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Everton star Richarlison has revealed he’s spoken with Brazil teammate David Neres about a potential switch to Goodison Park this summer, as reported by The Liverpool Echo.

What’s the story?

Marco Silva has a big transfer window ahead of him as he determines how to improve his team to the extent they could possibly challenge the top six of the English Premier League.

One area that could be improved is at right-wing and Brazilian outlet UOL reported last week that Everton have been in negotiations with Ajax about a potential move for Neres.

The 22-year-old was in action for his country alongside Richarlison against Bolivia in the Copa America, and the Everton man later revealed he is keen to link up with his compatriot at Goodison Park.

The indoor football skills in the video below have to be seen to be believed…

As quoted by The Liverpool Echo, he said:

“I’ve spoken to him about it already. I told him the doors are open for him there, and that he could help us a lot.

I hope he comes. He’d be very welcome there. I’ve known him since we played together for Brazil’s U20 side, and he’s a guy I get along with really well. Hopefully I’ll see him there.”

Worth the fuss?

With Neres obviously now aware of the situation at Everton, as well as potentially happily joining up with one of his Brazil teammates, he’s definitely a player the Toffees must try to land this summer.

Scoring 12 goals and assisting 15 times last season he emerged as one of the most exciting players at one of the most exciting teams in Europe – Ajax.

Having a left-footed winger on the right flank, coupled with the right-footed Richarlison on the left, could give Everton a massive attacking threat that puts opposition defences under serious pressure.

Still just 22 years of age but on the cusp of great things, this could be the last summer Everton have to land him before the super rich teams swan in and snap him up themselves.

If the deal is there, and makes financial sense, it must be done.

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Rangers are interested in signing Max Lowe this summer but other clubs are now also in the hunt, as reported by The Express.

What’s the story?

The paper say that Steven Gerrard has sounded out Frank Lampard about making a move for the left-back during this transfer window, but that other Scottish clubs have now entered the race to sign him, with one of them potentially looking to sign him outright.

Lowe spent last season on loan at Aberdeen, becoming a mainstay in Derek McInnes’ starting eleven, making 42 appearances in total.

The fans in the video below had some very strong words for Michel Platini who was detained over alleged corruption this week…

Do Rangers need him?

The Gers signed Borna Barisic last summer but the Croatian international struggled to make the impact expected of him throughout 2018/19, with fitness and injury problems becoming a real concern for Gerrard.

Jon Flanagan deputised in the position but he is a naturally right-footed full-back, which is clearly not ideal on the left flank, and Rangers should be looking to strengthen the competition for Barisic.

Lowe proved last season he can compete well in big matches, with the player even winning plaudits for performances against Celtic.

That’s the kind of quality that Gerrard needs in the squad to launch a trophy charge.

With other clubs now circling around the 22-year-old, if he truly is a target for Gerrard as The Express report then they can’t be wasting any time in making their move, especially if there’s a chance he ends up in Scotland.

Rangers have a difficult enough challenge ahead of them next term without missing out on targets and seeing them end up at rival clubs.

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Javier Hernandez has confirmed that he is attempting to leave West Ham United this summer, per a YouTube video titled Naked Humans.

The striker scored a total of eight goals across the 2018/19 season but made just 14 starts in the Premier League under Manuel Pellegrini.

Football FanCast reported before the transfer window that the Hammers deemed the former Real Madrid and Manchester United ace expendable in this transfer window, with an overhaul of the striking department likely.

He has now confirmed as much, saying in the video: “He’s (Hernandez’s agent) searching for a club, if we can move. If not I will stay with West Ham easy, happy. I have one year left, but West Ham and I have decided it would just be easier to go out.”

His quotes come after both Andy Carroll and Lucas Perez were moved on by the Irons, leaving the club with two senior strikers: Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic.

If he is to depart, Pellegrini will have just the Austria international at his disposal as a genuine out-and-out forward, although Michail Antonio can fill in there as backup as well.

Can the Hammers afford to lose him, then, given the paucity of options within their squad?

Football FanCast’s writers give their verdicts below!

Matt Dawson

“I think West Ham would be safe losing Hernandez. At the end of the day, the Mexican only found the back of the net on eight occasions last term and after losing Perez and Carroll, the Hammers could do with rebuilding their stroke force entirely. Chicharito is a natural born poacher but if he goes into the next season still an Irons player but out of favour again, it will have been completely pointless keeping him. The fact is that he only made 14 starts last term in the league. That’s all the evidence you need that they wouldn’t actually miss him that much. West Ham should definitely sell.”

Ben Goodwin

“West Ham absolutely cannot afford to lose Hernandez this summer, due mainly to the situation with Arnautovic. After a lengthy January transfer saga that saw him gain interest from the Chinese Super League but eventually sign an extended deal, a release clause was included in his contract that could well be activated this summer.

“But whether or not the Austrian is still at the club come the start of the new campaign doesn’t really matter, as he was a shell of his former self in the second half of last season – failing to score in February, March and April. The tacit suggestion being that Arnautovic’s head was turned by interest from the Far East.

“So, with the star man seemingly either wanting out or just declining badly and two strikers already departing this summer, holding onto the only other proven goalscorer in the squad should vital for Pellegrini.”

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

James Beavis

“I think West Ham can completely afford to lose Hernandez this summer as the two simply aren’t a good fit for each other.

“The Mexico international has been with the east London outfit for two years now, and despite his impressive record of goals for club and country throughout his career, he has never been able to hold down a regular spot in the starting XI – 11 of his 25 Premier League outings in 2018/19 came from the bench.

“His situation hasn’t really been any different under Manuel Pellegrini, who seems to prefer to have someone like Arnautovic given the Austrian more than often got the nod in the starting XI when he was fit, making 24 Premier League starts in total last term.“With rumours suggesting that Maxi Gomez is a top target, Hernandez would likely be a third-choice option should the Uruguayan end up arriving at the London Stadium.“All in all, they probably wouldn’t even notice he had gone.”

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Jordan Hugill could be given a West Ham United lifeline next season.

Sources told Football FanCast at the start of the transfer window that the striker, signed by David Moyes in January 2018, was expendable.

He was subsequently included in a bid for West Bromwich Albion striker Salomon Rondon; the Hammers offered £10m in cash plus Hugill and defender Sam Byram, per FFC sources.

But developments since have taken a sharp turn.

Marko Arnautovic has been the subject of interest from China and, after an initial offer worth around £19.7m was rejected, a £22.5m bid will be accepted, again per FFC sources. Barring any late hitches, he will leave the club.

Javier Hernandez, too, could depart. Lucas Perez and Andy Carroll are already gone.

Selling Hugill, too, would completely gut the Irons of their striking department.

Keeping him would be a surprise, for sure, as he has played just three senior games for the club. Hugill has played a grand total of 22 minutes of Premier League football.

Yet he does not have the baggage that surrounds Arnautovic and he could well ingratiate himself under Manuel Pellegrini if he is given a chance.

The Hammers clearly saw enough in him to pay £10m to secure him from Preston North End and he scored 30 goals in 114 games for the Deepdale club.

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That is an average of a goal every 3.8 games.

Now, again, that is not exceptional, but at the end of the day, Premier League clubs need deep squads.

The club are trying to sign Maxi Gomez from Celta Vigo, per FFC sources, and are also interested in Rondon, as previously stated, and Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Keeping Hugill on, even if all three are signed, would make sense, then.

Pellegrini had four strikers – Arnautovic, Hernandez, Lucas and Carroll – to call upon last season and that could be repeated if his summer targets are signed and Hugill isn’t moved on.

The 22-year-old seemed like a lost cause for the Irons at the beginning of the transfer window.

Now, though, he could gain a reprieve as Pellegrini’s back-up.

If they cannot get their business done, though, he may well end up in the position of starting striker.

It remains to be seen if he would be able to grab that chance with both hands; after all, one doubts even he would have seen that development coming.

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A couple of days have passed since Manchester United landed in Perth.

The 2019/20 pre-season tour starts in Australia and the Red Devils will face two teams before departing.

First in line are Perth Glory, the local hot-shots, and then they turn to Leeds United, a more familiar face from England.

The players are, however, still very much in the process of finding their match sharpness and fully switching off from their holidays.

Still, it seems they are having quite a lot of fun on the training ground in the process.

Angel Gomes, United’s 18-year-old youngster, who’s also a part of the 28-man travelling squad, has recently posted an Instagram snap with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, United’s recent star signing.

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Wan-Bissaka quickly replied to Gomes, calling him “my guy”, and he wasn’t the only one as another Manchester United youngster, Largie Ramazani, also responded.

Gomes played 24 games in all competitions last season, scoring eight goals and assisting five.

He seems to be one of the most promising players coming through United’s youth ranks, and he would be wise to take inspiration from Wan-Bissaka given his meteoric rise at Crystal Palace last season.

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Tuesday’s Tottenham transfer roundup consisted of interest in an AS Roma midfielder, Serie A eyes on a former Newcastle player and news on the future of a 19-year-old Championship star. Today’s edition features a potential new contract for a veteran forward, a bid lodged for a Spain U21 international and the confirmed professional deal for a youngster.

Llorente could get new contract

According to the Guardian, Spurs could still offer Spanish forward Fernando Llorente a new deal. The former Athletic Bilbao man has technically left the club following the end of his previous contract on June 30th, but it now seems that the north London outfit would be interested in taking him back, albeit on a wage lower than the £100,000 a week he was on before. Llorente scored eight times last season.

Spurs bid for Olmo

Radio Estadio is reporting that Tottenham have made an offer to Dinamo Zagreb for midfielder Dani Olmo. The bid is of €30m (£27m), with the Lilywhites offering the 21-year-old a five-year contract worth €2m (£1.8m) a season.

Youngster signs professional deal

Joshua Oluwayemi has put pen to paper on a new professional deal, which is two years in length. The 18-year-old, who shared the news on his Instagram page, is now under contract with Mauricio Pochettino’s team until 2021.

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Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff has stepped up his recovery from a serious knee injury ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.

The 21-year-old made 11 appearances for the Magpies last term before picking up the injury which ultimately ended his season.

Longstaff has since been linked with a move to Manchester United, with the Red Devils said to be preparing a fresh approach.

On Wednesday, Newcastle’s Twitter account posted an interview with Longstaff where the Englishman discussed life since stepping into the first-team picture.

As expected, the Newcastle fans filled the comments section with words of praise, whilst others called on their club to resist the temptation to sell the midfielder in this summer’s transfer window.

It will certainly be interesting to see whether the Magpies can keep hold of Longstaff beyond the the August transfer deadline.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Newcastle supporters can be seen below:

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

According to Correio da Manha, via Sport Witness, Manchester United are still very much in the hunt to sign Sporting Lisbon attacker Bruno Fernandes.

What’s the word, then?

United have been linked with a move for the Portugal international throughout this summer’s transfer window, but a recent report claimed that the Red Devils were unlikely to sign him ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.

According to Correio da Manha, though, United are preparing to submit an offer to Sporting next week as they look to complete a move.

The 24-year-old scored 32 times and registered 18 assists in 53 appearances for Sporting during the 2018-19 season.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The club captain – valued at £49.5m by Transfermarkt – largely operated as an attacking midfielder, but also played as a second striker as he managed 20 goals in the Liga NOS.

It remains to be seen whether United complete a deal for Fernandes, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s pre-season formation has shown that there is a spot seemingly ready and waiting for the Portuguese.

A move to a 4-2-3-1…

United have started in a 4-2-3-1 formation in all four of their friendly matches this summer.

And the set up has worked well with victories over Perth Glory, Leeds United, Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur as the team prepare for the new campaign.

Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Andreas Pereira have all started as the number 10 during pre-season and whilst all three have had their moments, there is no question that Fernandes would provide a bigger goal threat from that area of the field. Indeed, the trio managed just 12 goals between them last term.

If the Red Devils do manage to keep hold of Paul Pogba and play the Frenchman in a midfield two then suddenly things could be looking up for the team.

Indeed, much of Solskjaer’s work during pre-season has involved high pressing and counter-attacking football, but Mata showed against Leeds that the team still need that player capable of taking the ball under pressure and feeding the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

Fernandes is seemingly ready-made to step into the number 10 position for the English giants, who simply cannot afford to pass up the chance to sign the talented playmaker.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Perhaps more damning than any other statement, Manchester United’s continued desire to reminisce over the good old days of Sir Alex Ferguson is a sign of a club refusing to move on. The club’s iconic manager bowed out from Old Trafford six years ago, and there has been very little to shout about since. But if United are to fully move on from the overwhelming shadow of the Scotsman, then they need to fully hit the reset button.

Last season’s travails perfectly encapsulated everything that has engulfed United. The club have been caught in between a rock and a hard place; at one point willing to throw their principles to the side under Jose Mourinho, and then at another point desperately trying to pull it back with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Which is it to be? The indecision behind what the club wants has caused them trouble both on the pitch and off it, and has completely robbed them of any identity.

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Since the days of the great Sir Matt Busby and through the legendary tenure of Sir Alex, the ‘United way’ has been to win, and win with style. Indeed, former Red Devils boss David Moyes admitted: “When you ­become ­Manchester United manager you are expected to win every game. And when you win the game, you are expected to have done it with style. Then when you win, you are expected to have scored plenty of goals as well.”

And that’s perhaps where United have started to go wrong since Ferguson’s exit. The pressure of trying to deliver those expectations. United’s squad doesn’t boast some of the talents of yesteryear like Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs or Eric Cantona. So why should they be judged on the same level? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job has to be to get the best out of his current crop of players, rather than trying to cling on to how United used to play with totally different personnel in a vastly different era.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

If the Norwegian has the strength and belief to create a ‘new’ United way, then the Red Devils can finally escape the vice-like grip of their former glories. And it’s certainly about time they did just that.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

When Maya Yoshida started at the heart of the three-man defence against Feyenoord during pre-season, it seemed as though he was set for a regular spot in the starting XI this season.

Jack Stephens had missed the trip to the Netherlands because of injury, but given his continued unpopularity – as shown by the reaction by these fans to his display against Burnley on Saturday – not many would have picked him ahead of the Japan international anyway.

Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl appears to disagree though, and it now seems likely that had the former Plymouth youngster been fit, it would have been him who partnered Jannik Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek in Rotterdam instead.

That is exactly what happened a week later in the final pre-season encounter against Cologne at St Mary’s, as the Austrian clearly tested out the team he wanted to play at Turf Moor from the start – had it not been for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s illness it would have been two identical XIs.

So it was Stephens who got the nod against the Clarets, and to be fair his performance could have been a lot worse before he was taken off in the 72nd minute as Hasenhuttl decided to throw caution to the wind with his team 3-0 down.

Watch Southampton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

But all three of those goals came from defensive errors on the left-hand side – something Stephens, Vestergaard and indeed wing-back Ryan Bertrand need to take a large portion of the responsibility for.

The Denmark international’s misjudgement – albeit in tough conditions – of the ball launched into the air by Burnley prior to the first goal was poor to say the least, while he completely switched off when Ashley Barnes ghosted in unmarked for the second.

Yoshida would have been watching on knowing that those were the types of mistakes he once made on a semi-regular basis in a red and white shirt, and the reason why he has often found himself as back up rather than in the side during his seven years at St Mary’s.

Given he has had players of the calibre of Jose Fonte, Toby Alderweireld and Virgil van Dijk ahead of him in times gone by, that isn’t too surprising.

However, there have never been any murmurings of discontent behind the scenes at a lack of first-team action, as he has got on with whatever situation he has found himself in like the true professional that he is.

Southampton are in a different place now though and they simply don’t have quality individuals like the aforementioned trio in their backline, or midfielders like Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama in front shielding them.

That is what makes Yoshida’s absence as things stand even more confusing, because he is their most experienced Premier League player who has improved over the years following his move from the Eredivisie in 2012, and he is a leader – as shown by the fact that he currently captains his country.

Arguably he is also their best – or at the very least the best of a bad bunch – and quickest centre-half, with Vestergaard and Stephens prone to errors and Bednarek clearly still learning his trade at the age of 23.

In that respect then and with the deadline day addition of another youngster in Kevin Danso who could feasibly replace Stephens in the near future, Yoshida would have every right to be cheesed off with Hasenhuttl right now and be inclined to throw his toys out of the pram ahead of the visit of Liverpool on Saturday.

Fortunately, he just isn’t that sort of player.

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