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Everton are one of the clubs who are interested in Sassuolo’s Filip Djuricic, according to Italian outlet Calciomercato. 

The lowdown

Significantly, his contract is up at the end of this season, and unless Sassuolo can reach an agreement with the 29-year-old soon, they may come under pressure to sell in January. That may be their only way to avoid losing him on a free transfer next summer.

The Serbian has featured in all nine of their Serie A matches so far this season, starting eight (via WhoScored), and he has averaged 1.9 dribbles, 1.8 shots and 1.1 key passes per 90 minutes for Sassuolo this term. For context, no Everton player boasts more than 1.2 dribbles per match up to this point in the season, with only Demarai Gray averaging more than one per game at Goodison Park.

The latest

Calciomercato claimed that there are three Premier League clubs on the trail of Djuricic.

Those are Everton, West Ham United – managed by former Blues boss David Moyes, of course – and struggling Southampton.

The verdict

Djuricic is valued at £8.1m by Transfermarkt, but the interested parties could look to avoid a transfer fee altogether by pursuing a pre-contract agreement.

He would appear better suited to the 4-2-3-1 that West Ham play rather than Rafael Benitez’s 4-4-1-1 given his capacity to play in the three positions behind the striker, but that’s not to say that a move to Merseyside is unrealistic.

His performance metrics certainly suggest that he could add plenty of verve to Everton’s attack, not least in terms of beating opponents one-on-one.

In other news, some Everton fans fumed over these Benitez comments

Crystal Palace appear to have transformed their fortunes in recent months, with Patrick Vieira’s new-look side already providing their supporters with bags of entertainment in the opening weeks of the campaign.

And journalist Tom Barclay believes the best could still be to come for the capital club, claiming the prospect of seeing Michael Olise, Conor Gallagher, Eberechi Eze, Wilfried Zaha and Odsonne Edouard in the same team is a “mouth-watering” one.

What’s the word?

The quintet are yet to play together due to Eze currently being sidelined with an Achilles injury, although that could soon change as the youngster nears a return to full fitness.

Barclay addressed the possible forward line available to Vieira in a recent interview, stating how the fans would relish the excitement after four years of pragmatism under Roy Hodgson.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “That certainly is mouth-watering for Palace fans, who the majority had had enough of Roy Hodgson’s style after four years.

“As much as they appreciated the stability that came with his approach, they were crying out for something more entertaining, and they’ve already got it with Vieira.”

Crystal Palace fans will be excited

After failing to score in their opening three games of the season under Vieira’s tutelage, Palace have bagged nine in their last five outings, and the attacking players named by Barclay have been heavily involved.

Gallagher got the ball rolling with a brace against West Ham United to rescue a draw at the London Stadium before Zaha got his first of the season from the spot at home to Tottenham Hotspur, with Edouard coming off the bench to net two goals on his Eagles debut.

A 3-0 defeat to Liverpool followed, but Palace returned to form via another Zaha penalty against Brighton and Hove Albion and, Michael Olise also notched his first strike against Leicester City last time out.

The only other Palace player to find the back of the net so far this season is Jeffrey Schlupp, highlighting the importance of the aforementioned stars.

With Eze just weeks away from a return to the first-team setup, it’s certainly an exciting time to be a fan of the south London outfit, and the prospect of him joining an already effective forward line is enough to give the supporters hope of a successful season.

And, in other news…Signed for £0, sold for £49.5m: Parish struck gold for Palace over £90k-p/w gem 

Bruno Lage’s Wolverhampton Wanderers side went into Saturday afternoon’s West Midlands derby in much-improved form, as after losing their first three league games of the 2021/22 campaign, the 45-year-old’s Wolves side had picked up nine points from a possible 12 over their last four fixtures.

However, after Danny Ings opened the scoring for Aston Villa shortly after half-time and John McGinn doubled the home side’s lead on the 68-minute mark, it appeared as if Wolves’ fine run of form would be coming to an end at Villa Park.

The latter of these goals led to Lage making a double substitution with around 15 minutes to go, bringing on both Fabio Silva and Daniel Podence for Joao Moutinho and Fernando Marcal respectively – a decision which would change the game completely.

Just five passes made

With Francisco Trincao being ruled out of the game after falling ill while on international duty with Portugal, there was something of a pre-match debate as to who should come in to replace the Barcelona loanee in the Wolves starting XI – Adama Traore or Podence.

While Traore did light up the fixture on occasion due to his remarkable strength on the ball and dizzying dribbles – of which he completed six – it was undoubtedly the Portuguese’s introduction to the game which began to turn the tide for Wolves.

Indeed, despite the £22.5m-rated forward featuring for just 16 minutes, as well as making only five passes and touching the ball just 14 times, the 25-year-old nevertheless ended the game with one assist and one key pass to his name. He played an influential role in his side’s thrilling comeback, with late goals from Romain Saiss, Conor Coady and Ruben Neves securing a famous 3-2 win over Wolves’ West Midlands rivals.

As a result of his efforts, Podence earned a SofaScore match rating of 7.3 – with only Saiss and Neves receiving a higher score for Wolves on the day – while The Athletic journalist Tim Spiers claimed that the Portugal international’s introduction to the game finally saw Lage’s side showing signs of “intent” in the match.

While it is impossible to know whether or not Podence would have had the same impact if he had started ahead of Traore, it seems certain that the £60k-per-week winger will ultimately believe that his performance proved his manager wrong – a sentiment that we wouldn’t argue against.

In other news: “Huge” £51k-p/w Wolves target “able to leave” in January, he’d be a major coup for Shi

Following West Ham United’s solid 2-0 victory away to Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday evening, the club have dropped a celebratory four-word message which has many supporters talking.

David Moyes’ men began their Europa League in brilliant fashion as they comfortably swept aside the Croatian champions.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-developments-2/” title=”West Ham latest news…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Michail Antonio opened the scoring for West Ham when he pounced on a wayward back pass and slotted into an empty net for 1-0, putting his side in total control of the encounter.

The Hammers never looked like giving up their lead and midfield star Declan Rice soon gave supporters more to celebrate, bursting through the middle and scoring a fantastic solo goal.

Following West Ham’s memorable night at the Stadion Maksimir, the club dropped a four-word message for fans on Twitter, simply reading: “What a night, Hammers!”.

In response, Irons supporters relived the excitement of their first Europa League victory of the group stage as they put their stamp on the competition already.

Find all of their best reactions from social media down below.

West Ham fans erupt as club drop post-Zagreb message

“Beautiful”

Credit: @nph73

“We’re actually massive”

Credit: @banham23

“Coyi!”

Credit: @WHUFC592

“Biggest club in London”

Credit: @CNSG35

“Need Moyes content to be on overdrive tonight. How on Earth he’s turned us into a force from utter ruins still blows my mind.”

Credit: @okeefe_92

“Love it”

Credit: @DanWheelerSport

“Europe, we have arrived!”

Credit: @becky_cox1994

In other news: ‘Gonna get the Benrahma treatment’…West Ham fans slam ‘worst player’ vs Zagreb, find out more here.

Anthony Joseph has admitted the transfer market is proving difficult in regards to Celtic adding a centre-back before the window closes.  

The Lowdown: Centre-back links

The Hoops look set to be busy in the final hours of the window in regards to incomings and outgoings.

Leigh Griffiths has joined Dundee on loan, Ryan Christie, Odsonne Edouard could depart and Georgios Giakoumakis and Filipe Jota could be the men to arrive at Parkhead.

Ange Postecoglou reportedly wants the club to explore a centre-back loan addition late in the window, however, it seems as if that is proving tricky.

The Latest: Joseph post

Joseph took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to reply to a fan when asked about Celtic’s deadline day business.

He shared the club’s hopes to finalise deals for Giakoumakis and Jota before giving an update when it came to a centre-back.

“Morning, James. Celtic are hoping to complete deals for Georgios Giakoumakis and Filipe Jota. They’ve been looking at a CB on loan but market proving difficult. Odsonne Edouard is close to signing for Crystal Palace and Ryan Christie’s future is in limbo.”

Celtic have since been linked with a move for Tottenham’s Cameron Carter-Vickers, however, a transfer has been described as ‘difficult’.

The Verdict: Not a disaster

Even if Celtic fail in their attempts for a centre-back, what matters most right now is replacing Edouard and Christie’s pending exits with the signings of Giakoumakis and Jota.

The Hoops recently brought in Liam Scales so now have five senior centre-backs to choose from when Christopher Jullien returns from injury.

That should be more than enough for the current campaign, so it wouldn’t be a disaster if a sixth didn’t materialise.

In other news: Greek journalist drops late Celtic transfer news; ace now ‘doesn’t want to’ move. 

MatériaMais Notícias

Mais uma vitória na Ilha do Urubu. Na tarde deste domingo, Flamengo e São Paulo se enfrentaram na casa nova do time Carioca e o Rubro-Negro contou
com gols de Guerrero e Diego para fazer 2 a 0 no Tricolor. Derrota paulista fez com que o time de Rogério Ceni entrasse na zona de rebaixamento, enquanto os cariocas seguem em terceiro lugar, mais perto do Grêmio (dois pontos), mas ainda a dez do líder Corinthians, que venceu o Botafogo.

Enquanto os cariocas buscavam a quarta vitória consecutiva, os visitantes precisavam do triunfo para quebrar um jejum de cinco jogos sem vencer.

RelacionadasBrasileirãoATUAÇÕES: Guerrero e Diego são os melhores; Renan Ribeiro se salvaBrasileirão02/07/2017BrasileirãoNúmeros da Bola: Estatísticas de Flamengo 2×0 São PauloBrasileirão02/07/2017

O jogo começou bem equilibrado, com as duas equipes se estudando muito e marcando forte. O estreante Petros conseguiu boas roubadas de bola, mas na hora de a bola chegar em Pratto, o camisa 14 tinha dificuldades contra Réver e Rhodolfo. A dupla ganhou quase todas na primeira etapa.

Do outro lado, Guerrero também brigava bastante com os zagueiros do Tricolor e em uma das ocasiões conseguiu uma falta próxima a área. O camisa 9 chamou a responsabilidade, bateu com capricho e abriu o placar aos 37 minutos. O São Paulo ainda tentou responder com Marcinho e Pratto, mas em saída rápida, Guerrero, Everton Ribeiro e Diego fizeram linda triangulação e o camisa 35 ampliou o placar, quatro minutos depois. O Tricolor foi para o vestiário sem ter chutado nenhuma bola no gol.

Na volta para o segundo tempo, a chuva apertou e o Fla apostava nos contra-ataques. O São Paulo foi para cima, tentando o primeiro gol, mas quem quase marcou foi Everton, porémRenan Ribeiro salvou. Pratto arriscou alguns chutes de fora da área, mas errou o alvo. O goleiro ainda fez ótimas defesas após a sequência de tentativas do Fla

Rogério Ceni mandou o time para frente, mas faltava capricho na hora de acertar o último passe. Denílson e Wellington Nem entraram, mas não conseguiram ajudar Lucas Pratto no setor ofensivo dos paulistas. Os visitantes apostavam nas bolas aéreas, mas Thiago estava seguro na hora de sair do gol e afastou o perigo em todos os cruzamentos.

Vendo que o adversário estava indo todo para o ataque, Zé Ricardo colocou Berrío para explorar os contra-ataques, mas na hora de partir sozinho, colombiano se enrolava com a bola, não estava inspirado.

Ceni orientava a todo instante e pedia para o seu time ir para frente. A melhor chance do Tricolor durante os noventa minutos aconteceu com Wellington Nem, após cruzamento de Denílson, mas o baixinho não conseguiu pegar em cheio de cabeça e a bola acabou indo pela linha de fundo. Antes do apito final do árbitro, Júnior Tavares cobrou falta perto da área, mas a bola acabou saindo
demais do gol de Thiago. Sem poder ofensivo dos visitantes, Fla garantiu os três pontos na Ilha do Urubu.

FICHA TÉCNICA
FLAMENGO 2 X 0 SÃO PAULO
Local: Ilha do Urubu, Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Data-Hora: 2/7/2017 – 16h
Árbitro: Leandro Pedro Vuaden (RS)
Auxiliares: Jorge Eduardo Bernardi e Mauricio Coelho Silva Penna (ambos do RS)
Público/renda: 17.302 presentes / 16.084 pagantes / R$ 1.182.167,00
Cartões amarelos: Everton (FLA), Cueva (SÃO)
Cartões vermelhos:
Gols: Guerrero (37’/1ºT) (1-0), Diego (41’/1ºT) (2-0)

FLAMENGO: Thiago; Pará, Réver, Rhodolfo e Trauco (Renê, 35’/2ºT); Márcio Araújo, Cuéllar e Diego; Everton Ribeiro (Berrío, 19’/2ºT), Everton (Matheus Sávio, 43’/2ºT) e Guerrero. Técnico: Zé Ricardo

SÃO PAULO: Renan Ribeiro; Araruna, Lugano, Rodrigo Caio e Junior Tavares; Jucilei, Wesley (Denilson, intervalo) e Petros; Marcinho (Wellington Nem, 22’/2ºT), Pratto e Cueva (Shaylon, 31’/2ºT). Técnico: Rogério Ceni.

Sri Lanka will play two Tests against Bangladesh in December followed by a triangular ODI tournament also involving Zimbabwe, who will then play the hosts in a separate three-match one-day series.Sri Lanka arrive in Dhaka on December 19 and the first Test starts on Boxing Day. The venue for the second Test, starting on January 3, is still to be confirmed between Bogra and Chittagong due to domestic matches taking place.The triangular tournament begins on January 10 with the final seven days later in Dhaka. Zimbabwe then remain in the country for three further ODIs beginning on January 19.

Cricinfo previews the fourth one-day international between India and England in Indore on November 22, 2008

The Preview by George Binoy22-Nov-2008Match factsNov 23, 2008
Start time 1430 (0900 GMT)
Sachin Tendulkar will return to open the innings as India aim to win the series in Bangalore © AFP
Big Picture England were thrashed in Rajkot and comprehensively beaten in Indore but improved their performance in Kanpur. The gap between the teams has narrowed with every game but, at 3-0 to India, the series has reached a stage where England have to win in Bangalore to keep it alive.Should the toss go Kevin Pietersen’s way, there are a couple of extraneous factors that could aid England. Sunday’s encounter is the first day-night match of the series and, if England’s batsmen post a competitive total, England’s bowlers could use the conditions under floodlights to put the Indian batting line-up under pressure, as they did in Kanpur. The other variable is the weather in Bangalore which at the moment is typically Manchester – wet and overcast. England’s chances of victory are greater in a low-scoring contest – their batsmen are more adept at nudging difficult runs and the conditions could aid their fast bowlers.Sunday’s match is an opportunity for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to win another limited-overs trophy but to achieve that he will need to forget the controversy that arose on the eve of the match and focus on the game. The Indian selectors changed a winning combination when they picked the squad for the fourth and fifth ODIs and Dhoni reportedly expressed his displeasure at RP Singh’s axeing. He was certainly angry when the issue was raised at Saturday’s press conference.The other change to the squad, however, will boost a team already high on confidence. Sachin Tendulkar, who had asked to be rested for the first three ODIs, will return to the team and is likely open the innings with Virender Sehwag. His inclusion, however, will split the Sehwag-Gautam Gambhir partnership that has given India outstanding starts in 2008 and could give England a tiny window of opportunity.Form guide (last 5 completed ODIs, most recent first)India WWWLW
England LLLWWWatch out for:Tendulkar hasn’t played an ODI since March but he was in fluent form in the recent Tests against Australia, against whom he scored 396 runs at 56.57. His return to the top of the order will add experience to a batting line-up full of dashing stroke-players.Andrew Flintoff was a force with the ball in Kanpur. He hurried Yuvraj Singh with a bouncer after which he had a long, hard stare at the batsman. The next ball was a bouncer off which Yuvraj holed out in the deep. Flintoff is beginning to get into his stride and needs his team-mates to back him up.Indian spin: England’s batsmen have struggled to build momentum during the overs when Dhoni uses the spinners. Harbhajan Singh was the Man of the Match in Kanpur for his 3 for 31 and even Yuvraj has bowled long spells and contained the England batsmen.Team newsTendulkar’s return is a certainty but what is less clear is whom he is going to replace. Rohit Sharma’s scores in this series are 11 not out, 3 and 28 and it’s likely that he will make way for Tendulkar. Gambhir will drop down to No. 3, giving India’s top order the look it had when winning the tri-series in Australia earlier this year. Ishant had a poor game in Kanpur, conceding 12 of India’s 17 extras, but India are unlikely to change their bowling attack.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Munaf Patel.England made several changes to their batting order in the last game in Kanpur, promoting Ravi Bopara to open, Pietersen to No. 3, and dropping Owais Shah and Matt Prior to Nos 6 and 8. They are likely to persist with that plan after the Bopara-Ian Bell combination produced 79 runs in quick time. They could make a change to the bowling attack, however, replacing the out-of-form James Anderson with Steve Harmison.England (probable): 1 Ravi Bopara, 2 Ian Bell, 3 Kevin Pietersen (capt), 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Owais Shah, 7 Samit Patel, 8 Matt Prior (wk), 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 Steve Harmison.Pitch and conditionsBangalore has had daily showers in the run-up to the match and the meteorological department has predicted moderate to heavy rain over the weekend. The pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, however, is expected to be full of runs. “It’s a sporting wicket, and should assist the batsmen more than the bowlers,” the curator Narayan Raju said. “The ball will come on to the bat nicely.” In the last ODI at this venue, in September 2007, Australia scored 307 for 7 before rain interrupted play shortly into the Indian innings and forced the match to be abandoned.Stats & Trivia Gambhir isn’t unfamiliar with batting at No 3. He’s played 18 innings in that position and scored 697 runs at an average of 46.46 with two hundreds. England batsmen have scored only seven hundreds in 43 ODIs in India, compared to Australia’s 19 centuries in 63 ODIs, and West Indies’ 17 in 62 matches. England had a dot-ball percentage of nearly 58 in Kanpur, while India’s percentage was almost 60. The dot-ball percentages for England in Rajkot and Indore were 51 and 62 compared to India’s 45 and 52. Anderson’s been in poor bowling form in 2008. In 19 matches this year, he has taken only 10 wickets at an average of 71 in 19 ODIs, compared to a career average of 31.Quotes”If you lose this game, you lose the series. It’s a big game. We have got to do it here in Bangalore. From now on, every game is a final game.”
“We want him [Tendulkar] to play as long as possible and whenever he is available he should play. He has played his part in Indian cricket and it’s up to the upcomingplayers to get the most out of him. The more he plays, the more it benefits the youngsters.”

Southampton have been linked with Liverpool ace Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain recently, and the midfielder could be a superb addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad.

What’s the word?

According to talkSPORT, the Saints are keen on signing the 27-year-old on loan from Anfield a decade on from his St Mary’s exit.

The England international left Southampton as a 17-year-old to sign for Arsenal and has accumulated 209 Premier League appearances with the Gunners and Liverpool, during which he has managed 17 goals and 27 assists.

He has also earned 35 caps for his country and would have perhaps had plenty more if it were not for the terrible injury problems he has endured in his career.

Whilst he has recovered from the knee injury which kept him out for the majority of last season, it seems as if he will be a bit-part player in Jurgen Klopp’s side in the upcoming campaign, so a strong loan spell at Southampton could be a good move for both clubs.

Would Oxlade-Chamberlain be a good signing for Southampton?

During his time at St Mary’s, Oxlade-Chamberlain made 43 appearances, contributing an impressive 10 goals and nine assists from midfield, so he would surely be welcomed back with open arms by Saints fans.

Although you could argue that Southampton are already well-stocked in midfield and out wide, with the 27-year-old unlikely to break up a partnership of James Ward-Prowse and Oriol Romeu, he has shown during his time at Liverpool that he is capable of being a top-quality Premier League player when fit and on form.

Unfortunately for Oxlade-Chamberlain, those occasions have been few and far between because of his injury problems, but then it is unlikely that Klopp would allow him to leave on loan if he were producing top performances on a consistent basis.

Back in 2019, Rio Ferdinand was full of praise for the Liverpool midfielder and the quality he possesses after he scored a brace in the Champions League, saying: “You can tell he’s a good team-mate, and Klopp likes him too. He offers something totally different to the likes of Milner, Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Henderson.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431”]

Oxlade-Chamberlain could be a significant enhancement to the Saints’ squad for his dribbling ability, having completed 1.7 per game over the course of his career. In Southampton’s squad last season, only Stuart Armstrong bettered that average with 2.1.

Therefore, if the 27-year-old can maintain his fitness and enjoy regular first team football with a loan move to Southampton, it could be a huge boost to Hasenhuttl, as the Liverpool midfielder would likely add some real quality to the Austrian’s squad.

In other news… Hasenhuttl can sign Southampton’s next Pelle with swoop for £15.3m-rated beast loved by Thierry Henry

Celtic could look to sign Tottenham defender Cameron Carter-Vickers on loan with an option to buy, according to The Daily Record.

The Lowdown: Carter-Vickers profiled

Carter-Vickers has been linked with a move to Parkhead for some time now.

The 23-year-old, primarily a centre-back who can also play at right-back, has less than 12 months remaining on his Spurs contract. He’s had six separate loan spells away from Tottenham, one of which was with Luton Town, where then-team-mate Sonny Bradley described Carter-Vickers’ as ‘fantastic’.

The USA international has made just four appearances for Tottenham, and it seems as if he could be on the move yet again.

The Latest: Loan to buy?

The Daily Record’s live transfer blog on Monday (22:43) shared some interesting news on Celtic’s interest in Carter-Vickers.

They suggested that Carter-Vickers would want to leave on a permanent basis, if he does indeed depart north London this summer.

However, Celtic are thought to be exploring a loan with a possibility to buy for £5m, with The Daily Record believing that is a ‘live option’.

The Verdict: Could be Celtic’s biggest signing of the summer

It appears as if the Hoops are looking at a potential loan with an option to make it permanent next year.

However, should Celtic decide to sign Carter-Vickers this summer on a permanent basis instead, he seems likely to be the club’s most expensive addition of the window due to Spurs’ £5m valuation, surpassing a £4.86m deal for Kyogo Furuhashi.

It appears as if a deal for the American should be one to keep a close eye on, especially as Celtic are short of senior centre-back options following Kristoffer Ajer’s exit and Christopher Jullien’s injury and hence could look to push through a deal relatively quickly.

In other news: Wednesday medical – ‘Excellent’ Celtic ace now set to leave after recent development.