Koulibaly was an Everton target while Carlo Ancelotti was the manager before he left for Real Madrid this summer and his successor Benitez has told the club to retain the player on the transfer list according to English publication Team Talk. It was revealed that Napoli want big money for Koulibaly and that the Toffees have not been able to meet up the fee demanded by the Italian Serie A club.
Spanish tactician Benitez is not a stranger to Senegalese player Koulibaly whom he coached while he was the Napoli manager. Benitez was the Napoli manager when Kalidou Koulibaly signed for the Italian Serie A side from Gent in the Belgian league over seven years ago.
Everton were said to have made a €35m bid to sign Koulibaly on Wednesday but it was turned down by Napoli who are holding out for €60m for their prized asset.
Senegal defender Koulibaly is widely regarded as one of the best central defenders in Europe and he has previously been linked with the biggest teams on the continent.
The signing of a centre back is a priority for Benitez and Everton this summer. To this effect, Italian publication Calciomercatorevealed that the Toffees have identified an alternative to Koulibaly and he also plays his club football in the Italian Serie A. It was stated that Everton officials see Juventus defender MerihDemiral as an alternative if they can’t sign Koulibaly.
Demiral has been on the Everton radar for months and the club is prepared to step up their interest in him since he represents a cheaper centre back option in comparison to Koulibaly.
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Soumare has a lot of suitors in the Premier League including Merseyside giants Everton. Apart from Everton, other English teams like Newcastle United and Arsenal also wanted to sign the Lille midfielder.
Everton boss Carlo Ancelottihas been promised a significant amount for him to bolster his squad in the summer’s transfer window and he might need to look elsewhere for midfield reinforcements as it looks like Leicester City will sign Soumare from Lille.
Soumare is a key component of the Lille midfield that has driven the club towards the finishing line as far as the French Ligue 1 title is concerned. Lille are on the verge of winning an unlikely league title at the expense of defending champions Paris Saint Germain (PSG). They have a three-point advantage over the Champions League semifinalists ahead of the final two matches.
Lille will win the league title if they record at least four points from their two games irrespective of whatever happens in the two PSG matches. Lille can wrap the league title up this weekend if they beat Saint Etienne at home and PSG fail to beat Reims at home. If the title race goes to the final day, the two teams are away from home.
Soumare would be a good addition to a Leicester City team still with work to do achieve a stellar season by securing Champion League football in the new season. They also have an FA Cup final to navigate against Chelsea.
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Walcott’s current Everton contract is set to expire at the end of the season and from all indications, it’s not looking like he will be offered a contract extension, meaning that he will be a free agent in the summer and will be free to discuss contract negotiations with clubs that eventually register interest in signing him.
He has been a brilliant signing for Ralph Hasenhütl’s Saints side and the Southampton manager recently revealed that he would love the former W gland international attacker to remain at the club even after the expiration of his loan contract.
In the Saints’ recent Premier League clash against Burnley, Walcott was instrumental as he registered an assist which saw them complete a 3-2 comeback win against their rivals. Walcott’s performance in that match further explained how important he is to the team and even the manager admitted that he is a key member of the squad.
The winger only recently returned from a long injury lay-off and Hasenhütl admitted that he was missed in his absence. The Southampton manager also confirmed that the club have started talks with the player and his agent in a bid to come to an agreement about a contract renewal as they are very much serious about the idea of having him remain at the St Mary’s stadium for at least another season.
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Everton started the recent poor run at the home of fellow Champions League chasers Chelsea earlier this month. The Toffees were on the receiving end of a 2-0 defeat courtesy a Ben Godfrey own goal and a Jorginho penalty either side of the halftime break. The loss at the home of Chelsea was followed by the disappointing defeat at home to Burnley. Everton were beaten 2-1 at home by the Clarets in the league. The Merseysiders conceded the first goal of the game to Burnley striker Chris Wood at Goodison Park before a wonder goal from Dwight McNeil doubled the lead for the visitors.
England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulled one back just before half-time but the hosts were not able to rescue the game in the second half. The third straight loss happened in the FA Cup at the weekend. Ilkay Gundogan and second half substitute Kevin De Bruyne scored late goals to lead Manchester City to a 2-0 away win over Everton in the FA Cup quarterfinals. Manchester City will now face Chelsea for a place next month for a spot in the final of the competition scheduled for May.
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It is very easy for the momentum to be disrupted by focusing too much on the latest defeat, according to the Everton manager. The club have a home match against Rotherham United in their upcoming game. This game in the FA Cup gives a perfect opportunity for Everton to get into the fourth round of the competition for only the second time in the last five seasons. The FA Cup has not provided any joy for Everton in recent years butCarlo Ancelotti is already targeting a trophy with the blues and top four qualification. As a result of facing a Championship team, Everton are being branded as the favourites for promotion into the next round.
“The momentum was good, we had difficult games and a good run but it has stopped.It will be important to keep our belief and confidence high.We have players with quality who are not in their best condition, like James (Rodriguez) and Richarlison, who was coming back from a concussion. Dominic (Calvert-Lewin) had a problem during the game and was not 100 per cent. We have the possibility in the next eight days to have players in better condition, players who were not able to train in the past weeks, and look forward with belief,” said Ancelotti.
]]>Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti has disclosed that back-up goalkeeper Robin Olsen should be back from injury in time for the next game, a league outing at home to title contenders Chelsea. 2,000 fans are expected to return to Goodison Park for the first time in almost a year to witness the Toffees take on Chelsea in one of the standout games on matchday twelve in the Premier League. Chelsea have been elevated to title contenders following an impressive run of four wins and one draw from the last five league outings.
On Olsen, Ancelotti told reporters in his post-match press conference after the Burnley game on Saturday afternoon that the Swedish international should be fit for the visit of Chelsea after missing the last two games. In his absence, former Huddersfield Town shot stopper Jonas Lossl has been the back-up goalkeeper to first choice Jordan Pickford in the last Premier League matches at home to newcomers Leeds United and away to Burnley. The goalkeeping department at Everton has its hierarchy with Pickford clearly the undisputed number one, while Olsen and Lossl are second and third respectively.
Robin Olsen is on loan at Everton from Italian capital club AS Roma for the whole of this campaign. He was missing for the 1-0 home defeat to Leeds United and the 1-1 draw at the home of Burnley. On the other injured players like Fabian Delph and Seamus Coleman, Carlo Ancelotti didn’t give a definite answer about their status for the Chelsea game on Saturday night.
Seamus Coleman has returned to Everton training and he faces race against time to be fully fit for the Blues’ visit. Everton have a crisis in the fullback positions and the imminent return of Republic of Ireland international Coleman can’t come too soon for the Toffees. Fabian Delphwon’t be involved against after the midfielder picked up a hamstring issue while deputising at left-back during the Clarets game at the weekend.
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Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that the club’s current formation is dictated not by tactics but by the amount of injuries in the squad. The recent loss against Leeds United saw Everton going with a different formation of 3-4-3. The lack of central defenders was one of the key factors behind this decision, according to Liverpool. The three defenders at the back featured Lucas Digne and fullbacks Coleman. There is no direct relationship but Everton have been unable to get a lot of success in recent weeks. The Merseyside outfit have seen just one win in the last six league outings.
Now, Ancelotti says that the emergency crisis with regards to the injury has forced him to play the different formation rather than tactics. He has suggested that Everton are likely to stick with the same 3-4-3 formation. The formation turns out to be quite flexible to accommodate a team that is thin in terms of resources. In the match against Leeds, Everton were deploying Alex Iwobi and Tom Davis as a wingback in order to counter for the lack of players. Ancelotti remains determined that the club will be able to see out this difficult period.
It is expected thatDigne could be unavailable for around three months due to a surgery. “I think it’s an emergency because we have two important players in Coleman and Digne out. It is only for this reason. We have the quality in the squad to play also with three centre-backs, because we have a lot of good centre-backs, but I think it’s a moment. The fact that we can play with three or four is good for us,” said Ancelotti. After a brilliant start to the campaign, Everton’s form has taken an alarming dip and the club are fast running out of the top four race.
Everton have been boosted by the return of star forward Richarlison from suspension ahead of the next set of Premier League fixtures. Richarlison has missed the last three games in the English topflight as a result of the red cardthat he received in the Merseyside Derby in October.
Brazilian international Richarlison was sent off in the dying minutes of the league match between hosts Everton and Liverpool as the two teams settled for a 2-2 draw. That result halted the Toffees’ run of seven straight wins at the start of this season.Richarlison received his marching orders after a nasty tackle on Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara and the Spanish international midfielder has not played for the Reds since that incident.
Everton are yet to win or draw a game since that Merseyside derby. They have lost all their three league matches without Richarlison. As a matter of fact, the Toffees are winless in the Premier League without the Brazilian since he joined the club from Watford at the start of the last campaign.
The Brazilian has a big influence on the Toffees, and this is evident in his attacking numbers at the start of this campaign. He has attempted the most dribbles per 90 minutes at Everton this season andhas the most touches per 90 minutes inside the opposition’s penalty area.
Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti has tried the likes of Alex Iwobi, Andre Gomes and Bernard in the left side of attack but neither of the players has been able to live up to attacking quality that Richarlison brings to the left side of the Everton attack. Iwobi started the Southampton game (2-0 away loss to the Saints), while Andre Gomes and Bernard started the Newcastle United game(2-1 away loss to the Magpies) and the Manchester United game (3-1 home defeat to the Red Devils) respectively.
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