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Lots of Everton fans have been flocking to a training photo of Niels Nkounkou that was posted by the official Twitter page of the Goodison Park faithful.

The France U19 international can be seen training with the first-team squad ahead of their game versus Southampton away from home in the Premier League.

Nkounkou has been limited to just three matches in the EFL Cup so far in the 2020/21 term, and has yet to make an appearance in the top flight (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, the 19-year old will be hoping to get his chance to impress Carlo Ancelotti, and it seems as if several EFC supporters have been impressed with what they have seen of him so far.

Upon Nkounkou’s arrival at the Toffees, Marcel Brands described him as ‘a young, talented player with good technical and physical skills,’ which is high praise indeed from the Director of Football at the Blues.

Everton fan reaction to Nkounkou training photo

These Everton fans flocked to the tweet showing Nkounkou training and sent their praises to the French left-back:

Evertonians, find out who has been considering their future at the club here and do not forget to comment below!

Former Sunderland striker Josh Maja looks set to open talks with Scottish Premiership side Rangers over a potential summer move.

After spending time with the likes of Fulham, Crystal Palace and Manchester City during his youth career, Nigerian centre-forward Maja made an instant impression at the Stadium of Light after making his debut in September 2016.

After a successful full first season at the club, the youngster left in January 2019 for a move to French top-tier side Bordeaux.

Six goals and two assists during the 2019/2020 season has seen the 21-year-old maintain his reputation and Rangers are now said to be interested in the striker.

Steven Gerrard’s side reportedly keen to bring in Maja as they look to find a replacement for Colombian striker Alfredo Morelos, who has agreed personal terms with Lille.

A potential move to the Scottish Premiership side has also been mooted due to the striker’s representatives Elite Project Group who work as agents for current Rangers duo Joe Aribo and Sheyi Ojo.

Maja’s potential return to British football will serve as a reminder to Sunderland fans of his exit, something which was highly documented via Netflix series Sunderland Til I Die.

Whilst Maja was always destined to go on and move elsewhere, one can’t help but wonder how much Phil Parkinson could do with him now as the Black Cats remain in League One.

Do you see Maja coming back to Sunderland later in his career? Let us know via the comments section below…

Many Aston Villa fans have reacted to an image shared by club captain Jack Grealish alongside former striker Tammy Abraham.

22-year-old striker Abraham moved to Villa Park on a season long loan two summers ago and played a big part in the Midlands club’s promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.

Netting an impressive 26 goals in 41 games for Villa, Abraham returned to parent club Chelsea last summer where he has gone on to feature regularly under Frank Lampard.

A good return of 15 Premier League goals for the Blues last season was impressive from the youngster but his future is now under question as the London based club welcome new signing Timo Werner this summer.

With his future under question, Birmingham LIVE reported last month that Abraham had turned down a new contract offer from Chelsea, which would certainly capture the interest of Villa given his previous ties.

On the back of that there have been questions over whether Villa could make a return move for the striker, including on the Claret and Blue podcast. Now, Grealish’s post is likely to spark further rumours as he shared a photo alongside his ex-teammate with the caption: “That’s my brother y’naaa #secretagent.”

Reacting to the image of Grealish and Abraham via Twitter account @villareport, fans shared their excitement…

Do you think Abraham could return to Villa Park? Let us know in the comments section below…

Wolverhampton Wanderers must consider signing Mohammed Salisu after transfer news emerged from El Desmarque that they are one of a high number of clubs interested in signing the Real Valladolid central defender in the upcoming summer transfer window.

As per the outlet, Southampton and Watford, amongst other teams outside of the Premier League, have all courted Salisu and may be looking to pounce for his signature once the window opens.

Indeed, the centre-back is valued at 11 million euros (roughly £9.9 million) and has made an appearance in every game in La Liga in this season so far, according to Transfermarkt.

In those matches, the left-footed centre-half wins 4.5 duels on average, and also averages five clearances, 1.4 tackles and 1.1 interceptions, keeping a total of seven clean sheets (via Sofascore).

Given those relatively impressive stats and the fact that he is left-footed, Salisu could arguably slot in nicely as the left-sided man of Nuno Espirito Santo’s back three.

It is a position that Romain Saiss has had to fill in Transfermarkt).

If Salisu plays on the left side, then captain Conor Coady can play in the middle of the three central defenders and Willy Boly can play on the right given that he is right-footed.

At a potentially bargain price, and given also the apparent competition for his signature, Wolves should at least consider the Ghanaian as a possible swoop.

WWFC fans, do you think Salisu would be a good signing? Comment below!

West Brom could go top of the Championship overnight if they can extend their winning run to three matches against Derby this evening.

With current pace-setters Leeds not in action until tomorrow, the Baggies will also take over at the top even if they draw against the Rams given that they are a point behind Marcelo Bielsa’s side and have a superior goal difference. [via Sky Sports]

Derby have promotion aspirations of their own, however, as they sit just outside the play-off positions with the season approaching its climax.

Slaven Bilic will be forced into a couple of changes for this evening’s clash at The Hawthorns, with Ahmed Hegazi suspended following his red card against Hull and Kieran Gibbs set to miss out after going off in that game due to a hamstring problem (as per Birmingham Live).

Our predicted West Brom line-up for the game against Derby shows three changes from the team which started the 4-2 win over the Tigers on Sunday:

Sam Johnstone will continue between the sticks as per usual, although there will be changes to the back four ahead of him. Conor Townsend came on for the injured Gibbs on Sunday and is likely to start at left-back, while Semi Ajayi should come into the side in place of the suspended Hegazi. The other two defensive positions are likely to be unchanged, with Kyle Bartley and Dara O’Shea in the starting line-up again.

Bilic has gone with a defensive midfield duo of Romaine Sawyers and Rekeem Harper in the last couple of games and could preserve that partnership again, although there is a possibility that Jake Livermore may be restored to the team.

While Charlie Austin should keep his place at centre-forward after scoring in both of Albion’s last two matches, there could be a different composition to the attacking midfield trio behind him. Kamil Grosicki scored on his first Baggies start on Sunday and that may be enough to keep him in the side, while Matheus Pereira is sure to start after a hat-trick of assists against Hull.

He could revert to a central role, though, to make way for Grady Diangana on the right after the on-loan winger came off the bench to score at the weekend. That goal might persuade Bilic to put him in from the start this evening, with Filip Krovinovic making way as a result.

West Brom fans, is this the line-up that you expect to see against Derby this evening? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below!

Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha has revealed the hardest right-back he has come up against in his career so far in an Instagram Q&A he has conducted, via Dugout.

The 27-year-old will have lined up against plenty of right-sided full-backs during his spells in the Premier League with the Eagles, Cardiff City and Manchester United, but it is actually a former teammate he has chosen.

Indeed, he believes that ex-Red Devil Antonio Valencia is the most difficult right-back opponent he has faced, describing him as “strong” and “fast”.

Hilariously obscure Premier League players – Can you name them all?

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Quite the praise for the Ecuadorian.

In other Crystal Palace news, lots of Eagles fans are fuming with one recent transfer link…

Celtic are officially the Scottish Premiership champions after the SPFL cut short the season.

The decision was taken at a board meeting earlier today after all 12 top-flight teams agreed last week that ending the current campaign was unfeasible.

Average points-per-game has been used to decide the final standings, which sees Hearts relegated to the Championship and Rangers finish some 13 points behind the Hoops.

SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan congratulated Celtic and sent considerations to the Jam Tarts, claiming there was “no realistic option but to call [the season]”.

Bhoys skipper Scott Brown has been celebrating the triumph on social media after he posted a 12-word message to Twitter – and much of the Celtic Park faithful have been going nuts in his replies.

The 34-year-old has captained the squad to each of their nine titles in the historic run and many would love to see him make it ten next season.

He had featured in a whopping 50 matches this season, potentially showing that he’s still got plenty in his locker.

The greatest rivalry in world football: Test your Old Firm derby knowledge below…

Here’s how fans reacted to his tweet…

AND in other news, Celtic fans are missing this former Parkhead star…

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

Everton are looking to sign Eintracht Frankfurt striker Goncalo Paciencia in January, as reported by Goal.

What’s the story?

Marco Silva has asked Everton to go back into the transfer market for another striker during the January transfer window and Pacienca is their answer.

When recently speaking to FFC about Everton’s situation in the position, Tony Cottee said: “Well, they’ve spent a lot of money so far, that’s the thing. So, hopefully the answer’s at the club already.”

However, it seems as though the Toffees are now looking to someone who has had success elsewhere this season, with 25-year-old Paciencia having scored 6 goals and got 1 assist from 9 Bundesliga starts and 2 substitute appearances.

Watch Everton Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Fixing a problem position

This comes at a time when Everton’s strikers are still struggling to truly produce, with specific focus being put on Moise Kean – his dad has claimed the move to England was a mistake, as reported by Centro Suono Sport (via Sky Sports).

The teenager has started 2 league games, coming off the bench in 7 more, with a return of just 1 assist and no goals so far.

Cenk Tosun has managed just 1 start and 2 substitute appearances, scoring the equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur.

Their current top scorers are Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, who both have 3 strikes to their names in the Premier League.

Their struggles in front of goal can be encapsulated by the fact that there are just five teams in the top tier who have scored fewer times than Everton.

If the Toffees want to reach the European places again, they simply must improve their scoring record, and Paciencia’s form this season suggests he can be the key to doing just that.

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

Sheffield Wednesday face a double-header this week in quick succession as they look to get back on track following a fourth game without a victory at the weekend.

The Owls were defeated by league leaders West Bromwich Albion, which would typically be no mark against the south Yorkshiremen, but they were only downed by a late 88th-minute penalty.

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Soon after striker Charlie Austin slotted home the spot-kick, Wednesday right-back Liam Palmer received his marching orders for a rash challenge, so manager Garry Monk will be forced into at least one change on Wednesday night.

On the Chalkboard

It means either Moses Odubajo earns a return to the starting line up or Dominic Iorfa slides across from centre-back and based on previous history, there’s only one clear choice.

Iorfa has cemented his place in the heart of Monk’s defence, but he has played over 100 league games at right-back in his career, where he has averaged 2.6 tackles, 1.4 interceptions, 3.2 clearances and 2.3 dribbles per game at, via WhoScored.

Last season, the 24-year-old was part of a defence which kept a few lethal Championship attackers quiet as Teemu Pukki (29 goals), Neal Maupay (25 goals), and Billy Sharp (23 goals) all failed to bag when Iorfa lined up at right-back for the Owls.

Since moving into the centre, Iorfa has made great strides with his defensive game, which has no doubt been down to the influence of former central defender Monk, meaning he should be able to return to right-back with far greater qualities than he had then.

Odubajo, on the other hand, has somewhat suffered having not featured since a dire display against Wigan Athletic at the start of October, this run without playing will surely have stalled his match fitness slightly, which will only hand Iorfa more of an opportunity.

Watch Sheffield Wednesday Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

This season, the former Hull City man has been dribbled past 1.7 times per match, whereas Iorfa has been an absolute rock letting someone past him just 0.2 times per game.

Monk has plenty of depth at centre-back so someone like skipper Tom Lees can easily slot inside next to Julian Borner.

In other news.. Sheffield Wednesday fans destroyed this Monk regular following his performance on Saturday.

Manchester City fans have given mixed reactions after the news that Rodri could miss the crucial fixture against Liverpool.

The Spaniard came off against Atalanta in midweek and The Liverpool Echo have since reported he sustained a hamstring injury that could keep him out of the game.

Rodri has stepped in at centre-back for the past few games in the wake of injuries to Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi. The latter two have since returned, but Laporte is expected to miss a large part of the 2019-20 season, leaving a big gap in the side.

In truth, it has been a disastrous time with injuries at the back for City, with Fernandinho also having to step into a makeshift defence for Pep Guardiola. However, the return of Stones could fix things slightly for the Citizens ahead of the massive tie at Anfield.

City will need a win to avoid potentially going nine points behind Liverpool, whilst a victory could claw the Sky Blues back within three.

You can find some of the best reactions down below …