan Sessegnon must take his game to the next level if he is to stay at the club.

The former Fulham star has endured a mixed start to his Spurs career following a £25m move in 2019.

Sessegnon was sent on loan to German club Hoffenheim last season and has made a total of 13 first-team appearances for Spurs at first-team level.

He has played once under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo, featuring in last week’s 1-0 Europa Conference League defeat to Pacos de Ferreira in Portugal.

Roberts believes that the 21-year-old too regularly takes the safe option when he is in possession of the ball but he thinks there is hope for him in the coming weeks and months.

Indeed, he sees similarities with Bale, who began his Spurs career as a left-back and was eventually moved forward into a left-wing position, where he became one of the best players in the world.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Roberts said: “He doesn’t take people on. Gareth Bale was like this when he first came.

“Sessegnon reminds me of Gareth Bale, just plays it simple, and then when Gareth Bale got moved forward like Sessegnon has, he started taking people on, scoring goals.

“Sessegnon has to go to that next level and if he doesn’t, then I can see him moving on.”

David Norris believes that Aston Villa are in the driving seat to sign Todd Cantwell from Norwich City. 

Sky Sports previously reported that Villa were expected to go after Cantwell should Jack Grealish complete his move to Manchester City, which was eventually completed last week.

Cantwell, who has been at Norwich City all of his career apart from a brief loan spell at Fortuna Sittard in 2017/2018, helped the Canaries gain promotion from the Championship to the Premier League last season, scoring six goals and setting up a further eight.

Should Cantwell make the move to Villa Park, he would be joining up with former teammate Emiliano Buendia, who made the switch earlier this summer, and David Norris believes that Villa are frontrunners for his signature, exclusively telling Transfer Tavern: “I think him being linked with Villa, it could be Grealish out, Cantwell in so that would make sense, I think that would put them in the driving seat for that one, good player, like him a lot.”

The Sun have claimed that Dean Smith may need to pay £40million to bring the midfielder to Villa Park but, after helping Norwich return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, it remains to be seen whether or not Cantwell will be keen on a move away from Carrow Road this summer.

Everton were dealt a cruel set of blows on the eve of their first match of the season last night.

The Toffees have hardly found life perfect since Carlo Ancelotti departed earlier this summer and this was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Whether you believe in superstition or not, Friday 13th was indeed an unlucky date on the calendar for everyone associated with Everton.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on that day, Rafa Benitez confirmed that the Toffees would be without five first-team players for their match with Southampton on Saturday.

The reason was that under government guidelines, they have to self isolate. Two of the players in question are Andre Gomes and Jean-Philippe Gbamin but another missing for the match is James Rodriguez.

The Colombian suffered from fitness issues towards the end of last season and he will now miss the first competitive match of the new campaign. Rodriguez only played in one of the club’s last six matches of 2020/21 after returning from a calf problem.

He has been regularly linked with a move away from Merseyside this summer, but even with his future in doubt, his absence from proceedings on Saturday will be a big blow for Everton.

With a lack of options to replace him in attacking midfield, Benitez is likely to be gutted over this news. After all, Richarlison has had a busy summer with Brazil and may have some fatigue in his legs.

Rodriguez signed on a free transfer last year, and judging by his first season at Goodison Park, he will be a hefty miss this weekend.

The Colombia international had a hand in ten goals and was the club’s most creative outlet. He supplied 1.7 key passes per game, which was by far the most from a player who regularly featured in an offensive position.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin may well return to the fray but his chances of scoring have now been hampered. Instead, Benitez will have to rely on his new signings Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray to load the bullets for Everton’s main marksman.

AND in other news, Everton must swoop for “exceptional” 19-goal beast who Rafa said is on “another level”…

An update has emerged on Leeds transfer target Javi Galan regarding his price tag at Huesca. 

What’s the talk?

According to Spanish outlet AS, as transcribed by Sport Witness, Leeds and Sevilla have both made enquiries to Huesca regarding a potential deal for the left-back. The report claims that the defender is expected to depart from the club following their relegation from La Liga, with the Whites one of the teams interested in signing him.

Galan has one year left on his contract at Huesca and their relegation to the second tier has presented Leeds with an opportunity to sign him for €4m (£3.4m) due to a clause in his deal allowing him to leave for a set fee upon demotion.

Bielsa will love him

Leeds signed Junior Firpo from Barcelona last month in a £13m deal and the club could land the perfect competition for him in the form of Galan. Marcelo Bielsa had no natural left-backs in his squad last season, with Ezgjan Alioski and Stuart Dallas both playing out of position there throughout the campaign. This means that the Argentine coach could love having two specialist left-back options in his squad in Firpo and Galan.

The pair could fight it out for the starting position and spur each other on to keep improving and working hard in training. This would alleviate the potential of Firpo becoming too comfortable with his position in the team, as he would know that Galan is pushing for his place in the XI, and that could create healthy competition for places within Bielsa’s squad.

Galan was highly praised on the La Liga Lowdown, as he was labelled an unstoppable full-back capable of hurting teams with his pace down the flank.

Contributor Ruairidh Barlow noted: “One of those invaluable full-backs who can cover an entire flank alone, he essentially provides a numerical advantage for his team.

“According to fbref.com, Galán ranks top in tackles won, second for crosses into the penalty area and second for players dribbled past. As football has realised in recent years, it’s hard to negate a full-back arriving at pace. So far Galán himself has proved just that; unstoppable.”

His statistics in La Liga were outstanding for a player who was in a relegated team. He averaged a sensational WhoScored rating of 7.16 in 37 appearances for Huesca. The 26-year-old made 3.5 tackles and interceptions per game in the league, showing off his impressive defensive qualities in the full-back role.

Therefore, Bielsa could love coaching the Spaniard at Leeds as he combines pace with the ability to work hard defensively and win challenges at the back. At £3.4m, he could prove to be an absolute bargain, especially given that Leeds had to spend £13m to sign Firpo, who averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.54 for Barcelona in the same division.

AND in other news, Leeds must act swiftly to land £13.5m-rated magician, he’d be an upgrade on Klich…

A number of Liverpool supporters have bemoaned Fabrizio Romano’s update on the Reds’ hopes of signing Italy star Federico Chiesa.

Jurgen Klopp is hopefully eyeing up another attacking signing this summer, in order to make his squad even more formidable.

Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino will all be vying for regular starts next season, but an additional top-class option wouldn’t go amiss, with the former two set to be absent for AFCON 2022 in January.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

One player who Liverpool have been linked with is Chiesa, who enjoyed an outstanding Euro 2020 campaign with Italy, winning the competition and scoring twice.

According to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, however, the Reds will not be signing the on-loan Juventus winger.

He is deemed ‘untouchable’ at the Serie A club and there ‘no chance’ of Liverpool bringing him to the club this summer.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-9/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans react to disappointing Chiesa update

These Reds fans took to Twitter to provide their thoughts on the update, reacting negatively to it.

“No one asked”

Credit: @sxlang_

“Fabrizio is becoming the Italian James Pearce at this rate”

Credit: @LFCJadenV2

“Pain and suffering”

Credit: @LFC_fam

“What a bummer”

Credit @kevspionkop

“This is just depressing now”

Credit: @f1kopite

“Yeah we know that we are broke man”

Credit: @svkShailendra

“Ahh Fabrizio breaking my heart at 4am”

Credit: @stufz123

In other news, some Liverpool fans are delighted with an update regarding one Reds player. Read more here.

Liverpool are interested in signing Napoli and Italy superstar Lorenzo Insigne this summer, according to journalist Fabio Santini.

The Lowdown: Insigne shines for club and country

The 30-year-old has been one of Napoli’s star men over a number of years, having scored 109 goals in 397 appearances for the Serie A side.

Insigne has taken his club form with him to the international stage this summer, too, starring for Italy at Euro 2020 and scoring a sensational goal in their quarter-final win over Belgium.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

The Latest: Liverpool reportedly keen on move

Speaking to Area Napoli [via Sport Witness], Santini claimed that Liverpool are keen on signing the winger this summer, rivalling Atletico Madrid for his signature:

“To make the situation even more complicated is the intense competition for the player. I know for sure that there is a strong interest from Liverpool and Atletico Madrid on Lorenzo Insigne.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-copy-3/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

The Verdict: Hard to see move happening

While there is no doubting Insigne’s quality as a player, there seems to be little sense in the Reds bringing in the £43.2million-rated Italian.

At 30, it would be hard to justify paying a big fee for his services, with Jurgen Klopp more likely to bring in a younger rival to the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

The idea of Liverpool signing Insigne goes completely against Michael Edwards’ hugely successful approach in the transfer market, with players in their early-to-mid 20s signed and developed at the club, as was the case with Salah and Mane.

In other news, Liverpool are preparing talks with one Reds player – find out who it is here.