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Everton have received a potentially significant boost after it was revealed Abdoulaye Doucoure’s injury isn’t as bad as first feared.

What’s the word?

The influential 28-year-old, who has been one of the Toffees’ standout performers in the opening weeks of the new campaign, picked up a foot problem in the 1-0 defeat against West Ham United last time out.

Originally, reports suggested Doucoure could be sidelined for up to seven weeks due to the stress damage in his metatarsal, but The Athletic’s Everton reporter Patrick Boyland has now provided a positive update on the situation.

He tweeted: “It is hoped that Doucoure will only be out for 5/6 weeks – better than feared but still a big blow… Our understanding is that it’s a very similar injury to one sustained last season but the issue appears less severe this time.”

Everton fans should be delighted

News that Doucoure could return to action sooner than first thought should leave Everton fans feeling delighted, given his importance to Rafa Benitez’s side.

The Frenchman has been in fine form at the start of the season, bagging two goals and providing four assists in just eight Premier League outings – bettering his output from last term already.

Boyland went into further detail regarding the box-to-box dynamo’s injury status in his report, stating: “The Athletic understands that the issue, stress damage in the metatarsal, could cause Doucoure to miss up to six weeks, although thankfully it is not likely to require surgery.”

But despite the good news regarding Doucoure, Benitez will still be concerned over his engine room options while the 6-foot maestro is on the treatment table.

Fellow midfielders Andre Gomes and Fabian Delph will leave the Blues extremely short of options in the engine room when Watford visit Goodison Park over the weekend.

It means the likes of Tom Davies, Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Tyler Onyango will have to step up in Doucoure’s absence, gifting the youngsters a rare chance to start and subsequently impress.

And, in other news…Everton suffer potential injury setback after Doucoure, Benitez surely devastated 

Wolverhampton Wanderers may allow prized possession Ruben Neves to leave by means of a swap deal this summer.

What’s the word?

That is according to the latest reports from BirminghamMail (via the Mirror), who state that a mega swap deal could be on the cards, after Manchester United’s bitterly disappointing loss at Anfield on Tuesday night.

Erik ten Hag’s now confirmed arrival could see a mass overhaul at the Old Trafford side, with a potential swap deal rumoured to be offered to Bruno Lage.

Potential players who could be involved in a part-exchange include the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Alex Telles, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.

Lage should boldly axe Neves

From a Wolves perspective, whether any of the aforementioned players would be of use to Lage’s side is up for debate.

Though, the likes of Wan-Bissaka, Telles, Martial, Lingard and Rashford could improve the Old Gold side, with the latter options providing a potential upgrade in attack.

The deal would be of mutual benefit, with the listed players able to enjoy a fresh start in different surroundings, whilst the Old Gold could profit by getting them back to their best.

Neves is evidently a vital player to the club’s cause, featuring on 31 occasions this term and registering six goal involvements in the Premier League.

With that in mind, he’d be hard to replace but with a swap deal on the cards, it could give the Wolves boss a licence to boldly axe his prized possession from their ranks.

A swap-deal including a couple of these picks would certainly be much more lucrative for Lage, with their fees being considerably higher than the £36m-rated Ruben Neves, described as a “magician” by The Athletic’s Tim Spiers.

Axing the star in the summer could well work out for Lage, who has admitted the Portugal star could leave.

In other news: Lage can find Wolves’ very own Foden in 19 y/o who plays like he’s “in the playground”…

After a decent start to their Premier League campaign, West Ham United have stumbled in recent weeks with just one win in their previous six top-flight games.

With the January transfer window opening in a matter of days, journalist Paul Brown has dropped a claim on a potential piece of business that the Hammers could look to execute as they aim to end the season in the top four of the Premier League table.

What’s the news?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Brown was discussing the possibility of West Ham making a move to try and sign Sparta Prague striker Adam Hlozek, with whom the club have been linked in recent weeks, in the upcoming window

He said: “It might be that kind of profile they look for. Yeah, I could see that. That kind of transfer being one they do more than [Andrea] Belotti or a [Anthony] Martial who would cost a lot of money and expects to play every week.”

As a product of Sparta’s youth academy, Hlozek has gone on to make 111 senior appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 33 goals and providing 33 assists along the way, which is very impressive considering that he’s only 19.

Even though he may not have the experience of the likes of Belotti (238 appearances for Torino) or Martial (268 appearances for Manchester United), the teenager has still shown what an exciting goalscoring prospect he is.

Fans could be buzzing

With West Ham having signed the likes of Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal and Alex Kral, all of whom come from the Czech Republic, Hlozek could be the next in line to follow in their footsteps and become a potential future star at the London Stadium.

If West Ham were to sign the teenager in January ahead of the likes of Martial and Belotti, the youngster could be just what the Irons need given how Michail Antonio hasn’t scored since their 1-0 win over Tottenham back in October, especially if the Czech youngster can hit the ground running in a goalscoring sense.

Moving forward, with January around the corner, the Hammers should definitely explore the possibility of signing Hlozek to see if he can relieve the scoring burden on sole centre-forward Antonio. A coup like this would leave the fan base buzzing, not least when looking at the 19-year-old’s excellent scoring record.

In other news: GSB could solve Moyes’ big issue at West Ham with move for “unbelievable” £19k-p/w “monster”

Manchester United have not made much progress so far in their winter transfer window, despite many players being linked to the club over the first two weeks, but Ralf Rangnick could be set to make his first star signing as manager at Old Trafford.

Rangnick’s side have been struggling to get results in the Premier League since the new year began, with a defeat at home in their first game of the year against Wolves, and drawing in their second league game of 2022 with Aston Villa after losing a two-goal lead on Saturday evening.

These results and a clear lack of determination to see games out will only put more pressure on the interim manager to make signings who can make a positive impact and offer the side the quality they need to climb into the top four as they compete with West Ham United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur for a Champions League qualifying place.

One player that could save Rangnick’s six months in charge at Old Trafford, is Ousmane Dembele who was hailed “better than Mbappe” by Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, recently.

The 24-year-old forward has not been playing a lot for the La Liga giants with only six appearances in the league this season so far due to a knee injury, and has been linked with a move to Manchester United this week, with the £287k-per-week gem out of contract in the summer, so a cut-price deal could be available if Rangnick feels it would be worth stepping up on the signings this month.

Dembele has a fantastic goal involvement record at Barcelona, despite only playing 58 minutes on average per game for the club so far, with a goal or assist every 141 minutes according to Transfermarkt.

Someone with consistent output would be a great addition to the Manchester United forward line, with the creative possibilities endless for the French attacker if he was to play alongside the second-highest goalscorer in the history of football, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Fans would also love to see Dembele add attacking depth at Old Trafford, with one fan even tweeting:

“What is the solution to make Man United a great club? Sign Dembele.”

Rangnick will be looking to find a way to get the fans back on side after some turned on the manager after the Aston Villa game on Saturday evening, so signing a star offensive player like Dembele could be a good way to get back in the good books of the fanbase for the German coach.

In other news: Rangnick has fee agreed for Amadou Haidara

Arsenal have been handed a late boost in their bid to sign Yves Bissouma this January transfer window…

What’s the word?

The Gunners were linked with a move for the Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder earlier this month by The Sunday Mirror (09/01, p71), whilst they have seemingly held a long-term interest in signing him.

Now, according to The Times, the Seagulls are prepared to let him go before Monday night’s deadline for a fee of £50m.

Arsenal have missed out on some key midfield targets this window, including Arthur Melo, whose potential loan move from Juventus fell through, and Bruno Guimaraes, who is set to join top-flight rivals Newcastle United.

Arteta needs him

A new central midfielder must be among the many priorities around the Emirates Stadium but time is quickly running out, which is why a move for a player already based in the Premier League makes the world of sense.

Brighton have made their willingness to conduct business very clear, so the door has opened for Edu Gaspar and his recruitment staff to strike. It would be unforgivable not to.

The Gunners have offloaded as many as five players this month already, all without making a single signing, leaving Arteta light on options in the engine room.

It doesn’t help that Thomas Partey and Mo Elneny have been away on international duty but even with them around, there’s a serious lack of depth in midfield.

Bissouma has already proven his credentials in England and would be a fine addition indeed.

As per WhoScored, he’s averaging a whopping 3.6 tackles per game, which sees him top the entire division in this regard, whilst also managing 1.9 interceptions and 1.7 dribbles per outing, too.

He’s evidently an absolute beast in the heart of the pitch, one capable of not only winning the ball back but also driving it forward into the final third. Perhaps exactly what Arsenal are missing.

Former Aston Villa star Lee Hendrie once said: “I did a chat with myself and Paul Merson on Soccer Saturday a few weeks ago talking about Bissouma, and we highlighted what he actually does. I mean, his stats are absolutely phenomenal, the way he breaks the game up, his forward play.”

By comparison, the erroneous Granit Xhaka – who plays a similar role in north London – averages a lower 1.7 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and 0.4 dribbles per match, via WhoScored.

Valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, the 25-year-old Mali international has been described as a “wonderful talent” and likened to Yaya Toure in terms of playing style.

Arteta could really do with Bissouma before tomorrow night’s deadline, so it will certainly be an interesting final 24 hours or so.

AND in other news, “I’m told..”: Reliable journo drops huge transfer claim as Arsenal make Prem star their no.1 target…

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Salomon Rondon was on the scoresheet as Newcastle United recorded a 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

The goal was Rondon’s seventh in the league this season and there is no question that he has been a success since arriving on loan from West Bromwich Albion.

The Magpies will be keen to sign the 29-year-old on a permanent deal at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

However, they will surely not be the only ones, with Rondon proving this season – and indeed last – that he is capable of operating at this level of football.

Rondon took to social media in the aftermath of the Huddersfield result, which led to a number of Newcastle fans lavishing praise on the forward.

Indeed, many urged the South American to join the club on a permanent deal at the end of the campaign, whilst others simply hailed the summer arrival.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie has revealed the latest on Newcastle United’s talks with Eddie Howe to become their new manager.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days had pointed towards Villareal manager Unai Emery being the man the new owners wanted in place for this weekend’s Premier League game against Brighton, but after that fell through on Wednesday, attentions have quickly towards elsewhere.

Writing on Twitter, Downie said: “Talks are on-going between Newcastle and Eddie Howe over their vacant manager’s position. Howe is under serious consideration following Unai Emery’s rejection yesterday. Understand he also held talks previously with Newcastle pre-takeover.”

Newcastle’s search could finally be over

In what has been a roller-coaster of a couple of days, it appears the Magpies finally look set to end this managerial saga and appoint Howe as the man to permanently replace Steve Bruce in the dugout at St James’ Park.

While missing out on Emery is no doubt a big blow to the new ownership, getting someone in place for the clash against Brighton was absolutely critical.

Though the Premier League campaign may still be in its early days, the Tyneside club’s wretched start has seen them firmly fixed in the bottom three of the table with just four points – they remain six points off safety.

Howe’s appointment would at least give the Newcastle players and the fans as a whole a sense of relief and clarity about things going forward, instead of the state of uncertainty currently clouding the club.

Though Howe may not be everybody’s first-choice, the fact Downie claims that talks are ongoing with the former Bournemouth boss and that he is “under serious consideration” should delight fans who must be getting tired of all this managerial drama already. All they want is a manager, and that dream could finally be realised in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Craig Hope has dropped a late-night twist on Newcastle’s manager hunt…

Adam Jones was left slamming the performance of Ben Godfrey as Everton lost 3-2 away from home to Burnley in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

The Lowdown: Damaging defeat

It really was yet another damaging loss for Frank Lampard and his team at the foot of the table, as the win for the Clarets closed the gap between the two sides to just one point.

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The Goodison Park faithful were actually in the lead at half-time through two Richarlison penalties after Nathan Collins had opened the scoring for the hosts from a corner, but Jay Rodriguez and Maxwel Cornet ensured that they had to suffer another miserable defeat.

Worryingly, Sean Dyche even admitted after the match that he told his players the Everton squad ‘don’t know how to win’.

The Latest: Godfrey slammed

Writing in his player ratings piece for The Liverpool Echo, Jones slammed Godfrey’s display in particular, citing the ‘awful’ mistake that he made in the lead up to the decisive goal of the game, while he ‘didn’t cover himself in glory’ with his positioning for the hosts’ second goal either.

Jones gave him just a 4/10 overall rating, the joint-worst in the squad along with Jonjoe Kenny.

The Verdict: Must do better

Godfrey will know that he made a mistake for the third goal, and overall he must do better defensively if the Toffees are to avoid the dreaded drop.

The central defender lost out on two of his duels, and only managed to make one interception in the entire match, while his passing was not up to scratch, recording just 54% accuracy, one of the lowest in the squad (SofaScore).

He was also inaccurate with all seven of his long ball attempts, and lost possession 12 times from just 36 touches (SofaScore).

Nonetheless, Lampard must seriously consider whether to start him again as Manchester United come calling at Saturday lunchtime, but with Michael Keane now available after suspension.

In other news, find out which ‘brilliant’ leader the Blues are now eyeing here!

Leeds United have enquired about signing Djed Spence, according to reports…

What’s the word?

“Teams in the Premier League and across Europe have been enquiring about the availability of Middlesbrough defender Djed Spence during this window,” revealed Sky Sports reporter Tom White (via Football Daily).

“It’s believed that Arsenal have made their interest known as they look to add competition for places at right-back. Leeds have also made an enquiry. The 21-year-old is actually a Middlesbrough player but is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest.”

The Mirror believe the young full-back is valued at around £10m after impressing against the Gunners during their shock FA Cup victory nearly two weeks ago.

Ayling backup

As an attack-minded wing-back, Spence would be a really intriguing signing for Leeds and one that could well benefit manager Marcelo Bielsa tenfold.

The Argentinian head coach only really has one senior option on the right-hand side of defence in vice-captain Luke Ayling, who has missed games through injury this campaign. The likes of Stuart Dallas and Jamie Shackleton have had to deputise out of position, as a result.

After falling down the pecking order under Neil Warnock at Boro, the 6-foot defender has been a standout star under Steve Cooper at the City Ground, where he currently ranks as their fifth-best performer in the Championship.

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As per WhoScored, Spence has averaged 1.6 tackles and interceptions per game, showing his defensive stability, but also a squad-high 1.8 dribbles and 0.8 key passes per game, which goes to show his influence in the final third, too.

Despite things turning south under the veteran boss, Warnock was once full of praise for the young starlet, comparing him to two of England’s top right-backs.

“You look at one or two or the others now, Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool and Wan-Bissaka at Man United, they are all that type,” he said. “He has got enormous ability and when you have that ability it’s criminal if you don’t get to the very top.”

His performance against Arsenal earlier in the month was described as an “incredible display” by football.london writer Connor Humm, so it suggests that he is more than capable of competing with the big boys, should a move ensue this year.

With a lack of solid options behind his star man, Bielsa could really do with Spence and at just £10m for a homegrown talent, it would be an absolute steal.

AND in other news, Deal agreed: Leeds eye bargain swoop for £4.5m-rated “pitbull”, Bielsa will be buzzing…

Celtic have been dealt a major injury blow ahead of their upcoming Scottish League Cup semi-final.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a report by Football Scotland, who revealed that Celtic centre-back Stephen Welsh had to be withdrawn late on in Scotland U21s’ 2-0 defeat to Belgium on Tuesday evening.

The report went on to state that the 21-year-old looked to pick up a knock in a collision with one of his Belgian counterparts, before limping out of the UEFA U21 Championship qualifier at Tannadice.

Ange will be fuming

Considering the fact that Carl Starfelt is already a doubt for Saturday’s Scottish League Cup semi-final clash against St. Johnstone, the news that the Sweden international’s stand-in now also appears to be ruled out of the fixture is sure to have left Ange Postecoglou fuming.

Indeed, not only does Welsh’s injury leave the 56-year-old manager extremely short of options at the back, the Bhoys boss also appears to have lost one of his most promising young talents at Parkhead.

Over his five Scottish Premiership appearances this season, the £1.08m-rated man has helped his side keep two clean sheets and registered one assist, as well as making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 0.8 tackles, 2.2 clearances and winning 6.2 duels per game.

These returns have seen the Scotland U21 international average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.12, ranking him as Postecoglou’s joint 11th-best performer in the top flight of Scottish football.

As such, the 21-year-old’s injury will undoubtedly come as a major blow to the Greek-Australian’s chances of securing a victory against St. Johnstone, a result that Postecoglou will be desperate for in order to have a shot at picking up the first trophy of his tenure as Celtic manager.

In other news: Ange could repeat Josh Adam disaster with 15 y/o Celtic prodigy, it’d be a big blow