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Everton are still interested in signing Udinese centre-back Rodrigo Becao after monitoring him in the summer, according to a new transfer update.

The Lowdown: Summer interest in Becao

The 26-year-old is impressing greatly for the Serie A side, starting nine league matches this season and winning an average of 2.1 aerial duels per game.

Becao was linked with a move to Everton during the summer transfer window but ended up staying at Udinese, with James Tarkowski and Conor Coady brought in instead.

It looks as though their interest hasn’t gone away, however, following a fresh claim.

The Latest: Everton still keen on move

According to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), ‘Everton’s courtship had been the most insistent’ during the summer when it came to potentially signing Becao.

It is also stated that his ‘admirers have increased in Italy and abroad’, given the level of performances so far in 2022/23, with an exit from Udinese looking on the cards.

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The Verdict: Strong squad option

Becao could be a great signing by Everton considering he is 26 years of age and likely to be coming into the most productive and consistent years of his career.

He was once described as ‘absolutely incredible’ by Russian football expert David Sansun, during his time with CSKA Moscow, which further highlights his quality.

Becao’s current deal expires in 2024, meaning Udinese could be willing to sell him at the end of this season if they intend to cash in – and we feel the Toffees would be foolish not to at least try snapping him up.

Tarkowski and Coady both turn 30 in the coming months, so they can’t be relied upon forever, and the Brazilian could be the long-term hero at the heart of Everton’s defence.

Nottingham Forest are set to reignite their interest in Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi in January, according to a new transfer update.

The Lowdown: Forest linked with summer move

The Reds famously made over 20 signings during the summer transfer window, with the squad completely rebuilt after returning to the Premier League.

One player who was linked with a move to Forest but didn’t make the move was Malinovskyi, who is considered a real star quality target who could strengthen the midfield significantly.

The 29-year-old has tons of pedigree in the Italian top flight and on European and international stages, but stayed put at Atalanta in the summer, making 11 appearances in the Serie A so far this season.

The Latest: Forest ‘ready’

According to Calciomercato [via Sport Witness], Evangelos Marinakis is ‘ready to return’ for the signing of Malinovskyi in January, with West Ham also similarly interested.

The Ukrainian’s current Atalanta deal expires at the end of this season, meaning the next window will be the last chance to receive a fee for him.

The Verdict: Bargain?

This could be an ideal transfer for Forest midway through the campaign, injecting extra quality in the midfield and potentially getting Malinovskyi on the cheap due to his contract situation.

At 29, he has a huge amount of experience in the game that could be invaluable in a possible relegation battle, having won 51 caps for Ukraine and made 111 Serie A appearances – he has also been hailed as ‘extraordinary’ by current manager Gian Piero Gasperini.

Malinovskyi could come straight in as a key starter for Steve Cooper but also allow the manager to rotate even more, keeping legs fresh before the business end of the season.

With Ralph Hasenhuttl being handed his marching orders, Southampton have instantly set about securing his replacement.

Looking to waste no time, within just a few hours of the announcement that he was gone they already seemed to have a move for Luton Town boss Nathan Jones lined up.

With John Percy noting the “advanced talks”, he went on to state that it is: “Uncertain at this stage whether Jones takes charge for final time at Stoke on Tuesday night but this is moving quickly”.

With that in mind, it seems that the 49-year-old can already start formulating his team for the Saints’ upcoming fixtures.

One man who certainly deserves a recall is Romeo Lavia, who seems ready to return following his injury absence.

Particularly with his replacement Ainsley Maitland-Niles having underperformed with his chance in the starting side.

This is outlined in his 6.72 average SofaScore rating, of which the 18-year-old had outperformed with his 6.92 in just five games.

A workmanlike presence beside James Ward-Prowse, the teenage sensation had starred since his move from Manchester City in the summer.

The Belgian was averaging 1.8 interceptions, 1.3 tackles per game, and had just secured his first Premier League goal with a scorching effort against Chelsea.

Meanwhile, the on-loan man from Arsenal had just 0.5 interceptions per game as a slightly more advanced midfielder, yet still has recorded no goal contributions.

He was left to rue a shoddy display against Newcastle on Sunday, with Maitland-Niles’ lacklustre defending the reason for Miguel Almiron’s opener while he also let Joe Willock in behind for their final goal.

The improvement when Lavia features is a testament to his ability at such a young age, outlined in the fact that they had won two of their first five games of which he featured, and yet have only won once in the nine matches following where he was absent.

Even Fabrizio Romano took note of his ability when announcing the nearly completed transfer, as he labelled the £38k-per-week starlet on Twitter a “top talent”.

Jones will enter St Mary’s with a relatively clean slate but will be aware of the club’s current situation and what must be done to drag them out of the relegation zone. They are just three points off 12th-placed Leeds United.

Unleashing this youngster once again, who earned vital minutes off their bench in their recent collapse against Newcastle United, could be the key to giving the incoming manager the best possible start before the World Cup break commences.

Wolves sealed their spot in the Carabao Cup fourth round as they earned a 1-0 win over fellow Premier League side Leeds United at Molineux.

Steve Davis named a much-changed team for the visit of Jesse Marsch’s men and despite huge amounts of pressure from the visitors, which included seven shots on target, Boubacar Traore’s late goal proved enough for the Old Gold to progress.

The Mali international, who joined Wolves on loan from Metz during the summer, has been a regular of late and did his chances of another start against Arsenal at the weekend no harm, as he came off the bench at Molineux to smash in a superb goal.

However, while he proved to be the match-winner, there was arguably another better performer in Wolves’ defence, with Rayan Ait-Nouri staking his claim to return to the side, having been dropped in favour of youngster Hugo Bueno in recent fixtures.

As per SofaScore, the Frenchman would earn a superb 8.1/10 for his performance, which was only bettered by Matija Sarkic in the Wolves goal.

During the 90 minutes, the 21-year-old full-back would contribute a remarkable 11 tackles, three interceptions and two clearances, with no other player coming close to his number of tackles.

For context, the left-back has averaged 1.8 tackles, 0.3 interceptions and 1.5 clearances per game in the Premier League so far this season, which emphasises just how impressive he was on Wednesday night.

Ait-Nouri completely dominated Leeds’ right-winger Jack Harrison, as the Englishman earned a shocking 6/10 rating for his display, completing just two out of 11 attempted dribbles and losing 14/23 ground duels, whereas Wolves’ young defender would win 14/23.

It was a real battle between the two players but Wolves’ young defender clearly came out on top, and that was vital in Wolves earning a morale-boosting win and clean sheet at Molineux.

He also contributed from an attacking perspective, notching three key passes, one shot on target and four successful long balls, which again is far better than his seasonal average of 0.6 key passes, 0.7 shots and 0.6 long balls per game in the top flight.

Bruno Lage dubbed Ait-Nouri “fantastic” during his time at the club and he certainly lived up to that praise on Wednesday night, with a return to the Premier League starting XI surely on the cards after such a dominant display.

In sensational fashion, West Bromwich Albion seem to have well and truly left the misery of the Steve Bruce era behind.

Cruising to a 2-0 victory over Stoke City at The Hawthorns, Carlos Corberan has masterminded the most sensational of turnarounds which sees them creep out of the relegation zone at last.

It also marked their third successive victory, which was particularly impressive given how before this run they had not even won twice on the run, let alone three times.

Although they only had 49% of the ball, despite normally dominating, they still were fluid in their attacks and clinical when they had to be.

Their 16 total shots outline this, whilst another clean sheet will please the Spaniard more than anything.

Of the defence, Kyle Bartley once again announced himself as the hero, however, his goalscoring exploits have somewhat allowed the likes of Jed Wallace and Matt Phillips’ lack of cutting edge to go unnoticed.

The latter was particularly poor today, although the former did record the worst SofaScore rating of anyone on the pitch.

With just 34 touches all game, the invisible display of Phillips might have been what led to this lack of possession for the Baggies. He did not offer to receive the ball, and without possession seldom defended well enough to win it back.

This is exacerbated through his zero clearances, blocks, interceptions or tackles, whilst he was also dribbled past once too, via SofaScore.

When he did have the ball, the 31-year-old was especially wasteful, hence why he was dragged off with ten minutes to go.

Having lost possession eight times, this meant that for every 4.2 of the 34 touches he enjoyed on Saturday, he would have the ball stolen by the opposition.

This lack of control, therefore, trickled through into his lack of creativity, where he recorded zero key passes and managed no shots on or off target. With age one can expect the physical aspects of the game to start to desert a player, but today marked a lack of quality and effort unexpected from a man of his professionalism.

Despite recording an impressive result, this performance will worry Corberan and may make him think twice about relying on this stalwart to occupy the wing.

With quality such as Grady Diangana to replace him too, this display could, and likely should, have lost him his space in the Spaniard’s starting side.

Everton manager Frank Lampard is the ‘favourite to be next sacked’ after a disappointing start to the Premier League season, according to pundit John Wenham.

The Lowdown: Lampard’s fate revealed

The Toffees find themselves one point above the relegation zone after securing just three wins from their opening 15 games, with the 44-year-old boss coming under increased pressure.

Despite the pressure though, club chiefs have decided not to relieve him of his duties and have reiterated that he will be backed upon the return of domestic action in a bid to turn form around at Goodison Park.

The Latest: Wenham’s comments

Speaking to Football Insider, Wenham claimed that Everton have to go out and spend wisely in January if they want any chance of pulling away from the bottom three. He said:

“Losing twice to Bournemouth in three days, I really feel for those fans.

“I genuinely do. I know the fans are getting grief for the incident at full time and whatever happened with Iwobi but to go down to Bournemouth twice in four days and lose 7-1, once to the Bournemouth reserves, it’s so disappointing.

“Lampard is under immense pressure and he is probably the favourite to be next sacked in the Premier League.

“You can’t oversee a defeat like that. This season they don’t have Richarlison to pull up his feet and get 10 goals between January and the end of the season like he did last year.

“They don’t have that option. Neal Maupay is nowhere near the level.

“They have to do some clever stuff in the January transfer window or they are going to be in big, big trouble.”

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The Verdict: Wrong decision

The Toffees might think that they are making the right decision by putting their faith in Lampard, but they need to get rid of him now before the season becomes unsalvageable.

The Romford-born coach has lost 19 of his 38 games in charge on Merseyside and is averaging just 1.13 points per match (Transfermarkt).

Everton have the ideal chance to pick up a much-needed three points in their first game back after the break against bottom-of-the-table Wolves, but any other outcome could put the final nail in the coffin.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is said to be “obsessed by Newcastle United” in a big-behind scenes update made by “sources” close to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Seventh season syndrome

In what is Klopp’s seventh season in charge of Liverpool, an old pattern is beginning to emerge amidst the Reds’ stuttering start to the season.

In his first role as a manager at Mainz, the German boss asserted them as a solid Bundesliga outfit with the side finishing as high as 11th in their first season after promotion.

But, it was in his penultimate season that his side suffered relegation, with Klopp failing to earn promotion back to Germany’s promised land, finishing fourth. He resigned at the end of this season.

With Borussia Dortmund, after achieving back-t0-back Bundesliga success with the side and narrowly losing out to Bayern Munich in the first ever all-German Champions League final just a year later, Klopp struggled to push the side on, with his seventh season seeing BVB finish 25 points behind Bayern, in what was a drastically poor showing of their title defence.

Liverpool fans may well be seeing the curse reside once more in what has been a hit and miss season so far.

The Latest: Klopp is “obsessed”

According to a report from Football Insider, “sources” close to the outlet understand that Klopp is “obsessed by Newcastle United”, with the Liverpool boss reportedly asking people about the Magpies’ plans and what they will do next.

The level of interest shown by the German boss has led to whispers that Klopp wants the job when his time at Liverpool comes to an end.

As per the same piece, this has been fuelled further by the 55-year-old’s admission that no other teams could compete with the financial might of Manchester City, Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain, with all three sides owned by Gulf states.

The Verdict: Big behind-scenes whispers

The claims surrounding Klopp’s alleged interest in Newcastle is ground-breaking in many ways.

If Newcastle are to replicate the model that Manchester City put in place, they will get the most out of Eddie Howe’s services, before ‘upgrading’ to a manager who has a serial-winning history.

£307k-per-week managerial great, Klopp, could well serve as that upgrade, though that is dependent on Howe’s progress over the next couple of seasons.

Either way, these are big behind-scenes whispers that have emerged.

A claim has emerged on reported Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Sofyan Amrabat ahead of the upcoming January window…

What’s the talk?

Journalist Ed Aarons has suggested that the central midfielder, who is currently competing at the World Cup in Qatar for Morocco, would be suited to Antonio Conte’s formation.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said:

“I think, potentially, he’s a little bit what they’ve already got in a way.

“I think a lot of Tottenham fans want them to try and get a more creative midfielder, but in that system, it’s hard to have someone like that, you need kind of two pivots.

“But he’s really good at that, he’s got loads of experience as well. I think I remember seeing him much earlier in his career at a youth tournament, and it seems like he’s been around for ages.

“Obviously, his older brother Nordin Amrabat was at Watford for a bit as well, but he’s very important for Morocco with the tempo that they try to play under the new manager.”

Dream signing

Amrabat could, therefore, be a dream signing for Conte during the January transfer window as he would be able to slot in as one of the midfielders in the double pivot, whether that be alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Yves Bissouma, or Rodrigo Bentancur.

Italian publication La Repubblica (via Viola News) recently claimed that Spurs are interested in snapping up the Morocco international ahead of the second half of the campaign and the Tottenham head coach could love him as an option in the middle of the park.

Amrabat’s recent performances for his country at the World Cup have offered a glimpse of what he is capable of providing in midfield at the top level.

Football writer Adepoju Tobi Samuel claimed that the gem “does not get enough credit” and hailed the 26-year-old as Morocco’s best player in the tournament, whilst reporter Alvaro Canibe described him as a “tiger”.

He averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.90 across his side’s three group stage matches as they topped their table, beating Belgium and Canada, whilst also drawing with Croatia.

In those games, the 26-year-old completed 89% of his attempted passes and made six tackles, five interceptions, and five clearances for his team, as per Sofascore.

These statistics show that he has the ability to perform to an impressive standard whilst playing at the pinnacle of international football, with the underrated enforcer providing steel in front of the defence with his excellent defensive contributions.

Oliver Skipp (6.67) and Bissouma (6.64) have struggled to make an impact in the Premier League, with their average ratings, this season and Amrabat’s form at the World Cup indicates that he would be a major upgrade on both of them.

Therefore, the Fiorentina gem could be a dream signing for Conte as he would improve the depth of the squad whilst perfectly suiting the double pivot in midfield that the Italian coach likes to deploy.

Wolves are reportedly still interested in signing Mariano Diaz and the Real Madrid man could be a better option for Julen Lopetegui than fellow target Matheus Cunha.

According to Calcio Mercato, Wolves are ‘still in the competition’ to sign the 29-year-old striker and could look to bring him to Molineux on a free transfer, as his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu is set to expire at the end of the current campaign.

The Old Gold will be free to negotiate with Diaz from January but would have to wait until the summer to officially sign him in if they wanted him on a free transfer. However, given his lack of playing time with the La Liga giants, you feel that a deal could be done to sign him earlier.

The Dominican Republic international has spent much of his career waiting in the wings at Real Madrid, as he has been unsurprisingly overlooked when in competition with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale for a starting spot in Madrid’s attack.

He did show his class in a brief spell at Lyon however, which encouraged Madrid to re-sign him in 2018 after he managed 20 goals and six assists for the French side in the 2017/18 campaign.

Lyon president, Jean-Michel Aulas described the forward as “high-level” and Diaz will perhaps be looking for one last chance to showcase his obvious ability in the Premier League.

That form in front of goal, combined with his prolific spells with Real Madrid Castilla where he managed 50 goals in 89 appearances, suggests that he could be a preferable option to Cunha in January for Lopetegui.

The Atletico Madrid man has also been heavily linked with a switch to Molineux in recent weeks but has never really lived up to his potential in spells with RB Leipzig and Atletico, hitting just 16 goals in a combined 106 appearances for those two sides.

He would also likely cost far more than Diaz, given that Transfermarkt currently values him at €20m (£17.2m), which could be an expensive mistake if he fails to keep Wolves up.

Therefore, Lopetegui should forget about the Brazilian and instead look to bring Diaz to Molineux next month.

Tottenham Hotspur have made a move to bring Franck Kessié to the Premier League in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Spanish publication Sport (via Sport Witness), who claim that Fabio Paratici has now made contact with Barcelona regarding a move for the central midfielder, with Spurs believed to be keen on a loan deal that would include an option to buy the 25-year-old permanently at the end of the current campaign.

However, the report goes on to state that Tottenham are not alone in their interest in the Ivory Coast international, with Italian duo Inter Milan and Napoli said to have made contact with the midfielder’s agent about the possibility of a move, however, Sport suggest that it is Tottenham who are the ‘favourite’ to go on and complete a deal in January.

“Devastating”

While it is true that, following his summer move from AC Milan, Kessié has somewhat struggled to break into Xavi’s starting XI at the Camp Nou – starting just two LaLiga fixtures so far this season – considering just how impressive the 25-year-old was during his time at the San Siro, it is not difficult to understand why Paratici would be keen on a move for the midfielder this winter.

Indeed, over his 37 Serie A appearances back in 2020/21, the £51.5m-rated talent was in devastating form for the Rossoneri, scoring 13 goals, registering four assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.3 shots, making 0.8 key passes and completing 1.2 dribbles – at a success rate of 80% – per game.

The Ivorian also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.4 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, 1.3 clearances and winning 5.2 duels – at a success rate of 53% – per match, as well as playing an average of 2.8 long balls, 2.0 chipped passes and completing a total of 47.9 passes – at a success rate of 89% – per game.

These returns saw the player who Antonio Cassano dubbed “devastating” average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.18, not only ranking him as Stefano Pioli’s third-best performer in the league but also as the joint 26th-best player in the Italian top flight as a whole that year.

It was a similar story over Kessié’s 31 league outings in Milan’s title-winning campaign last season, with the £150k-per-week engine bagging six goals and creating two big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.1 shots, making 0.9 key passes and completing 1.1 dribbles – at a success rate of 73% – per game.

The 60-cap international also made an average of 1.3 tackles, 0.7 interceptions, 0.7 clearances and won 4.4 duels – at a success rate of 55% – per match, as well as playing an average of 1.9 long balls, 1.2 chipped passes and completing a total of 37.6 passes – at a success rate of 88% – per fixture.

These metrics saw the 25-year-old who Ryan Haber labelled “absolutely unreal” average an extremely impressive Sofascore match rating of 7.07, ranking him as Milan’s ninth-best performer in Serie A last time out – playing a key role in his side’s title win.

As such, with Kessié’s clearly being something of a complete option in the middle of the park, it is no wonder why Antonio Conte would be keen on a deal to bring the Ivorian to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this winter, as the “beast” – in the words of Sacha Pisani – very much looks to be the type of player who could be devastating under the 53-year-old Italian.