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Newcastle United are now reportedly targeting a potential move for Lorenzo Insigne.

The Lowdown: Contract breakdown

As per Il Mattino (via Sport Witness), talks have been ‘difficult’ between Insigne and Napoli over a renewal of his contract, which expires next summer.

It means that he will be able to talk to other clubs in the January transfer window, ahead of a potential free transfer.

The Latest: Insigne targeted

According to Il Mattino (via Sport Witness), the St. James’ Park faithful have now ‘targeted’ Insigne ahead of a potential swoop, but there has been no official contact yet.

Teams in the MLS are also being considered in terms of securing his signature, but it feels ‘unlikely’ that he will leave his native Italy at the moment.

The Verdict: Bargain

Given that he is currently rated at £43.2m by Transfermarkt, signing Insigne on a free transfer would be an absolute bargain.

The Napoli captain would offer leadership to the squad off of the pitch, and lead by example on it, with no fewer than 111 goals and a further 88 assists in 406 games in total over all competitions for the Naples side (Transfermarkt).

Rafa Benitez, once of the Magpies and having recently being linked with a return to the North East from Everton, sung the praises of Insigne when he was manager at Napoli back in 2015, and for both of them to arrive on Tyneside could well be a match made in heaven.

In other news, find out which ‘world-class’ maestro NUFC have contacted here!

Everton may have only spent £1.7m on new players during the summer transfer window but the Toffees have a plethora of selection dilemmas and quandaries.

Rafa Benitez will not have expected injuries to Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin to occur which has left them in a sticky situation.

Yet, with the aforementioned duo out, it’s called for a few players to stand up and be counted.

Demarai Gray has caught the eye with three goals and Andros Townsend has also netted three times since his arrival.

Sadly, others haven’t fared too well. Salomon Rondon has now endured two shoddy performances leading the line as he struggles to achieve match fitness after a lack of pre-season.

Alex Iwobi has also gained two successive starts for the club but has failed to impress.

The Nigerian was signed for £34m from Arsenal in 2019 but has only ever found the net on five occasions after penning terms.

It’s a disastrous record but it only seems to be getting worse for the attacker. His performance against Championship opposition, QPR, on Tuesday evening was extremely poor.

As Benitez’s men crashed out on penalties, he only completed 75% of his passes.

Furthermore, the winger won just 22.2% of the defensive duels he was involved in and lost the ball every 3.1 touches.

With that in mind, the manager should consider casting his attentions elsewhere.

One player who deserves more of a run is Anthony Gordon. The 20-year-old has played for the Everton first-team on 23 occasions but very rarely have any of those outings been starts.

He did play from the off against QPR and looked mightily impressive. No one created more than Gordon’s four key passes while the youngster also showed his nerve by scoring from the spot in the penalty shoot-out.

He is yet to score a senior goal but if Benitez focuses on his development instead of Iwobi’s game time, he’ll surely begin to improve rapidly.

After all, the traits he possesses would cause trouble for a whole host of defenders.

Speaking to The Athletic, David Unsworth commented: “His balance sprinting with the ball and his balance going past people is something you don’t see every day. He’s got unbelievable pace and he’s a Scouser too, so he’s tough.”

Iwobi is quick-footed as well but ultimately, his end produced eludes him on a regular basis. He is incredibly frustrating and Everton would surely benefit more from unleashing one of their young prodigies instead.

AND in other news, Kenwright masterclass: £100k-p/w gem sees his value fall by £23m after leaving Everton…

A number of Liverpool fans are buzzing with the latest news revolving around Barcelona’s Pedri.

At only 18-years-old, Pedri has made 91 senior appearances at club level and has only missed three Spain games since making his debut in March earlier this year.

Jurgen Klopp was expected to bring in a midfielder replacement for Gini Wijnaldum in the summer transfer window but failed to do so with Ibrahima Konate the only incoming through the door.

Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita are likely to be called upon when needed, but with both players carrying a track record of injuries, that area may prove to be difficult for Klopp this season.

According to Spanish reporter Eduardo Inda, [via Anfield Edition on Twitter], Liverpool are interested in signing Pedro and Klopp is ‘in love’ with the teenager.

The journalist has stated that the 2019/20 Premier League champions are willing to pay around £85.9million for Pedro, smashing the club’s previous transfer record.

Liverpool fans react to Pedri claim

These Reds fans took to Twitter to show their excitement about potentially luring the Spain international away from Barcelona.

“YES PLEASE”

Credit: @soydylo

“I’d cry for him to be in a Liverpool shirt”

Credit: @kloppboy23

“We are serious?’

Credit: @MR_obrajnr

“I’m praying”

Credit: @himma1_s

“Him or Olmo will do, top players with bright futures”

Credit: @MoreLiverpool

“Please sign him”

Credit: @False_CF_

In other news, Liverpool fans relieved that midfielder transfer didn’t happen. Find out more here.

Southampton made light work of a potentially tricky trip to Newport County on Wednesday night as they thrashed the League Two side 8-0 to earn a record cup win.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side were in complete control from the word go, with goals from Armando Broja, Nathan Tella and Kyle Walker-Peters giving them a 3-0 lead at half-time.

The Saints showed no signs of slowing down after the break and it was 6-0 before the hour mark, with Broja scoring his second after a quickfire double from Mohammed Elyounoussi – his first goals for the club.

Nathan Redmond then got the goal his performance deserved, before Elyounoussi made it a hattrick late on to consign the Exiles to a heavy defeat, whilst Southampton matched their record win against Sunderland from the 2014/15 Premier League campaign.

Although Elyounoussi deserves a lot of credit for his hattrick, especially considering he had failed to score in 19 appearances before Wednesday night, it was arguably Redmond who was the star of the show against the League Two outfit.

As per SofaScore, the former Norwich City man would earn a 9/10 rating for his display, with only Elyounoussi (10/10) rated higher from both sides.

Redmond was instrumental in the first half and was unfortunate not to give Hasenhuttl’s side the lead when his thunderous effort was tipped onto the bar by Joe Day, only for Broja to tuck away the rebound.

He would then provide the assist for Walker-Peters’ goal to seal the win before half-time, before smashing past Day from the edge of the box for Southampton’s seventh of the night.

During the 90 minutes, the 27-year-old winger would contribute four key passes, which was the most of any player on the pitch, whilst he also came close to scoring on a number of occasions, with Day denying the £16.2m-rated Englishman with a super save in the first half.

Hampshire Live journalist Tom Leach was certainly impressed with Redmond’s display, rating him a 9/10 and writing:

“He was central to both of Southampton’s early goals, setting one up and providing the pre-assist for the other. He should have scored himself during the first ten minutes but dragged his shot horribly wide. He got his goal late one, thundering into the net from 20 yards.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431”]

Therefore, whilst Elyounoussi’s performance was great in terms of his hattrick and two assists, Redmond was heavily involved in Southampton’s build-up play throughout the night and deserves a lot of credit for his display.

And, in other news… Semmens should seal Southampton swoop for 21 y/o gem with “enormous ability”

Tottenham Hotspur will continue their UEFA Europa Conference League campaign later this evening when they welcome Pacos de Ferreira to north London for the second and final leg of their qualifying fixture.

It’s an encounter that Nuno Santo should not be taking lightly after his side were beaten 1-0 in Portugal last week but the 47-year-old head coach will also know that a balance must be struck between winning the match and handing out further minutes to players in need of game time.

If the Lilywhites fail to advance tonight, then it’ll be the first time in 12 years that they have failed to qualify for one of the major European cup competitions.

After keeping their 100% start in the Premier League with a win over Nuno’s former club Wolves on Sunday, Spurs should be confident of securing the victory this evening.

But what sort of side could we see line-up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium? Here’s what Football FanCast are predicting…

One of the biggest calls could lie in the attack. This match could be the perfect time to hand Harry Kane to build match fitness, so he could start from the off – just days after confirming his intention to remain at the club this summer transfer window.

Meanwhile, at the back, Pierluigi Gollini should make his second start between the sticks as Hugo Lloris’ back-up, whilst we could see a back four of Ben Davies, who replaces Sergio Reguilon, Eric Dier, who remains from Sunday’s starting XI, Cristian Romero, who takes Davinson Sanchez’s place and Matt Doherty, who comes in for Japhet Tanganga.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-more” title= “Read the latest Spurs team and injury news, transfer rumours, gossip and much, much more!”]

Welshman Joe Rodon and academy product Cameron Carter-Vickers will be absent through injury.

Another player who could keep his place tonight is Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – the man who played more minutes than any other Spurs player last season. The £36m-rated beast’s endurance and quality is a must for this Spurs side but he may be joined by Harry Winks and Giovani Lo Celso instead.

The duo started in Portugal last week and their involvement would keep both Oliver Skipp and Dele Alli fresh for this weekend’s top-flight clash against Watford.

There are some huge decisions to make on the flanks, however.

Nuno could opt for Bryan Gil, who made his debut in Portugal last week, and Lucas Moura, who is the third player to have started at Molineux. Steven Bergwijn has underperformed and the young Spanish gem needs to find his best position in this side, so it’s a switch that makes sense.

In total, the Portuguese head coach could make as many as eight changes.

Spurs (4-2-3-1): Gollini; Davies, Dier, Romero, Doherty; Hojbjerg, Winks, Lo Celso; Gil, Moura, Kane.

AND in other news, Paratici can axe Ndombele in bargain Spurs swoop for “extraordinary” £34m-rated titan…

Aston Villa learned their opponents for the second round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening, which had a number of supporters talking on social media.

Villa will make the trip to Holker Park to take on Barrow AFC, with Dean Smith’s side the final ball out of the north side of the draw.

Round Two ties will be played during the week commencing Monday, 23 August, and you’d expect Villa’s meeting with Mark Cooper’s men could be one for TV selection.

Villa have enjoyed some success in the competition in recent years, making the final during the 2019/20 campaign where they lost to Manchester City at Wembley.

The club have won the League Cup on five occasions over the years, and their quest for a sixth will begin at a stadium that has a capacity of just over 5,000.

Villa fans react

This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply to the tie with the League Two side, with one labelling it as ‘class’.

“As if”

Credit: @coombes24

“Gets no bigger than this”

Credit: @rybbow

“Barrow… brilliant”

Credit: @DTTbeard

“Out of all the teams available, we draw the team with 5,000 capacity and 1,000 seats. Class.”

Credit: @HarryBatters

“Love it”

Credit: @Jtavfc2000

“Class”

Credit: @avfck1eran

In other news: £10m offer made: Villa first club to make bid for versatile international at the top of his game.  

Liverpool have reportedly been monitoring the progress of Wolves’ Pedro Neto as manager Jurgen Klopp looks to strengthen his options at the top end of the pitch.

What’s the story?

According to Goal’s Neil Jones, the Reds’ recruitment team have been watching the highly-rated 21-year-old ahead of a possible move.

Klopp is believed to be in the market for another attacking addition this summer, with the likes of Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri expected to depart Anfield as a result.

Diogo Jota 2.0

Neto has established himself as one of the Premier League’s most promising young forwards since arriving at Molineux from Lazio back in 2019.

He’s bagged 10 goals and provided a further 11 assists in 79 appearances for the Midlands outfit, but it was his consistently exciting and dangerous performances that really caught the eye last season.

Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer was amongst the youngster’s admirers in 2020/21, praising Neto after he bagged a stunning winning goal against Southampton.

“A huge talent who is having a fine season. He changed the game and scored a great goal,” Shearer said.

The Portugal international was arguably Wolves’ standout performer last term and provided their biggest attacking threat following the prolonged absence of star striker Raul Jimenez.

As per WhoScored, Neto recorded an average of two shots per league game, two key passes and 2.1 dribbles, placing him in the top two amongst his teammates for each metric.

If Liverpool do follow up their interest in the skilful winger, then it will be the second consecutive summer that the Anfield outfit have raided Wolves for their most talented wide man.

Neto’s compatriot Diogo Jota swapped Molineux for Merseyside 12 months ago and enjoyed a fabulous first campaign with the 19-time English champions.

Although injuries significantly reduced his game time, Jota found the back of the net on 13 occasions in just 30 outings for Klopp’s charges.

Whether Liverpool make a move for the £31,5m-rated Neto this summer will largely depend on their ability to shift multiple fringe players out of the exit door, but if director of football Michael Edwards can offload the deadwood, then he must move for Neto this summer, he could very much emulate the success that Jota has had at Anfield.

And, in other news…James Pearce drops transfer update that’ll have Liverpool fans buzzing 

Mary Earps has showed off her "international break camera roll" on Instagram following England's thumping friendly wins over Austria and Italy.

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• England win international double header
• Earps features against Italy and Austria
• Posts international break camera roll

• Getty/GOAL
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Following the Lionesses 7-2 win over Austria a week ago and the 5-1 victory against Italy a few days later, Manchester United stopper Earps took to social media to show some photos of her in England training and enjoying her surroundings in Spain – where both their matches have taken place.

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• WHAT MARY EARPS SAID

  The 30-year-old wrote on Instagram: "…international break camera roll."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  With no major tournament for the Lionesses in 2024, England's biggest stars will now focus on domestic football as the Women's Super League returns this weekend after the completion of the international break.

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Earps' United side – who sit fourth in the WSL, 10 points behind joint leaders Chelsea and Manchester City – travel to lowly West Ham on Sunday. They cannot afford any slip ups if they are to complete an unlikely recovery and finish in the top three this season.

Everton have started the ongoing transfer window with some rather understated signings.

The Toffees have targeted some big names but so far have only ended up with the likes of Andros Townsend, Demarai Gray and Asmir Begovic.

What’s the word?

Whether Everton do spend big this summer could be determined by the future of Richarlison.

If the Brazilian leaves Goodison Park behind then presumably he’ll command a pretty hefty fee.

Should a large sum be acquired then it would not be a great surprise if Rafa Benitez finally decided to splash the cash in the market.

One player they could target as a result is Real Madrid star Marco Asensio. Reports in Spain suggest that Everton, Leeds and Leicester are all options for the winger heading into the new campaign.

Asensio has long been tipped for stardom and was once linked with a mega £119m move to Chelsea.

The new Rodriguez

With James Rodriguez and Richarlison in danger of leaving, Everton must look at signing some high-quality wingers in the eventuality they depart.

Their Colombian dynamo would be the biggest loss after extraordinarily signing him on a free transfer 12 months ago.

He contributed to ten Premier League goals and was their most creative player in terms of key passes per match last season.

Once of Real Madrid, Marcel Brands and Benitez could repeat last summer’s marquee arrival by snapping up Asensio.

Previously tipped to win the Ballon d’Or, he is a mesmeric player on his day, being described as “magical” by Madrid midfielder Casemiro.

He has scored 37 goals for the Spanish side throughout his career but his trajectory has fallen off after suffering a nasty ACL injury back in July 2019.

At the time, Asensio was even being compared to Lionel Messi; “Zidane told me that since Messi, he had never seen a left foot like mine,” the wide man admitted. Rodriguez has an impressive left foot himself but this is arguably the best compliment a player of their ilk could receive.

Asensio only scored seven times last season but at the age of 25, he is now rapidly approaching his prime.

A canny dribbler and a creative maestro, he’d be a simply wonderful addition to the Goodison Park ranks.

Rodriguez was a fine coup last summer but this would arguably be even more impressive given the reviews he received just a few years ago.

AND in other news, Benitez could discover his new Fernando Torres if Everton land 58-goal “nightmare”…

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti does little on-field management and defers to his assistant coaches in training, a La Liger insider has claimed.

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• Davide, Ancelotti's son, mostly runs training
• Italian boss picks starting XI every week
• Real Madrid are top of La Liga after 25 games

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Madrid's flowing attacking football doesn't actually come from their boss, it has been revealed. Ancelotti, often criticised for being little more than a talented man-manager, tends to defer training to Davide, his son, journalist Guillem Balague revealed.

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• WHAT BALAGUE SAID

  Speaking on the podcast, Balague offered insight into Ancelotti's management process: "I know for a fact that he doesn’t really get involved that much [with tactics]. Davide [Ancelotti, his assistant manager] is doing a lot of work during the week. And what Ancelotti says to Davide is ‘Saturday, Rodrygo, Bellingham and Vinicius up front’. Or ‘Kroos, Valverde, two in the middle’, so then Davide goes ‘OK’, and puts it all together. And every decision he’s made, and the XI is Carlo, has been outstanding.”

• (C)Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Ancelotti may not take care of much of Madrid's day-to-day work, but his tactical decisions have Los Blancos well-positioned for another year of success. They are top of La Liga and up 1-0 in their Champions League round of 16 tie.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ANCELOTTI AND MADRID?

  The Italian will be at the helm when Los Blancos continue La Liga play against Sevilla on Sunday. After that they travel to Valencia, before hosting RB Leipzig for the second leg of their last 16 Champions League tie.