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Everton have suffered a huge injury blow after it was revealed star midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure has suffered a serious issue to his foot.

What’s the word?

The in-form 28-year-old has been the Toffees’ standout performer in the opening weeks of the current campaign, but he’s set for an extended spell on the sidelines after picking up a potential stress fracture.

It was initially believed that Doucoure had suffered a broken foot, with Paul Joyce, the Northern Football Correspondent for The Times, relaying the initial news.

He tweeted: “Everton concerned Abdoulaye Doucoure is facing lengthy time out with broken foot.”

However, the Merseyside outfit have since provided an update on the Frenchman’s situation, releasing an official statement on the club’s website.

“Everton can confirm that Abdoulaye Doucoure has suffered a stress response in a bone in his foot sustained during Sunday’s match against West Ham United,” the statement reads.

“The French midfielder is being assessed by the Club’s medical team at USM Finch Farm and is undergoing further investigation to determine the full extent of the injury. Contrary to reports, Doucoure will not require an operation.”

Rafa Benitez will be gutted

News that Doucoure is set to be on the treatment table for several weeks will leave Everton manager Rafa Benitez feeling gutted.

The box-to-box dynamo has been in fabulous form this season, bagging two goals and providing four assists in his eight Premier League appearances – a superior contribution to the entirety of the previous campaign in 21 games fewer.

His defensive attributes will also be a huge loss to the Toffees with the French brute winning 2.5 tackles per game this term, a tally only bettered by Allan.

And injuries to fellow midfielders Andre Gomes and Fabian Delph will leave the Blues extremely short of options in the engine room when Watford visit Goodison Park over the weekend.

It means the likes of Tom Davies and Jean-Philippe Gbamin will have to step up in Doucoure’s absence, gifting the youngsters a rare chance to impress from the off.

And, in other news…Brands must sanction EFC swoop for “incredible” £19.8m-rated gem, Benitez needs him 

West Ham must make a ruthless call on Andriy Yarmolenko in this January transfer window amid a recent update on his future…

What’s the story?

According to Claret and Hugh, the Hammers have made the Ukrainian winger available for a move away, but no club has come in for him just yet.

They said: “West Ham insiders are surprised they have not yet seen a single inquiry come in for Andriy Yarmolenko. With his contract running out in June the Irons were pretty well convinced that the Ukrainian international would attract several clubs.”

The report added: “The Hammers have made it clear among agents that Yarmo can leave for as little as £2 million with the main objective of getting him off the wage bill for the rest of the season but so far no club has bitten.”

Needs to be sold

Since making the move to West Ham, it’s fair to say things haven’t turned out the way Yarmolenko would have wanted, playing just 71 times for the club and scoring only 11 goals. This season has seen him play 17 times across all competitions for the first team but score just one goal, so it’s no surprise that the Hammers are looking to get rid of him.

The £100k-a-week earner was even touted with an exit by Noel Whelan, who suggested that the Hammers would do well to get him off the wage books.

He said: “I thought he was excellent for Ukraine at the Euros but he’s been very inconsistent for West Ham. When you’re looking to get the wages down it’s probably the right thing to do. Clubs have been hit financially with the fans not being there.

“Some players have got to go and if they feel he is one of them then that will give them some breathing space. They’ve still got fantastic wingers there, no doubt about it. This is an opportunity to get their highest earner off the wage bill. It makes certain sense.”

With no clubs coming in for him, though, perhaps West Ham must make the decisive and bold move of just cancelling his contract rather than waiting to see if somebody else takes him off their hands for an actual fee.

The man who Declan Rice once dubbed “special” must simply never play for the Hammers again.

Meanwhile, West Ham are interested in this South American centre-back…

Leeds United goalkeeper Kiko Casilla is set for an Elland Road exit this summer according to journalist Graham Smyth…

What’s the story?

The Yorkshire Evening Post journalist said: “The future of goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, who has not started a La Liga game for loan club Elche since October, will also be up in the air.

“Marsch has been impressed with both Illan Meslier and his current back-up Kristoffer Klaesson since taking over in the wake of Bielsa’s sacking and a return to Elland Road for 35-year-old Casilla feels unlikely. With a year left to run on his contract another loan move or a settlement with Leeds is almost inevitable.”

Marsch must finally sell him

The Spaniard had been on the fringes of things for Jesse Marsch’s side last season, with Illan Meslier firmly established as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-marsch-raphinha-dest-philhay” title=”Read the latest Leeds news!”]

In fact, he only had the one Premier League outing to his name during the 2020/2021 campaign, with his appearance in a 1-0 defeat to Brighton back in mid-January being the only time Whites fans saw him in action in the top-flight.

And, speaking after Leeds’ FA Cup loss to Crawley Town earlier that campaign, journalist Daniel Storey even questioned whether’s he good enough to play for the club, slamming: “I think Kiko Casilla was the other game-changer in a negative sense because I don’t think he should be playing for Leeds for non-football reasons, but he probably shouldn’t be playing for Leeds for football reasons after today.”

Leeds TV podcaster, Oscar Mario, meanwhile, simply labelled him a “complete liability”.

Of course, since then, he has made the move to Spanish side Elche on a season-long loan, but things haven’t panned out for him there either.

The shot-stopper had initially started the first 12 games of the campaign in La Liga, but following a run of just two wins in that frame, was promptly dropped from the line-up against Mallorca back in early November.

Casilla has since failed to play single minute of football in the top-flight for Elche, and when you look at some of his underlying stats, it’s clear to see why he’s been shunted to the sidelines.

As per FBREF, he is the 13th-worst performing goalkeeper in La Liga when it comes to post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed, a stat that works out how likely a goalkeeper is to save a shot.

He is also the 7th-worst goalkeeper when it comes to stopping a cross into the penalty area, while he is the sixth-worst for passes completed – all in all, the Leeds man has simply been a poor performer in a poor performing side.

Marsch must surely offload the £40k-a-week earning Spaniard this summer.

AND in other news – Leeds facing major nightmare as worrying news emerges, Elland Road would be devastated

West Bromwich Albion are interested in a deal to bring Liam Kitching to The Hawthorns in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Sunday Mirror (via Football League World), who claimed that Valerien Ismael is keeping a very close eye on his former Barnsley centre-back ahead of a potential move in the current transfer market.

However, the report added that West Brom are facing competition from Birmingham in their pursuit for the 22-year-old, with Lee Bowyer also thought to be keen on a swoop for the defender this month.

Imagine him & O’Shea

While it is true that Barnsley have not enjoyed the best of seasons following Ismael’s move to West Brom last summer – with last season’s play-off semi-finalists currently sitting bottom of the Championship – Kitching has nevertheless proven that he is a player who possesses a great deal of potential for the future.

Indeed, over his 16 league outings in the current campaign, the £270k-rated defender has been one of Barnsley’s few bright sparks, helping his side to keep three clean sheets and registering one assist, as well as making 1.3 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and 3.8 clearances per game and winning 59% of his duels.

These returns have seen the £3k-per-week defender average a SofaScore match rating of 6.71, ranking him as Barnsley’s joint 10th-best performer in the division, and that score would likely be much higher if it weren’t for his team’s awful form.

While he is still just 22 years of age, Kitching certainly seems like a player who has the potential to go on and become a top-level centre-back, something which would only be aided by the youngster playing alongside West Brom’s own 22-year-old defensive colossus in Dara O’Shea. The Irishman’s 7.26 Sofascore rating put him top of the Baggies’ squad.

Indeed, should Ismael go on to land a deal for the Tykes starlet this month, O’Shea and Kitching could well form two-thirds of the Frenchman’s three-man defence for many years to come. That will undoubtedly be an exciting prospect for the Albion faithful, and the centre-back would be a signing that Ismael would clearly love to get over the line, adding to his one January acquisition so far in Daryl Dike.

In other news: Ismael could repeat Oli Burke disaster as West Brom plot January bid for “horrible flop”

An exciting Newcastle United transfer claim has been made, regarding Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno…

What’s the talk?

Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has revealed that the Magpies could target the German international at the end of the season.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I could foreseeably see them, if they stay up, looking to bring in a new goalkeeper in the summer and changing things up in the goalkeeping department.

“I think Bernd Leno is someone they would be interested in given his experience in the Premier League already.”

Buzzing

Newcastle fans will surely be buzzing with this claim as Leno could be an excellent addition to the squad ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

He is a proven top-flight performer who could come in and improve the team, as he has shown over the years that he can make some excellent saves. The German has a career average WhoScored rating of 6.71, compared to Dubravka’s 6.66, and has played for teams with high expectations in Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal, showing that he can handle pressure.

Only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stopped him from being the Gunners’ Player of the Season in the 2019/20 campaign, which proves that he was able to produce consistently impressive displays in the Premier League.

Eddie Howe may want a goalkeeper who is able to play out from the back in order to build a progressive style of play and that is what the 29-year-old could offer him. He averaged a pass completion rate of 64.1% or higher in all of his top-flight seasons for Arsenal, averaging 72.3% or higher in each of the two leading up to the current one.

The current Magpies shot-stopper, meanwhile, has averaged a pass completion rate of less than 60% throughout his time at St. James’ Park. This suggests that he is not as accomplished on the ball and may not have the ability to effectively play out with his feet.

Leno could also be more effective in controlling his area. He ranks in the top six percent of goalkeepers in Europe’s top five leagues in the last year, whilst Dubravka is in the top 38 percent. This means that the German could alleviate pressure from his defence by coming out to claim the ball, rather than being hesitant and causing confusion at the back.

Therefore, fans would surely love to see the shot-stopper arrive in the summer and will be buzzing with the club’s big plan to bolster their goalkeeping department at the end of the season.

AND in other news,  Imagine him & Burn: Howe must now unleash “big” NUFC gem who’s massively “underrated”…

Manchester City brought in Pep Guardiola to make them part of Europe’s elite, and if he fails to win the Champions League during his time in Manchester he’ll be seen as a failure.

When he joined the club in 2016 City’s chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak told the club’s official website: “I have no doubt that he will transform our team to a new level.” It’s clear he’s done this within the style of play you see at the Etihad, but what Al Mubarak really meant, was to dominate Europe.

City had won the Premier League title twice before Guardiola, they’d also played some brilliant football, scoring over 100 Premier League goals during Manuel Pellegrini’s title-winning season of 2013/14, but the Champions League had eluded them.

Even when they got to the semi-final against Real Madrid in 2014/15 it felt the occasion got too much for the players and the manager, and they chose to play more conservatively, only having one shot on target in each leg, eventually losing 1-0 on aggregate. The mentality for European domination seemed worlds away.

With Guardiola comes confidence, and the players have felt it. After a disastrous first season, the club have looked capable of going all the way last year and this year too. Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp were the stumbling blocks last season but their meeting at Anfield this season, despite it being a 0-0 draw, showed he’s now capable of outsmarting Klopp.

The domestic plan ran smoothly last season with only a hiccup at Wigan knocking them out of the FA Cup, but the Champions League requires a touch of fortune and experience. City’s squad are still lacking in European experience, but that’s the hill Guardiola must climb to make the club’s unprecedented heights become the norm. It’s not going to be easy, but he has to succeed.

People are still quick to point the finger at Lionel Messi as being the reason he won the two Champions Leagues he did at Barcelona, but it’s clear his management played a huge part. If he wins the European cup with City, he will have taken the club to the next level Al Mubarak speaks of.

If he doesn’t, then City will still feel as if they’re yet to arrive on the European stage.

Would Guardiola be a failure if he doesn’t win the Champions League at Manchester City?

Taking to Twitter, Italian reporter Daniele Longo has dropped a three-word Tottenham Hotspur transfer message involving Juventus winger Dejan Kulusevksi.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye Kulusevski move…

As per recent reports, Tottenham have now entered the race to sign the Swedish youngster, with Antonio Conte, Fabio Paratici and even Daniel Levy apparently impressed by him.

Calciomercato first claimed that the Spurs chairman may open his purse strings in pursuit of the player and could be ‘serious’ about signing him. Meanwhile, according to TUTTOmercatoWEB, both Conte and Paratici believe that the 21-year-old is a ‘gem’ and share the same ‘esteem’ for his talent.

In an update, Calciomercato reporter Longo has responded to news account The Spurs Web with an exciting three-word message.

The Latest: Longo drops three-word claim…

Taking to social media, the Italian reporter reiterated Tottenham’s interest while sharing a fresh development. Indeed, according to his information, contact has now been made for Kulusevski as the Lilywhites ramp it up.

Responding to his own piece of news that Spurs want the Swedish talent, as shared by The Spurs Web, he simply stated: “Contacts in progress“.

The Verdict: What Spurs need?

There is currently an abundance of talent coming through at N17, with the likes of Oliver Skipp, Dane Scarlett and Troy Parrott recently emerging from Hotspur Way’s glittering academy.

However, that hasn’t stopped them from taking to the market in search of Europe’s most prestigious gems, with Paratici also holding an interest in Club Brugge talent Charles De Ketelaere (Calciomercato).

Already capped 19 times by Sweden at such a young age, Kulusevski has certainly been turning many heads, with footballing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo once calling him a ‘great talent’.

As Spurs make contact, potentially singing the youngster would come as a real coup.

In other news: Spurs close to signing ‘monster’ of a player as Conte seeks to solve severe problem, find out more here.

Leeds United have endured a tough and frustrating second season in the Premier League as they find themselves on the cusp of a relegation battle but amid the mounting injury crisis and disappointment on the pitch, there has been at least one positive.

Another one of the club’s promising academy starlets, Liam McCarron, made the most of Marcelo Bielsa’s busy treatment room on Saturday after he made his senior top-flight debut for the club.

The 20-year-old winger replaced fellow substitute Crysencio Summerville in the 81st-minute.

After the game, McCarron made note of his pride on Twitter, where he said: “Unfortunate not to be getting the results we deserve at the moment but delighted to make my premier league debut in front of these incredible fans, we keep pushing.”

The young prospect signed for the Yorkshire giants from Carlisle United in 2019 and has emerged as a bit of a utility player for Mark Jackson’s U23 squad.

Indeed, the 5 foot 9 dynamo has largely played as a left-back but can also play in central midfield and further up the wing. In some ways, this could echo the role of Stuart Dallas under Bielsa.

The Northern Irishman, despite being a midfielder by trade, is nicknamed the ‘Cookstown Cafu’, which only goes to show the level of performance he often achieves when deployed at full-back, rather than in his natural role.

McCarron has played 12 times for the U23s in the Premier League 2 this campaign, where he has contributed a goal and an assist from left-back, as per Transfermarkt.

Capped by Scotland at U19 level, the versatile gem could well follow in the footsteps of the 30-year-old in the first-team squad and he could prove to be a valuable asset to Bielsa considering the ongoing injury nightmare.

His former academy coach at the Cumbrians, Darren Edmondson, once described him as a player “with no ego, no airs and graces”, also claiming that “his work rate is unbelievable.”

After making his senior bow at the weekend, McCarron will be hoping he can continue to catch the eye of Bielsa during a desperate time of need. In the young dynamo, the Argentine could well discover another priceless Dallas-like presence.

He’s certainly one to keep an eye on.

AND in other news, Bielsa must now brutally axe £34k-p/w Leeds passenger, he’s not good enough for the Premier League…

Everton are in interested in signing versatile Hoffenheim ace Florian Grillitsch according to The Daily Mail’s Simon Jones.

The lowdown: Plenty of suitors

The 26-year-old is set to become a free agent at the end of the season when a contract in Germany expires and there would appear to be a host of clubs keen on acquiring the Austrian’s services.

Formerly of Werder Bremen, Grillitsch has plied his trade in the Bundesliga since 2015, racking up 178 German top-flight appearances to date.

Following an initial report from The Telegraph citing major interest from Leeds United and Arsenal, it would now appear that the Toffees are also in the mix…

The latest: Everton interest emerges

As per the report, Jones writes that there is interest from Everton in signing the 33-cap Austria international.

It’s claimed that there is also admiration from West Ham United and Newcastle United, whilst both Leeds are Arsenal are once again mentioned.

The report states that the man once dubbed as ‘extraordinary’ by Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann, ‘appeals’ to Everton as Frank Lampard prepares to oversee a squad overhaul at Goodison Park.

The verdict: No-brainer

As a potential free agent capture, this truly is a no-brainer for the Merseyside club, particularly with the future of Allan uncertain beyond the upcoming summer window.

Still holding a market value of £14.4m despite the dwindling contract (Transfermarkt), adding Grillitsch – who can play as a central defender or in a variety of midfield positions – to the Blues’ ranks would be a shrewd move.

As a defensive midfielder, the Austrian’s numbers suggest that he is in the same mould as Liverpool star Fabinho and Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets, according to FBRef, making the potential capture ahead of other Premier League suitors all the more impressive.

In other news, financial expert makes exciting Bramley Moore claim!

Newcastle United are on course to avoid relegation from the Premier League and will have the chance to kick on in the top-flight next term.

They are nine points clear of the bottom three and PIF appear set to splash the cash in order to take Eddie Howe’s side up another notch.

The Chronicle recently reported that the club are set to make strides in the transfer market in the summer and named Ryan Gravenberch as a potential target.

This has not come out of thin air, though, as PIF were touted with an interest in the Dutch central midfielder earlier this season.

Get it done

The Magpies owners must now get the money out to seal a deal for Gravenberch in the summer as he would be an excellent signing for the short and long-term future of the club.

De Telegraaf journalist Marcel van der Kraan recently heaped praise on the midfielder.

He told the BBC: “This is maybe why he stood out so early and why Ajax picked him, with his great skills and technique, and brought him to the academy. They could easily put him three or four years above his own age. That’s when people started to find out this kid was only 12. They thought he is going to be a world-beater.

“This happens to almost every kid who is tall and of Surinam background. He gets that label – ‘this is the new Frank Rijkaard’.”

His former youth coach, Brian Tevreden, also said that he is a “better version of Pogba” and his form for Ajax at such a young age shows that he is well on his way to being just that. He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.16 in the Eredivisie this term, winning 58% of his duels and contributing with two goals and five assists.

Gravenberch caught the eye as a teenager in the Champions League in the last two campaigns. The Dutchman averaged 4.3 tackles and interceptions per game, whilst scoring once and winning 7.0 duels per match last season, whilst he has made 2.6 tackles and interceptions and won 5.9 duels this time around.

Pogba, meanwhile, has struggled in the competition this term. He has averaged 1.4 tackles and interceptions per game, whilst failing to contribute with a single goal or assist in six outings and winning 4.2 duels per match – recording a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.55.

This suggests that the Dutch teen is already performing to a higher level in Europe’s premier competition. To be putting in consistently brilliant displays at the age of 19 shows that he has immense potential and the ability to showcase his talent in the here and now.

Ajax reportedly want £30m (€35m) for his services and Newcastle, for the reasons stated above, must put themselves in the race to land him.

AND in other news, Body blow: Craig Hope “told” worrying NUFC update that’ll leave supporters fuming…