Category Uncategorized

Glasgow Rangers ended their months-long wait for a win in the Scottish Premiership thanks to a last-gasp strike from Max Aarons on Sunday afternoon.

The loan defender popped up in stoppage-time to find the bottom corner with a fantastic finish from Nicolas Raskin’s corner to claim all three points for the away side.

Russell Martin’s side had four draws and one defeat on the board from their first five matches in the Premiership before Sunday’s match, which is why Aarons’ goal was so important.

Despite picking up all three points, there were several players who may not come away from the game being pleased with their individual showing, including captain James Tavernier.

How James Tavernier performed against Livingston

The Rangers skipper will rue the fact that he failed to make it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the first half when he put his spot-kick down the middle, making it relatively easy for Jerome Prior to leave a leg out and block.

The English defender, who failed in three of his four attempted dribbles (Sofascore), will be disappointed that his penalty gave the goalkeeper a chance to keep it out.

Tavernier did, however, score the opening goal of the game with a terrific acrobatic finish from Oliver Antman’s cross to put Rangers 1-0 up early on, which may allow supporters to forgive him for the penalty miss.

Meanwhile, Bojan Miovski was even worse than the captain will be thankful that Aarons saved him from being blamed for a loss of points if the Gers had drawn the game.

Why Bojan Miovski should be dropped

The summer signing from Girona was selected to lead the line for the Light Blues ahead of Youssef Chermiti, after the £10m signing from Everton started the 1-0 defeat to Genk.

Football FanCast have suggested moving to a 4-4-2 against Sturm Graz with both Miovski and Chermiti for the Europa League clash with Sturm Graz on Thursday because of Mohamed Diomande’s suspension, but the left-footed striker should be dropped for the trip to Falkirk.

Rangers travel to Falkirk in their next Premiership match next Sunday and Martin must ruthlessly ditch the Macedonia international from the XI with the favoured 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation, because he did not do enough as the lone marksman in the win over Livingston.

Minutes

90

Goals + assists

0

Shots

2

Big chances missed

2

Dribbles completed

0/3

Duels won

2/12

Key passes

0

As you can see in the table above, the Rangers number 28 was completely dominated by the Livingston defenders, losing ten of his 12 duels and failing with all three of his attempted dribbles.

On top of his incredibly lightweight play out of possession for the Scottish giants, the former Aberdeen star also spurned a glorious chance to find the back of the net in the first half.

Miovski, as shown in the clip above, was clear through on goal with the chance to score his first Premiership goal for the club, but blazed his effort well over the bar. Prior had committed and was already going the other way, which meant that the striker only had to keep his effort down and he would have been celebrating the opener.

The Gers forward was even worse than Tavernier, who won eight duels and scored the opening goal, and should now be dropped for the trip to Falkirk next weekend, providing Chermiti with a chance to lead the line.

Rangers eyeing bargain 2026 deal to sign "super" Scottish gem who's keen on Ibrox move

He’s a rising star.

ByTom Cunningham Sep 27, 2025

Miovski may have been saved from bucket loads of criticism for his performance by Aarons scoring the winner, but he may not escape being dropped from the starting XI in the league.

Marcus Harris adds vital fifty as Lancashire successfully bat their way to safety on final day

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay14-Apr-2025Josh Bohannon’s 14th first-class century came to Lancashire’s rescue as this absorbing Rothesay County Championship Division Two match with Northamptonshire ended in a draw.A career best 7 for 119 from a marathon 57 overs and career-best match figures of 11 for 153 by the on-loan Calvin Harrison looked to be propelling Northamptonshire to a first win in 26 years at Old Trafford.But Bohannon’s innings of 155, spanning more than seven hours, allied to a half-century from Marcus Harris led some stern resistance from the hosts who started the morning on 126 for 2 and fought their way through the day to reach 351 for 9 by the time the players shook hands at 5.40pm with five overs left and Lancashire 83 runs ahead.Needing to take eight Lancashire wickets, Northamptonshire struck early when Harrison disposed of nightwatchman Anderson Phillip for 10, bowled playing down the wrong line to a delivery that turned just enough.That proved to be the visitors’ only success of the morning as Bohannon and Harris played watchfully but with increasing authority through the rest of the session in a partnership that had knocked a further 72 runs off the overnight deficit of 144 by the lunch break.Bohannon, 60 not out overnight, accumulated steadily before joyfully on-driving Harrison for four through midwicket to reach his fourth century in 10 innings against Northamptonshire to add to the two fifties he has scored against the Wantage Road side.Harris settled in quickly after edging his first boundary to deep third off Raphy Weatherall, although it bounced well in front of the slip cordon. The Australian left-hander reached the fence seven more times before posting his half-century from 94 balls that included one sumptuously timed back-foot square drive that was arguably the shot of the day.Northamptonshire grabbed the new ball as soon as it became available after 23 overs with skipper Luke Procter ringing the changes, using eight bowlers in all, in the hunt for a breakthrough which finally arrived three overs into the afternoon.Harris had just posted his third 50-plus score in four innings during a partnership of 94 when he was well caught at short leg by James Sales off Harrison with Lancashire 243 for 4 and still 25 runs in arrears.Bohannon drove Harrison gloriously through the covers for four to take the home side into the lead halfway through the day but the bowler then removed Matty Hurst for 8 via a catch at slip by Ricardo Vasconcelos.The wicket Northamptonshire really wanted arrived ten minutes before tea with Bohannon’s unlucky dismissal, caught by wicketkeeper Lewis McManus from a rebound off the back of Sales at short leg from a Saif Zaib delivery, and Harrison was next celebrating a second first-class five-for when George Balderson popped up a bat-pad catch to Sales at short leg eight overs into the evening.Luke Wells and Tom Bailey (8 not out) took the game into the final hour before Harrison removed Wells for 39 and Tom Hartley for 1 in quick succession but his fine, valiant effort proved to be in vain.

يبدو أن ملف عودة طارق حامد إلى الزمالك لن يرى النور رغم طرح اسمه في الأسابيع الأخيرة، حيث لا يرتبط بأي نادٍ منذ رحيله عن ضمك السعودي.

وعلم بطولات أن إدارة الزمالك درست الموقف بالفعل، لكن لم يتم الحسم والموافقة لعدة عوامل مهمة يضعها المدير الرياضي، جون إدوارد، في الحسبان.

اقرأ أيضًا | ممدوح عباس: دمي ودموعي وابتساماتي.. الزمالك سيستعيد أرض أكتوبر

وجاء في مقدمة الأسباب تقدم طارق حامد في السن، إذ ترى الإدارة أن المرحلة الحالية تتطلب ضخ دماء جديدة تناسب مشروع إعادة بناء الفريق الأبيض.

كما أبدى مسؤولو الزمالك مخاوف من الإصابات المتكررة التي عانى منها اللاعب مؤخرًا خلال تجربته في الدوري السعودي مع نادي ضمك.

وأشار إلى أن ابتعاد طارق حامد عن المشاركة منذ انتهاء عقده في السعودية جعل مسؤولي الزمالك غير مقتنعين بجاهزيته الفنية والبدنية.

ويرى المدير الرياضي بالنادي أن الفريق في مرحلة تجديد شامل تعتمد على العناصر الشابة القادرة على التطور والمنافسة على المدى الطويل.

واختتم أن هذه الأسباب كانت أيضًا وراء رفض ضم اللاعب في بداية الموسم رغم توفر الفرصة حينها، لتواصل الإدارة سياستها الواضحة نحو التجديد والاعتماد على المستقبل.

Burnley have somewhat faded into the background this summer compared to Sunderland and Leeds United’s more manic spending habits.

Some standout additions so far have seen the Clarets welcome in the likes of Kyle Walker and Martin Dubravka on free transfers, who both know the challenges of the Premier League well, on top of just sealing a deal worth around the £20m mark for Chelsea striker Armando Broja.

The worry will be, however, if Broja can settle into life at Turf Moor from the get-go, having experienced a turbulent few seasons in and out of Stamford Bridge.

Broja's up-and-down form in the PL

The Albanian centre-forward is just fresh off an extremely difficult spell at Everton last season.

Indeed, the hit-and-miss 23-year-old would only line up for 11 contests with the Toffees in total, as getting into his goalscoring groove was consistently derailed by missing 155 days of action through recurring injuries.

In the end, Broja would fail to break his Goodison Park duck, with his goal tally in the Premier League in total coming in at a meagre eight strikes from 76 outings.

If he were to wrestle free of these lingering injury demons, though, Burnley could be in luck, with a stint on loan at Southampton across the 2021/22 season seeing him bag a reasonable nine strikes, having only missed two top-flight clashes all campaign.

Three senior strikes also came his way for the Blues – which included this well-taken goal being hammered home against Wolverhampton Wanderers – with Burnley just praying now that the £20m gamble to land the 23-year-old pays off.

Scott Parker might not be overflowing with confidence that Broja can stay fit and firing across the 38-game marathon to come, however, which could well lead the top-flight newcomers down the path of trying to secure a late deal for this clinical EFL marksman.

The £21m target who's an instant upgrade on Broja

Away from Broja, the Clarets aren’t exactly blessed with an abundance of quality up top.

Parker will hope the likes of Lyle Foster, Michael Obafemi, and Zian Flemming can step it up a notch in the Premier League, but he won’t be banking on them to be the difference-makers week in week out, considering both Flemming and Foster only managed 13 Championship goals between them last season, while Obafemi was loaned out.

This is where the heroics of Josh Sargent could come to the rescue deep into the chaotic transfer window, with TEAMTalk speculating earlier this week that both Daniel Farke’s Leeds and the Clarets were locked into a tussle to try and snap up the Canaries goal machine.

The report did state that Burnley were still keen on securing the potent American’s services despite just confirming a move for Broja to come to Lancashire, with Sargent reportedly costing around the £21m mark to obtain, as per a bid that recently came Norwich’s way from Wolfsburg.

Amazingly, Sargent is already off the mark this season in the Championship for Liam Manning’s men, with his quick thinking on the opening day of the tricky division resulting in an equalising goal being slotted home, away from also helping himself to another against Portsmouth.

Norwich will be doing everything in their power to try and convince their “complete” striker – as he was lauded by ex-Norwich boss David Wagner – to stay put at Carrow Road past the summer, but if Burnley want to win themselves an instant Broja upgrade, they should go all out to try and snap up the Norwich number nine before the window slams shut.

Sargent’s career goal record vs Broja’s
Stat	Sargent	Broja
Games played	231	184
Goals scored	73	44
Assists	23	12
Hat-tricks	1x	1x
Sourced by Transfermarkt

The table above further reinforces why Burnley should be going full steam ahead for a late deal to win Sargent’s red-hot services, with the 25-year-old now up to 73 goals and counting across 230 career appearances. Broja is some way off reaching this same level of clinical performance, with only 44 strikes next to his name subsequently.

Of course, there is a risk attached to Sargent joining, too, with his own injury troubles seeing him miss a colossal 44 clashes for club and country over the last two seasons, as per Transfermarkt.

Moreover, he isn’t that well-versed in what it takes to be a success at the elite level of the Premier League, having mustered up just two strikes here previously.

Yet, having been recently dubbed as the “top man” in the Championship by second-tier pundit Sam Parkin, the time feels right for him to cause a storm at the punishing level, which could come at Broja’s expense.

Burnley submit enquiry for "talented" £8.5m ace who's held talks with Ipswich

Burnley have now joined Ipswich in the race to sign a new midfielder.

By
Brett Worthington

Jul 25, 2025

Sunderland marked their return to the Premier League with a statement 3-0 win over West Ham. While some of the new signings, like Granit Xhaka, put in excellent performances, it was the players who got promoted that won them the game.

Following goals from Eliezer Mayenda, Daniel Ballard and Wilson Isidor, manager Regis Le Bris spoke about their significance to the team: “It’s really important for two reasons at least, the first one they showed they can step up today. We’ll see later, but today it was the case. At the same time, they are really important because they keep the identity of the club and the way we worked last season.”

One of the ways Sunderland were most impressive against West Ham was defensively, with the London side only managing shots that valued a total of 0.56 xG.

However, Le Bris is looking to strengthen his defensive unit even further as the club readies a second bid for their top centre-back target.

Sunderland is not giving up on signing Lucumí

Sunderland are planning to put in a second bid for Bologna centre-back Jhon Lucumí. Le Bris’s side previously placed a bid worth just over £24 million for the Colombian, which the Italian side rejected.

The bid that Sunderland placed was equal in value to the release clause that Lucumí’s contract previously held. This clause expired in mid-July, and the Black Cats are now expected to place a bid of higher value, according to Italian reports, via Sports Witness.

Bologna have already sold Lucumí’s centre-back partner, Sam Beukema, to Napoli this summer, and there are reports that because of this, the club see Lucumí as unsellable. The report goes on to say that Bologna are hoping to extend the defender’s contract, but as a “contract renewal appears complicated”, the Serie A side may be willing to let Lucumí go for a high enough bid.

On the personal side of the deal, Lucumí is reportedly “keen” on the move, and Sunderland already has a history with Lucumí’s agency, as he is with Wasserman, who also represent three current Sunderland players – Simon Moore, Dennis Cirkin and Dan Neil.

Why Sunderland might make Lucumí their club-record signing

Six of Sunderland’s top ten most expensive transfers have come in this window, and if they sign Lucumí, that number will rise to seven. The first bid they placed for the Colombian would have made him the club’s second most expensive player, and depending on the increase in value of the second bid, he could become the club’s record signing.

Last season, Lucumí stood out in Serie A as a ball-playing centre-back who excelled at stopping opposition counter-attacks. For Serie A centre-backs, he ranked in the top 9% for passes completed per 90 and accurate long balls per 90. Additionally, Lucumí averaged just over six ball recoveries per 90, which was in the top 4% of centre-backs. This means that when his side lost possession, he was often there to rectify the situation.

After the opening match, West Ham boss Graham Potter spoke about Sunderland’s performance and somewhat dismissively said, “It wasn’t a result – with the greatest respect – of Sunderland pushing us back and playing well. It was an action, a cross from 30 or 40 metres we should be happy to defend.”

While Sunderland didn’t dominate possession, only having 37% of it, they got the result from well-executed moments and hitting West Ham on the break.

Lucumí’s skill set will allow them to pull off this kind of result more often, as he is both accurate and progressive with the ball, allowing his team to counter quickly, and he specializes in stopping opposition counter-attacks, which will allow his team to exploit them in the transition of play.

The pair will turn out together for Northern Districts this week ahead of the Test series against England

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2024

Side-by-side: Kane Williamson and Tim Southee have played their entire careers together•Getty Images

Kane Williamson has paid tribute to the “incredible” career of his close friend Tim Southee after the pace bowler announced he would retire from Tests after the England series.The careers of Williamson and Southee have run side-by-side from junior and Under-19 level through domestic cricket into to all formats for New Zealand with the pair playing their 100th Tests together against Australia earlier this year, although Williamson made his debut two-and-a-half years after Southee.Related

Tim Southee to bow out of Test cricket at end of England series

Williamson returns for England series, Nathan Smith called up

Southee chuffed about playing last Test series against England and McCullum

Williamson is New Zealand’s leading run-scorer in Test history while Southee is second only to Sir Richard Hadlee on the wickets list with 385 so remains a chance of reaching 400 against England.”Playing so long together, you just go through so much,” Williamson told reporters in Hamilton ahead of his first game for Northern Districts since 2019 where Southee will also line up. “Both doing stints in leadership roles and you go through different turbulent times, then you have some good ones as well and they are all part of the experience. To do it as long as Tim has is incredible as a fast bowler, there’s not many in the history of the game who have been able to achieve what he has. Such a huge member [and] leader of our side and a close friend as well.”While New Zealand’s historic 3-0 victory in India suggests there could be plenty of good times ahead for the current team, Southee’s retirements marks the latest departure from an era of players that brought considerable success following the likes of Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Colin de Grandhomme and Neil Wagner while Trent Boult no longer features in Tests after stepping away from a central contract and has also retired from T20Is.”It’s life, isn’t it. You do realise you are closer towards the end than the start which is a certainty,” Williamson said. “It’s [about] navigating those periods because you feel slightly different when you play your first game to when you play your 100th and there’s different levels of excitement, your life changes a little bit, whether that’s family, extra dogs, whatever it is you are into, so the picture does take a slightly different shape and your motivation does adjust.”There’s sadness, but excitement as well for Tim because the end of your time in a sporting professional environment is scary but there’s so much more to come.”Williamson, who will return from a groin injury against England after missing the whole series in India, also turned down an NZC contract this year but remains committed across formats. He termed the victory in India one of New Zealand’s “all-time cricketing memories” although added missing out on being part of it was challenging at times with his fitness assessed on a Test-by-Test basis before it was decided he wasn’t ready.”It was a lot of internal temptation [to try and get there], for sure, then after a few discussions it was keep taking that time to get it right so that’s what I did,” he said. “Suffered a little bit of FOMO, which is a good thing, but just admired it really. To go over and play the way they did, so special, one of our all-time cricketing memories.”Williamson’s groin injury was picked up running between the wickets in the second innings of the second Test in Galle and he admitted the body needed more looking after in the latter stages of his career.”It’s not major, which is good,” he said. “Think post knee [injury] there’s always little curlys that bob their heads so actually making sure I keep putting that time in. For so long you feel invincible, and I’ve certainly had a few reminders that’s not the case recently and making sure that I’m staying on top of all those things and keeping the body in check.”

Okay, while there have been some positives to take from this summer, specifically off the pitch, there have also been some worrying signs for Arsenal.

For example, Mikel Arteta’s side fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur out in Hong Kong this time last week, and failed to bounce back with a win against Villarreal at the Emirates yesterday evening.

Not only did the Premier League runners-up lose, but they looked just as blunt in attack as they did at points last season, and, rather unsurprisingly at this point, Gabriel Martinelli was entirely ineffective.

The Brazilian is becoming a real problem for the manager, but, in good news, it looks like the club could get their hands on someone who’d be a solution.

Arsenal target Premier League problem solver

While there have been some concerning signs on the pitch this summer, Arsenal have made some positive moves off the pitch in the transfer market.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

For example, Noni Madueke, Christian Norgaard and Cristhian Mosquera have all massively improved the squad depth, while Martin Zubimendi and Viktor Gyokeres look ready to come in and make waves in the first team from gameweek one.

Moreover, Andrea Berta and Co don’t appear to be done just yet, as the North Londoners continue to be linked with a super talent who could help solve Arteta’s Martinelli problem.

At least that’s according to a recent report from journalist Ben Jacobs, who on a recent podcast reaffirmed the Gunners’ interest in Eberechi Eze.

More than that, he claims that the player has “his heart set on Arsenal,” which will surely be music to the ears of the fans.

Interestingly, while the Englishman has a £68m release clause in his current deal, it reportedly expires on the 15th of this month, and it looks like Berta and Co are waiting until after that point to start negotiating a lower price.

It could still be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but Eze has proven he’s worth fighting for, especially as he’d help solve Arteta’s Martinelli problem.

How Eze would solve Arsenal's Martinelli problem

So, there are really two prongs to Arsenal’s Martinelli problem: his lack of goalscoring and the lack of chances created for and by him.

Interestingly, there are also two main ways Eze could help solve or alleviate these issues, and the first would be for Arteta to simply start him off the left in place of the Brazilian winger.

It might be the case that the Englishman spent most of last season in the middle of the park, but he’s no stranger to playing out wide, and with how ineffective the former Ituano gem has been over the last few years, we have no doubt the Palace ace would outperform him.

For example, despite playing for a team that are mid-table at best, the former QPR gem managed to find the back of the net 14 times and provide 11 assists in 43 appearances, totalling just 3303 minutes.

In other words, the 27-year-old “magician,” as dubbed by pundit Micah Richards, maintained an average of a goal involvement every 1.72 games, or every 132.12 minutes.

In contrast, the Gunners’ number 11 was only able to score ten goals and provide six assists in 51 appearances, totalling 3564 minutes, which comes out to a far less impressive average of a goal involvement every 3.18 games, or every 222.75 minutes.

So, simply replacing Martinelli with Eze would solve the problem of his being ineffective.

Appearances

43

51

Minutes

3303′

3564′

Goals

14

10

Assists

11

6

Goal Involvements per Match

0.58

0.31

Minutes per Goal Involvement

132.12′

222.75′

Still, if the manager wanted to persevere with the 23-year-old for one more season, he could potentially give him a better chance of succeeding by starting the Eagles star as the team’s starting ten.

After all, club captain Martin Odegaard was only able to score six goals and provide 12 assists in 45 games, so there is every chance we’d see more out of the Guarulhos-born dynamo with the Greenwich-born star behind him in place of the Norwegian international.

Ultimately, it’s clear that Martinelli is currently a problem for Arteta, and while it won’t be cheap, Eze could be the perfect solution for Arsenal.

A dream for Saka: Arsenal plot move to sign "world-class" £43m sensation

The incredible attacker would help Arsenal and the Englishman reach another level.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Aug 6, 2025

تحدث اللاعب ليوناردو باليردي، قائد الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي مارسيليا، عن أفضل لاعب في العالم بالوقت الحالي، خلال تصريحاته قبل مباراة ريال مدريد بدوري أبطال أوروبا.

ويستعد ريال مدريد لمواجهة نظيره أولمبيك مارسيليا بقيادة دي زيربي، في أولى جولات مرحلة الدوري من بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

ويواجه النادي الإسباني بقيادة تشابي ألونسو، الذي يخوض أولى مبارياته في بطولة “ذات الأذنين” رفقة الفريق، نظيره مارسيليا، مساء اليوم، الثلاثاء، في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، على ملعب “سانتياجو برنابيو”.

مارسيليا لم يُشارك في بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا في آخر 3 مواسم للبطولة بسبب الفترة الصعبة التي قضاها النادي قبل القيام بالإصلاحات والاعتماد على المهدي بن عطية مديرًا رياضيًا للنادي التاريخي.

اقرأ أيضًا | كامبوس: إنريكي أول من أبلغ نيمار بالرحيل.. وكان مُصممًا على التتويج بدوري الأبطال

وعندما سُئل الأرجنتيني باليردي، عن كون مبابي أفضل لاعب في العالم قال في تصريحات نقلتها “موندو ديبورتيفو”: “لا، بالنسبة لي ميسي هو الأفضل طالما أنه لم يتوقف عن لعب كرة القدم”.

وأتم: “لكن هذا ليس تقليلًا من مبابي، إنه من أفضل اللاعبين في العالم لقد أثبت ذلك لسنوات عديدة وهو حاليًا في مستوى رائع”.

مبابي ليس غريبًا عن مرمى الفريق الفرنسي إذ نجح في تسجيل 9 أهداف ضد مارسيليا مع باريس سان جيرمان بين أعوام 2017-2024 وهدف واحد مع موناكو موسم 2016-2017.

He was shot outside his home and a police investigation is underway

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-2024Former Sri Lanka Under-19 captain Dhammika Niroshana has died at the age of 41 after he was shot by an unidentified individual outside his home in Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka. According to Sri Lankan Police, investigations are underway to identify and apprehend the shooter.Niroshana, who is survived by his wife and two children, had a promising cricketing career before his early retirement from all forms of the game in 2004. A fast-bowler who on occasion could hold his own with the bat, Niroshana was a part of Sri Lanka’s age-group sides making his Under-19 debut in 2000, before captaining them briefly in 2002.While he never played for the senior team, he did play alongside several future Sri Lanka stars, such as Angelo Mathews, Upul Tharanga and Farveez Maharoof, at the Under-19 level and in the first-class circuit, where he played for first Chilaw Marians CC and then Galle CC.

Everton are planning to buy this summer, but David Moyes is already presented with something of a dilemma. Not only are 15 of his club’s senior stars out of contract in the coming months, but one of his Toffees linchpins is attracting interest from some high-profile suitors.

Jarrad Branthwaite is one of Everton’s most important players, but the 22-year-old is also an attractive option and may well be sold to deepen the transfer purse this summer.

Multiple additions are needed, after all.

The latest on Jarrad Branthwaite's Everton future

Branthwaite is a monstrous defender, still so young yet rocketing up to the top level on English shores.

He’s kept eight clean sheets in the Premier League this term, winning 72% of his ground battles and averaging an incredible 6.6 clearances per game, as per Sofascore.

His efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.

Caught Offside reported last month that Manchester United are looking to reignite their interest in the Three Lions defender and will test Everton’s resolve with a £50m offer. Chelsea are also keen.

He’s important, but Everton seem to be resigned to losing him at some stage, for the right price, of course.

Moyes and his team will hope to retain his services, but he’s not the only one, with a much older Toffees teammate actually proving himself to be indispensable in the fold, with a fresh contract being prepared.

Everton veteran is more important than Branthwaite

While Idrissa Gana Gueye is 35 years old, his tough-tackling, combative style in the middle of the park has been instrumental for Everton across two tenures this season.

Illustrating his influence, Gueye is part of the bloated ranks currently awaiting the end of their contract this summer, but Football Insider have recently reported that TFG have opened talks with the star over a new deal.

Gueye’s age has not detracted from the level of his performance, with such commanding displays vital for the success of Moyes’ system. The level of his displays does suggest that he’s becoming increasingly important, maybe even more so than Branthwaite.

Described as Everton’s “heartbeat” by Sky Sports reporter Ben Grounds, Gueye might be getting on a bit but his performances have been nothing short of exemplary this season.

It’s not as if his athleticism has deserted him, having covered much ground and flown in with so many tackles for his team this season. More tackles, in fact, than any other player in the Premier League, just rubberstamping his importance to the cause.

Premier League 24/25 – Top Tacklers
Rank	Player	Club	Tackles
1.	Idrissa Gueye	Everton	123
2.	Daniel Munoz	Palace	109
3.	Noussair Mazraoui	Man Utd	102
4.	Moises Caicedo	Chelsea	100
5.	Joao Gomes	Wolves	99
Stats via Premier League

With so much change mooted to be afoot this summer, it makes a whole lot of sense to renew the £120k-per-week veteran’s deal, having benefited greatly from his presence.

Gueye, indeed, has started every one of Everton’s Premier League matches since Moyes returned to the helm, providing monstrous support for Branthwaite and co while contributing offensively too, completing a dribble and a key pass every two matches, as per Sofascore.

The Senegalese midfielder has racked up three assists this season.

It’s clear that Gueye – who was described as a “monster” by former teammate Presnel Kimpembe – has more left in the tank, and it’s a good thing that efforts are being made to extend his deal for another year.

He earns a pretty penny but his value is too great to part with at this critical juncture.

He could finally replace Onana: Everton lead the race for £10m "machine"

David Moyes is hoping to make a host of impactful signings at Everton this summer.

By
Angus Sinclair

Apr 29, 2025