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According to Italian media outlet Tuttomercatoweb, Arsenal have made an enquiry about signing AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The Gunners are set to lose Petr Cech this summer when his contract expires next month, meaning they either need to find a back-up for current number one Bernd Leno or a new first choice for Unai Emery.

Tuttomercatoweb report that the Spanish manager isn’t completely convinced by the 2018 arrival, and is interested in the Italy international who would cost around €70m (£61.8m) to prise away from the San Siro.

Leno certainly improved as the 2018/19 campaign went on, but one of his consistent weaknesses appeared to be his struggle to command his area from set pieces.

If Emery is looking for an upgrade on the German in those terms, the AC stopper looks to be the perfect candidate.

Check out an Arsenal fan vow to “move to another planet” if Spurs win the UCL in the video below…

The 20-year-old has been photographed on a number of occasions in recent months both punching and catching the ball from set-piece situations, including against giant Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly.

There is no doubt that Arsenal need to strengthen in the next few months if they want to push on and progress in the Premier League and the Champions League – winning the Europa League permitting – and bringing Donnarumma to the Emirates would certainly be a good start.

However, his reported price tag will surely scare the north London outfit off permanently given they need to boost other areas of their team as well.

After experiencing a shocking drop in form, David de Gea’s quickly gone from hero to zero at Manchester United. Well, not quite, but if there was at least one other world class player at Old Trafford who wouldn’t create such a void if he did depart, you’d imagine the reaction to some of his performances would be a lot worse.

So, despite seemingly having the club’s support for his form over the course of most of their troublesome years, he’s now plagued problems and is apparently making unreasonable demands.

The Spaniard only has just a year remaining on his contract and is unwilling to sign another one (reported way back in February by the Independent) unless he’s paid as much as Alexis Sanchez. Clearly, repeating the mistake with the Chilean isn’t an option for Ed Woodward, regardless of whoever the star is. As a result, United will have to draw up some sort of contingency in terms of De Gea’s potential replacement and according to reports from Duncan Castles on his Transfer Window podcast (via Daily Star), they have singled out Lille’s Mike Maignan as potentially their new #1.

The 23-year-old French goalkeeper’s the newest rising star in Ligue 1, having put in some impressive performances for Lille last season. Indeed, he kept 15 clean-sheets, putting in some stunning shifts in between the posts. Impressively, Maignan’s an excellent shot-stopper and is surely going to start to rival Hugo Lloris for the world champions’ custodian spot going forward but his inexperience’s the worrying factor.

Granted, when he arrived from Spain a skinny goalkeeper, the Spaniard also came under heavy criticism. However, his bad performances were covered up by Sir Alex Ferguson’s winning system and some impeccable senior defenders. Obviously, nobody needs telling that the Red Devils don’t have that anymore so taking a risk on an inexperienced figure could cause gigantic issues.

They should only replace De Gea with an experienced goalkeeper capable of withstanding pressure. The talented Maignan might be the next big thing, but the pressure of filling De Gea’s boots will probably end up ruining his potentially bright future.

United fans, do you think Maignan would be the ideal successor to De Gea? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

After seeing Mohamed Salah grab the spotlight last season, Sadio Mane has certainly risen as a genuine competitor to his throne.

Indeed, the tricky winger is actually close to outperforming Salah this time around, having scored the exact number (22) goals in the Premier League and in the Champions League as well. Pretty impressive stuff from the Senegalese, who can now consider himself one of the best forwards in Europe in his own right, not just part of a collective unit.

Mane might’ve netted only 4 times in this European campaign, though he’s still been a driving force for Liverpool. Be it against Napoli, Bayern Munich or Barcelona, Mane’s played as the Reds’ leader in attack, causing all sorts of problems all over the continent.

Now, he has another chance to write himself into the club’s folklore on Saturday.

The 27-year-old now has the opportunity of attaining legendary status at Liverpool. Despite their heart-breaking finale defeat last season, he was the one inspired a fightback with a well-taken goal and if he nets against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, he’ll become the first Liverpool player to score in consecutive Champions League finals.

Only a handful of legends have actually managed the feat of scoring in multiple European finals on the bounce. He’d also become the first star to replicate this phenomenon in over two decades, which really is a testament to the elite level in which he’s playing these days.

Mane thrives for nights like this, with his terrorizing movement and lethal ability around the penalty area guaranteed to unnerve Spurs. Indeed, not only would his terrific season end on a high with a goal, but he’d also achieve unmatched personal glory by writing his name into the history books forever.

Liverpool fans, do you think Mane can create history on Saturday? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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Manchester United have made an approach to sign Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier this summer, per Football Insider.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is said to believe that the England international is under-rated and has identified Dier as the man to fill the club’s defensive midfield position.

That is despite the star’s poor performances throughout the 2018/19 season, in which he made a total of 28 appearances in all-competitions.

Mauricio Pochettino dropped Dier from his starting XI for the Champions League final, as Spurs lost 2-0 to Liverpool in Madrid.

The 25-year-old did suffer with a number of injury issues throughout the campaign – he missed a total of 10 Premier League outings due to appendicitis and a hip injury.

United are said to believe that Spurs could acquiesce to his sale in this transfer window.

But should Tottenham look to cash in on the player, particularly after such a poor campaign?

Football FanCast’s writers give their verdicts below!

Charles Jones

“No, I don’t think they should. Christian Eriksen has already hinted that he might leave this summer and if Dier goes as well it could spark an exodus from Spurs. These players have become the heartbeat of Tottenham under Pochettino and if the core of this team is broken up they may never hit the same heights again.”

Matt Dawson

“Spurs would be absolutely laughing if they were able to ship Dier to Manchester United. The fact of the matter is that the English midfielder isn’t good enough and that’s been the case for a while now. If United take him off their hands they’d be doing Pochettino an almighty favour. Furthermore, moving on Dier would also allow Oliver Skipp to receive more first-team minutes. He’s clearly a player with a huge amount of promise and he could be the individual to benefit most from this move.”

Jack Saville

“I think Dier deserves another chance to prove he can flourish at the top level. As is typical with plenty of English players – take Dele Alli for example – a series of underwhelming performances have seen his reputation plummet at a ridiculous rate, but he could still be a valuable asset for Pochettino. Unless a ridiculous offer arrives from United, which is unlikely to happen given Dier’s form, Spurs should refuse their advances.”

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According to Foot Mercato, via Sports Witness, Liverpool are considering a swoop for Porto forward Moussa Marega in this summer’s transfer window.

Marega enjoyed a strong 2018-19 campaign for his Portuguese club – scoring 21 times and contributing 11 assists in 47 appearances in all competitions.

According to Foot Mercato, via Sports Witness, Liverpool have joined West Ham United in the hunt for the centre-forward.

Indeed, the Reds could well be in the market for a new attacker this summer to supplement the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

Marega’s overall record for Porto is 45 goals in 100 appearances, which is certainly a respectable total.

However, it would be fair to say that the Liverpool fans are not interested in their club signing the 28-year-old in this summer’s transfer window.

You can relive Liverpool’s Champions League celebrations in glorious 2D thanks to the guys at 442oons in the video below…

Marega actually played against the Reds in the quarter-finals of the 2018-19 Champions League, but he is not wanted at Anfield ahead of the new season.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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West Brom’s academy has produced some fabulous young talents down the years, bringing through the likes of Saido Berahino, Izzy Brown and Kemar Roofe.

All of the above eventually went onto leave the club and are now finding their feet elsewhere.

There are still some incredibly promising players coming through though, after the likes of Finn Azaz, Jamie Soule, Rayhaan Tulloch and Morgan Rogers all helped the club reach the FA Youth Cup semi-finals last year.

There were also a number of breakthroughs at first-team level with Rekeem Harper, Sam Field and Kyle Edwards the main youngsters to gain first-team minutes.

However, after the club lost their academy manager Mark Harrison to Aston Villa, there is a reason to suggest Albion could be far worse without him, especially after helping to bring through some of the players above.

Darren Moore was a huge help in boosting the minutes he gave to players under the age of 21 in his first season in permanent charge at Albion.

In terms of academy products, he afforded opportunities to six players who would go onto play 3,762 minutes as a collective throughout 2018/19.

The brunt of that was made up by Harper who completed 1,743 minutes.

However, how will Bilic fare with Albion’s academy now he’s arrived?

The stats from his first season in charge of West Ham during the 2015/16 campaign show there are both positives and negatives.

Although he gave minutes to six more academy graduates than Moore did last term, something that can be seen as a positive, they only played 2,156 minutes.

Meanwhile, only 22 starts were given to academy players under the age of 21 during the Croatian’s opening year at the Irons.

In that sense, he is behind Moore and will have work to do if he’s to better the former Baggies manager.

Watch fans explain why the Football League is better than the Premier League in the video below…

The 45-year-old may have been an inexperienced coach at senior level when he was given the Albion job, but if there was one positive from his reign it was the sheer number of minutes he gave to those coming through the ranks.

In comparison, Bilic’s first term at West Ham suggests that he needs to be far more consistent in who he gives chances to.

Bringing through young players has been a key philosophy at West Brom, something that was evident in giving Moore the role in the first place.

It would be wrong to suggest it’ll be hindered by the appointment of the ex-Croatia boss, but he will certainly have to put a greater focus on younger players as he gets to work at the Hawthorns.

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Away from the ongoing sagas involving Christian Eriksen, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso, today’s Tottenham transfer roundup brings you news in regards to a Portuguese youngster, a bid made for an 18-year-old Englishman and an enquiry for an update on an England U21 international.

Jota yet to sign new contract with Benfica

According to yesterday’s print edition of Record via Sports Witness, Spurs target Jota has not signed a new contract with Benfica as Tottenham remain interested in a deal for the 19-year-old. The Eagles are trying to quadruple the player’s salary, but that would still not put him level with most of the playing squad. Jota has a €30m (£26.7m) release clause currently.

Bid made for Clarke

Tottenham have lodged a bid for Leeds’ Jack Clarke according to Football Insider. Whilst the amount of the offer is not known, it is reportedly well below the price that the Elland Road outfit are holding out for.

Crystal Palace approach for Sessegnon

Love Sport Radio is reporting that Crystal Palace are in talks with Fulham in regards to a transfer for 19-year-old Ryan Sessegnon, with Spurs yet to make a bid for the player despite being strongly linked. As it stands, Palace are the only club to have approached the Cottagers for Sessegnon, who has refused a new contract with the Craven Cottage outfit.

Liverpool’s summer is set to be an interesting one, with the club coming off the back of a sixth Champions League win.

Manager Jurgen Klopp will no doubt be casting his eye over potential signings for the club, but with the Reds having so much quality in the squad already, picking and choosing those players who can come in and make a difference will be a tough task for Klopp.

However, this weekend has seen the Reds linked (via Fussball Transfers) with a move for Mainz midfielder Jean-Phillipe Gbamin, who has gone from strength to strength in the last 12 months with his performances over in the Bundesliga.

Liverpool are reportedly set to battle rivals Everton for the 23-year-old, and while he is a relative unknown on these shores, he could well prove to be the perfect sort of signing to ensure Liverpool keep seeing success in the Premier League and in Europe.

Gbamin is a midfield player who is full of energy, possessing tremendous fitness levels and being the sort of player who could slot in nicely to Klopp’s high pressing and intense methods of play.

His performances last season were superb too, with Gbamin making 35 appearances across all competitions, where he recorded an impressive 80% pass success rate, and interestingly, averaged 2.6 long balls a game, something which could come in use for the Reds given the pace of the likes of Salah and Mane on the counter attack.

Liverpool are desperate to keep moving forward as a club, and new signings are needed to so.

Someone like Gbamin would fit the mould perfectly, and you would assume, not break the bank either. It would well be a perfect match for both club and player.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Everton have made signing Kurt Zouma permanently their “top transfer priority” this summer, reports the BBC.

What’s the story?

According to the report, the Toffees will now turn their attentions to Zouma after penning Andre Gomes to a five-year deal.

The French international of course spent last season on loan with the Toffees, impressing fans with his physicality and technical ability.

The report claims the 24 year-old is likely to cost the Toffees upwards of £30m, and that the player is happy to join if he does not receive assurances about his playing time at Chelsea.

Watch the best fails from the world of indoor football in the video below…

No brainer

Do it. Do it now. Pull the trigger, sign him up! This is the biggest no brainer in the history of no brainers for Everton, and if Chelsea are foolish enough to sell a promising talent with Premier League experience then that’s their problem.

Zouma was superb in his debut campaign at Goodison, scoring twice and assisting twice, while winning 3.1 aerial duels per game and one tackle per game (Whoscored).

The Toffees have already lost Phil Jagielka this summer as the veteran will depart when his contract officially expires at the end of this week, so bringing Zouma back on a permanent basis makes perfect sense.

On top of that, £30m is a surprisingly reasonable fee for a 24 year-old who already has four major trophies to his name, over 100 Premier League appearances and experience at a huge club like Chelsea.

To give you an idea of just how highly-rated the centre-back was not too long ago, he made his first-team debut for Saint-Etienne aged just 16, and was named in 2014 as one of the top young talents in Europe alongside names like Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane.

If the Toffees truly want to make a dent in the top six under Marco Silva, then securing a player of this calibre, still with his best years ahead of him, is exactly the type of move they should be making.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to the Daily Mail, Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has ordered the club to investigate the possibility of bringing Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa to Goodison Park, as he looks to make a statement signing for the Toffees.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Merseysiders have already signed Andre Gomes and Jonas Lossl this summer, but Moshiri wants to make a bold statement in bringing the Spain international to the club.

Costa endured a difficult 2018/19 campaign with the side from the Spanish capital, netting just five times throughout the season as well as being hit with an eight-game suspension for insulting an official.

Thogden challenged himself to DM 100 footballers on Instagram. Find out who replied in the video below…

Those who follow Everton may well be aware of what the 30-year-old striker is capable of, as they watched him find the back of the net frequently for Chelsea over the course of a three-year spell at Stamford Bridge – Costa hit 58 goals in 120 games for the Blues.

Moshiri’s demand goes against Marcel Brands’ transfer strategy 

It goes without saying that the owner of a football club calls the shots.

Moshiri could sack Marcel Brands and Marco Silva within the blink of an eye if he wanted to – he is the man in charge at Goodison Park.

So, how comes he isn’t on the same wavelength as the man who he hires to negotiate transfer dealings and manage that side of the game?

Brands outlined his plans for what he hopes to do with the Toffees in the market, saying: “The players we brought in last year were all under 25 so we don’t want to invest big money in players who are older.

“Everton is a club that also has to sell players so it is necessary to get younger players to invest in. That’s why we invested in young players last summer. [Lucas] Digne was 24, [Yerry] Mina 23, Richarlison 21; so we look to players in the age group 20-25/26.”

One would assume that Costa wouldn’t come cheap given his market value of £22.5m on Transfermarkt, whilst the fact that he has two years left on his deal with Diego Simeone’s side suggests that the asking price has no reason to deviate too far from that figure.

Moshiri wants a big-money statement, despite Costa being 30 years of age. However, Brands wants sustainability and players with high sell-on value to walk through the door at Goodison Park.

Costa is neither of those things – Moshiri’s demands in this instance are going against everything his Sporting Director has outlined for the club.