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Lee Ryder has slammed the display of Emil Krafth for Newcastle United in their 2-2 home draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Joe Willock, who is currently on loan from Arsenal, scored a deserved equaliser for Steve Bruce’s team at St James’ Park after a Harry Kane double cancelled out an early opener from Joelinton.

While there were some very good performances from the home side, Ryder was far less impressed by Krafth, who was largely at fault for Kane’s first goal.

Writing in his latest player ratings piece for Chronicle Live, the journalist claimed that the Sweden international ‘didn’t inspire much confidence’ in the defence for Bruce’s side and also hinted that he was a passenger in the game, giving him a mere 4/10 overall rating, the lowest out of any Magpies player to have set foot on the pitch.

Krafth not at his best for Newcastle

It was an inspired point for the Toon in their battle to avoid relegation to the Championship, but Krafth’s performance certainly flattered to deceive.

The Sweden international lost out on two of his duels and also failed to make a single interception or win a tackle, all while losing possession of the ball on 10 separate occasions in the match, the joint-fifth most out of any of his outfield teammates (Sofascore).

Nonetheless, the 26-year-old will have to perform a lot better if he is to keep his place in the starting XI for the final few weeks of the campaign.

In other news, find out what claim has been dropped on one NUFC-linked manager!

According to a report by El Confidencial, via Sport Witness, Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho is ‘on the brink’ in north London – but chairman Daniel Levy is allegedly holding out for a ‘miracle’ before thinking about replacing him.

This claim comes after Tottenham suffered another disappointing result at the weekend, with Mourinho’s men following up the dismal draw at Newcastle with a home defeat against top four rivals Man United.

Jose Mourinho claim emerges in update for Spurs

After the match, reports circulated of yet more pressure on Mourinho as Tottenham and the Lilywhites become linked with possible managerial replacements.

Alongside the likes of Julian Nagelsmann and Brendan Rodgers (Daily Record), Maurizio Sarri has recently been touted (Ciro Venerato via Area Napoli) – but El Confidencial has now provided an update on Levy’s stance of sacking the Portuguese.

They claim that while Mourinho is ‘on the brink’ at Spurs, the chairman is said to be ‘obliged’ to stick with him at least until the end of this campaign as he hopes for a Tottenham ‘miracle’ in qualifying for the Champions League.

Winning the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City later this month could also go a long way for Mourinho, but this report remains unconvinced over his future.

Transfer Tavern take

A lot was expected of Tottenham after an arguably brilliant and very clever 2020 summer transfer window (Alasdair Gold), with Levy only failing to address the centre-back position with a star name.

However, as Spurs fall further away from a place in the top four with London rivals West Ham six points clear of them (BBC), questions are right to be asked regarding Mourinho.

The Lilywhites enjoyed a great run of form under the 58-year-old earlier this season and were briefly top of the league, perhaps a taster of things to still to come with the right investment and time to build a stronger squad this summer.

Acquiring a centre-half and stable defensive head could go a long way to reinforce Mourinho’s team, and he arguably still has more to prove in north London.

In other news: Tottenham make enquiry for £225,000-per-week star, find out more here.

Nottingham Forest are preparing a summer bid for Gillingham central midfielder Kyle Dempsey, according to reports.

What’s the word?

That’s according to Football Insider, who claimed that a recruitment source has revealed Chris Hughton’s side have reignited their January interest in the 25-year-old in an attempt to bring him to the City Ground this summer.

It is also reported that Gillingham would be looking for a fee between £500,000 and £750,000 in order to part with the midfielder, and when the news of Forest’s interest was relayed on Twitter, many fans of the club seemed delighted by the prospect of the 25-year-old’s signing.

Astute signing

So far this season, Dempsey has been in remarkable form over his 38 League One appearances for Steve Evans’ side, scoring eight goals and providing four assists for the Gills. He has also averaged 1.2 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 1.2 key passes per game, culminating in an average WhoScored match rating of 7.00 – ranking him as the club’s joint sixth-best performer in the third tier.

This attacking influence from the middle of the park is something which has sorely been lacking at Forest this season, with James Garner, Ryan Yates, Samba Sow and Filip Krovinovic managing just six goals and four assists between them in the Championship.

Furthermore, with Forest paying the likes of Garner around £17,000 per week, Sow £18,000 per week, and Krovinovic £14,000 per week, it would appear as if the modest £3,000 weekly wage of Dempsey would be well worth the cost for Chris Hughton and his side, even when taking into account the reported asking price for the player who Gillingham assistant manager Paul Raynor dubbed a “winner”.

Raynor also claimed that Dempsey’s creativity was something that he believed the Gills had lacked prior to his arrival from Fleetwood Town back in August of last year – something which could easily be applied to Nottingham Forest at present.

As such, Hughton should do all he can to get a deal over the line for the 25-year-old midfielder this summer, as Dempsey has a proven track record of providing the creative spark to lift his team out of a slump.

In other news: Marinakis must cash in on Nottingham Forest “leader” this summer as big update emerges – opinion

Sheffield Wednesday are in dire need of a major rebuild this summer and there won’t be a better time to do so, with several of the current Owls squad out of contract at the end of the season.

Indeed, new Wednesday boss Darren Moore has a decision to make on no fewer than 12 senior stars, ranging from former captain Tom Lees to emerging prospect Osaze Urhoghide.

A lot of this squad has been knocking about Hillsborough for several seasons, even stretching back to that double playoff run under Carlos Carvalhal and one name that has overstayed his welcome is surely Dutch midfielder Joey Pelupessy.

The 5 foot 10 maestro was the first signing of that fateful Jos Luhukay era, and very much in a similar vein, he has never really hit the ground running in south Yorkshire.

At the time, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf (via Sport Witness) reported that Pelupessy had cost around €500k (£426k), whilst it is thought he’s earning wages of £12.5k-per-week, which puts him amongst the Owls’ best-paid players.

According to The Star, the 27-year-old has attracted interest from other teams ahead of the summer, both in England and abroad. They believe ‘there have been conversations,’ in particular, with foreign teams, as Pelupessy has been free to join them on a pre-contract agreement since January.

The long-serving midfielder is certainly a player who splits opinion at Wednesday, as seen by the reaction to him signing a one-year extension last summer.

“This is embarrassing,” said one fan. Another added: “One of the worst players I’ve seen at Hillsborough. Shows the ambition of the club.” Whilst there were positives, some dubbed him a “likeable bloke” and a further supporter claimed he’d be a “good back-up,” as relayed by YorkshireLive.

It’s easy to see why he causes such a stir. In three-and-a-half seasons, he’s never averaged above a mediocre 6.67 rating – and that came in his first six months at the club, as per WhoScored.

His current average of 6.40 is comfortably the worst of his Owls career to date, so it is not like he’s proving a point to Moore that he must be kept around. Overall, you could argue that he’s been one massive flop at Hillsborough.

Owls skipper Barry Bannan has waxed lyrical about his partner in the past, claiming he’s “brilliant” and “the perfect foil” to his playmaking style as “he does the horrible bits that nobody likes to do.”

But with the Dutchman sat amongst Wednesday’s worst performers this campaign, it’s hard to put up a case for offering him yet another contract extension.

It’s time to move on from the Luhukay disaster, irrespective of the division Wednesday will be in next term

AND in other news, “He needs people who..” – Exclusive: Palmer drops Moore claim amid Sheffield Wednesday setback

Fans of Crystal Palace have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relayed the news of Reece Hannam signing a contract extension at the south London club.

According to a statement on the Crystal Palace website, the 20-year-old left-back has put pen to paper on a new deal with Roy Hodgson’s side, which will see him remain at Selhurst Park until the summer of 2023, with the option to extend a further year.

It is said that the defender, who joined Palace last summer, has been a ‘key member’ of Shaun Derry’s U23 side this season, featuring in 11 fixtures over which he has provided his teammates with four assists.

While the youngster is yet to make his debut for Hodgson’s first-team, he has featured in a matchday squad, being an unused substitute in the club’s 0-0 draw with Fulham towards the end of February.

And, after Crystal Palace relayed news of Hannam’s contract extension on Twitter, fans of the club flocked to have their say on the matter, with many urging Hodgson to include the youth prospect in the club’s upcoming Premier League fixtures.

So, what exactly did these Crystal Palace fans have to say in reaction to the club’s post regarding Reece Hannam?

“He’ll be here longer than Roy.”

@cpfc_sean

“Good back up for Mitchell next season.”

@michaeltulley64

“Great now get him in the first team.”

@Laleagles

“Start him today.”

@CPFC_Ollie_

“Give us more sweet contract news, please.”

@liamb0117

“Come on.”

@AaronCu36671808

“Yesssir”

@Kevbartleyy

In other news, many Palace fans reacted to these Hodgson comments – find out more here!

This week, Sam Allardyce admitted that keeping West Brom in the Premier League would be his greatest escape yet.

It’s hard to argue with that point, either. After Fulham defeated Liverpool 1-0 last week in a shock result, Albion are now eight points behind the Cottagers.

With just ten games left of the season, it will be an uphill task for the Baggies to survive. In order to do so, they must win games like the one they’re facing on Saturday afternoon.

Allardyce’s men play a Crystal Palace team who have won just one of their last six outings. Every game at the moment feels like a six-pointer for West Brom, so this is a crucial encounter.

How will the manager line up? Here’s what we’re predicting.

We’re tipping the boss to make just the two changes from the side which drew 0-0 with Newcastle last time out.

The first replacement comes in attack, where January arrival Mbaye Diagne drops out. Conor Townsend consistently found him inside the area during the last game but, try as he might, he couldn’t find the back of the net.

Diagne managed only 12 passes and fired a total of three efforts off target. Consequently, we think that Karlan Grant should come back into the side.

The other change is in midfield where Ainsley Maitland-Niles drops out. The £48,000-per-week loanee has looked comfortable at times but, during the game with Newcastle, he regularly gave the ball away and was inconsistent with his passing, registering a success rate of just 76%. For a player usually so confident with the ball at his feet, it wasn’t ideal.

Thus, Romaine Sawyers may come back into the team to give Albion a little more cover against the counterattacking threat of Wilfried Zaha and Ebere Eze.

Besides that, Allardyce’s side are unchanged with the back four remaining the same. That means Semi Ajayi is once again kept on the bench.

AND in other news, “It’s just crazy” – Exclusive: Pundit reacts to Sam Allardyce’s eye-catching West Brom comments…

Carlo Ancelotti should urge Everton to pull off a swoop to sign Barnsley striker Daryl Dike from parent club Orlando City this summer.

What’s the word?

According to Eurosport, the Toffees have begun to track Dike’s progress at Oakwell and could move to snap up the 20-year-old at the end of the season.

Dike joined the Tykes on loan in January and has made an instant impact on their bid for promotion out of the Championship, netting five goals in 11 games and he was voted as the club’s Player of the Month for March.

His strikes include winning efforts at home to Birmingham City and on the road to Wycombe Wanderers, and he is yet to miss a fixture under Reds boss Valerien Ismael.

Barnsley hold an option to purchase Dike at the end of the season, said to be worth £17m, but it is considered likely that his performances may spark Premier League interest.

Everton’s scouts are understood to have been captivated by how Dike has adapted to the English game with a string of great displays prior to the international break.

Orlando City are quoted by Eurosport as valuing Dike at $20m (£14.5m), while TEAMtalk report that up to half of the top-flight have eyes on the forward’s situation.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-everton-news-gossip-and-views” title=”The latest Everton news and views!”]

The Toffees are claimed to have shown the most interest, but Leeds, West Ham, Wolves and Newcastle are also keeping close tabs. Manchester United and Chelsea have been impressed by his talents, as well.

Should Everton sign Orlando City’s Dike?

Everton may face a challenge to bring Dike to Goodison Park in the off-season as Barnsley will no doubt look to turn his temporary spell at Oakwell into a permanent move, should Ismael manage to lead the Tykes into the top-flight.

Taking hold of an option to buy was a key reason why Barnsley signed Dike in the winter market, in a deal the Reds’ Chief Executive Dane Murphy claims to be worth less than the reported fee.

“It’s not realistic that Barnsley would agree to that,” he told the Barnsley Chronicle. “You just laugh at some of the numbers being thrown around. It’s silly season. The buy option is quite similar to prices we have paid for players before.

“It was key to the deal that we got a buy option in. We have made it pretty clear over the last few years that just pure loans don’t really appeal to us unless they are special circumstances.”

Murphy also waxed lyrical over the striker while speaking with The Athletic, claiming: “Daryl has a wealth of talent and he hasn’t reached his heights yet.

“But to expect what we’ve seen, the impact we’ve seen, the run of the team from where it was prior to him coming in, it would be a bit of a false narrative to say we expected it.”

Barnsley have taken nine wins in Dike’s 11 games, drawing once and losing once, to now sit inside the Play-Off positions, having been 12th and six points outside the top-six prior to the two-cap USMNT striker’s arrival.

Ancelotti may need another striker with Dike’s talent – and ability to score what Ismael describes as “unbelievable” goals – at Everton next season amid doubt in the futures of Moise Kean and Joshua King.

And with Dike having a seemingly high ceiling to his potential, the American could prove to be an interesting option that Ancelotti can mould into his own liking.

AND in other news, a Carlo Ancelotti target once valued at £89m “would be interested” in joining Everton this summer…

Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford faces a late fitness test on an abdomen injury ahead of their FA Cup fifth round tie with Tottenham Hotspur.

The England number one sat out the Blues’ 3-3 draw with Manchester United and 2-1 win over Leeds last week as a result of the blow sustained against Newcastle, having collided with the post when attempting to make a save.

AS Roma loanee Robin Olsen stood in for Pickford at Elland Road and at Old Trafford, but was unable to replicate his match-winning heroics against the Red Devils when caught out by Bruno Fernandes’ shot and stumbling when rushing to save a Scott McTominay header.

Everton midfielder James Rodriguez also faces a late fitness test on a tight calf to feature against Tottenham, having been taken off late on during Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Manchester United.

Ancelotti will be without Allan in the midweek FA Cup affair as the Brazilian continues to build fitness after almost two months out with a hamstring injury, but hopes the summer signing from Serie A side SSC Napoli will be able to face Fulham on Sunday.

“I have to wait for training this afternoon [Tuesday] to check on some situations. One is James and one is Jordan. They are going to train and after that we will see,” Ancelotti said.

“James had a tight calf [against Manchester United]. I took him off after 70 minutes to avoid risk. Now he will train today. If he’s ready to play tomorrow, he will play, and if the calf is still tight, he will play in the next game on Sunday.

“Allan has started [training] with the team. He is not ready yet, but I hope he will be next game.”

Ancelotti confirming that Pickford faces a late fitness test may allow Olsen to earn a second chance at impressing the Everton boss, after his midweek heroics failed to result in back-to-back performances of merit.

Olsen will have been bitterly disappointed at the goals he allowed against Manchester United on Saturday, with Fernandes’ looping effort a saveable attempt that only just crept under the bar as the Sweden shot-stopper scrambled late to make a save.

McTominay’s header will no doubt have been a moment that rung around Olsen’s mind for a while after the ball hit the back of the net, too, as the Roma loanee will know that he should have been able to claw the shot away but slipped at a crucial moment.

Olsen proved against Leeds that he is able to come up with the crucial stops to deny opponents, having produced a terrific triple save in quick succession to keep Everton in the lead.

His confidence may now have dipped somewhat but the £4.5m-rated 31-year-old should be given the chance to bounce back, just as Ancelotti had with Pickford after his blunder against Leicester.

“I think Jordan – and every player – will improve if he has the desire to improve,” Ancelotti said, via quotes by The Guardian. “It does not matter if you are 20, 26 or if you are 30. You will improve at every age. The goalkeeper is a different position. All I can give to Jordan is the confidence and trust, even when he makes a mistake. It does not matter. It is a process.”

AND in other news, Everton have their eyes on a £10m+ striker boasting 18 goals this season…

According to reports, Tottenham are open to selling Paulo Gazzaniga in the January transfer window if a “suitable offer” comes in for the goalkeeper.

What’s the story?

The Argentina international had been the club’s number two goalkeeper over the years behind Hugo Lloris, but Joe Hart’s arrival in the summer has seen him slip further down the pecking order at Jose Mourinho’s side.

Now, Football.London claim that Gazzaniga’s future will be a “talking point this month”, and that “he may be allowed to move on if a suitable offer comes in given they are well stocked in the goalkeeping department”.

Robbing Daniel Levy blind

Earning around £20k-a-week, Gazzaniga has been picking up a pay-cheque at Spurs this season for doing absolutely nothing at all.

Speaking after omitting him from the Europa League squad for this season, Mourinho said: “It is very difficult, to leave a player out is like to stop the player to fight for something he wants, that is always is very, very hard.

“The good thing is in January you can change, so if you have a different view you change. The Gazzaniga situation, with Hugo and Joe we believe that for the next couple of months we can do it with an academy goalkeeper, with a young English kid.”

Barring a miraculous set of circumstances, a third-choice goalkeeper at a club like Spurs is highly unlikely to play, which is why bringing in an academy player into the fold a) saves a lot of money and b) gives them exposure to the first-team too.

At 28, Gazzaniga isn’t going to develop into a world-class goalkeeper capable of ousting Lloris, whilst the fact Hart has overtaken him in the pecking order after being let go by Burnley says it all.

He’s robbing Spurs chairman Daniel Levy blind at the moment, and it’s exactly why Spurs just have to make a ruthless decision to sell the man Mourinho once dubbed as “magic”.

Leeds United have seemingly been pipped to the post to sign French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta amid advanced talks with Crystal Palace. BBC Sport reports that the Eagles are close to agreeing terms for an 18-month loan deal, seeing the 23-year-old make the move from Mainz.

The Whites have been scouring the transfer market for a forward who can contribute to Patrick Bamford’s heavy burden of carrying his team’s attack. According to French outlet Le Phoceen, Victor Orta was keeping tabs on Mateta, who has been valued at about £13.5million.

But with a move to a Premier League rival looming, Leeds must be kicking themselves that they couldn’t get a deal over the line.

Mateta misery

The Yorkshire outfit spent a hefty sum of money over the summer on six new permanent contracts. The arrivals included the likes of Raphinha, Robin Koch and new No.1 Illan Meslier. However, not all of the new recruits have made the desired impact and Leeds are now forced to return to the market.

Bamford leads the way as the club’s top scorer this season by some margin. The 27-year-old currently has ten goals to his name, with the next highest being Mateusz Klich on three, as per BBC Sport.

Adding another proven goalscorer to their ranks would have hugely benefitted Bamford and potentially changed Leeds’ entire attacking dynamic. Mateta has netted ten goals in 17 appearances for Mainz this season, very similar to the Whites’ goal-poacher.

Bielsa more often than not sticks to his comfort zone of a 4-1-4-1 formation, which many Premier League sides appear to have figured out. Lately, the Leeds attack has been easy to nullify, with just one goal on the board in their last five matches across all competitions, via Sofascore.

Changing up their tactics and pairing Bamford up with a 6 ft 4 goal-getter would have been an ideal move for Leeds, but now they will likely be preparing to defend against Mateta’s threat instead.

In other news, Leeds move for Riqui Puig would benefit both player and club…