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Crystal Palace have been linked with a move for Everton midfielder Tom Davies as new manager Patrick Vieira looks to complete the rebuild of his first-team squad.

What’s the story?

According to Football Insider, the Eagles are monitoring the 23-year-old’s situation at Goodison Park ahead of a potential offer.

The report states that: “A Palace source has told Football Insider that Davies is on their radar going into next year and his situation at Everton will be monitored.

“Intriguingly, Davies is out of contract in the summer of 2023 and there has been no progress in talks over an extension.”

Imagine him and Conor Gallagher

The former England Under-21 international is a fan’s favourite at Everton after rising through the ranks at his boyhood club, earning plaudits for his full-blooded and committed displays for the Toffees.

After making his first-team debut back in 2016, Davies has made 155 appearances for the Merseyside outfit, scoring six goals and providing eight assists from a defensive midfield role.

Under ex-Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti, the youngster was in and out of the side last term but did put in a string of impressive performances, catching the eye of the Italian tactician with a standout display against Manchester United.

“I think, first of all, Tom is a really professional player, really focused on what he is doing,” Ancelotti said. “He has a strong sense of belonging to this club and this is also really important.

“The only thing I said to him is to simplify his work and his style of play. He plays in a position where tactically you have to be really focused. Watching the game against United, I think tactically he was perfect.”

However, he appears to have slipped down the pecking order under Ancelotti’s successor Rafael Benitez. Davies has only featured in 17 minutes of Premier League action in Everton’s opening six fixtures of 2021/22, throwing his future at the club into doubt.

His potential arrival at Selhurst Park would only further the already impressive recent recruitment of the capital club, creating a formidable midfield duo.

The £16.2m-rated Davies would be the ideal partner for loanee Conor Gallagher given he averaged 1.2 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per league game last term, providing a solid base for the more attack-minded 21-year-old.

Therefore, chairman Steve Parish must move for the Everton ace in the upcoming window, completing the transformation of the south London outfit’s engine room.

And, in other news…Forget Zaha: Palace beast who won 100% of his duels was Vieira’s real hero v Brighton 

The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards has claimed that Newcastle United are set to sign Santiago Munoz on transfer deadline day.

What’s the story?

Reports on Tuesday morning claimed that the Magpies could seal the loan signing of Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury – although it now appears that the deal may be off – with Edwards instead revealing more positive news on Munoz.

Writing on Twitter, he said: “Young Mexican forward Santiago Munoz is also set to sign, although the 19-year-old will initially go into the Academy squad. Very much a Steve Nickson signing and will be allowed to settle before being considered for first team.”

Exciting news for Newcastle fans

While Munoz is unlikely to come in and make an immediate impact on the first team as Edwards himself has said, the arrival of the talented Mexican is certainly an exciting one for Newcastle fans.

The 19-year-old is a centre-forward by trade and has shown flashes of the kind of impressive potential which would have seen the club’s head of recruitment Steve Nickson take note and drive this signing.

As per Sofascore, Munoz has averaged more than one shot per game in the Liga MX Clausura this year, while also completing more than 50% of his attempted dribbles – to put that into context, Allan Saint-Maximin boasts a 71% completion rate on his dribbles.

Munoz is direct, and generally clinical in front of goal, with Sofascore registering him as missing only one big chance in the 18 games he has played in the league this year.

If the Mexican can integrate and adapt well to his new surroundings when he officially puts pen to paper on a deal at St James’ Park, then there’s every chance he could well force his way into Bruce’s thinking in the first team sooner rather than later.

The Magpies aren’t exactly blessed with striking cover outside of Callum Wilson, so Munoz may fancy his chances of springing a surprise and rising through the ranks fast.

Edwards’ update is very exciting for Newcastle fans.

Meanwhile, Lee Ryder has dropped an intriguing Newcastle United transfer claim…

Transfer deadline day came and went without any real drama for Rangers but sporting director Ross Wilson ultimately failed in what should have been one of his main priorities – selling Brandon Barker.

Steven Gerrard’s side were able to offload fringe players such as Jordan Jones and George Edmundson to Wigan Athletic and Ipswich Town respectively, whilst the likes of Jamie Murphy and Greg Stewart were released.

However, one man who the Gers failed to shift was Barker, despite his last Premiership appearance for the Gers coming in January.

He was sent on loan to Oxford United in the January transfer window and contributed three goals and four assists in League One for Karl Robinson’s side but that seemingly wasn’t enough for them, or any other club, to take a gamble on Barker this summer.

Since joining from Manchester City in 2019, the winger has gone on to make just 26 appearances for Rangers’ first team, in which he has contributed three goals and no assists, which suggests that he doesn’t really have a future in Gerrard’s side.

The 41-year-old has the likes of Ryan Kent, Fashion Sakala, Ianis Hagi, Scott Wright and Joe Aribo available to him on the wings this season, so it seems clear that Barker is surplus to requirements at Ibrox and won’t be making too many appearances any time soon.

Fortunately for Rangers, Barker’s contract at Ibrox is set to expire at the end of this season, which means that January will be the last opportunity for Wilson to sell him permanently before he potentially leaves on a free transfer in 2022.

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The 24-year-old will be forced to remain at Ibrox until at least then as something of an outcast in Gerrard’s side, which surely won’t be appreciated by the former Liverpool captain, and you could definitely argue that Wilson should have done more to try and get rid of Barker permanently this summer as it is clear that he is no longer good enough for the Gers.

In other news… Rangers missed out on 36 G/A gem who Gerrard would have loved

Queens Park Rangers’ Championship campaign of did not get off to the best of starts on Saturday afternoon as Mark Warburton’s men were held to a 1-1 draw at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.

An 11th-minute Jed Wallace strike gave Millwall the lead in the fixture before Rob Dickie levelled for the home side just after the half-hour mark.

However, despite dominating possession of the ball – 59% to be precise – taking more shots, winning more corners and stringing together nearly 150 more passes than the Lions, the home side failed to make their superiority count, with the fixture finishing all square.

Neither of QPR’s starting front two particularly impressed, with Charlie Austin and Lyndon Dykes managing just one shot on target between them, receiving SofaScore match ratings of 6.6 and 6.5 respectively, but arguably the club’s worst performer on the day was new signing Moses Odubajo.

The former England under-20 international made two key passes over the course of his 90 minutes on the pitch, but in almost every other department, the 28-year-old badly let Warburton down.

Indeed, the £7.5k-per-week man was wasteful with the ball, completing just one of his four attempted crosses, one of his four attempted long balls and losing possession for his side on a whopping 17 occasions.

His metrics from a defensive standpoint do not provide any better reading, with the £630k-rated right-back winning just one of his nine duels, being dribbled past twice and conceding one foul.

All in all, Odubajo’s performance saw him earn a SofaScore match rating of 6.0, the worst of any player from either side to feature in the game.

As such, should the former Sheffield Wednesday man wish to keep his place in Warburton’s starting XI going forwards, he will undoubtedly have to improve on his debut display against Millwall, which certainly left a lot to be desired.

In other news: Bhatia masterclass: QPR confirm major development that will leave fans buzzing

Celtic are unlikely to sign Manchester City centre-back Ko Itakura on loan this summer, according to Sky Sports reporter Anthony Joseph.

The Lowdown: Itakura links

Celtic were linked with a move for Itakura at the end of June, with the Japan international high up on a list of targets.

However, the Hoops had to play the waiting game over any potential temporary transfer, with the 24-year-old representing his country at the Olympic Games.

Itakura, who former Dutch footballer Haans Kray described as ‘incredibly fast’, isn’t in Pep Guardiola’s Etihad plans, but it doesn’t seem as if a move to Glasgow will materialise.

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The Latest: Joseph’s post

Joseph took to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon to share an update on any possible move for Itakura.

He said that the centre-back is now unlikely to join on loan before the window closes at the end of the month.

“Also, I’m told Manchester City centre-back Ko Itakura is unlikely to move on loan to Celtic in this transfer window. The Hoops were tracking the 24-year-old defender while he was playing for Japan at the Olympics this summer.”

The Verdict: No more centre-back signings?

After bringing in Joe Hart and James McCarthy, Ange Postecoglou still wants to sign a right-back and a winger.

There hasn’t been much mention of a new centre-back, so the Hoops may well be done when it comes to that area of the pitch this summer, especially following Joseph’s claim on Itakura.

It remains to be seen if it was Celtic, City or Itakura’s decision on a move to Scotland not gathering pace, but with Postecoglou having four senior options at the heart of Celtic’s defence when Christopher Jullien returns from injury, he may well be content for the current campaign.

In other news: Ange’s phone call: Celtic set sights on 6ft ‘phenomenon’; he likes the sound of a Parkhead move. 

Lots of Everton fans have been left fuming over a transfer update on Phil Jones.

As per 90min, the Goodison Park faithful are one of a number of clubs in the Premier League ‘keeping tabs’ on his situation at Manchester United, along with Newcastle United, West Ham United, Southampton, Brighton and Hove Albion, Crystal Palace and Burnley.

The Old Trafford faithful are reportedly willing to let the central defender leave on a free transfer, and the Merseyside club could well take advantage of that.

However, Rafa Benitez’s team are already stocked up in the centre-back department with Ben Godfrey, Mason Holgate, Michael Keane and Yerry Mina, and so a move for Jones would not make much sense considering his lack of action over the past couple of seasons.

The 29-year-old Englishman is very injury prone, and so it is not a surprise to see so many Toffees against the potential deal.

Everton fans on Jones transfer update

These Blues supporters fumed as the transfer update was shared on Twitter:

“NO NO NO NO……NOOOOOOOOOOOOO”

Credit: @ScottGhostrider

“No, no, no! Marcel Brands”

Credit: @TONYTIGHE

“If this is true, I’m done”

Credit: @voylerroom

“Please stop. He wasn’t good enough for Utd so he’s not good enough for us”

Credit: @danexadmirer

“Wow. Just dropping a bomb with this tweet huh? Live bait!!”

Credit: @sizeriv

“NO!”

Credit: @CeejayNightwing

In other news, find out what Bramley-Moore Dock update Evertonians are lauding here!

Liverpool have identified Real Betis midfielder Guido Rodriguez as a potential replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum, according to La Razon. 

The lowdown

Predominantly a defensive midfielder, the Argentine made 35 La Liga appearances last season, averaging 2.8 tackles, 1.9 interceptions and 1.5 clearances per game (via WhoScored). To put those numbers in context, Liverpool’s top tackler last season was Thiago (2.5 per game) and their most frequent interceptor was Jordan Henderson (1.6).

However, Rodriguez was also something of a yellow card magnet, picking up 10 over the course of the campaign. Only seven players in the league amassed more.

The 27-year-old was called up to the Argentina squad for this summer’s Copa America and started four matches for the eventual winners.

The latest

The report from La Razon claimed that Liverpool targetted Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez to bolster their midfield ranks, but their arch-rivals Manchester United are now leading the race for the Spaniard.

Rodriguez, who has previously attracted interest from Arsenal, has an €80m (£68.3m) release clause, but Betis are willing to sell him for around €30m (£25.6m). Furthermore, they need to clear wages off the books so they can register a new signing in Brazilian centre-back Lyanco.

The verdict

Rodriguez shouldn’t be considered a like-for-like Wijnaldum replacement by any means. Instead, he looks to be a more destructive presence in midfield.

However, Liverpool could use a player who can screen the back four effectively should Fabinho succumb to injury. They sorely missed that protection in the middle of the park when the Brazilian had to play as a centre-back last season.

With Betis inclined to compromise, Liverpool should be able to agree a reasonable fee if they choose to escalate their interest in a player who seems to be a very worthwhile alternative to Saul, who appears increasingly unattainable.

In other news, many Liverpool fans erupted as this transfer news emerged.

Four weeks of captivating, pulsating international football will come to a head on Sunday evening with England looking to end 55 years of hurt against Italy at Wembley.

Euro 2020 has been far from ordinary for a whole host of reasons, but the unrivalled level of entertainment that underpins major international tournaments has prevailed in spite of the circumstances.

It’s been a gripping tournament laden with first-class goals and heart-warming subplots, sprinkled with unlikely upsets and officiated to an immaculate standard which makes you question where the domestic leagues are going so wrong.

Now that the tournament is drawing to a close, it’s an apt time to reflect on what’s unfolded and celebrate the most outstanding performers from Europe’s international football festival.

As worthy as they are of acclaim, we’re not talking about Roberto Mancini’s tailor or Ciro Immobile’s acting teacher; this is strictly about raw, pure footballing ability.

With that in mind, GIVEMESPORT have outlined six nominees – with a cap of two per country – for the GIVEMESPORT Fans’ Euro 2020 Player of the Tournament award ahead of the showpiece final.

Unsurprisingly, four of the six players are representatives of the two finalists, while the other two nominations arrive from semi-finalists Spain and giant-killing Czech Republic, who sent The Netherlands home in the last-16.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the nominees:

Harry Maguire

It is a measure of how influential Harry Maguire has been that he warrants a place on this list despite missing England’s opening two fixtures.

Maguire was ruled out of United’s last four Premier League games of the 2020/21 season with an ankle injury and his absence extended into the beginning of the tournament, but he has been every bit as sharp as the rest of the England players since returning against the Czech Republic in the final group stage game.

His front-foot interceptions have given England a stark base from which to build their attacks and, naturally, Slabhead chipped in with a customary headed goal to extinguish Ukrainian dreams during the finalists’ 4-0 quarter-final victory.

As the central defensive lynchpin of a side that have conceded just once in the tournament, Maguire has serious credentials to be crowned Player of the Tournament.

Jorginho

Prior to the 2020/21 season, and most notably before Thomas Tuchel’s arrival at Chelsea, casual onlookers found themselves locked in thought about what exactly Jorginho offers aside from a technically assured sideways pass.

However, a starring role in Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League triumph has been backed up with a series of glowing displays in Italy’s midfield at Euro 2020, leaving the world in little doubt about how hasty they were to underestimate his metronomic qualities. Jorginho’s cold-blooded ability from 12 yards was never in doubt, and he joined Andrea Pirlo in the Italian annals as one of the most ballsy penalty takers in history with his shootout-winning strike against Spain in the semi-final.

Only two players have made more ball recoveries than Jorginho’s 40, and, with the exception of Spanish players, he is tied with John Stones (426) for the most number of passes made in the competition.

The ability to blend playmaking and destroying, skills sitting at opposite ends of the footballing spectrum, so seamlessly makes him one of the most extraordinarily unique players on the planet right now.

Pedri

The statistics may not read overly impressively for Pedri but the 18-year-old wonderkid is exactly the type of player who needs to be seen to be understood.

A typical product of Barcelona’s notorious La Masia academy, Pedri barely touches the ground as he waltzes the turf with the ball at his feet, seeking holes in the opponent’s defence that only a blessed few are capable of both locating and infiltrating.

He completed eight key passes at Euro 2020 and often looked the most likely player in Spanish colours to carve out an opportunity, while his tireless work rate enabled him to run a tournament-high 76.2m kilometres.

Pedri may not scoop the acclaim here but he has every chance of being crowned Young Player of the Tournament by Uefa.

Leonardo Spinazzola

Leonardo Spinazzola is relatively new to the Italian national side at 28 years old but you wouldn’t have guessed it based on his performances at Euro 2020.

The AS Roma full-back had only made 14 caps for Italy prior to the tournament, but his importance to Mancini was clear from the early stages of their opening match against Turkey.

His overlapping runs, teasing dribbles and dangerous end product have produced two assists and given Italy a real weapon to supplement Lorenzo Insigne down the left hand side.

That the Italian players dedicated their semi-final win over Spain to Spinazzola – as Lorenzo Insigne sported a Spinazzola shirt while the players and staff chanted his name – speaks volumes about his newfound status in the national side.

Spinazzola’s absence from the final is a real blow for the spectacle.

Raheem Sterling

There were genuine doubts about Raheem Sterling’s place in Southgate’s starting XI ahead of Euro 2020.

Sterling lost his place to Phil Foden at Manchester City in the final months of the season, lending reason for a BBC journalist to ask him – much to Sterling’s understandable bewilderment – if he had justified his selection after scoring the winner against Croatia in England’s opening game.

That an exasperated Sterling even had to field a question of that ilk after single-handedly securing England three points provides some indication into the nation’s chronic underappreciation of his talent. After years of struggle, though, there is surely not a shred of doubt remaining about Sterling’s world-class ability.

The 26-year-old has been a menace in all of England’s games and a central figure in almost every one of their 10 goals.

He was in stunning form against Denmark, forcing Simon Kjaer to turn through his own net for the equaliser before winning a penalty in extra-time with a piercing dribble near the byline.

A return of three goals and an assist only goes some way to underlining what a mesmerising tournament it has been for Sterling, and it will be difficult to look beyond him for individual accolades when the curtain is brought down at Wembley on Sunday.

Patrik Schick

The Czech Republic were one of the surprise packages of the tournament and their route to the quarter-finals was made possible by the deadly brilliance of Patrik Schick at centre-forward.

Schick scored two exquisite goals, including an undisputed Goal of Euro 2020 contender from the halfway line against Scotland at Hampden Park, to set the tone for an outstanding individual tournament in which he scored five goals in five games.

Only Cristiano Ronaldo has matched that return and his all-round play at the spearhead of the Czech attack will surely have alerted some potential suitors this summer.

Cast your vote for the Euro 2020 Player of the Tournament award now by visiting https://fan-awards.com/.

Queens Park Rangers are open to sanctioning Niko Hamalainen’s departure from the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by West London Sport, who claimed that, following the arrival of Norwich City left-back Sam McCallum on a season-long loan deal, the 24-year-old no longer features in Mark Warburton’s first team plans for next season.

The report added that, as a result of Warburton’s newly acquired option at left-back, the 58-year-old is now more than happy for the defender to leave the club this summer and will not be standing in his way if an acceptable offer is made, despite QPR awarding Hamalainen a new four-year deal only last October.

Finally, it is claimed that a move away from England appears most likely for the Finland international this summer, with clubs in Scotland and the USA being made aware of his availability on the transfer market.

Hamalainen must go

Having arrived at QPR from FC Dallas back in 2014, and subsequently going on to feature only 29 times for the club over this seven-year spell, it is quite clear from the outside looking in that Hamalainen is simply not good enough to be Warburton’s first choice at left-back.

Indeed, the 24-year-old failed to make any real impression over his 22 Championship appearances for the Rs last season, helping his side to keep just four clean sheets, along with averaging one interception, 1.2 tackles, 1.5 clearances and winning 2.7 duels per game.

The £450,000-rated man also offered nothing in attack for QPR, failing to score, provide an assist or create a big chance for his teammates, as well as losing possession of the ball 14.7 times per league game.

These returns saw the left-back, who himself claimed he is “hungry” for success, earn a disappointing seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.60, ranking him as the club’s fourth-worst performer in the second tier of English football.

As such, it comes are no surprise whatsoever that Warburton is looking to move Hamalainen on this summer, as this would appear a highly advisable action to take. However, the question must be asked as to why the club felt the need to offer the £1,900-per-week defender a new four-year deal as recently as last autumn.

In other news: Warburton set to seal QPR deal for “terrific” £7.5k-p/w gem, fans should be worried

A number of Liverpool supporters are unhappy about the Reds’ reported interest in signing Italy winger Domenico Berardi this summer.

Last season proved to be a difficult one at Anfield, but Jurgen Klopp’s side ended up saving their campaign with a third-place finish in the Premier League. A number of Reds players failed to hit their usual heights, with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino arguably the most culpable in that respect.

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It could be that Klopp believes another wide player needs to come in this summer in order to improve competition for places in 2021/22.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport [via LFC Transfer Room on Twitter], Liverpool are interested in Berardi, and Sassuolo would be willing to sell him for €40m (£34.3m).

The 26-year-old has scored five goals in 14 appearances for Italy and he has played three times at Euro 2020 this summer. However, the one-club man has never played in the group stage of any European club competition, which suggests that a move to Anfield would be quite a step up for him.

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Liverpool fans don’t want Reds to sign Berardi

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to bemoan the rumour, with one dismissing him as a “slightly slower Dwight McNeil” in a less than flattering reference to the Burnley winger.

“No need to sign that weak link”

Credit: @__Nkansah

“Massive massive no. he’d be a better left-back than a winger”

Credit: @lfcollie9

“We’re looking at the wrong Italian”

Credit: @lfcharry

“Honestly he’s just a slightly slower Dwight McNeil”

Credit: @kamehamehari

“No thank you”

Credit: @PhilPhenom

“We are not interested”

Credit: @ribapurusakka

In other news, Liverpool are believed to be in advanced talks over the signings of one player this summer. Find out who it is here.