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Many Everton fans have been discussing an update about Lucas Digne that recently emerged on social media.

The Times’ correspondent Paul Joyce has recently reported that the Toffees are now preparing to offer the left-back a new contract. An article written by the journalist has claimed that this is an attempt from Everton to ward off potential suitors for the Frenchman amidst reports linking him with a move. The defender is expected to get improved terms in the new deal and Everton are hoping he will sign the deal after he was linked with a move to Manchester City (as per the Times).

Digne is currently out injured and could be out well into the New Year too, but Carlo Ancelotti has already revealed that his rehab is going very well indeed (as per the Times). Digne is currently valued at £29.70m.

Digne arrived at Goodison Park from Barcelona in the summer of 2018 for a fee of £18 million. Since arriving at the club, he has made 87 appearances in all competitions for the Toffees while picking up 17 assists and a total of five goals (as per Transfermarkt).

Many Everton fans were raving about this update and they took to Twitter to make their opinion clear about Digne’s potential new deal.

What did Everton fans make of this update about Digne?

In other news, many Everton fans have been talking about the club’s links with a move for Sami Khedira – read more about it here.

Just what must Allan Saint-Maximin be thinking? The Newcastle star has been one of the very few bright spots for the Magpies over the past year or so, and was duly rewarded with a bumper new contract earlier in the summer, despite only being at St James’ Park for one season.

At times it really has been the Frenchman versus the rest, and on Saturday afternoon against Chelsea, the winger had a disappointing display, which only served to highlight just how much the Tyneside club have relied upon him for some inspiration.

As per Sofascore, he lost possession 13 times over the course of the game, and had just one shot on goal, whilst even that was off target. And with Chelsea dominating possession, the winger could only manage 14 passes, and failed to deliver a single accurate cross.

Eventually, whether it was because of his poor performance or just that he felt like the Magpies weren’t going to get anything from the game and wanted to save him from injury, Bruce hooked him after 74 minutes.

Nobody can fault for Saint-Maximin for at least trying to get things going, but you couldn’t help but feel that he was being held back by his manager’s game-plan and his teammates’ lack of quality.

But the longer Bruce’s defensive-minded tactics continue, the more frustrated Saint-Maximin will become. And if the French ace packs his bags and leaves St James’ Park, then there’ll be only man to point the finger at.

Whilst summer signing Konstantinos Tsimikas was never likely to be a regular in Liverpool’s first-team whilst Andy Robertson is fit and firing, Reds fans will have been expecting a lot more from the Greek international compared to what he has shown so far.

The left-back, who joined from Olympiakos in the summer transfer window, made just his second start for the Merseyside club in their 2-0 defeat against Atalanta on Wednesday evening.

The 24-year-old’s only other appearance of note was in the 7-2 win against Lincoln City, where he was perhaps unlikely to be tested as much in what proved to be a comfortable win against League One opposition.

Considering Liverpool had beaten Gian Piero Gasperini’s side 5-0 away from home in the reverse fixture, a lot of Reds fans will have surely been expecting a comfortable victory at Anfield but it was far from it, as the Serie A side claimed all three points in Group D thanks to goals from Josip Ilicic and Robin Gosens.

Jurgen Klopp will surely have been disappointed with the performance of Tsimikas in the defeat, with the Greek international replaced by Robertson shortly after the hour-mark.

As per SofaScore, the defender earned a 6.3 rating for his display against Atalanta, which was the joint-worst of any player on the pitch.

It was a disappointing display both attacking and defensively, as when he received the ball high up the pitch, he was very wasteful, with none of his four crosses finding a Liverpool shirt, whilst none of his long balls were accurate.

The former Olympiakos man recorded a pass accuracy rate of 78%, with 29/37 of his passes finding their mark.

He also struggled to win duels against the Italian opposition, as he was successful in just three of his nine ground duels on the evening.

When you compare this horror-show to Robertson’s superb display against Leicester City recently, which was excellent from both a defensive and attacking point of view (he set up Diogo Jota’s goal and helped keep a clean sheet), it seems as if Tsimikas is a long way off replicating the sort of performances the £67.5m-rated man has regularly produced since joining the club.

Whilst it may be too early to write Tsimikas off completely, the early signs are certainly not good.

And, in other news… Liverpool made an inexcusable error in selling “superb” centre-back

David Gold and David Sullivan will have left a sour taste in the mouths of many West Ham United supporters for their slack efforts to strengthen David Moyes’ squad this summer, but can show their intent with the capture of AFC Bournemouth’s Joshua King.

What’s the word?

According to The Telegraph, West Ham have begun talks with Bournemouth and King over a potential £10million deal to take the forward from the Vitality Stadium against rival interest from West Bromwich Albion.

King is eager to secure a move to a Premier League side following the Cherries’ relegation last season, having established himself as a top-flight player with 48 goals and 15 assists over the past five campaigns.

The window remains open for Premier League sides to do business with EFL clubs until October 16, which Irons boss Moyes is keen to explore after Felipe Anderson’s loan move to FC Porto and Grady Diangana’s departure for West Brom left him with a lack of options.

Baggies boss Slaven Bilic is also keen on King following news that striker Hal Robson-Kanu will require surgery on his broken arm, while Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur had considered signing the 28-year-old earlier in the summer.

King missed the start of the 2020/21 season for new manager Jason Tindall through an injury sustained whilst on international duty, but the £45,000-per-week 2021-free agent has since struggled to earn game time on the south coast with just 23 minutes to his name across all competitions thus far.

An ambitious signing from the EFL

King could serve as a late signal of intent by the West Ham ownership of Gold and Sullivan as the former Manchester United trainee and January target is one of the top talents still on the market now that the international window has closed.

The Oslo-born forward struck six goals and penned four assists whilst Bournemouth were relegated last season despite starting just 24 of 26 appearances, with successful strikes against the Red Devils and Chelsea that secured a vital win and draw that kept the Cherries in the survival race until the final seconds.

He further created four big chances that were not converted and spurned three himself, whilst averaging 0.8 shots, 1.2 key balls, 5.9 duels won and 2.0 successful dribbles a game, per SofaScore.

King is also a player with great ambition, having stated desires to become Norway’s all-time leading goalscorer and eclipse the 33 goal tally of Jorgen Juve set between 1928 and 1937, despite only having 17 to his name from 48 appearances heading into Thursday night’s UEFA Euros qualifier against Serbia.

Now that West Ham can only shop in the English Football League for late reinforcements, GSB could do a lot worse than court King for £10m.

AND in other news, GSB’s floundering in the transfer market ensured West Ham failed in a late pursuit of a £30million target.

Earlier this week we discussed how Steven Gerrard should start Glasgow Rangers ace Ianis Hagi against Standard Liege in the Europa League so that the 21-year-old gains valuable experience in his football career, but there’s a certain player in particular we forgot to mention who should be in contention to start at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne too.

Jermain Defoe was surprisingly omitted from the Europa League squad to make room for Bongani Zungu due to a lack of homegrown players. Whilst some may argue that the 29-cap South Africa international is just making up the numbers, as Gerrard was full of praise for his midfield after the Gers romped to a 2-0 win over their arch-rivals Celtic in the first Old Firm derby of the season, we think that he could be given his first-team debut on Thursday night.

Glen Kamara put in a tremendous performance at Celtic Park, as he won seven out of nine ground duels whilst neutralising the attacking threat of Celtic wing-back Jeremie Frimpong, so he could be rested for the Europa League clash.

And ex-Ibrox midfielder Neil Murray seems to agree, saying: “The manager has another big decision to make for the Liege game and you could see Kamara missing out if he switches it up.

“You hope that healthy competition, where no players are guaranteed to play in that midfield, keeps everyone on their toes.”

If Kamara does indeed drop out, then this will create space for the South African to slot into place alongside Ryan Kent, who is almost certain to start, as he has made 13 appearances for the Light Blues this season so far.

In any case, competition for places is important, so Zungu should be given the chance to show what he can do. He was denied the chance to feature in the Old Firm derby after being forced to quarantine due to coronavirus restrictions in Scotland.

Once hailed as a “special talent” by Flavio Meireles, the sporting director from Vitoria de Guimaraes, the 28-year-old made 21 appearances in Ligue 1 for Amiens last season, whilst he made one clearance and more than one tackle per game, via WhoScored.

By comparison, Kamara is only averaging 0.7 tackles per game in the Scottish Premiership this season, as per WhoScored.

We don’t envy the tough decision at all, that’s for sure. What better way for Zungu to make a good impression than by making a statement in the European competition? One thing is for sure, it’ll be interesting to see if and when he will make his debut for the Gers. All eyes will be watching.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must take a gamble on long-term target Jack Wilshere…

Chelsea are set to face Tottenham Hotspur this evening in their latest Carabao Cup fixture. 

The Blues will be eager to put their recent shock 3-3 draw to West Brom behind them and make a statement over their London rivals.

Spurs were given a bye into the Round of 16 after they were unable to play against Leyton Orient due to the League Two side confirming several cases of Covid-19. However, despite the north Londoners having had more time to prepare, a lot of Chelsea fans are confident it will be an easy win for them.

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Supporters have responded to the club’s match day Instagram post and are predicting some very bold score-lines. One fan has even bravely claimed that the Blues will beat Jose Mourinho’s side with a mammoth 9-2 victory.

Chelsea made easy work of brushing aside Barnsley in the previous round – a 6-0 win saw Kai Havertz showcase his ability after scoring a hat-trick. The summer signing was deployed in the attacking midfield role, which allowed him to finally bring the energy from last season in his 18-goal campaign for Bayer Leverkusen.

Spurs will host Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in their bid to reach the quarter-finals. But, fuelled on by their disappointing draw to West Brom, the Blues will be ready to put in a fierce fight.

Tell us your score predictions for Spurs vs Chelsea in the comments below!

One of Tottenham Hotspur’s priorities this summer should be finding a new striker to provide valuable support to Harry Kane and perhaps the solution can be found in Spain…

What’s the word?

According to Mundo Deportivo, Spurs have been closely following the progress of Real Betis frontman Loren Moron, who an unnamed Premier League team has recently bid €12m (£10.7m) for.

It’s claimed that the 26-year-old has a release clause of €50m (£44.5m) but the La Liga outfit would accept bids of around €20m (£18m) for his signature this summer.

Arsenal, Sheffield United, West Ham and Newcastle United have all been mooted with interest in the Spaniard too.

Forget Wilson

With Spurs being told to pay a whopping £30m for relegated star Callum Wilson, a move for Moron would make a lot more sense, especially as he’s proven to be more prolific than the Englishman this season.

Per WhoScored, the Betis ace delivered ten goals and three assists from just 21 appearances, averaging 1.4 shots and 1.2 aerial duels won per game.

Former Barcelona head coach Quique Setien hailed the striker as a “really good player” with “many qualities” whilst La Liga Analysis note how his excellent movement off-the-ball allows him to be a poacher inside the box.

Although he’s not a traditional number nine like Kane, there are some similarities as he can also drop deep to open up space for the wingers to cut inside, something that Spurs can do quite well.

The 6 foot 2 forward can be the man to finally replace Fernando Llorente in north London and he’ll cost half the price of someone who’s just been relegated from the top-flight.

Daniel Levy must sanction the £18m move before one of their rivals clinches him.

AND in other news, Spurs could have dream midfield duo with £20m arrival

Tottenham Hotspur are set to beat Arsenal to sign Kim-min jae this summer.

Tottenham have been close to completing the signing of the Beijing Guoan defender for a number of months, but now negotiations have moved one step nearer.

According to KBS News, as per @TranSPURS, Kim is flying to north London to finalise the move.

The Mirror claimed earlier this year that Spurs were leading the race to sign the South Korean in the summer, as relayed by HITC.

Recent reports suggested both sides have agreed a fee of £15m is acceptable, and he now only has to complete a medical to seal the deal.

Kim, who is known as ‘Monster’, is an international teammate of Son Heung-min, who is the club’s second-highest goalscorer this season.

The Lilywhites have leaked goals for fun over the course of the campaign, conceding nearly 50 goals so far.

Jose Mourinho wants to fix his defensive problems as soon as possible, as Jan Vertonghen is seemingly destined for the exit, while questions remain over Juan Foyth’s future at the club.

The 23-year-old has already won 30 caps for his country, winning a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in the process, which earned him certain military privileges (via The Guardian).

Kim cuts quite the imposing figure at the back as he stands 1,9m tall, which explains why Mourinho wants to sign him in the summer.

The Portuguese tried to sign Harry Maguire during his time in charge of Manchester United, although he was unsuccessful in his attempt, and the South Korea shares similar physical attributes with the Englishman.

At £15m, Kim should be more than affordable for Spurs, as this will surely fall within Mourinho’s restricted budget.

Spurs attempted to pursue the centre-back several years ago but it now seems like they have finally got their wish.

Tottenham fans, should Daniel Levy sign Kim in the summer? Let us know down below!

Alex Bruce has backed Jose Mourinho to bench Steven Bergwijn and Erik Lamela when Tottenham face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Hull City playerfeels that Mourinho won’t want to make any changes to the team that defeated West Ham 2-0 at home last week. Lamela and Bergwijn both featured in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United but dropped to the bench as Dele Alli and Lucas Moura took their places in the London derby.

Bruce believes that the Spurs duo will stay on the bench as Alli and Moura looked lively in Tottenham’s first victory since the Premier League restart.

The pundit told Football Insider’s Russell Edge: “He’s got some good options, hasn’t he? When you can leave two players out and bring two players like that into the team, it gives everyone a boost.

“Competition for places is healthy, I’m sure that’s what Jose wants. I don’t believe you change a winning team so I’d be very, very surprised if he changes it.

“However, Jose will have one eye on the games coming up. To play two games in a week might be difficult for a few, with injuries and what have you. You always try and keep a winning team and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t do that.”

It is difficult to disagree with Bruce here, as it is unlikely that Mourinho will want to mess around with his winning team.

Spurs are currently eighth in the Premier League, a point clear of the Blades, and nine points behind fourth-placed Chelsea. The Lilywhites know that they face an uphill struggle if they are to qualify for the Champions League.

Although he missed the match with Man United due to suspension, Alli is still the club’s third-highest goalscorer this season behind Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, as he has netted nine goals in all competitions so far (BBC).

Meanwhile, Bergwijn has bagged three goals in seven league games, including scoring on his home debut against Manchester City.

Mourinho’s side started well after he opened the scoring against Manchester United, until the Red Devils managed to claw their way back into the game after Eric Dier’s blunder (BBC). However, Bergwijn has only recently recovered from injury and the manager might be reluctant to take any more risks.

While squad rotation is always important, Spurs will know they must pick up as many points as possible, and Mourinho may opt for an unchanged side to build on their momentum.

Tottenham fans, do you think this is how Mourinho will start against Sheffield United? Let us know in the comments below!

In what promises to be one of the longest running transfer sagas of the summer, Timo Werner’s potential move to Liverpool is likely to be front and centre of the headlines.

The Germany international has been linked with a switch to Anfield for a number of weeks and months, with recent reports claiming that Werner is ready to join Jurgen Klopp’s side “if they pay his £52m release clause before it expires on June 15”.

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The striker’s current side, RB Leipzig, return to Bundesliga action this weekend, and ahead of the match, Werner took to Twitter to post a picture of him getting ready for the game.

And eagle-eyed Liverpool fans flooded the replies section to share their thoughts on their rumoured transfer target.

A couple of Liverpool fans picked up on the fact that Werner was wearing a red training top, and insisted that he looked good in the colour.

So it seems Liverpool supporters are very keen on seeing Werner join the Klopp revolution at Anfield.

Whether the Reds need a new centre-forward is certainly up for debate given the success the club have enjoyed over the past couple of seasons, but there’s no doubting some extra firepower wouldn’t go amiss.

And judging by their reactions, he would certainly be a popular signing too.