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Everton could have put any and all transfer interest in Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha in the rear-view mirror, but the Goodison Park natives will now be rueing their failure to sign Fiorentina’s dynamic dribbler Gaetano Castrovilli this summer.

What’s the word?

While speaking with Gazzetta dello Sport, Castrovilli has revealed that he is now eying a new contract with his Serie A side that he hopes will run until 2025 after catching the attention of several European clubs this summer.

Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti was said to have been one of the many admirers to have coveted the midfielder’s acquisition in the transfer market, per Calciomercato, but was informed along with Inter Milan, Juventus and unnamed Bundesliga outfits that he had been deemed unsellable following a three-goal, two-assist campaign in the Italian top-flight.

Fiorentina’s opposition to a deal eased somewhat as the window progressed with FC Inter News later claiming Castrovilli could fetch between €40m (£36m) and €50million (£45.1m), with RB Leipzig, SSC Napoli and Tottenham Hotspur now sniffing around the creator whom Inter were very hot to.

But no deal was ever made and Castrovilli clearly has no ill-feeling to the failure, having now stated that he wishes to impress his manager Giuseppe Iachini and take Fiorentina into Europe.

“My dream is to play in Europe with Fiorentina,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “It’s nice that the top clubs have shown appreciation, but I only think of the Viola.

“Can I renew [my contract] until 2025? I’d like to. I’m fine in Florence, Fiorentina is like a family for me, so if the opportunity arises, I would certainly be happy [to stay].”

Forget Zaha

Everton could have forgotten all about their long-standing interest in Crystal Palace forward Zaha had Director of Football Marcel Brands orchestrated a deal to bring Castrovilli to the Premier League this summer.

The Toffees were touted to renew their efforts to sign Zaha by The Mirror in July following two failed bids in 2019, with Ancelotti backed as a big admirer of the Ivorian speedster whom Marco Silva refused to pay the Eagles’ £100m asking price for last year.

Blues hero Louis Saha continued to laud the potential of Zaha at Goodison Park in August, telling the Football Index podcast via The Express: “Zaha is a player who is capable of playing everywhere, he’s such a good player.

“If you want to improve your game, the foundations are there at Everton for you to achieve this. When I joined Everton, I found players and staff around me who had a desire to win trophies and improve the club’s infrastructure. Zaha would feel the same way if he joined Everton.”

Castrovilli would have been the better purchase, though, and Brands will be rueing not being able to add the 23-year-old to Ancelotti’s squad after he began the 2020/21 season with four goals and one assist in five Serie A appearances.

The 6-foot midfielder is also averaging 4.4 ground duels won (47%), 0.4 accurate crosses (100%), 1.6 shots, 0.6 key balls, 2.0 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and 0.8 clearances a match in the Italian top-flight, per SofaScore, showing the level of skill he could have brought to Goodison Park.

His efforts in the centre of the pitch also led Football Whispers to laud his dynamic ability last season, having attempted an average of 4.48 take-ons per 90, of which he completed 3.38. Only four players in the Serie A were more successful than the one-time Italy international, who ranked tenth for attempts.

Now, Everton will likely watch on as Castrovilli takes his game to another level in years to come, knowing they missed an absolute gem in the 23-year-old midfielder who makes the left-hand side of the pitch his playground.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands can repeat his summer masterclass by landing an Everton-linked £76k-p/w powerhouse.

According to The Daily Mail, Newcastle are interested in Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha.

What’s the word?

The Ivory Coast international has long been linked with a move away from Selhurst Park, with reports last year suggesting that Arsenal were very much interested in luring him to the Emirates.

But, a move failed to materialise before the end of the deadline, leaving Zaha stuck with Palace. Now, The Daily Mail claim that the winger is primed for another summer of uncertainty, with the likes of Newcastle, Everton, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich all interested in securing his signature.

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The report further adds that Steve Bruce’s side in particular are “monitoring” the situation, “though any move would likely be dependent on their protracted takeover”.

Exciting

With Zaha’s ability to play on either flank and even through the middle, the Magpies could well have an incredibly exciting attack of the Ivorian, Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron – the kind of fluid front three that could terrify most Premier League defences with their pace and directness.

In fact, Zaha’s Palace teammate James McArthur waxed lyrical about his abilities back in 2018, saying: “He is just unplayable at times and I wouldn’t like to be a defender playing against him. For us, he is a great asset when you can give someone the ball and he can run 40 yards with it.” Essentially, Zaha would bring a lot of the same characteristics that Saint-Maximin has in his locker.

In fact, his average of 4.5 dribbles per game in the Premier League this season is only bettered by two players: Wolves’ Adama Traore, and Saint-Maximin himself. Their abilities to play across the front-line could see them interchange positions, and make for the kind of modern forward-line used by the likes of Liverpool and Barcelona of yesteryear.

Zaha has been the standard-bearer at Palace for a number of years now, playing a whopping 359 games for the Eagles and scoring 57 times. Newcastle of course have had their own inspirational figure before in Hatem Ben Arfa, and the 27-year-old could bring that too.

Ben Arfa had his fair share of magic moments at St James’ Park, not least that wonderful solo goal against Bolton. Zaha is capable of similar magic, netting a beauty in Ivory Coast’s win over Russia. That ability to pick the ball up, drive forward but then deliver a superb finish is something the duo have shown in abundance. And so if Newcastle needed someone to be the final piece of their attacking jigsaw, then the Palace star could very well be that man.

After yet another injury-hit campaign last season, Jack Wilshere will surely be hoping that he can finally enjoy a full season in the Premier League with West Ham.The former Arsenal starlet played just ten times across all competitions in the 2019/2020 campaign, and played just 35 minutes of football following the top-flight’s restart.

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Against Brentford in Saturday afternoon’s pre-season clash, Wilshere was given the chance to impress David Moyes from the off, lining up alongside Mark Noble in the middle of the park.

After seeing his performance against last season’s Championship play-off finalists, Hammers fans took to Twitter to share their reactions.

A couple of supporters urged the club to get rid of the midfielder, with one fan saying that he “offers absolutely nothing to our club”.

Another couple of Hammers fans even slammed Wilshere as being “anonymous” during the game.

Having barely done anything of note since joining the Hammers, it’s no surprise to see West Ham fans have little confidence that Wilshere can turn his career around at the London Stadium.

Tomas Soucek’s arrival has dropped him further down the pecking order, with the Czech Republic international actually scoring the match-winner against Brentford on Saturday.

It’s difficult to see how Wilshere gets back into the starting line-up.

David Luiz was one of many Arsenal players who produced a great performance in the Gunners’ 2-1 victory over Sheffield United in the FA Cup. We have taken a closer look at his performance against the Blades in the latest edition of our Unsung Hero feature.

Arsenal finally picked up their first win against Southampton since football has returned, and they now have two wins in two and are advancing to the semi-finals of the FA Cup after their victory against the Blades.

Wembley now awaits, and a trophy in Mikel Arteta’s first season would be a very good start and please many Arsenal supporters. Dani Ceballos scored the last minute winner and rightfully has been receiving a lot of praise, however David Luiz’s performance seems to have gone under the radar.

When his name was on the team sheet, many would have been worried following his awful display against Manchester City within his first 30 minutes of him being on the pitch since football returned. He made a mistake to gift City a goal and was then sent off after giving away a penalty. This led to SofaScore giving him a 3.0 rating.

However SofaScore clearly appreciated his performance in a back three at Bramall Lane on Sunday as they gave him a 7.2 rating which was the joint-second best on the pitch out of the Arsenal squad and the joint-fourth best out of everyone who played.

The centre-back was outstanding in a back five, which turned to a back three when attacking, as he managed six clearances, two tackles and won three of his four aerial duels as well as winning both of his ground duels, per SofaScore.

The Brazilian was also not dribbled past and Arsenal looked a strong unit when he was on the pitch, but Sheffield United started to get into the game soon after his substitution.

It has been a crazy couple of weeks as the defender has been slated not just by the Gunners fans but by many in the footballing world like former Ballon d’Or winner Ruud Gullit, who said to Ziggo Sport, via Metro, “Yes, David is not doing well. I think he’s an overrated player, really. When he played in midfield I thought he was reasonable, but then there was already discussion about what he actually is as a player.”

He has also been given a contract extension over the last week as his old contract was due to expire on June 30th and many have been debating whether he deserved this. However he has clearly proved doubters wrong whilst also showing many why Arteta still wanted him at the club following this performance.

Gunners fans may have gone from not wanting him in their team to not wanting him to have a long term injury.

Arsenal fans, what were your thoughts on David Luiz’s performance? Comment below!

Key information about Goodison Park

Goodison Park was built in 1892 and is the home of Everton FC. The stadium is located in Walton, Liverpool, about two miles away from the city centre and less than a mile from Anfield, Liverpool’s safe haven.

The stadium’s capacity is 39,571 and its pitch measures 112m by 78m. The surface is covered with Desso GrassMaster hybrid turf, has undersoil heating installed and no running track surrounding it.

On 18 September 1948, Goodison Park would record its highest attendance ever when 78,299 people watched Everton’s clash with bitter rivals, Liverpool.

A history of Goodison Park

It’s quite difficult to sum up the history of Goodison Park in just around 500 words. The stadium has been Everton’s home ever since it was erected back in 1892 and needless to say, it’s dripping with significance and legacy as it was the first major football stadium built in England.

Of course, the Toffees would play at different grounds prior to the construction of their current stadium – including Anfield – but following some internal bickering and discussions, they would set out to build their own haven and do it with style. Goodison Park was opened on 24 August 1892 with the first event ever hosted there being an athletics meeting and football following some nine days later when on 2 September 1892 Everton welcomed and beat Bolton 4-2.

Initially, the ground consisted of one covered seating stand, two uncovered terraces, and a running track for the athletics events. Even though it was an incredibly developed stadium, courtesy of Everton being one of the richest clubs in the world, it would see even more improvements in the following years and in the early 20th century.

First, the construction of a double-decker stand at the Park End in 1907 would be on the agenda, and then they would also erect the large Goodison Road Stand in 1909 while also removing the running track since football was now the stadium’s only concern. In 1926, the two-tier steel frame and wooden floor Bullens Road Stand and then the new Gwladys Street End in 1938 would also follow suit. There was no stopping Goodison Park and at the time, it was undoubtedly the best ground in Britain.

On 18 September 1948, a record of 78,299 supporters came to watch the city derby between Everton and Liverpool and that still remains as Goodison Park’s highest ever attendance. But that wouldn’t be the only high-tier event hosted there as the stadium was one of the playing venues of the 1966 World Cup as well.

As far as further developments went, it wouldn’t be until 1971 when a new three-tiered main stand was built in place of the Goodison Road Stand with the ground’s maximum capacity set at 55,000 places, slightly less than half seated. However, following the Taylor Report and the Hillsborough disaster, it was converted into an all-seater in the early 1990s.

The last big improvements were made in 1994 when a new stand was built at the Park End. Even though Goodison Park is a huge part of their history, Everton will be moving to a new 52,888 capacity stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock in the coming years.

Tickets to watch Everton at Goodison Park

All tickets to watch Everton play at Goodison Park can be found on the club’s official website. The prices will vary depending on the category chosen and the age group of the buyer but on average, an adult ticket costs around £30.

The Toffees also offer season tickets with the price for an adult season ticket for the 2020/21 season being £420.

Related links

https://www.evertonfc.com/home – Official website of Everton FC

https://www.evertonfc.com/club/history/history-of-goodison-park – History of Goodison Park

Whilst Jadon Sancho has been the main name being linked with a high-profile switch to Manchester United this summer, it appears Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is also keen on strengthening the centre of his midfield.

Of course, the future of Paul Pogba remains up in the air, with the Red Devils star the subject of intense transfer speculation last year when he was linked with a potential move to either Real Madrid or Juventus.

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Now, The Daily Mail claim United, along with fellow Premier League sides Chelsea and Tottenham, are amongst the sides who have enquired about the availability of Lazio powerhouse Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

The report suggests that the Serbia international “is looking for his next challenge and the chance to step up to one of Europe’s biggest clubs”, and that United could also face competition from the likes of PSG.

After hearing about the links to the midfielder, United fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on their rumoured transfer target.

Some United fans seemed to be shaking their heads at the links with Milinkovic-Savic once again – a player who they have been previously touted with signing.

If Pogba does end up going, then Milinkovic-Savic would certainly represent a more than viable replacement for the former Juventus star.

He has built up considerable experience in his time with Lazio, and at just 25-years-old, is set to enter the prime of his career.

So whilst some United fans appear to be hesitant about making a move for him this summer, it may not be the worst signing to make.

Many Aston Villa fans have debated who they feel has been the ‘biggest traitor to play for the club’, with Fabian Delph and Dwight Yorke as two names on the list.

With the season currently at a standstill due to the recent pandemic, Villa fans are nervously waiting to see if their club can beat off the threat of relegation, sitting 19th in the Premier League table as things stand.

Having gained promotion via the play-off final last season where they beat Derby County at Wembley, the Claret and Blue side will be keen to remain in England’s top flight and bring some memorable times back to the club.

Prior to their relegation to the Championship in 2016, Villa ended a spell in England’s top division dating back to 1986, and with it, some memorable moments where they tested the top six sides, had some of English football’s most successful players and produced a number of England international players.

One of those to feature for the club is Delph, who spent six seasons at Villa Park before he left the club to join Manchester City in the summer of 2015, and his exit left somewhat of a bitter taste in mouths of Villa fans.

Yorke, who famously moved to the Midlands club from homeland Trinidad and Tobago after being spotted by former Villa boss Graham Taylor, had unprecedented goalscoring success at the club before moving to Manchester United where he would find Champions League glory.

Looking back on players who left the club, fans were brutally honest on who they thought had been a ‘traitor to the club’.

Below are just some of the reactions from Facebook group Aston Villa Fan Club where one fan asked the question: “Who is the biggest traitor in football history?”.

Anthony J Brennan: Dwight Yorke

Kyle Davies: Fabien Delph

Kieran Merriman: The Gardner brothers and Benteke

James Howard-White: Anyone calling Delph a snake is deluded!!!

Andy Morris: David Unsworth, Delph, The Gardner brothers, Steve Hodge and Martin Keown

Tommy Joe Prickett: Dwight Yorke

Robbie Ogiegio: Fabian Delph

Jonathan Fellows: Delph by far

Tim Kenneth Hennum: Delph

David Cook: Delph 1000%

Who do you think is the ‘biggest traitor to play for Aston Villa’, let us know in the comments section below…

Dwight Gayle’s future remains unclear but his lack of opportunities this season suggest Newcastle wouldn’t be against moving him on in January if the deal was right.

West Brom, where the striker enjoyed a successful year-long loan spell last term, could be ready to make an approach for him, with another loan move on the cards to make up for the lack of success from summer recruits Charlie Austin and Kenneth Zohore.

So far this year Bruce has relied heavily upon Joelinton, with both Andy Carroll and Yoshinori Muto both being used sparingly, which suggests they too aren’t fancied much by their manager.

With Gayle in a similar scenario, and likely frustrated at only playing five minutes this term, he may well be willing to move on.

His lack of involvement is somewhat of a surprise since he struck 24 times in all competitions last year, and since the team lack someone of his poaching instinct it may be best if they retained his services.

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Our Football FanCast writers discussed whether the club should hang onto him for the rest of the season, here’s what they had to say.

Lewis Blain

“Steve Bruce would be making a catastrophic error by allowing Dwight Gayle to leave and not giving him a chance this season.

“The tricky little striker may have had his injury troubles, but once he gets past those he should be raring to go. He’s able to provide the sort of threat that no other forward can provide.

“In the last three seasons Gayle has netted 53 goals, which is good going considering he started no more than 34 games in any one campaign. In the last campaign he managed 2.4 shots per game while he was fouled on average 1.5 times a match – not one Magpies player betters the first figure while it is only Miguel Almiron out wide that is felled more often.

“If Bruce thinks he is a good manager, then he should look to get the best out of Gayle instead of selling him on.”

Danny Lewis

“Newcastle should be ensuring they keep Gayle rather than loaning him out. He scored plenty last season and considering they aren’t exactly free-scoring, it is only a matter of time until he gets a bit more action.

“Steve Bruce has tried to sign Gayle various times throughout his managerial career, so it would be a waste to loan the striker out when the boss finally has him at his disposal.

“Gayle has been unlucky with the calf problem that has plagued his season, as he even had to have a period of complete rest. With that in mind, it is natural that he is being eased back into things very slowly. Bruce will just need to hope that having him back in the team is worth the wait.”

Charles Jones

“Dwight Gayle should be given a chance before he’s allowed to leave on loan.

“Newcastle have struggled for goals their strikers as they’ve largely relied on goals from their midfield and defence to get them over the line – as shown by the fact Ciaran Clark and Jonjo Shelvey are the side’s joint-top goalscorers.

“Gayle knows where the net is, he scored 23 goals in the Championship, one in the play-offs last season, and even though the Premier League is a higher standard the art of goalscoring doesn’t really change all that much between the divisions.

“The Magpies would be foolish to ignore a player as talented as Gayle.”

Kealan Hughes

“This is a tricky one, as Gayle would provide something different to the Newcastle attack but at the same time he doesn’t fit in with the style Bruce has implemented, as he is not suited to holding the ball up and bringing others into play.

“While he could act as an impact sub when Newcastle are chasing games, Bruce may think that he can let him go in order to free up funds to bring in an additional striker.

“If fit, the striker at least deserves chances between now and January. That could make or break his Magpies career, but since Bruce has admitted he’s admired Gayle in the past, then it’s possible he’ll persuade his manager against letting him go.”

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso posted a story on his official Instagram account on Tuesday afternoon which saw him show off his ball skills in his home.

The Argentina international is of course currently training at his own house given the current situation in the United Kingdom, and as well as posting that he was doing his online training with the team on the exercise bike, he also videoed himself doing keepy-uppies around the bike.

It is certainly a sign that the 23-year-old, who joined Spurs on a permanent basis in January for a £27.2m fee, is in good shape as he awaits the Premier League season resuming, whenever that might be.

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The former Real Betis man has certainly made a positive impression with the north London outfit this term following a slow start in which injury curtailed his progress in breaking into Mauricio Pochettino’s team, and he has regularly featured under Jose Mourinho in recent months.

He may be yet to get a goal or an assist in 19 Premier League appearances – which has included seven starts as per Transfermarkt – but he has shown what he is capable of on the ball in other ways.

Tottenham supporters will be desperate to see him back in action on the pitch sooner rather than later.

In other Spurs news, Alasdair Gold has named 2 forwards Tottenham could target if Harry Kane leaves the club, one is a 13-goal familiar face…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking to Norwegian publication Nettavisen, former Tottenham ace Erik Thorstvedt has labelled Christian Eriksen’s current situation at the club as a “disaster”.

What did he say?

The Denmark international has been the subject of intense transfer speculation in recent months, with reports earlier in the summer suggesting he was of interest to the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid.

However, a move to either club failed to materialise before the end of the deadline, although his current contract with Spurs is still set to expire at the end of the season.

Now, Thorstvedt has slammed the north London side’s handling of the entire saga, and delivered an ominous warning as to how things may finally end.

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He said (as translated by Football.London): “There has been a lot of talk that it was good that they got to keep Eriksen – yeah right. It is a disaster for Tottenham to be left with the beard in the mailbox as they now do. A player with that value they must sell if he does not want to be in the club.

“He might have hoped that one of the big clubs in Spain would pick him up, but that didn’t happen. I think Tottenham had an offer for Eriksen, but he refused to go to the clubs that would bid on him and which Tottenham would sell to. What has been a fantastic Tottenham chapter for Christian Eriksen ends in a sour way. I don’t think there will be any doubt about that.”

The end is near

As the months continue to whittle down on the last embers of the Dane’s contract, Spurs should really already be planning for life without their instrumental play-maker. The 27-year-old has scored 67 times and provided a further 87 assists in 289 appearances across all competitions for the club, and he has been worth every penny of his £11.5m transfer fee for Pochettino’s side.

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But if they knew that the former Ajax man had no real intent on signing a long-term deal with the club, then they really should have acted upon it earlier on in the summer. Instead, they have been paying the price for their indecision, and risk letting one of they key performers in recent years join another club on a free transfer.