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Matt Woosnam has revealed Everton are targeting squad players rather than first-team regulars to ensure they do not break Financial Fair Play guidelines.

Andros Townsend became Rafa Benitez’s first signing since taking over as the Toffees’ boss as the winger joined following the expiry of his Crystal Palace contract earlier this week.

The former Newcastle United man’s arrival was quickly followed by Asmir Begovic making the switch from Championship side Bournemouth, with the goalkeeper providing competition for England international Jordan Pickford by penning an initial one-year deal.

Ex-Leicester City winger Demarai Gray has also sealed his return to England, following a six-month spell with Bayer Leverkusen, by completing a £1.7million transfer to Goodison Park.

The Toffees have freed up some funds by not offering Joshua King, Theo Walcott, Muhamed Besic and Yannick Bolasie contract renewals.

Woosnam, of The Athletic, believes Everton are having to be shrewd in the transfer market to make sure they do not break regulations.

He exclusively told Football FanCast: “When you look at the signings they’re making, they’re very much squad players because they’re probably quite close to the brink of Financial Fair Play and the wage cap.

“Because of that, they’re looking at players who can still contribute at that level but you wouldn’t necessarily want to play them every week and they probably haven’t got the legs or ability to play every week in the Premier League anymore.”

An update has emerged on Rangers centre-back Nikola Katic, regarding Spezia’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to Croatian News, as relayed by Glasgow Live, Serie A side Spezia are showing an interest in taking Rangers centre-back Nikola Katic on a season-long loan.

The defender has been out for a year with a cruciate ligament injury and Spezia are hoping that they will be able to swoop in to secure a deal for his services upon his recovery.

Time to go

It’s time for Katic to leave… for now. Rangers must ruthlessly axe him from the squad and send him out on loan to Spezia for a year to aid his rehabilitation.

The Croatian played zero minutes throughout the 2020/21 campaign because of his knee injury and it will be a tough ask to break back into Steven Gerrard’s side in the coming weeks/months.

Leon Balogun, Filip Helander and Connor Goldson all averaged superb WhoScored ratings of 7.06 or higher in the Scottish Premiership last season. Goldson managed a particularly impressive score of 7.38 across 33 starts and this highlights the level of competition in the centre-back position within Rangers’ squad, which is why Katic needs to leave on loan.

12 months in Italy playing regular football at the top level could allow him to get back in shape and return to form after such a long period without competitive minutes under his belt.

He could then return to Ibrox next summer and be ready to attack the Scottish Premiership and win his place back in the side, which he is capable of doing given the manager’s previous praise of his work.

Back in 2019, Gerrard lauded the defender and labelled him as a winner and a warrior at the back for Rangers. He said:

“The kid is a winner and a warrior. We know what he gives. Anyone his age, after giving the penalty away, might have gone into their shell. It might have affected their performance.

“But if you knock Niko Katic down, he’s gonna get back up and come again. That’s the man, that’s the player.”

This is why sending the £9k-per-week beast is the right call for Rangers to make. They must axe him from the team and give him a season to go away and prove that he is over his injury issues and that he can return next year and make a real impact in Scotland.

AND in other news, “It’s a huge opportunity” – Exclusive: Ball urges Rangers to strike deal to sign 11-assist star…

Juan Mata’s decision to sign a new contract at Manchester United was surprising, says former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer.

The club confirmed at the start of the month that the 33-year-old attacking midfielder has agreed a new one-year deal, keeping him at Old Trafford until June 2022.

Mata found himself on the fringes last season, starting just six Premier League games under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

And with Jadon Sancho, another attacker, swapping Borussia Dortmund for the Red Devils, it is hard to imagine Mata’s fortunes improving.

Speaking exclusively to TT about the Spaniard’s new contract, Palmer said:

“It surprised me that one, Juan Mata signing a new contract. Coming to the latter years of his career, surely he’ll be wanting to play football?

“He played very, very little football last season and I never get that. If you know you’re not going to be playing regularly, why would you stay at a football club?”

Mata is not the only United player who could be facing more competition this upcoming season.

The likes of Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly could also be in for a real battle should the club land Real Madrid central defender Raphael Varane, who they are currently chasing, as Solskjaer looks to build a title-winning squad.

The England women’s cricket team will face the India women’s team in a four day test match at the County Ground, Taunton starting this morning at 11am

Richard Walsh14-Aug-2002The England women’s cricket team will face the India women’s team in a four day test match at the County Ground, Taunton starting this morning at 11am.The teams, ranked fourth and third in the world respectively have a tradition for playing close and competitive Test matches and England will be full of confidence having defeated India in the recent one-day international series which saw England contest the final with World Champions, New Zealand.England Captain, Clare Connor, said: “We’re looking forward to the Test series, especially as we had to abandon the first Test at Shenley due to rain, so this becomes a one-off decider”.Local girl Laura Harper, who lives in Cornwall and plays for Somerset has been named in the squad. At 16, she became the youngest girl to represent England whilst playing at Taunton against South Africa in 2000.Laura has since retained her place and the 18-year-old spinner is looking forward to returning to home ground: “It’s fantastic to be playing at such a beautiful ground, and for once, my friends and family don’t have to drive for hours to see me play especially as the final stages of the one-day triangular tournament were in Durham!”Entry to the match is £3 per day, with youngsters up to the age of sixteen and Somerset CCC members gaining free entry.Ahead of the big match at Taunton on Tuesday the County Ground was a very busy place to be.Whilst head groundsman Phil Frost and his team were putting the finishing touches to the wicket, the England squad were being put through their paces in the nets this morning, and then after lunch it was the turn of their Indian counterparts.Somerset are expecting good crowds on each day for this high profile match, and with the chance to partake in some free coaching a lot of girls are expected to come along to swell the numbers.

Leeds United winger Raphinha won’t be a Liverpool player next season, Goal’s Neil Jones says. 

Any previous ‘suggestions’ that the Brazilian will make the move to Anfield are said to be wide of the mark.

Raphinha only joined Leeds last year in a £17million switch from Ligue 1 outfit Rennes.

How did Raphinha perform last season?

He enjoyed an impressive debut campaign, directly contributing to 15 goals (six goals, nine assists) in 26 starts.

His average of 2.1 chances created per 90 minutes was the seventh-best in the division.

Raphinha has said he isn’t ‘even thinking about leaving’ but admitted it was ‘difficult to define’ how he felt when he heard ‘speculation about giant teams like Liverpool and Manchester United’.

The Reds may be in the market for a new attacker this summer to boost their depth and to limit the damage of losing Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to AFCON duty at the turn of the year.

Fan feed LFC Transfer Room relayed Jones’ claim, and here’s what supporters made of it.

Liverpool fans react as Raphinha hopes spurned

“Pain”

Credit: @Nehanc6

“Seems to be too expensive atm”

Credit: @ZKarimNBK

“I try not to get dragged into rumours but I truly believed we were gonna sign him and I’ll be heartbroken if we don’t”

Credit: @mb97__

“Still don’t understand why people thought leeds would sell tbh”

Credit: @y2_26

“Coz they want to keep Origi…”

Credit: @biGDhee08

“Ok. #Mbappe2021 then”

Credit: @Forlarin_10

In other news, fans were left raging by another transfer story. 

BAT Sports begin their ECB Southern Electric Premier 1 championship defence with a full-strength line up at Liphook & Ripsley

Mike Vimpany03-May-2002BAT Sports begin their ECB Southern Electric Premier 1 championship defence with a full-strength line up at Liphook & Ripsley.New South Wales University left-hander Michael Watson makes his BAT debut, alongside Andover recruit Kirk Stewart.Even though Luke Ronchi is in their side, Bashley (Rydal) have injury worries on the eve of their visit to Calmore Sports at Loperwood Park.Last year’s leading 35-wicket taker Matt King is ruled out for several weeks with a chest ligament injury, as is Wiltshire’s Kevin Nash, who has recurring hamstring problems."I’ve been playing football all winter without a problem, but just as the cricket started, so it flared up again," Nash explained.To add to skipper Neil Taylor’s problems, veteran seamer John Whiting is also suffering from hamstring trouble.”The worrying aspect is that both Kevin and John still haven’t shaken off the injuries that caused them problems last season,” moaned Taylor.Calmore Sports, who have lost key all-rounder Paul Draper to South Wilts, give a debut to promising Free State medium-pace bowler Christoff Bothma, who was in the South African Academy last year.Last season’s leading SPL runscorer Russell Rowe is optimistic that South Wilts can achieve a top threefinish this time.But the Bemerton side face near rivals Andover minus highly promising left-arm seamer James Tomlinson, who is playing for the British Universities in a three-day game against Sri Lanka at Northampton.Tomlinson, who bagged a nap-hand of Somerset scalps last month, added to an already impressive early-season wicket haul by dismissing Kumar Sangakkara in the pre-lunch session on Thursday.Havant, the 2000 league winners, launch their challenge with a full strength side against Raj Maru’s newly promoted Portsmouth and Burridge entertain much-changed Bournemouth.Havant include three debutants – Lord’s groundstaff wicketkeeper Steve Snell, Yorkshireman Bevis Moynhan and ex-Hambledon all-rounder Mackey Hobson.Portsmouth, though, go into action minus departed Lawrie Prittipaul (who hopes to play his recreational cricket for Southsea), Paul Dew and Pete Hayward, who has a major hockey date in Milton Keynes, where he is in National League play-off action with City of Portsmouth.Burridge parade newcomer Moeen Cheema, from Atlanta Georgia, and left-hander Ben Thane, who spent last season with relegated Old Basing.New look Bournemouth, captained by Matt Swarbrick, include Dorset teenage seamer James Elliott-Square, left-arm spinner Chris Cole and Somerset new boy Tom Webley.

An update has emerged on Charlton goalkeeper Ben Amos, regarding Ipswich’s interest in his services this summer.

What’s the talk?

According to South London Press journalist Richard Cawley, Ipswich are looking at Charlton goalkeeper Ben Amos ahead of his potential free agent status next month. Amos is out of contract at the start of July and Cawley has claimed that Ipswich are taking him under consideration this summer, with Charlton still in talks with the former Manchester United shot-stopper over a new deal.

After a 0-0 draw with Sunderland last season, former Charlton boss Lee Bowyer lavished praise on the “excellent”  shot-stopper for his vital saves in the game. He told Charlton’s official website:

“I thanked Ben Amos for that point today because he was the reason we got the point, he made some great saves and Ben Watson threw himself in front of a few. We’re low on bodies at the minute.

“There were some good things and some bad things today. Amos was excellent, we got 90 in Watson – how he’s played that game is beyond me.”

Bart 2.0

Ipswich could find their next Bartosz Bialkowski with Amos. Bialkowski was excellent between the sticks for Ipswich for a number of years, keeping 41 clean sheets in 178 appearances for the club before joining Championship side Millwall in 2019 following the club’s relegation to League One.

The Blues have been unable to adequately replace the Poland international, with Paul Cook reportedly wanting to move Tomas Holy on this summer after the Czech keeper failed to impress him in League One.

This is where Amos could come into the picture. He is a proven League One performer and could be the man to finally fill Bialkowski’s gloves at Portman Road and be Ipswich’s next hero between the posts.

Amos played in all 46 games for Charlton in League One as they finished above Ipswich in the table, with the 31-year-old keeping 17 clean sheets and conceding 56 goals throughout the campaign to prove his quality at this level. The fact Charlton are keen to keep him also suggests that he impressed behind the scenes as well as on the pitch, which is a good sign for Ipswich.

Therefore, Ipswich CEO Mark Ashton must sanction seal a swoop for the £4.5k-per-week ace if possible.

Amos could be a quality option to replace Holy and Ashton could hand Cook a reliable number one option, who could be the club’s first choice for a number of years. 31 is not old in goalkeeping terms and that means that Amos could be Ipswich’s key man in goal for the next four or five years, just as Bialkowski was during his time in Suffolk.

AND in other news, Ipswich handed major transfer boost with “exciting” starlet, Cook will be delighted…

Some Everton fans have been left to bemoan a transfer update involving central midfield player Allan.

As per Defensa Central, Carlo Ancelotti would like to sign the Brazilian for Real Madrid in the summer window.

Allan was such a key player under the Italian manager in the 2020/21 season, playing in 26 games in total, tending to start more often than not when he was available (Transfermarkt).

In the Premier League, the 30-year-old won no fewer than six of his duels per match, and also averaged 3.3 tackles and one clearance per appearance (Sofascore), showing just how crucial he is in front of the defence.

However, if Los Blancos and especially Ancelotti come calling for him, Allan may find a move too difficult to turn down, and he would certainly not be a player that would be easy to replace for the Goodison Park faithful.

Everton fans on Allan transfer update

These Merseyside club supporters bemoaned the transfer update as it was shared on Twitter, with one Toffee even going as far as to claim that they were ‘gutted’:

“This could get so much worse”

Credit: @bluetom_tom

“Allan leaving would be worse than Ancelotti leaving. One of our star players with Digne”

Credit: @adxm1878

“The hits just keep coming.”

Credit: @PeterFearns

“Be gutted if we lose him. Makes such a difference. Hopefully we appoint a manager who can keep hold of our top players”

Credit: @1878Matt

“Noo Carlo”

Credit: @Norre23

“Just go away”

Credit: @ShortingJames

In other news, find out what transfer update has Blues fuming here!

Nuno Espirito Santo cannot be ruled out of the running for Tottenham Hotspur’s managerial vacancy, according to Alasdair Gold…

What’s the word?

The reliable football.london reporter delivered a fresh update in a recent Q&A with supporters, in which he was asked about the former Wolves boss.

He wrote: “I keep getting told, and again today, from those in Italy that know Paratici, that he likes Nuno Espirito Santo and not to rule out that he could become one of the candidates.

“I don’t think a move for him would go down particularly well among the fans.

“He would be more popular than some and he knows the Premier League, but his brand of football would not be the “free-flowing, attacking and entertaining” kind Levy promised the fans in his end of season message about the incoming new head coach.”

Not the right fit

A move for Nuno would’ve made sense over a year ago but perhaps not now.

The 47-year-old left Molineux by mutual consent at the end of the season, seemingly taking the Midlands outfit as far as he could – that being promotion to the Premier League and qualification to the Europa League in his very first season.

As The Telegraph’s John Percy outlined recently, there were concerns at Wolves over Nuno’s style of football and their performances during his final season in charge. His replacement Bruno Lage has been brought in to provide a more attack-minded focus.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-on-spurs-manager-search-transfer-rumours-gossip-enic-levy-paratici” title= “Read the latest from Spurs’ manager search, transfer rumours, gossip, injury updates and more!”]

Wolves were the lowest scorers above 16th place in the top flight last season (36 goals), just one ahead of relegated West Brom, with his successor coming in on the back of a 103-goal campaign at Benfica.

That only bolsters the view from Gold, who suggests that he isn’t the right fit for the club, particularly from a tactical standpoint.

This would go against one of Levy’s key criteria and ultimately this is bad news for fans, especially as the journalist believes he would not go down particularly well with the Lilywhites faithful. Indeed, that appears to be the case.

As relayed by This is Futbol, plenty of Spurs fans are against the move. One claimed that he was “sick of this club now” and another wrote “Paratici out” despite the Italian not even officially starting until July 1st.

A further supporter claimed it was “really really bad”, with an additional fan believing their managerial search had gone from “bad to worse.” This may be a small sample size but it does highlight the general feeling in north London right now.

After being dealt blow after blow, missing out on everyone ranging from Julian Nagelsmann to Antonio Conte, this fresh update from Gold comes as bad news for supporters as the wait for their next manager rumbles on.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano drops exciting claim on Spurs’ manager search, fans should be buzzing…

When Northerns captain Martin van Jaarsveld chose not to enforce the follow-on on Friday, you would have been hard-pushed to find anyone at St George’s Park who would take money on this Supersport Series Super Eight match against Eastern Province

Marcus Prior – MWP10-Mar-2001When Northerns captain Martin van Jaarsveld chose not to enforce the follow-on on Friday, you would have been hard-pushed to find anyone at St George’s Park who would take money on this Supersport Series Super Eight match against Eastern Province being decided within three days.That it was can be largely laid at the door of a second seriouslydeficient batting performance from the home side as they were bowled out forjust 149 to lose by a mammoth 368 runs. Yes there was a fine bowlingperformance from Rudi Bryson, who decimated the top order and finished withfiigures of 5/33, but there was also some poor shot selection amid theknowledge that the cause was close to futile.Chasing 517 (surely enough said), EP collapsed to 13/3. From that pointon, it was purely a question of how long they could make the match last.Never accuse a professional sportsman of being anything but fully committed,but it would have been understandable if a day off sounded more attractivethan hanging around fighting a losing cause.Don’t tell that to Carl Bradfield, as the EP captain performed that rarefeat of carrying his bat throughout the entire innings as wickets tumbled atthe other end. Bradfield finished unbeaten on 64, but his was a lonerearguard action and all the more laudable for it.Earlier, Northerns had stretched their advantage beyond 500 with more ofthe same – solid if unspectacular batting. Dirkie de Vos was still there atthe declaration on 60, but Meyrick Pringle’s four wickets were welcome ifnot somewhat late and irrelevant as far as the game itself was concerned.Before this game EP had hopes – admittedly faint ones – of reaching theSupersport Series final. Northerns put them well and truly in their place.