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Over the years, Everton have had their fair share of fan-favourites who have given multiple generations of supporters memories to last a lifetime.

From Dixie Dean to Tim Cahill, the club have employed many talents who have gone on to achieve unthinkable things and set records that are yet to be beaten – including Dean's record of 60 league goals during the 1927/28 campaign.

However, in recent times, the club have struggled on and off the pitch, with many players failing to impress and unable to make the impact they would’ve desired.

FFP and PSR issues have restricted the club as to what they can spend, devoting more focus on selling players to balance the books, rather than allowing them to make a name for themselves at Goodison Park.

Despite the troubles since the start of the 21st century, the club was home to numerous stars who lit up Merseyside, with one player especially capturing the hearts of many during his brief stint at the club.

Financial Fair Play: What is PSR, how does it work and who's in trouble?

Leicester City have become the latest club charged with an alleged PSR breach, but what could happen next?

By
Stephan Georgiou

Apr 16, 2024

Andrei Kanchelskis’ career at Everton

Following a fallout with Sir Alex Ferguson during his time at Manchester United, attacker Andrei Kanchelskis vowed never to play for the club again, subsequently moving to Everton in the summer of 1995.

The Toffees forked out a club-record £5m for the Russian, placing high expectations on him to succeed on Merseyside, especially after finding the net on 14 occasions the season prior at Old Trafford.

However, Kanchelskis endured a tough start to life with his new side, failing to score in any of his first seven league matches, before a double against local rivals Liverpool opened the floodgates during the 1995/96 campaign.

He would find form towards the tail end of the season, including a run that saw him score eight times in just seven matches – including a hat-trick against Sheffield Wednesday, which saw him end the campaign with 15 goals, making him the club’s top scorer.

He would make just another 20 appearances in the Premier League during the following season, scoring four times before abruptly ending his time at Goodison.

Kanchelskis would leave for £8m to join Fiorentina in Serie A during January 1997 – a figure that saw the club make £3m profit on the Russian in just 18 months, an excellent return.

To this day, he remains a fan-favourite on Merseyside, with his £5m deal up there with one of the club’s best pieces of business in the Premier League era.

But, just how much would that deal be worth today? Well, lucky for you, we have the answer.

How much Andrei Kanchelskis would be worth in 2024

Nearly 30 years on from his big-money move, the game has transformed dramatically, with huge amounts of money available in today’s game.

However, the premise remains the same, players who know where the back of the net is cost an absolute fortune, with the record transfer in 2024 sitting at over £200m, following Neymar’s transfer to PSG back in 2017.

If that same move went through today, Kanchelskis would've cost the club a jaw-dropping £64m to get through the door, according to Totally Money's Transfer Index.

That would make the “sensational” former Everton forward, as dubbed by Sky Sports’ Teddy Draper, worth more current Toffees centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, who is valued at around £60m following strong interest from fellow Premier League side Manchester United.

Although the club have secured their Premier League status for another season, boss Sean Dyche would've loved to have a player like the Russian within his ranks.

His constant goalscoring threat would not doubt have added to the club’s measly tally of just 39 goals in the league this season, with the club desperately needing reinforcements this summer.

Everton hit gold selling PL icon who'd be worth more than Lukaku in 2024

He made the club a huge profit when he departed Goodison Park.

By
Ethan Lamb

May 15, 2024

Portugal and Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot opened up about his experience of playing alongside compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo.

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• Dalot finds spending time with Ronaldo an enriching experience
• Ferdinand joked Ronaldo is tight with his finances
• Dalot and Ronaldo played together at United

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  During a chat with Red Devils legend Rio Ferdinand on TNT Sports, the 25-year-old defender spoke highly of his national team captain with whom he shared a dressing room for one and a half seasons at Old Trafford and also in the Selecao side since 2021 where he has earned 24 international caps.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The Portuguese full-back further claimed that every time he leaves Ronaldo, he comes back richer. Ferdinand then jokingly asked if the Al-Nassr gives him money as he suggested that the 39-year-old is generally tight with his finances despite being vastly wealthy.

• WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

  Ferdinand asked about the similarities between Dalot and Ronaldo, to which the United player said, "I learned a lot from him and I know you are close to him as well. Every time I leave him, I feel more rich. I'm not talking about money, no he doesn't give me money. But personal-wise, you can leave any space with him and if he is really comfortable with you, you'll leave with something new that you learn."

  In between, the former England international quipped, "He's tight, he's tight, he's tight."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Dalot could be next seen in action on Wednesday as Erik ten Hag's side take on FC Twente in their Europa League 2024-25 opener. Ronaldo, on the other hand, will next face Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League on Friday with Al-Nassr.

Neymar is looking sharp as he prepares to end his 11-month injury nightmare, with the Brazilian picking out the top corner during Al-Hilal training.

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• Damaged knee ligaments in October 2023
• Has taken in a long road to recovery
• Stepping up fitness ahead of long-awaited return

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 32-year-old forward has been out of action since damaging knee ligaments during an appearance for his country in World Cup qualifying on October 18, 2023. A long road to recovery has been taken in by the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain superstar.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Neymar has been restricted to just five appearances and one goal for Al-Hilal, with fitness issues preventing him from figuring as prominently as he would have liked in the club’s 2023-24 Saudi Pro League title triumph. He is, however, fully committed to the cause.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Transfer talk over the summer was quickly played down – amid speculation of a reunion being enjoyed with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at MLS side Inter Miami – and Neymar will be honouring the final year of his contract in the Middle East.

Arsenal have been looking into signing a highly-rated potential replacement for midfielder Thomas Partey, and he could cost them just £34 million.

Arsenal open to selling Partey as Edu chases new Rice partner

The Ghanaian was a key player under Mikel Arteta last season, making 33 Premier League appearances, but he's been far more starved of chances this term.

Arsenal show club they're prepared to pay £52 million to sign their key man

It would be enough.

By
Emilio Galantini

May 10, 2024

Partey's been handed the starting nod by Arteta on just seven occasions in the league across 2023/2024, which is a far cry from his previous mainstay status. This is largely down injury problems and the form of Declan Rice, with Jorginho also coming into his own in recent months.

Arsenal officially rewarded the latter with a contract extension this week, keeping Jorginho at Hale End until 2025, but it is likely that Partey may well be gone far before then.

Indeed, it is believed Arteta is open to selling Partey this summer, with clubs in Saudi Arabia taking a firm interest and apparently considering a "lucrative" contract offer for the ex-Atletico Madrid star (GiveMeSport).

The 30-year-old's contract also expires next year, giving sporting director Edu precious little time to make any money back off the £45 million they paid to sign him from Atletico in 2020.

Now could be the time to sell Partey and respectfully wave goodbye to the midfielder after years of service. It is believed that Arsenal are also keen to sign a new central midfielder this summer, who could step into the African's shoes.

Reports this week have suggested Arsenal are holding talks with Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi. Indeed, claims from Spain have also surfaced recently that Edu is prepared to pay £52 million to sign Zubimendi – which would be enough given that fee is the full value of his release clause.

However, Arsenal have other positions they want to strengthen as well, namely in-between the sticks, defensively and further forward (Simon Collings). Money will have to be spent wisely when the window reopens, and a cheaper alternative to Zubimendi could be Borussia Monchengladbach ace Kouadio "Manu" Kone.

Arsenal looking into signing Manu Kone to replace Partey

Indeed, according to Stev Kay talking to KS1TV, relayed by TBR, Arsenal have been "looking into" signing Kone this summer, coming after reports from Sky Germany last year that he could cost as little as £34 million to prise away from Gladbach.

The 22-year-old has made 20 Bundesliga appearances this term, with WhoScored detailing his main strength as an excellent dribbler. Interestingly, former Premier League keeper Mark Schwarzer urged Liverpool to make a move for him last year.

"There is one player, for me, that stands out that plays for Borussia Monchengladbach and that’s Kone," said the Australian on Sky Sports' The Football Show (via HITC).

“He is only 21 years old. He came from Toulouse. He has only been at Gladbach for two years. But he has been a real big find for them and a phenomenal player in the Bundesliga. I think someone like him could do really well at Liverpool.”

Leeds United have it all to play for when they host Norwich City at Elland Road in the second leg of the Championship play-off semi-finals on Thursday night.

The Whites were held to a 0-0 draw by the Canaries in the first leg at Carrow Road on Sunday and will now compete for a place in the final at Wembley later this week.

Daniel Farke's side do not yet know what division they will be competing in for the 2024/25 campaign, yet there has already been transfer speculation ahead of the summer window.

Football Insider reported last month that the club would accept an offer in the region of £30m for Wilfried Gnonto, should a team come in with a firm offer in that ballpark.

Farke, however, may already have an heir to the Italian's place in the squad within the academy set-up, as young forward Josh McDonald has shown great potential this season.

Wilfried Gnonto's Championship form

The 20-year-old forward has enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular, campaign with Leeds in the Championship, after being part of the team that suffered relegation from the Premier League last term.

Gnonto has failed to nail down a place in the starting XI throughout the entire season, with 19 starts out of 36 league appearances, but has chipped in with double figures for goals and assists.

As you can see in the table above, the former Zurich star has been directly involved in ten goals, with eight strikes and two assists, in 36 outings.

That is an average of one goal or assist every 3.6 matches on average in the second tier, which shows that he has been a semi-regular contributor in the final third.

Why Josh McDonald could be Wilfried Gnonto's heir

Amid speculation over Gnonto's future at Elland Road, McDonald could eventually emerge as his replacement in Yorkshire if he continues to impress at academy level.

The talented whiz, who only turned 17 in March, has enjoyed a terrific season for the U18s at Thorp Arch, with a return of seven goals and seven assists in all competitions.

He has racked up seven goals and six assists in 22 U18 Premier League matches, an average of one goal contribution every 1.69 outings, and produced one assist in six FA Youth Cup clashes.

The impressive youngster, who can play on the left or the right flank, was described as a "lovely" player by journalist Connor McGilligan earlier this month, and his statistics back that up.

McDonald appears to be an excellent prospect for Leeds on paper with his fantastic contributions as both a scorer and a creator of goals for the U18 side.

Farke must brutally drop 1/10 Leeds player after play-off no-show

The Whites midfielder endured a rough afternoon at Carrow Road on Sunday.

By
Dan Emery

May 13, 2024

It is, of course, now down to him to prove that his form can translate over to the U21 team and then the first-team in the years to come to stake a claim for a place in the senior squad.

If he can continue to replicate his current level of scoring and creating, then he could eventually be a fantastic heir to Gnonto's position out wide, as a forward who can score and assist goals more frequently than the Italian.

David Beckham has shared what he told Tom Brady about the Wrexham and Birmingham chants during the 'Hollywood Derby' – and how the NFL legend reacted.

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• A-listers out in force for League One clash
• Beckham, Brady & McElhenney in attendance
• Birmingham beat Wrexham 3-1

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Brady played in hundreds of NFL games during his distinguished career but he won't have experienced an atmosphere quite like the one delivered by the Birmingham and Wrexham supporters on Monday evening. Nearly 28,000 fans were inside a jampacked St Andrew's and the stadium was rocking all night as the hosts secured a huge 3-1 win.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The A-listers were there, too. Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney flew straight from the Emmys for the match, while Birmingham investor Brady sat next to David Beckham. Given the importance of the occasion, with both teams vying for promotion to the Championship this season, both sets of fans were in full voice. Wrexham fans called Birmingham "a sh*t Aston Villa" and asked Brady "who the f*cking hell are you?" as he walked past, while Birmingham supporters took aim at James McCLean – who certainly gave it back. Brady required a little bit of help from Beckham to understand what was being said.

• WHAT BECKHAM SAID

  "I've not seen an atmosphere like that for a long time, where Birmingham fans and Wrexham fans were incredible," Beckham said on CBS Sports Golazo. "Tom Brady was sat next to me and he was like, 'the atmosphere's amazing. It really is amazing,' he said. But he said, 'what are they singing?' And I was like, 'You wanna know exactly what they're singing about your team and about what your team's singing about Wrexham?' And he said, 'yeah, tell me'. So I told him and he found it very funny."

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Brady later thanked Beckham for teaching him how to sing at a football match in a humorous Instagram post, which he wrote in response to Birmingham insisting the Inter Miami co-owner is welcome to "pop in again" to St Andrew's anytime.

Wolves have had a slow start to the summer transfer window, with Bruno Lage yet to add to his squad from the 2021/22 season.

Hwang Hee-Chan coming in on a permanent basis, after his loan spell at the Molineux last term, is the only first-team signing that the club have completed so far.

It was recently reported that they are looking to bolster their attack with the signing of AS Monaco centre-forward Wissam Ben Yedder.

They are said to be plotting a bid to sign the France international before the end of the transfer window, although it remains to be seen how much it would cost to complete a deal. He joined the Ligue 1 side in a €40m (£34m) move from Sevilla in 2019 and still has two years left to run on his contract.

Wolves must now do whatever it takes to snap up the 31-year-old, as he has the quality to be Lage’s own Robert Lewandowski.

FBRef lists the Bayern Munich superstar as one of the most similar players to Ben Yedder in Europe’s top five leagues over the last 365 days.

Lewandowski scored 35 goals in 34 Bundesliga matches (from 32.6 XG) and the Monaco marksman plundered 25 goals in 37 Ligue 1 outings (from 17.3 XG).

Whilst the Frenchman did not score at the same rate as the Poland international, his finishing was seemingly at a higher level than the Bayern gem, as he outperformed his XG by a greater margin.

Journalist Zach Lowy dubbed him “underrated”, and his statistics in the 2021/22 campaign suggest that he is deserving of plenty of praise…

This sublime showing came off the back of him scoring 20 goals and setting up another seven in 32 starts the previous campaign, proving that he is not a one-season wonder.

Over the course of his career, he has scored 200 goals in 376 games as a striker, playing for Toulouse, Sevilla and Monaco. Meanwhile, Lewandowski has scored 446 goals in 533 matches as a number nine throughout his club career.

Both players are clinical, consistent goalscorers – albeit that the Bayern star has done it over a longer run of matches – and Wolves would benefit from having a player of Ben Yedder’s quality in their team.

After scoring just 38 goals in as many Premier League games last term, Lage will surely want a reliable number nine – something like Lewandowski – at the top of the pitch, and the statistics suggest that the Monaco sharp-shooter is the man for the job.

AND in other news, Wolves could land their own De Jong as Lage plots bid for “aggressive” £180k-p/w ace…

The summer transfer window is in full swing and Tottenham have been the pacesetters in the Premier League with three incomings wrapped up already.

Yves Bissouma, Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic have all joined Spurs ahead of the 2022/23 campaign as Fabio Paratici has seemingly placed importance on getting transfers done quickly.

The club’s business may not be done yet, though, as they are still being linked with multiple players in multiple positions.

CalcioMercatoWeb recently reported that Inter’s Hakan Calhanoglu is a player on the head coach’s radar as the midfielder contemplates an exit from the San Siro.

The Turkish international could be available for a fee in the region of €30m (£26m) and the report claims that Davinson Sanchez and Gio Lo Celso are options for a possible swap deal between the two teams.

Tottenham’s own Kevin de Bruyne

Conte can find his own version of Manchester City’s Belgian talisman by securing a deal to sign Calhanoglu from Inter this summer.

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In the Premier League last season, de Bruyne – who was named the division’s Player of the Season – produced 15 goals and eight assists for Pep Guardiola’s side. This came after he managed six goals and 12 assists in 25 games the previous campaign.

He is a proven, top-end, performer at this level who can score and assist goals regularly from a central midfield position.

Calhanoglu, meanwhile, is in the same bracket in the Serie A. In 2021/22, the 28-year-old magician scored seven goals and provided 12 assists – creating 2.6 chances per game and 13 ‘big chances’ in total.

His former manager Stefano Pioli, who once lauded him as “generous and exceptional” previously hailed the gem, saying:

“Calhanoglu is a leader of this team. He’s a leader on the pitch, he’s an intelligent player. Lately, we have faced teams that have closed the spaces and therefore, sometimes, I have had to lower him even though I want to keep him high.

“He knows how to marry perfectly with the game of his teammates. I have great respect for him and with intelligent players, you can play great games. He has the qualities to have some more goals.”

These quotes suggest that he is the type of player to make the team tick with his intelligence on the pitch, which has translated into his excellent numbers in the final third.

FBRef list him and de Bruyne as similar players and the statistics back that up as both of them are sublime midfielders who can score and assist at will whilst being the heartbeat of their respective teams.

Therefore, Conte can land his own version of the City superstar, which is why Spurs must sign Calhanoglu from Inter before the end of the window.

AND in other news, Contact made: Spurs eyeing “extraordinary” £80m “tank”, Conte can now forget Bastoni…

Leeds United ‘have an interest’ in signing Belgian youngster Romeo Lavia in the summer transfer window, according to reliable journalist Mike McGrath.

The Lowdown: Lavia an emerging talent

The 18-year-old is currently on Manchester City’s books, having joined the reigning Premier League champions from Anderlecht back in 2020.

Lavia has won ten caps for Belgium’s Under-18s side, as well as one for the Under-21s, catching the eye with his performances in midfield with 60 appearances across the various levels at City.

With the Belgian unlikely to make a quick breakthrough at a club packed with world class superstars though – his current deal expires in 2024 – it could be that he moves on to pastures new this summer, in order to continue his development.

The Latest: Leeds keen on move

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, McGrath confirmed that Leeds are interested in acquiring Lavia’s signature:

“LUFC have an interest in Belgium U21 midfielder Romeo Lavia, who was part of the MCFC 1st team squad last season, as they look to strengthen that area of squad for Jesse Marsch next season”

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The Verdict: One for the future

While Lavia wouldn’t arrive as an immediate key player at Leeds – he is yet to make a single Premier League appearance – he would come in as an exciting one for the future – Sam Lee of The Athletic even says there are some within the Etihad who believe he could be a first-team regular there.

Jesse Marsch could initially deploy the ‘highly rated’ (Lee) talent in the Under-23s, allowing him regular football, before eventually blooding him as a regular part of his squad.

Planning for the long-term future is vital at Elland Road, ensuring the club continues to build for many years to come and doesn’t end up fighting relegation again, and players of Lavia’s quality are key to that happening.

In other news, Victor Orta has stepped up his chase for one Leeds signing. Find out who it is here.

One of the many ways to describe Liverpool’s Premier League history of goalkeepers wearing the number one shirt is the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good, or in this case, world class, includes Alisson Becker.

Meanwhile, the bad looks at Mike Hooper and Diego Cavalieri, before we get to the ugly of Loris Karius and Brad Jones. The fact is, Liverpool struggled to find a consistent, game-changing number one of Alisson’s level until the Brazilian arrived at Anfield in 2018.

It’s no coincidence that since Alisson has arrived from AS Roma, Liverpool have had most of their success in the Premier League. He has been one of many difference-makers. By the time he calls it a day on Merseyside, the number one may go down as exactly that in Liverpool history.

With that said, we wanted to see where the current shot-stopper ranked for clean sheets amongst previous number one wearers for Liverpool in the Premier League. You can see what we found out below, as revealed by TransferMark.

David James – 71 clean sheets

Alisson Becker – 45 clean sheets

Jerzy Dudek – 34 clean sheets

Sander Westerveld – 28 clean sheets

Loris Karius – 13 clean sheets

Brad Jones – 3 clean sheets

Mike Hooper – 2 clean sheets

Diego Cavalieri – 0 clean sheets

Sitting at the top currently is David James on 71 clean sheets. The Englishman was at Liverpool for seven years, accumulating the impressive number of goal-less games in the process. It must be said, however, with Alisson sitting on 45 in just three seasons wearing the number one shirt, James’ record is unlikely to stand for very long.

It’s difficult to look back in Liverpool’s history of number ones in the Premier League and pick out any other goalkeeper that is anywhere near the level of Alisson – particularly when looking at those just before him.

As it turned out, Karius was the final straw between Liverpool settling for average and aiming for world class. That dreadful night in Kyiv, which saw the German make two errors as Liverpool lost the 2017/18 Champions League final 3-1 against Real Madrid, resulted in Alisson’s arrival.

A season later, with Karius frozen out and Alisson in between the sticks, Jurgen Klopp’s side claimed redemption by winning the 18/19 Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur. A season later, the same side lifted the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history.

Some turnaround and a testament to the theory that goalkeeper is one of the most important positions on the pitch.