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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…

Adrian Durham has delivered an almighty claim while speaking on talkSPORT, saying that Everton could have their own Steven Gerrard in Tom Davies, should they guide him correctly.

What did he say?

Davies has been one of Everton’s shining lights over this past month, as they moved away from the relegation zone. The Englishman scored the opening goal against Southampton and was handed the Man of the Match award for his performance in midfield.

Compliments don’t come much greater than a comparison with Gerrard and, despite his glory for their city rivals, there is no doubt it’s too soon to speak of the two players in the same breath.

Durham said on talkSPORT drive: “He is Everton’s opportunity to produce their own Steven Gerrard. That’s what he is, he’s that dynamic, going forward he’s been, he’s a leader.

“If Everton gets this right, with Tom Davies, then he could be as good if not better than Steven Gerrard was for Liverpool.

“Since he’s come back there’s been a change in Everton,” Durham added.

“I’m talking about a midfield leader of men, Tom Davies is your chance to do that if you get behind him, if Everton coach him correctly and they guide him along that path.”

An almighty comparison

As of now, there are certainly signs of a leader in Davies. His commanding nature on the pitch and the fact he has captained England at youth level attests to his credentials, as do recent reports from The Athletic which claim he has been a vocal presence in the dressing room amid Everton’s struggle this season.

However, he has a mountain to climb before he can be compared to Gerrard.

The Liverpool legend established himself as one of the best around for over a decade, where he would challenge for league titles and lift the Champions League in 2005.

The midfielder would become the Liverpool captain at just 23, which is just a few months older than Davies is right now. By this point, Gerrard was already established as an England regular and had bagged himself two League Cups and an FA Cup.

Everton’s midfielder has certainly shown leadership qualities, which is just one aspect of the former Liverpool hero’s arsenal.

If he wants to be as good as Gerrard, he needs a lot more to show on the pitch and drive his side to trophies in the coming years.

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…

Sheffield Wednesday’s financial issues are in the headlines once again as a decision made by chairman Dejphon Chansiri is likely to land them a hefty points deduction, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

What’s he said?

On Thursday afternoon, the south Yorkshire club were charged by the EFL for financial misconduct surrounding their accounts for the 2017/18 season as the sale of Hillsborough for £60m appeared to offset their debts.

It is an allegation that the club intends to contest as no direct consequence has been revealed, but given the EFL’s previous dealings on similar matters, the Owls could soon be struck.

Maguire, a senior teacher in accountancy at the University of Liverpool, broke the complicated situation down in an interview with The Star, he said:

“Realistically there are four grades of sanction. There’s the ‘telling off’ of a club, but I don’t think that would appear to be compatible given what we saw happen to Birmingham City last season.

“Next would be something to do with a transfer embargo or squad sizes and the third range of sanction would be a points deduction.”I stripped out the property sale and re-worked the losses made by Wednesday and looking at the tariff that the EFL announced, that would suggest that they would probably be heading for a 12-point penalty on the basis of the losses they’ve made.”Potentially there could be a further points deduction for what are called ‘aggravating factors’ and those are, in theory limitless, but they could be brought if the EFL feel that there was a deliberate attempt to manipulate the financial statements to ensure compliance with FFP.”

Worrying times ahead

Although the charge has brought no explicit punishment yet, you only have to look at last season to see what’s in store.

Garry Monk’s last club, Birmingham City, were handed a nine-point deduction in March, several months after the EFL found them guilty of breaking their profitability and sustainability rules.

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Chansiri’s decision here is even worse than that as he has effectively sold the ground to himself through the numerous companies he holds possession of in order to make it seem like the club weren’t actually in debt.

This is exposing a financial loophole out of the regulations so the EFL could well make an example of Wednesday and come down hard on them in the near future – Maguire predicts it will be a 12-point penalty at the very least, so there are worrying times to come.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

ESPN have recently come out with a new report stating Manchester United have taken an interest in Roma’s Edin Dzeko, but the Italians simply can’t afford to let their Bosnian diamond go.

What’s the word, then?

Even though Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s troops are currently set with their forward line, the Red Devils’ coach is looking to add more experience and pedigree to his attack.

Both Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford have been decent in the current campaign and the emergence of Mason Greenwood is a pleasant surprise, as ESPN have explained, but a proven goal-scorer is needed to get the team back on track.

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Dzeko, who’s 33 years of age by this point, is exactly what they need and despite Ed Woodward initially not being on board with signing players in their late 30s, Solskjaer wants someone of his profile to join.

But looking at the situation from Roma’s point of view, Dzeko is definitely one of the Gladiators they simply can’t afford to lose.

Too big of a price to pay

Simply put, and even though he is already 33, Dzeko is far too important a piece of the jigsaw at Roma.

And yes, they have scored 20 goals in 12 Serie A games but the Bosnian diamond is their top scorer with five goals to his name. At first, that might not sound like a lot but considering only Aleksandar Kolarov with four and Nicolo Zaniolo with three have more than two goals to their name in the ongoing campaign, the picture becomes clearer immediately.

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Apart from Dzeko, there is only Nikola Kalinic at the club who is a natural centre-forward, but the Croat is also 31 and has only managed to muster three appearances in Serie A this season.

If the 33-year-old was to leave for Manchester United, there would simply be no one at the club to take over the mantle and a huge piece of their jigsaw would suddenly be taken away.

Of course, from the Red Devils’ point of view, it does look like a great deal.

Their forward line looks rejuvenated with Martial and Rashford but adding in a bit of experience and proven goalscoring ability really could help them improve even further.

After all, Dzeko has spent some time in the Premier League while he was donning Manchester City’s colours and back then, managing to score 72 goals and assist a further 39.

For that reason, it’s fairly safe to assume he’d be able to transfer his lethality from the Serie A back to England and to Solskjaer’s troops and the Norwegian coach could potentially deploy him at the centre of his attacking line, flanked by two pacy wingers.

To further cement his reputation as one of the best in the business, Miroslav Blazevic, former Switzerland, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina coach, once dubbed Dzeko as “better than Ibrahimovic” and the Bosnian is truly showing that despite age slowly catching up with him, he is still very much an important part of the squad.

His departure, without too much exaggeration, would be a disaster for Roma but quite a scoop for Manchester United.

When Gordon Strachan handed Sunderland £3.25m for Kevin Phillips in 2003, it seemed like Southampton had completed a marquee signing of real glitz and glamour.

After all, the striker had only recently won the European Golden Shoe award in 1999/2000 after notching 30 goals for the Black Cats, so Strachan appeared to have landed one of England’s best forwards – even if he had only managed to score six goals for Sunderland as they were relegated.

However, amidst all the glitz of this marquee deal, the signing of Phillips turned out to be a poor investment from the Saints.

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The man who won eight caps for England admittedly had a fine goalscoring record for Southampton, netting 25 goals in 71 games which works out at an average better than a goal every three games.

Despite that, Southampton didn’t really get much for their money.

The ex-Watford frontman only spent two years at St Mary’s before joining Aston Villa in a deal worth £1m, meaning that Southampton took a £2.25m loss on their investment and had very little to show for it.

In today’s money, the Saints’ £3.25m capture of the striker in 2003 would be worth £5,177,188.20.

Ultimately, Phillips cost the club £130k per goal, which isn’t awful value for money to say the least.

However, it was the hefty loss that the Saints took when losing the European Golden Shoe winner that makes this deal look like a poor investment, and also the fact that he didn’t manage to score enough goals to keep them in the top-flight as they were relegated under Harry Redknapp in 2005.

It was a signing with good intentions at the time, although one perhaps clouded by Phillips’ mesmeric goalscoring achievements in 1999/2000 – in that respect, you can’t blame Strachan too much for this one.

Having said that, it cannot be denied that the Scot made a blunder when this deal is viewed in hindsight.

From non-League to the Premier League: Where did these top-flight stars begin their careers?

In other news, what does the future hold for this promising Southampton man after his disappointing season?

Plenty of Wolverhampton Wanderers fans have reacted to analysis of Romain Saiss by Tim Spiers after he posted his thoughts on his official Twitter page.

The Athletic journalist wrote a piece that touched upon what he misses about football, including burgers, Adama Traore and rock and roll.

However, perhaps the most interesting part of the article was his analysis of Saiss, for whom he explains has been booked 42 times in 134 appearances for the Midlands club. He discussed the 30-year old’s tendency to fly into a loose tackle but admired his consistency.

Incidentally, Saiss has only been suspended for one game for discipline in his career at Wolves so far, according to Transfermarkt. The Moroccan international has scored nine goals and provided three assists in those 134 games.

One WWFC supporter compared Saiss to Kevin Muscat, another tough-tackling player who was sent off twice for the club whilst also picking up four yellow cards in 44 appearances in the old First Division, as per the website.

These fans discussed the analysis underneath the tweet:

Wolves fans, what do you think of Saiss? Comment below!

Leeds United utility man Stuart Dallas has shed some light on the training programme the squad have been put on during lockdown, in an interview with the BBC.

What did he say?

Dallas has been central to Leeds’ promotion push this season, starting all 37 of their Championship fixtures in a variety of different roles.

Like the rest of the squad the suspension of the football season has seen players stuck at home, where they have had to manage their own fitness levels and stay in shape.

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa is also renowned for his exacting standards in training and Dallas has revealed that the players have been told to send in pictures of their weight every day.

“For me, no. It’s how much you want it, you have to take it upon yourself to be professional in what you do,” he told the BBC.

“If you’re going into the fridge and snacking all the time, of course you’re going to put weight on. So, you’ve got to be professional, stick to what you would do.

“I go back to a routine, I get up in the morning, have my breakfast and I like to get my exercise done early, so that it’s similar to what it would be at training.

“Having to send our weights in every day, keeping in contact with the nutritionist and the sports science guys, it’s really helpful and keeps you on track.”

Quiz: Can you remember Leeds’ last season in the Premier League?

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Model professional

Dallas has proven himself as a real model professional this season, playing week in week out in a variety of different positions, including central midfield, full-back and on the wing.

Having the Norther Ireland international fully fit for the season’s return will, therefore, be crucial and it will be a big boost for fans of the Elland Road club to hear that the 28-year-old is following Bielsa’s instructions.

A lot of Celtic fans are reminiscing after celticbible posted a video of Hoops fans at Ibrox generating a great atmosphere, one that is much louder than the home support.

The video is from a past trip to their Old Firm rivals, and clearly has hit a place in fans hearts as they flooded the post to tweet about the day.

The bitter rivalry between Celtic and Rangers has had to be put on hold currently, as football is postponed due to recent events, however the Bhoys were looking to have one over on Steven Gerrard’s side this campaign as they sat 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, via BBC Sport and were on course to win their ninth league title in a row, via Transfermarkt.

Back in 2017 the Celts fans were named the best in world football at the Best FIFA Football awards, via the Scotsman, and the video recently posted emphasised why their support is rated of the best in Europe.

The club will hope that they can return to what they do best, and the fans will be itching to get behind the players whilst they continue their dominance at the top.

Here is what fans had to say following the video:

Celtic fans, how good has the away support been this season? Comment below!

Newcastle United’s prospective takeover by Amanda Staveley’s Saudi Arabia-backed consortium is dragging on and on this month and it has clearly left fans eagerly awaiting any sign of official confirmation.The Athletic’s George Caulkin has delivered a fresh update on the deal, claiming that nothing has changed yet and that supporters will need to be a little more patient.In response to one member of the Magpies faithful on Twitter, he replied:

Caulkin also claims that he is still ‘as positive as ever’ which should come as huge words of encouragement considering it’s all gone a bit quiet in the past few days.

The takeover has been left in the hands of the Premier League for most of May, but they have also had ‘Project Restart’ to deal with also, so these things have taken a lot longer than usual, especially given the current situation across the country.

Stuck in isolation? Our mega footy quiz will cure any boredom…

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It’s surely now only a matter of time after Paul Smith suggested last week that the PL found no wrong-doing during the owners and directors test.

AND in other news,ÂNewcastle United fans react to ‘soul-destroying’ takeover update…

Manchester United have made the first moves ahead of the 2020/21 Premier League season by completing the signing of Odion Ighalo.Â

Ever since he arrived on loan from Shanghai Shenhua at the start of the year, the Nigerian has impressed at the club he supported as a boy, scoring four goals in eight appearances so far. Ighalo has earned himself a contract extension off the back of these performances which will keep him at Old Trafford until 2021.

United were in the process of planning for a squad overhaul before the nationwide lockdown was imposed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (ESPN). Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to bring in a new crop of young talent and scouts have been monitoring the development of Barcelona forward Ansu Fati.

However, the Red Devils accept that Fati will remain at Barcelona, despite rumours of a £100m bid for the Spanish under-21 international.

This eye-watering figure will surely raise a few eyebrows, given his young age. The 17-year-old recently signed a new deal in December that will expire in 2022 and includes a release clause reportedly worth €170m (£152.73m).

The Spaniard is yet to be officially promoted to the first team as he is still technically registered with the Barca B team, although he has scored four goals in 16 games in La Liga this season (WhoScored).

As the transfer window approaches, Solskjaer has once again been linked to a number of expensive targets, including Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho, who is unlikely to come cheap.

Unsurprisingly, loads of United fans slammed the club’s “rubbish” link to Fati, with one supporter blasting the “ridiculous” amount of money, while another branded him a “Messi wannabe” in reference to his famous teammate.

Scroll down through some of the scathing reactions so far…

United fans, should Ed Woodward sign Ansu Fati in the summer? Let us know down below!

Arsenal supporters enjoyed a great end to last week as they beat Southampton and they advanced to the semi-finals in the FA Cup after beating Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Manager Mikel Arteta made many changes to the Arsenal squad, but left Bukayo Saka in the starting eleven, which would have shocked some fans who probably would have thought he would be rested for the upcoming Premier League fixture against Norwich.

Since football has returned he has started in all BT Sport, via Football.London, and said: “I’m a huge fan of his. He can play as a defender, he can play midfield, striker, not the main striker but on the wing.”

He also went on to label the youngster as “multi-talented.”

This is high praise from a legendary former Premier League striker and it’s hard to disagree with the Dutchman. In his breakthrough season, the WhoScored, which highlights he has been good defensively as well.

To be so crucial in Arteta’s squad in multiple positions at such a young age, provide a very impressive goal contribution tally and receive high praise from former players like Van Persie emphasises the potential Saka has and hopefully he can continue to get even better and perhaps help Arsenal win the FA Cup this campaign.

Gunners fans, what are your thoughts on this? Comment below!