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West Ham United have once again been linked with a move for Marseille defender Duje Caleta-Car this week…

What’s the word?

The 24-year-old is among the list of central defensive targets this summer, according to the ever-reliable ExWHUemployee, nearly a year on from their initial interest.

Other reports from The Athletic suggest that despite the Ligue 1 outfit’s €20m (£18m) valuation, he is expected to depart for a fee in the region of just €15m (£13m).

The Hammers failed in their attempts to sign him last year as they could not offer European football, something that now puts them at a major advantage, having qualified for next season’s Europa League.

Bye-bye Diop?

David Moyes appears to be fairly well-stocked in the defensive department, though they do require some strength in depth.

Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson are likely to enter the 2021/22 campaign as his first-choice duo, with Aaron Cresswell dropping into a back three when required, so where does that leave Issa Diop?

At just 24, his career is by no means finished but his time at the London Stadium could be forcibly ended by the arrival of Caleta-Car.

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Back in April, Irons fansite Claret & Hugh claimed the Frenchman could be a possible departure during the summer transfer window, alongside players like Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and Andriy Yarmolenko.

The commanding 6 foot 4 Croatian international would give Moyes a more solid and imposing option at the back. He averaged 2.5 aerials won and found the net twice across 33 league appearances last term, via WhoScored.

Furthermore, he’s proven effective with the ball at his feet, recording a better pass success rate (86.1%) than any of the Hammers’ current squad.

Former Premier League defender and international teammate Dejan Lovren has tipped him for big things and that will only provide further encouragement in any move for him this summer.

He told La Provence: “In my opinion, Duje could easily play in England. He is physically very strong, stronger than other players. He will explode in a few years and become even stronger.”

For just £13m, David Sullivan and co could land an absolute bargain for Moyes’ backline, the only potential downside would be the fact that it pushes Diop closer to the exit door.

AND in other news, ExWHUemployee drops encouraging transfer claim that’ll have many Irons fans buzzing…

Former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie has bemoaned Josip Juranovic’s absence through injury ahead of the clash with Ross County.

The Lowdown: Juranovic out of clash

The Hoops face a crucial Scottish Premiership clash on Sunday afternoon, making the trip to fifth-place Ross County for what could be a sticky fixture.

Celtic have a small cushion over Rangers at the top of the table, but any slip-up could be key and they will have to make do without Juranovic this weekend.

The Croatian is missing for a number of weeks through injury, meaning Ralston is expected to slot in at right-back against Ross County.

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The Latest: McAvennie backs Ralston

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie said Juranovic’s absence is significant, but stuck by Ralston at the same time:

“Juranovic is a wonderful defender. We all know I have been critical of Tony Ralston but he loves playing in the role Ange is currently giving him.

“I have no problem, with him coming in. It’s a shame for Juranovic because it’s one hell of a blow for him. He’s a brilliant player and he’s done so well against good players. Kent couldn’t get near him in the last few times we have played Rangers.

“It’s a man down but Celtic have to get on with it. That’s the only thing they can do at this point. Ralston has a few goals and assists so he does do a lot going forward.

“Hopefully he can play as brilliant as he did at the start of the season.”

The Verdict: Big game for replacement

Ralston may not be loved by McAvennie but he has proven to be a good squad player this season, starting 20 matches in total and chipping in with four goals.

While Juranovic is arguably the first-choice right-back, the 23-year-old should have no issue filling in, doing his job and helping Celtic pick up three more valuable points.

Having strong squad depth is vital to any title charge and that is the case with the Hoops, with players of Ralston’s ilk able to come in and perform when required.

In other news, a pundit has bemoaned something that will affect Celtic next season. Read more here.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie is convinced Jesse Lingard would choose West Ham over his old side if it were a choice between the two.

This comes after Football Insider reported that Villa are interested in signing the 28-year-old attacking midfielder following his impressive loan spell in east London.

Lingard has been in red-hot form since joining West Ham from Manchester United back in January, already hitting double figures for goal involvements.

It is no wonder that Villa have now seemingly joined the race to sign the England international.

Hendrie, however, is not giving his former club much of a chance given how settled Lingard looks at the London Stadium.

When asked by TT whether the Villans had a shot at signing Lingard, he said:

“I’d be very surprised if he turned his back on them [West Ham] to be honest. Playing for Manchester United, he’s won trophies, he’s been involved in big international games and he’s a big player.

“So I think if he had to choose out of the two, I’d be certain it’d be West Ham just for the season he’s had and the boxes he ticks for them.”

With West Ham also likely to feature in Europe next season, and possibly even in the Champions League, it is easy to see why the Hammers would be in the driving seat to sign Lingard permanently.

Flocking to Twitter, many Tottenham Hotspur fans have erupted over a claim involving Serie A defender and long-time target Takehiro Tomiyasu.

The Japan international has been on Tottenham’s transfer radar for some time now, with Sky Sports lifting the lid on a rejected £12.9m (€15m) offer, plus an extra £2.6m (€3m) in add-ons.

The Athletic, following on from that development, claimed Spurs found common ground with Bologna and were even finalising terms – but there have been few updates since then.

Now, a claim from Italy has emerged which could come as welcome news in the race to sign Tomiyasu this summer.

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Indeed, Calciomercato.it now say that an agreement has been reached ‘in principle’ for his signing from Bologna and the deal can go through after Tomiyasu finishes his stint at the Olympic games.

Flocking to this news, with personal terms having also been agreed for a while, it’s safe to say that most Lilywhites supporters are overjoyed.

One even called it ‘fantastic news’ and many more have erupted in response to The Spurs Express and The Spurs Web.

Find all of their best verdicts down below.

Tottenham fans erupt over Tomiyasu claim

“Fantastic news at last!!”

Credit: @ColinWindell

“Niceeee”

Credit: @dele_tubbies

“yesss happy”

Credit: @IamSAMI75

“Finally a proper RB”

Credit: @BoltDest

“Finally, some good news”

Credit: @darkchild99

“GET INNNN”

Credit: @ParisLizzie

“Wow”

Credit: @DattareyaC

“This could be a right back cover sorted and bye bye Aurier”

Credit: @Jasonsnell17

In other news: Talks underway: Nuno green lights yet another Spurs exit as N17 news emerges, find out more here.

Marcus Bent has advised Everton to seal Ross Barkley’s return to the club and believes the midfielder would quickly become a key player in Rafa Benitez’s side.

Barkley left Goodison Park for Premier League rivals Chelsea in a £15million deal three-and-a-half years ago, having pushed for a move away from Merseyside.

However, the switch to Stamford Bridge has not gone to plan as Barkley has made just 86 appearances for Chelsea and spent last season on loan at Aston Villa.

While a hamstring injury restricted the 27-year-old to just 27 appearances in all competitions at Villa, Barkley is on the radar of several Premier League clubs after falling out of favour at Chelsea.

Everton, who are looking to bolster their squad under the stewardship of new manager Benitez, have been joined in the race for the England international midfielder’s services by West Ham United and Newcastle United.

But Bent would like to see Barkley snub the Hammers and Magpies in favour of a return to familiar surroundings.

When asked whether Barkley would walk straight into Everton’s starting line-up, Bent exclusively told The Transfer Tavern: “I think so, because we need a player who is quick, skilful and can move us forward.

“Bringing him back in would be taking a chance and he would need to hit the ground running.

“He is an asset and someone who I feel is skilful, and he’s mature now.”

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Leicester City striker Brian Deane believes Ben Chilwell’s move to Chelsea has worked out well for all parties.

Chilwell, who came through the ranks at Leicester, departed the King Power for Stamford Bridge last summer in a £50m deal.

Since then, Leicester have gone on to win the FA Cup, beating Chilwell’s Chelsea 1-0 in the final, while the 24-year-old left-back has not always been an automatic starter under Thomas Tuchel.

In fact, the German left him on the bench during that clash at Wembley, instead opting for Marcos Alonso.

Nevertheless, Deane feels his old side, Chelsea and Chilwell will still all be pleased with the transfer. The ex-Leicester player told FFC in an exclusive interview:

“I don’t think it was a bad decision for him to go to Chelsea. I think it was a good decision for Leicester because they got a lot of money for him and they can bring somebody else in, which they have done and it’s been seamless.

“I think Chelsea have brought somebody in who they feel might be at the club for the next five or 10 years, so I think it works well for everybody. I don’t think Ben Chilwell’s got any regrets; I don’t think Leicester have any regrets.

“I just think it’s one of those that works for everybody.”

While he, of course, missed out on the FA Cup to his former side, this could still end up being an incredibly successful season for Chilwell and Chelsea, who will be aiming for Champions League glory next Saturday when they take on Manchester City.

Liverpool just managed to limp over the line into the top four last season despite having several key players out injured, and their captain Jordan Henderson was one who picked up a serious knock during the season.

Former Liverpool star Paul Stewart believes that Aston Villa’s John McGinn could replace him.

Villa have reportedly slapped a £45 million price tag on McGinn’s head which certainly raised a few eyebrows considering he’s had just one season in the Premier League and only managed three goals and five assists last campaign.

Jurgen Klopp will be targeting the centre of midfield in this summer’s transfer window as he goes in search of a Georginio Wijnaldum replacement, and also to add some much-needed strength in depth.

McGinn featured for Scotland in all three of their Euro 2020 games but was unable to offer them any spark in the group stages and asked if he would be a suitable replacement for Wijnaldum, Stewart had this to say exclusively to Football FanCast:

“No, I don’t think so because they’re totally different players.”

The Scotland international is certainly a busy and energetic player as he attempted and completed the most pressures out of anyone in the Villa side last season, so he would be able to buy into Klopp’s demanding style of play and potentially replace another long time member of the squad, as Stewart added:

“You’d be looking at him taking the place of Henderson in midfield, and I can see that being more likely to happen than him replacing Wijnaldum.”

With Villa having to fight off interest in Jack Grealish, they will be hoping a £45 million price tag frightens off potential interest in McGinn as losing those two would essentially rip out the heart of their side going into next season.

Many Everton fans have been left fuming as a change to one of their fixtures was confirmed by the Goodison Park faithful.

As per the official Twitter page of the Merseyside club, their game away at Chelsea during the festive period has now been changes to a 7:45pm kick-off on Thursday 16th December.

It means that those Toffees supporters who already had travel down to Stamford Bridge for the match organised will have to change plans, while those with work commitments the following day may simply find it impossible to attend.

Nonetheless, it is rare for a Premier League fixture to be scheduled for a Thursday these days, due to European and cup commitments, and a few Blues just found it strange that the top flight decided to schedule it for that day.

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Everton fans on Chelsea fixture change

These EFC fans fumed as the change was revealed on Twitter, with one Evertonian even going as far as to claim that it is ‘ridiculous’:

“Football ever more becoming a TV show than a sport. Absolutely ridiculous”

Credit: @rogerefc

“Absolute nightmare! I have already booked trains and hotels to go down”

Credit: @BobbyC_1878

“Scandalous”

Credit: @SimonMidi9790

“Disgraceful”

Credit: @Neil85059534

“What a shower, absolute joke these fixture changes all the time!!”

Credit: @Ben02222604

“WHAT A SURPRISE”

Credit: @ellieq

In other news, find out which club news has Toffees buzzing here!

Liverpool managed to increase their impressive goals record in the Premier League so far this season after beating Watford 5-0 at Vicarage Road over the weekend, taking their total to 22 goals scored in just eight league games, higher than any other club in the top flight.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are now set to take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League this evening to see if they can continue their impressive start to the season.

On the chalkboard

Taking the focus away from Liverpool’s impressive attacking power, one player that we think should be in the starting XI to face Diego Simeone’s side is Reds defender Joel Matip, who has recently been described as being a “top-class” player by Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool centre-back Jamie Carragher.

Speaking about him on MNF this week, the ex-defender continued: “He has actually probably been better than Virgil van Dijk this season.”

Matip joined Liverpool on a free transfer from German club Schalke back in the 2016 summer window. Since then, the 30-year-old, who is earns a weekly salary of £125k-per-week according to Spotrac, has made a total of 132 appearances for the Reds across all competitions in which he has managed to chip in with six goals and three assists.

So far this season, Matip has played in all but one of Liverpool’s Premier League games, proving himself to be an important figure for the Reds.

In Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against Manchester City, Matip once again proved how much of a defensive unit he is for the club after making four interceptions, three tackles, blocked two shots and made one clearance. That ultimately earned himself an impressive overall match rating of 7.5/10, higher than any other Liverpool defender on the day according to SofaScore.

Taking all of this into account, we feel that Matip should definitely start against Atletico as he has shown he has what it takes to be a tough defensive opponent against high-class opposition. Keeping in mind his form this term, the Cameroon international could bully some of Atletico’s attacking players such as Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann and Joao Felix among others.

However, with Liverpool having a big clash against Manchester United in the Premier League at the weekend, there’s every possibility that Klopp could save Matip for that game and give him a rest in midweek. After all, they do have summer signing Ibrahima Konate in their ranks. However, we think the former should definitely be in the starting XI this evening; he may be decisive.

In other news: Liverpool dealt big injury blow ahead of Atletico clash, Klopp will be gutted – opinion

Former Leeds United midfielder David Norris was not surprised to see Ezgjan Alioski pass up the opportunity to sign a new contract at Elland Road.

Alioski has left the Yorkshire club after his contract expired at the end of last month.

The wing-back departed having made 171 appearances for Leeds and played an integral role as the club returned to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years last season.

Alioski, who joined from Lugano in 2017, has yet to agree terms with another club but Turkish media reports suggest he could be set to pen terms with Galatasaray.

News of Alioski’s potential move to the Turkish club has come under fire, with Leeds fans furious.

It comes after two Leeds supporters were stabbed to death by Galatasaray fans before the teams’ UEFA Cup semi-final clash in 2000.

But, regardless of where the North Macedonia international ends up, Norris admits Alioski’s Leeds departure did not come as a shock.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “I think it was coming. It was rumoured on and off as to whether he would be staying.

“It was the right time for the club and player to part ways. I wasn’t too surprised.”