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Crystal Palace have been linked with a move for former Swansea City forward Andre Ayew as the transfer window starts to take shape.

What’s the story?

According to 90min.com, the Eagles are keen to sign the 31-year-old this summer after he became a free agent last month.

The report claims that Ayew has received offers from across the continent and in the Premier League, and it is understood that the 31-year-old is open to the idea of moving to the English capital.

Imagine him and Olise

An intriguing summer awaits Palace, with new manager Patrick Vieira having to oversee a major squad overhaul in his first few months at the helm in south London.

Several first-team stars have departed Selhurst Park following the expiration of their contracts a few weeks ago, leaving the playing squad extremely threadbare.

Ex-Reading ace Michael Olise became the first signing of the Vieira era earlier in the window, and many others are expected to follow over the coming months.

One man who could be next through the doors at the capital club is Ayew. The Ghana international has impressed in the Championship over the last couple of campaigns, playing a pivotal part as the Swans reached the play-offs two years in a row.

An impressive haul of 16 goals and four assists in 43 league outings bettered the return of any of his teammates, while his 2.2 shots per league game and 1.5 dribbles also saw the diminutive striker outperform his fellow stars.

His arrival at Palace would see Ayew reunite with his brother, Jordan after the pair lined up alongside each other at Marseille and Swansea in the past.

However, it’s his potential partnership with Olise which would arguably cause the most excitement amongst the club’s supporters.

The combination of youthfulness, experience, athletic ability and intelligence is a deadly combination, and the pair could form a dream duo at Selhurst Park next season.

And, in other news…Get it done: Parish must sanction Palace swoop for £10m beast, Vieira needs him 

A number of Wolves supporters are frustrated after Bruno Lage claimed Adama Traore would stay put at the club beyond the January transfer window.

Traore has had a curious Wanderers career in many ways, sometimes threatening to produce brilliance but too often flattering to deceive.

At 25, the hope was that the winger would have pushed on by now, becoming a more complete all-round player, but he is yet to register a goal or an assist this season.

Traore has been constantly linked with a move away from Molineux this month, with Tottenham seemingly emerging as the front-runners to sign him.

Lage has played down the exit rumours, however, according to The Express & Star‘s Liam Keen [via Talking Wolves on Twitter], saying he expects the Spaniard to be a Wolves player for the rest of the season.

Wolves fans fume at Traore update

These Wanderers fans have reacted negatively to the news on Twitter, with one admitting they are ‘gutted’.

“Where’s the dislike button?”

Credit: @MiniPizza99

“This guy just can’t leave”

Credit: @Attifooty

“And then leave on a free? At least take the £15m”

Credit: @KieDowles

“The pain will never end”

Credit: @alfiemorgannn

“I’m actually gutted!!”

Credit: @Ben1988Harvey

“If he’s not going to sign a contract then we need to sell him now really”

Credit: @Cameron__b_

In other news, some Wolves fans are delighted at a fresh transfer update. Read more here.

Tottenham Hotspur face Aston Villa in this evening’s teatime kick-off, with Antonio Conte’s side looking to keep up their impressive recent run of Premier League form in a bid to secure a top-four finish.

Indeed, with Spurs having won five of their last six league outings and Steven Gerrard’s side having lost their last three Premier League fixtures, the north London outfit will certainly fancy their chances of taking all three points back to the capital tonight.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-martinez-dybala-spence-conte-2” title= “Read the latest Spurs news!”]

However, with Spurs only narrowly defeating Villa 2-1 in the meeting between the two sides earlier this season, Conte will be well aware that he must get his team selection spot-on in order to give his team the best chance of victory this afternoon.

Will the 52-year-old make any changes to the side which started the 5-1 win over Newcastle United last weekend? Here’s how we think Tottenham could line up against Aston Villa, as well as the latest team and injury news…

With Antonio Conte recently revealing that both Sergio Reguilon and Ryan Sessegnon are back in contention after recovering from their respective knocks, we predict the 52-year-old will make just one change to the team which lined up against Newcastle last time out.

The back four remains intact, with Hugo Lloris starting between the Spurs sticks, while Ben Davies, Eric Dier and Cristian Romero make up Conte’s three-man defence.

The solitary change comes at wing-back, with Reguilon – the player who Jonathan Woodgate dubbed “horrendous” and has recently been linked with a £43m move back to Real Madrid this summer – returning to the XI on the left. Matt Doherty moves over to his preferred role on the right, with the 23-year-old Emerson Royal – who Lucas Moura claimed has a “great future” – dropping to the bench.

In the middle, with Oliver Skipp still sidelined due to injury, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur start once again, while Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski also remain unchanged in the two attacking midfield roles.

Up top, Harry Kane leads the line, with the 28-year-old undoubtedly hoping to add to his seven goals and four assists over his last eight Premier League outings.

AND in other news: Conte can form “dangerous” duo as Spurs plot bids for £156m pair who “really get along”

Everton could look to find Jonjoe Kenny a new club in the January transfer window, according to The Liverpool Echo. 

The lowdown

Kenny started both of Everton’s Carabao Cup ties – the 2-1 win at Huddersfield Town and the penalty shoot-out defeat at Queen’s Park Rangers – but has featured for just 10 minutes in the Premier League this season.

Benitez has been more inclined to use Ben Godfrey, a predominant centre-half, in the right-back position when Seamus Coleman has been unavailable.

Kenny’s £15,000-per-week contract expires in the summer, and the former Celtic and Schalke loanee has seen his estimated market value fall to £5.22m.

The latest

The Liverpool Echo journalist Adam Jones wrote that the January window can be a good opportunity to offload players who are entering the final months of their deals. Kenny is in that position, with his long-term Everton future ‘seriously under doubt’.

While the 24-year-old does ‘provide useful back-up at right-back’, according to the report, he seems to be out of favour with Rafael Benitez at this moment in time.

The verdict

It’s pretty damning that Benitez has favoured Godfrey in an unnatural position over Kenny, and it suggests that the latter should be packing his bags.

If he remains at Everton, his only real opportunities to play first team football in 2021/22 could come in the FA Cup, barring a major injury crisis in defence.

Having been labelled ‘unbelievable’ by former Toffees team-mate Aaron Lennon when he first broke into the senior team, Kenny’s failure to hold down a regular first team place since the 2017/18 season suggests that he hasn’t been able to kick on under a succession of managers at Goodison Park, so it would be no great surprise if he does cut his ties with Everton altogether for the betterment of his career.

In other news, many Everton fans fumed over this Lucas Digne revelation. 

Tottenham Hotspur are lining up a move for Mario Hermoso this summer, according to reports…

What’s the word?

The Daily Mail claim that the north London outfit are tracking the Atletico Madrid centre-back ahead of the transfer window reopening at the end of the season, with RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol and Antonio Conte’s former Inter Milan star Alessandro Bastoni also being monitored.

Spurs are on the lookout, specifically, for a left-sided central defender and the five-time Spain international is amongst the targets.

Having joined in a £25m deal from Espanyol in July 2019, Hermoso now finds himself down the pecking order under Diego Simeone at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Back three complete?

Signing Hermoso could hand Conte a frightening backline heading into next season as the 26-year-old colossus could sit perfectly alongside Eric Dier and Cristian Romero.

Regarded as an impressive ball-playing defender, Hermoso has averaged a passing accuracy of at least 84% across the last two LaLiga seasons, as well as at least three long balls per outing too.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-martinez-dybala-spence-conte-2” title= “Read the latest Spurs news!”]

He also ranks in the top 1% of his positional peers for passing into the penalty box (0.68 per 90) and top 14% for progressive passes (3.89 per 90), meaning the Atletico star likes to play forward, rather than sideways or backwards, as per FBRef.

The 6-foot centre-back is also adept in terms of defensive output, having averaged 3.5 clearances, 1.7 headers won, 1.2 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game, via WhoScored.

Now valued at €40m (£33m) by CIES Football Observatory, the centre-back wouldn’t come cheap but his passing capabilities on the left foot clearly make him an appealing candidate to fill that final spot in Conte’s current defence.

Conte is currently depending on full-back Ben Davies to partner both Dier and Romero in his back three, so Hermoso – once dubbed an “absolute beast” at Espanyol by LRT journalist Aivaras Katutis – would be a very welcome addition indeed.

Just imagine the three thwarting many a Premier League attack next term.

AND in other news, Lost the ball every 2.6 touches: “Quiet” Spurs passenger let Conte down vs Brighton…

Another win, another clean sheet and another Declan Rice masterclass.

West Ham United went clear at the top of Group H in the Europa League on Thursday night with another impressive victory, defeating Belgian outfit Genk 3-0 at the London Stadium.

The Irons enjoyed the bulk of the possession and their pressure was rewarded when Craig Dawson looped a header past the visiting goalkeeper right on half-time.

They came out after the break even more rampant and notched a further two goals. This time Issa Diop headed home off the crossbar from another pinpoint Aaron Cresswell delivery, before Jarrod Bowen fired home a fine solo effort just before the hour mark.

All three goalscorers would have been worthy of the ‘Man of the Match’ award but it was Rice who dropped another performance which was off the charts.

He was withdrawn after 67 minutes, with this weekend’s London derby clash against Tottenham Hotspur in mind, and he had recorded 89 touches of the ball, which was the second-most of any Hammers player.

That only goes to show just how big of an influence he is to their success, and had he played for longer, then he would’ve undoubtedly ranked first ahead of midfield partner Tomas Soucek.

‘Once again looked a class above everyone else on the pitch, so calm on the ball and always seemed to have time to pick a pass,’ is how football.london reporter Tom Clark described his performance after the game.

Industrious as ever, the England international registered three tackles and one clearance and won four ground duels, via SofaScore.

Elsewhere, he was faultless with the ball at his feet, only losing possession six times from all those touches, and he also enjoyed an impressive 97% passing accuracy from 75 attempts – the best rate on the pitch, so that goes to show that he really was a touch above everyone else on the night.

Just over a week ago, former West Ham teammate Jack Wilshere lauded the 22-year-old as “a freak physically” and a player who “can do anything” to talkSPORT.

We saw exactly that once again.

Rice, who earns a reported £60k-per-week in east London, absolutely stole the show for Moyes on Thursday.

AND in other news, Newman could seal West Ham’s best signing since Soucek in £19.8m-rated “goal machine”…

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Leeds United midfielder Carlton Palmer believes a deal for Ryan Kent is one that could easily get done following Rangers’ elimination from the Champions League.

As reported by The Athletic, Kent has been of interest to Leeds for a while and it could now be easier to get him out of Ibrox after his side’s Champions League setback.

The Rangers winger is yet to really take off this season but was thoroughly impressive last term as he helped Steven Gerrard’s men to the title.

He scored eight goals and produced seven assists in the Gers’ regular Scottish Premiership campaign, providing a serious threat down the left flank.

On Leeds’ chances of signing the 24-year-old winger before the transfer window closes, Palmer told FFC:

“I think the noises coming out of Rangers now… even Steven Gerrard himself has said Rangers going out of the Champions League is a huge financial loss for them. So, you know, I think he’s accepted that he may lose one or two of his better players.

“I think it’s basically the numbers game now. If Leeds can come back with the right numbers for Ryan, I think that’s a deal that could quite easily get done.”

Given their long-term interest and the predicament Rangers are in following their Champions League exit, it probably would not be a shock to see Leeds make a bid for Kent before the transfer window closes.

A major transfer claim has been made on Newcastle United’s pursuit of Lille centre-back Sven Botman…

What’s the talk?

Journalist Duncan Castles has revealed that the Magpies are in discussions with the defender’s representatives and the French champions could be willing to part ways with him for a fee of around €25m (£21m) due to their need to bring money into the club.

He told the Transfer Window podcast, via This Is Futbol: “My information is Lille, because of their desperation to create income in this window, might sell Botman and for as little as €25 million. There are definitely discussions with the players’ representatives.

“The deal has not been done. I’m told it’s a possibility, but it’s not a straightforward move. When it comes out that Botman is likely available for €25 million, the chances are that a club in a better league position will get interested in that deal and come in and compete with Newcastle.

“Then they get into the question mark of: can you convince a player of Botman’s quality – who would be a great addition to the defence – to come to Newcastle with money and the promise of something good down the line, rather than go to a more established club immediately without having to worry about what’s going to happen with Newcastle over the next half-season.”

Fans could be buzzing

This update from Castles will surely leave Newcastle fans buzzing as it appears to indicate that a deal for Botman is attainable for the club in January. If Lille are in dire need of money, then the Magpies could swoop in and pick up the centre-back for a cut-price fee, as the French outfit are seemingly in no position to negotiate an extortionate price.

The 21-year-old has averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.93 in Ligue 1 this season after managing a score of 7.08 last term. This shows that he has been consistently performing to a high standard in France, despite his young age, and could therefore be an excellent addition to the Newcastle squad.

Eddie Howe’s team have only kept one clean sheet in the Premier League this season and are conceding two goals per game on average. Botman helped Lille to keep an outstanding 20 clean sheets in 37 matches last term, showing that he has the ability to function as part of a strong, resolute, defence at the top level.

This illustrates why supporters will surely be buzzing with this major claim from Castles. The Dutch defender could be a superb signing for the Magpies, given his performances in Ligue 1 and his scope for development at the age of 21, and Castles has made it clear that Newcastle are working to get a deal done for him ahead of the January window.

AND in other news, Dream come true: PIF could leave the Toon Army buzzing with major NUFC appointment…

Manchester United’s new interim manager Ralf Rangnick has reportedly placed RB Leipzig midfielder Christopher Nkunku on his wish list for the January transfer window.

According to the Daily Express (who cite SportBild), the new Old Trafford boss is set to raid his former club for the highly-rated 24-year-old over the coming months as he looks to overhaul his first-team squad.

Nkunku becomes the third current or former Leipzig star to be linked with the Red Devils following the German’s arrival, with Amadou Haidara and Timo Werner also believed to be on their radar.

Ralf Rangnick can get Man Utd firing again

After rising through the ranks at boyhood club Paris Saint-Germain, Nkunku departed the Parc des Princes in search of regular game-time back in 2019.

Since making the €13m (£11m) switch to Leipzig, the versatile midfielder has gone from strength to strength, firmly establishing himself as one of the Bundesliga’s most promising talents.

In just 21 games in all competitions this season, Nkunku has already bagged 14 goals and provided a further nine assists, including a hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League.

Ahead of a recent European showdown with Club Brugge, his manager Jesse Marsch lauded the youngster, describing him as player who always wants to improve.

“We have spoken to Christopher a lot about playing on the counter, and also what he needs to do to play as a striker, a number 10 and on both wings,” Marsch was quoted as saying by the official RB Leipzig website.

“Christopher has no weaknesses. He is young and still wants a lot more. It’s always a good thing when a young player listens to the things we say and also wants to implement them. Working with him is a lot of fun as he is really intelligent and has a lot of potential.”

With Nkunku already familiar with the pressing style that Rangnick is expected to implement at United, the £42.3m-rated gem could be an instant hit at Old Trafford, so the German must make a move.

His arrival would certainly have the potential to get the 20-time English champions rocking again, injecting new life into their disappointing campaign to date.

In other news… Forget Ronaldo: Man Utd gem with 4 key passes was Carrick’s final Old Trafford hero

With one week to go until the new season, Nuno Santo’s squad at Tottenham Hotspur is starting to take shape, though it’s a process which will ultimately take a few transfer windows to finalise.

We’ve already seen a drastic change to some key areas.

The long-serving Erik Lamela has departed, with young Spanish wonderkid Byran Gil arriving in the other direction. Toby Alderweireld has been sold to Qatar and it appears that a £47m splash for Atalanta centre-back Cristian Romero is close.

Several of Spurs’ current squad still do not know where their future lies, and with three weeks left until the end of the summer transfer window, we should expect further movement.

One name which could go either way at the minute is right-back Serge Aurier who, according to The Athletic, has been told he is for sale along with Moussa Sissoko and fellow defender Davinson Sanchez.

It remains to be seen if there is any firm interest in his signature at present but the likes of his former club Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan have been linked with moves throughout the year.

Some clues have already been provided throughout pre-season as the Ivory Coast international, who is thought to earn a whopping £120k-per-week, is yet to start a match under his new head coach.

Nuno turned to promising academy teenager Maksim Paskotsi for matches against lower league opposition, but in their last two outings, including one against Champions League winners Chelsea, the 47-year-old has turned to his ex-Wolves star Matt Doherty.

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On that basis, you could argue that Nuno has already made his mind up on his first-choice option, and as such, it’s no wonder that Aurier has been made available for transfer.

Perhaps the Portuguese has already done his homework and knows that the 28-year-old is someone who has regularly let the club down, both on and off the pitch.

Last year, he was slapped with a fine for breaking the government’s lockdown regulations for the third time, whilst his performances and form have flattered to deceive ever since he was signed by Mauricio Pochettino in a £23m deal from the Ligue 1 giants in 2017.

Throughout the 2020/21 campaign, pundits regularly slammed Aurier for his calamitous displays – for example, former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara described him an “absolute liability”, whilst Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher went one step further.

After defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, he claimed, via talkSPORT: “Aurier is maybe one of the biggest liabilities in Premier League football and is a player who would possibly put you off management with the amount of crazy decision he makes.”

Unfortunately, that’s been the recurring theme for the long-serving defender throughout his stint in N17, and it’s got to be time to go this summer.

“He’s got a rick in him. He has caused loads of problems. I have described him as a bit of a car crash,” further explained Carragher’s fellow Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane. “Nice powerful boy, [he] keeps going forward but defensively, I think he doesn’t smell danger or see the danger. And that’s been a huge problem for Spurs, the right-back position.”

Valued at £18m by Transfermarkt, he is someone who could potentially bolster the transfer kitty, so sporting director Fabio Paratici must do all he can to find a viable destination for Aurier.

The Ivorian must be ruthlessly sold as soon as possible.

AND in other news, Nuno could unearth Spurs’ secret weapon in £34m-rated gem who Jose dubbed “incredible”…