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Everton have been very active already in the winter transfer window, securing the signings of two young defenders, Nathan Patterson and Vitaliy Mykolenko, while Rafa Benitez is rumoured to already have his eye on his third young player to bring into the team.

What’s the word?

According to journalist, Pete O’Rourke, Everton are eyeing up a potential move for Nottingham Forest’s James Garner in the January transfer window.

O’Rourke put out a tweet to his followers on Friday morning;

“Everton are eyeing a move for Manchester United midfielder James Garner who has impressed again on loan at Nottingham Forest in the first half of the season. #EFC #MUFC #NFFC”

The £3.6m-rated gem, who was previously hailed as “impressive” by team mate, Fred, is on loan from his parent club, Manchester United, at Nottingham Forest for a second season, and is rumoured to be catching the eye of the Merseyside club thanks to his impressive performances in the Championship, that have helped to put the side just six points shy of a playoff place.

Fans will be buzzing

Adding young prospects to the side is always a move that will leave fans buzzing, especially in this case, when you look at how well Garner is getting on at Forest this season.

The midfielder, who is originally from Birkenhead in Merseyside, has been putting on great performances, scoring five goals and bagging one assist from his central defensive position in the side since he joined on loan just under a year ago.

According to SofaScore, the defensive midfielder has been successful in an impressive 73% of his dribbles and has won a 52% majority of his duels, midfield attributes that could really benefit this defensively poor Everton side.

The Toffees have been leaking goals more than they have been scoring them in the Premier League this season, and adding that extra cover alongside Allan in midfield could really work wonders when attempting to control games better, especially when their current ball possession average is 39.7% and are losing possession of the ball 144.7 times on average per game, both of which are shocking statistics and need improvement.

Everton’s Spanish manager could make a great signing in Garner, especially when you look at his defensive midfield attributes, he could become a great asset for the club, and at just 20 years old, has the potential to grow into a fantastic player with the right guidance.

In other news: Benitez could make his third signing of the window in Dejan Kulusevski

Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has made a claim regarding Tottenham centre-back Joe Rodon, as per GiveMeSport.

The Lowdown: Leeds keen

The defender is yet to make a Premier League appearance under Antonio Conte, who has regularly used left-back Ben Davies as part of a three-man defence.

Leeds United were name-checked with an interest in the 24-year-old over the Christmas period, with reports suggesting that Spurs were likely to give the green light to a temporary exit.

The Wales international recently featured against Morecambe in the FA Cup, but it doesn’t appear as if he is a player in demand this month.

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The Latest: Bridge’s claim

Bridge was talking to GiveMeSport regarding the Tottenham centre-back and claimed that there hasn’t been much interest in Rodon’s services over a loan for the second half of the season.

The journalist outlined: “One thing I have heard is that there hasn’t been a lot of interest from a Premier League side about a loan deal at the moment.”

The Verdict: Not looking good

Spurs insider John Wenham thought that Rodon would ‘definitely’ leave this month, but that is now appearing less likely halfway through the transfer window.

You could make an argument that regular game-time would benefit the defender – who was labelled ‘special’ by Welsh football journalist Ian Mitchelmore – over the next five months, but Spurs will need clubs to approach them for that to happen.

It doesn’t look like the 24-year-old will feature much under Conte in the second half of the season either, and if he doesn’t seal a loan exit, it could be a long 2022 for the player.

In other news: Alasdair Gold drops ‘positive update’ as Tottenham close in on first piece of major January business

Aston Villa are in advanced talks with Everton over the signing of left-back Lucas Digne, according to a report by The Athletic.

The Lowdown: Digne fallout with Benitez

The France international’s future has come under scrutiny this season following Everton’s poor run of form, which currently sees them sitting down in 15th position in the Premier League table.

Last month, it was reported that the full-back has publicly fallen out with Rafael Benitez, with the manager confirming that Digne has asked to leave the club. As a result, the Frenchman has not played a single minute of football since the Merseyside derby defeat on December 1.

The Latest: Villa in talks with Everton

According to a report by The Athletic, Aston Villa are in advanced talks with Everton over the signing of Digne.

Steven Gerrard had identified the former Barcelona man as his top target, with Villa keen on bolstering their options at full-back.  It is reported that the 28-year-old is seeking a move to a club already playing European football, or one with a serious chance of doing so next season.

Due to the recent arrival of former Premier League superstar Philippe Coutinho, Villa are confident that their exciting new project has convinced Digne to proceed with the move.

Previous interest from relegation-threatened Newcastle United was rejected by the left-back, with Chelsea also considering a swoop for the player following Ben Chilwell’s season-ending injury. However, Thomas Tuchel’s side only wanted a loan move, whereas Everton are more keen for a permanent deal to be done.

The Verdict: Big blow for Everton

The Frenchman has established himself as one of the best left-backs in the Premier League since his arrival at Everton, with his strong crossing ability often paying dividends for the Toffees, as demonstrated by his haul of 18 league assists on Merseyside.

Having slipped down the international pecking order, Digne will likely be glad to seal his exit from Goodison Park, as he will be desperate for regular first team football ahead of the 2022 World Cup in a bid to regain his left-back spot in the France side from Theo Hernandez.

His impending departure will be a sad sight for Everton fans, as the left-back solidified himself as a fan favourite during his time at the club. Also, former Toffees manager Carlo Ancelotti once described the 28-year-old as ‘one of the best in Europe’, so don’t be surprise if you see Blues supporters in dismay if Digne secures a move to Aston Villa.

In other news: Everton now prioritising ‘exceptional’ £9m-rated beast as third January signing

Cricket Australia will let players involved in the IPL make their own decisions about whether to take part in the tournament following threats on their safety from India. The Shiv Sena political party has said they would not allow Australians to play in Maharashtra following attacks on Indian students in Melbourne.”At the end of the day those players make their own decision about whether or not they go,” Peter Young, the Cricket Australia spokesman, told AAP. “But we want them to be able to make informed decisions and we’d like to work with the ACA [Australian Cricketers’ Association] to ensure they can make informed decisions.” The IPL is due to begin in March and Australian players feature heavily in the franchise line-ups.The Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said the final decision on whether players go to the country would rest with Cricket Australia. “They [Shiv Sena] are known to make colourful remarks, and they have engaged in conduct which both India and Australia have been disapproving of in the past, so far as disrupting cricket games are concerned,” he said in the Courier Mail. “But we take any threat to Australian sportsmen and sportswomen … playing sport overseas very seriously.”Player security has been an issue for Australia whenever they are scheduled to travel to the subcontinent. Australia has not toured Pakistan since 1998 due to the safety situation and sends independent security personnel to review arrangements before each trip.”Our policy, as demonstrated over the years, is to only travel if dispassionate, expert, independent advice suggests that it is safe,” Young said. “On those occasions when advice has suggested otherwise, we have not travelled, including when the ICC said Pakistan was safe and our advice was that it was not.”In 2008 there were a series of bombs that went off in India before the Test visit, which went ahead without any problems. However, teams are much more sensitive following the attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore, and this week three of the Togo football team were killed by gunmen who targeted their vehicle in Angola.Tim May, the international players’ association chief executive, claimed in the Australian the security situation in India was now as worrying as a year ago, when Mumbai terrorist attacks and a national election forced the tournament to be moved to South Africa at the last minute.”We don’t have to go too far back to the attack on the bus carrying the Togo soccer team in Africa,” May said. “It underlines the fact that sporting teams are very palatable targets for terrorist organisations who want to make a lot of noise and lift their international profile.”May said a franchise had written to a player saying “if you’re scared, don’t come” to the IPL. “That doesn’t do the player any good and it doesn’t do the IPL any good,” May said. “You’d like to think the IPL would realise that it is a reasonable request by players wanting to know about security arrangements.” Australia are also due in India for another seven-match one-day series at the end of the year.

Celtic have been dealt a late injury blow ahead of their upcoming Scottish Premiership clash.

What’s the latest?

According to a recent report by The Herald, Celtic centre-back Carl Starfelt will be unavailable for selection against Hearts this evening, as the defender does not look to have recovered from a hamstring injury that has seen him miss the Bhoys’ last six fixtures – despite the defender being pictured in training at Lennoxtown on Wednesday.

Postecoglou will be fuming

With the fixture against third-placed Hearts tonight being an extremely important one for Celtic, with a win reducing the gap between the Hoops and the current Premiership leaders to just four points ahead of the busy Christmas schedule, the news that Starfelt will not be available for selection is sure to have left Ange Postecoglou fuming.

Indeed, the Sweden international has highly impressed over his 11 league appearances so far this season, helping his side keep five clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.5 interceptions, 1.1 tackles and winning 6.3 duels per game.

These returns have seen the £2.7m-rated man average a SofaScore match rating of 7.23, ranking him as the Bhoys’ joint fifth-best performer in the top flight of Scottish football – of the players who still remain in Postecoglou’s first-team squad.

What makes his time on the sidelines even more problematic is that since his time out, the Hoops are yet to keep a clean sheet in Premiership action, conceding to both Dundee FC and Aberdeen.

As such, the continued absence of the centre-back will undoubtedly come as a major blow to the 56-year-old manager and his side, who will be desperate to secure all three points against Hearts in order to keep pace in the Premiership title race.

In other news: Postecoglou axes £14k-p/w “terrible flop” in 2 changes: Predicted Celtic XI v Hearts

اجتمع محمد بركات عضو مجلس إدارة اتحاد الكرة والمشرف العام على منتخب مصر الأولمبي مع البرازيلى ميكالي المدير الفني للمنتخب لبحث متطلبات المرحلة القادمة.

ويستعد منتخب مصر الأولمبي لخوض التصفيات الإفريقية المؤهلة لدورة الألعاب الأولمبية باريس 2024.

جاء ذلك على هامش معسكر المنتخب الجاري بالإسكندرية وفي حضور محمود حرب المدير الإداري للمنتخب وخالد سرحان مترجم ميكالى.

طالع.. صورة | بحضور بركات وعامر حسين.. منتخب مصر للشباب يواصل تدريباته

ويتواجد بركات مع المنتخب ويتابع كل كبيرة وصغيرة ويحرص دوما على تذليل العقبات وتهيئة كافة الأجواء الإيجابية فى إطار فكر مجلس الإدارة برئاسة جمال علام رئيس مجلس الإدارة لتحقيق الحلم الأولمبي.

ويتضح من خلال التدريبات امتلاك الجيل الأولمبي قدرة كبيرة على الاستجابة لتوجيهات وأفكار البرازيلي ميكالي الفائز بذهبية اولمبياد ريو دى جانيرو مع منتخب بلده في 2016.

MatériaMais Notícias

No segundo treino durante a parada do Campeonato Brasileiro por conta das Eliminatórias para a Copa do Mundo de 2018, o técnico Fábio Carille começou nesta quinta-feira a esboçar o Corinthians para enfrentar o Coritiba, na quarta da próxima semana, pela 27ª rodada. Na primeira parte da atividade, Camacho e Marquinhos Gabriel treinaram nas vagas dos suspensos Gabriel e Romero. Os dois saem na frente na disputa, mas o treinador testou outra alternativa ao longo do treino, com Clayson no lugar de Maycon, recuando Rodriguinho.

Além de Gabriel e Romero, outro desfalque certo por suspensão é Fagner. Léo Príncipe, reserva imediato, assumiu a posição na lateral direita. Na zaga, também não teve surpresas na troca: Pedro Henrique ficou com a vaga de Balbuena, que está com a seleção paraguaia e ainda é dúvida para enfrentar o Coritiba (se jogar pelas Eliminatórias, dificilmente ficará à disposição no Corinthians).

Em campo no treino desta quinta-feira, Carille ainda teve novamente os desfalques de Paulo Roberto e Jô, assim como já havia sido na última quarta. O volante está afastado desde que sentiu dores na coxa direita, em 15 de setembro, enquanto o atacante trata uma contratura na panturrila esquerda sofrida na semana passada. Já o zagueiro Léo Santos, em recuperação de uma pubalgia, fez trabalhos específicos no gramado.

Com todos esses desfalques, a equipe foi escalada na primeira parte do treino com: Caíque; Léo Príncipe, Pedro Henrique, Pablo e Guilherme Arana; Camacho e Maycon; Jadson, Rodriguinho e Marquinhos Gabriel; Kazim. O goleiro Walter ficou com os reservas, mas é a primeira opção caso Cássio não jogue (também depende se atuará pelas Eliminatórias).

Os reservas foram escalados com: Walter; Fagner, Ameixa, Moisés e Marciel; Gabriel e Fellipe Bastos; Giovanni, Pedrinho e Clayson; Danilo. Enquanto teve de improvisar na zaga, Carille contou novamente com Danilo, que faz transição física após lesão muscular na panturrilha esquerda, e alterna entre treinos na academia e em campo.

Na segunda parte da atividade desta quinta, Carille testou uma variação ao colocar Clayson no lugar de Maycon, recuando Rodriguinho. Com essa formação mais ofensiva, o Corinthians teve: Caíque; Léo Príncipe, Pedro Henrique, Pablo e Guilherme Arana; Camacho e Rodriguinho; Marquinhos, Jadson e Clayson; Kazim.

O Corinthians volta a treinar na tarde desta sexta-feira, no CT Joaquim Grava. O jogo contra o Coritiba será apenas na quarta da semana que vem, dia 11, na Arena em Itaquera, pela 27ª rodada do Brasileirão.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansZé Rafael interessa ao Corinthians, que prevê disputa dura e faz planosCorinthians05/10/2017CorinthiansPor que Corinthians do segundo turno é tão mais vulnerável na defesa?Corinthians04/10/2017

Tudo sobre

CamachoClaysonCorinthiansFabio CarilleMarquinhos Gabriel

Former Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama is hoping to make a Parkhead return, Football Scotland report.

The Lowdown: Wanyama since Celtic exit…

Wanyama, who was a colossus for Celtic, made 91 appearances in green and white during his two-year stay.

The Hoops made a £12m profit on the Kenyan after Southampton paid over £13m for his services in 2013.

Since then, the midfielder has made 154 appearances in the Premier League with the Saints and Tottenham, where he was hailed by Mauricio Pochettino and called ‘fantastic’ by Christian Eriksen.

He is now plying his trade with MLS side Montreal, with the 30-year-old under contract with Montreal for another 12 months, but it seems as if he has his eye on a return to Scotland.

The Latest: Open to return

Wanyama, talking to Football Scotland, admitted he would ‘love’ to play for the Hoops again and opened up on a ‘loan approach’ during Neil Lennon’s time in charge.

“I had a contract at Tottenham and they were very difficult to let me go, the demands were very hard.

“Celtic was a club that I would love to play for again and again. It’s more than a club. I enjoyed my time there.

“I honestly want to come back and give it a last go because I love the club, the people there, the fans, just everything there was great. They give the players everything to go on the pitch and perform. Everything was just on top.

“There was a loan approach but I don’t know what happened. I didn’t follow it up that much.

“I spoke to Neil as well and he said to me ‘it’s difficult with the demands’ and at that time they didn’t have the money to make it happen.

“But it is what it is. As I say, I still love that club, it’s in my heart.”

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The Verdict: Midfielders needed:

Wanyama is seemingly extremely keen on a return to Celtic, and the Hoops could do with midfield reinforcements.

Ange Postecoglou has relied heavily on Callum McGregor, Tom Rogic and David Turnbull this season, with Nir Bitton filling in for Rogic in recent weeks.

On that basis, a move for Wanyama could be a smart one, especially with his wealth of experience and previous Hoops connections, however, the club might be cautious following James McCarthy’s form since joining on a four-year deal.

McCarthy, the same age as Wanyama, has started just three times this season and appears to be struggling to break into Postecoglou’s side, so they could be better off bringing in a younger midfielder with one eye on the future instead of possibly having another McCarthy on their hands.

In other news: Celtic now hoping to sign 11-goal international in January. 

A number of Liverpool supporters are delighted that Naby Keita has returned to training after picking up an injury against Manchester United.

The Reds are still buzzing after their remarkable 5-0 win at Old Trafford last season, in what is surely one of the best results in the club’s history.

There were a number of fantastic performers for Liverpool on the day but Keita was undoubtedly one of the star men, scoring and assisting for his side and even earning a ten out of ten match rating from The Liverpool Echo.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375258″]

Unfortunately, the 26-year-old’s afternoon was ended prematurely by an awful tackle by Paul Pogba – one which saw the Frenchman receive a red card.

Keita was stretchered off, leading to fears surrounding yet another injury layoff, but as shared by Goal‘s Neil Jones on Twitter [via Anfield Watch], the midfielder is already back in training ahead of Saturday’s visit of Brighton in the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp then confirmed in his press conference that the Guinea international is fully fit (liverpoolfc.com).

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Liverpool fans react to Keita latest

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to reveal their happiness at what they called ‘great news’, which it certainly is considering the form Keita discovered at Old Trafford…

“GREAT NEWS LET’S GOOOOOOO”

Credit: @WayneMuzikay

“Oh lord”

Credit: @emmanuelsamueln

“Big dub”

Credit: @VFL_AlissonB1

“Great news”

Credit: @jontelfc86

“NABYYYYYYYYYYYY LADDDD”

Credit: @LouisDavo_

“NABYYYYYYY we are cooking”

Credit: @Geraldthe6

In other news, some Liverpool fans love a Fabrizio Romano update. Read more here.

With two consecutive defeats in the Premier League, pressure has started to build somewhat on Aston Villa manager Dean Smith ahead of tonight’s clash against Arsenal.

The Villans followed up an impressive 1-0 victory away at Old Trafford against Manchester United with a pair of losses against Tottenham and Wolves respectively, with the latter in particular being something of a sucker punch.

Smith’s side were leading 2-0 with just ten minutes remaining before a late collapse saw them concede three goals and somehow snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The 50-year-old may duly look to change things up for the clash against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium tonight, and with that in mind, below is a look at how Villa might line up in north London.

In goal, Emi Martinez will be hoping to keep a clean sheet on his return to the Emirates, having shut the Gunners out twice last season in the Premier League as Villa pulled off the double over his former club.

Smith may opt to go with a back four against Arsenal, having seen his experiment with a back three being picked apart by Spurs and Wolves, and that could see Axel Tuanzebe drop out, as we discussed in detail.

The midfield could also see a tweak, with Jacob Ramsey in line for a start to try and match up with what Arsenal may deploy in the engine room.

Further forward, Leon Bailey’s return to fitness could see him make the starting line-up if Smith feels that he’s shown enough in training to prove his fitness. That could see the Villa boss make the bold call of dropping Ollie Watkins, who has been in poor form in recent weeks, with just one goal all season.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Luiz, McGinn, Ramsey; Buendia, Ings, Bailey.

Meanwhile, here’s why Villa must start this £7.2m-rated ace v Arsenal…