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It seems that Everton both bought and sold Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini at the perfect time.

Whilst they broke their club record transfer fee at the time for the £15m acquisition of Fellaini, it turned out to be an astute move, with the Toffees getting the best out of him and shipping him onto Manchester United for a tidy profit in what was a player at the very start of his decline.

Tremendous from the Toffees

After rejecting advances from Manchester United and bypassing reported interest from the likes of Aston Villa, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur, Fellaini put pen to paper on a five-year deal to play for Everton in the year 2008.

He was 20-years-of-age at the time and arrived in England with a playing identity of a box-to-box midfielder and soon managed to prove his attacking proficiency with what turned out to be a seamless integration into England’s top flight.

In his first season, Fellaini ended his first campaign with nine goals and four assists. Perhaps the most demonstrative indicator of the Belgian-Morrocan midfielder’s playing style was his total of 13 yellow cards. He did well to end on this number, having been booked ten times in his first 17 games.

At Everton, Fellaini made himself a star and left for £27.5m, having scored an impressive 11 goals in the Premier League for the Toffees, to reunite with former Everton boss David Moyes at Manchester United. This was the start of his decline.

Despite his goalscoring feat for Everton the season prior, the 2013/2014 season saw Fellaini score a total of zero goals with an assist total of one in the Premier League, as he saw his minutes cut in half at the Old Trafford side.

Fellaini never managed to replicate his goalscoring form at Manchester United and after the dismissal of Jose Mourinho back in the 2018/2019 season, found his opportunities limited under caretaker manager at the time; Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

United recouped £10.5m for Fellaini, allowing him to join Chinese Super League side Shandong Taishan where he rediscovered his goalscoring form.

At 34 years of age, the former Belgian international is now worth just £4m, though his wage is drastically higher, with the former Toffees midfielder now pocketing a handsome wage of £362k-per-week.

Ultimately, Everton’s decision to sell when they did was perfect. They got the best performances out of him and received the most money for him, making a tidy profit on their initial £15m payout.

Well played, Everton.

In other news – Forget relegation: Lampard now heading for huge Everton disaster over £72k-p/w star

Wolves have been pretty busy during the previous summer and winter transfer windows with players leaving the club and new ones coming in.

Looking ahead to the upcoming summer window, it seems as though this could once again be the case for the Old Gold in their latest attempt at strengthening their squad.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from journalist David Ornstein in The Athletic, Wolves are eyeing Sporting Lisbon midfielder Matheus Nunes as a potential replacement for Joao Moutinho, whose £100k-per-week contract at Molineux is set to expire in the summer.

In 125 combined appearances for Sporting’s senior and U23 sides, the midfielder has scored nine goals and provided 11 assists along the way.

Moutinho heir at Wolves

This current campaign has seen the Brazilian-born midfielder make 28 league appearances for his club and even have his first taste of Champions League football with six appearances to his name.

To highlight how much of a well-rounded midfield option he is for his side, the 23-year-old has racked up a total of 23 tackles, 26 interceptions and 23 crosses in the Portuguese league this season, putting him in the top ten for each statistic in Sporting’s squad.

His overall performances have earned the Portuguese international a season rating of 7.08 from WhoScored, making him Sporting’s sixth-highest rated player for this campaign.

This rating would make him the highest-rated Wolves player by the same metric, showing what an impressive player the £27m-rated gem is at a fairly young age.

Labelled as an “unbelievable” player by Goncalo Santos as well as being “one of the best players in the world today” according to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, Nunes certainly has a lot of hype around him, which could make him an exciting recruit for Bruno Lage’s side.

With Wolves’ track record of signing players from Portuguese clubs, Nunes, who has a better technical rating than Moutinho at this stage of his career according to SofaScore, could be an ideal long-term figure for the Midlands club and follow in the footsteps of the other players that have joined the Old Gold from Portugal such as Ruben Neves, Fabio Silva and Chiquinho among others.

In other news: Wolves plot swoop for “special” £33m Mendes client, he’s better than Trincao…

An exciting update has emerged on Newcastle United and their pursuit of Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli…

What’s the talk?

Chronicle reporter Lee Ryder has claimed that the Magpies are in negotiations over a deal for the England international, but it remains to be seen whether or not he will be willing to sign for the club.

He Tweeted: “Dele Alli isn’t short on options after being made available by Spurs for loan. Will be interesting to see if he is up for the challenge at #nufc – talks on a deal have been ongoing throughout January. Notably, Alli is represented by the same agency as Trippier and Wood.”

Howe will love it

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe will surely love this update as Alli could be a superb signing for the Magpies on loan until the end of the campaign.

He is a proven top-flight performer who could come in and make a major impact in the final third, potentially winning games for the club. The ex-MK Dons man has shown his quality at this level over the years and could thrive as a key member of Howe’s squad.

In 181 Premier League matches, he has scored 51 goals and provided 37 assists. Throughout his entire Spurs career, he has 67 goals and 61 assists in 269 games in all competitions, showing that he can score and create goals at the top end of the pitch as he has done so on a regular basis over the course of a number of years in London.

This suggests that he could come in and be a fantastic signing for the club if they are able to get this move over the line, which is why Howe will love the news that they are in talks with Spurs to get it done.

He would surely be buzzing to have a player of Alli’s pedigree and quality to select in the coming month as it could improve his starting XI.

The move would also be an ideal one for the club as it would mean that they avoid the financial burden of keeping him on in the Championship if they fail to avoid the drop.

Newcastle are 18th in the Premier League table and relegation to the second tier would result in a major loss in income, which could make it difficult to afford Alli’s reported £100k-per-week wages.

AND in other news, Newcastle could get SJP rocking by signing “top class” £50m beast who has “everything”…

According to a report in the paper edition of Sport, via Sport Witness, there has been a transfer update out of Tottenham Hotspur as manager Antonio Conte seemingly re-ignites interest in Adama Traore.

The Lowdown: Spurs come close…

The Spaniard, who ended up signing for Barcelona on loan in the latter stages of January, was a rather public target for Spurs and Conte as the Lilywhites head coach sought a new right-wing-back.

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Reliable reports indicated that Tottenham’s manager was chasing Traore and aimed to transform the Spain international into a makeshift full-back (The Athletic).

GiveMeSport revealed just how close the Lilywhites came to signing the winger as personal terms were apparently completed.

Indeed, according to their information, Fabio Paratici and co shook hands on an agreement to make Traore one of the club’s highest paid players on a £120,000-per-week salary – but that ultimately wasn’t enough to seal his move as Barca eventually hijacked the deal.

Now, however, it appears Spurs and by extension Conte have re-ignited their interest.

 The Latest: Conte eyes Traore move…

Indeed, Sport (via SW) claim Tottenham are interested in signing Traore yet again with Barcelona not ready to pay the fee to sign him permanently from Wolves.

It is claimed Conte’s side are one of the clubs on ‘lookout’ over his situation at the La Liga giants and are ‘waiting’ to see how things unfold regarding his future.

The Verdict: Re-join the hunt?

As Spurs keep watch over Traore, potentially having another chance to sign him this summer, the fact his deal at Molineux expires at the end of next season could hand Paratici and a really strong negotiating hand.

It is feasible to believe Tottenham could significantly wiggle down his estimated £25.2 million market valuation given Wolves will have just two windows to make any profit off of his sale.

And the Spaniard would arguably strengthen Conte’s options, especially considering how much he has impressed in the Europa League with Barca since signing in the winter window.

He’s notched two assists in the competition so far whilst ranking in as their second-best performer going by average match rating (7.12, WhoScored).

Traore’s also completed more successful take-ons on average (3.5) than any Catalans star in Europe, putting real emphasis on his creativity going forward and leaving little wonder pundit Noel Whelan said he’s a ‘game-changer’ and the ‘perfect fit’ for Conte (Football Insider).

In other news: Tottenham attempts to seal mega-money agreement take new step after major off-field development, find out more here.

While Chelsea left Wembley empty-handed over the weekend after losing the Carabao Cup final on penalties to Manchester City, the Blues still managed to put in an encouraging performance on the day.

Since then, both Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi have come in for massive praise with a certain ex-Chelsea captain now calling on Maurizio Sarri to hand the English duo some starts.

The Breakdown

“We’ve got people like Hudson-Odoi and it’s important to keep him,” John Terry told Chelsea’s official club website when discussing the recent Wembley defeat.

“Ruben Loftus-Cheek, is he ready? Let’s find out. If we’re not going to win the league then let’s give him a chance in the league. Let’s blood the younger players and see what they’ve got.”

Given how poor Willian and Pedro have been at times this season and some of the underwhelming displays from Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley, it is a surprise Sarri has only just started to really turn to Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi, though it must be mentioned that the former has been suffering with a back injury.

At the end of the day, though, it is better late than never. As long as Sarri accepts he probably should have used the two Chelsea academy products earlier in the season and starts to hand them more minutes, all is not lost.

The west London club could still end this season inside the top four and with a trophy with the Europa League up for grabs, but only if Sarri starts using a more meritocratic system when it comes to selecting his starting XI.

Rangers are one of the clubs eyeing in-demand Scottish youngster Luke Graham, according to The Courier’s George Cran. 

The lowdown

The 18-year-old centre-back is yet to make a first-team appearance for Mark McGhee’s first team at Dundee, but his ‘stature’ and ‘ability on the ball’ have apparently caught the eye of academy recruitment staff.

Graham is currently in the midst of a week-long trial at English Championship outfit Sheffield United, who may choose to offer him a deal if they like what they see.

The latest

Sharing his article via Twitter, Cran said that Rangers are one of the ‘big clubs having a look’ at Graham, with ‘more interest’ emerging.

The Gers had scouts watching him in action on Saturday, as did their arch-rivals Celtic and Premier League giants Arsenal.

Cran wrote that Dundee ‘have a fight on their hands’ to retain Graham before he has even played for their senior team.

The verdict

If Rangers win the intensifying race for his signature, then Graham will probably slot into their B team at first, but the signing would very much be regarded as one for the future.

The Gers themselves are struggling to keep hold of one of their brightest prospects in Rory Wilson, who has resisted a lucrative deal and advances from Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Ross Wilson as he eyes a move to a Premier League club (via Football Insider).

They are now looking to prise away a coveted young starlet from Dundee, who sit bottom of the Premiership and on course to be relegated, in what is perhaps a further illustration of the footballing food chain.

In other news, Ally McCoist fumes at an ‘inexcusable’ error from one Rangers star

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Leandro Paredes to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian media outlet Calciomercato (via Sport Witness), who claim that both Tottenham and Inter Milan are keen on a deal for the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder – whom the Ligue 1 side would be willing to part with for a figure of around €25m (£21m) this summer.

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The report goes on to state that the Argentina international is both a favourite of Fabio Paratici and Antonio Conte, with it being said that the 52-year-old manager would gladly welcome the arrival of Paredes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ahead of Spurs’ 2022/23 campaign.

Paratici’s next Bentancur

While it is true that Conte currently possesses a number of solid options in the middle of the park – with Oliver Skipp, Harry Winks, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur all capable of playing in the Italian’s midfield two – the signing of Paredes would certainly provide the 52-year-old with greater quality in the position.

Indeed, over his 15 Ligue 1 appearances this season, the £18m-rated Argentine has highly impressed for Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG side, scoring one goal and registering two assists, as well as making an average of 0.7 interceptions, 1.5 tackles, 0.5 key passes and winning 2.8 duels – at a success rate of 61% – per game.

These returns have seen the £148k-per-week talent average a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 7.01 – however, perhaps the French top flight is not the best barometer on which to judge the defensive midfielder.

Indeed, it was over Paredes’ 27 Serie A outings for Roma in 2016/17 when the 44-time capped international proved his ability, with the 27-year-old scoring three goals, providing one assist and creating five big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.4 interceptions, 1.8 tackles, 1.7 key passes and winning 3.7 duels – at a success rate of 58% – per fixture.

These metrics saw the former Boca Juniors starlet average a quite extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.27, ranking him as the Giallorossi’s eighth-best player in the Italian top-flight – playing a crucial role in his side’s capture of a second-place finish in the league.

It was this level of form that led to Paredes establishing a reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting talents, with the former PSG midfielder, Fabrice Pancrate, previously stating of the Argentine: “He’s smart, technical, aggressive in a good way, and he’s not just a nasty gamer. He is also beautiful to watch. His tempo is perfect.”

As such, should Conte believe he can help the 27-year-old get back to his best, Paredes would undoubtedly make a fantastic addition to the Italian’s midfield – leading us to believe that his £21m summer signing could well see Paratici repeat his January capture of the increasingly impressive and previously underrated Bentancur from Juventus.

AND in other news: Paratici must seal Spurs deal for £350k-p/w “monster” who would “go to war” for Conte

According to RMC Sport (via Sport Witness), Marseille had ‘not received an offer deemed sufficiently interesting’ for Duje Caleta-Car, as West Ham only made a loan bid in January.

The Lowdown: Centre-back fiasco

David Moyes’ options at centre-back began to deplete with the season-ending injury sustained by Angelo Ogbonna, who suffered a cruciate ligament rupture at the beginning of November.

When Kurt Zouma suffered a hamstring injury in early December, from which he has only just recovered, the Hammers were left with just two senior centre-backs available for selection in Craig Dawson and Issa Diop.

West Ham were intent on finding a suitable centre-back to bolster their options in that area and deemed Caleta-Car a good option for Moyes’ side. However, a deal never materialised, and the Irons remain short on defensive options despite Zouma’s return.

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The Latest: Loan offer not enough

According to a report by RMC Sport (via Sport Witness), Marseille maintained that they had ‘not received an offer deemed sufficiently interesting’ for the Croatia international.

It’s claimed that ‘only a loan offer’ arrived from West Ham, which led to a stalemate between the two clubs. The Irons were looking for a loan deal with an option to buy, whereas Marseille were holding out for a permanent sale.

The Verdict: Missed opportunity

Having previously been very close to joining Liverpool, many Hammers fans would have known of the Croatian’s quality.

With a wealth of experience in the French top flight totalling 87 appearances, it is a mystery as to why the east London club would not sanction a £15m move for the player, especially when it was position clearly in need of addressing.

As a result, Irons fans can only pray that their centre-back situation doesn’t get any worse before the end of the season.

In other news: Irons had agree a fee for one player on deadline day before deal collapsed

Gianluca Di Marzio has now dropped some exciting Glasgow Rangers transfer news on Aaron Ramsey.

The Lowdown: Not playing

Ramsey is simply not playing enough games at Juventus, with only five appearances in total for the Old Lady across all competitions so far this term.

Thus, given his whopping £400,000-per-week wages, Juve will probably want to offload him before the deadline, especially as they spent a lot of money to bring in Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina.

The Latest: Agreement sought

As per Italian football journalist and transfer expert Di Marzio, an ‘agreement is sought’ between Juve and the Ibrox faithful, with talks ‘in progress’ between the two clubs:

“#Juventus, negotiation in progress with @RangersFC: an agreement is sought for #Ramsey.

“But the @BurnleyOfficial resists.”

The Verdict: Exciting

To get a player of Ramsey’s calibre through the door would certainly be exciting for all Teddy Bears fans.

Of course, he is a big name, having played in the Premier League with Arsenal, while he has over 70 senior caps for Wales.

His wages will be a big issue though, and the Light Blues will have to negotiate very well to get that number down.

He also has a history of injury problems, which the Gers will hope that he can overcome.

Nonetheless, what a statement signing he would be for RFC, having already captured the loan signing of Amad Diallo from Manchester United.

In other news, find out what the latest Jordan Campbell has revealed on one potential Gers exit here!

The defensive line at Celtic has had a tendency to house some of the very best in Europe in years gone by.

Parkhead has been a home for the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Kieran Tierney before their mega moves across the border while more recently, Norwegian Bhoy Kristoffer Ajer played in the green and white hoops.

He arrived in Scotland as a plucky 17-year-old but left last summer as a stalwart and titan of the Premiership.

Few could pass the ball out from defence like he could, nor could they maraud forward in such eye-catching fashion.

Yet, as with van Dijk and Tierney, the Premier League came calling as he departed for Brentford in a deal worth £13.5m.

As the centre-back entered the final year of his deal at Celtic, it was cut-price for someone who the Hoops valued at closer to £20m back in 2020.

It was still a good deal and indeed, with Ange Postecoglou replacing him via Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt, there have rarely been any problems.

Celtic sit top of the SPFL, have won the League Cup and are in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup, an accomplishment they owe greatly to their defensive pairing for.

However, there will always be a lingering afterthought; who could be the next Ajer in Paradise?

Well, Dane Murray is likely a good place to start.

The 18-year-old savoured his first taste of senior football this season and it came in the Champions League no less, as he played against Midtjylland. Speaking after he caught the eye in that outing, Postecoglou said: “Coming on to the pitch, a young guy who was born in 2003. I can remember 2003 very clearly.

“You know how young he is and he is not just coming on the pitch, he is facing a formidable opponent and with 10 men. But you know what? My gut instinct told me he wouldn’t be fazed by it.

“I watched him in training and he is a young kid, not just with football potential, but personality and character that belies his age. I was quite happy to trust him out there and it was an important part of the game, we were down to 10 men and we had to work very hard.”

Like Ajer, Murray’s attitude is clearly an impressive aspect of his game but he hasn’t been trusted too often to play since that moment.

He has featured just three times all season but you sense it’s only a matter of time before the teenager breaks through for good.

Similarly to his former Norwegian teammate, he is comfortable in possession of the ball, completing 87% of his passes against Midtjylland. He also won 100% of his aerial duels and prevailed in 50% of his ground duels, appearing wise beyond his years.

Described as “remarkable” by his coach at U10s level, Martin Miller, he has clearly come a long way since then, so much so that he could become the club’s next mega-money talent. Watch this space.

AND in other news, Ange is starting to unearth Celtic’s new Stuart Armstrong in “silky” £405k-rated gem…