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Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin would prefer to stay put at Goodison Park beyond the summer transfer window, according to journalist Rudy Galetti.

How old is Dominic Calvert-Lewin?

The striker is still only 26 years of age, but having seen his reputation skyrocket after a brilliant 2020/21 season, injuries have held him back in cruel fashion in recent years.

Calvert-Lewin has seen his playing constantly limited by ongoing fitness issues, with only 15 Premier League starts coming his way last term. Even when he did play, he struggled to look full of match sharpness, and his performances arguably played a part in Everton having another relegation battle on their hands.

Read the latest Everton transfer news HERE…

The Englishman still has two years remaining on his current Blues deal, meaning there is no huge rush to sort an extension, but he has been linked with a move away from Goodison Park this summer, with the club potentially willing to sanction his sale.

It looks as though there is a good chance that he will stay at Everton, however, following a fresh update.

Could Dominic Calvert-Lewin stat at Everton?

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Galetti claimed that Calvert-Lewin's preference is to remain at Everton moving forward, as he provided an update on other players, too:

"About the ongoing market, Gray could leave this summer. There is a well underway deal with Fulham, despite interest from Saudi Arabia and Turkey. With Calvert-Lewin, nothing concrete in this moment. The player would like to stay and get back into the game after a difficult season due to injuries.

"Finally, many clubs admire Branthwaite. During his loan with PSV Eindhoven last season, he made very good performances."

There is no question that Calvert-Lewin has failed to kick on since 2020/21, but much of that is not through his own doing, with injuries preventing him from reaching his potential.

For that reason, this claim suggesting he wants to stay at Everton should be considered good news for Blues supporters, with the England striker still having so much to offer as a player, should he be able to overcome the fitness woes and enjoy an extended run in the team.

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Should Calvert-Lewin, who earns £100k per week, be able to do that, he could genuinely feel like a new signing, bringing a strong flow of goals and generally being a huge handful in attack, having been described as an "exceptional footballer" by Sky Sports presenter Pete Graves.

At 26, there are no concerns about his age, with many good years still hopefully ahead of him, and he certainly deserves this upcoming season to prove his worth and showing that he can remain fit for long periods.

Should injuries continue to derail his progress throughout the 2023/24 campaign, a decision may then have to be made this time next year, at which point he would only have 12 months remaining on his contract. At that point, Everton may feel that receiving a fee for him makes more sense than allowing him to leave for free in 2025, but before that, it will be intriguing to see how he fares in the coming months.

Finance expert Kieran Maguire has labelled Manchester United’s move for former Real Madrid head of partnerships strategy Kendall Crean as “absolutely critical”.

What’s the latest Man United news involving Crean and what has Maguire said?

Crean announced on LinkedIn earlier this month that she has landed a role at Old Trafford as partnerships director. Formerly of Real Madrid and Arsenal, Crean looks set to be tasked with improving the club’s commercial output, with the Red Devils recording £257.8m in commercial revenue in their 2022 report.

Talking to Football Insider regarding the move for Crean, Maguire, a regular finance expert and commenter for Sky Sports, labelled it as an “absolutely critical” appointment and “important” from a business perspective, should Erik ten Hag manage to take the club back to the top on the pitch.

“This is an absolutely critical appointment because if we look at Man United’s commercial income – since 2016 it has flatlined.

“It was £268m in 2016, it was £258 in 2022. This is despite the fact that the club now has additional opportunities to market and commercialise the club such as sleeve sponsorship.

“I think what we have seen at Man United is that Ed Woodward’s famous quote – ‘this club does not need to win football matches to be commercially successful’ – has been proved to be inaccurate.

“The appointment of Crean is important because if Erik ten Hag does return Man United to their former glory, then they need an astute individual to make sure commercial deals are benefiting the club as much as possible.”

Could an Old Trafford takeover help?

The Red Devils currently have plenty of high-profile sponsors including Adidas, Tezos and Cadbury, so Crean will be looking to help United continue to grow off the pitch after a 22.2% rise in commercial revenue last year.

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Something which could help the Red Devils grow even further with that may well be a takeover. The club’s stock market valuation rose by 17% back in November after it emerged that the Glazers could sell up, but we are still awaiting a potential takeover to go through.

The likes of Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe appear to be the frontrunners when it comes to a full takeover from the Glazers, with a third and final round of bids on the cards. The deadline for those offers are Friday 28th April, so it’ll be interesting to see what will happen next.

Tottenham Hotspur did well to sign Pedro Porro during January, but Antonio Conte would likely still not consider the transfer window a huge success.

His side currently sit three points off the pace for top four, having played one more game than most teams around them, and they are battling with two of the Premier League’s most in-form teams in Newcastle United and Manchester United for a Champions League place.

The Italian has always been vocal in his demand for additional support. Indeed, it was as recently as November that he challenged his hierarchy to match the spending of both the Magpies and Arsenal.

However, even with the acquisition of the Spaniard, they have pushed payment of the £39m transfer fee until the summer by taking him on loan until then.

It therefore begs the question as to why they could not have secured Conte his “main priority” last month, which was reportedly a centre-back according to Sky Sports’ Michael Bridge. There were few credible reports which suggested that they might actually move for one, and in the end, such a deal never materialised.

Whilst it might frustrate the 53-year-old Spurs boss, he could now look to his youth ranks to plug this all-important gap, and the outstanding candidate for such a promotion has to be Maksim Paskotsi.

The Estonian defender boasts just one senior appearance for the Lilywhites but remains a highly-rated asset who is seen as the future of the club. Indeed, such is his talent that, in 2020, football talent scout Jacek Kulig labelled him “one of the most talented players in Estonia”.

Having only featured sporadically even at under-21 level, the 20-year-old does not post a great deal of data with which to analyse. However, having been hailed by Kulig as one of the best players for his country, his impressive displays in the UEFA Nations League stand as the best way to gauge his quality.

Averaging a 7.10 Sofascore rating in that competition, his averages of 1.5 interceptions and three clearances per game outline him as a stalwart at the back. He pairs this with an average of one key pass per 90, which further paints him in the image of the quintessential modern-day centre back who is comfortable on the ball.

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With a sparkling future seemingly ahead of him, now is as good a time as any for Conte to promote the young titan to the first-team ranks and fill the gap which really needed sorting last month.

The sooner that Paskotsi is exposed to a higher level of football, the sooner that he can set about remedying his club’s biggest failing in the January transfer window.

Crystal Palace have reportedly enquired about signing Juventus defender Koni De Winter ahead of the January transfer window and the 20-year-old could prove to be the next Marc Guehi at Selhurst Park.

According to Tutto Juve, Palace, Southampton, West Ham United, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach have all asked for information about the young defender, who is currently on loan with Empoli in Serie A.

Although he has just eight appearances for Gli Azzurri under his belt, he is clearly an attractive prospect for a number of foreign clubs ahead of the January transfer window.

De Winter has made just two appearances for Juventus in his time with the club but is rated highly by a number of current and former players at the Allianz Stadium.

Leonardo Bonucci was full of praise for the young centre-back after he made his debut for the Old Lady in a Champions League win against Malmo. He said:

“Koni had a good game, he played with personality; we had already seen him in London against Chelsea. He has no fear and this will be an advantage for his career.

“He must remain humble now, he has enormous room for improvement, he has a whole career ahead of him.”

Juventus legend Pavel Nedved also dubbed the defender “really strong,” which may well remind Palace fans of a top young centre-back of their own in Guehi.

The former Chelsea man has been a revelation since joining the Eagles in 2021, earning a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad after a series of strong performances in Patrick Vieira’s side.

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During a loan spell with Swansea City in the Championship, Guehi was lauded by England U21 teammates, who dubbed him an “absolute tank” and a “brick wall,” so it is clear that he and Winter possess similar physical attributes.

The Belgian U’21 international, like Guehi, is making a name for himself on loan from a team regularly in the Champions League, and he may want to follow a similar path to the Palace star by earning more regular first-team football with a permanent move away.

While he might struggle to oust either Guehi or Joachim Andersen from Vieira’s starting side at first, he looks to have plenty of potential and there seems no reason why he can’t emulate Palace’s young English centre-back should he make the move to Selhurst Park in January.

Leeds United could make their move for FC Zurich striker Wilfried Gnonto before next Thursday’s transfer deadline…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Sky Sports reporter Tim Thornton, who claims that the 18-year-old is a key target for Victor Orta and co at Elland Road.

He told GIVEMESPORT:

“He might be one that they’ve identified for now, or maybe for January, or even for next year. He’s still a young player and, again, if he were to come in, what does that do for Joe Gelhardt?

“They’ve got to balance that out as well. So I think he’s one they’re definitely interested in.”

The Italy international is thought to be available for as little as €10m (£8m), as per reports in his home country.

Smart signing

Given Leeds’ desperate need for frontline reinforcements, this move has the potential to be another shrewd one for manager Jesse Marsch, who will certainly want an alternative to Patrick Bamford.

The no.9 missed a large chunk of last season through injury, having been restricted to just nine Premier League appearances.

These issues will just not go away as Bamford trudged off during their second game of the season, a 2-2 draw with Southampton, leading to him being absent for the surprise 3-0 win over Chelsea last weekend.

Gnonto, who has been described as “so quick and can do everything” by national team boss Roberto Mancini, would be a bargain for the Whites at just £8m.

Recently, the teenager provided an assist in Zurich’s Europa League qualifying win over Hearts and that built on last season’s exploits of ten goals and five assists, having also displayed immense versatility to play anywhere along the front three, out wide and in midfield.

Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano believes Gnonto would be a “smart signing” for Leeds to make and it’s hard to disagree.

“Let’s see what happens with Gnonto because we already mentioned his name for Leeds and they are following him, and they are still in contact with these agents to see if they have the opportunity to bring him to Leeds immediately,” he recently told the Que Golazo podcast.

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“I think it’s a possibility. There are negotiations, and so I think that Andrea Radrizzani and Victor Orta want to do something more in the market – if they have a talented opportunity for the attacking positions. This is the priority for Leeds. So I would mention Gnonto because I think he would be a really smart signing.”

As such, the young, versatile Zurich talisman could be an ideal eighth signing to end a busy summer of business around Elland Road.

AND in other news, MLS insider drops Kai Wagner update…

An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in signing Alvaro Morata in the upcoming summer transfer window…

What’s the talk?

According to Calcio Mercato, the Magpies are keen on a deal for the Spain international as Juventus have opted against signing him.

The report claims that they do not want to pay the €35m (£30m) option included in his loan deal to make it permanent, which has opened the door for other teams.

Newcastle, Arsenal and Barcelona have all made enquiries as they consider making a swoop to sign the Atletico Madrid forward.

Big Chris Wood upgrade

Dan Ashworth, who recently arrived as the club’s sporting director, can seal a big upgrade on Wood by securing a deal to sign Morata this summer.

In two Serie A seasons on loan with the Old Lady, the Spaniard scored 20 goals and provided 16 assists, creating 20 ‘big chances’ in total.

He has proven at the top level that he can score and assist goals on a regular basis. Whilst he is not a prolific scorer in the style of a Karim Benzema or a Robert Lewandowski, he offers a scoring threat and a heap of creativity from a forward role.

Juventus boss Max Allegri hailed the attacker earlier this year, saying: “Morata is one of the best in Europe at a technical level, he struggles with his back to the goal, but if he goes diagonally, with into space, he’s better and brings his characteristics to the table. There are many of them.”

He has also proven his quality in La Liga and the Premier League, scoring 12 goals in 25 starts in his last season for Atletico and 16 goals and six assists in 35 starts for Chelsea. This shows that he can adapt to playing in different countries and teams, which suggests that he would be able to hit the ground running under Eddie Howe.

Meanwhile, Wood scored five goals and failed to provide a single assist in 32 starts in the 2021/22 campaign for Burnley and Newcastle combined.

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The 30-year-old struggled in front of goal and has never managed more than three assists in a season at the top level, which shows that he does not have the creativity to fall back on – as Morata does – if he is not scoring.

Therefore, signing the Atletico gem would represent a big upgrade on the New Zealand international and Ashworth must now work hard to pip the likes of Barcelona and Arsenal to his signature.

AND in other news, “Newcastle asked..”: Reporter delivers big transfer claim that’ll leave Howe excited…

West Brom had a fairly miserable 2020/21 season in the Premier League which saw them eventually suffer relegation straight back to the Championship after losing 22 of their 38 league games.

Despite their disappointing results, one player who could be seen as being a bright light for the Baggies during a difficult campaign was Conor Gallagher.

Having signed the midfielder on loan from Chelsea in the 2020 summer transfer window, the Englishman ended up making 30 league appearances for the Midlands club, chipping in with two goals and two assists in the process.

His assists at the time ended up being rather important – the first helped to secure a point against Manchester United, while the other sealed all three points against Brighton, both in February 2021. He also netted the winner against Sheffield United in November of that season.

At the end of his spell at The Hawthorns, the midfielder won the University of Wolverhampton Young Player of the Season award, highlighting how he managed to stand out in such a disheartening campaign for Albion.

Last summer saw the Chelsea youth starlet join another team on loan. This time it was Crystal Palace who secured the Englishman’s signature on a temporary basis until the end of the campaign.

With 25 league appearances under his belt at this stage of the season, the 22-year-old has quadrupled the number of goals he netted in a West Brom shirt, also providing one more assist with a significant number of games left to play.

One of his goals with the south London club caught the attention of Palace podcaster Dan Cook, who tweeted to his near-100k followers that the midfielder’s second goal against West Ham United last August was “outrageous.”

In addition to his impressive goal contributions, the midfielder has earned an overall performance rating of 7.26/10 from WhoScored, making him the highest-rated player in Patrick Vieira’s squad.

In October 2020, shortly after making the move on loan to the Hawthorns, Transfermarkt had Gallagher’s market value listed at £4.86m. It now stands at a massive £19.8m, which is an increase of 307%, presumably due to his respectable period at West Brom and storming season with Palace.

Taking all this into account, there will surely be plenty of Baggies fans wishing that their club were able to sign the Chelsea youngster on a permanent deal after his loan spell, believing that the Albion hierarchy made a mistake in not doing so.

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However, it seems likely that their relegation from the top flight would have worked against them in any attempts to convince the midfielder to pledge his future to the Midlands club.

In other news: Bruce could unearth WBA’s next Bartley in 19 y/o prodigy who “leads by example”

Newcastle United reportedly now have ‘the opportunity’ to sign AS Roma star Nicolo Zaniolo.

The Lowdown: Newcastle’s new Gascoigne?

Back in 2019, the player’s agent Claudio Vigorelli claimed that his client ‘resembles’ former Magpies midfielder Paul Gascoigne for his ‘physical qualities’ and can be ‘devastating’ like Gazza with his ‘technique and quality’ (The Daily Mail).

The former England international was a cult hero at St James’ Park, being their Player of the Year in the 1987/88 season, and scored 20 goals in 94 games in total for them across all competitions (Transfermarkt).

Zaniolo is still only 22 years of age, and given the comparisons to Gazza, he seems to have a big future ahead of him.

The Latest: Opportunity comes around

As per Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Newcastle now have ‘the opportunity’ to sign Zaniolo for ‘significant amounts’ of money, with Tottenham Hotspur also an option for the Italy international.

However, they will not be able to sign him in the January transfer window, but a deal may be possible next summer.

The Verdict: Makes sense

With the Magpies currently in a relegation battle, it would make a lot of sense for them to wait until the summer before they can assess whether they can sign Zaniolo.

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Currently rated at £36m by 16 goals and provided a further nine assists in 87 matches for Roma, showing that he has an eye for a goal and an assist.

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At 22, he has so much potential, and if Newcastle can avoid relegation, he would certainly be an astute signing to target.

In other news, NUFC are in ‘advanced talks’ with this DoF candidate

Having seen his Sheffield United side start their 2021/22 Championship campaign in rather disastrous fashion, with the Blades picking up just two points over their opening five fixtures of the season, Slavisa Jokanovic will now be sleeping much more soundly after securing United’s first win in the second tier.

And what a win it was, with two goals each from Iliman Ndiaye and Ben Osborn and further strikes by John Fleck and Morgan Gibbs-White sealing a resounding 6-2 victory against the recently promoted Peterborough United.

The latter of the Sheffield United goalscorers, Gibbs-White, particularly impressed, with the Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee proving in the fixture that he more than has the ability to play a key role in Jokanovic’s push for promotion this season.

Key figure

Indeed, over the course of his 77 minutes on the pitch against Peterborough, it would have been difficult for the 21-year-old to turn in a more impressive display on his debut for the Blades, with the central midfielder scoring one goal, registering one assist and making one key pass.

The £6.3m-rated man also completed 100% of his attempted crosses and his attempted longs balls, won 67% of his duels, drew two fouls and made one tackle.

These returns saw the England U21 international earn a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 8.4, ranking him as the fifth-best player from either side to feature in the match.

And, with John Lundstram having left the Blades for Glasgow Rangers this summer, there was very much a hole that needed filling in the United midfield, something that, as long as he can maintain his level of performance against Posh over the course of the season, Gibbs-White appears more than capable of filling.

They might not directly be a similar type of players but after his departure, it was a huge void and loss to the Blades. Gibbs-White, however, has made them forget about the now Gers midfielder.

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However, not only does the man Chris Basham dubbed a “powerful” player have the ability to plug a gap for Jokanovic, he could well go on to prove the catalyst to fire his new side up the Championship table, and potentially all the way back to the Premier League.

In other news: Jokanovic must avoid January transfer disaster as reports emerge on SUFC “leader”

Dean Windass has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that Josh Windass’ Sheffield Wednesday future is unlikely to be resolved until the players are paid.

The former Hull City striker revealed that the Owls squad haven’t been paid for more than two months, which could prove a barrier in deciding where his son will be playing his football next season.

Josh still has 12 months remaining on his Hillsborough contract, but has been the subject to recent interest from Championship outfit Millwall, who have had two bids knocked back.

The 27-year-old was the Owls’ standout player last season, scoring nine times and adding six assists – contributing to almost 40 percent of their league goals.

However, Josh’s impressive numbers couldn’t save Wednesday from slipping into the second-tier, which has led to serious doubts over his future.

But Windass has reiterated that despite interest from the Lions and other Championship, his son wants to remain with the club and would be happy to play in League One.

He told The Transfer Tavern:

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“It’s a difficult situation, because they’ve not been paid for two months, so I’m not sure what intentions Sheffield Wednesday have got.

“He’s happy to stay there if everything gets resolved. I don’t know the answer, obviously Darren Moore doesn’t want to lose him, but the players have got to get paid and once that gets resolved, the situation might change.”