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Reports by L’Equipe, via Sport Witness, earlier this week claimed Everton have shown an interest in Valere Germain, but Carlo Ancelotti would make an unforgivable mistake by pursuing a deal for the Olympique de Marseille striker.

Germain is understood to be a target for a host of European sides with the 30-year-old out of contract in the summer, and his time at the Orange Velodrome expected to come to an end having been unable to impress Jorge Sampaoli.

The Argentine took over from Andre Villas-Boas at the OM helm in February and is yet to award Germain a single second of game time, having left the £3.5m-rated forward as an unused substitute in each of his four Ligue 1 fixtures in charge.

It is claimed that Germain’s spectator role in Marseille’s 2-0 win at home to Dijon FCO on Sunday came as a clear indication to his time in southern France being over, and that it is now inevitable he will leave at the end of the season.

Germain has already discussed a summer transfer with several clubs, including serious talks with Italian outfits as the Serie A emerges as his most likely destination. Ligue 1 sides FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Stade Rennais are also very keen to keep the forward in France.

But they could face competition from AC Milan and Everton as well, as the two parties have also come forward to express their interest in a potential move for the former France U21 international with a view to taking on a squad role.

The Toffees and Rossoneri have only made initial contact with Germain over transfers to Goodison Park and the San Siro, as they look to round out their options for next season.

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Everton may be in the market for a striker this summer amid doubt in the long-term futures of Cenk Tosun and Moise Kean on Merseyside, with the attackers both available for the right fee and Joshua King being expected to leave at the end of his contract in June.

But Ancelotti would make an unforgivable mistake by targeting Germain to offer depth behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, as the Marseille outcast would not be expected to push either to perform at their best.

Ancelotti has praised AS Roma loanee Robin Olsen for keeping Jordan Pickford on his toes this season, having seen the 31-year-old push the England number one to clean up his game by not being afraid to swap his goalkeeper option.

That choice would not be there with Germain being the latest understudy for Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin, having never proven to be a prolific centre-forward throughout his career.

Sampaoli’s assistant coach Nasser Larguet, who took interim charge of Marseille following Villas-Boas’ sacking, may have described Germain as “a very good professional” who can be influential on results, yet that is all too often not the case.

Germain boasts a woeful one in five goal record for Marseille since his arrival at the Orange Velodrome in 2017, having scored just 31 times in 159 games across all competitions. In fact, across his career, his record sits at just one in four with 94 goals in 397 appearances.

The ex-AS Monaco striker has only provided 40 assists throughout his career since making his Les Monegasques debut in May 2011, as well, for a combined goal involvement of one in every three games or every 177 minutes.

Ancelotti would not be able to rely on Germain stepping up to the plate and delivering for Everton when Calvert-Lewin or Richarlison are off-form next season, and must not step up the Toffees’ alleged interest despite the £43,000-per-week attacker set to be a free agent.

AND in other news, Everton have landed a huge boost in the race to sign a £20m “victim of circumstance”…

In recent years Celtic have had an unhealthy habit of seeing their best players walk through the Parkhead exit door.

It’s been a common trend for most managers with the likes of Fraser Forster, Victor Wanyama, Moussa Dembele and Kieran Tierney, to name a few, heading elsewhere in search of better wages and a more reputable division.

It’s a theme that could rear its ugly head once again this summer. Odsonne Edouard has repeatedly been linked with a move away while Kristoffer Ajer has also been touted with an exit.

It remains to be seen how much they’ll receive for their services but Edouard could leave the club for as little as £8m.

That would be disastrous business given his potential and goal scoring antics. Though, when it’s come to selling players we shouldn’t be overly surprised at this development.

The deal to sell Kieran Tierney for £25m is looking worse as the weeks go by. Only last week he was tipped to break the world-record fee for a defender if he leaves Arsenal.

Celtic have lost players like young Andy Robertson on a free transfer too but they also sold Virgil van Dijk.

The Dutchman is now playing alongside Robertson at Liverpool and has become one of the most impressive defenders in world football.

Sold for just £13m to Southampton in 2015, it’s fair to say the Saints got a better end of the deal.

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Van Dijk impressed considerably on the south coast, so much so that Liverpool paid £75m for his services in 2018, bringing Southampton considerable profit.

Since then, he’s become an imperative piece of the jigsaw at Anfield. With the Dutchman at the back, Jurgen Klopp led Liverpool to Champions League and Premier League glory.

He is a pillar, a man mountain in defence. As of June 2020, he’d only been dribbled past eight times in three Premier League seasons.

His influence on this Liverpool side has been so colossal that without him due to injury this term, they sit in sixth place, 22 points off league leaders Manchester City.

In 2019, the defender’s value soared to £90m and in the process, he was named the second-best player in the world by FIFA. He was named the very best by UEFA in 2018/19 and he has now been included in two successive world XIs by football’s official governing body.

Because of his injury, van Dijk’s value has fallen slightly to £63m but he should still be classified among the very best.

Hailed by Carles Puyol as “the complete defender”, he is adored not only by his teammates but also football icons around the globe.

Speaking last season, his Liverpool teammate Joe Gomez commented: “When there’s a one-v-one battle you know he’s going to dominate; every header, he doesn’t really lose headers at all.

“He’s a real dominant force and a pleasure to play alongside.”

Van Dijk made 115 appearances for Celtic but little did they know that when he left, he would go on to become a world star.

He is an imperious rock, a £180k-per-week player that every attacker in world football has grown to fear. Losing him for just £13m six years ago can only be seen as a costly mistake.

Had they waited a few more years, a more significant sum of money may have come their way.

AND in other news, Big update emerges in Celtic manager hunt, it could be great news for fans…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Howey, who made 150 appearances for Newcastle United, has revealed that he was calling out for the Magpies to sign Danny Ings under Steve McClaren.

In 2015, Liverpool bought Ings for what turned out to be a fee of £7 million after scoring 11 goals in the Premier League for Burnley, but the move did not end up being a good one for Ings as he scored four goals in 25 games following two serious injuries.

Despite his injury problems and lack of goals, Southampton bought the England international in 2019 for £20 million and he has found his best form once again, even earning himself a link to Manchester City.

Speaking on what he was telling Newcastle to do under McClaren and why the Magpies had to sign Ings, Howey told FFC:

“I think Newcastle were interested in Danny Ings a while ago and I think the fee was initially £10 million. Steve McClaren was the manager at the time and I said ‘just buy him’.

“I know he’s always had his injury problems but he is a goalscorer and he proved that last season.”

Last season was the £75,000 per week striker’s best of his career as he scored 22 goals in 38 Premier League games for the Saints, which saw him finish one goal behind Jamie Vardy as the league’s top scorer.

It was reported by Sky Sports that Man City were considering Ings to be a replacement for Sergio Aguero who will be leaving at the end of the season.

Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham is reportedly set to return to Parkhead after his loan stint at Marseille, meaning the Hoops will miss out on a £4.5m pay day.

Ntcham had left Celtic to join Marseille on loan in January in rather controversial circumstances, as Andre Villas-Boas had offered to resign as a result of the signing. It now seems as if the Frenchman’s ill-fated spell at Stade Vélodrome is set to come to an end in the summer.

Sampaoli doesn’t want Ntcham at Marseille

French outlet RMC Sport (via Sport Witness) have reported that Marseille boss Jorge Sampaoli has made his feelings clear on several players’ futures, including Ntcham.

Marseille had the option to sign him permanently in the summer for a £4.5m fee, but that is a profit that Celtic will now miss out on with the Frenchman set to return after Sampaoli’s decision.

During his time at Marseille, Ntcham has made only four Ligue 1 appearances, playing twice in the cup. His last appearance came against Montpellier earlier this month, but he played just a single minute (as per Transfermarkt).

Ntcham value falling; bad news for Celtic

Ntcham is currently rated at £3.15 million (Transfermarkt) and his value has only fallen since early 2020. That isn’t a good sign at all for the Bhoys, as it doesn’t seem like he has a future in Glasgow and the profit the club could earn from an exit is slowly but surely declining.

Ntcham’s current contract runs out in the summer of 2022 and he was once linked with multiple Premier League sides. With that in mind, we feel the Hoops should be desperately shopping him around to teams south of the border this summer, or they risk losing out on a decent pay day as his deal ticks down next season.

In other news, Celtic on alert as Premier League chairman sends agents for Parkhead star, claims source

Many Everton fans have been left to laud a transfer update from Fabrizio Romano on Max Aarons.

As per a tweet from the Italian football journalist and transfer guru, the Goodison Park faithful are ‘leading the race’ to sign the Norwich City star, and advanced talks are ‘progressing’.

The Merseyside club have started contacts since February and ‘hope’ that they can reach an agreement soon, with Aarons set to leave Carrow Road in the summer window.

With Seamus Coleman not getting any younger, the 21-year-old would be an ideal long-term replacement for the Republic of Ireland international, and has experience of playing in the Premier League before in the 2019/20 term with the Canaries.

Nonetheless, Aarons would certainly be a big coup for Carlo Ancelotti’s team given the competition for his signature, and with NCFC willing to sell, a deal is very much possible for the Blues.

Everton fans on Aarons transfer update

These Toffees supporters lauded the transfer update on Aarons on Twitter:

“Aarons and Godfrey back ahhhhh”

Credit: @taylor_davies77

“Let’s go Fabrizio!!”

Credit: @Lawemannen

“It’s a party…But if the price is right. But for now we party”

Credit: @gersonselema

“Music to my ears.”

Credit: @DavidFo38145364

“SIUUUU”

Credit: @AnarchoNat

“Here we gooo”

Credit: @_DL96

In other news, find out what Patrick Boyland update has left EFC fans fuming here!

Aston Villa are eyeing up a move for Norwich star Todd Cantwell as a potential replacement for Jack Grealish this summer.

What’s the story?

Reports from The Telegraph last summer suggested that Dean Smith’s side were weighing up a potential move for the Canaries midfielder, but a deal failed to materialise before the end of the window.

Now, The Daily Mail claim that with Villa waiting for Manchester City to come in with an offer for Grealish, the club are already assessing potential replacements.

The report reveals that Cantwell – supposedly valued at £30m by Daniel Farke’s side – is a target for Villa and that Norwich are “braced for interest”.

Shades of Grealish

Described as someone with a “God-given” talent by his former youth team coach, Gary Cockaday, the 23-year-old was one of the shining lights of a Norwich side that ultimately couldn’t avoid relegation from the Premier League last season, scoring six goals and providing two assists in the competition.

This campaign has seen him help lead the charge back to the top-flight, bagging six goals and setting up another five in the Championship, with the Canaries now having already clinched promotion.

Former Norwich striker Dean Ashton raved about him, saying: “When I first saw him I said to Darren Huckerby, ‘how is that lad not training with the first-team?’. He was incredible. The way he was drifting past players. His speed of thought and his awareness. He’s just a wonderful player.”

Just like Grealish, Cantwell has got that ability to just glide past players with his close control and skill, and it’s no surprise that his average of 1.5 dribbles per game in the Championship this season ranks him only behind Emi Buendia for Norwich.

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If Smith is looking for someone to even get close to replicating some of the technical ability of Grealish, then the 23-year-old Cantwell is surely the man to go for.

Meanwhile, this Villa disaster badly let Dean Smith down vs West Brom…

After picking up a bit of form in recent weeks, Newcastle reverted back to type with a hugely disappointing 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

The Magpies came into the game at St James’ Park off the back of two wins and two draws from their last four matches and were facing a Gunners side who had been beaten in Europe in midweek.

If Newcastle fans thought their side would put up a fight and take the game to the north Londoners, then they were sadly mistaken. They managed just five shots all game, and only one of them was on target, whilst they also registered just 38% of possession.

And one man who badly let his manager down was Miguel Almiron.

The Paraguay international was his usual energetic self, trying to chase down players and close them down, but there was a real lack of quality when he had the ball at his feet.

As per Sofascore, Almiron’s 31 touches and 19 passes were even lower than goalkeeper Martin Dubravka and painted a real picture of just how ineffective and anonymous he was.

Going forward, the 27-year-old showed absolutely nothing of note for the Magpies, having no attempts on goal whatsoever and not even managing a single dribble attempt either. He also provided no key passes and didn’t attempt a single cross either, and it was no surprise that Bruce eventually saw enough and hooked him for Joelinton mid-way through the second half.

The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder simply dubbed it “one of his poorest displays of the season”, and, speaking after the game, Bruce admitted Almiron had a difficult outing, saying: “I think he’s played very well of late playing in that midfield area. But like us all (against Arsenal), we’ve found it a bit of a struggle. With what we’ve got at the top end of the pitch, I believe he’s still a very, very decent midfield player and can add goals and a bit of flair from it (midfield) like he has done.”

A Gunners side surely lacking in confidence after a Premier League defeat to Everton last week, and then a Europa League humbling at the hands of Villareal on Thursday, were there for the taking.

Instead, Almiron in particular just didn’t show any attacking urgency to try and take advantage of that, and just let the Gunners completely off the hook.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are interested in signing this Premier League star about to be relegated…

In an exclusive interview with The Transfer Tavern, Rob Lee, who made 280 Premier League appearances, has claimed that he expects West Ham to receive bids for their star midfielder Declan Rice this summer.

Rice has been linked with a move to Manchester United and the midfielder is reportedly interested in the switch having spoken to England teammates about the club during the last round of international fixtures.

Before his injury, which was sustained while on international duty, Rice had not missed a single minute of Premier League football for the Hammers and his form was a big reason behind their push for a Champions League place.

Speaking on how he is expecting bids for Rice this summer and what could persuade more clubs to make a move for the midfielder, Lee exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“I think they’ll have to stave off bids for Declan Rice, especially if he does well at the Euros, which I fully expect him to do, then it’ll be a major talking point for them.

“If you said to David Moyes right now that Declan Rice will stay and they’ll sign Jesse Lingard and Tammy Abraham, I think he would take that. I think he would snap your hand off.”

Rice has long been linked with a move to Chelsea, where he was released as a youngster, but since Thomas Tuchel was appointed manager those rumours have died down.

West Ham are still in with a chance of qualifying for the Champions League, and the return of Michail Antonio will have been more than welcomed by David Moyes – especially after his brace in the 2-1 win against Burnley on Monday.

Sheffield Wednesday could well sell a number of their star players if Dejphon Chansiri receives a suitable bid for them this summer.

What’s been said?

That’s according to the Yorkshire Live journalist Dom Howson, who claimed he wouldn’t be surprised if, in order to balance the books at Hillsborough this summer, the club’s owner will seriously consider selling any of the Owls’ contracted players in the upcoming market, regardless of their importance to the team.

Speaking on the Singing The Blues Podcast (as reported by Football League World), Howson said: “You have to say that the revenue hit that they’re going to take now from relegation, there are genuine concerns about [Chansiri’s] ability to continue financing the football club and there’s no sign of him walking away or looking to sell up.

“But Wednesday, this summer, when it comes to some of their playing assets, such as Josh Windass, Barry Bannan, Dominic Iorfa, those three players who are under contract for next year – I tell you what, if they get some decent offers on the table, for any of their players, they’re going to have to seriously look at it this summer to again try and make ends meet.”

Fans will be furious

It is inevitable that, following the club’s relegation to the third tier of English football, the Owls will have to make financial cutbacks in a number of areas this summer in order to make up for the lost revenue that Championship football brings.

However, if Chansiri attempts to make up for this loss in revenue by selling the club’s most influential players, Wednesday very much run the risk of finding themselves stuck in League One for a great deal longer than just one season – something that would be yet another grave mistake on the part of the 53-year-old.

Furthermore, with the businessman already struggling to pay the wages of his players, the drop in division is only going to tighten the financial strain on the club, and, if Chansiri cannot afford to stump up the cash to pay players’ salaries, rather than selling off key assets this summer, the question must be raised as to whether he is fit to continue running the club.

However, as Howson states, with no sign of the owner selling up any time soon, in addition to this latest news regarding the potential sales of players such as Windass, Bannan and Iorfa, the future of Wednesday does not look overly bright at present, something that is likely to leave the Hillsborough faithful understandably furious.

In other news: 67% passes completed: Sheff Wed passenger who lost possession 22x cost Moore dearly – opinion

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Scottish Premiership defender Michael Ball believes Celtic fans want to see a big-name manager like Jose Mourinho arrive at the club, in a damning verdict of the pursuit of Eddie Howe.

Prior to accepting the job at AS Roma, there was some talk about Celtic being keen on bringing the ex-Tottenham boss to Glasgow.

Nothing, of course, materialised and Howe remains the frontrunner to permanently succeed Neil Lennon in the Celtic Park dugout. Lucien Favre has also reportedly been interviewed for the role in a potential twist.

Having lost out on the Scottish Premiership title to rivals Rangers, though, Ball feels supporters desperately want a manager of Mourinho’s profile to come in and prevent a repeat of this season.

On Celtic’s manager search, the retired full-back told FFC:

“Speaking to a lot of Celtic fans, they’re reaching for the top, they want the best of the best. I think there’s obviously a lot of talk about Eddie Howe right now, but Celtic… their demands as fans are huge and they want to push Steven Gerrard as much as possible to bridge that gap, so they want the biggest names available.

“Now even when Mourinho was available before the Roma job, they wanted him, so whether that board can go out and attract that type of manager is a different question, but what the fans want will be a big name.”

Given what Mourinho has accomplished in the game, bringing him to Celtic Park would have been some coup.

With that no longer an option, however, you would expect the Bhoys to continue in their pursuit of Howe.