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

Everton are reportedly in talks for a move for Lyon winger Bertrand Traore, so where does that leave current Toffees prospect Ademola Lookman?

What’s the story?

According to French outlet Telefoot, Everton have entered discussions with Lyon over a potential deal for Traore.

Telefoot, who have been all over Tottenham’s interest in Tanguy Ndombele, which is also mentioned in the report, claim the two clubs are in talks, with the French outfit set to undergo somewhat of a fire sale this summer.

The Liverpool Echo has since claimed that reports of concrete talks between the clubs are “highly speculative”, but if Traore does arrive this summer, it is surely the last straw for Lookman.

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

Sorry Ademola!

Lookman has barely had a look-in since swapping Charlton for Everton, appearing just 21 times in the Premier League last season with a whopping 18 of those showings coming from the bench.

And if the 21 year-old could only manage three starts out of 38 with Theo Walcott – who managed just five Premier League goals all season and was constantly berated by fans – as his main winger competition, then he’s really going to struggle if Traore arrives.

The Lyon hotshot can play anywhere across the front three, effectively moving Lookman down the pecking order on both flanks.

He has a much better goal return than the youngster too, slamming in 11 last season after grabbing 18 in the previous campaign, while Lookman has mustered just 21 goals in his entire senior career.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Marco Silva has shown his ability to develop players with the likes of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin progressing under his tutelage, but a move for Traore feels like an admittance of failure when it comes to Lookman.

The 21 year-old arrived to much fanfare and was rated highly, but has achieved nothing of any note at Goodison and looks set to seep into the background if the club do indeed sign another young winger.

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What does the rest of the summer transfer window have in store for the 20 Premier League clubs who will battle it out in the 2019/20 campaign? Today’s Premier League transfer roundup includes La Liga interest in an Arsenal star, an update in Real Madrid’s pursuit of Paul Pogba and a fee agreed between two top-tier clubs for a Spanish striker.

Atletico want Lacazette

Arsenal will be needing to keep hold of their best players this summer as they look to return to the top four next season. As such, latest reports involving star striker Alexandre Lacazette will be worrying for both the Arsenal hierarchy and Gunners fans. According to the Mirror, Atletico Madrid are interested in signing the Frenchman as they look to replace Antoine Griezmann, who is expected to complete a move to Barcelona soon. Lacazette signed for Arsenal in 2017 for a then-record £46.5m and has since scored 36 goals in 88 games for the club.

Real eye Pogba-Bale swap

Paul Pogba’s time at Manchester United since returning to the club from Juventus in 2016 has been turbulent, and he may even be on the move this summer if reports in regards to a potential switch to Real Madrid are to be believed. And that saga has taken another twist, with Marca reporting that Los Merengues want to include Gareth Bale in a swap deal for the French World Cup winner. Bale signed for Real in 2013 and, despite scoring over 100 goals for the club, he has still been on the end of some abuse from the Madrid fans.

Fee agreed for Perez

Newcastle United are already without a manager following the departure of Rafael Benitez, who has now joined Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang, and they may soon be saying goodbye to last season’s top goalscorer as well. The BBC reported on Tuesday that the Toon and Leicester City have agreed a fee for Spanish striker Ayoze Perez. The sum is reported to be £30m. Perez joined the North-East outfit from Spanish side Tenerife for £1.5m in 2014 and has since scored 48 goals in 195 appearances for the club.

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After the highs of winning the Champions League in early June, Liverpool fans have had little to get excited about in the whirlwind world of the transfer window.

The Reds have confirmed just one new signing in Sepp van den Berg whilst Fulham’s teenage prospect Harvey Elliott could potentially be following him to Anfield too.

However, things in general have been fairly quiet on the red half of Merseyside, and following the Reds’ pre-season clash against Tranmere, it appears Liverpool will not be pulling up trees anytime soon.

Jurgen Klopp suggested that injury returns for the likes of Rhian Brewster and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are “new players” for the club and appeared to downplay the chances of any major signings this summer.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

After hearing Klopp’s comments, Liverpool fans took to Twitter to voice their opinion on the matter and many were rather frustrated by the German’s revelations.

Reds fans labelled the news as “concerning” and questioned where their reported revenue was going if it wasn’t being spent on new signings.

Indeed, some suggested that the club were taking a “huge risk” with their summer transfer strategy and expressed their concern at rival clubs potentially catching up to them next season.

Check out some of the reaction of Liverpool fans 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…

Southampton have suffered another blow in their bid to offload Mario Lemina before the transfer window slams shut on August 8, with Arsenal agreeing a deal to sign Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos on loan.

What’s the word, then?

According to The Telegraph, the south coast outfit want to sell the former Juventus man this summer, and as well as being omitted from the 26-man squad that travelled to Austria, he has also been excluded from the rest of the first-team squad at the club’s Staplewood training ground.

According to The Daily Mail, Arsenal, Leicester City and Manchester United were three of the teams to be keen on the Gabon international, but the Manchester Evening News has already ruled out the latter being interested in the 25-year-old, who they say is rated at £30m.

Watch Southampton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Now the former have almost certainly been ruled out as well following their expected capture of Ceballos, with respected BBC journalist David Ornstein reporting earlier in the summer that a box-to-box midfielder was a priority target – the Spaniard certainly fits the bill.

Setback for Southampton

With just over two weeks until the transfer window closes, Saints’ bid to sell some of their highest-earning non first-team players hasn’t exactly gone to plan.

The Telegraph reported last month that they were keen on exits for the likes of Fraser Forster, Wesley Hoedt, Cedric Soares, Sofiane Boufal and Guido Carrillo, but all of them still remain at St Mary’s.

Charlie Austin and Lemina are two more that can also go, but no agreement appears to be on the horizon for either as they continue to train alone.

It is hardly the ideal situation for Ralph Hasenhuttl, who is already having to deal with a bloated squad, with the struggle to offload players potentially hampering the club’s chances of strengthening at centre-back – one of their remaining transfer priorities.

Lemina’s price tag may well need to be lowered with United and Arsenal now seemingly out of the running for him.

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According to ExWHUemployee, West Ham United could look to sign experienced forward Benjamin Moukandjo on a free transfer ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.

The 30-year-old is currently available on a free having left Chinese Super League outfit Jiangsu Suning in March.

While speaking on The West Ham Way show, ExWHUemployee had some interesting things to say about Moukandjo.

“There is this guy as well whose name was brought to my attention the other day called Benjamin Moukandjo, who’s a Cameroonian who was in China up until last season but has recently been released.

“He’s got a decent goals-to-game record out there and is available on a free.

“Pellegrini knows him from his time in China and could be someone that is looked at.”

The 57-time Cameroon international has represented the likes of Monaco, Nancy and Reims during a well-travelled career, whilst he managed eight goals in 11 appearances for Jiangsu Suning.

The Hammers are currently lacking first-team options in the final third with Marko Arnautovic and Lucas Perez amongst those to move on ahead of the new season.

And given the lack of options available to Pellegrini, it would be no surprise if he moved into the market to pursue another centre forward before the window slams shut.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The West Ham fans have been on social media discussing a potential move for Moukandjo, who would reportedly be a back-up option for Pellegrini.

And a selection of the Twitter reaction is available to view below:

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On Monday, Tottenham Hotspur announced their squad for the Audi Cup.

And the notable inclusion was Danny Rose, who has been strongly linked with a move away from the club in this summer’s transfer window.

Indeed, Rose has missed Spurs’ pre-season to date, with the club confirming that the England international was free to seek a move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The 29-year-old is still with the capital outfit, though, and could now feature in the Audi Cup, which will see the club face Real Madrid in the semi-finals on Tuesday, before either a third-placed play-off or final against Bayern Munich or Fenerbahce on Wednesday.

The Tottenham fans have been on social media reacting to Rose’s inclusion.

And there are a lot of mixed opinions on whether it is a good idea to bring the defender back into the selection.

A number of the club’s supporters have had their say:

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Rangers have reportedly knocked back a £10m plus deal from West Brom for Alfredo Morelos, and it’s fair to say the supporters are far from impressed with the offer.

The Daily Record report that Slaven Bilic has identified the Colombian as one of his top targets as they look to bring in players before the 5pm deadline tonight.

Steven Gerrard has previously admitted that it would take a ‘really big offer’ to coax his star away from Ibrox, yet even with potential add-ons, the deal wasn’t acceptable for those at the club.

Morelos could still be on the way out of Ibrox with deadlines across Europe remaining open, per The Record’s report, however.

The bid hasn’t gone down too well with the Gers faithful, who can’t believe it was such a low offer.

Another complaint from the supporters is that’s he too integral to sell, which is a fair argument given he scored 30 times last season.

Here’s what the disgruntled supporters had to say about the rumoured bid on Twitter:

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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…

Darren Bent has issued a large warning to Patrick Bamford after the arrival of Eddie Nketiah, telling Football Insider that he now needs to be wary.

What’s he said?

Nketiah is already off and running in a Leeds shirt, bagging his first for the club during his debut.

The forward was given a first outing against Salford in midweek as the Whites sealed a comfortable 3-0 win as the 20-year-old notched a typical poacher’s goal from close range.

He put in a lively display, one which had supporters drooling over him after the game.

However, after a difficult start to the term for Bamford, who failed to score from six chances against Nottingham Forest, Bent has warned about the competition now facing the 6 foot 1 striker.

He told Football Insider:

“It’s healthy competition, that’s the only way you’re going to get the best out of each other. Bamford needs to be careful, he’s got a lot of ability to score goals but he’s got someone on the bench behind him that’s equally as good a goalscorer.”

Under fire

It’s only two games into the new campaign in terms of league action but the former Middlesbrough man has already come under significant fire.

Bamford took flack from Noel Whelan earlier in the week as he suggested the 25-year-old was costing his side points. That’s now been followed up by Bent, though, who despite praising him has given him a timely nudge that he should be looking over his shoulder.

The Leeds man started the new campaign with a strike against Bristol City but his performance against Forest was pretty woeful. He fired three of his attempts off target as he saw a lofted one-on-one head just wide whilst he also hit the bar.

It was a torrid afternoon for Bamford who will have to improve quickly following Nketiah’s debut goal.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Faith looks as though it could be put in the former’s direction after Marcelo Bielsa confirmed the team would be unchanged from last weekend but the Arsenal loanee is very much now breathing down his neck.

If Bamford continues to miss straightforward opportunities then Bielsa’s hand may well be forced.

After all, Nketiah displayed his prowess in pre-season by scoring against both Fiorentina and Bayern Munich. He clearly has the talent.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

How Brendan Rodgers and Leicester would fill the glaring slab head-shaped hole in the heart of their defence this coming season was a hot topic of discussion before a ball had even been kicked – though that has since changed.

Harry Maguire’s £80m departure to Manchester United before the end of the English summer transfer window left Rodgers with just four central defenders to choose from – namely an ageing Wes Morgan who will be 36 before the season’s close, Jonny Evans, Caglar Soyuncu and Filip Benkovic.

The Croatian was arguably the most likely choice to feature this season having originally joined Celtic on loan when Rodgers was in charge of them before he made the switch to the King Power Stadium in February.

He suffered an ankle injury during this summer’s European U21 Championship but has been building back towards full match fitness having played the full 90 minutes on Monday night for the U23 squad as they drew 1-1 with Blackburn.

Rodgers was in attendance to see the man who played 23 times under him last season.

Watch Leicester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

On the Chalkboard

The performances of Soyuncu alongside Evans in the first two games of the Premier League season leaves the Northern Irishman with plenty of food for thought.

Benkovic appeared to be the obvious choice to replace Maguire with both of them enjoying a spell together in Scotland last season.

Leicester have since drawn both their matches, keeping a clean sheet in the first against Wolves before drawing 1-1 with last season’s third-place team Chelsea.

Could Jamie Vardy be lifting the FA Cup at the end of the season? Leicester are tipped for the cup in the video below…

Even though Rodgers knows what he’s getting with Benkovic, it’s unlikely that the 22-year-old is able to break into the starting XI just yet, though he might take club captain Morgan’s place on the bench in the meantime.

Soyuncu has averaged a total of 4 aerial duels won per game across those two fixtures and when comparing that to Maguire’s exploits for the Foxes last season, you’ll see that’s a gradual improvement with their former star averaging a lower 3.8 per game.

The Turkey international is also averaging double the amount of tackles that Maguire could manage last campaign at 2 per game. It is important to state, however, that it could average out over the course of an entire season.

However, with the 6 foot 1 defender in such impressive form, averaging a rating of 7.18 – the third highest amongst the Foxes squad, Benkovic will likely find it rather tough to integrate himself as a starter once he returns to full fitness.

Soyuncu has shown himself an able Maguire replacement so there’s no need to disrupt that just yet.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Southampton weren’t one of the busiest clubs in England this summer having moved to secure the signatures of just three new arrivals, although the most recent of those captures may have a big part to play against Liverpool this weekend.

Who are we talking about?

Kevin Danso. The Saints managed to bring the centre-back in on deadline day having previously signed Che Adams and Moussa Djenepo, with the 20-year-old being the latest new arrival to the Premier League having signed a whopping 17 hours after the deadline had passed.

The man on loan from Augsburg has already achieved a lot in his short career. Danso was named as the 2017 ‘Rookie of the Year’ in the Bundesliga, whilst he has already amassed six caps for the Austria national team.

He was originally a striker in Reading’s youth ranks, as well as a midfielder in MK Dons’ academy where he played alongside Dele Alli.

Why must Danso be handed his debut?

The 6 foot 3 defender possesses raw pace. Frightening pace even for a man of his size.

Last season in the Bundesliga, Danso hit a top speed of 21 miles per hour and it is this particular component of his game that will be crucial against Liverpool.

The Reds will presumably have Mohamed Salah and former Saint Sadio Mane in their starting lineup, two players who are absolutely rapid and often cause chaos with their runs in behind.

We saw in the embarrassing opening day defeat to Burnley that even Ashley Barnes can run onto a long ball over the top and cause issues for Jannik Vestergaard, so imagine how the Dane will fare against Salah and Mane.

The tactics in football nowadays can make it a complicated game, to say the least. However, it can sometimes be boiled down to sheer athleticism and being able to compete physically with your opponents.

If Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson and Barnes can run riot and stick three goals past a backline of the fairly slow Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek, Danso’s raw pace must be utilised against Jurgen Klopp’s men.

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