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It would be wrong to label Ronald Koeman a bad manager – clearly, Everton’s biggest errors this season trace back to their recruitment strategy during the summer – but it would also be wrong to ignore how his Toffees side were desperately short of enthusiasm, energy and aggression towards the end of his tenure.

That’s inherently linked with confidence but is exactly what the Merseysiders now need to restore a season that has seen them slump to 16th place, standing three points above the relegation zone, and caretaker manager David Unsworth has turned to the club’s promising array of youngsters to provide it.

Few performances have quite epitomised what those young players can offer Everton quite like Jonjoe Kenney’s against Crystal Palace on Saturday, a high-octane affair in south London that saw the Toffees claim a 2-2 draw with just 31% of the ball.

Accordingly, the 20-year-old’s performance wasn’t the most polished; he completed just 56% of his passes and committed three fouls.

But his commitment and aggression was more than evident by making the most interceptions of any player on the pitch alongside the second-most tackles.

If Everton are to turn their wayward season around, dogged performances like Kenny’s will be vital – especially away from home – and Unsworth clearly appreciates that. The lingering question though, is whether his successor will value the Toffees’ impressive batch of youngsters in the same way.

At the start of the season, when Real Madrid brushed aside Barcelona with frightening ease in the Spanish Super Cup, and when they schooled Manchester United with a lesson in dominant football, it looked like the only reason not to back Zinedine Zidane’s team for Champions League glory this season was the fact that they’d already won two in a row. No team could win three on the bounce, surely. Not these days.

Just a few months later, that scenario has changed markedly. There is now a shadow of doubt over every top team in Europe in a way that we’re not really used to.

Barcelona’s good form to start the campaign is impressive, but their victories haven’t been overly convincing: they look like they could fall into a slump at some point, though conversely this could be their tough patch negotiated expertly before the real form begins.

Juventus, Bayern Munich and Chelsea are all sitting in second place in their groups, as well as Real Madrid, showing that they’re not totally on it just yet this season either. Napoli, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid are all in severe danger of exiting the competition in the group stages.

And then there’s Paris Saint-Germain, who have been imperious this season, but can a team with 35-year-old Thiago Motta as their only viable option in the holding midfield role really win the Champions League? You can also add to that the apparent in-fighting going on between Neymar, the Brazilian contingent, and the likes of Edinson Cavani in the PSG dressing room.

That’s not to write most of those teams off. With the exception of Atletico and Dortmund – who would need miracles in order to progress – all we can say is that there’s a lack of form around Europe. But form is temporary, and we all know the class of player the top European giants have at their disposal.

But then you look at the English clubs, who are all performing well in the Champions League this season, and all of them are in with good shouts of qualification – it’s only a matter of whether they finish top or second in their groups.

Probably the only team in Europe who don’t have question marks over their performances so far this season in any competition is Manchester City, but in a way, they’re the biggest question mark. Although it wouldn’t seem too over the top to proclaim them as the best team on the continent this season on form and performances, the question to be asked is if they can sustain it. With injuries to John Stones and Benjamin Mendy, that form could dissipate. If it does, we’ll learn a lot about the spirit in the squad which, if Snapchat is indeed the best indicator of such things, looks pretty good at present.

And yet, a season is a long time to spend playing football the Pep Guardiola way, and Champions League form could suffer in the spring.

The team you might not want to write off in Europe, however, is Manchester United. Dipping form in the Premier League seems to have been helped out by the return of Paul Pogba and the ominous comeback of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who doesn’t have a Champions League medal despite winning pretty much everything else in club football.

The lack of ambition and defence-first football they’ve shown in their highest-profile over the last few weeks has been widely criticised, but over the course of a long season that might not look so bad. They are still alive in the Premier League title race, or at least to the extent that there still is a race. But over the two-legged affairs in the Champions League knockout rounds, you get the feeling that United’s approach will be formidable.

Sure, in the three big games they’ve played this season, they’ve won one, drawn one and lost the other. Chelsea beat them, but that was at Stamford Bridge and only 1-0: in a Champions League knockout round first leg, we’re talking about a decent result. The same can be said for a 0-0 draw at Anfield against Liverpool. And the victory was at home.

It would be naive to suggest that these were good results on the basis that they’d be decent Champions League results. After all, we’re making the case that knockout competitions are different to league games, and these are the games which mean United are suddenly eight points behind City.

But when you look at all of the clubs around Europe at the moment, and look at the states in which they find themselves, you start to wonder if English clubs have the best chance of actually winning the competition this year. And if City are so far ahead in the league, does that mean Jose Mourinho will sack off the domestic competitions in the Spring once again in order to focus on Europe? And if he does that, United may not seem like the team to beat, but actually beating them could be another story.

Romelu Lukaku has struggled to continue the scintillating form that he began his Manchester United career with.

The striker has only managed to score twice in his last 10 matches for the Red Devils.

That is a complete contrast to the start of the campaign when he found the back of the net 10 times in nine games.

On Sunday afternoon, pressure was on Lukaku’s shoulders as he led the line in the Manchester derby.

The contest did not go the Belgian’s way, though, as City dominated at Old Trafford to claim a 2-1 victory.

The 24-year-old played a role in City’s goals, particularly the second as his rash clearance ended up bouncing off the back of teammate Chris Smalling and into the path of Nicolas Otamendi, who volleyed home.

Once the final whistle blew, United fans tweeted their views on Lukaku’s performance, and some believe that manager Jose Mourinho should drop him from the first XI.

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West Ham have reportedly bid for Portuguese playmaking star Bruno Fernandes, and fans are praying they can get a deal over the line.

There has been plenty of talk about replacing Manuel Lanzini in recent weeks. Since the Argentine’s devastating knee injury, the Hammers have been linked with Juan Quintero, Joaquin Correa, Joao Mario and a million other creative midfielders, all in the hopes of finding that assist king to fill the Lanzini void.

Well, according to Sky Sports, the Hammers have tabled a £20m bid for Fernandes, who racked up a truly remarkable 20 assists last season for Sporting CP. To put that in perspective, the incredible Kevin De Bruyne had 21 assists for Wolfsburg the season before his big money move to Manchester City.

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Fernandes is one of a number of Sporting players who have asked to terminate their contracts with the club, but rather than wait around for a bunch of tedious legal proceedings to determine a fee, the Hammers are trying to jump ahead of the pace with a quick bid.

Sky Sports claim the Portuguese club are looking for a fee closer to £25m, but if the East Londoners can get this one over the line it would be one hell of a coup.

The 8-cap Portuguese international is just 23 years old, but bagged 16 goals to go with his incredible assist numbers last season, and would create a ridiculous amount of chances for the likes of Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez to gobble up.

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Fans are desperate for this one to get over the line, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

With the World Cup coming to an end, football fans up and down the country will be keen for their clubs to ramp up their transfer activity.

The window closes earlier than normal on August 9, which means that squads will be complete come the start of the domestic season, but Everton supporters are getting frustrated by the lack of incomings at Goodison Park.

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The biggest transfer news for Everton so far is that Wayne Rooney recently left after one season back at his boyhood club.

New manager Marco Silva is yet to bring in a new signing since taking over from Sam Allardyce, but the Merseyside outfit have been linked to a handful of players.

Is this the best World Cup ever? Give us your thoughts here and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.

On Tuesday, Everton made an announcement via Twitter, but it was not one that fans were hoping for.

The club announced that teenage starlet Manasse Mampala has signed his first professional contract.

Everton fans were understandably happy for the 17-year-old, but some responded to the Twitter post with calls for new signings.

Now the World Cup dust has settled, it’s time to reveal who you voted for as your player of the tournament in Russia.

Croatia midfielder Luka Modric was awarded FIFA’s Golden Ball while French star Kylian Mbappé was given the FIFA Young Player Award as they led their two nations to the final.

However, when we asked the loyal readers of Football FanCast for their player of the tournament, neither of the talents was chosen as their favourite, with Mbappé finishing in a respectable third place and Modric second.

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba finished 5th overall but was the second most unpopular player to Cristiano Ronaldo and received more up-votes than Mbappé showing that he still divides opinion among football fans.

In the end, Tottenham Hotspur and England star Kieran Trippier came out on top as the right wing-back led the Three Lions to within one game of the final.

The 27-year-old scored a stunning free kick in a semi-final and was a constant threat with his set piece deliveries and searing runs down the right flank.

Trippier was also named in the FIFA Team of the Tournament and he returns to Tottenham this summer having truly announced himself on the world stage.

Liverpool are interested in signing Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, but they will have to see off rival interest from Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund according to Goal.

What’s the story?

Zaha made a name for himself as a young Crystal Palace prodigy and sealed what appeared to be a dream move to Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2013.

Unfortunately it proved to be Sir Alex’s final transfer and Zaha wasn’t favoured by his replacement David Moyes and he soon returned to his boyhood club.

Since then the Ivorian has shone and the 25-year-old scored nine goals and assisted three last season for the Eagles.

Now according to the report, Liverpool and Tottenham are interested in the pacy winger but Palace want £50million for their prized asset who is valued at £27million on Transfermarkt.

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Perfect for Spurs

It’s hard to see Zaha breaking into Liverpool’s potent attacking trio who worked so well together last season as they reached the Champions League final.

Has this been the best World Cup ever? Let us know here and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.

On the other hand, his lightning pace and devastating counter attacks are perfectly suited to Tottenham’s style.

It remains to be seen whether Daniel Levy would shell out so much on one player but he could prove to be a great addition to the Spurs attack.

Arsenal’s transfer business this summer has arguably been some of the best in recent memory and it looks like the Gunners might well be in for a surprising summer. 

The Gunners have added a new goalkeeper to compete with Cech and have also added two new defenders to improve the leaky defence and Arsenal fans will be hoping that the club can finally get back to winning ways next year as the Unai Emery evolution takes place.

While it was thought that the Gunners’ transfer business is over, the club have been heavily linked with a move for Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes. With a permanent move stalling, Spanish news outlet RAC 1 is reporting that Arsenal aren’t willing to match Barcelona’s £26 million valuation and will instead make a loan approach.

The Breakdown

After a somewhat faltering career with Barcelona, Andre Gomes’ time at the club seems pretty much over. The Portuguese midfielder has never been able to break into the first-team and only managed to play 16 games in La Liga last season.

The midfielder’s talent at Barcelona has never been denied but his ability to actually turn that talent into top-class performances has never materialised. This may be down to Ernesto Valverde’s shift towards a 4-4-2 system which saw him play mostly on the flanks rather than in a midfielder three.

For Arsenal, Emery could well do with some midfield additions before the transfer window closes. Gomes could either play next to Xhaka at the base of midfield or indeed even play further up as a 10 for Mesut Ozil. However, Emery should be looking elsewhere to help and should be prioritising a move for Steven NZonzi who would give Arsenal some defensive presence in midfield.

Thoughts Arsenal fans? 

Newcastle United will be hoping to make a few big name signings in the next two weeks as they look to add to their squad and make sure they are fully capable of competing for a top half finish.

Manager Rafa Benitez drew plenty of praise for keeping his side in the Premier League last term, and there has been a strong call for the Spaniard to be backed in the market to ensure that the Toon Army establish themselves back as a long term Premier League force.

A couple of additions this week have helped to ease the worries of some fans, but here at the Transfer Tavern, we think a few more signings would go down a treat with the Magpies faithful, and we think we have identified just the player they need in Argentina and Valencia midfielder Ever Banega.

The £10.8m-rated midfield ace was a key component of the World Cup squad over in Russia over the summer, and despite his country failing to impress, he still looked well when on the field.

His form for Valencia over the last few years has been excellent, and Banega could well light up the Premier League given the chance.

Classy on the ball and someone who is also willing to do some of the hard work off the ball, Banega is the sort of player who Newcastle United fans would surely like to see light up St James’ Park.

If Newcastle do want to progress, then signing players of the sort of quality that Banega possesses is a must.

Magpies fans, what do you think? Is Banega a good signing? Let us know in the comments!

According to Talk Sport, Tottenham Hotspur are close to agreeing a deal with Aston Villa to bring Jack Grealish to White Hart Lane this summer.

Spurs are yet to make any signings in this transfer window, but Mauricio Pochettino will surely be keen to strengthen his squad ahead of another campaign featuring Champions League football.

Grealish impressed for Villa in the Championship last time out, and was the club’s star man as they progressed all the way to the play-off final at Wembley. Having missed out on a return to the Premier League with his hometown club though, the 22-year-old looks to have been offered an alternative route to the top flight by Spurs.

The young Englishman would add dynamism and flair to Spurs’ midfield, and it is easy to see how his ability to travel with the ball, beat his man, and his love for taking on opponents could become an asset to Pochettino.

The arrival of Grealish would surely push Moussa Sissoko even further out of the first team picture though, and leave the Frenchman with little choice but to seek pastures new. 

Newcastle should be alive to this possibility and ready to offer Sissoko a return to the north east. 

The Breakdown

Whilst Sissoko has struggled to impose himself in a top 6 side, he could still thrive at St James’ Park. The 28-year-old’s directness, physicality and goal threat from deep would add a new dimension to the way the Magpies currently play under Rafa Benitez.

Sissoko would provide a different kind of central midfield option for Benitez to work with alongside the likes of Jonjo Shelvey and Mohamed Diame. Equally, Sissoko could compete for the central attacking midfield berth with Ayoze Perez.

If Newcastle are to repeat their impressive Premier League performance this time around then they’ll need the kind of strength in depth that the recruitment of Sissoko would bring.

Transfermarkt value the man with 53 senior caps for France at £16.2. million. With the midfielder so clearly surplus to requirements in North London though, Newcastle could perhaps even land Sissoko for less.