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Everton are interested in Bayer Leverkusen forward and Euro 2020 star Patrik Schick, according to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness).

It would take a ‘very high’ fee to prise him from Leverkusen just a year after his arrival, with the report floating a €40million figure.

Following the quarterfinals, Czech Republic frontman Schick was the joint top-scorer at the Euros with five goals, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

Recapping Schick’s mighty Euros

Schick scored twice in the Czechs’ opener against Scotland, the second a sensational lob from just past the halfway line that may yet win goal of the tournament.

The 25-year-old then netted a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Croatia before finding the target again in a Round of 16 upset against the Netherlands.

Last weekend, Schick’s fifth goal of the tournament wasn’t enough to prevent the Czech Republic being knocked out by Denmark.

He came into the tournament on the back of a decent season at club level, with nine Bundesliga goals in 20 starts.

Fan feed The Toffee Blues relayed Gazzetta’s claims, and here’s how fans reacted.

These Everton fans opposed to Schick move

“Was only a matter of time before we got linked with him, why would we spend 40 mil on a backup striker?”

Credit: @BlueSnowy1878

“I wouldn’t want this. I think he has been excellent in the Euros and I would hate for him to come to Everton and we ruin him”

Credit: @warrendavidz

“He doesn’t score enough goals. We need goals.”

Credit: @Kevin_1878

“I’m sure Brands wouldn’t buy players just based on the Euros.”

Credit: @PeFarrell

“Hahaha he’s had a good euros but no.”

Credit: @jackph21

“Euro tax”

Credit: @_____h23

In other news, fans gushed over this footage.  

A major boost has emerged for Sheffield Wednesday, one that could lead to the club keeping a sought-after dynamo this summer.

What’s the talk?

According to The Star, Sheffield Wednesday have held positive talks with young forward Charles Hagan and thsy are closing in on agreement to keep the academy starlet at the club. Hagan’s current deal is due to expire at the end of the month and Wednesday are working hard to avoid losing him on a free transfer.

The report claims that Hagan is highly-rated by Darren Moore and that he could have a chance to seal regular first-team minutes in League One if he remains at the club. He has also had interest from Premier League, Championship and League One clubs, with Brentford, Stoke and Charlton said to be monitoring his situation.

Hagan’s preference is to stay at Hillsborough and compete for his spot in the first-team as the 19-year-old eyes the next step in his development. This, however, is not the case with Osaze Urhoghide as the young defender has decided to reject the club’s efforts to keep him at the club and as such, he will leave at the end of June.

Moore will be buzzing

Moore will be buzzing with this update as it now appears likely that Hagan will be in his Sheffield Wednesday squad next season. Given all the doom and gloom surrounding the wage situation at the club, with the PFA stepping in to help, this is a much-needed boost for Wednesday and Moore. Hagan signing a new contract at Hillsborough is good news, the type that has come few and far between since relegation to League One was confirmed earlier this year.

Hagan putting pen to paper on an extended deal could also be a signal of intent to other academy products considering their futures at the club. Whilst Urhoghide has already opted against a new deal at Sheffield Wednesday, other players could look at Hagan and see him potentially progressing into becoming a regular first-team player and follow suit.

The £530-per-week attacker made his senior debut for Wednesday last season in the League Cup and the report above mentions that Moore rates him very highly. This suggests that next term could be a breakthrough year for Hagan if he plays his cards right.

If Moore gives him the chance then he will need to take it in League One and if he can make the grade, then the Wednesday boss will be all the more delighted that the 19-year-old has committed his future to the club.

AND in other news, SWFC dealt major blow with “instrumental” £800-p/w beast, Moore will be fuming…

Bruno Lage has a big task on his hands this summer in order to revive Wolves after a mediocre campaign.

The trouble is that the Old Gold could lose a number of their most important players during the course of the window.

On the chalkboard

Ruben Neves and Adama Traore aren’t the only figures being linked with the exit door at Molineux.

Indeed, Joao Moutinho could also depart Wolves in the coming months. That’s because the Portuguese veteran has been touted with a move back to his former club, Porto.

This comes after Tim Spiers suggested earlier last season that 2020/21 could have been Moutinho’s final campaign as a regular in the starting XI.

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Steve Bull issued similar words when speaking exclusively to Football FanCast this week. The Wolves legend said: “I think he’s done now, I think Joao’s had his time here now and he’s done absolutely brilliantly for the club and there’s a lot of speculation and rumours that he’s going back to Porto.”

The midfielder is now 34 and although he still oozes class with his passing, it could be time for Lage to find a younger alternative.

The solution

One man who could arrive in the Midlands this summer is Tottenham’s Harry Winks.

That’s according to Football Insider pundit Danny Mills who revealed the midfielder could be house-hunting ahead of a potential move.

He commented: “He needs to get playing. I see him going to Wolves and Aston Villa. He was seen playing golf at The Belfry.  Let’s assume he was househunting. I can confirm he was there.”

Winks might not be the most eye-catching of players but like Moutinho, he is a safe pair of hands who can dictate the game from deep and keep things ticking over.

The 25-year-old is capped ten times by England but you sense he needs to move on to pastures new.

He only started on nine occasions in the Premier League last term but a new lease of life could be given to Winks if he moves to Wolves.

After all, with both Neves and Moutinho potentially leaving, he may find a home for himself in the middle of the park.

A measured passer of the ball, Winks completed 86.8% of his passes last term, a tally that falls ever so slightly behind Moutinho’s record of 88.4%.

When discussing the England selection a few years ago, Paul Robinson waxed lyrical about his abilities: “For me, I think Harry Winks is one of the best of the bunch,” he began. “He dominates the game, defensively and offensively he offers you both and his ball retention, the stats speak for themselves,” the ex-goalkeeper remarked.

Moutinho is fabulous at retaining possession and if he does leave, the Old Gold will need someone likeminded to take over.

They will also need somebody to bind together the defence and attack. Fortunately, the £91k-per-week Winks is capable of doing that.

Leon Osman commented previously: “For me Harry Winks is the first name on that team-sheet at the moment. He’s the guy who Italy had in Pirlo, I’m not saying he’s at that level yet, but he links everything up. He’s the guy who links the back and the front up.”

Winks has never really been able to take his game to the next level at Wolves but as those glowing appraisals tell you, there is a lot more to be extracted. Lage could be the man to give him a better platform for regular minutes.

AND in other news, Lage must complete Wolves swoop for “outstanding” 23 y/o colossus, he’s at EURO 2020…

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore must ruthlessly axe centre-back Tom Lees amid interest from Championship side Bristol City.

What’s the talk?

According to the Bristol Post, Lees is one of the players for whom Nigel Pearson is weighing up a swoop as he attempts to improve his defence heading into the 2021/22 campaign. The report claims that Pearson is looking to bring in two new centre-back options and Lees is a player he would like to sign, along with Oxford defender Rob Atkinson.

Lees is out of contract at the end of the month and is reportedly on £22,000 per week at Hillsborough. This means that he is on course to become a free agent at the start of July, which would allow Bristol City to bring him in without paying a transfer fee to Sheffield Wednesday for his services.

Relief for Chansiri

Moore deciding to axe Lees this summer would come as a massive relief for Dejphon Chansiri. The 30-year-old is one of the club’s top earners and his exit could take a sizeable chunk away from the wage bill Chansiri will need to pay in League One next season following the club’s relegation to the third tier.

Sheffield Wednesday have felt the impact of the global pandemic financially and are reportedly struggling to pay the wages of their players at the moment. The club are looking into the possibility of placing some of their playing staff on furlough over the summer to cut costs and cover payments.

This means that letting Lees go could be a necessity this month. If Chansiri is not able to pay the players their wages for the month just gone, there is no way of being able to justify keeping the defender at Hillsborough for another season or longer, unless he was willing to take a gigantic pay cut to play for the club in League One.

That appears to be an unlikely outcome because of the interest from Bristol City in his services. Pearson is offering him the chance to move back to the Championship, potentially without a pay cut, and that could be an attractive prospect for the former Leeds player.

It is worth pointing out that this is not an indictment on Lees’ performances for the club in the season just gone. He averaged the highest WhoScored rating in the Championship for Sheffield Wednesday, earning a score of 6.88 for his performances across 38 starts, just ahead of Barry Bannan. He averaged five aerial battles won and 5.4 clearances made per game, showing that he was a beast for Wednesday at the back despite their failure to stay up.

However, time is up for Lees at Hillsborough, and Moore must allow him to go because of their wage bill situation.

AND in other news, SWFC must complete deal for “powerful” ace after huge update

West Ham have reportedly made a fresh bid for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but Liverpool are still not willing to sell the midfielder this summer.

The Lowdown: Peripheral figure for Reds

The 27-year-old only featured sporadically for the Reds last season, making just two starts in the Premier League, partly due to injuries.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has never quite been the same player since damaging his cruciate ligament back in 2018, struggling to be a regular starter under Jurgen Klopp.

The Latest: West Ham make new bid

The midfielder has been linked with a move to West Ham in the past and it is now claimed by Anfield Central that the Hammers have tabled a fresh bid for him.

Liverpool remain keen on keep hold of Oxlade-Chamberlain, however, and will only let him leave if he tells the club he wants to move on.

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The Verdict: Keep hold of Ox

While Oxlade-Chamberlain’s injury problems have been frustrating, along with some inconsistent form, it would still be best for Liverpool to retain his services, with Jurgen Klopp calling him ‘outstanding’ in the past.

As he showed late on in the season at Burnley, he is capable of chipping in with key goals from midfield, with only Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino beating his tally of eight in the title-winning 2019/20 season.

If the fitness issues persist, next summer may be time to think about moving Oxlade-Chamberlain on, with his current Liverpool deal expiring in 2023.

In other news, some Liverpool fans are keen on the Reds signing a newly-crowned league champion this summer. Find out who it is here.

This summer is a crucial one in the history of Celtic Football Club. After such a dismal campaign, they will see a number of their players walk through the Parkhead exit door, never to return.

Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer are prime candidates for a departure but the Hoops must also address the exits of a number of loanees.

What’s the word?

Celtic used the loan market wisely this season to fill gaps in their squad.

Jonjoe Kenny replaced Jeremie Frimpong at short notice in January while Diego Laxalt succeeded the selfish Boli Bolingoli at left-back.

However, it doesn’t look as though we’ll ever see Laxalt in a Celtic shirt again.

The Hoops were pondering a £7.2m move for the Uruguayan but due to his form in the final weeks of the season, they’ve decided against a permanent switch.

That’s according to Il Milanista (via Sport Witness) who reveal the Bhoys have performed a U-turn on the defender.

They suggest that Milan were ready to negotiate a deal with Celtic but the Glaswegian side abruptly changed their mind right at the end of the season.

Consequently, Laxalt will return to Italy in time for the next campaign.

Fans must be elated

This news is likely to go down incredibly well with the fan base at Paradise.

They’ve not had much to cheer about this season but seeing Laxalt walk out the exit door will be a welcome sight.

At points, he’s looked the full package for Celtic. It’s not often you’ll sign a player from one of Europe’s elite clubs with plenty of international caps.

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Unfortunately, he’s not lived up to his full billing consistently enough. From a defensive point of view, he’s been incredibly abject.

Laxalt has been impressive going forward but when it comes to actions inside his own half, there is a lot to be desired.

The full-back was run ragged by Lawrence Shankland in the 0-0 draw with Dundee United before Joe Aribo left him dazed and perplexed during their Scottish Cup defeat to Rangers.

As they crashed out to their biggest rivals, the Uruguay international was described as a “horror show” by ACSOM host Paul John Dykes.

It was easy to see why. He was caught up the field as Aribo burst forward for Rangers’ opening goal and then was beaten all ends up for the second strike.

The Gers winger took up possession and twisted this way and that before leaving Laxalt for dust.

With Greg Taylor and then Adam Montgomery usurping him in the pecking order during the final weeks of the season, it will come as no surprise to see the left-back depart.

He has been disappointing for a number of months now; supporters will be all too pleased to see him depart for good.

AND in other news, Celtic chiefs must be grinning from ear to ear after exciting £70m claim…

Noel Whelan did not hold back when giving his view on Rangers being knocked out of the Scottish Cup.

Steven Gerrard’s team lost to St Johnstone on penalties in a competition that they were big favourites to win with Celtic already out.

The Ibrox faithful have now missed the opportunity to win a Domestic Double having already secured the Scottish Premiership title, and former SPFL player Whelan launched a scathing attack on the Gers when talking to Football Insider:

“Rangers were huge favourites to win the Scottish Cup and do the double after knocking out Celtic.

“It is a really wasted opportunity by Steven Gerrard.

“They have really let themselves down here because they should be lifting the Scottish Cup and the Premiership trophy. They did not get it over the line though and they only have themselves to blame.

“There will have been a lot of questions in the dressing room after that performance because they had lots of opportunities to kill the game off.

“This massively tarnishes their season. It is a wasted opportunity and a big blip in their season.

“It is a massive blow to Steven Gerrard and his players. They had such a big opportunity.”

Rangers waste great opportunity

Rangers missed a huge chance to claim a Domestic Double at the expense of their bitter rivals Celtic and only have themselves to blame.

Having won the SPFL title very early on, and getting knocked out of the UEFA Europa League at the hands of Slavia Prague, the pathway was clear for them to go all the way in the Scottish Cup, but they have failed to take their opportunity.

Gerrard’s men could well have put the icing on top of a delicious cake if they were to win the cup, but we feel Whelan may still be being a bit harsh, given how fans have suffered watching their arch-rivals lift trophy after trophy in the last decade.

At the end of the day, the pendulum has swung back, and only one team in Glasgow will be celebrating this term.

In other news, find out what Charlie Nicholas comments have left Gers livid here!

Surely sooner or later, the Spurs dugout will realise that Eric Dier just isn’t a central defender, right?

It has long been his preferred position and after playing the bulk of his career in North London in midfield, he was finally granted that wish towards the latter stages of the Mauricio Pochettino era.

Although, he’s enjoyed the bulk of his time at centre-back under Jose Mourinho, and now interim boss Ryan Mason.

Yet recurring defensive mistakes and errors have been the one defining theme in Tottenham’s miserable campaign. It cannot be a coincidence with Dier regularly featuring at the back.

“Don’t make me please speak too much about the defensive mistakes that we made,” an agitated Mourinho pleaded to reporters after their FA Cup defeat to Everton, where they leaked five goals. “Because that’s obvious, and I don’t feel very comfortable to be speaking about it.”

Dier may not have featured that day but he has been involved in similar outcomes – the three goals conceded against Liverpool, both Manchester clubs, Dinamo Zagreb and now Leeds United.

Mourinho clearly had doubts himself as he ended up using over 16 different defensive combinations before his fateful sacking, and there was a string of six successive games which saw him drop his first-choice, Dier, from the starting XI.

Interestingly, they lost just once in that run.

Dier was up to his old tricks once again on Saturday afternoon. He was graded an embarrassing 3/10 by football.london reporter Alasdair Gold and given the most scathing of reviews.

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‘A tough afternoon for the player up against Bamford and was at fault for his goal as he was caught watching the ball as the Leeds ace nipped ahead of him to net. Not a good game at all from the England international in front of Gareth Southgate.’

On top of his statue-like defending, it was his woeful headed clearance that saw the home side clinch all three points as it came straight back for an easy third.

Danny Mills, on commentary for talkSPORT, described it as a “defensive calamity” and that’s certainly one word to describe Dier being a regular in defence for the club.

Many can lambast the performances of say, a Sergio Reguilon, who just has not looked the same since his injury but it is leaders like Dier that need to step up and be counted – he’s just not doing that. If anything, he is holding Spurs back when playing centre-back.

The £26m-rated star has attracted interest from Mourinho’s new club, AS Roma, this week, according to The Sun – to quote Albert Einstein, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”

By all means, if Mourinho wants that major problem to follow him to the Italian capital, then Daniel Levy ought to consider a fair price.

It’s time for Mason to do himself, and the club, a huge favour. He must be ruthless and axe the £85k-per-week liability from his starting XI in the final few games of the season.

AND in other news,Levy could find his next Poch in 45 y/o who left “a lasting impression” on Spurs squad…

Flocking to social media, plenty of Sky Blues supporters have applauded a gesture by Manchester City ahead of their first ever Champions League final in Porto on Saturday evening. 

Pep Guardiola’s men, in what is a huge week for the club, gear up to take on Chelsea with the aim of securing a first European Cup triumph for City and their supporters.

Having just celebrated a fifth Premier League crown and third under Guardiola, it is immediately back to business for the Citizens with the prospect of winning a historic treble.

Ahead of the final in Portugal, for many of the supporters who can’t attend, Manchester City’s official club account has now announced a big gesture.

Indeed, the Sky Blues have confirmed that the final will be screened at the academy stadium for up to 4,000 fans and tickets will be available for just £5 – with priority given to 2019/2020 season ticket holders.

As a result, plenty of City supporters flocked and applauded this move from the club – coming after Sheikh Mansour even offered to personally fund the official club trip to Porto.

Find all of their best verdicts on the official announcement down below.

Man City fans flock to official announcement

“Wow, this is a proper club, £5 for a ticket. actually respect the fans instead of charging silly money like £50+”

Credit: @MCFCHag

“YESSS”

Credit: @MCFC_Latino

“Yeahhhhh city..what a gesture!”

Credit: @KunAme10

“SIUUU”

Credit: @officialgilbert

“Massive club”

Credit: @KunHyder

“Great gesture from City”

Credit: @wendyfitz9

“Love this!!!”

Credit: @mschmidt_soccer

“This is how you do it”

Credit: @SkyHigh_Blu

In other news: Sky Blues excited by Harry Kane claim, find out more here.

Former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has told Transfer Tavern in an exclusive interview that his old side should explore the possibility of signing Callum Wilson if Newcastle United go down.

The Magpies are currently caught up in a relegation battle and it would not be a surprise to see other teams target Wilson if they do end up dropping down to the Championship.

Despite Newcastle’s struggles this season, Wilson has still been able to perform when fit. In 21 league appearances, the 29-year-old striker has scored 10 goals, making him an attractive proposition.

For Hendrie, he is certainly a player Villa should be looking at this summer. On the England international, the retired Premier League footballer told TT:

“I mean, Callum Wilson would be another one if you’re talking about Newcastle getting relegated.

“Callum Wilson’s scored goals in a team that’s really struggled this season, so there’s lots of elements of certainly where you’d look at and think ‘yes’, they’re the players you sort of try and bring into the club and nurture and push it forward.”

Moving for Wilson in the summer would not be a first for Villa. In the last summer transfer window, the Midlands club tried to sign the centre-forward from Bournemouth before his eventual move to Newcastle.