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Crystal Palace could potentially add a World Cup winner to their ranks this summer with Marseille’s Florian Thauvin being linked with a move to the club.

According to L’Equipe, the Eagles and Premier League rivals Leicester City have commenced talks with the Frenchman, whose contract expires in the summer.

Palace chairman Steve Parish must make sure that Palace secure his signature ahead of the competition, as it would be an absolute bargain.

In simple terms, Thauvin would be a huge upgrade on the current wide options at Selhurst Park. The former Newcastle United flop has flourished back in his home country.

In 274 appearances for Les Olympiens, he has scored 86 goals and notched 60 assists in all competitions, including eight throughout the 2020/21 season.

For context, since he moved back to France in 2016, Palace’s highest contributing attacker Wilfried Zaha has contributed just 41 goals and 36 assists in the same time frame. This would therefore make the likes of Andros Townsend and Jeffrey Schlupp pale into almost insignificance.

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Thauvin’s quality had certainly been predicted long before he started displaying those kind of statistics. Current Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa suggested as far back as six years ago that the winger was going to be “important” for Marseille – an assessment that has certainly been revealed as the truth.

Whilst his former Toulouse boss Alain Casanova once compared the winger to fellow Frenchman Franck Ribery and also dubbed him a  “very dangerous” player capable of being able to “disrupt any opponent,” as per the Guardian. He’s not lost any of that ability over the years.

For a player of such immense quality, it would certainly be quite the statement from Palace if they were to secure him.

Rated at £28.8m by Transfermarkt, they would also not have to pay an outright fee for the 28-year-old, instead being able to welcome him to Selhurst Park on a free transfer.

With as many as 16 senior players out of contract and the squad in desperate need of rejuvenation, saving money on the likes of Thauvin really could benefit the squad and indeed the club going into 2021/22.

Palace then must make sure they convince the winger to commit to them instead of their Premier League rivals.

AND in more news, find out which previous transfer target Palace should be trying for once again…

A football finance guru has outlined a potential ‘problem’ that Newcastle United may have that could well harm their chances of a takeover at St. James’ Park.

Speaking to Football Insider, Kieran Maguire has claimed that potential new investors would be inheriting a ‘problem cost’ in Joelinton should they take over in the North East, which may see the Tyneside club’s chances of a takeover potentially harmed as a result:

“Newcastle’s squad is worth more money because they’ve invested more. That has good aspects and bad aspects to it.

“The elephant in the room is the Joelinton factor. Who’s going to sign him given that he’s not delivered for two seasons?

“You’re inheriting a problem cost which you won’t have to the same extent at Derby. There is more flexibility with them.”

Joelinton may be a problem

It is easy to see where Maguire is coming from in terms of the Magpies having a player like Joelinton still at the club.

The Toon reportedly signed the 24-year-old from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim for a club-record £40m transfer fee, which is big money for a club like NUFC to gamble on.

Joelinton’s time at Newcastle has been nothing shy of miserable ever since, with a mere seven goals scored in 71 games in total over all competitions across the last two consecutive terms (Transfermarkt).

The potential new owners would almost certainly not be able to offload the Brazilian striker for anything near to whet they would hope, and so they would likely be left with him stuck on their wage bill.

Nonetheless, any prospective buyers may well be put off by the current valuation of the Magpies squad as Maguire suggests, with some players such as Joelinton potentially becoming a ‘problem’ for them.

In other news, find out which five managers Lee Ryder has named who could replace Steve Bruce here!

Manchester City are reportedly taking an interest in Sporting Lisbon left-back Nuno Mendes ahead of the summer, and if he were to join, it could be the catalyst for Benjamin Mendy leaving the Citizens.

According to Portuguese news outlet Record,  City have made initial contacts over a move for the 18-year-old, who reportedly has a £60 million release clause with the Liga NOS side.

Although it suggests that the teenager could well be loaned back to Sporting as part of the deal, it looks as if City are targeting him as a long-term option at left-back, which suggests that Mendy could well be on his way out after a nightmare few seasons with the Citizens.

The Frenchman has shown glimpses of immense quality during his time working under Guardiola, particularly in the 2018/19 season when he managed five assists in just 10 Premier League appearances, which saw him average an impressive 7.29 rating.

However, he has endured some awful injury problems with City, which have prevented him from ever really enjoying a run of games in the first-team.

This season has seen Guardiola primarily utilise Oleksandr Zinchenko and Joao Cancelo at left-back, with Mendy having made just eight appearances in the top-flight, in which he has averaged a disappointing 6.45 rating.

Therefore, if Mendes were to join City, you feel that the Frenchman would be the one to leave, as he is simply too unreliable because of injury problems, and he is already arguably third-choice left-back, whilst the likes of Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte have also shown that they can play there if needed.

Mendes has impressed this season so far, making 19 appearances in the Portuguese top-flight, in which he has contributed one goal and one assist, averaging a superb 7.22 rating, so it is easy to see why he is attracting so much interest.

The young Portuguese defender certainly looks to be a wonderkid, and if sporting director Txiki Begiristain can negotiate a deal to bring him to the Etihad this summer, it would not be a surprise to see Mendy depart as a result.

And, in other news… £99m-rated City star’s place could be under threat after 23 y/o’s super display 

Christian Pulisic drew two red cards in AC Milan's 1-0 win over eight-man Lazio, helping lead the way in a chaotic Serie A win.

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• Pulisic fantastic on right wing
• Draws two of three Lazio red cards
• Okafor scores lone goal

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Milan came out of the gates totally flat, struggling to do much of anything against a relentless Lazio press. It was one of the worst performances of the season so far for the Rossoneri, but that all shifted in the second half due to Lazio's self-inflicted mistakes.

  After earning a yellow card for dragging Pulisic down to prevent a chance on goal, Luca Pellegrini earned a second yellow moments later. Thinking the referee should have blown the play dead due to a foul on Taty Castellanos, Pellegrini allowed the ball to roll, only for Pulisic to dash onto it. Forced to bring the American down again, Pellegrini was quickly sent off, prompting chaos from protesting Lazio players, all to no avail.

  Lazio were then nearly punished by a Rafael Leao goal, only for the Portuguese star to see his finish called back due to an offside call. Milan, though, eventually found the back of the net as Noah Okafor pounced, banking a shot off Ivan Provedel's hands after two successive saves.

  Then, chaos ensued.
  Lazio totally lost their head, with both Adam Marusic and Matteo Guendouzi earning red cards after the goal. Marusic's came for dissent, while Guendouzi's decision to rip down Pulisic earned him his marching orders to headline a chaotic ending.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Any dropped points would have been tough for Milan to swallow, which makes Okafor's goal all the more important. The title race may already be gone, but Milan will need to win games like this and beg for an Inter splip up to have any chance of getting back into contention for the Scudetto. With the win, Milan remain 13 points behind Inter, having played one more game. The win does give the Rossoneri some breathing room on fourth-place Bologna, too, as they sit eight points back with a game in hand.

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  USMNT IMPACT

  Pulisic remains a key player for Milan but, in recent weeks, he's been slightly overshadowed by a resurgent Leao. There was no overshadowing him on Friday, though, as he was arguably Milan's best player.

  In addition to drawing the red cards on Pellegrini and Guendouzi, Pulisic was a menace throughout. His shot was Milan's best chance of the first half while creating three chances on the day. He ran the show on that left-hand side and was unlucky to not be the player that provided the breakthrough for Milan.

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  GOAL'S RATINGS

  Christian Pulisic (8/10):

  Fantastic throughout. Drew two red cards and created several big chances. Overall, a big performance to lead the way in a wild match.

Soccer legend Ronaldinho recently repped NBA superstar Jayson Tatum's Boston Celtics jersey on an episode of Survivor Turkey.

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• Ronaldinho guests on Survivor Turkey
• Wears Jayson Tatum jersey
• Plays beach soccer with contestants

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  In the clip posted by the survival TV show, the Brazil legend was a guest speaking to contestants, who then proceeded to play a game of beach soccer with them. Of course, Ronaldinho wore the Celtics jersey on the sandy pitch while skilling alongside contestants!

  The ex-Barcelona man followed it with a game of soccer tennis on the beach with the group.

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• WATCH THE CLIPS

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Tatum recently met up with soon-to-be real Madrid star Endrick last December, when the duo posed for photos courtside at TD Garden. Ronaldinho, meanwhile, is thoroughly enjoying his retirement from the professional game. Last June, in another visit to Turkey, the Brazil legend scored a 120-meter long-range volley onto a boat into a river. Safe to say Turkey is treating him well!

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  WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDINHO AND TATUM?

  The Boston Celtics currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, with a record of 43-12 this season. Meanwhile, Ronaldinho is enjoying retirement, with his latest cameo being on the survival TV show in Turkey. Who knows where he will pop up on our screens next!

The attacker is one of the most productive forwards in the Premier League this season but did not have the patience to make it with City

Manchester City must have thought they were quids in when they sold Cole Palmer to Chelsea for £42.5 million ($53m) given they had barely used him in the first team. Palmer was the star export among a flurry of academy players to leave City last summer, banking the club £156m ($196m) within the last two years.

But as they have watched Palmer flourish in an otherwise malfunctioning Chelsea team, City might now be thinking they were short-changed when they let him leave. Palmer has racked up 12 goals and nine assists for his new club and came back to haunt his boyhood club when he starred in Chelsea's thrilling 4-4 draw with City in November.

The winger will be Chelsea's main threat again when City host the Blues on Saturday, knowing that Arsenal and Liverpool will be waiting to pounce on any mistake from Guardiola's side.

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  Always on the fringes

  Palmer left City with 41 senior appearances but the truth is he was always on the fringes of the side. He made just two Premier League starts last season, both after the title had been sewn up, and only one the year before, while he never played a minute of Champions League football.

  His starts were mostly confined to the domestic cups and he routinely delivered, scoring his first senior goal in a Carabao Cup thrashing of Wycombe Wanders before making a stunning appearance in the 4-1 win at Swindon Town in the the FA Cup in January 2022.

  It was then that Palmer exhibited his Mancunian swagger, saying of the getting his first goal in the oldest Cup competition in football: "Yeah delighted, Prem soon come." His confidence, bordering on arrogance and sounding a bit like Liam Gallagher, brought a smile to many City fans' faces.

  But his cocky demeanour probably did not chime well with Guardiola, who wants to foster a culture of humility in his squad and insists that academy graduates have to truly earn their place in the first team. Palmer played no more games that season for the senior side even though he was frequently named as a substitute.

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  Super Cup glory then exit talks

  He made further inroads into the team last season but again it was mostly in the lesser competitions and even then he started just one game in the FA Cup, only coming off the bench in the semi-final against Sheffield United when Guardiola had made wholesale changes to his line-up.

  That must have been deeply frustrating for Palmer after first getting called into Guardiola's squad in July 2020. Almost three years on, he was enjoying just a smattering of appearances, watching his fellow squad members storm to the treble.

  "Prem" did not soon come and when the new Premier League season started at Burnley, Palmer was again on the bench, despite starring and scoring in the Community Shield against Arsenal.

  Palmer was again decisive in the UEFA Super Cup, grabbing the equaliser to send the match with Sevilla to penalties, where his side prevailed. But after the game it was becoming clear that Palmer would not be staying at City for long.

  "The opinion I had is he wanted to leave, but now I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Guardiola said in Athens, just moments after hoisting another trophy. "He’s going to stay or leave, but I think a loan is not going to happen. I understand he wants to be more active than the previous season. But Riyad [Mahrez] has gone, so we have one more place there."

  Even on the night in which Palmer had stepped up and proved his worth, Guardiola seemed to be questioning his true commitment to the club.

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  At odds with Guardiola

  Palmer, though, had reasons to also doubt whether or not he would get a consistent run in the team. Riyad Mahrez had left, but two days before the Super Cup reports emerged that City were in talks to sign Jeremy Doku, putting another obstacle between Palmer and regular first team football.

  Palmer had also just helped lead England's under-21 side to the European Championship. He backed himself to succeed in the Premier League but could not guarantee he would do so at City. Who can blame him for not entertaining the prospect of yet another season on the bench?

  Guardiola again seemed to question Palmer's commitment to City ahead of their last match in November. He said: "Cole arrived and accepted some processes and then after one or two years said: ‘No, I don’t want to play here, I am not going to play.’ But I said: ‘Riyad [Mahrez] is leaving, you are going to get a chance here,’ and he said: ‘No, I am not going to play here, I want to leave,’ so I said: ‘OK, leave.' He got what he wanted. It is good for him."

  Palmer saw it differently and has since claimed he was in favour of a loan move instead. He preferred to return to City with a year of regular football under his belt and be better equipped to fight for his place in Guardiola's star-studded team.

  "My thing was to never leave City. That was not my intention. I wanted to go on loan for a year, come back and be ready for the first team. But they said I couldn't go on loan, either stay or you get sold," Palmer told in January. "So then, Chelsea rang me. I said I wanted to go to Chelsea and I'm really happy to be here. I'm very glad I made the decision to come here."

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  'Cold Palmer'

  Palmer has been a revelation at Chelsea and within his second month at the club had made more league starts than he had in three years with City. He also got that goal he craved in the Premier League, breaking his duck with a penalty at Burnley. He has since scored nine more, earning the nickname 'Cold Palmer' from his team-mate Noni Madueke. His goals have put him among the top 10 scorers in the league this season. If you add his six assists, he is among the top six players for goal contributions.

  His goal tally dwarfs every City player aside from Erling Haaland while only Phil Foden has set up more goals. The Chelsea winger has admitted he has exceeded his own expectations, even if they were pretty high in the first place. "I cant deny that. I wanted to get into the team, play and show what I can do. But to get in the team straight away and hit the ground running has surprised me to be fair," he added in his interview.

  Guardiola has not been surprised either, insisting he knew that Palmer would thrive once given regular football. "I didn't have any doubts about his quality," the City coach told a press conference before Palmer's return to the Etihad Stadium. "The way he's playing is a star player. He wanted the minutes, it was a question of time to show his immense quality. Cole Palmer is an exceptional player and a lovely lad and of course I wish him well at Chelsea."

As Football FanCast exclusively revealed earlier this month, Everton are in the hunt to find themselves a new winger this summer.

A number of names have been linked already, including Gareth Bale and rather typically for the Toffees, Wilfried Zaha.

What’s the word?

A fresh face has now emerged on Carlo Ancelotti’s radar with the Toffees in the race to sign Valencia forward Goncalo Guedes.

That’s according to Football Insider who suggest Everton are competing with Wolves in order to bring him to the Premier League.

The Old Gold are confident of landing him ahead of the Goodison Park outfit, however, with a part-exchange deal being discussed that would see Patrick Cutrone go in the opposite direction.

Guedes cost Valencia £34.5m back in 2018 so they may have to face losing any profit on the Portuguese this summer.

Deulofeu 2.0

By luring Guedes to Goodison Park in the coming months, Marcel Brands could unearth Everton’s brand new Gerard Deulofeu.

That’s because the duo play in a pretty similar way.

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The Valencia winger has had an impressive campaign at the Mestalla, scoring seven goals and also registering seven assists.

A tricky attacker, the Portugal international is capable of dribbling past a man with ease, just as Deulofeu proved he could do in the Premier League.

During the course of this season, Guedes managed 2.1 dribbles per game in La Liga. Deulofeu, on the other hand, managed 2.2 in his last full season with Watford.

They are also capable of providing and scoring goals at a similar rate. Over the last two campaigns, Everton’s former Spaniard has scored a goal every 7.1 games. That’s compared to every 6.5 outings for Guedes.

What perfectly epitomises the pair of them is their enigmatic nature. At their best, they are capable of frightening the life out of defenders. However, in the very next game, they could be full of inconsistency.

Talking about the Everton target a few years ago, former Ballon d’Or winner Luis Figo commented: “Guedes is a fast, irreverent and unpredictable player, who himself builds actions for his teammates and is also able to finish well.”

The unpredictable nature is what could swerve Everton from making a move. That said, it would bolster their forward line considerably.

Named in Portugal’s squad for the European Championships, the 24-year-old ended the season in fine fettle; providing four assists and four goals in his final 13 outings.

This might just be worth the gamble from the Everton hierarchy.

AND in other news, Everton eye move for “exceptional” 17-goal monster, he’d be a huge upgrade on Iwobi…

Southampton’s season ended with a disappointing 3-0 defeat against West Ham on Sunday afternoon, in a game which summarised many of the faults of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side in what has been an ultimately underwhelming campaign from the Saints.

The game followed an all too familiar pattern for Southampton as after starting the game well and missing some excellent chances, West Ham capitalised on some poor defending to open the scoring through Pablo Fornals, who quickly added a second to put the Hammers in control.

Hasenhuttl’s side had plenty of opportunities to get back into the game before some more woeful defending late on allowed Declan Rice to waltz into the penalty area before slotting past Alex McCarthy to secure a comfortable win for David Moyes’ side, which confirmed their place in the Europa League next season.

One man who disappointed in the defeat at the London Stadium was Danny Ings.

As per SofaScore, the England international would earn a poor 6.5/10 rating for his performance, with only Kyle Walker-Peters (6.4), Alex McCarthy (6.4) and Takumi Minamino (6.4) rated lower.

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During his 84 minutes on the pitch, the 28-year-old striker would have just 22 touches of the ball, which was the fewest of any Southampton player to start the game, which is not what you would expect from the talismanic striker.

Ings would also complete just 10/14 of his passes during the game, which again was the fewest of any Southampton player including goalkeeper McCarthy, who would complete 13.

The “hugely impressive” striker was simply not involved, as he would lose his only duel of the game, whilst he also failed to contribute a single shot on target, dribble or key pass during his time on the pitch.

The service to Ings wasn’t great, but when the ball did get to him, he was pretty poor at keeping hold of it.

Despite being involved so little, he still contrived to lose possession on nine occasions, and it was no surprise to see him substituted with around 10 minutes to go, as Hasenhuttl was clearly not impressed with the way his star striker failed to turn up for the final game of the season.

And, in other news… Southampton can finally replace Hojbjerg with £8.6m beast who dreams of playing in the PL

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Leicester City striker Brian Deane has dismissed the idea of Brendan Rodgers leaving the King Power for Tottenham this summer.

Tottenham are without a manager following the sacking of Jose Mourinho and have been heavily linked with Rodgers.

However, the FA Cup-winning coach made it clear to reporters that he has no intention of succeeding the 58-year-old, who has since gone on to become AS Roma boss.

Deane acknowledges that Spurs are a big club. However, with a lot of fires to put out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium right now, including Harry Kane’s burning desire to leave the Premier League outfit, the ex-Leicester man cannot see why Rodgers would want to go there.

He told FFC in an exclusive interview:

“He goes to somewhere like Tottenham, then straight away you’re fighting different types of battles. Yes, people say it’s a bigger club, but they’ve got bigger problems and they’ve got a rebuild job coming on. So why would you swap?

“[At Leicester] you’re in control of all the recruitment. You can build a club in your own style. Why would you change and go to somewhere like Tottenham where they’re in danger of losing the likes of Harry Kane and other players? Stay put.”

When you look at where Tottenham are right now compared to Leicester, who have just won the FA Cup and have had a great league campaign, it really is hard to see why Rodgers would want to leave the Foxes for the Lilywhites.

After tasting his first Premier League defeat as a manager against Leeds United on Saturday afternoon, Tottenham caretaker boss Ryan Mason will no doubt be searching for answers over the course of the week.

The Lilywhites looked second best all afternoon, mustering just three shots on target in the entire 90 minutes and eventually falling to a timid 3-1 defeat at Elland Road.

While Spurs’ star-studded attack failed to light up a wet and windy Yorkshire afternoon, it was Giovani Lo Celso’s performance in the middle of the park which surely raised the most eyebrows.

The Argentina international has become a regular starter in the opening weeks of Mason’s tenure as interim boss and was once again deployed in a much deeper role against Leeds.

However, the midfielder failed to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and was too often guilty of either misplacing easy passes or just running into a cul-de-sac – one particular moment in the second half saw him simply run the ball out of play while trying to dribble along the touchline.

As per Sofascore, he completed just one of his four attempted dribbles on the day, the worst of any Spurs player, managed no shots on goal and provided just one accurate cross. That sloppiness in possession was reflected by the fact he lost the ball on 19 separate occasions, the joint-most of any player in a Spurs shirt, while a measly 76% passing accuracy rate also told a story of his wastefulness.

In his post-match player ratings for The Independent, Andrew Gamble gave Lo Celso a five, saying: “Completely anonymous as he was dominated by Klich.”

The Spurs Web’s verdict on the Argentine was even more scathing, giving him a three with this assessment: “Lo Celso didn’t do enough to win the midfield battle off the ball today. Also misplaced so many key passes that could have led to goals.”

With just one goal and one assist in 17 Premier League games all season, Lo Celso has been rather poor in recent months, and it’s surely on Mason now to make a ruthless early call and drop him from the starting line-up.

With a talent like Tanguy Ndombele waiting in the wings, Spurs could give the Frenchman the chance to impress his new boss by taking Lo Celso out of the firing line.

In other news, this manager could restore shades of Pochettino if Spurs choose him as Mourinho’s successor.