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As Rafa Benitez entered Goodison Park with a wry smile last week after penning terms with Everton, he may well have been muttering ‘Money, Money, Money’ by ABBA under his breath.

The Toffees are far from a superpower but their ability to spend in the transfer window is far greater than Benitez’s previous English team; Newcastle.

What’s the word?

The Spaniard has been promised finances to spend by the Everton hierarchy and they’ve already made moves to live up to their word.

They’re considering a £55m bid in various instalments for Brighton defender Ben White but they could also launch a move for Wilfried Zaha.

They have been interested in the Ivorian’s services for a while now, seeing a bid rejected back in 2019 that was worth £70m plus Cenk Tosun and James McCarthy.

Reports in May claimed they were interested again but speaking exclusively to Football FanCast last week, Marcus Bent said a deal wasn’t close.

“Are Everton any closer to signing Wilfried Zaha? They don’t seem to be. That’s exactly what they’ve put.

“It’s still ongoing, but it’s a slow one. It seems like there is something going on, but whether it happens or not, I don’t know.”

Bring him to Goodison

Zaha is the definition of an enigmatic footballer. On his day, he is one of the trickiest attacking players in the entire Premier League.

His close touch ability can get him out of tight areas and he is regularly fouled by the opposition.

Speaking about the winger in 2019/20, Ian Wright labelled Zaha “unstoppable” for the way he goes about his business.

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The 28-year-old found the back of the net on 11 occasions last season while completing 1.8 dribbles per match. That tally was down on previous years with the former Manchester United gem completing a whopping 4.3 dribbles per game in 2019/20.

For context, that number is considerably greater than any other player in the Everton squad. Everton’s top dribbler last term was Richarlison who racked up 1.8 successful take-ons.

Coincidentally, Benitez is a manager who has previous with Zaha.

They endured a small war of words back in September 2018. The Palace winger said that he’d have to break his leg before anyone got a red card for fouling him.

Those comments weren’t taken well by the new Everton boss who suggested the FA needed to deal with him.

In the process, however, the 61-year-old found praise for Zaha. “He has the pace, the ability because he is a great player – but I don’t think it will make any difference for our players, and especially for the referee,” he commented.

With James Rodriguez potentially heading out of the exit door this summer then the Toffees will need another winger to bolster their ranks.

Zaha has been touted at £40m which would be a costly investment for someone who can be so inconsistent. That said, he should thrive with a team that enjoys more possession.

Marcel Brands must ensure he’s one of Benitez’s first big-money signings at Goodison.

AND in other news, Toffees could be set for huge blow after Everton news emerges, fans will be gutted…

Celtic have finalised the signing of former Watford midfielder Bosun Lawal, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Lawal profiled

Lawal is 18 years of age and is an Irish midfielder. His contract at Vicarage Road expired last month, but the Hoops will have to pay compensation for the available teenager.

He was named Watford’s 2020/21 academy player of the season but never managed to break into the Hornets’ first-team squad.

Celtic have already signed youngsters Liam Shaw, Osaze Urhoghide and Joey Dawson this summer, and it seems as if Lawal will be their fourth addition of the window.

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The Latest: Source shares development on midfielder

According to Football Insider, who were informed by a Celtic source, the Hoops have had a six-figure compensation bid accepted for Lawal.

He passed a medical and signed a contract on Tuesday, with Football Insider claiming a deal is now completed and ready to be announced.

The Verdict: Time for senior additions…

It’s good to see that Celtic are bringing some young talents to Parkhead, as that was one of their transfer strategies way back in the New Year.

However, the Hoops now need senior additions fairly quickly, with the new season around the corner.

Ange Postecoglou is prioritising a right-back, centre-back and a winger as areas to strengthen, but it doesn’t look like he’ll get any senior additions in before the club’s Champions League qualifier, as the deadline to be registered is on Thursday.

If the new manager cannot secure qualification due to the club’s inactivity in the market, it would be a worrying sign that nothing has changed at the club despite some different personnel at the top.

In other news: Celtic on verge of deal for 13-goal forward as agent who sealed Ismaila Soro transfer steps in.

Bruno Lage has been busy in the transfer market but you sense that the drama is only just beginning to unfold at Molineux.

A number of their key players continue to be linked with the exit door and if they do indeed depart, replacements will be required.

What’s the word?

The Old Gold’s outstanding transfer of the summer so far is Trincao. The Portuguese sensation has arrived on loan from Barcelona with an option to buy.

Although improving their threat in the final third is of utmost importance, they simply have to invest in their shoddy defensive line as well.

According to Foot Mercato, Wolves could be planning to do that by signing West Ham’s Issa Diop.

The report claims the defender caught the eye of Liverpool and Manchester United a few years ago but is now being chased by the Molineux outfit, Crystal Palace and Southampton.

The Frenchman is currently valued at £16.2m via Transfermarkt.

Jesus Vallejo 2.0

It’s no secret that Wolves’ defensive record in 2020/21 was incredibly poor.

They conceded 52 Premier League goals which was only one less than relegated Fulham. There was also a period between October and January where they kept a grand total of just two clean sheets.

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Diop has plenty of potential and he proved that when he first arrived in English football. A dominating presence with height and brute force, Jose Mourinho described him as a “monster.”

However, the centre-back’s career has taken a turn for the worse in the last 12 months. He only started 15 matches in the top-flight last term as he struggled to nail down a consistent place in David Moyes’ side.

What might be more concerning, however, is comparisons to Jesus Vallejo.

The Real Madrid defender signed on loan back in 2019/20 and was seen as quite the coup given his football education.

Though, his spell in the Midlands was a complete disaster as the Spaniard only managed two league appearances before heading back to Spain in January.

If you scroll down a list of similar players to Diop on FBRef, an in-depth analytics website, Vallejo’s name appears second on the list. But why is that? Well, their ability to read the game when being dribbled at isn’t the greatest.

Last season, Diop tackled 33.3% of players who tried to take him on while Vallejo managed to successfully challenge 28.6% of opponents. For context, let’s compare those numbers to Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool in 2018/19. During that season, the Dutchman was successful with a whopping 92.9% of the tackles he lodged on players dribbling against him.

The two players in question also make a similar number of recoveries. The Hammers’ defender made 7.25 per 90 minutes last campaign compared to Vallejo’s 6.8.

The latter’s period in the Midlands did not go according to plan so the idea of signing a similar sort of defender is unlikely to be taken too well.

That said, Diop does already have experience of the Premier League and English football. That could save him if he makes the move.

AND in other news, Time to go: £60k-p/w Wolves dud must never play under Lage, he publicly slammed Nuno…

Speaking to talkSPORT, journalist Alex Crook has dropped a ‘surprise’ bit of possible exit news involving Tottenham Hotspur defender Matt Doherty.

The Lowdown: Doherty endures mixed first year at Spurs…

Signed in the summer of 2020 from Wolverhampton Wanderers for ex-Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, Doherty endured a mixed first full season at Tottenham.

The Republic of Ireland international started less Premier League games than fellow right-back Serge Aurier and was vilified by pundits in the press for some of his performances.

However, he hasn’t been linked with an exit from Spurs until now, with the Lilywhites making as many as six players available for transfer in Serge Aurier, Davinson Sanchez, Moussa Sissoko, Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela and Toby Alderweireld (The Athletic).

The Latest: Crook drops ‘surprise’ bit of Doherty news…

Speaking to talkSPORT, Crook has now dropped a ‘surprise’ bit of possible exit news involving Doherty.

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Indeed, the reporter claims that new manager Nuno Espirito Santo could in fact deem him surplus-to-requirements despite their good relationship at Wolves.

“I’ve been told this morning that Eric Dier and Matt Doherty could also be surplus-to-requirements,” Crook explained (via Twitter).

“Maybe that’s a bit of a surprise in the case of Doherty, cause he performed so admirably under Nuno at Wolves.”

The Verdict: Time to go?

Compared to Aurier, who has been made available for sale by Tottenham, the 29-year-old made far less tackles per 90 and less clearances over 2020/2021 whilst also proving less effective going forward (WhoScored).

The Ivorian also averaged more successful dribbles, key passes per 90 and shots on goal when compared to Doherty (WhoScored) – but we believe he could potentially shine again under Nuno, as he never really got a fair crack with Mourinho.

Doherty has been praised by Tottenham’s head coach during their time together at Molineux, with Nuno once lauding him as ‘fantastic’ with a ‘big heart’ (wolves.co.uk).

You can’t rule out Spurs’ new manager getting the very best out of him again and a possible switch to his preferred 3-5-2 formation could utilise the defender effectively, as also believed by former England international Danny Mills.

In other news: ‘News regarding Tottenham’…Sky Sports drop live TV transfer claim, find out more here.

Rafa Benitez has acted methodically and shrewdly in the transfer market to date, completing deals at a cut price, rather than splashing the cash wildly at Everton.As a consequence, he’s turning himself to another move which could be done relatively cheaply this summer.What’s the word?Everton have already signed Andros Townsend, Asmir Begovic and Demarai Gray but there is still plenty of business left to do.The Toffees are now attempting to bolster their options in the middle of the park with interest in Harry Winks being revealed. Fabrizio Romano revealed on his Twitch stream on Thursday evening that a move is a possibility.That came at a similar time to the Beautiful Game podcast claiming on Twitter that: “Everton have submitted an enquiry for Spurs midfielder Harry Winks. Spurs have told the player that he can leave the club this summer. THFC looking for a fee of around 25mill.”Stay awayEverton already have a number of midfielders at their disposal with Abdoulaye Doucoure, Allan, Andre Gomes and Tom Davies all in their ranks. That’s without reckoning on Jean-Philippe Gbamin, who is finally returning from injury.With that in mind, one has to question whether Winks would actually be worth the price tag.[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-everton-news-benitez-kamara-romero-dumfries” title= “Read the latest Everton transfer news!”]After all, many supporters have already been left angered by the performances of Tom Davies, who was relatively under par last term. He failed to score all season and only provided one assist during an inconsistent campaign for the 23-year-old.His defensive play also failed to set the world alight, registering 1.2 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game. Those numbers aren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination but his force and aggression has nothing on a player like Doucoure, for instance.Winks is a similar player, so spending £25m on him would fail to make much sense.The England international was impressive a few years ago, being described as a player who “dominates the game” by Paul Robinson.However, since becoming a regular in the England setup, he has slipped out of the team and failed to impress at Spurs. Winks didn’t contribute to a single goal last term and, like Davies, was mediocre from a defensive point of view.He completed 1.1 tackles and just 0.7 interceptions per game, while providing 0.3 key passes. On that evidence, it’s difficult to work out what he’d bring to the table at Goodison Park.Consequently, fans would surely be perplexed if Benitez completed this deal. It wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest they may be rather livid, too.The Everton hierarchy surely have better ways of spending that sum of money than on another midfield player.AND in other news, Rafa can set Everton on fire by signing “exciting” 17-goal gem who’s “destroyed” teams…

Football FanCast’s EFL spy reckons West Brom should join race to sign Swansea City captain Matt Grimes.

The midfielder has been with the south Wales outfit for most of his playing career, but his deal at the Liberty Stadium expires next summer, meaning a move away is on the cards.

According to BBC Sport, Fulham, who were also relegated back to the Championship last season, are pushing hard for Grimes’ signature, with the Swans valuing their skipper at around £5m.

Grimes featured in all but one of Swansea’s 49 league matches last season, scoring three times, the last of which a crucial winner against Barnsley in the play-offs, whilst chipping in with four assists.

New Baggies manager, Valerien Ismael, has made three signings since replacing Sam Allardyce in the Hawthorns dugout last month, including midfielder and ex-captain Alex Mowatt from Barnsley.

And whilst the EFL insider reckons that Grimes might test them financially, he thinks the 26-year-old could play a role in getting them promoted back to the Premier League.

He exclusively told FFC:

“They should go for Matt Grimes. It will cost for his quality but when you want to get back up, it’s worth it.”

Noel Whelan has suggested that Everton could be a potential destination for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks. 

The lowdown

Football Insider reported last week that Winks is in talks with an unnamed Premier League club after new manager Nuno Espirito Santo approved his sale.

Winks was limited to just nine league starts for Spurs last season, making a further six substitute appearances.

He averaged 1.1 tackles, 45.4 passes and 1.7 accurate long balls per 90 minutes (via WhoScored).

The 25-year-old still has three years left on his deal in North London and is valued at £18million by Transfermarkt.

Everton may look to replace Andre Gomes if he leaves Goodison Park this summer. According to The Athletic, Rafael Benitez is considering whether the Portuguese will be part of his plans.

The latest

Whelan says Winks’ attributes make him a valuable asset to any club, and thinks it’s feasible that Everton are the mystery club in talks with the Englishman.

“I think everybody needs a player like that,” the former Leeds United forward told Football Insider.

“You can look at Everton, they’ll have the money for a player like that, somebody with that sort of experience. I think most clubs will be fancying him.”

The verdict

Winks would be a reasonable replacement were Gomes to leave, but it’s hard to say with any confidence that he’d improve at Everton.

And if Rafael Benitez was to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, perhaps Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure would be his preferred midfield options. Winks could simply be trading one squad role for another.

There are question marks, then, over whether this deal would truly be beneficial for either party.

In other news, fans fumed over this transfer update.

Southampton are reportedly closing in on the loan signing of Armando Broja from Chelsea, as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side look to replace Danny Ings ahead of the Premier League kick-off this weekend.

What’s the word?

Southampton are looking low on quality striking options following Ings’ shock move to Aston Villa recently and it seems clear that they must bring in at least one striker to replace the England international ahead of the new season, with the Saints travelling to Goodison Park to take on Everton on Saturday.

It seems as if they are close to their first attacking addition of the transfer window, with Hampshire Live journalist Tom Leach sharing the news on Twitter, after it was initially reported by Adam Newson, that Southampton are looking to do more business with the Stamford Bridge outfit this summer.

The Saints have already signed Dynel Simeu and Tino Livramento on permanent deals from Thomas Tuchel’s side in recent weeks and it now appears as if they will use their connections there to seal a loan swoop for the 19-year-old Broja.

Would Broja be a good signing?

Although he is only a teenager, Broja demonstrated his pedigree in a loan spell at Vitesse last season, contributing 10 goals and two assists in 30 Eredivisie appearances, averaging a solid 6.78 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

It was suggested last month by Chelsea reporter Kristian Sturt that the Blues had already rejected several loan offers for the Albanian forward and that they could even make him their third-choice striker next season.

However, the imminent arrival of Romelu Lukaku will almost certainly change that, and Southampton could be the team to take advantage with a loan deal.

Whilst the 19-year-old has just one Premier League appearance to his name thus far, his impressive goalscoring records with the academy sides and Vitesse suggest that he could be an excellent option for Hasenhuttl next season.

As he would likely be just a loan signing, there is little risk with this deal, whilst you would hope that the Saints will also be looking to add a permanent signing to fill the void left by Ings, which should take some of the pressure off the £2.7m-rated Broja to be one of the main source’s of goals next season.

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431”]

Therefore, this could be a shrewd acquisition by the Saints, and fans will no doubt be excited that they are clearly looking to add a striker in time for the new season.

And, in other news… Southampton targeting former Bayern Munich defender

Southampton fans were shocked after club managing director Toby Steele said owner Gao Jisheng is passionate about the team even though he is silent.

The Saints are preparing for the new campaign, which kicks off this weekend – they will face Everton at Goodison Park in their first clash. They have been busy in the transfer market, bringing in five new faces (Sky Sports), and they will be hoping to improve on their 15th place finish from last term.

Gao is the man in charge at the club and he is not incredibly popular (This Is Futbol)

It is rare that fans will hear from the businessman, who is already looking to sell the club just four years after buying it (The Daily Echo), while he has failed to invest in the side as much as the supporters want (The Financial Times).

However, Steele has still suggested the boss is ‘extremely passionate’ about the south-coast outfit.

The comments were shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra, and they attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the comments on Gao below

“Toby, please, listen to that one back and try and keep a straight face.”

Credit: @lucyhighnett

“Still called the owner invisible”

Credit: @neuhausenmatt

“What a joke”

Credit: @MoveRoot

“Next joke”

Credit: @JoshSFC13578

“blink twice if you’re being held hostage”

Credit: @bruhsound1111

“Surely if he loves the club he’d let ralph spend money”

Credit: @Oscar87466990

In other news, Southampton want this ace compared to Arjen Robben.

Leicester City have been linked with a shock move for Bologna defender Takehiro Tomiyasu as manager Brendan Rodgers looks to bolster his defensive options.

What’s the story?

The Japan international has been the subject of heavy interest from fellow Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur throughout the summer, but the Foxes may now attempt to hijack the deal following Wesley Fofana’s injury, according to The Telegraph.

Previous reports have claimed Bologna are set to demand  €25 million (£21.5m) for Tomiyasu, who is capable of playing at either centre-back or right-back.

Jon Rudkin must swoop

Tomiyasu has established himself as one of Serie A’s most promising young defenders since arriving from Belgium outfit Sint-Truidense back in 2019, making 63 appearances for Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side in all competitions.

His impressive performances have caught the eye of several admirers, including current teammate Mitchell Dijks. The Dutch full-back dubbed his colleague a “warrior” in a previous press conference, and it’s easy to understand why.

As per WhoScored, Tomiyasu recorded an average of 1.5 tackles per league game last term, 1.7 interceptions and 0.6 blocks, placing him in the top three players at his club who made over three outings.

The youngster recently shone for his nation at the Tokyo Olympics in his homeland too and could be set to take the next step in his career over the coming weeks.

Leicester were believed to be in the market for a new central defender already following Wes Morgan’s retirement, but Fofana’s fractured fibula has now accelerated their search.

Tomiyasu’s versatility could be a huge bonus for the Foxes, making him an extremely attractive option for Rodgers. The Northern Irish tactician is currently without both James Justin and Timothy Castagne through fitness issues of their own, meaning the Asian defender could plug multiple gaps across the backline.

It remains to be seen whether director of football Jon Rudkin follows up his reported interest with a formal offer, but if the transfer budget allows, it’s certainly a move he should consider given the player’s flexibility, quality and potential.

And, in other news…Imagine him and Daka: Rudkin must sanction LCFC swoop for “intelligent” £30m magician