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Newcastle United have received a big transfer boost as a journalist has dropped a definitive four-word update on the future of Jacob Murphy.

The Lowdown: Murphy has not signed contract yet

Murphy is still stalling on a new contract at the St. James’ Park faithful, although reports broke out in April that the Tyneside club are planning to hold talks with him, amid interest from Rangers, Southampton and Watford for his signature.

That said, while a new deal has not been signed, other clubs will feel that they can lure him away from the North East in the summer transfer window given that his current deal expires next season.

The Latest: Norwich journalist rules out Murphy move

While Norwich City have not been explicitly linked with a move for their former man recently, their sporting director, Stuart Webber, did say it ‘pains’ him how under-utilised Murphy has been on Tyneside, per Chronicle Live.

Now, Canaries journalist Paddy Davitt, in replying to a fan in a Q&A session with the Eastern Daily Press, seems to have ruled out any potential return to Carrow Road by claiming that ‘that ship has sailed’.

Nonetheless, this will come as a welcome boost to Steve Bruce and the Magpies, considering the plans to talk to Murphy over a new contract.

The Verdict: Newcastle must keep Murphy

The Toon must try and keep hold of Murphy at all costs, even if that means giving him a much bigger wage.

The 26-year-old has played the full 90 minutes in each of the last four games in the Premier League so far in the 2020/21 term, and so is clearly an important part of the team at this minute in time.

His added versatility to be able to play both as a wing-back and a winger is also very handy to have in the squad as it allows Bruce or any other manager on Tyneside to switch between a back three, four and five, and so letting him go would not seem like a wise idea in that regard.

In other news, find out who has been lined up as a potential Bruce successor here!

Carlo Ancelotti must ruthlessly axe Alex Iwobi when Everton travel to Arsenal on Friday night, having been his side’s worst-performing player against Tottenham Hotspur last time out.

Iwobi has struggled to establish himself as a key part of Ancelotti’s plans over recent months but was given the nod to start for the visit of Jose Mourinho’s Spurs, in what proved to be the Portuguese’s final game in charge.

A brace from Harry Kane either side of strikes from Gylfi Sigurdsson ensured the points were shared, but the axe fell on Mourinho’s tenure after 17 months despite guiding the north Londoners to this Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.

Iwobi has been given frequent chances to inspire a turnaround of his form with starting roles in four of the Toffees’ last five Premier League games, yet he has not scored since January 12 or provided an assist since December 16th.

His goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers to help to a 2-1 victory at Molineux remains the Nigerian winger’s only strike of the top-flight campaign, while being without an assist in 15 appearances after ending an eight-game drought with his second of the term at Leicester City.

Ancelotti must now call time on Iwobi’s run in the starting line-up with the Italian set to welcome 14-goal top-scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin back from an abductor injury, after seeing Iwobi flounder against Tottenham as the worst of Everton’s starting options.

The Liverpool Echo graded Iwobi with their joint-lowest match rating at just four out of 10, having carelessly turned over possession throughout the first half, including in the build-up to Spurs’ opening goal, while The Guardian described his performance as ‘anonymous’.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-everton-news%2c-views-and-gossip” title=”Latest Everton news, views and gossip!”]

Iwobi was even given the worst match rating of any player for either side by SofaScore at 6.1 out of 10, while WhoScored graded the Toffees’ £50,000-per-week winger at six out of 10 – only Tanguy Ndombele (5.9) was given a lower score for an outfield player.

The Blues’ £34m former Arsenal dynamo earned such woeful grades having missed the target with his only shot of the night, created no goalscoring chances, made fewer accurate passes (18) than goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (21) and lost a whopping 87% of his duels.

Iwobi contested eight challenges at home to Tottenham last Friday but emerged victorious in just one of seven battles on the ground and lost his only aerial contest. He also failed to beat a visiting player with either of his two attempted dribbles.

It was a performance miles from his normal standards, having averaged a modest 51% duel success over his 27 Premier League appearances (16 starts) this season, with success in 2.9 ground challenges (53%) and 0.1 aerial (27%), while making 1.6 successful dribbles (64%).

Altogether, Iwobi’s shocking efforts before being hauled off in the 61st minute meant he earned his lowest SofaScore match rating in 46 appearances across all competitions for Everton – dating back to a 5.3 out of 10 achieved during a 3-1 win over Chelsea at Goodison Park in December 2019.

Ancelotti cannot reward Iwobi for a performance that off the pace by starting him away to his former side on Friday night, and the return of top-scorer Calvert-Lewin will ensure the Italian has an option to slot straight into his starting line-up.

AND in other news, Everton have been told to pay £34.5m for a 23-year-old that Carlo Ancelotti would welcome at Goodison Park…

Manchester City made it four Carabao Cup wins in a row as they edged Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at Wembley on Sunday afternoon. Here are our City player ratings from the game:

Starting XI

Zack Steffen: 6/10

Had nothing to do in the first half. Tipped a Lo Celso effort around the post early on in the second 45 and that proved to be the only real save he had to make.

Kyle Walker: 6/10

Barely touched the ball in the first half as City dominated but attacked down the left. Did well to get back and cover when Hojbjerg was found in the box after a quick Spurs counter.

Ruben Dias: 7/10

Great tackle on Kane to stop a Spurs counter-attack, although it was somehow given as a foul. Kane and Son barely had a sniff, although the Portuguese defender looked comfortable, he was dominant in everything he needed to do.

Aymeric Laporte: 7/10

Fortunate to not get an early booking after losing the ball to Lucas Moura and dragging him down when he could have countered. Eventually was shown a yellow card for scything down Moura again when he was running forward dangerously. Opened the scoring with a great header from De Bruyne’s cross, which proved to be the winner.

Joao Cancelo: 7/10

A lot of City’s play was going down the left-hand side in the first half and the Portuguese international was heavily involved. Denied by a flying save from Lloris after being found by Mahrez on the edge of the box. Did well to tackle Kane when he threatened to break into the box before picking out Foden to kick start a counter. Defended really well when he had to and looked excellent going forward.

Fernandinho: 6/10

Lovely through ball to set up Sterling but his clipped shot went wide. Picked up a Fernandinho-esque booking for stopping Hojbjerg on the counter. Headed straight at Lloris after a great ball into the box. Replaced by Rodri with 10 minutes remaining.

Ilkay Gundogan: 6/10

Helped to dictate play in the first 45 but didn’t get forward as much as we’re used to seeing him do. Couldn’t quite get enough contact on a cross from Mahrez and headed over the bar. Volleyed well wide after being found in the box by Sterling.

Kevin De Bruyne: 7/10

A superb pass was inches away from finding Sterling, the Belgian was regularly found in excellent positions in the first half and his crosses were as dangerous as ever. Surprisingly wasteful when found in the area by Mahrez early in the second half. Great ball in from a free-kick for Laporte to score the opening goal. Replaced by Bernardo Silva late on.

Phil Foden: 8/10

Turned Sterling’s cross just wide, did well to rob Alderweireld to set up an early chance. Good quick thinking to set up Sterling for a great chance, but his effort was blocked. Came very close to opening the scoring when his shot was blocked onto the post by Alderweireld. Involved in so many of the good things that City did at Wembley and the £63m-rated “superstar” was a thorn in Spurs’ side throughout.

Riyad Mahrez: 7/10

So close to opening the scoring after a delightful touch from Cancelo’s cross-field pass with his curled effort only just wide of Lloris’ goal. Hits another great effort inches over just a few minutes later. A superb run and shot saw him denied by Lloris.

Raheem Sterling: 5/10

Had a great early opportunity after a loose pass from Son but was slow to get a shot away and was tackled by Aurier. Did well to set up an early chance for Foden after turning Aurier inside the area. Had another great chance to open the scoring but saw his shot blocked by Dier. Perhaps a little too greedy late on as he regularly tried to get a goal rather than passing to his teammates. Played better than in recent weeks but once again, he lacked the finishing touch.

Subs

Rodri: 6/10

Helped to see the game out late on.

Bernardo Silva: 6/10

Had a lot of touches despite only playing the last few minutes, he helped City to secure their win.

And, in other news… Guardiola dealt huge blow as “genius” superstar edges closer to agreement 

Barry Ferguson has suggested that Glasgow Rangers winger Ryan Kent is worth at least £20m in today’s market.

Ferguson discusses Kent

Kent was in terrific form for the Gers against Celtic in the Scottish Cup fourth round on Sunday, forcing an own goal from Jonjoe Kenny as the Gers won 2-0. His performances this season have attracted interest from Leeds, who are said to be ready to offer £15m for the 24-year-old (The Scottish Sun).

Writing for the Daily Record, Ferguson believes that Kent is worth £20m at least. He said:

“How much could we be talking for the Englishman? No less than £20million for a player who has time on his side.”

Massive increase on market value

Kent is currently valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt – £20m would therefore represent a 192% increase on that figure, which is a considerable amount. With 11 goals and 13 assists in all competitions, this has been the former Liverpool man’s most productive season as a professional footballer.

The reported interest from Leeds could well be matched by a number of other clubs during the summer transfer window. As Ferguson says, Kent has plenty of years ahead of him and has already shown bags of promise.

As per WhoScored, he has been the Gers’ second-best performer this season, while only James Tavernier has a higher tally of goal contributions in the Premieship among Steven Gerrard’s squad.

The likelihood is that he will end up in the English Premier League at some point in the future. Whenever he departs Ibrox, Ross Wilson and co must make sure that they get the right price for him.

In other news, many Rangers fans lauded this man’s performance against Celtic.

Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita has been linked with a shock summer move to Leicester City, with Brendan Rodgers eyeing him up.

The Guinean arrived at Anfield to much excitement back in the summer of 2018, having actually signed from RB Leipzig the previous year.

Keita’s Liverpool career has been a curious one to date, however, with good performances thrown in, but injuries affecting his progress and his impact not as great as many expected.

The 26-year-old has been limited to just seven Premier League starts in 2020/21, again highlighting his lack of playing time.

Keita linked with Liverpool exit

According to Football Insider, Leicester are ‘keeping tabs’ on Keita, with Rodgers described as a ‘big admirer’ of the Liverpool man.

There is no indication that the Reds are willing to move him on at the end of the season, however, so the Foxes’ efforts may be in vain.

Transfer Tavern take

It would be a big surprise if Klopp allowed Keita to leave in the summer, even though he clearly hasn’t yet exploded in a Liverpool shirt. He has been described as ‘world class’ by Virgil van Dijk, which speaks volumes.

With Gini Wijnaldum potentially moving on, more opportunities could come his way moving forward, and he has been perfectly effective, when fit.

Keita needs to go up a level if he is to avoid being seen as a disappointing signing, but at 26, he still has time on his side and is a player with huge amounts of quality.

In other news, Jurgen Klopp has hinted at a key selection ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid. Read more about it here.

Robin Olsen reportedly wishes to no longer stay at Everton following the news of an armed robbery while at home with his family earlier this month.

As per Calciomercato, the Sweden international could return to AS Roma and stay at the Serie A club following the end of his loan spell at the Goodison Park faithful, not wanting to stay on Merseyside after what happened at his home.

Everton should keep Olsen

The Merseyside club should be looking to convince Olsen to stay on a permanent deal once his loan at the Toffees comes to an end.

The 31-year-old is vastly experienced and is more than capable of providing some decent competition to Jordan Pickford in between the posts in the future.

Some of his displays so far this season have been very impressive to say the least, with former Premier League striker, now pundit, Kevin Phillips even going as far as to claiming that he was ‘amazing’ in a game against Leeds United back in February.

Even though Joao Virginia has emerged from the shadows in recent times following injuries to both Pickford and Olsen, the latter should still be considered Carlo Ancelotti’s number two goalkeeper, and given Roma’s willingness to let him go out on loan, coupled up wit the fact that he is 31 years of age, Olsen may well be available at a decent price for the Toffees.

In other news, find out what injury update has been lauded by Blues here!

Leicester could be set to strengthen their forward-line ahead of a potential UEFA Champions League campaign with the signing of Espanyol’s Raul de Tomas.

According to Reports in Spain, the Foxes are eyeing the Spaniard alongside fellow Premier League clubs Leeds United and West Ham United.

Brendan Rodgers and Jon Rudkin must make sure they secure his signature.

Whilst in the Segunda Division, de Tomas is enjoying a stellar campaign in front of goal having scored 16 goals in the league for Vicente Moreno’s troops.

This adds to his impressive record in the top-flight of Spanish football having netted a respectable 18 goals in 47 showings in La Liga throughout his career.

His form has certainly been noticed. Striker partner Jonathan Calleri has labelled the Spaniard as a “great footballer”.

De Tomas’ prolificacy then would add to Rodgers’ options considerably with Jamie Vardy edging towards 35 and Iheanacho, whilst in a rich vein of form, has not quite shown the consistency throughout his Foxes career to become a viable long-term successor to the veteran striker.

More options would, of course, be welcome with another European campaign potentially on the horizon too.

De Tomas has previously played on the European stage with Benfica so that experience could come in extremely handy.

Away from that, however, the former Real Madrid starlet would be an extremely affordable option as the Foxes aim to strengthen their forward line.

The 26-year-old is rated at just £9m so could certainly be a deal that the Foxes could complete with ease, a key aspect considering the impact that the pandemic has had upon the finances at the King Power Stadium.

Should the Foxes look to bring in another striker ahead of an upcoming UEFA Champions League campaign, De Tomas looks an excellent option.

AND in more news, take a look at which former flop had Leicester laughing all the way to the bank…

According to a report by The Mirror, Jose Mourinho is eyeing a move for Southampton colossus Jannik Vestergaard this summer as he makes the signing of a central defender a top priority – and it’s Tottenham’s belief they can land themselves a bargain as the 6 foot 6 powerhouse enters the final year of his contract. 

Jose eyeing Vestergaard

The Denmark international is reportedly a wanted man by Mourinho after a solid season, with Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl arguably missing him when he was reduced to the sidelines through injury.

As per The Mirror, Tottenham have been very impressed with everything Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has brought to the club and could wish to swoop for another bargain addition from the south coast club.

It is reported that Mourinho personally believes Vestergaard could bring the desired surety in defence which Spurs have arguably lacked at times this season, and Tottenham view him as a possible bargain given his contract situation.

Transfer Tavern take

It’s hard not to see why the Lilywhites boss is a fan judging by recent plaudits, with Martin Keown likening Vestergaard to Virgil van Dijk in an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.

As well as this, former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood hailed the 28-year-old as ‘outstanding’ for his Southampton contribution this season when speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday at the end of January (via HITC).

The giant Dane has won 3.6 headers per game this season, the most of any Saints player and more than anyone in Spurs’ squad.

Time will tell whether Mourinho manages to land Vestergaard in the summer, but he certainly seems interested and could be a decent addition

In other news: Tottenham have been sent a Harry Kane warning, find out more here.

Crystal Palace head into Saturday’s clash with West Bromwich Albion having the luxury choice over whether to include Wilfried Zaha from the start.

The mercurial winger made his return to action from an injury lay-off with a second half cameo as a substitute last week in the 4-1 thumping at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.

However, the time has now come for Roy Hodgson to include the Ivorian from the start and there are no better opponents in which to do that.

Put simply, Zaha has been the Eagles’ best player this season, a view backed up by the seasonal WhoScored ratings for Crystal Palace’s squad.

Before his injury, the 28-year-old had struck nine goals and two assists in the Premier League alone, needing to find the net just once more to record the best personal scoring season of his career.

No player in the Palace squad this season has got anywhere near his levels of productivity, with next highest scorer Christian Benteke sitting on just five goals for the season.

Coming up against West Bromwich Albion, too, Zaha will be confident on improving on his personal record.

So far throughout his career, he has hit four goals against the Baggies, including two in Palace’s 5-1 destruction in the reverse fixture this season.

Only against Leicester City and Brighton and Hove Albion has Zaha scored more goals, so Hodgson really should be contemplating including him from the start today.

Another reason why Zaha should be introduced is Palace’s infamously poor record without him. Since the start of the 2015/16 season, the winger has been unavailable on 28 occasions in the Premier League. Of those matches, Palace have won just five.

Extrapolated over a 38-game season, this would give the club approximately seven victories – only enough to see them potentially looking down the barrel of relegation.

Whilst they are some way off that territory this year, a win against West Brom would further quell any lingering fears of a survival battle, and key to that will surely be Wilfried Zaha.

AND in more news, have a look at why we believe Crystal Palace should not make a permanent move for Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi…

After a disappointing 0-0 draw against Wolves last time out in the Premier League, Aston Villa will be hoping to return to winning ways when they take on Newcastle tonight.

Dean Smith’s side are in a bit of a rut at the moment, having won just once in their previous five games in the league, and their hopes of a surprise European finish this season has taken a major dent.

A clash against the Magpies, who currently sit 16th in the table, offers them the perfect chance to bounce back; but after the draw against Wolves, Smith may look to freshen things up a little by making some key changes.

With that in mind, below is a look at how Villa might line up.

In goal, Emi Martinez will keep his place in between the sticks after yet another standout display for Villa last time out against Wolves – the Argentine pulled off a couple of point-blank saves to preserve his clean sheet, including a stunning one at the feet of Conor Coady.

Villa were handed a major injury boost before the game with confirmation from the manager that summer signing Matty Cash is fit and raring to go, and that should see Ahmed Elmohamady drop back to the bench after he deputised for the former Nottingham Forest man recently.

In midfield, Morgan Sanson could drop out of the starting XI after making his first start in the Premier League last week, with Jacob Ramsey surely pushing for a recall to give Villa something extra in attack.

Further ahead, the £78,000-a-week earning Bertrand Traore hasn’t been in the greatest of form in recent weeks and is surely in need of being dropped, and that could see Anwar El Ghazi potentially make his return after his comeback from injury.

Throwing Cash and El Ghazi back into the line-up after only just making their way back from injury would be some big calls to make from Smith, but they could inject a sense of much-needed energy and freshness to the side amid their recent dip in form.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Nakamba, Luiz; Trezeguet, Ramsey, El Ghazi; Watkins.

Meanwhile, Villa should unleash this “sensational” star tonight…