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Sunderland fans want to re-sign Victor Anichebe after the 33-year-old was pictured at the Black Cats’ pre-season friendly against Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday.

The Stadium of Light outfit were in action against Tranmere at Prenton Park as they continue their preparations ahead of the 2021/22 campaign. The match ended 0-0, which perhaps illustrates Sunderland’s struggles upfront – the loss of last term’s top goalscorer Charlie Wyke (BBC) to Wigan Athletic (wiganathletic.com) is a huge blow to Lee Johnson and co.

Anichebe, who used to play for Sunderland amongst other clubs in the Premier League, has been retired for a number of years. During his career, he managed just 42 goals during 267 matches (Transfermarkt), which is far from prolific, but his physicality make him a difficult proposition to play against in his heyday.

A photo of Anichebe at the match was shared on Twitter by Sunderland’s official account, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the former Nigeria international.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Anichebe below

“Announce Him I beg he will tear up league 1 with his physicality”

Credit: @safcreportt

“Sign him up can’t be worse than grigg”

Credit: @Alex16793

“Sign. Him. It’s simple, pay as you play big target man up front”

Credit: @Hawko88

“Swap him for Grigg asap”

Credit: @SuperkevFTM

“Sign him, hasn’t played for 3 years but still walks into our team”

Credit: @GazJFisher

“Jokes aside, it’s impossible to do worse than what we’ve got up front, get him signed”

Credit: @15jgilmore

In other news, Sunderland fans were far from happy with this ex-player’s comments.

Some Everton fans have been left buzzing over the news that Seamus Coleman has been given a new deal.

As per the official website of the Goodison Park faithful, the Republic of Ireland international has signed a new one-year deal that will keep him at the Merseyside club until the end of June 2023.

Coleman is currently the club captain and so it is very important to keep him in and around the dressing room, especially given that it is Rafa Benitez’s first season in charge.

The right-back is still very much first choice in his position, having played in no fewer than 31 games in total over all competitions in the 2020/21 season despite finding himself injured for spells of it (Transfermarkt).

Thus, while the Toffees have not signed anyone at right-back, it is important that they keep Coleman happy, fit and firing.

Everton fans on Coleman deal

These Blues buzzed as the news was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that they were ‘made up’, while another described it as ‘brilliant news’:

“Brilliant news”

Credit: @FitzyJill

“Deserved, been fantastic and loyal to the club. World-class attitude toward the game”

Credit: @Huyton_PSG_U14s

“Made up”

Credit: @_lauraaj96

“Great news”

Credit: @beckylmc13

“LET’S GOOOOOOO”

Credit: @otrochris

“Yerrrsssss”

Credit: @Samjc289

In other news, find out which £45m-rated colossus EFC are battling to sign here!

According to Football Insider, as explained in their headline, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton have ‘set sights on signing’ Mexico international defender Jorge Sanchez.

The Lowdown: Spurs linked to plethora of defenders…

Tottenham look set to finally clinch a new defensive signing in Cristian Romero, with reliable outlets like Sky Sports detailing that a deal is even agreed for his signature.

Meanwhile, Spurs have also been looking to strengthen elsewhere in defence and ideally want to sign two new centre-backs this summer, with the likes of Conor Coady and Takehiro Tomiyasu linked amid the Romero saga.

Right-back is another position touted as one to keep an eye on, especially with Serge Aurier openly admitting that it is the end of his cycle at Tottenham.

The likes of Max Aarons, Zeki Celik and Tariq Lamptey have all been linked as possible reinforcements this summer, with news now emerging of Spurs eyeing another defender.

The Latest: Spurs ‘set sights on signing’ Sanchez…

As revealed by Football Insider, both Spurs and Everton have ‘set sights on signing’ Mexico international defender Sanchez this summer.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-updates-copy/” title=”Tottenham latest developments…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

While the Toffees are mentioned more throughout the report, Football Insider explained that the Merseysiders face competition from Tottenham for the Club America star. Amassing 15 caps for Mexico already, Sanchez is still only 23 years old and has impressed at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The report adds that he would be suited to Premier League football and that the player himself is ‘ready to follow several of his Mexico teammates to a top European team’.

The Verdict: Bigger priorities…

While he’s one to keep an eye on, Sanchez shouldn’t exactly be top of Tottenham’s priority list this summer.

Nuno Espirito Santo still only has one striker in Harry Kane, and unrest over his future doesn’t guarantee that he will be a Spurs player by the start of the new season.

After Romero, Spurs should put all their attention into signing a new forward whilst also finally completing the Tomiyasu deal, especially as he can play at both right-back and centre-back to solve two conundrums.

In other news: ‘Excited’, ‘Huge coup’…Sky Sports pundit in awe of announcement out of Tottenham, find out more here.

Aston Villa are said to be in talks with RC Lens midfielder Cheick Doucouré as their summer recruitment drive intensifies, according to Goal.com [via Birmingham Live].

The Mali midfielder enjoyed a commendable 2020/21 campaign as he registered five goal contributions in 35 appearances, with four goals and one assist [Transfermarkt].

He could now be set for a move to England following recent reports. The Villains are believed to have commenced discussions over a possible deal, with Lens holding out for around €15m (£12.7m) before considering selling one of their prize assets [Goal.com, via Birmingham Live].

Dean Smith has already sanctioned deals for five players in the form of Axel Tuanzebe, Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendia, Ashley Young and Danny Ings in this transfer window [Transfermarkt].

In light of recent developments about Doucouré, plenty of Aston Villa diehards took to Twitter to discuss the update on the 21-year-old, who won more tackles per game last season (2.6) than anyone in Smith’s squad, which suggests that he could add plenty of steel to the Villans’ midfield.

Aston Villa fans react

Replying to popular Aston Villa fan outlet villareport on Twitter, here is what some fans had to say about the Doucouré situation, with one supporter describing him as “super highly rated”:

“Pleaseeeee”

Credit: @Tom_Price_AVFC_

“I’m on my knees. Please Villa.”

Credit: @GjamieJ

“Sounds perfect, what we need. ‘His concentration and defensive awareness to proactively disrupt the opposition and retain possession in a simple but highly effective manner make him an incredibly underrated talent emerging from France.'”

Credit: @MerseMagic

“81 appearances and 5 goals at the age of 21? Looks like a decent buy to me”

Credit: @jackMalin

“Announce league title”

Credit: @coleman83avfc

“Super highly rated. Good young player to bring in and let him develop”

Credit: @CDG5805

In other news, many Aston Villa fans react to this reported plan from Dean Smith

Judging by Twitter, it’s safe to say that many Southampton fans weren’t impressed with the performance of winger Theo Walcott as their side succumbed to opening day defeat.

The Saints returned to Premier League action this afternoon at Goodison Park as they faced off against Everton, with an interesting season up ahead as they cope without big names from 2020/21.

In recent weeks, former star striker Danny Ings sealed a move to Aston Villa, while defender Jannik Vestergaard signed for Leicester City on Friday evening.

However, that isn’t to say Southampton haven’t made their own moves in an attempt to reinforce Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad, with summer signing Adam Armstrong #getting on the scoresheet in their 3-1 loss to the Toffees today.

One player with whom many Saints fans didn’t seem impressed, though, was fellow attacker Walcott, who seemed largely ‘anonymous’ in the eyes of some supporters.

According to SofaScore, the Englishman made no successful crosses, had zero attempts on goal and was among the lowest-rated players for Southampton with a subdued 6.3. He also lost possession of the ball on nine occasions.

Taking this into account, it’s little wonder his performance frustrated a fair few Saints supporters – check out a flavour of their verdicts from Twitter below.

Southampton fans slam Walcott

“We deserve that for giving Walcott 75 minutes, the guy is dreadful idc”

Credit: @KieranKellyyy_

“How is Walcott still on the pitch”

Credit: @sfc_susan

“Walcott can’t continue as a starter”

Credit: @Afromeror

“For Walcott, obviously, who has been largely anonymous.”

Credit: @OWTSaintspod

“Stu needs to come on for Walcott immediately”

Credit: @SaintMatt7

“Adam Armstrong and Che Adams is already looking like an extremely exciting and dangerous partnership, but I can’t help but wish we had Tella and Stu Armstrong behind them both rather than Djenepo and Walcott. Both soooo unbelievably average and predictable.”

Credit: @JackKnutsen_

“Get Walcott off for KWP and move Livramento up. Absolutely non-existent.”

Credit: @HQSoton

In other news: ‘Can’t wait’, ‘I’m excited’, ‘Fantastic’ – Many Saints fans flock to official news, find out more here.

Leicester City will be aiming to build on their Community Shield victory last weekend by picking up three points against Wolves this afternoon.

The Foxes suffered late heartbreak for the second consecutive season last term, missing out on a Champions League qualification spot on the final day following defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

However, the Midlands outfit will not be disheartened. They have continually punched above their weight under Brendan Rodgers, and their maiden FA Cup triumph in May capped an outstanding two-and-a-half years under the Northern Irishman.

However, following several astute purchases in the transfer window, Leicester will be hoping to go one better and finish in the top four next May.

Rodgers will have to cope without several first-team players in the opening weeks, though, with James Justin, Wesley Fofana, Jonny Evans and Nampalys Mendy all currently sidelined.

With that in mind, here’s how Football Fan Cast thinks the 48-year-old will line up his team at the King Power Stadium today…

New club captain Kasper Schmeichel is a certainty to start between the sticks for the Foxes, although there’s set to be a couple of fresh faces ahead of the Denmark international.

His compatriot and international teammate Jannik Vestergaard has completed his move from Southampton in time to be registered for this one, so he should make his club debut after his transfer was announced yesterday evening, partnering Caglar Soyuncu in the heart of defence.

That means the £4.5m-rated Daniel Amartey is set to drop to the bench after starting at Wembley a week ago, with Ricardo Pereira and Vestergaard’s former Saints team-mate Ryan Bertrand occupying the full-back positions.

In midfield, the dependable trio of Wilfried Ndidi, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison will take up their usual residency in the Leicester engine room.

Up top, talismanic striker Jamie Vardy is expected to be partnered by the returning Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Perez as they look to supply the goals on the Premier League’s return. The veteran’s 15 top-flight goals last season make him too difficult to drop, despite the summer arrival of Patson Daka.

In other news… Journalist drops transfer update that’ll leave Leicester fans buzzing 

Former Sheffield Wednesday star Mark Crossley insists that Sheffield Wednesday have to aim for automatic promotion this season.

The club dropped into League One after a dismal season in the Championship after finishing rock-bottom of the table.

Of course, Darren Moore’s side were deducted points at the beginning of the campaign and they were subsequently fighting against the odds to stay in the division.

Since their relegation to League One, they have gone unbeaten, drawing 0-0 with Charlton Athletic and beating both Doncaster Rovers and Fleetwood Town.

Only two clubs have taken maximum points so far in the season – Portsmouth and Burton Albion – and Crossley believes that the squad has the talent to finish in the automatic promotion slots, and believes that will be the aim for the season.

Indeed, he thinks that the club need to bounce back from such a terrible season last term.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Crossley said: “They’ve got to be thinking that they’re going to get automatic promotion after an absolute nightmare season last season where they had points deducted, never got going, never even put up a show to stay in the Championship.”

An update has emerged on Sunderland’s pursuit of Exeter right-back Josh Key.

What’s the talk?

Sky Sports reporter Tom White has revealed that the League One side have been chasing the defender all summer. The journalist said that the Black Cats have had multiple bids turned down for the 21-year-old and are willing to spend a decent fee on his services.

He told Roker Report, via Chronicle Live: “There was a lot of talk about an Exeter right back, Josh Key, we had a few bids rejected for.”

“I saw a few conspiracy theories going around that the club had leaked that information to try and appease the fans as we hadn’t signed anyone at that stage.

“Well I can assure you that story is absolutely not true, we’ve been in for Josh Key from Exeter all summer and haven’t been able to get him. I don’t know if that deal is off now that we’ve signed [Niall] Huggins but we were absolutely in for him and would spend quite a bit of money on him.”

Fans will be delighted

Sunderland fans will be delighted by this update as it shows that the club have been working their socks off to get a deal done for Key. They have been chasing him throughout the summer and made a number of bids, which means that they are serious about bringing him in, and supporters must be glad to see their club showing ambition in the transfer window.

Whilst their hard work has not paid off as of yet, Kristjaan Speakman still has a week to try and negotiate a deal for the right-back. He has put the legwork in over the summer and is now entering the clutch time of the window, where he needs to earn his corn and secure the 21-year-old’s services for Lee Johnson’s squad.

Recent signing Niall Huggins is currently the only natural right-back option in the squad and he has played one senior match in his career, which came as a substitute in the Premier League for Leeds. This means that Sunderland could end up relying on an inexperienced player if they fail to bring another right-back option into the squad.

Therefore, fans could be buzzing to see a player like Key potentially coming in. The Exter man has started four matches in League Two this season, having played 43 times last term for the club. He averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.82 in the 2020/21 campaign and has started this year with an average of 6.99, winning 4.5 aerial battles and 1.5 tackles per game.

This suggests that he has the quality required to make the step up to League One, as he has been able to stand out with his performances in League Two. Sunderland fans will surely now be hoping that Speakman can work his magic in the final week of the window to bring the 21-year-old to the Stadium of Light to provide competition for Huggins at right-back.

AND in other news, Speakman must sanction Sunderland move for teen starlet tipped to follow in Bukayo Saka’s footsteps…

Crystal Palace have been dealt a major injury blow ahead of their upcoming Premier League clash this weekend.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Football.London, Patrick Vieira revealed that Luka Milivojevic will not be available for the trip to West Ham United on Saturday afternoon, claiming that the 30-year-old club captain still remains some way short of match fitness following his absence from first-team action so far this season.

When asked whether Milivojevic would be involved at the London Stadium, the Frenchman said: “No, he’s not going to be involved. He needs more training is not physically fit to play the game. We’re going to use the international break for him to catch up and to be ready for our next home game.”

Vieira will be gutted

Having picked up just one point over their opening two Premier League fixtures of the season, as well as having yet to score a goal in the league, the continued absence of Milivojevic will undoubtedly have left Vieira gutted.

Indeed, the central midfielder has not only been one of the Eagles’ most consistent performers in the top flight since his arrival in south London back in 2017, the Serbia international has also been a steady source of goals for the club – having scored 28 times over his 150 Premier League appearances.

In terms of performance, the £7.2m-rated man’s displays last season illustrate his importance to the Palace side, with Milivojevic scoring one goal, providing one assist and creating three big chances over his 31 Premier League appearances, as well as making an average of 1.1 interceptions, 2.1 tackles and 1.5 clearances per game.

These returns saw the 30-year-old earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.83, ranking him as the club’s seventh-best player in the top flight of English football.

As such, it is clear to see that Milivojevic is a crucial part of the Crystal Palace side, with his unavailability for the West Ham clash undoubtedly making his side’s task of getting a positive result all the more difficult against an impressive Hammers team on Saturday afternoon.

In other news: Parish must sanction £7m CPFC deal for beast who is “like having two players”

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has made an exciting Leeds United claim about Raphinha and Marcelo Bielsa.

What’s the story?

The Whites made a late move to sign Manchester United’s Dan James on transfer deadline day, and Hay has now suggested there could be a very intriguing tactical tweak on the cards for Bielsa.

He said: “He (James) probably starts on the bench, doesn’t he, behind Raphinha (and) behind Jack Harrison – they seem pretty well-established. But we’ll wait to see whether or not there’s any effort made to convert somebody like Raphinha into a 10.

“From what I can gather, that is on Bielsa’s mind, but I think it would take a heck of a lot of coaching and I think it would be a longer-term process. Raphinha doesn’t instantly look to me like a Bielsa player in that two behind Patrick Bamford.

“It always feels like a little bit closer to an 8 than it is to an out-and-out number 10, who plays solely as a 10, but perhaps it can be done, and I mean, Raphinha, his range of skills are exceptional.”

Could be Bielsa’s game-changer

Having seen Raphinha enjoy a superb debut campaign at Elland Road by playing out wide, it feels slightly silly to suggest that Leeds should already think about changing up his position.

However, the Brazilian’s ability to beat players one-on-one, and also have the end product to either deliver a pass or land a shot on goal, makes him a rather interesting fit for that number ten role.

Rodrigo has struggled to nail down that position or even convince in that role behind Patrick Bamford, but Raphinha’s explosiveness and willingness to carry the ball could be a game-changer for Bielsa.

As per WhoScored, out of players who have featured in more than one Premier League game this season for Leeds, the 24-year-old ranks top for shots per game, fourth for key passes and second for dribbles.

The former Rennes man can do it all, and by playing him in that number ten role, Bielsa can then fit both Jack Harrison and James into his team out wide and give Leeds an incredibly pacey and exciting attack.

It’s exactly why Hay’s claim that Bielsa is considering moving Raphinha infield could well be a masterstroke from the Argentine tactician.

Meanwhile, this Leeds ace has seen his value diminish dramatically…