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Everton failed in their efforts to sign a player with a “huge future” right at the end of the summer transfer window, seeing an offer for his services turned down.

Rohl "really excited" about Everton move

The Blues managed to complete the signing of Freiburg midfielder Merlin Rohl on deadline day, adding in one more player talented player to David Moyes’ squad.

The German is clearly raring to get going at his new club once club football returns after the international break, speaking of his delight at his move to Everton after his switch was sealed.

“I’m really excited and full of joy to sign for Everton. It’s a big club, with great history and great fans. It’s the right time for me to join Everton. It feels like a shifting point for the Club. The future looks really good and I’m excited to be part of it.

“I’ve watched the evolution of the Club closely. With the manager and stadium, there are a lot of positives. “I just love to play football and can’t wait to play in front of such passionate fans in such a great stadium.”

It was a strong summer for Everton overall, with Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall among the star additions, while Tyler Dibling is a player with a big future in the game. Now, it has been claimed that the Merseysiders missed out on signing another young star.

Everton failed with bid for future star

According to a report from reports in Spain [via Sport Witness], Everton submitted a last-gasp offer for Espanyol right-back Omar El Hilali, but were rebuffed in their efforts to snap him up before the window closed. Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Como were all in the same boat, but the £22m-rated defender ended up staying put at his current club.

It is a shame to see Everton fail to sign El Hilali, considering what an eye-catching young player he is, already making 90 appearances for Espanyol at the age of just 21.

He has also been capped at both Under-23 and Under-20 level for Morocco, while scout Jacek Kulig has tipped him to have a “huge future” in the game.

Hopefully, the chance still arises for Everton to go back in for El Hilali in the near future, whether that be in January or next summer, with the Moroccan a footballer who could add so much long-term quality to a position that has too often seen ageing players used there in recent years, from Seamus Coleman to Ashley Young.

Not Dibling: Everton are brewing Grealish 2.0 in "phenomenal" 18-year-old

Everton are brewing a terrific homegrown talent who is similar to Jack Grealish.

ByKelan Sarson Sep 3, 2025

He could also provide good competition for Jake O’Brien, who has become a very solid right-back for the Blues, but is also a centre-back by trade.

Everton’s summer rebuild is picking up pace, and midfield is a clear area of focus.

With the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucouré and Ashley Young all leaving at the end of their contracts, the Blues are working to refresh their squad ahead of the new campaign.

David Moyes has been handed greater transfer flexibility under the Friedkin Group’s ownership, and while Everton will not spend extravagantly, they are being bold.

One of the names linked in recent weeks is John McGinn, who could leave Aston Villa after an impressive campaign that saw Unai Emery’s side reach the Champions League quarter-finals.

The 30-year-old Scotland international made 49 appearances in all competitions last season, tallying four goals and six assists, and remains a respected leader at the Midlands club.

On paper, McGinn offers experience, work rate, and a level of maturity that Everton’s midfield currently lacks. While he might seem like the safe choice, the club’s recruitment team appear to be targeting a player with greater quality and long-term upside.

A midfielder with a proven Premier League track record, a broader skill set, and the potential to immediately lift the technical standard at Goodison Park.

Everton targeting a midfield upgrade

According to journalist Gianni Balzarini, the club are exploring a deal for Douglas Luiz, who is expected to leave Juventus after a torrid time in Turin.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

As per Balzarini, Luiz’s agent is currently in England and “touring English clubs”, albeit with the Toffees said to be the frontrunners in the hotly-contested race:

“Everton has an advantage over other teams. There’s a feeling that the deal could be concluded soon.”

The 26-year-old joined the Italian giants from Aston Villa in a €50m (£42m) deal last summer but failed to register a goal or assist across 27 appearances and missed 20 games due to injuries.

After failing to report for the first day of pre-season, Juventus are now prepared to offload the Brazilian for a fee in the region of €40m (£34m). Despite his underwhelming stint in Serie A, there is no doubt about Luiz’s pedigree.

His five-year spell in the Premier League with Villa made him one of the most highly rated central midfielders in the division – a player equally capable of controlling tempo, breaking up play, and progressing the ball up the pitch.

Statman Dave once described him as an “engine in midfield,” and his numbers back that up.

Why Luiz can bring more to Everton’s midfield

When compared with McGinn, Luiz comes out on top in almost every key metric from their respective most recent seasons in the Premier League.

According to FBref, Luiz completed passes at a higher rate (85.7% vs. 81.9%), created more shots per 90 (3.52 vs. 3.08), and registered more tackles (1.74 vs. 1.34), blocks (0.96 vs. 0.89), and defensive interventions in the middle third (0.81 vs. 0.57).

He combines technical security with defensive steel, offering balance and fluidity – qualities that Moyes’ midfield setup could sorely benefit from.

Crucially, Luiz’s best form came in the Premier League. This isn’t a case of betting on potential. At his peak, he was dictating midfield battles against some of the league’s best sides.

He also has youth on his side. At 27, he’s three years younger than McGinn and entering what should be the prime of his career, having already registered 38 goals and assists in 175 Premier League outings.

That would represent a coup for the Merseyside club, particularly in light of expected competition from elsewhere in the Premier League.

While Luiz struggled to establish himself under Igor Tudor and Thiago Motta at Juventus, the dip in form is being viewed as circumstantial rather than terminal.

Juventus’s systemic issues and tactical instability last season made it difficult for any one player to truly shine, a belief that is shared by legendary former coach, Fabio Capello:

From Everton’s perspective, this is an opportunity. Luiz is proven, hungry to re-establish himself, and potentially available at a cut-price. While McGinn would add fight and familiarity, Luiz offers control, versatility, and greater upside.

Midfield has long been a problem area for Everton. Despite Idrissa Gueye extending his contract, the club’s depth remains thin.

Luiz would bring a blend of technical precision and combativeness – the kind of profile capable of transforming the way Everton build play from the back and transition through midfield.

The dream squad Everton can build: £88m quintet & "beast" sign after Barry

A look at how Everton’s dream squad could shape up next season

1 ByJoe Nuttall Jul 10, 2025

If Everton can close a deal, they’ll not only have landed a better player than McGinn, they’ll have done so ahead of several top-flight rivals.

That would send a signal that under the Friedkin Group, Everton aren’t just surviving anymore, they’re planning to compete.

He's a dream for Barry: Everton open talks to sign £50m "superstar"

Everton initiate talks to sign LaLiga star in bold bid to strengthen attack

ByWill Miller Jul 23, 2025

This summer is shaping up to be something really quite special for Arsenal.

Following the underwhelming business conducted by his predecessor last year, Sporting Director Andrea Berta is wasting no time at all in his bid to turn Mikel Arteta’s side from serial runners-up to Premier League champions next season.

The Italian has already clinched the signings of Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Christian Norgaard, while Noni Madueke is set for a medical at London Colney this afternoon.

Yet, in perhaps the most exciting development of all, the club now appear to have secured the services of Viktor Gyokeres, and if reports are to be believed, they’re also targeting a winger who he’ll love.

Arsenal target Gyokeres' dream teammate

Gyokeres has long been on Arsenal’s radar, as he was touted for a move to the club for much of last summer, and then again in January.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

However, when the window reopened this summer, it looked like Benjamin Sesko was going to be the Gunners’ new number nine, although once RB Leipzig demanded £85m, attention swiftly turned back to the Swede.

After a week or so of further talks, and a strike from the player himself, The Athletic’s David Ornstein confirmed that an agreement in principle has been reached with Sporting CP that will see them paid an initial fee of £55m, with £9m of performance-related add-ons.

It could be the signing that will help revolutionise the team’s frontline, and as if that wasn’t enough, the Gunners are now being linked with someone Gyokeres would love to play alongside.

At least that is according to a recent report from journalist Graeme Bailey, who has revealed that Arsenal are one of the teams interested in Kaoru Mitoma.

Alongside the Gunners, the report claims that Chelsea and Bayern Munich are keen on the Brighton & Hove Albion star, who now has just under two years remaining on his £80k-per-week contract.

A potential price is not mentioned in the report, but according to stories from earlier this summer, the Seagulls could demand a fee of up to £80m.

It could be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but Mitoma has the ability to make a significant impact at Arsenal, and he could be a dream teammate for Gyokeres.

Why Gyokeres would love Mitoma

So, to assess the sorts of players that Gyokeres would love playing alongside, it’s important to look at his playstyle.

We know the Sporting star is a lean, mean goalscoring machine, but when we take a look at his league heatmap this season, we can see that he is very much a number nine who likes to spend most of his time in the penalty area.

We can see this even more clearly when looking at where he took his shots in the Champions League last season, as 19 of 24 were from inside the penalty area.

Therefore, be it through passing or dribbling, the former Coventry City man is going to love playing with attackers who can get the ball to him in these dangerous areas, and as many will be aware, Mitoma is a real threat with the ball at his feet.

The Japanese international famously wrote a university dissertation on dribbling, and it looks like it paid off, as, according to FBref, he was in the top 8% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League for carries into the final third last season and the top 10% for progressive carrying distance, per 90.

Non-Penalty Expected Goals per Shot

0.16

Top 7%

Blocks

1.66

Top 7%

Shots on Target %

47.4%

Top 8%

Goals/Shot

0.18

Top 8%

Carries into Final Third

2.84

Top 8%

Progressive Carrying Distance

135.05

Top 10%

Progressive Carries

5.05

Top 12%

However, the Seagulls ace is not just a carrying machine; he’s more than capable of chipping in with goals and assists.

In fact, in 36 league appearances last season, the “insane” talent, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, found the back of the net on ten occasions and provided four assists for good measure.

In other words, the 28-year-old, who “finishes like Thierry Henry,” according to former teammate Christian Burgess, maintained an average of a goal involvement every 2.57 games.

Just imagine what his assist tally could look like playing with a striker who scored 54 goals in 52 games last season.

Moreover, as the Swedish international is such a goal threat and someone who loves to spend time in and around the penalty area, that could allow the Japanese international more space to whip in those Henry-esque curling shots from the left.

Ultimately, while he won’t be cheap, Mitoma is just the sort of winger who could facilitate Gyokeres’ game, while also thriving off of it.

Zubi will love him: Arsenal have agreement to sign £17m star after Gyokeres

Arsenal’s busy summer window now appears in full swing after Martin Zubimendi’s arrival.

ByEthan Lamb Jul 13, 2025

Manchester City are enjoying themselves on Club World Cup duty, but that doesn’t mean work isn’t going on in the background to secure reinforcements at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City's balancing act with transfers and Club World Cup

Al Hilal await Manchester City in the last 16 of the Club World Cup after Pep Guardiola led his side to three straight victories over Wydad Casablanca, Al Ain and Juventus in the group stages.

Reverting to traditional full-backs to control the middle of the park with tight interchanges in and around the penalty area, the former Barcelona boss has made the Citizens one of the favourites to claim the trophy Stateside, which would be the perfect end to an otherwise disappointing 2024/2025.

Buying into Manchester City’s recent hype, Guardiola praised his side for showing a ruthless edge against Juventus that he believes could be a sign of things to come as his side aim to replicate their success of the last decade.

He stated: “This is just one game but I think the players felt again what it was like to be a good team. It’s the first time we’ve performed the way we can.

“We won the last two but we adjusted a few things. I’m really pleased because the players realise what we have to do to get back to what we were in the last decade. The belief always comes from your performances, not your past.”

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ByCharlie Smith Jun 13, 2025

Nevertheless, there is still plenty of transfer activity going on at the Etihad, with Manchester City’s pursuit of Real Madrid star Rodrygo now public knowledge.

After losing out to Liverpool last term, Guardiola appears determined to take the fight to the reigning champions this season and is now pursuing one of England’s brightest talents.

Manchester City preparing bid to sign Tino Livramento

According to GIVEMESPORT, Manchester City are preparing a bid to sign Newcastle United star Tino Livramento, and Guardiola’s side are reportedly convinced that he wants a move to the Eastlands.

Citing his ability to operate in either full-back position, the Sky Blues are growing in confidence that they could land the England Under-21 international despite Eddie Howe having no desire to lose the Croydon-born man, who is currently out on duty at the European Championships.

Five similar players to Tino Livramento (FBRef)

Denis Appiah

Saint-Ettiene

Joe Scally

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Destiny Udogie

Tottenham Hotspur

Pep Chavarria

Rayo Vallecano

Gideon Mensah

Auxerre

Earning £50,000 per week in the North East, Livramento notched a solitary assist in 45 appearances across all competitions for Newcastle last campaign and helped them claim EFL Cup glory and qualify for the Champions League.

Three other unnamed players are under consideration at Manchester City, but it appears that the “excellent” former Southampton man is their prime target at this point in time.

Arriving potentially with the added carrot of being a homegrown player, helping them navigate squad regulations, completing a deal would make a lot of sense for Guardiola in the cold light of day.

Arsenal are busy restructuring Mikel Arteta’s squad behind-the-scenes, with a few noteworthy exits anticipated before deadline day on September 1.

Players who could leave Arsenal this summer

Marquinhos, Kieran Tierney, Jorginho and Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand have already left the club, as confirmed by Arsenal.

Arsenal submit "concrete offer" to sign star who wants over £250k-per-week

The Gunners have lodged their opening bid.

ByEmilio Galantini Jun 13, 2025

Tierney and Oulad M’Hand were named as the departing players via Arsenal’s retained list earlier this month, joining a host of senior and academy players out the door, with Neto and Raheem Sterling also returning to their parent clubs.

19/20 – winter

£0

20/21 – summer

£81.5m

20/21 – winter

£900k

21/22 – summer

£156.8m

21/22 – winter

£1.8m

22/23 – summer

£121.5m

22/23 – winter

£59m

23/24 – summer

£208m

23/24 – winter

£0

24/25 – summer

£101.5m

24/25 – winter

£0

Marquinhos signed for Cruzeiro on a permanent deal following his initial loan spell in Brazil, while Jorginho’s contract was terminated before June 30, so he could join Flamengo early and in time for this summer’s Club World Cup.

Thomas Partey is still in talks to extend his Arsenal contract, which is why he wasn’t included in the Gunners’ retained list, but as yet, no agreement has been reached for the Ghanaian’s renewal.

“I think the first thing is where are you happy and where do you feel at home. At the end of the day you’ve been in football, you’ve been in different teams,” said Partey, speaking about his future in an interview with 3Sports this week.

“Then it’s about what is your next objective what do you want to achieve next. You still have to look at all this and at the end of the day we all have a family that needs money, this is our mind.

“We are not getting younger. There are a lot of things where you have to look now with a family, where you want them to be happy. When you are young you just play anywhere.

“I’m an Arsenal fan, I can’t decide anything and just have to leave it to my agent and the club. Me, I just want to enjoy football.”

Until the ink is dry on paper, Partey’s potential exit remains a possibility. According to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, the African could be joined by both Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Arsenal hold AC Milan meeting over Kiwior and Zinchenko sale

La Gazzetta reporter Marco Guidi says that an emissary from AC Milan travelled to London and held a summit with Arsenal on Tuesday, with both Kiwior and Zinchenko discussed and targeted by the Rossoneri.

The duo, on a combined £208,000-per-week and further down Arteta’s pecking order, are prime candidates to leave north London this summer and Guidi writes that Arsenal could sell Zinchenko for less than £13 million.

Kiwior is also a popular name inside Milan, having impressed alongside William Saliba when Gabriel was out injured, not to mention performing well for Poland at international level.

The 25-year-old is a proven Serie A player from his time at Spezia as well, leaving little wonder Milan are considering Kiwior with Zinchenko as they look to strengthen after a disappointing 24/25 campaign.

Arsenal’s biggest strength this season, and arguably last season as well, was their defence.

Mikel Arteta’s side may have scored 17 goals fewer than Liverpool in the Premier League, but then, even though they finished ten points off top spot, they managed to concede seven goals fewer than the Reds.

While this genuinely impressive solidity is partly thanks to the entire team, it wouldn’t be inaccurate to describe William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes as the chief architects of the Gunners’ almost impenetrable backline.

So, fans should be delighted about recent reports linking the club with an international defender compared to both of them.

Arsenal searching for another defender

Before getting to the star in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other defensive titans linked with Arsenal in recent weeks and months, such as Jorrel Hato and Marc Guehi.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The former seems to be on the radar for a lot of big teams this summer, at a price of around £42m, and it’s not hard to see why, as at just 19 years old, he’s already established himself as a crucial member of Ajax’s defensive setup.

Likewise, Guehi is just as, if not more important, for Crystal Palace, making 44 appearances across all competitions and winning the FA Cup with them this season, which makes his supposed £50m valuation seem more than reasonable.

However, while both of these players are brilliantly talented, another defender who could be an even more exciting acquisition has now entered the frame: Ousmane Diomande.

According to a recent report from Portuguese newspaper O Jogo, as relayed by Caught Offside, Arsenal are now in the race for the Sporting CP star.

Alongside the Gunners, the report has revealed that London rivals Chelsea are also keen to bring the Ivorian to the Premier League this summer.

While the report makes no mention of how much the centre-back might cost, reports from last month reaffirm claims that he has a €80m release clause in his current deal, which amounts to about £68m.

It would, therefore, be a costly and likely complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Diomande’s ability and the comparisons to Saliba and Gabriel, it’s one Arsenal should fight for.

How Diomande compares to Saliba and Gabriel

So then, given just how sensationally well Arsenal’s defensive duo have played in recent campaigns, it is undoubtedly a bold claim to suggest that Diomande is not just similar to one of them but both.

However, that is just the claim respected analyst Ben Mattinson made when he described the Ivorian international as “a hybrid between Gabriel and Saliba” just last season.

Now, when it comes to his similarity to the former, you can look at things from the fact that the Brazilian is just an inch taller at 6 foot 3 to their goalscoring ability, with the Sporting star finding the back of the net twice in 32 league games to the Gunners’ titan getting one more in 28 games.

How about the Frenchman, then?

Well, interestingly, the most convincing argument for how similar the Abidjan-born star is to the former Saint-Etienne ace comes from FBref, which compared players in similar positions in the Champions League this season.

It then created a list of the ten most comparable players for everyone who participated in the competition and concluded that the Bondy-born titan was the number one most similar centre-back to the Sporting ace.

The best way to understand how this conclusion was reached is by examining some of the underlying numbers in which the pair ranked closely, such as non-penalty expected goals plus assists, progressive carries, passing accuracy, expected assists, live passes, interceptions and more, all per 90.

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.01

0.03

Progressive Carries

0.36

0.36

Passing Accuracy

93.2%

92.2%

Expected Assists

0.01

0.01

Live Passes

58.8

56.5

Interceptions

0.96

0.91

Finally, while Saliba is now three years older, he was also being spoken about as one of the most exciting emerging defensive talents at 21, so there will be some shared experiences between him and the Sporting gem should he move to the Emirates this summer.

Ultimately, it’s a lot of money, but with how highly rated he is and the fact he’s been compared to two of their very best players, Arsenal should do what they can to sign Diomande this summer.

He's a dream for Rice: Arsenal are about to submit bid for £84m "magician"

The outrageously talented international would be game-changing for Arsenal.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Jun 12, 2025

Aston Villa have plenty of work to do in the market under Unai Emery this summer and could now bring a familiar face to Villa Park to replace Marcus Rashford, according to a report.

Marcus Rashford staying at Aston Villa is looking unlikely

In a January transfer window where the Villans had to cope with the loss of Jhon Duran, Marcus Rashford was brought in on loan to soften the blow and certainly made an impact upon arrival from Manchester United.

Four goals and six assists in 17 appearances from the Three Lions international helped Aston Villa claim a European place. However, Gabriel Agbonlahor believes Unai Emery should look for an alternative to Rashford due to his exorbitant wages.

He stated: “The main reason why I don’t think he should come is he’s going to upset the changing room. If you’re Morgan Rodgers, you’re Watkins, you’re Konsa, you’ll say ‘Rashford’s coming in on £300,000 a week.

“Okay then, well, I want £300,000 a week. That’s what happens in changing rooms. The £40 million is not the problem, it’s the wages.”

Without putting too fine a point on it, Aston Villa are under pressure to meet PSR regulations and could sell Emiliano Martinez by the end of the month to ease the gravity of their situation.

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ByTom Cunningham Jun 4, 2025

Salaries and transfer fees are accounted for, so any swoop for Rashford is starting to become more unlikely as the days go by, especially when you factor in Barcelona’s keen interest in the Carrington graduate.

Making a swift decision, Aston Villa look to be proactive in their search for a replacement, who is a face many from the Premier League sphere will be familiar with.

Aston Villa become contenders to sign Jadon Sancho

According to TEAMtalk, Aston Villa are now in the mix to sign Jadon Sancho from Manchester United after Chelsea opted to pay the £5 million penalty in his loan agreement to send him back to Old Trafford.

The Blues had an obligation to buy the former Borussia Dortmund man for £25 million, but he wasn’t willing to cool his £300,000 per week wage demands, and Villa have quickly joined the race in recent days as they expect Rashford to depart.

Labelled “amazing” by Ian Wright, the 25-year-old registered five goals and ten assists last term in 42 appearances, showing glimpses of the form that earned him a £73 million move to Manchester United in summer 2021.

Creating 38 chances and compeleting 45 dribbles in the Premier League, Sancho has shown he still has plenty more to give at the elite level this season and capped his mini-revival with a goal in Chelsea’s 4-1 triumph over Real Betis to claim continental glory.

If Aston Villa can fit him into their wage structure, there is every chance the London-born star could be a key player at Villa Park amid Manchester United’s desire to sell high earners.

Amid rumours that Manchester City have set their sights on signing Morgan Gibbs-White this summer, Nottingham Forest have now reportedly made contact to sign a potential replacement.

Nottingham Forest could lose Gibbs-White

Whilst there’s no denying that Nottingham Forest have enjoyed an excellent season, they could yet be forced to pay the ultimate price for success in the Premier League when clubs come calling for their top players. It’s the price that many others before them have paid and one that they may now have to pay at the cost of Gibbs-White.

The talented midfielder has reportedly found himself on Manchester City’s radar, with the Citizens leading the race to secure his signature in a stunning £100m move this summer. The interest in the former Wolverhampton Wanderers man should come as little shock, though, following such an impressive campaign at the City Ground.

Gibbs-White, like many of his teammates, has found himself at the centre of praise throughout the season, with Jamie Carragher even including him in his Monday Night Football Team of the Season.

When asked about his midfield selection, the Liverpool legend said: “I’m going to go with Morgan Gibbs-White. I think he’s been fantastic. I think Forest have been brilliant, but, for me, I think he’s a very underrated player.”

Nottingham Forest now evaluating summer move to sign "superb" Serie A star

He could become the heir to Chris Wood’s Forest throne.

ByTom Cunningham May 22, 2025

Just how Nottingham Forest replace such a player is the big question as the summer transfer window approaches. With European football to balance alongside domestic action, it’s a decision they must get right at the City Ground. On that front, a list of targets is already emerging too, which includes one impressive attacking midfielder.

Nottingham Forest make contact to sign Baturina

According to TeamTalk, Nottingham Forest have now made contact to sign Martin Baturina, requesting information on what it would take to secure the Dinamo Zagreb star. In a deal that would reportedly cost them around €25m (£21m), those at the City Ground could land an instant replacement for Gibbs-White by signing Baturina this summer.

A player who has been compared to legendary midfielder Luka Modric, Baturina could be set to follow his countryman to the Premier League in the hope of one day also becoming a Real Madrid icon. Whether that move comes courtesy of Nottingham Forest will certainly be interesting to see. There’s no doubt that he has the quality to step into Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

Since analyst Ben Mattinson described him as “gifted” last summer, Baturina has only kicked on and scored six goals whilst creating another 12 in all competitions for Zagreb this season.

It feels like everything that could have gone wrong for Tottenham Hotspur this season has gone wrong.

Granted, there have been more than a handful of games in which either Ange Postecoglou has got something terribly wrong or his players have massively underperformed, but one thing has ravaged their campaign this year: injuries.

For example, there have been plenty of occasions in which the club have had just a single centre-back fit or no striker to play up top, and it has undoubtedly wreaked havoc on a side who have it in them to beat anyone on their day.

This terrible misfortune with injuries struck again recently, as Dejan Kulusevski is now set to miss the rest of the campaign, meaning that with no James Maddison either, Posetcoglou is going to have to make a bold decision on the midfield ahead of this weekend’s game and next week’s Europa League final.

Spurs' injury crisis

While there have been points in which Spurs have had even more players out with injury, the current situation can fairly be described as a crisis due to the number of players who play in the same position who are out and the simple fact that the biggest game in the club’s recent history is right around the corner.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The two biggest misses are undoubtedly Maddison, who injured his knee in the first-leg win over Bodo/Glimt and will be out until pre-season at the earliest, and Kulusevski, who came off against Crystal Palace on the weekend with what first looked like just a knock to his knee, but then turned out to require surgery, meaning he too will be out for a few months.

Worse still, the North Londoners will be without the incredibly impressive Lucas Bergavll, with the manager confirming yesterday afternoon that he has only just “taken his first tentative steps on the grass.”

Other than those three key players for the Lilywhites, Radu Dragusin is also out of contention due to the ACL injury he picked up in February, and now Timo Werner is confirmed to have suffered a hamstring injury in the same month, which is why he hasn’t featured since then.

In all, Spurs are not in great shape for the next two games, with their lack of natural attacking midfield options a serious concern.

However, with tonight’s game not mattering all that much in the grand scheme of things, Postecoglou has the chance to try something a little unorthodox to solve this problem ahead of the final next week.

Spurs' Kulusevski & Maddison solution

So, the truth of the matter is that Spurs do not have an ideal solution for the lack of a natural attacking midfielder at the moment, but there are at least a few unusual solutions that Postecoglou could try ahead of next week.

Perhaps the most realistic is bringing Son Heung-min back into the starting lineup and playing him in the most attacking midfield role.

Now, it is true that the South Korean international hasn’t got the speed or agility he once did, but he still has excellent technique and an evidently high football IQ.

Exp. Assisted Goal

0.36

Top 4%

GCA (Live-ball Pass)

0.57

Top 4%

SCA (Live-ball Pass)

3.80

Top 6%

Goals + Assists

0.71

Top 7%

Shot-Creating Actions

5.13

Top 7%

Assists

0.40

Top 8%

Goal-Creating Actions

0.66

Top 9%

Passes into Penalty Area

2.25

Top 12%

We can see this in some of his underlying numbers, as according to FBref, the “incredible” ace, as dubbed by Postecoglou, sits in the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers for expected assisted goals, goal-creating actions from his live passes, the top 6% for shot-creating actions from his live passes, the top 7% for goals plus assists and goal-creating actions and more, all per 90.

So, with his ability to play dangerous passes still undeniable, playing him in the middle with rapid runners on either side of him, like Mathys Tel and Brennan Johnson, could be the key to unlocking Aston Villa’s defence tonight and Manchester United’s on Wednesday.

Finally, on top of his technical brilliance, the former Bayer Leverkusen star remains the club captain, and with how important and pressurised this next week will be, his presence in the team may be needed more than ever.

Ultimately, it’s not an ideal situation that Spurs find themselves in, but with what is practically a dress rehearsal for next week tonight, Postecoglou can try and solve the team’s injury crisis by playing Son in attacking midfield.

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Glasgow Rangers must find a way to get back on top in Scottish football after they missed out on the Premiership title for the fourth season running.

The Light Blues will finish second once again in the top-flight and held the champions to a 1-1 draw at Ibrox in the last Old Firm clash of the campaign on Sunday.

Cyriel Dessers, as you can see in the clip above, scored the only goal of the game for the Light Blues, but it was not a perfect performance by the Nigeria international.

Cyriel Dessers' performance against Celtic

The experienced centre-forward did incredibly well for his goal with a good run and touch to take Mohammed Diomande’s pass in and then showed strength to hold off Liam Scales before burying his finish past Viljami Sinisalo.

Unfortunately, though, Dessers did not show that strength for much of the game, as he lost all four of his ground duels and lost four of his five aerial battles.

The former Cremonese striker also completed just 53% (7/13) of his attempted passes in the match, which means that the forward struggled out of possession and with the ball at his feet outside of his goal.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

One player who was worse than the goalscorer, though, was attacking midfielder Nedim Bajrami, who should be ruthlessly ditched by the 49ers this summer.

Why Nedim Bajrami should be sold

The Albania international, who joined the club from Sassuolo last summer, was selected to start as part of the attacking set-up against the Hoops and was even worse than Dessers.

Barry Ferguson’s number nine, at least, scored the only goal of the game for the Light Blues to make up for the rest of his disappointing display. Whereas, Bajrami made little to no impact at the top end of the pitch in his time on the field.

Minutes

66

Ground duels won

2/2

Aerial duels won

1/1

Pass accuracy

72%

Crosses completed

0/2

Shots

0

Key passes

0

Big chances created

0

As you can see in the table above, the Albanian forward did not create any chances or take any shots as Sinisalo’s goal, but did show some good fight to win all three of his duels.

This shows that he was even worse than Dessers because the Nigeria international made a telling contribution in front of goal and created one chance for the team, whilst the ex-Serie B ace offered nothing in that respect.

Ultimately, Bajrami is an attacking player who should be in the team to make things happen in the final third, and he has not done that consistently enough this season.

The 26-year-old flop has scored three goals and provided one assist in 38 appearances in the Premiership and the Europa League combined this term, including just two goals in 27 league matches for the club.

It is now down to the incoming owners and the new manager to ruthlessly move Bajrami on in the summer transfer window, after what has been an underwhelming debut season at Ibrox, because he has not proven that the quality is there for him to be a key player moving forward.

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