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Everton are preparing a new contract for World Cup hero Jordan Pickford just one year after he signed for the club to ward off interest from Chelsea, according to the Times.

What’s the story, then?

The Times report that England international Pickford has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge to take over from Thibaut Courtois as number one goalkeeper at Stamford Bridge, but Everton have no intention of selling.

They say that the Toffees are prepared to tear up his current deal, despite it having four years left to run, in order to offer him a brand new package that reflects his status as Three Lions’ first choice and national icon.

Marco Silva is yet to work with the former Sunderland man but reportedly wants to put the situation to bed and focus on bolstering the left side of his defence with a left-back and a left-sided centre-half.

Everton must act fast

Everton hold all the cards here; they have an asset who is at the peak of his value tied down to a new long-term deal, showing no obvious signs of dissent or forcing a move and the only interest is from a club not currently in the Champions League.

However, there is no point messing around, allowing Pickford to contemplate the riches or European opportunities on offer in west London and risking him getting unsettled.

They need to strike soon, to ward off Chelsea and prove to Pickford that they both understand his new status as a national hero and his worth – he is valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt – as a sought-after young goalkeeper.

Everton probably still need some new additions before the window slams shut on August 9, but tying Pickford down is more important right now.

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Newcastle United announced on Monday that they had completed the signing of Salomon Rondon on a season-long loan from West Bromwich Albion.

Rondon has been strongly linked with a move the Magpies throughout the summer, and the deal has now gone through ahead of the start of the 2018-19 Premier League campaign.

It is not quite what the Newcastle fans had in mind, however, with 6ft 1in Rondon joining on loan whilst Dwight Gayle has moved in the opposite direction.

Rondon, who has become Newcastle’s sixth arrival of the summer, will wear the number nine shirt for his new club.

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The 28-year-old could not prevent West Brom from being relegated from the Premier League last season, but he ended the campaign with a respectable 10 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions.

The Newcastle fans have been airing their views on the news on social media, and it would be fair to say that a number are not entirely happy with this deal.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

According to The Sun, Watford have made a £10m bid for Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse, but West Brom should attempt to hijack the deal after their poor start to the Championship season.

What’s the story?

The 23-year-old hasn’t been able to nail down a starting spot with the south coast side where he has been since the age of eight, playing 20 games from the beginning last season.

The Englishman ended last season with three goals and three assists in the Premier League, and has now tempted Javi Gracia to make a late bid before the transfer window closes.

A central midfielder by trade, Ward-Prowse’s crossing ability has seen him shifted to the right on occasion for Saints and his set-piece delivery is one of the best in the Premier League.

The Sun reports that Saints manager Mark Hughes has finished his transfer business this summer in terms of players coming in to Saint Mary’s, but the Hornets will have to wait to see whether the ex-England U21 captain is allowed to leave the club.

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A perfect match

However, with Saints stalling in their reply to Watford’s offer, West Brom should come in with a big bid to take Ward-Prowse down a division to the Hawthorns. The Baggies have secured just one point from their opening two Championship games after a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday evening.

Boss Darren Moore is in need of a central midfielder to play alongside Jake Livermore, having started left-midfielder Chris Brunt in the middle of the park against Bolton and Forest.

With centre-backs Ahmed Hegazi and Kyle Barley standing at 6ft 4in tall, Ward-Prowse’s delivery could make the Baggies deadly from set-pieces and if the Saints man is willing to take a step down he could prove his ability in a promotion push.

West Ham United opened their 2018-19 Premier League season with a 4-0 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

It was a tough 90 minutes for the Hammers on Merseyside, but they have the chance to bounce back at home to Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.

Felipe Anderson made his first-team debut for West Ham at Anfield, but it was a difficult afternoon for the attacker as he saw little of the ball.

The 25-year-old is sure to have better days in a West Ham shirt, and the club’s fans were encouraged by what they saw from him against Liverpool.

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Anderson managed 34 goals during his five seasons at Lazio, and will be looking to inspire this new-look West Ham team.

The likes of Michail Antonio and Mark Noble faced criticism from the West Ham fans following the Liverpool clash, but the same cannot be said for 5ft 9in ace Anderson, who will seemingly be given plenty of time by the supporters to settle in the English capital.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

On Sunday, Liverpool dispatched a cavalier West Ham United side 4-0 to get their Premier League campaign underway with a bang.

Jurgen Klopp’s men were in a rampant mood at Anfield, and were encouraged to attack mercilessly by the remarkably high line that the Hammers were sent out by new boss, Manuel Pellegrini, to hold.

From the outset all eyes were on the starting debutants, Alisson Becker and Naby Keita. The Brazilian goalkeeper was largely reduced to being a spectator throughout the match, whilst Keita enjoyed a fine first outing in the famous red strip.

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Much attention, of course, was also paid to Liverpool’s fabled front three: Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.

However, the man of the match award went to the 32-year-old James Milner, donning an eye-catching protective headband. The veteran’s all-action display was a masterclass in both attacking and defensive midfield play.

With his performance against the Hammers, Milner let Klopp, Liverpool fans and the world know that he will not easily cede his place in the team to the likes of Keita, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Henderson or Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Milner’s 122 touches in the match led all players on the pitch, and his brilliant pass accuracy figure of 91.3% shows show effectively the Englishman used the ball.

Not only was the Liverpool man’s passing accurate, but it was also inventive and incisive. Milner registered a single assist against West Ham, but it could have been more as he in fact played 3 key passes – more than anyone else on the pitch – throughout the 90 minutes. He also peppered deliveries into the box, making successful contact with 3 of his 7 crosses. Again, he led all players in this department.

Milner put in just as big a shift going backwards as he did in an attacking sense. He made one interception, one tackle, won two aerial duels and was constantly well positioned to ward off opposition threats.

So reliable was Milner on the day, the Hammers only managed to dispossess him once. Compared to the four times they wrestled the ball away from Salah, and the three occasions they were able to force a turnover from Wijnaldum.

All in all, it was a titanic performance from the ex-England international and a reminder, if it were needed, that he still has what it takes to have a big impact at the highest level. In the midst of far more famed and illustrious stars, Milner consistently finds a way to shine and his versatility makes him a huge, undroppable asset to Klopp.

According to a recent report from The Scottish Sun, Rangers have expressed an interest in luring Gareth McAuley to Ibrox. The 38-year-old is currently a free agent after leaving Championship side West Brom earlier in the summer, thus bringing the curtain down on a seven-year stint at the Hawthorns, in which time he played 227 matches for the Midlands outfit.

And reports suggest that Steven Gerrard’s Gers, as well as fellow Scottish Premiership sides Aberdeen and Hearts, are keen on the £900,000-rated defender (as per Transfermarkt), but it is Gerrard who must win the race to further bolster his Light Blues rear-guard.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, Rangers were the highest conceders of any side that finished in the top seven of the Scottish Premiership last season, shipping a staggering 50 goals in their 38 league matches, double what Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic conceded.

Thus, it was pretty clear that new manager Gerrard, who replaced Graeme Murty in the hotseat over the summer, had to address the defensive deficiencies, and the arrival of Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic has gone some way to doing that.

And with clean sheets in five of their nine competitive games so far this season, and shipping only once in each of the other four, it’s evident that those defensive additions have helped the Gers at the back, although with just Ross McCrorie as the other centre back in the squad, further depth is certainly required to deal with the demands of domestic and European football.

And while McAuley is very much in the twilight of his career at the age of 38, he could be the ideal addition to add further strength and indeed experience to the Rangers rear-guard.

The defender enjoyed a fine stint at West Brom between 2011 and 2018 to underline his credentials as a Premier League centre back, with last season one of just two in which the Northern Ireland international failed to reach 30 league appearances.

In fact, the season before saw McAuley carry a threat at the opposite end of the pitch as well in netting seven times for the Baggies en route to their tenth place finish in the English top-flight – thus, he is clearly a presence in both boxes.

Yes, his age may be of concern to Rangers fans, especially given they took a punt on Bruno Alves last year and that didn’t prove fruitful, but McAuley has proven time and again to be a hugely adept centre back at Premier League level, and as such his both the ability and indeed the experience, having also played 79 times for his country, to seriously benefit the Rangers side.

And with the Gers somewhat short in that position, especially if they harbour ambitions of competing on the European stage this term, a move for the 38-year-old would certainly bolster their rear-guard heading into the remainder of the campaign.

Rangers fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Leeds United supporters have been making all the noise in the Transfer Tavern in recent times after seeing their team go top of the Championship courtesy of a 3-0 win at Norwich City on Saturday.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men dropped their first points of the season in midweek in drawing 2-2 at Swansea City, having won each of their opening three matches of the campaign. And the Yorkshire giants got back to winning ways in Norfolk on Saturday as goals from Mateusz Klich, Ezgjan Alioski, and Pablo Hernandez sealed a routine win over the Canaries, thus moving Leeds back into top spot in the second tier.

As such, there have been many delighted Leeds supporters up and down the country in recent times, several of whom have been heaping praise on the goalscorers for coming up with the goods to seal all three points at Carrow Road.

Klich, who was so low down the pecking order last term that he spent the second half of last season on loan at FC Utrecht, bagged his third goal of the campaign on Saturday, as did the hugely influential Hernandez, while 2017 summer signing Alioski doubled his tally for the campaign with his strike against Daniel Farke’s men.

And all three men have earned many rave reviews in what was an outstanding Leeds performance on Saturday, which was epitomised by a stellar display from left back Barry Douglas.

Leeds were deemed to have pulled off quite the coup during the summer in luring the 28-year-old away from Premier League outfit Wolves, and while he has produced many consistent performances so far this term, Saturday’s was his best of the lot.

The one-time Scotland international had a staggering 116 touches of the ball over the course of the 90 minutes, which was 31 more than the next-best Ivo Pinto, and 35 more than the next-best Leeds player in midfielder Kalvin Phillips – clearly, Douglas was trusted with getting things moving for the visitors down the left-hand-side.

And that was further emphasised by the fact that the 28-year-old attempted more and indeed completed more passes than any other Leeds player on Saturday, one of which resulting in the assist for Hernandez’s great goal to seal the three points for Bielsa’s side.

Yet Douglas also completed his defensive duties reasonably well despite making a slightly sluggish start to the afternoon, with the left back winning three of his four aerial duels, and all five of the tackles he attempted to help the Whites keep a second clean sheet of the campaign.

Thus, in what was another scintillating performance from Leeds, it was Douglas’ efforts down the left-hand-side, both offensively and defensively, which epitomised everything that was great about the Yorkshire giants on Saturday, which is why he was their unsung hero at Carrow Road.

Leeds fans… what do you think? Let us know!

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Four defeats from four games makes tough reading for West Ham, who have struggled with the sheer volume and size of the changes Manuel Pellegrini has attempted to bring to the London Stadium since being appointed as David Moyes’ replacement during the summer.

That lack of familiarity has most notably manifested into defensively porous displays; the Irons conceded nine times during their first three Premier League games under the Chilean, as attempts to play a high line cost them dearly against Liverpool, poor organisation at set pieces saw them lose to Bournemouth and a succession of individual errors provided the proverbial bullet for their own foot in the defeat at the Emirates Stadium.

Another loss at the hands of Wolves then, especially after conceding to third-tier Wimbledon in midweek, would suggest Pellegrini is yet to arrest the standout flaw of his opening encounters in charge of the east Londoners, especially as it came on the counter-attack from an incredibly wayward Carlos Sanchez pass which the Irons’ fifth different backline already this season failed to stop from becoming Adama Traore’s stoppage time winner.

But in truth, the defence was perhaps the only department that looked like it had adapted the instructions of its new manager on Saturday as Wolves were kept at arm’s length for much of the ninety minutes, and no player highlighted that better than summer signing Fabian Balbuena who had an action-packed game at the heart of defence alongside fellow new arrival Issa Diop.

In a beastly defensive display, the Paraguay international made the most tackles, interceptions, clearances and blocks of any Hammers player while being only beaten by Michail Antonio for successful aerial duels. And although the centre-back, who Transfermarkt value at just £4.5million, may not have caught the imagination when he arrived this summer quite like Felipe Anderson or Andriy Yarmolenko, he’s perhaps one of the few players that seems to be getting more comfortable with the way Pellegrini wants his side to play.

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For fans too, that should provide a much-needed cause for optimism. Even though West Ham lost and even though Pellegrini’s primary focus will always be on creating problems at the end, getting the right platform in place for the rest of the team to attack from will be vital to stopping the Hammers’ poor run of results. Balbuena looks capable of providing it and that could be the turning point this Irons side, not to mention their new manager, desperately needs.

When Tottenham and Liverpool take to the pitch at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, the two goalkeepers on display will both attract their fair share of attention following their summer exploits. 

Prior to the start of the new Premier League season, Spurs ‘keeper Hugo Lloris captained France to World Cup glory. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s Alisson Becker became, for a short time at least, the most expensive shot-stopper in football history. 

However, despite both being considered amongst the finest goalkeepers in the game, Lloris and Alisson are two very distinct kinds of glovesmen.

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The Tottenham No. 1 is a slightly more traditional presence between the sticks. His shot-stopping, handling and authority in his own penalty area is second to none, whilst he also boasts excellent pace which often allows him to charge off of his line to clear the ball from danger.

Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp’s new first choice ‘keeper is renowned for what he can do with his feet as much as his capabilities with his hands. On top of being a fine goalkeeper in the obvious sense, Alisson’s excellent distribution and comfort with the ball makes him a potent attacking threat capable of launching swift counterattacks for his team.

Despite being prone to the odd error or bout of overconfidence, Football FanCast would select Alisson, the more progressive of the two ‘keepers, to be installed between the sticks in our Tottenham-Liverpool combined XI.

You can have your say below, so which goalie would you pick if Spurs and the Reds were to join forces?

Though the transfer window has shut, the insatiable need for the market rumbles on around the footballing globe, such is the crazy amount of interest the proverbial ‘silly season’ brings to fans.

Indeed, like it or not, transfers and everything that goes with them are one of the major strands of the general footballing narrative. Especially in the digital age, where every supporter can be clued up about potential incomings or outgoings very quickly.

However, what about those mega deals that didn’t quite come off? Here, in our The one who got away series, we’ll take a look at perhaps the most surprising transfers to have fallen at the final hurdle.

Here’s one you might not know all too much about.

Papiss Cisse – Sunderland, 2012

Papiss Cisse established himself as a cult-hero in North East England during the first quarter of 2012 when he joined Newcastle United from Bundesliga outfit SC Freiburg for around £10m in the January window. 13 goals in his opening games on English soil made the Senegalese a serious force to be reckoned with, especially when one of his strikes was THAT goal away at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.

However, it could all have been so different. Indeed, the Magpies’ bitter rivals Sunderland were also linked with the African marksman in the same period, though he ultimately moved to St. James’ Park.

While the Black Cats’ slide down the Premier League table had yet to happen at that point, it was during that campaign where things turned sour. Had they managed to lure Cisse to Wearside, his impact at the Stadium of Light could really have lifted morale – as it did just 11 miles in Newcastle – things may have been different.

For Martin O’Neill’s side, no striker hit double figures across with campaign with only Stephane Sessegnon and Nicklaus Bendtner managing to eight goals, so the idea of welcoming a player with such an impact during the bleak winter period would have been a welcome one.

Speaking on the matter in January 2012, Cisse even referenced Sunderland’s interest prior to his arrival in England, despite O’Neill’s denial about the matter.

It’s hard to argue that signing Cisse alone would have stopped Sunderland’s slide but perhaps his instant impact – and crucial goals in the latter stages of his stint in England – would have helped.